Seeds of Inspiration: Author Roseanne Dowell with No Regrets and Giveaway

Welcome multi-genre author Roseanne Dowell to the Seeds of Inspiration Event. Remember to enter to win a copy of Roseanne's e-book, Trouble Comes in Twos, by leaving a comment below. Winner will be chosen after 12:01 Sunday morning.

Now let me tell you a little bit about Roseanne Dowell. She is an avid reader. Roseanne writes various types of romance - paranormal, contemporary, and mystery. She has several books available at Amazon as well as over 40 articles and short stories published in magazines such as Good Old Days, Nostalgia, and Ohio Writer as well as several online publications. Besides teaching writing courses for Long Story School of Writing, she also taught two writing courses for the Encore Program at Cuyahoga Community College.

Roseanne lives in Northeast Ohio where she enjoys life as a wife, mother of six, grandmother of fourteen and great grandmother of two.  When she’s not writing or enjoying her family, Roseanne spends her time with embroidery and quilting, especially combining the two. She also enjoys blogging, tweeting, facebooking and posting on various writers groups. 

Visit Roseanne Dowell at 
her author website  
her blog 

her Facebook page 

No Regrets by Roseanne Dowell

Like most authors, I always loved to read. From my first book, Dick and Jane to the Golden books, I read every chance I had. I grew up reading Nancy Drew mysteries and soon moved on to Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. I was a big fan of Agatha Christie –still love her books, actually.

Ever since I can remember I’ve been writing, even as a teen. I often made up stories and wrote poetry. Of course, I kept a diary/journal. The stationary department of stores always drew me. My favorite places to shop to this day are Office Max and Staples. I have a love affair with paper and pens. I still can’t resist notebooks, especially if they’re on sale. It’s nothing for me to come home with three or four various types of notebooks, file folders, and pens during the school supply sales.

While working as a school secretary, and encouraged by my coworkers, I took a correspondence course -writing for children. It didn’t take long to realize, that even though I had six children, it took someone special to write for them. I also tried my hand at nonfiction, but at the time, didn’t care for it. That’s when I moved on to romance novels and mysteries. Two of my favorite genres. Not that I did anything with those stories. At least not then. They sat in the attic with my poems and journals. Back then we didn’t have computers, let alone the internet. Finding time to write with six children wasn’t easy either and I never submitted anything.

It wasn’t until 2002 while I was at a Book Club meeting, the conversation turned to what we most regretted in our lives. I confessed I hadn’t pursued a career in writing. That’s all it took. My friends convinced me it wasn’t too late. There was only one way to find out, I decided to give it a shot and took another writing course. Part of the course was writing nonfiction, my least favorite genre. Within a couple of months I published my first article in Good Old Days Magazine. I framed a copy of that check. Since then, I’ve had several nonfiction articles published. My first published book in 2006, Satin Sheets, sold over 35,000 copies. Not too bad for a first novel. It’s out of print now and available as an ebook, It’s Only Make Believe. 

As I said previously, I love mystery and romance and often combine the two. I also love the paranormal (ghosts) and incorporate them in a couple of my books, Time to Love Again and Shadows in the Attic. Entangled Minds is a paranormal about ESP.  A firm believer in love at any age, some of my heroines are older women. Time to Love Again, Geriatric Rebels, and Another Day all feature older heroines. I try to insert a bit of humor in most of my stories also.

My latest book, Trouble Comes in Twos, released with Books We Love Publishing was intended as the third book in a Trilogy.  Circumstances beyond my control made me change it into a single book. My inspiration and idea for the book came from a visit to Locust Grove Cemetery in Twinsburg, Ohio. I have a thing for cemeteries, especially old ones, and visit them every opportunity I get. Fortunately my husband indulges my strange habit.

While we were walking around, reading the headstones –something else that intrigues me-- the story idea began forming. The cemetery is located off a main street and set way back from the street. It’s a very small cemetery, and if you didn’t know it was there, you’d drive right past it. We almost missed it the first time we went there. It’s surrounded by stores two sides and a retirement home on another and slopes down a hill. My imagination immediately reacted. What if someone got killed here? How long would it be before someone found the body? The graves in this cemetery are very old, so I doubt too many people visit them anymore.

By the time we got home, my mind was whirling with ideas for the book and before long the first draft was born. Several months later, I was ready to submit.

