Showing posts with label beaches. Show all posts
Showing posts with label beaches. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 18, 2023

Dreaming of Sun and Sand…OR…Silently Falling Snowflakes? … by Delsora Lowe

What a choice!

It’s July. And everyone who knows me, knows I love Hallmark and especially Christmas in July, where they run holiday movies all day long. Okay – full confession. By the time I get to the third week of July, I am pretty numb and holidayed-out. However, I still love to read holiday books while sunning by the ocean. And…I love writing holiday books.

As an author who has written three Christmas-themed romances and one that is Valentine-themed, when do I usually do most of that writing? You got it, during the warmer weather of spring and summer.

And many times, when I am working on books that take place in warmer weather, that writing takes place as the weather-gods open up the skies to that cold, white stuff.

The hero and heroine in Come Dance With Me, an interracial, intercultural story about a uptight high school English teacher who has trouble opening up to anything, much less love, are both based on actors I have seen on Hallmark.

As I wrote the hero, I had in mind an actor I saw on “Christmas in Homestead,” a Hallmark movie. Aaron also reminded me of a guy on whom I had a major crush in high school. I watched Aaron “Quick” Nelson when he played the role of a bodyguard to a well-known actress. His role was so sweet as he interacted with the innkeeper hero’s young daughter who loved the movies made by the actress. Plus, in real life Mr. Nelson is a New Englander, so…what’s not to like. I envisioned the actress being Autumn Reeser, a well-known Hallmark staple. And I searched high and low for the perfect cover photo of how I envisioned what these two characters might look like, as I wrote the story.

But I digress…

To address the question about whether I like snow better than sand, or vice versa is a tough question. I can be gazing at a blizzard outside my window and writing a hot, summer scene. That stream of fluffy and frozen, white stuff brightens the sky in its own way. The day is beautiful, cocooning, and comfortable, especially when I know I can stay inside with a cup of hot cocoa, and write, write, write. With a bit of a shiver, I imagine a cozy comforter, snuggled on the couch in front of a roaring fire.

As a writer, it is good to have an imagination, since I do not have a fireplace or a woodstove, so instead I have to crank the heat up and know I’ll be using more fuel to stay warm. I also know that were I to succumb to cuddling on the couch with a comforter wrapped around me, I’d doze off and not get any writing work done. Instead, I crank up the electric heater by my desk and crank up the fire under the kettle, and imagine myself in that sunny clime, as I finish tapping out a romantic, engagement, beach scene that could bring my beach-wandering couple to their inevitable happily-ever-after.

The warmth of the radiator takes my imagination away to a pristine white sand beach, sailboats, and the aqua blue ocean or bay gently lapping against the shore. A couple strolls, hand-in-hand. When the sun becomes too much, they run into the bathtub-warm water, splash around, and cool down before they continue their leisurely walk, picking up beautiful shells as they go.


And occasionally, they stop to turn toward one another for a sun-drenched kiss. And maybe, just maybe, the hero, pulls from his swim trunks pocket a shiny, glittering gemstone, attached to a ring. He slips to his knees in the packed sand and proposes. Okay, since I just had the hero taking a dip in the ocean, I better add that his swimsuit’s inside pocket has a zipper, so that precious engagement ring doesn’t float down and get buried in the murky depths of sea and sand. That would be a total downer for the couple. Or…it could create some tension in a scene that is supposed to be sweet. Hmmm…ideas percolate

See what happens when I crank the heat and imagine, in the middle of winter, sand and sky-blue water and dining outdoors and moored boats? 

The downside of being a fiction writer, the imagination can run wild at any given time. So, picking a snowy day snuggled by the fire, over a breezy, sunny day at the ocean…well, for me, it depends on the mood of the story I am writing, and not the actual season flashing its attributes outside my window. Because in the winter I dream of sand. And in the summer, I dream of sipping hot cocoa by a fire.

Do you have a favorite season?
Do you prefer snow over sand, or vice versa?

 

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

                 TheInn on Gooseneck Lane on Apple Books

Amazon

HolidayHitchhiker: A Sweet, Heartwarming Holiday Romance: Christmas in Angels Glen -Kindle edition by Lowe, Delsora. Contemporary Romance Kindle eBooks @Amazon.com

Books2Read

https://books2read.com/u/mez9AE

Amazon

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

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/bMrQva


~ 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/

Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Happy New Year, Spring – Seasons and Stories … Delsora Lowe

For some reason, for me, both spring and fall always seem like the start of a new year. The changing seasons equate to changes in our lives.

In my mind, summer seems to drift into fall, and winter seems to drift into spring. Like the tides, winter teases us by splashing up on the shores of spring. Just when we dip our toes at the edge of spring warmth, the tide surges. Cold rushes back in. We wait with anticipation for a quick retreat, so we can feel the warm sand between our toes and walk the beach without hugging ourselves against a strong cold wind.



