Does anyone else remember this childhood rhyme: “Beth and Rob sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g . . .” Those aren’t exactly show-stopping musical lyrics, but odds are, we all sung them at one time, probably teasing a friend or a “frenemy.” And while I’m all for “k-i-s-s-i-n-g-ing,” I’ve never understood the idea of sitting in a tree while kissing someone. Wouldn’t balancing on branches while embracing get awkward – if not downright dangerous? Which just goes to show you the importance of setting in a romance novel, right? In my newest destination-wedding novel, ALMOST LIKE BEING IN LOVE, my heroine, Caron Hollister, must choose between two men who live in two very different locations. Alex Madison, Caron’s soon-to-be fiancé, lives in Florida, while Kade Webster, her ex-boyfriend from two years ago, lives in Colorado. A lot of different things factor into two people falling in love – and no, I’m not going to present you with graphs and statistics. But when we fall in love, we’re influenced by another person’s: Personality Appearance Intelligence – or lack thereof Career Home – think city or country boy/gal or their state/country of birth So let’s get back to Caron’s dilemma in ALMOST LIKE…

MURDER, HANDCRAFTED is the fifth novel in the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series, and in each book in the series, there has been a quirky twist. In book one, readers were introduced to my protagonist Angie Braddock and her Frenchie Oliver, who just so happens to be afraid of birds. In book two, they met Petunia the trouble-making goat. In book three, Nahum, the rogue Amish man first appears, and in book four, there is a runaway library bookmobile. After all of that, I knew that I needed something extra funny for the fifth book in the series, so naturally, I thought of Bigfoot. Okay, I know what you’re thinking… Bigfoot? Bigfoot in an Amish mystery? Those definitely don’t go together. Sure, it might not be the logical choice, but after some thinking I knew Bigfoot would be the perfect addition to this quirky series for four important reasons. First of all, Bigfoot’s appearance gives me immediate conflict amongst my characters. Amish do not believe in the paranormal, so if I bunch of Bigfoot enthusiasts show up in Rolling Brook claiming Bigfoot is real, the two groups are immediately at odds. Secondly, Bigfoot makes the murder investigation a little more…

Author Nancy Bush says her husband would live on the water, if he could. But Nancy? She’s the terra firma type. What could possibly go wrong in the water scene below in Nancy’s July romantic thriller, THE KILLING GAME? In Nancy’s version of the long-time favorite Clue game, she will send a surprise to the poster of her favorite comment on her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/nancybushauthor/   THE KILLING GAME by Nancy Bush Rafferty Family From New York Times bestselling author Nancy Bush comes a tense, intricately plotted novel of suspense, as one woman becomes the focus of a killer’s warped game of revenge and murder. The Rules Are Simple: It’s the ultimate test of strategy and skill. The killer chooses each opponent carefully, learning each one’s weaknesses. Every meticulously planned move is leading to a devastating checkmate. Because in this game, all the pretty pawns must die. First You Play Andi Wren is fighting to keep her late husband’s company safe from vindictive competitors. When she receives an ominous note, Little birds must fly, she turns to P.I. Luke Denton. But though Luke has personal reasons for wanting to take down Wren Development’s opponents, his investigation suggests this is deeper…

I’m a writer. I know a lot of writers. I confess to you now that we all started in training bras, believed in myths and shunned reality. MYTH. Fiction writers are natural story tellers. If we’re Irish and sat on Grand Pappy’s porch during our formative years listening to tall tales, we might be natural story tellers. Otherwise, we have to work at it. People think we sit down, pour out our hearts, and a story takes shape. Wrong. We sit and pour, but unless we’ve studied techniques of writing fiction, the result is probably a muddled mess with unlikeable characters, a boring or illogical story, and a poufy- dust ending. (Training bra not producing desired results.) REALITY. We write a few stories that are pathetic. Then we start reading books on the craft of writing fiction and learn how to create memorable characters, generate suspense, write realistic dialogue, weave in backstory, fabricate plots and concoct satisfying endings. Here are some of the books we read, LINK with comments about why each book is valuable. (Bra has promise.) After we read these books and others, we pick pearls from each one that speak to us and devise our own methods…

