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Tuesday, December 26, 2023

WHEN LOVE CHIMES by Lexi Post is only 99¢ until Dec 31st!


When Love Chimes 

(Broken Valor #1) 

By Lexi Post

On sale for 99¢

 He’s the right man at the wrong time with an unwanted Christmas proposal.

As if cocktail waitress and horse trainer Lynzie Mullins didn’t have enough problems, she discovers she’s pregnant just as her high school crush rides back into town in time for Christmas. He’s a constant reminder of the happily ever after she’d always dreamed of instead of the mess she’s in now.

Cowboy veteran Ryan Crawford reluctantly returns to Lucasville to help his grandfather sell his place. The town has changed and so has Lynzie—from an awkward teenager to an attractive young woman with a caring heart.

Despite his best efforts, Lynzie’s not interested in leaving Lucasville, so Ryan offers her what she wants—his heart. Unfortunately, that proves not to be enough. Now he has a decision to make. Give up his dream farm or his dream girl. 

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EXCERPT

Lynzie smiled. “No. You are still the boy I liked in high school, just better.”

Ryan’s grin was back. “That’s good enough for me. So would you like to come over this weekend and give me a few pointers on Midnight and Toby?”

“I can come by Sunday. I don’t work Sunday night.”

“Perfect. You can stay for dinner.”

What was she doing? “Sounds good.”

“It will be. I’m cooking. You don’t want to eat anything Gramps cooks. I found that out the hard way.”

She rarely ran into Ryan’s grandfather, but she’d heard he was forgetting things. “You know how to cook?”

He shrugged. “I’ve picked up a couple tips here and there. My specialty is smoked ribs. Do you like those?”

Oh, God could the man get any better? “I love smoked ribs.”

“How about twelve hundred hours? I’d like your opinion on a few things, but I know you work late.”

Her opinion? She ignored his use of military time. “Noon is fine.”

He gazed into her eyes, a smile still on his face. “I’m really glad I came back here.”

Before she could react to the thrill that buzzed through her chest, Ryan cupped her neck and kissed her.

The second his lips touched hers, her whole body came alive. At first the kiss was just a brush of a touch, but as he lifted away, he hesitated then came back and really kissed her, his tongue seeking entrance to her mouth, which she allowed.

As teenagers, they had been awkward at best in their kissing, but Ryan knew what he was about now as he commandeered her mouth with his tongue. She moaned as she kissed him back, loving his new taste.

“Excuse me.”

At the sound of the strange voice, she pulled away and looked at the person who wanted to go into the restaurant. She didn’t recognize the man, but still her cheeks heated.

“I’m sorry.” Ryan spoke to the man then stepped away from the doorway, taking her with him, his hand at the small of her back, possessive.

Once they had walked a few steps away, he turned and faced her. “I know I should apologize for kissing you on the sidewalk in front of everyone, but I can’t because I’m not sorry. I hope you’re not offended.”

She shook her head, not quite able to form words yet.

“Good.” He looked at his watch. “I better get going. See you Sunday?”

She nodded.

He tipped his hat and strode off, the hitch in his step not quite as noticeable as it had been.

She watched him until he turned the corner, unable to take her eyes off him. Lifting her hand to her lips, she relived the kiss. Ryan Crawford had grown into the perfect man, just like the ugly duckling grew into a swan.

And he had opened her eyes to life’s possibilities in just a few hours. If only—her doctor’s appointment was Friday. Maybe she would get lucky and discover her home pregnancy test had screwed up.

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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Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Holiday Wishes

 



        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
Happy Holidays! I can’t believe Christmas is around the corner! How did that happen?!?!??! Wasn’t it Thanksgiving just a minute ago? I guess what they say is true: the older you get, the faster time flies! Being that Christmas and 2024 is almost here, I wanted to express my wishes for you for the coming year.
I wish you good health.
I wish you peace. We need it more than ever.  
I wish you joy—in whatever makes you happy—from seeing a perfect sunrise to picking up that next great book.
Lastly, I wish you love—from family, from friends, from your four-legged fur-babies (or two legged, if you like birds)—from whoever or whatever makes your heart sing.
Have the most wonderful of holidays and Happy New Year. 2024 is going to rock!

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

Marie

Friday, December 15, 2023

WHO DOESN’T LOVE A HOTEL WITH A WATER FEATURE?

