Cover Reveal: Eleanor and the Iron King

I'm so excited about this book! It has all the things I love: cool setting, hunky dude, intrigue, a bit of romance, and even a ghost.

Here's a little blurb to whet your appetite.

Eleanor de Lacy is forced into an arranged marriage with her father’s greatest enemy, Brac Goch, the Welsh king. All Eleanor knows of Brac is that he is a ruthless, war hungry man.

Eleanor arrives at the Welsh castle expecting the worst. When the ghost of Brac Goch’s first wife appears and warns her that the Welsh king is not to be trusted, all of Eleanor’s fears are confirmed. 

As the countdown to her wedding day approaches, Eleanor must figure out who is lying, who is telling the truth, who is loyal, and who is the traitor--and most of all, if she can love an enemy king.

Here is the beautiful cover!

Coming August 2015!

See more about Eleanor's story on my Pinterest board: Eleanor and the Iron King.

Published by Covenant Communications, Inc.

Music and Memories

The other day as I was driving and channel surfing, a song came on I hadn't heard in years. Suddenly, I was on semester abroad in Britain, sitting in a big tour bus with my headphones on, listening to that song while parts of Scotland and northern England whizzed by.

The song: "Wrapped Around Your Finger" by The Police.

I hadn't realized that memory was so closely associated with that song--and the whole Synchronicity album. I listened to it a ton during that semester abroad because it had just been released in London. Those were the days before iTunes and even CDs. I had to flip the cassette over halfway to hear the other side.

Now I've dated myself.

What songs spark a memory for you?

New Things I Love

Sorry I've been the absent blogger these past few weeks, I've been traveling England and Scotland with my family.

I'm so excited to show off my new prize possessions that I got on our trip.

My new Complete Works of William Shakespeare, purchased from  his birthplace in Stratford-upon-Avon. They even stamped an official bookplate into it. 

I've been wanting a complete works for a long time, but I decided to wait and buy it in Stratford. I don't know what took me so long. 

The complete, 100 year anniversary limited edition collection of books by Beatrix Potter. Purchased from her home in the Lake District, Hill Top Farm. I can't even say how much I love these! They are so beautiful.

Now I just need to go back to the UK to pick up the places I didn't have time to visit this time: Bath or Chawton for a complete works of Jane Austen, and Haworth for the Bronte sisters.

Years ago, I bought Wuthering Heights at Haworth, but it's been read so much it finally fell apart.

To read more about the great literary places I visited, see my post at the Utah Children's Writers blog.

What are some things that you love and inspire you?

Remember the Good Ol' Days

Quote of the Day: "Womble up the rubbish, put it in the bin." ~my Womble pull-string toy.


I was digging around in my parent's basement the other day and found one of my oldest, favorite toys. A WOMBLE!!

What is a Womble? It's a plush toy based on a old stop-motion TV show from Britain that aired in the mid-70s. My guy's name is Orinocco.

What he looks like now.

What he looked like then.

The Wombles live on the Wimbledon Green and collect old rubbish and stuff and use it to go on all sorts of crazy adventures. I got my toy when I lived in London in 1978 (ish). He has a pull string that no longer works, but I remember two of his phrases very well. My favorte is the quote of the day, and the other one is "Womble days are happy days."

Ah...the flood of childhood memories. 

I logged onto You Tube and found a few episodes. After watching two of them I thought, children's TV has come a long way. Then I remembered the Teletubbies and realized it hasn't changed much at all. 

Enjoy: