Candace “Candleshine” Thatcher dedicates her life to nursing and loses her heart to Lieutenant Jeffrey Fairfax during World War 2. The wounded Marine washes up on an island in the South Pacific where Candleshine and survivors from their sunken ship are stranded.
Promises made under threat of invasion must be postponed. Nursing in the jungle requires service beyond the call of duty by Candleshine and her two fellow nurses.
Separation from Jeffrey follows evacuation under fire. Can a love born in the midst of war survive? Will Jeffrey ever return to his beloved Montana cattle ranch with Candleshine as his wife?
Colleen L. Reece’s 180 “Books that You Can Trust to Inspire and Entertain,” have sold 6,000,000 copies.
A quintet of related novels, each complete in itself, set in a Seattle Washington hospital conceived in prayer and dedicated to serving as Jesus served.
Five dedicated nurse friends solve mysteries and find love at Shepherd of Love Hospital. Available as a print collection, and as Kindle and print singles. Each title is complete in itself but flows into the next. Like reading one long, exciting story.
#1. Lamp in Darkness. Jonica flees from heartbreak.
#2. Flickering Flames. Nancy is the victim of prejudice.
#3. A Kindled Spark. Lindsey faces forces intent on destroying her beloved hospital.
#4. Glowing Embers. Shina is torn between love and the need to honor her father and mother.
#5. Hearth of Fire. Patti takes desperate measures to escape a stalker.
The quote, “Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!” from The Wizard of Oz created shivers and excitement in anticipation for what lay ahead.
“Heroes, Heroines, and Villains, Oh My!” does the same for characters in novels.
I love telling stories and finding settings, but the best part of writing fiction or novels based on truth is creating characters. Decades ago, I cut appropriate pictres out of magazines and posted them by my typewriter. Now my editor/publisher graciously allows me to “find” my characters and backgrounds online and submit sample covers.
It takes hours to discover what I see in my mind and transfer to my computer, but it’s worth it.
Here are some of my favorite Heroes, Heroines, and Villains (Oh My!)
Candace Thatcher and Jeffrey Fairfax from the soon-to-be-released Candleshine’s High Calling. A courageous nurse and a brave Marine lieutenant serve God and their wounded companions while trapped on an island in the South Pacific during World War II. I admire them immensely.
Nurse friends dedicated to serving others at a special Seattle hospital: Jonica in Lamps of Courage.Nancy in Flickering Flames.Lindsey in A Kindled spark. Shina in Glowing Embers.Patti in Hearth of Fire. They stand for the best.
ViIlains from the same series.
Troublemaker Lacy Jones-Duncan, determined to capture the doctor she once scorned. Curtis Barton, the despair of his doctor brother’s life. Dr.Keppler, plotting to ruin the hospital. Racist Schwartz, creating terror for those he hates. Pilot Chales Bradley, stalks Patti.
Lexington Elaine LeClair, too tall, too shy, too over-looked. There is a lot of me in her. I started school when I was five and skipped 5th grade. Not all of my new classmates welcomed me.
Benjamin, the young shepherd stays behind to care for the sheep, then finds the manger at Bethlehem empty when he finally arrives seeking the Christ-child.
Villains
Darius, the miser, old enough to be Michal’s grandfather, but determined to marry her. Jethro, from whose house Sabra, a servant, flees.
Anne Carroll accepts singleness as God’s plan, until golden-haired Paul Hamilton, wearing the face of an angel, comes into her life. Is he a knight in shining armor, or the worst kind of hypocrite?
Can Anne, who has been raised to “tell the truth and shame the devi;” do so when what she knows can mean ruin to her beloved pastor father? I applaud her steadfast determination to fight evil.
Juli Scott Mysteries
Juli Scott, the heroine in this series, is a lot like me. We are both strong Christians and depend on God to get us through tough times. Juli visits the Skagit Inn which overlooks the Skagit River in western Washington where I dreamed of building a colonial mansion should I ever be rich! We both determined we’d become authors. Juli and her Lunch Bunch love solving mysteries. I’m glad I could join them!
Boxed set of 7; author’s response to Nancy Drew. Also available as single Kindle and print titles.
