Book Review: Marrying Christopher

Today I'm excited to be part of the blog tour for Marrying Christopher by Michele Paige Holmes. I've really enjoyed the other two books in the series and this one wraps it up nicely.  (You can see my review for Book 1, Saving Grace here and my review for Book 2 Loving Helen here)

Little brother Christopher has spent his life trying to protect his older sisters.  Now that they are both happily married and settled, he's going to strike out on his own and hopefully bring some pride to the Thatcher name.  He books passage on a ship to America and stubbornly refuses to take any money from his sisters. He's going to make his own way, hopefully be able to work and maybe even own some land he can farm. He finally has some of the freedom he's dreamed of.

Until he meets Marsali Abbott.  Marsali is fleeing an abusive situation and gets on the same ship as Christopher. Unfortunately, she's not sailing toward freedom, but toward a four year indenture, and with that in mind, she decides to enjoy the few weeks to herself on the ship.  Things get even more complicated, though, when Marsali gets to know Christopher.  His kindness draws her to him, but her own growing feelings keeps her wanting to be near.  But she's an indentured servant and would never want him to sacrifice his dreams for her, even when she finally realizes exactly what awaits her when they dock in America.

This historical romance totally swept me away. The shipboard scenes were especially well done and I thought the author did a great job with her research because the little details she included really made it feel real.  I loved Marsali's strength and how she was still vulnerable when it came to her life decisions.  Christopher, though, was a swoon-worthy hero and I loved his character.  Their love story was even better because there were a lot of unexpected twists and turns on the journey which kept me turning pages long after I should have gone to bed. The ending was totally worth the sleep sacrifice, though!

You can get your copy here for only $4.99

Here's the back copy:

Having seen both his sisters Grace and Helen happily married, Christopher Thatcher is free to pursue his dream of life in America. With adventure in his heart and mind, he boards one of the first steamships set to cross the Atlantic in the record breaking time of only twenty-five days. Within the first two of those, his resolve—to avoid women and the complications they often bring to a man’s life—falters when he meets Marsali Abbott, a young woman with a past even more troubling than his own. Whether from years of habit protecting his sisters, or simply because he feels drawn to Marsali, Christopher chooses to help her and becomes her friend. As the truth about what awaits Marsali in America becomes evident, he is faced with a more difficult choice, one that will impact their lives far beyond four weeks together at sea.

McRoll---Just Because

I have been promising my McRoll girls a fanfic since the Season 5 finale and since the Season 6 premiere is just over a month away, I thought I better post it! The only catch is, there are four parts to this one.  Tonight I'm just posting the first part, starting when Steve first sees Catherine in the finale. (Just to set the stage for what's coming in Part Two.) I know it's short, but I hope you like it! (As always I don't own the characters and this is only for fun and entertainment.)

Season Five Finale---

After Afghanistan Part One

Steve pushed up out of the ocean with a spring in his step. He’d made good time today. Swimming always centered him, released his stress, and gave him a great start to whatever the day had in store for him. And for some reason, he knew he was going to need it today. Ever since he’d gotten up this morning he’d had a feeling that something big was going to happen, but the sun was shining and the sand was warm, making him think maybe he was mistaken. A beautiful day didn’t mean it couldn’t go sideways fast, though. He’d learned long ago to trust his gut, so he’d rather be ready than sorry.

He strode toward the chair where he’d left his towel, but didn’t see it there. I know I brought it down. He looked behind everything, just in case it had fallen, when he heard her voice. “Looking for this?”

From the moment she spoke, time seemed to stop. His toes dug into the sand. It had been so long. He looked up and took a step toward her, but hesitated. Was it really her? He’d imagined her so many times, safely back in Hawaii, within his arm’s reach.

“Hey, Sailor.” She walked toward him, uncertainty in her eyes as she watched him.

His tongue was tied with all the things he wanted to say to her. There was so much between them, so many feelings and things that needed to be said. But his throat felt tight and all he could get out was her name. “Catherine.”

She babbled on about wanting to call first, her hands giving away how nervous she was as she used them to emphasize her words. She clutched his towel like it was a lifeline and he held back a grin. She’d always been easy to read, but even nervous she was beautiful. He couldn’t take his eyes off her as she crossed toward him. She looked the same, but different. Her hair was longer, but her smile was how he remembered it. He tried to concentrate on what she was saying, but all he could think about was how much he wanted to hold her. It had been too long.

He reached for her and pulled her close, her familiar form feeling so right as he wrapped his arms around her. He rested his chin on her shoulder and she stopped talking while they both just held each other. She pressed against him like she always did when she needed to be held and he closed his eyes. How could he tell her how much he’d missed her? How much he wanted to stay in this moment with her and never let her go again? He couldn’t. Not yet. They needed to talk no matter how much he wanted to touch her.

