May 2007

Hello Friends —

This spring has been a busy time for me, as I am sure it has been for you. We had droves of guests come to visit at our California home — something that’s always wonderful fun. I love the place we live part-time, and we enjoy introducing our friends and relatives to its breath-taking beauty. (Though sometimes the sightseeing impinges on my writing time.)

We've had some other highlights in the last few months. I've celebrated a significant birthday in spectacular fashion. We marked our thirtieth wedding anniversary and have moved back home to Missouri. I've had some other experiences that have made the last couple of months memorable.

*  AN INVITATION.  Several weeks ago it was my pleasure to spend the evening with the charming ladies of the Book Bag reading group in Elkhorn, Wisconsin discussing my contemporary novel A SIMPLE GIFT. That came about when Edie, the hostess for that evening, e-mailed me to set up a telephone visit during their meeting. While they drank tea on their end of the line, I drank tea on mine. The ladies all asked wonderful, thought provoking questions and had fascinating insights into the story and the characters. Sometimes I had to pause and consider exactly what I had been thinking when I wrote a particular section of the story, or what I had been hoping to accomplish when I set up something in the plot. They were a bright and engaging group, and I enjoyed my time with them immensely.

If your reading group has chosen to discuss A SIMPLE GIFT and would like to invite me to discuss the book with you, please contact me through this website.

*  AN ADVENTURE.  For my significant birthday, Tom gave me a particularly wonderful gift — a helicopter tour of one of my favorite places, the Big Sur Coast. Though I love to fly, I had never been up in a helicopter before, but our pilot, Chris, made the flight a great experience. Take off was like levitating off the tarmac, and the view from the cockpit was more than 180 degrees. It was a perfect day, and as we zoomed off down the coast, we were mesmerized by the gorgeous scenery along Highway One. We also flew over two gray whales migrating north; a tall ship — an 1812 merchantman with all sails unfurled — bound for Monterey; and banks of headlands that disappeared into the mist far down the coast. We circled Point Sur and the Point Sur lighthouse station, and peered at a few of the spectacular homes nestled in the cliffs above the ocean. This flight made my mumble-mumble birthday one I will always remember. (Insert photos where applicable.)

*  A NEW CHALLENGE:  Before I nestle in to my office to start work in earnest on the historical novel I've been researching, we are heading out on a "field trip" to North Carolina and Kentucky so I can visit sites that figure in the story I want to tell. (Photos of log cabin.)

As some of you may know, this is not my first book set in Kentucky. In A PLACE CALLED HOME, one of my early Elizabeth Grayson novels I wrote about Livi Talbot and Reid Campbell, and how they fell in love while pioneering in this beautiful and dangerous land. This will not be a sequel to that story. Instead I plan to delve into the hazards a new set of characters face as they fight to build a place for themselves in this magnificent wilderness.

I'll post photos that research trip the next time I write.

*  AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO LIKE MY CONTEMPORARY STORIES:
Until I get the Kentucky novel rolling, I am temporarily moving my women’s friendship novel, THROUGH THICK AND THIN, to the back burner. That doesn't mean I won't give it a good stir now and then, mostly because sitting down with these characters is like a visit with friends. Because of that, I know JoAnne, Leslie, Sonia, and Alicia will eventually have a chance to tell their story — though for now they're going to have to be patient. And so will you.

So that’s the news from here. Hope you enjoy the photos from our helicopter adventure.

Happy spring —

Winter 2007 Archive

December 2006 Archive

October 2006 Archive

Early Summer 2006/Farm Visit Archive

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