Author: Dora Hiers

Travel or work? Which would you choose?

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Some people enjoy hanging out on the beach in the summer, baking in the sun. 


Not us. We head to the mountains, where the temperature drops a solid twenty degrees.

Where we can kick up our feet and soak in the view.

Where there’s nothing on the agenda except sipping coffee, walking the dog and reading. 

Where the crows caw, and swans, ducks and geese share the same space without squabbling.

Where the soft breeze kisses my skin, the fog clings to the mountain tops, and lazy pewter clouds drift by. Where it’s green and lush, full of life and energy, yet whispers peace to my soul. 

Everybody needs a space that rejuvenates them, right? This is mine. 



Imagine the books I could crank out if I lived in this environment! Inspiration, peace, beauty, nature…what more could a writer ask for? It’s a romance writer’s dream!

I tried to sweet talk hubby into renting a cabin for an entire month next year. But, he’s not quite ready for thirty days with no radio, no pager, no fire calls, and no internet. 
After close to 40 years in the fire service, he still loves to work. He needs social interaction and thrives on…noise. Who’d have guessed? 🙂
What about you?
Travel or work? Beach or mountains?

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers / 9 Comments

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the Elizabeth neighborhood of Charlotte and to Hawthorne’s New York Pizza and Bar. 

Nice covered patio!

Elizabeth is named after Anne Elizabeth Watts, the only Charlotte neighborhood named for a woman. You can read more about the history here. 

Interior

Dora here. Don’t let this picture deceive you. We arrived right at eleven, and by the time we left, both inside and out was jammed. Hawthorne’s appears to be a popular place for locals as many people walked here.

The garlic cheese bread appetizer was cheesy with just the right amount of garlic. It came out fast, the cheese bubbling and gooey, and browned to perfection. 

Garlic Cheese Bread


Dora here. This cheesy bread reminded me of our favorite pizza place in Florida. We always divided it up into equal portions because our son ravaged it. Same thing happened this time, but with our grandson. A sure sign that it was a winner. 🙂

We wanted to pace ourselves, so we ordered the 9” Meat Eaters pizza, and we were glad we did.

9″ Meat Eaters Pizza

This pizza was loaded with meat (pepperoni, Italian sausage, beef, ham, bacon) and mozzarella. In each bite, I tasted all of the different meat flavors, and they all worked together. One thing we noticed, unlike other meat pies which tend to be greasy and heavy, this pizza was light with no greasy aftereffects. 

Slice of Meat Eaters


Dora here. I really wanted to order the Sicilian, but that only comes in GIANT size, so since we were ordering cheesy bread and dessert, I compromised on this. Not my favorite pizza, but it was good. I appreciated that it wasn’t heavy on the sauce or spice. 

Check out the Cannoli Plate, three mini cannolis. 

Cannolis

Dora here. We first sampled cannolis in Sicily, and loved them! Since then, we’ve tried the US versions, and none of them have come close to what we experienced overseas. Not that we’re food snobs, but buttercream filling..really? Yuck! Hawthorne’s cannolis tasted like the real deal, ricotta and cream cheese goodness in a fried pastry! Three minis were just the right size to cap off our meal. Well, Little Man didn’t think so. 🙂 

We rate this restaurant 4 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving great food.

What’s your favorite pizza hangout?


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Enjoy Christian books? Come by and meet Savvy McCord, heroine of BECK’S PEACE

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Tell us your name and a little bit about yourself.
Hi! I’m Savvy McCord. My day job, if you could call it that, is firefighting, and I teach second graders at my church.
Tell us about where you live and why you choose to live there.
I live in the country just outside Harrison, North Carolina. Rori Harmon is my closest neighbor and my best friend since elementary school. I hung out at her house more than I lived in mine. My parents, well, we didn’t have the best relationship. Not since my sister died.
I almost moved away after Beck left, but I just knew that eventually, he would come back.
What is a quirk of your personality that most people wouldn’t know?
Most of the time, I wear pants and long sleeves to cover the scars on my arms and legs from the same gas explosion that killed my sister. Prevents the gawkers and rude questions. Mostly.
What obstacles did you have to overcome to reach your happily-ever-after?
You mean besides Beck actually coming home, right? LOL. Well, Beck surprised me by showing up at Rori’s wedding, and my date, Corbin, the local vet, wasn’t exactly thrilled. Corbin knew it was over then. But the biggest issue? Whether Beck was back home for good or just stopping through.
Tell us about your knight in shining armor. What makes him special?
When we were kids, he was always trying to make me feel better about my home life. He was always finding ways to make me laugh when I was down. But now? Can you believe I stumbled upon him at the hospital? I’d stopped by to visit Maria, a teenager we pulled out of a house fire. He was amazing. Kind and gentle, and trying to make her feel better about her scars. Did you know he was the one who brainstormed “Savvy Scars,” a support group for teen burn survivors? As if that weren’t enough, he fixed my house after a storm rolled through while I was working, surprised me with a picnic dinner at the fire station, and gifted me with Purrtygirl, a homeless kitten. And did I mention the man can kiss? Oy!
But none of that compares with his newfound faith and how he’s always whispering that I’m beautiful…
The first time you saw him, what did you think? Did you like him immediately, or did he have to grow on you?

Haha. That’s kind of a trick question. We grew up together, so a little of both, I guess. It just took him a few years and much life experience to get to the same point. But, that’s OK because now he’s home to stay.
 Coming JULY 24-Preorder here

Burn survivor Savvy McCord doesn’t blame her best friend for running away. She can’t even look at her scars without wincing. When Beck’s disappearing act spans years, she relinquishes dreams of love and marriage. 

Unable to face Savvy’s expectations of happily-ever-after, Beck Harmon deserts her, far away from the rumors that he’s just like his father. When the wanderer returns, dreams of forever blossom in Savvy’s heart, but she worries he’ll leave again. 

Can Beck convince Savvy that her true beauty comes from her inner strength and faith? Will his idea to help burn victims regain their self-confidence restore Savvy’s trust in him? Will love be what the wanderer needs to find peace for his hurting soul?