All Things Pumpkin and Fall…And Romance .......... by Delsora Lowe

Romance novels and films have been maligned or mocked as being frilly and frivolous and feeding a false narrative on life.

Hello! Why do you think romance novels are the highest selling category of book than any other genre—fiction or non-fiction? We all want to dream about a wonderful and loving life. And, no, romance novels are not based on a false narrative. But yes, the entire genre is meant to boost hope for a feel-good future; however that is defined by the reader.

Watching “seasonal” – as in any season – Hallmark movies, or Lifetime Christmas movies, or reading a seasonal book by one of many best-selling, or newly discovered, romance authors, is a guaranteed FEEL-GOOD.

In fact, a book will not be classified as a romance without a Happily-Ever-After ending, or a Happily-For-Now ending—which infers a Happily-Ever-After beyond the end of the book.

So, what does this have to do with pumpkins, you ask? In my mind… romance. Fall-themed romance books and movies. Turn on Hallmark and you will be accosted by pumpkins, colorful leaves, actors in sweaters, and participating in fall activities, despite the fact they film these movies in the heat of summer.

I love the fall season. The air is crisp — allowing for the comfort of a sweater to snuggle into. The leaves change from vibrant green to a medley of colors, depending on the type of tree. The flowers are sturdier and have deeper, richer colors, than the dainty pastels of spring. The pale sky blue of summer turns into a deeper blue before darkening to a vibrant azure in late fall and winter. The shadows lengthen as the sun drops below the horizon earlier each day. Even the nights seem darker and brighter with brilliant stars and distinct constellations. And pumpkins abound, with their beautiful and happy orange color.

But I digress. Back to books.

I scour new book listings that will embrace the fall season—their covers resplendent with colorful leaves, crisp, blue skies, and the promise of cooler temps. That means we can bring out our favorite cozy sweaters, and brew fun hot liquids. Do you know how many ways you can doctor a simple cup of hot cocoa, especially when you add spices associated with fall? Ever try the combo of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cayenne in a cup of coco? Heavenly—with a subtle hint of heat to add to the warmth of the liquid.

As a romance novel enthusiast, I am also a romance movie fanatic. My dear friend and I critique every movie, as we watch and compare notes. Then we Google “Stream It or Skip It” to see if our take on the movie matches the “expert” reviewer. You would be amazed how many times, we “nail” the gist of what the reviewer says.

Extreme fandom? You bet! But I prefer to call the activity of watching romance movies “a must-research” for writers of romance. And…I’ll let you in on a little secret…ever since I saw my first Hallmark movie, back when I was in Junior High—a LONG time ago—when the movies only came out three or four times a year, I dreamed of having a Hallmark movie made from one of my books. Not that I ever thought of actually writing one at that age. 

Full disclosure—I still dream that dream. Only now, I’m actually writing romance novels. And if I’m honest, in the back of my head sits that little—okay—gigantic dream egging me on.

Another way of researching romances is through reading. I religiously buy Woman’s World every week. Although, I used to be a caterer and restaurant cook, so I do love their recipes, I still flip toward the back of the magazine first. You know why? The 5-minute romance! I’ve even sold 4 stories to the magazine since my first in 2010. And right now, I am madly editing for the umpteenth time two stories, one for Christmas and one for New Year’s Eve. I just sent in a Thanksgiving story. It’s a tough market, but with all the almost sixty shorts I have written over the years, I am now assembling an anthology. So, eventually those stories will get a home.

November 2018 - "Bright New Beginnings" - My Story
About Organizing the Local Thanksgiving Parade

But I digress. What does my love of romance movies have to do with fall and pumpkins, besides a plethora of pumpkins in the movies at this time of year? Not much, except my writing is in full, fall-themed mode. And my tastebuds are clamoring to tell the “artistic” part of my brain that it’s time to cook my favorite pumpkin or squash enhanced recipes.

So, let’s talk food! Pumpkins, in particular. I am immersed in reading fall-themed romance books and watching movies that seem to have plenty of pumpkins. And…I am buying ingredients to make my favorite fall soups that include winter-type squashes or pumpkins. And who doesn’t love to sip a fall-flavored and pumpkin-spiced hot tea on a crisp fall day. Or, in my case, as I write this and stare out my window, a typical fall day filled with skittering white clouds in a bright blue and sunny sky, followed by graying clouds and intermediate spits of rain. A great day for fall-flavored soup and tea.

Yes, folks…Fall is here, and the pumpkins are piled up in front of the local grocery store. Enjoy the season!

 

What do you like about pumpkins?

Do you enjoy pumpkin-flavored

 food and drinks? Or are there other foods, drinks,

 and scenery that remind you of fall?

Do you like reading romances set in the fall?

 

 

The Rancher Needs a Wife

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. The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) were released in late fall 2022. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, in 2025.

Social Media Links:
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/

Image Link Credit: 
Photos: taken by blog author  
TV: https://clipart-library.com/1950s-tv-cliparts.html  
Dancing Couple: 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFUY9rHWBVq8O0aVrj9eXyU3z1dWSPyvEKs9DH89jr8-5h6UA8fcl_LgoCLT1cAGYbuQH-dUl0hAyNvR2473Ntc3J895V11M21yjMS3v-3GYDRv99BJNN7DRWkjj0DxiC7EKYiZQX5dkmeQpOUakRgpnOP3qRLWp3HTLvK0PjlHtv56RwSGfcTrEPqzXlp/s2048/top-bride-and-groom-silhouette-photos.jpg.png

What I Look Forward to As I Age ... by Delsora Lowe

It’s finally September! My favorite time of the year is fall, despite the fact that soon cold weather will descend and with it snow and ice and… Well, you get the picture. I’d much rather enjoy warm sunny days that cool off at night.

I’d rather enjoy colorful leaves and fall flowers and harvesting vegetables and picking apples.

And, my birthday is in the fall, reminding me what one year older can bring. I remember teen years when I couldn’t wait to go away to college, not realizing how fast time flies, the older you get.

I remember summers, when I juggled several jobs while raising kids. I couldn’t wait for autumn to arrive so the kids, now old enough, would be back in school all day, so I wasn’t running from job to nursery school to pick up kids, dropping them at the sitter and back to job number two.

Now, I look back and realize how much I missed as my children grew up way too fast. But now I have grandchildren who are doing the same. One is looking at colleges. The other two sophomores in high school. All busy falling into young love, working hard at studies, and excelling at various sports teams. Of course, they are excelling. They are MY grandsons.

Oldest Grandson - now 17 - My Dad's 90th Birthday - 2009

It seems like yesterday, they were lying on the floor, playing with tiny cars and making zoom, zoom, zoom sounds, learning to count to one-hundred, and excited when they got to nibble on favorite snacks—my youngest grandson loving chunks of cucumber and olives with the holes where the pits were. He would put an olive on each fingertip and methodically eat each olive, one by one. Or the special events like coloring Easter eggs at Grammy’s table. Now they are self-sufficient.

To me, those memories of my own days in high school and college seem so far away, yet just like yesterday.

So, what do I look forward to as I age?

Top of the list? Not feeling as though I am aging. Also…keeping busy, communicating with others, not isolating, learning new things.

This is where writing comes in, as I can accomplish all of the above through writing.

Learning and Hanging with Writer Friends Through Zoom

I belong to four virtual writing groups in Maine, Rhode Island, New England, and New Jersey. Each group of romance writers meets monthly. It used to be in person. Now it is through ZOOM. The cons, I miss seeing my writer friends in person, but there are times in a year, when we meet up at writing conferences. The pros are without ZOOM, I would only see my writer friends once a year at the aforementioned conferences. Now, I see them and hear their voices and have actual conversations monthly. Sure, we don’t get to hug each other or gather around a table and enjoy a cocktail and chatter. There is nothing that compares to face-to-face.

A few years ago, after retiring, I joined a local organization that has programming for both teens and those of us over 55. The organization has a group named Write on Writers. We have anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five who attend weekly. Each of us writes a 5-minute or less piece, whether fiction, non-fiction, or verse of some sort. We then read aloud our work at each session. And we can submit our work to appear in the monthly organization newsletter that gets distributed around town.

The fun of this group is that I get to try different types of writing, than my normal romance novel writing. And every now and then, I will write a 5-minute romance story and submit for publication
. But I can also read those at my local group. And now, I have over sixty 5-minute romances I have written since 2010. Those I am editing and expanding to collect into a short romance anthology...SOMEDAY!

