Blog Stories
A Bit of Backstory
Hello, reading friends. How are things going for you, now that we’re going on a year? How many of you, like me, thought it would all be done by last summer? Back then, people called it the “new normal”, and I bristled. No, it can’t be the new normal. It’ll change, I told myself. Then I realized that “normal” comes in seasons. It doesn’t stay the same. It shifts day by day without our notice, like a large landmass or a glacier. Then one day, we realized we have changed, grown. One way or the...
Balance for the Year Ahead
I hope you are staying warm wherever you are! It’s nippy and gray even here in N.C. Welcome! I want to give a sincere and warm welcome to those of you who recently joined my Kyle Hunter corner following a Blog Tour that featured my book, A Promise in Provence. The book was showcased on several Christian fiction websites. I’m so glad you’re here! I’m guessing you’re a distinguished reader who appreciates a good, inspiring book about imperfect characters with big dreams (and things to learn.)...
What do I mean by Happy New Year?
Happy New Year! We express this formula each year by email, text, and the spoken word. Our wish expressed a desire for a year that is peaceful, happy, healthy—what we’d call a “good” year. We look back on certain periods and say, “That was a good year.” I’m guessing no one will say that about 2020. When you hear the phrase this year, it's often joined by, "It has to be better than this year!" We began 2020 with optimism for the new year ahead of us, armed with the well-wishes of our friends...
Julia Redesigned is Available!
Good morning! I have great news! Just in time for your Christmas reading, Julia Redesigned is available in paperback and eBook. As you may know, Julia Redesigned is the second book in the Second Chance Series. In case this is all new to you, I’ll give you some background on the series. In The Second Chance Series, you’ll meet Marissa, Julia, Sydney, and Eden, four college friends who, twenty-five years later, renew their friendships as they find themselves empty nesters and single again....
Julia is Coming
Julia is coming. Wait, let me explain. Julia De Luca is the main character of my new novel, available later this month. Julia Redesigned, the first sequel to Marissa Rewritten. If you read Marissa Rewritten, a novella, you learn that Marissa has three close friends. Julia, Sydney, and Eden. The four women were friends in college 25 years earlier. Following years of different lives in various cities, they find themselves empty nesters (or almost) and single in mid-life. They decide to start...
A Writing Getaway
You may already know that a lot of writers don’t write full-time. Some of them squeeze in an hour in the quiet moments before their children get up and the day starts like a runaway train. For others, it’s a full-time job outside the home that keeps them away from their home computer and folder full of story ideas. I often wonder if I’d like to write full-time. I love to write fiction. It’s hands-down my favorite thing to do for a “job” that’s much more than a job. (Meaning, it’s been a...
Election Reflection
The other day as I was driving home from an errand, I saw political signs on every street corner. Most of them just bore the name of a candidate. One I liked said, “People, not politics,” but it was sponsored by a political party. It would be nice to see signs that endorse attitudes we should have instead of only endorsing a political party. I’m sure you’ll agree that politics in the US has gotten really nasty. We could use some prompting toward better attitudes (since we know after election...
God of the Unlikely
It’s a perfect fall day in the 70s in North Carolina. We do have beautiful falls here. It might seem like any other year, but we all know with aching certainty that it’s not. Our country and world seem to be falling apart. Yet, we have the tiny joys of days in the 70s (while we can get them…), an adorable lizard about an inch and a half long running across my patio table as I write this, pumpkin muffins (with chocolate) fresh from the oven, and many more joys that are abundant if we open our...
A Stuck-at-Home Newsletter
I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t seem like July. Really. Don’t you agree? Where did the spring and summer go? Are we going to think of 2020 as the “lost year”? Maybe. (But it doesn't have to be.) Some areas of the country are opening up while others are back-pedaling fast. Like North Carolina, where I live. We had a record number of hospitalizations in a 24-hour period. It’s not supposed to move in that direction. So, how are you coping? Are you able to see the silver lining? Have you been able...
What About those Lies?
The other day as I was working in my kitchen, I was listening to a Christian song. The singer sang about how God had been there with her through every stage of her life. What a wonderful and true principle that should have given me comfort. As she listed each stage of her life--childhood, adolescence, marriage, children-- I felt an uncomfortable tug. Her life had followed such a “normal” course. My adolescence hadn’t been easy. My parents divorced when I was 12 and I struggled with depression...
Spring Upon Us
Depending on where you live, you may have seen signs of spring approaching or even arriving. Here in Raleigh, NC, we’re having a day close to 70 degrees. We had one or two of those over the winter (to our jubilation!) and we’ve had one snowfall. Gotta have at least one, right? Since I’ve lived here, we have always had at least one. Of course, it doesn’t last more than a day and two days after that, everyone is wearing shorts (the college students, at least.) It’s good to be emerging into...
Happy 2020!
It’s still January, so I can still wish you a Happy New Year! How was 2019? Maybe it was fantastic. Or maybe you’d rather forget it even happened. Mine had its share of downs as well as ups. But in the big picture, it’s all good. I’m so glad God’s in control and His timing is perfect. In any case, we’re starting with a clean record, a clean slate, whatever your favorite cliché is. It’s clean. New. New Year. I’m excited to have a new chance to see what God will do. I guess I have that chance...