If I had wings…

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Good morning! It’s a mildly cloudy day here in Georgia and a little cool. But, it’s Wednesday, so we’re halfway to the weekend.

My question today is this: If you had wings, where would you go?

If I had wings:

I would fly over the Georgia coast and take in the beauty.
I would fly over Yellowstone park, low and slow. I’d take in all of God’s artistry.
I would swoop down in front of Mt. Rushmore and give a wave.
I would cross the ocean and take in the Swiss Alps. Breathing in the clean fresh air.
Then I would take my last flight over Israel to see the Holy Land in it’s entirety. I’d take my time and see every place I’ve read about.

There are so many places I’d love to go, but if I could fly, these are the top five.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Bucket List… What’s on yours?

Wow, it’s already Thursday. Not to mention I turned 52 today. When did that happen? Since I’m talking about time flying, my bucket list is getting yellow and foggy. Let’s see what is left on that old list.

1: Go to Montana – Still working on that one. But one day I’ll make that dream come true…

2: Become a published author – I made this dream come true in 2012 and have never looked back!

3: Own a horse ranch – Look, a girl can dream. This may never happen, but it will stay on this list.

4: Own a Baby Grand piano – I spent 8 years learning classical piano, so yeah, it’s still on the list.

5: Own a business – Checked this one off in 1996! Started an accounting business and it’s been awesome.

6: Take a trip to Tuscany – Well, I haven’t physically been to Tuscany, but in my writing, I feel like I’ve been there. One day!

7: Marry the man of my dreams – I accomplished this in 1994 when I married my wonderful, handsome husband.

8: Have children – This came true in 1999 when I was blessed with an amazing son.

Well, I could go on and on, but my list is pretty long. I add to it every year. As you can see, I’ve made some come to life, and others will come one day. Or so I hope. But it never hurts to dream… Dreams can come true if you truly believe!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

PS – Here’s how I went to Tuscany!

Dreams – We all have them…

Dreams fill our nights and guide our days. Some dreams are just imagination, but some dreams are real. Let’s explore them…

As a young girl, my dreams were filled with horses, grand pianos and writing… Well, I’ve made one dream come true, writing. And through my writing, my dream of owning horses can come true. If you’ve read any of my books, then you know most of them have horses in them. It’s my way of living one of my dreams.

Do you live your dream or just dream about it? Always remember that some of our dreams are right in front of us, we just have to focus on them. So, will you make it happen today?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Changing can make all the difference…

Alright, you’ve got the first draft completed and you feel satisfied that it’s just as you want it, then it hits… DOUBT!!!

Have you been there? If you’re a writer, you’ve been there. It’s that nagging feeling that something didn’t work in the story. But, if you dig in, will you find more that’s wrong. If you feel this way now, please follow your gut. Dissect it now or get dissected later!

This is the time to dive in with both feet and take the story apart, chapter by chapter, or plot by plot. Just make sure that you have a beginning, middle and ending. Make sure that each separate part of the story has a rise to the climax, then ease it back down, but each part builds up to the final climax. Give it the time and work it needs to make your doubt go away.

Changing even something small can make all the difference. I’ve gone back into a first draft and only changed a minor plot hole, but it made a huge difference in the flow of the story. But I’ve also gone in and taken out whole chapters, whole chapters! Ouch, that hurts! But, you’ve got to do it.

Our goal as a writer is two fold in my eyes. The first side is getting the story out of your heart and on the paper. The second side is making your reader get excited, cry, laugh, sigh, or simply get lost in the story that you wrote. You want to take them to another world, the world you created. Now, get cracking, that story won’t write itself!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Take your reader on an unforgettable adventure!

When you dream…

It’s Saturday morning, time to make the house look a little less lived in. But my mind is on finishing Breakwater Lane so that my editor gets it first thing Monday morning. I dreamed a dream and it was this series.

Do your books come to you in dreams? Some of my dreams are too frightening to put in a book, then others, well, I’m afraid I’d be locked away in a ward with padded walls. But then the dreams that take on meaning and substance, now those are what writing is all about.