His arms felt empty as he stepped back, and thankfully, she handed him his towel so he had something to do with his hands. It was too tempting to reach for her again or just pick her up and carry her into the house. He twisted his towel to keep his hands busy and make sure he kept them to himself. “When did you get in?”

She was still nervous, shoving her hands in her pockets as she spoke. “This morning. I just came straight from the airport. I wasn’t going to miss Kono’s wedding. Come on.”

She didn’t come home for me. It hit him harder than he thought it would. Did it matter why she’d come home? She was here, safe, and that was something he’d wanted for months. Quickly schooling his face not to show his feelings, he nodded his head, pulling back a little. “It’s good to see you, Cath.” And it was. No matter what was happening between them, he was glad they had a chance to talk this out.

“You, too, Steve.” Her brown eyes locked on his. How many times had he looked into those eyes? They’d seen him at his worst, his best, and his most uncertain. But here she was, looking like she had no idea how much she still meant to him.

He finally threw the towel over his shoulder, anxious to clear the air between them, to get rid of the awkwardness they’d never had before. “Listen, why don’t you let me dry off and throw some civvies on and take you out to breakfast? We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

She looked relieved. “Yeah, I’d love that.”

He smiled and turned to grab his stuff. This was definitely going to be a quick change of clothes. They’d been apart for too long as it was and he wanted to spend time with her again. To see what was still there. “Okay, well, good, good, give me a second, all right?”

But the ringtone on his phone made his stomach sink. No, no, no, not right now. He didn’t want to put this conversation with Catherine aside for work. For anything. He glanced at her, knowing she’d understand if he had to go. She always did, but it didn’t mean he had to like it. What if she wasn’t here when he got back? She wouldn’t leave without talking to him, right? “Don’t go anywhere.” Now it was his turn to use his hands for emphasis.

“I won’t.”

He leaned forward, giving her “the look,” hoping she could see how important it was that she stay. With a smile, he walked away, but turned around. “You’ve got to be exhausted. Why don’t you go up to the house and grab some coffee or just get some sleep?”

“Thanks, I will.” She stood there, watching him. He gave her a little wave and strode away, hoping whatever was waiting for him at work wouldn’t take very long. He couldn’t think of anything more important than his conversation with Catherine.

Friday Freebie

Today's Friday Freebie is Picture Perfect by Heather B. Moore. I reviewed it a few weeks back and really enjoyed it! It's Gemma's story from "The Five" high school friends that have kept in touch over the years.  A fun, short romance that made me smile. You can read my entire review here

And you can download your free Kindle copy here!

Here's the back copy:

Liz, Gemma, Arie, Jess, and Drew have been best friends since creating “the Five” at Aliso Creek High School. But that was over ten years ago, and each is still trying to find that perfect someone . . . if perfect is even possible.

In PICTURE PERFECT, Gemma has never done anything out of the ordinary, until her boyfriend Randy starts to ignore her. But even cutting and dyeing her hair doesn’t get his attention. She decides to join her old high school friends for spring vacation, only to be faced with Drew, her best friend who suddenly seems interested in her as more than a friend. Gemma must determine if her heart is on the rebound or if it’s finally met its true match.

Whisper Sync vs. Audible---Who Is The Loser Here?

Recently my narrator brought to my attention that our royalties from the audio book of my novel All Fall Down were being cut into because Amazon has made it available in Whisper Sync. Then, yesterday, an author friend of mine was excited that her Audible book was on sale and was talking about it on her Facebook page, when someone commented and said they got it on WhisperSync for $1.99, a lot less than even the Audible sale price.

So what is Whisper Sync and why is it hurting authors and narrators?

Amazon started a program called Whisper Sync where if you buy the ebook, you can also get the audio of it in Whisper Sync (generally for $1.99) to seamlessly go between listening and reading your book.  That sounds wonderful, doesn't it?  However, authors have no say whether they opt in to this program and no say over the extremely low price the audio is being offered for.  Authors don't even get to know in advance which of their books will be placed on Whisper Sync.

But it gets even more complicated than just choice being taken away from authors.  Unfortunately, for those of us who have invested time and money into producing an audio book with professional narrators on Audible, Whisper Sync cuts into those royalties and makes it difficult to get back our investment.

Let's break it down.  I have a professional narrator who spent hours narrating my book and making it come to life for Audible listeners.  We did a royalty share, so both of us would split any royalties from the audio book after ACX takes their cut.  Sales were brisk until Whisper Sync came into the picture.  My professionally produced audio book is $17.95, but who would pay that when they can get it on Whisper Sync for $1.99?

