P.G. Forte's Blog, page 27

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Gratitude ~ #LoveChatWrite

 This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "What are you  most grateful for in your life today?"
That's actually a really hard question. There's so much I'm grateful for--friends and family, my health, the fact that I live in a beautiful place and have the freedom to spend so much of my time writing. 
Honestly, there are so many things--big and little--that I've been blessed with and that I'd hate having to do without.  
I overheard something today that kind of put it in perspective for me. Someone was talking about their dog and saying how she was spoiled rotten. And someone else corrected her and said, "No, she's spoiled just right." Which I think was a very good answer. 
I think we all deserve to be spoiled just right. And I hope that, most of the time, we all will be.

Now, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page  to learn what she's grateful for. 

The Name GameA Games We Play Story​

He knows what to do to save her business. She knows what he needs to fix his life!

 

Atlas Beach is experiencing a retail-renaissance—and Carly Meyer is determined to be part of it.  But her sandwich shop-slash-food-truck, The Lunch Box, is struggling to stay afloat.

 

Luckily, help is on the way thanks to the Chamber of Commerce’s innovative mentoring program—partnering successful Atlas Beach business owners with some of the newer start-ups. Too bad the mentor assigned to her is the delectable—and highly annoying—Tino DiLuca.

 

Tino knows exactly what’s hurting Carly’s business and—exactly how to fix it. But his number one solution, changing the name of her signature sandwich, is the one thing she’s not prepared to do.

 

Musical Monday: Eclipse Pink Floyd

 

I mean, c'mon. What other song could I possibly pick for today? I'm not even going to try and explain it. For those of you (like me) who'll be spending several minutes in the path of totality, happy viewing! And don't forget your glasses!

Wine Wednesday: Paso-D'Oro 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon (Paso Robles)

 

Tonight's wine is soooo good and I'm surprised. I would have said nothing could beat a Napa Cabernet and that Paso Robles--to me--is all about the Zinfandel. But this Cabernet might change my mind. The first thing I noticed after opening it was the very pronounced fig jam fragrance with possibly small dark cherry notes. To be honest, it seemed a little one dimensional. But after it had been breathing for awhile dried blackberry and tobacco notes emerged. 
It's got great legs and some surprisingly serious tannins--again something I'd associate with Paso Zins. So maybe it's just something in Paso's terroir? I don't know, but either way I love it. The spiced fig flavor is still there, which suggests that this would be a great wine to enjoy during the winter holidays. But again, after letting it breathe it really opens up and I taste vanilla, more tobacco, and a delicious smoky flavor evoking campfires and summer nights. 
My first experience of California wine was when I was a newlywed camping in the redwoods just outside of San Francisco. Our campsite neighbors were an older couple in an RV. They grilled oysters on their camp stove and shared the wine they'd picked up in Napa that day with us. This wine takes me right back there.
This wine would be perfect at a bonfire on a cool midsummer's night--something you get a lot of along California's coast, and not at all here in Texas. So I plan on getting another bottle of this to drink next weekend to celebrate the eclipse.  

Romance Writers Weekly ~Flash Fiction! ~ #LoveChatWrite

 This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked to "Write a flash fiction with the words spring, boat, and shadow"

“Thanks for coming out with me today,” I told my cousin. The sharp glance he shot in my direction had me quickly amending, “For doing this, I mean. For me.” Because he wasn’t just accompanying me, or assisting me, he was doing all the heavy lifting in getting the boat ready for the season. 

 

“’Course,” he answered gruffly, which caused me to wonder. Was he doing it for me? And, if so, was it out of pity? Or was he doing it for my mom, who couldn’t yet come to terms with my father’s death and wouldn’t listen to my suggestion that she sell the boat. Maybe he was doing it to honor the memory of my dad—that was a possibility. He always seemed to get along with my dad better than anyone else did. Certainly, better than I did. “I mean, someone had to, right?”

 

“I—” I started, then stopped again and nodded, blinking back the tears which suddenly threatened to overflow my eyes. Damned hormones making me weepy again. They’d have to settle down eventually, wouldn’t they? At least I hoped they would. “I know. I just—”

 

“And no one would’ve expected you to do it,” Rocky added, leveling a teasing smile at my new manicure. “Not without breaking those nails you’re rocking.”

 

Probably true, I thought as I stretched out my fingers to admire the long, blue marble, nails accented with rhinestones. “They’re nautical,” I said then blushed because, God, that sounded stupid. Even though—deep blue swirled with white, it was sort of true. 

