Are you part of a book club? Do you like to read books? Can you commit to reading at least one book a month? Those are some of the things you need to consider before joining a book club. Although, most book clubs meet once a month, some meet less often. Some pick their books for the whole year at one time and some pick one month ahead. Some read only fiction, some read only non-fiction. What sounds good to you? That’s what you must decide. Size is important, too. Do you want an intimate small group, a medium size group with a chance for discussion, or a large group…
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I’ve been to Moonshine Distilleries and sampled a few flavors here and there. They make everything from Apple Pie to Salted Caramel, and many more. I discovered while researching information for my current book that the origins of moonshine produced today started with the first Scot-Irish people who immigrated here in the 1700’s. Fast forward to today and there are large operations like Copper Barrel in North Wilkesboro, Howling Moon in Asheville, and Call Family Distillery in Wilkesboro. Moonshine got its name from bootleggers who made their product under “the light of the moon. In the book I’m currently writing, one of my characters is a young moonshiner. He falls…
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Find you read certain types of books? JAN 28, 2024 Some people read only one genre of story. They love romances or historical fiction and that is the one type of books they choose to read. Kind of how I used to read Nancy Drew when I was younger. Nothing could touch a Nancy Drew Mystery and I lived for every other Friday night. My parents would take my sister and I to “town,” I’d pick out the next book in the series, and buy it with my allowance. Of course, my mom took us to the library, too. But those books were just fillers until I got my hands…
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I have been working through a well-known writing book called, Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Mass. His writing exercise was too hard for me. Three favorite books of all time? That’s an impossible task! I have too many favorite books to choose only three. I tried my best and came up with the three in the picture – The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Three is unrealistic, many others are clamoring to be included in this group. I would also choose A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman along with…
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I really didn’t get to read as much as I thought I would this year. With the pandemic, I started off in the Spring tearing into my TBR pile, consuming books right and left. That’s how I managed to get through the entire Outlander Series by May, while still managing to read the selections for my book club each month. I did read the best ARC that you don’t want to miss when it publishes in 2021 – The Rose Code by Kate Quinn! Sorry that I don’t have all the books for the picture, but I’ve lent some out to friends that I trust with my books. (Cue –…
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Thanksgiving comes around every year and I look forward to celebrating with my family and friends. Of course, this year was so different for everyone. The last few years have been years of great change for my husband and I. We retired and moved last year. We went on our first overseas trip to Ireland and Scotland last year. (I highly recommend a trip to both of these countries when life returns to normal.) And we left our daughter enjoying life, behind in the town that we’d lived in for the past sixteen years. And I finished my first book. Right after we’d celebrated our 34th wedding anniversary, Covid19 happened.…
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Yesterday was the eighteenth anniversary of my mother's death.
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I remember where I was and what I was doing when the first plane hit the Twin Towers on 9/11. I’m sure that everyone does. I was at my daughter’s school, running the big Fall fundraiser – magazine subscriptions. It was a crazy, busy time with all my fellow PTA women talking at once. We were excited about how successful the fundraiser was going. I was the PTA Secretary and the pressure was on to make it count as it funded most of our year. We had a small TV in the corner of the room we were using and it was tuned to something of which I have no…
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I wrote this during Hurricane Florence and after it had hit our state, that time was such a rollercoaster of emotions. I watched hours and hours of footage of Hurricane Florence and it’s effects on the coastline and inland areas of North Carolina – my home. North Carolina is not just my home now, but my birthplace. My ancestors have been here for many years and my husband and I have long roots in this state. I grew up in the Piedmont, in the town of Mebane. It used to be a small town with one stoplight that would turn to blinking after midnight. Now it is crowded with large…
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As we head into Fathers Day, even though I miss my Dad as much or more than I ever had, I know I’ll always have my memories with him. He had a wonderful life, at least I think so. I loved my childhood. It was not the most lavish life and there were struggles, but my Dad always stood by me with calm strength and common sense. I only saw him mad one time and that didn’t last long. Whenever we got threatened with a spanking, it was not a threat fro my Dad. My mom was the one who doled out the corporal punishment. She never said, “Wait until…
