Imagine being in a war zone trench, just feet away from the enemy’s on Christmas Eve. Such a thing occurred on December 24, 1914 when carols were sung between the British and German soldiers. Perhaps it sounded something like this: O Tannenbaum, o Tannenbaum, Wie treu[N 1] sind deine Blätter! Du grünst nicht nur zur Sommerzeit, Nein, auch im Winter, …
Christmas widgets!
I love widgets. Yes, I know, they are kind of tacky sometimes. But isn’t it fun to be a little tacky and little lampoon-Christmas-lights-crazy at this time of year? Here are some fun Christmas goodies for your online celebrations. The hard part is picking only one! Enjoy! Christmas countdown widget (if someone knows how to help me make this smaller, …
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What’s your definition of real romance?
31 years ago today I married my man! At a little baptist church (that isn’t so little anymore) in Haysville, Kansas. (When we got married there was only the little building on the right and no passageway leading to a big building.) (But that’s irrelevant.) What’s relevant is that I’M STILL MARRIED TO THE SAME GUY! Besides being a parent, …
A Christmas Giving Giveaway as I Introduce author Candice Sue Patterson
In a way, I feel like I lived this story. I’d written the first few chapters when our family was hit with something extremely difficult. I had to remind myself of the very things I was teaching my characters. Then during first edits with my publisher, my dad had a severe stroke at the age of fifty-five, just like Dean’s dad. Again, I had to remind myself that God’s plan is a perfect plan whether I understand it or not.
S is for Steamboats
In the 1800s only the high-paying customers got a nice room on the upper decks of the steamboat on major United States rivers. Regular folks had to board with the animals and cargo. And from the diaries and letters I’ve read from the era, the aromas that emanated from these quarters made for a miserable trip.
Bronner’s part 2: The Joy of Christmas Decorations
Last week I posted about my trip to Frankenmuth, Michigan to Bronner’s. I promised to share what we bought there back in 2007 to commemorate our 25th wedding anniversary. (We were married Dec. 3, 1982.) We had such fun shopping for our silver anniversary. I wish my pictures were better. My camera wasn’t working and I took these with my …
Who knows who you may inspire!
It’s really amazing how things work out in history. As I was doing research for my book about Marco Polo, I learned that Columbus read Polo’s book and it may have spurred him on to look for the far east himself. Is that cool or what? What if Marco Polo had never written about his travels? (Okay, so he didn’t …
Introducing pre-published author, Tom Threadgill!
When I first read Tom’s work, I was blown away by his talent. When you read his book, you’ll see why. His writing is seamless and spell-binding. Usually when I read a break-out author’s first work, I find myself editing. When I read Tom’s, I got caught up in the story. It gave me the creeps. And that’s a good thing, because he write creepy Christian fiction! I see big things in this man’s future!