Mysterious Monday: Why didn’t Juli’s Dad come home?
Trouble on Tuesday: Juli’s best friend vanishes.
Wednesday Witness: What did the Lunch Bunch see?
Thursday Trials: Who is persecuting Juli and her friends?
Friday Flight: An old enemy reappears.
Saturday Scare: Danger on Mount Rainier.
Sunday Suspicion: Who is threatening Principal Smiles.
Today I am 87 years young, the perfect day to look backwards and forward.
Birthdays in our family were always special. Meals ended with dessert of the birthday person’s choice. White cake with fudge frosting for me, banana whipped cream cake for my younger brother, and butterscotch pie for Dad–who “wasn’t much of a hand for cake.” I can’t remember Mom or my older brother’s favorite.
Certain birthdays stand out. A group of friends from a church 50 miles away surprised me with a potluck picnic at Clear Creek, a local campground, for my 17th birthday.
When I turned 40, a co-worker at Bonneville Power Administration (she was half my age) marveled, “I never knew anyone who was excited about getting to be 40!”
At 70, my brother asked, “What is different from when you turned 60?” I thought for a moment, then said, “Well, it takes me 15 minutes longer to mow my lawn.”
Before Mom passed on at almost 96, she asked my brother and family to always remember my birthday. They have, with whomever is available. Meals at home, or in nice restaurants, family get-togethers, a day at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, a stage play of “Brigadoon.” One year, I reversed the trend and took everyone to the Old Spaghetti Factory.
This year was no exception to my family’s faithfulness. Day before yesterday, my sister-in-law and oldest niece took me to lunch at a favorite place. To my delight, my niece pulled up three of her four out-of-state daughters on her phone. How exciting to see their smiling faces, hear their “Happy Birthdays,” visit with them, and hear them say, “I love you.”
I am now the last of my immediate family. If Randy were still here to ask, “So, what is different at 87 than at 70 or 75?”
My answer? “Well, I can no longer do everything I once could, but I am so grateful for the many things I can do. And that I am not afraid to recognize, accept, and admit my limitations.”
The best thing is, God always supplies help when I need it. Examples.
For the past several years, a wonderful neighbor mows my lawn–a young man now in college who I have known since he was a child.
Across-the-street neighbors keep close watch and are here when I need them. Including telephone calls if my garage door is still open after dark.
NML. (No more ladders.) The last time I climbed up to change a light bulb in the garage, I looked down at the cement floor and asked myself, “What are you doing up here? This is not smart.” The next time a bulb needed changing, I snagged my long-term mail carrier when he was taking a walk while off duty. He was happy to help, then and at other times.
My yard needed major work this year. I invested in a big clean-up. My next-door neighbor’s daughter, who I had watched grow up, her husband, and two hardworking kids spent hours pruning shrubs, edging, hauling and spreading a gazillion bags of decorative bark, and taking away the debris. The father will come back when it rains (hopefully soon,) clean the roof and gutters, and sprinkle with moss prevention, things I did for many more years than would be expected!
Looking back
I have lived in the same home in a quiet cul-de-sac for more than 40 years, surrounded by those who love and care for me. I love the song “Count Your Blessings,” written in 1897 by Johnson Oatman, Jr.
When upon life billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost. Count your many blessings every doubt will fly, And you will be singing as the days go by.
Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your blessings, see what God has done. Count your blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings see what God has done.
Ten years ago, after being diagnosed with cancer and beginning chemotherapy prior to surgery, my doctors asked what I considered was bringing me through with flying colors. I replied, “Four F’s–faith, family, friends, and St. Francis [the hospital].”
The first three still apply. Unexpected blessings, big and small, brighten my life. Yesterday I received a card from a former neighbor who has kept in touch and comes to visit me through all the years since they moved. The cover shows roses, like the ones we both grow. Her message brought a rush of memories and gratitude.
“It’s been 44 years since we first met you and your mom. How fortunate we were that God drew us to that house across the street. You have been a light of God in our lives and so many others. Your humility and joy in the Lord inspires others. We love you.”
