The brave die never, though they sleep in dust: Their courage nerves a thousand living men. ~Minot J. Savage Our present day Memorial Day which began as Decoration Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor the soldiers who died in that war (over 600,000 men.) The holiday was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 …
“If the English language made any sense, lackadaisical would have something to do with a lack of flowers.” ~Doug Larson No shortage of those daisies around here! I’m talking about ox-eye daisies like these that jump up all over the place to cheer up a field or a roadside ditch. They are sometimes called field daisies, common daisies, dog daisies …
“Like a Kentucky summer, Angel Sister starts slow and easy but by the end, roars along, leaving the reader breathless and wanting more.” (Lauraine Snelling, author of the Red River series and Daughters of Blessing series) I sent out a newsletter last week about Angel Sister since that first Rosey Corner book in on special e-book sale until the end …
“The beginning and the end reach out their hands to each other.” (Chinese Proverb) One more time I have written those two oftentimes elusive words. The end. I’m not sure I’ve written the right words before those two necessary words, but as the King suggests in the quote below, I stopped. “Begin at the beginning,”, the King said, very gravely, …
“But kids don’t stay with you if you do it right. It’s the one job where, the better you are, the more surely you won’t be needed in the long run.” (Barbara Kingsolver, Pigs in Heaven) Today is Mother’s Day. A day when Moms get taken out to eat or maybe their husbands or children cook for them. Flower shops …
I just finished doing the final edits on my upcoming historical novel, These Healing Hills, set in the Appalachian Mountains in 1946 with the background history about the Frontier Nursing Center. My character, Francine Howard, comes to the mountains to train as a nurse/midwife at the Midwifery School in Hyden, Kentucky. She has to learn mountain ways and get to …
Why did God make Moms? Well, we know all the loving reasons, but how about some practical reasons as figured out by a few kids? This is sort of a rerun of a post from 2008 but that’s so long ago, I figure you’ve long forgotten it or if you haven’t, you won’t mind smiling over these kids talking about …
An expert knows all the answers – if you ask the right questions. …Levi Strauss I don’t presume to know all the answers because I’m no expert at anything. That might be a fun question to ask yourself. What are you an expert at doing? Hmm, none of you asked me that question, but it is tickling my imagination. I’d …
I met Lonnie and Roberta Simpson Brown at a book event many, many years ago. And then at more book events as the years went by. The more I got to talk to them, the more I liked them. That’s the way it is with everybody who knows them. Everybody loves Roberta and Lonnie. Now just to look at her …
All the good ideas I ever had came to me while I was milking a cow. (Grant Wood) I’ve been inviting readers – that’s you – to not be shy and ask me some questions. About writing. About my books. About things down here on the farm. Anything you might want to know. I don’t promise to have an answer, …