Curtiss Ann Matlock's Blog, page 5

My sincere Gratitude for Each of You, My Dear Reader Friends

Thank you, my dear reader friends, who have read my blog and my books over the years, and those of you who so often have offered encouragement at just the right time in need. I smile to think of it. The thought brings memories of how this blog was a main instrument in bringing me back to writing–and you a necessary part of that with your encouragements.

So, thank you, dear reader friends. I pray you have a most wonderful Thanksgiving Day, if here in the U.S., and wherever you are, I pray that...

Christmas e-Books on Sale

It’s that time of year again–time for heartwarming Christmas stories. Hoorah! I love them. Both e-book versions of Miracle on I-40 and Christmas Comes to Valentine are sale priced now through Monday.

Miracle on I-40 is available only on Amazon Kindle, in e-book and also print. Click on the cover to purchase at $1.99, and it is free for KindleUnlimited members!

I originally wrote this story for a Harlequin anthology way back at the beginning of my writing career. At that time my so...

How Much is Fiction, or Memoir?

I read an essay by a writer of memoir, who expounded on her momentous decision to tell her story through fiction, rather than memoir. I thought her clever, and then I blinked, as a faint whisper sounded from the back of my brain: “Isn’t that what novelists do?”

I stared out the window for sometime, thinking of it. I realized that the writer of the essay had managed to sound immensely authoritative, as if rediscovering the wheel, but she had simply put forth what novelists have done since the ...

Don’t Give Up

I was perusing photos for one to use on this post, and came upon this one from one of my grandmother’s heirloom roses, one of the roses used in the creation of the cover for According to Carley Love.

November 1st, and I still have a few roses blooming, just now they sway in the fall breeze atop their long, thin stems. No matter how abused from being dug up and moved the numerous times, from cold and heat, and neglected and forgotten because I’m otherwise occupied, the bushes do what God creat...

Home Again!

I hear in memory my grandmother singing: “Home again, home again, jiggty-jig.” And this is what I thought when I pulled the truck and camper into the driveway after two week traveling adventure.

Home. No place like it, my favorite place to be. Faith would agree if she could talk, but her actions spoke volumes. When I let her out of the truck, she raced for ten minutes around the yard, tail wagging and ears flying in the wind.

When I look back at my photos, I smile to see and remember the c...

On the Road Again 🎶🎶

This post is late this week, because I’m traveling with the camper and the dog. When Wednesday came, I was staying at a National Park in the Smoky Mountains, with no Internet connection. Even the Internet connection in my truck had trouble. It was an interesting and educational experience, being without electric hook up, or ready Internet, or water flowing from a hose.

Oh, the sights I have seen!

a campground in the South Carolina MountainsThe English Chapel, named for the man who be...

The Writer Signs Books

The past Saturday, I enjoyed being the writer and celebrating the release of According to Carley Love by signing copies at a charming small bookstore.

It has been years since I did a book signing event. I’m grateful for supportive friends and family, and the generous owner of the charming Mobile Bookseller store of Mobile, Alabama, who welcomed me like royalty.

A dear friend, who has never read one of my books, is now reading According to Carley Love. She phoned me tonight ...

Too Busy to Write

I don’t know how I got so busy. It began with getting ready for a weekend camping trip with friends–thus the photo above. We had a fabulous time kayaking and chatting and hanging out together for three days. When I arrived home, there was the necessity to unload the camper, the cleaning and putting to rights, and starting to prepare for my big fall RVing trip. And then there is the maintaining of the house, the truck, the daily life. Today, which really seemed to pick up tempo, I realized that f...

New Releases and Book Recommendations,

I recently visited Mobile Booksellers, which is a local new-used bookstore. I stepped in the door and into an ongoing conversation about books. We readers love to talk books, and so I do that with you just now.

I’m taking part in a promotion featuring a number of new books–as it says, “New Voices and Old Favorites.” Click on the image, and it will take you to info for brand new novels. Contemporaries, mysteries, historicals, and even early Christmas!

Yes, tomorrow is release day for Acco...

Family, Friends, and Strangers at the Grocery

This post falls under the heading of ‘My Life and Welcome To It’.

I experience the most delightful times at my locally owned (over 75 yrs.) grocery-hardware store. A few weeks ago, while I’m checking out at the grocery, I suddenly hear a muffled male voice that sounded very familiar. I turn to look behind me in the direction of the voice. I scan faces. All are strangers. The muffled voice appears to be coming from a cell phone on speaker that belongs to a man, clearly a workman, at the nearby...