Summer in Boston

Does summer in the city appeal to you? I spent my first summer in Boston after my junior year in college and had a great time. Long walks in the evening, 4th of July fireworks, ice cream shops, harbor dinner cruises (well, one), Beacon Hill window boxes and countless other bonuses of a city summer. We love our hilltop house in Vermont and our excursions to Ireland and Maine, but our July, August and September visits to Boston are special, and not just because our grandchildren live there! Not something I thought much about that first summer in the city…

Some of my books set entirely or partiall… Read More

Special April Giveaway to Celebrate STONE BRIDGES

We’re celebrating spring, the release of Stone Bridges and my love of stationery and pens with this month’s special giveaway. We curated the goodies at the iconic Bob Slate Stationer in Harvard Square and didn’t hold back!

Enter the April Giveaway Now! 

Here are some photos of our temptations. Check out the giveaway for what we selected to give away. Plus…books, and a limited-editing Swift River Valley mug. Thanks, and enjoy.

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STONE BRIDGES is a USA Today and Publishers Weekly Bestseller

In “monk mode” writing here on my hilltop and getting back to normal after my nasty neck and shoulder injury, and what a treat to have fun news to celebrate! Stone Bridges popped onto the USA Today and Publishers Weekly bestseller lists its first week on sale. Many thanks to all the readers who pre-ordered and stopped at their favorite place that sells books, whether online, an independent, a box store or a spin-rack at the grocery. Best of all are the comments from readers who enjoyed this uplifting story set in picturesque small-town New England. Thank you!

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STONE BRIDGES in two weeks!

Time’s been slipping away as I recover from my shoulder injury, and I just realized Stone Bridges will be in stores in two weeks. I’m so excited! It’s the latest standalone installment in my Swift River Valley small-town New England series. Pre-order your copy from your favorite bookseller today! Click here for handy links.

Be sure to let me know what you think when you’ve had a chance to read Adrienne and Adam’s story. I had a great time writing it, mostly here on my New England hilltop. Check back for more info. I’m running behind with everything given … Read More

November contest!

November is flying by! Be sure to check out this month’s contest. We’re celebrating the start of the holiday season with a special giveaway inspired by readers. TEN lucky readers will receive a signed copy of the paperback edition of A Knights Bridge Christmas. ONE grand prize winner will also receive a limited-edition Swift River Valley mug.

This is the only place you can find “Christmas at Carriage Hill” in print (it’s available on its own digitally). In this fun novella, Dylan McCaffrey’s long-lost English cousin and the RAF pilot she’s trying to get over arrive in little … Read More

The blueberries are in!

As anyone who reads my New England settings can probably tell, I’m a huge fan of blueberries, especially wild blueberries. Yesterday we picked up our first pint of locally-grown cultivated blueberries. So good! I’ll be making muffins and cobbler through the season. Click on the underlined links for printable recipes!  And here’s the one for muffins…my mouth is watering already…

BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

Q & A…

A fun Q&A I had up on my website for a while and just updated. Enjoy!

What’s the most important thing you learned as a reader?

I learned that I love to read! As a kid, I’d clean out shelves in the library and read everything I could get my hands on. Reading opened up the world to me. Nowadays, I love to sit by the fire on a chilly, rainy day at home or on the Maine or Irish coast and read one book after another.

What’s your guiltiest pleasure?

I’m not big on guilt but when the local berries are in (as they are now), I have been known to have strawberry shortcake for dinner. Two helpings. Okay, two-and-a-half h… Read More

Lady slippers, daisies, writing in June

June is a glorious month in so many places. We’ve spent many June weeks on the southwest Irish coast, and, of course, at home in New England. Both are wonderful! I’m typing on our deck overlooking the woods, with pots of herbs and dahlias, a slight breeze, blue sky…and a pesky fly I hope will move on.

I’m deep into Stone Bridges, my next Swift River Valley novel. I saw concepts for the cover last week and my agent, editor and I all loved the same one, but they others were great, too. We’re continuing with the tweaked direction started with The River House. So invitin… Read More

Chives and other herbs from the garden

Chives play a fun role in my Swift River Valley series. They’re the logo for Olivia and Dylan’s inn on Carriage Hill Road. We love to chop fresh chives into scrambled eggs and salads. We have clumps of them wherever they decide to grow on our hilltop. I planted basil, mint, parsley and rosemary in pots on the deck. Ah, summer in New England…
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Brownies! With a recipe…

I’m recovering from a nasty chest cold and behind in my training for my upcoming half-marathon, and I want brownies! Here’s a great brownie recipe if I drum up the energy to make some. And I just might. 😉
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