Envisioning Stephenia

Stephenia McGee wrote her first story from a first-grade spelling list. Many more have followed, but A Legacy of Lies is her first novel. She is a member of the Christian Writer's Guild and continues to work with other writers to hone her craft.


Can't you just see six-year-old Stephenia writing a whole story with her first grade vocabulary? How darling is that?

In addition to writing, Stephenia also enjoys painting and working with horses. She has a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University in animal science and has worked and trained for several equestrian farms. She is the Chairman at Spirit Horse Ministries, and continues to use these skills in the youth programs.

Another imagination exercise for all of us -- Stephenia in her boots and hat...paint brush in one hand, reins in the other... okay go back and imazgine one image of her at a time. Now add a few troubled youth hanging on to her guidance as she teaches them about the horses they are astride.
I feel a novel brewing in the back of my mind...

She is a lifetime member of the AQHA and a member of the Fort Rosalie chapter of the DAR.

Stephenia is married to her best friend and greatest blessing, Jason, and they currently live in Mississippi with their two sons.

Now a loving family of four to picture in your minds.
Thank you Stephenia for sharing this exercise and your biography.

A Legacy of Lies By:Stephenia McGee

Here’s a great recipe for chewy chocolate chip cookies that one of my characters makes in A Legacy of Lies.


Montana Chocolate Chip Cookies



Description:

Soft and chewy, these sweet, triple chocolate chip cookies are the ultimate treat! Great for curling up on the couch with a glass of milk and a good book!

Ingredients

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

1 cup granulated sugar

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 12 oz pack semisweet chocolate chips

1 12 oz pack milk chocolate chips

1 12 oz pack white chocolate chips

Preparation

Step One:

Preheat oven to 350*F. Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a large bowl; set aside. Combine the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar in a large bowl and beat with electric mixer set on high speed until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time; stir in vanilla.

Step Two:

Gradually add the flour mixture, beating well after each addition. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Step Three:

Drop the dough by rounded tablespoonfuls about two inches apart onto ungreased baking sheets. Flatten the dough slightly with the back of a fork. Bake the cookies until golden brown, about fifteen minutes. Transfer to wire cookie racks to cool completely. Makes five dozen.



Presentation Suggestions:

Serve warm with a glass of milk or top with vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce!

Excerpt:

The two women sat at the humble kitchen table and Glenda placed a plate of fresh chocolate-chip cookies between them. Sarah gratefully took a bite from one. She closed her eyes and savored the delectable sweetness. "These are great!"

Pride lit Glenda's features. "Thank you. They're my grandmother's secret recipe."

Sarah shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. She chewed slowly and stewed in her nervousness. She didn't have the slightest clue how to get started. Fortunately, Glenda broke the awkward silence.

"So, tell me about your trip."

Sarah swallowed and took a sip from her lemonade. "Well, it was quite an adventure. I really enjoyed the scenery and riding Sassy. She's a great horse." She paused to clear her throat.

"I almost had a pretty bad accident because I did something stupid." She forced a laugh. "But everything turned out okay."

Glenda raised her eyebrows. "What happened?"

Sarah recounted her encounter with the bull and how she'd been able to finally save the calf with Jim's help. Glenda watched her closely as she spoke. Sarah felt like the woman was looking right through her. Her heart beat furiously.

"Wow," Glenda replied when Sarah had finished stumbling over her story. "Seems like you did have quite an adventure."

"Yeah." Sarah lowered her eyes and willed the blood to stop burning in her cheeks. Then, gathering her courage, she decided to dive in head first. "Mrs. Wilson? I, well... let's see? Where to start?" Sarah said mostly to herself.

Glenda waited patiently for her to continue.

"Well, I'm afraid, first of all, Clark may have stronger feelings about us than I do." Sarah chewed on her lower lip and didn't meet Glenda's gaze.

"The thought did cross my mind."

