Saturday, February 17, 2018

Winter Time and Loving is Hard


Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic women’s fiction about the everyday issues women face.

I’m filling in for Delle Jacobs who was scheduled for today until one of the many bugs going around took her prisoner. Check out Delle’s website and her book His Majesty, The Prince of Toads that was going to be the subject of her post today. Also for an excellent post on winter settings and stories, check out Madelle Morgan’s Romancing The Genres’ post here.


Since it's been almost four years since Diana: The Queen of Swords and The Knight of Pentacles was published, to make sure I got the details right, I got out my copy and started reading. Diana’s story starts the afternoon of Winter Solstice. Her circle sister, Elizabeth (Book Two) was married that morning. The sun is shining through the mullioned windows, creating patterns on the carpet and rainbows on the walls.

A beautiful day by most people’s definition.

But not Diana.

It is a day of pain. A day of reckoning. A day for truth. And as many of us know, truth can be terrifying.

What happens when no matter your choice you are terrified?

How do you make a decision when you are frozen in fear?

When no matter which way you turn, you lose something or maybe someone?

What tips the balance is the pain she is in. Not only will it not change, it will only get worse and infect the relationships she was within her women’s circle.

Desperate for guidance, Diana turns to The Tarot. She knows about The Tarot but has never used it herself—until now. She does her first reading with her only deck, the Solstice gift from her Women’s Circle.

She focuses on what she wants while shuffling The Tarot deck. “Show me the way.”

What she sees in the cards changes her life.

But the path before her not only isn’t clear, what she can see is strewn with boulders. On top of that there is no guarantee that the loving, respectful relationship she wants is at the end. After all she is forty – who wants to be involved with someone her age who is used and abused?

While there is no guarantee she’ll find the love she wants if she leaves, there is a guarantee she’ll never have it if she stays.

She choose the possibility of love and moves forward onto a path that has boulders and other challenges she can’t even see. Onto the path that has no guarantees. Onto the path that just might lead her to the love she longs for.

Through the month of February, you can download Diana: The Queen of Swords and The Knight of Pentacles for free here. You will be added to my mailing list but can unsubscribe at any time. Already on my mailing list? Don't worry, ConvertKit makes sure you are only officially on it once.

When you sign up for my mailing list, you will receive a link to download your free digital copy of Lily: The Dragon and The Great Horned Owl.

If you click on this link and leave your first name and email address, I will send you a Free Copy of Staying Sane in a Crazy World before it's officially published. It isn’t a long book, under 10K words but it is chock full of information and ideas about how you can create your own personal Staying Sane Plan.

What’s the catch? I’d appreciate your writing a review and even telling your friends about these books but other than that, no catch. Be sure to mention in your review that you received the book free in return for an honest review.

Learn more about The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB!

© 2018 Judith Ashley

8 comments:

Diana McCollum said...

Judith, I downloaded "Diana" and it is now in my TBR file on my Nook/tablet. I didn't realize you could read your own Tarot cards. Could you explain about the Tarot cards and readings? thanks!

Judith Ashley said...

Thanks Diana. Hope you enjoy "Diana" - you can do your own readings. What was fun with this book is that a tranced into the character and did the readings from her POV instead of my own. The key is to focus on your question when you are shuffling the deck. My beginner deck had the interpretation of the card printed on it (the card) so I didn't have to have the book out all the time. While I still do my own readings, I'm not so proficient that I do not use the book. And, you can have someone do the reading for you but you are still focusing on your question as the cards are shuffled and whenever I've had that done for me, I'm the one who cuts the cards.

I'm sure you'll get more ideas when you read The Queen of Swords and The Knight of Pentacles AKA Diana's Story.

Maggie Lynch said...

What a great description of Diana's dilemma, and I must admit I took advantage of your Staying Sane in a Crazy World offer. I'll bet millions of people could use this book.

Can't wait to read it.

Barbara Rae Robinson said...

Very interesting, Judith. And I took advantage of your offers and downloaded Diana. And signed up for Staying Sane. I'd like to read the final version.

Judith Ashley said...

Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment, Maggie. Working on the front and back matter for "Staying Sane" today. Fingers-crossed it is out to my mailing list before next week!

Judith Ashley said...

Barb, Enjoy "Diana." And I'll be interested to hear your thoughts on the final version of "Staying Sane." I appreciated your taking the time to read an earlier draft and give me feedback.

Sarah Raplee said...

Judith, great post! Thank you for filling in for our sick guest blogger.

Judith Ashley said...

My pleasure, Sarah.