Welcome to Celia's Blogmania!

You made it! I’m so happy to see you here. Now, I’ll make this easy. Leave a comment and tell me these three things:

1. What is the title of my newest release? (It’s at the top of this blog!)

2. How many followers do I have? (Easy as pie.)

3. In what state do I reside? (So easy it’s a gimme.)

My gift pack is a mystery—even to me (forgive me, but life-stuff got in the way, here)—but I promise to have something nice and of course, something about Texas. Maybe a pretty bracelet, a print of ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS, and who knows? If you win, I’ll track you down.

To make it easy for you to move on, here are links to blogs I am to post for my visitors: Use as many as you like, or use one where you'll find several more from which to choose.

(Blog- 1 – HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Between The Pages - http://betweenthelinesandmore.blogspot.com/

(Blog -2 – CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) The Black Sheep Dances - http://www.theblacksheepdances.blogspot.com/

(Blog-43 - CO-HOST OF BLOGMANIA) Books, Books Everywhere - http://bookywooks.blogspot.com/

(Blog-42) Information Central - http://blog.stephaniesuesansmith.com/

(Blog-66) Little Yayas and Blessed - http://littleyayasandblessed.blogspot.com/

(Blog-82) Carpe Libris - http://www.seizethebookblog.blogspot.com/

(Blog-119) A Bead A Day - http://www.abeadaday.blogspot.com/

(Blog-72) Mommy Has To Work - http://mommyhastowork.blogspot.com/

(Blog-53) Dark Faerie Tales - http://www.darkfaerietales.com/

(Blog-76) Under The Boardwalk - http://nisefunpages.blogspot.com/

(Blog-80) I Just Wanna Sit Here and Read - http://ijustwannasithereandread.blogspot.com/

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http://celiayeary.blogspot.com/

Celia Yeary

Romance…and a little bit o' Texas

http://www.celiayeary.com/

TEXAS BLUE-eBook and Print

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHFORK—eBook

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-eBook and Print

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

EARTH DAY-Love in Bloom

To acknowledge Earth Day, I’d like to show you a wonderful place whose goal is to perpetuate the natural wildflowers and vegetation of Texas. Even though it’s also a business operation, the owners tend the fields with love.

The Texas Wildseed Farms claim to be the largest in the nation. I can attest to the fact the place is very big. The site is in the beautiful Hill Country, seven miles east of Fredricksburg, Texas—a German community that decided decades ago to become one of the best arts and crafts towns around (and they succeeded.) The day my husband and I visited the farms, the fields of flowers captured your eye. The main crop that weekend was brilliant red poppies. 

 The center is popular for photographers, both amateur and professional. That day, a lovely bride walked through the Market Center in her gorgeous wedding dress and veil, drawing every eye. The crowd parted as though she were royalty strolling through her subjects, for she smiled and waved. She looked like a woman in love. I hope she held a bouquet of bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush for her wedding photo.

Chuck-Wagon Cooking: A visitor may buy a plate of brisket, mashed potatoes, corn-on-the-cob, and biscuits cooked right there--served with locally made jellies.

As far as the eye could see, fields of wildflowers grew, waiting for the owners to harvest the seed. Seeds of every Texas wildflower imaginable are shipped all over the world.

The Wildseed Farms include several retail areas: a huge nursery, Market Center, Wildflower Seed Store, Live Butterfly Exhibit, the Brewbonnet Biergarten, Mail Order Catalogs, and On-Line Specialty Foods and Gifts. If you’re touring Texas in the Spring, try to include a trip to Fredricksburg and The Wildseed Farms. You’ll love every minute.

Celia Yeary

Romance…and a little bit o' Texas

http://www.celiayeary.com/

TEXAS BLUE-eBook and Print

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHFORK—eBook

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-eBook and Print

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/

BLOGMANIA!

What is BLOGMANIA? It's a one day marathon celebration with a cast of thousands! Maybe not thousands, for I have lost the real count, but Lynda Coker knows. Those of us who signed up obviously love our own blogs--I know I do. My blog is my self-expression, my very own personal vehicle to tell the world about something I deem worthy. The tag line "Romance...and a little bit o' Texas" says it all. Everything I write almost always has something to do with Texas. Often, I do have guest authors, and I've learned I truly do love those days. It's like giving a little party and inviting all your friends to drop by and and visit.

Well, BLOGMANIA is patterned after a party. Each participating Blogger, on April 30, from midnight to midnight, will be on stage, waiting for visitors to pop in. If I could, I'd serve some Texas Peach Iced Tea and Texas Star Sugar Cookies. Instead, I'll have a little gift or two to give away--we'll see. Maybe they'll have something to do with Texas!! 

So, mark April 30 on your calendar with BLOGMANIA, and don't miss out on the Web Event of the Year.

See y'all then!

Celia Yeary

Romance…and a little bit o' Texas

http://www.celiayeary.com/

TEXAS BLUE-eBook and Print

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHFORK—eBook

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-eBook and Print

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

www.thewildrosepress.com

  

Are You a Risk-Taker?

I have read that most writers are risk-takers. I would never place myself in the category of a daredevil, which to me is the same thing as one taking a risk.

Risk-takers, to me, are extreme sportsmen, drug users, or perhaps some Olympians. Take Shaun White, the US snowboarder, for example. During the winter Olympics, I became very interested in this sport. I know nothing of it, except the little I've seen on TV. Shaun won the gold medal. How? By inventing a new, complicated, dangerous move, which he performed on his last trial. He pulled it off without a hitch, and while the other contestants played it safe with no errors, he took a chance with something more complicated and also pulled it off with no errors. Gold!

Evan Lysacek also represented the United States in men's figure-skating. His performance was flawless, perfection on ice, a routine he'd practiced, literally, for years. His Russian counter-point, the medal favorite, took a chance and executed a move than no one else did. But! The judges weren't looking for extraordinary moves—they were looking for those within the guidelines, and a contestant who skated those perfectly. Who won the gold? Not the risk-taker, this time, but the one who played it safe.

Do you take risks in writing and submitting? Do you try for the agent who will take you to the top? Or do you play it safe, sticking only with the area you know best and feel somewhat confident of earning some success?

Me? I have taken risks, and not one person I know would believe that I did. I don't look the part, I don't act with bravado, in fact, I look like a Sunday school teacher. In my forties, I signed on to be a sponsor to take forty high school students skiing. I had never skied in my life. There were four other female sponsors, along with four male sponsors. At the mountain resort, all of us donned skis on the bunny slope and tried it out for most of one day. By the second day, all females had quit except me. I went on the second day with two men to an intermediate slope. Down we went, back and forth. On the third and last day, the men enticed me to go to the next harder slope, which I did. I had several mishaps, frightening ones, but each time I stood up and kept going. At the end of the day, I'd stayed with those men, even though I ached and hurt all over. I never skied again, though.

The same thing happened when I learned to play golf at age forty. I studied and worked, and soon I was winning money and trophies at our local course. I couldn't have been happier during those years. Other women said, "Man, you came out here to win!" "Yes," I said, "why would I come out here to lose?"

And so, I'm a mix of risk-taker vs. play- it-safer kind of author. One day, I hope to take a really big chance and try for the gold. Right now? I'm playing it safe.

What about you? Risk-taker? Play-safer?

Celia Yeary

Romance…and a little bit o' Texas

http://www.celiayeary.com/

TEXAS BLUE-eBook and Print

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHFORK—eBook

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-eBook and Print

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

www.thewildrosepress.com

Bunny Tales

The first Easter I remember was in first grade. We were transient, in a way, as Mother and we three girls followed Daddy from one oilfield to another in Texas. The five of us lived in a duplex made of three rooms lined up with a door between each one. I cannot remember where we all slept, or anything else about the rooms. But that Easter Sunday morning, Mother got us up and told us to look behind the door. There were two paper mache bunnies, standing on their hind legs, with a basket on their backs. The baskets held green “grass” and dyed eggs. I Googled “Paper Mache Bunnies” and found the exact one we received!

When I was seven, I think, Mother made us yellow satin dresses for Easter. They had ruffles around the hems, tiny buttons at the neck, and a big bow in the back. We drove 200 miles to our Grandparent’s house for Easter Sunday. While there, Mother got sick, and she hadn’t sewn the buttons on the dresses. So, Daddy took over and sewed on the buttons, dressed us, and tied our sashes in big pretty bows in the back, just in time for church.

In fourth grade, we had an Easter egg hunt on the school playground the last hour of the day. All of us brought our Easter baskets, and we sat in our wooden desks and listened to the instructions for the Easter egg hunt. The teacher said most of the eggs were alike, a few were chocolate wrapped in colored foil, and one special egg was wrapped in gold foil. The lucky person who found it also won a prize. So, off we go with our baskets. I spot the golden egg the same time a boy did. We raced for the egg. Just as he reached down for it, I kicked it away, then ran after it and picked it up. He became very angry and bawled like a baby.

My prize? Another Easter basket, filled with all kind of neat stuff.

Then came the special time when our own children hunted for Easter eggs. Our daughter was six and our son was three-and-a-half. Like any good mommy, I made sure they had pretty baskets with pink and green grass. I stayed up half the night to color and decorate eggs. As I dressed them for Sunday School, my husband went to the back yard and hid all the eggs. At the signal, the children rushed outside. Our daughter skipped around, finding every egg her daddy had hidden. Our son followed his sister, and when she picked up an egg, he squatted to look in the same place. All around the yard, she filled her basket, and he had none. He began to cry. His sister ran around, re-hid some of the eggs, and “helped” him find them. She was a good sister then, and she still is today.  

Celia Yeary

Romance…and a little bit o' Texas

http://www.celiayeary.com/

TEXAS BLUE-eBook and Print

SHOWDOWN IN SOUTHFORK—eBook

ALL MY HOPES AND DREAMS-eBook and Print

Published by: The Wild Rose Press

http://www.thewildrosepress.com/