My Heart Weeps by Pamela S. Thibodeaux

Today, I’m proud to introduce Pamela Thibodeaux, but many of you will already know her and be familiar with her books, but maybe you’ll learn something new about a lovely lady and a fine writer.

Tell me three words that describe yourself starting with A, B, and C

Attentive, Blessed, Caring

 Which genre or genres do you write or prefer to write? And why?

I write Inspirational romance and women’s fiction. I absolutely LOVE reading these genres so writing them comes naturally. Faith is very real and personal to me so it’s only right that it be the same for my characters.

 What gets your creative juices flowing?

Nothing in particular gets my creative juices flowing but being organized and setting aside quality time to write helps. The members of my writing group get together on Facebook to write every Tuesday night and I try to join them as often as possible because as busy as my life is, that may be my only time to write so I make the most of it.

 Who would you love most to meet ‘in person’ and why?

Nora Roberts – well I met her in person a long time ago and so much has happened since then so I’d love to meet up with her and be able to have a sit-down conversation about how she juggles her life and writing while maintaining her prolific career.

 Do you have a favorite snack that you like to munch on while writing?

Not really but I always have my glass of water next to me.

 Do you have a hobby? 

Other than read? LOL! I love to travel! I also enjoy hiking, horseback riding and dancing. I’ve found playing Word Scapes or Yahtzee or Solitaire on the phone is fun too.

 Do you read your reviews on your books? Do they influence your story at all?

Sometimes I read them, but I don’t think they truly influence my stories or writing.

 What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I do not listen to music while I write. I know many authors do, but I tend to get too caught up in the music and lyrics to pay attention to my story so no radio or CD or I-pod…I write better when it’s quiet.

 Do you have another profession besides writing?

Yes, I am a licensed insurance agent and sell Home, Life and Medicare plans. I also have an accounting and tax background.

 If you could go back in time, where would you go?

I would love to go back in time to Jerusalem to Jesus’ time. I know things weren’t near as convenient and easy as they are now, but I would love to have known Him and the women He touched.

 What’s the one thing you would do if you could be your character for a day?

I’ve been my character for a day – in fact for years. You see, My Heart Weeps is the story of one woman’s journey from wife to widow to individual. In other words, through grief after her husband’s death into new life and the possibility of new love and parallels my own after the death of my husband in 2009.

What was the inspiration for “My Heart Weeps”?

The first gentleman I dated after my husband’s death was a very sweet man and when he professed his feelings for me, I told him…. “I feel your love with every fiber of my being and my heart weeps because I’m not ready for anything more than friendship.” My next thought was That sounds like the title of a book!

 Will there be more books in your series, or can you tell us about any previous books?

My Heart Weeps is not part of a series but a stand-alone women’s fiction novel. I do have my 5-book Tempered series as well as a spin-off story, two more WF novels and 1 novella, 1 more romance novel, 1 WF novella, an anthology of romantic short stories and a WF Christmas novella.

What is your favorite part of this book and why?

I think my favorite part is when Melena stands up for herself with her family on decisions that she felt were necessary to her ultimate healing. This shows strength of character and faith.

What are you currently working on?

My current WIP is titled Kyleigh’s Country Christmas OR Kyleigh’s Cowboy. I’m also working to get my books in audio. Tempered Hearts, Tempered Dreams & Tempered Fire are already up & Tempered Joy will be available this fall. I’ve also completed the 5^th Tempered book Tempered Truth. It too will be released sometime this fall or perhaps early next year depending on how busy Medicare season is for me. After that, who knows? I have a whole slew of ideas in various stages of development to work on.

Title: My Heart Weeps

Blurb: After thirty years married to the man of her dreams, Melena Rhyker is devastated by her husband’s death. Relief comes in the form of an artist’s retreat at the Crossed Penn ranch in Utopia, TX. She rediscovers a forgotten dream as her artistic talent flourishes into that of a gallery-worthy artist. Will she have the courage to follow the path she was destined to travel?

Garrett Saunders has been on the run most of his life. Abused and abandoned as a child, he escapes the clutches of a past filled with pain and shame, and hides from his calling as a Native American healer. His years as a CIA agent aid in overcoming his childhood and honing his talent and skill as a fine art photographer.

Follow their journey as two people who come from totally different backgrounds, but share gifts of gigantic proportions, find meaning and purpose in the Texas Hill Country.

Excerpt: With the energy of a wet noodle, she eased out of the sauna, rinsed the sweat off her skin, and tied the sarong around her waist. She tossed the damp towel over her shoulders, put on her sandals and headed to her room to shower and change. Fresh fruit and pastries left over from breakfast lay spread out at the buffet like a feast for the famished. Melena filled a plate and had taken two steps toward the stairs when Anne Penn entered the room flanked by a handsome hunk of man Melena hadn’t seen before.

“Hi, Melena. I’d like you to meet Garrett, our new part-time wrangler, part-time maintenance man.”

Eyes the color of Texas bluebonnets swept over her in a gaze as potent as a caress, then locked with hers. A dimple danced in the cowboy’s cheek when he tipped his hat and grinned.

“Ma’am,” he drawled.

Melena tugged the ends of her towel together and down over her skimpily clad bosom, muttered a quick hello, and escaped. Racing up the stairs as fast as possible on legs that wobbled, she entered her room, all but dropped the plate on her nightstand, and sat down onto the bed.

Never had she felt the pure sexual punch of such raw masculinity in a single look.

Purchase Link: https://bit.ly/MyHeartWeeps

 

Author bio: Award-winning author, Pamela S. Thibodeaux is the Co-Founder and a lifetime member of Bayou Writers Group in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Multi-published in romantic fiction as well as creative non-fiction, her writing has been tagged as, “Inspirational with an Edge!” ™ and reviewed as “steamier and grittier than the typical Christian novel without decreasing the message.” Sign up to receive Pam’s newsletter and get a FREE short story!

 

Links:

Website address: http://www.pamelathibodeaux.com

Blog: http://pamswildroseblog.blogspot.com

Newsletter: http://bit.ly/psthibnewsletter

 

Face Book: http://facebook.com/pamelasthibodeaux

https://www.facebook.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor

 

Twitter: http://twitter.com/psthib @psthib

Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/pamelasthibodea/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/1jUVcdU

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/pamela-s-thibodeaux

Instagram: https://instagram.com/pamelasthibodeauxauthor

 

Pam is giving away 1 Ebook, 1 Autographed Print Book, 1 Audio Book, a $15 Amazon Gift Card, a 1-month Audible membership and a SURPRISE Giftpack to 6 lucky winners! (1 prize per person) Names will be collected throughout the tour which ends Sept. 30th. Winners will be notified, and prizes awarded by October 10^th so be sure to leave your EMAIL Address!

Blog Tour Dates/Stops:

8/11 Gail Pallotta’s Peering Through Life’s Window

8/13 Liz Flaherty’s Word Wranglers Blog

8/15 Clare Revell’s The Word Can Wait Blog

8/18 Southern Writers Suite T Blog

8/18 Alina K Field’s Simply Romance Blog

8/20 Penelope Marzec’s Bookish Thoughts Blog

8/25 Jana Richards’ Romance Story Board Blog

8/27 Beverly Bateman’s BLOG

9/1 Valarie Goree’s Facebook Page

9/5 D. V. Stone’s Campfire Blog

9/9 Jacqueline Seewald’s BLOG

9/11 Linda Rondeau’s Snark & Sensibility Blog

9/14 Patricia Kioyno’s Four Foxes, One Hound Blog

9/18 Diane Burton’s BLOG

9/22 Alicia Dean’s BLOG

9/25 Jeny Hickman’s BLOG

 

 

Blood Prophecy: Queen’s Ascension by Barb Jones

Tags

author giveaways, Barb Jones, Blood Prophecy, magic, paranormal, rafflecopter giveaways

Today, I welcome Barb Jones. Barb has some words for us:

Ever wonder what it’s like to……

How many of you have ever wondered what it’s like to try something new? Be bold? Be daring? The sky’s the limit!  Creativity gives us that opportunity to try something new.  Recently, I received an email from a new reader, who shared with me the fact that she never thought about writing until she joined the Release Party for Queen’s Ascension.   The fact that I am usually caught saying “Pen to paper” gave her the motivation she needed to write a short story.

As she shared with me, it was a short story (her words) because it was really a bedtime story meant for her child.  But she wrote another one. And another one. Not only did she tell these bedtime stories to her child each night, but after two weeks, she had enough stories to try to put together for a children’s bedtime collection.  Let me just say, her courage to try something new and the fact that she remembered what I said, “Put pen to paper”, melted my heart!  I was moved beyond words at how she tried something new based on something that she heard.  I bet she had a little fear, like we all do in trying new things, but that courage she exhibited is what will set her apart from those that have yet to try.

No one should be left wondering what it’s like to…..(fill in the blank), when all you have to do is try.  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  So, if you have ever wondered what it’s like to tell a story, or try your hand at cooking, anything creative – just try.  You might find a new hobby, new interest or even a way to make new friends.  And knowing how this year has been, we could always use more friends!

GENRE:   Paranormal

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BLURB:

When the darkness was compelling and the heart knew no bounds, was there really a right choice? With Michael’s life hanging in the balance, Amber had a choice: save her star-fated love or keep on the crusade to unite the magical community. For Amber, her fate was sealed even before her birth and it was her destiny to fight the great battle ahead of her. But, when it came to her heart — her friends, her great love — Amber’s torn. Not only was she the Queen, but she was a human in every sense of the word. She was vulnerable. And so the very people — Chloe and Michael — that gave her strength, quickly became her weakness. It wasn’t her fault she loved too much, was it?

Nevertheless, the Tall Dark Man had set a plan in motion that could threaten the very existence of the Blood Prophecy. Would he gather his dark forces and succeed in destroying Amber once and for all? Or, would she assemble her powerful friends and save the world?

Excerpt

One night when he was making his rounds in the forest to see if he could find any scraps tourists left behind when camping, he heard a soft whisper.

“Briar….”

He stilled at the sound of his name, and turned around to see no one or nothing in sight.

He was alone.

In the dark.

So, he crouched down and continued to shine the flashlight.

“…Hexham.”

He stopped once more and looked over his shoulder. His forehead crinkled with lines of confusion. “Hexham? Who the hell is Hexham?” His voice was thick with an English accent.

The bodiless voice laughed, and the closer he listened, the more definite the voice became. A woman’s voice spoke to him loud and clear, as if she were standing right in front having a conversation with him.

Briar’s voice quivered, partly from fear and partly from fascination. “Who are you? Where are you?” He shined the flashlight but saw nothing. Complete darkness and trees, that was it.

The woman’s voice laughed mockingly in return. “Who I am is not important—for now. But I am everywhere and nowhere, all the same.”

As the voice spoke, Briar felt a sense of ease overwhelm his body. The fear and anxiety dissipated. For the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged, truly and deeply, just by the sound of her voice.

“You do belong. We are family, a family of witches. The most powerful to have walked the earth. We lost you, but now you are found.”

He looked out to no one in particular, but his shock was evident. “Witches? That’s ludicrous.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

I was born in Hawaii, a place rich with culture and storytellers. As a little girl, scary tales about vampires, werewolves, angels, demons, and witches were my favorite kind — much to my mother’s dismay.
The scarier, the better.
My love for the supernatural never went away, even after moving to Seattle, far from Hawaii’s majestic beaches with unusual colors. Nothing compares to the landscapes of Maui, Lanai, or Oahu. But somehow, Seattle stole my heart anyway. It became the place where my love for stories took on a new form, in a book of my own: The Adventures of Little Arthur and Merlin the Magnificent. This book is for kids who love stories, just like I did.
Then I had an idea while sleeping.
One night, my mind began to work overtime. In a dream, I saw a unique storyline involving all the races and an epic battle of good versus evil. It was a modern day plot with a three thousand year old prophecy, The Blood Prophecy. I finished the first book in 2014, The Queen’s Destiny. Two years later, I released The Queen’s Enemy. The last book in the series, The Queen’s Ascension, released on August 17, 2020.
Today, I live in Florida with its beaches and sunshine. But I’m still a Seattle girl at heart. And so all my stories take place in the Northwest.
I always keep to my roots when I write.

Website: https://www.thebloodprophecy.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BloodProphecyBooks/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Blood_Prophecy1
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebloodprophecy/

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Queens-Ascension-Prophecy-Barb-Jones-ebook/dp/B08DKK66PM

Barnes and Noble Buy Link: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/queens-ascension-barb-jones/1137386713?ean=2940162985693

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For more fun and chances to win, follow Barb on her tour. Just click on the Tour Banner at the top for a list of the stops and dates.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE:

Barb Jones will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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The Unholy by Paul DeBlassie III

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amazon Kindle, author blog, author giveaway, award-winning authors, Goddess Fish Promotions, Native American heroine, Paul DeBlassie III, Rafflecopter giveaway, religion, The Unholy, thriller, thriller genre, thriller novel

Let’s ask the author!

Was The Unholy inspired by any true life experience, or what was the inspiration? Would you change anything if you were to rewrite the story?

Paul answered: Nothing in The Unholy can be changed. It’s set because it’s birthed from an imaginative realm of true to life suffering, nightmares, and eerie happenings from the dark side of religion. Check the newspapers.
They’re still going on. The Unholy dramatizes the battle between the forces of good and evil operating behind the scenes of what’s reported in the media.

GENRE: Thriller

BLURB:

Winner of the International Book Award and Pinnacle Book Award for Visionary Fiction! The Unholy is a dramatic story of Claire Sanchez, a young medicine woman, intent on discovering the closely-guarded secrets of her past. Forced into a life-and-death battle against an evil Archbishop, William Anarch, she confronts the dark side of religion and the horror of one man’s will to power.

Excerpt:

As she ran forward, out of nowhere the two crows flew at her, scraping the air near her face with their sharp talons. Fists clenched, she struck out at one and grabbed at the other. They flew up, circled overhead, then dove, talons flaring. Unmoving, Claire placed her hands by her side and held their gaze.

They fluttered above her head for a minute, then left. Claire turned and saw an eagle soaring—a healer’s spirit manifestation. Medicine women said it came only when needed, when danger lurked.

Frantically tugging away bush, bramble, and cacti, she uncovered the mouth of the seventh cave and stepped in. She had the feeling somebody was watching.

Her eyes adjusted and she made out the contour of something. Squinting, she stooped and touched what seemed to be a circle of stones and charred, cold logs. She stood up and pulled back. A bat flew at her. She waved it away.

She stopped, waited for her breathing to slow, and, stepping sideways, touched the walls of the cave. They were damp and the stink of blood and guts was everywhere. Using the hard surfaces as a guide, her fingertips suddenly brushed through a hollow space roughly the size of a human body.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Paul DeBlassie III, Ph.D. is a depth psychologist and award-winning writer living in his native New Mexico. He specializes in treating individuals in emotional and spiritual crisis. His novels, visionary thrillers, delve deep into archetypal realities as they play out dramatically in the lives of everyday people. Memberships include the Author’s Guild, Visionary Fiction Alliance, Depth Psychology Alliance, International Association for Relational Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy, and the International Association for Jungian Studies.

https://www.pauldeblassieiii.com/

https://twitter.com/pdeblassieiii?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-DeBlassie-III/e/B00E5TBJXY

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3938141.Paul_DeBlassie_III

https://www.amazon.com/Unholy-Paul-DeBlassie-III-ebook/dp/B07BL2JQSB

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-unholy-paul-deblassie-iii/1116031770

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 GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 Paul DeBlassie III will be awarding $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Campaigning Can Be Deadly by Charlotte Stuart

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2020, author giveaways, Books about Politics, Campaigning Can Be Deadly, Charlotte Stuart, election, Female PI, gift card giveaways, mystery, political campaign, rafflecopter giveaways, virtual book tours

Charlotte Stuart is with us today with Campaigning Can Be Deadly. I asked a question, and here is her honest answer:

Why did I choose to write about politics?

I confess…I chose to write about politics in Campaigning Can Be Deadly because I had a target in mind. When you’re writing a mystery, someone is going to die, and I theoretically wanted to knock off a couple of “bad guys.” What you wouldn’t dream of doing in real life, can be satisfying in fiction. Unfortunately, as is so often the case in the real world, good people became the victims. Not everyone gets what they deserve. And not everyone deserves what they get. As the plot developed and became more complex, my original vision of the story also evolved. Victims and survivors were moved around like pieces on a chess board. The only thing that remained constant was knowing the mystery would be solved by the end of the book.

