Many Thanks to Authors Who Pay It Forward by Dari LaRoche

I have kept a gratitude journal for years. It is full of so many wonderful things that bring a smile when I reread them—family, friends, butterflies, the doe that brings her twin fawns to my pond, hummingbirds, good food, good books, my health—so very much.

But the thing that keeps popping up in one way or another is all the writing groups that I am a part of and the author friends I treasure who have been willing to share their time and knowledge with those of us just starting out—me being one. 

When I first took up creative writing seriously in December 2015, my instructor introduced us to The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. We all actively wrote our “Morning Pages” between class sessions and met each other for Artists’ Dates that expanded our creative minds. I joined the local romance chapter in Florida where I lived and Romance Writers of America (RWA) and even managed to take a writing workshop on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas. My first book, which I plan to publish late this fall, had its beginnings in that initial creative writing class.

I took a break of several months to pack up and sell my home on the west coast of Florida and move back to southwest Washington state, where I returned to writing in February 2017. Trust me, that was an endeavor and will make it into a book one of these years.

Finding My Writing Tribe

Here, I found my writing home and the generous friends and authors who have helped me along the
way. I joined Rose City Romance Writers https://rosecityromancewriters.com/ in Portland, OR when I first got here. The following year, I joined Willamette Writers  https://willamettewriters.org/, also in Portland, and most recently, Wordcrafters  https://wordcrafters.org/ in Eugene, OR. Each of these groups has helped me along my journey and, for that, I am humbly grateful.

Author friends have shared their contacts for cover artists, editors, great classes that are offered, writing craft books that are “must haves.” They have invited me onto email loops focused on encouraging us all to complete projects and to set and track our writing goals. One special group is a professional writers’ workshop called WORDOS http://www.wordos.com/. WORDOS is a short-story sci-fi/fantasy/horror group, that began over thirty years ago and continues today with a goal of helping members produce fiction that sells. We critique each other’s work and discuss the craft and business of writing.

Instructors with Major Impact on Me

There are three current instructors in my life for whom I am especially grateful. The first is Eric 
Witchey https://wordcrafters.org/fiction-fluency-master-seminar-series/, an award-winning author, who teaches a year-long course based out of Wordcrafters. It is called Fiction Fluency, which is exactly what it sounds like. Learning and practice until the doing becomes subconscious and the results are a product that affects the readers emotions, like all good writing should. This is my second year to take it, and I am absorbing more this year than I did the first year, when it was all new to me. His classes have truly changed what I do and how I do it—for the better, I hasten to say.

The second teacher is Nina Kiriki Hoffman who has given me the gift of a newfound love of writing short fiction—from flash to novellas. She teaches out of Wordcrafters and Fairfield County Writers’ Studio http://fcwritersstudio.com/2021/02/28/writing-fantasy-science-fiction-and-horror/. Nina is an award-winning author who is willing to share her time, knowledge, and resources to teach writing Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror. Her classes are small, fun, interactive workshops. Her feedback critiques, as well as those of other class members, are infinitely valuable.

The third is Maggie Lynch of POV Author Services https://povauthorservices.com/. She teaches courses in Foundations necessary for running a writing business, SEO for writers, Social Media for writers, and Building an Email List, along with other classes. Maggie is a talented writer, very knowledgeable, and always willing to share.

All three are gems in my writing world. This blog, Romancing the Genres, is another. So many authors, instructors, and groups that have become a regular part of my life have enriched it and helped me grow to the point that this is the year I will publish my first book and perhaps even the second. The drafts are written and are in the editing process as I write this. Someday I hope to be one of the authors who will be paying it forward to other writers coming up behind me. That will truly be a joyous day.

Last, but not least, I am thankful for my sister, Kat, who always encourages me in all things creative, and is a writer herself. She urged me to explore creative outlets in Florida in an effort to help me recover from a traumatic loss in my life. Kat always believes I can do anything that I commit to, and I intend to prove her right!

