An Emotional Day

I wanted to tell all my friends who have Nooks, that Ring Around the Rosie is now available on Nook!  It's $5.99 and you can click here to see it!

Today was a bit of an emotional day for me.  My son's fiancee got her bridal pictures done and invited me to come and see it. I wish I could post a picture, just so you could see how beautiful she is.  But as I stood there and watched her laugh and talk and kiss my son, I was so overwhelmed.  Just seeing how in love they are and how sweet they are with each other brought tears to my eyes.  I know, I'm a sentimental mom, but it just touched my heart.

I love seeing people in love.  I love being in love.  I love when my children are loved and love others. There's just something about love.  I even love writing about it.  As human beings love is something we crave, need, and thrive on.  I think that's why romance is the highest selling genre in books.  Those butterfly feelings that turn into something solid and real is hard to resist.  And real love is something to be treasured.

So, as I was wiping away the tears today I was grateful for love in my life and in the life of my son.  And I'm grateful for the opportunity I have to see it, and feel it, and share it.

Okay, I need a group hug.  *hugs*

$175 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway! Don't Miss This One!

What would you do with a 

$175 Amazon Gift Card?

11 authors have come together

to give you some SUMMER FUN READING

and a $175 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Click on the image to read a summary of each book :)

GIVEAWAY ends 8/31/14 

No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older and legally able to receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code. This giveaway is not associated with Rafflecopter, Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway was organized by I Love to Read and Review Books :) 
and sponsored by the participating authors.

A.L. Sowards

Christy Monson

Ashley Lavering

In This Together Media

J. C. Whyte

Debbie Peterson

Rebecca Belliston

Rebecca H Jamison

Rachelle J. Christensen

Alivia Anderson
Julie Coulter Bellon

The Writer's Toolbox---Exercising Your Imagination

photo credit: Nutmeg Designs via photopin cc 

I've mentioned before a game I sometimes play with my kids while we're in a line waiting.  We people-watch and try to make up stories about what they're doing and why.  We've come up with some really awesome stories that way and fun memories.

The more I think about it, though, the more I realize how much I love people watching and thinking about characters who might look like them.  For example, just this morning I went to the grocery store even though I was having a bad hair day.  (And yes, I was praying I didn't see anyone I know while I was there.)  But in the produce section there was this beautiful woman, her hair done up, she had a gorgeous dress on with five inch heels. I mean, this woman looked amazing, like she was about to go for a night on the town.  As I quickly grabbed the stuff I was there to get, ducking my head and hoping no one recognized me, I kept thinking about her. Why would someone come to the store in the morning dressed to the nines? Was she hoping to pick up a cute guy in the produce section?  Had she just come from a party? A funeral? A church activity?  Maybe she was a model heading off to a shoot and forgot her breakfast so she needed some celery or something.  My mind was going in all directions as I made a beeline for my car, crouching down in my seat, happy that no one I knew had seen me.  (Come to think of it, if someone was people-watching me, they would have probably thought I was a spy. Or a crazy lady.)

The point of the blog is, that it pays to be observant.  People watching can spark character development.  It is an exercise that can really keep your imagination healthy and working. Then, when you need it for your story, it will be ready.

So store up your people-watching skills, your ideas for characters, and all the daily exercise your imagination needs.  It's a must have in your writer's toolbox.

Book Review: Heart and Soul

Today I'd like to tell you about a romantic suspense book in the Minstrel series called, Heart and Soul,  by Lee Strauss.

This book intrigued me from the start.  We meet our heroine, Gabriele, who is mourning the loss of her husband.  She goes to England to get some closure and to see the cottage he's left to her in his will, but ends up finding out how many secrets her husband was really keeping.  The author has some chapters in flashback so we can really get a sense of her husband before his death.  I didn't think I would like that at first, but it really added to the suspense and the layers of secrets that Gabriele is uncovering.

While at the cottage she meets her husband's twin brother, Callum.  He's abrupt and cold, nothing like her husband, and he wants her to leave England. Now.  He will do anything he can to get her out of the country. Of course, Gabriele doesn't want to leave until she has answers and their battle of wills begins.

I loved the suspense and I loved the romance.  Both of them kept me turning pages until way past my bedtime just so I could see how it would end.  There wasn't much I didn't like about this book, there were just two tiny things that stuck out like when a house gets a bunch of windows blown out, but when the owner stays there later, there's no mention of that, and then a safehouse door is opened without checking to see who it was first, and that was just unbelievable for the professionals that were supposed to be on guard. (See, I didn't give away hardly any spoilers! I'm proud of me.)  But other than those two small items, this book was really well done. The setting was awesome, I could totally picture the tiny English town and the cottage, but the heroine and hero, both a bit bruised by life and the lot they've been dealt, are the ones who really make this story shine.  Highly recommended.  (I know this is part of a series, and I read the first book, but missed the second one and it didn't diminish my enjoyment at all.  I think I will go back and read it now, though. I really enjoyed this author's style.

Think this is a book you'd enjoy? You can get the Kindle version for $2.99.  Just click the title below:

Heart & Soul: a contemporary romance (The Minstrel Series Book 3)

Here's the back copy:


ROMANCE. SUSPENSE. MUSIC. DANGER. HOT BRITISH GUY

She's heartbroken. He's heartless.

Gabriele Baumann-Smith is deliriously in love with her young husband Lennon.

Except, it turns out that Lennon Smith isn't his real name. In fact, he's full of secrets: a cottage on the southern British coast, an old girlfriend and... an identical twin brother.

Callum Jones--not his real name--can't believe his brother's widow came to England. He'd warned Mick--Lennon--that an inheritance could put the girl's life in danger, and he was right.

"Mrs. Smith" is the last thing Callum needs to worry about right now. She's beautiful, sure, takes his breath away at times. But when she looks at him, who does she see?

Gabriele's heart is battered and bruised. Can one brother fix what the other left behind? And will they live long enough to find out?

Best enjoyed read in sequence:

Sun & Moon: Katja and Micah
Flesh & Bone: Eva and Sebastian
Heart & Soul: Gabriele and Callum

The Minstrel Series is a collection of contemporary romance novels set in the singer/songwriter world. The books are companion novels, with shared settings and characters, but each is a complete stand-alone story with a HEA (happily ever after) and no cliffhangers!

The books include MP3 links to original music by talented Indie Artists.

Friday Freebie & My New Book Is OUT!

I am SO EXCITED! My new novel, Ring Around the Rosie is out!  I've even received my first review! Tamera said, "I totally enjoyed the ride," and gave her opinion on my villain. You can read the whole thing here.   Thanks Tamera!

  

If you'd like the final book in my Hostage Negotiation series you can buy it by clicking on the picture below.

  

Here's the back copy, in case you've forgotten:


Revenge is a dish best served cold . . .

As the ex-wife of a law enforcement officer, Sarah Reed has known loneliness and loss. In order to cope, she makes a life for herself that’s full of routine while building a wall of ice around her heart. Everything about her is as predictable as she can make it until a tiny detour for her ex-husband, Ron, changes her life forever. Caught in a bomb crisis, Sarah is taken hostage by a man who wants Ron and everyone around him to suffer---and his idea of suffering is more terrible than Sarah had ever dreamed.


Captain Ron Reed has seen the worst of humanity in his job with the Hostage Negotiation Team, but he never expected his past to come back with a vengeance---literally. Aaron Starks, a criminal explosives expert, has stolen next-gen bomb technology. He uses it to force Ron to bargain for the lives of his team and his ex-wife, Sarah, the woman he still loves. But the situation escalates when Ron discovers that Starks has an even bigger objective in mind---using the bomb to show how vulnerable America and her people truly are.

Ron is willing to risk everything to save his country and those he loves, but when negotiations break down, will his sacrifice be too little too late?

And our Friday Freebie today is The Rainy Season by J. Adams.  I haven't read this one yet, but it looks good!  Here's the back copy:

“Life is a fickle thing, and destiny is as unpredictable as the shifting of the wind.

When I was ten years old, I wasn't concerned about either of those things until the day my mother died. That single event changed the course of my life, pointing me towards a destiny I could never have foreseen, and a love I couldn't have forsaken even if I tried.”

This is the story of a girl who was handed a life she never expected, encountering a love she could never deny.

If you're interested in downloading your free Kindle copy, click on the picture below!

An Overdue Book Baby

photo credit: Jason L. Parks via photopin cc

I've never been a particularly patient person.  I hate waiting rooms.  I specifically make doctor and dental appointments at times when there isn't generally a wait.  When I was expecting babies, I found out what the gender was because I couldn't wait.  (All of my children obliged my impatience as well and arrived early. I loved that.)  My husband can't even put presents under the Christmas tree for me because I can't wait and am very, very tempted to peek.

I know it's all about self-control and learning how to be patient.  I am regularly given opportunities to stretch my patience.  But it's hard.

And I've been waiting for my new book baby, Ring Around the Rosie, to be born and it's killing me that we're overdue!  The glitches for this book have seemed never-ending and just when I think we're on the smooth road to delivery, another one comes up.  It's SO HARD to wait.  Especially when I want to share it with you all so badly.

But here I sit.  Waiting.

I hope you're waiting as anxiously as I am because I think this is absolutely one of my very best books.  And as soon as I have ANY delivery news, I'll announce it here first.  (Or on my Facebook fan page. Are you on that one?)

*taps fingers on desk*

Waiting . . . . it's the worst.  But hopefully worth it when I see it in my hands (or on my Kindle) right?

Word Count Wednesday

Well, you're never going to believe it.  Well, I'm sure you'll believe that my word count was zero again, but that's because my book is coming out this week! Woohoo!

But the odd thing was, I had the outline for a new book come to me.  It was so exciting!  I thought I would only do one novel this year and a novella, but this new novel is really speaking to me.  I will be interested to see where it goes.

How did you do this week?