Gratiude is an Attitude

By: Marcia King-Gamble 

www.lovemarcia.com

In an effort to be totally transparent, much of what I have written is from my November newsletter, and all of it I believe to be true. Gratitude is indeed an atitude and should not be something we only practice in November. It should be a lifestyle that prevails. 

So why is November the only month dedicated to “Thanks? ” Be that as it may,  I am using this month  to say “Thank You,” especially to those who have supported me throughout my writing career. To those wonderful, loyal readers - the ones who have bought my books, read, and  reviewed them, I owe you a great big "Thank You." 

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, being grateful is even more important especially considering  all we've been through.  If we're still standing, we should be thankful to have survived a pandemic. We have a vaccine now and many of us are  mask free. We've survived a toxic mid-term election. And for those of us who are unemployed, there are at  least jobs to be had. 

So, whether hosting friends, or traveling to see family,  remember before taking the first bite this season  to say a grateful "Thank you,"  and remember to count your blessings.

 

This brings me to a training class I recently took. The instructor began the class by reminding us to say our 5/5/20's  each day. 

What that breaks down to is repeating 5 things to be grateful for.  Then setting 5 goals for the day and doing 20 repetitions. Those could be 20 sit-ups, 20 steps, or maybe just twenty squats. Homebound? Try twenty shrugs.  

It’s so easy to think of everything that could go wrong and get caught up in negativity. We're alive, and hopefully, healthy, happy ( being a state of mind), and relatively fortunate, all things considering. None of any of this is ever guaranteed. Health being the most important. As someone once said to me, without health you have nothing. So very true. 

My wish for you this Thanksgiving, is an abundance of  food on the table, good friends and family to enjoy it with,  and a general attitude of gratitude.

Wishing you and yours a Happy Gobble, Gobble!  Be thankful that your blessings are bigger than your problems.

About Marcia King-Gamble

USA bestselling romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This former travel industry executive has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. She has contributed to Michael Fiore’s DigitalRomanceInc and served as a moderator on the now defunct eHarmony advice boards.  Having witnessed the bad, the ugly, and the not so good in relationships, she still prefers to write about happily ever after. Caring for her animal family keeps her grounded and sane.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

Be sure to join her newsletter mailing list.

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Hope is a Funny Word

By Diana McCollum

This month is Thanksgiving. I wanted to recycle this blog as it is appropriate to giving thanks. 

Don't  ever give up. Always hope. I hope for a united country, less homelessness, cures for cancer, and other diseases, no hunger in the world., and an end to war, especially in Ukraine.  Some are lofty wishes/hopes but maybe someday. . .

Hope is a sad word to some, as in “I hope I recover from cancer.” The outcome of treatment is not a guarantee of a cure.

“I hope the tornado does not hit our house.” This is hopefulness the weather does not take a turn towards the house.

Copyright : Olga Lyubkin

We can hope for ourselves, our family, our country or the world. Hope can be felt with confidence, expectation, optimism, anticipation, faith and courage.

At one time or another we have all experienced some form of “Hope”. I know I’ve experienced all of the above various feelings of hope.

I’ve lost hope, too. When my Father was dying from cancer I hoped with all my heart and prayers that by some miracle he would be saved. It wasn’t to be. When I arrived at my parents’ house two days before my Dad expired, I went into the bedroom where he lay on a hospital bed provided by Hospice. He looked like he was sleeping. I knelt down on the floor and brushed his forehead with my fingertips. Dad opened his weary eyes and said, “Di, you’re here.” He closed his eyes, and hope fled from my heart.

Those were the last words my father spoke to me.

I try to be optimistic and look at the bright side of life.  I was hopeful I’d get a book published and I did, along with Sister Sarah and Judith. But along with hope were perseverance, dedication and co-operation to make it happen.

Glacier Park picture by Diana McCollum

I hoped my husband and I could go on a long vacation. We had not been on one in three years, and we did! Visiting Montana, Idaho WA and British Columbia, again, it took planning and confidence and anticipation to pull it off. Husband has severe back problems so we had to plan to only drive 3 to 4 hours a day. I 

had to ask my Sister Sarah to leave her husband and stay with our 89 year old Mom so she wouldn’t be alone while we were gone. I had to withdraw money from my IRA. Everything came together and our hope of a vacation became a reality.

