The days are zipping past faster than a kitten chasing a mouse. Don’t delay. Mark your calendar for August 7 (one week from tomorrow) or place your pre-order for the new sweet, historical romance, Stitching a Dream.
As a single mother in 1851, Polly Black is well aware: Reputation is a woman’s fragile cloak – she best keep it mended.
Link to the Kindle edition: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh
Americans have moved West by various means in the four centuries Europeans have settled in the land.
Waterway was certainly common — and at times the most comfortable. Remember, roads were poor and early stagecoaches (or private carriages) did not come equipped with shock absorbers. Many men walked leading a horse or mule carrying a heavy pack.
Railroads made an entrance in the mid-19th century and soon showed many advantages.
So if you were moving from Pennsylvania to Illinois in 1851, you had options. Kurt Tafel, in the sweet romance Stitching a Dream makes the majority of his travel by riverboat. Here’s a grand example of one which traveled on the Ohio River. I imagine him on a more modest model — but with similar route and accommodations.
For more information on the sweet historical romance, follow the link. This one takes you to the Nook edition: https://bit.ly/3Ri8RNX
Are you a planner?
Do you make a list and enjoy checking off each completed item?
I’ll confess. I’m descended from list makers and am related to some in the next generation. We’re also conscious of the time — hate to be late to anything.
If this is a description of you — I’ve just the thing.
You can pre-order the sweet historical romance
Stitching a Dream.
Join Polly Black, seamstress and single mother, in 1851, as she settles into life in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois.
Your choice of print or ebook at popular on-line retailers. Here’s a couple of the most used ebook links:
Kindle: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh
Nook: https://bit.ly/3Ri8RNX
A July Friday is an excellent time to stroll in a public garden. Some days the simple act of walking under a tree sheds stress from the workweek.
If the day is sunny, I suggest you spend a few extra minutes enjoying the rich colors and tight blossoms of Cockscomb.
Planted to contrast with the white Vinca in this bed, the vibrant color really stands out. If you plant these in your home garden you can expect them to thrive well in hot, humid St. Louis summers. (Unlike most humans.)
On the hottest days, HVAC tech Janet in the sweet romance Comfort Zone, is working hard to keep homes and businesses comfortable. For a story with mature characters and second chances, check the details by following the link: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av
Welcome to Elm Ridge, Illinois. The year is 1851 and interesting events are going to unfold in this village on a bluff above the Mississippi River.
In the months when the river is open, daily packets bring freight and passengers from both north and south. The river is a busy highway with steamboats of various sizes plus rafts of logs coming downstream from the forests of Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Tick…tock…tick… The shelf clocks in every business and almost every home remind you to keep moving. Time to plant the garden, cook a meal, open the shop, fetch mail (and the local gossip) from the post office, and care for the horse.
Where do I find this town?
I’m so glad you asked. Elm Ridge, Illinois can be found in the pages of two sweet romance novels. New Dreams is available now from all the popular on-line retailers as both ebook and print. Clink on the link for the Kindle edition: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE
Stitching a Dream is available for pre-order and will be officially launched on August 7, 2024! Kindle readers — use this link: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh
Pick me. Pick me. My flowers are pretty and my nectar is sweet. Please — hummingbirds and butterflies welcome.
Not that we will turn away bees, moths, or dragonflies. We welcome all the popular pollinators.
This planting of Mexican heather and Coneflowers are a delight to the eye of humans and a clarion call to the above mentioned pollinators.
This bed is located in a public garden. However, the serious (or even not so serious) gardener could grow this in a sunny flower bed for a splash of color and interest.
Pull up the lawn chair and settle in with your book. Between pages, glance up and enjoy the sight of colorful flowers and insects busy at work. I recommend a sweet romance such as Comfort Zone for your reading. More book information is available when you follow the link: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av
Authors can be extraordinary people — for either good or ill. Fiction authors especially share a vivid imagination. They often work alone, perhaps with music or the hum of a coffee shop in the background, but they are able to immerse themselves in an alternate world as they put words into fictional characters mouths and move them about in a non-existent world.
They also tend to celebrate events on a timeline other may seem strange. Examples would be completion of a manuscript, publisher accepting manuscript, edits complete, and one of my personal favorites:
BOOK IN HAND!
Celebrations and rewards vary. Many of mine involve food. Other examples might be a manicure or a few hours at a local museum or attraction. A visit to a bookstore also rates high.
Yes — a new sweet romance is due to go out into the world on August 7, 2024! The title is Stitching a Dream. Once again, we are in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois in the year 1851. This time we drop in and learn the story of Polly Black, seamstress.
The links below will take you to two of the most popular ebook retailers. The volume is also available in a print edition.
Kindle readers: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh
Nook readers: https://bit.ly/3Ri8RNX
On a warm summer day, I find it pleasant to sit and watch water. It can be a little stream or a mighty river. Or perhaps a quiet lake or pond.
Nymphaeaceae — water lily to folks like me– increase the pleasure of a pond.
Imagine yourself on a bench with this view. Relax. Forget about today’s problems. Watch. Do you see a dragonfly? Skim your gaze around the entire pond. Can you count the blossoms?
Such a fine pond as the one above deserves a public place. This one is part of the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis. I can picture Janet and Rich, the couple from the sweet romance, Comfort Zone, pausing here during a visit. For more on their story follow the link: https://amzn.to/2ZvL0Av
Hours of practice go into marching and playing lively music which keeps the others in the parade at a steady tempo.
We must be sharp! The birthday party is in two days! Can you imagine — 248 years!
In almost two-and-a-half centuries the United States has changed from a strip of colonies (suddenly states) along the Atlantic coast to a sprawling collection which occupies much of North America and a handful of Pacific Islands.
In fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, the town celebrated the Fourth of July with a gathering on the town square, including a reading of the Declaration of Independence by the mayor. It’s a new holiday to the Deutsch immigrants in the sweet romance, New Dreams. But they keep an open mind and mingle with their American neighbors. Get more book information at the link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE
