Tag Archives: passion

Are you obsessed, passionate, or both?

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Are you obsessed, passionate, or both? I’m both. Not with a person, game, or money but with colorful plants. The house we bought in Oregon’s Mid-Willamette Valley in 2014 was built in 1900. It came with ¾ of an acre of deep topsoil, plenty of upgrades needed but loads of well-established perennials. Yup, with a handyman husband and lots of digging tools, I was in heaven.
I brought some of my own roses from Alaska and promptly purchased more from my favorite rose supplier, Burling Leong of Burlington Nurseries. I also planted a few rose seedlings I had started, happy to have a temperate site to evaluate my babies’ size and hardiness.

Less than 10% of the rose varieties I have grown in my Oregon yard in the last four years.

Why would I start seedlings when there are so many colors, shapes, and sizes of rose varieties available? Well, because I like to create. I used to sew, still crochet and cook, and have been known to write a book or forty, all without patterns, recipes, or outlines. I think it was Nike who said, ‘Just do it.’ I was all over that before they put out the slogan (although I’m not a runner).


Here are two of the rose babies I created. Both are rugosas. The blooms are three to four inches across. Both smell great, too.


What’s your passion? Did you know that working with it and finding a way to make it your own gives immense satisfaction? I remember my mother looking at photos of us kids and saying she was ‘Just admiring her greatest creations.’ Aww… Being a loving and caring parent or grandparent IS special, too.

Do you love birds? Check out the first book in THAT TWIN THING series, THE MIDWIFE’S SON. Two birdwatchers find each other fifteen years after meeting as children. Will they recognize each other or will Mom, the midwife, help them out? Twists and turns of emotions end in a Happy Ever After. Read separately or as part of THAT TWIN THING COLLECTION, all available to read for free with #KindleUnlimited.
If you would, please follow me on Amazon, Goodreads, and Book Bub to hear about my latest releases. I’d appreciate it.

My Top 5 Best Movie Kisses 💋

Posted on by — Leave a reply

Hi everyone! I hope your week is going well, although that’s more and more difficult to say these days. Since I figured we all need a break from news and politics, today I want to share with you my favorite kissing scenes in movies. It was very difficult to make a Top 5 because I love all of these movies, but here it goes:

5. Vivian and Edward in Pretty Woman

This movie has a simple plot, yet the characters and the dialogue are so witty and beautiful it became an instant classic, inspiring many stories throughout the years. Edward and Vivian are two jaded people who stopped believing in love. No kiss has ever been as magic as the one they share to express the revelation of their love.

4. Baby and Johnny in Dirty Dancing

I adore this movie, even though it’s the same age I am. I must have seen it a couple dozen times at least, and never get tired of it. If you remember, there hasn’t been much kissing in it, which makes it even more memorable when Baby and Johnny finally show us a proper smooch!

3. Bridget and Mark in Bridget Jones’s Diary

I don’t know if there’s anyone on the planet that doesn’t know the famous story of Bridget Jones, a typical singleton who manages to be awkward, sexy, clumsy and witty at the same time. While Bridget is probably one of the most relatable female characters in modern literature, we can’t say the same about the classy Mr. Darcy, which is rara avis indeed. Yet Bridget manages to win his heart. How can we not be a little jealous on Renée Zellweger  for getting to kiss the amazing Colin Firth?

2. Claire and Jamie in Outlander

I discovered and fell in love with Diana Gabaldon’s books long before Starz made a TV series based on them. While I was reluctant regarding the TV series at first, I have to admit the actors playing Claire and Jamie are incredible, and the chemistry between them is sizzling. There are plenty of kissy scenes in the show, but my favorite is still the one from their wedding night.

Aaannnddd… drum rolls, please!

1. Morticia and Gomez in The Addams Family

I’ve been obsessed with the family created by cartoonist Charles Addams ever since I was a kid. I supposed it’s because I can relate to their unconventional habits, weird sense of humor and overall quirkiness. But what I admired the most was the passionate love story between Morticia and Gomez – one of those love stories you know are going to last forever. They deserve to be #1! 💋

I very much hope you enjoyed this post and if you did, please share it with your friends to brighten their weekend. And even though this is what kissing looks like these days, it’s moments like these that last forever.

Stay safe and healthy!

With Passion by Mona Risk

Posted on by — 1 Comment ↓

Today someone asked me, “What do you like the best? What do you like doing with passion? What would you do for hours without complaining?”

Can you answer any of these questions spontaneously–the first thing that comes to your mind, without deeply thinking about it?

My answers came right away:

1-Writing a story: I can sit at my computer for hours–my record was 12 hours–writing non-stop, ignoring the world around me
2-Taking care of my grandchildren, playing with them, chatting with them, cooking or baking for them.
3-Swimming in the pool.  A few years ago I would have said walking on the beach. Unfortunately, my knee hurts now if I walk on the sand.
4- Reading. When I start reading a book I like, I have to finish the story in one sitting.

So what about you? Share your answers.

In Time for Christmas

 

 

A baby, her lawyer uncle, and a pretty doctor are stranded in airports because of the blizzard.
Baby cries, Uncle huffs, Doc helps.
And then…

“This delightful story by Mona Risk is a perfect holiday read with family conflicts, the desire to be home for the holidays, a Midwest blizzard, and a sweet five month old baby.” ~ Deutsche OMA

Life and Fiction by Mona Risk

Posted on by — 2 Comments ↓

It all started ten years ago. In a different life, I was the director of the Analytical Division of an environmental company. I supervised a staff of chemists who perform analytical tests on drinking water and hazardous waste. My responsibilities also included working on various government contracts. A monotonous predictable life that suddenly changed when I won a Department of Defense contract to refurbish a military laboratory in Belarus.

During my fifteen trips to Minsk, capital of Belarus, I was well received by everyone, and worked with colonels and generals, chemists and engineers, and even journalists. I was invited by two colonels to their houses, met their wives and children, and appreciated their warm hospitality.

TO LOVE A HERO is my contribution to the Authors’ Billboard box LOVE ON FIRE. Through my novel, a fictional story about an American chemist and a Belarusian officer, I lived again my fantastic trips to Belarus. My story highlights the affability and warmth of the gorgeous and gallant Belarusian officers who sing, toast with vodka, and make a woman feel like a goddess.

 Book Description

The hero, Major General Sergei Fedorin, has pledged to cleanup his country of the nuclear pollution that killed his wife and threatens his nation with cancer. American aid allows him to start his mission by refurbishing an old military laboratory. The patriotic Sergei is a true hero in his country, an alpha man who protects millions of citizens, a controlled public figure, watched and scrutinized by everyone, admired and revered, but not allowed to live a personal life. He accepts it all because of his dedication to Belarus. BUT…

When the lovely American chemist stumbles on the escalator of the airport straight into his arms, Sergei has more on his mind than nuclear pollution.

Raised in boarding schools, Cecile learned to fend for herself at an early age. She buried her loneliness under long hours of study and work. Now she’s determined to excel in her first international contract. So many people are watching over her shoulders, but no one will detract her from her mission. BUT…

In Belarus, a Russian country dominated by male chauvinism and intrigues, Cecile finds much more chemistry than she bargains for, and in the arms of General Sergei, she learns that chemicals are not the only things that generate heat.

I had a lot of fun writing this book and I hope you will discover a new country and interesting culture while reading TO LOVE A HERO, the passionate story of Cecil and Sergei.

Some of my personal experiences are related in my book. I even included my fall on the broken escalator of the airport. I was rescued by my lab manager while my heroine (the smart woman) fell into the arms of a hero to die for, the handsome Major General Sergei who made her pulse race and stole her heart.

Sometimes passion takes you and there’s nothing you can do to resist it. That hot feeling overwhelms you until you can think of nothing else but him, want to do nothing else but make love.
Sometimes love sets you on fire until it consumes you.
Let these six novels of crazy hot love take you there, make you feel the heat of that passion, bring you that ecstatic joy.

Thanks for stopping by today!

We hope you enjoyed what we shared with you today! Please take a few moments to share with your friends using the share buttons below. Subscribe to our blog so that you don’t miss a single post. —>>

 And be sure to subscribe to our newsletter, get some free books and then get a note containing sales and new releases each Friday.