This weekend I’m heading to my sixth writer’s conference! I can’t wait. I love meeting with writers and learning more about the craft. The best part? Meeting up with my online writer friends in person. There’s something to be said about a room full of creative minds coming together in a beautiful symphony of new […]

May is Military Appreciation Month!     With Memorial Day (May 29), Victory in Europe Day (May 8), and Armed Forces Day (May 20) celebrated in this month, it makes May a perfect month to highlight our nation’s military and the families that support them.    My family has a long legacy of military service

I am so excited to introduce you to my friend and writing mentor Laurel Thomas. Laurel Thomas crafts stories of ordinary characters who achieve the extraordinary. Her book, River’s Call, is an award-winning historical novel based in the deep South. History and the fantastic mesh in her fantasy series, When Stars Brush Earth and Stones

I’ll admit it. I have a few skeletons in my closet. Some are glossy green, others prickly, and a few even attempted to flower. I’m not proud of the agony I caused them. Especially after I dumped their remains in the yard alongside the others. How many? I’ve stopped counting. I’m not sure where I

When you think of a waiting room, what image comes to mind? Does it bring to mind something unsettling or something peaceful? A sterile and bland space or a place filled with warmth and hospitality? My knee-jerk response is to imagine a hospital waiting room. A place that is neither warm nor inviting. But what

It’s that time of year again. The birds are singing, flowers are sprouting up from the earth and the open road is calling my name. This spring break, my family and I embarked on a twenty-two hundred-mile journey through five states. It was a long trip but an enjoyable one. Our first stop included a

Take a walk with me where the grass is greener, and the green-eyed monster lurks around every corner. Can you imagine a land where everything is a green idiom? Crafting a story compares to going on a new adventure. Who are the heroes? Who are the villains? Where’s the plot twist? It’s true authors are

I Bought a Planner! I’ve never been one for paper planners, although I used one in school as a kid. Or an agenda, as it was called when you roamed the halls of middle school. At home, with the family, I prefer a big 12×12 calendar on the side of my fridge. Sometimes I throw

You know the feeling. The feeling you get when you hold a brand new book in your hand. One with no creases or folds. Or when you purchase a new sketchbook? With all those fresh, unblemished pages. What about a stark white canvas longing to feel the brush strokes of color to transform it from