The Best Of The Best Is... by @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems

Let's Have Some Fun!

Since February is the month of Amore, I thought it'd be fun to play a game of Romance Best Of The Best in the fields of books, movies, music, and more! Okay, technically, this is more of a questionnaire and less of a game... which means there are no rules and you just pick your favorites. Don't see your "Best" listed? Write it into the comments! Ready?

First Up: Books (Of Course!)



The most romantic book of all time is:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks
3. Atonement by Ian McEwan
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
6. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte 
7. A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
8. Love Story by Erich Segal
9. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
10. The Bridges of Madison County by James Waller

Round Two: Movies

The most romantic movie of all time is:

1. Pride and Prejudice (and which version?)
2. A Star Is Born (again, which version?)
3. Bridget Jones Diary
4. Love, Actually
5. The Notebook
6. Titanic
7. Casablanca
8. Dirty Dancing
9. An Affair To Remember
10. The Princess Bride

Round Three: Songs

The most romantic song of all time is:

1. I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
2. Unchained Melody by Righteous Brothers
3. Something by The Beatles
4. Make You Feel My Love by Garth Brooks version
5. Let's Stay Together by Al Greene
6. You're Still The One by Shania Twain
7. Heaven by Bryan Adams
8. When A Man Loves A Woman
9. (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman
10. You're The Inspiration by Chicago

Speaking of songs, check out my Welcome To Chance playlist HERE and listen to the music that inspired me.

Round Four:  Leading Man

1. Cary Grant
2. Hugh Jackman
3. Ryan Gosling
4. Robert Redford
5. Colin Firth
6. Hugh Dancy
7. Idris Elba
8. Paul Newman
9. George Clooney
10. Hugh Jackman

Round Five: Leading Lady

1. Julia Roberts
2. Sandra Bullock
3. Katharine Hepburn
4. Kerry Washington
5. Audrey Hepburn
6. Meg Ryan
7. Ingrid Bergman
8. Halle Berry
9. Jennifer Lopez
10. Marilyn Monroe

That Was Difficult!

There were SO many to choose from in each category, it was hard to narrow them down. My picks, you ask? Here ya go: 

Round One: Pride and Prejudice

Round Two: Yep, Pride and Prejudice, Colin Firth/BBC version

Round Three: Make You Feel My Love

Round Four: Cary Grant

And for Round Five, if you can guess my favorite leading lady, I'll send you a FREE ebook of Feather Anne's Song!

I would LOVE to see your picks in the comments, so don't forget to scroll down to the end! 

The Fun Isn't Over Yet!

I'm so excited to tell you my fifth installment in the Welcome To Chance series: Feather Anne's Song officially releases on February 11th. However, the paperback is available now (but shhh, don't tell anyone, lol). This one was such an emotional journey for several Chance residents, namely Feather Anne. Along with the five books in the series, I also have a short bonus story for my newsletter subscribers. If you'd like your copy, click HERE. Below is an excerpt from Feather Anne's Song.

Last But Not Least!

Our February Giveaway is in full swing! Check out these great prizes:

First Prize ~ $20 Amazon Gift Card

Second Prize ~ $15 Amazon Gift Card

Third Prize ~ $10 Amazon Gift Card

Fourth Prize ~ $5 Amazon Gift Card

Enter to win HERE

Unfiltered by @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems

First: Happy New Year and New Decade! 

How exciting, right?! Okay, if I'm being honest, it took me a bit to feel it, that excitement. For me, 2019 was nice. The good things that happened over the year were greater in number and impact than the bad. I know 2019, we've been great friends these past twelve months. But this new guy, this fancy even number guy 2020. Hmm. Not so sure about you, buddy. You gonna bring good stuff? I've got my eye on you, you know.

Kidding aside, I really am excited for the new year. I love the promise of what might come, the fresh-start feeling, and - I confess - the fact that it brings me into the decade we move to Florida. Sure, it's not until almost midway through, but still... it's getting closer!!

