Writing, Painting and Books

A few years back my lifestyle changed and I switched from writing to painting. It was a fun thing I did with my grandkids. However, now that they're into their teens painting is no longer top on their lists of things to do. So what does a Nana/Grandma do but dig through boxes of unfinished stories and novels and start writing again? I'm going to try my hand at some teen novels and maybe I'll once again catch the interest of my grandkids. All three of them love to read, tell stories and write.

In the meantime, I'm still going to paint now and then because I enjoy doing so. After substitute teaching for the last four school years, I'm finally retired. So I have lots of time on my hands. I'm sure I can paint, write, read lots of books and continue to dream.

Before I forget, I've been reading lots of great, awesome, interesting, enjoyable books. Here's a list of the most recent ones. You can also check out my Goodreads pages for the books I've read over the last many years. There are a bunch of them. 

A Pretty Deceit by Anna Lee Huber (Verity Kent #4)

The Last Mrs. Summers by Rhys Bowen (#14)

Silver Bay by Jojo Moyes

Windfallen by Jojo Moyes

The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes

The Woman in the Green Dress by Tea Cooper

Fled by Meg Keneally

The Horse Thief by Tea Cooper

The Beekeeper's Promise by Fiona Valpy

The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

Sea of Memories by Fiona Valpy

Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

The Tide Between Us by Olive Collins

The Lost Girls of Devon by Barbara O'Neal

The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey

White Hot by Sandra Brown

The Magnolia Story by Chip & Joanna Gaines

The Selection by Kiera Cass

You might ask, what are you reading now? Well, I'm usually reading more than one book at a time. So here are my most current reads:

I, Eliza Hamilton by Susan Holloway Scott

The Mark of the Assassin by Daniel Silva

Brave Girl, Quiet Girl by Catherine Ryan Hyde

I think you can tell that I love books. I hope that you do too.

A Journey Through Books

Books have always been a major part of my life. I read in happy times and sad, and all those times in between. Sometimes I read to escape, other times for knowledge, most often for just the pure pleasure of reading.

I confess, I've not written a new blog post in simply ages. Sometimes life and writing get in the way. But in spite of numerous distractions I always find time to read. So I thought I'd share with you a list of those wonderful, exciting, interesting, awesome and great reads since my last blog post. These are books I've read, loved and hope you'll enjoy. The books are in the order in which I read them. All of them were great reads.



Broken Ferns (Lei Crime #4) by Toby Neal
Island Fire by Toby Neal
Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
Sea Glass by Anita Shreve
Body Surfing by Anita Shreve
A Change in Altitude by Anita Shreve
Girl on a Wire by Gwenda Bond
The Weight of Water by Anita Shreve
The Linen Queen by Patricia Falvey
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth
The Visitors by Sally Beauman
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
The English Spy (Gabriel Allon, #15) by Daniel Silva
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
The Empty Throne (Saxon Tales, #8) by Bernard Cornwell
Mila 18 by Leon Uris
The Shell Keeper (Lei Crime KW) by Christine Nolfi
Twisted Vine (Lei Crime, #5) by Toby Neal
Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee
The Beekeeper's Daughter by Santa Montefiore
Old Yeller by Fred Gipson
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
Circling the Son by Paula McLain
The Storm of the Century by Al Roker*
Breaking Sky by Cort McCarthy
Shadow (Blue-Link, #1) by Maureen A. Miller
Dry Bones (Longmire, #11) by Craig Johnson
13 Hours in Benghazi by Mitchell Zuckoff*
Blue Asylum by Kathy Hepinstall

(* = Non-Fiction)

Note - Please forgive me if I left off any. There were so many books, I might have missed a few.

Whew! That was a lot of books read from April through December in 2015. Since the books were so numerous, I decided to list my 2016 reads in another post.

Keep reading, my bookish friends. And please feel free to list any of your favorite reads in the comments below.

Raving About Books

Another day of rain, so this is definitely a book day. I've been reading so many great books lately that it's high time for me to rave about them.

I can't believe that the last post where I listed books I'd read and recommended was in July of last year. My only excuse is that life and grandkids and my dogs and writing and reading got in the way. Well, in this post I'll play catch-up and rave about the books I've read since then. I can highly recommend every one of the books listed below. (Note - The books are listed in the order read.)

Books Read from August 2014 through December 2014:

Plague by H. W. "Buzz" Bernard
Outlander (#1) by Diana Gabaldon*
Redcoat by David Crookes
Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander #2) by Diana Gabaldon
Voyager (Outlander #3) by Diana Gabaldon
Drums of Autumn (Outlander #4) by Diana Gabaldon
Blood Orchid (Lei Crime #1) by Toby Neal
Torch Ginger (Lei Crime #2) by Toby Neal
Married by Midnight by Talli Roland
Black Friday by Alex Kava
The Salaryman's Wife (Rei Shimura #1) by Sujata Massey*
Zen Attitude (Rei Shimura #2) by Sujata Massey

Books Read from January 2015 through April 2015:

The Flower Masters (Rei Shimura #3) by Sujata Massey
The Defector (Gabriel Allon #9) by Daniel Silva
Black Jasmine (Lei Crime #3) by Toby Neal
The Rembrandt Affair (Gabriel Allon #10) by Daniel Silva
Portrait of a Spy (Gabriel Allon #11) by Daniel Silva
Never, Never (#1) by Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher
The Fallen Angel (Gabriel Allon #12) by Daniel Silva
The English Girl (Gabriel Allon #13) by Daniel Silva
The Heist (Gabriel Allon #14) by Daniel Silva
The Madonnas of Leningrad by Debra Dean
1984 by George Orwell*
Z, A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald by Therese Anne Fowler
Neverhome by Laird Hunt
Bittersweet by Colleen McCullough
The Light Between Oceans by M. L. Stedman
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

* Books I've read more than once.

Hmm! Obviously I've been spending lots and lots of time reading. However, there's never enough time to read all the books I want to read.

My local library is only a mile away, so I go there at least once a week. Plus, I have zillions of books on my two Kindles (my old Kindle Keyboard and my newer Kindle Fire). I confess, I have way more books on my Kindles than I'll ever be able to read in ten lifetimes. Of course, there's no such thing as too many books.

Yes, every single one of the books listed above were great reads. I just know you'll love reading them too. If you want, you can check out my Goodreads page for my short reviews on each of these books.

Teri Heyer's Book Reviews on Goodreads

Books I'm currently reading:

Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
Jerusalem Maiden by Talia Carnes

Happy Reading!!!!

Books and Football

I happen to love football, so it's kind of a sad moment when Super Bowl Sunday arrives. I always enjoy watching the game, but then it also means the end of football season. On the other hand, it also means I'll have a lot more time to read on weekends until the next football season starts.

Since I'm talking about books and football, here are a few you might want to read:

Coming Back Stronger by Drew Brees*
First Things First: The Rules of Being a Warner by Kurt Warner & Brenda Warner*
Manning: A Father, His Sons and a Football Legacy by Peyton Manning & Archie Manning
It's Only a Game by Terry Bradshaw
Football for Dummies by Howie Long & John Czarnecki

Books for those who love contemporary romance and football:

It Had to Be You (Chicago Stars #1) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips*
Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips*
Nobody's Baby But Mine (Chicago Stars #3) by Susan Elizabeth Phillips*
Any Given Christmas (A Sugar Shack Novel) by Candis Terry*
Blitzing Emily (A Love & Football Novel) by Julie Brannagh
Fourth and Goal (Seattle Lumberjacks #1) by Jami Davenport

* = Books I've read and can definitely recommend. The others are books I want to read.

I've read  and loved all of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' Chicago Stars Series and Candis Terry's Sugar Shack Series. I'm looking forward to reading the Love and Football Series by Julie Brannagh and the Seattle Lumberjacks Series by Jami Davenport. What can I say? I just love football.

I'd take time to list more football books, both fiction and non-fiction, but it's time to watch the Super Bowl XLIX Pregame. By the way, I'm rooting for the Seattle Seahawks this time around.

Christmas, Dogs and Books

I can't believe that Christmas is almost here. How did this happen? I swear this year has zipped by much too fast. I still have to do some last minute Christmas shopping, but it's a rainy day and I'm dreading going out in that. Hmm! I might finish up with Amazon and Walmart gift cards. Ebooks are always great gifts too.

