One Lucky Girl by M.J. Schiller #RomanceGems

Hi, all! I'm the new kid on the block, your newest, little Romance Gem writer, and I am so glad to be here. I have admired these ladies' work, and the way they support each other, for a long time, and I'm happy I have the opportunity to join the group.

As a brief introduction, my name is M.J. Schiller and I write romance, romantic suspense, and chick lit. I live in the Midwest with my husband and our cat, Serena, and we are blessed to be the proud parents of a twenty-six-year-old and three twenty-four-year-olds. (Yes, they are triplets and no, I don't know how I survived those first months with three premature babies and a two-year-old, but I know it was with a lot of help from God!) My four little birdies have since flown the coop, and at the moment I have one in town with me, one in St. Louis, one in Kansas City, and one in Colorado Springs. I have joked that they've stretched the "Mommy Bubble" of comfort as far as it will go. But I feel I am very lucky that they are all healthy, employed, and with a significant other.

The simple beauty of Ireland.

This is such a great month for me to be here and be able to post about the monthly theme, Lucky in Love, because I have a lot of Irish in me. I offer as evidence that my mother's maiden name was McKee, and her mother's maiden name was Callahan. My grandmother McKee came from a family of eight, seven girls and one boy. (Poor guy!) I believe they all were fairly musically inclined and enjoyed family sing-alongs. My grandmother played multiple instruments including the piano and the banjo. Her father was a postmaster in St. Louis, where I spent my childhood. My Grandfather McKee was a mechanic and boxer in the Navy, a cantankerous sort with a soft heart underneath it all. It was he who fostered my love of Irish music by playing The Irish Rover's "The Unicorn" practically every time we came over. (It's a really cute song and worth looking up. :) ) I can see him now sitting in his chair with a smile on his face and a pipe tucked into the corner of his mouth. I feel lucky to have the heritage that I have.

Enjoying cocktails on the patio of the Ballynahinch Castle.

I have also been fortunate enough to be able to go to Ireland twice. The most recent trip I took with my husband the year our triplets left for college. My son Ryan called it our "victory lap" after successfully getting all of the kids out of the house. It was a very special trip and provided an opportunity to spend the night in a castle and hear an expert on William Butler Yeats read his poetry, while his wife, who was a chef, served us lunch. Their lovely home overlooked Galway Bay, an area often featured in Yeats' work. (While these were some of my favorite moments, my husband, however, most appreciated our tour of the Guinness factory!)

How has all this Irishness affected my writing? I'm so glad you asked. I actually used my grandfather's name in my book DAMAGE DONE which is set in Ireland, and bits of his life story made their way into it as well. I also have an Irish bartender in my chic lit DEVILISH DIVAS SERIES. I loved him so much I had to kill off the heroine in the first book that featured him so I could have fun creating a second romance for him. Even that wasn't enough and Killian's second wife also met her demise! (Some would say he wasn't lucky in love!) But, not to worry, an upcoming book gives him the opportunity to make the third time a charm.

So, to wrap things up, I thought I'd share a bit of Killian with you. That way you can see a little of my writing. This is from the scene when Killian meets the heroine, Bridey (Bridget), in SIN WORTH THE PENANCE.




“Killian?” My Aunt Deidre glanced over from her pour. “Be a love and fetch me a bottle of Jameson’s from the pantry, would ya?” She was a sprite of a woman, in her late fifties, and as sweet as could be. But if her kids got her riled up, she could equally be a terror. I kept on her good side.

“Aye.” I turned to follow instructions.

“And, while you’re at it, a bottle of gin, as well.”

I nodded and crossed the room, noting a table that needed to be bussed along me way. Under the stairs leading to the rooms I rented above was a small stock room. I opened the door and felt along the inside wall for a switch, but could find none. I left the door open instead, thinking the light from the pub would be enough to illuminate a bottle of Jameson’s and some gin. I squinted in the murky interior as I searched the shelf in the back for the familiar green whiskey bottle.

Then, in a sweep, what little light there was disappeared. The door swung shut and I was left in utter blackness. I could feel someone behind me and by the alluring fragrance, a woman. She circled me in her arms and caressed the fronts of me thighs. I froze, completely caught unawares. Then she nibbled on me neck, her tongue gliding along me skin as she went. I’d been a widow for coming up on a year, and with no woman, but me body hadn’t forgotten what need was. Heat quivered through me.

