As we approach the (much different this COVID year) Thanksgiving holidays, traditionally a time of fetes and family gatherings, this month’s selection of novels explores families and family-like relationships that can be either blessing or curse. We begin with THE WRIGHT SISTER by Patty Dann.  While everyone is familiar with the famous brothers who made the first flight at Kitty Hawk, few know about the sister who supported and took care of her famous brothers for most of her life.  After Wilbur’s death, at age 52, Katherine married a widowed friend of the family, Harry Haskell.  Furious and feeling betrayed, Orville remained with a housekeeper in Dayton, Ohio, while his married sister began a new life in Kansas City.  The story is told via her (unanswered) letters to the brother who never forgave her for “abandoning” him and her “marriage diary,” detailing her joy in her new life, her enthusiastic support for the suffragette cause, and her never-realized hopes to reconcile with her brother. A vivid portrait of a woman who was long restrained from becoming all she could be by the demands of her restrictive family. We continue with a better-known woman in LEARNING TO SEE: A NOVEL OF…

On November 1st, 2018, THEIR CHRISTMAS MIRACLE, book number two in the Charity, Montana trilogy from TULE Publishing, made the USA Today Bestseller list! It is the first time one of my books has made it, and I couldn’t be happier. THEIR CHRISTMAS MIRACLE by Lynne Marshall Charity, Montana, #2 Hunter Wood wants to be respected. A talented cook, he’s ventured out on his own, opening a breakfast and lunch diner in Charity, Montana. He’s got a lot to prove–mostly to himself–and more than a few people to convince he’s a changed man. Tracy Blevin is a registered nurse and pie baker extraordinaire, who is drawn to a most unlikely man, Hunter Wood. A nurturer by profession, she likes to feel needed, but the only thing Hunter needs her for is her pies. Their friendship has changed over the last six months as business partners. The more time Hunter spends with Tracy, the more he finds things to like about her. She’s smart, organized, and…those bright green eyes and delicate mouth are really starting to get to him. Maybe it’s time to move beyond just partnership… When a Montana winter car crash leaves a baby an orphan, Godfather Hunter, lives…

Welcome Fresh Fiction reviewer and Blog Coordinator, Danielle Dresser, sharing the books she’s thankful for… Stay tuned for more articles from our reviewers in the near future! I’ve always been a big reader. Anyone in my family will tell you that while I was growing up, we could be a block or two away from our house, but I wouldn’t be able to tell you how to get home because if I had a free moment – in the car after soccer practice, on the way to school, running errands with my parents – I was reading, and oblivious to everything around me if I was invested in a good book. So you can imagine, later this week when we’re sitting around Thanksgiving dinner and everyone is reflecting on the things we’re thankful for, I will definitely be saying books! Here are a few books I’m thankful for (from an ever-changing and ever-expanding list), and why they mean so much to me. Born in Fire by Nora Roberts This was one of the first romance novels my mom every recommended to me. My mom reads everything from medical journals to the latest bestsellers to the romance novels that line the…

I’d like to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to all our US readers. It’s one of the national holidays much loved in our home. And as in many homes, I imagine it follows a set tradition. I must admit I never had the problem of deciding which family to go to for Thanksgiving as neither my husband’s or my family were options for the holidays and so we decided with our very first married Thanksgiving to do it “our” way. It’s evolved over the years as our children aged to delightful adults until it’s a very comfortable day, full of our little traditions. In other words, I get to supervise now and they do most of the heavy lifting and cooking, although I still get up at dawn to supervise the muffins being made and the turkey stuffed into the roasting pan. Then we settle down with coffee / tea and warm muffins to enjoy the Macy parade on television. I discovered the parade when I was in college and it’s been one of my favorites over the years. My children are accustomed to watching the elaborate balloons and the marching bands while the house fills up with the smells of…

When hinking about a topic for my Fresh Fiction blog, naturally my thoughts turned to the holidays. Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away, and I have wonderful memories of sharing gut-stuffing meals with my family at my grandmother’s house. That woman could cook! She grew up on a farm in Texas, the daughter of German Americans. She told me that at the age six, she was cooking meals for the family and caring for her infant brother. I can’t even get my 11-year-old to fix his own peanut butter sandwich. My grandmother taught me to cook. She also taught me how to eat. Because of her, I have very little food fear. I’ve even eaten fried chicken livers. (And once, a goat’s rump, but that’s another story. Thanks, Mom.) Grandma made the best sauerkraut and sausage on the planet. She made heavenly banana bread-a treat I would look forward to when I visited her home. What is it about a grandma’s house that smells like comfort and love? It’s like inhaling baby powder and cinnamon and jasmine. The minute I walked in the door, I felt like I’d gotten a hug, even before she wrapped her arms around me…

I hope that everyone who is in the United States enjoyed their Thanksgiving, and had plenty leftovers so that there was plenty of time to curl up and read. My family always does Thanksgiving with Elizabeth, a long time friend. Since she’s the better cook all the cleaning and prepping is at her house, so I have plenty of time to read should I so desire or be able to. However, as I write this I am stuck with a home in need of some good cleaning, and a cold attacking me and not letting me out of its nasty grip. My email often brings a message of someone’s illness and that the good thing that came out of it was how much they read. I think if you’re sick and can read it’s fantastic. I however only want to hide under the nearest blanket and burrow into the best pillow and sleep until the illness has given up hope of something exciting happening, and moves on to its next victim. Are you like me…a sleeping sick person or are you like others who can gobble up one book after another while fighting the cold, flu or other nasty ailments…

Today is pie day. For my entire adult life the holiday season has started with pie day. It’s the day before Thanksgiving. And I am the pie maker. Doesn’t matter where Thanksgiving is happening, I make the pies. Conveniently, it’s worked out that where ever Thanksgiving was happening, pies have been needed. I make four of them. Whether dinner is for five or fifteen. Four pies. Two pumpkin. A pecan. And an apple. I can still remember the first time I made an apple pie. I was a young adult. In an apartment. I don’t know why I had to make an apple pie. I’m fairly confident that I had a reason. Just not one worth remembering apparently. But I do remember the process. Clearly. I was an adult. A woman. I could follow directions. I could make a pie. That’s what women did. I had a great cookbook that I got from I have no idea where. I probably knew that back then, too. Today I can tell you that I still have that cookbook. So, whoever gave it to me (probably my mother) thank you. On that holiday more than twenty years ago, I opened the book to…

It’s the most wonderful time of the year. Know why? Because it’s Thanksgivingweek! Hooray! Thanksgiving has always been one of my favorite holidays. As the years havepassed, it’s moved up the list to take the number-one spot in my heart. Knowwhy? Because it focuses on some of my favorite things — food, family, andfootball. The food, well, that’s pretty obvious. Turkey, cranberry sauce, mashedpotatoes, green beans, cornbread stuffing, buttermilk biscuits, lime partysalad. Mmm-mmm! I’m getting hungry just thinking about all the yummy thingsthat will be on the Thanksgiving table this year. As for family, Thanksgiving is a chance to spend time with them. To enjoy ameal together and share what we’re grateful for. For me, that’s my family,friends, and so many other things. Too many to list here. And then, there’s football. After I’ve had all the food and family I can stand(and sometimes a little of both goes a long way), I get to snuggle under awarm, fleece blanket on the sofa and nap my way through a whole day of gridironaction. What could be better than that? I know what you’re thinking — what about Christmas? Don’t you like gettingpresents? Well, yeah, I do. But let’s face it,…