What Do We Aspire To (Or Not) by Nancy Fraser

I got into a discussion a month or so ago on Facebook with a new author about what it means to be "aspiring". She claimed she was an "aspiring writer". She'd just self-published her first book. After some harsh criticism, she unpublished the book and was thinking about quitting right out of the gate.

I asked her if the one book was all she'd written. Because, once you write something, you're truly no longer "aspiring" to write. Once you've published something, you're not longer an "apiring" author. You're an author. That, what you should aspire to, is getting better at your craft.

She wrote me back a week or two later to thank me. She'd taken the criticism on her book to heart, made some revisions and (as I'd suggested privately) she'd had it professonally edited. Then, she'd uploaded the book again.

The whole thing got me to thinking about other things we "aspire" to do. Personally, I aspire to drink less coffee (not going to happen); I aspire to be a better person, a better parent, grandparent, and better pet grandparent (probably, not happening either since I'm allergic to most things with fur). I do love visiting with pets ... from a distance.

I think about all the things in life (in general) that would be different/better, if everyone found one thing per week to "aspire" to. Perhaps, you need to aspire to be a better driver; a more proficient cook; maybe even aspire to read more. That would make us writers/authors happy for sure.

I'd love to know one thing you'd "aspire" to do. Please share in the comments below.

For me (given "drink less coffee" is off the table), I'd aspire to learn to not kill plants and cut flowers. Surely, somewhere out there someone has published a "Plant Maintenance for Dummies" book. My granddaughter gave me four plants for my birthday in late April. My youngest son had to "rescue" them by mid-May. Only one survived. My brain is not wired for remembering to garden.

Right now, I'm aspiring to improve my promotional skills. I've got the meme and trailer making down pat (I think). I write a mean media kit, and can tweet with the best of them. The aspiring part comes with choosing how and when to share things. I sometime get that wrong.

However, today is a perfect day to share my new release, a revised and re-released version of my Last Chance Beach novella from a previous box set. Adding a couple of love scenes was fun.

Here's a bit about I Do ... Again:

Thirty-five years earlier, Lily Abbott and Mitch Colby exchanged wedding vows in a quaint ceremony attended by a small crowd consisting of four Micronauts, a one-eyed pet rock, two special-edition Barbies, and an assortment of stuffed animals. Officiated by Stretch Armstrong, it was the social event of their 8^th summer.

Lily never forgot the childhood ceremony. Or the fact her best friend and first love had left her behind and relocated to Boston to pursue an Ivy-League education. Now a divorcee, with college-bound twin daughters, Lily’s moved on and put the foolishness of first crushes and the childish dream of true love behind her.

At eighteen, Mitch had never wanted the expensive education his father mapped out for him. He’d have been perfectly happy to stay in Summerville, marry the love of his life, and settle down. However, when push came to shove, he’d not wanted to upset his ailing mother, and had left everything...and everyone...that he’d wanted behind.

The 25^th reunion of the graduating class of Summerville High has brought Lily and Mitch back together at The Sands, a seaside resort on Last Chance Beach. Will one weekend together be enough? Or, is there a possibility for more?

And, the trailer:

At the moment, I'm aspiring to write a second "pirate ghost" book. Not that the first one wasn't challenging enough. Fellow Gem, Kathryn Hills, and good friend Lisa Olech, are so excited to share this unusal project with everyone as soon as we can!

In the meantime, I believe we should all aspire to be better human beings. Oh, and aspire to write and read more. Until later this month, stay happy, stay healthy, and say well read.

Nancy

Summer Reading by Karen Whiddon

June already.  I don't know about you, bur for me 2021 is going quickly.  Maybe because its a return to normalcy, I'm not sure.

Just like every year, the regular TV shows are winding down.  For me, that means Netflix or summer reading, and I've already got my Kindle loaded up with books. Summer equals reading for me, whether by the pool or in my recliner.  

Here's what's on my TBR list: The first two are hardbacks, the rest are Kindle.

