One Summer Long Ago

 The photo above shows my Uncle Robbie, my grandfather, my father, and my Uncle Gene--the baby my father is holding. In the summertime, my grandparents and, in fact, the entire Kierce clan who lived in Jersey City went to Belford, NJ, for the summer. That's where this picture was taken. They stayed in small bungalows, but it was better than being in the city. Those were the days of no air conditioning. From what my father said, my great-grandmother would serve up heaping mounds of potatoes with meat patties simmered in tomato sauce, which doesn't seem like an Irish dish, but that's what they ate. My father loved it and he asked my mother to make it frequently. Dad called it the "Belford Special." I still make it now and then, continuing to call it the "Belford Special." 😊

Last week, my Uncle Gene died. I will miss him. Everyone in that generation who stayed in the little bungalows during the summer in Belford has now passed away. The scary thought is that my sister, my cousins, and I are now the elders. We are the ones who are supposed to be wise. While our generation has experienced plenty of turmoil, I don't know whether any of us have all that much wisdom. We grew up in different times. But we have wonderful examples of fine folks to emulate and hopefully, that will help us. 

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UNCHAINED MELODY by Clare Revell

I've read several of Clare's books and enjoyed each of them. She lives in a small town just outside Reading, England with her husband, whom she married in 1992, two of their three grown children, unfriendly mini-panther, aka Tilly the cat and newest member Ty the dog. Clare is half English and half Welsh, which makes watching rugby interesting at times as it doesn’t matter who wins.

Writing from an early childhood and encouraged by her teachers, she graduated from rewriting fairy stories through fan fiction to using her own original characters and enjoys writing an eclectic mix of romance, crime fiction and children's stories. When she's not writing, she can be found reading, crocheting or doing the many piles of laundry the occupants of her house manage to make.

Her books are based in the UK, with a couple of exceptions, thus, although the spelling may be American in some of them, the books contain British language and terminology and the more recent ones are written in UK English

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The first draft of every novel is hand written. By the way, she claims working from home is a myth and invented by someone who doesn't have a dog!

Clare's latest book is UNCHAINED MELODY.  The setting is Candlewick Lodge, the only home Raven Faulkner has ever known—one her family has run since 1820. When the bell—which according to legend, rings to warn of danger—chimes just before a tree falls on the lodge, Raven tells herself it’s a coincidence. Just as well, because Raven doesn’t have time to decipher supernatural messages. Her biggest worry is keeping her family’s legacy alive.
Fame and fortune are not all they’re cracked up to be. Just as well, after Isaiah Beringer’s meteoric music career nosedives. He’s sure God wants him on the mission field, but every mission society he’s applied to thinks otherwise. Needing someplace secluded and peaceful to lick his wounds and figure out what God wants of him, he books into Candlewick. The problem? The woman who runs the lodge turns out to be his biggest fan.
Rising repair costs and failing health make the future uncertain. Unless Raven and Isaiah can work together to write a new ending to the unchained melody of the Lodge.

I received an advanced copy of Unchained Melody. Read my review below.  

Raven Faulkner is saved by the bell—literally.  There’s a superstition about the old bell on the archway at the Candlewick Lodge, but when it rings one night during a thunderstorm, Raven gets out of bed before a tree falls on the roof.  The damage from the tree is extensive, but that’s not Raven’s only worry. Her grandfather wants to sell the lodge, which has been in the family for generations. 
Isaiah Beringer gave up his successful music career because it clashed with his faith. Despite his number one rock  hits, when he tried gospel music none of his fans liked it. He decides to hide out at the Candlewick Lodge. What he doesn’t know is that Raven is a huge fan. 
Though Raven is beset with enormous trouble, she switches rooms for her guests to a different wing in the lodge. While she is a fan of Isaiah, she acts professionally toward him. However, he is willing to help her. Her grandparents said guests should never do any work at the lodge, but she  is overwhelmed and accepts his aid. She has another guest at the lodge who is decidedly obnoxious, but she manages to deal politely with him.
Raven’s burdens mount. The family discussions about the lodge prove interesting but when Raven’s grandfather turns ill, things go from bad to worse. The twisted trail of clues that lead to why Raven’s grandfather is so intent on selling the historical property is complex and an intriguing part of the story. The gentle relationship that blooms between Raven and Isaiah is charming as this compelling tale winds through the history of the old lodge and the people who have called it home for so long.  

You can find Unchained Melody at:

Amazon

Apple

Barnes&Noble

Kobo

Pelican Book Group

Check out Clare Revell's website at: https://clarerevell.com/

THE COMPANY YOU KEEP for $0.99

Halloween is coming! THE COMPANY YOU KEEP is at the rock bottom price of $0.99. It is now available as an audio book, too. This book features a ghost, a billionaire, plenty of evil entities, and a terrible secret. 

😱

It’s the perfect story for a dark, cold night in the month of October.

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Here are snippets of reviews from the past:

A reader on Goodreads said, "This book surprised me. I though it was just a romantic novel, but I was wrong. Besides romance, includes other genres like suspense , paranormal and crime. I couldn't put it down until I finished it. I really enjoyed the story!"

