Kim Janine Ligon

Journey Updates

I have a number of things to tell you. First, I know you have questions about my nephew. He continues to be blessed by miracles born of the constant stream of prayers flowing heavenward on his behalf. He is out of the ICU and in intermediate care. Still lots going on with wounds healing, dialysis, therapy, and feeding tube. He has a long way to go and we don’t know yet where his journey’s end will be. Thank you for your love and prayers. They mean the world to me and my family.

In February I attended the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference Notable Books annual awards. I was one of three finalists in traditionally published fiction for Landing on Her Feet. I remain a finalist but so appreciated the nomination.

I have the publication date for Those Ties That Bind. Drum roll please….July 31st. It will be here before we know it. It will be available for pre-ordering probably in late May. I’ll let you know. For those of you in the Tuscaloosa area I plan to have a book signing again at our local Barnes and Noble probably in early August. It will be available at the usual online outlets both in paperback and e-book formats. Here’s the back cover blurb:

Why are teenage mothers dying in the Garland Regional E.R. instead of delivering healthy babies for adoption at The Obstetrical Center? Something is seriously wrong. On her physician’s advice, Garland’s CEO Evelyn Langford reluctantly takes a long scheduled vacation for her fiftieth birthday leaving her team to conduct an investigation into Obstetrical Center.

Evelyn’s efforts to investigate the problem are hampered by her complicated relationships with her secretive brother, Frank, her subordinates, and, surprisingly, FBI Special Agent Rance Thompson, a new acquaintance, who comes to the small town to investigate possible links between the childbirth deaths and a string of teenage girl disappearances.

Will Frank’s increasingly erratic behavior and the growing attraction between Evelyn and the younger agent further complicate discovering the truth about the dying girls?

The other author journey excitement is I’ve signed a fourth contract with the fabulous Wild Rose Press and I’m working again with my wonderful editor, Dianne Rich. This is something completely different. It is a mostly Romance story set in 1860 in a castle in England near the Scottish border at Christmas time. It is part of the Christmas in the Castle series. It is called Matchmaking, Mistletoe, and A Moat. I am currently working on my first round of edits and hope to have it out this Christmas season.

And in between everything, I’ve been creating new buildings and putting the finishing touches on interiors and signage on existing buildings for my husband’s HO model railroad. It’s been wonderful fun to get back to it again. I need to do it while I still have steady enough hands and decent eyesight! I’ll send pictures in a future post.

Earlier this month we moved our plants out of their winter home in the kitchen and onto the screened in deck. They look quite happy there.

Wishing you very smooth journeys where you can enjoy the passing scenery and the ride!

The Hope of Spring

I always enjoy Springtime when the buds come out on trees and bulbs push their way up through the dirt to burst into colorful blooms. It is life affirming to me. Hopeful. There is a plan that all of nature follows. Year after year. It reminds me that a higher power than ourselves is keeping everything on course.

This year, Spring made itself known early. We’ve already had daffodils, tulip trees, forsythia, red buds, and this week, dogwoods, blooming. But I’ve been distracted by events happening hundreds of miles away in an ICU in a medical center in Iowa.

Since January 14th, my 35 year-old nephew has been battling against horrific odds to stay alive. He was admitted with pancreatitis and diagnosed with SUD. For those of you non-medical people, like me, that means Substance Use Disorder. His substance is alcohol. The same demon that plagued his father.

This 8 week ICU stay has included fourteen surgeries: complete removal of his colon (large intestine); removal of part of his pancreas; and removal of part of his small intestine resulting in an ileostomy. There have been dozens of units of blood, clotting factor, and plasma given. Heroic efforts have been made to stop his internal bleeding and to close and mange the incision in some fashion, difficult to do after so many times into the same incision. He ran dramatically high levels of lactic acid. Has been on tube feedings. Has had IV blood pressure support and dialysis to stay alive. He was intubated for an extended time resulting in damage to his vocal cords making him unable to speak. He was on a ventilator to assist his breathing for awhile and had a tracheostomy placed to support the ventilator use, also for comfort and to give his vocal cords some relief from having a tube down his throat. Then when things seemed to be improving they discovered he had a super-bug that would require a strong antibiotic to combat. He has been blessed with extraordinarily talented surgeons and medical staff.

