Savoring Serendipity by @karilemor #RomanceGems

 For many years, I loved going to writer conferences and reader events, looking to make connections with others book lovers like me. Obviously, that has been stalled for the past year. But this weekend, I have the chance to get back in the saddle, so to speak.

In the colder months, I live in the beautiful town of St. Augustine in Florida. My husband and I fell in love with the place a few years ago during a six-month RV trip down the east coast. And right here in my glorious town is the Book Obsessed Babes Author Signing Event on March 19 and 20. I don’t even have to get a hotel room as a few of the events are right in downtown. Walkable from where I live.

There’re a few fun social events, and I’ve already got my mask so people will know who I am.

 

 The book signing is much of the day on Saturday, and I’m so excited to meet new readers who love romance as much as I do. I’ll also get to meet other authors of this fabulous genre. These new authors make me think back to all the fabulous people I have met over the years who have helped me on my journey.

Many years ago, before I was anywhere near publishing my books, I was on a forum for romance writers set up by Harlequin. Here I met some of my closest writer friends. My critique partner, MA Grant, was found on this site. It’s interesting because she writes paranormal and fantasy and often m/m while I write contemporary and suspense and write m/f. Yet, even though I don’t normally read her subgenre, I LOVE everything she’s written (because she’s the most excellent writer ever). We complement each other when we critique each other’s early drafts. We each have strengths and weaknesses and help the other with them.

Two other friends I found online are Kris (Kickstand) and Emily (Firedew). These ladies started as fan fiction writers like me. I had written over a million and a half words of fanfiction before moving onto original work. (I wrote under the names kariesue and darker works under karasel) Kris is a voracious reader of many genres and is essential in letting me know when I need to add something to a book or when characters need tweaking. Emily has been promoted to my editor and is so amazing in suggesting new words or changing the order of sentences and paragraphs to make them flow better. And she adds in all the commas that I forget (probably millions!)

I have another small group of ladies we call The Fab Four. We roomed together at one of the RWA conferences and have remained friends, supporting each other. Each week, MA Grant, Carrie Nichols, Brynn Kelly, and I provide motivation and assistance in whatever we need. It’s so great having these women be available for support and suggestions.

For the past two years, I’ve had another group who all support each other. This is the fabulous Romance Gems and this blog. A few of the Gems are good friends and writers from local events (Peggy Jaeger, Kathy Hills, and Nora LeDuc!!) I get to see these women in person when there are reader and writer events set in New England. I love touching base with them and hope to do so again soon (Fall in Love New England, here we come!!).   And so many other non-Gems that I've connected with!! 

The rest of the Gems have become good friends and part of my stalwart support system. I’m very excited to be a part of a new ‘world’ being created by them. The Last Chance Beach World. The first book releases in May and I will be book 5 coming out early November. Stay tuned to this blog because I’m sure there’ll be lots of information in the next few months about this new endeavor.

I believe all these people have been brought into my life for a reason. Serendipity. They have been essential in getting me to where I am today with the books I currently have published. Take a peek at my website and other social media to find out about my small-town contemporary series, The Storms of New England.  As well as my romantic suspense lite series, Love on the Line.

Until I ‘see’ you again,

Happy Reading!

 

Kari

 

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A New Release - Breathe, Book 1 Crescent Lake Winery Series by @LucindaRace #romancegems

 Hello again, 

 

I’m thrilled to say that today is the release of, Breathe, Book 1 in the Crescent Lake Series. For some reason this series has fast become my favorite to write. I’m not sure if it’s because I see slivers of my kids in these books or because I have wonderful memories of time spent with friends touring wineries in the Finger Lakes and upstate New York. Also a few years ago I helped out friends at their family run winery near my home. Or maybe all of them. 

 

I do know I started planning this series in 2016 so they’ve been aging for a long time. 

 

Here is an excerpt from Breathe: Click to order- 

 

The moment Tessa opened the heavy wood and glass door, her eyes were drawn to the tall, open stairwell. Kevin Maxwell leaned against the steel and glass banister, watching her. 

