By now many of you have had a chance to read One Mountain Away. If you haven’t, an important element of the novel involves Charlotte Hale, the principal character, who is looking back at her life. Charlotte isolates three things she did in the past that she wishes she could change, then she sets about making amends for each of them, doing something in each instance to help make up for the damage she caused.

Do you have situations in your past that you wish you could redo? If you answer no, I worry about you. Because I believe we all have those situations, and facing them and admitting we screwed up is an important part of being human. Of course dwelling on our mistakes isn’t particularly helpful unless doing so helps us find a way to ask forgiveness or take a step to fix the situation. If that’s impossible, than the next step is to head off a similar situation for somebody else.

I have more than a few things I wish I had done differently. But one of them has nagged at me since I wrote Somewhere Between Luck and Trust, the book which follows One Mountain Away, which will be at bookstores in June. (more…)

This year I began a new weekend diversion on my author Facebook page.  Each Friday night or Saturday morning I post a “Fantasy for the Weekend.”  For instance last weekend here’s what I asked:

In honor of holiday eating: A very smart nutritionist has discovered a way to make any food healthy without changing the flavor, texture or appeal. She’s asked you to choose three foods to “fix,” so that now you can eat them any time without worry. What three foods will you choose?

Twenty-six people responded and by the end of those fantasies, my mouth was watering. Don’t YOU wish that vast quantities of chocolate were actually good for you?

There’s value in fantasy. I like to think that if we know what we want, we’ll strive toward it or some attainable version. Knowing what we value is the first step toward resetting goals. And even if that’s impossible–like converting pounds of butter into something healthy–playing “let’s pretend” for a little while is always a welcome diversion.

You are always welcome to join our Fantasy for the Weekend by adding your own comments. “Like” my page while you’re there if you haven’t already and join the fun.

Today I thought I would ask some of the women in One Mountain Away, the first book of my Goddesses Anonymous series, what one gift they would most like to find under their Christmas tree. I”ll let them speak for themselves.

• Charlotte Hale, the major character, has made some serious mistakes in the way she’s chosen to live. Here’s what I think she would say:  For Christmas I would like to know that I have, in some small way, made up for the problems I’ve caused others and set their lives on a better path.

While I’m in the middle of my move from Virginia via New York, the east coast of Florida and now the west coast, I thought I would remind you of my Wisdom of the Goddesses board at Pinterest.  I’ve reserved this board for inspirational sayings that go straight to the heart of the series.  Today I decided to begin memorizing some of the sayings as my own personal spiritual discipline.

My first is a quote by Don Miguel Ruiz.  ”There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.”  It’s a lesson I need to learn.

How about you?  Is there a lesson captured somewhere on the Goddesses board for you?

Now I need a quote, hopefully something profound, about patience while setting up a new household.  Maybe you have a suggestion?

See you Friday if my internet’s fully installed and functioning.  We can hope for the best.  No matter what, though, I will NOT take it personally.

This has been a month of transition. We’re settled temporarily on the east coast of Florida, enjoying the sunshine and exploring our October home. Along the way it looks as if we might have bought a house in a place fondly reminiscent of Happiness Key. I’ll tell you more about it once the inspection is completed and we’re happy with the results.

But for now, I promised Biltmore photos, and here they are, all taken by my husband.  He, son Galen and I spent a whole day here, with the idea of getting some new publicity photos for me.  Galen is a professional photographer and often does weddings here at the Biltmore, so he knew exactly where to shoot.  Along the way we went into the house, walked the grounds, visited the winery and had a delicious dinner. And there was more to do that we just didn’t have time for. A great stop if you’re in the Asheville area.

The Biltmore appears in book two of my Goddesses Anonymous series, in next summer’s book, Somewhere Between Luck and Trust. Remember Luck and Trust? If you read the first book you know they’re real townships in the mountains near Asheville. Biltmore Forest, where Charlotte lives in One Mountain Away, is a community  near the historic Biltmore estate, built by George Vanderbilt and completed in 1895. The house is truly an American castle. To read more about the fascinating history of the house and the Vanderbilts–who still own and manage the estate–you’ll enjoy this website.

The grounds here are extensive. This was shot across a lake nearly at dusk, and I love the mysterious quality of the ‘castle’ in the distance.

