{"title":"Daphne Simpkins","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-cloverdale-book-daphne-simpkins-9780692282656","title":"Mildred Budge in Cloverdale","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of \u003cb\u003eLovejoy\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eBlessed \u003c\/b\u003ecomes a series about church ladies of the South. After reading this first novel in the series, fans of Southern fiction write, I want to live next door to Mildred Budge. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA retired school teacher, Mildred Budge just wants to live a quiet life in her hometown of Cloverdale. But retirement does not mean she can say no to a friend--not a friend in trouble. A disciplined woman, Mildred can breathe the word no to a second cup of ice cream. Can resist drinking too much champagne. But when it comes right down to a friend needing a favor, she may say no first, but if someone really needs her-really needs her  -she always said yes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThat's how Mildred ended up with strangers camped out in her spare bedroom while helping her friend Fran launch a new business at the antique emporium. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe only real 'no' Mildred had said in recent history was to a man who loved her. Hugh wasn't the first man to pursue her. But he was the most recent. And she had been flattered but not interested-not in the way the widower wanted her to be interested.\u003cbr\u003eHugh didn't give up right away. He lodged himself near her at church. Found her in the church kitchen after a fellowship supper to aid in the clean-up. And finally, her would-be lover just asked her to say 'yes' to him outright. That was the moment when Mildred had to say a final 'no.' \u003cbr\u003eOnly her best friend Fran understood. Fran said when Mildred finally felt the regretful effects of that no, We're all of us such fools.\u003cbr\u003eBut they aren't fools. Mildred Budge and her friends are just people trying to live inside the faith released from heaven through the One who didn't say no.\u003cbr\u003eThis is the first novel in the series about Mildred Budge and her friends-just ordinary people trying to live out an extraordinary hope available to anyone who realizes what kind of help he or she really needs. That hope has a name, and Mildred Budge knows it. Need hope? Need a friend? \u003cbr\u003eMildred Budge is a very good friend. If you like spending time with people who are ordinary but extraordinarily hopeful, then you'll love this story. Get a copy of this first novel in the series and find out for yourself what church ladies really think.\u003cb\u003eAbout the author: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Daphne Simpkins is a Southern woman who writes about a variety of subjects and often on the secret lives of church ladies. Befriend her on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.com. To sign up for new release information go to DaphneSimpkins.org. Other Mildred Budge titles include the next two novels: \u003cb\u003eMildred Budge in Embankment\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Bride's Room\u003c\/b\u003e. Early short stories which were published in the United States and Canada are in two books\u003cb\u003e: Miss Budge in Love \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eThe Mission of Mildred Budge.\u003c\/b\u003e A stand-alone Christmas story featuring Mildred Budge and her friend Dixie is \u003cb\u003eMiss Budge Goes to Fountain City\u003c\/b\u003e. That Southern city is also celebrated in another book not in the series called \u003cb\u003eChristmas in Fountain City.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOther titles by Daphne Simpkins are: \u003cb\u003eThe Long Good Night, A Cookbook for Katie, What Al Left Behind, Blessed, Lovejoy, a novel about desire.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49581286129937,"sku":"GOR013164976","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49677566312721,"sku":"CIN0692282653G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50033687068945,"sku":"CIN0692282653VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50984089157905,"sku":"NIN9780692282656","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":51667685867793,"sku":"CIN0692282653LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52823875420433,"sku":"GOR014630943","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0692282653.jpg?v=1750783751"},{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-cloverdale-the-adventures-of-mildred-budge-book-daphne-simpkins-9781957435053","title":"Mildred Budge in Cloverdale (The Adventures of Mildred Budge)","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49654093906193,"sku":"GOR013443432","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50397152280849,"sku":"CIN1957435054G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1957435054.jpg?v=1751219924"},{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-embankment-book-daphne-simpkins-9780692342718","title":"Mildred