 

Hey Howdy, Gang!  I hope everyone is doing absolutely outstanding, that you are moving fast, getting’ shi… er… stuff done, and are ready for the upcoming holidays.  I can’t wait! Even though I’m totally not ready. 


Oh well, it will come whether I’m ready or not.  But I do have my tree up.  😊  I’m smiling because anyone who knows me well knows that my tree stays up all year.  Why?  Because I ADORE Christmas and because I absolutely detest rework.  LOL  But I do see that my sweet angel is leaning just a bit.  I’ll have to get a broom and bump her back into position.  

Okay, first let me apologize for being MIA.  I have been working a big Kickstarter project for the Butterscotch Martini Girls (as you probably already know).  And I now know why they named the platform Kickstarter…because it started kicking my you-know-what on Day 1!  So when I survived it, one of the first things I did was grab my buddy Dani Petrone and we headed up to Flagstaff to do a little resting, eating, drinking, brainstorming…and then more of the same. 

…And this is where things really went off the rails.  We checked into a hotel I have stayed in many times before, but I haven’t been there since COVID.  Well, just like some people I know, the hotel didn’t fare all that well through the pandemic.  In fact, our first clue that something might be amiss was when we pulled into the parking lot and noticed it looked like the place hadn’t been raked, trimmed, or cleaned up in a couple of months. Not a good start.  Sigh. 

Hmmm…maybe they don’t have any rakes, trimmers, or mowers. 

Lobby seemed fine, as it was decorated nicely with a warm and welcoming fire in the fireplace. Oh-kay, no reason to panic. Then we checked in and parked around back to be near the outside entrance that was closest to our room. Hmmm…back parking lot TOTALLY empty…and I mean TOTALLY.  I’ve never experienced that at this hotel before. 

I’m starting to itch. 

So, we park close to the entrance, which happens to be next to the dumpster. Okay, I left a couple of empty spaces between me and the trash, then we unload a couple of suitcases and head inside. Clue Number TWO came when we got inside, took the elevator up to the third floor, exited and rounded the corner to find two refrigerators sitting randomly in the little lounge area and a mop bucket sitting right in the middle of the hallway. It was impossible to tell if there was mopping in progress or a leak in the roof, so we crossed our fingers and continued down the hallway. 

The itching is escalating. 

We find our room easily, unlock the door and enter through the gates of HELL…and the fires of hell must be blazing because our room is H.O.T!!!  Like probably 82 degrees and the fan is a crankin’.  OMG, I immediately start searching for the thermostat as I am stripping.  Of course, again…anyone who knows me knows I live in arctic temperatures.  I cannot stand to be hot, and I’m about to spontaneously combust.  Hell, even Dani is hot—so you know it was toasty. 

After much searching on my part, Dani finally points out to me that the thermostat is right in front of me on the wall.  Okay, I get a little discombobulated when I’m hot…my brain starts to overheat at about 75 degrees.  So I immediately go to work on the thermostat, I reset the temperature to 67, make sure the fan is set to on, and I dash out the door to get more suitcases and cool off in the chilly Flagstaff outdoors. 

Now the itching is turning into hives  AND I’m sweating like a whore on nickel night! 




So, I dodge the bucket, go around the refrigerators, and exit the building to see a young man headed straight for my truck.  He spots me step out the door and immediately changes directions, makes a big loop through the parking lot and comes back by, after having gone nowhere. He acts like he is going to duck inside the fence around the dumpsters until he sees me watching him, then he heads on around the building, back the way he came. 

I resist the urge to bang my head against the door of my truck. 

Then I grab the last of the bags and drag them upstairs, around the fridges and the bucket I’m starting to think of as a water feature. Dropping them in the room, I hustle Dani out so we can grab some dinner while the damn room cools off. On our way out of the parking lot, we notice a line of people walking through the parking lot.  WTH?  We look around and discover that the parking lot is actually a shortcut between an apartment building and the bus stop which is right in front of the hotel.  Great! 

We had an absolutely lovely dinner, then headed back to the room a couple of hours later, full of steak and margaritas, and fortified with leftovers. It was delicious! Back at the hotel, we decided to park in the front lot, at the opposite end of the hotel from the bus stop. Less busy. The fridges are still camped in the lounge, the water feature is still right where we saw it last, and the room is still hotter than nine kinds of hell.  Not a damn thing has changed.  So now we try to get the windows open. 

