The Ancestral Pen

  My Motivation This makes all the hard work so worth it. It was made even sweeter because my husband's 90-something-year-old aunt took the time to sit and write this to me. She loves my Woolsey Saga books, which I'm already thinking of adding another book to that set before our country celebrates its 250th anniversary next July, so stay tuned. I'm sure you can guess which era that ancestor will come from. Sadly, the day after I captured this image, our German Shorthair, Scout, snagged it off my desk, and thought it made a really good snack for him. Writers of the Future Contest I entered my first writing contest, ever. If nothing else, I'm proud that I forced myself out of my comfort zone and wrote a short story in a genre I don't write in. It was certainly a challenge, but I managed to do it. I won't be able to make it available until after the contest is concluded, but you'll be the first to know when my ghost and time travel story is released. My Next Tr...

  View in browser   Well, summer is almost over. For me, that means canning season is about to begin—but this year, I’ve added writing a good ghost story into the mix. In my last newsletter, I shared that I’m entering the Writers of the Future contest. The work is well underway: I now have a cover and a first draft. Over the next two weeks, I’ll be polishing it up and preparing to submit it by the end of the month. Here’s a sneak peek from  The Crossing Hour : When Clara invests everything she has into restoring Willowshade Manor, she envisions fresh paint, polished antiques, and a thriving bed-and-breakfast. What she doesn’t expect is the house’s past reaching out to claim her. The Whitmore family’s diaries reveal unspeakable horrors, while strange symbols carved into doorframes hint at a curse that binds the living and the dead... the past and the present. Each discovery pulls Clara deeper into a web of bloodlines, betrayal, and restless spirits. Now Clara must choose—d...

  Dear Readers, I have some exciting updates to share with you about my writing journey! First, I want to let you know that the Woolsey Saga is now complete, particularly in regard to the father-son story of Richard and William. If you haven't grabbed your copies yet, now's the time! While the saga has room for many more stories, and perhaps someday I'll explore our Revolutionary War soldiers or other amazing Woolseys, I don't have any additional Woolsey plans on the horizon at this time. Currently, I'm stepping way out of my comfort zone. I've decided to write a book for the Writers of the Future contest, and since it requires the story to be science fiction, futuristic, or horror, I'm venturing into completely new territory for me. The Crossing Hour  is a supernatural thriller that follows Clara Whitmore, a recently divorced contractor who buys the mysterious Willowshade House in 2064. What starts as a post-divorce fresh start quickly becomes something far...