Skip to main content

Guest blogger Debra Clopton

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.13.2006

Today I’m so lucky to have Steeple Hill author Debra Clopton write a guest blog post! Deb is the sweetest person and I’m really blessed to know her. When you read her books, you can hear her Texas accent in the story!

Her latest book is AND BABY MAKES FIVE.

TWO STUBBORN HUMANS, HIS DOG, HER DONKEY...AND A BRAND-NEW BABY.

A donkey with a penchant for breaking and entering...in search of alfalfa? Cort Wells had never heard of such a thing, until he and his dog moved into Mule Hollow. And the dokey’s eight-months-pregnant owner was LillyTips, raised by her man-hating grandmas. So when Lilly wound up in his barn—and in his arms—Cort began to think the donkey was going to be the least of his worries...



Debra Clopton’s Blog Column

Thank you for this opportunity Camy. AND BABY MAKES FIVE is my second book in my Mule Hollow series and I loved writing this book! When I first came up with the concept of a matchmaking donkey...well, you can imagine that I just thought it would be a hilarious book, especially since I’d watched the real Samantha the donkey in action. I was excited to bring this story to fruition because I want more than anything to make my readers laugh.

My goal with each book is to take my readers to a place where they can check their coat of stress and worry at the door, plop their feet on the coffee table and join me in a town where there is absolutely no telling what is going to happen next! Good ole Mule Hollow Texas is meant to be a utopia of fun. It was a place I created first for myself, when I needed to laugh again after my husband died. It is so rewarding and a blessing to me to see how readers are embracing the wacky characters who are the backdrop of my stories. The characters I love so much.

As with the laughter that I strive to bring to the stories I always, always want to show my young readers the beauty of love between a man and a woman when it is by God’s design. And in this book I also wanted to show the love of between a young mother and her child. Kids and young adults are bombarded with enough worldly images now that I wanted to portray the sweetness of it all through Lilly’s character.

However, the ultimate connection that I hope readers connect with is the theme that our lives don’t always follow the path we’ve hoped for, longed for and dreamed of. That life isn’t always beautiful, but still we must put one foot in front of the other and push forward…even when our hearts are broken and our faith is wavering. In AND BABY MAKES FIVE Cort Wells is doing just that. He’s struggling to hang on to God, even though his life has fallen apart and he’s unhappy with every aspect of the future looming ahead of him, he is fighting to cling to Christ, to his faith and his trust that God knows what is best for him.

I would like my readers to take away from this book the truth that God doesn’t say His grace might be sufficient. Nope, in 2 Corinthians 12:9 God tells us: My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.

It is such an easy statement to read, but until we are in the throws of sorrow, and we need to live that verse we don’t realize that Satan is going to work diligently to deceive us. But praise God, He didn’t say, “My grace might be sufficient, He said my grace is sufficient.” For me, that was my personal take away from this book. I’ve walked in Cort Well’s boots so his story was dear to my heart.

But, I’m praying each reader will take away whatever they need from this story. Whether it’s a good hard laugh at the crazy antics of my mischievous burro, Samantha and her depressed cohort Loser the dog. Or maybe an application that God’s timing is perfect and that His loving hand is guiding our lives. Or, that even when we can’t see through the fog in front of us God can and sometimes He uses the weirdest, wackiest things to let us know He’s with us.

Even a meddlesome donkey, a depressed dog and all your nosy neighbors!

Camy here: Thanks, Deb! Now doesn’t that make you want to go out and buy copies of this book for all your friends???

I will give a Mount Hermon recap later.

Popular Posts

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

What Is a Brutus Cut? A Regency Hair Trend Inspired by Ancient Rome

Regency Haircuts and Disguises in Lady Wynwood’s Spies In this excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor , Phoebe prepares for a dangerous mission—one that requires her to disguise herself as a young man. The hairstyle she receives, called a Brutus cut, was actually quite fashionable during the Regency. Read on to find out more about this curious trend and why it suited her new identity so well. Excerpt from Lady Wynwood’s Spies, Volume 8: Traitor : By far, the absolute worst part of Uncle Sol’s plan was that Phoebe had to cut her hair. Of the four agents, Phoebe and Mr. Coulton-Jones would be the least likely to be recognized when they entered the Ramparts building—Mr. Coulton-Jones, because of his skill in altering his facial features and his posture, and Phoebe, because she could play a convincing young man, which no one would expect. A disreputable hat would hide her long hair to an extent, but it would not fool anyone who looked closely. Also, because she would lo...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...