Spies Like Us, Before It All Began
“Cherry blossoms.” There was no response, and that was unacceptable, so she tried again. “Cherry blossoms, Bear. Cherry blossoms!” As...
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vgbartal
Dec 13, 202213 min read
Lacy High School Christmas Short
Lacy Steele was lacking Christmas spirit. Did being sixteen make a person cynical? Perhaps. Her sister, Riley, had loads of spirit, if...
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vgbartal
Dec 12, 20212 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 12: Sourdough Gingerbread Snack...Cake?
A cake is not a cookie. I know this. Why, then, did I select a cake for my 12th and final cookie recipe? It could be because snack cakes...
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vgbartal
Dec 11, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 11: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
Peanut butter is the best! Here's how I know: Years ago we had a German exchange student. Before living with us, he'd never had bacon or...
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vgbartal
Dec 10, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 10: Gluten-Free Cutout Cookies
I intended to write this pithy post about how what you look for in a cut-out cookie recipe should be what you look for in a man: easy to...
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vgbartal
Dec 9, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 9: Bourbon Maple and Bacon
Psst. Lean in for a second to hear my confession: * I don't actually like donuts that much. * First of all I never know how to spell...
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vgbartal
Dec 8, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 8: Chocolate Malt Biscotti
Fact: I love malted milk. Whoppers (not the burger king variety), actual malts. Basically if there is a way to add extra calories and fat...
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vgbartal
Dec 7, 20212 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 7: Molasses/Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
This summer I had the privilege of taking a trip with my sisters and parents, no in-laws or grandkids. I called it the Original Kids...
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vgbartal
Dec 6, 20212 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 6: M&M (with pudding!)
Have you ever met anyone who doesn't like chocolate chip cookies? I did. Once. I can't remember who it was because I'm fairly certain I...
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vgbartal
Dec 5, 20211 min read
12 Days of Christmas, Day 5: Orange Cranberry
My husband is not as into food as I am. It was a shocking revelation for a newlywed to realize he did not, in fact, plan his life around...
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vgbartal
Dec 4, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 4: Cinnamon Crackle
Cinnamon. Crackle. Aren't those wonderful words? They're so evocative of this time of year. Cinnamon is ubiquitous with Christmas....
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vgbartal
Dec 3, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 3: Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
I heard a new song the other day and fell in love with it, a combination of "The Way You Look Tonight" plus "I'll Be Home for Christmas."...
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vgbartal
Dec 2, 20211 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 2: Orange Cookies
There's this amazing new cookie bakery an hour from my home. (I live in the middle of nowhere, so an hour is a pretty normal drive time...
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vgbartal
Dec 1, 20212 min read
12 Days of Cookies, Day 1: Chewy Chocolate Sugar Cookies
A couple of years ago (before the curse which shall not be named befell us all), I decided to do 12 days of cookies, wherein I baked 12...
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vgbartal
Oct 7, 20215 min read
Sneak Peek...
Prologue Six weeks ago… He had never broken into a church before. It wasn’t a skill set he used often, but it was always a good idea to...
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vgbartal
Oct 10, 202014 min read
Lacy Christmas Short
“The Smithsonian is going to call soon and claim your grandmother’s VCR as an antiquity,” Jason said. “Don’t knock this VCR. Without it,...
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vgbartal
Sep 26, 20208 min read
New Chapter Update!
Recently I've been going through old books, getting them ready to be part of box sets. Usually I take things away, like the word "that,"...
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vgbartal
Aug 15, 20203 min read
Happy Books for Dark Days
I have a secret. Are you ready? It's big. Lean in, here it is: I like happy endings. It's not something writers are supposed to admit. If...
74 views1 comment
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