My Volunteer Flower Garden

Hi everyone, Winnie Griggs here.

Unlike many of the other ladies who post here I do NOT have a green thumb. Mine, I'm afraid, is much closer to brown. That's why am so enamored of what I call volunteer flowers, those that just pop up on their own without any effort on my part. In the spring there are those lovely yellow daffodils.  And this time of year I always look for the first signs of spider lilies.

And today was the day I stepped out in my back yard and saw them!  With their blazing red color and slender, tendril like petals they are a sassy close out for summer and harbinger of the Autumn to come.  Here are a couple of pictures of the ones in my back yard.

I did a little reading up on spider lilies and learned that they normally bloom a few days after the first good rain in September, so I guess mine are a little early.

I also learned that they have several other common names (none of which I'd ever heard before) British Soldiers, Guernsey Lilies and Surprise Lilies. 

So are you a bona fide gardener? And how do you feel about 'volunteer blooms'?

TEXAS CINDERELLA - A September 2016 Release

In Search of a Groom 

After a life of drudgery on her family's farm, Cassie Lynn Vickers relishes her new-found freedom working in town as a paid companion for feisty Mrs. Flanagan. When her father suddenly demands she come home, she has no choice. Unless she can find a husband. If only she could convince handsome town newcomer Riley Walker to marry her… 

Riley is on the run. He's desperate to keep his niece and nephew safe from his crooked half-brother. But a delay in Turnabout, Texas, shows him everything he didn't know he was missing: home, family—and Cassie Lynn. Can he find a way to both keep the children safe and become her Prince Charming?

Writing A Small Town Series

Hi!  Winnie Griggs here.  This month the sixth book in my Texas Grooms series hit the shelves.  When I wrote the first book in this series, Handpicked Husband, I hadn't really intended to go past four.  But as I wrote these first four books, some of the secondary characters that popped up really captured my imagination and made me itch to tell their stories.  At the moment I plan to have ten total books before I wrap it up.

These books are tied together by community - they are all set in the fictional town of Turnabout, Texas with, of course, a common set of secondary characters. They are standalone stories and can actually be read in any order.  But trying to set so many stories in the same town can become a nightmare from the perspective of keeping up with characters, landmarks and town layout.

And, since I'm a visual person, I came up with a couple of documents to help me do this.  The first is a town map I drew up, and that I update with each book as I reference new areas of town or different businesses.  Here is what it looks like.

The second document I created contains the main characters, by book, including important dates.  It looks like this:

Having both of these documents handy when I'm writing new books in the series has really saved me lots of time, and prevented potential mistakes, as I write.

So what do you think?  Would these documents be of interest to readers who follow this series?  Is there other information that you as a reader would like to see all in one place like this?

And in honor of the release of Second Chance Hero this week, I'd like to give away a copy to someone who leaves a comment on this post today.

Winning the Widow's Heart 

To help his dying sister, Nate Cooper once broke the law and paid a heavy price for his actions. Now the ex-con turned saddler hopes for a quiet life and new beginning in Turnabout, Texas. Being declared a hero for saving a child’s life, however,  leaves Nate feeling like a fraud. 

Since the violent death of her husband, single mom Verity Leggett has attempted to lead a safe life, avoiding danger and excitement at all costs. And her daughter's handsome rescuer Mr. Cooper seems like a perfectly responsible man, one she can finally rely on. 

When his secrets come to light, however, will Verity be able to get over his past and see Nate for the caring man he's become? 

It's National Pickle Day!

Hi!  Winnie Griggs here.  I have a "National Day of" calendar and I like to check out all the fun or unusual commemorations noted there, and it's true today is National Pickle Day.  (It's also National Spicy Guacamole Day for those who might be interested in that bit of trivia).  It's difficult to imagine who might lobby for these special recognition days, but since it is the pickle's special day, I thought I'd dig out and share some fun facts about this popular garnishment and snack item.

• Pickles have been around for thousands of years - since at least 2030 BC in fact.  It was at this time
  
  that cucumbers were brought from India to the Tigris Valley.  There they were first preserved and consumed as pickles
• The ancient Egyptians consumed pickles, not only for their nutritional value, but also because they believed it enhanced beauty.  In fact, Cleopatra credited her good looks to her full diet of pickles!
• Both Julius Caesar and Napoleon fed pickles to their armies believing it would offer strength and good health to the troops
• Amerigo Vespucci, the man America got its name from, was a pickle merchant.
• The word pickle is derived from the Dutch word pekel, which means brine.
• During WWII, the US government commandeered 40% of all US pickle production to be used in rations for the troops.
• Drinking pickle brine is a common hangover cure in Poland
• The first annual pickle day was celebrated in 2001 in New York City.
• In The United States, over 2.5 BILLION pounds are consumed annually.
• The record for the world's largest pickle is held by Vlasic.  This award winning pickle weighed nearly five pounds and measured 16 inches in length and had a 3-1/2 inch diameter. That's about 10 times the size of a 'normal' pickle.
• More than half of the cucumbers grown in the US go into pickle production.
• In Connecticut, in order for a pickle to earn the name pickle, it must bounce! 

There were many more of these fun facts that I uncovered in my research, but I think I'll stop there.

