2018 Holiday Blog Tour Stop #3 Our Christmas Stocking Traditions

Welcome to Mountain Brook Ink's 2018 Holiday Blog Tour! We're so excited you've decided to join us on this journey of family, friends, traditions, and memories over the next month. You as our reader have done so much to pour into our lives, and this season we want to give back to you with insights into our lives AND some giveaways. The more days you follow, share, comment, and engage with us, the more entries you'll have toward a Kindle Fire Grand Prize or one of three Amazon Gift Cards!

OUR CHRISTMAS STOCKING TRADITIONS

My Christmas Stocking!

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have my Christmas stocking. My Great-Grandma Zola (GG, on my mom’s side), crocheted it for me before I can remember. I always had this stocking growing up.
 
Each year, my mom—er—I mean Santa—filled it with the same kinds of things.
~A candy cane of some sort stuck out of the top—some times a regular one, some times one of those big, thick, straight ones that were about a foot long and as big around as a closet rod or one of those plastic tube canes filled with another kind of cane like M&Ms.
~Other candy—often Almond Roca. Mmmm!
~A small gift or two.
~A variety of shell-dwelling nuts.
~And deep down in the toe an orange! Always an orange.

It wouldn’t be Christmas without the orange.

Us kids immediately dumped the nuts back into the nut bowl and unwrapped the gifts while eating the candy.
 
As far as I can tell, my great-grandma only made stockings for her great-grandchildren. I suppose because we were still children. When she passed away, my grandma took up the cause. She really went to town and filled in all the gaps. She made one for each of her children and their spouses, so then my parents each had one. Then as each of us children got married, she made one for our spouses and our children as they came along.
 
My grandma crocheted a lot looser than my great-grandma, which meant our spouses’ stockings were much bigger than our own.
 

My stocking next to my husband's

This didn’t sit well with my brother. He didn’t like that his wife could fit a lot more stuff in her stocking. So Grandma made him one of the bigger size.
 
When I got married and she made one for my husband, I didn’t ask for a bigger one, because I love mine made by my GG. It wouldn’t be Christmas without my stocking.
 
I had cousins who would get up at two in the morning on Christmas morning and then go back to bed. I thought that was a little silly, so I never let my children do that. But I also didn’t want to be woken up at five or six a.m., so if any of our three kids got up before us, they were allowed to dig into their stocking at any time they wanted. One of my son’s would get up in the middle of the night for his. I didn’t care as long as he didn’t wake me up.
 
Per tradition, I always put an orange in the toe of the stocking, each child’s favorite kind of candy, and a small gift or two. I skipped the nuts because . . . well they just weren’t that fun. Sorry, Mom. She did it to fill out our stockings so they didn’t look flat.
 
So when my grandma aged out of being able make these stockings and my mom wasn’t able to make them due to medical issues, the tradition passed down to me. I don’t make them for all my cousins and their children and their children’s children etc. As my grandma would have, because I’d never be able to do anything else. I just make them for my grandchildren and my siblings’ grandchildren, and my nieces’ and nephews’ spouses.

I just finished this one for
my newest granddaughter.

As you can see, the ones I make are an in-between size.

 I tend to crochet tighter like GG and have to work to keep my stitches looser. I could use a bigger hook, but I like to follow GG’s pattern as it is written, hook and all. Well, I do make one change; I make Santa’s belt black rather than white. 

Merry Christmas!

 

Here is a ful list of blogs in this tour.

Stop #1: October 28 – Kimberly Rose Johnson
Stop #2: October 29 - Christina Coryell
Stop #3: October 30 – Mary Davis
Stop #4: October 31 – Angela Ruth Strong
Stop #5: November 1 – Susan Page Davis
Stop #6: November 2 - Amy K. Rognlie
Stop #7: November 3 - Gayla K. Hiss
Stop #8: November 4 - Christa MacDonald
Stop #9: November 5 – Linda Hanna & Deborah Dulworth
Stop #10: November 6 - Richard Spillman
Stop #11: November 7 - Annette M. Irby
Stop #12: November 8 - Miralee Ferrell
Stop #13: November 9 - Jeanette-Marie Mirich
Stop #14: November 10 - Anna Zogg
Stop #15: November 11 - Teresa H. Morgan
Stop #16: November 12 - Kelsey Norman
Stop #17: November 13 - Barbara J. Scott
Stop #18: November 14 - Patricia Lee
Stop #19: November 15 – Linda Thompson
Stop #20: November 16 - Janalyn Voigt
Stop #21: November 17 – Cynthia Herron
Stop #22: November 18 – Trish Perry
Stop #23: November 19 – Heather L.L. Fitzgerald
Stop #24: November 20 – Sara Davison
Stop #25: November 21 – Taylor Bennett

NEW!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. Her 2018 titles include; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection (January), Courting Her Amish Heart (March), The Widow’s Plight (July), Courting Her Secret Heart (September), “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection (December), and Courting Her Prodigal Heart (January 2019). She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

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Tuesday Tidbits: IT’S ABOUT TIME

Several years ago, I was writing a time travel novel. Because I had two timelines running simultaneously, I needed to outline them so I kind of knew what was going on and when. My heroine got trapped ninety years in the past and had to solve a murder before she became the new victim.

In the present, the hero was trying to figure out how to get her back before the murder. He went over to his best-friend’s place to do the math. I had their conversation all figured out until his friend said, “I assume you’ve figured Daylight Saving Time into your calculations.”

Where did that come from? I certainly hadn’t thought about Daylight Saving Time (DST). One of the things I love about writing is that my characters often surprise me.

I jumped online and did a quick search: “When did DST start?”

A simple question.

But not so simple of an answer.

If asked who invented Daylight Saving Time, what would your answer be? A lot of people would say Benjamin Franklin. He is credited for inventing it. But did he? Let’s take a step back through time. (Pun intended.)

Ancient civilizations had a strange relationship with time. They divided the daylight hours into twelve equal parts. So, in the spring, those parts (or hours) got progressively longer (one could get more done in an “hour”), and in the autumn, they got shorter (less done in and “hour”). The Romans used water clocks and had different scales for different months. At one time of year, an “hour” could be forty-four minutes and at another seventy-five. Sounds like higher math to me.

In 1784, Benjamin Franklin wrote a satirical essay on how the Parisians could save money and candles. He suggested the daylight could be better utilized by rising one hour earlier in the morning. No mention of altering time or changing clocks.

The “invention” of DST came much later by two British men almost at the same time, scientists George Vernon Hudson and builder William Willett. In 1895, Hudson proposed changing clocks two hours in October and back in March. It didn’t catch on. Ten years later, he suggested it again, but this time changing clocks ahead twenty-minutes each Sunday in April and then reversing the process on the Sundays in September. That meant changing clocks eight times a year. Twice is more than enough for me.

Though Britain didn’t embrace this idea, in 1908, residents of Ontario, Canada were the first to utilize DST. Several other locations in Canada followed suit.

On April 30, 1916, Germany and Austria began Daylight Saving Time to save resources during WWI. Other European countries quickly jumped on the time-saving bandwagon that same year; Belgium, Denmark, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Turkey, Tasmania, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, and Britain. In 1917, Australia and Newfoundland joined the DST crowd.

DST was formally adopted in the U.S. on March 19, 1918. The law also set standard time zones.

Yes! I had my answer.

But . . .

Because of its unpopularity, Daylight Saving Time was revoked after the war. The federal government left it up to states and localities to decide if they wanted to utilize DST or not. Some states like Massachusetts and Rhode Island kept DST as well as cities like New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia (a.k.a. “City Time”). But this meant, some cities would have DST but not the whole state? So, you could be in one time standing in one of these cities, but take a step to the left outside the city limits and you suddenly time traveled an hour.

None of this helped me. I still didn’t know if the part of the country my story was set in had DST or not. Nor if the town I modeled my town after did or not. I was left scratching my head.

Then along came WWII and a standardized Daylight Saving Time was instituted year-round from February 9, 1942 to September 30, 1945 and called “War Time.”

From 1945 to 1966, Daylight Saving Time was once again a free-for-all left up to each individual location to decide. Each different place could choose not only if they would have DST but when it would start and stop. This caused a lot of confusion for the TV and radio broadcasters as well as transportation like trains, buses, and commercial flight schedules. Transportation and broadcasting companies had to publish new schedules every time a state or city started or stopped DST.

There was even a thirty-five-mile stretch of highway from Moundsville, W.V. to Steubenville, Ohio where a bus driver and the passengers passed through seven distinctive time zones. Seven!

So, if a train left Chicago at two o’clock and traveled fifty miles an hour in any direction for fifty miles, what time would it arrive? Um . . . two o’clock? Did Scotty beam it there? I’m confused. I never liked those train math word problems.

On April 12, 1966, the U.S. federal government signed into law the Uniform Time Act. Whew. Finally, some sanity. More or less. Hawaii and Arizona don’t participate in DST, but the Navajo Nation in Arizona does while the Hopi Reservation, which is surrounded by the Navajo Nation, doesn’t. I would be all kinds of time challenged there.

On March 5, 2018, Florida passed the Sunshine Protection Act, keeping them on Daylight Saving Time year-round.

In the end, I did like I usually do in all my fiction, I made it up. After all, the town was fictional so its time could be as well. If anyone is wondering where to get my time travel story, sadly it’s caught in a time warp and hasn’t been published yet but hopefully at some point in the future.

Or the past?

Isn’t history fun!

NEW!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.


COURTING HER SECRET HEART
A Prodigal Daughters story, Book 2

Caught between two worlds…Deborah Miller lives a double life as an Amish woman—and a fashion model! All photography is forbidden in her Plain community, so she must keep her job a secret. But when Amos Burkholder starts helping at her family’s farm, hiding the truth from him is impossible. And soon she must choose between the Englisher world of modeling and the Amish man she’s come to love.

Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughters series due to release January 2019, COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART
#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

ThrowBACKLIST Thursday: THE CAPTAIN'S WIFE

Only Vivian knows the truth.
Vivian is the new wife of respected Captain Randolph Carlyle, but when Randolph dies at sea, only she lives with the truth. No one else knows that his last words to her were an angry indictment of her secret past life-not his brother, not his servants, and certainly not his best friend, Conner Jackson. So when Vivian calmly accepts the news that her husband's will had not been updated to include her, those who care about her are puzzled by her easy acceptance. Vivian is convinced she has received God's forgiveness for her past behavior, but as she and Conner are drawn to each other, she fears that, like her late husband, Conner will reject her if he ever learns of her past. Will her secret remain safe, or will its existence threaten the love she seeks?

I wrote this novel as book 2 in my historical Washington State series. When I set out to create this series set in historical Washington State, I chose three different places in the state I either lived or visited, and that I found interesting and/or fascinating.

So for book 2, I wanted to explore an enchanting place from my youth. I lived in Port Townsend for three years in elementary school and loved it there, so of course I wanted to set a book there. There are so many enthralling places there, and it's rich with varied and sometimes quirky history. I obvious couldn't put everything in one story, or there wouldn't be room for the romance. A year ago, I, along with my sisters and Mom, visited Port Townsend, and I fell in love with it all over again.

Since Port Townsend is a port town, I wanted the sea to play a part in this story, and a captain's wife seemed natural. I moved Conner from book 1 and Seattle across the Puget Sound to the Olympic Peninsula to Port Townsend.

One of my favorite parts of this story is when one of the side characters went off script. She was a friend from Vivian's past, and I had a whole speech for her to give Conner a piece of her mind. This was a pivotal scene. Pretty much the whole reason for bringing her into the story was for this very scene. Her words were going to make Conner reconsider everything. The romance wouldn't happen without her speech.

This lady walked into Conner's store, introduced herself, handed him something, and left. I called out to her, urging her to come back and deliver the speech I had planned. "Come back! Where are you going?" She didn't listen. Both Conner and I were dumbfounded, staring at the closed door she'd left through. Now what were we supposed to do? We stared at the item she'd given him. I don't want to spoil the story by tell ing you what it was, but Conner and I had to figure a new way to the end of the story--without my lovely speech. I had to throw up my hand and said, "Conner, she gave it to you. You have to figure it out."

I love it when characters become so real that they speak for themselves, and I’m just madly trying to type as fast as they talk in my head. They surprise me with what they say and do. 

Like Vivian and Conner, I too have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. I try hard to never have a rock in my hand intended for another. When I find I do, I try to drop it as quickly as I can.

Besides the THE CAPTAIN’S WIFE being sold by itself, all three of these historical Washington State stories are in a single volume titled CASCADES. Next month in my ThrowBACKLIST Thursday, I’ll highlight the third book in this series, RECKLESS ROGUE. If you missed last month's ThrowBACKLIST Thursday, I interviewed one of my sisters about book 1 in this series, UNCERTAIN ALLIANCE.

HAPPY READING!
=0)

NEW!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.


COURTING HER SECRET HEART
A Prodigal Daughters story, Book 2

Caught between two worlds…Deborah Miller lives a double life as an Amish woman—and a fashion model! All photography is forbidden in her Plain community, so she must keep her job a secret. But when Amos Burkholder starts helping at her family’s farm, hiding the truth from him is impossible. And soon she must choose between the Englisher world of modeling and the Amish man she’s come to love.

Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughters series is due to release January 2019, COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART
#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

Tuesday Tidbits: 10 GERMY THINGS IN THE HOME

Germies, Germies Everywhere!

We all try hard to stay healthy when we are out in public places by wiping grocery cart handles, using hand sanitizer, using a paper towel to open the bathroom door, etc. But what about at home?

Here are 10 of the Germiest Places in the Home

10. Cutting Boards — Wooden cutting boards can be the worst. The porous surface and the cuts can harbor bacteria and all sorts of things. I understand that there are ways to sanitize wooden cutting boards, but I prefer the synthetic ones that I can throw in the dishwasher.

9. Stove Knobs 

8. Kitchen Counters/Surfaces — I hate grout. I never feel as though I can get the porous rough surface clean enough. 

7. Pet Toys — I honestly never thing much about the pet toys, but now that I have . . .  Eeeeew! My fur-babies clean toys.

6. Faucet Handles — Hand are usually dirty when we turn on the faucet.

5. Coffee Makers Reservoir

4. Pet Bowls — We run our cat dishes through the dishwasher every once in a while. We should probably do it more often. Our furry family members deserve that.

3. Toothbrush Holder

2. Kitchen Sink

1. Dish Sponges/Rags — Sponges and dish clothes can be wetted and put in the microwave for a couple of minutes to sanitize. 

***Other Germy things to watch out for: Shared Phones (or any phone), TV Remote, Shower Curtain, the Vacuum, & so many more.

This list makes me think twice about touching anything in my house.

NEW!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.


COURTING HER SECRET HEART
A Prodigal Daughters story, Book 2

Caught between two worlds…Deborah Miller lives a double life as an Amish woman—and a fashion model! All photography is forbidden in her Plain community, so she must keep her job a secret. But when Amos Burkholder starts helping at her family’s farm, hiding the truth from him is impossible. And soon she must choose between the Englisher world of modeling and the Amish man she’s come to love.

Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughters series due to release January 2019, COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub

Tuesday Tidbits: FOUNDATION OF A NOVEL SERIES

FOUNDATION OF A NOVEL SERIES

How do I create thee? Let me count the ways.

The foundation of a series is that “something” that connects the stories. In general, these connections fall into three main categories: character/s, locations, and themes.

CHARACTERS

◆A single character (or small group) who has different experiences.
◆A family where each story focuses on a different member.
◆A group of friends or a club.

LOCATIONS

◆A community, a town, a state/region, a shop, a church, island, etc.

THEMES

◆A theme can be knitting, gold rush, cooking, Pony Express, Texas Rangers, mail-order brides, Amish, events, etc.
◆As well as various other aspects that can connect stories from book to book.
◆Sometimes, a publisher comes up with a series. These are often theme connected. The theme could be as simple as similar titles, and other times a common story element.

