I sa
w these tulips poking up through the snow. Already six inches tall, they must have started growing while still covered with the cold, white stuff. It’s as if they knew the snow would go and the warm sunshine would appear. I call that persistent hope.
It reminds me of the very first book I had published.
It is the story of a young woman who has lost everything and has fallen into a dark pit of 
despair. The hero reaches out to her and tenderly draws her from that darkness. He reminds her that even though the sky is filled with clouds, the sun is still shining. Just as even though she felt abandoned and alone, God’s love had not failed.
I realized that this is often the theme of my stories—how to find hope when all seems lost. How to move forward when the feet seem stuck in clay. How to trust God’s love when feeling abandoned.
I suppose it is a lesson I have to remind myself of over and over.
My hope and prayer with my stories is that you, the reader, will discover the truth right along with my characters (and me).
You can find more of hope-filled, persistent hope and love in my new series: Dakota Brides. Available here: https://tinyurl.com/y9xm7utm
The Never-Ending Story….
The never-ending story of Winter.
There are things I enjoy about winter. The snow covers the dust of the previous summer and fall. It sculpts interesting shapes of the landscape. Noise is muffled. It’s a good reason to cocoon in my office. (Or do I mean shelter in place?) I can put in long hours of writing without being drawn outside. I can spend the evenings reading rather than weeding.
Yes, winter is okay for December, January and February. Even in March it’s not too bad because we all know it will soon be over. But into April? Sorry, but that is just too much.
They say if life hands your lemons, make lemonade. But what do you make when it’s snow? The kids are making forts from it. I think I’ll just sit at the window and grumble about it.
Or maybe I’ll use this prolonged winter to clean closets.
Wait. I think I feel a story idea coming on. (Sure beats housecleaning.)
Are you still stuck in winter or has spring…summer… flowers and green grass made it to your corner of the world? If so, enjoy it for me.
An Early Morning Walk
Today I am going to do something I rarely (never to date) do. I am going to share the material in my newsletter so I you are signed up for that, you will get it twice. Sorry.
I love the different faces of morning–foggy and mysterious, bright and clear, dripping with fog or visited by wildlife. Every morning is a new beginning. Filled with hope and possibility. I am reminded over and over that life is what I make of it. I can take the bad and dwell on it. Or I can seek out the beauty.
Elin in Abandoned Bride has determined to do the latter. She’d been hurt, disappointed, abandoned, and left to manage on her own. But she is going to make the best of it. The best turns out to be better than she ever dreamed or imagined. It’s a story of strength and victory. Try it out. I think you’ll like it. You can get it here:
https://tinyurl.com/y7sx9juq
Happy Easter
I will spare you a picture of what it looks like outside my window. Suffice it to say, there is snow, snow, snow.
But it’s spring somewhere. I found it in Paris. Sigh.
Whether there are flowers or snow, Easter is a time to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Lord. Because He liv
es, I too can live a full life. Rejoice.
A little reminder that Abandoned Bride is live today. I hope you 
will buy it and enjoy it. My client read it while I was away in Paris and has numerous times said it is the best book I’ve written. That’s something I like to hear.
Get it here:
https://tinyurl.com/y7sx9juq
May your Easter be full of joy and celebration as we contemplate the great gift God has given us. Rejoice. He is risen.
VELCOMME
What? you might ask. Welcome, in Norwegian.
Why? Because my latest series–Dakota Brides–features a family from Norway. It was fun doing research for this series. Which included a trip to a nearby museum where I found a number of objects that are included in one or more of the four books in this series.
A tine–a trinket box, usually oval in shape. Traditionally, on the day of her confirmation, a young woman would get one for carrying cakes. It would be hand painted with beautiful rosemaling and her name and the date of her confirmation.
Norwegian wedding crown. Worn by a bride at her wedding. Spoon-shaped bangles dangled around the crown and produced a tinkling sound when she moved. According to tradition, the sound would scare away evil spirits and ensure a happy marriage.
Hardanger samples: a form of embroidery that involves counted and drawn threads. Very beautiful.
The first story in the series, Temporary Bride, is available now. Get it here. https://tinyurl.com/y9xm7utm
Abandoned Bride will be out April 1 or can be preordered. Get it here. https://tinyurl.com/y9vtephq
A WRITING LESSON FROM MOOSE
This week I learned something about story telling from some moose. You see, all winter I’ve seen their tracks and knew they were about. Tracks that circled the trees, meandered across the lawn and crossed the road to wander over the fields.
This week I saw them. Two of them. Only a few yards in front of me. We stared at each other for a few minutes and then they disappeared into the trees.
What, you may well ask, has this to do with story telling?
Let me tell you.
I am on the last pages of the first draft of a story for an upcoming new series–no titles yet. I could well call it a discovery draft. I had an outline, knew the characters wounds and dreams–you might say I saw the tracks. Just as with the tracks, I knew there were moose about, I knew there was a story to be told. But I couldn’t really see it. Then a few days ago, it was right there in front of me as clear as two moose staring at me.
Sometimes stories are like watching the moose wander about the yard and nibble at the trees. Other times it’s like seeing the tracks but not the animals. The former is easier to write but the latter has an excitement all it’s own.
