Romancing the Genres: Vermont

Showing posts with label Vermont. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 15, 2022

Reading, Reading, Reading ... Holiday Stories ... by Delsora Lowe

‘Tis the Season—

Time to read holiday stories, watch holiday movies, and get in the mood for holiday cooking, present wrapping, cutting down the perfect tree, hanging lights, colorful bulbs, and nostalgic ornaments, decorating the front door with a wreath, delivering fresh baked cookies to neighbors and co-workers, or whatever holidays and holiday traditions your family practices.

For those who know me well, you know it ‘tis also the season to marathon watch holiday movies and read seasonal books.

Exciting for me is to introduce my two holiday books released this season. But I also want to share the holiday books that are either read, with some on preorder or waiting to be read on my e-reader. This is not geared as a recommendation blog, but to share with you the titles and covers that drew me in enough to purchase and read. I, of course, looked up my favorite authors and grabbed their holiday books, but I also found many new-to-me authors.

So here goes, in no special order—my reads for 2022.

2022 Holiday Reads

Christmas Reunion (Christmas in Angels Glen) by Sue Ward Drake (Oct 2022)

A sweet reunion, second chance at love, enemies to lovers, holiday romance. Stranded in a blizzard together, as adults the two get to know each other again. A stand alone novella that is part of a 3-book series.

The Fireman's Christmas Wish (The Lange Brothers, Book 3) by Nan Reinhardt (Oct 2022)

Setting out to help an old friend get over his dislike of the holidays, she has her work cut out for her. The two end up on an adventure that includes getting to know each other better and finally recognizing what they had each missed over the years.

The Baker’s Heart (A Balsam Grove Christmas Book 1) by Marianne Rice (Oct 2022)

Professional enemies become partners and more in a sweet tale of finding what was missing in life and finding each other during the holidays.

Holiday Heart Wishes by Lucinda Rice (2021)

Caught in a storm, the two meet when one rescues the other. A surprise brings them together to spend Christmas week together.

Christmas Town Bake-off: A 7-book Connected Holiday Romance Collection (Oct 2022) by Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb, Beth Carpenter, Cheryl Harper, LeAnne Bristow, Tanya Agler

Another annual Christmas town anthology with the familiar setting and some repeat town characters, plus a magical gazebo. Love these collections that I have read over the years.

Charming a Fairytale Cowboy by Katie Lane (Aug 2022)

A fairytale, fake romance with a delicious cowboy. He doesn’t know what he has gotten into when he makes a trip from the big city to a small town and meets his Cinderella. A fun book about two trying to pass off a fake relationship to the heroine’s family. Not easy with all her big brothers watching over her.

If You Believe in Love by Luanna Stewart (Nov 2022)

Sparks fly immediately when two are caught in a blizzard, alone in an inn with only the chef who shows up for meals. But peace and quiet of enjoying the snow, and pitching in to run the deserted inn during the week before Christmas doesn’t last long, when a cast of disruptive characters descend to share holiday cheer!

The Bells of St. Dickens: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance (A Dicken’s Holiday Romance, Book 10) by Judy Kentrus (Oct 2022)

A second chance at love, as two join together to repair the town’s old church bells in an historic landmark. Throw in Mrs. Claus, the Grinch, adorable children, and lots of holiday fudge, and you can’t help but have a sweet holiday romance.

Snow Place Like Holly Pointe by Cindy Kirk (Dec 2022)

Two friends from childhood meet up after many years. Some things have changed. Some things have not. But overcoming adversity with someone in your court is foreign to both. Finding a true partner is an unexpected and cherished holiday gift for old friends. And experiencing the true meaning of an involved and caring small town whose residents, after being tested, still know how to open their hearts for common good lead to happy endings all around.

Rocking the Cowboy’s Christmas (Rowdy Ranch Book 4) by Vicki Lewis Thompson (Nov 2022)

Love at first sight. Add in a cute baby who meets Santa for the first time, a romantic sleigh ride, loving, but meddling families, and two people finding themselves as they work through basing a relationship on barely knowing each other, and you have a fun ride of a holiday love story.

Seabreeze Christmas (Summer Beach Book 4) by Jan Moran

A lovely second-chance at building a new life, resurrecting a business, reconnecting with family, and finding new love. Add in an involved and sometimes interfering town of wonderful characters, a hint of a magical, Christmas fantasy, and this book will warm your heart and vault you into the holiday spirit.

Have you read holiday books yet? If so, let us know which ones you enjoyed!

VISIT RTG AGAIN: Tuesday, December 20 for the rest of my holiday reading list! I have an even longer list. Now I better get back to my reading!

MY 2022 HOLIDAY BOOKS

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

Holiday Hitchhiker

Here's The Link

~ 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/

Book Covers: Attributed to each author.

Tuesday, October 18, 2022

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.

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

Monday, September 19, 2022

Lob-sta and the Annual Family Picnic: A Look Back at Summer ... Delsora Lowe

I would classify our annual lobster bake as a family picnic.

Every July, my daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons leave Denver to descend on Maine. They coordinate the trip with my daughter’s best friend from high school and her family, who now live in Atlanta.

The fun begins.

Boat rides and kayaking off Bailey and Orr’s Island. Checking out our favorite- and some brand-new restaurants, zeroing in on seafood. But the highlight of the week is the “family” picnic, which includes high school friends, as well as their children and parents who still live in the area. We all bring salads, desserts, and hors d’oeuvres. Then we steam lobster in big pots over a fire outside, plus grill for those who don’t like—shaking my head, because who could say NO to
—lobster.

The entire event is a mini-reunion every summer. And, in essence, aside from the “rivalry” between graduates of two area high schools, one big family picnic.

But the true joy to me, is the entire week leading up to the grand finale of the lobster bake. My daughter and friend have been “besties” for over thirty-five years. The two were either at my house or her friend’s house all through high school. They were in each other’s weddings. Their children are similar ages, and despite living in different states, they see each other often, and spend the week in Maine glued to each other. Both ended up marrying two wonderful men they met at a college reunion, who are also best friends, having met at the same college.

So, for me, my daughter’s friend is like my second daughter and her husband is like my newest son-in-law. I’m lucky to have a wonderful son-in-law, and his bestie college friend, who always treats me like family.

This year, with a rental cottage right on the ocean, the views are spectacular, with plenty of kayaks, sailboats, and motor boats, plus seals, ducks, seagulls, and we suspect, from following the shark app, an occasional Great White who have been invading our coastal waters as they have warmed substantially.

Ocean winds, cloud formations, the slant of the sun, and the rise and fall of tides ensures the view continually changes. Add the beautiful day lilies, cornflowers, and beach roses with the rosy-orange rose hips ripening into fall, the setting is ideal for a summer vacation.

So, on a scorching summer July evening, being on the water with breezes and temps ten-degrees cooler than the middle of town, fifteen miles away, we enjoyed a wonderful “family” reunion, with plenty of chatter, eating, and excitement at the end.

The sun dipped in a fiery orange ball and bounced off equally tangerine-colored clouds. The woman next door flew a rainbow-colored, box-kite for her young son. The tide moved in, causing waves to lap against the rocks in front of the cottage and surge through the opening under the bridge.

And within seconds a mass of seagulls stormed the shoreline, squawking and swooping in from every direction to pluck the remains of the lobster shells from the rocks where we set out their buffet.

Memories abound and will be forever stored in the treasure chest of favorite occasions in the farthest reaches of our brains. Here’s to another great summer. Already looking forward to next year’s “family” picnic.

What kind of Summer fun did you have? Or are you looking ahead to Fall fun?

The Inn on Gooseneck Lane

Preorder now for October 17, 2022

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

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.

