LOVE POEM: Love is SAYING YES -- Even In The Hard Times

I LOVED YOU

long before I ever met you.

Long before I ever knew

the contours

of your face

Before I ever wrapped my arms

around your waist;

Before I ever Knew

what made you

laugh or cry,

scared or feel alone.

I loved you long before I said

YES!

YES

to your kisses

and comforting embrace

YES

to snuggling with you

and making love with you

YES

to spending the rest of my life

with you.

But what I am discovering lately

is this:

The funny thing about love

is that you have to

keep saying

YES.

YES

to trash night

and cleaning the bathroom.

YES

to sharing a bank account

and a mortgage.

YES

to long labors

and sleepless nights

YES

to unexpected losses

and missed opportunities

YES

to being vulnerable

and choosing to join each other

when we'd rather jump ship.

We have to say yes --

to all of it --

the happy and ecstatic moments

as well as the sad and mournful moments

We have to keep saying yes

year after year --

and sometimes

minute by minute!

We have to choose to say yes,

this moment,

this breath.

So on the day I stand

in front of family and friends,

I'll say yes to you --

in that moment,

with that breath,

and all the breaths

I am to have.

--LISA A. MCCROHAN--

NANOWRIMO 2022: Hit The Target 8 Days Early!!! 50,000 words: The Heart is a River(novel about BC floods) Beautiful British Columbia Fraser Valley

 Dear Readers:

I am so incredibly psyched to share with you tonight that at 8:28 P.M. EST, I completed my beautiful and inspiring Nanowrimo Project for 2022. The targeted timeline was for Nov 30th but I made it with eight days to spare! So happy and proud!!!

This one was a labor of love, inspired by the tragedy of the November 2021 B.C. floods in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, specifically near Abbotsford. 

My heroine, Ria Brooke, lost her home when it was swept away down the river. She has spent the last six years rebuilding her home after the untimely death of her husband, John.

Now, devastated, and waiting on her insurance claim and browsing the rental homes, she is offered a place to stay by dear friends Bill and Laura Everly, who own a ranch and run the youth shelter, a nonprofit organization that provides food, clothes, and lodging for at risk youth. Ria was hired as an admin person at the shelter shortly before the floods came and washed her home away. She considers herself hugely blessed to have such a loving and supportive couple in her life, Bill and Laura, who brighten her days with their compassion, wit and laughter, not to mention, Laura's home cooking and hospitality.

Laura's other talent is matchmaking, and who better to set Ria up with an eligible bachelor type than Laura herself! She has her eyes on the ruggedly handsome older gentleman, a retiree, who volunteers twice a week at the shelter, using his truck to bring furniture to the youth. 

Keir Weston is tall, lanky and impossibly handsome, with his silvery mane and beard, his sultry voice and aloof demeanor. One look from Ria and sparks fly! The only problem is, Keir got badly burned by a bitter divorce two decades ago, and he's kept to himself and doesn't want to be tied down. He finds a kinship with the lovely, evolved woman, though, and feels a stirring in his heart that he thought he would never feel again, and decides to test the waters.

But Ria is vulnerable and scared. She's lost the one man she thought she had forever with, and now she lost her beloved home. Falling for Keir was not her mission, but she can't help but open her heart to the sexy silver fox who seems vulnerable and sad too, under his well-drawn facade.

When New Year's Eve comes, the big bash of the year is held at the Everly ranch, and Keir decides to show up out of the blue. Ria wants to spill her feelings and tell Keir that he is the only man for her, but will he accept her offer of love, or run for the hills and deny them both the love they both desperately need from one another?

The Heart Is a River is a story of hope, heart and healing. It's a passionate story of deep wounds and old hurts coming to the surface. But it is also the story of finding the courage to light the lamp for love just one more time.

I just know you are going to love this heart-tugging story.

Coming soon!!

Much love,

RR xo

LOVING YOURSELF MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD: Focus On Love

 Dear Readers,

It has been said by the great writer of our time, Louise Hay, who is now dearly departed but lives on in our hearts and her ample library of self help writings and new age awareness:

"When you don't know what else to do, focus on love. Loving yourself makes you feel good, and good health is really about feeling good." 

This past year, I've hit a personal crisis. Mental health and emotional health. I lost a job that meant a lot to me. A job working with seniors at a retirement home. I was targeted, bullied and harrassed by management over my bad knee. From February 2021 during my first diagnosis over x-ray of osteoarthritis in the knee, to limping on the job in March and April, to getting a cortisone shot that helped me for three months and then the subsequent pain and limping that followed in September (once that shot had worn off in July), I was targeted by management for my "disability." 

November brought a knee sprain diagnosis, running around a dining hall serving meals to seniors. Two weeks off work, a WSIB claim, and management spreading lies and rumors about me through the building ("it's not a tear, you can't use that language in your insurance paperwork," the nasty, control freak business director screamed at me on the phone. "These agents don't want to pay out the money. I've dealt with these people for a long time, I know my stuff." She went on to brag that her "daughter is a soccer star in Spain, and she tore a ligament and needed surgery." Comparing MY injury to her daughter's? Then invalidating me and shaming me without having the final word from my MRI? How atrocious and appalling, not to mention, completely out of line from a Human Resources point of view. In the end, my agent at WSIB was more than accommodating with all my paperwork, doctor visits and backbiting with staff. He happily refunded every penny to me that was lost on two weeks worth of wages, while being sidelined at home.

I was wait-listed three and a half months for the MRI, from the November booking til the March appointment. To add insult to injury,  a maintenance guy at work got in my face and yelled at me over a broken vacuum (not my fault). He shouted: "you're just lazy and full of shit. All you want is to go off on another insurance claim." This could not be further from the truth. I'd just had an MRI at the hospital on March 1st, and the results came in March 30th, via my booked follow-up appointment with my surgeon. It was a meniscus tear under the knee cap. But the buffoons at the seniors home did not wait to hear back from my MRI results. The manager fired me March 15th and I was devastated.

My work at the retirement home was one filled with love, and I poured that love into every day I spent there, four and a half years of it. The seniors were my "family," and our mutual affection and respect for one another was felt deeply. When job loss occurs, there is a strong mental, emotional and physical downfall that happens. First, the shock that it happened at all. Second, the depression over losing my community and sense of self. Third, social life is nonexistent, and you now have a life that you do not recognize that is waiting at home. It was a bitter pill to swallow, and I would spend the next number of months in deep sorrow, gloom and self punishment. When the first week of August hit, I dragged myself out of bed one sunny afternoon and dusted off the exercise bike that was sitting there being neglected. My first ride was 12 km and 30 minutes clocked. Then, I worked my way up to 16 km and then 18 km for 44 minutes in a session. Four times a week, I forced myself on that bike. "Rochelle, you've got to get yourself out of this slump, or you'll be good for no one. Not even for yourself," my inner critic chided.

Suddenly, I had perspective. I also had something that I'd lost with the job dismissal; MEANING.

As with anything that leaves our life, we have to find our way back to the meaningful part. I attached MEANING now to my daily routine. It was not just getting out of bed at noon (because, what else was there to look forward to?) but it was also the fact that I had an exercise routine. I had my coffee, my oatmeal, and my Tetley lemon tea and three liters of water per day. Get the muscles moving, release those positive endorphins, change my mindset, stop beating myself up, don't be so glum.

To add to the mix of sorrow, the man I love had distanced himself from me over a misunderstanding when a "frenemy" of mine phoned up the funeral home behind my back and badgered my Special Person with demands that he" take Rochelle out to dinner or give it up with

her."

I'd waited 11 months for this beautiful man to come back from the west coast where he lived, and have a wonderful reunion of souls this summer in Southern Ontario, just east of Toronto, while he split his time between the cottage up north and his sister's place, a 10-minute drive from me. Well, after that frenemy sabotaged my Specific Person and me, it was game over. He broke my heart by saying he "didn't want a relationship, I hope you find what you're looking for, I wish you well." I picked up the phone to explain everything and try to tell him my side, but he refused to answer. He ghosted me after that, and I spiralled down into a deep depression for months. This is a man in his '60s who was raised by a good father and mother, and knew better than to lead me on this way. He also has serious health issues that might require surgery down the road, and he'd endured a heart surgery in October 2020, so the drama from that traitorous ex-friend of mine just seemed to be the "nail in the coffin" for us. He won't speak to me.

My heart is shattered beyond repair at the ghastly and devious events that have transpired this year. It has been an awakening that has gutted me, in so many ways, and I have felt paralyzed with the depths of sorrow and heartache. My Specific Person means the world to me; he inspired three of my books, he has seen me through the hardest times of this past year (getting Covid, knee injury, bullied at work, losing the job). He was also my biggest cheerleader when the first book in the "Love Walked In" series was released in July 2021. To put it bluntly, he is my soulmate and I love him with the magnitude of an earthquake and the force of a tsunami. His arrival to my life on Nov 9th, 2018 forever transformed me, and I can't feel anything but massive love and compassion for this incredible man. To say my heart is brimming with devotion for him would be a huge understatement; my heart belongs to him. I don't want to do this life without him. I mean that. 

Back to the "feeling good" part. It was surely a process, and a long journey back to self, indeed. After getting my heart broken and losing the job, my new life is now about caring for my bad knee, updating this blog, seeking a job, and healing my brokenness. Yes, this is the "new normal."

I have every faith that my Special Person will return. He is taking a break, getting ready for a medical procedure out west when he returns home this month (hopefully to put him into remission with his illness) and he is still grieving his parents who both died in early 2020. Hence, the funeral this past July, a celebration of life for his beloved father, who was also one of my own soulmates. He has a weak heart from a heart valve replacement, and that is no walk in the park.

Tell me, in the comment section under this blog, have you ever endured a separation from your Beloved, and how long was that? What was the outcome when he/she returned? What discoveries did you make along the way about yourself? I would be intrigued to know what took place and if there was a happy reunion?

As you know, I am a big fan of the Law of Attraction and I apply it to my life every day. I've seen the massive returns from it, over the course of the last seven years or more.

This road back to Self really is about Loving Yourself. Focus on that love, and it will fill you up so deeply, and will overflow into other areas of your life. It really does all begin with Self. 

I am sending you healing vibes and massive love today.

I hope to hear from those who have reunion stories with their twin flame or Specific Person.

Cheering for you always,

RR xo

Author Interview: Rochelle Renee Featured on The Bookshelf Cafe News

 Dear Readers,

I am thrilled and honored to be featured as the main author profile this week on The Bookshelf Cafe News site.

The link is below:

http://www.thebookshelfcafe.news/author-interview-rochelle-renee/?fbclid=IwAR1bd3yXri833L4pJnmYxSehW_5rj1yUcWS8pubuaVNf8XZej51h2LCnCNc

Thank you to my readers for your continued support.

With much love always,

RR xo

BLUE MOON: a Love Poem

 Blue Moon

In midnight fields/ we frolic and smile/ Once in a blue moon/ a love like this comes along/ Silvery and full/ Bathing the night meadows with a radiance/ Hand in hand/ You guide me/ illuminate me/ head to toe/ I'm surrounded by the glory/ of these wings in flight/ we're two doves soaring/ peaceful/ amid the still night/ crickets and hush/ kisses and whispers/ careful now/ don't wake the sleeping fools/ who do not feel and do not believe/ in Twin Flame love or miracles waking/ so lucky we are/ like hand in glove/ we fit so right/ you fade into me and I into you/breathless, reckless/ the fresh cut grass is jealous/ as we roll together/ passion, abandon, mirth/ the Blue Moon and love's spell/ our aphrodisiac. <3
~Rochelle Renee~

Aug 20, 2013. .
5:11 a.m.

