Hi, Patricia Bradley here. I want to introduce my friend Delores Topliff who will be posting regularly to the Christians Read blog.

Over to you, Delores.

I’m new here and look forward to getting acquainted. As Patricia said, I’m Delores Topliff and live in Minnesota half the year and Mississippi the other half. Here’s my favorite MN farm photo–a sunset from our farm. Next time I’ll share my favorite Mississippi photo.

I started by writing prize-winning illustrated children’s books and moved on to publish historic novels, two of them based on true WWII events in the Pacific Northwest. I blog every 2nd Tuesday on Delorestopliff.com where you can read more about my books, life, and writing journey.

I began writing in the third grade by making up rhymed stories I sometimes told out loud when our teacher left the room. My classmates loved them so I began taking writing seriously. One of them became my popular children’s book, Little Big Chief and The Bear Hunt.

We also lived right across the street from a small library with the most encouraging grandmotherly librarian I’ve ever met. She said I read more books than any other member (true at the time) and asked what I wanted to do when I grew up. I said be librarian like her, but I felt sorry for people living along the Columbia River nearby who didn’t have libraries so would fill a houseboat with books to take to families up and down the river.

She was kind enough not to laugh; that story is told in Books Afloat where librarian-heroine Anne Mettles volunteers with an network to stops the invasion of a Japanese submarine that really did enter the river in June 1942. It sequel, Strong Currents, was released in February 2023.

I’d love to welcome you as new readers and hear your feedback. Until next time, I’ll leave you with my favorite tried and true Bible verse: Psalm 56:9 KJV “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: This I know; for God is for me.”