In my house, we love enjoying fresh-baked treats while reading our favorite books. Today, I wanted to share one of our favorite recipes – Twisty Sourdough Pretzels! They’re buttery, delicious, and melt in your mouth when they’re still warm. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, lightly oiled (use olive or vegetable oil). Makes 10 pretzels. Ingredients: 1 cup unfed sourdough starter* at room temperature (quick recipe below) 3 cups all purpo

I’m often asked about my favorite books on writing. I have shelves of books on writing, editing, publishing, story structure — you name it. But, when I’m asked to recommend the best writing books, the same volumes comes to mind. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft I agree with King. As an author, reading as much a possible gives you fuel. It revs up creativity, inspires, makes you think, and makes you laugh or cry. As for the keeping your butt in a chair statement, it might sou

Happy May! I just wanted to take a moment this Sunday to say thank you to the many readers and friends who have reached out and sent lovely thoughts and photos to celebrate the Sister Dear launch! This weekend, I received several very special pictures from Liana Mellow, the winner of my Fitbit giveaway, Melody Simons (in the socks), and the lovely Laura Rash! In addition, I ran across these fun photos from Samantha March, Amanda, Jamie Lynn on Instagram! Just today, I receive

My new book SISTER DEAR releases today!!! In the upcoming weeks, I’ll be attending Today, I thought it might be fun to offer a bit of background about how I chose the setting of the story. After considering several locations, I decided that coastal Georgia and the city of Brunswick were the perfect backdrop for SISTER DEAR, with its When the novel begins, single mother Allie Marshall is a As excited as Allie is, she remains nostalgic about her hometown and will miss Brunswick

I recently had the opportunity to talk with television personality Suzie Wiley at WYAM-TV on her show, Valley Happenings. The station broadcasts out of Decatur, Ala. and airs statewide. Wiley is quite a vivacious and enthusiastic host! She asked all sorts of questions about writing, the Deep South, Center of Gravity, and my new novel, Sister Dear (being published by HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson on April 19th, 2016). Here’s the first part of the interview, which runs just over

This is the third part of three in my series of Do’s and Don’ts for New Authors. I’ve covered Work-Life Balance (Part 1) and Marketing (Part 2), and as promised, will talk about Networking this week! So, as a new author in the publishing business it is important to connect well with many groups of people, but primarily these three: Readers Other authors Bloggers Why are these three groups so important? It may seem obvious, but without readers, we as authors couldn’t do what w

A few weeks back, I served on a writer panel in Dallas with three wonderful and smart authors — Kristy Cambron, Katherine Reay, and Mary Weber. All fresh off our first year in the traditional publishing industry, we shared our thoughts about the whirlwind that’s been the last 12 months … in the hopes the information and discussion would be of help to other aspiring authors! Today, I thought it might be fun to share portions of our talk. Here are some of the questions that our

I’m so thrilled to share that Samantha March, founder of Chick Lit Plus and the fabulous Books & Beauty channel on YouTube, just shared this video review of Center of Gravity! Samantha’s Books & Beauty YouTube channel is divine…she’s a charming hostess… and I highly recommend subscribing so that you can watch all of her great reviews! NOTE:  If you’d like to check out the wonderful novels that Samantha has written, visit her Amazon Author page! Hope you enjoy Samantha’s revie

The Center of Gravity Book Tour has taken me some wonderful places all over the southeast. Here’s where I stopped in most recently, signed books, and met some fabulous people! Sat. July 25, 2015 – 5 Center of Gravity Signings in Atlanta, Ga. – Peachtree Street, Perimeter Square, Cumberland, Northpoint, & Georgia Tech (AND YES, sadly, received a parking ticket of $35.00…which I already paid. Toto, we’re not in Mobile, Ala. anymore…where the parking is free on weekends!) Sat. J

In anticipation of Center of Gravity’s July 14th release, here’s a new giveaway offering 2 prizes for 2 lucky winners! a Rafflecopter giveaway Winners will be chosen by Rafflecopter and announced on my blog July 11th! Congratulations to Jennifer, the winner of my “I Love Summer” Prize Pack! Jennifer, North Carolina #read #summer #two #winners #giveaway #rafflecopter #july #books #free

