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Patricia Johns

~ Bestselling author

Patricia Johns

Tag Archives: Kensington author

New ornaments

17 Thursday Dec 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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amish romance, avacado decoration, Christmas decorations, christmas romance, Kensington author, love inspired, Minecraft decoration

The Johns family Christmas tree is the kind that is filled with memories. I don’t do color coordination or anything fancy, but every year we buy a new ornament or two that reflects the year before.

This year, I found a couple of new ornaments that I just love! The first one is for my husband–an avocado. He loves avocados, and I bring them home as a treat for him when I grocery shop, so I got a smile out of him when I came home with this one.

The Star Trek shuttle craft is one I found a couple of years ago, and I snapped it up. I’m the Trekkie of the family, still doing my best to win my husband over to Star Trek fandom. It’s been fifteen years, but I haven’t give up yet. πŸ˜‰

For my son, I found a Minecraft figurine. I was informed when I brought it home that it was cute, and he did like Minecraft a lot LAST year, but this year it was Roblox. So… oops.

And peeking out behind the Minecraft pig is Spiderman from a couple of years ago. πŸ™‚

I love having ornaments that remind us of the things we enjoyed over the years. One of these Christmases, my son will be all grown up, and Mr. Johns and I will be a little plumper and a little grayer, and these will be even more precious.

***

I hope you’ll pick up a copy of my newest release, A PRECIOUS CHRISTMAS GIFT. It’s on the shelves now!

That magical 10 mins

05 Thursday Nov 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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Tags

A Precious Christmas Gift, alberta, Canada, harlequin author, Kensington author, sunrise

The time change came and all our clocks slid back one hour, and sunrise is a bit earlier.

But I took these photos before the time change, so that the sunrise was just around the time my husband was leaving for work, so I nipped outside in my fluffy pink slippers to snap a couple of pictures for you.

I love this time of morning, when the sky is all rosy, and people are bustling about to start their days. The air was warm–a few degrees above freezing, and no wind to speak of. There is just something about that ten minute window of golden pink light that makes my heart happy.

Then I went back inside to start my day… books to write, manuscripts to edit, my son doing his online school, and a sink full of dishes waiting on me. (The new dishwasher hadn’t been delivered and set up yet.)

That is what my life looks like, and I really am happy. It’s simple, but it’s full of all the best things in life. I don’t know how to put into words how grateful I am for the family God gave me and this ridiculously lucky turn of events that lets me write books day in and day out!

Go breathe in that ten minutes when the sun comes up, and try not to feel grateful! ❀

***
Don’t forget about my newest release hitting the shelves any day now!

A girl only turns 42 once

22 Thursday Oct 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

A Precious Christmas Gift, amish romance, beauty and the beast, birthday, harlequin author, Jeb's Wife, Kensington author

This last week, I celebrated my birthday. I begged and pleaded with Mr. Johns to let me post pictures of us all masked up, but he’s very stubborn about these things. (No family photos posted, even if we’re in masks.) So you’re out of luck there, BUT, you should know that I argued for you very eloquently saying how nice it would be to show my dear readers what my guy looks like. Maybe it could even be proof to old acquaintances that after fifteen years, we are indeed still married! πŸ˜‰ He didn’t fall for any of it, unfortunately. But I feel it’s important for you to know that I did try.

Having a birthday during Covid is a bit difficult. We normally get together with my parents for my birthday, and this year, we opted out of a meal, and just had cake–with my parents on one side of the room, and me, Mr. Johns and our son on the other. Then we all masked up again. So it was a very Covid-conscious event.

My father always makes me a gluten-free birthday cake, and this year he made a delicious cake!

No candle to blow, of course. And it tasted as good as it looked!

Then we watched the live action Beauty and the Beast, which has been a favorite all the way back to the Disney animated version. I mean, really, who doesn’t fall for the gruff and beefy beast? And yes, I recognize that I did marry my very own. πŸ˜‰

It was a very nice birthday, and I’m thrilled to move forward in a brand new turn around the sun. There are books to write, and books to read, and books to buy! ❀

And speaking of writing books, don’t forget about my newest releases! A PRECIOUS CHRISTMAS GIFT will be on the shelves soon, and JEB’S WIFE is already there!

***

Dollhouse pop-up book

19 Monday Oct 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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Tags

A three-dimensional Victorian Dolls House, author's hobby, doll house collectible, dollhouse pop-up book, harlequin author, heartwarming author, Kensington author, love inspired author

Along my theme of dollhouse collectibles, I came across this gorgeous Three-Dimensional Victorian Dolls House pop-up book that I just couldn’t pass up! It’s just stunning–the detail is amazing!–and the whole book turns into an eight-roomed Victorian dollhouse.

The whole book folds back, and the purple strings tie together to hold it open.

The detail inside is just amazing! All of the doors open between rooms so that you can peek into the room beyond. And each room has all sorts of adorable little items to catch your eye.

