Sleep. . . or the Lack Thereof

Can we talk about sleep? I’d love to know your falling asleep tricks, because I need some! The first problem is that I’m a natural nightowl and always have been. As a little kid, I couldn’t wait to go to bed so I could lay awake making up stories. It probably took me two hours…

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Please Help Me Choose!

It’s been fun having Secret Lives available as an e-book and I’ve enjoyed hearing from those of you who are reading it for the first time. Now I need to figure out which of my out-of-print books I should make available next. Whether you read e-books or not, I’d love your help in this decision.…

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The Midwife has her Say

I turned in The Midwife’s Confession, my May 2011 book,  about a month ago and then waited a few weeks to hear what my editor thought about it. That’s always a nerve-wracking time.  A writer’s career is full of waiting to hear what other  people think — agents, editors, reviewers, and most importantly, readers. I…

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Father's Day, Don Ho and the Hula

Today is Father’s Day, so I posted this picture of my Dad as my Facebook status. It generated much interest (and a few questions), so I decided to blog about it. My parents, both of whom I lost during this last decade, were . . . unusual. They were a pretty typical mom and dad…

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Book Launch!

I had a blast last night at the official book launch for The Lies We Told at Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh. Here are some pix. 1. Chatting about the book. 2. Yum! 3. my writing buds, Sarah Shaber, Brenda Witchger, Margaret Maron, Alexandra Sokoloff, and Quail Ridge Books owner, Nancy Olson, who brought us…

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Know When to Fold 'Em

Whoa, this is what I look like after a few weeks of working ’round the clock. Tired. John snapped this pic of me at Starbucks this morning while I was writing. He said “Give me a big smile!” and I thought I was. I think I’m fried! It’s always this way in the month before…

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Sometimes Change is Good

If you had a chance to change something you created a decade ago, would you take it?  I have that opportunity as some of my older books are being reissued, and since I’ve been asked if the reissued books are identical to the originals, I thought I’d talk about that here. The truth is, it varies from book to…

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I Honestly Don't Know How I Wrote that First Book!

I’m not talking about how hard it was to come up with the idea; that had been rolling around in my mind since I was twelve. I’m not talking about the challenge of structuring the story; I made it simple and told it in chronological order. I’m not talking about creating believable characters; I’d known…

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The Last Song

Today is our last full day on Tybee Island. All five of us have worked so hard and achieved or surpassed our goals each day. So far. I have some hefty goals for today and can’t wait to buckle down. I’m so grateful to Mary Kay Andrews for inviting us to her beautiful cottage in…

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