Think of this as the mixtape for Thirteen Weeks in Digby. I’ve always “heard” music in the back of my head as I read (weird quirk, I know), so I put together 16 tracks that capture everything from gusty storm vibes to those quiet, “just us” moments and the big, messy warmth of found family.

Inviting beta readers opened a window onto fresh perspectives I never saw on my own. In this post, I share how I crafted a guided Google Form, started weaving early feedback into the manuscript, and am gearing up for a second full developmental pass.

When I first finished my novel’s first draft, I felt…weird. Proud yet conflicted, excited and uneasy to step away from my characters. In this post I share how I discovered developmental editing—why it’s the vital “zoom-out” pass after drafting and how I map every scene in a simple spreadsheet.

Digby may be fictional, but it’s built with the heart of a real Midwestern town. Here’s why I created it, and some of my favorite places within its streets.

Several years ago, my husband and I decided on a whim to visit the Unitarian Universalist church in our town. We didn’t know what to expect. Inside, a man looked up and asked, “Are you here for directions?”

What we found was a small, big-hearted group full of kindness, quirks, and an eagerness to help. On the way home, I told my husband, “There could be a TV show about that group. And I’d watch it.”

I truly believe that what we read steers what we write. Some books become blueprints, others become whispers, and then there are those rare ones that crack something open.
As I write Thirteen Weeks in Digby, I keep returning to the stories that shaped its voice, heart, and humor.