Autumn Wrap Up in New England

I’m taking the easier way out for this month’s blog post, as this writer has deadlines and tired/strained eyes from too much screen time and/or bingeing on a show with subtitles. So…I’m doing a visual wrap up of my fall so far! We are now past mid-October, meaning our peak fall foliage is winding down. But, wow, what a gorgeous fall we’ve had so far!

My Fall Favorites this year:

1. Raspberry bushes bursting with abundance — so happy! Looking forward to making jam this winter.

2. Fall Foliage near and far — my stomping ground of central Massachusetts.

3. A visit to Mystic, CT with my bestie.

4. Apples galore! My macoun apples, with some TLC (I am a helicopter gardener), provided!

5. A second weekend away in our new favorite place in Vermont: Mad River Valley of the Green Mountains

6. Our new kitty is feeling quite at home.

7. Kayaks and hikes.

8. Book fairs, signings, and other author events.

9. Writing a few more new books (stay tuned!).

10. New audio book releases this fall/winter.

11. Family Love.

12. Amazing sunsets.

Sweet Words to My Ears: Why I Love Audio Books

A few years ago a friend suggested I listen to audio books. Like many, I was skeptical. Really? Listen to a book? Seeing as my life was in the throes of wrangling busy young children (and it still is…), I gave it a try. I had started and stopped reading The Fiery Cross (Diana Gabaldon’s 5th book in the Outlander series) countless times. Her books are long tomes and at the rate I was going, I would never finish the series…I did a lot of driving in my car, so why not?

Game changer!

Davina Porter’s narrating blew me away. I listened in the car on drives to work, on long stretches to stores, and during errands around town. Granted, once my youngest picked up on his name in the dialogue (one of the book characters has his name), I decided, okay, no listening with kiddos in the car! At least not those books (btw, Harry Potter as audio book is fabulous!). I flew through the rest of the Outlander series, then devoured a few of the novellas (so good, btw!). I now read across genres on audio.

Now audio books are my go-to.

As a writer, I do prefer holding a book in my hand. However, audio books save me time, whisk me off to a distant place, and help me actually get reading done. Authors spend so much time reading and writing their own words that the hobby of reading goes to the back-burner. Not with audio books! My least preferred method is e-book reading, but I do plenty of that, usually to read and review other authors’ books. So I dabble in all: print, audio, and e-book.

So if I’ve not yet won you over, how about a list of reasons to listen to audio books?

1. Multi-tasking! Driving, housework, whatever. Great to listen while doing other things. Fills those long commute times.

2. The art of narration. Most producers are voice artists trained to do this for a living. Some are mind-blowing.

3. Libraries carry them. Audible and iTunes are not the only places to dig up these lovelies. My first go-to for a book club I attend: check the library (thank goodness for inter-library loan!). I never feel bad about reading a library book. I support the author (it was a purchase to the library), write reviews, keep the library in business, and recommend the books. Future post idea: why I love libraries!

4. It can be (but not always) quicker than reading. I am a slower reader. Average novella length is 4-5 hours of listening. A typical 350-page book: ten hours. Granted, Outlander is way longer than that. Like 20 hours? Even so, bleary-eyed at night makes for slower chunks of reading for me at least. Before you ask, yes, non-fiction books are in audio book formats, too! The audio book industry is booming.

5. Gives your eyes a break! As an author, my eyes need breaks!

6. It can be BETTER than the print book. My historical novels can be a tough read for those not used to reading historical. I’ve had more than one person say they loved the audio-book…easier to understand and keep going. We run busy lives and are tired, and sometimes reading works our brains.

7. You learn interesting pronunciations and accents. I did mention the narrators/producers/voice actors are artists, right? Admission: I do thorough research for all my books. Dot the i’s, cross the t’s, then do it all again. However, I did NOT know that Caoimhe, an Irish/Gaelic name (a character in A Hundred Breaths), is pronounced “Kee-va.” My narrator for the book series is amazing and did her homework. I also provided her pronunciations of Gaelic words (thanks to my editor’s Gaelic-speaking mother), and she relied on a Norwegian friend for the Norse words for the current book she is producing, A Hundred Breaths. I just finished reading a book that had a host of accents: British, American, and Scandinavian. It was great.

