The Power of Gratitude

Back from Albuquerque

I just spent a week in Albuquerque, NM with my friend and business partner, Marcia Lynn McClure. It was a working vacation, but we had some time to play, talk. watch movies, and see the sights of the town she grew up in. Albuquerque is also the setting of her latest novel, The Time of Aspen Falls. She took me to several points of interest in the book, including her favorite restaurant, "Sadies." Good food!

I came back with lots of great native jewelry and souvenirs for my family. :)

Here's a little video I put together from the trip. If you're a Marcia fan, you'll even catch a glimpse of her old high school in here. :)

Trip to Utah / Big 18/ Interview

My husband and I just got back from a quick trip to Utah to visit with his parents and attend our church's General Conference. It was a fun and relaxing trip, and it was one of the few times in the last 20 years that Greg's been able to spend with his parents, brother and sister all together. Greg's family's great and I'm truly blessed to have them for in-laws. His mom has an extensive library of books so I read Kerry Blair's "The Heart Has Its Reasons" and Betsy Brannon Green's "Hearts In Hiding." Since I wasn't quite finished with "Hearts in Hiding" I bought my own copy along with another of hers that my friends and mother-in-law recommended, "Until Proven Guilty."  All the books are very entertaining. Both Kerry and Betsy have a fun sense of humor, which I thoroughly enjoy.

One highlight of my trip, besides attending General Conference and hearing President Gordon B. Hinckley speak, was visiting with my best-selling author friend (and editor) Julie Coulter Bellon on Monday. She, my friend Cathy and I went to lunch at Olive Garden. Julie's little three-year-old sat there so good the whole time, poor little guy, having to sit and listen to a bunch of women rattling on about books for nearly 3 hours!

Our oldest daughter turned 18 yesterday. If you asked me if that makes me feel old, the answer would be a resounding YES! I still remember her being eight months old in our apartment in Nashville and our daily routine. We'd shop in the morning and come home and play in her little box of toys in the living room, then we'd put them away and she'd take a nap while I either cleaned the apartment or did a little bit of data entry work that I had back then. Greg worked retail at the time so he was gone a lot. Laurel was my little buddy and my world revolved around her. It's hard to believe she's all grown up now!

Before I went out of town, Aneeta Sundararaj of HowToTellAGreatStory.com conducted an interview with me. If you'd care to read it, it's in her ezine called Blow Your Own Trumpet.

Southern History, Savannah Style

My favorite part of writing is the research, and there's no better way to research than to visit historic places. That's why I was thrilled when my husband suggested we take a trip to historic Savannah, Georgia for our 20th wedding anniversary.

We just returned from a long weekend to Savannah and thoroughly enjoyed it. What a beautiful old city and so well preserved! We stayed in the Ballastone Bed and Breakfast Inn, ate dinner at the Pink House on Friday night and at the 45 South Restaurant on Saturday night (it's next to the haunted Pirate House).

Savannah is known for its ghost stories so it was fun to take a carriage tour pulled by beautiful French draft horses. Nothing like riding a horse drawn carriage after dark and listening to ghost stories! There's bound to be ghosts in a town built on graves from the mass yellow fever deaths. Not to mention the witch-hunt style hangings from a bygone superstitious era, and a one-eyed doctor who, to avoid malpractice, bricked up a 24-year-old dying patient inside the wall of what is now known as the Foley Inn. The ill-fated young man can now be seen haunting the bedroom in which he was entombed. Also along this tour was the Hamilton-Turner mansion which is rumored to house a group of friendly ghosts and was featured in the movie "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil." It's also rumored to be the inspiration for Disney's Haunted Mansion.

On Saturday we walked around the historic squares and took an excursion to Tybee Island and Fort Pulaski. You know how I love to write Revolutionary and Civil War stories, so Fort Pulaski was a thrill for me. I know.. I know... how many women get a kick out of forts? But it was one of the highlights of the trip for me. The fort was built during American Revolution times and was quickly invaded by Union forces during the Civil War due to the advent of the rifled cannon.

We drove home Sunday and I can feel the book ideas percolating. So don't be surprised if you see a book or two from me in the future set in Savannah, GA! For pictures of our trip, click here.