Writer's moments
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New Year, Big News!
Happy New Year, Mes Amies! We had a wondrous start to 2014 with our dear lake pals, who spent New Year’s Eve with us here at home. They all stayed overnight to have a special New Year’s Day breakfast. Champagne and wine flowed, and a delicious supper and yummy breakfast filled our bellies with bliss. The house was full of laughter and love, and Husband and I were thrilled to host these lovely folks. My big news is that the first two books of my Women of Willow Bay series are now available on Nook, Kobo, and Smashwords platforms! I’m so excited to offer these romantic books to my readers…
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Welcome, Author Ainsley Brooks
I’m so pleased to welcome pal and fellow author Ainsley Brooks to the blog today. We’re celebrating the publication of her debut novel, The Star Prophecy, Book 1 in the Daughters of Prophecy series. Ainsley and I met online, but I knew right away she was a kindred spirit. She beta-read for me and is introducing me to a whole new world of fiction, fantasy! I hope you’ll join me in making her feel welcome. Take it away, Ainsley… How I Became a Fantasy Romance Writer by Ainsley Brooks Science Fiction and Fantasy—the two genres are inexorably linked. Oh I like science, sure, when it comes to electricity and my…
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8-Sentence Sunday
A new 8-Sentence Sunday and I stayed in Sarah’s story because it’s the one that’s on my mind this week. This snippet picks up from where we left off last week. Mack and Sarah are talking about her abusive ex-husband, whom she’s convinced is sitting outside the shelter in a limo waiting for his chance to confront her… “No, he won’t give it up,” Sarah’s voice sounded flat to her own ears as Mack followed her out into the courtyard. Even as she said the words, the truth of them sent a chill down her spine. She couldn’t shake the image of a mountain lion patiently stalking a gazelle. Watching,…
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Welcome Author Mellanie Szereto
Today, I’m happy to have pal and fellow romance author Mellanie Szereto as my guest. When her fingers aren’t attached to her keyboard, Mellanie enjoys hiking, Pilates, cooking, gardening, and researching for her stories. Many times, the research partners with her other hobbies, taking her from the Hocking Hills region in Ohio to the Colorado Rockies or the Adirondacks of New York. Sometimes, the trip is no farther than her garden for ingredients and her kitchen to test recipes for her latest steamy tale. Mellanie makes her home in rural Indiana with her husband of twenty-seven years, their two children, and two cats. She is a member of Romance Writers…
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8-Sentence Sunday
8-Sentence Sunday is back around and I’m switching it up on you again. Here’s the next 8 from Book 4 of the Women of Willow Bay series. For the previous snippets, head back to the the October 20 and 27 posts. Remember, this is Sarah Everett’s story, and as it opens, she’s terrified knowing that her abusive ex is out of jail. She suspects he’s stalking her because she’s seen a limo parked outside the shop where she works and her gut tells her it’s him. She and Mack, the night watchman are discussing possibilities… She couldn’t help thinking of the vehicle as a huge dark monster, crouched on the…
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Monday Morning Quarterbacking…
Last week I did my first real book promotion by making Book 1 in the Women of Willow Bay series, Once More From the Top, a freebie on Amazon. Just over 14,000 readers downloaded the book, a number that feels really huge to me. Now I told myself I wasn’t going to do the math to figure out how much that would’ve been in sales. My friends, mentors, editors, book designers, etc., Lani and Alastair from StoryWonk, warned me not to do that. But of course, I did it. Yes, guys, I’m confessing to you here in this semi-public forum. I did the math! I thought the dollar numbers would…
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8-Sentence Sunday
It’s Sunday and that means we have a new 8-Sentence snippet. Picking up from last week’s eight taken from the third book in the Women of Willow Bay series, we’re still with Captain McGuire as he fights icy cold, bad weather, and a guilty conscience in 1933: “Temperature’s dropping fast, Captain, First Officer Brent Woods came onto the bridge, his shoulders hunched against the wind that buffeted the ship, and handed McGuire a thick mug. “The men are grousing about the possibility of snow.” “Yeah, I know,” McGuire accepted the coffee, grateful for its warmth, and jerked his head toward the window. “Those clouds don’t look too promising, do they?”…
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Big Day…Huge!
It is seriously a big day for me! First, ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP is a free book today exclusively on Amazon. Don’t miss this chance to grab the first book in the Women of Willow Bay series—it won’t be free for long! What a great way to introduce readers to this new and exciting series about women in their prime! Also, I’m the guest author on Ainsley Brook’s blog and it was such a pleasure to talk to her! Go by and check out our interview where you’ll also find a link to both of the Women of Willow Bay books. And remember, ONCE MORE FROM THE TOP is…
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A Touching Review
I’m always so excited when someone reads my books and loves them. It’s an author’s greatest wish to touch readers on a visceral level. I don’t have have to tell you that in the romance genre, that’s sometimes difficult to accomplish. We’re entertaining our readers, taking them into a fantasy for a short time, and always, always giving them a happily-ever-after. Yesterday, Becky Condit of Mrs. Condit and Friends Read Books reviewed Sex and the Widow Miles, the second book in my Women of Willow Bay series. Her review included a personal story about how she related to the heroine, Julie Miles, because she too lost her husband to a…
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8-Sentence Sunday
Here we go, kids…still in the beginning of Novel 3 in the Women of Willow Bay series (this book seriously needs a title!), and still in Captain McGuire’s POV… Three years later, multimillionaire Salvatore “Sonny” Todaro salvaged the boat, towed it to Chicago, and had it refitted as his own personal yacht. He renamed her Caroline Howe to honor his mother. Now, she was luxurious again, with staterooms outfitted for the ultimate comfort of Todaro and his friends and family. But the Caroline Howe had another mission—the refit had included state-of-the-art diesel engines that sent the boat moving swiftly over the Great Lakes, and for several years, she’d carried an…