I just received another great review for my novel, A Beautiful Glittering Lie. This one is from Pacific Book Review. Thank you, Anthony Avina, for your wonderful review!
Title: A Beautiful Glittering Lie: A Novel of the Civil War (Book One of The Renegade Series) Author: J.D.R. Hawkins Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing LLC ISBN: 978-1643619941 Pages: 200 Genre: War & Military Action Fiction / Historical Fiction Reviewed by: Anthony Avina Pacific Book Review
One of the United States most deadly and harrowing wars fought was perhaps amongst itself, when the nation became divided and the North fought the South during the Civil War. Although most of the lessons we learned from this horrific war center greatly on the battle to end slavery and free those who sought nothing more than the freedom to exist, the battles itself and those who were on the front lines face so much death and pain that those issues seemed like something out of another lifetime, on both sides. As Anthony Minghella once said, “The only lesson to extract from any civil war is that it’s pointless and futile and ugly, and that there is nothing glamorous or heroic about it. There are heroes, but the causes are never heroic.”
In author J.D.R. Hawkins’s historical fiction novel, A Beautiful Glittering Lie: A Novel of the Civil War, the author explores a rarely seen side of the conflict; that of a lone family from Alabama who’s patriarch went off to fight in the war, and the brutal realities of war they faced both on the front-lines and at home. The first in the author’s The Renegade Series, the story focuses on the Summers family, when father Hiram enlists in the Confederate Army and his son David must stay behind to help his mother and sisters care for the family farm. Although spurned on by the idea of patriotism for their Southern states and ideals, the realities of the war soon come to the forefront for both father and son. One witnesses the gruesome violence the war brought out on both sides, and the other sees everything from the grim reality of slavery and the emotional turmoil and fear that comes with waiting for a loved one to return home safely.
This is a truly captivating and engaging read right from the very start. The author did such an incredible job of incorporating both the horrific and gruesome details of the battles fought during this war and the personal and heartbreaking realities which families faced at home when their husbands, fathers, sons and brothers all left for the battlefield. The way the author fairly examined the history from the Confederate side and the mentality that drove so many to this path of war while also highlighting those moments when protagonist David felt guilt and sadness over the conditions and treatment of the slaves was so poignant and helped showcase that the realities of the battle and life were often lost in the politics and economics that fueled this war’s beginning.
The absolute perfect read for those who enjoy historical fiction, especially the study of the Civil War, this novel is emotionally-driven and does an amazing job of paying attention to details historically which elevated the characters’ arcs. As a fan of historical fiction, I was fascinated and moved by the voice and tone the author found for these characters, and highlighted that once war has begun, the bloodlust that overtakes some soldiers on either side often leads to violence and dispensable acts that have nothing to do with the morality of the war’s conflict, but man’s inherent need to fight. For in the end, as in all wars, no one truly “won” the war, but instead an end to the conflict was truly found.
If you haven’t yet, be sure to grab your own copy of author J.D.R. Hawkins’s A Beautiful Glittering Lie today, and prepare for a masterfully emotional and beautifully written narrative with a shocking twist ending that leaves readers wanting more.
I’d like to wish everyone a very happy holiday season! Please keep in mind all of our military personnel who are overseas and missing their families this Christmas. One of my favorite songs is “I’ll be Home for Christmas,” which was written by a soldier during WWII. Listening to it makes me cry every time!
The holidays can be a difficult time of year for some, as the following excerpt demonstrates. Losing a loved one during this time of year is especially painful, and sometimes lonely. I think the first Christmas after a loved one passes away is the hardest. I know from experience, since I just lost my mom last year.
The following excerpt is the opening chapter from my book, A Beckoning Hellfire. It takes place on Christmas Eve, 1862. What should be a joyous time has turned into tragedy. While we celebrate the birth of our Lord, let’s also keep in mind the hardships that many have experienced during Christmas.
But what a cruel thing is war. To separate and destroy families and friends and mar the purest joys and happiness God has granted us in this world. To fill our hearts with hatred instead of love for our neighbors and to devastate the fair face of this beautiful world¼My heart bleeds at the death of every one of our gallant men.
—Robert E. Lee, letter to his wife, December 25, 1862
Chapter One
“Here it is! Come quick!”
David sauntered across the dead grass toward his little sister. Amused by the way she was jumping up and down like a nervous flea, he couldn’t help but grin. Obviously, she was too excited to care that her petticoats were showing from under the brown coat and green calico dress she wore, or that her long auburn hair had broken free from its bondage as her bonnet slid from her head and dangled down her back.
