Category: Writing Prompts

This weeks wildlife specimen is the Wild Turkey.  They roam around on the ground foraging for nuts, berries, insects, small reptiles, frogs, toads and many other things.  Many people attract these birds by throwing corn on the ground or by planting berry or nut trees.  They usually stay on the ground until it turns to dusk that’s when the fly to the tree tops to roost for the night.  They are fun to watch.

Take a look around when you are out and about in the morning to see if you have some turkeys mulling around in your yard or along a road near some woods.

Have a good day!

Sharpe Mind by Lisa B. Thomas

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is another cozy mystery. I do love these books, especially when I can’t sleep at night. I’m tired so I don’t want anything heavy to read. These are fun and easy.

Deena is working for the local paper. Her job has been changed at the paper temporarily. She now has to write the feature, instead of actually being a reporter. She is trying to find out why one of the council members in the town is trying to get a rezoning approved. She and her husband Gary drive through the neighborhood at night and she sees that there are several people living in the neighborhood. She decides to investigate the next day and discovers the owner one of the houses is dead. She calls 911 and then she becomes a suspect. She begins to help the news reporter from her paper and winds up losing her job. This is just the beginning of many twists and turns in the book. I really enjoyed it.

Amish by Accident by J.E.B. Spredemann

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I love books that have an Amish theme, especially when they are set in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. My husband was born there. He still has so much family there that we used to spend time with his relatives up there. His grandmother lived right across the street from an Amish farm.

This is the story of two young women. One Amish, the other not. The women could be twins they looks so much alike. One leaves the Amish life, the other is thrown into it because of an accident. There is some mystery and romance. An easy read.

Driftwood Cottage by Sherryl Woods

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Heather Donovan has left Connor O’Brien and moved with their son to Chesapeake Shores. She has opened a quilt shop and is getting settled. The O’Brien clan welcome her into the family. Connor finds out she is living in his home town and begins to try to get Heather back. She is refusing since he still has no faith in marriage because of his parents history and because of the high volume of divorces he litigates. But she wants it all.

The O’Brien clan, a meddling group if there ever was one, go to work on Heather and Connor. While Connor is working hard to convince Heather that they belong together, he begins to see his job as a divorce lawyer in a high powered firm as distasteful. Nell, his grandmother, puts a bug in the only attorney in Chesapeake Shores ear that her grandson might be interested in taking over his practice. Connor makes the change.

Heather is in a serious accident and is hurt badly. Connor is beside himself with fear of losing her. He begins proposing to her almost daily. Heather keeps refusing. He takes her on a picnic and they discover her dream house. He buys it for them and has it redone. She refuses until he finally gets through to her that he wants to marry her and live in their home together.

I liked the book. I am trying to get this series finished because it will be on Hallmark Channel beginning the middle of the month.

Choice of Weapon by C. Marten-Zerf

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Garrett has spent most of his life as a soldier fighting in wars for other countries. He has given up fighting and has settled in the Highlands of Scotland. He gets a call from Sister Manon telling him that children are missing from the orphanage and no one will listen to her. Garrett goes to Africa to protect the children. C. Marten-Zerf has written an action packed thriller comparable to the kind James Patterson writes. I enjoyed the story, the characters and the good versus evil theme in the book.

Chop, Chop by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book in a series, however, it is a standalone book as well. It starts when the characters are young. It’s the story of friendships, death, loss, and faith; along with the struggles that go along with them. I had a hard time putting it down.

Day-Day by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the sequel to Chop Chop. It is as good as the first book. Now living in Mexico, David and Laci are newlyweds. Laci volunteers in the Orphanage she had volunteered at when she was in school. David, an engineer, can work from anywhere. Laci unable to become pregnant again, they adopt a little boy, Dorito and a baby girl Lily who is deaf.

Pon, Pon by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The story continues with Laci and David moving back to Cavendish.

The Other Brother by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

David is faced with the news that Charlotte, Greg’s little sister, has a half brother. He battles with feelings of jealousy since he has been like her brother since Greg’s death. He finally realizes that his place with Charlotte is secure and he is not being replaced.

Charlotte is Jordan’s girlfriend. Jordan is Tanners little brother. Chase is in the middle. Chase has been living in Chicago. Tanner finds out that he has Huntington’s Disease. Tanner gets tested and does not have it. This is kept from Charlotte and Jordan.

While volunteering at his son’s school. David meets a little girl who doesn’t talk. She has been treated like she is not very smart by her class mates and her teacher. David is helping the kids with their reading and writing skills using the computer. Amber shows David she is smart and can read. He finds out she is in foster care. She comes to school with her hair matted and she smells. Something is not right. David’s lifetime friend, Tanner and he begin to investigate on their own.

The Other Mothers by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

David has to deal with Charlotte becoming pregnant. She was dating Jordan, but the baby was not his. It was her ex-boyfriend’s baby. She planned to give the baby up for adoption. Jordan was crushed that she was pregnant and didn’t say anything to him.

Tanner and Jordan’s dad was found in his car in the lake. He had been missing for a few years.
The authorities suspected murder.

Gone by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book takes place twenty years after returning to Mexico. Laci and David are faced with sad news. As David deteriorates, Tanner retires from the high school and moves in with them to help care for David. David then develops cancer and continues to disappear in front of Laci and Tanner’s eyes. They have to say goodbye to David.

Alone by L.N. Cronk

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the last book in the series. There are however, companion books that go along with it. Here all the answers that were not given in the previous stories are found. Tanner tells this story. He continues to help Laci. He’s been in love with her since high school.

I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this series. I am anxious to read the companion books. This series has made me a fan of L.N. Cronk.

On A Night Like This by Barbara Freethy

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the story of two people who grew up as next door neighbors. Sara and Aiden. She had had a crush on him since she was fourteen years old. At one point, when she was a senior, she had a chance with Aiden, but after a very hot kiss, he walked away. Sara was humiliated. Aiden continued on his path of a different girl every week into adulthood.

Sara returned to her childhood home for her father’s 65th birthday. He was so upset over her visit that he forgot he was cooking and the kitchen caught on fire. He ran through the house into the basement where he fell and broke his leg. She had not been home for years. She never heard from her father.

While the house was burning, Aiden ran in and rescued Sara and er father. She was surprised to see him. He was home, recovering from an injury he sustained while fighting a forest fire. In that same fire his best friend Kyle was killed. He was being blamed that he had done something wrong and Kyle’s death was his fault. Having fallen down a cliff and suffering a concussion, he had no memory of what happened.

Sara finds a box of pictures at her father’s house. While she looks through them, she discovers a little boy with her parents. She doesn’t recognize the house that’s in the picture. She sees the handsome smile of her father with the little boy. Finally she sees his name on the back of one of the pictures and it’s dated eight years before she was born. This shatters everything she thought she knew about her family and her life.

Sara and Aiden discover each other and they help each other through the pain of discovering the secrets Kyle and her father had.

I loved it.

As you can see I read a lot this week. With hubby under the weather I wasn’t really able to do much else. Have a good day and find something good to read.

This is another picture of an inhabitant of Florida and North Carolina.  Actually coyotes are all over the United States.  They are one of the wild dogs of our world.

I have a neighbor who raises birds.  He often has to chase coyotes from the property because they kill his birds.  You can’t blame them tho can you?  They’re just hungry too.

My hubby has been ill all weak.  So, I have been otherwise involved.   I haven’t blogged all week. Hopefully it’ll be back to normal here soon.

The only thing I managed to get done this week was to read.  I got 7 books read.  You can imagine I didn’t get a lot of sleep.  But I did enjoy the reading time.

Have a good one and keep an eye out for coyotes!

Saint Padre Pio: In the Footsteps of Saint Francis by Michael J. Ruszala

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A brief biography of St. Padre Pio. I didn’t know a lot about him, and I found this very interesting. It’s amazing to me, that a man who was alive during part of my lifetime has been canonized a saint. Being a cradle Catholic, I went to a Catholic elementary school before Vatican II. We learned much about the saints and I was awe struck. I still am. But the veneration of saints when I was a little girl in St. Francis of Assisium School, was something I still wish was practiced. One of the most important things of my faith is that we have the Communion of Saints to lean on. If God has favored them so much as to make them saints, why would we not ask them to intercede for us?

For those of you who do not understand the concept, I will attempt to explain. When Jesus was at the wedding at Cana, Mary, His mother, told him they had run out of wine. She went to Jesus. He asked her what that had to do with Him, that His hour had not yet come. But, didn’t Jesus turn the water into wine? If Jesus responded to His mother by doing something about the situation for her, why would we doubt that he would respond to her interceding for us. Make no mistake, this is not to say that we only go around the block, so to speak, to ask Our Lord for our needs, but we ask the saints as well.

OK, back to the review. It’s a quick read for anyone who is interested in knowing more about St. Pio or saints in general.

Peace Lily by Alex Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book in the Katherine Wheel Series and it did not disappoint. Life after WWI takes up in Wiltshire, England. Katy and Jem are struggling to resume their married life while living with her parents in a very crowded house. And Cassandra and Douglas are struggling at the Manor with her not very nice mother.

Douglas has had it and returns to Boston, not sure if he still wishes to marry Cass. He sends for her and she takes Katy with her as her personal maid. Things get a little out of hand and Dounglas’ friend rapes Katy. Doug’s sister walks in on the rape and is furious that Fred does not return her feelings. Being a mean an spiteful woman she writes to Cass’ mother that Katy is having an affair with Fred.

The fireworks continue. Douglas and Cass return to England. The rest of the story continues with the struggles of two families finding their way in a changing world. I loved it.

Speedwell by Alex Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the third book in the Katherine Wheel series and I can tell you it’s just as good as the first two. After Cass’ husband is killed racing, there is trouble between she and Kate. Kate’s business flourishes and she and Jem begin to make their fortune. At the same time, Cass is faced with the daunting task of selling off more land and watching the Manor slide from it’s glory. Cass has a terrible time getting over her loss and begins to resent Kate’s success. I really enjoyed this series.

The Inn at Eagle Point by Sherryl Woods

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the first book in the Chesapeake Shores series by Sherryl Woods. I have read a couple of the books in this series, but out of order. This series is about the O’Brien family. Mick who is a world renowned architect was responsible for designing and helping to build this little community in Maryland. His five children have grown up here, but without their mother because she left when she had had enough of his absence. Her youngest was 7 years old at the time.

This first episode begins with the youngest, Jess, buying the Inn at Eagle Point. She has ADD and gets into financial difficulties and calls on her big sister Abby to come help her out of this jam. Sparks fly when Abby goes to the bank to help Jess and discovers Trace. He is her old flame who she left in Chesapeake Shores when she went to New York to find her dream job on Wall Street.

Sparks fly, and romance ensues. It’s a feel good story.

Raining Men and Corpses by Anne R. Tan

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is the beginning of another mystery series. A fun easy read. Raina Sun, a Chinese American had moved to Gold Springs to escape her family in San Francisco and get her advanced degree. She becomes embroiled in the murder of her ex-boyfriend/advisor for her graduate program. This involvement brings her face to face with the love of her life Matthew. To complicate things more, her best friend Eden is a newspaper reporter and gets involved too. She comes home pne day and finds her grandmother in front of her apartment with her suitcase. She gets her senior friends from the local group involved in sleuthing as well. There is murder, betrayal, mystery, and humor in this book. I look forward to reading more of this author.

That’s it for this week.  Read something good today!

Ghostly Paws by Leighann Dobbs

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This cozy mystery is set in New England. Willa inherited her grandmother’s Victorian house and her used book store. After having a terrible accident, she decided to return to her hometown and take up residence in the house and run the store. She also inherited her grandmother’s cat. Strange things happen around the store, she sees ghosts and can speak to them. The cat also seems to have powers of some kind. The librarian, Lavinia, has been murdered and Willa is the one who found her lying at the bottom of the library steps. Lavinia appears to her in the book store and asks her to find out who murdered her. Willa sets off to investigate. A fun easy read.

An Insignificant Life by Connie Almony

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is book 2 in the Maryland University Series. I haven’t read the first one, but I really enjoyed this second one. It’s a story about an RA advisor, Tiffany, in one of the dorms who has had an abortion. She finds herself in a compromising position while out at a bar. Adam, one of the campus police is at the bar and witnesses a man trying to force her to leave with him. Adam, who is a Christian comes to her rescue. She has had too much to drink and confesses all to Adam. It’s the story of redemption, forgiveness and love. I highly reccomend it.

Daffodils by Alex Martin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was such a good book! I was sorry to see it end. I actually have already gotten the next book in the series. The setting is England prior to WWI, and during the war in France. It’s the story of Katy, who started her life in service from the age of 13. It’s the transformation of craving excitememt, to becoming a married woman. She loses her child, becomes very ill, and then when she recovers her husband joins up to fight. It’s the story 0f how she thought he had been killed, and enlisting in the WAAC so she can search for him; becoming an ambulance mechanic and finally, when the war ends finding her husband. The story ends with the village throwing them a big welcome home party. I can’t wait to read the next in the series.

Today my quilt guild hosted Christmas In July.  This is when we have several classes with a Christmas theme.  Classes last 1 1/2 hours each.  They are in the morning and afternoon with a lunch break.  It’s always a lot of fun.

I didn’t go this year.  With me gone for so long, I didn’t get signed up for any of the classes.  I am sure that they would have let me attend but I really had no interest this year.  I just haven’t found my footing since I came home from Florida.  And, I am really worried about Karina.

Bud face timed me and I grabbed a picture of Isy in her bouncer.  She just loves it.

Today is a special day for my Isabella.  She has cut her first tooth.  She has been chewing on everything she can get her hands on and drooling like crazy.  What a wonder it is to watch an infant grow and change.

When my children were babies I always rocked them to sleep.  I loved to hold them when they were asleep.  It was our quiet time together.  My husband liked to get up with them in the middle of the night.  He said it was his bonding time.  I never suscribed to the notion that babies were spoiled that way.  I loved everything about babies, even changing diapers.  But I can certainly remember the days and nights walking the floors with a crying baby who was teething.  My heart would break for them. Sometimes there was just nothing that would sooth them.

The miracle of growing from a totally dependant infant to a fully capable person is truly something I wish everyone could witness up close and personal.  The changes that take place in that child are only surpassed by the changes that take place in you.  Life before children becomes something of an idea, more than an actual memory.  Your children become your life.  You are totally responsible for them and yield great power over them.  With great power comes great responsibility.

Giving birth to a child is not the end of the parenting job.  You must raise that child.  Not leave them alone to fend for themselves.  Children need parents.  If they didn’t, you could find them under a rock. We must remeber that they are a gift, a treasure that need to be loved and nurtured and not to be abused.  They need you to spend time with them.  To disciplilne them.  To encourage them.  To support them.

With all that is going on in our country today, I have to wonder if parents are really taking the responsibility of raising their children to heart.  There is so much addiction to drugs, alcohol, sex, and this is found in our middle schools.  Children are involved in so much violence.  Childrens clothing, especially for girls is so suggestive.  The role models of today are over sexed, drug induced, over paid, foul mouthed poor excuses for human beings.  Where will it stop?  I truely believe that if things don’t change soon, our world as we have known it will certainly disappear.

I can’t believe that my granddaughter Isabella is already 5 months old.  Time passes too quickly.  If only you could slow them down huh?  I miss her so much.  I wish that they lived closer.  My son does face time with us at least weekly, most times three or four times a week so I feel like I am not missing too much of her growing up.

Unless they adopt, this is the only child Karina and Bud will have.  Karina has been diagnosed with cervical cancer.  She will be having a complete hysterectomy in August.  She was supposed to have been done on Friday, but her mother couldn’t get to Florida in time.  I offered to go back down and help out until she could get there, but Karina feels better with her mom with her.  You can’t blame her for feeling like that.  I can’t believe how blessed we are that the cancer was found.  If it were not for Isabella, she would not have know she had it.

Well the race was full of cautions last night.  Kasey finished 14th.  At least he finished, there were many cars that were taken out of the race by wrecks.

Have a good day.