5 Fun Ways To Enjoy Your Outdoor Dining Space

I prefer eating outdoors in the summer. To make meals even more festive, consider these tips. And remember, keep it simple!

1.  String a set of outdoor bistro lights for a celebratory flair. I love these bulbs, and have them hanging in my sun porch.

2.  Arrange a floral bouquet from your seasonal garden as an impromptu centerpiece.

3. Consider a long outdoor bench that can seat lots of people. Plus, that type of seating is flexible for kids and pets.

4.  Use lots of color. Mismatched acrylic glasses and plates are fun. The more vibrant, the better.

5.  Choose your outdoor furniture to handle all kinds of weather.

Do you love dining outdoors in the summertime? Please share your comments below.

 

If you love exotic tropical islands featuring exquisite international cuisine, then my summer beach read, Maeve, is for you. You will love this sweet romance, set on the beautiful French island of Corsica, France.

He’s all business. She loves to laugh. When business conflicts with pleasure, what could possibly go wrong?

Maeve Doherty needed a hard-earned break from Ireland’s rainy weather, as well as caring for her younger brother. When the offer from Perfect Match to enjoy a week on an island of her choice arrived, she hesitated.
But not for long.

She’d always wanted to visit Corsica. Besides, who passed up free?
All right, so she'd spend the week with a match. On her dating profile, she’d added that she was a workaholic. Hopefully, so was he.

Edward Newell had one thing on his mind when he reached Corsica, and it didn't involve meeting a perfect match. Dating? Love? Romance? Not for him.
He was determined to find the picture-perfect location for his thriving hotel chain.

When unexpected attraction burns for the beautiful Maeve, and business conflicts with pleasure, what could possibly go wrong?

Pick up your copy of Maeve today! Also available in paperback and audiobook.

Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

Follow Josie on Bookbub and “like” her Author Facebook page.

If you enjoy reading, free books and ARC’s, join my VIP Facebook group today!

Remembering Daddy

by Laurean Brooks

I put much consideration into this blog before writing it. June is usually about weddings, romance, days of sunning and vacations, and time spent in or at the pool.

My first thought of June is Father's Day. I feel an emptiness as that holiday approaches because I lost my dad on the Monday before Father's Day. If he had lived two more months, he would have drawn his first Social Security check plus a Veteran's pension.

Daddy avoided the topic of World War II. It was too painful, I suppose. Only recently did I learn he was stationed in Pearl Harbor when it was bombed. We consider it a miracle that he survived. Later he had repercussions from the radiation, which I believe shortened his life.

Daddy brought back stacks of pictures taken on Guam, one of the South Pacific islands where he was stationed. Mama said his best friend was shot down standing next to him on that jungle island. Most interesting were the fierce-looking (though halfway friendly) natives with bones through their noses, horizontal paint stripes across their cheeks, wearing nothing more than grass skirts. Those pictures are still in Daddy's footlocker which has not been opened for years.

But, let's not talk about the war. I would rather talk about the Dad I knew, the father of seven children—the kind, jovial man whose silly words or actions could turn a crying child's tears to laughter. This same man could work the most difficult crossword puzzles. He subscribed to Reader's Digest and read it from cover to cover. He especially liked, “Increase Your Word Power,” and taught himself new words to supplement his elementary school education. I truly believe his passion to learn made him more intelligent than most college grads.

Daddy was a hard worker. He and Mama taught us good work ethics. Along with his deckhand job with Waterway Marines, our family planted, hoed, and picked 10 acres of corn and three large vegetable gardens. Not to mention raising and caring for livestock. But Daddy could make a game out of the most difficult chore, to the point we almost enjoyed it. Almost. Everything from picking fruit to breaking beans, and shelling purple-hull peas.

We would sit around the living room with our pans full, peeling or shelling, while Mama worked in the kitchen canning dozens of quart Ball jars when we had enough ready. All the while, Daddy sat and worked with us, elaborating on funny stories of his childhood, or embarrassing things we'd said or done as youngsters. He knew how to embellish each story until we quaked with laughter.

Daddy often repeated one story on me which I faintly remember. It went something like this: One evening when I was six, doing my homework, he asked me, “Can I go to school with you tomorrow?”

I huffed then said, “No. Daddy, you're too big.”

His eyes lit up. “Hey, I know! I could put on one of your little dresses and get down on my knees. That way I'd be about your size. Then could I go to school with you?”

“No, Daddy, you still can't go to school.”

Daddy made a frowny face. “But why?”

I shook my head and looked up at him. “Daddy, you're too stupid.”

I hope this post brought back visuals of enjoyable times you spent with your own dad. It helps ease the pain of loss and keeps the loved one in our heart when we revisit those memories.

Daddy, thanks for the laughter you brought into my life, and for the tender memories. I love you and still miss you after all these years.

Happy belated Father's Day, to all. 

                                   **********************************************

What do you get when the cowboy's aunt places an ad for a mail-order bride and the cowboy thinks the pretty young woman is his aunt's house help?

And, both are WRONG.

