Welcome the first day of spring!, by Judith Hudson #Romance Gems

Hi Everyone,
Happy Spring Equinox!
It might be my Scandinavian blood, but I always feel the subtle seasonal change that come with the equinoxes and solstices. Winter solstice is a time of quiet rejoicing when the sun begins it’s return north. As the days inch longer, I can almost feel the plants stirring beneath the ground.

Then Spring! The warm weather burst into the Pacific northwest this week after a month of unrelenting, record breaking cold and snow, the last vestiges of which, small piles in the shade of the hedge by the driveway, will probably be gone today. Yay!
In each of the four full-length books of my Fortune Bay series, the women hold a fun ladies-night to celebrate the change of the seasons. As they share confidences over a bottle of wine, Frankie sharpens her tarot card reading skills, often surprising the women when her readings hit so close to home.

Here’s a short excerpt from Book One, Summer of Fortune, where Maddie attends her first solstice gathering, in this case celebrating summer, with her new friends, Frankie and Louise.

Maddie sat back and listened as Frankie and Louise bantered back and forth. She barely recognized herself, a woman with silver hoops in her ears and a cluster of bracelets on her wrist that tinkled like wind chimes when she moved. A woman taking charge of her life—because that was what they had decided the evening would honor, in the spirit of wise women’s solstice gatherings stretching back for thousands of years. Nothing too weird, they’d all agreed, just something to encourage their own awareness of their personal power. They would each ask for, or choose, a direction to follow for the next fertile quarter of the year.
And for Maddie it had to be fertile indeed. The next equinox fell before the opening of her show, the harvest, so to speak, of her summer’s bounty.
Frankie was playing high priestess tonight. Over her loose linen pants, she wore a robe of sapphire silk with a border of white Celtic symbols down the long front lapels. In honor of the evening, she had abandoned her customary single braid and wore her hair loose on her shoulders, adorned with a garland of lavender. She spoke in a quiet voice as she shuffled the Tarot deck. “Traditionally, the summer solstice was a time of renewal. A time to release all sadness, pain and fear. A time to prepare to reap the abundance. A time to find a husband.” “Bring it on,” Louise intoned.
Frankie closed her eyes, a smile on her lips, and continued to shuffle the deck. Maddie concentrated on Frankie’s hands, letting the soothing motion settle her nerves.
Placing the brightly patterned deck on the table in front of Maddie, Frankie said, “Think of a question, then cut the cards. Be careful though. The tarot knows the question in your heart.”
Maddie smiled and a shiver ran through her as she tried to look deep inside for the answer. There was really only one question on her mind. “Will my show be a success?”
Frankie took the deck from Maddie’s hands. “This is a basic, five card spread. Simple, but very powerful.

“The central card represents the present.” Frankie flipped over the first card, a knight on a spirited horse, and placed it on the table. “The Knight of Wands.”
She squinted at Maddie. “Are you sure your question is about your work? The Knight of Wands can be an idea or an approach to life, but most often it’s about a man.”
“Like Jake,” Louise said.
Busted.

Summer of Fortune is currently free at all online book sellers. You can find your copy HERE.

How do you celebrate the arrival of spring? For me it’s being able to get back out in the garden, and this year I’m starting from scratch in my new house. I'm sure I’ll be talking about that a lot on my facebook page. Please join me there – I’ll need all the help I can get!

www.facebook.com/JudithHudsonAuthor/
Now get out and enjoy the sun!

Judy Hudson

P.S. You can find longer excerpts from all of the Fortune Bay books on my website.