Tag Archive | Craft fair

Newsletter – October 2025

Oct31

Happy Halloween!

My best holiday memories come from Christmas, but Halloween comes in second. I’ve always loved dressing up in costumes, and candy… well… it’s definitely a friend of mine. Sometimes, I wish I was more like my husband, who doesn’t care for chocolate–or sweets in general. I, however, have never met a candy bar I didn’t like.

I think back fondly to the days of Trick-or-Treating. Walking from house to house, toting a pillow case that I would desperately try to fill with treats. Pillow cases worked great for that, and I don’t see kids using them for that purpose much anymore. They’re missing out! You can make a good haul in a pillow case.

I realize things have changed over the years. Parents aren’t as comfortable letting their children roam the streets, and that’s sad. In my day, we went out fearlessly without our parents. A lot of families now opt for the Trunk-or-Treat venues at churches and businesses, seeing them as a safer alternative. I admit, that’s fun, too! I now participate in Trunk-or-Treat at my own church, and every year I try to come up with some creative way to decorate the trunk of my car. This year, we ended having to move the event indoors, due to rain, but it was still fun. We decorated tables instead of trunks, and the kids seemed just as pleased. After all, we loaded them down with candy! Can’t go wrong there.

Here’s a photo from my trunk last year. I’ve always loved castles! Plus, I got to dress up like a princess. That was fun! This, year, I fell a bit short. Poor planning on my part. Let’s just say, I won’t be posting a picture of that!

So, tonight, I plan to stay home and pass out candy. Hopefully, we’ll have more than three trick-or-treaters this year. We live in a fairly new neighborhood, and there aren’t a lot of children here. Of course, I always buy candy that I like to eat, in the event there are leftovers. Quite likely.

As for my writing… I’m thrilled to say that “Ardent Adelia” is finally in the publishing stage. Woo-hoo! I hope that by this time next week, it will be live on Amazon. So, stay tuned for that notice.

November will be a very busy month for me as far as in-person events. Tomorrow, November 1st, I will be at the McGavock High School Craft Fair, 3150 McGavock Pike, Nashville, TN. The event is from 9:00 till 4:00, and there will be many vendors selling a variety of crafts. Lots of goodies for the coming holidays! I’ve done this event now for about five years, and it’s always fun.

On November 8th, I’ll be at the Highland Chapel Union Church Ladies Aide Bazaar in Ridgetop, TN, from 9:00 till 2:00.

Lastly, on Friday, November 21st, and Saturday, November 22nd, I will be at the Robco Christmas Classic. This is another craft fair with many vendors, and it’s being held at the Robertson County Fairgrounds in Springfield, TN. Friday is preview night from 5:00-8:00 p.m., and Saturday, the event will be from 10:00 until 4:00.

I love going out, meeting people, and introducing my books to new readers! I hope to see you at one of these events. Be sure to stop by my booth and say hello.

I truly do love this time of year. The back-to-back holidays provide wonderful opportunities to celebrate with family and friends. Plus, we can make great memories to cherish forever!

God bless you all, always!

Jeanne

Newsletter – September 2025

Sep30

Sometimes, it’s hard to know what I should write about in my newsletters. My heart has been leading me to talk about all of the discontent and sadness going on around me, but I like to approach things in an uplifting way. Why expose all of you to even more negativity?

All I’m going to say about the state of the country is this: show love and stop the hate. We all have differences in what we believe, but we should never try to hurt people we disagree with. Enough said….

I’ve been keeping myself extra busy. This is the time of year when I attend quite a few craft fairs. I love getting out, meeting new people, and being able to tell them about my books! Plus, the atmosphere of these fairs is so joyful, it really helps my spirit.

The photo below was taken at “Autumn in the Brier,” which was held the past month in Greenbrier, TN. And this is pretty much what you’ll see if you come to any of the craft fairs I attend–unless I’m sharing my booth with another author, which I frequently do. When that happens, we split the table, and I consolidate my books on one side.

In October, I have two craft fairs on my calendar. On Saturday, October 4th, I’ll be with Darcy Flynn at Hermitage Presbyterian Church, 421 Highland View Drive, Hermitage, TN, from 9:00 till 3:00. Darcy writes excellent, sweet romance, and she and I have been doing this particular event together for the last five years. You can look forward to numerous craft vendors, along with excellent entertainment and food. There are also hands-on activities for children, so it’s a good event for the whole family.

