After-Easter Lilies and more April Showers

After-Easter Lilies in my backyard this morning.

This week my backyard Easter Lilies started blooming. Obviously they didn't make it in time for Easter. My front yard Easter Lilies are still a week or two away from blooming. Hmm! Apparently there's something different about my front and backyards. My After-Easter Lilies looked so pretty in the rain this morning.

Rain? Yesiree! The latest round of April Showers began in the wee hours with an accompaniment of lightning and thunder. My dog, Dude, who is usually a bit stressed over lightning and thunder, slept through the whole wild night. I suppose Dude was worn out from yesterday afternoon's romp at the dog park.

April Showers on our patio.

This morning it's still raining, drizzling. According to the TV, another line of thunder showers is heading our way.

This morning, while the rain was at the drizzle stage, my dog Shani and I went outside to take photos. Wildflowers are blooming all over our backyard. Beautiful purples, lavender, yellow and white. The Wisteria growing on our patio trellis is blooming too. The Wisteria has delicate white blooms.

Here on the Florida Panhandle, close to the Gulf Coast, it's definitely a day of April Showers. The air smells so fresh and clean. Windows are open and I'm listening to the musical sound of rain. This is a perfect day to sip coffee and read.

Wisteria that bloomed in this morning's rain.

I'm always reading an assortment of books at any given time, depending on my mood at the moment. So here's a list of my current reads:

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory (from the library)
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley (on my Kindle)
The Abilene Trail a Ralph Compton Novel by Dusty Richards (paperback)
The Chisholm Trail by Wayne Gard (a history book from my bookshelves)

A perfect morning to sip coffee and read.

I'm researching Texas history for a western romance series I'll be writing, which is why I'm reading the last two books listed above. My husband and I are planning a Texas vacation soon so I can further my research. Hey, that's a good excuse for some much needed time off to sight-see.

I can't wait to walk along the Brazos River, which was a crossing point for the Chisholm Trail (also known as the Abilene Trail) and the Shawnee Trail. So please check back for upcoming Texas posts with lots of photos. I happen to love Longhorn cattle, so rest assured I'll have photos of Longhorns too.

Shani checking out this morning's April Showers.

As I'm writing this, Dude and my husband are off on a car ride in the rain. Shani, on the other hand, is curled up next to my recliner. She doesn't care for car rides.

Today I'll be enjoying the lovely April Showers and reading one book or another. Thanks again for stopping by.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Coffee

I must confess, I have a weakness/passion for donuts, particularly doughnuts from Krispy Kreme. For this reason, my BFF, Regina, and I meet there for coffee and donuts once a week. There is nothing better than having a girlfriend chat over coffee and donuts.


Well, when we had our last chat at Krispy Kreme I decided this was a perfect subject for my next blog post. After all, who can resist all those yummy donuts? So that's when I snapped these photos for this post.

I think my favorite part about Krispy Kreme is that they make the donuts right there. So the heavenly smell of warm donuts greats you the second you walk in the door.

I can't resist a still-warm glazed donut which melts in your mouth. Ahh, just thinking about it makes me want to have one just this very minute.







Krispy Kreme has so many yummy donuts: Jelly-filled, Lemon-filled, Pumpkin Spice, Double-Dipped Chocolate, and my all-time favorite, a Chocolate-frosted Custard-filled donut.


Given a choice, I'd have donuts with my coffee every single morning. On the other hand, if I did that, I would definitely weigh more than I do now. So I'll stick with that once a week Girls' Day Out visit to Krispy Kreme.


Krispy Kreme - Pensacola

Variety of Doughnuts at Krispy Kreme




For those who know I love to add lists of books to my posts, here's my latest yummy list. I haven't read any of these books, but they all look interesting.

