I saw this plaque hanging in an antique store recently, and though I thought it was a lovely saying, I walked on. But as I continued through the store, the words haunted me. How many times have I considered paying someone a compliment, or stopping

Hi everyone, I am so incredibly excited to share some wonderful news: I have just received and accepted an offer from my amazing publisher, Plume (an imprint of Penguin), to write two new novels! My agent worked out the details of my new contract this

With Blackberry Winter's release just weeks away, I baked a blackberry pie in honor of my publisher, Penguin/Plume! And, P.S. If you haven't seen the trailer for Blackberry Winter, watch it here:

In Kirkus' recent review they said that “This novel will enchant Jio’s fans and make them clamor for her next offering.” If that wasn't enough to give me a perma-smile, I just learned that they chose Blackberry Winter as one of their most anticipated books

I am so excited to share that Blackberry Winter was chosen as a must-read for fall by Real Simple magazine (the September issue hit subscriber mailboxes today, and I've been getting tweets, emails and Facebook posts from friends who saw the review---so fun!)! Here's the

Hi everyone, I'm sick this week, recovering from a horrible sore throat illness, but wanted to share this new book trailer for Blackberry Winter (which is out in about six weeks---wow!). Turn sound up and watch! Would love to hear what you think

My younger brother and his wife recently purchased my grandmother's home. Grandma Antoinette lives in a retirement home in Seattle now, and when my uncles and aunts decided that it was time to sell the old family home (which has an enormous beach, beautiful grounds

Today we had a crazy thunder and lightning storm in Seattle (doesn't that weather vane photo look kind of eerie---like an image from a creepy Alfred Hitchcock movie trailer?! I shot it tonight at home when the thunderstorm was still raging). So, I packed up

I've always loved hydrangeas. In fact, it was the prominent flower in the arrangement (and bouquet) for my July 21 wedding almost 11 years ago! But, I nearly gasped when, the other day, I noticed that the hydrangea I planted as a tiny shrub in

Today, I received the most amazing package in the mail from my Italian publisher, Nord. Inside was a marketing folder---designed to share the Italian edition of my first book, The Violets of March, with bookstores in Italy (it will be called "Il diario di velluto