Writing - the ups and downs

Finally - New Release is out! Available now in paperback and kindle version. On Amazon. Since we last visited the fictional town of Shady Creek, West Virginia, Vada Faith and John Waddell have welcomed a beautiful baby boy, Sweet Baby James. Their world shatters one afternoon when eight-month old James is missing from his play pen on the front porch of their old Victorian home. Is it a real kidnapping or is it a hoax? Duke Cobb, the town’s only police officer, determines to get to the bottom of this mystery. As the hours pass, Vada Faith’s trust in God wavers. She fluctuates between praying for her son’s safety and making bargains she isn’t sure she can keep. At a candlelight vigil in the park, Hope and Charity plead for the return of their baby brother. At the same time, two elderly sisters manage to knock the small town off its axis. Missing: Sweet Baby James is an unforgettable read, filled with unexpected twists and turns. Click the link below to go to Amazon and check o...

Ode to Old When I am old- Really really old- And cannot see - Red balls of rouge- Riding- High on my cheeks, Black lines- Arching- Over my eyes,  Gravy stains covering- Yellow flowers- On my good blue dress. When I am old- And cannot see - Will you please do-  My grooming for me? by: Barbara A. Whittington

In honor of Valentine's Day my short story, Dear Anne: Love Letters from Nam is free on Amazon from February 13- 17th. Hope you'll get your free copy. I'd appreciate hearing from you after you read it. Or leave a review on Amazon, which is even better. It actually helps sales. And sales for my books this winter have been almost non existent.  The review can be as little as a sentence or two to let me and other readers know how you liked the story. Writing is a lonely profession and any feedback is always appreciated. I've been hard at work on finishing the current novel and editing is taking WAY longer than I'd ever planned. That's what happens when one is a perfectionist. Any job takes twice as long because we do a lot of second guessing and downright worrying over every phrase. With this novel, since it's told from several points of view, I've had issues with the time line. At last, I believe I have all those issues ironed ou...

Happy New Year's everyone! I'm featuring a blog post from 2011. The story of how my mom made Leather Britches or Dried Green Beans. This recipe dates back to pioneer days. My mom learned from her mom,  Dora Warner Casto, who learned from her mom,  Lorene Casto Bailes. I hope you enjoy my essay. My mother gardened all her life. It was one of her great loves, next to family, God, and country. Because she grew up during the Depression, she learned to use every last item from her garden for canning, preserving, drying or pickling. Every year at the end of the green bean season she made leather britches, dried beans that would keep for the winter. These were the last beans hanging on the vines. The beans inside had grown to full size with outsides a bit withered. They were beyond the stage to can or preserve, or even to pickle. Although her fried pickled green beans and corn bread were the best in the world. (Well, next to her biscuits and fried apples.) Mother started ...

Guest Blog by Elizabeth Weiss Vollstadt about her just released new novel, PAIRS AT NATIONALS, an ice skating story. Perfect for the start of our winter season. Here's Elizabeth. www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Pairs+at+Nationals++by+Elizabeth+Weiss+Vollstadt&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3APairs+at+Nationals++by+Elizabeth+Weiss+Vollstadt PAIRS AT NATIONALS—Now Available at Special Price! I’m excited to announce that PAIRS AT NATIONALS, the second book in my Pairs on Ice series, is now out and available on Amazon!  In this book for tweens, Jamie Bartlett, 13, and her partner Matt O’Connor, 15, have just won a gold medal at the sectional competition.  Now they are psyched to win gold at the National Championships.  But then an accident changes everything—and they are forced to train at a new rink with a new coach.  With skating as the backdrop, this book lets the tween reader (and older one, too) feel the struggles of trainin...

NEW romance paperback makes a sweet gift for the reader in your life. The publication of my paperback Dear Ann: Love Letters from Nam, which is a short story, is finally HERE. So happy. Just click the link below to go to Amazon and check it out. The story is told in letters between a young soldier in war-torn Vietnam and his bride back home in West Virginia. Priced at $5.99. I put a lot of hard work and considerable research into this story. It is a part of a much larger work - which may take the rest of my lifetime to finish or I may never. Thus, here's a portion of the story I still love! The letters make a good stand-alone story. I hope you'll enjoy reading it. If at all possible, please leave a review on Amazon. This paperback exists because of the many requests I had to turn this story into a tangible book. Dear Anne is filled with romance, and the emotion and angst that comes with war-time romance. Leaving a loved one behind to go fight in a war in a far away str...

This is a blog I've revised from 2010. It's very relevant today. I've been on a search for 50s music, the music that I grew up to. Recently I've ordered cd's and have had a great time listening to and dancing to the music. Remember Billy Joe Royal? Fats Domino? Sam Cooke? Well I remember them all and the words to their songs. What songs did you grow up to? I'm always looking for new music to listen to. I'd love to have your suggestions, not just from the 50's but during the time you grew up. What strikes your fancy? What songs did you fall in love to? I shop at one of those stores where you can buy everything from groceries, to the latest movie, to tires for the car. I passed one of those machines that plays music. The ones where you punch the song you want to hear and it takes off. Mostly the machines offer Celtic tunes, or peaceful songs to lull one to sleep. Not this one. It had some great selections. My choice was SODA SHOP CLASSICS and when...