A Christmas movie set in the bayou . . . proof that even in warmer weather one can experience a sparkly and wonderful holiday. In The Christmas Contract, we have the quintessential “I need a date for Christmas so my family doesn’t think I’m a failure” scenerio. But that’s where the “oh, yeah, that” ends. […]
Christmas Movie Review: The Noel Diary (2022)
What is Christmas without 1) a Richard Paul Evans novel, and 2) a Richard Paul Evans movie. Throw in Justin Hartley, some snow, a dog named Ava (close!), the lovely Bonnie Bedelia, the beautiful Barrett Doss, and a search for truth . . . and you have a great film. I had seen this movie […]
Christmas Movie Review: A Christmas in Vermont
A Christmas in Vermont released in 2016 as a TV movie. It enjoys some big-name actors: Chevy Chase (in a Scrooge-type role), Howard Hesseman (absolutely adorable with a cute puppy), and Morgan Fairchild–who seemed a little pumped up with collagen. Brief overview: A city executive (Abigail Hawk) is sent to a small town in Vermont […]
Christmas Movies (October 1, 2025)
Something strange happened to me last month. I started watching Christmas movies, which I typically do not watch . . . or like . . . or tolerate (unless, of course, we’re talking The Santa Clause with Tim Allen or White Christmas with Bing and Danny and Rosemary and Vera-Ellen, or (of course) It’s a […]
The Story Behind the Picture: A Boat on the Galilee
We began our day, on that first morning of my second trip to Israel–the one in which Miriam, a Jewish woman, and I, a Christian woman, would “walk the land together”–with a hearty meal. The night before we’d stayed at wonderful hotel, Nof Ginosar, along the Sea of Galilee, then woke to enjoy one of […]
The Mystery of Barbara B (reprised)
I met Barbara B. when we were twelve years old and both attended the same church camp. You know the kind. Set out in the middle of the woods. Unpainted plank cabins with row upon row of cots separated by tiny end tables stretch from screened walls of windows to screened walls of windows. These […]
Where Were You in (December) ’62?
Writing about a time associated with your youth holds a certain satisfaction. As I wrote (and researched) for my novel Beth Bettencourt, which will release in 2026 (gracious, that sounds like a long way away!), I was continuously transported back to the days of my youth. I can hardly remember 1962, which is when the […]
Beth Bettencourt: The Way It Was & The Way It Is
Something I love about writing a novel set in another era is that I get to mentally return to a simpler time. This doesn’t mean a perfect time, but only that the time was less complex in nature. Let’s take, for example, social media. Do you ever wonder what we did before social media? Oh, […]