Trouble Comes in Twos Back of the Book:

After a five year absence, Kate Wesley returns to Twinsburg Ohio to open a florist shop. She’s content with life until Mark Westfield enters the picture. To make matters worse her ex fiancé is back in town, looking to pick up where they left off, and she’s attracted to both men. As if her life isn’t complicated enough, she finds a dead body in the cemetery, the twin sister of the victim shows up and another body is discovered. Can Kate sort through the confusion her life has become or will she become the next victim?

You can find this book as well as all of Roseanne Dowell's books at Amazon

Please leave a comment to enter the drawing to win Trouble Comes in Twos. We love a wave, a hug, high five, or even a giggle. Thank you.

T'is the Season for Forgiveness, Excerpt, Plus This Week

Disney Christmas Lantern Photo by J.Q. Rose

After I finished the last sentence of my mystery, Coda to Murder, and added the final period, I sat back and looked at the page. At that moment I realized I had told a story about forgiveness. I found it odd that I had written about the one subject that is so difficult for me to include in my life. Forgiveness is not the natural human inclination.

It’s easy to carry a grudge within our hardened hearts. Instead of trying to make the horrible burden go away, we seem to feed it and make it grow into hatred that seethes throughout our pores and colors our world black with anger and resentment. 

Withholding forgiveness to someone who hurts us only gives us a false sense of power and control over that person. Not accepting forgiveness from someone who is truly sorry adds bitterness to the situation and further damages the relationship.

Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy, love, and peace. Too often, it turns into a season of hurt and resentment. Memories of those who wronged us bubble up through the wrapping paper and Christmas ornaments. Instead of the Norman Rockwell type family get-togethers, snide remarks, facial expressions, and body language can turn the gathering into a contentious event.

It takes a strong person to be the first to try and reach out and forgive, and a strong person to accept forgiveness. When that happens, the heart soars free of the burden of all the meanness.

Forgiveness isn’t easy. It may take a long time to get a different perspective on the hurt and anguish, but in the end we can try and do the best we can to resolve a relationship and relieve heartache for all parties involved. 

The Christmas season is the time of year when more people are open to giving and receiving forgiveness. If your heart is in despair, this is the moment to take time to make things right and re-connect with the person for all the right reasons. 

# # # #

My main character, Pastor Christine Hobbs, preaches about God’s forgiveness in all things. Even if we don’t feel we are worthy of forgiveness, God’s love and grace is available. All we need to do is sincerely ask.

Christine tries to practice forgiveness in her own life, but a minister is not perfect. Just when she thinks she has come to terms with her husband’s cheating, lying, and eventual abandonment, she discovers she has not forgiven him....yet. 

# # # #

This excerpt is from Coda to Murder when Christine receives a phone call from her ex which starts her stomach churning and her blood boiling.

Pastor Christine Hobbs never imagined 

she would be caring

 for a flock that includes 

a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer.

“So how are you getting along there with your new church position?” Brad's voice moderated. “You may not believe it, but I do think of you and wonder how you are.”

Christine's eyes teared up. He had no idea how much she missed him and hated him at the same time.

“I’m fine. How’re you?”

“Well, as soon as I get this apartment cleaned up, I’ll be happy. What a job. I never knew moving would be so difficult.”

“You’re moving? Where are you going?” She bit her lip. She hated to sound as if she were the least bit interested in his life.

“Nadia and I found a house.” He delivered it like a hot poker through her heart.

He met Nadia while he was away on a lengthy sales trip. She shook her head to erase the dark thoughts in her mind.

“We decided it was such a good deal, we couldn’t pass it up. I’ll send you my new address. It’s a ranch in a subdivision near that greasy spoon cafe we liked to go to. Do you remember that place? Jake’s.” His remarks were so off-handed.

“Oh, yeah.” Christine remembered Jake’s like it was yesterday.

Jake’s was the place where she told Brad she was pregnant with their baby. She remembered the joy in his face and excitement they felt about beginning their family.

She squeezed her eyes closed, trying to blot out the memory of the night she lost her baby girl in the emergency room. She was all by herself because Brad was away on a business trip. He never understood her feeling of loss, so he tried to act like it never happened. The baby wasn’t real to him as she was to her.

She realized she wasn’t listening to a word he’d spoken, so when Brad stopped talking she said, “Okay. Thanks. Gotta go. Just mail them to the church. Good-bye.” The lump in her throat prevented her from continuing the phone conversation.

