Wednesday, March 19, 2025

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Favorite Websites/Podcasts/Blogs

 


The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but if you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Then visit the other bloggers participating to see what they are talking about that week. Comments are appreciated. 

Happy Wednesday! We are talking about our favorite websites, podcasts, and blogs this week.

As far as blogs, this is something hard to do. I've been blessed with some many great blogging friends that it would be hard to pick only a handful of favorites. So, I will say thanks to all of you in the blogging community for your support throughout the last 18 years. You have helped grow this blog and been a source of friendly conversation for many years. I also enjoy seeing what you are talking about each week. Thank you from the bottom of my heart! 

So, my attention now goes to websites and podcasts. Unless I'm shopping, I don't visit many websites. I guess my only favorite there would be NaNoWriMo. What can I say, I'm a news and social media junkie otherwise. 

I really don't get into podcasts much, which is odd because I would really like to start one. Whether it be about real estate or books, I don't know, but I feel like it is in my future. Since I spend a lot of time in the car, podcasts seem like a great way to listen to information in snippets. Why don't I listen to more of them?

Some podcasts, I discover and then binge listen, like Christmas Morning and Wilder on the Prairie, but then I wander away and don't listen for months. Nothing to do with the podcasts, just not feeling it at the time. 

Some podcasts are business related, like Bigger Pockets, Real Estate Today, or Coaching Kidlit. I tend to find topics I'm looking for and listen to those certain episodes. 

Other podcasts are ones I should be interested in, but have never really indulged in, like Little House: Fifty for 50, From Plum Creek with Love, and Cabot Coverage. How have I not listened to every one of these episodes? 

What are your thoughts on podcasts? Do you listen to them? How do you listen to them? What are some of your favorites? 


Tuesday, March 18, 2025

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books on My Spring 2025 to-Read List



Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.    

Happy Tuesday! We are talking about the books on our spring reading lists. Always a fun topic. I will be sharing what I need to read, and what I want to read. So, here are the...

Top Ten Books on 
My Spring 2025 to-Read List


Reading now



These two I ordered to add to my Laura Ingalls Wilder collection 


NetGalley read


Have had this on my list since before Christmas


Steven sent this to me right before it came out


The last book in the Left Behind series that I didn't know existed until recently


Didn't win the giveaway, but I still want to read it


Love this series


This came from Thriftbooks with a bunch of others

Monday, March 17, 2025

Interview with J. E. Weiner, Author of The Wretched and Undone

 


J. E. Weiner is a writer and novelist based in Northern California. Her debut novel, The Wretched and Undone, is a searing and genre-bending Southern Gothic tale set in the heart of the Texas Hill Country and inspired by real people and actual events. The book manuscript was named a Killer Nashville Top Pick for 2024 and a Claymore Award Finalist for Best Southern Gothic. 

Weiner’s previous work has appeared in the literary journals Madcap Review, Five Minutes, HerStry, and Chicago Story Press, as well as the recent grit-lit anthology Red-Headed Writing (Cowboy Jamboree Press, 2024). Weiner is a founding member of the Pacific Coast Writers Collective, and while living and writing in blissful exile on the West Coast, her heart remains bound to her childhood home, the Great State of Texas. 

Learn more about J. E. and her writing at her website: www.jeweiner.com

Follow her on social media: Facebook: @J.E.Weiner  | Instagram: @jeweinerauthor

When did you begin writing? 

There is a Russian idiom “to write into the drawer” (zapisat' v yashchik), which, I think, best captures how all of this started. Over the years, I have always kept journals–or really just scraps of paper stuffed into notebooks or desk drawers–capturing strange and humorous encounters, snippets of dialog eavesdropped, and observations formed as a result of chronic people-watching. The idea for this story emerged over time and over many trips to visit family in the Texas Hill Country. I kept telling my husband that someday I wanted to write a novel about Bandera, the self-proclaimed “Cowboy Capital of the World,” and its history. He finally forced my hand, signing me up for a Stanford Continuing Studies course titled “How to Start Your Novel and Keep It Going.” I wrote the first chapter of The Wretched and Undone in the spring of 2018 and haven’t looked back since. 

Do you write during the day, at night, or whenever you can sneak in a few moments? 

With a hectic day job, finding the time and headspace to write has proven to be my greatest challenge. At a moment of particular frustration, I remembered when my mother was writing her Master’s thesis while teaching full-time and raising young children. She would wake up at 4 o’clock in the morning every day and write for two hours before we all woke up, and then use whatever energy she had left in the evenings to edit. I have adopted a variation of that approach. I spend a good part of every weekend writing generatively and editing in the evenings during the week. 

What is this book about? 

The Wretched and Undone is a love letter to the Texas Hill Country. It is a story–as quirky and funny as it is tragic–about a place and time few people beyond the town of Bandera know much about. It is both a hard-nosed telling of brutal truths about a difficult time in American history, lifting up voices often silenced and lessons still not learned from the past, and a poignant saga that explores the tensions between the protection of family and community (found and otherwise) and the struggles of individuals to chart their own paths and reconcile their own fears, joys, failures, and successes. Ultimately, this is the story of the resilience, but not the infallibility of the human spirit. 


What inspired you to write it? 

One icy winter night while visiting my sister on her cattle ranch on the outskirts of Bandera, Texas, she shared the story of a “woman in white” who often came to call, drifting across the fields and hills or imploring sleepy guests for help. That ghost drew me to this story, and the ruggedly beautiful Texas Hill Country drew me to the place. It was only a matter of time until the trained historian in me uncovered the complex and fascinating history of Bandera and the region. The intrepid pioneers who crossed the Atlantic on a cramped steamship and endured a 300-mile trek by oxcart from the Port of Galveston to Bandera on the eve of the American Civil War had no idea what awaited them at the tough and morally ambiguous crossroads in the history of Texas and the United States. Ghosts? Cowboys? Times of troubles? This was a story that needed to be told.

 Was the road to publication smooth sailing or a bumpy ride? 

Bumpy, for sure, as it is for all new writers. The barriers to entry into the traditional book publishing market are nearly impossible to overcome without a perfect alignment of the right agent, the right publishing house contacts, and the right project at the right time. However, with challenges also come opportunities, and the democratization of the publishing industry in recent years has allowed newcomers like me to break through. That said, the bar is also ever-higher in these emerging publishing lanes. There is no lack of great stories that need to be told, but the stories (and the writing) also need to be great. 

What is one piece of advice you would like to share with aspiring authors everywhere? 

I would have waited a beat longer to begin submitting my manuscript. When you type “The End” on the final page of your draft, the reality is it is just the beginning. 

What is up next for you? 

I am on to my next novel, a story inspired by the still-unsolved murder of eight men at Tragedy Tree in Bandera County in 1863. 

Order The Wretched and Undone: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday



It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.   

Happy Monday! Hope you had a great week. The sun has been shining here, but Sunday was more like tornado weather--warm, drizzly, and windy. My seedlings are growing. Took the Lil' Diva to the first fitting for her wedding dress. And I have been running around selling and showing houses. Not a bad week at all. Also positive news on the literary front, but too early to share yet.  Saw a local production of On Golden Pond this weekend. Just bought tickets for The Wizard of Oz at a different theatre for July. 

Here are a few photos:


Added to the alphabet soup after my name with my ABR designation


Made this yummy butternut squash salad


Theo is enjoying the warmer weather

The only reading I managed was the First Chapter Review of the following romance novel and a short audio book. You can read it here if you missed it. This will be another productive week, but I plan to get some reading done anyway. 



This is a 20 minute short essay. Not sure how I stumbled upon it. 

Started this two weeks ago, so should be continuing with it this week. 


These are next. 








Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach

Found this Kindle freebie thanks to Bookbub.  


October 1870 - Cincinnati born Angelique DeWitt, widowed and caring for her five-year-old daughter, Zina, finds herself scrambling for a place for her and her little girl. About to become homeless and in desperation, Angelique makes a quick decision to become a mail order bride for a man named Thaddeus Billings, a hotel owner in Kansas. But...once they get on their way, Angelique wonders if she has done the right thing, especially when disaster strikes! Terry Cramer has had it rough most of his life. Now divorced and raising his six-year-old son, he has a prosperous farm and steamboat landing on the banks of the Ohio River—thirteen miles south of Louisville. He has everything he needs... except a good woman to love him and help raise his boy. Always too busy to go out looking for a female to court, Terry says one would have to drop onto his lap. Sometimes circumstances work out in strange ways, even because of a broken down old steamboat. You just never know what’s around that next bend in life, do you? If you enjoy a good, clean, old-fashioned romance with lots of history and endearing characters, written like the classic movies of old, then Sweet Love at Honey Landing is for you!


Upcoming Events
  • Boo's Blue Poo and Goo by Toni Nelson - Mar 27 (Book Blast at TC&TBC)
  • Gitel's Freedom by Iris Mitlin Lav - Date TBD (Review) 
  • The Silver Falcon by David Tindell - Apr 9 (Author Interview)
  • Pineapple Easter Egg by Amy Vansant - Apr 10 (Showcase)
  • The Whispering Witch and Nobody Important by Lee J. Martin - Apr 16 & 17 (Review at TC&TBC)
  • Only in September by Cynthia Flowers - Apr 23 (Book Blast)
  • Stone of Doubt by Margaret Izard - Apr 28 (Interview)
  • Surviving the United Nations by Robert Bruce Adolph - May 9 (First Chapter Review)


At Christmas Year Round you will find March Madness and Christmas connections here


I will be posting a writing and goals update before the end of the month at The Children's and Teens' Book Connection. Will likely be shifting some things around. 

That's it from my neck of the woods. Looking forward to checking in with you. 

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge: Characters I Want to Meet

 


The Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge is hosted by Long and Short Reviews. They offer this blog hop as a weekly prompt to help you gain new friends and visitors. You don't have to participate every week, but consistent blogging seems to be the key to success. I can say that when I participate in weekly memes and challenges, I see the most traffic and comments at The Book Connection. 

If you decide to post and join the blog hop for a week, Long and Short Reviews asks that you share your link on their weekly post on their website (it will be the top post on the home page each Wednesday morning). The link list remains open for new links for 48 hours. Then visit the other bloggers participating to see what they are talking about that week. Comments are appreciated. 

How is it Wednesday again? Hope you're having an amazing week.

Today, we are talking about characters we would like to meet. I'll start by sharing the expected ones: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Anne Shirley, and Jo March, all young women whose impulsive natures and forward thinking pushed the boundaries of their times. I would also add Dr. Michaela Quinn to that list. Though this character originated on television (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman), there were a few books released that tied into the series. The daughter of a Boston physician, she replies to an ad for a doctor in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Not originally well-received (they thought her name was Michael), she slowly wins over the townsfolk.  


Wouldn't it be neat to visit the fictional town of Cabot Cove and sit down with Jessica Fletcher? She is a writer and a mystery solver. The Murder, She Wrote books were a result of the popularity of the television show of the same name. Several authors have contributed to this series of books. 


Gordon Butler is introduced as a rookie cop in the third book of F. M. Meredith's Rocky Bluff P.D. series, Fringe Benefits. He is a magnet for mishaps and is often the butt of many jokes. He is my favorite character from the series. Would love to hang out with him and see what he's up to, how his job has changed, and if there is any special news he wants to share. 


