Romance Writer’s Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week we have been asked the following question-If you could time travel, what period of time would you choose and why? I had to think about this one. I’m not a huge fan of the whole time travel genre. At first I thought about the old west, which has been romanticized in movies and on TV, but in actually, it was a very hard life without any modern conveniences, so I decided, no. So, my answer, if I were to go somewhere for a few days or weeks, would be the 1950’s when I was a child. My favorite thing about the 1950’s? No air-conditioning. Don’t get me wrong, my home is air-conditioned and I enjoy a nice, cool office to write in and a cool bedroom on hot summer nights, but here’s what I liked. Growing up in a mid-west city we also didn’t have microwaves or take out food. Women cooked dinner in the oven every night, further heating the already hot homes. So when dinner was done, everyone, I mean everyone from age one to one hundred headed outside. It was just too hot to stay inside until the sun went down. Kids played and rode bikes, parents gardened and mowed their lawns, old people sat on their porches and sipped iced tea, while groups of neighbors congregated and shared their lives. No one had tiny screens to look at instead of carrying on conversations. We all knew each other-everyone on our city block. Even as pre-schoolers, our parents didn’t worry about us riding our bikes around the block alone. No one bothered us, instead everyone said hello. And when we were lucky, older neighbors would invite us up onto their porches for warm, fresh out of the oven baked cookies or to share the stash of popsicles they kept just for the neighborhood kids. I knew everyone. It’s been 56 years since I lived in that home, and I can still picture who lived in every house and tell you all their names. The sense of community was awesome. Recently, as I walked my dog around the block on a nice, summer evening, I didn’t encounter one other soul. Instead of the sounds of laughter and conversation, the only sound was that of the air-conditioning units clicking on and off beside closed up houses. I miss those times of socializing. I won’t be turning off my air-conditioning this summer or giving up my cell phone, but sometimes I long for those simpler times.

Now, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel’s blog and see when she’d travel to at https://lesliehachtelwriter.wordpress.com

In writing news, you can now pre-order my new novel, Montana Pines Spring Forward, at the following link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C4K33CWS

Romance Writers’ Weekly #lovechatwrite

Today on our blog hop we have been asked to write a short story using the words, Spring, Orange, and Park bench so here goes.

It was the last week in March and theoretically it was already spring, but on the mountain side outside her Colorado home, remnants of winter snow still remained. It had been a long winter. Not only because of the greater than average amount of cold and snow, but Heather had been dealing with several personal crises over the past few months. She had to get out of the house. So she bundled up in her down jacket, pulled on her snow boots, and stepped out in the bright Colorado sunshine. It was almost blinding as it reflected off of the white snow. Her small dog pulled on the end of his leash, obviously as excited as she was to get out of the house. They walked along the shoveled sidewalk to the park which was only a few blocks away. Bright orange cones blocked the entrance to the dirt road that led into the park. It was too muddy for a car to pass, but walking would be fine. she walked around the cones and headed up the path. In the summer the path was as busy as a city sidewalk, crowded with runners, hikers, kids, dogs, and all ages of people enjoying the great outdoors, but today, there wasn’t another soul in sight. She walked a ways to her favorite park bench, and brushing off the snow, sat down. It was so quiet–the only sound was the breeze whistling through the pine trees. A few birds chirped, signaling that spring was indeed on its way. A time of new beginnings and renewal. It happened every year, and it would happen in her life, too.

Now hop on over to Brenda Margriet’s blog and read her story at https://www.brendamargriet.com/blog and check out her newest novel at https://books2read.com/StrictlybytheBook

Also, you can download a Kindle copy of my first novel, Colorado Sunset, free for a limited time at https://www.amazon.com/dp/BOOUNP0GTW

Romance Writers’ Weekly #lovechatwrite

This week we’ve been asked to answer these questions: Where do you write? Do you need to be in the same place or move around? I write in my home office, which is currently a converted bedroom on the second floor of my house. The second question made me laugh. I’m guessing it assumes that authors have portable laptop computers which can be moved around. I don’t. I’ve never had a laptop–never wanted one. I write on my desktop computer with a monster-size screen that is easy on my eyes. I don’t have the luxury of moving it. Not that I think I’d want to if I could. I enjoy setting hours to work and hours to play. When I’m in my office I work. When I leave it, then I do other things like play with my dog. Want to see what my office looks like? Here’s a few pictures (excuse the mess).

Hop on over to PG Forte’s blog and see where she writes 🙂 at http://rhymeswithforeplay.blogspot.com and pre-order her new release here: https://books2read.com/u/m0En1l

The “wonder” of technology

So, my smartphone was starting to die a painful death as they all seem to do after a year or two theses days. We keep paying more and more for phones that last less and less time. I bit the bullet and ordered a new, latest model, which amazingly was delivered right to my front door less than 24 hours later. I was ecstatic, and paused my writing to activate my new phone. The postage stamp sized instructions that came with it said it would take around 15 minutes to activate the new one. It was lunchtime and I had 15 minutes to spare. I carefully turned on both phones, set them next to each other, followed the prompts and waited for the magic to happen. Little wheels turned, it looked like it was proceeding–then it stopped. I waited the 15 minutes, then 30 minutes, then an hour–nothing.

Meanwhile, the battery on my old phone died (the reason I needed a new phone) and the process came to a screeching halt. After plugging it back in, I tried again, same result. Okay, I must be doing something wrong, I needed help. Usually when my old, tecnologically challenged brain needs help, I reach out to some nice service representative to walk me through the process, but it was then I discovered that my old phone had been de-activated, but the new one had not been activated yet. Great. I felt like I was stranded on a desert island. In desperation, I turned to my computer and tried the “chat” option. I knew I would be talking to a bot somewhere, but I was hopeful. No such luck. Before they would address my problem, they said they needed to verify my identity. I typed in my user name and password and was then told I needed a verification number which they would text to me at my phone no. When I tired to explain that I didn’t currently have a working phone so they couldn’t text me, I got in an endless loop of standard responses like “would you like to buy a new phone?” and “Did you forgot your password?” I did what any rational person would do and resorted to tying my questions in ALL CAPS for effect. Of course, the bot didn’t care.

