Monday, May 16, 2022

Missing My Peeps! .... Delsora Lowe

Hey, folks, did you know that on May 26 we celebrate “in case you missed it day.” It’s also national blueberry cheesecake day, cherry dessert day, and the list goes on and on. I happen to love dark cherries and blueberries, and I love New York-style cheesecake, sans any toppings. But I digress…

What I really wanted to talk about was one of the May events I have missed most in the last few years. As with most writers, I lead a relatively solitary work life. I hang out at my desk and type all day or scratch out book idea notes on random scraps of paper or sit on the couch and read romance novels by my (tons of) favorite authors. And let’s not forget the Hallmark movies that I can spout the correct dialogue before the actor says a word. I admit it, the last two years have been a long, long, drawn out marathon (read that as BINGE) of romance books and movies.

Okay, I do have a life outside of writing. But sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, since now I also spend at least four weekend days a month, and several evenings a week, on ZOOM with writing groups.

Interaction—YAY. The pros are I get to attend writing chapter meetings in New Jersey and Rhode Island and near Boston, plus meet with my Maine peeps without leaving my desk. I also get to attend interactive, virtual writing craft and / or business workshops by experts in Seattle or New York City, and anywhere in between. The cons are sometimes I feel maxed out—bleary-eyed from too much screen time on top of the writing time.

And that leads me to what I have missed most. Despite the millions of ZOOM meetings, what I crave most is in-person human interaction. AND Ta-Da…four days after this blog posts, I will be at my first non-ZOOM, writer’s retreat since 2019. TWO WHOLE DAYS.

To tell you I’m excited would be an understatement. To tell you how much I miss seeing “my peeps” in person…well, there are no words. I get to hug (masks on,) and catchup on everyone’s lives, and chat over meals, and learn from live workshop presenters, and have my annual tumbler of scotch at happy hour. AND…learn. Learn not from taped videos or on-line workshops or by reading. But learn by “talking shop,” live, in-person give-and-take. EXCITED!

Full disclosure, the most people I have been near all at once in the last two years, for any length of time, was (1) the grocery store, and (2) my daughter’s wedding. I have turned into an introvert. So, I am trying to summon up my usual extrovert personality, and hope I have the stamina to talk to forty-five people for two days straight without imploding. CAN’T WAIT!

What would you celebrate on “in case you missed it” day (month)?

A HUGE Happy 11^th Birthday to Romancing the Genres

The Love Left Behind

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read books2read.com/u/mglVqK

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. Her newest novella is The Love Left Behind.

Social Media Links:

Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

ClipArt:
Cheesecake: cheesecakes clipart - Clip Art Library (clipart-library.com)
Romantic Couple: free clipart romantic couple - Google Search
ZOOM Meeting - Computer: Vector image of a desktop computer with word HELLO on its screen | Public domain vectors
Cheerleader: Cheerleader free cheerleading clipart clip art pictures graphics - Clipartix
Scotch: free clipart glass of scotch - Google Search
Happy Birthday: Free Birthday Bouquet Cliparts, Download Free Birthday Bouquet Cliparts png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)

Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Ten Fun To-Do Activities to Celebrate Getting My Vaccine! ... by Delsora Lowe

May is a special month, as the weather warms up, flowers bloom, and folks start putting in gardens and getting outside. And May 10 marks several different things in my life.

It’s my dad’s 102nd birthday. I miss him so much. I know if he were with us, he’d be celebrating mightily. Before he turned ninety, he decided he would throw himself a big party. My sister and I already had big plans underway, so we ended up telling him about the surprise. Instead of being disappointed he had ruined our surprise, he threw himself into helping us organize. Luckily, everything he wanted, we already had on our list. It was a great party. He passed away a few weeks prior to his ninety-first birthday. But I’ll always have my memories of that fun time—both the organizing and the partying.

On May 10, 2019, I released the first book in my Cowboys of Mineral Springs series. At the time, I had written drafts for five books in the series and started a draft on book 6. I released book two in October 2019. I really need to get back to editing the rest of the series.

On May 10, I will have had my second Covid vaccination and will have quarantined for 2 weeks! Yay! So, without further ado, I will list ten things I really want to do this year—all, sad to say, still masked. But best to continue to be safe. Besides, I discovered when I wear my mask walking, it helps keep the allergens in the air at bay and I am able to walk without wheezing. All good! It’s important to focus on every little positive thing we can and not obsess on the negative.

So, in no particular order, my top ten things to do this year (and in honor of RTG’s Ten Year Anniversary):

1) Enjoy a backyard cocktail or cup of tea with friends.

2) Hit the local food truck scene and sit on a bench in the sun on the town mall to enjoy whatever I buy.

3) Spend the 4^th of July (and my grandson’s birthday, later in July) with my family, watching fireworks over the water, from my son’s front deck.

4) Enjoy the beach with my 3 grandsons later this summer as they attend surf camp (cancelled last summer.)

5) Enjoy time spent with my daughter and family when they visit from Colorado (cancelled last summer.)

6) Sit outside in the sun with my mom at her retirement community. We haven’t had face-to-face time since last summer - except waving to her through her apartment window.