Happy Ground Hog's Day How it began.

 

The First Celebration

Punxsutawney Phil is the focal point of the oldest and largest annual Groundhog Day celebration, held in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. According to groundhog.org, 1886 marked the first time that Groundhog Day appeared in Punxsutawney newspaper, but 1887 was the first time the official trek to Gobbler’s Knob took place.

   The date of the celebration coincides with the medieval feast of Candlemas, and its pre-Christian predecessor, Imbolc, a day also rich in folklore. An old Scottish prophecy foretells that sunny weather on Candlemas means a long winter. 

                      

How Does The Almanac Do It?

The Farmers’ Almanac uses a mathematical and astronomical formula to make long-range weather predictions, not folklore. They look at sunspot activity, tidal action of the Moon, positions of the planets, and many other factors to carefully craft a year’s worth of weather forecasts. Fans of the Almanac say our weather forecasts are accurate 80-85% of the time.

Free read at NetGalley Break Heart Canyon

 

                                

                               Available through January 2023

                                Go here to request review

Unearthing artifacts in Colorado sounded like easy money to Ryker Landry. Then he met the woman who owned the land.

Una MacLaren vows no fortune hunter will desecrate the ancient relics of Break Heart Canyon—even if the man is a handsome scoundrel. Fighting to keep her goat farm afloat as local cattlemen hatch deadly schemes to make sure she fails, Una has enough to worry about.

Captivated by the courageous redhead, Ryker joins forces with Una and her deerhound, MacTavish. But what does he desire most—the woman or the artifacts?

When the mythical white cougar again prowls the rocky cliffs, the legend of Break Heart Canyon draws them into a web of danger. Only daring and blind trust can save them. 

                                  Go here to request review

#freeread #NetGalleyreaders #Westernromance 

Book signing December 17th at Used Book Emporiaum

  Books make great stocking stuffers and the Used Book Emporium has something for everyone. Please stop by on Saturday December 17th between noon and 2 PM and meet authors Betty LaValle and Gini Rifkin and checkout their latest releases. 

               346 Main St, Longmont, Colorado   

             

  Professional photographer, author, and artist Betty LaVelle will be there to sign her newest book released in November, The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar. Rooster Rockstar is a lively collection of poetry, photography and art illustrated in vivid color. Several photographs in this recent work are of areas surrounding Longmont. The book's smaller size and colorful cover make it a great holiday gift.    

                  

    Gini Rifkin, an award-winning Colorado author who has written 15 books of romance and adventure, will have available her latest release Break Heart Canyon together with two of her other western novels: Undercover Outlaw & Trapper's Moon. 

 Undercover Outlaw won the Beverley Award from Colorado Romance Writers for best historical of the year. 

  Come meet and chat with Betty and Gini and stroll the aisles in the cozy, vintage-built bookstore selling both brand new, used, and specialty-ordered books.

                       #booksigning #Breakheartcanyon #usedbookemporium 

Five Stars for Break Heart Canyon from Reader's Favorite

Break Heart Canyon had my attention from the first page until the last. I was captivated by the story and could not put it down.

historicalwesternromance #breakheartcanyon #Readersfavorite

Thank you, Alma Boucher at Reader's Favorite

Break Heart Canyon by Gini Rifkin is a romance combined with myth and legend. Ryker Landry is looking for the ancient relics of Break Heart Canyon, and Una MacLaren owns the land. She vows to protect the relics and keep them safe. She does not allow any trespassers and chases Ryker off her land with a rifle.

The local men do not want Una to succeed with her farm. They will do anything to make sure Una fails. Una is struggling to keep her goat farm and teams up with Ryker to help her. She is not sure if he wants to help her or is only after the relics.

Ryker's and Una’s lives are in danger and only trust can save them. Rumors are doing the rounds about the legend of the white cougar in Break Heart Canyon.

Break Heart Canyon had my attention from the first page until the last. I was captivated by the story and could not put it down. I just kept reading and did not want to miss anything. I was fascinated by the legends and enjoyed the mystery surrounding them. Gini Rifkin intertwined romance and historical facts to write this beautiful story. Her writing is excellent and descriptive. The events were described in detail. I was transported into a world of ancient relics and legends where the past and present meet. It was done superbly and naturally. The characters were well-developed and strong. The romance between Una and Ryker was handled excellently, and it was realistic. They were my favorite characters. I did not see the ending coming. It was a pleasant surprise.

