My Blog
Articles and Updates
My Secret Method–Not a Secret Anymore!
My secret is out–largely because of a Cubs/Cardinal baseball game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. I’ve written before about not being a ball sports fan, but I go with my family. I usually take my Kindle to read during the game. Last summer, I was researching Genghis Khan and his Mongolian Empire for the historical
Hostess Ding Dongs and the Writing Process
People often ask me to describe my writing process. But no one has ever asked me about sustenance. Yes, sustenance—the stuff that nourishes the body. When the writing obsession consumes me, and I become so engrossed in the story that I don’t want to take a break, Hostess Ding Dongs to the rescue! I keep
Horse Manure and Inspiration
Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Bike Club/Book Club, a book club whose members had read The Confederates’ Physician. One person asked me where I get the ideas for my novels. I explained that my novels come to me in dreams at night and daydreams during my waking hours. The dreams serialize themselves, coming night
Ball Sports, Shopping, & E-Readers
I grew up with 4 brothers and male cousins who played every “ball sport” imaginable–baseball, basketball, football, etc. I was required to attend all their games. I think that’s the basis of my disinterest in ball sports as an adult. But my family loves ball sports! (My husband and youngest daughters are avid Chicago Cubs
Don’t You Know Anyone Famous?
Recently, a reader told me he was watching the morning news and an actor in a popular TV series was asked what she was doing to keep busy during the Covid-based shutdown of filming. She responded that she was reading a lot of fiction, something she rarely had the time to do. The actor told
Old Dogs and Disrupted Dreams
I have two large dogs (Great Dane & Black Lab mix and a German Shorthaired Pointer) who are 14 years old. They’re in their “golden years.” What is not so golden is that they wake me up in the middle of the night because they need to go outside to the “bathroom.” I understand that
Spooky Stones!
The plots of my novels come from dreams I have at night. I’ve mentioned this before. During the dreams of Touch the Sky (my first novel), I saw megalithic stone formations. I saw panoramic scenes of the Scottish Highlands, the English countryside, and the Lake Area. I wrote the first, rough draft of Touch the Sky without having visited
If John Wick, Jack Reacher, or Jason Bourne had a Sister . . .
Since the publication of The Assassin’s Protégé, a lot of readers have said that it should be a movie. Certainly, it would fit nicely with today’s thriller movie category. In The Assassin’s Protégé, Ainsley Jarred is innocently and unwittingly drawn into a net of espionage. A strong and capable woman, she is unprepared for the emotional and
