One of my characters in Faithful Lies is a police detective. I know a retired San Diego cop and so before I wrote a particular scene I recalled a story he had once told me and I spliced it into a bit of dialogue. However I didn’t quite remember it properly and when I had…

If you follow my blog, you know that my husband was diagnosed with tongue cancer this year and he underwent surgery and radiation therapy. The side effects were… not enjoyable. In addition to Mark’s mouth feeling like it was constantly being bathed in lighter fluid and then ignited over and over with a blow torch,…

My stepdad passed away seven years ago today. It was easily the worst moment of my life and losing Dad changed me so profoundly that I’ve never bounced back to the person I was when he was alive. There’s a song by Mat Kearney called Closer to Love and it touches me deeply. The following…

I helped my mom move this week from my childhood home. It was rather a bittersweet time, but emotion was quickly replaced by panic and the need to get everything packed up and boxed for the movers to take over to her new house. The three guys she’d hired were very nice men- they called…

Most of the time I write from home at the dining room table, my laptop in front of me and a few of my favorite possessions on either side. And there’s usually a dog or two sleeping nearby.  But sometimes, if I’m feeling stuck and need a change, I’ll go to a Starbucks to write….