The card will go in my cherished keepsakes box.
Looking ahead
I have no idea what the future holds. This I know. God will continue to guide, surprise, and care for me as He always has. Every morning I thank Him for another day to love and serve Him by serving others. I praise Him every evening for keeping me safe. Rich in faith, family, and friends, I am of all people, most blessed.
Years ago, I witnessed an incident that brought tears. A teen girl who thought she was better than everyone else held a slumber party. She invited every girl in her class except one shy, often ignored classmate. The cruel act destroyed what little self-esteem the outcast girl had. It took years for her to see and accept herself as a person of worth.
Looking for Lexi
Decades later, I needed a heroine for #11 of my Cherished Romances series. Remembering that mean girl’s action, I asked myself, “How would I have handled it if I had been the one left out?”
Would I have retreated inside myself and licked my wounds?
Pretended I didn’t care?
Decided to fight back? If so, how?
Ideas began to sprout. Suppose I became important, a person my former classmates finally had to respect? Excitement and compassion filled me. Lexington Elaine LeClair would fulfill my long-held wish to bring good from evil.
It wouldn’t be easy. Haunted by the past, Lexi faces a long, rocky road to self-acceptance and the possibility of finding love. Yet I would walk with her every step of the way.
Summary.
Lexi LeClair stands at a crossroads. Dare she follow the advice of her favorite author Emilie Loring in There is Always Love, 1940?
“There is only one common-sense move when you don’t like your life. Do something about it. Get out. Go somewhere. Follow a rainbow. Who knows? You may find the legendary pot of gold at the end of it.”
Or will she remain lonely and imprisoned behind the wall she has built in an effort to protect herself from more rejection and pain?
Summoning up the courage of her ancestors who founded her hometown in British Columbia, Lexi leaves LeClair to attend college in Bellingham, Washington in hopes of becoming a different person. Yet she is still the shy outsider, in spite of popular Sally Marshall, who tries to instill confidence in the heart-sick girl.
A sermon by campus chaplain Scott Downing that every life counts, jolts Lexi. He singles her out, but how can she compete with an unscrupulous new student who is obsessed with Scott and determined to win him?
A diabolical scheme tarnishes Scott’s reputation. Lexi turns to God, praying for release from the prison of her own making. He hears and answers. Yet the troubled girl wonders: does Scott still care?
Colleen asked me to share the interview I had with her and posted over on Andi’s Blog.
Colleen is one of the judges to help choose the top 3 stories in the Summer Writing contest. Let’s learn more about Miss Colleen L. Reece!
1. Tell my readers a little about yourself; where you grew up and what it was like.
I was born in the little logging town of Darrington in western WA on October 1, 1935. I learned to read beneath the rays of a kerosene lamp in a home without electricity or running water. Our home had once been a one-room school where Mom taught all eight grades. The cloak room became my bedroom.
2. How old were you when you first discovered you loved to write, and what did you write?
As soon as I learned to read and write, about age 4—all kinds of stories that had been running around in my head.
3. What was your first published work?
My first writing “sale” followed a June 3, 1947letter to a radio contest. I was eleven years old, and my parents could not afford very much in those days. I wrote this letter and won a bicycle!
Dear Free for All,
I’ve heard of the “Gang” as you call them and if they can’t guess this, something is wrong. Because, it’s easy as pie.Most of the children around here have bicycles, but I don’t have. Daddy goes up every day to fall timber (as we live in the heart of the timber country) and by the time he gets home, the store is closed. But if I had a bicycle, I could go to town and bring thing [sic] home in the day-time. Although there are lots of trees around here, money doesn’t grow on trees and neither do bicycles.
I’ve written before and so, Free for All, if you don’t send me a bicycle pronto, I’m going to spend more money in postage writing to you than the bicycle costs.
