Heather Webber Archives

Happy New Year in Italics set amongst a picture of stars

Wishing you all a Happy New Year and a peaceful, happy, and healthy 2026. Here are some snapshots of each month of 2025 on the blog. For the “books I highlighted” section, I highlighted a lot more books during some months than others, so I just picked three or less from each month. There is a link at the end of each month to all of my posts.

January

Happy New Year image of Mountains in Snow.

Apparently a year ago we had some snow, at least at higher elevations. Not so in 2026 yet.

Books I highlighted on this blog:

I will be reviewing Gail Olmsted’s latest book, Class Action, soon. Here is the Amazon link

A link to my Jan 25 posts

February

In Feb 2025, we had some much needed tree removal done on the property.

Books I Highlighted On This Blog

A link to my Feb 25 posts

March

March appears to have been a quiet month.

Books I Highlighted In March

A link to my March 25 posts

April

A Happy Easter photo with three white lilies. Part of a Happy New Year post and a New Year roundup

We celebrated Easter with a lovely poem from Louise Belanger. You can find it here.

Books I highlighted in April

A link to my April 25 posts

May

In May we had an earthquake in Bryson City. The folks in California will not even blink, but for us, in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it was very unusual. It was 4.1 on the Richter Scale, so mild in comparison, but if you don’t usually get one in your area, it’s eyebrow-raising. It shook the whole house, but there was no damage.

Books I Highlighted In May

A link to my May 25 posts

June

I went to the Historical Novel Society conference in June. I learned a lot, but Vegas has changed since my visit in the 1990s and not for the better. It’s just too expensive now and I won’t go back.

Books I Highlighted In June

I just reviewed one book in June. Wildcard by Gail Meath. I spent a lot of time on Historical Novel Society Reviews, Editing, and the Conference. in June.

A link to my June 25 posts

July

July was all about the grandkids, and they spent a whole month with us. We made treasured memories, and I was absolutely exhausted!

Books I highlighted in July

A link to my July 25 posts

August

It was the end of July when a tiny ball of fluff ran out of an old barn, crying and abandoned by his Mom. We named him Oliver PeeWee (Opie for short). But August was when he became ours for sure. This is a picture of him weighing in at 9 ounces at the vet. He’s almost 8 pounds now. #Happy New Year

August was also when we added Doug’s garage to our property. It has been great for him to have a garage, and he’s gotten a lot done in there, including fixing two of our cars. #Happy New Year

Books I Highlighted in August

A link to my Aug 25 posts

September

I posted about the horrific death of Charlie Kirk. I didn’t know what I was going to see when I clicked on a video that day, but that is first time I ever watched someone bleed out, and I never want that to happen again. The man who killed him is in the justice system, and I hope Charlie’s family does indeed receive justice. Charlie never apologized for being a Christian, and neither will I.

Books I highlighted in September

A link to my Sep 25 posts

October

Stormy red and gray sky in the Smoky Mountains. Happy New Year.

A Stormy Sky in Bryson City. The turning of the leaves was quite late this year so I didn’t get a lot of leaf-changing pictures in October.

Books I Highlighted in October.

The Weight of Snow and Regret by Elizabeth Gauffreau. Happy New Year.

A Bloody Banquet by Gail Meath. Happy New Year.

What a great reading month October was! I read The Weight of Snow and Regret by Liz Gauffreau for The Historical Novel Society. I actually posted the review in November. Gail Meath’s A Bloody Banquet came out, and my favorite author Jodi Taylor released another Time Police book! A link to my Oct 25 posts. Happy New Year

November

A picture of a Smoky Moutain Fall evening with a pale moon. Happy New Year

A November evening moon in Bryson City. You can see the colors are finally coming out.

A picture of a train from The Smoky Mountain Railroad. Happy New Year

I also rode The Smoky Mountain Railroad in November with my friend Lyric and her Mom. The photo is not from November, sadly.

Books I Highlighted in November

When Secrets Bloom by Patricia Furstenberg. Happy New Year.

Amanda in Ireland by Darlene Foster. Happy New Year.

I actually reviewed two books by Beth Kanell in one post, but The Bitter and the Sweet is her most recent. A link to my November 2025 Posts.

December

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Opie, a tuxedo kitten in the picture. He is playing with Christmas wrapping paper.

Here is Opie five months later! I also did an article about Scams Against Indie Authors.

Books I Highlighted in December

The Kansal Clunker The Car That Rebuilt Us Happy New Year. — Version 1.0.0

I’ll actually be reviewing In The Spirit of French Murder this month, but I picked it up in December.

There is a bit of my 2025 on the blog! Like any year, it had its ups and downs, but I’m thankful for everything God has given me, and there have been many blessings. Hoping for all of us to have a Happy New Year! Link to my December 2025 posts.

As an additional Happy New Year, here is the Acapella Group Home Free singing Auld Lang Syne

I know it’s Wednesday, but I couldn’t post yesterday, so here’s Top Ten Tuesday a day late. Below are ten books that surprised me.

A girl in a field, facing away, holding a pack of letters behind her back. — Version 1.0.0

a Coffee Cup with Butterfly perched on the side. — Version 1.0.0

Things We Didn’t Say by Amy Lynn Green: The reason this one surprised me is that this was Amy Lynn Green’s debut novel, and it was completely epistolary (comprised of letters, articles, and other written communications). It was so well done!

The Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber: This was the first book I read by Heather Webber, and I discovered she writes wonderful small-town fiction with a touch of magical realism. What shocked me was she had already written 25 books and I’d never discovered her before.

The Thin Place by C.D. Major: This one surprised me because sadly there really is a place in the world where dogs inexplicably jump to their deaths.

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg: The ending surprised me, as it did a lot of people.

A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver: I was pretty tired of WWII novels, but this is about a safe-cracking criminal family that helped British Intelligence during the war, so surprisingly I found myself reading another WWII novel.

The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee: This is so well written, and again set during WWII, but in the Philippines, and I learned a lot of shocking things about what went on there during the war.

The Exchange by John Grisham: Sadly, this one surprised me because it was so bad. It was supposed to be a sequel to THE FIRM, but it felt like Mitch McDeere was added into a totally unrelated novel just to make some sales.

Horse Show by Jess Bowers: This one is shocking and surprising. This is a collection of short stories, many about how horses were abused and neglected, such as in circuses, on movie sets, and even in the military.

Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor: Everyone who reads this blog knows Jodi is my favorite author. But what you may not know is that she didn’t publish her first book until she was 60. That was when she self-published the first book of The Chronicles of St. Mary’s series. She is now a best-sellling author with a major publisher. I bought this book for 99 cents when it came out because I like time travel fiction. I had no idea I was going to read a series that would become like an old friend.

The Nothing Girl by Jodi Taylor: I read this one just because Jodi Taylor was the author. It isn’t Time Travel, so I was skeptical. What it is is a fantasy about how a young girl’s life was saved by a magical golden horse. And it’s so good that I like it just as much as St. Mary’s. That’s what surprised me.

*Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl.

Tag: Heather Webber

Happy New Year!

January