Copyright : Marek Uliasz

So my conclusion on HOPE is you can hope for something all you want, sit back and it may or may not materialize. 

Or you can HOPE for something with confidence, optimism courage, faith and participation. One still may not get what they hope for, but wouldn’t you rather be “doing” than “sitting”?

What do you hope for?

Gratitude for Writing Groups by Lynn Lovegreen

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it focuses on family, food, and gratitude. What can be better than that?  I am thankful for many things in my life, including my family, my friends, and my home. Today, I’m going to write about something else I am grateful for: my writing groups.

 

I belong to several writing groups, including 49 Writers, the Alaska Writers Guild, RWA (Romance Writers of America), SCBWI (the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators), Rainbow Romance Writers, and local chapters AKRWA and SCBWI-AK. (Full disclosure: I’ve been active in RWA’s reformation toward a more inclusive writing community, and I am the President of AKRWA.) I also take advantage of programs offered by other writing groups; for example, I recently became a finalist in the Hearts Through History Romance Writers “Romance Through the Ages” contest, where I got great feedback on my chapter. (Thanks to HHRW!) 

Writing groups give many benefits to writers. They provide information about the craft and business of writing. They offer programs such as contests, webinars, and conferences. Many host critique groups, which in my experience is one of the best ways writers can enhance their writing process and improve their writing. And I am thankful for the camaraderie—I love to hang out with other people who have characters running around in their heads and understand the highs and lows of the writing life.

 

The Romance Writers of America is having a membership drive until December 21st. If you are referred by a member, you get a $25 discount for joining or rejoining. Learn more about RWA at https://www.rwa.org/referral. Let me know if you’re interested, and I can give you my membership number to give you a referral.

 

Whether you’re just starting out on your writing journey, or you’ve been on the path for years, I encourage you to create your own writing community. Find a writing group that supports you, and you’ll have much to be grateful for.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving - The Forgotten Holiday

 

A big bird, family and football, not necessarily in that order, that’s what Thanksgiving means to most Americans. We debate different styles of cranberry sauce, bemoan the way the Christmas shopping season begins earlier every year and celebrate new births and family accomplishments. And we solemnly swear that the day’s calories don’t really count. 

Things are different with my family. I reach for the flowers, and let myself remember loosing Craig Houston Jr. My nephew. Long ago someone taught me to preserve flowers by hanging them upside down to dry. That way the petals stay connected. I can’t be happy about Thanksgiving Day. But I never want to forget the six-foot gentle giant everyone called Little Man.

 

He would have been fourty this year.  Craig Junior was a parent’s dream. Little Man was actually a big bear of a man, just as he had been a big cub of a boy. At 6 foot 6 inches, he was only two inches shorter, and a few pounds lighter than his father, Craig Sr. Smart and kind. Too big for anyone to pick on and too jolly for anyone to fear.  And patient enough to babysit my rambunctious child.

He was the guy people called on when they needed help with their car or a kid’s broken toy. He always grinned and waved you away when you tried to pay him. After graduating high school he decided against college and struck out on his own. Then in 2001 he chose to return to school and became a twenty-one-year-old college freshman. We were all so proud. Until Thanksgiving Day, 2002. Family gathered close. Little Man wanted to have his new girlfriend close, too.

That’s how the argument began. Craig Sr. didn’t want some stranger his son had only known a few weeks at his table. An old-fashioned issue that should have been nothing but escalated into some Shakespearian tragedy. So, on Thankgiving Day, 2002, the passion of youth sent Little Man tearing out of his home, away from his father. That fury probably left both their blood-pressures soaring. It also made him forget the one thing he always carried with him.  

As strong and lively as he was, Little Man dealth with asthma his entire life.  He never left home without his medication. But this time, the family argument made his rush off without it. The argument likely also set the seeds for the attack that hit him later that evening while he spent the holiday with his girlfriend. Family and close friends knew what to do if he suffered an attack. But this girl and her family were unprepared when he collapsed.

