Books, Faith and Spirituality, Family, Mindset, Quotes, Writing

Recommended Reading

Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger & Nothing More Dangerous by Allen Eskens These two similar books, both by Minnesota authors, are among the best books I’ve ever read. (Right up there with Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.) In both books, the authors recount stories from a grown man's perspective, but through the… Continue reading Recommended Reading

Advocacy, Fun, Writing

Cover Reveal!

Coming March 21st, 2020!  Abby's Redemption Book 2 of 2 in the Whispering Pines Mysteries. Last summer Abigail Sinclair narrowly escaped her abusive ex-husband, who was bent on revenge. Finally, victim turned survivor, she is free from a life of watching over her shoulder at every turn. Abby focuses on running Whispering Pines Resort in… Continue reading Cover Reveal!

Fun, goals, Writing

NaNo No-No’s

NaNo No-No's--try say that fast three times! Last week I listed some must-have's for NaNoWriMo participants. This week I'm sharing a couple of things you'd do well to steer clear of and a couple of tips. Stop your inner critic and editor. They seem to be persistent little buggers during NaNoWriMo, and they're exactly what… Continue reading NaNo No-No’s

Fun, Gratitude, Quotes, Writing

The Lure of Bookstores

Anyone remember B. Dalton, Waldenbooks, or Borders? If you're a writer, you likely remember all of them well. To authors, brick and mortar bookstores are the equivalent of water to a river. We all dream of having our books holding space on the shelves. Even before I began to take my writing seriously, I spent… Continue reading The Lure of Bookstores

Advocacy, Faith and Spirituality, goals, Gratitude, Writing

Making a Difference to Just One

A while back a friend talked to me about her desire to make a difference in the lives of others by getting her "story" out there. That story consists of almost being murdered by her ex-husband. No one--as in not one--not even the doctors, expected her to survive. But survive she did! She's truly a… Continue reading Making a Difference to Just One

Family, Fun, Life Lessons, Quotes

Connections

I did an author reading from my latest book, Shear Murder (Book 4 in the Melanie Hogan mystery series) this past weekend. While it was fun to participate in an author event and hang with other local authors--one of them dear friend Karen Whalen who did an author reading from her new release, Peaches and… Continue reading Connections

Fun, Writing

Book in a Day

Last week was perhaps one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time, in large part due to Crime Victims' Rights week (more on that next week), causing me to fall a bit behind on my Camp NaNo hourly goal. Nothing I can't make up, though. And Saturday's all-day event made it worth… Continue reading Book in a Day

goals, Gratitude, Health, Writing

Ready to Roll

We must always change, renew, rejuvenate ourselves; otherwise, we harden.           —Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Have you ever declared some time off, regardless of what other people think or do? It's called being true to yourself and is one of the best things you can do for yourself and everyone else… Continue reading Ready to Roll

Fun, goals, Quotes, Writing

Writing Goals

  Nowhere does it say goals need to be set in January. In fact, it's never too late to set goals. After all, today is the first day of the rest of your life. I spent some time this weekend reviewing my writing accomplishments from the past year and made some goals for 2019. What… Continue reading Writing Goals

Gratitude, Health, Writing

A Healthy Balance

The past several months have been beyond busy with my day job and evenings and weekends spent writing. So in order to maintain a healthy balance, after the recent release of Shear Murder on Kindle, book four in the Melanie Hogan mysteries, and working to release the print version sometime in the next week, I'm… Continue reading A Healthy Balance