More blogs...

There were a lot of great blogs this week...

Anne Patrick is hosting Naomi Musch. I have her books on my wish list.
http://suspensebyanne.blogspot.com/

Loved Patty Froese's post on failure:
http://pattyfroese.com/?p=3560

Susan Jaymes posted Learning to Dance. Loved it.
http://susanjaymes.blogspot.com/2012/08/learning-to-dance.html

The Clash of the Titles host is Lisa Lickel and she has a poll. It's fun.
http://www.clashofthetitles.com/

Shaunna Gonzales hosts Sue Perkins and an excerpt from her book The Sixth Key.
http://www.shaunnagonzales.blogspot.co.nz/

While I play catchup...

I'm sharing posts I've found interesting this week.

June Belfie hosts Barbara Robinson:
http://www.junesecondcup.blogspot.com/

I love the way A.R. Norris procrastinates:
http://sci-fiadventures.blogspot.com/2012/08/procrastination-marathonjoin-me.html

At Long and Short Reviews anniversary blog fest:
Need a laugh? Angela Britnell shares her Banana Boat Ride:
http://lasrguest.blogspot.com/2012/08/anniversary-blog-fest-angela-britnell.html

And Toni Noel shares what she did during her summer vacation.
http://lasrguest.blogspot.com/2012/08/anniversary-blog-fest-toni-noel.html

Hildie McQueen has a Favorite Five Wednesday tradition and a new look to her blog. I like it.
http://www.hildiemcqueen.com/?page_id=4315

I love excerpts, a chance to taste a book without committing. Elaine Cantrell hosts Lynette Endicott and Tami Dee and their book Animal Instinct. Yes, they were on my blog last week, but it was a different excerpt.
http://elainepcantrell.blogspot.com/2012/08/animal-instinct.html

Arthur's inspiration...

The Duke of Wellington ~



He was a remarkable man.

The other inspiration ~

My dog, of course. :-)

Shhh...

I'm editing. I'll be back when it's finished. Promise. :-)

For those in the path of Isaac.

Patty Froese's blog...

Patty offered me the opportunity to share a post at her blog, and I took her up on it. I talk enjoying the moment and pretty dishes. :-)

http://pattyfroese.com/

One week ago...

Luck: Where's Jonathan going?
Jack: To fetch Elizabeth.
Luck: I want to fetch--pick up Sara.
Jack: You're not permitted.
LUck: Why?
Jack: Don't you know?
Luck: Would I be asking if I did?
Jack: You should know.
Matthew: Their end is near.
Luck: Their end? What do you mean their end?

Jack: Matthew's being dramatic.
Luck: It doesn't sound good.
Mark: Does he look like it isn't good?
Luck: No. No he looks far too pleased with himself.
James: Oh. Of course, their time has come.
Mark: You're saying their wait is over?
Luck: For what?
Mark: Their Happily Ever After, of course.
Luck: You mean…
Jack: Final formatting.
Matthew: Final what?
Jack: For uploading to various sites to enable downloading to a variety of devices.
Luck: What would you know about formatting, uploading, and downloading?
Jack: You would be surprised. What else have I to do with so little accomplished thus far in my life? It's pathetic, I know. By the way, you're next.
Luck: Will it hurt, do you think? Not that I'm worried.
Jack: Of course not. *snort*
Matthew: If Jonathan's countenance is anything to go by, it doesn't appear to be painful in the least.
Mark: Wish he'd left the door open a little longer. I'd like to have seen his Elizabeth.
James: You are not considering something so dishonorable as poaching another man's lady?
Mark: What is it with you Regency men? Of course not. He's been babbling about her for years. She's your sister, so you and Matthew already know what she looks like, but Luck, Jack, and I haven't had the pleasure of meeting her.
Jack: I don't suppose he'd smuggle us a copy of his story.
Mark: Why can't her brothers, James, Matthew, and Benjamin, tell us?
Jack: They only know the bits of which they're a part.
Mark: Pity.
Jack: Gentleman, buck up and kindly shut up. You at least are acquainted with your heroines. Mine still doesn't even have a name.
Luck: Sorry, Jack.
Mark: Yeah, sorry Jack.
Matthew: No offense intended, Jack.
James: Tough luck old man.
Jack: I don't suppose one of you would hurry our Laurel Hawkes along?
Mark: Sorry, it's my fault. I sprang a few surprises on her.
Jack: Should have known.
Luck: Hang in there, Jack. If there's anything you may be assured of is she will not forget you.
Jack: Of course not. I won't let her. I only hope to be a fraction as pleased as Jonathan.
Matthew: Godspeed, Jonathan.
James: Hear! Hear!

More blogs from this week...

Linda McMaken hosts Sue Perkins and The Sixth Key. They share an interview with Tynan of the Mutes. I'm fascinated by world building.
http://www.makenwords.blogspot.com/

Stephanie Burkhart shares her favorite fruits and an excerpt of her most recent short sweet.
http://ebooks99cents.blogspot.com/

Hildie McQueen has a delightful tradition at her blog of sharing Favorite Fives. This time she's sharing Tina Pinson's Favorite Five.
http://www.hildiemcqueen.com/?page_id=4315

Stephanie Burkhart welcomes Paisley Kirkpatrick:
http://sgcardin.blogspot.com

Enjoy the weekend.

Tomorrow, I'm very honored to be a guest at Risky Regencies, a blog I've been following for years.
http://riskyregencies.blogspot.com/

Much needed rain...

My part of the world has been receiving a bit of rain of late. Thanks, God. We needed it.

The drawback is I'm allergic to mold and whenever it rains the molds go wild. The other drawback is my inability to sleep through the thunder, so my sleep is severely curtailed.

The following picture was sent to me in an email. I may post the whole bit of silliness sometime in the future, bur for now, this is how I'm feeling:

Blogs to visit...

Anne Patrick interviewed me over at her blog:
http://suspensebyanne.blogspot.com/2012/08/laurel-hawkes-interview-excerpt.html
Anne is being interviewed over at Naomi Musch's blog:
http://www.naomimusch.com/apps/blog/

Debbie Lynne Costello over at The Sword and Spirit blog posted Tina Pinson's interesting article on research. The subject matter is a bit grim, and yet suited perfectly.
http://www.theswordandspirit.blogspot.com/2012/08/when-shadows-fall-by-tina-pinson-ends.html

Paisely Kirkpatrick is interviewed over at MK McClintock's blog:
http://mkmcclintock.blogspot.com/2012/08/night-angel-interview-with-author.html

AR Norris shares a bit of her world building. I love her Telomere series.
http://sci-fiadventures.blogspot.com/2012/08/world-building-coolness-i-created-my.html

I commented on some, and simply enjoyed others.

Thank you!

My thanks to God for His everlasting patience in leading me on this path I didn't believe could exist for me. He has never abandoned me, even when I felt alone. Sometimes He carried me, and sometimes He sat beside me while I wept because I believed I was unable to move even one more step.

Thank you to everyone who celebrated my first release with me. I'm so grateful.

Thanks to everyone who stopped in for a visit, posted on Facebook, and bought the book. I pray it uplifts and encourages.

Endless Possibilities series...

Endless Possibilities is a series of three books all set in 1816, the year without summer. When I started A Promise of Possibilities I'd only had one book in mind. Elizabeth Thorn and Jonathan Silverton inspired other characters. Every story starts with "What if?" When Elizabeth's brother Matthew showed up in the first chapter I hadn't planned to do anything more with him. He slipped into a few more scenes, and I wondered what happened to him. Hidden Possibilities (March 2013) began to take shape. Of course, one had to wonder about the absent Thorn heir, James. The next thing I knew there was Unexpected Possibilities (October 2013). Benjamin is grumbling about not having a definitive story of his own, but I reassure him it's there, waiting to be told. I'll not forget him.

Jean Kinsey's excerpt...

Maddy Kennedy is divorcing her unfaithful husband when she learns he has a secret more devastating than adultery.

Jenny, Maddy's mother, has taken the identity of Maddy's biological father to the grave with her. With a madman stalking the family, attempting to uncover hidden bank robbery money dating back to the days of the infamous Jesse James, Maddy's only hope is to find the answers to these secrets--to find her biological father before she loses her sanity or possibly her life. Can she do this without endangering the "daddy" who has raised her as his own? Maddy goes back to Willow Shade, the family farm in Logan County, Kentucky in quest of the truth.

