Fall is my favorite! I’ve loved the cool breeze, the leaves changing colors, cozy sweatshirt & jeans weather, for as long as I can remember. On Saturday morning, I opened the door and discovered several leaves in shades of red on my back steps and it made me really happy. 🙂

This morning, as I was browsing through some old photos of locations from The Truth About Drew, I discovered some wonderful fall photos of Chloe that I had forgotten about. I originally shared some location pictures HERE on Pinterest and there are a couple of her up on Mt. Baldy, one of the most important locations in the book, only the bench she’s on is not the one I pictured while writing the book. So today, when I found these, I was ecstatic.

They were taken in mid-October 2010 when Chloe was 7 at Mt. Baldy Scenic Lookout near Hastings.

The railroad tie steps to the top.

And the very bench from the book. 🙂

I love these so much. Really need to frame the one of her on the bench.

When I look at that bench, I can almost picture Claire and Drew sitting there, her head leaned on his shoulder. This scene comes to mind:

On Sunday afternoon, Claire decided to take a walk up Mt. Baldy. It had been kind of lonely lately without Drew around as much, and she missed his presence. In those quiet moments with him, when no words were necessary, she felt the most like herself. She didn’t really care for the anxious, confused insomniac she had become.

Old leaves from autumns past crunched under her feet as she walked along the familiar path. A squirrel ran across in front of her with a large nut in its mouth. There was rustling in the bushes to her right. Every sound seemed amplified and she was beginning to feel a little paranoid. She had walked this path dozens of times before, but always with Drew. Never alone. Where she normally felt happy and peaceful walking up that hill, now she felt sad and lonely.

She glanced over her shoulder at nothing, then took the old railroad tie steps to the top as quickly as she could. As she pushed past the branches of the big pine tree at the top, she spotted someone sitting on the bench. Her heart nearly burst out of her chest with happiness. She felt like running to embrace him, but she approached slowly, afraid she was dreaming or that it wasn’t actually him. But it was. That sandy blond head of his was bowed forward a bit, his eyes were closed, and it looked as if he was deep in prayer. He opened his eyes and smiled at her without a word.

The Truth About Drew is a young adult novel, but I’ve had so many adults read it and tell me that they were moved to tears. I hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already. You can get your copy here:
Viewbook.at/TheTruthAboutDrew.

Thanks, guys! Happy reading!

I’ve been anticipating this moment for quite a while now. I finished the first draft of the new book back in June, then took time off to enjoy summer and just take a break and let it simmer. But I’m ready to get back into it and start editing and filling it in more.

When I first wrote Goodbye, Magnolia, I didn’t plan to make it a series, but I kept thinking about Maggie’s roommate, Michelle, and came up with a story for her that I really loved and wanted to tell. I’m calling this Book #2 and have named the series “Cornerstone” since that is the place that links the characters together. The book follows Michelle (and Maggie + Simon) from her college years on to her early thirties. We get to learn her story, where she came from, and see some of the events of Goodbye, Magnolia from her perspective, which was so fun to write.

So, without further ado. My next book …

And here is the blurb from the back of the book:

Growing up with a distant mother and absentee father, Michelle’s childhood has been far from idyllic. Her only attention comes from her partying friends and the guys who are more than happy to give her the affection she longs for. But when one party goes wrong, Michelle’s family hatches a plan to get her out of Chicago and away from her so-called friends.

College plans are low on Michelle’s priority list, especially with no money to pay for it, until her grandparents offer to foot the bill for her entire tuition. There’s just one catch. Michelle must choose between three schools – all hours away from Chicago and … all Christian colleges.

Michelle’s reluctant choice leads her to an unfamiliar place and an uncertain future. A place that could change her life and her heart forever.

I’m really excited about this one, about Michelle’s story, and I hope you all will enjoy it, too. There’s no official release date yet. I’m just saying early 2016 at this point.

If you still haven’t read Goodbye, Magnolia, it’s on sale this week for just 99¢ in all ebook formats:

KINDLE

Happy reading!