A couple of nights ago, I dreamed about Wishful Harbor. I could see it so plain, just as I see it when I’m writing. I walked down the old cobblestone sidewalk and peered into the windows of the five businesses that will be featured in the series. I saw the characters in their natural world. It was amazing. When I woke the next morning, everything seemed right.

Breakwater Lane has many twists and turns, but the latest twist in the plot road has been baffling me. It’s amazing that when you write what’s in your mind, sometimes you sit back and go, wow, that came from my brain. This twist has been that way for me. It seemed like I might need to start over with this part because I couldn’t get past a certain spot, but then the dream came and bam, there it was.

Maybe it was because I’d been thinking about the problem spot when I got into bed, I don’t know. But there’s one thing for sure, I’m glad I dreamed the problem away. One of the problems with dreams is, sometimes you only remember bits and pieces, but in this case, it’s very clear. I can see the way to the words The End so clearly that my fingers won’t move fast enough on the keyboard.

To say this book has been special, well, that’s an understatement. I’ve finally been able to jump into a new genre of mystery, added in with the sweet romance that flows through the story. So, take a journey to Wishful Harbor and fall in love…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Breakwater Lane is up for Preorder now on Amazon for only .99, so grab it before the release date, August 31st. All through August, I’ll be doing promotions and giveaways. If you’d be interested in helping with the release, please let me know. Although the cover is on Amazon, the official cover reveal is set for next week, so keep watching…

https://www.amazon.com/Breakwater-Lane-Wishful-Harbor-Book-ebook/dp/B0746QLYYK

Dreams of a young woman…

It’s Friday! Hope you have something great planned this weekend. As for me, we have VBS at Church next week, so I’ll be busy setting up this weekend, then Sunday we’re having a huge celebration to kick it off. I love the excitement that surrounds all the preparations, but I really should lay off the coffee when designing the decor for VBS.

Dreams… We all have them… I’m not talking about the dreams you have while asleep, I’m talking about the ones that push you forward and make you strive to do what you love. When I was a preteen, all I dreamed about was being a concert pianist and playing at concert halls all over the world. I spent at least two hours a day practicing. Also, I took piano and organ lessons for several years. I was lucky enough to be offered the chance at a full scholarship in music, but at the time, I was engaged and turned it down. (And I’m no longer with that man, so that was a bad move) But, everything has a reason. If I’d gone through with that, where would I be today? I often wonder that.

Another dream as a child was to write. Well… I’m living that dream now, although it took me a while to realize this dream. When I was a teenage girl, I’d lay across my bed and fill notebooks full of stories. Some were crazy and unbelievable, but others, well they had some merit. Ghost Lover, my first published novel, and my first bestseller was based on one of those stories penned by a dream filled teenager.

Some days I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m not literally dreaming. The stories still fill my head and some days I sit in a daydream, living out the stories in my mind. But, isn’t that what a writer does. To me, the stories take on real life. The characters become important and like old friends. My daydreams then spill out of my fingers onto the pages of the books I’ve published. It’s such an exciting thing when you write. Your daydreams come to life.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Highlander’s Son is coming in just days…

highlanders son front cover

From Tuscany & Beyond…

tuscany-001

https://read.amazon.com/kp/embed?asin=B01M0MIB72&preview=newtab&linkCode=kpe&ref_=cm_sw_r_kb_dp_yaM0yb322RCQ8

Good Wednesday morning! Sorry, it’s been a little while since my last post. As most of you know, I’m an accountant, so this is my busy busy busy season! Not to mention I have a couple of writing deadlines, yes, I’m a glutton for punishment.

With Tuscany, I stepped out and took a chance. This book pulled at me like no other. I could see it being destined to do well. First step, I entered it into the Harlequin ‘So You Think You Can Write’ contest, with fingers crossed and anything else that would cross. It made it to the Top 55 of over 950 books. Yes, I did a happy dance and screamed. Even though it didn’t get any further, I knew it could go the distance.

Then, I decided to pitch it to Solstice Publishing, hoping they’d see what I saw and within 48 hours I had a lovely email from the editor. I’d sold Tuscany to Solstice and they wanted it. As most of you know, I’ve published 30 books, but this is the only one with a publisher other than myself. I’ve loved everything about the experience and wouldn’t change a thing. Solstice took Tuscany to news heights.

My dream for Tuscany is to see it one day make it into the hands of Hallmark Channel, but what romance author doesn’t dream of that. So, for now, I’ll keep typing away and dreaming of the day that it happens…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Excitement in the air!

Contract signing

When I walked into my office yesterday morning, it seemed like any normal Wednesday morning, but it turned out to be an extraordinary day. Let me give you a little background on the reason it was spectacular. I’ve been publishing my work for a little over 4 years and it’s been such a wonderful time, but in the back of my mind, I wondered what it would be like to sign a publishing contract. Today I got the chance to see what it felt like and I have to say it felt wonderful!

I turned in Tuscany on Monday to Solstice Publishing and yesterday I received a sweet note with a contract attached. Let’s just say for a moment I sat there, reading the email about ten times, then pinching myself before I realized that yes, it was real. I screamed, totally alarming the three men outside that were working on my property. Then, of course, I sat back, trying to remember how to breathe.

The picture above was taken as I signed the contract and gave Solstice publishing rights to my manuscript. It was the scariest thing as a self-published author and the most gratifying thing knowing that all the late nights and long hours of tapping at the keys had finally paid off. To say I’m humbled is an understatement. Now, as I sit here in the after glow, I’m totally off the rocker excited about what the future will hold.

So, my advice is to do what I’ve been told over and over by successful authors, keep pushing, keep moving forward and one day, it will happen!

I’ll keep you up to date on the process as it goes. It’s a new, exciting adventure.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

If I could go anywhere…

Good morning! It’s Saturday and sunny, but really cold here in Georgia. I was thinking about things on my bucket list. Do you have one? Come on, you know there’s something you’d like to do before you leave this place or maybe somewhere you’d like to go.

For me, I’ve always wanted to visit Switzerland. Even when I was young, I’d dream of the snow-capped alps and green meadows below. Once I wrote to the Swiss tourist bureau about a report I was doing on Switzerland. They sent me a whole package on the country. It was great as I went through all the pictures and pamphlets. I was in a dream world, for a while at least.

Well, since I did the research for my book, Tuscany, I’ve added that to my bucket list. As I researched the places and food in Tuscany, my heart was lost to it. Maybe one day I’ll brave a plane trip over there, but I don’t know. It’s nice to dream about it. Since I’m a writer, I can live through my characters. When I wrote Tuscany, I imagined being there. It took me away to another place. Once the book was at the end, I felt sad. So, yes another book set in Tuscany will be on the horizon, but probably for next year.

So, if you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Switzerland Tuscany

Live Life; Follow Your Dreams…

Today I turn 46! Wow, it’s hard to believe I’m almost half a century old. But I don’t feel 46 and I sure don’t act it. Actually most people say I act 10 but that’s another story for another day. I live life and enjoy it immensely. We’re only give one so live it. Many people tell me I don’t get out and do things enough, but the truth is I live my life the way I love to live it, by following my dreams. No I don’t go alot of places and do a lot of things outside of my job, my writing, the Church and my family, but that’s the way I like it. Am I a hermit? No, because the definition of a hermit is someone who lives their lives in complete seclusion from the outside world. I do leave my house occasionally.

How do I follow my dreams? Well for one thing I have a phenomenal life with a great family and wonderful friends. I follow my call to serve my Lord, Jesus Christ by ministering to children, I love Accounting and get to work everyday doing just that and then there’s my writing. I followed my dream and get to write romance novels which has been my dream for more years than I want to count. Do you live your dream? If not, get to it, because we’re not promised tomorrow and today is only 24 hours.

As far as acting my age, not a chance. I don’t feel my age so why act it. If you act your age you’ll get old before you need to. I love to giggle, cry, laugh out loud, share my joy, sit in the floor with the children and sing, cartoons, children’s movies, and so many more things, not to mention extra marshmallows in my hot chocolate. Oh and sprinkles on my cookies, doughnuts, and cake, did I mention I love sweets!

Do you live life to the fullest? It doesn’t take a lot of money to live life. All you need is a dream, a desire to follow it and a supportive family. I stop and smell the roses, do you?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…