For our anniversary, my husband and I spent the day exploring a local antique mall. Even before we started dating, visiting antique stores has been one of our favorite activities. As a woman with literary interests, I have always enjoyed looking through paper goods—postcards, letters, photographs, and books. Front cover of book On this particular trip, I found a little book called Oaksmere Mrs. Merrill’s School for Girls. The cover was hanging on by just a few threads, but th

This year has gotten away from me. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I was going to cut back on the frequency of my blogs. This has given me the freedom to focus on querying Called from Darkness, start another novel project, and support budding writers. I love writing and supporting writers, especially those who are just starting their journeys. I still have a long way to go on my path to publishing, but I’ve had quite a few short stories, essays, and articles publ

Trying to keep a boat from getting wet was the most absurd thing Aubrey had done that day. And she’d already cleaned strawberry stains off the ceiling. Brian pulled the boat cover—a giant gray tarp-like cloth—from one of the onboard storage lockers and climbed out of the boat. His bare feet landed in the muddy water that had accumulated in a rut left by the trailer’s tire, splashing Aubrey’s legs and speckling her skin with dots of red clay. “Watch it!” She snapped and step

I’m learning how to feed myself—when, how much, how often. For the first twenty-two years of my life, I was fed. My mother made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner, usually meat and potatoes. Hearty meals borne from her farm-family upbringing. Very few preservatives or dyes or unpronounceable ingredients. I had an unlimited meal plan for the first three years of college. Swipe into the dining hall. Swipe for a sandwich or a slop bowl. Everything was hot and ready, prepared and p