Crowing about roosters — Kandy Shepherd

“Do you think we have enough rooster and chicken stuff in this kitchen?” my husband asked when my new placemats arrived in the mail.

Perfect for my country-style kitchen (even hubby agrees!)

He made me think. When we first bought our little farm, the country-style kitchen had a very cute border tile of farmyard poultry that we loved. It seemed to be a good starting point for decorating the room.

The kitchen tiles that started it all

Our friends certainly thought so. Our first rooster-themed things were gifts—ornaments and dishtowels.

Italian, but purchased in San Francisco when the Romance Writers of America conference was there

I enthusiastically picked up on the theme. I’m a lover of gadgets and knick-knacks anyway, and love to bring back souvenirs of my travels. So over the last few years the collection has grown.

The gorgeous girl in the middle was bought in Reno, Nevada when the RWA conference was held there, and came home in my hand luggage on the plane

Two years ago, a house fire destroyed most of our kitchen and severely smoke-damaged everything else in the cottage. Most of those border tiles went, only a row around the chimney breast (we have an old-fashioned wood stove in the kitchen) remained. Try as we could to find those tiles to use in the rest of the kitchen, they couldn’t be replaced.

I use this cute timer often, I found her in Mendocino, California when I was doing location research

Thankfully the other chicken-themed stuff remained. I like them even more knowing they survived the fire.

Bowl from a flea market, eggs courtesy of our chickens

The latest purchase is some beautiful placemats and coasters, exactly what I want for my wooden table. They’re easy to clean and look smart. I love them!

I didn't need it,  I just thought it looked cute by the fireplace! 

I’m sharing some of my treasures here today, but there are others. Too many? I don’t think so. My eye is too easily caught by a rooster or two. (And yes, I am writing a story with a rooster in it!)

We have real chickens, too. Thirteen Isa Browns at the moment who look wonderful in the yard and give us beautiful brown eggs—perhaps my favorite chicken-themed items of all!

Meet Ginger, we rescued her from the jaws of a fox and my daughter nursed her back to health

I have friends who collect owls, dolphins and cats. My daughter loves anything with Audrey Hepburn on it. It makes gift-giving so easy! What about you? Do you have a favorite theme for collecting? Anything unusual? A theme you’ve grown tired of? Please leave a comment—I’d love to hear about it!

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary women's fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers. 

Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Watch out for her first release from Harlequin Romance in 2014.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Read and eat—Kandy Shepherd

Reading and eating good food are two of my favorite past-times. Combine them and I’m in heaven. I’m not talking about nibbling on chocolate as I read (my guiltiest of guilty pleasures!) but of visiting a wonderful bookstore that has a really good café or restaurant—or vice-versa.

Browse books between courses at Berkelouw Book Barn

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting two Australian venues that combined food and books in a most appealing way. First was the Berkelouw Book Barn at Berrima, in the Southern Highlands of NSW.

Second was the Whileaway Bookshop & Café in the tropical far-north Queensland resort town of Port Douglas. (Last year I also visited some wonderful bookstore/cafes in California but, unfortunately, didn’t take down the names or take photos.)

Snack and choose books at Whileaway Bookshop & Cafe

I’m the first to put my hand up for the pleasure of e-book reading. The convenience and portability has me hooked. I love seeing a novel that interests me in an on-line book store, and reading it on my iPad or Kindle just a few minutes later. I like being able to transport lots of books on one device, too.

Lunch every bit as pleasurable as the books (Berkelouw Book Barn)

But there’s something about paper-and-ink books—I’m resisting the terms “real” or “old-fashioned”—that still has me hooked. I still love the experience of visiting a bricks-and-mortar bookstore and browsing the shelves. To be able to savor both that experience and a delicious lunch, is very appealing.

An old-fashioned book press

The Berkelouw Book Barn in the grounds of the Bendooley Estate is renowned for its fine offerings of new, secondhand and antiquarian books. But my last two visits there were prompted by lunch at the new Bendooley Bar and Grill. The barn is a huge, open space with cathedral ceilings, exposed timber beams and stone fireplaces. 

So simple, so delicious at the cafe at Berkelouw

The restaurant offers first-rate contemporary cuisine, stylishly presented. What fun to order lunch and browse the books between courses. Both times I’ve visited, I’ve gone away with a stack of new books and memories of an excellent meal.

Lots of popular fiction at Whileaway

I came across the delightful Whileaway Bookstore & Café on a short vacation—recommended for good coffee and food. Both cafe and bookstore were convivial, well-stocked, and with friendly service. Again I really enjoyed the experience of being able to browse books and enjoy good food.

If this is a way to keep independent bookstores flourishing, I’m all for it! What about you? What do you think of bookstore/cafes? Have you any recommendations? Do you worry you’ll spill coffee all over your new book? Do you prefer e-books to print books? Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary womens fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available now at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers.

Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Roses, roses, roses - Kandy Shepherd

My rose garden is glorious right now—and I’m reveling in it. In my part of Down Under it’s autumn, and this is the second flush to follow the first burst of blooms in spring—though I’ve had roses in the garden all through summer.

There's something special about a perfect, pink rose!

For several years, I was the editor of a gardening magazine. I sent photographers and writers to beautiful gardens all over Australia. Sadly, I rarely got to leave my desk to see them for myself. When the images came in, I’d “ooh” and “ah” along with the rest of the office. My favorites were always the large country gardens with lots of roses—and boy did I envy the owners!

At last! My very own country rose garden...

I still can’t believe my luck in now having a country rose garden of my own. We bought our little farm to keep horses (my daughter’s passion) but the bonus was that it came with a beautiful garden planted with lots and lots of roses.

Miss Cindy thinks she's way more beautiful than any rose!

