In writing POINT LAST SEEN, I returned to my roots. This is the dedication… “To my mother, Virginia Dodd, who read to me, listened to me, laughed at my corny jokes and believed I could do whatever I set my mind to. I miss our travels together, the sound of your voice, your gentle hands, your… Read More

I’m here to kick ass and take names…and I broke my pencil.—Motto of all ass-kicking heroines Women love an ass-kicking heroine. Our favorite heroine faces off with vicious villains, brings justice to the oppressed, and on the side deals with the difficult life situations like pre-pubescent daughters and overflowing toilets. She’s you and me…on a… Read More

On Facebook, a question was posed to me: How many of your characters have traits or personalities of “real” people you know? Let me take the long way around to answer that question. Often at autographings, after I’ve thanked a reader for coming to the bookstore to meet me, shaken her hand, signed her books,… Read More

On June 5 at 4am, my 96-year-old father-in-law died of natural causes. What to tell you about Tom? He was eccentric, funny, opinionated (but that was okay because we usually agreed), outspoken and intelligent. He didn’t suffer fools gladly. Because he grew up in a small Idaho mountain town during the Great Depression, he was… Read More

Do you want to write a book? Then you need to know the one, really important (and guilty) secret that will help you get published. Brace yourself. Here it comes … You need to read. A lot. I was appalled when I read this statistic: Stat: Eighty percent of Americans want to write a book, but… Read More

I was once asked to write a chapter for HOW TO WRITE A ROMANCE, the book Romance Writers of America published in conjunction with Writer’s Digest. As a subject for me, they suggested Selling A Book Can Change Your Life. I burst into laughter. I called my published friends. I read them the subject. Each… Read More