Category Archives: Real Life

The 129th (Old) Soldiers Reunion

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  In the town I grew up in, there is a yearly event that everyone looks forward to and this week marks the 129th Soldiers Reunion Week. The Soldiers Reunion is (credited as) the longest running patriotic celebration in the United States not based on an official holiday. The tradition began in the county seat town (Newton, NC in Catawba County) on July 4, 1889, when Civil War veterans answered a statewide call for recognition of their wartime service and to register for pensions. The gathering, then on Court Square, led to annual veterans’ reunions, starting the popular patriotic event then called Old Soldiers Reunion. The Catawba County Museum of History – which is located in the downtown 1924 courthouse – displays a patriotic exhibit of historic military displays all week and is free to the public. Events around town include a Classic Car Show on Courthouse Square on Sunday, … Continue reading →

Goodbye 2016 & Giveaway

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  GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED CONGRATULATION TO THE WINNERS! I’ve never done a “year in review” post and I’d really hate to bore you with one this year but so much has happened over the course of the year, and so many unanswered questions still dangle in the air, I think one is needed. It’ll be brief, I promise, then we’ll get to the year-end giveaway. As some of you know, I’ve had health issues going back to the beginning of 2015. You can read all about that in this post if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Long story short, most of 2015 and 2016 were filled with medications and more sleep than any one body needs and my writing suffered for it. I’ve not had a new release in ages and Wild Horses has been promised for months now and it’s still not quite ready, which is why … Continue reading →

Where do my characters come from?

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“Where do my characters come from?” I get this question a lot and the answer is simple: I get them everywhere. My husband and I recently took a mini-vacation to the North Carolina mountains. We were very close to the Cherokee Indian Reservation and spent a whole day exploring the town. We’ve always enjoyed it there. When we were dating, we visited every month in the spring and summer. If you caught my post on Instagram or Facebook a few weeks back, you would have seen a photograph of my great-grandparents. My great-grandmother was a full-blooded Cherokee Indian and on the trip home from the mountains, my mind started wandering. Where did my great-grandfather meet an indian girl? What were the circumstances surrounding their love story. My great-grandfather grew up in Haywood County and I know after they married they lived in Maggie Valley, NC which is a lovely little town on the other side … Continue reading →

I’ve Been Keeping A Secret

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I’ve been putting off making this post for some time now—over a year, to be exact, but I don’t think it can wait any longer. I’m getting too many emails and messages and my “excuses” are running thin. I try to keep as much of my personal life separate from my writing one so there are only a handful of people who know that there’s something wrong with me. Its not life-threatening but it is life-altering. Anyone who has followed me for any length of time may remember me saying I always fought depression when I finished a book. I didn’t think anything of it because really…when you spend months with a group of characters, you do feel a sense of loss when you have to let them go. At the beginning of 2014…right after I released A Willow Creek Christmas, the depression followed like normal but this time, it didn’t … Continue reading →

Beach Bum

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It is currently 27° outside but the sun is shining and the temperatures are ‘supposed’ to climb so… I’m doing what any sensible, “so-over winter” person would do…I’m running off to Myrtle Beach! It’s a girl’s weekend out (we’re leaving the men-folk at home) so I’ll be chilling by a heated (indoor) pool with my mom, sister, and niece until Sunday. I plan to work a bit too – or that’s the plan – so I’m taking the MacBook Air along to remind me I have things to do besides lots of shopping, although, Boardwalk at the Beach will not be missed! If you’re on Instagram follow me there as I’ll be posting pics from my weekend. Please follow and like us:0

Peacock Christmas Tree

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peacock christmas tree ornaments

  I mentioned on my Facebook page right after Thanksgiving that I was going to change my tree up this year. It’s been a very traditional looking tree for years and I very rarely deviate from my color scheme but this year, I saw something that made my inner child stand up and scream. Peacock Christmas ornaments!!   I love peacocks. I’ve been trying to get the Hubby to get me a few for years but they tend to ‘wander’ and we have a few wild dogs about. They wouldn’t last long in our yard. So, when I saw these decorations, I snapped them up and decided to bring the peacocks ‘inside’ the house. Most of the decorations are very fragile but so far, the grandbabies haven’t messed with them much. I found peacock feathers at A.C. Moore and have those inside the tree from top to bottom and I … Continue reading →

Happy Thanksgiving!

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I was up at 6am again today. This is becoming a habit, I think, but it gives me time to reflect every morning, especially today when I have so much to be thankful for. My family is healthy and happy, I have great friends who fill my day with laughter and I have all my wonderful readers who inspire me daily. You’re the reason I get up every morning and ‘go to work’…the reason I’m still writing. Without you, what I do would be pointless, so Thank You for reading my stories and telling your friends about my books. Thank you for every review you’ve left, for every kind word on my Facebook and blog and most of all, Thank You for allowing me to continue doing what I do…create stories filled with families, love and happily ever afters. Happy Thanksgiving! Lily Please follow and like us:0

Did her Corset just fall off?

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  Originally posted on the Alinar Publishing blog – Feb. 24, 2011 For the last year, I’ve been participating in a living history group, complete with 1800’s clothing. I even bought a new sewing machine and tried to make my own ‘southern bell’ dresses. Surprisingly, I managed to do that, quite successfully. I even made my daughter an 1800’s wedding dress. I find myself reading historical novels with a ‘new eye’ now. I know what’s correct and what isn’t and the situations I see those heroines in, knowing what they have on under their dresses sometimes make me lift a confused eyebrow wondering, ‘Did they just fall out of their corset?” It’s not possible most times to do the things they do while in that get-up but I love a great adventure so I ignore more often than not. Is there anything in a book you’ve read that made you … Continue reading →