Diane Tugman of The Romance Studio said, "With each chapter you'll be drawn into a tangled web of the supernatural."

Anastasia Castella-Young of Mind Fog Reviews said, "I highly recommend this paranormal romance to those interested in demons, spirits, adventure and love. Penelope Marzec hits the mark dead on!"

The book tells the story of Jennifer Brant. She is focused on protecting the world from a cursed spirit who guards a deadly portal located on her farm. When a billionaire developer, haunted by the sins of his past, wants to buy her farm, she refuses, knowing the spirit will be released. When someone intent on controlling the demon kidnaps her brother in order to use the farm for his own evil deeds, Jennifer and the billionaire must unite to save her brother and destroy the portal. Can their union grow into a loving and safe lifetime for them and their future generations?

The following scene is in Nathan's point of view--he's the billionaire. While Jennifer sleeps after being involved in an accident, Michael, her brother, offers Nathan the land he wants. This comes as quite a surprise to the billionaire...

Nathan placed another log on the cheery blaze in the fireplace. Jennifer lay on the couch, bundled in a wealth of quilts. Her chest rose and fell softly in a steady rhythm. He sat in the chair and took a calming breath. Despite a variety of bruises and a mild concussion, she should be fine, especially since he had volunteered to watch her for the rest of the night.

Michael walked into the room with two brandy glasses. “Here, McDugan. It’s been a long night.”

“Thanks.” He accepted the glass.

Michael paced around the room with his brow deeply furrowed. The younger man was still revved up and running on adrenaline.

 “I want to thank you. I really panicked when I saw Jen’s truck up against that tree,” he admitted. “I’m usually cool on a call but it’s different when it’s one of your own...” After a pause, Michael continued in a raspy tone. “You see, our parents died in a car accident.”

He nodded. He’d felt the twist in his gut when he had heard the metal crumple in the crash, but when he saw Jennifer in that wreck it was as if his heart slipped out of gear. He sipped some of the brandy. The warmth of peaches tingled on his tongue and his control nearly crumbled. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he dared another taste. The sample reminded him so vividly of the flavor of Jennifer’s lips that he felt nearly possessed.

He drew in a great breath. For a moment tonight, he thought he had lost her. In that brief flash, raw grief sliced into him. Thinking about it later, he was stunned at his violent reaction. He told himself that simply visiting a wreck stirred up the old horror.

“The police said someone tampered with the brake hoses,” Michael blurted out. “But that’s ridiculous. I know it’s an old truck. But George—” He stopped his restless pacing and paled. “George always fixed it.”

“She said the brakes didn’t work.” He kept his voice low. He did not want to disturb her. She needed to rest.

“Yeah. Yeah. I know.” Michael downed a good portion of the brandy in one gulp. “How much land do you really need?”

He narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had heard correctly.

“Your absolute minimum,” Michael reiterated.

Momentarily speechless with surprise, he nearly dropped the glass in his hand. Did he see desperation in the hard lines around Michael’s mouth? “Your sister has led the fight and worked the hardest to keep me out of Marlpit. Won’t she consider you a traitor?”

“Everything has changed in the last few months. Everything.” Michael swore softly. “My wife is ill. We had another dry summer so we didn’t grow much produce.” He gave a small snort. “Except for peaches. We had plenty of peaches. Now with Jennifer’s truck destroyed, I don’t think there’s any way—” He didn’t finish the thought. A deep scowl creased his forehead and he balled up his fists.

Nathan cleared his throat. Warning gongs sounded in his brain but he ignored them. He had no reason to trust Michael Brant. However, after tonight, it seemed worth the gamble. “Forty acres.”

Michael sniffed. “Why didn’t you tell us that in the first place?”

“I padded my original proposal figuring it would get whittled down to nothing anyway.” Despite the heady liquor, his nerves seemed ready to snap. He’d wanted this for so long.

Michael set his glass on the mantle and stared into the fire, his back to Nathan. “What price?”

He realized he was about ready to crush the glass in his hand. He forced himself to relax. Leaning back in the chair, he tried to look casual. He didn’t want to get roped into a ridiculous deal.

“This is an unusual liqueur,” he said, taking another sip from his glass. “Do you make your own brew?”

Michael’s shoulders sagged. “Nah. That stuff is something Jen mixes up. Peach juice and vodka, I think.”

He glanced at her, still sound asleep on the couch. Wispy tendrils framed her serene face. She looked fragile—and enchanting. A pang of something like loneliness stabbed at his heart. Clearing his throat, he added. “Your sister is quite talented.”

“Yeah. Well, you have to do something with all those peaches before they rot,” Michael commented. He plopped down in the wingback chair and hung his head. He looked beaten.

Despite the smell of victory, a hollow space seemed to widen in Nathan’s heart. This had all become more than a simple business deal. While he had spent months arguing with Jennifer and the people of Marlpit, he would win only because fate and some crazed maniac had lent him a hand.

“Which forty acres are you willing to part with?” He stared into the sweet but potent liquor in his glass.

Silence hung in the air for several tense minutes before Michael answered. “You can have a portion of Abigail’s woods.”

He lifted his head and frowned. “It would take extra labor to clear it.”

Michael stood again as he spoke louder than before. “It’s well up on the ridge so you won’t have any drainage problems. In addition, it’s out of the DEP’s designated area.”

Then something sparked in Michael’s eyes as his voice reached a new crescendo. “Aside from that, the visitors to your fancy theater will have a sweeping view of feudal serfs living as they did in the dark ages! You should be able to raise the price of the tickets for that privilege!”

Jennifer moaned and stirred on the couch. Without conscious thought, Nathan sprang to her side. He touched her forehead. His hand shook. He wasn’t sure if she felt warm or hot. Dammit. She looked too pale.

“Should I wake her like the doctor said and ask her some questions? Do you think she’s all right? How does her forehead feel to you?” His heart hammered in his chest.

Michael rubbed the back of his callused hand on his sister’s cheek. “She’s okay. I should just keep my big mouth shut.”

Relief flowed through him. “She always tries to act so tough but she isn’t,” he mumbled, almost to himself. Then he glanced back at Michael, catching an odd puzzled look as it flitted across the younger man’s features.

“Yeah. Well. She’s flesh and blood, McDugan. Two hundred year old maple trees are a lot tougher,” he whispered hoarsely. “Come on into the kitchen. I’ll get a calculator. Let’s talk numbers.”

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You can find the book at many ebook distributors. 

Amazon

Kobo

 Barnes&Noble

Why I Get My Flu Shot

      

     Enjoy listening to some madrigals. Whenever I think of madrigals, I think of my first year in college and the reason I always get my flu shot. I'm old and I'm supposed to get a flu shot, but having had the flu once, I never want to suffer through it again. The flu is a nasty virus--even for young people. I got the flu in my freshman year. I was in the prime of my life. But I got sick.

     The day I realized I was getting sick was the day I sang at the Jersey City Woman's Club with our college madrigal choir. I had signed up for the choir because I needed one more credit and I figured it would be fun to sing. We sang songs from the 1500s--all a cappella--in parts. There were lots of fa la la la la's. Our choir sounded great. 

     However, it was very, very hot in the Jersey City Woman's Club and I nearly fainted. The choir director led me to a chair and I sat through the rest of the performance. But I still had to get home, which meant taking a bus to Journal Square, then taking another bus to my hometown, and then walking a mile to the house. It wasn't difficult usually, but there was snow on the ground and it was cold. I was freezing. 

     By the next day, my entire body ached and eating wasn't particularly appealing. The one bright spot was that it was semester break, so I wouldn't miss any classes. 

     My mother mixed up a hot toddy for me, which consisted of some sort of alcohol, hot tea, lemon, and honey. She handed me her concoction every few hours. There wasn't much more she could do for me. I spent my entire semester break in bed and read Hawaii by James Michener whenever I felt like I could keep my eyes open.

     I recovered in time to begin the next semester and was fortunate that I didn't have any complications from the flu. 

    Vaccines are terrific. Doctors can't cure everything, but scientists are figuring out ways to prevent diseases. Get vaccinated!

Romance and Frog Prince

 Yesterday I saw the Frog Prince sitting beside the koi pond. He didn’t move. I wondered if he was afraid of the large koi swimming around the pond, but he wasn’t a small frog. I doubted if he would fit in the mouth of the koi. Maybe he just needed to dry off for a while and take in the sights of the world. Or maybe he was hoping to catch a few tasty bugs. He sat there for quite a while but I didn’t see him eat any bugs. Eventually, he jumped back into the pond, which was a good thing because I was worried that someone would accidentally step on him. 

Once I returned home, I started thinking of that old Grimm fairytale about the Frog Prince. Grimm's tales are, for the most part, quite dark and simply the idea of kissing a frog is repulsive. But then I recalled those long ago boyfriends and the kisses I received from them. 😂 Those kisses weren’t much better than kissing a frog. (Hint: Hubby was much better at kissing than all the old boyfriends.)

In truth, the Frog Prince is a romance which also contains a moral about keeping promises. The princess was a spoiled brat but the biggest obstacle to the romance was the fact that the prince was a frog. Nevertheless, he was a persistent frog for he knew his own salvation relied on the princess keeping her promise, which she did reluctantly. At the climax she throws him against the wall, but the spell on him was broken and love reigned.

There are many, many people who disdain romances because they believe the happy endings are unrealistic. They say that in the beginning the hero and the heroine hate each other and then inexplicably at the end they fall madly in love. 

I disagree with that stereotyped idea of the romance genre. In the beginning of a romance there are always obstacles to the relationship of the two protagonists. That is not an absurd notion. It happens in real life. While your future husband or wife may not be a frog, they may have a job in a different state. The hero may be a police officer while the heroine's father was a mean police officer and so she doesn't trust someone with that occupation. That's just the way things work in the world. Nevertheless, the couple can work things out. The magic in a romance is love. And love can change the world--even the very broken one we live in. There can be happy endings if we keep our promises, just as the princess had to keep her promise to the Frog Prince. 