Still clutching the phone in her hand, the memories of that Saturday morning conversation over two years ago surfaced in her mind. She and Brad were sitting at the kitchen table. Christine looked forward to spending time with her husband. Having a weekend together was unusual.

“So what are your plans for this weekend? Do you want to take a drive or go to a movie?” she asked as she picked up the cereal box.

Setting his coffee mug on the kitchen table, he looked directly into her eyes.

“I won’t be here this weekend.”

She stopped pouring the sugary flakes of cereal into the bowl. “Oh, really?” She turned to face her beloved husband. “I thought we could do something fun this weekend. We have so little time together anymore.”

“I’m moving out today.” He sat motionless in the chair.

“What? What did you say?” She leaned in closer toward Brad, the cereal box clenched in her hand.

“I’m leaving. I’m moving in with a friend. I want out of this marriage.” He grabbed the cup of coffee and pulled it toward him.

She clutched her stomach to stop the churning inside. Was she dreaming? This couldn’t be real. She tried to read his face, but he kept his eyes on his coffee mug.

She slammed the box of cereal down on the table and curled her hands into tight fists. With each sentence she spoke, her fists hit the table. “Wait a minute. Bradley, wait a minute. What’s happening? What are you saying?”

He glanced up furtively. Finally locking onto her eyes, he said, “I’m in love with another woman. It’s over for us.” He scooted back the kitchen chair, turned his back to her, and walked to their bedroom. She remembered sitting at the table, shell-shocked, silent, and helpless.

Blinking back to reality, Christine threw the cell phone on the end table and covered her face with her hands. A torrent of tears puddled in her palms. Christine heard heartbreaking cries then realized the sounds came from her, from the depths of her soul. The phone conversation stirred up all the memories and hurt she thought she had buried. Although she had tried, she realized now she hadn’t forgiven him, nor could she ever forget.

No man would ever again win her heart then crush it.

# # # #

Now available at

MuseItUp Publishing

Amazon.com 

bn.com and major online booksellers.

This Week:

Red poinsettia, traditional Christmas Flower Photo by J.Q. Rose

Sunday, December 15 (Today)--Join me at sweet romance author Roseanne Dowell's blog for a discussion on Christmas traditions. Share yours with us.

Friday, December 20--Pat McDermott brings the lovely sounds of Irish music to the J. Q. Rose blog and discusses her new romance, The Rosewood Whistle. Find out more about it at Pat’s Web Site.

Author Roseanne Dowell Shares Her Embroidery and Quilting Handiwork at Hobby Hoedown

 

Welcome multi-published author Roseanne Dowell to Hobby Hoedown. She certainly has a creative outlet along with her writing skills. She combines embroidery with quilting to produce lovely works of art and functional pieces. First let me tell you about Roseanne.

Roseanne grew up reading first Nancy Drew mysteries and soon moved on to Victoria Holt and Phyllis Whitney. She’s a big fan of Agatha Christie and always loved writing even as a teen, often making up different endings to books, and writing poems.

While working as a school secretary, she decided to take a correspondence course, writing for children. It didn’t take long to realize that even though she had six children, it took someone special to write books for them. So, she tried her hand at nonfiction, but didn’t care for that either.  That’s when she moved on to romance novels. But they sat in the attic along with her poems and journals.

In 2002 at a Book Club meeting, she confessed regret about not pursuing a career in writing. That’s all it took.  Her friends convinced her it wasn’t too late. After giving it some thought, she decided they were right and took another writing course. Within a few months, her first article was published in Good Old Days Magazine. Since then, she’s had several articles published.

In 2006, Roseanne’s first book, Satin Sheets, was published and sold over 35,000 copies. Since then, she’s decided to go the way of the future – E-books.  She writes various types of romance – paranormal, contemporary, mystery and women’s fiction. Her heroines range from their early twenties to late seventies. Yes, seniors need love, too.

Roseanne lives with her husband of fifty years, has six grown children, fourteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren. She spends her time between writing, quilting, and embroidering. She also enjoys blogging, tweeting, facebooking and posting on various writers’ groups and spending time with her family.

# # # # 

If you’d like to know more about Roseanne and her books, 

check out Roseanne Dowell's website   

and Roseanne's blog 

You can find her books at Amazon

# # # # 

Now take a look at Roseanne Dowell's handiwork.

Contributed by Roseanne Dowell. Photos courtesy of Roseanne Dowell.

