It Is Hard to Write When…

Good Monday morning! Things remain at sixes and sevens here. The Big Kitchen Project is almost—but not quite—done. Here’s what I learned: It is hard to write when your office is turned into a field kitchen. It is hard to write when loud pounding ensues. It is hard to write when your brain is full […]

The Best Laid Plans…

With apologies to Robert Burns, plans change. Sometimes life takes an unexpected turn—and so do the stories I write. The beginning and end of The Price of Glory have been clear to me, but the middle—as is often the case—has been murky. I woke up this past week with a harsh light shining on the […]

In The Field Kitchen

I’m hiding this morning. I’ve set up a writing cave in the upper reaches of the house hiding from the crew who are currently demolishing my kitchen. Yes folks, it is Day 1 of The Great Kitchen Project. My office, the wonderful space surrounded by windows has been called into service as a field kitchen […]

Swag

Swag. Odd word that. All that promotional material you get at conferences, races, fairs, trade shows, and business meetings—pens, magnets, sticky notes, calendars and so on—with your car dealer’s name, dentist’s address, or running show company’s logo is swag. Writers have to bring their swag as well. When asked to bring my swag, I know […]

On Outlaws

Highlighting Historical Romance with Patricia Preston on that outlaw Frank James. I did a lot of research on the James-Younger gang for Almost an Outlaw and for this blog post I’m sharing the real-life romance of Frank James, Jesse’s older brother, and the love of his life, Ann Ralston. She was a schoolteacher.  A pretty brunette, […]

Integrity

You may have seen this photo of me on Facebook this week with the banner across the bottom that states what ought to be obvious. If you’ve been paying attention to the firestorm that has roiled the romance novel industry the past week or more, you probably understand what it means and can skip to […]

Chasing the Hiring Fair

Highlighting Historical Romance with Laura Strickland’s research into hiring fairs. I first became aware of the occurrence of hiring fairs in Britain years ago, through a folk song of the same name. The English folk band, Fairport Convention has long been a favorite of mine, and The Hiring Fair is a wistful tune that tells […]

Viking Winter

Highlighting Historical Romance with Nicole Zoltack and some Viking Lore. Writing a Yule love story featuring Vikings set during wintertime was a lot of fun but required a lot of research. Did you know that mistletoe played a role in Scandinavian mythology? An arrow poisoned with mistletoe claimed the life of Balder. His mother Frigga […]

You Win Some…

Sports and games have been part of our lives since the ancient Greeks, and probably much longer! Winning…losing… Once my son ran off the soccer field, anxious, looked up at me, and gasped, “What if we lose?” My answer was, “You get up tomorrow, get dressed, and go to school.” Life’s like that. Winning (however […]