A Sad Goodbye by Bea Tifton

  Dear Readers, 

As you know, my mother, Caroline Clemmons, passed away May 1. My sister and I have decided not to continue the blog as it would just be too sad for us. Thank you, thank you, thank you, to the amazing authors who posted each month and to the amazing readers who faithfully read them.  Please continue to read my mother's books and those of the talented ladies who belonged to this blog. Thank you for the wonderful years we all shared our love of romance. 

Caroline Clemmons
1940-2026

Writers and Friends

I'm late getting around today. Well, not just today, but often lately. I'm looking out the window right now at redheaded woodpecker snacking at the suet feeder in the side yard. It's  kind of a gloomy day, and the friendly woodpecker and the brilliant green of freshly mown grass lighten things up considerably. 

It makes me think of the writing business. I've been writing for money (negligible, but still money) since I was in my 30s, for my soul since I was nine, and from my heart since the first time I two-fingered out a story on my aunt's typewriter. 

There is much I don't like about it anymore. I don't like that AI is sticking its ugly head so far into our business. I don't like that lack of respect for romantic fiction now has so many different sub-genres to disrespect and that in the age of anything goes social media, the sub-areas even show disrespect to each other. 

But I still like the books, don't you? Whether they're indie, trad, or hybrid. Even if you hate the kinds of covers that are trending right now, you like what's on the inside and you know that sometime soon, you'll like covers again. If you don't like present tense, you can avoid it--or give it a chance; same with first person. Sweet, spicy, erotic, paranormal, clean--there are plenty of all of them to go around. And there are no book police saying you should finish a book you don't like, write a hateful review because you can, or answer one of those FB conversation starters that go something like this: What are the worst books you've read this year?

As I usually do, I've gone way off course here. If this were a racetrack, I'd be sitting sideways in the infield wondering how I got there. 

Jan Scarbrough

Because what I wanted to talk about was other writers and the collectives they share. There are groups in every sub-genre, every publishing house, every group writing blog. There are communities of us who feel the same loyalty to our retired favorites as we did when we were preordering their books the first day they showed up on Amazon. If they released new books now, we'd still buy them the first day, read them the first afternoon, leave reviews before sleeping. 

With the recent losses of members of some of those groups, of the ones I knew and miss personally, Caroline Clemmons and Jan Scarbrough, more than communities have shrunk. Much more.

Because more than groups, collectives, or communities, writers are a circle of friends. At the end of our writing day, no matter how much gloom we encounter, what is known as a solitary endeavor isn't really at all. We all speak the same language, we virtually all have each other's backs. 

In the intersecting circles of our communities, we can always find the brightness. The woodpecker. The jewel-toned grass. Each other. 

I am grateful.  

A Goodbye to My Mother by Bea Tifton

 My blog is late, because I have struggled to write it, dear Reader. My amazing, beautiful, clever mother passed away May 1st,  and my heart is broken. 

I have so many wonderful memories of my mother. One of the earliest is when I was three years old. Each year Mom made Christmas cookies. She made some shaped like the state of Texas, and I was thrilled when she told me I was old enough to put the little candy circle right where we lived on the cookie. I felt so grown up and privileged. My mother absolutely loved Christmas. Our house was bursting with decorations, store bought and hand made. We had things I made at school, things family members had sewn, and lovely things Mom had bought along the way. Each year we would go look at Christmas lights, and this continued into my adulthood. But when I was a little girl, Mom would make a yearly trek to this craft/hobby store called Arnold's. It was in a strip mall built to look like houses so it was like going to a little village. Arnold's was a magical place with all these wonderful displays and items to purchase. I especially loved the doll house section. Mom would let me wander and look by myself. And then we would go to downtown Dallas to drive around and look at the elaborate Christmas displays in the store windows, especially the site of the original Neiman Marcus. 

My parents treasured knowledge. Both voracious readers, they read to me from infancy, and I became a reader early on. We would go to this strip mall library branch just around the corner from our grocery store. There was never any limit to how many books we could check out, just as long as we didn't get more than we could read before the return due date. And I was encouraged to ask questions. My mother answered my questions patiently and when it was relevant, she steered me to our set of encyclopedias or the dictionary. When it was time to write research papers, I was the only one among my friends who wasn't overwhelmed. And I truly think that this learning process and encouragement is partly why I became a librarian. 

We went to museums frequently, including on our vacations, as well as numerous historical sites. My parent made history seem relevant and vivid. But when I asked an odd question, my mother never laughed. She had hung a print of a Renoir portrait, "Little Irene"  in my bedroom. I was about three or four, and I stared at that portrait  many times as I was going to sleep and wondered and wondered. One night as Mom was tucking me in, I asked the burning question, "Why does that girl have a fish in her hair?" Mom looked startled, then looked closely at the painting. She said, "It does look like a fish. I never noticed that. But it's just the way her hair ribbon is tied. It's just a hair ribbon." She didn't me feel embarrassed or foolish. 

My mother loved antiques. When my sister was in school and I was small, we would go to an antique store close to her school and look around. Mom usually made small purchases, or simply looked, but one day she asked me to help her choose something to buy for the house. I choose a brass Kwan Yin statue. Mom put it in layaway and carefully paid it out. We moved so frequently when I was growing up but that statue was always lovingly and carefully packed. I have it in my living room now. Mom brought it when she and my father came to live with me. We continued to look at antique stores my whole life and I remember our first cream tea. We all dressed up and Mom took us to seemingly distant and exotic Dallas to a special tea room and it was a real event. I still have a love of antiques. Mom and I had our own antique business for a few years and it was wonderful. 

Four and a half years ago, my parents moved in with me. My father's Parkinson's had progressed to the point of pain and he mourned having his own house. But Mom was thrilled. We are so similar that we had fun talking about everything. It was like having a slumber party every day, even as her own health declined much more than  she wanted her loyal readers and friends to know. We watched movies as a family each night and after my father passed away Mom and I continued to do so. We loved the same kind of things so we gleefully streamed old movies and British mysteries, with occasional Hallmark movies or episodes from HGTV shows thrown in. Mom's favorite movie and one of mine is "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes." We watched it once a month. Every Thursday was pizza night. Nothing interrupted pizza night for us and Mom absolutely loved it for some reason. It feels weird not to order pizza now but I just can't bring myself to do so yet. We always had the same delivery man, a very nice Ukrainian man who was probably a teacher or a doctor or something in his own country. I wonder if he's noticed our absence. 

I've had vivid, intense nightmares my entire life. When I was a little girl, Mom would come and sit with me, holding my hand until I was able to fall asleep. But this last month has been a waking nightmare. A month ago Mom fell at home and broke her arm, so she spent four days in the hospital. The doctor wanted her to go  to a rehabilitation hospital, but she was too weak to stand by herself. You see, she had been grieving my father's death deeply since he died May 29, 2025. From Christmas on, though, she seemed to decline rapidly. She would sleep all day and I would wake her up to eat, then she would fall asleep again. I took her to doctors, encouraged her, and did everything I knew to do. She would rally herself to come watch movies each night. We did get a very good skilled nursing facility, the best in the city. They just happened to have a bed. She received excellent care. But that Wednesday night, the nurse called me right as I was about to go to sleep and told me they were sending her to the ER for "breathing difficulties." I met her at the ER and we spent the entire night with tests and breathing treatments, then she was admitted to the hospital late that night. The next day at 2:00 p.m. she was transferred to a hospice center. Then at 12:45 a.m. on May 1, the most important person to me in the world passed away. I had been sitting with her for two days, holding her hand so she wouldn't be scared as she fell asleep. 

Caroline Clemmons 1940-2026

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Olaga Solodilova "Cozy Christmas Mantel with Festive Decorations, Framed Art, and a Holiday Tree

AN EMBARRASING MOMENT

 By Caroline Clemmons

For me, today is when Fall begins. No doubt about it, this is a holdover from my school days. I loved school, especially English and history. Over my thirteen years (counting kindergarten), I had many amazing teachers and a few incidents I remember with pleasure.

 

Image by Christelle from Pixabay

One of my most embarrassing moments came when I was a junior in high school. My best friend, Iris, did everything she tried well. In spite of the fact she didn't cook or sew, she worked in the home economics office for one credit. Iris assured me this was a great way to get an easy A because there was little to do and I could get some of my homework done. 

This was a highly sought-after spot. With Iris’ recommendation to Mrs. Carter, lead teacher, I was approved. But Mrs. Carter eyed me with concern. She had taught me the year before in her cooking class, in which I did well. Probably, she wondered why a brainy girl like Iris would be friends with a dork like me. 

I signed up for the next semester, and was given the period just before lunch. You cannot imagine my horror when I learned that the slot I’d landed was feeding time for the lab rat.  Remember the scene in the book 1984 when Big Brother’s agents threatened the man with hungry rats on his face? That’s the image seared in my brain. And I was afraid of the small rodents even before I read the book. 

Okay, so it was only one rat, and he was in a cage. But to me he looked as if he were sizing me up for dinner’s main course. I managed to feed the beast through the first week without disaster. I had never had pets and had no rapport with animals—not because I disliked them, but because I didn’t identify with them as I do now. 

Feeling a bit more confident, I breezed into the tiny home ec office the second week. The rat was primed and waiting. The moment I unlatched his cage to add food, he leaped out and ran into an empty classroom. I was lucky he hadn’t chosen the opposite direction leading into  the high school hallway, but I didn't realize it at the time. All I knew was I was in big trouble. I chased him around the room and finally cornered the poor rat so I could grab him. 

Ohh, good gracious, I was holding a rat!

I’m not sure which of us was most frightened. I managed to get him back to the cage only to find Mrs. Carter waiting for me in the office, having witnessed the last part of my debacle. Actually, she was nice about the whole thing in a slightly severe way. We agree that I would feed the rat when she was in the office in the future until I “became more comfortable with that duty.”  

I feared my blunder would reflect badly on my friend Iris, but it didn't seem to do so. I suppose Mrs. Carter’s opinion of me as a dork or a scatterbrain or whatever explained everything. Needless to say, I did not seek to work in the home ec office the following semester.  Iris and I have remained good friends all these years.

WHERE THE WAGON TRAIN BROKE DOWN By Caroline Clemmons

One of my favorite songs opens, "Summertime and the livin' is easy...." In spite of that, summer is my least favorite season. Please give me spring and fall with more moderate temperatures.  I donate my sunscreen lotion to the sun lovers while I choose to remain indoors with a good book and soothing music.

That's what I'd choose, all right, but life doesn't work that way, does it?

Once we had a dark blue car with the same color leather seats. We kept towels in the vehicle to sit on when wearing shorts. We also threw a towel over the steering wheel if we had to park in the open. Nothing like fastening a molten metal seat belt buckle over a child, right? Car manufacturers have caught on since those days, and the interior of modern cars are not quite the roasting pans of the past. 

I live in North Central Texas, and we have many extremely hot days. Once when friends from Tampa visited, the temperature was 113F, unusually high for us. Their ten-year-old son asked me, "Why do you live here?"

My usual reply to this complex question is, "This is where the wagon train broke down."

I'm still not a fan of summer. 

DON'T SQUEEZE THE CHARMIN

 

 By Caroline Clemmons

Recently my youngest daughter and I were talking about the lack of cute commercials currently on television. Our discussions are frequently on deep, critically important  subjects of this type.

You know, with the overabundance of drug and insurance commercials, there aren’t many of those or of others which stand out in my memory.  At least not recently. At the risk of sounding like the old-timer who walked to school uphill in both directions through deep snow, here are some I do remember fondly.

My all-time favorite commercial was when Coca Cola featured a group of carolers singing “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony.” Isn't that timely for our current situation? In my opinion, no one will top that one!

Another was the Alka-Seltzer cartoon boy Speedy that sang plop, plop, fizz, fizz and jumped into a glass of water.

Who can forget the little boy singing he’d like to be an Oscar Myer wiener?

David Naughton wanted to be a Pepper for Dr Pepper, my choice of soda—the cherry flavor. He put a lot of talent and energy into his invitation.

I have to say seeing Mr. Whipple squeezing the Charmin was far, far more appealing than blue bears discussing “going.”

I admit every time I heard Sam Elliott speak about Dodge Ram trucks I wanted to rush out and buy one. Never did. Wouldn't he be a great narrator for an audiobook?

Working in an advertising agency must be extremely stressful. All the same, I often wonder who approved some of the commercials we see. Many actually repel me rather than tempting me to buy the product. So much expense deserves better results.

What’s a commercial you remember fondly?

What's your favorite?

By Caroline Clemmons

I just finished a book that will release this summer and am pondering what to write next. I thought you could help me decide.  The book I recently finished and sent to my editor is one of ten in a MAP (multi-author project) called Guns for Hire. Obviously it could be one of many time periods, but it's a sweet historical western. Mine is set in 1881 and takes place mostly in northeastern New Mexico Territory. The Title is SHAD and it is available for preorder here.

My questions are:

Do you prefer a series from one author or a M/AP? 

Do you read single titles or look for a series?

What is your favorite trope?

I'm in a quandary and really need your input. I have so many plots I want to write but can't decide which one to use. With the threats to our retirement funds, I need to keep the royalties rolling in. Okay, mine sort of limp instead of roll, but I still need them.

A $10 gift card to the person whose suggestion I use or whose suggestion most inspires me. ends 5/9/2025.

Thanks for stopping by.

YOU'RE THE GREATEST!

By Caroline Clemmons

Confession time—I can’t help comparing myself to other authors. Not the ones who quit, that would be too simple. No, I compare myself to the super-successful indie writers who make six and seven figure in royalties each year. Idiot. I started out in the writing business wanting to be the next Nora Roberts. Ha ha. To say I haven’t made it is an understatement.

This past Sunday, our minister said that comparing ourselves to others is a form of vanity. Ouch! It isn’t the fame or financial success I envy (although that would be wonderful), it’s the ability to sell books. We pour our hearts into the books we write. If they don’t sell well, the rejection stings. More than stings, it’s a knife to the heart of our creativity.

Recently, I released a new book which I was certain would be a success. It’s heroine is feisty and hero is strong and successful, and there's an HEA ending. But, it isn’t selling very well. I’ve done all the usual things to promote it, yet it still isn’t selling. How does this make me feel? I can’t help feeling like I’ve failed somehow. It’s personal.

The thing I (we) have to remember is that each of us is a unique being with special gifts. Not just one gift, but many. Perhaps one stands out most and/or brings us the most fulfillment, but we have many talents. And, we aren’t competing with others—we are in competition with ourselves to keep improving, to feel fulfilled, to accomplish our personal best.

I don’t like boxing, but I remember Mohamed Ali’s mantra, “I am the greatest!” If I’ve done my best and written the best book I can, then that is success, the greatest I can be. How can I do better than my best?

I challenge you to say the same to yourself: I am the greatest I can be!

By the way, my last release is Sidney and the Mail Order Bride, Book 6, Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides, a sweet western historical romance. Sidney Garton wrote a matchmaker and requested a bride who could cook, keep house, and help him in his mercantile store. Antoinette Fournier has been trained to be the wife of a wealthy man and knows only how to manage servants. She proves she’s made of tougher stuff than she or Sidney imagined when Sidney has a serious accident and she must take charge of the store. She’s able to confront a would-be robber, but the criminal has sworn revenge.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DNTP95FD 

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy our April showers.

  

THE MONTH OF LOVE #99¢ SALE!

 By Caroline Clemmons

Welcome February, treated as the month of love. Actually, it’s only one of  eleven others that offer the same opportunity for love. At least, I hope love in your life is not restricted to February. <G>

Probably, we are each hoping for something special on Valentine’s Day. Do you prefer flowers, jewelry, candy, dining out, or all of those? Even a verbal wish and a hug can make my day. That’s not to say I’d turn down any of the aforementioned Valentine’s gifts.

Hero never forgets to do something special. Now that his Parkinson’s prevents him from driving, he calls on our youngest daughter to act as his personal shopper. Luckily for me, she does great work.

Ah, well, on to reminiscing. Do you remember the first Valentine candy you received from a guy? I do, as well as how surprised—make tha shocked—l was to find it in my school locker. I was in the seventh graden, and far from a femme fatale. His cubby was only a few down from mine. Of course, he was watching when I opened my door. I have no idea what I said, but it must have been acceptable because he stuck around for several years. I had thought the boy was my pal Margie’s boyfriend. So did Margie. Need I say she stopped being my buddy that day?

While I was a housewife, I was always a room mother. When our oldest daughter was in kindergarten, for her class Valentine’s party I made for myself a white double-knit pantsuit trimmed in red. Shudder. Good grief, seeing that photo now is embarrassing! At the time, I thought it was just right for Valentine’s Day. Times and tastes definitely change, don't they?

Our daughters are polar opposites. The oldest never met a stranger and loves talking to people. The youngest is extremely shy, but learned to hide it later. They do look like sisters and I sometimes made them matching dresses (for some reason that now escapes me). I knew our youngest daughter didn’t like her second grade teacher, who had been her sister’s teacher two years earlier. At the class party, the teacher gushed on and on about how much alike the girls were and how she enjoyed them. Maybe she knew I played bridge with the principal.

Memories of good times are fun to recapture. I hope you have good memories and are making new ones to savor later.

By the way, if you’re looking for tales of romance, adventure, and happily ever after, the first book of my Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides series is what you need. Plus, it's on sale for only 99¢ on Amazon. GENTRY AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE can be found at this URL:’

https://www.amazon.com/Gentry-Texas-Country-Order-Brides-ebook/dp/B0B6YN6QHK

 Here's the blurb:

Sometimes the perfect match is the one you didn’t expect.

Nothing much riles Gentry McRae. He works hard on the ranch he co-owns with his best friend, and is content with his life. He’s proud of all they’ve accomplished in the ten years since the war. That is, until his partner dies and leaves a fourth of the ranch to his mail-order bride—and wills the bride to Gentry.

“Now just a doggone minute, I don’t plan to marry for years!”

But, a single woman can’t reside on a ranch where four men live without ruining her reputation. What’s a good man to do, except marry the woman when she arrives?

Heidi Roth has been spurned for being too plainspoken and too tall. In addition, her sister constantly makes fun of her for those reasons. That’s why—with many doubts—she’s willing to travel for months from Bavaria to Texas to marry a man who once lived in her town. When she arrives, she learns her prospective groom is dead, but left her a fourth of his share of a ranch. She has serious doubts, but agrees to wed Gentry to protect her reputation. From the next day, one event after the other happens. Is this the life she wants?

 

Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

 

MY FAVORITE TIME

By Caroline Clemmons

 

We have entered my favorite time of year—the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. There seems to me more smiling people, more anticipation, more happiness. Oh, maybe that’s just me. <g>

The Christmas season brings wonderful memories for me. I love selecting gifts for family and friends. As I’ve grown older and our family decreased, we have a much smaller number of gifts to choose.

When I was younger, I made special ornaments to go on the package of children’s presents we mailed. Bows get smashed. I can only remember a few: a hand puppet—cowgirls for girls and cowboys for boys; a five-inch Christmas stocking ornament; and a felt stick horse with a candy cane as stick with the crook in the horse’s head.

In addition, I deliberated over the selection of wrapping paper so that all the gifts coordinated for each family. I don’t remember why this seemed important. Well, it did look lovely.

Times and I have changed. Now a gift bag is easy, with a few sheets of tissue stuffed in over the gift. We no longer mail any gifts, which makes me kind of sad. All the nieces and nephews are grown and the extended family adults no longer exchange gifts.

Another thing I miss is making up ten or twelve plates of cookies and candy and a small loaf of zucchini bread to deliver to friends and neighbors on December 23rd. Lately, I intend to prepare the goodies but never get them made.

That reminds me of a funny story. The middle of December, I made large batches at a time of various cookies and froze them in Tupperware containers. One year I took the containers of chocolate chip cookies from the freezer. When I opened them, one was empty. My Hero stood near me looking sheepish.

He said, “You know, you’d be surprised how fast those cookies thaw in the microwave.”

Happy Holidays!

NEW AUDIO RELEASE!

By Caroline Clemmons

More wonderful things are happening for the Pinkerton Matchmaker Series books. This series is tremendously popular. Barr26 Publishing has acquired the rights and given them new covers and listed them at numerous retailers.

The books I wrote for this series are among my favorites. Each took considerable research, but I loved writing them. I hope you won’t think I’m vain when I confess I’m pleased with the resulting stories.

The latest thing is, they are being narrated for audio, mine by by narrator Chris Kemsworth. I’m so pleased with my three, although the third is still in production. The two of mine that are now available in audio are AN AGENT FOR MAGDALA and AN AGENT FOR LYDIA.

According to the publisher’s spokesperson, it takes from 10-14 business days for the audio version that was uploaded on November 5^th to appear on various retailers. Currently, the audio version is available at Barnes and Noble. If you enjoy listening to a talented narrator read an exciting historical western romance, please give these two audio books a try. I believe you’ll enjoy listening to them as much as I did.

 

 

She craves adventure, but this may be too much…

His job means the world to him…

Capturing jewel thieves will test them…

 

Magdala leaps at the opportunity to become a Pinkerton agent. Learning the position requires a paper marriage shocks but doesn’t deter her. Maggie plans to get an annulment before her unusual family learns of the situation. She’s determined to prove she has the grit to be an excellent investigator. But, why does she have to be partnered with the one man who has been rude to her?

Douglas “Cloud” Ryan loves being a Pinkerton agent. Otherwise, he’d never go along with his boss’ crazy plan to marry him to a female agent. He’s certain women have no business dealing with criminals. After barely surviving the stagecoach trip from Denver to San Antonio Maggie needs to stay in the background and let him solve the case. He has reasons to distrust women, especially women like Maggie.

Can Maggie and Cloud catch the jewel thieves plaguing an historic San Antonio hotel without becoming victims? Will they take a chance on the love growing between them?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-agent-for-magdala-caroline-clemmons/1132839154?ean=2940193348184

 

When Lydia Wood is left at the altar, she believes something beyond her groom’s control has happened. Two years with no word have hardened her heart. She has to get away from her parents’ constant urging her to choose an acceptable husband and wed. Becoming a Pinkerton agent suits her plans.

Pinkerton Agent Jake Hunter has recovered from injuries that put him in a coma and a long convalescence. He realizes Lydia would have been injured had she been with him. He vows to distance himself from the one person who means the world to him to protect her. 

When they are paired for an investigation of bank robbers they must follow the trail to a dangerous hang out of men on the run. Can the two successfully pull off their charade and capture the robbers or will this trip confirm Jake’s worst fears?

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-agent-for-lydia-caroline-clemmons/1144462164?ean=2940179333944 

Thanks for stopping by.

TALE OF THE UNCOOPERATIVE BALLOT

 By Caroline Clemmons

Dear Readers, 

Because my husband, Hero, was scheduled for surgery on October 30th, we thought it advisable to vote early. So, on the 29th, we went to the sub-courthouse nearest us to cast our votes. A lot of others had the same idea and the polling place had a steady stream of people.

by Norman Rockwell

I checked in, showed my ID, and received a ballot. I chose one of the many voting machines and our youngest daughter chose the one beside me. I have "low vision" and was probably the slowest voter ever. When my daughter tried to help me, an election judge came immediately to investigate. After she'd observed that our daughter was not trying to usurp my rights, the judge observed a few moments and went her way to help someone else. 