A sultry voice broke the silence. “Guess who?”

I cleared me throat. “I haven’t a clue.”

She swatted my head. “Would you deny me, Murphey?”

My confusion deepened. It wasn’t a case of mistaken identity then. She knew me name. An old flame? I listened more intently, trying to recognize the voice.

She leaned in, her mouth at me ear. “Ya weren’t denying me yesterday in your mother’s bedroom.”

Wait? What? Mother’s bedroom?

She continued to purr. “Or did you just want me to remind ya? Cuz I’ll gladly do that.”

Before I knew it, she’d slipped around in front of me, and lush lips covered mine, pulling me into a dizzying kiss. She put her hands on the sides of me face to guide her and, God help me, I knew I shouldn’t, but I responded. Her lips tasted of sin and sweet strawberries. But if she was a sin, she was a sin worth the penance, for sure.

I knew now that this woman was sorely confused, for I had been in no mother’s bedroom with her, except maybe in me dreams. I should pull away. I should straighten her out on just who she was kissin’. Instead, I weaved me fingers through her silky tresses and hung on for dear life. But when she reached down me pants... I jumped, as did she. We both simultaneously exclaimed, “Oh, me Gawd!” mine a murmur of pleasure, hers a reaction of surprise.

She parted from me and the next thing I knew the door creaked open and light poured in. I spun to both find out who this vixen was, and apologize for not announcing meself more clearly. Blinking in the light, I put a hand up to block it, but all I saw was a head atumble with gorgeous, curly, black as midnight hair and a tight ass in jeans the likes of which I’d never seen before. Feeling weak-kneed I felt behind me and sat on a crate.

What just happened? Me brain had a hard time coming back to its normal senses. Was I kissed by an angel? Or perhaps the heavens are playing tricks on me for some reason?

Too late, I sprang to me feet and stuck me head out the door. And, although it was a wide open room with nowhere to hide, me phantom kisser was naught to be seen.

Blurb for SIN WORTH THE PENANCE: 

Even an entire ocean couldn’t separate Killian Murphey from his grief.

But when shortly after his return to Ireland Killian finds himself in an unexpected liplock, it definitely gives him a distraction from his sorrows. Who is the temptress that mistook him for someone else in the dark of the pantry? And why has that kiss set him ablaze?

 

Bridget O’Flannery is definitely the kind of girl that can leave a man burned.

But is Bridget more than reputation leads people to believe? And when shadows from her past come to claim her, will she be the one who ends up suffering a fiery end? Or will she and Killian be able to smother the flames that haunt her?

 Either way, she is definitely a SIN WORTH THE PENANCE!

To purchase SIN WORTH THE PENANCE:


Amazon: mybook.to/SinWorthThePenance

Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sin-worth-the-penance-mj-schiller/1132647298?ean=9781644571231

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sin-worth-the-penance-the-devilish-divas-series-book-6

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/sin-worth-the-penance-the-devilish-divas-series-book-6/id1474289833




Thanks for reading! One lucky commenter will win their choice of any of my e-books. I look forward to sharing more with you in the coming months!



What is one of your favorite vacations?

New Title, Substantially Different Book by Cheryl Bolen

 

This week is release week for my new book titled A Proposal of Marriage (Nov. 30), though technically the books isn’t exactly new. But it is entirely new. It’s a case of turning a Christian book to a sexy book with a total rewrite. Allow me to explain. 

Almost ten years ago the senior editor of a large publisher that specialized in Christian romances contacted me and asked if I’d like to write for them. At the time, I was about a third of the way into an uncontracted book that was to be in my Brazen Brides series, the first two books of which had been published by Kensington Books in 2005.

That book was going to be a moderately sexy novel featuring a character who’d been in the first two Brazen Brides books. I figured I’d accept the contract (and nice advance) from the Christian publisher, but I’d make it easy on myself by going with the book I’d been working on, take out all the sensuous stuff, and add a little religion. I don’t mean to make light of the Christian aspects of the book. They were heartfelt and I think I succeeded in making them integral to the story.

