Tag: Betty Thomason Owens

What If Everything Changed?

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens

This is release week for me, as the final book in the Legacy series, Rebecca’s Legacy launched.

Book 2, Carlotta’s Legacy, is still on sale for 99¢, so here’s an excerpt from the book, and a video created by my publisher:

4 November, 1929

Rebecca Lewis stared at the angry crowd gathered outside the bank where she’d worked as a secretary for only six weeks. It was Monday morning, almost one week after Black Tuesday.

What was she to do? Dare she cross the street, try to maneuver through that mob?

While she struggled to decide, her gaze fell on a familiar face behind the wheel of a brown Model A sedan—Robert Emerson, her best friend’s husband. She waved to gain his attention then ran toward the car when he halted.

He opened the car door from the inside. “Jump in. I think we better hit the road.”

She slid onto the seat next to him and closed the door as something hard hit the window.

Robert mashed the gas pedal and sped away.

Rebecca turned to gaze out the back window. “Thank you. I had no idea what to do.”

He checked his mirrors, then glanced at Rebecca. “I’m glad I happened along when I did. Apparently, someone recognized you as a bank employee.”

With a quick look in his direction, she braced herself with a hand to the dash as he made a hard left.

“Sorry. Another crowd up ahead.”

She laid a gloved hand at the base of her throat as her heart thumped. “Why are they doing this?”

“Panic. Everyone wants their money.” His eyes met hers. “Where’s your father?”

“He’s in New York. Trying to recover something … or other.”

“As is everyone—trying to recover something, I mean.”

She watched his profile, the hard set of his jaw. The last few weeks had been especially hard on him and his family. “What about you? Woods-Sanderson?”

“We’re all right, for now. Amelia was a smart lady. She diversified, invested worldwide.”

“This is worldwide, isn’t it?”

“Well, yes, but …” he pulled into his driveway. “I hope you don’t mind if we cool our heels here. Nancy’ll be worried. You know how she is about listening to the wireless.”

Rebecca nodded. “I suppose I could use your telephone. Call my boss and let him know I tried to get there.”

“Good idea. If you need backup, I’ll be glad to put a word in.”

She smiled at him as he exited the sedan and walked around the car. She knew to stay put. Ever the gentleman. Nancy was one lucky lady. Of course, she would call it blessed. Rebecca fiddled with the ring on her finger, hidden beneath her gloves. Had she made the right decision? Caught up in her thoughts, she jumped when Robert opened the door.

He grinned. “Sorry, did I startle you?”

She blew out a breath. “Yes, a little. I’m rather distracted.”

“Nothing to worry about, you know. It’ll all come to rights.”

Rebecca’s Legacy (Legacy #2)

Her life is in a downhill plunge.

Rebecca Lewis is a reluctant bride-to-be. Marrying Riccardo Alverá, a young Italian count, may seem like a dream come true on the surface, but churning underneath is nothing but trouble, questions, and doubt. Especially since the marriage means leaving the only home she’s ever known, possibly for the rest of her life.

The death of her globe-trotting father cements her fate, however. She and her mother have no choice but to set sail for Italy and the virtual stranger who awaits her.

The beauty and tranquility of the Alverá estate fails to ease Rebecca’s heart as political unrest shakes the core of Italian society and despair entwines itself around her heart.

Will marrying an Italian count bring Rebecca the love she’s dreamed of, or doom her to relive her past mistakes?

Available now on Kindle for only 99¢

Buy link for Carlotta’s Legacy

Special Edition – Hello Tuesday Morning!

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens1 Comment

Bonus Offering!

Carlotta’s Legacy, Book 2, is also 99¢ all week. Today, you can download all THREE books for less than two dollars! Buy Link for Rebecca’s Legacy

[Click to Tweet] Happy Launch Day Rebecca’s Legacy! August 7, 2018 #NewRelease #Kindle #99¢ One day only! A 1940s historical romance – Amy Juliana Emerson might be a cultured debutante, but she’s doing her best to follow her mom’s rebellious footsteps.

I hope you’ll take advantage of this GREAT sale offered by my publishing company. Here are all the details about the new release:

What will it take to teach a spoiled heiress about the greatest legacy?

Amy Juliana Emerson might be a cultured debutante, but she’s doing her best to follow her mom’s rebellious footsteps. Her desperate attempt to escape her father’s control, however, comes at the worst possible time.

Robert Emerson has received a threat against his family in an attempt to take over his company, Sanderson Industries. To guarantee his willful daughter’s safety, he sends her to work on a produce farm run by her Aunt Rebecca. Maybe her quiet strength and unconditional love can work on Amy, keep her from becoming the prodigal daughter she seems insistent on being.

