Moonlight is always good for romance by @amiedenman #romancegems

We could have a robust debate on the most romantic month of the year, but with #junebrides all over, who could doubt it's June? This is also a terrific month for staying out late in the warm evenings and enjoying the moonlight. 

Cover reveal!

 

Moonlight and summer are two inspirations behind the 13th book in our Grand Hotel series, Moonlight at the Grand Hotel, coming June 29. My sister, May Williams, and I have weekly meetings (often with champagne, but we love a cold beer, too) and we talk about our love for this romance series. Technically, it's called White Pine Island Stories, but we just call it Grand Hotel most of the time.

On an island off the Georgia coast, guests at the Grand Hotel enjoy five course dinners, dancing, golf, ocean breezes, and moonlight. Each book contains two novellas that connect and intertwine, and we love taking our readers on a luxury vacation with a happy ending every time.

In book 13, Moonlight at the Grand Hotel, a millionaire takes a bar tending job at the Grand Hotel to reconnect with his passion for life and get away from his work. When he meets a ballroom dancing instructor at the hotel, she waltzes away with his heart. In the second novella, a sunny gal new to the island opens a souvenir shop downtown, and she agrees to a fake girlfriend pact with an awkward but intriguing island realtor.

There's plenty of summer, moonlight, and romance, so we hope you'll check out the new book later this month and try out the first dozen books in the series until then. They're all available on Kindle and in KU. Thanks, readers, and enjoy summer!

I'd love to connect with you on social media or through my newsletter. Just click on the links below! 😍

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I'm also participating in a Romance giveaway on BookFunnel all month. There are dozens of free books to download, all of them short, sweet, romance reads. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3g9Eypr

 

 

Romance novels ARE real life by @amiedenman

Don't be fooled by people who claim books (especially romance novels) are unrealistic. There's nothing less realistic than life itself, right? Writers are often asked where they get their ideas. I get my ideas from real life, voyeurism, eavesdropping, and applying a wild imagination. Sometimes, stories get dropped right in my lap.

If you've been following me, you may know about my Barefoot Key series which is thrilling me with its success. These are funny, first-person romances set on the Gulf Coast of Florida. I LOVE writing this series. So far, there are two books. 

As I pondered the plot of the third book (coming this summer), I overheard a story from a young man about how his summer beach wedding was almost ruined because the Airbnb he and his bride booked for their wedding had gotten double-booked. 

Can you believe that can happen? 

The other couple had also booked the place for a beach wedding, so there were plenty of hearts on the line. The owner found a solution (he had another house to offer), but what a close call!

Now, what can a romance author do with a story like that? I'm glad you asked. The next book in the Barefoot Key series will involve a double-booked beach bungalow, an artist who just wants to be left alone, and a jilted groom. And, of course, there will be a happy ending.

I'll share more about the next book in the Barefoot Key series next month!

I'd love to connect with you on social media or through my newsletter. Just click on the links below! 😍

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I'm also participating in a Romance giveaway on BookFunnel all month. There are dozens of free books to download, all of them short, sweet, romance reads. Find it here: https://bit.ly/3eg5lkk

 

Showers of Riches by Liz Flaherty #RomanceGems

A week or so ago, when I said, Sure, I'll write a post for a vacant day, I threw that title up there at the top to save my place. "Showers of Riches." Because, you know, showers for April. Riches because...well, because no one had used it yet. And because, when I went to adding them up, April does indeed offer an abundance of them.

Both of my parents were born in April, as were my oldest son and two of my grandkids. That same son married my beloved daughter-in-law 31 years ago on the 30th. I am grateful beyond measure.

But this is a writing blog, isn't it, and my writing life hasn't been quite so enriched in past years. While I'm happy for those who've had great years and who are embracing the changes I can't quite keep up with--actually, there's no "quite" to it; I can't keep up, period--I've spend most of the past several years wondering about my place in publishing. In the inimitable words of Clash, "Should I stay or should I go?"

Of course, it was never a real tossup. I'm staying. Probably until they withdraw the mouse from my cold, dead hand. But I've talked about quitting so much my friend Nan rolls her eyes and my husband completely ignores me. (He does that on other occasions, too, but we're not talking about that today.)

So I did what writers always do. I asked my friends what it was like for them.

Kari Lemor said, "Every time I look at my dashboard and see days and weeks of no sales, I think 'what's the point?' But then the stories in my head nag at me to write them. I'm not really given a choice."

Well, yes, there is that...and Nancy Fraser agreed. "Like Kari, the stories that pop into my head keep me going. I'd hate think how crowded it would get in there if I didn't get them out."

Marcia King-Gamble said, "After writing as many as five books a year, and managing a demanding full time job, traditional publishing underwent a change.  Publishers began buying  a different kind of book. Sex really does sell. My income took a hit, but I couldn't not write. There's still a market out there for readers who want good stories with a slower sensual build."

From Bonnie Edwards: "I'm not sure what my mind would be full of. Without writing I envision a huge black void, like the deepest reaches of space...infinite, cold and alone. What would I fill that with if not characters and stories?

The whole idea is terrifying."

M. J. Schiller said, "I've never thought of quitting, but scaling back on marketing, yes! I have a few more books I want to get out and aggressively market and the others I will take more time with and make it more of a hobby than a job."

From Jan Scarbrough: "Writing is part of my identity. When I was getting chemo last summer, I couldn’t volunteer, I couldn’t go horseback riding, but I could write."

Kara Watson says: "I keep publishing so I can make my characters real. If they stayed in a manuscript on a laptop, no one else would ever get to know them. And that's so sad to me."

From Amie Denman: "Writing makes me happy, and I need a place for all the stories in my head!"

For myself, once I asked this question, I thought over and over about how many 1000s of words I've written since the beginning of the pandemic. Did it make my voice different? Uh-huh. But it gave writers an endless and bottomless place to put our frustration. It reminded us every day that even masked and distanced, we could still laugh, love, and work. 

Quit? Oh, no. Not going to happen.

Thanks to everyone for their answers to my "help me with this!" question. Both the variety and the sameness in the answers reflect back to the blog title, don't they? Whether we are traditionally, indie, or hybrid published, our voices and the methods in which we use them are indeed showers of riches. 

Of course, that prose is a little purple: showers of riches, indeed. Hmph. Obviously, I need an editor. 

It's time to go Barefoot! by @amiedenman

While parts of the world are enjoying a slow spring awakening 🌺 and April showers--our theme for this month--the Gulf Coast of Florida is hot and sunny!🌞 Just last week, I released the newest of my trademark beach romances. Truth? I ADORE FLORIDA!! I love everything about it. Humidity, crowds, orange groves, beaches, theme parks.🍊

In my mind and in my books, Florida is a magical place and the Gulf Coast is perfect for romance. 💘Welcome to Barefoot Key, a formerly sleepy beach town experiencing a revival. I first explored Barefoot Key in The Gull Motel (my bestselling book) and recently returned with The Barefoot Beach Rental.

Here's the story on The Barefoot Beach Rental: (in which I included my love of cake 🎂 and cats 🐈)

When a down-on-her-luck baker moves into the Barefoot Beach Rental for a month, she brings the heat to her sexy landlord while also finding a sweet spot of her own.

Ava Bottoms dreams of owning her own bakery where elaborate wedding cakes and custom creations abound. She has baking talent and experience, but she’s mixed romance with business a few too many times, so she’s starting over at the wise age of almost thirty. Burned out of a home and kitchen due to a recent incident with a flaming dessert, Ava checks in to the Barefoot Beach Rental for a month. The brochure promises a gourmet kitchen where she hopes to finish writing The Year of Cake—the book that will bring her the fame and fortune she needs to achieve her bakery dream. She’s sworn off distractions of the male kind, but it’s tough keeping her oven mitts off the sexy owner of her beach rental.

Dalton Neverly checks guests in and out at his Barefoot Beach Rental. Most guests stay only a week, and he savors temporary relationships. Six years after his divorce, he can still hardly look at the gourmet kitchen in rental unit two without remembering what his ex-wife cooked up with a visiting chef. Dalton loves his beach lifestyle, but when Ava moves in next door for a month and tempts him every day with sweets, he wonders if it’s time to feel the heat again.