Budge in Embankment","description":"In this second full-length Mildred Budge novel, the retired school teacher gets physical. By temperament a contemplative, in this story Mildred bravely leads the way to safety after the pulpit committee with whom she is traveling in an old-fashioned Buick flies off an embankment. Not only does Mildred discover in herself reservoirs of physical strength, but she also experiences new spiritual adventures as she continues to work out her salvation within the context of friendships and church relationships. Mildred Budge in Embankment challenges men and women to reconsider the tensions between grace and human will while experiencing glimpses of heaven along the way. It is perceptive, funny, and uplifting. Readers will enjoy the journey with Mildred and her friends. Study guides for book clubs for all Mildred Budge books are available upon request to the author through her website or on Facebook. Preceding titles are Miss Budge in Love, a collection of short stories, and Mildred Budge in Cloverdale, a revision of the earlier book Cloverdale-the first novel in the series. Interview with Daphne Simpkins: Q: Why did you choose a plain and not-so-young school teacher as your main character in a series of novels about church life--not a deacon, minister or elder? A: Most of us are plain people. Mildred Budge is the centerpoint in the stories but almost everyone around her becomes more attractive when seen through her eyes or in her company. I like to think she sees and brings out the best in other people. Q: What do you hope to reveal about church life through these stories? A: That loving God through Christ is real, authentic and fascinating. So often the Christian experience is summed up as a cliche but it isn't stale or easily reduced to a cliche. It is fresh, vital and real. Q: What do you consider the biggest problem with revealing Christianity to a world that has grown inured to the basic tenets of the scriptures? A: Grace is free and people want to earn the love of God. No one can earn the love of God--they can only say yes to it. And then live grateful lives. Q: What is the biggest misconception about Jesus? A: For me, Jesus is the master creator--the perfect man who came to fix what the first imperfect man broke: an intimate relationship with God. Jesus is that threshold, that doorway through which lonely, wounded people can pass into the green pasture of being loved, accepted and renewed. Pass through that doorway and you begin to find out who you are and how you fit in His world--not the broken one we all inherited. Jesus' world is better. Q: You are referring to some serious subjects here, but many people like your books because they are funny. I had to put Cloverdale and Miss Budge in Love down and laugh out loud before I could continue reading. A: Thank you  I'm glad you enjoyed them. Life is funny. I laughed while I wrote them. Q: What is your next project? A: I have two projects ongoing right now. The first is The Bride's Room, which is the next Mildred Budge and the other novel has only a working title which might best be kept a secret for a while. Q: Do you write every day? A: I pray every day that I can write well on the days when I can type. Q: What do you hope to do with your work? A: To tell the truth even if it isn't a popular truth. Jesus saves. He saves people who don't know they need to be rescued. That's the Jesus I know and celebrate in the adventures of Mildred Budge, a plain church lady.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49763376333073,"sku":"CIN0692342710VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50480025960721,"sku":"CIN0692342710G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50629087953169,"sku":"GOR014017517","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52736613089553,"sku":"NIN9780692342718","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0692342710.jpg?v=1750944912"},{"product_id":"bride-s-room-book-daphne-simpkins-9781732015869","title":"The Bride's Room","description":"Always a bride's maid--never a bride. That's part of the story of the life of Mildred Budge in this third novel in the series. But there is more to know about this Sunday School teacher who has been recruited to be a maid of honor for her good friend's wedding.As someone who has routinely had to muzzle herself at weddings by not calling out when the preacher asks if anyone knows a reason these two should not be wed, It's not going to work out, this new role of supporting the bride has its challenges for this church lady of the South, Mildred Budge.But being a bride's maid also has its benefits for by the time the journey is over--by the time the bride herself walks down that aisle--Mildred Budge has become a different woman. Renewed. Refreshed. And she's not alone either. In The Bride's Room, readers will delight in the everyday antics of Southern church women and their neighbors.But readers will also