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Like many others my age, I am mourning the loss of yet another bricks and mortar toy store. Going online to add things from websites to your wish list is simply not the same as walking around a toy store with a small child watching their eyes widen with wonder and sparkle with joy at all of the amazing toys to be gazed at, touched lovingly and ardently wished for. But now, generations of children to come will be relegated to leafing through their computer screens to decide on their new hearts’ desire. My husband says “they can’t miss what they never had.” Somehow, that makes the loss even sadder.

One of my favorite life roles is that of Aunt. You get to have all of the fun of being with your nieces and nephews, but you can spoil them rotten and send them home! I remember very fondly one afternoon where I got to do just that in another now defunct toy store with my young niece and nephew.

We walked into the toy store with shelves running from floor to ceiling, all laden with wonderous treasures. I told Edward and Charllean they could have anything they wanted as a treat, but they could only have one thing.  And so it began …. We spent over an hour as they carefully went up and down every aisle considering all their options. Sometimes they would pick up something and continue wandering only to return it to its proper place when another more alluring toy began calling to them. It was enlightening to watch their thought processes as they tried to determine what the perfect toy would be for their smiling Aunt to buy.

Finally, the choices were made and they both seemed pleased. There were no regrets about what was chosen, only smiling kids in the back seat. When we got back to their house, their mom didn’t think I should have spent money on them. When she asked why they let me do that, Edward had a quick response. “But Mom, this dog (the plush toy he selected) followed me out of the store and it had an outfit for Charllean’s Barbie in it’s mouth.” You have to admit, that was pretty quick thinking.

Besides, everyone knows when this Aunt wants to do something, she usually does it! I don’t think it will be nearly as much fun for Aunts now to watch their nieces and nephews flip through websites looking for the perfect treat! Another thing that makes me wish I knew someone with a time machine…

 

 

 

Early this morning I finally sent Kat Russell and Dr. Chase Merrick on their way to the Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense editor. It is a scary and exhilerating thing to click “Submit” after you upload your letter and the dreaded synopsis and your manuscript.

An author writes alone, but after things flow on to paper, you need confirmation about your work and editing and advice. Luckily, I have been blessed with a wealth in family and friends who are willing to help me.

Thank you to my sister, Lori, for the medical advice while I was still writing. I didn’t mean to frighten you with questions about falls and subdural hemotomas! Your information was very helpful.

My first reader was my husband who has only read two romance novels, both of them mine. But, Jim always has a unique perspective and his academic career trained him to question some of the story line and help me flesh out my hero’s motivations. Because of him, Chase became a hometown boy who knew Katrina’s grandparents. Thank you Jim for your love, support and encouragement and your first reader advice!

My sister-in-law and her husband both read early editions to give me their perspectives as prodigious readers and I got another male perspective.

To my local reviewers: Pam, Millie, Beverly, Sue and Doris – thank you for your editing, advice, confirmations and positive comments. You each look at things a little differently and I love getting the feedback. Thank you so much.

Other family members and friends have volunteered to be early readers and I appreciate every one of you, but at some point I had to stop tweaking and editing and see what a real life editor thought about it. I hope it is received positively there, too.

I have other stories and fiber and projects waiting for my attention so I’ll waste no time picking them back up as this story makes it’s way through cyberspace. Hopefully, in twelve to fourteen weeks, I’ll have some good news about “Just What the Doctor Ordered” and another story in Lansdale, Wisconsin ready to make its cyberspace journey.

Thank you all for your love and support. Enjoy! KJL

Two years ago today I was walking across the grounds of the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee with my sister Lori, when we got the call that Mother had given up her battle with Alzheimer’s earlier the same morning. It is a horrible disease that robs you of the person you love before they physically leave you. You mourn in little bits until it is finally over. You don’t mourn then, because your loved one is finally free.

The disease had been creeping into Mother’s brain for years. There were little hints along the way. But as horrible as the disease can be, there are moments of humor and grace. Mother relived some of her favorite times and believed they just happened. Like the day I called and she asked me if I was as tired as she was from yesterday’s activities. When I asked what activities, she had been in Champaign-Urbana at U of I’s Dad’s Day activities in 1975. She was right, I was tired the next day nearly forty years ago.

When she started forgetting people’s names, she never forgot her son-in-laws’ or grandson’s names. The men made a bigger impression on her, they always did.

At her 80th birthday party she held court in the middle of the dancing and eating. I’m not sure she knew who all of us were but she loved being the center of attention! And she got to meet her newest great grandson. She held him without any instruction about what to do, those arms still remembered how to hold a baby after all the practice she’d had.

Today I am remembering my Mother the Brownie and 4H leader. The mother who taught you and your friends how to knit. The mother who took us school shopping into the big city of Chicago to visit with her sister, Auntie Shirl and Uncle Gene. The mother who wanted us to see the world starting with summer camps in the Keys or riding in Kentucky or the Art Institute. The mother who swore we’d go to college even if she had to go and sit with us every day.

Today I remember Mother before the ravages of the devil’s disease. Rest in peace.

 

I have been blessed to be the oldest in a large family. For a long time we were all girls. My dad saw no difference in raising girls or raising boys so I went deer hunting at twelve, the only girl in junior high to get out of school for that when boys did it all the time. We all learned how to throw a spiral pass with a football so we wouldn’t throw like a girl. My dad always said we could do anything and be anything. No restrictions for being a girl or because we lived in a small town in rural Wisconsin. I was raised to believe that all things were possible. Daddy also said “If you see someone with something you would like to have remember that they either worked hard for it or paid a lot for it or both.” He was a generous man who expected alot but wouldn’t hesitate to give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed it. I left home knowing I could always come back if I needed to and because of that, I never needed to. Knowing you could survive failure made striving not to fail easier. My sisters are strong, successful women who inspire me to write about strong heroines who do what has to be done to protect the people they love. Thanks Daddy!

 

When the romance or suspense hits a lull there is nothing like sitting and spinning to let my characters keep working on the story. Before I know it, the lull is over and the words flow onto the screen.

I have been writing for years but this is the first time I’m writing for publication on my very own website. This is the place to show new things, explore ideas and share the creative process. Scary and exhilarating. Hope you’ll join me.