It's Spooky Time for This Author! by Kathryn Hills #RomanceGems

It may be the heart of summer, but it sure feels like Halloween to me! Great, since I LOVE all things mysterious and spooky. This year I’m getting back to my paranormal romance roots with two new releases.

First up GHOSTS OF NEW ENGLAND: SKULLERY BAY - Releasing August 16, 2021

An anthology unlike any other, it features...

4 Different Centuries

4 To-Die-For Romances

The Same 2 Ghosts! 

Widow’s Walk (1737)

RITA nominee & Best Selling Author, Lisa A. Olech

He’s the infamous pirate, Captain John Jacob Wilder.

She’s the daughter of his fiercest enemy.

Their love is the beginning of the legend.

Cast to the Wind and Waves (1837)

Best Selling & Award-Winning Author, Kathryn Hills

She’s the heiress determined to restore Fairwinds to its former glory.

He’s the solicitor working as a caretaker because of the deadly curse.

Their love will rebuild the legend.

The Bootlegger’s Daughter (1924)

Best Selling & Award Winning Author, Nancy Fraser

She’s the daughter of one of the FBI’s most wanted criminals.

He’s her bodyguard, and not at all what he seems.

Their love will return dignity to the legend.

Jilly’s Dilemma (Present Day)

Best Selling & Award-Winning Author, Nancy Fraser

She’s the new owner of Fairwinds, a flaky artist who talks to ghosts. Repeatedly.

He’s the staid, young professor there to document Fairwinds' history.

Their love will make you believe in the legend.

Watch the Trailer for Ghosts of New England: Skullery Bay

Next, I'm headed back to the beach with SAND, SALT, AND SPIRITS - A LAST CHANCE BEACH ROMANCE - Releasing November 2, 2021

Can a weekend visit to Last Chance Beach undo decades of brokenhearted memories? Conjuring up some island magic might just be the trick. Or treat!

Kyle Worthington hasn’t returned to Last Chance Beach in years. He’s worked hard to prove himself to his overbearing father and the rest of the world. Now it’s October, and the vacation island paradise is celebrating the season with an island-wide Fall Festival. Family obligation demands he participate. Everyone will be there, including the ghost that haunts his grandparents’ B&B.

The running joke that Kyle never sticks with anything—not a career or a woman—will continue to plague him. Unless he brings a knockout of a date to the weekend-long event. Cassandra Corwin fits the bill perfectly. Kyle’s had his eye on his brilliant, beautiful coworker since day one. But Cassie is an enigma, a loner. There’s no room in her life for anyone except Odin, her goofball of a Great Dane.

Will this woman of mystery agree to Kyle’s scheme to impress his family? Can two near strangers from opposite worlds survive family gatherings and back-to-back Halloween events while pretending to be a couple? Kyle’s father seems hell-bent on derailing everything before they even shout “Boo!”

Or will the island’s magic prove too powerful for them to resist?

***

I hope you'll join me for some sexy, spooky fun later this summer and autumn. You can find all my book news at the links below!

Website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Amazon Author Page ~ BookBub

THANK YOU for reading!

~ Kathryn

Lucky in Love by @JoanReeves #RomanceGems

I was one of millions in Texas without power, water, and cell for a week during the recent winter storm.

That storm that hit Texas was more like a Winter Apocalypse.

So I'm thrilled to say goodbye, February, and hello, March!

February is the month when we celebrate Love and Romance.

So is March, but there is a lot of fun attached to Romance and Love this month.

Whether you have Irish ethnicity or not, St. Patrick's Day is a holiday celebrated by all. Our theme this month is Lucky in Love. Read the posts each day to see how our Authors treat that theme. 

Giveaway Alert

Leave a comment with an answer to the question posed at the end of this post to be entered in a random drawing for a free copy of my Irish Romance Short Story, Liam's Wild Irish Rose.

Maura O'Reilly doesn't want a relationship. She just wants Liam Harper.

The thought of being tied to one man makes her anxious to the max.

Liam wants more than sex. 

Of all the women in the world, he fell for the one who has no interest in him—outside of the bedroom.

Will the luck of the Irish on St. Patrick's Day be with Liam? Can he get Maura to make a commiement to him?

March Author Spotlight

The spotlight Author for March is Caroline Clemmons. According to Caroline, she writes Western Romance to compensate for not being born on a Texas ranch!

You'll find her books filled with handsome cowboys, feisty ranch women, and scheming villains.

Be sure and check out Author Spotlight to learn all about Caroline and her wonderful Western Romance novels.

Bookstore Open for Business

The remodeled Bookstore is now open. You'll see a graphic for each Author with an embedded link to where you can find all of her books. Click the link to check out your favorite author's books, or explore other Authors to discover new books to love.

Other March Updates

 Look through the home page for new motivational quotes. One may be exactly what you need to inspire you or simply to give you a smile to start your day.

FYI

Next month, you'll find these pages remodeled: Listen to Romance and Movie Theater. 

The Policies page will be updated, and the Free Books page will be closed since you can now find those books at the Bookstore by clicking an author's link to find all of her books.

Lucky in Love: Interesting Irish Fact

English is not the first language of Ireland.

The first language is Irish which people outside of Ireland oncorrectly call Gaelic, or Gaelige.

Gaelige is one of the oldest, most historic written languages in the world.

In actuality, Gaelic is an adjective that describes the people and culture of Ireland. The term “Gaelic” as a  language applies only to the language of Scotland. 

Both Gaelic and Gaelige are Indo-European langauges. About 30% of the 3.5 million population in Ireland can speak Irish. Of that, 5% use it regularly.

Giveaway Details

1. In comments, answer with your email addy written out, not as a hot link, this question: Have you ever had green beer? If so, what did you think of it?

2. Giveaway open until March 5, noon, CST.

3. Giveaway is also open to Authors of Romance Gems.

4. Winner chosen by random drawing on March 5 and notified by email no later than March 7.

5. Prize is 1 copy of the Kindle edition of Liam's Wild Irish Rose, a Romance Short Story. If you want to buy a copy, it's 99¢.

May you have the hindsight to know where you've been,

the foresight to know where you are going,

and the insight to know when you have gone too far.

—Irish Blessing

Have a wonderful March!

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KEEP LEARNING!

 By Caroline Clemmons

Hello, Dear Friends,

Our August theme is Sizzling Days, Sultry Nights. No, we're not responsible for the weather, which has been both sizzling and sultry in North Central Texas. I'm looking forward to fall and winter. 

How has your summer been so far? Taking into account our unusual circumstances during the pandemic, mine has been pretty good. In many parts of the country school has started or will next week. In my mind, this marks the end of summer—even though officially summer ends on September 21. 

Are you doing anything new to occupy time you would have gone out in previous summers? During our time at home, I’ve been signing up for webinars and participating in Zoom meetings. I want to keep learning, stretching the brain to keep my mind as sharp as possible. I’m grateful for the internet and the ability to learn and to keep up with friends through social media and email.

For those who don’t want a webinar, there are Ted Talks covering almost every subject. Hero and I have watched many of those. I’m amazed that some are even humorous as well as informative. I admit Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorites because he explains complicated theories in terms everyone can understand.

For clean, down home humor, I watch Jeanne Robertson’s YouTube videos. Our daughters and I saw her performance in person a couple of years ago. Since she isn’t traveling to speak right now, she has a “back porch” discussion on YouTube. I’m not a fan of those, but the videos of her performances are fun. My favorite is her discussion of sending her husband to the store, which has become a classic. If her sort of humor is not for you. there are many other entertainers on YouTube. Dry Bar Cafe offers a variety of comics.

Reading has saved the sanity of multitudes. You can understand why we authors at Romance Gems (and elsewhere) love readers! We are readers as well as writers and I’ve been working in extra reading lately. I just finished The Secret Orphan, which I recommend. Yesterday I started Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, which was recommended by our librarian daughter. Probably it’s a young adult or new adult book, but it is fascinating and hard to put down and get to work. It's going to be a movie soon.

If you’re looking for something to read, we have the perfect solution, LAST CHANCE BEACH: Summer’s End, which is only 99 cents for fourteen new stories! This box set is only available for a limited time, so grab it while you can. My contribution is The Man in Gull Cottage. Writing a short story was difficult. I had to revise and cut characters or my story would have been too long. I’m pretty pleased with the end result. Maddie James created the cover for The Man in Gull Cottage. I loved reading the entire set—there’s something for everyone.

As you can see by the graphic below, our Comment to Win is back. If you want to enter, just leave a comment that includes your email (with spaces so spammers don’t grab it). You can enter every day.

Until next month, stay safe, be optimistic, and be kind.

