Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

A late Merry Christmas

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For many years since our children have been grown, especially since we have several teachers in the family, our time to celebrate Christmas with them has been the week between Christmas and New Years. I've always said that as long as we can be together, it doesn't matter when. Well, this is that week! We are gathered in beautiful southeast Missouri at our oldest daughter's house in the … [Read more...]

Merry Christmas!

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On this wonderful day, the day of the year when we celebrate our Savior's birth, I hope you'll be blessed by the lyrics to the song "I Heard The Bells on Christmas Day", based on the poem "Christmas Bells" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. I heard the bells on Christmas dayTheir old familiar carols playAnd mild and sweet their songs repeatOf peace on earth good will to men And the bells are … [Read more...]

Christmases Past

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This week three of my kids and I are home in North Platte for an early Christmas and for my niece's wedding. We've had a wonderful time with family, lots of games, laughter, and cousins running wild. But today I wanted to share some photos and a short video from locations featured in Canteen Dreams (my first book, an award-winner that is on ebook sale on Amazon for 99¢ this month). Our first night … [Read more...]

Glad Tidings

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Hi friends, It’s two days until Christmas! I can hardly believe it’s been another year of sharing our love of books, stories, and life together. I hope you know how much I look forward to sharing this time with you every other Wednesday. Today, I thought I’d share a glimpse of our pre-Christmas fun, along with how the McKenna family from my Alaskan Courage series celebrates. We’ve been … [Read more...]

Regency-Era Baking: Mincemeat Pie

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I recently took an online class taught by The Regency Cook in association with the Regency Town House in Brighton and Hove, England. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. If you have the opportunity, you may want to check out his other class offerings for yourself. I mentioned mincemeat in two of my novels (The Silent Governess and An Ivy Hill Christmas) so I thought it was time I actually … [Read more...]

Merry (Quarantined) Christmas

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The first time I traveled to Israel and visited Bethlehem, I expected to feel a sense of the beauty and simplicity of the much-loved Christmas story: a crude stable, the holy family, shepherds, wise men, and the Son of God in the manger.  I was sadly disappointed. The traditional site of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is inside the Church of the Nativity—a truly ancient church built in 565 … [Read more...]

How to Beat the “I-can’t-do-this” Mindset

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Recently a reader by the name of Joanne sent me an email and said: “My dream is to be an author someday . . . Every time I sit down to write, fear rears its head and screams at me, "you can't do this," "what makes you think you have anything worth writing?" or more recently, "you won't stick this out so why even try?" So in the end, all I have is an empty page of fears. I wish I could push past … [Read more...]

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