A closer shot. Amazing, isn’t it?

And, of course, the close-up.

Galen being photographed by my husband while he’s photographing me.

Most of you know I’m traveling south to look for a new home. We are temporary vagabonds as we decide just where to live next. Right now we’re in Asheville, North Carolina, home of the Goddesses Anonymous novels and even more important for me, one of my three sons. Galen is a photographer here, and yesterday we did a photo shoot, hopefully to get a new homepage photo for upcoming website revisions. Galen is also the creator of my book trailer for One Mountain Away, and most of the photos of Asheville in it are his own.

Today’s photos, though, are my husband’s and mine. We took a day to wander downtown and thought you might enjoy wandering with us a bit. Some of these scenes will be familiar if you’re read One Mountain Away.

Remember Maddie enjoying an afternoon at Splashville in Downtown Asheville? Here t’is. Wouldn’t you enjoy this on a hot summer afternoon?

This is the site of the restaurant where Ethan and Charlotte once listened to Bluegrass music, now a fun restaurant and bar near City Hall.

Love this downtown city sculpture, and the next one, too.

Downtown wildlife.

Here’s Asheville’s lovely City Hall.

Hope you enjoyed the local scenery.  Stay tuned for the Biltmore Estate, coming to this page soon.

Really, what could be more fun than populating a Pinterest Board with illustrations for my Goddesses Anonymous novels, beginning with the first, One Mountain Away?  Apparently nothing, because that’s how I’ve spent my free time this weekend.

Pinterest, for those of you who don’t yet frequent it, is a virtual pinboard, a place to organize and share all the beautiful things we find on the web. Unlike some other social media sites it’s simple to use.  I avoided attending the party as long as I could, but once I walked through the door, I couldn’t turn back.  What fun!  Each time you return, you’ll find gorgeous images, delicious recipes, tips and tricks of all kinds just waiting for you to enjoy.  Find people with similar tastes to follow or branch out in new directions, and repin to your heart’s content.

Like most pinners, I’ve started all kinds of boards.  For instance I have one called Cottage Dreams with ideas for the Victorian era cottage we’re renovating in Western NY.  That board has turned out to be surprisingly useful.  Among other things, when I try to explain something to our contractor or architect on the telephone, I can pull up my board and miles away, so can they, to see what I’m talking about.  I’ve also learned what I like and what I don’t, simply by examining the pins I’ve added and analyzing what it is about them that appealed to me.

From the beginning I’ve had an Asheville board, to introduce my readers to the setting of my Goddesses Anonymous novels.  Asheville Life and Scenery can’t hope to capture the beauty of the city and surrounding area, but I sure make a good stab at it, thanks mostly to my son’s beautiful photography.    This weekend, though, I realized I wanted to do more.  The books are about more than spectacular Blue Ridge scenery.  They’re about people, ideas, possibilities.  So I’ve started two new boards.

Goddesses Anonymous features photos of the surrounding scenery, but also some of the characters and elements from the novels.  I’ve just started pulling the board together, but I found a wonderful litter of goldendoodle puppies to share, several of my characters (Harmony is absolutely perfect), some wonderful service dog images, the inside of Charlotte’s homestead, and more.

Wisdom of the Goddesses is completely different.  The women of the Goddesses Anonymous novels are changed and inspired by many things, including each other, and I wanted a place to gather what they’ve learned and are learning.  I hope you’ll enjoy that one, too. Expect it to grow quickly.

Pinterest boards are an ongoing process, so check back from time to time to see what’s been added.  Before long I’ll be pinning images for the second book in the series, Somewhere Between Luck and Trust, coming out next summer.

Give Pinterest a try, and let me know what you think.

I’m in the final stages of Somewhere Between Luck and Trust, the second in my Goddesses Anonymous series.  Can those of you who’ve just read One Mountain Away guess the major character in this one?  She was introduced in the first book, and we’ve traveled another winding road to the end of this novel.  But the journey’s been a good one, except for one problem.

As I always do, once my first draft is finished, I read the entire manuscript out loud.  No matter how many times I do this, I am always surprised at the number of changes I need.  Awkward sentences.  Timelines to rework.  Repetition.  Stilted dialogue and more.  My ear catches all the problems my eyes glossed over so easily.  I can’t imagine turning in a book without this final step, no matter how tedious and never-ending it seems.