So, what do I look forward to as I age. Meeting weekly with my writing group. Continuing to write both short stories and longer works to release as books, hanging with my grandchildren and trying to figure out a way to stop their growth and aging so I can keep them close forever.

Okay – if anyone has ideas on how to do just that, let me know. Because, if they don’t age, neither will I!

Oh, as you can see, in spite of the slowing down and the need to nap I’m also trying to figure out how I can live forever, because right now, I’m having a ton of fun with this aging business.

No matter our age, we all continue to age on a daily basis. What words of wisdom can you impart when you think about what you have learned over a lifetime?

Amazon (also in print)

https://www.amazon.com/Love-Left-Behind-Hartford-Estate-ebook/dp/B08L5N5DS9/

Books2Read   books2read.com/u/mglVqK

 

~ 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 late 2024 or early 2025.

 

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 humorous slant at growing older by Mary Vine

My goal this fall is not to fall. I did fall recently−over my dog. Why is it when you fall when you are older, your brain tells you you’re falling but it doesn't do anything about it? When I was younger, I’d at least stick a hand out to help brace myself against a fall.

Thankfully, my dog didn’t get hurt and I didn’t break anything. I suffered a black eye. Yet, I didn’t have to wear makeup as the “eye” was all anyone looked at. My husband thought he’d be blamed for it, poor guy. And a friend asked if my dog was a boxer.

At my last wellness doctor appointment (before my fall), my doctor said my weight was okay, but I need to start exercising. I must have joked about it, or said no or something, because she raised her voice at me. First time ever.

I exercised when I was younger, using various machines I could fit into my home. I wasn’t always good about getting it done, but at least I didn’t forget I’d planned to exercise on a specific day without needing a reminder. Now, I must write it down, but often at bedtime, I recall that I’d forgot to exercise. Yes, I wrote it in my calendar, but I forgot to look at my calendar. I suppose I could move my fitness machine where I could see it, but then I might fall over it.

Now that I’m older I realized I’d had it wrong about exercising. I exercised to improve my waistline, which back then was just fine. Young people are so critical of their bodies, but that is another blogpost. Anyway, now I need to exercise for a stronger body, especially stronger legs.

Yet, this morning I read a Facebook post that seemed serious at the beginning but turned out to be humorous. It stated that if you exercise you will live longer. At age 85 you will have five more months to live in a nursing home. And then, he said his father walked five miles a day and now at age 92 he can’t find him.

As I write I am stationary, which doesn’t help accrue daily steps. But then on second thought,  if I wasn’t a writer, I’d probably be stationary as well. I have deserted an office and a writing desk to sit in my very comfortable recliner as I write on my laptop. Why not be comfortable as I write?

No one is going to get me to write anywhere else, I tell you. I even have a recliner in my summer cabin. So, this fall’s strengthening program is going to be a goal I will have to work hard at. At least I can read while I sit on my incumbent exercise bike.

Hats off to all you writers who do get exercise, I admire you. I plan to be one of you soon. Uh…next week.

Secrets of Trillium Falls

A courageous but naïve woman and a benevolent but cynical man
reconcile to evict ghosts and restore a mansion.

Taylor Glenn makes a deal on a haunted mansion in the town where she accepts her first teaching job. Her naïve optimism assures her that her depressed grandfather will come to life and help her rebuild it with the passion he once possessed for restoring old homes. Three deaths are connected to the tower room and no local workman will set foot inside except for the former owner, successful real estate developer, Dillon Nash. She wonders if this captivating man is the salvation she needs or an even greater threat to her survival when mysterious events happen in the house.

Link to Secrets of Trillium Falls:

https://www.amazon.com/Secrets-Trillium-Falls-Mary-Vine-ebook

Mary describes herself as a late bloomer. She started writing at age 36. With practice and encouragement, she started writing romantic fiction and became a member and officer of a writer’s group.

Her story writing really took off when she discovered the pines, firs and rocky knolls of Northeast Oregon. Mary’s husband enjoyed panning for gold in the creeks, but she fell in love with the mining ghost towns and the history surrounding those areas. Three of her magazine articles based on ghost towns in Northeast Oregon, and the history of the Chinese miners who followed the white man to the mines, were published nationally. Mary has written books with gold mining or boom town settings, including a time travel series back to 1870 in Cracker Creek, which is now called Bourne, Oregon.

