It's Monday! What Are You Reading? and 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, comment, and add to that ever-growing TBR pile! So welcome, everyone. This meme started with J Kaye's Blog and was then taken up by Sheila from Book Journey. Sheila then passed it on to Kathryn at the Book Date.

Happy Monday! Welcome to October!!! Massachusetts hit at least 80 degrees on Sunday. You know why? Because I switched to my fall and winter wardrobe. Every time I switch over my clothes, it gets warm. :) 

Are there any Pampered Chef fans out there? I'm having a Facebook party, Cheryl's Spook-Tacular Halloween Table. Click here to join us. Know what you want to order. Click here.

Here are photos from this week:

HB Real Estate supports local

Travis is watching me from the dining room

Made my first Tourtière (French Canadian meat pie)

Meat pie was a holiday food in my childhood. I also only had meat stuffing on Thanksgiving. I didn't even know bread stuffing existed until I was an adult. Gen X grew up without the Internet. 

In my reading world, I put aside this poetry collection, Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson. This review is due in November, and I need to read two other books first. 

Finished Eleanor Roosevelt's Nightly Prayer by Donn Mitchell, which is a NetGalley download. Not what I expected, but interesting. 

I cracked open The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright this week. This is an October review book.

The Man Next Door, another romantic comedy by Sheila Roberts, is next.

I want to read Old Flames, New Beginnings by Lea Schizas during the holiday season. 

Ms. Pennypickle's Puzzle Quest by Chris Grabenstein and The Curiosities by W.H. Eatons are middle-grade NetGalley downloads I need to read. 

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. 

In addition to Jamie Jo Wright's book, I pre-ordered this contemporary Christmas novella collection. 

Four authors, four Christmas novellas of peace, joy, love (and red pickup trucks)

A Christmas Wedding to Die For by Darlene L. Turner

’Tis the season for deadly secrets.
Photographer Adelaide Fox thought she had the perfect assignment—capturing the winning shot at a high-profile Yukon wedding. But when the bride vanishes and a guest is found dead, holiday cheer turns to mystery. As a blizzard approaches, Adelaide teams up with the bride’s rugged brother, tracker Declan Stone. With danger closing in, suspicious guests, and threatening messages, Adelaide must unravel the truth—and maybe open her heart—to find peace on earth this Christmas.

Season of Forever by Helena Smrcek

Past meets present. Two hearts, WWII secrets, and a Christmas of second chances.
Past and present entwine in a story of love, loss, and second chances. In the shadows of WWII, a fragile romance is tested by sacrifice and distance. Decades later, in St. Jacobs, Ontario, Faith helps at her grandmother’s sweater shop, while next door Joseph acquires a charred WWII Bible marked with a red ribbon. Despite their rocky first encounter, will Faith and Joseph give their budding relationship a chance—and uncover the hidden story within the Bible’s pages?

Falling for You by Melanie Stevenson

A broken engagement, a broken rib, and a broken heart.
Author Laurel Bennett hadn’t planned to spend Christmas this way. Her escape to Banff was meant to avoid her ex-fiancé’s wedding, not land her in recovery at the Banff Springs Hotel. But when she crosses paths with Dr. Ethan Pine—the charming stranger who saved her on the slopes—everything changes. A whirlwind of magical days sparks undeniable chemistry, and they must decide if love can bridge both the distance and the wounds that threaten to keep them apart.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Potter by Sara Davison

He thought he knew exactly what he wanted.
Jack Miller is determined to make it big in the Big Apple. So why does he keep getting dragged back to the place—and the woman—he’s trying to leave behind? Playing the lead in his tiny Nova Scotian town’s production of It’s a Wonderful Life gives Jack a glimpse into the life that could have been his. Good thing it’s not the one he wants, since it’s clearly too late for him to get it back.

Upcoming Events

• The Bell Tolls at Traeger Hall by Jaime Jo Wright - Oct 29 (Review)
• One Foot in the Ether: Whispers of the Pendle Witches by Kayleigh Kavanagh - Oct 30 (Spotlight)
• The Man Next Door by Sheila Roberts - Oct 31 (Review)
• Singing the Forge by G. H. Mosson - Nov 25 (Review)

The latest Christmas... in the news post is up at Christmas Year Round. This week's news is about a sea glass Christmas tree, the Salvation Army's increased need to provide assistance this holiday season, and an annual dance troupe holiday show. Check it all out here.

At The Children's and Teens' Book Connection, I shared Halloween picture and board books. You can find them here. 

Nothing new at Laura's Little Houses. My Season 9 rewrite posts are getting lots of attention. Will write the next chapter when I have time. 

Still waiting on two bits of writing-related news. Have an online agent meeting scheduled for next week, and plan to attend a writers conference on October 18. 

That's it in my world. Hope you have a happy day!