Fear the Blinking Cursor

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

So, it’s my turn to post to Happily Ever After Thoughts and here I am, staring at a blank page in Word and a blinking cursor, having, once again, no topic. Or maybe, I just don't have the words. This is not unusual. 

As a writer, that blank page and blinking cursor is intimidating and the bane our existence, but it happens more often than I’m comfortable with. Sometimes, as I already said, there are no words and the cursor just teases us (or maybe, torments would be a better description). And it doesn’t only happen when you’re trying to write a blog. It happens other times, too.

Sometimes, the characters in your current story refuse to talk to you, leaving you to figure it out. Sometimes, our muses simply disappear for a time (Hmmm, I wonder where they go. Are there muse conventions where all the muses get together and laugh at us mere mortals? Are there classes where they’re taught how to torture us? My muse must enjoy those classes quite a bit, as he seems to take particular pleasure in leaving me hanging while he’s off galivanting).  

What does one do? I don’t know about other writers, but for me, physical labor does the trick to break that log jam and get those words flowing. I’ve come up with some really good ideas while washing the dishes or scrubbing the floor (I keep a pad of paper handy though writing notes with wet hands isn’t something I would recommend).

I have, at times, simply tried working on another story but then, that can get you in trouble, too, because what if you like the new thing you’re working on instead of finishing the original thing? Hahahaha, that probably explains why I have over thirteen unfinished manuscripts sitting in my computer right now although I always eventually go back to the thing that was giving me fits in the first place).

Walking also helps…just putting one foot in front of the other without any clear destination in mind (Hahahahaha, I’ve walked miles trying to figure out how to get out of the corner I’ve written myself into!). The only problem with that is 1) you could get lost, 2) you could find that you’ve walked too far and now have to go home and frankly, your feet hurt, or 3) you just can’t remember everything that went through your head while you were walking. I could use a recorder to get my thoughts down but I sound like Mickey Mouse (in between the huffing and puffing). It’s rather embarrassing!

Hmmmm, I think I’ll go clean out the fridge…maybe that’ll get those creative juices flowing! Wish me luck!

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

The Texas Hero's Homecoming by Charlene Sands

 A failing farm and a father failing in his ability to keep the farm together is a growing problem for Autumn Messina.  She has a dream of becoming a teacher, yet at the same time keeping the farm running is running her down.  

 On a frustratingly hot day while at work on the farm, Sam Russell appears.  Autumn is not in the mood for her former crush to show up.  

 Sam completes ten years of special forces and returns home.  He owes his life to Autumn's brother and intends on repaying the family. 

 

Sam left Autumn behind when she was a teenager, and her anger erupts in a fresh barrage of doing whatever it takes to keep him out of her business.  Although, he has a lot of good ideas.

Meanwhile, as Sam attempts to help the farm, he also joins a local group of veterans.  He learns how to help them through rough patches, which includes making them feel useful.  

Sam's knowledge of the farm, hardworking veterans, and continual kindness to Autumn start to crack her guard against him. 

It's only a matter of bumping into each other a few times, results on the farm, and a constantly changing plan that draws Autumn into Sam's arms for good.

Happy reading,

Dawn

PASSION OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Lexi Post on sale for only 99¢ until Halloween!

Passion of Sleepy Hollow

on sale for only 99¢

until Halloween

Recluse Braeden Van Brunt is not happy to be the Headless Horseman…until he meets Katrina Van Tassel, owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, whose allure bewitches him from the front desk into the bedroom. When he discovers Kat and the village of Sleepy Hollow are cursed to exist only in the present day for one weekend a year, he realizes the sacrifice he must make if he wants to keep her.

Katrina Van Tassel lives between slivers of time. She thought she was through grieving her betrothed’s death, but her dreams flare to life when his mirror-image arrives requesting a room. Drawn to Braeden, she is taken to greater heights of intimacy than she ever imagined, but she can’t be sure if her heart is with him or with the love from her past.

Knowing he must conquer both time and ghosts to keep the only woman he’s ever loved, Braeden must put the past to rest. But the dead won’t rest in Sleepy Hollow.

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About Lexi:

 Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.

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Whooo-hoooo! It's Autumn!

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

Whoooo-hoooo! It’s Autumn! I love this time of year! It means I have survived the blistering heat of another Arizona summer. There’s a briskness in the air, especially in the early mornings. Days are getting a little shorter. No, the leaves don’t change color in Phoenix and I miss seeing that, but one only needs to take a short drive up north to see those fabulous colors.  It means the holidays are coming up, too (my favorite is Thanksgiving. What’s yours?)

It also means that it’s time for fall cleaning—you know, that deep cleaning that’s far beyond the usual. Yes, I still do this (a carry-over from when I was young and helped my grandparents do their spring and fall cleaning. The windows get washed (which includes those blasted mini-blinds that seem to be in every window of my house…regular dusting/vacuuming of them just doesn’t quite do the trick), drapes get changed from the lighter, filmier ones of spring to the heavier ones for winter. The walls get washed (which is a kind of hassle because everything needs to come down then put back up). Cabinets get conditioned (again, regular washing just doesn’t quite do the trick). All the books come down from the built-in book shelf, too (they are dusted weekly but dusting doesn’t get into the little nooks and crannies).

