Recently, an old friend of mine sent me a note on Facebook (come on over and find me on my author page—I’d love to see you!). Her message went something like this: “OMG, I read the part about XYZ on page XX of The Violets of March, and I know where you got that!” And yes, she was right! If you know me well, you will be able to pick…

Happy book birthday to Deb Tawna’s Making Waves! I’m giggly and all kinds of shades of chartreuse because, um, I’m a total romance novel virgin! Yes, I did peek at the pages of friend’s romance novels in high school, but can you believe that in my 33 years I’ve never been properly introduced to the genre? So, Deb Tawna, you are my first! Like Deb Elise, I have had the…

I was soooo excited to read fellow Deb Ball sister Elise Allen’s debut novel, Populazzi (which I, oddly, always want to spell with two “p’s”—which makes zero grammatical sense!) for so many reasons: a.) in the lost years between junior high and high school, I was a little shy, a little unsure of myself, and, like Elise’s main character, Cara, totally the type of girl whose diaries are uneventful (though…

In a recent post, I shared my obsession with use of notebooks for my novels. In short, I keep notebooks all over my house (even in my car, but only for use when I’m parked!), so I can write an idea down before it escapes me. But my very favorite notebook is the one right next to my bed. Oddly, in the moments right before I drift off to sleep,…

It’s true. I have a terrible singing voice. So terrible, in fact, that I sometimes lip sync in church for fear of irritating my fellow churchgoers. And don’t ask me to sing a high note—it will come out in an odd-sounding squeak. While no amount of voice lessons will turn me into a candidate for American Idol, I have been thinking a lot about my writing voice. Some thoughts on…

On July 4, I was busy finishing up a few posts for my Glamour.com blog, Vitamin G, dealing with fussy kids, and eyeing the clock (at 11, I had to take the kids to the neighborhood’s annual Fourth of July parade). All the while, I was thinking of how bogged down I felt. The sun was shining, birds were chirping—and there was nothing I’d rather do than slip into my…

I was so excited about today’s topic on The Ball, because I love lists. Love them. Really, let me illustrate how much. I keep notebooks all over my house. One in the bathroom. One on my nightstand in my bedroom. One in the kitchen. And a big stack in my office. This way, if I’m running around the house and happen to think of something, I don’t know, sorta brilliant,…

You know what I realized recently? I was on a jog—heart pounding, panting, iPod blasting—and I kept seeing all these gorgeous flowers, plants and trees along the road in my neighborhood, and I realized that much, if not all, of my writing is inspired by nature. Maybe this is 100 percent corny, I don’t know. All I know is that the beauty of the natural world provides some crazy inspiration…

Is there anything more lovely than curling up with a book on a sandy beach, with the sun streaming down on skin (um, slathered in SPF 50), waves crashing into the shore in the background? Of course, I can only dream about this scene, because I have three little boys and I’d rather gouge my eyes out than get on a plane and travel somewhere far away with three kids,…