Celia Yeary Says Love is Blind

Love is Blind, According to Celia Yeary

In truth, we do tend to overlook the flaws of those we love...or fall in love with. For some individuals in the world, though, it's in a literal sense. An example was my daddy's oldest brother named Reeves, but we called him Uncle Reeves, but most often Uncle Brother.

Uncle Brother was blind. A wire poked into one eye just before he turned twenty, and in the early decades of the Twentieth Century, little could be done about such a thing. Blinded in that eye, an infection soon spread to the other, making him totally blind. He was doomed to live on the family farm with his parents, my Granny and Papa. You would be amazed to learn what he could do as a blind man, as long as he was on his home turf on the North Texas farm.

But after a couple of decades, Uncle Brother was helped financially to go to Pennsylvania to attend a School for the Blind. There, he learned to write and read Braille, type, and use a seeing eye dog. The best part of the School was that he met a woman, blind from birth, who was there to get a new seeing eye dog, as hers had died. Love bloomed between the two middle-aged people, and they lived in Pennsylvania from then on, running a newsstand, making them self-sufficient. Their dogs, Lady and Sam, were German Shepherds, and they also became good friends!

With the memories I had of my Uncle Brother, I placed a blind man in a novel I wrote titled Wish for the Moon. He is a secondary character, but he became one more way for my sweet heroine, Annie McGinnis, to broaden her horizons. I named him Old Blind Jerral because people then often referred to someone by a particular characteristic.

Jerral becomes important in Annie's life when he makes her see it's time for her to take charge of her own life, leave the family farm, and follow Max Landry to Fort Worth.  The old man helps her in another way, too, making it possible to buy a train ticket and new clothes.

What The Sweet Romance, Wish for the Moon, is About:

1901-North Texas

At the dawn of the Twentieth Century, sixteen-year-old Annie McGinnis wishes for a chance to see more of the world, since all she’s ever known is the family farm in North Texas. A mysterious visitor arrives who will change not only her life, but her family’s as well. To save Max Landry from a bogus charge, she follows him and the Texas Rangers back to the coal-mining town one county over where a murder occurred. The short journey sets Annie on a path of discovery—new horizons, an inner strength, and quite possibly…love.   

***********

AVAILABLE IN PRINT AND EBOOK FROM:

AMAZON:  

http://www.amazon.com/Wish-for-the-Moon-ebook/dp/B004Z8LX5E/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1330373000&sr=1-11

WILLOW MOON PUBLISHING: 

http://willowmoonpublishing.com/cosowiformoc.html

BIO: Celia Yeary is a seventh-generation Texan, and her life revolves around family, friends, and writing. San Marcos has been her home for thirty-five years. She has nine published romance/women's fiction novels, three short stories, two novellas, three anthologies, and published essays with the Texas Co-Op Power Magazine. The author is a former science teacher, graduate of Texas Tech University and Texas State University, mother of two, grandmother of three boys, and wife of a wonderful, supportive Texan. Celia and her husband enjoy traveling, and both are involved in their church, the community, and the university.

She meets with The Write Girls on Tuesdays at a local coffee house.

Celia Yeary-Romance...and a little bit 'o Texas  
http://www.celiayeary.blogspot.com http://www.celiayeary.com

http://sweetheartsofthewest.blogspot.com/

Please Leave a Comment to Welcome Celia Yeary to Sweet Not Spicy 

Maryann Miller Says Love Is Ageless

Love is Ageless says Maryann Miller

The Story behind her Sweet Romance Contribution

At the ripe old age of 81 my father married for the third time. His bride at that time was 73. He joked about robbing the cradle.

My father was a man who needed to be married. After he and my mother divorced, he married within a year and was married to that woman for over 40 years. When she died, he was adrift and his grief was deep. My siblings and I wondered how he would fare spending the rest of his years alone, but we needn't have worried.

He had started visiting with a woman that had been a friend of the family for years. Her husband had died the year before my father lost his second wife, and Daddy was drawn to Martha. At the time she lived in Michigan and Daddy was living in Houston with my oldest sister. He kept making these excuses to go north frequently, and we soon discovered it was not just to visit our brother who lived near Detroit. Daddy kept making these side-trips to Grand Rapids, which wasn't really on the way to Detroit, but it was where Martha lived.