HELLO, GODDESS!!

Oh, Hello there Gorgeous Soul,

Hey you!

YES, YOU!!

Remember your self-worth and your beauty? Those haven't gone anywhere since you last checked. Neither have your cute dimples, big beautiful eyes, boisterous laugh, and engaging charm that tugs at the heart of the elderly and makes a baby giggle.  You have those wonderful, charismatic traits that are not replaceable. In fact, YOU as a whole package, are one-in-eight-billion. Just like a snowflake, you are unique and no one else is like you.

You are so f*cking divine. Always remember that, when the world weighs you down, when that person you thought was a TRUE friend stabbed you in the back and sabotaged your connection with your Special Person. When you didn't get that much-coveted job that you wanted so badly. When that guy you thought was really digging you just GHOSTED you and left you in the dust, wondering what the hell happened.

You are STILL fabulous. Sure, you have flaws just like the rest of the population. Maybe it's frizzy hair or a wrinkle or two, perhaps some scars from teenage acne. It could be bloating from water retention or that unsightly cellulite showing under your arms suddenly. You've NEVER had cellulite, until NOW!!! What gives?

Being an Evolved Woman aka Goddess can be hard. You don't "fit in" to the normal crowd of less evolved people who didn't do the work that you have. It can be a lonely road sometimes, trying to relate to others who don't understand the sacrifices you've made or the growth you've gone through and the higher wisdom you've obtained on this journey.

Never forget your RADIANCE at making the world a better place, knowing you were meant to be here at this specific point in history. You are made of stardust; you are not a random occurrance in the grand scheme of things. I hope you remember that, on the days when things are too heavy to carry, when sorrow or grief chokes the life out of you, when the worries of mounting bills or unforeseen expenses keep you up at night. Just lean into the knowing that YOU my dear, are ENOUGH. Yes, you were always enough. Abundance, joy, love, success, peace of mind...all these and so much more are your DIVINE BIRTHRIGHT. You never had to "earn" your right to be loved. You can just show up as you are, the way God made you, and it will be glorious.

Forget the haters. The ones who mock and sneer when you waltz into a room in all your glory and they feel threatened by you. Turn a blind eye to those who do not clap when you are winning. Cancel your subscription to low-vibe people who make you feel bad about yourself. Un-friend those frenemies who pretend to "LIKE" your posts, but are really scheming against you.

But most of all, pour all that love into yourself, the love you've been giving to others. You are tired, dear one. You need rest, you need nourishment, you need a quiet place to regroup and put everything into perspective. You've done enough for others, and it wasn't working. Now try doing for you. It will be received and appreciated, finally, when you show up and HONOR THYSELF.

I am cheering for you always, Brave One.

With so much love,

RR xo

 

SLEEPING HEARTS: A Love Poem

I want to bury myself

Into your

Loving wilderness

In your wild tangle

of silver

that flows forever

I want to get lost

In your diamond bright

Pools of amber-green

Where the light

Comes flooding forth

To bathe me in 

Your afterglow

And your soul 

Shines its brightest

Just for me

Where echoes

Across eternity

Tell the stories

Of all our past lives

Together

And the lessons

Of how we weaved

Our ancient secrets

Into the tapestry of time

And planted our seeds

Of devotion

In all those souls

Those sparks of Divinity

Who carried on our legacy

And here we meet again

ALAS!

After a long, tired journey

Crossing the desert

Of long-buried dreams

ALAS!

I find you again

My Silver Majesty

And now we are consumed

Once again

By the Eternal Flame

That fueled our first

Origins

And breathed the

Fire of Love

Into our veins

The golden thread

That tied us, bound us 

Across the miles

Amid

the mysteries

Keeping our hearts

Entwined

For centuries

It never broke

Yet it remained

Steadfast & Strong

Birthing life

Into sleeping hearts

That almost forgot

Their magic.

--Rochelle Renee--

4-29-2022

Poem for My Valentine

Poem for My Valentine

Long before I knew you

Before our eyes ever met

or paths even crossed

Before space and time

Aligned us

Together

I knew I loved you

That your spirit was 

out there

floating in the atmosphere

searching for me too

Longing for 

Connection

and kinship

and profound love

Long before this old heart

would conspire

with the Powers

of the Universe

Something within me

Just Knew

That you would 

MANIFEST

Long before I held you

in these lonely arms

Some part of me

always knew

I would find you

And my soul just

Overflows

with the gushing force

of a river

that has been set free

of its own accord

and how BLESSED

I feel!

To know your Divine Love

and the Splendor 

Of You

My sweet, beautiful man

At last, I've found you!

At long last, the tides

have shifted

After the earthquake, storms

and avalanche,

Alas, it's YOU

Divinely imperfect,

sincere, lovable, steadfast,

loyal and supremely generous 

"YOU"-

and my heart cannot contain 

This Joy

For all the angels in heaven

are singing

their hearts out

sounding the trumpets of Glory

and God himself is blessing this

Divine Union

God Bless You ~

Dear Heart~

Finally,

We are One

Finally,

Forever,

Amen xo

- Rochelle Renee- Sat Feb 12, 2022

10:53 am

My Heart is a River

My heart is a river,

rushing forth with emotion so strong

testing the tide

tempting fate

finding the passageway

into your heart

my heart is a deluge,

ever-flowing,

overjoyed,

relentless

impassioned

on the journey

to your westward sky

and open land

where the mountains

touch heaven

and the pines

boast

of God's handiwork.

My heart is a stream,

crystal clear,

and filled with truths

the gods spoke of

centuries ago,

when all this beauty

was yet to transpire

and finally, you are here

like a vision i manifested

from all my secret dreams

My heart is an ocean

it ebbs and flows

so purely

back and forth,

telling of its

yearning

and bringing forth

all the goodness

that your heart

has needed to hear

all this time

Rochelle Renee

9:30 p.m. July 1st, 2021

Happy 59th Birthday in Heaven, My Loving Trent

 Dear Readers,

This is the 59th birthday of my loving Trent, my soulmate, confidante, best friend, and biggest cheerleader.

My heart has a gaping hole that's never healed, since he died June 11, 2016.

I miss him every day, every hour, every minute that he is not here.

Let's wish him the BEST and BRIGHTEST birthday of all time! He is watching over me from heaven, each and every day. How do I know this? He sends me "signs" all the time. 

He leaves me dimes everywhere I go, with the year "2016" on them, to commemorate his passing and so that I will know it's him for sure.

He sends vehicles with the license plate 419 for his police badge or 611 for his death anniversary.

Trent loves me, beyond the grave, beyond all eternity. He sends people to comfort me on my dark days, he sends songs out of nowhere..."I left my Heart in San Francisco"(Tony Bennett)..."Owner of a Lonely Heart"(YES)..."Money"(Pink Floyd)...just to name a few.

He sent a piano player to my work...she plays every lunch hour on the piano, two of my all time favorites..."I Believe" and "You'll Never Walk Alone." Her name is Patricia, a sunny, loving, delightful lady who had no clue these songs got me through painful times in my life. I sobbed when I first heard her gentle fingers dancing across the keys on the piano. I can't even make this stuff up.

Without further ado...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY IN HEAVEN, TRENT RIGEL GARDNER. MISS YOU. ALWAYS XXXX

Love always,

Your Queen,

RR xo

Merry Christmas To All, And to All A Good Night!! We survived the pandemic of 2020

 Dear Readers!

Christmas Day is here! I can't believe the year is slipping away so fast!

Remember when the pandemic first hit big in March of this year in North America? The mass panic and hysteria of extra hand washing, wearing masks, and hiding out at home really had us in an uproar. Not to mention, those frantic people hoarding toilet paper! You had to drive to about seven stores before you could find some. So glad they put restrictions on that now.

