Wednesday, May 20, 2026

A Kiss Is Just A Kiss by Melinda Curtis

When you need a quick shot of romance during the spring warmup, garden planting, and schedules for the new season, this is the best pick.  

Florida can be decorated for a beautiful wedding when the pockets are picked, and there aren't any second guesses.  

Here's the problem:  the second guess isn't from the bride or groom, but rather Kitty, the bride's close sister.

Kitty realizes a broken rung in the ladder of love at the door of the church wedding.  She has a few minutes to solve or ignore the issue.  Guess which avenue she picks.

Beck thinks he's got all the contracts and steps to a successful life planned and executed until Kitty gets in the way.  His wedding is in a few minutes to finalize the signature on the marriage license.


Wedding over, guests stranded, and unhappy family members depart.

Kitty is left with Grandma Dotty and no way get back to their home state.  At least G. Dotty has a way of making the worst seem funny.  Even when they take their only opportunity to ride with the (former) groom.  

Beck and Kitty start the ride home like oil and water.  Fortunately, with the right ingredients of information and knowledge the bumps in the ride smooth out.

They may even respect and like each other as the miles accumulate.  Who knows what will happen by the time they reach their destination.  There's never a set timeline for love!

Happy reading,

Dawn


Wednesday, May 13, 2026

I Am Blessed

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        Happy Sunday morning (though by the time you read this, it will be Wednesday)! I realized, after I posted last week, that I am a week behind so this week’s post will put me back on schedule. Not quite sure how that happened. My only excuse is that my brain is full and there’s too much going on. I think I need a rest! We’ll see if that happens!
        It’s been a lovely weekend so far. I did my Saturday and Sunday chores (yes, I have to break up the chores between two days because I’m not a spring chicken anymore). I’ll let you in on a little secret…I hate to clean, but I like a clean house so it’s a necessary evil. Still, I love it when the house smells like Mr. Clean. And yes, I know living in Arizona there will always be dust, but for a few minutes anyway, everything is dust free.
        So, back to the title of this blog. “I Am Blessed”. And I truly am. I have everything I need (and no, I’m not bragging, but for some reason, it all hit home to me and the realization filled me with such happiness, I didn’t know how to contain it).
        What am I talking about? Friendship.
        This feeling of being blessed hit me Friday, when my critique partner and I hung up from our Zoom call (yes, we talk every Friday and believe me, it’s the highlight of my week). We don’t just talk about our works in progress. No, ma’am. We talk about everything. There is no subject that is taboo.
        Then, on Saturday morning, I talked to my daughter-in-law. She, too, has become a dear friend (more than just my daughter-in-law. I’d love her even if she wasn’t married to my son). She is absolutely beautiful, inside and out and I am thrilled she is in my life.  
        I met some friends for lunch on Saturday afternoon and as always, it was lovely. I’ve known these women for over forty years. That’s a long time and we’ve been through it all but we’re always there for each other both when life is hard and when it isn’t.
        Which brings me to my neighbors. I must admit, I have been especially blessed in that regard. My neighbors are wonderful (both past and present). The current ones are younger than I am, but that doesn’t seem to matter. Not in the slightest. It’s amazing to me how close we got so quickly. They are taking the DH and I out to dinner tonight to celebrate Mother’s Day which is so kind, so sweet, so thoughtful (we’re going to a Mexican restaurant that had the most amazing food. If you haven’t tried a Fundido, you should. Absolutely fabulous!)
        So now you know what I’m talking about. I have been blessed. There are people in my life who are more than friends. We’ve become family and I love each and every one of them (there are more examples—people I don’t see much because they’re moved away but we still talk—by phone, by zoom, by email and text). There are those I miss because they’ve passed but I still ‘talk’ to them, especially when I remember the past and the good (and sometimes bad) times we’ve shared.
        When I’m writing my stories, my hero and heroine both have the kind of friends that offer advice, offer comfort, and are always there when needed and I hope that comes through.
        And on that note, I should get back to writing. Wife Unexpected is not going to write itself (and neither will the other three books I’m contracted for).   
        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie 

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

A blizzard in Brooklyn and a car accident is what is needed to bring three lives together and turn them around for the better.  

Richard owns a Brooklyn brownstone with a lower floor rented to Lucia.  Lucia stays in during the blizzard, but Richard forces himself to head for the store.  On his way, he rear-ends a Lexus that Evelyn is driving. 


This small accident creates the three to need more from each other than could be guessed until the story relays the details of their lives.

Richard obtained an academic position at NYU after his regrettable life in Chile.  In Chili, he started with a wife and two children.  Shortly after moving to the states, he no longer has children or a wife.  He sank into a rigid life of work and little socialization.

Lucia moves from Chile when Richard offers her a teaching job and a place to rent.  Her former life had also been full of family losses and humanitarian grievances.  She feels empty and alone.

Evelyn immigrates to the US from Guatemala seeking asylum and a job for a young woman barely speaking English.  

The accident proves more than just a fender bender.  Evelyn has her boss's car.  In the car is evidence of a horrible crime.  

Evelyn, Richard, and Lucia grouped together to plan how to hide someone else's crime to save Evelyn.

During their quest, each learn and begin to love one another. Richard and Lucia find a need to be together, and Evelyn becomes a pseudo daughter to them.   

Their fragile lives are reconstructed out of love.

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

What's New?

 

        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe! 
        It’s a beautiful Sunday morning as I sit down to write this and I have to admit, that I’m loving the weather here in Phoenix right now. The heat of summer hasn’t truly hit though we did have some rather hot days last months. I’m glad they didn’t stick around.
        So, what’s new with me?
        I submitted The Madam & Mr. MacLean to my publisher! Whoooo-hoooo! It’s as perfect as I can get it and I’m looking forward to seeing what my editor thinks. As you may remember, she’s the one who’s been teaching me what I didn’t know I didn’t know. She’s fabulous and I enjoy working with her!
        I’m also working hard on Wife Unexpected…and it’s not going as well as I’d like. I’m still having issues with the beginning but I’ll get there. I really want Faith to have her happy ending. Tysen, too. I think they both deserve it.
        Other than that, the day job is keeping me so busy. It’s a good thing I write in the early mornings BEFORE I head into the office because truthfully, by the time I get home, I don’t have a coherent thought in my head. I’m tired though you’d never know that by the way I hustle around the house at the end of the day.
       And every day I wake up and remember that retirement is coming. Only one year, seven months and twenty-seven days now! I talk about it a lot because I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve had some people ask me with I plan to do…how will I fill my days without the day job? It’s not something I’m worried about. My days will be filled. I’ll be writing of course, hoping to write more than one book a year. I’d also like to go back to doing crossword puzzles, which I love, but haven’t had time to do. I want to read more, too. There are so many books out there by my favorite authors that I haven’t touched (they’re filling up my kindle as I write this). I’d like to pick up crocheting again…I have three half finished projects that are just sitting there in a box, calling to me, not to mention the needlepoint projects that are waiting.  
        Believe it or not, I want to try gardening, too (yes, I know I have a brown thumb and manage to kill every house plant I’ve ever had but I’d still like to try). We had a tomato garden when I was growing up. My father was really good at growing them and some of my fondest memories are of walking out to the garden, picking a ripe tomato right from the vine and eating it like an apple. There is nothing in the world like a Jersey Beefsteak tomato, warm from the sun!I’d like to volunteer, too. I’ll have the time so why not? 
        But the most important thing is the writing. As you may remember, I have a contract for four more books, which I never thought, in a million years, would happen.
        Speaking of that contract, I should get going. Those books aren’t going to write themselves. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

Just Friends at the Doggy Spa by Elsie Woods

 Life is grand when you are a dog groomer.  Rita organizes most everything at the elite dog spa attached to the Chateau Rose where the filthy rich and not so humble vacation while dropping off their fury and loveable companions for spa days in England. 

Rita happily accepts the position of maid-of-honor in her best friend's wedding. Whenever I hear that, I know something will go wrong.  Maybe it will go right this time.

Joey, the groom's brother and best man, calls her Buddy.  That'll be a platonic evening, for sure.


