An Unexpected Opportunity

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        So, if you read my last post, you know that Wife by Surprise was released. You also know that I took it down…and this is why.

        I was offered an unexpected opportunity that I would have been foolish to ignore. My current publisher, who released The Maverick & Miss Miller, offered to bring my last three independently published books under their banner so…I took the deal and all three—Wife for Hire, Wife Wanted, and Wife by Surprise are all up on Amazon and the Oliver Heber bookstore as well as several other platforms. That makes me happy! I'm also thinking up two (or three) more stories that will expand the Wives of Bravado County series. My brain is working overtime!

        In the meantime, I am working hard on The Madam & Mr. MacLean…and it has been a struggle. A real struggle. The beginning of the story has been giving me fits, but after discussing it with my wonderful, intelligent, and sympathetic critique partner, we came to the conclusion that I have started this story in the wrong place so…the entire first scene is being rewritten as I write this. Sometimes, that happens. And you know what? It’s been easier. I’m not struggling to get words down…they’re coming fast and furious now so that just tells me the conclusion we drew was correct. And I’m so glad!

        As you may know, I do not write in a linear fashion. I write the scenes as they come to me (I have to, otherwise I lose it) so later sections of the story are already done…I just couldn’t seem to get the beginning right!

        I’m also waiting for my edits on The Marshal & Mrs. Morgan. Hope they come over the Memorial Day weekend. I have some Paid Time Off that I need to use and it would be perfect to have that time for edits.

        And that’s about all for me. Gotta get back to that writing thing! Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

For the Love of Friends by Sara Goodman Confino

 I feel sorry for Lily.  From beginning to nearly the end.

I don't know if I could do what she did:  accept being a bridesmaid for five friends and relatives in a span of six weeks.  Crazy!

Lily is single, thirty-two, full-time writer for a science magazine, and without a boyfriend.  She should have plenty of time to organize and attend all the functions, destroy her checking account, and let's not forget the demands of the bride.

A big time saver happened immediately at her BFF's engagement party.  Lily partied, slept over, and borrowed a shirt from the mysterious guy she woke up with.  Ashamed and afraid to know who he was, she snuck out in the morning.  Not seeing his face would help her behave at the rest of the events.

Alex, fellow groomsman, is what every woman wants. Lily allows small advances in a coffee-cup-note-passing relationship, but she dares not go any further.  Besides, whenever she turns around a new engagement, purchase, outing, or meeting is taking place for the brides.  

The commitments and requests rain down with outrageous demands.  Lily has no other way to vent the expectations except start an anonymous blog.  The blog is hilarious!  With the truth coming out, Lily finds a way to remain diligent in her duties, including keeping Alex at arm's length.

And it all hurts.  When she sits down and takes a breath, the whole gamut of friendships, relatives, and one man in particular (Alex again) leaves her wondering how she will make it.  Her bride-friends are turning on her because of her excessive effort to make them happy doesn't match their plans exactly.  

What is wrong with this picture?  I'm probably not as good of a person as Lily because I would never put up with what she does.  She won't know if any of the brides forgive her delinquencies until after all the weddings.  Will Alex allow her one mistake to end the possibility of a good thing? 

I want to make it right for Lily, she deserves it, but I'm not in charge of her story!

Happy reading,

Dawn  

Romance Freebies by Lexi Post

 

Looking for a free cowboy read?

COWBOYS NEVER FOLD (Poker Flat: #1)

Amazon   | Barnes & Noble  | AppleBooks  | Kobo

Amazon AU  | Amazon UK  |  Amazon CA

When cowboy Wade Johnson honors a promise by working at a nudist resort, he discovers that to win the sexy owner’s heart he must go all-in, which could mean baring more than his soul.

Or would you prefer a free Sci-fi Menage romance?

CRUISE INTO EDEN

(Eden Series:#1)

Amazon    | Barnes & Noble  | AppleBooks    | Kobo

Amazon UK  | Amazon AU   | Amazon CA  

Sci-fi television employee, Erin Danielson, boards a nude cruise to get lucky, and boy does she ever because Nase and Ware have ripped bodies, enticing accents, and hearts of gold. In fact, they are out of this world…literally.

About Lexi

Lexi Post is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of romance inspired by the classics. She spent years in higher education taking and teaching courses about the classical literature she loved. From Edgar Allan Poe's short story “The Masque of the Red Death” to Tolstoy’s War and Peace, she's read, studied, and taught wonderful classics.

But Lexi's first love is romance novels so she married her two first loves, romance and the classics. Whether it’s sizzling cowboys, dashing dukes, hot immortals, or hunks from out of this world, Lexi provides a sensuous experience with a “whole lotta story.”

Lexi is living her own happily ever after with her husband and her two cats in Florida. She makes her own ice cream every weekend, loves bright colors, and you’ll never see her without a hat.

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It's All Good

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        Well, it’s been quite a ride since I last posted. I’ve done everything I set out to accomplish. Wife by Surprise released last Friday (ebook & print) but I'll be taking it down....I'll explain in a later post once everything has been finalized (it's good news and a fabulous opportunity!)

        I also submitted The Marshal & Mrs. Morgan to my publisher like I said I would (before deadline, too, which makes me happy). My editor has it in her hands and will start her process shortly and that’s a good thing, too…she’s a wonderful editor!

        And I’m still hard at work on The Madam & Mr. MacLean, which is giving me fits. I have, in the course of the past week, been tempted to rip out the entire first and second chapters and start over (which is a difficult decision to make, but if it isn’t right, it isn’t right) at the very least ten times. My heroine, it seems, isn’t very sympathetic (yet!) but there are reasons why she is why she is…and that is so she’ll grow. She isn’t mean or anything like that, but she is a bit standoffish and that’s just fine. Mr. MacLean will show her that she doesn’t have to be! Actually, Mr. MacLean will show her a lot of things and that’s the whole point.

        Oh, and I had to break down and get a new washer/dryer. I didn't want to, but I didn't have a choice. The dryer has been making a horrible noise for the past month...and it was getting louder. The thing was over fifteen years old and gasping for its last breath. And, of course, once the washer realized the dryer was dying, it decided to go as well. It just didn't want to spin and when it attempted to spin...well, you've all seen the comedies where the washing machine just kinda 'walks' out of place...yeah, it was doing that so new washer/dryer combo...

        And that’s all for me…gotta get back to work! Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

His Witness by Tami Lund

 Fit in with the neighborhood.  That includes Christmas lawn decorations.  Don't stand out.  Leave your former life behind, and you'll be safe.  Rules of the Witness Protection Program must be followed.

Anna Lewis is a rule follower, but fitting in didn't help her this time.  The teenager next door takes too many pictures, and they end up online.  With Anna in a neighborhood Christmas photo, she's spotted by the cartel that wants her dead.

Diego Mendez is sent to protect her until she's relocated with another identity.  It would be less of a problem if the holiday wouldn't slow the process down.  Worse yet, the cartel has already found her.

During the time Anna and Diego are forced into a claustrophobic relationship, small personality traits are revealed.  Anna has not gotten close to anyone, let alone a man, since she witnessed an admission from a human trafficker and testified against him.

Now, trust is a must in order to stay alive.  Trust develops into a caring and loving emotion under some circumstances.  Can it be pursued?  Can love last?  

Running for your life while falling in love is a grand scale to test your future.  Let's root for a passing grade on this test!

Happy reading,

Dawn

So Busy!

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!

        Oh my gosh! Life has gotten so busy…let me rephrase that….life has always been busy…it’s just more so now and somehow, I thought, mistakenly, that as one grew older, it just wouldn’t be. It’s pretty harsh realizing I lied to myself. 

        The day job is crazy busy. So much to do, not enough time to do it in. You’re all familiar with the phrase ‘do more with less’? Yeah. That.

         And the writing—the thing that keeps me sane—has been busy, too. I am ready to submit The Marshal and Mrs. Morgan to my publisher (you don’t know how happy it makes me to say that after having been without a publisher since before COVID) and I’m working diligently on The Madam and Mr. MacLean (I’ve already run into a snag on that, but I’m fixing it). AND Wife by Surprise is up for pre-order, releasing on April 25. 

                https://www.amazon.com/Wife-Surprise-Wives-Bravado-County-ebook/dp/B0F3VGGFB6

        Of course, when all these moving parts are moving, the ideas keep coming (not sure how that works, but my brain is a very strange and odd place). I’ve been working on two more (possibly three) stories for the Matchmaker Mischief series because, you know, can’t stop the wheels from turning. It’s a good thing I carry notebooks around with me because you never know when an idea will hit or a character introduces himself. I have actually stopped in the middle of the grocery store to jot down notes (I do try to stay out of people’s way)! I’ve also pulled into a parking lot to make notes because some of my best ideas occur when I’m driving (I don’t use a recorder of any kind because the playback is filled with ‘ums’ and I sound like Minnie Mouse). 

        And that’s all for me. Gotta get back to writing…the thing that keeps me sane (although the jury might be out on that). 

        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

        Marie

Beg, Borrow, or Steal by Sarah Adams

 Whenever you have a nemesis, you want to be as far away as possible.  As a responsible adult.  Avoid conflict.

As a second-grade teacher in Rome, Kentucky, Emily Walker pretends to be in control of her animosity to another teacher, Jack Bennett.  They sparred with words since college, right into teaching at the same school. It was a lot easier when he moves away to get married.

A short year later, he appears nearly on her doorstep.  I say nearly because he moves back to town, purchases her neighboring house, and reclaims his teaching job.  And he's alone.  No marriage certificate or wife in hand.

Emily likes to keep her life very controlled and in line with her objectives.  

Jack's arrival throws everything out of whack, which deems her the authority to put it back at her free will.  

And the sparring begins.  

The funny thing is, for some reason, The intensity of their rivalry includes a crumb of humanity.  They begin to notice good qualities in each other, insecurities, and a few humorous scenes.  Granted, the good points are hard to acknowledge.

And that's the problem.  Quit covering emotions and pretending to not need a shoulder for laughs and sorrow.  If Emily and Jack can figure this out, they have a good chance!

Happy reading,

Dawn