That probably made no difference, according to the ambulance crew who brought Craig to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. The massive asthma attack completely closed Craig’s airway and he died quickly. The news did not help his mother, my sister. She literally aged twenty years in as many minutes, until she looked more like my mother's twin. 

 

My sister has recovered, at least outwardly. Time doesn’t really heal all wounds, but the sharp pain has faded into a dull ache over the years.  Last year her oldest grandaughter graduaed from college, she had to be happy about that.  Still, my sister cannot spend Thanksgiving week anywhere near home. We vanishes for a week or so. We all know and understand and wait for her return.

 
Once she is back, we have our own celebration. We pull out pictures and remember all the lives Little Man touched and everything he accomplished in his life. We handle the flowers from his memorial service, flowers so carefully preserved they may last longer than we do. And I remember to cherish the people in my family, because you just never know…

THINGS THAT GO BUMP…AND THUMP…IN THE NIGHT ... by Delsora Lowe

What me worry? All the time!

But what do I do with that worry that “bumps” me in the middle of the night? I usually read a ton of books at that wicked worry hour.

My books in good company at Sherman's Books

Obviously, scary stories are out - even in October. As an author, I have many author friends and I try to support them by reading their books. But scary books will keep me up at night, even if it’s a romance. Romance has many genre types from sweet to spicey, and includes the scarier ones, such as romantic mystery, suspense, paranormal, and thriller. The one requirement for a book to be classified as a romance is that it has a HAPPILY-EVER-AFTER ending. How the author reaches that magical ending is an open path.

Still, I do want to read some of those scarier books, only because I know the words the author writes will inspire me, even if the topic may alarm me. I still learn. So those books I read during daylight.

The other thing that keeps me awake is what a good writer friend calls her monkey mind—the one that chatters all night long about every worry that we try to slough off during the day. And when my worries are buried all day, so I can actually get other things done—well, you know what happens. I am usually wide awake with thoughts whirring through my mind. Getting back to sleep might not happen for hours. Instead, I stare out the window. Or step to the deck and take photos under the full moon. Or with the streetlight making its own magical reflections in the rain.

Rain Drops That Look Like Diamonds Under the Street Light

Hide and Seek with the Moon

So, when my mind spins in various directions, and refuses to quiet, no matter how many Belted Galway cows I count, I tend to get up, boot up the computer, and write. For many of my books, I have added extra chapters during those post, midnight magical hours.

Not only worries keep me awake, but once in a while a nightmare might intrude. And then the imagination spins in a totally wrong and scary direction. Since I am a writer of romance with no scary stuff involved, thinking about story does help. And getting up, brewing a relaxing herbal tea, and getting lost in my latest work in progress, settles me.

I can choose to be productive, when my mind is on overload…or I can turn on the reruns of the Golden Girls, seen at least a million times. Directing worry and thumps in the night into a creative endeavor is both soothing and fruitful. But…a good laugh from a sitcom works too.

Dan Zadra Quote

What do you do to ward off those things that go BUMP/THUMP/BANG in the night?

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane

Amazon

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane - Kindle edition by Lowe, Delsora. Literature & Fiction Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

Barnes & Noble

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane by Delsora Lowe | NOOK Book (eBook) | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)

Apple Books

                 The Inn on Gooseneck Lane on Apple Books

 

~ 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. Look for both a Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) later this fall.

 

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/

PHOTO CREDITS:

Author Photos and CANVA design

DanZadraQuote_Goodreads

Celebrating the Seasons Reading Holiday Romances … Delsora Lowe

We celebrate many sacred holidays in December…among them Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Thanksgiving is over. And New Year’s Eve is ahead of us. I am sure I have missed many sacred celebrations. But since this is not what my blog is about this month, I’ll not give you a rundown.

Instead, I have given you another list of holiday books I have read this season, or plan to continue to read in December and into the new year. And this list doesn't include the holiday books on my WISH LIST! Yes, I do love holiday-themed books

As stated in last month’s list, the books mentioned below are not listed as recommendations, but as books I read, that are written by authors I know, new authors whom I wished to try, as well as covers and titles that caught my eye. Exploring holidays that I know little about has been a fun, learning experience, especially when seen through the lens of romance.

