Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sweet. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

Get Me to the Wedding by Delsora Lowe


As a romance writer and reader, who doesn’t love weddings?
And June is synonymous with the premier wedding month. Although, I have to say, I vowed never to get married in June. Fall is my favorite month, and I planned that someday I would marry in September or October. My wedding date was June 5. 😊

As anyone who had been involved in a wedding, whether the bride or the bridesmaid, the mother-of-the bride or an excited guest, we know getting to the wedding is a journey.

In my Starlight Grille series, Moonlighting, book three (SPOILER ALERT) ends in a proposal, and books one, The Legacy of Parkers Point, and two, Come Dance With Me, (SPOILER ALERT) end in weddings. It took a lot of community and character building, plus support and encouragement from friends, for each couple to get to their happily-ever-after.
In my new release, The Prince’s Son, book one of the Cowboys of Mineral Springs, (you guessed it) the ending has to do with this subject, BUT I’m not telling you what happens. Book two, The Rancher Needs a Wife, due out this fall, same subject (but again NO SPOILER).
Can you see a theme here? I do love the epitome of a happy ending. My very first book, which remains packed away “under lock and key and under the bed” was inspired by my daughter’s wedding, in the true-life Maine town in which Serenity Harbor (of the Starlight Grille series) was based on.

The twist in this book was the mother-of-the-bride found her own happily-ever-after during the week leading up to the wedding. This book was a book of my heart—my first book and a book about a woman my age (at the time I wrote this book, I was a LOT younger). And someday, when I can find the typed version of the manuscript (somewhere in a packed box), I will rewrite it. Sadly, the whole book got wiped out when a repair person came to update the internet and computer in 2001. But I still remember various parts of the story.
The newest romance trope is writing about “seasoned” characters, as they find love the second time around, a twist on the second chance trope. Although I’ve personally vowed never to marry again 😊, I’m pretty sure if I found the perfect mate, I would.
So, of course, I have thought about weddings for the over-fifty generation. I imagine they will look much different from the weddings of the younger crowd. Probably smaller and more intimate. Not as formal. Perhaps a destination wedding with family and close friends. Or elopement, then a big party. Or maybe no wedding at all. Living in two homes, with partially separate lives as they mold their relationship to fit into long-held, single-status of both, but still wanting to share most of their time together in their own version of a happily-ever-after. The options are endless.
This is the fun of writing about weddings. There are so many variations, that the topic is always fresh. And for those writers who pen series, the love story of a primary set of characters in book one can result in a proposal and wedding in the books that follow. You may have noticed that trend in several Hallmark movies that have turned into a series of movies that end with the wedding.

One of my college friends was married in a tiny, old, and very cold chapel in February, back in the day when New England winters were frigid and the snow was high. The setting and ambiance were breathtaking. Another was married by the ocean. And another in a sweet, old church renovated into a small event venue overlooking a cove filled with working lobster boats.
So much potential. Weddings. Celebrate them, whether in June or October or any other month of the year.

Oooooh, I think I have several wedding story ideas percolating. With that, I’ll say goodbye and start making notes.

Until then, enjoy the myriad of wedding-based romance books and movies that are sure to be released this month.
Tell me if you have a favorite wedding story, fictional or not. Or a favorite dream wedding venue or location.

~ 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.
Social Media Links:

Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Author FaceBook page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthor
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

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Friday, November 10, 2017

Making Spirits Bright

by Diana McCollum

You can’t beat the price of .99 cents for "Making Spirits Bright", a wonderful Christmas anthology. Four beautiful never before released novellas. The stories range from cozy mystery to romance. All are sure to get you in the Christmas spirit.



The following are the stories included in the anthology along with their blurbs.

Multi-published author Chautona Havig says: “Dreams are beautiful things, though; they never quite disappear. I began writing again, editing, writing, editing…more editing… and now I have over a hundred books in progress and a few dozen published. I write the stories of fictional people who have real problems, weaknesses, and triumphs. Through their stories, I try to share the Hope that is within me." (from Amazon bio)


Merri’s Christmas Mission by ChautonaHavig  

“Merri Zeiger is on a mission--create a fabulous Christmas for her three children on a dime. Well, that is if she can spare one. After six months of unemployment, her benefits have run out and so has her Christmas fund. 
But when she meets her rival in a giveaway for a pool table, things start to look a bit brighter.
"Barney" Barnett isn't supposed to have to do fundraising for The Mission, but until they replace the last guy, he's stuck on a daily trek to enter a giveaway for a pool table. Meeting Merri and hearing her story gives him a solution to both of their problems. Merri's Christmas Mission--one woman's quest to conquer Christmas.”


Author April Hayman  Amazon bio: “April Hayman lives in the high desert of California with her husband and their three sons. During the day, she focuses on homeschooling the boys and working on client projects. She writes at night when the temperature outside is only somewhat cooler than during the day.”

Lead a Merry Dance by April Hayman  

“FBI Agent Trip Devereaux' s time has run out: take his new wife, Libby, on a honeymoon (finally) or find out what it's like to live in the dog house. His solution? A Christmas Caribbean cruise! But when a jewelry thief strikes and Libby is - literally - left holding the bag, Trip's vacation is put on hold so he can prove his wife's innocence. Can he find the real thief in time? Or will their first shore excursion be a one-way trip to jail for Libby?”


Amazon author page: “Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.”

A Sidelined Christmas by ToniShiloh        

“Sidelined with a career-ending injury, wide receiver Jahleel Walker is forced to return to his hometown of Peachwood Bay, Georgia to heal. Nothing shocks him more than running into his high-school sweetheart, Lucille “Bebe” Gordon.
Bebe Gordon returned to Peachwood Bay three years ago with a divorce certificate and her daughter, Hope. When Jahleel returns, all the memories of the past come rushing back. She can’t decide if he’s changed or if her heart is holding onto past hurts.
Will Jahleel and Bebe take a chance on love or let life sideline them at Christmas?”


Author Cathe Swanson Amazon bio: The long Wisconsin winters are perfect for writing and reading books! Cathe enjoys writing stories with eccentric characters of all ages. Her books will make you laugh and make you cry – and then make you laugh again.

Hope for the Holidays by CatheSwanson   


Newly arrived from her home in the Congo and armed with a brand-new degree in nonprofit management, Carrie Strough is eager to organize and improve the Unity Plenkiss Community Center. Unfortunately, no one wants to be organized, and only Micah Neresen, the charming and handsome pastor of the local church, is interested in her plans. Or is he just interested in Carrie?
With a cast of lively and eccentric characters including a homeless vet with PTSD, a con man, an elderly couple with an over-the-top Christmas display, a feisty committeewoman with a past of her own, and a police investigation, Micah and Carrie wonder if there is any hope for the holidays this year!”

I hope you will give this wonderful anthology a try! You won't be disappointed!

What do you prefer in a Christmas story? Sweet or Spicey?

Happy Thanksgiving!
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Wednesday, April 6, 2016

Comfort Food -- A Matter of Taste

By Robin Weaver

A good friend recently raved about steak-and-kidney pie, gushing in a manner I typically reserve for salted-caramel ice cream (or new shoes). His enthusiasm convinced me to give the dish a try.

Ye gods of yuck! The stuff tasted like liver.

To my credit, I didn’t gag—well, maybe a little in my head—but I wondered how one dish could evoke such different responses. Was this liver wannabee a “comfort food” for my friend or were our taste buds simply that different? Perhaps taste really is just a matter of—well, taste.

So exactly what is taste? No surprise that it starts in the mouth (well, duh) where each of us has about ten thousand taste buds—yep, that many. And every one of these teeny-tiny flavor producers has 10-50 cells that sense sweet, sour, salty, bitter and savory, the five things scientist tell us we can taste (I’m still trying to figure out where fishy fits).  Then, genetics come into play. We each experience the five tastes differently. If you’re doing the math (10,000 x 50 x 5 factorial), you’re probably wondering how any of us like any of the same things.

Taste gets even more complicated because “flavor” is a combination of taste and smell. Don’t believe me? Hold your nose and taste your food (this test might not apply to chocolate). Just like taste, our sense of smell is closely linked to emotions. Have a bad experience with tuna (for example, eat it just before your appendix ruptures) and the food will forever make you seasick. On the flip side, a positive experience can actually help you learn to “re-like” foods. So maybe if Ryan Reynolds came to my house with a tuna sandwich and the winning lottery ticket…nah, couldn't stomach the stuff even then. Still you get the picture—or in this case, scent.

Taste is further affected by:
·       Texture (Why does that make me think of potato chips?)
·       Temperature (if you have brain freeze, can you still taste?)
·       Coloring—we’re all familiar with blue food revulsion and are also aware a lot of restaurants use red paint to make us hungrier.
·       Noise—Cornell scientists tested the impact of 85-decibel noise (a.k.a economy class) and compared the experience with that of the much quieter ride in first class. Those test subjects tasted less sweetness and saltiness compared to the swankier fliers in the front of the plane. And you thought the advantage of first-class was more leg room.
·       Mommy Dearest—to further add to the differing taste equation, scientist now think babies are predisposed to like the foods mom eats while pregnant. Do you suppose the next generation will be addicted to Starbucks?


It’s pretty clear, taste is a very unique thing, but can “taste” be learned. In other words, will I ever like steak-and-kidney pie? According to the Oregon State University's Department of Food Science, most people don't like beer the first time they try it. Using that analogy, the meat pie doesn’t have a prayer. I still don’t like beer.
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