be at ease, at peace, moving at the preferred pace of grace that Miss Budge lives out in her daily life.If you enjoy Southern fiction and stories that showcase an older heroine, you will surely want to live with Mildred Budge and her friends in the garden district of Montgomery, AL, called Cloverdale. And you will enjoy your time in the bride's room, too. It's real and Mildred Budge lives there with her friends.To enjoy more time with Mildred Budge, download the first novel in the series, Mildred Budge in Cloverdale and the sequel, Mildred Budge in Embankment.If you enjoy shorter fiction, you'll find three volumes that capture slice of life adventures in Mildred's life. Those books are: Miss Budge in Love, The Mission of Mildred Budge, and a Christmas story, Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City.To learn more about the creator of Mildred Budge, Daphne Simpkins, follow her here on Amazon or connect with her on Twitter or Facebook.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49865369092369,"sku":"CIN1732015864VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50481870668049,"sku":"CIN1732015864G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50628106027281,"sku":"GOR014016530","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51048659583249,"sku":"NIN9781732015869","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1732015864.jpg?v=1752660777"},{"product_id":"christmas-in-fountain-city-book-daphne-simpkins-9780692788776","title":"Christmas in Fountain City","description":"Traditions grow up in neighborhoods and churches the way that they do in families. 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The recipes that have become traditions are left behind when the life-energizing force of Love itself takes a greater hold and moves the citizens of Fountain City to taste and see that the power of Christmas itself-its joy and its truth-are far more potent than any man-made recipe or tradition.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50037417902353,"sku":"CIN0692788778VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51006163386641,"sku":"NIN9780692788776","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0692788778.jpg?v=1751042224"},{"product_id":"long-good-night-book-daphne-simpkins-9780802839718","title":"The Long Good Night","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50322500845841,"sku":"GOR007556384","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50362539704593,"sku":"CIN0802839711G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51423029526801,"sku":"CIN0802839711VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53607505068305,"sku":"GOR007212869","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0802839711.jpg?v=1751329510"},{"product_id":"what-al-left-behind-book-daphne-simpkins-9780692361849","title":"What Al Left Behind","description":"There is a surprising and very freeing future for caregivers after Alzheimer's disease runs its course and leaves the building where you have been trying to make a home. The house will never be the same. Your heart will never feel the same. But in spite of its bad reputation, living with Al isn't all about heartbreak. It is about change for Al refocuses the way you see yourself, your home, the people around you and the way you wake up to your day and envision your future--and some of those changes are quite liberating. This book is a preview of the surprising good gifts Al leaves behind. 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Cooking tips and recipes are framed by family-themed essays that capture the flavor, heart and humor of home life. While written specifically for the writer's niece in response to the bride's request for a collection of family recipes when she was about to marry, this unusual memoir-cookbook could help any new bride who may need to answer the question, What's for supper? with good spirits, a hot meal and a pan of perfectly baked cornbread. Highly readable and wryly wise, A Cookbook for Katie, Recipes and Reveries for the Bride, is a celebration of love and food, with recipes not only for simple suppers and holiday meals but also for living lovingly after you say, I do.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50594926231825,"sku":"CIN0615925669G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51004974039313,"sku":"NIN9780615925660","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416004165905,"sku":"CIN0615925669VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0615925669.jpg?v=1750977134"},{"product_id":"miss-budge-goes-to-fountain-city-book-daphne-simpkins-9781732015838","title":"Miss Budge Goes to Fountain City","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50759465894161,"sku":"CIN173201583XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51048835416337,"sku":"NIN9781732015838","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51100316991761,"sku":"CIN173201583XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/173201583X.jpg?v=1751216519"},{"product_id":"blessed-book-daphne-simpkins-9781732015814","title":"Blessed","description":"Loving