Oh, the best laid plans. . . With less than three weeks till deadline, I just discovered an absolutely insurmountable snag in my story. Actually, after 18 books, I know there are no insurmountable snags, but that’s how I’m feeling at the moment. And since I can’t figure out how to surmount the snag right now, I’ll…

It’s been a crazy week here, between work and (very welcome) houseguests, so rather than get serious, I’m just going to post some pixes.   This is the view from my office window. Yes, the dear deer are back (actually, they never went away. Here they are eating what the drought hasn’t killed. (The “bars” on the…

Saturday evening, I participated on a panel sponsored by the Raleigh Right-to-Publish group at Quail Ridge Books. The topic was “How to Publish a Book,” and we had a packed house. Since the four of us have been published in very different ways, the discussion covered a lot of interesting territory.  Stacey Cochran (on the left) was…

I just finished Barbara Delinsky’s latest, THE SECRET BETWEEN US (Isn’t that a great title?). I thoroughly enjoyed it. But I had a weird spooky deja vu feeling as I started reading it. Having recently finished reading the galleys for my June release, BEFORE THE STORM, the plot similarities between Delinksy’s book and mine jumped…

Literally. I have a month left to go on AFTER THE STORM. In my waking hours, I feel marvelously in control (except for a few little glitches in the last couple of chapters). I’m on target (well, almost). I know my characters inside out (this is true). The novel is taking those twists I never…

 What a stunner of a day! When it hit 70 degrees, I took my work onto the porch and worked in the balmy air for several hours before it grew chilly again. And what did I work on (among other things)? One of the most difficult but important lessons for any writer to master: Showing…

In response to one of my blog posts, one of you recently mentioned that BRASS RING was the first of my books you read, and you wondered why I “made Jon a paraplegic.” Since the answer is not a short one, I decided to put it in a post. It will give you a good…

Hmm. Several blog posts ago, I said I finished the copy edited version of BEFORE THE STORM and that would be the last work I’d have to do on it. How did I forget about the “printout?” Yesterday, the Fed-Ex guy brought the big box to my door. I looked up from my laptop where…

I have a shiny, speedy laptop computer. I also have a desktop computer with lots of bells and whistles. And I have a phenomenal new 21 inch monitor that still knocks my socks off every time I walk in my office. But as I sit here in the Opium Den today, I’m typing on my ancient…

I’m getting ready to update my website again, and would love input from you on the changes you’d like to see. Do you have favorite areas of the site? Areas you couldn’t care less about? I haven’t updated the photo gallery in years. Is it worth keeping and updating? I plan to let the contest…