Writing about a time associated with your youth holds a certain satisfaction. As I wrote (and researched) for my novel Beth Bettencourt, which will release in 2026 (gracious, that sounds like a long way away!), I was continuously transported back to the days of my youth. I can hardly remember 1962, which is when the […]
Beth Bettencourt: It Began on a Tuesday
Beth Bettencourt begins on a Tuesday in 1962 like this: Why do all the bad things happen at night? Things that go bump never rear their ugly heads in the bright of day. No. They wait. They wait and wait and then, when evening’s shadows have given way to the cloak of midnight, they make […]
Beth Bettencourt: The Way It Was & The Way It Is
Something I love about writing a novel set in another era is that I get to mentally return to a simpler time. This doesn’t mean a perfect time, but only that the time was less complex in nature. Let’s take, for example, social media. Do you ever wonder what we did before social media? Oh, […]
Beth Bettencourt–The Idea
I discovered this painting (left) while working on my manuscript, working title: Beth Bettencourt. (I added the name next to it.) The book is set in 1962, during our time of Camelot, in my fictional Southern town of Bynum, Georgia. Bynum is not a real town but is based on my hometown of Sylvania, Georgia. […]
Most Mornings
Most mornings I wake at 6:30. Not because I want to, but because I set an alarm and that’s when it goes off. Stupid alarm. Sometimes I hit snooze. Okay. Most times I hit snooze. Five minutes. I just need five more minutes. By 6:40, I’m up, the coffee is grinding, and I’m preparing my […]
The Story Behind the Picture: Mother and Mickey
The Story Behind the Picture: In early 2008, Mother mentioned that she had always wanted to go to Disney World. The fact that I lived so close by gave me the perfect opportunity to get tickets. Then, I attended an event where I won two all-day passes to any Disney Park. I called Mother on […]
Lessons Learned in Ireland: Day Two-Connemara
After a fairly sleepless night in Galway, Clare and I woke to a delicious breakfast at The Sliding Rock Inn. Afterward, we went upstairs, packed up, and then headed out to meet Clare’s “baby brother” (he’s 23) at a convenience store a few blocks away. The weather was gloomy–cold and rainy–which did not fit with […]
Lessons Learned in Ireland: Day One–Tipperary
I went to Ireland for the first time in 2019 and left with a plan to return two years later. Of course, that didn’t happen, COVID being what it was . . . But when world returned to something akin to normal, a plan was hatched. Before I get into the second trip, let me […]