It seems that everyone is dealing with scary, difficult, and life-changing “stuff”. My prayer list grows longer every day. Loss of parents, children, spouses, friends. Cancer. Pneumonia. Stroke. Heart attack. Diseases I can’t even pronounce. Loss of mobility. Depression. Blood clots. Dementia. Fire. Flood. Accidents. Job loss. Contentious family relationships. Work-life balance. And a myriad of issues that may not seem major to someone on the outside looking in but are gut wrenching and heart breaking to the people slogging through them looking for daylight on the other side.
There is a real danger that when you’re being inundated by evil and ills of the world, you’ll miss the moments of total joy and pure bliss. Don’t let them be overshadowed by the bad. There are so many exquisite moments in life if you are looking for them. The talcum powder scent of a new baby. The gleeful face of a six year old bathed in the glow from birthday cake candles. The smile of someone who loves you. The sound of a friend’s voice long unheard. A hand holding yours as you cross the street. A new job you are passionate about. Mastering a new skill no one thought you could. Reaching a golden anniversary milestone. The aroma of supper wafting to you when you come in the back door. A letter from a friend you thought you’d lost. Discovering who you are. Realizing you are a child of a Creator who loves you always. Finding someone who believes in you.
Remember, there was a dark, difficult time ages ago when all seemed bleak and hopeless. Then…
March is National Reading Month. After dancing around between different months it was moved to March to honor Dr. Suess, Theodor Geisel, whose birthday was this month. It seems appropriate that the author who introduced reading to many of us should be remembered this way.
Every month is reading month for me. Since I had my first book published, I have been introduced to many new authors with The Wild Rose Press who write in genres I had not previously read. I have had new worlds to explore in time travel, horror, and paranormal romances. The bookclub I joined at its inception several years ago has also introduced me to authors I would not normally gravitate to. I will confess, I haven’t thoroughly enjoyed all of them, but I have found some that I was delightfully surprised to be disappointed when their stories ended.
The last three weeks I’ve been immersed in Michelangelo’s life as recorded by Irving Stone in The Agony and The Ecstasy. The historian in me loves all the background information about the politics of Italy, the influences of the Catholic Church and the Popes who commissioned Michelangelo’s works. Stone is so descriptive you will be breathing in the marble dust right along with the sculptor. It is a long read (over 800 pages) but it is worth every page.
The other change to my reading habit is e-books on my tablet. A lot of authors share electronic copies of their books when you sign up to be an early reader/reviewer. It took a while for me to get the setting right so the glare didn’t bother me. I only read them in the morning. At night, I dive into the physical book on my nightstand before I turn out the light. While the e-books have allowed me to read a number of books at a much lower cost than a paperback or hardback book, they will never replace the feel of a physical volume in heart. And, as an author, they can’t measure up to the sense of accomplishment I feel when I see my books displayed at the local Barnes and Noble.
I read differently now. I’ve always liked well-developed characters and looked for an intriguing plot, but now I notice the book’s editing. Typos call out to me and I’m more aware of punctuation. Having been through the editing process for five different books with two talented editors, I have a new appreciation for the person or persons behind the author. A great editor helps the author polish their prose until it shines. They know what components are and are not essential to the story. They catch timeline glitches you missed. Most importantly, they know how to communicate with the author so they can see beyond their pride of creation to make changes when they are needed. And the best editors understand communication is a two-way street. Sometimes they are the listener. I have been blessed with talented, caring editors and senior editors who have improved my stories before they get to you.
I hope this month you will make certain you have a book waiting to be read beside your favorite chair or on your nightstand. If electronic is your thing, may your e-reader be loaded with marvelous tales. I wish you time to sit down and relax, the luxury to escape to somewhere new, and the excitement of meeting new book friends. If any of your reading selections happen to be one of mine—even better (Can you see me smiling?) Enjoy!
It is hard to believe but today is the 7th anniversary of this blog beginning. I started it to have a social media presence for my author journey that I began in earnest after retiring from a forty-one year career in healthcare information technology.
We’ve shared a lot over the past seven years. You’ve encouraged me on my author journey more than you know. I could not have persevered without knowing you were there supporting me and cheering me on. Words are inadequate to thank you for the love you have showered on me during this trek. Thank you for reading my stories, for reviewing them, for sharing them, and for asking for more.
We’ve celebrated victories large and small through this blog from new books contracts and important anniversaries to the appreciating the beauty of the first daffodils poking their heads up in the spring.
We’ve shared tears and prayers over loved ones lost too soon, precious memories of times and people past, and shared the pain of the COVID pandemic and its aftermath.
