A few years ago, I wrote this post and was looking it over recently as I found myself searching for a spot in my busy life to GET AWAY and just WRITE. The advice here is still relevant and if you can find a way to take time with friends and spend a weekend writing, I promise you will walk away with so much more than just pages…

Your Writing Retreat

I’ve listened to friends go on and on about writing retreats for years. Holing up in a hotel for a weekend to escape family demands and meet a deadline. … Read more »

Why are you going to a conference?

If the first thought that pops into your head is “to sell my book” then you are going for the wrong reason.

At least IMHO. I think I’m the only person I know who has ever sold a book at conference. Oh, and Gerri Russell with the American Title contest. And even then, the decision to buy those two books had been made weeks earlier–not at conference.

Believe me, editors do not wake up in a strange hotel, surrounded by hordes of ready-to-be-published authors and think, “wow, I could buy all the books … Read more »

**This Contest Is Closed**

Thanks for entering. Winner is posted on my FB page.

As I promised my newsletter subscribers, I won’t leave you out of this fun just because you don’t do Facebook–go ahead and enter to win my contest by commenting below: Let me know who you would want to sit with at the Royal Wedding.

And if that isn’t enough, here are the particulars for the rest of the Facebook Hop if you want to enter for the grand prize or just find some new-to-you authors. Best of luck.

Welcome to the ROYAL WEDDING Facebook Hop!

There … Read more »

Earlier this week, I was in Cimarron, New Mexico and spent some time at the St. James Hotel, walking in the footsteps of some of the West’s most notable figures, including the Earp Brothers, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill Cody, Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson, Billy the Kid, Jesse James, the artist Frederick Remington, and author Zane Grey, just to name a few.

All of them passed through the same door I used, and checked in at this desk. I have to confess, I was a bit giddy over all this history.

The St. James Hotel, or as it was known … Read more »

You can never presume that you know how things were done in the past. Never. Take something ordinary like skiing.

You’ve been watching the Olympics, or perhaps you actually ski. I used to. So I know how to do it. And most likely how it was done 120 years ago. I mean, it’s skiing.

Or do you?

Because as much as you think you know a thing, you’ll be researching along and come to a picture that sets all your beliefs, your descriptions of skiing on their ear. Drops you in a snowbank, on your head and laughs at your … Read more »

In Something Borrowed, my novella in the anthology, FOUR WEDDINGS AND A SIXPENCE, Cordelia sketches at a local ruin.

I must confess something: I LOVE ruins.

The first time I went to England and Scotland in 1990, I was obsessed with finding ruins. In England, finding ruins is like looking for antelope in Wyoming, or seagulls in Seattle. They are everywhere.

And I was in heaven.

Here are some of the photos from Elgin Cathedral I took way back then. I loved how they show the sheer grandeur of these buildings and how they were constructed–the walls with the … Read more »

I’m off to the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention this week, and I wanted to make sure anyone who is attending will be able to track me down. So here is my schedule:

Thursday:
8:30-9:45 am
A Military Tribute
While this is a private event, it is actually open to anyone–especially those with ties to the military. I am truly honored to be included. You can get a free ticket at the link above.

11:15-12:15
A Texas Homecoming Craft-Along with Avon Books
I’ll be heading up a crafting table and helping my crew create all kinds of fun. Join me and … Read more »

Today Nicola Davidson, author of both Regency and Tudor era romances, is visiting us all the way from New Zealand! Welcome to the blog, Nicola, and thanks for sharing some fun facts with us…

1) Did you have a nickname growing up? My father always called me Shorty, because I was a pip squeak growing up – front row of every school photo. He still does, although I’m now 5ft 9″ tall and nearly look him in the eye…

When I use the app MapMyWalk for my daily walk, I love it because it says I climbed stairs rather than walked my 2 miles. The reason being I live in a very steep neighborhood. And my daily haul is nearly all uphill. So, stair climbing it is.

And I realized as I was huffing and puffing up the first hill, that my walk was a lot like writing a book. One step at a time, one page at a time. Some days the writing is level and I churn right along. Other days it is like trying to hike … Read more »

Welcome, Avon Addict Veronica Arellano. If you don’t know Veronica, the questions she answered below for us should get you started…

1) Where is the most beautiful/romantic place you’ve ever been? Hands-down: Buzios, Brazil. It’s a tiny resort town made famous by Brigitte Bardot vacationing there in the 1960s. There’s even a saucy statue of her on the town’s main drag! The beaches are beautiful, the food is amazing, the music is lovely and I swear the sunsets are the most spectacular thing I’ve ever seen. As soon as my vacation was over, I was homesick for Buzious. I just … Read more »