• Contemporary

    For Friends of #RLFblog: A Thanksgiving Poem #ThanksgivingDay

    A fitting poem about luck and being thankful, just in time for Thanksgiving Day. Thank you to each of you who make Romance Lives Forever a wonderful place to be all year long.
    Wishing you and yours a wonderful, safe holiday.
    — Kayelle Allen

    Thankful for Turkeys 

    Thankful

    (author unknown)
    Week before Thanksgiving,
    I limp around real strange.
    Huddle in the corner,
    As though I have the mange.
    All the other turkeys,
    Just gobble, gobble on.
    I’m silent, and I act
    As if my gobbler’s gone.
    Everyone is thankful
    On Thanksgiving Day.
    Friday it’s forgotten.
    You all go on your way.
    I know what thankful is
    So listen when I say.
    “It’s great to be a turkey,

    After Thanksgiving Day.”

  • Author Interviews

    13 Things I’m Thankful For #thanksgiving

    Blessings.

    As the owner of Romance Lives Forever, I’ve had the opportunity
    to interview about two hundred authors this year. I’ve learned some fun things about
    them, their books, and their characters. As I thought about what to write for Thanksgiving
    Day on the blog, I couldn’t help but be grateful for their friendship and the insights
    I’ve gained by knowing them. I decided that would be the best thing to share. There
    are more than thirteen things, but in the spirit of Thursday Thirteen, that’s all
    I’m listing. Besides, that gives me a good thing to write about on another day!

    13 Things I’m Thankful For

    1. I’m in
      good company. The authors who interview here are amazing men and and women.
      I’m privileged to make their acquaintance.
    2. My characters,
      with their idioms and quirks, are no stranger than anyone else’s. I’ve met
      characters here in interviews, and I can say mine are normal. (Okay, that’s
      a lie, but I’m still going to say it.)
    3. I appreciate
      the honest interviews that I get every week. They are a joy to read, and I
      love getting to know so many wonderful authors, characters, and books.
    4. I’ve discovered
      that no one else is balanced in their writing life either. Writers know the
      definition of balance, but seem to have no idea how to implement it. It’s nice
      not to be alone. ;)
    5. I’m thankful
      that with rare exception, writers who interview here turn in their material
      on time. Thank you more than you know.
    6. I’m grateful
      for macros that let me format documents in a snap. No two people use the same
      formats, and despite a nicely pre-formatted interview, I usually get back text
      that’s in a different font, size, or with indentions where I hadn’t planned
      them, so the macros help. A lot.
    7. Having
      to change all those things has shown me that there are easier ways to do things.
      I would never have discovered that if everyone did things the same way.
    8. I’m thankful
      for the idea to share blog stats and show the top bloggers. It began in January
      of this year, and I’ve kept it up every month. Now I can track trends and see
      what works. Wish I’d thought of it sooner!
    9. This blog
      has helped me meet some incredible people I’d never have met otherwise. The
      Romance Lives Forever Paper.li
      ezine
      that comes out because of the blog has also helped me meet
      many cool new friends.
    10. Can’t talk
      about things I’m thankful for related to this blog without mentioning Twitter
      and Triberr. That combination is powerful. I wouldn’t want to be without either
      one.
    11. I’m thankful
      for a family that supports me in what I do. I couldn’t help others if I had
      no help myself.
    12. Which brings
      me to friends again — because I could not run this blog, help other authors,
      interview so many people, and post so much if not for them. Thank you.
    13. Finally
      — and yet foremost — I’m thankful for my health. I was in the hospital earlier
      this year. Thought I was having a heart attack. Although it wasn’t, I did discover
      some issues with my heart that have made me be much more careful of my health.
      I joke about “balance” — but I do try to rest more, eat well, and
      take better care of myself.
    2012 has been the most successful year ever for Romance Lives
    Forever. It’s because of the people who post here, share their books, their lives,
    and the people who come to read about them. I look forward to another wonderful
    year in 2013. I hope to be back here next year, sharing a list of good things I’ve
    learned. Maybe I’ll even have figured out a little balance.

    About the Author

    Kayelle Allen is the owner of Marketing
    for Romance Writers
    , the Romance Lives Forever blog, and The Author’s Secret. She’s a writer of immortal role-playing gamers,
    warriors who purr, and agents who find the unfindable–or hide it forever.
    Blog http://kayelleallen.blogspot.com