Donuts and Coffee Books (in no particular order):

Powdered Peril (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Drop Dead Chocolate (A Donut Shop Mystery) by Jessica Beck
Donut Days by Lara Zielin (YA)
Dollars to Donuts by Kathleen Kole
Half a Donut and Other Short Stories by Peter Holub
Doughnuts for Amy by John Malik
Like Coffee and Doughnuts (Dino Martini Mysteries) by Elle Parker
Slimming with Doughnuts by Deborah Correnti
Doughnut Dollies: American Red Cross Girls During WWII by Helen Airy
Rolling in Dough: Lessons I Learned in a Doughnut Shop by Glenn G. Sparks (Memoir)
Glazed America: A History of the Doughnut by Paul R. Mullins
Coffee Break Romance by Susan Stovall
An Order of Coffee and Tears by Brian Spangler
Coffee with Poe: A Novel of Edgar Allan Poe's Life by Andrew Barger
The Coffee Girl by Shanna Hatfield
Coffee Clutch (Jan Birch Mystery) by Marshall Thornton
Murder by Mocha (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Roast Mortem (Coffee House Mystery) by Cleo Coyle
Coffee in Common by Dee Mann
One Coffee With (Sigrid Harald) by Margaret Maron
Jetting Away by Teri Heyer

I couldn't resist adding my short story, Jetting Away, to the above list. After all, Priscilla is having one-of-those-days where lots of coffee and some yummy donuts help her get through the day and make a life changing decision. Jetting Away is a short story prequel to my romance novel, Outback Love, but can be read as a stand-alone. Best of all, it's FREE, so I hope you'll give it a try.

JETTING AWAY - Amazon/Kindle

JETTING AWAY - Barnes&Noble/Nook

JETTING AWAY - Apple/iBookstore/iTunes

Jetting Away is also available for FREE at Sony, Kobo, Diesel and Smashwords.


As always, I hope you'll add your comments below. I'm guessing that you all love donuts and coffee too.

Drop and give me five!

Five of my favorite books.

When I woke up this morning, with my brain still foggy from sleep, the little writer-elves in my head yelled out, "Drop and give me five!" What the heck? Where did those words come from? Why?

Now let me explain that I am not one of those people who hop out of bed bright-eyed and full of energy. I don't drop to the floor and do five push-ups, or ten or whatever. If I do five of anything in the morning it's to take five more minutes to doze before I even contemplate getting out of bed. Then I slowly sit up in bed and think about getting up and facing the day.

So why did those little writer-elves, the ones who are supposed to work on great stories during the night, telling me to "Drop and give me five!?" Five what? Well, because I happen to be addicted to books, my not-so-instant response, still being sleepy and all that, was "Five books." Yep, those writer-elves must certainly have been referring to five books and not five push-ups.

Five more of my favorite books.

As I got out of bed, slowly mind you, I started putting together groups of five books. Five books I could read over and over again. Five favorite childhood books. Five classics I've always wanted to read and haven't. Five all-time favorite authors. Five new favorite authors (mind you, I have bunches and bunches of favorite authors). Five favorite romances. Yep, I can do this five-thing with no problem at all.

So I hopped out of bed, grabbed a cup of coffee and headed out to the patio with my dog, Dude. I needed to think on this a bit. I don't rush into anything without downing at least one cup of coffee.

Now I need to back up a minute here. Today is the official first day of fall. As I was falling asleep last night, I remember thinking that I needed to write a new blog post today about the beginning of fall. So I guess my writer-elves did sort of follow my advice. But I certainly didn't expect them to come up with "Drop and give me five!"

Well, here goes. Lists, lists and more lists. I absolutely love making lists of books. This is where I point out that when I have a problem falling asleep at night, I count books instead of sheep.

Five Favorite Books When I Was A Kid:

Savage Sam by Fred Gipson
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster 
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Five Favorite Books I Could Read Over And Over Again:

The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Five All-Time Favorites:

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

Five More All-Time Favorites:

The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell
Lady of the Glen by Jennifer Roberson
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Turtle Moon by Alice Hoffman
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Five Books I Recently Read That Were Simply Awesome:

The Monmouth Summer by Tim Vicary
Wool (Omnibus Ed.) by Hugh Howey
Golden Boy by R. G. Lawrence
The Hunger Games (Trilogy) by Susanne Collins
The Righteous (Righteous Series, Bks1-3) by Michael Wallace