How Stella Learned to Talk by Christina Hunger

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins 

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey (almost done with this one.)

This Side of Heaven by Karen Kingsburg

These Tangled Vines by Julianne Maclean

A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah I. Mass

Beauty by Robin McKinley

The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Jose Silver

The Wife by Alafair Burke

Wings of Fury by Emily R. Kinng

How to Catch a Queen by Alyssa Cole

This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel

The Color of Love by Sharon Sala

And more, but those are my goal reads for this summer.

Photo by Jay-r Alvarez from Pexels

What about you?  Anything you're dying to read?  Or have you read something so awesome that you want to share it?  Do tell.

June Brides by @JoanReeves #RomanceGems

June has historically been the month for weddings.

Here at Romance Gems we specialize in love, romance, weddings, etc. so we decided to make June Brides our theme for this month.

Giveaway Alert: details at the end of this  post.

I think the June trend for weddings began because that's the month when the  weather is really nice in most parts of North America.

June is when college is out so all the engaged couples were free to marry and honeymoon without the agony of college classes hanging over their heads. Then there's the weather issue too. In recent years, beach weddings have grown in popularity.

June Updates for Romance Gems

The Author Spotlight happens to be shining on me this month. Drop by and learn more about me, my books, and my life. I'll try not to bore you.

The Bookstore is always open. Click on an Author's name below her colorful "business card" to be whisked away to where all of her books are displayed.

As time permits, we'll bring back our Movie Theater page, Audio Books page, and others, all of which are being remodeled. Like transforming a kitchen, transforming a website page takes time.

Enjoy the posts this month which are keyed around June Brides.

Visit the Last Chance Beach Webpage.

Last summer, many of our authors contributed to a bestselling box set entitled, Last Chance Beach: Summer's End. All of the short stories were set on a fictional island I created and named Last Chance Beach. I called it the "Island Paradise where Dreams go to Live again."

We tried a couple of times to put together another box set, but there weren't enough authors who had the time/interest in doing it again. We all lead such busy lives that it's hard to block out time to work so intensively on one project.

However, the limited release box set had 55 reviews, all 4 and 5 stars. I was struck by how many reviews mentioned the setting as something they really loved. I had really loved it and the Legend of Last Chance Beach which I wrote.

(Get a free copy of Legend of Last Chance Beach that relates the legend and gives a short blurb of each of the books coming out in the next few months.)

With that thought in mind, I came up with the idea of using the setting for single title releases of full-length novels. It was total serendipity when my pal Nancy Fraser emailed me and asked about using Last Chance Beach as a setting. (Great minds think alike, right?)

She and I talked about that, and we worked together to create a structure for a series of full-length romance novels to be published under the banner of Last Chance Beach Romance. These books will have Contemporary Romance as the foundation with sub-genres of Romantic Comedy or Romantic Suspense.

All of the books will be united by the setting of Last Chance Beach. Readers will get to know the islanders and the businesses who pop up in many of the books.

Some Last Chance Beach Romance novels may be Sweet. Some Spicy. Some Sizzling—but NOT erotica. This way there's a heat level to appeal to most readers. Each author will publish her own book and distribute it as she wishes.

Deceptively Yours

The first full-length Last Chance Beach Romance, a Sizzling Hot Romantic Suspense, is a story of lost love, second chances, and the quest for redemption.

Tatiana was 12 when her mother died, leaving her alone in the world. Her cousin took her in. What seemed like an act of kindness was a scheme to use her artistic talent to cheat wealthy men who were least likely to display art they thought had been obtained illegally.

For six years, her life offered nothing but fear and danger—then she met a young man who gave her love, passion, and hope for a future together.

In an act of breathtaking courage, she defied her cousin. He responded with a vicious assault. A chance meeting with an elderly man saved her and gave her a second chance at life, but she had to leave everything behind—including the man she loved.

Ten years later, Tatiana has done everything in her power to repay her benefactor, to prove she’s worthy of the care and fatherly love he’s given her, and to become a better person. She’s never forgotten Declan Moran who taught her the meaning of love and desire. 

