I'm so excited to introduce y'all to my friend Teresa! She lives about ten minutes from me and we meet up on occasion. But the reason I'm excited is because her debut novel released yesterday! Yay! Please give her a warm …
My Love of American Colonial and Revolutionary History
I love the Fourth of July. Not becuase of the fireworks or the food. Definitely not for the heat! I love the Fourth of July for the history. I honestly can’t remember when my love affair with …
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Graduation Throwback
This month marks 40 years since I graduated from high school. How is that even possible? So in honor of the occasion, I thought I’d show all the young ones out there what the mid-1980s were really like, at least in Texas! …
A peek into my (very distant) past
This is a story of boxes lost and found. Or rather found, because I really didn’t know they were lost! When we sold our house in Rockwall after our move to Austin in 2015, I found some things we’d forgotten up in our …
Writing Influences in Historical Fiction
As a writer, I often get asked what my favorite book is. My answer is always a resounding, “I can’t pick just one!” The same answer rings true with the question, “What book influenced you to write historical …
Burns Night Supper
So my husband and I did a thing we never in a million years thought we’d do. We hosted a dinner party for twenty in our home. And not just any dinner party, mind you. No, we had a full-on Burns Night …
A Different First Draft
I’ve written many, many first drafts of novels, most of them “by the seat of my pants.” This means I have a story idea but don’t know exactly how it plays out until I write it. However, I have written a few (very few) first …
John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer
My husband often listens to Ferguson Sinclair podcasts. Dr. Sinclair is a Scottish theologian. Recently Jeff told me to listen to a short piece Dr. Sinclair did on John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer, which has been used at New …
Another Boston Trip in the Books
You might notice this post has gone up later in the day than usual for me. That’s because we are heading home from another great trip to Boston and it was a late night last night! But more about that later. Last …
New Seasons of British TV
We are huge fans of British TV, mostly for the depth of character in the storytelling. And the accents. And the scenery. Anyway, a whole slew of our shows—almost all of them murder mysteries (which at this moment are …