LIFEWAY SIGNING AT THE MALL OF GA

What a joy to meet and share the signing table with Julie Lessman yesterday at the LifeWay Bookstore at the Mall of Georgia in Buford! I loved her Daughters of Boston series. Simply delicious reading! You don't
want to miss reading this series. We've been online friends a while now, and Julie has graciously endorsed my next book!

Julie has a ton of fans, and met with a large bookclub on Monday night, all calmoring to pick her brain about her book's characters, especially, Charity. The gal we all love to hate!

I was honored that some of my fans drove over an hour just to meet me! One sweet fan, Lori, brought me some fabulous body lotion and splash and of course, I love it! I slathered it all over today after going to the pool! As usual, the staff at LifeWay are so nice to authors and I thank them for allowing me to be participate. Even though I-285 had 3 major lanes totally shut down, and we had an hour and a half drive, it was so worth it!

Just another Happy Trail...

TUESDAY-BOOK SIGNING

I'm pretty exicted about tomorrow. I'll be at the LifeWay Bookstore at the Mall of Georgia in Buford tomorrow, signing with Julie Lessman! It'll be a treat to finally meet my online friend. Her Daughters of Boston series is flying off the shelves and I've read all three novels.

The signing will be from 12-2 pm, so if you're anywhere near the Mall of Georgia, we'd love to have you drop by. At least the heat in Atlanta has dropped a few degrees since last week's unbearable temperatures. I was afraid it would scare Julie off if the weather didn't improve just a little.

Other good news is that Crossings Book Club is featuring my No Place for a Lady for the 7th month in a row! AND...LifeWay has asked me to participate in their October Fiction Day this fall. I hope my Jewel of His Heart will be on the bookshelves by that time. I am thrilled that Julie Lessman and Tamera Alexander have endorsed my second book! I feel greatly honored by those two very talented writers.

Gotta run now and gather up all of Julie's books for her to autograph! I'll try and post pictures later this week. It's been a busy week so far, with my daughter and three grandchildren here for a short visit.

Happy Trails...

LOVE IS...

Last week was a difficult one for me. My oldest brother, Sam, died in Mississippi after a long illness with his heart. He had a beautiful military funeral. While I know that he is in heaven, it's hard to accept that another sibling is gone. If you look close in the photo, you'll see a cross and a charm around my neck. One is a Glacier National Park charm in memory of my brother, Gary and the cross in memory of my sister Gail and brother Orville. During those last weeks before Sam's death, I worked furiously to meet my deadline on book 3, knowing that his passing would be imminent. I completed the novel one week before he died.

At the wake, many of his family and friends attended to give tribute to a life well lived. On either end of the room where my brother's casket lay, were TV screens, depicting his life through a video. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it and lingered a long time as the story of his life unfolded. It gave me a keener insight to a side of my brother's life that I hadn't seen before because I lived out of state. His wife, Olevia (no-it's not misspelled), had passed away 9 years before and he'd mourned her passing. Through his church, he became good friends with a sweet widow who lived down the country road from him. Frankie soon became the sunshine in his life while his heart steadily declined. Though a few years older than Sam, she was a constant cheerful presence in his life, though she had her own health issues.

When Frankie arrived at the wake, we snapped this photo before she made it to the casket to view Sam. Through my tears, I had to chuckle. She's a girly girl like me, and was all decked out in mauve pink from top to bottom. She carried a pink handbag and wore pink little heels. She always dolled up for him when she came to visit. She'd had a recent fall that broke her back so I assisted her to view my brother, and she broke down. She said she wished it could have been her instead. My sister, Doris, reminded her that it would have been just as hard on him if it had been her lying there instead. As she clutched onto the side of the casket, I pointed out to her that he wore a mauve-pinkish shirt and gray suit that matched her outfit and she gave me a tender smile. She really loved him and he loved her. I'm grateful that she made the last years of his sick existence bearable.

Which brings me full circle to ask this. What is love? God 's word gives us the definition in a nutshell from I Corinthians 13:4:

Love is patient
Love is kind
It does not envy
It does not boast
It is not proud
Love believes all things
Hopes all things
Endures all things and LOVE NEVER FAILS. Selah, (I added).

My brother Sam had fought the good fight, he'd finished the race and kept the faith. I know there is in store for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day!--and not only to me, but also to those that have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:6.

Though right now I feel dead in my heart, Christ is alive and working in me.

Regional Bookstores and Libraries Conference

Friday, I'll be speaking at the Gathering of Regional Bookstores and Libraries for a conference. My topic will be The Value of Christian Fiction. I'm honored to be able to share my opinion about what I consider to be the value of writing Christian Fiction novels.

The conference will be held at Johnson Ferry Baptist church in Marietta, GA. Dottie Poythress is hosting this conference, and among the sponsors represented is my publisher, Revell Publishing, an imprint of Baker Books.

One of my favorite people speaking is Dr. William Lane Craig, one of our nation's leading Apologists. This should be a informative conference for bookstore and library staff for regional churches to make the most out of their ministries. I'm looking forward to speaking and giving away copies of No Place for a Lady.

This past Monday, I met my deadline for book 3 for Heart of the West series. So I'm taking a much needed break from the computer, but I'll try to post more frequently now that's completed. When marketing decides the title for that book, I'll post it. I have a feeling that it won't be my title, though.

Hope your summer is starting off in a great way. I know mine has.

Happy Trails...