For the last two weeks, I took a break from writing. The first week, I had a family reunion and I just needed to have some fun and relax a bit. The second week was more work related as I flew to Atlanta for ICRS and then helped with the Faith, Hope and Love Chapter conference at the beginning of the Romance Writers of America Conference here in Dallas. So now, it's back to work. I have four weeks until my deadline and need to go through my manuscript a couple of more times before I send it off. Also, we're going on a research trip to Luckenbach, TX in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, I'm also starting on my next book which is due in February (I think!). It's always exciting and scary starting a new book. I'm excited to get to know some new characters and putting fresh words on the page. But it's also intimidating. Doubts surround me. Can I do this again? Can I make this work? Most of the time I can't. God really has to step in and help me out. For each book, He has. But it's a bit scary knowing I can't do it without His help.

One of the joys of taking time off, and one of the difficulties of starting a new project also resides in the fact that I've read a couple of wonderful books lately. I think I'm the last person on the planet to read The Kite Runner. Wow. Powerful book. I can't wait to read A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini next.

Also, I recently read Lisa See's Snowflower and the Secret Fan. It was very interesting. I almost didn't make it through the foot binding part. So hard to think of doing something like that to my own little girl. These were both powerful stories that not only entertained me but also taught me about different cultures and opened different worlds to me.

Have you read any interesting books lately?