Gratitude
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Wine, Writing & Romance
What’s more fun that doing a book-signing at a winery? Not much. My writing BFF Liz Flaherty and I did just that on Saturday and we had a ball. The good folks at Whyte Horse Winery, in the little lake town where Husband and I have our cottage, opened their doors to us and our readers. We had wine and snacks and books and wine and lemonade and wine and did I mention we had wine? It was wonderful getting to meet readers and answering their questions about writing. Our husbands acted as cashiers while we sold and signed books. Good buddy Maureen was a lovely hostess for us, setting…
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Cover Reveal!
Wow, am I in love with this cover for my new novel, A SMALL TOWN CHRISTMAS, coming October 29 from Tule Publishing! Isn’t this gorgeous? Here is final version of the back cover blurb: Four Irish Brothers Winery A romantic new series by USA Today bestselling author Nan Reinhardt Winemaker and single father Conor Flaherty is determined to make this Christmas holiday special for his daughter even though his family’s winery, Four Irish Brothers, is facing some challenges. High-octane Chicago attorney Samantha Hayes is looking forward to some delicious food, fine wine, small town charm, and a break from her hectic big city life when she agrees to do a favor for her boss…
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Getting Older or Better?
Seems like this year, June is going to start out with an emotions overload. Yesterday was sister Kate’s birthday. She’d have been 67 and we lost her way too soon. I was so counting on becoming feisty senior citizens with my sisters, like my Nana and her sister Alice. They were so funny and got on one another’s nerves and loved each other with all their hearts. I thank God I still have PJ to make those kinds of memories with–we’ve promised each other we’ll live to an old age and drive each other crazy. I’m counting on you, PJ! Today is the celebration of life service for my friend…
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Staying in the Moment
On Wednesday, I posted this to the Word Wranglers blog–take a minute and read it. I’ll wait here. Oh, good, you’re back! Then today I read this article on a phenomenon called “phubbing,” which is the habit of snubbing someone in favor of a mobile phone. We’ve all done it. Some of us do it. I tend to do it most at breakfast because I’m tracking my food on my WW app or checking points for food or… okay checking to see what’s coming in the mail and yes, okay, checking Twitter and Instagram. I don’t have Facebook on my phone because I was spending too much time there. Starting…
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Gratitude When It’s Hard to Be Grateful
I gave up being dissatisfied for Lent and man, oh, man, is life ever testing me on that one. It’s been a tough week–Son is trying very hard to finish up his PhD thesis in preparation for defense next month, their house is in serious disarray as the contractor gets the kitchen remodel finished up, and we had a terrible tragedy in our family. My niece’s daughter died of an overdose last week. At 24 years old, her life was sad and spiraling downward due to addiction and bad choices, but no one deserves to die so young. We are all heartbroken for her mother–I can’t imagine the pain of…
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Late for Lent
Well, Ash Wednesday was a couple of weeks ago–on Valentine’s Day this year, which was kinda interesting. Anyway, usually, I post during Lent about what I’ve given up and how that’s affecting my life. I’m late to posting about it this year because I committed February to featuring authors of Seasoned Romance on the blog, and it didn’t seem fair to shove in with my own stuff. But the blog is mine again. I did give up something for Lent this year, but it wasn’t wine or social media or chocolate. This year, I gave up being dissatisfied. That may not sound all that courageous, but trust me, I’ve been…
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I’m at USA Today!
Yup, I really am at USA Today–today, actually! Hope you’ll stop by and check out the interview that Joyce Lamb did with me. It was so much fun! We mostly talked about my writing, but there were a few other kinds of questions as well. I hope I came off as the professional I try to be. Let me know what you think, okay?
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ManyBooks . . . and I’m One of Them!
Hey gang, check out ManyBooks today to find lots of great deals on books, including Once More From the Top, which is still at the discounted price of just 99 cents! It’s been a wild ride these past couple of weeks as I’ve prepared for the release of Saving Sarah Book 4 in the Women of Willow Bay series on Tuesday, September 26. I picked that day because it’s my birthday and releasing a new book seemed like the perfect way to celebrate. If you haven’t met the Women of Willow Bay yet, now’s the time to get started. I hope you’ll love Carrie and Julie and Sophie and Sarah…
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Best Friends
Yes, it’s me, looking for peace again . . . You see, my dear Dee died on Monday–quietly and surrounded by her family, she moved on. I don’t deny I’m grateful that she is finally free from the cancer that has racked her body for five long years. I’m happy that she’s finally reunited with the love of her life because she’d been longing for that. I’m glad this horrible siege of illness is over for her sons, who can now remember their Mom as the vital beautiful woman she was, even when cancer stole that from her. Honestly, I’m even a little relieved that my life may return to…
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Done . . . Begin Again
Saving Sarah is with my editor, which means it’s out of my hands for a few weeks, which also means it needs to be out of my mind for the next few weeks. Honestly, that’s a really hard thing to do–release a book. I keep going back through it . . . but it’s time to stop because until I get the edits back from Lani, it’s pointless to make changes. I’m fairly certain that she’ll have plenty for me to do on the manuscript when she returns it. My challenge is to let go and start something new. To that end, I’m working on a new story that I…