Linda Ford – Page 33 – Linda Ford is a fan favorite of historical Christian romances that center on faith, family and a forever love.

BEST ANIMAL PORTRAITS OF 2013

Posted on September 29, 2013 by LindaSeptember 29, 2013

Animals are interesting subjects. I thought I’d share a few taken over the past few months.

Spring has sprung. The grass is ris. I wonder where the flowers is.

Oh there they are.

Hawaii isn’t just for people either. Take a gander at these.

Let me know if I’m getting too much sun and I’ll roll over.

Are you done breakfast? Can I have the leftovers? Never mind, I’ll take them even if you aren’t done.

Look how easy those pigeons have it. They don’t even have to beg. Some lady just tosses out food for them. Unfair.

You pay no attention to those crazy birds. They’re uncouth. Ducks have much better manners. We sit nicely and wait our turn.

Uncouth. All of you!

Once upon a time, there were 3 little horses. The smallest horse, the second and the biggest of all. Or maybe that was The Billy Goats Gruff.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/misc/stories/misc-thebillygoatsgruff/

A huntin’ we will go.

A final Ya Hoo from Harry the Horse.

MORE EDEN VALLEY COWBOYS

Posted on September 22, 2013 by LindaSeptember 22, 2013

In January 2014–which is not that far away–another Eden Valley Ranch story will be released.

A Haven Out West

After witnessing her fiancé’s murder, Jayne Gardiner won’t let herself be caught on the wrong side of a gun again. But a disastrous first lesson in self-defense has left her with a wounded cowboy. She insists on nursing the handsome stranger back to health—whether he wants it or not!

Getting waylaid by a wild shot has definitely put a hitch in Seth Collins’s step—and plans. Duty may call him home, but Seth can’t resist lingering on Eden Valley Ranch to teach the English beauty to shoot. And when a shadowy figure from Jayne’s past resurfaces, Seth’s sudden urge to protect her has nothing to do with duty.

Cowboys of Eden Valley: Forging a future in Canada’s west country.

This is the first of three stories featuring young ladies who have traveled from England to the Eden Valley Ranch.

SEPTEMBER SURPRISE

Posted on September 15, 2013 by LindaSeptember 15, 2013

What’s the surprise, you ask? It’s that we are getting summer in September and I love it. Hot days with cool mornings and cool evenings. Apart from the pesky bugs what’s not to enjoy?

The crowning event for me was two days at my favorite spot–Sylvan Lake.

The first day, I combined 3 special things. I had a day off. I took my wheelchair client for a nice outing. And I sat in the sun, undisturbed, uninterrupted and edited 200 pages. A perfect day.

The second day was to be with family. Two four year olds and their mothers.

But one of the four year olds woke with a sore throat and fever and couldn’t go. Aww! So only one little girl and her mommy went with me. We had a nice day despite the cold wind coming off the lake.

I wish this weather would last until Christmas. But so long as it does, I intend to make the most of it.

What is your favorite thing to do during warm autumn days.

AUTUMN FAVORITES

Posted on September 7, 2013 by LindaSeptember 7, 2013

Autumn is my favorite season of all. The days are still long enough to appreciate and yet short enough to cool off in the evening. The busy summer work is slowing down and I feel like I can relax and enjoy.

Here are a few of my favorite things:

The sunflowers at their best.

The goldfinch feeding at the sunflowers just outside my office window. They are just like children. Sometimes they are well behaved and share the bounty. Other times, they squabble about who gets what.

Sweetpeas which have blossomed much of the summer but now seem especially bright. I love to pick a bouquet of them and set it beside my computer as I work. That way I can enjoy the outdoors while being indoors.

Sunrises. Bright or misty. But always beautiful

Autumn leaves which gives rise to the necessity of autumn drives to enjoy the scenery.

This is probably way too much information about autumn but I never get enough of the colors.

What’s your favorite season? What, in you opinion, is the best thing about autumn?