Winter storms wreak havoc on the spring we hoped had finally arrived. Little green shoots, a symbol of rebirth and growth and new beginnings, end up covered in that cold, white fluff. And all our hopes are dashed, until the sun returns from behind storm clouds and gives us a taste of a resurrection of sorts.


This whole process reminds me of writing a story. As many of you know, writers are supposed to “torture” their characters. That means throwing challenges in the way of the both the hero and heroine, to make it harder for each to achieve dreams of falling in love. And achieving one by one the steps in between dreaming of love, finding the one person that may have potential to be the one, and then assuring that you are worthy of winning and keeping that love.

Think how boring stories would be if everyone was perfect and got along and achieved their dreams with no effort. Actually, as much as I hate conflict, I have to admit life, in general, would be boring if we didn’t have to challenge ourselves.

And the same would hold true if we had no change of season. No heat that gave away to beautiful, sunny, cool days and colorful leaves. No bare trees that gave us a clearer view on now vivid blue, fall into winter skies. No blanketing of that white stuff (that yes, we have to shovel,) but when it falls it brings with it a serene blanket to makes us feel cozy and warm (as long as the heat works or a fireplace is roaring.) No retreating of layers of snow and ice, to expose a brown lawn that will soon turn green and lush and sprout a few weedy, yellow dandelions to add new color to our world. No cool nights moving in on still warm, but not too hot, days.

Trees turning from a continuum of green to an array of colors: yellow, orange, red, purple. And then the winds pour in and rip the leaves from branches to scatter them about. The green lawns are covered in those leaves, which we rake into piles, and watch dogs run through them, or kids jump into them until they are covered in a soft blanket provided by nature. And just when the landscape is brown and boring, the snow returns to blanket us in pristine white.

Giving our characters, challenges, tests, reasons to second guess their view of the world, a need to ditch a plan and devise another to solve a problem—all those things make our characters and stories interesting. Just as the change of season both challenge us and give comfort, our characters, too, need challenges to make the reward at the end—LOVE— that much more precious.

So, looking at the change of season as part of the continuum that leads to a new year, keeps us on our toes, gives us new challenges, and brings new delight.

Happy New Year, Spring!

Disclaimer: this opinion piece is written from the point of view of someone who lives in the Northeast in the USA. And yes, I face challenges, in that in the dead of winter, I do wish I could travel to visit my friends in the south. And in the heat of summer, I wish I could cross the border and travel to the northern part of Canada. Here’s to embracing challenges and what we learn from them.

What is your favorite season?

 
The Legacy of Parkers Point

Starlight Grille ~ Book 1

Two lives, one legacy—the lure of Parkers Point

One Runs From …

Inheriting his grandfather’s estate on the rocky point in Serenity Harbor, Maine is the perfect escape from the biggest professional disaster of Grayson Mann’s life. Will distance and space help Gray heal old family and professional wounds enough to open his heart to love?

One Runs Toward …

Lauralee Adler struggles to save the family art gallery as she watches her aunt succumb to Alzheimer’s. Returning to the small coastal town is payment for the kindness that saved her life and soul. Now she’s on a quest to find her father. Will this trip home help her learn to trust and finally convince her she can truly belong for the first time in her life?

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Parkers-Point-Serenity-Starlight-ebook/dp/B0743NVCC6/

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/b6rQzx 

~ 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 new novella, The Love Left Behind, will release in late fall, 2020.

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:
New Year: new years eve clipart - Clip Art Library (clipart-library.com)
Beach: Free Images Of The Beach, Download Free Images Of The Beach png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)
Sun and Storm Clouds: Free Images Of The Beach, Download Free Images Of The Beach png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)
Change of Season: Free Four Seasons Cliparts, Download Free Four Seasons Cliparts png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)
Spring Fever: free clip art new spring - Google Search

Monday, June 4, 2018

My Summer Outing by Paty Jager

Maggie and I on the 1880's train

This week I’m headed to the Wild Deadwood Reads in Deadwood, SD with my niece-assistant. I attended the event last year and enjoy not only seeing Deadwood but the trip to and from the event. We stopped at the Little Big Horn Battlefield on the way to WDR and took a trip down through Wyoming to see one of my high school friends on the way back.

Like last year, this year, I will be taking a round-about way to get to and from Deadwood, so I can take in a historical site I wrote about in a book and to see the lay of the land where I have set a series.

Shoot re-enactment on the street in Deadwood

Spending time in Deadwood, I plan to see more of the local sites than I was able to last year. I want to see the Moriah Cemetery and the Adams House. Both places I missed last year.

My side trips this year are the memorial site where Chief Joseph surrendered to the Army in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana and checking out the area along the Northern Pacific Railroad in North Dakota, where my Silver Dollar Saloon series is set.


While seeing these sites are a part of checking off places I want to see, my fantasy vacation would be spent with my hubby or close friends (hubby isn’t as interested in this type of vacation as I am) on a tropical island with white sand, blue water, and warm weather. I’ve watched television shows and movies with the setting on a tropical island and I’d like to experience it once in my life. Hopefully, sooner rather than later so I can enjoy it.  I’d like to sleep in a hut with the flowing white cloth, walk on the sandy beach, and swim in the warm water. I’m not much for lying around unless I’m reading. A cute cabana boy to fetch me an iced tea or fruity drink would be nice as long as I don’t have to make conversation with him. And I don’t want a crowded beach. Just me and hubby or me and my friends.

It’s not too much to ask, right?

If you are going on a summer vacation, I hope you have a good time and enjoy the people you’re with or go to see!

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 32 novels, 6 novellas, and numerous anthologies of murder mystery and western romance. All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. This is what Mysteries Etc says about her Shandra Higheagle mystery series: “Mystery, romance, small town, and Native American heritage combine to make a compelling read.”
blog / websiteFacebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Beach photo: DepositPhotos

Thursday, July 20, 2017

No Place Like Home


I live less than a mile from this awesome view....And it enjoy it - greatly.

I spend hours writing and editing....BUT how can I not with this view....
romance....

is in the air

Is that a body???

Or zombies...or sea monsters


I think settings are a major part of any book regardless of the genre and I'm so lucky that my surrounding offer so many different possibilities. Most of the time my books take place in a setting much like where I live but Taking A Risk ....


After being dump by her boyfriend of four years because she's boring, Leigh decides to add adventure to her life. So she signs up for a kayaking trip down the Amazon. Boring is the last thing she finds...hot men, drug cartels, and gigantic bugs are among a few things in Leigh's now non-boring life.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer...and is lucky enough to have a 'tropical' get away of their own. 

Saturday, July 8, 2017

Feeling Hot! Hot! Hot!



By: Marcia King-Gamble
www.lovemarcia.com



Summer time and the weather is steamy!  Down my way it’s hot, hot, hot. So, in keeping with blue skies, cool ocean breezes, soaring temperatures, and the rum punch I’m thinking of sipping, I’m taking you on a trip down memory lane  to the tropics with me. 



I’m an Island Girl at heart, and although I’ve spent far more years in the USA than in the Caribbean, there’s something about stress free island living and a lively calypso beat that gets my heart pumping. Is it  a wonder that several of my books are set in the Caribbean or have that distinct island flavor.


Book number one, my first published one ever, and titled Remembrance was published over nineteen years ago. The story starts off on a Caribbean cruise, making stops at some of my favorite islands.  


Book number 3, titled Under Your Spell, gives you insight into a different aspect of island life and has a bit of a sinister undertone. It’s a quirky tale of modern medicine clashing with the old. I call it traditional medicine butting heads with naturopathic medicine.  The setting, San Simone, is fictitious and loosely modeled after the island I grew up on.  While for the most part Christian, old timers, in rural areas still practice obeah or black magic. Live there for any length of time and you will have a healthy respect for the supernatural. The inhabitants have no problem sharing tales of bad luck befalling those daring to cross families that are connected to the occult.   



Island Magic is an anthology shared with three other writers.  This work was published by St. Martin’s Press. The story is set on the beautiful Grenadine Island of Bequia.  The Grenadines; a chain of islands is shared with Grenada and St. Vincent.  Imagine a brokenhearted woman left at the altar, goes on her honeymoon anyway, and finds love in this most unlikely of places. 


Following Island Magic came Island Bliss. My contribution to this anthology was again set on a cruise ship where a beauty pageant is underway. No one expects my heroine to fall in love with a handsome officer. I titled this one, An officer and a Hero.



Somewhere among the thirty-five plus books I have written, I found time for A taste of Paradise set in   Fiji,  and part of The Ports of Call series. I also penned The Way He Moves, the final book in the Mediterranean Nights series published by Harlequin.



More recently there have been novellas like Tempting Andie, set during Junkanoo in the Bahamas. Shortly after that I wrote Islands Apart, another novella with a distinctly Hawaiian flavor to it.     
Currently, I am working on yet another island story set on Union in the Grenadines. This one is a marriage of convenience story with a gigantic twist to it. 



All the books I have mentioned can be found in print or  as eBooks on Amazon or Barnes and Noble.  But it  wasn't  until writing this blog,  did I realize just how many of my books have tropical settings. 

Do you think the adage holds true? You can take the girl out of the island, but you can’t take the island out of the girl?


 
This girl never wants to leave the islands. Someone pass me that rum punch.

Have a fun summer!  


About Marcia King-Gamble:

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 and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.
Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS