Exploring the World #MFRWauthor #blog Challenge

MFRW blog challenge badgeThis week’s MFRW Blog Challenge is My Hobbies, which in my case means exploring the world, either through reading or actual travels.

My two consistent lifelong habits are reading and traveling. I’ve been an avid reader since childhood, and reading let me explore the world from my home. I’ve had other hobbies through the years — playing the piano, international folk dancing, needlework — but none that lasted more than a decade or so. I haven’t played the piano or danced in quite a while now, and I had to give up needlework when I hit my forties and my eyes changed. It got too hard to see those little holes in the material.

My father had a bad case of wanderlust, and I seem to have inherited it. He loved road trips and we saw quite a bit of the US when I was a child, from our hometown of Pittsburgh to Miami, Florida, then out of California where we settled for good. My dad’s favorite thing was to visit old Western ghost towns, like Tombstone and Bodie.
ghost town

In my twenties, I made a few trips outside the US. My last year in college I took a student tour of the archeological ruins in Mexico. We went all the way to Tikal in Guatamala. A few years later, I spent three weeks in Australia, including a camping tour of Tasmania, one of the remotest and prettiest places you’ll ever see.

Lily Gambler coverMy husband didn’t like to fly, so we confined most of our travels to the US and Canada. Sometimes travel inspires story ideas, which happened when Bob and I toured California’s Gold Country, and I got the idea for my latest release, Lily and the Gambler.

I used to work in the travel industry, and took several familiarization trips, including the Canadian Rockies and Hawaii.

In 2003, I finally made a trip to England, a tour designed for romance writers to the Regency triangle: London, Bath and Brighton. I’d been dreaming (and reading) about the British Isles for years. In 2015, I took a cruise around the isles and finally got to see a bit of Scotland and Ireland.

Buckingham Palace

Buckingham Palace in the early morning

Last year I spent a month touring Europe and I’ve been writing about it in my regular #TuesdayTravels posts. If you’re interested, sign up to follow the blog.

Linda

It’s not too late to join the challenge. Click on the linky list below to read about more author hobbies.

Cupid’s Beau: #ValentinesDay Read by @Alicia_Dean_

Thank you, Linda, for inviting me to your blog.

While I normally write dark, creepy suspense and paranormal, a few years back, I tried my hand at a light, sweet, humorous story. Even though it was way out of my comfort zone, I was surprised to find that I truly enjoyed writing it. Each year about this time, I dust it off and share it. After all, it IS a Valentine’s Day Romance.

I hope you enjoy this glimpse into “Cupid’s Beau” ~ ON SALE for 99¢
Cupid'a Beau coverBlurb:

Ivy Pierce is a Cupid who prides herself on doing her job well. Except when it comes to a certain human male. Although she doesn’t understand why, each time she’s supposed to shoot her arrow into Grant Crawford’s heart, her stomach hurts, her chest hurts, and she feels….sad. Cupids are never sad.

After Ivy sabotages Grant’s last chance to find true love, her boss, Aphrodite, sends her to Earth to right her wrong. She has until Valentine’s Day to help him find his soul mate. But the more she’s around him, the more she wants him for herself, even though she knows that can never be. A Cupid and a human? Unheard of.

With every beat of her broken heart, the deadline draws closer. Can she sacrifice her own happiness to help the man she loves find his?

Excerpt:

Ivy sat nervously on a fluffy, bejeweled chair, tapping her foot on the cottony floor.

Aphrodite paced in front of her crystal desk, her lovely face drawn in a scowl. “Ivy, is what Meg said true? Did you really ruin Mr. Crawford’s last chance to find love?”

Ivy swallowed a knot of tears. The only thing worse than being a lousy, sneaky Cupid was disappointing Aphrodite. “Yes, ma’am. I did.”

“Why? Why would you do something so…so terrible?”

Ivy shrugged. Misery weighted her shoulders, made her want to sink into a puddle and disappear. “I wasn’t thinking. I just—acted.”

“Your impulsiveness has ruined a man’s life. Do you have any idea how serious this is? How horrible it is for a human to go through life without love?”

Ivy blinked back tears. “I know.”

“He’s a special case, too. Raised his sister on his own after his mother left. Because his father was so busy searching for a love to replace the one he lost, he ignored his children. The two of them grew up lonely, feeling abandoned, with only each other to turn to. That’s why Mr. Crawford is so dead set against love, why he so desperately needs our help. He saw what the search for love did to his father, and he wants no part of it.”

“Yes.” Ivy’s heart ached for the little boy Grant Crawford had been. For the lonely man he’d become. For her role in making him lonely for the rest of his life.

“Love is a powerful emotion. The most powerful of them all. It causes people to do the most outrageous things. But it also brings the most joy, the most satisfaction. More than you can ever imagine.”

“And I’ve stolen that from him. I wish there was something I could do.”

“There is.”

Ivy lifted her head and stared at Aphrodite. “There is? But he only gets three chances, right? That was his third?” In spite of her genuine guilt over what she’d done, the thought he might still find love, might be with some lucky woman, triggered that same unpleasant feeling in the pit of her stomach.

“This is a special circumstance and calls for special measures. The three chance rule is in place for those who continue to throw away the opportunities we give them. If they are too closed off, too jaded, or just too foolish to grab onto love when we give them the chance, then that’s on them. But, you are the one who sabotaged his final chance. As a matter of fact, you are the reason he needed a third chance.”

“I know. I’m sorry. So, we give him more chances? I promise, I won’t interfere again.” She had to keep her promise. No matter how much it hurt.

“Not exactly. We can’t apply the usual method, you’ve seen to that.”

“Then what method?”

Something in Aphrodite’s expression told Ivy she didn’t want to hear about the other method.

“You shall travel to Earth and make sure Mr. Crawford finds love.”

“What? Travel to Earth?” Ivy’s knees weakened. She’d never been beyond the clouds. This was her home. Her sanctuary. Earth was crowded and dirty and dangerous…

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Cupids-Beau-Sweet-Valentine-Romance-ebook/dp/B00B0JLKP4/

Bio:

I am a suspense and paranormal author in Edmond, Oklahoma, and I have dreamed of being a writer since I was a child. I attempted my first romance at age 10 (featuring a hero who looked just like Elvis Presley), and I still have the tattered, pencil-written copy.

I lead a very busy life, but I manage to find time to read my favorite authors—Michael Connelly, Dennis Lehane, and Lee Child to name a few—and watching (and rewatching) my favorite shows like The Walking Dead, Dexter, Justified, Friends, and too many other sitcoms to name. But, my greatest passion—other than my family—is writing, and I am exceedingly blessed that I get to do what I loves most.

Connect with me online at:

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