Veterans Day

Happy Veterans Day and A New Release Coming Soon!!

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Hello everyone, Winnie Griggs here.

First off I want to wish everyone a Happy Veterans Day and to thank all of our military members, both active and retired, for your service to our country. It is a day very close to my heart since not only am I married to a Navy veteran, but it is also the anniversary of the day my parents married. It would have been their 73rd anniversary today.

And just a note of trivia. I wanted to write the word Veterans with an apostrophe but knew that the official name did not include one. Since punctuation isn’t my strong suit, I looked it up and here is the official explanation:  The holiday is not a day that “belongs” to one veteran or multiple veterans, which is what an apostrophe implies. It’s a day for honoring all veterans — so no apostrophe needed.
So now I know. 🙂

 

 

 

On the book front, if you’ve been keeping up with the posts here on the blog or over in the Reader Group, you know that we’ve got a fun new Christmas series coming – Christmas Stocking Sweethearts. I’ve been privileged to not only have one of the actual stories in the series, but to be able to write the Prequel as well. The prequel sets up the series by introducing you to Melody Nightingale, the remarkable woman who defied  social conventions to become the town’s music teacher and in doing so touched  the lives of many, many students. You’ll meet 8 of her students in particular, children who will grow up to be the hero or heroine of the other books in the series.

And as a special treat, from Nov 17th-21st the book will be available to you for free!! Because the book actually goes on sale on the 16th at 99 cents I suggest you DON’T preorder – Amazon wouldn’t let me set it for free the first day it’s available. Instead wait until the 17th to order it. But make sure you order it by the 21st because after that it goes back up to 99 cents!

 

Here is more info about the book

CHRISTMAS MELODY

Stitching melodies of love, one stocking at a time…

In 1854 Nightingale, Texas, nineteen-year-old Melody Nightingale feels trapped by her family’s expectations. As the only daughter of the town’s founding family, she’s expected to make an advantageous marriage and take her place in society. Instead of attending the endless round of tea parties, Melody longs to share her love of music with others. She also has no interest in the eligible suitors her mother parades before her, she’d much rather discuss her favorite books with shopkeeper John Hartley.

When she discovers her housekeeper’s daughter secretly playing the piano, Melody makes an impulsive decision to give the child lessons—a choice that defies the strict social boundaries of her time. And in doing so she helps shy young Zoe find her confidence through music.

Melody realizes she’s finally found her own path, one that leads far from her family’s carefully laid plans. Ignoring her parents’ disapproval, she becomes the town’s piano teacher. It’s a calling that she pursues with great enjoyment and passion, eventually touching the lives of hundreds of students. And perhaps even that kind-hearted shopkeeper…

This heartwarming story of love, music, and finding one’s true path launches the Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series, introducing readers to the remarkable woman whose handmade gifts will touch lives for decades to come!

Leave me a comment – about Veterans Day, the new Christmas Stocking Sweethearts series, or anything you feel like sharing – and you’ll be entered in a drawing for any of my backlist books as well as a little surprise gift.

 

Unexpected Joys

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I’ve admitted before I’m weird, but here is further proof: I awaken almost every morning with a song playing in my head. It might be a hymn. A song I was thinking about the previous day. One tied to my book in progress. On random occasions, the song will be a blast from my past. A song I haven’t heard or thought of in ages.

One Thursday morning, I woke up to find myself humming “I Can See Clearly Now,” by Johnny Nash. In case you aren’t familiar with it, it’s a great song that released in 1972.

I got ready for the day, still humming that song, turned on my computer, and began reading through my emails to discover one of our Pink Pistol Sisterhood authors had to drop out of the project. I was so sad by that news. She’d planned to write a book set in the 1970s.

Huh.

Was that a bit of a coincidence the song I woke up to that very morning happened to be one from 1972? One I hadn’t thought of in years and years.

I don’t think it was. I think it was one of those Godwink moments that just gives me goosebumps every time I think about it.

Within minutes or reading the email, I could hear a little voice whispering in my ear to offer to write a story during that era.

That voice was nuts!

I already had far too much on my plate. I’m way behind in my writing schedule. I couldn’t possibly consider writing this book. If I did, I’d have to jump into it with both feet and whip it out ASAP.

I couldn’t do it.

Or could I?

That little voice was very persistent throughout the day. It kept whispering “write the book,” and I kept trying to bat it away. Then I talked to Captain Cavedweller about it. I prayed about it. When I turned in for the night, I knew what I wanted to do. The next day I started writing Lucky Shot.

The story is set in the Boise, Idaho, area (the small town of Star is where our hero lives), and takes place during the summer of 1972.

Although I was a baby then, it was an amazing stroll down memory lane for me as I looked at the fashions from that era (thanks to an online Sears catalog I found from the spring of 1972), listened to music from 1972, dug out my grandma’s old 1960s vintage Betty Crocker cookbook and got down to the business of writing this story.

Writing Lucky Shot really did come at a perfect time for me, not because I had time to write it, but because I was working on it as I approached the three-year anniversary of my mom’s passing and immersing myself in all these things that reminded me of my early childhood made Mom feel so near. I almost cried the day I found a dress I remember her wearing often in that Sear’s catalog. It was just such a sweet thing for me to have that connection to her in a time that is before my memories.

