A little piece of chocolate heaven, that's what!

Seriously, I grew up knowing about Whoopie Pies because my mom made the best ones on the planet. When I moved to Virginia after college (to teach 2nd grade), I was surprised to find out that no one there had ever heard of them. Turns out, they are better known in the northeastern states. Several states lay claim to originating them: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.

In my new book, Feathers in the Sand, Tess and Eva have never heard of them either, until their new neighbor—Glory—bakes them some. The secret, she says (and my mother would have agreed!) is to use marshmallow fluff in the filling. Not all recipes call for that, so I'm sharing with you here Glory's recipe (which also happens to be my mom's recipe!). You'll find several other recipes on that page, including Luca's Portuguese Caldeirada, Kalila's Blueberry Crisp, and Glory's Seven Layer Whammies. Enjoy! And let me know if you have a favorite memory of any of those delicious foods.

About the time I was getting the idea for this new series of women's novels, I was staying at my favorite place in Maine- Ogunquit. I happened to wake up early one morning and stood out on the hotel's deck as the sun rose. The last time I had watched a sunrise was probably during my college years! I was deeply moved by the simple power of witnessing the beginning of a new day and continue to rise early whenever I'm in Maine (and sometimes when I'm at home) to participate in that miracle.

Also, about that time, I synchronistically came across a quote from author and prolific online personality, Alex Elle. It had already become clear to me that sunrises would play an important part in Feathers in the Sand, as well as the entire series, so this was the perfect quote to place at the beginning and end of each book.

In Feathers in the Sand, Aunt Kit tells Eva about the time her fiancé (Ollie) died forty years ago, and how Ollie's mother helped her to grieve by taking her to watch sunrise after sunrise, instilling in her the will to welcome each new day again. In her sorrow, Kit begins to find her way back to herself, and to Ollie's light which still lives inside of her. In this way, sunrises begin to become an important part of the landscape of the characters' lives.

So tell me, dear reader... have you watched a sunrise lately? What do sunrises mean to you? What are you doing with the light that you've been given?

 🏆 JULY Give-Away Winners 🏆

a paperback copy of my new novel, Feathers in the Sand

Judy from Washington

Ellen from New Jersey

Jane from Texas

Trinitee from Ohio

This month I'm giving away TWO paperback copies of The Mermaid Chair, by Sue Monk Kidd!

"If The Secret Life of Bees was a girl's coming-of-age novel, The Mermaid Chair is a woman's coming-of-middle-age novel....The prose thrilled me. Kidd can really turn a phrase and her descriptions of nature's archetypal elements are magnificent."

--The Philadelphia Inquirer

"A woman at life's crossroads, a parent's tragic death and a strong, if eccentric circle of women. Stir in a forbidden love, and the pages all but turn themselves."--Parade Magazine

If you want to enter, just fill out the short form here and I'll do a random drawing THIS SUNDAY AUGUST 4. I'll send you an email notice that you've won, and I'll ask for your snail mail address after that!

(NOTE: I use the random generator at random.org to choose the winners

Greetings!Thank you for reading my author newsletter and for celebrating the launch last month of my new novel, Feathers in the Sand. This is me, smiling happily at the finished product!

In between newsletters, I'll be posting more often on Instagram, my blog, and/or my Facebook Author page, so I hope you'll visit me there.