If you’re like me, you often take God’s creation for granted. For example, Chris and I were at Orange Beach, Alabama, last week for a quick getaway—and to celebrate his birthday. If you’ve never been, they have the most pristine beach I’ve ever seen. Sand so fine and white, I can’t help but curl my toes into it. We’ve visited …
In another life, the sight of the twinkle lights that lined the Piggly Wiggly would’ve had Madeline Harris belting out praises to baby Jesus. “Silent Night” and “Little Town of Bethlehem” were her favorites. But now, staring through the foggy gloom, there was no joy to be found in the Christmas lights or brightly painted windows. “I’m cold, Mama.” Amelia …
It’s not often that I go to the movies, and never have I gone to two in a four-day period. Rarely is there anything playing worth the price of a ticket—until last week. Before I go on, let me give you a little background. My daughter Nikki was born two days before Thanksgiving. In fact, she and I spent her …
Review of Lilac Girls Last year I vowed to not read another historical fiction novel set in World War II—most especially focused on Nazi concentration camps. Melancholy would linger for days after finishing these books, and I would struggle to shake it. The thought of what so many prisoners experienced at the hands of pure evil never fails to wreck …
A Dog is A Kid’s Best Friend When my son was little, my mom told me that every boy should have a dog. An unexpected statement from her since we didn’t have dogs growing up. With four sisters, my brother probably would have definitely benefitted from having a canine companion to call his own. It wasn’t until I had kids …
Guest Blogger: Rayce Jasper of A Canine Christmas The problem with putting people on a pedestal is they eventually fall off. That’s what happened with my granddad. He was my hero when I was growing up—until Nana passed. Then he went dark. My name’s Rayce Jasper, and I’ve come back to Shelbyville to sell Granddad’s farm. The plan is to …
History of Mail Carriers This post may be a stumper for you. Why in the world would I be sharing the history of mail carriers for my Christmas novella release week? Good question. Main character Amelia Hutchinson is a disgruntled mail carrier in A Canine Christmas. Not disgruntled about the job but that it’s not quite as adventurous as she’d …
Chrismon Trees I think it’s appropriate that most of the helpful information I found on Chrismon Trees was on the online Southern Living Magazine. It wasn’t until our first Christmas in Tennessee I’d ever heard of Chrismons. Apparently, it’s not a well-known word, because every time I type it into this article, auto-correct tries to change it to Christmas. Maybe …
Holiday Supper Southern-Style I am by no means a Foodie. In fact, if I didn’t need to eat to survive, I probably wouldn’t bother. Except when it comes to the holidays! We moved from Northern California to Tennessee almost seven years ago. A lot of people have asked if I suffered from culture shock—which I haven’t—except when it comes to …
Guest Post by Amelia Hutchinson of A Canine Christmas Authors are strange sort of people, don’t you think? I mean, they get it into their heads their fictional characters are real—my creator, Jennifer Sienes, even asked me if I’d tell y’all a little bit about myself, as if I truly exist. We’re going to give her a little grace and …
