It’s been quite a while since I’ve put pen to paper, or in this case fingers to keyboard, to update you on my adventures. That’s probably been because there haven’t been many over these past c...Read More
Tuffy and Other Happy Things First off, let me start by apologizing. It’s been way too long since I sat down and wrote one of these—way too long since I had the emotional energy to write one. This...Read More
Having spent yesterday doing a multitude of tasks, from enjoying a wonderful lunch with my kids to finishing a bit of last minute Christmas shopping. This morning I’m curled up in my chair, snuggled...Read More
Something for Which I am Thankful I grew up in a house where everyone was welcome. We didn’t have a lot, but holidays were days when those who didn’t have a place to go, or couldn’t get home, ca...Read More
Coming Out Again This week I came out on my personal Facebook page. My friends there are compiled of mostly family, close friends, and high school alumni from Northern California. I had actually been ...Read More
Just One Moment As romance authors, we write a lot of feel-good stories, some call it fluff, others call it a lifeline. Our character journeys have ups and downs, but we always know that they are goin...Read More
The End of 2018 to the Beginning of 2019 2018 has been a good year. I stepped out of my comfort zone and traveled to England and it was a wonderful adventure. The Bold Strokes Book Festival in Notting...Read More
Holiday Magic Yesterday at work, while I was dropping off small gifts of homemade candy and wishing all my people happy holidays, I thought of how times have changed since I first joined the workforce...Read More
Christmas in Chicago I had so much fun writing Friends Without Benefits. Not only is it set in Chicago during the holiday season, it’s filled with fun, festivals, and lights. I pulled situations fro...Read More
Summer—GCLS—And Writing It’s been a super busy summer so far this year. GCLS was fantastic, as usual. It was so awesome to see old friends and meet new ones during the whirlwind of conference da...Read More
Friends Without Benefits I know it’s been way too long since I’ve written anything here. I’ve been super busy writing the characters that keep talking in my head. That’s normal, ask any writer...Read More
Labor Day Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. This is bittersweet for me because, although, I absolutely love the summer sunshine, fall is my favorite time of year. The brisk weather energizes me...Read More
My very first reading at GCLS. I was super nervous. As I recuperated from the whirlwind of my first Golden Crown Literary Society conference a few weeks ago, I remembered it was just over a year ago w...Read More
If you’ve read Where the Light Glows, you’ll know that Mel’s favorite food at Bella’s Trattoria is the bolognese sauce. I thought I’d let you in on the recipe. This has b...Read More
This past Easter Sunday, I was fortunate to be able to spend time with my large and lively family in the home that my parents built. My sister and her husband own the house now and I’m so thankf...Read More
When you read a novel, the pace should be smooth, the story should flow, and the character’s head you’re in should be clear. You shouldn’t have to stop and think about which character’s feelin...Read More
I took that single step to change my future close to ten years ago. It was just one of many that I took to get to the life I’m living today. One of the biggest steps was the decision to go back to c...Read More
Recently I’ve had a few people ask me how to get their stories published. I can’t really give much advice on that, but I can give some pointers on how to get started writing, how to improve your w...Read More