The theme of my website was going to be all about taking a journey:  Through fiction as a reader and writer, through real life as a first-time mom. Maybe even throw in a few real travel reports.

Maps, vintage suitcases, road trips, small towns, quaint shops and restaurants and opera houses. That’s my thing.

Then we bought a fixer-upper.

Funny how one sweet old house can take over everything. There definitely haven’t been as many road trips! Of course, the project is a journey in itself—seeing the potential, figuring out its quirks, working toward getting it not necessarily to its original glory, but to its own modern version. One that breathes new life into its walls, gives it some of our personality, and has, you know, things like plumbing that doesn’t leak.

What’s that got to do with writing?

They say nothing’s new under the sun. Every story line has been done before, over and over again. But when it’s done with your voice, your personality shining through, your outlook on life…you breathe new life into it. It’s new and shiny and quirky and…You.

That’s my goal, whether I’m writing lighthearted westerns, romantic suspense, or whatever else, I try to put a unique spin on things. My own twist. And always, always, strive to show how God can restore what’s been broken.

The small towns, the old homes, the vintage suitcases—what’s fascinating to me about them are the stories that they could tell.

So tell me, what’s your story?