Fall . . . Southern style . . . and other changes

It's finally fall here in the south. More importantly, it's October, my favorite month. I have so many wonderful memories associated with this month . . . football games, homecoming parades, festivals attended with family and friends. We get our first break from the oppressive heat and humidity down here. It's a chance to open my windows, let the cool, dry breezes replace the filtered air-conditioning. A chance to enjoy the changing colors in the beautiful fall landscape.

October is also my birthday month. In December of last year, just after I'd cut one more notch in the "creeping ever closer to sixty" belt, I realized that the characters in my previous series are closer to my children's ages than my own. For the most part, they were about thirty-something-year-old men and women looking for love or advancement in careers. They are wonderful characters--they really are. Unfortunately, as I flipped the calendar on my fifty-seventh year of living, I was reminded that I have little in common with them. As I age, I change, as do my priorities, tastes, opinions, etc. Yes, I realize it's socially unacceptable to openly admit one's age, but isn't that an unrealistic attitude? I accept that my author shot, taken several years ago, is the best I'm ever going to look. I've chosen to embrace my age. I'm a mother, and a grandmother . . . I've earned these lines around my eyes, dammit!

So what's an aging author to do?  She changes her writing style. 

It all started while writing the last installment of the Cathryn and Zachary stories I created for the Seasons of Love anthology series. Cathryn's mom, Ellen, widowed but still a very vibrant woman, begins dating again, and eventually remarries. At the end of Full Circle Christmas, Zachary's father, John Michael, makes an appearance and sees an old classmate of his, one he'd had a crush on back in junior high. I had so much fun writing the subplot stories of these characters, because I could relate to them easier. I decided to run with it.

Thus, the birth of a brand new series in a baby boomer style genre, Prime of Love. Book one, "Running Out Of Rain", continues with John Michael Ferguson's story, as well as his old classmate, Cynthia Ellender. The story deals with the loss of spouses, of parents, of siblings, and the reemergence of old friendships and new loves. While I don't have erotically described sex scenes, the heat is still present. The older characters, namely John Michael's dad, J.D. Ferguson, add a great deal of humor to the stories in this series, something I'm getting better at writing. 

So, if you're looking for something just a little different, check out my Prime of Love series.

Eventually, all storms break for a little sunshine . . .

Prime of Love Series Book 1: Running Out Of Rain

Which led to Book Two, "Hanging On To Hope", the story of John Michael's first cousin, Clay Andrews, who meets Cynthia's younger sister, Allie Sarver. 

Sometimes you need to lose all hope in order to find true strength . . .

Prime of Love Series Book 2: Hanging On To Hope

So, embrace your "maturity", and accept that books about mature relationships don't necessarily have to rule out romance, or passion, or love.

As a matter of fact, loving after fifty has never been so damn good.