Small Progress Is Still Progress by Laura Hunsaker

 I work in school for my day job, and we are going into our third week back. One of my coworkers asked me if I had gotten any writing done over the break (I get 4 weeks off during the summer). I did, but I didn't feel like it was all that much. Normally I get much more done. But lemme tell ya, my kids are living their best lives and I'm their ride. We were so busy.

But my coworker told me that I was a writing machine. My reply was that oh I'm definitely not. Two books a year is not a writing machine. I know authors who do 6 or more per year! It's wild how many words they can get done in a day! 

Why couldn't I have just said thank you and left it at that? 

It really changed the way I think about how I write though. I mean, I wrote two books in one year! That's fantastic! I may not get a book a month out, but I'm okay with that. I like what I do, and I'm proud of what I write.

So I hereby declare that if you wrote any words, you are a writing machine! And that's amazing! I'll shake my internet pom poms for you!

Right now I'm working on three projects:

1. The short story DREAMS OF THE FUTURE that is done, but in edits 

2. A Kenzie MacLir paranormal romance I'm co-writing 

3. The next book in the Fatal Instincts series that follows DREAMS OF THE FUTURE. It's getting good ;)

I think when I finish DREAMS I'm going to toast to all of us fellow "writing machines" and I'm going to remember that small progress is still progress.

Coming Soon...

Kate Landry is soon to be Kate Donovan, if only the groom would show up.

Maid of honor Cara Nguyen wants everything to go smoothly for her best friend's wedding, yet almost immediately, the wedding turns into a fiasco. Kate and Kyle deserve to have the wedding of their dreams, and Cara wants to make it happen. It’s hard to do when the flowers are delivered to the wrong location, the groom is missing, and the lovely sunny day has become a sweltering hot mess. She definitely doesn’t have time to get distracted by a sexy groomsman in a kilt.

Kyle Donovan is ready to marry the love of his life, but first he has to help some stranded guests…

Dash Helms is in the small town of Chester, California for his friend Kyle’s wedding, when he is immediately tasked to help. A caravan of wedding guests break down on their way to the venue, one of the groomsmen misses his flight, and the beautiful maid of honor is the only thing he can concentrate on. When Dash is asked to step in at the last minute as a replacement groomsman, of course he says yes. But the striking brunette he’s walking down the aisle wants nothing to do with him. 

With everything seeming to go wrong, what can go right?

In this wedding short story written for Kate and Kyle from Dark Past, the cast of the Fatal Instincts series comes together to celebrate their friends. With everyone in the same place at once, and romance in the air, can this small town handle them?

 

Wine and Words by Liz Flaherty

I sold my first book in 1998. Alway Annie made its Precious Gems debut in 1999. There have been 20 since then, along with some novellas. While I don't often chase down book signings, I do a few of them every year. Sometimes they're hearteningly successful and sometimes they're...not. Sometimes I spend more money at the venue than I make from book sales. 

And sometimes they're just fun. My friend Nan Reinhardt and I had one of those this weekend. We sat in Whyte Horse Winery for several hours and didn't sell many books. We did drink some good wine, eat some good pizza, and talk to people. 

Nan Reinhardt and Liz Flaherty

The talking to people is what makes me happy. It reminds me that most people are nice, that we're more alike than we are different, that family businesses are special in a way I can't define, that the world--at least in central Indiana--is small indeed. Conversations were cluttered with the words "do you know..." and "that is so exciting." Because other people's good news is even better when it's shared.

I was reminded, as I have to be quite often, that just for fun is a good enough reason for anything you choose to do that doesn't hurt anyone else. Your bottom line isn't anyone else's business. Your friends and family aren't going to love you less on a day you sell three books than on a day you sell three dozen. You'll have those conversations to keep in your memory bank. 

Now I am reminded, once again, that while writing on life's downhill slope is different than it was on the other side, it's still just as much fun. And that's all the reason I need to keep doing it. 

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/FlahertyBlue

Amazon: https://a.co/d/eyEjPDA

Lemonade, a Summer Classic by Joan Reeves

When you think about a winter drink, does hot chocolate immediately come to mind?

What about a summer drink? Do you make an instant connection to something?

I do, and the drink is lemonade.

When I was a kid, we didn't drink Coca Cola or other soft drinks very often. We had lemonade made from freshly squeezed lemons.

The citrus drink had just the right amount of tartness and just the right amount of sweetness. Mom would fix a big pitcher of lemonade and toss ice cubes into the pitcher too. She'd crush mint leaves on the rims of the glasses, add ice, and fill the tumblers with the lemonade. If she had a lemon left, she'd slice it and float it on top of the drink. 