Although, when chaos strikes things may work out much better.

And it begins.  A driver drops a boxer off at the entrance of the dog spa and speeds away.  Rita needs Joey to find the dog's owner and take care of the boxer while searching.  The next tragedy sets the stage.  The wedding is in two weeks.  The bride and groom have not made any plans as they claim they're busy.  No flowers, no cake, no invitations, no hall rented, and none of the rest.  

Bride and groom beg Rita and Joey to cover for them.  In other words, plan a wedding in two weeks.  

"Buddy" Rita and Joey are now inseparable.  This is when you really get to know just about everything about each other.  Take the odd with the great and figure out how well all the details fit together like a complete puzzle or one missing pieces.  

I bet all the pieces of the puzzle can somehow squeeze together an create a beautiful picture.

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda



Monday, April 20, 2026

ROCK STEADY COWBOY by Lexi Post is available for preorder!

 

ROCK STEADY COWBOY 

(Rocky Road Ranch: Book 5) 

by Lexi Post 

is available for preorder!

He's looking for a future. She's still running from the past.

Amazon Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA 


Kit Ford is ready for a fresh start when she takes the job as manager of the shooting range at Rocky Road Ranch. With a scarred face, missing fingers, and a career as a biathlete ended by a jealous woman, she's not looking for love. When a handsome cowboy is assigned to show her around town, she makes one thing clear: friendship only.

Nash Goodman wants what he's never had—a family. But every time he gets close to a woman, he ends up friend-zoned. When Kit shuts him down before he even tries, it's the final straw. Done with small-town possibilities, Nash ignores his attraction to her and takes his chances with an online matchmaking service for cowboys.

Kit told herself she didn't want more. But the longer she's around Nash, the harder it becomes to believe her own rules. She wants him—in her bed, in her life, in ways she swore she'd never risk.

Now she has to decide: keep hiding behind walls she built to survive, or fight for the man she's about to lose to someone ready to give him everything.

Releasing May 5th.


Catch up on the whole series here.

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.


Website

Lexi Post Updates

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon Author Page

BookBub

D2D

Goodreads

Instagram

Blog

Email

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Critique Partner to the Rescue

 


       Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
       Well, my lovely, talented, and so very intelligent critique partner has, once again, talked me off the proverbial ledge! And it’s a good thing, too!
        As you all know, I’ve been working on Wife Unexpected, the fourth book in The Wives of Bravado County series…and…let’s just say it’s not going as well as I want it to. I have ripped out the entire first chapter and started over. It wasn’t right and that was something I felt deep in my bones. My critique partner felt it, too, so…the change was necessary. Usually, my beginnings are fun and pretty much what I expect (I always enjoy starting a new story…it’s exciting to get to know my characters, set up the conflict, etc.). With this story, I started on the wrong foot, so to speak. It’s all been fixed now and the new beginning is much, much better than the old (I will admit the loss of words was devastating, but seriously, the story needs to start in the right place with the right tone). 
        That being said, since I rewrote Chapter One and changed so much, my problem then became Chapter Two. Yes, I’d already written it, but it doesn’t quite fit with the changes I made to the previous chapter.
        Now, just to understand how I write my stories, I generally write the scenes as they come to me then puzzle them together, and for this particular story, I have already written a number of scenes that occur further along in the book. I just write up to those points, make a few changes where necessary and keep going. You know. Puzzle the pieces together.
        So, during our usual Friday night zoom chat, we went over it and she…started with the questions. Oh my gosh! So many questions, things I hadn’t even thought about, but the biggest ones were “Who is Tysen? What drives him? What does he want? Does he even know? ”Apparently, those questions (and so many others) was exactly what I needed. 
        I didn’t quite ‘know’ Tysen well enough to write him. Faith, my heroine, I knew. She’s been with me for quite some time, and I love her for who she is, but him? I learned so many things about him while my critique partner and I talked (I took a lot of notes) and it seems to have fixed the problem I was having so now…it’s on to re-writing Chapter Two. I’m ready! Whooo-hoooo!
        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

 Isolation can happen in a city, at work, or anywhere people gather.  Those are the same places that relationships grow.  

