The thing about writing stories and publishing is that they’re both very much like that old Lay’s potato chip slogan: You can’t eat just one. (No, please don’t eat books–no matter how much you love them.) So many people I’ve met who say they want to write, or want to be a writer, claim …Read More

      This is probably one of those blogs I shouldn’t write, but impulsivity and I are old, old friends. (Remember that time I decided to wear only clothes from Wal-Mart for a year? Yeah.) I get a lot of very generous feedback about my writing. Some of it in the form of reviews, …Read More

There are those nights when I wake at 3 a.m. and lie there and think of all I didn’t get done the day before.  It’s a terribly lonesome, hopeless feeling. There’s no popping out of bed for a last-minute do-over, and it’s way too early (for me, anyway) to even think about getting up. If I’m …Read More

A few months ago, a good friend called to ask if she could throw me a BLISS HOUSE launch lunch at the St. Louis restaurant she runs. Karen Mott is actually a first cousin of my husband, Pinckney, but she is a friend, indeed.   Isn’t it a wonderful thing when a friend calls out of …Read More

  BLISS HOUSE is number four. I never imagined I would have four novels out in the world, all available in one form or another. In fact, for at least half of my life I never thought seriously of being a writer at all. But then I suddenly, irrevocably, absolutely knew that it was what I …Read More

Growth is messy. I uploaded this photo of our ravine without taking a really good look at it. I was fixated on the late afternoon sun peeking over the hill and treetops, and thinking “light! life!” *cue angelic chorus* But seeing the whole image, I’m reminded that there’s much more going on here. Buttressing the …Read More

The next eight days or so are going to be very compressed for me. I have word that the first edit for BLISS HOUSE should land in my inbox on or about December 18th, and after it arrives I will need to hide myself away for about a month to work in those changes. I’ll …Read More

The snow was so deep that I had to put on my rain wellies to keep my socks dry when I went outside to feed the birds Friday evening. Thursday, I had added a big scoop of sunflower seed to the main feeder and jerry-rigged a broken suet feeder so the more adventuresome woodpeckers (we …Read More

How hard is it for you to unplug? To turn off your cell phone, computer, tablet, television (yes, television counts)? I’m finding it increasingly hard to do. The last few days I’ve found myself obsessively checking Facebook and Twitter. I’ve begun to suspect it has something to do with my addiction to natural dopamine. In …Read More

Is it just me, or is the cover of BLISS HOUSE just breathtaking? The novel won’t be released until June 15th of next year, but this image feels so incredibly right that I feel comfortable with it already. It’s a good thing I don’t have to create my own book covers. Between my traditionally published …Read More