#WednesdayWordswithFriends Welcomes Kathy Bailey

Good Morning!

All Christmas till Christmas continues today with Kathy Bailey with her new novella, The Widow's Christmas Miracle but first let's congratulate our November gift card winner......

Anna Taylor Sweringen! 

Congrats Anna...take it away Kathy.....

My husband Dave and I are “Lightniks,” a term I coined about five minutes ago. We will drive miles out of our way to gaze at an over-the-top Christmas lights display, and we were doing it well before it became a thing. For years we sought out a home in a nearby town where a family named Hamer filled their yard with elegant lighted vignettes. They had a Nativity cluster, a snowman cluster, a Santa cluster, and, my favorite, a lighted deer on the snowy back hill. A few years into this, there was no display one Christmas. That summer I saw most of the decorations in a yard sale, and shortly after, happened upon Mr. Hamer’s obituary.  With his passing, the lights went dark.

Dave and I bought LED lights on sale a few years ago, with the determination of hanging them on our eaves and being done with it. I dragged him outside one warm fall day to Get It Over With, which involved him spotting me on a shaky ladder as I pulled down our old lights and put up the new ones. Which didn’t light. Came down from the ladder, threw the defective lights away, and bought a brand-new strand of LEDs. Repeated the process of Dave spotting me on ladder, and held our breaths as he plugged them in. These lights lit, and continued to light in our own rather modest holiday display. They’re LED, we told each other, so they’ll go on for practically ever. Until we were forced to replace the roof, and the eaves came down along with the lights. But it would have been the same if somebody else bought the house and tore them down, or there was a tornado, or a hurricane, or this world ceased to exist. Which, LED or no LED, it will at some point. Our efforts were worthy, but they were for this life only.

               Contrast this with the Light that comes at Advent.

Luke 1:79, “To give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet in the way of peace.”

John 1:4. “In Him was light, and that light was the light of men.”

John 1:5, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness knows it not.”

John 1:9. “The true light that enlightens every man was come into the world.”

John 8:12. “I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

Acts 13:47. “For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have set you to be a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the earth.”

2 Cor. 4:6, “For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.”

1 Pet. 2:9, “That you may declare the wonderful deeds of Him Who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

I John 1:7, “If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

This is the light that never goes out

So true Kathy, thanks for sharing!

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. Her first Pelican book, ‘‘Westward Hope,” was published in September 2019. This was followed by a novella, “The Logger’s Christmas Bride,” in December 2019. Her second full-length novel, “Settler’s Hope,” was released July 17, 2020. She has a Christmas novella, “The Widow’s Christmas Miracle,” scheduled for this December as part of Pelican’s “Christmas Extravaganza,” and is completing “Redemption’s Hope,” the third and final book in the Western Dreams series.

She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David. They have two grown daughters.

For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

Red Dawn's world was shattered in a single vengeful act, an act that brought her to into the home of the enemy. She couldn't love a white man, not after what they did to her people. Could she?

After losing a limb serving his country, Laban Jones has built a life from nothing. He's got more than he dare ask for, but what woman would accept a one-legged husband? Can he offer Red Dawn three-quarters of a man, and will she be content with that? 

The answer they receive on a Christmas Eve is a miracle neither will ever forget.

The Widow's Christmas Miracle is part of Pelican Book Group's 2020 Christmas Extravaganza and can be purchased at PBG and Amazon! Check out Kathy's previous posts HERE.

Hope you enjoyed today's guest friends, and that you'll check back each week for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends guest Kathy Bailey

Good Morning and Welcome to the first Wednesday in October!

I'm still reeling with disbelief. Where has the time gone? The old adage, 'time flies when you're having fun' keeps running through my head and I have to admit, I did have some fun this year but seriously? It's OCTOBER already?!

Whew! I sure hope we can look back at this year and say we had lots of fun and did lots of good things. Look back and count blessings not trials or disappointments.

Anyway, speaking of time, my friend and fellow Pelican Book Group author, Kathy Baily returns and is sharing some tips on Time Management....

Time Management, I loved you. I loved being efficient, making more than one thing happen at once, and the elusive “being productive.” I LOVED balancing my checkbook in the doctor’s waiting room and folding laundry during a phone call. I relished using every bit of time, like my ancestors used every bit of scrap fabric in a quilt. Well, actually, my people knitted afghans, but I feel a kinship with quilters anyway. Nothing went to waste.