Confession #2: I’m a political junkie. I read the headlines every morning, do a few deep dives on topics I find interesting, and often stew about what’s happening in the world that I think shouldn’t be happening. I try to balance that with feel-good stories, like videos about rescue animals finding homes, but there are some distressing topics that I can’t resist. For example, as someone who lives on the water in the Pacific Northwest, I care about our environment and worry about damage from oil spills and other sources of pollution. When I was brainstorming campaign issues for this mystery, I quickly landed on creating a Congressional race where big oil was supporting one candidate and an anti-oil activist student was trying to sway the election in the opposite direction.

Keep in mind that I write lighthearted mysteries that I want readers to find amusing as well as interesting. Achieving the right balance between serious themes and humor is like jumping from stone to stone when crossing a stream. Picture the stream as the serious storyline and the rocks as touchpoints for laughter. My “touchpoints” are setting and characters. My Discount Detective Agency – Vigilance You Can Afford – immediately alerts readers to the fact that this isn’t your traditional PI story. Still, what always starts as a minor investigation appropriate for a detective agency located in a shopping mall, quickly morphs into something larger, with a smattering of danger and a few laughs along the way. In addition, my characters all have their quirks and flaws, although they are also good people and, hopefully, likeable. And, yes, they are composites of friends, family and colleagues, all of whom have their own human quirks and flaws, with a little creative license thrown in for good measure. I thank them for the inspiration!

Another motivation for writing about politics was to highlight the election process. I believe it’s important for people to be involved in determining their own destinies by voting for people who will fight for the safe and healthy future we all want and deserve. And I admire the committed volunteers who devote themselves to working for causes and people they believe in. That’s what a democracy is all about.

In the final analysis, why write about politics? So I can create a world in which justice triumphs, the bad guys get what they deserve, and readers get a few laughs and closure. Oscar Wilde said “Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.” If art influences how we see life, then maybe we need to read more upbeat stories with happy endings. It’s worth a try.

GENRE: Mystery, Female PI

 

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BLURB:

What begins as a prank ends in murder.

The campaign for the U.S. Congressional seat was referred to in the press as “Mr. Smith goes to Washington versus the carpetbagger.” The popular local candidate gets the majority of endorsements, but his opponent’s wealthy, out-of-state family is willing to do whatever it takes for him to win.

Penny-wise Investigations, a discount detective agency located in a mall, is hired to find out who is stealing the local candidate’s political signs. Two of their investigators, Cameron Chandler and Yuri Webster, not only catch the thieves in the act, they find a body next to a pile of stolen signs, proving that Campaigning Can Be Deadly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EXCERPT:

 The hardest thing about any political campaign is how to win

without proving that you are unworthy of winning. – Adlai Stevenson

Billed by the press as “the carpetbagger versus Mr. Smith goes to Washington,” the contest between the two opposing candidates for the U.S. House of Representatives demonstrated the power of money in a campaign. With huge resources behind him, the “carpetbagger” became a household name overnight by bombarding the urban Washington State district with ads and flyers attacking his opponent. “Mr. Smith,” on the other hand, already a well-known local politician who had won most of the endorsements, tried to ignore the smear campaign from his opponent by consistently focusing on policy.

As the election drew near and polls suggested the race was too close to call, the candidate who had tried so hard to remain above the fray came out with an ad aimed at discrediting his opponent for moving into the district to run for office. Immediately the press jumped on the change in tactics. They tarred both candidates with the same brush and labeled the race as one of the most negative ever run in the state. It made good headlines.

AUTHOR Bio and Links:

In a world filled with uncertainty and too little chocolate, Charlotte Stuart has a passion for writing lighthearted mysteries with a pinch of adventure and a dollop of humor. Her first discount detective mystery, Survival Can Be Deadly, was a Foreward INDIES finalist. Why me? Chimeras, Conundrums and Dead Goldfish was a semi-finalist for the Chanticleer Murder and Mayhem contest before it was published. She began her career in academia with a PhD in communications. Then, she and her husband decided to build a commercial boat and go fishing for salmon in Alaska. Currently she is the VP for Puget Sound Sisters in Crime and lives and writes on Vashon Island in Washington State’s Puget Sound. She spends time each day entertained by herons, seals, eagles and other wildlife.

Charlotte Stuart – social media

website: http://www.charlottestuart.com

Twitter: https://twitter.com/quirkymysteries

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/charlotte.stuart.mysterywriter

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19305587.Charlotte_Stuart

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/clzstuart

Campaigning Can Be Deadly -primary online purchase links:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/campaigning-can-be-deadly-charlotte-stuart/1136403993

 

https://www.bookdepository.com/Campaigning-Can-Be-Deadly-Charlotte-Stuart/9781940442327

https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781940442327

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/51074737-campaigning-can-be-deadly

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION and RAFFLECOPTER CODE

 Charlotte Stuart will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Today is Book Snippets Day

Tags

action excerpts, androids, books about androids, Life for Sale, Linda Nightingale, robots, sci-fi, science fiction, scifi romance

And I’m playing with a short, action excerpt of Life for Sale.  Here’s the link if you’d like to visit the Facebook post. It’s Sunday. Relax and have a look around. Other authors will also be posting teasers of their books.

https://facebook.com/groups/610037685802608/permalink/1862759140530450/…

All the Missing Pieces by J. Keyes

Tags

All the Missing Pieces, author giveaways, books about embezzlement, Goddess Fish Promotions, J. Keyes, Juliana Keyes, rafflecopter giveaways, romantic suspense, virtual book tours

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Julianna Keyes will be awarding a physical $25 Amazon GC, (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Reese Carlisle hates her life. Three years after her father’s arrest for one of the largest embezzlement schemes in history, twenty million dollars is still missing, and the world believes she knows where it is.

Two years after her brother’s death, they still think she killed him.

One year later, she’s still hiding.

When the loneliness is too much, she seeks out strangers for one dark night, no questions asked. She makes up a name, puts on a disguise, and tries to forget.

One night she meets a new man. She tells him her name is Denise, she’s a dental assistant, and she loves dogs. He tells her she’s smart, she’s pretty, she’s funny. Things she hasn’t heard in too long.

Things that are too good to be true…

Read an Excerpt

I enter my dark apartment, the wall of windows providing enough ambient light to see my uninspired, decidedly minimal decor. I drop my purse and press my back to the door, sliding down to the floor. My black skirt rides up my thighs and my legs flop apart, knees rubbery, ankles weak.

I’d like to think I had too much wine, but that’s not true.

Not even after a night of halfway decent sex am I this shaky.

I know what the issue is.

My gaze flickers to my purse the way it would to a ticking time bomb. I fumble with the clasp before retrieving the shiny black room key and turning it over and over in my hand like a magician with no trick.

I yank off the cheap wig. I have a closet full of them, thanks to my brother’s short-lived career in theater management. They’re one of the few items that were returned to us after the raid. At least they came in handy. They help me become Harriet and Isabel and Jess. People nothing like the person I was. And most definitely nothing like the woman I am.

The stranger wouldn’t want this woman. He likes redheads with brown eyes who laugh when they’re not supposed to. My once-bleached hair is back to its natural black, my fingernails haven’t been painted in three years, and I only bother to shave my legs when I have a date. I don’t think the stranger would know what to do with this girl. He could read a million newspaper stories exposing my father’s crimes and hypothesizing about mine and never find the truth.

Liar. Thief. Murderer. Whore.

It’s in there somewhere.

About the Author: Julianna Keyes is a Canadian writer who has lived on both coasts and several places in between. She’s been skydiving, bungee jumping and white water rafting, but nothing thrills—or terrifies—her as much as the blank page. She loves Chinese food, foreign languages, baseball and television, though not necessarily in that order, and writes sizzling stories with strong characters, plenty of conflict, and lots of making up.

Website: http://www.juliannakeyes.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/juliannakeyes

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/juliannakeyesauthor
Goodreads: https://bit.ly/2CvzkE8

BUY LINKS

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2DzMY9P

iBooks: https://apple.co/38R9gQg

Kobo: https://bit.ly/3jke3hW

BN: https://bit.ly/2ZmN51a

Google: https://bit.ly/329zSKJ

Julianna Keyes will be awarding a physical $25 Amazon GC, (US/Canada only) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

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Sleeping with the Enemy by Jackie Barbosa

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author giveaways, gift card giveaways, Goddess Fish Promotions, historical romance, Jackie Barbosa, rafflecopter giveaways, Sleeping with the Enemy, virtual book tours

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Jackie Barbosa will be awarding a $20 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

When Mrs. Laura Farnsworth discovers the blood-stained body of a man wearing the distinctive red coat of the British army, her first instinct is to let dead dogs lie. It has, after all, been just two days since the Battle of Plattsburgh, and the disposition of enemy corpses is hardly her purview. But then the man proves himself to be very much alive by grabbing her ankle and mumbling incoherently.

After almost twenty-five years in His Majesty’s service, Lieutenant Colonel Geoffrey Langston never expected to wake up in heaven, much less being tended by an angel. But when he regains consciousness in the presence of a beautiful, dark-haired woman and with no memory of how he came to be there, what else can he think? Except it’s rather odd for an angel to have an American accent.

As the long-widowed Laura nurses the wounded Geoffrey back to health, the attraction between them heats from a simmer to a boil. Bound by his oath to the British crown, Geoffrey should be working to find his way back to his regiment and from there, to England. Instead, he’s sleeping with the enemy…and thereby committing the crime of desertion if not treason. But then, who’s going to find out?

If only Geoffrey didn’t have a family back home who refuse to take “missing in action” for an answer.

Read an Excerpt

Where the hell was he?

Well, in a room, certainly, since there were four white walls and a white ceiling. And since he was lying on a bed, covered by a white—well, perhaps it was more cream-colored—duvet, it would be reasonable to posit he was in a bedroom. But a bedroom where?

The last thing he remembered was… He frowned in concentration, which hurt, so he immediately stopped.

He had been encamped with his battalion on the north side of the Saranac River, awaiting the order from Prévost to begin the ground offensive.

Well, this certainly was not a tent in a military encampment.

So where the hell was he, and how had he come to be here?

Gingerly, he turned his head…and found an angel.

She sat in a chair that had been pulled up alongside the bed. Her dark hair had been arranged in a simple knot at the back of her head, but curling tendrils of it escaped here and there to brush her cheeks and forehead. The dress she wore was not white, but a very pale shade of gray that sparkled in beam of light streaming in from the window behind her. In profile, her features were as fine and lovely as a porcelain doll’s, the way he imagined an angel’s would be, though there were tiny laugh lines around her eyes and mouth that seemed a trifle out of place on a divine being. But then again, perhaps angels had a lot to laugh about, seeing as how they lived in paradise. She didn’t seem to be laughing now, however. Instead, her head was bowed and her expression conveyed a state of relaxed concentration.

Prayer?

He squinted. Maybe the question was not where the hell he was, but where the heaven he was.

About the Author:

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a writer when I grew up, but there were plenty of times when I wasn’t sure I ever would be. As it turns out, it just took me about twenty years longer to grow up than I expected!

On the road to publication, I took a few detours, including a stint in academia (I hold an MA in Classics from the University of Chicago and was a recipient of a Mellon Fellowship in the Humanities) and many years as a technical writer/instructional designer for a data processing company. I still hold my day job, but my true vocation has always been writing fiction and romance in particular.

I’m a firm believer that love is the most powerful force in the world, which that makes romance the most powerful genre in the world. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise!

Website: http://www.jackiebarbosa.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jackiebarbosa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JackieBarbosaAuthor/

Buy Links for Sleeping with the Enemy

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B085GK6Y1T
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sleeping-with-the-enemy-39
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleeping-with-the-enemy-jackie-barbosa/1136596890
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/sleeping-with-the-enemy/id1501443490?ls=1

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Rescued by a Highlander by Susan Payne

 

She would do anything to save her father and her heritage…even wed a highlander

I guess you could call me a “Second Chance” writer. I had always read everything I could. My ability to read so well and quickly, hid the fact I am dyslexic until my children began their reading.  I never realized why I had trouble writing or even printing until then.  I just thought of myself as being a messy writer.  So, my second chance came after I had joined and then left a writers group in the 1990s.  It seemed as if everyone else did it so effortlessly and I never cared for my words once they were down on paper.  They sounded so good in my head.  Like poetry only better.  Then one day a couple came to me and began telling me their story. Both at the same time talking over one another and wanting me to write it down.  That’s when I became a stenographer for the “people-in-my-head”.  Those two people began a series of eight stories of fictional Sweetwater, Kansas where they lived and thrived and, if you ask me, live there to this day even though my series began with two people living in 1873.

An interesting point is that I never see couples from the present.  Not even from this century although I now have two, I add to every once in a while.  One’s called Private Dick about an off-road P.I. who is a real sleaze and a short, short about a couple who ends up as singles at a hook-up all inclusive resort on the Caribe. Titled On the Same Page (Finally) they both have to do with writing/reading. Don’t know where they came from but they jump into my head every few weeks and I add it to their story.  Most stories I write, however, are historical romances for lack of a better term.  I usually have more than one couple involved in things and there is a secondary story along the way.  Love doesn’t happen in a vacuum and we all have family, friends, life that gets in the way.  No one can spend their whole day searching for and finding the perfect mate.  Even romance writers know better than that.  Not so easy sometimes to know what we want.

Since I got a late start, once I did begin writing in earnest, I’ve tried to make up for it in quantity.  I have over 80 ready to publish and another 20 works-in-progress. Actually, I was trying to free up my mind.  I know better now.  As soon as I finished one, two more jumped in.  I realized I’m never going to get ahead of them so have learned to live with the voices and the scenes and the unusual need to research equine encephalitis of 1873 or canning jars and how the lids were made.  This falls into my other love – learning tidbits that will make me no money.  I mean, it’s not as if I’ll ever get on Jeopardy or anything but I’m ready if I ever do.  Want to know the gestation of a calf or elephant?  Got it. Want to know how to make candles or soap from rendered fats?  Got it. If it’s something I don’t ‘got’ then I can’t sleep until I do understand it.  It may be why I read dictionaries and thesauruses as a child.  Encyclopedias were my best friends and one of the first things I bought as a married woman.  Remember, there wasn’t the internet and google available then.

I take reviews to heart and was one of the reasons I stayed away from publishing.  Even when people aren’t snarky it is difficult hearing that your baby is ugly.  I love my babies and do feel glad when I can see that a reader understood my character as well as I do.  That I was able to bring them to life so that another could meet them.  Understand where they came from and agree they deserved the happy-ever-after I gave them.  I know when I finish telling a story, my characters are happy and satisfied with their lives.  Most of them merely want to find someone to love them, to stay with that person and live a long and happy life.  Isn’t that what we all want for ourselves and our friends?

Blurb:

Tall, beautiful and slender, she dressed like a boy and fought like a warrior and won Laird Macgregor’s interest in a single moment. Jillian was fighting to protect her father and save her heritage – could she trust a Highlander to help her?

Excerpt:

On the ride back to the fortress, Gawain had not turned around, knowing what the young woman looked like up in the saddle. Her legs splayed to both sides of the animal covered with the tight knit hose most men wore while riding through woods, the chainmail covering her more interesting attributes. The short length of dark blond hair emphasized her chin and jaw line which spelt beauty to his eyes. Her mouth, though most often held in a mutinous frown, appeared kissable.

In fact, Gawain wanted to kiss it into a soft poutiness, make those green eyes spark with desire not hatred. Even though he may have to sleep with one eye open to prevent the little vixen from piercing him with his own dagger in the night, he would think the experience of bedding her well worth the danger. He knew a smile settled on his features as he imagined her squirming under him once they were in his bed. Such thoughts had made for an uncomfortable ride home.

BUY LINK:     https://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Highlander-Susan-Payne-ebook/dp/B08DZDYD84

About Susan:

A voracious reader her whole life, author Susan Payne loved the written word.  When reading more than fifty books per month wasn’t enough, she decided to allow her mind to take flight and write all the many stories that kept intruding in her life. She blended her love of history and her love of words to create over eighty stories.  All historical and centering on a couple finding love and a happy ever after together.

The author has published a series of stories surrounding fictional Sweetwater Kansas beginning with Harrison Ranch through The Wild Rose Press and Montana Lineman by Literary Wanderlust due out by end of 2020.  Also, contracted through Wild Rose Press this summer was The Persistent Marquess, Forever Kind of Woman, Rescued By a Highlander and to be released yet this fall, Texas Ranger and the Professor, Regency Christmas anthology, Three Sisters and Blind Faith.

Website:  http://www.authorsusanpayne.com

Buy site: https://www.amazon.com/Rescued-Highlander-Susan-Payne-ebook/dp/B08DZDYD84

Amazon URL  https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Payne

Email:  authorspayne@gmail.com

 

MIDDLE AGEish by Shirley Goldberg

Tags

#mustread, #newrelease, #romcom, #twrpbks, #womensfiction, paperback

I’m delighted to have a fellow Rose with me today. Shirley Goldberg and I both write for The Wild Rose Press. Shirley’s new release, Middle Ageish sounds like a fun read!

Welcome, Shirley. What drove you to write about a fifty-year old who does a lot of online dating?

 The old cliche about readers asking writers where their ideas come from? No one’s asked me that question. What they do ask is, “Did you really date 25 guys like your character in your book?”

They’re curious about how much of my book is autobiographical.

It’s complicated.

Some of Middle Ageish is based on real online dates I’ve––cough––enjoyed. So yes, I did meet a man who talked about his son way too much. (See the excerpt from the book, below.) As anyone who’s indulged in online dating knows, talking about one’s son is nothing more than an irritation when compared with the criminal acts perpetrated on well-meaning daters. (Now I sound like my Aunt Patty, who watched a lot of cop shows.)

What did these guys do? Everything from canceling at the last minute to waiting outside the restaurant to look me over before introducing himself.

We writers draw, in part, from our lives. But it’s call fiction for a reason.

You get to lie.

Lawrence Block, a crime writer with a column in Writers Digest for many years, wrote a book titled, Telling Lies for Fun and Profit. It’s a collection of his columns with highly entertaining tips about writing and the publishing industry.

Lying is the fun part because…well, I’m not writing a memoir.

I’m a reader. All writers are readers. Although I read across genres––recently dipping into paranormal and fantasy––my favorite is women’s fiction. Now that’s a broad category, and it ranges from the serious to the super light and fluffy.

These days, I look for humor in my reading life with an occasional detour into more substantial reads. What grabs me? Relationship stories of all kinds. A believable meet-cute that’s not over the top. Conversations between characters that are realistic yet entertaining and show why they’re attracted to one another. Subtle yet playful. A great break-up scene where the guy deserves to be kicked in the nut sack––metaphorically, of course. Or telling off the big boss and walking away, corny as that sounds. Haven’t we all wished we’d had the nerve? Also love relating to the changes a character undergoes as the story unwinds. These are the elements that resonate for me in a story.

So, back to the autobiographical stuff.

I’ll admit it, I exaggerated in the Donald scene. I took a mediocre date with a man who talked way too much about his son, and added a frustrated woman who grabs her chance to get back at him, if only a little bit. In real life, there was no phone call from another date, and I didn’t cut the evening short.

Many times I’ve wished I had the guts to follow my instinct, or my character’s example.

The thing about using real life experiences as a foundation for a scene is after a while I tend to forget what really happened. The more I read over and edit the fictional version, the more it becomes, in my mind, the real thing.

The teaching scenes in the book came from my experience as a teacher, and anyone who spends time with adolescents, especially fellow teachers, will identify with Sunny, my heroine. Kids are masters at finding your weaknesses.

As far as the online dating, yes, I did a lot of online dating. I carried a small notebook around, took a few minutes in my car––or in the restroom if it was too good an anecdote to risk forgetting––to jot down notes. Here are a few examples:

• Asked nothing about me. Talked for 45 minutes straight.
• Didn’t make eye contact.
• The waitress knew him by name.
• “I’ll treat if I can take home the leftovers.”
• Widower, three months since wife died. Too soon to date?
• Long nails on pinkies.

Short comments that eventually led to a book, even though writing a book wasn’t a plan, not at first.

And I still have that little packed-with-memories journal.

Middle Ageish Blurb

Sunny Chanel’s marriage is circling the drain when her husband marks his colonoscopy on the calendar and ignores their anniversary. With divorce papers instead of roses on the horizon, she says “au revoir” Paris and croissants, and “hello” cheap New Haven apartment and ramen noodles.

With the encouragement of her friends, Sunny jumps into online dating, twenty-three years and twenty pounds after her last date. To her surprise she discovers dating might require a helmet, and occasionally armor to protect her heart, but after years of being ignored, her adventurous side craves fun and conversation. She’s middle-aged not dead. Then suddenly, on the way to reinventing herself, life takes a left turn when the one man she can’t forget calls with an unexpected request.

Middle Ageish Excerpt         

On my second glass of wine––we’d hit the early bird special, Donald’s suggestion––at a new fish place on the water, The Fin and Tater. The air held the briny scent of fresh tuna and their specialty, fifteen potato dishes, from sweet mashed to curly and deep fried in olive oil.

“One minute, almost done here,” Donald’s thumbs operating at warp speed on his phone, an oversize smart phone.

I salivated. An appetizer, however small, would do the trick.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “Don’t like to be unavailable to Johnny. So. Where was I? Oh, did I tell you he just turned twelve?”

“Um––”

His phone dinged, signaling another text. “Sorry, one second.” He moved away.

The urge to gulp the wine was almost overwhelming, but I forced myself to sip slowly, realizing my whole face was clenched.

And here I was in the shortish red skirt to my red suit, feeling pretty jazzed. For what? So Donald could text-date his son on my time?

Plus, there was the hunger factor.

My phone pinged with a chat alert from the dating site. Some guy named José. Might as well send him my phone number. Twenty seconds later, he texted.

