Old Friends

I've been reuniting with some old friends.

Essie Summers books.

I LOVE Essie Summers books. And I've been re-reading my favorites.

Do you re-read old favorites?

Some folks never read a book twice. I read my favorites over and over again.

So what am I gleaning by revisiting these books?

1. Essie's books are about the same length as the stories I am writing now, so it helps me get the pace.

2. Essie's books incorporate faith in a very natural way, reminding me not to try to hit my reader over the head with the spiritual message of the book. It is okay for the characters to just BE people of faith and have it a part of their lives.

3. Essie's lovely vocabulary and word usage. I have gleaned so much from her word-smithing.

4. Love stories. Essie is the master of writing a true romance not based on titillation or unbridled passion. Her stories are based upon family, faith, and respect between men and women.

5. Her amazing poetry. Essie wrote beautiful poetry and it resonates with me. I'm not normally a big fan of poetry, mostly because I think the poet is trying too hard to be artsy. But Essie wrote poems that expressed her faith and her view of the world, and they speak to me. She also included poems that she enjoyed written by other writers.

Here are four of my favorites.

Season of Forgetfulness

Sweet is the season of forgetfulness,

Succeeding thus the passon and the pain,

The healing time, the quiet time of pausing

Till, in God's wisdom, you will love again.

~Essie Summers

Not by Appointment

Not by Appointment do we meet delight

Or joy; they heed not our expectancy;

But round some corner of the streets of life

They of a sudden greet us with a smile.

~Essie Summers

Farewell to a Little Boy

Honey, there will be a hoop

And hills to roll it down...

(God couldn't give a little boy

The burden of a crown).

He'll show you lots of trees to climb

And where He keeps the swings.

(God, let him have a ball and bat

Instead of shining wings!)

And will He let you sail a kite

Up where the sky is clear,

Without tall buildings stopping down?

Of course He will, my dear!

Now close your eyes...I'll kiss them shut

The way I always do...

(I must...I must not cry, dear God,

Until he's safe with You.)

~Anonymous

Green

I have loved green--the green of lovely things;

The pale, flat discs of new nasturtium leaves,

The feathers of a mountain-parrot's wings,

The first frail grass that Spring, new-awakened weaves;

And depthless pools where tides have ceased to run,

And winter apples hanging in the sun!

I have loved green--bright-dropping beads of jade,

Soft pussy-willow silk with silvery folds,

Books with green covers carelessly arrayed,

And emerald bottles capped with tinselled golds!

But the green wonder of your laughing eyes

Stirs me each time, O Love, to new surprise

~ Jane East

If you do re-read your favorites, what do you glean from them?

Do you have a favorite from the poems I've posted here?

Tagged by Katie!

Last week I was tagged by Katie to post the answers to a slew of writing questions. Thanks, Katie!!

What's the last thing you wrote? Edits on Maggie and the Maverick.

What's the first thing you wrote that you still have? A story I wrote in 9th grade about a girl, a horse, a circus...LOL!

Write poetry? All my attempts at poetry come out sounding like Dr. Seuss, but not as fun.

Angsty poetry? Um, no!

Favorite genre of writing? Historical Romance! Squeee!

Most annoying character you've ever created? A Lighthouse Inspector. The good news is, he was supposed to be annoying.

Best Plot you've ever created? The plot of Drums of the North Star. Weaving all the actual historical events into the storyline was HARD!

Coolest Plot twist you've ever created? Can't tell, that would spoil the surprise. :)

How often do you get writer's block? I don't know that I actually have had writer's block yet.

Write fan fiction? I used to, but set it aside to pursue publication.

Do you type or write by hand? There are people who write by hand???

Do you save everything you write? Nope.

Do you ever go back to an idea after you've abandoned it? Yes, but only if I think I can make it better.

What's your favorite thing you've ever written? Whatever I'm working on at the time.

What's everyone else's favorite story that you've written? Since I only have one novel out at the moment, I'm going to choose The Bartered Bride. :)

Ever written romance or angsty teen drama? Romance is what I write all the time...angsty teen drama, nope.

What's your favorite setting for your characters? I loved creating the Sutton Island Lighthouse on a fictional island in Lake Superior.

How many writing projects are you working on right now? I used to be a very linear writer, but now I work on whatever my editors send to me. Content edits, copy edits, galley proofs, the current WIP. I'm learning to juggle things and focus on the project that is the most urgent.

Have you ever won an award for your writing? Third place and first place in the Genesis Contest in 2008.

What are your five favorite words? This one changes all the time. I like Reciprocity, Kaleidoscopic, Oleaginous, Chatelaine, and Spork.

What character have you created that is most like yourself? I tend to create characters like I WISH I was.

Where do you get ideas for your characters? Reading history books, the Bible, and one name in my debut novel came from a lady at church.

Do you ever write based on your dreams? I don't think so.

Do you favor happy endings? YES!!!

Are you concerned with spelling and grammar as you write? Yes.

Does music help you write? No, although I have learned to tune out the Caribou Soundtrack at the Coffee Shop.

Quote something you've written. Whatever pops into your head. This is the first line of my current WIP: A handsome man couldn’t be trusted, Maggie Davis reminded herself, and a girl would be wise to watch out for the ugly ones, too.

It's all about the Kiss!

Katie and Sherrinda have declared today Official Kissing Day Blogfest in Honor of Mistletoe!

Here is what to do if you want to participate in the Official Kissing Day Blogfest:
1. Write a post telling about the Official Kissing Day Blogfest. This way more writer/bloggers will get the word and be able to participate on Monday, Dec. 21st.
2. Tweet about it, using the hash tag: #kissingdayblogfest (I don't know if this will help get the word out, but I thought it might be fun to try.)
3. On Monday, December 21st, post on your blog an excerpt from your current WIP, or write a new scene that spotlights a kiss or an "almost kiss".
4. If you are not a writer, or are uncomfortable sharing your work online, post your favorite kissing scene or almost-kissing scene from any book or movie.

