Friends by J. S. Marlo

 

Seasoned Hearts

"Love & Sacrifice #1"

is now available  

click here 

 

 

  

J. S. Marlo's BWL Books

Over the decades, I've made many friends. Some have faded in the background or are resting in peace, others are very much present in my life, and a special few are closer than family.

Many, many years ago, I'd stumbled on a lovely poem by an unknown author about friends. It talked about friends for a season and friends for a lifetime. Well, I rediscovered the poem a few months ago, and it was much more meaningful and powerful than I remembered.

Reason, Season, Lifetime Poem

People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.

When you figure out which one it is, you will know what to do for each person.

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed. They have come to assist you through a difficulty; to provide you with guidance and support; to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually. They may seem like a godsend, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away. Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.

Some people come into your life for a SEASON, because your turn has come to share, grow or learn. They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons; things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation. Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person, and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life. It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

— Unknown

If that poem touched your heart, you will enjoy reading "Seasoned Hearts".

Enjoy the people in your life. Hugs! 

J. S.

 

J. S. Marlo's Website

Like Catching Up With Old Friends by Eileen O'Finlan

 

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When I wrote Erin's Children, the sequel to Kelegeen, I really enjoyed revisiting the characters I'd spent so much time with. It felt like catching up with old friends. I met new friends, as well, as I introduced new characters in a new setting. As authors, we spend so much time with our characters both when we are and when we aren't actually writing that they become part of our lives. They live in our heads, tell us their secrets, dreams, ambitions, faults, and desires. We know the most personal things about each of them. When a novel is finished and sent off for publication it can be like saying goodbye to people to whom we've grown very close. So writing a sequel or continuing on in a series is a kind of reunion.

My current work in progress (The Folklorist - expected release date: October 1, 2023) is a stand alone. However, once that is finished, I plan to dive right into writing the second book in the Cat Tales series. I'm looking forward to reconnecting with Smokey, Autumn Amelia, and all the other animals in Wild Whisker Ridge and Faunaburg. There will be some surprises as Smokey and Autumn find out that there is more to their family than they knew. There will also be a wedding, but I'm not saying who's it is yet. I just know it will be loads of fun to write the next set of adventures for a group of characters who can't help but make me grin from ear to ear while I'm doing it.

At the same time, I will start the research for the book that will follow Erin's Children. I plan to focus on the next generation. Meg, Rory, Kathleen, and Nuala will still be there, and it will be wonderful to reconnect with them, but I'm also excited about finding out what their kids are doing with their lives. I'm also looking forward to learning more about the history of Worcester, Massachusetts (the city where I work and closest to where I live and where Erin's Children is set) and incorporating some of it into the story. 

I also have an idea for a fantasy that I plan to work on in between these two projects (could someone create a few more hours in the days, please?!) so I'll be meeting and getting to know all new characters and a whole new world. This is also very exciting. New friends are great, too! 

I hope my readers will enjoy catching up with the old friends and meeting new ones as much as I enjoy writing them.

                                                                           

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The Highs and Lows and Pina coladas of 2022, by Diane Scott Lewis

 

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The year started out terrible with the loss of fellow BWL author, Kathy Pym. We were cyber friends for several years. I miss her gallows humor and good advice, her kindness, and for being the person I could talk to about anything. I was blessed to have her for my friend.

Shortly after that, still in January, I had to go for cataract surgery. My husband had to drive for nearly two hours to the doctor's surgery center, in the middle of nowhere. Now my right eye doesn't read as close-up as it used to. I need reading glasses. But as my oldest granddaughter sagely said. "Because you're a grandma."

Fast-forward to June, we drove to Nashville for a Nea Makri Greece reunion. My husband was stationed there from 1971-75; me from 1974-75. We married there in May of 1975. How young we look!

The heat in Nashville was sweltering, and we were camping. You couldn't even sit outside, the internet went bonkers, and sight-seeing was debatable. One of our RV connections melted. We bought portable, hand-held coolers for next time. We're prepared! 

Rafina, Greece harbor, just below Nea Makri

And it was great to meet up with former shipmates, or basemates. We even went to an air-conditioned winery with one lady and had a ball.

The following month, we had a small family reunion at hubby's niece's camp in Gettysburg. Again, the heat was sweltering. But we enjoyed the company. And hubs made his famous pina coladas. Yum.

In August, my oldest friend, we met at six and eight, came to visit for two weeks. An excuse to make hubs take us somewhere! A book festival, a wine concert, the Flight 93 memorial, beer tasting, wine tasting. We visited Old Economy Village near Pittsburgh, a village founded on strict and celibate behavior, waiting for the Rapture. No wonder they died out.

That's the tour guide with my husband.

 I loved to have Candy with me. My bestie forever.