Destiny hands her a second chance at love, but she resists because she's not the girl Declan fell in love with. She never was. She can’t undo the lies she told, the secrets she’s kept—and continues to keep.

Declan knows a devastating secret lies at the heart of Tatiana’s refusal to accept him. He patiently waits for her to tell him the truth about what happened ten years ago, but his patience ends when he suspects she’s in danger. Will what he learns kill his love for Tatiana? Will she find the courage to reveal her secrets before it’s too late? Will she ever accept the love finds in his arms?

Deceptively Yours, a passionate Romantic Suspense about a woman and a man who are destined to be together, is New Release priced at 99¢.

Giveaway: Deceptively Yours

Prize: 1 Kindle copy of  Deceptively Yours.

1. Answer this question in Comments: At which beach would you like to vacation for a week or more?

2. Leave your email addy written out, not as a hot link.

3. Winner chosen by Random Draw on June 6.

4. Winner notified by email. 

Looking forward to reading where you'd like to vacation. The summer promises to be wonderful.

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Lipstick on the Cup and Other Memories by Liz Flaherty #RomanceGems

I hope you've all had a lovely May, complete with romance, flowers, and wonderful Mom moments. I have had, from start to finish, but I must admit when I tried to write a post about it today, nothing came. So I went looking into my blogging past and found one that brought some sweet memories back. I hope you don't mind reading it again.

"Flowers in the city are like lipstick on a woman -- it just makes you look better to have a little color." - Lady Bird Johnson

Several months ago, I put on makeup to go out and realized I looked better with it on. My friend Nan and I were off on a weekend soon afterward and did a little high-school-freshman shopping at Walgreen's or CVS and I added to my cosmetics supply. On her advice, I even started wearing eye shadow. I'm still not good at it, but I'm getting better. Whether I like to admit it or not, the truth is that when I look better, I feel better. That being the case, I wear makeup nearly every day, even if I'm not going anywhere. The roommate likes me in it, too, and mentions it, and while I don't think I'd wear it for that reason alone, the "new look from an old lover" doesn't hurt.

A few days into my makeup-wearing adventure, I looked at my coffee cup and saw lipstick on its edge. My first thought was, I'll admit, "Yuck," and I grabbed a napkin to rub it away. My second thought was of my mother-in-law, who left lipstick on every cup she drank from and, more importantly, on everyone she kissed hello or goodbye.

In short, lipstick was part of Mom's telling you she loved you. I think of her every time I see my "Tickled Pink" lip print on my cup. And I leave it there.

You might wonder, and rightfully so, what lipstick smears have to do with writing romance or women's fiction. The only time the prints show up is on murder mystery covers or if a wayward husband is having an affair.

But my kids grew up with their grandma's lip prints on their foreheads and their cheeks. It is a memory that has a place in all our hearts. It gives joy to me each time I look at the pink spot on my cup.

As an author, this is what I want to give to people who read my stuff. They don't have to remember all my titles, protagonists, or story lines. They don't have to finish a book if it doesn't click after the first chapter, although I thank them for trying.

But, if they remember Grace Elliot saying "geezy Pete," or Lucy Dolan's cat, Kitty Kinsale, or that Cass Logan made the best gingerbread men in Christmas Town, I'm happy with that. I hope they are, too. I hope it's the lipstick print on their cups and that they smile when they remember.

A Rose By Any Other Name Would Smell Three Times As Sweet ~ by M.J. Schiller

 Moms, roses, and romance. Hmm. I know my mom has read some of my romances, but I don't like to think about that, so we'll skip the mom part and focus on the roses. And I know the roses are supposed to be tied in with mom, but when I think of roses the first thing that comes to mind is the year I received three dozen roses for Valentine's Day. 

No, my husband isn't some kind of massive Romeo. Actually, I can count the times he's purchased flowers for me on both hands, and we've been married for coming up on thirty-three years, been together for thirty-five. But the story I'm thinking about happened some years ago...

