Welcome to the Porch

October 25, 2026

Every Southern house worth visiting has a porch, and every good porch has a chair waiting for whoever comes up the steps. That's what I want this journal to be. A place to sit a while, catch your breath, and talk about the things that matter.

I write Christian women's fiction set in a small Southern town. My stories are about women who have been through something, who carry grief or regret or a heart that's been bruised, and who find out that God isn't finished with them yet. Second chances are woven through my first novel, Bluebonnets and Magnolias, because I believe in them. I believe in them for homecomings, for families, for faith, and for the parts of ourselves we thought were lost for good.

So what will you find here? Mostly, you'll find me thinking out loud. I'll share how my characters come to life, piece by piece. I'll write about the small-town settings I love, the food and the front pews and the gossip at the hardware store. I'll write about grief, because my stories are full of it, and about hope, because I don't think grief gets the last word. I'll write about the women who shaped me, especially my grandmothers, whose names I carry as Susie Blue.

I won't pretend to have everything figured out. Writing a novel is humbling. Some days the words come easy and some days I stare at a blank page and pray for one decent sentence. I'll be honest with you about both kinds of days. I think there's something comforting about knowing that the people who make the things we love are just people, muddling through and trusting the process.

I also hope this can be a conversation, even if it's a quiet one. When you read these posts, I hope you'll think about your own story. The people who raised you. The places you come from. The losses that changed you and the mercies that carried you through. Fiction has a way of holding up a mirror, and sometimes the stories we read help us make sense of the stories we live.

There's no schedule of grand announcements here. Just a steady, weekly visit. Think of it like Sunday dinner, the kind where you know there'll be a seat for you and something warm on the table. Some weeks will be light and funny. Some will be tender. All of them will be honest.

If you've signed up for my newsletter, thank you. If you haven't yet, there's a spot for that on the site, and I'd love to have you. Either way, you're welcome here.

Pull up a chair. Pour yourself a glass of sweet tea. Let's talk about stories, and about the grace that shows up in the middle of them. I'm so glad you came by.

Thank you for sitting a while. If you'd like the next letter from home in your inbox, along with news about Bluebonnets and Magnolias as it comes, you're welcome here.