• General Thoughts,  Pop Culture

    2023 in book reviews

    I read 102 books in 2023 and published my 5th novel, When Does Life Begin? on September 23. Here are my top 10 best reads in traditionally published novels. Top 10 best reads for 2023 (traditional) These are in order starting from favorite read of the year. Shutter by Ramona Emerson. I got to meet Ramona and have her autograph a copy of the novel during a reading at Arkansas Tech University. The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger The Long March Home: A World War II Novel of the Pacific by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee. I met Tosca when she and I participated in a Brenda Novak…

  • General Thoughts,  Novels (my writing updates)

    Update During Chaos

    Unless you’re living under a rock, I don’t have to tell you that the world is infirmed right now—at least, many of the people of the world are ill right now with Coronavirus or COVID-19. As of today, March 28, 2020, there are no positive cases in Dardanelle, AR, (or Yell County) where I live with my family. Since March 17, my husband and I have been working from home, and our two children have been doing Alternative Method of Instruction (AMI) packets they received from their schools. We had spring break off from March 23-27, and then we’ll get back at it. That first week was chaotic, to say…