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Sunday Snippet: The January 2026 Musings Edition
How it’s already January 18? Wasn’t it just Thanksgiving? Heck, wasn’t it just summer, for heaven’s sake? Time is going by too quickly. Basically, we’re hunkered down here because the weather is so bitter, flu and Covid are rampant, and I’m doing a round of a topical chemo cream on some pre-cancerous spots on my face, which makes me look kinda gross. I feel safe in my little brick house in the Nest, but the days are are dark–not just because of the season but also because of what is happening in our nation and in the world. We watch events in Minnesota with horror, praying for the folks there,…
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Sunday Snippet: The First One of 2026 and It’s a Real Snippet Edition
Hiya, Happy New Year, although if you’re like me and having a hard time with that concept, I totally get it. With the news and the condition of our country right now, does it feel like 2026 has a snowball’s chance in h-e-double hockey sticks of being happy? I dunno. I’m asking and honestly trying really hard not to think too hard about it right now. Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m paying attention, listening to the news, trying to understand what’s happening. But I can’t make it my entire focus or I seriously will break down and be completely useless. Useless isn’t going to work right now. I have…
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Sunday Snippet: The December Mourning to Joy Edition
Yesterday was the 11-year anniversary of my sister, Kate’s, death. On December 19, 2014, cancer stole Kate from me. It’s always a hard day, but this year felt harder … weepier than usual. Not sure why. Maybe because the state of the world has left my emotions raw and simmering close to the edge since last Christmas. I’m exhausted with worry and fear and cringing at whatever’s next. But Kate’s was a quiet, peaceful passing. She had dealt with health issues for some time, but by the time we discovered what was happening, the cancer had spread and her body had no more fight in it. Three months after the…
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Sunday Snippet: The December memos Edition
It’s time for another edition of the Memos, which is your sign that Nan is coming up short on Snippet topics this week. I do find doing the memos fun, though. Hope you do too. Onward… Dear Readers Who Stopped by My Book Signings This Month, Sure loved seeing you and I do so appreciate you coming out to buy books and visit with me! It’s always fun to share reading news with you! Thanks for buying my books as holiday gifts–what fun I had packaging them up for you! Always Happy to be Meeting Readers and Signing Books, Nan ~*~*~*~ Dear Weather, It’s about two weeks ’til Christmas, and…
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Sunday Snippet: The Author Life Edition (There’s a Giveaway!)
We have a winner! Linda May, you are the randomly selected winner of the holiday book bundle. I’ll be in touch! Thanks to everyone who stopped by to chat with me! So, it’s Sunday morning and Husband and I will be heading home in a couple of hours. We’ve been up at the lake, staying with pal Mo because our cottage is closed up and winterized, but I had a book signing at the winery here in town yesterday, so we needed to be up here. The event was such fun and I got to spend some time with my author friend, J.C. Kenney and his wife, Nancy, who is…
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Sunday Snippet: The Writing a Book Is Hard Edition
Writing a book is hard. A few days ago, as Liz and I had our usual morning g-Chat she said, okay, she typed, those words. Simple as the words are, the idea is huge because of the truth of it. In these days of indie publishing, where anyone can put a book up on Amazon, those words need to be said. To repeat: Writing a book is hard. I’m not going to rant about the folks who put up the books that haven’t seen an editor, the books that are full of misspellings and bad punctuation and lousy story structure. The folks who read a book, think well, I can…
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Sunday Snippet: The Little Pieces of Words that Wander Through My Mind Edition
This is a repeat of a post that I wrote for Petticoats & Pistols last week. I really loved thinking about this, so I thought I’d share it here with ya’ll and get your ideas and thoughts. I was on a writer retreat with my bestie, Liz Flaherty last month. It was fabulous. We wrote, we drank wine, we ate chocolate, we talked, we processed her book and mine. Our retreats are always as Liz puts it so eloquently, “… harbors, as in they are places of refuge and safety, places for gathering, resting, and repairing. They are narrow and small and contained and when we are finished in them,…
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Sunday Snippet: The Cover Reveal & A Real Snippet Edition
It’s been a writing week, mes amis. Liz and I went on retreat and we wrote words–lots of words! We also processed stories and okay, we had a little wine and a little chocolate and we enjoyed a hair & history day where we got our washed and blown out and visited some of the historical sites around Galena, Illinois. It’s a lovely town, full of history, shops, and beautiful trees and hills. The perfect place for a writing retreat. Today, a new week begins and since I’ve started book 3 in the Juniper Falls Ranch series, this feels like a good time to reveal the cover for book 2,…
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Sunday Snippet: The What Day Is It Again? Edition
Remember when Tuesday meant you had a good start on the week, it was a pool day, and you knew Husband would be at work and the kid would be at school? When the weekend was well and truly over and you were into your week? All was right in your world. I have a confession—Husband’s been retired over ten years and I rarely know what day it is. Seriously, I don’t. Most of the time I couldn’t tell you whether it was Sunday or Thursday. It’s even worse at the lake because every day at the lake feels like Saturday. Weird phenomenon, but it’s true. The only way I…
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Sunday Snippet: The Autumn at the Lake Edition
Autumn is my favorite time of the year, even though I’m often restless and sad in the fall. It’s an ending in so many ways, and yet there is that feeling of joyful beginning that comes with Thanksgiving and the start of the holiday season, even when the world is suddenly a scarier and more uncertain place. Fall is sweatshirts and jeans and corduroy jackets and yoga pants and maybe even scarves now and then, but not yet heavy winter coats and gloves and hats. It’s walks in the neighborhood that leave you feeling smugly exercised, but not particularly sweaty. It’s trips to the orchard for apples and cider and…