Best of all, romances offer hope and leave readers with a positive feeling.

Maybe the frog I saw at the pond finds true love and eventually fathers thousands of little tadpoles that look just like him who spend their lives eating lots of mosquitoes and other annoying bugs. Isn’t that a realistic happy ending?

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Working On Another Historical

This is a photo of a Butterick pattern from 1918, which I found on Pinterest. I always look up what was fashionable in any time period when I write a historical. I like writing historicals because I truly enjoy digging into the past. So, this time around, I chose 1918 as the year. The book is set in New Jersey, which means I've had to do quite  a bit of research of what it was like here in NJ 107 years ago. It is quite intriguing. One popular soda fountain drink at that time was an Orange Crush. 

Most people know about the Spanish Flu, which occurred at that time. According to the Pan American Health Organization, "The United States lost 675,000 people to the Spanish flu in 1918-more casualties than World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined." (Hint: The flu is real and dangerous.)

However, one of the most devastating disease of all times was tuberculosis. According to historyofvaccines.org, "...tuberculosis claims the highest death toll across history, with an estimated 1 billion lives lost..."  My mother's cousin had tuberculosis and spent some time in a sanitorium. In 1918, there were sanitoriums in New Jersey, but a specific surgery was being used for TB patients. It didn't cure the disease but sometimes it helped the patient. Fortunately, antibiotics have successfully been used to control that terrible disease. But it is still with us. It has not been eradicated. 

Aside from diseases of the era, there was much being done in the US to help with the war effort. One odd thing I discovered was that people saved peach pits, nuts shells, and such. The pits were used to create activated carbon, which was used in gas masks. 

Both of my grandfathers served in World War 1. My paternal grandfather went to France and my maternal grandfather served along the Mexican border, watching out for Pancho Villa. I wish I had asked them more about their time in the service. My paternal grandfather never said anything about his experience and my maternal grandfather said very little. Of course, my grandmothers were in this country as the war went on. So, learning about that time period in more depth is a little like being in their company again. Though I so much wish I could have asked all the questions and written it down while they were still here. 

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My Latest Painting

 This is the last oil painting I finished. It's a white-tailed deer. I took a photo of the deer several years ago in a local park. I was in the car and he stared at me with suspicion, but he held still. He was on a small rise and that made him look rather magnificent. The photo sat on my desktop for quite a while until I decided to attempt painting it. I haven't done many animal paintings. However, I think it is infinitely easier to do a portrait of an animal than a human. Humans complain too much about how they look in a portrait. 😏

I like painting. My mom was an artist and I grew up in a house with the smell of oil paint and turpentine. I enjoy mixing the colors and dabbing the paint on the canvas. But just like writing a book, painting includes a bravery. Do it. Even if it isn't masterpiece. 

Yesterday I bought a frame. It's a drop-in frame. I never bought one until now but it does look easy to put together. This frame has a dented corner and I was able to get it for half price. Hubby believes he can fix the corner. 

This deer will go into the next art show and then I'll have to find more wall space in my house. 😅 

Ebook Library Apps

The page from the Libby App with some of my books.

I’ve always been a fan of ebooks. They are very portable, they don’t collect dust, they don’t take up room, and you still get all the words that make up the story. Nowadays, libraries also offer ebooks on either the Libby or Hoopla apps. They are great! Both of them have my books available for borrowing. You can read my books for FREE! Authors get paid a small amount when readers borrow their books and that’s fine with me. After spending hours and hours writing a book, I really would love for other people to read it. 

There are still readers who prefer to read paper editions. They can ask their library to acquire that book for them. Either way, you can read my books without paying for them. 

The page from the Hoopla App with some of my books.

Many of my books that are published by Pelican Book Group are available with Kindle Unlimited.   For those who like audio books, THE COMPANY YOU KEEP is currently on sale as an audio book for only $0.99. What a deal! You can get it here: https://www.amazon.com/Audible-The-Company-You-Keep/dp/B0FBH2CBH8/

There's one whole month of summer ahead. Get a book for FREE or for very little and enjoy a day in the shade with a story. 

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Summer Fun on the Farm

I'm the kid with the funny smile.

      When summer comes around, I alway think about the way it used to be when I was young. Once a year, my father had a two-week vacation. My brother, my sisters, Mom and I piled into the car and went out to see my grandma and grandpa in western Pennsylvania. Many of my mother's siblings lived near my grandparents, so I saw my aunts, uncles, and many of my cousins as well. I was blessed with a passel of cousins since my mother had five brothers and one sister. But there are only a few cousins in the photo above.

