Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Nature is another thing that encourages and inspires me to write. I can watch a child run through a field and all of a sudden I have a new idea for a story. The scenery in Belonging is not from my imagination; rather, it was from my childhood. I loved growing up out in the country. The world seemed so big and so small at the same time. The wide open farmland surrounding my house made it seem big. Knowing absolutely everyone who lived around me made it seem small. So, in honor of my childhood home, please enjoy the scenery below. Share a pic of your childhood home. Share it anywhere you please, just be sure to tag me in it so I can see it. You never know, it might give me inspiration for a new story! Click on the book cover to go to Amazon to purchase the book. Don't forget to leave your review to be entered in the Kindle giveaway contest. Quote from Belonging : The weather took a turn and Shelly could not resist the sunshine that beckoned h

Me in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" I love music! I was taught how to play the recorder, the piano, and the guitar, although I haven’t played any one of them in quite some time. I used to sing in chorus at school and took part in the musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown my senior year in high school. I enjoy listening to music when I’m hanging around the house cooking, cleaning, or sewing. I always have the radio on in the car when I’m driving. Music moves me. Songs give me ideas for writing. Because of that, it seemed natural to make a soundtrack for Belonging. Follow this link to hear the songs that put me in the mood for writing this book. C lick on the book cover to go to Amazon to purchase the book. Don't forget to leave your review to be entered in the Kindle giveaway contest. Quote from Belonging : Shelly put in a CD and turned the volume up loud. Classical music came blaring out of the speakers. Shelly had always loved how

No matter how long I live, seeing God at work in my life will never cease to amaze me. Years ago, (I’m not quite sure how many, but it’s been a lot!) I met this sweet, young woman at work. After Katie and I got to know each other we realized we had a lot in common – except for our taste in baseball teams. I like the Yankees, she prefers the Red Sox (Bummer! This is her only flaw as far as I know.) We both grew up in “the north.” We enjoyed walking and would often go walking after work. Eventually, Katie went back home to Maine and we lost touch – that was before the days of Facebook.) Then, several years later, my husband started talking about a new lady at his work, whose name was also Katie. Only when I met “his” Katie at the company Christmas party, did I realize who she was. Yes, she had gotten married (after she began working for the same company as my husband) so her last name changed. But, she had been to our house for dinner when she and I worked together. My husband’s

Hey, Everyone! It’s that time again. My newest book Belonging is finally coming out, just as an ebook for now. In honor of the ebook launch, I’ll be having a contest to win…wait for it…a Kindle! There is only one way that you can earn an entry into the contest. You must post a review of the book on Amazon. “How can I read it if I don’t own a Kindle?” you ask. Download the free Kindle App for your PC, phone, IPad, etc. Simply go to Amazon to download your free reader.  For the next two weeks the ebook will be on sale for only $1.99! You have until September 29th to post your review. Purchase and download your copy by clicking on the cover at the top of the post. Once you have read the book, post your review. After you post your review, I will print it out and put it in the “bucket.” When I draw the winner, I will post his/her name right here on my blog on September 30th, which gives everyone plenty of time to read it. If you already own a Kindle and you win the priz

Deadly Communications   By Lillian Duncan Please welcome Lillian Duncan to the blog today. She is here to tell us about her new release Deadly Communications. Tell us about DEADLY COMMUNICATIONS . Deadly Communications features Maven Morris, a speech-language pathologist (SLP) who gets a little too involved with her clients. Okay, a lot too involved. When a client she’s working with leaves abruptly, Maven is suspicious and she won’t rest until she finds her. What’s the setting for DEADLY COMMUNICATIONS? It takes place in the city of Wooster, Ohio.  Coincidentally , it’s a city I’ve lived near most of my life. But, of course, the story is fictional and not based on reality! How did you come up with the title for DEADLY COMMUNICATIONS? How could that not be the title? When a speech-language pathologist (SLP) gets involved in a murder mystery, what else could you name it? Is DEADLY COMMUNICATIONS the first book you published? No, I’ve been blessed to hav

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card author is: Heather Gray and the book: Faith, Hope, Love, and Deployment Leafwood Pub lishers (June 10, 2014) ***Special thanks to Ryan Self at Leafwood Publishers for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: HEATHER GRAY is the founder of Finish Strong Ministries. She was happily married to Major David Gray for eleven years until he was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2012. Heather served as a Key Spouse in t

“Summer afternoon – summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James The thoughts of a summer afternoon bring about a lot of memories for me. When I was a child summer afternoons were filled with fun activities; and those activities didn’t involve any sort of electronics! One camping weekend when it was exceptionally hot. Even the adults weren't too proud to get in a wading pool. That's sister Sarah waving a greeting. One of our camping weekends where we got a "little rain" overnight. Our family spent a lot of weekends camping. Many of those weekends we would see the same families over and over again, allowing us to make friends who didn't really live anywhere near us. There were always campfires, campfire pizzas and pies, smores, staying up late and running around with friends until our parents came to hunt us down and send us to bed.  Sister Martha, playing badminton