 

I hope readers will love a trip to the beach--perfect for curling up inside during those April showers! I'd love to connect with you on social media or through my newsletter. Just click on the links below! 😍

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I'm also participating in a Romance giveaway on BookFunnel all month. "April Happy Ever After Romance" includes almost 200 free downloads of romance novels! Find it here!

 

Love and Luck at the Beach by Amie Denman @amiedenman

If March is the month of good luck, it's the perfect time to release a beach romance where a down-on-her-luck baker hits the jackpot with a sexy man and a month at the beach. The Barefoot Beach Rental is available for pre-order now on Amazon, and I can't wait for it to hit your Kindle on March 30.

  

Here's the scoop on book #2 in the Barefoot Key series:

When a down-on-her-luck baker moves into the Barefoot Beach Rental for a month, she brings the heat to her sexy landlord while also finding a sweet spot of her own.

Ava Bottoms dreams of owning her own bakery where elaborate wedding cakes and custom creations abound. She has baking talent and experience, but she’s mixed romance with business a few too many times, so she’s starting over at the wise age of almost thirty. Burned out of a home and kitchen due to a recent incident with a flaming dessert, Ava checks in to the Barefoot Beach Rental for a month. The brochure promises a gourmet kitchen where she hopes to finish writing The Year of Cake—the book that will bring her the fame and fortune she needs to achieve her bakery dream. She’s sworn off distractions of the male kind, but it’s tough keeping her oven mitts off the sexy owner of her beach rental.

Dalton Neverly checks guests in and out at his Barefoot Beach Rental. Most guests stay only a week, and he savors temporary relationships. Six years after his divorce, he can still hardly look at the gourmet kitchen in rental unit two without remembering what his ex-wife cooked up with a visiting chef. Dalton loves his beach lifestyle, but when Ava moves in next door for a month and tempts him every day with sweets, he wonders if it’s time to feel the heat again.

Pre-order now for the March 30 release!

 

I'm doing a lot of celebrating this month and this year! I've worked hard on my writing career, but I know I've also been lucky and blessed with wonderful fellow authors, publishers, and editors. I'll be celebrating my 10th anniversary and more than 40 books all year long!

I'd love to connect with you! Here are several ways:

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I'm also participating in a giant book giveaway on BookFunnel until March 24--free books!

A Valentine's Gift from the "heart" by Amie Denman

Hello, readers!

I'm a new author joining the Gems, and I'd love to take a moment to introduce myself before I tell you about the best Valentine's Day gift I've ever received. It's Romancing Cupid month at Romance Gems, and I have a great cupid story for you.

I'm Amie Denman, and I write contemporary romances with a "beach" theme. I've been published for ten years, and I'm really thrilled to be part of the Harlequin family and also the indie-published family. For the Harlequin Heartwarming line, I've written ten books, and this graphic of my Starlight Point heartwarming series gives you a feel for my style:

Teaming up with another romance author (who also happens to be my sister and best friend) was my wisest and most creative decision. May Williams and I have a Grand Hotel series (luxury resort), a Grand Islander series (luxury cruise line), and a Kenyon Cove series (small town in Maine). We love collaborating and intertwining our stories!

And now for my Valentine's gift story. My husband is a "maker." A tool & die maker/machinist by trade, he always creates his own solutions for problems and projects. He was an early-adopter of the 3D home printers, and he uses that thing all the time. Recently (overnight last night) he printed new parts for our snowblower instead of ordering them like a (fairly) normal person would. 

Last year, I was away at a conference for three days right before Valentine's Day. When I got home, there was a gift bag with my favorite cookies (Milanos) and also this object:

It's a puzzle heart! If you just keep turning it, it becomes a beautiful heart. I treasure it and keep it on my desk to play with while I'm thinking and writing. My husband downloaded the pattern from an amazing site called Thingiverse in case you're interested in 3D printing, and the heart took a total of seventeen hours to print and then assemble. It was the most romantic, true love gift I've ever received! He even had to plan ahead and order purple filament for his printer (my favorite color). 

It's so lovely to "meet" all of the Romance Gems and the readers of this blog. I hope you have a wonderful February and Cupid is good to you!

Amie

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