I never dreamed Charlie Kingsley would become such a major force in my life. I was in my twenties when I first had the glimmering of the idea that would eventually become It Began With a Lie. At the time, I thought it was going to be a one-off, standalone book, focused mainly on Becca […]
Writing Journey
The Story Behind the Story: “The Third Nanny”
Once I finished the bulk of the work for The Reckoning so it would be ready for a December launch, I found myself at a bit of a loss. I wasn’t sure what my next project would be. I had a couple of ideas but they didn’t feel ready yet. For me at least, once […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Reckoning”
I never planned to write this book. That isn’t to say the story wouldn’t have been told—it definitely would have. But it would have been wrapped up in one book in my Secrets of Redemption series rather than two. However, the moment the story downloaded into me back in April 2020, I knew Charlie’s story […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Summoning”
After I published The Evil That Was Done, I got to work on a new series. While I had a vague idea for a fourth Secrets of Redemption book, it was still a little hazy, and I thought it would be smart to write a new series. Alas, I found myself really struggling with the […]
It’s Official: “The Summoning” is complete
Well, not complete complete, as it still needs editing, but the first draft is officially DONE! I started The Summoning 3 months ago during the zombie apocalypse. At the time, I was struggling with a different novel, the first of a new series, and it wasn’t coming together. But then, I hurt my eye and […]
The Writer’s Journey: Your Guide to Writing During a Global Pandemic
Shakespeare allegedly wrote King Lear while under quarantine. (And he didn’t even have a typewriter back then, much less a computer. He had to write everything by hand!) So, you should have no trouble getting that book done, right? (You know–the one you’ve been talking about forever.) You’re stuck at home anyway, so why not […]
The Writing Journey: The Legend of Happy-Faced Spiders
I taught myself to read when I was three years old because I wanted to write stories so badly. That’s how my About page begins. However, what I didn’t share is what I did BEFORE I could read. You see, I had the craving even then to tell stories. I wanted so badly to capture the words […]
The Story Behind the Story: “The Evil That Was Done”
The Evil That Was Done is the third book in my award-winning Secrets of Redemption series (it also had the title “What Was Done,” more on that below). It has the distinction of being the first third book in my first series. If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like writing a series, I […]
The Writing Journey: My New Office!
I have a dirty little secret to share. For years, my office was in my bedroom. While there are many things I love about my house, one thing I don’t love is that it’s only two bedrooms. Sure, they are HUGE bedrooms (our house has a very open floor plan with tons of windows and […]
The Writing Journey: What Will People Say?
If you’ve read some of my earlier Writing Journey’s, you know that my fiction writing was a bit of a dirty secret. Which meant I didn’t share the fact I wrote fiction, much less the books themselves, with a lot of people. One of the most interesting things that happened once I started publishing my […]