• authors,  book launch,  books

    THE CURIOSITIES Launch Party

    The book party for my second novel, THE CURIOSITIES, was held at the historic Livingston Inn in Madison, Wisconsin on February 9, 2019. The novel is set in an artists’ colony run out of a fictional mansion in that same neighborhood, so the location could not have been more perfect! Madison bookseller Mystery to Me sold copies of both THE CURIOSITIES and my first nove, VINTAGE. Thank you to all who attended. Click on any photo to see a larger version of the image.

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  • art,  authors,  books,  fiction,  madison,  publishing,  The Curiosities

    THE CURIOSITIES is Here!

    The Curiosities hit bookstore shelves on February 5, 2019, and I’m so happy that this book is finally out in the world and in the hands of readers. Set in a fictional artists’ colony run out of a lakeside mansion in Madison, Wisconsin, it’s a novel about artists, inspiration, and how to reinvent your life with purpose and flair. And, because I’m sucker for stories about second chances, it’s also about finding hope and joy after loss and mistakes. Pick up your copy at your favorite independent bookseller or online here. Here’s what others have had to say about The Curiosities: “Featuring a cast of characters as varied as the…

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  • authors,  books

    VINTAGE is Today’s BookBub Deal!

    Do you subscribe to BookBub? It’s an email newsletter that sends you news about fantastic deals on ebooks in categories of interest that you select when you sign up. The books featured are heavily discounted, with most of them no more than a few dollars. I have filled my Kindle with sooooo many great books through BookBub. Today, VINTAGE is one of the selections featured. It’s $2.99 across all ebook platforms. You can grab a copy here.

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  • authors,  books,  fiction

    Thank you!

    VINTAGE is a USA TODAY bestselling book! Thank you to all the readers, booksellers, librarians, and bloggers who helped make it happen.

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  • authors,  beauty,  debut author,  fashion,  local,  madison,  vintage,  wisconsin

    Check “Cover Girl” Off the Bucket List

    BRAVA magazine chose VINTAGE as its literary salon selection for October 2014. In addition to holding an lovely vintage-themed author event at A La Crate Vintage Rentals, they interviewed me and did a photo shoot. It was a dream come true to show up and see racks of lovely vintage clothes and accessories laid out for me in my size! To read the interview on books, writing, and all things vintage, click here.

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  • authors,  creativity,  Uncategorized,  writing

    No Excuses: My Writing Process

    Last week I featured author Una LaMarche as part of the #MyWritingProcess blog tour. Now it’s my turn. But be forewarned: my process is not a series of creative steps I follow to finish a project. Rather, my process involves karate-chopping excuses not to write on a daily and sometimes hourly basis.  Here are five of the most common excuses not to write and how I tackle them. Hopefully these tips will help some of you kick their asses, too. “I’m not inspired.” Here’s a secret: no one feels inspired all the time. Writing is a job that needs to be worked at steadily until it’s done. Would a carpenter say, “You know,…

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  • authors,  blogging,  books,  writing

    Una LaMarche on her Writing Process

    I’ve been asked to participate in the #MyWritingProcess Blog Tour, where writers from across genres and continents talk about how they write. Today I’m featuring the hilarious Una LaMarche, whose Sassy Curmudgeon blog was named one of Babble’s 100 best humor blogs of 2013. She also writes for the New York Observer. Last year, I read Una’s debut YA novel, Five Summers, and had a blast re-living my teenage summer camp days through the four main characters. Una has a new novel, Like No Other, coming out in July. It’s about forbidden young love–always a great premise–between a Brooklyn girl with a strict Hasidic upbringing and an awkward bookish boy.  Today I’m posting…

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  • authors,  book launch,  books,  entertaining,  local,  madison,  vintage

    Vintage Launch Party Pictures

    Last Saturday was the book launch party for my debut novel, VINTAGE, held at the High Noon Saloon in Madison. We had a great turnout, with most guests arriving dressed in vintage attire. Madison bookseller A Room of One’s Own sold over 100 copies of VINTAGE at the event. Thank you to all who attended! Click on any image to see a larger version.  

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  • agents,  authors,  books,  creativity,  debut author,  lawyer life,  literature,  moms

    Taking Five for the People Behind the Scenes of Vintage

    Today I’m over at The Debutante Ball, where I blog every Wednesday, talking about the people who helped make my debut novel, VINTAGE, possible. Here’s a sneak preview: It takes more than one person to write a novel, and any author who doesn’t admit that is either lying or an egomaniac. In my case, it took a whole lot of people for VINTAGE to go from a glimmer of an idea to a manuscript to a real-life book that hits bookstores in March. Here are five of them, or five categories of people, since I couldn’t actually narrow it down to just five individuals. First, there was my very patient husband,…

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  • authors,  books,  fiction,  literature,  madison,  recipes,  seasonal,  summer,  sweets

    A French Dessert and a Fresh Read

    For me, one of summer’s great joys is scarfing down mass quantities of berries and stone fruits. Another one of the season’s pleasures is sitting in a shaded spot, curled up with a good book. When the two converge? Serendipity. Last week, the fruit box delivered by my CSA farm was packed tight with eight pounds of sweet cherries. My husband, son, and I stuffed as many into our mouths as we could. Immediately. When we wiped the red juice from our faces, though, we still had quite a few cherries left. Enter, The Good Luck Girls of Shipwreck Lane, the delightful debut novel by Kelly Harms that I happened to be…