Sunday, May 29, 2016

Rainbow Snippets ~ Need Your Love







“Lovely ceremony, don’t you think?” Johnette said as they headed to the country club.
 “What’s that?” Garrett asked.
“Lovely ceremony, Susan was beautiful.”
“Yeah, lovely.”
“What’s wrong? You haven’t been yourself since we arrived at the church.”
“Nothing, I have a lot on my mind.”
I’m infatuated with a good-looking guy, but I can’t tell you or my dad that. But it doesn’t matter because he didn’t say much, anyway.
.




Get Need Your Love from your favorite online retailer today!




Also- Check out other great LGBTQ novels on Facebook through the Rainbow Snippets Group!

_______________________________________________



Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?


My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books !
















Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Change is Inevitable



Change is inevitable - except from a vending machine ~ Robert C. Gallagher

Did you realize that even if you didn’t choose to embark on a dream journey, inevitably your life would change?

Whether we want it to, or not, our lives and the world around us are constantly changing. Had I not quit smoking 19 years ago, who knows what my health would be like today. The world may have passed me over, had I not returned to school and finished my B.S. degree.

When I decided to write a novel, life was pretty good. I had been unemployed. The week I got the job offer, I found the characters and the story in my head that would become A Place to Call Their Own. My life has changed a lot since then, but how different life would be today without a hobby like writing to do every day? Without blog posts to write weekly? Without sales and reviews to promote? Now I write stories that (I hope) change other people’s lives.

If you’re wavering on starting a dream journey, remember your life with change. Hopefully your dream journey will help it change for the better.

How has your dream journey changed your life?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?

My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!













Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Amazon US



Thursday, May 19, 2016

Change in Yourself



Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore ~ Dorothy, The Wizard of Oz

Once you get started on your dream journey and start accomplishing some of your smaller goals, you’ll notice a change in yourself.You’ll see the rest of your journey differently. You’ll notice that it’s not as hard as you once thought it might be. You’ll start looking at the outside world differently as well.

But beware - in my experience, just when I have things under control, I get knocked back two or three steps. What I’ve learned is that no matter how much I’ve learned and no matter how easy my routines and boundaries are to adhere to, I have to constantly remind myself all the reasons to keep going.

I’ve also learned that the best things for us (in this case, working on routines that help achieve goals in our dream journey) are sometimes the hardest to do. It’s easy to sleep in every morning and get up at the very last minute before you have to get ready for work. It can be grueling to get up two or three hours before work everyday (including weekends) to work on your dream goals. (The same can be said if you are working all day and coming home to work on dream goals).

What’s a change in yourself that you noticed right away once you started working on your dream journey?

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?


My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from JMS Books !



Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from JMS Books!

Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Blog Hop for Visibility, Awareness, and Equality



Have we all stepped through the looking glass? ~ Dowager Countess, from Downton Abbey

Thinking about this topic and the long distance we’ve come over the last few years, I can’t believe I’m experiencing this in my (relative) youth. I truly believed that Thomas and I would be in our sixties or seventies lined up at the courthouse to be legally married. We were one of the first couples married in our county in Missouri here before the Supreme Court decision two years ago.

I enjoyed seeing all the pictures of the same-sex couples on social media that got to go to Prom without petitioning the school board for permission. They celebrated a right of passage along with their straight friends, I hope without the fear of being assaulted.

And yet, we still see pictures of gay couples being assaulted for public displays of affection. Just when I think we are moving forward, I see stuff like that. I don’t even want to get into the transgendered bathroom issue. I need to get the badge that says, “I will go with you” and wear it all the time.

I suppose that’s why I love writing historical books. I am so grateful that, for the most part, I’ve never had to hide in the closet. Sometimes I really have to scheme to figure out how to get the characters together in a plausible fashion that works for their times. In A Place to Call Their Own, it’s the unsettled Kansas Prairie. In Disappear With Me, it was a housekeeper’s need to get home to her family. Need Your Love is about the struggle in the 60s that two professional men have to figure out their way in the homophobic world.

