Tag Archives: books

“I Take Heart”: the October Edition

All hail Fall! The October Edition of my author newsletter, “I Take Heart,” is out now. It’s full of book recommendations (from both me and my kids), upcoming events and news, and Autumn activities I’m enjoying AND looking forward to–plus … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday, Keowee Valley!

Eleven years ago today, my first historical novel, Keowee Valley, was published. It’s been a wild ride since, to say the least, and I want to celebrate the book which made me an author. Looking back over long ago posts, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I Take Heart: June 2023 newsletter

Hi, all! My June newsletter is out now, and it’s full of the books/TV shows/podcasts I’ve been enjoying so far this summer, a little home DIY, news, thoughts on friendship, and more. One of the nicest things anyone can do … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

South to America wins National Book Award

That Imani Perry’s South to America: A Journey Below the Mason-Dixon to Understand the Soul of a Nation just won the National Book Award is no surprise. It kept me up at night for the weeks I read it, stirring, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What I’m reading — and loving! — right now: Beautiful Writers by Linda Sivertsen

The book publishing business is kind of a like a mythological beast: sometimes terrifying, sometimes beautiful, always layered. I know from personal experience that the best thing you can do when you love a book is to talk about it–to … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Book Review: “To the Bones” by Valerie Nieman, in Appalachian Review

Hi, friends. It’s been a while. Again. For my family and me, time has both sped up and seemed suspended or slow during the year and a half of pandemic life. I know we’re not alone. Like many of you, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What a long, strange trip it’s been

Hi, friends. It’s been a while. First, there was summer. It was, by far, the fastest summer of my life. As usual, my children (ages 12 and 8) were home, so there was no writing to be done. But we … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What I’m Reading Now: Robert Macfarlane’s “The Old Ways: A Journey on Foot”

This is a special book. It begs to be read slowly, so as to savor each line. Not since reading Annie Dillard’s Pilgrim at Tinker Creek in my early 20s have I experienced a book like this: one which offers … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spring Reading: Kate Quinn’s “The Rose Code”

I read Kate Quinn‘s World War II era historical novel, The Rose Code, in a fevered (possibly actually fevered, as I’d just received my second Covid vaccination) rush, over the course of two nights while my kids were on Spring … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

What I’m Reading Now: “Beach Read” by Emily Henry

Need a Spring Break read? Literally headed to the beach? I picked up Emily Henry’s Beach Read from my local library on a total whim yesterday. The premise—two very different writers (with a shared college past) stuck in neighboring lakehouses, who … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment