One in eight women have breast cancer. A year ago in August I found out I was that one in eight women as I went for a biopsy and got the bad news that I had breast cancer. Since that time, I’ve talked to so many women who have had a similar diagnosis or whose mother or sister has. The …
Sticks and Stone Reviews
“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me.” That’s an old adage that I’m sure you’ve heard many times. You may had said it yourself or told your kids to say it when you were trying to get them past some hurtful words aimed at them at school or on the playground. I doubt …
From South Africa with Love – A True Life Love Story
Don’t you just love a great love story? You all know how much I enjoy how you share your stories with me when I have a contest of some kind. Your stories make me the big winner in those contests. (I’ll be having a birthday contest soon.) I enjoy hearing from you in between contests too and I’m always glad …
The Special Air of Old Trees
“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.” (Robert Louis Stevenson) Last week I shared with you that I’d been on vacation to Edisto Beach in South Carolina. …
Creating My Character Lacey in The Blessed
My Shaker book, The Blessed, is on e-book sale at 99 cents or less for a limited time. When the less than a dollar price disappears, the e-book will still be available for a reduced price for a week or so. So if you e-read and have ever considered giving one of my Shaker books a try, you might consider …
Beach, Sun, Surf and Winners
The Beach Ah, the beach. The relentless crash of the waves. The beauty of their power. The joy of throwing your body into the surf. The happiness of sitting in the sun or walking along on the wet sand letting the ocean nip at your toes. The fun of hearing a child giggle at the first touch of the waves. …
Summertime and the Memories are Good
What did you love best about summer when you were a kid? This year when The Innocent released I had a fun giveaway contest and invited readers to share some summer stories with me. I’m always blessed when I get to read these firsthand experiences from you all. Toni was like me in that she enjoyed playing with her cousins. …
Simple Gifts – A Shaker Song that Went out into the World
Simple Gifts “Tis the gift to be simple, tis the gift to be free.” That has to be the best known line of any Shaker song. Many people change the wording a bit when they sing the song and say “Tis a gift to be simple,” but that little change of the to a does make a difference in the …
Romance at the County Fair
Did you ever go to the county fair? When I was a kid, the county fair was a big deal. No way were we ever going to go to one of those big theme parks and Disney World might as well have been on the moon as far as we were concerned out on the farm. We weren’t going to …
Shaker Sayings and a Chance to Win a Shaker Book
Today as I was exploring my new website and trying to learn how to do this or that on it, I clicked on that little spyglass at the end of the menu line and discovered a way to search through everything on my site, including all my blog posts. So I put in Shaker and came up with this …