HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I quick note to say HAPPY NEW YEAR to all my friends and relatives around the world.

Love y'all,

Nancy

A Southern Christmas

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

While visiting my folks in Florida this month, I snapped this photo of Holiday decorations, Florida style. This home is on Country Club Drive at the Spruce Creek Fly-in, a gated community with its own airport, in Port Orange.

Click on the photo for a closeup of all those BALLS....
Ho, Ho, Ho!
Nancy

Family Diaries & a 1925 Meteor Sighting

Rediscovering old, musty journals of long-dead family members was a treat. You never know what you will find!
Nancy

Dec. 8, 1885

Cold & pleasant. H* gone to Hardwick. Wm** don’t know where to go, but goes to the Bend this afternoon pleasant & cold. I iron, cut R*** a shirt, sew some. H comes home.
*H might be her son Harvey by Joseph Bean **Wm is her 2^nd husband William Folsom. ***R might be her son Russel.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 58)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died fighting in the Civil War

Dec. 8, 1925 South Fairlee, VT
32˚ a. Cloudy, some sun at noon, spit snow p.m.  F.* & R. go to woods with both horses. I wash, mop, and help H. with barn chores, saw. Write to Willard J. Fisher, Harvard College Observatory about meteor.** Write to John C. Badger about our branch of family.
*F is her husband Frank (actually Benjamin Franklin Badger) R is her son Ralph.  **newspaper clipping attached earlier where she wrote to paper about seeing the meteor on Nov. 5

Eva Bean Badger (age 62)

Dec. 8, 1932 Pittsfield, NH

Doctor calls to see Paul. Says he is overtired.
*Paul is my late father-in-law
Lester Bean Badger 

Dec. 8, 1971 Peterboro, NH

Tommey ‘17* 24˚. Sunny. Change my bed & wash. Vac & dust mop all around. L** writes, does dishes & dusts. Cloudy in p.m. After naps L writes & I fold & put away clothes. Address some more cards.
*This is Dorothea Sawyer Badger, their daughter-in-law & it is her birthday. (my late mother-in-law) Her nickname is Tommey Sawyer. **L is his wheelchair-bound wife, Lillian Robinson, my husband’s grandmother.
Lester Bean Badger

TIME MARCHES ON

The dairies and cash expenditure booklets came to us through my husband's family, and when our son visited the other day, he and I started sorting them. The astonished look on his face as he read the writer's name and the date, made me realize we'd found treasure!

I want to share these snippets of daily life, mostly in northern New England, and far from the 'easy life' we live today. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Nancy

Spinning yarn

Nov. 30, 1887

I go to see G, have a minute to spin 2 skeins. Beautiful day, would like to go.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 60)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

Nov. 30, 1923 South Fairlee, VT

Began raining middle of night and poured all day. R. & H. got breakfast & all churn 33# butter. I help & clean up things. Lester*, Lillian, & Paul drive up from Windsor in the rain, get here at noon. Awfully glad to see them. I mend & c. an keep H’s room. Nice letter from Jessie.
*Lester is her son, Lillian is Lester’s wife, & Paul is my late father-in-law
Eva Bean Badger (age 60)

Nov. 30, 1937 West Fairlee, VT

24˚a. Pleasant. R.* goes out with rifle in a.m. I sweep & dust mop. Jessie, May & daughter Rachel drive in just before 11, find me ironing curtains. They help me get them up. They bring tripe, angle (sic) cake, pt. oysters & crackers. Also grapes, go with venison, potatoes & pie & bread so we have plenty to eat. Have nice visit. Company leaves about 3:30. So glad to see our dear friends.
*R is her son Ralph.
Eva Bean Badger (age 74)

Nov. 30, 1971 Peterboro, NH

We get meals & that is about all. Get nice letter from Paul. 40˚ max. (note on this date printed in diary says “Have you ordered your diary for 1972?’ Have it.
*Paul is my late father-in-law.
Lester Bean Badger (age 78)

LIFE BACK WHEN...NEW ENGLAND STYLE

The dairies and cash expenditure booklets came to us through my husband's family, and when our son visited the other day, he and I started sorting them. The astonished look on his face as he read the writer's name and the date, made me realize we'd found treasure!

I want to share these snippets of daily life, mostly in northern New England, and far from the 'easy life' we live today. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Nancy

Nov. 27 1874, West Wheelock, VT

Warmer. Wm & Harvey gone to Greensboro. Alin Ingalls & boy called here. Looks like rain.
*Wm is her 2^nd husband, William. Harvey is her son by Joseph Bean.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 47)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

West Wheelock, Vermont

Nov. 27, 1888
Aggie washing. I knit some, cut Wm pants and go work in chamber, colder.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom (age 61)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

Nov. 27, 1914 South Fairlee, VT
Warm. Pleasant. Dad and I drive to Ordway place in a.m. deer hunting but see nothing but one doe. Get home at noon. I develop pictures in p.m. and we lead heifer to Turner’s. Dad & mother drive with me to station at 7:35, Arrive here at 8:45 p.m.
Lester Bean Badger (age 21)

Nov. 27, 1925 South Fairlee, VT
28˚a. Begins to snow before 7 a.m. and keeps it up all day. High wind. F. & R. get ready for woods but storm prevents so they go with cutter & F. gets chains & bolts at Wilson’s. R. goes for feed. Bertha came with him and sweep his room and mend. Take things easy. Finish letter to Mrs. Nobb that I began last Tuesday. Card from Lillian.
*F is her husband Frank (actually Benjamin Franklin Badger) R is her son Ralph, Lillian Robinson is son Lester’s wife.
Eva Bean Badger (age 62)

A TREASURE TROVE OF FAMILY HISTORY

The dairies and cash expenditure booklets came to us through my husband's family, and when our son visited the other day, he and I started sorting them. The astonished look on his face as he read the writer's name and the date, made me realize we'd found treasure!
This is one reason why I am sharing these snippets of daily life, mostly in northern New England, and far from the 'easy life' we live today.

Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Nancy

West Wheelock, looking toward Greensboro, Vermont

Nov 22 1874 West Wheelock, VT
Pleasant, 10 degs above zero. Don’t go to meeting. Russel gone to meeting. Very nice evening.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom  (age 47)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

Nov 22 1937 West Fairlee, VT

22˚  Ground a bit white with snow. Spits snow some during day. Fluvia about, sick with cold. No callers. F & I read and think.
Eva Bean Badger  (age 74)

Nov 22 1969 Peterborough, NH

17˚  Clear & cold NW wind. We shop some. L gets dress from Ward’s.
Lester Bean Badger  (age 76)

Nov 22 1972 Peterborough, NH

13˚  sunny. 10: Haircut. I shop a bit. L doesn’t get out of car. Goes to bed when we have had a bit to eat. She feels some better in eve & eats good supper. Listen to Celtics * in eve.
*Boston Celitcs Basketball team
Lester Bean Badger  (age 79)

ON OPENING A FAMILY TIME CAPSULE

While cleaning out a small room next to the kitchen, searching for my turkey roaster pan, I stumbled across a storage bin filled with musty journals. Packed away through two house moves, I knew they were there. Unfortunately, I never seemed to find the time to really look at them.

The dairies and cash expenditure booklets came to us through my husband's family, and when our son visited the other day, he and I started sorting them. The astonished look on his face as he read the writer's name and the date, made me realize we'd found treasure!

I want to share these snippets of daily life, mostly in northern New England, and far from the 'easy life' we live today. Enjoy! Comments welcome.

Nancy

Nov 21 1872 Wheelock, VT

Pleasant and not very cold. Going down to Freemans to see Esther is quite slim with a cold. Dutton came to hire a teacher. Eva gone home with Julia Knit most a mitten
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom  (age 45)
*she remarried after Joseph Abner Bean died in the Civil War

Nov 21 1879 Wheelock, VT
Cold wind blows, hard snow flies all over. Sick. Harvey gone up to Mr. Nutts. Me cut and salt the pork.
Lodema Kingsbury Bean Folsom  (age 52)

Nov 21 1900 Danville, VT
Cloudy, warm. R. harlowe (sic) in a.m.  I clean shed-room. F + boys chop. 3 p.m. rain + severe wind, some thunder.
Ralph Badger  (age 11)

Nov 21 1909 Danville, VT 
Cloudy and warm Snow all gone. F & L putter around barn all a.m. I write to Eliza.  
Eva Lodema Badger (age 46)

Nov 21 1932 Pittsfield, NH

Cloudy + cold. Chichester in a.m. Pittsfield in p.m. P teacher meeting at 4 to plan PTA mtg. Work until 2:35 a.m. +24˚
Lester Bean Badger (age 39)
* my husband's grandfather, who I met in 1973

HUG A VETERAN

November 11th is Veteran's Day here in America. This year it lands on 11*11*11. The signifigance is not lost on many. The celebration is always held on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month. This year will be the first time all the numbers line up.

Speaking of lining up, I plan to watch my son march in our local parade with his fellow reservists. I cannot help being proud, and came across this quote. Unless you are in the military, or are part of a military family, or the mother of a soldier (like me), these words might not mean much. I hope you read them, feel them, and thank a soldier.

My son Eric is on the far right!

Theirs is not to make reply. Theirs is not to reason why, Theirs is but to do and die. -Alfred, Lord Tennyson

ANNUAL MAMMOGRAMS. DO IT!

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (NBCAM). Since the program began in 1985, mammography rates have more than doubled for women age 50 and older and breast cancer deaths have declined. This is great news! And the relief of knowing you are okay is sweet and worth the few minutes of discomfort!

I had my annual mammogram last Thursday. Since I left last year with an appointment card in my hand, I knew this day was coming for 12 months. No, it is not my favorite exam, but I believe the peace-of-mind is worth the time it takes to drive to the clinic, and have the test. I have had mammograms for over 20 years because I have lost too many friends as well as a beloved aunt to breast cancer.

I have many more books to write. Having the test on Thursday, and recieving the letter stating I am cancer-free on Saturday made my weekend. Knowing I am healthy is one more stress removed. October is Breast Cancer awareness month, so get your mammogram today!

 

Nancy

 

WHAT TO DO BEFORE A FIRE

October is National Fire Prevention Month so I thought I would share this important information with my readers, courtesy of FEMA at http://www.fema.gov/hazard/fire/fire_before.shtm

The following are things you can do to protect yourself, your family, and your property in the event of a fire:

Smoke Alarms

• Install smoke alarms. Properly working smoke alarms decrease your chances of dying in a fire by half.
• Place smoke alarms on every level of your residence. Place them outside bedrooms on the ceiling or high on the wall (4 to 12 inches from ceiling), at the top of open stairways, or at the bottom of enclosed stairs and near (but not in) the kitchen.
• Test and clean smoke alarms once a month and replace batteries at least once a year. Replace smoke alarms once every 10 years.

Escaping the Fire

• Review escape routes with your family. Practice escaping from each room.
• Make sure windows are not nailed or painted shut. Make sure security gratings on windows have a fire safety opening feature so they can be easily opened from the inside.
• Consider escape ladders if your residence has more than one level, and ensure that burglar bars and other antitheft mechanisms that block outside window entry are easily opened from the inside.
• Teach family members to stay low to the floor (where the air is safer in a fire) when escaping from a fire.
• Clean out storage areas. Do not let trash, such as old newspapers and magazines, accumulate.

Flammable Items

• Never use gasoline, benzine, naptha, or similar flammable liquids indoors.
• Store flammable liquids in approved containers in well-ventilated storage areas.
• Never smoke near flammable liquids.
• Discard all rags or materials that have been soaked in flammable liquids after you have used them. Safely discard them outdoors in a metal container.
• Insulate chimneys and place spark arresters on top. The chimney should be at least three feet higher than the roof. Remove branches hanging above and around the chimney.

