When The War Is Over

The third book in the Ellery Sisters Series is now available on Kindle and Amazon.

When The War Is Over

Book 3 of Ellery's Sisters series

Captain Rowland Sawyer of the U.S. Army began his career after graduating from Virginia Military Institute. When war broke out across the country, his job was to find and arrest spies, traitors and the growing criminal element in both the government and the Army. During an assignment in the Gap, he crosses paths with Josie Younger the wife of his good friend Thomas Younger who has been reported as missing in action near Chancellorsville, Virginia. Her reckless decision to search for her husband brings together the many friends from the Institute as they stand on opposite sides of the conflict. Rowland finds remaining impartial difficult since Josie reminds him so much of Alison Ellery the young Virginia girl who stole his heart at the beginning of the war. His loyalty to his country is shaken as his heart is torn over the people he cares about.

This novel is about the men who graduated from VMI six years before the Civil War. Captain Rowland Sawyer is a character in the series The Ellery Sisters. It takes place in Virginia during the last two years of the war before Alison Ellery marries Rowland Sawyer.

Opinions, opinions and opinions

Oh dear lord how do I survive...

The opinions I own have been carefully formed

Crafted from my lofty little brain

Usually after a non-nice debate of the third kind

If I stick out my pink tongue...

I can see them fighting for position

wanting permission to break out

into the world of I got this one opinions

I got this they scream out...

as I close my lips smiling so sweetly

you are going to just let some idiot

some biased big mouth win?

They ganged up on me...

stripping away my ability to not respond

as I knew from past experiences

that they didn't care if they were unkind

An idiot they repeatedly chant

it doesn't matter that he's related

regurgitating all those big busted blonde's say

as though their mouths contained the gospel truth

WTF I bite my tongue

behave yourself or I'll cut you out

throw you into the trash bin

where you'll wilt like last night's oil soaked lettuce

An idiot...an idiot of the nth degree

let us loose, let us save your placid face

what good is life without opinions

we're anxious to set the record straight

You know not having a tongue

took a lot of getting used to

but when I had to cut off my fingers

I may have cut off my nose despite my opinions.

barb

Floating In the Middle

It has been a year of news overload

so many issues bubbling up through the lily pads

poking constantly at my opinions

a gnat in my vision...

A woman with strong feelings on life

the words seem to flow from my fingers unbound

from the singular obvious fact

it reinforces the division...

Purpose of the life I have lived happily

power to the beliefs I place my heart upon

I rock the calm waters of today

winding the clock...

It matters not what I actually feel

changes don't hinge on my blue hued soapbox

the world doesn't end

when I reach the end of the dock...

Floating beyond the setting day

I gather up my beliefs and confessions

I put them safely away

shhh, only I know...

With each word and lofty opinion

hypocrisy awaits in the shadows of reality

taking away my voice

with it I shall go.

barb

Free Download of The Visitor Series

Because Saturday is my birthday and because my newest work is still in progress, I am putting the entire Visitor Series [all 6 books] up for free download on Kindle Saturday, June 4th and Sunday, June 5th.

Life has been very, very good and busy.  I am celebrating this birthday because I am reaching that point where why not just enjoy it despite the fact that Medicare is now my friend.  If I could go back and give myself advise it would be:

Don't get married until you meet Lewis [even though I wouldn't know his name]

Don't buy things that soon bore you and instead stash every penny away

Travel - enjoy - try new things - never second guess

Keep your friends close...never let them slip away

Life isn't guaranteed, happiness isn't something you find but something you are, roll with the punches and never blame anyone for the sh*t that happens.  I shall be celebrating on Saturday!

barb

A little bit of Florida a lot of Buffet

Sweet mother of being sixteen years old and moving to Fort Lauderdale

it was semi-sweet since I had to leave my long time friends,

family and the great area around Washington DC

not to mention a boyfriend

but there I was in not but a few miles from Fort Lauderdale Beach

close enough to walk.

Do I miss Florida?

I miss the being sixteen years old so yeah I guess you can

put one with the other for living in South Florida

is an experience that as a teenager is beyond the pale of normal

life was good - life was free

and I did good until I started dating again.

Looking back the signals

were brighter than the railroad crossing as the train approached

sometimes I get angry at how incredibly

unseeing I was and how many opportunities were sitting

waiting for me to grab.

Does anyone ever get it right?

Probably not even though you say 'hey he got it right'

you have no idea what his real dreams were

and what he left on the curbside

now wishing that he could have done that other thing.

I used to believe in numerous lives and all the things

you learn next time around but I think

that this is it and if it is

I don't have time to regret even if I should

there's no backup button

and things are far closer through the windshield

then the rear view mirror.

I am returning to my love of painting and drawing

music and inspiration

for time is ticking, ticking away

and damn but I'm no longer sixteen years old

though Jimmy Buffet

does still make me feel like I am.

barb

A Million Things You Don't Know You Don't Know

There really is no way that you could know everything

even if you spent all of your time learning

traveling, researching or experiencing

there is just too much in this world to learn it all.

I decided after traveling across New Mexico for six years

that I wanted to see the White Sands National Monument though

I had no idea whatsoever what it was other than white

sand - it is formerly a lake between two mountain ranges just

an hour or so from the border...

the sand is actually gypsum

a soft white or gray mineral consisting of hydrated calcium sulfate. It occurs chiefly in sedimentary deposits and is used to make plaster of Paris and fertilizers, and in the building industry.

It is the largest deposit of gypsum found in the world. 

This is a photo taken from space with the wind blowing which means

anyone living near this unique area spends a lot of time

sweeping up gypsum on any given day

like living on the beach where the salt invades your home.

I thought the entire area was white sands

but the top part is the missile range and the right side

is the Air Force Base and town.

It was a long way to go to sit in sand but it is a very cool

place - the sand does not get hot because it isn't really sand

but if you want to hike it make sure you are in shape

because it is just dune after dune after dune

with no landmarks...

barb

6 Books of The Vistior Free to Download

Saturday [today] April 9th and Sunday April 10th

The six books of The Visitor are free to download on Kindle.