Wednesday, May 11, 2016

KEY TO LOVE - $0.99 Sale Ends Friday the Thirteenth



Excerpt:
    
 
 “You still haven’t told me about your nephew,
Todd.”
      The luster in Lucas’s face faded. “There’s not
much to tell. He lost his mother and father and has been
tossed into foster care with the Johnsons. I’m trying to
get temporary custody, but I’m not hopeful anything
can be done until the investigation of Mike’s death is
completed. I guess it’s standard procedure when a cop
gets killed. I’ve been lucky enough the Johnsons let me
have him on weekends.”
     “Is that allowed?” Elise opened the bread drawer
and withdrew a half loaf of bread.
      Lucas rose and walked to where she was working.
“Well, it’s bending rules a little, but they trust your
father, and the Johnsons need a break. In case you
haven’t noticed, they’re elderly, not in shape for
chasing a child Todd’s age.”
      He slapped a palm against the refrigerator. “Damn
it, Liz, it’s not fair. The kid is the one being punished,
taking the brunt of things he had no part of. He’s so
lonely he cries himself to sleep at night. He doesn’t
understand what’s happening. He doesn’t even know
where he belongs.”
     “So we spring him.”
     “It’s not that easy!”
      “Of course, it’s not going to be easy.” Elise forced
herself not to shout back, “but that doesn’t mean it’s
impossible, Lucas. Sit down, will you? I’m cooking this
morning.” She waved the half loaf of bread at him, then
withdrew four slices and dropped them into the toaster
slots.
      He blinked. “Toast? You call that cooking?”

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

Mother's Day: Thinking of Our Mothers


                                                 Buy Now  -   KEY TO LOVE

                                      
                       Your Mother Is Always With You...

Your mother is always with you...
She's the whisper of the leaves
as you walk down the street.
She's the smell of bleach
in your freshly laundered socks.
She's the cool hand on your brow
when you're not well.
Your mother lives inside your laughter.
She's crystallized in every tear drop.
She's the place you came from,
your first home...
She's the map you follow
with every step that you take.
She's your first love
and your first heart break...
and nothing on earth can separate you.
Not time, Not space...
Not even death...
will ever separate you
from your mother...
You carry her inside of you... 

                  --Deborah R. Culver
                        

Thursday, April 28, 2016

Now $0.99 ~ KEY TO LOVE

                                                             KEY TO LOVE

A romantic suspense with lots of comedy!

                                   
When architect Elise Springer's father is injured, she immediately leaves San Francisco to care for him. The last person she expects to encounter in her Pennsylvania hometown is her childhood friend Lucas Fisher. Lucas is investigating his brother's mysterious death, and Elise can't resist lending a hand.

Lucas longs for the close family ties he never had. He's back in Scranton to set up a classic car restoration business and build a future. The torch he carries for Elise burns brighter than ever, but before he can declare his love, he must obtain the legal rights to adopt his nephew--and prove his brother's death was no accident.

As they unearth clues to find the murderer and a missing stash of money, Elise faces a dilemma. Is her career on the West Coast the key to her happiness, or is it an animal-cracker-eating four-year-old and his handsome uncle?

BUY IT NOW:  AMAZON

Tuesday, April 19, 2016

Spring is a Benchmark

Spring is a benchmark. It's a new beginning when the earth is fresh and clean and new. Outside, windflowers are in bloom and the grass is a blinding green for a warm Pennsylvania April. The trees are bursting with red buds. Tulips, daffodils, crocus, and grape hyacinths are profusely blooming in a palette of colors in the flowerbeds which have shed the last of their mushy snow.
Onion sets have been tucked into the soil in the garden.

Each morning, fussy wrens sit in the front maple chattering as they fight for the two birdhouses we hung in the front of our house while robins bob, bob, bob on the lawn below digging for insects and worms. Even the doves have returned and coo up on the rooftop.

Under our carport, a couple of chickadee squatters work diligently to build a nest in a birdhouse placed there. They scold anyone who tries to get close to their home, then arrogantly sit in a nearby buckthorn and reprimand us again when the nearby bird feeder is depleted of sunflower seeds.  