Heating Sources

• Be careful when using alternative heating sources.
• Check with your local fire department on the legality of using kerosene heaters in your community. Be sure to fill kerosene heaters outside, and be sure they have cooled.
• Place heaters at least three feet away from flammable materials. Make sure the floor and nearby walls are properly insulated.
• Use only the type of fuel designated for your unit and follow manufacturer’s instructions.
• Store ashes in a metal container outside and away from your residence.
• Keep open flames away from walls, furniture, drapery, and flammable items.
• Keep a screen in front of the fireplace.
• Have heating units inspected and cleaned annually by a certified specialist.

Matches and Smoking

• Keep matches and lighters up high, away from children, and, if possible, in a locked cabinet.
• Never smoke in bed or when drowsy or medicated. Provide smokers with deep, sturdy ashtrays. Douse cigarette and cigar butts with water before disposal.

Electrical Wiring

• Have the electrical wiring in your residence checked by an electrician.
• Inspect extension cords for frayed or exposed wires or loose plugs.
• Make sure outlets have cover plates and no exposed wiring.
• Make sure wiring does not run under rugs, over nails, or across high-traffic areas.
• Do not overload extension cords or outlets. If you need to plug in two or three appliances, get a UL-approved unit with built-in circuit breakers to prevent sparks and short circuits.
• Make sure insulation does not touch bare electrical wiring.

Other

• Sleep with your door closed.
• Install A-B-C-type fire extinguishers in your residence and teach family members how to use them.
• Consider installing an automatic fire sprinkler system in your residence.
• Ask your local fire department to inspect your residence for fire safety and prevention

Also, in case of a fire, don’t be a hero…call 9-1-1 and wait for the people better trained to deal with the dangers of smoke and fire. Be safe!

Nancy, former EMT, Firefighter, and 9-1-1 Dispatcher,
now author of
LOVE TO THE RESCUE
Available from Red Rose Publishing
and Amazon

 

1st Two Pages of LOVE TO THE RESCUE

        

“Miller! Grab the pike and check those walls,” Josie’s partner yelled. Pete Thayer’s order, muffled by his facemask, rumbled low and gruff. She cringed. Couldn’t he see she’d already grabbed the hooked pole? Irritated, she cursed beneath her helmet. I know what to do.

Training for firefighters in this neck of the woods was thorough. She’d fought many a chimney fire before he showed his handsome face in her town. She ignored him, but stopped to give their record keeper her name and tag number before she headed for the stairs. With all this smoke, he probably didn’t see the pike in her gloved hand. Should I give him the benefit of the doubt? 

Josie trudged up the stairs, her heavy fire boots thudding on the bare treads. The house was mostly wood, inside and out, a tinderbox ready to ignite if they couldn’t snuff out the fire inside the chimney in time. Her helmet weighed a ton and her arms felt cocooned in a bearskin. Her turnout coat and pants held in her body heat and made her climb seem twice as toasty. Gloved fingers slid along the rail as the stairway turned toward the third floor. The hundred–year–old–home’s central chimney meant every wall touching it needed venting to check for spreading cinders. Other firefighters climbed ladders to the roof to fight a frontal assault.

The owner acknowledged the old chimney lacked a ceramic lining. Ancient bricks settle or deteriorate over the decades, leaving air spaces where thick, flammable creosote lodged until just the right moment. The sticky tree sap congealed over time until it finally ignited. Who knows how much of the internal chimney—and adjacent walls—could be next?

Josie stumbled on the last step. She grabbed the banister before falling to her knees. She’d rather Pete Thayer didn’t witness her awkwardness. He’d stick her in the basement next time. Hunched over in a low–ceilinged dirt floor cellar while shoveling hot cinders from a flaming chimney’s clean–out made her terribly claustrophobic.

