Recent Articles

Being a mystery author and playing cop behind my computer is certainly a safer take on the job, but I wanted firsthand experience of being out in the field. That desire had me signing up for a ride-along with a local police sergeant, and today was the day.

What’s the longest time you’ve ever spent on Pinterest in one sitting? One hour? Two hours? Maybe even five hours? Mine is three. Pinterest is addicting. If you’re spending as much time as I am on Pinterest, are you doing it wisely? Are you pinning with a purpose?

There is much to be gained from reading romance novels—more than just a good story to curl up with on a rainy night. For those of us who love the sweeping historical sagas, there can be lessons in history, as well as love. I thought I’d set down some of what I’ve learned about love from reading romance novels. See if you don’t agree.

Romanctic Ideals - For Real?
Barbara Gaskell
Denvil

As an author of historical fiction, I am fascinated at how much our ideas of romance and heroic ideals have changed over the years. In books, we are often presented with genuine characters from the past, shown to us as we might like them to be. But this is often more wishful thinking than fact. Yes indeed, a great deal has changed.

We’ve all done it. Paid hard-earned money for a novel that just wasn’t our answer to the weekend’s open schedule. It’s frustrating when you get twenty pages in and realize that you just can’t continue with the story, the characters, the boredom. Facing the fact that you just took a dollar, or sometimes ten, and flushed it down the entertainment budget toilet is a hard thing to accept.

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