Someone once asked me how I began plotting a story and what my starting point was. My answer was that it was different for every book. In the case of …
Research Trip!
The door to Queen Caroline’s garden at Kensington Palace I took a little research trip to London last month and it was so worth it! I’m working on my 2027 …
The Subplot Plot
One thing that happens when you return to a manuscript after a few weeks’ absence is that you see problems you never noticed before. In my case, I have too …
My Re-reading Habit
Bookcase with sagging shelf–yikes! Work from home seems to be feast or famine. I have those times when I’m plodding along until my eyes are crossing and I’d pay someone …
Ask Me Anything!
In anticipation of a back surgery that I had a week ago, I asked my newsletter subscribers to send me some questions last month so I could do an Ask …
The Spirits of Route 66
Since my blog post was due around Halloween, I pondered what I could write that was Halloween related. Then I remembered—I wrote a book of ghost stories! How could I …
Where Do You Come Up With Your Story Ideas?
I just turned in the ninth Countess of Harleigh mystery to my publisher earlier this month and since it’s the last book in the contract, I am at that weird …
How Much is too Much?
It seems like A Daughter’s Guide to Mothers and Murder just released—well it was only three weeks ago—but I am just polishing up the next book which is due August …
An Author’s Work is Never Done
You might be surprised to learn that I have many tasks that are aspects of my work but have nothing to do with writing books. I’m between drafts of book …
Fiction as an Escape
The busier I get, the more tasks I give to Frances. That seems fair, doesn’t it? She’s a character whose life I create. If I’m juggling a dozen tasks at …