Writing Challenge!

Yes, call me crazy, but I'm joining in on the challenge once more. I've got radiation treatments everyday and a mother-in-law in rehab, but I've found the best therapy in the world is getting into a book, piling up the pages, and living in my own little dream world--which is far more interesting than the actual world I live in.

There are cheerleaders on the team to spur all the participants to glory and no one is allowed to use the word "only." I've used the challenge in the past. I reached the goal of 30,000 words each time.

Wish me luck!

Watching Over Me

I sure hope my angel is watching over me and doesn't get distracted from that task. My life has been getting more and more complicated every day. In addition to going through my radiation treatments, hubby and I have now been faced with another huge problem because my mother-in-law wound up in the hospital with pneumonia a few weeks ago. She's been doing better in rehab, but we're due to talk to the social worker about what comes next for hubby's mom this week.

Despite all the biopsies, doctor visits, other tests, and surgery I've had from October onward, I've been making a valiant attempt to write PATRIOT'S COURAGE, but it's been moving slowly. I've signed up for the annual JerRoWriMo, the New Jersey Romance Writers' 30,000 word challenge to speed things up a bit. I need some cheerleaders to push me to the end of the story.

Of course, writing a book is always a giant leap of faith. I don't know if any publisher will want it once I've written it. I say this even though I've had seventeen books published so far. If I do get it published, there's no guarantee readers will buy it. Selling books in this day and age is an extremely impossible job. Pressed for time, I've bought ads on Facebook. Those haven't helped much--though if I didn't buy ads, nobody would see my news at all.

However, I will be giving away four free books on Valentine's Day. If you want to take a chance on getting one of them don't forget to sign up HERE. The book I'm giving away is PATRIOT'S PRIDE (the genuine PAPER edition), which is the sequel to PATRIOT'S HEART. If you haven't read PATRIOT'S HEART, you ought to download it now. It is only $0.99--a true bargain for a full-length book.

Grammarly

Where Old Appliances Go

I drive an aging Jeep. I love it even though it guzzles gas. It's a useful vehicle for hauling stuff, but it's especially comforting to drive in the snow. After the last snowstorm, I noticed the rear tire was very low. We stopped to put in air. The air didn't help. That was rather disconcerting.

Our local tire repair mechanic fixed the leak but said it was caused by the rusty rims and warned that the repair wouldn't last. He suggested a recycling facility which might have rims for the aging Jeep.

Hubby and I went to the recycling center. On one side of the street was a mountain of rusting metal appliances. On the other side of the street were stacks and stacks of flattened automobiles. In the old days, it would have been called a junkyard. Hubby loved it. I thought the entire complex had an post apocalyptic feel to it, loaded as it was with the refuse of our consumerist society.

We bought two rims for a very fair price. The rims came complete with busted tires. We loaded them into the back of the Jeep. Our tire repair mechanic replaced the rustiest rims of the Jeep with the newer rims. Now I'm ready for the next snowstorm.

Love Is A Decision

I'm a romance writer, so I know everything about love. Right?

Not exactly, but after forty years of marriage I think I've got the gist of it.

Before hubby and I were married, we went to an Engaged Encounter and a Pre-Cana class, either class would have fulfilled the requirement to be married in the Catholic church but we wanted to be super prepared. One phrase, repeated over and over at both classes, was "Love Is a Decision." I did not understand it at the time since I still had my rose-colored glasses firmly in place.

I understand it now.

There are plenty of articles and books with long, detailed explanations and instructions about how to manage your love life. There are many more self-help guides which claim to explain exactly what love is. 

I think 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 does a far better job of offering a thorough account of the intricacies of love.

I used one section of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 as the basis of HOPING FOR JOY. It is the part that states love always hopes. My book, according to one reviewer, is a "Lovingly told romantic story of realigning life’s purpose and realizing we can’t and shouldn’t try to be in control of everything."

While you can't be in control of everything, you do have to work at love. My grandfather once told me that in a marriage each partner has to give fifty percent, but in truth sometimes one partner must give one hundred percent--but then the situation may swing around and the other partner has to put out one hundred percent. Sometimes, it's seventy-five percent to twenty-five percent. It all depends on the circumstances because life isn't easy and it's full of surprises--some aren't happy surprises either. 

Often one partner will discover they have a talent for handling certain situations in life that the other partner cannot. It might be something simple, such as guiding children with their homework. When our daughters were young, I helped them with most of their school assignments. However, once they moved on into higher math, I was no help at all and hubby took over that task. 

Rose-colored glasses don't last long. Love can last forever--but it does take work and self-sacrifice. It's worth it. Don't give up on love. Give it everything you've got.

Available at AMAZON!

The Books I Read in 2016

I post the images of the books I've read on Pinterest. Above are some of those from my reading of 2016, which are mostly romances but there are a few non-romance books as well. If a book is in an ebook format, I sometimes listen to it read on my iPad. That way I can do something else while the book is being read. (Multitasking!)

I rarely watch television since I prefer reading. The stories are much better in books and more varied.

How about you? What do you like to read?

Come On In the Water's Fine

Yesterday, the water temperature hovered around forty-seven degrees in Asbury Park. That didn't stop  the annual Polar Bear Plunge from taking place. Hubby and I enjoy watching the event, which is sponsored by the Sons of Ireland. While some people jump in and out very quickly, there are those who linger in the water. Many people dress in funny costumes, too. It's an interesting way to start the New Year!