>BLESSED EASTER

> May you experience the beauty and majesty of all creation on this day of Resuurection. Christ is risen!

>My First Sale – A DANDELION DAY

> IT’S OFFICIAL!!! My first book has sold. Two-book deal to Anne Horch at FaithWords (Hachette Book Group). I don’t know whether to jump up and down or hide under the sofa. On the one hand, this is what I’ve been panting after for most of this millennium. That’s when I gave myself permission to strap on a seatbelt and …

>MAKING MEMORIES

> Christmas has come and gone. We had good weather, safe travels, and only one person became ill and had to delay spending Christmas with the family, so overall it was all good. As usual, pictures tell the story much better than I could, so enjoy some of my favorite holiday shots. My dad (where we celebrated Christmas Eve), my …

>FOR UNTO US IS BORN . . .

> MERRY CHRISTMAS The mad rush is quickly winding down. The shopping is done, the gifts wrapped, the baked goods packed up. All we have to do is load the car and head out west where our family is waiting for the annual Christmas Eve gathering. Christmas Eve is the only tradition that has remained somewhat the same for as …

>A Celebration Worth Noting

>Last spring, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer during routine mammography. To say we were shocked and devastated goes without saying. The latest technology, pinpoint accuracy in locating the nodes closest to the tumor, microcellular examination of tissue, and a bevy of amazing doctors became a part of Donna’s life in this most unexpected interruption. She had surgery, a …

>HAPPILY EVER AFTER

> We have attended more weddings this year than we have total in the last five years. Love must be in the air, and it is so encouraging to see young couples in love, their feet on the ground, and their heads in the clouds. Weekend before last, my nephew, Robbie, married his sweetheart, Kylee, in a beautiful, just-before-sunset, outdoor …

>TWO LITTLE WORDS

> Two little words. Only six letters. Oh, but they sound so lovely. Look so smart sitting there on the page. Yes, today I typed THE END! I finished my Young Adult manuscript that is an ACFW Genesis Finalist. The title for the contest is AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY, and I’ve never been crazy about it—it just not too catchy, you …

>Congratulations to ACFW’s Book of the Year Finalists

> Debut AuthorBayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll)In Between (Jenny B Jones)Sushi for One? (Camy Tang)My Soul Cries Out (Sherri Lewis)Petticoat Ranch (Mary Connealy) Contemporary Novella (*six finalists due to a tie)A Cloud Mountain Christmas (Robin Lee Hatcher)Finally Home (Deb Raney in Missouri Memories anthology)Mississippi Mud (DiAnn Mills in Sugar And Grits Anthology)Moonlight & Mistletoe (Carrie Turansky in …

>A Graduate of Distinction

>This past weekend our youngest son James graduated from the University of Oklahoma, a graduate of distinction in the College of Engineering. Of course, even if the University hadn’t named him as a person of distinction, we would have. He’s worked hard and made his parents proud, following in his dad’s footsteps with an Electrical Engineering degree. The Friday night …