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, 2022
- 13 min
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...
119 views0 comments
vgbartal
- Dec 12, 2021
- 2 min
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...
17 views0 comments
vgbartal
- Dec 11, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 2 min
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, 2021
- 2 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 1 min
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, 2021
- 2 min
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, 2021
- 5 min
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, 2020
- 14 min
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,...
148 views0 comments
vgbartal
- Sep 26, 2020
- 8 min
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, 2020
- 3 min
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...
73 views1 comment
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