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Patricia Johns

~ Bestselling author

Patricia Johns

Tag Archives: american romance author

When the dog bites, when the bee stings

13 Wednesday Jul 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

american romance author, etsy tea shops, harlequin author, heartwarming author, love inspired author, mills and boon author, tea cups, tea pots, western romance author

While I’m busy clattering away on my current project, I decided to share with you the sorts of things that I find inspiring.

Tea, being one of them. I always have a pot on the go, and when Mr. Johns wants to be thoughtful, he brings me a great big mug of it with extra sugar. Anyway, this is the sort of things that leaves me relaxed and creative… cute tea accessories. I can’t explain it… it’s what works.

Any other tea lovers out there?

(If you’d like to see the Etsy shops where you can buy these items, just click on the photos.)

il_570xN.421950068_i7pt–This is just adorable, isn’t it?

LOL!

LOL!

 

I think Mrs. Johns would go nicely on this set, don't you? ;)

I think “Mrs. Johns” would go nicely on this set, don’t you? πŸ˜‰

 

Long distance love mugs. So cute!

Long distance love mugs. So cute!

I thought this was rather clever! :)

I thought this was rather clever, especially since the handle would be held by the left hand… πŸ˜‰ A fitting ending for that long distance romance, too.

I love Etsy shops–it’s like window shopping without having to leave my home. Have a wonderful day! As for me, it’s back to the manuscript–right where I belong. ❀

Tiny cooking

11 Monday Jul 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming author, love inspired author, tiny cooking, weirdly soothing things on youtube, western romance author

Everyone has to find something that relaxes them, and I stumbled across something that this author finds oddly soothing… tiny cooking.

tiny cooking

Have you seen the videos yet? This is where someone cooks a real, edible “meal” on a tiny, dollhouse sized stove. It’s enthralling! Tiny cooking utensils, plates, forks, cups… all served on a teeny table. It’s less than a quarter of a bite in total, and logistically, this is a total waste of time, but somehow, it hits me right in the pleasure center. πŸ˜‰

Here is a video of tiny frying pancakes:

 

Here is another video of tiny donuts being made:

 

There are videos from tiny curry to tiny sushi. It’s a whole “thing.” And possibly the most soothing thing you’ve seen in a long time! You’re welcome. πŸ™‚

 

 

 

 

A few photos

02 Saturday Jul 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

american romance author, banff alberta, banff gondola, bow river, harlequin author, heartwarming author, love inspired author, mills and boon author, sulfur mountain view, western romance author

The Johns family went on vacation! We didn’t go too far–just to the mountains. If you’ve never been to Banff, Alberta, it’s VERY worth the trip. So, without further ado, here are a few photos. πŸ™‚

This is one the way--we couldn't see mountains yet, but the land started to get a few hills. That's something! ;)

This is on the way–you can just barely see mountains on the horizon. (Exciting for us prairie people!)

 

Mr. Johns and our son throwing rocks into a mountain lake. Still en route.

Mr. Johns and our son throwing rocks into a mountain lake. Still en route.

 

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On the way up the mountain in the gondala. Terrifying, by the way! But worth it. πŸ™‚

 

This is the view that makes it all worth it!

This is the view that makes it all worth it!

 

 

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At the bottom. :)

At the bottom. πŸ™‚

 

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And there you have it–our Banff, Alberta vacation. Only a couple of days, but so very worth the trip. πŸ™‚

When I feel materialistic…

29 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

american romance author, etsy, harlequin author, heartwarming romance author, literary gifts, love inspired romance author, mills and boon author, western romance author

A library inside a pendant… this hits me right in the pleasure spot!

 

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When I feel materialistic…

22 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming romance author, literary gifts, love inspired author, mills and boon author, western romance author

These are supposed to be librarian earrings, but our local library is a very noisy, full place. I suppose that’s good–it means that it is serving our community well. Unfortunately for me, it means writing there is difficult.

Not the point, though! These earrings would also be good for a writer who wants to focus! πŸ˜‰

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If my ears were pierced

15 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming romance author, literary gifts, love inspired author, mills and boon author, western romance author

How cute are these?

The perfect writer’s earrings… if her ears were pierced. πŸ˜‰ Which mine aren’t. But these earrings are still fantastic. They are understated enough, that someone would have to be quite close to notice what they said.

But these would be very ME… if my ears were pierced. πŸ˜‰

(Click on the photo to get to the Etsy shop where these are sold.)

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Head in the sand

12 Sunday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming author, love inspired author, mills and boon author, parasol, sun umbrella, western romance author

I am a person who melts in the heat. I don’t tan; I freckle and burn. Mr. Johns thought I was being a wimp when we first got married, until he saw me burn for the first time. (Mr. Johns was born in Africa, and he’s so beautifully dark that he’d never seen a sun burn up close in his life!) It was one of those really deep burns that required medical treatment. We pale people get them a few times in our lives, right?

Anyway, I’m a person who melts in the heat, and I live in a prairie small town. That means the land spreads out around you in flat fields as far as the eye can see. Without shade. And every day I walk to my son’s school to drop him off and pick him up, and by the time I get home in the afternoon, my head is pounding and I feel a little heat-strokey.

So I have found my solution.

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I look like an idiot, but it does the trick! I use a rain umbrella for portable shade. Those Victorians were onto something with their parasols, because it’s awfully effective. I can walk as far as I need to, and stay in the shade. No burns. No wilting. No headaches.

And while I haven’t entirely made my peace with looking like an idiot, I can just angle the umbrella down a little and hide behind it. Head in the sand. Good enough. πŸ˜‰

When I feel materialistic…

08 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming romance author, literary gifts, love inspired author, mills and boon author, western romance author

A book clutch! Oh, I love this!

It is highly possible that I’ve become addicted to Etsy… πŸ˜‰

il_570xN.828337925_ntbt

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I have said before I get wary about looking too bookish… and while this falls under that category, it is so cool that I’d make an exception.

(Just click on a photo if you want to go to the Etsy shop where this is sold.)

When I don’t write

06 Monday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming author, love inspired author, mills and boon author, western romance author, writer's block

Some days, no matter how hard I try, writing doesn’t happen. That’s sounds passive, doesn’t it? Like writing is some little friend that visits or doesn’t. I’ve always loathed the idea of a muse, some little angel on my shoulder that makes my day a “good writing day” or not.

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Today (at least the day I’m typing this) was one of those days where nothing got done. But I’m stubborn, and I sit in front of my computer anyway when this happens.

I know what has to be written. I know exactly what will happen, and it’s an important scene. But no matter how well I know it, I stare at the blank screen. Chapter 5. How to start? Does she walk in? Do we begin with some final instructions for babysitting? I’m too tired to even decide. So I flip over to Facebook.

I begin to type: Today, I’m not getting much done–

But then I erase it. Nobody cares about that. People don’t follow an author to hear that sort of thing. They want funny memes and pithy quotes. They want something insightful. “I’m tired” is both dopey and uninsightful.

I toodle around on my personal Facebook page for a while. Like a few things. Write “LOL” on some stuff that amuses me. But this is wasting my valuable writing time, so I go back to my blank page.

images

And I sit there, make a few starts that I erase. For a long time. Staring at it. This isn’t happening. I’m exhausted. I can squeeze out a few paragraphs that will be so dull that I’ll erase them tomorrow, or I can clean something.

My bathroom needs a scrub, so I roll up my sleeves and do that. Then I vacuum. I even use the hose to dust. Then I wipe down my kitchen, which reminds me I haven’t eaten. Maybe food will help.

It doesn’t. I sit back down in front of my blank screen. This is writing time. I will not watch Netflix. I will not play on Facebook. That is giving in. I look at the clock. I have another hour or so. If my editor called me right now and said, “Patricia, you are brilliant. We desperately want this book in ten days. Can you finish it?” I could do it. I could pour it on. But that’s only because I like to have my ego stroked, but I’ve never had an editor call me brilliant. Professional, yes. Talented, yes. Reliable, yes. Brilliant? No. That’s pure fantasy.

So I text a friend: Hi! What’re you up to?

Texting is better because you don’t have to explain yourself.

I add: Should be writing, but not.

So much for not explaining myself. She isn’t there. I turn back to the screen. Maybe my dad is around. I’ll call him.

He’s not there, either. I turn back to the screen. I will NOT abandon my post. I’m a writer, damn it. I write. I don’t watch Netflix during the day. I don’t waste perfectly good writing days.

Phone rings. It’s Mr. Johns. Oh, thank God! “Hi, honey. Miss me?” We chat a little, and that helps to clear some cobwebs. When we hang up, I realize I have twenty minutes until I have to pick up my son from school.

I’ll call it a day. I’ll try again tomorrow.

My phone blips. It’s my friend texting me back: Sorry, I was running a few errands. Busy day!

At least it was for one of us. πŸ˜‰

Something borrowed…

01 Wednesday Jun 2016

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

american romance author, harlequin author, heartwarming romance author, literary gifts, love inspired author, mills and boon author, western romance author

…something blue.

Somebody out there HAS to get married and wear these!

 

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I had a tiny wedding that I was too nervous to even plan. My mom begged me not to elope, and in return she’d plan the whole thing as small as I wanted it to be. We had 8 guests in total, and Mr. Johns and I arrived suitably attired.

So with my own wedding safely tucked into the past, I just love the details of other people’s weddings. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the nervous stamina for these kinds of details for my own wedding.

So someone else needs to pull all this together. πŸ˜‰

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Patricia Johns, Author

Patricia Johns, Author

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