      My grandparents’ farm was about ten acres on one side of the hill. There was a barn for the cow and there was plenty of hay. My grandmother canned vegetables from her garden but she had a huge freezer in the basement, too. An old coal furnace and a coal bin occupied part of the basement as well as an old wringer washing machine. There wasn't any air conditioning. Nobody had air conditioning in those days--including us, the city slickers from New Jersey. We didn’t live in the city but my grandfather called us city slickers anyway. 

      It always seemed as if life on the farm was slower. My relatives chatted for hours and I listened attentively. In fact, every one of those visits out to Pennsylvania was mostly spent catching up on all that had happened since the last time we saw everyone. My grandmother regularly wrote letters to us and my mother wrote to her, but phone calls were very limited due to the cost of a long distance call in those days. Phone calls were usually reserved for emergencies. 

      I didn't have the usual chores I had at home, which was a nice break. I picked daisies for my grandmother and she put them in a jar along with all the other daisies or dandelions she received from her other grandchildren. We picked blackberries. Sometimes, we went into town where we wandered through the 5 & 10 cent store. Sometimes we went to what had been the old company store for the coalminers when my mother was a youngster. My mother worked in that store for a while as a teenager. We didn't go to any historical sites in that area although there was a granite monument in town with the names of all the residents who served in World War II. My mother's name was there along with her brothers' names. 😊 

      I enjoyed being part of a large family, even though we only saw each other once a year. I miss listening to all those stories. My relatives told some wonderful tales. We didn't need any other entertainment. 

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Excerpt from OUTSIDE BLESSINGS and SALE!

I took the photo of the man on the jetty on the day before Superstorm Sandy hit New Jersey. As you can see, the ocean was already quite stirred up at that point. I have no idea who the man was walking out on the jetty but I thought he was living dangerously. However, the image stayed in my mind and became a scene in OUTSIDE BLESSINGS. 

That's the way my mind works. I save up images and when I need a specific scene, I simply have to draw from my memory. I find it helps to create a vivid description when I know exactly how it looked in real life.  That's why I take so many photographs. I want to imbed them in my memory because I just might need the image in a book somewhere. 

There will be a sale on the ebook edition of OUTSIDE BLESSINGS at all the usual ebook distributors sites from Saturday, June 21st until Friday, July 4th. The book will only cost $0.99. 

So, save up your pennies and buy OUTSIDE BLESSINGS while it's on sale. 

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THE COMPANY YOU KEEP Audiobook

The ebook edition of THE COMPANY YOU KEEP is still available for only $0.99. If you enjoy a book set in the wintertime, a marriage of convenience, a meddling ghost, and evil paranormal circumstances you should enjoy this story. One reviewer said, "The story is full of twists and turns and keeps the reader turning pages to the end." Another Kindle customer said, "The writing is fresh and original, an excellent read." One more said, "A fantastic story, with an even more imaginative ending."

Now the book is also available as an audiobook with virtual voice at: https://www.amazon.com/Company-You-Keep-Penelope-Marzec-ebook/dp/B00WQ77NSW/  It's a real bargain at $3.99. But you can also buy the ebook and get the audiobook for only $1.99. 

Watch the video to see more of what the story is about. 

When Fiction Comes to Life

Books are magic. They have the ability to inspire and inform. But sometimes fiction takes on a whole new dimension when a writer’s imagination produces scientific breakthroughs. This has happened when science fiction writers let their imagination run wild. 

I am not a science fiction fan, for the most part. I have read some sci-fi books because I was told to do so or I became intrigued with others’ recommendations. 

When my daughters were teenagers, they often quoted lines from The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. They thought it was a wonderful book. So, I read it. It contained a lot of humor and I enjoyed it but it wasn’t romance, my preferred genre.

My sister told me to read The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury, so I did. The profound truth in it about humans’ tendency to destroy was all too real. It didn’t have a happy ending.

Romance books have not only a happy ending but lots of emotion. To me, they are very satisfying reads. Nevertheless, the imaginations of science fiction writers are notable because the magical inventions they dreamed up in their stories led to a host of technological inventions. There are several online lists of the books and authors responsible for the original ideas.

You can see one list here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_existing_technologies_predicted_in_science_fiction

Many ideas came from one television series, StarTrek. I was a devoted fan of the original TV show. I had a crush of Captain Kirk. Using a cell phone makes me feel like one of the characters in that series. You can see a list of other gadgets that resemble those on StarTrek here: https://www.sideshow.com/blog/trek-tech-10-star-trek-gadgets-that-have-beamed-into-reality/

Evidently, there are a few books considered romances that have some new technologies in them, but I’m not really interested in science fiction romances. Though I wouldn’t mind haven’t a robot clean my house.  

I believe it is amazing enough that two people can find inspiration in each other and commit to a lifetime together. That is not an easy task judging from the many divorces that occur. So, while the sci-fi writers can imagine a world full of amazing gadgets, I’d like to stick to a world of love and peace. 

Is that too much to ask?

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OUTSIDE BLESSINGS Reissued!

