Maxine Douglas Affairs of the Heart Newsletter

September 1, 2016

It’s football season! I’m a Packer and Big 10 fan so on Saturday I bleed red and white, while on Sunday its green and gold. Our mulberry tree is losing its leaves and the pine trees are dropping their needles. I love when the season changes, don’t you?

In this Issue:

Quote of the Month 

Check This Out

Featured Author  

SeptemberTraditions

Recipe of the Month

Upcoming Book Signings/Appearances

Coming Next Month

Quote of the Month: “I saw old Autumn in the misty morn stand shadowless like silence, listening to silence” ~~ Thomas Hood (poet, 1799-1845)

Check This Out:  I did it! I wrote The End in my first western historical romance set in Dodge City, Kansas. The Reluctant Bride will be released later this month in the boxset Wanted: One Bride along with stories by Callie Hutton, Peggy McKenzie, and Heidi Vanlandingham. You can add Wanted: One Bride to your Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf.

Author Page at Amazon

Featured Author:  David J. O’Brien

I was inspired to write my YA paranormal novel, The Soul of Adam Short, by an experience I had at a T-Junction in my own town, while cycling my bike in my mid‑twenties. I had a strange feeling like there was a car bearing down on my and I even cringed, but then there was nothing. I wondered what would happen if it had been a phantom car which could not physically touch me but might have some other effect. I'd often pondered whether we have a soul, and if so when it enters and leaves the body. I'd been to many funerals where the body is left overnight in a church so the soul can have time to leave it - but there's no reason why it couldn't leave before the body dies. I also knew of someone who'd died in a car crash similar to the one described at the start of the story, and the main idea came together in my head all at once.

I decided it had to be a YA novel because I knew that while someone of any age could have an extraordinary experience like Adam had, only a teenager would have the passion and the rebellion needed to go about solving the mystery and resolving that situation in the face of his or her own beliefs, and much more importantly, the disapproval and even scorn of those around them.

The cares of life are beginning to cloud fifteen-year-old Adam Short's carefree existence. Important exams are looming, his girlfriend Julie thinks he's not focused, and right now he's about to be late for the school trip. Neither his teacher, nor Julie, will be pleased if the misses the bus.

But suddenly Adam has much bigger problems when, in an extraordinary accident, his soul is torn from his body. His body loses all consciousness - reduced to a mere automaton existence: eating when food is put in its mouth, moving when guided, reacting only to touch. Meanwhile, Adam, discovering that ghosts are very much real, is trapped without a body, and stuck in a place from which he cannot freely leave.

Only the untiring efforts of his girlfriend Julie – who had never considered the existence of a soul, and for whom the idea of ghosts is laughable – against the advice of everyone around her, including her parents, Adam’s doctor, and his best friend can save Adam. Will she be able to figure out what has happened to Adam? Even if she does, can Julie help Adam escape the scene of his accident, and return the life to his body?

Muse It Up Publishing / Amazon US

September Traditions:  

• LaborDay
• September Equinox coincides with many cultural events, religious observances and customs. It's also called the "autumnal (fall) equinox" in the northern hemisphere and the "spring equinox" in the Southern Hemisphere.
• The Horn Dance (Abbotts Bromley, Staffordshire): The ancient Horn Dance is an annual event held traditionally on the first Monday after the first Sunday after September 4th!
• Church Clipping: It involves surrounding a Church by holding hands. The custom is supposed to be an outward display of affection by the parishioners, for their church. Its origins are unknown.
• Harvest Festival: Harvest Festival is a celebration of the food grown on the land.

Recipe of the Month:

Cheesy Brat Casserole

6 fully cooked Polish sausage or bratwurst, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

4 medium potatoes, cooked, peeled, and cubed (1 1/4 pounds)

1 16 - ounce package frozen cut green beans, thawed and drained

1 10 3/4 - ounce can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped onion

Ø In a 3-quart casserole, stir together the sausage, potatoes, green beans, soup, cheddar cheese and onion.

Ø Bake, covered, in a 350 degrees oven for about 45 minutes or until heated through.

Midwest Living

Upcoming Book Signings / Appearances:

©     3^rd Saturday of Month:  OKRWA Monthly Meeting, OKC Museum of Art

©     September 30-October 2, 2016:  Rock Island Arts Festival, Chickasha, OK

©     July 14-17,2017:  A Weekend With The Authors, Nashville, TN

Coming Next Month:  October Traditions, and featured author Margay Roberge.

With much gratitude, until next time…keep reading.

Maxine                                

Spark your imagination and entice your mind

Be adventurous in your own mind

Take a journey into a new world and be inspired

Enjoy the pleasures of reading ~~

It does the mind and body good.

Above photo found on Pinterest

The Autumn Leaves video by Nat King Cole (Youtube.com)