He greeted her with a flat smile. “Good morning, Ms. Price. Welcome to Sand Creek Winery.” 

The glass door closed behind her with a small whoosh. She squared her shoulders and walked into her winery. “Please call me Tessa.”

 

He gave her a half nod. “Tessa.”

 

“I’m glad you’re here. I wanted to talk with you.” 

 

“I’ve been clearing out my”—he gave a slow shake of his head—“your office. I won’t be long.”

She ascended the stairwell. “Wait.”

 

Kevin’s cool blue eyes met hers. He was dressed casually in a crisp, cream-colored shirt, the cuffs rolled back, which highlighted strong hands and muscled forearms. He had high cheekbones, a long, thin nose, and was more handsome up close. She guessed he was around her age. 

“I’d like to start our relationship on the right foot.”

 

His eyes never left hers. Challenging her. 

 

She had been right that he wasn’t thrilled to see her. She had negotiated the purchase through a broker since she suspected he wouldn’t sell to a Price, no matter how much money was involved. She’d made a fair offer and he’d accepted it. She pointed to an open door. “After you.”

 

He did a one-eighty and strode through the doorway…

 

... She turned from the window and gestured to the chairs at the table. “Please, can we talk?”

 

He dropped to a wooden stool, leaving the executive chair noticeably empty. 

Unsure where to start, she said, “You can trust me with Sand Creek Winery.” She empathized with how it must feel, forced to sell his business.

 

When she sat down, he gave her a curious look. “It was either accept the blind offer or let the bank take it. I’ll admit if I had known it was a Price, I might have reconsidered.”

 

She cocked her head to the side and let that comment slide. “I have a proposition for you.” She wanted to rephrase that, but it was already out there.

 

His eyebrow rose and his chin dropped a fraction of an inch. “I’m listening.” 

 

 

I hope you check out this new series and in case you missed it, Blends, The Prequel is a quick read and introduces you to Sam and Sherry. The sweet story of how they bumped into each other during the spring and Sam falls in love with the one girl he never forgot.

 

Until next time, 

Enjoy reading. 

 

Lucinda 

Questions, anyone? @ConstanceBretes #RomanceGems

I’m somewhat shy when answering questions from folks about myself and my books, but I’ll list some of the most common questions I get asked here.

Which book you’ve written is your favorite?

Book of Love is my favorite because I love the hero in the story. He tries so hard to keep her car running for her even though it is a piece of junk. The more he tries, the madder she gets.

Which story was the hardest for you to write?

Jade’s Redemption was the hardest to write. I had to dig down into the depth of her soul to pour out the anguish she suffers from for what happened in Oklahoma and what lead her to the town she is in now and working as a 911 dispatch. The last thing she wanted was to get involved with the police chief and the kidnapping case, but the police chief was persistent and the case became her undoing.

Another story that was hard to write is “Operation Code Name: Desert Love.” The story is set to be release in April 2021. This story was hard to write for an entirely different reason. It had nothing to do with the characters, but everything to do with the research. Delta Force is almost unheard of in the military, even though they are considered one of several military groups in special forces. Getting information on them was difficult. Doing basic research on the military in general is a nightmare. There is so much information out there, it was hard to determine what is correct and what is false. I muddled through it as best as I could and it took over a year of researching. I am thankful for two people who helped me with this story, Steve Stone, and Tarina Deaton.

What story was the most fun for you to write?

Blue As Sapphires was the most fun, because 1) the hero was fun to write, and 2) It involves an activity that my husband and I love to do and that is gold panning and sapphire digging. The emotional aspects of the story was hard to write because of the physical abuse that the heroine suffered from at the hands of her ex.

One last question. What do you have coming up next?

Operation Code Name: Desert Love is being release in April. Then I will shift my time over to doing final edits on my story I written several years ago called Moonlight Path. Then I got another Montana goodie that I want to finish up and get published called Rocky River Gold, and finally, a story I written maybe five years ago called The Potter’s Wheel. Somewhere in the midst of that, I need to write more stories!

Click on the book cover if you're interested in purchasing one of the books in this post. You can also go to https://constancebretes.com, to view all my books. 

Happy to be Stuck with Him by @BonnieEdwards #RomanceGems

Our March theme is lucky in love and some of us have really great “meet” stories or have found true love the second time around. Me? I started early and am one of the rare people who married their high school sweetie and had it work through all the adventures and mistakes we’ve made. But we’ve made all our decisions (good and bad) together and sometimes now, we marvel at it all. 

Did I say rare people? Maybe I’m wrong because we know more than a handful of couples who met when we did and are still together. It isn’t true that marrying young always spells disaster. Sometimes, it’s the glue that holds us. Those old friends and memories help bond us. The more I think on this, the more couples come to mind. One of them met in Junior High. 

So, while life has had its ups and downs (for all these couples) there’s one thing we have in common: As Huey Lewis claims we’re happy to be stuck with them. 

Even with all this evidence of young love maturing into a lifelong relationship, I have never written about one. Romance novels are about the journey two people make around obstacles and conflict that would drive others apart. Meeting a great person when you're young and still mostly unformed is vastly different from the trials I put my characters through. 

Sometimes, I write about women who've failed at life only to find love where they least expect it.  I write about women who find themselves as they’re finding love with a totally “wrong” man. I also write about women who have made some big, bold mistakes in life before finding the path that leads them to love. 

And sometimes I write about women who find themselves in the totally wrong place with the wrong man and have to learn fake it till they make it. 

Imagination is a great thing! Even though I've lived with my high school sweetheart for all these years, I can imagine the emotions around these women, their families and their choices. 

Which brings me to reviews! I've had some that point out how "right" I got things. One of those came in the other day. A woman who'd been a single parent and found love with a single dad said "This book was great! Ms. Edwards got the story right about single parents meeting, the challenges of dating & possibly merging 2 families. The situations were well depicted!" D.A.B. 

And the same book garnered this: "I truly loved this story, especially the dog (lol). It reminded me of my life long ago." (Romantic at Heart) I guess I got it right for this reader too. A single mom found a single dad and built their lives together. 

Unfortunately, in another book a blogger/reviewer decided: "And trust me these scenes were so in detail you know she had one of those nights." ( NEVER happened. And I never wanted it to happen - but I have a good imagination.) S.B.R. 

Reviewing a book is as simple as stating how it made you feel when it ended. If you sighed, if you chuckled, if you felt warmed...writers want to hear it. We need to because sometimes we need to know we got it right: for YOU. 

I thank every single person who's taken the time to write a few words about a book. Authors try hard to get it right and it's nice to know that sometimes we succeed. 

To learn more about my upcoming books and special deals (and grab a free romance) you can sign up for Bonnie's Newsy Bits. 

To see a complete rundown on my books you can see them here: Amazon Author Page

You can also follow me and review books on BookBub here: Bonnie Edwards Author

What's Luck Got To Do With It by Laura Hunsaker

Lucky In Love 

If you saw my comment on the Coffee Chat, you'll see that someone was unlucky enough to have me as his Valentine's Day date (click here to read it). But while that was unlucky for him, I guess it was lucky for me. I met my husband shortly after that disastrous date.

My husband and I will have been married for 19 years this summer. For a man who doesn't believe in love at first sight, he says he took one look at me and knew I was the one. Our almost 20 years together seem to have a pretty solid basis for the fact the he at the very least believes in love at first sight with me ;)

Our story is a fun one. We met on the Las Vegas Strip one night and the rest is history. I was in the back of a Jeep with my friend and a boy she liked. Some cute boys in a red car kept hollering at us (we ignored them). 

