About Me

I live on a farm. I grew up in the suburbs of D.C. and southern California then lived everywhere from Texas to the Carolinas. A few years ago, I moved with my three children to a slanted little house outside a tiny town in West Virginia. My family history here goes back over 200 years. After living in a 100-year-old farmhouse for two and a half years, we built a new farmhouse a few miles over the hill on our own farm on forty acres so remote you have to drive through three creeks in one direction or ford a river in the other to even get there.

This spring, we’re planting our first garden on our new farm and starting our first chicken flock. We’re planning miniature goats, a few cows, and a horse, too. Tomatoes, peppers, asparagus, blackberries and blueberries. And who knows what else. It’s all fun. I love my life.

I have a slight fixation with sheep.

I have a lot of pets, especially cats.

I also like to take pictures of outhouses.

I write books, too. You can find out more about my romance novels here. My books have been translated into dozens of languages and published all over the world.

I get excited about things like new farmgirl boots, thornless blackberries, and a perfect loaf of bread. I get especially excited about sheep. And outhouses.

Welcome to our journey into the simple, often vanishing, life of rural America in the country outside one tiny town in the Appalachian foothills as we find the true meaning of home–and life–outside the noise of suburban sprawl and suburban conveniences. I post daily in my farmhouse journal chronicling my photography, (sometimes silly, sometimes serious) stories, recipes, crafts, and sentimental thoughts on the history, people, life, and beauty of rural Appalachia. In my how-to pages, you’ll also find more detailed posts of our experiences and lessons learned in farming, cooking, simple living, and more. This blog has been featured in Living Appalachian and the Roane County Times Record.

Your company and your comments are appreciated. Feel free to email me using the contact link below, or drop a note in the blog.