 

“Yep. That’s exactly what I thought when I first saw them,” Rocky said eyes twinkling as he went back to tinkering with the engine, inspecting the fuel hose…I think…before moving on to whatever was next on his list.  It’s funny because I’d done this for years with him and my dad—every damn Spring—and I still hadn’t managed to wrap my mind around the steps or the order or…any of it, really.

 

Then Rocky’s words sank in. “Oh, bullshit. You did not.”

 

He laughed then, lips stretching into the DiLuca smile. “Okay, you got me. My first thought was, ‘who’d have guessed you’d’ve turned out to be such a girly girl?’ But eventually I’d have gotten there. Just look at what you’re wearing.” 

 

Which was fair, I supposed, glancing down at my fit. The cuffed denim shorts. The off-the-shoulder, navy and white striped top. The indigo boat shoes, which had been blinged out with even more rhinestones than my nails. “My dad would have hated this, wouldn’t he?”

 

“No doubt,” Rocky scoffed. Then his expression shifted—as though he’d seen the shadow his words had cast over my mood. “It’s a very sexy look, G. He’d have hated that.”

 

“That’s not why,” I said blinking fast once again as I turned my gaze toward the water. I gestured at myself. “He wouldn’t have understood…any of this.”

 

“Not at first,” Rocky agreed. “But he’d have come around.”

 

“You don’t know that’s true.” I turned to glare at my cousin, hating the look on his face. It was pity, I was sure of it. “You can’t possibly know that would have been the case.” 

 

“And you can’t know it’s not. So why borrow trouble? Why torture yourself with what might have been?  He loved you, G. And I think what he would have wanted most for you was for you to be happy. Are you happy now?” he asked, his hand waving up and down as he mimicked the gesture I’d just used. 

 

Not entirely, I thought, remembering all the things in my life that still weren’t quite the way I wanted. “I’m happier,” I replied, which was true. And as for the rest, I was getting there. I tossed my head and added, “I’m a work in progress.”

 

“Yeah. Aren’t we all?”   

 

This time I didn’t call bullshit, even though I was pretty sure that’s what I was hearing. Rocky lived up to his name. He was as solid and unchanging as a slab of granite. Always had been. Or so it had always seemed to me—which might or might not be true. Either way, nothing would convince me that he wasn’t the son my father would have always liked to have had. Which I guess was for the best since I was never going to be that for him anyway. 

 

But he was right about not borrowing trouble. So, I crossed my arms and changed the subject. “Are you almost done here? ’Cause it’s late and I’m getting hungry.” And I’d promised him lunch. 

 

“Well, the sooner you stop distracting me, the sooner I’ll be finished,” he answered as he turned back toward the engine. “And, girl, I hope you brought the big checkbook, because I’m the one doing all the work here and I passed hungry a few hours ago.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, poor you,” I said, happy to be back on teasing terms, my heart warming at the easy way the endearment slipped off his tongue.  Because if the Rock could accept me as I was, maybe everyone else whose opinion I cared about could too. 

 

A girl could always hope.

Now, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page  to read her flash fiction. 

The Name GameA Games We Play Story​

He knows what to do to save her business. She knows what he needs to fix his life!

 

Atlas Beach is experiencing a retail-renaissance—and Carly Meyer is determined to be part of it.  But her sandwich shop-slash-food-truck, The Lunch Box, is struggling to stay afloat.

 

Luckily, help is on the way thanks to the Chamber of Commerce’s innovative mentoring program—partnering successful Atlas Beach business owners with some of the newer start-ups. Too bad the mentor assigned to her is the delectable—and highly annoying—Tino DiLuca.

 

Tino knows exactly what’s hurting Carly’s business and—exactly how to fix it. But his number one solution, changing the name of her signature sandwich, is the one thing she’s not prepared to do.

 

Musical Monday: Vivaldi's Four Seasons (Spring)

 

I love this music. It's one of my favorite classical pieces. I tried really hard to find a time-lapse video, but this was the best I could do. 

I'm going to show my age right now by mentioning the movie by the same name from 1981. It was a great film. Kind of romantic, very funny..at least that's how I remember it. I haven't seen it in awhile and it might have aged terribly. Who knows? 

Thankful Thursday for March 28, 2024

I know it's been a minute since I last posted, but life's been hectic. Today, however, I just wanted to say, wow. Spring is so amazingly pretty this year! There are wildflowers and butterflies EVERYWHERE. So I guess what I'm most grateful for today is Nature. Here's a video I took this morning while walking my dog. 