Answer: NOT WHAT HE ORDERED

https://www.amazon.com/Not-What-Ordered-Laurean-Brooks-ebook/dp/B076X653V8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1529374087&sr=1-1&keywords=Not+What+He+ordered&dpID=511ytO-GdCL&preST=_SY445_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

Earning Happily Ever After by @JoanReeves

Life is full of choices. Come to a fork in the road, and go left. Life ends up one way. Turn right, and life ends up a different way.

Sometimes, you end up hating the life you're living, but you're trapped by the choice you make. That's what happened to Constance Quinn, the heroine of Second Chance Bride.

When she was a teen, she took a fork in the road, and she's lived with regret ever since.

Now, she has every material thing she wanted, but she has none of what she needs. Love.

Unfortunately, knowing what you want doesn't mean you get what you want. Constance realizes that when she falls in love with Alex Martinez.

He's the only man she wants--but the one man she can never have.

Finding Happily Ever After

One thing romance novels teach readers is that happily ever after doesn't just fall into your lap. Like most worthwhile things, it must be earned.

You earn it by opening yourself to someone else--letting them see all of you, the public face and the person inside. You earn it by loving someone enough to want what's best for them. You earn it be overcoming challenges and conflicts--sometimes you earn it by sacrifice.

Last, but certainly not least, you earn it by grabbing hold of a second chance if one comes your way. Constance does all of these things--especially this last one.

Joan Reeves lives her well-earned Happily Ever After with her Hero, her husband, in a book-cluttered home in Texas. Visit her Amazon Author Page for a list of her books. While you're there, please click to Follow her. Sign up for Joan's mailing list and be the first to know about new books and giveaways.

MAKING PLANS?

By Caroline Clemmons for Anna Jeffrey

What do you do when life interferes with your plans? The past week has been a lesson in patience with little productivity on my part. Both my Darling Daughters had accidents.

DD2 fell Friday evening and dislocated her knee. We went over to take her to the ER because she was certain they wouldn't keep her overnight and didn't want to have to pay the ambulance bill. So, Saturday morning we arrived home--her to her house on crutches and Hero and me to our house. She injured her left knee so she can still drive if necessary.

Monday morning, DD1 called to say she had broken her leg. I was still in jammies so Hero bolted out of here to her place. She has two large dogs to corral before the ambulance guys could get in plus she didn't want them breaking down her door to get to her. Yep, her leg is broken. This is the same leg on which she had six operations on the femur in the past two-and-a-half years. The first four were not successful but a trauma surgeon in Dallas repaired the leg and it finally healed. The first smashed bones were three inches above the right knee. This time, the two clean breaks are a couple of inches below the right knee.

Her surgery was yesterday and--according to the surgeon--she is doing well. Probably will come to our house for a couple of months until she heals. Big sighs all around, as she loves her house. Besides, no one who's grown wants to live with the parents, do they?

Weaving around this, I'm writing THE RANCHER'S PERFECT BRIDE. Slowly, it seems. This is the seventh book in the Loving A Rancher Series I started for Debra Holland's Montana Sky Series Kindle World. Since Kindle Worlds are going away, these rights will revert to me and the entire series will be republished. Debra is so gracious to allow authors to do this.

So, you can preorder THE RANCHER'S PERFECT BRIDE at  http://a.co/cTM9y6q and it will be released on June 25th. It really will--providing life doesn't interfere with my plans again. Keep your fingers crossed and please, send up prayers for our daughters' healing.

A Full Birthday Month for me! by Paty Jager

This is my birthday month and I feel like I should be doing something special, but I'm so far behind on my deadlines and as this post posts, I'm headed home from a 7 day trip where I did research and attended the Wild Deadwood Reads reader event in Deadwood, SD. Finding a fun birthday month thing to do... my brain can't comprehend!

I had planned to have the second book in the Silver Dollar Saloon series out this month. Lottie Mae will be coming out next month, July. That is how far I am behind on my scheduled deadlines, a month. If I want to be true to myself, I'm almost two months behind. I should be writing the next Shandra Higheagle book right now, but I'm still on the last book in line to be written.

I'm starting to see a pattern. Last year at this time I was a month or two behind my planned schedule. Does this mean I need to start giving myself more time per book? I would think so, but I want to keep my readers happy and writing in multiple genres and series, I have to get at least one book in each series out in a year.  I prefer 2-3 in the mystery series and 1-2 in the western romance series.

Because I am also writing a new series which will debut the first of 2019, I need to add that to the mix. Aii Yii!

This wasn't supposed to be a blog about my writing woes! Sorry!

I'm excited about the Wild Deadwood Tales anthology that is available in print and ebook and all the proceeds go to the Western Sports Foundation. I'll give you a run down on how our signings went at the rodeos in Deadwood in next month's post. All the stories in this anthology are great!

Another exciting thing for me but not all the authors who were in Debra Holland's Montana Sky Kindle World, is that Amazon is phasing out the Kindle Worlds. This means I get my rights back to  Isaac: Letters of Fate book. I have to go through and take out all of the Montana Sky elements that were in it, but I will finally have book 2 in the Letters of Fate trilogy to put in a box set with the other two. I'm excited because Isaac was my favorite book in the series.

