Cathy Maxwell's Blog

I am humbled. And charmed.  It is a good combination, especially around the holidays.

Let me start at the beginning:  I found a box of oracle blessing cards. There were forty-six in a box and I thought wouldn’t it be fun to offer them to my newsletter friends—the Max Pack—during this season of light and love. I really didn’t expect to give them all out. However, the response was joyfully overwhelming. I quickly realized I couldn’t let anyone who requested a card go without a blessing, not with 2025 staring us in the eye.  So, I purchased more boxes of cards and sent one out to everyone who made a request. I didn’t look at the cards before I sent them. What my readers received was completely up to fate, karma, the universe, and/or some Power beyond me.

It was great fun. I enjoyed making personal contact with readers who have supported my writing over the years enough to join my newsletter list.

But then something lovely started happening. I began receiving cards in return from my newsletter friends. Every day my post box has a holiday card from someone who wished to return the good wishes. And I am remarkably touched by the kindnesses.  

Here’s what I want to say:  Thank you for reading my books, thank you for your generosity, thank you for your willingness to do that extra something for another.  You understand what romance truly is.  Yes, it is what happens between two people who discover they are no longer alone, but it is also about connection and adventure and living with purpose and joy—and those are truly blessings.  

Here’s to a bang up 2025!

(And if you want to join my newsletter list, go to www.cathymaxwell.com There is always room for more.)

I had an editor who felt that trilogies were the perfect size for readers. There was enough time to become involved in the lives of the characters without the relationship between book and reader becoming a bit loopy. She believed readers wandered off if the interconnected story lines went on and on too long. 

What I found is that I grow a bit loopy if I don’t get to play with new characters and ideas. I need to push myself to keep an edge. So, perhaps the editor was insisting on trilogies only for my sake as well as the readers’?

That doesn’t mean I don’t go back and visit past stories, as I did in ONE DANGEROUS NIGHT. The hero is from my the “Logical Man’s Guide to Dangerous Women.” Christopher Fitzhugh-Cox, the immature and spoiled Duke of Winderton, has been running from himself, from past mistakes, from feeling a failure, from losing sight of what matters in life. I couldn’t leave him out there rambling around. He need to be pulled back into the thick of things. 

And so he meets Elise Lanscarr, the youngest sister in the “Gambler’s Daughters” series. She had her own doubts and is angry with her sisters, as we all do from time to time with siblings. 

Bringing these two together gave me great joy. Hopefully, readers were happy as well. 

It also looks as if I’m going to stretch the “Gamblers’ Daughters” trilogy at well. I’m playing with a side character in A TOUCH OF STEELE. I’m just framing out the synopsis now but just as readers wonder what happened to some of the secondary characters in books, the authors do as well. Stay tuned. We shall see if a particularly haughty lord’s story reaches the books stage. (It will. The visions in my head are too strong to deny him._

Words rule my life. I understand their power to persuade, to elevate, to devalue, and to heal. They can make me feel as if I am not alone. They allow others to share their insight and wisdom. They help me define my feelings. They become a touchstone.

 This poem by Donna Ashworth titled “Loss” is one of them.

 I share it this holiday season. May it’s sure knowledge of loss and love be a blessing on you.

“Creativity is a tribal experience.” Julia Cameron

            You want to write. You do write. You spend hours writing . . . but you don’t seem to move forward. You don’t know if what you write is good. One moment you think you are brilliant, and in the next, untalented. 

            And then there this whole business side to writing. How do you wrap your arms around that? Or keep up with the latest?

            Take a writing class. Preferably in person. Rub shoulders with other writers. Build synchronicity by being with people who are moving in the same direction you desire. 

            How do you find these classes or other writers?  There are many classes online. I take online classes. After all, I am a working writer and I need to keep up with new concepts and techniques while being reminded of the basics. I do go off track as easily as the next person.

            I also take in-person classes, and these are what I recommend for a newish writer because they will give you the opportunity to be with your “tribe.” Only another writer understands the challenges I face. We share more information with each other over a cup of coffee, a sandwich, or drinks than we do in a lecture. In person contact cements friendships, even if I have communicated with someone online for years. 

