P.G. Forte's Blog, page 28
March 12, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~Hobbies? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked the question, "What other hobbies do you have besides writing?"
Being the prickly wordsmith that I am, I'm giving that "other" some serious side-eye. Because writing isn't a hobby for me. If I'm feeling upset or emotional about something my first instinct is to write it down. To get it out of my system. Eventually, I'll probably want to alchemize those words and emotions into fiction. But whatever else it is, it's not a hobby.
Creating graphics and covers--that's closer to a hobby, but still not quite.
I think I approach cooking as a hobby (at least some of the time). Knitting is definitely a hobby, as well as embroidery (even though I haven't embroidered anything in YEARS). Gardening...that's not even a hobby; it's an occasional interest. I have A LOT of interests that don't quite make the commitment threshold for hobby status. And I satisfy most of those interests by giving them to my characters as activities/jobs/hobbies/etc.
I'm sure I engage in several more activities/interests that should qualify as hobbies, but where would it end? Is wine tasting a hobby? Is travel? Or exercise? Or reading? But I think I'll stop here.
Old Sins, Long ShadowsChildren of Night, Book Two
Living forever is hard. Loving forever? Impossible.
Of all the mistakes Conrad Quintano has made, driving Damian away is the one that haunts him the most. He hates the fact that he's hurt the man he loves more than anything. For the sake of the twins, though, Conrad and Damian parent as a united front, a challenge that grows more and more difficult with each passing year. And with Conrad in his weakened state after his kidnapping, it grows more difficult than ever to be around the one man he can't have.
But an old enemy's mission to create a dangerous new breed of vampire threatens the twins' lives, and it's now more important than ever that the estranged lovers put the past behind them, or everything they hold dear might be ripped apart.
Buy ebook and/or print: https://books2read.com/u/31KAka
Read on Kiss: https://read.writekiss.com/details?book_id=609c0f98ca942135801ca731
March 11, 2024
Musical Monday: Ricky Martin - La Mordidita
I've been doing a lot of exercise lately--walking, biking, swimming, yoga--so I wanted to post an upbeat, exercise-y song. AND I just got back from Costa Rica, so something with a little bit of Latin flare seemed right. So here's something to get your blood pumping.
March 5, 2024
Romance Writer Weekly ~ Favorite Scents ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked "What's your favorite scent and does it help in your work?"
Yeah, as I think I've mentioned before, I don't realy have favorites. I love all the scents. Ad they absolutely help me in my work. I love to select the perfect scents for whatever book I'm writing--be it perfume, candle, tea, incense or some combination of all of them. I find them even more useful than the right music for getting me (and keeping me) in the right mood. Faster, too!
Now, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to find out if she has a favorite scent. And don't forget to check out her book, Taking His Measure.
THE COMPLETE BENDIXON SISTERS SERIES
Three steamy, open-door, full-length contemporary romances with all your favourite tropes!
* Second Chance * Grumpy/Sunshine * Forced Proximity * Best Friend’s Younger Sister * Virgin Hero * Forbidden Love * He Falls First * Enemies to Lovers * Single Dad * Starting Over
Allegro Court
Determined to save her beloved construction company, Mattie Bendixon makes a reckless wager with Marcus Temple. All he has to do is stay in his hated hometown for one month. All she has to risk is her heart.
Gateway Crescent
Neither flighty Jo Bendixon nor steadfast Luke Donwell prophesies the temptation flaring hot and bright between them. It might scorch them to the heart…or spark a match made in heaven.
Crossroad Corner
Https://books2read.com/TakingHisMeasure
Scent of the RosesOberon Book 1.0Scent of the Roses (book one in the Oberon series) is a slow-burn, second chance, paranormal romantic suspense story featuring a (42M) former bad-boy cop and the (36F) girl who got away.
Available now in print and digital formats. “An intriguing mystery complete with long-lost loves, twists I didn't expect, mysticism, murder, and great multi-layered characters…set in a magical small town. What's not to love?” “This is one story you don't want to miss reading! I become totally immersed in this intriguing mystery.” “The characters that make up the small town of Oberon California are beautifully eccentric. The two main characters of Scout and Nick were exactly what a real couple should be yet so many authors shy away from.”
https://books2read.com/ScentRoses
February 27, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Do You Believe in Magic? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked, "Do you believe in magic? Tell us why or why not."
Well, obviously I do. Anyone who's read any of my more "contemporary" romances knows that there's a little magic in almost all of them. And those that don't have quote/unquote magic, have a healthy dose of synchronicity, serendipity, and coincidence to take its place.
One of the major inspirations for my Oberon series was a series of conversations I had with other women I knew at the time at a coffee shop near our kids' school. Everyone had a story to tell about the odd and semi-supernatural things that they'd witnessed or experienced.
Could there be logical, rational, skeptical, "scientific" explanations for all of them? Sure. But I don't know what's one-hundred-percent true, and I don't think anyone else does either. Although, yes, I know many people think that they do. I just happen to think they're deluding themselves.
So, why not believe in magic? It makes life more fun, it doesn't hurt anything, and what if it is true? Anyway, that's how I look at it. #ChangeMyMind
THE COMPLETE BENDIXON SISTERS SERIES
Three steamy, open-door, full-length contemporary romances with all your favourite tropes!
* Second Chance * Grumpy/Sunshine * Forced Proximity * Best Friend’s Younger Sister * Virgin Hero * Forbidden Love * He Falls First * Enemies to Lovers * Single Dad * Starting Over
Allegro Court
Determined to save her beloved construction company, Mattie Bendixon makes a reckless wager with Marcus Temple. All he has to do is stay in his hated hometown for one month. All she has to risk is her heart.
Gateway Crescent
Neither flighty Jo Bendixon nor steadfast Luke Donwell prophesies the temptation flaring hot and bright between them. It might scorch them to the heart…or spark a match made in heaven.
Crossroad Corner
Will Danson can't stop thinking about his captivating business rival. Camryn Bendixon won't be distracted by the sexy single dad standing in her way. They are competing for construction bids and career-making contracts—but it is her battered heart that he truly wants to win.
https://books2read.com/TakingHisMeasure
Sound of a Voice That is Still
Oberon: Book 3
Sound of a Voice That is Still is set in January/February and features four different couples celebrating Valentine’s Day.
Well. “Celebrate” might be something of an overstatement in some cases.
https://books2read.com/SoundVoice
February 26, 2024
Musical Monday: Leaving On a Jet Plane ~ Peter, Paul, and Mary
So, this song has nothing to do with what I'm writing, but it's stuck on repeat in my head, so what else was I going to choose?
I'm going to be flying later this week--for the first time in six years!--which seems momentous. And...that's it.
I don't even have a travel-related excerpt to post because I'm so busy trying to get ready. So, hasta la vista!
February 19, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Where Would You Live? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked the question, "If you could live in another country, which one would you choose and why?"
Wow. This is a tough one. There are so many places I'd like to live. But, if I have to just pick one, and I'm being at all realistic, I'd say Ireland.
First of all, I could actually do it. Both of my maternal grandparents were born in Ireland, so I qualify for citizenship. But I also think it's beautiful. I like the weather, the culture, the music, the food. I can't speak a word of the language, but I'd love an excuse to try and learn it (I am horrible at languages) but lucky for me, I can get by just fine there speaking English.
What would you do if you could go back in time to find your soulmate? For Skye Blaine, the answer is clear: she would do whatever it takes to be with the one she loves.
Follow her as she travels through time in search of her heart's desire, finding that the path to true love is never easy, but always worth it.
Will she find her happy ending? This page-turning story of love, sacrifice, and courage is sure to captivate and inspire. Don't miss out on this unforgettable journey through time!