Forever a resident of Ireland, Eleanor Oliphant has no intentions of disrupting her strategic and purposeful regime of work and weekends of pizza and soothing vodka.  She has a respectable job, which many may consider boring, a subsidized place to call home, a weekly call to her mum, and her life is plain and simple.  


This is her life-long plan to keep the past from distracting the rest of her life.  

Her coworkers occasionally whisper or make jokes about her detachment, otherwise they ignore her for anything other than work.  The new IT worker, Raymond, is the exception.  

Eleanor's computer has an issue, and Raymond eventually gets to her desk.  She's not impressed with his careless dress and sloppy attitude.  It surprises her when he somehow inserts himself in small parts of her days until they help rescue an older man who's fallen on the sidewalk and needs an assist.  

Raymond is super friendly, ready to give a hand, and always open for a new friend.  Eleanor is the opposite, so she grudgingly responds on limited terms.  Besides, she recently decided to remake herself from the outside, to hide her ugly past, and find the perfect man she saw in an ad for a local concert. How hard can it be?

This is a lovely story of unassuming colleagues getting to know each other, while having no intentions.  As details of their lives are slowly exposed, their need and respect grow.  It's this that helps Eleanor realize what she has to do to be whole and happy and Raymond is a specific ingredient. 

Happy reading,

Dawn Kunda

 

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

I Love Early Mornings!

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        It’s a beautiful morning here in sunny Arizona. The sun is just starting to come up. I love this time of day (I must because I’m up early to greet the sun every morning!).
        Actually, I started getting up early so I could write…without taking anything away from family time (our son was young at the time) and before the day job takes whatever brain power I have. It’s just me and dogs at this hour. They’re sleeping on the futon behind me, having already been fed, given fresh water and their treat (hahahahaha, yes I am well trained by my dogs). I’ve been doing it so long that I can no longer sleep in, even on weekends (sleeping in means 4:45 or 5 o’clock).
        It’s all good. After doing it so long, my brain is trained. It knows that this is the time to write and sometimes, I’ll wake up with words already in my head. I love that!
        So what am I working on? The next book in the Wives of Bravado County series. It's called Wife Unexpected. This is Faith’s story. You might remember her from the last book. She was the best friend of the heroine in Wife by Surprise and well, she needs her own story. The words are flowing, which is always a good thing BUT after completing Chapter One, I realized I started in the wrong place. This happens (all too often, it seems). It’s a little frustrating but a story has to start in the right place so after finishing the corrections/edits in The Madam and Mr. MacLean so I can submit it on time, I got right back into it…and ripped out the entire first chapter to rewrite it. Works better now though the loss of all those words hurt my heart! I am now back on track and much happier. The daily word count has been surprising, even for me (I’m a slow but steady writer). I have an hour to write before I need to get ready for the day job and not to toot my own horn but I have been nailing it! That makes me happy, too!
        That being said, I should get back to it before I need to start my Sunday chores. 
        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go! 
 Marie

Sunday, March 29, 2026

Discovering the Marquess by Lexi Post has released!

 

by Lexi Post 

has released!

His secret is dark. Can she bring him into the light?

Amazon | Amazon UK  | Amazon AU | Amazon CA 

Free on Kindle Unlimited

Lady Eleanor is convinced she will never be asked to marry, and not because she loves astronomy. Her bright red hair, tendency to speak loudly, and penchant for clumsiness has only the oldest lords bothering to even talk to her. So as the Belinda School for Curious Ladies closes for the holidays, she accepts a marriage proposal sight unseen from Lord Darius Taylour, the Marquess of Ferncroft—a widower. All she knows about him is that he is looking for a mother for his two children and is younger than her father.

Darius’s “black moods” are a secret known to only a handful of people, and he plans to keep it that way. Since his first wife was not what she’d first appeared, he is pleased that his younger brother arranged a marriage for him with an intelligent woman who will welcome his two children. It doesn’t take long for him to discover that Ellie is not only nothing like his first wife, but also not like other women.

