How Lucky Am I? by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I sometimes wonder if reincarnation is real. Have you ever met someone and you could swear that you’d met them before?

I’ve been lucky in love. Maybe I didn’t get a feeling that I’d met Karl before in another life, but I knew we would get married someday. 

I’ve had these premonitions before. That something good, or bad, was about to happen. I’m usually right about 80% of the time. This time, I was right. About a year later, we did get married. This year we’ll celebrate 51 years of marriage. Wow, it doesn’t seem that long.

People ask what our secret is and I tell them we always treat each other like best friends. Would you yell at your best friend? 

We also encourage each other. When I went to nursing school, he not only told me I could do anything I set my mind to doing, he also helped me study. (I finished fifth in my class) Then, when I wanted to write, he encouraged me again. When I decided to go Indie with my books, he became my publisher, cover designer, formatter, ad creator, beta reader, and my number one fan.

I’ve definitely been lucky in love.

Most of my books are available in Kindle Unlimited. I’m currently writing Romantic Suspense, but I also write contemporary comedy and paranormal. Most of my heroines are snarky and sassy because I think I absorbed some of Karl’s personality over the years. Believe me, he’s a lot of fun to be around.

                                                    Read for free in KU or purchase here

You can find out more about my books at www.authorkarenkelley.com Have a great weekend and stay safe!

Speaking of luck, don't forget to hop on over to our Monthly Giveaway page to enter our Rafflecopter contest. If you're in a rush to get to the pot of gold you can also click on this Quick Link.

Karen Kelley 

Welcoming a brand new year by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

     I’m starting 2020 with a brand new release. I’ve gone back to my roots. This is a romantic suspense. This is the first book in the Badge of Honor series and I’m super excited! These are all stand alone. Some heroes/heroines wear a badge and some don’t, but what they all have in common is honor. They believe in doing what’s right. 

      The reviews are coming in for book one, Broken Justice, and I’m super excited that readers are enjoying the story. Here is what they’re saying:

     “She’s a sassy hot U.S. Marshal, he’s a small town sheriff and together they are sizzling.” Charleann Davis

     “Gage and Mac (Makala) were like colliding freight trains when they met” Molly G. Hamblin

     “This book hooked me from the get go. I just couldn’t put it down. I fell in love with these characters and omg what a story” Jeanne A Kotsios

     I also have Hidden Secrets up for preorder. This is book two in the Badge of Honor series. 

     These books will all be in KU as well, so you can read them for free if you have a membership. 

 

     Don't forget to enter our monthly giveaway. Full information on the Rafflecopter drawing can be found on our Monthly Giveaway page. You can also find the the entry form HERE.

While your checking out the Giveaway page, don't forget to take a peek at our Movie Theater and Bookstore pages. Not to mention our Free Book giveaways!

 

Enjoy!

Karen Kelley

www.authorkarenkelley.com

 

Click here to order or read

for free in KU 

 

    

Thankful by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I'm thankful that I don't have to go back to Cosco and the grocery store again for quite a while. We did that today and I'm drained! I'm thankful all the presents have been bought. Okay, I still have a few to wrap.

Christmas really is my favorite time of the year. I love the memories I have. When my parents became very ill, my husband and I brought them to live with us. It was right before Christmas. I quit work and transformed my dining room into their bedroom because it was large enough to fit Mom's hospital bed and a regular size bed for Dad so they could be together.

Dad had end stage cancer and Mom had had a stroke that left her unable to turn or even feed herself. They required a lot of care but I figured I was a nurse and Karl was a paramedic so, along with home health, we could manage. And we did.

The night before Christmas, I was still up at midnight finishing everything that needed to get done. I had an iron skillet with cornbread almost done and pies cooling on the counter when I heard them talking about how good the cornbread smelled (hint, hint?). They both had this thing about cornbread. I still smile thinking about it.

As soon as I took it out of the oven, I cut them each a slice, poured them a glass of milk, and carried it in to them. While we all ate cornbread, we laughed and talked. It's one of my favorite memories. Yes, I was totally exhausted, but somehow it didn't really matter anymore.

Dad passed two weeks later and Mom lived another sixteen months.

I don't remember the times I was so tired my feet ached. I remember sharing stories, laughing, hugging--and yes, eating hot cornbread at midnight on Christmas Eve.

I hope everyone makes really good Christmas memories.

Don't forget to enter our cool giveaways this month.

 

Remember to enter CANDY CANE KISSES. For all the details, visit our Monthly Giveaway page. Or, go straight to the ENTRY FORM.

 

Karen Kelley

www.authorkarenkelley.com

Writing Romance by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I actually never expected to become a gazillionaire as a writer when I started writing. A good thing because I barely scrape by. No, I just wanted to get lost in my stories. They were my escape.

 I always felt like the outsider in my family while growing up. Like maybe they did find me on the side of the road. My sisters used to tell me that story over and over again. I believed them, and it hurt. As I got older, I decided I kind of liked the idea.

 I became a writer because of the stories I wanted to tell, but for me it was more than that. It was a validation of who I was as a human being. I was carving out my place in the world, and hopefully, leaving a mark in my own way.

Thankfully, I found a great group within RWA, which eventually disbanded, but these wonderful ladies (and the occasional male) gave me encouragement and the confidence to pursue my dream. I still remember that first meeting. It was at a restaurant. I drove around it four times before I got the courage to go inside. As soon as I walked through those doors and met this fabulous group of ,ladies, I knew I'd found exactly where I was supposed to be.

 I'm blessed to have a wonderful husband who encourages me to dream, and two wonderful children (and their spouses) who are proud of what I do.

 So, although I probably won't get rich, I'm living my dream and very thankful that I can.

 Do you have a dream? Or are you living it?

 Don't forget out monthly give away!

 

November is the month for Gratitude, Appreciation, and counting your Blessings if you are religious and/or philosophical. Grateful, Thankful, Blessed—that's what we Romance Gems Authors feel. Join us this month in celebrating the Life Lessons we all learn. Enter our November Rafflecopter now for a chance to win 1 of 5 Amazon Gift Cards.

You can also enter by going to the Monthly Giveaway Page HERE

Romantic Comedy by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

 I often laugh at inappropriate times. I mean, not like at a funeral or anything. You see, I have these little movies that I see in my head. I'm pretty sure there are a lot of people just like me who are in mental wards. I want to scream out the injustice of it all. Yell out to someone who might listen, "They might be a writer! Set them Free! Unless they're a serial killer or something equally horrific!"

Seriously (or not) I love writing romantic comedy. It's not just comedy. I love dark comedy, too, although I don't think I've written dark comedy. Maybe I should give it a try. Like the person who came up with the idea of inserting fireworks into the dead person about to be cremated. I'm pretty sure I could convince one or two of my friends to follow through with that one if I go first. Talk about going out with a bang! Can you just see the expression on the morticians face?

Slapstick comedy is one of my favorites. I love the very politically incorrect like Blazing Saddles. The last really funny movies I watched were The Hustle and The Spy Who Dumped Me.

My Flocked series has been a fun series to write. Flock You!, Flocked Up! and available for preorder, I Don't Give A Flock! which is probably a tad politically incorrect. It just depends on how you look at it. It was fun to write, what can I say? Check it out:

 Shannon

Yes, I probably shouldn’t have slid down my boss’ banister, but it was a long, hard, and inviting banister. How could I have known that he would come back early from vacation, that I wouldn’t be able to stop, or that I would fly off the end, knock him down, and end up on top of him? And no, people, my you-know-what did not land on his face!

And yes, I was supposed to be there. I was babysitting his sister’s dog while her house was being fumigated. But now he’s here, and I’m having erotic fantasies, but I’m desperate to buy a new washer and dryer, so I need to stop having these naughty thoughts, which I do.

That is, until my free-thinking mother sends me brownies from California.

Except there was a slight problem with the shipment.

 

Garrett

Women usually want one thing from me—money. But when Shannon slides down my banister, I know I want her. I have a feeling she might actually be different from all the others. She’s funny and smart. And hot. Did I mention hot? I can’t seem to get the image of her sliding down my banister out of my mind.

Then the brownies arrive. The best I’ve ever had.

Yes, Shannon is good. Real good. I should’ve known she was like all the others. How the hell could I have ended up in Vegas, married to the biggest con artist of them all?

I hope you enjoyed the preview of, I Don't Give A Flock! and if you'd like to order it, the links are below.

 

Don't forget to enter our September Rafflecopter Giveaway – Back to School ... Backto You!
The prizes are listed on our GIVEAWAY TAB above, along with the entry form. You can also click HERE to go straight to the entry form!

Kids are back to school. Now it’s time to pamper yourself a little. September’s Giveaway features Winner’s Choice of Amazon Gift Cards or Gifts for Reading and Pampering.
Dates: Sept. 4 through 27^th. Winnerchooses from gift item or Amazon Gift Card.

 

 

                                           Click HERE to preorder

 

Karen Kelley

www.authorkarenkelley.com

 

99 Cent Book Sale by Karen Kelley #RomanceGems

I love thrift shops, garage sales—any kind of bargain. My son and son in law mentioned Facebook Market place but it never clicked with me that it would be like a giant garage sale. I love getting a bargain. That’s why today I’m shouting out that Dangling…Participle?, a steamy romantic comedy, is on sale for 99 cents. You can’t beat a deal like that. Here’s a little more about Dangling…Participle?

Katie:

I really needed to get serious and concentrate on my writing, but the barista behind the counter at my fav coffee shop is not making it easy. The guy is drop dead gorgeous. I’m talking six-pack abs, broad chest, and oozing sex appeal. In other words, way out of my league!

Then he finds my flash drive and reads the start of my book! I want to die. I’m a nice girl. Really, I am, but I have very naughty thoughts.

When I discover he’s actually a famous writer and offers to help, how can I say no? His help means I might actually escape my demonic boss, and living with my evil twin sisters (no lie! I’m talking straight out of f**king Cinderella evil).

But just how far am I willing to let him go when I stumble over the love scenes?

Jaxson:
I’ve never seen anyone with worse fashion sense than Katie. But as she sat at one of the tables in the coffee shop, laptop open, she removed those god-awful black glasses and nibbled her bottom lip. Then she smiled and transformed before my eyes.

I want her.

Can’t have her. She’s not that type.

Then I find and read her flash drive and discover there’s a whole other side to her beneath those baggy clothes and ugly glasses. She only needs a little help. Especially with her love scenes.

I should probably keep the relationship strictly platonic.

Nope, not going to happen.

In May the Romance Gems honors Heroes and She-roes: Mothers, Soldiers, and First Responders. For a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card and Bundles of EBooks, enter our Rafflecopter draw!

                                                            Learn more HERE