My Review of Embark! & The New Regency Anthology

Today I have a double review for you of an audio talk on tape by John Bytheway and the new Timeless Romance Anthology Regency Collection.

I have loved John Bytheway's talks for years. He just has a way of connecting with people, especially youth. He's self-effacing, but still solid and just makes you laugh while you learn. I love his easy way that isn't over-preaching, if that makes sense.  His new talk on tape is about embarking and what that really means.

In pure John Bytheway style, he includes funny stories like a conversation with Siri and her brother Siril about his last name, Halfway Harv and how he does everything halfway.  But intermixed with the laughter are true life lessons that can help us want to be better. One idea that particularly touched me was how he pointed out in our prayers, we often ask God to bless the sick and needy and those who are suffering, when perhaps we really should be praying to God to help US to bless the sick and needy and find and help those who are suffering.  I love how John Bytheway presents such different perspectives in a charming way that makes me think.

This is definitely a CD that I'll keep in my car to listen to when I have my family with me.  I think it had a lot of great ideas for every age group, really, but mostly for teens and adults.  You can click hereto buy your copy for $13.38

Here's the back copy:

An ideal talk that supports the new 2015 Mutual theme!

In this motivating talk related to the 2015 youth theme, John Bytheway explains what it means to truly embark—to get fully on board in the service of God with all your heart, might, mind, and strength. Using scriptures, powerful stories, and his characteristic humor, John explains that with the Savior’s help, we can remain on board and eventually stand blameless before God at the last day

The second review I have for you today is the Timeless Romance Anthology All Regency Collection.

I have to say, I think this is my favorite of all the collections.  If I had to pick a favorite story from this one, I don't think I could. They were really all outstanding this time and I stayed up late to finish them. (And with small children, you know how valuable sleep is, so that says a lot!)

The first one is by Anna Elliot and it's a journal time entry story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. I wasn't sure if I would like this one because I've read so many bad stories that continue Jane Austen's masterpiece, but I thought this author did a great job. I haven't read anything by her before and will definitely look for her other titles now.

Sarah Eden's contribution was so heartfelt and I loved Julian.  As always, I wish her novellas were full-length novels. I just fall in love with her characters and want to read more about them, especially a girl like Elizabeth who deserved more, but is being denied because of family issues. So emotional and so good.

Carla Kelly is another favorite author of mine and her story was so heart-rending.  She just has such intense emotional scenes in her books that make it impossible to put down.  Thankful Winnings is a Friend and wants an adventure before she settles down to a marriage that she's not excited about. She gets her adventure and more when her ship comes across the aftermath of a battle and all the wounded that need care. Thankful is put to the test when she agrees to help treat the wounded and comes across more than she bargained for with a wounded doctor who is dealing with much more than just war-weary and wounded men.  So good.

In Josi Kilpack's story, Regina Weathers is shocked when her beau, Ross, from fifteen years before suddenly shows up at her family's ball.  I admit, I laughed a lot at their "reunion" scene.  The dialogue between Regina and Ross was witty and fun, and I couldn't wait to see how their love story worked out. Really well done.

Annette Lyon took a different take on the regency theme and her story was about a couple who had been married for years and had grown apart.  Can they find their way back to each other or is it too late?  A charming story that included some fun secondary characters (the daughters and the old flame) that I wouldn't mind seeing again in another story. Quite memorable.

Heather Moore's heroine Mabel kept me laughing.  She collects insects and watches snails and bowls over the duke's brother when he comes to visit. She was quite a woman! Seeing her love story unfold with Gregory was enchanting and I closed that book with a smile.

I loved them all and know this will be one of my favorites to come back to on a rainy afternoon. You can download your copy here for $4.99


Here's the back copy:

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: All Regency Collection. Readers will love this collection of six regency romance novellas.

In THE WEDDING GIFT: A PRIDE AND PREJUDICE STORY, an enchanting novella by Anna Elliott, the story opens two weeks before Elizabeth Bennet’s wedding to Mr. Darcy. He has given her the perfect wedding gift, and now she must come up with one for him. But what do you give a man who has everything? Elizabeth soon discovers that the gift of love is more important than any one thing.

DREAM OF A GLORIOUS SEASON, a sweet novella by Sarah M. Eden, we meet Elizabeth Gillerford who envies her sister only one thing—that she’s been intended for Julian Broadwood since they were children. The trouble is that Elizabeth is hopelessly in love with Julian too. When Julian discovers that Elizabeth has been denied a Season because her older sister is yet unwed, he undertakes his own stealthy measures to introduce her to society, only to find himself falling in love with her himself.

In THE MENDER, a captivating story by Carla Kelly, Thankful Winnings takes a sea voyage with her cousin on the Ann Alexander, in a last adventure before she settles down to marry one of her beaus. Unexpectedly they come upon the aftermath of a fierce ship battle, and Thankful is commissioned to help in the place of an injured surgeon on one of the Royal Navy ships. Adam Farnsworth, surgeon, has been at sea for years. Tired of war, but devoted to his post, it takes a resourceful lady such as Thankful to give him the hope of love and help heal his own wounds, the ones that show and the ones that don’t.

In BEGIN AGAIN, a charming novella by Josi S. Kilpack, Regina Weathers gives up on marrying for love the day that Ross Martin walks out of her life. Now, fifteen years later, Ross shows up at a ball and thinks he can woo Regina. But she is set on her lonely path and stitched-up heart, no matter the excuse Ross gives for his years of silence and neglect. When Ross insists he wrote many letters during his military years, Regina discovers a secret long-since buried by her father, and the revelation might be enough to thaw the coldness of her heart.

In Annette Lyon’s endearing story, THE AFFAIR AT WILDEMOORE, Mrs. Ellen Stanhope escorts her three daughters to a ball. As her oldest flirts with a beau, Ellen is reminded of her courtship and early years of marriage with Anthony, before tragedy struck with the death of their infant son. The marriage has faded and dulled. Not until she sees Anthony dancing with a woman he courted years before does Ellen realize how much she misses him, still loves him, and yearns for him to yet feel the same way for her.

In the delightful novella, THE DUKE’S BROTHER, by Heather B. Moore, Mr. Gregory Clark is having an awful day, and it only gets worse when he’s ran over by … a woman. Mabel Russell reluctantly visits her sister in London for the Season, even though she’d rather stay in the country cataloging insects and aphids. When she runs into Gregory Clark, quite literally, she’s afraid to show any interest, especially since he’s a member of the dreaded ton. But getting to know Gregory becomes an unexpected delight.

Friday Freebies

Today I have two Friday Freebies for you--a medieval romance and a paranormal romance.  I haven't read either of them, but they look good!

The first one is called The Unveiling by USA Today best-selling author Tamara Leigh.

Here's the back copy:

12th century England: Two men vie for the throne: King Stephen the usurper and young Duke Henry the rightful heir. Amid civil and private wars, alliances are forged, loyalties are betrayed, families are divided, and marriages are made.

For four years, Lady Annyn Bretanne has trained at arms with one end in mind—to avenge her brother’s murder as God has not deemed it worthy to do. Disguised as a squire, she sets off to exact revenge on a man known only by his surname, Wulfrith. But when she holds his fate in her hands, her will wavers and her heart whispers that her enemy may not be an enemy after all.

Baron Wulfrith, renowned trainer of knights, allows no women within his walls for the distraction they breed. What he never expects is that the impetuous young man sent to train under him is a woman who seeks his death—nor that her unveiling will test his faith and distract the warrior from his purpose.

If this one looks interesting to you, you can click hereto download your free Kindle copy!

The second one is Haunting Secrets by Marie Higgins. 

Here's the back copy:

Victoria Fawson desperately needs answers about her father’s death. When she visits the Maitland Manor to discover those answers, she finds only secrets…haunting secrets that leave her wondering who she can trust. Should she trust her feelings for the one man who hides from the world—the man who might put her in danger?

Justin Maitland hasn’t been human for over a year. He knows things about his family—things that could destroy Victoria. The only way to help her is to send her back home without learning anything. Yet, how can he let her go when he’s given her his heart?

 If this one looks good, click hereto download your free Kindle copy.

My Audio Book Journey (Part 4)

So, I got the first fifteen minutes of my audio book for All Fall Down.  I got the notification in the evening and I rushed downstairs to hear it.  I was excited!  I put in my earphones so I wouldn't be distracted and settled down to listen.

It's still surreal to have a professional reading my book.  My words.  The story I wrote.  It's like having the story come to life.