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday, no matter what or how you celebrate.

Feel free to leave your own suggestions, in the comments,
about holiday romance books
you enjoy at this time of the year!

THE LIST of BOOKS I READ

Thanksgiving (Oct 2009) – Janet Evanovich

A fun family romp over Thanksgiving, after two meet in a most unconventional way. Throw in a wool-eating rabbit, an “abandoned” baby, two cars destined for the junk yard, a self-absorbed fiancé who jilted the heroine, insecurities, lust, love, a pregnant horse, interfering moms, and the charm of Williamsburg and you have a recipe for a holiday Rom Com.

No Ordinary Christmas (Sept 2021) – Belle Calhoune

An unexpected, and not necessarily welcome, Christmas reunion. Old love, new sparks fanning the embers remaining from lost love, and a little help from the small-town busybodies. Will the spirit of the season bring the two back together?

Eight Nights of Apricot Cookies (Nov 2021) – Roni Denholtz

As Erica cleans out her grandmother's home, she searches for her favorite holiday apricot cookie recipe. With a little help from the neighbor, who also adored her grandmother and loved the same cookies, they start on a quest to find the recipe before the end of 8 days of Hanukkah. And a recipe at the end of the book!

From This Moment (Nov 2021) – Melody Grace

Friends to lovers on the rebound. Can a self-proclaimed bachelor and man-about-town allow himself to find true love? And will his best friend trust him enough to let him get close?

Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles (Nov 2021) – Maria Imblazano

Fired and at a loss, Bella returns home only to find her parents need help in their shop over the holiday season. She's thrown together with her high school crush—the one who both betrayed her and motivated her as a teen—to help save the business, as she works to save her career. A fun journey through the world of retail during the holidays. And a recipe at the end of the book!

A Sailor’s Perfect Christmas (Nov 2021) – Dari Laroche

As Alex takes over his father's marine salvage business, he is tasked to plan a holiday company party. When he meets the perfect woman, whose job in education allows her time off during the holidays, she pitches in. Spending quality time together leads to a holiday romance.

If Snowflakes Were Forever: A MacLeod's Cove Novella (Dec 2021) – Luanna Stewart

A delightful and fun romp of a story about two characters, each in isolation, on a journey of discovery about their own lives. Until their worlds collide and they find the journey may be more interesting together.

Let It Snow (Oct 2019) – Nancy Thayer

A story of friendships, work buddies, and finding love, new friends, and forgiveness at Christmas, amidst the lovely scenery of island life on Nantucket.

Kwanzaa Angel (July 2012) – Shirley Hailstock

The nightmare from her high school years is back in town, and he keeps showing up at every town Kwanzaa celebration. The chemistry is hot. She’s a successful business woman looking to expand, but he betrays her a second time – this time through his own business dealings. Can they find a way to make their growing love work this time before he heads home after the week of Kwanzaa celebrations?

Christmas in the Duke’s Arms (Dec 2021) – Julie Johnstone

An unrequited love and a marriage of convenience merge into a lovely romance between two who are so different and wary of the other. But each brings out the best in the other and love wins out!

Yours ‘Til Midnight: A Kwanzaa Kisses Holiday (Book ONE of 9 books by different authors released individually during December 2021) – Jailaa West

A very spicey, Cinderella quick read, where the hero is left with no clues to follow in order to find the woman he falls in love with, at first sight.

Caught Up in Candy Cane Kisses (Dec 2021) – Shannon Robinson

A second chance at love with the help of a few matchmakers and a cookie baking / fundraiser contest. And a recipe at the end of the book!

Scoring Over the Holidays: A Holiday Sports Anthology (Dec 2021) – Sierra Hall, Alexia Chase, Alexis
Anne, Cathryn Fox, Daniela Romero, Kimberly Readnour, Lisa Lang Blakeney, Megan Ryder, Melissa Ivers, Mira Lyn Kelly

Holiday stories featuring sports stars. The stories run from hot to sweet.

