Putting my books into a song

I've been giving some thought about how to capture the themes that run through my long-time Dry Creek series. As many of you know, Dry Creek is a fictious small town in the southeastern corner of Montana. I was born in that corner of the state, but my parents moved from there when it was time for me and my sister to go to school. It was so isolated there was virtually no way for us to attend school once they closed the one room school that had served the few rural families for decades. I doubt there were more than fifteen in all eight grades of that school (I would know as my mother was the teacher and she brought me to school with her in a basket of some sort. I spent the first few years of my life in that school before I actually officially attended).

In any event, even though my family moved to a more prosperous part of the state, the feelings of that remote area are woven through of family's life and find their way into the stories I tell in my Dry Creek series. When it came time to do what I call 'a bigger promotion' of my books, I decided to write a song to talk about the values of that area. Fortunately, I have a good friend who was a professional musician 'in the day' and was eager to help me bring my lyrics to life. I now have a You Tube of that song. I located Depression era photos to go with the song (one of those photos is shown here). These are actual pictures taken by a US government program during the years of the depression. You can listen to part of the song here. You will need to scroll down a little until you see my name and Montana Quilting Song.Come listen to a song I wrote. Lyrics by me, music by my good friend, David White. Dpression era photos.

It's a tribute to my Dry Creek books. http://youtu.be/CUHryjL-pug

The full song is available as an MP3 on Amazon under the name Denim Sky. Search for my name in the MP3 section and you will find it. I was very pleased with the way the song spoke to the values I learned in Montana as a child. Oh, and if you are so inclined, leave a comment on the song, either after the You Tube or on Amazon where you can also hear a bit of it in the MP3 section.

Sleigh Bells for Dry Creek

The reviews have started coming in for 'Sleigh Bells for Dry Creek' and I'm delighted that people are enjoying the story. But then what's not to like -- it's got a murder to be solved, a highschool sweetheart to be won, a mother to be forgiven, and a handsome cowboy walking the streets! 'Sleigh Bells' is the first in my Return to Dry Creek series and it only goes to show that we can go home again.

Summer of pickles with my sister

My Montana sister and I have started an annual tradition. A week at the family farm in Montana canning up jars and jars of pickles. We make mostly dill pickles with garlic, but we add various amounts of salt (we've discovered we can use very little in the jars that will sit for six months before we eat them). We start by going to the Hutterite colony that is five miles or so from my parent's farm. There we can buy huge bags of cucumbers for canning (around ten pounds for two dollars). Then we go to my mother's farm kitchen and get to work. We can up close to thirty quarts in a day -- which is a good thing because our family loves pickles (as my little niece said last year, we need lots because she can eat a whole jar by herself).

How about you? Do you have any things you can each year?

Enter an April Fool's contest. Tell a tall tale and be entered to win a copy of my latest book, 'Small Town Moms' -- AND a $10 Barnes and Noble gift card. The more outrageous the better.

Go to eharlequin to enter. You can look at the twitter bar on the right hand of this page and find the link to enter.

Going to the RT Convention

I'm going to be on a panel at the Romantic Times convention in Los Angeles on April 8 at the Westin Bonaventure hotel. It's going to the convention, come see us on Friday afternoon as six of us Love Inspired authors reveal some of the questions our readers ask (and our answers) as well as telling a bit about our journey to publication.

A Different Sort of Fawn

I have been spending the winter with my parents on their Montana farm and recently we have seen an albino fawn in their pine trees. Its absolutely beautiful. After seeing it a few times though I have been concerned that it is often alone (my mother assures me he has a herd and she's seen him with other deer regularly). Still, it makes me wonder if the fawn's color makes the others uneasy. Sometimes it takes an outsider to see the true beauty in an animal or person who is different from the others. I like to think that part of a writer's job is to be that outsider and point out the beauty in the unusual. I posted on the Love Inspired authors website about this fawn and said I was thinking of using this fawn in one of my upcoming Dry Creek books and running it's situation alongside a hero or heroine is different in some of the same ways. What do you think? Vote here -- yes for the albino fawn!

World Book Day

I just heard that it is World Book Day today -- how fitting that I should be sitting here at my desk writing on my next book (I have a great series within a series coming up in Dry Creek). I can't tell you much about it except it involves a family crisis (mother returning from prison who asks her grown sons to come back to work on the family ranch). Lots of cowboy heroes and fiery heroines. The first book will come out around Christmas.

In the meantime, take a look at my April release -- 'Small-Town Moms.' Debra Clopton and I have a very entertaining story in two parts with this book.

A New Year Awaits in Dry Creek

One of the recurring themes of my Dry Creek series is 'new beginnings.' That fits perfectly with the heroine of 'At Home in Dry Creek', Barbara Strong. She is a single mother who brings her children to the small town in hopes of making a better life for them. This title is available anew in the LI Classic pictured on the right.

I know we all hope for a better life and the first of the year is traditionally a time to decide what we need to do to make that happen. I don't usually make resolutions, but this year I am. I plan to lose weight and exercise more (mostly, I plan to walk more in the nearby Huntington Gardens and smell the roses there). It's not just physical exercise, it's relaxing as well. How about you? What do you plan to do this next year to make your life more the way you want it to be?