Living in Camelot by Bea Tifton

When I was growing up, we moved several times. My favorite place to live as a child was in what was then a little village in East Texas. It’s since grown to be a major community, but I’ve never gone back. I’d rather remember it the way it was. 

We lived on a lake, next to a creek. My part of town wasn’t completely developed, so there were what seemed like miles of vacant lots with bike paths dozens of bikes had beaten. We would stay out all morning in the summer and on Saturdays, go in for lunch, and, depending on how brutal the Texas heat was, either stay in for the worst of the afternoon heat or just go out and brave the temperatures. We rode our bikes without helmets or knee pads, climbed trees, scrambled up and down our swing sets, and did all matter of things that are considered too dangerous today.  If one mother called that evening, we would all go in as we knew ours would be next.  Most of the time we just went in as soon as the streetlights went on. Living near a creek and a lake meant lots of wildlife. I learned to appreciate opossums, raccoons, squirrels, and turtles, and to have a healthy respect for snakes and scorpions.  We would take bacon and fish for crawdads, then watch them crawl along in buckets and laugh at their antics before we let them all go again. We watched tadpoles swimming in the lake and were fascinated as they gradually  became frogs. 

One summer morning I decided to catch ladybugs. I had just filled a jar when my
mother called me in to rest during the worst of the summer heat. I was just lying down when I saw it. A ladybug crawling along my bedspread. As I hid my jar in my bedclothes, the lid had come off. I spent the rest of my afternoon frantically collecting ladybugs before my mother came back in. Later, I let them all go again, but outside this time.

At night we would collect lightning bugs. I thought it was cruel to let them die, so I would collect them and watch them a moment, then hold my jar up as high as I could and let them fly out, like stars joining the night sky. 

Every good thing must end, and one year we left Camelot. My father got a promotion and it took us to the land of palmetto bugs and poisonous snakes. I know things weren’t as perfect as I remember, but it’s a nice memory. A place to return when things get way too complicated or stressful. 

When I was in college I wrote a poem about this time with such a special place in my heart. 

Childhood

Fireflies held

In glass jars—

Unlidded, of course.

(Trapping them

Would be cruel.)

We held our jars high

And pretended they

Were lanterns,

Dimming as each

Firefly found

Its way out

And flew away. 

 Cattail wars—

Hitting each other

In ecstasy

Until our mothers,

Alerted by

The flying fur,

Stuck their heads

Outside and

Yelled yet again,

“I TOLD you

Not to do that!”

 Turtles, ladybugs,

And tadpoles.

Swinging on

Willow trees and

Climbing on rocks.

Sometimes in my mind

I return there

When I need

The quiet energy

Of sheer happiness.

Do you have a special place to which you return in your mind from time to time? Leave a comment below.

Procrastinate? Never! by Paty Jager

I am always 15 minutes or more early for everything. I don't like to be late for appointments or publishing books. But lately...I feel like I am constantly behind. I HATE this feeling.

When I'm late or behind, acid boils in my stomach and my right eyelid twitches. Lately both have been happening more and more often. And it doesn't help having hubby say,  "I thought you wrote for fun."

I do write for fun. I love coming up with characters and building stories around them. That is the fun part. The not so fun part is promoting and trying to keep new books out in front of the readers so they don't forget my characters or me. So they are ready to buy the next book I put out.

But lately...I made a decision to stick to one genre for a while. Which I am ecstatic to stick with mystery. It is my first genre love! LOL  But it seems as if since I decided to do that instead of getting books out faster, I'm slower.

Of course the last month I spent 12 of the 30 days traveling and the days before traveling getting ready for traveling. However, that doesn't mean a thing since I am back at my desk. Haha to me! I may be back at my desk but I'm not jumping in with both feet and getting the book I have half written going or getting rewrites from my Critique Partner on another project out to the next reader.

No. Instead I spent half of today finding a system that worked for me to keep track of what happens each day in the work in progress.  After printing and discarding several different calendar pages, I realized I wanted something I could put sticky notes on. As I go through the WIP to get reacquainted with it, I wanted to make notes.

I came up with this:

I can read along, make a note on a sticky, and place it on the board under the day something happened. So much easier than scribbling everything that happens that day on a 1" by 1" square.

