THE YEAR I BECAME A MA'AM

By Bea Tifton, guest of Laurean Brooks

So this happened. Monday I will become “A Woman of a Certain Age.” I will turn 50.

Mary Tyler Moore saw it coming. In the episode, “Today I am a Ma’am,” she was shocked to discover that had she slipped into the middle aged demographic. That evening, she went to a store and the young man respectfully called her, you guessed it, Ma’am.

Ah, yes. My first Ma’am. It happened. I remember it well. It was from, hmmm, we’ll call him Jordan.

Sigh. Jordan.

Oh, sorry. What was I saying? Oh, yes. Jordan. Sigh.

Ahem. The young man who checks me out at my favorite pet supply store. And by “Checks me out,” I mean, sadly, “Operates the cash register in a competent and friendly, albeit impersonal, manner.” 

Oh, we started out well enough, laughing and talking. I was sparkling. I was interesting. And, since I’ve been accused of being so in the past, I admit I was a little flirtatious. Suddenly, I realized that while I’m not old enough to be a cougar, I was indeed probably old enough to be his mother. This man was Too Young For Me.  

Reeling from that realization, I heard it from Jordan’s very lips. Oh, his lips. Sigh.  

Jordan, in all his innocence, said delightedly, “Oh, my God. You remind me so much of my mother.” Handing me my receipt, he switched to his official cashier voice and said, “Thank you, Ma’am. Be careful with those bags when you walk to your car.” 

What, while using my walker? Really? His, gulp, mother?

Now, I know woman our age are important. And that’s really what matters, isn’t it.  While I’m still waiting for some of the oft mentioned wisdom that comes from getting older, I have not been sitting around, numbly clutching the grocery receipt Jordan handed me and mumbling to myself.

Alas. Jordan.

Oh, sorry. What was I saying?

Turning 50 is a milestone. It really is. Not a bad thing. Not the end. Just a milestone. While, admittedly, and you know this, my dear friends, if you search your hearts, sometimes women our age are dismissed, maybe that is our superpower.

We can come out fighting and no one even saw us coming. We are smart. We are strong.  And we’ll probably live to be 100, so this IS the new middle age. We’re not even old.

We’ve seen it, done it, and most of it was before social media could plaster us all over the internet so we can deny it if we want, thank the heavens. We know our way around the system, we keep abreast of politics. We are beings of true substance.  We are the protectors of the environment, the champions for social justice, the mentors for the next generation. We are frickin’ awesome. We have romance. We have mystery. 

And whenever someone calls me Ma’am now, I know they’re really calling me, “Your Awesomeness.” You betcha, young man.

Now where’s that damn birthday cake? I’m taking on the world.

Bea Tifton majored in creative writing at TCU and won writing awards in high school and in college. She is currently working on her first book, a cozy mystery with a shot of romance and silly shenanigans. This morning, she put on her sassy pants.

Photo credits:

By CBS Television , Public domain 

Wikimedia Commons

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A Summer For Reading!

Hi, everyone! How is your summer so far? I hope you're having lots of days filled with sunshine, swimming, and barbecue.  Here in North Central Texas we're having 100 degree temps, where I'm staying inside in the A/C writing my next book, Christmas, Liberty, and the Three Minute Man. Liberty will make her appearance in the 7 author anthology, A Christmas Cowboy to Keep, coming in October 2018. Coming July 19th is the 9 author anthology, Under A Mulberry Moon, which will include Ada and the Texas Cavalryman.

We celebrated the Fourth of July, along with the rest of the United States in grand fashion. My husband, Jerry, and our grandson Marshall participated in a neighborhood parade in Fort Worth wearing their Sons of the American Revolution uniforms. They are very handsome, if I do say so myself. Stay cool as you can and enjoy the rest of your summer!

New release!

EMMELINE, Bride of Arkansas, the long awaited sequel to LAUREL: Bride of Arkansas, American Mail Order Brides series, Book 25. Emmeline has recently been in the anthology, Pistols and Poplin, so if you own that one, you have Emmeline already! She's on sale for $.99 or FREE in Kindle Unlimited. Emmeline, Bride of Arkansas

EMMELINE, Bride of Arkansas Emmeline Weidner arrives in Arkansas, after being left at the altar by her intended, a young man from a prominent Philadelphia family. Seeking to heal her bruised feminine ego, she moves in with her sister. While learning to cope with her new life, she discovers she isn’t content to live the life of a spoiled society woman. Can she let go of her new-found independence, when the right man comes along? Lincoln Bass returns to Flat Rock Point, Arkansas a year after the accident that almost cost him his life. His friend and former employer has asked him for help at the lumber mill. He is apprehensive, but feels he owes the man who saved his life. He decides to stay and help with the investigation to save the lumber mill, and face his anxieties. He’d planned on going back to his home in Little Rock, until he crossed paths with the most delectable, yet bewildering female he’d ever encountered.

