THE FAMILY FEAST by Author Laurie Alice Eakes

My guest today is my friend and Multi-Award-Winning Author of more than two dozen novels, Laurie Alice Eakes.

The Family Feast 

by Laurie Alice Eakes  

Holidays are considered a difficult time to be without family for a reason. Not much is more depressing than seeing a table spread with all the traditional Thanksgiving goodies--dressing, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, fresh green beans, homemade rolls, homemade cranberry sauce, and, of course, the turkey, with pumpkin and apple pie waiting in the wings for later--and have just the two of us to share it.

Thanksgiving dinner is the only meal I actually enjoy cooking. I even love the leftovers. At the same time, I hurt to think that my family and friends were over a thousand miles away, as my husband’s job kept us in Texas for one more year.

Although I have no recollection of doing so, my heart must have cried  out for family, for one of my niece’s appetizers, for one of my sister’s desserts, a gift of chocolate from my friend who never cooks, and the conversation and laughter around all that food.

And the Lord heard my subconscious cry.

As I was thinking about shopping for Thanksgiving, whether or not I should order a turkey from one market or another, two young women from church, cousins, we knew from our small group, approached us and invited to spend Thanksgiving with their family.

Somewhere between twenty and thirty people filled this beautiful home, not to mention the tantalizing aromas of all my Thanksgiving favorites and more (like homemade samosas) At the end of the day, sated with food, conversation and laughter, I knew the Lord ensured I hadn’t missed out on a thing--not even the leftovers.

Latest novel by Laurie Alice Eakes

For nearly two hundred years, women in Ashley Tolliver’s family have practiced the art of midwifery in their mountain community. Now she wants to take her skills a step further, but attending medical school means abandoning those women to whom she has dedicated her life, the mountains she loves, and the awakening of her heart.

Ashley Tolliver has tended to the women of her small Appalachian community for years. As their midwife, she thinks she has seen it all. Until a young woman gives birth to a baby at Ashley’s home and is abducted just as she tries to take the dangerously bleeding woman her to the nearest hospital. Now Ashley is on a mission to find the woman and her newborn baby . . . before it’s too late.

Hunter McDermott is on a quest—to track down his birth mother. After receiving more media attention than he could ever want for being in the right place at the right time, he receives a mysterious phone call from a woman claiming to be his mother. Hunter seeks out the aid of the local midwife in the mountain town where the phone call originated—surely she can shed some light on his own family background.

Ashley isn’t prepared for the way Hunter’s entrance into her world affects her heart and her future. He reignites dreams of her own family she has long put aside in favor earning her medical degree and being able to do even more for her community. But is it commitment to her calling or fear of the unknown that keeps her feet firmly planted in the Appalachian soil? Or is it something more—fear of her growing feelings for Hunter—that make her hesitant to explore the world beyond the mountains?

ABOUT AUTHOR LAURIE ALICE EAKES

"Eakes has a charming way of making her novels come to life without being over the top,” writes Romantic times of  bestselling, award-winning author Laurie Alice Eakes. Since she lay in bed as a child telling herself stories, she has fulfilled her dream of becoming a published author, with a master’s degree in writing fiction from Seton Hill University contributing to her career path. Now she has nearly two dozen books in print.

She lives in Texas with her husband and sundry cats and dogs. When asked what she does for fun, she says write. She also loves to read, go for long walks, especially on the beach, and listen to music, especially live music with her husband.

 She lives in Texas with her husband and sundry pets. She loves watching old movies with her husband in the winter, and going for long walks along Galveston beaches in the summer. When she isn’t writing, she considers that housework is a time to work out plot points, and visiting museums is a recreational activity.

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Marti Corn Photography.