If I won it, I would be the happiest girl in the Universe. There is one chance in a million and I’m taking it.I wrote in on a quiz once and I won some money so I’m signing myself
The Lucky Girl, Colleen Reece
4. What were some boulders on your rocky road to becoming an author?
Boulder #1 – When I was 17, I wrote The Staircase Mystery by kerosene lamp light, a full-length novel designed to out-Nancy Nancy Drew, and out-Hardy the Hardy Boys. I typed it on cheap paper, underlined the title in red (gasp) and submitted again and again. Two-and-a-half years later, I received a contract. The company loved and praised the book—and wanted me to send them $1,800 to publish it! I did not do it and thank God my yellowed-page, unsold manuscript still lies in my closet and shouts, “amateur” at me. Years and years later, Mrs. Marlow and I spent time together at a writers renewal. She brought an early work, and I brought The Staircase Mystery. We laughed so hard it is a wonder why didn’t fall off the beds.
Some good did come from those books. Our first works did have interesting characters, settings, and plots. We knew we could finish a complete book. I also learned what a vanity press was: Publishers who ask for money for books like mine that should NOT be published.
Boulder #2 – Decades after that early Staircase incident, I wanted to write an inspirational romance. Unwilling to spend a whole year writing a manuscript and then finding out I probably couldn’t sell it, I wrote one chapter and submitted it. World. Class. Dumb. Three days later (and this was before email!), I got a letter saying that the editor really liked my chapter and (gasp!) wanted to see the whole manuscript! I figured I’d just blown my chance for a contract because I did not have the entire book written. The happily-ever-after is that I finished that book fast, and she bought it. The Heritage of Nurse O’Hara, my first novel, came out in January 1977. I sold Avalon Books ten more titles. Moral to this story? Before contacting a publisher, at least have a good first draft completed.
5. How many published books do you have in print?
More than 175, with 6 million copies sold.
6. Which is your favorite kid series that you wrote, and why is it your favorite?
The Juli Scott Mysteries: Mysterious Monday Trouble on Tuesday, Wednesday Witness, Thursday Trials, Friday Flight, Saturday Scare, and Sunday Suspicion.
There is a lot of me in this series. Julie and I are strong Christians. We both wanted to be an author. Juli dreams of building a colonial mansion overlooking the Skagit River, which I wanted to do if I ever got rich and famous. Neither of us ever did, but in the books, Juli’s friend Shannon’s grandfather built the Skagit Inn in the exact spot (an important part of the series).
7. Many aspiring young authors wonder if they can make a career out of writing what they love. Very few authors can make that work. You are a success story. How did that happen?
I was working and winning honors (Secretary/Administrative Assistant of the Year) at a good-paying government job in the summer of 1977. I’d had a couple of inspirational novels published and had just finished Belated Follower, my one and only Biblical novel, a book I felt compelled to write. While driving to work one morning, I prayed, “Lord, what am I doing spending most of my time and energy on the job? I could be making the world a better place with my writing.”
I listed all the reasons that was not practical, then found myself writing down, “I feel like Peter, James, and John must have felt when Jesus called them to leave all and follow Him. I gave notice that same day. The summons to serve Jesus was so powerful it outweighed all the obstacles, then and ever since.
8. What do you always keep in mind when you are writing?
To write only those things I feel God leads me to write, and to honor Him by making sure everything I do is acceptable to Him.
9. What are your recent titles, and what are you working on right now?
I recently did a revision of my finest book ever, Belated Follower, the book that led me to walk off my job into full-time freelance writing. An interesting note: Written in 1977, it was not published until 1995. However, when it came out, it brought in more praise than all my other titles combined. God’s timing is perfect. He knew I needed those extra years of growing as an author to do this special story justice.
Lexi’s Last Chance will be published soon. A shy Canadian girl, the only one not invited to her high school graduation party, moves to the United States . . . and vows to become someone who will gain respect from those who persecuted her. Among my favorite titles.
10. Most of us know you as a successful novelist, but during your career as a writer, you have written much more than novels. What other ways have you been published?
Over 1,300 short stories and articles in magazines, mostly Christian, as well as many inspirational gift books, especially Walking with the Master (God’s provision and protection all the days of my life). From Lamplight to Limelight, Journey of Joy, written at students’ requests, shows how God multiplied the “someday” book I wanted to write as a child and led me to become a best-selling author.