SEARCHING FOR IDEAS

Posted on September 1, 2013 by LindaSeptember 1, 2013

Where do you go to find ideas? Is there a store? A website?

My editor asked me to do a special project. I have the weekend to come up with a well-defined, structured story idea. I could use a source for fresh ideas.

Actually, I have a nice idea. The trouble is that even for a short project such as this, I need at least a dozen ideas that all relate to the story theme.

Nature is always a stimulating place for me so I went to a nearby park hoping for some help. Up and down the trails I went.

I thought I might find inspiration at the river.

I looked behind every rock and under every log. No leaf was left unturned.

But I came away as dry as the leaves on the ground.

So my question is, where do you find ideas? Does anyone have some to sell?

BUILDING MUSCLES-creatively speaking

Posted on August 25, 2013 by LindaAugust 25, 2013

We all know (I assume) that exercise and developing muscles is good for us. Muscle building improves posture, gives us strong bones and–the best bonus of all—muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue. (Looks better too.) I’ve tried all sorts of ways of doing it from holding soup cans as I do aerobics to going to the local gym. For years now, I went to Curves. It’s easy, quick and relatively painless. It became a habit, which means I had it mentally programmed into my life. And that’s a good thing. Unfortunately I dropped out and now I have no sound exercise habit. Which is a bad thing.

Which brings me to creativity. We hear lots about the two sides of the brain—the logical left side, the creative right side. People often tell me they are strongly left-sided and hence could never write a book.

Well, let me tell you about being left brained. In my previous life, I was super-organized, multi-tasking mother of 14.

I was so left brained you could hear the sound of a computer running when I was working.

So being able to compose and write stories surprises me as much as anyone.

How does that happen? And what does it have to do with exercise? Well, I can say from experience that creativity is a muscle that can be developed. It can go from flabby to strong with exercise.

I know there are those who are going to argue but I insist it’s true. I’m pretty sure you have a creativity muscle though you might not use it for creating stories but perhaps you knit, paint handmade cards, set a charming table, invent recipes or create stunning school lessons for children. And I’m guessing that the more you do it, the better you become. So go ahead, build your creativity muscle using whatever avenue you choose. Have fun doing it.

MOVING WEST

Posted on August 18, 2013 by LindaAugust 18, 2013

It’s the early 1800s. Come with me on a visit to the new West. You can come by horse and wagon

or, if you wish to come later in the century, you can travel by train.

Even before ranchers and settlers came, there were fur trappers.

At the Hudson Bay Co. trading post, you can trade 1 hide for 4 lbs. of gunshot or 12 hides for a gun.

A rival supplier in the west was I.G. Baker and Co.

The following information concerning the I.G. Baker Co comes from the Heritage Park website:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/m2qtakr

In 1874, the North West Mounted Police arrived half-starved and exhausted in the Sweetgrass Hills after their historic march west from Winnipeg. The officers in charge trekked to Fort Benton, Montana, to secure supplies, where they met Charles E. Conrad of I.G. Baker & Company.

Before long, the I.G. Baker Company was the official supplier of the NWMP, and built the Mounties’ fort, which would soon be named Fort Macleod, on a small island on the Oldman River. The I.G. Baker Company built a store nearby, and soon the company’s bull trains were ferrying supplies to this store and others in Calgary and Lethbridge. The Baker building developed into the centre of community activity in Fort Macleod, and was later sold, along with the rest of Baker’s Canadian stores, to the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1891.

It wasn’t long before ranchers and settlers moved into the Canadian west.

A visit to Heritage Park in Calgary provides plenty of food for thought for westerns set in the Canadian West.

FROM CHAOS TO STORY

Posted on August 11, 2013 by LindaAugust 11, 2013

A thousand fleeting ideas. A raft of scene possibilities. Character fears, dreams and goals. Bad guys. A feud. A romance. A troubled younger brother. Twin sisters. How does one take all those things and create a structured story? More importantly, how do I take them and create a story?

