Hey, y’all! 💕 I’m so glad you’re here.
If you’re new, welcome to my front porch. 🏡✨
I write stories that are easy to share—with grandmothers, daughters, and the women friends in between. Sweet, swoony, closed-door romances with heartfelt emotion, small-town roots, and happy endings you can count on.
Stories meant to be passed down. ☕
🤗 You’re in the right place.
💛 LOVE 💌
First, thank you.
Thank you for every kind note, prayer, and encouraging word after my last newsletter about my mother’s passing. 💛
I treasured every one of them.
My mother loved a book called They Loved to Laugh by Kathryn Worth. It was written in 1942 and tells the story of an orphan who comes to live with a lively Quaker family in North Carolina.
It’s been years since I read it. I think it’s time I did again.
It’s a story about family, friendship, and finding your voice.
It’s also about discovering joy even when life is hard.
Honestly... that’s right up my alley. 💛📚
🌱 LIFE
Since my mother’s passing, I’ve been thinking about random things that drift through my mind. One thought keeps coming back. My little tagline.
Love, Life, and Laughter (not always in that order).
When I chose those words over a year ago, I don’t think I realized how autobiographical they really were.
I write romance. So there had to be love. 💛
I always try to sprinkle in humor. So there had to be laughter. 😄
But life... Life has a way of showing up, too.
Sometimes with unexpected joy. Sometimes with deep sorrow. Sometimes all in the same day.
A funeral in the morning.
Sourdough in the afternoon. 🍞
BINGO and fireworks that evening. 😄
That’s life.
😂 LAUGHTER
As I thought back over my mother’s Celebration of Life service, I realized my tagline had quietly been living itself out.
Love brought people together. Love for my mother. Love for family. Love for lifelong friends. 💛
Life reminded us that saying goodbye is never easy. It also reminded us that air conditioners always seem to pick the hottest Texas day to stop working. 🥵😄
And laughter? It found us, too.
Children played. Stories were shared. Prizes were won during an enthusiastic game of BINGO.
Family laughed until smiles melted into tears, and tears slowly became smiles again.
Life isn’t neatly divided into love... then life... then laughter. Sometimes they’re all tangled together. Maybe that’s exactly how it’s supposed to be. 💛
It’s been a full few weeks of traveling, saying goodbye to my mother, and simply catching my breath. I’ll be honest—it’s made writing a little difficult. But, as always, I’m hopeful.
I’m looking forward to getting back to the next story waiting for me. And I hope to have new books to share with you this fall. 🤠📚
In the meantime, if you’re looking for stories filled with all three—love, life, and laughter—I would love to welcome you to Storybrook or Sweetheart, Texas. 💛
The rest of us will be sitting here on the front porch while you grab your Kindle—or, if you’re like me, a good old-fashioned paperback. 📖☕
With Love, Life, and Laughter (not always in that order),
Leanna 💛
☕ From the Front Porch
If you’ve got company coming, Cowboy Cookies are always a good idea. 🍪🤠
💬 What Our Friends Are Saying…
🪑 Come Sit a Spell…
Until next time, y’all... may your days be filled with love, strengthened by life, and brightened by laughter... even if they don’t always come in that order. 💛
I’m an Amazon Associate, and I earn from qualifying purchases. This helps support my writing and keeps the coffee cups full—thank you! ☕📚💛
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