And that’s how it was with you, Time Management. We were a good fit. But now it’s time to break up.

The most I ever remember doing was four things at once: nursing my baby, supervising my toddler in the tub, drying laundry (the dryer was located in the bathroom) and reading my Bible for devotions. I prided myself on being able to do, well, a lot of things. I had two children under 3, no money, and my husband was a full-time church pastor. If I didn’t “do,” it resulted in disaster.

I carried this into the rest of my adult life. Why not sew on Girl Scout badges during the district convention, or read a magazine during the movie previews? Didn’t everybody?

Hey, why NOT do paperwork while my mother lay dying in a hospital room? I was there if she needed me.

I was brought up short – but only barely – when a friend from my old neighborhood came to visit me in my new house. I welcomed her, we made tea in the teapot she brought me for a housewarming gift, and then we settled down for a talk. But I couldn’t just “talk.” I brought out some mending, and stitched merrily away until she asked, “Am I keeping you from something?”

That one changed me, at least as far as multitasking with other people went. I realized how rude that must have seemed, and now, when I have company, I have company. But I continued to juggle projects in private, and to justify it. I read everything I could get my hands (um, my one free hand) on regarding time management, even when, technically, I didn’t have to do it anymore.

I wish my wake-up call had been something less mundane and more spiritual. But I didn’t come to my time-management senses until I hung a purple Nine West bag too near the stove and then proceeded to turn on the WRONG burner, thus scorching a pan beyond use and setting fire to the purse. I don’t remember how many things I was doing that day or what they were. I just knew I had to change.

I’m well out of the active-parenting stage, and I don’t have the time demands pulling on me that I had as a young mother. I do a lot, I have a lot done to me, but it can all be done in sequence. I have no little ones or medium-ones tugging on me, nobody’s bleeding, nobody needs me to feed them or wash their faces or hold them till they sleep.

But I’m thinking even young mothers, or dads, don’t need to time-manage as aggressively as I once did. Children need our attention, and I’m prouder now of the time I did spend with my children than the time I spent “accomplishing” things. Especially since I can’t remember what those “important” things were.

Will I still fold laundry while on a long phone call, or address Christmas cards in front of the television? Most likely. And I’ll probably still haul around a “project bag” for waiting rooms. It is as heavy as the weights at the gym, and I don’t have to pay for it.

But more and more, it’s impressed on me that some things are too precious, or fragile, for double-duty. They deserve my full attention. Friends, my great-nieces and first great-nephew, my husband. Church. (I once made out a Christmas list during a sermon.) And for safety’s sake, anything with an open flame.

And if I had my parents back, I would just sit and look at them for one last time. Without “managing” my own time, because there will never be enough of it.

Time management, we had a good run, but it’s over. I don’t, well, have time for you any more.

                

What’s YOUR worst multitasking blunder, and when did you realize you were doing too much?

                

And what’s your best time management tip?

Great post Kathy! I still get asked how I do everything I do. Being organized is the key to time management for me. I have a monthly planner on my desk and EVERYTHING gets written down in it!

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.

She attended a mixture of public and parochial schools, graduating from the University of New Hampshire in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She married the Rev. David W. Bailey in 1977, and they lived in Colorado, Wisconsin and Michigan before returning to their home state of New Hampshire. They are the parents of two adult daughters.

She has worked as both a staff and freelance journalist. She semi-retired in 2017, in order to devote herself to a growing interest in Christian fiction. She has won or finaled in several contests, including the 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis contest. Her debut novel, “Westward Hope,” will be published Sept. 20, 2019 by Pelican/White Rose Publishers.

Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other.

For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

Kathy's new book, Westward Hope can be purchased at Amazon for Kindle, and Pelican Book Group in Ebook and Print!

Hope you enjoyed today's post friends and that you'll stop by weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time take care and God bless.
PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kathy Bailey & Redemptions Hope!

Good Morning!

Welcome to the first Saturday spotlight of September 2022! 

WOW this year is really flying by, but it's ALL Good!

Today's guest is not new but her book is. Tell us a little about Redemptions Hope before we get the official blurb, Kathy....

“Redemption’s Hope” is the third and last installment of my “Western Dreams” series, following “Westward Hope” and “Settler’s Hope.” The novel takes Janny Thatcher, a secondary character in the first two books on the ride of her life, from the Oregon Country to New Mexico to San Antonio to New Orleans and back, as she looks for her dream and finds herself in the bargain. 

