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

Cover Reveal...and more

 

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

        A couple things to tell you (and yes, I’m excited about all of it)! I finished rewriting the last two chapters (even tweaked the epilogue) of The Marshal and Mrs. Morgan. I think it’s better. I hope it’s better. I finished on Saturday and sent it off to my critique partner (the wonderful and talented Lexi Post). Now I wait to find out if I hit the mark with my changes or if I need to rip out again. 

        While I was doing that, I was also reading through the print version of Wife By Surprise, the also wonderful and talented D.H. Thompson sent me. You know, it seems that no matter how many times you read something or edit something, you can still find a mistake or two. I wish I knew how that happens. I am now reading through the ebook version so it’s ready for release in April (I have not decided on a day yet, but will soon). 

        This is the cover (thank you, D.H.)! I’m so pleased! I think it came out beautifully!

        With all that going on, I haven’t had any time to work on The Madam and Mr. MacLean BUT I did figure out the basic plotline and characters for the next book in the Matchmaker Mischief series (and perhaps the fifth book, too). It seems that when working like this, one idea begets another idea…and another…and another. It’s all good…I just wish there were more hours in the day (or that I was already retired…only two years, nine months to go)!

        And that’s about all from here…I really need to finish my read-through of Wife By Surprise.

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

Marie