Happy 60th!

Yes, it is true. I’ll be 60 in a few weeks. As that time approached, I could feel a bit of unease.

 

But now, I am so excited!

 

My new book, Gifts of Grace, is being released on my birthday, February 23.

 

What a lovely 60^th birthday present.

 

I wanted to challenge myself with a couple things in these three novellas.

 

It’s been more than forty years since I moved away from our family farm. I decided it would be fun to set a story on a farm.

 

Besides the internet, my research included questions for my brother Jim, who is currently raising cows on our home place. This story was delightful to write.

 

I also wanted to have a main character be blind.

 

Since I am visually impaired, it seems like this would be easy for me, wouldn’t you think?

 

But, even though I have to struggle to put much visual description in my writing, it certainly is easier to go by the assumption that everybody can see everything.

 

Facial expressions, body movements to show emotions and feelings toward others. Visual recognition of where things are located in a room or in an outside setting.

 

“She blinked, then turned her back to me and walked to look out the window.”

 

“My stomach clenched and my hands grew moist as soon as I saw him turn the corner and come toward me.”

 

I didn’t go into great detail about how the blind character performed everyday tasks, and I found that the story flowed more naturally than I’d expected.

 

I enjoyed writing these characters’ stories, sharing in their relationships.

 

Gifts of Grace

 

Three novellas. Three women search with hungry hearts, and God shows them surprising answers.

 

Tammy needs a new goal to fill her empty nest, and she needs to find forgiveness for her heart.

 

Mourning the loss of her baby, Judy flees to the home she abandoned twelve years ago. The family farm. Is something new waiting for her at this old home?

 

Iola, who is blind, struggles to prove herself as a professional and to be the mother her sixteen-year-old daughter needs during a rough time.

 

Watch as God opens doors these women would never expect.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Gifts-Grace-Kathy-McKinsey-ebook/dp/B08T7ZHLMZ 

Ane Mulligan, Southern-fried fiction

My guest this week is author Ane Mulligan. Enjoy.

When people learn I’m an author, they want to know what kind of books I write. My brand is Southern-fried fiction. In all my books, no matter what era they’re set in, you’ll find an ensemble cast of strong women, facing life’s issues together.

I grew up wanting sisters. I only had a brother; both of us were adopted. While we had an idyllic childhood, I longed for sisters. I gathered girl friends around me in place of nonexistent sisters. That continued into adulthood, and those friendships influenced my writing. Of course, little did I know what God had in store for me. The story of my discovery of my birth sisters is here, on my website:

https://anemulligan.com/adoption

In High Cotton is the first in my Georgia Magnolias series. It’s probably my favorite of all the books I’ve written. I love this story of a young widow, raising her small son during the Depression. I also grew to love the other characters, who took on life as Maggie gathered them around her.

Sadie Moreland, half Yamasee Indian, who became a mentor to Maggie. Duchess Alden, Maggie’s sister, who arrived in Rivers End without any skills other than being a good hostess.

Then there’s sweet Pinkie Yates. Maggie’s little boy found her beaten and battered. He told his mama he’s like the Good Samaritan in the Bible, and they had to take her home. Maggie’s mother-in-law, Faylene, is a tower of strength.

I’ve had a lot of fun researching and writing this series. One of my favorite aspects of this was the Depression era recipes. Southerners used peanuts as a staple protein in their family meals, and I tried a few out on my family. I share several recipes in the book, and I thought y’all might enjoy seeing one of them.

Macaroni Papoose

1 package macaroni, broken in ¼-inch lengths

1/3 c milk

grated cheese

small amount horseradish

thin slices raw smoked ham

Cook macaroni until tender, spread slices of ham with macaroni, horseradish and cheese.

Roll slices and skewer or tie together. Place in shallow baking dish with milk.

Bake in moderate oven (350 degrees) for 35 minutes. Serve hot with dish of crushed pineapple to sprinkle over each “papoose” as desired.

If you’d like to read the first chapter of In High Cotton, go to https://anemulligan.com/georgia-magnolias-series and scroll to the DOWNLOADS

Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown. But when Ane saw PETER PAN on stage, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. She submerged herself in drama through high school and college. One day, her two loves collided, and a bestselling, award-winning novelist emerged. She lives in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website: https://www.anemulligan.com 

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/anemulligan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anemulligansouthernfriedfiction 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/AneMulligan 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anemulligan/

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/anemulligan/ 

The Write Conversation: https://thewriteconversation.blogspot.com/ 

In High Cotton

Southern women may look as delicate as flowers, but there’s iron in their veins.

                             

While the rest of the world has been roaring through the 1920s, times are hardscrabble in rural South Georgia. Widow Maggie Parker is barely surviving while raising her young son alone. Then as banks begin to fail, her father-in-law threatens to take her son and sell off her livelihood—the grocery store her husband left her. Can five Southern women band together, using their wisdom and wiles to stop him and survive the Great Depression?

Available online at

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2WOLShX 

ShopLPC: https://shoplpc.com/in-high-cotton/

Target: https://www.target.com/p/in-high-cotton-by-ane-mulligan-paperback/-/A-80663388

and in bookstores.

Mulligan pens a story full of southern charm with a cast of characters in a cute Georgia town you won't easily forget. Makes me want to sit down with the lot of them for a glass of sweet tea. — New York Times Bestselling Author, Rachel Hauck

“What was the last book that kept you up until the wee hours of the morning? Last time I looked at the clock it was almost 2am and I was reading Ane Mulligan's "In High Cotton" which comes out Aug 3, 2020! I had to force myself to put a bookmark in my Kindle.” Mimi Noble on Avid Readers of Christian Fiction