Black Friday Blog Hop-

For Americans, Thanksgiving Day is a time to reflect what we are thankful for.  In school children are taught the first thanksgiving supper between the Pilgrims and the Natives.  A cornucopia represents all we’re grateful for, whether it’s a bountiful harvest or having a day off work.  It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the War Between the States, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens”, and celebrated the final Thursday in November.

The day after Thanksgiving…well, that became known as black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year and the official start of the Christmas/Solstice/Holiday season.  The name originated in Philadelphia where it described the heavy and disruptive pedestrian and vehicle traffic that came the day after Thanksgiving.  Some say it also denotes the day retailers operate in the “black”, or start turning a profit. 

I absolutely, positively, irrefutably, refuse to shop on Black Friday. 

The lines alone are enough to make me shudder in horror.  I’m the kind of person who starts Christmas shopping in July.  I make note of items friends or family really like and go back later and buy it for their present.  If, for some reason, I can’t find a gift then I resort to gift cards, but luckily I haven’t done that too often.  By the time Black Friday rolls around, I usually only have one or two presents left, and those are usually for Little Boy (AKA: son). 

But as I started to think about what I was going to write for the Black Friday Blog, I kept thinking about one of my favorite characters that I’ve written…Heather Hart.  Heather, from A Silver Lining, is a very broken woman.  She is summoned to her dying grandfather’s bedside because he wants to see if she’s worthy on inheriting his ranch.  She’s pitted against the foreman, Tristan Rogers, who loves the land fiercely.  She decides she wants the ranch, not because of family loyalty or pride, but because she knows it will make her rich when she sells it.

Heather has nothing to be thankful for.  I can’t reveal why she is the way she is, of course, because her journey from spoiled, selfish girl into a mature and nice woman is the story.  Many people have told me that they hated Heather and that’s good, because she’s not a nice woman.  If she was nice or likeable then her transformation wouldn’t have the same impact.  But something powerful made her the way she is, and only the gentle, compassionate love of Tristan can heal her.

I will reveal one little tidbit about the story.  Chapter One starts out when Heather was fifteen and the entire scenario where she meets a twenty-one year old Tristan actually happened to me.  And before most of you can go “Eww”, nothing happens to the teenager!  When I was fifteen, my parents and I went traveling the States one summer.  We ended up at this place called Hart Ranch in South Dakota and everything that Heather endures with a twisted ankle and a knight in shining armor rescuing her, happened to me.  My cowboy was named Damon, and we’re still in touch today.  But that’s where Heather’s story and my reality ends.  I did not go through the trials and tribulations that she went through, thank goodness! 

I am so thankful for the most important parts of my life: the health of my son, the ability to put food on the table, and wonderful family and friends around me.  Everything else is gravy.  And I rally appreciate all readers of my blog.  Thanks so much for visiting with me today and be sure to visit the other blogs in the hop!
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To win a PDF ebook, winner's choice, just leave a comment on if you shop on Black Friday and what's on your list!  Winner will be notified on Sunday (because I'm out of town till then!)