Living the Dream

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. I trust all of you who celebrated Thanksgiving on Thursday had a wonderful time with your families. It’s hard to believe that this is the last week of November. We’re only 3 weeks away from Christmas. Where has the year gone?

This week, our word prompt is FOOLISH. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones, but I have another surprise for you. The story has changed since I began writing it and my cover artist agreed it needed a cover that reflected that. Listen to the Stones is a contemporary paranormal romance. Enjoy this week’s scene. I’m slowly but surely getting Marina out of that airport, but she has a lot of other adventures ahead of her.

“You’re just being foolish,” Marina muttered, the words seeming loud inside the empty room. Was the caretaker who’d ignored her watching her? She shuddered and stood. “This is ridiculous.”

Annoyed with herself and the situation, she resumed her pacing. hoping the activity would curb her imagination and take her mind off things. This wasn’t underground Edinburgh with its ghosts and hauntings, witches and covens, and who knew what other paranormal activities she’d encountered that had stolen three hours from her. Something had happened. There was no damn way she’d fallen asleep on a public bench after one glass of beer.

Shivering, she pulled her hands up inside the sleeves of her jacket. When that unfriendly old man had turned off the lights, had he lowered the temperature, too? She paced faster, counting out her steps as she did, hoping the exercise would warm her.

After what had to be the longest half-hour of her life, headlights pierced the gloomy room.

She stopped moving and jumped when the door opened.

Backlit by the car’s headlights, the man could easily have doubled for Hagrid in any of the Harry Potter movies.

Wee James, my ass—if this is him, and not one of the giants who roamed Scotland in the before time.

In Inverness, there’d been a book on the legends of Albion, the name given to Ancient Britain, in her room that had captured her attention. One of the articles, The Glastonbury Giant: Who Did the Mystery Bones of A Nine-Foot Skeleton Belong To? had intrigued her, and she’d read about the ancient race of giants said to have populated this island. No one denied that giants had roamed this part of the world. In 1962-63, Dr. Ralegh Radford, a distinguished archaeologist, examined the ancient giant’s remains and ‘confirmed that a prominent personage had indeed been buried there at the period in question.’ Whether or not the skeleton was that of the legendary King Arthur, no one could prove, but giants in England, Scotland, and Wales? The was no disputing that, and the man coming through the doorway had to be descended from them.

The man-mountain advanced, and she stepped back.

He stopped a few feet from her and bowed his head.

“Lady Fraser, welcome to Stornoway and the Isle of Lewis. I see Jock didn’t notice you sitting here. If he had, he wouldn’t have turned off the lights and lowered the heat. He tends to this place by memory if not by sight.”

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Over the course of my life, there have been astonishing changes, especially in the realm of technology, many of which have impacted my world in a hundred different ways.

The first advance in technology was the television set. Suddenly, you could watch movies at home and be entertained by a small box in the living room. I saw Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach boys, and even The Singing Nun, all from the comfort of my couch. And we all know how television has evolved since then.

The next technological advance to affect me was the self-cleaning oven, and on its heels, the microwave oven. Suddenly, cleaning the oven with fouls smelling chemicals was a thing of the past, and as for the microwave, I can’t imagine how I got dinner on the table, on time, without it.

There were many other things that made life easier–the portable dishwasher, disposable diapers, and apartment-sized washers and dryers. Each and everyone made life less of a hassle.

The third thing to impact my life was the arrival of personal computers. It was because of them that I was able to realize my dreams and become a writer. Together with the Internet, they drew opportunity and the world closer to me than ever before. They opened doors for me that I hadn’t even known existed. Instead of wading through encyclopedias, information was just a click away.

Then came cell phones, and Smart phones, cameras at your fingertips to capture all those wonderful milestones, not to mention hundreds of vacation pictures, and games to keep you busy while waiting. Once again, I don’t know what I would do without my cell.

But what I want to praise today is A I, especially as it relates to cover design. Let me show you what my incredible cover artist, Melinda De Ross has done for me. All of the covers she’s ever created for me have been spectacular in their own rights, but sometimes it’s hard to get exactly what you want using the cover models and images available.

Let’s start with my paranormal romance, Beneath the Ashes. On the left, you have the original cover. On the right, the new one created with A I technology and Melinda’s brilliance. Isn’t it gorgeous? Can’t you feel the woman’s sense of expectation? You can’t help but wonder what awaits her beneath the ashes.

Let’s look at book two in that series, Listen to the Stones. This one won’t be available until spring 2024 When I started the book, I thought it would be a Christmas romance, but the characters pulled me in a completely different direction, one where the supernatural has taken on a greater role, and the love Marina and Jerome share is truly timeless. I love the way Melinda blended the Standing Stones, the Northern lights and the woman’s face. You can sense her reservations and get the impression that she is indeed listening to her mystical stones.

Finally, let’s look at The Guardian, Book Two of my Punishers Series, about a paranormal police squad in modern day New Orleans, superheroes who protect both the living and the undead. My hero is half-elf, half human, sent to Earth to atone for violating one of his homeland’s sacred laws. He wields a magic sword that materializes in his hands when he needs it. I would’nt mind having him look after me.

There you have it. The same great stories with amazing new covers that convey the plots in a fun and fabulous way.

I’m not sure whether I’ll embrace A I in writing my books, but I’m definitely ready to embrace it when my cover artists can us it to create such amazing, vibrant, covers.

Happy Thanksgiving to all who celebrate the holiday today. I’ll bet technology has made things easier for you, too

Happy Thanksgiving to all who’ll celebrate on Thursday. Turkey, football, and a parade. Something for everyone. This week the Tuesday Tales authors are writing to the prompt MEET. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones, my contemporary paranormal romance. Marina is stranded at the airport in Stornoway, on the Isle of Lewis.

Marina inhaled deeply to keep her panic at bay. Getting upset wouldn’t help, and she needed to stay calm. From the sound of Fiona’s voice, that woman was only seconds away from crying.

“It isn’t a big deal,” she lied. “Is there anyone who can come and get me?”

“Of course. I’ll send Wee James to meet you right away. He can take you out to Fraser Hall.”

“Perfect. Wee James, it is. I’m tired. I didn’t sleep well the last couple of nights … nerves I expect. I want to get settled and have an early night. How will I recognize the man you’re sending?”

“Since there isn’t another plane due in today, I should think there won’t be many others arriving at the airport, but he’ll be wearing a mac and plaid scarf.”

“Okay. How long will he be?” Marina didn’t want to stay in what was now a deserted airport any longer than she needed to.

“He’s at a clients’ twelve kilometers away. He should be there within half an hour. He knows where the emergency key is, having been there just yesterday to deliver the groceries you requested.”

Hopefully, someone had put the meat and other perishables away. Marina shuddered as the rain slammed against the windows, running down the panes in rivulets.

“He’ll be there in two shakes of a lamb’s tale”.” Fiona added. “I’ll let Mr. MacDonald know you’ve arrived. I expect he’ll be out to the Hall to see you tomorrow.”

“Thank you. I look forward to meeting him in person.”

Putting away her cell phone, Marina paced the room. The place felt colder and damper now. Where was that janitor? Was he hiding in an office somewhere watching her on closed-circuit television? Did he get his kicks out of watching stranded passengers try not to panic?

Returning to her seat under an emergency lamp, she settled down to wait. The terminal creaked and groaned, and the wind howled and moaned like a banshee, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.

That’s it. Come back next week for more. Don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

The magic of the holiday season,
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Rachelle Ayala – WHERE LOVE TEMPTS – A haunting reenactment leads to love and secrets at Moonshadow Manor.
A historical actress plays the role of a vanished heiress in a creepy mansion while combing through a list of mysterious disappearances. Love, however, crosses her path with a man under a cloud of suspicion. Will secrets uncovered and Christmas wishes forge a path to true love? USA Today Bestselling Author

Dani Haviland – KINKY BOOTS AND ME – Was ‘It’ll all come together as long as you have faith and a plan’ a cruel taunt to the homeless woman?
Homeless but not hopeless, Fabiola’s grueling work schedule left little room for love until she met Scoots. Can the duo transform ‘Under Construction Park’ into “Ultra Cool Skatepark’ and still keep safe from Lorenzo, the town loudmouth and bully who claims to be her boyfriend? USA Today Bestselling Author

Taylor Lee – DANCE OF THE SUGAR PLUM FAIRIES: Can the drool-worthy financier persuade her that Christmas dreams can come true?
Emma is convinced she has what it takes to make it in the Big Apple. Unfortunately for the starry-eyed Midwesterner, New York City is a hard nut to crack. USA Today Bestselling Author

Susanne Matthews – MURDER AND MISTLETOE – Going home for Christmas can be deadly.
Visiting the ancestral Georgia plantation, Candy uncovers dark family history and regrets aiding grieving widower Steve in trapping his wife’s killer. International Bestselling Author

Josie Riviera – 1-800-CHRISTMAS: Taking the high road is a whole lot easier with someone to love…
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Denise Devine – A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS – Merry Connor and Anthony Lewis search for stolen money and find true love along the way.
Widowed father Tony’s heart mends when he bonds with struggling single mom Merry and her kids, but his connection to her deceitful ex may ruin their chance at love. USA Today Bestselling Author

Patricia Rosemoor – CRIMSON HOLIDAY – Someone killed Santa Claus!
Passed out after the store Christmas party, Shelby Corbin awakens only to trip over Santa, the store’s co-owner and her boss. Seeing her flee the scene, CEO Rand McNabb helps her search for the truth about that fatal night. New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

Mimi Barbour – TOGETHER FOR CHRISTMAS – The season is Christmas, and love is all around… in the most unlikely situations.
Falling into a coma, Abbie’s beautiful spirit resides inside a prickly, big-shot businessman who has no time for her… until she falls in love. New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author

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ANGELS ABOVE by Natalie Ann, USA Today Bestselling Author: Cal Perkins tells everyone he hates Christmas because of a tragic event in his childhood, yet he’s Santa to those around him. Can Mia’s love make him a believer again?

SAVING CHRISTMAS by Cynthia Cooke, USA Today Bestselling Author: Roni’s been wishing for a second chance with the long-ago sweetheart who slipped away. He’s back in time for Christmas, proving that wishes do come true. Except, he’s running his Dad’s coffee shop and doing a good job destroying hers. Can Roni find a way to save her business and get her wish of a happy Christmas?

BUYING UNDERWEAR ON EBAY by Suzanne Jenkins, USA Today Bestselling Author: Bella Roman channels her sadness from past defeats and losses into an obsessive habit, until a freak accident gives her a new focus, and a new man.

THE SCROOGE FACTOR by Alicia Street, USA Today Bestselling Author: Can Kate save the Christmas holiday village when she discovers she has to deal with a hot and hunky Scrooge who challenges her can-do optimism…and her heart.

WE’RE SURVIVORS by Mona Risk, USA Today Bestselling Author: They’re both survivors, the surgeon injured in Iraq and his physical therapist, jilted at the altar by his selfish brother. Can they turn the page on their grim past and trust each other?

FLAMINGO CHRISTMAS by Mimi Barbour, New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author: When toy manufacturer, Sue Ross, found an email in her inbox from a distraught father asking her to make a stuffed toy flamingo for his small, injured child, she dropped everything. Would she be in time?

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NOELLE’S GAMBIT by Susanne Matthews, International Bestselling Author: When Noelle Canton discovers that her uncle’s decision will ruin Christmas not just for her but for the town, she’s determined not to let it happen.

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Samantha Collins has lost everything she ever wanted. Now, her life in shambles, can she make a future for herself and satisfy her aunt’s final request?

The Set Up – Dani Haviland, USA Today Bestselling Author
One day life is glorious.
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Samantha Collins has lost everything she ever wanted. Now, with her life in shambles, can she make a future for herself and satisfy her aunt’s final request?

The Blue Dragon is a modern historical romance, set in 2006.

Gravely wounded in Afghanistan, Samantha Collins returns to Canada to discover a previously unknown relative has died and made her heir to the family estate. The bequest consists of a century-old farmhouse, the land surrounding it, and a chubby, independent orange tabby with a mind of his own.

Alone, having given up on love, marriage, and children, facing a grim future, Sam opts to move into the house until she decides what to do with it, but when she opens the door, she gets more than she bargained for. Nobody mentioned Great-aunt Esther was a hoarder.

Following his divorce, Phil Austin returns to South Creek. An architect who prefers restoring old buildings to designing new ones, he’s intrigued to learn one of the area’s century-old houses may be for sale Picturing the house converted to an inn, Phil knocks on the door, but he gets more than he expected. The new owner is the woman he loved and lost fifteen years ago.

Stunned to find the only man she ever loved on her doorstep, Sam is carried away by his ideas for the house. Torn between hope and despair, she agrees to his business proposal. As they renew their friendship and sift through the trash and treasures Esther Cohen left behind, looking for the mysterious Blue Dragon she mentioned in her letter, Sam begins to think that her future may not be so grim after all. Can she find the courage to open her heart once more?

Sometimes, it takes an event in one’s own life to put things in perspective. After my father died, my mother went into a sharp mental and emotional decline, resulting in the need for her to be placed in a long-term care facility. This was at the onset of COVID 19, so that decision was a hard one to make. Among the things we had to do was empty the house and get it ready to sell. That’s when we discovered that Mom and Dad were tidy hoarders. What Sam finds inside the house is a mild exaggeration of what we dealt with. The saddest part is that, in my mother’s mind, the house was destroyed in a fire–it wasn’t, but all the things she prized she was convinced were lost forever.

The fat orange cat, Beef, was ours.

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Welcome to this week’s edition of Tuesday Tales: Last week, I went back a little to tell you more about Uncle Angus and a Scottish custom that was near and dear to my mother-in-law’s heart. This week, we’re back in the airport with Marina. Our word is NARROW. Enjoy!

“Lady Fraser, I do apologize for this. It seems my desk calendar may have had an issue while I was away last week.” Her tone of voice spoke to her annoyance and confusion, but it was the words themselves that surprised Marina.

She stared down at the phone, dropping onto the narrow bench.

“What did you call me?”

