Fun fact: I do not like to cry. Which is why: I turn the channel with lightening speed anytime I hear Sarah McLachlan’s breathy voice at the start of the worst commercial known to man: those pet rescue ones with the sad animals. I generally refuse to watch Nicholas Sparks movies. (Plus, crying at Nicholas Sparks movies is confusing. During …
Reflections on important things on my birthday…
Guys, it’s my birthday today! I know the mature, demure thing to do would be wave it off. Pretend I’m too old to get excited about birthdays and I haven’t actually been thinking about ice cream cake for a week now. But I’m not and I have and I’m sorry, I just like the day, okay? Seeing as how I’m another …
Regency Novels. Obsessions. And when a friend listens.
Guys, something happened to me recently. It came out of nowhere. Completely unexpected. I became obsessed with regency novels. I’m not even joking! It started out of simple curiosity about a book I’d heard tons of people talk about but didn’t get around to reading when it first released: Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson. (Soooo good!) And it led into a full-blown …
Why I got cool with breaking the rules…
It’s been a little quiet around this blog in the past few months. My website silence started out of necessity in the form of a deadline. Back in June, I did a pretty massive rewrite of my next book. Like, I tore it apart. It was a LOT of work in a short amount of time. It also included a …
Meet author Wesley Banks and check out this sweet giveaway!
I love meeting new author friends online! I’m not sure how Wesley Banks and I got connected, but I’m really glad we did…because not only does his new novel, Hope in Every Raindrop, look wonderful, he’s a fellow NEEDTOBREATHE fan. Which, in my world, basically means “kindred spirit.” One of the reasons I’m excited to read Wesley’s book (which is …
Win a copy of Crystal Walton’s debut novel EYES UNVEILED
File this under things I love about the internet: Meeting people like Crystal Walton! Crystal and I met through the blogosphere and we’ve exchanged emails a few times…and can I just say, she is super encouraging! And I’m so happy to have her here today. She’s talking about college memories…and she mentions the mega blessing of making it through college …
Debut author Rachelle Rea and The Sound of Diamonds
One of my faaaavoritest things is welcoming debut authors to this blog! When I first started blogging, I was a total newbie and several years away from publication. So many blogging friends walked me through the beginnings of my publishing journey and were there to celebrate when my first novel was contracted and later released. So it’s super fun to …
Win a copy of Gabrielle Meyer’s new novella collection!
True story: Last summer I was visiting my friend Gabrielle Meyer up in Little Falls, Minnesota, aka one of the coolest small towns in America (Charles Lindbergh!), when she got some BIG news. Not one, but two of her novellas were chosen to be in two collections in 2015. What ensued included squeals and hugs and possibly even some jumping …
Stuck on an elevator with a pirate.
Last week I attended the RT Booklovers Convention. My first time, and I had a blast. Got to spend time with so many cool writing friends (shout-out to Susie Warren, Rachel Hauck and Alena Tauriainen), chat with Bethany House folks who arranged a great “chocolate festival” event (shout-out to editor Raela Schoenherr and marketing veep Noelle Buss) and eat food. …
Jessica Patch is in the house!
Today one of my faaaavoritest people I’ve ever met in the blogosphere—and then later in person!—is here. Her name is Jessica Patch. Here’s proof that we have, in fact, met: Not only did Jess recently sign a contract for her debut novel—yay!!—she also just released her second novella, Just the Way You Are. I can’t even tell you how excited …