Hi everyone —

Just a quick note to those of you who don't get the newsletter to welcome you to the new website. You can get there with the old address elizabethgrayson.com or by going to the new one karynwitmer.com. The website has lots of new features — including a FAQ section, a Reading Group Guide for A SIMPLE GIFT, and a slew of new articles for aspiring writers, written in a wry, "Dear Abby" format.

The website also has the second excerpt of my September book, A SIMPLE GIFT. This is the section where you'll find out why Avery and Mike’s estranged daughter Fiona has really come back to Larkin. About the middle of July I'll be posting another excerpt where you'll get to know Mike Montgomery, Avery’s oh-so-hot husband, a little better.

Now to catch you up with what's going on here — spring has been cool this year in Missouri, but we recently had a very special treat that got us in touch with the season. This was an invitation to visit friends who own a wonderful tract of land about an hour and a half South of here. We went for a picnic, a day of riding ATVs, and wandering in the woods on their beautiful piece of countryside.

But in addition, our friends took us to visit a neighboring farm. It was one of the greenest, loveliest, and most bucolic places I've ever seen. Tucked into a rocky fold of land between a rippling stream and a natural spring, it was rural Missouri at its best. A truly magical place to enjoy an afternoon. Even though I'm a city girl, I could have settled in and stayed forever.

According to the owners, that's exactly what they did when they came across the property in the spring of 1965. The original 1782 log cabin was roofless back then. There was no heat, no plumbing, and no electricity, so they gathered up their three kids and camping supplies and pitched a tent. Their goal was to make the cabin habitable by the end of the summer. They managed that and have been living in this beautiful place ever since. Over the years they have gathered and restored a remarkable number of period cabins, one that fit perfectly over the foundation of the slave quarters.

They also built a fine reputation for themselves raising various kinds of prize-winning sheep, goats, and lamas. One of the cute little goats did his very best to devour the cuffs of my jeans, and I was lucky to escape with my shoe laces! The owners also employ several "guard" peacocks, that make a terrible racket to scare off coyotes or foxes if they approach the sheep.

Since the owners of the place also spin a variety of naturally died yarns, a number of weavers and spinners had gathered to work that day and sell their wares. This split rail fence has certainly never looked more wonderful than when it did spread with skeins and skeins of multi-colored yarn for sale. Other wool producers had brought gorgeous painted fleeces to be worn — unprocessed — as neck scarves. The weavers were using a variety of spinning wheels, drop spindles, and looms under the trees and on the porches, and it was fascinating to watch them work.

It was a wonderful day — one that gave me oh-so-many ideas about how this could add to the texture of any historical novel I might write. After touring the farm, we went back to my friend's home and broke out the sangria. In case you want one, too, here's the recipe.

SANGRIA:
(There are lots of ways to make sangria, but this is my favorite.)

• 1 bottle of Sangria wine (Burgundy will work in a pinch.)
• 1 oz Triple Sec
• 1 oz Brandy
• 6 oz club soda
• 2 T sugar

Hope you'll check out the new website and put a note on your calendar that A SIMPLE GIFT will be in bookstores right around Labor Day.

Enjoy!