Sarah cringed. Not the response she'd expected. Was she that transparent? "He's such a wonderful guy. He really is, and I really like him and respect him a lot. But, well, out on the trail I had some time to do some serious thinking, and I just don't think we are meant to be."

Her ears were burning now and she fixed her gaze on a blue and yellow placemat. Glenda didn't make a sound, but Sarah couldn't stop her momentum now.

"Clark wanted me to come here and meet you and Ronnie, and for us to spend more quality time together. We were hoping to deepen our relationship. Now, I just don't think that's a possibility." She drew a deep breath, and then ventured to look up.

Glenda picked up a cookie and chewed it slowly. They both sipped their cool, sweet lemonade for a few moments in silence. Sarah squirmed on the wooden chair.

Just when Sarah thought she couldn't take the tension any longer, Glenda said, "Y'know you should really talk to Clark about this. That would be the most appropriate thing to do." Her voice was calm, though her tone was corrective.

Sarah sighed, nodding. "Yes, and that's really what I want to do, but I'm afraid it's not going to be an option."



A Life Built on a Legacy – A Legacy Built on Lies

Sarah Sanders was always the reasonable sort, until she kissed a cowboy against her better judgment. Feeling strangely drawn to this mysterious ranch hand with a dark past, she finds herself swept up in an adventure that will force her to question everything she believes.

Jim Anderson’s cowboy gig is going pretty well. Except for one thing – he thinks he's going insane. Night terrors, hallucinations, and now a girl he has no business falling for. It’s better to keep his distance. But when Sarah is nearly killed, he will risk it all to save her.

When tragedy brings him back to the home he tried to escape, Jim will have to face the truth behind his strange circumstances and hope that Sarah will believe him. Digging up the answers to questions long buried, does he have the strength to face the dark family secrets that threaten to destroy them both?

Now Available at:

Desert Breeze Publishing http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-273/A-Legacy-of-Lies/Detail.bok

Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/A-Legacy-of-Lies-ebook/dp/B007K1LS58/ref=la_B007P5NISY_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352752217&sr=1-1

ChristianBook.com: http://www.christianbook.com/a-legacy-of-lies-ebook/stephenia-mcgee/9781612521497/pd/28979EB?product_redirect=1&Ntt=28979EB&item_code=&Ntk=keywords&event=ESRCP

Giving Thanks

Giving thanks for all the family and friends that are a part of my life, both the living and those who have passed on. It is a shame that the day only comes around once a year. Everyday I am thankful for the influences you have in my life, the good and the well, not so good.
Giving thanks for the freedom I enjoy and those that have made it possible, those who continue to do so as well.
To all of you that make my life better...Thank you! And...Happy Thanksgiving!

Legally Wed by Patty Froese

Blurb:

When Rich McConaughey comes back to town, divorce papers in hand, he’s in for more than he bargained for. Lisa Young, the woman he was married to for six months, hasn’t changed a bit. His mother has though… she’s gone from matronly to meow, and his father has taken off with the secretary. Does anything last anymore?

Lisa Young feels chained to the hardware store her family has run for generations. How can she tell her father that she hates the family business? When Rich walks back into her store asking her to finalize a divorce she thought was behind her, she thinks that the answer is to sign on the dotted line and move on. Except, Rich isn’t making it so easy… and God has other plans.

For better or for worse, when you’re legally wed, things can get complicated.


Bio:

Patty Froese lives in central Canada where the winters are long and cold--giving her excellent excuse to stay in and write without guilt. She's a tea drinker, a novel writer, an adoring wife and mom, and she's pretty sure she's a British person born in a shivering, Canadian body. She loves rain, royalty, pretty knick knacks and three square meals a day. No dieting here!

If you'd like to find her online, come by her blog: http://pattyfroese.com. She's also on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pattyfroese, and whenever someone gives her a new like or follows her blog, she sighs in delight.