This is just down the road from my house and it's exquisite.

Wine Wednesday: Coppola Vineyards 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon

 

Wine is subjective. I know people who don't like the wines from certain wineries, or don't like wines made with certain grapes, but in a lot of those cases, I think it's a matter of either not tasting the best wines a particular winery has to offer, or of having tried bottles that have not been handled, shipped, or stored properly. OR (in terms of grapes) just not having found the right wine or style of winemaking. 
I attribute the whole ABC nonsense (anything but Chardonnay) to the latter. Chardonnay is so very versatile that I find it hard to believe that anyone who likes wine cannot find a single Chardonnay that they enjoy. 
But I digress. More on Chardonnay in a later post. 
I like today's wine because I have fond memories of visiting/drinking wine at Francis Ford Coppola's winery in Napa. Also his Sofia Blanc de Blanc is my go-to for sparkling wine. But, the fact is, he no longer owns that particular winery and I have no idea where (other than somewhere in California) the grapes for this wine come from. 
I'm predisposed to enjoy drinking it out of the glass I bought at the winery--waaaaaay back in the day--which is supposedly a replica of the glasses his Italian grandfather used to drink wine out of back in Italy. 
My father's family is Sicilian and whenever I drink a Coppola wine out of this particular glass, I always feel like an extra in the Godfather during one of the scenes where Michael first comes across Appolonia. 
It's a nice wine. Not blow your socks off, but very, very drinkable. The tasting notes suggest blackberries, cherries and spice on the nose. And, of course, I disagree. I almost always disagree. I get the spice, and maybe a little bit of leather, but to me the aroma is dried blueberries with a hint of cocoa. It's medium bodied. Opaque, dark red color--it's the color you think of when you think of wine. Not purple, but not a rusty red, either. Like a deep, deep, deep magenta. No legs to speak of, which is odd given the fact that it's only a 2020 vintage--which is not at all old for a Cabernet. 
I taste toasted oak and--ooh, okay! THERE'S the cherry. It's nice. Juicy and lush. But it's not at all what I think of when I think Cabernet Sauvignon. It's softer. Less bold. If I didn't know better, I'd guess a merlot blend. The bottle suggests pairing it with...well, anything apparently! Steak tacos, prime rib, pasta...these are not the same thing. I would not choose the same wine for all of those...well, unless the choice was wine or no wine in which case, yes please, hit me up! 
And...subjective, you know? I can kind of see the tacos. But the rest...not so much. I would suggest pairing this with charcoal-grilled burgers, steak salad or a nice charcuterie board. I wouldn't say no if you poured me some to go with pasta or pizza but...Chateau Martelena  has my heart when it comes to pizza. Everything else is an also ran. 
For reference, I'm currently drinking it with some sharp cheddar and an apple. And it's good. But, yeah. I think a nice juicy burger would be absolutely perfect. 

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Self Care ~ #LoveChatWrite

 This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked the question, "What self-care activities do you enjoy?"
Ooh. Great question! I didn't always take great care of myself as a writer, but I've gotten much better about it in recent years. I've been practicing yoga off and on for a VERY long time. Ever since my parents "discovered" it in the late 60s early 70s. And for a while--in the before times--I was taking yoga classes nearly every day. But Covid put an end to that. And then a broken foot took walking off the table as well!
Since moving to Texas I haven't found a yoga studio that I like enough to join. See, I go for the unlimited membership--which requires there to actually be a lot of classes to choose from. And I'm picky. At this point in my life I'm all about the gentle-Yin-restorative yoga classes. Most of the places around here are into Hot Yoga and Power Flows. It's hot enough here for most of the year. I don't need to take a class to break a sweat, I can do that just by stepping outside or turning off the AC. 
Right now, the weather is lovely so I've been going on long walks with my dog. There are A LOT of parks here, some with lovely walking trails. And there are flowers everywhere so it's been pretty nice. 
Hopefully the pool will be open this year (last year it was closed because of the drought and the year before that it was closed because of other reasons) but I swam every day in Costa Rica and I'd really like to get back to that come summer. 
I've also bought an exercise bike (with a built in desk) and positioned it in the coldest room in the house so that's my summer plan. 
Aside from that, I've been intermittent fasting for six years now and it's been fantastic. I also try to eat as much unprocessed food as possible--which has been hard AF living in the land of queso and barbecue. NOT because that's all that's here but because...mmmm. It's all really good. 
So...there's that and bubble baths, occasional chanting, even more occasional attempts at meditation. No wonder I've been finding it hard to fit WRITING into my schedule. 
Balance is tricky. 

