My Dear Readers,

Well, Theo’s gastritis is finally behind us.

You’d think that meant smooth sailing, right?

Monday night at 10 p.m., I uploaded the final file for Growing Love to Amazon. Midnight was my deadline, or they’d cancel all the preorders.

I made it, but just barely.

This edit was heavier than usual, and I’m not entirely sure how I feel about how the story turned out. If you read it, I’d love to know what you think.

Tuesday, I planned to finally do some grocery shopping—I had been living on whatever was in the fridge to save editing time.

But I’d forgotten November 18th is Remembrance Day here in Croatia. Everything was closed.

Then, Tuesday night, while taking Theo out for his last trip outside, I slipped on the stairs down to my apartment. I sprained my ankle badly enough that I thought it might be broken.

I’m fine.

I’m a tough cookie, and these things don’t keep me down.

But it did make me think.

Being alone in a foreign country where I don’t speak the language, living in a tiny hilltop village with the nearest doctor thirty minutes away—that’s a reality I needed to sit with for a moment.

Not in a negative way.

Just in an honest one.

Sometimes life sends you messages worth paying attention to.

What I’ve Been Reading

The last few days, I’ve been taking better care of myself.

More rest.

And a lot of reading, which is my favorite thing anyway.

Two books I want to recommend for your TBR pile: The Beach House (South Carolina Sunsets Book 1) by Rachel Hanna and The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny, book 19 in the Chief Inspector Gamache series.

Quite different from each other, but I like switching between romance and either cozy mysteries or crime novels. It keeps things interesting.

34 Days Until Christmas

We’re getting close now.

Thirty-four days until Christmas.

And looking at the world and all the happenings outside our control, including people calling others “Piggy” during an interview, we all need some old-fashioned good behavior, positivity, and hope in our lives right now.

So here’s a poem from Elizabeth Barrett Browning about love that endures:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.I love thee to the depth and breadth and height my soul can reach, when feeling out of sight for the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee with the passion put to use in my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith. I love thee with a love I seemed to lose with my lost saints. I love thee with the breath, smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose, I shall but love thee better after death.

That’s what love is about, isn’t it?

The kind of love that reaches deep. The kind that endures.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for reading my stories.

Take care wherever you are.

Much Love,

PS: The next Christmas story will be a little delayed while I let this ankle heal properly, but you can catch up on the Christmas in Silver Sound stories by clicking the image below. Sometimes the best thing we can do is give ourselves permission to rest. I’ll be back with you soon. 🎄

Christmas in Silver Sound Holiday Romance Series

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