Beth Carpenter Books

Yesterday we flew from Anchorage to Arizona, with a stopover in Seattle. It was raining (big surprise I know.) For various reasons, our plane out of Seattle was late getting off and we had to wait behind ten other planes for takeoff. So I was waiting, reading my book, and happened to look out the window to see this.  I don't think I've ever seen a rainbow this low across the sky, or with such definition between the colors. The photo really doesn't do it justice, especially with the raindrops on the window, but you can take my word that it was spectacular.  This is one of those lessons I keep having to relearn. Beauty is all around us if we pay attention.  Look up. Do you see something beautiful?

I was puttering around in my garage today and found a time machine. Yes, Virginia, those are real vinyl record albums. Granted, the time machine isn't fully functional because, while we do still have a turntable, the stereo receiver it used to be hooked up to is long gone. But it doesn't matter. Just looking at the covers is enough to send me back in time. I remember when my friend introduced me to   Tiger Beat   and Donny Osmond. She had his album and a signed poster.  *sigh*   That smile, that hair. What twelve-year-old girl could resist? Then came the Carpenters and John Denver and Olivia Newton-John. Yeah, I wasn't much of a rebel. Eventually I discovered the Eagles, and Peter Frampton, and Fleetwood Mac.  My college boyfriend, now my husband, didn't sing or play an instrument, but he had one great musical talent. Within a few notes of a song starting on the radio, he could name the song, the band, and often the album. He introduced me t...

Have you ever been to a college football game? I don’t even like crowds, and yet there is something exhilarating about hanging out with 50,000 of your fellow fans, rooting for your team.  The conflict is set, the stakes are clear. At the end of the evening, you’ll emerge victorious, or you won’t. But there’s always next season. It’s especially fun in the student section, where enthusiasm is at its highest. You’re all on the same side, rejoicing at each first down, groaning over every fumble. If a call goes against your team, you all agree it was a bad call, because it’s your team, even if the replay does rather look as though the knee touched the ground. It’s all in good fun, because at the end of the day, it’s just football. But I’m seeing the same behavior when it comes to politics. There is this bitter rivalry between the two parties, and everyone’s expected to root for the home team. Everything my party does is good, everything your party does is evil. Don’t show me th...

My first Harlequin, THE ALASKAN CATCH , a Northern Lights Novel, is coming in August and it's set in my home state of Alaska! To celebrate, I'm giving away this Alaska salmon-themed kitchen towel and potholder to someone with a U.S. mailing address. If the winner is outside the U.S., the prize will be a $10 Amazon giftcard.  UPDATE 3/30/17:  We have a winner. Congratulations, Darlene! Thanks to everyone who entered. Check back often and read the newsletter for more fun opportunities. a Rafflecopter giveaway

I was setting up security questions recently, and one was my favorite color. I had to stop and think. Do I have a favorite color? When I was a little girl, my favorite crayons were magenta and blue-green. I still love those colors, but not always. My horizons have expanded. When I’m choosing room colors, I’m drawn to warm neutrals with pops of color, such as deep red and sage green. Natural colors that are easy to live with. But when I see pictures of bright red kitchens or blue and yellow living rooms, I like them, too. In clothes, it depends on my mood. Sometimes bright crimson or purple, sometimes simple black and white or shades silver and gray. Denim blue, of course. Mixes of blues, greens and purples like an ocean painting. A single clear shade of turquoise. Burgundy. Dusty Plum. Sunrise pink. Yellow daffodils in the spring. Lilacs. Peachy roses. Purple iris. Clear blue delphiniums. Russet chrysanthemums. The palest blue of forget-me-nots, and the velvety purple of a pansy....

Photo by Bill Roth /   Anchorage Daily News Fur Rondy (short for rendezvous) is the annual winter festival in Anchorage, where residents fight cabin fever with activities like the snowshow softball, the running of the reindeer, and outhouse races. There are other activities too, like hockey, sled dog races, and a poker tournament. My favorite event in Fur Rondy as always been the snow sculptures . The frozen equivalent of sand castles, snow sculptures are, by their very nature, temporary. Beautiful, whimsical, or just funny, they’re created solely for the enjoyment of the artists and passersby. To bring a smile. Like the bloom of a daylily or a rainbow, their short life is part of their charm. It's easy to put off going to the Grand Canyon or the Statue of Liberty. They'll always be there, after all. But come spring, that snow sculpture will be gone forever, so we'd better enjoy while we can. They encourage us to live for today. What temporary pleasures have ...

"Momma always said life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get." Note to Forest Gump: Check under the lid. Experience may be the best teacher, but sometimes she's a hard one. Fortunately, we don't have to make every mistake ourselves. Thank God for parents, teachers, writers, preachers, colleagues, friends, and mentors who share their knowledge and experience so that the rest of us don't have to get second degree burns to find out the stove is hot. Of course, sometimes we're too stubborn to listen to the wisdom of those who have gone before. We've just gotta touch that stove. And once in a while, we discover the stove isn't so hot after all. In fact, it's quite managable if we take certain precautions. Just because someone gives us a piece of advice doesn't mean it's right, or right for us.  That's how we gather the experience to pass down to the next generation. Here's a piece of informat...