Every Thanksgiving Day my family and I gather at my parents’ home for dinner. After we’ve feasted on the delicious meal my mom prepared with love, my dad reads a few scriptures from the bible. After the reading of the word each family member shares why they are thankful. Usually everyone gathered around the table are thankful for God’s love, family, friends, health, so on and so on.

It is at this time of the year I begin to reflect on the meaning of this holiday season. What does it mean to be truly thankful?  Am I only thankful for the “big” blessings? The house, the car, the raise at work, etc.

After much reflection and honest soul searching I can admit that there are so many blessings that I’ve neglected to give thanks. It’s the simple little things like the smell of fresh flowers in springtime, the adorable chubby baby who blesses me with the brightest, toothless smile or my baby girl wanting to snuggle up and watch television with me.

Though these things are simplistic, there are so many folks who would give anything to have these experiences. Just imagine if you couldn’t smell a rose, see the smile of an innocent baby or feel the warmth of a child or a loved one.

This holiday season I’m making a conscience decision to give thanks not for just the big things, but the little things. What are you thankful for?

Victoria

        

Wishing you all God's wonderful
blessings on this beautiful day!

                                                             



Happy Mother's Day

                               

        

Hey Good People!

I know it's been a few weeks, but I've been mad crazy busy! My family and I are undergoing some major changes. One of them being home remodeling. Dust is everywhere and my allergies are going insane!

Anywho, sorry for the rant. Since my last posting I've read a new author by the name of Gay G. Gunn. Her book Everlastin' Love was such a poignant love story about a young woman whose husband goes missing  during the Vietnam war. If you're going to read this one, get the tissues ready.  After ready something so intense, I was back to my warm and good feeling stuff. Josephine by Beverly Jenkins and Secret Love by Brenda Jackson were both really good reads. Finally, I got the chance to read Uncle Jake and Diamond's story. Over the years they've popped up in other Madaris stories. It was quite interesting learning the genesis of their story. I also enjoyed Josephine all grown up and independent. I'm currently reading Bittersweet Love by Rochelle Alers.

Come on and blog with me. Share what you've been reading.


Victoria

        

Good Morning All!

My weekend started off by getting a call from my pastor Friday evening. It's not often that he calls me at home since I see him every Sunday and we're neighbors.  After exchanging the usual pleasantries, Pastor drops the bomb, "I read your new book." Uh-oh 

Not only has this man been my pastor just about my entire life, he's also my spiritual father. So, you can imagine his feedback, whether negative or positive, is going to weigh heavy on me. After a few seconds I say to him, "Okay, what did you think?"

He chuckles, which leads me to chuckle. You see, Pastor and I did this same little dance with my first romance novel. We spent the next ten to fifteen minutes discussing characters and different scenes. The conversation ended with him telling me he was proud of me, enjoyed my story, could see where I grew as an author and how my writing became a little bolder. Of course I knew he was referring to the lovemaking scenes. LOL

Saturday morning was dreary, freezing cold and raining cats and dogs as I drove to my monthly Valley Forge Romance Writers meeting. Though the weather was messy I was glad I went out. One of the authors presented a workshop on how to  do research for writing paranormal romance. Although I don't plan to write a paranormal romance, if I ever decide to do so, I have lots of resources to do the research .

Resurrection morning, my family and I celebrated with our church family the awesome power of God's love and mercy. (I Corinthians 15:3-4 Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and He was buried, and that he rose again the third day.) Later that afternoon, siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews,  grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and in-laws,  gathered at my parents' home for Easter dinner.  Holiday dinners are always filled with the loud, joyful chatter of children ripping and running through the house playing while  the older adults laugh sharing stories of their younger days. Even though we've all heard  these stories a million times growing up,  we sit hanging onto every word. After dinner my immediate family and I headed over to Esther's to see baby Levi-Jacob. He was so cute in his little outfit with bunny ears and a fuzzy tail!  Esther and I behaved. We didn't hold any impromptu concerts! LOL

Come on, don't be shy. How did you spend your weekend?

        

Good Morning,

Welcome to Whatcha reading Wednesday! Every Wednesday I'll be sharing what I'm reading and giving my brief opinion for what it's worth .  For those of you reading my blog, please share what you're reading and why you think it would be an enjoyable read.

I'm currently reading Belle by Beverly Jenkins. Although it's a Young Adult book I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The story is about sixteen year old, Belle Palmer who has escaped to the north with her father and other slaves. When slave catchers descend upon them Belle and her father are separated. After days of wandering in Michigan, Belle is scared, hungry, dirty, and exhausted.
Her suffering comes to an end when her path crosses with that of Daniel and Jojo Best. Immediately the brother and sister  duo takes Belle home to their parents who are abolitionist.

So far I'm three quarters of the way through Belle's story and I'm absolutely enjoying it. For those of you who have young daughters  this is an excellent read. My thirteen year old, Melanie read this back in February and really enjoyed it. What she loved most about the book were the historical events taking place. At school her social studies class was learning about Henry "Box" Brown, a slave who escaped slavery by being shipped from the south to the north in a box. She was totally excited that this historical fact was mentioned in Belle.

So, what are you reading this Wednesday? Please share. You never know, you just might expose someone to a new author.


Victoria

        

Good Morning All!

For those of us who work a Monday thru Friday gig, we live for the weekend. And when the weekend gets here, why does it seem to go by in a blur? 