I ended up throwing out everything in my original version but the characters and the set-up, and the Christian version was published nine years ago. My lovely editor there even sent me a letter saying how much she loved the finished book.

Later, it bothered me that book was smack in the middle of my Brazen Brides series of sexier books, and it wasn’t very brazen at all.

So this year I decided I would republish it in a sensuous version. I completely rewrote that Christian book (I was able to save a lot from the original, sexy draft) and added not only lots and lots of sexual tension building up to the ultimate consummation between my marriage-of-convenience hero and heroine, but I also added back into this lighthearted novel my hero’s nudist uncle who was nixed by my Christian editor. Here’s a short excerpt:

I even had to renumber the books in the series because this one falls at number 3, and a newly issued one would have slotted in at number 6. So I had to move the previous number 3 to 4 and the previous 4 to 5 and the previous 5 to 6!

Though basically I’m happy over the process, there are glitches. Even though the book has been totally rewritten, has a new title and new cover in line with those in my Brazen Brides line (created by Killion) Goodreads lists it along with the original Christian version and keeps all those nine-year old reviews of it—which have nothing to do with the new novel.

For example, a reviewer of the Christian version complains that there’s no heat in the book as there are in the first two books in which my heroine makes appearances. I suppose I’ve just got to hope readers can figure it all out. I’ll try to set the record straight in my release-day newsletter to my fans.—Cheryl Bolen is the award-winning, NY Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than three dozen romances set in Regency England. Look for her at these sites:

WEBSITE     BLOG      FACEBOOK      PINTEREST

Luck of the Draw by @karilemor #RomanceGems

You can choose your friends, but you can't choose your relatives. That old saying is so true. I hear so many stories about family nightmares.  People who have horrible family members who do terrible things to them. Or don’t support them. Or they don’t get along and haven’t spoken in years. I thank God every night that isn’t me.

I grew up with parents who loved me and taught me right from wrong. Even though they divorced, it wasn’t until I was in college, so we never had to bounce between homes. If my parents were in the same room, they were very cordial to each other. When my dad passed away a few years ago, my stepmom didn’t have enough money to pay for the funeral, so my mom pitched in. Even though he’d been the one to leave and they hadn’t been married in over 30 years. That was my role model growing up.

I get along well with my siblings, and we make it a point to keep in touch even though we don’t all live near each other anymore. Social media has made this far easier. I also have tons of cousins who I don’t see often enough, but when I do, it’s so much fun.

Now I’ve been married for almost 33 years and have three children and two grandchildren. Every day I thank God for these people in my life. My children have all grown up to be responsible, respectful, and loving individuals. My middle child just got a new job and moved about an hour away. Both her brother and sister (who has two small children, one still an infant) took the entire day to go help her finish packing, clean up her old apartment, and drive down to her new place. Then they helped her move it all in and clean up there, too.

I worried at first, because my husband and I are currently residing in Florida, and we weren’t there to help our child. I needn’t have worried. All three of my children love each other, help each other, and make sure they are there any time one of the others needs them. I like to think I had something to do with their caring nature.

Families like this are so beautiful that I felt I needed to create one. Thus, the Storms of New England were born. The Storms start with grandparents, Hans and Ingrid, who have three sons. Kris, Nick, and Pete all work together at Storm Electric and live in the fictional town of Squamscott Falls, New Hampshire. They are all married to lovely women and have children of their own.

All these cousins were lucky to be raised in the same town as each other and able to grow up and spend time together. I have been having so much fun playing with all ten cousins as I write a story for each one of them.  I hope you’ll take the chance to get to know the Storms as well.

Book 1 is ELUSIVE DREAMS - Erik Storm’s story -

An injured Marine fighting to walk again.

An introverted loner afraid of the world.

When two orphaned children need a home,

this couple has to find a way to heal together,

or risk losing their perfectly imperfect family.

This book released last August and is currently on sale for only 99c at the following retailers.  (Limited time)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07W523P6T/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/elusive-dreams-kari-lemor/1132758753

https://books.apple.com/us/book/elusive-dreams/id1475438745

Book 2 is TRUE DREAMS - Sara Storm’s story.

A recovering addict in search of a quiet life.        
An innocent optimist seeking fame and fortune.  
When he meets the woman who’s willing   

to look beyond his tortured past,  
he’ll need to choose between his newfound serenity and a life that nearly destroyed him.

This book just released a few days ago. You can find it here:

https://www.amazon.com/True-Dreams-Storms-England-Book-ebook/dp/B083QRXWV9/

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/true-dreams-kari-lemor/1136076110

https://books.apple.com/us/book/true-dreams/id1494642787

Book 3 is STOLEN DREAMS - Alex Storm’s story.  I’m hoping to have this book out by the end of April.

Book 4 is BROKEN DREAMS - Nathaniel Storm’s story.  I’m shooting for a summer release for him.

  

~~~

Make sure to peek at our March giveaway!!  Maybe you'll be Lucky in Love!  

Check out our Monthly Giveaway for all the details, as well as a link to long entry form.

Or you can click HERE.

Why not practice your daily entry skills by commenting below! 

I'd love to hear about your family and how lucky you are. 

A New Journey by @karilemor #RomanceGems

Last year at this time, my husband and I were about halfway through a six-month adventure traveling the east coast in an RV. We visited places I’d never been to before and saw some amazing sights.

Some of my favorites were the airboat ride in the Everglades. The swamp boat tour in the Louisiana bayou. The plantation on the Mississippi River. The Mardi Gras parade in Baton Rouge (along with some of the best po’boys and beignets ever at a little place called Taste of Louisiana). The trolley tours of Asheville, NC, and Savannah, GA with incredibly knowledgeable and interesting tour guides. The tour of the Biltmore Estate and Village. And so many more.

Along the way we stopped in for ten days in the northern part of Florida in the oldest city in the nation, St. Augustine. What a beautiful place! It’s so filled with history and diversity in the old buildings and structures. But you’ve also got Anastasia Island right across the Bridge of Lions where there are gorgeous beaches and all the beach amenities you could want. We fell in love!

So now, after thirty plus years of teaching and an exciting journey, we’ve settled into a new home here in Florida. And my new life has begun. With my days free and the weather typically gorgeous, I’m gearing up to make my writing career my top priority. This month the Romance Gems are asking What’s Next? This is what’s next.

I’ve got a new book coming out March 2, 2020. The second book in my Storms of New England series, TRUE DREAMS, is the story of Sara Storm and TJ Bannister. If you’ve read Elusive Dreams, Erik Storm’s story, you’ve already met his sister, Sara and her boss, TJ. With True Dreams you get to see how they met and fell in love.

And I’m hoping to have Stolen Dreams, book 3 in the series, brother Alex’s story out soon after. Currently I’m writing Broken Dreams -#4, which is cousin Nathaniel’s story along with Darcy, who you’ll meet in True Dreams. She was such a strong character that she wouldn’t leave me alone until I promised her a book of her own. Always listen to your characters.

Here’s the info on True Dreams.

True “TJ” Bannister, haunted by his past, abandons the world of sex, drugs, and rock and roll to live a peaceful life as a bookstore owner on Cape Cod. The reformed bad boy thinks no “nice” girl will ever see beyond his tormented soul.

Innocent Sara Storm barges into his shop, and his life, with her sunshine personality. She looks beyond TJ’s past and helps heal his damaged heart. But her goal to be a singer is one TJ can’t support. Her dreams take place in the shattered world he left behind.

Can he choose between his newfound serenity and a life that nearly destroyed him, or is their romance doomed before the last note is sung?

I don’t have preorder links yet, but as soon as I do, I’ll make sure to post them. To get updated info, follow me on my social media.

Facebook:                                   Twitter:  

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Or sign up for my mailing list on my website. I only send an email when I have a sale or a new release coming out.

http://www.karilemor.com/

GREAT PRIZES HERE

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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 entry form HERE.

While you're 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!

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS by Kathleen Lawless #romancegems @kathleenlawless

Wasn’t Christmas the best, most exhilarating time when we were young?  All the excitement, the anticipation, the festivities.  Falling asleep on Christmas Eve was never easy and Christmas morning couldn’t come fast enough so we could bounce out of bed to see what Santa left under the tree or in our stocking.

Somewhere along the way the holidays came to mean lists, lists and more lists.  Frenzied crowds in the shops or the mall.  Long line-ups.  Clogged parking lots.  Baking and wrapping and cleaning and planning.  Too much to do and never enough time, no matter how early one got started.  Which is when learned to I step back, take a breath and concentrate on the traditions I look forward to each year.

