June - a Month of Turning Points and Reassessing ........................ by Delsora Lowe

Hard to believe we are moving into the half-way point of the year. June is known as a month of celebrations; a month when a person celebrates milestones. What comes to mind as visible milestones are weddings and graduations.

I did get married in June, many, many, many years ago. My graduations from high school, and my college associate and bachelor’s degrees, however, were both in late May. So, for me, June is not only about celebrating milestones, but is more about reassessing where I am mid-way through another year. What do I look forward to for the rest of the year, and how do I plan where I want to go (as in both work goals and fun adventures) in the second half of the year.

Some of my June rituals are weekly or bi-weekly visits to the farmers’ market, filling my deck with colorful potted flowers, a tomato plant or two, and a variety of herbs, that grow from seedlings to full-grown plants that I can use throughout the summer in cooking. The grill gets use starting in June, unless we have a few magical, warm weather days in May…or December (HA!). The hum of lawnmowers permeates the air—and at times, the noise snaps me out of drafting an absolutely brilliant piece of writing.

Hey, I have to blame something on the reason why my brain tends to turn to mush as we ease into the summer months.

But, speaking of work, part of my June tasks is to reassess my productivity from January into June. And perhaps tweak my annual goals. Have I edited enough, written first drafts, released books, or kept up my monthly schedule (of which I have a month-by-month grid with story topics,) for producing and submitting 5-minute, sweet romances.

This year, sadly, I have lost a lot of my creative brain. But making a list for the 2^nd half of the year, helps me try harder to actually consult said list and…stick to the plan.

Is it time to reassess my annual goals? ALWAYS! And will I be able take a well-deserved bow at mid-point and celebrate my accomplishments of staying on track as dictated in my new year annual goal plan that kicked off in January? Yes, goal reexamination is part of my personal agenda in June. Is the plan I set out to accomplish this year, reasonable, doable? Or, for sanity’s sake, should I reboot?

But my plans aren’t all work and no play. They also include looking forward to the fun parts of the upcoming summer—my daughter’s family visiting from Colorado in July or August. Spending more time with my grandson here in-state, despite the fact his summer is usually as busy as the school year. And best of all, I'll rejoice in time spent with family and friends, revel in the season of warmth, and applaud the bursts of color that paint our world.

Despite the dreary day as thunderstorms move in, my little corner of the world is ablaze with the color of irises and azaleas and an assortment of flowering trees.

 

What is your favorite part

about

the month of June?

 

The Love Left Behind

A HARTFORD ESTATE (wedding venue) Book

Amazon
(also available in print)

Books2Read  

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 (most recently, an Easter romance in the April 1, 2024 edition.) The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella with Book 2 on the way. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker – the youngest brother of the Mineral Spring’s ranching family) were the most recent releases. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, to be released in late 2024 or early 2025.

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/

Images:
Celebrating: celebration clipart images - Google Search
Graduation: Free Vector | Free vector graduation poster (freepik.com) 
TimeFlies: Free Vector | Time flies concept illustration (freepik.com)
FrownieFace: Download | FreeImages / Image by Freeimages.com
Flowers: photo by author

 

Equine Grace and the Parameters of the Heart ... by M. Lee Prescott

 

“I do not at all understand the mystery of grace - only that it meets us where we are but does not leave us where it found us.” Anne Lamott

Hi,

It’s Mary Lee (writing as M. Lee Prescott) reader of all kinds of books and writer of dozens – mysteries, romances, of course, historical fiction and nonfiction related to literacy. It’s taken me many years and countless hours at the keyboard and legal pad to be able to say, “writer of dozens.” It’s a proud and wonderful feeling!

The quote above by a favorite writing teacher, Anne Lamott speaks of the very human quality of grace, but it also reminds me of my “state” when completing a book in which I am absorbed. It could be a romance, mystery, or a contemporary novel like Masood’s wonderful The Bad Muslim Discount, which I am currently reading. If I am engaged in a good book, I emerge in a different place, myself, but also somewhere else. That’s what I seek when I read and when I write. A grace that carries me and my characters along and leaves us sometimes breathless, but never in the exact same spot as where we began.

Over the last twelve years, I have discovered, in writing each Morgan’s Run book, that grace does not appear to be unique to humans. I’m sure if you’ve ever loved a dog, cat, horse, or other pet, you understand. Here I’m referring to a kind of “equine grace.” When I began writing about the Morgans and their close knit community, I knew that horses would figure prominently both as characters and as animals beloved by series characters. I have been on horseback half a dozen times in my life, some rides fun, others scary so I knew very little about these magnificent creatures. As I began writing Emma’s Dream (book 1), I was blessed with the birth of my first grandchild, Abby. By chance Abby and I began visiting a local farm, home to many rescued animals, including horses. Slowly, we got to know each horse by name and temperament -- the owner’s gentle white mare, Misty, a huge, but gentle draft horse, Tabasco, Sunny the pony, and many others. We also came to love them – even the ones with signs on their stalls warning us not to get too close – and all the animals at Stony Creek.

Now I find myself in a different place, a place of grace and presence with these amazing creatures, less scared, more peaceful. As I wrote about Ben Morgan and his spirited quarter horse, Rowdy, Harley and his wild Appaloosa, Pepper and Maggie with her very own, enormous draft horse, Tabasco, I discovered that trust, love, grace, and connection with other living creatures, be they two-legged or four-legged, never leave us in the same place.

Many of the love stories in the Morgan’s Run series take place around and with horses. Training them, riding them, rescuing them from cruelness and neglect and nurturing them back to health. I have learned so much about the efforts to rescue the magnificent wild horses of the west, and the many breeds of horses that we have in the United States. What does this have to do with romance and grace you ask? Each breed has qualities and characteristics that support its human owner. For example, Dusty, a rescued horse featured in Tom’s Ride, has a steady, calm temperament that nurtures fragile, wounded Grace McGraw. Deathly afraid of horses, Grace, to her surprise, bonds with the dun stallion and they are both healed in the process.     

The human—horse connection is a critical element in many of my love stories. When he leaps onto Pepper’s back, Harley Langdon, the quintessential cowboy, and wrangler, becomes one with his horse. It’s difficult to imagine the two apart; they have traveled so many miles together. Whip Kitteridge already owns a horse, Calico, a strong, sturdy American Paint, but his work with Ghost, a wild, aggressive white stallion, heals long ago wounds for man and horse and they become inseparable. The morning Tabasco lumbers out of the trailer at Morgan’s Run stables it’s love at first sight for Maggie Williams. The enormous draft horse, acquired as part of the ranch’s mustang rescue program, is slated to be gentled and adopted by a border agent, but no one will go near him except Maggie.

Then there’s gorgeous Ben Morgan who’s comes home to nurse an ailing heart and winds up falling in love with Maggie, and his spirited quarter horse Rowdy. While the white hot romance between Ben and Maggie is the center of Emma’s Dream, his bond with the young horse saves his life more than once out of the trail.  

What does all this horse talk have to do with romance? In this series, beloved by so many readers, it is very often the horses that take characters to places where love happens—on the trail, in a secluded valley, or maybe in a darkened barn, the scent of sweet hay surrounding them. Do horses embody a kind of equine grace that transports and changes those they love? I’m thinking a resounding yes. What do you think?

Great blogging with you! I love to hear from readers and writers so please be in touch anytime.

Warm wishes,

Mary Lee

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Minimal water, Maximum Beauty … Michal Scott

You never know what stereotypes or preconceived notions you have until they hit you in the face. As a transplanted Northeastern to the Southwest I hadn’t realized I thought everything would be tumbleweed, cacti and lots and lots of dirt and dust. Never had I imagined snow. But at least it’s gone by noon.

So imagine my wonder at the varied plants and trees I found not just in my neighborhood but throughout all parts of my new home city. Vibrant colors, swaying branches, fragrant blooms.

How was this all possible? Because of a new word that came into my vocabulary: Xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is “the practice of designing landscapes to reduce or eliminate the need for irrigation.” It is comprised of seven principles: (1) plan and design for smart water use (2) improve soil quality (3) reduce turf and other water-wasting plants (4) Choose the right plants (5) Water efficiently (6) Mulch (7) Maintain your landscape.

A myth about xeriscaping is that it’s mostly rocks. As you can see from my photos even lilac bushes and grass are part of xeriscaped landscapes. Practically all the front yards of the houses on my street are xeriscaped. Even the one with a lawn follows all the xeriscape principles.

 Minimal water. Maximum beauty. Who couldn’t get behind that?

 

Anna Taylor Sweringen self-publishes second chance gothic ghost stories in her Haunted Harlem series as Anna M. Taylor and steamy historicals for the Wild Rose Press as Michal Scott. You can learn more about Haunted Harlem on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/355nKv0 

and Michal Scott's steamy historical novellas and short stories here: https://amzn.to/2TSHzRn.

 

Romance in Every Day Moments ... M. Lee Prescott

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.”  Lao Tzu

Hi, I’m Mary Lee, writing as M. Lee Prescott, author of mysteries, romances – contemporary and western -- four series and a bunch of single titles. Two of the series are contemporary romances-- Morgan’s Run, Morgan’s Fire and two are mystery series—Ricky Steele Mysteries (humorous, 1^st person, woman PI) and the Roger and Bess Mysteries (small village, cozy). Whether a mystery or romance, my stories are about how people in communities from the southwest to New England nurture and support one another. I try to write characters with whom I would like spend time. That way I can be pretty sure readers will want to hang out with them too. Not that there aren’t a few villains along the way, but they never win out in the end.

If I look at it “broadly,” romance is present in almost everything I write. I love the “turn” when something shifts. Where a character’s anger, frustration, fear, queasiness or host of other negative emotions soften and change because of who they are, who they’re with, and how they approach the world. There is a kind of romance present in most human interactions that is palpable as in this chance encounter from Lady Love, my newest Ricky Steele adventure.

My martini days are over. It’s amazing what eight ounces of straight gin with a few ice cubes and a splash of tonic will do to a body not accustomed to drinking hard liquor. I slid out of bed with a pounding headache and queasy stomach. Yoga and inverted poses definitely out! I headed out for a short run that ended with me retching on the sand. 

            I had no sooner stood up, kicking sand over the vomit when Carter the moose dog leapt onto my chest and knocked me over. “Carter, no!” Charlie called, running forward to grab his leash.

            Figures, the man I barely knew, but with whom I was already madly in love. I groaned, rolling over and standing shakily, my entire body covered with sand.  “Morning.” I gave him a wan smile.

            “I am really sorry,” he said, stepping on Carter’s leash as he helped brush sand off my back.

            “No worries. I’m a little under the weather so I wasn’t prepared for him.” I patted Carter’s enormous head. “Good boy.”

            “No he isn’t. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

            I vainly attempted to tamp down my hair and straighten my clothes. “I’m guessing it’s a hangover. I don’t do well with hard liquor.”

            He grinned, his hand still on my shoulder. “Most people don’t.”

                                                (Lady Love, in progress) 

I’ve discovered that writing in multiple genres at the same time brings resonance and clarity to the “romance” in each. For example, as I plug away at the fifth book in the Ricky Steele mysteries I am also writing the eighth sweet and spicy Morgan’s Fire romance. The first explores dark deeds and hidden dangers yet love still finds its way in. The second takes place in a small village where everyone watches out for each other. The tone and backdrops may shift dramatically, but love and romance anchor the characters in both books informing me, as the author, in how it’s done and the importance of getting characters’ caring and passion for one another right. 

   

            Drawing her back from her remembering, Ben reached for her. “Hey, beautiful, good morning.”

            “Hey, yourself.”

