I’m a scaredy-cat.


Seriously. I can remember as a little girl watching Dark Shadows at my girlfriend’s house. After that, I slept with the covers tight around my neck for months. No vampire was going to get me!

Peer pressure can be a major reason we torture ourselves with scary images when we are young. As a young teen, my friend and I went to see The Shining. Of course our parents did not know this. Shh, don’t tell my kids! REDRUM! REDRUM! I was terrified by Jack Nicholson. I scrunched way down in the movie-theater seat, propping my feet on the seat in front of me so it looked like I was watching the movie. But I wasn’t! My knees blocked the screen.

A few years later, Poltergeist grabbed my attention and became one of my favorite movies. I learned something about myself. I don’t like horror movies with crazy folks running around with axes or lots of gore and blood. I don't like when characters go into dark rooms or basements when its obvious they shouldn't. But the supernatural world fascinates me and doesn’t scare me. Maybe it's because I know there is a supernatural world, and I know God rules it. And I am in His hand. Over and over, scripture tells us, "Do not be afraid." "Fear not."

Another movie I had to see was The Sixth Sense. Of course I had to drag my hubby along with me. He hates scary movies. But I loved The Sixth Sense. Seriously. It didn’t scare me. It made me cry. It was a moving story.

My husband and I often have this discussion about why some people (meaning me) like to be scared. ‘Like’ is the wrong word. But fear is a powerful emotion. It’s the flipside of joy. It makes me think about a time when I was in high school and our church had a haunted house for teens. Yeah, I know. Times have changed, haven’t they? Anyway, only the interest of a cute boy with green eyes motivated me to enter that house where someone chased me with a chainsaw. When we climbed through a hole in a wall and were finally safely out of the house, I laughed and laughed and laughed. Gleefully. Joyfully. Because on the opposite side of fear is relief that you have survived.

When Signs came out, once again I had to get myself to the movie theater. But my husband refused to accompany me. So I braved the dark theater alone, armed only with my bucket of popcorn. There’s a scene where Mel Gibson finds an alien trapped in a pantry. You don’t see the alien but you know by the moving shadows that its there. It’s a very tense scene and such relief is released in the audience immediately following it. It’s the relief that Mel (and all of us) survived.

There’s another reason that I like scary movies occasionally, the same as I like suspenseful books. It’s because we live in a world that has both good and evil. There is a battle raging around us. Sometimes in our little suburbs and picket-fenced existence, we don’t see that war going on much. But it is. Sometimes its more subtle in the suburbs. Sometimes it's not subtle at all. Sometimes we just have to open our eyes and ears and pay attention. Read the newspaper or headlines online. Bad things are happening. And stories about good overcoming evil gives us hope and courage and strength to fight the battles we’re meant to fight. I don't believe in sticking my head in the sand. I believe we are called, as believers, to put on our armor and go to battle.

That’s one of the reasons I wrote the Plain Fear series. It isn't gratuitous in horror or gore, but it is suspenseful. It shows the battle of good versus evil in the physical and spiritual worlds. In case you didn't know, 9 days until book #3, Plain Fear: Forgiven, releases!


So…do you like scary movies? Books?

Labels: battle of good versus evil, Dark Shadows, Plain Fear, Poltergeist, scary movies, Signs, The Shining, The Sixth Sense

I was late writing a blog today, and for good reason--though I didn't know it at the time! There's been so much sadness and controversy in the news lately that it was a delight to hear that Prince William and Duchess Kate have a baby boy, a prince, a future King of England. It has made me a bit nostalgic, remembering back to a royal wedding to beat all royal weddings--Diana and Charles--and the joy at the birth of William. Yet that castle of cards came tumbling down. It's sad that Diana isn't here to experience this joy in her family. But it's always a joy to welcome a baby!

I do love England, and I've so enjoyed visiting across the pond a few times. One of our favorite things to do here and while in England is to have tea. So in celebration of the royal birth, we're having a tea party! Please pull up a chair and join us!


Of course, you need tea. Earl Grey is a lovely choice, but I also like the Royal Blend, which we found at Fortnum and Mason I prefer to use raw sugar and a little milk in my tea. How about you?


Of course you definitely need treats, like these pineapple upside down cupcakes. Yum!


Or these scrumptious chocolate chip scones!


If you don't have time or the ingredients to make scones or cupcakes (and really you should run out to the store immediately to rectify that situation!), but you still want to enjoy some tea, then make some delicious strawberry butter and glob it onto some toast. You will not be sorry.

And it will be just like you are in merry ol' England celebrating with the other royal subjects! Cheers, to all our British friends and congrats to the royal family!

Labels: berry butter, cupcakes, Earl Grey, Fortnum & Mason, prince, royal birth, scones, tea party, treats, William and Kate

So many places to go…so little time! If you've visited my blog or Facebook page, then you probably know that I love to travel. But I also love to take a bit of home with me along in my suitcase. And a bit of home to me consists of BOOKS! Of course I love books and my home is full of them. Way too many books to fit on my bookshelves. So when I travel, I carefully choose two or three…or five books to take with me. Yes, I also have the requisite e-reader, but I still love books. Actual books with pages and covers. Besides, if I'm flying anywhere, I have to have a book for the beginning and end of the flight when the airline makes you turn off all electrical devices.

Anywhere I travel, I have to also buy books. I know, I have a serious problem. Is there a rehab place for bookaholics? I usually buy books about a location or if I visit a art museum then I might need (yes, need) a book about all the wonderful art.

There is something about traveling and finding a bookshop, that makes me feel suddenly right at home. This summer when we visited Paris, I was anxious to visit the famous Shakespeare & Co. bookshop.


This bookshop has quite a history in Paris. It sits on the Left Bank. The original shop was opened by Sylvia Beach in the 1920s and was frequented by luminary writers such as Ezra Pound, Ernest Hemingway, and James Joyce. It closed during the Nazi occupation in 1940. However, a second shop was opened in the 1950s and renamed Shakespeare & Co. in tribute to Sylvia Beach.


The day we visited it was raining and crowded but oh it was so much fun to be there with so many books, which are really old friends. Most of the books are in English, and the shelves are crammed full of so many titles. Tables with new releases made me sigh with longing. Tables with classics made me smile with pleasure. Upstairs, someone played the piano. This typewriter sat in front of a window.


When you buy a book at Shakespeare & Co., they will stamp the inside cover of your book with a lovely stamp. It makes a nice souvenir. Of course, we bought several.


What is your favorite bookshop to visit, far or near? Do you travel with books or with an e-reader?

Labels: books, bookshop, Paris, reading, Shakespeare & Co., Sylvia Beach, travel