Happiness Blogs and the Winners Who Are Happy, Happy
I love to make people happy. I also like to find out exactly how to do it. So when I decided to give away a beach bag filled with goodies from my major characters in Happiness Key, I asked you to comment on any blog with “Happiness” in the title and let me know what…
Read MoreRiver, Take Me Away (And it did)
Maybe I take my own blogs too seriously. When Southern Exposure first saw the light of day, I wrote a blog entitled “River, Take Me Away,” using the title of a song my family learned at summer camp when our children were still living at home. Maybe that song or that blog was there, in…
Read MoreCan You Hear Me Now? Audio Books and Narrators
Imagine my joy last year when I discovered that the five novels in my Shenandoah Album series from Mira Books would be made into audio books. At every event I attended, readers had asked for that format, and I knew that personally, nothing made me happier than quilting or walking Nemo while an audio book…
Read MoreThe Mistake by the Lake? Never! Falling in Love with Cleveland, Ohio
Some time ago author Casey Daniels, a long time friend, asked me to guest blog at The Little Blog of Murder. I decided then that since I’m a former Clevelander (12 winters of snow), and my own series, the Ministry is Murder Mysteries, takes place in a fictional small town somewhere in Ohio, blogging would…
Read MoreIn The Beginning–So Where on Earth Did that Novel Come From?
Ask any novelist what readers most often want to know about his/her work. I can almost guarantee he or she will tell you, “Where do you get your ideas?” Some authors–tired of this perfectly legitimate question–will answer “The idea store.” “And don’t we all wish it were that easy?” they ask. I’m here to pass on…
Read MoreTravels With Emilie–or Breakfast in the Middle of the Rhine
By the time you read this, I’ll be in Europe. As part of my husband’s sabbatical, we’ll be cruising the Rhine for two weeks, exploring countries we’ve always wanted to visit. Somehow in our travels we’ve missed Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. We have been to France, but only (only?) Paris. So now we’ll…
Read MoreParlez-vous français? Better than Emilie does, I hope
It’s truly amazing what I can find when I clean my study. For instance, today I opened one of the many boxes that I’d piled in the middle of the floor (you think I’m kidding, don’t you?) and look what I found. On the sixth of this month I announced a giveaway of the French…
Read MoreThe Dog Who Came to Stay
We celebrated Labor Day in Virginia’s Piedmont, surrounded by rolling hills and mountains. One night we sat in a screened-in pond house at sunset with wine and cheese and family, waiting for the night noises to begin. It’s not unusual to have all manner of animals tiptoe down to the pond for their own nightly…
Read MoreParlez-vous français? If so, you’re in luck.
Contests, we have contests, we have lots and lots of contests. . . Before I launch into the newest one, let’s review. As always, if you sign up for my mailing list, you’re automatically entered in my monthly autographed book giveaway. You never need to do another thing. Next you have until the end of September…
Read MoreAll That Walking and Four New Pounds–The Mysteries of Weight Gain
I love vacation. The chance to read all the novels that have piled high beside my bed or cluttered my eReader. The long walks with no real destination in mind. The fabulous farm stand with fresh corn and juicy ripe tomatoes that’s five minutes from our rental cottage. Before leaving home this summer I told my…
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