I’ve been fascinated watching the tiny house movement from the sidelines. Let me be frank: I need space. I lived in studio apartments when I first moved to Chicago, which is fine for one person. The minute I moved into a two-bedroom condo, however, I started shutting the door just because I could.

I like the privacy to be found in rooms with doors. I’m also anti-open floor plan. But I digress…

I’ve often been struck by the reasons why a person or family chooses a tiny house. Wanting to move off the grid, seeking a way to make homeownership a reality, or re-grouping after a devastating loss are a few of the stories I’ve seen and read. The idea of living with less also resonates with me. All that is to say that despite the anti tiny-house stance in my second Golden Shores story, Coastal Erosion, I’m pro tiny house (if it’s the right fit). I joke with my husband that I’m going to need a tiny house/she shed once our little boys become big.

Coastal Erosion is anti-development, more than anything else. Watching as every spare field near my home in the Midwest is sold and developed, I worry what the point of all this urban sprawl is. Do we really need another large-scale shopping center when other retail buildings within a three-mile radius are vacant? Can’t we figure out a way to re-work pre-existing buildings without having to break new ground?

On St. Simons, the very real island featured in my Golden Shores books, they are also facing development and stressing the infrastructure. I’m grateful for the work of my county at preserving as much land as they can and similarly, such work is happening in St. Simons too. I hope your hometown is working to save your land too.

So, tiny houses? Yay. Overdevelopment? Nay.

Hi everyone,

I’m delighted to share that I’ve been invited to participate in Round Lake Area Public Library’s Creative Romance program. Join me and other local romance authors as we discuss fun and flirty ideas to show that special someone how you feel. I hope you can come out, I’d love to say hello!

Tuesday, February 6th from 6:30pm to 8pm

at the Round Lake Area Public Library

906 Hart Rd., Round Lake, IL

 

Everyone recovered from the holidays?

I have to admit, I love the entire stretch from October through January 1st, but it takes a lot out of me too. Early in the calendar year tends to be my most productive writing time as I settle in with a hot beverage and a warm blanket in my laundry room/office and start typing.

In case you missed my update, my Golden Shores series is now available on Kobo, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble, along with Amazon. I’m continuing to share excerpts and character interviews from the series over the next couple months. Today I’m sharing fifteen facts about the entire trilogy, I hope you enjoy!

More than any other series, this has become the go-to for inside jokes.

1. Phil (named after my Dad) cooks a signature dish that my Dad invented, fried tuna (from a can) and eggs.

2. Lizzie’s house is my parents’ actual dream home.

3. In my family, we are all dog owners. My dog is in another book. Scooter is modeled after my cousin’s dog. He was one of the sweetest and goofiest souls ever to grace the earth.

4. Like Lizzie, as an adult, I signed up for tap dance lessons for several years. I hadn’t tapped since childhood but needed a break from my very stressful job. I enjoyed class but our twice-yearly recitals did leave me feeling a bit ridiculous.

5. Miss Rose’s tracksuits were based on very real active wear I couldn’t convince my mother to leave on the rack in the 90’s.

6. In my books, everyone drinks a lot of coffee. What can I say? Art imitates life.

7. I worked as an assistant for a wedding planner for a while. It’s a fascinating balance of organization and emotional counseling. Lizzie takes on far more than I think I’d ever be able to handle.

8. The series is called Golden Shores, both an homage to the nickname for the location, the Golden Isles, and a reference to the older cast of supporting characters

9. I hope I’m Miss Rose when I grow-up, but I think I’m more like Miss Marie

10. The tiny airport featured at the end of the book might seem impossibly small, but is very much real

11. The building that is converted into condos in Coastal Erosion has been repurposed (just not quite in the way I imagined)

12. My grandfather owned a bar with his brother-in-law (started by my great-grandfather)

13. I wrote and re-wrote the first draft of Tidal Patterns several times. I liked the concept of a woman at the start of her career in a place where most people retire. Finding the balance of past tragedy and hope, however, was tricky

14. I like to write about older brother-younger sister relationships because I’m a younger sister with an older brother and I think our bond really shaped my childhood and who I am today

15. If you are on St. Simon’s Island, (home to the 2017 HGTV dream home) you have to stop at Palmer’s (mentioned in the first book). My mouth is watering just thinking about their food