I Love Fall, But...

It isn't what you think.  It isn't all the leaves that need raking.  We've already dealt with that through the last few weeks of summer, thanks to the drought.  Then there's the fact that I only have one tree in my yard, so the amount of leaves it produces doesn't warrant a whole lot of raking.  Besides, this is Kansas, where the wind will blow them away eventually, not to mention that leaves aren't like unsightly fast food rappers and plastic cups.

I really do love fall.  It's my favorite season.  There are so many reasons to love it:  the brilliant colors of the changing leaves, from greens to yellows to golds to reds to browns...  Cool evenings that quickly turn to chill remind me of much younger times, when Friday nights were spent sitting in the bleachers and cheering at football games.  The start of school in the fall was a sign of new beginnings, and I still think of it that way.  It's invigorating!

There's so much to love about my favorite season.  But not everything about it is lovable.  We're in that limbo-like state where the AC is off, but so is the furnace.  Of course that does mean lower heating/cooling bills.  Just one more plus of the season!  Since most current weekday mornings I drive two grandkids to school, the first thing I'm going to do is throw on something to wear.  I don't plan to get out of the car, just drop them off in front of the building.  On the other hand, I'm not one of those people who can climb in the car in my pajamas and slippers, my hair not yet combed or, even worse, in curlers.  (Am I the only one who remembers pink foam curlers?)  No, it's fully dressed, although makeup is optional.

With early morning temps like the 51 degrees we started with this morning, I start off the day in a long sleeved shirt and long pants and jeans.  Oh, and recently I've changed to my favorite Reeboks, instead of sandals.  But within a few hours, I've switched to a t-shirt and capris, because the sun and with only one tree in the yard for shade--or leaf raking--has warmed up the house.  A few hours later, on one of the warmer 80 degree days we've been having, I might even change those capris to shorts...and flipflops for the feet.  When it's time to pick up the g-kids at school, I've changed back to capris.  I'm just not comfy at my age to be wearing shorts in public, unless it's my own yard.

I'd look forward to winter, when the only taking on and putting off is a heavy coat when going outside, or maybe an extra pair of socks or an added sweater on those really, really cold days, but really cold weather just makes me grumpy.  I do have to say though that I've found quite a lot of beauty in winter days, too, even without snow.  But I'll save that for another time.

So I guess I'll simply have to keep to two (or three) sets of clothes that I recycle throughout each day, at least until the daytime temps slip into the 60s or lower, and winter is breathing it's cold air down on us.  Before we know it, winter really will be here, and we'll be wondering where summer went.  It's inevitable. ;)

Fall used to have a different name, and why is autumn a mystery?

In Memory of Jim Henson on His 75th Birthday

If you're not using Google Chrome, you're missing out on having fun today.  To the left is the Google Doodle that appears on the main page of the browser in honor of Jim Henson's birthday.  The doodle is interactive and took me completely by surprise a couple of times.  I'm still laughing!

I was just out of high school when Sesame Street premiered, so I missed a lot of the early Henson work.  By the time my first daughter was old enough to grasp TV, she not only watched Sesame Street, but she fell in love with Fraggle Rock.  So did I.  And now I've introduced it to my grandkids, who love it, too.

Instead of including a video, I'd rather leave this link to a fellow author's blog, where you'll find two very special videos she chose to honor Jim Henson.  I don't think Myrna Mackenzie will mind if I share. :)

Remembering

Last week was filled with sadness.  On Tuesday, my aunt passed away.  She's pictured at left with my uncle (my mother's only brother) in his uniform in front of the house where I grew up.  That's the neighbor's house in the photo.  For me, it was the last of my family, except for the cousins.  Of course there are many, many of those.

My uncle passed away in May, and at that time I became aware that my aunt's health was failing.  Because of her dementia, I battled with myself about going to visit her, knowing she probably wouldn't recognize me.  I couldn't convince myself that I could handle it well and, as it turned out, I didn't visit.  I'm not having any regrets.  Why?  Because I have a lot of memories of both my aunt and my uncle, and I like remembering them that way.

My aunt lived with my parents for a time just after I was born and while my uncle served in Korea.  Because I was a small baby, I don't remember it, but I do remember the stories my aunt told me over the years, of how I wouldn't go to sleep until my dad, on second shift, got home from work.

My aunt and uncle had two boys, both younger than me, and I can remember watching The Wizard of Oz for the very first time on TV, with the oldest of the boys on my lap.  I remember that around that time, my aunt was pregnant with the younger one. I remember my uncle's model and balsa airplanes hanging on strings from the ceiling in the basement and the flowers that lined the side of the house by the driveway.  That was in the first house in the city where I remember them living.  After that, they moved to a house in the country, where my uncle farmed what had been land owned by my grandparents.

My aunt's best friend's daughter, who is three years older than I am, had come to live with them and became their legal ward.  I can remember the staircase in that old farmhouse and a few other things, but what I remember most about those times was going to our great aunts' and uncles' homes for holidays.  That's when we all had fun!  Then there were the family reunions.  I especially remember one where the older of the boy cousins broke his arm.

