Dinner And So Much More by Kara O'Neal

My first historical romance series had to have a central family. I adored the Little House books and the TV series as a child, and I wanted to write books that told tales of people from the same family and town.

Writing a book is hard. Getting the words onto the paper in ways that will enthrall readers is a labor of love, let me tell you. And according to my reviews, I have been successful with some things and not so successful with others.

The one compliment I consistently receive is how easily I weave family interactions into the story. I'm told that they seem effortless and very real.

If this is true, there's only one reason I can do that. And it all comes from experience, from the people who raised me...

And she was someone I most desperately admired. And by she, I mean my grandma. She gave us dinner and so much more...

Mashed potatoes.
Pot roast.
Gravy.
Bread.
Butter.
And jelly.

There was always jelly on her table. There were always white mounds of creamy and buttery potatoes. Her potatoes melted in your mouth like ice cream. It was glorious…

She had figurines all over her house and sofa pillows with flowers on them. She had two china cabinets filled with dishes and no dishwasher.

She played Scrabble and Skip-Bo and kept Blue Bell in the freezer. (If you aren’t from Texas, Blue Bell is the best ice cream in the country.)

She is a third generation Texan, born to migrant workers, and picked cotton throughout her childhood. She has no more than a third grade education, but has more wisdom than most PhDs.

She is my grandma.

She married Grandpa at 17 and had four children. She lived her life to take care of her family and followed Grandpa’s orders without argument.

Some disapproved of her choice to play the role of servant.

But she was married for 54 years and her husband held her hand until the day he died.

We should all be so lucky…

I owe her and many other family member so much. They have given me good times, wonderful advice and sweet memories. I will cherish every moment I spend with my family.

Kara's Books

No Two Days In the Garden Are The Same

(Spring blooming old English rose)

'Flowers really do intoxicate me.' ~Vita Sackville-West

The garden, in its magical wonder, constantly and continuously changes. So quickly the hours flow into days, then weeks, and months. Seasons pass. From the first cheery crocus spangling the dreary February landscape to the cherished chrysanthemums hailing a brilliant autumn, a succession of flowers take center stage to enchant, then fade, their time spent. If I've planned correctly, new blooms will appear in their place, and I won't have gaps. A short while ago, the roses were magnificent, and I reveled in their silken blossoms, white and peachy-pink petals fluttering to the ground like snowflakes in the breeze. Now that first long-awaited flush is past and only a few plants are left in bloom. The roses will revive for another riotous color fest, but the despised Japanese beetles are arriving and will plague the plants and me for weeks to come. Any gardener not suffering this scourge should rejoice daily. 

(Climbing Ballerina Rose)

During the dratted beetle season, I look to the lilies for glory, and they do not disappoint. The oriental lilies scent the garden with sweet perfume and tree lilies stretch to amazing heights. I'm lily mad and forever planting new bulbs. They're rather like Easter eggs, in that I hide them and await discovery, particularly as I often forget what kind I planted and where they were tucked. Plus, one of the online bulb companies sent me potluck instead of what I thought I'd ordered. Adds to the surprise, I suppose. I really must pay more attention to who sent what if I want to complain, but I know I didn't order knee-high yellow lilies. Not that they aren't pretty, but not what I intended. A whole lot like life. 

I do what I usually do, forge ahead and try again. 

(Forever Susan Lily)

I did nothing but comfort my plants, till now their small green cheeks are covered with smiles. ~Emily Dickinson, 1865

(Gaillardia with bee on it)

(Bee balm with bumble bee)

The bees are summer-busy every sunny afternoon... ~Hal Borland

(Cream Veranda Rose)

(Fragrant Tree Lily)

Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers, where I can walk undisturbed... ~Walt Whitman

(Oriental Lily)

Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden. ~Robert Brault, rbrault.blogspot.com

Free Book! And Other Things That Spark Joy

It has been a week! I needed some distractions, and wound up rearranging my library (I have four shelves, don't judge me that I call it my library!). I wound up finding some books I had forgotten that I own! So basically I spent the week re-reading some old favorites. 

I rearranged my books in my room, and the keepers shelf in my "library," even added some new ones to the keeper shelves. I know that this may not sound like fun for everyone, but sitting on the floor amongst a pile of all my books and reading was seriously the highlight of my week. 

It made me realize that this week I need more joy, more time to read old favorites, and find some new favorites. And I'm probably not the only one who feels that way.

So, here's your next new favorite ;) My short story Dreams of the Past. I made it a free for a 24 hour promotion, but I'm leaving my book free for the rest of the week, just because we all need something happy right now.