Here are some Christmas eBooks you're sure to enjoy:

Married by Midnight by Talli Roland
Mistletoe in Manhattan by Talli Roland
Last Christmas by Talli Roland
Big on Christmas by Jan Romes
The Christmas Contract by Jan Romes
Xmas Affair by Ruth Kerce (a sensual short)
Any Given Christmas by Candis Terry
Christmas of the Red Chiefs by Linda Lael Miller
Mrs. Scrooge by Barbara Bretton

Series eBooks that would make great last minute gifts:

Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon
Rei Shimura Mystery Series by Sujata Massey
BEYOND Series by Maureen A. Miller (YA/NA SciFi)
Lei Crime Series by Toby Neal (Hawaii)
Samantha Jamison Mystery Series by Peggy A. Edelheit
Texas Boys Falling Fast Series by Jan Romes (Romance)
Xylon Warriors Series by Ruth Kerce (Elora's Cave)
Maggie O'Dell Series by Alex Kava (mystery/suspense)
Hetta Coffey Mystery Series by Jinx Schwarts
The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell
Build a Man Series by Talli Roland (Chick Lit)
Bluewater Series by C. L. R. Dougherty (suspense/thriller)
Sackett Series by Louis L'Amour
Sullivan's War Series by Michael K. Rose (SciFi)
Saxon Tales Series by Bernard Cornwell (historical fiction)

I could go on and on listing books and series. As you can tell, I LOVE BOOKS and think they make the best Christmas presents ever. So don't forget to buy books and eBooks for Christmas for yourself and your friends and loved ones.

Well, I have to apologize for neglecting my blog these past few months. I added a new puppy, Jazzy, to my fur-family back in September and she's taken up a lot of my time. Honestly, I practically live at the dog park these days. That's what happens when you have two dogs, Dude and Jazzy, who insist on going to the dog park nearly every single day. My other dog, Shani, is almost thirteen years old and isn't interested in the dog park. Shani has a lot of medical issues, so we're taking it day by day.

I went to Winter Fest and rode on the Christmas Trolley in Pensacola with my grandkids on Saturday night. Christmas lights everywhere. It was very festive and we all had a grand time.

We're planning a Christmas dinner of turkey and all the trimmings. Yum! The leftovers are the best part.

Well, the rain is temporarily letting up, so I need to make a mad dash to finish my shopping.

I hope you all have an awesome, wonderful, Merry Christmas. Happy Holidays!

Summer Reads

Ever since I was a little kid, summer and reading have gone hand in hand. I remember walking, usually barefoot, to the library and spending hours searching for just the right books to bring home. Then I'd walk back home with an armload of books. My next door best friends almost always went with me and sometimes we even let my little brother tag along. I always came back home with an armload of books.


Obviously I'm no longer a kid, but I still look forward to summer reads. Most of the books I enjoy these days are on my Kindles (my old Kindle Keyboard and my newer Kindle Fire), though I still make regular trips to the library. I no longer walk barefoot to the library, but I do drive home with an assortment of books.


Considering we've reached the mid-point of a long, hot, muggy (Hey, I live in Florida) summer, it seemed like the perfect time to write a post about summer reads. So here's a list of the books I've read since the first day of summer. All of them were great reads which I can definitely recommend.


My Summer Reads:


Outback Station by Aaron Fletcher
Summer of the Loon by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
Virgin, Widow, Whore by Deanna Lynn Sletten
Jungle of Deceit by Maureen A. Miller
When Christ and His Saints Slept by Sharon Kay Penman
Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams*


I'm almost always reading more than one book. So what am I currently reading?


Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman
Sharp's Tiger by Bernard Cornwell
Time Trap by Micah Caida
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing


What other books are on my summer reading list? Hmm! That's a good question. I always have more books on my list than I have time to read. However, here are some books I hope to read the second half of this summer.


On My Summer Reading List:


BEYOND: Three Paths by Maureen A. Miller
Devil's Brood by Sharon Kay Penman
Her Perfect Life by Vicki Hinze
The Norman Conquest by Marc Morris*
City of the Sun by Juliana Maio
Hurricane Hole by R.P. Dahlke
We Two: Victoria and Albert ... by Gillian Gill*
Crisis of Identity by Denise Moncrief
Across Great Divides by Monique Roy
A Dangerous Inheritance by Alison Weir


* = Non-Fiction


I know, that's a pretty ambitious reading list. I doubt that I'll get to all of them before the summer is out and, of course, I'll most likely add more to my list. Oh well, I read all year long, so I'm sure to get to all of them eventually. Just remember, there's no such thing as too many books.


What are you reading this summer? I'm always looking for suggestions, so please feel free to add yours in the comments below. Happy summer reading to y'all.