I’ve missed you!
Where have I been? Well, I just took a delightful (and much-needed) vacation. First stop: Debbie Macomber’s FABULOUS home in Florida! WOW! Even though Deb has a cast on one foot, due to a recent surgery, she was a dynamo, as usual. I swear, the woman is the Energizer Bunny, disguised as a famous writer. 
During my short visit–I would have had an extra day with my pal, but the original flight was cancelled–Debbie did everything possible to make sure Sally, my sister and travel buddy, had an unforgetable time!
First, Debbie and Wayne’s cook and housekeeper, Theresa, had a fantastic Mexican lunch prepared when we arrived. We dined in splendor, let me tell you–Chez Macomber is not just a nice house, it’s a freakin’ mansion, with wonderful views of the water and all the sunshine a weary SAD sufferer like moi could ask for. Mutual friends Bill Francis and Renae Kinsey joined us for a remarkable dinner one evening, prepared by a very talented chef, no less, and we all had a marvelous time catching up and talking shop. I met Debbie and Wayne’s good friend, Rhett, who interviewed me for his show on iHeart Radio–details to follow, and was introduced to Gary and Marsha Roche as well. We all went out for a lovely dinner. Gary is an expert on the Civil War, specializing in Gettysburg, so I had plenty of questions for him, as you can imagine. I’ll be heading for Gettysburg sometime in May, for a tour with Gary and also with a local reader/friend, Sandy Pennesse. Sally, Debbie and I did some shopping, of course–Deb was in a wheelchair but it barely slowed her down.
One of the best things about being at Debbie’s winter home was just being with her. She knitted, I read, and we were perfectly happy to spend quiet time in each other’s presence.
On Sunday, the 22nd, Sally and I moved on to Fort Lauderdale, where we boarded the Nieuw Amsterdam and cruised for a week, hitting Half Moon Cay, Grand Turk, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Thomas. I fulfilled a life long dream on Grand Turk, joining an excursion on horseback. Our group rode along a beautiful almost-white beach and finished up wiith a swim in the unbelievably beautiful turquoise water–still on our horses. I loved every minute of that! (And the horses were happy to hit the water, too, since it was so hot.)
We shopped, had acupuncture, and sat on our small verandah a lot. What an experience! I even sunbathed a little–in an actual bathing suit–and also had a pedicure. Believe me, the Spokane weather was a shock after Florida and the Caribbean, but I’m oh so glad to be home with Bernice, Jitterbug, the horses and, oh, yeah, my two-legged family, too.
Check in tomorrow for this week’s prize winners. The new contest is underway as of right now–comment, and you’re entered.
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What a wonderful winter vacation! So glad you had the chance to do it.
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So happy for you!!! Have a great week!!!
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so happy that you had a great time to relax and unwind and enjoy the beauty of the islands!!
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The beaches in San Juan and Florida are the most beautiful
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It sounds like an ideal rest and relaxation period. I’m glad you all had that quiet time together. All the sun and sand sounds great! Will you be writing a novel set in the Gettysburg area?
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Glad you had a wonderful vacation!!
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WOW sounds like you had a wonderful time. My two favorite writers in one house — GEEZ!! Glad you had a relaxing time. I am anxiously awaiting your next book release!!
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Linda, Your vacation sounds absolutely wonderful. So happy that you were able to take the much needed time away. I think I can probably speak for all your fans -We are happy to have you back. Congrats in advance to the new winners. I’d be tickled pink if I saw my name as one of the winners. I’m sure we all feel that way, who doesn’t like surprises and gifts LOL. have a great week and so looking forward to the next new book.
P.S.
My first children’s book “should” be completed at the publishers next month. Hooray !!! I’m excited, almost beyond words.
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Linda,
What a fabulous vacation!!! I live in San Antonio Texas, our winters are nothing compared to what you and everyone up north have, but this Texas Girl has had enough!!!
