Spring is here. It’s a welcome time of renewal, rebirth and new beginnings…and green grass and flowers. We had snow last week and more snow on the way this week, but I see signs of spring everyone here on our Vermont hilltop. I love these photos we took last spring in Scotland (Edinburgh and Isle of Skye). I hope you enjoy them. 
Take care, everyone!
Carla… Read More
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Happy Valentine’s Day! Chocolates, jewelry, a candlelit dinner…I love them all, but I have a special place in my heart for flowers. We were in Edinburgh in late May/early June, in time for the famous blue poppies at the Royal Botanic Garden. They’re popular, and for good reason!
The gardens are also well-know for their rhododendrons, many still in bloom when we were there. 
Maybe I’m drawn to flowers on Valentine’s Day because I’m usually on our snowy hilltop in Vermont! It’s beautiful, but I do love the colors of Valentine’s Day, whether o… Read More
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Do you do new year’s resolutions? I don’t, and I’ve read many articles that say it’s just as well. Most resolutions are abandoned before Valentine’s Day.
However…
My daughter and I signed up to run the Covered Bridges Half Marathon in June!
It’s an event on the calendar not a resolution, but it will take some doing to get myself ready. This will be our fourth CBHM and my fifth half-marathon since I started running longer distances a few years ago. That fifth one was in Dingle, Ireland, an amazing experience with breathtaking scenery, even in heavy r… Read More
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Christmas is fast approaching. Lively, busy days for so many of us!
We just bought our Vermont-grown tree and plan to decorate it on Sunday. Off to Christmas afternoon tea tomorrow at the Inn on Boltwood in Amherst, MA, an annual event with my mother, my youngest sister (I have three sisters!), my daughter and my two young granddaughters.
Be sure to take a moment to enter my holiday contest. (US only). I chose the calendar on a recent trip to Ireland. It features watercolor illustrations of Irish hedgerows and farmland. Aren’t they beautiful?
The winner will also receive signed hardcove… Read More
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Just popping in with a few photos from my “hideaway cottage” on the southwest Irish coast. I’m here with Joe for a few weeks to hike, read by the fire, enjoy the wonderful people and surroundings and write. Rain, wind, sun, whiskey, cows, stone walls, great food, great scenery…and Halloween. We’ll see what comes of all this creative inspiration!
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Autumn in Vermont is a real treat not only for those of us who live here but our many, many visitors. We live between Quechee Gorge and Woodstock, rated one of the prettiest villages in the U.S., and I often run along the beautiful, winding Ottauquechee River. Here are a few shots from last weekend. Enjoy!
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Okay, I know technically it’s still summer, but we’re stacking cordwood and getting our flowerbeds ready for winter. I can’t say w’ere ready for snow, ice and sub-freezing temps! In fiction, maybe? Along with some pretty pictures of winter in Vermont? 😉
I wrote Cold Pursuit, the first book in my New York Times and USA Today Black Falls trilogy, during a particularly snowy winter in Vermont. Research was easy enough: I just looked out the window or strapped on my snowshoes and headed into the woods. It’s on sale in eBook right now for just $2.49 (that could ch… Read More
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Exploring country roads is one of my favorite activities on our visits to Ireland. We love seeing the sights–we’ve toured museums, distilleries, historic houses and castles–but there’s nothing quite like taking off down a twisting lane, wondering where it goes and what we’ll see along the way.
Maybe my love of twisting country roads goes back to my rural New England childhood. My folks would pile all seven of us kids into the car and go for a drive, often to the nearby Quabbin Reservoir. It’d be harder to pull off these days with so many people needing se… Read More
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Last night’s launch party for Rival’s Break was wonderful, such fun for me as an author. I had the best time chatting with readers (a packed house!) and wandering through Phoenix Books downtown Rutland, Vermont. If you’re in Vermont during our popular leaf-peeping season, I hope you’ll stop at any of the four Phoenix Books locations. Tell them I said hi. 🙂
Many thanks to all who made this memorable evening possible!
I got so caught up in chatting with everyone that I didn’t take many photos, but here are a few. It was a beautiful evening to drive along the pictures… Read More
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I love to write on getaways to hotels, inns and cottages, but reading? A must, and a special pleasure. I always have a print book with me (as well as my e-reader) on the road, but what fun it is to discover books on my various stays. Bedside Reading pairs luxury hotels with up-and-coming books. Oh, my. How perfect! Rival’s Break is a featured novel this summer, and I couldn’t be more honored and thrilled. Here it is in the gorgeous Mandarin Oriental New York.
Quite a reading spot! Thank you!
When signing at Turn the Page Bookstore in picturesque Boonsboro, MD, authors are invited to sig… Read More
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