Postcards from the Blue Ridge
I want you to enjoy what I’m enjoying right now. Happy autumn wherever you are.
Read MoreWhat Makes YOU Happy? An Unscientific Look at Happiness Blog Comments
When I decided it would be fun to use my blog as a contest venue this past year, I had no idea how rewarding it would be. Not only did many of your participate, I had the good fortune to read all your entries, as did my assistant, the Marvelous Marna, who collated all the…
Read MoreWhat Makes Emilie Happy, and the Giveaway Winners who are Happy, too.
For the past six months I’ve had the distinct pleasure of blogging about happiness, and more important, reading your comments on my “happiness” blogs. Next week I’ll share with you the unscientific survey that my assistant Marna and I did of your wonderful and evocative contributions. We saw patterns, but that was no surprise. Looking…
Read MoreHaunting Mysteries: The Fascinating Career of Casey Daniels
In plenty of time for the spookiest holiday of the year, Casey Daniels, whose Pepper Martin mysteries are a must read for anyone who loves paranormal mysteries, is visiting Southern Exposure today. I first met Casey when I was part of a writer’s group in Cleveland, Ohio. We’ve stayed friends through the years and are still brainstorming buddies. This time of…
Read MoreRecipes–or what do books and bread have in common?
It’s been quiet at Southern Exposure. I arrived home from Europe all set to do the final read through and editing of Fortunate Harbor, next summer’s Mira and the sequel to Happiness Key, which is at your bookstore now. Since my husband went on to Greece, I had a quiet house, and nothing on my…
Read MoreHappiness 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…
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