Kate Lloyd's Blog

I fondly recall the wonderful time my husband and I traveled to Lancaster County, PA, to celebrate our anniversary. I don’t remember the exact year, but I remember it was in late October because that’s when our anniversary is. My husband kindly indulged me as I gathered information for a new book, which became a bestseller! We spent time with our delightful Mennonite relatives in New Holland and made new Amish friends and met business owners. And dropped in on the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society.

A fun sign as seen in Lancaster County!

I have long been a horse lover. I remember my first instructions to my husband after we landed at the Philadelphia airport and steered our rental car toward the magnificent setting sun. “Be careful of the horses on the road!” Those horse and buggies do sneak up on you. 

Whoopie Pies tasted delish!

Since we couldn’t travel to Pennsylvania this October, I browsed through my many photographs and was thoroughly entertained. I hope you enjoy a few of our photos. 

Please help me celebrate this fun and festive time of year by entering to win a $100. Amazon Gift Card plus one of my books! If you’re not familiar with all of them, browse through this link: https://www.katelloyd.com/books/
Kate Lloyd: October Giveaway

The Giveaway winner will be announced on October 14th and has three days to respond to my email. Good luck to all who enter! Generous and talented Suzanne Woods Fisher is one of my favorite authors. I can’t wait to read her newest book A Hidden Hope . And today is its Birthday. Let’s Party! Follow

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Please help me congratulate Judith S, the winner of my giveaway of a $100 Amazon gift card and a Kate Lloyd title. Many thanks to all who entered. I appreciate each and every one of you!

What is your favorite season? I choose Autumn! Although I’ll probably fast forward into Christmas soon. But in the meantime, I shall relish the fall.

On our morning walks I detect a definite shift to crisper weather, sounds such as Canada geese migrating and drying leaves scrunching under my feet, and the aromas of approaching autumn. 

I’m a lunatic when it comes to full moons. I have been fortunate to watch Amish farmers in Lancaster County harvesting past sunset by the added light provided by a marvelous Harvest Moon. 

Other changes that have caught my attention are apples that remind me of my grandma’s farm in CT. So many fragrances there! I try to incorporate many in my books. 

My mind meanders to food as it often does. I don’t think I’ve concocted hearty homemade soup since last fall! A good friend recommended a yummy recipe for Creamy White Chicken Chili.

Also, my wardrobe enlarges as I bring out warmer clothing. And the colors change too. Gold, magenta, orange, olive green, and the dark brown raincoat I save for fall.

Our sunrises are splendid due to nearby fires.

Even in autumn I’m in the mood to give away presents! Please enter my Giveaway for a chance to win a $100 Amazon gift card and one of my books! Check here for a list of my novels.

Kate Lloyd: September Giveaway

Enter by September 15, 2025. Winner announced on September 16.  

Good luck to all who enter! 

Zac Weikal, my wonderful new Webmaster who lives in PA says he notices subtle changes. Makes me want to rocket across country and see for myself! 

Autumn makes me think of my trips to Lancaster County in Autumn!

Debbie Macomber is a delightful and generous woman. Just preordered her new book, A Ferry Merry Christmas.

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Please help me congratulate Nanci B, the winner of my giveaway of a $100 Amazon gift card. Many thanks to all who entered. I appreciate each and every one of you!

Big news! Many of my books are now enrolled on Kindle Unlimited, meaning Kindle readers can read them for free!

You can now read the ebook version of these books for free with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.

I don’t make a cent but it’s the lazy crazy days of summer!

So why am I hankering to sample turkey, stuffing, and gravy, and read Christmas books? No, no, I must wait for turkey, gravy, and pumpkin pie no matter how much I’m tempted. But what could reading a Christmas book hurt?

An author I always enjoy is Melody Carlson, who comes out with a lovely Christmas book each year. I just preordered her new book, Once Upon A Christmas Carol.

For fun, I’ve enrolled several of my books in Amazon Kindle so they’re free right now to all those who belong to Amazon Kindle Unlimited. Those titles include Reinventing Ruthie, Stage Fright, Lancaster Family Secret, From Rome with Love—a Christmas book, and Lancaster Family Christmas—another Christmas book, and Snowbound on Skye!

Since not everyone reads Kindles, I’m also giving away a $100.00 Amazon gift certificate to be spent on anything you like. I know me… Along with the free e-books I’d be ordering paperbacks or doggie treats for Piper!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Last day to enter Giveaway is Monday, August 25th. Winner will be chosen and announced the next day on Tuesday, August 26th. Good luck to everyone who enters! And thank you for all your support!

Piper and I enjoyed hanging out at the beach together!

