The End

Is it a spoiler to tell you they lived happily ever after? In the final chapter I wrote this description: His eyes fixated on the bride who wore a gown of copper colored lace, some exotic shade Rand had never seen, one that complemented her skin and eyes perfectly.  So what might that actually look […]

Highlighting Historical Romance: Barbara Monajem

Lord Quickthorn’s Bargain, Barbara’s novella in the anthology Passionate Promises (released last week), centers around a holy or fairy well. Today she shares what she learned about them ______________________________________________ I’m pretty sure the idea first came to me while reading a folklore book, An Encyclopedia of Fairies: Hobgoblins, Brownies, Bogies, & Other Supernatural Creatures by […]

Highlighting Historical Romance: Cathy MacRae

In my stories, I always strive for historical accuracy. I have three great critique partners who are quick to point out anachronisms—“Are you sure they drank whisky from a glass in 1370? Perhaps a mug or goblet?” and “That word wasn’t in use in 1370. Find another.”—and keep me from blundering too badly. But the […]

Monday Motivations: Kind Words

Ok, I admit it. I’m a sucker for kind words.  The authors I know do what they do for a wide variety of reasons.  I realized long ago that I tell stories so people will read them. Nothing keeps me going like finding out someone has read one of my books and liked it. I […]

Monday Motivations

Monday morning dawns cold and clear and the author stares at a blank screen firmly forbidding self to wallow on Facebook or find a good card game. What to do? There are a number of old fashioned motivators of a disciplinary nature: Deadlines. Nothing stiffens the spine like responsibility for a deadline that impacts others. […]

Highlighting Historical Romance: Neva Brown

When I saw Caroline’s suggestions about interesting research for BY CLEAR WATER a chuckle bubbled up inside me, because the research for this book got totally out of hand. I lost myself on the southern route the Texas Argonauts took from Texas to California during the gold rush (the trail Leslyn and Matt traveled in […]

But Education is a Dangerous Thing

I outlined my passion for women’s education in my last post. Why did society not only overlook but actively oppose women’s education? For one thing, it was not uncommon for parents to fear that an excess of education ruined a girl’s chances of a good marriage. The church fretted about the decline of the family […]