Author Speed Dating: Joanne Rock

Author Speed Dating(1)

If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as writing books, it’s READING books. I love discovering new authors, too. So I thought my blog would be a perfect place to introduce my authors friends to potential new readers. Only to give it a twist, we’re doing this Speed-Dating style. Check out a new author here every Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match. The clock is ticking. Ready! Set! Go!

This week’s guest: Joanne Rock

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15 Questions

1. Which Disney princess (or prince) do you wish you were more like? And which one are you really most like?

Snow White. Jasmine.

2. Monopoly or Battleship?

Battleship.

3. How many books have you published, and how many are still tucked in a drawer somewhere?

Published: 83. Tucked in a drawer: None complete, but about 5 partials.

4. If you had no audience, and no regrets would follow, what midnight snack(s) would you be gorging on tonight?

Crème brulee. Bread pudding. Some cracked pepper kettle chips. Nachos and chicken wing dip.

5. Blahniks or Nikes?

Flats only for this arthritis sufferer, so Nikes.

6. Give the title of the first manuscript (published or unpublished) you ever wrote.

Moonrise.

7. If you were marooned on a deserted island with plenty of food and water but with only one book to read and re-read, which title would you hope for?

Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Mists of Avalon

8. In which genres and sub-genres have you been published?

Contemporary Romance, Medieval Historical Romance and Young Adult fiction.

9. Pizza and beer or steak and Chianti?

All of the above.

10. How old were you when you had the first inkling you might be a writer, and what gave you that hint?

Age 10. I was obsessed with textbooks, reading and writing.

11. In 10 words or less, give your best writing advice to aspiring authors.

Trust your gut. Don’t give up.

12. TED Talks or Cupcake Wars?

TED.

13. Which one of your own fictional heroes would you have taken home if you could?

Billionaire athlete Jean Pierre Reynaud from Secret Baby Scandal. Sweet, wealthy, and an athlete… Swoony.

14. What is your most ridiculous fear?

Spinach in my teeth.

15. If someone has never read one of your books, which title would you recommend she read first?

Nights Under the Tennessee Stars. I love that one!

 

***

JoanneRockbook

Whispers Under a Southern Sky

By Joanne Rock

Returning from the grocery store to purchase supplies, Amy took the Partridge Hill Road slowly, climbing the sharp incline with a respectful speed. She was wary of the potholes and cavernous cracks in tarmac that looked like the town had been ignoring it for decades.

Her car was on its last leg, an eBay deal she’d snagged for next to nothing after her previous vehicle had died. A gray sedan built for efficiency and not comfort, the car was held together with duct tape, furnace cement, a few well-placed zip ties and a whole lot of You Tube video knowledge on DIY mechanics. She was proud she’d kept the thing running this long, but she wasn’t about to risk her luck on one of those black holes.

Even if that meant she couldn’t zip past the house where Sam Reyes was rumored to live.

She kept her eyes on the road so as not to risk any accidental sightings. Not that she wasn’t curious, of course. Her long-ago boyfriend had been hot as a teenager when other boys were still gangly and awkward. Her imagination could fill in the blanks quite nicely to envision him as a man full grown. She didn’t need that visual confirmed. Especially not after they’d had the world’s most awkward non-breakup.

He had just up and disappeared. Vanished into thin air with Gabriella Chase, a particularly adorable majorette who probably would have been homecoming queen. If she hadn’t left school to run away with Sam. His mysterious email—weeks later–claiming that he’d left to “help a friend” hadn’t exactly eased her anger.

Thump!

The car dipped down into a rut she hadn’t seen. The passenger side tire scraped something sharp, a grating noise against the wheel. She hit the gas on instinct since her vehicle was prone to stalling.

And yet, of course, her sedan died right there.

“Unacceptable.” She closed her eyes. Willed the vehicle to life. “If not for me, you would be in a scrap heap.”

Sadly, it wasn’t her first dialogue with the vehicle. But for the first time, the cursed thing seemed to listen because it fired up again with a cough and a splutter.

“Yes!” She hit the gas hard, desperate to get out of sight from the last house on Partridge Hill Road.

She wasn’t a woman who enjoyed being rescued and, thankfully, her closest neighbor would be saved from that role today. Racing up the rest of the hill, she dodged the remaining pits and crevices, flush with victory and the knowledge she had enough supplies to last her for the next two weeks. She wouldn’t need to worry about seeing anyone until she felt well settled in and—

Oh. Crap.

A large man stood on the porch of the hunting cabin.

Dressed in black and wearing dark sunglasses, the figure stood with his back to her, his large shoulders bent over something he seemed to be examining on the front porch swing. A hit man deciding which weapon to use? Her brain churned out a whole series of crazy possibilities when he did not turn toward her as she slowed the car.

Fear crawled up her throat since no one should be here. Her sisters had promised her—promised—that they would let her decide when she wanted to see the family. No one else knew she was here. And the guy on the porch sure didn’t look like he was selling something. Or trying to convert her.

Why hadn’t the man noticed her yet? She debated backing down the road again. She could just slide it into neutral and she’d be at the bottom of Partridge Hill in moments. Then suddenly, even with her heart beating hard and the car’s heater blowing on high, she realized she could hear the wail of an infant.

Even as she told herself that made no sense, the man on the porch straightened from whatever he’d been studying on the wooden swing. He held a baby in his arms.

But that wasn’t nearly the most shocking thing about her uninvited guest.

Because the man in front of her was Samuel Reyes….

 

A September 2016 release from Harlequin Superromance, WHISPERS UNDER A SOUTHERN SKY is available from these retailers: Amazon , B&N, Harlequin.

***

About Joanne

Four-time RITA nominee Joanne Rock has never met a romance sub-genre she didn’t like. The author of over seventy books enjoys writing a wide range of stories, most recently focusing on sexy contemporaries and small town family sagas. An optimist by nature and perpetual seeker of silver linings, Joanne finds romance fits her life outlook perfectly–love is worth fighting for. A frequent speaker at regional and national writing conferences, she enjoys giving back to the writing community that nurtured and inspired her early career. She has a Masters degree in Literature from the University of Louisville but credits her fiction writing skills to intensive study with fellow author and friend, Catherine Mann. When she’s not writing, Joanne enjoys travel, especially to see her favorite sports teams play with her former sports editor husband and three athletic-minded sons.

Website, Facebook, Twitter

 

 

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Harlequin Toronto: An Adventure with My Village

Harlequin Group
A champagne toast

People often say that writing is a solitary venture, and I can agree with that. There are times when I’ve been staring at my laptop, the white screen mocking me in its sheer lack of words, that I have felt utterly alone. On the other hand, I have found my traditional publishing career to be anything but lonely. Truly, it takes village to publish great books.

Having worked with so many talented professionals with Harlequin Enterprises since I sold my first manuscript in 2001 – people who massaged and polished my stories until they were the best they could be – I thought I had a good understanding of how many people were a part of my village.

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Lola Speranza, Director of Publishing Services

During my visit and tour of the Harlequin headquarters in Toronto last week, I learned just how wrong I was.

Okay, I admit that the Harlequin staff might have dazzled me with their queen-for-a-day treatment, the champagne toast and that general Canadian niceness. Still, I couldn’t help being impressed by the sheer number of behind-the-scene individuals involved and the amazing amount of detailed work required in editing, laying out, printing, marketing and distributing a book with my name on the cover.

Production Art
Shane Dobson, Manager of Production Art

Even after the lovely tour with Lola Speranza, Director of Publishing Services, I cannot begin to tell you all of the steps required as a manuscript moves from contract to publication, but I will offer just a taste here as a way of honoring the many individuals who work in these offices every day with the goal of producing great books.

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Farah Mullick, Marketing Director

I had the chance to meet copy editors, proofreaders, those responsible for typesetting print novels,  another group responsible for converting those files for e-books, some who made the brochures for book club sales and those who planned the cover and back-cover content or made sure it was perfectly aligned, that its colors were true and its text was clear. Among those was Shane Dobson, Manager of Production Art, who is the go-to guy for ensuring that a cover is perfect. (Yes, that’s my cover on his desk and on his monitor. )

Then there were those who market the books once they are printed and those who ensure that the books get into the hands of happy romance readers. Just one of my brief visits was with Farah Mullick, Marketing Director, but I have to admit that I already knew her. (We’ve bonded on the dance floor at a couple of Harlequin Parties…oh, and at some work stuff, too.) Throughout the tour,  I was amazed to see all of the varied work these individuals do to produce books for readers and make sure readers know where to find them.

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Editors Victoria Curran and Karen Reid

After the tour, I had the chance to sit down with my editor, Karen Reid, and Victoria Curran, senior editor of the Harlequin Superromance and Heartwarming lines, so we could discuss my next project. (Crossing fingers here.) That was especially cool as my daughter, Alexa, had come along for the tour and had the chance to join us for the meeting.