Harbor Seals at Sandy Hook, NJ

     In February, during the JeRoWriMo challenge, I edited and revised OUTSIDE BLESSINGS, a Young Adult Paranormal Romance. The book was originally published by New Concepts Publishing but the rights were returned to me. 
     The book centers around the Irish and Scottish legend of the selkies, who are seals with the ability to shift into human form. The legend claims that some of the fallen angels fell on land and became fairies, but those who fell into the sea became selkies.
     I believe selkies could live in New Jersey, too. After all, harbor seals spend their winters here every year. 

Here’s the blurb:

    In the winter of 1896, Neema, 16, works as a seamstress. She is a halfling. Her mother was a selkie. Her sister Lila fell in love with a human but was jilted on her wedding day. When Lila is found dead in the rocks of the town's jetty, officials assume her death to be a suicide. Lila is buried outside the town limits since suicides are not allowed in the hallowed ground of the cemetery. The would-be groom is missing.

     Neema does not believe her sister would commit suicide. She crawls on the rock jetty searching for clues to prove someone harmed her sister. There she meets Emmett, 17, a new surfman in the lifesaving service. He is drawn to Neema, but she's odd. Yet, when they kiss, their feelings for each other intensify.
     The lifesaving dog finds a sealskin along the edge of the shore and fights with a seal for the skin. Emmett kills the seal.
     Neema learns of selkies seeking revenge upon Emmett. How can she warn him of the danger?
Neema discovers a hidden room in the cottage of her employers. Are they harboring a criminal unknowingly?
     When a nor'easter hits, Neema knows it presents an opportunity for the selkies to enact their retribution against Emmett. As a ship founders offshore, Emmett must go out with the other surfmen to save those on board the ship. Neema shifts into a seal and saves him, but can she save herself from the selkies' revenge?

    

The old Lifesaving Building at Sandy Hook, NJ

Inspiration for my books usually comes from more than one source. For Outside Blessings, in addition to seeing the harbor seals lolling about on their sandbar, I also visited the Centennial Cottage in Ocean Grove, NJ. There I learned seamstresses were often hired in the summertime to sew trousseaus for the brides in a family. After hearing that, my heroine became a seamstress for a wealthy family. 

     The hero is a member of the US Lifesaving Service, the precursor to the Coast Guard. Before Superstorm Sandy, I visited the old Lifesaving Station on Sandy Hook many times and listened to historians explain how the surfmen used specific apparatus to save the people on the ships caught in the shoals during storms.

The first edition of the book received wonderful reviews. One of them is on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29333194-outside-blessings#other_reviews

At PRG Book Reviews, Linda Tonis said, "There were surprises and secrets revealed and the two main characters were wonderful."

Raven Hill Reviews said, "I gave this book 5 stars and would recommend it to anyone who likes Historical Paranormal Romance, especially stories of Halflings and Selkies. Outside Blessings is a must read for those long winter days!"

The book is currently available for pre-order at several distributors:

Kobo

Barnes&Noble

Smashwords

Apple

Vivlio

Fable

And more distributors will be added soon! It will be officially released on June 7th!

I hope you'll take a look at it. 

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Once Upon an Earthworm

 

Yesterday it rained quite a bit. We went on a jaunt to Bo’s Attic, which is a delightful secondhand shop. Hubby bought his favorite Pilsner beer glasses, the old-fashioned kind which evidently nobody makes anymore. When we returned home, hubby saw an earthworm drowning in the rain on the driveway. He wanted to save the poor creature, but he used a thin stick to attempt to pick it up. The worm writhed in several desperate moves to get away from the stick. I told hubby he should use his fingers. He said the worm would bite him. I told him worms don’t bite. I picked up the worm and placed it in the dirt under the pine tree. 

Afterward, I reminded him that he has picked up a few snakes in the past and one did bite him. Fortunately, it wasn’t a venomous snake, so he was lucky. Well, he said the worm was germy. 😆

I told him how I used to bring earthworms into my classroom for a science lessons. I had the kiddies figure out which part of the worm was the head. We checked the worms’ reaction to light and to cold. It was a great lesson, but I dropped the lesson after a while because some parents freaked out seeing their children touch worms. 

Today hubby found another earthworm on the driveway. He picked it up with his fingers and put it under the pine tree. Then he went inside the house and washed his hands. 😁

Some worms were saved by us. While it is possible they could become a meal for a robin, if they live they could help the soil in our yard. Worms are important creatures. 🪱 And they don’t bite.

Our First Date, Fifty Years Ago

 

Hubby surprised me when he showed me this old 3 x 5 card he had saved from a long time ago. I hadn’t seen it until now. Hubby reminded me that it will soon be the anniversary of our first date, which occurred fifty years ago in May. In August, we will be married forty-nine years. But we dated for a while first. 

I noticed hubby for the first time at a party given by Fred, one of the members of our singles group. For those of you who are young, the way we met other single people before the Internet was through a singles club. We actually met others in person, face-to-face.

Fred was a wonderful guy who gave a lavish party once a year. I went to that party with another man who later turned out to be Mr. Wrong. At the party, my friend Emily spotted hubby. Hubby was hard to miss because he was dressed in a leisure suit, which was the height of fashion for men at the time. Emily asked him for his phone number. 