I loved the performance.  The way he read it, with great tone, building in suspense, using different voices, it was everything I wanted.  But as I listened to it again, I noticed a few things I wanted the narrator to tweak.

Last week I mentioned that I would be looking for pacing, pronunciation, and whether he captured the characters and their voice.  Keeping that in mind, I listened to my first fifteen minutes three more times, specifically looking for those things (and I also sent the download to a few trusted people that had experience with audio books and knew my work).  They mostly all agreed that there was one character that needed a bit of a change, and a few minor pronunciation things here and there, but other than that, it was awesome!

I do have to say that I was curious as to how other narrators did things, so I went to Audible and listened to a bunch of samples.  I can now say with confidence that I think my narrator is doing an incredible job.

So, now I'll message the tweaks and changes to the narrator and he will fix them.  Or, at least I expect that's what will happen.  I will let you know!

Read the rest of my journey!

Part 5

Meet My Narrator!

Write My Goals Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

So, last week I talked about what I'd accomplished so far in my writing goals.  Today I'd like to check in again with what I did to accomplish my goals in the last seven days.  Feel free to check in with your progress on your goals!

• I have progress on my audio book (which I'll talk about tomorrow)  And this one is pretty exciting!

• I am nearly finished the revision and edit of the first book I ever wrote, Through Love's Trials, and it should be ready for re-release next week!  Woohoo! This has been a project dear to my heart and has taken a lot of time and energy.  I have come so far from the writer I was when I wrote that book.

• I have started writing the companion novella to All Fall Down.  Still in the beginning stages, but I like the direction so far.

• I finished all the promotion stuff for All Fall Down that I was doing and feel like it was a success with the number of downloads and buzz that was generated.  I have a few new ideas for marketing that I'm going to try next month.

I'm really enjoying doing little babysteps to get me to my goals.  I work on one or two things each day and it really is adding up.  The revision and edit has taken up a lot of my time, but I know it will be worth it in the end. The story is so much stronger.  I'm excited for you all to see it!

How did you do with your goals this week?

photo credit: Celestine Chua via photopin cc

.99 Cents Bargain Books For Today!

Since there was no new Castle last night *sniff* I decided to just go to bed early and read.  And guess what? I found some .99 cent bargains out there and thought I would pass them along to my loyal readers..

The first one is The Timeless Romance Anthology Winter Collection.  It's only .99 cents! I've never seen it that low.  You can download your Kindle copy here here

You can see my review of it here.

Here's the back copy:

Six Award-Winning Authors have contributed brand new stories to A Timeless Romance Anthology: Winter Collection. A collection unlike any other, readers will love this compilation of six sweet historical romance novellas, set in varying eras, yet all with one thing in common: Romance.

The Road to Cavan Town by Sarah M. Eden, set in 1864 Ireland, combines Eden’s sense of humor with her signature sweet romance. Alice Wheatley walks each weekend into town, accompanied by Isaac Dancy. And while Alice finds herself falling in love with the gentleman, unfortunately he has his eyes set on the belle of the town, Miss Sophia Kilchrest. Alice must find a way to turn Isaac’s eyes toward her.

Regency author Heidi Ashworth’s delightful story, It Happened Twelfth Night, set in England 1812, follows Luisa Darlington who discovers the man of her dreams, Percy Brooksby, isn’t in love with her as much as she thought he was. When Percy’s friend, the mysterious foreigner, Mr. Flynn, visits for the twelfth night holiday, he promptly sweeps Luisa off her feet, quite literally. Luisa is left catching her breath in more ways than one.

An Unexpected Proposal by Annette Lyon is a captivating romantic novella, set in remote Wood Camp, the snowy canyon of Logan, Utah, 1880. When Caroline Simpson is forced to thwart the aggressive advances of Mr. Butch Larson, she discovers that her long-time friend, James, has genuine affection for her. But as stubborn as Caroline is, she minimizes the feelings he’s awakened in her, and it takes almost losing James to admit her true feelings for him.

In Joyce DiPastena’s charming medieval story, Caroles on the Green, we enter England of 1151, in which Lady Isabel has a dilemma. She promises herself that she’ll marry the man who sent a ring hidden in her pastry since the man she truly loves, Sir Lucian de Warrene, has proved to be impossible and exasperating. To forget him, Isabel sets her eyes on other eligible men, only to face another confrontation with Lucian—who isn’t about to back off and leave her to her newest plot.

