I love to cook and I don’t mind following a recipe, but I’m always asking myself ‘what can I do to make it better?’ I had planned to use ground turkey for last night’s supper. I usually make turkey burgers with it but wanted to stretch out and try something new. As a side note, […]
Between Books #Giveaway
Many moons ago, we saw a movie that inspired me. In the story, a young girl’s parents were authors. On deadline, they rarely spent time with her. Until they finished. When she came home from school that day, the whole family painted a room in their house. Though I’ve always made a point to work […]
Which Story Element is Important to You? + #Giveaway
Have you ever thought about the individual pieces that make up a story? Before I became an author, a story was just a story. Now that I’ve been writing for a while, I’ve learned that a story is made up of several elements. I’ll name a few of them for you: ~Dialogue ~Conflict ~Descriptions (of […]
Why Contemporary Romance? #Giveaway
July has swept many changes into my world. Instead of writing, I’m editing. I’ve sent rejections to writers. But while I dashed their dreams, I gave them tips on what they needed to study and hopefully encouraged them. I’ve learned that editors aren’t mean wannabe writers who want to rewrite my book. I didn’t really […]
Top 10 Book Dedications on my Shelf
Readers often overlook the book dedication (unless a book is dedicated to them), but they mean a lot to us authors. And some of them are just as entertaining or endearing as the novel itself. For example: To Collin Firth. You’re a great guy, but I’m married, so I think we should just be friends. […]
A Forever Type of Romance
“Marriage is hard. It takes work. When you say those vows, you’re making a promise to God to stick to it, even when it gets rough. And it will get rough, but you can get through it if you work together.” This is the advice I gave to all three of my children and their […]
How Being an Empath Impacts My Writing (and everything else)
It’s always been hard to explain the difference between sympathy and empathy. It’s even harder to describe being an empath versus feeling empathy, but the best I’ve been able to come up with is this: empaths are highly absorbent emotional sponges in human form. Unlike sympathy, which is essentially identifying someone’s emotional state and reacting […]
When God Calls the Unequipped & Giveaway
Have you ever had God ask you to do something you thought you were totally unequipped for? That’s how I felt when He called me to write. I’m an avid reader from way back, but I never aspired to write, never even kept a journal. But I am a dreamer. I could spin a story […]
It’s Complicated… (interesting characters usually are) + cover reveal
If you’ve been on social media at any point in the last decade, you’ve probably noticed at least one of your “friends” with the relationship status It’s Complicated. The phrase has filtered its way into our culture in all sorts of ways—movie titles, song lyrics, book themes, mindsets. It’s complicated isn’t always a response we’d […]
The Eyes Have It # Giveaway
When I try to imagine a handsome man, I come up with dark hair and green eyes every time. Like my husband and almost every other man I’ve thought was attractive. Blue eyes will do in a pinch, but only with brunette hair. I love the combo of inky brows and light eyes. I also […]