So, here is one of the kissing scenes from my soon-to-be-released title The Marriage Masquerade.

The instant Nick’s lips settled on hers, Annie knew she’d been waiting for this moment for a long time. Clasped in his arms, sheltered, secure, she gave herself over to the wonder of his kiss. The salty taste of her tears mingled with the sweetness of knowing herself cherished by the man she’d come to care for so deeply. In that instant, she dreamed a thousand dreams, made a thousand plans, let her heart soar.
With the abruptness of being thrown in the lake, Nick broke the kiss and pushed her from him. Annie blinked, stunned. Had she done something wrong?
His hands fisted at his sides, and his breath came in gasps. Those lips that had so recently caressed hers formed a hard line. He swallowed hard. “My apologies. I had no right to do that. It won’t happen again, I assure you.”
“Nick?” Her hand went out to him. “You don’t need to apologize.”
He shook his head, staring past her shoulder toward the lighthouse. “You have no idea, Annie. There are things that prevent me from—” He broke off and turned away from her. “I’m sorry.” He strode across the clearing and disappeared into the watch room.
Annie sank to the fallen log and buried her face in her hands. Great sobs wracked her shoulders, sticking in her throat. She wiped her eyes once more with his handkerchief, noting the bold NNK embroidered in navy blue on the white linen. How could he be so kind and gallant on the one hand, and so cold and distant on the other?She had bared her soul, her deepest shameful secret to him, had dared to dream he might be able to look past that and love her anyway, but in the end, she was as alone and unlovable as ever. And she had no one to blame but herself.

The Friday Five

In less than a week we'll have my favorite service of the year at church. I love the Christmas Eve service.

So this week's Friday Five is:

Five things I love about the Christmas Eve Service at church.

1. The atmosphere. Everyone, even those who claim to be Christmas Curmudgeons, are rather merry and cheerful. :) And we're reminded again what Christmas is REALLY about.

2. The decorations. The overhead lights are dimmed and candlelight and tiny white Christmas lights shine like stars. Creamy white poinsettias, evergreen boughs, golden ribbon. It's just all so beautiful.

3. The surprise. Every year the pastor has a special treat for us. A poem he's written, a song he sings, a drama, something that is his gift to his congregation each year. He's been here more than a decade, so he really has to work hard to come up with something original each year now, though I wouldn't mind at all if he duplicated something. :)

4. The music. I really enjoy singing carols with my church friends.

5. The candlelight ending. Each person gets an unlit candle, we stand in a big circle in the sanctuary, and the flame goes around the circle until everyone has a lit candle. We sing one last carol before departing.

How about you? Do you have a church service on Christmas Eve? Do you enjoy it? Do you have a favorite memory?

An inedible Three Ingredient Thursday

This week's Three Ingredient Thursday isn't for anything you can eat, but it is for something that sure smells good and is very Christmassy.

Three Ingredient Cinnamon Christmas Ornaments:

1. 1 Cup Applesauce

2. 1 Cup Cinnamon (bulk powder)

3. 2. Tablespoons tacky glue

Knead ingredients until smooth and consistent ball has formed. Sprinkle cinnamon on countertop and roll out dough to 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. (Thicker ornaments are sturdier but take longer to dry.) Cut out shapes with cookie cutters. Use toothpick to make a hole for ribbon so you can hang them up later. Allow them to air dry completely on wax paper (24-48 hrs.) Turn them as needed if they start to cur. Sprinkle fine glitter or use puff paint for a nice effect. They will smell great for years!

This recipe comes courtesy of Jill Pearson.

Anniversary!

Today is my 20th wedding anniversary. 20 years of marriage to the most wonderful man alive.

So, for today, it's 20 things I love about Peter, one for every year we've been married. (In no particular order and certainly not everything I could list.)

1. He's so kind.

2. His sense of humor. Very dry, very funny.

3. His faith. Rock solid.

4. How hard he works. Many, many hours a week, in a job I couldn't do.

5. His generosity.

6. He believes in me and roots for me when I want to achieve something.

7. He's a great father.

8. His faithful service. More than 25 years as an AWANA leader and he serves as a deacon and Sunday School director and teacher.

9. He is a first-rate spider killer.

10. He lets me watch sports on tv and yell at the tv. :)

11. He let me have a cat, even though he's not really a cat person.

12. He's a great provider.

13. He's easy-going, especially about the housework and cooking situation.

14. He takes over the higher math next year with the homeschooling.

15. He indulges my book-buying.

16. He talks to me. We've stayed up all night talking before.

17. He loves museums almost as much as I do.

18. He's easy to be around.

19. He forgives me when I blow it.

20. He loves me.

Happy Anniversary, Peter! I love you!

Another look at the next cover.

Last week I unveiled the new cover art for my second book, The Marriage Masquerade.

I can't tell you how thrilled I am with this cover. The lighthouse on the cover has special meaning to me. The fictional lighthouse in The Marriage Masquerade, Sutton Island Light, was patterned closely after Split Rock Lighthouse on the North Shore of Lake Superior.

The pictures below were taken this past September by my mom.

This is us at Split Rock. (I've had a terrible time getting the photos to post in the right places! Argh!!

As you can see, we really love this place, and it was touring Split Rock that gave me the idea for the setting of The Marriage Masquerade in the first place.

Thank you to Ashley and everybody at Heartsong Presents for creating such a beautiful

and fitting cover for me. I will treasure it always!