What is the point of serial fiction? Why would anyone want to read a story that way? If that's where you're at, I've got you. I totally understand. I love the immersive nature and seamless reading experience of reading a book. But I've learned that there are some important distinctions between serial fiction and reading a story in book form.

If you'd asked me a year ago, I would have told you this book would never exist. Now it's up for preorder with a stunning cover that hints at

Summer is fire season in much of the western United States, especially in the Pacific Northwest. In fact, my newest small town mystery features a rural logging town trapped under the threat of surrounding wildfires (we call them "forest fires" in the PNW).

I'm thrilled to announce that Smoke over Owl Creek is available for pre-order! Discover the dark side of small town life in this atmospheric suspense that will keep mystery lovers turning pages late into the night.

On this, the first anniversary of the publication of Burden of Power, I'm delighted to share the short story that inspired the Wallkeeper trilogy.

Eight years ago, the Wallkeeper trilogy was born. It began as a short story written for a collection of original fairy tales. That short story became a very loose outline for what would become—three years and well over three hundred thousand words later—the Wallkeeper trilogy.

As sociable and inclusive as she was, people flocked to my sister's easy confidence and good humor, and she was never alone in a crowd. Until that crowd turned on her.

I realize I can't speak for all small towns. Maybe mine is the exception. But in my experience, small towns carry an equal weight of darkness with the light. A mix of both the sentimental and the traumatic.

Ah, 2020. I have such conflicted feelings for you! You've brought sorrow, fear, uncertainty, disaster, health crises, unemployment, civil unrest, a nightmarish election, and now disappointing holidays. But you've also brought our family closer together, opened our eyes to social injustices, given us a new perspective on education, and created some unforgettable memories.

Superpowers are cool, but they won't get you more toilet paper when a global pandemic causes a shortage. Or will they...? Enjoy this feature story from the collection, Charmed: Tales from Quarantine & Other Short Fiction. (Click on "Free Book!" to download the full collection today.)

An unexpected result of quarantine? More content for readers!

This western romance came about as a result of a writing prompt that challenged me to write in a genre I don't usually read. As a result, it's thick with tropes and might offend a true connoisseur of the Wild West. Or romance. Or bandits. Or steam locomotives (though I did do a little bit of research in that area). But it was sure a lot of fun to write! (The title still makes me snicker.)

This was my first attempt at writing any sort of romance from back in 2017. As a writing prompt, it was just a fun exercise to try something different. Since romance isn't a genre I'm comfortable with, I borrowed elements from one of the most delightful courtship stories I've ever heard -- a couple I admire whose romance has spanned decades and served as a foundation for generations. As is often the case, the truth is better than fiction.

Two years ago I pitched one of my novels to an editor at a writing conference. It was...harrowing. As it turned out, the conference organizers muffed things, so I had to pitch to someone who didn't even work with adult fiction, but I decided to do it anyway for the practice. You might think I wouldn't even be nervous knowing that there was no chance it could go anywhere. Nope. Still terrifying.

I wrote this holiday short story in one day as part of a writing camp exercise. The prompt was to write a scene or story based off a song. Although it was September, the song that happened to be in my head was a classic Christmas carol. (Guess which one...)

Thanks to all those who joined me in November for this mad adventure of writing a rough draft of a novel in less than 30 days! I can’t tell you how much it helped to have little words of encouragement from those of you who were following along. Even though it was rough, even though there were typos and inconsistencies and gaps that I’ll have to fix later, just knowing that there were people who were looking forward to the next installment helped me have the courage to share it every day.

A psychologist who counseled children with severe anxiety once told me that when you have a fear of something specific, it can be useful to make yourself do something extreme to conquer that fear.