Showing posts with label valentine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label valentine. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 18, 2025

Two Deer Staring into My Headlights … by Delsora Lowe

 Spooky? Yes! Prophetic? Maybe!

Driving home, up Route One around 8 p.m., two deer walked right out in front of me…and stopped. Another vehicle was a few car lanes ahead of me, and no one was coming in the opposite direction. That vehicle was oblivious to my visitors emerging from the darkness. As, was I. Until the deer stood right in front of me and stared.

DEER – Photo or Image

It was as if they dropped from the sky.

I slammed on my brakes and swerved partially into the oncoming lane—the direction from which they came. The car’s front end was a hair’s length away from the 2nd deer’s back flanks. And yes, I cursed.

Neither deer fled. They stayed right where they stopped. I couldn’t really see the first deer well, but the deer I was inches from merely gazed at me. Like spirits in the night, their color was ghostly. Of course, my headlights were on. But they were shining behind the tail end of the last deer, aimed off toward the woods on the opposite side of the road. Of course, I rationalized, the side of my headlight must be shining on the deer.


They continued to stand just off to the passenger side, one gazing straight at me through the right side of the windshield.

Eerie.

Beautiful.

Spiritual

We stared at each other for at least a minute or two, maybe longer, as time seemed suspended. Then, minutes later, as though they had not a care in the world, they moseyed off, out of the glare of my headlights, I believe into the tree line along the edge of the road. But maybe they vanished into thin air, just like they had appeared. I prefer to believe I lost them in the woods. I sucked down a deep breath and pulled my car ahead and back into the northbound lane.

Then it hit me, that besides cussing in fear as I avoided them, my heartrate never rose, A sudden fright should have had my heart drumming in my chest. Strange. I never saw them off to the side of the road as the other car passed them. Why didn’t the other car and then my headlights scare them? Why did they seem to just appear out of nowhere, as if dropped from the sky? Then, after what seemed like a good chunk of time, they took a few steps and disappeared. All the way home, all I could focus on was why did that deer stared at me the entire time we faced each other—it’s gaze mesmerizing me? And why was my heartrate still steady?

I can still envision the ghostly shadows of the deer. Was it the angle of my headlights that made them seem ethereal and calm? Or were they really ghosts? Why did my heartrate not rise? Were the deer trying to tell me something?

When I returned home, I told my son. The few other people I told about this interaction said the same—that the long-ago natives of this country believed in the spirit of the deer. And a sighting, such as this, means something.

When I Googled this, the search mentioned, and I quote, “When a deer crosses your path, it is often regarded as a significant spiritual event with deep symbolism and profound meaning. The deer symbolizes purity, devotion, gentleness, and intuition. Seeing a deer may be an invitation to embrace these qualities in your spiritual journey and trust your inner wisdom and intuition.”

From an article entitled 17 Spiritual Meanings of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness the Energy, I learned the deer sighting “can offer guidance, inspiration, and a deeper connection to the world around you.” They claim that the sighting is not random, but intentional. Meant as a message to the one they are appearing before.

Of course, I could think of no message or lesson learned from this experience as I moved through the following days and weeks. The vision of the immobile, ghostly deer, staring directly at me, still haunts. The miraculous notion that neither the deer nor I were injured, amazes me.

But when I look at the explanations in the article, I have to wonder…

Was the sighting a “beacon” to guide me through a difficult time or to emphasize my journey in life and give me greater understanding of where I am today? Or where I need to go, and how my actions will either affect me or guide me?

Below are the seventeen lessons listed in the article 17 Spiritual Meanings Of Deer Crossing Your Path: Harness The Energy. To paraphrase

