Summer Surprises

You never know when a surprise lies around the corner…maybe a spectacular event, or just as easily something quite simple. That’s how I felt when I saw this cute tomato peeking up at me like a little bunny.

Such a trite thing, you might say. But this unique creation caught my eye, and my husband smiled when I asked him to snap it.

A smile can be worth a lot during a busy week with health challenges and a sad funeral. After he took the photo, I thought, “Okay, now we can eat the tomato.” And then, “Oh, why not wait another day?”

That’s the way it goes with beauty. You want it to last.

Of course, you know it won’t . . . it’s August, after all, and this is Iowa. So you gather it all into your heart and hold it close.

Yesterday, one of my readers wrote me a note, another pleasant surprise. After lunch, she took a break from the garden and started to read Kiss Me Once Again, a World War II romance that released last December. She couldn’t stop because the story gripped her right from the start, and finished it by bedtime.

So heartening to this author! Glenora, the main character in this story, believes romance is over for her when her beau dies on the Arizona in 1941. But she has no idea what surprises wait just around the corner. Life is like that . . . sometimes our aspirations fall short of what might be possible.

If you need a short summer read, this novella could be just your cup of tea!

November’s Flown In

October partially undressed the flame bush near our back door,

Scattered leaves along the path south of our house…

Shone glory through what brightness remains on the branches,

And created curlicues against blue sky.

The end of October also sent us the BEST photo of our daughter and granddaughter, before the Hallowe’en night festivities in our little town.

Now, November paves the way for my latest release, Kiss Me Once Again, a World War II novella featuring a young woman used to sacrificing her dreams for the cause. Her name’s Glenora, and I’m delighted to introduce her to you. You’ll like this make-do Greatest Generation woman, and applaud her ability to do what needs to be done–even when it hurts.

This includes giving up her ISU scholarship and her dream of being a home ec teacher and grabbing a monkey wrench to work in her father’s garage when her brother joins the Navy after the Pearl Harbor attack. The fateful day the Arizona sank, taking her high school sweetheart with it, Glenora sealed off a portion of her heart.

Since I’m not one to spoil the story, I’ll let you know exactly where and when KISS ME ONCE AGAIN becomes available.

This marks my first plunge into the world of novellas with my publisher, WordCrafts Press, which also published A Purpose True. I’m so grateful to be connected with them–for one thing, the editor is a former Green Beret. You might want to check out their other publications at wordcrafts.net/