Spring Has Finally Sprung! by Tracey J Lyons

It has been a record breaking rainy and cold spring here in the part of upstate New York that I live in and no amount of social media cheer seemed to help me!  I would see all the pictures my friends from the southern part of the country were posting and try not to be green with envy. Where they had daffodils and lilacs, I had puddles where the flowers should be.

There were days when I thought we were going to be in this weather pattern of dark, dreary, dampness forever. And then one day the clouds lifted and don't you know the thermometer actually went above 55 degrees Fahrenheit.

I swear on that first sunny day walking outside was like stepping out of a dark cave.

This past weekend my husband and I worked double time to get caught up on our yard work. We built a brand new raised bed vegetable garden. We planted potatoes, tomatoes, Brussel sprouts, green beans, peas, and cucumbers, then we ran out of space! Out in the front of the house, under my guidance, my husband planted over one hundred summer flower bulbs.

Our youngest son gave me a beautiful rose bush for mother's day to add to our front yard flower garden.

If I learned one thing this long, wet spring, it's that the weather patterns like our lives, can be ever changing. You have to be patient, something that's really hard for me and remember that in order to appreciate the warm, sunny days, you have endure some rain along the way.

I hope your spring is filled with an abundance of sunshine!

I'd love to hear about your spring gardens!

Tracey

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A Love For Lizzie

Print June 18, 2019
Digital July 1, 2019

The Call ...The Call by Jean C. Gordon

In a land long ago and not so far away, there was a young mother who had fairly recently discovered and fallen in love with romance novels. So, what did she do? Being a writer – tax and financial news – by profession, she wrote one, finding that fiction writing is much different than news writing. I’m sure you’ve figured out that young mother was me. My romance author dream was to sell to Silhouette Romance, Harlequin’s old sweet romance line. I sent my story, Bachelor Father off to Silhouette and quickly received a form rejection letter. But a friend in my local writers group told me about another sweet romance publisher, Avalon Books, that provided hardcover books to libraries.

Sorry for the tilt and glare.
It's affixed to the wall.

I submitted Bachelor Father to them and waited and waited and waited, meanwhile starting another sweet romance, Mandy and the Mayor. I submitted the first three chapters of that book to the New Jersey Romance Writers Put Your Heart in Book Contest and finaled in the contemporary romance category.

Off I went to the NJ Romance writers conference, my first romance writers conference, with an appointment to meet with Erin Cartwright, the very new Editorial Director at Avalon Books. I wanted to find out what was going on with Bachelor Father. I won first place in the contest. At my editor appointment, Erin was very interested in Mandy and the Mayor and disappointed that I had only the first three chapters written. Then, I told her I had another submission at Avalon Books. She said she’d look at it as soon as she got back to the office on Monday.

True to her word, Erin called me at my day job Tuesday with an offer. I’d like to say I went home with my news and my family was jumping up and down excited for me. But we’re kind of low key. Their universal reaction was, “you said you were going to sell a romance novel, so we knew you would.”

Fast forward 11 years, during which I continued to try, unsuccessfully, to sell to Silhouette Romance and did sell four more books to Avalon. I had started reading Love Inspired books and had written a proposal for the contemporary line. In an echo of The Call, I had an appointment at the NJ Romance Writers Conference with Love Inspired editor Emily Rodmell where I pitched my work in progress. Not too long afterwards, I received A Call from Melissa Endlich with an offer for my first Love Inspired Romance, Small-Town Sweetheart. While my First Call was exciting, I admit to being more excited about my Echo Call from Love Inspired.

Frustrated?

by Jean C. Gordon

According to the Calendar of Weird Holidays, today is International Moment of Frustration Day. Since we all have frustrating moments in our lives, I’m commemorating the day by sharing some ways to deal with frustration. The research I found universally recommends three core strategies.

Stay in the present

Frustration is often triggered or heightened by (1) wanting to jump to somewhere in the future and be done with the now or (2) reliving a failure in the past. What can you do to get yourself back to the present and reduce your frustration? Take stock of the things around you. Notice the sun shining through the window, the colors of the changing fall leaves, the laughter of your children playing, the smells of dinner cooking, a picture on the wall, the pattern on your bedspread, birds chirping outside, your cat chasing her tail. Taking a minute or two to ground yourself in your surroundings should get your attention back to the present.

Appreciate what you have

Once you’re back in the present, focus on what’s still positive in your life by making a list of important things you may take for granted—things like, a warm home and roof over your head, clean drinking water, food, books to read, access to the Internet, your family and friends.

Ask yourself what you can do right now

Now, that you’re calmer, you could try what you were doing one more time. Not all things in life come to you the first, second, or even third time. Or you might be able to take a small step in a different direction that will open up another way to achieve your goal. It’s also possible that you can’t do anything right now. You may have taken on too much and what you need to do is back off for a while, take the evening or a few days to relax, take care of yourself, and perhaps simplify a bit.

Turn to His Word

This one is mine. It’s what I do. I have a file on the laptop desktop with encouraging Bible versus for different situations that I can click open and read when I need encouragement. Putting this step first makes the other steps more successful. These are the versus in my file that I've found helpful for frustration.

Deuteronomy 31:6: So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Philippians 4:6: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Philippians 4:12-13: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is t have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any an every situation, whether fed or hungry. I can do everything through him who brings me strength.

What do you do when you’re frustrated?

“Mac” Macachek and Dana VanAlstyne, the hero and heroine in my October release, are in the frustrating position of seeing what they think they want most in life just out of their reach.

Physical therapist Dana VanAlstyne’s dreams of a family were lost in the dust of a motocross racecourse. Although she’s filled her life with her work and church activities, it hasn’t filled the empty space inside her. Nor has it eased the heartache of being abandoned by a man who wasn’t ready for a wife and children. Now her dream is to open her own private practice. All she needs is the capital to make that happen.