The year was 1990. We were fresh out of college, having moved out of state and to a city where we didn't know a soul. My husband had begun his career at the Fortune 500 company he hopes to soon retire from. I was teaching junior high school English and Composition to freshman at the junior college. A huge ice storm had most of the city, well, frozen. With no heat, we went to the mall to watch Driving Miss Daisy and keep warm. (This was back in the day when malls had movie theaters. Remember that?) When we got back, my husband expected there to be a dozen roses there for me, but, alas, they were missing. After a call to the florist-- who was extremely apologetic--we received two dozen roses to make up for the mistake. A half-hour later, the neighbor knocked on the door with another dozen roses, which she'd accepted delivery on for us. Whoops! Three dozen roses in the little townhouse we lived in when we first moved here was pretty overwhelming. Needless to say, I haven't seen the likes of that since, nor would I have expected to see that ever again. It was kind of nice, though.

So, that's my rose story. Of course, as a writer, it got me thinking of roses in my work. With twenty-six books out, I'm sure I'm forgetting some significant rose scenes, but the two that come to mind are creepy, not romantic. In THE HEART TEACHES BEST Laney's sister's murderer sneaks into her bedroom when she's asleep and leaves a rose on her pillow. Later, he leaves one on a carousel that Laney was on to taunt Cooper, her policeman love interest, and show him how close he was able to get to her despite Cooper's best efforts to protect her.

In BETWEEN ROCK AND A HARD PLACE, rock star Jasmine Barrett finds her best friend murdered in the singer's bed. The killer dipped a rose in her friend's blood and left it, theatrically, beside the body. Later, a key clue comes from a vase of roses in Jazz's dressing room. The killer leaves a coded message with the bouquet that doesn't seem like a clue until someone casually mentions one of the words on the card much later. That offhand remark leads Heath to the realization of who the murderer is. But will he get to Jasmine before the killer does?

Maybe it says something about me that the only significant scenes with roses from my books that I can come up with are not some grand romantic gesture by the hero, but instead they are foreboding messages from the villain.

What about you? Do you have a favorite story about a time you received flowers? Do you receive or purchase flowers often?

Thanks for reading! Come back for more tomorrow from another fabulous Romance Gems author!

She Plays a Mother on TV by Nora LeDuc #RomanceGems

TV Moms are one of my favorite subjects. Take your pick, you can find all kinds of mums on the small screen. I've chosen a few for us today.

Every Wednesday, we can tune in to "The Goldbergs." Here we have a prime example of an embarrassing, meddling smother-mother. Beverly Goldberg. She's the kind that's always at the school, making sure her children are treated fairly and perfectly because her kids are...perfect. (I bet we've all known a few women like Bev.) Although Beverly learns a lesson about parenting from her misguided efforts, she can never quite cut those apron strings. I've always been more intrigued by the history behind the scripts that are inspired by Adam Goldberg's video recordings of his family's lives. Yes, Beverly is his mother who occasionally makes an appearance in the show. More than once I've read the true-life happenings of the clan had to be toned down for a G audience. Darn.

Another popular TV mom is Marie Barone of "Everybody Loves Raymond." Marie is the parent of two grown men, Raymond and Robert. Raymond, the oldest, continues to be Marie's obvious favorite. This does not go over well with his younger brother Robert, but doesn't stop Marie. She also feels free to give unwanted advice to her sons who are often too afraid of her to cross her. As a mother-in-law, Marie knows little about boundaries and often barges into Ray and his wife's home without a knock and usually at inconvenient times. If you think about it, Marie might remind you of a relative or a friend who means well but is a little too close. And here's a trivia fact for authors-the actor who played Marie's husband, Peter Boyle, was a cousin of Kensington Editor Kate Duffy.

Don't you dare open your mouth when I'm asking you questions.