Oh, there was nothing better. Just the smell of the lemons would make our mouths water. The drink was more thirst quenching than water or ice tea. (Yes, we in the South always said "ice tea" not iced tea.)

Years ago, when powdered lemonade mixes hit the market, I tried them, but they paled in comparison to the real thing. I wanted lemonade like my mother made. She squeezed fresh lemons—and oranges too—on an old glass juicer like the one shown here. I don't know what happened to the one she had. I guess it got broken at some point in time.

 A few years ago, at a thrift store, I saw one like the one my mom used. Excited, I scooped it up then bought a bag of lemons on the way home.

OLD FASHIONED LEMONADE

I was so excited. I washed the glass juicer, got my ice tea pitcher out of the cabinet, lined up the lemons on the cutting board, and rolled each lemon around to "loosen" the juice.

The tangy scent of the oil in the lemon skin hit my nose and reminded me of being in Mom's kitchen.

I cut each lemon in half then took one of the halves and placed it over the glass juicer, pressed down and rotated the lemon around on the glass cone-shaped middle. Happily, I went to the next half, and the next, and the next...next...next...next until I thought my hand might fall off my arm.

How on earth did women do things like this back in the old days? By the time I'd squeezed out 12 lemon halves, I felt as if I'd been doing bicep curls with a fifty pound dumbbell. I did finish making that pitcher of lemonade, but I never used that beautiful glass juicer again. I bought an electric juicer which does 12 lemon halves in a few minutes. There's definitely something to be said for modern appliances.

WANT TO MAKE REAL LEMONADE?

It's really easy just make sure you use freshly squeezed lemon juice—never that bottled stuff which is really gross.)

3 cups water + 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice + 1/2 to 3/4 cup of white sugar. (Half a cup is what Mom used, but most people today think that's too tart so adjust as needed.) Fresh mint leaves if you have them.

Add the water and juice to a tall pitcher. Stir well. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. Serve over ice with a crushed mint leaf on top. Drink and enjoy.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION

Have a glass of real lemonade while you read a summertime book. May I suggest ROMEO AND JUDY ANNE? 

Can good girls ever win? High school principal Judy Anne Palmer doesn't think so. She was always a good girl who never did an impulsive, rebellious thing. Ever. And look where it got her! Stuck in a life she hates. One night in Dallas, she rebels against...everything! That may end up being the biggest scandal that ever hit her little Texas town.  

Reviews: "I can't recommend this story enough. The characterization is deep and the end as satisfying as the reader could hope for." and "I just adored Roman/Romeo. Perfect hero material, hot, rich and a lovely guy."—Loves Reading

ROMEO AND JUDY ANNE is available only on Kindle, but it will be available wide by the end of August. Sign up for my free newsletter below and you'll know when this book can be found at all the other ebook sellers plus you'll receive exclusive content, book news, and other book bargains.

FIND JOAN

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The Dog Days of Summer by Bea Tifton

Elino Sazo "Dog Sitting on Ground
 Under Starry Sky"

Well, here we are, dear Readers, just ending the Dog Days of Summer. Which has much to do with where Sirius, the Dog Star, is in the sky and little to do with actual dogs.  But the phrase did cause me to think about my own dogs, dogs in general, and most of all, rescue dogs. I volunteer for a dog rescue founded by Susan Trammell called Highway Hounds of Texas. I am not able to foster at this point of my life, but I attend the adoption events and do an occasional extraction or transport.

I transport is when I meet a member of another rescue or a city animal shelter employee to pick up one or more dogs. An extraction is when someone decides to return the dog. A dog named Mo (I call him Mo Mo and now almost everyone else does, too) stands out in my mind and occupies my heart. A woman called Ms. Trammell and said he needed to be returned because he was trying to bite her grandchildren. She sent a short video and the poor little dog was obviously cowed and miserable. Someone had been hitting him. As I walked into a dark, tiny apartment filled with so much cigarette smoke that I saw everything through a haze, I saw the cutest little dog sitting on the couch. The woman was nervous but polite enough, she handed Mo Mo to me with a string of excuses and apologies that I pretty much ignored. Mo didn’t even look back as we walked to my car. When Ms. Trammell saw him, she almost cried. She said he wasn’t the happy, friendly little dog she adopted out. And the “biting” was puppy mouthing. He was just a baby! Now, several empathetic people, myself included, have been coaxing Mo Mo out of his frightened shell. He is playing again and he doesn’t bark at men unless they clearly remind him of the abuser. Mo Mo is still available for adoption and he needs a kind, very patient person (men are okay if they are a good match to Mo) who wants a sweet, loyal dog for whom they would care for the rest of his life. Mo Mo deserves to be cherished.