How are you doing out there? Here in Southern Ontario, we got a dusting of the white stuff. It's not much,  maybe an inch or two, but it was enough to put me in the mood for a white Christmas. Last night was freezing rain and gloominess.

Just wanted to hop onto the computer and wish you all a Very Merry Christmas, wherever you are.

I'll be resting here A LOT with four days off work. My lemon tea, Starbucks blond roast, and egg nog will keep me company, along with boundless Hallmark Christmas movies and the company of my amazing daughter. Oh, and my Scentsy stash. This romance author is a Scentsy consultant with a serious addiction to the wonderfully fragranced wax bars that make home and hearth smell so divine!

Yes, we are self-isolating. There's no place I'd rather be, than here at home for the holidays. I need to rest. I am exhausted. This year has been draining, emotionally, physically, and mentally. I hope you're all taking good care of yourself, with plenty of rest, fluids,

and self-care. Loving yourself through it all is the best gift you can give.

In the timeless

and festive words of writer Clement C. Moore: "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night."

Stay safe! Happy holidays and a VERY BRIGHT AND PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR TOO!

Much love,

RR xo

LET THERE BE LOVE

Let there be falling leaves
from well-worn trees,
towering oaks,
and silver birch,
etched in time
with lines to tell
what they've been through

Autumn's bounty of
crimson, tangerine, gold
Falling, trickling,
Cascading
to the earth like
dreams and stories
we've carried so long
in hearts brimming with
hope & promise

Let there be September and October nights of
smoky skies
and diamonds in our eyes
as we watch the world slumbering
and we sit hand in hand,
under the blanket of love
sharing, loving & caressing
Just two souls
who've found one another
in the lottery of the cosmic path

We are lucky,
oh so lucky
to be here at this moment
Two flames amid
7 billion

I wanna get lost in your aquamarine eyes
and just forget the world
savor every minute of you
like the whip creme on my lips
and the hint of pumpkin spice on my tongue
from the steamed milk latte
you served me today

Let there be September skies of baby blue
with sunlight pouring through
and evening skies of sapphire
when the firewood burns
in old homes across town
while we share a moonlit stroll
murmuring secrets
only we can know

Let there be joy in our hearts
to whisk away the fear
let there be kindness
to chase away the gloom and doom
of this cruel world
let there be laughter
bubbling over from
our happy, kindred hearts

But most of all,
let there be Love.

--Rochelle Renee --
Sept 5 --2020
12:26 p.m. EST

DESIRE: The New Novel Coming Soon in 2020

Dear Readers,

The New Novel is halfway done!!

I am unbelievably STOKED as I write this from my "writing room" in the dark, with a cold beverage, air conditioning, Dirty Dancing soundtrack blasting and my Scentsy warmer on the desk (scent tonight is "Cozy Fireside." Thanks Julie Cooney!!)

My long weekend here in Ontario Canada is spent lovingly working on my fiction that claims my heart and soul.

DESIRE is like a personal diary of sorts for me, except for the domestic abuse that never happened on the physical level, but still...I have experienced abuse on another level, and it is equally disturbing. Write what you know -- best advice I ever received. I feel my books are enriched with stories, people and elements of what I've personally gone through.

BLURB:

Reanna Mcleod moved back to Silver Springs after her husband John Daly broke her bones and sent her to the E.R. He's in prison now and she decides to make a clean break, back to the charming town where she grew up.

But things have changed. Her parents sold off the "Ponderosa" aka the farmhouse and magical land where she flourished in her novel writing, and called it home for 30 years. When her mother's cheque from the realtor came, she nabbed her $1 million, leaving Reanna out in the cold. "You're on your own," her mother sneered, and Reanna scrambled for a place to live. That's when charming sociopath John came along, sweeping her off her feet and promising her a better life with him in a mansion in another city.

Moving back to her hometown, Reanna is blessed to rent the small room above the coach house her school teacher friend Tracy leases to her on her country property. It brings Reanna back to her roots; small town feeling, clean country air, and a chance to write again.

What she didn't count on was running into her former neighbor, Grant Montgomery. Reanna has carried a torch for him for 15 years, and had to stuff her feelings deep down where they couldn't be found. But now Grant's wife has passed from cancer, and Reanna sneaks into the funeral to give her quiet condolences and pay her respects to the lovely Jean, who was always sweet and welcoming to her.

Grant spies her running off as the funeral-goers leave the premise. When he finally locates her and confronts her, Reanna is reluctant to open her heart and tell him the truth about what she wrote in her diary so many years ago. But Grant isn't blind; the smart-as-a-whip History professor of Remington University can see the love and vulnerability Reanna has been trying to hide from him.

Soon, a blossoming romance is coming to life, and Reanna must face her demons or forever risk her chance of real love with the One Man who's been there for her since day one. Can she let go of the horrors of the past, open her heart to Grant, or will she forever blow her chance at true love?

DESIRE is the story of domestic abuse and a woman overcoming her trauma. It's the story of a narcissistic mother who did more damage than good to a loyal daughter. It is the story of friends banding together in hard times, but most of all, it is the story of a passionate awakening between old friends who never knew how deep a love could run.

******************************************************

With much love,

RR xo

NANOWRIMO -- GRAND FINALE!!!

Dear Readers!

We've reached the finish line for the annual novel writing challenge, NaNoWriMo -- or better known as National Novel Writing Month.

I soared through the finish line with my latest labor of love...5 days early. Completed on November 25th at just over 50,000 words..."CALL MY NAME" was brought to fruition.

Now, for the editing time. Drafts one, two, three and four...and so on.

If YOU were lucky enough to finish your novel on time, CONGRATS!!! Even if you didn't make the 50,000 words, kudos to you for creating something beautiful that you loved working on and brought you immense joy.

Being an author is not for the faint of heart. It takes hours, weeks, months, and years of blood, sweat and tears, in order to hone your craft and become better at what you do

It also takes a huge consumption of time to work on a novel. We are definitely an underrated breed, at best, but I would not trade my natural born gifts for the world.

Look for my novel in coming weeks...to be published by KDP.

I salute all the writers who took part in this year's novel challenge. Thank you also to my faithful readers who've supported me over the years and joyously look forward to every new novel that I release.

With much love and Gratitude,

RR xo

This Year's NaNoWriMo Entry -- Moonlight Over Maryland -- New Novel!!!

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce my latest novel that is in the works for November 1st....for the annual National Novel Writing Month...better known as NaNoWriMo for all the Nano'ers out there!!

https://www.nanowrimo.org/

My book is called MOONLIGHT OVER MARYLAND,and it's about a female jazz singer whose husband lost his battle to depression and ends his life. She finds love again, in the most remarkable way, and must battle her fears of abandonment, by letting her guard down and allowing herself to love again.

This is just a teaser. I'll share more details as November arrives, and I'm able to spill it.

I'm an avid NaNoWriMo participant. My first year, 2012, was exciting, and I penned WILDHEART, a novel set in Toronto about a divorced woman who meets a troubled musician trying to piece his life back together after a divorce of his own, and he's facing his father's impending death.

Since then, I've taken part in 8 consecutive years of NaNo. It's the most exciting part of a writer's life, aside from getting a book deal, of course.

I love NaNoWriMo for the fact that, despite all the distractions in a writer's life that keeps us from completing a 50,000 word novel (work, family, relationships, health issues, debt, disease, conflicts of all types or Universal complications that we cannot avoid)...well, face it, this chunk of time (30 days) is the only time of the year we can be ACCOUNTABLE for our writing progress. It's the perfect chance to get something FINISHED after all the delays and procrastinating some of us do throughout the year. Ugh. It's horrible!

