Dear First name / friend,

There's a magic that happens when I find the book that ties together all the research I've been doing and organizes the key information in one place. That happened on Friday for the novella I'm writing right now. It's set in North Carolina during WWII, and I've spent hours on research and found all sorts of information. It's really true that when you write historical, EVERYTHING has to be researched. On one of my hunts I saw a link to a book that has been a marvelous aid.

What happens for me as I research is that I often think I know where the story is going, and then every research nugget makes me wonder if something needs to shift. I'd hit a point in the writing where I just wasn't sure I had the right month for the story. It's kind of paralyzing if I'm honest. Kind of feels like that meme. This book allowed me to back way up and get the larger piecees sorted. Now the words are flowing again, which is good because I need to get this one drafted and to my first readers, so I can start my next novella. Both are due in September, which also happens to be the month our oldest is getting married, so I need to be focused and efficient right now.

 

I thought you'd enjoy seeing a bit of my research wall. This is a space right next to where my computer is set up at home, so I can keep key facts and visuals very close as I'm working. I also keep copious notes in TheQuill.app, with links to all my research, as well as print copies of important details. 

June 15th, I'm rereleasing Deadly Drive as a novella. It was first released in 2020 as part of the Mistletoe and Murder collection. This will be the first time you can order this stand alone story on its own. In this novella I got to play with writing the story in first person from the perspective of the heroine. It was so much fun! Here's more about the novella: When her twin is killed in a failed robbery, Jocie has to go to Washington, DC, to identify him for her family. So she finds herself in a tightening spiral of questions in a race to find the truth. One phone call can change your life. What you do after that is up to you. Order it before June 15th for the special preorder price of $1.49. 

A question for you as my readers, would you like me to put my novellas together in a paperback bundle? So far the three that are out are only in ebook in their current iterations. I have one more to rerelease, and am curious whether you would like to have paper as an option. Just email me a note and let me know. I'm feeling all fancy after creating the paperback version of The Enneagram for Writers. 

I don't know if you were able to join us for the Contemporary Romance panel last week, but I had so much fun catching up with Melody Carlosn, Irene Hannon, Liz Johnson, and Suzanne Woods Fisher. The half hour flew as we talked about their books, where they got their inspiration and so much more. You can catch up on the conversation by clicking on the video below or going to my blog here. You can also enter the giveaway for one of their books on my blog. We will be giving away four, one from each author. 

I'd also love to have you join me live on Tuesday at 1 p.m. EST for the Book Talk with Kelli Stuart and Joanna Davison Politano. Just click on the link above to join us on Facebook. You will love meeting these women, and I LOVE their historical fiction. I just finished Kelli's The Master Craftsman last week. Sooo good. And I always get swept away by Joanna's books. 

Y'all, I can't believe we just wrapped up Season Four of the podcast. These are just a few of the great conversations we had. You can always find all of the episodes on my website and here. Have you listened to the podcast? I would be thrilled if you left a rating and review on your favorite podcast app! I'm so excited to introduce you to all these writing friends. 

Let's chat: Hit reply to this e-mail and let me know whether you'd like paperback versions of my novellas…and how you think Book Talk should look in the Fall.