• Sunday Snippet: A “The End” Edition

    Yup…I’m there, well, sorta. I wrote THE END yesterday on Cam and Harper’s book, Made for Mistletoe, but I may still have another tiny scene to write, so that will be today’s mission. This book has been a journey. Christmas books always are. I love writing about Christmas in River’s Edge, but getting really creative and coming up with new holiday stories for my characters is sometimes harder than writing stories that happen at non-holiday times of the year. I confess I write my idea of the perfect Christmas in the River’s Edge books and it looks nothing at all like real Christmas in my life/family. Don’t get me wrong–the…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Writing from Other People’s Experiences Edition

    I’m writing book 3 in the Walkers of River’s Edge series–it’s Cam Walker’s story. He’s fallen in love with the new girl in town–a lovely young artist who also happens to be a widow. As a fiction writer, sometimes, my own life directs my storytelling, but honestly, most all of what I write comes from other people’s experiences, from absorbing narrative through films, books, music, and TV, and from listening. Okay, maybe eavesdropping in restaurants and airports and in groups of people, and from conversations I’ve been a part of and some that I’ve only been an observer in.  That’s all part of the discovery process–what happens before you start…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Merry Christmas Edition

    Mes Amis, it’s Christmas Eve. I’m all ready for the holiday except for Husband making his famous cranberry Christmas cake for tomorrow’s celebration at Son and DIL’s house. Tonight Sister PJ and BIL will be here with us for our traditional chicken-and-noodles Christmas Eve supper. We’ll go to candlelight service after supper and then come back here for presents and dessert. It’s been a pretty low-key holiday season so far, and you know, I’m fine with that. 2023 is almost over and I’m fine with that, too. It’s been a busy year; 2024 is probably going to be busy as well. I don’t do resolutions anymore. I don’t like that…

  • Author Spotlight: Susan Sands Has a New Holiday Anthology

    Congratulations to Doris Lankford–you are the winner of Susan’s giveaway! Hope you enjoy that Fraser fir candle! Susan will be in touch with you. Thanks to everyone who stopped by–we always love a chance to talk to our readers! I had such fun meeting my fellow Tule authors this past summer at our Tule Author Retreat. One of them was Susan Sands–a charming and delightful writer of Southern romantic fiction. She’s here today to share a holiday anthology she’s participating in with five other authors, Once Upon a Christmas Kiss, and she has a special giveaway for one lucky commenter. A self-described late bloomer, Susan Sands began writing her first…

  • Author Spotlight: Janine Amista Is Here with a Holiday Romance!

    We have a winner! Roseann McGrath Brooks, you are Janine’s recipient from her giveaway! Janine will be in touch with you! Thanks to everyone for stopping by– we love talking to our readers. I do love it when authors come back for another visit! Fellow Tule author Janine Amista is back today with her brand new holiday romance, A Poinsettia Paradise Christmas. She also has a fun giveaway for you, so read on! Janine Amesta is a California girl who now lives in the high desert of Oregon with her husband and their cat, Hitchcock. She studied screenwriting in college, but her moody thrillers always had way too much flirty…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Holy Cats, It’s December Edition

    Yup…it’s December and that happened before I even realized Thanksgiving week was over. Seems as if I’m gobsmacked every single year to realize Christmas is just over three weeks away at the beginning of December. Is it just me? I didn’t used to be this way. Long ago, BAN (Before Author Nan), I was pretty well through my Christmas shopping, the house would be decorated, I’d have started my Christmas baking by now. This year, I’m just grateful to have finished my latest WIP by the deadline (which, okay, I confess, was on an extension). Now, I’m taking a writing breath, but still doing Christmas in River’s Edge promotion for…

  • Author Spotlight: Welcome Anne Armistead!

    One of the very best part of being an author is meeting other authors. Anne and I just met recently–we are both doing sprints through November with the amazing Bryn Donovan. Anne and I connected immediately in the short time we get to chat between sprints and I’m so delighted to introduce you to her today. Anne Armistead earned her English literature degree from the University of Georgia and her MFA in Creative Writing from Spalding University and is a member of the Georgia Writers of Romance (GRW), Atlanta Writers Club (AWC), and Historical Novel Society (HNS). The damaged hero wins her heart and the hearts of the heroines in…

  • Author Spotlight: Laurie Beach Has a New Holiday Romance & a Fun Giveaway!

    We have a winner! Congratulations to Julie Rupert–you are the winner of Laurie’s giveaway. She will be in touch with you. Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat! We love, love talking to our readers! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Know what I love? Sharing my favorite authors with you! Laurie Beach is definitely one of my very favorite authors of Southern contemporary romance. I’ve fallen in love with Crickley Creek and the wonderful characters she’s created in that small South Carolina town. Be sure to check out her fun giveaway below! Laurie Beach is a former news reporter, advertising producer, and political press secretary who, after raising four children, is…

  • Author Spotlight: Welcome Back, Anne McAllister

    I’m very pleased to welcome fellow Tule author Anne McAllister back to the spotlight–her books always charm me and they will you, too! Years ago someone told Anne McAllister that the recipe for happiness was a good man, a big old house, a bunch of kids and dogs, and a job you loved that allows you to read.  And write.  She totally agrees. Now, one good man, one big old house (since traded for a slightly smaller house. Look, no attic!) a bunch of kids (and even more grandkids) and dogs (and one bionic cat) and seventy books, she’s still reading.  And writing.  And happier than ever. Over thirty plus…

  • Author Spotlight: Sarah Vance-Tompkins Is Here with Holiday Fun!

    We have a winner! Marie-Claude Arnott, your name was selected at random to receive Sarah’s giveaway prize of a $10 gift card. Marie-Claude, Sarah will be in touch with you! Thanks to everyone who stopped by–we do love talking to our readers!  I’m so excited to have Sarah Vance-Tompkins with me today. We met at the Tule Author Retreat in July and she just utterly charmed me–an immediate kindred spirit. Not only was she fun and lovely, but she’s from my favorite state in the union–Michigan! Sarah Vance-Tompkins was born in a small town in northern Michigan. She received an MFA in Film Production from the University of Southern California,…