Category: Writing

A few weeks ago now, I posted on my blue dishes and I promised some pictures of them. Well, life happened…again! Writer’s conference, a trip to Ohio to meet the newest grandchild, etc. put this promised follow-up on the back burner.

So, even though today is very cloudy and gloomy, no sun shining through my kitchen window to highlight the blue, I decided to take the pictures anyway. The light shining on the cobalt blue really is pretty.

 These dishes are very important to me. Not just because they are lovely and I adore the blue and white combination, but because they all have memories behind them. The largest blue vase on the top shelf in the first picture above, was given to me, from my husband. It was an anniversary gift, purchased in Branson while we were celebrating our Thirtieth Anniversary there. All the blue and white dishes on the shelves in the first picture and the plates on the wall in the second picture, are from Cracker Barrel. My husband gave me the first little teapot for a Mother’s Day gift back in 2002. My mother then followed up with the rest.

The pewter items: the pitcher and bowl in the second picture were my grandmother’s, maternal side. The yellow and pink pitchers on the top shelf in the third picture were also hers. I loved those items when I was a child. You can see the Currier and Ives plates in the third picture, top shelf. These are the ones I spoke of in my first post, and they are very special to me.

The ginger jars on the bottom shelf in the third picture were my mother’s jars. She kept them full of stuff when I was a child. The copper items were purchased by me, just before I was married. My dreams back then were to have the blue and white kitchen, with all copper pans. That dreamed changed a bit when I found out how difficult it was to keep them shiny! Now I use good, old stainless steel. I also love roosters…so here and there you can see one peeking out…all gifts from family and friends.

All of our homes are a collection of items, passed down through generations, filled with things we love for one reason or another. That is what makes a simple house, no matter how tiny or huge…a home. All my collections have followed me through numerous moves over the years, and they help give me stability and a feeling of ‘home’ when I display them. It’s not fun to pack them all up…but opening the boxes in a new place is just like Christmas! The loves reaches out and wraps me in a warm hug when all the memories start flooding my mind.

Have a great Monday and make it a terrific start to your week.

I love books! Especially old books. I adore walking into a room…a library in an old house and seeing the polished wood gleam and the leather-bound display of stories beckoning from floor-to-ceiling shelves. I relish the smell of all that…old. I want to sink into a tall-backed, chintz-covered chair and just…read…and imagine. That’s why I love this picture so much! It makes you imagine, and dream. Write your own story…

You know what else I love? Those ladders that slide around on a rail in those old libraries, so that you could reach the books on the uppermost shelves. To climb one of those is on my bucket list.

So you get that I love books, and libraries, and reading. That’s probably no big surprise to you, and maybe a huge boor to some of you. But since I love books, imagine my surprise when I saw my first two books in other bookstores, just a few moments ago! Yes, I know they are on Amazon. But now I’ve found them on Barnes and Noble, Good Reads, Kobo and several other places. If you are in Good Reads, there is a drop-down list of stores where the books are available…and there are so many! Well, I just think that is pretty fantastic! I didn’t even put them there! I can’t even express how special it is to see my books in all those places! Julia Ryan’s cover design looks terrific…and there is my name! Please bear with me as I glow for a bit in the wonder of it all!

Do you know what I don’t like about books? Moving them! Have a great evening and get out there and read. I’ve heard of this new author…Deborah Ann Dykeman is her name…I think.

Every writer has a kaleidoscope of images sifting through their mind as they write. For me, reading and writing as always been as a sort of ‘movie’ playing in my head. I see the characters…their hair color and clothing, and the setting of the story. It could be a certain season or a city,  a house, or all of the combined. If music is mention, that song plays through my brain, the tune very clear. I would imagine that it is the same for most people, or books would not be so popular! Writers just take it a bit further.

I have known writers that keep pictures of their characters above their desk. It could be an actor, or just a picture that evokes that character. Sometimes they have pictures of the house, the town or whatever season it is pinned near their writing space to keep them in that ‘scene’. I personally do not keep pictures of my characters, but they are in my mind, very clear and precise. I DO keep many notes on each character. If there is a house, I draw a floor plan and either draw or find a picture that is similar to that house.  If there is a town, I have a layout of it.

So it was with Rubyville. I had a wonderful time taking lots of pictures of my ‘Rubyville’. I also had lots of help. Thank you to all my family that contributed their skills in this process. No, the town is not on the cover, and our youngest’s desire to have a horse in a paddock didn’t make it either. But it was a lot of fun creating it. I will have those pictures I painted, framed and put up in my office…and I will always have a visual of Rubyville for each season. And yes, that is an inspiration to me.

After writing the first two books in the series, Julia Ryan created the covers. Now that has been an inspiration to me! She has captured the Barton family women, the essence of each story. I see those colors, the flowers…and it inspires me to write. They make me feel happy and put a huge smile on my face. I think you will agree. www.DesignByJulia.com

Where do you call home? And is that a particular country, state, city or rural community you live in? This question has many answers…and here is a bit of academics thrown at you on a Monday morning…there are many sub-points. I used to groan and open up my notebook when the teacher made that comment when I was in school. You knew the deluge was coming!

Much to my very excited surprise…the new cover is here on my blog this morning!!! Yippee!!! I thought I was going to have to do something…but Amazon was one step ahead of me. Ta-da…and it’s done! And isn’t it just gorgeous!? I LOVE this cover and I am SO excited to see what Julia Ryan is going to do with the next three! Please be advised, if the back cover is still showing blue and white, rather than a continuation of the front cover, it will change. I am still waiting for that, and they said 3-5 business days. The back cover is just as gorgeous as the front cover. Julia did an excellent job! Thank you, so very much, dear friend.

I began the Rubyville series out of a desire to remember all the small towns across Kansas that sit abandoned and hopeless looking. It seems so very sad to me that these places are only remembered by the elderly and when they are gone, most of the memories will be as well. These towns dot the Kansas landscape and they were once vital, thriving communities. Many people called these towns home at one time. Their houses were there, they shopped and collected mail, went to church on Sunday morning. Sometimes, more often than not, generations of a family resided in this one town for all their lives. They called that town, ‘home’, and they were very content to live out their days there.

The Rubyville series follows the women of the Barton family. William Barton founded Rubyville in 1863. He was in the railroad business…very lucrative for some during that time period. The series of books follows his daughter, Annabella and the next three generations as they live their lives. The books concentrate on the strong women in the family, after all, this is Women’s Christian Fiction! Yes, they each venture outside the confines of Rubyville, but they always return…wanting A Place to Call Home, A Place of Refuge, A Place to Heal and A Place in My Heart.

So where is your place to call home? Is it only a location on the map, or a place in your heart with special memories of family and friends? I know mine is that special place in my heart…and it doesn’t really matter where it is on the map.

Be sure to check out Julia’s site here: Julia Ryan / www.DesignByJulia.com

You may purchase my first book, To Thee I’m Wed through Amazon, as well as Rubyville, A Place to Call Home. These two books are also on Good Reads. The second book in the series, A Place of Refuge, is coming soon! So be on the look out! Thank you to those that have been so supportive by purchasing my books and leaving reviews! Reviews are cherished by an author, and give them feedback from you, the reader. So PLEASE review! It is greatly appreciated. Have a fantastic week!

I am so excited…that I just had to share it with all of you!!! My friend, Julia Ryan, who did the cover for To Thee I’m Wed, just sent me her designs for the Rubyville series. They are absolutely gorgeous! I can’t wait to see them in actual book format! Thank you again, Julia for doing such a fantastic job! You can check out her site right here:

Julia Ryan | http://www.DesignByJulia.com