“Love at first sight is easy to understand; it’s when two people have been looking at each other for a lifetime that it becomes a miracle.” – Sam Levenson Happy anniversary to me and to my husband. This picture happened many, many years ago when my husband and I said vows promising to love and honor each other forever. Then …
Fun Facts about OK
What word is almost universally understood no matter where in the world you might be? That word is OK, and yet in the history of words, it is relatively new and a word I sometimes avoid in my historical stories. It isn’t OK to let my characters speak words nobody would have said in whatever time period is the setting …
Cover Reveal for A Chance for Kallie Mae
The cover of a book is the beginning of a conversation between the author and the reader. ~ David Pearson A few years ago, I visited a high school to talk about writing and my books. One of the questions they asked was about book covers. What better time to revisit that question than when I’m excited to share …
Veterans Day Book Giveaway
This Veteran’s Day, we’re bringing together authors whose books shed light on the struggles Veterans face after war. These powerful stories honor service, sacrifice, and the journey of healing. Bonus Winner: Receives Waves of Freedom series by Sarah Sundin 1st Place Winner: Chooses 6 books from the giveaway titles. 2nd Place Winner: Chooses 4 books from the remaining titles 3rd Place Winner: Receives the remaining 2 …
Turning the Story Faucet On
“Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.” — Louis L’Amour And Louis L’Armour knew how to turn that faucet on. This is a record of his work. L’Amour eventually wrote 100 novels, over 250 short stories, and (as of 2010) sold more than 320 million copies of his work. By the 1970s …
People Watching at the Book Festival
We come in many different shapes and sizes, and we need to support each other and our differences. Our beauty is in our differences. ~Carre Otis The Kentucky Book Festival was great yesterday. I had a nice position for my book table in the “circle” as the helper told me when I arrived yesterday morning. My table companion was a …
Kentucky Book Festival #44
This Saturday, November 1st, is the 44th annual Kentucky Book Festival at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington, Kentucky. To save you having to do the math, the first one was in 1981. The Kentucky Book Fair, as it was called before becoming the Kentucky Book Festival, was the brainchild of Carl West, a nationally recognized journalist who spent time in Washington …
Why Characters Do What They Do
A few years ago shortly after I published my first Shaker book, The Outsider, I talked to a book club in Washington state. They were having just their second meeting as a book club and they had picked my book. They must have contacted me to have a call-in at their meeting. I’ve always thought being in a book club …
My Once Upon a Time Secret Pen Name
“Do you like your name?” That was the question I asked at the end of my last post. Then I asked what name would they have rather been called if they didn’t like their name. One reader, Sharon, turned the question back on me. I have named hundreds of characters in the over forty books I’ve written. Each book has …
Characters Need Names
“Letitia! What a name. Halfway between a salad and a sneeze.” ― Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight “Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” ― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero I taught some writing classes at the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference …










