This
month’s theme for Romancing The Genres is the worst shopping trip ever. Since
I'm not much of a shopper, and I absolutely adore shopping online, I decided to
share my worst vacation ever.
When
our children were young back in the late 80s, four and seven, we had friends
with kids that were the same age. They invited us to their cabin on a private
lake. We were excited and left early on a Saturday morning for a three-day
weekend. It was about an hour from our home. We parked and hiked in about half
a mile, arriving midmorning, then began unpacking. The kids were crazy excited
and raced into the bedroom to play.
Not
five minutes later, a howl came from the bedroom. I raced in to find our
four-year-old had jammed his knee into his eye. It was quickly swelling, and
turning purple and black. Fortunately, it wasn't serious enough for an ER visit.
After a few hugs and kisses, he was back on track and playing with the rest of
the kids.
We
finished unpacking and went out for a hike. In my memory, the hill we climbed
was almost vertical, but in retrospect, I doubt it was really much of a hill. We
hiked to the top, then started back down. We’d barely gone fifty feet when our
youngest tripped and fell, rolling down the hill before we could grab him. He
came up covered in scratches and blood, but again, nothing serious enough for
an ER visit. We cleaned him up, put on Band-Aids where needed, and he was off playing
again.
We
had dinner and everyone was exhausted, so we headed to bed early. I’d been
asleep about an hour when I suddenly had to rush out to the outhouse with the
worst case of diarrhea I'd ever experienced. I came out to find our oldest son
with the same issues. We spent the night in and out of the outhouse. By morning
I was exhausted and ready to go home, even though we’d planed on staying
another day.
We began packing and our friends offered to let the boys stay with them, but
my husband and I felt like we wanted everybody home as we weren't sure what
catastrophe would happen in our absence.
This
was one of those vacations where you never want to repeat it, but at the same
time, it becomes something we laugh about on a regular basis. These are the
memories I use when I'm writing to bring humor into my stories. I feel it’s essential
since I tend to deal with heavier topics.
In
my first book, Falling
For You…Again the couple lost their 14-year-old daughter in a boating
accident two years before the book began. I interspersed humor in that story
often to deal with the heavier topics.
In
my latest book, Falling
in Love With Her, book 5 in The Murphy Clan—Falling
in Love Series, I used humor throughout the book as my heroine, Ingie
Pulaski, was abandoned by her mother at a young age. This meant she had heavy
issues to contend with, so I used levity to soften her pain. I also had the Trench
Coat Brigade on hand to add humorous moments to the book. What you'll find in
almost all of my books is a serious topic infused with laughter to provides heartwarming
prose and a happily-ever-after that will leaves the reader smiling and happy at
the end of the book.
Do
you like humor your books?
Falling
in Love With Her is available now.
A LEFT AT THE ALTAR, FRIENDS TO LOVERS, BROTHER’S BEST FRIEND,
AFRAID TO COMMIT, DESTINED TO BE TOGETHER, ROMANTIC MYSTERY NOT TO BE MISSED!
Ingie
Love, marriage, and a family aren’t in the cards for me after my fiancĂ© left me at the altar. I was so certain he loved me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. My mother’s words haunt me. “She’s an ugly duckling. She’ll never attract a man. A husband and family aren’t in her future.” Instead of dwelling on the past, I focus on running Three Rivers Fly Shop and Boat Repair, the legacy from my father.
Two years later, Ian Callahan, my brother’s best friend and my childhood heartthrob, returns home. Certain he’ll never see the swan lurking beneath the ugly duckling, the same as when we were teenagers, I protect my heart by insisting on a friends with benefits relationship. The fact is, I don’t need love. I have my work, a persnickety, one-eyed cat, and keeping the Trench Coat Brigade in line—a wacky group of seniors with a penchant for meddling, matchmaking, and mystery-solving.
Ian
After my last relationship crashed and burned, I left my job as an arson investigator and firefighter in Seattle to return home. Ready to settle down, my hometown is the only place I want to put down roots. And the only woman I want to make a life with is Ingie Pulaski. She’s smart, sassy, and fearless, but she wants a causal relationship
When a building is torched and a body is found, I find myself keeping tabs on the Trench Coat Brigade to ensure they stay out of trouble. But there’s an added benefit to that assignment—I’m spending a lot more time with Ingie. And I’m making it my mission to show her there’s more to our relationship than friends with benefits.
Ingie
I’ve been looking for love in all the wrong places until I meet up with Ian again. Now I have to conquer my deepest fear—abandonment—or lose the only man who loves me just the way I am.
Order your copy now because men like Ian are one of a kind!
Buy here: https://www.
Thank you so much for stopping by
today. I think finding humor is vital, and I hope you'll stay in touch and follow me @