11. Have any of your books been translated into other languages? If so, which ones?
Several of my older books have. A Gold Star for Eric, the true story of a little boy who lived with my parents and me from age 8 to 18, started out as a short stories serial in church weekly take-home handouts. In 1989, the stories became a book, which later was translated into Spanish and Portuguese. The Portuguese edition has sold over 28,000 copies and continues to touch lives for Christ throughout Brazil.
12. You are advanced in years, Colleen, yet still writing strong! What is an important piece of advice you can give to young writers who would like to emulate your success?
Yes, I’m 86 on the outside but always young on the inside! Advice? Learn all you can about the craft of writing. I never had the opportunity to take writing classes and workshops, although starting in 1979 I began teaching them (from having developed expertise in the field). I was fortunate in having editors who saw potential in me and went out of their way to mentor me. Unfortunately, editors today can’t or won’t take time to mentor beginning authors.
Find yourself someone with whom to share. For over 25 years, Mrs. Marlow and I have brainstormed, and monitored each other’s work. Most importantly: Write what you feel God wants you to write and never compromise your ideals in order to get published.
The best test of any manuscript is whether you would be proud to show it to Jesus.
Thank you so much, Miss Colleen Reece, for taking your time to share with us. I loved your interview and I hope other readers enjoyed it too!
With more than 190,000 books in print, former writing student, long-term friend, and award-winning author of Wholesome Books for Kids, Susan K. Marlowis one of the best writers I have ever had the privilege of instructing.
Her newest post on her popular ANDI’S BLOG, copied with her permission, shows why. It is an excellent example of how deeply a dedicated writer’s work can affect others. This morning’s entry left me in tears and I had to share it with all of you.
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You can see more Peek Behind the Curtain posts in Andi’s Attic >>
This peek behind the curtain gives you a look at why I wrote what I did when Jed is about to die. He has endured much abuse at the hands of Mateo Vega [a really bad outlaw] in order to save Andi and baby Jared. He makes his final speech as he’s dying. [scene excerpt follows]
“I’m tired of runnin’ from the law.” Jed sucked in another agonizing breath. “Tired of runnin’ from God.” He patted her arm. “I told Him so too.”
Andi sat still, daring to hope. What was Jed saying?
“Can I ask you somethin’ . . . little lady?” Talking was becoming more difficult. For sure, Jed’s ribs were broken. His voice fell to a labored whisper.
“Ask me anything.” Andi leaned her ear close to his lips to catch his next words.
“Will that Christ you’re always prayin’ to remember me if I ask Him? I got a hankerin’ to see them . . . golden streets.”
Andi held Jed’s hand. “The thief on the cross asked the same thing, ‘Remember me,’ and Jesus said, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.’”
Jed let out a slow breath. “That’s what I want. Will you help me ask Him?”
I wanted Jed to figure out his wrong ways and find Christ, and I also wanted to make use of a favorite hymn of mine, “Are Ye Able?” I was able to use both ideas in Jed’s “death” scene. But I was not able to use the song itself in the book, like I’ve used other songs. Why not? Because the song wasn’t written until 1926, and this story is set in 1887. Too bad!
The first verse of this old hymn goes like this: “Are ye able,” said the Master, “to be crucified with me?” “Yea,” the sturdy dreamers answered, “To the death we follow Thee!” (but they ran away). The second verse always touches me, so I created a video to go with verse two and the chorus.
Now, you know a little “peek” at how this small but important plot event came to be.
Special Note from Colleen: This scene would not have been believable if Jed hadn’t shown he wasn’t completely bad by risking his life to save Andi and her baby. Thank you, Susan, for giving Jed the same hope the thief on the cross had when he confessed his sins and cried out for Jesus to remember him. Andi will never forget.
God truly moves in mysterious ways to accomplish His purposes. I learned this in August of 1977, when He unfolded His plans for me in a way beyond my wildest imaginings.
It started with a whisper: Write a novel set in the time of Christ. I immediately dismissed the idea. Who was I, who had only sold a couple of inspirational romances, to even consider such a task? I knew and loved the Bible stories but wasn’t familiar enough with the times and customs to do a Biblical novel justice.
