Tawdra Kandle's Blog, page 9

The last time

We rarely recognize last times when they come. I’m the mother of four (mostly) grown children, and I couldn’t tell you that I recall the last diaper I changed as a mama, the last time I nursed my youngest, the last time I cuddled a little one who woke up in the middle of the […]

The Most Delicious Red Gravy by Francesco DiMartino (Just Desserts/I Choose You/Just Roll With It)

Francesco DiMartino is the matriarch of the DiMartino family. She helps her husband run their family restaurant, she raised two daughters, two sons, and a granddaughter, none of her kids can get anything past her . . . and she’s a fabulous cook. This is the red gravy she makes every Sunday. It’s also served […]

A tasty tidbit of ILLEGAL TOUCHING

  Grey’s Anatomy meets Monday Night Football.  Heat and heart clash in this rollercoaster of a love story. Noah Finding out I’m going to be a dad knocks me off my self-destructive path and makes me determined to do the right thing. I know I’m going to be there for my child, no matter what. […]

Diagnosis: Love Trilogy Two (Noah and Alison)

Grey’s Anatomy meets Monday Night Football. Heat and heart clash in this rollercoaster of a love story. INTENTIONAL GROUNDING Noah I’m Noah Spencer, famous football player, all-around good guy . . . and widower. When my wife died, I knew that part of my life—the part where I could love or be loved—was over. But […]

A sneak peek of Intentional Grounding

Grey’s Anatomy meets Monday Night Football.  Heat and heart clash in this rollercoaster of a love story. Noah I’m Noah Spencer, famous football player, all-around good guy . . . and widower. When my wife died, I knew that part of my life—the part where I could love or be loved—was over. But then I […]

A LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN Family News Update!

  If you haven’t read any of the LOVE IN A SMALL TOWN romances yet, now is the time to start! This box set is free on all vendors for a limited time. (See links below: Amazon may not have gone free yet, but will shortly.) To celebrate, I’m sharing this little peek into what’s […]

What’s new with Ava and Liam?

  An update from Ava and Liam . . . Hey! Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve caught up with you. So much has been going on. As you know, Liam and I finally tied the knot in the most perfectly imperfect and beautiful Christmas wedding. We followed that up with the most […]

A Jingle Balls Excerpt!

A sneak peek of Under the Mistletoe, my story in JINGLE BALLS, releasing on Tuesday, September 29th! Nurse practitioner Darcy Ryan and football hottie Jackson Carmichael spent one magical, sexy summer together seven years ago. Everything between them was perfect until he abruptly broke Darcy’s heart and left her bitter. She hasn’t seen Jackson until […]

We are family.

Hello, friends!

First of all, huge grateful hugs to all of you who responded to my earlier email this week. It is always comforting and gratifying to learn that there are more people out there than not who still stand for the simple decencies of all people. 

A special awestruck thank you to my readers from around the world who responded in massive numbers. Thank you for acknowledging that not all Americans are like those you see on your newscasts or online. The sane and the sober are still here.

All righty, enough of that! Time to get on with the show, as Mickey Mouse would say.

Family! It's an element in all of my books, and as you might guess, it's important to me in real life, too. I was blessed to be surrounded by a huge extended family as I grew up, and although we are much smaller now, I still remember fondly those days of enormous dinners and holidays.

I married into another large family, and I love that they're mine now, too.

Below, I'll update you not only on some fictional families in my book world but also on my own crew.

YOU are all part of my extended bookish family, and I'm thrilled that we are literary-related.
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Which family in MY books is your favorite?

Is it Tasmyn or Michael's family in King? The Reynolds in Burton? Jude and Logan's brood in Crystal Cove? Or is it in the military books or the DiMartinos in the Perfect Dish books or perhaps in my new medical series?

Since this is a query about my own books, there's a $10 gift card on the line for one lucky responder. Remember, you can answer by responding to this blog post.
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September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. Authors, readers, and bloggers are uniting again his year to fight stigma, spread mental health awareness, and support the prevention of suicide. To encourage participation, we're giving away a $50 Amazon gift card and a Book Lovers Unite for World Suicide Prevention Day t-shirt to one lucky winner.

Go over to my site to get all the info and to enter!
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DOWN BY CONTACT is still free on all vendors right now!

And if you've fallen in love with these two, please DO leave a review. Thanks to some Amazon shenanigans, this book needs some love.

So grab it for free, read it and leave your review! Thank you.
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Haven't you ever finished a book and then for days after, wondered about what the characters are up to? Or months later, thought about the family and what they might be doing right at that moment?

C'mon, I can't be the only one.

I know I'm not because I've gotten email from many of you, asking for updates on various series. Many of you want to know what Quinn and Leo are doing these days. Others are interested in one or more of the Burton families.

So starting this month, you'll get a special newsletter that is FROM one of my fictional families. It might in place of a regular Friday email or it might pop up on a Tuesday. Watch for it . . . and tell me who you want to receive updates from!
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I love that so many of you write to ask about my real-life family and what everyone is up to these days. So . . . here goes!

My husband Clint has been spending almost all of his time at the Community Garden since the advent of the pandemic. Since all of our senior facilities are closed to visitors, he can't see our beloved people. We're keeping in touch as best we can. Each Sunday, Clint presents a short worship service on line and each Wednesday he leads an online edition of the rosary (you can find both here).

Our oldest daughter, Devyn, her husband (author Greg Prado) and their sweet baby girl Delia are all doing fine. Greg is back in the school where he works, so we're worried for his safety all the time. Devyn is continuing to do her speech-language therapy online. Delia comes to visit me once a week, and it's always the most fun day for Nana! She is growing up so fast . . . hard to believe she'll be two in January (I am in utter denial).

Haley is back in school! She made the decision to return to college to pursue a degree in social work, and we're super proud of her hard work and dedication. Everything is virtual at this point, so it's been a steep learning curve to tackle. But she's managing it with aplomb. She's continuing to work and to run--everything is virtual now, but she is logging faster than ever times.

Everything is getting busy again at the farm where Cate works. She is starting her second year there, and now she's full farm manager. In Florida, everything is flipped season-wise, so while most of the rest of the country is going into harvest and rest mode, they are planting and getting ready for their busiest season. She continues to work to form community where she is . . . and she's putting in many long hours. We miss her, but happily, we do get to see her about once a month.

David, my baby, is going to be TWENTY next week. Twenty. I figured out earlier this year that I have had a teenager in my home for the past eighteen years. This will be the first time since 2002 that we will be teenage-offspring free. Not sure how I feel about that . . . the end of an era, indeed. David is excelling at everything as usual. He is still in school, preparing to graduate from Seminole State with his associate degree before moving on to UCF. His plans for international travel and study were nixed by the pandemic, but he's hoping to get back to Europe sooner than later. Meanwhile, he's working, rock climbing, and entertaining us all.

Check out the photo above taken by one of his friends to commemorate the end of his teen years. I love it.
(And to see more family pics, check out this page on my website.)
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September is BOX SET Month!!
If you buy The Career Soldier Collection  on my website, you can get:
Love in a Small Town (Vols 1 OR 2),
All The Love in a Small Town
The Keeping Score Box Set AND
Making the Score Box Set
for 50% off.

Go forth and box set to your heart's delight!
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Down By Contact
The Career Soldier Collection

Family Update!

Here are the promised photos–enjoy!