Today we have been asked “What is your favorite scent and does it help in your work? There are so many scents in different areas of our lives. I love the scents of lavender and jasmine, and when I cook I love the scent of cinnamon and vanilla, but I think my favorite scents are those in nature. There’s nothing like being up in the mountains and the scent of pine trees or sagebrush. Every season has it’s own wonderful scent, whether it’s the falling leaves in fall, the smell of snow in the winter, the scents of azaleas ands lilacs in the spring or roses and other flowers during summer. But I think my favorite scent of all is the scent of a horse barn-the combined fragrance of hay and horses and leather saddles. There’s nothing like it. Do I use scents in my writing? Of course, I do. Since I write western romances, describing the scents on mountain ranches help paint the scenery for my readers to enjoy. Now hop on over to Jenna Da Sie’s blog and see what scents she likes at https://jennadasie.com
Also, if you haven’t already, get your copy of my new release, The Boy in the Pink Convertible now at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTNGYR9P It released last week and is getting rave reviews so far 🙂
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.
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.
I love spring! It’s so amazing when the cold of winter vanishes and the first flowers of spring make their appearance. Here in East Texas, spring comes a couple month earlier than it did when I lived in Colorado. When the danger of frost is past in mid-March, I’m ready to plant. I smile as tiny growth appears from last year, and I rarely come home from shopping without at least one new flower for my yard. I’ve had to learn new plants and new time frames these past couple of years, but I still mange to fill my yard with color. This year I bought a peacock at a flea market 🙂 It’s my new favorite. And the azaleas! There’s nothing prettier than when they are in bloom.
With temperatures topping out in the 70’s and 80’s, these days and evenings are perfect for long walks with my dog, Merlin. Not too hot, not too cold-but just right. I know these days are fleeting, soon summer will be here full force with its 90 and 100 degree temperatures and bugs, lots of bugs, that will force me to spend more time back inside.
But for now, I’m spending as much time as I possibly can outdoors in the beauty of nature. It is truly a spectacular planet we live on!