“Which one, Josie?” he asked, stifling a snicker.
She planted her feet and pointed to a small yellow pine near a cluster of sweet gum and ash trees. “Right here!” she exclaimed.
Glancing down at the sapling, he gave her a crooked smile. “Well, that’s a mighty fine tree, but ain’t it kinda scrawny?” He estimated the pine to be three feet tall at most.
Josie frowned at her older brother, who had one eyebrow cocked from under his slouch hat. His hands were tucked into his brown trousers, and his linen shirt hung loosely on his tall, lanky frame. “No,” she said, “ it’s jist right. We’ll string some corn on it, hang some nuts and berries on it, and it’ll look right smart in the corner of the front room.”
With a shrug, he said, “All right. If you reckon this is the one.”
She nodded, her bright blue eyes reflecting her elation.
David relished the moment, for he knew Christmas was her favorite holiday. He had only heightened her anticipation on the way out to the woodlot by reminding her what would happen that evening, how Santa would be stopping by later when she was sound asleep. Of course, he had no explanation as to how eight tiny reindeer could pull a sleigh all the way to Alabama. Josie promptly informed him that she wasn’t a child any longer. She was all of thirteen, and didn’t believe in those farfetched stories anymore, but he knew better. She would be lying in her bed tonight, listening and waiting.
“Well, go on now, cut it down!” Josie insisted.
He put his thumb and forefinger to his lips and gave a high, shrill whistle. Noticing how the gray sky was growing darker, he looked over at the edge of the clearing where they stood and saw the underbrush rustle. Suddenly, two hound dogs bounded out of the trees, followed by a gangly young stallion.
“Come on, Renegade. Over here,” he called out to the colt, who responded by cantering to him.
Josie giggled at the sight. “Your dumb horse thinks he’s a dog!”
“He ain’t dumb. I’ll wager he’s a lick smarter than you are, li’l sister,” David teased.
The horse blew and stomped his front hoof.
“Why, that’s the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of. And not only is he dumb, he looks right silly, too. He can’t decide if he should be spotted or palomino!”
David observed his horse for a moment. Renegade’s face was piebald. His dark chestnut coat was highlighted with white spots and patches concentrating on his underbelly, and his mane and tail were light flaxen. He had white socks up to his knees. His unusual eyes were brownish green. David remembered how he had heard that a horse with strange-colored eyes like Renegade’s was considered sacred and chosen by the Cherokee Indians. Several people had noticed the strange coincidence, and his other sister, Rena, also frequently commented that he and his horse had the same colored eyes.
“I reckon he knows what he is,” David remarked. “Besides, he’s unusual, and that makes him unique.”
“Oh, he’s unique all right,” Josie said, giggling again. She pulled her hair back from her face and replaced her bonnet.
David untied a saw from a leather strap attached to Renegade’s saddle. He knelt down, quickly sawed through the little tree’s trunk, picked it up, and tied it across the saddle’s seat. His two black and tan dogs sniffed around the tree’s sawed off stump. Suddenly, they both lifted their noses into the air with their ears pricked. They bolted across the open clearing, baying at an unseen curiosity as they disappeared into the woods.
“Caleb! Si!” David hollered after the two hounds. “Well, there they go,” he observed wryly. “All right, Renegade, take it on home.” He patted his horse on the shoulder.
Renegade nickered softly, shook his head, and trotted off in the same direction as the two hounds.
Josie gasped. “Look, David! It’s startin’ to snow!” She tilted her head back and stuck out her tongue, trying to catch snowflakes on it.
He chuckled.
“Come on, you do it, too,” she coaxed him.
He obliged his little sister by imitating her.
Josie laughed, spinning around with her arms extended while snow fell silently down around them.
“Oh!” David clasped his hand to his face. “One fell in my eye!”
Josie giggled.
He couldn’t help but smile, although he was careful not to let her see, and snorted to cover up his delight. “Well, I’m right glad you think it’s so funny.” He looked at her, trying to keep a straight face. “Come on, Josie girl. We’d best be gittin’ on back.”
He allowed her to go ahead of him as they started on the bridle path that cut through the woods.
“Let’s sing Christmas carols!” she said. “That new one we heard last year. Jingle Bells!”
“You start,” he prompted.
