Author: Jeanne Lemmon Skinner

Football Season is Here!

/ Jeanne Lemmon Skinner / 1 Comment

OH-IO! Is a familiar cry during football season in Ohio. Fall and football go together. Growing up in Columbus I cheered for the Bobcats on Friday night, the Buckeyes on Saturday, and on Sunday my family rooted for the Browns.

One would think I knew the game pretty well with all that cheering and watching, but unfortunately I didn’t. My understanding of the game occurred when one of my sons starting playing football. He put on a helmet at age ten and wore one until he graduated from college. That was a lot of football games, and I finally learned the game! Once I fully understood what I was watching, I became a real fan.

I know people throughout America love their football teams, but if you live in Columbus, Ohio, the team that reigns over all the others is the BUCKEYES! I proudly say “OH” do I hear an “IO”?

Why Write?

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A standard English class question is, What is the author’s purpose? The answers to choose from are: to entertain, explain, inform or persuade. We all write for a variety of purposes. Leaving a list of chores for someone has a very specific purpose!

In Hummingbirds, Pennies, and Hope, I created characters with real life experiences of seeing hummingbirds, finding pennies, and receiving messages from deceased loved ones. The main character is a teenage girl, Anna, who does a report on angels which leads to surprising consequences. The book entertains, informs, and I hope is inspirational!

Since I enjoy learning as well as being entertained, I researched Johnny Appleseed (John Chapman) when I wrote In God We Trust. I learned that the apples he planted were not for eating, but for making cider. Water wasn’t always available, so the settlers made cider. The main character, Ted Song, is an Anointed One which means he possess extraordinary gifts and he learns a lot about John Chapman when he is sent to Maple Grove, Ohio.

Cardinals as Messengers

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There are many stories of people receiving messages from deceased loved ones via a cardinal visit. My friend was sitting on her deck missing her mother who had recently passed and a cardinal flew to the deck railing. The cardinal hopped towards her and appeared to stare at her. She returned the stare and he remained for several minutes. When he left, my friend said she was certain the cardinal had been sent by her mother and her sadness had been lifted. Her mother was a bird watcher and kept her bird feeder filled. Living in Ohio, cardinals were frequent visitors.

Wheat Pennies

/ Jeanne Lemmon Skinner / 4 Comments

Wheat pennies were made in the United States from 1909 to 1956. A friend was eager to share her wheat penny story with me. She and her sister were at the hospital visiting another sister who was fighting cancer. The two sisters went to the cafeteria to get lunch. While eating, one received a call and pushed her tray aside. When she pulled the tray back in front of her, she found a wheat penny sitting on the tray. The two sisters looked at each other in amazement. The coin had not been there before. When they examined the coin, they realized it was the year their ill sister had been born. Even more amazing was their dad had collected wheat pennies. Both sisters agreed that this was sign that their father was watching over his three girls from the other side. I love to receive stories like this. So if you have one to share, I’d love to hear it!

Inspired Writing

/ Jeanne Lemmon Skinner / 7 Comments

Welcome to Inspired Writing! I’m a writer of many things. I published Hummingbirds, Pennies, and Hope in 2012 and my new book In God We Trust I hope will be published soon. I have written plays, picture books, and skits. I’m currently working on the annual Christmas show at my church. People ask me where I get my ideas, so I thought I’d share where I found them and what became of them. I hope my stories will entertain and maybe inspire a story or two for you to write.