“I travel the way of truth, even if I’m the only one. I travel the path of light, even if I’m the only one. I travel the path of hope, even if I’m the only one. One giving truth and hope and light to those who think there is no truth and hope and light left to hang onto.”
-James L. Rubart
Southern Fiction Author
Jennifer Hallmark
Jennifer Hallmark writes Southern fiction with a twist. Her website and newsletter focus on her books, love of the South, and favorite fiction. She creates stories with unforgettable characters—her stories are a little eerie and otherworldly but with a positive turn.
Jessie’s Hope, her first novel, was a Selah Award nominee for First Novel. Her latest novel, Smoking Flax, will be released on January 16th, 2024.
When she isn’t babysitting, gardening, or exploring the beautiful state of Alabama, you can find her at her desk penning fiction or studying the craft of writing. She also loves reading and streaming fantasy, supernatural stories, and detective fiction from the Golden Age or her favorite subject—time travel.
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A Smidgen of Hope: Survival Mode
Life is good. People and jobs and situations, and the community can be good. Times of joy and peace, and prosperity find us all unexpectedly and make the blessing even greater. But life can also be hard. Chaotic, distressing, fretful, difficult to live, kind of hard....
Friday Fiction: Christmas in July Special
How about a Christmas-in-July treat? Try Oh No! Reindeer Flu, written by Valerie L. Egar and illustrated by Tamara Campeau. It’s fit for children, whether they are entering preschool or second grade. An awful event happens: the reindeer have the flu, right on...
A Smidgen of Hope: The Fourth of July
The Fourth of July is always chaotic for me, the whole week. Not only is it my mom's birthday, but the vegetable garden we plant yearly is ready to harvest. There's corn on the cob to put in the freezer, bread and butter pickles to make, and beans and peas to pick....
Friday Fiction: Something Else by Cher Gatto (Something I Am Not, #2)
Something Else: The Background When I heard about Something Else before its release in January, I didn’t know what to expect. After all, it was the original story, Something I Am Not, that had me sobbing on my bedroom floor after midnight. (No wonder it won the 2020...
A Smidgen of Hope: When Sleep Flees
God is big enough. Let that sink in for a moment. God is bigger than my problems, my worries, my fears, and all obstacles. He is greater, more majestic, and above all. He is God. And that should bring me a boatload of hope, right? Then why do I have so much trouble...
Jaws – 50th Anniversary – You’ll Never Go In The Water Again
Serendipity - the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. For me, today's date - 6-20-2025 - is indeed serendipitous. Fifty years ago, my favorite movie and the first summer movie blockbuster premiered in theaters and drive-ins...
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