8. More accessible. For those with reading challenges, audio books have opened doors!

Have I listened to a bad audio book? You bet. Like print books, reading (listening) is subjective. Quite often if I’m not digging a book in print for whatever reason, I give the audio book a go.

How do you get your hands on my books?

GOOD NEWS! I have few free Audible codes to give away for A Hundred Kisses.

Even better…this fall, the other 3 books will be released on Audible/iTunes…and I will have free codes!

If you are interested in listening for free, in return for an honest review (on e.g. Amazon, Audible, and Goodreads), please drop me a comment below or email me. If you’ve not yet done so, feel free to join my newsletter I distribute quarterly (so as to not flood your inbox) which has deleted scenes, interviews with other authors, giveaways, and sale information and bunch of other fun tidbits.

Happy reading…or should I say listening?

Do you listen to audio books? If so, tell me your favorite reasons why!

Beautiful Transitions

A month goes by quickly and lo and behold, it’s time to write another post! As we sit on the precipice of summer tumbling into autumn, I find myself once again pondering the transitional time that is September. [Yes, I know it is still technically August] I naturally rely on my flower gardens to gift me with metaphors and symbolism. My two large hydrangea bushes are no exception. In fact, they are the perfect symbol of transition.

Spring to Autumn…my hydrangeas change color from white to pale pink to rusty blush. The blooms also grow on “dead wood,” meaning I don’t prune these gigantic bushes back in the autumn.

Some changes are cataclysmic: abrupt and furious.

Some are a metamorphic: striking changes after hardship.

Some are subtle and a slow trickle: calm, and not always readily visible to the passerby.

But all changes are certain. They happen. Abrupt, striking, after hurdles, and subtle.

Autumn tends to be my season of change. Yes, it’s still August. And the heatwave is wrapping up here in New England. I love September for its weather. Cool, calm, sunny, an extended summer. For the transitions, not so much. School, jobs, life…all tend to congregate in September. Lazy days of summer (though some summers are just as busy!) give way to hectic new schedules. Shorter days. Crisper nights.

Back to my flowers…(because I do obsess a wee).

Spring comes with anticipation, as shoots and buds of early bloomers erupt from the softening winter ground. Summer bursts with a daily rainbow of peak-bloomers, including my day lilies. With late summer and early autumn, the languid days draw to an end and the rusty golds and oranges emerge in the gardens, as the spring and summer flowers wilt, dry, and brown. Then, I sadly say goodbye to all my leafy friends in November as I prune most (but not all) of the perennials. Many need a good shearing for new growth come spring. Hydrangeas grow on dead wood. Lilies if left to decompose, self-fertilize (but admittedly, I do cut them back a bit, too).

My gardens are a subtle and slow change preparing for the sometimes cataclysmic autumn rush.

My September is:

• The end of my flower gardens (boo!) but the gift of knowing New England autumn foliage is coming

• The resuming of a regular writing schedule and more writing productivity, with less daily distractions for a work-at-home-mom

• New writing projects while waiting on others

• Kids back in school: homework, activities, the “grind”

• Cooler temperatures, shorter days

• Quieter moments, more time alone

• A return to visiting with writer’s group/colleagues

• Earlier rising

• New exercise routine

• And a few other professional/life changes that come with the territory

How is your end of summer and early fall transitioning? Have you been awaiting news (I feel like I am always awaiting news on something)? Are you jumping in head first to professional, academic, or personal changes? Are you blooming after a long stint of hardship? Are you closing one season and moving to a next?

Heedless, we’re told to embrace the changes. Sometimes easier said than done. But as my hydrangeas remind me, the changes can be beautiful.

And yes, I can load this post with a zillion flower garden photos, but if you follow me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, you’ve likely seen them all already!

Happy end of summer, everyone! What’s in store for your September?

Timing: Fur-babies and Flower-babies

Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, the saying goes.

Timing.

Hundreds of quotations exist on it.