Deputy Tempe Crabtree is the only woman and Native American on the Bear Creek police force. Introduced in Deadly Trail, this book finds her putting off her wedding to Pastor Hutch. By the time the series ends with A Final Farewell, she and Hutch are facing a different stage of life. In some ways, she reminds me of Dr. Quinn, because she depends upon her Native American roots to help solve crimes, while Dr. Quinn introduces Native American medicine into her practice in Colorado Springs. Both woman have ties to different communities. And Tempe, like Michaela, must overcome discrimination to become a valued member of her community.

Tempe has always fascinated me: the way she works; how dreams play into her life; how she taps into her ancestry, and her friendship with Nick Two John. Considering her age in the final book, I think as women in transition, we would have a lot to talk about. 

What are your thoughts on my list? Have you read any of these books? Which characters would you like to meet?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

First Chapter Review & Giveaway: Sunset Bay by Karen Stewart

 


Today's First Chapter Review is a romance novel that came to me from the author through Goddess Fish Promotions.  



BLURB: A self-professed hot mess express, Joy Sinclair is a 54-year-old divorcee living back at home in Sunset Bay. Tired of blind dates and a lack of eligible men, she's resigned to being single. That is until she is literally knocked off her feet by a good looking stranger. Jeremy is only staying long enough to help his father recover from a broken foot. Is there any point even getting to know him?

Joy's mother Helen Sinclair is 80 years young and a real sassy molassy. She dresses outrageously, talks to her dead husband Sam and nudges Joy out of her comfort zone as often as she can. Meeting Jeremy's father Hank at the local seniors centre, Helen suddenly finds herself with a busy social life.

Love is in the air with a wedding, birthday party, prom night and a major weather event all conspiring to shake things up.

Celebrating the messiness of finding yourself and the courage to follow your heart, Sunset Bay is a journey of love, loss, hope and new beginnings.



COVER: I'll admit, the cover of this one is the reason I even read the blurb. It gives off this 1970s Neil Diamond and Jonathan Livingston Segall kind of vibe. Reminds me of a t-shirt I might have seen in a beach shop one day. Just perfect for this book!

FIRST CHAPTER: Joy opens the story for us on another busy day at the Ocean Breeze Bed and Breakfast. As she speaks directly to the reader, she shares that she and her mother run this B&B with a brief mention of their guests. The reader learns she is also the regional wedding commissioner, and toward the end of the chapter, she meets with a young couple whose wedding she is presiding over. 

KEEP READING: I'm on the fence with this one. In this case, it is a good thing. As writers, we are warned about info dumps: sharing a whole bunch of information all at once that distracts from the present story. A majority of the first chapter is an info dump: it's about Joy's life and work, daily life at the B&B, her relationship with her mom, etc. And if it wasn't delivered by an engaging character who made me want to continue, and presented in one of the best and most easily readable fonts (Why isn't every book printed in this font?), then I likely would have passed. But...

There is something about Joy that makes me want to know her story--the full story. Like how she got to where she is in greater detail than I can learn from the book blurb. Looking ahead, the second chapter is by her mother, Helen, so we won't get to meet the male lead for a bit. Seems like Joy and Helen are strong enough characters to carry the reader through until he enters the picture. 



Read an Excerpt:

Not an auspicious start to the day. I strive to be a glass half full kind of gal. Not always Miss Mary Sunshine, all sweetness, and light, but a person who attempts to see the positive in situations. This morning, however, things went south the moment my mother showed up at the breakfast table. 

“Mom,” I uttered calmly and carefully. Hopefully, my smile masked what I’ll admit was a tiny bit of concern. 

 “Any reason you’re wearing that outfit?” Cheese Louise. Talk about a grand entrance. With an overly dramatic swish and sashay, my mother displayed her eye blinding outfit. A bright pink poncho, clashing floral capris pants, gaudy striped toe socks with sandals, an enormous floppy straw hat, and umpteen Mardi Gras necklaces. The outfit I’d worn to a “Tacky Tourist” costume party six months before. 