From This Day Forward by @karilemor #RomanceGems

Whenever asked how long my husband and I have been together, we always answer, “We’ve been married for 32 years. At least 14 of them happily.”

We always get a laugh. But the truth of the matter is, we haven’t had 32 years of marital bliss. And his 14 years and my 14 weren’t necessarily the same 14 years. Would I give him up and do it over again with someone else? Probably not.

Even though I write romance, I know that even a couple who are deeply in love are not going to see eye to eye all the time from this day forward. You are two separate people with two separate lives and different opinions and beliefs.

What have I learned from 32 years of marriage? Marriage is hard. And it takes two people who are BOTH invested in being together for their lifetime. It can’t be one person doing all the giving and the giving in. It has to be a team effort. One both of you need to be determined to see through.

Unfortunately, in this day and age, everything is disposable. Marriage has fallen into that category for some. When my husband and I got married, we wanted it to be forever. We even put the inscription ‘Forever and Always’ on the inside of our wedding rings.

What’s my advice for a long and happy marriage? Make sure to spend lots of time apart.  Remember, absence makes the heart grow fonder!  LOL

But seriously, you don’t need to be attached at the hip to show you love someone. Find time for yourself and to be with your friends and do what you love, while your partner does the same. If you happen to have all the same friends and all the same interests, that’s even better. My husband and I don’t, but we allow each other time to do what we love. And then when we spend time doing something we both love, it makes that time so much more special.

~~~

In my book, Elusive Dreams, Erik and Tessa have a marriage of convenience and they have to figure out how to make their marriage work, without the perk of being in love. Check it out and see how they make this fake marriage into something real and lasting.

ELUSIVE DREAMS

Comment below to share your life lesson with others.  And as always, don't forget to enter our rafflecopter draw to win an Amazon gift card. 

Rafflecopter Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a231/

What do you make with APPLES?

Fall is a time for pumpkins and apples. Personally, I prefer apples.
Apple pie, apple crisp, candied apples, apple jelly, and best of all, apple Whoopie Pie Cookies.

  Apple Whoopie Cookies

Years ago, we had a parent of one of my students who was the most amazing baker. She used to bake the teachers all sorts of goodies and send them in for us. But the absolute BEST thing she ever made was Whoopie Pies but with Apple Cookies instead of the typical chocolate. And the frosting inside was a buttercream, not a whipped cream frosting. 

Thankfully she gave us the recipe and I have made them several times. So good, though they do take a while to put together.

Fair warning: there is nothing low fat or low calorie about these. But they are so amazingly delicious!!

Whoopie Apple Cookies

By Lauren

Cookies

1 ½ cups peeled and grated apples                        ¼ cup apple jelly

1 tsp ground cinnamon                                          ½ tsp ground nutmeg

2 cups all-purpose flour                                         ½ tsp baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) lightly softened butter                   1/8 tsp salt                                                              

¾ cup packed light brown sugar                            1 large egg yolk

*Cream butter and sugar until well blended and fluffy.

*Add egg yolk, apple jelly, and apples until blended. (Tip: place grated apples on a paper towel to absorb some of the extra moisture before you use them)

*Then add dry ingredients; cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and baking soda.

*Mix until all ingredients are well blended. Do not over mix!

*Scoop and place onto lightly greased baking pan to make cookies.

*Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 10 minutes. Let cool a bit before placing on rack.

Buttercream Frosting

½ cup Crisco                                                            ½ cup butter

1 tsp pure vanilla extract                                          4 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 - 4 tbsp milk - add more or less for desired consistency

*Assemble cookies: Put frosting in the center of two apple cookies. If desired, drizzle tops with

2/3 cup powdered sugar                                       ½ tsp light corn syrup

2 - 3 drops pure vanilla extract

I am offering one fabulous reader a digital copy of my newest release, ELUSIVE DREAMS. Simply tell me in the comments what your favorite way of eating apples is. Don't forget your email address written out ( so and so at this dot com).  I will choose a winner by October 24 and let you know by email and in this post. Good luck! 

DON'T FORGET THE GEMS HAVE A MONTHLY GIVEAWAY ALSO:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/21df08a230/

Click here to enter our No Tricks—Just Treats Rafflecopter today for a chance to win Amazon Gift Cards. Enter often and tell your friends! (You can also click Monthly Giveaways on the Menu Bar of the blog to see details of the current month’s Rafflecopter and to enter it.)