My gracious hosts topped off my visit with lunch with the whole Superromance and Heartwarming editorial staff. What a great day!

As much as I enjoyed the chance to be treated like a celebrity for a day, I really appreciate the new perspective I gained from this visit to the Harlequin offices.  It was great to see so many people, who are completely invested in transforming wonderful relationship stories into high-quality books for readers to enjoy. Each job is crucial to the mission. Every details matters. It really does take a village to publish great books. I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of my village.

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Superromance/Heartwarming Editorial Staff

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Author Speed Dating: Lora Lee

Author Speed Dating(1)

If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as writing books, it’s READING books. I love discovering new authors, too. So as I planned my new blog, I decided this could be a perfect place to introduce my writer friends to new readers and introduce my reader friends to some of their new favorite authors. Only we’re going to do this Speed-Dating style. Just 15 getting-to-you questions, a little bit about the author and an excerpt from one of her stories. Check them out right here each Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match…or two…or three.

Let’s get ready to Author Speed Date. The clock is ticking. Ready. Set. Go!

 

 

This Week’s Guest: Lora Lee

 

Cozy Mysteries

 

 

 

 

15 Questions

  1. Which Disney princess (or prince) do you wish you were more like?

Cinderella, because I’ve never had glass slippers. Mine were cowboy boots.

And which one are you really most like?

Was the old woman who lived in a shoe a princess? If not, she should have been because – you know . . . kids!

  1. Monopoly or Battleship?

Monopoly – because . . . money, money, money!

  1. How many books have you published, and how many are still tucked in a drawer somewhere?

Four published and more than one unfinished hiding in boxes somewhere.

  1. If you had no audience, and no regrets would follow, what midnight snack(s) would you be gorging on tonight?

Mama’s pecan pie — because . . . Texas!

  1. Manolo Blahniks or Nikes?

Nikes! I’d be a train wreck in heels.

  1. Give the title of the first manuscript (published or unpublished) you ever wrote.

Conquered Hearts – unpublished rough and tumble western historical. Texas Longhorns and cattle drive. Yeehaw!

  1. If you were marooned on a deserted island with plenty of food and water but with only one book to read and re-read, which title would you hope for?

My hardcover edition with three Nora Roberts’ “Born In” books because — you know . . .Ireland!

  1. In which genres and subgenres have you been published?

Contemporary Romance and Cozy Mysteries.

  1. Pizza and beer or steak and Chianti?

Smoked brisket and beer.

  1. How old were you when you had the first inkling you might be a writer, and what gave you that hint?

Fourth grade. I loved reading fairy tales and playing make-believe.

  1. In 10 words or less, give your best writing advice to aspiring authors.

Don’t procrastinate. Write every day even if it’s only a few lines.

  1. TED Talks or Cupcake Wars?

Neither one. How about Fixer-Upper?

  1. Which one of your own fictional heroes would you have taken home if you could?

Hands down – Buddy Lee from ALL THAT MATTERS.

  1. What is your most ridiculous fear?

Being sprayed by a skunk! 

  1. If someone has never read one of your books, which title would you recommend she read first?

For Contemporary Romance readers: ALL THAT MATTERS, an emotional Cinderella-in-reverse love story, deep in the heart of Texas. Cozy Mystery readers: BRINGING IN THE THIEVES  for a taste of Texas twang and gospel music when a preacher’s daughter and an ex-con uncover some mighty dirty laundry among Ruby Springs’ holier-than-thou citizens.

***

Bringing in the Thieves

Bringing in the Thieves

By Lora Lee

 

 

I knew the minute I read the church bulletin that I was fixin’ to be Southern-fried and plated up in front of God, the Faith Community Church deacons, and eventually the entire community of Ruby Springs, Texas, sure as my name’s Frankie Lou Birmingham McMasters.

My well-meaning landlady, Nettie Bloom, had decided to announce my proposed church project without asking me if I wanted her to. I had just scheduled a meeting with the deacons about it, not given them any details about the idea. I hadn’t spoken it aloud to anyone but Miss Nettie. But now there it was in print, along with Miss Nettie’s usual assortment of misplaced phrases and Mrs. Malaprop word choices. Miss Nettie had been editing the church’s newsletter, News From The Pews, for a good many years, but I’d noticed her memory getting a little tangled lately.

NEWS FROM THE PEWS
Faith Community Church
100 Blessings St.
Ruby Springs, Texas 

As we wait for the selection of a full-time pastor, we welcome back interim minister, Reverend Matthew Whitlaw to the pulpit next Sunday at Faith Community. His morning sermon will be “Jesus Walks on Water” followed by “Searching for Jesus” in the evening.

For those of you who have children and don’t know it, we have a nursery downstairs.

Members of the Weight Watchers group will meet Monday at 5:30 for weekly weigh-in. Please use large double door at the side entrance to the annex. The Low Self-Esteem Support Group will be using the back door.

Prior to prayer meeting Wednesday evening, a bean supper will be held in the church hall. Special music will follow.

Until further notice, please give massages to secretary, Lovey Muchmore. She will then give massages to the newsletter editor who will share the details in the newsletter.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: A NEW CHOIR FOR TEEN SINNERS IS BEING FORMED AND WILL COMPETE IN THE SLUMBER FUN AT THE CITY PARK NEXT MONTH. For more information on sinning contact Frankie Lou McMasters at Doc Adderly’s Animal Clinic.

 Prayerfully submitted,

N. Bloom, Newsletter Editor

Truth be know, there were certain people who weren’t exactly thrilled by my return to the town where my daddy, Reverend Frank Birmingham, occupied the pulpit at Faith Community Church before his retirement to Florida. I’d been gone from Ruby Springs eleven years, but it seems those certain people have the combined memory of a herd of elephants.  One in particular: Poppy Rose0 deHaven Fremont, Faith Community’s choir director.

I grabbed my tote, made a quick call next door to Miss Nettie’s house where my eleven-year-old, Betsy, was staying for dinner, then headed for the church. It was a hot spring night and bound to get hotter.

Help me, Lord, Miss Nettie and that newsletter are gonna get me killed one way or another.

 

***

 

BRINGING IN THE THIEVES, Book #1 of the Joyful Noise Mysteries series, is published by Bell Bridge Books and available now in digital and print versions. Book #2 in the series is a work in progress – tentative title SWING LOW, SWEET LARIAT.

Buy Links: Amazon Kindle, Amazon Paperback, Barnes & Noble, Kobo Books

***

About Lora Lee

Born in a small town in the Texas Hill Country, Lora Lee discovered the magic of reading at an early age and began inventing stories before she could write down the words. Her preacher daddy, as well as her mama, encouraged her love of books by making certain she always had a library card each time they moved to a new town. She currently resides in West Michigan. Known to her supportive critique group as LL or Tex, author Lora Lee is Mom to her four children and Grandma to her nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. She enjoys exuberant family gatherings when all twenty-plus members join her for good food and noisy ball games in the back yard.

Keep in tune with the Joyful Noise at: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Goodreads.

Lora Lee also writes as Loralee Lillibridge. Learn more about her contemporary romances through her blog and on her Loralee Lillibridge website.

 

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Dad’s Album: A Daughter’s Life in Pictures

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I can’t believe it’s been nearly four months already. Four months since my sister and I experienced one of those life events that we all know is coming, but we dread it all the same. We lost our father.  After choosing to suspend cancer treatment a few months before, Dad passed away on April 30. A flurry of events in blurry lines and awkward words followed, and I was too busy just getting through the days to slow down and focus on the memories. That’s my excuse for not returning before now to those boxes of old photos I brought home after the funeral. That, and I was just too sad.

But this week when I needed a picture for a project, I started digging through the piles of photos and newspaper clippings that celebrated several generations of my family’s history. And under one of the piles, I found it: the album my dad made for me. It has my senior photo on the front cover and the name “Dana” in my dad’s handwriting on the spine. Dad had two of these albums in his book collection – one with my sister’s name and one with mine. This was one of our father’s final gifts to us – a record of our lives through his eyes.

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I know it shouldn’t surprise me that my parent would have kept an album with photos of me, but it did. This was my dad. The father who amicably divorced my mom when I was just three years old. The same man who had a few more marriages and divorces and was a beloved stepfather to several other kids along the way. There were times when I wasn’t sure where I fit into all of that. What I didn’t know back then was that all through those transitions and chaos, Dad had taken the time to quietly tuck away pieces that would mean the world to his daughters when he was gone. Things that would say he loved us and was proud of us.

My book is amazing. It has my birth announcement; my whole collection of school photos, even the awkward years; and pictures from my high school dances, our wedding, baby shower and births of our daughters. Dad collected flyers from things like my National Honor Society induction and college graduation, newspaper clippings from academic stuff and poems I wrote for the church bulletin. There’s even a note in loopy teenage handwriting, where I claimed to be out with a certain longtime boyfriend, but “honestly” doing  homework. All of the pieces are carefully mounted with plastic corners and stored behind protective sleeves.

It’s strange how I never knew that Dad was a keeper of memories, at least not until a year before his passing, when I was helping him downsize for a move to an assisted-living facility. We laughed together as we went through his other albums and photo boxes that contained items ranging from his youth basketball team photos and childhood snapshots back in Arkansas to the invitation for his wedding to my mom. My sister and I have divided all of those keepsakes now. We are now the keepers of memories.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

As I flip through my own album, I am sad to see how few of these photos Dad appeared in himself. Sure, he probably was behind the camera in most, and there are a few – with me at our wedding and with our newborn daughter. But every time I look at this album, I will think of my father and the time and care he took in recording my life in pictures.

 

 

 

I miss you, Dad! Rest in peace!

James Corbit 1937-2016

DadDana1

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Author Speed Dating: Nancy Gideon

     

Author Speed Dating(1)

If there’s one thing I enjoy almost as much as writing books, it’s READING books. I love discovering new authors, too. So as I planned my new blog, I decided this could be a perfect place to introduce my writer friends to new readers and introduce my reader friends to some of their new favorite authors. Only we’re going to do this Speed-Dating style. Just 15 getting-to-know-you questions, a little bit about the author and an excerpt from one of her stories. Check them out right here each Wednesday, and if the spark is there, you’ll have a match…or two…or three.

Let’s get ready to Author Speed Date. The clock is ticking. Ready. Set. Go!


  This week’s guest: Nancy Gideon                                                 

Nancy Gideon -photo

Paranormal graphic      

15 Questions

  1. Which Disney princess (or prince) do you wish you were more like? And which one are you really most like?

Cinderella-my first exposure to Disney. Really was into that waiting for my prince stuff. But really, I’m more the Elsa in Frozen type.

  1. Monopoly or Battleship?

Battleship. Bring it!!

  1. How many books have you published, and how many are still tucked in a drawer somewhere?

59 published, another full three in a drawer, countless body parts on flash drives!

  1. If you had no audience, and no regrets would follow, what midnight snack(s) would you be gorging on tonight?

A pint of Ben & Jerry’s – something with coffee-flavor, nuts and caramel swirl . . . or anything salty!

  1. Manolo Blahniks or Nikes?

Nikes . . . Just do it . . . later.

  1. Give the title of the first manuscript (published or unpublished) you ever wrote.

China (something). One of those in the box somewhere. A publisher actually read it once, but I don’t think 750  pages of wandering cast and ninjas is worth revisiting.

  1. If you were marooned on a deserted island with plenty of food and water but with only one book to read and re-read, which title would you hope for?

I’d pack my COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE from college and have it all: drama, romance, comedy . . . and being stranded in a Tempest. I could play all the parts.

  1. In which genres and subgenres have you been published?

Most of them! Regency, historical, contemporary romance and suspense, paranormal, non-fiction and even a screenplay or two!

  1. Pizza and beer or steak and Chianti?

Steak on the grill and beer.

  1. How old were you when you had the first inkling you might be a writer, and what gave you that hint?

Fifth grade when I first saw my name in print under a fractured fairy tale in my school’s newspaper. It was awesome! Never wanted to be anything else.

  1. In 10 words or less, give your best writing advice to aspiring authors.

“Butt-in-chair-hands-on-keys.”  Stolen from Nora Roberts who also said, “You can’t edit a blank page.”

  1. TED Talks or Cupcake Wars?

Supernatural reruns??  I do like Cupcakes Wars. Food Channel rocks!

  1. Which one of your own fictional heroes would you have taken home if you could?

All my favorite heroes are dark, damaged and dangerous . . .being sensible, I’d have to say . . . any of them, though right now, my current hero, Colin Terriot, a shape-shifter prince, no less, is leading the pack (the six-pack!). Besides, they all live with me anyway.

  1. What is your most ridiculous fear?

That my outfit and jewelry won’t match. I’ve been late to work trying to find the right second earrings!

