Getting to Know NAMI

by | Feb 2, 2015 | Blog, Mental health, Teens, Writing

I had the pleasure of signing my book and being a guest at NAMI’s informational meeting, “Get to Know NAMI” Saturday. It was an impressive gathering of national, state, and local officers, doctors and representatives from the medical field, a few politicians, and very...

Han Nolan’s Crazy

by | Jan 26, 2015 | Blog, Mental health, Teens, Writing

I knew there were other books out there titled Crazy and so did my publisher, Eerdmans. When it came time to solidify the title for my book, the duplication didn’t seem to be an issue. For whatever reason, I didn’t get around to reading Han Nolan’s Crazy until just...

Author Beth Smith Has Created An Alien Dude

by | Jan 12, 2015 | Blog, Writing

  Recently I had the pleasure of meeting Beth Smith at not one, but two different author signing events.  I enjoyed picking her brain about the path of self-publishing she has chosen, and I asked her if she would share some of her thoughts about writing and her...

The Poetry of Simon & Garfunkel Revisited

by | Jan 5, 2015 | Blog, Writing

My husband and I don’t exchange Christmas gifts much these days, and it usually boils down to a book each of us has wanted.  This year I asked for, and received a CD called “The Best of Simon & Garfunkel.”  It may have been prompted by the oldies-but-goodies...

Reflections on a Debut Year

by | Dec 29, 2014 | Blog, Writing

My book debut year is coming to an end.  I’m half sad to see it end and half relieved it is behind me. You only have one debut year, just like you only have one first child, and I can’t resist putting these memories into my “baby book” to be savored forever.  If...

POWER TO CHANGE LIVES

by | Dec 22, 2014 | Blog, Teens, Writing

  I don’t know about you, but I can still tell you the names of a couple of teachers who had the most profound influence on my life.  One said I would be a teacher someday, and sure enough, she was right.  One said I would never make it as a writer, and I believed her...

Better Late Than Never

by | Dec 15, 2014 | Blog, Writing

  An article in the Oct. 2014 Writer’s Digest caught my attention.  It was titled, “The Late Novel” and it set about to prove, by a healthy list of famous authors, that it’s never too late to write your first novel. Since I’m not the youngest debut author on the...

Breathing the Rarified Air

by | Dec 8, 2014 | Blog, Writing

With Dannye Romine Powell, Book Editor at the Charlotte Observer Last week I was honored to be invited to rub elbows with four NY Times bestseller authors at the Charlotte Observer Holiday Author Event  (https://tinyurl.com/me2n7ke) held at the Mint Museum.  The bad...