Mary is also a leader and speaker for the Idaho Creative Authors Network. She graduated from college and taught speech and language classes to K-12 students.

 www.authormaryvine.com

Shopping: A Blast or Dreaded? … by Delsora Lowe

I’ll start off by saying, in general, I do not enjoy shopping. As a teen, I loved wondering stores with my friends to dream about new outfits. I had a clothing allowance, so I had to be frugal. That meant sewing many of my outfits. But truthfully, I can’t remember a most hated experience while shopping. Unless you want to count the day I was pickpocketed, as a teen, while shopping for fabric to make an outfit. I still had fun, since I loved envisioning new outfits and matching a pattern to new fabrics. And, I didn’t realize someone had stolen from me until I got home. As an adult, I avoid at all costs shopping just for fun. And now when I shop, lesson learned: I clutch my purse tight in front of me.

Having said that, I do love shopping for anything to do with food. This is where I differ from most people I know, who HATE grocery shopping. Maybe loving to shop for food is because I used to work food service, where besides hostessing and waitressing, I also cooked in restaurants, in a fraternity, and as a caterer. Shopping for food means that I am bringing to life my creative recipe ideas.

Some of my favorite scenes in a Hallmark-type movie are watching a couple wander and meet at a farmer’s market. Or bumping into each other in the produce aisle reaching for the same, small cabbage that will feed one instead of a huge family. Or their hands touching over the last bunch of asparagus. But I digress, as my imagination of romantic food-related encounters crowd my mind.

My local Farmer's Market on a grassy mall in the middle of downtown

As I was saying, going to the grocery store is an adventure. My list consists of meat, seafood, veggies, bread, fruit, etc. And by that, I mean I literally write those words on my list. Because I never know what seasonal vegetable may inspire a recipe idea. Or which items at the seafood or meat counter may catch my eye and inspire dinner for that night, or lunch for tomorrow.

Love the variety of vegetables, jams, bread, meats, seafood at my local farmers market.

For that very reason, I also love going to the farmer’s market. I usually go on the early side and spend time gazing at the colorful displays of ripe red tomatoes, or dark leafy bunches of kale. I conjure up a recipe using green tomatoes, besides the usual fried green (which are delicious.) I perfuse the variety of lettuce or potato or colorful vegetables, some I have never tried before. I usually ask the farmer ideas on use, and then research the vegetable for more ideas, once I arrive home.

I feel about farmer’s markets as others feel about yard sales—discovering a prize to add to my cooking repertoire. Also, people tend to talk to each other at a food market, versus in other shopping arenas.

“The melons are so juicy this time of year.”

“Don’t those scallops look delicious, and on sale too!”

“How do you usually cook that cut of meat?” Or “I love that cut of meat. I have a great recipe for…”

“Have you tried this new flavor of the goat’s milk yogurt? It’s my new favorite.”

I love going to the farmer’s market in the fall, when the crowds of tourists have headed home, and the newly arrived students who walk from the college blocks away are discovering the magic of a farmer’s market. Bunches of fall flowers are for sale. Jellies and jams from the summer bounty of berries and fruits appear. This time of year, just as early spring does, affords me the opportunity to chat with the farmers without holding up the line. Ask questions about their product. Learn tidbits about farming. And enjoy the crisp fall air—my favorite season of the year.

Do you love or hate shopping for food? And why? There are no wrong answers. And I won’t judge if you hate the kind of shopping I love!

Check out a Fall Wedding: The Love Left Behind

Amazon

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. The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) were released in late fall 2022. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, in 2024.

 

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/

Photos and Clip Art:

Yard Sale: Free Garage Sale Images, Download Free Garage Sale Images png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (cli: part-library.com) 
Fall and Farmers Market: photos by blog author  
Fabric Shopping: Free Fabric Cliparts, Download Free Fabric Cliparts png images, Free ClipArts on Clipart Library (clipart-library.com)

March, a time of change

 It's March already, how did that happen?!

In some parts of the world, it's springtime.

And in others, it's fall.

But everywhere, it's a time of change. Embrace the beauty of March!