Our local yacht club hosts a "Sea of Lights" with the sailboats all decked in lights reflecting off the endless dark ocean.  Honey and I bundle up and watch it from the beach every year with mugs of (spiked) hot chocolate.  

For the largest truck parade in the country, Heavy Equipment Operators catch the Christmas spirit by decorating their huge work trucks with lights and driving them in a massive convoy through downtown with carols blaring and horns honking.  I usually open the sunroof and stand on my seat for the best vantage point as they drive past.  

A nearby world-famous garden trades its flower bulbs for light bulbs in December. Gardeners spend months decorating to the theme of the Twelve Days of Christmas.  My gleeful inner child loves to ride the carousel.  Thank goodness I can still fling my leg up and hoist myself onto one of the critters.   

More than ripping into gifts in the morning, my family and I look forward to playing games on Christmas Eve.  Our recent favorite, Cards Against Humanity, always turns into a laugh fest.  The simple act of being together with my love and my adult children is all I want for Christmas, and I give thanks every year that we all still enjoying being together.

Comment below and share some of your holiday traditions.  And don’t forget to enter our raffledraw.  This month’s prizes are bigger than ever.

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a232/

If you’re a fan of box sets, my SEVEN BRIDES SERIES Volume 1 is now available.  It contains a bonus novella not available for purchase outside of the set.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZW9SVZK

If, like me, you have a penchant for cowboys, check out these heroes in cowboy boots, all available to read for free in KU.    
  

• https://storyoriginapp.com/to/409JnSj

Most of all have a safe and happy Holiday Season, however you choose to celebrate. 

Who writes dogs into their books and why. @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

August's theme is dogs and pets. It is an old knowledge now that dogs on covers sell books. This knowledge is from before the internet and before self-publishing became a viable choice for authors. This conclusion came from focus groups. They gravitated toward cover art with dogs. (And horses and children, too)

Dogs were not really characters then, but sometimes they'd show up as a means to get the protagonists together on the page.

Today, in my books at least, the dogs I feature have real purpose in the stories. The books wouldn't be the same if they weren't there.

They are matchmakers. They are heroes. They are sources of conflict and resolution. They are sounding boards. They are tools used in a romantic suspense. They have opinions they seemingly express with gas emissions, smiles, nudges, and effective glares.

Also, the dogs in my books mean something to me, personally. I bring some back to life to live again between the pages. (I sniffle when I write them.) Some are still alive and part of my life today. One passed away while I wrote a trilogy of books with her having a starring role.

Amazon Exclusive

Which brings me to Love at Christmas, A Collection. These three stories span the Canadian/US border and Bella features in each one. She was a sweet poodle-cross who chose the hero for her owner. Bella brings more people together in the following two books.

Love at Christmas is always a bargain at half the cost of separate purchases of the trilogy.

And it's August already...Christmas is around the corner. (say 4 little boys I know)

In Love in a Pawnshop, I introduce an opinionated pit bull, named Razor. But one book wasn't enough for my Beau (more about him on the 15th) and he's been a big part of my Return to Welcome series starting with Finding Mercy.

He appears briefly again Loving Logan but in Craving Jake he rises to hero status when he saves lives and warns of danger. Craving Jake will be released in early September. When I return from a much-needed holiday, I'll be sharing links for a pre-order to my newsletter subscribers. You can sign on here:  Bonnie's Newsy Bits

I'm excited this month to kick off our Monthly Giveaway here:  a Rafflecopter giveaway For contest rules and a list of prizes check out our Monthly Giveaway Page.

Reinventing a Published Work by @JoanReeves #RomanceGems

For the last couple of years, I've been trying to find the time to reinvent some published ebooks that had only a tenuous connection to each other. These are the short stories in A Moment in Time series.

The first of these stories was LuvU4Ever, written on a late December day when I realized I hadn't published anything that entire year.

You see, 2014 was a year of renovating the home we'd bought northwest of Houston (contractor said 3 months *ROTFL) then the unpacking.

