Writing Musings

One of my ministers once said she could tell what people really valued by looking at their checkbook and their calendar. Of course, that was almost thirty years ago when most of us still felt some sense of control over either one. Is it still true now? I don’t know … Read More

This holiday season I’ve been thinking a lot about the darkness closing in during the month. Here in Montana, we only get about eight and a half hours of daylight on December 22, the shortest day of the year. The darkness and cold definitely increase my desire to hibernate! But … Read More

As did most of you, I grew up with the traditional stories and feast of Thanksgiving: the turkey, the Pilgrims and Indians, giving thanks for the bounty we had, even if we kids were already creating shopping lists for Santa. I raised my kids the same way, joining with my … Read More

As many of you know, I do substitute teaching. I have to admit that I get a tad frustrated by kids who don’t want to learn. The first grade teachers tried to address this by showing the movie, On the Way to School, which is about four students trying to … Read More

Like many Americans, I am a bit stressed at the moment. The lack of ability to have a civil discourse, and the lack of respect for others is getting to me. When that happens, I need news about what IS working. So here is a bit of news about people … Read More

There has been a great deal of uproar in the romance author community lately. If you are not a big fan of conflict over what is or is not proper in a romance novel, this might be a post you want to skip. WARNING: This post discusses sex, racism, and … Read More

I never thought I’d be a fan of country music, or of the mushy country music romance embedded in its lyrics. Although I watched Gene Autry and Roy Rogers as a kid and loved the music, the twangy sound of most country music was something I simply couldn’t get past. … Read More

Recently my newly married personal trainer asked me, “What’s the key to making a relationship work?” After I wrenched my mind from concentrating on rolling my thighs on the hard foam roller (painful relief …), I gave him the one word answer I always do, “Communicate.” There is so much … Read More

As I write this, our southeast coast is bracing for Hurricane Mathew.  It will be another test of how much we can love one another. Not romantic love–although that’s always possible–but the human being to human being caring. We’ve seen it before. Times like when the towers came down, earthquakes, … Read More

I love independent book stores. I hate that independents have a thing about romance. “Our customers don’t read romance,” they say. Even down 11% from the previous, romance readers bought 30,885 thousand copies in 2014, higher than any other Adult Fiction category except General Fiction which sold 36,314 thousand copies … Read More