Yearly Archives: 2017

Happy New Year’s Eve!

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So, how has your year been?

It’s New Year’s Eve and I wanted to take some time to reflect with my blog readers my email list. This has been a good year for me writing-wise. I started my own company, Divine Desserts Publishing, and during Christmas 2016, I started doing boxed sets with other authors. I’d never worked with a group of authors before on a published writing project. It was a fun and lucrative experience. I made some new friends and I’ve found that it’s great to work in a group where folks share a plethora of story ideas.

For the first time in my life, I wrote a historical. The historical is a novella scheduled to be published by Barbour Publishing as a part of The Underground Railroad Brides collection in June 2018. I still have to pinch myself – I can’t believe I actually stretched my wings and wrote a historical. It was a fun experience and I found once I got started on the story, I was able to keep right on writing. If I’d not been required to write a novella, I sensed that my story could have been made into a full-length novel.

In my personal life, my husband and I have been busy our twelve year old son. I just find it hard to believe he’s twelve now! Seems like he was just born yesterday. Our son was busy with track season during the spring and summer and he also played soccer.

I’ve also been working on a novel partially based upon my husband’s life. I’m going to be releasing Southern Comfort in 2018. I’ve been excited about this book and I hope you’ll enjoy it too.

So, how has your year been? Please tell me about it!

Saturday Matinee – Hallmark Christmas Movies

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Did you watch any good Christmas movies this year? If so, please leave a comment with your recommendations!

I watched a plethora of Christmas movies this year. Most of them were from the Hallmark Channel. Here are the movies I watched on the Hallmark Channel – beware, some of the details are kinda sketchy since it’s been weeks since I watched some of these:

Marry Me at Christmas – this was a sweet, cheesy movie about a wedding planner (Madeline) who falls for the bride’s brother (Johnny Blake – a famous star). There’s tension between them initially since Johnny thinks that folks like him simply because he’s a star. There are some tense moments and misunderstandings between the couple. Since their worlds are so different, they clash, but, they can’t resist their deep attraction!

Christmas Festival of Ice – this was another sweet movie about a soon-to-be lawyer (Emma) who discovers that her town’s ice-sculpting contest has been cancelled. She campaigns to keep the contest alive and sparks fly when she finds her new ice-sculpting partner (Nick). Emma doesn’t know if she really wants to be a lawyer – after all, ice sculpting is in her blood and it’s fun! It’s also nice to work with Nick, too!

Miss Christmas – Miss Christmas is known for finding the perfect tree for her Chicago festival. When a young boy sends her a letter, telling her about the perfect tree, she’s determined to get this tree for her big event. However, the boy’s dad refuses to give up the tree. The tree means a lot to him and he wants to keep it on his land. Of course they find they’re attracted to one another as they battle over the tree.

The Sweetest Christmas – Kylie is stunned when her boyfriend acts as if he’s going to propose to her, but, offers her a promotion instead. Her world brightens when she discovers that she’s finaled in a gingerbread house competition. She needs a commercial oven to practice and her old boyfriend (Nick) offers the use of his pizzeria oven. This was one of my favorite Hallmark Christmas movies this year. I think I enjoyed it because of the gingerbread competition (I’m a sucker for anything involving sweets!) I also loved that she grows closer to her old boyfriend while she uses his oven. Also, I love pizza, too, so, that just gave me something more to enjoy about this sweet film!

With Love, Christmas – Melanie is assigned her Scrooge-like co-worker (Donovan) for Secret Santa. As they work together on a project, Donovan wonders about the Secret Santa who keeps texting him. He doesn’t realize it’s Melanie – and mistakenly thinks it’s someone else! Melanie doesn’t want Donovan to assume that someone else is his Secret Santa. Why can’t he realize that she’s the one who’s been texting him?

The Mistletoe Inn – This was another favorite of mine this year since it involves two writers. When Kim’s boyfriend breaks up with her because she’s not serious about writing, she’s stunned. She attends a writers retreat and runs into her recent ex-boyfriend as well as Zeke, her retreat writing partner. Zeke has some surprises up his sleeve and now her ex-boyfriend wants to get chummy with her again. I really liked how things turned out with this threesome. This was an enjoyable Christmas movie.

Christmas in Evergreen – a delightful movie about a widower, his daughter, the town’s vet and a magical snow globe. Such a charming story.

Christmas at Holly Lodge – a nice, typical story about a woman who’s fighting to keep her business from going under.

Christmas Next Door – a typical story about a Scrooge-like bachelor who is forced to become a family man and face his dislike for Christmas. His pretty next-door neighbor adds a nice touch to this sweet story.