His wife and mother (A PhD Nurse Practitioner) have lived at his bedside as much as possible. (His wife has had to go to work and care for their 12 year old and two 8 year olds). They have kept over four hundred people “in the loop” on his daily situation through a marvelous site called Caring Bridge. It was set up specifically for families needing to update friends and loved ones during a medical crisis in a secure, private way. It is a free service that depends upon donations to continue their wonderful work. Because of this link, people literally around the world have been able to share their prayers and love to strengthen my nephew, my sister, and their family.

So why am I sharing this story with you? There are several reasons:

If you are a substance user who can’t stop, whether it is alcohol or something else—please get help. Please don’t let it get to the point my nephew did. Look to Alcoholics Anonymous, your personal physician, Google your substance of choice and find out where to get help in your area. You aren’t only harming yourself. You are hurting your family, your friends. No one can make you stop. No one can force you to get treatment. You have to step up and recognize your personal responsibilities and treat your disease (SUD). I don’t want anyone to go through what my nephew is. He wants to live. He has a strong will to go forward. I wish he had reached out for help, rather than trying to go it on his own, and getting into a life-threatening situation. Protect yourself.

If someone you love has a substance use disorder disease, support them in their struggle and encourage them to find help. Knowing they are loved can only help.

If you are a blood donor, God Bless you. In large part because of blood donors my nephew has made it this far. If you’ve never donated blood or plasma, think about it. It is truly a life giving gift.

If you have a family member in a medical crisis, look at www.caringbridge.org. They do amazing work. With one post you can securely communicate with everyone at a time when you’re too exhausted mentally and physically to keep telling the story over and over.

I believe my nephew has been blessed with countless miracles during this hospitalization because there is a strong wave of prayer constantly going to ask God for strength, for healing, and for peace. I don’t know what the destination at the end of his journey will be. Make no mistake, there is still a long road to recovery or he could leave us tomorrow despite everything. I do know that God has held him close, wrapped him in love, and given wisdom and compassion to his caregivers. My prayer is that everyone involved in these daily miracles will recognize that God is good and He has a plan for my nephew that only He knows. Thanks to all of you who have been praying for my nephew and who have been holding my sister and her husband, my nephew’s wife and children, and me up with your loving prayers.

So as Spring brings nature’s renewal to us, I continue to hope and pray for strength for the days ahead for my nephew and all his family.

Warm Feet

I hate having cold feet and this time of year that can be a problem, even in Alabama. Years ago my sister-in-law, Jean, knitted me and her brother wool socks. If you’ve never worn wool socks, especially those lovingly hand made for you, you have no idea of the difference they can make with frozen toes.

I learned to knit when I was nine years old. Jean encouraged me to learn to knit socks. I was hesitant because you do it with three needles like these.

It seemed too daunting to learn, but I did. Thank you, Jean! I’ve made over fifty pair of socks since I first started. They’re the ideal lap project, especially in the Alabama summers when I can’t stand to have a sweater or afghan in my lap working while I watch TV. They’re small enough I can take them on trips to work on in the car.

I like to have pictures of people wearing what I’ve made for them. Some of the shier recipients have sent me pictures only of their feet. One person sent a picture of their feet in red socks and their basset hound’s head–he was sniffing the socks. Two of my sisters have enough socks for every day of the week, maybe a few more. A couple of special friends seem delighted to open their Christmas package to find a new pair of warm socks.

I enjoy the comfortable rhythm of knitting on three needles. I’ve made one particular pattern so many times I know it by heart. The added bonus of knitting while you’re watching TV is that your hands are busy so you can’t snack unless you make a conscious choice to put down your needles. I confess that sometimes I make the choice, but it slows the snack intake a bit!

A little Author News:

Landing On Her Feet, my second novel that came out July 2, 2023, is one of three finalists in the traditionally published fiction category for the Southern Christian Writer’s Conference notable book award for 2023. Judging looks at writing quality, publishing quality, and inspirational message. I’m over the moon excited to be a finalist. The winner will be announced February 10th.

And I turned in the final galleys for my third Lansdale based cozy mystery, Those Ties That Bind. I hope to have a publication date soon. I’ll keep you posted!

Wishing you good friends, fun, love, joy, and warm feet in 2024! Enjoy!

The Gift of Family

The best gift I got was when my sister, Lori, was born. She was the first of my nine siblings. I love being part of a large and loving family. The second wonderful gift I got was when I married my husband and became part of his, then much smaller, family. Holidays are a time when I especially think about both of those amazing gifts of love.

When I married we began the tradition of one year with my family at Christmas and the next with my in-laws. As my siblings married, they fell into the same rotation so we could, hopefully, all be together at least every other year at Christmas. It worked well until my parents divorced. Initially, my mother moved to California, but once she came back to the Midwest, every other year split between Mother’s or Daddy’s. A little more complicated bookkeeping, but manageable. As grandchildren arrived, schedules became more unwieldy and some years we weren’t all together.

Since I’ve lost both my parents, my family focuses on summertime reunions to try to get together or the occasional Schnepper girl weekend somewhere warm in winter–but that is just siblings and spouses. The last time all my siblings were together was for a funeral years ago. In Canada. It makes me sad but time marches on and weaving together everyone’s schedules and managing within their means can be very hard.

My husband’s family started small and grew prolifically. He was the baby with only one brother and one sister–both much older. His sister has two married children and one grandchild. His brother had one son and two girls who are all married and have taken then Biblical directive to go forth and multiply quite seriously. Most of them live in or near the small town my husband grew up in. That fact makes orchestrating a gathering slightly easier but everyone still has to make the effort to come together.

Last week we celebrated an early Christmas at a Mexican restaurant with my husband’s family. We couldn’t find a free day for 100% of the target attendees but we did for most of them. People who had to work or conduct youth group managed to get together and visit with us before the main event. We so appreciated their efforts to see us while we were in town. We missed those who lived farther away but many of them had been home at Thanksgiving this year. There were thirty-eight of us for dinner. Lots of hugs. Lots of smiles. And Christmas joy at being together as a family. We were in a separate room off the main dining room so we could move around to talk. It was wonderful. Our Christmas celebration on the day will be just the two of us this year starting a new tradition.

I know that everyone can’t get to see their families at this blessed time of year. Distance, work, sickness, financial worries–all put up impediments to getting together. I hope you’ll consider making a family experience with the friends who are near or volunteer to help someone who is alone and share the love you have. Embrace the joy of the season and let it shine from your heart!

As Tiny Tim would say, “God bless us every one!” Merry Christmas to you! May the New Year bring you peace and happiness.

With Gratitude

This is the time of year when we focus on things we are thankful for instead of what is wrong in the world. It’s a good thing to do because the best things in your life can be overwhelmed by the nagging aggravations, day-to-day troubles, and the just pure evil that is out there buffeting your ship of life with high winds and roaring waves.

I am thankful for all my people: my husband who perseveres at my side all these decades, for my extended family including those I acquired by marriage, for many friends who have become part of my family, and for my blog followers and readers! I’m living proof of having lots of good food to eat and shelter from the weather. I’m thankful for many interests that enrich my life like my author journey, spinning, helping on the railroad, weaving, knitting, crocheting, and generally crafting. If I don’t have to leave my house or watch the TV news, life is truly great.

The picture shows a symbol of something else I’m especially thankful for this year.

Some of you who have had to dig up your yard for any reason may recognize the brightly colored flags mixed with the silk flowers. Those are marking the water, gas, cable, phone, power and other buried lines that run to your house. This summer we had an adventure that started with our phone line (yes I still have a landline) and internet service going out completely for five days due to a fiber optics contractor laying yet another buried line and cutting through our lines in the process. For over four months we ran on a temporary line that lay across the neighbor’s driveway and along the gutter bypassing the break point on the main line. We were waiting for the new line to be buried.