Social Media Links:
Author website
Facebook Author page
Amazon Author page
Books2Read Author page
BookBub Author Page
Goodreads Author Page
Instagram

Photo Credits: Delsora Lowe

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Adventures in Travel... by Delsora Lowe

I had planned on telling the story of when I was ten, and my father was assigned to work in Taiwan for the Agency for International Development in the early sixties. After flying to San Francisco, we had a few days to explore the city, driving up and down steep hills in a convertible, with my mom in a panic 😊. Then we landed in Hawaii where they put fragrant leis over our shoulders. I don’t remember much, except the perfumed air on the breezes and the incredible fresh fruit.

When we landed in Taipei, and watched as a red carpet was rolled out to meet the plane, we found out we were the first jet to land at the airport. We walked the red carpet to cheering dignitaries from the city and the country.

Unfortunately, this story doesn’t make a great blog, because that is all I remember. Except as an adult, it is my claim to fame to declare I once walked the red carpet. 😊

So instead, my blog will be about my life’s journey in the book I most recently edited, The Inn on Gooseneck Lane. I realized how much of myself I put into the book. Just snippets of my life at various stages, that added detail to various scenes.

My hero, Brad, is an outdoor adventure leader, who has settled down in his small Vermont hometown, to help his mom recover from breast cancer surgery. He’s bought a sporting goods store. And ends up helping the local inn owner with a cross-country ski week for the over-fifty crowd. In this one paragraph description, there are many areas that have touched my life.

Photo taken by Nancy Vosburgh-Zane

My mom, who just turned 94, has had two bouts with breast cancer, but all ended well both times. Both my son and I went to college in Vermont. My niece recently attended college in Vermont. On the return trip home after visiting her, is when I thought up the bare bones of this book, as I drove along a gurgling creek running down a mountain. And when I passed a tiny lane with a bridge going over the roaring creek named Gooseneck Lane, I knew I had a story. In my head I plotted the story all the way home to Maine.

The gurgling, mountainside creek reminded me of years earlier when I visited Vermont, and stumbled on a sweet, small, artsy town, with inns and bed and breakfasts. A town that made it’s living supporting artisans and outdoor adventure activities.

My work at an environmental college has included working with adventure therapy students. One who helped train a seeing-eye dog, her dog being the first to take part in the new college program. So that dog spent many hours sitting in our office, learning to concentrate on her handler and ignore all that was going on around her—what a sweet pup.

Yaz - my grandson's dog

And lastly, I worked at L.L. Bean as a retail store cashier where I spent many hours in the camping and boating / biking departments.

So many of my life’s “travels” found their way into this book.

· Wine tasting, paired dinners and weddings, which I organized at an inn in Maine when I was the dining manager.

· Numerous other events that I planned for schools and non-profits, where I traveled all over the country to host the events.

· Memories of visiting my grandmother in a small town in New York, including her antique teacart that now sits in my mom’s apartment, her Waldorf salad which was one of my grandmother’s favorite things to make, and her gardens full of rhubarb (and the basement full of rhubarb and dandelion wine.)

· My own outdoor employee adventures of kayaking (ocean and mountain lakes and river rapids), archery, a shotgun shoot, winter camping and cross-country skiing, to name a few. All the experiences that gave me a better understanding when helping customers in the retail store in Maine and assisting on the grand opening of the first store out of state in Virginia, where I put in a week’s work in three days.

· Wine-tasting trips in Sonoma County in California, where I also planned an alumni event.

· The famous Maine ice storm, where I was one of the lucky ones and only lost power for less than a day. But I was alone, fending for myself, knowing a huge oak tree limb had just crashed to the ground inches form my kitchen window. I could have used the help of my hero, for sure.

· The trauma of loving and losing a high-school sweetheart. And then finding him again.

· And the painted fiberglass cow art—yes, a true story and a sight to behold in small-town Vermont where I traveled to a friend’s wedding. (See below for fun link to painted cows)

All these adventures and artifacts from my life found their way into The Inn on Gooseneck Lane, a fact I didn’t realize until I revisited and revised this book over a year after I wrote it.

So, my question to you - What shows up in or repeats itself in your life, years after a physical or personal journey? I’d love to hear your stories.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet 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.