“Getting ready for Halloween?” Mr. Byrd asked tactfully while others at the table raised their eyebrows and smirked. 

My superpower is anxiety, and I felt butterflies gathering in my stomach. 

 “Right.” I quickly put my arm around my mom, guiding her into a chair. 

“You won first prize with this costume, so it’s perfect for Halloween,” my mother explained. Halloween is months away, but it was a handy way out, and I was grateful. 

“Who needs another coffee?” Hands shot up around the table and that was all the interruption required to restart conversations. You can believe Miss Mardi Gras and I will be having a chat later.


Calling her work life eclectic, Karen Stewart has been a 911 operator, a freelance writer and photographer, written commercials for radio stations, performed fifty weddings as a wedding commissioner and for twelve years was the owner/operator of a busy bed and breakfast. 

Sunset Bay is her first book, and checks off the number one item on her bucket list. 

Mostly retired, she lives in a small seaside town on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. She's happiest spending time with her three grandsons and their adorable dog Roo.

CONNECT WITH KAREN STEWART 

karenstewartwrites.com 

Facebook

Instagram 

PURCHASE LINKS: SUNSET BAY 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0228843030 

https://amazon.ca/dp/0228843030 

https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/sunset-bay/9780228843030.html 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sunset-bay-karen-stewart/1146632175

https://www.booktopia.com.au/sunset-bay-karen-stewart/book/9780228843030.html 

https://www.waterstones.com/book/9780228843030

Karen Stewart will be awarding a
$10 Amazon/BN gift card
to a randomly drawn winner. 



This First Chapter Review contains my honest opinions, which I have not been compensated for in any way. 




Sunday, March 9, 2025

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? & Mailbox Monday - Mar 10



It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a place to meet up and share what you have been, are and about to be reading over the week. It's a great post to organize yourself. It's an opportunity to visit and comment, and er... add to that ever growing TBR pile! So welcome in everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and then was taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.     

Happy Monday! Well, it's actually still Sunday, but I have a busy morning. Hope you had a nice week. Mine went by in a flash. The Lil' Princess is now safely back in North Carolina. We had a lovely visit filled with shopping, eating, and at home adventures. The week started off with a closing and ended with me nursing a cold. I still sound off, but I feel fine. Here are a few photos from the week:


Giggles waiting for me to feed the furry crew.


Goats at Tables at the Farm. 


Breakfast at Tables at the Farm. 


Seedlings are sprouting. 


Travis being curious, little Travis. Open drawers are not safe around here. 

In my reading world, I finished this one. Check out my review here


I read and reviewed this new release at my children's book blog. You can find my review here.



I started this historical novel. 


These are next. 












Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books they added to their shelves the previous week. This weekly meme is now hosted by Vicki at I'd Rather Be At The Beach

No new physical books, but I was approved on NetGalley for this book last week. 


Upcoming Events
  • Sunset Bay by Karen Stewart - Mar 11 (First Chapter Review)
  • Gitel's Freedom by Iris Mitlin Lav - Date TBD (Review) 
  • Pineapple Easter Egg by Amy Vansant - Apr 10 (Showcase)
  • The Whispering Witch and Nobody Important by Lee J. Martin - Apr 16 & 17 (Review at TC&TBC)
  • Surviving the United Nations by Robert Bruce Adolph - May 9 (First Chapter Review)


At Christmas Year Round I posted Three Things to Do in March to Prepare for Next Christmas. Check it out here


At The Children's and Teens' Book Connection I reviewed The Crocodile in the Nile. Cute book that tells the story of Moses being found on the river by a kind crocodile. Read the review here

At Laura's Little Houses, I compared The Long Winter and Little Town on the Prairie to Season 6 of the Little House on the Prairie show. You can read that here.  

Heading out this morning for breakfast with one of my sisters before going to a medical appointment. I will check out your blogs this afternoon. Can't wait to see what you've been reading.