Christmas Getaway – a nice, typical story about a mix-up (both of the main characters are forced to share a cabin due to a booking mistake). Emory has never had a traditional Christmas and her new cabin mate and his adorable daughter help her to celebrate Christmas the old-fashioned way.

I rented the following two movies:

The Spirit of Christmas – this movie was unusual because it involves a ghost. An old house has not been sold because the realtors have been scared off by a ghost (Daniel). Kate is determined to sell this old house – after all, there’s no such thing as ghosts, right? But, Kate meets Daniel…and she’s stunned. Is it okay to be attracted to a sexy, handsome ghost?

A Cinderella Christmas – I really loved this movie! Orphaned Angie works hard running her uncle’s catering business. Her cousin Candace takes credit for all her hard work. Angie dresses in disguise to attend a formal masquerade ball. When Nick encounters Angie, he’s intrigued. Afterwards, he’s determined to find the sexy girl who was in disguise, but, he’s confused. Was the mysterious woman Angie, or was it her cousin Candace? Out of all the Christmas movies I viewed this year, this one was my favorite! I highly recommend you watch this movie!

So, have you watched any wonderful Christmas movies this year? Please tell me about them!

If you like Hallmark Christmas movies, then you should try Loving Luke – a sweet, decadent, emotional romantic tale – only 99c!

Sunday Brunch – Jonah!

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Can you believe that Jonah was inside the belly of a fish/whale for three days and three nights?

Jonah 1:17 Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.

Jonah 2:10 And the Lord commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

I was talking to my son about Jonah recently. He’d mentioned that he’d thought that Jonah would have been digested by the whale while inside the belly. How could he still be alive? God kept him alive, was the best that I could explain it.

Jonah ran away from his calling and he had to pay the price. He prayed while in the belly of the fish – he prayed to the Lord. The Lord then commanded the fish to spit Jonah out.

While inside the belly, God protected Jonah from harm. He protected him from being digested by the fish. Jonah did not provide sustenance to the fish (as far as I can tell). The Lord kept him safe, which is good.

I keep thinking about how it feels to be trapped in the belly of a whale. It sounds scary and frightful. Is there enough oxygen in there to breathe? I guess so if the Lord provides it for us. How long could one stay alive in the belly of a whale if one were NOT protected by the Lord?

I also felt that this would make a cool movie! Can you imagine making a movie about Jonah? I wonder how one would film the scenes inside the fish’s belly?

So what do you think it was like for Jonah inside the belly of a fish/whale for three days and three nights?

 

Merry and Bright

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Merry and Bright by Debbie Macomber

Do you like lighthearted Christmas romance stories?

Well, if your answer is yes, then this book will not disappoint! Merry (aka Mary) Knight is working on a temp assignment at Jayson (aka Jay) Bright’s company. When her mother and brother sign her up for an online dating service, she’s hesitant. She’s so busy working that she has no time for romance. Meanwhile, Jayson Bright is a curmudgeon workaholic from a dysfunctional family.

He’s also Merry’s boss. When they meet online, they don’t realize that they are already connected to one another.

I really liked Merry. She’s a hard worker and she likes the simple things in life. I liked Jay, but, felt he had some growing up to do. However, his bad-temper was partially due to his sad childhood, and it was understandable why he was so grumpy.

The way the story plays out is funny and romantic. I also loved how Merry dealt with the issues in her own life (outside of dating). Her mom is sick with MS and her brother has special needs. In spite of all this, she mostly remains happy and carefree with an optimistic look on life, for the most part.

I also loved reading about Christmas! The holiday scenery and decorations, the way they were described, was so much fun to read about!

So, do you like lighthearted Christmas stories? If so, what are some of your favorites?

Me Before You

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Saturday Matinee

Me Before You

Have you ever wondered what life would be like if you became a paraplegic?

This movie is about Will, a cantankerous and bitter young man who has recently become a paraplegic. Louisa is hired to be Will’s assistant. Will objects to Louisa’s presence in his home. But, Louisa is tough, and she refuses to take Will’s objections seriously. She sticks it out because she needs the job.

I loved seeing how both of these characters grew and matured. Will and Louisa come to an understanding and  and their lives drastically change.

Louisa is determined to make this work and she’s not a quitter. She also questions her relationship with her boyfriend. Is he the right man for her?

I think Will is surprised when he actually opens up and starts to trust Louisa.

I hated the ending. Seriously. But, I guess it’s difficult to judge how someone deals with a situation when one has not been in that situation him/herself.

So, have you ever wondered what life would be like if you became a paraplegic? I can’t even begin to imagine that….