The Daffodils Are Coming!The Daffodils Are Coming! by Nora LeDuc #RomanceGems

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host of golden daffodils;
(William Wordsworth)

With my stay at home life, I'm more eager than ever to get out and spot New England's signs of spring. I especially love the trumpet-shaped flowers, the daffodils. Their welcoming bright yellow, orange, or white colors welcome all who pass and raise my hopes for summer. So let's not waste time. Since car rides are allowed in our state, I'm off on our search for these harbingers of renewal. I'll add a few interesting landmarks along our way.

Molly Stark House at Pages Corner. Molly 
married General John Stark.

Before we leave, I check my yard. I discover the newest grouping I'd planted last fall near the road. They've survived the overflow of sand and salt from the plow truck and being buried beneath a mound of snow. Sadly, their buds haven't opened yet. But we've more to find. I hop in my vehicle and drive to the Pages Corner Cemetery that was named for the original land owners. Their daughter, Elizabeth Page (aka Molly Stark) lived on the corner and married Revolutionary War Hero John Stark.

Pages Corner Cemetery flowers--white building houses a horse-drawn hearse-
thanks to the town hearse restoration committee

But refocus! The plants are up at the cemetery! A long row of them, courtesy of our garden club. Their petals flutter in the wind and beckon me to snap their picture. I oblige. You might be curious about the white building in the grave yard. It houses a restored 1870 horse-drawn hearse.




I travel a few yards to the town line. Here, multitudes of daffodils are growing. Woo Hoo!! The residents of our community planted these for our town's 250 birthday celebration a few years ago.

                                          Roadside mass of flowers thanks to our town garden club                                         

Finally, my car chugs up the nine-hundred-foot-hill to the Center. There I make a glorious discovery. In front of the Caleb Stark Statue, the old horse trough contains a cheery display on this gray day. In case you're wondering, Caleb was Molly and Gen. John Stark's oldest son. Caleb is often depicted in paintings, chasing after his father who tried to leave him behind when John rode off to fight at the Battle of Bunker Hill. Yes, Caleb caught him and became the aide-de-camp to the general. We end our brief tour here. I declare our flower hunt a success on a cool April afternoon.

In the background, statue of Revolutionary soldier Caleb Stark

Now as the days grow warmer and longer, I grab my laptop and sit on the deck or by the windows. I dream of gardens rioting with color and stories filled with challenges and sometimes danger where love conquers all.

Before I sign off, I wanted to let you know my newest book, Christmas at the Easy Breezy will be in pre-order in June. The characters will celebrate with an outdoor spring wedding! Maybe you'll spot a daffodil.
Love to all,
~ Nora

****

Wait, there's more!!

Our monthly Rafflecopter is waiting for you and with an added chance —the Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt.  Complete information can be found on our Monthly Giveaway page. Yes, Easter is over but you can still enter. Just check out my Facebook page and my BookBub page to find my egg. Please like and follow me while there!!

She's Little, But She's Fierce by @KaraONealAuthor #RomanceGems

My seventh book, Love's Redemption, started in book two, The Sheriff's Gift.

In it we meet Willa Kramer. The middle child of three. Farmer's daughter. Quiet. Direct. Tough. And already bearing burdens no twelve-year-old should.

We learn about the past that will impact her future, and we meet the young man with shoulders broad enough to be her champion, and a heart wise enough to understand her grief.

She spends the first years of her life fighting a monster. And she wins. But at a very great cost, and in Love's Redemption, she must come to terms with what she faced at too young an age.

Willa is tougher than all of my heroines put together. (She's also short in stature. It's awesome! She's petite and mighty.)

Not only must she fight violence and evil, she must war with her own feelings of worthlessness. Those incessant, horrible voices we all hear from time to time telling us we aren't good enough.

Willa learns how to be vulnerable, how to love herself, and most importantly, she learns to forgive herself. The love of Lonnie Davis is her touchstone, the rock upon which she stands, and he refuses to leave her side no matter how hard she tries to push him away.

I loved writing this book, delving into Willa's heart and watching her save her life and the lives of everyone she loves. And as I wrote her, that line from Shakespeare came to me....

"Though she be but little, she is fierce."

I learned a lot from Willa. She taught me an important life lesson, one that I have to repeatedly practice, but that I know is true. Forgiveness of self is just as important as forgiveness of others. For those of us who take our mistakes to heart and hold them a little too close, that is a hard thing to remember. But we must.

During the month of November we're talking about life lessons, and one wonderful thing about romances is, no matter which time period or place they're set in, they are about real problems. Real life. And about the only thing that really matters in this world...love.

November is the month for Gratitude, Appreciation, and counting your Blessings. Grateful, Thankful, Blessed—that's what we Romance Gems Authors feel. Join us this month in celebrating the Life Lessons we all learn. Enter our November Rafflecopter now for a chance to win 1 of 5 Amazon Gift Cards. You can also enter by going to the Monthly Giveaway Page

Website   Amazon   Barnes & Noble   BookBub   Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest   Goodreads