Watch for news on this new series. In the meantime, you can get my latest book, Temporary Bride, here: https://tinyurl.com/y9xm7utm
THE MAGIC OF WORDS
Words can hurt. Words can heal. Words can amuse.
(Please don’t message me and say the sign is inappropriate. It’s an illustration.)
Words can stir emotions, cause one to rise up in anger, and make one thoughtful.
From a young age, I have loved words. I love the shape of them on paper, the feel of them on my tongue. And then later, I learned to love how words march one after another, across page after page to create a story.
However, the magic of story doesn’t magically happen. With Temporary Bride, I wrote four very different versions of that story before I was reasonably satisfied. What do you think? Was I successful? Read it and tell me. Leave your comments as a review on Amazon then we can all see them. (But please be kind. Authors do not care to have their babies trashed especially when it’s taken a lot of effort to birth them. -:))
Go here to get your copy.
https://tinyurl.com/y9xm7utm
SHE DID NOT WANT MARRAIGE BUT…
Temporary Bride is the first in my new series: Dakota Brides.
They’ve come to Dakota Territory seeking a new life, freedom from their past and a change from the lives they’ve known. But is their future going to be more of a challenge than they dreamed? And is the man who tries to help each of them going to thwart their plans or help them achieve their goals?
Lena Stevens has lived through more than her share of troubles. After losing her mother and father when she was young, she learned that every kindness came with obligation. Now a widow with a small child, Lena has lost the one thing she had left: her house. She has no desire to be a burden on her neighbor, even if the man was foolish enough to promise her late husband to watch out for her. But when propriety demands a marriage, Lena makes Anker vow to annul the marriage come spring.
Anker has longed for a wife–but not like this. A forced marriage. A pretend marriage. He will do what he must to protect Lena and Charlie throughout the winter. But as days stretch into months, his admiration for the spirited young woman begins to turn to something else. Something more…
Anker and Lena both had their reasons for wanting a temporary marriage. But when spring arrives, will they regret their vow to end the union?
Here is a comment from one of my early readers: I LOVED this story! Every dialog, every feeling was realistic and natural. The romance blossomed so naturally and just as it should have. The message of trusting God no matter the circumstances came through loud and clear. Who wouldn’t fall in love with Anker, Lena and Charlie???
This book is now up for pre-order at a dollar off normal price. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079Z9RCHJ
SOME GOOD READING.
I’m always thrilled when I discover a great read or one is recommended to me. I have one of each to tell you about today.
The first is 1000 White Women by Jim Fergus
The premise of this story is that the author decided to learn about his grandmother’s past which was always shrouded in secrecy. He discovered some long-hidden journals. At the beginning, he discusses the research he did to make this discovery and then presents the journals of his grandmother, May Dodd. According to the research and the journals, a Cheyenne Chief went to Washington, DC for the purpose of making a lasting peace with the whites. His plan was to ask for 1000 white women as wives for his tribe, thus ensuring his people would survive and the resulting children would be a bridge between the two cultures. May Dodd was among the first group of these ‘wives.’ She kept detailed journals. It is fascinating to see the Cheyenne life from the point of view of a white woman trying to fit in. There are lots of historical facts. This book was well written, poignant and insightful. The author had me truly convinced that all these events took place even though he says the book is fiction. I highly recommend this book and will be looking for others from this author.
The other book was The Hummingbird by Stephen P. Kiernan.
The story is of a woman who does hospice in-home care. She is assigned to care for a cranky professor who is an expert in WW2 events. He has written a book about an event during the war that sounds true but no one has ever heard of this event. The nurse reads this story to him. In the meantime, she is dealing with her ex-soldier husband who has served 3 tours of duty and is suffering PTSD. Basically there are three story lines and although none of them are part of the others, they so closely affect each other that the story becomes one story line. The nurse knows that suffering has a purpose. The historian knows that in order to understand a man you must understand his weapons. The vet knows he is damaged but doesn’t know how to be undamaged. There are so wonderful quotes. ‘The power of a promise is proven in times of difficulty, when keeping the pledge is hard.’ ‘Mortality is life’s way of teaching us how to love.’ ‘Anger is a snake that eats its own tail.’ This book is masterfully crafted and a joy to read. Again, I highly recommend it and will be looking for more books by this author.
I’d love to hear what you’ve read that you can highly recommend. You can tell me by emailing me lindaford@airenet.com or posting on my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/linda.ford.90
Talking about books. I have a new series starting soon.
The series is Dakota Brides. The first one will be out next week.
Watched for announcements.
FEBRUARY IS THE MONTH FOR…
February is the month for LOVE. Which sounds a lot better than the month for snow (we had 12″ this week) or cold (-30C this week)
It’s not that I don’t like snow. It makes for beautiful pictures but it is challenging getting around. People in town are walking through high banks on either side of their sidewalks and driveways. At least in rural areas we can push it back a little. It helps to have a big green tractor.
It’s a good thing that Valentine’s Day pops in half way through the month.
Above is a copy of a valentine sent in the early 1900s. From the correspondence I’ve read in my family’s ‘archives’ I think sending cards as adults, and expressing thoughts of love and fondness were a lot more common than it is now.
Flowers, candy, and cards are all good. Reminders of love and affections are also good. I think love triumphs over evil. I suppose that’s why I write love stories.
Have a sweet and wonderful Valentine’s Day.