All Brides Are Beautiful by @JoanReeves #RomanceGems

When I was a little girl, I went to a grown-up event. It was the wedding for the daughter of one of my parents' friends.

I wore a pretty blue party dress, a dark blue velvet headband, and carried a frilly little purse.

That wedding was the biggest social event I had ever attended because I grew up with parents who thought "children should be seen and not heard."

I loved everything about the wedding: dressing up and seeing all the other "dressed up" guests, the happy smiles from everyone, the music, the beautiful satin dresses the bridesmaids wore, and the wonderful scent of roses floating through the air.

Most of all I loved the bride when she appeared.

Transformation

Of course I knew her and had seen her often. She was an average looking young woman. Nothing special. At least that's what I'd thought until the moment she entered the church.

As I watched her float down the aisle to the strains of the traditional wedding march, I stared open-mouthed.

She had transformed into an ethereal beauty in a gossamer gown of white organza and lace. A veil of lace and tulle fell from the headpiece all the way to the floor and trailed behind her.

Was it her dress that made her beautiful? Or the happy day? Or the love that flowed from everyone? Especially the love between her and the groom? Or maybe it was all of the above.

Lasting Impression

I've never forgotten that first wedding and that sense of wonder I felt at seeing the bride in all her glory. I guess that's when I decided with my child's wisdom that ALL brides are beautiful.

When I decided to write a series about brides and weddings because a woman's wedding is usually the grandest event in her life, I knew exactly what I wanted to call the series: All Brides Are Beautiful.

Add a Dash of Humor

Along with romance, I usually try to add a dash of humor to my books.

I've been the guest at many weddings since my childhood plus I've been the "mother of the groom" twice and the "mother of the bride" twice.

Something I've learned from all that is one must maintain a sense of humor at weddings. Things can go comically wrong on a day when the bride wants every detail to be perfect.

As a guest, I've laughed until I cried at the ring bearer who decided he wanted to keep the rings and ran with them while his parents and the bride's parents chased him.

At one evening reception, the parents of the bride, in their excitement about all the reception events, forgot about all the food in coolers setting outside the reception hall. Even the wedding toasts were made with guests raising empty glasses because someone forgot to bring in the champagne! Of course, all of the guests obligingly lifted empty glasses and pantomiming drinking from them.

Laughter and Love go hand in hand in my romance novels—and in real life.

April Fool Bride

Is it a marriage of convenience or something more?

Oil heiress Madeline Quinn needs a husband by the time she turns twenty-five in order to claim her full inheritance. Mad Maddie, as the tabloids christened her, has learned the hard way that men only see dollar signs when they look at her.

Maddie decides a marriage of convenience is the only answer. She turns to the one man in the world she can trust, her housekeeper’s son who always treated her like a little sister when they were growing up—until one disastrous night when she acted impetuously.

Jake Becker hasn’t seen Maddie since the night she tried to seduce him. Why should he help the woman who changed the course of his life? Simple. Revenge.

Or is it something else? Something that sizzles like steam heat between Maddie and Jake that neither can resist!?

"I loved this book!" ~NetGalley

Second Chance Bride

He was the only man she wanted—and the one man she could never have.

She left town at eighteen, wanting to leave behind all the pain and heartbreak. She reinvented herself as wealthy, successful Constance Quinn. The only problem is there's no room for love or relationships in her rigidly controlled existence. Now older and wiser and having made peace with her stepdaughter, she's determined to find the part of herself that got lost in her transformation.

"A blonde with curves in all the right places." That's what Alex Martinez thinks when he meets Constance. When they touch, something hot and urgent passes between them. Their attraction is mutual. Their desire is palpable.

Although Constance cannot resist a kiss from Alex, she knows she's playing with fire because he might discover her secret. When a meeting begins with a lie, can there be a future?

Well, of course there can if you're reading a romance novel!

You are cordially invited to our June Wedding Event!

We have some great prizes: jewelry designed to appeal to Readers or Amazon Gift Cards plus ebook bundles with the books focused on brides and grooms and weddings.

I invite you to watch our Wedding video, YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED. You'll find it on our Movie Theater page and also on YouTube.

Please share the video with your friends, and tell them about our blog and our Monthly Giveaways.

Now here's the form for our big Giveaway. Just click the link and enter often.


Romance Gems June Rafflecopter Giveaway