One day Daddy called me from Martha's home and asked me what I would think if they were to get married. I thought that was just fine. He then asked if I thought they should do it soon. Of course, what would they wait for?

Then he said he would probably just stay in Michigan with Martha until the wedding, but he made a point to tell me that he was sleeping downstairs in her guest room and she was sleeping upstairs. I had to laugh. Not only was that too much information for a daughter to know, it was a reminder that sometimes love is sweet and chaste.

My father and Martha had ten good years together before she died, and at times they were like teenagers just falling in love. There were lots of smiles and touches and giggles, and it was wonderful to see. Watching them made me realize that love like that has no age-limit.

I decided to write a story about a couple much like my father and Martha, and when I had an opportunity to contribute to an anthology of sweet romances, I submitted my story, New Love. It was accepted and the anthology, One Touch, One Glance:A Sweet Romance Anthology has other stories of sweet romance that appeal to readers who like the love-making to be behind closed doors.

Blurb:

Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned romance? Remember reading about a man's clothed physique, or how a fellow admired a woman in a pretty red dress? How about stories where couples fall in love with just one glance or that first gentle touch? Then open this anthology and enjoy 18 beautiful stories of love lost, love found, intrigue, heartache healed, the miracles of life, passionate admissions, and tearjerkers that make one sigh with longing. From best friends who find romance to time travel to a bit of Christmas magic, step into the realm of hearts on fire and love everlasting.

Buy Link for the paperback - http://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-Glance-Romance-Anthology/dp/1936222744/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1329241606&sr=1-1

Buy Link for the e-book for Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/One-Touch-Glance-Collection-ebook/dp/B003TU20QK/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1329240719&sr=1-1

     In addition to contributing to the sweet romance anthology, Maryann Miller is a best-selling author of numerous books.  Her woman's novel,  Play It Again, Sam, is not a sweet romance and it is available as an e-book and paperback. The latest release, Open Season, is the first book in a new mystery series that features two women homicide detectives in Dallas. The second book in the series, Stalking Season, is under contract and will publish in November 2012. Miller has a suspense novel, One Small Victory, a young adult novel, Friends Forever, and a short story collection, The Wisdom of Ages, is also available as   e-books and paperbacks.

Website:  http://www.maryannwrites.com/

Blog:  http://its-not-all-gravy.blogspot.com/

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maryann-Miller/295149340518119

Twitter:  @maryannwrites

Morgan Mandel's Inspiration for Girl of My Dreams

Designation: Sweet Romance

Some of you have probably heard this before, but for those who haven't, I wrote my humorous contemporary romance, Girl of My Dreams, as a relief after finishing my first book, an intensely dark mystery, Two Wrongs, which explored the grievous consequences of wrongful imprisonment on an accuser and the one he accused.

As I searched for a light concept for my new book, old memories came to mind. I remembered how since early childhood, when I'd go with my Dad and brothers to pick out a stack books from the library, I'd always hunt for Cinderella and add it to my pile. Though I'd read it countless times, the story still held its appeal.

In Girl of My Dreams, I created my own Cinderella story with a hero who didn't immediately recognize the heroine's potential beauty until a transformation occurs, changing her from plain to super-beauty. I enjoyed glamorizing the straitlaced temp assistant who felt it her duty to save the day when one last contestant is needed for a reality show. Like a modern day Cincerella, my heroine's hidden qualities come to light, not only wowing the hero, but also everyone else, just like in the book I always picked out at the library.

Of course, there's much more to the plot, including a disgrountled, jealous contestant, the hero's coming to grips with his love/hate relationship with his parents, and lots of fun happenings as the contestants travel to exotic locales across the globe in the quest to win the main prize of the billionaire. Will my heroine win him?  Is he the Man of Her Dreams?

If you want to know what happens, Girl of My Dreams is available on Kindle and all other electronic venues for 99 cents.

Morgan Mandel loves writing romances, thrillers and mysteries and also likes combining the genres.

She's a past president of Chicago-North RWA, and past library liaison for Midwest MWA, belongs to Sisters in Crime and EPIC.

Excerpts and buy links to all four of her books can be found at
http://morgansbooklinks.blogspot.com/
Her main blog is: http://morganmandel.blogspot.com/
You can also connect with Morgan on Facebook and Twitter.

