• Author Spotlight: Thanksgiving Joy with Roseann McGrath Brooks

    We have a winner! Congratulations, Lori Celluzzi, you are the recipient of an Amazon gift card from Roseann. She will be in touch with you.  Isn’t it fun to hear about how authors bring the holidays into their writing? Today, the day before Thanksgiving, Author Roseann McGrath Brooks is here to talk about her new novel, plus she has a fun giveaway for you.  Roseann is proud to admit to being a romantic. Midnight Clear at Christmas, a novella, is the third book in her Vacation Friends Romance series. When not reading, writing, running, and hanging with friends, she’s an editor for a marketing agency and tutors in the writing…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Heartfelt Edition

    Okay, as you know from my post a couple of weeks ago, I’m dealing with heart issues again–seems like when I very first started this blog way back when, I was having stupid heart issues. Yup, I’ve been dealing with this since December 2011. So, I’m back on a 7-day heart monitor (those puppies have changed a lot in 11 years) and on Tuesday, I have an echocardiogram, which will tell the cardiologist why I’m breathless and tired just walking around the block or going up a flight of stairs. I’m really, really hoping he doesn’t tell me it’s because I’m fat and post-menopausal because if that’s his diagnosis, I’m…

  • Author Spotlight: Sinclair Jayne Brings the Holiday Fun!

    We have a winner! Jenny Chlipala, you are the lucky recipient of Sinclair’s fabulous giveaway prize! She will be in touch with you! Thanks for commenting and thanks to everyone for stopping by!  What a treat it is to welcome my friend, my editor, and fabulous author, Sinclair Jayne back to the Author Spotlight! She’s here with her new holiday release, The Christmas Blueprint and a fantastic giveaway, so be sure to comment for a chance to win! Sinclair is a former journalist and middle school teacher who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Snowy, Yup, It’s a Snippet Edition

    Hiya, happy Sunday. Well, okay, it’s actually Saturday morning and it’s snowing here in the city (probably up at the lake cottage, too, from the look of the radar), and we are snug in our little brick house enjoying this view. I love snow, particularly the first snow of the season. It makes me want hot chocolate and a fire in the fireplace, a soft snuggly sweater and a good book. And speaking of good books… See what I did there? It’s called a transition or a segue. It’s an author trick to lead readers to the next part of the story. That one wasn’t very subtle, but it’s fun…

  • Author Spotlight: A Chat with Romance Author Kris Bock

    Debra Pruss, you are Kris’s winner! She will be in touch with you! Thanks for stopping and commenting this week!  Kris Bock writes novels of romance, mystery, and suspense. Her Furrever Friends Sweet Romance series features the employees and customers at a cat café. In the Accidental Detective series, a witty journalist solves mysteries in Arizona. Kris also writes a series with her brother, scriptwriter Douglas J Eboch, who wrote the original screenplay for the movie Sweet Home Alabama. The Felony Melanie series follows the crazy antics of Melanie, Jake, and their friends a decade before the events of the movie. Get a free cat café novella, mystery stories, and…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Other-Worldly Edition

    So the scene is this: I’m writing this on Saturday mid-morning at the breakfast table, and I’m gazing out the windows that look out on the leaf-covered back yard. After several warm and sunny days–unusual for the first of November in my part of the world–we have dreary gray skies and rain. I should go walk on the treadmill, but instead, I’m having a second cup of coffee. Besides, going back to the treadmill means that I’d actually have to rise from my chair and I’m disinclined. I’ve been a weird state of mind since Liz and I got back from writing retreat, and I’m not sure why. I think…

  • Author Spotlight: Kimberley Ash Is Here with a New Release!

    I‘m delighted to turn the blog over to award-winning author Kimberley Ash, a British expat who has lived in and loved New Jersey for almost 30 years. She writes fish-out-of-water stories about people who find home where they least expect it. When not writing contemporary romance or romantic women’s fiction, she can usually be found cleaning up after her two big white furry dogs and slightly less furry children.  Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest Kimberley, the floor is yours! Hello everyone! And thanks so much to Nan for hosting me and my book! Hold is my love letter to single mothers. When we left Thea in…

    Comments Off on Author Spotlight: Kimberley Ash Is Here with a New Release!
  • Sunday Snippet: The Chasing Summer Edition

    It’s October 30 and it’s chilly and a little breezy here at the lake—crisp autumn chilly. The sun has been shining all weekend, until today. Clouds are rolling in and I think we’re due some rain. We raked leaves yesterday and hauled 10 golf-cart loads to the detritus pile up on the hill. It’s truly fall… and now I’m wondering what the hell happened to summer? I know summer was here—after all the cottage is still open (although we’re closing up soon). I vaguely remember a boat ride or two, several swims in the lake, although not nearly as many as previous years, and a lot of editing work, and…

  • Sunday Snippet: The I’m Used Up Edition

    I’m not whining, I promise. But it’s been a pretty busy week and the weeks ahead look mighty full as well. I’m already longing for a writing retreat and we just got back from one a couple of weeks ago. Book release is wonderful and humbling and somehow the imposter syndrome kicks in, which I’m trying very hard to damp down. I am a good writer and I should own that and enjoy the flurry of book release praise and move on. The Fireman’s Christmas Wish is a good book–a well-told story and I love these two characters as much I’ve loved any I’ve written before or since. But I…

  • Sunday Snippet: The Grandboy Edition

    Grandboy days are always the best for Husband and me, and they’re fewer right now because he’s in school and he’s involved in things like being in plays and doing stuff with his parents and friends. Plus ,you’re never sure exactly how interested a ten-year-old boy is in being with a couple of old farts. But in his words, “I love being you guys. This house feels so comfortable.” I’m not sure there’s a higher compliment in the world than that. He was sad when we sold the “Christmas House,” thrilled when we lived with him and his parents for six months, and sad when we found our new home.…