Even though this novel is totally fiction, you will laugh, cry, reminisce and recognize characters, rivers, bridges and caves of Logan County, Kentucky, especially "Daddy," patterned after the author's own dad.

EXCERPT:

She exited I-65 onto the gravel State road. White-faced Herefords dotted fields of sweet clover. Corn tassels nodded and tobacco stalks waved green arms in the wind. Maddy pulled the Pinto over, slid out of the car, and stepped onto the Jasper River Bridge.

"This is it, Welby." She shifted her eyes to the passenger seat, patted the dog's head and loosened his collar. "If I had a dime for each time I played under this bridge, I'd be rich now."

Leaning on the paint-peeled guardrail, she chewed on the tip of her left forefinger. Lacy white foam collected on the banks of the swollen stream below. It had rained yesterday.

Maddy sighed and summoned her courage. Willow Shade Farm spread across the sloping fields beyond. She swept her hand in the direction of the old plantation diminished to an ordinary farm. "When I was a young girl, I made believe I was Scarlet O'Hara and the farm was Tara." She surveyed the scene before her. The red roof of the main house dwarfed the smaller buildings like the owners had once dominated the slaves who subsisted in the little houses.

She took a deep breath, got back into the car, and followed the winding drive up to the farmhouse. Yeah, I know. Now it's more like Tara, post bellum. That old verandah's going to collapse one of these days. She shielded her eyes from the morning sun with her hand. "Look, there's Daddy on the porch."

Daddy leaned against a tall, white column, shoulders stooped, one thumb hitched into a strap of his bib-overalls, scrutinizing the car pulling into his drive. Howard Livingston would always be her real daddy even after she found the man who sired her. She wasn't looking to replace him. She only wanted to find her heritage. Daddy met her at the end of the walk. Weathered hands pulled a red handkerchief out of his hind pocket and blotted his eyes. "Maddy, you've come home. I been praying you'd show up. Been worried about you. Going through a divorce has to be hard. On Kenneth, too, I reckon."

"I'm fine. Really I am. Wouldn't know about Kenneth."

Author: Jean Kinsey
Length: Novella
Category: Inspirational
Rating: Warm
Photography/Artwork: Carol Fiorillo

Fun extra from Lynette Endicott

An evil from the past threatens to destroy the love developing between Allison and Sean.

Will ancestral memories hold the key to freedom, or overwhelm them with fear?

Book Excerpt: Chapter Two

Sean tried to shrug away the tension gathering in his shoulders and the back of his neck. He'd seen the clinic on his way home yesterday, and he didn't know where any other vets were located. He prayed someone would be there, and they could take his dog. The sting the poor boy got during their morning run was swelling around his eye and his breathing seemed more shallow than just a minute before. As a first responder, he knew the signs of anaphylactic shock, and he was terrified. He shifted King's weight and kept on jogging, a slower jog with the extra hundred pounds, but he didn't want to waste any time. He was close, just another half a block. "Hold on, King, I'll get you some help." He shouldered his way through the door. He barely took in the prim ladies with their lap dogs on leashes. He only had eyes for the person behind the counter who could get him some help.

"Doctor Al's office, Carol speaking. How can we help you and your pet today?"

She wasn't talking to him. She was answering the phone. He rested King, all sprawling, hairy, panting, wheezing dog, right on the counter in front of her.

His swollen eye was on her side of the counter. She couldn't miss it.

"Just a moment, I have an emergency," she said to the caller. "I'm putting you on hold."

The woman was quick and competent. She called over her shoulder, "Doctor Al, we have an emergency in Exam One." Then she turned to Sean as she opened the door to the side of the counter. "Follow me." She opened another door into an exam room, grabbing what he recognized as the new epi pen on her way through. He carefully placed King on the table in front of them. "I will get you some paperwork in a minute. Do I have permission to treat your dog?" He nodded and she put the needle against King's neck and pressed the life-saving drug into his system just as Doctor Al came into the room.

King was already breathing easier.

Sean's whole body relaxed in relief. "Thank you, thank you." He pressed the hand of the lady from the front desk; the motherly one who had acted so quickly

"You're welcome. Doctor Al will look at your dog now. Stop by here before you leave."

Doctor Al was a woman. That was the first thing that registered. She was petite, with very small but competent hands examining King's body. "Carol has given your dog a dose of an antihistamine to quiet what appears to be an allergic reaction." She flicked her gaze to him. "How long ago did this bite or sting happen?"

Her presence was calming. He shook away the tears that formed in his eyes at the thought of how close he'd come to losing his partner, his best friend. "Only a few minutes." He cleared his throat in an effort to dislodge the fear and grief clogging it. "Maybe ten minutes ago. I was a couple of blocks from here, and figured it was faster to run in than to risk going home for my car." He looked down at his running sweats, gave her what he hoped was an apologetic grin. "I know I stink and I don't have any I.D. with me." Embarrassed heat warmed his cheeks. "Or money, because we were out running. But I don't live far," he assured her with a quick gesture of his hands. He hoped he could count on small town acceptance. "As soon as we have this situation under control I'll go get them."

She nodded, continuing her examination. "Has this ever happened before?" When he shook his head she added, "Looks like there is only the one sting. What's your dog's name?"

He slid a glance to his dog. "King Solomon, but I just call him King." At the sound of his name King raised his head, then got to his feet on the exam table, standing eye level with him and a head taller than the doc. He leaned in and licked at his master's face. Sean laughed, partly in relief, partly in the surging joy that his dog really would be okay. He put his arm around King's neck and the dog rested his chin on his shoulder.

Doctor Al lowered the stethoscope and looked into his eyes, and his breath locked in his lungs when he realized how beautiful she was. Auburn hair brushed her shoulders and framed her face, and eyes the color of the bluest sky met his. His knees went weak. He swallowed.

A hint of pink touched her cheeks and she averted her gaze from him back to King. "I'd like to watch him for a couple of hours, make sure we don't have any further reaction." With gentle fingers, she touched King's face above the swollen eye. "I also want to clean this wound once the swelling has gone down, make sure we have the stinger and that we don't risk infection. Can you come back after lunch?"

Sean nodded. He usually didn't have so much trouble thinking of something to say, but Doctor Al left him speechless. He cleared his throat. "I'll have a break at work around 2:00. Would that be okay?"

She nodded. "I'm sure that will work. Check with Carol at the front desk before you go."

 She smiled, and dimples appeared on both sides of her mouth. Kissing dimples. Where that thought came from, he had no idea, but he wanted to brush his lips against those smooth cheeks, flick his tongue into the little crevasses and claim them, claim her, as his own.

He shook his head, a wry smile touching his lips. Boy, oh boy, he had it bad.

She had been so serious before now. Then that smile, wow, it hit him in the gut with joy.

 She started to turn away and he wondered how he could get her to stay just another minute. As if she heard his mind call out to hers, she turned, tilted her head a little, and put out one hand. It shook, just a bit, and his heart sang. Maybe, just maybe, he wasn't the only one affected by this -- whatever it was which had tossed him into a sea of want -- of need.

"In our hurry to get King taken care of we didn't introduce ourselves. I'm Allison Green."

He engulfed that dainty hand in his own. It was cool, smooth, and soft. "Sean Barnett. I'm more glad to meet you than I can ever say." He covered their joined hands with his other hand, hoping to warm her a little, hoping to keep her close just a moment more. "Thank you so much, Doctor Allison Green."

There was that smile again, those irresistible kissing dimples winking out at him. "You are very welcome, Sean Barnett." She took the end of King's leash, which dangled from his collar. "See you in a few hours. King, come. Heel." King didn't look back, just dropped down to the floor from the exam table and meekly followed the Doc without even waiting for a release command from Sean. She did have a way with animals.

In an effort to calm the unexpected lick of desire building south of the elastic waist band of his jogging shorts, he whistled tunelessly as he left the room to talk to Carol and make an appointment to pick up King. He glanced up at the clock on the wall behind her and swore under his breath. He hadn't even gotten a shower yet, and he was already late for his first day at his new job.

http://www.lynetteendicott.com/

Earlier, Lynette posted(with pictures):

In the Time After Time Saga every hero and heroine has an animal helper. They aren't always the same book to  book so I won't give away the future.

In Animal Instinct the  helper to the woman of the Heartmark is Slainte' (pronounced slawn cha - and sometimes shortened to Cha Cha.) Slainte' is a Gaelic toast to health - and the real cat she was named for, which belongs to Lynette Endicott, needed all the health she could get when we rescued her.

The helper to the hero in Animal Instinct is his German shepherd K9 partner on the police force. He is named for the German Shepherd given to my family when I was in 3rd or 4th grade. Unfortunately no one knew how to train him or had the time, so the generous breeder who gave him to us took him back. Now that I am an adult dog owner I know that walking him and being consistent with his training would have given us a fabulous dog, but it was not to be.

Here are a few photos of the real life Slainte'. She is a feisty little thing who keeps the other cat and dog in line in a very intentional way. Notice  her eyes are usually golden, not green. Tami Dee, the co-author on Animal Instinct, and Lynette recently discovered that both have rescued calico cats, although Tami's is much older. Their markings are very similar.

She is the only animal that Lynette's daughter's very lively beagle/bassett mix respects. She is smaller than the other cat but twice as feisty.

*My additional note:  Interestingly enough, my sister has a cat, which she rescued, of similar coloring. One of the feral cats I feed is also the same calico.

A Promise of Possibilities...

In England, 1816, spinster Elizabeth Thorn has been more slave than servant as her father’s housekeeper. The courageous war stories shared by author Paul Silver inspire her to correspond with him. But after years of heartfelt letters, he stops replying...

Jonathan Silverton blames himself for the brutal death of his best friend. When he moves to the countryside and unexpectedly meets his correspondent, he chooses not to reveal his secrets. But he cannot deny his desire to marry her, while hoping she’ll never discover the truth. Shattered trust and faith may tear them apart...until they each learn a vital lesson.

Author: Laurel Hawkes
Length: Plus Novel
Category: Historical
Rating: Warm
Photography/Artwork: Carol Fiorillo

Meet the authors...

The authors of Animal Instinct are Lynette Endicott and Tami Dee in their first joint venture. Both have been writing for some time, Tami for about eight years, Lynette with short stories since she was 14, but this is only her second full length book. Tami has six prior novels under her belt  While Tami and Lynette live only a couple of hours apart in Central California, they met in an on-line critique group and this entire collaboration happened through email conversations and manuscripts.
 

Laurel Hawkes has spent most of her life in the Valley of the Sun, calling Yellowstone, Thailand, and England home for a brief time. Work encompassed a variety of trades including housekeeper, cashier, switchboard operator, reservation agent, teacher's aide, sign language interpreter, medical transcriptionist, and, now, writer.

When she was told she could never succeed as a writer, she believed it, and boxed away the dream, but God laid writing on her heart. He offered her numerous breadcrumbs to help her find her way. Asking her not to write would now be tantamount to asking her not to breathe.  A Promise of Possibilities is the first of eight books contracted with Desert Breeze Publishing.



Jean Thompson Kinsey, originally from Franklin Kentucky, now lives at Brooks, KY. Jean has always wanted to write, but life always got in the way. She retired from real estate sales when she was diagnosed with a rare debilitating illness, syringomyelia, and dedicated her energy to raising her three children.  She likes to read, play with her grandchildren, teach Sunday School, travel and take cruises. It wasn't until she became a widow in 2005, that she began seriously writing. Jean's creative non-fiction can be found in multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort books. Her fiction is published in Disciple's World, Live, Living, Harpstring and Splickety. Jean writes inspirational fiction and non-fiction. The Secret of Willow Shade is the first of her  trilogy of Willow Shade Christian suspense and the others will release in March 2013 and October 2013.  She also has a prior historical Christian novel, the Lightkeeper's Daughter, with Desert Breeze Publishing.



Dusty bearded men in miner's boots and faded shirts, gamblers in fancy vests and frock coats, a ghost or two tossed in for good measure -- these are the characters who come to life on the pages of Paisley Kirkpatrick's writing. Mix them with strong, independent women of the Gold Rush era who delight and tempt their heroes to take a chance on love and, voila, it's romance.

She and her husband of 43 years are fortunate enough to live in the Sierra Mountain Range of California where this colorful time in history took place. Exploring gold mines, inspecting the stately historic homes, and traveling through tunnels zigzagging underground stirs my imagination and brings reality to her stories.  To write and create has always been her dream. Joining Romance Writers of America twelve years ago opened the door to achieving what I was born to do.