Put a Ring Around the RosieA Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story
February 14th is just another day...until it's not!
Musical Monday: Best I'll Ever Be Sister Hazel
So, this song has been around for awhile, and I actually listened to it a lot while I was writing some of the later Oberon books. It's sooooo Seth! But this accoustic version is one I hadn't heard until recently and it's perfect for the book I'm working on now. A secret project that I still can't talk about.
Suffice it to say I have a hero and heroine who both think a lot about loss and missed chances. It's supposed to be a RomCom but I never do understand the assignment!
Since I can't share that, however, here's a sneak peek at the ninth Oberon book, and my tortured teen hero:
Seth chopped savagely at the ground beef browning in the pan, using the spatula like a cleaver as he took out his frustrations on the dinner he was making; reducing the meat to hash. So, he’d said he was making burgers––so what? Change of plans. Deal with it. And if she was disappointed? If she didn’t like it, or if she didn’t want to deal? Well, then she could damn well feed herself.
He wasn’t in the mood to shape the meat into nice, round patties, or to even think about anything that might require that much patience or restraint, two things he was pretty much out of, at the moment. So, all the little details, things like slicing onions, hunting up pickles, toasting rolls or waiting for the friggin’ ketchup to drip out of the bottle, were flat out not gonna happen. They were all completely beyond his abilities to deal with.
Not to mention inquiring as to how Deirdre might want her meat cooked.
He didn’t want to inquire about that. He didn’t want to inquire about anything. So, with his plans to make hamburgers gone to hell, like everything else in his life it seemed, he did what he always did when things got tough. He wussed out. He turned to his family for assistance.
A batch of his mother’s tomato sauce, one of several with which she’d stocked his freezer, simmered in the smaller of his two saucepans, while the water for pasta bubbled away in the other. He paused in his massacre of the meat to add some salt and a pound of Rotelli to the water, then went back on the attack.
Not that the beef needed to be further subdued, but he was just so...fucking...pissed...off! He was furious––with the world in general, and with women in particular.
He was angry with Cara for waking him up too early this morning, for filling his mind with all her stupid, lame-brained, half-baked theories, for confusing the hell out of him. He was angry with Jasmine for being at the center today––when it should have been empty. For being helpful. And cheerful. And too damn smart.
But, first, last and always, he was angry with Deirdre.
For being too good of a liar.
For dropping that bombshell on him about the dogs.
For acting so concerned when he’d gotten upset, for sounding so sincere, looking so sweet.
And for the way she thought he could just turn his feelings for her on and off at will, like I’m some kind of fucking light switch––that most of all.
Time and again he’d gotten his foolish hopes up, only to have them shot down. Something––the words she’d say, the way she’d act––would make him think the two of them were going somewhere; but the minute he responded– Wham! Like a knee to his balls she’d smash his hopes flat. Take that, sucker! Blam!
As he mashed at the meat, grease splattered the stove. God, he was pissed! He was angry, horny, miserable and...confused.
What the hell was he doing wrong, all of a sudden? How come nothing he tried seemed to work with her? He never had that problem before. All the other girls he’d hooked up with had melted for him, with almost no effort at all; even the ones who’d had a reputation for being cold. Not that there’d been many of those. And they’d all seemed to like sex at least as much as he did, too.
But, shit, what did he know? He’d never even left Oberon for more than a few weeks at a time. Maybe Jasmine was right. Maybe there was just something wrong with the girls he’d been hanging with. Or maybe it was Deirdre who was screwed up.
“Want some help?” she asked, coming up behind him. He was so angry, he hadn’t even heard her come in. As she laid a hand on his back, he flinched away.
“Seth? What’s wrong?” She looked surprised by his reaction, maybe even a little hurt. She has to be kidding, right? If anyone should be feeling hurt right now, it was him.
