First of all, I should say WELCOME to my new and improved website. Thanks to Sara, my agent, and Willa, the web designer, we are finally up and running. This part of the site is my space to communicate with you about what's happening in my life. I won't make any promises, but I hope to be able to update this about once a month.

Quite literally, the "view out my window" is absolutely gorgeous this morning. I see golden rays of morning light shining through the tall ponderosa pine trees as the sun rises. The sky is clear and blue, and today (Valentine's Day) promises to be a good one. My husband Chris already gave me my Valentine's present, an elegant strand of pearls. Not white ones, but "black" ones which actually look more like iridescent shades of smoky blues, lavenders, charcoals. Really pretty. And tonight we're going to a special seven course dinner with friends. Nice, huh?

Okay, okay...before you start gagging...and if you're thinking "Man, this woman has got to be kidding..." let me just say that not everything is coming up roses today. I'm just trying to maintain a positive outlook while the entire first floor of my home is torn completely apart. Thanks to water damage, all our wood floors, sub-floors, some walls and all the kitchen cabinets had to be torn out and we were left with a mildewed mess. Did I mention the smell? Anyway, life as I knew it (in my home) changed drastically after we discovered the water connection to our refrigerator had broken and created a concealed river beneath our wood floors.

Still, I feel fortunate that I can leave that stinking mess and come over to my writing studio, which is located in a nearby but separate building. My writing studio is like a small apartment, complete with mini kitchen and bath. We had just completed a renovation up here (shortly before our water woes began) and it's such a relief to come into this space of order and tranquility, escaping my "house of horrors."

Writing has been a great way to escape a lot of life's less than happy circumstances. Not to suggest that I don't deal with things...but there are many frustrating situations beyond my control, and I've found that writing is a wonderful way to "take a break." I've also found that a lot of the tough stuff of life creates great fodder for stories. It's my firm belief that God doesn't waste anything and I shouldn't either.

Right now I'm working on a new teen series. I'd actually thought that I was finished writing for teens, but it seems I was wrong. ☺ This new series falls more into the chick lit genre–a departure from my more serious issues-driven stories. Sometimes a girl needs to laugh. And, for this same reason, I have a women's chick lit book called These Boots Aren't Made for Walking, which will release later this year. And, while we're on a happy note, I recently heard that my novel Finding Alice is going to go into production for a Lifetime movie, which will show next fall. I'll be sure to keep you update.

Anyway, thanks for checking out my new website. I hope you'll pop in again...in the meantime, I will be busily writing. And, hey, maybe the next time you stop by, I'll have photos of my renovated house!