  1. If someone has never read one of your books, which title would you recommend she read first?

Any of them would give a reader the feel for my style:  Fast-paced, sometimes gritty, sizzling with added sass and humor. Probably REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT from my “By Moonlight” dark paranormal shape-shifter series because it sets up the off-shoot “House of Terriot” books I’m currently writing. Or if you’re a contemporary reader, TOTALLY YOURS, written under my pen name Dana Ransom – now on sale for just $1.99!

***

 

Nancy Gideon - book

REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT

by Nancy Gideon

 

The deadly leader of a shape-shifter clan with no memories of who he is and a dedicated cop hiding a heart-breaking secret face impossible odds in steamy New Orleans that conspire to pull them apart. Because the enemy they pursue . . . might be him.

Had she expected it to be easy having him here so close and yet so agonizingly far away? Bad enough watching him in that antiseptic clinic cell, a prisoner of his own panicked madness, raving, raging, out of control. Worse was having him here in the lush, sexy surroundings he’d built for them to share, temptingly near yet impossible to reach.

A bargain made in heartbreak hell.

Though she might be tortured by cherished memories, he was not. She was nothing to him but a protective port in his emotional storm, and that knowledge was driven home like a stake through the heart every time they were together, every time he stared at her through those cool green eyes without the slightest flicker of response. Every time he took that distancing step back to evade the casual graze of her hand. Every time he lay next to her in the night and silence created a force field of discomfort.

Tripping over him every minute of the damned day only emphasized how much she wanted, needed him back.

And underlined how far away he was.

***

Praise from Publisher’s Weekly for the “By Moonlight” series:

“A paranormal romance series with intriguing characters and zippy action . . . Gideon masters the tension required to keep her complex and engaging story moving.” (Starred Review)

 

“Vivid writing, plot twists and a satisfying ending will keep readers coming back to Gideon’s magical NOLA.”

 

 “Rich and complex. Enticing new dimensions to the Shifter world keep things fresh. Gideon delivers well-crafted prose and page-turning tension.”

REMEMBERED BY MOONLIGHT available on Amazon.

***

About Nancy

Nancy Gideon is the award-winning author of over 59 romances ranging from historical, regency and series contemporary suspense to dark paranormal, with a couple of horror screenplays tossed into the mix, and is currently testing the “Hybrid author” waters.  She works full time as a legal assistant in Central Michigan, and when not at the keyboard, feeds a Netflix addiction along with all things fur, fin and fowl. She’s also written under the pen names Dana Ransom, Rosalyn West and Lauren Giddings and is a member of the Mid-Michigan, PAN and FF&P Chapters of RWA.

Website, Blog, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Goodreads, Goodreads “Nancy Gideon by Moonlight” group, Amazon

 

 

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Girls’ Trips: Cherishing Time With Friends

Girls Trip 2We’ve all seen these groups of women before, clearly on out-of-town adventures, shopping, dancing, sipping cocktails and laughing. Mostly laughing. Loudly. Until they’re out of breath and wiping away happy tears.
This month I became one of them, joining some old and new friends on a Girls’ Trip in beautiful Northern Michigan. Now I can only ask myself two questions: Why didn’t I do this before? and When can I do it again? I can’t think a single moment from the weekend without giggling.

Wine Weekend 3So why does concentrated Girl Time become so important as we enter this new phase in our lives, the one after babies and career beginnings and before grandkids and retirement? For me, it’s the comfort of shared experiences. Of finding, cherishing and sometimes losing our life partners. Of corralling preschoolers and surviving teenagers. Of celebrating job promotions and mourning the loss of parents. Who else could we count on to trade war stories with us about childbirth and mammograms and hysterectomies?

Often the women who join us for Girls’ Weekends are the same ones who have traveled our life journeys with us, have cheered our victories and cried with us in our losses. They know the punchlines of  all our jokes and yet let us tell them again and again. Friendships like these deserve to be celebrated, and if we have to do that on beaches, at vineyards or even in castles, then we’ll just have to make the sacrifice.

Wine Weekend 4As a newcomer to my own  Girls’ Trip group, I had the privilege of meeting some of these wonderful ladies for the very first time while making new memories with fellow author, Isabelle Drake, who has been a friend for twenty years. Through this experience, I have learned that you might arrive for a Girls’ Trip as acquaintances, but after sharing stories, adventures and a few bruises from a particularly bumpy river tube tour, you leave as friends. And you take with you enough great memories and stored laughter to hold you over until next time. By the way, where do I sign up for the next trip?

 

 

 

 

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