As Ellie disrupts his house, plans an elaborate Christmastide, and takes over the education of his children, he finds himself too distracted to become melancholy. Just as he begins to appreciate her many attributes, he’s reminded of why he must never relax his guard. His wife may well reach for the stars, but his feet are stuck deep in the mud, and he can see no way out.


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.

Website

Lexi Post Updates

Facebook

Instagram

Amazon Author Page

BookBub

D2D

Goodreads

Instagram

Blog

Email


Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Spies Don't Fall For Their Neighbors by Meg Easton

 How can a cozy-sounding town like Cipher Springs contain a company of spies and a plumber that need each other?  

Charlie typically spends her day at her computer directing spy operatives out of dangerous positions as they attempt to take out the illegal activities of criminals.  At night, she relaxes with a shower and a dinner with her BFF roommate.  The night her relaxation is interrupted with a wet floor and water spouting out of the wall of her townhome, she is forced to confront her new neighbor, Owen.


The wall in question is also Owen's wall of his temporary townhome.  It doesn't matter that Owen is a totally hot and maybe available man, but it does matter that he's a plumber and is proficient in construction.  

Forced into approaching Owen, Charlie confronts him about the leak in the shared wall.  

The first sparks fly when the wall needs to be taken out to expose and fix the leak.  Now, except for a plastic wall, they share a home.  

Getting to know each other and to diminish the uncomfortable closeness, Charlie leaves Owen small treats, notes, and gifts.  He reciprocates, which allows them to learn fun things about one another.  

Owen plans to be in town only until a historical building makeover is complete, so a relationship isn't welcome.  Charlie has a well-hidden job making it possibly dangerous to allow romance into her life.  The plumbing dilemma may change their minds.    

When the owner of the building Owen is working on appears on Charlie's work radar, things get complicated and their relationship gets closer.  We can only hope the closeness is amicable and tender feelings result versus it exploding like a leaky pipe.  

Happy reading,

Dawn

Wednesday, March 18, 2026

Rewrites! Rewrites! Rewrites!

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        As you all know, I sent The Madam and Mr. MacLean to my beta readers…and I got it back so now, I’m in rewrites. And it’s all good. I think I remember telling you all they see things I do not…and they did. So…I am brutally ripping out scenes and replacing them with new. It’s harder than expected but must be done. I like to submit a manuscript as close to perfect as I can get it. I’m still working on my cover sheet, too! I have the main blurb down. Now I’m trying to figure out the short blurb (some call it a tag line). I think I may have it, but it’s still a work in progress so…
        Wife Unexpected has been put on hold until I finish those rewrites which is kinda sad in a way because I was just getting into the story. Again, it’s all good. More time to percolate in my head, where it’s currently living.
        The oddest thing I’ve found (or maybe it’s just odd to me) but the more I work on one story, the more scenes and dialogue appear for another. I know! Crazy, right? I keep a notebook with me at all times just in case something comes to me (and yes, those things come to me at the strangest times…like in the middle of a supermarket while I’m grocery shopping). Those voices in my head? Yeah, they can get downright demanding!
        The day job is still making me crazy. Deadlines and deliveries wait for no one! Retirement is sounding better and better every day.  
        And I gotta go. It’s Sunday, which means all my Sunday chores need to be done…so I can get back to writing. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Beside the Long River by Louella Bryant

 A fictional view of the war between the English settlers and the Pequot Indians in 1636.  Thinking of wars is mostly about the fighting, death, and attainment of property.  Love does exist during war.

Sarah Lyman, a teenager, and her family is led by her father from England to the promise of Puritan freedom in America.  The land is rough and untamed.  Their dream of a productive farm isn't exactly as simple as portrayed.  Hard, physical work is a new life.  The family lands by boat at the Massachusetts Bay.  In short time, they travel on foot to a more promising and fertile property in Hartford, Connecticut.  


The Pequot Indians live on the land just outside the property Sarah's family chooses to farm.  Many settlers, out of fear, deem the Indians a threat.  With an open mind, Sarah befriends a young Pequot girl along with Ayaks, a Pequot who steals her heart.