Thanks for letting me enjoy a bit of sunshine through you.
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Just got back a week ago from a cruise to the Caribbean. I count myself lucky to be able to vacation when I chose, which was not the case when I was teaching. Glad you enjoyed your time away. A little re-charge is good for the soul.
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Sounds like a great time!
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Sounds like a great vacation, would love to see be in some warm sunshine, can’t wait for Spring here in N. Alabama–where we had 8 inches of snow last week!!
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What a great vacation!! I can hear it in your blog how much fun you had. Debbie Macomber seems like such a sweet person, and I know she is a great author, so I can see why you guys are such friends. Those Turquoise waters, that you talked about at the island are just beautiful, I was amazed the first time I saw it.
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Linda, I’m so excited for you – what a great vacation! I’ve been to Fort Lauderdale and on a Caribbean cruise in the 80s and remember every single moment of it (I think, anyway). Although we’ve had good weather here in Washington, I’d trade that for your vacation any day! I’m so happy and really pray that you are rested, rejuvenated, refreshed, recharged, and ready to write! LOL!
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What a great get away! Don’t know how often you vacation, Linda, but it sounds like you could use at least two a year. Love reading about your days whether it’s in the tropics of Florida and the Caribbean or at home on the ranch. You are really a busy lady.
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So happy & excited for you on your great vacation!!
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sounds like it was fun
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What a wonderful vacation !!!! It sounds like everyone had a great time. Time to regroup and the energy back. Winter can really bring us down. We all need sunshine to feel better.
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I hope you spend at least 3 days if not more exploring Gettysburg. You can and should make it a must to go horseback riding on the battlefields. There is so much to see in town and out about. Also, Harrisburg, Pa. has a great museum on the Civil War. It was build around 2001. My late husband was a Civil War buff and we went there in 2002. I hope you enjoy Pennsylvania. There is so much to see and do here.
I enjoy your books and patiently waiting for the next book to come out.
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I was so glad to here that you are such good friends with my only other favorite author!! I have been reading both of your books for years! I was also so glad to hear that you had such an awesome vacation. My husband of 40 years and myself took a cruise a few years back to Key West and the Bahamas. It was the best vacation we ever took!! Keep writing those wonderful books and I will definitely keep buying them!!!
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So happy you had a much needed vacation…so jealous. I’m sick of Wyoming weather and having bronchitis!
Miss you dearly…hope you got my emails…God bless you!
Karen Cotton
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glad you had a good time in fl being as the weather is so unpreditable
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I just got back from a week in Hawaii with my daughter and grandchildren. It was wonderful and fun but glad to get back to Spokane. Wonderful as it was there is “no place like home”!
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Sounds like you had a lovely trip. We missed you but welcome home. Blessings.
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Linda, I’m gad you got back home safely, and glad you had such a good time while gone.
Take care of yourself.
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It sounded like a wonderful vacation. I have been a fan for years. I’m 71years old and still buy every book you write. Thanks for all of the enjoyable hours. :
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Glad to hear you got away. Love Debbie Macomber’s books. The cruise sounded wonderful. Some sun, sand and sea. Relaxation to recharge yourself.
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What a wonderful experience! I am so happy for you, Linda.
I have never ridden a horse through water, but would like to try it!
Billiesue
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What a wonderful sounding vacation. Glad you’re home safe.
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What a fantastic vacation and a well deserved one! Sounds like fun was had by all!
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Welcome back, Linda. We missed you, too.
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Sounds like a nice time was had by all — BUT we didn’t get invited along!! Next time…..
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Horses on the beach – I was lucky enough 1x too.
Beaches & books are 2 of my very favorite things!
I was in San Juan the 1st week of February – I loved downtown
and the blue streets!
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Glad to hear the cruise was wonderful!! So good to have met your sister who I think takes quiet delight in hearing you speak!!! You’re simply beautiful and amazing!!! I’ve joined WW because of you, and I’m plugging away!!!!
