Category: Hello Thursday Morning

Wake Up and Smell the Coffee

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens, Hello Thursday Morning2 Comments

Hello Thursday Morning DevotionHello, Thursday Morning readers! I hope you’re doing well this midwinter morning. It’s cold and a little damp here.

We’re only weeks away from spring. Yay! I’m thinking about what I’ll plant in my flower beds, and that thought is invigorating. Already, the new green is showing through the deadness of my front bed, as you can see in the photo below. We’ve had an unusually warm winter thus far.

I hope you’re wide awake and ready for a great day.

One who is kind benefits himself, but an unkind person hurts himself. [My paraphrase of Proverbs 11:17].

Kindness paves the way for a good day. I know there are times when your kind words are not greeted with kindness, but if you will persist in kindness, it will pay off in the long run.

And pay attention, please. Wake up! Put your phone down and leave it down when you’re driving. Every day, I see people crossing over the line into my lane because they are distracted. Yesterday, a friend of mine told of a near head-on collision with another driver who was distracted. My friend was so shaken, she had difficulty driving home.

So, do me a favor. Do yourself a great kindness. Forget about that message until you get where you’re going. If it’s that important, pull over somewhere safe and deal with it, then proceed.

It will be better to arrive a few minutes late, rather than to not arrive at all.

So, wake up and smell the coffee. Practice kindness today. Sometimes the best thing you can give another person is your attention.Winter Garden 2020

Over the Hill Love

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens, Hello Thursday Morning6 Comments

Hello! Thursday MorningHello, Thursday Morning readers! I’m so glad you’re here. I’m writing another chapter of my latest work-in-progress, and I just realized something.

My main character is … well … kind of “over the hill.” She’s not a young chick, not even a pullet (that’s an adolescent chick). She’s already been married, raised two sons. She’s a grandma! chicken, hen, dominecker

She might be in love with her next-door neighbor. He’s a real hottie, though he’s also up there in years. Yes, they’re both approaching fifty, and love is definitely knocking at the door.

I’ve read a lot of books about young love. Falling in love, and getting married—I used to dream about it. Then it happened to me. I guess you could say I’m living the dream. I’m content where I am, but it’s still fun to read the stories.

Lately, I’ve read a few love stories that feature older couples. In fact, I’ve seen several movies on television, too. It’s kind of refreshing, because you know, it happens. All the time. Couples divorce, or one of them dies, leaving the other all alone. Some are content to stay single, others are … not.

I met a man at my church who remarried within a year of his elderly wife’s death, because  he “couldn’t be alone.” His new wife joked that his late wife had done everything for him, so he literally couldn’t be alone.

This is not the case with the guy in my book. Tom Franklin’s been single for many years. He’s lived on his own all that time. He’s a successful businessman, but he’s lonely. He grew up with Annabelle Wade (now Cross). He loved her in high school, and hoped to one day marry her. But she ran off and married a sailor. Now she’s back, and he can’t get her out of his head, or his heart.casal-1818171_1280

Will these two end up together? I hope so, but there are some definite problems in their way, and who knows? Maybe they’ll decide it’s better to stay single. That’s a realistic ending, isn’t it?

What do you think? Do you like reading an “over-the-hill” romance?

 

 

Perfectly Imperfect

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens, Hello Thursday Morning

Hello! Thursday MorningHello, Thursday Morning readers! Coffee’s on. While I’m waiting for it, how many of you read suspense?

I just read a really good one.

I promised a book review a couple weeks ago, then got sidetracked. Yeah, well  it happens. Elizabeth Noyes, one of my fellow Write Integrity Press authors recently released the final book in her action-packed, suspenseful Imperfect series. I’ve loved every one of them, so of course I was anxious to read this one.

Welcome to the “Triple C” — home of the characters in this series — a beautiful horse ranch in Idaho. It’s not your ordinary home, though. It’s kind of like a compound. The Cameron brothers are not only tall, dark, and handsome, but also somewhat lethal. Each of the books features a different Cameron sibling, including the beautiful twin sisters.

Of all the Cameron brothers, Jonas is the one I thought would never settle down. He’s special forces, haunted by his past. A highly trained, skilled warrior with PTSD. He’s dangerous to be around, or so it seems. Can he really leave his past behind?

Shea Townsend has a chip on her shoulder, but a soft spot for Jonas. She sees right through the heavy armor he wears, even when he thinks he’s heavily cloaked. But he’s a wild card. Can she trust him? She’s been thrown before, so she’s taking it slow.

As the story moves forward, sometimes at the speed of sound with plenty of action, we learn Shea’s past and why she’s so distrustful. And maybe why she’s such a perfect fit for this last Cameron. Maybe.

Just about the time I thought I could take a breath, something happened and the story took off again.

Right up until the end, I was holding my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop. My friend, Betty Noyes is a master storyteller. She writes tight, exciting suspense, and she does her research. That much is obvious. I highly recommend this series, and especially this final book. But I have to admit, I’m a little sad that the Camerons rode into the sunset.

I’ll be watching the horizon to see what’s next from this author.

Have a blessed weekend!

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