It’s just six short weeks from the release of Sister Dear! I’m really excited to share Allie’s story with you. I hope that you find her journey compelling, challenging, and, ultimately, uplifting. Though Sister Dear centers on a woman accused of a brutal crime she didn’t commit … the story behind the story is a bit different … but just as heart-wrenching. Caught with a small amount of illegal drugs in her car, she and her friend were brought in front of a local judge and aske

When a reviewer recently interviewed me about my new novel, Center of Gravity, she asked, “How much of yourself is there in the main character?” But my Center of Gravity protagonist, Ava Carson, is quite a departure from my fun, frothy, and sometimes zany Lauren Clark heroines. That said, I’ve found that I do inject a bit of myself in many of my leading ladies, and Ava Carson is no exception. So, here goes … How much of yourself is there in the character of Ava Carson? Ava Ca

Every Monday morning, and the occasional Tuesday after a long weekend, my little white Prius looks like something’s blown up inside it. Not a bomb, mind you, but the dirt and mess that comes from little boys playing hard. This Tuesday, powdery sand from the shores of Dauphin Island, Ala. covers my floor mats. There’s a pair of neon yellow and black flip-flops, size small, and an array of beach towels in hues ranging from deep azure to cherry red. If you look closely, there’s

A week ago, I talked to a group of avid readers, 70 men and women, all members of the Friends of the Mobile Public Library. I was asked to speak about writing and my upcoming novel, Center of Gravity, being released July 15, 2015 by Harper Collins/Thomas Nelson. Here’s the Center of Gravity summary: The truth could cost her everything. Her whole life, Ava Carson has been sure of one thing: she doesn’t measure up to her mother’s expectations. So when Mitchell Carson sweeps int