“Nothing. Just...don’t do that anymore.” Under normal circumstances, or even half an hour ago, he’d have been perfectly happy to let her touch him––as much as she wanted. For two whole years it he’d daydreamed endlessly about it: in bed, in the shower, when he was with other girls.
In vivid detail he’d imagine how it would to feel if he were with Deirdre instead, if it were her hands touching, stroking, squeezing him. But, now, when she was here and making him crazy? When she’d just gotten through admitting that she hadn’t thought of him at all while she was gone? When she’d, only a few minutes earlier, been complaining that he was rushing her? And when she wouldn’t let him touch her back? Now, having her touch him was hell.
“Sorry,” she mumbled biting her lip, looking like, any minute, she might start bawling.
And, oh, fuck, no. He couldn’t deal with that tonight, either. He grabbed a large bowl from one of the cabinets and shoved it into her hands. “Here. Why don’t you make us a salad, okay?”
“Okay.” She took the bowl and headed for the refrigerator. “I thought you said you were making hamburgers?”
“I changed my mind.” He turned off the heat under the pan and added the mostly-pureed meat to the sauce. “I didn’t feel like it. We’re having spaghetti.”
“Oh. Well, whatever it is, it sure smells good. Did you just make that sauce?”
“What?” He turned to stare at her in disbelief. “In ten minutes? Of course not. Don’t you know it takes hours for sauce to cook?”
Deirdre shrugged. “No, not really. I just always used the stuff that comes out of jars.”
Of course she did. Shaking his head in disgust, Seth turned back to the stove. He thought briefly about offering to teach her to cook, but then changed his mind. He didn’t want to teach her anything. He didn’t even want to talk to her at this point. The pool house had never seemed as small or as crowded as it did this minute. He had no idea how he was going to get through the night. Especially if it was anything like last night.
https://www.pgforte.com/the-oberon-series
And Shadows Have Their Ending
Oberon Book 9.0
The last two years have not been kind to Seth Cavanaugh. But, he's suffered and grown and he finally feels ready to put his troubled past behind him. So, doesn't it just figure that the girl who caused all the trouble in the first place should pick now to return and cause him even more torment?
Deirdre Delaney Shelton-Cooper has spent the past two years trying to forget the events that marked her first visit to Oberon, but can you ever really forget the memory of your first love, no matter how painful those memories are? It's just her luck the boy she put herself through hell for has turned out to be such a loser.
After a disastrous reunion, they'd both be content to have nothing more to do with each other, if only fate--and one very determined angel--were not conspiring against them.
There are some wounds that time can't heal. There are some dreams that won't come true. But, sometimes, if you're lucky, shadows have their ending. And the love you'd just about given up on returns.
February 16, 2024
Friday FAILS for Friday February 16, 2024
So...I'm trying something new, which could be a huge mistake, but that's kind of the point of it anyway, so...IDK. We'll see how it goes.
Anyone who's read any of my "What I'm Reading" posts over on my Oberon blog (https://oberoncalifornia.blogspot.com/) knows that I'm a picky and opinionated reader. I get bugged by stupid little things--All. The. Time--while I'm reading. Which is why I'm generally perfectly okay with people reacting in similar fashion to one of my books.
I mean, sure I'd prefer everyone to love everything I write--who wouldn't? But that's not practical or possible or worth getting even slightly upset about. In fact, I get such a kick out of bad reviews that I once spent an entire week-long conference trying to convince other authors to let me tape them reading and reacting to their bad reviews.
Sadly, this did not come to pass. But I got a review this week that's really made me want to revive this idea--at least on my own. So, here goes...
The review was for Going to the Chapel which is a light and fluffy follow up story to Waiting for the Big One (which is also light and fluffy and about as low-angst as it's possible for me to be).
The main complaint had to do with Derek (the hero of both stories) having made mention of his ex (Claire) only days before his wedding to Gabby.
"I don't want to hear about how your most recent ex was "a freak between the sheets," especially when you're about to get married in a few days? Just not into that at all, sorry."