Patience is not my strong suit, as some of you know, but persistence is my forte! We experienced the dismal state of today’s customer service, being repeatedly lied to, and general incompetence. I can’t tell the details of the full service restoration here (there are too many lawsuits possible) but after two rounds of flag placement and line painting my husband said an immovable object (the telecom company) met the unstoppable force of Kim Ligon. I am especially thankful that the seventy-two year old technician–who was able to get it working when others failed–had not retired yet! I wonder who will be able to make things work when he does!

May your annoyances be few, your triumphs many, and the people you love most in this world are close enough to hug you! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Follow the Signs

One of the things I enjoy when we travel is reading the signs posted in front of churches along the way. We like to avoid the interstates when possible so we ride more on two lane roads populated with little and not so little churches.

This church isn’t from any farther away than my basement. It’s one I built for my husband’s model railroad layout.

I often wonder why pastors want to post comments on the board in front. Is it to attract new members? To remind existing members to come to church? To give a sense of the preacher’s sense of humor so you’ll know what to expect at sermon time? Some comments are clever, some miss the mark, and some are a little too cryptic for me. Recently, I’ve come across these:

Be kind to your enemies. It’ll mess with their minds. Hmm where is that in the Bible?

Don’t make me come down there. – God It might be good if he did!

Members are expected. Guests are welcome. Is there an attendance problem here?

The Law is not a moral compass. Okay not sure about what this means.

Give Satan an inch and he’ll become your ruler. LOL

Jesus is my Rock and I’m on the Roll! And when it’s called up yonder you’ll be there!

Free ticket to Heaven. Inquire inside. Is it free? I thought it was prepaid!

Prayer works. Ain’t it the truth!

A little food for thought.

A bit of author news: I recently signed a contract for my third novel with The Wild Rose Press. It is called Those Ties That Bind. I expect to start edits the first week of November. I’m very excited. It’s another mystery set in my favorite small town, Lansdale, Wisconsin and some of the characters you met earlier will be there as well as some new ones. I can’t wait to share it with you. You know these things take time so it will be out sometime in 2024. Thanks for coming along on my journey. I appreciate the company! Hug somebody today just because you can! Enjoy!

My Readers

One of the fun things about being an author is getting to meet my readers, both virtually and in person. I greatly value and appreciate my blog followers who buy and read (and review) my books but there’s always room for more at the bookshelf!

In May I was invited to spend an afternoon with the Illumen bookclub and their many friends in Moundville, Alabama. We had a lovely lunch and then discussed my debut novel, “Polly’s List”. I’m not sure I have the words adequate to describe the humbling and awesome experience it was to be in a room with such palpable love from women who truly enjoyed my work. Several of them came in July for my Tuscaloosa book signing to get “Landing On Her Feet” and they left the bunnies you see here since they learned I collect bunnies. Thanks Peggy and Cheryl.

One of my readers, the mother of a friend, even sat with me at the July book signing while her daughter was shopping. Thanks Mrs. Ammons!

I saw on my publisher’s website that the Shell Harbour City Library in New South Wales, Australia bought my books to share with their patrons so I’ll have Australian readers!

Below is a picture of new reader friends I’ve only met in email. They are the O’Fallon Missouri Landing’s Bookworm Buddies with Margie O’Quinn reading them “Landing On Her Feet”. They already finished “Polly’s List “. My husband’s cousin, Mary (in the middle in black and white) recommended my books to them because they were engaging without being offensive. Thanks so much! They’re already asking when the next one is coming. Thanks for all the encouragement! I hope it will be in 2024. Birthing a book all the way to print once you do the labor to get it to an editor takes almost as long as having a human baby! Hugs and blessings to my Buddies! Thank you for wanting more of my books!

My author journey continues to be more than just fun. It has been a blessing to me to hear from my readers and to know I touched their hearts in a positive way. Sometimes I still can’t believe it has really happened. Dreams do come true if you do the work. Don’t be discouraged. Keep trying. And thank you for continuing to read my stories and share your thoughts with me! Enjoy!

