James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl

James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl is a sweet children's story that I have enjoyed since I was little. Poor James has to live with his horrible aunts Spiker and Sponge after his parents are both killed. And these two dreadful women treat him awfully. Until the day that a giant peach as big as a house grows from the tree in their garden that has never grown a peach before.

When James goes outside at night to clean up all the trash (the peach brought quite a lot of spectators to look at it) he finds a strange hole in the side of the peach. What (or whom) does he find when he climbs inside? Read this exciting tale and find out!

Hayden Hamilton and the Lady by Wanda Luce

I recently read a wonderful clean regency romance by author Wanda Luce titled Hayden Hamilton and the Lady. It follows the protagonist Emma Stuart and her friend Hayden Hamilton as they face up again the likes of the dastardly Lord Richmond.

Lord Richmond dislikes Emma because she got back at him for his mistreatment of other ladies, and he wants to ruin her reputation. But not if Hayden Hamilton has anything to say about it. As he sets out to help Emma, the two start finding themselves attracted to each other. But Emma is a high born lady, and Hayden, it appears, is a lowly barrister. Do the two of them have a possible future together? Read the book and find out.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien is a delightful story about a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.

He is a quiet fellow who likes simple pleasures like a nice dinner, leisure time to smoke his pipe, and a comfortable chair by a warm fire. But then along comes Gandalf the wizard and 13 dwarves who are looking for a hobbit to help them on an adventure. The dwarves' home was taken over years ago by a dragon named Smaug, and they want their home back, along with the treasure that goes with it. They've promised Bilbo a share of the treasure when they've defeated Smaug, but will little Bilbo survive long enough to get it? Read the book and find out!

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

In The Fellowship of the Ring, the first book of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, young hobbit Frodo Baggins, the nephew of Bilbo Baggins discovers some things about his uncle's magic ring that are alarming, setting off a journey that little Frodo feels wholly unprepared for.

The ring, which is the evil lord Sauron's One Ring, and which is evil, needs to be thrown into the lava of Mount Doom, the only place it can be destroyed, if the whole of Middle Earth is to keep from being destroyed. Will Frodo be able to do it? As unprepared as he feels, he has friends to help him, his best friend Sam Gamgee, and others, Merry, Pippin, Gimli, Legolas, Boromir, Aragorn, and of course the wizard Gandalf. But can all nine of them together overcome the forces of evil that are looking for the ring and want it back? Read the book and find out!

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

Jill Pole is crying behind the school gym after being bullied when Eustace Scrubb (a decent boy despite the unfortunate name) comes around the corner and finds her. Trying to cheer her up, he tells her about Narnia, a magical land he had visited recently with his cousins Lucy and Edmund, and how they could possibly go there if they called out to Aslan for permission. Just then, the bullies come looking for them and Eustace and Jill rush off into the bushes toward an old stone wall at the back of the school property.

Once they get to the wall and find a door in it open, their real adventure begins. Aslan needs their help rescuing a prince who has mysteriously disappeared. The only clue the Narnians have, is that there is a dangerous green snake somehow involved. Jill Pole (after an unfortunate incident on the edge of a cliff where she and Eustace are separated) is given four signs to look for. 1. That Eustace speak to the first person he sees when he arrives in Narnia, for that person will be an old friend. 2. That they journey north out of Narnia until they find the ruined city of the ancient giants. 3. They will find writing on a stone in that ancient city, and they must do what the writing says. 4. The first person on their adventure who asks them to do something in Aslan's name, they must obey. The two children, with the help of Puddleglum, a marshwiggle, set off toward the north, encountering obstacles and distractions along the way. Will they succeed in rescuing the missing prince? Read The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis and find out!

Susan Wardle, wonderful neighbor and friend

My sweet friend and neighbor, Susan Wardle passed away the other day.

I am so lucky to have been her neighbor. And I'm so glad I was able to dedicate my most recent book to her before she passed. If anyone deserved to have a book dedicated to him/her, it was certainly her. She was a wonderful friend to me and my children, and we will miss her. Follow the link above, or HERE for more funeral information.

Review by Diane Donovan for my book Ephraim's Garden

Diane Donovan, senior reviewer for MidWest Book Review, has kindly written a review for my book Ephraim's Garden, and the review has recently gone live! You can read the review HERE and read about Ephraim's Garden on Amazon HERE!