A quick look at the new manuscript I'm working on: Rachel Golding’s carefully crafted life has always been about performance, but underneath the applause and spotlights lurks a very real danger. Raised under the harsh gaze of a politically ambitious mother who rules the pageant circuit of South Carolina with an iron fist, she learns early on that beauty demands perfection and mistakes are punishable. Rachel's childhood is trapped in a revolving door of rules, routines, and re

This year has been the "year of invitations." Before I'd even really noticed, my 2025 calendar had filled with author presentation dates just in time for the release of book five in my suspense series, THE SHAKING. I've barely had to make a call, the invitations have been pouring in. If we stay in the battle long enough, maintain a steady confidence and hopeful expectation...success is inevitable. The definition of success is an elusive one, isn't it? I've had to shift my sta

Navigating life...and writing...when stuck in the "In-Between."

When people ask me how The Shaking  originated, I usually smile and say something simple like, “Oh, it grew from an idea I couldn’t let...

A deep dive into the upcoming book in the Olivia Callahan Series! Releasing soon!

As an author, I’m friends with hundreds, maybe thousands of like-minded writers, including some really big names and a lot of NYT...

Why do some books turn off a reader by the end of the first chapter, and others make them breathlessly turn the page, excited to read...

How I Discover Ideas and Create Characters That Stick with You People often ask me, “Where do your ideas come from?”  As if I have a...

Lessons learned on a windy day!

The question of what genre I’d write was settled ten years ago, when my first agent held my hand through her comprehensive editing...

I'm working on the first draft of book five in my Olivia Callahan Suspense series. The first draft is, by its nature, a...

In my usual cheerful, diligent manner, I run to my closet where all my author paraphernalia is stored: stroller bag for table decor and...

Communicating well with others is is a skill. It's important. It's a necessity for personal success, and a war I'm determined to win.

When I wrote my first piece of note at age twelve in a school in Bellevue, Nebraska...I specifically remember my instructor putting a...

Why? Always the first question that explodes in my mind. Why do I feel pressure to learn every social media venue out there? Why do I...

This year has been a study in contradictions. As far as writing goes, it was a fabulous year. Two books released, my series picked up by...

Thanksgiving went okay except for a few hiccups here and there...and we rented a house so it was less travel time for kids and grandkids...

One year my daughter gave me one of those 'Storyworth' legacy accounts in order to chronicle my life for posterity. History. Something....

Lately I’ve decided to change my K-cup approach to coffee. I've bought organic coffee, a regular coffeemaker, and now grind my own beans....

The business of writing is often an exercise in patience and teeth-grinding. Or teeth-gnashing, as it were. It is hard to keep going with...