Inside, seed catalogs are piled high on the table. All the windows in the house have been thrown open, allowing the scent of loamy soil and new mowed grass to perfume the air. After weeks of winter chill, it’s not hard to welcome spring.



Thursday, April 7, 2016

Productivity Is Not a Synonym for Happiness

Everyone has stress. Stress is a response to challenges in life. And let's face it, a life without challenges would be dreary and boring.

If you’re a writer, stress manifests itself when you write and when you don’t. If the writing flows, we say we’re in the zone. When it stops, we agonize over how to kick-start ourselves. When we end a piece, we fuss over the editing process. And when we’re finally finished with it, we ponder whether our creation is worthy enough, then lapse into the insecurity of “what will we write next”?

I’ve decided, after a half-dozen books, there is no happy medium to getting the right balance in life that will relieve a writer’s stress level. But there are small things to ease our anxieties.

We all know we have to eat healthy and exercise, but there are other things to consider. One is to stay as organized as possible, and simplify routines, commitments, and clutter. A messy desk doesn’t cause us stress. Not finding the papers we need which are buried in a chaotic heap on our desks causes us to stress.

We also need to let go of multi-tasking and slow down. We’re in a society that says we can do it all. We want to write, but not upset our family’s routine or our commitments to others, so we rush, rush, rush. Maybe it’s time to go back to the single task philosophy our parents used. Maybe it’s time to streamline our time and eliminate unnecessary commitments. Instead of the mental “to do” list which stretches for miles in our mind, it’s time to write down a realistic “to do” list and only put down five essential tasks we want to complete in a given time.

And lastly, here is my favorite de-stressor idea. I’m giving myself permission to have free time for myself—whether it’s to do a hobby, read, travel, or just take time off from writing without guilt. Life doesn’t have to be about always accomplishing things—always placing the next word on the page. After all, productivity has never been a synonym for happiness.  

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

FOUR WHITE ROSES - Needs Help with Kindle Scout Program


My new book, FOUR  WHITE ROSES, which is a romance and mystery, was recently selected by Amazon Kindle Scout to be featured for thirty days on their site where readers can nominate it to be chosen to be digitally published and marketed by Amazon. I need your help with the voting process. By the way, the cover was designed by local graphic artist, Kerry Hynds of Hynds Studio - Book Cover Designs!
 
If you have an amazon account, could you please go to this link and hit the blue nominate button? (Lower right hand corner)  And if you have a moment, please send the link out to any friend you have who may be a reader or who may help me. Many thanks!
 
 

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Why I Like Golf

There's a lot to be said for golf. It's a mental game as well as a physical one. Many people consider it a difficult game to play since it requires focus and form. I have to admit that there are many times when I feel like listing my clubs on eBay and walking away. So why do I continue to play?

Golf is one of the few games that you can play throughout your entire lifetime—from an early age through retirement years. It is a place where you can go to get exercise and appreciate the outdoors, where you can meet new people, and where you can play a quick nine-hole round by yourself or with your spouse, significant other or friend.
                                                                  
Most golfers will unanimously agree that golf courses are some of the most charming and appealing places on this earth. They are environmentally friendly, well-groomed, and landscaped. They encourage many species of birds such as ducks, herons, and cranes with their bodies of water; and many position birdhouses among the flora to entice bluebirds, catbirds, and wrens, to name a few, to nest.

You will find the most beautiful flowers, plants, and trees as well as other wildlife on golf courses. Even though I’m convinced trees have been planted to tease the golfer who slams a drive and bounces their errant ball off a pine or palm, I’m aware they are an integral part of beautifying the course and offering much-needed shade. I have seen raccoons, bald eagles, snakes, squirrels, and turtles on the courses I’ve played.

Golf courses are all over our fifty states, all over the world. I’ve only been playing for about ten years, but each time I play, I find it exciting to stand on the tee, feel the sunshine on my face, listen to the lyrics of the birds, and breathe in the clean air.

And, I also know if I don’t keep score, I can have two fun-filled hours in our great outdoors.