Well, I guess the hotel has a lot of jumpers (probably shouldn’t have been a surprise) because we can’t get the windows open. Then I notice the screens on the outside of the windows have big holes in them, edges of the holes shredded and flapping in the wind. Guess those jumpers didn’t think to remove the screens before leaping. 

Now I’m hyperventilating. 

I call the front desk, making it clear to them that it is MUCH too hot in our room and someone needs to fix it. They sweetly apologize, but say they can’t do anything because the entire hotel is switched to heat.  I said, “Then at least make it go off.” 

She sweetly repled, “Oh, you can do that right at the thermostat…just turn it to a cooler setting and it will shut off.” 

Uh…no, it won’t.  I not so sweetly explain that we set the thermostat to 67 about 3 hours ago and it hasn’t cooled off a one single degree. 

She then sweetly says, “You can open a window and that should cool it off quickly.” 

I replied, “We tried. We can’t get the windows open, and the screens have holes big enough to throw a body through them. God only knows what will fly in if we ever manage to get them open."  (Probably a hungry herd of Pterodactyls.) 


Silence for a minute as she processes my comment. Then she offers to send maintenance up.
 

Excellent! 

So…the maintenance guy has some difficulty understanding me because English isn’t his first language and, let’s be honest, I don’t really speak mainstream English—and certainly not when I’m itching, sweating, hyperventilating, and generally about to explode. 

But we finally get our point across, and this sweetheart of a man climbs up into the ceiling and fiddles with something up there that blessedly shuts the heat off. Then we manage to crack the windows—which is all we can do because we are on the third floor and…well…jumpers. 

So we change into our jammies and I sit my happy arse right in front of the cracked window with the flapping screen, waiting for it to cool enough for me to sleep.  Neither Dani nor I slept well that night because it remained just too warm. By the next day, it had improved enough that we no longer considered packing our stuff out to another hotel. By the second night, it was nice and chilly, and by the next morning, we really didn’t want to get out of bed because it was cold. But having complained about it being hot, we didn’t really feel we could now complain that we were cold.  LOL  So, we closed the window and went down to breakfast. 

The only other issue we had was on the 2nd day, we spotted a large wet spot in the elevator where someone had spilled something bringing their breakfast back to their room.  We told the front desk they needed to have housekeeping clean the floor in the elevator before someone slipped in the mess.  Later that day, we saw someone had put a neon green stickie on the floor next to the mess…probably to help housekeeping find the big messy spill. That evening when we came back in, we saw that someone (probably housekeeping) had cleaned up the green stickie. 

But apparently, they don’t have mops at this hotel either because the spilled mess remained. 

The saving grace was that the hotel had a happy hour every night and a couple of good bartenders…vacation saved!  Twice the front desk apologized to us for the condition of the hotel, indicating they were preparing to undergo a large renovation. About 5 years too late, if you ask me…but better late than never. Would I go back to that hotel again?  Probably not until after that “large renovation”…but then there is the free booze. Hmmm…guess we now know why the bar is right inside the front door and why the happy hour was free.  They want to stop you before you get out the door. 

There’s a lot to be said for free booze! 



Well, that’s my story, torrid and toasty, and I’m stickin’ to it. Hang on tight now ‘cuz we’re gonna go real, real fast!

Love ya, and I hope each and every one of you has a MERRY CHRISTMAS!    Hugs,



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Wednesday, December 6, 2023

Madeleine's Ghost by Robert Girardi

 It may not be Christmas, but if a ghost from your past wants to give you a gift, then take it.  

Ned Conti needs a part-time gig. He lives in the slums of Brooklyn near a church.  His apartment is haunted, he knows this from moving objects, but it takes a while to decipher the unspoken code.


The nearby church needs Ned to research a stone tomb in the back property.  The priest is sure the research will produce the miracles of a dead nun; therefore, a saint will be born.  The priest will have fulfilled his mission.  This still leaves Ned on a dead-end road.

He wants to figure his life out, what he should do with it.  Under the duress of the house ghost, Ned returns to New Orleans, where the love of his life left him.  Maybe he can resolve the questions of his heart, and then he can move forward.