Then Emily decided to host a small dinner party at her apartment and invited hubby to it. She also invited me. I had already broken up with Mr. Wrong but she asked another friendly guy we both knew to the dinner. She thought he would be a good match for me. He wasn’t but he was pleasant and eventually married another friend of ours.

That dinner was on May 10th. After the dinner, I walked out to my car and hubby escorted me through the parking lot. He asked me for my phone number and I gave it to him, writing it on the small 3 x 5 card you can see above. (By the way, that is not my phone number now.) A few days later, he called me. I agreed to a date on May 17th. He picked me up and we went to the Red Bank marina where he had his 16 foot motorboat. It went slowly up the river, which was fine with me. It was a leisurely romantic cruise but I didn’t know the engine wasn’t working properly. Afterwards, he took me to Danny’s for pizza. He held my hand as we walked. He didn’t let it go. I think that was a clue that he liked me a lot. 😊

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The Golden Nugget of Truth in Every Romance

It has been brought to my attention that some people think I know nothing about relationships because I am a romance writer.

What?

Yes, they think I live in a fantasy world. Obviously, they have never really read my books--or any other romances. While romances always have happy endings, there is a golden nugget of truth in every romance. In every story in the genre, the hero and heroine come to trust each other.

Without trust, there cannot be a successful relationship.

While it is true that I do not have a degree in counseling, I've been married for forty-eight years. My parents were together for sixty-two years until my mother passed away. My in-laws were married for seventy-one years until my father-in-law passed away. I have friends who have been married just as long as I have--or longer. In addition, my husband and I were the facilitators of the Pre-Cana program at our church for seven years. 

I also know couples whose marriages did not work out, but in each of those particular cases there was a fundamental flaw in at least one of the partners. Most often, from what I understood, there was a failure of trust. One of the partners was simply not reliable in some way.

You cannot have love without trust. Lust is not a barometer for a long-lasting relationship. Trust is the  most important factor.

Marriage has never been a bed of roses. It takes work. Couples argue--and that's okay if they forgive each other as well. Life is full of difficulties and as soon as a couple conquers one problem, there will be another to take its place. A reliable, considerate, understanding, and helpful partner can share the load. That makes all the difference.

That is love.

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We Are All Disabled

This was my cousin, Bill. He used to operate those huge hydraulic excavators, crawler cranes, crawler tractors and crawler loaders. He took flying lessons, earned his pilot's license and bought a plane. He rode motorcycles and jet skis  One day, he dove into his pool and broke his neck. Afterwards, he was still Bill. Still a man who could make people laugh. Still a man everyone loved despite his limitations. He died too young from pneumonia. 

There are other disabled people in my family.  Some have a profound hearing loss. Some have mobility issues. Some are greatly restricted by their disease.

Everyone is damaged in some way. There are no perfect specimens. Romance writers do dream up some mighty, incredible heroes, but in truth no one is immune from limitations. Even though Achilles was a hero he had that thing with his heel, and that's what defeated him.

From the day we're born we come with all kinds of built in boundaries such as congenital "defects" and genetic tendencies handed down to us by our predecessors. Over the years we endure traumatic events in childhood, which leave a mark forever in our psyches. Then there are illnesses, accidents, and finally the inevitable slide into the decay of old age which brings further limitations. Not a single human on this planet will not be disabled in some way sooner or later. 

Some people attempt to distance themselves from the disabled because they are afraid. They turn away--as if not seeing the victim will prevent them from enduring such a fate. Some folks are deliberately cruel and make fun of those who are noticeably different in their physical appearance or those who must use adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs.

Once, when my cousin was in the hospital for an infection, he told me one of the psychiatrists had asked him about depression. "As if I could jump out the window." Bill shook his head.

Progress was made in accommodating the disabled over the years after George H.W. Bush signed the ADA Act in 1990. Buildings were then planned to allow wheelchair access and ramps were added. However, there is a lot more to do in making accommodations for those who are restricted in their movements. Many doctors’ offices do not have doors that open automatically for patients using wheelchairs or walkers.

Still, it wasn't that long ago when children with Down's Syndrome were institutionalized, but now they work everywhere. Some have become movie stars and models. 

There's hope, but we do need to keep an eye on our representatives and vote out those who ignore the marginalized. Vote out those who intend to cut Medicaid and programs that feed children and provide them with health care. Vote out those who would cut disability programs for people like my cousin. 

We must not allow those in power to ignore the less fortunate.

Guest Post: ALWAYS AND ONLY by Carol James

My guest today is Carol James. She was raised as an Air Force brat, the longest she ever lived in one place was a year and a half. Maybe that’s why when she and her husband bought their first home forty-three years ago, they stayed.

 

Wife, mother, grandmother, and dog-mama to Zoe, Carol loves writing stories of redemptive romance. When asked the difference between redemptive romance and standard romance, she replied, “A standard romance has two main characters––a hero and a heroine. A redemptive romance adds a third. God.”