She reached her assigned area and located the wall on the north side. Smoke seeped into the halls from somewhere. The haze was barely penetrable. The owner stated the house had no fireplaces on this level, so she searched for another heat source near the open hallway. Thick gray smoke hovered near the ceiling. Clenching her fingers, she forced them straight then removed one glove. She swept her fingers along brittle wallpaper and handcrafted wooden door casements. No extreme heat here.

Slipping the glove back on, she entered the first room on her list. The small bedroom contained a single bed, stripped of its coverings. A mesmerizing swirl of smoke drifted in from somewhere. She looked at the windows then back at the bed. Through the smoky vapors, its striped cotton–tick surface rippled and heaved as if someone gently shook its frame. Gripping the top of her helmet, she arched her back and looked up.

"Damn." 

Hope you enjoyed this 'tease'

from my latest romantic suspense

LOVE TO THE RESCUE

available NOW from

      Red Rose Publishing

                     Nancy 

.

CONTEST! Win a Hiking Bottle Holder!

As an author, I want to reward my readers so I came up with this easy contest. The winner will receive this Green & Black Bottle Holder with strap. It is the perfect companion for a hike up a mountain while fall leaves are bursting with color. Yes, autumn is here. The air is growing crisp and the trees are changing color. Even if you live in a desert or the plains, or even on a beach, this hiking buddy will keep your beverage cold.

To win, follow these simple steps:

Available NOW

My EMT Patch, well-earned!

Click on the Red Rose Publishing Website and find the answer to this question, hidden in the Book Blurb:

When outside influences come to play, what does Pete plan to do?

That’s it! No purchase necessary, open to residents of USA & Canada (because I have to ship the darn thing) and the bottle is NOT included. Buy your own because you'll probably think of something BETTER than water.

Type your answer in the comment box.

The contest ends Sunday September 25^th. Good luck!

Nancy

DRAGON IN THE MIST Release Day!

I keep busy, and have been fortunate to have released TWO NEW BOOKS this month! DRAGON IN THE MIST is a Loch Ness fantasy romance. It is available on Amazon and will be available at Barnes & Noble's e-book site soon.

BOOK BLURB

Life without love is not worth living.

Nessía of the Loch has lived beneath the murky water of Loch Ness since ancient times. The pain of loneliness manifests in anger so strong, the entire valley shakes with earthquakes. In 1816, a Faerie queen pleads for her to cease the tremors and rewards Nessía with a human form. To stay human, she must find love. When the man she believes she loves casts her aside, Nessía responds to the betrayal by cursing the men of the MacDonald clan with the inability to keep a woman’s love. Only an act of true selflessness will break the curse.

After centuries pass, Nessía again searches for love. When Rory Hawthorn, an American scientist, arrives under the pretext of researching the earthquakes but in reality to research his MacDonald heritage and the curse, she believes she has found the perfect mate.

Amid stolen kisses, another earthquake, a steamy night of passion, and a broken heart, Nessía returns to the murky depths of the loch. When Rory dives in to follow her, he meets the green, scaly Loch Ness Monster. Assuming Nessía is in danger, he is intent on killing the monster and saving the woman he loves.

Amazon buy link: http://amzn.to/nNpfNV

Nancy

CONTEST! Win a prize!

In celebration of the recent release of my latest romantic suspense, LOVE TO THE RESCUE, I am offering a small but very useful prize to one commenter. All you have to do is:

CLICK HERE to go to the Red Rose Publishing buy page.

Read the excerpt and find any THREE WORDS that catch your eye.

Return to this blog and type those THREE WORDS in the comment box.

That's all! No purchase necessary, though I would hope you would consider buying a copy of my e-book.

The prize is a SanDisk 4 GB Cruzer Blade USB Flash Drive that any author or reader will find many uses for. I will choose ONE winner from all comments left between now and September 5^th, LABOR DAY. Open to those with mailing addresses within the United States or Canada.  I will notify the winner via e-mail for a mailing address.