The tiny bathroom toilet even opens!
A peek into closets…
The dining room complete with hanging chandelier
A baby grand piano!
The base of the staircase….
…which leads all the way up to the second floor!

And of course, there are a few paper dolls and little extra details to be used throughout the house, too.

Adorable, isn’t it? I just love it! So many tiny things to look at! I would have LOVED this as a girl! I also probably would have ruined it… These things happen. πŸ˜‰

So this has absolutely nothing to do with my writing… but this is my stress-release. We all need one, don’t we?

I hope that my books can be a part of your happy escapes, too!

***

From Scratch!

17 Thursday Sep 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 2 Comments

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harlequin author, Kensington author, love inspired author, personal library

If you were to start your library from scratch, which books would you buy?

This is the dilemma I’m facing!

Fifteen years ago, my husband and I, fresh from our wedding, moved from Toronto, Ontario to Alberta with only the items that would fit the trunk of our car. It was an adventure, and I had to leave my library behind. Then we lived cheap, we used public libraries, and we had a child, so I put off rebuilding my library. I read and read, but I didn’t keep those books on my own shelves.

I also wrote and wrote, and with my own books coming out, I always had books on shelves–most of them my own! And we needed somewhere to keep them… They pile up! (I know, weird author problems… πŸ˜‰ )

Excuses, excuses… but I’m now finally rebuilding my very own, personal library. It was time, and it’s rather exciting! But I have decided on a few guidelines:

  1. I will only buy books that I truly want to own and will read again (or that I’ve wanted to read for a long time.)
    No complete works of Shakespeare.
  2. I will only buy books that make me feel happy.
    I don’t want to surround myself with books that depress me, remind me of difficult times, or don’t add to my overall sense of happiness. Space is too precious for that. I want books that I loved, or that I have special memories attached to, or that suit a cozy reading mood when the weather is cold and the heat is cranked up.
  3. If I have the chance to own a leather-bound, or hardcover version of a book that I love, I am jumping on that!
    Price be darned.

So far, there are no leather-bound copies of books I love. But give me time. I’ll get there. πŸ˜‰

What books would you buy if you were starting your library from scratch? Which books would be the highest on your personal shopping list?

And speaking of my own books coming out, don’t forget that I have a brand new Amish romance on the shelves!

****

A dollhouse bookshelf

10 Thursday Sep 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

dollhouse furniture, harlequin author, hobbies, Kensington author

Why, you ask?

I have no good reason for wanting a dollhouse bookshelf as badly as I did, except that I love dollhouses and simply don’t have the space for one. I considering doing a dollhouse single room, but again, I’d have to find a place to display it, and that’s not so easily done in our home.

BUT, that didn’t mean I couldn’t choose my favorite piece of dollhouse furniture–a bookshelf–and display it on my desk! So that is what I did.

I display it on my desk, in these little cubbies meant for either books or knickknacks. So why not a combination of both? I bought the tiny books separately at our local craft store. The top shelves of books are just block of books, but the bottom shelf has individual books with real pages! I just love details like that. And the drawer and cabinet doors all open and shut. I tucked some little surprises in the drawer, like a clipboard, and some pencils… not sure what I’ll put in the bottom cabinet yet!

I can’t tell you how much I love it! It makes me happy just looking at it! I might get creative and add to the room a little bit… a plush chair? A tiny desk? It’s already tempting me! But this is the sort of thing I do when I’m not writing. I obsess over tiny furniture. πŸ˜‰

I think I can finally say I have a hobby!

***

JEB’S WIFE is in stores now!

Reasons to get dressed

03 Thursday Sep 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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get dressed, harlequin author, Jeb's Wife, Kensington author, work from home

With our delightful pandemic, a lot of people are new to working from home. I’ve been doing this for over a decade now, so I feel like I might have a bit of wisdom for those who are new to this.

118050461_1007560519675534_7182857153708016220_n

Get dressed! (In new clothes… every single day.)

I’m a work-from-home author who not only gets dressed every morning, but who does her hair, puts on face cream/makeup, buys new clothes, and even wears perfume. It might sound nuts, but I have a few reasons.

  1. I feel like a successful person facing the day when I’m dressed and smelling/looking nice.
  2. It gives my brain the kick that it needs to get into work mode. At the kitchen table in my bathrobe: that’s home time. I can stare blearily at the wall or chit chat with my family, or just enjoy my tea. When I’m dressed and “presentable”: time for work!
  3. It really helps keep the blues away. Sitting in my bathrobe, looking at pictures online of women looking great makes me feel dowdy. But when I feel like I look nice, I don’t get that “oh, look at her… She looks great… I feel fat…” kind of mood.
  4. I like turning Mr. Johns’s head. There, I said it! I really do! I like having him come home from work carrying a bag of tools, and have him see me looking pretty. And when I go get a kiss, I like to smell like my favorite perfume. If I can’t be the prettiest girl in the room in my own kitchen, then when else can I do it?

So there you are–several excellent reasons to get dressed in the morning! You know, in case you needed them. πŸ˜‰

****

On the shelves now!Β 

Do you have your copy yet?

Pub Weekly review

The next horizon

17 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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Amish fiction, Amish happiness, contentment, harlequin author, Jeb's Wife, Kensington author

If you look at where you are right now, there was a time in your life when you dreamed of this…

But once you arrive, it’s not quite enough anymore, is it? You want more. What was once just the horizon, now has a horizon beyond it, and there is something inside the human heart that just can’t resist a horizon.

1280px-Sunset_at_ocean_in_san_francisco

But what happens when, all of your dreams fulfilled, you just can’t feel content? That seems to be the modern plague–ever wanting more, and never having enough. Ad campaigns take advantage of that, showing us more sparkling things that we never knew we wanted. We get caught up in it, and we think, “If I could just achieve this next thing, this next step, this next accomplishment, then I’ll be satisfied.”

I think that the Amish capture our imaginations so well because they are a group of people who have found the secret to stepping outside of that rushing cycle of getting more and more and more, and they have found contentment. We go and buy items from their shops, watch them as they go about their daily lives, read stories about their culture and their way of seeing things, and we wonder how we can get just a thimbleful of their contentment. Because when I consider buying an Amish-made quilt, that really is what I’m seeking, isn’t it?

Lancaster_County_Amish_02

As I rush forward toward my ambitions, I can sense that the answer to my own contentedness is in the opposite direction–slowing down, and in looking upward, in listening to the wind and pondering things that are bigger than me. Contentment isn’t found over there, beyond those hills; it’s found right here, right now. It’s found in declaring what I have enough and being grateful for every breath I take.

As for me, have I given up on the horizon? No, I must admit that I haven’t. The horizon is exciting! It gives me ideas, it keeps me dreaming. But I’m trying to focus less on the distant horizon, because I never seem to reach it, and exciting as it is, it can get frustrating. Instead, I’m shifting my gaze upward to the clouds and the stars and the One who made them.

I think that is where that thimbleful of contentment lies.

****

Hitting the shelves in September!Β 

Pre-order now!Β 

Pub Weekly review

 

No such thing as perfect

10 Monday Aug 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

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aim for very good, harlequin author, Kensington author, no such thing as perfect, writing advice

For the most part, I don’t tend to blog about writing advice, because I think it has all been said before by people who have said it better than I would. However, every once in a while, there is a little piece of advice that I haven’t seen covered, and I feel qualified to add in my two cents.

This is one of those times. πŸ™‚

And here it is: Don’t aim for perfect. Aim for very good.

verygood

In my friendships with other writers, the biggest thing that seems to hold us all back from sending in a manuscript is that fear that we can somehow make it better. Maybe we can tweak it! Maybe we can add in a whole new character! What if we changed the point of view? What if we turned it into a mystery? We can get paralyzed when we sense that the story isn’t perfect.

But here’s the secret: no story is! Even if you add in that character, change the point of view, or turn it into a mystery. It won’t be perfect even then… just different.

But many stories are very, very good.

Even GREAT stories get edited. An editor will look at the work, be very pleased with it, and then suggest a whole heap of edits. That’s how publishing works. It’s a joint effort between the author and the editor to polish that story up to a shine.

So when you’ve got an idea, don’t worry about whether it’s absolutely perfect. Aim for “very good.” You and and editor will take it from there.

***

Hitting the shelves in September!Β 

Pre-order now!Β 

Pub Weekly review

New dishes!

06 Thursday Aug 2020

Posted by Patricia Johns in Uncategorized

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

harlequin author, Kensington author, Pioneer Woman dishes, writer's life

I’ve been eyeing these Pioneer Woman dishes at Walmart for a while now, and I finally decided to pick them up. They’re just so cheery! And honestly, we were due for new dishes.

Our last set we’d bought when our son was tiny, and we have steadily broken them, dish by dish, over the years. I told myself I’d get something cute when I could trust that they’d survive us. LOL!

Well, I got some news a little while ago that is kind of connected to Ree Drummond, and since I’m such a fan of hers, I couldn’t stop myself from picking up the dishes at long last!

I’m not telling you my little nugget of news yet… In few weeks I will! But being such a fan of Ree Drummond’s, I just couldn’t hold myself back! πŸ˜‰

dishes

 

I think they’re cute!Β 

 

dishes 2

 

So there you have it, my new dishes. I know that isn’t huge news, but it is the thing that’s making me happy at the moment. πŸ™‚

I hope you’re all finding little things to make you smile these days. It’s all about the simple things, isn’t it?

***

Don’t forget–you can find my bestselling Amish romance at Harlequin’s Love Inspired as well as Kensington Books! And all of them are sold at Walmart, Target, and at booksellers everywhere.Β 

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