White Bear, the Cheyenne brave, has a foot in two worlds but feels at home in neither. He longs to reconnect with the spirited white woman who had sought refuge with his family three years before. Is his true home with “Blue Eyes,” the woman he knew for only three days?

Only if he finds her.

Wonderful! Now let's get the official blurb....

Two distinct sets of villains. Two orphaned children. A man without a country and a woman with too much past...All in a rambunctious young country where anything goes, especially in the West. Seriously. What can go wrong?

In this latest installment of the best-selling series, "Western Dreams", join Jenny and White Bear as they cross the historic West in an epic story peppered with grit, guns, and glory that award-winning author Kelly Goshorn calls "a sweeping tale of faith, dedication, and perseverance set in the American west."

"...masterful wordsmithing!" says Clarice G. James, author of "The Least of These," "Party of One," "Double Header" and "Manhattan Grace."

Read an excerpt of Redemptions Hope and get your copy at Amazon.

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it. 

Bailey is the author of the Western Dreams series. “Redemption’s Hope” joins “Westward Hope" and “Settler’s Hope” to tell the story of people who settled out West. The books are published by Pelican/White Rose Publishing, a small firm out of New Mexico. In addition, she has published two related Western Dreams novellas with Pelican’s Christmas Extravaganza series. 

While Bailey has always dreamed of publishing fiction, her two Arcadia Publishing projects, “Past and Present Exeter” and “New Hampshire War Monuments,” made her fall in love with nonfiction and telling real people’s stories. She lives in Raymond, New Hampshire.

Thank you, SO Much, Kathy for sharing your new book with us! Wishing you the best of luck and God's blessings with it and all the rest!

Friends, if you'd like to know more about Kathy's other two books in this series as well as other works, check out her previous posts HERE.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

PamT

#WednesdayWordswithFriends welcomes Kathy Bailey!

Good Morning Friends!

Well, July is marching right along. The small writing retreat I attended in Nacogdoches, TX last week was a huge success. We had so much fun and, most importantly, every one of us accomplished our writing goals for the time we were there. I'm heading out tomorrow for Ozark, AL to attend the Dixie Youth World Series but never fear, Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight will still go on. Speaking of which, today's guest is not new to our blog, although it has been a while since she shared thoughts and words with us so please welcome Kathy Bailey back to visit with us!

How shall we then give?

When my husband was in Bible college, we operated on a sliver of a budget. At one of our lowest points I made fish chowder with a can of sardines my mom had sent me in a care package.  Needless to say, we did not have weight problems.
In our small town a middle-aged couple ran a small family nursing home. My husband took on the responsibility of giving them a short religious service on Sunday afternoons, and I went along. After he preached to the dozen or so residents, the owners usually invited us to supper. The wife of the pair always apologized for the meal, explaining that she “just put out a few little things.” Her “little things” included three or four varieties of cold cuts, cheese, sandwich rolls, potato salad, macaroni salad, and several varieties of gelatin salads. It was more food, cumulatively, than we had seen all week.
And the blessed woman often packed leftovers with the comment, “Maybe you can use these. I hate to throw them out.” She made us feel like we were doing her a favor for taking, again, more food than we’d seen all week.
This should have been a Christmas post, and maybe some day I’ll recycle it into one. But it’s equally timely now, as we pick up the pieces of the first worldwide pandemic most of us have ever known.
How did we give?
Did we share our toilet paper, or give up our place in line? Did we tuck a gas card into someone’s Bible, or pick up extra take-out for a friend? Did we pay anything forward, knowing that reciprocation probably wouldn’t happen in this life?
There’s an art to giving. While we shouldn’t devalue our gift, we also shouldn’t make the recipient feel devalued. It’s important to help them retain their dignity. It’s important to approach them with respect. “Can you take this off my hands? I’ve outgrown it/my kids have outgrown it/I bought too much/there was a huge sale and I couldn’t resist.” You will know.
It’s also important not to attach strings. If it’s a gift it’s gone. You can comment if you see the recipient wearing or using the gift, but it ends there. Give and move on.
There’s a fine line between “charity” and “justice,” and I’ve spent years working it out, first as a recipient, then as a giver. A friend who was down on her luck got upset one time when our church gave her a gift card. “I don’t want charity,” she snapped.  We had to lead her to the understanding that if it’s from people who know you, and love you, it’s not charity. It’s justice.
Charity is when you drop a buck in the Salvation Army kettle, or write a check to support people you’ll never see. Needed, necessary, but faceless.
Justice is when you see a need in front of you. A family member, a friend, a church associate. You see it and you take care of it, to the best of your ability. Or you get someone else to take care of it. Because it’s in your face. Because it’s the right thing to do.
And, very often, justice knows WHAT to do. If you know the person who needs your help, you can tailor your giving. The young widow whose “Santa gifts” are provided through a Giving Tree, but who still needs help with stocking stuffers. The first-time parents, just home from the hospital, who could use a heat-able meal—and paper plates.  Charity doesn’t know where its dollars go. Justice knows not only where, but why.
At its shining best, justice isn’t “just” about giving. It’s a bridge between people living out God’s plan on this earth, and someone who needs to know that God loves them.