            “Penny for your thoughts.”

            “Well, if you must know, I was thinking back to Stanford and the first time I set eyes on a certain handsome cowboy.”

            He chuckled. “Country bumpkin next to Ms. Bel Air Sophisticate.”

            “Yet you still managed to sweep me off my feet and carry me off to the valley you couldn’t stop talking about.”

            “Desperate times require desperate measures. ’Sides, I was afraid if I stopped talking, you’d get bored and walk away. The Valley was the only topic I could say more than two syllables about.”

“Well, we know that’s not true. Desperate?”

“Couldn’t imagine livin’ another day without you .”

            “And, now here we are. Forty years later.”

“Blink of an eye, darlin’. Wouldn’t change a second.”

“Nor would I,” she said, smiling as she slid down beside him.

“That’s more like it.” He kissed her as he drew her into his arms.

“Mmm,” she said. “Someone’s perky this morning.”

                                                            (A Valley Christmas, 2020)

                    

Without love, why bother reading on? Love transforms ordinary events, scenes or situations, hooking the reader and drawing them closer. Love can be ironic, generous, forgiving or a host of other things. While my romance novels have a central couple as focus, I find writing about sibling love particularly powerful. And don’t get me started on parental and grandparental love! Below is a quick snapshot of two Morgan siblings meeting for the first time in many years. 

       

            Ben found his sister in the largest washing room, hunched over a pump, wrench in one hand, hammer in the other. 

            She noted his presence but stayed focused on her task. “Heard you were back.”

            Of all the Morgans, Beth most closely resembled her older brother. She had Ben’s angular jaw, chestnut hair, and lean, lanky build. Her eyes were the same dark chestnut, arresting if one was caught in their gaze. Her fiancé, Bill was fond of saying that those eyes had stopped him in his tracks the first time he spied her in his Biology 101 class. Today, Beth’s jeans were caked with mud and her flannel shirt soaked through. She swore as the wrench slipped from her grasp and clattered to the cement floor. 

            “Want some help?”

            “Yeah, right.”

            “Sarcasm doesn’t become you, sister of mine.  You forget I have an engineering degree.”

            She straightened up, met her brother eye to eye, and held out the wrench and hammer.  “Okay, Surfer Boy.  Knock yourself out.”

            “No hug?”

            “Let’s see how the pump project works out first.”  Ben gave her a look and Beth laughed, extending her arms.  “Oh, what the heck.  A little incentive won’t hurt.”

            As he folded her into his arms, Ben felt her stiffen. Touching was not Beth’s thing.

            “Good to have you home. Mom and Dad must have gone crazy when you walked in. You’ve always been their favorite, you know.” She pulled up a stool. “This I gotta see.”

                          Ben stooped to his task, quickly ascertaining the
             problem.

                                                                         (Emma’s Dream, 2015)

 

In your face, understated, implied, or red hot, love and romance really are everywhere! I hope that is true in your life too! Happy spring!

M. Lee

After a scorching divorce, Tom Jacobi is left burned, the ashes of his life scattered all around him. Attempting to heal, he leaves his home in Montana and comes to Saguaro Valley. There he settles into a job as assistant manager at the magnificent Valley Stables surrounded by rough cowboys, prized thoroughbreds and wild mustangs. When he meets Grace McGraw the roughhewn, yet carefully sheltered world, he has created is softened, the fires of anguish quenched by love.            

A Saguaro Valley native, Grace is consumed by the day-to-day care of her alcoholic father and her struggles to keep their family hardware store running. Then a tall, lanky wrangler walks into her life and changes everything, stealing her heart and lightening her load. Tom offers strength, comfort, and courage supporting her in ways she never thought possible. Join the Morgans and their valley community in book twelve of Morgan”s Run and witness the unfolding of Grace and Tom’s sweet, but also white hot love story!

Purchase links for Tom’s Ride!

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APPLE

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KOBO

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Dragon*Con – One Humongous Convention!

by Stacy McKitrick

2012 - 52,000 PEOPLE

52,000 people. 

