I love my beautiful new home, Overland Park, Kansas. I am very fortunate to live in an area that has a local botanical garden. The Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens feature several different gardens and hiking trails, all with a different theme. Train Garden will become a favorite for train lovers. There are already three different G-scale railroads set up and running, with plans for at least three more in the future. Margaret’s Pond surrounds most of the gardens, and features coy and turtles. You’ll love walking around the different gardens that surround it. If you like waterfalls, you’ll love Erickson Water Gardens. Listen to the sound of the water trickling down the falls and through the creeks as you walk by beautiful plants and flowers. I could spend hours alone just in this zone. There’s plenty more to see and do at the Overland Park Arboretum & Botanical Gardens, including a children’s play area, a café and learning center, and plenty of hiking trails. If you have a Botanical Garden in your area, I highly suggest taking a drive over. You won’t be sorry! While relaxing in the gardens, why not read a great book, such as The Chosen. The Chosen has been revised and expanded to give it a more polished look. You’ll love all of the new additions, including:
Synopsis: Halli is a shy, young dwarf who has no idea of her true calling. When the evil Prince Gastle sets out to detroy the world of Phantasma, Queen Laurali of the Elves comes to tell Halli she's a Holy Paladin with the power to heal, and will join The Chosen, a group of brave warriors being sent to defeat the evil beast and save Phantasma. Will Halli be accepted by her group, and be able to keep them alive through their adventures? Will the evil Prince Gastle be defeated, freeing Phantasma from his destruction? Only time will tell. Available at: Amazon Barnes & Noble Smashwords
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We all live in a place of adventure. Whether in the city were a simple nighttime walk through lighted streets can fuel the imagination or in the country were stars light the sky like twinkling diamonds, each place can be explored or enjoyed for free or at least without breaking the budget. That is why this month I’ve invited authors to stop by and tell about their most inexpensive day trips or mini-vacations. (Let's hope they take me up on the offer otherwise you will be forced to listen to me all month!) I hope that by reading these segments, you will not only meet great authors to share your summer with but also find some inexpensive ways to enjoy time with your family. I thought I would share my own experience first. I have the pleasure of living in East Tennessee, an area rich in mountains and lakes. The first inexpensive trip I want to share is a hiking trip. Whether you do this at a state park or in your own backyard it can open a world of wonder and opportunity. Over Memorial Day weekend my family and I hiked for five hours along the Cumberland Trail. We saw waterfalls and magnificent views. We ate on top of a rocky outcropping and lookout called Devil’s Racetrack. Invigorated by the scent of honey suckle (yes, it can do this), we walked across the mountain top until we reached the Eagle Bluff Lookout. Total cost for our day of family fun: $0 (Okay so maybe you could count the picnic lunch we took but since I didn't buy anything special I don't feel compelled to count it.) Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing my day trip. Feel free to leave a comment and tell me about your favorite place to hike. And next time you go hiking, why not find a place to relax and read a book! Since we’re talking about family adventures and family fun why not try, Love Octagon. This is my Chick-Lit book written from the male perspective. Kevin Smith wakes up to find himself married to seven women. You know some men joke that this would be a great experience but I don’t know if Kevin would agree. However, why don’t you read for yourself and let me know what you think. Purchase at: Amazon Barnes and Noble Astraea Press Kobo Smashwords Make sure to stop by again this month for more ideas on inexpensive day trips for you and your family. 6/1/2013 6 Comments Sweet Saturday Samples...Today’s segment is taken from There Your Heart Will Be Also. Cedric has sent his minion, Barney, to scope out his future bride. We enter the scene as Barney describes what he witnessed during his adventure. Excerpt: “Well? How did ye fare?” Gaining his composure, Barney shook out his hair and leaned back on his haunches. His water‑coated eyes struggled to focus on the man in front of him. Cedric MacNeil was not a Scot to be trifled with. At over six feet tall, with fierce blue eyes and a daunting demeanor, he was rarely challenged. A sword hilt peeked above his shoulder, drawing Barney’s attention. To avoid his master’s wrath, Barney said, “Laird Cedric, the mistress, she met me at the gate, ye see. And those rumors ye mentioned from England, well, they were correct. At least on the physical side of things. The woman is so old and bent over, she favors a witch to be sure.” “Aye. What happened after she met ye?” Barney scratched his head. “She did just like ye said. She offered me something to eat. I suggested the garden but the lady told me some story about the pox. She led me toward the keep doors, and I ’ave to tell ye, I was gettin’ mighty frustrated with her pace. She was going at the pace of a turtle on a winter morning, she was. I thought about hoisting her over me shoulder and to the door, but I was in no hurry to enter the hall. I was kinda pleased with the outside workings, but I had a feeling the inside would leave a very bad taste in me mouth—and perhaps in me bowels too. When I saw the food, I knew I was right. And it explained why ye mistress looks a hundred, when she is supposed to be twenty!” Barney paused, and then added, “But like I was sayin’, if I was pleased for ye with the outside, the inside changed them feelins real quick. There was wormy bread, which I don’t mind eaten when I’m in a pinch, ye understand. There was some kind of rotten meat. And I can’t begin to describe the smell of the rushes on the floor. Why I think they must’ve thrown buckets of animal excrement about.” Cedric was losing patience with his hired hand. Barney must have noticed because he rushed ahead with the rest of his explanation. “I remembered what ye said about not eatin’ the food, and I asked to use the privy. While I was there, I needed to go. Couldn’t help it. Being scared does that to a fellow. After I breathed real slow a few times, not the best place for it, of course, but I had to catch me breath. Anyway I pulled aside me kilt to relieve myself. But I have this habit of looking in the hole before I, well ye know. One never knows where a spider might make its home. And ye’ll never guess what I seen there.” Cedric raised an eyebrow. “Well don’t you want to know?” “Aye, I do.” “Well it sure wasn’t no spider! It was a head!” “A what?” asked Cedric, squinting his eyes. “It was a head. Didn’t have a body. Was just floatin’ around in the first level garderobe. I never seen anything like it.” Cedric went still and stared up at the crystal clear sky as something dawned on him. Since when was a garderobe on the first floor? Cedric paced, tapping a finger to his lips. He asked, “Did the lady give you her name?” An intense look of concentration knitted Barney’s brows together. “I don’t think so.” Cedric pondered the information. “You did well, Barney.” Barney reached out his hand as a coin flipped through the air and landed in his palm. “Do ye need me for anything else?” “Not yet. Ye may go back and wait with Duncan and the others until I send for ye.” “Aye, Laird Cedric.” ****** Poor Barney! It seems Sarra did a number on him. But she is determined not to marry and perhaps she goes a little far in her deception, but what woman wants the King telling her what to do in matters of the heart. Thanks so much for stopping by. There Your Heart Will Be Also is the first book in The Renaissance Hearts Series and is set in 1550s England. You can find out more about There Your Heart Will Be Also in the Books or Book Extra sections of my website. Don’t forget to stop by and visit the other Sweet Saturday Samples. And feel free to leave a comment with your opinion. I’m sure Sarra would appreciate the support of her “work”. Buy Links: Amazon Barnes and Noble Astraea Press Kobo Smashwords |
Felicia RogersWriting clean romance with laughter and love. Archives
April 2017
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