I appreciate you humoring me and reading my observations on life. I especially enjoy reconnecting with old friends and far-flung family when you post a comment on my post or send me an e-mail after reading one. It’s been fun to make new friends in the readers who sign up for my blog. After starting out with about a dozen regular readers, Spinning Romance now has over two hundred people who receive my posts via e-mail and a trio who get it by snail mail. I am delighted by the number of fellow Wild Rose Press authors who read my posts and make comments.
In December 2024, I signed my fifth contract with The Wild Rose Press. My next cozy mystery with clean romance set in the small town of Lansdale, Wisconsin will be published in later this summer. Soon I’ll send you the date to go over to the Purple Cow drive-in for a creamy vanilla milkshake with your favorite book buddies.
I am so thankful for all of you and for the good Lord who puts the stories on my heart that I hope you’ll enjoy. I am truly blessed. It’s been a blast! I’ll see you at Whistler’s! Enjoy!
Yesterday morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. Overnight wet snow had fallen and covered the ground and painted the tree branches white. It was beautiful to look at and we didn’t have to leave the house.
The magnolias look a little strange with white layers on their leaves. The bits of pink peeking through are my camellias that bloom this time of year.
My bird house is inaccessible at the moment and the woods look as peaceful and lovely as a Robert Frost poem.
It was the perfect kind of snow for packing into snow balls for throwing or creating men. And it began melting off the trees early in the day so we didn’t have down branches that bring on power outages. It melted off the sidewalk and a lot of the driveway and roads. Today the sun is coming out and I’m certain we’ll only have a few patches by the end of the day.
I’m sure those of you who are regularly shoveling mountains of white stuff and driving through blizzards think I’m slightly touched in the head. Growing up in Wisconsin I had my fill of that as well. Now I live as far north as I ever want to and in that perfect place where a snowfall is a thing of beauty instead of a dreaded routine event. Stay warm and enjoy the wonder around you!
May you see the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child. May the love of Christmas wrap your heart in peace and bring you joy. Wishing you and yours the many blessings of Christmas and a healthy, happy 2025. Enjoy! Kim
I’m very excited. My foray into a completely new genre comes out Monday Dec 2nd. I hope you’ll enjoy my Victorian Christmas romance.
Greyford Parker is eager to see his twin sister and her family, but is dreading the matchmaking marathon she has planned at the two week Christmas party at Castle Winterhaven. As the unexpected Duke of Wallingford he must find a bride. Preferably one with a large dowry to help bolster the estate’s finances his older brother dissipated before his death.
Lady Emmeline Spenser reluctantly agrees to attend the “husband hunting” party at Castle Winterhaven, but only if her dear cousin, Eleanor Brown, can also attend. Emmeline is worried suitors will love her large dowry more than they do her. Eleanor has a plan to ally her cousin’s fears. Do they dare try it?
The new book is available at your favorite e-tail location and for those of you in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area I am having a book signing at the Midtown Barnes and Noble SATURDAY DECEMBER 14th from Noon to 4 PM. Hope you’ll stop buy to pick up an autographed copy and a hug from the author.
At this time of year I am especially thankful for all the people who made this fourth book possible beginning with my sweet husband and my extraordinary editor. And I could not continue to find the right words to put on the page without some Divine inspiration guiding my fingers. I am thankful for all of the readers who follow me and ask for my next book. Your encouragement and support are a blessing to me. Wishing you and yours all the wonder and happiness of the season. Enjoy!
I have been watching in amazement as giant spiders weave their webs. It is art in the making. A spider’s creativity is a lot like an author’s. Only we weave with words instead of wispy-looking filaments.
The spider selects a place to start and leaps from the eave to a nearby post or branch hoping it is starting from a solid, sustainable place and that its single gossamer-like thread will hold. The author picks a place to begin and leaps forward with the thread of a plot she hopes will hold strong onto her characters to the end of her tale.
Once the all important first thread is securely anchored, the spider leaps to another nearby location forming the second side of its web. The author adds some secondary characters who travel intersecting paths to the main plot thread. The author must be careful. Strong characters may try to divert the main idea to be more about them masking the original story behind their overwhelming personalities.
The spider rests admiring its work. Suddenly the wind blows a stray leaf into the web destroying one side of it. Back to weaving for the arachnid. The author proudly gives the book to an early reader only to hear there are gaps in the timeline that must be corrected. The main character cannot be the criminal. They don’t even meet the victim until two chapters later.