Although my first love is writing, one of my favorite things to do in my spare time is embroidery. Another is quilting and I’ve found a way to combine the two. I discovered red-work during a quilting shop-hop at one of the shops. I immediately fell in love with it. For those who don’t know what red-work is – it’s embroidery done in all red floss. Just the outline of the picture, not filled in like other embroidery patterns.

 

A Christmas Wall Hanging

Every year I make something for my six children (usually a Santa) and give it to them on Thanksgiving. Sometimes it’s ceramic, sometimes wood. I found this Santa pattern and made one for each of them. It took a while to do six of them, but it was a fun project.

 A cow quilt I made for another niece

After making quilts for each of my children, grandchilden and other relatives, I decided to make a baby quilt for each of my grandchildren – not for them, but for their first born. But, where to find patterns? I started out searching coloring books for designs. I traced the images onto 12x12 squares of muslin. No easy feat.  After I finished embroidering the squares, I put the quilt together. For the backing I used various fabrics, generally not nursery prints. None of the quilts have nursery fabric in them at all. That way, they’re not limited to use only as a baby quilt.  I’ve used patterns from animals to Winnie the Pooh.

Eventually, I found transfer books and started using them for designs, which made it much easier. As of right now, thirteen quilts are finished, the last one is embroidered and the blocks stitched, but I still need to be put the batting and backing on and quilt it. Some of the quilts are done in red work, but several are done with various colors, also.

It did take several years to embroider all those squares, but most of them have been done for a while now.

Since then, I’ve also made quilts for my niece’s twins. One of the patterns is kittens and the other is bunnies. She had a girl and boy, so I thought the bunnies would be good for him.

One of the quilts I made for my niece’s twins. Kittens

 

The other quilt for my niece’s twins – Bunnies

Three years ago I gave the first quilt to my oldest granddaughter, who had a baby boy, my first great grandchild.  

Each quilt is marked with the name of the grandchild it’s supposed to go to. I hope I’m still around to give each child their quilt, but if not my daughters have been instructed to pass them out. I hope they treasure them. I put them in one of those quilt bags you get from the store to store them.

Yes, I bought a quilt for my bed. But I did make one too, I embroidered wild flowers in each square – and yes, I filled them in, not just outlined. It took over a year to do it, but it was worth it.

People ask where I find the time to do all this. The answer is simple, I have nothing better to do in the evening while I’m watching TV. That’s the nice thing about embroidery; you can sit in front of the TV and still work on it.

My latest book, All in the Family, has just been released by Books We Love.

Back of the Book:

Taking over the police chief’s job in her hometown should have been easy for Callie Johnson. After working in a big city, small town crime would be a breeze.  What a surprise when she arrives to find her grandmother, the judge, accused of murder. As if that wasn’t enough she’s attacked while walking to her car. Between criminal investigations, her nutty family’s antics and her Aunt Beatrice Lulu picking up men for Callie to meet, she has her work cut out for her. Will her grandmother be exonerated?  Can Callie ward off her aunt’s unsuitable suitors? More importantly, can she find the person who attacked her?

Available at: Amazon

Vegetable Garden Roundup, This Week, with Giveaways

Another marvelous Michigan Monday! A bit chilly last night at 36 degrees, but this afternoon is sunny and crisp. Fall is in the air and sadly, the vegetable garden is disappearing as my DH tears out the spent plants. Gardeners are such optimists. As he pulls out the beans and peppers, etc, he already has plans for next year's garden based on the results of this year. And of course, next year always looks better, in his mind, than this year. 

This year, IMHO, was a winner. We had a beautiful crop of veggies and enjoyed every bite. Truth be told, I believe my DH enjoys giving away the bounty as much as getting his hands dirty and his tummy full.

Here is some of the bounty from our garden this year:

pumpkin

red and green pepper.
 (Leave the green pepper on the vine and it will turn red and be sweeter.)

white, yellow, yukon, and red potatoes

muskmelon or cantaloupe

yellow summer squash

leaf and head lettuces

broccoli

green beans, tomatoes, and basil

Now that's some good eatin', folks. It just may be a coincidence that the main characters in my mystery novella, Sunshine Boulevard, are snowbirds. And just like my DH and I, Jim is a big gardener and Gloria loves to use the veggies from Jim's garden in recipes. If you'd like a FREE copy of her recipes, email me and I'll send you out the Gloria Hart's Garden for Eatin' Recipe Collection. Email me at jqrose02 at gmail dot com.

