Leif Brevik, the hero in MORE THAN A TOUCH, is a man standing at a crossroads in his life. He’s always planned on a career in the Army, but the wound he suffered during his last deployment may change that for him. At the beginning of the book, he’s still living out of his duffel… Read More
It came upon a midnight clear, in fact the truth burst upon me a couple hours earlier: by 10:00 p.m. on December 23, I realized my 2013 Christmas shopping was complete. And yes, I did hear strains of the Hallelujah chorus in that moment. More often than not, I have at least a few stocking… Read More
Ready or not, the holiday is upon us! Are your stockings hung? Is your tree trimmed? Are all the packages wrapped? The cookies baked? Or are you frantically searching online or running around the mall? Are you like me? Did you discover at this last moment that you don’t have enough sugar for the cookies… Read More
One of the fun things about being a writer of children’s books is doing research. That hold especially true when you’re writing a series as full of adventure and wild places and learning as my Bulldoggers Club Series. These books feature a group of boys who love the outdoors and riding horses and who come… Read More
I recently had a chance to see the movie Philomena starring the brilliant actress Judi Dench in the title role. In addition to being touching and entertaining this movie makes a very important and profound point about what constitutes true intelligence. All too often people assume that the smartest folks are automatically those who hold… Read More
This is actually my favorite part of the holidays. The decoration I love the best is my nativity by Fontanini. We set it up the day after Thanksgiving and keep baby Jesus hidden away until Christmas morning. When my kids were little we’d rotate years as to who would get to place Jesus in his… Read More
When it comes to Christmas time getaways, I must admit I’m a big fan of stay-cations! With the house all decorated and so many things going on in the area from light displays to concerts, sticking close to home makes sense, especially with our dogs and cats! They are part of the family and like… Read More
The Christmas season is my favorite time of year. It’s the one time of year I don’t mind shopping, even though I’m elbow to elbow with grouchy strangers, sweating in my winter coat and warm boots, watching my bank account dwindle like a dying fire. I don’t mind Christmas music, even though it’s often simple… Read More
As I ponder the appeal of Amish stories, I think I can best illustrate it with two very compelling images: the image of a family gathered at the dinner table, and the image of a family seated in a church pew. Faith and family are the essence of Amish life—the unshakable foundations of that life—and… Read More
I’ve reached that magical age. My birthday was last week and instead of mentioning my actual age, perish the thought, I called it the anniversary of my 29th birthday. Since I stole this idea from a friend of mine, I bequeath its use to you. The beauty of this approach is you can be as… Read More
I always get a little nostalgic around Christmas time—longing for a simpler, gentler time when Christmas wasn’t commercial. That was one of the main reasons for writing my Lady Georgie book, THE TWELVE CLUES OF CHRISTMAS. It’s set in a little English village in Devonshire. Stone cottages, a brook running through it, a hunt on… Read More
Top ten reasons you don’t want to enter a baking contest against Phyllis Newsom: 10. Your conversation at the Pearly Gates with St. Peter: “All I did was knock on her door!” 9. All of your dirty little secrets are no longer secrets. 8. You wind up on the TV news and your hair is… Read More
Besides love? More book clubs! When I first came up with my idea for THE BEST LIFE BOOK CLUB, I thought I was being so original, so clever. A book about a book club – yes! And then, after I’d surfaced from my writing cave back into the sunlight, I blinked and saw… all kinds… Read More
Read More