Before I finish, I must add Clair Huxtable from the former "The Cosby Show" to this list. (Forget Bill.) Every Thursday night, I loved to see what Clair was wearing. Her colorful style of clothing fascinated me. She seemed able to put on anything and look wonderful, but the character of Clair was so much more. As the stable center of the family, she was a wife, a lawyer, and a mom of five who actually talked to her children about their problems. Then, she gave them good advice. She could be funny, but stern when needed. Clair showed us that although mothers worry about their children or make mistakes with them, they will turn themselves upside down to love and guide them into happy, well-adjusted adults. That's a mother.

I have written two stories with moms. My latest, Christmas at the Easy Breezy, takes places in the White Mountains of NH. If you're looking for a happy uplifting book this story is for you. The main character, Darcy Malone, is divorced and a mother of a five-year-old. Darcy is desperately seeking to connect to the family she's never known. Little does she realize what she'll find when she arrives at the Easy Breezy Diner and meets the sometimes-grumpy owner Leo Homes.

Please Follow Me on Social Media and Stay Healthy, Nora.

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My "Big Idea" Lady by @KaraONealAuthor #RomanceGems

My mother can sing. Really, really well. She has a voice like Kathryn Grayson. They have similar looks, too. My mother is timeless and classic. She reminds me a lot of Jackie Kennedy. And, well, she was raised in that era, so....

She's good at a lot of things. Cooking, sewing, gardening, leading, directing, caring for others....

The list is endless. She worked for the American Heart Association for 20 years in Houston. Which means she worked with some VERY smart doctors, and they ended up nicknaming her the "velvet hammer". (I think I know why, but I've never actually asked.)

I call her the "Big Idea" lady because she was always making me do things. Sometimes these things were actually worthy, but other times.....UGH. Piano lessons? Really? No. (But I had to take them for FIVE years.)

Before my mother graduated from college, she was invited to attend the conservatory in Paris. I'm not really sure what that is, but she chose not to because she wanted a family.

She's been an amazing mother. There's no way I could tell y'all everything, but I have one example of her commitment.

My brother had seizures as a baby, and there were many appointments as doctors tried to figure out what was wrong. And, of course, there were many scary moments. One of those occurred either right before or right after church -- I can't remember because I was six. They had to take my brother to the hospital, and the only way my brother would sleep was on my mother's chest. So she stretched out on a gurney in her dress, slip, and hose and laid there for several hours so my brother could get a decent sleep. She couldn't move or she'd wake him.

"Mother" means so much that I doubt Webster accurately defines the word. "Father" means just as much, but this month is for the mothers. And they deserve ALL the roses.

It's quite fitting for me as my current release, MAGGIE'S SONG, which is available for pre-order, is about a mother who's risking so much to save her child. And not only that, the heroine can sing. Maybe not as well as my mother, but certainly well enough! Ha!

MAGGIE'S SONG

Pike’s Run, Texas, 1883

In the dead of night, Maggie Nelson flees New Orleans with her five-year old daughter, Iris. Maggie can’t live with her abusive husband any longer and seeks safety in the home and arms of her aunt, Aletta Williamson in Bordersville, near Pike’s Run, Texas. When she arrives, surprise her dear aunt, Maggie tells her Haywood died. She is too ashamed to tell the truth about her marriage.

Pete Jerkin, the town blacksmith and livery operator, is a leader in Bordersville. He is taken by Maggie and Iris, especially since the child doesn’t fear him. With his large stature, he usually puts off females and children. As Iris tugs on his heartstrings, his gaze strays to the lovely Maggie. But he’s promised himself he wouldn’t ever court a woman. Not again.

However, love is sneaky, and Pete can’t help himself. Neither can Maggie. As the weeks pass, she grows more scared each day that Pete will learn the truth about her husband, that Haywood will come knocking. And ruin everything.

BUY MAGGIE'S SONG

I was able to write this story because I had the best inspiration and role model for it. I've learned so much from my mom, and there isn't a way to properly thank her. Perhaps this blog post will do it. (I bet she's crying. Should I see that as success?)

I love you, Mama. Thank you.

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