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About


Here's a few tidbits about me:  I've been an avid reader ever since that first Nancy Drew mystery I picked up centuries ago.  Since then I've surrounded myself with books, in both my personal life and in my work life.  I enjoy contemporary and historical romance, mysteries and periodically a memoir.

Over the years I've worked in libraries, both academic and public, have taught writing at the college level and facilitated several writers groups.  I hold a Master's in English and a second Master's in Library Science.  My other interests include gardening, photography, quilting, knitting and crochet and chocolate.
I've traveled throughout much of the Eastern United States, England and France and have future plans to explore Scotland and Italy -- always gleaning more material for future romances, naturally!

Popular posts from this blog

More Secondary Characters

As promised, I'm back with some tidbits of info on another favorite secondary character who has appeared in several of my Regency romances -- the Dowager Lady Rutherford. I needed a character who would balance out Lady Caro (see last week's blog entry), someone who was smart as a whip, tough and yet hiding a soft side.  The dowager seemed to fit the bill for when she first appears in Snowbound Seductions , she's ornery, feared by all (even the duke) and willing to use her ebony cane like a Scottish claymore. So, the first British actress who visually inspired me, mostly for the dowager's physical attributes is Phyllida Law.  If you're an Acorn TV or Brit Box fan, many of you will recognize Ms. Law. Phyllida Law She's appeared in so many series and movies, and is also known as Emma Thompson's mother.  She is a wonderful actress and, to me, captures how I visualize the dowager. And in my work-in-progress, Wicked Wagers , we'll see a b...
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Sources of Inspiration

I've been working on my first Regency romance novel and, although I've read most of Jane Austen and seen so many of the excellent BBC movie variations, one still needs a bit of inspiration when working through the writing. It's usually those small details, descriptive of the landscape or the manor house, that gives a work that added level of veracity, of impact for the reader.  Why else would readers want historical romance?  I have to think that it's the time period that intrigues, a bit like a time tunnel.  Go ahead, pick your period -- there's probably a romance set in each one. That's why I love Pinterest.  If you can control the time spent on the great "P" -- and that's a big "if" -- there's so much out there to help spark those imaginative ideas or get a writer over the hurdle of writer's block.  Here's a few that I chose to help keep me churning out those words: Image captured from Pinterest Wouldn't thi...
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Swimming in Brighton

As I work on the first draft of Betrayed in Brighton , I find I'm enjoying the research into the history of Brighton as a popular seaside resort for the Regency period of England. Think Cape Cod, early 1800s! Because of the oppressive heat wave in London during the Season, my characters will head to the shore and enjoy the restorative powers of sea bathing, fresh air and sunshine. The more I read about people bathing for medicinal reasons, the more intrigued I become. Numerous writers refer to this popular phenomenon, which became the thing to do in the mid-1700s. Brighton, late 1700s  (bathing huts heading into the sea) ca. 1829 - Dippers are on the left; lady preparing to undress; other women frolicing Jane Austen, Fanney Burney and even the Prince Regent went bathing in Brighton's chilly waters, usually guided by "dippers," men and women who aided their forays into the salty waters of the English Channel -- Franny Burney, August 1773 “Ever si...
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