This last one is how my current THE QUILTING CIRCLE series came to be. A publishing house started a series of both contemporary and historical stories to be written by various authors where a quilt played prominently in the story. My agent asked me if I’d like to submit something.

Oh, boy, would I! I love quilts and have made several. This was a perfect fit for me.

Whenever I’m asked if I have any stories with a particular element—such as quilts—or if I’d like to submit to a series with a particular theme, my imagination goes WILD! BONKERS! The ideas tumble and roll around in my head, spilling out faster than I can write them down. I no sooner get one story idea partially scratched out when the next one urges me to jot it down so it’s not forgotten. Then the next one, and on and on.

I quickly came up with three historical, two contemporary, and one generational ideas. Sadly, none were contracted. But in the shell game of changing agents, my new agent said I had enough ideas I could create a quilting series of my own.

Ooo. I liked that idea.

Unfortunately, my collection of stories wouldn’t fit smoothly together into a single series. Oh, I could’ve forced them, but that would have been a disservice to both my stories as well as my readers. However, one of the ideas stood out as making a great backdrop for a series, The Quilting Circle. As the series title suggests, the quilting circle and the ladies who populate it connect the stories, with Aunt Henny, the matriarch of the group, at the helm.

Though it took a while, it did finally get contracted. It’s not my first series. I’ve created others that centered around families, places, friends, and themes.

I like series, both to write and to read, because once I get to know the people in the first story, I already have a jump start for the next one and the next. Sometimes, side characters demand to have their stories told. They can be such prima donnas, but fun.

Once the foundation is determined, the stories can vary greatly as long as they keep that connection.
=0)

NEW!

THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT ~ A sweet historical romance that will tug at your heart. This is book 1 in the Quilting Circle series.
Washington State, 1893
     When Lily Lexington Bremmer arrives in Kamola with her young son, she’s reluctant to join the social center of her new community, the quilting circle, but the friendly ladies pull her in. She begins piecing a sunshine and shadows quilt because it mirrors her life. She has a secret that lurks in the shadows and hopes it doesn’t come out into the light. Dark places in her past are best forgotten, but her new life is full of sunshine. Will her secrets cast shadows on her bright future?
     Widower Edric Hammond and his father are doing their best to raise his two young daughters. He meets Lily and her son when they arrive in town and helps her find a job and a place to live. Lily resists Edric’s charms at first but finds herself falling in love with this kind, gentle man and his two darling daughters. Lily has stolen his heart with her first warm smile, but he’s cautious about bringing another woman into his girls’ lives due to the harshness of their own mother.
     Can Edric forgive Lily her past to take hold of a promising chance at love?
THE WIDOW'S PLIGHT is now available in ebook and paperback.


COURTING HER SECRET HEART
A Prodigal Daughters story, Book 2

Caught between two worlds…Deborah Miller lives a double life as an Amish woman—and a fashion model! All photography is forbidden in her Plain community, so she must keep her job a secret. But when Amos Burkholder starts helping at her family’s farm, hiding the truth from him is impossible. And soon she must choose between the Englisher world of modeling and the Amish man she’s come to love.

Book 3 in the Prodigal Daughters series due to release January 2019, COURTING HER PRODIGAL HEART#ChristianRomance #HistoricalRomance #Romance

MARY DAVIS is a bestselling, award-winning novelist of over two dozen titles in both historical and contemporary themes. She has five titles releasing in 2018; "Holly & Ivy" in A Bouquet of Brides Collection in January, Courting Her Amish Heart in March, The Widow’s Plight in July, Courting Her Secret Heart September, & “Zola’s Cross-Country Adventure” in MISSAdventure Brides Collection in December. She is a member of ACFW and active in critique groups.

Mary lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of over thirty-four years and two cats. She has three adult children and two incredibly adorable grandchildren. Find her online at:

Newsletter  Blog   FB  FB Readers Group   Amazon   GoodReads   BookBub