Okay, so I am maybe a little early celebrating Spring! Most places, the first day of Spring is considered the equinox, which will be March 20th this year.
But here in England, we’ve had a crazy winter. It only snowed once, and the only reason I knew was because I was working on a story and still awake at 4am! By the next morning, the snow had vanished. My almond tree had blossom in it in December. I saw flowers and berries and the hawthorn at the same time, which I’ve never seen before. My daffodils flowered in February. This is one, picked from the garden in mid-February.
I love Spring. It’s so full of hope and new beginnings. We have baby bunnies and hens laying eggs again and lambs jumping out in the nearby fields. We have fat just-about-ready-to-bloom bud clusters on the cherry tree, promising a good crop if the weather stays nice. Even in the city or town, we have swelling buds on trees and the chance to shed some of those heavy winter layers of clothing. The days are getting longer. We aren’t getting up in the dark anymore. Everywhere, there’s the sense of lightness of life. There’s hope. We have Easter, too, Jesus’s amazing sacrifice giving us not just new life in the garden and fields, but new life for ever.
I have two Spring stories published at present, and they are very different. tried to capture that sense of hope and new life in both my Spring stories. Forget Paris starts on Valentine’s Day and ends in April and is set in the city centres of Paris and London; A Lesson in Love is set in Edinburgh but has more of a small town feel, focused on building a church garden.
Forget Paris is currently free on Amazon until Monday March 7, and is always free to read in Kindle Unlimited. I do hope you enjoy it if you download a copy!
A Lesson in Love is available as a standalone novella, or as part of the Love Blossoms anthology of Spring themed Christian romances. I have one mobi for Kindle ebook copy of the novella to give away to a randomly selected comment on this post before midnight on Monday March 7th.
I hope where you are, Spring has already appeared, and that you aren’t knee deep in snow still, or mud and slush!
Just for fun and another chance to win a mobi for Kindle ebook copy of A Lesson in Love, visit my Facebook author page after you’ve commented here, and add a photo of the signs of Spring you’re seeing where you are in the comments there (right on the post for this blog).
I look forward to reading your comments here and seeing your photos there! :)
USA Today bestselling author Autumn Macarthur writes romances full of faith and hope, celebrating God's love as well as a man and a woman finding their happily ever after. She prays they’ll warm your heart and make you smile. An Australian transplanted to Britain, Autumn lives just north of London with her lovely English husband and three demanding cats, in a very small house with a teensy tiny garden. She loves talking to readers, so please get in touch! And get a free Christian romance novella when you sign up for her reader newsletter at http://bit.ly/Autumnsubscribe
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I admire the authors who share their creativity using words and faith to reach out to me , the public to enjoy. They manage this whilst juggling a whole host of things.
Thank you for this site which allows the connection between author and reader.
Hi Autumn. Enjoyed reading all seven spring romances in the anthology Love Blossoms. A talented inspiring group of inspy romance writers. Well done and a great bargain at $2.99. The church community garden in A Lesson in Love was a different approach to community gardens. In SW Michigan we have city run or non profit groups community gardens, never by a church. Most churches have a lot of property and suppling fresh vegetables would be a healthy addition to their food pantries.
In the Midwest compared to the last two winters, it is a mild winter and spring is toying with our psyches. Just when the snow melts and the ground is dry and we wash the grime from our cars, we receive another dusting of snow and the process starts over. The ground hog saw his shadow, so hopefully if he was correct with six more weeks of winter by St. Patrick’s Day and hopefully by Easter we will be done with winter. No flowers yet!
We’ve had cold and snow, two feet of snow at one point, and then warm weather, and then it repeats the cold, warm cycle. We had a light snow yesterday that melted by midday. Spring is coming though, we have crocus and daffodils trying to bloom. Looking forward to reading your book , Forget Paris. My grandmother came from Paris many years ago. I grew up hearing her speak French. Thanks for writing! God bless!
Happy spring to you, Autumn! Where I live in southeastern British Columbia, Canada,the snow has been gone for over a month, which isn’t completely unusual. We did have quite a lot of snow this year and there is still plenty on the mountains. We are well into mud season which, for our black Lab cross, goes right along with shedding season. Snowdrops have been blooming for over a month, and crocuses started last week. Everything else is still only a future hope.
I loved your community garden in A Lesson for Love. There is a church in our region that has a community vegetable garden. It’s in a small mountain town and the church has a larger, flatter lot than many of the homes, so offering this space is a great way to interact with their neighbors. Love it!
Yesterday we had snow so I’m not really seeing any signs of spring yet, but the sun is out today so I’m hopeful spring is on it’s way.
Here in Southwestern Ohio today’s high is in the upper 40’s but by next week we are supposed to have temps in the upper 60’s. My fingers are crossed hopng this comes about! I haven’t seen any flowers blooming yet but I have seen daffodils, and maybe some crocuses, starting to sprout.
Hi Autumn! The last couple of years in Charlotte, North Carolina, I feel like we’ve been cut short on spring. It’s beautiful, don’t get me wrong, but the temperatures seem to go from comfortable, to hot, much too fast. This year I’m hoping for a prolonged season. :) I’ve been seeing the bunnies already…love them!
Now, off the snatch up your books.
It’s chilly today but the forecast for the coming week is all spring. I’m looking forward to shooing my kids out to run their energy off. :)
Loved both of your spring books…and the series’ that they belong to :)
Here in Texas we have not had much of a winter, the temperature is in the 70’s with winds so it’s cool. Our humidity is still at a decent level so it’s still comfortable outside.
This morning the birds are chirping outside the door.
The thing that I notice when it’s time for spring is my allergies. This week they’re showing up more and more. I love all the flowers and trees that are blooming, but it really causes me issues. Oh well!
