Leaves, leaves, and more leaves—the fall chore overwhelmed Kelsie each year, ever since she’d lost Tanner. It wasn’t the yardwork that ate at her, but more the season, the slide from a glorious summer into an end-of-growing-things autumn, followed closely by the chill of winter, when everything was either dead or in a deep sleep. That inevitability reminded her she’d been powerless to stop Tanner’s death—once the cancer was diagnosed, he’d had exactly three months left, those three months falling during a turbulent autumn.
Her friends worried for her. “Five years out, you should be bouncing back,” they said. “He would want you to live your life, not stay buried in grief.”
But they didn’t know—hadn’t known—her brother. After their father, and then their mother had died, Tanner had been her lifeline. For that bittersweet decade after their deaths, he had served as her confidant when her personal relationships soured. He’d always, always led her toward the positive, even after he got sick.
“You’re a tough woman,” he’d said when she expressed doubt that she could carry on without him. “You’ll survive. That’s what we do. All of this loss makes you strong.”
But she knew different. Loss left holes. Large ones that couldn’t be filled, no matter how many days, weeks, or years passed. Couldn’t be filled, no matter how many dead leaves you stuffed into them.
And so Kelsie raked. The piles grew, and she allowed the ache in her arms and shoulders and back to counter the pain in her soul. Her thoughts butted up against the endless question: Why had she been spared? Tanner should have lived, not her; even after all this time, she was still not up to the task of facing her life alone.
When the sun sank below the trees, she put up the rake and went indoors for a hot mug of hard cider and a hearth fire. She dozed in her chair, hearing over the crackle of the flames the wind gusting. I should have moved the leaf piles into the woods. Now they’ll be scattered.
The following morning, Kelsie pulled on her jeans, boots, and sweater to tackle another round of yard work. Glancing out the bedroom window, she stepped closer to the glass, to better see.
The wind—or something—had indeed moved the leaves, but instead of scattering them, they were arranged on the grass in a pattern, one that spelled a name: hers.
“Tanner,” she whispered, feeling suddenly lighter. The darkness within her retreated with the day’s full sunlight. “Thank you.”
Even the biggest bag of Godiva chocolates from my favorite warehouse club store doesn’t last forever . . .
Such a fate has also befallen Kindle Worlds.
As of July 16th, all Kindle Worlds books will no longer be available on Amazon Kindle.
It’s a sad time for those of us who fell in love with the worlds created by some great authors.
I wrote six Kindle Worlds books — five for “The Royals of Monterra” and one for “Vampire Girl.”
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On July 1st, I checked my KW books and they had already been taken down — or so I thought.
Then I discovered they were back up!! I have no idea why this happened, but I’m certain that by July 16th, the Kindle Worlds program will be closed across the board.
The authors get their rights back — but in order to republish them, we have to remove the “world” from our stories. Not always easy . . .
I’m not sure when I’ll do this — I’ve started another story in the same line as my Italian prince billionaire submission for a publisher. It will take a while to re-do six books, so as a tribute to the worlds I participated in, I decided to post the videos for five of my books and a graphic for the sixth.
Here they are.
Thank you, KW, for the opportunity to participate in this program! And yes, I could use a hug. It’s always sad to see your characters ride off into the digital sunset . . . but they’ll be back!!
Jina
PS — I’m excited to be a Featured Author this month!! Check out my other books, too, especially in you love Civil War time travel romance and my WW 2 time travel romance3.
The Royals of Monterra series:
Twisted Tiaras: Princesses with a Past
Book 1: Royal Dare http://bit.ly/1sAkoKJ
It ain’t easy getting clean . . . even for a princess.
Book 2: Royal Bride https://amzn.com/B01N3U44OH
Can a sexy prince give a girl a second chance at love?
Book 3: Royal Kiss http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MY91GBM
Even a goody two shoes princess can get lost down the rabbit hole.
Book 4: Royal Noel http://a.co/65GYfHH
A pretty con artist risks everything when she falls for a handsome duke
Fairy Tales & Magic:
Royal Magic https://amzn.com/B01I21TIF6
The magic is in his kiss . . . a Philly girl falls in love with a royal magician.
Vampire Girl series:
Princess Moonglow http://a.co/7MGyUqz
Can a girl with a weird superpower find happiness with a hottie vampire?
Have you ever slipped on a pair of shoes that fit perfectly?
Soft, dreamy leather. Straps not too tight.
Heels not too high. You don’t want to feel like you’re about to go over a cliff.
I have.
And get this, it’s a glass slipper.
When I entered my Civil War time travel romance, LOVE ME FOREVER, in the Kindle Scout program*** I didn’t realize there was a technicolor ending in my future.
I went to Oz.
I mean, Monterra.
When Sariah Wilson asked romance KS winners if we’d like to write in her Royals of Monterra Kindle World, I jumped at the chance. I love princess stories (check out my Princess video!) I wrote ROYAL DARE about Princess Violetta, who appears in Sariah’s ROYAL DATE. Violetta has a drug problem so I sent her to rehab. But getting clean ain’t easy…even for a princess
Can she make it through rehab?
One of the most rewarding aspects of writing Royal Dare is the fact that several addiction recovery
sites have discovered the novel and follow me on Twitter. I hope Violetta’s story encourages those who need help to seek it out.
I loved writing in Sariah’s KW so much, I decided to write another story, but on a much lighter subject.
Magic.
ROYAL MAGIC will launch with Sariah’s next Royals of Monterra book, ROYAL GAMES.
Royal Magic is the story of a girl from South Philly with a dream to become an aerial silks performer, but there’s a dark secret in her past that keeps her from her goal.
Until she’s invited to perform at the arts festival in the kingdom of Monterra for the royal family in Fairy Tales & Magic: Magic, Music & Monterran Cuisine. There she meets a handsome, mysterious magician who’s not what he seems…
Royal Magic will launch along with Sariah’s Royal Games and new Royals of Monterra stories from other talented writers on July 8th!’
I’m almost finished with the cover, so I’ll update this page as we get closer to the launch.
I’m enjoying my road trip to Monterra and plan to do more Royals of Monterra books after Royal Magic. And to think it all started with Kindle Scout…
~Jina
***You can read my previous posts about my experience with the Kindle Scout program by clicking on Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5
The Princess and the Stilettos for Valentine’s Day from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
The Princess and the Magic Shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day from Jina Bacarr on Vimeo.
Website: www.jinabacarr.com
Blog: www.jinabacarr.wordpress.com
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https://instagram.com/jinabacarr/
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