Trying to Make Up My Mind – Which is Better? by Jo Ann Brown

Usually I’m very sure of my opinions, but I’m been debating an issue with myself for the last couple of weeks.
What is better: beginnings or endings?
I love beginnings. It’s fun to step off into an adventure in both real life and when reading. Emerging into a place (or a time) I’ve never been before is always a thrill. It doesn’t matter if I’m walking through ruins of a supply depot in northern England left by the Romans over a millennia and a half ago

or taking a virtual reality ride on a banshee in the Avatar section of Disney World for the first time. The chance to experience something new is exciting, the anticipation exquisite. Anything and everything is possible in that moment before everything begins.
But I love endings, too. The feeling I get when I’ve spent a wonderful day with my family or enjoyed a great visit with friends or seen a great movie or finished a book by a favorite author that ended up being even better than I’d imagined. Or such a book by a new-to-me author!
This time of year is all about endings and beginnings. Last month, I finished work on the fourth—and final—book in my Amish Spinster Club series. Immediately after it was done, I started work on the first book in a new Amish series set in lush valleys of the Green Mountains of Vermont. It’s been tough to say good-bye to the Amish Spinster Club characters I’ve spent over a year with as I watched them make homes and lives and find love in northern New York, and now I’m having to get acquainted with a new “cast” in a new location.
Starting a new book is like standing in that long line, inching forward a person at a time, for a ride.

There’s the breathless possibility of something amazing that’s about to begin. I’m not sure where it’ll end up other than my hero and heroine must have their happy ever after ending. Will this be the book that “writes itself” or the one where I have to labor over every word? What surprises are waiting for me in spite of outlining the book in a synopsis? No matter how much time I spend with characters before I put fingers to keyboard, they always hold back something about themselves or their story that they won’t reveal until I’m in the midst of writing the book. Looking forward to those discoveries is part of the excitement that fires me up at the beginning of a project. I love it!
However, I admit that I also love being able to type the words “The End” when I reach the last page of a manuscript. Not that I’m actually done with the manuscript because it’s time then for a red pen and revising. I go through a LOT of red ink during this part of the process. However, I really enjoy revising because I can look at my characters with a different eye than when I’m going through their story with them the first time. No matter how much work awaits, there’s the satisfaction that weeks of work have led to something being completed...and that’s a wonderful feeling!
So now you can see my quandary. What is better: beginnings or endings? Post your opinions...and I’m going to guess nobody is going to say middles, though now that I think about it, being in the middle of something can be great fun, too, can’t it?

The Importance of Family Time...and Shopping! by Katy Lee

Happy Thanksgiving, all. Katy Lee here. Today is Black Friday, and I am gearing up to head out on the town. But this year is a little different than years' past.

This year, I picked up my daughter from college and packed up the family, and we headed north into the mountains of Vermont. I wanted to have a full, long weekend away with just my immediate family together as we haven't all been together since my oldest left for school. Next year, I will have two away in school. My house is shrinking, and the empty nest is happening so fast.

So as I write this, I am sitting slope-slide watching skiers zip by the windows and listening to my children talk and laugh over breakfast. They, too have missed being together and needed this time as much as I did. Each year I realize more and more how I must be thankful for these gifts from God.

And time really is a gift that no store can sell.

It is my hope my children will learn this well too. And I think they are, judging by their excitement to head down to the quint Vermont villages and walk along the glass window displays together. Maybe throw a few snowballs and have a cup of hot chocolate, too. And yesterday, my three competitive swimmers lined up in the pool and showed their sibling rivalry in race after race. All in good jest, of course. Even the hotel's lifeguards got in on the action. It was great fun for all.

My point being, you don't have to spend a lot of money to spend time together. The gift of time is free. What you do need to do is recognize Time as the gift itself. Make the effort to enjoy each other's company. Play some games. And of course, laugh. Laugh as much as possible. That, too, can't be bought.

Enjoy your day, all! I saw a great consignment shop in the village that us girls are excited to find some hidden gems! I hope you find something special this week of Thanksgiving too!

Katy Lee has penned fifteen published novels. She writes suspenseful romances and mysteries that thrill and inspire the reader—from the edge of their seat. A native New Englander, Katy loves to knit warm wooly things. She enjoys traveling the side-roads and exploring the locals’ hideaways. A homeschooling mom of three competitive swimmers, Katy often writes from the stands while cheering them on. Two of her books have received a RITA® and a Daphne du Maurier award nomination. She has won an Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award as well a Selah Award for her book Blindsided.