Oct 31, 2017

"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble."





He glanced over, studied a small group of people on the opposite side of the street. They were decked in flowing robes and weighed down with silver chains and crystal pendants.

“Amateurs,” he commented.
“They’re harmless.”
“We could call up a storm, turn the street into a meadow. Give them a real thrill.”



Face the Fire




___________________


The history of Halloween


By Cindy - Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3019244



Oct 30, 2017

Missing 42 Years





In her mind, Alice had stayed the pretty, wild-natured young girl who’d run off to be a movie star.
That pretty young girl, and all the stages of that girl before that day.
The little girl in frilly dresses and cowboy boots. The fretful baby she’d rocked late at night. The
defiant teenager, the child who’d crawled into bed with her seeking comfort from a bad dream.
The woman in the bed with the bruised face, the dull and graying hair, the hard lines dug in around
her mouth and eyes bore little resemblance to those precious images.
Still, Cora thought, she recognized her daughter.




Come Sundown





______________





Police Find Woman Missing 42 Years — But Mystery Remains


Police have "solved" a decades-old missing person case — but the woman who vanished so long ago now has dementia and can't explain her own disappearance.







______________





“Every once in a while something—someone—peeks out from the trauma.




Come Sundown





Oct 27, 2017

“To own, Mr. DiCarlo, is everything.”







“Do you collect?”
“In a manner of speaking.” He set the figurine down and his old, shrewd eyes swept the display, pricing, cataloging, dismissing. “I’m Tom Ashworth. Got a shop here in Front Royal.” He took a business card from his breast pocket and offered it to Dora. “Accumulated so much stuff over the years, it was open a shop or buy a bigger house.”


Hidden Riches




________________






By Glenda Green - Own work, CC BY 3.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16068782



17 Things You Won’t Believe People Actually Collect







________________







“People collect, Skimmerhorn. Often they don’t even realize it. Didn’t you ever have marbles as a boy, or comic books, baseball cards?”
“Sure.” He’d had to hide them, but he’d had them.
She lined the box with tissue, working quickly, competently. “And didn’t you ever trade your cards?” She glanced up to find him staring down at her hands.
“Sure I did,” he murmured. His gaze lifted, locked on hers. He’d felt something watching her work that had gone straight to the gut like a hot arrow. “Just like you played with dolls.”
“Actually, I didn’t” She couldn’t quite manage a smile. For a moment there, he’d looked as though he could’ve taken her in one quick bite. “I never liked them much. I preferred imaginary playmates, because you could change them into any character you wanted at the time.” With more care than necessary she fit the lid with its gold-embossed DORA’S PARLOR onto the box. “What I was getting at is that most children collect and trade. Some people never grow out of it.


Hidden Riches




Oct 25, 2017

Nora saw it coming





Fahid studied the matawain who shouted at the lone woman and shoved her roughly out of the suq. He disapproved of such things, but he was not yet king. "It is sometimes difficult to find the balance between what is best in your world and what is best in my own. If Jaquir is to survive more progress, more compromise will be necessary. The laws of Islam cannot change, the traditions of men must."


Sweet Revenge



________________________




Saudi Arabia's crown prince promises to lead his country 'back to moderate Islam'


Oct 24, 2017

Home




He was dead tired, and happy as hell to be home at last. The final leg of the journey had seemed interminable. Being on American soil again after six months hadn't been enough. When Nathan had landed in New York, the first real flood of impatience had struck. He was home, yet not home. 
For the first time in months he had allowed himself to think of his own house, his own bed. His own private sacrosanct space.


Loving Jack



_____________________


But I want to go home
May be surrounded by a million people I,
Still feel all alone

I want to go home








_____________________




He drew her close. Her scent, so needed, was all around him. 
It was only then that he understood that you could come home even without the familiar walls.

Loving Jack




Oct 20, 2017

Women like men's hands


With a slight frown she skimmed her gaze over the tabletop until it rested on his hands.
Good God, she thought with a jolt, they were beautiful. The wrists were narrow, giving a
sense not of weakness but of graceful strength and capability. The backs of his hands were
deeply tanned and unmarred, long and lean, as were his fingers. The nails were short and
straight. Masculine was her first thought, then delicate came quickly on the tail of it.
Gennie could picture the hands holding a flute just as easily as she could see them
wielding a saber.
For a moment she forgot the rest of him in her fascination with his hands, and her reaction
to them. She felt the stir but didn’t suppress it. She was certain any woman who saw those
romantic, exquisite hands would automatically wonder just what they would feel like on
her skin. Impatient hands, clever. They were the kind that could either rip the clothes off a
woman or gently undress her before she had any idea what was happening.
When a thrill Gennie recognized as anticipation sprinted up her spine, she caught herself.
What was she thinking of!