DREAMS OF THE PAST

click here: Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Smashwords | Goodreads

Dreams of the Past

She needs rest, he needs relaxation…


Jenny Travers wants a fresh start. Leaving the nightmares of her past behind her, she heads to Last Chance Beach. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds peaceful and relaxing, which is exactly what she needs.


What she doesn’t need is a man.


Lieutenant Commander Scott Gordon was injured by an IED on his last mission, and while his leg has healed, it’ll never be strong enough to stay on his SEAL team. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds like the perfect place to figure out how he’s going to handle his new normal.


He never expected to find a woman in his bed.


A mix-up at the rental agency means Jenny and Scott are both renting the small cottage. Sharing a space with a stranger should be hard, yet they both feel more at peace than they have in months.


Will their summer romance last, or is the magic of Sea Glass Cottage all they’ll have…


*This short story was previously published in the Last Chance Beach: Summer's End box set. It has an updated cover, some new content, and is available at all ebook retailers instead of just through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.

START YOUR SUMMER DAY WITH BURNING PASSION

 Judy Ann Davis

"Now that your eyes are open, make the sun jealous with your burning passion to start the day. Make the sun jealous or stay in bed.” – Malak El Halabi ~ Poet and  Consumer Behavior Expert 

What a way to start the day--with a burning passion! 

But what about the end of it?  Have you ever felt you’ve accomplished anything? Even when we do things according to a well thought-out schedule, do we take any time to do the things we want or like??                                                                   

I’m learning that variation in our daily or evening schedules is a healthy and a rewarding way to change the pace of the day. Chores don’t have to be done on the same day every week. Laundry can wait a day. Dinner doesn’t have to be a strict time every day. We’re allowed to unwind, be more alert, center ourselves, and enjoy life instead of frantically keeping pace with it. 

I’m now taking some respite with my writing as well. I’m taking time to ponder the last 20,000 words I need to finish my novel, and I’ve decided not to let my Type A personality poke, push, or guilt me.

Instead, I’ve been reading an old book called “The Plot Thickens,” a series of short stories by best-selling mystery and crime writers Mary Higgins Clark, Janet Evanovich, and Ann Rule, to name a few of the authors. It’s refreshing and enjoyable to read the
short, compact, mystery stories in one sitting.

I’m playing music. I’ve made a batch of cookies. I met with card club friends. I’m taking time for myself. I’m breaking my routine, and I’m feeling cheerful as I embrace that much-needed passion to start my summer days.

So tell me—how are your days evolving? Are you making the sun jealous with your burning passion?   

Visit My Amazon Author Page for all my books.  

HUCKLEBERRY HAPPINESS now only $1.99

                                                                                              
                                                                            

There It Begins by Liz Flaherty

I was thinking about how I start a book. I know, I know--I've been writing them for several decades now and I should have the beginning part down pat. Well, I do, sort of. It's the middle that gives me trouble. It sags every time and I have to run around propping it up like stilts under a waterside house. But I'll talk about that later.

I'm a little less than halfway through my work-in-progress right now and I really need to concentrate on that (the stilts, you know), but we went to a play the other night in Warsaw, Indiana, which is the county seat of Kosciusko County, Indiana. Going up State Road 15, there are a lot of directional signs that point you to Carr Lake, Diamond Lake, Palestine. From other roads you can access Beaver Dam, Yellow Creek, Winona, Center, Webster...all in all, there are over 100 lakes in Kosciusko county. 

A hundred lakes. Wow.

And I thought of an exhausted woman driving up to a cottage on one of those lakes and not even wanting to get out of the car. That's just how tired she is. She has to go to the bathroom and she's starving half to death and she hasn't washed her hair since...since when? She doesn't quite remember. And here she is at a tiny lake without a name yet. 

The lake needs a name. So does she. And they have a story to tell. They're just not letting me in on it yet. 

At home, I tore used sheets out of the front of a notebook and scrawled New Story - Women's Fiction - 2022 on the inside cover. 

And there it begins...

~*~

There's a lake at Fallen Soldier, Pennsylvania, too, the home of my Second Chances Series from Magnolia Blossom Publishing. I hope you'll give A Year of Firsts and Reinventing Riley a try. They are dear to my heart. 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0B2HWVPZ2?ref_=dbs_p_mng_rwt_ser_shvlr&storeType=ebooks

7 Wonderful Facts About Love by Joan Reeves

June was once the month for weddings just as wonderfully aromatic orange blossoms once signified weddings.

Things have changed, but Love hasn't changed.

Here are 7 Wonderful Facts About Love. Use some of them to counter arguments—like the one where men say it's unnatural to be monogamous.