The horseback riding and bathing suit moments you have hard-earned so it’s good to hear you stepped proudly out of your comfort zone – I am glad the weather was warm- Riding a horse on the beach is on my bucket list !! The last time I rode a horse he backed me into the trees so since we would be in the ocean, I’m not so scared!!! LOL
Glad your home so your darling Bernice doesn’t think you’ve disappeared.
I know you’ll be very busy – but we ARE planning the Turks vacation as discussed… :- )
Hugs!!!!
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Sounds like you had a magnificent time!
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I am so jealous! I want to meet Debbie Maccomber and vacation at her house.
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Sounds like paradise! A d to share such experiences with friends is wonderful. Thanks for sharing.
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I’m so glad you enjoyed your vacation. Thanks for sharing.
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Linda, it sounds like you hard a marvelous vaction. It’s nice to spend time with dear friends. But it is nice to come back home to our loved ones. Have a great week.
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It sounds absolutely wonderful. I think I’most jealous of your time with Debbie! Lol
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It sounds like you had a wonderful time. I would love a get away like that. I need to get away from all this cold and snow. We have another winter storm on the way tomorrow. I am so ready for spring. It is in the 50’s today and raining but a cold from in coming through and we are going to get a lot more snow and ice tomorrow.
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Missed you, too, & glad to have you back. Happy you had such a wonderful vacation, but don’t know why you kept it all a secret??
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Oh my! what a wonderful experience! sounds like a dream!
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Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation.
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What a great vacation you had! It sounds great to go someplace where it is warm and no ice and snow! It’s good to have you back!
Rhonda Dickinson
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Welcome back, and thanks for letting us tag along vicariously, I need a little Carribean time, anyway I can get it. Through you I am getting to love Debbie M too. she is a good writer, and has a way of pulling you into her story.
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Hot?? I have forgotten what that word means. Today we had snow, sleet and rain and high winds. Your trip sounds heavenly!
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oh wow! i envy you to met up with Debbie. She’s my other favorite author. (you too) It sounds like you had lots of fun, and I’m glad your home.
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Your trip sounds amazing. I’m so glad u had such a good time. It’s currently selecting in NJ and the thought of warm temperatures and beaches sounds delightful.
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Sorry, I meant sleeting in NJ
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Glad you had a wonderful trip but happy your home.
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That sounds like a perfect vacation. I love the Caribbean and the beaches. St. Maartin is one of my all time favorite vacation spots. Wold retire there is I ever get to retire.
glad you had such an amazing time, Welcome home
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So glad you had such a wonderful time! My BFF is my travel buddy! I understand the shock of coming back to the cold weather. I was in Tucson, AZ for 3 months & came back to Northern Indiana. Day before I left it was 81. Came back to the 30’s. The next day it snowed 16″ and was sub zero temps for a month!
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I am so very glad you had a wonderful time. I haven’t read any of Debbie’s books in a very long time. What one (ones) would you read first?
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Hope you have a wonderful vacation.
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Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. Any where without snow would be wonderful! You can always use a quite time with friends. I glad for you an your family. Debbie sounds like alot of fun. She tells good stories too.
Love yours and waiting for a new book to come out.
Have a great day.
Jo-Ann
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Glad you had a great vacation and a nice time with Debbie,she’s another great author i love. Enjoy the rest of your evening.
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Welcome back Linda
Sounds like you had a great vacation. Of course, all your books send your readers on wonderful vacations, and we don’t even have to leave our comfortable chair. We journey back in time and your writing makes us feel we are actually there, whether we visit over 100 years ago or now, in present time. We rejoice in their good times (and feel for their sorrow), but all in all, they are great vacations, so thank you again for the joy your books bring to us all.
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Okay, I confess. I was really upset with Bex and Hadleigh. They should have kept their mouths shut and let him tell her. With friends like that . . .
