Beach reading has always been my favorite summer activity. Come late May and early June stories by all my favorite authors hit shelves and I love throwing them in a beach bag and finding a spot to read them in the sand. This year I'm most excited about Jane Green's latest book, The Friends we Keep, which was just released yesterday. I've been a huge fan of her stories for as long as I can remember. Along with Emily Giffin and Elin Hilderbrand, she was one of the authors that inspired me to . . .
My Favorite Character Looks For Summer From Waiting at Hayden’s
As soon as I finished writing Waiting at Hayden's I couldn't wait to see the story come to life visually! I had such a clear idea in my head of what the characters looked like and also what their homes looked like and even the restaurant where the book primarily takes place. On a creative impulse I hired a videographer to help me create a video trailer for promotion and found actors, styled everything the way I'd imagined it while I was writing, and filmed a short video clip. It was during . . .
How To Get Started Writing a Novel
So you want to write a novel? Congrats on this big decision and first step! 81 percent of Americans have a dream to write a book, but few actually follow through with it (something I totally get now that I've finally published a book). The novel is the greatest undertaking of the human imagination, a professor I once had told me, so it makes sense that it takes so long to figure it out. That being said, it is such an exciting challenge and a journey I highly encourage you take if you have a . . .
Easter Dresses & An Island Egg Hunt For Waiting at Hayden’s
Over the weekend I hid several signed copies of Waiting at Hayden’s in the free little libraries on Balboa Island. I’m always borrowing books from these little libraries to take to the beach. I love finding new reads here that I wouldn’t have picked out at the bookstore and sharing my favorites with others on the island as well. A while back I did a post about creative ways to use your books for home décor, but sharing, re-gifting, and donating books is my favorite use for them—especially . . .
This App Allows You To Watch Scenes & Shop Characters’ Clothes in the PRINT Version of Waiting at Hayden’s
As most of you know, Waiting at Hayden’s is the first book to be published in the new reading experience format shopfiction™, which I coined and branded last year. Links in the digital version of the book and web addresses in the print take you to video highlights where you can watch key scenes come to life and shop the characters' clothes. There are also links the in the digital version each time an outfit is described. You can click on the link and see the character come to life in the . . .
10 Incredible Love Stories To Read Before Valentine’s Day
This weekend it felt like summer in Orange County, so I was able to catch up on some reading poolside! While I’ll occasionally pick up a psychological thriller like The Woman Inside, or a self-help book like The Untethered Soul, you can almost always find me reading a love story. Since I was little and read my first Nicholas Sparks’ book, love stories have been all I’ve been drawn to. I’m constantly fascinated by the choices people make when it comes to matters of the heart. And while writing . . .