Hang With Me, I'm About To Get Super Honest

There was one thing that occurred over the course of 2019 that was not so cool. I lost control of my health and gained a considerable amount of weight. Like 25lbs worth. I am at the fitness level of a ninety-year-old right now. I wish I was joking, but I'm not. And, if I'm being brutally honest, I hate how I look these days. I spoke in detail about it in this social media post:

Yikes

My apologies for the f-bomb in there. What I've left out of the above post is that I took at least ten pictures before I found one vaguely okay enough to save... and filter. I'm never going to look that smooth in real life. My makeup will never be that on-point. I know this, and it's okay. It is what it is.This is basically me looking my best without cosmetic surgery! That's what I kept telling myself, at least. Believe me, I'm well-aware of the pitfalls and negatives of creating what is essentially an illusion. Especially when I see an unfiltered picture. (LOL). See example below. So, no. I'm not going unfiltered any time soon. #sorrynotsorry

Can ya blame a girl for wanting just a little smoothy-smooth?! A bit of brighty-bright?! And let's not even get into what happens when someone takes an unauthorized photo. Actually, that's what really set this resolution vibe going. Let's just say... it was bad. So, so bad. As in hell, no, I'm not showing you that picture. That picture showed the truth and it was painful.

No Crybaby Whining, I Swear!

It's only whining when you do nothing to change your situation! And I am changing my situation, one day at a time. But since I did some woe-is-me stuff up there, allow me to balance by saying this: I am ridiculously blessed and fortunate, and I'm grateful every day for this life I get to live. I love what I do, I am loved and supported, and I have no real complaints considering what other people are dealing with in the world. I have this one, very fixable problem, and it's in perspective.

Thank You

Well, my segue skill is not on point here, but thank you, kind people who take the time to read my posts and my books. You can never truly know how much it means to us writers. While I may not know your struggles and challenges, I know they exist and so my hope for you in this new year is that you have peace, patience, and love within and for yourself. P.S. One promise I made to myself when I began writing with intent to share was to be honest and open, good or bad. So, whether I go filtered or unfiltered in my photos, I can promise I'll always be real and authentic with my words and actions. ;)

Almost Forgot

The authoring stuff, duh! Quick heads up. I'm hard at work on book five in the Welcome to Chance Series and expect a February release! This has been the easiest... and yet most difficult one to write. There is SO much I want to tell you! But then this post would be the equivalent of a book. What I can do is direct you to my Newsletter, where not only do I give a sneak peek and an exclusive detail, but I'm also offering a chance to win a $20 Amazon Gift Card! Interested in starting the series? Image link below will take you to my website. Or click HERE.

 

Last But Never Least! Check Out Our January Promotion:

What's Next?

Our January Promotion is named What's Next and has Amazon Gift Cards for prizes. What's Next ends at 11:59 p.m. on January 31st. 

You'll find details about What's Next on our Monthly Giveaway page.

Be sure and visit on Jan. 6 when Kathryn Hills will present a special What's Next group post!

Unconventional Christmas by @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems

Christmas Eve

Growing up, my Christmas tradition comprised two very different celebrations. On Christmas Eve, we went to my Oma and Opa's house (my German grandparents) where we basically ate all day long.  

The main meal graced the long dining room table at around two - a meal my Oma prepared, cooked, and served single-handedly (because she trusted no one with her good china or her recipes). We'd eat until bursting, then men would wander off to watch football, and the women would clear the dishes (this was the seventies and early eighties, mind you). The kids carried on a steady litany of requests to open presents. When the adults couldn't take a minute more of our begging, they'd make a production of swearing they heard sleigh bells outside. We'd hush in anticipation. A knock on the front door made us gasp. Then, a hearty, "Ho! Ho! Ho! Merry Christmas!" followed - along with a couple extra jingle, jingles - and my grandmother would announce, "I wonder who that was," to which we'd scream, "Santa!" Shortly after that, we'd tear through the gifts like Tasmanian devils.

Tradition Check

I learned, much later in life, that this was not how most families handled the whole Santa business. In fact, it was my first husband (and father to my two grown daughters) who looked at me as if I'd just come off of Crazy Island when I explained how we celebrated Christmas.