My Uncle John

This week my father’s youngest brother, my Uncle John, escaped his pain leaving us thankful for his peace but sad for our loss. I’m very thankful we got to spend time with him at the family reunion in May. A back injury and a nasty recent round of COVID are going to keep us from traveling right now.

My memories of Uncle John as a little girl were of a gangly teenager and young man with blond hair and twinkling eyes above an ever present smile. He looked more like the Shipley side of the family than the Schnepper.

John was only fourteen when I was born and before he was twenty he had four little nieces by his oldest brother. Daddy used to “sic” us on his baby brother whenever we’d get ready to leave Grandma and Grandpa’s. We’d go around kissing everyone goodbye including Uncle John who would turn bright red and try to escape the horde of little girls ready for a kiss. The more he fought us, the harder Daddy laughed, and the more determined we became to get him kissed. He usually willingly gave up in the end resulting in a lap full of nieces.

John wasn’t a morning person. He liked to sleep in as much as possible. When we were in town, some of my sisters thought that was an invitation to jump on his bed to wake him, kissing and tickling him until he finally gave in and got up. It was kind of tradition even after everyone was way old enough to behave better!

John liked fast things whether cars or motorcycles. He had a passion for flying and racked up hours as a military helicopter pilot and later as a charter airline pilot. I remember his picture in Grandma’s house in his formal uniform, quite handsome and dashing. He came home to make his love of flying a career doing crop dusting, freight services, and charters with his company. He was a flight instructor and infected Daddy with the flying bug too. After he retired from flying, he worked with his brother Gordon on the family farm transformation into a vineyard. And even spent a stint as a cross-country trucker.

He didn’t marry until he was almost thirty-one. He and Judy made a great team. They headed a massive volunteer effort at Thanksgiving and Christmas through their. Church preparing and delivering hundreds of holiday meals to those in need. Their sons, Dodd and Jay, followed in John’s footsteps driving race cars and even building a race track. Eventually, the boys married and grandchildren, and even great grandchildren joined the family. All of them a source of joy for John and Judy.

The defining characteristic of Uncle John was always his smile. For most of his life he never seemed to be without it. Always a smile and a good story to tell. Usually a funny story. His was a whole face smile from his chin to his crinkling eyes. A beautiful smile. Below is one of my favorite pictures of him from my wedding.

Smiling and telling my brand new husband something that made us all laugh in the reception line. Probably something like “it’s too late to run now!”

For the last several years, there have been more and more times when John wasn’t smiling. His personal health issues were a challenge and then he lost Judy. More doctors and physical issues. His kids and grandkids were nearby but he was still mostly alone. He wasn’t a man meant to be alone. He loved people too much for that kind of solitary life.

This week my Uncle John’s smile came back to stay. And he’s got a flock of angels around him listening to a funny story they’ve heard before but he can still make them laugh. Out loud. We love you and we miss you. Rest in Peace and keep smiling!

Oh, Deer

It’s a little early, but last week a doe strolled from one side of our cul de sac to the other. About thirty seconds later a little white spotted fawn on legs so spindly you wondered how they could carry him went as fast as he could to catch up with her. I’m glad we haven’t got much traffic on our dead end short street. The fawn didn’t hesitate to jump into the street and certainly wouldn’t have stopped for a car.

Later that same day, a clearly pregnant doe, wandered through the woods in our side yard stopping to munch a tuft of grass here and there. Usually, we don’t see the fawns until mid-August but Mother Nature has been running a little ahead all year so I’m not surprised. More than once we’ve been delightfully surprised by twins.

We discovered soon after we moved in that we had four legged neighbors who were used to being fed by the prior homeowner. Our house sets at the end of the street with woods on three sides and a stream at the bottom of the hill. When we first got here no one was on the far hill across the side yard. It was the ideal place for the deer and we even had wild turkeys.