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Please help me congratulate Jessica, the winner of my giveaway of a $100 gift card and Kate Lloyd title of choice.  Many thanks to all who entered. I appreciate each and every one of you!

An exciting season spans ahead although I’m not exactly a fan of fireworks except at a distance. Piper doesn’t mind the noise fortunately, unlike many of our neighbor’s dogs, not to mention the cats! I wonder how many get lost in the month of July thanks to the booming.

Piper loves lazing in the sun.

It seems as if first I’m waiting, waiting, waiting for the sunshine, then I’m protecting my skin. For years I slathered myself with baby oil or worse, then lay out under the sun baking with my sister on the flat part of our parents’ roof. Anything for a suntan. I recall going to Hawaii with our family and purchasing a straw hat to protect my face from the sun and coming home red is a beet. That’s when I learned that not all sun hats are equal. Since then, I buy only hats that offer SPF protection. I have quite a collection! I try to buy them when on sale. 

I wear a hat all year round even if not a fashion statement. My eyes thank me for the protection too.

I love to walk, read, and garden outside. Sometimes in the shade but always wearing a hat. I learned that good lesson after stepping into a yellow jacket nest and having the little beasties swarm into my curly hair and stinging me multiple times. Since then, I’ve worn a hat when I garden. Time to bring out all my favorite wide brim sun hats!

As warmer weather approaches, I recall taking refreshing dips in the brook at my grandma’s farm in CT. We watched out for poison Ivy, snapping turtles, and ticks. Fond memories of dining outside under the flowering vine covered seating area to keep cool as she had no AC. Neither did my husband and I until about 10 years ago. But it never gets boiling hot in the Pacific Northwest.

I’m looking forward to reading outside in the shade or wearing a wide brim hat.

I enjoy reading Erik Wesner’s Amish America fascinating email newsletters and I highly recommend them. One topic that caught my eye recently had to do with allergies and why owning a pet is good for our health. Good to know why my darling Cairn terrier Piper’s company boosts my immune system and good health!

What books would you recommend? Please send me an e-mail as I’ve accumulated too much spam using this Website. I seriously want to know! AND don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a $100 Amazon gift card and a Kate Lloyd title of your choice. If not aware of all of my books, check them out here.

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Please help me congratulate Debbie M., winner of a $100 gift card and a Kate Lloyd title of her choice.  Many thanks to all who entered. I appreciate each and every one of you!

I can’t wait to hear back from the Publishing House to see if they are interested in my next novel! Now it’s hurry up and wait? 

I feel like a kid waiting for school to let out for the summer because I can’t wait for the weatherman to stop saying that it’s going to be unseasonably cool. Or predicting rain!

I can’t wait to see butterflies, not that we have many in the city.

I can’t wait to walk barefoot in the sand or wade in the salt water on the island, which is mighty cold this time of year. 48 degrees F today! Colder than it looks. 

Even our rivers are freezing, as most are runoffs from glaciers. I fondly recall my parents’ cabin on the Stillaguamish River and the many times I fly fished with my father wearing waders to keep me warm even in summer. Not a fashion statement but a necessity! How did my sister and I tolerate the cold water when swimming in the river as children?

Piper can’t wait to frolic on the sand up at the beach again!

I can’t wait to read the new rom-com by Abby Jimenez that dear friend Mary Jackson, aka themaryreader, recently recommended! Read Mary’s review here!

Chilly winter makes me yearn for hearty meals. Since our two sons and I eat gluten-free, spaghetti is always a yummy choice using gluten-free noodles. I’ve tried to emulate my mother’s fabulous spaghetti sauce my whole adult life but have come up short. And spaghetti is one of those recipes with endless variations around the world. 

Here’s a good sauce recipe almost anyone will enjoy. I used to hide diced carrots in my spaghetti sauce so our two boys would eat more vegetables. My mother told me that carrots make the spaghetti sauce taste sweeter. And of course, a hearty dessert must follow. Bread pudding using gluten-free bread if needed or rice pudding are delicious. I get hungry just thinking about food, don’t you?

I can’t wait to see who wins my Giveaway! Enter for a chance to win a $100 Amazon Gift Card plus a copy of one of my novels. Check them out here.  US only.  

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The winner will be announced on Tuesday, June 3rd, and has three days to respond to my email. Only by responding to my email can you win.  Good luck to all who enter!

Best wishes, Kate Lloyd

 

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, please sign up to receive my Newsletter to keep updated about my writing and future Giveaways. Thanks so much!  

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Please help me congratulate Linda C., winner of my Spring Giveaway of a $100 Amazon gift card.  Many thanks to all who entered. I appreciate each and every one of you!