Virginia Ellis (1951–2006)

A memorable read beautifully written. Sensitive, caring, at times fun and humorous. This book is a historical, Christian fiction with the beautiful language of the Old South. Three women in difficult times and their strong faith in God keep this story moving forward at a comfortable pace. This lovely book will sit on my library shelves to be read again another day. Virginia Ellis is now on my list of favorite authors where I will pursue her other books.

Welcome to Mossy Creek, Georgia. A quaint little town that "ain't goin' nowhere and don't want to."
Several authors contribute short stories which introduces us to the town of Mossy Creek, Georgia and all its quirky residents, my favorite being Ida Hamilton Walker, Mayor of Mossy Creek, heir to the Hamilton legacy, and nemesis of her nephew, Governor Ham Bigalow.

It's Mossy Creek vs. Bigalow (and Hamilton's vs. Bigalow's) with Mossy Creek managing to get the upper hand most of the time. show more Whether it's Ida shooting at the new Mossy Creek sign her nephew ordered placed across from her land, or members of her Foo Club dumping the new sign ordered by her nephew, on the State House lawn, Ida can keep you laughing.

Then there is Bob, the flying Chihuahua, Sandy Bottoms Crane (she saves Bob from becoming a hawk's dinner), or Sheriff Amos Royden, who is trying to live up to his father's legacy (and keep the Mayor in line and out of jail).

The book is great light reading when your brain can't handle a heavy, cry a river type novel. show less

Maddy Marshall turns 17 on the day Pearl Harbor is bombed. Her almost fiancé, Lyle, and her brother, Davey, are soon off to serve. Three months later, Davey asks his wife, Ruth, to come to Miami where the men are waiting to ship out and for Maddy to accompany her. She meets a lot of servicemen, in particular, Brit Lt. Tull-Martin. The night before her brother leaves a photo is taken of their whole group at the Servicemen’s Pier where Maddy has danced her feet off. But that night also show more changes Maddy’s whole life. When Ruth finds out, she and Maddy concoct a scheme to hide a secret; and the photo taken that night begins to have an impact on their lives. I can’t reveal more without giving away the plot. This was a coming of age story for Maddy and a different perspective on the war seen from an angle I had previously been unaware, a city taken over as a staging port. I thought it was well done. My only quibble is with the cover which depicts a photo of a soldier and girl kissing when the photograph in the story is a group shot of the 2 girls and a group of soldiers. show less

I really didn't know what to expect from this book. What a clever idea!

For those of you who haven't read this book yet---and you really must, btw---each chapter is a story, written in first person from a different character's point of view, and written by different authors.

I swear I want to move to Mossy Creek. Love everything starting from the welcome sign: AIN'T GOING NOWHERE, AND DON'T WANT TO.

The stories are alternately funny, sweet, touching, and sad, but mostly they're human. I show more especially liked how each character told his or her own story. It made them all so much more real.

I'm definitely looking forward to the next installment in this series. show less