Giving up on a Dream by Vickie McDonough

I'm up to my neck in boxes! After only 2 1/2 years at our present home, we're moving again. It's really hard because this is my dream house. We bought this house partly because it had the perfect set-up for my mom to live with us, plus it had just been totally remodeled in colors I love. And then there's the lovely acre lot with pretty flowers and lots of trees. But Mom is gone and my husband has been out of work for quite a while, so we feel the need to downsize and have a lower house payment, so we are moving.

Our new house is nice and also has trees lining the whole backyard. But it's still hard to give up on a dream. This is the house I had prayed for. Have you ever had to give up on a dream? It can be very hard, but if we put our trust in God, He will bring us through. And He can give us a new dream. 

In my book, The Prodigal's Shotgun Wedding, Clay is returning home after years away. He left shortly after his father blamed him for his brother's death. Now he's hoping for a fresh start, but when the stagecoach he’s riding in wrecks and he is injured, he finds himself in a fight for survival.

Jolie is fleeing a nightmare situation. She desperately hopes becoming a mail-order bride doesn’t land her in a worse place. When the stage crashes and she spends the night alone with a wounded man, she wonders if her intended will still want her. If he doesn’t, what will she do? She has no money and nowhere to go.

Clay's dream doesn't turn out as he had hoped, but a troubling situation, turns to good, and he has a whole new dream.

This is the final week to get The Prodigal's Shotgun Wedding for just 99 cents. 

Click here to purchase

Ladies, Sweet Romance Reads authors are going to continue our annual Mother's Day Party on Thursday May 7th, starting at 3 p.m. EDT. Our authors have always given away books to participants, but this time we have added TWO NEW PRIZES!!! One commenter during the party will receive a $50 Visa gift card. And since we are starting a quarterly newsletter, we will be offering another $50 Visa gift card.

If you look to the left column, you'll see the image of the Sweet Romance Reads Cafe, click it. And if you aren't a member, ask to Join (You'll see that button when you arrive at Facebook.) Then you'll be all set!

Let's Talk About Dreams by Vickie McDonough

     I seldom remember my dreams. Most of them seem to have me running from something or chasing after someone. I used to have a recurring dream where this giant monster was coming down the street where I lived as a kid. My family was eating dinner at the time. It seems nothing could kill this creature, but when it got close to my house, I grabbed the ketchup bottle, ran out the front door, and squirted the monster. Instantly it dissipated and was gone. Weird, right? Yeah.

Courtesy of Pixabay

     Two nights ago, I had a dream about--of all things--kangaroos. I hadn't watched or read anything about kangaroos lately, so why would they invade my dreams? And invade they did. There were thousands of little kangaroos being lead around on leashes by people at a park. There must have been kangaroo convention. Weird again. Maybe these dreams have something to do with snacking late at night.
     Let's shift to dreams as in things you'd like to achieve. Did you know that every hero/heroine in a book should have a dream--something he/she wants to get like a new job, a home, or forgiveness. It writers' terms it is called a goal. A good writer keeps throwing situations in the hero's or heroine's path to keep them from reaching that goal. This makes for good reading. I challenge you as you're reading to see if you can determine what the hero/heroine's dream is. 

In my Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, three women arrive in the same town about the same time, each expecting to marry the town marshall. But he hadn't written to any of them and was shocked to see them and angered that someone would involve innocent women by playing a trick on him. Each of those women had a dream to be married. Now they have to shift their plans, especially since none of them can return to their former homes. Read my Texas Boardinghouse Brides series to see what happens.

 

The Anonymous Bride review:

Vickie McDonough possesses a unique voice, and in The Anonymous Bride, she uses it to lure in, capture and claim her readers. You’ll want to read this one when you have a good chunk of time to do nothing more than that, because you won’t want to put it down. Filled with authentic detail relevant to the historical era of the storyline, this book is a must have! The author knows how to spin a tale, and she does it with flair and finesse in The Anonymous Bride. Great storytelling!

(Delia Latham My Book Bag blog 2010-04-19)

Purchase links:

The Anonymous Bride

Second Chance Brides

Finally A Bride

Free on Kindle Unlimited

How about you. Have you had an odd dream lately? Let's keep it clean, please.

A roundabout way to reach your dreams

Why on earth do you write in English? That's the first question everybody asks when they hear I'm a writer. It does seem strange. After all, I'm German, have lived in Germany most of my life (with some stints abroad), and have unexciting German roots, nothing international there.

The answer is easy. We Germans have a simple approach to life. If you want to be good, make sure you study your subject at university. If you want to change track in the middle of your life, don't. If you want to become an author, keep on dreaming. If you want to have information about how to write, how to submit to a publisher, how to polish a manuscript, see point one. Or make sure you have excellent connections in the industry.

When I had come to that point in my life, I realized (thanks to the Internet) that Americans approach life in a different manner. They shrug, smile at you and say, "If you want it, you can do it." And then they show you how. You're a nurse, a gardener, a lawyer, a manager? Never mind. You can do it. Be prepared to work hard, be prepared for rejections, but go right ahead.

Next, I looked at the German book market and realized that most romances, chick lits, and mysteries were first published in English and then translated into German.

If the German market proves so difficult to crack, I thought, I'll take a roundabout way to become a published author. I'll write in English and target the US market first. Let the Germans make their own translations whenever they'll get round to it.

So I started to write my first novel in English. I guess I was the fool who was never told the impossible. Then, in spite of all the help via the Internet, I was stuck. I knew I had to improve my craft but didn't know how. Everybody said I should join a writer's group, but I didn't know any other writers in my area. Everybody said I should go to a writer's conference, but I couldn't afford the trip to the US. I felt as if I was a desert mouse, trying to learn to ski with all the other mice looking on and shaking their heads.

So I searched the Internet some more and decided to give my manuscript to a professional book editor. I hit a jackpot. Elizabeth Lyon gave me such a detailed report, it was almost longer than my novella. She criticized every single point in detail, but she did it in such a wonderful way that it didn't hurt me (another American talent!). I couldn't wait to go back and make all the changes.

Next, Elizabeth met the then-editor from Avalon Books at a conference and sent me their information. I submitted my manuscript, changed it again according to Avalon's suggestions, and many months later I received the incredible news that I had made it. Avalon Books had accepted my first romance "Wings to Fly"! The desert mouse had learned to ski.

That was in 2008. Today, I've got 12 full-length novels published, three with Avalon Books, the rest independently, and I won't stop writing anytime soon . . . I've even translated my first novel "back" into German, but have found that it's not much fun. I prefer to write in English!

How about you? Have you ever taken a roundabout way to realize your dreams?

Take a Chance! by Ginny Baird

Seven years ago this month, I took a chance and ran off to the sheriff to get married. After tirelessly caring for everyone else, I finally decided to grab some happiness for myself. Things couldn’t have worked out more wonderfully. If I had to make the same choice today, I’d take that leap again – without a doubt.

January is such a great month for new beginnings. It’s also a time to challenge ourselves by thinking of taking chances. It doesn’t have to be now or next month even, but I’m hoping that sometime during this year, we’ll all take a chance by doing something special for ourselves. When you’re in the role of mother, caretaker, partner or helpmate, it can be hard to focus on anything other than giving. Though it’s important to recall that we often have more to give when we’ve stepped back and taken a little for ourselves.

When considering New Year’s goals, don’t neglect to think of yourself.  If you’ve always wanted to paint, sign up for a class. If you’ve yearned for a session at a spa, book one and make it happen! If you’d like just one day to yourself to shop, have lunch, or see a movie, explain to your family that this is what you need to help revitalize you. Then, rinse, lather, repeat… as often as needed throughout the year to keep your batteries charged and help maintain a healthy outlook that balances self-care with caring for others. For when we give to ourselves, we increase the wealth of what we can contribute by being happier, and more deeply enriched, people.

So, what will it be? What will you take a chance on in 2015? If there’s something you’ve always wanted to do, or hoped to learn, you know what they say… There’s no time like the present!

~ * ~

New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Ginny Baird writes short contemporary romance and romantic comedy. Her latest release is The Calendar Brides, a story in which twelve granddaughters plan to send their dear grandma back to Italy to reunite with her long-lost love. Find The Calendar Brides online at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Bestseller!

 Here are links to buy the bestselling box:
Amazon  Kobo i-tunes Google Nook

October 9, 2014 would remain embedded in the memories of fourteen authors as THE day they fulfilled their dream and reached their goal. It's difficult to describe the joy that we shared on our loop and in our homes when we read that SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES was  a BESTSELLER #51 on the USA Today bestsellers list.

When I read the caption, the emotion made me speechless for a moment, then I jumped from my chair, kept mumbling, Oh my God, Oh my God, and fell back in front of the monitor. My husband saw my face pale and rush to my side. "Are you OK?" He thought I was having a heart attack.


What a giddy feeling. But soon I shouted at the top of my lungs, "I'm a USA Today Bestselling Author," and I couldn't stop laughing and babbling. We had a drink to celebrate reaching this milestone.

When I attended my first RWA National Conference in 2004 and saw some 4,000 writers, bustling in the ballroom for lunch, my stomach had constricted. If all these people were competing to be published there was no way on Earth I would succeed. And yet here I am, ten years later, standing on the top of the mountain, screaming, "TaDa!"

SWEET CHRISTMAS KISSES made it to the USA Today bestsellers list for three weeks. We have a lot-- a huge lot--of readers to thank for appreciating, buying and loving our sweet romances.

How did it  happen? With hard work, perseverance, a lot of support, a good network, and a "little bit of blooming luck", and mostly an amazing team of determined authors who gave it their 101%.

Thank you my Sweet Christmas Kisses fellows for making the impossible reachable.

HER CHRISTMAS CRUISE, my contribution to this box, will take you on a wonderful cruise to Spain and Italy with Julia and Tony.

The perfect fiancé is a cheater and the fabulous Christmas wedding is off. But the would-be honeymoon cruise may fulfill the dreams of Julia and her unexpected companion.

Although it's so difficult to climb that ladder of success to the USA Today bestseller list, three authors did it again with another box, Ten Christmas Brides, which became a bestseller on October 29, 2014.

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A USA Today Bestselling Author, Mona Risk recently received an OUTSTANDING ACHIEVER Award at Affaire de Coeur Magazine. She’s a two time winner of Best Contemporary Romance of the Year at Readers Favorite, a winner of Best Romance Novel of the Year at Preditors & Editors Readers Poll, and an EPIC’S award finalist.

You can find her at www.monarisk.com or sign up for her newsletter here.