Yes, I know. I might be a little insane, but it’s tradition and I just can’t seem to help myself (those lessons and traditions learned at a very young age are so ingrained, one just can’t ignore them).

I’m also not as young as I used to be though so doing all this takes time…a lot of time. I used to take the week of Thanksgiving off (I also take a week in spring) and do everything, including cook and bake for that Thanksgiving meal, but I’m older now and don’t have as much energy so…everything that needs to be done gets done in increments, room by room over several weekends.

And I started this weekend after meeting some friends for lunch. I’m tired already, but that’s okay. It's one of those things that needs to be done. 

Oh, and I still need to find time to write. It’s not a problem though as I usually write between 4:30am and 6:00am, my usual routine that I’ve been doing for years (before I head in to the day job). The book I’m working on right now, the third in the Wives of Bravado County series, is giving me fits (how many corners can I write myself into?) but I will persevere.     

Stay well! Stay safe! Remember to spread kindness wherever you go! And happy Autumn!

Marie

If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon

 You may wonder why I'm presenting an older version of a romance, yet the novel isn't quite in the classic genre.  I thought it would be fun to experience the difference in writing from the 1980's and now.  

If Tomorrow Comes was a best-seller just as there are many current best-sellers.  The story is fast paced, loaded with adventure, and what isn't better than romance ripping the seams out of any character's plans?  

Tracy Whitney has a career in Philadelphia banking and is engaged to a rich man with a rich family.  Their unborn baby will have a brilliant future.

When her mother commits suicide in New Orleans, Tracy abruptly leaves to find out why. She quickly, and kind of irrationally, comes up with a plan to get back at the men who she feels caused her mom to lose it.  

Her first plan against the local Mafia ends her up in prison.  Getting worse, her fiancé cuts her out of his life, and she loses the baby.  Tracy will never give up, though.

 A greatly imaginable scheme to break out of prison starts her new career as a thief.  She loves it, and she takes away money and assets from people who really don't deserve what they have.  

Jeff Stevens turns up repeatedly during her encounters for stolen goods.  Like many men, she doesn't trust him and thinks he wants to step in on her plans.  Surprisingly, he gives her tips as a co-thief.  Interest and a relationship begin to hatch.  They travel the globe as thieves until they decide to retire in South America.  

Granted, it's so much fun being bad!

Happy reading,

Dawn

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Movies That Make Me Cry

 

Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

So, my favorite thing to do on Saturday mornings (because I get up so blasted early and really, it isn’t fair to start running the vacuum at 5 in the morning) is to sit myself down (in the dark) and watch a movie. I try to find one I haven’t seen before and this past Saturday, I hit the jackpot. I watched Return to Me. It’s an older movie with Minnie Driver and David Duchovny but I had never seen it (which is a bit unusual, because I am such a movie buff). Anyway, the storyline was sweet and charming and surprising (Carroll O’Connor, he of Archie Bunker fame, played a loving Irish grandpa, which just tickled me) but the most remarkable thing of all was that the movie made me cry. Oh, not ugly cry, where I’m sobbing big tears, but some sniffles, throat constriction (you know what I’m talking about) and a few tears that made my vision blurry.

It made me think of other movies that do that to me (I am not a crier by nature—something has to really touch me) so without further ado, here is Marie’s List of movies that will make you cry (in no particular order):

It’s a Wonderful Life. I’ve watched this movie on Christmas Eve (yes, it’s a tradition) for the past thirty years and every year, I say I’m not going to cry at the end and every year, I lie to myself.

The Other Side of the Mountain. The story of skier Jill Kinmont. Sat in a movie theatre with a bunch of friends and bawled like a baby. I was inconsolable though no one else seemed to be.

Steel Magnolias. The funeral scene. Need I say more?

A Star Is Born. Doesn’t matter which version (though my favorite is the Barbra Streisand one).

Forrest Gump. The scene where Forest meets his son for the very first time and asks if he’s like me. Gets me every time.

Homeward Bound, The Incredible Journey. You know the movie I’m talking about. The two dogs and a cat (voiced by Don Ameche, Michael J Fox, and Sally Field) who have to find their way home. Yeah, that one. My son was embarrassed (because we were in a movie theatre and I sobbed like a two-year old).

It also got me to wondering about books that make me cry (as an adult. When I was young, any book that was about an animal—dog, cat, horse—could make me lose it). There have been only two that come to mind. The first is Paint the Wind by Cathy Cash Spellman. I’ve read that book at least ten times and every time I cry. I know the scene that gets me is coming up and I mentally prepare myself, but that doesn’t work. I end up in tears anyway. The second is Jodi Thomas’s The Texan’s Reward. The ending was so sweet and so love- and life-affirming (even though I expected a happy ending), I burst into tears.

What movie or book has made you cry?

Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie