Just Another Week

 

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

Well, the day job kicked my butt this past week (and I get to do it all over again next week). My fire extinguisher just wasn’t big enough to put out all the fires! My brain hurts! Retirement can’t come soon enough!

Anyway…despite the dumpster fire, the writing seems to be going well. And that’s a good thing. I think, at this point, if I didn’t have the writing, I’d be stark raving mad, you know? My stories are the only place I have control.

Hahahahahaha! Oh my gosh! I just read what I wrote and the statement that I have control in my writing is pure and utter nonsense.

I do not have control. At all.

I have barely begun Wife Unexpected and already, my hero Tysen, is upset with me. He’s telling me that I’m wrong. The way I’m writing him is not who he is at all. Why did I make him a bad guy? He’s telling me he’s not. He has a heart and a soul and he’s just looking for someone to love him for who he is, that he just sorta fell into being a hired gun.

What?

How does one fall into being a hired gun? Isn’t that a choice?

He’s telling me he didn’t have a choice. Not then, but he’s walking away from that life. No, not walking. Running. He doesn’t even want to think about his life before he met Faith.

Ah, is that why he’s upset? He thinks I’m going to make him confess to Faith. Will she reject him once she finds out what he is? Or was? 

Hmmm, I think I understand but sometimes, we gotta go through the bad to find the good. Trust me, Ty, it’ll all turn out right in the end and you’ll find that person who loves you despite everything.

Now, just let me write you the way I see you. I’ll be kind. You’ll see.

And since I just made that promise to him, I should go do it. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

A Copenhagen Snowmance by Pernille Hughes

 Always check the weather before traveling, especially if your destination is undesirable during December.

A short flight from London to Copenhagen shouldn't be a problem.  Anna Lundhom figures a couple hours to pick up an eighteen month delayed project in Copenhagen is a doable plan.  The snowstorm chasing her plane into the airport proves otherwise.  All flights are cancelled.

Sure that the airport will be functioning in a few hours, Anna sets out to accomplish her mission.  

Hour after hour, the airport reports no progress on opening.  Hotels are already full.  She has friends, she has an apartment, and she has a former fiancé.  Although, she hasn't contacted her friends in the eighteen months, her apartment is rented to a man, and her fiancé is getting married to a former best friend.  

Jamie is wary when she knocks on his door.  He never met his landlord, and he wasn't looking for a roommate even for a short time.  With an uncomfortable beginning, Anna and Jamie spend time together during the storm along with repeated delays of planes.

In payment, Anna shows Jamie highlights of Copenhagen during this snowy and festive season.  She gives the reader a grand tour, also, of the customs, food and drink, and activities.  It's a magical arena, and the goodwill gets absorbed in romantic ways.

Happy reading,

Dawn

Happy 2026

 

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

        Happy New Year! I am hoping that 2026 will be a good year, and I seem to have started it off with a bang (a muted bang…the dogs and I are tired of the fireworks they’re shooting off around here. They’re still doing it although New Year’s Eve is long over).

        Why do I say I started off with a (muted) bang? Because I finished the first draft of The Madam and Mr. MacLean! Yay! That was a goal I set for myself at the beginning of 2025 (I’m a slow but steady writer with limited time so I’m pretty pleased with myself). It’s almost ready for my edit (it’s still going through critique) then off to my beta readers.

        The other thing that made this New Years great? I signed a contract with my publisher (LOVE my publisher) for four more books – two more in the Wives of Bravado County series and two more in the Matchmaker Mischief series. I’m excited and so happy and yes, I have started all four stories because that’s just how I roll.

        It’s my favorite part, actually. I love the start of a new story (the middle is where I run into problems, but the beginning? It’s totally fun). I love creating the setting, and the plot points and most especially, my characters. If I’m really lucky, my characters will tell me who they are, what they stand for (i.e., what they will or will not do), and what their goals are. Sometimes, they talk to me. No, I’m not crazy but I do have voices in my head…such is the life of a writer! I kinda consider it crazy if I don’t have voices or scenes or dialogue running through my head.

        Speaking of scenes, I just got an inkling of a new one so I’m gonna go write.

        Stay well! Stay safe! Have a beautiful 2026 and remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie