As I am gearing up to launch When I Come Home Again, which is Craig Erikson’s story (the guy from Ordinary Snowflakes, which you can find here, if you haven’t read it yet!) I thought I’d give you just a taste from the book. So, without much ado, here we go (but PLEASE NOTE, this version is UNEDITED! We’re working on the final copy)… She hadn’t forgiven him. The entire reason Craig had stayed gone now stared at him from across the room, and he saw it as plain as an incoming blitz. Seven years hadn’t undone anything. Before she blinked, he saw every spark of anger and resentment, still hot. S ..read more

I had the most fun with this book. Not my normal–my work usually ends up at the deeper end of things (Like The Carpenter’s Daughter, for example), but sometimes we’ve just got to mix it up, right? I LOVED writing this Christian romantic comedy! So much so, that release day was quite a party. Please picture me squealing, dancing around the kitchen with my kids, who love this book as much as I did (except stop with the kissing! Heheheh. They secretly love it, I think.) My husband even bought me a dozen cupcakes.  I thought I’d give you a little Ian and Kirstin teaser. A little kitchen disa ..read more

Sometimes I need to refocus. Because discouragement and frustration can be symptoms of self-focus. I need God-centered focus. (the following was originally written in 2014) I was watching the Big Ten Network (don’t all good Nebraska wives do this on a Saturday night? Good thing I like football.) and the special feature snagged my attention. I mean really hooked my interest with one kid speaking. “I’m blessed to wake up every morning.” The camera followed Shane Wynn of Indiana out of the locker room as his voice came over the tape. “Why not make it a good day?” Wow. Out of the mouth of babes ..read more

Faced a crisis–a morning desperation! Crawled out of my bed after the third round of snooze-slapping, wandered to the kitchen and hit power on the Keurig. Pod in, mug positioned…go. It dripped about a quarter of a cup…and then broke my heart.  Cue morning desperation! I slunked back to my room, my day now ruined forever, curled up on my bed and covered my head with a pillow. Hubby comes out of our bathroom wondering why I’m going to die. “I just need a cup of coffee…” Yes. This is tragic. So I’m sitting here with my McCafe in hand (sorry Joltin’ Jo’s. I couldn’t muster the strength to br ..read more

A First Scene Preview! We are one week away from launching my next Christian romance novel! In Spite of Ourselves is a Potter’s House book (two), and it’s also the second book in the Murphy Brother’s story (pssttt… It’s about Jackson!). Best news? It’s going live into the world in ONE WEEK! So it’s time for a sneak peek, yes? Thought so… (and you’re welcome)! Oh! If you missed the first Murphy Brothers Story, you can check out Chapter One of Always You HERE. Okay, then! On with the show… Chapter One, scene one (in which Jackson faces his disaster...) Of all the ways he could have ..read more

A Chapter One Sneak Peek! We are a little more than on week to launch Always You (Release day is March 3rd, but Preorder is available now). Always You is an uplifting Christian Romance that is a part of The Potter’s House Books (Two), as well as the start to my new family series called The Murphy Brothers. (Have no fear! I’m working on the Big Prairie Romance books too! The next book in that series is scheduled to release in June!) Back to Always You... Once again, I thought it’d be fun to offer a sneak peek at Chapter One. Sooo…. Here you go!  Chapter One, in it’s entirety, of Always ..read more

You know I love a tender Christian romance–and I’ve got one for you today! I thought it’d be fun to offer a sneak peek at Chapter One of When I Come Home Again, that way you have a chance to meet Brenna Blaum and have a glance at Craig Erikson. Sooo… Here you go!  Chapter One, in it’s entirety, of When I Come Home Again, book 1 in the Big Prairie Romance–a tender Christian romance. SATURDAYS WERE FOR RELAXING. This was a fairly new perspective in Brenna Blaum’s world. Well, new in the last seven years. Used to be Saturdays were for getting up early, going with Dad so she could watc ..read more

I was thinking about happily ever after… The sermon series at our church has been themed on happily ever after. I’m a Christian romance author, so you know this had me from the start. This week, in a dry tone, the pastor asked us to open to the last chapter, the last verse in the book of Cinderella… where we find that “they all lived happily ever after.” Then, he directed us to the last verse of the last chapter of Sleeping Beauty, where he assured us again that we’d find, “and they all lived happily ever after.” Following that we were to go to the last chapter of Snow White… You can figure ou ..read more

This week we’re doing a twist… Christian books for tweens. I’m late this week… so sorry! Traveling. Christmas gathering. Momming. You know… But we’re back with more great Christian fiction for teens! And we’ve gathered our thoughts, prepared our selections. This time, we decided to focus on Christian books for tweens–those tough middle years… I’m going to define that as 10-12 years old. I know others define it more broadly, but for our purposes here, we were thinking specifically of books that we felt like hit the sweet spot in that awkward, hard to pin down age group. So, without more wordin ..read more