Sarah continues her secret friendships until the pressure in the village turns into a plan to massacre the Pequot.  She does the only thing she can think of and joins the English Militia with the intent to save the Pequot Indians, specifically those she loves.

True to history, the war is a massacre, horrible to many and a victory for others.  

Sarah and her family survive, but she keeps her heart hidden as she watches for any indication that her girlfriend and the man who has her heart are still alive.  If or when Ayaks finds Sarah, she will stand up for herself to follow the one she fought for.  Love is stronger than war.

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

An Update

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        I actually have no topic today but that’s all right. I figured I’d give you all an update (and seriously, I don’t want to talk about the weather – it’s been in the 90s here in Arizona and truthfully, I am NOT ready for this heat!).
        As you know, I have finished The Madam and Mr. MacLean. It’s going through beta read right now, which is fantastic (I love my beta readers! They are so good at seeing things that I don’t!). I do still need to work on the cover sheet request—that’s the paperwork that accompanies the manuscript when I submit it to my publisher. There’s a few other things I need to work on, too, like the ‘long’ blurb and the short ‘tagline’. Believe it or not, those are really hard. I can write an 86-thousand-word story but condensing it down to 350 words is a little daunting. Oh, and the cover! I have an idea in my head on what I'd like to see but need to finalize it (my publisher does the best covers!).
        I am making great headway with Wife Unexpected, the next story in The Wives of Bravado County series. So far, I’m at 10 thousand words. Now, if all those words were in a linear fashion that would be great, but I gotta write the scenes as they come to me so, in all truthfulness, I am all over the place, but I’ll puzzle it all together as I reach those scenes. I know! Crazy, but that’s how I do it…and so far, it has worked for me.
        What else? Today (Sunday, when I’m writing this), the DH and I are going to a birthday party. This isn’t just any birthday party. It’s for our lovely, beautiful, so very young at heart friend. She is turning…wait for it…one hundred years old. Or I should say one hundred years young. To look at her, to spend any time with her, one would never guess she has reached this milestone. Truthfully, the woman doesn’t sit still. She’s very active in the community, thinks nothing of hopping on a plane to visit friends and family, and this past summer, she spent a couple weeks in Alaska. She sent pictures of all the fish she caught. I love that woman!
        And that’s all for me. Still a lot of things to do before we head off to that celebration. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, February 25, 2026

Unafraid by Nyssa Kathryn

 Amber Ridge is a quaint and cozy town.  Just where Aspen Davies can travel several states, room with a friend, and leave her ex and controlling mom behind.  She can find a nice cafe and continue to write her romance novels.

Jesse Hayes feels he's doing the right thing by letting a room to his friend, Aspen.  The long and unusual hours he works as a police officer will give her privacy while she familiarizes herself with the town.  He prefers to keep a distance between them.  After all, she is hurt from a breakup, and it is impossible not to be interested in her. 



For such a cute town, not a single restaurant or cafe serves good coffee.  Matter of fact, it is awful.  The English lady who owns a tea and coffee house makes the best pies but needs lessons on how to make a good brew.   It will be a great hangout for writing and a place to keep her away from gorgeous and wonderful Jesse.

Aspen begins receiving texts from her hard-to-handle mom.  After replying with her new address, her mom claims Luke, former boyfriend, needs to see Aspen.  That would not happen on her watch.  Why did Aspen give her mom the address?  Mistake number one.

Space in town is tight when her mom shows up.  Discovering that Luke has a criminal record, Jesse's hackles rise when Luke is also spotted.  Aspen pretends it's manageable, but her nerves are shivering, her writing is not happening, and doors and windows need to be locked. 

A hug and more attention are offered from Jesse, when the danger mounts.  It's okay, they're just friends.  Really good friends, which is a perfect way to start something more if they can both drop their guards at the same time. 

At the same time, Luke, with the help from another, plots to have or let no one else have Aspen. 

Increasing danger, Aspen's faltering confidence, and Jesse's badge make a combination of safety and an opening for romance.

Happy reading, 

Dawn

 





Monday, February 23, 2026

BETWEEN A ROCK AND A COWBOY by Lexi Post on Sale for 99¢ only through Feb 26th

 

Between a Rock and a Cowboy (Rocky Road Ranch: Book 1) on sale for 99¢ only through February 26th.

