2025: Dolphins are the Best

Posted on July 20, 2025 by peggylchambers

I love dolphins. I’ve always thought they were wonderful creatures. That probably began when I never missed an episode of Flipper when I was a kid (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057748). If you know what I’m talking about you’re as old as I am.

When I traveled to Mexico years ago, I got a chance to swim with them off the Yucatan Peninsula. And it was wonderful. I’d do it again if I could.

Instead, I wrote a story about one and put it in my latest book, Smugglers of Sandhill Island. His name was Scar, and he was a hero. As I imagine all dolphins are. He was a friend to Dani and Cody at the dock where they fed him fish, and he turned into a lifesaver in the end.  I felt the story set on an island had to have a dolphin as a character and Scar was born.

Dolphins are known for being friendly mammals and their intelligence can be astounding. They recognize the whistles of other dolphins and there have been stories of them helping human swimmers in peril. They have a type of sonar that tells them how to get where they are going, and the bottle nose dolphin appears to have a permanent smile.

I’m squeamish when it comes to touching bugs, fish, or reptiles but when I got a chance to swim with these magnificent creatures, I couldn’t wait to touch them. And they didn’t seem to mind. The skin was smooth, and the muscles underneath were abnormally strong. But if you swam all day every day, you might be as buff. When I grabbed the dorsal fin and tried to hang on, I knew they would protect me. My biggest problem was keeping my legs out of the way of that powerful tail. I found bruises later, but I displayed them proudly. I swam with dolphins!  Later I got a kiss from one. At least, I thought it was a kiss. The dolphin was probably just doing what it was told.

Read about them at (Dolphin – Wikipedia). They are extraordinary creatures. Probably smarter than humans. I know Scar was. Check him out in Smugglers of Sandhill Island. You’ll want to be his friend.

What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?

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2025: Release Party for Smugglers of Sandhill Island

Posted on July 13, 2025 by peggylchambers

Smugglers of Sandhill Island debuted last night and sold out.  More books are coming. We had a great time with books, a reading, food, and a little wine. It was a celebration. There was an art and music festival downtown and it had been flooding earlier in the day, but the book lovers still showed up.  You can’t keep a good reader down.

My writing club came and supported me. There is a tremendous amount of talent in our town, and they are great about backing each other.  I saw people from town, people I went to high school with, and family. It was a great event.

Chloe Fuksa, from Putnam Six bookstore in town, helped me with payments. She is a big supporter of the writing and reading community and always helps us. Go see her and grab a book!

And St. Matthews Episcopal Church hosted the event. It helps when the priest is a club member and fellow novelist. Fr. John Toles is a great asset and friend.

But celebrating aside, Smugglers of Sandhill Island is off to a great start. You can find a copy at Putnam Six in Enid or online at https://books2read.com/u/mdeZ85 electronically, or at Amazon or Barnes & Noble. Maybe even your local library. If they don’t have a copy, have them get one! And as always, please leave a review.

Thanks to everyone who came out to the party, my club who critiqued the book, and my family who supports my writing addiction.

What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?

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2025: Smugglers of Sandhill Island Release

Posted on July 6, 2025 by peggylchambers

Smugglers of Sandhill Island is live! It is the final in the Sandhill Island series. If you haven’t read them, they are available at bookstores everywhere and online. I love the characters who live on this little island on the Gulf coast, and I’ve come to feel they are my friends.

Sandhill Island is a small tourist island off the coast of Corpus Christi and the characters are varied. They live their lives fishing, operating a business, teaching school, growing a garden, or singing in a local restaurant.

This book, Smugglers of Sandhill Island, is about the relationship between siblings; one hard working, the other not. And liked most siblings, they will fight each other tooth and nail, and they would fight to the death for each other.

Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.

This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.

Dani and Cody know that water can protect you or kill you, depending upon its current attitude. But they make their living off the water and don’t plan to die in its arms.

I plan a release party at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 518 West Randolph, Enid, OK on Saturday night July 12th at 7:00. Come by for food and drinks and a copy of the latest book. Save the date and join us for a fun evening and a great book. Or if you can’t make it, you can find the book at Putnam 6 in Enid or online at https://books2read.com/u/mdeZ85.  And as always, leave a review online at Amazon, B & N, Goodreads or anywhere you like. Authors love reviews.

What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?

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2025: Fifty-three Years and Counting

Posted on June 29, 2025 by peggylchambers

My husband and I have been married 53 years this week. We met in high school, married young, had our children young, and then stopped having children at a young age. By twenty-five we had two children and a mortgage and still had not finished college. We needed to stop, back up, and then head in another direction.

When we were parents of school-aged children, people at PTA often asked how old we were. But we were there supporting our kids and many in the neighborhood. Boy Scouts met at our house; kids rode skateboards on our street next to a drainage ditch where they all played. I taught swimming lessons to half the town and my husband coached baseball. We were within walking distance of a local grade school.

We’ve been through a lot together. We split up for a while once, when life got to be too much, but we got back together. We take care of each other. At our age we need to. Someone must be upright to support the other.

I fix dinner, he makes the coffee. We put the clean sheets on together and hang up our own laundry. We support the other.

 We went out to dinner to celebrate our anniversary and then headed home to turn off the sprinkler, take out the garbage, and wash the blouse I dripped food on. Fifty-three years. Many people don’t survive that long. A lot of marriages don’t. But as we near the end of this life it has been good to have someone to lean on. It’s a tough world and a partnership makes it easier. Love takes many forms, but support is important. We love and support each other.

I hope you have support in this life and give support as well. The journey is long, and companionship makes it worthwhile. Love is enduring.        

What are you reading, writing, loving, or creating this week?

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2025: Release of Smugglers of Sandhill Island

Posted on June 22, 2025 by peggylchambers

My latest novel, Smugglers of Sandhill Island, (lucky number 13) Smugglers of Sandhill Island: Chambers, Peggy: 9781509261789: Amazon.com: Books, is releasing on June 30 and is available for preorder now. I’ll be having a release party on July 12 if you’re in the area. Watch for details online.

Sandhill Island has a new hero, and she’d do anything for family, even if they wouldn’t return the favor. But maybe Cody is worth it.

Dani loves her life on the water; she has sea legs. She lives and works out on the ocean and that is just like she likes it. She travels from her houseboat to her tour boat, Wanderlust. She spends her days giving tours to visitors to the island where she lives.

                Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.

            This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.

            Pick up a copy of the final Sandhill Island novel and let me know what you think. Authors love reviews.

            What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?

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2025 – Father’s Day

Posted on June 15, 2025 by peggylchambers

Father’s Day is always special. In my family fathers are celebrated, as they should be. We went to dinner with our daughter early since she would be out of town, and we’ll continue to celebrate today.

My father became a parent not long after World War II. He and my mom were in San Antonio where he was finishing school on the GI bill. There would be two more coming, once every four years. He worked hard to support his family of five and was deeply loved.

My husband’s father became a dad later in life and they had two children. As a farmer all his life, he raised his kids on hard work and taught them about farming and family life.

My husband had two children early in life and again worked and supported his family. He was the local Boy Scout leader, baseball coach, and mechanic. He kept all our cars running since they were all used and in constant need of repair, in addition to the long hours at the job that paid the bills.

My son married into a ready-made family and the love that came with it. He emulates both his grandfathers and his dad. He is a mechanic, farmer, in addition to the job that pays for the things he needs and wants.

Not all children have fathers who are present in their lives. Parenting can be a tough job, but the fathers in my family stayed during the good and tough times. And we were glad they did. It’s possible that my sisters and I made our dad want to run away some days. But since it is Father’s Day weekend, pay tribute to the men in your life who raised you or were always there when you needed them. I miss my dad every day.

What are you reading, writing, growing, celebrating, or creating this week?

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2025: Cala Lilies and Island Life

Posted on June 8, 2025 by peggylchambers

My cala lilies are blooming again. They are resilient. I’ve always loved them and had no idea how to grow them until a neighbor gave me a pot of strawberries that contained a little surprise—cala lily bulbs in the soil. And they popped up their lovely little heads. Since then, I have transplanted them several times. This year they ended up in the small flower bed in the front.  And they are turning pink!

Once in South Africa I saw gardens of cala lilies blooming near a hotel and I’ve seen pictures of them in Mexico and South America blooming for acres.  Maybe they were being harvested for flower shops. My daughter had them in her wedding. Or maybe they just grow wild, but I hope mine take over the garden. Maybe if I quit transplanting them, they might.

That is my gardening tip for the week. If you want cala lilies, don’t keep transplanting them? Give them a chance to bloom where they’re planted. Good advice for life.

It is the beginning of June and I’m on a countdown for June 30 when my last Sandhill Island novel is released from The Wild Rose Press. I plan a release party for July 12—watch for that event. I will be posting about it.  I’d love to have you join me for a party.

The final Sandhill Island ties up all the lose ends.  The islanders come together to help each other and once again they survive a near disaster—maybe. I hope you read it to find out. It is available for pre-order at Amazon.com: Smugglers of Sandhill Island eBook : Chambers, Peggy : Books. Pick up a copy and help us celebrate all the characters who have made this series what it is. 

In the meantime, bloom where you are planted, like the cala lilies. They are resilient as we all are.

What are you reading, writing, growing, or creating this week?

