Since it's Christmas morning, I wanted to introduce you to our newest family Christmas tradition -- one that grew out of writing a book. In my latest book, Where Treetops Glisten, the heroine in my novella works at a candy shop that opened in Lafayette, Indiana, in 1912. The name's changed (today it's McCords), but they still make the same Christmas candy canes the same way they were made a … [Read more...]
The Holly and the Ivy
For some reason, the Christmas carol, “The Holly and the Ivy” has been going through my head for weeks, and for the life of me, I could not recall any other words of the song. Thinking of holly and ivy caused me to pause and wonder why we sing about it in the first place and how it relates to Christmas. I read that holly and ivy have been a mainstay of British Christmas decorations since at least … [Read more...]
Fort Phantom Hill
About 15 minutes from where I work, there are wonderful old remains of an authentic 1850's Texas fort. And with a name like Fort Phantom Hill, I thought it would be the perfect topic for blog the week after Halloween. In November of 1851, five companies of the 5th Infantry were dispatched to establish a post on the Clear Fork of the Brazos River at a place known as Phantom Hill. It was built to … [Read more...]
My Newest Obsession
Over the past year, I've developed a new obsession. No, it's not eating more chocolate. (I already have that obsession!) And no it's not reading multiple books all at once or watching every season of Downtown Abbey. (I already do those too!) No also to baking, scrap-booking, crocheting, drawing, and gardening (although in another life, I'd love to do all of them). So what is this new … [Read more...]
Why I Love Writing About World War II
Growing up my favorite uncle was my Uncle Joe. He was a bachelor and lived in a small house in the mountain town of Weed, California. Uncle Joe had a beautiful garden and a house plant with vines so long that they wrapped around his kitchen. He bought us kids mini cans of 7-up, and he always had records with Mexican music playing. He had so many records that they were stacked from floor to ceiling … [Read more...]