Deborah Raney,"Home to Chicory Lane: A Chicory Inn Novel | Book 1"

I went from full-time stay-at-home mom for 20 years to pretty much full-time author. My passion is my family-my husband and I have been married for 40 years and have four kids, five darling grandkids--so far! But since, if a mom does her job right, she eventually puts herself OUT of a job, I'm delighted to have the privilege of working as a novelist. I could not enjoy the writing life more.

I've had a couple of non-fiction books published and contributed to some anthologies, as well as writing magazine articles. But my first love is fiction. I have written more than 25 novels and since The Face of the Earth for Howard/Simon & Schuster released in May 2013, I am now working on a new five-book series for Abingdon Press. Home to Chicory Lane releases August 2014.

A typical writing day for me begins early--often before 6 a.m.--with the business side of things: answering e-mail and reader mail, updating my Web site, reading for research. We're now empty-nesters so our routine is much quieter than it was when we had four kids at home. When my writing time begins, I have a routine that sets the stage, starting with lighting scented candles, choosing mood music on Pandora, and brewing a pot of coffee. Lately I've been enjoying coffee our son sent me from Germany. I have a cozy office that looks out over our front yard. But since I write on a laptop, I often take my computer to the kitchen counter, a chair by the fireplace, or, if the weather is nice, out on the deck where the birds, squirrels, ducks, geese, and an occasional egret, provide entertainment. I try to wrap up the day's words (usually 1000-1500 a day) by suppertime.