A TRUE HOLIDAY TALE
My dog Max could have worked for Santa Claus. He had a pair of fuzzy antlers with jingle bells, loved Christmas, and adored people. Max would drool at the sight of us decorating the tree. We loved fresh trees and so did he. He never had an accident; never confused it with being outside, but always perused the branches for any soft ornaments he could grab.
Once the tree was decorated and the tree skirt in place, he would lay under the lights and take a nap. That's great for a toy breed, but Max was a seventy pound Humane Society special. He was so cute I didn't stop him.
Max loved to get presents and opened his own gifts but he wouldn't stop there. If you had a present on your lap, you were in danger of having the wrapping shredded and ribbon pulled. We loved him, so we let him have fun. We had fun just watching him. Seeing a trend here?
When he was one, he and a good friend named Ron stayed home while my husband and I went into work for a few hours. Ron was a carpenter who did many projects for us. He was crazy about Max so I left thinking "What could possibly go wrong?"
I came home first. Ron had already left. Once inside the house, I went over to check the tree for water. I placed a low table next to the tree to display my mother's nativity scene. The manger setting was old; it came from Italy and she received it from her mother. The figures were in paper- mache and hand painted. Of course some of the paint had come off the faces, but I treasured it nonetheless. When I glanced down at the nativity, something was missing. I did a quick mental inventory. Two camels, original to the set, weren't there. How could that be? I looked on the floor. I found bits and pieces of the dark brown substance used for the camels all around the table.
Ron, I thought."That Ron must have knocked them over. How could he? Those belonged to my Mom and my grandmother." I was so upset, I picked up the phone and called him. Did I ever give him an earful? I remember yelling into the phone..."How could you do that? You weren't even working near the tree. You know how much I treasured that set. That was my mother's." I was in tears, but Ron was patient and didn't respond in kind. He asked one leading question. "Have you seen Maxwell?"
"Max. No. He's nowhere to be found." I picked up a large piece of the broken camel and tiptoed into the bedroom. There he was hiding or trying to hide on my husband's side of the bed. He only hid like this when he knew he did something wrong. I held what was left of one of my treasured camels and called out to him."Max, did you do this?" He put his head in his paws and rubbed his eyes. Yep. Mystery solved. He must have tried to get them, but luckily knocked them over in the process.
Of course I was upset about my mother's camels, but I'm sure he didn't do it on purpose. He probably was looking for a new toy (he loved to play) and I left the low hanging fruit. My fault. I sat on the bed and called him over. I showed him the piece again and said"bad." He understood; but I said 'bad" because he could have ingested the substance or choked and I could have found him in a very different condition. Max was more important than any camel or decoration. He was my "furry ball of love" as my neighbors described him. I called him over and hugged and kissed him content he was safe and okay.
Besides, Christmas was two days away and I knew he'd be in good enough shape to hide under the dining room table poised at my friend Jim's seat. Max loved Jim and Jim was a soft touch. "No people food" would be my mantra, but somehow I know Max got a taste of turkey or a bit of sweet potato from Jim. If I could wish upon a star, I would wish they both could be with us at dinner this year, that I could remind them of the "rules",but they both have passed on. I lost Max last June at 14 1/2 and Jim a few years ago.
As I decorate and plan for the holiday, of course I think of my furry elf and how much fun we had. I miss him more than ever, but I have many cherished memories of his love, his mischief, and our
fun I'll always treasure.
Remember. Cherish your loved ones. Tell them how much you care and how important they are to you. Your time together is as "fragile "as my camels. Don't let anything or anyone make you forget that.
I wish you all the happiest of holidays and best wishes for 2017.
Mariah Lynne
ROMANCE THAT TRANSCENDS TIME
Please watch my SHADOWS ACROSS TIME VIDEO on www.MariahLynne.com
Please watch my SHADOWS ACROSS TIME video on www.MariahLynne.com
KANDY KANE
WELCOME TO THE HIGHWAY CAFE BLOG TOUR - Dec. 5th, 6th and 7th
Holiday Greeting,
Merry Christmas. Hope all your
wishes come true. I know first hand Santa’s waiting to make that happen. For those of you
who don’t know me, my name is Kandy Kane and I’m an elf in Santa’s North Pole workshop.
I know what you’re thinking a girl elf? Well we do exist and even work harder
than the boys.
My job is a dream making all the
candy for your stockings…chocolates…mints…canes…jelly rings…yum. Of course I have the help of twenty other
girls. We love our work, maybe a little too much, because we have to watch
our waistlines and stop tasting our treats.