Matt Wordsworth is the man Robert calls upon to make sure his daughter stays in line. His only interest in the beautiful girl is purely part of his job. Purely. Amy considers him a fuddy-duddy which suits the situation perfectly, allowing him to stay close to her without concern for her losing her heart to him. And his own heart … well, his feelings didn’t matter. This was business.

Humiliated and angry, Amy contemplates a path that will lead her even farther from home and away from Dad’s protection. Rebecca’s influence begins to change her feelings about everything, even about Matt, but Amy might find she’s playing into the hands of the enemy.

Click this photo to buy Amelia’s Legacy and Carlotta’s Legacy!

NOTE: All my Write Integrity Press books are available in Kindle Unlimited.

A Sensitive Nature

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens

coffee, cup, laptop, memeHello, it’s Thursday morning again! Where I live, warmer weather is trying to displace the frigid remains of winter. I have a feeling we’ll go straight to hot weather, with very little spring.

I was reading an article about how dogs sense things humans can’t. Of course, their excellent hearing helps, and the fact they can smell a cookie from one end of the house to another. But they also pick up on things like earthquakes, approaching storms, and of course, the occasional house fire. dog, rhodesian-ridgeback-2727035_1280

They also alert you to critters passing in the night, which can sometimes be annoying. Reading this article reminded me of a family trait of ours. They said Grandma had a sensitive nature. She seemed to know when something wasn’t right with one of her kids. Apparently, she passed that down to me.

The first time (that I remember) happened when I was nine or ten. My brothers and I were spending the weekend at Grandma’s, or maybe it was spring break. I had an odd feeling, like something bad was going to happen. While helping Grandma with the dishes, I mentioned it.

“Can you know when something bad is gonna happen?”

She didn’t say much, but I could see she was thinking about it. “Sometimes the Lord prompts us to pray.”

Before we’d finished the dishes, a car pulled into the driveway. It was Uncle Bud. He had bad news. My dad had been in a car accident and ended up in the hospital. He would be all right, but Uncle Bud had come to take us home.

I never forgot that feeling. I’ve had it many times over the years. I grew up, married, and gave birth to three sons. We were living on a couple of acres. My three guys were five, three, and two. There was an old pond in the woods next to our back lot. The pond had been let go and was covered with scum. I fretted over it, afraid my boys would wander over there.

Three nights in a row, I had a bad dream. The dream always ended the same way. I couldn’t find the boys, and was frantically looking for them. Then I saw four little bodies floating face down on the pond. I’d wake up, heart racing, and terrified. I kept the boys close, never letting them out of my sight.

After a death in the extended family, my parents attended the funeral. My mother called from there to tell me my cousin’s little boy had drowned in a neighbor’s pool. They’d been able to resuscitate him, but he was in a coma. I immediately thought of the dream. There had been four little boys in the pond. My little cousin was the same age as my middle son.

This has continued through the years. I’ve had a bad feeling, or an intuition that something wasn’t right. Sometimes, I found out what it was, and other times, I never knew. I remembered what Grandma said, “Sometimes, the Lord prompts us to pray.” I used these as unctions to pray for whoever may be in harm’s way.

I’m not always forewarned, but it happens enough to make me think I inherited Grandma’s sensitive nature.

I used this natural wonder in my fantasy-fiction “Jael of Rogan” series. Jael had a much stronger ability to sense when something was coming. Her abilities included greater visual acuity, and she could hear sounds from miles away—a helpful gift when you live all alone in the wilderness and have a strong and wily enemy. For more information on the books, you can click the “books” tab above.

Have you ever experienced anything like this, or known someone who has? If so, I’d love to hear about it.

Thanks so much for the gift of your time today!

What the Flat Tire Taught Me

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens7 Comments

coffee, cup, laptop, memeHello, Thursday Morning friends. Pour yourself a cup of your favorite morning beverage, and join me for “story time.”

They say experience is the best teacher. If so, my dad was a good instructor. He was the type who would toss you in the water to teach you to swim. That’s sometimes referred to as the “sink or swim” technique.

It didn’t work with me. I sank like a stone.

When I was twenty, I worked in the bookkeeping department of a small-town bank. I came out of work one day, to a flat tire on my car. No problem. Dad’s office was nearby, so I went back inside the bank and called him.

When he answered, I said, “My tire’s flat. Can you come and help me?”

Momentary silence. “No can do. You fix it.”

“I don’t know how.”

“It’s time you learned.”

Long pause, filled with heavy breathing (mine). “So, you’re not coming?”

“You don’t need me.”

Okay. Back at my disabled car, I waited. He was only kidding. He would come. He couldn’t really expect me to change a tire. Could he?

Half an hour passed. A big, long, empty half hour.

A lump rose in my throat, and tears gathered as I glanced down at my just above knee-length work skirt, pantyhose, and high heeled shoes. I spread my fingers. Newly manicured nails. No!