            Where do you find these classes? Reach out. Search the web. Touch base with organizations like Romance Writers of America where writers gather. Every major genre has an organization. Some have local chapters. 

Touch base with your library system. I’ll put in a plug for Romance GenreCon where the first day and a half is a free writing course. Hopefully Mid-Continental Public Library (MCPL) in the Kansas City area will do it again in 2024. But MCPL also has a story center where they invite writers in to teach. You can find more about both at https://www.mymcpl.org/story-center It may be worth your time to travel to attend a class.

Also, there are writing instructors everywhere. Google to find one, do your research on what people think, and, if you like what you see, sign up. Some of their classes can be pricey but others are reasonable. 

Most important, don’t be afraid to find your people. I didn’t know anyone when I attended my first writers’ conference. I wanted to write but I didn’t know how to start. Signing up had been a scary, big decision. It also cost money which was tight in my family at the time. It seemed selfish to spend $100 on myself when someone was always needing new sneakers.

This turned out to be the best $100 I have ever spent. I entered a packed room, saw an empty chair, plopped my stuff down, turned to the person next to me, and asked, “What do you write?” She, too, was a beginning writer. 

That empty chair turned out to be a gift. She became a critique partner and a valued friend and sounding board for close to thirty years. 

This can happen to you, too. 

But only if you are willing to reach out.

Have you noticed how many romances deal with siblings of the same sex?  And how, when the siblings are all sisters things can be . . . complicated?

Or perhaps it is just me. I come from a family where all the children were female. My sisters and I treated our father very well and were close to our mother.  I suspect that my experiences lead me to write of the sister experience. I know my sisters have my back, and yet, we can have our tiffs. Women are verbal. That point right there makes them better fodder for a novelist.  Characters must talk.

A woman once told me she had to stop reading romance novels because the heroes in the book always spoke their feelings. They had conversations. Meanwhile, she was married to a man of few words.  She loved him, but his lack of conversation–or his own deep introspection because we know he had to have feelings—frustrated her. Hence, her solution was to turn to murder mysteries . . . I will not touch the dynamics that might be lurking there!

Anyway, throughout history, women have had to push against society’s restraints, or cater to them, for our own survival–whether it was vying to make a match with money and prestige or scheming of ways to make money when limited by opportunity and acceptance.

One of the themes of the Gambler’s Daughters series is this challenge. I come from a long line of pioneering women.  When a door opened, they took it. My great grandmother signed on to the postmaster in a west Kansas town. My great aunt was dumped at the altar—ah! Marriage—and took that as her sign to become a nurse missionary in India where she helped build a hospital before WWI.  There were times they had to speak through their husband’s voices and others when they were free to use their own voices.  

I’m rattling on. Let me say that the struggles of women trying to find a place in this world has been a theme of Austen, the Brontës, and other women writers through the centuries.  It is the theme of modern writers as well.  Our voices are growing stronger, but they are still not always heard.

This is a proud mama post combined with some there-are-no-coincidences post. 

My son Andrew is an artist whose work celebrates nature. He creates pieces that honor mountains, skies, capstone, insects and animals, plus pieces celebrating various states. He even throws in a flower every once in awhile. www.naturaltribute.com

Now for the story:  During the pandemic, Andrew ended up in Colorado completely by chance. His wife, Holly, was on a family girls’ trip at a camp they had reserved for a week. In the middle of their trip, Andrew found himself unexpectedly asked to join them. He did not balk at the invitation.

 Meanwhile, Alex Bailey, the executive director of Black Outside, Inc. www.blackoutside.org happened upon the camp and asked if he could spend the night. He was scouting trails for future hikes with his group.  

  And that is how Andrew and Alex met—happenstance. They lived a short drive from each other in Texas, but Colorado connected them.

They ended up talking for hours during that first meeting, especially about their mutual belief in the power of the outdoors. Alex shared with Andrew the abysmally low number of Black Americans who take advantage of our national and state parks.  Alex said his purpose in life was to reconnect Black/African-American youth to the joys of exploring the outdoors, to appreciating the beauty of nature, and to “move the needle on diversity in the outdoors and ensure our youth have safe and equitable spaces outside.” That is a big mission. (I haven’t met this man yet but I can’t wait until our paths cross someday.)