Hi, I’m intrigued. Thinking you have more online match-type experience than I have but I do not want to presume. Wanna talk?

Dinner wasn’t materializing, as our menus sat in the middle of the table where Donald had left them when he got his latest text. I breathed in the unmistakable, mouthwatering aroma of freshly-delivered garlic potatoes at the next table. If I could catch Donald between texts, I’d lobby for a potato appetizer, plenty of garlic, since for sure there wouldn’t be any kissing.

A glance over at Donald, still texting in a corner of the lobby. The server appeared with a basket of rolls wrapped in cloth.

“Did you get a chance to look at the menu?” she asked. The early bird deadline was upon us.

“Not yet,” I said, afraid she’d disappear with the rolls. I peeled back the napkin, inhaled the scent, the warm goodness radiating from the basket. Before the rolls, I’d considered leaving, but the rolls weren’t crappy, white doughy rolls.

“I’ll be back to check on you.”

Nope. They were dark and seeded, three different kinds, popovers and crisp crusts, a couple with raisins. I grabbed a raisiny one, tore it in half and smeared it with butter. Took a generous bite, geez. Heaven. Took a healthy glug of wine. That second glass was going to my head in a good way.

Donald reappeared and set his phone aside. “Sorry, can’t help myself when it comes to my son. You have kids?”

Donald’s phone rang as I started to answer, and he disappeared again. Never mind. I finished my roll and grabbed a popover, tore off a piece, savoring the buttery smoothness. I pulled my phone out, figuring to get some business done while Donald was busy being rude.

My bank account was down to $989.56. Nothing new there. My phone rang with a caller ID I didn’t recognize.

“Hello?”

“Hi. Sunny? This is José. Figured talking was better than texting.” His voice was a purr, and my whole body reacted in a jumpy adrenaline mini-rush. I headed for the door, waving so Donald would know I was stepping outside for my own phone call.

The restaurant, at the end of a small street that dead ends at a boatyard, hosts a sailing club. Boats of all sizes, from Sunfish to two-motor jobs. I stood listening to the slap of the waves as José waxed on about a bad date.

“I yearn for normal,” he said.

“You didn’t have normal?” Fascinating, his word choice. Normal. Normal was for the very young. Wasn’t normal mostly over at our age?

“Well, it depends.” He paused. “I know this sounds dumb. I feel I can talk to you.” His voice lowered. “Lots of sex early on. If there’s nothing else, it all fades away. And you start the next one.”

“Well,” I hesitated, “I have this naïve idea that as we mature, we realize that sex is important, yes, but not the most important element in a relationship. Unless it’s missing.”  José was better company than Donald, my so-called date.

“Shouldn’t it be that way?” he said. “When you get older, well, you look for more.”

José talked the talk, but it irked me that he might be feeding me a line. I tried to truly listen to the voice, the breaks and pauses. Listen for the sincerity.

“Do you look for chemistry?” I asked, knowing the answer before he said it.

“Of course. Absolutely essential.”

“Gotta go,” I said, turning back to the restaurant. The smell of rotting fish from somewhere on the docks overpowered me. “I’m on this lousy date,” I blurted.

“Leave. He doesn’t deserve you. You’re too polite.”

“Yeah, I am a polite person.” José had no boundaries when it came to offering advice to strangers.

“Nice talking to you. I’ll call you again.”

Inside the restaurant, Donald bent over his phone in a classic text-neck posture. I plucked the remaining half of my popover, wrapped it in a napkin.

“Hey, I’ve got to get going.” Donald looked up as if unsure what was happening. A wave of irritation mixed with impatience washed over me. Not my place to tell Donald what women want.

“Good luck, Donald,” and I gave a little two-fingered wave, headed out.

Later that night, in my comfy pajamas, I went online, determined to start over, be more positive. Three emails from José hit my inbox. I skimmed the first two, and read the third email three times.

What do you dream about? I have one life to live, and while I want great sex, I want a real romance and a sense of closeness. Let’s meet soon. 

I crawled into bed, smiling. Great sex, huh? Does anyone want crappy sex?

About the Author

Shirley Goldberg is a writer, novelist, and former ESL and French teacher who’s lived in Paris, Crete, and Casablanca. She writes about men and women of a certain age starting over. Her website http://midagedating.com offers a humorous look at living single and  dating in mid life, and her friends like to guess which stories are true.  Middle Ageish is her first book in the series Starting Over. Her character believes you should never leave home without your sense of humor and Shirley agrees.

Visit my website and sign up for a copy of Happy Hour, a short story about an online meet and a tiny misunderstanding.

https://midagedating.com/ 

ARC Reader Review:

Buckle up for a wild ride. Middle Ageish is a rom com romp of middle age dating complete with all the swipes, texts and angst you could ever desire.

BUY   Middle Ageish  AT YOUR FAVORITE BOOKSTORE:

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LIFE FOR SALE by Linda Nightingale

Judith Sterling

Please welcome Linda Nightingale back to the blog! She’s a sister Rose (published by The Wild Rose Press), and she’s here to talk about humanoid, sentient androids. Why, you ask? Her Tomorrow’s Angels series features them. Here’s a little about it:

Mayfair Electronics has created life.

In Love for Sale, the high-tech electronics company, in black and white, offers “love for sale”. Mayfair has engineered sentient androids indistinguishable from humans. March Morgan flies to England and meets the man she has been searching for her entire life. Christian requires no programming to love March at first sight, but her past and his future soon threaten their happiness—and their lives.

In the sequel, Life for Sale, four of the Special Editions have escaped. Rebel, Christian and March are on the run, but they have a bigger problem than his creator’s plan to destroy him. They’ve discovered that one of…

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