Night Owl Reviews Top Pick - The Summoning

In The Summoning, I played fast and loose with the religion of a group of people almost destroyed by the Spanish in the 1400s.  Here, I claim poetic license. There is a small number of Arawak Indians surviving in Guyana, only about 15,000, but they do represent one-third of the Indian population in that country.

The tribe of the past were agriculturists who lived in villages of sometime 3,000 and more. I was more concerned with their religion. Their religious beliefs centered on a hieracy of nature spirits and ancestors, somewhat paralleling the hierarchies of chiefs. Bingo! Nature spirits - Ö

The Arawaks were an indigenous people in South America but some of the tribe had migrated to the Caribbean centuries ago.  The Summoning is set in Jamaica - Ö

Eyrael, the hero, is the God of Wind and Sea to this obscure, isolated branch of the tribe. Their Shaman, a young and arrogant man, is one of the villains. I named him Taino after the Indians who migrated to the Caribbean. First villain done. - Ö

The other villain in the story is Sofiel, the God of Fire and Earth. In the other dimension from which they have been summoned, he is Eyrael’s brother. The Shaman prefers Sofiel to Eyrael and is working to eliminate Eyrael from worship by the people. Second villain - Ö

The book required little research, except Jamaica.  I’ve never been there. I needed the color, the sights and sounds—namely the feel of the place. So, off to the internet I went in search of Jamaica.  I think I succeeded because one reviewer said, “The author’s descriptions of Jamaica and of the horse into which Eyrael shifts are detailed and lovely. You hear the hoof beats and feel the heat of the tropics.”

With all my check marks, you can easily see that very little research was needed. Usually, I find that research will deliver much more than I need, and I’ll find myself using sometimes a few sentences.  BUT it does give me the feel of the place or whatever I’m researching and that’s all important to me.

Blurb:

Heather Morique is a witch. The problem is she doesn’t know it. Her husband Jahill was a refugee from an obscure branch of the Arawak Indians. After his death, mysterious whispers lure her to his homeland of Jamaica. Soon, she finds herself in a web of secrets, lies and illusions.

Jahill’s people worship Eyrael, the God of Wind and Sea, and his brother Sofiel, the God of Fire and Earth. The new Shaman has pitted brother against brother, and these two powerful spirits from an alternate universe fight to become the tribe’s ruling deity. Will light or darkness reign?

When Heather unwittingly summons Eyrael, these two unlikely soul mates face a dangerous fate.  The chemistry between them is more disturbing than the long-buried secrets.

***

Buy Link:  Amazon

Happy Friday, All!

Linda  

Holidays and Space Exploration by Diane Burton

Several years ago, I wrote a short story titled "Christmas in Space" for a holiday anthology on The Roses of Prose blog. I did a lot of research for this short story just to be sure I had facts straight. I even forced myself to rewatch movies like Avatar, Oblivion, Interstellar, and Passengers to learn about the effects of cryosleep. If you've read any of my blog posts, you know what a hardship that was. 😊

After the holidays, I couldn't let that story go. I was fascinated by teams from Earth who were willing to leave everything behind. So, I expanded the short story into a novella, MISSION TO NEW EARTH. What reasons would be so compelling to find a new home for humans? I came up with global warming, depletion of natural resources, earthquakes and resulting tidal waves, even the possibility of a supervolcano in Yellowstone. 

With info from the Mars One Mission, I discovered the requirements and training for my characters who would take a one-way trip to a "Goldilocks" planet--one that is just right for humans. In my story, our moon and Mars had already been colonized, but it wasn't possible to evacuate all Earth's inhabitants there. They needed a place where humans could live as we do here.

United Earth Space Agency was sending three teams that represented the United Americas, Euro-Africa, and Asia to find three Goldilocks planets. The final training for the teams took place on Titan (Saturn's moon).

Even with expanding the story, I kept one detail the same. One team reached a planet beyond our solar system on Christmas Day. I gave that a lot of thought. Not all the inhabitants of Earth are Christian, not even the majority. Since the three teams preparing to locate Goldilocks' planets represented all of Earth, I thought it was important to include mention of other religions.

It was our last Christmas in civilization. That evening, we celebrated with the other teams. A party that combined Earth’s December celebrations—Christmas, Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Mawlid an-Nabī, Dhanu Sankranti, Bodhi Day, even Omisoka because none of us would be here for New Year’s Eve. Secular symbols made sure those who didn’t follow a religion weren’t left out.

World-building for this story took as much time and energy as a full-length novel. I don't regret the effort. The book may be small (in length), but the "message" is important.

One of the characters summed it up at the end of the story.

“As you already know, I’ve never been a religious man.” Tom had made that clear on many occasions. “This voyage has changed me. Since we came out of cryo, I keep thanking God for letting us survive. Now I thank Him . . . or Her—” He glanced at Gloria who had strong beliefs about gender neutrality with regard to the Supreme Being. “—for providing humankind with a new beginning. May we not screw it up the way we did Earth.”

No matter how you celebrate at this time of year, I wish you much happiness.

Would you go on a one-way trip to explore a new planet? Would you do it to save humankind?

In 2172, Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four.

Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Amazon ~ Amazon UK ~ Kobo ~ iTunes ~ Smashwords ~ Barnes & Noble

After NaNo by Jane Kindred

Well, I made it through NaNoWriMo! And I actually won it this year. (Winning consists of hitting the 50,000-word mark by midnight on November 30.) I was only at 28,000 words by the final week, but I had taken that week off work, so I knuckled down and started writing at double speed. Even so, by the second-to-last day, I was still 12,000 short.

I was ready to accept that I wasn’t going to win. After all, the effort wasn’t completely wasted, since 38,000 new words was still a lot compared to how long it had taken me to write the first half of the book (I started NaNo with a book in progress at 50,000 words…that it had taken me five months to write). But then I just decided to go for broke and see what I could crank out without pausing. I literally had to write for eight hours straight both days, because I am not a word sprinter. Those last 12,000 words are pretty close to what a monkey would bang out at random, but somehow, I did it, with literally one minute to spare when I updated my word count on the NaNo website.

My book, naturally, thumbed its nose at me and informed me that I had a few more thousand to go. But by December 3, I had a complete first draft at 103,800-some words.

Now comes the fun part: fixing the mess. It took me so long to write the first half that I kept forgetting details from earlier in the story since I wasn’t keeping a running document of my thinking process alongside it like I usually do. (Which is how I “plot.”) So now I get to go through and try to make everything fit together. My characters’ hair and eye color and skin tones changed several times, the settings and time of year changed, and some of the names changed. There were even a handful of characters I created during that 12,000-word stretch that I didn’t bother to name, leaving placeholders like “Some Guy” and “Second Girl”—and there’s one secondary character who was just “Dude” throughout the whole book. I still have to name the world, the realm, and the city, along with streets and taverns and mountains. And I’m still not entirely sure how the magical system works—or the technology. And, weirdly, there are no animals in this world, except for a pair of reindeer that I forgot about after the second chapter. Some of that will be easy to slip into the story, but some of it may mean an entire rewrite.

But there are two things I feel like I absolutely need to add for the story to be complete: an epilogue and a prologue. I often include epilogues in my fantasy, because the ending is usually the defeat of an enemy or the destruction of an evil empire or the end of a quest, and I like to add a couple of pages that take place sometime later when everything has settled down to show how it all worked out for the characters. (Or, if I’m planning a sequel, to drop something unexpected and unsettling in there, because I’m evil.) But prologues are another thing altogether. I usually (though not always) hate them when I encounter them in the wild, so I’ve rarely included one. I figure the story should start at the right place, and if you need a prologue...it probably didn’t. But this time, since the world is one of enchantment and lies, I’m thinking a “before it got like this” scene would help readers relate to the characters more.

So what say you, good people? Prologues: yea or nay?

Give a Priceless Holiday Gift to Yourself & Others

The holiday season is upon us and generally that means there’s at least one person, if not more, that you're challenged to find the perfect gift to give.  Then there are some that you may not want to give a gift to at all. 

The holidays also often mean a time of increased stress, too many obligations, too little time, and too much overindulging, which can lead to a month of frustration. 

Perhaps this holiday it’s time to look a little closer at the magic of the season. To think beyond material gifts and give something  priceless that can benefit ourselves as well as the beneficiary. 

 

Priceless Gifts to Give

What gift do you give to the person who has everything, or someone that you don't even know to make their holiday a little more joyful?

More Patience- Before you get frustrated with the line you must wait in, or the crowds, remember that we’re each dealing with our own stressors every day, not just during the holidays. 

Holidays just happen to be able to bring out the worst in some people, but give the benefit of the doubt and consider that there may be underlying reasons. This could be someone's first holiday season without a loved one, or perhaps someone is ill, or family is unable to be home due to finances or deployment. Don’t add to their frustration, or your own, by losing your patience.  

A Compliment or a Smile-  Just like negativity can spark a bad mood, smiles and being pleasant can be contagious. Give someone the gift of a compliment—it may be the only kind thing they hear today. 

Forgiveness- This gift has the power to allow you to find more joy in the holiday season and all year long. 

What to Return 

Resentment, Anger & Grudges – Often the things we want the least, that hurt us the most, are the hardest to let go. Don't continue to regift these painful emotions. These feelings only hurt ourselves and can destroy relationships. 

Don’t wait until it’s too late to return these so you can gain the gift of discovering peace. 

 

Give a Helping Hand

Write Reviews- You’re heard many times before how much authors value reviews, but it’s not just authors who benefit. We all do. Writing a review for any product benefits you, too. 

If you’re like me, you do much of your shopping online, or you at least do a little online research before you decide what to buy. Reviews for any product help make decisions on what’s a good gift, or one that wouldn’t meet your expectations. If we all take the time to review most of the products we buy, it can save us all time in choosing quality, appropriate gifts for our loved ones—and ourselves. 

Other Ways to Win a Gift for Yourself

It seems that when I start holiday shopping, that’s when I find things I want for myself, but I feel guilty because I should be buying for others. Here are a few contests that you can enter to try to win a guilt-free prize for yourself.

 

Hurry- this contest wraps up on December 5^th

 Your chance to win a Kindle Fire 7 Tablet- $25 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 5 total books) - $20 Amazon gift card- $15 worth of ebooks from Amazon (winner’s choice, up to 3 total books)- $10 Amazon gift card  Enter Right Here

Make Your Month More Merry 

Enter Right Here for your Chance to win a kindle fire or echo dot

What's the Best Gift You Ever Got?

Author Bio: Maureen Bonatch grew up in small town Pennsylvania and her love of the four seasons—hockey, biking, sweat pants and hibernation—keeps her there. While immersed in writing or reading paranormal romance and fantasy, she survives on caffeine, wine, music, and laughter. A feisty Shih Tzu keeps her in line. Find Maureen on her website, Facebook& Twitter

Be the first to know about Maureen’s book sales and new releases by following her on BookBub, Amazonand/or signing up for her newsletter

How About a Story? by Sorchia DuBois

What's better than a story on a cold winter day? I thought I'd fill my posts for the next few months with a serial story. It's not long and I'd love to hear what you think of it as we go along.

Episode 1: A Cherry Tomato

A cherry tomato.

That’s what I want.

For the entire cold, dark winter, it’s what I’ve craved.

A fresh-picked, sun-warmed, red, ripe cherry tomato. The subtle pop between my teeth as the marble-sized, red globe separates from the calyx. The delectable crunch and the sweet explosion of tangy, blood-warm juice.

The sky today—as nearly every day of my exile—threatens a cold rain. Spring is late and my spindly plants need more light. I mound mud around the delicate stems, patting it gently.

Solanum lycopersicum of the variety cerasiforme cultivated by the Aztecs in the fifth century and brought to Europe by Hernán Cortés in 1521—unless Christopher Columbus beat him to it nearly twenty years earlier. Valued for soups and sauces, elegant in salads, and a distant relative of belladonna, the deadly nightshade––the witch’s herb. Hairy stem and dog-toothed leaves prickle my palm, their pungent odor a greeting and a warning.

A flutter in my belly reminds me I’ve crouched in the garden for far too long. I sit back on the soggy ground, lift my shirt, and inspect my distended abdomen. A tiny foot-shaped bulge blossoms beside my flattened, stretched navel. She doesn’t like being cramped and she’s not shy about letting me know.

With a rolling undulation from one side of my belly to the other, she curls into a comfortable ball. I caress the firm mound where she nestles just out of reach, moving my hand over her indistinct outline.

“Not long now,” I whisper to her.

“It will be alright,” I whisper to myself.

A chilly wind fingers the back of my neck. The fine hair on my arms prickles and a buzz in my head drowns out the cawing crows. Between one breath and the next, a vision rises from the garden mud. Beyond my control, these visions have visited me often in recent months-- horrifying replays of devastation and death.

The phantasm twists it’s tendrils in my hair before I can run, holds me in a sticky embrace, unfurls fronds of color and light and fear. All I can do is clutch the ragged tufts of last year’s grass and hold on.

Episode 2: Burning

As always, the vision begins in fire. I’m standing just inside the castle gates looking back. Flames fill the windows, acrid smoke streams from the turrets. Heat flushes my face, glitters in the crystals sewn into my gown, scorches me through the gauzy fabric. Soft ash filters onto my face and embers bounce across the gravel path between the castle keep and the gates.

Maddock is somewhere inside. I gather my skirts and trot toward the massive doors of the keep. We’ll live or die together. The crystal slippers slide on gravel when a sharp warning cry rings out from above

“Run for the forest, Allium.” Maddock stands atop the gate tower, a shadow against the moon-bright sky. “Run. I’ll find you.”

A gentle push on my back, a warm caress on my cheek––half fancied, half magic––and he is gone.

         Despite his plea, I linger, mired by indecision.

Inside my head, Lucia’s mocking voice repeats Maddock’s words.

       “Run, Allium. I’ll find you. I’ll find you both.”

        Lucia casts a spell like a strand of spider silk from the heights of the burning tower. Instinctively, my fingers coil above the pure, sweet atom of life in my belly. I wrap the spark in a satin shield, but Lucia’s magic is potent. I can’t hold the protective glamour for long. Escape is my only choice now.

        Out the castle gates I fly. Magic snaps at my heels, loosed by a foe beyond my craft.

        The broad road leading to the forest glimmers red. My discarded silver slippers flash as they tumble into rushing stream beside the road.  I run for the dark, cool shadow of the forest. Gravel bites my bare feet. The train of the crystalled gown streams behind me, catching on stones and twigs. The delicate fabric rips free.  I run until my knees wobble and my breaths come in gasps.

        At last, sheltering branches spread over head at the forest’s edge but I am spent.

      “I’m sorry,” I whisper to the tiny life huddled inside me.

Join me next month--January 2, for two more episodes.

If you are enjoying "A Cold Spring," you might like my BIG BOOKS. Read all about 'em HERE.

When Disaster Strikes

A Scouting for Food pick-up to be remembered

Unless you’ve been on a total social media blackout for the last three weeks, you have at least heard about the wildfires in California. The good news is that the biggest one—the Camp Fire—is now 100% contained. The bad news…well, it’s bad, people. This fire now holds the dubious honor of being the single most destructive wildfire in California history. Worse than the Tubbs Fire in Napa County last year. So many homes and businesses were destroyed in the town of Paradise alone that it’s easier to take pictures of what’s still standing than what’s not.