By May, I was in the doctor's office. The rest of the year is a fog created by prescription muscle relaxers to help me deal with the pain of strained muscles in the rhomboid group of my right shoulder.

Back to My Story Reno

Writing the short story, set in December, gave me a boost. I decided if I couldn't get an actual book written, at least I could do a short story.

The story was also my way of dealing with a friend's depressing situation, kind of writing a reversal on what had happened in real life. That's what I love about writing fiction. I can wave my magic wand and make everything work out well in the end.

Time rocked along, and I wrote Last Chance New Year, my second short story.

Huh. Set at another holiday. Also, to my surprise, I found myself writing "in" the couple in the first short story. They played matchmaker for the second couple.

Plus, the new couple both worked at the company owned by the first story's hero. I hadn't planned that. It just happened.

A few months later, I wrote a third story, Blame It On Chocolate.

Geez! Another holiday and with some of the people from the other stories referenced.

Obviously, my Muse was trying to make a series out of these stories! The problem with that was her timing sucked!

A Valentine's story published in July? My Muse needs to get a calendar and/or get inspired before a holiday, not months after!

Planning and Timing

Last year, on my writing goal list, I put down "rewrite the 3 existing stories, reinforcing the links between them, and outline another 10 stories, each set during a monthly holiday celebration.

My plan was to end up with a 13 story series that began with a Christmas and ended with a Christmas.

I got to work on it this year. First I outlined all the other stories and created relationship links with everyone from the first book to the last! That was a job!

Then I had my cover artist take my original covers and incorporate the main art into a new cover. I branded better by consistently using the graphic style on each cover and also incorporated font consistency.

I've managed to get the first story, LuvU4Ever edited. The new version is on Amazon. (These short stories are wide, but I'm going to remove them from other channels until I have the other 2 edited.)

I had planned to publish a short story every month, but then I undertook the Romance Gems journey! As if that wasn't challenging enough, I accepted too many contract deadlines, and had a lot of life crap happen. *LOL* That's the way I rock and roll, it seems.

LuvU4Ever is free on Amazon and should be free on all Amazon Kindle shops, but I won't guarantee it.

Seems a reader in another country told me she had to pay whatever the equivalent of 99centts was. So if you go to grab a free copy, make sure it shows as free.

This next weekend, I'll have the other 2 short stories edited and uploaded. If you want to read them, wait until Sunday please to check them out.

So that's my Pop-Up Giveaway for you this month.

By the way, the snow scene on the cover of LuvU4Ever was taken near downtown Houston.

We've had a lot of freaky winter weather since 2013 including snow from 2013 through 2017.

Now let me tell you about our Fabulous July Giveaway.

Beaches and Book Boyfriends

Our Rafflecopter opens at midnight July 5 so as soon as you finish your July 4 fireworks, you can go online and enter. The Giveaway runs through July 25.

You can watch a video about our giveaway in Movie Theater or on YouTube. (I appreciate LIKEs and shares on your social media pages.)

The Monthly Giveaway page lists all the prizes. Enter often and tell your friends about Romance Gems.

Romance Gems July Rafflecopter Giveaway

Birthdays are for People and Books! by Lucinda Race #RomanceGems

Today is my book birthday, Old and New, Book 1 in The MacLellan Sisters Trilogy. And not so coincidentally it is my birthday too. This is the third time I’ve released a book on June 19; and this book was pure joy to write from the concept, to the actual butt in chair time, choosing covers and working with Nancy Fraser for my awesome video clips. This book along with two others, Borrowed and Blue were a true labor of love. 

When this idea came to me I had just attended a book event in New Hampshire. As I drove through the Green Mountains to see my dad in northern Vermont the foliage was at its peak and I let my mind wander. BAM! I began to rattle off details to Meg in the co-pilot’s seat. I just knew this trilogy had to be set in this beautiful state. 

I’ve never written anything so fast as I did this trilogy. My fingers were on fire as they flew over the keyboard. Each click a comforting confirmation that the thoughts in my head were spilling onto the page, weaving the story. 

Now as I’m on the cusp of sharing these three novels with you, I wonder, will you fall in the love with the MacLellan sisters? Will their connection to each other and their grandmother touch and move you as they did for me? Even as I proofread each manuscript I still cried as each sister met challenges in their lives head on with grace and strength as they found love. 

I love writing strong women and the men who love them.

For my birthday I have a wish. Please take a moment to view the video on my Youtube channel  and celebrate this book birthday with me.

Until next time, 

I wish you happiness. 

Lucinda

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED to the ROMANCE GEMS June Wedding celebration. Enter our #Rafflecopter for a chance to win jewelry designed for Readers or Amazon Gift Cards or romance ebooks about love & happy-ever-afters.

Watch our Wedding video, You Are Cordially Invited. You’ll find it on our Movie Theater page and also on YouTube.

To see the gorgeous prizes and to enter our June Rafflecopter, visit our Monthly Giveaway page. Or you can click this short link if you wish: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a224/

#RomanceGems

Write What You Know by @KariLemor #RomanceGems

Often the advice writers get is ‘write what you know’. If everyone followed this advice though, we’d never have any science fiction or paranormal or fantasy books. Every now and then, writers need to branch out of their comfort zone and use their imagination. Or at least Google.

My first series, Love on the Line, was a romantic suspense featuring men who had been in the military together. Since I’ve never been in the military, I needed to use my imagination. And ask my father-in-law about his experiences. He spent almost a year in Kuwait during Desert Storm. I also checked in with two brothers-in-law who are a cop and a prison guard. It’s great when you get help throwing more conflict at your characters.

But in my newest series, Storms of New England, I’m going back to the ‘write what you know’ advice. Growing up in New England, I’ve experienced everything the area has to offer. The gorgeous coastline, the beautiful mountains, the refreshing lakes, and the small-town atmosphere that brings people and communities together.  I love the neighbor-helping-neighbor type of location and the family closeness you often have.

I grew up a few streets over from my grandparents and lived in what was then the “French” district of our small city. I went to the French Catholic school, as did most of the neighborhood kids. I had cousins who also went to the same schools and hung around with some of the same friends. Often after school, I stopped to see my grandmother before I walked the rest of the way home. On holidays, we would make the rounds visiting friends and family who all lived nearby. I loved the tight knit community.

So I’m drawing on those memories with this new series. The Storms are a family who originate in the small fictional town of Squamscott Falls, NH. Grandparents Hans and Ingrid Storm have three sons, Peter, Kris, and Nick. These men have ten children between them. Whether I’ll get to all ten will be decided by how well the series is received. The books will take place not only in Squamscott Falls, but also the coast of Maine, Cape Cod, and possibly a few other New England locations.

The first book, Elusive Dreams, doesn’t have a release date yet, but I’ll let everyone know as soon as I do. The series is small town contemporary. I left out the suspense in this one, but that doesn’t mean I won’t throw in a wee bit of danger or angst. We all know I love it!

Here’s the blurb for this story:

Creating a family might be the only thing to heal two scarred souls.

Wounded Marine, Erik Storm, can barely walk. Taking care of two children is out of the question, though he’d promised their dying mother. Moving to coastal Maine seems ideal, with his grandparent’s house empty, and quiet Tessa living next door. Tessa Porter is happy to help. Years in foster care has made her leery of people, earning her nickname No-Touch Tessa, but two children can’t possibly hurt her, right?

When Erik’s claim on the children is questioned, he and Tessa enter into a marriage of convenience to retain custody. A scarred soldier and an agoraphobic freak make the perfect couple. No expectations for physical intimacy or falling in love. But will Erik grow tired of her innocence and inability to be around people? Will Tessa want more than he can physically give? And when their reason for the marriage is threatened, will love be enough to keep them together?

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Check out my Pinterest Board for Storms of New England, and the specific stories in that series! 

Do any of them look interesting? What kind of setting do you like for your romances?? 

Kari Lemor on Pinterest

APRIL GIVEAWAY AT ROMANCE GEMS!

Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

Check out the Monthly Giveaway tab to learn how to play this month’s game.

Today’s egg can be found on one of the pages on my website. You will have to search by clicking on the page links under the banner.

Go here:  Kari Lemor

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Use the “Contact the Romance Gems” link on the left sidebar (toward the bottom) to send us your answer. Include the place you found it, the color of the egg, and either the author's name or date of the post.

Good luck!

Kari