An interview with Emmeline!

What did your mama tell you to find in a man? Mother, a pillar of Philadelphia society, told my sisters, Laurel and Adeline, and myself to find a man with a pedigree and from a good family.  What is the most adventurous thing you've done? The most adventurous would most certainly be leaving my home in Philadelphia and going off to Arkansas to start my life over. I'm to live with my sister, Laurel and her family until I figure out what I'm going to do.   What is your most favorite thing about your love? My most favorite thing is that Linc, being a lumberman, is as far away from Philadelphia as he can get, yet he's more principled than many men of society. And, he love me just as I am. Coming July 19th and available for pre-order, Under a Mulberry Moon Under a Mulberry Moon Adventure! Mystery! Romance! Nine award-winning and bestselling authors present sweet western historical stories to ignite your imagination and feed your passion for reading. Let us sweep you away from your daily cares and entertain you with our sigh-worthy novellas set between 1865 and 1900. What a line-up we have for you! UNDER A MULBERRY MOON is a bargain! Preorder at only 99 cents before price goes up to $2.99 sometime after release! Better hurry—this anthology is available for a limited time only. The following books are included:  Millwright's Daughter by Zina Abbott Worth the Wait by Patricia PacJac Carroll Ada and the Texas Cavalryman (Brides of Texas Code) by Carra Copelin A Family For Merry by Caroline Clemmons A Family For Polly by Jacquie Rogers Comes A Specter by Keta Diablo The Widow Buys A Groom by P.A. Estelle Matthew's Freedom by Cissie Patterson The Lady Lassoes an Outlaw by Charlene Raddon Hugs,Carra

Pause & Refresh by @JoanReeves #SmartGirlsReadRomance

Gee, my post must have been written in invisible ink today. It's not here.

I did a little sleuthing and found I had the content in a draft on another blogspot blog. Dumb? Intensely.

I've done that before, but I've usually caught the mistake beforehand. Oh, well. Here's what I was going to say.

Pause and Refresh

Wouldn't you like a Refresh button on your life? You know, like the little icon you hit to refresh a web page to update and show new information or to reflect changes you made.

When we feel stuck or stagnant, we could hit the Refresh button and surge forward. When your energy is low, just hit Refresh.

Unfortunately, we don't have that. So we have to work at refreshing. As you see by my lapse in getting this post live, I definitely need to pause and refresh.

7 Strategies to Refresh Yourself

1. Use the Just Do It principle. Regardless of your mood, take action -- one small step in the direction of where you want to go.

You can't wait to be in a good mood in order to write a book, paint the living room, or clean out the garage. Chances are you have a job in the outside world. You go to that job whether you're happy or sad. Often you go whether you're healthy or sick.

Goal achievement must command the same dedication. If your garden needs weeding, then take an action to achieve that no matter how small the action. Do it even if you're depressed. If you want to write a book, then write every day even if it's only 100 words. Set a quota and meet it even if you're sick, depressed, homesick, or ecstatically happy.

2. Grow an attitude of belief in yourself.

If you find yourself constantly thinking negative, defeating thoughts then do some inner exploration to figure out why you like to beat yourself up. Lack of confidence in one's own abilities is a killer. Face your fears in order to get beyond them. Write out a script that changes your self-talk from sabotaging to empowering.

3. Hang around with people who are charged up. Charged up with creativity, excitement, and optimism for life itself, their attitude will rub off on you even though what they're excited about may not be what excites you. Let their general exuberance for life rub off on you.

4. Stay away from people who are black holes of negativity. These people are only too happy and quick to tell you why you can't get what you want. These black holes of the universe will suck the life, ambition, and motivation right out of you.

5. Be very specific about what you want. You can have anything you want, but you can't have everything so figure out what it is you really want. Is it to be a mystery novelist, a crime writer, a botanist, a dancer, or what? You have to know what you want in order to go after it.

6. Make a list of strategies to help you through the challenging times. Write down what you're going to do when you're sick and need to work toward your goal. What will you do when you're depressed and need to take action to achieve your goal? What will you do when you're overworked and underpaid, and you can't seem to get to first base to achieve your goal?

7. Adopt the U.S. Marine Corps motto: "Improvise, overcome, adapt." With every obstacle that crops up or every setback, resolve to use the situation to your best benefit. Figure out how you can improvise, overcome, adapt.

