The Thursday Sisterhood with Jean C. Gordon

Family Status: Married, two kids, two grandchildren

What Is Your Favorite Beverage: Tonic water

What Is Your Favorite Food: Cheesecake  

What Is Your Favorite Thing to do During Free Time: Read and check on my family and friends on Facebook

Who Has Been the Most Influential Person in Your Life: My parents (They made me feel I could do anything I wanted to do.)

First Book You Fell in Love With: The Secret Garden

First Book Published: Bachelor Father (Avalon Books)

Most Recent Book: Small-Town Midwife

Out Next: Nothing scheduled, but I’m working on that

How Many Have You Written: Ten  

What Do You Know Now That You Wish You’d Known Then: How much time authors need to spend on publicity and other book-related tasks in addition to actually writing the book

What is Your Favorite Bible Story: The story of Mary Magdalene.  

What is Your Favorite Bible Verse: Psalm 55:22: Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you. He will never let the righteous be shaken. (Also, one of the hardest for me to follow)

What is Your Favorite Hymn: A toss-up between Amazing Grace and What Child Is This 

What is an Ongoing Prayer Request You Have: For God to help me be more accepting.

Celebrating Memorial Day

Let's celebrate our veterans and the men and women currently serving in the armed forces.

We have our flag out. But my family and I (Jean C. Gordon) aren't up to much else. While I'm having lunch with a writer friend, my husband is going to drop in at our son's for a swim in the pool at his condo complex. Then, maybe our son-in-law (the free-range-pig farmer) might have some pulled pork for us for sandwiches for supper.

Nothing like the way my dad, a World War II vet, celebrated. He did Memorial Day in a big way. He'd put out the flag, and we'd walk down to Main Street to watch the parade. Then, he'd have a big barbecue with our relatives from both sides of the family. More than 30 people. They'd come from the city -- Niagara Falls/Buffalo -- to Attica for a day in "the country."

Dad would grill hamburgers and hot dogs and German sausages and make Beef on Wick. People would bring all kinds of salads and deserts. I really miss the potato salads. It's my favorite and neither my husband nor the kids like it. Mom would make jello with fruit salad, and someone would always bring jello with vegetables in it, which none of us "kids" would eat.

We'd take our cousins across the street to the creek and show them how to lift flat rocks and find crayfish. Sometimes, if it was hot enough, we'd walk further down the creek to the fishing hole and "accidentally" fall in. One year when I was in my early teens, a significantly older cousin (the banker) had traded in his well-used VW beetle for a Porsche. All of us older cousins wanted a ride in it. What could be cooler than riding through town in a Porsche with an attractive older guy? Hey, no one needed to know he was my cousin. I can't remember that I ever got that ride.

As the song goes, "Those were the days, my friend." So, what are you doing today?

Summoned as temporary guardian for her teenage niece, while her brother is deployed to the Middle East with his Reserve unit, Emily Hazard returns to Paradox Lake. On one condition—she won't let herself think about staying. Emily always felt like a misfit in her tiny hometown.

But she doesn't count on falling for handsome Drew Stacey, a former Wall Streeter who's getting the town church camp ready.

Now available as an eBook