The year started badly, but ended up much better. Of course in the world around me there were wars, and the turmoil of my own divisive country. I hope we can come together and heal most of the wounds. Happy 2023.

Diane lives in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and one naughty dachshund.

To find out more about her books: DianeScottLewis 

It's That Time Again by Victoria Chatham

 

AVAILABLE HERE

Dear Reader, 

So much has changed in our world this year, but one thing that hasn't is the will to connect with friends and family for Christmas.

Hey, you might think. It's still a month away. That's all well and good, but with me in one country and many of the aforementioned friends and family in other countries, I need to have my Christmas cards and letters prepared well in advance and this year I would like to include you.

My usual Christmas letter is a bit like the old 'what I did in my summer holidays' exercise in school. It is a round up of the highlights of my year for those with whom I am not in regular contact. I try to personalize each letter, to acknowledge each individual for who they are and what they mean to me. 

Do you still get letters? Real, honest-to-goodness letters? I love receiving them even if many of them are no longer handwritten. I remember watching my mother's handwriting deteriorate over the years. Then receiving cards written in another hand and simply signed 'Eve' once she slid into the grip of Altzheimer's. My handwriting is no longer as legible as it once was after a page or two, so now I type to save the recipient the effort of having to decipher the loops and swirls that spread like cobwebs across a page.

This year has been the maddest of mad years, but there is still so much to appreciate and enjoy. I was lucky enough to have managed to get away to Mexico before the lockdown and have the memories of fun in the sun, tequila tasting and the company of friends. Once back home, I had my own writing to come back to but kept up my social activities where I could. I walked and rode horses during the summer, found places to go where I either hadn't been for a long time or never been before. I had the choice of writing or reading, or some of each and discovered many new authors. My to-be-read list has grown exponentially. 

The Skype and Zoom platforms have enabled me to keep in touch with writer friends, to have taken workshops and webinars with my own writing group and others. In a year that could have been written-off as abysmal I have strengthened friendships, shared experiences, and learnt so much. I am rounding up my year participating in National Novel Writing Month, something I tried once before and failed miserably! This time I focused on the target and know I'm going to make it.

So how was your year? Haveyou  managed to stay in touch with friends and family? Have you been able to rise above the doom and gloom and sense that this too shall pass? What is your hope for next year and beyond? Whatever it is, be kind to yourself and others.

I wish you all the compliments of the Season and a happy, healthy New Year.

All the best, Victoria

Some Memories Of Christmas by Victoria Chatham

 AVAILABLE HERE

So here we are at the end of 2018 already and looking forward to another Christmas and New Year's celebration.  

Christmas always reminds me of family gatherings, During the war years, this gathering always took place at my grandmother's house. My cousins and I looked forward to decorating the live tree. The windows were covered with a blackout curtain and the tree stood in front of it.  We were allowed to clip the holders for real candles onto the branches. We never knew which dad or uncle might be home on leave, but if none of them was, then my grandmother lit the candles. Health and Safety today would have a bird about those candles! Decorations around the house were always branches of fir, mistletoe, and holly. I don't remember who started it, but it became

something of a tradition to outline the edges and veins of the holly leaves with silver paint and this kept us kids occupied while my gran, my mum, and aunts prepared food.

For a number of years, I lived in a 300-year old Cotswold house. When I first saw the house I thought the living room, with its exposed oak beams and open fireplace, would be the ideal place for a family Christmas, and it was. One year my boys took charge of acquiring the tree. I never asked where it came from, I don't think I really wanted to know, but it was so tall they had to take about 3-feet off the top so we had a tree and a bit. Another Christmas my daughter bought her eldest brother a beanbag and packed it in a big appliance box. Give cats and kids a box and they will have endless fun with it. I laughed myself silly as my son converted the box into a bus and his sister and one of the dogs squished in behind him. As they were young adults at this point there may have been some alcohol involved. 

 

A few years ago I was pet and house-sitting at a lovely country home in England. That year was wild and wet and with so much flooding washing out roads and leaving debris everywhere, I decided to not risk the trip to visit my family but stayed put. I've never minded being alone but appreciated the phone calls with my children even more on that particular Christmas Day. To keep the flavor of the season I had my table decoration and a Christmas dinner from Sainsbury's grocery store and finished the day curled up on the sofa with the two dogs I was sitting and watching TV.

For me, Christmas is not so much about giving gifts as spending time with family and friends and none more so than when I can spend that time with my nearest and dearest. My DDH (dearly departed husband) and I did not buy each other big gifts but instead donated what we would have spent to charities of our choice and simply spent the day alone together. One year we binge-watched all the Star Wars movies. Another year we had a turkey and trimmings picnic on the living room floor, never to be repeated as it proved too much of a temptation for our two dogs. 

