Christmas Gifts: The Christmas Wedding Quilt plus A Booklover’s Carol
T’is that time of year, time for my annual Booklover’s Carol. Some traditions are worth keeping. Think about that crumpled tin star that still goes at the top of your Christmas tree? The holiday recipe your mother always made oozing sugar, shortening and artificial flavors? Uncle Grover dressing up as Santa Claus in a moth…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Enjoy!
“Mark the holidays by spending time with people you love, and try not to fret too much about what you have for dinner.” -Cara Rosenbloom Here’s a riddle: During the holidays, what is both immensely enjoyable and terribly troubling? Give up? The answer is food. The food during the holidays is so delicious, and yet…
Read MoreThe Twelve Gifts of Christmas Giveaway
Just Christmas? My title may say Christmas, but last night was the first night of Hanukkah, so a very happy Hanukkah to all my readers who celebrate this festival of lights. Kwanzaa, which begins on December 26th is on its way, and the Winter Solstice, marking the calendar day with the longest night of the…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Make Yourself Miserable!
Last Sunday I shared with you some ideas on how to be happy, especially over the holidays. Today I want to suggest how you can make yourself miserable! Yes, miserable. Sometimes it helps to know what we shouldn’t do in order to know what we should do. Right? In an article in our local paper —…
Read MoreOldie But Goodie or Not? Revising Backlist Novels
Years ago when I began my writing career, I never guessed that one day my series romances would see the light of day again. In those days series romances were guaranteed at most 4-6 weeks at bookstores before covers were stripped and content discarded. Reissues were rare and highly prized. Yes, the sales were excellent…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Happiness Is
“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present.” -Jim Rohn So what do you want for Christmas? How about a big dose of happiness? But before we go for broke, let’s try asking ourselves the question, how happy are we? Tough one to answer, isn’t it.…
Read MorePlotting Your Novel: Heading Toward the Finish Line
With the exception of Thanksgiving week, I’ve spent November explaining how I plot my novels. I’ve really enjoyed creating these posts, especially when I’ve been privileged to read your ideas and incorporate them. Remember, this was a “practice” novel, inspired by a comment I overheard at breakfast one morning, and we’ve come a long way…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Thank You
Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen
Happy Thanksgiving! I’m taking a break from my mini-series on how I write a novel, to wish you a wonderful holiday–if you’re in the U.S.–and if you’re not, to wish you a wonderful autumn day filled with good food and good friends. I thought for fun I’d let O. Henry (William Sydney Porter) write my…
Read MoreSunday Inspiration: Be Kind
“Be kind whenever possible. It’s always possible.” – Dalai Lama Do you think that being kind to others is something special, something that we save up for? I get caught in that trap sometimes, forgetting that kindness is possible every minute of every day if we simply remember and pay attention–as well as swallow our first,…
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