And tedious and never-ending describe it well.

The biggest problem I’ve had with Somewhere has been length.  I didn’t know my final word count until I put the whole book into one file.   And the news wasn’t good.  Even before I began to read, I realized I had to cut a large chunk of what I’d written to even get near the ballpark.  So for the past two weeks as I read, I trimmed.  One whole chapter went because it slowed the action.  Half of another chapter met the same fate.  Sentences fell like trees in a logger’s path.  But despite that, the book was still too long.  The word count inched down, but  not nearly far or fast enough.

Then yesterday, in the final third, a miracle occurred.  I discovered that at some point, as I was moving chapters into my final file, I had moved two of them twice.  Once they were removed my word count was almost where I needed it to be.  And I still have eight chapters to read and revise.  Who knows how many words will disappear by the time I’m done?

Someday I’ll learn to condense as I write.  Someday I’ll have fewer ideas and explore them with less detail.  Someday . . .  But for now, picture me at my computer reading each sentence out loud and weighing the content.  Then picture me dancing a jig on Wednesday when the manuscript finally takes flight for the next stage of its journey.

I will, too.  You can count on it.

I’m so delighted to be able to share the new video my son created so that I could introduce my readers to One Mountain Away.

Several months ago we played with ideas and got as far as filming, but the script was much too long.  So I reworked it, and Galen produced this to go with it, instead. Many of the photos are his own work.

I hope we’ve done exactly what we intended, which is to give you a feel for the extraordinary scenery of Charlotte’s life and a little about the conflicts she faces.  Asheville and the surrounding area are so wonderful, I want you to picture them as you read the novel.

Enjoy.

Tuning in late? Since Friday, July 6th I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the beginning of One Mountain Away here at my blog.  Today the excerpts conclude because the novel is now at your favorite bookstore and you can read the entire novel.  Hurray!  You can still see prior excerpts by clicking on Goddess Anonymous under Categories at the right.  Start reading from the bottom.  The sequence is clear from each blog title.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this peek, just as I hope you’ll enjoy the entire novel.

Chapter Two, Final Excerpt:

There was nothing particularly ministerial about Analiese. Her nearly-black hair was shoulder-length, and she rarely pinned it up so she would look older or plainer. Her regular features added up to something beyond striking. While no one insisted a minister be attractive, her first career had been in television news, where physical beauty had served her well.

She opened her eyes and continued to breathe deeply, staring at the building just beyond her parking place.

The first time she had been driven to this spot by a member of the ministerial search committee, she had sat just this way, gazing at her future. With its arrowhead arches and multi-spired north tower–not to mention imposing blocks of North Carolina granite and stained glass from the famous Lamb Studios of Greenwich Village–she’d been certain that Asheville’s Church of the Covenant would withstand Armageddon and hang around for the second coming.

In any architectural textbook, the city’s most influential Protestant church was just a yawn on the way to more impressive renderings of Gothic Revival glory. The church paled in significance beside the ornate Roman Catholic Basilica of St. Lawrence downtown, or the Cathedral of All Souls in nearby Biltmore Village, the seat of the region’s Episcopal bishop. But Analiese had never quite gotten over that first punch-in-the-gut impression of the church to which she had later been called. Now, as then, she felt unworthy to be its spiritual leader.

One last deep breath propelled her to the parking lot. Before she locked the car she reached into the back seat for the colorful needlepoint tote bag her oldest sister had made as an ordination gift. With the bag slung over her shoulder, she hurried toward the church, avoiding the parish house and she hoped, the silver Audi’s owner, as well.

At the door, she saw Felipe had arrived first. For a moment she was glad she didn’t have to wrestle with the cast iron lock, which on a good day took the better part of a minute. Then as she was about to slip inside, she wondered if Felipe had unlocked the door, or if someone else had borrowed the key and was waiting for her inside.

Someone she wasn’t anxious to see.

Her brief burst of good humor disappeared.

She was happiest when the sanctuary was filled with people, and music echoed from the walls. Today the pews were empty, but that wasn’t necessarily the end of the story. Cautiously Analiese found her way along slippery polished tile floors to the transept, following it to the cozier side-chapel that had been added early in the twentieth century by an industrialist friend of the Vanderbilts.

