Latest Posts
99cent books 365 journals animals bargain books birds book lover book review books book tour cats container gardening country living cozy mystery cozy reads debut author deer deer resistant driftless driftless area of wisconsin driftless thursday ebook deals editing fixing story problems giveaway great escapes book tours groundhogs ground squirrels guess the bird guest posts journals leucism nature POV self-publishing settings solving problems in storytelling spotlight storytelling turkey vultures vegepods wisconsin writing writing craft writing inspiration writing process
-
Driftless Thursday: Deer (and Critter) Resistant Perennials
When it comes to landscape gardening, I’m all about perennials. They are the ultimate of “work smarter, not harder” in gardening. Here’s my shortlist of recommendations for deer and critter-resistant perennials that also stand up to an amateur gardener. Trust… Continue reading
-
Operation: Be Read
That’s the name I’ve given my current efforts after my recent epiphany about how my books are like my crocheted stuffed animals. Just like toys are meant to be played with, books are meant to be read. After covering my… Continue reading
-
Driftless Thursday: The bird bath became a deer bucket
Late in the spring I saw a video online that gave me an idea for a new garden feature. I made a simple planter with a center solar fountain, thinking hummingbirds might fly through it and other birds might enjoy… Continue reading
-
It’s 5am, and I’m Writing…
I’m deep in the final surge of storytelling for my next book. I’ve been rewriting the climax of Tangled Roots. I’m so into it, I made sure to have enough food in the fridge that we can eat leftovers for… Continue reading
-
Driftless Thursday: Rainbows
Last week we had some storms. Rain and thunder are a part of life, of course, but I’m one of those people who hate storms. I tend to spend storms comforting pets, worrying about leaks, and not being able to… Continue reading
-
Driftless Spirits Ebook is $0.99 for the Summer (and Beyond)
I love summer reading. People look for “beach reads” but I’ve never been a beach girl and I live in the middle of hills and woods. For me, summer reading is sitting in the grass or under the porch with… Continue reading
-
An Epiphany: Crocheting vs. Writing
Far longer than I’ve been a writer, I’ve been a crocheter. Very specifically, I love crocheting stuffed animals. Here are some examples of my work: None of them turned out perfectly. Some were a bear (no pun intended) to make.… Continue reading
-
Driftless Thursday: Summer Snow
It’s the time of summer when we start seeing fluffy white bits gently falling, especially on a breezy day under a clear blue sky. It’s not summer snow, of course, but the eastern cottonwood does a fine imitation. These are… Continue reading
-
Cover Reveal! (Tangled Roots)
I wrote recently about working on the hard parts of self-publishing. One of the things on my list was the cover for Tangled Roots, Book 2 in my Secrets in Casten’s Horn series. I finally found it: I might play… Continue reading
-
Driftless Thursday: Brown-headed Cowbirds
When we moved to the country in Wisconsin, we were fascinated by the number of birds we saw and had to identify. We only moved from the Chicago suburbs, after all, how different could they be? Maybe we just weren’t… Continue reading
