Christmas in July!

Where did the first half of 2014 disappear to? I'm sure some of you must be wondering the same.

I'd like to kick off July by having a giveaway this month, my version of Christmas in July. I'm going to have Rafflecopter choose two names and give away two copies of The New England Romance Collection, which includes five standalone novels authored by Susan Page Davis, Lisa Harris, Pamela Griffin, Darlene Franklin, and me. Five historical novels, set in five different New England States.

Here's more about the collection:

New England is not just colorful in autumn but throughout the history of its states—including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Through the trials and triumphs of the early years of American history, to the turbulent 1930s, enjoy five stories laced with history, faith, and romance. Will these couples find a place to call home among the northeastern states?

I think Barbour outdid themselves on packaging this set together -- the cover has a front flap and is embossed, the page edges are deckled.

This book was on the ECPA best seller list for February and March 2014.

So, how do you enter?

Leave a comment below. Also, Tweet about it via Rafflecopter and check out my Facebook page as well. You can enter via the box below.

Thanks, and happy July!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

So what are you doing this summer?

Texas backroads farm stand

I'm blogging over at Not Quite Amish Living today, Five Things To Remember for Simple Summer Getaways

Hooray for summertime! Who’s with me? Time for a little unwinding, relaxation, time for “getting away” as a family.

We tend to sometimes try to do the biggest, best-est, most jam-packed activities during the summer because, well, we know—it doesn’t last forever, and “before you know it,” school days and regimented schedules are upon us once again.

Gone are the late nights, the adventures, and we don’t want to waste a single minute of those long hours of daylight.

Then it happens. You’ve heard it’s been said, “I need a vacation after my vacation.”

My sisters (and brethren), this simply need not be.  Read more here.

Welcome to Pinecraft ~

Last time I posted at InspyRomance, I wrote about Jacob Miller, my hero in A Season of Change, and how I “met” him, along with the village of Pinecraft. The place wiggled its way into my heart and hasn’t left. The village itself became a major character in A Season of Change.

So this time, I’d like to introduce you to Pinecraft. Pretend we’re flying into Tampa, Florida, and hopping into our rental car and heading an hour or so south, to Sarasota.

Pinecraft has the only Amish-run post office in the U.S. Here’s the local message board (think Craigslist).

Even before you turn onto bustling Bahia Vista Avenue, you’ll know you’re not in a place where you’d expect to find an Anabaptist settlement. You’re in Sarasota, Florida, a lively city of 52,000 on the Gulf Coast.

For the rest of the post, follow me over to the InspyRomance blog, where you can learn about the Amish/Mennonite village of Pinecraft, Florida.

Lookin' for love

For the last few weeks, any time I've gone to the store, I've had to negotiate carefully past displays that urge us to spend money to show our love. 

Chocolate dipped strawberries, cakes, cookies, flowers, champagne, wine, stuffed animals (destined for the thrift store donation pile someday).

It's a lot easier to play at romantic love than to nurture the real thing. “Falling in love” is probably one of the easiest things in the world to do.

First there's eye contact, then a smile, then that spark of attraction. Those endorphins in our brains send our hearts soaring when the interest is mutual—yes, that's the falling in love part. The feeling we get comes from a chemical in our bodies called oxytocin. 

Then people try to hold onto that feeling with flowers and chocolate.

Unfortunately, a selfless sacrificial love isn't shown by calories and flowers that will be dead in a week or so.

One of the most romantic movies (and the only one in which I can tolerate Kevin Costner, besides Field of Dreams) is Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. Toward the end of the movie, when Robin comes to rescue Marian, she tells him,“ You came for me...you're alive...”

He replies by saying, “I would die for you.” (Swoon!)

Now, that's worth a whole lot more than roses and chocolate. That's the stuff of real love. You can't buy that in a store at any price.

If you've found that type of love, you won't keep it with typical gifts, and if you're looking for that type of love, you won't earn it by those kinds of gifts either.

