Somebody wants to be part of the book release party… ⁣I’m not the only one in this house excited about Tuesday night’s online release party for LOST COAST LITERARY! Although, I have a sneaking suspicion that all the boxes that have arrived this past week are the real treasure in this one’s eyes. So. Many. […]

The reviews from early readers for my upcoming novel, LOST COAST LITERARY, are beginning to come in, and I couldn’t be happier! The book, set in the fictional town of Cascata on California’s Lost Coast, releases on March 29th. And, while that’s still a few months out, I’m so excited to share this story with […]

Going rogue.⁣ ⁣ When we moved to the Rogue Valley, we were ready for a complete lifestyle shift. My husband, who you know as the Tech Guy, had been working in tech, commuting in soul-crushing traffic over an hour each way, and working 10 to 12 hour days. So we made a choice. Give up […]

What’s your size? Do you have a preference when it comes to book sizes?   This new project is a completely different experience for me in that I get to pick everything from the size of the final book to the cover design. It’s exciting and overwhelming. So many choices—hard cover, trade, mass market, oversized, […]

Research Trips Developing a sense of place is one of the best tools a writer can use. When I’m teaching and coaching writing, I always encourage my students to immerse themselves in their fictional worlds. If we want our future readers to feel an attachment to the pages they’re inhabiting, then we have to do […]

The Sketching Process The first step of writing a new book doesn’t actually involve writing for me. Before I open my laptop or write a single word, I start with sketches. I sketch out the setting, characters and outline key plot points. It always feels a bit like returning to my elementary school art classroom. […]

Waking Up From a Dream I often get asked whether I sleep well at night and if my dreams are consumed with stories and potential plot lines. Readers want to know if I wake up with a fully developed book idea. My answer is always no. I wish, but no. Story ideas come to me […]

The Journey Begins Around this time last year, the world looked very different. Book events, travel, college tours we were planning to take with our high schooler were all canceled. We had no idea what the future was even going to look like. I remember journaling, taking long walks in the trails near my house […]