The spider diligently rebuilds a complete circular web, then waits to be fed. And it waits. And waits. The author fixes the plot points, rereads it for the ninth time—this time out loud—trying to sand off all the rough edges and make the manuscript shine. Then she sends it to the editor. She picks up another work in progress to fiddle with until she hears about this one. And she waits. And waits.
The spider is rewarded when an insect becomes stuck in the sticky web. It rushes over to further encase it in more threads to savor later. The author gets the email. The one with a contract attached. She cries. It isn’t the first wonderful attachment she’s gotten. It doesn’t matter. Every single one is something special. She cries happy tears and prints out the contract to savor (and sign) sooner than later.
The spider doesn’t have enough food to last the winter dormancy. It hopefully watches for more insects to come visiting. The author anxiously watches for the final galleys. It comes after rounds of tweaking and wordsmithing. Oh, the things the author learns in this complex process: tenses and persons; showing not telling; and punctuation rules you didn’t learn in school. After the final galleys are declared to be perfect, another wonderful email touting the worldwide release date for the new book baby. More happy tears as the author marks her calendar.
The spider’s web is filled with little packets of future feasts and more prey is captured every day. It is content. The author hopes the cover of the book and the all important blurb pull the discriminating reader closer and closer until they click the BUY NOW icon on the screen. They do! They even buy another of the author’s books listed on the same page. There is much rejoicing! The author smiles with tears in her eyes.
The spider is sated and the author is blessed. Thank you for all the smiles and tears you have given this author!
God, The world needs you now more than ever. Please be with the victims of Helene’s fury. Comfort those who have lost loved ones and give them peace in their mourning. Give those who survived the wind and water to be faced with overwhelming damage the strength and resilience to tackle the job of restoring their lives to some level of normalcy.
To the people who put their children to bed at night under skies lit up by missiles flying overhead give them the courage necessary to face another day and the passion to persevere until there can be peace.
Please, Lord, restore this nation to follow you in prayerful righteousness. I know we have shamefully and foolishly squandered what we have been given. Please grant us another chance and the conviction to follow the narrow path that leads to the truth and restores our country’s hope.
Lord, there are many sick of body, heart, and mind. Please ease their pain. Please bless new marriages and take special loving care of the new souls who enter this often dangerous and frightening world.
My husband is a romantic to the core. Many years ago he surprised me with a three week trip to Europe on Valentine’s day. My first trip abroad. He celebrates with me every year the anniversary of our first impromptu date. (For details on that date check out my blog from August 2018 . https://www.spinningromance.com/2018/08/
He is wonderful to celebrate occasions large and small. But the most romantic thing he does almost daily. He always holds my hand when we’re walking together through parking lots, into offices, everyday while running errands. One day we were walking into the bank branch in our area at the same time as the manager and she came up behind us and said “I just love to see…people loving on one another.” I’ve always believed she kindly thought better of adding the adjective ‘old’ in front of people.
Once while headed to the Gulf coast we stopped for lunch at a taco place and were holding hands walking toward the building. A man in a utility uniform said, “Oh, look at the lovebirds.”
When we walk across the university campus where he used to work, our handholding invokes smiles from the coeds and some nudges for their male companions to pay attention.
Here’s our first official stroll together holding hands. I was glad he was holding tight because my new shoes were slick and he was moving fast. I was afraid I might fall.
This year we celebrate the fifth decade anniversary of that first date. It’s been a whole lot of handholding since then. It still makes me tingle with happiness and makes me feel truly loved.
Here’s wishing you someone to hold your hand through this sometimes dangerous world we live in!
Next week is going to be an exciting busy week! On Wednesday, July 31st my third book with the fabulous Wild Rose Press comes out THOSE TIES THAT BIND
This book is a mystery plus an older woman/ younger man sweet clean happy-ever-after Romance. It is set in Lansdale, Wisconsin as my first two books were.
My Book Signing for those of you in the Tuscaloosa, Alabama area will be on
SATURDAY AUGUST 3RD FROM NOON TO 4 PM AT MIDTOWN BARNES AND NOBLE
I know it’s short notice but the store just got the books in. I hope if you’re in the area you’ll make a point to support our local bookstore and get your autographed copy with a hug from the author!
If you’re not in this area, the book ( and my others) are available at online retailers you can find at this universal buy link https://mybook.to/ThoseTiesThatBind
They are available in paperback and e-book formats
For my Canadian followers ( and relatives) Indigo Books is now carrying my books.
Thank you for following me, for encouraging me with your kind words about my stories, and for all the love and support. Enjoy!