“Dashin’ through the snow…”
He joined in. Their voices grew stronger in unison.
“In a one-horse open sleigh…”
They came to an empty field, and trudged through, stepping over mud puddles while they continued singing.
“Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way…”
Their house stood quaintly at the far end of the field. Smoke circled from its two chimneys, dissolving into the gray sky. The sweet smell of burning hickory reached out, inviting them closer. From a distance, the structure appeared to be two separate cabins sitting side by side, but upon closer observation, one could see that they were connected by a covered breezeway. Each section contained two rooms and a fireplace. A wide flat porch on the front of the split log building served as an entryway. The tin roof, which seemed to expel heat in the summertime, also managed to repel snow during winter months.
The cold, damp air encroached upon brother and sister. As they sang, their breath escaped, floated out across the fields, and vanished in phantom gusts.
“Oh what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh!”
On the last note, Josie’s voice jumped an octave. They laughed at their grand finale and walked around to the front of the house, where Renegade was waiting patiently for the tree to be removed from his saddle. A buckskin horse stood beside him.
“Whose horse is that?” Josie asked.
“It looks like Bud Samuels’ horse.”
David and Josie looked at each other, wide-eyed. “Pa!” they both exclaimed.
Josie sprang onto the porch, burst through the front door, and went inside while David untied the small yellow pine. He set it aside, pulled the saddle from Renegade’s back, and removed his bridle.
“Go on into the barn, Renie,” he said. “Or you’ll be one big ole snowball in a minute.”
The colt blew and trotted around the side of the house.
David carried his tack into the breezeway. He placed it on a horizontal board, which was supported by a plank on each end. Collecting the tree, he heard the sound of Bud’s voice coming from inside.
“I had some trouble gettin’ here,” Bud was saying as he entered. “But I convinced the Home Guard to follow me home so’s I could show them my furlough paper.”
David produced the tiny tree. “I know it’s small,” he said with a grin, “but Josie insisted, and…” The sight that befell him inexplicably filled him with dread. His smile faded. He looked around at the faces before him and let the tree fall onto the wooden floor. Warmth from the fireplace did nothing to relieve the chill that grasped him. “What is it?” he asked.
“Come in, darlin’, and close the door,” his mother said from her high-backed chair, which sat near the empty corner they had readied for the Christmas tree. Her brown skirt encircled her like a puddle. Her dark brown hair, streaked recently with gray, was parted in the middle and contained in a white cotton hair net. She clenched her hands in her lap, and her lips were pursed. The flickering firelight accentuated the grooves on her face, which, for some reason, David had never noticed before. After closing the door behind him, he looked at Rena, who was sitting beside the hearth. She vacantly stared back, her violet eyes welling up with tears.
“Rena?” he asked her.
She looked away and hugged Josie, who had taken the chair beside her.
David walked across the room to their neighbor, Bud.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Samuels,” he said, shaking the man’s hand. “How’s Pa? Is he comin’ home for Christmas, like he wrote?”
“Have a seat, David.” Bud’s eyes filled with concern. He scratched his straggly, graying beard.
Obeying the command, David slowly sank into a chair, keeping his eyes fixed on Bud’s face.
“I’m afraid I have bad news.” Bud cleared his throat, then slowly, deliberately said, “Your father’s been killed at Fredericksburg.” He looked down at the floor. “A little over a week ago. I know he was lookin’ forward to seein’ y’all. I’m…immensely sorry.”
He pulled a folded piece of yellowed paper from his coat pocket. The gray coat was torn and tattered in places, not at all like the beautiful piece of clothing that had been provided to him nearly two years earlier. His trousers and the kepi he held in his hand were weathered, too.
“Miss Carolyn, Hiram wanted me to give you this here letter…in the event of his death.” He solemnly handed her the note.
Squeezing her eyes shut, Carolyn held it to her mouth. Tears streamed down her weathered face. “Thank you, Bud,” she finally said. “You’ve been a good friend to my Hiram. I know he appreciated you dearly.”
Bud nodded. “Please let the missus or me know if there’s anything we can do,” he offered, and walked toward the door.
“I surely will.” Carolyn wearily stood, followed him to the door, and walked him out.
Bud placed his kepi on his head, untied his horse, mounted, and galloped off down the lane. The rhythm of hoof beats faded.
Turning from the doorway, Carolyn somberly gazed at her children. Her two daughters came across the room to hug her. The three of them burst into tears. Carolyn gazed at her son, who was sitting motionless across the room, his handsome young face drained of color, his hazel eyes growing a darker brown.
“David,” she said, her voice filled with the sorrow that had now overtaken the room.
He looked over at her, his face blank with grief-stricken shock. Finding no comfort in her anguished expression, he glanced up at the ornately-carved mantle clock, the one his father had given to her as a wedding gift. It read ten minutes past five. Beside it sat a framed tintype of his father, adorned in Confederate glory, ready to march off to victory, but now he was never to return. David’s eyes wandered, and he noticed things he’d taken for granted before: the raised oval portrait of his paternal grandmother on the wall, the paintings of flowers his mother liked so well that hung on the opposite wall, the fieldstone fireplace that his father had built, and the pine furniture that had been there ever since he could remember. Somehow, all of it seemed irrelevant.
Moving numbly, he rose and walked across the room to pick up the little tree he had dropped earlier. A tiny pool of water remained where it had fallen. He carried the tree outside, leaving a trail of moisture that splattered onto the floorboards. The cold winter air, uncluttered with snow, barely whispered, its breath deathly quiet and still. Dusk was rapidly approaching.
David hurled the tree as hard as he could. It landed with a rustled thud out in the yard. Without pausing, he walked into the breezeway past his mother and sisters and grabbed a kerosene lantern. He carried it outside, lit it, and threw it at the pine. The glass shattered upon impact. Kerosene trickled out onto the tiny branches and within seconds, flames engulfed the little tree. He stoically watched tongues of fire consume the sapling. Slowly, he turned to face his mother and sisters, who were standing on the porch, watching him while they wept.
“I reckon we won’t be celebratin’ Christmas after all,” he said, his voice raspy with distress.
Impending darkness engulfed his heart. Feeling the need for solitude, he walked around the house toward the barn, vaguely hearing his mother call out to him. The sky opened, releasing icy rain. He stomped past the pigpen and the chicken coop. Upon reaching the old wooden barn, he went inside and blinked several times before his eyes adjusted to his dim surroundings. He caught glimpses of shadows dancing off the walls and up around the rafters. A pungent combination of dry, clean hay and musty wood enveloped him. The rain rattled down upon the barn’s tin roof and sounded like a thousand tiny drums. Three cows studied him with soft brown eyes. One mooed a welcome as he walked past them.
Sidestepping bales of hay stacked near the stall door, David paused to shake off cold drops of moisture that clung to his shirt and ran his hand over the top of his head, wiping the rain from his dark brown hair. A large Percheron, standing in the stall next to Renegade, gazed at David with his ears pricked.
“Hey, Joe Boy,” David said softly to the tall white gelding.
The draft horse sniffled at David’s pockets but seemed to lose interest and shuffled to the other end of his stall when David didn’t offer a treat like he usually did. Renegade looked up from his fodder and nickered softly. David walked over and gently stroked his muzzle. “I’m sorry I put you through all that trouble of bringin’ home a tree.” Anguish and anger welled up inside him. Searing-hot tears streamed down his cheeks. His hatred seethed. His grief was overwhelming, and he could hold it back no longer. Sobs escaped him. He grasped onto his horse’s mane, burying his face in Renegade’s neck. The colt stood quietly, seemingly to console him.
I just received a very flattering, five-star review for my novel, A Beautiful Glittering Lie. This is the first book in the Renegade Series. Thank you, Mr. Todd Price, for your amazing review!
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2021
Wow. I loved this story from the beginning. It sucks you in almost immediately. Told from the Confederate perspective, it really puts a personal spin on the war from the POV of one family and the effect it had on them. Not only does it have lifelike depictions of battle, it gives you a vivid picture of what it was like for the people left behind by the soldiers back home. Once the father goes off to war it shifts back and forth between what he experiences in the war and what his family is going through while he is away. The battle scenes are described beautifully and really make you feel like you are in the middle of the battle with the soldiers as they fight. My favorite parts though were the scenes from the family back home and what they went through. I have read many books on the Civil War but none ever really went into what the families left behind had to endure, and you get a great picture of their lives during this time. I will definitely be finishing the rest of the series and can’t wait to start the next one, especially since it ends on a cliffhanger that makes me want to jump back in and continue with the story of this family I came to know and love.
Can’t recommend this book highly enough, especially if you love Civil War stories like I do, and even if that isn’t your thing, the humanity portrayed in this story makes it worth the read alone. You really care for this family and what happens to them. Also, if you know your Civil War history you will recognize all of the usual characters and battles that are seen from the view of the father as a frontline soldier as he enters into them as he is deployed. This isn’t a Shaara book with a lot of background info on the war provided. You see the war as it unfolds to someone in real time as it happened, without a lot of foreknowledge of the what and where they were headed until they arrived. Once they are there, the details are provided to determine the battlefield on which they are engaged, and it becomes clear which battle you are witnessing. To me this made everything more real and immediate, and personal.
I love the fresh perspective this put on the war that so much has been written about. Do yourself a favor and read this wonderful book. You won’t be sorry.
I hope y’all aren’t getting tired of my sharing these reviews, but I’m just over the moon with receiving them! I feel very fortunate that I have been able to receive these reviews for my novel, A Beckoning Hellfire, in recent weeks. Here are a few more that I’d like to share with you!
Phil Bolos
5.0 out of 5 stars Great historical fiction Reviewed in the United States on November 6, 2021 Verified Purchase A Beckoning Hellfire by J.D.R. Hawkins takes us into the heart of the Civil War and shows us the harsh realities of what it was like to be a soldier in the bloodiest conflict in American history. On Christmas Eve 1862, David Summers finds out that his father has died at the hands of the Union Army. Caught up in rage and seeking revenge, David does the honorable thing and joins the Confederate Army so that he can goes against the Union and get revenge for what happened to his father. But, all honor is quickly forgotten when he is thrown into numerous battles and he sees what war is really like. Revenge begins to fade away as David becomes more focused on just staying alive so that he can get back home again. I am a big history buff, so reading this was a lot of fun. The author has done a nice job of creating a piece of historical fiction that gives the reader a chance to get a glimpse of what it was like to go through this horrific conflict. I think that fans of history and of fiction will really enjoy this read and the efforts the author took to make this as realistic as possible.
A Beckoning Hellfire: A Novel of the Civil War by J.D.R. Hawkins brings one of our country’s devastating times to life. David Summers is angry, hurt, and wants revenge. He can’t fathom a war that would have killed the man he idolized. His passion now is to make everyone pay who represented a small part in the death of his father. As he fights this war, brother against brother, father against son, he realizes there isn’t glamour or pride when you win a battle. The destruction and despair are unimaginable.
I found J.D.R. Hawkins a skillful writer as she brings the Civil War alive with a fierce reminder of our country torn apart. A Beckoning Hellfire is well-written and a fascinating novel. The characters are just as you would imagine them with hopes, dreams, and disappointments. They strive to live one more day and to keep their family and friends alive. People will show their true light during their darkest days. History lovers will enjoy this novel.
I would say, if you’re going to go into this easily offended by the vivid descriptions of a Confederate soldier and his family, don’t bother picking this one up. But if you want to know what it might’ve been like to be part of a family whose father has gone off to fight for the Confederacy and was killed, this is the book to get. It’s a vivid look at how ugly the war was and what it’s like to have one’s images of glorious warfare and revenge shattered.
I came across this article on Facebook and found it extremely fascinating, so I wanted to share. Let me know what you think.
The Return of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Sword
by Kev Lee
The famous sword of Gen. Robert E. Lee is making news this week because its finally returning to Lee’s place of surrender more than 146 years after the Civil War. Anyone who’s not a history buff might wonder what the big deal is, but for decades, there’s been a myth surrounding Lee’s sword.
Legend has it that upon surrender to Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant after the Battle of Appomattox Court House, Lee gave up his sword to Grant as a traditional gesture, but Grant refused the sword. History has a funny way of making a big circle, as the sword is moving from its longtime resting place at the Museum of the Confederacy in downtown Richmond to a new museum in Appomattox, Va.
Even if you don’t care too much about history, Lee’s sword is a notable and unique French-made sword. The 40 1/2 inch sword has a lion’s head on the pommel (the knob at the bottom of the handle) and an ivory grip. The sword has lost all its gold color from years of polishing and upkeep, but was recently restored so it glows and glitters once again.
There is writing on each side of the blade. One side reads “Gen. Robert E. Lee CSA from a Marylander 1863” while the other side says “Aide toi dieu l’aidera.” That means “Help yourself and God will help you.” The sword also comes with a scabbard made of blued steel, which is partially protected from rust. They aren’t sure who made the sword, but they know it would have been extremely expensive in the 1800s. The sword was only for ceremonial use and there’s no sign he used it in battle.
If you want to look at this amazing piece of history and craftsmanship, the sword will also be visiting two more museums in Virginia.
My novel, A Beckoning Hellfire, just acheived #2 rating in Civil War books on Amazon. My publisher, Westwood Books Publishing, has been pushing to get this book rated as #1 on the Amazon bestseller list. Hopefully, that will happen soon!
Part of their marketing campaign is to get more reviews for the book. Here are a couple of five-star reviews that it recently received.
A Beckoning Hellfire: A Novel of the Civil War by J.D.R. Hawkins brings one of our country’s devastating times to life. David Summers is angry, hurt, and wants revenge. He can’t fathom a war that would have killed the man he idolized. His passion now is to make everyone pay who represented a small part in the death of his father. As he fights this war, brother against brother, father against son, he realizes there isn’t glamour or pride when you win a battle. The destruction and despair are unimaginable.
I found J.D.R. Hawkins a skillful writer as she brings the Civil War alive with a fierce reminder of our country torn apart. A Beckoning Hellfire is well-written and a fascinating novel. The characters are just as you would imagine them with hopes, dreams, and disappointments. They strive to live one more day and to keep their family and friends alive. People will show their true light during their darkest days. History lovers will enjoy this novel.
A RECONNING HELLFIRE, A Novel of the Civil War, Kindle Edition by JDR Hawkens. The author has set forth a coming of age tale of a young farm boy in the horribly difficult time of the Civil War between the states. His father has joined the Army of the Confederate States of America and left him to manage the large but somewhat hardscrabble farm in western Alabama with the help of his sisters and mother. Unfortunately, he is killed and the family is informed just before Christmas shortly before his 18th birthday that was to occur the following year. With a typical display of the bitterness exhibited between residents of the northern and southern states, plus an anxiousness to “get into the action existent in almost all young naïve young men, he is determined also to join in the bitter fighting to “gain revenge on the Yankees:” The story unfolds following the young man’s subsequent enlistment and experiences as he becomes one of the many young men involved in the gradual expansion of the deadly hand-to-hand combat of a member of the Southern cavalry fighting under the flamboyant and highly successful J.E.B. Stuart. His plight is made worse by his actions immediately before leaving for the army, but aided in many ways by his lifelong close friend who joins with him and his unusual horse that has been his companion for many years. Discussion: The author is the well-known as the eminently well-qualified one of the few women writing in this area of American literature, and once again has provided readers with a well-researched, well-written, mostly poignant story of one series of actions that could have taken place during the conflict. It is a story of the common soldier with only an occasional glance into the lives of the cavaliers and the storied lives lived by the wealthy plantation owners and that from which came the Southern Officers. Instead it depicts the farmer, blacksmith, storekeepers and others who made up the largest proportion of the soldiers involved in the horrendous conflict. It is not a story for the delicate reader and, as are any descriptions of battle scenes as they truly exist, subject to a goodly amount of repetition or repetitive-like description. However, the informed reader will learn much he/she may not previously known about the substitute foods and other innovative moves the southerners ‘manufactured’. It is a well-worthwhile addition to the collection of stories of tis great American conflict.
5* thoughtful addition to the American Civil War literature.
With the Christmas season upon us, many of us are feeling the strain to set up our homes for the ideal festival with companions, friends, and family. While a considerable lot of us focusing on brightening within our homes with pine trees, stockings, nutcrackers, and presents, setting aside the effort to adorn your home’s outside can likewise upgrade your property and spread some occasional soul.
Tips to Decorate Your Metal Homes Exterior on Christmas
Enhancing metal building houses to meet your specification and needs with Christmas lights consistently awaken extraordinary recollections of adolescence. Such countless individuals kept on doing that as the years progressed. Here are the absolute most excellent open-air house designs with Christmas lights. They are referenced in not specific requests, and of them are great and tell the best way to observe Christmas with style.
Examine Your Home’s Exterior
Get your cell phone or camera, something for taking notes assuming you need, and dress in a suitable climate because we’re going to go on an outing outside for a couple of moments. Before we even start to talk about outside Christmas designing thoughts, or kinds of lights, or establishment tips and deceives, you’ll need to get to know the outside components of your metal home. Take a gander at your metal home from a Christmas-enriching viewpoint, and we hear a little outside air is helpful for the creative mind.