At a red light, one of them yelled, "Hey! Is that your boyfriend up there?" I rolled my eyes at him and said, "If he were my boyfriend, he'd be sitting next to me right here." I patted my seat. That cute boy hopped out of the car and climbed in next to me!

I was like, "Uhh...do this a lot?" as I pressed myself against the side of the seat away from the weirdo who had just jumped in. "No, first time. So what are you doing tonight?" I was sassy, and told him, "Dropping you off at the next corner." "He laughed and said, "Okay, but you should let me buy you dinner sometime." 

I wound up staying out until 4am with him (not alone, in our group!), and luckily he had absolutely no other creeper tendencies. I kept thinking I'd just gotten out of a relationship (See bad Valentine's Day Coffee Chat again) and I didn't really want a boyfriend...but he was pretty awesome and here we are almost 20 years later. We have our own Happily Ever After ending right now, and I thank my lucky stars he was bold enough to hop into the back of that Jeep with me. 

If you'd like to read a happy story where the characters are lucky in love, grab my short story DREAMS OF THE PAST for $.99.

 

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She needs rest, he needs relaxation… 

Jenny Travers wants a fresh start. Leaving the nightmares of her past behind her, she heads to Last Chance Beach. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds peaceful and relaxing, which is exactly what she needs. 

What she doesn’t need is a man. 

Lieutenant Commander Scott Gordon was injured by an IED on his last mission, and while his leg has healed, it’ll never be strong enough to stay on his SEAL team. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds like the perfect place to figure out how he’s going to handle his new normal. 

He never expected to find a woman in his bed. 

A mix-up at the rental agency means Jenny and Scott are both renting the small cottage. Sharing a space with a stranger should be hard, yet they both feel more at peace than they have in months. 

Will their summer romance last, or is the magic of Sea Glass Cottage all they’ll have…

LUCKY IN LOVE - IN HISTORY By Kathleen Lawless @kathleenlawless #romancegems

 

Did you know that on this day in 1961, Barbie got lucky in love?  That’s right, March 11^th, Ken was born with a full head of molded hair, sporting his trademark tan, sandals and swimming trunks.  Before long, he boasted a wardrobe of designer clothing.  Finally, Barbie had a mate!

I can relate.  Ten years ago this summer, I met my forever guy and we’ve been having fun ever since, sharing experiences, making memories and using every excuse to celebrate our good luck with love the second time around.

For a lot of us love doesn’t come easily, and that transfers to my characters.  I like to make them really suffer and angst—especially the heroes—as they deny their feelings, fight their attraction, and learn whatever life lessons they need to in order to form a forever union with their perfect match. 

In Mail Order Martina, Will doesn’t want a wife and Martina doesn’t want a husband, yet they have no choice except to form a union and ultimately, together, beat the bad guys at their own game.  In one scene, Martina’s young half-brother Charlie, who stopped talking when their father died, takes a shine to Will. 

          Will listened with half an ear, the rest of his attention focused on Marty as she babbled to the young one, all the while wiping his hands and face with a face flannel. 

          Charlie didn’t take much to being cleaned up, his face screwed up in a comical way as he tried to evade her swipes with the rag. 

          “You’ve near abouts scrubbed all the skin off the poor little gaffer’s face,” Will said, leaning in close.  “Isn’t that right, Charlie?”

          To his amazement, Charlie’s face near split in half with a huge, toothy grin.  Soft, plump baby hands grasped Will’s chin. 

          “Wiw,” he said.

          Will heard Marty catch her breath.  Her eyes flew to his. 

          “Did you hear that?” she said in soft, reverent tones.

          “Uh, huh,” Will said, wondering what to do next.  With an instinct he hadn’t known he possessed, he scooped the boy from his seat and tossed him in the air the way he’d seen Marty do.  “Will sends Charlie high.  Right up to the moon and back.” 

          The youngster giggled and kicked his feet in delight.  When Will brought him back to eye level, the youngster reached out and touched Will’s face: his eyes and his nose, even his mouth.  

          “Wiw,” he said again.