One Man's Art


_____________________





By Dante Gabriel Rossetti - 
http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk/bmag/whats-on/print-room-visit-pre-raphaelite-drawings – 
image, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44753479





Women across the Twitterverse are drooling over a male body part that is not what you might expect. In a viral Twitter thread called “For females that like hands,” men are posting photos of their hands, giving women something “safe for work” to admire and appreciate.


YAHOO!



_____________________




He must do something physical with his
hands, she thought fleetingly. His weren't the palms of a paper-pusher. The edge in her
voice was calculated to combat the attraction and the vulnerability that went with it.


All the Possibilities


(The MacGregor's)

Oct 18, 2017

Dear Husband is at it again




I have a problem!

Dear husband is reading the last trilogy I have available in Portuguese - and says he won't read in English or French.

Some time ago I stopped reading and buying books from Nora in my language. They wouldn't come as quick as Nora was writing it - and when I started Nora had already published so many I wanted to read that the solution was to buy them in any language I could read - and (you know the feeling!!!) I just couldn't wait for the Portuguese version.

He's now reading Margo and Josh story in Daring to Dream. And enjoying it too much for my peace of mind facing the dilemma of no-more-Nora-in-PT. 

I never expected him to enjoy so much when I gave him the first one. He followed through my collection as my mind wouldn't allow me to go through a Box of Godiva 😉

(I assure you that one of his Christmas gifts will be a set from Nora Books I always wanted to have and wouldn't buy when having already. I can hear you thinking "win-win situation for her". In Love, War... and Nora books... all's fair)

Oct 13, 2017

Book Nooks





"I keep them here and there around the house, so if you're in the mood, you don't have to go far.

 A book's a pleasant thing to have nearby."


Born in Shame


___________________





Put the beach reads away; these comfy spaces are creating a fall reading list. What books do they suggest to you?







___________________




My suggestions of Nora Novels for each of these rooms:




The Search 
(Fiona's Home once she tears that kitchen wall down. 
The suggested solarium turned into a reading nap and cuddle nook)

A good, generous window would give you a view into the woods.
Maybe wide-planked floors. You’d have room for a table if you wanted an alternate to eating in the

kitchen.”




The Return of Rafe MacKade
(Rafe's home)

"Faintly the scent of paint stirred in the air. But she thought the room was
waiting to be lived in."




Once More with Feeling
(Brand's home in Cornwall)

"Raven had felt an instant affinity for the house, She liked the muffled
roar of the sea outside her window and the breathtaking view."




Home for Christmas
(Jason's home)

""Hong Kong." The widow pursed her lips as she arranged cookies on a plate. "You've been to all your
places, Jason. Were they as exciting as you thought?""





Sacred Sins
(Teresa's home)

"It was a room that reflected the senator’s background and, Ben realized, Tess’s.
Comfortable wealth, a knowledge of art and style."




For Now, Forever
(Daniel MacGregor's home, before Anna)

"The first time I walked into the bedroom, I saw how little of yourself was there."




Chasing Fire
(Ella's Home)

"It was big, he noted, and all open so one space sort of spilled casually into the next. He didn’t
know much—or anything, really—about decorating, but it felt like it looked. Bright, happy,
relaxed."




Northern Lights
(Meg's Home)

"The position of the pillows and
throw on the sofa told him she'd had a nap in front of the fire at some point."

   



Born in Shame
(Murphy's Home)

"He explained the raftered
ceiling, and the little room off the right where his mother still liked
to sew when she came to visit."

   



 Reflections
(Ruth's bedroom at Seth's home)

"Two days later Ruth sat on the couch, a child on each side of her. She read aloud from one of Justin's books. Nijinsky dozed in a patch of sunlight on the floor. She was feeling more settled.
She should have known that she would find exactly what she had needed at the Cliff House."




True Betrayals
(Gabe's Home)

"She followed him through a wide arch into a living area. This too opened into another room
through archways. Glass doors invited the night inside."




Obsession
(Naomi's home)

"“You don’t want all your books in one
place anyway. We should scatter some
around.”"




Born in Shame
(a reading nook for Shannon's bedroom at Brie's home)

"The room was more than anything Shannon could have expected.
Wide and airy with a charming window seat set under the sloping
eaves"




Second Nature
(Hunter's home)

"She hadn't expected anything so, well, normal in Hunter Brown's home. The living room
was airy, sunny in the afternoon light. Cheerful. Yes, Lee realized, that was precisely the
word that came to mind. No shadowy corners or locked doors."