This week, I started reading Goodbye, Magnolia again. It’s been weeks since I last touched it, and I find that each time I read through it, I’m further away from the editing mindset and more able to enjoy the story itself. As I’m about to get back into editing the new book, I felt I should read through Magnolia again to make sure that all of the things that happen in Maggie’s story fit with the timeline of the new book. So far so good. Just a couple small things so far that I want to incorporate into Michelle’s story. So excited about this one.

Last night, I was thinking about the young adult novel I want to write next. The story is in my mind and in a very large text file filled with notes about characters and story. I have finally settled on names for the two main characters and I LOVE them! Not sharing yet, but very excited to work on this one, too.

So many stories, so little time. 😉

I’m tired today. Very tired. I woke at 3:45 am and could not stop thinking about my new book. I just laid there staring at the ceiling, listening to the hum of the fan in our room, thinking about each part of this character’s story and how I was going to transition from one major event in her life to the next in a way that makes readers understand her and not want to smack her. She really does some stupid things sometimes. The basics of her story are there now. And I think readers of Goodbye, Magnolia will really like certain scenes. I think you could read this one without reading Magnolia first, but there will be an added clarity to this story if you know Maggie’s story first. So I think I’m going to consider it a series and call this Book #2.

I think I finally drifted back to sleep around 5:45, but my alarm went off at 6:30 a.m. because I had to follow my mom to the auto repair shop, where she had to leave her car to get fixed after a deer ran full speed into the side of it. So, I’m pretty much a zombie and will be drinking several cups of coffee to get me through this day.

I’m celebrating reaching 200+ likes on my Facebook Author page with a little giveaway. Three giveaways, in fact.

ONE winner will receive a signed paperback copy of Goodbye, Magnolia.
ONE winner will receive an eBook copy of the book.
SEVERAL winners will receive Goodbye, Magnolia bookmarks.
Enter by June 18th! Winners will be announced and contacted on June 19, one month to the day of the book’s release. 🙂

It’s been a little quiet here on the blog lately. After a full week of blasting social media with the book release, I was a little burned out. But I’m still here. Working away on the next book. And I’m so excited by all the sweet messages I’ve been getting from those of you who have finished Goodbye, Magnolia. So much love for my characters and their story. I’m so happy that it’s been so well received.

But now is the hard part. Getting my book into lots of people’s hands. For me, this is the downside of choosing to self publish because I’m a complete introvert, through and through. I was not born to sell things. It’s not in me.

So, if you enjoyed the book, please tell your friends. Word of mouth is the best way to get it onto lots of people’s summer reading lists. 🙂

As far as the next book, I hit the 12,000 word mark last night as I ended the fourth chapter, which turned out to be so emotional, I was crying all over my keyboard. I had a very loose idea of where I wanted this book to go, but it has already taken me in different directions than I originally planned. I prayed over this book before I even started typing. I’m used to writing characters that are very like me. But I asked God to help me tell this character’s story because she comes from a completely different place in life. I think it will be a bit of a challenge to put myself in her shoes for a while, but I know we’ll grow together.

This week has been so crazy full of sharing on social media, answering interview questions, and generally just posting everywhere to get the word out about the book release. I’m pretty much exhausted and don’t quite know where to start on this post.

A few months ago, I asked some friends and family to join a book launch team to help spread the word about Goodbye, Magnolia. I also posted on some Goodreads Groups I’m a member of and on Facebook and Instagram asking if anyone was interested in joining. A handful of ladies responded and we all gathered in a private Facebook group to get to know each other. They were also a huge help in giving me honest feedback on the manuscript before it was in its final form.

Last year, when I was releasing my young adult novel, The Truth About Drew, I did it all by myself. I hit the “approve” button one day when the proof was ready and that was it. No excitement, no big fanfare, and I had no clue where to start. I sent out an announcement to my e-newsletter subscribers letting them know and spent several months sharing on social media about the book. Friends and family shared a bit, too, but it was mostly just me.

This time around, I felt so supported having this launch team. Thinking about it now, I’m getting a little teary-eyed, because this experience has been so much more fun than last year. The launch team girls have shared like crazy about the book this week, some with blogs have interviewed me, there have been giveaways going on, selfies taken, and just so much love for the book.

