Mug Shot: Antique Spanish Hand-Painted Cup

 

Well, here's another quote from Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life, and a cup that I inherited from my Grandmother. I have two of them and while I love them, I don't really use them much because you just never know about the lead levels. 

Giada's story is one that focuses on family, family history, artistic endeavors (ie painting) and unspoken concerns--making this a perfect match! 

New Release! Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life (PG Forte)

https://books2read.com/GiadaMazzi

Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life

A Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story

 

Life is more than just the lies we try and tell ourselves about what we’ve done and who we are.

​

 I guess the truth is that I never stopped loving Ben. And I never stopped imagining how different my life might have been if he were only the person that I needed him to be, instead of the person that he is. Which is silly, right? I mean, truly; it’s laughable. Because if he were someone else, he wouldn’t be him.  And the world is already full of people like that. What good is one more gonna do me?

​

Besides, if I’m honest, Ben wasn’t ever the problem. That was me. I was never the person he believed me to be. Oh, I thought I was, in the beginning. I tried hard to be, and that worked for a while. Sort of. But eventually I reached the point where I had to make a choice between living life for myself, or for everyone else.

​

And when it came right down to it…how could I not choose me?

Mug Shot: Lusterware

 

This is lusterware (or Lustreware, depending on where you are in the world. It was popular about a hundred years ago, in the Art Deco era. I fell in love with it because my grandmother had some. These are not her pieces, but they are from about the same time period. I have an entire tea set--teapot, sugar and creamer set, cups, saucers and plates. 

The quote in the picture is from my upcoming release, Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life. I wasn't planning on releasing it just yet, but needs must. 

https://books2read.com/GiadaMazzi

Giada Mazzi is Living her Best Life

A Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story

 

Life is more than just the lies we try and tell ourselves about what we’ve done and who we are.

​

 I guess the truth is that I never stopped loving Ben. And I never stopped imagining how different my life might have been if he were only the person that I needed him to be, instead of the person that he is. Which is silly, right? I mean, truly; it’s laughable. Because if he were someone else, he wouldn’t be him.  And the world is already full of people like that. What good is one more gonna do me?

​

Besides, if I’m honest, Ben wasn’t ever the problem. That was me. I was never the person he believed me to be. Oh, I thought I was, in the beginning. I tried hard to be, and that worked for a while. Sort of. But eventually I reached the point where I had to make a choice between living life for myself, or for everyone else.

​

And when it came right down to it…how could I not choose me?

Mug Shot: The Office Mug

 

So this mug was a gift from my sister. A few years ago (just prior to Covid) she began a remodel of the second floor of her house. She re-did/redecorated her bedroom and built a beautiful home office. The paint color she chose was Farrow and Ball Pink Ground. At the time, I was living a very short distance away from her (for the first time in twenty-five years) and--up until quarantine--we saw each other regularly. 

Anyway, the remodel was very successful, and the rooms ended up looking beautiful. PLUS, she had a GREAT home office to work out of while she couldn't go to the office. Just before the pandemic struck, her company had rented space in an office building that was about a quarter of a mile from my house. So, it was frustrating because we thought we'd have lunch or exercise together, and see each other even more often. Instead, we didn't see each other for several months. But at least she had this great office to work out of.

While she was outfitting the office, she bought herself a pink mug to use while she was working in it, and since the mug came in a set with a couple of other mugs in other colors (black, gray and while, IIRC) she offered one to me. I chose the black mug pictured above. 

So it was nice, and is nice (now that I'm living thousands of miles away) to at have our matching mugs to drink out of. 

Life is all about change. Especially now, it seems. Stay strong. 

***Edited to add: Between the time I wrote this and the time the post went live, I accidentally broke the office mug. Which kind of sucks, but is sooo effing typical of how this year is going.***

Release Day! Fall For You: Texas Heat

Fall For You: Texas Heat

Heartwood, Texas: Book One

​

https://books2read.com/FallForYou

Jocelyn Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Jo finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again.

 

 Carter Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

Mug Shot: Good Ol Days

 

So I bought this mug in Waco Texas, at Magnolia Table. It's a nice, sturdy, diner-style mug. The text, "The Good Ol' Days Are Still To Come" work with the story I'm releasing this week, and with the picture--that's Costa Rica. I was there for my birthday last year. I might be going back there again this year. 

One of the secondary characters in Fall For You has dementia and is being cared for by the woman she'd adopted as a teenager. So, basically, her daughter. I used to watch the show Fixer Upper while I was caring for my mother and my mother in law, both of whom had dementia. They both watched the show too. 

So. Like I said. Everything's connected. And I am just released from a horrific deadline and am loopy and tired and currently being driven crazy by my grandson. So. It is what it is (as the hero of Fall For You says with tiresome regularity).

Fall For You: Texas Heat

Heartwood, Texas: Book One

Available for pre-order now: FallForYou

​

Jocelyn Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Jo finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again.

 

 Carter Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

​

Releasing January 30, 2025

Mug Shot: Vintage Maling Mug (set)

These are some mugs I inherited from my mother. They're English, hence the picture of London Bridge (at least, I think that's London Bridge). They're a really nice set, 6 mugs in 6 different colors. 

I'm posting them this week because, again, the book I'm working on features a heroine whose family owns an antique store. I'm pretty sure these are the kind of thing you'd find in my imaginary antique stores. 

Anyway, they're a nice example of transferware. Maling produced these probably in the early 1900s. 

 

Read more here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maling_pottery 

Fall For You: Texas Heat

Heartwood, Texas: Book One

Available for pre-order now: FallForYou

​

Jocelyn Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Jo finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again.

 

 Carter Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

​

Releasing January 30, 2025

Mug Shot: Summer Supply

 

Isn't this mug pretty? I picked it up in Fredericksburg. It has a lovely matte finish and a cork bottom and...well, what can I say? Every day is a good day for coffee!

Now, here's the fun part. I was researching where the name Sunday Supply came from; and I stumbled upon a fascinating concept--the Sunday House. Apparently this is a Texas Hill country/German immigrant thing. Farm families living in remote rural areas would have a small, secondary home in town that they would go to for weekends. Here's an article that explains it:https://www.southernliving.com/travel/texas/sunday-house

I'm pretty sure this concept will end up in one of my Heartwood books, which will be releasing this year. 

https://www.sundaysupplytx.com/

Fall For You: Texas Heat

Heartwood, Texas: Book One

Available for pre-order now: FallForYou

​

Jocelyn Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Jo finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again.

 

 Carter Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

​

Releasing January 30, 2025

Mug Shot: Wishabitch Woods

I love this mug. I laughed so hard when I saw it in a little shop in downtown Lubbock, TX. It immediately reminded me of the heroine of the book I'm releasing later this month, Fall For You. 

While Jo Barnes was growing up she lived in her grand-aunt's antique-filled home and probably worked in her antique shop, as well. Hence the background of this picture, which is actually my dining room. Here's how the hero of the book, Carter Donahue, described her back when they first met as young teens: 

Jo’s about the same age as my brother Cash—so basically three years my junior. In the grand scheme of things, that’s not a significant age gap. But she was a month shy of thirteen when I met her—which made her seem practically a toddler to my just-turned-sixteen-year-old self.  And while in some (very obvious) ways we’ve changed enormously since then. In other ways? Not so much. I imagine a part of her will always be that sassy, big-mouthed brat with more chips on her shoulder than a shark has teeth. 

 

Fall For You: Texas Heat

Heartwood, Texas: Book One

https://books2read.com/FallForYou​

Jocelyn Barnes couldn’t wait to leave Heartwood in her rearview mirror—even if it meant breaking two hearts in the process. Now, with her career on hiatus and her great-aunt in need of help as she recovers from concussion, Jo finds herself right back where she started, older but not much wiser, and about to make all the same mistakes all over again.

 

 Carter Donahue doesn’t believe in looking back. As the chef/manager of his family’s new farm-to-table restaurant, he’s got his hands full. With a goal of turning his legacy into a must-see, Hill Country destination, his focus is on the future. The past? He’d rather that stayed buried. The last thing he needs (or wants) is to dig up those old feelings or fall back in love with his ex—especially when she’s already got one foot out the door. Again.

​

Releasing January 30, 2025. Now available for pre-order.