Looking back now, I realize that every time I picked up a book as a kid, I was learning to write—especially suspense. In junior high, before amazon made just about every book on the planet available, I went to great lengths to find my favorite suspense authors and read everything they wrote. Arguably, some were better than others, but at that time I didn’t even care. As long as there was something unexpected around the corner, I was in. The most memorable experience was with the second book I read by Mary Higgins Clark. I was home alone, sitting on the sofa in a room lit only by the yellow incandescent light of the table lamp next to me. Suddenly, I was looking into a cradle of Clark’s imagination and seeing the pallor of death cover a baby. I jumped. Literally jumped. My heart was racing and I was thirsty, but I was too scared to walk through the dark in the next room to get a drink. That was the first time I ever gave craft a thought, and the first time that I actively mined a sentence for clues to how the author was able to cause that…

There are two big, black dogs in my life. Oh, yeah, I have two teenage daughters and a husband as well – but somehow they never seem to take up nearly as much space as our dogs. My dogs don’t do lonely very well. Or to be honest, not at all. You know those last precious minutes just before the alarm goes off in the morning? That’s when one, or both of them, puts their snout under my sheets and snorts, repeatedly. I’m not a morning person, but just about any attention is amazing to them, so they simply laugh at my angry growls and keep at it until I get up. They’re the kind of dogs that won’t leave my side, and that’s wonderfully, breathtakingly heartwarming. Until I have to visit the bathroom, and they sit there in front of me, staring curiously. It’s also a really weird feeling to walk out of the shower to find both of them staring at my naked body. What’s even weirder is that I still get embarrassed by it, and cover up with a towel. Also, you know how it’s nicer to let your body lotion dry off before putting clothes on?…

Comic book visuals that captured the hearts of America, mystified me. My pencil crossed the blank page pulling lines to create yesteryear’s super heroine, Wonder Woman. I don’t remember coloring the pictures. It would have had to be crayon, so I just used my pencil. I sketch on location. Like my long time architect friend, Stephanie Bower. She takes groups all over Seattle, Italy, Hong Kong, Asia, and more. She teaches sketching and makes perspective easy. A great tool for drawing is her new book, Urban Sketching Handbook, Understanding Perspective: She says in her book, How does perspective work? And where is that darn vanishing point? Understanding Perspective helps you bridge the theoretical world of Perspective concept with the real world of on site sketching. Stephanie shows you how in her book and online with her Crafty classes video. Where is writing in this creative world of mine? I didn’t get to choose between writing and painting until I decided to paint Bierstadt’s Domes of Yosemite. Captivated by how the painting came to life, although told as fiction, this true romance, Indigo Sky, is based on Bierstadt’s journey. Read the rest on Ingis About Gail Ingis Gail Ingis writes historical…

“I need to learn to ride a bike.” Sarah didn’t try to hide her grimace. “By the middle of next week. Even though riding one of those things is basically daring God to smite me.” That’s the opening of READY TO FALL, my fourth Lovestruck Librarians book. Now, I will freely admit that my heroine, Sarah Mayhew, has a flair for hyperbole. She’s earned her nickname DQ (for Drama Queen) among her friends honestly. But in this instance…well… I can’t help but agree with her. My mother taught elementary school for many years, and—to my dismay—she used to tell her kids three main stories about me. They were cautionary tales, or maybe reassurance that however delayed her students might be in learning certain skills, they certainly couldn’t be as laggardly as her younger daughter. Occasionally, she’ll also tell the same stories to friends, acquaintances, restaurant servers, grocery checkers, random pedestrians, etc. “Olivia didn’t learn to tie her shoes for years! She claimed the invention of Velcro made shoe-tying skills unnecessary. She made the same argument about digital clocks and her inability to read analog clocks. And you would not believe how old she was before she learned to ride her…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…

What is your name? Do you have a nickname? My name is Gianna York Elmsworth. People close to me call me Gia. Who is your best friend? What kinds of things do you do when you’re together? I’m very close with my sister-in-law, Alice, but my best friend is Madeline Merrick. As sole survivors to separate tragedies, Maddie and I share a special bond. No one else truly understands the extent of what we’ve lost—and gained—in the wake of our traumas, and we’re fortunate to have found each other. Maddie resides in another town, but we see each other as often as we can. When we’re together, we spend much of our time in private, sharing the trials and triumphs of using our secret abilities to help others. We also share our fears of discovery and the destruction of the lives we’ve fought so hard to rebuild. If you have a family, how do you get along with them? If you don’t, are there people in your life that you consider family? How do you get along with them? My parents and I are estranged. I survived an accident that killed my two brothers, and after that, my parents could…