>Anyone dyeing Easter eggs this year? This was always a favorite and greatly anticipated part of our Easter season each year growing up. I couldn’t wait until I could extend the tradition to my own kids. So when Andy was three and a half and the twins were almost two, I bought a good supply of eggs and put them …
>Writing Nostalgia – Part Two
>Things to consider when writing nostalgia: There must be a reason for placing your story in a certain year or decade. To simply place a story in a past decade because it sounds cool is not enough. You need a backdrop of world events or social customs that are unique to the era. Some examples from the 1950s and 60s …
>Writing Nostalgia – Part One
>Boomer Books are in! Or so I’ve heard. So are historicals, and what might be historical to you may only be slightly nostalgic to me. Boomer books fall into a pretty wide array of genres and can be set in any decade from the fifties through the present day. They can have older protagonists unknotting their pasts or they can …
>SPRING BREAK Special of the Week: Dirt Cake
>It’s spring break week for the kiddos, and we had the privilege of having our six-year-old twin grandsons spend a few days with us. It amazing how much they’ve grown and seeing their little minds at work. Reading, drawing, swinging at golf balls in the back yard (the plastic practice ones), trying new foods. But when I announced we’d be …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Rotini Pasta Salad
>Ah . . . glorious spring! Time to clear the cobwebs from my head and soak up some of the warm sunshine. And I’m sorry to say, I’ve been playing hooky from the blog. It has been one long, dreary winter, and it seems I’ve hardly strayed from the house except when the cupboards were bare. Now that the endless …
>Introducing Sarah Sundin and her debut novel, A DISTANT MELODY
>Two years ago, I met Sarah Sundin at Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. She had a friendly smile and an easy manner, and one evening we found ourselves chatting. While we both agreed that nothing on earth is as sweet as a week in the redwoods, we also lamented the fact we didn’t have a book contract or even one …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Chicken Fajita Quesadillas a la Foreman
>Ever notice how many times I seem to revisit the Tex-Mex theme here? Perhaps this should be renamed Carlotta’s Writing Cafe? No apologies from me. I grew up in Texas and it’s a taste we never tire of. This recipe is fairly mild and something I more or less invented when I peered into the freezer one day and said, …
>THE PASTOR’S WIFE by Jennifer AlLee / Review
> This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThe Pastor’s Wife Abingdon Press (February 2010)byJennifer AlLee ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer AlLee was born in Hollywood, California and for the first 10 years of her life lived over a mortuary one block from Hollywood and Vine. An avid reader and writer, she completed her first novel in high school. That manuscript is …
>Valentine Winner and A Special Announcement
> CONGRATULATIONS ! ! Erica Vetsch is the winner of Myra Johnson’s new book, Romance by the Book, and . . . drumroll, please . . . a box of Godiva chocolates.Thanks to all who left comments about your favorite romantic movie. I didn’t chime in, but one of my favorites is HELLO DOLLY! Why, you ask? It’s the movie …
>CAFE SPECIAL OF THE WEEK – Turkish Delight
>The special this week at the Cafe will satisfy the chocolate lovers in the group and was a family favorite when our boys were still at home. As a matter of fact, our son, Scott, named them. I called it Erma’s Yummy Brownies since I got the recipe from my good friend Erma. But as Scott ate one square, then …