After making my board I did get through more chapters in my WIP.

While sitting at the computer and not really writing, because I was thinking about the next book I'm going to write- yes it's a curse. I can't just have one book in my head at a time. I have the one I finished the one I'm working on and at least one to two books that are coming in each series in my head. The day I am only thinking about one book will be the day I decide to stop writing.

As I was whining, I was thinking about the next book in another series and how I really need to write it now while the area I visited was still fresh in my mind. Even though it is a book that will come down the road in the line up in the series. As I was thinking about it I googled what I needed to look up to get the premise and plot of the book rolling and *POW*  the perfect event for my character to attend is a huge thing in the country where he will be going. I love it when all the factors of making a book fall into place.

I'm still behind, but slowly pulling out of the procrastination and looking forward to the next 6 books flashing in and out of my brain at any given time during the day and night.

Are you a procrastinator? Or do you get ill when your are late or behind?

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Movie and #Book Tropes - #amreading #amwriting - Keta Diablo

Good vs. Evil

Welcome to Smart Girls Read Romance! We're happy you dropped by.

Straight from Hollywood’s best movie producers: Here are the top movie themes they look for while paging through mountains of scripts. These themes also pertain to most of the books we read and write. No wonder so many books are made into movies.

1. Man vs Himself
We are all our own worst enemies. No matter what the outside world presents as a challenge, how we choose to respond shows us who we really are. Internal struggles are great for sub-plots in stories, whether they are battles against addiction, resisting the temptations of adultery, or coping with mental illness.

2. Man vs Nature
No man is an island. Everything that happens in nature affects us. This can be in a cataclysmic way, like an earthquake, or a more subtle way, like climate change.
 
3. Revenge
The desire for revenge is one of the strongest motivators of human beings. Sometimes the revenge is justified, sometimes not.

4. Love Conquers All
Love is the most powerful emotion (or is that fear?). Anyway, we all want to be loved. We all want to be with the people we love. Stories about the pursuit of love are fiction staples.
 

5. The Loss Of Innocence
This is based on the classic coming of age story. It is essentially about leaving childhood behind, voluntarily or involuntarily. Growing up can happen as a result of trauma (death, divorce, abuse) or simply by getting older.

6. Triumph over Adversity
We all love stories where the human spirit triumphs over injustice, tyranny, and bad luck. These stories revolve around exceptional people in awful situations, whether they are there by birth or circumstance.


7. Good vs Evil 
This is the staple of fiction writing. We have heroes and villains because of this theme. “It’s the struggle that underlines comics, books, films, and even culture. There is the good: courage, freedom, loyalty, and honor. And there is the bad: cowardice, imprisonment, selfishness, and betrayal.”
What movie have you seen lately that falls into one of the above tropes? Or what book are you reading right now? Please let us know in the comment section below. 

Right now, A Darker Shade of Evil is on PreOrder. Nine USA Today and Bestselling authors (including me) have a special gift for you when you order the anthology. We’ll send you 13 FREE books when you Email muffywilson@muffywilson.com with your proof of purchase. Get the download link to your FREE Books today (including paranormal, urban fantasy, shifters, ghosts and more!)

PRE-ORDER FROM YOUR FAVE VENDOR

Waiting for my Due Date... err, my Release Date

Waiting for a book release date is more than a little like waiting for your due date... okay, fine... labor!

And while it's not as much of a pain physically (gosh, I hope not), it is fraught with worry and excitement.

Have you put together all of the things you're going to need once you have your new little family member? Teasers? Reviews? Giveaways? Promotions?

What happens if there's a problem with the release? Do you have plans upon plans? Even more plans?

Most importantly... you worry about the book. Will people love it? Will they love it as much as you do?

Goodness, I hope so.

So July 9... Tuesday... is my next due date. My next Book Birthday!

Now this is co-worker to lovers story with a silver fox as the hero... I'm hoping folks will find Trace & Miranda's story as much fun to read as it was to write.

I can't wait to see if folks love my baby...

As a group.. .all of the authors from Aces Press/Operation Alpha are going to have a release day event in Susan Stoker's Special Forces World Group on Facebook - please come by and discover some other books having their birthday!

AMAZON - LINK TO "Justice for Miranda"

Texas Game Wardens don’t just protect the natural resources of the Lone Star State, they protect the people as well. Trace Carson considers every warden as more than just fellow officers, they’re family.


Especially, Miranda Jimenez. She’d gone through the academy when he was on staff, and he was her first in-field training officer. There was no denying that she was a beautiful woman, he’d worked side by side with her and knew that her dedication to upholding the laws of Texas was second only to caring for wild animals and natural resources.

When she decided to leave her job as a game warden to open a wild animal rehabilitation it made perfect sense, but he couldn’t explain the sudden ache he felt at the thought of her leaving. It wasn’t going to be out of sight, out of mind, because he went to her ‘retirement’ party and he kissed her, changing everything.

When her connection with Trace puts Miranda’s life in danger, the law enforcement community in San Antonio pulls together to get her back where she belongs… in Trace’s arms. Will they find her in time to save her and get Justice for Miranda?

You don't have to worry about remembering to go to Amazon to pick up the book.. .it's available for Pre-Order. 

Yeah, So How's Your Summer Going? by Carolyn Hector

Yeah, So How's Your Summer Going?

By 

Carolyn Hector

Happy Be-lated 4th of July. If your neighborhood is anything like mine..

there are still fireworks going off... presumably around 10 at night. Which is weird that there are any fireworks left considering the fact that it seems like 4th of July Eve, they did a practice run with all their fireworks. Maybe it is time to accept that I am a that grumpy neighbor. Pretty soon I'll be that lady who shakes her fists at these kids screaming, "Get off my lawn!"



So now that we are mid-way between the summer ... I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. School's approaching... It's Christmas in July on Hallmark and school is going to start in 5 weeks.

It has been one of those summers so far that I am seriously considering some form of entertaining countdown. Low and behold there is a craft for a Back to School Advent Calendar

This school year I'll have 4 high-school boys. Well.. maybe 3. One of my boys no longer wants to live with us. He would like to move in with a family where he ...
1-gets his own cell phone
2-has his own room
3-not given chores
4-wants his own PS4
If you all know any place like that, please let me know!


My future veterinarian son decided around spring break to get pet rats. It started out with two, one for him and one for JT, the nephew he shares a room with. Then we somehow got four more rats in the house to go with JD and Z, my other 2 nephews. They're all girls. But one night just as school ended, my son woke me up to let me know that one of the recent rats he bought... is pregnant. He researched and did all this discovering, went out .. got another cage for her... and low and behold that same night the rat gave birth to a total of 10 babies... 8 survived.

Freaky, right? Yeah.. as the saying toes...

Z, the wrestler, ended up with a staph infection between his fingers. That wasn't so bad.. had he not decided to hold his pet rat and let it crawl all over him. He has been for the last 2 weeks... contagious with a mysterious rash the spread first on his hand, up his arm, on the palm of his right hand... then on his knees. You can get the picture that every time he touched ground-zero of his wound and then touched another part of his body it spread. After trial and error of different antibiotics to get rid of this gram-rod-negative bacteria...we finally got it under control. He will be on two different antibiotics for the rest of the summer... he is no longer contagious. Whew. The doctor says this is a new case-study for him and his colleagues because this strand(s) that he has is not found on the skin but rather in the blood stream. (think that whole false Richard Gere myth). So while his name won't be listed in the medical journals, JT made history. Bottom line, Rats are safe as pets but keep in mind they do carry bacteria and when mixed with an open sore... you're playing with fire. I informed the pet store, they took the rats back. JT's rat's fate is unknown at this point but the other rats are going to find homes.

They were impressed with how friendly and domesticated they were. I'm telling y'all.. they were like little puppies (the big ones, not the pics of these babies)


So how much writing have I gotten done after playing a version of Camp NaNoWriMo? You don't wanna know! I was even home with the quarantined boy and didn't reach my goals. That Presents Blitz I entered... I never heard from (everyone else at least heard yay, nay, or partial). So I got on my pity party boat for a bit, doubting my self as a writer...but then I remembered that there was a request for the Medical Blitz.

Summer Recs for y'all
Tempted by the Badge
Once Upon a Wedding
Rebel (Women Who Dare)
The Money Kitty

RWA is right around the corner. If you're there, I'll be at the Harlequin book signing on the 25th. I'd love to see you. For those who have been and done book signings..... because this is my very 1st one... I'd love to some advice on goodies, hand stretches, and what to expect.


Need something else to read? My latest beauty queen story is out now, Southern Seduction.

It's got all the juiciness possible to keep you entertained.
👑Pageant President Position up for grab
👑Former Beauty Queen in need of a job
👑Professional Bachelor who needs this job
👑Fake Engagement









You don't have to read in order but if you'd like to, you can find the series here

Well... until next time...

xoxo

Carolyn

#Fireworks, #Grandkids, and a #NewRelease! by @JacquieRogers

I Heart #Fireworks!
Idaho Statehood Day, Independence Day
Silly Grandsons, and a New Release!

by Jacquie Rogers

Fireworks at the Marsing park celebrating Idaho Statehood Day

In the United States, we call Independence Day the "Fourth of July."  Of course, every where on earth has a July 4th, but to Americans it's a day to celebrate our forefathers' (and all our vets) sacrifices for freedom.  And celebrate is the word of the day.  Or two days, since the closest town to us, Marsing, Idaho, celebrates Idaho Statehood Day.  On July 3, 1890, President Benjamin Harrison signed the the law admitting our state to the union.  The population was 88,548--now it's 1.75 million and growing fast.

Watermelon and popcorn--mainstays of our summer celebration!
The grandsons didn't seem to mind maintaining the tradition. LOL.

Our grandsons on the bank of the Snake River.
Lizard Butte is in the background.

I picked two photos of the series I took of our grandsons because these boys really cracked me up.  Have you ever tried to get two boys to hold still so you could take a photo to send to their mom?  I must admit, the instigator of all the orneriness was the one in the red shirt.  He tried to make bunny ears on his younger brother, who was having none of it.  I was trying not to laugh and also to keep them from falling into the river.  So anyway, the second picture was the final one and the best I could do.  Still makes me laugh.

On the home front, we have all kinds of fruits and vegetables growing.

Our very first tomato since we moved back to Idaho!

Plums, blackberries, and apples.
I can hardly wait for it all to ripen!

What is ripening in a hurry is the duet I had the pleasure of writing with Caroline Clemmons.  Orphan Train Brides is available for preorder now!

I just love the cover!

Caroline wrote the first book in the duet: A Family for Merry.  I wrote the second, A Family for Polly.  

Orphan Train Brides will be released July 19 (the same day my Silver City readers' event starts) but you can order yours now and it'll land on your Kindle before anyone else's. How cool is that!

Check out Caroline's post for more info on this duet and also the other duets that we've written together.  And guess what?  One more is in the works.  When we'll get to it is anyone's guess, but we have the concept in the hopper.

For more information, go to the Silver City Event page on my website.

Happy reading!  I hope you enjoy reading Merry's and Polly's stories.  They both have fun adventures that you won't want to miss.  Also, please consider coming to Silver City--we have a blast there.  

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WRITING WITH A FRIEND

By Caroline Clemmons

I apologize for the weird color and type. I struggled with this post for several hours and still can't get the color and fonts correct. Please bear with me.

My friend Jacquie Rogers is a member of this blog. When she and I are together, I have soooo much fun. Fortunately, our husbands enjoy talking to one another and leave Jacquie and me to our projects. If you're within a few miles you probably heard our laughter. We're just as noisy on the phone.

In the past we wrote about sisters in Kirsten Osbourne’s American Mail-Order Brides series. Jacquie’s book was MERCY, BRIDE OF IDAHO, #43. https://www.amazon.com/Mercy-Bride-American-Mail-Order-Brides-ebook/dp/B017GOU3WC

Mine was PATIENCE, BRIDE OF WASHINGTON, #42. That was fun and

involved coordinating each woman’s journey to become a mail-order bride and meet her groom.

https://www.amazon.com/Patience-Bride-Washington-American-Brides-ebook/dp/B017HLR6CE/

We came up with MAIL-ORDER TANGLE, a duet about sisters and included MAIL-ORDER PROMISE by me and MAIL-ORDER RUCKUS by Jacquie. From the titles you can tell Jacquie’s will include humor.

Here’re the summaries:

MAIL-ORDER PROMISE by Caroline Clemmons
Ellie Dickerson and her sister are in desperate straits when she contracts to become a mail-order bride to a Texas rancher. After her arduous trip from Virginia, she learns her fiancé has died. His handsome brother has sworn to take care of her and she's instantly attracted to him, but he seems indifferent toward her. What will happen to her and her sister?

Kage Johanssen, co-owner of a ranch in Idaho with his cousin Matt, is forced to take over his family's Central Texas ranch on the death of his older brother. Kage is in no hurry to get married, and when his brother's bride shows up, she's everything he doesn't want in a wife--except she's stunningly beautiful. Despite his deathbed promise to his brother and his attraction to Ellie, he's convinced she doesn't have the grit to be a rancher's wife.

When a greedy, sadistic villain attempts to take over the ranch and kill Kage, can Ellie save her true love? What will it take to prove that she's the only woman for Kage?



MAIL-ORDER RUCKUS by Jacquie Rogers
Matt Johanssen returned to the ranch he and his cousin Kage started in Owyhee County, Idaho Territory, not knowing he took Laura Dickerson's heart with him. Now that her sister no longer needs her, Laura wants a home of her own and a family to put in it. No other man would fill the bill as well as Matt, but he's not interested. Not wanting to live as a spinster aunt the rest of her life, Laura signs a contract with a marriage broker, choosing to go to Silver City, near Matt's ranch, in hopes that he might come around. But he's not on the roster of eligible grooms!

When Matt sees Laura among the brides on display on the balcony of the Idaho Hotel, he feels gutshot. He's in no position to take a wife, not with a ranch eating up every spare moment and dollar. But if he doesn't step forward, the one woman he wants will be wed at the end of the week--and not to him.

MAIL-ORDER TANGLE buy link: https://www.amazon.com/Mail-Order-Tangle-Caroline-Clemmons-ebook/dp/B00MZ6ZRXC/

That's Polly on the left with Ford and
Merry on the right with Blake.

ORPHAN TRAIN BRIDES is our latest project, now on preorder, will be released July 19. Again, mine is first, A FAMILY FOR MERRY. Jacquie’s is A FAMILY FOR POLLY. These were released earlier this year as part of the anthology UNDER A MULBERRY MOON. I added a scene or two to A FAMILY FOR MERRY from the earlier version. Jacquie went over A FAMILY FOR POLLY.

That brings me to explain titles. Authors strive to choose a unique title that will not be repeated others. You know that the children on the orphan train are not marrying. I wanted the words “orphan train” worked into the title and Jacquie wanted the word “bride” included. Easy peasy.

Here’re the summaries:

A FAMILY FOR MERRY by Caroline Clemmons

Rescuing three quirky orphans from a current orphan train was irresistible—if not quite legal. Former orphan train child now grown, Merry Murphy Bird has built a successful life operating the boarding house she and her adopted sister Polly purchased. Merry is determined to give her three children a better life than the ons she and Polly endured in Nebraska.

Boardinghouse resident and lawyer Blake Woolf has come to town to take over the practice of his late uncle. Weighed down by family responsibilities, Blake was the eldest of ten children. For now he wants nothing more to do with children—at least not until he has made enough to buy a home, marry, and start his own family.

A FAMILY FOR POLLY by Jacquie Rogers

Children’s Aid Society authorities don’t exactly know Polly Friday Bird and Merry Murphy Bird are single and neither woman intends to volunteer the information. Polly hated the life she and her sister led after they were adopted by a surly Nebraska farm couple who really wanted free drudges. She would never treat the two children she’s adopted so harshly.

In fact, she believes the large boarding house she and Merry purchased is an ideal place to raise children, with a large yard, numerous rooms, and a good school nearby. Still, Polly needs a husband so she convinces Ford (Manford) Daily to marry her and be on his way. The problem is, he won’t go.

Preorder link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TW8JH44/

In case you haven’t read or preordered these books, I’ve included the Amazon buy links. Do Jacquie and me a favor and read these books and review them. I believe you’ll enjoy the stories. When released, they will magically appear on your e-reader. While writing is my profession and is work—even when I love the story—plotting with Jacquie Rogers is always fun.

See you next month,
Caroline