Father's Day 2018 - What my Dad Gave me...

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 your father gets home...." We would have know that was an idle threat, as he was all softness and love.

When I applied to college and had to find a way to pay for it, he was the one that went with me to the endless rounds of financial aid meetings. He helped me fill out the forms as best he could. He rode
with me if I needed a companion for a trip to Greenville to turn a form in. Both of my parents encouraged me to pursue my dream of college, but Dad really wanted me to get there. There was no doubt that he was pulling for me to find a way to make it work and we did. He always encouraged me to follow my dreams. I wished I had done that earlier with my writing, but maybe I just needed a little more life experience to sweeten my words. There must be the perfect novel in my head somewhere. My Dad never gave up on me or life, even when life gave him lemons and there were some big ones later in his life. He lost Mom and the ability to walk. Sure some days he probably wanted to pack it in and call it a day, but when he saw us walk in the door, he held us in a wide-open encircling cloud of love.

They (those often quoted people we don't know) say that you marry someone like your father. And while I don't believe that is always true for everyone, I do believe that I am one of the lucky ones. My hubby is a great Dad, he is the rock in our constantly shifting family ocean. I turn to him for help in decisions and he can usually decipher the direction to the right answer.  He's a great Dad to our daughter and is the quiet one behind the scenes helping to make things happen for her. He is always looking out for the best things for her and me. Yes, I am one lucky girl.

So as I miss my Dad on Father's Day and all year through, I know he gave me an immeasurable gift
of kindness and strength. He taught me to think before I act and to consider what the other person has been through. He gave me love. I know that my own hubby and I have spoiled our daughter with love. I hope we have also given her the knowledge that she can do anything like my father gave me.
When she needs us, I will try to remember the way my Dad taught me. Thank you, Dad.

Patty Pick for 5/31/18 is "Dreams of Falling" by Karen White

This is a picture of the night we opened the box to pass out our bound manuscripts of Karen White's new book, "Dreams of Falling"! My book club was excited to be able to read a new book before it was introduced to the public and we were going to Skype with the author, Karen White, during one of our future book club meetings! It just don't get any better than that! I have loved Karen White's writing since being introduced to her by the lovely ladies at Pelican's Bookstore in Ocean Isle Beach. One weekend I found myself in there trolling for new books and they recommended Karen White's "On Folly Beach." That was it, I was hooked and have been reading her books since. 

My book club read the book and we discussed how we loved the strong women characters in "Dreams of Falling" over a glass of water or wine. The book opens with Ivy falling through the old, rotten floorboards at Carrowmore plantation. But why was she there and what was she looking for? Ivy is trapped between her earthly body and what and who is waiting for her is she crosses over to the hereafter. Thus we go back to the beginning and meet the three friends, Margaret, CeeCee, & Bitty. They have set their paths together with wishes written on ribbons and placed in the old oak tree on Carrowmore's property.  Their lives change drastically after a graduation trip to Myrtle Beach, and we go along for the ride as their futures unfold in different ways than each one had planned or imagined. Their choices effect the daughters who come after. This book had wonderful themes of friendship, love, believing in yourself, and forgiveness. The friends were carrying around a secret that no one wanted to share as they were afraid it would hurt the others.

Ivy is Margaret's daughter, who CeeCee raises as her own after Margaret dies tragically in a fire at Carrowmore. Their mother-daughter relationship is complex, just like in real life and Karen captures it well. The effect of the events of that night push forward into the future of the friends, with Ivy and even effects Larkin, Ivy's daughter. Larkin ran away to New York City to work after college and has avoided coming home to Georgetown, South Carolina and face her old friends and neighbors. Working through some of the reasons she ate too much has made her healthier but she has not faced all of the reasons. I loved her free spirit and self-confidence during her high school years. The fearlessness she showed is what helped her find two life-long friends in Bennett and Mabry. She came home to see her Mom, Ivy, but during her visit works through some of her own issues that she had hidden away from herself in New York.

As the story travels between the past and the present, secrets are revealed. The past and present intertwine to bring our story to an end. I cried, I laughed, and I wished that I could have met them all, but I did in this book. Karen White has a special way of making the characters come alive for me as I read. Enjoy this new book to be published June 5th. And if you get a chance to meet Karen White, you will love her. No one is nicer or writes a better book! A solid 4.5 Star!!

Patty Pick for 5/17/18 is “The Secret to Southern Charm” by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Kristy Woodson Harvey has another terrific book you don't want to miss called “The Secret to Southern Charm” in her Peachtree Bluff series! The family of women, Ansley, the mother and her daughters, Caroline, Sloane & Emerson have been through some tough times in their lives but, they have grown into strong adult women. They have a strong bond and use their individual strengths to help each other out and make unerring good choices to be there for each other when needed. 

The three daughters are now gathered for the summer at their mother’s house in the quaint town of Peachtree Bluff, Georgia. They have learned that Sloane’s husband, who is serving in the Army, is missing in action. They rally around her and her boys to help in any way possible, like warm up one of the 62 casseroles the neighbors brought over. The other sisters, Caroline & Emerson have their own problems to deal with and you will want to immerse yourself in their lives, too. Better yet, let’s just move there!

This family and the town of Peachtree Bluff will wiggle its way into your heart and you will find yourself invested into the day-to-day challenges each person faces. The story weaves around the lives of each daughter and Ansley and the choices they must face during the life of the novel. I laughed with their humor, I cried with their pain and loss, and I wanted to live for just a little while in Peachtree Bluff in this house with these women. 

Open the first page and experience the raw pain of an army wife not knowing if her husband will come home. This is a true American novel with strong Southern themes that I can relate to, and the family truths are relatable to us all. Don’t miss this lovely novel and by all means, sugar, read them both! 5 Stars and big hug!

Patty Pick for 5/3/18 is "Are You Sleeping?" by Kathleen Barber

"Are you sleeping" by Kathleen Barber is definitely a book you don't want to miss! The book centers around two twin sisters whose father's murder will change their every relationship. My book club had a lot of good discussion about this one! The book lays out the story via multiple points of view and from podcast texts. This makes the book very enjoyable to read. 

The book centers around the murder of the twins, Josie & Lanie's, father which took place in their teenage years and changed both of their lives forever. A young neighbor, Warren Cave, was convicted for the crime but everyone involved has a different memory of that night. After the murder, the once inseparable sisters grow apart. The effect of the murder reverberates through their lives. As the book starts, they are no longer best friends, they don't even talk to each other or know where they live.  

Their mother ran off shortly after the murder and joined a cult once the trial was over that convicted Warren Cave. Warren's mother is never convinced that her son committed the crime and has been trying all avenues to get the case reconsidered and her son set free. Thus enter the want-to-be-notorious Poppy Parnell, who will dig into the case on her podcast and stir everything up again for them all.

As Josie is deciding whether to tell her live-in boyfriend about her past, her mother dies and she is forced to return to her hometown to confront the murder, her sister, her lies about herself and her memories of that night. This psychological thriller explores the murder and what each twin remembers from that night. They must come to terms with what happened after the murder and the secrets each sister have from the other and from themselves.  

This book is unique in the format and told in a quick pace that kept me turning the pages with surprises happening frequently. You will be rooting for Josie to find her truth and hope she can figure out a way to tell Caleb about her real self and past. She and Lanie will find the truth and figure out what happened the night her father was murdered. A solid 4 stars!  

Patty Pick is “No Place I’d Rather Be” by Cathy Lamb

This was such a good book! It had it all - love, mystery, suspense, and family relationships. All the parts of a great read are found within these 402 pages. You will love the quirky characters, or as I refer to them, my sisters by another mother. 

Olivia Martindale ran away and left her home, family and husband in Montana, but she is forced to return. She needs help and she is bringing two little girls, who she desperately wants to adopt, with her. She is struggling to retain guardianship of the girls, whose grandmother left them in her hands to protect them from their jailed, abusive, drug-addicted mother.

Olivia’s family has missed her, her mother, sister and grandmother are excited to have her back. This crazy tribe of strong women work together to figure life out as best they can. I loved the way they used cake and cooking therapy to solve the problem of the moment. They teach us in quiet ways and in loud-in-your-face ways how to handle tough issues like abuse, mental illness and autism. This book will make you cry, laugh, and keep reading until the end. 

With her return home, Olivia also has to face her estranged husband, Jace. She is still in love with him and the very sight of him drives her crazy, but the reason she left will break your heart. While staying in her grandparents cabin, she discovers an ancient cookbook that belongs to her grandmother and reveals amazing and shocking parts of her grandmother's history. Read this book to find out what happens. You will be glad you did
and you will be singing it's praise! A solid 5 stars!

Life Changes for Everyone . . .

As we experience life it changes constantly for each of us and in the process we are changed by it. Recently when I attended the visitation to honor a friend's father who had recently passed away, I was thrown back into memories of my own father's visitation and funeral. There were so many memories - watching my father pass away in a hospital room and not being able to do anything about it, the blur of the many faces of friends and family afterwards, my daughter's hand holding mine tight through everything, and my husband holding me up through it all.

When my mom passed away, we all knew she was going to die. Hospice was in and she was sinking into more sickness than her body would be able to recover from. My dad's death however, seemed sudden and unexpected. Looking back I probably knew it was coming sooner than later. I just didn't want to believe it. All though both of my parents are deceased now, I often wish I could call them or buy them one more birthday present or just have one more face-to-face conversation with them. I have a brother and a sister, but sometimes I feel like I am an orphan set adrift in the world. We need our parents and family to feel part of the larger group of our relatives. Thank goodness I have a good family to anchor me down. My husband and daughter have always been there for me and when my writer head dwells too long in the wishes I have for my parents to still be here, my husband and daughter remind me of the wonderful memories that we all shared. The time we spent camping together in an actual tent when I was a kid, the family cookouts and softball games with my aunts, uncles and cousins, or the long Sunday drives in the back seat of that huge Impala with a huge ice cream sundae to eat and a book on my lap, these are some of my favorites. Watching the slide show of my friend's life and times with her parents and their family, brought back some of the times I had forgotten with my own. The clothes, the cars, the TV's, they all looked like the generation in which I grew up.

We share so much as a human race, but sometimes we forget that we have more in common than not. We may grow up in different states, different countries even, but we all are human and we all have a family somewhere of some kind. Your family doesn't have to be blood related to you, just share your life. The things that make us the same, the love of our parents and extended family, secure us to life and the things that matter to us the most. Too often we are so busy living that we forget to live, to enjoy, to listen, and to love.  If you are still making memories with your parents, then you are truly blessed. My mother-in,-law will be celebrating her 92nd birthday in a week or so. Even though she has Alzheimer's now, she still knows us. She gives us more memories to cherish with each visit, even though we know one day we will not be able to make new ones with her.  What memories of your childhood or parents do you cherish? What would you tell them if you had one more hour, one more day to enjoy their company? What is your favorite memory? Cherish those memories and the ones you get to make every day with the ones you love. This life as we know it is too short, so live every single minute and make lots of memories! Let me hear from you on your favorite ones!

Easter is My Spring Forward Renewal Day

In the search for one's dreams, there are many paths that you can take. Some people forge right into them from birth. It seems like they start to conquer their hopes and dreams from the minute they
leave the womb. Others stumble around their entire lives and never really find what they are looking for. Hopefully they connect and live a fulfilling life but they may wonder about the “what if they had” concerning other decisions in their lives. Most of us fall in the middle of the pack. We start and stop along the path of life, running in a straight line sometimes, walking backwards at others and striding into the future with confidence when we can.

To sit and really think about the opportunities that our lives present to us is pretty awesome. There are those moments when you are right on point and in stride like when you land your first job - the one you really wanted, but didn't think you would get. Or when you have your children, and the miracle of birth stares at you with innocent eyes and clings to just your finger with their tiny fist. Watching your spouse, friend or child making the steps that lead them to bigger and better things in their lives. These all make us realize that life itself is pretty amazing.

Since I have been following my dream of writing and churning out books and stories and a lot of mess, I realized that there were times I missed an opportunity. A chance to make a dream come closer to reality. There are so many what ifs that sometimes I have let those overwhelm my actual life.
So I am trying to take a deep breath and go on, go on blogging even if I am the only one reading some of them. Go on writing, even if no one has broken my door down to fight over my manuscripts. Go on living, because each day is by itself pretty awesome.

My mind may get overwhelmed with reality at times, but along comes a wake-up call and you remember that life is great. Some days just the act of putting one foot in front of the other is all I can do, but that makes the other days of wonderment, joy, happiness, and overwhelming contentment all that much better. My mother told me you have to go through the down years in your life, because they make the up years, moments, hours, minutes, all that much sweeter. She was a wise woman.

Go on now, why are you sitting there thinking about what you want to do, go do it. Don't wait until the half century point of your life has passed you by, before you get back to one of the things that you love to do. Easter is my Spring Forward Renewal date. The time of year that I think about all the blessings I have in my life and feel Everything is possible. So go on, get started. My pen is waiting on me.