Donna Hatch’s enchanting novella, A Winter’s Knight, begins when Clarissa Fairchild’s coach just happens to break down in front of the most forbidding estate in the county, that of Wyckburg Castle, a place where young brides have been murdered for generations by their husbands. Clarissa is horrified yet curious all in the same breath. When she meets widower Christopher de Champs, Earl of Wyckburg, she must decide if she should flee or uncover the greatest secret in the county about her handsome rescuer.

In Heather B. Moore’s exciting turn-of-the-century story, A Fortunate Exile, Lila Townsend finds herself the victim of a broken heart—broken by the most notorious bachelor in 1901 New York City. If that isn’t bad enough, her father sends her to Aunt Eugenia’s remote farm where Lila must wait for her father’s anger to subside and the gossip columns to find new fodder. When Lila meets her aunt’s boarder, Peter Weathers, she discovers a man who isn’t afraid to stand up to her formidable family and take a chance on a woman with a sullied reputation.

The other book bargain I found was Falling Fast.  It has three full length romance novels by Susan Aylworth, Shannon Guymon, and Lu Ann Brobst Staheli for only .99 cents!  I have read Come to Me by Shannon Guymon, (you can read my review here) and Temporary Bridesmaid, (you can read my review here) but I haven't read Danny's Girl and who can resist such a great sale price!  Not this girl! You can get your Kindle copy here

Here's the back copy:

FALLING FAST: A TRIPLE TREAT ROMANCE BOX SET Three Bestselling Authors, Three Contemporary Romance Novels, One Great Price

DANNY’S GIRL by Amazon bestselling author Susan Aylworth
When highway patrolman Danny Sherwood is called upon to stop a dangerous speeder, he has no idea how the moment may change his life. Manon DuPre spent her childhood with negligent parents and her past year in the clutches of a brutal man. Now she is running to save her life. When she is stopped in Nowhere, Arizona, she fears the worst, not knowing how this moment may change her future. A chance encounter on an Arizona highway brings together two very different people who may just be perfect for each other.

COME TO ME by Amazon bestselling author Shannon Guymon
Will the past repeat itself? Rob hasn't had the best of luck when it comes to women and his epic failure with Kit Kendall is still very fresh. Rob might be successful in sports and in business but does he have what it takes to be successful in love? When Rob gets to know Wren Tyler, his sous chef, he's willing to try again even knowing he could get hurt. Wren on the other hand, is very attracted to Rob, but she knows she's not in his league. So when he starts to pay her attention, who could blame her for being a little suspicious? But have Wren's past heartbreaks destroyed her ability to trust? And will Rob be able to overcome his past failures and become the man Wren needs him to be? Only true love will be able to heal Wren's heart and help her trust again.

TEMPORARY BRIDESMAID by Amazon bestselling author Lu Ann Brobst Staheli
Jenny Grant has given up on men, and therefore her dream of ever getting married. But when James Cox comes to work in her building as a temp, she has to convince herself to stay true to her new conviction. James has no idea why he has given up his position as a California CEO to move to Salt Lake City, but he’s certain it isn’t to find a bride. When the call comes for a temp position at a computer programming company, his co-workers are not easy to get along with, especially the fiery-tempered woman named Jenny Grant. If he didn’t find her so beautiful and interesting, it might not matter. Except that it does.

The last one is another Triple Treat set called Whispered Promise, but this time it's three full length historical romances for only .99 cents.   All of these looked good and I can't wait to dive in!  Click hereto download your copy

Here's the back copy:

WHISPERED PROMISE: A TRIPLE TREAT ROMANCE BOX SET
Three Bestselling Authors, Three Historical Romances, One Great Price

THE BRIDE LOTTERY by Amazon bestselling author Kristin Holt

Colorado, 1881—It’s too bad the mail order bride agency failed to round up even half their order, ‘cause every man on the mountain wants a bride—except Sam Kochler. When Evelyn Brandt steps off the train, a last-minute addition to the brides, he can’t help but wonder why a pretty, well-to-do pregnant lady would take her chances with a bunch of unruly miners. Forty Bachelors. Fifteen Brides. What could go wrong?