Nancy

LOVE TO THE RESCUE: release day & a great book review

LOVE TO THE RESCUE, the continuing mountain saga that I started with last fall's DESTINY'S MOUNTAIN, is now out!

BOOK BLURB

The clashing relationship between tomboy Josie Miller and fellow paramedic-firefighter, Pete Miller, escalates after he realizes Joe is not just one-of-the-boys. Pete has a sketchy history and has earned a reputation for one-night stands in the small town of Parmenter, New Hampshire nestled between the Mercy River, the mountains, and the small college. Since he arrived a year ago, Josie suspects he is hiding something. Something too horrible to share, even with her. Working side by side, Joe loves her job, and Pete.

They respond to accident calls, medical emergencies, and fast-moving forest fires amid sparks of another kind. Joe’s clumsiness and baggy uniform work against her when she yearns to be the kind of woman Pete wants like the pretty blonde they must rescue after her car hits a moose.

Outside influences come to play when the sister of Pete’s alleged victim shows up and accuses him of something even worse…her sister’s recent death. Once on track to be a doctor, the sister’s betrayal and lies caused Pete to run far away and keep women at a distance unless they agreed to share his bed…and nothing more.

Pete plans to skip town while Josie worries she has given her heart to a monster. A suicide note, some well-landed fists, stolen moments of love, and a desire to listen to their hearts lead these two heroes toward a climax filled with tension, pain, bloodshed, and atonement.

BOOK REVIEW

Now out from Babs Book Bistro. Check it out!

LOVE TO THE RESCUE is now available for download from Red Rose Publishing.

LET RESEARCH BE A WALK IN THE PARK!

Temperatures in our area in central North Carolina have hovered around 100 degrees for more than a week. Makes writing inside in air conditioned comfort the thing to do, but when the cool breezes returns, I’ll be talking a walk. I think when I walk. I think when I dream. I think when I am sitting in the doctor’s office. Sometimes, though, I need help.
Where does a writer come up with their story? Some claim images appear in their heads or they find an interesting subject, one they want to share with the world. A plot concept needs to fill enough pages to have a sellable piece of work.

This is where research comes in. Dreadful as that sounds, you can turn it around by listening to your characters. Say, what? Just listen! Your characters can help. What is their background? Their values? Their imperfections? How can you layer a story with emotion, action, conflict and more if you haven’t answered these questions?

For instance: in my contemporary romance, SECRET LOVE MATCH, I wanted my heroine to be good at something. Tennis came to mind. Why tennis? I remembered the tennis lessons my parents provided in my youth. I swung a tennis racket in high school and college, too.

It was the simple fact that I liked tennis that led me to research the rules of the game and the summer Olympics. How did my heroine feel when she raised her racket to play against the handsome hero who just introduced himself and asked her to play? I could relate.

My hero takes her to a museum on their ‘first date’. He remembered when he was younger he visited the Hayden Planetarium, part of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. I remember frequent class trips to various New York museums and the Hayden Planetarium was a favorite. Research on the internet let me find photos, descriptions, history, and even its street location so I could knowledgably pepper my story with fact.

A walk in the park? Not always. In my latest romantic suspense novels, DESTINY’S MOUNTAIN and LOVE TO THE RESCUE, my heroes and heroines either meet on a mountain trail or in a fire department in the middle of rural New Hampshire. I was born and raised in New York, but graduated from a New Hampshire college in a little town nestled between a beautiful river and glorious mountains. I married and raised a family.

I’ve hiked those mountains, swam in the rivers, and fished. I used these memories to give my books desirable backgrounds for my characters. I also used my knowledge as a former EMT and firefighter to make the rescue scenes realistic. If I didn’t have first-hand knowledge of small town emergency departments and ambulance capabilities, I would have researched these via the internet, my local library, or by brainstorming with friends still living in the area.

