Nothing gives me more pleasure early of a morning than to have coffee and a cranberry orange muffin at Panera Bread in Simpsonville, SC. Those who really know me... well, you know I always find a place to commune with the Lord first and then do my work. Always in this order and as orderly as I know how, for I can really become scatter-brained if allowed my own way. My thoughts are going at a prodigious rate of speed and I can hardly wait to write something. Something meaningful. This morning was just one of many, and I had no idea I was going to impact a life in such a dynamic way. Dynamic on my side of the equation. I was the winner here. I am the life that was changed. But I have reason to believe ...  actually, to know, that another life was at least affected. I'm happy about that. I texted my dear friend, Bonnie. Every morning, I text my dear friend, Bonnie, as she does me! But this was a moment of remembrance and will always be. I will not tell you her side of the st

Writing a book is a very private endeavor, and like walking a tree-lined trail not being able to see what lies ahead, or like seeing through a glass darkly, I only know in part, because the story comes to me as I write. However, one thing remains true in the writing of any book, that is, for me. I can hardly wait to share it with someone, everyone. And as usual, I've not  given this latest work of mine a title, this  seventh book in my novels of the War Between the States, the aftermath, Reconstruction, and the amazing years that followed when the whole world began to change as a result of that evil War. For the time being,  we'll call it "Inherited Courage" for that is truly the story of Robert E. Lee Payne. It seems this courageous lad lived on the fringe of life from the time he was born to war hero, Albert Henry Payne, and throughout the incredible years that followed. Here's a bit of the Prologue. I'm now at 30,000 words— and it