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

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

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

Many authors, bloggers, and readers occasionally lament that they have too many books to read. In my heart, I know that it’s really that there are not enough hours in the day … those pesky jobs and to-do lists always seem to get in the way! But what if your main squeeze is the one doing the complaining? Too many books on the nightstand. Too many books next to the bed. Don’t despair….pick up an e-reader. Here are TEN glorious reasons you might want to trade in your flesh-and-b

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

Jessica is an audiobook junkie, like me, and when she’s not reading or working as the Communications Coordinator at University of Texas at Austin, you can find her at Austin Pets Alive playing with pups.  Fun Fact:  This past year, Jessica had the opportunity to meet Goosebumps creator, R.L. Stine! Here’s the 411 on Jessica: Name: Jessica Sinn Hometown: Santee, California Where you live now! Austin, Texas. I’m doing my part to keep Austin weird! Family members: My teenie tiny

“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. 

I just spent the most fantastic evening with a room full of (almost) complete strangers! Chris Bohjalian’s Novels I say “almost,” because I ran into, and happily sat with, a woman I’d met at a lunch honoring author Chris Bohjalian (Midwives, Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands)…which is another blog post entirely. Tonight’s event event was a “Book Club” evening at Page and Palette, Inc. in Fairhope, Ala. Stephanie and Anderson, two dedicated P & P employees, host the gathering a few