I just finished reading the latest book in the Raleigh Harmon Series. The Wind Will Howl by Sibella Giorello. What a ride!
Raleigh is a forensic geologist and she works/doesn’t work for the FBI. She has a mom with mental issues and an aunt who loves acting and is often quoting lines from plays she’s been in. That makes me want to find the movies on Netflix or Amazon.
Raleigh has a dead body on her mind, Jack wants a wedding date and her mom is released into her care. Never a dull moment.
The Raleigh Harmon Series fascinates me because she uses rock and dirt to solve crimes, very clever and Giorello knows her stuff. And you might learn a few things too. I did.
I hope there is another book coming because I can’t get enough of Raleigh and Jack.
And next up on my reading list is book 2 in the Home Town Hero’s series, Flash Point by J.L. Crosswhite. It’s about a firefighter that was introduced in book 1 Protective Custody.
Say it with me FIREFIGHTER!
Captain Joe Romero–doesn’t the name melt you? Is battling blazes in California and fires burning in his heart.
Don’t forget you can grab book 0 for free All in Good Time for free if you don’t already have it. If you get the newsletter then you should have it on your ebook device– if you downloaded it.
What a fun book to write. I was so hungry for cupcakes after writing the farmer’s market scene. Seriously thinking I should attempt to create of few of them in real life, but I’m not great at baking and I’m gluten-free which makes changing a basic recipe a challenge.
So what’s this book about? Glad you asked!
She’s an impulsive risk-taker. He’s got trust issues and a secret past. Can they be the perfect combination or a recipe for disaster?
Alison Dahl works as a pharmaceutical rep for a struggling company. Not wanting to see if she’s next to be laid off, her entrepreneurial spirit kicks in. With a leap of faith, she quits her job and heads to the lake town she loves to open a cupcake shop.
Chad Hastings, a widowed dad known for his loyalty and dependability, has his hands full with a son and a few overzealous matchmaking friends.
When Chad is hired as the general contractor for the cupcake shop remodel, his friends see him and Alison as the perfect recipe for a sweet ending.
Chad’s secret could melt away any hope of a sweet ending.
Can she look beyond his past mistakes?
Can he look past her impulsive risk-taking?
Get it in paperback or Ebook on Amazon or Kindle Unlimited!
There are only a few days left to grab A Bride’s Dilemma in Friendship, Tennessee for $1.99. On Monday, November 6 it will go back up to $3.99.
Why the sale? It has a new cover and discussion questions have been added!
What do you think of the new cover?
And did you know you can gift e-books? All you have to do is go to the book page, look on the right-hand side for a box that says gift this book. Click it and fill out the information.
Writing  From a Distance for the Spinster on the Orphan Train collection took me down quite the research road.  Or rails if you wish.
While this book is more about Shanna Becket, an agent on the train, than the orphans, to write it I had to understand how the orphans were collected and dispersed out west. Most of my research didn’t end up in the book, but that’s the way it is with writing. Under every story, there is a hidden glacier of knowledge gleaned by the author.
Did you know there were no “Orphan Trains” instead, regular trains were used, sometimes a car would be filled with children? Most of the time there were small groups who were looked after by a few agents.
The agents took food along with the utensils they would need for the children. The also took along emergency bags that included wash cloths, soap, Â blankets, and medicines, like Larkspur, in case vermin (lice) had snuck past the caretakers. Talk about a packing for a road trip!
The saddest part of the research book was reading about children separated from their siblings. In later years, some of them were able to reconnect but many were not. Their family history would be lost forever because they were too young to remember.  And then there were those who were given to families looking to supplement the farm labor. Those children were often housed with the livestock and when they turned 18 they ran away (if not sooner) or told to leave. They seldom shared in any family inheritance.
While these are sad stories of failures it is likely these children would not have survived the cold New York winters living on the streets. Â Could it have been handled differently? Sure but back in the late 1800s this was new and those with kind hearts wanted to help the children. And many were treated like members of the families that took them in.
Shanna’s trip from New Your City to  Trenton, Illinois was close to 1,002 miles! She would have left on Monday and arrived at her destination on Wednesday evening.
While From a Distance is not a true story, but  I did discover there was an orphan adopted in Trenton who later moved to Marion, Illinois–or so the story goes. Sometimes history is not exact.
To save her life, a spinster runs from her brutal stepfather. But what she runs to might be more than she can handle.
Shanna Becket, abused for years by her stepfather, runs away from him. When she secures employment as a Children’s Society Agency agent, her travels bring her dangerously close to meeting him again.
Aidan Sollar, trying to please his wealthy father, oversees the building of a Chicago hotel in the hopes that his father won’t give it to his older brother.
They meet while traveling the country, but Shanna can’t trust any man. A sick orphan brings them together, and Shanna is forced to place her well-being in Aidan’s hands. But accepting the love she’s only observed from a distance is another story. And Aidan must choose between his family’s wealth or love.
