This Life...
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Happy Independence Day!
I considered writing a long post about July 4 and what it meant back when and what it means now, but someone else already did that. So go here and read Liz Flaherty’s message for July 4. I’ll wait. I’m simply going to share this photo from July 4 a couple of years ago–Son and Grandboy celebrating America’s independence exactly the way Husband and Son did more years ago than I care to mention. I love our lake life together and how much Son wants to share that world with his son. One of the blessed freedoms we have–to be able to share our history and our traditions with new…
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Celebrating Mom’s Way
I was just in the kitchen putting baked beans together and it occurred to me how much of my Mom’s way of doing things I’ve brought to my own adulthood. Like, for instance, baked beans. Mother was always horrified at the idea of dumping a can of baked beans into a pot and warming it up right from the can. Instead, she drained the beans, put them in a casserole dish, added barbecue sauce, mustard, a chopped onion, and brown sugar. Then she placed two strips of bacon across the top in an X and put them in the oven. She baked them until they were dry enough that when…
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The Famous Sister
I love that I’m currently ranked #33 among all of Amazon’s Best-Selling Contemporary Romance Authors–what a wonderful feeling that is! My sister, PJ, teasingly refers to me as “my famous sister,” which I find delightful and hilarious because although I treasure her pride in my writing, I’m hardly famous. I’m simply a midlist romance author, although I do have a small cadre of loyal readers to whom I owe any success I can lay claim to. My publisher, Tule Publishing, has added to that group and I’m ever always grateful to the team there who work so hard on my behalf. But I have to tell you honestly, as I…
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So Close…
I’m soclose to writing THE END on Book 4 of the Four Irish Brothers Winery series–Brendan’s story. Very soon, I’ll have a title and cover reveal for you. This series has been a ton of fun to write and I’m delighted my publisher and readers are loving the Flaherty brothers and the town of River’s Edge. In fact, my publisher has invited me to write another series that happens in River’s Edge, Indiana. So stay tuned! All your favorite characters–Mac from the Riverside Diner, Noah from the hardware store, Dot and Mary from the quilt store, Janet from the yarn shop, and many others old friends, as well as the…
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The Empty Bed Review
I was fortunate enough to receive a ARC of The Empty Bed, Nina Sadowsky’s latest installment of the Burial Society series, and wow, what a thrill ride! I both loved, and I confess, was sometimes confused by, the various POVs and settings, but that didn’t keep me from reading well into the night with a driving need to know what happened next, and isn’t that what a thriller is all about? Sadowsky’s artful prose takes you on an intriguing adventure with operatives from the witness protection program/detective agency she created previously in The Burial Society as three different stories intertwine in three different parts of the world. Another exciting read…
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Hibernation…
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Happy New Year…
…and may 2020 bring all of you joy and peace and happiness. I know so many folks are doing a word for the year or making resolutions. I’m not. I’m simply going to make an effort to move forward and enjoy the journey. I am making some commitments. Not resolutions or huge lifestyle changes, but rather commitments to myself. One to take better care of me in all ways, but mostly by being more mindful each day. A commitment to finishing a book and getting a new series started. That means I need to step away from social media for a bit. I’m not going full-on hiatus, but I am…
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It’s Release Day and…
…we have a new house! Life is good! Stay tuned for more pictures and details, but here’s the picture of the front of our new home. Thanks for all the prayers about everything from book releases to finding our perfect home! We are bursting with gratitude! Have a great day everyone!!
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New Week; Big Gratitude
This is the start of a brand new week and although I haven’t done my gratitude days for a while, I have a really good reason for my absence, which will be revealed here one week from today. In the meantime, let’s talk about…whatever. Right off, what the heck happened to fall? I mean, the leaves started changing, we had a few brisk days and suddenly, oh my gosh! It’s winter–like below freezing temps and snow! Now, I’ll grant you, the snow didn’t stick, but the temperatures in the 20s and teens sure did! Leaves are falling off the trees like crazy up here at the lake and poor old…
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Book Blast Tour!
I know I owe this blog about fourteen days of gratitude and one huge day of gratitude for something that’s in the works. I purposely haven’t posted here for a couple of reasons. One is that although I don’t really believe in jinxing something by talking about it, I’m reluctant to start celebrating before it’s time. So hold tight and I promise, there will be news. The other reason is just plain busyness. Life has been complicated and so overwhelming for the past couple of weeks. But I’m here now and with some fun news. Goddess Fish promotions is doing a Book Blast Tour for me December 2 through 6…