One Christmas Wish (Oct 2021) – Brenda Jackson

Two people, both heartbroken for different reasons, find someone who listens and shares. But both are off-limits for different reasons. Heartwarming tale of loss and finding second chances through trust and love.

It’s Christmas Cowboy (The Sons of Chance) (Nov 2021) – Vicki Lewis Thompson

A quick read of second chances and unrequited love that brings two together to celebrate Christmas Eve after being stranded in a cozy cabin during a blizzard.

Kisses and Lemon Snowflake Cookies (Christmas Cookies) (Dec 2021) - N. Jade Gray

A self-conscious out-of-towner, helps her aunt in her bakery and meets the Mr. July fireman of the fundraiser calendar fame, who also doesn’t have much confidence when it comes to women, in the cute holiday match-maker story. It helps that said fireman loves lemon snowflake cookies. And a recipe at the end of the book!

Sleigh Bells Ring (Oct 2021) – RaeAnne Thayne

Childhood friends reconnect to find true love, as one family is ready to move on from the ranch owned by
their recently deceased grandfather, while the other is invested in a property she has no hold on. Against all odds, can they make true love work?

Kwanzaa ‘Pon a Time (Nov 2021) – Marcia King-Gamble

Meeting her brother’s best friend, from their service in Afghanistan, pushes every button the heroine thought true. But stuck together over the Christmas holiday, as maid of honor and best man for her brother’s Kwanzaa wedding, she soon finds the truth and true love.

The Christmas Escape (Oct 2021) – Sarah Morgan

A multi-layered journey about relationships: childhood best friends, marriage, career choices, all in the spectacular settings of London, the British countryside, and the remote Lapland in Scandinavia.

TOO MANY BOOKS, TOO LITTLE TIME: BOOKS I PLAN to READ

A Cowboy’s Christmas (The McGavin Brothers, Book 6) (Nov 2017) – Vicki Lewis Thompson

Duke the Halls (Nov 2021) – anthology with Christi Caldwell, Jennifer Ashley, Anna Bradley, Grace Burrowes, Kerrigan Byrne. Tanya Anne Crosby. (Six historical stories about love during the holidays.)

A Sweetwater Canyon Holiday Trio (Dec 2017) – Maggie Lynch

Christmas Holiday House (Oct 2020) – RaeAnne Thayne

Candleglow and Mistletoe (Oct 2016) – Josie Riviera

Tis The Season for Romance (Nov 2021) - Diana Dawn, Susan Horsnell, Josie Johnston, Mary Morano, J. F. Lowe, A. M. Olenick, Andra Dill, Jakki Frances

The Christmas Boutique (Oct 2019) – Jennifer Chiaverini

One More Christmas (Dec 2020) – Sarah Morgan 

Mischief Under the Mistletoe (Oct 2021) – Stephanie Rowe

Christmas on Peachtree Lane (Nov 2020) – Jules Bennett

New Year’s Miracle: A Sweet Stonewater Novella - Book 4 (Nov 2021) – Ginny Frost

There’s Only One Holiday at Christmas (Collection 2018, 2019, 2020) – Jackie Lau

Dear Santa, I Really Tried: A Holiday Anthology from Naughty to Nice (Nov 2021) – Kathryn Shay, Lisa Mondello, Patricia McLinn, Barbara McMahon, Chantel Rondeau, KT Pec, Day LeClaire

A Cowboy’s Christmas (The McGavin Brothers, Book 6) (Nov 2017) – Vicki Lewis Thompson

The Doctor's Instant Family (Oct 2018) – Mindy Neff

Gifts of Love (two stories) (Oct 2009) – Lisa Kleypas and Kay Hooper 

 Come Dance With Me

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Come-Dance-Me-Serenity-Starlight-ebook/dp/B074N95RGK/

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/bMrQva

ALSO – check out Woman’s World 5-minute Romance Holiday – a digest of 40 holiday shorts – I have a Thanksgiving story and a Valentine’s Day story (on stands until Feb 7, 2022)

~ 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 novella, The Love Left Behind, released in October, 2020. She is currently editing her own holiday book, The Inn on Gooseneck Lane.

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/

Photo Credits:
Book covers from Amazon