Monday, May 18, 2020

Not Blooming @karilemor #RomanceGems


Our theme this month is Romance in Bloom.  I know plenty about romance but the bloom part I’m a bit weak in.  My mom is one of those people who has a bona fide green thumb. Growing up, we had so many plants all over the house. We had five picture windows, and every one of them was filled to the brim with plants.

The kitchen window over the sink housed many of the cacti and smaller plants. We even had a Venus Fly Trap at one point. My sister and I used to love feeding it hamburg.  Watching the greedy little mouth close up was fascinating.

The most impressive window was the one in the living room. It was a huge bay window that went from floor to ceiling. The curtain over it closed in front and at times we used it as a stage. But first we’d need to move all the plants. They hung from the ceiling and graced small tables in front of it. I used to joke that we didn’t need a Christmas tree, we could just hang lights on all the plants.

So it was quite disappointing when my thumb turned out to be black. It caused plants to die. Even the ones where people said, “Oh, you can’t kill that plant. They’re so hearty.” It never failed that every year while I was teaching, I’d get a plant or two from a student or a group gift from the class. After telling everyone how much I loved it and thanking them, I’d give it the sign of the cross and last rites. Then I’d take it home to die.


The only hope these poor greens had was if my mother happened by before they were completely dead and took pity on it. My mom took in more foster plants from my house than anything else. And miraculously, she always managed to bring them back to life and make them healthier than they were before. And no matter how much she told me how to take care of them, mine always died. Good thing my kids yelled and cried if I didn’t feed them, otherwise I could have been in deep trouble.

For a few years I actually bought fake flowers and stuck them outside in the wall by the road. They looked amazing and people wondered how I kept them so fresh for so long. Yeah, most people caught on to my trick after a while. My kids teased me something awful, but none of them offered to plant and take care of something real so it didn’t bother me.  I’ve accepted the fact I am not a plant person.


But romance, now that’s something I know a little about. I started pilfering my mom’s Harlequins when I was about twelve. That started my deep love for anything romance.  Most of the books I read for pleasure are most definitely in the romance category. And not that many years ago, I tried my hand at writing romance. 



My newest series, the Storms of New England, now has three books out and book 4 should be making its arrival this summer.  The newest, Stolen Dreams, is a favorite since Alex Storm is very organized and OCD in many ways. So many of his quirks come from me (or a few of my children) and so he is familiar. Luckily Gina, whose grandmother lived next door, absolutely loves Alex’s quirks. It takes him a while to finally figure out that she’s the one he’s been looking for his whole life.
You can take a peek and read the first chapter at these retailers:

                   Amazon               Barnes & Noble          Books2Read







And don’t forget to enter this month’s Rafflecopter



27 comments:

  1. Kari...I love your black thumb stories. I’ve got about four houseplants that are over 25 years oLd. I get them sort of revived and then leave them with my daughters when we travel and come home to half-dead ones again. But they have sentimental value so I keep on trying! I don’t even attempt weeding the rock garden outside. Looking forward to Stolen Dreams! Keep us posted on the release date!

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    1. Your daughters sound like they have my thumb for plants. And the book came out a few weeks ago!!

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  2. Yes, I'm not good with indoor plants. Most are outside were Mother Nature nurtures them or ignores them. I try to buy sturdy invasive types so they stay alive! Another lovely cover on your book. You have great taste. I read book one and need to catch up!

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    1. Haha! Yes, weeds I'm good with. And thanks!! Hope you enjoy the rest of the Storms!

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  3. I loved this post!!!!! ANd it's just one more thing I love knowing abt you, dear girl.

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  4. Hahaha... Your black thumb! 😂 I love that you gave the plants last rites. My mom had a big kitchen window filled with African Violets. I've tried, but nothing compares to her burst of color year-round. Ever hopeful though, Darling Daughter and I planted seeds for a vegetable garden this year. Cross your fingers for me. Your latest "Storm" sounds fantastic. Adding it to my Kindle.

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    1. Yeah, the nut does sometimes fall far from the tree. I can't grow plants like my mom, and neither of my daughters read romance!! What did I do wrong?

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  5. I, too, am a black-thumb person. I once killed an air fern. They need nothing but air, but I managed to kill mine. For some reason though my kids still give me plants or flowers from time to time. You'd think they'd have learned by now.

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    1. My husbands knows the only plants for me are cut flowers, like peach roses!!

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  6. We refer to my back deck as plant death row... I now say, that perhaps the universe sends me only dying plants because they know they can die in peace here and not be forced to linger or be given any extreme measures to insure their resuscitation...like say, water! I'm the DNR of houseplants! That's my theory and I'm sticking to it!

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    1. I love this!! I kind of felt this way with all the plants I was given! Rest their little plant souls.

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  7. I have that same black thumb, which is okay because when I didn't inherit my mother's skill with houseplants, I also didn't inherit her love of them. I like them outside, a lot, but I only want dust in my windowsills!

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    1. Unless Mother Nature takes care of them, I kill the outdoor ones, too!

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  8. I love houseplants and I used to have a lot of them. Since I write full time, I forget to care for them except between books. I'll have to stick with outdoor plants.

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    1. My problem is I either forgot to water them or I watered them too much. Clueless!

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  9. I used to send ailing houseplants to my MIL to nurse back to health. She's no longer with us, and neither are plants in my house. I'm with Liz. Bring on the dust bunnies.

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  10. I kill anything I try to grow. Can't do it. My mom can. She's a gardening genius. I guess it skipped me!

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    1. It must be a generational thing! I never took Plants 101 in school!

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  11. These days I'm dividing my time between writing my latest romance and trying to green up my thumb! I'm getting better now that I'm retired. I can related in some ways, Kari. Your book sounds wonderful. Best of luck with it!

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    1. Thanks! I've given up on ever having a green thumb. Hope yours is better than mine!

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  12. I have a nice rack of house plants but they're the ones you "can't kill" and have survived quite a lot. I used to drown my plants but I've discovered they do better if I neglect them a bit. I only water them on Thursdays now!
    I'm enjoying the Storms series and I'm glad to hear a fourth is in the works.

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    1. Haha, I had the 'easy' plants too and still managed to kill them. It takes a special skill for that! Thanks! Glad you are liking the Storms!! There's a lot more of them.

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  13. I've had better luck with house plants once I accepted they required time and attention. *sigh* Because of those two elements, I've always done better with outdoor gardening since Mother Nature kind of takes care of them. Good luck with the latest Storms of New England.

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    1. Yeah, with 3 kids and a full time teaching job, I never had time or attention for the plants. Inside or outside!

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