If You Still Have a Mom. . .
I’m working on my next novel at Starbucks, sitting in a comfy chair, typing my manuscript as I sip my latte. Sharing the leather sofa across from me are three women, and I can’t take my eyes off them. My best guess is that they’re two middle-aged daughters sitting on either side of their elderly mother. They’re speaking…
Read MoreWhile I Was Away
Okay, this has nothing whatsoever to do with writing, unless you count the fact that I was away on a writing retreat when this picture was taken. This is just pure grandma indulgence. While I was gone, John invited my stepdaughter and her two little boys over for a photo shoot. I love this picture…
Read MoreIt's Five O'Clock Somewhere. . .
Actually, it’s five o’clock here and I’m quitting for the day. I worked on my Alphasmart at Starbucks today and haven’t transferred the file to my desktop yet, so I’m not sure how many pages I wrote today, but it’s just plain going to be enough. I’m a teeny tiny bit burned out! The week…
Read MoreThe Last Day
Today is our last full day, and although we’re all still working hard, we’re ready to go home to our families. It’s been a very productive week, although we all agree we ate entirely too much–particularly too many M&M peanuts (and in Margaret’s case, Cheetos).…
Read More13,160 Words
Here I am, happily meeting my goal on day four at Weymouth. This has been an absolutely amazing retreat and we have two and a half days left. I’ve written 13,160 words (approximately 53 pages). Granted, they are sloppy, disorganized pages, but I’m thrilled with them. My characters are surprising me at every turn. The…
Read MoreFirst Full Day at the Mansion
We all arrived at the Weymouth Center for the Arts for our writers’ retreat yesterday and immediately got to work, followed by dinner (Sarah made yummy quiches), lots of M and M peanuts, and a rousing game of Apples to Apples. This morning, we had our goal-setting meeting for the day. Mary Kay Andrews, as always,…
Read MoreGood Things Come in Threes
No, I didn’t just become the lucky owner of three Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (aren’t they adorable?), but I did just sign a new three-book contract with my publisher. I knew it was coming and have been at work on Book One for quite a while, but it doesn’t feel real until I actually sign…
Read MoreBIAW
Book in a Week, that is. If you’re a writer–or if you’ve had an idea burning in your brain for a long time but haven’t gotten around to putting words to paper–want to join me? Don’t fear. You don’t have to complete a book in a week. You simply have to make a good start.…
Read MoreWhat Would You Like to Know?
I’m often asked questions about my books, my writing, and writing in general. I thought of adding a “Frequently Asked Questions” section to my website, but then I had the idea of addressing some of these questions in more of an interview format. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, I hope to create little videotaped “mini-interviews”…
Read MoreCrying in my Coffee
Good crying, though. I hung out at the Opium Den (aka Starbucks) yesterday morning, working on the discussion questions for Secrets She Left Behind. That meant I had to skim through the entire 500+ pages of the manuscript to get back in touch with the story. I was moving through it pretty quickly until I…
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