So are you a pickle fan or not?  And which of these bits of pickle trivia surprised you the most?

GIVEAWAY ALERT:  Since I'm excited about my new release, Her Holiday Family, I'd like to giveaway a copy to one person who leaves a comment on this blog today.

HER HOLIDAY FAMILY

What happens when a straight-laced young widow’s home is invaded by ten rambunctious orphans and their handsome caretaker just in time for the holidays...

Reserved widow Eileen Pierce never considered herself the kind of woman who was cut out to be a mother. She wouldn't know what to do with one child, much less ten. But when handyman Simon Tucker is stranded in town with a group of young orphans just before Thanksgiving, she discovers she can't just turn them away.

Simon knows there's more to Eileen than meets the eye. Though his easygoing demeanor immediately clashes with her buttoned-up propriety, Simon's kindness soon melts Eileen's stern facade. Simon and the children have already upended Eileen's quiet, orderly life. Will they do the same to her guarded heart?

Spring Rains, Inspiration and a Giveaway

Hi y'all, Winnie Griggs here.

Recently I was procrastinating getting to my writing and looking for inspiration.  It had rained earlier that day so I got my camera out and decided to take a stroll around my yard and snap a few pictures.

I'm not a particularly talented photographer, but the point was not to take great pictures, but to observe my surroundings in new ways.

Today I thought I'd share with you some of the pictures I took that day.

This first one is of a wet leaf that had fallen onto my driveway.  I thought it was interesting, not only because of the sharp color contrast, but also because of the juxtaposition of the actual leaf with the imprints left by fallen leaves when the concrete was first poured.

This next one is of my magnolia tree.  It was the first time this spring I'd actually paused and noticed that there were blooms on the tree.  Aren't they lovely?

Just past my magnolia tree is the street that passes in front of my house.  When I glanced that way, I noticed a bird just standing there looking around.  I'm not really certain what kind this is but I thought it was very polite of him to hold still long enough for me to snap the picture.

Circling to the other side of the house, I saw this lone mushroom growing near a patch of clover.  Nothing really special about it except it caught my eye.

And here is a picture of an old stump hunkered down near the small creek that runs behind my house. It caught my eye as I remembered that its been holding its own there for many, many years and it never seems to change much.

I took many more pictures but these were the best of the lot.  And I will admit that by the time I went back inside my house I did feel refreshed, inspired and ready to write again.

So what about you.  Where do you go, or what do you do, when you're looking for a way to 'refill the well' or find fresh inspiration?

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And since I have a new book out this month, I'm planning to give away a copy to one person who leaves a comment on this post today.

LONE STAR HEIRESS (Book 4 of the Texas Grooms series)

       Awarded a 4 ½ Star review from Romantic Times 

Rescuer Turned Husband? 

Plucky Ivy Feagan is headed to Turnabout, Texas, to claim an inheritance, not a widower's heart. That all changes when strapping schoolteacher Mitch Parker rescues her in the wilderness. Straightlaced Mitch has never met a woman like Ivy—beautiful, adventurous and good-hearted—but he already lost love once and doesn't dare try again. 

When Turnabout's gossips target Mitch and Ivy's friendship, he proposes to save her reputation. But Ivy doesn't want to marry for honor, and she doesn't need to marry for money. Ivy will only agree to a proposal made for love's sake—but will Mitch make his heart part of the marriage offer? 

Texas Grooms: In search of their brides…

Dealing with that ‘Empty Nest’ feeling

Hi! Winnie Griggs, unabashed sentimentalist here. I’ve been feeling a bit wistful the last few days since the last of my four children moved away from home last week. Yet another ‘opportunity’ to adjust to the ever-shifting dynamics of family life.

I have four children, all close together in years if not temperament. My oldest is 27, my middle child is 25 and my ‘babies’, twins, are 23. Yes, at one time I drove a van with four car seats in the back. In fact, for most of the past 23 years the family ‘car’ has been a van, either full size or mini.

My first brush with empty nest syndrome was when the twins went off to college four and a half years ago. For the first time in over two decades we did not have children in the house on a regular basis. I wallowed about for a bit. Then I noticed something. Though they were all scattered - the oldest had headed north, the middle one west and the twins south - they were all within three hours of home. So, lo and behold, most weekends would find at least one of them back home for a visit (translate that to: do laundry and get home cooked meals). And of course there were the long school holidays and summer breaks where we were all back together again. So my hubby and I adjusted to this interim stage of quasi-empty nesterdom. It was sort of the best of both worlds. Time to ourselves when we wanted it but the sure knowledge that we’d see one or more of them in the near future.

Then last spring the three youngest finished up with college. (Middle child took six years instead of four - long story). The twins immediately found jobs in other parts of the state and moved on. Middle child, on the other hand, found a local job but needed time to save some income and find ‘just the right place’ to move to. Which was fine by me. More than fine. “Mother’ is one of my favorites of the many roles I fill.

But then it happened. Middle child found a house and moved in last week. Now hubby and I are rambling around in this big two story home that not too long ago seemed to be bursting at the seams but now seems a bit too quiet. We’ll adjust, of course. And rediscover each other in the process. Which, come to think of it, is a very nice silver lining ...