What's luck got to do with it? by PeggyJaeger

I'm a child of the 80's Me Generation and a song from that era asked, WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT? See, now - you're gonna hear Tina Turner in your head for the rest of the day ( hee hee) 

You're welcome.

But seriously.  The theme for this month is LUCKY IN LOVE, so my question, what's luck got to do with it, seems apropos.

I once heard that the true definition of luck is when preparation meets opportunity.

Maybe.

Looking at love from a luck perspective though, can you ever really be prepared to fall in love? And if you were, what would that look like?

Are you sitting at home, all dressed and made up just in case Mr. Wonderful knocks on your door, like some grown up version of Mystery Date?

Are you actively trolling dating sites like Match.com and eHarmony, looking for the perfect match, hoping with all your heart you'll be lucky enough to find the one?

Have you got dozens of Pinterest boards set up for your eventual nuptials like a general planning an attack - everything down to the smallest, tiniest component - so when you finally find someone to pledge yourself to for eternity, the wedding is already mapped out?

And what would the opportunity portion of that preparedness be like? In all honesty, I can't figure out what would, unless you were attending a speed dating or matchmaking event  or even  a blind date, with the intent purpose of finding a love match as the goal ( opportunity).

So, are you doing any of those things in preparation - just in case - for cupid to turn up and hit you between the eyes ( or in the heart) with his arrow?

Or are you like I was before I got married and doing nothing to draw attention to yourself, just going about your daily life, not really prepared for anything other than your next day of work,  when out of the sky a lightning bolt hits you straight in the heart and wham - you found the love of your life; your soulmate; your reason to live?

No preparation, no opportunity, no reason to think luck had anything to do with it.

Yeah, I tend to think more times than not, that's the case with love finding us.

So, to answer the question, What's luck got to do with it, especially when it comes to love? In my opinion, absolutely nothing!

And speaking of luck and love....heehee, you knew that was coming! 

My couple in A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK, Abby Laine and Rick Bannerman, combine both.

It's lucky bodyguard Rick is available to help protect Abby when she is threatened by the husband of a client. The love that develops between the two when they are forced to be together non-stop and finally learn what makes the other tick,  is unexpected and blindsides them both. 

Isn't that the best kind??

Elite bodyguard and P.I. Rick Bannerman's job is to protect. He doesn't get emotional with his clients, but when a woman from his past is threatened, his next job becomes personal.

Family lawyer Abigail Laine is the target of a client's vengeful husband, but refuses Rick's offer of protection. He walked away from her four years ago, and she swore to forget him.

Now her reluctance to accept his help could cost Abby her life.

 Get your copy here: 

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081G7WDP4

Barnes and Noble:  https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-pride-of-brothers-peggy-jaeger/1135068636

apple books (i-books) https://books.apple.com/us/book/a-pride-of-brothers-rick/id1488238197

books-a-million: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/Pride-Brothers/Peggy-Jaeger/9781509229369?id=7423724839353

And one last thing: Do YOU feel lucky?? 

I'm giving away 2 free e-copies ( Kindle only) to two random readers who comment below. Just give me your name, and your favorite romance author ( it doesn't have to be me, but....heehee)! On April 1 I will pick 2 commenters for a free kindle book of  A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: RICK.

Good luck and happy reading, peeps. Until next time ~  Peg

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 

 

    

Return to Welcome's Next Book by @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

Amazon Exclusive

Our theme on Romance Gems this month is What's Next? And I've done something a little different with my small town romance series, Return to Welcome. Available NOW!

I've joined two different series by taking a character from my Love at Christmas books and moved him to the lovely town of Welcome, WA, where it's not-so-easy to return.

Amazon Exclusive

                     

Max Whyte moves to Welcome where he hires single mom Kaylin Simpson to reno his home. Her new job is Kaylin's first piece of good luck since moving back to town. Seems simple, right? But returning to Welcome never is...


Linking two series has been fun and interesting for me. I get to revisit characters I haven't "talked" to in a long time and I get to set the story in a familiar place I created two years ago and have "visited" three previous times. It's new and familiar all at once. I hope you take this journey with me.

And just to sweeten things today only, Craving Jake Return to Welcome Book 3 is available for #FREE here: Amazon Exclusive

Returning to Welcome was easy…staying will be a challenge. Especially when someone is determined to drive her out.

Brianna Bowler has returned to her small town of Welcome to help run Bowler’s Dog Rescue. She’s also doing everything she can to set aside thoughts of her high school crush Jake Morrow. Jake appears to be with a perfectly perfect sprite of a woman. (Not that she minds how opposite she and the sprite are. Really, she doesn’t.)

