To all my wonderful readers, friends, and family:

Thanks so much for coming to my web site. Sorry I've been remiss in updating my home page (life keeps intervening). I have a lot to tell you all.

Back In the Saddle

First, thanks for all your good wishes and prayers for my healing. Both my hip surgery and my back surgery went great, and I now have no pain and two legs that are the same length again! So thanks go to Dr. Roger H. Frankel with Capital City Neurosurgery for ding such a fabulous job with my foramenectomies, and to precious Dr. R. Marvin Royster of Peachtree Orthopedic for putting the extension on my hip replacement to even me up. My internal surgery in December didn't work, but you win some, you lose some, and I can still function. Best of all, I'm getting my energy back and tackling all the household and yard projects I couldn't do for the last four years. (I weeded out a pile of brambles the size of a Volkswagen Vanagon from my garden, so I ended up looking like I'd been locked in a closet with a herd of wildcats when I was done, but it felt good to take back my yard, and the scratches do heal.)

As for my ongoing health issues, with a chronic health problem that needs a lot of management, I sometimes get weary and fall off the wagon, which is SO stupid, because it only hurts me, but hey—sweets are my addiction, and I'm far from perfect. (If sugar were cocaine, I'd be dead in an alley somewhere by now.) But I'm back taking care of myself and eating right almost all of the time.

I have such a hard time keeping up with where I'm supposed to be, and when, that I was convinced I was getting senile, but I guess not, because I finished twelve hours Spring Semester with a 4.0, thanks be to God and my study partners at Gainesville State University. I took Anthropology with Dr. Nicklas (a really fascinating guy), World Civilization with humane Dr. Guerty, Communication (which was actually Public Speaking) with fun Dr. Shields, and American Government with Dr. Warwick (who just happens to like my books), where I learned a lot I should have known long before this about our government from Dr. Warwick, who just happens to like my books. I am so grateful for all the knowledge and wisdom I got from my classes, especially the glimpse my fellow students provided me of what it's like to be a young person in today's techno-world. Though most of us were nontraditional students, I was older than anybody, including my professors, but that didn't mean I don't have a lot to learn.

My newest novel, Wife-In-Law, has received great reviews (I loved the one in the July 18, 2011 issue of Publisher's Weekly), and goes on sale September 14. You may pre-order your copy online, or, if you live in the Atlanta area and want to have some great food and drink while getting your autographed copy, come join us at 7:00 P.M at George Scott's wonderful book store, Peerless Book Store, in Rivermont Shopping Center at 8465 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta, 30022, just west of the Hooch. I'll be happy to autograph copies as Christmas of birthday gifts, too.

Now for some book news: I've just signed another two-book contract with St. Martin's Press for 2012's Out of Warranty—the story of a woman with my rare genetic form of arthritis who decides she has to marry someone for health insurance. There are lots of laughs when she tries fix-ups and e-dating (can we say, "people lie!") with a string of totally unmarriageable men and one Mr. Perfect who heads for the hills when he finds out what's wrong with her. In the end, she finally says "I do" with the unlikeliest of candidates—and ends up happily hitched to a wonderful friend—with some really strict household guidelines. After that, I'll be doing Queen Bee Goes to College for 2013, at my readers' request for a sequel to Queen Bee of Mimosa Branch.

For all my readers who enjoy historical novels, I am doing a "writer's cut" of my award-winning historical novels and releasing them in e-format on the Internet through Amazon and Barnes & Noble. I have restored some of the scenes that my original publisher cut from the previously published versions due to increased paper prices. I am also using my original titles for the first two of my historicals (originally published as Shadows in Velvet and Secrets in Satin), which will be re-released as Shadow of a Crown and Shadow of a Song. If you'd like to read the "author's cut," enjoy them on your e-readers.

As with all my historical novels, these award-winning, critically acclaimed books offer accurate history, timeless women's issues, plenty of drama and romance, strong heroines, real-men heroes, and uplifting conclusions.

Shadow of a Crown

My first historical (previously Shadows in Velvet—my publisher gave me a fabric theme) will be released as Shadow of a Crown. Nominated for four national awards and winner of one, this story of royal rebellion offers plenty of intrigue and action during the regency of Anne of Austria in the exciting era of The Three Musketeers.

My second historical novel will be released as Shadow of a Song (previously released as Secrets In Satin, of which one reviewer said, "Ignore the cheesy title. This is an engrossing, well-written book.") When I wrote this, I had just discovered that two people I knew very well had been victims of abuse, despite the fact that they were both intelligent, competent women. I was stunned by how difficult it was for them to get free of their situations, and admired them tremendously for having the courage to love again, despite what they'd been through. So I wrote a story of a Catholic woman during the British Civil War who has literally had the joy of living beaten out of her by an abusive father, then husband, only to find it again after the king forces her to marry a Goodtime Charlie Protestant who understands true faith better than she does. Together, they help Prince James escape from Parliament to ensure the Stuart succession. Amid the uncertainy of civil war, they find peace, faith, and enduring joy.

Damask Rose

My third historical novel, Damask Rose, is my version of the ancient myth of Hades and Persephone, set in ancient Scotland at the swansong of the Lords of the Isles. Redolent with mystery, myth, and magic based on the historical realities of that era, this exciting tale of redemption is set in the Scottish isles of the Hebrides and features a dark hero who has put his soul to sleep and marries the innocent heroine, fully intending to murder her after delivering her to her grandfather. There's also a special "messenger" in the character of a mentally challenged man whose innocence reminds the hero of what he's lost.