Friday, November 25, 2016

Blue Lake by Carol Ann Kauffman



Dear Gentle Readers,

A book changed my life. This book, Blue Lake, was the first book I wrote back in 2011. At first, I went the usual route, sending a query letter to the big traditional publishing company of my choice, then the next, and so on. I got the loveliest rejections letters. I even framed one that said she loved my work.

Each correspondence took weeks, sometimes months. I am not a young person. Time is precious. 

I retired to take care of my mom who fell and broke her hip and could not be rehabilitated. When she passed, I began to write full time.

The manuscripts were piling up. So I decided to go the route of publishing with Kindle Direct Press. It was a decision I have never regretted.

My Time After Time Series, beginning with Blue Lake, is exclusive to Amazon.com.

It's the story of lovers who find each other again and again in different lifetimes, at different times of their lives, and sometimes on a different planet. It is the story of a love that would not be denied.

Amazon Link: http://tinyurl.com/nt2ro9j

When widowed Nicole decided to step back into life in beautiful Albuquerque, New Mexico with Richard, a young handsome British actor who professed his undying love and devotion to her on a daily basis, she mistook his boundless enthusiasm for her as little more than youthful impetuousness. She had no idea where their relationship would take her physically or emotionally. She would find herself in many dazzling international locations, putting her own life on hold, simply to be with him. She had no concept how strong her commitment to him would grow and to what extent she would go to protect him and ensure his safety and wellbeing. And she certainly had no idea the depth of his devotion to her, an unlikely but undeniable love that would span continents and a decade of their lives, entwining them closer and closer, while his career, their families, and other relationships pulled them farther and farther apart. BLUE LAKE is a story of the power of love.
The series, TIME AFTER TIME, follows a pair of quintessential lovers, Richard and Nicole, through their lives together, in different places, in different times, with different names and faces and sometimes even on other planets. This follows the alternative theory that the relationships we forge in this lifetime, both the good and the bad, are continued into the future, and are rooted deeply in our past. Whatever we do, whomever we love, and the good and evil deeds we do today follow us into the future. Unsettled issues will present themselves again and again, until they are ultimately resolved. Those people who have had a profound effect on us in this lifetime will find us again in the future. And although everything changes, love remains.

Books in the TIME AFTER TIME series are: BLUE LAKE, BELTERRA,
The BASLICATO, BENTLEY SQUARE, WAITING FOR RICHARD, and LORD OF BLAKELEY. They do not need to be read in order.



Thursday, November 24, 2016

Happy Thanksgiving 2016





From  our Vision and Verse family to yours, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving Day.  We want to take a moment today to tell you  we're grateful you stop by to see what's happening here at our little online place for Art and Authors. Without you, our gentle readers, we are simply an online diary.

It's easy to overlook all of our blessings when we're so busy with work and family and everything else that competes for our attention, but let's take a moment to be thankful for all we have. Life is uncertain and comes with no guarantees. Find some love and peace today, even if you have to go out and look for it. Forego being right and choose to be happy instead. Find joy in a pretty sunset or a lovely autumn tree. Look for the good. I know sometimes you really have to look hard to find it, but it's worth the effort. 

Choose peace. Choose to love each other. Abandon your quest for perfection. If it exists, it's got to be extremely boring. Give up an old grudge you've been harboring for years. It gives you nothing but baggage to carry. Lighten your load. 

Hugs,
Carol

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Shelby's Gift by Mary Jane Morgan







                                                                                                                  Author Mary Jane Morgan

Surrogate mother Shelby Harrison gives birth to a baby boy, Kyle, and loves him instantly. He’s all she has left of her sister, Debbie, who was killed in a car accident six months ago. She’s prepared to fight for joint custody even as she battles feelings she knows she shouldn’t have for the man who is Kyle’s father – and her sister’s husband.

Ben Martin is outraged that Shelby wants joint custody of his baby. Yet after his initial anger and feelings of betrayal, Ben suggests a marriage of convenience so that together he and Shelby can provide the love and security he and Debbie wanted their baby to have.

What first seems like a workable solution quickly turns into a nightmare of grief and guilt when Ben and Shelby find themselves fighting a fierce attraction – an attraction that seems the worst possible betrayal of Debbie.

But Debbie has her own opinion and reaches out from the other side to Shelby and Ben, bringing them the love and healing they

to move forward with their lives.



EXCERPT:
Ben led the way to her room, wondering what in the hell had ever possessed him to do this. Desperation. Nothing but sure, deep-rooted desperation and fear. 
No, he’d done it for Kyle. And to help Shelby. She needed him now and he needed her.
He set her luggage down and glanced at her. She looked as scared and vulnerable as he felt, and his heart went out to her. He might be desperate and scared, but no one had forced him to bring her here. It was his choice, and it was the only good choice he could have made. “Everything will be fine, Shelby,” he said reassuringly. “Take a nap. You look about ready to fall over.” He smiled. “Call me if you need anything. I’m here for you.”
     She gave him a soul-searching, lost look. He crossed the room and pulled her against him. Sighing, he laid his cheek on her thick, soft hair. He stroked her back and felt some of her tension ease. Slowly she wrapped her arms around him, then laid her head on his chest.
     As they stood in silence, both there for the other one, a feeling of contentment settled over Ben. “I’m glad you’re here,” he whispered, and much to his surprise, a part of him really meant it.


LINKS:
Mary Jane Morgan

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Sunday, November 20, 2016

Schedule for Nov. 21 - 25, 2016

Beautiful Mill Creek Park Nov. 2016 Photo by Carol Ann Kauffman

Schedule for Nov. 21- 25, 2016

Mon., Nov. 21 - The Art of Albercht Durer
Tues., Nov. 22 - Beautiful Catastrophe Blog Tour
Wed., Nov. 23 - Shelby's Gift by Mary Jane Morgan
Thurs., Nov. 24 - Happy Thanksgiving
Fri., Nov. 25 - Blue Lake by Carol Ann Kauffman