Since I don't have any choice in the matter, apparently Amazon didn't think the authors and narrators would mind being forced to take this drastic cut in royalties. I can't take my book off of Whisper Sync. We are forced to accept pennies on the dollar for Whisper Sync books sold.  How can I not feel bad about this when my narrator probably won't see any return on his investment in me for a very long time now?  An even bigger question is why would any professional narrator do royalty shares on ACX with Whisper Sync hanging over their heads as a royalty-killer?  And if the amazing professionals refuse to do royalty share any longer on the chance the book might be made available on Whisper Sync, the only way audio books could be made is for the author to pay up front, which isn't a viable option for some, or for authors to work with a less-experienced narrator which could be hit or miss in quality.

I've been told that the only way around Whisper Sync is to make the audio book at least 5% different than the ebook because then it won't sync up.  Or possibly to add music.  So I guess there are those alternatives, but it would seem to me the fair thing to do would be for Amazon to allow the author to opt out of Whisper Sync. Or at least have some say in the price the audio is being sold for.  Especially since the only losers here are the author and narrator who invested all the time and effort to produce the book in the first place.

*sigh*

Man, I really hate being the loser, but it's even worse seeing someone as talented as my narrator lose along with me.

Writer Goal Wednesday

photo credit: plnaugle via photopin cc 

It has been a super busy week! The most fun thing I did happened this morning, though, when I sent out my Author Newsletter.  It had a tiny sneak peek of my new novella. Did you see it? What did you think?  I can't wait for this story to come out.

I am almost done with the final edits on the novella. I'm just waiting for one more set of reader feedback to come through and then it will be sent off! Yay! 

As I mentioned last week, I got a new critique partner so we've been exchanging work and it's been motivating me to get more words in! But now I'm torn because I've started two books in my new series and I can't decide which one to concentrate on! A good problem to have, I suppose.  We're going to do a sprint together tonight and I'm excited. It's been a long time since I've done a sprint, but it's always been a major word count victory for me.  I'll let you know how it goes. (And which story I work on!)

I didn't approve the audio book for Ashes Ashes quite yet. There's been a slight delay, but hopefully that will happen in the next couple of days.

So, my goals for next week are: 

• Approve the audio book for Ashes Ashes
• Decide on a story to concentrate on
• Write five pages 

How did you do this week?

An Essential Tool For Your Writer's Toolbox

I just have to pass along this deal. I noticed The Emotion Amplifiers is FREE on Kindle right now! If you are a writer and don't know what the Emotion Thesaurus is and its companion The Emotion Amplifiers, then you must educate yourself immediately.

You know how your characters smile a lot? Or grin? Or you have to spell out to your reader that your character is happy/frustrated/angry? No longer.  Using the Emotion Thesaurus and the Emotion Amplifiers, you can start to SHOW your readers instead of telling. The books give you body language ideas and emotion phrases to help you delve deeper into your characters and it is awesome.

So go download your free copy of The Emotion Amplifiers here

 And you can download your copy of The Emotions Thesaurus here for $4.99 (Worth every penny.)

You won't regret it and your readers will thank you.

Book Review: Maybe Today

Today I want to tell you about a little book that could change your life.  It's called Maybe Today A Simple Approach to A Soul-Satisfying Life by David Butler and Emily Belle Freeman.

One of my life goals this year has been to seek peace in my life.  I have had some amazing experiences as I've actively tried to be a more peaceful person doing peaceful things.  This little book is definitely something that I will read over and over because it offers quotes and thoughts that touched me and that I want to keep foremost in my mind.  Soul-satisfying and peace seemed to go hand in hand for me, and this book uses patterns and scriptural references to the Savior's life in a way that I hadn't thought about before.

The book starts out with how life can be so ordinary. You roll out of bed, plug into the world, and know it will be one of those days.  But what if you made it something else?  Then it discusses five Holy Patterns from our Savior's life so we can live a soul-satisfying life. They're simple. Nothing earth-shattering, but it made me think, yeah, I can do that. Wow, I'd never thought of that. And, okay, let's do this.

I've started actively trying to implement one pattern into my life per week.  Honestly, I've noticed a difference and I think this is something I'd like to make a habit.  For example, taking a compassionate detour.  My life is busy and I have a list of things I have to do in a day, but lately I've been looking for those compassionate detours that help me serve someone else.  It's hard to explain, (you have to get this book!) but it's such a simple thing, and when you truly notice the opportunity and take it, what a difference it makes!

There was a quote in the book by James McNeill Whistler that I want to put on my fridge and my mirror and in my car so I can read it and remember. It was exactly what I needed to hear the day I read it and many days since.  There are quotes by Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert Frost to name a few. They all are used to illustrate the patterns discussed in the book and they add a perspective that gives extra meaning to the points the authors are trying to make.

It's a short little book, but it's filled with a lot of big ideas that can change your life. They've definitely changed mine for the better.  This is one for the keeper shelf.

You can get your hardback copy here for $12.17