Cabin in the Mountains

Sounds like a horror movie, right?

Well it wasn't, it was just a little get away. I spent the weekend in Gatlinurg, TN. It was the first time I'd been there. I have to say I was pretty impressed with the Smoky Mountains. It was so pretty.

Our cabin was up on a mountain. The only way to get there involved a windy gravel road. My bf suddenly thought he was a race car driver and I spend the last leg of the trip tightly gripping the door handle.

Have I mentioned I'm afraid of heights?

But we made it.

My best friend Google told me the Cherokee called them "place of blue smoke"  And now I know why. I think my favorite thing was watching the fog move through the mountains and dissipate in the morning.

I was amazed by the amount of people roaming the streets when we went into town. It made me happy though. After the recent fire that took out so much of Gatlinburg I wondered if they were suffering and was glad to see they weren't. The darkened and damaged spots high above the town did make me sad. I tried to get some pictures but they didn't turn out very well.

But I got plenty from the deck on our cabin.

Night view

Here are a few things I learned in Gatlinburg ...

1: Flavored vodka can sneak up on you

2: You can fit 8 people into a 4 person hot tub (the water will just spill over the edge)

3: Kilwin's has delicious ice cream and it smells like waffle cones in their store

4: Tennessee squirrels are small and gray unlike the fat red ones in Indiana

5: Wild turkeys are giant and like to hang out in driveways

What do your squirrels look like?

5 years later ...

As I sit here just days before my 5 year publishing anniversary, I realize how far things have come, how much I've learned, and how much my writing has changed and grown. As much a I write for you, my readers, I write mostly for me.

I write because I can't ... not.

I write because it's part of who I am.

I've watched the publishing industry change over the last few years and I'm so glad to be a part of it.

Once upon a time, Tears in the Rubble was a couple hundred words, a story about a boy and a girl and a barn that held meaning for both of them. 

My bestie, Kate Roth (if you haven't checked out her books you should), and I used to get together every Tues. We'd watch Gossip Girl and TrueBlood and drink wine. We'd talk about our writing and eventually we decided we wanted to challenge ourselves a bit. Get out of the box so to speak. We came up with these writing exercises for each other. They were random and short.

I'm not even sure what the exercise was now but that's where the idea for Tears in the Rubble came from. It's a sweet story about two childhood friends who love each other. Since then I've written angst, sexy, emotional, and funny. I think I even have a paranormal up my sleeve.

For now though you can grab my first book for just 99 cents!

Layla Swanson is terrified of getting stuck in her small town, Hollow Oaks.  So, she’s made a plan.  Graduate her tiny high school, go to college away from home, and get her dream job.  She’s studied hard and devoted her high school career to reaching her goal. 

Graduation is just around the corner, and Layla is faced with the only person who could ever throw a wrench in her plan, Taylor Scott.  He’s her childhood best friend and despite the years since they’ve been close he knows her better than anyone else.  A chance meeting leads them down a road Layla never imagined. 

Now, Layla has to choose between her longtime plan to get away from Hollow Oaks and the one who’s captured her heart.

  Amazon

iBooks

Nook

Kobo

Who knows what's coming next? I have a whole bunch of stories just sitting on my laptop waiting to see the light of day. For now, I just want to thank you all. Thank you for letting me live my dream.

Don't forget to wish Tears in the Rubble a happy birthday on the 17th!!