In spite of serious misgivings, characters and events I could include in such a book flooded my mind. The whisper grew louder, accompanied by God’s word to Habakkuk (2:2-3), “And the Lord answered me and said, ‘Write the vision and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time . . . wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.’”
Neither could I tarry. I accepted the challenge with fear and trembling and began writing Belated Follower.
I had wondered from early childhood, “When the shepherds followed the angel message and went to see the Christ child, what about the sheep?” Their keepers surely didn’t leave the flock to the mercy of wild animals. Benjamin, the youngest shepherd in my book, would lay aside his disappointment and remain with the flock so his much-older father and friends could behold this wondrous thing. After they returned, he would go to see the newborn child.
I started waking up at 4:30, typing for two hours, then getting ready for my day job. The story poured out, unlike any before or since. The right scriptures came to mind. Biblical characters, and the fictional ones who interacted with them, became alive and real. Seventy-three-thousand words later, Belated Follower was a reality. I polished and submitted it to a leading Christian publisher. They loved the story, held it for two-and-a-half years, then decided they only wanted to do one Biblical novel, and contracted with a more established author.
During the next seventeen years, while sending to dozens of publishers who praised the book but didn’t want Biblical novels, I revised several times, cutting about 20,000 words. By the early 1990s, I had numerous highly praised novels with Heartsong Presents, which I’d helped launch (Barbour Books). My editor said if I would expand the romance, they would issue as a Heartsong. While revising, I thanked God that the story had not sold sooner. It needed the skills honed during the waiting years.
Fan mail poured in following publication in 1995—more than all my other books combined. Trade paperback and hardback Large Print editions followed. Yet years before the long-delayed success, the book I had feared to write had changed my life.
One morning while driving to my government job shortly after completing Belated Follower, I cried out, “Lord, what am I doing spending my time and energy winning honors at work when I could be helping make the world a better place with my writing?”
I thought of a well-loved passage from Emilie Loring’s 1937 inspirational novel, “There is Aways Love.”
“There is only one common sense move when you don’t like your life. Do something about it. Go somewhere. Follow a rainbow. Who knows, you may find the legendary pot of gold at the end of it.”
I liked my job, but I had dreamed of becoming a full-time author for years. What if simply quit my job at age forty-one and followed that dream?
I thought of the many obstacles inherent in such a decision. Yet the knowledge it was the right choice left me feeling as Peter, James, and John, must have felt when they left all to follow Jesus.
I gave notice that same day.
Forty-five years of writing, teaching, and mentoring others have passed, bringing sales of 175+ titles with 6,000,000 copies sold. None of my other books match Belated Follower. This new, revised edition reflects my current skills.
May you experience the joy and wonder I discovered follows when God calls us to seemingly impossible tasks, such as writing my one and only Biblical novel.
In Search of Christ and Love
Benjamin, the youngest shepherd, is left to care for the sheep while his father and friends go to see the newborn Christ child. When Benjamin finally reaches the stable, the manger is empty.
Michal of Nazareth is pursued by a greedy merchant she despises, a man old enough to be her grandfather.
Ari takes up his father’s quest and desperately searches for Jesus, hoping to save his beloved mother’s life.
Sabra flees from the wicked master who caused her father’s death and forced her into slavery. Better to perish than to continue living in fear.Why is Jesus, reported to open blind eyes and heal lepers, always in the next village? Or just over the next hill? Will the weary travelers ever find Him?
Seventeen years in the writing and marketing, Colleen L. Reece (175+ books; 6,000,000 copies sold) considers her only Biblical novel her finest work. Many readers agree.
What is better than a good book? A trio of fun, inspirational titles.
Award-winning authors Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco present timeless tales to touch the heart. Filled with graphics, all are designed for the youngest through the oldest family members.
God Loves You Whoever You Are.
Old, young, short, tall, fat, thin, big, small. God loves you. Whoever or wherever we are, God loves us.
Katydidn’t
So what did Katy do?
Large green grasshoppers called katydids sing the Witherspoon family to sleep. The children wonder what Katy did, but the insects never tell. It takes a long, lonely day for a little girl to discover their secret and learn that being “Katydidn’t” isn’t fun after all.