          Marty rose and stood next to them.  “That’s right Charlie.  Will’s your big brother.  He’ll always take care of you and never let anything happen.”

          Will jerked upright at her words and shoved Charlie into her arms.  “My track record as a big brother’s nothing to write home about.”

          He saw Marty’s face fall, her delight at hearing Charlie speak again ruined by his clumsy words. 

 

Mail Order Martina debuted last week with a #1 Hot New Release Ribbon.  You can pick up your copy here or read it for free in Ku. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08SLC93KN

Saint Paddy’s day is around the corner, so if you’re looking for something fun, green and delicious to make, I include the recipe for an out-of-this-world breakfast pizza, a new favorite in our house that’s just as good the next day.

                   FLORENTINE BREAKFAST PIZZA

You need a deep Chicago-style pizza pan or regular pie pan, not a flat pizza pan.

I use frozen pizza dough that I roll out and blind bake at 450 for 6 minutes.  Or make your own.  Don’t skip the blind-baking step or you will have a soggy crust.

Note:  If you like a thinner crust, I have also used phyllo, again pre-baking before I add the filling. 

Lower the oven heat to 400 degrees.  

Filling 1 lb spinach – wilt spinach by placing in a large frying pan over medium-high with a little oil and tossing with tongs for 2 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt and set in a strainer until cool enough to touch.  Wring out excess liquid. 

 In a blender or food processor:

4 eggs, 1 cup ricotta cheese, Prepared spinach.  Blend for 2 minutes until frothy and increased in volume.

In your prepared, partially-cooked crust sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella.  Slowly pour the egg mixture over top, being careful not to overflow your pan.  Thinly slice one large tomato (I use Roma) and scatter the slices overtop.  Bake for 20-30 minutes until filling is set.

This is easy to double and will feed 6-8 for a decadent brunch.     

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A Little Bit of Luck by Hannah Rowan #RomanceGems

 “You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from,” according to novelist Cormac McCarthy.  While the Dalai Lama says that “sometimes not getting what we want is a wonderful stroke of luck.”

I’m not sure I agree with either of them.

I can’t say I wanted anything except to get home for dinner after a day of college classes when a tractor trailer popped into the driver’s side door of my VW Beetle, picked me up, and carried me down the interstate highway. It was one of those moments when time slowed to a crawl. Hmm…there’s a truck in my window.  I climbed over the gear shift and into the passenger seat, inexplicably still holding the steering wheel as though I thought it would help the situation. Eventually my car bounced off the truck’s grill, spun across a few lanes, and landed in the median facing the opposite direction.

I was surely lucky that day, although I was really annoyed that I’d just spent several hundred dollars putting a new motor in the car and now it was totaled. I didn’t have any injury except mild hysteria. And the insurance money financed my first trip to Disney.

Sometimes I wonder how I made it to the age where I was old enough to drive a car.

As a curious child, I inserted a metal wire into an electrical outlet just to see what would happen. What happened? A jolt that felt like the pins and needles you get when a limb goes to sleep magnified a few thousand times as I was catapulted across the room. But no permanent damage that I’m aware of. I guess I was lucky.

Undeterred, I was playing by an empty warehouse that had a slanted driveway leading to the underground garage door. The driveway was filled with water, and I’m still not sure what happened except that when I touched a pipe, I felt that now-familiar jolt of electrical energy. Lucky again.

There were so many things I did growing up that, looking back, I marvel that I survived. Racing my brother across a railroad bridge to get to the other side before the train came. Riding a dinky little rubber raft down a river into a reservoir with no lifeguard, not to mention lots of rocks and dangerous currents. Bringing home what I thought was a sweet little lost dog who turned out to have rabies or distemper or whatever it is that causes a dog to foam at the mouth and try to bite a person’s arm off.

I could go on, but the pertinent fact is that I survived all of it, which I probably shouldn’t say because it might be unlucky.

Maybe Mr. McCarthy and the Dalai Lama have a point after all.