May 1, 2015
Happy
May Day ~~ Mother’s Day ~~ Memorial Day!
Lots of birthdays in my family the first 11 days of May; ages ranging
from 14 all the way up to 60! AND with
all the showers April sent, my garden is in full bloom with May flowers. AND I’m so looking forward to being in Dallas
for the Romantic Times Convention on May 12 through May 17. I haven’t even started to sort out what to
pack yet, and it’s in two weeks!
In
this Issue:
Quote of the
Month
Featured
Author
Recipe of the
Month
Mother’s Day
News/Updates
Upcoming book
signings
Coming next
month
Quote
of the Month: “That a man can
change himself . . . and master his own destiny is the conclusion of every mind
who is wide-awake to the power of right thought.” Christian
D. Larson (1866-1954).
Featured Author: Robbi Perna
The Roman
Phalera
is the story I started writing fiction to tell. As an author, the first
question at least one person in a group will always ask is, “where do you get
your ideas.” For me, answering that
question is easier than writing the blurb for the story after it’s finished. My stock answer is all my stories start with
the basic premise “what if” and I build on whatever the answer is to the
question. In the case of The Roman Phalera, the idea for the
setting of the story grew out of a conversation with an Army colleague. We were chatting over lunch one day and she
remarked that with my love of houses, I should write a story about one in which
everyone who visits it has a different experience. The idea grew abetted by my desire to work
through the grief over the loss of one of my brothers. While Paul and I were not twins, we were as
close as a brother and sister born four years apart could be. The idea of a house where one twin would have
a shared experience with his lost twin and find peace and a level of acceptance
held an irresistible appeal for me.
Since my educational background is the art and architecture of ancient
Rome, the choice of the Divine Twins’ appearance at the battle of Lake Regillus
in the fifth century before the Common Era was a logical choice for the twins’
shared experience.
The actual writing of the story was not
smooth sailing. I found composing the
funeral scene very difficult on both an emotional and a humorous level. The emotional one was of course because it
brought my brother’s back as fresh as if it were last week instead of ten years
ago. On the humorous side, I found it difficult
to keyboard through tears while attempting to reassure the dog that nothing was
amiss. He couldn’t get it through his
little doggy brain that there wasn’t a lot he could do to stem the flow. The other problem stemmed from the quantum
mechanics of time travel to the past. In
the end, I gave up on a logical scientific explanation, which no one would want
to read anyway, and fell back on the New Age beliefs of ley lines.
Twins
Paolo and Carlo Cavaleri are inseparable and share everything as they’ve done
for their entire lives. When tragedy strikes, one of them must continue alone.
Carlo buries himself in his work as a wine broker, his grief submerging the
other facets of his life. Then the Fates intervene, setting the stage for the
twins to share one last adventure. Carlo wakes up in the middle of a
battlefield with Paolo as his comrade in arms. As rational man, Carlo knows
it’s only a dream, but it teaches him one of life’s basic truths. As long he
keeps Paolo alive in his memories, they will both fulfill their destinies. Not
even the antagonism between Carlo and Andiana Allegretti, the daughter of the
mysterious owner of an abandoned vineyard near his parent’s winery, can dim the
experience. Will Carlo’s destiny include Andiana...or must he find another
path? A bronze and silver Roman phalera may hold the answer.
Recipe
of the Month:
Easy
Corned Beef Brisket
3-pound corned beef brisket
3 wholes cloves
Water to cover
Combine all ingredients in slow
cooker. Cook on low for 10-12 hours, or
on high for 5-6 hours. Makes 6 servings.
From: How to
Make Love and Dinner at the Same Time
By Rebecca Field
Jager
Mother’s Day: The history of Mother's Day is centuries old
and the earliest Mother's Day
celebrations can be traced back to the spring celebrations of
ancient
During this time many of the England's poor worked as servants for the wealthy. As most jobs were located far from their homes, the servants would live at the houses of their employers. On Mothering Sunday, the servants would have the day off and were encouraged to return home and spend the day with their mothers. A special cake, called the mothering cake, was often brought along to provide a festive touch.
As Christianity spread throughout Europe the celebration changed to honor the "Mother Church" - the spiritual power that gave them life and protected them from harm. Over time the church festival blended with the Mothering Sunday celebration . People began honoring their mothers as well as the church.
With the passage of time, the practice of this fantastic tradition ceased slowly. The English colonists settled in America discontinued the tradition of Mothering Sunday because of lack of time.
For more information on Mother’s
Day:
May Day: Well, it is a fact that May Day, which the
children do enjoy with all vibes, is not an overly prominent holiday in America.
Yet, it does have a long and notable history as one of the world's principal
festivals. The origin of the May Day as a day for celebration dates back to the
days, even before the birth of Christ. And like many ancient festivals it too
has a Pagan connection.
Then the Romans came to occupy the British Isles. The beginning of May was a very popular feast time for the Romans. It was devoted primarily to the worship of Flora, the goddess of flowers. It was in her honor a five day celebration, called the Floralia, was held. The five day festival would start from April 28 and end on May 2. The Romans brought in the rituals of the Floralia festival in the British Isles. And gradually the rituals of the Floralia were added to those of the Beltane. And many of today's customs on the May Day bear a stark similarity with those combined traditions.
For more information May Day:
News: As you know I held a contest to name my
new street team. There were many good
entries and names. So good in fact that
it was a hard decision but Debra Knotts won with the title Maxine’s Book Divas! Debra
chose Rings of Paradise for her prize
and is now a Diva. You can be a Diva
also by clicking Maxine’s Book Divas
and joining.
Upcoming
Appearances:
May 12-17: Romantic
Times BookLovers Convention, Dallas, TX.
Coming
Next Month: Father’s Day Tradition; Romantic Times
Convention in Dallas
With
much gratitude, until next time…keep reading.
Maxine
Spark
your imagination and entice your mind
Be
adventurous in your own home
Take
a journey into a new world and be inspired
Enjoy
the pleasures of reading ~~
It
does the mind and body good.
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