When Amanda Hayden becomes the first Hayden to step onto Rocky Road Ranch in twenty years, sparks fly.

Amazon | Amazon CA | Amazon UKAmazon AU 

Tanner Dunn must take the reins of the Rocky Road cattle ranch after his father’s stroke. With a brother long gone, a brother deployed, and his youngest brother wanting to leave for his own career, he has his hands full. Still, he’s adamant his father receives the best care. But when their adversary’s daughter, Amanda Hayden Davis, arrives to provide his father’s therapy because she’s the best, it becomes more than he’s willing to shoulder.

Amanda is not happy she’s been assigned to the patriarch of the Dunn family, nor that she is the first Hayden to step foot on Rocky Road Ranch in over twenty years. But she’s a ray of sunshine compared to the grumpy eldest son. When she’s told to leave before she’s started her work, she doesn’t budge. No one tells her what to do. She willingly argues with Tanner, often winning. Despite that, she finds herself respecting his work ethic, his moral compass, and his heart. It doesn’t help that he also has the shoulders of her dreams and looks amazing in a suit.

Tanner admits he’s grateful for Amanda’s efforts with his dad, but that doesn’t mitigate the damage her family has done to them over the years. It’s the Hayden’s fault Rocky Road may have to become a Dude ranch, something Tanner has fought against for the last year. The problem is, he’s fighting his attraction to Amanda as well. Not only is she kind, but she has a zest for life that he can’t resist. But if he gives in to her, will he lose the ranch? Or will resisting her be the biggest mistake of his life?



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, February 18, 2026

The Madam & Mr. MacLean

 


        Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
        As you may know, the first draft of The Madam & Mr. MacLean, the third book in the Matchmaker Mischief series is done and as of right now, the last critique has come in so…
        What are my next steps? A read through, from beginning to end, to see what I’m missing, to fix any holes, to make sure my word choices are appropriate.
        I think I might try something different. Normally, I print out the entire thing, sit at the kitchen table with my dictionary, thesaurus, and several ‘writing’ books and read it out loud but I think, this time, I want to try the ‘read aloud’ option provided by MicroSoft Word (besides, my printer is broken and I haven’t replaced it yet. It’s not quite in the budget). I’ve never done that. Might be interesting.
        I’ve also been told that saving the story as a PDF can help finding mistakes. I might try that, too.
        And then, I send it off to my beta readers. Honestly, I depend on their read through (and they’re both excellent at this task). Of course, I depend on my critique partner, too. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them. I’m serious.
        In addition, I have started Wife Unexpected, the fourth story in the Wives of Bravado County series. It’s going pretty well. My characters aren’t quite talking to me yet, but they will. I have faith. Incidentally, that’s my heroine’s name. Faith. It’s appropriate for who she is.
        The day job is still kicking my butt and I admit to being exhausted at the end of every week but it’s all good. Less than two years before I retire (and believe me, I’m really looking forward to that). More time to write. More time to read. More time to experiment with cooking (I have to be careful about what I make because the DH has a sensitive stomach, but seriously, I’m tired of making the same things all the time). I’ve been collecting recipes from Facebook. Some of them look really good!
        And that’s about all for me. Gotta get back to the writing. Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go!

Marie

Wednesday, February 11, 2026

The Honey Pot Plot by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer

 Rose is trying to settle in Rocky Start.  The difficult part is that she's a former assassin and so are many of the other residents.  Tough crowd.  Many are of the retirement age except for her daughter Poppy who is another worry on her mind as an unknown assassin has attempted to disrupt and kill the current crowd of retirees.


Rose's new and hopefully permanent mate, Max, is hiking the Appalachian Trail.  He's claiming to hike the treacherous snowy path for the exercise and beauty, but there's also the suspicion of a hidden treasure somewhere in the trees.

Poppy helps her mom with an incognito second-hand shop while a quiet newcomer, Marley, parks his truck in the alley behind Rose and Poppy's home for protection.  It takes a while for Poppy and Marley to trust each other.  It's a town that trust needs to be earned, yet each laugh, coffee, lasagna, and meeting advances the romance.