Ned visits his old hang outs and friends.  Friends don't have to be talkative, just there when needed.  He meets new friends, too.  Antoinette is annoying, talkative, and maybe a lot of trouble.  Trouble that can be tamed and loved.  

Antoinette is like an open book, take it or leave it.  Ned thinks taking her to Brooklynn would be an exchange for harboring past life and moving into a new and better future.  

Happy reading,

Dawn



Friday, December 1, 2023

ONCE UPON A HAUNTED ROMANCE has released!

 

I'm absolutely thrilled to be a part of this fun anthology. Myself and nine other authors have packed this with 10 haunted romance novellas.

My story is Once Upon a Haunted Haven is the story of Lady Juliet and Noah Kingman. Lady Juliet's husband has died and she's been kicked out to go to the only place she can, a haunted cottage her great aunt left to her. She is not excited. At least not until she meets the caretaker of the cottage, Noah. 

Noah helps Lady Juliet adjust to living on her own, though sometimes he almost loses patience. Luckily, there is a ghost in the cottage who helps things along in more ways than one.

The icing on the cake is if you have read my Marrying a Mabry series, you will see how this story connects.

I hope you enjoy!

Always , Lexi

Once Upon a Haunted Romance Buy Links:

Amazon | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | 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. 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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Wednesday, November 29, 2023

Happy Thanksgiving (Yes, I'm a little late)

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
It’s a few days after Thanksgiving that I sit down to write this…and I’m still full!
I make a traditional meal (well, traditional for my family) – turkey, stuffing (my mother-in-law’s recipe which is fabulous), mashed potatoes and gravy, veggies and of course, desserts, but this year, it was a little different. My DH has been having some health issues so I made the same, just not as much.
Still there are leftovers—lots and lots of leftovers—my favorite part of the whole meal. There’s something sad about cooking all day only to have everything you made gone in twenty minutes or less but the leftovers? Love those leftovers! There’s nothing like staggering out to the kitchen for a midnight snack, bleary eyed, still full, but kinda hungry, too. My favorite? Turkey sliders made with King’s Hawaiian rolls. Oh so yummy!
I was fortunate enough to take some PTO from the day job and I gotta tell you, it was wonderful (if this is what retirement feels like, I’m ready!)! I did hope to sleep in at least one day, but that didn’t quite work—I was still up at four-dark-thirty (I guess, after getting up at that time for years and years, your body just gets used to it so sleeping in is next to impossible) but it’s all good. I did what I had planned to do, which was clean out closets (all of them…sheesh, I had no idea I had all that stuff!). I have several nice piles now to go to Goodwill…maybe someone can make use of the George Foreman grill that I only used once ten years ago).
What else did I do with my time off?
I was able to work on my latest work in progress and start two others (yeah, I know, I shouldn’t have started those other two stories, but when characters and the opening scene comes to me, I have to write it down…otherwise, it’s lost). I was pretty happy with my word count. I don’t write as fast as others (I’m a slow and steady kinda person) but I did some major damage to Wife By Surprise, which pleases me. I just might hit my goal of having it done by the new year. 
I should go. I hear that slice of leftover cheesecake calling my name, but before I do, there are a few things I should tell you I’m grateful for. As always, I’m thankful for family and friends, the roof over my head, and the food in my belly. I’m fortunate to have a job I love (even though I’m looking forward to retirement---four years, one month away now), but mostly, I’m grateful to you, gentle readers, for giving me the opportunity to share my passion for writing.
Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, November 22, 2023

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson

 It doesn't matter who you are, reading is a sanctuary and everyone has a need and purpose to read.  

In the Kentucky Appalachians, Cussy Mary Carter is the Book Woman.  She travels by donkey with books, magazines, pamphlets, and any other reading material the local library can scrounge up and send to the hill people.  

Cussy Mary lives with her dear father.  Working in the coal mines, her father is fearful of an early death while he attempts to get a mate for Cussy.  Mating season in the hills is noted by placing a burning candle in the window.  A lit candle means an available bride.  

With little faith in the candle, she knows her unique blue skin places her status on the lowest rung of humanity.  Cussy's job as Book Woman gives her all the freedom she can hope for.  She teaches the mountain people to read and surprises them with materials of interest, when available, to keep them excited about knowledge.