My Writing and Contacts

I write contemporary romance and romantic suspense. My Rescue Series will launch this fall with the first book, When the Night Comes, which takes place on the island of St. Eustatius in the Caribbean. I have been diving in the crystalline waters there and have walked the cobblestone streets up to Fort Oranje. From the ramparts, one can look up at The Quill, a dormant volcano with a rainforest in the crater at the bottom, or down to the harbor below Oranjestad, the only town on the island. St. Eustatius played an important part in our own history on November 16, 1776, a fact I suspect very few Americans know. If you are curious, check out https://www.statiagovernment.com/about-st.-eustatius/first-salute

For writers: What little known facts have you come across in your research that provided glowing nuggets in your own writing?

For readers: Do you find that these morsels of knowledge in whatever books you read, if not overdone, enrich your reading pleasure? They certainly do for me.

I would love to hear from you, either below in the comments, or on Facebook or Instagram.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dari-LaRoche-Author-100106852361696 

Instagram: Instagram.com/darilarocheauthor

Website (live first week of September):  https://darilaroche.com

Newsletter Signup if you would like to hear more from me:
Will be on my website.

 

A thankful mind....by Peggy Jaeger

 If you listen to any of the local/state/national news programs on any given day, you would think the entire world is imploding. Or, as my grandmother used to say - often!- going to Hell in a handbasket.

From religious wars, to the opioid crisis, to the never-ending Covid pandemic; the racial inequality and injustice we have in this country, the gender divide, even the stalemate in our own government about anything and everything, makes it seem like we have nothing to live for, nothing to be happy about, nothing to be thankful for.

My husband's cure for this is to simply turn the news off. Out of sight, out of mind, according to him.

That's a little too much like being an ostrich with its head in a hole during a wildebeest stampede for me. I prefer to be informed, but I don't let the state of the world as we've come to know it, influence my psyche. 

The reason?  Every day I am grateful to be alive.

Truly. 

I know it sounds sappy to some, but I am so happy to be on this earth right now. I wake daily with the first thought being, This is a new day. New opportunities to latch on to. New challenges to overcome.

And I am truly thankful I get to be present and experience them all.

Several years ago, in 1996, when Oprah was still doing her daily show, she had  Sarah Ban Breathnach on as a guest. Sarah had just published The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude and it was flying off the shelves ( this was preKindle, peeps!) 

The description for the book on Amazon states:The Simple Abundance Journal of Gratitude offers insight via uplifting, inspirational quotes and gives women a place to record their daily moments of gratitude. Through daily practice, this journal can help you embrace everyday epiphanies: profound moments of awe that forever alter your experience of the world.

I'm gonna take a stab in the dark and claim it was with the advent of the book for sale that journaling became a hot "thing."

I was one of the 5 million buyers who purchased the book, and its predecessor  SIMPLE ABUNDANCE, and  read it diligently every day for a year and recorded the 5 things I was grateful for every day.

The simple exercise of waking every day and immediately thinking of 5 reasons why you are or can be thankful today, helped me so much deal with anxiety, depression, and feelings of self-worthlessness.

I don't write my daily 5 down anymore, but I do think about them during the day.

This morning's 5 things were:

1.I am grateful to be alive

2. I am grateful for my health and that of my family

3. I am grateful I believe in science

4. I am grateful I have kept my parents alive and healthy during the pandemic

5. I am grateful I am going to be a first-time grandmother in 6 weeks.

So again, I am thankful every single day to be alive.

A Path Back to Thankfulness - Alice Rosewell

What am I thankful for?

Part I.

I find this a difficult question to answer at the moment.

Of course, I am thankful for many things large and small; family, friends, a secure home, the NHS, being born in a time of antibiotics and vaccines in a country where a woman’s right to education and equality is taken for granted… But the pandemic has sucked all feelings of pleasure from my mind, and energy from my body; thankfulness has become an idea rather than a reality.

If that isn’t a description of depression, I don’t know what is.

So, if depression is on one side of the coin and thankfulness is on the other, how do I build thankfulness back into my life?

I was reminded of a book I read a couple of years ago which had a big impact on me at the time, but has been buried in a storage unit since I moved house just over a year ago.

The book, “Lost Connections” by Johann Hari, lists seven things we need to be connected to in order not to get depressed, so I went through them as a kind of therapy to try and reconnect with a life I am grateful for.

It was an extremely useful exercise and I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who is trying to find a way through and out of depression. One of the Lost Connections struck me particularly: The natural world.

I have become a bit of a hermit over the last year, hardly even venturing into my garden; and there is no excuse for it. I have moved to an area where there are many places to walk. Woods, fields and riverbank are accessible from my front door and when we were restricted by law to only one hour a day, I did go out. With the restriction lifted, I constantly put it off and put it off until it got too late.

 

Part II

I took a break from writing at this point and my daughter called. She drove over and we went for a lovely walk in the sunshine, stopping for a cup of tea at a local café, and gathering blackberries and elderberries on the way home.

That evening I reviewed the things I am thankful for and these three stood out:

The eternal - to enjoy the seasons and feel connected to the yearly cycle of life.

The personal - to spend time with someone I love and who loves me, sharing news and ideas and plans.

The endeavours of others - everything from the person who made our tea at the café, to the authors of inspiring books and the inventors of technology.

 

And today, of course, I am thankful to this blog and the person whose inspired idea for this month’s theme set my feet back on the path to thankfulness.

 

My name is Alice Rosewell and I live in the city of Bristol in the South West of England (UK), the city where I was born.  I write in British English, so I hope that American readers will not be put off by British spelling of some words.

The first story I remember writing was at primary school, about the age of 7. This was followed by a dry spell which latest about 50 years during which I got through University, brought up a couple of kids, and had a successful career  in IT.

I had the outline of a story which I’d dreamed up one evening in the pub, but that sat in a folder for about a decade until I got made redundant for the 2nd time in one year! This event coincided with the Kindle becoming mainstream, and Indie publishing an option. I dusted off my few pages of ideas and got to work. For the last few years I have been writing contemporary women’s fiction, publishing three novels: Irrelevant Women, The Kite Makers, and my latest, An End to Dreaming.  A good friend described my writing as intriguing, uplifting, and will not give you nightmares!  I think that about sums it up.

Thankful for the Covid Pandemic

The pandemic had devastating worldwide implications. But I will forever be thankful that because of Covid-19, I was able to create memories in what turned out to be the last year of my mother's life.

If Covid hadn't escalated I wouldn't have got marooned in Britain and spent five quality months living with my Mum. Alzheimer's is known as the long goodbye. You lose the person you love, one piece at a time. Each stage feels like the worst you'll experience, but it's just one more step along a deteriorating road.

The carers said she knew who I was. They were just being kind. There was no flicker of recognition when I walked into the room. She'd forgotten she had a daughter, but she let me cuddle and kiss her—and that was enough.

She had an eye for a younger man, and took a special interest in my husband. She'd slip her hand into his and trot by his side. Her eyes sparkled and the corner of her lips twitched upwards. She was the cat who got the cream. It was a heart-warming to see her experience a moment of joy. 

There were many of these small moments during the height of the pandemic. Simple, but memorable. Etched in my mind. 

Sketch I drew of my Mum and brother for the Order of Service

When she passed, my brother and I were sitting at her bedside. We knew it was going to be the day. Her breathing pattern changed multiple times. We took it in turns to play songs from our past. Shared childhood memories. Waiting for the inevitable. My Mum took a sharp intake of breath and grimaced. Then just incase we'd missed it, she did it again. Then she was gone. 

I hugged her. She was still warm and the back of her neck radiated heat. For a brief moment I could imagine I was tucking her in and sharing a goodnight kiss. But this was a forever sleep. I caressed her mottled hand and said my goodbyes.

A Mother Remembered

I wrote a poem for the order of service, told from my mother's perspective:

I lived my life, full speed ahead.

Got up early—escaped my bed.

My days were full, of things I loved.

I weeded hard, with both hands gloved.

My cottage garden in full bloom

A piece of art to tend and groom.

I strode across the countryside.

A pair of Westies as my guide.

I loved the freedom. Loved to roam.

The green landscape would lead me home.

I had so many things to do. 

I’d juggle them the whole day through.

My coffee cakes and Bakewell tarts.

A hit in Mary Berry’s charts.

I’d knit and crochet, do some crafts.

Share’with my kids, through photographs.

I couldn’t bear to sit and waste,

Remaining time, so I would chase.

The hours to fill my day ahead

To dodge the thief within my head.

About Jay Artale

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger, podcaster, and nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. She shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit at her website Birds of a Feather Press, and documents her travels and artistic endeavours at her blog Roving Jay. Follow her on Instagram or Facebook or Twitter.

Jay is the author of A Turbulent Mind: A Poetry Collection of a Mother's Journey with Alzheimer's.

Thankful for Mundane Things by Sarah Raplee

What would we do without hot running water?

As I've moved through life, I've learned to pay more attention to being grateful for mundane things. I'm talking about things we take for granted that make our lives easier or more comfortable than it would otherwise be; or less frustrating or less annoying in some way.

For example, every time I take a hot shower, I thank God for hot running water and indoor plumbing. Millions of people don't even have clean drinking water. Or they must walk miles to fetch and carry water to their homes. And toilets! Don't get me started.

How about zippers? Have you ever counted the buttons on a dress from the eighteen-hundreds? My arthritic fingers ache at the thought.

The Mute button on the tv remote is pure genius for getting a child's attention! Am I right??? And how about the one on your laptop? Your cell phone?

Office items alone could fill a whole blog post: paperclips, ballpoint pens, sticky notes, file cabinets, laptops, office chairs, foot rests, staplers, printers - the list goes on and on.

I hate to waste food. Thank heavens for bag clips that keep chips and cereal fresh! And canned food, microwaves, refrigerators, can openers, freezer paper, coffee mugs, baby spoons...

Garden tools sure make outside chores easier. Think about hoses, shovels, hoes, trowels, rakes, brooms, wheelbarrows, clippers, pruning shears and so on.

Combs, snaps, nails, clothespins, tape measures, sponges...this could be The Never-ending Blog Post, but i think I've made my point. 

What everyday items are you most thankful for?

Thankful for Learning New Things

 By Courtney Pierce

I’m thankful for many, many things in life, but I have to say that 2021 took “being thankful” to new heights. I’ve lived through turbulent times, not like the atrocities experienced in WW2, but close. Lock downs, censorship, distancing, and tearing apart of the family unit in schools have weighed heavy on my heart. Their slave playbook is trying to rear its ugly head in current events, but it won’t work. We boomers have too much resilience to not overcome adversity. Although we may feel drowned out by yelling, accusations, and downright lies, we have a voice . . . a big voice.

After more than forty years, we’re finally getting to the truth. Some of the nuggets we may not like; others might blow us away. That’s a subject for another blog in about six months. History in the making is still bubbling on the stove. Truth serum. Veritas elixir.

Spring of 2021 sprang forth with an idea when my career industry shut down. No concerts, no Broadway shows, no gathering of entertainment.  I switched gears to work at a local family-owned nursery while I finished my new book. My mother was a commercial organic gardener and got the bug. I learned all the Almanac wisdom from her and my grandmother.  My husband added more. It was a priority for us to create our own sustainable garden.

But after working in a huge commercial nursery that was beloved throughout the entire Flathead Valley, I found my niche. I learned much from dealing with the public . . . not just any public.  Most of the 40-year customers had been coming there to pay top dollar for beauty, walk the aisles with their dogs, talk about their kids, and seek help for what they didn’t know.

Other than getting back into shape at 22,000 steps a day (according to my FitBit), I reveled in working physically hard. Next came listening to the 30-year-experts who gave me plant advice. I drank in every detail of alchemy of our area, trends of varieties, and optimum conditions of our Zone. There’s a lot more to sticking a plant in the ground and expecting it to grow.

I had an epiphany that I’d stumbled into something special and quite personal: the customers.

“Are you looking for annuals that do well in sun or shade? Or would you like perennials that come back every year?”

“What’s your favorite color combination?”

“How much time do you have to water?”

Greenhouse after greenhouse, I zigzagged to show off our thousands of living trophies. These questions were how I got so many physical steps, so many overflowing carts, and so many hugs of thanks. Through our human connection, the customers were thankful, and so was I. I reveled in helping puzzle the plants and baskets into their cars and SUVs. The customers who wanted to plant their gardens, plant by plant, inspired me to spend the time to help them achieve the daily joy of blooms. The joy hung from their porches, graced their raised beds, encircled their mail boxes.

That was the goal . . . the crowning achievement of helping others.  My customers were ecstatic about leaving with their garden transformations of plants. Like me, they wanted to nurture living plants and help them thrive. I had no agenda except to make them happy.

As a writer, I captured that emotion and incorporated into my prose. You can’t make this stuff up. I have to experience the emotion of what I write, even if it’s a fictional story. I was accused once by a boss for being too benevolent. Their negative accusation was a personal badge of honor for me.

Every 25 years or so, we move up one generational seat on the life bus. In my teens, I remember thinking what it would be like to be grown up, taking care of myself, earning my future security, and being “old.” Back then, old age was imagining future life in my sixties. I’ve now arrived at the place that seemed so far away. I’m pretty darned close to the driver seat on the bus. The good news is that I still feel as young as I did in my teens. The only difference is that I have more wisdom from experience . . .  gain and loss, joy and sorrow, enlightenment and disillusionment.

My husband and I, my siblings, and my in-law siblings will soon take over as drivers of the bus, to maneuver through the curves and obstacles of what our current turbulent life has to offer us. We boomers are heartbroken to let go of the generation above us, those who’ve put their heart into investing our generation. If not already, they’ve handed over the wheel of trust to us. We can’t let them down, and we will get through the summits and valleys ahead.

At stake is everything right now, but when we stand tall, we will still have our country, our freedoms, and our sovereignty. Freedom is a precious gift we must hold dear. It can still slip from our fingers when we look the other way or have our voices censored. Our flag is an amazing symbol, along with all those who’ve died to fight for it. We’re not chattel who have to show “papers” to shop, travel, or eat at a restaurant. It’s happening in real time. Check out Australia, New Zealand, France, and the United Kingdom.

We’re at a crossroads of tyranny or freedom. We can’t "unsee" what’s about to put in front of us. We can feel it ramping up.  No more sleeping or blind trust.

In spite of everything that’s happening in the world,  I’m thankful for my family. They hold my spirit in their hands, and I hold theirs.

Courtney Pierce is a fiction writer living in Kalispell, Montana with her husband and stepdaughter. She writes for the baby boomer audience. She spent 28 years as an executive in the entertainment industry and used her time in a theater seat to create stories that are filled with heart, humor, and mystery. She studied craft and storytelling at the Attic Institute and has completed the Hawthorne Fellows Program for writing and publishing. Active in the writing community, Courtney is a board member of the Northwest Independent Writers Association and on the Advisory Council of the Independent Publishing Resource Center. She is a member of Willamette Writers, Pacific Northwest Writers Association, and Authors of the Flathead. The Executrix received the Library Journal Self-E recommendation seal.

Print and E-books are available through most major online retailers, including Amazon.com.

Check out all of Courtney's books: 

courtney-pierce.com and windtreepress.com 

New York Times best-selling author Karen Karbo says, "Courtney Pierce spins a madcap tale of family grudges, sisterly love, unexpected romance, mysterious mobsters and dog love. Reading Indigo Lake is like drinking champagne with a chaser of Mountain Dew. Pure Delight."

Coming in 2022!

When Aubrey Cenderon moves to Montana after the death of her father, the peace and quiet of Big Sky Country becomes complicated with a knock on the door from the sheriff. An injured grizzly bear is on the loose and it must be eliminated before it kills again. The sheriff's insistence that she buy a gun for protection will present Aubrey with some serious soul-searching, because the grizzly-on-the-run is hunting her too . . . for a different reason.