Hey ALL!  Wanted to share the 4-1-1 about one of my reader-friends and the winner Jennifer wins a Williams-Sonoma apron and oven mitt, as well as gourmet coffee, a Southern Living Cookbook, and Center of Gravity swag! 1. Name:  Jennifer C. Thank you to Jennifer and everyone for participating in my “I Love Summer” Giveaway! Wishing you the happiest July ever! xo, Laura #reader #friend #summer #reading #NorthCarolina #spotlight #travel #books

When I first began writing, several authors generously shared their unwritten rules for forging a successful career. They unanimously recommended: Writing in a popular genre Thinking long and hard before using a pen name Sticking with one genre Being a newbie to the business, their advice seemed reasonable and sound. After all, they’d played it safe, signed with agents, and landed long-term publishing deals. Fast-forward a year later, and I’d finished my first terrible, awful

I’m often asked how I keep everything straight. Not my work schedule, mind you, or my kids’ activities, or even my grad school projects. People, in general, ask about how I organize everything in my writing life — from character names and settings to story details and plot twists in multiple books. The truth? You have to love it. It’s truly a juggling act. Here’s the latest update: Book #1 (Center of Gravity) July 14th Release! At present, I’m getting ready to launch book #1

A lot of people tell me that they’ve always wanted to write a novel. They have an idea, a synopsis, an elevator pitch, and interesting characters. They have a setting, a But, they explain, when it comes down to actually writing — actually putting fingers to keyboard — life gets in the way. And I understand. A job definitely gets in the way. Family, friends, and the laundry can distract. There’s also the mail. And the latest HBO original series. Pretty soon, there’s no time le

Day 2 of Publish 15 was just as fun and fulfilling as Day 1. In all, more than 500 people from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and Alabama attended the event in Cumming, Ga. During the convention, I talked to so many great aspiring authors about self-publishing, traditional Stephanie, Me, & Holly Agent pitch sessions went on all weekend, and it was really exciting to find out that writing duo Stephanie Erbesfield and Holly Hearn had a request for a full manuscript and a req

There is a belief among writers that, every day, authors must put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard and reach a certain word count. Stephen King has said, more than once, that he writes 2,000 words a day and rarely takes a day off. Jodi Picoult admits to sneaking away to her office to write on weekends. For much of his life, Frederick Forsyth insisted on working, 7 days a week, without fail. Like many other writers with lofty writing goals, I initially found it easy to get

I’ve been traveling so much the past few weeks, meeting fabulous authors at RT in Dallas and Page & Palette in Fairhope, Ala., and picking up so many amazing new books to read! Today, I thought I’d share the love with a special Rafflecopter giveaway to kick off summer! Inside the Prize Pack (see below), you’ll find a fun Girls’ Night Out tote, a matching t-shirt, 7 Amazing Beach Reads (many are not even out in stores yet!!!), Center of Gravity swag, and Mardi Gras beads (just

Today I am so happy to welcome my friend Jen McGee to the blog. Jen is a talented photographer, great mom, wife, and blogger, AND is one of my most trusted beta-readers! I can definitely count on her for honest feedback and constructive ways to improve my novels, which is so amazingly helpful for any author. Though we live far away from each other, Jen and I email often, trade thoughts about books, kids, work, and life. Like me, Jen loves coffee, chocolate, and traveling. She

It’s been a whirlwind this week! I flew out of New Orleans bright and early Wednesday morning and landed in Dallas, Texas for #RT2015. The RT Booklovers Convention is a fabulous meet and greet for readers and authors, and includes workshops, parties, and tons of book and prize giveaways! Kellie Coates Gilbert Melanie Dickerson I was so fortunate to room with the wonderful Melanie Dickerson, who writes historical fiction for HarperCollins/Thomas Nelson (my publisher). I also h

“If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. Simple as that.” – Stephen King It’s hard to ignore the words of this famous author, who’s penned more than 50 novels and 200 short stories, as well as one of my favorite books on the craft of writing … appropriately titled, On I realize that the rest of us — mere mortals in the author arena — are likely not going to be as prolific as King, but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t take his advice.