We’re working through a rough season in our home. Like my two characters in one of my books, I ponder whether things happen for a reason (fate/universe/God), or by coincidence. I lean toward the first camp in fate vs. coincidence. Does timing have meaning?

IMO, yes.

Last year, I lost a loved one at Thanksgiving, and a close friendship dissolved shortly before then, too. Some anxiety challenges in our home with one child, transitions galore, job challenges…It was a rough fall.

Then came spring/summer.

Last day in the sun. Saying goodbye to our beloved Indy.

I was supposed to have been out of state this weekend on a press tour/writing media trip. It got delayed (for some reason by the PR company). Then our 15-year-old cat, our beloved Indy (named after yes, Indiana Jones) took a sickly downward spiral while we were away on vacation over Independence Day. We rushed home while our cat-sitter took Indy to the vet on July 5th; thank goodness they were open! She just happened to be checking in on my cat and gardens when he got very sick. I was grateful she was here. Indy was our son’s BFF and one of my fur-babies before human-babies. My son had to go away to a camp two days later. Thankfully, Indy came home from the vet and made it to see his bestie again. Another week later, after diligent hospice care and TLC, Indy joined the warrior cats in the sky. Now we are all processing the grief. But the timing…we are thankful we were here for him.

15 years of love…

Well, hmm, that timing thing? We had planned to adopt a new cat for the kids—a three-month in-the-making surprise. It was all planned ahead of time. When Indy fell ill, we told the kids about the surprise, and the new cat arrived last week per the already planned schedule…and such a joy she’s been to add to our family. Not meant to be a replacement, but rather a companion for Indy, here she is, my new buddy sitting beside me while I write, and a youthful spirit for the kids. She is chatty, sweet, affectionate, and frisky! Another interesting point: the cat’s name is Tres (she was found and fostered; a young 1-year-old momma with three kittens, hence Tres). I am revising a new book where the protagonist has cats; one is named Tres. I do not lie. This naming happened BEFORE we even knew of our new cat’s existence. Eerie…or fate? Timing?

Tres looking out her favorite spot, and over my petunias.

Mother Nature, usually a BFF of mine (as I love everything nature…landscapes, wildlife, exploring our world’s gems), served me a cold dose of reality this summer. My flower gardens are my third love (after family/pets and writing)…they even come before coffee! This year, the rabbits, voles, ants, beetles, fungi/microbes and God-knows what else have decided my numerous and bountiful gardens are their all-you-can-eat buffet.

How can a person become so attached to flowers? I don’t know. Flowers are my utopia. They bring me joy. I baby them. To see meadow sage and phlox I planted ten years ago and have nurtured since, be taken out in one fell swoop—heart-wrenching. Catmint nibbled. Day lilies devoured from the ground up. Raspberries chewed by beetles (still holding hope for a fall crop…), apple trees that have struggled since their planting years ago once again dropping leaves and unripe fruit. Asiatic lilies gave up the fight against the beetles this spring. So much loss.

…I replanted some flowers, repeatedly, only to have the voles delight in another a la carte meal. I hired the Vole Whisperer to come and do his magic…and I *hope* we’ve taken a positive turn after the carnage. I’ve got zealous voles apparently. So-many-holes.

Why all this ramble? Well, it’s been a rough year. But it all comes back to timing. Things happen when they are supposed to…at least I think so. Bummed over my missed trip, I was grateful to be here for Indy’s final days. My cat sitter happened to visit Indy at just the right moment. This weekend, my children’s grandparents had planned to come, in time to help ease the kids’ balms (though that was not the original reason for the visit). Tres joined our family at just the right time. Another missed trip that worked out for the better. Indy waiting for his BFF to return from camp before he passed on to the next life.

Timing.

Now, I am still trying to figure out my timing on the flowers. Hindsight. Maybe this fall I’ll know why. Or next summer.

Timing of course passes over into other parts of our lives, too. I’ve seen it on my road to publication (and still see it while running the course). Hindsight really is twenty-twenty. Until then, I keep doing what I am doing.

Author Party Giveaway

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