Why I Started Writing:

God called me to write novels through my husband. I had been writing scripts to set up or illustrate my pastor’s sermons for about five years, and Lifeway published my first one, which was a real thrill. In 2000, I left my office job, and my husband told me to not bother to find another one. “Why not write a book?” he said. The moment he uttered those words, my mind exploded with story ideas! Now, I couldn’t stop writing; there are too many characters clamoring in my brain to have their stories told. 

Authors Who Have Influenced Me:

I have gone through several copies of Christy, by Catherine Marshall. I tend to read it every year. Before I knew about Christian fiction, I read Barbara Taylor Bradford’s book A Woman of Substance and loved the epic story. I read all of Jan Karon’s Mitford series. Soon, my own brand emerged: Southern-fried Fiction. Every book I write, whether contemporary or historical, features an ensemble cast of strong Southern women—sisters or friends—who help each other through the story.  

Books I Have Written:

Novels: Chapel Springs Revival; Chapel Springs Survival, Home to Chapel Springs; Life in Chapel Springs; The Chapel Springs Cookbook; In High Cotton; On Sugar Hill; By the Sweet Gum; When the Bough Breaks. Novellas: A Magnolia Blooms in Winter, in the four-novella compilation Southern Seasons: Four Stories From A Front Porch Swing; Love is Sweeter in Sugar Hill, in a seven-novella compilation: Coming Home, A Tiny House Collection; Novelette: Way Down Upon A Suwanee Murder; Nonfiction: Writing From the Trenches: Tips & Techniques From Ten Award-Winning Authors. 

What I'm Working On Now:

Besides writing stories, community theatre is my passion. I’m combining those in Take My Hand (working title), a contemporary women’s fiction in a theatrical setting. I’m also working on a new series set in my hometown, Sugar Hill, during the Great Depression. The first book is Up Level Creek (working title).