From 2004-2013, I worked on my first novel, Mother of Rain (Mercer University Press). It was hard work. I was trying to tackle a lot of things all at once. Put aside the fact that I had never really written fiction. I'd been a journalist. An opinion[..]
Today is my 59th birthday. I can hardly fathom it. I feel like I've finally mastered some game that has granted me access to a warp zone where everything goes faster, where the Novembers seem to bump up right next to one another, where the[..]
I had been in the backyard working on one of those DIY projects. Years ago, Tim built a log glider and gave it to me as a gift. Mother's Day, I think it was. At our current home, I have two rockers, a porch swing[..]
A couple of weeks ago, I got a call from Georgia. I knew it was a Georgia phone number because of the area code. Although I did not recognize the number, I answered the call anyway. I was sitting in a hospital room at[..]
You may or may not have heard that I have a new book coming out later this year from Mercer University Press: BURDY. It is the sequel to MOTHER OF RAIN. You definitely will want to read MOTHER OF RAIN before reading BURDY. There will[..]
I am on the road this week. I have a couple of book events lined up in Tennessee. If you are around for either of them, I'd love to see you. Come on out. Bring your friends. Tell your librarians & book clubs. Author[..]
I took an ailing veteran to the VA Center in Boise, Idaho this week. He's a young fellow, in his mid-forties. A big lug of a guy, 6' 3", and hauling around too much weight on his broken frame of a body. Twenty years ago,[..]
She stood across the table from me unable to speak. A catch in her throat, she said. You see, I read your other book, A Silence of Mockingbirds, the one on Karly Sheehan. I started following your blog. It was such a powerful book. Can[..]
The always beautiful and forever talented and always delightfully entertaining Sarah Thebarge came for a visit during Umatilla County Fair week. So, of course, I had to take her to the fair. Our first stop was the exhibition hall, where we marveled over the handiwork of[..]