Tag Archives: Saved by Grace

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fitzgerald“Writers aren’t people exactly. Or, if they’re any good, they’re a whole lot of people trying so hard to be one person.”–F. Scott Fitzgerald

I remember when I was a teenager, I thought to myself that no one really knew who I was.  In true teenage form, I pretended to be who my friends wanted me to be.  I was the sweet one, the understanding one, the one who never rocked the boat.  It wasn’t who I truly was, it was just what the group needed.  Even now, many years beyond my teens, I’m different people.  At work, I’m the responsible one, the one that never says “I don’t have time.”  To my family, I’m the problem solver, the one who always has a solution in times of trouble.  If you ask my sons, they will say I’m the mean one, the one who over-reacts when we wait too long to get seated at a restaurant.  Sorry, but I thought two hours was an excessive amount of time to wait.  I didn’t yell, I just expressed my displeasure.  There are few people who know who I really am; sometimes I even forget who I really am.  Writing brings you back to yourself, though.  Writing has a beautiful way of emptying your mind of all of the noise and focusing on the new world in which you want to live for the next three months.  Fitzgerald was right.  We are a whole lot of people.  Sometimes I’m brave like Amy (Wait for Me).  Sometimes I make really bad decisions like Grace (Saved by Grace).  Sometimes I want to stick my head in the sand like Ellie (Second Chance).  All of those women in my books are me and I’m those women.  I’m in the middle of a life transition right now.  We’re packing up our house in the Midwest and moving to Florida.  My parents need me and as a friend said, it’s a nice thing that they live in Florida and not North Dakota!  My writing is on hold but in a few months (if the real estate market is kind) I should be back at the keyboard while watching the sun set over the Gulf.  I don’t have the main character figured out yet because I don’t know who I’ll be in the Spring.   I’m looking forward to finding out.

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Ghosts, ghosts everywhere….

tubIt’s no secret that I believe in ghosts.  Three of my books deal with the paranormal and Saved by Grace specifically explores the ghostly world.  It’s my family culture–we believe in, talk about, and celebrate the paranormal world.  My great-aunt Alice proclaimed proudly that she was a witch.  My grandmother, Iva, ghost hunted in her own low-tech way.  My family has always sat around late into the night, telling our own ghost stories, all of which we passionately believe to be true.  A few years ago, as I was locking up the house for the night, I saw in the reflection of a window a movement of some sort across my upstairs landing.  Not normally afraid of such things, I went to explore and found nothing.  As I prepared for bed, I was overcome with a wave of sadness and began crying.  Oh no, I thought to myself.  Early menopause.  My father called the next morning to tell me that my beloved Uncle David had suffered a stroke and was on life support.  Once family made it to him, life support was removed and his body was allowed to rest.  I believe that his spirit had visited me the previous night before it left this earth.  Now, fast forward to last week.  The weather was disgusting, I was exhausted from orienting at a new job, and all I wanted was to soak in my tub with my Kindle.  The glass shower cubicle next to my tub was making strange noises which I attributed to a trapped ladybug.  Without warning, the shower door opened wide.  As I mentioned, I am not normally afraid of things.  There was something about being in the presence of something paranormal while I soaked in my tub, though, that unnerved me.  It was a quick soak.  That experience aside, I love ghosts.  It’s such a confirmation that there is more to our existence than what we are currently experiencing.  Expect more paranormal books from me.  For me, it’s a celebration of life.

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Saved by Grace

saved by graceI had special inspiration for this novel.  I am the family historian and have traced my paternal lineage back to our roots in the British Isles.  My ancestors came to America quite early and many of the men fought in the Revolutionary War.  They were given land grants for their service and moved to the Carolinas.  The names you see in this book are actual names of my ancestors, although the story is completely fictional.  I like to think that the real Ephraim Potter shares absolutely nothing in common with my fictional Ephraim.  When developing Rufus’ character, I thought it would be an interesting twist to have the older son of an affluent family to be a fanciful personality–a “wood elf” type of child.  Duncan Robinson is totally a creation of my imagination, but it’s quite possible that I had at least a few strong, handsome Scottish men in my family tree!  I hope you enjoy a trip through my genealogical research set in fictional form.