So, although this book was unexpected and written on a fast timeline, it was definitely a joy and a blessing to me to have the opportunity to write it.

I hope you’ll enjoy reading it, dear reader!

 

What’s a girl to do when her aim is true?

As a registered nurse at the Boise VA Hospital, Grace Marshall is devoted to her patients, but some wounds require more than medical care. A patient too stubborn and angry to accept the help he needs storms out of her exam room, ruffling her feathers. Yet, when the man returns to apologize, something about him tugs at her heart.

Levi Gibson left for war young and idealistic but returned from Vietnam with physical scars and a haunted soul. He tries to banish the darkness brewing inside him with hard work on his family’s potato farm, but it’s a young nurse’s kindness that brings unexpected light and joy into his life. If Levi can open up to Grace and let her see his pain, could she be the key that unlocks a future full of hope instead of mere survival?

After her father sends Grace a legendary pistol, target practice provides an excuse to spend time with Levi during the summer of 1972. As his shadows overwhelm him, it will take far more than a lucky shot for Grace to hit love’s mark.

What about you?

Has anything unexpected every popped into your life and brought you joy or blessings?

 

 

Scotch Tape to the Rescue

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When I was researching information for Holiday Home (book 3 in the Holiday Express series), I was looking up details from World War II during the holidays. The story takes place during 1944.

I happened upon a neat advertisement for Scotch™ Tape.

Have you ever thought about what it would be like to try to wrap a pile of Christmas gifts without Scotch tape? It almost makes me want to cry, because I love to wrap gifts and Scotch’s satin tape is my sticky substance of choice when it comes to holding the wrapping paper in place.

I had no idea  Scotch™tape was a thing way back then, and even less of a clue that it was used during the war.

Apparently,  Scotch™ tape was used in a myriad of ways during the war, from sealing boxes with blood plasma to “patching” equipment.

In the 1920s, Richard Drew, a young research assistant at 3M’s Minnesota headquarters, was working to develop an adhesive tape that would allow a precise two-tone paint job without mixing or bleeding colors. His prototype didn’t have enough stickiness to it, and he was told he was being “Scotch,” or stingy, with the adhesive. The name stuck.

By 1929, DuPont had developed transparent cellophane, and it was being used in all sorts of packaging. Producers wanted a tape that could match the vitreous appearance. After more trial and error, Drew and his team developed Scotch™ Brand Cellulose tape. I’m so glad they did!

I thought you might enjoy a little excerpt from the story:

 

Bryce could hear the woman and David speaking, but they sounded far away. His vision grew cloudy and he felt like he was being sucked underwater as the world around him began to darken and waver.

David grabbed his good arm and kept him from falling over. “Please, miss, my friend here is in bad shape. May we please have shelter for the night? I promise we’ll not cause any trouble.”

“How do I know you aren’t pretending to be injured?”

David frowned and pointed to the blood caked on Bryce’s leg. “Does this look fake to you?”

The woman sighed a second time and set the gun inside the door of her house. She motioned to them, flapping her hand forward. “Come on, but just so you know, I don’t have much to offer.”

“As long as you have clean water and a spot on the floor where we can rest, that’s all we ask,” Bryce said, aware his words sounded slurred.

“You better hurry before he faints,” she said, reaching out to help Bryce over the threshold and into her home. He drew in a breath, inhaling a faint fragrance that smelled soft and feminine. Something about it reminded him of his grandmother, Cora Lee.

Three steps inside the door, his leg gave out on him and pain swept over him with such force, he crumpled to the floor. The last thing he remembered was looking into a pair of bright blue eyes framed with a halo of golden curls.

Perhaps the woman in the farmhouse was really an angel in disguise.

In case you missed it, Holiday Hope released November 30 and is on sale for 99 cents! Holiday Heart released December 7. Holiday Home just released yesterday, and Holiday Love will release December 21!

As a special Christmas gift, download your digital copy of Scent of Cedar FREE today!

A matchmaking camel and her meddling friends are determined to help their humans find love this holiday season.

Cedar Haynes has a choice: change her high-pressure lifestyle, or end up dead by the time she’s thirty. Not one to do things by half measures, she quits her demanding corporate job, swaps her sports car for an SUV, and moves to the peaceful mountain community of Faraday. She envisions a quiet, peaceful Christmas, surrounding by silence and sparkling snow. When a camel takes up residence on her porch, she realizes small-town life may be more quirky and complicated than she imagined. Thankfully, the local mechanic seems to have all the answers – plus good looks, bad-boy charm, and a mysterious aura that leaves her wanting to know more.

Rhett Riggs left big city life behind the moment his small-town uncle needed his help. To make ends meet, he takes over Faraday’s one and only garage and gas station. He gets more than he bargained for, though, when Uncle Will passes away, leaving Rhett a run-down farmhouse, a wacky camel named Lolly, and a deep-rooted love for the community he considers his home. With the holidays approaching, he watches with interest as a new neighbor moves in next door. He waits for Lolly to send the woman running, like she has the last handful of residents. Only this time, if his beautiful neighbor leaves, she’ll take his heart with her.