Refresh using these strategies or some of your own. If you've got a good strategy for boosting your motivation or creativity, leave a comment and tell us about it. I'm certainly open to some new strategies to cope with all the demands!

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.

A Rocky Path.....

Every author has a story of seeing his work published  and on a book store shelf. I've often said if I had known how hard it is (was), I doubt I would have pursued it.

When indie publishing was just getting off the ground, I had no trouble embracing this new and exciting thing in writing and publishing. Consequently, when I wrote my 9th book, THE TYCOON, I didn't even think about pursuing a traditional publisher. I went straight for indie publishing. Little did I know the quagmire I was stepping into. 

After many obstacles and 2 years of work and learning, I got THE TYCOON on the market. This was Book #1 in a trilogy I planned with a story arc that spanned 3 books and came to a conclusion in Book #3. ..... In THE TYCOON, I introduced the dysfunctional Lockhart family, a hundred-year-old Texas dynasty uber-rich in land, cattle and oil and gas. Drake, the oldest son, had dreams of escaping the ranch and making his own fortune in real estate investing. He did not have a plan to meet a sexy redhead and fall head-over-heels in love, but there she was at a charity Christmas ball.

THE CATTLEMAN is the story of the middle son who stayed at home and assumed the responsibility of managing the huge Double-Barrel ranch. He has an uncertain relationship with a woman he has known his whole life.

Book #3, THE HORSEMAN, is the story of Troy Rattigan, the patriarch's bastard son, who has a mystical connection to the healing of abused horses and unintentionally, abused people. He meets a beautiful woman who started life as a homeless waif and product of the welfare system and instantly falls in love.

The story arching over the 3 books is that a mysterious person is harassing the Lockhart family, but nobody knows who it is until the end of Book #3.

I'm happy to say I'm finished with THE HORSEMAN. Yay!!! .....The list of distractions I've had since I started this trilogy is long. Sometimes life just gets in the way. I'm now in the editing process and hope to have this book on the market in another month. .....

Those of you who have read my books know that my heroes are always heroic alpha males and my heroines are always beautiful and desirable. I try to make my stories dramatic and interesting. Hope you'll read THE HORSEMAN and enjoy it and find the end of the trilogy satisfying.

Here's a brief description:

Troy Rattigan devotes most of his time and energy to horses— rescuing them, training them, understanding them. He seems to have a spiritual connection to the equine species. But because of his brutal schedule and an escalating series of attacks on his family, his connections with the opposite sex haven’t gone beyond meaningless hookups. …. Then he comes across Rudy in his current workshop. There’s something about the fractious, blood-bay horse that lures him. And something about the unassuming beauty on the other end of Rudy’s lead rope that ignites his instinct to fix what’s broken—in both horse and woman.

Single mom Brittany Karol is barely back on her feet after almost losing her life and her leg to a rattlesnake bite. The worst step she could make? Accepting the too-rich, too-handsome, too-sweet-talking trainer’s offer to teach her horse-crazy young son to work with her best friend’s problem horse, Rudy. ..... Having seen the worst of life, Brittany is too old and too jaded for her years. Yet, she can’t resist giving her son his wildest dream. But is the deep, instant fit she feels with Troy simply a mutual understanding of loss and grief? Or is it a solid foundation upon which to build a lifetime of happiness? Is becoming connected to the wealthy and dynamic Lockhart family another risk to her own life and happiness as well as her young son’s?

Visit Tumbling Creek Ranch by Paty Jager

photo taken by Paty Jager

Tumbling Creek Ranch is a fictional Dude/Resort Ranch in Northern Montana that is ran by Brett Wallis the third generation to live on and work the ranch. He has turned it into a working dude ranch to keep it in the family. Families and groups come to stay in the cabins and the lodge for vacations, to ride the mountain side and help with the cattle.  They also hold weddings (book 3) and other events. When these larger events happen, the whole family pitches in, Brett's parents, brothers, cousins, aunt, and uncle. While Brett is the soul owner now, the family still comes together at the ranch to help and for family functions. I made the ranch the type of place I would like to own and/or visit as a guest. If you purchase on of the books I hope you fall in love with the ranch as well as the family.

This is what Romance Junkies has to say about the Tumbling Creek Ranch series: “There are twists and turns to the story with a nice flow and a depth to the characters. The vivid scenic descriptions made me feel like I was there… I hope to return to Tumbling Creek Ranch over and over again.”

The first book in the series starts off with Lacey Wallis, Brett's danger loving cousin who rides bulls. Lacey started riding bulls in high school and she got the bug to be the first woman to ride in the National Finals Rodeo. While most of her family hates her dream, Brett is always there for her when she needs to heal or lick her wounds.

