I’m still searching for those elusive words “the end” with my deadline zooming toward me. Well, actually my original deadline is seven days gone, but where one deadline is missed, another takes its place soon after. So since most of my words need to be on the trail of those two sneaky little words that keep hiding from me, I …
“Thinking of You” Flower Stories
Ten more days to throw your name in my giveaway hat if you haven’t already done so. You might win two dozen roses, or if you are one of those people who “never win anything,” you can tell me that and be in a drawing for a beautiful wind chime. I’m thinking about throwing MY name in that hat. Just …
A Night at the Hollyhill County Fair
July 1, 1964 Jocie Brooke here reporting from the Hollyhill County Fairgrounds. Once a year, the carnival comes to town and everybody goes to the fair. Dad says the fair is one of those good and bad happenings. Good because all the beauty contests and baby show pictures sell lots of papers. Bad because he has to be at the …
Release Day – Small Town Girl
It’s July. That means Small Town Girl is officially released. It’s always a banner day for a writer like me when a new book hits the market. Way back in 1978 when my first book was published in the general market as a mass market paperback, I expected to see it on every stand. I didn’t think about how many …
Fiction and Fun in St Louis – the Gateway to the West
St. Louis – the Gateway to The West. Some might say St. Louis was the second gateway to the west, because at one time the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky was considered the western gateway. In the frontier days, the western frontier kept getting just a little farther west all the time as the pioneers kept moving on in search of …
Raspberries in God’s Pantry
June 24, 1964 Jocie Brooke here reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. Do you love raspberries? The kind that grow out in the fields. Aunt Love says those are part of God’s pantry. She also says that about asparagus and cabbage. That’s a shelf in His pantry I don’t care if I get anything off of. Yuck! People at church are always …
Meet Me in St Louis
One of the fun things about writing in the Christian market is the writer friends you get to meet. Here I am with Laura Frantz. Laura published her first book, The Frontiersman’s Daughter, a few years ago. She lives in Washington state but she has Ky roots and is published by the same company as I am. So she e-mailed …
Roses – the Language of Love and Thanks
“The rose speaks of love silently, in a language known only to the heart.” Roses, those most romantic of flowers! And so, of course, many of the flower stories you shared with me feature roses. My husband is a very romantic guy and hardly ever forgets Valentine’s Day or our anniversary. One year he sent me a dozen perfect red …
Eighteen Mile Binoculars and Other Mysteries
June 17, 1964 Jocie Brooke reporting from Hollyhill, Kentucky. How about this neat ad I found in an old comic book? The very thing I need if I’m going to keep an eye on what’s going on. The ad says you can see up to eighteen miles. I guess that’s if no buildings or trees get in the way. But …
A Father’s Day Flower Story
“Any man can be a father, but it takes someone special to be a dad.” Happy Father’s Day to all of you out there who are fathers or had a father. The picture is of my husband and our first child. My husband and I were both so young, but we were a family. I’ve always loved this picture. You …