He said, "What do you mean, Santa delivers the presents on Christmas Eve and you open them? All of them?"

"Duh," I said.

"No. That's just... wrong. Santa comes Christmas Eve night, while the kids are asleep, and they open the presents on Christmas Day morning. Have you not seen a single Christmas movie ever?"

My mouth opened and snapped shut. Wait. He was right. Damn.

 

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day, we packed up our gear and went to my father's parents, my Abuelo and Abuela. My memories of how we celebrated there are bizarrely hazy. Of course we ate and open presents and did all the stuff and things, I'm certain. But what I remember of those visits revolved around watching this cool new channel called MTV, where I could see videos of my favorite bands singing their songs. I recall swinging around and around the railing out front, sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch of my grandparent's three-family house, and sneaking up to the third floor to meet the tenant's newest litter of kittens. Weird, right? My only explanation is that we really spent the lion's share of time with the German side of the family, especially when the Cuban side all moved to Florida.

Fast Forward

When raising my daughters, my then-husband and I repeated the "my family on Christmas Eve," and "your family on Christmas Day" tradition. I can only hope my girls' recollections are as fond as my own. (I'll have to ask them this Christmas). I finally understood how exhausting it had been for my parents - the packing up, traveling, unpacking, repeat - sigh. I hosted as often as was fair, but we still did a LOT of traveling back then.

Little Further Forward

After my ex and I divorced, we kept the routine the same. Christmas Eve, mine. Christmas Day, his. But it sucked waving goodbye to my kids on Christmas morning just as much as it sucked for my ex to not see the girls on Christmas Eve. Eventually, we evolved into us all - my "new" husband and me, the girls, and my ex and his wife - celebrating Christmas Day morning together, so we both got to watch them open presents. We also conferred and co-ordinated. You get this, we'll get that. Go half and half? Sure, why not. And we also agreed to spend an equal amount so neither parent "outshone" the other. 

Christmas 2019

This year, we're really re-writing the script. You ready for this? My husband and I are flying to Florida this year for Christmas... and staying with my ex-husband and his wife... to celebrate Christmas with our girls. Five days of unconventional family-ing. Crazy, right? Our daughters - now twenty-seven and twenty-two - are still both a little amused and bemused. How the heck do they explain us, their unconventional parental units to friends and boyfriends? Hopefully, it's by saying something like, "Yeah, I know it's weird, but my parents are divorced and remarried to other people, but it's cool because they're all friends and that makes my life easier."

I mean, that's what started it all in the first place: wanting to make divorce a little easier on the girls. We hated making them a statistic. We hated the tension, the anxiousness, the awkwardness, the sadness, the guilt... the ugh of divorce. Plus, I think we were tired of hating each other, too. So, in the end, we're all making out pretty darn good in this deal. 

Side Note: Most people, upon hearing our story, cringe for our respective spouses. They usually wonder how they cope with us being so involved in our exes lives, thereby pulling them in, too. My husband and my exes' wife - who I jokingly refer to as my sort-of sister-wife - both readily acknowledge the strangeness of the situation. But they're also both "all in" kind of people. They get it and they love the girls, and that's usually all the explanation needed. My husband put it best (if not originally) when he said in response to someone's raised eyebrows, "Listen. We've got a perfectly imperfect life, and I love it."

Embracing the Oddness

I used to envy the ultra-conventional families and wish mine looked like theirs. Now, I'm just happy for them and hope their life is what I envision it to be like. But I love my unconventional life, too. It was fought for and hard-won. Despite whatever battle scars we may all have, we're on the other side of it and appreciating where we're at. This, as my beloved Cary Grant was known to say, is the good stuff. 

See you in the new year! xo - Elsa

DECEMBER GIVEAWAY NEWS

Our December Rafflecopter has 5 Amazon Gift Cards as prizes. Be sure to enter often to improve your chances of winning, and, please, tell your friends about Romance Gems—our Authors, our books, our blog posts, and our Giveaway every month.

Complete information on the contest can be found on our Monthly Giveaway page.

Watch our December Promotion Video, Candy Cane Kisses, and share the celebration with our authors. You'll also find this video and many others on our Movie Theater page. You can also watch our videos on YouTube.

Spend The Holidays in Chance by @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems

Happy second day of December! In my corner of the universe (New England) the month came in with a snow & ice storm. Luckily for me, I got to stay in my jammies and all day yesterday and only step outside to let the dogs out. (#sorrynotsorry)

Today, so far, looks to be a repeat which is great news for my Welcome To Chance series. Book five is well underway & I can't wait to see where it goes! Even though it seems strange that I don't know what will happen in my stories, I love the element of surprise. Tomorrow's new release, book four, is no different from the first three in that department...

Each book tells the stories of a community (think: Gilmore Girls, Parenthood, Friday Night Lights, and This Is Us) but with one pair taking "center stage." They each caught me off guard in the direction they took. In book one, Mae's Cafe, I'd envisioned William Grant as a Mr. Rogers type guy and definitely not the love interest for Mae. He had other ideas though, and I'm thrilled he did. Mae and William may be my favorite couple (don't tell the others).

In Rosabelle's Way, I intended for them to get married, but fate had a different plan for these two. I also had no idea that the normally irritating, chauvinistic, and self-absorbed Miles Hannaford would become an endearing (in his own way) guy.

My original plan for Charles and Georgie Brightsider had nothing to do with Chance! They, along with Feather Anne, were going to be their own stand-alone book... or so I thought. Once again, the characters had their own plans, so I followed their lead. I'm so glad they ended up in Chance, because their epic romance is a favorite of mine.

Ah, at last. My guy, Bruce, finally gets his turn. I adore this big lug. He's the back home boy every girl had a crush on, and every guy wanted to be like him. Football star, all-around good guy, brooding, handsome... and not over his one unrequited love. He's a man with a lot of layers and I can't wait for you to read his story.

Right now, books one through three are only .99 on Amazon & I'm offering signed books at a holiday discount on my website. In celebration of tomorrow's official release of Grady's Promise, I'd love to give one reader the first three books in the series FREE! Simply comment below & include your email address (written out as dotcom) if you'd like to be entered to win.

Last but not least! I'd love if you'd subscribe to my newsletter for all the latest news, giveaways, & more! Sign up HERE

What's New on Romance Gems?

I'm glad you asked. Come on in and check out our decorations!

Home Page Cover Art Gallery — That's the beautiful 3D Cover images you see on the right sidebar of the home page. If you see something you like, just click the image and you'll be taken to the Amazon page to learn more and/or to buy.

Holiday Book Fair, a special page created just for you, our faithful readers. Our Holiday Book Fair is filled with dozens of Holiday Romance Novels. They're sure to thrill you, and they're priced low—some are even free! Visit our Holiday Book Fair which will be here until the end of December and check out all the bargains. Great stocking stuffers for your friends who read!

Movie Theater — Watch our new December video and the other new ones from our Authors. They'll put you in the holiday mood.

Check out our Monthly Giveaway page featuring our December promotion, CANDY CANE KISSES. This month we have bigger prizes and more prizes.

Thanks for visiting with me today.  Our December Rafflecopter entry is HERE. Happy Holidays!

Life Is A Journey @ElsaKurt #RomanceGems

Forgive The Cliche...

As writers, we're supposed to avoid them at all costs and come up with a more original or creative way to say the same thing. But the thing about cliches is... they're true. Life is a journey (not a destination) and I don't want to say it another way.

I remember when I was a young girl thinking, "When am I ever going to be older?" I didn't have a specific age in mind, I just wanted so much to Be Older, to do stuff and things older people got to do. Time and the elusive older stretched out like the horizon - unreachable and endless. Oh, silly girl.

What Seemed So Great About Older?

Well, for one, it looked to me like none of those 'Olders' were getting told what to do. (Cue the buzzer: WRONG). Let me preface this next one with: it was the seventies. All the Olders got to smoke cigarettes and drink out of fancy glasses, they got to stay up late, wear makeup, and say bad words. They were so darn cool. I, at the graceless, scrawny, awkward age of seven (eight, nine, and ten through twelve) wanted to be that. Cool. Older.

When The Hell Did That Change?

I can't pinpoint it exactly, but I think I was about forty when I realized I was that mythical creature, that perceived unicorn: Older. Maybe you read that and thought, "Jesus, honey. Forty?" What in hell's bells was I doing in those previous twenty some odd years?! Believe it or not, I was adulting, aka, being older. I just didn't feel like I was.

Delusions, Confusions, Illusions...

Among the aspirations of being Wonder Woman, a beach bum, a writer, an actress, and a veterinarian, I developed a strong desire to be and do something less popular in the Age of the Independent Woman: I wanted to have lots of babies and be a stay-at-home mom. I wanted a house with a white picket fence and a dog and a garden. I wanted to be a PTA mom who volunteered at her kid's school and have a bunch of mom friends. And guess what? I got my wish. Mostly. I married at age twenty, had my first daughter just after I turned twenty-one (my second five years later) and I did and had all the stuff and things. Only, it wasn't quite what I'd hoped. Or envisioned. Or... hang on, I'll get there.

Life Is A Journey

See, I'd spent a long, long time thinking it was a destination. I thought once I got there (Older), I'd be all set. Mission accomplished, goal achieved, an arrival well met. Can I again say: Oh, silly girl. Motherhood was everything I thought it would be. My friendships, my sweet little house, my charming little life in my cozy little town... close enough to perfect. It was that whole pesky marriage thing throwing a wet blanket on my party.

I Make Light... 

It's been many years since those dark days, so I can. Revisiting those days is something I chose not to do, at least not often. Suffice to say, the road was bumpy as hell. Divorce is ugly. So ugly. It's an experience I wish on no one. If you've been there, and if you've traveled that road with kids in tow, I'm preaching to the choir here. In fact, my fellow travelers (along with my need to purge the toxins of that experience) served as motivation for writing my first novel, Livvy Takes the Long Way. Livvy's journey is based strongly on my own...

About Livvy Takes the Long Way...

Livvy Handler is at the crossroads of her life. Married to a man she now can't recall ever loving, although she must have. She must have believed she did. How could she have gotten here - at this precipice - otherwise? Livvy knows she has to get out, but that word - how, how, how - repeats like an endless echo in her mind. She's trapped in a gilded cage of her own design, her own choices. Or is she?
When a face from the past returns, Livvy comes to believe it might be the sign she's waited and longed for; her path to freedom from a man who tears her down as if for sport. Should she takes the fork in the road that leads to who-knows-where, or stay on the one paved with unhappiness but safety and familiarity? Tread water for the sake of her child, or swim fast and hard to a new life? These are the private dilemmas of a woman quietly breaking down.
It's also the metamorphosis of a woman discovering her worth, realizing her strength, and finding her way. It's a story for any woman traveling the hard road, fear and doubt lodged firmly in heart, but undeterred and head held high. And it's the story for any woman who thinks she can't...

Forgive Me...

This perhaps isn't your traditional romance book, but don't worry, it has a happy ending! When I learned that this month's theme is about Life Lessons, I knew this was the book I wanted to share with you. I poured so much of what I've learned in life into that story. Honestly? It was terrifying to put something so close to home out into the universe, something so vulnerable and exposing. There was a time when I hated Livvy and felt so angry with her for doing everything the hard way (yes, there's psychological subtext in there) but I've come to love and understand her so much better now that... well, now that I'm older.

As For My Journey... 

I love every bump, twist, and turn in the road thus far. Yes, even the bad ones, the stupid ones, the impulsive, and destructive ones. They brought me to the here and now, a place where I live in infinite gratitude for the life I get to live. It's not perfect, nor do I want it to be (how boring that would be!) but it's hard-won and worth every skid mark and road rash I snagged along the way. Life itself is the destination. Here. Now. Tomorrow. Every day after. I arrived at it forty-eight years ago and so far, it's a pretty nice place...

Care To Share? 

I'd love to hear about YOUR life lessons and how they impacted the way you live! Here are ours:

 Oh, and here's our November Giveaway!

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

November Life Lessons Rafflecopter