Appalachian Blessings

Even though fall is really just now getting underway, there are already signs of the coming winter. Two weeks ago I took Thistle to the woods and had to practically dodge falling acorns. I stood up the trail from a massive oak and listened to so many pelting through...

A Tapestry of Secrets has been out for two months now and if anyone out there is considering reading the book as part of a book club, I thought I'd share some ideas I put together with the marketing team at Bethany House. Ella Phillips, the heroine of A Tapestry of...

Your post for today--the wonders of autumn in Appalachia!

Time is the enemy. Not because we don't have enough of it. Not because it passes faster and faster. Not because it's slippery and elusive. Rather, because time is an illusion. I was in such a hurry to be published. It felt like I was wasting valuable time waiting for...

Last Sunday was homecoming at my church. AKA - Old Folks' Day. There has been some back and forth on whether we should continue calling it by that name, but I'm a fan. I love the notion of honoring history and the "old folks" who came before us. Maybe once I AM an old...

Ah, the wonder of childhood. When I was in WV a few weeks ago my brother and I went for a walk with my five-year-old niece. We walked over a mile, down to Laurel Fork, where we saw some fish. Along the way we also encountered a herd of very noisy cows, a trickling...

We called them lightning bugs when I was growing up. We'd catch them and keep them in a mason jar with holes punched in the lid. We'd turn them loose in the morning, although I suspect there were quite a few casualties. The wee flashes of light are waning as fall...

One of the challenges of being an author is the overlap between stories. Until the Harvest was recently up for an award, A Tapestry of Secrets released a month ago, and I've just turned in the manuscript for my fourth novel yet to be named. You'll forgive me if the...