PS- I loved seeing your daffodil!
Because of our drought here in California, most of my daffodils did not bloom. However, a couple of bulbs that had NOT bloomed for several years DID bloom this year! Right now it’s pouring rain, for which we are thanking the Lord!
Finally 60’s and sunshine! My surprise lillys are up :) Hello Spring!
Spring has sprung in Oregon too, for which I am thankful. I’m not a fan of winter. I’m looking forward to reading your books, Autumn. I’m terrible with titles, including my own, so I don’t recall which one I last read by you, but I enjoyed it. :) Happy Spring!
Ana, I’m sorry you had trouble posting the first time, glad it worked in the end! I hope you enjoy your reading! :)
Hopefully soon, Renate!
Oh my, two feet of snow! Where I live now that would be a once-in-twenty-years occurrence. I’ve never seen it, and my English husband says the last time it happened here was 1980-something! How lovely having a Parisian grandmother! French sounds so wonderful :)
Mud season, shedding season, and a lab sound a messy mix, Valerie! I love that the church is doing a community garden thing. As Renate said in her comment above, so many churches have land that could be used. Good to see it happening :)
Praying you get a lot more sun Michele. We had a sprinkle of snow last night, followed by cold rain which melted the snow. Typical British spring weather!
Oh, I love crocuses, Jessica! The purple and yellow and white are such a happy mix. Unfortunately the mice and other critters here love the bulbs. I’ve planted hundreds in my garden on the years and only ever managed to get two to bloom, and I didn’t get any this year. I saw very few here this year in anyone’s garden. Maybe next spring… :)
Growing up in Australia, I’m used to short springs too, Jill. Where my folks live, there are only two real seasons, hot, and not-so-hot! Hoping you get a lovely Spring this year!
Thanks Elizabeth :)
Always nice to be able to shoo kids and pets (and sometimes husbands too!) out into the garden!
I love the birds. We have so many come to our feeders, and seeing who visits change with the seasons is a delight! That Texas weather sounds very like Sydney, where I grew up.
Hugs on the allergies, Marylin <3
The down side of spring :(
Praying they aren't too bad this season!
Thank God for rain! Such a wonderful thing. Prayers this is an end to the terrible drought!
I had to Google surprise lilies, DK, I’d never heard them called that before. Lovely name for them. Smiling at learning it, so thank you! :)
I actually love winter, but it does get a bit too grey and sunless for a bit too long here. The weather on my new cellphone does make me laugh, as it often describes the weather here as “Dreary”! It can feel that way, but I never saw it in a weather report before.
I’m looking forward to reading your new Wildflower B&B story too. Still waiting in the TBR line-up on my Kindle- must read more!
I am waiting on Spring big time. Cannot wait to plant my garden.
Still cool here but warming some
It’s such a lovely feeling to be able to get out and start planting!
I hope it warms up soon, Shelia :)
I see snatches of Spring here. My neighbor’s purple Crocuses, my magnolia tree is in bloom, Daffodils everywhere and Hyacinths, not to mention all the tree buds I’m finding. At night I can hear our peeper frogs, they started last month which is kind of early! The weather’s been warmer than I like, maybe they sensed it too :-)
By the way, I posted a picture of my tree to your FB page. It blooms several times a year, but doesn’t last long!
Loved the photo, and your word picture too! I can really see it! I didn’t realise magnolias repeat flowered, I’ve only known them flower once a year. They must love the climate there!
I don’t know that much about flowers and trees so I have no idea why it blooms several times a year. I don’t know if other magnolia trees do or not. You may be right about our mild weather here on the Oregon coast, it must love it :-) It puts out beautiful white & pink flowers that smell divine, just wished they’d last longer. Seems once they bloom, it don’t take but a few days for them to start falling off. What a mess on my driveway….lol! Ah well, it gives us something pretty to look at in the meantime :-)
Good morning, Autumn! In Virginia (USA) we’ve had 4 weather events, 3 that caused closures and delays due to power outages and dangerous road conditions. I am anxious for Spring! Flocks of robins have returned. My paper whites are rising out of the ground. Trees are budding. And I have a Johnny jump up blooming in a pot I left out last fall. Ahhhh, spring and Easter can’t be too far away! Praise the Lord!
God bless you and your family. I pray your mother is better. I pray for you and your husband too. May spring bring healing and renewal of the body and spirit.
Oh, what a wonderful feeling spring is, especially when it’s been a tough winter! I love johnny-jump-ups, those happy little faces.
Thank you for your prayers!
Spring is all about the cherries! In my home town of Linden, Ca we celebrate with the annual Cherry Festival complete with a Cherry Festival Queen!!
Oh, wonderful! I love cherry trees and cherries. I planted a cherry tree in our garden the year after we got married and now it’s huge and bears bucketfuls of cherries!
I went out home to Kansas this past week. When I left South Carolina, I was very comfortable in a t-shirt and capri pants, and when I got to Kansas I needed a jacket, but otherwise was still dressed appropriately. However, my layover was in Chicago and spring had definitely not arrived there! They didn’t really have snow, but from the window of the plane, everything looked frozen. I was so glad I didn’t have to leave the airport!
Sounds like lovely weather in South Carolina! I hope you had a lovely visit with your folks. I heard Chicago had some bad weather last week.
LOL, I definitely posted too soon about Spring! We had sleet all day yesterday, and today I looked like the female version of the Michelin Man, with so many clothes layered on me to try and get warm.
Love your books! Here, things are turning green again and leaves are appearing on trees. The temperature right now is perfect for being outside!
Thanks for visiting Julie :)
We’re having some lovely sunny days here too. It’s great to get outdoors in the garden again!
Katy C is the winner of the book giveaway! Congratulations Katy. :)
Congrats Katy. :)