How big was the Camp Fire ultimately? At the time I wrote this blog, 153,336 acres (almost 240 square miles) have burned. Eight-five confirmed dead, with hundreds still missing. It gobbled up the towns of Paradise, Magalia, Concow, Park Hill, and several others. For a time, it even threatened the City of Chico.

How fast is fast? "This fire was outrunning us before we realized we were in a race." -Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. The Bay Area is over one hundred sixty miles away from Paradise. It took barely an hour and a half for the high winds to blow the smoke into our area, and it stayed with us for two and half weeks until the rain finally came the day before Thanksgiving.

But, with human tragedy comes human compassion. In the mad rush to evacuate, people still stopped and grabbed other stranded motorists and animals--even though they were all surrounded by walls of flame with helicopters dumping water directly on them--and driving them to safety. The stories are beautiful and endless, and reaffirmed my faith in my fellow humans.

During a FB Live, my dear friend and fellow author R.L.Merrill brought me to tears when she said, “I can’t even say how much it bothers me think about all the kids who aren’t going to have homes to have holidays in this year…We’re debating here whether or not to keep our schools open, they don’t have a school. We’re staying inside our houses to avoid the smoke; they don’t have houses.” (Less than an hour after she said this, the phone calls went out announcing schools in our county would be closed the next day.)

Suddenly having to wear masks outside doesn't seem like such a hardship, does it? But, this is where human compassion steps up. Thoughts, prayers, words of encouragement are gladly accepted! Always will be, imo. However, if you’re looking for other ways to give, here’s some places seeking help:

AirBnB

Do you have a Northern California home, apartment, or condo listed with AirBnB? Contact AirBnB to open your property to displaced families or disaster relief workers deployed to the area. (Nov. 8 – Dec 14, 2018.)

Donations

Please note that just about every organization has been flooded with clothing and household items, and they’re begging people to stop dropping off because there’s nowhere to store these items, especially now that the rains have started. Instead, monetary donations can be made to:

Butte County Office of Education – Donors can specify where and what their monetary donation can be spent on (text books, musical instruments, sports gear, school supplies, etc.)

Northern Valley Animal Disaster Group – Need volunteers, temporary foster homes, monetary donations.

North Valley Community Foundation

Butte Humane Society – Amazon Wishlist

TheAmerican Red Cross

If you know any other legitimate organizations giving aid to the victims of this fire, please feel free to mention them in the comments.

As always, research any charities you might donate to!

Another way to help:

From now through Christmas, R.L Merrill will donate 100% of the proceeds from her book Father F’in’Christmas to help the recovery efforts for the Camp Fire. This book was written on a dare, and is a perfect choice for the cause! Here’s the blurb:

When deceased firefighter Tommy Quintana wakes up in a gymnasium and is told he suffers from Death Denial Syndrome, he knows the one thing he must do in order to move on: mind his wife, Kimberly. Assigned to work with Intervention Specialist Louis Sheffield, he soon learns that he has much more to make up for than he thought as his widow is literally dying of a broken heart. With the help of a 1980s-era punk rocker, a gargoyle, and an alley cat, Tommy will attempt a friggin' Christmas miracle to save her.

Sunrise from my house on Nov. 9th, 160 miles from the fire.

The arrival of the rains brings its own challenges, specifically landslides. With the vegetation gone, the blackened hillsides in the fire zone have already made the search for human remains a difficult and dangerous job. Please keep our first-responders and volunteers in your prayers.

Thanks!

~Lea Kirk

By the way, Sheriff Honea seems to have achieved Chuck Norris level notoriety in this collection of memes. My favorite is “Death once had a near Honea experience.”

