The Language of Flowers
Like many a 19th-century novelist, I use the Language of Flowers throughout the Lazare Family Saga as part of my symbolism. I explain some of this floral code in my books, while other references are “Easter eggs.” In this post, I’ll unpack some of those meanings, and I’ll include illustrations in case the word “anemone”…
My Creative Process
I am a “pantser,” not a plotter. This means I write “by the seat of my pants” and do not use an outline. Back in school, when we were supposed to write an outline for an essay, I’d write the essay first, then the outline. I’ve always hated them! For me, structure strangles creativity instead…
For the Love of Critters
One of my characters, Clare Stratford, is a Southern belle. When she falls in love, however, she considers spending the rest of her life as a Cheyenne Indian. So I knew she couldn’t be prone to “the vapors”; she had to be fearless and in touch with the natural world. Therefore, I gave Clare my…
The Art Over My Desk
Above my messy writer’s desk overflowing with research materials, I hung three works of art that helped inspire my historical family saga with strong romantic elements. Let’s take a closer look. Frank Dicksee’s The Confession (1896), a Victorian problem picture with multiple possible meanings. Is the man the woman’s husband or her priest? Which one…
Alternate Opening / Deleted Scene
It took me nearly three decades to write the four-book Lazare Family Saga. Over these years, I wrote at least a dozen opening scenes, set in different places and times in the point-of-view of different characters. Where does this story begin? I kept asking myself and exploring different answers. Here’s an alternate opening scene that…
Flashback: The Year It All Began
Over the next few months, I’ll be reviving some of my most substantial, evergreen newsletters as blog posts so that anyone can read them. And so it begins! The year was 1994. Schindler’s List won the Best Picture Oscar. Jeff Bezos founded Amazon. (Remember the days when it sold only books and you got a free bookmark…
My Debt to Colonial Williamsburg
Most of my Lazare Family Saga series takes place in the 19th century, so you might think visits to an 18th-century living history museum wouldn’t be terribly useful to my research. In fact, Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia was one of the richest sources for my fiction set mostly in 19th-century South Carolina. Here’s how! After I moved…
Character Art!
I’ve spent three decades with the characters of The Lazare Family Saga. They are dear to me, and it’s long bothered me that I had only stock photos to represent my book children visually. When you’re working with existing images, nuance and individuality are lost. Then a few months ago, an author friend—the marvelous Susie…
Now in Audio: The Complete Lazare Family Saga!
The complete Lazare Family Saga, my historical fiction quartet, is now available in audio.
Necessary Sins Is An Audiobook!
At long last, my favorite format of Necessary Sins is live: the audiobook! I’m even more excited now than I was at the initial publication of this novel—because I think my writing is good, but I know my narrator is great! His name is Dallin Bradford. At the bottom left of the cover, tap the play…
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