The cover has been revealed and the book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com beginning August 12. A Kite on the Wind will tug at your heart–a grieving widower, a schoolteacher with a heart, and a set of feisty twins. Set in Newport, Oregon like the first in the series, An Anchor On Her Heart, […]
Faith Matters
Reunion Time
I’ve always enjoyed family reunions. As a child I remember anticipating the summer reunion every July at Jasper Park. As a fifth generation descendant of Cornelius Hills, who settled in the Willamette Valley in 1848 and who developed one of the first 640-acre land claims in the area, I was expected to come and join […]
Be My Neighbor?
My neighbor’s wife died in 2009, leaving him not only a widower, but without children, totally alone. We’d known the couple for at least twenty-five years and seeing him so isolated and without nearby family bothered us. My husband suggested we provide a meal a couple of times a week to let the man know […]
Forty-three and counting
I remember the first thing he said to me. The Fourth of July had dawned and as a member of the staff at the church where I worked I was expected to attend the annual barbecue and family picnic at the church’s campgrounds. I found members of my singles college and career Sunday School class […]
Without a Goodbye
I’ll miss her sense of humor. This past week I lost my younger sister. Her death was not expected—in fact it probably shouldn’t have happened. She’d been to her physician for treatment of an acute case of bronchitis and had come home with prescriptions to help her heal. She never got to take them. Her […]
To All Men
In honor of this weekend and the celebration of Father’s Day, I want to wish all men a happy and successful day. Every man has as part to play in God’s design, whether or not he has a family. He is an important part of the fabric of our society. The role of father is […]
Like Writers, Snails Exist
When I was a leader for my church’s Awana club, I had the privilege of teaching during their evening closing time. One year the director chose to use a compilation of stories that compared the attributes of various creatures with the role they played in God’s kingdom. When my turn came to share, I drew […]
Reflections on a Contract
Today I completed the contract with my publisher, Mountain Brook Ink. The third book in the Mended Hearts series, A Kite on the Wind, is on its way to the proofreader. The graphic designer will produce the cover mid-June. The book will release October 1. It’s an odd feeling to be […]
When You Offend Another
This week I made a terrible mistake. The days had been crowded with critiques for my writing group, copy edits that were due to my publisher, a one-day writing conference, and in the midst of it, a reminder that I needed to send out a newsletter to my readers to comply with the new GDPR […]
Mothers and Others
Not everyone looks forward to Mother’s Day. For the woman who never married, or never conceived, or who lost one of her children, Mother’s Day can be a painful twenty-four hours—hours in which she simply tries to journey through. She feels de-valued, unappreciated for who she is, as if she is an “also ran” in a […]