others is a blessing and caregiving is just one of the paths to knowing and living a fuller and more loving life. That's the philosophy of the author Daphne Simpkins in this newest collection of stories about caregiving: Blessed. Daphne developed her point of view by being a lifelong caregiver and as a Christian who takes that story about the Good Samaritan to heart.These stories celebrate the aspects of loving and giving care that include child raising, parent tending, being a good neighbor, and seeking help with assisted living establishments and respite ministries which she believes are active and invaluable care partners in our society. If you are an unrepentant caregiver and don't think loving others is a condition that needs to be named as a symptom and cured, this book is for you.About the author: Daphne Simpkins has been living in and writing about life in the South for most of her adult life. Her short stories and essays have been published in a variety of periodicals including The Chicago Tribune, The Atlanta Constitution, the Miami Herald, the Baltimore Sun, the Detroit Free Press, The Christian Courier, The Christian Century, Style, Tropic, and dozens of others. She is the author of nine other books which range in topics from Nat King Cole, memoirs about growing up in the South, being a caregiver of an Alzheimer's patient, and fictional stories about the secret and glorious lives of Southern church ladies. Her Mildred Budge books are popular with as many men as women and so far, that series has two collections of short stories and two novels. She has also written a heartwarming Christmas story set in a fictional city in Alabama. The titles of her books are: The Mission of Mildred Budge, Christmas in Fountain City, What Al Left Behind, A Cookbook for Katie, Mildred Budge in Embankment, Mildred Budge in Cloverdale, Miss Budge in Love, The Long Good Night, and Nat King Cole: A Life of Music. Previously an English teacher, Daphne Simpkins now writes full-time. 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These Small Talks tie to classic books and movies in order to make them immediately accessible to people during the lockdown.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51276679217425,"sku":"NIN9781732015852","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1732015856.jpg?v=1752143929"},{"product_id":"a-gentle-and-lowly-christmas-a-mildred-budge-friendship-story-book-daphne-simpkins-9781957435107","title":"A Gentle and Lowly Christmas: A Mildred Budge Friendship Story","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51602826297617,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51602827477265,"sku":"CIN1957435100VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1957435100.jpg?v=1750805157"},{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-embankment-a-mildred-budge-adventure-the-adventures-of-mildred-book-daphne-simpkins-9781957435060","title":"Mildred Budge in Embankment: A Mildred Budge Adventure (The Adventures of Mildred Budge)","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51695018508561,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51695019458833,"sku":"CIN1957435062VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53482018210065,"sku":"CIN1957435062G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1957435062.jpg?v=1751126044"},{"product_id":"lovejoy-book-daphne-simpkins-9781732015821","title":"Lovejoy","description":"\u003cb\u003eI was having dinner at Bucky's bar at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama, when I saw an older distinguished man sipping a martini and staring through the back window at the horizon of the Gulf of Mexico as the sun set.\u003c\/b\u003e And I knew him-not his name or the name of the woman he was missing and privately toasting with his small sips of that martini. But I knew him, and the concentration of his memories filled the space around him and drew me to him, like a love song. Like the great old love songs, I grew up singing. Those songs fit his story.When I got home, I wrote this story that happened to me when I saw a man whose name came with the sunset and the martini and the black grand piano he kept eying longingly: Franklin Lovejoy. So, in a way this story is autobiographical. I never met the man but Franklin Lovejoy happened to me. LOVEJOY was inspired by a real-life sighting of a man who had been deeply in love and as it turns out with more than one woman. It's part of the mystery of writing that stories come this way from chance encounters or in this case, a chance sighting. This is Lovejoy's story-and mine, in a way. I hope it will be one you enjoy too.The love story begins in a Southern church where desire for God is often confused with desire for a lover.Lovejoy happened to a Southern belle who, at first, admires the eligible older man from afar. Here's a little bit of that first spark between Lovejoy and the woman who, like others, couldn't say no to this man who had a way with the ladies.