This blog is for those 18 and older.

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

Well, It's Done

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe. Hope you all had a lovely holiday too!
So, as you may know, I took a few days of PTO over Christmas, bound and determined to finish my current work in progress. Well…I did it. I typed The End, just this morning, in fact. And I’m not quite sure how I feel about that. I’ve lived with these characters (and loved them) for so long, it feels sorta like a letdown that I finally finished the story. Almost like losing a beloved friend.
Of course, typing The End is really only the beginning. I still need to have my critique partner go over the last two chapters and the epilogue. Once I incorporate her corrections/suggestions, I move on to printing out all 267 pages (or more at that point), grabbing my red pen and reading everything out loud. Then it’s off to my beta readers to look for holes and glaring errors. Oh, I need to write the synopsis as well (and that’s a big dread on my part…condensing 267 pages down to two or three…not my favorite thing).
And then, I can start sending it out and cross my fingers that a publisher likes it. Whooo-hooo!
And that’s all that happening here. Even though I’ve had a few days off from the day job, I haven’t stopped working, but you know what? It’s all good. The writing thing I do for me, because I love it…it’s part of who I am and I’m not the same person when I don’t write.
One more thing before I go…
Happy 2022! I wish for you to be happy and healthy. I wish for you to be surrounded by loved ones. Actually, I wish for 2022 to be a spectacular year in any way you need it to be.  
Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go! 

Marie

Friday, December 24, 2021

Veronica Reviews - TEMPTING FATE by Kerrigan Byrne

 




Tempting Fate

 

(Goode Girls #4)

by


Kerrigan Byrne






★★★★★

5+ Stars

Historical Romance




“When he was near, when he touched her…she didn’t feel so hollow.  She could believe that she possessed courage.  He made her brave.”

From the first moment he sensed her presence…from the first glance into her angelic face…from the first time he saved her from harm, Gabriel Sauvageau finally knew peace.  Broken and disfigured from years of torment and torture in the fighting pits, Gabriel has only known how to bring pain and death to those who dare attack what he considers his…and Felicity Goode may not realize it, but she has most certainly been claimed…


Anxious, broken, hollow, weak…these words are on constant repeat in Felicity’s mind.  Never being as strong as her twin, she is even less so now that her twin married and is currently traveling with her husband.  Felicity knows she must continue on without her sister by her side, and after an attack on her life, she must acquire a bodyguard.  But just the thought of meeting with strangers has her anxiety elevated to the point she feels a panic attack on the rise…until she bumps into a mountain of a man…one whose very presence brings her a sense of peace.  Felicity immediately offers this beastly of a man the job…her very own avenging angel…


Love always has a way of finding broken souls and mending them together…Gabriel and Felicity’s romance is one of true acceptance…of true love…of a tale as old as time…


*SOBBING*


Dear Reader, I DID NOT WANT THIS STORY TO END! 


That being said, I wish I had read it slower…much, much slower in order to savor each delicious bit of Gabriel…but alas, I devoured Tempting Fate in one day.  If you are new to the Goode Girl series, I’d recommend reading in order to better enjoy the characters.  However, if you are a fan of the Beauty & the Beast storyline, you’ll LOVE LOVE LOVE this installment, and will most likely go back and read the other installments for more snippets of my (yes, MINE!) beloved Gabriel!  Highly recommend & wish I could give more than 5 Stars!!



Sharing what I love, 




Veronica



**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **



Wednesday, December 22, 2021

Christmas at Fireside Cabins by Jenny Hale

 The warmth, love, and cheer of Christmas are in every page of Jenny Hale's story.  

The atmosphere couldn't be warmer than the cabins in the mountains of Tennessee with white snow draped over the evergreens.

Here's the problem...  Lila is a wonderful woman who followed her sweetheart to Nashville and promptly got dumped.  Her job sucks, and she doesn't know what to do next.  Fortunately, she has a fabulous group of girlfriends.  That's not enough because they're all moving on in their lives with work and family.

One last grand Christmas week together is what Lila has.


The girls rent a spot at Fireside Cabins.  The cabin is worn, the host is lonely and in need of spirit, and the coffee shop has a handsomely, cranky bachelor ignoring his customers.

Theo owns the coffee shop, but closes himself from feeling, well, anything.  He could be a thoughtful and caring man, if he didn't have to hide.  

Lila sees all the beauty and anguish in the merry week of Christmas with friends, and needs to fix it.  That's what she does.  And Theo is on the list of needing fixing.

A delightful holiday romance.  Hale gives me goosebumps of cheer and many other Christmas stories to read.

Happy holidays,

Dawn  


Saturday, December 18, 2021

PLEASURES OF CHRISTMAS PAST by Lexi Post on Sale for 99¢ for a Limited Time!


Pleasures of Christmas Past 
(A Christmas Carol: Book 1)

by Lexi Post

Do you like Dickens’ A Christmas Carol? How about a steamy Scottish Christmas Carol series? It all starts with Pleasures of Christmas Past.

When present-day American social worker Jessica Thomas is assigned her first case as a spirit guide, she’s excited to serve as the Spirit of Christmas Past for her client and prove she knows her profession well. Unfortunately, her mentor, the very hot, very single, and very Scottish Duncan Montgomerie has little faith in her ability and plans to catch her when she falls. As far as she’s concerned, he’s going to be waiting a very long time. 

Bachelor Duncan Montgomerie hails from late 18th century Scotland where he enjoyed life to its fullest, something he continues in death. Having been dead a while, he is well equipped to handle the afterlife where time doesn’t exist and phasing is the norm. What has him stymied is his connection to the uptight Jessica and the strange feelings he’s experiencing being around her, even though she refuses to listen to his advice. Duncan needs to figure out what it all means and fast because the rules change after death and the path Jessica is headed down could cost her her soul.

Only 99¢ 

Amazon   | B&N |  AppleBooks   Kobo   

| Amazon AU | Amazon UK | Amazon CA



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. From hot paranormals to sizzling cowboys to 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 will never see her without a hat.

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Thursday, December 16, 2021

Losing Track of Time

           

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        I’m late. I’m sorry. I lost track of time. Well, that’s not technically true…what’s happening is that I’m taking a tea-cup saucer up to the buffet bar and overfilling my plate. I’m sure you understand. The old adage “too much to do and not enough time to do it” is certainly true in my case. Between the day job, getting ready for Christmas, keeping the house nice and tidy, and writing, I find that I’m getting less sleep so I can get it all done…and as you can plainly see, it’s not working well.
I am making progress though. All the Christmas decorations, etc., have been taken down from the attic (which is a feat within itself…I’m afraid of heights so getting me on a ladder takes a lot of convincing as well as gearing myself up mentally. The DH usually does this, but he’s been under the weather, so it falls to me. Which is fine. I don’t have a problem at all pulling my weight so to speak, but yeah…that ladder…not my finest moment. I am proud of myself that I didn’t fall and break my fool neck (though it was a close call for a moment or two)!
Christmas cards have been mailed, the shopping is done and most of the packages have been mailed off (I have a few that I hand deliver). The DH and I don’t exchange gifts (and haven’t for a very long time) so that part was easy. I did not bake. I thought about it, but ultimately decided that I just didn’t have time to do it right. I will be making a cheesecake within the next week, but that doesn’t really count. I’ve been making this dessert for so long, I no longer need the recipe and I’ve cut the prep time down to ten minutes. Once it’s in the oven, I don’t have to think about it for an hour (then another hour with the heat turned off).
The other bit of progress is that I finally (yes, finally!!!) finished getting caught up at the day job from taking that week off in November. I know…that seems like a long time but given the business I’m in and the sheer amount of emails (all requiring I do something) I get on a daily basis, I’m surprised it didn’t take longer.
What else is taking so much time? I’m probably a fool, but I’ve been getting estimates to have my front yard redone. Yup. It’s time. Past time, really. I’m finally getting rid of the sparse grass and doing a decorative rock. I’ve had a couple people come out and give me proposals…now it’s time to make a decision and *gasp* part with the dollars I’ve been saving up (I will admit, that’s the hardest part!).
Lastly, there is the writing. Every spare moment (between everything else) is going toward finishing my current work in progress and I am sooooo close! Maybe another 1 to 2K words and I’ll be able to type “The End”. As you may know, this story has taken much longer to write than any other I’ve written—not because it was harder, but because I ran into so many “issues”. Still, I’m happy with what I’ve done (though I have yet to read it from beginning to end…that’s next! I’m taking a few days off around Christmas (which I’ll pay for later) to print out and read aloud…yes, I do that…it’s so much easier to hear your mistakes because your brain will automatically fill in missing words, etc.). I’m looking forward to doing that.
You know, now that I’ve written out everything that I’m doing, I find that I’m tired. Maybe I should take a breath! Hahahaha! And a nap!
Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!
Marie

Friday, December 10, 2021

Veronica Reviews - HIGLAND LEGEND by Kathryn LeVeque

 



Highland Legend 


(Scots & Swords #3)


by


Kathryn Le Veque







★★★★

4 Stars


Historical Romance



“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching—they are your family.”—Jim Butcher, Dresden Files


Welcome to the Ludus Caledonia, an elite training compound where worthy men may sign on years of service to become highly trained warriors.  Magnus Stewart has hidden the truth behind his royal bloodline and has fought his way to becoming the top gladiator known as “The Eagle”.  Magnus is a proud man that struggles with opening up to his fellow fighters about his past, but when he’s in need of assistance to protect the woman he loves, Magnus discovers he’s not alone in this world…the Ludus Caledonia has become his family…a clan of powerful fighters who would lay their life down to defend one of their own…


Diantha de Mora remembers Magnus from her youth.  Both being held hostage for political reasons, their younger years were filled with misery and loneliness.  While Magnus was released from his bondage, Diantha finds herself betrothed to a man that is beyond cruel.  Seeing a way to save herself, Diantha escapes and flees to the Ludus Caledonia begging Magnus to help her get back to her homeland.  An agreement between them is reached, and over the next few weeks, Magnus finds the chip on his shoulder whittled down by this beautiful woman that sees so much more in him than just a fighter…


 Is it possible for these two lost souls find a home with each other and in all places a fight club?  


Dear reader, I’ve so enjoyed Kathryn LeVeque’s Scots & Swords series, and in her third installment, we have a sweet romance between Magnus and Diantha, where true love does indeed become legendary!  


“I love ye…Ye have been mine since the beginning of time and ye’ll be mine until the end of all things...”  If you are a fan of her medieval romances, be prepared for the same epic adventure and swoon worthy hero!  Highly recommend!



Sharing what I love, 



Veronica


**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **





Wednesday, December 8, 2021

Always Believe in Love by Maureen Driscoll

 1823 near London.  

Nicholas Chilcott, Earl of Layton, must relieve his mind of the accusations of his late father as a traitor.  Nicholas's cousin, Simon, has other ideas such as relieving Nicholas of his duties, even if it means by death.

Traveling to Weymouth looking for evidence of his father's

                              

past, Nicholas encounters the church archivist.

Kate Winston pens the records of the church under the new vicar who has planned to marry her out of his necessity.  She wants nothing to do with him.  The previous vicar, God rest his soul, had lovingly cared for her since her parents demise.  Now she must survive without a family and few friends.  Her wit and determination make her a strong character and ready to deal with an Earl looking for information.

Nicholas does his best to fit in and befriend the locals by giving a helping hand in trades he's never done along with traveling in perilous conditions.  With Kate lending a hand in dangerous ways, their hearts seek each other out.

Yet, Nicholas doesn't want to mix Kate up in his family mess, and Kate feels she won't fit into his royal circle.  

Their story is a delightful read with matching wit and strength between lovers from different backgrounds.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Wednesday, December 1, 2021

Thanksgiving 2021

 



        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving holiday!
        I know I did. This author (and DH) left their comfort zone for a few days (we are not seasoned travelers though I’m better than the DH) and went to Texas to spend the holidays with our son and his girlfriend. It was the first time in over thirty years that I did not cook (though I did bake…I had requests for my ‘knock your socks off’ cheesecake and ‘tickle your tongue’ deviled eggs).
        So, I assumed, when we got off the plane, that it would be a rather quiet family dinner with some of their friends. Boy, was I wrong! The DH and I got the biggest, best surprise. My son and his girlfriend, unbeknownst to us, made arrangements with DH’s brother (whom he hasn’t seen in almost 18 years) and his wife to surprise us with a visit.
We were both blown-away, not only seeing them come strolling into the yard, but because my son and his girlfriend love us enough to make it happen.
        It couldn’t have been more perfect!
        I will admit, I cried when I saw them. And I cried a little more later on…actually, I got misty-eyed several times over the course of a few days (which is so unusual for me!). Some of those tears were from laughing though because we laughed a lot, so much so that my ribs are still sore!
        Dinner was fantastic (oh my gosh! So much food!). My son smoked a turkey and his girlfriend roasted one in the oven (she injected it with Cajun spices and it was fabulous!). Tried, for the very first time EVER green bean casserole. I liked it. And stuffing made with hot and sweet andouille sausage (with bits of apple and walnuts), which was so good I had seconds.
        To finish off the week visiting Texas, I got a pedicure (my first one in two years) and then we took a cruise on the lake at sunset. So lovely (and yes, a little cold…colder than Phoenix!).
        We are home now and back to the usual routine. The dogs are happy to see us (my wonderful neighbors took excellent care of them), but they seem to be leery every time I leave the house now. It’s okay though. They’ll have forgotten by the time next Thanksgiving rolls around. Not sure if this is a new tradition, but I’m game if it is. 

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

Marie