The best advice I ever got on writing compelling characters was from Hollywood script consultant Michael Hauge. Start with your...

Anyone will tell you, the name of the game is to stock up. Make sure you’ve got the essentials for 48 hours. No one, not even a...

In our house over the past few months, we went on a journey with some hard things. The first had to do with implementing a chore chart...

I was born with a broken smile, and Dad dedicated himself to helping me mend it. On his own, he brought me, at one week old, to my first...

There isn't a day that goes by I don't realize what an immeasurable privilege it is to be able to call a man so many admired "Dad."

Twenty years ago, September 19th was a Saturday. The night I walked into the Lone Tree in downtown Minneapolis. And met the man who...

“…In seizing the firm land at the top of these cliffs, they began to seize back the continent of Europe. Two hundred and twenty-five came...

Why write an epic about Ireland when you spent a year living in Scotland and studying Scottish history? Here are some answers: The first...

So here’s the thing about tacos: Their delicious. I could eat them every day, two and three times a day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner,...

…Natalia came to a great gothic gate with the words Saint-Cloud on it with a bright smile on her face. Then she looked up the long drive...

If you’ve ever queried a literary agent, then you know it’s a special kind of hell. Frankly, I thought writing a book would be the most...

[Jack] stood a hairsbreadth behind her, all the nerve endings closest to her firing and crackling, his fingers twitching to touch. ...

So my storyboard is pretty benign, nothing scandalous on it, really. I'm saved from having to explain too much to my boys because they...

Originally posted on September 11, 2016. Fifteen years ago, on a day when so many Americans lost loved ones, I began the journey that...

So I've been thinking a TON about this: what makes a character a hero vs. an antihero? I'm working on my most complicated story to date...

Originally published in December 2016. ‘Twas the night before Christmas at Sheila Drazen’s house, Four generations had gathered, one girl...

A thick, shrouding copse of honeysuckle opened to reveal an ornate, iron gate swung wide. Gleaming Cadillacs, Rolls Royces, and Bugattis...

BOOK CLUB DISCUSSION QUESTIONS for The California Limited Warning: contains spoilers! Jack O’Drassen nearly misses the train in Chicago....

The other night I was commenting with some authors about writing process. I know some people, writers or not, find this interesting, so...

Fifteen years ago, on a day when so many Americans lost loved ones, I began the journey that would bring me back to the man my heart...