Can you believe it. Have a listen. Anna Schaad did an amazing job composing the perfect piece of music, blending violin with the sounds of a ship at sea. Close your eyes, press play, and put yourself in the middle of the bay in an 18th century galleon with talking mouse, a meddling monkey , a handful of true friends and a band of ruthless pirates. Happy Reading –...

So our girls are home for the summer and Blakely, the eldest, went to my desk and opened the middle drawer. “Um, Mom? Why do you have a Kazoo in here?” “Well…” I replied. And proceeded to tell her this story. I bought my lovely blue and green striped Kazoo at our local toy store before my last book event, Western Washington’s spring SCBWI’s Inside Story. I knew one of my fellow presenters; an exceedingly talented author by the name...

Hush, A Lakeview Novel – Book Trailer Blakely, Leigh, and Halle, our three daughters, where home this weekend and with Halle’s help Hush, now has a book trailer! It is always amazing what teenagers, especially a rather precocious 13-year old, can do!   Happy...

I love Pinterest. Of the online mediums, I find Pinterest the most engaging. Perhaps it is because I love visuals. Whole stories can blossom from one photograph. Often times I find images of what I want my characters to look like and I will see snippets of traits I have forgotten to include. On occasion I find locations that inspire new scenes. When I’m not writing I look at recipes, design ideas, and bucket list inspiring travel...

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A friend recently asked me if I ever listened to music while I wrote. I honestly have never thought of writing to music. I know I am distracted by the sounds of a television, a dog snoring and children arguing. But can I write with music playing in the background? Nope. Let me give you an example that might help explain my hasty answer. Yesterday I jumped in my car to shop for a weekend at our cabin with friends. I press the power button and my...