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it.
Bailey’s work includes both historical and contemporary fiction, with an underlying thread of men and women finding their way home, to Christ and each other. Her first Pelican book, ‘Westward Hope,” was published in September 2019. This was followed by a novella, “The Logger’s Chrsitmas Bride,” in December 2019. Her second full-length novel, “Settler’s Hope,” was released July 17, 2020.
She lives in New Hampshire with her husband David. They have two grown daughters.
For more information, contact her at ampie86@comcast.net; @piechick1 on Twitter; Kathleen D. Bailey on Facebook and LinkedIn; or at www.kathleendbailey.weebly.com.

After years of wandering, Pace Williams expects to find a home in the Oregon Country. He doesn't expect is to fall in love with a fiery Irishwoman bent on returning home to avenge her people.

Oona Moriarty expects one thing: to exact revenge on the English overlords who took her home. She doesn't expect to fall in love with a man who looks like he's been carved from this Western landscape.

Together they vow to trust the unexpected and settle into a life, but when Pace's ancient enemies threaten to destroy the life they're building, Oona must choose between helping the man she loves and seeking the revenge she craves. 

Get your copy of Settler's Hope at Amazon.

Thank you so much, Kathy for sharing your thoughts on giving. I love how God provided for you and your husband! We should all be willing to meet the needs of others as we see and are able.

Friends, Kathy is giving away THREE different prizes to 3 lucky winners! 

An e-book of Settler's Hope (book 2 in the Western Dreams series). 

A paperback of Westward Hope (book 1 in her Western Dreams series), AND

A New England gift pack. 

*Paperback and gift pack, US only.

Leave a comment to enter her giveaway and for a chance to win my monthly gift card!

Hope you enjoyed today's post and that you'll check back weekly for Wednesday Words with Friends and Saturday Spotlight.

Until next time, take care, God bless and remember....you can't out-give God!

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Hilltop Reunion by Kathleen D. Bailey

Good Mornig,

Before I get into today's spotlight I have GOT to brag on my Alma Mater... The Iowa (Louisiana) YellowJackets made school history yesterday when they brought home the LHSAA State Championship title in a 50-43 win against the N. Desoto Griffins. I am SO proud and excited and happy for our little hometown I can hardly stand it LOL!

GEAUX Jackets 💜💛💜💛💜💛 

Now, on to our regularly scheduled post...

Welcome to another installment in our All Christmas thru Christmas Saturday Spotlight feature! Today's guest is not new to our blog but her novel, Hilltop Reunion is a 2025 release from Elk Lake Publishing.

Thanks for joining us, Kathleen. Please share your book with us...

“Hilltop Reunion” is the sequel to “Hilltop Christmas,” published in 2023. The books take place in tiny Hilltop, New Hampshire, around a three-day Christmas festival meant to emphasize the birth of Christ. Miracles happen at “Festival” – marriages healed, estranged families reunited, faith born or strengthened. Welcome to Hilltop, the Town That Heals. 

Jillian Despres left Hilltop, and Paul McKee’s love, to follow a dream that had no foundation. Can an old love become new again, and can it happen in time for Christmas?

Jillian Despres never wanted to come back to Hilltop, New Hampshire, at the best of times. She’s put every mile she can between the ragged girl receiving the town’s charity and the polished Boston television anchor she’s become. But when the town authorities call her grandfather on his hoarding, Jill has no choice. She lands in Hilltop in time for the renowned Hilltop Christmas Festival, and in the arms of a man she knew was too good for her.

Police Chief Paul McKee has more reason than most to distrust Jillian, and to wish she’d stayed in Boston. But his vow to preserve and protect his community gives him no wiggle room. Whatever his personal feelings, he must champion the woman’s return to Hilltop, at least until she has her grandfather settled and his house put to rights.

When the ugly past threatens to invade this year’s festival, can Paul and Jill depend on the risen Lord to make things right?

Excerpt: Police Chief Paul McKee didn’t deal in “what ifs.” The nature of his job, even in tiny Hilltop, New Hampshire, demanded a certain amount of black-and-white. But at the end of that November day, he couldn’t help wondering. What if Officer Jimmy McGuire hadn’t had the flu and Paul hadn’t taken his shift? What if Paul had raided the overtime budget instead and called in an off-duty officer? What if he’d gotten to that parking space a half hour earlier or a half hour later?

At the end of the day, it might have been better for everyone. But that’s not what happened.

Chapter One

Paul’s long legs moved over the snowy sidewalk as he headed toward the cherry-red Mercedes coupe. He had his citation pad out, his pen poised for the chore he’d done hundreds of times, when he heard light footsteps moving over the packed snow.

A woman stopped beside him, and he caught a peripheral glimpse of a green coat, tall leather boots and a flash of auburn hair. A tourist? It wasn’t really the season.

“Since when does Hilltop have parking fines?”

He was bent over, scribbling the ticket, but he stilled. He knew that voice—sweet but husky, older now, exasperated. No way. Never mind Jimmy, he should have called in sick himself. But Paul McKee didn’t call in sick.

He straightened and looked down into a heart-shaped face and blue eyes framed by long lashes. Great. Just great. “We started giving fines when out-of-towners started thinking they could ignore the handicapped signs.”

“What sign?” Hands on her hips, Jillian Despres dug in for an argument.

“You’re parked on top—”

“If there’s a sign there, it’s covered with ice.”

“The markings on the pavement, fine.” Eyebrows raised, Paul gestured to the small freestanding sign on the sidewalk, its white wheelchair clear against the blue background. “But anyone could have seen that one.”

She flinched, and he saw her begin to shut down, just as she’d done when they were kids.

He willed the compassion away. Jillian wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway. And this wasn’t personal. Was it? It wasn’t, but then she hadn’t made any attempt to smooth things over after she’d publicly thrown the town matriarch under the proverbial bus two years ago.

Paul pretended to concentrate on the ticket he was writing, but failed. “So what brings you back to Hilltop?”

Jillian met his gaze head-on. “You know what.”

He did. But he had to wonder if there was more to her return than the pressing need at her grandfather’s homestead. Half the town watched the Boston wake-up television show she’d anchored, and when she’d suddenly disappeared from it a few months ago, she’d become a topic of speculation again.

Sure, Hilltop stood by its own and took back its fallen, but there had to be better places for Jillian Depres to lick her wounds. Anywhere but here.

He looked down into her exquisite face and told himself he felt nothing. Then he pulled the ticket from his book and handed it to her. “You’ve got thirty days, but I’d get on it sooner. District Court gets real busy around the holidays, and Marcia doesn’t cut any more slack than she ever did.”

~*~ Wonderful! Now give us some information on you and where we can find you and Hilltop Reunion...

Kathleen Bailey is a journalist and novelist with 40 years’ experience in the nonfiction, newspaper and inspirational fields. Born in 1951, she was a child in the 50s, a teen in the 60s, a young adult in the 70s and a young mom in the 80s. It’s been a turbulent, colorful time to grow up, and she’s enjoyed every minute of it and written about most of it. She publishes historical Western fiction with Pelican/White Rose Publishing and contemporary Christmas stories with Elk Lake Publishing. She’s also the co-author of four nonfiction local history books with Arcadia Publishing.

Connect with Kathleen through her Website, on FaceBook, LinkedIn, GoodReads or Amazon. 

Find Hilltop Reunion at Amazon in KU or Paperback

Oh and find my previous visits on this blog Here, Here, Here and Here!

Thank You, Kathleen!

I hope you enjoyed today's spotlight friends and that you'll check back weekly for more great authors and their books.

Until next time, Happy Reading!

PamT