“In chaos, there is fertility.”
? Anaïs Nin

Okay. I’ll believe my chaotic ideas and thoughts are fertile ground for a rich story. I believe it. I believe it. (Actually I hope for it). But how to corral the chaos and create order?

You must have chaos within you to give birth to a dancing star. Friedrich Nietzsche

In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order. Carl Jung

How do I find the dancing star? The secret order?

I don’t normally use file cards to plan my story. Mostly because I’m too lazy to write notes on all those cards but this time I printed out my plotting notes and taped each step to a card. 60 file cards to sort into a story. I’m happy to say I conquered the chaos and have a working outline for the story.

Have I turned the chaos into order or even better, a dancing story? You’ll have to be the judge. This is Cora and Wyatt’s story that will be released later next year. I have no idea of the title or release date but it is the first book in the Bell’s sisters trilogy. I’ll let you decide how successful I was at taming the chaos.

THE POWER OF SMELL

Posted on August 4, 2013 by LindaAugust 4, 2013

The windows were open during the night and I caught the scent of petunias. One of my favorite scents. I will always think of summer fun when I smell petunias. It reminded me that the sense of smell is know for its ability to trigger memories.

Like the smell of raspberries for me which takes me back to my grandparents’ acreage in the heart of Okanagan country in British Columbia.

On that little bit of land there were fruit trees (amazing abundance to a little prairie girl) and a walnut tree. There were berry bushes as well and all summer Granny’s house smelled like fresh picked berries. Each year she blessed us with jars of canned berries to brighten our winter meals. Yummy.

Some of my favorite scents:

1. wild clover in my lawn. Yes, I know it says all sorts of things about how we take care of the lawn but I like the smell.

2. Night stocks.

3. Barbecued steak.

4. Baby powder.

5. Chlorine of swimming pools. I am filled with happy thoughts of children splashing when I catch a whiff of that scent.

6. Laundry dried outdoors.

7. A fire for roasting marshmallows.

8. Canola fields in bloom (before the rotten smell stage).

9. Wild roses in bloom.

10. My Mayday tree in blossom.

What are your favorite scents? What memories do they trigger?

JULY MEMORIES

Posted on July 28, 2013 by LindaJuly 28, 2013

July is almost over. Does that mean summer is half over? The days go by so fast as we try and pack all our outdoor living into a few short weeks. It reminds me of when we had children at home. My husband and I made a conscious effort to do things that would create good memories for our children. I hope we succeeded to a certain extent. I hope we are also succeeding in the present day.

Here are some of my favorite July memories.

1. We have begun a family tradition–Summer Fun Days. A whole day of visiting and playing. And eating. I plan a turkey, ham, baked beans and salads cold meal for the noon meal and a simple hot dog/hamburger barbecue for supper.

2. Visit from daughter and her 2 teens from Colorado.

3. Day trip to Banff. There’s far too much to do for 1 day but we made the best of it. We toured the original site of the park–where the hot springs were discovered. The new tourist center is very nice with lots of wonderful information. The 12 cement arches in the photo of the ‘original’ bath house serve to hold back the mountain.

We visited the castle in the mountains. There was much to see.

4. We attended the 100th anniversary of the little town of Youngstown in eastern Alberta where I grew up. A wonderful party and the village was looking good. I visited with many former schoolmates and playmates. So fun.

5. Trips to the lake both to work and to enjoy family.

6. My garden. It’s been a challenge this year with so much rain. The mud made it impossible to keep it weeded but I think we are finally ahead of the weeds. Just in time for the picking and freezing to begin.

7. Writing. It’s hard to find time for it and yet it, too, must be done.

I have yet to discover the way to balance everything. In the meantime, I try and squeeze as much into a day as I have time and energy for. There’s never enough of either.

How about you? What are some of your favorite July memories? How do you make time for everything?