Amarillo, TX. seen by a Floridian

Last weekend, thirteen members of my family and extended family flew to Amarillo, TX, to attend the Final Profession of Vows of my sweet niece, now Sister Regina Marie. It was a grand ceremony followed by a joyful reception. I will blog about it tomorrow.

Today I want to offer you a few pictures of Amarillo, a small Texan city surrounded by desert lands.

Amarillo's small airport is pompously named Amarillo International Airport because the Fed Ex plane stops there.
Today I will post a few pictures of Amarillo that reflects the real heart of Texas. I kept thinking of my friend Celia Yeary who loves so much her blue state and often blogs about it.

As soon as I landed, I broke into a large smile at the sight of handsome hunks wearing Stetson hats. No wonder so many authors like to write about cowboys.

We had lunch at an old saloon where the ribs tasted heavenly.

Here I am wrapped in a heavy coat, hat and scarf, trying to imagine what it would be like to travel in that last-century carriage.
Our group is posing in front of an unhappy cow.
Even the waitresses wear the famous Stetson.

Can you see the balcony, chandeliers and upper rooms? I can only guess what the rooms were used for after a good dinner and few drinks.

Celia, this post is for you and all our friends who live in Texas. Tomorrow I will blog about my niece's profession of vows.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.
Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.
http://www.monarisk.com/

St. John

Our third stop was at St. Thomas, an island well-known for the shopping of jewlry and liquors that are tax-free and at bargain prices. We bypassed the shopping, rented a taxi and went straight to the ferry for St. John Island.

A local taxi drove us to Trunk Bay -

The most renown beach on the islands, and probably in the Caribbean.

Certainly the most photographed and printed beach in the island magazines.
This is probably due to its picture perfect view from North Shore Road.

Notice the soft golden sand of Turk Bay beach.

We spent a lovely day swimming and playing with my grandchildren.

And then it was time to leave that piece of paradise and return to the ship.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.
Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.
http://www.monarisk.com/

Thanksgiving in St. Maarten

On Thanksgiving Day we docked at St. Maarten Island.

After admiring the beautiful turquoise color of the Carribean Sea, we enjoyed the day on the Dutch side of the island. Apparently 16,000 tourists visited St. Maarten on Thanksgiving Day. Can you count four ships?

We had a quick walking tour of the shore area.

This map of the island is made of marble tiles, inserted in the ground, at the entrance of the town.

Playing with the grandchildren was the highlight of my cruise.

No shopping for me. I was too busy holding little hands.

Although they had nice beach wraps, not expensive.

The Captain's Pub next to the boutiques.

Too soon it was time to go home to the ship.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN winner of 2009 Best Romance Novel at Preditors & Editors and winner of 2009 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite.
Rx FOR TRUST, winner of 2010 Best Contemporary Romance at Readers Favorite and 2011 EPICON.
http://www.monarisk.com/

A Memorable Thanksgiving

For many years Thanksgiving vacation meant family reunion with about forty relatives and a dozen close friends gathering for lunch and dinner at my parents' house, or my aunt and uncle's, exchanging news and jokes, and making plans for the next year. As the children grew and the parents' health failed, the reunion took place at my house.
But the dear old people left us one after the other. So this year we decided to break the tradition that held sweet and painful memories.

My son suggested a cruise and we welcomed the idea. With nine adults and two small children, we boarded the Ruby Princess ship, sailed the Caribbean and enjoyed a week of relaxation and togetherness. After a day at sea, we docked at Princess Cay, an island owned by the Princess company, and lunched on the beach. Here are some pictures taken on Princess Cay Island. For the next three days I will post pictures of St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. John islands and Grand Turk.
Older people lay on comfortable lounge chairs.

Pretty girls dipped their legs in the ocean.

The children played in an enclosed kidd-camp under the close supervision of several monitors chosen from the ship staff.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN
Rx FOR TRUST
http://www.monarisk.com/

Thanksgiving

Have a happy THANKSGIVING.

Don't eat too much.

Relax and read.

See you in a week.
I will back with many stories and beautiful pictures.

Here is a list of of award-winning books you will enjoy reading.

TO LOVE A HERO
FRENCH PERIL
BABIES IN THE BARGAIN
Rx FOR TRUST

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

Fort Lauderdale

Today I am blogging at:

http://www.voicesftheart.blogspot.com/

About psychic, dreams, and incredible things. Please come and visit.

Yesterday was a gorgeous day here in Fort Lauderdale with a perfect 78 degree temperature.

I spent an hour swimming in the ocean.

If you are looking for a nice vacation in warmer climate, come and visit South Florida.

We don't have the beautiful foliage colors of the north states or the snow-covered slopes, but we offer the amazing blue variation of our ocean and the most beautiful sandy beaches, the Intercoastal and its many canals.

Yes I am partial to my Florida, its speldid sunrises on the ocean and colorful sunsets.

I'll be back tomorrow with a lovely video to show you.

If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat.

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN
Rx FOR TRUST
http://www.monarisk.com/

Back to writing, blogging, and more

Today I attended a workshop on how to update my blog and website. You’ll notice I already applied what I learned and gave a facelift to my blog. I even added a followers’ box and I hope to see you joining my list of followers.

I have good news to share with you. Rx FOR TRUST, my latest contemporary romance that won Best Book of the Year 2010 at Readers Favorite, is now a finalist at EPICON 2011.




I was thrilled when I received the email with that good news. The winners will be announced at the EPICON conference in Williamsburg VA, in March 2011. I hope I’ll be able to attend. It’s a little bit like the Golden Heart or RITA award for ebooks.

Following that good news, I managed to kick myself —hard—and sit on my computer to write. My muse rushed back with a story set in Greece. So we are going to travel together to the beautiful island of Mykonos.


If you like to travel and love to read, come and enjoy my international romances. I will take you around the world through stories that simmer with emotion and sizzle with heat~

BABIES IN THE BARGAIN

Rx FOR TRUST

http://www.monarisk.com/