On Cussy's route, Jackson Lovett settled himself in a cabin after traveling the country.  He appears to have an eye for Cussy, which she refuses to acknowledge.  No man of such wondrous standing would want anything to do with a blue woman.  

The local doctor repeatedly requests testing on Cussy's color.  Maybe there's hope to change from blue to white.  Or is the color of a person a vanity issue while the person remains the same?  Another problem for Cussy to encounter.

Jackson is held back from approaching Cussy, but he does show interest in simple ways when she approaches his home with her reading materials.  A bouquet of wildflowers confuses her.  Yet, does she sense his interest? 

Tragedy's are exchanged for hope.  Hope in life, reading, and love.  With each show of anger, jealousy, and prejudice, a page turns with strengthened friendship and love.  

Richardson's story is an intelligent, hopeful, and heartwarming tale.   It's easy to get involved with Cussy's life and wish her the best.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

Parts of a Story

 


Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
So, today, we’re going to discuss the parts of a novel—the easy and the not so easy. There’s the beginning, the middle, the end, the synopsis, the blurb…and the first love scene (if your story has one. Some don’t.).
Let me explain.
Starting a new story is wonderful. You’re excited. You’re happy because it’s something new. You have your basic storyline and maybe an outline (I do plot points. Others write by the seat of their pants). You get to introduce your hero and heroine, who they are, what they’re all about. I love this part. It’s fun getting to name your characters and build their traits and foibles. You feed in some of their past and where they are now. As I said, it’s exciting and sets up your story.
Then there’s the sagging middle. I call it that because the enthusiasm for the beginning has waned a little. It’s usually at this point that my brain betrays me and thoughts of “this is boring” or “why did I ever think I could do this” start cascading through my head. It takes patience and perseverance to get through this part (I’m certain other authors do not have this problem, but I seem to with every story I write).
I love writing the end. At a certain point, you find yourself on that downward slope. There’s no turning back now. You find yourself (or at least I do), writing faster and faster, rushing (not blindly though) to reach that happily ever after. You may cry as you write ‘The End’ or celebrate with a piece of chocolate or two.
Let’s talk a little about your synopsis (or as I call it ‘the dreaded’ synopsis). If you plan to submit your work to a publisher or agent, you must have one. Depending on who you are submitting to, the synopsis needs to be two pages or five pages or anywhere in between. I find it incredibly difficult to condense my ninety-five-thousand-word story into two or three or five pages.
Then there is the blurb, the short description on the back of the book that makes a reader look at it to begin with. It must be enticing with just enough information to interest the reader. This can be incredibly difficult for some (re: me), but really easy for others.
But I want to go back to the love scene, which is where I am right now in my story. I have read authors who simply blow me away with how their loves scenes are written and they make it seem so easy.
It isn’t. In fact, it’s darned hard (unless you’re lucky enough to have your characters do all the hard work…sometimes that happens and I love it when it does!). There are so many questions, so many possibilities for that first time your hero and heroine make love. Should their coming together be slow and sensual? Hot and urgent? Both? What about clothes? Are they wearing any or does each character need to be undressed? Who does the undressing? If the scene is hot and urgent, then they should both be ripping each other’s clothes off, right? Or is a tantalizing dance as one article of clothing is removed at a time? Are they talking to each other? What are they saying?
It all needs to be choreographed in such a way that the reader is there, seeing everything, feeling everything. And it needs to be satisfying to everyone—the hero, the heroine, the author, but most especially you, the reader.
So why do we do it if it’s hard? For me, it’s a need. I have to write (even if no one ever sees it). Despite the frustration, despite the tears, I have a story to tell and quite frankly, I am not the same person when I don’t have a story in progress.
And that’s all for me. I should go and tackle that love scene now.

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

Marie

Wednesday, November 8, 2023

Shiver by Karen Robards

 East St. Louis, Illinois is nothing like its step-sister, St. Louis, Missouri.  East St. Louis is where things happen and no one sees.  Samantha Jones lives in the shit-hole in Illinois, but she has the love of her life, a young son, and a job as a


night repo-woman.  

That's all she cares about, and she carries a Smith and Wesson to make sure she stays alive to care for her son.