Between spilled secrets, mistaken identities, and a camel determined to spread a little love, it will take more than mistletoe and holiday magic to help Rhett and Cedar find their happy ending.

Come along on a sweet Christmas romance adventure sure to uplift the spirit, touch the heart, and imbue the warmth of the holiday season.

What about you?

Do you love to wrap gifts? Hate it? Use gift bags? Paper sacks?

How would you approach wrapping gifts if there wasn’t such a thing as tape available? 

 

Don’t forget to join us for a fun celebration of our favorite holiday traditions!

A Salute to All of Our Veterans!

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I remember the cold and blustery day when I closed my eyes and said a little prayer that He would give me the strength to get through the task at hand.

It was extremely hard to sort through my Aunt Bobbie’s possessions following her death, particularly since it was more like sorting through two generation’s keepsakes. My family has never been very good at throwing out our “stuff,” so there was a mixture of both Aunt Bobbie’s precious memories mingled with those of my grandmother. Thank goodness we are packrats, or I wouldn’t have this story to share with you,

I found “the letter” in the family Bible. You know the one that everyone has … gold leaf nearly worn off and the binding so fragile that it’s held together with masking tape. Ours has silver duct tape, too. The book protects an assortment of obituaries, wedding and birth announcements, and other newspaper clippings wedged between the pages. I picked up Granny’s handwritten recipe for Louisiana Pecan Pie. It sounds like a strange place to keep a recipe but not if you had known my Aunt Bobbie.

Although I’d thumbed through the family Bible many times as I grew up, I’d never noticed “the letter.” After keeping it secure for all those years, did my aunt move it to the one place she was sure I’d find it? I don’t know. But, I do know with Aunt Bobbie, everything had a reason.

The three pages are as yellowed with age as the memories inked on them. It’s written in a precise yet manly flourish with a black fountain pen scripted on light weight “air mail” stationery.

As I slowly unfolded the fragile pages, an odd sensation of serenity settle around me. I demanded that my emotions take a back seat and allow me privacy to read the letter, thus getting to know my Uncle Vick, Aunt Bobbie’s and Mama’s brother.

July 29, 1944

Dearest Bobbie,

I wish it was possible to talk to you and tell you what I have to say.

I’m telling you so you can tell Mom. I don’t know how she will take it and I don’t want her to be alone when she gets the news. I want you to see that she doesn’t worry about me because there is no cause for it. I am in good condition now but I was wounded worse than I let you know.

I am perfectly content and quite happy. The only thing I regret is having to leave the Marine Corps. My days in the service are few but I am happy that my discharge is honorable.

I landed on the Island of Saipan with the assault wave. I made it almost through the campaign but my luck ran out and I got in front of a Jap Machine gun. I took four bullets in my left leg and one in my left arm. My arm is completely healed but I wasn’t so lucky with the leg. This is what I’ve been trying to say. To save my life they had to remove my left leg. In other words I only have one leg.

Don’t feel sorry for me and don’t worry.

Today thanks to science a man doesn’t have to worry because they have artificial legs that a man can walk on just as normal as ever. He can dance, work, walk, run and do most anything else any other man can do. I don’t feel badly at all. I take it as just something that had to happen and I thank God I am alive.

I’ll be in the states soon. I will be in California for some time. After the leg is healed it takes a long time to get the stump tough enough for the leg to be attached. But I think I will get to come home for a while. Possibly in about three months. It won’t be the home coming I wanted but we are going to have lots of fun aren’t we? We can paint any town just as red as anyone else.

I haven’t told Naomi (his wife) yet and I don’t want Mom to tell her. That is my job. How I do it is something I haven’t figured out as yet.

Don’t write anymore until you hear from me again. Tell Mom the same thing. I expect to have a new address and it takes mail too long to catch up with me.

Keep Mom from worrying about me. Keep your chin up and we’ll all be happy.

I have to close now. I’ll be thinking of you and loving you,

Always, your Bud, Vick
PS: Tell Dad first. Maybe he can help. I’ll tell more next time. Love always, Vick

Through blurry eyes and swallowing a lump in my throat much too big to go down, I read the letter twice before returning the yellowed pages to its resting place. The most appropriate place I knew to stow the treasure … our family Bible.

The letter had been written seven decades ago, in a faraway country, by a Marine fighting for our democracy. I’m sorry that I missed the opportunity to really get to know him, but in 1952 God called him home earlier than the family planned. Uncle Vick was laid to rest at the age of 33 in the National Cemetery in Fresno, California.

Today I forced myself to reread the letter, as I prepared to share his story. I thought about the hundred of thousands of other servicemen that sent home similar letters.

I wanted to share this story with you in honor of all of our Veterans.  I have my own Viet Nam Vet  and I appreciate the sacrifices he gave for all of our lives and the liberties we have today.  

Do you have a veteran in your family? If so, please give them a salute and hug.  I’d love to hear about your vet.