I have discovered that to write and to write well, it’s necessary to have experienced many adventures along life’s way. I’ve often been asked which parts of my novel Moon Dance are fact, and which parts fiction. I usually just smile and offer, “It’s partly truth and partly fiction, and I’m not tellin’ which is which.” I like to keep a few secrets to myself.

Many of my readers have told me the characters in Moon Dance are so realistic, and they truly feel as if they know them personally. Many readers have commented on the depth of emotions the book’s characters portray, and one reader even asked how I could create such an intense feeling of romance and passion without including the “graphic” scenes found in so many romance novels. Moon Dance is a romance. It’s full of all the strong emotions that one goes through when they fall in love. It is also a story of struggle, faith, family, and of working together for the benefit of all. It is a Christian historical romance that reaches out and touches the depths of our souls. At least, I hope to create this experience in all my readers.

The historical setting and certain public incidents did actually take place, although I did use creative license as I wrote. I wanted the story line to flow smoothly and the characters to become real to the reader.  In writing historical fiction, I need to make sure I’ve used both primary and secondary resources to create a realistic presence within a work of fiction. This takes a lot of time, and I often get lost in the research itself because I find it so intriguing.  It took between two and a half to three years to research and write  Moon Dance. Now, I look forward to many wonderful discoveries as we begin this journey together, and a new book is “born”. I am so fortunate to have readers who want to be a part of the actual story. And I am grateful to those of you who have already contacted me about contributing your memories to this “work in progress”.

It is not often we have the opportunity to share our own inner being with complete strangers. Although when you open the door to “memories”, a kind of magic happens. No longer are you strangers; you have become friends.