 

Follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X

 

Follow Zoe and her friends on Facebook or Instagram at: 3DogsandtheirAuthors 

 

Carol's latest release is ALWAYS AND ONLY.  In this book, Caleb Daniels returns home to Texas after his wife has an affair and asks him for a divorce. When he temporarily goes to work for an ex-fraternity brother, he’s assigned to share an office with Aurora Prentiss. There’s only one problem: Rory and Caleb were high school sweethearts, but to please her father, Rory ended her relationship with Caleb soon after graduation.

Aurora Prentiss never stopped loving Caleb, but has always felt a filial respect to her father that makes her bend to his will. When Caleb returns, Rory thinks this may be her chance to make things right with him. The only problem? She's engaged to a man chosen by her father.

Will Caleb be able to forgive the woman who broke his heart years ago? And if he does, will Rory be willing to risk her relationship with her father, cancel the wedding to the fiancé she doesn't love, and finally make a life with the only man she’s always loved?

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EXCERPT: 

Aurora Prentiss stared at the image on her laptop’s screen. Only one word came to mind. Ugly. No…two words. Unbelievably ugly. Her stomach churned. Never in a million years would she have chosen this design. The gold, silver, and pearl embossed lilies, hearts, and doves made the invitation look like something better suited to a funeral or a Las Vegas wedding rather than one at First Redeemer Presbyterian in Dallas. 

 

She leaned her head in her hands and closed her eyes. Burton was right. Letting his mom choose their wedding invitation was a small concession, if it made her happy. Plus, after the ceremony was over, who would remember a piece of paper they’d received weeks earlier? Aurora could live with this…as long as his parents didn’t frame one and expect she and Burton to hang it in their new house. It was so ugly. 

 

The alarm on her phone sounded. Time to gather her stuff and head to work.

***

Caleb Daniels didn’t even open the menu. He hadn’t had Tex-Mex in over a year, and he knew exactly what he wanted. Cheese and onion enchiladas…topped with tons of chili. None of that red sauce stuff.

 

He turned as the bell above the restaurant door sounded. Jason waved. When he reached the table, Caleb stood and pulled his friend into a hug.

 

Jason grinned. “Great to see you, man. Almost didn’t recognize you with the beard. Plus you’re skinny. Been on a diet?”

 

“Yeah. The missionary diet.” They slid into the booth. “But I’m getting ready to change that.” He raised his hand and motioned to the server.

 

They ordered, and then Jason leaned back in his chair. “Glad you called me. I can always find room for a fraternity brother. Especially one who’s a hard worker, and who just happens to have an MBA. We’ll take you on as contract labor until you figure out if this is going to be a good fit. I’d love for it to be permanent, though, to have you hop on the bus.”

 

“Thanks. I owe you one.” Caleb dunked a tortilla chip into the salsa and shoved it in his mouth. He’d missed this.

 

“Nobody’s keeping score. Besides…you’re the only reason I passed that final in Econ. Staying up all night helping me cram.”

 

            ***

Stuffed with enchiladas, Caleb’s stomach approached the bursting stage. But the Tex-Mex was worth the pain. He followed Jason down the hall toward the last office on the right. 

            

Jason stopped and leaned toward him. “So…you’ll be sharing an office with Rory. Her strength lies in carrying out—meticulously, I might add—any ideas given to her. If you provide her with the germ of a thought, she’ll race ahead and take the gold.”

            

The two stepped through the door. A huge flower arrangement provided the backdrop as a beautiful brunette stood and smiled. 

            

“Cale, this is Rory Prentiss. And Rory this is—”

            

Caleb’s gaze locked onto the chocolate eyes of his office mate. His heart plummeted. “Been a long time, Aurora.”

 

 

Purchase Links:

 

Amazon: Always&Only

 

Google Books: Always&OnlyGoogle

 

Barnes & Noble: Always&Only   

 

Pelican Book Group

 

Website: https://www.carol-james.com

 

Book Video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ofo79e9Vcs

 

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My Review of ALWAYS AND ONLY:

Aurora Prentiss is having pre-wedding jitters. She will soon be married to Burton, a man her father hand-picked for her. However, her future mother-in-law is choosing the wedding invitations, the flowers, and even the furnishing for her house. Burton is a wealthy businessman and Aurora loves him but when her former high school sweetheart turns up working at her office, newly divorced, Aurora begins to seriously question everyone else’s plans for her life. She knows that once she’s married, her father will be happy and her fiancé and his family will be happy. But what about her?

Her long ago love, Caleb, is a perfect gentleman even when they must travel out of town together to a sales conference. Aurora broke his heart in high school, and now his wife has betrayed him, though he admits some of the problems with his wife were his fault. Then Aurora’s father offers him a job, which involves going to another country.

There’s so much going on in this story! I couldn’t stop turning the pages to see what would happen next. Faith and trust in God are woven in gently as Aurora and Caleb question God’s will. I loved this story.

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