I just returned from New York City and my very first trip to the Book Expo of America (BEA). For the uninitiated, BEA is an enormous trade show of publishers exhibiting their authors, books and other forms of media. People from literally all over the world gathered at the Javits Center on the Hudson River for several days of sales, book signings, workshops, and general schmoozing. The BEA buzz is noisy, energizing and exhausting. My feet are still recovering. Authors from every genre—children’s books to nonfiction to romance-were in abundance. Posters and banners bearing names such as Debbie Macomber, Oliver North, R.L. Stine, and literally dozens of others lined the walls and hung from the ceilings. All were scheduled to sign free books for anyone willing to stand in some very long lines. On a personal note, I had a couple of special highlights. One was a fun and friendly audio interview done by “All About Romance” to be aired online at their website at a future date. For someone with an Oklahoma twang, I’m a little nervous about hearing my voice online. Probably my favorite thing was signing my latest release from Steeple Hill, THE BABY BOND, in the…

Last year Steeple Hill released HOMECOMING, my first western historical with an inspirational theme. The story is set in a fictional Texas frontier town named Glory and I found myself so involved in the characters and the setting that I wrote a second book, THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN, set in the same town. The hero and heroine from HOMECOMING make cameo appearances, so readers who missed that book might want to order it as well when shopping for THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN. (Okay, enough of the shameless self promotion–for now.) Though I’m known for the emotion and characterization in my books, there is always a touch of humor that sneaks in, too. In THE ACCIDENTAL LAWMAN, humor comes to play in the opening scene, an accident that propels an unassuming writer with the dream of publishing his own newspaper into the unlikely position of the first sheriff of Glory. Hank Larson has moved to Texas to escape his old life, one that continually reminds him of his late wife. He’s spent his entire savings on a printing press to enable his dream and is all set to launch “The Glory Gazette.” He’ll be editor, writer, and publisher. The problem? There is no…

Thanks to Fresh Fiction for inviting me to guest blog today. November isn’t usually the prettiest month here in the Midwest, but it’s still a favorite of mine. I’ve always loved the Thanksgiving holiday and our first child was born in November. Although our daughter’s original due date was November 13, as babies will, she came a little later. Even with little sleep and the extra pounds I could have done without, we put our firstborn at the top of our “thankful for” list that Thanksgiving. And there she’s remained, joined by her younger sister and down the road, their husbands and our four grandchildren. Family means a great deal to me. Perhaps that’s why I was fascinated the first time I heard about the orphan train and decided to use this slice of history in a book. Before writing my novel, I researched the orphan train phenomena. Between the years of 1853-1929, over 250,000 children were sent by train to new homes in the Midwest and beyond. The idea to place out orphans originated with Methodist minister Charles Loring Brace, founder of The Children’s Aid Society. At the time Brace came up with the plan, immigrants were pouring into…

Aloha to all of you readers out there in cyberspace. How exciting to be back on the Fresh Fiction Blog and in such good company. This month I have plenty to celebrate. HOMECOMING, my first book for Steeple Hill, will go on sale today. Set in the 1870’s, it’s the story of a young woman who is “rescued” from the Comanche clan that abducted her as a child. She has no memory of her past when she is taken in by Hattie Ellenberg, a woman who has suffered at the hands of the Comanche herself. Joe Ellenberg is Hattie’s son. He’s a man who has lost his faith and his hope for the future—until this lovely young woman searching to know “Who am I? Where do I belong?” comes into his life. It’s a book I truly enjoyed writing, even though I began with a little trepidation. I’ve never written an inspirational before and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to achieve the goal I was going for: a page-turner filled with emotion, tension and characters readers would remember long after the last page was read. So, when I finished, I gave the book to two friends and fellow writers…