Once I'd finished voting and my ballot printed my selections, I went to the machines which accept the ballots. Except, it wouldn't accept mine. A lovely woman behind the table leaned over to instruct me. Still didn't work. She came around the table wearing a smile, but her eyes said "You idiot." The ballot wouldn't go into the machine for her either. She tried a second time then confessed she didn't know what to do. She went to ask for help.

A couple of nights before, we had watched the cute comedy movie "Swing Vote." Our daughter and I looked at one another, said swing vote, and giggled. We amuse ourselves (but not many other people). 

The lovely lady returned with the woman in charge. She had a new ballot and a new ID number for me to use with the voting machine. After giving them to me, she asked me to use the same machine and vote again. She cautioned me to vote for the same candidates as I had the first time--as if I'd suddenly change my mind. Of course I voted for the same candidates, and went much faster this time. With trepidation, I approached the final step, submitting the ballot into the machine that records the vote. This time I was successful. Relieved, I took my "I voted" sticker and left.

Voting is important in any election, but we feel our vote is especially important in a national election. Since Hero is still in the hospital, I'm glad he was able to vote early. His pacemaker surgery went well, but he was so weak before the surgery that he is simply not strong enough to come home. He will probably have to go to rehab for a few days. We are on tenterhooks awaiting a definite decision and release date. Of course, Hero wants to come home now. He says he can't get any sleep in the hospital because someone is always poking him or checking on him.  I think that's a good thing, don't you? That's their job, but I know whenever a person is sick he wants to sleep at home in his own bed.

I hope if you haven't already voted early, that you will vote on November 5th, especially if you're voting for my candidates. <g> 

Thanks for stopping by. 

Anticipation

 Stephanie Suesan Smith writing for Caroline Clemmons

It is fall in Texas and the temperatures are starting to drop enough to go outside during the day.  I am eagerly waiting for November.  I have a birthday then.  More importantly, a book comes out I want to read.  

Amazon Link

The Mirror, the second book in the Lost Brides Trilogy, by Nora Roberts comes out November 19, 2024.  I read the first book in the series, Inheritance, when it came out in the spring.  I also read Nora Roberts series In Death that she writes as J.D. Robb.  They come out in February and September.

I eagerly drop whatever book I am reading when a new In Death comes out and read it.  I usually finish it in two or three days.  Then I have book regret.  I have to wait six months for the next one.  Do you ever have problems with book regret?

As authors, having readers so excited about reading your books must be wonderful.  I usually write nonfiction articles and I don't know of anyone watering with baited breath to read my next gardening text.  

Of course, I have lots of books in the to-be-read pile to fill in the time between the publication of another book in the series I am reading.  

I had to switch to collecting ebooks when I moved from a house to an apartment, so the stacks ar metephorical.  I am always adding to it, but I miss real books.  I had a full room just for my books.  Somehow, it isn't the same to curl up with my phone to read them.  Do you prefer ebooks or physical books?  I still have some physical reference texts, but just don't have room for my library anymore.

What series do you rush to read?  Many of Caroline Clemmons' books are now in audiobook format, great for listening to while driving back and forth to work or on errands, or cleaning the house.  

LIFE AND ART

 By Caroline Clemmons

Since I’ve been an adult, I have loved Monet’s paintings, especially those done of his garden in Giverny. I wanted to travel there, walk through the gardens, and stand on the little Japanese bridge. I haven’t made it. I have a print of the water lilies in our home and my daughter always gives me a Monet calendar at Christmas. When Monet’s works are on tour and accessible at the Kimball Museum in Fort Worth, I’ve gone to admire the paintings in person.

 

One of Monet's water lily paintings

Recently, our youngest daughter drove Hero and me around Lake Weatherford, west of Fort Worth. She was eager to show me the water lilies. We drove around the lake, and reached the water lily garden at the west end of the lake (at least that’s where it seemed to me). Seeing a mass of the flowers and pads spreading over an acre or more surprised me. What surprised me even more was the sweet fragrance filling the air. Who knew they had such a lovely aroma in a mass?

Of course, I had seen water lilies in Koi and other decorative ponds. Believe me, I had never seen flowers like those at Lake Weatherford this year. They were huge, some on stems standing above the water amid their large pads.  A floating boardwalk crosses a part of the flowers, but I am not steady enough on my feet to attempt that, eveen with the rope to act as a rail. Our daughter and a friend enjoyed the walk last summer, but she said the flowers are larger this year.

Many dozens of times Hero or he and I have driven to Lake Weatherford for his fishing or for us to visit friends who live there on a different part of the lake. This trip will be a lasting memory for me. The experience proves that we don’t have to depend on paintings—although they continue to give pleasure. We don't have to travel across the world. I’ll always admire Monet’s works, but, beauty is all around us if we only look.

