I recently attended the annual Christmas celebration of my local chapter of the Jane Austen Society (JASNA), where our speaker, author Maria Grace, shared a fascinating talk about Regency Christmas Traditions, based on her book, A Jane Austen Christmas. I won’t attempt to describe all of the many traditions observed over the twelve days of Christmases Past, but since I’m hosting Christmas … [Read more...]

For many years now, my book deadline has been January 15. That means I’m always racing to finish my novel during the holidays. With three children and a musician-husband whose busiest season is also Christmas, I decided several years ago to stop trying to produce a perfect “Hallmark” holiday. I sat everyone down and asked which traditions were most important to them, and together we came up with a … [Read more...]

Today, Joe and I celebrate our 31st wedding anniversary. Yep, we had a Christmas wedding—and loved it! Poinsettias and all... That was then, this is now... Time has a way of catching up with you, and it's certainly caught up with us! And though our journey has hardly been perfect, and we've weathered some storms, I'm so grateful for Joe and for the love and laughter we share. I treasure … [Read more...]