   



For The Love of Lilah
(Lilah's Books&Naps' Nook)

"She liked long naps, classical music and her aunt's elaborate desserts. When
the mood struck her, she could sit, sprawled in a chair, prodding little details of his
life from him. Or she could curl up in a sunbeam like a cat, blocking him and
everything else around her out of her thoughts while she drifted into one of her private
daydreams."

   

Oct 12, 2017

Some people love animals and others couldn't care less

Tawney patted his knee, inviting Bogart over. “Good dog. What’s the problem, Erin?”
“I don’t like dogs.”
They’d only been partners a few months and were still learning each other’s quirks and rhythms.
“What’s not to like?”
“Dog breath, shedding, big, sharp teeth.” Bogart’s tail whipped her legs as Tawney rubbed him.
Mantz got to her feet, moved out of range.


The Search




_______________







By yeowatzup from Katlenburg-Lindau, Germany - Chatuchak Weekend Market, Bangkok, Thailand, CC BY 2.0, 
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24520598





Some people are into pets, however, while others simply aren’t interested. Why is this the case? It is highly probable that our desire for the company of animals actually goes back tens of thousands of years and has played an important part in our evolution. If so, then genetics might help explain why a love of animals is something some people just don’t get.








_______________




He has a new partner.
She’s striking—sort of like the TV version of FBI. She doesn’t like dogs.” 
She bent down to kiss Peck between the ears. “Doesn’t know what she’s missing. Anyway.”


The Search

Oct 10, 2017

Happy Birthday Nora!






"It wouldn't be a Black Forest cake, would it? Double chocolate?"
"Just you wait and see. Scat!"
Laura waited until she was well down the hallway before she chuckled. It would be a Black Forest cake.
Mrs. Williamson might be a tad forgetful these days, and her hearing wasn't what it had been. But vital matters such as Laura's traditional birthday meal would be remembered in every detail.



Finding the Dream



__________________






DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BLACK FOREST CAKE




__________________






Happy Birthday Nora!




Oct 9, 2017

"Different roads sometimes lead to the same Castle" (Jon Snow)





Giff slid his hand into his pocket, fingered the small box he'd tucked there. 
"I had different plans for doing this. But I don't think I've ever loved you more than I do right this second."
He tugged the box out of his pocket, watching her eyes go huge and wide as he flipped open the lid with his thumb. The little diamond centered on the thin gold band winked out points of fire in the sun.
"Marry me, Alexa."
Her heart swelled and butted against her ribs. Her eyes misted so that the light shooting from the diamond refracted and blinded her. Her hand trembled as she pressed it to her mouth.
"Oh, how could you! How could you spoil it all this way?" Spinning around, she thumped the hammer against the edge of the wood.
"Like I said," he murmured, "you're always a surprise to me. You want me to put it away until we have candlelight and moonbeams?"


Sanctuary


_____________________







Kit Harington Adorably Fumbled His Proposal to Game of Thrones Co-Star Rose Leslie




Kit Harington and Rose Leslie only just got engaged, but Game of Thrones fans memorably watched the two actors engage in an iconic romance on the show before they announced that they were a real-life couple. But while Jon Snow eventually won Ygritte over with his smoothness, Harington's actual wedding proposal was pretty much an accident.



_____________________


“You want flowers and candlelight, a ring in my pocket?” He’d meant to give them to her. The fact that he’d rushed his fences only infuriated him more.


True Betrayals


Oct 6, 2017

Nora Roberts' characters are Eternal




"Go there, get it, come back," 
Malachi repeated as a gritty-eyed  Gideon gulped down a second cup of morning coffee.


Three Fates



________________________________________________




Happines 2  

 

Two cups of coffee a day cuts 

overall risk of dying by 10 percent







How good is coffee for your health? 


 

>CBS NEWS<

 

 

 

______________________________________________________________







“Sex might satisfy, food might fuel, love might sustain, 
but without coffee, what is the point?”



Heart of the Sea

 

Oct 5, 2017

Little Things

“I think you should come out to dinner with me. I’ve a place in mind you’ll like, very much.”
“Out to dinner? And what sort of place would this be?”
“A very fancy place. Romantic and elegant, and where the food is a god.”


Blood Magick



__________________





By Simon_sees from Australia - Glasses, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=24470471




20 Little Things That Make Women In Relationships Smile From Ear To Ear






__________________


“I need a hug. A really long, hard hug. Crack my ribs, will you, Simon?”
He put his arms around her, gave her what she needed short of snapping bones. Then he kissed the top of her head, her temples, her mouth.

“Better, better.” She sighed it out.


The Search