There was something about snow that made everything so magical

Sarah walked away from town but stayed on well-worn paths that would take her to her favorite spot. She was aware of how easy it was, and how dangerous, to get lost in this heavily wooded area. The mountains could be very unforgiving during the winter months, with their short days and plummeting temperatures. Even the most seasoned outdoorsman could freeze to death. She had discovered an outcropping of boulders just at the edge of the forest where she could nestle up against them, sheltered from the wind, and look out onto an unrestricted and breathtaking view of the mountainside.

Since the sun set earlier and earlier, Sarah didn’t have but a couple of hours before darkness would fall. When she got to the spot, she nestled in between two boulders and leaned back to admire the scenery. All but the pine and cedar trees were now completely bare of leaves, and while that might had been a depressing sight, last night’s snowfall had made the mountainside into a winter wonderland. There was something about snow that made everything so magical. It covered nature’s imperfections. A foggy mist was also beginning to settle over the treetops and with it brought total silence. It was as if the world had held its breath just so she could enjoy this special moment. 

Sarah had the strangest feeling that the world was trying to tell her to cherish it, that one day she was going to need this memory and the feelings that came with it. So she did just that - let it all soak into her very pores, afraid to blink for missing a thing. The moisture-laden air nipped at her exposed skin as her gaze wandered over the beautifully snow-laden canopy. It was impossible to remember it all, that was clear, and so she pulled out her camera and snapped a few shots. They wouldn’t do it justice, she knew that, wouldn’t capture how it felt to be here; to really be here.

The sky soon began to darken and so she tucked the camera back into its bag and climbed off the rock, ready to head back into town. While she was sliding down the last large boulder, a movement caught her eye. She was standing on the forest floor, halfway through straightening her bright red coat, when she realized what she’d seen - a stunning white stallion and its rider. 

She had never grown up around horses so wasn’t crazy about the idea of standing too close to the animal and so approached them warily, stopping a good few yards short of the terrifyingly tall creature.

Charlie slid out of the saddle.

Excerpt from Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Give yourself the best Christmas gift:
Love in Times of War

No longer available

Great book based on King David

Grateful to find this review for my novel, Rise to Power:

5.0 out of 5 starsGreat book based on King David

ByBook LoverVINE VOICEon November 14, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

I always like to read about Biblical characters in a novel. The author can take liberties with character or stick with the truth from the Bible and embellish it as they wish. This book is a great novel about King David's life as if he had written it himself. It is an interesting book and I highly recommend it.

Let me introduce you to my author friends

My author friends have joined forces with me!

Just ahead of the holiday season, we bring you an amazing collection of stories

Love in Times of War

No longer available 

Uvi Poznansky "I paint with my pen, and write with my paintbrush" @UviPoznansky Blog
Tamara Ferguson "Tamara creates stories so enchanting, they will make your heart stop..." @Tammysdragonfly  Blog Website
Jacquie Biggar USA Today bestselling author of romantic suspense with attitude @JacqBiggar Website
D.G. Torrens Writer of powerful, emotion-charged romance. My mind is a tornado of words eager to envelope my readers. @Torrenstp Website
Angelica Kate “Writing happily ever afters for life's toughest challenges!” @AngelicaKate5 Website and blog
Traci Hall "Traci Hall pens stories guaranteed to touch the heart while transporting the reader to another time and place. Her belief in happily ever after shines through, whether it's a romantic glimpse into history or a love affair for today." @tracihallauthor Website
Jennifer St. Giles @jenniferstgiles Website Jennifer Saints website
Regina Puckett "Life is too short to never cross the genre line." @ReginaPucket Weebly Wordpress
Suzanne Jenkins @suzannejenkins3 Blog  Website
S.R. Mallery "History is woven into my stories with a delicate thread." @sarahmallery1 Website eNovel Authors at Work
PJ Fiala "Happily ever-afters are real; I’m living mine right now." @pfiala Website
Susan Jean Ricci “Award winning author who goes wherever her muse takes her, penning Romance & Humor.” @Susanjeanricci Blog

I am ready to play. I am music

What inspired me to write the series, Still Life with Memories?

Natasha, the renowned pianist suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's in my book Apart from Love (volume I and II of the series, woven together) kept coming back to haunt me. Her character was not an easy one to develop. The primary challenge is that she has no voice. She is utterly silent, which makes her son Ben hope—at first—that she can be reached, that he can 'save' her. 

“There is no way to tell if she has heard me. Her gaze is fixed, as steadily as before, on the same small pane of glass, through which the sun is blazing; which makes it hard to figure out what she sees out there. 

I push forward, aiming to view it, somehow, from her angle, which at first, is too hard to imagine: 

In my mind I try, I see a map, the entire map of her travels around the world. A whole history. It has been folded over and again, collapsed like a thin tissue, into a square; which is suspended there—right in front of her—a tiny, obscure dot on that window. 

And inside that dot, the path of her journey crisscrosses itself in intricate patterns, stacked in so many papery layers. And the names of the places, in which she performed back then, in the past—London, Paris, Jerusalem, San Petersburg, New York, Tokyo—have become scrambled, illegible even, because by now, she can no longer look past that thing, that dot. She cannot see out of herself. 

She is, I suppose, confined.”

My novel, The Music of Us (volume III in the series) gives voice to her. 

“Once I find my way back, my confusion will dissipate, somehow. I  will sit down in front of my instrument, raise my hand, and let it hover, touching-not-touching the black and white keys. In turn they will start their dance, rising and sinking under my fingers. Music will come back, as it always does, flowing through my flesh, making my skin tingle. It will reverberate not only through my body but also through the air, glancing off every surface, making walls vanish, allowing my mind to soar.

Then I will stop asking myself, Where am I, because the answer will present itself at once. This is home. This, my bench. The dent in its leather cushion has my shape. Here I am, at times turbulent, at times serene. I am ready to play. I am music.”

This novel starts out at 1970, when she starts to succumb to her illness, and goes a generation back, to 1941, the time that she and Lenny first fell in love. This is the story of their love.

And my new release, Dancing with Air, shows her at her peak, back in the months leading to D-Day:

Then—just over the plaintive bleating of the sheep and the chaotic blasts rocking the mine—came a different sound. I listened to it in disbelief. It was the most wonderful sound in the entire world: a hum, the low, familiar hum of my Harley.

There it was, a silhouette of the beast, with Natasha astride on top of it, hair unfurling in the wind. 

I wanted to tell her how I admired her courage, the risk she took, riding it here all by herself, without my guidance, to get here. I wanted to tell her she should have stayed away. But by now I knew that for me, she would dare take any chance, come what may.

“Oh Lenny,” she said. “You look... I have no words for it.”

Overcome with sudden joy I staggered towards her.

“Come on,” she said. “Let’s go.”

In confusion I asked, “Where to?”

And Natasha said, “Anywhere, my love. Anywhere but here.”

Do I see myself in any of my characters?

At first I decided to model Anita, the girl in the center of  a firestorm of passion in My Own Voice (volume I) and The White Piano (volume II) as the-opposite-of-me. Her use of language would be atrocious. She talks in sentences laden with 'like' and the dreaded double-negatives. Anita would become a bold and spontaneous spirit, anything but repressed. She would be promiscuous. Her voice would be shockingly direct. 

"In my defense I have this to say: When men notice me, when the lusty glint appears in their eyes, which betrays how, in their heads, they’re stripping me naked—it’s me they accuse of being indecent. 

Problem is, men notice me all the time.

How can a girl like me ever claim to be innocent? Even if I haven’t done nothing wrong, I’m already soiled, simply because of their dirty thoughts." 

I do not even know how it happened, but once Anita started talking in my mind—which she did for nearly a year—I started to like her more and more. I asked myself, how would she play against Ben, who is a complex character, hesitant, highly sophisticated? How would she play against Lenny, a would-be author who is so proud of his refined expressions, when her background is so different from his? How would she measure up against his ex-wife, Natasha, the renowned pianist suffering from early-onset Alzheimer's?

★ Love reading? Treat yourself to a love story ★

The Music of Us

Paperback ★ Hardcover

Audiobook

"Her ability to create a dreamlike atmosphere within her tale is spellbinding. She touches my soul with her words." 

- Dii, Top 500 Reviewer

They were all gathered around the Christmas tree

A short while later, as they were all gathered around the Christmas tree, with Jackson filling in for John by passing out the presents, the doorbell rang. Jake, running around with his Captain America action figure, flew towards the door and Alexi caught him before he could answer it. Foiled, Jake sent Captain America flying through the air. Rocky caught the missile before it hit her stained-glass lamp. Jason had fallen asleep in Nan’s lap—like father, like sons.