1. In the animal kingdom, monogamous relationships exist. Some of our animal friends who mate for life are swans, albatrosses, black vultures, gibbons, wolves, and even termites. 

2. Studies reveal that it only takes about 4 minutes for a man or woman to decide he/she likes the other. Rather than what one says or how one looks, it has more to do with body language, sound of the voice, and pheromones.

3. Snuggling together or cuddling releases natural painkillers.

4. Believe it or not, looking at a photograph of the one you love also releases natural painkillers.

5. When 2 lovers gaze into each other's eyes, their heartbeats synchronize.

6. Expressing gratitude toward the one you love creates an immediate increase in your happiness.

7. Last, but not least for authors, thinking of love and sex enhances creativity followed by concrete thinking. 

I guess Love is one reason romance novels are so popular! Right? Love may not make the world go round, but it's what makes the trip worthwhile. If the hot weather is getting you down, grab a few romance novels and read inside where it's cool.

If you're looking for a good book this weekend, try Foolishly Yours, for something a little different that's a Kindle Unlimited free read.

Samantha Ruiz is Quadracial and proud of her four ethnicities: African, Cherokee, Hispanic, and White. Filling that out on standardized forms was fun. Not! 

She led a charmed life until two life-changing events happened. First, she got engaged. Second, she resigned her commission as an Army officer to become a Warrant Officer, a military cop, and attracted the attention of an officer at her new post. Both events ended badly.

With her Army career over and wounded by the bitter breakup with her fiancé, Sam moves to Last Chance Beach to care for her grandmother. She’s made a new life for herself as a police officer and is content, if not happy—until Grayson Crawford moves into her Granny's beach rental.

Sam takes an instant dislike to the rude, insensitive beast of a man. What’s worse, the man seems to turn up everywhere she goes. To her horror, she finds herself attracted to the blue-eyed, blond-haired surfer who seems content to drift through life.

She's never dated unsuitable men, and Grayson could be the poster boy for unsuitable. So why does he take her breath away?

Have a wonderful June!

Keeping Good Company by Bea Tifton

My parents and I recently combined households. I'd lived alone for more than 25 years, including during the Pandemic lockdown. I've got to confess that I've developed some odd habits; singing snatches of songs at the top of my voice, eating two cheese sticks and a handful of barbeque flavored potato chips for dinner, and talking to myself. A lot. 

The first time I got caught, my father walked into the kitchen. He looked around, then when he realized I was alone he looked a little nonplussed, and I was embarrassed. I’ve talked to myself in my car and gotten strange looks. One jerk even made the crazy sign, twirling his finger in circles.  When I had a mask on, it was harder for people to catch me out in stores, but now, well…

I need to be clear. I am not walking around constantly mumbling to myself and shaking my fists. I don't ask and answer myself. I've long outgrown my imaginary friends. I'm fully aware that I am talking to myself. Sometimes, I just need to talk through something, especially if I'm confused or working through a particularly thorny problem.

Should I be worried about this little idiosyncrasy? The Cleveland Clinic assures their online readers that talking to yourself is perfectly all right. Talking out loud can even improve focus.  In the article, “Why Do People Talk to Themselves?” Web MD writes, "Most people talk to themselves regularly. This may happen when thinking through ideas, when debating decisions, or when in need of a pep talk."

Honestly, since I talk to myself when I am thinking, I wonder what people who never talk to themselves are doing. Is it just crickets chirping inside their brains? Do they not have any issues or news big enough that they need to go through it out loud? 

Many of the columns I read as background for my blog post wrote about talking to yourself as giving yourself pep talks or using affirmations. Those don't ever work for me. I just feel too silly looking in the mirror and saying, "I'm good enough, and doggone it, people like me." But debating whether I should go ahead and get bananas now or wait, well, that's an issue worthy of a chat. 

I've also heard and read that since the Pandemic more people are talking to themselves than every before, so it may happen to you yet. Just make sure someone isn't going to come walking into the room when you're doing it. 

Websites: 

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/is-it-normal-to-talk-to-yourself/#:~:text=Is%20It%20Normal%3F-,%E2%80%9CTake%20a%20deep%20breath.,to%20get%20the%20maximum%20benefit.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/talking-to-yourself#is-it-healthy

https://www.webmd.com/balance/why-people-talk-to-themselves

Photo Credits from Pexels:

Moose Photos: "Woman Wearing Pink Top"

Andrea Piacquadio: "Woman in Gray Tank Top"

Andrea Piacquadio: "Photo of Woman Looking at the Mirror"

SHVETS production: "Bananas in Eco Bag"

Polina Tankilevitch: "A Woman in White Knit Sweater Covering Her Face: