outlier: n. 1.A portion of anything that exists or lies apart from the main body or system to which it belongs I interviewed for my first job at the barn of a respected trainer on the backstretch at Longacres Racetrack in a mini-dress, high heels, and two-shaded octagonal sunglasses. It's safe to…

                         You can say or write anything you want, but that doesn't guarantee it will be appreciated or well received. Favorite expressions you love to hate? "Not to beat a dead horse . . . " (Outside of just common distaste for this descriptive expression, I have to admit it makes a point.…

       Quick! Off the top of your head – and excepting cuss words – what words do you hate whenever you hear them or see them used in a story (but not in dialogue). Here are a couple of mine: Keen, keening (as in lamenting, not as in "peachy keen") Issues (so overused in…

  Do not be quick with your mouth, do not be hasty in your heart to utter anything before God. God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few. As a dream comes when there are many cares, so the speech of a fool when there are many words.…

               Five random things for Friday: 1. One of my favorite places in Europe when I was there: Aix en Provence (France). 2. I've written seven novels and have three in progress. 3. One of my favorite memories from young childhood is swinging on my dad's bicep. 4. Of all the racetracks…

        I know it's crazy silly to say this, but I hope by the time you finish reading this post you'll understand what I mean. The hardest genre to write is romance. Go ahead. Laugh it up. I know. Why then has everyone and their mother, aunt, sister, daughter written or read one?…

  Highly recommend this post by Katherine Coble before or after perusing this year's nominees.                                Contemporary Romance The Breath of Dawn* by Kristen Heitzmann (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group) Lethal Legacy by Irene Hannon (Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group) Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert (WaterBrook Multnomah…

                              Recently I had the incredible – but shocking – pleasure of being re-introduced to my far away past through the gracious and benevolent comments left on this blog and a trio of follow up emails. This individual sent me scans of three postcards mailed to him from London and Europe, circa…

                           (Originally posted as "The life and death of . . . Iscariot" on April 21, 2013.) If you've read Demon . . . a memoir, and/or Havah, The Story of Eve, and now Iscariot: A Novel of Judas, you have learned that Tosca Lee is no amateur in scholarly research and an over-achiever when it comes…

  Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the Spirit of the Lord.…