Any who, on Saturday morning I met with my personal training. Let me tell you, the man tried to kill me! Rushing home I had to wash my hair and get ready for my afternoon book signing at Borders in the Springfield Mall.

The book signing was a success and the staff was wonderful.  I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to some really nice folks. It always amaze me how supportive readers are to new authors. On behalf of all of us newbie authors, "Thanks! We appreciate the love!"

Sunday morning rolled around and I did not want to get up out of bed. My plan was to stay in bed a little longer, skip church and go to the mall. After all, I go to church every Sunday without missing a beat. Missing one Sunday wouldn't hurt.
 
My hubby put a nice little dent in my plan. When he expressed he was going to church without me, I came to my senses. How dare I even think about staying home on Sunday morning after God had blessed me all week.

Let me tell you when I got to church it was on! The spirit was moving! The choir rocked the temple of the Lord and Pastor delivered a powerful word from on high. As I'm sitting next to my husband, caught up in the service, I thanked God for him. It was his unspoken encouragement which led me to the house the Lord where my spirit was blessed and refreshed.

After church my hubby, daughter and I made our way to the mall to pick up a few things for myself and my little lady, Miss Melanie. From there we spent time with my best friend Esther, her daughter Marquita and baby Levi-Jacob. While visiting with my family, Esther and I turned on the karaoke machine and put on a pitiful, yet hilarious concert. We laughed so hard, we were crying, doubled over and holding our stomaches.

Sunday night finally comes, I'm winding down and preparing myself for another work week.

What did you do this weekend?

        

                                                                      



Twenty-one years ago today was one of the happiest days of my life. My life would change forever as I entered into the new world of motherhood.

On April 1, 1988 after twenty-eight agonizing hours of labor at 4:28 a.m. Martia Gaye Suzette came bursting on the scene, weighing in at 6lbs. 5oz.  As I held her for the first time I inspected her tiny little body. I breathed a sigh of relief after making sure she was perfect in every way. After gently kissing her on the forehead I handed her over to my husband, her daddy.

Over the years raising Miss Martia has been quite an adventure. As a baby, she had a quiet temperament. Only time she cried was if hungry or needed changing. I suppose this may have been because while pregnant I would read to her from the book of Psalms and Proverbs.

Somewhere around the age of ten months Martia discovered she had a voice that could shatter glass. For hours she would bounce in her walker entertaining herself with her voice. This drove me absolutely crazy! LOL. Little did I know she would grow up to have a five and a half octave rang voice and sing Ava Maria so beautifully at church one Sunday morning she received a standing ovation.

As I spent the day with my daughter at a posh day spa being pampered from head to toe my mind took a wonderful trip down memory lane. Memories like the ones I mentioned above vividly danced in my mind. Her first step, first day at pre-school, first tooth left for the tooth fairy, trip to Disney World, first day of elementary, middle, high school, and then college all came rushing back. Reliving these precious moments had me repeatedly pulling her into my warm embrace and kissing her like she was that little chubby cheek ten month old all over again.

My mommy instincts whispered to me Martia had also taken a walk down memory lane, too. For each time I showered her with motherly affection she not only accepted it, but reciprocated it as well. As I sit here writing this entry for my blog, she’s curled up in a fetal position on my bed, sleeping like a baby. Although all grown up, she'll always be my baby.

Victoria

 

        

 Although reading romance is my first love, every now and then I stray a wee bit. Back in January I did an interview with APOOO Bookclub and one of the questions pertained to my reading goal(s) for 2009.

Last summer I came across this wonderful used bookstore in Olde City Philadelphia. And what treasures did I find! I found copies of Quicksand and Passing by Nella Larsen, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and Dust Tracks on a Road by Zora Neale Hurston.I had the pleasure of reading Jacob's story for the second time last year as well as Hurston's Their Eyes Were Watching God.

Getting back to my reading goal(s) for 2009. One of my goals was to read novels by female writers from the Harlem Renaissance. Today I started Quicksand by Nella Larsen. I'm totally looking forward to reading the thoughts and feelings of women from that era. I'm curious to know how or if our beliefs have changed.

What about you my fellow romance readers? Have you taken a break from romance? Please share with us what else interest you besides romance.

Victoria

 

        

Mary Eliza Mahoney was born on May 7, 1845 in Dorchester, Massachusetts. At the age of 33 she became the first African American graduate nurse. Mahoney began training as a nurse at New England Hospital. She remained steadfast and endured a 16 month program that was demanding with a difficult course load. The would be class of nurses started out with 40 students, however, only 4 students completed the course work. On August 1, 1879 Mahoney became the first African American to receive a diploma of nursing.

After graduation, Mahoney registered to be a private duty nurse. During this time period in the history of nursing, nurses were expected to perform domestic work as well as their nursing duties. Mahoney elevated the profession of nursing by refusing to work as a domestic. Her commitment to her patients was to provided excellent nursing care. Her skills as a nurse were so legendary that patients from states as far as New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and North Carolina requested her compassionate care.

On January 4, 1926 Mahoney departed this life after suffering with breast cancer. In 1936 the National Association of Colored Graduated Nurses, which she co-founded in 1908, established the Mary Eliza Mahoney Award. In 1951 the NACGN merged with the American Nurses Association which continued the tradition of awarding this prestigious honor.

This Black History month I salute Mary Eliza Mahoney for her courage to stay the course. Because of her, the path she paved made my dream of becoming a nurse a reality.

Who do you salute this month for paving your path?

        

You have no choice but to surrender...


                     

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