Posts Tagged ‘North Carolina’
Unexpected Gifts
Sometimes you find the prize when you’re not looking for it. John and I were traveling the backroads of eastern North Carolina recently as I researched the setting for my work-in-progress, The Lies We Told. We stopped for an ice cream cone at an out-of-the-way restaurant, and we sat on the restaurant’s tiny porch, licking our yummy…
Read MoreYou Can't Always Get What You Want
I’ve been thinking lately about something Alex Sokoloff says in her screenwriting tips for novelists workshops (and in her blog). She talks about how characters in both books and movies) often start out wanting something that they never get, but end up getting what they need instead. If you think about your favorite movies or…
Read MoreSecrets She Left Behind
Today’s the big day! Secrets She Left Behind should be in stores this morning. It’s the story of a family–a complex, extended, messy, and wildly secretive family. It’s suspenseful and surprising, poignant and ultimately uplifting. I can’t wait to hear what you think of it! If you haven’t seen the book trailer for Secrets, you can…
Read MoreA Few More Topsail Island Party Pix
With my honey, John. So rare for him to be in front of the camera rather than behind it! With some of the guests–Mike and Linda Hendricks and Sandy Sly. Everyone on Topsail Island looks so tanned and healthy. It’s clear that beach living agrees with…
Read MoreScreenwriting Tips for Novelists
I belong to an organization called Novelists, Inc., whose mission it is to provide multi-published novelists with information and support. It’s a great organization. Recently on the NINC email loop, one of the long-published members pondered what those of us who’ve been writing forever had to learn from writing workshops. The answer, of course, is that we…
Read MoreGoing Crazy
The contest continues! Win a vacation on Topsail Island and help me celebrate my 20 years as an author by clicking here to learn more. You may enter once a day. Yes, it’s that time of year when I start to lose my marbles. It always happens around now, three months before deadline. Deadlines are always challenging,…
Read MoreHoney Baby Sweetie, or One of Many Reasons I Love the South
The contest continues! Win a vacation on Topsail Island and help me celebrate my 20 years as an author by clicking here to learn more. You may enter once a day. This morning I wrote a scene in which a man and woman, just getting to know each other, are out to dinner in a North Carolina…
Read MoreWhat a Weekend! Part Two. . .
The contest continues! Win a vacation on Topsail Island and help me celebrate my 20 years as an author by clicking here to learn more. You may enter once a day. So, as I mentioned, we checked into our hotel, the Blockade Runner, in Wrightsville Beach. The hotel was hosting the annual convention of the North Carolina…
Read MoreThe Contest: Would You Like a Vacation on Topsail Isand?
I’m thrilled to unveil the contest we’ve been waiting for! A while back, I asked you, my blog readers, for ways I could celebrate my twenty year anniversary as an author with you. Frequent commenter, Glen Pierce, took the ball and ran with it! Glen lives on Topsail Island, North Carolina, the setting for Before the…
Read MoreWork in Progress: the Title Search
Here we go again! Last year I asked you to put on your thinking caps to help me title my work-in-progress. Frequent commenter Denise came up with Secrets She Left Behind, which my publisher, agent and I all agreed was a winner. (Look for it in your bookstores on May 26th). Now it’s time to give the…
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