There are other beautiful plants, too, in fact we have flowers all year round thanks to the foresight of the lovely lady who sold us the house.

We planted Double Delight for its heady scent

 Although we “inherited” most of the roses, we’ve also planted new plants of our own choice. We didn’t just choose for looks, we also considered perfume. In full bloom, the scent wafting inside from the roses is intoxicating!

I don't know the name of this David Austin English rose but isn't it beautiful?

 On the gardening magazine, we interviewed rose experts from all over the world. Some roses were recommended over and over again: Lamarque, a white climber that has been delighting gardeners since 1830; Gold Bunny (who couldn’t love a rose named after the Lindt chocolate Easter bunny!); Zephirine Drouhin, a shocking pink climber with a sensational scent; Pierre de Ronsard, an exquisite pink cabbage-rose; New Dawn, a vigorous climber.

Zepherine Drouhin really is that color

I’m pleased to say they’re all in my garden—along with a wonderful collection of David Austin English roses which I am gradually identifying.

New Dawn clambers over the arch

And we don't just enjoy them outside—there's also the joy of bringing them inside the house, by the bucket load at their peak. No way could I ever afford such lavish bunches of roses from a florist!

A selection from my garden picked a few weeks ago

Of course abundant roses don’t come without some work. Pruning all those roses is a big job, but thankfully my husband has become interested and tackles most of it.

They look beautiful inside as well as in the garden

Fertilizing is important—roses are described as “gross feeders” which really does sound gross, doesn’t it? Our horses and miniature Dexter steers help out there—sometimes by direct deposit into the garden bed when my husband lets them into the garden to enjoy long grass!

Thanks Toby for help with fertilizer!

With all this interest in roses, I guess it was inevitable I would call a heroine “Rose”. In my latest release Reinventing Rose,  the heroine’s gardening-crazy father names her Rose and her sister Daisy. (If he'd had a son, he would have called him Bud.)

Of course Rose tires of references asking does she see the world through rose-colored glasses, is she blooming, etcetera, etcetera. But she is perhaps guilty of viewing her parents’ marriage through rose-colored glasses and has to come to terms with some surprising truths in the book before she can get her complicated love life on track and get her happy-ever-after ending.

What about you? Do you like roses—or do you think they’re over-rated? Is another flower your favorite? Has anyone ever surprised you with flowers for a special occasion? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment for a chance to win a free download of Reinventing Rose.

Don’t forget to include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary womens fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available for $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple, Kobo, Smashwords, and other e-book retailers.

Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Curly v straight—the great debate - Kandy Shepherd

Do you have curly hair you wish was sleek and straight? Or straight hair you wish fell to your shoulders in glorious waves? And what about the color? Happy with your brown/blond/black/red? Or always wanting to change it?

Straight or curly - is anyone ever happy with their hair?

Personal observation and years working in womens magazines tells me there are many of us not happy with the hair nature gave us. I have dead straight hair that is healthy and easy to manage. But I’ve always fancied having wavy hair. Suffice to say, I can’t bear to look at the photos of the three disastrous perms I’ve had in misguided efforts to get that longed-for wavy hair! A friend has repeatedly told me: “If you ever get the urge to have a perm again, call me first.” For a curl-avoiding intervention.

I loathed my auburn (okay, ginger!) hair when I was young but it darkened as I got older and though I threatened to dye it black, I never actually did.

And then there are people with wavy hair who do anything they can to straighten it. Reverse perms. Straightening irons. Even real irons—one friend burned her ear while trying to iron her hair on an ironing board with a steam iron.

It takes work to turn curly hair into straight - and vice-versa. 

Harlequin Desire author Paula Roe, was blessed with naturally curly hair. But last month Paula decided to go straight for the first time in a sleek, sophisticated new look. “It’s surprising how different it looks,” says Paula. “I’m told I look younger and it definitely feels more swishy. But it’s temporary—I could never do away with my curls.” I think Paula looks gorgeous both ways!

Harlequin Desire author Paula Roe with naturally curly hair.

Here's Paula with her hair all  sleek and straight.

For years, my “day job” was as a womens magazine editor. One aspect of the role I particularly loved was working on reader makeovers—coordinating with hairdressers, makeup artists, fashion stylists and photographers to transform everyday women into their look-best selves. The experience inspired me to write about a girl who wants to reinvent herself and hopes a “me makeover” will help solve all her problems. (Of course real change takes more than new hair and makeup!)

One of my favorite makeover movies is The Princess Diaries - here the transformation process for the Anne Hathaway character starts with having her riotous curls tamed into sleekness.

Rose, the heroine of my new contemporary womens fiction release Reinventing Rose, starts the book with wild wavy locks, “the kind combs get lost in.” She feels “like an extra from The Lion King.” Rose jumps at the opportunity to have her hair permanently straightened for a magazine makeover. I had such fun taking Rose into the hairdresser and the studio for her makeover scenes. Especially when she meets a handsomer-than-handsome photographer who may or may not end up being her dream-come-true hero…

What about you? Are you happy with your hair the way it is? Any interesting/disastrous/fabulous hairdresser experiences to share? I’d love to hear from you! Leave a comment for a chance to win a free download of Reinventing Rose. Don’t forget to include your email address if you want to be in the draw.

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

Her new contemporary womens fiction e-book, Reinventing Rose, is available for $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble,  Smashwords, Kobo and other e-book retailers. Kandy’s romances include the Amazon bestseller The Castaway Bride, Something About Joe, and the award-winners Love is a Four-Legged Word and Home Is Where the Bark Is.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Photos courtesy of

Blond model

© Siraragorn | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Ginger

http://designspiration.net/image/187546891805/

Brunette model

© Vedmochka | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images

Paula Roe 

© Disney Enterprises