I want to confess that I am a total sucker for emotional manipulation in visual media. Whenever you’re supposed to cry in a movie, I’m sobbing. I will even cry during certain commercials, especially those touching ones that air around Christmas. And I will always start craving food when I see commercials for them, especially the ones showing pizza, fried chicken, and french fries. So I shouldn’t be surprised that when I was watching a Chinese romantic comedy TV series on Netflix, I was completely influenced by a certain character who appeared around midseason who loves making Chinese tea Gongfu style. In fact, he was making tea in practically every episode after he was introduced. I tried Gongfu style tea brewing when I first did my reviews of Adagio/Masters Teas a few months ago. I had done research on it, but apparently there are lots of different articles on Gongfu, which give different amounts of tea, water temps, and steeping times. I don’t know if the method I used then was...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 12 December 28th The next morning, as Gerard lounged in bed wearing a banyan, Maddox asked in long-suffering accents, “Will you attend the skating party today, sir?” He hesitated before answering. He had no wish to be cooped up, but he also had no wish to sit on the sidelines with the women, or worse, to be shoved about on the ice in a sled like an old man. It was also a jostling carriage ride to the particular lake that had frozen over enough for skating. There was a knock at the door, and Maddox had no sooner opened it than Miranda's voice asked, “Is he giving you a bear garden jaw, Maddox? Or is he pouting and refusing to stir?” “Neither, you heartless wench,” Gerard shouted to the open door. “I have another poultice,” came the disembodied voice. “I...

I know this news is a bit last minute, but I volunteered to be a last-minute replacement for our church’s worship leader tomorrow, and our church service will be streamed online so if you’d like, come watch. It starts exactly at 9:45 am West Coast time, and the service runs for about an hour (it might be less). For the first song, I’m singing one of my favorites, “Hills and Valleys” by Tauren Wells , which I’m actually rather excited about. It think it’s pretty appropriate for current events, but also I really love the message of the song. I've walked among the shadows You wiped my tears away And I've felt the pain of heartbreak And I've seen the brighter days And I've prayed prayers to Heaven From my lowest place And I have held Your blessings God, You give and take away No matter what I have, Your grace is enough No matter where I am, I'm standing in Your love On the mountains, I will bow my life To the One who set me there In the valley, I w...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 11 December 27th After Miranda had put the children to bed after dinner, she entered the drawing room and immediately saw Gerard in the far corner. It seemed she could always find him in a crowded room, which was why she had noticed that he had seemed preoccupied all day. It was more than the seriousness of the situation, or frustration that the men who had attacked them had not yet been found. There was a deadness in his eyes, and an increased tension along his jaw, which made her concerned about him. It was as though he was in deep pain, but not from his body. Tonight, he sat with his mother while a large number of the party played at Charades in front of the roaring fire. His mother watched the players and laughed at their wild antics, but Gerard barely looke...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 10 December 26th The day after the attack, Gerard awoke early in the morning to stabbing pain in his entire leg. His knee had swelled as large as the Christmas pudding, and the throbbing had kept him from falling asleep. He had never been a docile patient, but injury had always made him feel like a baited bear, and inclined to roar just as loudly. Such was his peevish temper when his father’s valet, Maddox, entered his bedroom earlier than usual. Gerard should have been grateful he had come, but the agony in his knee had somehow traveled up his body into a headache raging against the backs of his eyeballs. “What do you want?” he demanded. “I have a poultice, sir, sent by Miss Miranda.” “Well, you can take it away,” he said perversely. He ought to do somethin...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 9 At first, Miranda was too startled and too distraught to think. She could only feel. The fine wool of his coat against her cheek, his hand at her waist, the other at her back, pressing her close. The smell of mint, and somehow, the wildness of the sea. A sudden burst of women’s laughter from the open door to the ballroom down the hallway made them both jump apart. And yet even out of his embrace, Miranda still felt … anchored. She couldn’t look at him. He would see her pain, scraped raw by too many months in this house, and her desperation as she tried to snatch at the unraveling threads of who she was. “What is it, Miranda?” She simply shook her head. The music from the ballroom drifted to them, lilting strains in counterpoint to laughter and gaiety. She ...

Free Christian Regency Romantic Suspense This post is part of my serialized novel, The Spinster’s Christmas. If you’re new, you can begin with the summary and complete chapter list on the Intro Page . *** Chapter 8 Gerard had been helpless. Too helpless to do anything for her. He had wanted to shout at them all to stop laughing at her, or perhaps go to her, take her hand, and pull her from the dining room. But anything of the sort would only embarrass her further. He saw the pain in her eyes, and he saw the mask of calm settle over her face. He had never fully realized it was a mask until that moment. There was a great deal about her that he didn’t know. That he hadn’t cared to know. He wanted to know all those things now. Perhaps not at this exact moment. First he had to walk again, properly, without this cursed cane. He wanted to be whole again, and independent, and regain some measure of self-respect. Also at this exact moment, he had to somehow escape the two c...