Still think writing a story about what is in your heart is tough? Of course it is, but not impossible. I’ve wanted to visit Scotland ever since meeting the man I eventually married. We now volunteer at a large annual Scottish Highland Games held in New England and have used my experience to plot a time travel story set partly at the games. Someday, we will head over to Scotland.

I learned gathering research can be a long, yet enjoyable process. I had no idea I’d be an author one day. Luckily, my brain filed away the beauty of the mountains, the quaint historic village at the games, the sound of bagpipes, and the smell of haggis and shortbread. I used these memories to enhance my story. When my Scottish paranormal was released, I had set DRAGON’S CURSE on an island I discovered while doing research. I’d love to visit an island like Staffa or Skye. Then I’ll absorb enough atmosphere to create dozens of other stories.

What I am trying to say is that research can be fun. Take a walk. Visit a museum. Remember a moment in your life where you experienced something new, wonderful, sad, or life changing. The best stories start in your heart, not in your head. Be it your heart, your mind, or the park…take a walk!

Portions of this article by me were posted Sept. 8, 2010 on the Savvy Authors Blog.
Nancy

Tornado Gone, Destruction remains

Last Friday, my sister and I traveled a little south of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina to the Farmer's Market. The sun was high, and the stalls were full of vegetables, fruit, plants, and baked goods.

I swiftly bypassed the German bakery goods (with reluctance) and finally choose corn, peaches, squash, onions, and a sweet potatoes. I had promised myself (and my doctor) to eat healthy. With all the bounty available, there is NO EXCUSE not to eat right.

When we left, I asked my sister to stop so I could take a photo of a building barely across the field and street from the Farmer's Market. Less than 1/4 mile away, the building was shuttered. It took me a second to realize this was one of the victims of the recent April tornadoes.

The irony of this aluminum company peeled open like a sardine can faded when I realized this property had been a thriving business; owned by someone, an employer of many, many people.

My sister and I talked about how lucky we were not to have such damage to our homes and places of employment. On the way home I took a photo of the Raleigh skyline. Things go on.

We have entered hurricane season so we will check our supply of flashlights, batteries, bottled water and get ready. Raleigh is far inland but can feel the effects. Always be prepared.

Here's a link to a list of items you should keep on hand in an emergency, curtesy of the American Red Cross.

Virginia Kantra-RWA RITA Winner!

Congratulations to a lovely, talented woman who is a long-time member of Romance Writers of America and the local chapter, Heart of Carolina Romance writers. I met her at my first meeting when I moved to the south from New Hampshire. The meeting was in December, so it was a party atmosphere held at the home of another member, NY Times Best Selling Author, Liz Carlyle. To say I had stars in my eyes is an understatement! I was a new, unpublished writer who knew NO ONE. Who sat down beside me on the over-sized ottoman? Virginia!

I listened as she gushed over her new Children of the Sea series. When I heard the books were set in Maine, I perked up. Been there!

Last Saturday, Virginia returned from NYC, and the annual RWA conference, with a new friend in tow...her RITA award! Virginia has been nominated a fantastic NINE times. We are so very proud of her for earning one of the highest awards given to a published member of Romance Writers of America. Congratulations!



If you would like to know more about Virginia and her books, here is her information taken (borrowed!) from her website:

USA Today bestselling author Virginia Kantra credits her love for strong heroes and courageous heroines to a childhood spent devouring fairy tales.

The author of more than twenty books, Virginia is an eight-time finalist in Romance Writers of America's RITA awards and the winner of numerous industry honors, including two National Readers' Choice Awards. After writing her popular "MacNeill Brothers" and "Trouble in Eden" category series, Virginia turned her hand to single title romance. Her new series, Children of the Sea, continues with Immortal Sea in bookstores now!

Married to her college sweetheart and the mother of three kids, Virginia is a firm believer in the strength of family, the importance of storytelling, and the power of love.

Her favorite thing to make for dinner? Reservations!

Again, congratulations to Virginia and to our other Golden Heart award nominees. Heart of Carolina Romance Writers is one talented pool of men and women who meet monthly in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Nancy