Appalachian Blessings
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The Right Way to Celebrate Valentine’s Day
Just in case you didn’t know . . . today is Valentine’s Day. I’m generally opposed to the holiday as an adult. It feels to me like a marketing ploy to sell cards, flowers, and candy. That said, I have fond memories of the day when I was a kid. At Adrian Elementary...
Maple Syrup Season in Appalachia
Vermont gets most of the maple syrup press, but Appalachia produces its fair share of the sticky, sweet stuff. West Virginia has 75 or so farms producing more than 2,500 gallons of syrup in a given year. And February into March is harvest season. The trick is to tap...
Seeding Stories with Facts – Behind the scenes of When Silence Sings
So many readers loved little Emmaline in When Silence Sings. She's the child Serepta McLean unexpectedly takes in after her family is killed in a crash. I introduced Emmaline in part because Serepta needed some hint of softness--something that would help readers see...
My Kinda Readers!
I recently got an email from Judi, a reader in Delaware who sent a copy of The Finder of Forgotten Things to her father since he'd married a woman from WV and spends half his year there. They all enjoyed the story so much, she ended up sending copies to five other...
What’s New with You??
I've always felt something like panic when someone asks, "What's new with you?" I suddenly feel like I have to come up with something interesting and rarely feel like I can deliver. And then there's January 2022--talk about starting a new year off NEW! Let's see. New...
My Favorite Christmas Present 2021
Christmas has been a little strange this year. We're in the midst of moving to a new town so I can start a new job. Which means traveling to see family was a no-go. Then it was 70 degrees over the weekend, and we had windows open on Christmas Day. Not very festive. We...
Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
It's the most wonderful time of year! Holidays and food and gifts and family and decorations and . . . stress!! Are you feeling it yet? I typically manage to remain relatively unstressed by the holidays. But this year we're selling our house and moving to be near my...
One Last Reminder – I Have a New Book Out!
Meet Sarah