Daniel Panterro is living a nightmare at the same time, only he's bound and bloody in the back of Sam's next repo job.  The classy looks of the BMW she drives her cranky repo truck to, holds him in the trunk when she pops the lid.  

Sam wants nothing to do with the streets of East St. Louis, and Danny cannot reveal his true identity.  Doesn't matter.  She's entangled in his troubles whether she saw who put him in the trunk or not.  

It's a crazy ride.  Danny takes Sam hostage, yet he protects her relative to the situation.  

Sam chastises herself for noticing Danny's good looks beneath the dirt and blood.  The fact that he doesn't want her dead is a relief, too.

Could it be more than just survival?  Could something good and loving come from a frightening hide-and-seek with the thugs after them?  Will Sam and Danny live to find out?

Robards delivers another one of her high-octane romantic suspense novels, and I recommend opening the cover!  

Happy reading,

Dawn


Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Fear the Blinking Cursor

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
So, it’s my turn to post to Happily Ever After Thoughts and here I am, staring at a blank page in Word and a blinking cursor, having, once again, no topic. Or maybe, I just don't have the words. This is not unusual. 
As a writer, that blank page and blinking cursor is intimidating and the bane our existence, but it happens more often than I’m comfortable with. Sometimes, as I already said, there are no words and the cursor just teases us (or maybe, torments would be a better description). And it doesn’t only happen when you’re trying to write a blog. It happens other times, too.
Sometimes, the characters in your current story refuse to talk to you, leaving you to figure it out. Sometimes, our muses simply disappear for a time (Hmmm, I wonder where they go. Are there muse conventions where all the muses get together and laugh at us mere mortals? Are there classes where they’re taught how to torture us? My muse must enjoy those classes quite a bit, as he seems to take particular pleasure in leaving me hanging while he’s off galivanting).  
What does one do? I don’t know about other writers, but for me, physical labor does the trick to break that log jam and get those words flowing. I’ve come up with some really good ideas while washing the dishes or scrubbing the floor (I keep a pad of paper handy though writing notes with wet hands isn’t something I would recommend).
I have, at times, simply tried working on another story but then, that can get you in trouble, too, because what if you like the new thing you’re working on instead of finishing the original thing? Hahahaha, that probably explains why I have over thirteen unfinished manuscripts sitting in my computer right now although I always eventually go back to the thing that was giving me fits in the first place).
Walking also helps…just putting one foot in front of the other without any clear destination in mind (Hahahahaha, I’ve walked miles trying to figure out how to get out of the corner I’ve written myself into!). The only problem with that is 1) you could get lost, 2) you could find that you’ve walked too far and now have to go home and frankly, your feet hurt, or 3) you just can’t remember everything that went through your head while you were walking. I could use a recorder to get my thoughts down but I sound like Mickey Mouse (in between the huffing and puffing). It’s rather embarrassing!
Hmmmm, I think I’ll go clean out the fridge…maybe that’ll get those creative juices flowing! Wish me luck!

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

Marie

Wednesday, October 25, 2023

The Texas Hero's Homecoming by Charlene Sands

 A failing farm and a father failing in his ability to keep the farm together is a growing problem for Autumn Messina.  She has a dream of becoming a teacher, yet at the same time keeping the farm running is running her down.  

 On a frustratingly hot day while at work on the farm, Sam Russell appears.  Autumn is not in the mood for her former crush to show up.  

 Sam completes ten years of special forces and returns home.  He owes his life to Autumn's brother and intends on repaying the family. 


 

Sam left Autumn behind when she was a teenager, and her anger erupts in a fresh barrage of doing whatever it takes to keep him out of her business.  Although, he has a lot of good ideas.

Meanwhile, as Sam attempts to help the farm, he also joins a local group of veterans.  He learns how to help them through rough patches, which includes making them feel useful.  

Sam's knowledge of the farm, hardworking veterans, and continual kindness to Autumn start to crack her guard against him. 

It's only a matter of bumping into each other a few times, results on the farm, and a constantly changing plan that draws Autumn into Sam's arms for good.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Saturday, October 21, 2023

PASSION OF SLEEPY HOLLOW by Lexi Post on sale for only 99¢ until Halloween!

Passion of Sleepy Hollow

on sale for only 99¢

until Halloween

Recluse Braeden Van Brunt is not happy to be the Headless Horseman…until he meets Katrina Van Tassel, owner of the Sleepy Hollow Inn, whose allure bewitches him from the front desk into the bedroom. When he discovers Kat and the village of Sleepy Hollow are cursed to exist only in the present day for one weekend a year, he realizes the sacrifice he must make if he wants to keep her.

Katrina Van Tassel lives between slivers of time. She thought she was through grieving her betrothed’s death, but her dreams flare to life when his mirror-image arrives requesting a room. Drawn to Braeden, she is taken to greater heights of intimacy than she ever imagined, but she can’t be sure if her heart is with him or with the love from her past.

Knowing he must conquer both time and ghosts to keep the only woman he’s ever loved, Braeden must put the past to rest. But the dead won’t rest in Sleepy Hollow.

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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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Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Whooo-hoooo! It's Autumn!

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
Whoooo-hoooo! It’s Autumn! I love this time of year! It means I have survived the blistering heat of another Arizona summer. There’s a briskness in the air, especially in the early mornings. Days are getting a little shorter. No, the leaves don’t change color in Phoenix and I miss seeing that, but one only needs to take a short drive up north to see those fabulous colors.  It means the holidays are coming up, too (my favorite is Thanksgiving. What’s yours?)
It also means that it’s time for fall cleaning—you know, that deep cleaning that’s far beyond the usual. Yes, I still do this (a carry-over from when I was young and helped my grandparents do their spring and fall cleaning. The windows get washed (which includes those blasted mini-blinds that seem to be in every window of my house…regular dusting/vacuuming of them just doesn’t quite do the trick), drapes get changed from the lighter, filmier ones of spring to the heavier ones for winter. The walls get washed (which is a kind of hassle because everything needs to come down then put back up). Cabinets get conditioned (again, regular washing just doesn’t quite do the trick). All the books come down from the built-in book shelf, too (they are dusted weekly but dusting doesn’t get into the little nooks and crannies).
Yes, I know. I might be a little insane, but it’s tradition and I just can’t seem to help myself (those lessons and traditions learned at a very young age are so ingrained, one just can’t ignore them).
I’m also not as young as I used to be though so doing all this takes time…a lot of time. I used to take the week of Thanksgiving off (I also take a week in spring) and do everything, including cook and bake for that Thanksgiving meal, but I’m older now and don’t have as much energy so…everything that needs to be done gets done in increments, room by room over several weekends.
And I started this weekend after meeting some friends for lunch. I’m tired already, but that’s okay. It's one of those things that needs to be done. 
Oh, and I still need to find time to write. It’s not a problem though as I usually write between 4:30am and 6:00am, my usual routine that I’ve been doing for years (before I head in to the day job). The book I’m working on right now, the third in the Wives of Bravado County series, is giving me fits (how many corners can I write myself into?) but I will persevere.     
Stay well! Stay safe! Remember to spread kindness wherever you go! And happy Autumn!

Marie

Wednesday, October 11, 2023

If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon

 You may wonder why I'm presenting an older version of a romance, yet the novel isn't quite in the classic genre.  I thought it would be fun to experience the difference in writing from the 1980's and now.  

If Tomorrow Comes was a best-seller just as there are many current best-sellers.  The story is fast paced, loaded with adventure, and what isn't better than romance ripping the seams out of any character's plans?  

Tracy Whitney has a career in Philadelphia banking and is engaged to a rich man with a rich family.  Their unborn baby will have a brilliant future.


When her mother commits suicide in New Orleans, Tracy abruptly leaves to find out why. She quickly, and kind of irrationally, comes up with a plan to get back at the men who she feels caused her mom to lose it.  

Her first plan against the local Mafia ends her up in prison.  Getting worse, her fiancé cuts her out of his life, and she loses the baby.  Tracy will never give up, though.

 A greatly imaginable scheme to break out of prison starts her new career as a thief.  She loves it, and she takes away money and assets from people who really don't deserve what they have.  

Jeff Stevens turns up repeatedly during her encounters for stolen goods.  Like many men, she doesn't trust him and thinks he wants to step in on her plans.  Surprisingly, he gives her tips as a co-thief.  Interest and a relationship begin to hatch.  They travel the globe as thieves until they decide to retire in South America.  

Granted, it's so much fun being bad!

Happy reading,

Dawn