I’m super excited to share my new release with y’all today. An Informal Arrangement (book 2 in the Informal Romance series) came out earlier this month, and what a busy month it’s been!
Book #1 (An Informal Christmas) got a new cover to match the rest of the series.
Book #3 (An Informal Introduction) is with the editor and is currently planned for a May 2nd release.
Book #4 (An Informal Reception) is a bit further along in the planning stages and will hopefully see the light of day before winter sets in.
I think I’m ready for a nap! While I snooze (You have to admit, it’s been a busy month!), enjoy this blurb and excerpt.
Back Cover:
Holden Jenkins receives a diagnosis that alters the course of his life. His slow recovery is pockmarked with discouragement and puts his future in question. Will he ever again walk without pain? Or be well enough to return home?
Maddie Smith is an ICU nurse on the verge of burnout. In need of a change and drawn to a man she barely knows, she goes on sabbatical and takes up the fight to get Holden back on his feet.
As he searches for his identity in the midst of this new life, Holden struggles with a deep hurt. Why would God allow this? Meanwhile Maddie, shaped by her own emotional scars, battles against an unseen God she’s not sure she can believe in. Will these two be able to find peace — and a future together — or will the difficulties they face push them apart?
Excerpt:
Holden tried to twist around in the wheelchair to see her, but she was lost in the shadows. “I keep a spare key hidden in a ceramic frog by my back door. If you climb up on top of the air conditioning unit on the side of the house, it’s easy to get over the fence.”
“Are you for real?”
He patted his chest and arms. “I think so. At least, I feel real, but I suppose if I wasn’t real, I might think I was anyway.”
“How long have you lived around here?”
“Four years. Long enough to build a business but not so long that I’ve lost my countrified ways.”
“Did someone forget to tell you that only crazies hide keys? People are skilled at finding those. You’re lucky the place hasn’t been burglarized.” That had to be the same voice she used to lecture patients on the importance of brushing their teeth. Compassionate and incredulous.
Holden shrugged. “I’m notorious for locking myself out. I had a choice. Put a key somewhere outside or put the locksmith on retainer.”
She hopped off the side of his porch rather than try to get back by his wheelchair. “I’m still not convinced you’re for real. If it turns out you’re a closet serial killer, I don’t want to be groomed as your partner or anything. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll cancel the order for the serial killer training manual.”
The sound of her shoes on the air conditioning unit was loud in the still night. She grunted as she pulled herself up over the fence. Then the muttering started. “It had to be a frog. Couldn’t be a cute puppy, could it?”
Thank y’all for stopping by and spending some time with me! I hope Holden and Maddie have caught your interest – or at least your imagination! Now for the giveaway!
Giveaway – You see a hint of it in this excerpt, but Maddie has a fear of all things amphibious. To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is tell me in the comments below about something you’re afraid of – rational or irrational. Easy peasy (unless you have a fear of typing)! One commenter will be randomly selected to win a e-copy of An Informal Arrangement. Winner will be announced March 11th.
***GIVEAWAY CLOSED***
Check the 3/7/16 Sunday Edition for winner information. Thank you to everyone who participated!!
Heather Gray loves coffee, God, her family, and laughter – not necessarily in that order! She writes approachable characters who, through the highs and lows of life, find a way to love God, embrace each day, and laugh out loud right along with her. And, yeah, her books almost always have someone who's a coffee addict. Some things just can't be helped. Despite their different lives and situations, Heather’s characters have something in common. They're all flawed...but loved anyway.
Snakes are a fear for me. I’m not scared of frogs, but I don’t like touching them either:)
Thank you for the excerpt, looking forward to reading the rest of their story.
You have been busy, Heather. Congratulations on your latest release! As for me, my fear is heights. Thanks for sharing the excerpt, I enjoyed it!
I’m scared of letting people down so I try to please everyone which then leaves me ragged ?. Looking forward to reading this story!
Heather thanks for including your holiday romance An Informal Christmas in Love’s Gift: 8 Christian Romances Celebrating the True Meaning of Christmas. Inspiring holiday read from talented Inspy Romance authors.
Even though I am not allergic to bee stings, I am not fond of bees or wasps. After loosing my two top front teeth, I was stung on my upper lip. It was July and hot. The swelling made it difficult to drink even with a straw. A few years later my mom accidentally hit a buried wasp nest. Fortunately she was only stung about 5 times. So flying buzzing insects scare me, as do slithering snakes.
I don’t like anything that flies around my face – birds, bugs, bees, etc. Heights are not good for me either.
I don’t like heights. My kids love to tease me about it. I also don’t like organizing and planning parties and my daughter is getting married and I need to plan a bridal shower :-)!
I see that I am not the only one afraid of snakes. :-) Snakes are one of my biggest fear and always have been. Years ago, we built a beautiful home on 5 acres of land. But, since we were out in the forest area, there were lots of snakes. Now, we live in a more city like atmosphere and I’ve only seen a few of those awful creatures. Thank goodness!
Hmm…I am not a huge fan of snakes or scorpions. I am not afraid of frogs or lizards–I think they are cute!
I’m afraid of tragedy happening and my lack of control. I know God’s got it all in his hands, but it’s just the pit feeling in my stomach.
I hate snakes.
I lived in a rural part of the Arizona desert for a while when I was growing up. I remember walking around a building one time, hearing a rattle, and looking over. A rattler was coiled in a gully three feet from me. I’d never feared snakes until that moment. *shudder* I empathize with you!
Hi Jill! I’ve never been afraid of heights…until I look down, that is. ^_^ Even a two-story shopping mall can creep me out if I get too close to the edge and look down. I used to go hiking with friends when I was in college. We scaled some great rocks structures at different times. Going up was never problem. It was always the coming down that got me into trouble because I had to look where I was putting my feet, and that meant looking down…
I hope you enjoy a height-free day today! :)
I’m so glad you could stop by today Marilyn! I have a friend whose husband randomly starts worrying about a brain aneurysm or other unusual things. There’s no family history and no reason to worry, but… I think it comes down to that same basic thing: Most of us fear what is beyond our control. Many of us have seen just enough tragedy to realize that so much of this life is uncertain and that things don’t always go the way we want. Sending you a great big hug and hope for a fear-free day today! :)
I understand completely! I used to be that person who said yes to everything I was asked because I never wanted to disappoint anyone. I ended up so overwhelmed, though, that I I couldn’t find myself in the midst of my own life anymore. I got so busy doing things FOR God (because people had asked, and I’d said yes…) that I was no longer doing things WITH Him. That’s when I realized I needed to pull back and reassess. Ultimately I discovered that saying no to people didn’t disappoint them. Saying yes and then not following through, however, did. So I started saying no a lot more often so that I could keep the commitments I made when I said yes.
Let’s face it. We all want to be loved, and we feel like that love is threatened when we let people down. Thank goodness we have a marvelous God who loves us unconditionally and who pours His love out into our lives readily and abundantly!
Wishing you a disappointment-free day!!
Hi Renate! It’s a pleasure and an honor to be a part of the Love’s Gift boxed set. I love the authors I got to know and work with through that set, and it introduced me to the world of indie publishing, which was a huge perk for me! :)
As for bees…gah. Don’t get me started. I have a mild allergy, but it gets worse each time I get stung. I’ve been known to scream, run, wave my arms wildly…or sit perfectly still. I was at a church picnic one time, and a wasp landed on my glasses. I sat there, eyes closed, feeling its wings beat against my brow as it walked along the edge of my glasses. I heard someone say, “Does she know…” I stayed so, so still…until I couldn’t take it anymore. Then I screamed, flung my glasses, off, and got venom on my eyelid. The thing with a wasp is that they don’t have to puncture you for their venom to do damage.
Ugh. Worst picnic experience ever. I still cringe in pain when I think about it.
But, I survived. My eye did, too. Luckily the venom only got my eyelid and not anything deeper.
Yeah, so if you ever see me running and/or screaming like a lunatic…assume something is flying after me or in my general vicinity. And run for your life because I probably already did a good job of making it angry. ^_^
Scorpions – yuck! My husband got stung by one when he was in high school. He recounts the story with great gusto…especially the “agonizing pain” part.
I’ve never been stung, but I’ve dealt with my fair share of them. I can remember sweeping the floor and ending up with scorpions in the dust pan. NOT a fan. They’re creepy looking and… *shudder* Definitely not a fan.
I shall join you in your apprehension…
Hi Julianne!
Anything that flies around my face is automatically assumed to be part of an enemy assault and is appropriately dodged.
