In Irish Encounter, Ellen's daughter, Olivia, leads her family to conserve water by catching run off cold water. This plot point is a real chapter straight from the Dougherty household. During our … [Read more...]
Irish Pottery
In Irish Encounter, Ellen is drawn toward the Irish pottery she sees in downtown Galway. (Spoiler alert) In fact, Payne buys a pitcher for her as a surprise. Ellen isn’t me, but we do share a love … [Read more...]
Favorite Trips
Summer seems to be the season for lots of travel. Ellen’s story opens in Galway, Ireland, one of my favorite cities in the world, and I’ve traveled to Paris, New York, London, Toronto, Washington, … [Read more...]
Recipe from Irish Encounter
In Irish Encounter, Ellen’s daughter loves her pesto recipe. Since I’m making a batch today (for someone who's coming home for the first time since March!), here’s the one I adapted for my family. … [Read more...]
Tribute to Teachers
I come from a long line of teachers--some professionals and some who simply know how to teach, and I'm happy that one of the characters in Irish Encounter is Miss Myrtle. She’s a fun-loving, retired … [Read more...]
Veterans’ Tribute on Memorial Day
The following is a tribute to World War II heroes I posted in January. I’m reposting now because of the tie-in with Irish Encounter. In the story, Ms. Myrtle falls in love with a sailor who, … [Read more...]
Payne’s Journey Through Music
Music has long been important to believers. Think of Psalm 150: 3-6: “Praise [God] with the sounding of the trumpet, Praise Him with the harp and lyre, Praise Him with tambourine and dancing, Praise … [Read more...]
A Prayer Shawl Ministry
In Irish Encounter, Ellen Shepherd crochets and leads a prayer shawl ministry for her church and community. FYI, I do, too, but I’m not the inspiration for Ellen. Our ministry has given away shawls … [Read more...]
The Inspiration Behind Irish Encounter
In May of 2009, I was staring at the first day of the rest of my life. My oldest daughter was set to graduate high school in less than a month. Two years later, her sister would march right behind … [Read more...]
A Silver Star Thank You
A funny thing happened on the way home after an authors’ panel. I’d just finished a conversation with best-selling novelist, Diane Chamberlain, enjoying a rush of excitement that comes after chatting … [Read more...]