~*~*~*~*~

USA Today Bestselling Author Lea Kirk loves to transport her readers to other worlds with her science fiction romance Prophecy series. She’s an avid Trekkie, Gryffindor, and wannabe space explorer. She’s made one foray into paranormal romance with her Magic, NM vampire novella, Made for Her, and hopes to write more stories in this world.

When she’s not busy writing, she’s hanging out with her wonderful hubby of twenty-eight years, their five kids (aka, the nerd herd), and a spoiled Dobie mix pup.

For more on Lea's books (past, present, and future), check out her:

Website | Facebook | Twitter | BookBub | Amazon | GoodReads|  Newsletter

It's Snowing! Warm Up with a Good Book ~ Faerie Matchmaker by @MeganSlayer #faeries #mf #romance #PNR

As I write this post, the snow is falling. It's not so thick today, but man, it's cold out. If you're like me and need something to warm you up, then try my novella, Faerie Matchmaker (previously titled Faeries After Dark ~ Cordelia). It's a hot story!

Faerie Matchmaker 

By: Megan Slayer

After Dark Series, #1

M/F, Contemporary Paranormal Romance

Novella

Megan Slayer Publications

What’s a love faerie supposed to do without her magic? 

Cordelia likes to play fast and loose with the rules. So she’s made a few mistakes with magic along the way? No one got hurt…right? The blue-haired faerie, prone to the occasional blue language and dirty jokes, loses her right to create magic after one goof-up too many. But she’s about to find redemption in the form of a merman named Henry and a human named Jinx. Fix them up and she’ll get her right to create magic back. There’s only one problem…Liam. 

Liam could be the right man to help Cordelia rise above her troubles…but first she’s got to make him believe she exists. Not impossible, right?

UBL: https://www.books2read.com/u/mYRjxp

Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KVLGKV6

UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Italy https://www.amazon.it/dp/B07KVLGKV6

New Zealand https://www.amazon.nl/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Japan https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Brazil https://www.amazon.com.br/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Canada https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Mexico https://www.amazon.com.mx/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07KVLGKV6

India https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Germany https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07KVLGKV6

France https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07KVLGKV6

Spain https://www.amazon.es/dp/B07KVLGKV6

EXCERPT:

©Megan Slayer, 2018, All Rights Reserved

She’d have to face the guy some time. She whipped around and collided with a solid wall of male muscle. He smelled like leather and stood at least eight inches taller than her. She splayed her hands on his chest to steady herself, then backed up. “Sorry.”

“I scared you?”

She met his gaze. Holy fuck. He had blue eyes. “Jinx?”

“That’s my brother.” He smiled. “Are you okay? You look lost and a little confused.”

A little? “You’re fucking serious? You’re not Jinx?” She swept her gaze over him. Christ. She’d cream her shorts at this rate. He had muscle in all the right places, a chiseled jaw, reddish blond hair and blue eyes. When he smiled, his dimple showed. He smelled good and when he spoke, shivers ran the length of her spine. And here she was with a wet tank top and hard nipples. She was so fucked.

“I’m serious.” He laughed and offered his hand. “Jinx—er—my brother, Jeremy, tends to be here. He paints. Why are you looking for him? It’s too late for him to paint tonight.”

“Oh. Right.” God. She sounded stupid. “I’ll stop talking now.”

“You don’t have to.” He slipped her hand into his and tugged her to the closest bench. “Have a seat, catch your breath and let’s talk. You look flustered. You can’t possibly be a hitwoman or out to find him because of a secret baby.”

“Why not?” Being a hitwoman wasn’t on her radar, but anything was possible.

“Despite your foul mouth, you’re too sweet.” He nodded to the bench. “Sit. Tell me your name and what’s going on.”

She plopped onto the bench and willed her chest to cooperate. She pressed her knees together. Christ, the heat in her body would overwhelm her sooner than later. She wanted to touch him again and feel that sizzle. “My name is Cory…Cordelia.” She shook hands with him. Damn. Firm grip. What would it feel like to have those hands around her waist during sex? Probably heaven… Shit. She had to focus. “I’m actually trying to find Jinx or Jeremy, as you called him, for a friend of mine. A mutual friend told me to get them in contact and put in a good word.”

