This has been a crazy (and exciting) year. On top of building a new house, moving into that house, and my daughter starting Kindergarten, I also published the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy. For anyone who thinks that publishing a book is the last stage in the world of writing, though, [...]
Four months ago almost to the day, I sat in front of the computer with my husband. We had just spent two months preparing the Daughters of Saraqael trilogy for publication. After trudging down the long road of traditional publishing, attempting and failing to catch the attention of literary agents, [...]
I'm pretty sure that every author longs for the day when they get to hold their own books in their hands. Most of us grew up as avid readers, scouring bookstores and libraries to enjoy books written by others. That love of the written word is what drives most of [...]
Giving back. It's something that was impressed upon me from an early age. I was a Girl Scout (shocking, I know) and remember working at a food pantry with my troop, serving food to kids my age. One of my college professors ran a homeless shelter and told us heartbreaking [...]
I love Halloween. There’s something about a holiday that’s meant to scare the bejeezus out of you that appeals to me. Kind of makes me wonder why I don’t write horror rather than YA fantasy/romance...but I digress. I remember when I was a child, walking around the Chicago suburb where [...]
When I first envisioned my author website, I knew I wanted it to be visually interesting. I'm not the most artistic person in the world, but I appreciate clean lines and cool features on websites. I wanted a site that people would navigate and find different things to engage them [...]
I'm very happy to share the news that I'm just a few pages away from finishing the first draft of book one of the much-awaited Firstborn Trilogy! Although I had hoped to finish it a few weeks ago, life intervened. It's awfully hard to write when in the midst of [...]
Here we are, the day after the tenth anniversary of terrible events that shook the world. I found myself wondering all weekend whether I should join others in writing something to commemorate the anniversary of 9/11. Instead, I've decided to write about a topic that ultimately helped me and many [...]
My brother Kevin loved baseball. All three of my brothers played the sport throughout their childhoods, but Kevin was the one who pursued it all the way through college, pitching for the Auburn Tigers from 1997 to 2000, until his elbow was so injured that he couldn’t play anymore. He [...]
I had grand plans for my 10th wedding anniversary. I’m a wedding planner by day, so I’ve planned my share of vow renewals and celebrations over the years. As I envisioned my own 10-year anniversary, I thought I might throw a party with my family and friends in attendance. There [...]
