Kim McMahill

If you’re looking for a great read, check out this Holiday Gift Guide for some excellent options

St. Peter Port on Guernsey Island is a small seaside village. Although its visitor center and friendly locals made this a tourist-friendly place to visit, it didn’t feel overly touristy. The majority of the businesses where what you would expect in any town, clothing shops, hair salons, restaurants, book stores, and the like. The streets were not dominated by souvenir shops, which made this village all the more interesting to visit.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving and has the opportunity to celebrate with family and friends. For a twist on the traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin pie, I often make pumpkin cheesecake. If you want to give it a whirl this year, here’s my favorite recipe. Enjoy and have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.   PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE Crust : Crush 10 whole graham crackers and mix with 3 tablespoons of sugar and 3 tablespoons of butter. Press into a 10 inch cheesecake spring pan (bottom and 2 inches up the sides). Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove. Filling : Beat together until smooth, 2 (8-oz) packages of cream cheese (works best if softened), 1 cup of light cream, 1 cup of canned pumpkin, ¾ cup of sugar, 4 egg yolks (save whites in a separate bowl), 3 tablespoons of flour, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, ½ teaspoon each of ginger, nutmeg, and salt. Beat egg whites until stiff and gently fold into the pumpkin mixture. Pour over prepared crust and b

No trip to Edinburgh would be complete without a trip to the city’s famous castle. The imposing fortress stands guard over the rest of the city below. Leading away from the castle is the famous Royal Mile lined with shops and pubs galore. A person could spend an entire day wandering this historic street its hidden closes. 

Fishing stories, the concept has become synonymous with exaggeration. No harm is ever intended, but after countless retelling the story often morphs into something much more interesting and exciting than the original. The two-pound fish that took several minutes to reel in eventually evolves into an eight-pound monster which battled valiantly for half an hour before succumbing to your superior skill. This is how many of my real-life adventures have infiltrated my adventure and romantic suspense novels. I’ve explored numerous Mayan ruins tucked into steamy bug-infested jungles in several countries, yet I’ve always managed to avoid ruthless kidnappers; I’ve pondered the current of the Rio Grande, sticking my toe in to test the waters, but have suppressed the urge to jump into the churning mud and attempt an illegal border crossing; and I have ridden horseback down a terrifyingly steep slope while I clutched the horn with all my might and scenes from Man From Snowy River flashed thr

Carlene Havel writes historical stories set in Biblical times.  Today she’s sharing some background on the creation of her latest release, “ Song of the Shepard Woman ”. One of the questions I’m asked most often about writing books is, “Where do you get your ideas?”  The short answer is I don’t know. Thoughts bubble and coalesce around a theme, and the plot for another story begins to form—at least that’s the process for me.  My latest release, “Song of the Shepherd Woman” began at Christmastime, although it’s not a Christmas story per se. As I read through the familiar verses from the second chapter of Luke, the shepherds abiding in the fields captured my imagination.  How amazed they were to receive Christ’s birth announcement from an angelic choir.  What joy and hope they must have felt as they ran to the stable in Bethlehem. How did others react to their story afterwards? Was it possible people thought the shepherds drank too much wine? Or simply fabricated a fantastic story

The last chance in 2017 to enter your National Parks for free is Veteran's Day Weekend, November 11-12 . Hopefully the roads in your favorite park are still open for the season. F or more information about fee-free days visit https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/fee-free-parks.htm

This small village is located on the south bank of the Clyde River where it expands into the Firth of Clyde. Greenock is small, but its people are friendly and it’s a great place to start discovering the nuances of Scotch.  

There’s a lot going on in November. To make sure you don’t miss any of the fun, make sure you change your clocks for Daylight Savings time on November 5. Here are a few more dates to keep in mind. U.S. General Election Day – November 5 Veteran’s Day – November 11 Caregiver Appreciation Day – November 13 Great American Smoteout – November 16 Universal Children’s Day – November 21 Thanksgiving Day – November 23