Sandhill Island is a mythical place – a place in my mind. But I could live there. I would love the slow pace and the self-reliant people who live near and on the water. They have adventures, romances, and lives of every type. They are islanders. As I write about them I can smell the salt air, and hear the relentless waves washing up on shore.
The first novel, Secrets of Sandhill Island, (http://tinyurl.com/gnjp94b) is about Meg and her search for the truth about her lover and her father. She’s lived a lifetime raising the son who never knew his father and now it is time to love again as soon as she finds out who is trying to blackmail her.
The second novel, Stones of Sandhill Island, (https://tinyurl.com/y9qp6qzp) revolves around Billie Stone, who sings the blues – on and off the island. She lost her husband and son to a drunk driver and now lives with her mother back where she grew up – on Sandhill Island. She struggles to live her life and learn to love after losing everything in life. And she packs in the audience when she sings at Le Chez after leaving her jazz career in the big city of Corpus Christi.
And soon to release, a novella about the only ice cream shop on the island. Strawberry Sundae Delights involves new characters who live on the island and work at the only ice cream store there – Auntie’s Ice Cream Shack – Home of the World-Famous Strawberry Sundae. Courageous people live on Sandhill Island even if they only sell ice cream for a living. There can be danger around every corner. The story is part of the One Scoop or Two series for The Wild Rose Press, but if you have read the first two books, you’ll want to see what happens next.
Check it out and keep an eye out for the third Sandhill Island Book, Smugglers of Sandhill Island, my WIP.
What are you reading this week?
IT’S HOT OUTSIDE! And I’m not talking about the political scene. The temperatures in Oklahoma have reached the century mark and the humidity is trying to keep up with it. If you’re going outside, do it early morning or late evening. I’m sure it’s the same wherever you are.
If you follow my blogs you know they’re normally light. I talk about the current book I’m promoting or the flowers blooming in my garden. But today, I had to say something serious.
I’m sure the rest of the world is having as much trouble staying home and doing nothing as I am. But this is getting ridiculous! It’s not as if I am doing without, we have food to eat and a nice home to live in, but I really want to travel. And I can’t at this time.
Last year when The Wild Rose Press called for submissions for novellas based on a fictional Vermont Inn, the noise of mad scribbling and typing could be heard around the globe. Not all of The Wild Rose Press authors live in the United States. The story would be built around a quaint Vermont Inn nestled in a tiny town with lots of eclectic characters.
It’s Mother’s Day and today we celebrate mothers everywhere and their contribution to the world. I looked for a picture of my mother in the stacks that desperately needed attention and came up with this one. She was young, maybe unmarried, I don’t have a date on it. She married Dad right after WWII and they had my oldest sister a few years later. Eventually they had 3 daughters. I resisted using the one of her in a bathing suit. She might have come up from the grave to chase me with a stick! She was a piece of work.
The second picture is my daughter who is now a mother too. This adorable photo was taken when she was about two years old. She has been my lifelong friend as well as my daughter. I had her with I was barely 20 and I had to practice motherhood on her. But when her brother came along was when I really became a mother. Women with one child are mothers, but women with multiple children should be canonized before death. I have a niece with 8, my grandmother also had 8, and I have a friend who raised 5 on her own. I only thought I was stressed. Stressed, but blessed. I couldn’t have survived without them.
Last week in my blog I talked about the Heavener Runestone 
The Heavener Runestone 
My sister is an inspiration. I didn’t get permission to talk about this and I may now be off her Christmas list (assuming she reads my blog), but she’s a bad ass. With the pandemic she is going to work at Walmart everyday and stocking shelves, selling fabric and crafts to people stuck in the house – and she’s not alone. The people who work in retail are there every day to take care of us. They sling boxes and stock shelves so we can rush out the door with our treasures. On top of that she’s had two back surgeries in the last year and I know standing on her feet is harder than it is for most. But she’s not old enough for retirement yet and needs the income and insurance. I also know she has good friends there and she feels a loyalty to them, her employer, and the customers she serves.
Back in January, I came up with the subject of More Experiences and Fewer Possessions. I had no idea what would happen to our world. I envisioned cleaning out the closets and taking trips to places I’d never been.
Peggy Chambers "Views from the Hammock" site 