When we work, we all love to listen
to Jingle Bell Rock. It’s happy, lively, and its peppy pace makes us sing while we dip the cherries in chocolate or pour chocolate into Santa molds.
I make candy canes. Just by my name, I bet you guessed that’s my specialty but my favorite snack is Christmas sugar cookies and hot chocolate. They add just the right amount of variety to my diet. I'm very sweet.
I've made a lot of friends here. I'm a secret Santa this year for my buddy Pinky. That's Dr. Pinky Twinkleton, Santa's vet. She watches out for all the animals at the North Pole, but keeps an extra watchful eye on Santa's reindeer especially this time of year. I made some delicious candy apples for her and put apples on carrot sticks for all of Santa's team. After Christmas, Pinky takes Santa's reindeer team to Alaska for a vacation to rest from their all night ride and refresh themselves at The Reindeer Spa.
I make candy canes. Just by my name, I bet you guessed that’s my specialty but my favorite snack is Christmas sugar cookies and hot chocolate. They add just the right amount of variety to my diet. I'm very sweet.
I've made a lot of friends here. I'm a secret Santa this year for my buddy Pinky. That's Dr. Pinky Twinkleton, Santa's vet. She watches out for all the animals at the North Pole, but keeps an extra watchful eye on Santa's reindeer especially this time of year. I made some delicious candy apples for her and put apples on carrot sticks for all of Santa's team. After Christmas, Pinky takes Santa's reindeer team to Alaska for a vacation to rest from their all night ride and refresh themselves at The Reindeer Spa.
Holiday recipe. EASY
BUT DELICIOUS MANDARIN ORANGE CUPCAKES
HOLIDAY RECIPE
Since I make candy from scratch all year, I like really
simple recipes. All you need is:
1 box white cake mix
Add ingredients listed on box (egg whites, butter, etc.
1 can mandarin oranges in juice –add for liquid instead of
milk or water
Stir with mixer until ingredients are thoroughly mixed
Pour into cupcake trays and bake at 350 degrees
Frost with vanilla frosting
SHADOWS ACROSS TIME
Imagine being kidnapped and transported back in time to a 16th century French castle.
Danielle deForet, a beautiful rare
antiques dealer, is tricked into completing an appraisal on a rare French
piece, when to her surprise its owner casts a spell sending them both back to
1559. Danielle learns she is the crucial link for a royal spell and finds
herself guarded by a handsome knight, Aidan. They soon fall in love, and he
plans a risky escape.
Georgina, once a seer, now a
mannequin in Danielle’s shop, was turned to wood by that same wizard. Her body
stilled, her mind sharp, she is the lovers’ only hope to escape. If she
intervenes, and the wizard finds out, he will stop at nothing to make his spell
succeed, even if it means destroying Georgina, Danielle, and Aidan.
Tagline: How far would you go for love?
BUY LINK: https://www.MariahLynne.com
BUY LINK: https://www.MariahLynne.com
Merry Christmas and Happy 2017 from all the elves!
http://blog.lindacarroll- bradd.com (participating on Dec 6 only)
FEBRUARY IS FOR LOVERS
Love is in the air. Valentines, flowers, and heart shaped candy. It's a new year, a new beginning, and a renewed recognition of what's most important to us. As my wise mother always told me; health and love.
I am lucky to have a loving and caring husband, and a fourteen year old dog named Max who that many years ago was my Valentine gift. Both surround my world with humor, encouragement, and loads of love.
I took Max out for his walk this morning and he met up with the gorgeous Golden Girls, two sister Golden Doodles who are infatuated with him. One came close and gave him a lick.
The other waited patiently for her turn. Of course, he loved it.
His tail wagged a mile a minute.
Max and the Golden Girls prove that we don't have to be carbon copies to fall in love. My father was an immigrant and my mother born here. Different talents, their love lasted a lifetime. I am a disorganized creative type, while my husband is organized and very good in business and sales, but in how we treat others and giving back to our small community we agree.
In SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, two lovers from different periods in history, who speak different languages, and have different customs meet under extreme duress and fall in love.
Their love is tested by a wizard out to destroy them in order to keep favor with his queen and by an impossible and dangerous escape where they must trust their fate to total strangers.
This month, show your significant other how much you care. Your Valentine's love should not be reserved for one day, one month, or one year, but forever.
Mariah Lynne
www.MariahLynne.com
SHADOWS ACROSS TIME
The other waited patiently for her turn. Of course, he loved it.
His tail wagged a mile a minute.
Max and the Golden Girls prove that we don't have to be carbon copies to fall in love. My father was an immigrant and my mother born here. Different talents, their love lasted a lifetime. I am a disorganized creative type, while my husband is organized and very good in business and sales, but in how we treat others and giving back to our small community we agree.
In SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, two lovers from different periods in history, who speak different languages, and have different customs meet under extreme duress and fall in love.
Their love is tested by a wizard out to destroy them in order to keep favor with his queen and by an impossible and dangerous escape where they must trust their fate to total strangers.
This month, show your significant other how much you care. Your Valentine's love should not be reserved for one day, one month, or one year, but forever.
Mariah Lynne
www.MariahLynne.com
SHADOWS ACROSS TIME
THE CHRISTMAS DOLL
One Christmas, a long time ago, I was a little girl who loved her dolls. I had clothes for them, accessories, and some even had their own little beds in my room. I always thought every little girl had a doll. Never dreamed anything different.
It was the Sunday before Christmas and my father took me to church service after Sunday School to see a special choir of children from an orphanage in Rome. They were in the US to visit and perform at several churches along the East Coast.
Some of the families like mine volunteered to take a child home for dinner. The week before, my mother asked to see a photo of the young lady because she wanted to buy some clothes for her to take home. When I looked at the photo, I saw a skinny eight year named Marianna. We were the same age and the same height. We both had dark curly hair and dark brown eyes. Except for where and how we lived, and the fact that I was chubby, we could have been sisters.
I was excited to have Marianna come for dinner and happy that my mother bought her clothes. After we ate Sunday lunch, I took her into my bedroom to see and play with my toys. Her eyes grew huge and began to tear up. I understood a little Italian enough to get the just of a conversation. She walked over to my window bench where my dolls "lived" and picked one up and hugged it.
The doll named Anna was one of my favorites. Dressed in a pink and white gingham dress, she had blonde hair I could comb. Marianna hugged Anna and refused to let her go. She said she never had a doll before, let alone one as "bella" as this one.
Well I was not a happy camper. I yelled at her, "Let let Anna go. That doll is mine." She refused and asked me to please give Anna to her. That made me more upset. Enough so my father heard me and came in to see what was wrong.
I told him about Anna and how she was not going anywhere. He walked over to Marianna and had her give him the doll. He then said in Italian that he knew I would be happy to give it to her. After all, I had so much...a good home, loving parents, and many other dolls. He handed it back to her and she hugged him like he just gave her the world.
I watched in silence thinking I never realized how lucky I was. I too went over and hugged Marianna. She taught me a a most important lesson about giving and love I will never forget. This holiday season we should all care about those less fortunate and try to help in whatever manner we can.
Best wishes for a happy holiday season. I hope you spend it with family and friends.
Mariah
SHADOWS ACROSS TIME
Oh What A Knight
Ever daydream about being kidnapped?
You’re swept away by a total stranger to a romantic place, leaving behind those
dirty dishes, your new puppy throwing up on your best decorative rug, and the insurmountable
to-do list. Where would you like to be taken?
France? Paris, perhaps? Chenonceau Castle has always been my
dream. About ten years ago, after watching an episode of the Travel Channel featuring
three castles in the Loire Valley, Chambord, Cheverny, and Chenonceau, I was
hooked. My husband entered the family room reading a newspaper when I pointed
to the TV. “We’re going there.” And so we did. All three royal residences were magnificent,
but there was something extra special about Chenonceau.
Perhaps it was the imposing gray white structure with blue
turreted roofs, or the rose colored bedroom with its canopied bed and carved
fireplace, maybe it was the manicured gardens, or best yet how the waters of
the River Cher flowed underneath the castle. The “Chambre de Secrets”, rumored
to be Catherine de Medici’s secret hiding place for poisons, true or not, peaked
my writer’s imagination.
In my newest novel, SHADOWS ACROSS TIME, my strong-willed
heroine, present day antique dealer Danielle deForet, is tricked into completing
an appraisal on a rare French piece, when her client, a sinister wizard, whisks
her back to 16th century France and you guessed it, Chenonceau.
Danielle is held captive in a room resembling the rose bedroom awaiting her dismal
fate as a crucial link in a spell for the queen. The wizard selects a brave young
knight, Sir Aidan, to guard her. A most handsome knight, Aidan and Danielle soon
fall in love and he plans a risky escape.