Nine Tail Kitten.
Mother Cat was astonished. Father Cat was amazed. Grandmother Cat raised her paws. Never in all her born days had she seen anything like Christopher, her new grand-kitten. A story of giving.
Memorial Day, that used to be called “Decoration Day,” is a time of remembering for me. Every year, our family took flowers to the little Darrington, Washington cemetery, and decorated the graves of of those who had gone on ahead of us. Neighbors did the same.
When spring brought more showers than May flowers, we still had gigantic bouquets of lilacs. Decades later, I wrote and sold an article titled, “Always Lilas and Fruit Jars” multiple times. Folks had no money for vases, so we washed fruit jars until they sparkled, filled them with water at the cemetery spigot, and honored both military and non-military friends and relatives.
We then drove to Snohomish and decorated family graves there. Aunt Vera always had snowballs to mingle with our lilacs. A huge family dinner followed. Precious memories.
Another special memory is that on Memorial Day weekend, 1978, Mom and I moved from Vancouver, Washington to my present home in Auburn, Washington. For forty-four years I have lived in a quiet, caring cul-de-sac. Neighbors watch after me as if I was their grandmother. A college student mows my lawn. A young woman and her family (I watched her grow from child to wife and mother) are doing massive yardwork for me. God and life are good.
May you pause in your busy schedule to give thanks for those who gave and still give so much that we might be free.
In 1997, Julie Reece-DeMarco and I co-authored the first of more than a dozen books. We lost track of how many copies sold somewhere after 500,000.
Our new, revised editions (Kindle and print) feature a treasury of graphics.
It takes more than a diploma to get an “A” in life.
Best-selling co-authors Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco present a wealth of wisdom, humor, and inspiration. The perfect gift for high school and college graduates as they finish a chapter in their lives and prepare for what lies ahead.
“Life’s Little Lessons.” Things they never told you you’d need to know (or maybe you just weren’t listening).
“Study Partners.” The difference between pass and fail.
“School of Hard Knocks.” Learning from life’s painful lessons.
“Reading, Writing, Arithmetic.” And you thought school was over!
“Sunday School Lessons.” Spiritual guidance for every day of the week.
“Cliff Notes.” Before Jesus reached the mountain where he taught and helped others, first He had to climb. So do we.
Sample story: The Race
An unknown author tells the story of a race. Trembling with fear, hope, and excitement, runners line up. Parents and friends watch from the sidelines, cheering them on. The whistle blows. Off they go.
A boy in the lead thinks how proud his dad must be. The next moment, he slips and falls.
“Quit! Give up. You’re beaten!” the crowd jeers.
Stunned for a moment, the boy believes it. Then he sees his father’s face. He can almost hear his dad shout, “Get up and win the race!”
The runner leaps to his feet and races on, only to fall a second time, then a third! Three strikes and you’re out. Why go on? Yet above the taunts of the crowd, his father’s voice rings in his ears. “Get up and win the race!”
The boy again springs to his feet He knows he cannot win the race, but he will not quit. He hears the cheers for the winner and keeps on running. Head bowed, he comes in last, to louder cheers than the winner received. It is small comfort.
“l didn’t do well, Dad,” he sadly tells his father.
His father places his hands on the exhausted boy’s shoulders. “Son, to me you did win. Each time you fell, you kept going.”
The boy becomes a man. He faces dark, hard times. People still shout in his face, “Quit. Give up. You’re beaten.” Yet memories of the boy he once was remind him that all he has to do is to keep on getting up and going on.
For all through the years, his father’s voice still rings in his ears, “Get up and win the race!”
heart to Lieutenant Jeffrey Fairfax during World War 2. The wounded Marine washes up on an island in the South Pacific where Candleshine and survivors from their sunken ship are stranded.
e Thatcher and Jeffrey Fairfax
Lexington Elaine LeClair, too tall, too shy, too over-looked. There is a lot of me in her. I started school when I was five and skipped 5th grade. Not all of my new classmates welcomed me.
What is better than a good book? A trio of fun, inspirational titles. 
COLLEEN L. REECE 