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.
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.
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.”
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!
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.
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.
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. ”
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.
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?