\u003cb\u003eExcerpt from Lovejoy: I was past my prime but not yet old when I met my match, Mr. Lovejoy. The distinguished widower had been part of the background of my community, an old Southern church where tradition is as romantic as the scent of magnolia and the fragrance of the gospel is as abundant as the scent of that flower that ladies in social clubs use for tabletop centerpieces.Through a natural reluctance to join myself to a ladies' social club that defined me by my gender or marital status, I kept myself apart in the Southern society where God had placed me. I lived on the perimeter where spectators observe and often have opinions. In Sunday school I sat near the wall. In church I sat near the back, where I was occasionally shaken out of my church-time reverie when I heard a man belt out Amen whenever the preacher made a point that might have gone without attention otherwise.Heads turned at the sound of one of us agreeing out loud with the preacher. Eyes widened to discern the rebel among us-- the man of the Amen. He wasn't hard to spot. The man who vigorously agreed with the preacher was Franklin Lovejoy, a widower of two years.A handsome man, Mr. Lovejoy sat by himself five pews up from me, and often I watched with amusement the number of ladies who attempted to establish a stronghold beside this older available man. They came and went. I don't know what he said or didn't say that did not encourage the ladies to return. Some did come back, for a while. There were even some Sunday mornings when a single woman nestled in on Lovejoy's left side and another lady snuggled in on his right. Sunday mornings became like a soap opera to me. I watched, taking note of the women who came and went while the preacher positioned himself behind the pulpit, oblivious to the sexual tensions brewing in the pews.For the rest of this story, grab a copy of LOVEJOY today. The experience of real desire is very different than its reputation. Find out for yourself.About the author: Daphne Simpkins is an Alabama writer. Connect with her on Amazon, Facebook, BookBub, and Goodreads.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52754339496209,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52754340315409,"sku":"NIN9781732015821","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781732015821.jpg?v=1763569045"},{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-cloverdale-book-daphne-simpkins-9781957435251","title":"Mildred Budge in Cloverdale","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the author of \u003cb\u003eLovejoy\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eBlessed \u003c\/b\u003ecomes a series about church ladies of the South. After reading this first novel in the series, fans of Southern fiction write, I want to live next door to Mildred Budge. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA retired school teacher, Mildred Budge just wants to live a quiet life in her hometown of Cloverdale. But retirement does not mean she can say no to a friend--not a friend in trouble. A disciplined woman, Mildred can breathe the word no to a second cup of ice cream. Can resist drinking too much champagne. But when it comes right down to a friend needing a favor, she may say no first, but if someone really needs her-really needs her  -she always said yes. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThat's how Mildred ended up with strangers camped out in her spare bedroom while helping her friend Fran launch a new business at the antique emporium. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe only real 'no' Mildred had said in recent history was to a man who loved her. Hugh wasn't the first man to pursue her. But he was the most recent. And she had been flattered but not interested-not in the way the widower wanted her to be interested.\u003cbr\u003eHugh didn't give up right away. He lodged himself near her at church. Found her in the church kitchen after a fellowship supper to aid in the clean-up. And finally, her would-be lover just asked her to say 'yes' to him outright. That was the moment when Mildred had to say a final 'no.' \u003cbr\u003eOnly her best friend Fran understood. Fran said when Mildred finally felt the regretful effects of that no, We're all of us such fools.\u003cbr\u003eBut they aren't fools. Mildred Budge and her friends are just people trying to live inside the faith released from heaven through the One who didn't say no.\u003cbr\u003eThis is the first novel in the series about Mildred Budge and her friends-just ordinary people trying to live out an extraordinary hope available to anyone who realizes what kind of help he or she really needs. That hope has a name, and Mildred Budge knows it. Need hope? Need a friend? \u003cbr\u003eMildred Budge is a very good friend. If you like spending time with people who are ordinary but extraordinarily hopeful, then you'll love this story. Get a copy of this first novel in the series and find out for yourself what church ladies really think.