Less is More Now
Rather than drawing out all the merry occasion embellishments from past years, have a go at being more specific to save money on schedule and disappointment. By paring down your Christmas stylistic theme, you can clear your mind and regard for explicit regions. Rather than setting up various light strands, including both diverse and white, have a go at adhering to pieces that work with a specific shading plan or occasion subject.
Use Fairy Lights
So essential, however so powerful, nothing beats pixie lights with regards to outside Christmas stylistic themes. Furthermore, we say the better, outline your window and entryways, fill trees and fences, so your metal home truly sparkles.
Our possible suggestion regarding going all out with pixie lights is to guarantee they are overall a similar tint, you right away notification in case your lights are unique, and it will lose that durable look. Your most innovative option to accomplish this is to purchase every one of your lights from a similar brand, so you have that progression in shading.
Decorate Floor With Festive Flourishes
Doorstep is a fantastic property with regards to the Christmas stylistic theme. Every one of your visitors will see it, as will your neighbors, as will you, so you need your front way to be looking as supernatural as the beautifications that lie behind it. A wreath of some depiction is an unquestionable requirement, however why stop there? We love the snowy scene made here; it’s fun and merry yet classy, too, with a slight Scandi edge. What’s more, those who realized artificial snow could look so stylish, will be giving it a shot themselves.
Use Lanterns
For a more insignificant way to deal with the doorstop stylistic theme, be roused by this good look and line your means or patio with various lights. Blend and match the sizes and styles to make them even more, a component and spot in certain scaled-down trees as well, assuming you need to make it extra happy. Think natural candles aren’t the most secure choice for your metal home; switch them for open-air LED candles that emit that exquisite gleam yet don’t burn to the ground and are a lot faster than an open fire.
Light Your Windows
There’s something so beautiful and comfortable with regards to a shining window at Christmas, one that welcomes you in with its warm and inviting light. So while the entryway might be such a center regarding Christmas stylistic theme, make sure to decorate your windows as well. Hanging lights are the least demanding of Christmas window lighting thoughts and moments make a metal home look merry, yet light in the windows from within as well, however candles of enhancements so they genuinely sparkle.
Use Garlands
Laurels may not generally be an open-air design, yet there’s a lot of freedom to utilize them in your nursery. ‘I love to incorporate occasional stylistic themes in unforeseen spots, such as open-air chimneys. Putting surprising things in the firebox, like pinecones or poinsettias, is an excellent choice for making seasonal joy outside.
Conclusion
The most straightforward method for enhancing the outside of your metal home for Christmas is with lights. They are basic, jazzy and thus successful. String them around your windows, from the rooftop, in the trees; indeed, you can never have too much.
Beautifying your metal home’s outside with strands of Christmas lights adds a warm occasion shine to the property during the season. Laying out the metal home’s elements, for example, belt board, entryways, and windows, presents the house like a coordinated, comfortable creation in light, welcoming even from far off. Whether picking one prevailing shading or blended light tone on the light strands, staying with one fundamental topic for every component makes a more durable look. Testing the lights in advance saves the difficulty of bringing down and rehanging light strands that aren’t working as expected.
Author Bio:
Amy writes for topics like metal buildings, metal building decor, real estate and construction, topics additionally; she has a passion for the metal building industry for more than ten years, Amy has become an experienced building specialist in this industry. Her goal is to help people with his vast knowledge to assist them with his best suggestions about different metal buildings such as carports, garages, barns, utility buildings, and commercial metal structures.
My publisher has been pushing to get top reviews for my novel, A Beckoning Hellfire, in hopes of spring boarding it to the #1 status on Amazon. I would like to share some of these with you in the next few weeks.
Author/singer/songwriter JDR Hawkins writes novels and articles for newspapers, magazines, e-zines and blogs about the Civil War from the Confederate perspective. Her RENEGADE Series is rapidly winning multiple awards and to date there are three volumes – A REBEL AMONG US, A BEAUTIFUL GLITTERING LIE, and this volume – A BECKONING HELLFIRE. These novels relate the story of a family from northern Alabama who experience immeasurable pain when their lives are dramatically changed by the war.