THE RANCHER by Amazon bestselling author Kelli Ann Morgan

The deal was to share the ranch, not her heart... Abby McCallister can ride and shoot better than any man she’s ever met, but when the threat of losing her ranch forces her to find a husband, she is unprepared for the mysterious stranger who takes her hand and evokes in her a sudden desire to be a lady fit for his arm. He'd sworn to protect her. He couldn't do that if she married someone else... Cole Redbourne, immersed in guilt over the accident that claimed his best friend, discovers there was nothing accidental about it. When he sets out for Silver Falls, Colorado, to fulfill his friend’s dying wish and to flush out his killer, the last thing he expected was to find hope again disguised as his impromptu bride.

THE MAN FROM SHENANDOAH by Amazon bestselling author Marsha Ward

Returning from the Civil War, Carl Owen finds the family farm ruined and his father set to leave Virginia. Then Carl falls in love, and he battles a band of outlaws, a prairie fire, blizzards, a trackless waterless desert, and his own brother—all for the hand of feisty Ellen Bates.


With all these books for just .99 cents, you'll have everything you need to snuggle in for a night of great reading. I know I did!

Triple Book Review

Today I have two novels and a novella to tell you about.  So let's get to it!

The first book I want to tell you about is Me Tarzan, You Jane by Camelia Miron Skiba.  This book has an intriguing blurb and the first chapters really hooked me (even though there is some language) so I continued with it.  Our heroine, Jane Sullivan, is a widow with a young daughter.  She's a budding writer at a writing conference where there are several cover models there.  One cover model in particular has all the ladies gushing over him, but all Jane can do is roll her eyes.  Lucas Oliver is the epitome of a player and she wants to stay far away from the likes of him.  Circumstances keep putting them together, however, and the sparks are flying.  But no matter what Lucas makes her feel, Jane feels there is only one love of your life per person and she won't be given a second chance.

Not that Lucas stops trying to change her mind.  He's drawn to Jane and her daughter and really wants her to see who he is behind his outward appearance.  It was fun in the beginning to see them both try to work through their scars of the past, but there was a lot of sexual innuendo in the first half of the book that moved on to sexual situations (not detailed, fade to black) for the last half.  For me, it started to become more about the lust than falling in love, which took a little of the lustre off the book. I felt like the author is good at her craft, but for my taste I wish she would have continued with the back and forth of the first half where the writing and romance shone and less of the sex and a few relationship cliches in the last half.  This might not be the case for everyone, obviously, and there were a lot of things about the book to like. You can buy your copy here for $2.99 and decide for yourself.

Here's the back copy:

Moving on doesn’t always have to mean goodbye.

Widowed makeup artist Jane Sullivan is more comfortable keeping her husband's memory alive than dating a pool full of sharks. Ella, her 4 year-old daughter, is her whole world.

When Jane meets Lucas Oliver, famous cover model, it’s hate at first sight. His playboy persona rubs her the wrong way.

Accustomed to every woman fawning over him, Lucas is drawn to the shy, uncompromising single mom and completely melts at the sight of Ella. He is determined to convince Jane that sometimes a second chance can mend a broken heart.

The second book I want to tell you about today is is a novella that Shana Galen did as a prequel to her Covent Garden Cubs series, The Viscount of Vice.  We meet Henry Flynn who is a tortured soul. Years ago he was supposed to be watching his little brother and lost him during a game of hide and seek.  The little guy was never found---until now.  A Bow Street runner has turned up a man that he believes is the lost brother and Henry goes to Bath to see if it's true.  

Everything gets more complicated when Lady Emma Talbot is also in Bath and inserts herself into his investigation.  Emma has secretly loved Henry for years, but her brother the Duke had warned him off.  (I would have, too.  Henry started to fall for her when she was sixteen.  And he's a lot older, so that was a teensy bit skeevy, but okay.)  There were some really emotional scenes and the seedy side of society was shown quite well, I thought. The dialogue was sharp and the main characters were relatable and realistic. There was a brief sex scene that was easily skipped over.  I really enjoyed this series introduction.  You can buy your copy here for $2.99

Here's the back copy:

Whispers and secrets are no match for love...

Henry Flynn, the new Lord Chesham, still blames himself for the disappearance of his younger brother when they were children. That incident destroyed his family, and now he's on a path of self-destruction that no one can interrupt...

Lady Emma Talbot can't stand watching the man she secretly loves destroy himself little by little. She's determined to show him that no one holds him culpable, before it's too late. But Emma doesn't know what really happened to Flynn on that fateful day long ago, so what chance does she have of saving him from himself?

The last one I want to tell you about today is Earls Just Want to Have Fun by Shana Galen. This is the first full-length novel of the Covent Garden Cub series.  It starts out with a pickpocket named Marlowe pulling jobs with her gang of thieves.  They all work for a very scary man who will never let them go and he's got special plans for Marlowe.  She's learned to fend for herself, but even in the slums, behind her dirty curtain that gives her a bit of privacy, she remembers a time when she was called Elizabeth.

Things get really interesting when she's kidnapped off a street by a Bow Street Runner who thinks he knows who Marlowe really is.  He takes her to his brother's house, but Lord Dane is not thrilled to have a dirty, angry thief in his home where his mother and sister are.  I laughed out loud at the dialogue between the two and how Lord Dane handled the situation.  These two are definitely opposites, but Lord Dane sees something in her that even she has a hard time seeing.  Before they can explore anything further, Marlowe's gang life intrudes and Lord Dane finds himself pulled to Seven Dials to try to save her. There were brief sex scenes, easily skipped over, with a lot of romance and intrigue.  You can buy your copy here for $6.15

Here's the back copy:

His heart may be the last thing she ever steals . . .

Marlowe is a pickpocket, a housebreaker—and a better actress than any professional on the stage. She runs with the Covent Garden Cubs, a gang of thieves living in the slums of London’s Seven Dials. It’s a fierce life, and Marlowe has a hard outer shell. But when she’s alone, she allows herself to think of a time before—a dimly remembered life when she was called Elizabeth.

Maxwell, Lord Dane, is intrigued when his brother, a hired investigator, ropes him into his investigation of the fiercely beautiful hellion. He teaches her to navigate the social morass of the ton while his brother attempts to confirm her true identity. But Marlowe will not escape so easily. Instead, Dane is drawn into her world of danger and violence, where the student becomes the teacher and love is the greatest risk of all.

Friday Freebie--Five Sweet Romances!

Today's Friday Freebie is a boxed set of five sweet, full-length romantic novels.  Just in time for Valentine's Day! I haven't read any of these authors before, but they look good.  To download your free Kindle copy click here

Here's the back copy:

This boxed set is a collection of sweet romantic novels by five multipublished authors:

RETURN TO RAINBOW ROCK, by Susan Aylworth. A FATHER FOR PHILIP, by Judy Griffith Gill. JENNY'S TURN, by Vanessa Grant. MARRY IN HASTE, by Moyra Tarling. A CHANGE OF PLANS, by Donna K. Weaver.

RETURN TO RAINBOW ROCK by Susan Aylworth

Marcie Carmody feels broken. Wounded by a disastrous relationship, she limps home to Rainbow Rock to heal. Ryan Fields has never felt so broken, separated from his family and the life he planned, redirected to Rainbow Rock. Little can they know of the wounds and healing that will alter both their lives.

A FATHER FOR PHILIP, by Judy Griffith Gill

Eleanor's son Philip needs a father. When his "imaginary" playmate, Jeff, turns out to be David Jefferson—the husband who went missing from Eleanor's life before her son was born—can she accept him back? She knows she still loves him, but why won't he tell her the reason he stayed away seven years?

JENNY’S TURN by Vanessa Grant

Jenny loves working for documentary filmmaker Jake Austin, but after five years doing things Jake's way, she's had enough! The only way to get over Jake is to get out of his life. So she leaves--but fleeing to a Pacific island just south of Alaska isn’t nearly far enough!

MARRY IN HASTE by Moyra Tarling

Years ago Evan Mathieson broke Jade Adams’ heart when he ended their engagement. Now he’s back and he needs a wife to help parent his orphaned nephew. Jade can't refuse the man she’s always loved, but will the secret she holds in her heart jeopardize their chance for happiness?

A CHANGE OF PLANS by Donna K. Weaver

Lyn wanted to move on. She just didn't know it would take pirates, shipwreck, and an intriguing surgeon to do it.