That's how many people were reported to have attended Dragon*Con (www.dragoncon.org) in 2012. And man, did it ever feel like it!

If you are a fan of Sci-Fi or Fantasy, this is your convention. There were tracks for Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, Joss Whedon, Alternative History, Horror/Dark Fantasy, Gaming Programming, Sci-Fi & Fantasy Literature, Science, Space, and Writers (to name a few.) Held on Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, Georgia, every year, this event encompasses five hotels downtown and gets bigger and bigger each year. The convention center has been added for 2013 (mostly for vendors – yeah, you can BUY things there, too!)
 

Frankly, I don't remember it being so packed in 2011 (we were told there were 40,000 people then, which is still a lot, let me tell you.) The lines were absolutely unreal (and they're everywhere for almost everything!)

MORE OF THE 52,000

But then in 2011 (and 2010), I spent most of my time in the Writers Track (but even those tracks are gaining popularity!)

So, what's in a track, you ask? Could be a celebrity panel discussing their show (either current or cancelled – Buffy the Vampire Slayer is wildly popular every year. If you don't get in line early and wait over an hour, you don't get in.) Could be a panel of writers telling you "101 Fascinating Ways to Kill a Character" or fans discussing a favorite author, e.g. Stephen King, or maybe an "authority" on paranormal activity explaining how you can detect your own ghosts.

But while the tracks are fun and interesting, the biggest thing there is the fans. These are people who spend all year coming up with a costume (or four) and making it just so they can walk around Hotlanta (including the Dragon*Con parade), sweat, and get their picture taken. These costumes are not whipped together in a weekend. Most are planned and many are convoluted! But you can see the love and dedication that went into them.

This convention is cheap when I compare it to other conventions I've attended (under $100 for the full convention if you pre-register early enough – the Saturday pass usually runs about $50), but getting a room can be difficult. Registration for the host hotels open up during the current Dragon*Con and sell out in a matter of weeks. You want to go in 2013? I say get a room at one of the overflow hotels before it's too late!

Besides all the tracks, there are celebrities galore (John Barrowman and Adam Baldwin were big last year) and popular authors (e.g. Laurell K. Hamilton, who is there almost every year, and Sherrilyn Kenyon, who made it for the first time last year.) There is a Walk of Fame for most celebrities where you can walk up to them, talk with them, and pay for their autograph if you so desire (be forewarned, if the celebrity is wildly popular, he/she may be sequestered somewhere else and charge a fortune for his/her autograph!) You think Joe Manganiello (Alcide from "True Blood") looks good on TV? Imagine seeing him up close and personal. Oh yeah! Just keep checking the website to see who's been added. It's a crazy weekend and you certainly don't want to be without your camera.

This is definitely not a writers' convention (or a romance one, either), but you can learn a lot in the Writers Track (which has been sponsored by Belle Books in the past) and maybe even meet an editor or two. And while I do spend a lot of time there, it's not the only reason I attend. I am a fan, too! I just don't dress the part.

TIRED, MUCH?

Yeah, my first time to Dragon*Con (in 2010) was scary as hell, but then again, it was my second convention ever (having gone to the Romantic Times Convention earlier that year.) I probably never would have survived without my daughter helping me (she's attended the last ten conventions.) 

But after that first trip, I was hooked.  ~Stacy

Stacy McKitrick writes Paranormal Romance.
You can find her online at http://www.stacymckitrick.com/index.php

Donna Hatch, meet the author

I write because it's a good explanation for the voices I hear in my head all the time! They say writing is just a form of socially-accepted schizophrenia and I firmly believe that. And so do I. But I digress.

Ahem. I've had a passion for writing since I was about 8 when I wrote I first short story. During my sophomore year in high school, I wrote my first full-length novel, a science fiction romance. (I should burn that, it was so bad!) I wrote my second novel, a fantasy romance, during my senior year, which, many years and at least a hundred revisions later, finally got published.