“Anyone expecting company?” Emma asked, frowning. She got a collective no as she crossed the room. Perhaps it was carolers from the church choir, though Christmas Eve was their usual time singing. Peeking through the window, she saw three women with their arms full of packages. She didn’t recognize them. Maybe they were lost.

She opened the door. Two blondes, one redhead. Two were younger, one a little older. They were all richly dressed and glamorous. “May I help you?”

“Are you Emma Weldon?” asked the blonde girl with an unmistakable Irish accent.

“Yes.”

“Perfect. I’m Cierra Weldon. This is my cousin Fiona Devlin and my aunt Renee Devlin. Forgive me, but when I found out yesterday from my brother we’ve family here, I just had to fly down to meet you.”

“Family?” Emma asked as she opened the door wider. “Are you sure you have the right person?”

Excerpt from Love in Times of War

Love Romance? Give yourself the best Christmas gift:
Love in Times of War

No longer available

This reminded me a bit of Shel Silverstein's book

Short and sweet review for my children's book Now I Am Paper:

5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars

ByWilliam Rollinson November 10, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition|Verified Purchase

This reminded me a bit of Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree"

Celebrate Love, take the chance to win prizes

Don't miss this opportunity! 

Join us for a chance to win prizes:

Celebrate Love

A select group of twelve bestselling, award-winning, USA Today authors 
has joined forces with me
to bring you twelve heart-warming stories of romance In one boxed set
Celebrate the release of this amazing collection with us. 
Be the first to read 
LOVE IN TIMES OF WAR
And take the chance to win these prizes:

Uvi Poznansky Dancing with Air Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords In WWII London, Lenny is involved in a covert intelligence ploy. His task must remain confidential, even at the risk of Natasha becoming suspicious of him. Will their love survive the test of war?
Tamara Ferguson Two Hearts Unspoken Kindle, Nook, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords Beth Bowen is a single mom of an autistic son. Zach Logan is a wounded warrior searching for a life after Iraq. Can two lonely people discover that love is that something unspoken, missing from their lives?
Jacquie Biggar The Rebel’s Redemption Kindle  When an old enemy follows him from Iraq and causes mayhem in Tidal Falls, can Jared overcome the odds to protect the woman he's always loved?
D.G. Torrens Broken Wings Kindle Joshua, a bomb disposal expert in Afghanistan. Angelina, an editor of a local newspaper. Both avoiding love at all costs, until they are unexpectedly thrown together. Tested beyond belief... Can their love survive?
Angelica Kate A Soldier’s Promise Kindle  Ryker is most comfortable in the regulated world of the military. When he is sent to Darby’s doorstep to keep a promise to one of his fallen team members, every rule he holds will be challenged!
Traci Hall Returning Home by the Sea Kindle  Brayden and Zoe wed before he went to Iraq. Once united in passion, a lot has changed in the six years he's been away. Will their love survive his homecoming?
Jennifer St. Giles A Weldon Family Christmas Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple A frightening event with an uncertain outcome sends Emma and John's memory to the past, where her helicopter went down in Vietnam enemy territory, and he risked everything to save her. Can she save him now?
Regina Puckett The Magic of Snow Kindle, Nook, Smashwords When Staff Sergeant Charlie Prince’s letters stop arriving from Afghanistan, Sarah White waits in agonizing suspense to discover what has happened to the man she loves.
Suzanne Jenkins Mademoiselle Kindle To Philipa, working at Mademoiselle Magazine is more important than anything, even love. Her friend, Walter, hopes for a change, but not until his trip to the Persian Gulf does she begin to listen to her heart.
S.R. Mallery Genteel Secrets Kindle In 1861 America, can the love between a Confederate female spy and the Pinkerton detective hired to shadow her survive, or will their story become just another casualty of war?
PJ Fiala Moving to Forever Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple Danny Schaefer returns from Afghanistan broken in body, battered in soul. Tammy Davis, betrayed in a most personal way, struggles against her tormentor. She and Danny must help each other heal, by the power of love.
Susan Jean Ricci Lovin’ Those Navy Games Kindle Michael Burke has two passions: his high-school sweetheart and baseball. When someone dear to him perishes in Vietnam, will the shock alter his future goals? Will it isolate him from Ellie or deepen their love?