Painting the bricks behind my wood stove has been on my to-do list for way too long. Should I or should I not? Once you paint brick there’s no going back to the original color without sandblasting. That’s not something I ever envision happening in my family room. Not to mention me with a sandblaster in hand might be deadly to something or someone.
Our family room is long (think bowling alley) and has one big French door at the end of it next to the wood stove. This corner has always felt like it’s pulling the room into a dark hole.
This darkness of the stove combined with the dark brick has always felt like it’s pulling the room into a dark hole. Go ahead and whistle the theme song to Twilight Zone.
Here’s a before shot–even the shadows scream hurry up and paint this wall!
I’m not sure why I thought this would be a good project to start after a 13-mile bike ride. But for me when the urge to paint hits I must do it! I love to paint but it’s been a while since I’ve had the energy to tackle a project but today I’m ready.
Vacuum the bricks first. Who knew so much dust and cat hair could make a home between bricks? Or um, could that be considered insulation? I might have discovered this detail if I ever took the time to clean the bricks. Hey, I have books to write, no judgment, please.
I had some Benjamin Moore Marshmallow White left from painting part of this room several years ago. I made a mix of half paint and half water. Then I removed my wedding ring, grabbed an old wash cloth and said a prayer.
This is with one coat. I liked it, but I didn’t love it. Too busy.
Done. I’m debating painting the mortar joints, but for now, I’m learning to enjoy it. It’s such a difference that it’s taking a bit of time to adjust. Â I’ve lived in this house for over 20 years so when I come downstairs I expect to see the dark hole behind the stove. It’s refreshing to see the light color!
This project was much easier than I thought it would be. I’d rate it a beginner, so easy that with guidance a child could do it.
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*I’d recommend doing this on a day you don’t ride your bike 13-miles because it’s tiring to get up and down so many times.
While you’re here, help yourself to a free copy of All in Good Time
Hosting a mini writer’s retreat can bring to the surface dreams of the past. This retreat was small–me and another writer/editor Jennifer Vander Klipp at my house. We were comparing when we knew we wanted to write and I remembered I had two of my first books hidden away.
Check out that amazing binding I used. Reading through them would give any editor a headache because there is so much repetition and the grammar-oh my!
If You Wish Upon a Star was about bumping into a movie star and having him over for dinner. I was dreaming big time.
Tragedy Strikes is equally painful in the unfolding of love and death.
I’m not sure why I saved these but I’m glad that I did. I can see how my younger self truly wanted to write books, not just short stories–evident because they’re more than two pages long and bound.
After these two came many more written pages, then typed on a Royal typewriter my mother found somewhere, but I no longer have the stories or the typewriter.
Along the way, I learned how to use punctuation, how to write dialogue, and pull readers into the story. I’m still learning something new as writing for publication often changes.
Looking back, I had a dream. I didn’t know then how it would be realized, that I would be blessed with contracts with traditional publishers, that I’d get to hold a book not bound with rickrack in my hand.
I have to thank you–my readers, for helping me achieve this dream. Â You’ve been a big part of this journey. I write and you pick up the stories and leave reviews. Thank you!
If you have a little one writing please save their work for them so they too can look back and see how far they have come some day.
And if you’re considering writing a book check out these books.
Sometimes, no make that most nights I have no idea what I’m going to cook for dinner. It’s not a lack of planning a menu but forgetting to take a major ingredient out of the freezer to thaw.
One night, I was in control of the remote ( a very rare occurrence) Â and discovered the food channel. For once, they were speaking my language.
Chopped on foodnetwork was the name of the show. The contestants are given a basket of ingredients some of which most home cooks, chefs, or those of sound mind would never put together to make a dish. Bacon candy was one ingredient. Fascinating for me as I’m often flinging open cabinets searching for anything that will work and count as a real meal though I’ve never found bacon candy to use.
The more I watched I became convinced I could do this kind of cooking. Then it hit me.
Then it hit me. I would be chopped out of my kitchen (meaning I’d have to leave like a chef who didn’t do well on the show) because I don’t live in a chef’s world.
There isn’t fresh produce, cream, fresh herbs, fruit and spices to pick from in my house and no bacon candy. No wonder they can make magic out of strange foods.
My conclusion? Anyone can be a great chef if you have access to a fully stocked fridge and pantry just a few feet away. I’ll never be that kind of chef but I can whip up a grilled cheese sandwich or bacon and eggs in mere minutes.Â
I’m going back to my tried and true cookbook. One Pot Cookbook even though it isn’t a gluten-free specific most of the meals, like the one above are easily adapted for my consumption.
I almost always have the ingredients or can substitute from the pantry, plus the food tastes great. Clean up is fast too.
!
