Mum's the Word!
Win a bundle of "Mom-friendly"
Win a bundle of "Mom-friendly"
books this weekend at the Book Boost!
In honor of my mother and all the mothers in the world who have the toughest job they'll ever love, I invite you to share with me a story about you and your mother.
In exchange, I'll be giving away a book bundle to one lucky winner. See below for details.
One of my fave memories of reading associated with my mother is our weekly trip to the bookstore. We'd spend what seemed like hours (but probably wasn't really that long knowing how busy my mother truly was--I only know this now that I'm the mother of THREE little ones) browsing the rows and rows of books. The smell of paper and ink. The quiet murmur of patrons. The lime green, 1970's style carpeting. Those sexy covers with handsome hairy-chested heroes and thigh-baring ladies. Oops! I don't think I was supposed to be looking at those particular covers.
But, I'll admit to having an early liking for the taboo world of adult romance. I was no more than a fourth or fifth grader but my desire for knowledge of the adult world of books was strong.
So strong, in fact, I'd sneak a peak at my mother's stash of tawdry, tattered romances whenever I was sure she wouldn't notice. Like say...by verifying she was occupied elsewhere in the house and then crawling into her dark closet with my trusty Scooby Doo flashlight. Digging out one of her new books and scanning the pages for the "bad words".
What did all those words mean? I wasn't exactly sure but I knew it must be good. My mother had stacks and stacks of the things. From that point on, I was on a mission to learn more about these books. These little nuggets of escape my mother clung to on the sofa, in bed, at the pool, on road trips and anywhere else she could find a moment or two to read.
Now, as an adult, a mother of many and a multi-published romance author myself, my love for reading has NEVER waned. Not one single time have I ever uttered, "I'm tired of books." And I fully understand my mother's love of the romance genre.
I love them, long for them, and eagerly seek the next dose of romance escapism that can be found between those sexy pages. Of course, I don't have to belly crawl into a dark closet with a flashlight to read them these days. I'll openly read them in public, flash those naughty covers in the doctor's office waiting room, and proudly announce to anyone who will listen...I'm a romance author and I'm proud of it!
But the scent of freshly laundered linens and the smell of my father's shoe polish will forever remind me of those secret days of romance reading from long ago.
Thanks Mom for introducing me to my favorite genre. And if you did know what I was up to all those years ago--thanks for letting me get away with it. xoxo
As far as a fave "mom" character in a book? I have so many the mind surely boggles. But since I'm a huge Susan Mallery fan (and desire to cheer her on whenever given the chance), I'll share with you one of my fave mom characters from one of her books---her name just happens to be Kerri Sullivan (isn't that a grand first name, wink wink, nudge nudge) and she stars in the book Accidentally Yours. She is one determined mom in search of a way to save her son who suffers from a chronic illness and nothing will get in her way. What's not to love about that type of Mom?
Given that this very month, my own daughter will reach her 9 year milestone after being diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the tender age of 2. How can I not root for any mom who must watch their child suffer and wish they could take the illness from them and endure the pain on their behalf? Surely that would hurt less.
Sigh. No one said being a mom would be easy.
Alas, on the lighter side of things...
I'll go ahead and share with you my mother's fave "mom" character in a book.
Her fave character would be Grandma Mazur from the Janet Evanovich series featuring Stephanie Plum. She never fails to laugh out loud at Grandma and I thinks she's just the type of Grandma my mother hopes to be for my children. Fun, rebellious, slightly nosy, and with an "all around town" type personality minus the gun toting tendencies!
I love you, Mom. Happy Mother's Day!
Until next time, I remain...
Romance-Friendly Yours,
Writer of Romance, Owner of The Book Boost,
& Mother to Mayhem, Chaos, and Tantrums
Contest Time:
Share a story about you and your Mom or tell us about your fave "Mom" character in a book to be entered to win a book bundle of "Mom-friendly" books this Mother's Day Weekend!
**Winners for Book Boost prizes are drawn the first week of the following month and posted in the Recent Winners box in the right hand side of the blog. Check back to see if you are a winner and to claim your prize! Please leave your contact information in your blog post!**
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3 comments:
HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY : )
Mama taught me how to ride a bike, how to knit, and how to remain gracious in the face of disaster. She encouraged me to read as a child, and she started me off with a library of "Little Golden Books". She said they were for me, but I think she enjoyed them even more than I did! She also started my cookbook collection. Before I was born, she began collecting recipe booklets and little cookbooks, and she wrote the date and a little note in each book. When I was older, and really got into recipes and cooking, Mama used to tell people that I could prepare dishes that looked "just like the picture in the book". That was her way of complimenting my cooking.
I didn't have a sister, but I had Mom. I think that at times, Mom relived her childhood through me. I had a pink training bike for my first bicycle. Mom taught me to ride. I vividly remember that day! She ran along beside me as I rode back and forth until she was sure that I was okay on my own. Mom loved to ride bikes (horses too). She was very artistic and theatrical, and she studied tap, ballet, music, and art. She was also double-jointed and somewhat accident-prone, but I will save those stories for another day. I outgrew "Little Pinkie", and I soon set my eyes on a full-sized, royal blue beauty from our local hardware store. "The Western Flyer"--complete with front basket, double back basket, headlight, and horn! When I came downstairs on Christmas morning and saw "Big Blue" in the living room, you can bet my squeals woke everybody up! I was a chubby kid, but I was always tall for my age, and I had long, strong legs. Nobody out rode me and "Big Blue"--nobody! I have lived in Virginia all but two years of my life. We lived in Nevada at the time that I started the first grade, and that is where Mom taught me to ride "Little Pinkie". We moved back to Virginia, and I got "Big Blue", and then we lived in Florida the year that I was in the fifth grade. Riding our bikes together was one of the few real compatible and happy times between Mom and me. Florida is where we reached the zenith of our riding. We would together for hours, late at night, under the street lights of our very nice, quite neighborhood. Looking back, it was remarkable that no one ever commented on our nightly bike antics. Mom and I not only rode our bikes, we performed on them! Yes, we virtually danced with our bikes. Amazing! So much fun, so much energy--nothing else ever compared to that time. I still have "Big Blue", and she still looks good. I haven't ridden her in a very long time, but she's waiting....and remembering.
My mother taught me how to sew and I sewed a lot of my own clothes. We had a lot of fun creating clothing.
I am so lucky I have 3 mothers. I have my mother who more or less worked 2 jobs to raise my sister and me. She did okay with us.
Second is my step mom who is the woman I could talk to as a teen the one who treated me as if I had a brain and listened. Even after I was married we talked. She in many ways shaped me to be strong. My mother taught me to stand on my feet my step mom taught me to temper that with love.
Last but most special is my mother-in-law. I have been blessed in 40 years of marriage to have the most wonderful woman for a mother-in-law. Before the grankids came along I called her mama just like her kids did. She took me in more as a daughter than daughter-in-law. Part of might be the mother of 9 children. Part of it might be the husband taking me home the day after we met to meet his entire family. JIm's gone now but his mother just celebrated her 85th birthday 28 April. She is tender hearted and open.
I love having 3 mothers. I kept telling my sister, who is five years younger, I don't need you to play mother I have 3 already. TYVM. Hope all the mom's out there have a wonderful day.
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