Available here

HO HO HO December book giveaway starts now.

                Enter N.N. Lights December giveaway, 

                         there are over 30 prizes!

                              Go here to enter 

     You could win a copy of my Medieval Romance                                     Iron Heart

England: circa. 879 A.D. In the time of King Alfred the Great 

With the heart of a warrior and the soul of a poet, Faran Kilbraun travels far from home in search of the sword and shield of his ancestors. Protecting the ancient relics was his responsibility. Now, to regain his honor, he must recover the stolen artifacts and battle a life-long enemy. 

Following the accidental death of her cruel husband, Leanora Wrenn is wrongly accused of his murder. Forced into exile, a small north shore island becomes her place of refuge, exoneration her only hope. 

When Faran discovers Leanora's remote sanctuary, both their lives are changed forever. Destined to become comrades-in-arms, they fight side by side. Ending up in one another’s arms, will they find redemption and love?

   Go here to enter 

Baby lamb, so cute.

 Had the fun experience of feeding a 2 week old lamb, named Mikey. Rescued by my friend, Carol, who has a heart as big as the Great Outdoors. Lucky little fellow landed in the right place. He'll have a good life now. 

In my new release Break Heart Canyon, 

my Scottish heroine raises Angora Goats!

https://books2read.com/u/mqExL6

Happy Holidays 

#lambs, #westernromance

Five stars for The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar by Betty LaVelle

                                

The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar   

Available here

   Betty Lavelle’s new book, The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar, reaches out and captures the world around us in stunning prose and glorious photographs and artwork. Every emotion is given a nod, from the joy of rare everlasting love, to the deepest heartfelt sorrow of great loss. The selections of unique and relevant photos and paintings accompanying the poetry are spot on, and many are of her own creation as her talent carries over from pen to brush. Her poems move smoothly from thought provoking, to memory inducing, to comforting and a sense of joy.  

A true master of this genre of literature, Betty Lavelle has the beautiful ability to says so much with so few words.

 The Reprise of Rooster Rockstar  

Available here

                               

                         Also available by Betty LaVelle

       

The Demise of Rooster Rockstar: Selected Poetry, Photography, and Art

Available here

A spirited collection of poetry, photography, and artwork that chronicles the author's deeply-felt reflections on the themes of life, love, togetherness, and loss. Sometimes enigmatic, often humorous, the eclectic offerings in this little book are filled with generosity, warmth, humanity... and hard-won resilience. Encounters with beauty and tragedy, visits to foreign homelands, musings on the virtues of popcorn, even a eulogy to a noble cockerel are stitched together into a truly unique quilt-work of appreciation: sometimes it is the hidden joy within, and not the rooster, that causes the sun to rise! Featuring poems, photographs, and artwork by Betty LaVelle, poems by James LaVelle, and photographs by Katarina Orel. 

Butterflies, Scarabs, and Secrets 

available here

Butterflies, Scarabs and Secrets tells the almost mythical story of Clayton Dougherty, a talented young traveler who interpreted the world's otherness—the bombardment of the strange we so often take for granted—in hidden works of art. With intrigue, humor and a new assignment of meanings, Dougherty quietly built a world that he could understand. At his death, his mother discovered her beloved son's artistic accomplishments tucked in the pages of his 2,000 books. Journey with him, through his mother's eyes, in this biography of a secret artist. Through drawings, collages and art boxes—lovingly gathered—experience the marvelous mysterious works of Clayton Blair Dougherty.

Betty LaVelle is a photographer, poet, and the author of "Butterflies, Scarabs and Secrets," an autobiography of Clayton Blair Dougherty and his artwork. This book was chosen to become a reference book as part of The Western History Collection at the Denver Public Library. The collection is recognized as one of the most significant of Western Americana in the country and reflects all phases of development of the trans-Mississippi West. Betty is also the author of "The Demise of Rooster Rockstar," a spirited collection of her poetry, art, and photography. She is presently working on a new book, "Don’t Tell Mary."