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2025: Garden Redos and Summer

Posted on June 1, 2025 by peggylchambers

Last year I did a major redo of my front flower beds to make it easier on this poor old body to weed and take care of things. The large bed is rock with shrubs and some statues, etc. Then I took the perennials out of the big garden and put them in the small garden on the other side of the sidewalk. I just couldn’t throw them out. (some jonquil bulbs went into the trash, and they probably decorated the landfill this spring) I didn’t know how the transplant would work. The small garden doesn’t get as much sun as the larger one. But I thought, the small one might turn into rock too. Oh, how I was wrong!

This year I only bought one Hosta to fill in a spot that was bare in the small garden. My Cala Lillies and Easter Lillies (never blooming at Easter) are budding out and the moss that covers the front of the garden is full and beautiful. The ornamental grass looks better than ever. You can’t keep a good garden down.

It was a major remodel but has worked out well. The perennials cover the small garden, and the rocks and decorations cover the large garden. I have a lot less work and they look good.

Now we’ll see how they handle the hot, dry, windy Oklahoma summer! We installed a sprinkler system too. So that will help. I’m getting old and lazy. But I love gardens.

The herb garden out back is doing well. The basil is up, and the mint is trying to take over as usual. I have garlic starting to curl that I need to use. It’s going to be a good summer.

What are you reading, writing, growing, or creating this week?

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2025: Memorial Day

Posted on May 25, 2025 by peggylchambers

My parents grew up in the Ozarks during the Great Depression—large families and not a lot of opportunities. But Dad got his career training during WWII. Otherwise, he would have been a poor dirt farmer like his father.

He wrote this before he died and asked me to type it for him (then tried to pay me) and it along with some handwritten notes are attached to a globe showing where he traveled in his life complements of the US Army Air Corp. It is a brief explanation of his involvement in WWII.

I was born at Walnut Ridge, AR on January 16, 1923. I entered the military services May 19, 1943. I took Basic Training at Amarillo, TX then Aircraft and Engine Maintenance a Keesler Field, MS on B24 bombers then to B-24 factory at Detroit, MI (or Ypilanti, MI, close to Detroit), then to B-24 Gunnery School at Harlingen, TX. This was to prepare me for Engineer-Gunner on B-24s.

. . . gunnery training came to a halt and many others at Harlingen. We were dispersed to other areas to become aircraft and engine mechanics. I was sent to Guadalcanal to be a part of the Air Transport Command. I became an aircraft general mechanic shuttling out and back from Guadalcanal to many islands to maintain many aircraft of many types. I finally transferred to the Philippines and soon to Guam.

We were involved in repair of C-54 aircraft out of the China, Burma, India (CBI) that had been in rough use. It was production maintenance; however, each aircraft was the same type as the last one. You would almost know what parts would require replacement. As the aircraft was removed from the dock, they would be loading sick GIs (military); crank up and head for the United States and another entered that dock.

I used that schooling after I left the military to obtain nine certificates for my purposes and for me and my family’s living. One of those certificates was for a pilot license and the other eight was authorized specific maintenance, inspector’s training, certifications for many mechanics who become certified to become a qualified mechanic and inspect and certify aircraft after crash, etc.

Dad was one of many soldiers who worked to keep us safe during the war, some with a gun, others with a wrench.

It is Memorial Day weekend and a time we remember those who sacrificed, some ultimately, for their country. Thank you all for your service and our freedom.

What are you reading, writing, celebrating, or creating this week?

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2025: Smugglers of Sandhill Island

Posted on May 18, 2025 by peggylchambers

I finally finished the Sandhill Island series. If you haven’t read them, they are available at bookstores everywhere and online. I tried to come full circle including a few of the old characters and tied up their lives as they have lived them along the way.

I you’ve read them; you know that Sandhill Island is a small tourist island off the coast of Corpus Christi and the characters are varied. They live their lives fishing, operating a business, teaching school, growing a garden, or singing in a local restaurant.

This book, Smugglers of Sandhill Island, is about the relationship between siblings; one hard working, the other not.

Dani Brown grew up poor and hard working. Her brother, Cody, only grew up poor. Always wanting the easy way out, Cody ran drugs and lived his life on handouts. When they were young, Dani and Cody were inseparable, now Dani only sees him if he’s desperate. The drugs he samples and sells have started to rot his brain.

 This time, Cody owes some big money, and the only person he knows to help him is his sister. When the cartel realizes she owns a boat that could run even more drugs for them, she is torn between saving her brother and living her life. The final Sandhill Island story pits sister against brother in a life-or-death struggle.

I have a great love and respect of water. So do the main characters of Smugglers of Sandhill Island. And they know that water can protect you or kill you, depending upon its current attitude. But Dani and Cody make their living off the water and don’t plan to die in its arms.

Smugglers of Sandhill Island will release worldwide on June 30, 2025. I plan a release party on July 12, at St. Matthews Episcopal Church, 518 West Randolph, Enid, OK at 7:00. Come by for food and drinks and a copy of the latest book. Save the date and join us for a fun evening and a great book.

What are you reading, writing, or creating this week?

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