I’m excited to announce the winner of the Out of the Ruins cover reveal giveaway! I received 218 entries and Random.org chose entry 183. Who is #183? I’m glad you asked. It’s Linda Oliver Thompson! Congratulations, Linda! I went ahead and sent you an email. Linda will be choosing either a copy of MISTAKEN or … Read More
Mistaken
Cover Reveal and Giveaway: OUT OF THE RUINS
I’m excited to reveal the cover for my upcoming novel, Out of the Ruins, the first book in the Golden Gate Chronicles series. The art department at Abingdon Press did a spectacular job on this artwork. It’s such joy seeing a character I have dreamed about for years come to life on a book cover! Meet … Read More
When God Hands You a Meal Ticket
“God, I can’t do this. I can’t make this story work.” I’d reached that point in the rough draft where everything seems hopeless. The characters feel flat; the plot twisted beyond help. I’d been there with Mistaken. I’d pushed through it with Out of the Ruins (Book 1 of the Golden Gate Chronicles, releasing in … Read More
Fantastic 1920s Launch Party for Mistaken
On July 16th, we celebrated the launch of my debut novel, Mistaken, with a huge 1920s party. It took quite a bit of planning and preparation, and I must confess–I did much of my research on the internet. From Pinterest, to blogs, to Google… the ideas were out there! Now, in homage of all those … Read More
Visiting the setting of Mistaken
We traveled north to Port Angeles, Washington this week for a family reunion, and I had the opportunity to revisit some of the locations I used in MISTAKEN. For those of you who have read the book, I thought you might enjoy seeing how these places look today. Above, I’m posing on the lovely walkway … Read More
Old-Time Soda Fountain Drinks @Home: Strawberry Ice Cream Soda
While writing my Prohibition-era romance novel, Mistaken, I did plenty of research on 1920s soda fountains. And tasty research it was, too! After some trial & error, I’ve collected some basic recipes so we can make them at home. Today we’re looking at one of my favorites, the strawberry ice cream soda. The drink is similar … Read More
Old-Time Soda Fountain Drinks @Home: The Brown Cow
While writing my Prohibition-era novel, Mistaken, I did plenty of research on 1920s soda fountains. And tasty research it was, too! If you’ve always wanted to sample some of these old favorites, you’re in luck. I’m going to be running a series of posts on old-time soda fountain recipes you can make @home. Just so … Read More
Happy Birthday, MISTAKEN!
Happy Birthday, MISTAKEN! Today is the official release day for my debut novel, Mistaken. It’s a bit surreal walking into a bookstore and seeing my novel sitting on the shelf. When you first start writing, you dream about this moment, but the rest of the process seems very private. You sit and daydream the story, … Read More
The Great Gatsby, Mistaken, and Hope
“…It was an extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness such as I have never found in any other person and which it is not likely I shall ever find again.” The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Gatsby–a man of hope? I walked out of the theater feeling anything but hopeful. A verse of scripture … Read More
When Waiting Turns to Celebrating: Contract #2
Most authors will tell you, the road to publishing is long and slow. They’re right. You write your heart out, and then you wait. And wait. And W-A-I-T. There’s much to do during the wait–editing, revising, submitting, recovering from rejections, rewriting, submitting again, learning, praying, hoping. And sometimes when the drought ends . . . … Read More