Christmases come and Christmases go, and I'm fortunate to celebrate the season with friends who have become as close as family. I'm also now happy to enjoy a gentler side of the season. I don't worry anymore about the commercialism of it all as that's something I have no control over. It's up to each individual how they choose to celebrate, or not, after all. What I like is having come to a place in my life where I am happy to celebrate the joy and peace of the season.

I would like to wish everyone at Books We Love and all our followers a very merry Christmas and a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year. 

 AT BOOKS WE LOVE

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 MY WEBSITE

It's Nearly Here! by Victoria Chatham

AVAILABLE HERE

OK, I admit it. I'm a sucker for Christmas. Admittedly there have been a few years when Christmas has lost some of it's meaning, but the older I get, the more I appreciate it. 

It's not so much the tree and the trimmings, or the food and the wine, but the realization that without the company of family and friends at this particular time of year we are somehow at a loss. 

My family is far away but I can still see them and talk to them because of Skype.  An e-mail can garner an almost immediate response and Messenger can help reconnect people who may have lost touch. Moving to a new location, whether it be a new house or a new country, often meant that someone's address got lost in the transfer, or maybe they had moved, too, and the notifications crossed in the mail. There could be a hundred and one reasons that people lost touch but now, unless they don't want to be found, that reconnection is not impossible.

Today is my daughter's birthday, so I called her as I usually do. We talked for not too long as she was at work (she manages a jewelry store in the UK) and we briefly discussed the family gathering we had in October when I went home for a visit. My cousin was home from Australia, an Uncle and another cousin were home from France and the cousin who hosted the family get-together and I had not seen each other for thirty years. We talked about our childhood Christmases spent at our grandmother's house when, post-war, we got a stocking

containing an orange, chocolate and nuts, and one or two gifts and thought ourselves incredibly well provided for. 

I think back to other Christmases when my children had so many gifts their father and I had to hold some of them back. The Christmases when someone finished up in tears because they didn't get what they wanted, or someone hadn't done what they said they would do, or the sheer exhaustion of getting everything ready for the table and having the turkey and whatever went with it all served hot at the same time. 

For me, Christmas is not to be found in the stores, but in the hearts of people. It's in the enjoyment of their pleasure and company and the hope of a happier and healthier New Year for one all. 

So enjoy the season, celebrate it as you may, and look forward with hope to what 2018 may bring.

Victoria Chatham

www.facebook.com/AuthorVictoriaChatham

http://victoriachatham.blogspot.ca

http://bookswelove.net/authors/chatham-victoria/

https://twitter.com/vchathamauthor

We all need a friend--Tricia McGill

A Heart in Conflict is available here

Everyone who knows me well, knows I am a passionate lover of animals. I watch just about every animal documentary on TV, and support a few wildlife societies. It never ceases to delight me how some species seem to mate for life, and others find true and lifelong friends of a different species. I am left to wonder why some humans can’t take a leaf out of the animals’ books and do likewise. How many of us have a special friend, be it male or female, who knows us almost as well as we know ourselves and know just what we would be likely to do in a given situation. I have been blessed in my life to have had close friends who have stuck by me through the highs and lows.

I had a very interesting conversation with my hairdresser the other day. We were discussing the way of the world and how too many  people seem to spend their lives being jealous, envious or just downright nasty about others who appear to have more than them or are getting on a tad better than they are. So many people seem to despise someone who is ‘getting on in the world’. The tall poppy syndrome seems to abound. Certain people are lauded when they are striving to become better at what they do, but once they achieve stardom, success or show they have excelled in a particular skill, are then subject to criticism. And why are so many obsessed by another’s shape, looks or bank balance? I’m appalled at the number of young people who are having Botox, plastic surgery or similar to alter their shape or looks. Spend more time just being a better person for goodness sake and not a better looking one. Go out and become a volunteer and see how much satisfaction can be gained by helping someone less fortunate, and spend less time worrying about trifling matters such as the size of your breasts or backside.

Take movie stars, and the load of rubbish some have to take on social media or in the glossies. I rarely buy magazines to be honest, and the only chance I get to open one and actually see what is inside their pages is at the hairdresser (again) or in the doctor’s waiting room. How many times I have read that a star is expecting a baby as she so obviously has a ‘bump’, only to learn it was an over-zealous reporter jumping to conclusions. A star is said to be ‘furious’ with her husband or boyfriend because he has been flirting with another woman. How on earth does the writer of this article know this star is so angry? Has the writer ESP so knows what goes on in the other’s mind. Or, was it a close friend of the star perhaps informing them of her fury? Some friend, to disclose her friends’ personal details to a newshound!

