I’m pleased to announce my first “Guest Blogger!” Rie McGaha is an author with intriguing books that you won’t want to miss! But before you check out her new book, “Calen” (listed below with a scene or two) here are a few words of . . . wisdom. And for more info about Rie and her writing, try her website: www.riemcgaha.com or her facebook page:
Little Older, A Little Wiser? By Rie McGaha
I wasn’t always this old, which may surprise some, especially my grandchildren. Neither was I always this wise, which may also surprise some, especially my grandchildren. It never surprises me how stupid I was in my younger years. When I think back on events of my life, I can only shake my head and wonder how I survived my own stupidity. The old saying, “Youth is wasted on the young,” rings truer as I get older.
There was a time when I thought I was invincible and the only danger out there was getting pregnant as a teenager, which I did, so hey, one down! I can joke about these things now because most of my younger years were an exercise in the absurd. That is the view hindsight gives me. But I guess if each of us examines our youth, we’ll all find one or two ridiculous acts we committed in the name of invincibility.
Now, in my later years I find I’m much slower. I take life day by day and yet, they slip by so quickly, I can barely keep up. When I was young I had the entire world and all the time there is to do what I wanted, but somewhere along the way that view disappeared. Somehow twenty turned in forty over night, and my kids became adults and had their own lives, which is the way it’s supposed to be. Funny though, because no one told me how fast I would go from a twenty something mommy to a thirty something Nana. Yes, a Nana at thirty-four. Not only has the fact my children are all adults with their own children reminded me of my dwindling years, I actually have an adult grandchild. Mathew turned eighteen in January 2011, with Destiny following in a couple of years, and on down the line until all thirty-six of them is grown. I can only wonder how long before I am also a great-grandmother.
While I try my best to grow old gracefully, there is a part of me that still wishes for the energy and to have endless time before me to do those things that I wasted my youth on. But in the end I have to also take into account all the things I managed to accomplish over the years. The children I raised to be wonderful men and women, the man I married who has made me so happy, and the new families my children are creating that keep me so busy. It would be great to be young again, but as I look back, I wouldn’t change a single thing. Every step I took then, was one step closer to the person I am now. All in all, it’s not such a bad place to be.
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Rie McGaha is an author, editor, and reviewer. She has more than a dozen books to her credit, and her recent release, Calen, is the first book in the My Soul To Keep Trilogy, with the other two books being released later this year from Silver Publishing. You can join Rie, GA Hauser, & Stormy Glenn for Blog Blast 2011 (http://blogblast2011.blogspot.com/), on Blog Talk Radio, May 14, 2011 at noon CST, with an all day group chat at Erotic Promo. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eroticpromo/
Prizes will be given away all day long, so join us! And check out Blog Blast 2011 for a list of prizes, and “follow” us to be entered into the grand prize drawing.
Everyone who comments on this blog is also eligible to win!
Calen by Rie McGaha:
When Calen MacLeod begins having dreams of an ethereal beauty who beckons to him, he passes it off as just having an itch he hasn’t scratched in a long time. But when he leaves on a journey to find her, following the directions she’s given him in his dreams, he begins to doubt his sanity. And when he finds himself high in the Mackinaw Mountains in a secret fortress with unicorns and a pink and white castle, surrounded by women, each one more beautiful than the next, it’s a fantasy no man would want to wake up from. But Arianna is the only woman for Calen.
The women of the Fortress have lived in peace, hidden away from the humans who tried to annihilate them all. But now a 500-year-old demon is out to destroy the women’s matriarch, Ariella, and he’ll stop at nothing to complete his mission. When Calen MacLeod shows up, he throws a wrench into Damon’s plans. Never let it be said Damon isn’t ready for anything, but when he kidnaps Arianna and takes her to modern day San Francisco, is he ready to meet Calen, who will stop at nothing to save his ladylove?
EXCERPT:
“Da, we’ve returned with news you aren’t going to like,” Caleb called out.
William stood and turned to the trio. He raised his brows as he looked them over. “So who’s this then?” He nodded toward the boy in Calen’s arms.
“That’s what you’re not going to like, Da. We need to get the babe here to Margaret for care, and then we can tell you the tale.”
William pulled the rope, and a loud bell rang out. A moment later, his sister-in-law Margaret came in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a cloth.
“What is it you’re wanting? I’ve bread to finish kneading if you want it for supper,” she said, looking at William.
He sighed. The woman had no respect, but without her, he’d have never been able to raise his sons after their mother died.
Margaret turned toward Calen and Caleb and opened her arms. She walked over and wrapped all of them in a hug.
“My boys are home.” She put a hand on each of their faces, patted their cheeks, and then nodded toward the boy. “And what have we here?”
Taking the child from Calen, she hugged him to her breast, then looked at the two grown men with questions in her eyes, but they shook their heads.
“Later,” Calen said.
Margaret nodded. “Aren’t you a sweet one?” she cooed to the little boy. He nuzzled closer to her, and she hugged him tightly.
“How old are you now? Can you show me?” He held up four fingers. “Oh, well, aren’t you a big boy then? Can you tell me your name?”
“Arion,” he said, barely above a whisper.
“Arion,” Margaret repeated loudly and then headed back toward the kitchen door.
With his sons, William watched until the pair disappeared.
“He wouldn’t even look at us,” Caleb said with a shake of his head.
William grinned. “Like all of us, I s’pose he knows Margaret will get what she wants, so it’s just as well to give it to her and get it over with.”
They all chuckled and sat together. “So…” William looked at each of his sons. “Tell me
the story.”