And the last amazing thing to happen is my book, Haunting Corpse in the Shandra Higheagle Mystery series is a finalist in the Daphne du Maurier contest through Romance Writers of America. I'm excited that my mystery has been valued good enough to be a finalist. While readers have been telling me how much they love the series, to have a book do well in a contest is icing on the cake.

And if you are another June baby, Happy Birthday this month to you!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”
blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub


Top photo: Depositphotos

Finally Summer, and Bon Voyage From Susan Sheehey

Finally, summer!

Summer is my favorite season, yes, even down here in Texas where it's a billion degrees and we can cook eggs on the sidewalk (not the best recommended flavor). But it's the season where I can go swimming with my boys, their most favorite thing in the world. I also have my most fruitful plotting sessions in the pool.

More importantly, summer is when most of my novels are set. 

Royals of Solana series in the South Pacific, the Knights of Texas novella series in Texas, and the Sweet Escape series in various tropical resorts, or at least by a beach.

What do you have planned for the summer? Any interesting trips or experiences planned?

I have a lot planned this summer. Between RWA Convention in Colorado in July, followed by a writer's retreat with friends at Lake Conroe, I'll be busy chauffeuring around my boys to various appointments and summer camps. They are both on the Autism Spectrum, and require a lot of intervention (literally, appointments every single day for both of them).
So, I think I'm going to invest in voice recording software for the frequent hauls in the car. That's the only way I can keep up with my writing schedule. Not to mention, I always carry around my notebook to write while I sit in lobbies.

Unfortunately, for those reasons, I have to bow out of my contributions to Smart Girls Read Romance Blog.

Thank you all for following me here. I've greatly enjoyed being a part of this wonderful blog, and sharing with you. The authors on this page are fantastic, and you're in good hands with them! I'd like to extend a special thanks to Caroline Clemmons, a true gem!

Keep reading, keep loving, farewell, and God bless you all!

Royals of Solana series

Dry Spell - Sweet Escape series

Knights of Texas series

Susan Sheehey writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense and adventure, and women's fiction. Water is a crucial element in all her novels, and she's a strong advocate for Autism awareness and acceptance. Follow her on her Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, Amazon, and BookBub. Join her newsletter here for monthly goodies!

GROUP PROJECTS

Recently, I have become involved in two group projects—one is an anthology titled UNDER A MULBERRY MOON and the other is a book series titled WIDOWS OF COUGAR CREEK. I’ve done anthologies and series before but these brought out the difficulty of conjuring up a series that involved multiple authors.

When I do my own series, of course I’m in control of everything. Bwahahaha. I get to decide who, what, when, where, why, and how. I keep a bible so each character's description doesn't change in the series. (I goofed once and changed a character's nickname. I've written around 45 titles, though, so please cut me some slack.)

Having numerous others involved in a project means coordinating and compromising. The series this time was originated by Charlene Raddon, who lives in Utah. For obvious reasons, she set the series in Utah. 

Charlene is also designing all the covers for the series. Each book is titled with a woman’s name and a similar background behind the woman but in varying shades. I think this is a nice touch. See for yourself with the covers Charlene has made for me. Those for the other authors are similar and just as lovely.

Basing her fictional series, Widows of Cougar Creek, on factual historical accounts, she set up the parameters. Here’s where things get confusing. When setting up a series, there are a gazillion things to consider.

You think I exaggerated but I assure you it’s not by much. One can’t just set the time and place. That would be too easy. Minute details must be decided. A town map is needed. 

In this case, a mine explosion in 1884 left many widows. The motivating incident was the mine owner deciding he’d only allow businesses to remain if owned by couples, thus shutting out the widows.

Fat chance, mister. These widows in Cougar Creek aren’t going to lose their homes and businesses because of a misogynistic, crooked mine owner. So, here come the men and the stories—but wait, as they say on television ads, there’s more.

So many questions arise that must be settled unanimously. For instance, we needed a railroad so in what year did one come to that area of Utah? In what order do the books get released? These and a lot more questions have arisen. Fortunately, the authors involved are harmoniously deciding the details Charlene had not set initially.

Other than Charlene Raddon and moi, Widows of Cougar Creek authors include Zina Abbott, Cait Braxton, Mary Connealy, Shirleen Davies, Keta Diablo, Sylvia McDaniel, Kit Morgan, Cissie Patterson, and Cynthia Woolf. Isn’t that a great line-up? This list includes several of my favorite authors. 

The first book will be released August 15^th and a new book will be released on the 1^st and 15^th until the end of the series. This promises to be a great series! I’m fortunate to be included to write two of the books, BLESSING (to be released September 15, 2018) and GARNET (to be released in 2019). I’ll reveal more later this summer.

You can see that with this many authors a series will be complicated. From the discussions we've had so far, I am eager to read the books. They sound like fun with exciting adventures. I love series in the first place. Don't you love finding a book you love and learning it's part of a series?

When you read a series, do you keep up with the details in the books? Do you enjoy seeing characters from earlier books appear as secondary characters in later books. Next time you read a series, please consider all the thought that went into keeping it consistent.