SPRING IS IN THE AIR

Do you have any springtime rituals you can share? Like spring cleaning or a trip? Maybe special plants in your garden?  We asked our authors to answer from their heroine’s POV. 

B.J. DANIELS, CARDWELL RANCH TRESPASSER, available now

Heroine: Hilde

Hilde doesn't have time to garden. But owning a fabric store, she buys beautiful flower prints for spring and decorates her store with plants and flowers and bright colors. Her favorite flowers are tulips.

CAROL ERICSON, RUN, HIDE, March 2013

Heroine: Jenna Stark

“My springtime ritual since my covert ops husband, Cade, returned long enough after our honeymoon to tell me to RUN is double checking my escape plans.  Each spring, I make sure I have enough cash to make a run for it if I have to.  I do a trial run of my escape route from my house or apartment, or wherever I happen to be living.  I check to make sure I have enough ammo.  Oh, and I color Easter eggs with my son.”

DANA MARTON

My #1 spring ritual is starting seeds inside. I scour organic seed catalogs and try to pick heritage seeds that have been passed down through generations. I love reading the little notes that might say, "This pepper was passed down to me by my great grandmother who brought seeds over on a steamship, and it has grown in our Pennsylvania garden since."

What can I say? I'm a writer so I'm a sucker for a good story. :-) Happy Spring!

P.S. I'm gearing up to making a big batch of new release announcements and give away prizes on my Facebook page, so come and Like me to make sure you don't miss anything! 

JULIE MILLER, ASSUMED IDENTITY, June 2013

Heroine: Robin Carter

Spring is absolutely my favorite time of year!  I run the Robin's Nest Florist Shop in downtown Kansas City, and my green thumb has given me great pleasure as well as the financial independence a single mom like me craves.  My favorite flower is an iris, and with the rainy spring we're having in KC, the iris bulbs I planted last fall in the window boxes in front of my shop are blooming like crazy.  Typically, I spend a lot of my springtime out in my garden at home.  I bought an old farmhouse outside of the city and have renovated it and designed the landscaping all myself. While I have made time to plant barrels of red and white geraniums, along with rich blue lobelia--and a rainbow of impatiens in pots all over my front porch, I have scaled back my gardening this year because I want to focus on mommyhood.  I suppose every career woman runs up against her biological clock sooner or later, and without a decent relationship in my life, I turned to adoption.  I was recently blessed to welcome Emma into my life. She's just four months old, and has completely turned my world upside down--but in the best way.  So while there are a lot fewer plants in my garden this spring, there's a freshly painted nursery, lots of new clothes and toys, and a lot less sleep with my precious little night owl filling my time now.  Being a mom is my favorite job, ever!

Of course, I'm still dealing with some unexplained bookkeeping errors that happened at my shop while I was away on maternity leave.  Plus, I've got a surly delivery driver working for me whose seems even moodier now that I'm back at work full-time.  And then there are the Rose Red Rapist attacks that have happened in my neighborhood.  Ever since one of my employees fell victim to his vicious rape and murder, I've implemented new security routines at my shop--and I'm super vigilant whenever I bring Emma to work with me.  I'm aware of every stranger in the neighborhood now.  I swear there's someone out there in the shadows, watching me.  Very unsettling.  It'd be nice to have a man in our lives just to walk us to my car and help me feel safer.  But I didn't get to where I am today by relying on a man to make things happen.  I just have to be extra careful--with Emma's safety as well as my own.  A single mom's work is never done, I guess.

ANGI MORGAN, PROTECTING THEIR CHILD, May 2013

Heroine: Kate Danver McCrea

Spring on a ranch is exciting. New calves and colts take up a great deal of time, but I also continue my mother's vegetable garden. My dad began planting jalapeños. When they turned the tomatoes "hot", I moved them to their own bed. When Cord and I aren't exhausted, we like to take a drive east of Marfa to catch a peek at the lights. And let's not mention the cleaning and planning. And even after all the hiking we've done…there's nothing like getting up at daybreak and taking a long quiet walk and enjoying the beautiful cactus flowers.

 

ROBIN PERINI, BEHIND THE LIES, April 2013

Heroine: Jenna Walters

“Spring is baseball season. What else is there? No one knows, but I sneak out with my son in the backyard and play catch or attend a AAA game. You can’t beat a baseball hot dog. My dad taught me that before he died. ”

PATRICIA ROSEMOOR (with Sherrill Bodine), WRITTEN IN THE STARS, August 2013

Heroine: Cordelia Ward

Cordelia is a marine archeologist, so I imagine she's always waiting for spring to take that first dive of the season. She would, of course, be looking for sunken treasure.

AIMEE THURLO, FALCON'S RUN, July 2013

Heroine: Abby Langdon

Spring is Abby Langdon's busiest time of the year. After the long winter months, Sitting Tall Ranch comes to full life. The Ranch is a place for kids who are victims of illness, poverty, or abuse. At the ranch they can forget their troubles, at least for a while.

Spring is the time when the horses are shedding their coats and the camels look horrible, with huge clumps that need to be brushed off. The hair, of course, can be processed into wool that makes camel hair sweaters which just can't be beat.  Myka Solis from Independence, New Mexico has already asked for the wool. (Myka is the heroine is our Christmas Heartwarming Harlequin,  Ring of Christmas, coming out in November). Spring means sheep shearing, grooming very fuzzy animals, mending the tack, and carrying out any repairs on the stalls and enclosures. It's the busiest time of year for Abby and her small staff of volunteers. When the kids come, all the animals have  to look their best!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE SPRING RITUAL?