Rosemary Morris About What It's Like to be a Historical Novelist

About Our Guest:
Rosemary Morris was born in 1940 in Sidcup Kent.  As a child, when she was not making up stories, her head was ‘always in a book.’

While working in a travel agency, Rosemary met her Indian husband.  He encouraged her to continue her education at Westminster College.  In 1961 Rosemary and her husband, now a barrister, moved to his birthplace, Kenya, where she lived from 1961 until 1982.  After and attempted coup d’etat, she and four of her children lived in an ashram in France.

Back in England, Rosemary wrote historical fiction.  She is now a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association, Historical Novel Society and Cassio Writers.

Apart from writing, Rosemary enjoys classical Indian literature, reading, visiting places of historical interest, vegetarian cooking, growing organic fruit, herbs and vegetables, and creative crafts.

Time spent with her five children, and their families, most of who live near her is precious.

And Now, For a Glimpse Into the Life of a Historical Novelist -

This and That by Rosemary Morris

When chatting to people about my life as a Historical Novelist, they are surprised by the amount of time needed to write a historical novel.  In order to do so, I spend hours researching and visiting relevant places.

My day begins at 6 a.m.  With a break for a quick breakfast and catching up with the news I work until 10 or 11 a.m.  Apart from getting on with a new novel, I might work on an article such as my recent publication ‘Samuel Pepys’ in Vintage Press, check and answer e-mails or add to my website and blog.

On most days I work from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m.  Between these hours I deal with various ‘writerly’ matters including critiques for one of the on line critique groups I belong to.  In return I receive critiques of my work which are invaluable.  I also belong to Watford Writers. which meets every Monday, and enjoy reading extracts from my work, listening to a guest speaker or participating in various activities such as flash fiction.  I also enjoy being a member of the Romantic Novelist’s Association and The Historical Novel Society.

Apart from writing I enjoy gardening organically.  I grow herbs, fruit, vegetables & ornamentals.  Even now, when there are thick frosts on the ground, I have some home grown produce in the garden – Swiss chard, New Zealand spinach, curly kale, red kale & parsnips.  I have home grown carrots and turnips stored in my cold greenhouse and a shelf of homemade jam, pickle and chutney. 

I’m tone deaf and am not a skilled artist, but I enjoy arts and crafts.  As a rule, I find a little time to knit, embroider or work on my patchwork quilt.  For Christmas I gave my two older granddaughters doll’s layettes which were rapturously received.

To keep fit – and by the way, gardening is good exercise – I visit the local sports centre where I swim a quarter of a mile before relaxing in the sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi.  On other days, I try to find time to go for a walk round the green or in the woodland behind my house, where according to season, I pick blackberries, elderberries, sloes and mushrooms.

Apart from my various activities I treasure time spent with my family, most of who live near me.  They enjoy playing card and board games, cooking and gardening with me.  Each child has his or her interests which I foster.  The reward? Hugs and kisses and comments such as: ‘You’re the best grandma in the world.’

All in all, although life does have its ups and downs, I feel blessed.

About Rosemary's Sweet Romance Novel, Tangled Love:

Richelda Shaw’s privileged life changes for the worse after James II’s daughter and son-in-law usurped his throne. When her parents die she is left penniless and alone, holding on to the oath she gave her father to reclaim their ancestral home.

Richelda entrusts her heart to the parson’s son Dudley, but he is not all that he seems. Her wealthy aunt saves her from poverty, and wishes to arrange her marriage to a dashing Viscount, whose care and attention make Richelda think and feel against her wishes.

However, as she travels a new path in London, she never forgets her oath. But hidden danger lurks and when she tries to find a legendary treasure trove she must also fight not only for her life but for true love.

Rosemary Morris

http://www.rosemarymorris.co.uk/

http://rosemarymorris.blogspot.com/

http://twitter.com/#/writerinagarret

Tangled Love available from https/museituppublishing.com/bookstore2, Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Bookstrand – Mainstream, Sony-e-reader, Kobo, Smashwords & elsewhere.

New releases from MuseItUp publishing.

Sunday’s Child June 2012 set in the Regency era.

False Pretences October 2012 set in the Regency era.

Please welcome Rosemary to Sweet Not Spicy by leaving a comment below.