\u003cb\u003eAbout the author: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Daphne Simpkins is a Southern woman who writes about a variety of subjects and often on the secret lives of church ladies. Befriend her on Facebook, Twitter, or Linkedin.com. To sign up for new release information go to DaphneSimpkins.org. Other Mildred Budge titles include the next two novels: \u003cb\u003eMildred Budge in Embankment\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003eThe Bride's Room\u003c\/b\u003e. Early short stories which were published in the United States and Canada are in two books\u003cb\u003e: Miss Budge in Love \u003c\/b\u003eand \u003cb\u003eThe Mission of Mildred Budge.\u003c\/b\u003e A stand-alone Christmas story featuring Mildred Budge and her friend Dixie is \u003cb\u003eMiss Budge Goes to Fountain City\u003c\/b\u003e. That Southern city is also celebrated in another book not in the series called \u003cb\u003eChristmas in Fountain City.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOther titles by Daphne Simpkins are: \u003cb\u003eThe Long Good Night, A Cookbook for Katie, What Al Left Behind, Blessed, Lovejoy, a novel about desire.\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52757205549329,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52757206237457,"sku":"NIN9781957435251","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781957435251.jpg?v=1763578186"},{"product_id":"mildred-budge-in-embankment-book-daphne-simpkins-9781957435268","title":"Mildred Budge in Embankment","description":"In this second full-length Mildred Budge novel, the retired school teacher gets physical. By temperament a contemplative, in this story Mildred bravely leads the way to safety after the pulpit committee with whom she is traveling in an old-fashioned Buick flies off an embankment. Not only does Mildred discover in herself reservoirs of physical strength, but she also experiences new spiritual adventures as she continues to work out her salvation within the context of friendships and church relationships. Mildred Budge in Embankment challenges men and women to reconsider the tensions between grace and human will while experiencing glimpses of heaven along the way. It is perceptive, funny, and uplifting. Readers will enjoy the journey with Mildred and her friends. Study guides for book clubs for all Mildred Budge books are available upon request to the author through her website or on Facebook. Preceding titles are Miss Budge in Love, a collection of short stories, and Mildred Budge in Cloverdale, a revision of the earlier book Cloverdale-the first novel in the series. Interview with Daphne Simpkins: Q: Why did you choose a plain and not-so-young school teacher as your main character in a series of novels about church life--not a deacon, minister or elder? A: Most of us are plain people. Mildred Budge is the centerpoint in the stories but almost everyone around her becomes more attractive when seen through her eyes or in her company. I like to think she sees and brings out the best in other people. Q: What do you hope to reveal about church life through these stories? A: That loving God through Christ is real, authentic and fascinating. So often the Christian experience is summed up as a cliche but it isn't stale or easily reduced to a cliche. It is fresh, vital and real. Q: What do you consider the biggest problem with revealing Christianity to a world that has grown inured to the basic tenets of the scriptures? A: Grace is free and people want to earn the love of God. No one can earn the love of God--they can only say yes to it. And then live grateful lives. Q: What is the biggest misconception about Jesus? A: For me, Jesus is the master creator--the perfect man who came to fix what the first imperfect man broke: an intimate relationship with God. Jesus is that threshold, that doorway through which lonely, wounded people can pass into the green pasture of being loved, accepted and renewed. Pass through that doorway and you begin to find out who you are and how you fit in His world--not the broken one we all inherited. Jesus' world is better. Q: You are referring to some serious subjects here, but many people like your books because they are funny. I had to put Cloverdale and Miss Budge in Love down and laugh out loud before I could continue reading. A: Thank you  I'm glad you enjoyed them. Life is funny. I laughed while I wrote them. Q: What is your next project? A: I have two projects ongoing right now. The first is The Bride's Room, which is the next Mildred Budge and the other novel has only a working title which might best be kept a secret for a while. Q: Do you write every day? A: I pray every day that I can write well on the days when I can type. Q: What do you hope to do with your work? A: To tell the truth even if it isn't a popular truth. Jesus saves. He saves people who don't know they need to be rescued. 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