Tag Archive | love

Newsletter – New Year’s Eve 2025

Dec31

Wow… another year coming to a close! I feel as if I just celebrated the coming of 2025. Where did the year go?

Looking back, I can honestly say that the year was never dull. The older I get, the more trials I face. Some of them are physical, and others are just life in general. Unexpected things that smack me upside the head, and hard decisions that have to made.

As an author, I didn’t write as much as I have in previous years. However, I did release one new title, “Ardent Adelia,” which I’m thrilled to say has gotten excellent reviews. Yes, I’m happy about them, but not because I like the praise. I’m happy that people enjoy my work. We need more happiness in our lives, and it’s satisfying to know that I can help with that.

I edited many books in 2025, and I always enjoy seeing those titles published. It’s fun sharing another author’s writing journey and contributing to it in a way that I hope is very helpful. I’m honored to be entrusted with their work.

So, what’s in store for 2026? Well… more writing and editing, of course, but the biggest event of the year will start next month. I’m excited to say that my mom has agreed to come and live with us in Tennessee! It will be a big adjustment for all of us, but one that I feel strongly is a great move. I left Idaho, where my mom currently lives, in 1993. So for more than thirty years, I have lived far away from my mom. Before I moved from Idaho, she and I did everything together–like best friends rather than mother and daughter.

I told her that I’m looking forward to having her get to know me as an old lady! It will be good to share life with her again on a regular basis. My husband has been super supportive of the decision, and hopefully, we won’t drive her crazy! My dog, Jax, is going to love having her here. They bonded when she visited a few years ago, and I have no doubt that they will become best buddies.

Here’s Jax being cozy!

Family is so important to me, and the incredible love given to me from the day I was born has molded me into the person I am today. I still have my brother and sister with their families, along with my extended family thanks to my husband and all of his brothers with their wives and children. Of course, we also have our own children and grandchildren! Such amazing blessings!

It has been a little over a year since my dad passed away, but every day, memories of him come to mind. My Aunt Gloria gave me a chime inscripted with his name, date of birth, and date of death. It chimes very softly, and I hung it in my living room above an air vent. When the air blows, the chime sounds. A sound so subtle that it can be hard to hear above the television or conversations, but when it catches my ear, I always smile. Dad!

I hope that you have had a wonderful year and that you’re looking forward to a happy 2026. Instead of the typical resolutions so many people make and usually break within a short amount of time, I learned to choose a word for the year instead. My word for 2026 is faith. Yes, I’ve used that word in the past, but it’s one that popped up so prevalently in my mind that I decided to grab it again.

I will have faith that all will go smoothly with life’s transitions. No doubt, 2026 will bring new challenges, but I’m sure there will also be new opportunities. I’m going to hold onto the faith that whatever comes my way, God will guide me.

Happy New Year!

I love you all!

Jeanne

Newsletter – July 2025

Jul30

Hello, friends!

Hot, hot, hot!

I recently posted on Facebook about how hot it is, and how I enjoy spending my days indoors, writing. I had many comments from all over the U.S. where people remarked about the high temps in their areas, too. Of course, it is summer, but this year feels exceptionally hot. We’re all suffering together!

I am so grateful for air conditioning. I can’t imagine life without it, although I know many people in the world don’t have this luxury. We keep our thermostat set a bit high to help compensate for the energy being so widely used in this extreme weather, but without AC at all, it would be unbearable.

A swimming pool would be nice right about now–or a clear-running stream close to the house that I could dip my toes into. (Snake-free, of course!) Or what about this lovely fountain! This photo is from my visit to Mobile, AL, where my Southern Secrets Saga is set.

Since I don’t have any of those options, I’ll settle for sitting in my cool office, happily typing away this newsletter. Soon, I’ll be back to working on my newest book.

Ardent Adelia is creeping closer and closer to being done. Woo-hoo! Part of my storyline was inspired by an experience I had the first time I spent the night with a friend that I’d known nearly all my life. I was around twelve years old, and I considered her my best friend at the time. What I discovered on that overnighter was that she was different from what I expected. Going to school together put us in a familiar atmosphere, whereas her homelife introduced me to someone who felt like a stranger. No one in her family was at all mean, my friend just didn’t seem like the same person. I was so uncomfortable at her house, that I got sick to my stomach and called my mom because I wanted to go home. And I did.

Something very similar happens to my characters in Ardent Adelia. Of course, there’s a whole lot more to the plotline, but you’ll have to wait a little longer to find out what it is.

It has been a while since I shared the cover design for this book, so here it is again! Stay tuned to future newsletters for a release date. In the meantime, be sure to follow me on Facebook and Instagram: jeannehardtauthor

I hope you’re finding ways to stay cool, and maybe being inside will give you the opportunity to read a book or two! I appreciate your readership and will do my best to keep bringing you engaging stories.

With Love,

Jeanne

Embrace the Moment!

Apr3

Oh, my goodness! I confess that I was shocked to see that I haven’t written a post for almost a year! (I’m hiding my head in shame now…)

Well, that’s going to change! Thank you to everyone who has followed me on this site, and to all of my newsletter readers who have just subscribed here, thank you for keeping up with me and my life’s changes. You can look forward to a regular newsletter-type update each month, along with a few other posts thrown in here and there with my random thoughts on this, that, and the other. I even plan on sharing some short stories I’ve written. And please, if you have a particular topic you’d like me to chat about, leave a comment below and tell me what it is.

If you’re new to my site, I’m glad you found me! Be sure to subscribe so you won’t miss a single post. It will show up in your email whenever I write one. If you haven’t subscribed yet, I’ve added a box here to make it easy for you. If you’ve already subscribed, you’ll see a happy little ‘subscribed’ with a check mark next to it.

So, how many of you embrace every moment of every day? If you “raised your hand” I’d love to have a long conversation with you to discover how you do it. It’s not easy to always live in the moment.

My grandson had his hand raised, but that was a long time ago! He was a baby, and I think babies live in the moment more than adults. They don’t have the same kind of worries we have. As long as they’re fed, changed, and get lots of love and plenty of sleep, they’re good to go!

I was inspired to write this post because of an article I saw that stated that we only live in the present 20% of the time. Wow! I didn’t believe it until I started paying attention to myself and where my mind was at any given moment. I often found myself fretting about the future and pondering over troubling things from my past.

Worry has been one of my biggest downfalls. It does no good at all, and it often makes my stomach churn. Just the opposite of something good. Regardless, it often hangs over me like an incurable illness.

The future will happen whether we’re ready for it or not. We can’t stop time. It’s good to plan for the future, but I feel it’s best not to dwell on it. Doing that robs us of the moments we’re in.

So often, at special events, I see people taking videos with their phones and watching the event through the lens of their cameras. I assume it’s so that they can relive what they saw or share the event with other people. Wouldn’t it be better to simply enjoy the event and fully embrace it by watching it with their own eyes? Snap a photo for a memento, but otherwise, put the phone down. Love the moment!

At mealtimes, do you tend to rush, wanting to move on to something else? I love food, and I like to savor it. In addition, mealtimes can be wonderful opportunities to engage in conversation with those sharing the meal. I have a lot of fond memories of family dinners. It breaks my heart to see people at restaurants who each have a phone in hand, and they’re paying no attention at all to the others at the table with them. I confess, that I’m guilty of checking my phone from time to time, but I’m making a conscious effort not to do that. Before cell phones, we never fretted over who might or might not have something to say to us at that very moment, interrupting the time we have with the people we’re actually with. We need to stay engaged.

I’m challenging myself–and you–to stay in the moment. Lock in to everything and everyone around you and see the world and those you love through your eyes and not the screen of your phone. Of course, if you’re reading this on your phone, thank you! You’re ‘in the moment’ with me right now, aren’t you? There’s nothing wrong with making time to do business on your phone or keep up with social media, but never let it consume you.

Please share your thoughts below! I’d love to hear from you.

BIG HUGS!

Jeanne