One time at summer camp, my son backed a bit too near what turned out to be a hidden hornet’s nest. He was stung several times. They started near his belly button, went up across his chest and over his right shoulder, and then clustered again on his right shoulder blade. Thankfully he had no allergic reaction to the stings, but it was a good seven years before he stopped freaking out at anything that flew. He would run from flies, grasshoppers…pretty much anything that flew incited panic in him. I thought I was bad about flying insects…he took it to a whole new level. Made me look downright calm by comparison! :)
I hope you have a beautiful day full of blessings (like nothing flying near your face, no heights, and no cause for any other kind of fear)! :)
I have an irrational fear when I go to baseball games, that no matter where I’m sitting, it can be the worst nosebleed section that will never see a ball, but I am scared to death of getting hit with a ball!
So glad you could stop by today!
Yeah, I’m not a fan of heights.
I’m also not a fan of social functions in general. Put me somewhere and give me a task to complete – no problem. Put me somewhere and expect me to make small talk and keep people entertained? Expect panic.
I’d be great at planning the bridal shower – and then I’d try to duck out during the actual event. I’m sneaky like that. ^_^
I’m sure that whatever you put together will be fabulous and that your daughter will appreciate it and know the love you poured into it!
I also don’t like anything that can buzz around my face. I have a fear of being stung. Another insect that I don’t care for although it isn’t a fear is stink bugs. They get into our house and buzz by you. Then you have to find them and capture and release them back outside. You don’t want to kill them inside since you would have that awful stench that they release.
Heather I have An Informal Arrangement on my Kindle to read so I don’t need to be entered into your drawing.
I’m afraid of baseballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, and all sports balls. I’m always certain a ball will hit me on the nose if I’m near a game. And that’s why I dance ballet and stay away from sports fields :)
Hi Heather, I was just talking about this the other day at the school where I work. There is a bridge in Newport, OR that really freaks me out. I felt real unexplainable fear the two times I’ve been on that bridge.
Hi Melissa!
Starting at about the age of ten, my son started discovering snakes in our back yard.
And bringing them into the house.
I’m pretty sure he was hoping to elicit a scream from me, but I was decidedly (and shockingly) calm that first time, which surprised me. I’d not been a fan of snakes up to that point. I’m still not a fan, actually, but since I still have a son who likes to try to shock me with slithery creatures, I have become a bit numb to it.
Having said that, if I ever saw one crawling around in my house, I’d probably freak out to the nth degree. There would be screaming and gnashing of teeth. And some convulsive shuddering.
I hope you have a fantastic and snake-free day!!
Hi Sheila! You’re in great company. I think snakes are the #1 hated/feared thing listed in comments today. Maybe I should think about starting a support group… ^_^
Ouch!! I would have the same fear at a hockey game were I ever to go to one. I think I’ll stick to football. ^_^
I’m so glad you could stop by today, Nancy!
I’m not a fan of stink bugs, either. I haven’t seen them since we moved east, but they used to be a common feature in Arizona. Here we have skunks…but thankfully they don’t get into the house!!! :)
As for me and flying bugs – we don’t really get along. At all. I’ve learned to tolerate lightning bugs, but I even get bitten by flies, so really, there’s not a bug-in-flight that I’m particularly fond of. Well…ladybugs. I still like ladybugs. Other than them, though… ;)
Ballet is so beautiful, too! Much more graceful than baseball any ol’ day of the week!
Of course, I’m such a klutz that a dance studio would be just as dangerous to me as a sporting event – only it would end up being my fault that I got hurt! ^_^
I’ve come to the conclusion that not all bridges are made equal.
When I was little – before we moved to Arizona – we lived near Reno, Nevada. We would take the trip over to San Francisco from time to time. The Golden Gate bridge never bothered me, but there was this other bridge we took once that scared the daylights out of me. I could feel it moving beneath us. Creepy. I know bridges need to have some give in them, but…
Where we live now, we occasionally have to go through tunnels that go under water – the one that take you under the Chesapeake Bay comes to mind – and those are not my favorite. I don’t panic exactly…I just get uncomfortable. I figure if I’m on a bridge and go into the water, I have a slim chance of escaping. If I’m under the water, though, and the walls cave in, I’ll be crushed before I can escape.
Hm…I might need to watch fewer disaster movies. ;)
I hope you don’t have to go anywhere near that Newport, OR bridge for a long, long time!!
Driving over tall bridges! I really don’t like the big, tall, curvy mixmaster type bridges! Thankfully I live in a small town and don’t often have a reason to drive over those! Thanks for the excerpt. Sounds like a fun book.
Congrats on your new release, Heather! Alligators and snakes are perhaps my biggest fear. My husband and I recently cruised to the Western Caribbean. Our favorite island was Belize where we took a river cruise (sort of like the “live version” of the Disney World Jungle Cruise, LOL). We saw tons of alligators, crocodiles, bats (but they were little and actually sort of cute), and iguanas, but thankfully no snakes. I’m just thankful they weren’t up close and personal! Heights would be my other biggest fear. That glass floor above the Grand Canyon scares me to death to even think about it!
Hi Julie! I’m pleased you got to spend part of your day with us!
Someone else mentioned bridges, and I can understand! Some bridges don’t bother me, but I’ve been on at least one that made my stomach flip flop more than I’m comfortable with.
Here’s to staying with all four (or two, I suppose) tires firmly planted on terra firma!
Hi JoAnn!
I was in the church nursery this past Sunday evening, and I was explaining to the one-year-old in my care that all alligators should have a xylophone mounted to their back. They’d be so much less scary that way! (She was pounding away on that green plastic alligator xylophone toy…which is how the subject came up. I don’t just randomly talk about xylophones and alligators. At least not usually.) ^_^
Heights and I aren’t the best of friends either. And I have a friend whose deathly afraid of bats. (That might be related to the need for rabies shots following a bat encounter…) ;)
Your cruise sounds like it was a blast! And you’re right – I can handle almost any animal as long as it’s far enough away from me…and someone else that runs slower than me. :)
Sounds like I have plenty of company in my fear of heights and snakes! I blame the fear of snakes from growing up in Manitoba where garter snakes spend the winter in dens. I made the mistake of looking in one and saw all the writhing. Shudder. They also migrate, and I remember seeing wave after wave of them cross the highway. There was no avoiding hitting dozens. So, yeah, a snake doesn’t have to be poisonous to get a reaction from me! (More than you all wanted to know, I’m sure.)
Congrats on the new release, Heather! Sounds like some great characters there.
Snakes and rodents. They gives me the creeps.
My high school mascot was a frog. Granted, they were actually toads that lived in that area, but… During mating season, you couldn’t drive without flattening dozens of those things. They were EVERYWHERE. I didn’t develop a fear of them, but had they been snakes? Oh yeah, I’d be a screaming ninny at the mere sight of a snake. The mental picture you gave me is going to stay with me for a good, long while… ;)
Snakes usually eat rodents, though, so that has to be at least one point in their favor, right?
It’s okay – you can throw something at me. I’ve gotten good at ducking. ^_^
We were on the outskirts of a hurricane a few years back, and our house ended up infested with mice. (I assume their usual home got flooded – hence the hurricane reference.) Anyway…I’d never given rodents much thought prior to that. Now I can safely say I don’t ever want to see another mouse. Ever. Times ten.
Enjoy a snake and rodent-free day, and thanks for stopping by!! :)
I have a fear of lightening, ever since I was almost hit (or thought I was almost hit) when I was about 10 years old.
Thanks Heather for taking the time to write a personal fun reply to everyone’s comment. It was my pleasure to get to know you better as a person and author. This was a fun question. While living in Chicago, in our church six couples with young children monthly got together for fellowship. Teens in our church babysat. During the summer we all went camping. One particular nice summer night, we all shared our fears. It brought us closer together as a group. Now 30 years later, we still talk about that night. Best wishes and happy writing.
Agh! Lightning…While not a full-on fear, I’ll gladly jump on that bandwagon with you. I was driving in the Arizona desert one night, and I got home, opened my car door, stepped out of the car and started toward the house. I didn’t close the door because I needed to go back for something. Lightning struck right between the open door and the body of the car literally within seconds of my standing in that spot. I developed a healthy respect for lightning that night.
Thank you Renate – best wishes to you as well!!
Heights! Can’t stand heights. Won’t even climb a ladder.
So glad you could stop by today Gail! I’ve never been a fan of ladders, either, but not so much because I’m afraid of heights (that doesn’t usually come in till much higher heights). It’s my fear of falling that makes ladders a non-starter for me. What can I say? I simply don’t like pain. ^_^ I consider that a healthy fear… :)
Congrats on your new release!
I have a fear of just about anything with more than 4 legs.
I am not afraid of heights, I have a fear of falling..I am slowly working through this..zip lining is helping me overcome my fear.
I have a pretty big fear of spiders. No matter what size it is, if it has eight legs I don’t want it anywhere near me.
Thank you Merrillee!!
Ha! I like your classification system!! (What about things with less than two legs?)
Me too! (The falling part. Not the zip lining part.) ;)
Really high heights can make me queasy, but even something as small as a ladder – I’m not afraid of being four feet off the ground. I’m afraid of how much pain I’ll be in when I fall those four feet and land flat on my back, or with my leg twisted underneath me. My problem is, I’m just clumsy enough to pull it off, too.
I commend your bravery and the way in which you’re facing your fear! Zip lining is not for the faint of heart. My son went zip lining last summer at youth camp and had a blast. ^_^
Hi Jessica! I’m glad you could stop by today!
Where I live, we have these things called cave crickets – or spider crickets. I’d never heard of them before moving to the east coast. The first time I saw one, I’m pretty sure my friends back in Idaho could hear my scream. Even now, after having been on the east coast for seven years, those things still freak me out when I see them.
It’s *only* a cricket, but…it looks like a spider. A huge ginormous jumping spider.
I, uh, have been known to let my cat eat one so I wouldn’t have to deal with it… I’d tell you I’m embarrassed by that fact, but if you ever see one, you’ll be on my side. :D
Three cheers for a home free of eight-legged creatures (or anything that looks like them)!! :)
I’m definitely glad that I’ve never encountered one of those here in Ohio.
Actually, I am usually ok with those. I overcame my fear in junior high. (It involved a very cute science teacher.) lol
The only thing I can think of that I am fearful of is roller coaster or scary rides at amusement parks particularly like parachute drop type ones where they take you up really high hold you up there for a while and then drop you
I’m afraid of snakes, no matter the size! My husband didn’t want our son to be afraid of snakes just because I was, so I once held a snake at the Children’s Museum so my young son would see it was okay. But I didn’t like it and I would be happy to never encounter another one as long as I live!
Obviously my science teacher wasn’t cute enough! ^_^
My daughter LOVED touching snakes whenever the opportunity came up, but my son wasn’t nearly as thrilled. Until he hit about ten. Then all bets were off. I lightly (and I use that word loosely) petted a boa at a library event not so that my children wouldn’t be afraid but rather so that they wouldn’t know I was. Pride. Pride made me pet a snake. On the bright side, it was over in less than 20 seconds, and I haven’t touched one since! :)
My son loves those rides! I’m the lady standing at the bottom holding everybody’s jackets, wallets, and glasses. I like making myself useful – it gets me out of all kinds of things I’d rather not do! ^_^ Although, for me it’s not so much a fear thing as a throw-up-afterward thing. Which, I suppose in its own way induces a sort of fear. I just stand there and hold everybody’s stuff and don’t examine myself too closely. You can stand next to me if you want. :)
I’m scared of heights. I first seriously realised this when going on a ski lift contraption over a gorge with my 8 yo daughter . I was reassuring her when she said to me ‘Mum you’re the one that’s scared!’ I even get white knuckles on the Ferris wheel. I went on it with my teens because I wanted to prove to myself that my fear would not beat me.
Since going into shock twice from nut allergies I never knew I had until a few years ago, I am even more fearful of eating out and food that others prepared (I also have Celiac). When students are eating around me or offer me things I almost break out in a sweat, I am fearful I am going to go into an severe reaction and need my epi pen in front of my students.
Hi Diane! The only way I’ll ever end up on a ski lift is if I’ve been heavily medicated or if I tripped and fell onto the seat as I was walking by one. Or, I suppose, if somebody on the other end had a life-and-death situation that only a middle-aged writer with a fear of plummeting to her death could help with… I admire your bravery so much! I have pushed through fear or one sort or another many times for my children, and I suppose if my son wanted to go skiing on a ski lift, I’d find a way to push through that fear, too… Even as I secretly hope he never takes up an interest in snow sports so that I never have to cross that particular bridge… ^_^ (Perhaps I need to read more Bible verses on courage and not being timid!) :) Have a fabulous day and thank you for sharing!!
Julie, I’m SO glad you stopped by today! I have a friend whose college-aged son has an uber-severe nut allergy. She told me once that they had to stop going to Chinese restaurants when he was a baby because he always cried and got sick afterward – even when he was too young to eat anything. They didn’t realize until some years later that it was the peanut oil in the air that was causing his problems.
He can’t be anywhere near peanuts without having an adverse reaction. His epi pen is always handy. He went through several years where he was almost always on the verge of a panic attack when he was in public, especially large crowded places like malls and airports because there was no way to know if somebody walking by was munching on a peanut granola bar or anything like that. He eventually got past the panic phase of things, but he is still super cautious and will avoid a lot of situations where peanuts might be an issue.
I have another friend with a peanut allergy who has special dispensation when she flies. She gets to go onto the plane before anybody else, and she uses special wipes to completely clean down the seat she’s going to be in and any seats in proximity to her. No peanuts can be served in flight if she’s on the plane, either. She’s also an epi pen carrier, but she embraces life without a hint of panic or reserve. She’s a huge example to me in how to live life, and I don’t even have the allergies she has. (She has issues with more than just peanuts, but I’ll save that for another day!)
Anyway – thank you so much for shining a light on this one. We all have fears, but for most of us, those fears are irrational. Not always, but for most of us. Yours, however, is a clear-cut case of rational fear. That doesn’t mean we’re not to overcome it. God doesn’t want us to live with a spirit of fear, but whenever we talk about that, we often forget that how hard it is to battle a particular fear when it’s grounded in life experience on top of life experience on top of life experience.
Kudos to you! And I hope you don’t have to put that epi pen to use anytime soon. Hugs!
Hi Heather! My mother used to fuss at me as a kid because I would bring home salamanders and frogs and worms and all kinds of creepy things just like my male cousins would do. She despaired that I would ever be a ‘lady.’ As I’ve matured I still admire all of God’s creatures, but I’m not as fond of touching them or having them in the house! LOL! I do have a particular fear of snakes and spiders now, mostly because I’ve had some dangerous encounters with the poisonous kind. Still, if they stay away from my home, I’ll respect their space as long as they respect mine!
Whether you call it a fear, or an extreme dislike…that would be snakes. I don’t want to even see them in a book. Thanks for the excerpt and giveaway.
Heather, I don’t think I could go in an underwater passage. I cringe just thinking about it.
I have to plans to cross that bridge ever again. It’s been almost two decades since I was last on it. :)
Glad you could stop by Terri! Snakes are a popular one, that’s for sure! And while we call it fear, it’s probably more of that extreme dislike you talked about. I say I’m afraid of spiders, but it’s not so much that they scare me as they sneak up on me and startle me. They show up where I don’t expect them to be, and it startles me, which I label as fear even though it’s probably not. (Don’t get me wrong. I dislike the little eight-legged critters. I won’t be inviting them over for dinner anytime soon…) :) I hope you have a marvelous weekend!
Hi Stacey! Your mom would have had a fit if she’d visited our home in Arizona. Around about the summer of 2000 we got infested with lizards. I think a mama lizard must have made it up into our attic somehow and laid eggs because we had baby lizards all over our house. It was…disturbing. I wasn’t afraid, but I didn’t exactly want them crawling on my kitchen counters, you know? Then there was our cat. She took particular delight in catching and killing the lizards…but she was’t so interested in eating them. So if it wasn’t a lizard crawling on our wall it was a lizard carcass underfoot. Of all the things to be infested with… I’ve heard of snakes, spiders, bats, mice, etc., but I don’t think I’ve heard anything else with quite the same lizard experience as we had. Wishing you a scare-free day!! :)
What a tease!
Someone mentioned fear of heights….oh yea…that’s me! Or being in tight enclosed spaces, especially in large, close crowds of people. As far as bugs, reptiles and things, most things don’t bother me that much. Bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets and the like scare me real bad though.
You got me hanging on the cliff with your excerpt, Heather! Now I have to find out what happens…….
So glad you could stop by Trixi! And I’m glad you like the excerpt – I had a hard time choosing which one to share. ^_^
Every now and then I have to drive through a tunnel that goes underneath the Chesapeake Bay. I don’t generally have a fear of enclosed spaces, but even I think that tunnel gets to feeling awful long after a while. I have a couple of friends who can’t bear to drive under there at all. They’d rather go a whole bunch of extra miles in heavy traffic to stay above ground (and water) because they can’t handle the dark, tight, enclosed tunnel. I’ll pick the tunnel over the extra miles any day, but I also understand their choice!