So without further ado...my fellow NaNoWriMo participants....GOOD LUCK on your writing projects for November....and Happy Writing!!!

See you at the finish line on November 30th.

Love,

xx RR xx

100 Day Gratitude Challenge -- Day #22 -- Make Three People Smile

Dear Readers,

It's Day Number 22 of the 100 Day Gratitude Challenge.

Today, your challenge is to "make three people smile."

This morning, I got a chance to make the FIRST one smile. My mother called me, asking what I wanted to eat at the annual Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey is a given, but she wanted to know what pie I wanted, and the vegetable selection.

As we discussed the vegetables she already had in tow...green beans, potatoes, peas and corn...I made her laugh hysterically over an old story of how my three year old brother stuck corn up his nose and had to be removed in a specialist's office. The image of the doc putting an instrument up his nose and the toddler screaming in horror was enough to make us both laugh. Aren't family memories grand?

Person #2 was my daughter. She laughs at me every day. She thinks I'm cheesy, sappy, clumsy, weird...but overall...and to quote her "Best Mom Ever."

Person #3 was a friend in Baltimore who received my sympathy card in the mail. He lost his son earlier this year, and the card was greatly appreciated.

Friends, if you can, get out there today and MAKE THREE PEOPLE SMILE!

Enjoy your Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and for my American friends... Have a wonderful Columbus Day!

Love,

xx RR xx

LOVE: THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

We need oxygen to breathe, it's evident. There's also monetary things that most people assume they NEED to get by in this life. Well, to be frank, money makes the world go round and without it, we couldn't pay for gas in the car, cover the rent or mortgage, neither could we afford the delicious food our bodies need to sustain us.

But more than anything, we as humans need LOVE. It doesn't cost a thing. It's FREE. You can give it freely and receive it freely.

Look at the state of the world right now. It's in a cataclysmic mess, with mudslides in California and wildfires too, in Oregon there's fires burning rapidly, and Tampa, Florida and the eastern seaboard, Hurricane Irma has caused devastating damage. Six million people in Tampa lost power, and the flooding is surreal. People's lives are in disarray, and floods in Houston from Hurricane Harvey has left millions homeless, with only the shirt on their backs.

What the world needs now, is love, sweet love...that's what the lovely lyrics of Burt Bacharach professed from his famous song recorded by Jackie DeShannon. How ironic that in a world full of devastation, we sometimes tend to forget to support our fellow man and offer up a smile, a cup of coffee, a warm hand or a fraction of kindness.

There's only ONE gift that keeps on giving, and it has no expiry date, unlike those gift cards people might send at Christmas.

Kindness and love are synonyms for one another. I'm proud to share my love with others, to help those at risk, and to lend a hand. I live in a city in Southern Ontario that is FILLED with at-risk people, the homeless and mentally ill, and abused women and children seeking shelter. My heart breaks when I witness people sleeping on the street, with nowhere to go, except a public park or tiny hideaway near a business where they may risk being noticed and told to leave. I've handed out a pizza more than a few times to "Grizzly Adams," this one regular man who sleeps on the street. It's very humbling to see him, and he thanks me gratefully, taking the piping hot pizza in his calloused, weathered hands, eating it hungrily.

I can only imagine how shameful and scary it can seem for those on the street. Luckily, I've never hit that rock bottom, but I have come close.

For those who have no home, show them some love, will you? The kind of love that Christ himself would show.

It always enters my mind...when i see someone struggling on the street. You have no idea what their story is...and no right to judge how they got there...lest you walk a mile in their shoes.

Love always prompts the famous question...WWJD?

So keep a warm heart and open mind. Give LOVE next time you see someone who needs it.

I leave you now with a beautiful love song from 1997 that used to play on the radio quite often in Toronto where I live. Jim Brickman's classic piano melody with Michelle Wright's commanding vocals. "Your Love(is the greatest gift of all)." Such a perfect love song for the theme of this blog. Enjoy this one.

Sending you so much love,

RR xo