“Do you like your name?” That was the question I asked at the end of my last post. Then I asked what name would they have rather been called if they didn’t like their name. One reader, Sharon, turned the question back on me. I have named hundreds of characters in the over forty books I’ve written. Each book has …
“Letitia! What a name. Halfway between a salad and a sneeze.” ― Terry Pratchett, I Shall Wear Midnight “Jason scratched his head. “You named him Festus? You know that in Latin, ‘festus’ means ‘happy’? You want us to ride off to save the world on Happy the Dragon?” ― Rick Riordan, The Lost Hero I taught some writing classes at the Kentucky Christian Writers Conference …
Maggie Monroe Callie “Perhaps one reason we are fascinated by cats is because such a small animal can contain so much independence, dignity, and freedom of spirit. Unlike the dog, the cat’s personality is never bet on a human’s. He demands acceptance on his own terms.” – Lloyd Alexander Back when I was writing my third Hidden Springs mystery, Murder …
“Write what you know.” That is advice many writers, especially new writers, hear. Some say it’s good advice. Some say it’s terrible advice. True, if I only wrote what I had experienced personally, I’d have very limited story ideas. Writing what I know would have all my stories about a small town country girl who loves dogs and kids and …
“Vacations with family are a time to create lasting memories, to laugh and to simply be together.” – John Wooden This week my husband and I went on our annual sibling trip with his brothers and their wives and sister and her daughter and son-in-law. We’ve been taking a trip like this in the fall for over ten years now. …
A church is not a group of friends you’ve picked. It is a group of brothers and sisters God has picked for you. – Michael Horton We celebrated Homecoming Day at our little country church today. That is always a special day for us. I’ve been going there since I married many years ago. At the time, my husband’s family …
Some of you have enjoyed my Hidden springs Mysteries. Others of you may not know I wrote a few cozy mysteries under the author name, A.H. Gabhart. Of course, if you read through my writing journey a few weeks ago, you’ll know that I have always loved reading mysteries and once, when I was in rejection valley, daring to set …
A few weeks ago, I was in Harrodsburg, Kentucky where Graham Springs, the setting for my recent book, The Pursuit of Elena Bradford, was located in the 1800’s. I knew a historical marker would be there along with the grave of the dancing lady who died at Graham Springs in the early 1840’s and has never been identified. The story …
“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” – Eleanor Roosevelt I recently sent out a newsletter. When I do, I usually invite readers to share a story with me or something about what’s happening in their lives if they would like …
Today, September 21st, is World Gratitude Day. I admit that I had never head of that until I saw it online today, but I feel like it’s something good to celebrate with a special day. Then when I looked up more about World Gratitude Day to find out why we have this day, I was surprised about how it came …