I wasted another hour, and finally decided, I’d have to get in my car and do this the old fashion way of driving somewhere to get help. I got in my car, pulled out of my garage, and grabbed my old phone to use goggle maps to find the nearest phone store. Of course, my phone didn’t work. Ran back in the house to my computer to search for a store and then tried to memorize the directions. How did we ever find our way before GPS? As I drove the 3 miles, through town to get to the store I have to admit I was a little nervous. I didn’t have a working phone with me. What if I had an accident or my car broke down? Those days when I was in college and I drove across the country with no phone, and many times in the middle of the night, were long forgotten.

Anyway, I made it to the store, only to be told that their activation system had been down all day. (It would have been nice to know that) At this point, I had no idea where my phone was in the process. No problem, said the girl (younger that my granddaughter) We can get your phone set up, so that when our system comes back up at approximately 6 pm tonight, you can activate your new phone. Two and a half hours later, after staring at the wheels turn round and round on the tiny screen, they told me to turn it off and then turn it on after 6 and it should activate. I drove home saying a tiny prayer that it worked. I’m happy to report that at 6:20, I had a new working phone 🙂 It had only taken 7 hours of my time to do so.

My point is, technology is great when it works. Not so great when it doesn’t. I wasted a day of time, but maybe gained a lesson in patience. It’s scary how much an old person like me is dependent on technology today. Maybe I should leave my phone at home more often, I used to be able to live without one. Who am I kidding? That’s not going to happen. but it was a nice thought. Hope your day was better than mine.

New Release-Peaktop Dude Ranch Reunion

The second book in my Peaktop Dude Ranch Series, Peaktop Dude Ranch Reunion, is now available at Amazon.com for your kindle, or in paperback or hardcover formats. You don’t want to miss this seasoned romance about a second chance at a long lost love.

Does first love ever die?

Pamela Emery, aged fifty-six, walked out of the courthouse with her divorce papers in hand. Life as she’d known it was over. Why had she let her son and his wife talk her into going with them on a vacation to a Colorado Dude Ranch? She just wasn’t in the mood, but she wouldn’t let them down. She’d spend a couple weeks with her adorable grandchildren, and with any luck, she’d come back home in a better frame of mind.

Kenneth Tucker glanced around the Peaktop Dude Ranch dining room at all the young families. He felt more than a little out of place. It was his first vacation since his wife died five years ago. Was there anyone here his age? Spotting the only other person in the room who looked like she was over forty, he decided to try to strike up a friendship with a stranger. Little did he know she wasn’t a stranger at all.

When Pam and Ken realize they not only knew each other in high school but were high school sweethearts, the sparks that sizzled between them almost forty years ago come crashing back. But can they trust their fragile hearts to the one person who broke them all those years ago, both believing that the other dumped them? Will they discover the real truth, or is it just too late for their ill-fated romance?

Peaktop Dude Ranch, where love soars to new heights.

FREE E-BOOK

I wanted to let all of you know that book three in my Aspen Ridge Series, Come Home to Love, is free for your kindle today through Sunday.

Do you like secret baby stories? If so, this book is for you. When a one night stand results in Riley becoming a single parent, she soon realizes that the handsome stranger has given her the best gift of her life. She’s spent the last six years being the best parent she can be to her daughter, Ava. When cowboy and drifter, Justin Thorne, ends up back in Aspen Ridge, Colorado, memories of that one night with a special girl come racing back. He hadn’t thought about her in years. But when his attempts to rekindle their sparks are met with resistance, he soon discovers the reason why in the person of a beautiful six year old with his eyes. Will he try to take away the only thing that matters to Riley, or will the three of them find a way to make a home and family together? Rediscover Romance in Aspen Ridge, Colorado, a small town with an open heart. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T6B6M67

Wow! Where did the last six months go?

Today I came to this site to update my header to a fall scene (something I do about this time every year. What did I see? My last post was entitled “Spring?” and dated February 21st. I had no idea it had been that long since I posted! That was before most of us had even heard of coronavirus or Covid-19. If we had heard of it, it was something far, far away in China. It wouldn’t ever affect our lives here in the United States. If you read my last post, the heaviest thing on my mind was if the danger of frost was over so I could plant spring flowers. My, how our world had changed in the last six months! No matter where you fall on the political spectrum of all of this, I think we will all agree our lives have been changed in ways we never imagined. Quarantine, social distancing, mask mandates, schools closed, events cancelled–all concepts that were completely foreign to me six months ago, concepts that were completely foreign to me for the over sixty years I’ve been alive. And yet, here we are. Living day to day and trying to make the best decisions possible for ourselves, our loved ones, and all of society.

To say it’s been a wake-up call would be too simple. We’ve all had to examine our lives and what’s most important to us. Some things have fallen by the wayside, while others have become more important. Apparently, writing on this blog fell by the wayside for me. I’m not happy about that. I like to interact with all of you who read this, but it happened. Anyway, I’m back, still writing, and getting ready to make a long distance move back home. For the most part, my life has been thankfully untouched by all that is going on around me. My loved ones are all safe and healthy and learning to deal with our new normal. I try to make smart decisions each and every day. I hope all of you are doing the same.

I’d love to hear from you, if you want to leave a comment. Let me know how you’re doing. We’re all in this together. Much love to all.