Most of us
don’t need a designated day to think about the people, places, and things we’re
thankful for. Still, the October and November Thanksgiving holidays provide a
timeout to take a spiritual gratitude inventory, but it’s also fun to think
about the quirkier things that add a special flavor to our lives.
For me, this year I’m all about YouTube.
I know, I know, people make fun of the pet trick videos and such, but go ahead
and laugh. When I needed an update on refinishing wood trim on boats for Love, Unexpected, YouTube provided a quick refresher course. Education aside, though,
most of all, I enjoy the music, which maybe too
often are trips down memory lane, one click leading to another and another, and
oops, that was quite a concert that lasted all evening.
Then
there’s ice skating. A category unto itself. I can watch performances from the Olympics
in the '90s or from Skate America and Skate Canada, each a few weeks ago.
Skating brings out the dancer in me, and dancing is the path to romance. So, when
you match Canadian Olympic champion ice dancers Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir
with Ed Sheeran singing his own song, “Perfect,” this is the magical result:
As
it happens, the theme of “Perfect” goes along with the theme of All in the Past, Book 1 of my new Harlequin Heartwarming series, Bluestone River, coming in 2019.
Tragedy—and a scandal—drove Ruby Driscoll and Mike Allouez away from Bluestone River, and from each other. Now, twenty years later, they’re both back and crossing paths. Mike is home to stay, but Ruby has other plans, or so she thinks. Mike and Ruby must try to heal the wound that drove them apart—a wound that had nothing to do with them in the first place.
I hope
all the holidays drawing this year to an end are filled with all the blessings
and fun you can pack in.
___________________________________________________
An
author of both fiction and nonfiction books, Virginia McCullough writes about
characters who could be our neighbors and friends struggling with everyday life
issues. The final book of her Two Moon Bay series, Love, Unexpected, was released in May of this
year. Now she’s immersed in Bluestone River, Illinois, a town that has seen
better days, but could be making a comeback! She’s working on Book 1, All in the Past, a reunion story.
Born
and raised in Chicago, Virginia has moved around a lot, mostly by choice, and
now lives in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where she enjoys hanging out with other
romance writers, walking on trails, and downing mugs of dark roast at local
coffeehouses. Her other award-winning romance and women’s fiction titles
include The Jacks of Hear Heart, Amber Light, and Greta's Grace.
Learn more about Virginia by visiting www.VirginiaMcCullough.com or connecting with her on Facebook and Twitter. Follow her on Bookbub, Amazon or Goodreads for new release and sale announcements.
Hey, Virginia. I'm a fan of YouTube, too. I go there for research (say, barrel racing or wedding ceremonies) and wind up watching videos of dog agility trials or celebrities reading mean tweets :)
ReplyDeleteThat sounds fun--there's always something off the beaten track to see. It's really amazing what's there.
DeleteLast week my daughter used YouTube to hook up her laptop to the TV monitor, and where I bolstered my knowledge on birthing cows. My son found a hilarious one of Marines on a rollercoaster ride. Sharing now means a whole lot more than a chocolate bar at lunch time!
ReplyDeleteHey--we can all to do things, you maybe surgery, just by watching enough You Tube videos. Or, the world might safer if I stick to old music performances and ice skating!
DeleteLovely. I'm amazed at all the people who take the time and effort to post how-to videos on basically everything. Yes, I'm grateful for youtube, too.
ReplyDeleteAnd people take the time to comment, too. I love to see how many views something gets. Some of the Kennedy Center Honors ceremonies will get hundreds of thousands of views.
DeleteI'm a big fan of ice skating as well and didn't know you could access previous performances and competitions. So I just went and found one of Paul Wylie's skates from 1995. Someone I know has talked about seeing him skate to "O Holy Night" and now I've been able to see him do it!
ReplyDeleteI found this performance I posted while I was looking for some French pair skaters performing to "Make it Rain." It was quire memorable to me. I found it, and this one popped up. I'll look for Paul Wylie--he was good.
DeleteWhat a beautiful video! And I honestly never thought of using YouTube for research for my books, but it makes total sense. My husband and son use YouTube for everything from fixing cars to building stuff in the workshop.
ReplyDeleteI keep expanding my knowledge of what's available. And each time I look I'm pleasantly surprised.
DeleteI try to watch the ice skating on TV, but I don't use You Tube. My grands use it for most everything and hook it up to my TV when they're visiting. Seems like a good place to do research, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's versatile! I'm amazed at what useful a resource it is. My mother was a librarian and I'm sure she would find what we have available not just amazing but fantastic. Her philosophy was that we don't need to know a lot of facts so much as we need to know how to find them.
DeleteBack when it was popular to make rubber band bracelets, my son (yes, boys were in on the craze) would sit and painstakingly follow directions. Now, he uses YouTube to get better at Fortnight.
ReplyDeleteSometimes my reaction to thinks really is, "What will be next?"
DeleteI love YouTube. I think ice skating is the true definition of "poetry in motion."
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more! And 'tis the season for it, too.
DeleteI love YouTube! Whether it's fixing my printer so it'll print beyond the allotted pages or how to change my watchband. lol And it's great for blowing up things...just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteYour printer? I never thought of that. Now I know...thanks.
DeleteI don't go to You Tube often enough, it seems! But I do love watching skating, I probably watch it more than anything else in the Olympics. It's just gorgeous but also amazing. They're doing all that while balanced on thin metal blades on slippery ice!
ReplyDelete