Fired up by their discussion, Andrew offered to donate a design for the group. Andrew also believes in giving back and had been looking for a great cause to support. He and Alex started talking about the design and came up with the Owl. The Owl is an important symbol because Harriet Tubman, when she was running the underground railroad, used owl calls to signal her presence and ask if it was safe.  

Andrew’s Owl design is one of my favorites. Plus, 25% of every sale from the stickers, hats, and shirts with this design are donated to Black Outside. 

Recently, Yeti held an advertising campaign to highlight Black Outside.  Andrew’s Owl made an appearance in some of the pictures. Patagonia is also doing a promotion with Black Outside and I proudly see the Owl.

I guess the point of this post is that we never know when lightning will strike.  Or where just having a passion will take us.  How do we discover what our passions are in our lives?  Through trying new experiences like Alex offers kids with his organization or just following our curiosity like Andrew did.  He didn’t take art in school, unless one counts doodling on his math homework. However, over time, listening to the creative whisperings in his mind, coupled with that feeling in his gut that he needed to explore these thoughts, he discovered a passion that he could express through art.  

By the way, this isn’t a post just about Black Outside or Natural Tribute. It is about listening to those whispers of ideas and imagining what we would like to do. It is about finally taking the time to explore and, yes, play with these ideas. To turn them over in your mind and eventually, one step at a time, take action. 

For those of you who dream of writing books, please read that last paragraph again, especially the last two words-take action. Please, connect with other writers. Go the library and read books on writing.  Give those story ideas you mentally play with some air. That’s what I did. Along the way, I made connections, most by chance, with other writers who helped guide me on this path I’ve been following.

The Universe always has opportunities waiting for us. But first, we have to take a step in the direction of our dreams.

Let me close with Black Outside’s mission statement–“We firmly believe that each young person has immense talents, abilities, and skills to contribute to their community and the greater world.” I believe this statement is true of people of all ages. Please, never stop trying new experiences. Don’t be afraid to explore.

P. S. And, for those interested—

Black Outside, Inc. is a 501 (3)C Nonprofit. You can donate here https://www.blackoutside.org/donate

Natural Tribute’s store is www.naturaltribute.com  Or you can follow Andrew on FaceBook and Instagram at NaturalTribute

Then, for fun, check out the first black owned outfitter in the NATION—Slim Pickings Outfitters in Stephenville, TX.  You can check them out at www.slimpickinsoutfitters.com

P.P.S.  I do have other children.  My daughter Chelsea is a Hospice Nurse. Yes, she is a Hero. But so is my other child, Samantha. She is a LCDR in the Coast Guard.  Max and I raised rock stars. 

Most of us are keenly aware of when we feel powerless. It is usually when life upsets us, when we feel we have lost control, when we start to be overwhelmed or even defeated. But most of us, especially myself, ignore what is in our power—where I can act on my behalf for what I want.  Ironic, isn’t it?  I have a keen awareness of what everyone else should do or isn’t doing, but I seem to be unable to see me. Me, me, me.

To increase my self-awareness, I like to start a new year with a Word of the Year exercise.  I take a stack of magazines, give myself fifteen minutes to tear pics and words out that hit me, fifteen minutes to create a collage, and fifteen minutes to truly think and journal on what my choices are telling me. I usually invite family and friends to join me because–synergy.

This year, while preparing for folks to come in my door, I mulled over what words I thought might show up. One was “patience.”  Another was “peace.”  Both are great words created by the reasoning side of my brain. You know, the brain side that is always busy with image management and creating new “shoulds.”

What I wasn’t prepared for was the result from my collage:  FIREBRAND.  Do you see it?  Right there with “grit” and “fresh challenges?”  The moment I considered my collage, I knew I was ready to celebrate this year with energy and determination, to stop putting boundaries around my life.  I don’t want to be patient.  I want to step it up.

How will I be doing that?  In my writing, of course.  But also in several ways by expanding my personal life. One of my volunteer gigs is working on the League of Women Voters of Texas’s Advocacy Committee. I’m charged with following women’s healthcare and reproductive rights bills through the Texas legislature.  How’s that for a challenge? I feel overwhelmed by it. However, the word firebrand gives me a sense of new energy. I want to pry myself out of my chair and do something.  