Chenonceau is known as the “Chateau de Dames”, because three
strong women contributed to its longevity. Built in 1513 by Katherine Briconnet,
King Henry II purchased it after her death from her son and gifted the castle
to his mistress, Diane de Poitiers. (Why is it always the mistress?) She added
the arched bridge that crossed the river as well as the gardens that still
surround the structure. To her misfortune, she made the castle so beautiful
that when the king died, Catherine de Medici, his widow with the alleged poison
room, desired to own the chateau forcing Diane out. Madame Dupin later
protected Chenonceau from being destroyed during the French Revolution. With
all these formidable women in mind, I knew Danielle had to be just as strong and
just as resolute if she hoped to foil the powerful wizard’s plan.
My heroine is beautiful, smart, and determined. The more I imagined
her story, the more I knew Chenonceau was the perfect backdrop. I visualized Danielle
traveling up the exterior staircase, visiting the opulent throne room, and meeting
the wizard in a fictionalized version of the poison room. She was brave as she walked
in disguise eager to escape off the arched bridge to meet her lover on
horseback. Their swashbuckling adventure, the journey of their lives through
the thick forests to be sheltered by resisters, begins here.
Now, it’s your turn. Danielle,
and Aidan, along with a sinister wizard and cunning gypsy seer await your visit
to Chenonceau in SHADOWS ACROSS TIME available in print and e-book.
Romance That
Transcends Time
Halloween With Frankenstein
HALLOWEEN WITH FRANKENSTEIN
(copyright 2015 Mariah Lynne)
Halloween! That special day when a
frog can become a prince and I, a shy sixth grader donning a pink sparkly tulle
gown and tiara, caught the eye of the cutest boy in my class. One year later, it
was a different man who stole my heart! Our first adventure trick or treating
alone, my friends and I wanted to visit the more affluent part of town. We convinced
ourselves that the elegant homes with manicured lawns gave away the best candy.
One such home, decorated to the hilt, peaked our curiosity. The more spider
webs, Halloween wreaths, and witches’ broomsticks we saw, the more excited we
became! We quickly juggled around the candy in our bag to make more room before
walking up to the front door and ringing the bell.
Spooky music greeted us through a
speaker near the front door as if on queue. Plastic spiders shot down from the front
door- frame. We stood there looking at each other wondering what would happen
next. The large wooden door creaked opened slowly, very slowly. We gasped!
Standing in front of us was a tall thin man. He was so tall we were eye to eye
with his belt buckle. As our eyes shot upwards, we recognized him as
Frankenstein. Dressed in a tuxedo and carrying a large oval silver bowl, he
bent down to welcome us in a low deep voice.
“Greetings, my little trick or treaters. You
may each reach in the bowl and take as much as you can in one handful. Remember
I’m watching, so no tricks.”
Well, who on earth would want to trick that
guy! He leaned down a little more putting the bowl where we could see its
contents. My eyes popped! It was filled with hundreds of brand new pennies. All
shiny, they glistened all the brighter in the subdued lighting of the entryway.
I took a deep breath, opened my chubby hand as wide as I could and grabbed as
many of those magical coins as would fit. My excited friends did the same. What
a magical night! To this day, my memory of Frankenstein is as vivid as that
night. Imagine how much time and effort a family I didn’t know put into making
my Halloween so extraordinary!
Fast
forward forty years. I now live and work on a beautiful Florida Gulf Coast
island. No chill in the air, no falling leaves but our islanders celebrate
Halloween in a big way. At the time, I owned a video store on the island. About
eighteen years ago, some standing water and pesky mosquitoes caused the county
to cancel trick or treating! How could they do that? I understood it was for
everyone’s safety, but I saw a lot of disappointed little faces coming into my
store after the news. With that magical memory of Frankenstein still in my
heart, I along with some friends rolled up our sleeves and transformed my store
into a Howling Halloween Haunting for kids of all ages on the island. We
constructed a big black tent out of extra huge lawn bags in which one of my
friends, an amateur magician, performed. Kids were greeted at the entrance by
one of my adult customers dressed like the Wicked Witch, green face and all.
There were gooey spider webs and scary movie standees like Freddy Kruger.
Domino’s who occupied the building next door delivered pizza throughout the
party. The manager, another friend, made a special appearance as the Noid. I
bought tons of candy and apples. We had games, photos and costume judging for
six great hours of Halloween fun. The kids had a blast. They wore their newest costumes
and their parents came as well. I have since sold my business but occasionally
run into those kids now all grown up. They always tell me how magical that
Halloween was for them. Maybe in some small way, I was able to pass the spirit
and love I felt on my memorable Halloween with Frankenstein forward!
Mariah Lynne
NINE DEADLY LIVES: An Anthology of Feline Fiction
Released in time for Halloween reading
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