Happy Places and Colors by Liz Flaherty

Photo by Regine Brindle

Happy Tuesday!

I am in my most favorite time of the year now. From early fall all the way through Christmas are the days that create my happy place. No, I don't like being cold, I hate the wind, rains depresses me, and ice is a bone-threatening concern. 

But, oh, the colors.

Duane and I went to dinner Friday night, driving down through the curves on Meridian Road that were brilliantly lit by maples, oaks, and every other leaf-changing tree known to the Midwest. We talk in the car, and we talk too much about aging, about the changes that are...well, hard. But we don't really talk about dying, other than to give each other instructions--don't keep me alive with a machine, don't bring a date to the funeral, be happy for what we've had. 

But last night, I said, "One of the regrets I'll have when I die is that I haven't seen enough autumns."

As regrets go, that's not a bad one. It also gave me an aha moment about why so many of my books have autumn in them. Christmas, too, because I love Christmas, but even when they start in spring or summer, the heart of them takes place as the leaves turn. 

I'm writing a new book now, one whose beginning is in February, and I'm enjoying it a lot. Maggie's feeling her way through a snowfall around Harper Loch. I don't have her story all planned out, but something tells me it will find its conclusion and its happy place in the colors of autumn.

Because Blogger is giving me fits, it won't caption the picture above. It was taken by Regine Brindle, whose photography is a daily inspiration! 

Nan's latest is out today! The Fireman's Christmas Wish is a tender and fun story of one of the Lange brothers from River's Edge. Don't miss it!

~*~

In Life's Too Short for White Walls, Joss and Ez's story takes place in fall, too, in a wonderful campground in Eastern Kentucky. If you haven't gotten it yet, I hope you will, and I hope you love it. 

Neither is looking for love, yet the attraction they share is undeniable. Can the comfort of campfires, hayrides, and sweet kisses bring these two lost souls together?

"Flaherty has a way of making everyday life seem rich and gratifying." - Amazon Review

"Recommendation: Definitely recommended. This isn’t a standard sappy romance. These are realistic people who have actual, real problems readers can relate to. And a HEA ending that satisfies." - Amazon Review

"It is always a joy to read one of author Flaherty’s ‘adventures’, this one about Joss, a woman recovering from years of emotional trauma. How she finds it—and at the very last place she expected—is a pure joy to read. Do Not Miss." - Wild Women Reviews