Back to my original paragraph about animals and their devotion to each other. I recently read this story about two chimpanzees who spent a combined 58 years in isolation. Jeannie was in a research lab and Terry a zoo, before they were rescued and taken to a sanctuary, where they are now inseparable. They rarely let each other out of sight and spend as much time touching as possible, as if in reassurance that their days of isolation are behind them. It is clear they relish their friendship and freedom. What a wonderful thing to know they have discovered the pleasure to be gained by holding hands with a true friend.

Buy When Fate Decides (Challenge the Heart Book 1)

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See what animal pics I have on Pinterest

All in a Day's Work Or How to Make Good Use of a Distraction by Tia Dani

Since there are two of us, wouldn't you think we could finish a book in record time? Sure, we both have busy lives. We have husbands, kids, grandkids, housework, other careers and hobbies (well, Tia has hobbies, Dani just plays) but that's another blog for a later time. Like we said, we are both fully committed to our writing.  So what happens that we can't seem, to finish a project?

Life happens. Not always in a mundane way.

Take the other day for example. Our plan was to meet up at Tia's house and not leave until we had completed the next phase of editing our work in progress. Which, by the way, it is going to be an awesome blend of the present and past, with elements of paranormal, regression, and plenty of romance. But when Dani pulled into Tia's driveway she was met with a frantic Tia waving her arms. She needed help with an unexpected emergency.

The emergency was a baby bird that had fallen from its palm tree nest near the front of Tia's house. Tia was certain it was an owl and we needed to find a rescue place quick. Someone needed to come get the bird before it died. She had already called two places who both told her they don't take in raptor species. Raptors?!? Aren't they supposed to be those honking, huge birds during the dinosaur age?

We made several more calls to animal shelters and finally were directed to a place that would take in raptors. Only problem, they didn't pick up. We had to deliver.

Twenty minutes later we had packed the back seat of Dani's car with the make shift cage, which was really a crate with a lid over the top to hold the tiny ball of white feathers. Off we went with the directions programed into the GPS system. It took us almost 45 minutes on the freeway to the exit we needed to take us north to Cave Creek and the bird hospital.

At this point, we should let you know Dani is not really fond of birds. Not that she doesn't like them, it's just she's sorta afraid of them.

When she called her husband to let him know where she was headed he said, "You are what?"

"Rescuing a bird."

"That's what I thought you said. You have a bird in your car?"

"Yes. We are saving his life."

"Ooookay. Good luck"

Meanwhile Tia is yelping and leaning over the seat, trying to keep the tiny owl from squeezing through the holes in the grate and jumping out of the box. Miniature fuzzy feathers are flying everywhere. With all the commotion we missed the turn off and had to do a U-turn and go back to where the GPS was insisting we should go in the first place. It was a winding dirt road with large pot holes. We bounced along making the odd turns, when told by the voice that seemed quite sure of where we were going. Us not so much.

In the distance we saw a sign and perched on top was a metal hawk with the large wings spread wide. WILD AT HEART. Yep, we had reached our destination. 

Relieved we pulled in and parked. Not only had we arrived safe and sound, our little owl was still alive. Tia retrieved her precious cargo from the back seat. Dani stayed a safe distance away.

Off we went to find a doctor.

We were greeted immediately and our little guy was taken to be examined.

After a thorough examination we were assured he would be fine. He was wrapped in a warm blanket and placed into an incubator where he would be watched for several days. Then they broke the news to Tia that her baby was not an owl but actually a falcon.

"What!" Tia exclaimed. "It must be an owl. He's so small and his feathers are white. And just look at his cute little face. He must be an owl?"

The examining veterinarian assured Tia her bird was definitely a falcon.

While we were in the critical-care room, a landscaper from the near-by golf course brought in a severely injured hawk.
We were allowed to stay and watch as they examined him, feed him an antibiotic stuffed into a dead baby mouse. (Here's where Tia nearly lost it…Abandoned baby bird fine. Poor dead baby mouse…ugh.)

Who knew?

Once our sweet raptor was snuggled in and sleeping, we were invited to look around at all the wild raptor birds they had in their outside sanctuary. We could stay as long as we wanted. Tia immediately took advantage of their generous offer and pulled along the reluctant Dani outside to see the many different kind of birds.

It was a wonderful day of adventure. Needless to say we didn't get any writing done that day, but we did help save a life.

Which is okay because there's always tomorrow.

And who knows, our little adventure might just end up in a book someday.

Wild At Heart is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Arizona's native birds of prey. http://wildatheartraptors.org/

To find out more about the writing team Tia Dani and our books visit us at: 

http://bookswelove.com/authors/tia-dani/
https://tiadaniauthor.wordpress.com/

Time's Enduring Love, our historical time-travel is a Books We Love Best Seller.
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