The definition of longing...

Bless Jack's heart, I was working on something and told him to "hang on just a minute" and then I'd play ball with him. 

Um...it was a little longer than that and when I turned back, he was patiently waiting, his eye quite literally still "on the ball." Oh to have such focus, such patience, as I follow the Lord.

Virtual Book Club Meeting

I recently had a wonderful "virtual" book club meeting with some great gals in Norcross, Georgia. And one of them--waving to you Judi Sparks!--I carpooled with in high school. She was a couple years older than me so had her license before me. Oh what fun we had then. I remember riding home from school on those warm Georgia afternoons singing "Our day will come..." Judi, do you remember that? I hadn't spoken to her since those days, so it was fun to reconnect.

They read Revealed and I joined them for the discussion. 

Back row, from left to right:  Diane Wright, Judi Sparks, Jean Jones, Janet Duke, Janice Wiley

Front row, from left to right:  Janice Stroud, Charlotte Huffstutter, Bobbie Christian

Thank you again, Janice, for inviting me to be a part of things. And thank you, ladies, for choosing Revealed as part of your club selections, and for all the laughs and giggles.

If your book club is reading one of my books and you're interested in having me "visit" via conference call (a virtual visit), please contact me through my website.

Readers are such gifts

Readers are such gifts in themselves. The notes you write, the emails, the comments on Facebook--they all are so meaningful and I appreciate hearing from you. Connecting with readers is one of the unexpected blessings of writing, and when you tell me that the characters in my stories live "within you" like they have (and still do) in me... Well, that's beyond encouraging!

And speaking of beyond encouraging...

I got the neatest gift from a reader. Marti Walker, thank you for allowing me to post some pics here of the precious gift you gave me. And it came at just the right time, guys...when I was on the exhausting homestretch of finishing Beyond This Moment. I was one thirsty soul during that time and when  Jack and I stopped by the post office to pick up the mail one afternoon, I had no idea what was waiting! A Veronique doll (based on the heroine in Remembered):

Take a peek to the right and you'll see the resemblance. All the way down to the reticule and parasol! 

Marti, bless you, friend for taking the time to make this for me and I'm touched that Remembered meant so much to you. Jack and Veronique were such fun to write. Bless you! 

And lastly, if you'd like to see what my most recent "guilty pleasures" are, click here to read my post this week on Writes of Passage. Let me know if we have any in common.