#SaturdaySpotlight is on Old Flame, New Love from A Hint of Holiday Romance

Well, this week's guest couldn't be here either so you're getting another peek into my collection of short stories, A Hint of Holiday Romance.

Old Flame, New Love is a second chance romance story set on Thanksgiving....

Blurb: Interior Designer Lyndsay Jones has managed to make her business thrive despite the death of her husband. When her childhood sweetheart’s mother and sister invite her to spend Thanksgiving with them, she wonders if her old flame Stephen (who’s in the middle of a divorce) will be her new chance at love.

Excerpt: On Thanksgiving eve, Lindsay sat on the edge of her bed. Forecasts of freezing rain, sleet, ice, and snow had put the quietus on any thought she had of travelling to her cabin. Gayle and Mrs. West’s invitation rang in her ears. She picked up her husband’s picture, pressing it against her heart. What should I do? 

She saw his face, heard his voice, and felt his arms around her. Live, love, be happy. The warm glow that had always accompanied his smile filled her heart. Her decision made, she put the picture down and slid beneath the covers.

The next day dawned bright and clear. Lindsay breathed in the crisp air. Leaves crunched underfoot as she walked the two blocks to her destination. Standing on Mrs. West’s porch, she juggled the huge centerpiece she’d put together and rang the bell. Stephen opened the door. His eyes widened. Pleasure lit his gaze.

“Lindsay! What a surprise! Come in, come in!”

Before she could untangle the knots in her tongue, he’d pulled her into the house, kissed both cheeks and ushered her into the kitchen where the family had gathered around the island. “Look who’s here.” 

A Hint of Holiday Romance is available at Amazon in eBook, Paperback and Audio, Other Online/eBook Retailers HERE, AND can be ordered through your favorite bookstore by title or ISBN#: 979-8-9895650-4-7.

Hope you enjoyed another peek into A Hint of Holiday Romance and that you'll check back next week - where I PROMISE - you'll get a new book from a brand new guest!

Until next time, take care, God Bless and Happy Reading, AND...

Happy Thanksgiving!

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Cleanne Johnson & Beauty of Colors Poems!

Good Morning,

Fall is nearly here in SW LA. We get a few cooler mornings followed by 80+ degree mornings but it's a 'comin with the leaves turning red and orange. Speaking of the beauty of the changing leaves, Please welcome my guest, Cleanne Johnson with her book, Beauty of Colors Poems.

I met Cleanne when we had a conversation for her Beauty of Colors podcast. Check it out HERE.

Thanks for visiting with us today, Cleanne. Please tell us a little about yourself and your book.

Thank You, Pam for having me today. I'm so excited to share this particular book with you and your audience. 

Before I ever understood the power of my own voice, writing became the place where I could be completely honest. It gave me somewhere to put the emotions I couldn't always say out loud, the hurt, the questions, the hope, and eventually, the love I learned to have for myself.

I wrote Beauty of Colors Poems because I wanted to turn those emotions into something that could inspire someone else. Poetry became my way of showing that beauty exists everywhere not only in what we see, but in who we are, what we have survived, and what makes each of us different.

Through nature, personal experiences, self-love, spirituality, and reflection, I wanted these poems to remind readers that their uniqueness is something to embrace, not hide. Beauty of Colors Poems is ultimately a celebration of identity, resilience, and the many colors that make each person's journey beautiful.

About the Book: These poems will lift your inner spirit, and transform your life, give you a sense of purpose, belonging an appreciation for beauty in and around you. This collection of poems will draw you to the core of the earth and make you realize you are special, unique and created by a creator being one with the earth. So, fuel yourself from these poems an arise to the top.

Enjoy an Excerpt: Canvas of Colors

Colors of earth in the rainbow

Cannot be separated, or smeared

Celestially connected with each other creating a canvas of

euphoria

Yet so different in their own singularity.

Every pigment, every ray emission has its own unique

purpose.

Its reason for being what it is, what it is supposed to do?

There are no inferior or superior, no argument.

Cohabiting together

To craft regality in its own unique form in the sky where

they survive

And others being on the galaxy marvel in awe

Curious as to where its creativity lies.

Wondering why earth is not like the rainbow

They are created equal, no flaws, no wickedness was found

on their color,

Until the darker rainbow thought that the bright rainbow

gave out more luminosity and glow.

About the Author: Cleanne Lynn Johnson is an award-winning author, registered dietitian, podcast host, and advocate for self-love, confidence, and authentic living. At the heart of her work is a simple but powerful message: our differences are not something to hide they are part of what makes us beautiful.

Her journey as a writer grew from her own experiences with bullying, low self-confidence, and learning to embrace the person she saw in the mirror. Writing became a safe place for Cleanne to express emotions she could not always put into words and eventually became a way to encourage others to recognize their own worth.

Cleanne is the author of several books spanning poetry, self-development, and fiction. Her works include Beauty of Colors Poems, Love My Colors, Finding Beauty In and Out: Confidence – Self-Love – True Self, and The Love Hate I Get. Across genres, her writing explores identity, resilience, belonging, self-acceptance, and the courage to live authentically.

Her literary work has received recognition, including a Readers' Favorite Gold Medal in the Poetry – General category for Beauty of Colors Poems. She has also been recognized as a finalist for the International Impact Book Awards Author of the Year 2026.

Beyond writing, Cleanne is the creator and host of the Beauty of Colors Podcast, where she provides a platform for conversations about personal journeys, resilience, creativity, health, purpose, and transformation. As a registered dietitian, she also brings years of experience helping individuals make meaningful changes in their health and relationship with food.

Whether through a book, podcast conversation, or her professional work, Cleanne's mission remains consistent: to encourage people to embrace their individuality, find strength in their experiences, and understand that becoming who they truly are begins with accepting and loving themselves.

Find and Follow Cleanne at the following Links:

 🌐 Official Website – CleanneJohnson.com 

 🔗 Linktree – Beauty of Colors 

 📸 Instagram – @beautyofcolors66 

 🎵 TikTok – @beautyofcolors 

 👥 Facebook – Beauty of Colors 

 💼 LinkedIn – Cleanne Johnson 

 📌 Pinterest – Beauty of Colors 

🎙️Beauty of Colors  –  YouTube

🎙️ Beauty of Colors Podcast – Apple Podcasts 

 🎙️ Beauty of Colors Podcast – Libsyn

🕮Beauty of Colors Poems  – Amazon.

Wow, impressive Cleanne! Thanks Again for sharing with us today. We certainly wish you the best of luck and God's blessings on all of your endeavors!

Hope you enjoyed todays edition of Saturday Spotlight, Friends, and that you'll check back weekly for another episode.

Until next time, Happy Reading!

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Kaylyn's Flowers from A Hint of Holiday Romance!

Good Morning Friends,

My scheduled guest could not make it today so I'm going to share with you one of my favorite stories -- can I say that when I really love them all? 😅... Anyway... Enjoy this excerpt from Kaylyn's Flowers a Halloween story from my collection of holiday romances, A Hint of Holiday Romance...

Will a storm on All Hallows Eve give Kaylyn and Jake a chance at love?

As Kaylyn gathered the things she needed for breakfast, her phone rang.

“Good morning!” Butterflies danced in her core when Coach Jake Simpson’s voice sounded over the line “Heard the wind fairies paid you a visit.”

The thought of her demolished flower beds made her heart weep. She swallowed the lump that rose to choke her and dodged the grief with an attempt at humor. “More like wind witches if my yard’s any indication.”

His chuckle upped the butterflies’ waltz to a frenzied Mambo.

“We’ll be there within the hour to clean up.”

“We?”

“I sent a group text after Connor called, canceled practice and asked for a few volunteers to help with cleanup. Our assistant coach and a couple of team dads are doing the same elsewhere across town. It’s the least we can do for the way this community supports our boys.”

“That’s wonderful, Jake! Teaches them the importance of service too. I’ll make breakfast.”

“No, we want to get right to work, but refreshments after would be appreciated.”

“Done.” Kaylyn disconnected and danced a little jig across the kitchen floor.

Widowed seven years, she’d doubted her ability to get over the grief and conquer her innate shyness enough to date or fall in love again. Besides, she’d been too busy building her floristry business, finishing her degrees in Botany and Horticulture, and raising her son to consider romance.

A Hint of Holiday Romance is available at Amazon in eBook, Paperback and Audio, Other Online/eBook Retailers HERE, AND can be ordered through your favorite bookstore by title or ISBN#: 979-8-9895650-4-7.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into Kaylyn's Flowers and that you'll check back weekly for another edition of Saturday Spotlight.

Meanwhile, take care, God Bless and Read Happy and...

PamT

#SaturdaySpotlight is on Eugene Samolin & Rising Karma!

Good Morning and Welcome to the first episode of Saturday Spotlight of October 2026. The countdown has begun and we'll be sliding into 2027 before you know it!

Eugene Samolin wrote a beautiful article for my spiritual blog, Rainbows, Potholes and Nuggets of Gold and today, he is sharing his book, Rising Karma with us. Thanks for joining us, Eugene. Please tell us a little something about, Rising Karma, and why you wrote it...

Thank You, Pamela for the opportunity to visit with your readers and book lovers today. 

Rising Karma is visionary novel that reimagines ancient spiritual truths for a new generation.

Rodney Real just wants to be a writer, until a vision of the Tree of Life shatters everything he thought he knew. The revelation of his hidden ancestry awakens a specter born of history's darkest lies.

As protests ignite across a university campus seething with unrest, Rodney is drawn into a struggle between love and fear. His search for identity becomes a battle for the redemption of history itself.

Rising Karma is a visionary novel about ancestry, awakening, and the unseen war between light and shadow. It's the story of one man's calling to bridge the divide between religions, and to discover that the act of writing can change the world.

Why I Wrote Rising Karma

At the beginning of my writing career, I wrote a mission statement: to write fiction that inspires people to build a better world for all humankind.

Shortly afterwards, I had a profound vision of the Tree of Life. In the vision, I saw all humanity connected together on one great tree, stretching through the generations and overseen by God. As I reflected on what I had seen, I noticed that many of the world's religious traditions seemed to point toward the same underlying truth. Needless to say, it was a deeply inspiring experience.

What made the experience even more significant was what followed. My sense of identity suddenly came into sharp focus, and the events of my life seemed to gather momentum around that revelation. I was at university at the time and navigating relationships, spirituality, and questions about my place in the world. From the outside, it probably looked as though I went a little wild for a while. I found myself engaging with people from churches, synagogues, and mosques, trying to understand and apply what I had seen.

Yet it still felt as though the experience remained unfinished, as though I had not fully grounded it in the world. Eventually it dawned on me that I needed to write a book about it: to make sense of it, to explain it, and to place my experience on the record as clearly and honestly as I could. My hope was that the story would inspire others, and that the truth and meaning I found in the experience might encourage readers on their own journeys, in keeping with the mission that first led me to become a writer.

What Makes Rising Karma Special

At the heart of Rising Karma is a firsthand mystical experience that changed the course of my life: a vision of the Tree of Life. 

While the novel itself is a work of visionary fiction, the experience that inspired it was real. The Tree of Life has appeared throughout history in the teachings of mystics, sages, and spiritual traditions around the world, and this book is my attempt to explore that mystery through story. 

For that reason, I believe Rising Karma offers readers something unusual: a modern novel rooted in an ancient spiritual truth.

What also makes the book special is its vision of a future beyond division. Beneath the differences that separate religions, cultures, and ideologies, there may exist a deeper truth that unites us. 

My hope is that readers will not only look beyond the divisions that exist between themselves and others, but also the divisions that exist within themselves. Often it is those inner conflicts that give rise to the outer ones. 

The Tree of Life points toward a greater unity, reminding us that we are connected to one another, and that the good of the other is ultimately bound up with our own.

Oh My Goodness, what a beautiful reason behind the book. Would you mind sharing an excerpt with us?

My pleasure, Pam. Here you go...

The Tree of Life

It was a cool, overcast afternoon. Clouds rolled low and heavy across the sky. Inside the bungalow, I paced between shelves, stacking books, folding clothes, trying to bring order to the room.

The quiet rhythm of my movements slowed my thoughts until they slipped into something like meditation. Why had I always lived at the edge of every circle, one foot in, one foot out?

And then it happened.

The sound of a trumpet blast filled my ears. The veil of the ordinary world was torn apart by an enormous, all-encompassing ball of light. The light drew back above my head, revealing the most awe-inspiring thing I had ever seen: a gigantic tree made up of uncountable human bodies, all connected together in branches of flesh that wound their way down through time from the ancient past to the present.

I was one body among the multitude. I looked up towards the past, and saw that my line of ancestors went through the middle of the tree all the way to the top.

Sparks of light flowed up and down the branches. The tree was alive, an organism of its own, with every person who’d ever lived being just one part of the greater whole.

At the top the brilliant ball of light that had torn the veil. From inside the light, I saw through the eyes of the first man in my line. Adam. The world was the garden. And when Adam took a bite of fruit, the ball of light began to fall through the generations.

It descended down my line of fathers, with me inside it, toward my body in the present. With each ancestor, I saw flashes of their lives, moments of agony and awe, struggle and triumph. Each soul bore its burden. Each passed something on to the next generation.

And then, halfway down the tree, I passed through the body of one of my forefathers. But this body wasn’t like the others. It had sunk down so deeply into the garden bed that it had become a well. Through it, the sparks of light that animated the rest of the tree flowed forth.

An image emerged of a man in a hooded cloak, with a single word written across it: Messiah.

There was only one person whose body this could be: Jesus.

The vision moved on. The men who came next were also my fathers. The patriarchal line remained unbroken.

The light went out.

With a splash, I was back in my own body again, looking out through my own eyes. Only, it wasn’t me looking anymore: it was Christ. And my consciousness wasn’t mine, either. It was Christ’s.

My blood sang with recognition.

The door banged.

I turned.

A shadow fled the room.

All I can say is... W-O-W, Eugene, Rising Karma sounds like a wonderful read! Now tell us about yourself and where we can get a copy of the book...

Here is my official bio and links...

Eugene Samolin is a visionary author whose work explores spirituality, consciousness, and human potential. Guided by a mission to inspire people to build a better world for all humankind, he writes stories of adventure, transformation, and discovery that invite readers to see greater meaning in themselves and in the world around them.

Connect with Eugene via his Website/Blog, Amazon Author Page and LinkedIn.

Get your copy of Rising Karma at Amazon in eBook (FREE in KU) and Paperback.

Perfect, Eugene. Thank YOU, again, so much for sharing your book with us today. We wish you the best of luck and God's blessings with it.

Well, Friends, that's a wrap on Saturday Spotlight for today. I hope you'll check back next week for another edition. 

Until then, take care, God Bless and Make Reading a Priority - I promise you won't regret it. 😍

PamT