1.      Guidance toward peace = seek serenity among the chaos

2.      Symbol of protection = protection from higher up

3.      Harbinger of good luck = a sign of upcoming fortunes or positive outcomes

4.      Call for Adventure = embrace changes and new adventures

5.      Reminder of fertility or new life = personal growth or new ideas and projects

6.      Spiritual Authority = protection from higher up

7.      Messenger of Unconditional Love = to give or receive

8.      Self-reflection = encouraging introspection and improvement

9.      Perseverance = keep moving forward

10.  Awakening to Psychic Abilities = a nudge to explore and develop intuitive skills

11.  Symbol of Regeneration = rebirth or the ability to renew oneself

12.  Embodying Gracefulness = learning to handle situations with ease and poise

13.  Indicator of Sacrifice = personal sacrifice for the greater good

14.  Humanity’s Fragility = reflection of actions & decisions and impact on the world

15.  Adaptability = a prompt to be more flexible and adaptable

16.  A Call to Natural Living = closer connections to nature & living a simpler, more organic lifestyle

17.  Beacon of Hope – a symbol of hope and encouragement to persist in challenging times.

I’m still not sure where the deer wished to lead me in thought or action.

Will I know what the message was when I see it? Or will the guidance they wished to bestow on me, just happen without my noticing?

Furthermore, do I believe in the supernatural? Do I believe some entity has bigger plans for my life than I have recognized? Should I obsess on these questions? Or let my life’s journey continue to unfold to surprise me? If I do the later, will I have missed a chance while on this earth to make a difference in my life or perhaps in someone else’s?

HAVE YOU EVER HAD AN ENCOUNTER THAT HAS NO EXPLANATION?


 Moonlighting (also in print as a collection: Starlight Grille)

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 (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.

Author Links:

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

Photo Credits:

Deer: Deer Silhouette Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures
Headlights: photo taken by blog author
Heartrate: heart-rate-icon-free-png.png (1920×1755)
Ghost: free clipart - ghost images free download - Search Images 
Hope, Peace, Faith free clipart spiritual images free - Search Images
Wondering: free clipart wondering images free - Search Images
Guidance: free clipart guidance images free - Search Images

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

January: My “go to” Activity When I Want to Relax and Take Time Out of My Real Life ............................. by Delsora Lowe

Hallmark movies and romance stories take me away from the bad world news. They give me a positive, albeit maybe an unrealistic spin on life, versus the craziness, that seems to get crazier every day in our “off-kilter” world. 

The movies are educational…as in from the perspective of an author, they help me with writing romance. They "show" versus "tell" me by providing visual examples of style, topics, relationship types (good and bad,) lifestyle, various scenery, and locations, etc. 

Watching romantic shows and movies, and reading romance in any form, whether a full novel or a 5-minute short story, are positive reinforcement that show our world has the potential to be able to learn to work together, live in harmony, and help us individually and collectively to see the positive side of life. 

They show us how to be polite and thoughtful toward our neighbors, friends, and those who are strangers to us. For example, holding the door for the person entering behind us. Or, letting the mom with the fussy kid go in front of you in the grocery store line. 


Simple acts of kindness. 

These types of stories and movies let me escape from personal, national, and international woes. It is like burying my head in the sand.


Or like the infamous three monkeys—see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Of course, this scenario is for the pure romance stories. 

Suspenseful romance does have a dose of evil, but in the end, all is rosy. Love and positivity reign. All turns out well for the heroes of the story. And the reader is left satisfied that all is well in the world—or at least the world of romantic fiction. 

 
Unrealistic, sometimes? Oh Yeah! Escapism? Absolutely! A chance to feel safe and “normal?” Yes, for those hours you are immersed in a fantasy of the way life should be—ALL THE TIME! 

 Letting your imagination run with the good things in life, is like a palette cleanser. On a bad day is watching or reading romance like a reset? On a good day, does fictional romance, confirm positivity and your perspective of what life should be—hopeful and kind and full of love? 

 What more can one ask from a few hours of reading or watching a feel-good movie? 


What’s Your Palette Cleanser on a Bad Day? 



HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY
all about love!


Moonlighting
(e-reader only) 

Amazon

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

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/bMrQva

 

Moonlighting
(also e-reader or in paperback as a collection: Starlight Grille) 

Amazon

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Moonlighting-Serenity-Harbor-Novella-Starlight-ebook/dp/B075TK7KYS/ 

Books2Read

Books2Read books2read.com/u/mZ5eop 




 ~ 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. 