Historically the chapel had been a place for quiet contemplation, but most often these days it was used for children’s worship services. Felt banners made by one of the Sunday School classes hung between two narrow stained-glass windows of contemporary design. Stylistically wrought jewel-tone doves and olive branches vied with wrinkled renditions of the Star of David, the Taoist yin yang, and multiple Buddhas, both smiling and glum.

The woman sitting on the front row staring at the banners was neither, but then Charlotte Hale was not a woman who often showed emotion. In the ten years of her ministry here, Analiese had learned that the Charlottes in a congregation were the members an alert minister should most fear.

She debated what to do. She couldn’t believe Charlotte had come for Minnie’s memorial service. Beyond that, the service didn’t start for almost an hour, so mourners could attend after work.

Analiese almost turned away, but something told her not to. Maybe it was the way Charlotte was sitting. Maybe it was the stillness in the chapel and the sanctuary beyond, plus the fact that Charlotte had entered this quiet place alone.

She walked through the doorway, making enough noise to alert the other woman. Charlotte was not dressed for a memorial service. She wore a casual lightweight turtleneck with three-quarter sleeves and a skirt of the same mulberry. Her auburn hair was windblown, and she hadn’t bothered with jewelry except tiny gold studs in her earlobes. She looked as if she’d run out for milk and bread and forgotten her way home.

“Charlotte?”

Charlotte turned to look at her. Her expression was blank, her cheeks pale, and she looked exhausted, which was unusual. “Reverend Ana.” She nodded, but she didn’t smile.

“I’m not sure what to do,” Analiese said. “Offer comfort or silence. You look like you might need both.”

Chapter Two continues at your favorite bookstore.

Today is the launch for One Mountain Away. Cue the trumpets and race to the bookstores.

One Mountain is the first of my new series, Goddesses Anonymous, and one of the more difficult novels I’ve written.  You would think, wouldn’t you, that after seventy books, I should be able to dash off a novel between pedicures and trips to the art museum?  Truth is, I don’t have time for either, because I’m still too busy trying to figure out how I should really do what I’m already doing.

Yes, indeed.  Writing really hasn’t gotten much easier over the years, sad to say.  I have learned some things, though, and today I’m sharing.  While these 7 points qualify as career advice for novelists, it’s possible they pertain to other careers, too.  What do you think?

1. Forget that old chestnut, “write what you know.”  If you only write what you know, you’ll quickly run out of things to say, and you’ll think you’re all washed up.  Instead write about the things that interest you.  Research is a joy, and the Internet’s made it so much easier.  Digging for details is as much fun as digging for buried treasure, and you’ll be more likely to strike gold.
2. While you may change genres, essentially every book you write is “your” book, filled with your own insights and feelings, whether the characters inhabit caves or space ships.  Do you know what messages you’re sending?  It’s a way to chart your own personal growth, if you’re willing.
3. Find writer friends, because at times they will be the only people on earth who understand why you spent an entire day staring out the window–except for the stretches when you played Spider Solitaire and whimpered.
4. Do not expect film deals, bestseller lists, starred reviews, publishers who fawn over you, or recognition at the grocery store.  That way, in the unlikely instance that any of those things happen, you will be genuinely surprised, and you won’t have to fake modesty.
5. Be willing to make changes in what you write, who you write it for, and the people who sell or market your work.  Remember #2 above.  Every book is yours.  Nobody else’s name is on the cover.
6. Listen, contemplate and forgive mistakes that others who work on your books may make.  But also pay attention and make sure the same things don’t happen again.  See #5 if they do.
7. Readers are special and precious.  Find ways to let them know.

In keeping with #7, let me stress it’s a privilege to get emails from you, to banter with you at my Facebook page, to answer comments left here on the blog, and to know that my books have meaning in your lives, even if, sometimes, that’s just a smile.  A smile is a wonderful thing, and I’m grateful for every one.

I think you’ll find smiles and tears between the covers of One Mountain Away.  You’ll find the book in the following places, if you can’t find it at your local independent bookstore.

Amazon.com

BarnesandNoble.com

Booksamillion.com