Mysterious deaths upset the Florida retirement community 

interfering with their seasonal activities and turning up more than dead bodies...

THIS WEEK:
Tuesday, September 24--Join me at Lorrie Struiff's blog, Flowers and Thorns, where I'm talking about the movie Julie and Julia, both cooks and writers. Leave a comment to win my latest mystery, Coda to Murder.

Thursday, September 26--Hobby Hoedown features Roseanne Dowell's amazing handiwork combining embroidery and quilting. You don't want to miss out on seeing her beautiful pieces.

Thanks for stopping in today!

Cupid Reads Secrets, Lies and Love by Roseanne Dowell

Secrets, Lies, and Love by Roseanne Dowell

A dilapidated Queen Anne Victorian, a dead body, and an ex boyfriend complicate life for Meghan Shelby when she returns to her hometown after a ten year absence.

Excerpt:

Meghan loved this time of year, though a little too hot to start school in her opinion. Why they felt the need to go back in August was beyond her. She remembered her mother complaining about it years ago. “What was wrong with starting after Labor Day like they did in my day?” Her mother used to rant and rave for weeks before school started. Even got on the School Board. Not that it changed anything. School still started the last week in August. Meghan smiled at the memory.

Now that she thought about it, it was silly. Like they took the last week of vacation away from the kids. Bet the teachers didn’t like it either.

Meghan pulled into the school parking lot. Not much had changed here either. New landscaping, new windows, but that was about it. The old building looked pretty much the same.

Her footsteps echoed in the empty hall. She’d never been in the school when it was empty before. The strong odor of wax and other cleaning products prickled her nostrils. The clean smell lingered through the first few days of school.

It had been a long time since she’d been to the principal’s office and she stopped outside, took a deep breath and held it. Here goes nothing. Mr. Duncan said look for Mr. Mac.  He must be new in town. It wasn’t a name she remembered. So what was the worse he could say? Letting out her breath, she hurried inside, before her nerve left her. A man stood with his back to her, unpacking a box of books.

“Excuse me. I’m looking for Mr. Mac.”

 “I’m Mr. Mac.” He turned toward her.

Meghan’s breath caught in her throat. “Patrick!” The word slipped out of her mouth, before she could stop it. The love of her life stood in front of her, even better looking and sexier than she remembered. Her heart skipped a beat, her legs turned to jelly, and she grabbed the edge of the desk to steady herself.

Patrick smiled at her. That easy smile she remembered from long ago. The smile she used to love. It lit up his eyes.

“Little Meghan Shelby. Not so little anymore I see.”

Heat burned her cheeks as Patrick looked her up and down, apparently taking in every inch of her. He remembered her. After all this time he knew who she was. Would wonders never cease?

“Uh, um...” Oh crap. Now wasn’t the time to get tongue tied. “You’re the principal here?” Lord, could she work for him. See him every day?

“Yes, I am. I heard you were back in town. Are you staying then? Do you want to register your child?”

“Huh?” Her child, was he nuts? “Uh no I’m here about the secretarial position. Mr. Duncan was supposed to call you.”

“Really? You want the job?”

“Yes, didn’t Mr. Duncan call? He told me to come right over.”

 “If he did I didn’t hear the phone. I’ve been in and out of the office.” He nodded toward the stack of books. “Too busy around here this time of year.” Patrick grinned and motioned her into his office. “So tell me about yourself. What qualifies you for the job?”

Qualifications? Think damn it. What was the matter with her? She’d lost all train of thought. “Well, I’m computer proficient. I’m good with math. And I love children.” What more could he want?

“I see. So why do you want the position? Tell me about your education.”

His deep voice sent shivers down her spine. Meghan couldn’t take her gaze from him. All sense of reason flew out the window. She had the most God awful urge to reach up and push his dark hair out of his eyes. “I’m a former Math major, have two years of college. I’m a quick learner.” Finally, she looked away.

Available at Amazon.com http://amzn.to/zZznVG

The Liebster Award--for My Blog..Hooray!

Are you KIDDING ME? I WON an award?? What??? How amazing. I am so honored to have the Liebster Blog Award bestowed on me from one of my most favorite authors, Roseanne Dowell. Thank you so much. (I think she gave it to me because we share a birthday in May. Yep, we could have been twins, that is, um, if we had the same mom and dad and if we were born in the same year and in the same location.)