Legally Wed is her ninth novel to be released. Get it here http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-371/Legally-Wed-Patty-Froese/Detail.bok

Coming soon to Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Giving Thanks for the Perfect Package

When I got married, I had all sorts of beautiful ideas of what marriage would be like. I came from a family of "good gifters." We'd shop for weeks and weeks until we found the perfect gift for each other. My brother bought me a gorgeous little silver jewelry box one year. I bought him an engraved cigar holder. My parents would give each other thoughtful gifts of jewelry or rare books... Gifts were an important part of our family culture.


My husband was a different kind of guy.

Our first anniversary, I bought my husband a stainless steel business card holder and engraved it with the words "More Than Anything," my answer to him when he asked how much I loved him. Super. Wife. Seriously, it was a gift that I was SURE would be passed on to our grandchildren with the romantic story. My husband opened the package and looked at it in confusion.

"What is it?"

"A business card holder. Look at the inscription..."

"But I don't have business cards."

"I know. You could use it to hold credit cards, maybe." I went on to explain the potential significance, but he still didn't seem to get it. I thought it might grow on him.

The next day, my husband was trying to fix something in our new apartment, and we didn't yet own a hammer. I walked into the room to find my husband using my gift to him as a makeshift hammer, slamming it repeatedly into a nail! He honestly didn't think it would get damaged...

That day, I had a decision to make. I could drive myself nuts for the rest of my life trying to make him appreciate my great gifts, and take on the even harder task of teaching him how to BUY those great gifts, or I could just appreciate him for who he is.

He's sweet, kind, attentive and an incredibly hard worker. He puts me first. He pours time into our relationship. He takes pride in being there for me. He's brilliant. He's my perfect match--with or without a great gifting instinct.

Marriage isn't always "romance novel" material. It's the daily grind. It's the breakfasts, mid-morning chats on the phone, grocery shopping trips when both of you are wiped and cuddling up in bed together when the power goes out. Marriage isn't about the few monumental moments, it's about those many, many insignificant moments that don't seem important at the time, but meld together into a lifelong relationship. This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful for my husband--the complete package.

In my novel, Legally Wed, we follow the stories of two marriages--one that was supposed to be over, and one that was supposed to be perfect. Marriage is never what you imagine...http://pattyfroese.com

More on Legally Wed tomorrow...

The Archer's Hollow with Peggy Urry

I grew up with books. Lots of books. My favorite summer day was Tuesday because that meant the bookmobile was coming to the town park for the day. I scrambled through my chores every morning so I could spend a large part of my day draped over an overstuffed pink chair, wrapping gum around my finger and pulling it like taffy, reading. Mostly it was mysteries, Nancy Drew, The Three Investigators, maybe a little Hardy Boys, then as I got older and realized boys actually did not have cooties, I added romance with my mysteries, anything by Victoria Holt, lots of Mary Stewart, that kind of stuff. But I explored other genres, too. Madeleine L'Engle became a favorite, and quite possibly my reason for loving fantasy. So when it came to writing, I combined my favorite genres and wrote a fantasy romance. I hope there is an element of suspense, as well.


The Archer's Hollow, a fantasy romance, is my debut novel. It's funny (not in a haha sort of way, mind you) that our stories are often referred to as our 'babies' and it's true, I love this story. It is set around 100 AD and involves two people who are thrown into unexpected circumstances and learn that against the odds, true love does exist.

From the 'back of the book': Nineteen-year-old Siri must keep a deathbed vow made to her mother. Escaping a village that's never been home and finding an unknown place are only the start. She naively triggers an ancient elven curse that will soon destroy what she loves most. Helped by a handsome master archer she faces a pivotal decision: forsake true love by continuing her quest or pursue true love dooming those around her.

Available on Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241945

and at Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-archers-hollow-peggy-urry/1113575566?ean=2940044976221

You can also find Peggy at http://peggyurry.blogspot.com/.  http://peggyurry.blogspot.com/2012/11/words.html