Now, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page to learn what self-care activities she favors. And don't forget to check out her book, Adriana.

Fleeing for her life, Adriana Booth has come aboard Robert Stuart's ship disguised as an old woman. She is smitten with the captain, so the night before they reach land, she discards her masquerade and sneaks into his cabin. In the morning she disappears, but he is determined to find her, which puts her life at risk.

Can he save her? Can their love survive?

https://amzn.to/47yVX4t

Today I'm featuring Going to the Chapel, which is a sort of sequel to Waiting for the Big One. The hero of both books, Derek Novello, is a fitness instructor--including power yoga. So it fits!

Going to the ChapelAn Oberon/LA Love Lessons Crossover Novella​

In Waiting For The Big One, Gabby and Derek went from being friends to being lovers. Now, they're waiting for their "big day". But will it be the wedding of their dreams? Or a bride's worst nightmare?

A quick trip to Gabby's hometown turns into the wedding from hell when Gabby and Derek are plagued by hailstorms, lost reservations, voracious goats, angry bees and enough family drama to fill a barn.

Guess it's true what they say, "The course of true love never did run smooth." But can the happy couple hold it all together, or will their Big Day turn into a Big Mess?

***A different version of this book was previously released as part of the Sapphire Falls Kindle World program.***

https://books2read.com/GoingChapel

Movie Monday: Yesterday

 Today's post is actually a two-fo--music AND a movie.  See, it's my grandson's birthday today and that put me in mind of the Beatles' Birthday Song. My son actually has the same birthday as George Harrison and my birthday is two days later, so we often found ourselves listening to this song on our birthdays. My grandson, not so much. But it's a great song and you can give it a listen here:


So it's probably not going to surprise anyone to learn that I love movies with a bit of magic. Add in romance, humor, and an alternate reality and you have my perfect film. Which Yesterday comes pretty close to being. 
Musician Jack Malick is about to give up on his dreams of making a name for himself. Then he gets hit by a bus and wakes up in a world where the Beatles never existed. He starts playing Beatles  music (what he can remember of it) and ends up with a recording contract and a good deal of fame.
Along the way he also discovers a few other things that are different or missing in his new reality and those are revealed with the perfect amount of subtlety and understatement. The whole movie is beautifully done and I really don't understand why it didn't win more awards. 

Romance Writers Weekly ~ Do You Ever Feel Like Giving Up? ~ #LoveChatWrite

 This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "Do you ever feel like giving up on writing? If so, what motivates you to keep going?"
To which I can only say: All. The. Time. And: damned if I know.
Honestly, I think it's just sheer pig-headedness. I mean, I love writing and I have plenty of stories I still want to write but I think anyone in their right mind would have given up by now. 
Creating worlds and characters is fun. And whenever I'm upset or confused or don't know what I think about a topic, writing things down is how I figure out how I feel, or what I want. So I don't think I could ever stop writing entirely. 
BUT the business of writing is often frustrating and overwhelming. I don't like that part nearly as much. In a perfect world--one in which I did not have to worry about marketing or making money from writing--I'd write all the time and not be bothered about whether or not my stories found their perfect audience; because of course they always would! In our very imperfect world, however, I have to rely on hope and pig-headedness and ignoring the small voice that says, "continuing to do the same thing over and over again and hoping for different results is madness" and instead hold to the idea that Da'Vine Joy Randolph said recently, "it would not be on your heart if you weren't meant to do it."
I don't know if I actually believe that, but it sounds good and I'm going with it!

Now, hop on over to Jill Haymaker's page and find out what she has to say on the topic of giving up. And don't forget to check out her book, The Boy in the Pink Convertible.



What secrets does a photograph hold? When Megan Forrester finds a old, worn photo of herself and a young boy, it propels her on a quest to find him, but along the way she finds herself, and maybe a little romance, too. Can one small photo change the course of her life?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CTNGYR9P

Waiting For The Big OneLA Love Lessons 1.0

One girl, two guys and a quest for ultimate satisfaction.

Aspiring actress Gabby Browne refuses to consider her best friend, and personal trainer, Derek Novello for the role of soul mate fearing sex will ruin their beautiful friendship. When she meets Zach, she's convinced that he could be The One. Too bad Derek isn't willing to share-leaving Gabby forced to choose between two sexy co-stars.

An early morning earthquake provides Gabby with the impetus she needs to stop waiting for the stars to align and finally cast her leading man.

https://books2read.com/the-big-one