Category: Book Blog
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Murder Mystery Birthday Weekend: When Reality Inspires Fiction
Imagine planning a special birthday weekend at a charming castle, complete with a Murder Mystery event, only to find yourself caught in a real-life drama right outside your window. That’s exactly what happened to my husband and I on what was supposed to be a romantic getaway filled with adventure and celebration. As we settled…
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Crossing the Finish Line!
It’s December – Happy Holidays, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a Blessed and Healthy New Year to everyone! As 2023 comes to a close, I wanted to share how my daughter’s real-life photography project inspired the ending of “UnMasked.” Our middle daughter was enrolled in a high school photography class and had an outdoor photography…
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Someday’s Here
Like many people, I dreamed “someday” I would write a book. Someday I would have the luxury of time and the ability to completely focus and lose myself in amazing story-lines. I dreamed of creating characters and locations so realistic and authentic that you wanted to befriend them and live in their warm and inviting…
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Enjoy the Sparkly Joy Filled Moments
This morning I woke up, feeling kind of blah. My To Do list seemed endless and the beautiful fall weather was beckoning, encouraging me to go outside and enjoy the day. As I dressed, I noticed a sparkly chemise carefully folded and put away in my closet. It was exactly what was needed. Instead of…
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Northern Michigan Inspirations for “UnMasked” – Part 2
One of the biggest inspirations for the lake house for “UnMasked” was my family’s beach house on Walloon Lake in Petoskey. As July 4th approaches I find myself re-living so many wonderful memories. My parents, siblings and our families would travel to our family beach home each July 4th week to celebrate the summer and…
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Northern Michigan Inspirations for “UnMasked” – Part 1
When I began envisioning the places of “UnMasked” one of the first areas that came to mind were some of my favorite cities in northern Michigan; places I’d known and loved every summer since I was a baby. My family would visit Petoskey, Charlevoix and Harbor Springs. My grandparents had retired to Charlevoix, so sometimes…
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Mark – A Neurodivergent Character
I made the decision for Mark Blake, the youngest child from “UnMasked” to have autism for three reasons. First, I’m the parent of a child that has high functioning autism who was severely compromised with immune issues and a lower form of functionality. Our child went through years of medical treatments and was in and…
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Patti – A Young, Sexy-Looking Grandma
In “UnMasked, the matriarch of the family, Granda Patti is a complex character. She and her husband Joe have three adult children – Jen age forty-eight, Clint age forty-four and Lori about to turn forty. Patti’s quick to tell others, “According to my husband, Joe, I’m a young, sexy-looking grandma… I may be seventy-three, but…
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Jen – Sandwiched in the Middle
Jen is sandwiched between her many responsibilities as a wife, mom, employee, warrior mom, and friend as well as daughter to aging parents. She’s Ben’s wife, Kylie’s mom, and Patti’s daughter. But who is she REALLY? Does anyone know her and see who she is, her struggles and all she has on her plate? Who…
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Kylie – The Spunk 16-year-old from “UnMasked”
I initially began “UnMasked” by focusing on the spunky, outspoken 16-year-old, Kylie Clarke. Her character is rich in her ability to share her viewpoint and perspective on her life during the Pandemic. Kylie is ticked off and just wants things to go back to normal. She excels in the ability to speak her mind and…
