Shenandoah's Eclectic Musings

Photo Card

2011-11-30T12:57:00.001-05:00

I know there's slew of photo management sites out there, but I've found Shutterfly to be pretty user-friendly. Their promotions aren't bad either. :-) And yes, this is one of our pics from Thanksgiving in Florida ... Peppermint Palms Christmas Turn your favorite photos into personalized Christmas cards. View the entire collection of cards.

Of Blogging, Life, and the Conference

2011-11-19T22:27:00.000-05:00

Well, all my intentions for posting about my experiences at the 2011 ACFW Conference have gone awry. A husband out of town, a billion real-life demands and crises, and the sneaking feeling that the previous piece I wrote doesn’t reflect what, weeks later, I know the conference was really about, for me. This was highlighted when I was asked to share my conference experiences with my local writer’

A Novel Writing Site

2011-10-21T21:46:00.001-04:00

I'm a guest blogger at A Novel Writing Site! Please check it out ...

We have a winner!

2011-10-18T22:12:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Jewels67! You've won a signed copy of A Wedding Invitation! (My apologies for being slow ... I didn't forget, but we had what I like to call a tidal wave of real life.) Coming next, when I can get it whittled down enough to be readable, my reflections from this year's ACFW conference ...

Review of A Wedding Invitation

2011-10-12T10:04:00.001-04:00

Finally it's time for the review of this lovely book! And I wanted to announce, there was some confusion with my last post about my hosting a giveaway, since so many bloggers do that ... but Alice has graciously agreed to provide a signed copy of A Wedding Invitation to one commenter from either the interview post or this one! Now, on to the review. A Wedding Invitation is the story of a girl

Author Interview: Alice Wisler

2011-10-08T10:59:00.001-04:00

I'm doing something I haven't in a very long time--posting an interview! A few might remember my stint at Christian Fandom as interview coordinator. I've adapted some of the questions I used there (a grateful nod to Greg Slade) for Alice Wisler, author of A Wedding Invitation. I'll be posting a review in a few days. Alice, other interviews have covered your background and family life, but I can’

A Review of Ransome's Quest

2011-08-29T15:12:00.000-04:00

The third and final volume of the Ransome Trilogy by Kaye Dacus is a delightful romp across the Caribbean that neatly wraps up the stories of William and Julia, and Ned and Charlotte, with some wonderful surprises thrown in. It is, predictably, the most fun if the reader is already familiar with the first two installments of the series, Ransome’s Honor and Ransome’s Crossing, and it provides an

The Anniversary Getaway, Part 4

2011-08-22T09:49:00.000-04:00

To finish up my tale of a wonderful surprise 24th anniversary getaway ... I loved the tour of the house and the glimpse behind the scenes of a working bed and breakfast. By the time we left the house—via the backdoor, where we found the kitchen herb garden that obviously provided the fresh basil Katherine had served with sliced tomatoes at breakfast—I was on serious information overload. But

The Anniversary Getaway, part 3

2011-07-25T13:18:00.000-04:00

8 AM and time to get up for breakfast. I’m suffering from sleep deprivation and having half my brain not in this world. Troy made me coffee from the Keurig machine in the hallway while I showered and dressed. After relaxing until 9, we went downstairs, accompanied as always by the creaky floors and a CD of soft piano music. Katherine seated us at the long dining room table and treated us to the

The Anniversary Getaway, Part 2

2011-07-19T15:14:00.001-04:00

So, we pulled into the driveway of this gorgeous house. I’m seriously ruing that I forgot to pack my camera. (Troy told me to, specifically, and it slipped my mind in the hurry of finishing my packing after church.) Troy began to tell me part of why he chose this place—it’s owned by a husband and wife who are both retired Air Force colonels. The husband, Dr. Bruce Brown, met us on the porch. We

The Great Anniversary Getaway

2011-07-09T18:02:00.001-04:00

Husbands. I have one of the good ones. Two weeks before our twenty-fourth anniversary, I found out the church’s Fourth-of-July picnic would be the same day (Sunday, the third) and I joked about them having it in honor of our anniversary. A week or so beforehand, he told me not to make any plans. I reminded him about the picnic. He asked me if I was set on being there. Thinking through the

CSFF Tour: Jeffrey Overstreet's The Ale Boy's Feast

2011-05-19T00:03:00.001-04:00

Much is made of spec fiction that is not a proper trilogy, or a quadrology, or otherwise in a series where each book cannot stand alone ... I suppose because making a cohesive unit of more than one or two books is so very difficult, and for a first-time novelist, nearly impossible. Yet Jeffrey Overstreet succeeded brilliantly with the Auralia Thread. I’m not sure I could add anything to

Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Tour: Jeffrey Overstreet's The Ale Boy's Feast

2011-05-16T23:23:00.001-04:00

Once upon a time, there was a book titled Auralia's Colors, written by a fresh and promising new author who had actually been a movie critic for a long time. And I had the distinct pleasure of having him as one of my last interviews on the Christian Fandom email list ... More tomorrow, or the next day. I'm neck deep in last-minute sewing for our annual ballet recital. (What was I thinking,

CSFF Tour: The Resurrection by Mike Duran

2011-03-23T14:59:00.000-04:00