Vacations and Babies

Last year at this time, we were celebrating a wedding. A beach wedding with a gorgeous sky and the perfect weather. Today we’re celebrating their baby. My daughter and I wanted to have a baby shower, but who wants to come to Michigan in February (the last time pregnant daughter-in-law could fly). Instead we’re having a “welcome to the world” party for the youngest member of our family. Although Hubs and I had seen her right after she was born, the rest of our family hadn’t. My sisters, especially, are thrilled that the baby will be at her own shower.

So the Arizona family left 103° Thursday morning to come to Michigan. DIL couldn’t get over the fact that she could have her coffee outside in the summer. I thought it was too warm and humid, but it’s all perspective, I guess. Yesterday, they picked blueberries with my daughter and her two children (who were thrilled to play with their new cousin). Then they all went to the beach. Son and DIL plan to show their daughter the beach where they got married. Not that she’ll remember it. But if this becomes a regular vacation for them, she will.

As for Hubs and I, it’s such a treat to have the whole family together. A rare thing when we live 2,000 miles apart. Yesterday I started freaking about everything that wasn’t done for the party. Then I held the little one. My blood pressure went down (I’m sure), I relaxed, and all that was important was holding her and watching her smile. She is just adorable, by the way. (I’m not prejudiced or anything.)

We don’t need to go anywhere to have a perfect vacation.

When Diane Burton isn’t blogging here on the 8th and 30th of each month or on her own site http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/ on Mondays, she’s writing romantic adventure stories that take place on Earth and beyond. Her newest release is a science fiction romance THE PROTECTOR.

Family: Truth or Fiction

I love our theme this month – right up my alley. My son calls me a Pollyanna, and I’ll wear the label proudly. The last few years haven’t been flush, plush or cushy, but I’ve got a lot of company when it comes to experiencing the downturn. How you approach it makes a gigantic difference in how you weather it and how you come out in the end. I’ve always said my husband and I lead a charmed life. A couple of years ago, he asked me if our charm had worn off. It’s a bit tarnished, but we've discovered we still have tons for which to be thankful.

My family is close, not in miles apart, but certainly in spirit. And as an author, I'm really thankful they're all rather colorful with varied life experiences. The discoveries they've made in life and how those have shaped them make for a rich pool to draw from for my fictional stories. That's not to say when you read one of my books you are reading about any one of them. But they do spark my imagination.

My mother was a young woman in my favorite historical era - the forties. I have a book releasing in January, Honey On White Bread, inspired by the stories she told when I lived at home. She hopped freight trains, has relatives straight out of the Grapes of Wrath and she sang on the radio. Such a romantic time period. I have more books in my head from that era that I need to get down on paper.

There's a whole book that will come out of one night my brother spent in a motel in Tucson, Arizona. The story had me doubled over laughing and begs to be part of a book. I have cousins, aunts and uncles that have also made cameo appearances in stories. It might only be a certain way they have of saying something, a personality trait or a life experience, but they enriched the tale.

I have my sister to thank for the the book I'm giving away today. Sleeping with the Lights On is a story of discovery for a woman who's fifty and still searching for love and career while dealing with a stalker, a secret admirer, a quirky millionaire and an ex-husband. When it comes to romance, my sister has had a rich life and that gave me the inspiration. Some of her more colorful dates passed through the pages in Sleeping with the Lights On. My editor actually had me tone down some of it - true life really is stranger than fiction. Now before you think the book is a biography, it isn't and my sister will make sure I tell you that. That's the thing I love about writing fiction. You can take one little bit of fact and twist it, blow it up and paint it into an entertaining read.

It would take another post or two to elaborate on what else I'm thankful for, but family ranks at the top so I'll just leave it at that. They keep me writing!

Please leave a comment. I'm happy to give away a PDF copy of Sleeping with the Lights On to one of you today. Be sure to leave your email address.

After two failed marriages and countless relationships, Sandra Holiday thinks she’s met the man to end her years of less than perfect choices; choices that not only derailed her travel-related career plans but also left her single and broke. 

Carson Holiday, a Las Vegas country crooner with swoon-inducing good looks, spent his adult life pursuing a recording contract and love, never holding on to either. After eighteen years, he drops back into Sandra’s life, reigniting an attraction he can’t deny.

When Carson reappears, Sandra must choose again.  Only this time, nothing’s as it seems.  A secret admirer, a redheaded stalker, and an eccentric millionaire throw her on a dangerous path, with Carson her only truth.

As life confronts her with yet another turning point, will her decisions find her eternally sleeping with the lights on – or will she finally discover a way to turn them off?

 

Brenda can be connected with at:
www.brendawhiteside.com
www.facebook.com/BrendaWhitesideAuthor
brenda@brendawhiteside.com
You can find Sleeping with the Lights On wherever e-books or print books are sold.
Look for her upcoming releases:

Tattoos, Leather and Studs coming in Nov 2011

An Elfin Secret and On the Way to the Snow Ball (anthology) in Nov 2011

Honey on White Bread coming Jan 2012

The Morning After coming summer 2012