“Lady Fraser. It’s who you are now that you’ve arrived on the Isle of Lewis to claim your birthright.”

Marina smiled, not quite sure how she felt about being Lady Fraser or Laird Fraser as Angus had been. Hell, back home, just being called Mrs. Fraser-Mitchell had made her uncomfortable.

“Are there other lairds and ladies here on the Isle of Lewis?”

“Yes, but not as many as there used to be since there are few large estates, most crofters owning their own bits of land.”

“I see. Could you just call me Marina? “

“Of course, Marina, but most people you’ll meet will likely call you Lady Fraser. It’s meant as a sign of respect.”

“I suppose … As for the mix-up with the plane, we did bandy around a lot of dates. At some point, we must’ve considered October 20 as my arrival date, but we did change it.”

It was impossible for her to be wrong. Last night had been her last night in Inverness. The hotel would not have made that mistake. Her plane ticket had been for this morning. Again, the airline would not have made that error.

Marina exhaled. Did it matter whose fault it was? What was done was done. So what if she hadn’t had a grand welcome home? She was here and that was all that mattered. What was important was that she get a ride out to Fraser Hall as soon as possible. What had seemed like a friendly airport had quickly lost its charm.

“Can Mr. MacDonald come and get me now?”

“I’m sorry, but that’s not possible. He isn’t here.”

Not there! Her heart plummeted. What else could go wrong?

“He’s gone to Aberdeen for a deposition,” the secretary continued. “He planned it that way to be back tomorrow before your flight lands—or was supposed to land.” The woman’s accent was stronger in her agitation. “He’ll not be happy about this.”

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to November. Many of the leaves have fallen and we’ve even had a dusting or two of snow. This week the Tuesday Tales authors bring you posts based on the word RUN. I’m continuing with Listen to the Stones, my Contemporary Romance with paranormal elements.

Duncan turned back to the road. “The Laird was a feared man for many years after his brother died. He kept to himself and interacted with his tenants only when necessary. Some said he battled ghosts and a guilty conscience until one Hogmanay, about twenty years ago.”

She frowned. “Hogmanay? I’m unfamiliar with that term.”

“Scotland celebrates the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one with a holiday we call Hogmanay. There are several parts to it, such as first footing, exchanging gifts of food and drink to bring friends health and prosperity, and sanctifying the house. As a lad, my favorite activity was donning the sheepskin and going from house to house to collect black buns, a type of fruit cake, and shortbread. We’d run from house to house, knock on the door, and say, ‘Rise up, guid wife, an’ shake your feathers. Dinna think that we are beggars! We are bairns come out to play, get up and gie’s our Hogmanay!’ ‘Twas a lot like a second round of Halloween.”

“It seems I have a lot to learn about the island’s customs. I’ll make sure to have plenty of black buns and shortcake on hand.” She chewed her bottom lip. “So what happened to my uncle?”

“Some say the stones paid him a visit since he wouldn’t go to them, although as far as I know he never did, not even after the change. Like the famous Ebenezer Scrooge, he became more kind and understanding. He invested in the tweed mill and had his weavers trained to make the tweed. He helped his crofters improve their farms and grow their herds, he planted more pine trees, and he gave to the poor of the island, rarely doing so publicly so as not to be thanked. “Twas only after he died that many learned who had been their benefactor. Then a year following the change as we called it, Angus decided to open Fraser Hall as a bed and breakfast. People weren’t sure he could make a go of such a thing, but he had the black house renovated and hired staff to help him with it. For what it’s worth, I think he simply got tired of his own company. Having guests stay for a night or a week satisfied his need for humanity.”

She frowned. “You sound as if you knew him personally.”

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Welcome to November 2023. Hard to believe another year is almost over, but it’s been a grim year for the world. Let’s hope that things start to turn around soon. It’s ironic when, in the midst of war, we’ll be remembering the soldiers who died in the past conflicts when there are new ones going on. All of the negativity in the world tends to stifle creativity and positive thoughts, making it hard to write romance of any genre.

November 1 question: November is National Novel Writing Month. Have you ever participated? If not, why not?

I have participated in NaNoWriMo three times, successfully completing my novels each time, and eventually publishing them. At the time that I did participate, I had no external factors preventing me from writing each day. Since it was early in my writing career, I enjoyed challenging myself and found the support available from others on my team encouraging.

That being said, I probably won’t be participating this year. I have a novel to complete by November 10, as well as some independent editing to do. In addition, my time is no longer all my own, and I have daughter as well as grandmother obligations that cut into my writing time. As well, Christmas is just around the corner and I have things to do for that. Then, it’ll be January and time to leave the snow and cold behind for a few days in the sun.

As I grow older, I find that everything takes longer to accomplish and yet I have fewer hours available with which to work. Who knew?

Good luck to anyone who does participate. May yourmuse be with you all the way.

Check out other answers here: https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html