Popes in the Napoleonic Crossfire

…That Napoleon took two popes prisoner? The first died in French captivity in 1799. The second, Pius VII went voluntarily to Paris in 1804, part of his policy of cooperation aimed at restoring freedoms to Catholics in France who had been persecuted during the Revolution. Pius had been invited (it is unclear how much choice […]

Family ~ the Fourth One

Goodness! It is Monday afternoon and, yes, I’ve had a few cups of coffee already. Lately i’m running as fast as I can to keep up with myself.  In the past month I went to the Historical Romance Retreat, did a lightning trip to Ohio, and hosted family here. In and around that I’ve keep […]

4 Reasons I Love Baseball

We spent yesterday celebrating Mother’s Day early by watching the Phillies beat the Nationals at Citizen Bank Park with #1 daughter and her family.  I have loved baseball since elementary school. No other sport (even my beloved Ohio State football) even comes close. There are 4 reasons why. Family. We trooped in, three generations, all […]

Titles and Other Painful Decisions.

Readers may have noticed that I’ve been participating in the Marketing For Romance Writers (MFRW) 52-Week blog challenge. The idea is that all the participating authors post on a single topic, and we get to see the wide variation in approaches to the topic. It is a bit fun, and I plan to continue, but […]

Winning and Losing

I’ve had an amazing few days! What have I won? Notably Dangerous Secrets won the 2016 RONE Award for Best Post-Medieval Historical Romance. InD’Tale Magazine presented the award at their InD’Scribe conference which leads me to other things I’ve won:  new friends, new ideas, new appreciation for my craft, and some insights about my self. One […]

What Was I Thinking!

I just reviewed my to-do list. Merciful angels, what was I thinking? Right before that I posted a project update to for the Bluestocking Belles. Each of us is due to send rough draft of our novella for the Belles’ next holiday anthology to two beta readers on May 1.  It won’t be released until […]

Thanks for the Heroes, Fictional and Real

Join us here:  https://www.facebook.com/events/1515218678792593/ In this month of giving thanks, I’ve been invited to participate in a week long celebration of Historical Romance, #Thx4HistoricalRom  The hosts have put together a lovely grand prize package and my own Dangerous Works is in it. in addition authors will be offering giveaways daily. The title got me thinking […]

Dangerous Secrets September Sale

Jamie Heyworth harbors secrets to protect his heart. Nora Haley fears deception will destroy everything she desires. Will love—and the truth—bind them both together? Buy it now for .99 See more here Pinterest Board http://bit.ly/1GfRHE3 Why Did Jamie Run: http://tinyurl.com/l5cm7ns IdTale http://bit.ly/1Ma2GDP

Broke a Cardinal Rule

As a new author one of my challenges is obtaining numbers of reviews. Amazon likes numbers. The more reviews you have, the better they like you.  Numbers. Really. I’ve been blessed that most of the reviews for Dangerous Secrets have been five stars. None have been less than three. Everyone likes to read those five […]

The Quest

Tomorrow, loyal readers, I am off to hobnob with my fellow wizards. I shall set off on the winding road to the bright mountain where the wizards gather to share secrets.  That is to say, I’m packing to go to the Romance Writers of America Annual Conference in New York City.  Sigh. What occurs at […]