So, as we end this wonderful LAUNCH WEEK, I just have to say

I appreciate each one of you and all you’ve done for me and my sweet little book.

I’d like to give special shout out to a few of the girls, who have blogs. They all interviewed me this week, so I wanted to make sure to share links to those here.

ANITA’S BLOG & GIVEAWAY: Anita had such great questions. We chatted about writing and photography and coffee. She also shared a picture of my workspace. When Jake saw the photo, he said, “The picture on Anita’s blog is a lie. I’ve never seen your desk that clean.” 😉

LAURA’S BLOG & GIVEAWAY: This is the second time Laura has interviewed me for her blog. She did a fun interview when The Truth About Drew came out, too, (you can read that one HERE if you want to), so it was fun to do this again with her.

NICOLE’S BLOG & GIVEAWAY – Nicole’s questions were so fun. We talked about the book, but also about fun stuff like food and travel and what I’m planning for my next book.

And, of course, I must end the post with this fun little beach banner. Click the heart eyes emoticon to go to the launch day post, where you’ll find all the links to purchase paperback and ebook versions of the book.

Have a wonderful weekend! Happy reading!

Well, after nearly seven years of writing, re-writing, procrastinating, and lots of editing, this book is finally making its way out into the world. Finally. 😉 My hope is that you enjoy the story, connect with the characters, feel the emotions right along with Maggie, and envision all the pretty weddings, of course.

Goodbye, Magnolia is now available!

This weekend seemed long. Like it was really stretched out and time slowed down. I enjoyed that slow feeling when I was reading a book in bed on Friday night, when I was drinking my coffee and reading the local paper on Saturday morning, and when I was having some quiet time to just sit and think and pray. Not so much when I was doing laundry and dishes and other housework, though. I kind of wished I could fast forward through all of that.

I stepped away from my computer this weekend, after being planted in front of it far too much lately. It was the nicest break and much needed. My time was filled with wonderful things like reading (Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade was great!), catching up on some television shows (Grey’s Anatomy!), and starting the devotional Savor by Shauna Niequist (love her writing style!). It was also filled with household chores (as I mentioned above) and an upset stomach that I’ve had since last week. But overall, it was a very good weekend that ended with Jake grilling us some delicious chicken and salmon and veggie packs for dinner (leftovers for a few days of lunches! yay!) and watching some TV together after the kids went to bed.

And now we’re on to a new week. A very exciting week for me as Goodbye, Magnolia officially launches.

You might see more posts from me this week here on the blog as well as on Facebook (follow my author page), Instagram, Twitter, etc. as the book releases and I share where to get it as well as some special posts that will be going up this week around the internet.

Have a wonderful Monday!

In just a few days, Goodbye, Magnolia will be officially released into the world. I’m excited for everyone to pick up their copy and to hear what you all think. Yesterday, I woke to the sweetest review on Goodreads from one of the winners of the Advanced Reader Copy of the book. Here’s a bit of what she had to say:

“I don’t have a BFF but I have to say reading this book felt like having one. The only thing I did not like was having to close the book because it was a busy work time of the year for me when I started reading it. I couldn’t wait to get back to reading it.

I absolutely love how the beginning and end of the story come together; I also love everything in between. I want to share this book with people I know but am afraid I won’t get it back. I feel like I have secrets to share and if I talk about them it will ruin the experience you will have from learning the secrets yourself.

I loved reading as a child and got away from it in junior high. I found Goodreads in January and decided to start reading again. I am so thankful I did because after having read Goodbye, Magnolia I remember why I loved reading as a child. I missed my BFF.“
Tressie L, Goodreads

That was definitely the nicest way to start my day. I’ve been feeling a little frazzled and chaotic this week, even though I know I’m ready for this book to launch. It’s still scary to put it out there and let other people read something I’ve been working on for so long, something that is so special to me. And I appreciate every one of you for taking time from your busy lives to sit down and read this book. It means so much to me.