At this particular time in our history, when questions are being raised about the validity of statues and memorabilia of the Civil War, creating heated discussions and confrontations, this book offers a fresh view of the Civil War from the Southern, and Confederate, stance. For a more complete picture of that historical event, Hawkins has created a fictional revisit to that mid 1800s time and her writing is inviting, from the first lines: “Here it is! Come Quick!” David sauntered across the dead grass toward his little sister. Amused by the way she was jumping up and down like a nervous flea, he couldn’t help but grin. Obviously, she was too excited to care that her petticoats were showing from under the brown coat and green calico dress she wore, or that her long auburn hair had broken free from its bondage as her bonnet slid from her head and dangled down her back.’ Approaching her novel from the family standpoint allows everyone entry to better understand the Confederate vantage.
Along those lines, the plot progresses as follows: ‘During the bloody American Civil War, the stark reality of death leads one young man on a course of revenge that takes him from his quiet farm in northern Alabama to the horrific battlefields of Virginia and Pennsylvania. On Christmas Eve 1862, David Summers hears the dreaded news: his father has perished at the Battle of Fredericksburg. Reeling with grief and thoughts of vengeance, David enlists and sets off for Richmond to join the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. But once in the cavalry, David’s life changes drastically, and his dream of glamorous chivalry becomes nothing but a cold, cruel existence of pain and suffering. He is hurled into one battle after another, and his desire for revenge wanes when he experiences first-hand the catastrophes of war.’
This is a timely novel that will hopefully add new dimensions of thinking about the Civil War and its persistent scars.
Trisha is mortified as a stranger flirts with her at a society party. The very fact that he singles her out, and she gives in to her pent-up desires and attraction towards the handsome stranger, lands her in a soup so deadly that it brings danger and death to her doorstep.
Coming out of a brutal undercover assignment, busting the spine of a major illegal drug cartel, Armaan is looking for some peace and quiet. Instead his path coincides with Trisha Mehra. Sparks fly. As do bullets too.
By sheer coincidence, when they meet again, they have an accident. Again!
And IB agent Major Armaan Joshi does not believe in coincidences.
Another standalone novel under Undercover series, yet connected in spirit, from the author of bestsellers ‘The Bodyguard’ and ‘Guardian Angel’…
His eyes habitually scanned the view outside the hall and did a double-take. A figure in a black dress stood at the edge of the pool. Slim calves encased in multiple, thin, silver straps of her heels invited him like no other. She stood pensively staring at the water shimmering in the pool. Curiosity had him peeling himself from his post at the corner of the hall and start toward the exit leading to the pool.
Maybe he would get lucky in all the areas today.
Without taking his eyes off her, he exited the big room. She appeared to be deep in her thoughts staring at the blue water that rippled with the slight garden breeze.
“Hope you are not thinking of diving in?”
She gasped and turned around. “Beg your pardon!” Her eyes big on her lean face.
He couldn’t help but smile at her ‘convent-educated’ reaction. The garden lights cast a shadow making her look enigmatic and royal. Tall and slim with a shoulder-length bob-cut framing her delicate face, she was almost his height in the sexy, foot-breaking heels. He was not used to women matching his height.
“I was just curious. You have been staring at the pool for quite some time. I wondered if you were having some self-destructive thoughts.” He smiled. The water in the pool was just two feet deep.
A shapely eyebrow arched sophisticatedly. “And you decided to come to my rescue?”
“No… no… please carry on.” He waved his glass in the air. “I have no intention of becoming a knight.”
“Wouldn’t that be anticlimactic since you sought me out to save me from my untimely demise?” Her eyes changed from being pensive to playful.
He suppressed a smile at the encouraging transformation. “So you do believe in heroes, in this era and age!” His own eyes glinted with an answering whimsy.
Ready with an answering retort, she opened her mouth, but her phone rang. She exhaled, threw an exasperated glance at him as if annoyed at the disruption and answered. “Yes… yes, of course, I’m coming.” She looked at him and stepped around, “If you’ll excuse me.”
He inclined his head, and she left.
Author of the bestselling romantic thrillers, Ruchi Singh is an IT professional and novelist writing under Romance and Suspense genre. She is a bilingual author and writes in both Hindi and English.
Winner of the Times Of India WriteIndia Season 1, she began her writing career writing short stories and articles, which have been published on various forums. She has been a contributing author to a number of anthologies and has published many short stories under various genres. She has also won the Indireads Story Competition, in ‘crime’ genre.
A voracious reader, she loves everything—from classics to memoirs to editorials to chick-lit, but her favourite genre is ‘romantic thriller’.
J.D.R. Hawkins 