Summer Celebrations and Winners

It's time to enjoy those great summer days with the kids and with my reading friends.

And the Winners Are

I usually make you wade though whatever I post here and get to the bottom of the page before I announce the winners, but this time I'm letting you know right off the bat. First place winner is Diana J In Maine. She says she never wins anything, but now she has. She gets the lovely Shaker box and chose The Innocent. 

I haven't heard from the second place winner yet, but it's John D. He wins the Bread and Bun Warmer decorated with the Shaker Tree of Life and his choice of one of my books. Then, most of the time when I do a giveaway, I pick a "just because" winner to win one of my books. So I did that this time and Peggy C. is my just because winner this time. If I don't hear from John or Peggy by Wednesday, I'll draw another name. 

Thanks to all of you who joined in with my giveaway fun. I loved your summer stories and I'll be sharing more soon. It was also fun reading some of your favorite things about summer. Tomatoes out of the garden, visits with grandparents, swimming, reading in a hammock, just enjoying the day. 

Here's what one of you said. Bjm probably spoke for a lot of us on this one about her grandmother.

"Many years ago when I was a young girl I would go stay with my Grandmother at her river cottage. My Grandma was and still is my very favorite person. She hunted, fished etc. I remember so many young people coming to see her every weekend. She was so well liked by them. I could go on and on about her and all the fun and quality time I had with my favorite person.The sad thing is I don't think I ever told her that."

Well, on second thought I couldn't say my aunt who was like a grandmother to me went hunting, but I do have great memories of time spent with her.   

 
Busy Summer Days

Summertime is such a busy time. Even though my children grew up years ago, married and have their own families, summer still seems to fill up with dozens of things to do. Vacations. Grandkid visits. Flowers to plant. Vegetables to gather and cook. Oscar to give a bath after he gets hot and sits down in the cow's pond. That happened today when the grandkids came out and we took a long walk. I forgot to guide Oscar around the pond. He was not a happy dog when he had to suffer through a hose down. Then halfway through, he gave a mighty shake. So guess who else got wet? 

Let's Talk Shakers

One of the reasons I have busy summers is that I've had a new book come out in July the last few years. Sometimes I have a deadline to finish writing a new book too. Both things are good - very good, but it keeps me hopping in June and July. With the new book, I have blogs to visit to try to get the word out about the new story. (You can watch for notice of some of these on my Facebook page this month to give you more chances to win a book.) Then I have my own  celebration contests like the one I just finished up to share the fun with you, my reading friends. 

And next Sunday I'll have my Hometown Book Launch at my town's library. I started having book talks to celebrate a new book when Scent of Lilacs came out in 2005. I've kept up the tradition with each new book since then. So if you're in the area, come on down to the library next Sunday afternoon and we'll talk new books and Shakers. You might win a door prizes and for sure you can snag some chocolate. I will be signing books after my talk and a Q & A session. We usually have fun.

That Announcement I Promised

I jumped the gun when I promised a surprise announcement this post. I'm going to have to wait until later in the week for that. But soon. Maybe I'll give away another book or something to make the wait worth it.

As always, thanks for reading. 

Time for a Spring Contest - Name the Flower

Spring is Here

Hey, did you notice? It's SPRING! The calendar says so. Now if some of us can get Mother Nature to go along with the calendar, we'll be happy. Here things are beginning to look and sound like spring. The spring peepers are in full voice at night and in the morning, the birds are singing their spring songs. I haven't heard a mockingbird yet, but he'll show up soon. Maybe the mockingbirds are scouting out a new nest location and building their new home. 

A First Wildflower

I did actually see my first wildflower today. The flower up above wasn't it, but I did post its picture on my Facebook page. Usually that first flower is a dandelion, but so far I haven't spotted one of those. If you've read my book, The Blessed, you might remember how my character Lacey did a spring dance every year when she saw her first dandelion. Some springs it was harder for her to do that happy dance than other springs. 

Name the Flower Contest

But seeing the first little wildflower of spring gave me an idea for a new giveaway contest. This one won't be very hard, but I hope you'll have fun with it. Name the flower. As always, you don't have to be right. You just have to give it a try (and leave your e-mail so I can contact you should you be a winner.) That said, I know all of you will get all the flower names. Still, even if it isn't a hard to guess contest like some of my mystery puzzles, (well, some of them were hard to guess) maybe it will still be fun. 

Prizes

The prizes are guess what? Aww, you did guess. Books!! I'll draw three winners. And every time you name a new flower, you'll get a new entry. So be sure to come back and check on the next flower every new blog post. That's usually Wednesdays and Sundays if I don't forget what day it is. That has happened. :) The winners will get their choice of one of my books and a grab bag book by a different Christian author. I have several autographed books that I need to give away and some others that aren't signed but the story is still good. I'll figure out which ones are up for grabs and let you know in one of my posts. That's besides my books. You can check out which of mine you might like to read by checking the titles out on my website. There are sample chapters and more there on all my inspirational fiction books. 

The contest is open to USA and Canada for print books and e-books for international entries. That international postage is prohibitive. You must be 18 to enter. Deadline for entries is April 18, 2015 at 12 midnight EST. I'll announce the winners here on April 19. 

Get Ready, Set, Go

So I'm ready to hear what you know about this flower. For years I called it the wrong thing. Oh, and if you don't know the real name or even if you do, another fun thing to do is pretend you were the first person to ever see this flower and that you got to name it. So what would you have called it? 

Remember to leave a way to contact you if you want to be in the running to win a book. I can't respond directly to your comments. 

We Have a Winner of the Roses are Red Contest

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.
I have so much fun
With my giveaways too.

I used a Random Number generator online to pick the winner of my Roses are Red Giveaway. I wish I could send you all a prize because you make my contests such fun, but alas, I'm not Bill Gates. I do appreciate you throwing your names in my drawing hat when I do have a giveaway. And I'll be having another one here on my blog in a week or so. Plus, come June I'll have a giveaway to celebrate my new book, The Innocent, releasing July 1. I'll have to come up with something neat for that. Maybe some Shaker prize since I go back to my Shaker village of Harmony Hill for this story. If only brooms weren't so big, I could give one of them for a prize. The winner could make a "clean sweep." But I'd best think smaller packages to mail. 

Oh, I guess you want to know who won. :) Pam W. is my 1st place winner. She won the necklace and one of my books. Then just because, I decided to pick a 2nd place winner. That's Cheryl H. She gets her pick of one of my books. I've sent the two winners e-mails. If I don't hear back from them by Sunday, I'll pick new winners.

Both Pam and Cheryl joined in my poetry fun with their entries. You didn't have to send a poem to enter but many of you did. So glad you had fun with the poems. 


Here's Pam's poem.
Roses are Red. 
Violets are Blue. 
My grandchildren love to read 
And I do Too! 

Isn't it great having grandchildren who love books? I'm so glad my own grandchildren love stories and books. 


Cheryl's poetry entry:
Roses are red. 
Violets are blue. 

It’d be so cool

to win a book by YOU!

And so she did. 

Thanks again to all of you who entered. A special thanks to those of you who joined in the poetry fun too. It was so sweet of some of you to make liking my books part of your poem. 

Did you ever write those Roses are Red kind of verses in those little autograph books when you were a kid? I did. The one I usually wrote in other people's books was "Yours till Ivory soap sinks." That tickled me for some reason.

Two Days Left to Enter the Roses are Red Giveaway

Only a few more days to enter my Roses are Red Poem giveaway. I've had fun reading your poems and love that so many of you gave verse a try.

Last Wednesday I shared a few of the poems that were more than a Roses are red simple verse but I've enjoyed them all. It's fun to just go with the first thing we think of and make a poem. That's the kind of poet I am. 

Roses are red. 

Violets are blue. 

I do appreciate 

Readers like you.

It was fun to see how so many of you included how you liked my books or the idea of winning one of my books in your poems.

I got identical poems from Bonnie and Marianne. 

Roses Are Red

Violets Are Blue

Make Me A Winner

So My Dreams Can Come True

How could I keep from liking Jackie's poem? 

The weather has been very cold,

But my book reading doesn't get put on hold.

I stay warm snuggled up in my bed,

With Ann's books dancing in my head.

Thanks, Jackie, your poem made me smile. But I like C-Jay's approach too. Just write from your heart and don't worry about that rhyming stuff. She's right. Not all poems rhyme.

Roses are red.
Violets are blue.

Sugar is sweet,

I love books. :)

It doesn't rhyme, but then, not all poems do. And, it's from the heart!

And last we have this from Gigi. It made me smile and think of how much fun puppies are.

This is about the two puppies I got last year.  I couldn't choose just one so I brought home sisters last year. Their names are Gemma and Lily and are just as sweet as can be.
 

Roses are red, 
Violets are blue,
I couldn't choose just one,
so I brought home two.

So you have until Tuesday night, March 3rd at midnight EST to throw your name in my giveaway hat. You don't have to write a poem, but you can if you want. You might win the pretty necklace along with your choice of one of my books, maybe Love Comes Home or Angel Sister or whichever you want if you are the winner. Just leave a comment here with a way to contact you or shoot me an e-mail at annhgabhart(at)hughes(dot)net. You must be 18 to enter. 

And thanks to all of you who have joined in with my giveaway fun.

Christmas Magic and a Christmas Giveaway for You

A Small Act of Grandparent Bravery

I got extraordinarily brave Saturday. I was keeping three of my grandkids including my twin grandsons who at the age of six must drink high energy water every morning when they pop out of bed. That energy doesn't run out until about fifty "go to sleep" orders have been issued well after dark. That wasn't the brave part. The brave part was that I took them to our local town's Christmas parade. It helped that my other son and his family was there to help me keep an eye on the kids.

A Small Town Parade
 
I was a bit concerned disappointment awaited in the wings when, before we left home, one of the boys started talking about how we might be on television. Not until he mentioned seeing the big balloons did I realize he was thinking we were going to be on the sidelines of a parade like the Macy's parade he'd watched on Thanksgiving. Their cousin, my older grandson, and I tried to ratchet down their expectations without totally stealing their excitement. 

We found our viewing spot in front of one of the churches, and then had to wait for the parade. And wait. And wait. Waiting is not what these two kids do best! Plus, it was cold. Before we spotted the police cars' flashing lights or heard the marching band's drums, the boys were ready to give up on the parade ever coming and call it a night. But I persevered. I'm good at that. Maybe eventually they will be too. 
 
Do we see Santa?

Finally, the police cars came, sirens sounding to lead the parade. The kids spotted Grinch on one of the floats and the Nativity scene on another. Santa finally showed up too, riding on a firetruck. My daughter-in-law took this picture as the boys were peering ahead to catch sight of Santa. Kids are such fun at Christmas time. And even better, when we took them to church Sunday morning and our pastor asked the kids why we celebrated Christmas, one of the boys was eagerly ready with the answer, "to celebrate Jesus being born."  

A New Christmas Contest


Christmas is a great time for thinking about giving and so time for me to have a Christmas Giveaway Contest. If you get my newsletter, you may have already read all about it and entered. I sent out the newsletter Friday to share that my book, Christmas at Harmony Hill, was a free download for twenty-four hours. The free is gone, but the e-book price is reduced for a while longer if you would like to check it out at your e-book provider. Christianbook.com also has the hardback copies at an even cheaper price.
Amazon Kindle
Nook Books 
Christianbook.com

If you'd like to get my newsletter (more book freebies and contests are on the horizon) and aren't signed up, just let me know or sign up here. 