Anything that stings is an enemy of mine. I don’t handle stings very well. Nor the icky monsters that deliver them. I’ll get on your anit-bee bandwagon anytime! :)
Have a marvelous weekend!!
Mice freak me out! Not apparent reason not sure why. It was the one thing I didn’t like in Cinderella.
Mice…but they’re so cute… Just kidding! ;)
As someone who’s had to deal with mice more than once, I can tell you they’re destructive little creatures. I’m not exactly in the mouse fan club. I wouldn’t call it a fear exactly, but I’m most definitely not fond of the little things. If I never see another one, I won’t at all feel cheated.
Isn’t that what the Pied Piper is said to have done? He was supposed to play his lute, and all the mice in a certain town were supposed to follow him out so the villagers could be free of the little beasts? But instead he got all the children to follow him…? Hm. Time to go look up my fables and see if I have the story right.
Wishing you a blessed and mouse-free day!!
Sounds interesting.
So glad you could stop by Teresa!!
Leeches! Ugh! Just thinking about them makes me shudder… the way they move, the way they look… I’ll stop right now!
Oh dear me! I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a leach fear. Did this come about naturally (because you live in an area where they are), or did this spontaneously develop? Now that you’ve mentioned them, I think I might have to add them to my avoid-at-all-costs list. I’m officially grossed out. :)
My friends and family make fun of my foam aversion. Examples are egg crate mattress support, foam brushes, dry magic erasers (but I’ve been working on that one, some days I can do it, other days I get my rubber gloves on!), small foam balls, giant foam fingers *shudder*… anyway, you get the idea. I can’t stand the texture and I’m getting the willies just thinking about it!!! My family has chased me around the house with these things until I scream, cry, and beg for mercy.
Beth, your foam aversion sounds a bit like my camera aversion – I run, scream, and beg for mercy, too, whenever somebody points a camera at me. Or I dive behind large objects to avoid the hideous clicker. ;)
So…texture’s an interesting thing. When my son was a toddler, he didn’t like mashed potatoes. Being the good mom that I was, I decided he just needed to try them, and once he ate some, he’d realize how fantabulistic they were. So I forced a spoonful of mashed potatoes into his mouth. He promptly threw up all over my shoes. So I waited a couple of years. Then, around about preschool age, I decided it was time to force the issue again. After all, he had a more mature palate. Surely he’d love the fluffy white spuds. (After all, we lived in Idaho. Come on! Who didn’t love potatoes?) So I made him take a bite of mashed potatoes…and sacrificed another pair of shoes to the endeavor.
That’s the day I decided that some people really do have texture issues, and it wasn’t up to me to fix the world by forcing them to get over it.
Incidentally, he’s now 16 and hasn’t had mashed potatoes in, oh, twelve years or so – ever since I lost that last pair of shoes.
So, to your foam aversion I say, whatever works for you sounds good to me! (Frankly, giant foam fingers have always kind of creaped me out, too.) And if you have a family that enjoys the nurf gun and/or nurf wars, then duck and cover. I’ve been pelted with dozens of foam darts simultaneously before. Of course, then I got my revenge… Mwahaha. ;)
As for the foam eraser things – you may want to read your label. Some of those have some pretty toxic chemicals in them, so that may be one where you want to keep your gloves on anyway. (But check your label. I’m not sure if all foam erasers are created equal…and I tend to have pretty sensitive skin, so there’s that, too.)
Thank you for stopping by and sharing Beth!!
Mine would be worms. Miniature snakes which you run into more often.
You know how some kids have ant farms? I had a worm farm. I would even let them crawl around in my hand. But when it came to fishing, my Grandpa would have to bait my hook for me. I didn’t like hurting the little guys. As an adult…yeah, you won’t find me collecting, keeping, or nurturing worms anytime soon. But my daughter went on a church outing one day and adopted a worm while she was out. She named him, too, but I don’t remember the name. Sadly the sun got to him, and the poor guy didn’t live long enough to make it home. And I didn’t complain. ;)
Wishing you a worm-free day!! ^_^