Avoiding the “Too Stupid to Live” Heroine in Regency Romantic Suspense Plus: Read a Deleted Scene from The Spinster’s Christmas If you’ve ever shouted at a movie screen because the heroine ran into the dark woods instead of toward safety, you’ve probably encountered what writers call a “Too Stupid to Live” (TSTL) heroine. As a reader and writer of Regency romantic suspense, I’ve always tried to avoid falling into that trap. But sometimes, even the most logic-loving authors can make mistakes. When I was about to release The Spinster’s Christmas , I hired a professional macro-editor to take a look at it. I wrote the book during a difficult season in my writing journey, and although I sensed something wasn’t working in the manuscript, I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Turns out, it was a classic case of being too close to the story to see the problem. My editor pointed out a scene near the climax where my heroine—normally level-headed—suddenly runs away from safety and int...

Christine Henderson interviewed me if you’d like to read a little about how I came up with the idea for The Spinster’s Christmas and some tips on writing. Check out the interview. Christine writes Christian contemporary romance and is in the Once Upon a Starry Night box set with me. You can check out her book The Sweetest Delights in Life here .

Google allowed me to create audiobooks with an AI narrator for free of my titles available on the Google Play store, so I decided to give it a try. Right now, Necessary Proof , Unshakeable Pursuit , Weddings and Wasabi , The Spinster’s Christmas , and my devotional Who I Want to Be are all available as AI-narrated audiobooks. From now until March 11, 2023, Necessary Proof digitally-narrated audiobook is free! Pick up you free copy and let me know how the audiobook sounds. If you hear anything weird, feel free to email me and let me know the exact time where you heard it, and I’ll try to have Google correct it.

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...

I’m posting my Regency romance, The Spinster's Christmas , so all my blog readers get a chance to read it! It’s the Prequel novel to my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series . A Christian Regency romantic suspense Spinster Miranda Belmoore has become a poor relation in her cousin’s house. She determines to escape a life of drudgery and disdain from her own family members, who are embarrassed by her straightforward speech and unconventional behavior that does not match with proper society. She is beginning to believe what they tell her—that she doesn’t matter to anyone, not even to God. Former naval captain Gerard Foremont is having difficulty adjusting to life back on land, bitter that his career has been cut short by his severely injured knee. A Christmastide houseparty with the Belmoores reunites him with his childhood friend, Miranda, but he is appalled at the verbal abuse she endures and wants to help her. The festivities are disrupted when a cloaked intruder attacks Gerard, wi...