Book 1- 8 Seconds to Love starts with her getting injured. This books is currently $0.99 through July.

Tumbling Creek Ranch series

Lacey Wallis has put blood, sweat, and tears into her dream of making it to the National Finals Rodeo and isn’t about to let an injury stop her. However, she didn’t expect the ER nurse to be the man she had a crush on years ago, or to discover that crush hadn’t been one-sided.

Jared McIntyre lived through loving and the death of one thrill-seeking woman, and wasn’t about to let that happen again. Especially not to Lacey. But that would mean he’d have to allow himself to love again.  

Which will it be, a life-long dream, or the love of a lifetime?

Universal book link: https://www.books2read.com/u/b5M1Ep

While Lacey is at the ranch recovering, she notices Brett and his housekeeper have become close. But they seem to dance around the fact they are falling in love.

Book 2 - Love Me Anyway is the story of Brett's pursuit of his housekeeper, Melanie.

Tumbling Creek Ranch Series

Melanie Trask ran away from an abusive husband and is hiding at a remote dude ranch. When she and the ranch owner can no longer deny their feelings, he offers to help her divorce her husband. But she has one more secret she hasn’t revealed…

Brett Wallis has fallen hard for the quiet, competent woman who landed at his ranch when he needed help. But will he be able to choose between Melanie or the ranch when he discovers the truth behind her secrecy?

Universal buy link:  https://www.books2read.com/u/mgLl7q

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 8 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.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

My Sultry Childhood Journey #romance #books

Welcome to Smart Girls Read Romance. I’m Keta Diablo, a romance writer and reader. Often writers are asked, “When did you first know you wanted to be a writer or, when did you start writing?” I’m pretty sure the writer in me was awakened in the 7^th grade. To find out how, read all about it below.

(Oh, and this is my first time posting on this FAB blog. Thanks so much to all the wonderful authors who contribute to Smart Girls Read Romance.)

My Sultry Childhood Journey . . . .

Have you ever heard a word that somehow reminds you of a certain time and place, almost like a Déjà vu? Take the word ‘sultry’, for instance. Sultry reminds some people of steamed heat or an image of Marilyn Monroe standing over a street vent, her short skirt billowing about her. The dictionary says sultry means to be hot with passion or to be capable of exciting strong desire. Sultry can also mean sweltering or torrid.

I’ll go with sweltering, the sweltering heat of the deep South and a wonderful book called To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. In the seventh grade, my teacher placed that book on my desk, along with a handwritten note that said: “Read this, Keta. I think the book will open many doors for you.”

At the time, I thought the note strange, but then Miss Holmquist was a strange woman. (She had too many idiosyncrasies to list here). Still, the missive piqued my interest. How could books open doors and why did I want to read about some old lawyer in a small southern town? What’s more, what kind of people  named their children Jem and Scout?

I took the book home and several days passed before I opened it and read the first line, When he was nearly thirteen my brother Jem got his arm badly broken at the elbow. Hmm, this Ms. Harper Lee, whoever she is, had grabbed my attention with that opening. I wondered who Jem was and wanted to know how he broke his arm.

From that moment I was hooked – mesmerized with the story, in awe over the character names, Boo Radley, Aunt Avery, Dill, Atticus, Calpurnia, and even the young girl named Mayella. To this day I’m in awe of the plot, the personalities, and the vivid descriptions of the town and the people who lived there. I think I’ve read the book a thousand times (slight exaggeration).

So why does the word “sultry” remind me of To Kill A Mockingbird? Because for the first time in my life I realized that by simply turning the pages, I could feel the sultry heat of another place, taste the hostile prejudice of human beings and agonize over the hatred between black and white.

“So what did you discover after reading this book?” Miss Holmquist asked me two weeks later.  I didn’t know where to begin. Should I tell her about the rollercoaster of emotions I went through while reading it? Should I ask her why the jury convicted Tom even though he was innocent? Maybe I should tell her how much I admired Scout when she diffused an explosive situation between Atticus and the old-timers of the town with a simple, “Hey there, Mr. Ewell, how’s your boy, Henry doing?”

I didn’t ask her any of those questions, but I did tell her the book evoked feelings in me I didn’t know existed. I told her about the bitter taste in my mouth over a word called prejudice, and I told her I actually felt the hot, sultry sun of Maycomb County.