After several attempted murders on multiple residents, the "good" assassins collaborate and weed out the bad.  Just in time to allow social activities to resume in a semi-normal romantic venue.  Makes me believe romance can prevail in almost any situation!   

Happy reading,

Dawn

 

Wednesday, February 4, 2026

To Write or Not To Write


       Hello, gentle readers! Hope you are all well and staying safe!
       Well, the day job kicked my butt again these past two weeks. Too much to do and not enough time, but you all know what that’s like.
       Still, I survived and actually got some stuff done that I haven’t been able to get to and this makes me happy.
       What else makes me happy? Well, the writing, of course. I admit, I would be lost without it and I know this because…
        I didn’t write for over ten years. I know, that’s a long time. Why? Well, a few reasons, but looking back, none of them were good. We all have our own self-editors in our heads. You know the nasty, little voices that say “Who wrote this drivel? Why do you even try?”
        And then, there are the external voices. In my case, it was a particularly devastating rejection letter. In the past, I let those things bother me (lots of tears and then self-soothing chocolate) so I decided I was going to stop writing at all.
        And I did. For ten long years.
        I noticed something about myself when I wasn’t writing. I’m not the same person as when I do write. There is a need in me to get those words on paper (or on the computer), a passion for making up stories that keeps me sane. And, if it can bring joy to someone else, all the better.
        So, what made me start writing again?
        I was cleaning out my file cabinet and I came across that rejection letter, the one that made me put down my pen. In a clearer frame of mind (and ten years of personal growth and developing a thicker skin), I read it again. And again. No, I was not torturing myself. I was learning, seeing what that agent saw that I hadn’t seen before.
        And suddenly, two things clicked in my brain at once. An epiphany, if you will. I realized how much I missed writing and how much I was denying that part of me.
        What was the other thing? Plain old stubbornness. Yes, I said that and I mean that. I am stubborn. Have been all my life (and believe me, sometimes stubbornness will see you through a situation more than anything else).
        So…I sat down to write. A story so full of conflict that there could never be any doubt (which is what the agent had pointed out in the letter…that I didn’t have enough conflict).
        Finding and reading that letter again happened in 2006. In 2008, I published my first story. That was eighteen years ago. Since then, I’ve published fourteen stories, finished the first draft of another, and started four more.
        I still have that rejection letter. It’s framed on my wall. And it reminds me…never let go of your dreams.
        Stay well! Stay safe! And remember to spread kindness wherever you go! Marie

Friday, January 30, 2026

COWBOYS OF POKER FLAT boxed set by Lexi Post is on Sale for $3.99!

Cowboys of Poker Flat

(Poker Flat Series: Books 1, 2 & 3)
 

I like starting the year off with a sale, and what could be better than a boxed set sale? How about a boxed set sale at half price! That's right, the cowboys that started it all for $6.99 are only $3.99. But this is for a very limited time, so grab the first 3 books in this series for a bargain.

Welcome to Poker Flat nudist resort, where for guests, it’s clothing optional, but for the misfit staff, baring their souls for love is mandatory. 

Amazon | AppleBooks | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | Amazon CA

Kendra Lowe hires cowboy Wade Johnson as the new stable manager for her soon-to-open nudist resort. She soon discovers when the odds are stacked against them, Cowboys Never Fold. Good thing too, because he’s determined to find out who is trying to sabotage her resort even if he loses his heart.

Cowboy firefighter Cole Hatcher suspects Lacey Winters, his ex-girlfriend, of arson…again. But it’s soon made clear that the resort’s bookkeeper is still this Cowboy’s Match. So as the heat rises, he needs to find the real arsonist or his love will go down in flames.

Security guard and Army veteran, Hunter McKade lost his wife, but he can’t deny his attraction to the hot bartender, Adriana Perez. Indulging his curiosity, he discovers she doesn’t want a relationship. But when she becomes the target of an angry guest, only he can help her…if she’ll accept that she’s this Cowboy’s Best Shot at happiness.

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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