The Things That Always Cheer Me Up . . . . . . by Delsora Lowe

I am lucky, I have many things that give me a lift every day.

Reading…

Whether it is reading a good book or watching a romcom movie or a sitcom that will take me away from the reality and horrors of our world, each gives me a sense of peace and happiness. I can bask in the message being portrayed in that media and lock away my worries for the time it takes me to read or watch an uplifting book or program.

Writing…

I also write romance. So, writing positive content definitely gives me a feel-good vibe. Even when getting the couple together at the end may take a turn for the worst, know that in order to proclaim a book’s place in the romance genre, a happily-ever-after or a happily-for-now is a requirement. So, they always have a feel-good component at the end.

Friends…

Another thing that makes me happy is seeing a friend in person. Yes, these days ZOOM makes it easy to keep up with friends. I also keep up with many over the phone or through email or other forms of social media but getting together with friends in person is the best! There’s nothing like cradling a cup of tea, while looking directly into a friend’s face who is sitting across the table from you. Or slurping down an ice cream cone while walking the boardwalk with friends. That in-person contact makes a huge difference.

More Writing…

Going to my local weekly writing group grounds me every week. We each write a piece that takes 5-minutes or less to read out loud. The writing can be in any genre, which is fun for me, since my “job” is writing romance, whether a 5-minute romance I want to submit to Woman’s World magazine or a romance novella or full-length novel that I will eventually publish. Writing outside of my preferred genre gives me a different prospective on life, my town, my relationships with family, or any other topics, such as the environment, recipes I love to cook, etc. It frees up my brain to be creative in a different way.

What Things Give You a Lift and Make You Feel Happy? 

Amazon (also in print)

Books2Read

~ 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 (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 2025.

Dreaming of a new release by Paty Jager

After publishing 55 books and dealing with difficult story lines in many of them, the latest soon to release book could be my toughest yet. 

The idea for this book came from statements my parents made when I was a teenager and later a young adult. I meshed the two comments together to come up with the murder of a man who hid behind his profession to mask his hidden agenda. 

I had to tread carefully while writing about the victims of the deceased as well as keep my main character, Hawke, true to himself and make him feel for the victims. 

This book has had sections and chapters taken out. It has had scenes rewritten several times. And I have put it through different beta readers to make sure I don't offend anyone. But someone will take offense, I'm sure. My dream is that the people who read the book will root for the right characters and not condemn the ones who were trying to help. 

This is one book that I have put a lot of thought and heart into. It will be dedicated to my deceased parents and to the little nuggets they dropped into my brain to come out now, in my writing. 

Damning Firefly is available on pre-order, publishing on September 25th. 

Damning Firefly

Book 11 in the Gabriel Hawke Series

A church fire.

An unconscious woman on Starvation Ridge.

Gabriel Hawke, fish and wildlife officer with the Oregon State Police, helps with a fire at the Lighted Path church before heading out to check turkey hunters. He discovers a car wedged between two trees and a woman with a head injury reeking of smoke. Is she the arsonist?

Hawke encounters the county midwife gloating over the burnt church and learns she and the victim in the car know one another.

Two seemingly separate events lead Hawke to a serial rapist and a county full of secrets. 

https://books2read.com/u/bQeBDZ

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 55 novels, 8 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. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it. This is what Books a Plenty Book Reviews has to say about the Gabriel Hawke series: "The blend of nature tracking, clues, and the animals makes for a fascinating mystery that is hard to put down." 

https://www.patyjager.net

Top Photo source: Depositphotos

A Calming View and Dreams .... by Delsora Lowe

Visiting my son’s house with the wonderful view of a cove that leads out to the Atlantic Ocean, with sailboat’s white sails bobbing on the water beyond the jut of land and a tiny bridge leading to an island, always calms me.

On a very hot day in Maine, I sit under the ceiling fan in the cool living room that lets in the ocean breeze but not the heat of the sun. And I listen and watch and dream about my bucket list, which includes my own house with such a view. A place that inspires me to write.

But alas, even though I love my little landlocked view from my writing desk, these water views inspire me to write. So, with a day off from computers and writing, and with words and images insisting on churning through my mind, I grabbed my phone and wrote a stream of consciousness…

 

The continuous, high chirps emanating from the leaf cover.

 

West bound wind off the ocean furling leaves bright green to dark, depending on how deep the sun penetrates the canopy of the huge oak standing between me and the ocean.

 

The water a constant movement of ripples headed toward beach.

A white gull’s lazy travel, swooping and landing on the barely submerged sandbar.

 

The water morphing from the color of cement gray to a tailored, summer weight, wool-gray to light turquoise to yellow-green and back to a darker turquoise as the ocean laps against the opposite shore of the cove.

 

The barrier of bright pink and deep red blossoms gracing bushes of dark green-leafed, sea-side roses in the yard across the street.

The hum of the nearby interstate traffic weaving from one end of the city to the other, broken by sirens racing down the highway and a plane roaring into the summer sky from the nearby airport.

 

Then back to the consistent chirp, chew, chew, chirp, chirp buzz of birds.

 

Saturday afternoon, away from computer and household chores and headline news I want to make disappear. The news that makes me regress to my innocence, fifty years ago when I was first old enough to understood policy and politics, hate and love, kindness and cruelty…

Today, I concentrate on the sounds, and the feel of comforting breezes and hot sun and water rippling from the light puffs of wind and nature living its life in the sheltered trees.

Those thoughts, scribbled to clear my brain, allowed creativity to be unlocked.

The tranquil view and the quiet of the house and neighborhood with only sounds of wind and birds and an occasional meow as Luna wandered into the house and plopped down next to me on the couch, her head gently pushing against my leg as she leaned into my caress, helped to settle me.

Views and pets calmed my anger at the world we live in that can’t treat every human being with respect and love.

Thank goodness for serene scenery, nature’s sounds, and dreams of a room with a view where I can get lost in words that will lead to a story with a happy ending. My escape from a harsh world. And…the reason I write romance.

What is on your bucket list?

Amazon: (also in print) https://www.amazon.com/Starlight-Grille-Serenity-Harbor-Collection-ebook/dp/B07CN8JV2Z/  
Books2Read   books2read.com/u/3yDjWe

~ 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: Delsora Lowe

A Little Spirit Paranormal by Paty Jager

I'm at the blog today to talk a bit about light paranormal in a book.  I don't know if someone before me went over the difference between dark and light paranormal but I'll do a brief overview. 

Dark paranormal is usually vampires, demons, werewolves, zombies and books with a darker almost Gothic theme. 

Light paranormal is usually witches, spirits, ghosts, with lighter themes than the dark paranormal. 

I write light paranormal. Mostly spirits and ghosts. Though I have enjoyed reading books about witches from authors like Nora Roberts, Mary Stewart, and Diana McCollum. 

My Spirit Trilogy ( I think you figured out this is a paranormal), is first and foremost a historical Native American romance. But because I have three Indian spirit siblings who are main characters in the books, that makes the books also light  paranormal. I say light not only because of the spirit element, but because that element of the story is key to the story, but it isn't dark. It is just in how they help the mortals in the books. 

Three books about the Wallowa Band of Nez Perce or Nimiipuu. Three sibling Nimiipuu Spirits fall in love with mortals as they work together to help the People.

Spirit of the Mountain

Evil spirits, star-crossed lovers, and duty…which will prevail?

Wren, the daughter of a Nimiipuu chief, loves the mountain and her people. When an evil spirit threatens Wren’s life, Himiin, Spirit of the Mountain, rushes to save her. But to leave the mountain means he’ll turn to smoke…

https://www.books2read.com/u/4Ek6A3

Spirit of the Lake

Can a spirit set upon this earth to watch over the Nimiipuu stay true to justice when revenge burns in his heart? On their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But will these abilities seal their future or tear them apart?

https://www.books2read.com/u/m2R9km

Spirit of the Sky

Can enemies not only work for peace but find love?

Sa-qan, a Nimiipuu eagle spirit, must take human form to save her mortal niece when the Nimiipuu are forced from their land by the U.S. Army. Trying to remain true to her spirit world and her people becomes hard when a Cavalry Officer captures her heart.

https://www.books2read.com/u/b5D814

These books are what I call the "books of my heart." I grew up in Wallowa County where the Nimiipuu summered and wintered, yet I never knew more about them than they rode in the Chief Joseph Days parade and Rodeo. They set up teepees and that was it. When I became an adult I learned how they were pushed from their land and how they suffered. That is what is in these three books. I'm happy to sat that today, they own land in Wallowa County and hold a Powwow there every July. For many years they weren't allowed to set foot in the county.

 My other light paranormal series is my Shandra Higheagle Mystery series. In these books it is a ghost or spirit of my main character's grandmother who comes to Shandra Higheagle in dreams and helps her solve the murders. 

This story started out with my wanting to have a Native American protagonist and coming up with a way to have her involved in the art world because my brother, an artist had given me a great idea for how to hide a weapon on a bronze statue. With is idea, I came up with Shandra being a potter who sold her vases as art and goes to art shows.  The idea of her grandmother coming to her in dreams came from my research of the Nez Perce who live on the Colville Indian Reservation in Washington State. The Nez Perce who live at Colville are descendants of the Non-treaty Nez Perce (the ones who followed Young Chief Joseph to Montana trying to get to Canada-you can learn all of this in my Spirit trilogy) who were first sent to Oklahoma after they were captured and then banned from being with the treaty Nez Perce in Lapwai in Idaho. These Non-treaty Nez Perce also practiced the Dreamer Religion of their ancestors. And this little tidbit, sent my mind spinning and I came up with the idea of Shandra's deceased grandmother coming to her in dreams. 

Although the grandmother comes to her, she doesn't just tell Shandra everything. Shandra has to decipher the dreams to help her catch the killers.

This only shows seven of the fifteen books in the series. 

You can find these books at my website: https://www.patyjager.net/shandra-higheagle-mystery-series/  most of these books are available in ebook, print, and audio. 

I prefer reading and writing the lighter paranormal books, what about you? Do you like lighter or darker paranormal reading? 

Paty Jager is an award-winning author of 47 novels, 8 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. Paty and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. Riding horses and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.

blog / website /  Facebook / Paty's Posse / Goodreads / Twitter / Pinterest   / Bookbub

Top photo purchased from DepositPhoto

Romance Authors Helped Me Through Tough Times

Judith Ashley is the author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, romantic fiction that honors spiritual practices that nourish the soul and celebrates the journey from relationship to romance.

I’d never really read romance novels until the summer of 1997. Oh, it isn’t that I’d never seen one, one of my aunts was an avid reader of Danielle Steele.

However the summer of 1997 my dad had exploratory surgery. Sitting in the hospital waiting for the surgeon to advise us as to the outcome, I needed something to distract me other than a Tom Clancy or psych-thriller-type book.

The hospital gift shop had Nora Roberts’ books and, while I don’t remember the title, I never looked back. You see, even though the surgeon said the operation was a success and the cancer had been removed, that wasn’t true.

When my dad’s balance went and his eye-sight was affected and the headaches relentlessly pounded, my mom relented and let me make an appointment to see an oncologist.

By this time it was too late. Over the next months, I spent hours with my dad at doctor appointments and while he had radiation treatments. Where was my mom? Her grief over losing her soul mate, her life partner for almost 60 years took a massive toll on her health. So much so, we weren’t sure she’d survive.

Trade paperbacks by Nora, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Jo Beverley and a myriad others easily tucked into my purse. One was always on hand to distract me while waiting.

And that’s how my path to writing romance started. I read, immersed myself in the stories knowing that a happily-ever-after waited for me on the last page, while knowing a happily-ever-after was not waiting for me in my real life.

My dad died March 8, 1998. I was invited to join Wild Women Writers in December 1999. Originally I was going to take a personal growth program I’d developed in the early 1980’s and turn it into a book. I dithered around with that project for a year and then the magic happened.

I started remembering dreams, having day dreams, hearing voices of women who wanted me to tell their stories. They each wanted a happily-ever-after and were positive I was the only one who could write about them. All those hours of escaping into the pages of romance novels rushed back. I put the personal growth book away and started writing down the visions and voices that would not leave me alone.

Would I be a romance author now if not for all those books I read in hospital rooms and doctor’s offices? Read at night or when I couldn’t sleep in an effort to push away the darkness of grief at losing my dad?

Would I have taken the plunge if I hadn’t had these books in my hands?

I don’t think so.

While I’m no Nora or Susan or Jo, if one reader benefits from my books like I did from theirs, then I’m happy.

After working in social services for fifty or so years, one thing I know is this truth: We never know the impact we have on others. We never know if something we’ve said or written or done will change someone’s life.

What I also know is true is that when we move forward in our lives with love in our hearts and our deeds, we do no harm. And what better caveat than that – we send love into the world and did no harm.

Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s Circle series at JudithAshleyRomance.com

Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19

Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.

You can also find Judith on FB! 

© 2018 Judith Ashley

An Empty Bucket?

By Linda Lovely

I don’t have a single item on my bucket list.

Does that mean I’m ready to kick the bucket? Or do I plan to sit in my pajamas and stare into space until I exit the planet?

Neither—not by a long shot. Actually, my empty bucket list just means I want my days to be happy and fulfilling wherever I am.

Let me explain—first by sharing a definition of “bucket list.” I’d planned to post a very different blog until I shared my ideas with my husband. Robin Weaver, a critique partner, had suggested it would be fun to list the top items on famous literary characters’ and authors’ bucket lists. For example, Dr. Watson’s number one desire might be solving a complex crime before Sherlock got out of bed. Or Edgar Allen Poe might want to see ravens go extinct before he does.

My husband questioned if these examples were truly bucket list eligible. “For something to be on a bucket list, doesn’t it need to be totally within your power to make it come true?” he asked. “Otherwise isn’t it just a plain-old goal?”   

Hmm. Good question. I have lots of dreams. Like most writers, I’d like one of my novels to hit a New York Times’ best seller list. But making that happen isn’t within my power—even if I write the best book I’m capable of producing. There are lots of other factors beyond an author’s control from genre trends and timing to getting noticed by influential reviewers.

Perhaps travel tends to top so many bucket lists because it is often within one’s own power to make it happen. If you have money and are healthy enough to board a plane, you can enjoy some of the world’s most magnificent sights, sounds and tastes. You can listen to jazz in New Orleans. Eat freshly baked croissants in a Paris café. Hike in the Swiss Alps. Nightclub in Mexico City. See a Broadway play. Ride horseback in the Rocky Mountains. Sail in the Caribbean.

Hey, what do you know? I’ve been lucky enough to do all of these and more. Maybe that’s why specific travel goals aren’t on my bucket list.

What I want for the remainder of my life is to remain open to possibilities. Exotic travel? Maybe, if an intriguing opportunity comes along. But I’m more concerned about the quality of time I spend with my family and friends whether we’re playing cards at our kitchen table or walking the beach at the coast. I want to keep laughing and I want my characters to have lots of adventures. Perhaps that’s why my bucket is empty. I can share plenty of adventures with my imaginary friends as well as the people I love. 

Have Vision! Make it your Mission!

By Marcia King-Gamble

Happy 2015!  It’s going to be a great year!   Now say that over and over and it’s bound to come true.

This month’s blog may well be a continuation of last month’s message.  You’ve heard me say I gave up making resolutions years ago, because I know the moment the words come out of my mouth, I am doomed.  I need a constant reminder to stay focused.   That’s why I create a Vision Board.  If you can see it you can be it! 

Years ago, before my first book was published, I would spend hours in book stores visualizing that prime spot on the romance shelf. I would wrap my hands around some poor unsuspecting author’s book, breathe in the unique scent of paper, and run my fingers up and down the spine.  That author’s book was mine. I owned it and I already felt what it was like to be a published novelist. 

Flash forward, when the call came, I was prepared.  Sure, I felt lucky and grateful, but not all that surprised.  I say this from a humble place. We attract the life and things we want. Of course my sister, the practical one, disagrees with me. She thinks life is about the choices we make.  She may very well be right, but I’ll stick to my guns. If you believe it, it will happen.  

I’ve always been a huge fan of The Secret; the 2006 bestselling book about the law of attraction and the power of positive thinking. I am the classic optimist. I believe positivity attracts positivity and negativity begets negativity.  Positive thinking can create life-changing results. This is something I truly believe, because it has happened to me.

That said, my plan this year is to have more disposable income so that I can do things I love; travel for one.  I juggle too many balls, and according to a New Age friend, my energy is way too scattered.  I kept that in mind when creating my vision board.  

  

Instead of dividing my board into quarters like I usually do, this year all my messages and pics are linked to my central theme of financial security.  The board is now displayed in a prominent place where I can look at it, focus, and know that it will happen. 

What are your goals this New Year? Have you written them down?  Have you dared to dream big dreams?

Believe and it will happen. Don’t let negativity or naysayers derail those dreams.  

Here I  am today (31 novels later) to tell you all things are possible. I re-released  another novel this month. His Golden Heart is about hopes and dreams.

http://bit.ly/1tJMuCY

http://amzn.com/B00R41R8O4
http://bit.ly/1wKsjDM

So write down your goals! Create your map and believe in you!

 If you can see it, you can be it!  

Now go for it!  

 Marcia King-Gamble is a Caribbean American author. She hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue.

She is a former travel industry executive and a self proclaimed globetrotter. 

A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned 31 books and 5 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling, and with her animal family.

She loves hearing from you. E mail her at mkinggambl@aol.com, like her on Facebook

 http://on.fb.me/1GF28CG and visit her website www.lovemarcia.com.