Inspiration from Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Pop over to my Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures Blog for a beautiful, simple quote from Elizabeth Barrett Browning and a photo by me - both in keeping with a spirit of rebirth and renewal this time of year represents.

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Sunday - hope you have a beautiful day!

Mid-week Inspiration

New inspiration over at my Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures Blog - Quote from Helen Keller, whose outlook on life was so amazing, and a photograph taken by me at the Farmer's Market.

Enjoy and please share it with others who may need a bit of beauty and uplifting words today.

On Friday, I'm participating in a Cover Reveal for Kai Strand's newest children's book, and soon after that I'll be posting my review of Julie Flanders book, Polar Night.

Hope your week is going well, enjoy the day!

Cookin' with Gas!

I just finished writing Chapter 20 of Return to Canterbury, the sequel to The Christmas Village, and you won't believe what just happened - in the story, I mean! WOW! I did not see that coming! Hope you'll be surprised too when you read it! This puts me at about the half-way mark, maybe a little more, and right on schedule for where I'd hoped to be by the end of March.

Sequels can be tricky business, because you want them to be just as good - or better than - the first book. But they also have to be different! 

The Christmas Village contained everything I'd ever held dear about childhood Christmases and the love of family and friends, as well as the accumulated inspiration of all the books I'd cherished as a child. And of course with the backdrop of Christmastime, it had a strong holiday feeling and nostalgic pull. But if you've read The Christmas Village, you know that it's also a suspense-filled adventure with many twists and lots of surprises! And, of course, one teeny-weeny little unsolved mystery ....

Return to Canterbury doesn't take place at Christmas, but there is quite an adventure afoot, and already a few surprises. And if you were hoping that we'd solve that teeny-weeny little unsolved mystery left over from The Christmas Village, well, so was I! I don't think you'll be disappointed on that score. 

So, my hope is that, in Return to Canterbury, I'm carrying forward the elements that readers loved in The Christmas Village - a good story, excitement, suspense, and characters that feel like friends in a place we don't want to leave - into a new and equally exciting roller-coaster ride of a tale with just as many surprises and a satisfying resolution. 

It feels good to be cookin' with gas on the writing front again, my friends! 

Have a great week, everyone! Pop over to my Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures Blog for the latest inspirational quote and photograph intended to lift your spirit and boost your creative juices. 

Synergy

Writerly thoughts for a good writing weekend, or inspiration for whatever you have planned - and a soothing photo to match:

Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures Blog

Stay tuned for a review here soon of Julie Flanders paranormal thriller: Polar Night 
(Hint: I liked it! A lot!)

Write in Your Heart

New Post at Inspiring Words and Pictures Blog - inspiring wordsbyRalph Waldo Emerson, picture by me.

Make it a great day!

Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures

I'd like to invite you to visit my new blog "Inspiring Thoughts and Pictures." (inspiringthoughtsandpictures.blogspot.com)

Once or twice a week, I'll post a quote and a photograph meant to inspire and uplift. Only positive thoughts and images!The quotes will come from all sorts of folks and the photographs will be mine.It's my small way of contributing to a more positive and beautiful world. Check it out HERE, and sign up to get the post by email. (Enter your email in the box below the post).

A Little Beach Scene for the Winter-Weary

My husband, RVPainter, has been very inspired by the beauty of the Florida Gulf Coast. Here is a painting he did this week - it's long and narrow - 4" by 26". I love those dimensions, because they capture an ocean/beach scene really well. He's got an ETSY SHOP now, with more of his work.

If you've had more than your share of wintry weather lately, you might enjoy seeing some palm trees and sand dunes. He's also doing some demos over on his blogs: RVPAINTER and AHHPUNTAHHHGORDAHHH.

Fort Pickens Dunes

I'm up to Chapter 17 of RETURN TO CANTERBURY, the sequel to THE CHRISTMAS VILLAGE. I'm excited about where the story is going, though I don't always know how I will get there! That's the adventure of writing -- being surprised yourself by what happens next!

Hope you are off to a good start this week!

Going with the Flow

We feel nicely settled in to our new home in Florida. The RV has been sold - we are sad that it's no longer ours, but glad that it all happened quickly and easily.(We were lucky!)  It was a hard day when we dropped it off in Tampa to have it driven back to Indiana to its new owner. We couldn't bear to do it ourselves - it would have made us too sad :(.

This seems so long ago  - it is just coming up on a year ago that we went to pick up the RV. This is the first picture of me standing in front of it, wearing my Dreamcatcher T-shirt

When I look at all my postings last year and see the pictures of the great places we went, I am amazed. We had great weather (with a few glaring exceptions) most of the time. To be in Maine and Nova Scotia for two months and have only a day or two of rain is almost a miracle!! I am so grateful for the wonderful experience and yes, I do know how lucky we were to do it.

Near Peggy's Cove in Nova Scotia

RVPainter on the rocks at Ocean Point, East Boothbay, Maine. I've been crawling on those rocks since I was a little kid, and for a while, RVP and I lived in East Boothbay and had a gallery there. We'd get coffee and sticky buns on Sunday mornings and go sit on these rocks.

Now I am teaching three yoga classes a week, with plans to add two more in summer. That will still only be three mornings a week, so it's a nice schedule. I teach Gentle and Level I. The studio is beautiful, and the students have been very welcoming to me.

My husband, artist JR Secor aka RVPainter, has been painting up a storm! He's working in a funky semi-abstract style with palette knife, and palm trees are his current inspiration. (Gee, I wonder why!)

He's got a new blog called AHHPUNTAGORDA, where he does demos of how the painting is done. Today he's sharing tips for Frugal Painting, for all the starving artists out there :)

He also has a new ETSY SHOP with more of his work. He's doing a lot of smaller pieces and they are very reasonably priced. Here are examples of what he's been up to, and here's his Etsy link: JR'S ETSY SHOP.

 

These are small paintings - 5 by 7 on canvas, and they sell for $30, shipping included within the U.S. Can't beat the price!! He's got some 4 by 6 paintings that are only $20, shipping included! Perfect for the small spaces on the wall.

Last weekend we drove down to Naples, which is a beautiful town about an hour south of us. Pretty beach and gorgeous downtown with lots of shops and restaurants.

Naples Beach

RVPainter enjoying a custard in downtown Naples

Most importantly for me, I'm writing quite a lot. I've written a number of poems, and hope to put together a collection eventually. And, I'm up through chapter 15 of the sequel to The Christmas Village, which I think I told you is called Return to Canterbury. Story ideas are coming fast and furious, and I'm pretty excited about where it's going. Hoping to be through at least chapter 20 by the end of March. I'm looking for reviewers for both The Christmas Village and the new book when it comes out, so let me know if you are interested or know someone who would be.