Where Did All the Meaning Go? How Halloween Lost Its Roots by Heather Michet

Once upon a time not that long ago, the end of October brought celebrations of gratitude, reverence and honoring: the harvest was in, plants and planets that sustained life were thanked, and people readied themselves for the coming darkness and quiet of winter while acknowledging the dead and their part in the natural order of things.

 Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Now this time of year in the US means more plastic junk, too much sugar, ghoulish décor and wacky outfits.

How Did We Get Here?

What began as a ceremonial, earth-based, spiritual time with bonfires, harvest foods, and communing with the dead, has become a ghoulish, commercialized observance.

Here’s what happened (in a very simplified form):

• Ancient Celts celebrated the end of summer, the harvest, and the threshold between light (summer) and dark (winter) with their Samhain fire festival.  Happening over 3 days - October 31st–Nov 2nd – spirits of the dead were believed to be more visible and approachable during this liminal time.

• 
  

• Catholic popes attempted to “Christianize” Samhain.  This was done in an attempt to spread their religion and wipe out pagan traditions. Nov. 1^st became All Saints Day, aka All Hallows Day, making October 31^st All Hallows Eve.  Nov. 2^nd became All Souls Day. Note that the word pagan comes from the Latin ‘paganus’ which means villager or rustic, ie. a country dweller.  The Church moved the meaning to heathen.

• 
  

• Romans had their own fall festival which included honoring Pomona, the goddess of fruit and trees. There’s where our bobbing for apples at Halloween parties came from!

• 
  

• Irish immigrants in mid-19th century left the potato famine to come to the US, bringing many of the familiar Halloween traditions that we see today, including Jack-o-lanterns.  The early carvings, however, were out of beets, turnips and potatoes.

From Bonfires to Billions

Trick or Treating was popularized in the States in the 1950’s, beginning the rise to the celebration’s big revenue producer that it is today: More than 179 million people celebrate Halloween in the US, spending $10.6 BILLION.  Yes, billion with a B.

Photo by Lucas Ludwig on Unsplash

What Happened to Remembering the Dead?

By disrespecting our dead and death itself with our Halloween traditions, we have fueled our fear of death.  With the dead portrayed as gruesome, gory monsters and zombies, who wouldn't be scared of talking about death and dying?

In her wonderful book Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, Katherine May states it perfectly: 

“Our contemporary celebrations forget the dead altogether…We are, after all, a society that has done all it can to erase death…the idea that we might be intimate with death is now some kind of a gothic joke.  Today’s Halloween simply reflects what we secretly think – that death is a surrender to decay that makes us monsters.”

Who Wouldn’t Be Afraid of Death?

I feel that in disrespecting our dead - and death itself - with our Halloween traditions, has fueled our fear of death.  With the dead portrayed as gruesome, gory monsters and zombies, who wouldn’t be scared of talking about death and dying?

Photo © Heather Michet

Mexico Saves the Day

Thankfully, one culture’s practice of celebrating and honoring the dead is thriving: Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos.  It is colorful, respectful, bright and meaning-filled, taking place on November 1st and 2nd.

I love this holiday!

Photo © Heather Michet

The best way to learn more about this festival is to attend a celebration in your community.  

If that’s not an option, watch the film Coco, one of my absolute favorite movies.  The story portrays the practices and meaning of this holiday beautifully. 

You can also read about the rituals I include at this time of year here.

You Can Be a Meaning Maker

Talk with your children, grandchildren and other adults about the true meaning behind Halloween.

It will make a difference in their lives and in our world.

Heather Michet is an impassioned healing artist, educator and Ceremonial Songstress who weaves lyrical, a cappella vocals throughout a wide array of ceremonies in a myriad of settings.  From weddings in the woods, graveside memorials, and ashes scatterings at the shore, her Celtic style voice embraces the heart and stirs the spirit of all who gather honoring life events.  You can connect with Heather and her work in any (or all!) of these ways:

• Learn about her wellness tools (including Fresh Air Fare) and services rooted in nature at Iris Healing Arts

• Listen to her music on YouTube 

• Read about her Ceremonial Songstress work at Purple Crow Sings

• Facebook – Heather Facebook – Purple Crow Sings   Facebook – Iris Healing Arts

• Instagram - @heathermichet