I’ve always loved the words from Ecclesiastes that begin: To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. I find the words profound, not only because I strongly believe them, but also because in relation to my writing career, I’ve seen them in action. Although many times I have been disappointed, frustrated and impatient . . . all of the events leading up to my securing a two-book contract with Kensington Books unfolded exactly in their own time. Writing has always been my passion, yet I truly never gave a thought to writingprofessionally until my early forties. Some people express dismay or ask why I never thought to submit even a short story somewhere. Looking back now, I feel certain it all had to do with timing. The timing for me just wasn’t right. Read the rest… Visit FreshFiction.com to learn more about books and authors.

Well, not gears, exactly. What I’m talking about is a shift in seasons. I live in New England. That’s in the northeastern part of the United States, for those of you who might not know. ‘New England’ is the name we gave the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, in honor of the English who settled this area in the seventeenth century. My state, Connecticut, is more ‘New England’ in feel than the others, especially our part of it. Whenever I’m in England, especially heading north, I see the strong resemblance. Our roads are narrow and twisting; we have lots of beautiful stone walls; many towns, counties and rivers bear English place-names. We’re also famous for our weather. Coldly beautiful winters. Blossom-infused springs. Hot, colorful summers. Absolutely gorgeous autumns. That’s our most famous season and deservedly so. We have lots of forests and woods in New England. During the autumn, our maples, oaks and hickories, all our hardwood trees, put on the most glorious display imaginable. It’s happening right now. As I write this. I look out the door of my office and see the colors of fall. Flaming reds, brilliant golds, deep purples, hot orange, rich…