Lagniappe – that good ol’ Southern word that means something a little extra. Today it’s a photo fest of the best that’s blooming here in my little corner of the world. The south corner of our house has been a mess for two years. We’d removed some shrubs that had taken over, planning to replant last summer. We had the …
A Real Pioneer – Part 2
In the previous post, I gave my dad’s history as a descendant of No Man’s Land homesteaders and the bio of his early years. This picks up after his discharge from the Army. Marriage, Family, and a Lifetime of Adventure: Mike returned to Guymon where he met Patricia (Pat) Brown, a hometown girl. They married on May 28, 1949, and …
Pinterest: The Great Pin-Up
Just when you think there can’t possibly be another social networking site to steal occupy your free hours (and I use this term facetiously), wouldn’t you know? Another one comes along. I first heard about Pinterest a few months ago when a group of friends were talking about sharing crafts and getting Christmas ideas. It zipped right past me. I …
Welcome to “Those Were The Days. . .”
Welcome to my new website! Thanks to Matt Jones of JonesHouseCreative, I have an updated look, some new features, and a little different format which just means that my blog and website are all in one place. I feel comfortable here – at home – and that’s what I want for you, too. THANK YOU, Matt and team for creating …
Thirty Days of Thanksgiving – Day 14
Day 14. The letter N for Nostalgia. Time for a blast from the past. Today I’m thankful for YouTube to take us back to the Good Old Days! Enjoy! Any golden oldie memories you want to share? I’m listening.
>Duststorms Then and Now
>This has been a horrible year for folks out in western Oklahoma and much of west Texas. Rainfall is measure in one-hundredths of an inch and every precious drop is welcomed. The drought and high winds have birthed many dust-filled days and wildfires. Thousands (maybe millions) of acres of land have burned along with many homes. More and more people …
>Old Friends and New: Book Signings Part One
>I’ve wanted to write this post for a long time and talk about book signings. I’ve had a flurry of recent ones, and these have been quite personal since they’ve taken me back to the “home fires” parts of the country. Chasing Lilacs is set in the Texas Panhandle. I grew up there. My roots go deep there. It’s not …
>CHASING LILACS Book Launch and Party
>I’d been planning the day for a year – the book launch of Chasing Lilacs. It was a day I wanted to share with the folks who’ve walked beside me since the beginning of my writing journey. And having it in the Texas Panhandle where the book is set was a perfect choice. AND because of the era of the …
>Writing Nostalgia – Part Two
>Things to consider when writing nostalgia: There must be a reason for placing your story in a certain year or decade. To simply place a story in a past decade because it sounds cool is not enough. You need a backdrop of world events or social customs that are unique to the era. Some examples from the 1950s and 60s …
>Writing Nostalgia – Part One
>Boomer Books are in! Or so I’ve heard. So are historicals, and what might be historical to you may only be slightly nostalgic to me. Boomer books fall into a pretty wide array of genres and can be set in any decade from the fifties through the present day. They can have older protagonists unknotting their pasts or they can …