Have you ever been loved by a dog? Because it changes your life. Dogs are the most faithful friends you will ever make. They love you unfailingly—even when you don’t deserve it. Perhaps especially then. They share your life with you and only ask for a kind word, a comforting pat, a bit of your …

I’m often inspired by my five rambunctious dogs. Sometimes that inspiration is more subtle, and others it’s glaringly obvious. I wrote A Girl’s Best Friend for my non-stop barking, eating, and derping machine. For my Corgi, Michael Biscuit. He’s my husband’s special guy, his favorite furry friend, and there is never a dull moment. I …

Would you consider yourself a tomboy or a girly girl? Maybe you’re like me, and you really, truly don’t fit in either camp. Growing up, I loved books, animals, and learning. Not sports or makeup. Now that I have a daughter to call my own, I’m learning a lot about things I missed in my …

Today I’d like to tell you about a sweet little romance I wrote for my family, Must Love Movie Star. Dan is based on my brother, and Josephine Hannah is based on his real-life wife, Hannah. Dan is really a firefighter-paramedic—though in Michigan, not Anchorage. They are a great couple and truly in love even …

Today I’d like to tell you about my favorite book in the entire Alaskan Sunrise Romance series. It’s Must Love Miracles! Right from the start, I was rooting for this interfaith couple, and I hope you will too. P.S. My husband provided all the falafel content. He had me laughing out loud!

Today I want to tell you about one of the first romances I ever wrote. It’s had a few different titles over the years but is now called Must Love Mustangs. Honestly, I have no idea why I wanted my first contemporary romance to be a Western. Maybe because from the start, I knew I …

I have a confession to make. My husband helped me write Must Love Moo. I know, I know… But I wanted to write a football player hero, and I really do not understand the sport. Or most sports, if I’m being completely honest. Still, writing believable and authentic characters is important to me, so hubby …

Dogs are the most wonderful, loyal creatures you will ever meet in your entire life. Sure, sometimes they destroy your favorite pillow, steal food from the counter, or even relieve themselves on your antique rug, but still I wouldn’t trade my dogs for the world. Nope. Never. The fact that so many of these lovely …

I think I first knew my husband was the one for me when I saw how much my pets loved him. Of course, my golden retriever loved everyone at first sight, but my husband also won over my ornery sun conure who used to bite everyone except me. That very first day Mr. Storm ushered …

Why do we read, write, learn, live? For me, the answers are all one and the same. I write in order to explore deeper questions, in order to think and get others to think, in order to stretch the bounds of my imagination, in order to grow. This is especially true of the First Street …

Do you like crafting? I do! Writing is my preferred creative endeavor of choice, but I’m also a published cartoonist, Etsy shop owner, and former knitter. I had to quit knitting when the carpal tunnel in my hands got to be too much though. Aargh! Art has always been such a huge part of my …

Today, I’m going to tell you the story behind my book Love’s Trial… Both Tobias and Sally had a lot to prove—to themselves, to each other, to the world at large. Too many people in their lives had told them they weren’t enough. And they’d internalized these words, allowing them to become enormous roadblocks to …

Do you love Christmas? How about when it’s nowhere even close to season? That’s the true test of a holiday lover: to keep loving it all year long! I absolutely love the winter, the snow, and Christmas. My husband is of the bah-humbug variety… But that’s okay, because it gave me the idea for one …

Aren’t weddings the perfect blend of happiness, love, and unrelenting stress? Me? I skipped all that by eloping with Mr. Storm just three months after we first met–and nine years later, we’re still going strong and living our best life side by side. As for Ben and Summer, whom you first met in Love’s Prayer… …

Have you ever had to explain death to a child? My little girl’s best friend was our elderly Golden Retriever, Polo. He was sick and it was getting close… And I just didn’t know what to do. That’s part of the reason I wrote Love’s Prophet. In the third First Street Church Romance, six-year-old Molly …

This my first really big book–as in you’ll be able to find it at bookstores and supermarkets *big*. Yes, Home Sweet Home is available as an eBook, large print, and in mass market paperback, too. It includes 3 sweet stories, one by me, one by my good friend Donna Kauffman, and one by the legendary …

I’m writing today with news of a new book that is very close to my heart, indeed. Much of the story takes place during the month of November don’t delay in getting started with Manic Monday, Inc. I’m very open about my Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and have learned how to live with it in a …

Wednesday Walks & Wags is all about friendship, second chances, and fur babies (yup, all my favorite things!). How do we move on past grief to find new hope in life? Bridget and her hearty team of rescue dogs is about to find out that sometime help comes from the last person you’d expect… And …

My book The Sunday Potluck Club deals with themes of loss, grief, anxiety, and working to push through to the other side. Ultimately, that’s what we’re all doing now. Maybe I can’t make things better for you, but I can let you know that you’re not alone. Sometimes hardship is easier to endure when you …

Peer pressure doesn’t disappear just because we graduate, get married, get jobs… become grown-ups. In fact, it intensifies. How often do you feel yourself being pushed toward your limit—and then past it as well? In The Darkest Hour, Sofia’s story shows just that slippery slope of adulthood. One wrong step and we’re in danger of …