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 

Photo Credits: 
Cash Register: fee clip art - cash register - Search Images / https://www.vecteezy,com 
Ostrich: free clip art - burying head in sand - Search / clipartmax.com

Tuesday, February 15, 2022

Love Is Given in Many Forms … by Delsora Lowe

 Love is one of the essentials every being needs. Love comes in all forms.

Family love is one of those loves that should be a given. It’s not always guaranteed. But true family love is usually the first love someone experiences. This love is about modeling, giving attention and unconditional love, and accepting the same in return, between those you are bonded to—whether by genetics or circumstance. Family love is about deep caring for another in your immediate circle. It is a love filled with quality time spent with another, commitment, and touching, as a way of showing that love.

In writing, we use family love, or lack thereof, as a backdrop to round out our characters. Many times, it is in the form of the emotional backstory for a character. The reality of love, given or not given, affects how a character reacts to the many challenges in life and relationships built.

Friendship is love. Some friendships are fleeting, but when you are in that friendship, it means the world to you. Friends are there to back you up, to give you advice, to celebrate your victories, and share with and embolden you during low points in your life. Some friendships last a lifetime. Others may be bonds that last while you’re in certain phases of your life—childhood buddies, college friends, workplace colleagues, neighbors. Some of those friendships fade when your life takes a different turn. And others will endure, despite life going in opposite directions.

As authors, we show how this kind of love impacts our characters, often, through their relationship with secondary characters.

One can show love for an inanimate object. Your love for your job or your church or an organization you volunteer for, is a love of giving. Giving a gift of service or toward a common goal, shows love of a cause. Or one shows love for pets, who for many are an integral part of the family. Pets also return love and can be woven into a story as a supportive secondary character.

Being a true partner to another is love. You make a pledge to a love you choose. You’re invested in that love through thick and thin. You both give and take as a partner. You give affection, respect, trust, and touch, and you open yourself to accepting those same gifts from another. This kind of love is an integral part of a romance novel. Not only must a writer show the physical act of love—a kiss or holding hands—but the author must portray emotion that the reader will feel as they read the story.

Love might not conquer all, stem problems, or cure an illness. But love, to me, no matter the form in which it is presented, is an essential part of having a happy and successful life.

As a writer of romance, always looking for love in each story I write, I can’t imagine a world where love isn’t important.

The challenge, as a writer, as we throw all sorts of obstacles in the path of our characters, is finding a way to help them work through and resolve all the issues that stand in their way of reaching for and accepting love. That means gifting your characters with all the above-mentioned: quality time with a loved one; open communication, including both verbal and non-verbal affirmation from a loved one; gifts that show you are appreciated, which come in many forms—physical, spiritual, and emotional; meaningful communication; and acts of service that are unasked for, but appreciated.


Building relationships between characters has to be shown through verbal and non-verbal communication that helps each character understand those types of communication are a show of love for another and from the other.

When THE END is written on each story, the feeling is euphoria. Not because you, the writer, labored through every word placed on the page, and lived viscerally through the emotional ups and downs as the characters built a relationship full of love, but for the fact, that despite all odds and denial, your characters found, worked for, and then accepted the love of another.

What is your favorite trope in a romance story?

Moonlighting

Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/Moonlighting-Serenity-Harbor-Novella-Starlight-ebook/dp/B075TK7KYS/

Books2Read

books2read.com/u/mZ5eop

 

~ 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: 
Free Family Clip Art Pictures - Clipartix # 49030 
free clip art church - Google Search
free clip art couples working together - Google Search
free clip art couples helping each other - Google Search
free clip art couples - Google Search 
free clip art couples - Google Search 
Hearts wedding heart clipart free clipart images - Clipartix  Green Pink Heart #11471  
Hearts heart clipart rainbow clipart image 7 - Clipartix

REFERENCES USED FOR ARTICLE: 
The 7 Languages Of Love Expressed By Truly In Love Couples | by Natesky | Hello, Love | Medium  
What Are the 5 Love Languages? Definition and Examples | Psychology Today

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

What Touches My Heart by Delsora Lowe


February is the month of Valentine’s Day. Throughout my life I have vacillated between loving the idea of the day and wanting to shove my head under a pillow. After all, love isn’t something you can conjure up with a finger-snap. Oh…unless you write romance.
This month’s theme is “what touches my heart.” I do love writing romance, but what touches my heart in a very special way are my three grandsons. So what better way to honor my loves then to combine the two.