The newsletter also let readers know about my Christmas giveaway. Since many of my books deal with family relationships, I picked the lovely three generation figurine above for first prize. Plus the winner will get his or her choice of one of my autographed books. Second prize is the Peanuts perpetual calendar with smiles waiting on every day and also the choice of one of my books. To enter, you can leave a comment here with a way to contact you via e-mail or Facebook (without this important information I can't find you should you be a winner) or send me an e-mail (annhgabhart at yahoo dot com) and I'll throw your name in my giveaway hat. Any e-mail will do, but for fun, you can tell me your favorite thing about the Christmas season. Deadline for entries is midnight EST December 31. You must be 18 to enter and have a USA or Canadian mailing address. Next time, I'll come up with something not so hard to mail to include you international friends.

Last Week's Winner of the Christmas Stories

Carolann won last week's giveaway - the Christmas stories. Rose McCauley's Christmas Grace, and my Christmas at Harmony Hill. Thanks to all of you for your comments. It's always fun hearing what you have to say.  

September Means a Birthday Giveaway

September is my birthday month and as I've told you all before, I love birthdays. I've just quit counting them up. Not enough fingers and toes to count on for that. :) I'd have to call the fire department if I had a cake with candles. But if you don't count them, then you can consider Satchel Paige's question. "How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?" So, what do you think is the perfect age? 25? 35? 55? Or maybe the perfect age is whatever age you actually are.

I just sent out a newsletter with all the details, so if you're on my newsletter list, you may have already entered. (If you want to be on my newsletter list, just let me know.) I've gotten lots of e-mails, but since I had surgery yesterday, I haven't started going through them yet. The surgery went well. I'm sore, but the surgeon thought everything looked good. They will run more lab test to be sure they got all the cancer and I will have to have some followup treatments after I heal for a while. I do appreciate all your prayers and sweet concern. After I tell you about the Birthday Contest, I'll tell you another story, I think you'll like. But first the contest.

I do enjoy having birthdays and it's even more fun when I celebrate getting older by giving something away to my reading friends. This time I thought and thought and came up with nothing exciting to give away - well, other than my books. :) Then I remembered how green always fits. So 1st prize in my Birthday Giveaway is a $50 gift card to the winner's favorite online book place (Amazon, B&N, or Christianbook.com). Plus the winner gets his or her choice of one of my books. Two 2nd place winners will get a $25 gift card and their choice of one of my autographed books.

How to enter? It's easy. Just send me a message. You can send me a message from my website or leave a comment on a post here on my blog in September with a way to contact you. That's very important for without the contact info, I can't get in touch with you should you be one of the lucky winners. Comments on blog posts don't automatically include your return address. Deadline to enter is September 30 at midnight EST. You must be 18 to enter. For fun and for a bonus additional entry, you can tell me a birthday story. It can be about your birthday or someone else's birthday. You don't have to share a story to enter - any kind of message will do - but I enjoy reading your stories when you want to share one with me. I sometimes share a few of them forward here on my blog but I won't without your permission.

Now for the other story. Last night after my surgery, I was missing Mom. The other times I've had surgeries, Mom was always there for me, helping me with whatever needed to be done, sympathizing with me, loving me. Moms are just good at that. So I was missing her and when I went to bed, I was thinking about her and it was as though I felt a hand gently caressing my hand. It only lasted a minute, but I couldn't help thinking that Mom had reached down a little comfort to me. Just writing this today brought tears, but it was good.

Thanks for reading.

 

What Do You Like about June?

                       

"Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June." ~Al Bernstein  What do you like about June? Summer starting? School out? Swimming pools filling up? Flowers blooming? Gardens growing? Family vacations? Bible School? So many things to love about June - that sweet time between spring and the hot days of July and August.  For me, the last few years, June has been a time to celebrate a new book out for readers. This year follows right along with Love Comes Home available in stores and on-line. Reviews are beginning to show up on some of the on-line book sites and in some of the book review magazines. That can be fun but also a little scary. I wrote the story and made it the best I could. Editors at the publishing company helped me polish and improve and gave the book a beautiful cover. And now I have to wait and see if readers are excited about going back to Rosey Corner to see what happened next.  One kind Amazon reviewer, Robin, wrote words I was glad to read about Love Comes Home. "I love visiting Rosey Corner. It has become like home. A sweet vacationing spot. These characters seem like family." That's what I want a reader to feel when they go with me to Rosey Corner or to Hollyhill or even my Harmony Hill Shaker village. Come take a trip with me back into storyland.  June also means I get to celebrate those new books by giving some things away. Some of you have already entered my Celebration Giveaway. If you haven't, you have until the end of June to enter to win one of these prizes along with one of my autographed books. The details are here. Plus I'm picking five winners here on my blog only contest to win a copy of one of my books (winners' choices). The way to get your name in that hat is to leave a comment on a blog post here in June with a way to contact you. Each new comment on a different post gets an additional entry. Or since some of you have had trouble commenting here, you can message me on my Facebook page or by e-mail, annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com, and say you want to enter the blog giveaway.  I love hearing from you and finding out what's going on in your world. So what do you love about June? P.S. I'm having my Hometown Book Launch this Sunday, June 29, at 2:30 p.m. at my hometown library here in Lawrenceburg, KY. Come on out and help me celebrate if you are in the area. We'll talk books and there will even be door prizes. Not quite like the ones above, but still fun. P.P.S. I'm never going away, am I? :) But wanted to remind you about the Goodreads giveaway for Love Comes Home. Still time to enter there if you are a Goodreads member. Now I'm going away - I promise. At least until next time. Keep reading!

Celebrating Love Comes Home with Giveaways

It's always so much fun to celebrate a new release with a giveaway contest because I get to hear from so many of my reading friends - you. Thank all of you who have entered already, but here are the details for those of you who haven't seen my newsletter. If you want to be on my e-mail list and among the first to hear book news or about contests, you can sign up here Ann's Newsletter.

No big prizes, but I hope you'll think they're fun. First prize winner will get the choice of the Marcasite Filagree and Garnet 18" Heart Pendant or the "Forget-me-not" Willow Tree figurine along with the winner's choice of one of my books. The necklace has a small heart in the larger heart. Once you read my new book, Love Comes Home, you'll know why I chose these prizes. The second place winner will get whichever prize is left along with a choice of one of my books. Then because I'm one of those "never win" people, if you tell me that you never win in contest drawings, your name will go into a special extra drawing for the Praying the Names of God Journal and the choice of one of my books. Hardly anybody has told me they never win yet, so the chances in that drawing are very good that you might end up in the winner's circle. 

You have to be 18 to enter and you can enter by sending me an e-mail at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com or by leaving a comment on one of the posts here in June. I'll draw for the winners on July 1. To make things more fun, you can tell me a story about a family homecoming or special family memory. The stories aren't necessary to win. Just fun. Many of you have already entered the contest with a comment on the last post. I thank you for that. And some of you have shared stories. I've enjoyed reading them, and I'll be posting some of them here on One Writer's Journal later this month. 

Now, for the blog only contest. You friends here are so kind to read my this and that posts and to leave me encouraging comments that I've got to have a giveaway just for you. Those of you who entered the other contest by leaving a comment on the previous posts will have to come back and comment again to be entered in the blog contest. In fact, every time you leave a comment on a new post for the rest of June, you'll have a new entry and chance to win. Remember to leave your e-mail or a way to contact you when you enter.

You think I should throw in some mystery picture posts for you to try to guess before the end of the month? I just posted a picture of a snake that looks purple on my Facebook Page, but I think it was really just a black snake with the sun making it look purple. There's been quite a discussion about what kind of "purple" snake it is. Still a mystery, but not one any of us are doing much good figuring out. 

So what can I give away? I know. How about a copy of my new book? An autographed paper copy if you live in the USA or Canada and an e-book copy if you live overseas? That's original, isn't it? LOL. I'll draw the five winners early July 1.  

Also, remember if you're on Goodreads you can sign up there too to win one of five copies Revell Books is giving away. It's fun giving books away. For my giveaway, if you'd rather have a different title (one of mine, of course) that can be arranged. Remember, if you enter, you have to leave a way for me to be able to contact you in the event you are one of the winners. 

Thanks to any of you who downloaded Angel Sister or Small Town Girl while they were at a special price. Angel Sister was in the top 100 of Kindle titles today. Hope that means a lot of new readers are headed to Rosey Corner to meet my characters. 

If you've read any of the Rosey Corner books, which character is your favorite?

"A Book Worth Reading"

"If instead of a gem, or even a flower, we should cast the gift of a loving thought into the heart of a friend, that would be giving as the angels give." ~George MacDonald

Sometimes an encouraging word can be a special gift. I got one of those today from a reader who was reading my book, Scent of Lilacs. She said she was enjoying the story and then she thanked me for writing "a book worth reading." What a very nice thing to tell an author! 

Of course, I hope all my books are worth reading. I want to write them so that those of you who read them can get to know and love my characters the way I do while I'm writing their stories. With my Heart of Hollyhill books, I had fun going back to the Sixties and populating my fictional town of Hollyhill with characters who might walk down the streets of any small town in the USA. I stayed with those characters through three books and never got tired of them, Scent of Lilacs, Orchard of Hope, and now coming back to stores very soon in its bright new cover, Summer of Joy. 

But there are special gifts that are things too. Not long ago I received that kind of gift from my daughter-in-law. She got e-copies of all my covers even the old ones from years ago before there were e-copies of anything and made me the framed poster, pictured above, to hang in my office. Isn't it great? And such a thoughtful gift of her time and effort as she came up with a perfect gift for me. A writer has a special place in her heart for the cover art of her published books. Those covers are something bright and real with the promise of the story inside. The cover of Summer of Joy in the poster is not the new cover, but it's good to have that first cover remembered too. I'm so fortunate to have loving daughters-in-law who have blessed me with some beautiful grandchildren and who also encourage me in my writing career. 

One Week to Get Your Entries In

The deadline for my Summer of Joy Celebration Giveaway is Friday, February 28th at midnight EST. You can enter by sending me an e-mail from my website or here by leaving a comment. Comments on my posts here also enter you in a special additional drawing for a copy of your choice of one of my recent books. I don't have extra copies of those long ago books. The contest rules and description of prizes for the Celebration Giveaway are on my News & Events Website Page. Here's two of the prizes, a cute little ring dish and a charm bracelet with encouraging words all around. Plus those books that I do hope you will think are "worth reading." 

I also have that extra contest for people who say they "never win." I've gotten very few entries in that so maybe most of you are already winners. But one of you who tells me you never win is going to get a book and a box of chocolates. 

Remember, if you leave a comment here, you have to include a way for me to get in touch. A couple of you have commented without your contact information or even a name. If you don't want to leave that information in a comment here, feel free to e-mail me at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com or message me on my Facebook page. I know sometimes the comment feature on blogs can be a pain. Besides, you might enjoy joining in the conversation on my FB page. Some of my friends there enjoy my weekly features of Friday smiles, Throwback Thursdays, Shaker Wednesday, and Sunday Morning coming down.

A Book Worth Reading

That's what we all want when we're reading, don't we? A story that keeps us turning pages to find out what happens next. A story that we can be glad we read when we do turn that last page. A book that doesn't disappoint. Not every reader who picks up my books agree that my stories are worth reading, but I'm glad for those of you who do. And I will keep looking for the right words to fill the pages to make the stories you can enjoy. 