Once more, I took in the surrounding downtown area. People walking, cars passing. No Dad.

I stared at the offending tire. Even if I could change the thing, I’d put on a show out here, wrestling with a stupid tire in a not-made-for-auto-repair outfit like the one I had on.

Desperation filled my lungs, replacing the air. Panic cruised through my veins. I sucked in a deep breath and exhaled, chewed my lip and wrung my hands. What to do?

Reality set in. He wasn’t coming. My Dad, who was supposed to look after me and protect me, wasn’t coming. Anger took hurt’s place.

After a deep, cleansing breath, I unlocked the trunk and looked at the spare tire. OK, now what?

Behind me, a car slowed. I turned to see a handsome, young man smiling at me, possibly laughing at me. “You look like you could use some help.”

I decided he was just smiling, not laughing. I detected sympathy. I could work with that. This could be Prince Charming.

I nodded, and may have swiped at a tear. “Flat tire.”

He pulled into a nearby parking space. I waited.

When he joined me, I recognized him as one of the management trainees at the same bank where I worked. “Yep, flat tire.” He rolled up his sleeves. Then he lifted my spare out of the trunk, along with a couple of tools I hadn’t noticed before.

He didn’t turn out to be my prince charming, but he rescued me, all the same. Then he got back  on his white horse and rode away. Actually, it was a silver GTO, if memory serves correctly.

I drove home, feeling pretty good about the way things turned out. Dad was right, I didn’t need him. Maybe I hadn’t actually changed that flat tire, but I’d figured out how to get it done.

When Dad came in from work that night, he smiled at me. “I see you got that tire fixed.”

I nodded. Yes, I had.

“Well, now you know how to do it, don’t you?”

I thought for a minute. Should I tell him what really happened?

He patted my shoulder. “I could’ve come to help you, but I wanted you to learn how to take care of yourself. What if I wasn’t around? What would you do then?”

I smiled. “Thanks, Dad.” I had learned something that day. Being a woman had its advantages. I’d gotten my tire changed without making a spectacle of myself, or breaking a nail.

Years have passed, and so has Dad. And I have to confess, I never told him about my prince charming tire changer.

And so far, I’ve never changed a tire. 🙂

Click to Tweet: They say #experience is the best #teacher. If so, my dad was a good instructor. He was the type who would toss you in the water to teach you to swim. What a Flat Tire Taught Me from @batowens

The Year I Said I Do

On By Betty OwensIn Betty Thomason Owens4 Comments

coffee, cup, laptop, memeAnother Thursday Hello! This is the time of year when the days fly past so quickly, I struggle to keep up. Know what I mean?

We are just days away from Christmas, and many of you are rushed and harried, worried you won’t finish in time. Let go of some of the little things. The unimportant things no one will even notice aren’t done. Make room for the big things, like time with family. Hugs, kisses, and “I love you’s”.

Today is important to me for another reason. It’s my mother’s birthday. She’s barely twenty years older than me, so we kind of grew up together. When I was a kid in school, everyone thought she was my sister. So, happy birthday, Mom.

Another reason today is important, and probably the biggest reason–forty three years ago today, I said, “I do”. Or, maybe it was, “I will.” It’s been so long now, I can’t remember.

We definitely grew up together. I was so excited on that (long ago) day, as I anticipated what the future held for us. Two kids in love. We had a lot of fun over the years, and troubles, too. But add it all up, and the sum is still on the positive side. It still adds up to love.

When we left the church that day, my brand new husband told me he needed to stop by home to pick up something he’d forgotten. He’d forgotten underwear. I sat in the car, wondering how you could forget to pack underwear? He came back out to the car and said it was a good thing he stopped by, he’d also forgotten to pack his spare jeans.

I frowned, wondering–what had he packed in his suitcase, if he’d left out such important items? Turns out, he’d forgotten to pack. Anything. This was the first time, but definitely not the last. I would always help him pack for a trip. He tended to forget important things, like a toothbrush, or a razor.

December 21, 1974

And how many times, over the years, would we leave the house, only to return minutes later for important things like his wallet? And, just in case you’re thinking he only forgets material things–a short time after we married, he went to introduce me to someone, and forgot my name. He introduced me as, “my wife.”

We finally made it Pigeon Forge, Tennessee and spent a few pre-Christmas days in the mountains. The pass was closed because of snow, but we drove up there anyway, and joined in a huge snowball fight with other sightseers. I’m sure most of them were also on their honeymoon.

I’ve no doubt, many of you have similar funny stories you could share, and I hope you will! Leave me a comment, and join the conversation!

Now, since I won’t see you until after, I’d love to wish you a very Merry Christmas.

I hope all the rushing around and last-minute preparations add up to a wonderful, memorable event. Don’t forget to take lots of photos!