 “Is either friend a guy?”

“Yeah. One of them is.” She slid her gaze to him. “Why? Didn’t you know he’s gay?”

“I knew.”

“Before we go any farther, what’s your name?” Call her nosy, but she wanted to address him properly when she asked him to bed later.

“Liam. It’s short for William. William Darling.” He shook her hand again. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cordelia.”

Audio coming for the holidays By Reservation Only

Since my book does have a ghost I'm including it here. By Reservation Only, the first book in the Deerbourne Inn Series will be available in Audio for the holidays. It was a learning experience to pick a reader, then listen to each chapter read by someone else. It takes time and I just finished with a relieved sigh. I think it sounds great. Hopefully my readers will agree.

BuyLink: http://a.co/d/atQwzPx

By Reservation Only, Book One in the Deerbourne Inn Series, is an ongoing saga about the people who visit or live at the Inn. the stories vary from contemporary romance to historical romance, a ghost story and a mystery. and thats only the start. http://a.co/d/atQwzPx

The second book, Hope's Dream (Deerbourne Inn) by Peggy Jaeger 

Link: http://a.co/d/gu5d0Kaby  is out November 5

Buy links:

Amazon //WildRose Press // Kobo 

You can connect with Barbara here:

website // Blog // Amazon // Facebook // Google + // Pinterest 

C-C-C-Changes! by Nancy Gideon

Anyone who knows me, knows I’m a creature of firmly entrenched habit. Maybe it’s the ADD/OCD, but I wrap myself up in the armor of the familiar, oftentimes pulling it over my head to hide from new and scary things I’d rather ignore than embrace unless forced. Last person to explore the internet – raises hand. Last person to get a cell phone – blushing but nods. Yes, that’s me. The person who goes to three different mapping sites before going across town . . . just to be sure (but still has never used the map app on said cell phone or gone on an impulsive day trip without a pre-studied and printed itinerary). I don’t like surprises or detours or trendy things that distract me from the tried and true. It’s a wonder I’ve survived 2018 with all its upheavals and (duhduhduh) journeys into the unknown (also the name of my favorite anthology series of scary TV shows back in the late 60’s ala Twilight Zone). 

To recap 2018 – end of employment I adored due to boss’s retirement followed by thankfully short-term nightmare job, and now a new position at a big firm starting tomorrow; readying for last book in a series I’ve loved writing for 10 years; and finally, dropping the number followed by an X to actually shop for ‘regular’ size clothes. What’s an iron-clad introvert supposed to do?

Okay, not all these things are bad, (i.e. becoming actively political for the first time) but they are rocking my boat of comfortable placidity to the point I feel like I’m bailing like mad (but burning calories, so maybe that’s a win!). I even stepped from the traditional for the fam’s holiday meal (since we’ve been sharing recipes this month) by trolling for interesting sidedishes to accent the Big Bird. This year’s secret word: Bacon. Green beans with bacon, garlic, Dijon mustard and a pinch of brown sugar; Sausage and Mushroom Stuffing with a pinch of soy sauce, ginger and Bacon; and, an Autumn Salad with quickly replaced Romaine, chopped pears, dried cherries, pecans, Feta, poppy seed dressing and, you guessed it, Bacon! (Recipes are on my Home for the Holidays Pinterest page!). Yummo!

I guess it’s time to pull up my slightly smaller Big Girl Panties and venture out into the world of new things . . . starting tomorrow with my new job (with full benefits!). 

If you have time, pop over to my Blog for my Weekend Writing Warriors post where characters from my recent shapeshifter release PRINCE OF DREAMS are coming to terms with the unexpected on the road to a HEA, too.

Sooooo, change can be good!

♚♚♚♚♚

Nancy Gideon on the Web

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