I grew up in Tucker, Georgia, near Stone Mountain State Park. I climbed that granite mountain countless times in the first 22 years of my life (and not since!).

I used real pies for my team's “pie graphs” — Chocolate Chess Pie and Buttermilk — in my senior college capstone business class at Harding University. We won the simulation and got an A in the course — all due to the incredible smarts of my teammates, mind you!

I love to sing and used to lead worship on occasion at our church back in Colorado. I also led Women's Ministry for 12+ years back in Colorado. Great memories… #GodswomenROCK

I LOVE bacon. I bake mine in the oven, which makes for a very dirty oven, but very yummy bacon.

I also love boiled peanuts. LOVE them! Served warm is best!

For as long as I can remember, I've baked. I absolutely loved making my kids' birthday cakes (and still do) and also being "homeroom mom," bringing class snacks. For one of Kelsey's elementary school class trips, I made 50+ of these ABC apple cookies. Not professional looking by any means, but the kids enjoyed them.

I always wished I'd really learned to decorate cakes. Add that to my ever growing list of "Things to do Next!"

I had a Christmas wedding—December 15, 1984—complete with poinsettias (saved a bit on the flower budget!).

All the years our kids were growing up, I kept a laminated Family Circus cartoon in the area where they played to remind me how swiftly time passes—and of what's truly important. Ahem… not a clean house.

If you can't see the caption clearly, the mother is grumbling to herself, "When will all these toys ever be put away properly?" Then the scene on the right is her as a grandmother gazing at those toys long stored in the attic. And let me tell you, now that I'm a Gram Tam, I understand even better how swiftly time passes—and still daily determine to focus on what's truly important.

Joe and I are the product of an arranged marriage. Joe's mother Claudette was my girls' club sponsor at Harding University. When our moms met for breakfast at Kings Inn in Searcy, Arkansas, my mom leaned over and said, “I wish you had a son!” Claudette's face lit up: “I do! I do have a son!” And that was that. 41 years and counting. Both of our moms are Home with the Lord now, and we still miss them every day. (I'm fairly sure they're still plotting up there, too.)

I never dreamed I'd grow up to write novels—much less that people would actually read them. Visiting the places I've written about, like the Habsburg Palace in Vienna featured in A Note Yet Unsung, is an extra special blessing. I also never dreamed that I'd actually dream an opening scene. But I did...the opening scene of my first published novel, Rekindled, comes straight from a dream I had. I still remember waking up with that scene so vivid in my mind. I've always considered that a gift from God. You can read that opening scene in Rekindled right now if you like.

Habsburg Palace, Vienna, Austria