We Wish You A Merry Christmas: Booklover Carols Part Three
Booklover Carols are becoming a tradition here. You’ll find links to last year’s tongue-in-cheek carols at the bottom. This year we have to honor the ” talk of the publishing world” with its very own selection. Plus, as we run out to buy last minute gifts, let’s not forget our favorite independent bookstore, which will…
Read MoreWanda’s Lasting Legacy: Snickers Brownie Pie
“‘This is your Christian day of rest,’ Janya said. ‘You bake pie all week, and tomorrow, even if Wanda’s is closed, you will be there preparing for Tuesday.’ Wanda stared out the narrow rusty window with its view of scrub and one screeching blackbird. ‘Wanda’s Wonderful Pies? That’s work. But creating a new pie in…
Read MoreA Quilter’s Heritage
Recently I had the joy of receiving this email from one of my readers, Joyce in Maryland. The story of Aunt Verdie is so lovely that I asked Joyce if I could share it with you. My fondest wish for everyone reading this is that you have or have had an Aunt Verdie in your life.…
Read MoreKeeping It Simple is Much Too Complicated
Albert Einstein once said: “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.” Who am I to argue with Al, whose theory of relativity was as simple as 1, 2, 3 to the power of infinity? Last night as I stood in my kitchen among the remnants of a delicious and ultimately overcomplicated…
Read MoreThe Write Way: Sometimes We Just Need A Hand
You’re moving right along on your new project. The characters are no longer one dimensional, the plot’s moving at just the right pace; then suddenly you sit down at the computer/typewriter/legal pad and nothing happens. You’re stuck. Nothing is more chilling to a writer than an empty page. I outline extensively to avoid them, but…
Read MoreYou Have My Sympathy. . . Not
The beginning stages of a novel are often the most fun. Restrictions and limitations? Fuhgeddaboudit. This is the time when a book assumes mythic proportions in the author’s mind. If not the best book ever written, this will be the best book the author has ever written, each sentence perfectly constructed, each scene building on the…
Read MoreCome Ye Thankful People Come
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was thank you, that would be enough.” ~Meister Eckhart “We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.” ~Thornton Wilder “On Thanksgiving Day, we acknowledge our dependence.” ~William Jennings Bryan “Feeling gratitude and not expressing…
Read MoreConversations With The Dead–Flying Kites in Guatemala
I had the good fortune to visit Guatemala in early 2009, an unusual journey since I’d written about the political struggles in Guatemala in my novel Endless Chain, the second book of my Shenandoah Album series, but had never visited the country. Although only the back story took place in Guatemala, I found it strange to…
Read MoreLove Finds You–An Interview With Author Serena B. Miller
**Congratulations to Paula, commenter #2, whose number was chosen at random.org and will now receive an autographed copy of Love Finds You in Sugarcreek, Ohio. Thanks to everyone who “chatted” here with Serena while the giveaway was in progress. Some years ago I received an email from another minister’s wife, an aspiring author. She wanted…
Read MoreJumping Off the Merry-Go-Round
There I was reading Everyday Foods magazine while my granddaughter chattered beside me. “I get this at home,” I told my son-in-law, “but I haven’t had time to read it in a year.” There was a silence, then he said, “You know, something’s wrong with that, Mom.” Indeed there is.
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