Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

From Steeple to Steeple, guest blog & *giveaway* by Carrie Fancett Pagels

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Thank you, gals of Inspired by Life and Fiction, for allowing me to guest post about my recent release, The Steeplechase, which is part of Forget Me Not Romances “Love’s Sporting Chance” collection! Living in a large catchment area referred to as Hampton Roads, Virginia, and sometimes Tidewater Virginia, I’m surrounded by history. In fact Yorktown (where I live), Williamsburg, and Jamestown … [Read more...]

White as snow!

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"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow..." Isaiah 1:18 Our Easter Sunday morning yesterday brought the most incredibly beautiful snow! It made me think of this Scripture that holds the essence of Easter. Because He lives, we can face tomorrow (to borrow the words from an old Easter anthem.) I hope each of you had a … [Read more...]

Grandma’s Feather Bed

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Today I’m thinking about beds. Hoping for a nap? Nope. Doing research for a scene in a book, which sent me down a research rabbit hole. The articles and photos I perused about beds led to an “aha!” moment for me. Remember the  Hans Christian Andersen story, “The Princess and the Pea”? In the story, a skeptical queen decides to test a so-called princess by seeing if she can feel a pea … [Read more...]

Spring Thaw

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The robins are back! I’m not sure where these red-bellied birds go for the winter, but I saw one for the first time this morning. A sure sign of spring. So I decided to look for other signs as I took my morning walk. Some trees now have buds. Green shoots are poking up from the cold ground along with a few brave crocuses. The ugly patches of dirty snow are nearly all melted away. And ice no … [Read more...]

When private love letters…aren’t so private anymore

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My Darling Wife… On his thirty-third birthday in 1868, General William Hicks Jackson proposed marriage to Selene Harding, granddaughter of the founder of Belle Meade Plantation in Nashville (the setting of my Belle Meade Plantation novels). The General had his eye on Selene for quite some time. But he wasn't part of Nashville’s social circle, and Selene had the attentions of many eligible … [Read more...]

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