The Big One

Hubby had a birthday. We celebrated with an outdoor feast on the patio. There were burgers cooked on the grill, potato salad, fruit salad, beans, pasta salad, and in addition to the ice cream cake, we had S'mores.

There was one funny incident. I left the back door open for a while when I was taking food back into the house. A few chipmunks were spotted heading toward the door, and one of them went inside. Daughters #2, #3 and her boyfriend went after the errant chipmunk. They managed to get him to run out the front door. They are such cute creatures, but I would hate to have one loose in the house.

It was such a beautiful day. We had our daughters and our friends with us. Plus my parents came, too. I was so glad they could join us.

Featured Author

Yesterday, I was the featured author at the monthly meeting of the New Jersey Romance Writers. I stood up to tell everyone about my book, but after developing laryngitis this week I sounded terrible and I did not want to talk for long. Nevertheless, I got a few chuckles when I explained that The Keeper's Promise is a book about murder and faith. And it is. Sort of. :^)

I had a wonderful time catching up with my writing friends. There's always something to laugh about at a romance writers' meeting.

At lunch, we commiserated about the difficulty of promoting books. Writing books is the easy part. Most of the published writers in NJRW have not quit their day jobs--yet. So for those of you who want to get rich quick, don't think you can do it by writing a book.

But if you have lots of stories to tell, go ahead and write. It is fun!

Mother's Day

Life has been very hectic lately, but sometimes when things get tough I like to look at my old photo albums. This is one of my favorite pictures from more than twenty years ago--me and our three daughters at the Enchanted Forest. And I thought life was hectic then. Ha!

This weekend was busy as most weekends seem to be in this household--except for yesterday morning. While Daughter #1 had brought her boyfriend with her, they went to a wedding yesterday morning. Daughter #3 was working yesterday morning. Daughter #2 had to wait for a cable guy to come and install a cable in her apartment. Hubby went out to check all the garage sales in the area. So yesterday morning I was all alone for several hours. I had lots of peace and quiet. :^)

Then everyone came back and my peace and quiet evaporated. Still, our daughters can gab for hours and I love to listen to what is going on in their lives. It is fun to have them altogether and, of course, they gave me wonderful gifts.

Today we all went to Mass together. However, after lunch Daughter #1 and her boyfriend had to leave. Daughter #2 went with hubby and I to visit my parents. Hubby fixed Dad's lawnmower and put the air conditioner in the living room window. Daughter #2 and I scrubbed the kitchen. I also planted a few geraniums outside as well as a hydrangea.

Then Daughter #2 had to leave.

Sigh. Life whizzes by so quickly. I'm glad I have my old photographs.

Five Roses!

The Keeper's Promise has received a wonderful review from Mary at A Romance Review. Mary gave the book the highest rating--five roses! She thoroughly enjoyed the book and highly recommends it.

You can read the entire review at:

http://www.aromancereview.com/reviews/index.php?app_state=show_event&bookid=13449