I’ve thought many things about the Opryland Hotel, but I never thought about the beautiful gardens here. Before the 2010 floods in Nashville, the hotel had gorgeous orchids everywhere. The bad news is the flood destroyed them, but the good news is, they are coming back. I was at Opryland for the American Christian Fiction Writers conference where I was a …
Reader Friday ~ Over the Edge
Today I am at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in Nashville so I may be a little slow getting back to your comments. I recently read Brandilyn Collins’ book Over the Edge, and I’m here to tell you, I could not put it down! Here’s the back cover copy and then I’ll be back to tell you why I liked …
The Excuses People Come Up With
As I write this post, I’m at the beautiful Innsbrook Resort in Tampa, Florida, courtesy of my publisher. I’m here pitching Justice Betrayed to the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance (SIBA), and I have met some of the nicest people! And everyone I’ve met is excited about my book, which is really nice. 🙂 Now onto last week’s Mystery Question: A man was a …
Reader Friday ~ Cold Case Cover-Up
Today’s book comes from Love Inspired Suspense from one of my favorite authors – fellow Mississippian Virginia Vaughn. Here’s the back cover copy: She’ll risk everything to uncover her past The first thrilling Covert Operatives tale An infant is believed to have been murdered thirty years ago—but investigative journalist Dana Lang is convinced she’s that baby. Now someone’s willing to kill to stop …
Stupid or Just Plain Dumb?
I am celebrating! I just hit 20,000 words in my new book I am tentatively naming Nachez Standoff. That is almost a quarter done. 🙂 It usually takes me this many words to figure out my characters, and this morning I sat down and wrote out their goals, motivation, and conflict. I.AM.EXCITED because writing the first draft is like pulling teeth …
Reader Friday ~ These Healing Hills
I probably wouldn’t have bought this week’s book, These Healing Hills by Ann Gabhart if it hadn’t been an ACFW Book Club selection. Not because Ann isn’t a fabulous writer, but I just don’t usually read historicals, especially if they don’t have a mystery attached to them. But boy, I’m glad I did! I was ever so pleasantly surprised! I couldn’t put the book …
Murder or Something Else?
Here in Corinth, even though the temperature hovers above 90 degrees, there is a feel of fall in the air. Temperatures drop after dark…something I was very happy about last Thursday night when I returned home to discover my air conditioner had quit working! For the first time in at least twenty years, I slept with my windows up and …
Reader Friday ~ The Coroner
This past week I read The Coroner by Jennifer Graeser Dornbush and I’m here to tell you, it’s a great book. Jennifer is the daughter of a medical examiner whose office was in their home. She investigated her first death, an airplane crash when she was eight. Here’s the back cover copy of The Coroner. My thoughts afterward: Summoned from her promising …
Stranger Than Fiction
The opening scene in the first Natchez Ranger book is set at Windsor Ruins. The Windsor plantation home was built between 1859 and 1861 and has a tragic history. Builder Smith Daniell died two weeks after moving in and during the Civil War, a Union soldier was shot in the front doorway. Then in February 1890, a guest left a lit …
Reader Friday ~ Flowers from Afghanistan
Last week I read the best book! Flowers From Afghanistan by Suzy Parish opened my eyes on many levels…but first, the back cover copy then my thoughts: Weighed down by guilt following the death of his two-year-old son, Mac McCann accepts a year-long position training police officers in Afghanistan. Leaving his wife Sophie to grieve alone, he hopes the life-or-death …