On Saturday, October 11th, I’ll be with J.L. Lawrence at the Creepy Cryptids Monster Market, Monterey Station, 104 Monterey Street, Cowan, TN, from 10:00 till 5:00. J.L. writes incredible, epic fantasy, and she also has some wonderful, contemporary Christmas romance books. This is another big craft fair with plenty of unique items to choose from. Since Halloween is just around the corner, this event will allow you the chance to try out your costume. They’re having a costume contest for all ages, a scavenger hunt, and lots of door prizes!

Both of these craft fairs have plenty of free parking and free admission. It looks like we’ll have great weather, too, so I hope you can attend!

“Ardent Adelia” is in my editor’s hands, and I hope by the time I write next-month’s newsletter, I can tell you that it’s available for purchase. I’ve been getting some excellent feedback from my beta readers, and I can’t wait for this book to go live! It’s been a long time coming, and Adelia is more than ready to have her story read.

I hope you’re having a lovely autumn! I’ve been enjoying the cooler temperatures at night, and I look forward to when those temps also claim the daylight hours. Some nice seventies would be great!

Take care, and keep smiling!

With love always,

Jeanne

Newsletter, May 2025

May30

Hello Friends!

As a child, May Day meant sneaking up to neighbors’ doors and putting a homemade basket filled with fresh-picked flowers on their doorknob, knocking, and running away–hoping not to be discovered. Every May 1st, I always hoped I could find some flowers to fill those baskets, and not just dandelions. So, to me, May Day had everything to do with surprising someone with a floral arrangement that might not be the prettiest they’d ever seen, but it still held a lot of love.

I don’t think children follow that tradition any longer. Correct me if I’m wrong! Of course, things have dramatically changed in society since I was a little girl. Sadly, nowadays, if someone sneakily stuck something on our doorknob and ran off, we’d be paranoid to even open the door. Also, as parents, we generally discourage our children to go up to the doors of strangers. On the bright side, in our neighborhood, we do have some children who know us and occasionally, we get a knock on our door from them when they’re doing fundraisers for school. I’ve bought candles I don’t need–and candy bars–but it feels good to support their activities.

So, back to May Day. I didn’t receive any kind of basket or May 1st greeting, but that’s okay. I’ve been blessed throughout this month with flowers. Some I grew myself, and others were given to me.

My little garden is coming to life, but this photo doesn’t do it justice. The shrubs in the forefront are a lovely shade of yellow-green, so try to imagine that!

I was given a peony bush several years ago from a dear friend, and up until this year, it only had one bloom. I was able to enjoy more this year! I guess the bush has finally gotten ‘settled in.’ Joining it in this arrangement are some of my knock-out roses. They tend to do well every year.

Last, but not least by any means, is a photo of a beautiful arrangement given to me by another friend as a thank-you for helping her out with her daughter’s wedding. I don’t feel I did much! I think I was more of a moral support than anything, but it was so sweet of her to gift me with these flowers.

I realize that this isn’t my typical newsletter, but I felt compelled to share this with you. So often, we get caught up in the world’s negativity that it’s nice to remember that if we just look, we can see the beauty that it constantly produces.

I find it interesting that the term ‘mayday’ means help me. I’d never before associated May Day with mayday, but in respect to this newsletter, I think the two go hand in hand. Perhaps you needed a little pick-me-up and were feeling the cry of “mayday, mayday.” I hope that I helped a little!

In addition to enjoying flowers this month, I’ve also been doing a lot of writing. I’m on track to have Ardent Adelia finished by the end of June. Of course, I always say “barring any unforeseen event.” We never know when life will knock us sideways. Still, I’m hopeful.

I’m also excited to be doing some book-related events. Tomorrow, you can find me in Manchester, TN, with my fellow author and friend, J.L. Lawrence. She writes epic fantasy as well as sweet, contemporary love stories. We’ll be at the Mystical Magical Mayhem Crafts Show at the Manchester Rotary Park Greenway. 94 McGuire Street, Manchester, TN. The event is from 10:00 till 5:00, and since it’s outside in a park, we’re praying for rain-free weather. We’ll both have a large selection of our books to sign and sell. I hope to see you there!

Next week, I’ll be presenting two writing workshops at the Clarksville Writers Conference in Clarksville, TN. June 4th-6th. You can still register for this awesome event! For more information, check out their website: https://clarksvillewritersconference.com/

I hope you’ve had a wonderful May and maybe enjoyed some flowers of your own! Never forget to look for the beauty in the world, especially on days that seem extraordinarily glum.

Love you all!

Jeanne