Some days, I wish I could go back to 7^th grade and ask Miss Holmquist if she knew that one day To Kill A Mockingbird would be one of the best-loved stories of all time, that it would earn many accolades since its original publication in 1960. I’d ask her if she thought it would win the Pulitzer Prize one day and be translated into more than forty languages. And Miss Holmquist, do you think it will sell more than thirty million copies worldwide and be made into an enormously popular movie? 

 You know, I think Miss Holmquist would have said, “Yes, I do think Miss Lee’s novel will achieve all those things and more, but the most important thing, Keta, To Kill A Mockingbird will transport you to the sultry heat of the deep south and will take you to places you never dreamed existed.”

And to that I would say, “Thank you, Miss Holmquist.”

Famous Quotes from To Kill A Mockingbird:

"There's too much risk in loving," said the young boy. "No," said the old man, "there's too much risk in not." Atticus Finch

"Real courage is when  you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway to see it through. No matter what." Harper Lee

"Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts." Scout

"If there's just one kind of folks, why can't they all get along with one another?" Jem

I love to write about Native Americans, cowboys, animals and…ghosts. While going over my back list of books recently, I realized how many stories included furry friends and dead spirits (most of them evil).

My two most recent stories also include both.

A Ghost To Die For

Contemporary Romance/Paranormal

Do you believe in ghosts? Rooney Fontaine doesn't—or didn't until one named Stuart Granger showed up in her hotel room. Now the humorous, yet desperate,apparition is begging her to find the men who murdered him before his brother becomes their next victim.

After serving three tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq,Stephan Granger is no stranger to risk and peril. When a woman shows up at his house rambling about ghosts, murder and assassins, his first inclination is to deem her wrong in the head and send her packing. But how does she know things that happened to him and his dear departed brother in their childhoods, secrets they never shared with anyone?

Soon after he invites her in to hear more about what really happened to Stuart, gunfire splits the air and shatters all the windows in the house. Someone is trying to kill them. Now they're on the run from assassins while trying to find out who killed his brother and why they want him dead too.

Even amid murder and mayhem, sometimes you find love.

Here on Amazon 

Comes An Outlaw

When a tragic accident claims her husband's life, Jesse Santos must find a way to keep the ranch, the only home her 12-year-old son has ever known.  The ranch hands have abandoned her, a gang of cutthroat ranchers want her land and an ancient Yaqui Indian insists a spirit has taken up residence in the house.

After a fifteen-year absence, her husband's brother, Coy, returns to his childhood home. He doesn't plan on staying, and he certainly doesn't intend to settle down with a widow and her son…no matter how pretty she is.

He's an outlaw, after all, and made a decision to put an end to his gun-slinging days long ago. Will his conscience let him walk away from family, or will his heart overrule his head?

Here On Amazon 

Thanks so much for stopping by Smart Girls Read Romance.

Hope to see you next month!

 

LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER?

By Caroline Clemmons for Reina Torres

Is your summer filled with lazy days for hectic ones? For most of us, time marches regardless of the time of year. Still, summer does spark a change in routine.

Are you a fan of cooking outdoors? Food tastes differently when cooked over a grill. This time of year, many people love firing up the grill.

Here’s a recipe to serve with your backyard picnic:

SOUTHWESTERN SALAD

10 oz. box frozen corn kernels

15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

28 oz. can chopped tomatoes, drained

1 cup Pace salsa

1 bunch scallions, chopped

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional: avocado slices or guacamole, shredded cheese, sour cream

May be used with lettuce to fill a fried tortilla bowl or served as salad or relish.

Reina's latest release is :

The first rule about owning a fight club is it’s no place for kids. Even shifters. 

Cage Gamble, a Jaguar Shifter in Sylvan City, owns the first licensed ‘fight club’ where men and shifters could fight in the ring or the cage. It was a good life, some work and a lot of play, until he was called to England to take custody of his best friend’s daughter. Her father’s sudden passing left her in Cage’s care. He could handle a berserk bear shifter or a gorilla full of rage with one hand, but a moody teenage lioness? Not so much.

Just when he was nearly ready to string himself up from the nearest light post and jump, his old commanding officer throws him a lifeline. 


Maggie Fordice, the Colonel’s once rebellious daughter, is all grown up and moving home to Sylvan City. On paper she was just what he needed, a teen-whisperer. But up close and very personal, she was also what he didn’t need. Whip smart and voluptuous, she was a woman who could send him up in flames with a look or a wiggle. 


Maggie was ready to light a match and burn his resistance to the ground, even when helping him brought danger to her doorstep. Was Cage going to fight what he felt for the fiery woman who lived across the street? Or was he going to fight for what they could have… everything?

The Amazon buy link is http://a.co/doTPdts

Don't miss one of Reina Torres books! Check out her Amazon Author Page.