So what's the fuss about? Let me explain. The intention of the award is to draw attention to blogs that deserve more.
If you're curious about the name, liebster is German for "favorite" or "dearest."

My instructions, since I gladly accept this award, are:

1. Post this award on your blog.

2. Thank and link to the person who gave it to you.

3. Pass it on to five bloggers who have less than 200 followers. (Yes, I definitely qualify for this...)

4. Comment on those five people's blogs to share the good news. 

  
I hereby present the Liebster Blog Award to the following bloggers:

Joylene Nowell Butler--Joylene reaches out to her readers from cyberspace with a warm welcome and draws them in. It must be those gorgeous photos as well as her writing that keeps us hooked. 

W.S. Gager-- For many years, mystery author Wendy has been a cheerleader for my writing and such an inspiration to keep writing. She has an eagle eye when reading a manuscript and thoughtful suggestions for making it better.  

Tess Grant--Tess' first YA book will be released this spring from Turquoise Morning Press. She is a true storyteller. Her blog is written as thoughtfully and entertaining as her stories. She also opens her blog to a young writer every Tuesday.

Jane Richardson--Jane and I met when she was a guest author on my blog. It was so much fun dealing with the English language and the American language. Get the one - link - low - down on her blog.

Joselyn Vaughn-- This warm, witty writer blogs about her family life (3 year old twins, 1 year old daughter and husband and dogs. and, you can imagine) and pens sweet romance books that make the reader laugh and cry. 

Recipe: Amish Dressing from Author Roseanne Dowell

What's a Thanksgiving turkey dinner without dressing? Roseanne Dowell shares her dressing recipe. I must confess I usually go for the boxed kind. I made dressing for my in-laws one Thanksgiving. I still hear them crunching the dried up, tasteless stuff. I am going to be brave and try making Roseanne's.!! 


Roseanne is generously offering a copy of her book, A Second Chance, for a drawing. To enter, please send an email to rodow62 at yahoo dot com with "A Second Chance Contest" in the subject line. Thanks so much, Ro.

AMISH DRESSING
by Roseanne Dowell

 My mother in law used to make this every Thanksgiving.

18 slices bread (lightly toasted and cubed)(about 16 cups)
3 c celery (chopped) (sautéed in 1/2 c. butter)
¾ c. Small onion – sautéed with celery
2 c. potatoes (diced, cooked)
1/2 c. parsley (snipped)
1/2 c. carrots (chopped'- partly cooked)
Salt (to taste)
6 eggs
1 qt. chicken stock

Mix the above ingredients in order given. Add 6 well beaten eggs, 1 qt. chicken stock. Toss together lightly. Bake the dressing in a 9x13 well-buttered baking dish for 1 hour at 350 degrees 8-10 servings.

Half recipe

9. slices bread toasted and cubed (about 8 cups)
1/2 c. celery, finely cuts sautéed in butter
1./2 c. onion sautéed with celery
1 c. cooked diced potatoes (salted)
1/4 c. parsley (finely cut), I use dry
1/4 c. cooked, diced carrots
3 eggs, beaten
2 c. chicken stock

Instructions

Mix the above ingredients in order given. Add 3 well beaten eggs, 2 cups chicken stock. Toss together lightly. Bake the dressing in a 8x8 well-buttered baking dish for 1 hour at 350 degrees 8-10 servings.

Roseanne is sharing an excerpt from her romance/mystery book, Connection of the Minds.

Blurb:
Visions of someone’s life disturb Rebecca Brennan’s dreams. The dreams become dangerous and she’s determined who shares her mind. Her search leads her to a small town and puts her life in danger too.

Excerpt:

The next morning Rebecca, once again, sat in Bernard Clark’s office. Something about the heavy-set, middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and scruffy beard reminded her of her grandfather. As usual, he listened to her story with a serious expression.

Was this really helping? How many hours had she spent sitting across from the mammoth mahogany desk, staring at the book-lined shelves behind him? And so far, she didn’t know anything more than before. Once more, that’s it. If nothing changed today, she’d quit coming. Maybe he was a quack, like her brother said. Rebecca took a breath and relaxed in the comfortable atmosphere, inhaled the smell of new leather that clung to the chair, and leaned back. Okay, maybe she did have a deep extra sensory perception connection with someone like Bernard said. The question was with whom. 

“I think you need to find this person,” Dr. Clark suggested. “It’s possible the physic mind is reaching out to you for help.”

"How?" That’s why she was here. If he didn’t help her figure it out, that was it. No more visits. Besides, it cost money, and who could afford it? If Allison hadn’t agreed to pay half, well that was another story. Dr. Bernard’s voice brought her back.

“Start with the dreams,” he suggested. “Tell me about them again.”

“I see scenes with emergency vehicles. Last night someone got shot," she told him for what seemed like the hundredth time. "I wonder if he has something to do with law enforcement or other emergency operations. I'd recognize the town if I ever saw it in person. It’s so vivid in my mind."

"Would you consider hypnotism?" Bernard fingered his beard. Intense blue eyes stared into hers. "Maybe your sub conscious mind will reveal the place, or person, or something to help you find it."

Leary about being hypnotized, but desperate to find who shared her mind, Rebecca agreed.

Under her hypnotic trance, she revealed the name of a shoe factory. A place called Booth’s Boots, and she repeated the name, Morris, over and over.

"It’s not much to go on," Rebecca told Allison later,” but it’s more than I knew before. Maybe Morris is my mind connection."

Encouraged by the information, she spent the better part of the day doing research. Using the Internet, Rebecca keyed in Booth’s Boots. Instantly, several websites popped up.

“Okay, let’s check out Boothsboots.com.”

A website, showing various types of boots from hunting to work boots, popped up.

“This is great. Let’s see what this says.” She clicked on News and Events. “No help there. Okay, let’s try Outlet Stores.” She almost jumped out of her chair. “There it is!” A factory, located in Morrisville, Ohio.

“Morrisville, could that explain the name Morris?” A prickly sensation went up her spine. She was getting close; she could feel it.

“Okay, let’s try this.” Rebecca didn’t care she was talking to herself. Besides, it wasn’t the first time. Keying Morrisville into the search engine, she held her breath, more determined than ever to find the town. If it took all day, then so be it.  A site popped up with several suggestions. “Okay, let’s see what this one is about.”  Morrisville.net homepage popped up, and further down the page, it showed–Pictures taken around Morrisville.

She held her breath and clicked on one. The first picture that came up was a log cabin. No help there. “Okay, how about this one? The Square. ” It looked familiar. Shivers ran up her spine. “Okay, how about Hotel Darby. Yes! I’ve seen this place.” One more. She drew in her breath and clicked on Victorian.

“Oh my God, that’s it! That’s the house.” She almost jumped out of her seat. The Queen Anne house in her dreams showed on the screen big as life.  Where is this place?  Clicking back to the homepage, she found it on the map. “Not far from Wattsburg; only a three hour drive from here. I have to go there.”

"Allie." Rebecca phoned her friend. "I found it, I searched the net, and I found it. Even pictures of the town. I recognized all the buildings right down to the house."

"Calm down…"

"I have to go there. It’s only a three hour drive." Not waiting for Allison’s response, Rebecca continued. "I have to find out who I’m connected with."

"What are you going to do?" Allison asked. “Walk into the little town and say hey, someone here is connected to my mind."

Rebecca laughed at her friend’s wit. “I have a plan. First I’ll go to the newspaper office and check for stories about someone being shot on Friday. Then I’ll try to find out where he is. I’m sure he’s alive.” Her intuition told her danger still lingered, but she couldn’t explain that to her friend.

"Maybe it’s a she," Allison said. "What makes you say he?"

"I don’t know." Rebecca paced the living room. "It’s just a feeling I have. It doesn’t matter; whoever it is, I have to go." Okay, it was a crazy scheme, but feelings like this couldn’t be ignored. “There’s no turning back now, Al, I have to find him.”

“Would you like me to go with you?”

 "I have to do this myself.”

“I don’t like this, Beck. You shouldn’t be doing this alone. What if it’s dangerous? I mean you see cop cars and stuff. What if he’s a criminal?”

Rebecca shivered. God, what if he was a criminal? No, something told her that wasn’t the case. Call it a gut feeling or intuition, whatever it was, Rebecca would bet her life he wasn’t a criminal.

“I’m sorry, Al. Thanks for the offer, but no. I have to do this on my own. I’ll be fine. Really.”

Connections of the Mind is available at Muse It Up Publishing, amazon.com and all major online booksellers.

You can find out more about Roseanne's books at www.roseannedowell.com

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