When someone mentions Amish fiction to you, how do you react? Do you yearn for a simpler lifestyle, where farm animals factor into your life, and a slower pace fills your days? Or does the word evoke something else in you, an overdone retelling of a life that most […]
General
Mother’s Day Beginnings
Mother’s Day means many things to different people. Most of us view the date as a way to show honor to our mothers, often bestowing gifts and sentiments to them. But, originally, the day began for a very different reason. The observance grew out of a movement known as the Mothers’ Day Work Clubs, designed […]
Launching A Book–Part 3
Edits. Track Changes. Copy Edits. Proofreading copy. More edits. Deadlines. Deadlines. Deadlines. Launching a book is not the process I thought it would be when I first signed my contract. These past few weeks I put the finishing touches on the final proofread of book one before […]
Novel Releases Today
Today The Road to Paradise, a novel by Author Karen Barnett releases to the public. The story is part of a series on Vintage National Parks which bring to life President Theodore Roosevelt’s vision for protected lands. He is quoted as saying, “There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant […]
The Saddest, Gladdest Day
In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. 2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the […]
Hosanna Procession
A friend entered eternity this week. She’d been an inspiration to me, her attitude toward life one of positive assurance that God would take care of her. She’d reared three children after her husband left to find other women, had worked as a fraternity cook for nearly three decades, and had walked the cancer journey […]
The Dogwood Has Bloomed
The dogwood has bloomed. The tree sits on a corner along the street I follow to get to my bank. Every year I anticipate the arrival of the flowers, waiting for the splash of white blossoms to stir my heart as I hurry down the thoroughfare. Not only is the sight breathtaking, it reminds me […]
Carrying Another’s Burdens
I thought I was going to slip out of winter this year without being hit by one of the inevitable viruses that seem to affect most who reside in the wet and cold Willamette Valley. But not to be left out, I developed a persistent cough two days before “spring” arrived and began the downward […]
The Simple Shamrock–God’s Tool for Truth
This post first appeared in FaithHappenings.com March 17, 2015 Did you remember to tuck your shamrock in your pocket this morning? Do you know the three-leafed clover was once used to teach the concept of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? If your memory hasn’t been nudged by these clues, it’s St. Patrick’s Day, named […]
Launching a Book–Part 2
This week I met the graphic artist hired to design my cover. When I say “met”, she appeared in a chat line thread on my Facebook page, along with my editor. Her picture was the size of a cheerio on the screen. I have no idea where she lived. Via computer and online messaging we […]