No need to be sorry, random reviewer. It's a perfectly valid point of view. The number of things that I'm "not into" while reading would fill several books.
HOWEVER, the reviewer does go on to say that she hadn't read their book and might feel different if she had--and obviously I think she's right! I think she'd feel entirely differently. lol! BUT in a perfect world, the book I REALLY wish she'd read is Let Me Count the Ways, which is Claire's book.
Claire and Derek have the most adorable relationship with each other. They're friends who no longer enjoy each other's benefits but they're so caring and sweetly protective of each other that their scenes together come close to stealing the show.
IMO YMMV
Gabby is not at all threatened by their relationship. Mike (Claire's beau) OTOH, is maybe a little tiny bit jealous of Derek. Not that he has any need to be. Because that's one of the nice things about Derek and Claire. They're intensely loyal. They have excellent boundaries.
Also, neither of them are suffering from amnesia (that's a plotline for another story in the series!) so of course they can still remember having had sex with each other. It was good. They enjoyed it. And neither of them is ashamed of it.
This is what Derek actually says/thinks (in the midst of a conversation with his brother--who's questioning why they're suddenly getting married):
"I still don't understand. Why the rush? Why now? You two have only been together, what? Three months?"
"We've only been dating for three months. But that's just because we were both with other people when we met. If things had been otherwise, we'd've been together for a lot longer than that."
"Uh-huh. Let me guess. Neither of you are cheaters, so nothing was ever gonna happen while there were other people involved. Is that it?"
"Exactly. That's how come I started calling her Gabe instead of Gabby. She was driving me crazy. I needed some way to remind myself that we weren't a couple, that we could only ever be friends."
Wyatt nodded thoughtfully. "I'd wondered. It seemed strange that you were the only one to call her that."
What I didn't tell him, what I'd never told anyone, was that it had become something else now, the name only I ever use for her. I'm pretty sure she has no idea that when I call her Gabe what I'm really saying is, I love you.
I shook my head, remembering. "It's kind of ironic. We became such good friends that, in the end, it took me months to coax her back out of the friend zone once we were both free. She didn't want to risk losing what we had." I hadn't wanted to lose it either, but I always knew we could be more. "Once we finally made the leap from friends to lovers, I guess I figured we’d already wasted enough time. Why wait any longer?"
"So, you're saying it's like that movie with Billy Crystal. Now that you've found the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, you want the rest of your life to start now?"
"When Harry Met Sally? Yeah, pretty much." What I didn't say—though I really wanted to—was, "you've actually seen that film?" I'd have bet anything that Wyatt was strictly an action movie type of guy. Maybe he saw it on a date?
"And you swear it's got nothing to do with how pretty she is?"
"I wouldn't say it had nothing to do with it. I'm not blind. But c'mon, you know what it’s like in LA. There are beautiful women all over the place."
My last girlfriend had been a movie star. Claire Calhoun is stunning, one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and enough of a freak between the sheets to keep just about anyone satisfied. Not that Wyatt needed to know that.
"Gabby's gorgeous," I said. "But that's not why I love her. It's just... It's just her."
It was everything about her. Her heart, her mind, her soul. I still can’t explain it, but I’m happier when I’m with her than I am when I’m not. If we were really going to start quoting movie lines at each other, I'd have gone with Jerry McGuire, and said 'she completes me' but that would have been weird.
"Well, okay, then. It's your funeral."
I fixed him with a stern look. "So, you promise you're not here to cause any trouble, or to try and talk me into backing out? You're not gonna stand up in the middle of the ceremony and say, 'I object'?"
"You really think I'd pull a dick move like that?"
"If you thought I was making a mistake? I dunno. Maybe? You've done crazier things."
And this is Claire and Derek (from Let Me Count the Ways) right after Derek interrupts an argument that Claire was having with Mike:
“Claire?” Derek’s voice penetrated my thoughts.
I glanced up at him. “Hmm?”
“I said, are you all right?”
I nodded. “I think so. Maybe.” I’d overreacted. I could see that now. Flicked on the raw, I’d jumped to conclusions. Stupid. I’d been stupid. “It was just a little misunderstanding.”
“It sounded like it was a little more than that,” Derek answered dryly.
“Not really.” I shrugged. “People argue, Derek. They get upset. They say things they don’t mean.”
“We didn’t.”
“No,” I agreed. “We didn’t.” Not like that. Then again, what would we have argued about? I glanced at the clock on the wall. “I thought you had a class?”
Derek nodded. “I do. But they can wait.”
I stared at him, almost speechless with surprise. “They can what?”
He shrugged. “It’s not gonna kill them to warm up for a few extra minutes. If you need to talk, they can wait.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling at the gesture. “But you should get down there. I just need to figure a few things out, that’s all.”
“Well, that’s for certain,” he said as he got to his feet. He glanced at the briefcase Mike had forgotten. “Want me to take that downstairs, leave it at the front desk?”
“No, that’s okay,” I said quickly, laying a hand on the worn leather.
Derek shook his head in disapproval. “All right. If you say so.”
“Thanks,” I repeated, continuing to smile until the door closed behind him.
My hand absently stroked the leather briefcase. Mike’s voice and the anguish in his eyes haunted me.
Why me, Claire? Was there anything about me that attracted you?
How did you answer a question like that? Why would he even ask it? I slid the case closer, turning it ‘til I could grip the handle. I imagined Mike’s hand clenched here, holding it just so... as though I could somehow intuit what he’d been thinking.
A few minutes later, a burst of applause from the studio below drew my attention. I got up and glanced through the glass. Derek was on the floor doing push-ups. One handed. While a bevy of leotard-clad women looked on, cheering and counting. It wasn’t hard to imagine what that was all about. He always exacted a penalty for lateness. No doubt his students had decided to do the same to him.
I suppose I should have felt just slightly guilty about that, but I didn’t. A couple dozen extra push-ups wouldn’t do him any harm. In fact, he was probably enjoying himself.
“Show off,” I muttered affectionately, watching until, his penance completed, he jumped to his feet. He wasn’t even out of breath.
Anyway that's it. End rant. Now I'm going to have to brainstorm having Claire show up for a cameo in the Gabby-and-Derek Christmas story that I have in the works. Hmm....
You can find links to all the books in the series here:
https://www.pgforte.com/la-love-stories
February 13, 2024
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Who Has Your Heart? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we're asked. "who has your heart and how do they inspire you?"
Hmm. Well, that's a loaded question, isn't it? My children are the ones who inspired me to write. I think it's important to follow your dreams, and I wanted to model that for them. My husband loves travel and he's inspired me to go places that I probably wouldn't have bothered going on my own. My grandson inspires me to stay healthy and strong so that I live to see him grow up.
Two women. Years apart. Linked by common experience and a cottage that has survived since the Civil War. When Rebecca reaches out from the past, Evelyn finds it life changing.
And in their own times, each must discover strength and fight to find and keep true love.
A 2023 NEST First Place Winner in Paranormal!
https://amzn.to/3VtxaZ3
Out Now!
Put a Ring Around the RosieA Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story
February 14th is just another day...until it's not!
https://books2read.com/RingRosie
February 11, 2024
Musical Monday: Just Another Day Jon Secada
Little known fact: a shorter version of Put a Ring Around the Rosie was released in an anthology titled Just Another Day--which was also the story's original title. Obviously, I had to change it for the antho, and the new name stuck! And, honestly, I love the new title and the new cover SO MUCH.
But this song still resonates.
Put a Ring Around the Rosie is LIVE tomorrow! Here's the teaser video to get you in the mood!
Put a Ring Around the RosieA Games We Play/Whole Latte Love Story
February 14th is just another day...until it's not!
Available for pre-order:
https://books2read.com/RingRosie