Although chocolate, chocolate, chocolate will win points any time.

So will genuine gestures of love instead of an over-the-top budget blowout once a year. 

Night owl? Here's a nifty computer tool

F.lux logo

If you're like me, sometimes you find yourself up late working on the computer. I can be really productive when it's really late. "Early to bed, early to rise" isn't often part of my daily routine.

Studies show that people can have issues falling asleep at night, due in part to mental stimulation from the phone or computer. We just don't know when to turn it off. Then some of us toss, and turn, and have a hard time "shutting down" mentally for the night.

I didn't consider myeslf having a problem falling asleep at night, especially if I'm up until the wee small hours of the night (or morning) writing. I'd write until bleary-eyed, then slither into bed. But I discovered a computer tool, a software that helps with my computer eyestrain at night. If it gives me no other benefit than that, it's worth it.

I found F.lux.

Here's the brief scoop:

Sleep researchers don't just blame people's sleep issues on mental stimulation via television, computers and phones. It's also that "blue light" spectrum in the color field that mimics daylight. According to these sleep experts, being exposed after daylight hours to this blue light from our screens messes with our body's production of melatonin as well as our Circadian rhythm. Which makes us have a hard time falling asleep, or having a good quality sleep.

Even if you're not a night owl, chances are you might be working on your computer after dark, What F.lux does is gradually removes the blue light from your computer's display based on the time of day where you are. Okay, some might say, "Just don't use your computer or tablet at night." For writers, sometimes that's not an option for us.

So I installed F.lux on my laptop.

The first night, I noticed the slight "pinker" tone to my display. It's a warm light and it mimics the soft light of lamps in my home. I can't say I noticed a better night's sleep the first night, or the second. However, I did notice my eyes are less tired, only three nights after trying F.lux.

You can even adjust the level of brightness as you see fit. Or, if you're working on something where seeing true colors is necessary, you can disable the filter.

Here are some reviews of F.lux at CNET. CNET is what I consider one of the more reputable sites that evaluates computer software: F.lux reviews at CNET

Currently it's available for Windows, Mac, Linux, and iPad/iPhone. Not available for Android yet, or I'd have installed the app on my phone by now.

Have you heard of F.lux? Have you tried it? So far, I'm pleased. Especially since I don't have a sunrise to sunset kind of work day.

Taking a Cue From the Amish

I'm blogging over at Not Quite Amish Living, about simplifying our lives, and how a little four-year-old can get even the most well-intentioned person overbooked and cranky:

http://notquiteamishliving.com/2014/01/time-to-simplify/

Meet Gray House

Gray House is a grand old lady, but a bit rough around the edges when Kelly Frost first caught sight of her on historic County Street in New Bedford, Mass.

Inside, though, like many forgotten places, the entryway made her stop and stare.

We did the same when my finally-thawed-out hubby and I visited the Rotch-Jones-Duff House on County Street. The historic mansion was once the home of a whaling merchant and passed through several families' hands until it became a museum.

That frozen December day two years ago, my hubby and I stopped there for a tour. Nobody else except writers on a research trip would have ventured out on a weekday to a house-turned-museum, so I felt very special that we sort of had the "run" of the place. I snapped photos to my heart's content. Thankfully, my Cowboys fan hubby likes history and old homes, too.

Exquisite details with the light fixtures,
many of which are original 

 The entryway,  decked out for Christmas

The main staircase of the Rotch-Jones-Duff mansion

Thawed-out Cowboys fan wearing Patriots hat
poses by one of the many fireplaces.

In the formal dining room. This mansion didn't have a
ballroom, as Gray House does. 

But what dinner parties they must have had here.

  

And here's me, wearing a giddy author-grin while I
stand in the mansion's front parlor. 

And this is the mansion next door (how many times do you
get to say that?), a Greek revival structure that is
now office space (yawn).

And this under-appreciated gem was a few doors down
on the opposite side of the street. Built in the 1850s, it
provided the perfect outside inspiration for Gray House.