For many years, we made a regular trip to the feed store to buy a fifty pound sack of shelled corn. It had to be shelled. Those were spoiled deer we inherited with the house. They didn’t know corn came on a cob. And they were a wee bit demanding! One doe in particular would go stand in the clearing under the bird house and wait to be fed. If she saw you watching her from the kitchen window she would paw the ground with her front foot, bow her head twice and snort. We decided that meant “Get your butt out here and feed me” in native Alabama deerspeak.

We were well trained. We’d go across the deck, down to the garage and get a pitcher full of corn. When they heard the garage door go up, the whole herd came out of the woods because they thought it was chow time. Boy, did they look confused and a little put out with us when we were just going some where in the car. They would stand and watch us drive up the drive way in disbelief until we were out of sight.

We learned that having corn means mice will appear to snatch up any that you dribble when you’re scooping it out of its sealed container. Some mice took to storing corn kernels in the wheel well of my husband’s car. Having mice means your attract snakes–everybody’s got to eat. The evening I ran into a snake on the deck on the way to the garage I screamed until my brave husband got the shovel and wacked its head off. It was colored like a copperhead but it had a spoon shaped head instead of a triangular one. It was an Alabama pine snake. He never should have come on my deck!

We stopped feeding the deer shelled corn. Of course they still ate every flowering plant I tried to put out, but they did that even when we were feeding them corn. They even ate a knock out rose bush to a stick out of the ground, thorns and all. They left the gardenia bush alone because they don’t like waxy leaves and the fire ant mound at its base proved to be a mighty deterent. More houses have been built in the area and that cut down on deer traffic too. We still get a few like the ones last week. I wanted to get a picture but I wasn’t quick enough so here’s one of a fawn from several years ago.

Happy August! Be on the lookout for youngsters crossing the street without looking! It’s that time of year. Enjoy!

Polly is a Big Sister!

As many of you know, I’m the oldest of ten children. I’ve been a big sister since I was almost fifteen months old. I don’t remember ever being alone. I am sure there were times growing up when I wished to be an only child—a mythical being I could hardly imagine. But those were fleeting thoughts because I love being the first of my tribe of siblings.

Now, my debut novel, Polly’s List, has a sibling too! Polly doesn’t have to be an only book child. She now has a sister named Landing On Her Feet. I am truly thankful to all of you who read my first book and to my many encouragers who helped to breathe life into Katrina and Chase’s story. I can’t wait for you to meet all these Lansdale denizens and to get reacquainted with some you met with Polly. Landing On Her Feet is a rated G, suspenseful romance with a generous splash of faith.

Kat Russell narrowly escaped death at Dirk Crowe’s hands six years ago. He’s out of prison. To protect her family, she must flee Philadelphia—the only home she’s ever known—with her five-year-old son, Timmy. Is Wisconsin far enough away to escape evil?

Chase Merrick, father of Timmy’s new best friend, wants to help. What is Kat hiding? Why does she insist she must face whatever it is alone?

When can Kat stop constantly looking back over her shoulder? Will secrets and shame stop her from accepting Chase’s protection? Or unite them in the face of danger to keep their sons safe?

As with my first Wild Rose Press publication, this book is available at your favorite online e-tailer. I’ll provide links below. It is available in paperback and as an e-book beginning today. If you are in the area, you can purchase one at the Tuscaloosa Midtown Barnes and Noble at my book signing July 15^th noon- 4 and they will be stocking it after that. If you aren’t in the area, but would like the author’s autograph for your hard copy, please let me know and I’ll send you an autographed book plate to attach to the inside cover.

I hope you will join Kat Russell and Chase Merrick on their adventure. I am so grateful that Polly already has a sister. She’ll never remember being alone either. I’m hoping she’ll be the head of a large tribe of siblings too! Thank you for your continued love and support. Enjoy!

Landing on Her Feet Links

Amazon

https:// www.amazon.com/Landing-Her-Feet-Janine-Ligon/dp/1509249737

Barnes and Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/landing-on-her-feet-kim-janine-ligon/1143205488

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/123737915-landing-on-her-feet/

Bookbub:

Https://www.bookbub.com/books/landing-on-her-feet-by-kim-janine-ligon