Anton, “Mac,” Macachek may be the top professional motocross racer in the country but he still has one race that matters more to him: winning a championship at Unadilla Raceway and showing the hometown folks the bad boy did amount to something. But when a horrific accident sidelines those plans, he makes a deal with the woman he once loved with all his heart. A woman who abandoned him. If Dana will get him back in racing shape, he’ll fund her new practice. Then an even more dangerous risk is revealed. If Mac races again, he could die.

Does Dana have enough faith to risk her heart again? She loved Mac once, but feared he loved motocross racing more than he loved her. If she helps him mend his broken body, will it also mend her broken heart? Or will it all be lost again in the dust and danger of a motocross racetrack?

TEAM MACACHEK: Meet the strong women and fearless men of the motocross circuit.

Buy Links: Amazon, Nook, iBooks, and Kobo

Of May and Mothers

Jean C. Gordon here. For me, May has been all about mothers. To start, I was invited to write a Mother's Day piece for the Harlequin Reader Service Simply Books Extra Home page.It's a tribute to my mother. I love the picture. Mom and Dad had it taken for their 50th wedding anniversary. http://simplybooksextra.readerservice.com/simplybooksextra/2013/05/jean-c-gordont-talks-about-puting-on-your-rose-colored-glasses-for-mothers-day/.

Next was Mother's Day itself. We had special music at church — my husband is in the choir — including "Be Still My Heart" and as our closing song, "Lord, I Lift Your Name on High," one of my favorites. All mothers received a handkerchief, pen, and quote. My quote was "Children are a great comfort in your old age — and they help you reach it faster too." by Lionel Kauffman. (Does he know our son?)

Back at home, my daughter and her family gave me just what I wanted and needed, a courier bag to carry all my stuff back and forth to work. And it's my favorite color. My husband made me mac and cheese and asparagus for dinner.

After the holiday, it was back to work on my current manuscript, which is full of mothers and babies. The heroine is a midwife and the hero an obstetrician. I have my own resident expert for the book, my daughter who's a certified nurse midwife. My deadline to get the book to my editor is June 1.

Finally, I'm looking forward to the July release of my next Love Inspired, the third in my Paradox Lake series, appropriately titled Small-Town Mom.

So, what do you have going on this May?

Celebrating Memorial Day

Let's celebrate our veterans and the men and women currently serving in the armed forces.

We have our flag out. But my family and I (Jean C. Gordon) aren't up to much else. While I'm having lunch with a writer friend, my husband is going to drop in at our son's for a swim in the pool at his condo complex. Then, maybe our son-in-law (the free-range-pig farmer) might have some pulled pork for us for sandwiches for supper.

Nothing like the way my dad, a World War II vet, celebrated. He did Memorial Day in a big way. He'd put out the flag, and we'd walk down to Main Street to watch the parade. Then, he'd have a big barbecue with our relatives from both sides of the family. More than 30 people. They'd come from the city -- Niagara Falls/Buffalo -- to Attica for a day in "the country."

Dad would grill hamburgers and hot dogs and German sausages and make Beef on Wick. People would bring all kinds of salads and deserts. I really miss the potato salads. It's my favorite and neither my husband nor the kids like it. Mom would make jello with fruit salad, and someone would always bring jello with vegetables in it, which none of us "kids" would eat.

We'd take our cousins across the street to the creek and show them how to lift flat rocks and find crayfish. Sometimes, if it was hot enough, we'd walk further down the creek to the fishing hole and "accidentally" fall in. One year when I was in my early teens, a significantly older cousin (the banker) had traded in his well-used VW beetle for a Porsche. All of us older cousins wanted a ride in it. What could be cooler than riding through town in a Porsche with an attractive older guy? Hey, no one needed to know he was my cousin. I can't remember that I ever got that ride.

As the song goes, "Those were the days, my friend." So, what are you doing today?

Summoned as temporary guardian for her teenage niece, while her brother is deployed to the Middle East with his Reserve unit, Emily Hazard returns to Paradox Lake. On one condition—she won't let herself think about staying. Emily always felt like a misfit in her tiny hometown.

But she doesn't count on falling for handsome Drew Stacey, a former Wall Streeter who's getting the town church camp ready.

Now available as an eBook

The Other New York

I’m a new Love Inspired author and I was thrilled to be invited to join the Craftie Ladies of Love Inspired Romance.I’m also a native Upstate New Yorker. Upstate is quite different from the Downstate New York City area. Upstate we have dairy farms, mountains, lakes, orchards, and lots of villages and hamlets with fewer than 5,000 people that aren’t near any major cities. Wyoming County in Western New York, where I grew up, is the number one diary county in the state and has about the same number of milk cows as people (40,000). Little know fact: One year — I won’t say what year — I was runner-up Wyoming County Maple Princess. And us Upstaters from Western New York root for the Buffalo Bills, not the NY Giants or Jets, no matter where we live.

My extended family — husband, daughter, son-in-law, and two grandchildren — lives on a small farm near the Albany/Greene County line where my son-in-law raises organic hogs and vegetables. Our son lives about 20 minutes away. This is Benny, our first boar, and the picture above is of our back fields ready to be planted with winter rye.

As an Upstater, I have a personal mission to introduce others to my part of New York State. All my contemporary books are set in Upstate New York. My first Love Inspired, Small-Town Sweethearts (January 2012), and the one I’m currently working on, tentatively titled Small-Town Dad, take place at Paradox Lake in the Adirondack Mountains, about two hours north of our house. My book cover captures the setting exactly. I love it.

Have I sold you? Are you ready to come visit us Upstate? Benny is always up for visitors.

Jean C. Gordon