The Tranquil Days of Spring

My patio is the perfect place to sit and read.

This is the time of year I love the most, these tranquil days of spring, when the temp hovers in the 70s and only occasionally tops out the low 80s. My yard is an assortment of greens, from the palest celery shade to a deep forest green and everything in between.

These days I spend most of my time sitting on the patio, my feet up, listening to the songbirds singing their varied songs and reading or oftentimes just daydreaming.

The latticed patio is covered by a huge canopy of wisteria and the leaves shimmer in the gentle breeze.

It's hard to believe that hurricane season here on the Florida Gulf Coast is a mere two and a half weeks away.

Potted miniature Roses on the patio table.

As I'm writing this I hear the cooing of doves and the caw of a crow. Directly overhead another bird is chirping while a bright red Cardinal is perched on the wooden fence. The scent of Jasmine and Lilies sweeten the air around me.

I can't find the energy to do much of anything today. My dog, Dude, and I spent an hour at the dog park this morning where he ran around with an assortment of dogs, big and small. I read for a while when we got back home. Today I'm reading Luanne Rice's Secrets of Paris. It seemed like a perfect read for a day like today.

My Lilies that only just started blooming.

I should be writing today, working on one of my works in progress, but I'd rather just sit here and watch the squirrels play and the birds fly from tree to tree. It's one of those days when daydreaming is high on my list of things to do.

I swear that tomorrow I'll get back to my writing. If I could just get those voices in my head to stop daydreaming and get back to work. Honest, I need the cooperation of those voices to help me write and they're enjoying these tranquil spring days too.

Mandevilla on my patio.

I hope you all have a chance to just sit back and enjoy some beautiful spring days. The hot days of summer are just around the corner. In the meantime, stop and smell the Roses, Jasmine, Lilies and any other flowers now in bloom.

First Day of Spring

My flowerpots are filled with Spring Pansies.

The First Day of Spring is very welcome. For so many, it seems that Winter has gone on much too long. Here in Florida it seems that Spring arrived weeks ago with the onslaught of Spring Breakers visiting our beaches.

For those of us who live here on the Gulf Coast of the Florida Panhandle, we're not going to complain about the weather. No snowy blizzards or ice storms for us.

The temperature most days has been ranging between the low-60s and mid-70s. Some days the sun is bright and the sky a gorgeous blue. Other days, like this morning, the sky was a cloudy gray with a chilly north wind and a temp in the low-60s. Spring? Well, it didn't look like spring this morning. On the other hand, this afternoon is bright blue skies, a sprinkling of white puffy clouds and a temp in the high-60s. It's a beautiful First Day of Spring with warmer Spring days just around the corner.

For those who love Spring and Romantic Spring Fiction (in no particular order):

Waiting for Spring (Westward Winds) by Amanda Cabot
Snow Melts in Spring (Seasons of the Tallgrass) by Deborah Vogts
Springtime of the Spirit by Maureen Lang*
A Promise for Spring by Kim Vogel Sawyer
Spring Blossom by Jill Metcalf
A Scandal in Spring (Wallflowers) by Lisa Kleypas
Spring's Fury by Denise Domning*
Come the Spring (Clayborne Brothers) by Julie Garwood
Spring Fires (Beauvisage) by Cynthia Wright
Three Weeks Last Spring by Victoria Howard*
When Comes the Spring (Canadian West) by Janette Oke
Spring's Gentle Promise (Season of the Heart) by Janette Oke
A Simple Spring (Seasons of Lancaster) by Rosaline Lauer
Spring My Love (Silver Hills Trilogy) by Ginny Aiken
Spring's Renewal (Seasons of Sugarcreek) by Shelley Shepard Gray
Lilac Spring (Wild Rose) by Ruth Axtell Morren
Betrayals of Spring (Forever Fae) by L. P. Dover
Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond
The Temporary Wife/A Promise of Spring by Mary Balogh
The Hope of Spring (Lancaster County Saga) by Wanda F. Brunstetter
It Happens Every Spring (Seasons of Marriage) by Catherine Palmer & Gary Chapman
Spring Meadow Sanctuary (The Shepherd's Heart) by Lynnette Bonner
A Timeless Romance Anthology: Spring Vacation Collection by Josi S. Kilpack, et al.
Eternal Spring Anthology by Amanda Brice, et al.*
Spring Break by Katherine Applegate
Spring Fever by Mary Kay Andrews
Spring Fling by Sabrina James
Spring Collection by Judith Krantz
Spring Fancy by LaVyrle Spenser

*TBR on my Kindle

I'm sure I've missed a lot of wonderful Spring Romantic Fiction, so please feel free to add others in the comments below. Thanks again for stopping by.  Happy First Day of Spring!

The Inspiration of Spring

Easter Lillies on my Patio

The arrival of spring and with it more inspiration than a writer can ever dream.

Florida is known for its flowers, everything imaginable from camellias, azaleas, gardenias, jasmine, so many flowers I can't even name and wild flowers everywhere.

On my patio the Easter Lillies are blooming in a wooden wine barrel. The trellised patio is laced with wisteria. Jasmine blooms opened this morning. The air is fragrant with their scent.

A night of heavy rains and now the final drip, plop, drip. The sun is just starting to peak through the clouds. Birds are singing their varied melodies. Squirrels dart across the lawn searching for fallen acorns, of which we have zillions of acorns covering the ground.

As a writer, I draw inspiration and renewal from the flowers, rain, birds. It's a sense of "hope springs eternal."

What wonderful stories will pop into my head this season? Certainly ones of love, hope and dreams.

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.