Thanks for reading!  

A Giveaway to Celebrate Summer of Joy

Celebration time! 

For a writer, there's not much more exciting than seeing a new book coming out for readers - even when that new book is simply one dressed up in a new cover. With the re-release of Summer of Joy, in a few weeks, my Heart of Hollyhill books will once more all be in print again and inviting readers to come back to the Sixties to visit Jocie and her family and friends.

Joy in the Journey
Some of you might remember the Sixties. Some of you might be too young for that. But isn't it great that books can take us to other times and places and let us experience "joy in the journey?" 

Life is a journey and you can travel through a year of life in Hollyhill with Jocie. Secrets are uncovered. Strangers show up. Joy is awakened. Troubles come. Love conquers. Life happens in this Small Town, America story. 

Celebration Prizes

And so I'm celebrating by having a giveaway with a few fun prizes. First prize winner will get that cute charm bracelet that Jocie might have picked out for you along with an autographed set of the Hollyhill books that includes Scent of Lilacs, Orchard of Hope and Summer of Joy. Second prize winner also wins a set of the Hollyhill books along with the ring dish with the bicycle and Joy in the Journey saying. (Jocie loves the bicycle.) And then there is the drawing for those of you who say you "never win." That prize is a box of chocolates and the winner's choice of one of my books. I've only gotten a couple of never win entries. Everybody must either be winners or on a diet! So be sure to tell me you've never won if you want to be in that drawing. And if you already have the Heart of Hollyhill books, it's fun to win books for a reading friend or perhaps your church library.

I also invited entrants to share a Valentine story of love. You don't have to tell a story to enter. You just have to send me a message at annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com or leave a comment here (with a way to contact you) on my blog before midnight EST February 28, 2014. People who comment here will get one entry in the drawing for the prizes listed above, but I'll have a special extra drawing for my blog commenters with two winners getting their choice of one of my books. Each comment on a new post here on One Writer's Journal before the deadline will get you an extra entry in the blog drawing. I do appreciate those of you who drop by to visit me here. And of course, feel free to leave those Valentine stories. 

A Valentine Story 
Here's a cute story I received after I sent out news of the contest in my newsletter last week. R.M. said, "Back in 2001, one of my coworkers came in the office where I was working and said someone was there to see me. I was excited! Whoo hoo!! Flowers for Valentine's Day! Nope, lo and behold, a Barbershop Quartet!! Right there in the main corridor. They handed me a long stem red rose and sang "Let Me Call You Sweetheart"!!!!! That was the best Valentine's Day ever. Love was in the air!!!!
    Now, today I am picking up balloons as I already have the heart-shaped cake and cookies to have my granddaughters over for a Valentine's Day Party!!! Love is still in the air!!!"

I love R.M.'s enthusiasm for Valentine's Day love. Love is in the air in Summer of Joy too. So share some love whether about romantic love, family love or even the fun of all those little Valentines given away at school parties across the nation. "Be Mine, Valentine." "Yours till Ivory Soap Sinks." "Roses are red. Violets are blue. Sugar is sweet and so are you." What silly Valentine rhymes do you remember?  

Next Time
If you don't get my newsletter and would like to, be sure to let me know or sign up here on my FB author page. And come back Wednesday night or Thursday. Over on my Facebook author page, I'm getting suggestions for naming my heroine's dog in my work in progress. So far 89 different names have been suggested. I'll share those results next time on One Writer's Journal. 


Thanks for the Prayers
Last, but certainly not least, I very much appreciate all your prayers and concern for my mother. We had a rough week with taking her to the facility Monday and then spending a night in the ER after she fell on Wednesday, but today she seemed to be settling in. She even told one of the aides that we were her daughters and she knew my sister's name. Prayers are powerful and I thank you that you're willing to plug into that power for my mom.