Legacy. It’s a heavy word at times. A word I’ve been thinking a lot about in the last few days for my own reasons, of which you will read more about below. The idea of what we will leave behind when we are gone might be a bit too intense for a blog post. Because let’s face it, it’s a lot to live up to, isn’t it? Some people leave behind very… Read More

Well, another year has come and gone, and it’s time again to hammer out the top ten reads for the year. Can you believe it? Seems like I was just typing up this list for last year not all that long ago! I have to admit, it was kind of hard to put this list together this year. 2023 has been a time of intense struggle for both my husband and me…. Read More

Ghost Towns. Just the words send a bit of a chill down your spine, don’t they? The thought of a boarded up and abandoned old place that once pulsed with energy, well, it’s certainly enough to get my imagination wheels turning. Which is perhaps why I have visited more than a few ghost towns in all my years of traveling. It’s been easy for me to do too, since ghost towns are… Read More

Hi Everyone! This won’t be all that exciting of a post, I just wanted to drop a note to let you all know that I’m still alive and back to wondering around in the blogosphere haha. I should have known that finishing a first draft of my newest book would take a little (or a lot) longer than I said it would! But I DID finish! It clocks in at a very… Read More

Hello everyone! I hope all of you are doing well. It’s been a crazy few weeks, as I just started writing in a brand new novel project, which takes place during the Kennedy years. It’s a lot different than any of my previous books, so I’m kind of flying by the seat of my pants a bit (I believe they call it “panstering” in the writing world). But it has been quite… Read More

I actually noticed the monument as soon as we entered the graveyard at Chattanooga. “Look,” I pointed it out to my husband. “That stone has a train on it!” Indeed, a shiny, brass locomotive sat on top of one of the big graveyard stones, standing front and center of the place. Hard to miss, really. Yet it wasn’t until several minutes later, when we were actually preparing to leave the cemetery, that… Read More

Query Letter. I don’t think there are any two words more frightening for an author. I spent years trembling before the power of these two words, and the knowledge that “query letter” was essentially my only gateway into the world of traditional publishing. It was my one-page shot, my one chance, to ram my toe in the door of this seemingly impossible-to-break-into industry. If I wanted to see my book on store… Read More

It’s a thing, I’m telling you. All along Route 66, from Chicago to LA, you will find it. Charming small towns, unique souvenir hunting, memorable stops, and… car art. Old cars that have outlived their usefulness on the road, that have rusted away to nothing but a hollowed-out hulk, but they still have that potent mix of charm and nostalgia. They can still draw crowds, and they still have something to give…. Read More

I was only somewhat familiar with the Battle of Glorieta Pass at the time we visited the park there. Because it barely gets a passing mention in the many, many, many books I have read on the American Civil War. And there have only been a couple volumes dedicated to this more obscure battle in the far west. All said, I at least knew there was a fight there, but I would… Read More

There’s something very unsettling to me about meteors. While most of them are harmless, burning up into crumbs when they pass through earth’s atmosphere, a rare few of them are not. A rare few of them, you could say, pack a knock-out punch. I think most experts agree now that a meteor and its ensuing chaos was largely responsible for wiping out the dinosaurs and most life on earth at that time…. Read More