Thanks for stopping by.

FAVORITES!

By Caroline Clemmons

Seeing a particularly obnoxious commercial on television prompted me to question the advertiser’s approving such an advertisement. Some commercials actually insult the public’s intelligence, in my opinion. This reminded me of past great commercials that have remained in my head as classics. These beg the question why some ads are so dumb while others are so well done they remain in our minds. Here are some of my favorites:

 

1.     My all-time favorite is the Coca Cola commercial that had a group singing “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony…” Not only is it a pleasing song to hear, the sentiment it expresses is great.

2.     Second is the Oscar Mayer commercial with Andy Lambros as the cute child singing “My balogna has a first name, it’s O-S-C-A-R...” Who could resist such a cute kid? And I don’t even like balogna.

3.  

Sam Elliott

   The Dodge commercial with Sam Elliott doing the voice-over always made me want to rush out and buy a Dodge pickup. No, I didn’t actually buy a pickup, but I thought about it.

Dick Wilson

4.     Another that became a household classic was the late actor Dick Wilson as Mr. Whipple and “Please don’t squeeze the Charmin.” People nationwide repeated that.

5.     Remember Mikey (played by John Gilchrist) for Life cereal? He’d eat anything. That was such a realistic view of children plotting together against a younger boy, but not in a bad way. How many people did you know who were accused of being a Mikey?

6.     A second one for Oscar Mayer was the “Oh, I’d like to be an Oscar Mayer wiener…” Some jingles stick in your mind. That one even inspired a joke.

7.     An older one was the Alka Seltzer animated boyish figure who plops into the glass of water with “Plop, plop, fizz fizz, oh what a relief it is.” My husband is a believer.

8.     I enjoyed David Naughton singing “I’m a Pepper…” for Dr Pepper, my soda of choice.

Dennis Haysbert

9.     Do you remember Dennis Haysbert's lovely, deep voice telling us we were in good hands with Allstate? How could you doubt him?

Clara Peller

10.             It’s difficult to narrow the field to only ten, but my vegetarian daughter thinks actress Clara Peller as the elderly woman in a Wendy's commercial asking, “Where’s the beef?” should be mentioned.

 

Once on a special, Barry Manilow play some of the jingles he’s written for commercials. On a talk show, Marvin Hamlish did the same. I understand that the cost of a great commercial must be prohibitive, but that doesn’t mean an advertiser has to insult our intelligence, does it? Do you have a favorite commercial—or one that especially annoys you? 

BOOKS OR MOVIES?

 By Caroline Clemmons

Obviously, I love reading, especially romance. If the romance includes mystery or suspense, even better. But I also love movies, especially when I can enjoy them in my own home. When my eyes are too tired to focus or my mind and body too tired to concentrate, a good movie on TV is relaxing. Like a mini-vacation for the mind.

When a movie is a depiction of a favorite book, I have mixed emotions. With a book, the author’s descriptions create images of characters in my head. If the book is engrossing, I know who these characters are, how they dress, even how they walk. The reader is privileged to characters’ internal dialogue as well as vivid descriptions. Of course, a movie doesn’t need setting descriptions, but I miss the author’s version. 

One example of excellent description that comes to mind is Loretta Chase’s LORD PERFECT. When the main characters first see one another, Ms Chase has what I think is the most enchanting reactions recorded in any book I’ve read. It's too long to include here. My favorite is this part of the hero’s reaction to the heroine’s astonishing beauty and presence: “She is a woman who causes accidents merely by crossing the street.”

Depicting books like Nora Roberts’ or Debbie Macomber’s as a screenplay usually results in an engrossing movie. I love Ms Macomber’s Mrs. Miracle movies. (Say that fast three times.) For me, though, the movie often doesn’t quite live up to the book. For instance, one of my favorite books by Nora Roberts is MONTANA SKY. That book scared me in many places and kept me turning the pages hurriedly to learn about the sisters. In the movie, some of the edginess disappeared. Oh, the movie was great, but the book is much better.

For long, involved books like LES MISERABLES or EYE OF THE NEEDLE, only portions appear in the movie. I enjoyed “Les Miserables.” Hugh Jackman! Oh, I mean the movie inspired me. Each of the actors performed superbly.

Ken Follett’s EYE OF THE NEEDLE is one complicated book, as is each of his fascinating works. The movie depicted only the last few chapters of the protagonist’s journey and the heroine’s courageous actions. Again, I enjoyed the movie, but it paled in comparison to the book. Ken Follett is a gifted author and I am in awe of his ability. 

Every author hopes one day his or her book or books will be adapted into a movie. I was excited for Lori Wilde, a friend and local author whose books I enjoy, when one of her books became a movie. Now she's had others adapted into movies. Yay, Lori!

The fact is, I enjoy reading books. I like to visualize each of the characters and the settings. Perhaps it’s because I’m old enough to have played “pretend like” as a child before watching TV or playing video games commandeered imagination. Yes, I watched TV, but the selections for kids were very limited and I had chores and homework to keep me from being glued to the set. And I read and read and read. Not great works like LES MISERABLES. Nope, but Nancy Drew and Louisa Mae Alcott launched me into other worlds.

Which do you prefer—movies, books, or both?

MAY FLOWERS

 By Caroline Clemmons

Recent spring rains have made our area green and pleasant. Our roses appear to appreciate the rain, too. 

Roses cut for the living room

Fortunately, there was a break in the rain here for our friends Jacquie and Mark Rogers visit. That is, it was not pouring here, but they about washed away driving in to Fort Worth. They were pulling their little Casita and that slowed them more. Thankfully, they arrived safely! We always enjoy seeing them. They feel like family, the good kind.

Then the rains returned. Don’t you love to curl up with a good book on a rainy day? Any day is a great day to read, of course, but there’s something about a rainy day that increases my urge to read. Bad when I’m supposed to be writing, but writers are also readers.

What are you reading? We have a wonderful group of writers here at Smart Girls Read Romance (Smart guys read romance, too)! I hope you’re reading the books offered by our writers.

Ahem, my latest is KEITH AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE, book 5 of the Texas Hill Country Mail Order Brides Series. 

Here’s the blurb:

Elliana Barrington is sent to escape before a deranged cousin learns the terms of their grandmother’s will. So, it’s arranged that Elliana is to marry a man in Texas, who hopefully can protect her. Elliana is kind and generous and willing to share her legacy with her crazed cousin. Knowing Elliana’s nature and the cousin’s greed, her grandmother devises an unbreakable will which is specific—if Elliana attempts to share funds with her cousin, everything they each inherited will be forfeited to charity.

After escaping a difficult situation, Keith Martin created a new life as the banker of Harrigan Springs, Texas. He’s won the respect of the community and has made many good friends. After buying a house, he sends for a mail order bride. What a surprised to receive a letter from a young woman’s attorney, complete with a contract. Although not sure he’s doing the right thing, Keith agrees to marry the woman and fulfill the contract’s conditions. He expects a shy, overprotected bride—but he’s in for a surprise!

Fate has troubles in store for Elliana and Keith, threats that involve everyone in their household. They strive to protect themselves and the three orphans they’ve adopted. But, how can they reason with her crazed cousin? How can this couple overcome their complex circumstances to build a happy life together?

 

https://www.amazon.com/Keith-Order-Bride-Country-Brides-ebook/dp/B0CW7B2GZS/

 Keep reading!

A CLOUD OF DAFFODILS

By Caroline Clemmons

April is National Poetry Month. If someone asked me if I enjoyed poetry, I’d probably say no.  Thinking about that, though, I realize poetry is important to me. One of my first books was A Childs’s Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson. I loved that book and still have it packed away somewhere. At the time I was read the book and then learned to read it myself, I had no idea it was a classic or who the author was. Imagine my surprise when reading to my own children.

When I was about twelve, a neighbor gave me a book which included poems by Emily Dickinson. In my pre-teen angst, I read those frequently. I‘ve found many other poets since then. The tragic life of Elizabeth Barret Browning spoke to me, too. Yet, there are so many more cheerful poems.

Spring Daffodils

Who can think of spring without “a cloud of daffodils” coming to mind? William Wordsworth gave us a lovely, thought-provoking poem. Thinking about our good and bad choices, I am reminded of Robert Frost’s snowy woods and the road not taken. A favorite of my children was Silverstein’s Where The Sidewalk Ends. I love it, as well. It has humor to make us think.

I enjoy reading Louise Penny’s Inspector Gamache series. Inspector Gamache frequently quotes lines from the character Ruth Zardo’s poetry. Not too much, just a line or two to make a point. (I love this series!)

Ada Limón

Ada Limon is the 24th Poet Laureate of the United States. The Library of Congress makes the choice. She is the first Latina to hold this post. Ms Limon is from Sonoma, California, and now divides her time between Sonoma and Lexington, Kentucky. Her publications include Lucky Wreck and This Big Fake World. In addition to being Poet Laureate, she has received numerous awards and grants. She teaches as well as writing.

Do you have a favorite poem? Does one hold special meaning for you? Leave a comment and tell readers your answer.

If you're looking for a good historical western romance to read, try KEITH AND THE MAIL ORDER BRIDE. 

https://www.amazon.com/Order-Bride-Texas-Country-Brides-ebook/dp/B0BZDT6Q1J/