)
Marriage Charm is a great book. (P.S. I am also a writer and I don’t always approve of what my own characters do.
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Hearing of your vacation after our weather in Ohio is rather daunting, but I am glad you enjoyed yourself…I am awaiting two eye surgeries or I would also be in Florida….Thank God I will be able to have my vision restored to near normal..
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Sounds like you had a fantastic time. It gives you time to stop and smell the roses. Enjoy every day.
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sounds like a marvelous time. It’s snowing again here in NJ with more expected on Thursday – sigh! Really ready for Spring! Visiting the Gettysburg battlefield and museum is an incredible experience – really touched my heart thinking about what happened there.
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So glad you had a great trip!! Jealous you had warm weather!
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Such good news that you were able to be in warm places while weather further north was so cold, really happy you had visits with dear friends. Blessed be always, in all ways.
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Your vacation sounds like one from an amazing sweepstakes, only better cause you were with a great friend. My friend from
Florida came to visit me! At least the weather wasn’t too bad.
Glad you are back all refreshed. I’ve been on a cruise in that
area and it’s so beautiful, it almost feels unreal. I’m getting
anxious about your Civil War plans. Now don’t get sick again!
Bundle up.
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Sounds like you had a wonderful vacation. I am forgetting what the sun or even temperatures above 30 feel like.
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What a lovely vacation! You live the life most of us can only dream of!
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Wonderful to hear you got away into beautiful sunshine, rest, relaxation and the company of friends. That’s the way to take a vacation. Thank you for sharing with us.
Carol L
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What a wonderful vacation! We in southern KY just got rid of a foot of snow that arrived during your vacation. So glad you had time with good friends. I’m looking forward to your Civil War novel – good to have an expert during your travels.
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Sounds like a lot of fun! Two of my favorite authors together! I have to say I think your books are the best!!!! I hate when I read the last page!! Please keep writing!!
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I knew it! Thanks Linda! You won a bet for me (that you were headed for our neck of the woods – well, of the US anyway) and I got a fabulous non-Weight Watchers doughnut! Ah, the sweet spoils of victory!
Glad you’re back! You were missed!
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Sounds like you have a great vacation plan And I’m glad you’re having a great time With friends and family stay safe and have a awesome time.
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Sounds like a wonderful time for all of you! I’m seeing all the pics from Skagit Valley & wishing I was hugging on the grandkids, but have to wait until summer!
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It sounds like you had a very special time, so glad you could get away and enjoy yourself!
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Glad you had such a great time.
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It’s always nice to be able to visit friends.I have been on 3 cruises. They are such fun
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There’s nothing like a vacation to energize your soul.
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it sounds like a wonderful vacation.
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I’m glad you had a great vacation! A little fun in the sun and a nice visit with friends always lifts my spirits!!
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Welcome back Linda! What a wonderful vacation & how nice to be able to spend with such good friends. Glad u enjoyed! I cannot wait for more books from Bliss County! Thank you!!
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I am glad you got a chance to get away. You were lucky to get to enjoy some nice weather. the weather in Pa has been so cold.
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Sounds like you had a great vacation with Debbie and then for your cruise. My husband and I went on the Nieuw Amsterdam ship in December 2013 for that same trip and had a wonderful time. Can’t beat the gorgeous turquoise water of the Caribbean! I’ll bet Spokane was a whole different ballgame when you returned.
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So happy you had a wonderful vacation!!! It sounds fantastic!! Can’t wait for more from Bliss County, can’t get enough of this series!! Just finished Marriage Charm and I loved it so much!!
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Glad you had a great vacation. Looking forward to book #3 in the Bliss series.Keep up the good work.
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Glad you had a great vacation. Waiting for book #3 in the Bliss series. Keep up the good work.
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I am so glad you had a lovely vacation – much deserved. I understand completely about the sunny weather – I live in the Midwest and just visited my daughter in Tampa – it was heaven on earth to see sunshine.