See part 1 here. When The Hum and the Shiver proved successful enough to warrant a sequel, I wanted to advance the themes as well as the story. I decided that the central recurring character would be the place, not Bronwyn Hyatt. Cloud County and Needsville held many other characters I felt could (and subsequently did) carry their own novels. I’ve said … Read More
On Themes and the Tufa, Part 1
When I wrote the first Tufa novel, The Hum and the Shiver, I had no plans for a series. I wrote it on spec, without a contract, just prior to the release of my first novel, The Sword-Edged Blonde. In that first Tufa book, I had a very particular, self-contained story in mind: circumstances force Bronwyn Hyatt to decide how … Read More
Reader Question: Writing from a Woman’s POV
Reader Jane Payne (a name I just may borrow for a character) asked on my Facebook author page: “Writing POV for female characters. You do well! Is it challenging?” First, thank you for the compliment. I appreciate that a lot. Is it challenging? I can’t deny that it was at first, mainly because I expected it to be. We’re taught … Read More
Flash Giveaway!
Taking a page from my pal Deborah Blake and offering a quick contest that’ll get you a copy of Chapel of Ease and–although it’s totally unrelated–one of the great albums of the late 80s that you’ve probably never heard. Back in that long-ago time, my friend Hays introduced me to the music of Mississippi’s own Webb Wilder. His album Hybrid … Read More
Announcing the Tufa Coloring Book
Hey, all you Tufa fans! Artist Shoshanah Marohn has put together a official coloring book featuring scenes from all four Tufa novels, at least one short story, and even a sneak image from the fifth book. If you order it now, you can get $2 off the official price of $9.98. That’s right, from now until Chapel of Ease hits shelves on September … Read More
The original “Chapel of Ease”
As we close in on the September release of the fourth Tufa novel, Chapel of Ease, I wanted to share the song that gave the book its title. As with the prior three (and subsequent two) books in the series, the title comes from a song by Jennifer Goree (you can read about how our paths crossed here). It’s found … Read More
Contest Winners!
The results are in! The winners of the advance reader copies of Chapel of Ease are: Renee Conley Donna Wilcox Jennifer Brozeck Eddie D. Moore Sylvia Simpson Cynthia Makowski Kathy Rudolphe Amber Barnes Teresa Gunderson Steve Krodman Watch for an e-mail from me very soon! Thanks to everyone for entering, and there’ll be more giveaways when the final book comes out.