My aunt loved to sew and taught me how one summer when I spent two weeks on the farm with them.  I was as proud as can be of the ruffled apron I made, and even prouder a couple of years later when my 4-H entry (a simple top and matching gathered skirt) earned a 2nd place ribbon at the State Fair.  Later, she turned to crafts, sewing dolls, stuffed toys, and other items, while my uncle did woodcrafting.

When my cousins were grown, my aunt and uncle moved to a house on Table Rock Lake near Branson, Mo., and my then husband and I and our daughters visited at least once a year.  Later on, they bought a fifth-wheel travel trailer and a big motorcycle.  With one to live in on the road and the other to see the road on, they traveled the U.S. and Canada, having a ball.  They loved Indianapolis and watching the races, and since their oldest son had moved to Alabama, they frequented the track at Talladega.

After returned to small town living where they were nearer their family, they wintered in Florida in their fifth-wheel and returned home in the summer to help with harvest.  They both enjoyed their grandkids to the max and will be missed, always, by all of them and by me.

In my mind, I can see them sitting around the table with my uncle's parents, my mother and dad, their uncles and aunts, and other family who have all gone before them, playing pitch and having the time of their afterlives.  No sense in telling them to rest in peace.  They're having too much fun to want to rest.

Hearts of Desperation: How Two Books Became a Series

Things happen for a reason.  At least that's what I find myself saying more often than I realize.  And maybe it's more true than I thought.

Back when being published was a dream, I wrote a book about a rancher/bull riding hero, who had found himself in a battle of wills with the teenage nephew he was raising.  The title of that book was The Cowboy and the Ice Princess.  It did well in writing contests, but I always had a feeling something wasn't right with it.

There was a companion book, The Cowboy Ropes a Wife, about Tanner O'Brien's best friend, and it also did well in contests.  But like the other, there was something missing that kept me from submitting it to a publisher.

Fast forward more than ten years.  The Silhouette Romance line, for which I'd written five books, had closed, and I'd finally found a new home at Harlequin American Romance.  That first book for HAR, Family by Design, had been rejected for Silhouette Romance, but I felt it just might do the trick for HAR.  It did!  And then I had to come up with another book.  It was time to find out just what the problems were with Tanner's story and Dusty's, too.

It took more than one try and included moving one hero from eastern Oklahoma to a town now called Desperation, not to mention switching their rodeo events.  And thanks to some great brainstorming with writer friends Kristi Gold and Kathie DeNosky, both books--now The Rodeo Rider (book 1) and Bachelor Cowboy (book 2)--made the cut.  A long held idea was to someday write a book about Tanner's brother Tucker, who had left the Rocking O Ranch when he was fifteen.  But I didn't know where Tucker had gone or what he'd been doing, so when my editor mentioned that she was eager to see a story about the sister of the heroine of Bachelor Cowboy, I started work on Morgan and Trish's story, The Lawman's Little Surprise (book 3).

I'm still not sure where the idea of Tanner's sister Nikki came from, but once it took root, there was no stopping it.  One of the best things about writing The Reluctant Wrangler (book 4) was being able to redeem Tanner and Nikki's mother and discover why she left.  And still I didn't know where Tucker was or why he'd left.  Not until I was near the end of writing Nikki and Mac's story and thinking about how their wedding would be held outside at the Rocking O did I have a clue.  That's when Tucker walked into the reception scene in my mind, with a cane in his hand and a lot of questions to be answered.

The Maverick's Reward (book 5) was a difficult book to write.  While tortured/damaged heroes are the favorite of many readers, making sure they aren't "too hard to love" can be a trick.  Tucker was in pain, both emotionally and physically, and the only woman who could break through his resistance just happened to be a doctor.  To make things even better--and more writing for me--the doctor had come to Desperation because of her brother.

That brought me to Bachelor Dad (book 6) in a series that was never planned but that I've come to think of as Hearts of Desperation.  If writing a tortured hero was hard, a heroine who'd endured spousal abuse in her past took me into uncharted territory.  But even a damaged woman can fall in love.  Isn't that what romance is all about?

And that's how two stories that might have never seen an editor's desk became a series.  Will there be more stories about Desperation, Oklahoma?  I hope so.  And I hope readers are looking forward to more, too. Only time will tell. :)

For a little more about Hearts of Desperation, the characters, and the Inside Story of each of the books, visit my website.

Happy Ever-Aftering!

A Few Scribbles Between Friends

Who am I?  Feel free to call me Rox.  Everybody does.  The official word is that I'm Roxann Delaney, and I write romance.

Because my Diary of a Mad Romance Writer blog is more for writers than readers and friends, I decided to add some scribbles to another blog.  And now you know why I chose "scribbles" for the name of this one.

My intention is to talk books, life, and everything that, if only for a brief moment, is interesting, new, or just grabbed my attention.

I promise to ramble at time and be opinionated, because that's who I am, too.  If you feel the urge to comment or ask a question, please do!  I'm eager to meet and hear from old friends and new.

Fridays will be saved for book talk, if that's what you're looking for.  On other days of the week, I'll blog about other things, such as the books I'm reading or have just read, movies I've seen, books on my TBR, and my family.  I saved family for last, because they're the best!

So settle in and get comfy.  We're all friends here.  Tomorrow I'll let you in on the secret of how two books became a series, so don't forget to stop by and say hi. :)