Is failure an option?  You bet.  But then, I’ve rarely shied away from taking action in my life . . . unless complacency and excuses have taken hold:  I’m too old, I’m too young, I don’t know anything to make a difference, what does it matter, what will a walk or art class or new exercise class do, I need to stay put and wait . . .   

Wait for what?  The world keeps spinning and I want to spin with it.  That is what firebrands do. They act as a catalyst. I want to be a catalyst in my life. Every day in every way. How could I ever have thought I wanted to merely be “patient?”

So how about you?  What word would you choose to be your focus in this new year?

Austin has a new wine bar—Vintage Books and Wine www.vintagebooksandwine.com It couldn’t be more perfect for me (and you, too, I think). They have wine, a great atmosphere, wine, a good selection of romances, and wine. All books on the shelves are trade paperbacks or hardcovers so my mass market sized books weren’t available. However, they had an excellent selection of contemporaries and the Bridgerton series.

A group of us met to hang out and I discovered my friend Kelly Cain’s latest, A TASTY DISH, amongst the contemporaries. Since Kelly was one of our group, she signed it for me. I whipped through book. Kelly is a clever storyteller who knows how to keep the heat on. Get it? Tasty dish? Sorry. You are right, that was too simple. Still, her characters have real emotion as they negotiate big, big dreams vs. finding someone who can be trusted, someone who will walk beside them. That isn’t easy. Each of us who has made a commitment to another person knows just how harrowing the risks are—and how rewarding. The last line of the book is just perfection . . . 

Plus, there are recipes, interesting ones, that go very well with wine. I have decided Kelly has a remarkable palate to accompany her excellent storytelling.

When in Austin, pay a visit to Vintage Books and wine. Lovely. Welcoming atmosphere. Very much apace with the Austin vibe. Good people and delish wines.  Plus, I love their butterfly reading logo.

I first met Kathy at a Kansas book group.  I’d been invited to speak and, boom!  Just like that, a friendship started.  Every time I am in Kansas, Kathy comes to see me.  We laugh, we catch up, and she takes a picture of us holding previous year pictures. It is our inside joke and then we laugh about that. Yes, some people look at us strangely. Most are jealous.  

One of the best places Kathy and I meet is at Romance Genre Con sponsored by the Mid-Continental Public Library.  This year, she surprised me with a mug of previous years picture, and then we took another picture. Here we are in a picture holding a picture of us holding a picture holding a picture of us. In each one, we are laughing because we are friends, celebrating this genre we all love to read.

The biggest joy for 2022 was having the opportunity to be with readers and reader friends again.  I have a number of those reader friends. At some point we shared a bond–a good laugh, an enjoyment of book, something–and ever after, we make a point of connecting. I adore seeing Kathy in Kansas, and Ruth in Virginia, and Samantha in Dallas, and Sharlene in Memphis, and, and . . .  This world of books and readers has brought me so many new friends.  

(BTW, Romance Genre Con is the BEST conference on romance in the country. They bring in librarians from all over to discuss the genre.  That also means they bring some of the top writers. Readers are always welcome and it is FREE. Bring your friends, take a weekend for yourself, head to Kansas City. First week in August.  Check out www.mymcpl.org for info.)  

I heard growling from my living room today.  Tess, who NEVER growls, was focused on the top of the Christmas tree.  Apparently, after several days of my newly acquired sequined and beaded stuffed owl being perched there, Tess noticed it.  

The offending critter.

At first, she acted as if one of the wild birds I feed in the yard had invaded her turf. She doesn’t bark at them outside, but this might have been a step too far. Maybe she believed a bird was encroaching on her domain.

I took the owl down, let her smell it, and I thought she was happy. She stopped growling, but then later, when I walked past the door, I caught Tess watching the tree with a fixed intensity. After all, she is part hound and a very good pointer, especially when she sees a bunny. Or, perhaps, she suspects stuffed animals are actually secretly alive, especially with mischief? It is that time of the year when anything could happen, right? 

Meanwhile, I feel so safe. 

Hope y’all are enjoying your holidays, my friends!

(P.S. Don’t notice how dirty the dog door is. Tess is the one who is supposed to clean it–but she is too busy focusing on stuffed birds.)