The Story Behind the Story: Group Blog

When my agent called to tell me I was being asked to join a new Love Inspired continuity, the first word out of my mouth was, “No.”

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! I have a new book out this month, A Forever Christmas. And I’d love to tell you a little of the story behind the story.

Hi.  To someone who doesn’t write, it may sound silly when an author talks about how real story characters are to her, how they can take on a life of their own and completely side track a story from the path the author had planned for it to travel.  My

When I decided to give the state of Maine something it had never had—a female governor—I knew the task would be challenging.

Hey all! Thank you for coming by to read my blog post.

Have you ever wondered what happens when the past intrudes on the present? I have, and that feeling was very strong the day I took my then-six-year-old granddaughter to the library to return her books. Sounds like a routine event, doesn’t it?

I’ve been an animal lover much of my life.

My August release "Gift of Wonder" and my October release "The Perfect Gift" are not connected stories but they are both set in my beloved Louisiana and they do have a connected theme.

I have long desired to write an historical with a woman photographer in it, but during my time as Laurie Grant, when I wrote historical romance for Harlequin Historicals, the right time never seemed to present itself.

Speed Trap was one of the most difficult books I've ever written. It took so many twists and turns from my original idea that it really became a whole new story during the writing process.

When I first started writing Moving Target, I knew that I wanted Gabe’s theme to be renovation.  He’s a character who has had to reinvent himself many times in his life.  From preacher’s kid to soldier to modern-day mercenary to small-town cop, he

When I was about 10 we moved to Oklahoma right in line with what is called Tornado Alley.

When I and the other five authors were asked to write about a small Kansas town and its devastation from a tornado, little did we know that some of us were about to get a whole lot more experience in that area than we wanted.

Every book of mine begins in a three ring binder. Well, actually, it starts out as a couple of hand-written pages, which then go into my binder and, depending on the complexity and research involved, develops into a fat binder.

I have often written about life in the rural section of the Arkansas Ozarks where I live. This time, my editors weren’t sure I knew what I was talking about because this book dealt with moonshine.  That’s right.

“WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BABY?”

Spring mornings in Tennessee can be glorious. Cool, with enough of humidity for a slight chill to freshen the air and enough puffy clouds to make the sunrise beam thick golden rays high into the sky.

When I was pregnant with my fourth child, I had severe complications and was confined to bed rest for fourteen weeks. At the time, I had three boys ages five, four, and two, and there was absolutely nothing I was allowed to do to care for them.

I love setting books in Atlanta, GA. I grew up in Georgia and I lived in Atlanta six years before we moved to Louisiana. Atlanta is a big city but it has that southern charm, of course.

My husband and I love to ski, so it was inevitable that I would one day set a book on a ski slope. Of course, there are a bunch of stories that could take place against a snowy resort backdrop, but I didn’t want to write just any old story.

Shadows on the River is the final book in my “shadows” series – three books about women who must face the shadows in their past before they can move forward in life  - and love -  in the present.

I was delighted when Romantic Times called my ‘Dropped Stitches Wedding’ a ‘joyous conclusion’ to the Sisterhood of the Dropped Stitches series.  Each of the books has received a 4 or a 4 1/2 rating from the reviewers at RT.

BROTHERS--book 2 in the Legacies of the Ancient River series

I grew up on a farm in Kansas, and while my parents were very much in love and had (still have, after 55 years) a wonderful marriage, my mother didn't need flowers and candy and romantic getaways to feel loved by my dad. And it's a good thing.

Having been born and raised in Louisiana, it only made logical sense that my first series for Steeple Hill would be set in the deep South.

Mommy’s Hometown Hero is a book that is very close to my heart because it is set in the state where I was born. Although it is my sixth published book, it was one of the first books that I wrote.

In November of 2007 I was asked to be part of the Love Inspired Suspense continuity series for 2009 called Without a Trace about murder and a missing person. Steeple Hill asked me to write the first book, What Sarah Saw, in the series.

Small-Town Oklahoma

My earliest vacation memory is from the year I was eight. My parents loaded my brother and sister and me into the back of their old Pontiac and struck out for New Mexico. To this day, Cloud Croft is still one of my favorite places, but I’ll never forget how surprised I was by the color of the dirt there. In my eight-year-old mind, all dirt (and bodies of water, for that matter) was red-orange, the color of the clay on the ranch in south central Oklahoma where I spent my childhood.

Since His Holiday Heart is the last book in my third series of McKaslin Clan families, I wanted to make sure I ended the series the way I began it: with hope, love and Christmas tidings.  Older brother Spence has been my favorite character all along,