 

My favorite adoption event was my very first one. A man came by and looked at our dogs available for adoption that day. He and his partner were witty and likeable people, and I was disappointed when they didn’t take a particular Chihuahua on whom they had their eye. After lunch, the same man who’d held the Chihuahua hurried over with his partner struggling to catch up. When he saw the little dog was still there, the first man burst into tears of relief. I gave him my purse pack of facial tissue and one of the other volunteers and I hugged him as a third volunteer quickly retrieved the lucky dog. I’d be willing to bet that spoiled, happy little dog now has a jeweled collar and a satin pillow.

Iggy

Some of the dogs have been in foster homes for a long time. They are getting good care but they need forever homes. Lucky is a goofy, sweet dog who absolutely loves the splash pad in the dog park. He’s good with other dogs but not cats. He loves everyone, including kids. Craig is an older dog who loves playing with his toys so much he plays tug of war with himself, spinning and running in ecstasy. One dog claimed my heart. Iggy is such a sweet, adorable little Maltese I wanted to adopt so badly. I have an older dog who doesn’t want another dog in the pack or I would have adopted him immediately. Truly it broke my heart. Iggy is afraid of children, and we don’t have any kids who visit so that would have been perfect. When he was adopted by a nice couple, I was so happy for him, but I’m not gonna lie; I cried and cried.

Being part of Highway Hounds has added so much to my life. I meet fascinating people, I get to help save dogs from being euthanized in overcrowded shelters, I can play and love on dogs for hours during adoption events, and I’ve met some great fellow volunteers. One other volunteer has become one of my closest friends and I never would have met her if it wasn’t for Highway Hounds and Susan Trammell.

Craig

Mo

Lucky

This blog isn’t an advertisement; I just wanted to share a meaningful and rewarding part of my life. But, that said, if you do live in North Texas, we really need foster homes (all the supplies are provided and vetting is paid for) and of course, we need adopters state wide. If you can’t adopt or foster, Highway Hounds always needs donations.

 

The website is www.highwayhoundstx.org

School Days by Bea Tifton

 I’m filling in for the lovely and talented Caroline Clemmons.

I was a teacher and then a school librarian for a total of 20 years. It’s a terrible, wonderful job with much heartbreak and many rewards. The working conditions for teachers are appalling in most of today’s schools, but the kids can make it all worthwhile.  I had many amazing memories as an elementary school teacher in particular.

When I taught second grade, I had one very shy little boy whose father was originally from Norway. He was so sweet and I never had a bit of trouble with him. I talked with him but, having been painfully shy as a child, I didn’t force things. One day when I was sitting at my desk he came up to me and said “I would like to sing you a Norwegian lullaby.” I was very surprised, but of course I said yes. In the perfect, pure voice of a young child, he sang me the song his mother sang to him each night. I was so touched that I almost choked up. What a gift and a show of trust he gave me.

My first year of teaching, one sweet, studious, and shy little boy with a face covered in adorable freckles and big, thick glasses had an obvious crush on me, as some boys do on their teachers. For the last day of class, I told the kids they could sit anywhere in the classroom. My little admirer yelled, “Whoo hoo! I’ve been waiting for this all year!” and scooted his desk right next to mine.

I had one particularly boisterous child one year. He was a big kid for his age, and he was quite disruptive. But it was always just cheerful clowning as that boy didn’t have a mean bone in his body. His name was Little ___, because of course his father was Big ___. Little already played football and he played it well, so the other teachers and I hoped he’d ride that train as far as  he possibly could. I talked to his mother, who was wonderful and supportive, almost every day for one reason or another, even just because she wanted a status report. The next year, I was standing in the hall after school talking to a teacher friend of mine and I threw my arms out wide as I told my story. Threw them out wide just as Little came tearing around the corner. Umph! And he was down. I helped him up, brushed him off, and anxiously asked if he was okay. He laughed, gave me a cheeky smile, and continued on his way, walking this time.

I thought, Oh, great. I’m really going to get in trouble for this one. I just knocked a student on his rear, albeit accidentally. I immediately called his mother and told her what had happened. She laughed and said “Oh, honey, you’ve probably been waitin’ to do that for a year!”

I have so, so many more memories of my time as an educator. Some funny, some touching, and some not so great. Be kind to your teachers, folks. It’s a tough job and they do it out of love.

Photo Credits: Pexels.com
Andrea Piacquadio "Strict Female Teacher with Book Pointing at Scribbled Blackboard"
cottonbro studio "A Choirboy in a Bow Tie Singing in Church"
RDNE Stock project "Young Boy Wearing Blue Backpack"
Pixabay "Boy Playing Football"
Yan Krukau "Group of Preschoolers with Their Teacher"