Paramedic Jake Morrow has a woman in his house: she cooks, cleans, clings —and irritates the hell out of him. He’d felt sorry for her, injured, alone and broke, and offered to help. Big mistake.

What would really make Jake’s day? His ex-girlfriend finally moving out. But she won’t take his word for it that things are over.

What’s worse is Brianna Bowler's return to Welcome. Their shared tragic past and attraction burns between them as Jake accepts that things aren’t quite right with his ex.

A break-in at the dog rescue, smashed windows, and a stolen laptop all add up to serious trouble for Jake and Brianna. But with his ex in the wind and escalating, Jake’s protective instincts rise as events take a deadly turn.

With the love of his life in danger, Jake comes to see that some women can’t be set aside, not even for their own good…but others want revenge.

Below is our monthly rafflecopter draw. This giveaway ends on Jan. 31 so you have lots of chances to enter. Come back often!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a233/

Holiday Distractions by Karen Whiddon

It's that time of the year again.  My favorite time.  It starts off with my wedding anniversary (32 years this year) which always falls around Thanksgiving. (Sometimes even ON Thanksgiving!)   We always go out to eat and have a wonderful meal celebrating our years together.

Then it's the big meal, the get-together with loved ones and feasting while giving thanks.

And after that, it's our tradition that we put up our tree and decorate the house inside and out for Christmas.

It's a busy, fun time.

I've also been working.  I have a synopsis due tomorrow for the last book in my Harlequin Romantic Suspense contract and a book due 12-15.  So I've also been working.

In addition, it's a book birthday for me.  Colton's Rescue Mission is out now from Harlequin Romantic Suspense.

You can buy it here on Amazon HERE


Fun times all around!

Finally, here at Romance Gems, we've made a video with holiday pics of all of us.  You can view that here  Our Video

Our December contest has 5 Amazon gift cards as prizes.  Be sure to enter often to improve your chances of winning.  Please tell your friends about Romance Gems - our authors, our books, and our contest giveaways! 


Enter here:  Rafflecopter

October 3rd by Karen Whiddon

So much is going on in the world, sometimes it's difficult to concentrate.  I have to walk to find my quiet space, and then lose myself in the world I've created inside my books.  I just turned in a Harlequin Romantic Suspense that will be out in 2020 and started my next one that's due 12-15-19.  I adore writing for this line.

I'm also slowly getting up books for which the rights have reverted to me.  I just had covers made for The Wolf Prince as well as The Wolf Princess.  Look for them on Amazon soon.

I love October.  Halloween decorations, fall colors, and lower temperatures (soon, please, soon!)  It's the last quarter of the year, which happens to include my favorite holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas!  Decorations, parties to attend, lots of good food.  Yumm!  There's little I like better than curling up in my recliner next to the fireplace, with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book!  I can't wait.  But first, summer has to let loose of Texas!

CHECK OUT OUR VIDEO -- https://youtu.be/-H1auoGa30A -

I'm giving away a paperback copy of my Harlequin Romantic Suspense book - Texas Ranch Justice. (Unless winner is outside of the continental United States, in which case I'll send an ebook)  The deadline for entering this Giveaway is Sunday, October 5th.

NO TRICKS—JUST TREATS

Every Day is Treat Day in October. Each author will give away a prize of her choice on her posting day. That's 31 days of prizes! 

To be entered in the random drawing for a paperback copy of  Texas Ranch Justice, leave a comment with your email address written out (not as a hot link) on this post.

The deadline for doing this is Sunday night at 8:00pm Central time. I’ll draw the winner's name Monday, October 7, and notify the winner by email and by leaving a comment on this post.

By the way, in case you wonder why Authors give away books, it’s simple. We want to introduce new Readers to our writing.

If you want to say thanks to the Author, please post a review of the book. Just a few sentences saying why you liked the book is all that is needed! Do this, and Authors will adore you!

But Wait, There's More

Yes, indeedy! We're not just doing a daily random drawing for a prize. We're also doing a Rafflecopter with 4 Amazon Gift Card Prizes. Whoop! Big money! Visit our Monthly Giveaways Page for all the details.  

Lazy Summer Afternoons by Nora LeDuc #Romance Gems

The summer I turned 13, the local movie theater announced they'd show beach-themed movies at Saturday matinees. Hot guys flexing muscles, tan girls showing off their two-piece bikinis--this sounded terrific to me and to my two best friends. I volunteered my mother as our chauffeur and crossed my fingers she'd agree when I asked her to drive us.

Thankfully, she did. So when the weekend rolled around, we headed to the big screen. My mom dropped us off by the ticket booth out front and reminded us she'd pick us up right there. Then we paid for our tickets and entered through the double glass doors. Inside, a cushy red carpet ran the length of the dim foyer. Posters of movie stars in their upcoming films decorated the walls. We paused and pointed out the ones we liked. Most of the movies had already played in better theaters, but we didn't care. We were in a magical world where any story was possible, and in our imaginations, we were the stars.


We bought our snacks and chose our seats on the side aisle. This way we could talk and glance at the incoming audience, hoping to spot boys! Sadly, although a mixed group filled up one third of the rows, there were no teenage males that day. Finally, the lights went down. Now if you follow our Gems Blog, you know that we have book boyfriends, male characters from the book that we love. Well, my friends and I had movie boyfriends. We also had a few rules about our process. You couldn't choose your boyfriend until the show started and you saw him on the screen. Once you did, the other two friends had to agree that you were a match. Luckily, this movie had three teen heartthrobs, which was perfect, one for each of us. Choosing was easy. I wanted the one I thought was cutest. No other qualifications mattered. Fortunately, this story had lots of cuties running around on the white sand and surfing on their boards. They also always gathered in the evenings by a fire with the girl of their dreams.

Truthfully, I remember little of the plots, but I do recall the fun we had together on those afternoons. Giggling, sighing, and ah-ing we became captivated by our fictional characters. And the following Saturday, we did it all again.

My Saturday Matinee Movie Friends Today!!

Don't forget you can follow me on BookBub. Find my books where you can fall in love with a character too.

The Process of a Book by Karen Whiddon #RomanceGems

Over the years, friends and relatives have often expressed surprise when they learned I was working on edits or revisions.  This post, I thought I'd discuss the path one of my books takes from inside my brain to publication.  Bear in mind, I'm traditionally published for new work with Harlequin, though once I get the rights back to some of my older books, I sell them as e-books too.  This post will touch mostly on my Harlequin books.

First, I think of a story.  For me, I'm contracted for books I haven't even thought of yet, so I spend a couple weeks working on a synopsis that describes my hero, heroine, secondary characters, and story.  (See my other post on writing a synopsis.)

Once the synopsis is done, I email it to my editor with a cc to my agent.

My editor will send back an email (usually after a week or two) approving the synopsis.  At this point, she might suggest a few tweaks.  By now, I've started writing the book as I have pretty tight deadlines.

Over the course of three months, writing 5 days a weeks (sometimes 6 if it's not going well,) I will write the book.  For Harlequin Romantic Suspense, this comes out to 70,000 words or for me, around 315 pages.  

I turn in the book.  They ask for a dedication and a dear reader letter, which I write and provide.

And work on another synopsis, at which point the process starts all over again.

Eventually I will get back edits from my editor.  At Harlequin, frequently two or three people will have already worked on the book.  They are very thorough.  I'm given a time frame (generally two weeks) to work on this.  I do and email it back.

Finally, I get what are called AA's (Author Alterations.)  This is the final stage of the book, where it appears exactly as it will in print.  At this point, I look it over and when I read it through, I send it back with any corrections I might find.

At some point, the publisher sends me the cover art.  Usually, it's beautiful and I'm thrilled.  Every once in a while, it might not be exactly what I pictured, but I can't do anything about that, so I just cross my fingers and hope for the best as far as sales.  I truly believe great cover art can help sell a book.  

And then I wait for the publication date.

My previously published works where rights revert back to me are different.  Once I have the rights back, I convert the file.  I have to remove all the metadata from Harlequin.  I purchase my own cover (in my case, since I'm on a budget, it's a pre-made cover.)  And I put it up for sale at Amazon.

Right now, I have just put up one of my favorite books that I've ever written.  It's called Profile for Seduction.  It can be read for free in Kindle Unlimited, or purchased here: Amazon

Another Great July Celebration

Last, but definitely not least is our fabulous July Giveaway.

Our Rafflecopter, BEACHES and BOOK BOYFRIENDS, starts July 5 at midnight and runs through July 25.  Contest link

Check out the giveaway'svideo in Movie Theater or onYouTube. (Please click LIKE and share it on your social media pages.)

Visit the Monthly Giveaway page to see all the prizes. Enter often and tell your friends. There are some great prizes up for grabs. Visit me tomorrow on Romance Gems for a Pop-Up Giveaway.