So this year, let’s celebrate what we do have, that life is pretty good for most of us. Let’s continue to push for reform that makes the rest of country, and the world, a safer place to be for all of us.

Thanks for stopping by, enter the rafflecopter for 2 chancse to win a copy of both A Place to Call Their Own or Need Your Love, and stop by some of the other blogs participating this year.

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Sunday, May 15, 2016

Rainbow Snippets - Need Your Love





Coherent conversation stuck in his throat. The class clown, the jokester at a loss for words. He finished his cigarette, then ground his newfound frustration into the butt on the ground. “I need to go. Enjoy the rest of the day.”
Garrett nodded. “Nice to meet you.”
It was just as well. Garrett didn’t seem interested in conversation either. When Garrett failed to extend his hand, Eron offered his wanting another moment of contact. No, he wanted to push Garrett up against the wall and kiss his lips, but for now he’d settle for a handshake.




Get Need Your Love from your favorite online retailer today!




Also- Check out other great LGBTQ novels on Facebook through the Rainbow Snippets Group!

_______________________________________________



Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?


My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Amazon US!





Thursday, May 12, 2016

Parts of Jobs that We Love



Here’s to the parts of our jobs that we love ~ Jill Badonsky

No matter how much we enjoy our dream journey, there will be tasks that we just don’t like. For me, it’s the promo part of writing. I am inconsistent with asking for reviews from blogs, posting in the Facebook groups, and asking to do guest posts. But that is part of sales process in today’s Internet global market.

When I was in direct sales, one of the tips constantly given by top leadership was to hire other people to do the work that anyone could do. Recently, I read a Mary Kay Ash book and she talked about having a housekeeper as soon as she could afford it. Mary Kay said that anyone could clean her house, but only she could lead and build her team. So that’s one tip to get out of the tasks that you don’t like that have to be done.

I supposed I need to have more faith in my own work. I do need to hire a assistant to do the promo part for me. Promo needs to be consistent. I have to write the content in my own voice, but I don’t necessarily need to be the one that contacts all the blog sites out there. Amazing what brainstorms I come up with writing posts.

So, here’s to the parts of our jobs that we love, and help us figure out a way to delegate the stuff that we don’t.

What’s a task in your dream journey you’re able to hire out or delegate?

_______________________________________________



Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?


My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from Smashwords!



Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Smashwords!
Coming soon from JMS Books: Disappear With Me!

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Gut Feelings



Here’s to clear gut feelings that spare us emotions and save us time ~ Jill Badonsky

The answers to all your questions about our dream journeys are deep within us. We each hold our own answers. Sometimes we just don’t know it.

When I found my story for my first novel, A Place to Call Their Own, something deep inside resonated that it would be my first novel. I immediately started working on notes and research, developing the characters, etc. It took me four years to write the first draft, but I knew Frank and Gregory’s story was the first I would tell.

Recently, my husband had the choice of two jobs. I told him he had the answers within himself. Even though he quit a job he had only just started, he took the job that was Monday through Friday at a small family owned company that he truly loved. Although he felt guilty about quitting the other job, we knew it was the correct decision for him.

I’d love to hear about a gut feeling you had about your dream journey and how it turned out.

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Is it possible for two Civil War veterans to find their place in the world on the Kansas Prairie?


My first novel, A Place to Call Their Own is available from BookStrand!



Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from BookStrand!



Sunday, May 8, 2016

Rainbow Snippets - A Place to Call Their Own





Frank didn’t look up from his plate. “Sir, I’m going to Kansas, and you can’t stop me. I am twenty-three years old, and there’s nothing you can say that will change my mind. We’re going to take two claims side-by-side and help each other out.” He stopped short of saying that they planned to live in one house and sleep in one bed.
“I know you know what you’re doing—I taught you how to manage a farm myself—but I don’t think you really know what you’re getting yourself into.”

Get your copy of #APTCTO here:



Also- Check out other great LGBTQ novels on Facebook through the Rainbow Snippets Group!

_______________________________________________


Can two men find love amidst the pervasive culture of  propriety, honor, and expectation of the 1960s?

My latest novel, Need Your Love is available from Amazon US!