Grandson's New Puppy, Hugging and Napping
Huh? My grandsons are 9, 10, and 12, so they aren’t hero material…yet. Now this is a personal opinion, but I am sure anyone who meets my grandsons will agree that they are handsome, of superior intelligence, and above average athletic ability, not to mention sweet and thoughtful and never naughty. Yes, there goes my vivid imagination again. But really, they are wonderful young men. So that leads me to how I combine a love of grandsons with my love of writing romance? 
Brothers Skiing on Beautiful Colorado Day
I have a penchant for writing second chance romances. And many times, either the hero or heroine has a child that factors into how that romance plays out. My grandsons are inspiration for those characters.
Hockey - a Favorite of all 3 Grandson's, Skating - a Favorite of My Character, Bunnie

In my Valentine-themed book Moonlighting, the hero’s daughter, Bunnie, plays a starring role. A precocious ten-year old, she knows the moment she spots the heroine, that Mary Beth is THE ONE for her dad. Just like my grandsons, Bunnie is innocent, but wise-beyond her years. Building her character included adding in pieces of experiences with my grandsons—the way they see the world and go about exploring with exuberance and eyes open to new adventures.
         
Moonlighting - Happy Valentine's Day
Although my grandsons are not yet teens, I swear they know a lot more than I did when I was a teen. They know a lot more than I do now! Maybe it has to do with technology and a greater access to the world. Or maybe it is only because I think they are much smarter than I am, even at my advanced, ahem, I mean mature age.
My book Come Dance With Me, doesn’t have young children, but does center around a group of teens who have formed an after-school jazz group—the setting for the meeting between my outgoing jazz pianist and the buttoned up, efficient English teacher assigned to proctor the group. Helping the group of teens throws the hero and heroine together. But it is through the eyes of and activities with the teens that the two find true love. As I watch my grandsons grow, I can see the passion they have for exploring and learning and beginning to understand what touches their own hearts—all traits I tried to show through the teens in the story.
My new release in April 2019, The Prince’s Son, features a sweet boy who has lost his mother. In the heroine, a cowgirl, teacher, and his temporary nanny, he finds a woman he can love as a mother. Jaime’s wide-eyed wonder at the world, along with his fears, mimic traits I see in my grandsons.

The Prince's Son
Currently I am editing a book with a young boy, and writing another book with a child. Both are younger than my grandsons, but the mannerisms of my dear grandsons always seem to find a way into my young characters.

Even the photo I use on my website represents my grandsons. What you don’t know is that the scenic ocean and lighthouse scene is a cropped photo. What doesn’t show is the bottom half, with a big slate-gray rock upon which are perched three boys, back-to, but looking over their shoulders with huge grins at the camera. The cousins enjoying vacation together on the rocky coast of Maine. When I look at that photo, even in its cropped state, my heart sings.
Maine Lighthouse
I realize as I write scenes with children in them, that I do channel my grandsons—their physical expressions and movements, as well as their sense of exploration, wonder, and everyday adventure in their play and school work.
So, to say my grandsons touch my heart, is indeed an understatement. They are a part of me in every way. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they are in my thoughts and drive the actions I take to be a better person, and behind my actions to treat this earth, my friends, and perfect strangers with respect and love, so the three boys will have a legacy they can be proud of.

My grandsons ARE my heart.
What touches YOUR heart?


Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet romances and contemporary westerns from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine ~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Lowe’s family visits to Colorado are the inspiration for an upcoming contemporary western series, Cowboys of Mineral Springs, to be released in 2019 and 2020. And her daughter’s wedding and her son’s home, both on the coast of Maine, provided plentiful ideas for the Starlight Grille series (released in 2017 and 2018).


Author FB Page: fb.me/delsoraloweauthorAuthor Website: www.delsoralowe.comAmazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/2nRx1Bs
Books2Read Author Page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/DelsoraAuthor Newsletter signup (only sent out when there is news): http://www.delsoralowe.com/contact.html   Author Blog: http://www.delsoralowe.com/blog