It took me nine years to write, revise, edit again, and rewrite my debut novel, The Pendant’s Promise, a story set in the Vietnam era. As I held that first printed edition in my hands, I thought I’d finished. One year after publication, a reader sent me an email wanting to know more about how […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Rose Verde sets her story in a national park
My publisher wanted some stories set in the National Parks across the US. So, I started doing some research. Finally, I zeroed on the Great Smoky Mountain Park. Next, I needed to figure out who my heroes would be. I then settled for a medically discharged US Marine. I wanted him to be a park […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Leeann Betts and the book you always wanted to write
So you have a great idea for a book. You’ve done some character sketches. You know where the story is going. The only thing that’s left, apart from the writing, is to decide where to set your book. Your hometown? No, too many people know you there. That little town where you went on vacation […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Johnnie Alexander recalls a childhood on the farm
See below for giveaway! The strong sense of place imbedded in my Misty Willow Series comes from all the childhood moments, those forgotten and those I will never forget, that made up my life on a central Ohio farm. We moved there when I seven or eight, living first in the upstairs apartment of a […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Delia Latham fell in love with a beach house
As a lifetime California gal, I found it a bit of a shock to find myself living in East Texas in my late fifties. It’s so beautiful here, but things are…different—just as they would be had we moved anywhere else that wasn’t ‘home.’ Still, my grandchildren live close now, and that makes this location perfect […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Donna Schlachter says research isn’t work
I always thought history was boring, probably because about the only thing I remember is memorizing dates for the reigns of monarchs (I’m from Canada, so we focused on British history). And I don’t do well with memorizing. But give me a tidbit of historical information, like the Pony Express, and I’m off to the […]
Behind the Scenes: A day in the writing life of Shannon Taylor Vannatter
Though I am not a morning person, I write from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. most days. I put on comfy clothes and brush my hair and teeth before I write. At 2:00, I get presentable and put on makeup. I don’t answer the door before 2:00 because I’m not presentable. My cat Charcoal lays […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Bonnie Engstrom discusses naming her characters
Common questions people ask me: How do you decide what to name your characters? And how do you plot or plan your story? I don’t decide what to name my characters. In the Candy Cane Girls series the names just burst into my head, except for Noelle in the series’ debut. I knew she ‘needed’ […]
Behind the Scenes: Author Christine Lindsay took dialogue from the Emerald Isle
Ireland, yes it really is the emerald isle. I know for a fact because I was born there and have visited several times. That small, beautiful island with its 40 shades of green, majestic cliffs that tower over the Atlantic Ocean, misty mountains, and its charming people and their lilting speech, does a wee jig […]
Behind the Scenes: Author June Foster tells a tale of seeing double
Writing’s never work when the story’s fun to create. Lavender Fields Inn is one of those novels. I hope readers will agree. Wren Tabor is taking a well earned vacation at an inn and spa nestled high in the Rocky mountains. Perhaps her broken heart will heal after her so called boy friend betrayed her. The […]