Five Classics I've Been Wanting To Read:

Middlemarch by George Eliot
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Five Favorite 19th Century Authors:

Jane Austen
Thomas Hardy
Henry James
James Fenimore Cooper
George Eliot

Five Favorite 20th Century Authors:

F. Scott Fitzgerald
Ernest Hemingway
Edith Wharton
Zane Grey
Louis L'Amour

Five More Favorite 20th Century Authors:

D. H. Lawrence
John Steinbeck
Willa Cather
Ayn Rand
Ray Bradbury

Five Favorite Contemporary Authors:

Luanne Rice
Alice Hoffman
Ann River Siddons
Bernard Cornwell
Daniel Silva

Five Favorite Romantic Suspense Authors:

Suzanne Brockmann
Carla Neggars
Karen Robards
Stella Cameron
Karen Harper

Five Favorite Romantic Comedy Authors:

Janet Evanovich
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Jennifer Crusie
Rachel Gibson
Emily Carmichael

Five Favorite Historical Romance Authors:

Marsha Canham
Linda Lael Miller
Catherine Anderson
Candace Proctor
Kat Martin

Five Favorite Contemporary Romance Authors:

Mary Alice Monroe
JoAnn Ross
Jodi Thomas
Jill Marie Landis
Sharon Sala (aka Dinah McCall)

Five New Favorite Authors:

Jan Romes
Maureen A. Miller
R. G. Lawrence
Tim Vicary
Barbara Freethy

Five Indie Authors I Think You Should Try:

Molly Greene
Christine Nolfi
Ellis Vidler
Benjamin X. Wretlind
Michael K. Rose

Five More Indie Authors I Think You Should Try:

C. L. R. Dougherty
Pete Palamountain
J. D. Currie
Carmen DeSousa
Jinx Schwartz

The above lists of books and authors are by no means all of my favorites. As I've said many times before, I'm passionate about, in love with, addicted to books. Please feel free to comment below and add your favorite authors and books.

NOTE: In the right hand column toward the bottom of my blog you'll find "Indies Rock!" which is a link list of Indie authors you really ought to check out.

Celebrate Indies - Part 2

Teri Heyer, Indie Author

I keep saying we need to celebrate Indie Authors. Hey, since I am one of those Indie Authors, I need to celebrate me. Makes sense, right?

Well, here is a photo taken of me earlier this month. This is where and how I write, in a recliner with my feet up, my laptop on my lap and surrounded by books. This is in the living room. My house is tiny, so I don't have an office. The flat screened TV is in the far corner. I might be watching football, an old movie, the Top 20 Country or the news. If the TV is off I'm listening to country music. I like background noise while I write. If I was sitting in a quiet office I probably wouldn't be able to write a thing.

Most of the time my two dogs, Shani and Dude, are asleep at either side of my chair. They need their beauty sleep and don't want to be disturbed unless it's time to eat, go for a walk, or to sit outside on the patio.

I look out through two double windows that are almost floor to ceiling and that face the front yard. My view is of two old giant Naval Oaks, some native palms, colorful azaleas and lots of potted flowering plants. My neighbors have yards full of flowers and trees, including flowering magnolias, so it's a beautiful view.

The windows are open and a nice spring breeze is blowing through the house. An assortment of birds are singing out there. From time to time a squirrel sits in a flower pot and looks through the windows. I guess he or she is checking to make sure I'm still on the computer.

This is where I get my inspiration, right here in this comfy chair. Though I have to admit that some of my inspiration comes from dreams, those little elves in my head creating stories while I sleep.

I live close to the beach, only a couple miles away. So any time I feel like it I can go walk on that sugar-white sand and wade in the turquoise waters of the gulf.

Right now I'm sipping a tall Tequila Sunrise, though usually I'm drinking coffee while I write. Snack foods are a plus, crackers and cheese, celery with cream cheese or something chocolate. Yes, I love chocolate. I'm sure that chocolate keeps the inspiration going.

So yes, I'm an Indie Author and today I'm celebrating me. We Indie Authors are awesome! So please take the time to try out some of our books. We all have some great stories to tell.