P.G. Forte's Blog, page 41
February 14, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Love Story ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, on the Romance Writers Weekly blog hop, we've been asked to tell you a favorite love story.
How weirdly non-specific is that? I mean...fictional? Non-fictional? My own or someone else's How would I even pick?
So I'm going to give you a very abridged version of the night my grandmother realized she was in love with my grandfather.
Both my mother's parents were born in Ireland but they were from different counties and there was a significant age gap and they wouldn't meet until they were both living in New York.
They were both the eldest of several children and they both lost their fathers at a fairly young age. They both grew up with the expectation that it was their responsibility to help provide for their siblings and their mother. My grandmother became a nurse. This is important to the story because the hospital where she worked provided housing for the nurses, which was run (I believe) a little like a sorority house.
The two of them met at a dance that was put on by some Irish association. My grandfather took one look at her and was immediately smitten. My grandmother, young and with enough responsibility on her plate, was very much not looking to settle down. She was a harder sell. It didn't help that the other nurses were against the match. She was high spirited and fun. He was older and quieter and very serious
They'd been dating awhile and my grandmother gradually realized she needed to make a choice. So she prayed for a sign.
That night was some sort of occasion, all the nurses had dates, including my grandmother. I like to pretend it was Valentine's Day, but I don't think it was. It was winter--that I do know--because it had started to snow at some point in the day. By evening, the buses had stopped running and the other nurses began to receive messages from their (much younger than my grandfather--just sayin' )beaus to let them know they wouldn't be coming.
My grandmother did not get a message, and when my grandfather did not show up at the appointed time, she bitterly concluded that that was her sign: he couldn't even be bothered to let her know he wasn't coming.
Obviously, that was not the case--because otherwise I wouldn't be here to tell the story!
My grandfather hadn't sent a message because he never had any intention of missing their date. It just took him longer than he anticipated to walk there in a blizzard.
That's the night my grandmother realized she'd found a keeper. And the other nurses learned not to overlook the quiet, serious types.
Their story had a lot of ups and downs, grief, heartaches, separations, but they remained madly in love with each other for the rest of their lives.
Next, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page and read about another love story.
Both Truth or Dare (the first book in my Games We Play trilogy) and Put a Ring Around the Rosie (the newest story in the series) take place primarily on Valentine's Day. Why not pick them up and enjoy a little topical romance this holiday?
Games We Play trilogy: https://books2read.com/u/4ENoKg
Truth or Dare: https://books2read.com/u/mggr2R
Just Another Day: https://tinyurl.com/Just-Another-Day
February 9, 2023
A "Tail" of Two Logos
So...tail? Yep. Tail. Cue the shifter jokes because I'm diving into the fun and furry world of werewolves!
See, a funny thing happened on the way to tying up the loose thread that I'd left hanging when I decided to make Light Up the Night a much shorter story than I'd originally planned. It's what usually happens when I pull on a thread. I end up with a whole new tapestry.
See, the vampire love story I intended to write for Heather and Drew involved a side trip to the mountains to deal with some troublesome werewolves. But the side trip became a whole entire subplot involving Liz and Jason. So I decided to split the story into two and to call this second story Chasing Daylight. So far, so good.
But then...I made a crucial error in judgement when I decided to enter Chasing Daylight into a Shifter anthology. Because just because there are werewolves on the page, doesn't mean this particular story was ever going to be a werewolf romance.
So I decided to write a separate story for the anthology, which I'm doing and I'm loving. It's called Can't Fight the Moonlight (there's a message there for me, I think!) and now...I've got a brand new shifter series to write and a brand new shifter world to play in and a brand new problem deciding between two different logos. Which is where you come in. Here are the choices and here's the link to the poll: https://forms.wix.com/r/7011191113025323677 do I go with granite gray (with what looks to me like claw marks) or do I go with the shifting shades of moonlight-on-snow blue?
Also, here's the blurb and one version of a possible cover...
The Sierra Nevada foothills have been vampire Josiah Lodge’s hunting grounds for nearly two centuries now. Alone since a lover’s betrayal cost him his nest, the former trapper-turned-wild-crafter has given up on ever again finding love or acceptance. If he didn’t have to eat, he’d never venture out of his woods again. But needs must.When Coldpelt (Cole) Moonwalker’s true shifter nature asserted itself, he was judged an abomination and cast out of his pack. Without a territory to call his own, he’s constantly on the move, constantly in danger—which is how he ends up passed out and injured on Josh’s front porch. While Cole dreams of someday finding a place where he can belong, he knows that place can never be with the scarred and surly vampire who undoubtedly has the blood of Cole’s people on his hands.
Will the attraction they feel for one another allow these natural enemies to overcome their sense of mutual distrust? Is enemies with benefits even a thing?
Find out when the FREE anthology Shifter Fever debuts April 1st.
February 7, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Where do you go for inspiration? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week's Romance Writers Weekly question is: "Share a place where you go to find inspiration (museum, park, coffee shop, etc.). Why does it inspire you?"
Well, this question gave me something to think about! I like being outdoors--taking a walk by the ocean, or hiking through a grove of trees. It's invigorating and grounding and something about walking around thinking deeply about a story will make things almost magically fall into place.
However, anything that magically falls into place, can also magically erase itself from your brain if you don't have any way to record it. So, sitting outside somewhere with a cup of tea or coffee, or a glass of wine--and something to take notes on--is almost as inspiring and far less frustrating.
Unless the weather sucks--then it's coffee shops all the way. Next, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page and find out what she's been reading. And be sure and check out her book, Tied to Morocco .
Lady Catherine was kidnapped and taken to Morocco. There, she fell in love with Tazim. But, just before they were to wed, Tazim disappeared and she was told he was dead. Forced into an unwanted marriage with another, she manages to escape and make her way home to England. But Tazim is not dead. Believing Catherine betrayed him, he has vowed to exact revenge.
Can they find each other again? Can their love be rekindled?
COMING SOON
Christmas AngelYou’ve heard this story, or one just like it, a hundred times before. Cranky guy dies without learning the true meaning of Christmas, is turned into an angel, and sent back to earth in order to save some other poor schmuck from suffering the same unhappy fate.
Usually it’s billed as a romance, or a dramedy, perfect for a night of family fun. Which is ludicrous. Even Dickens, the man who invented cheesy Christmas stories, knew better than that. His Marley was clearly miserable, as who wouldn’t be in his situation? Which, as it happens, is also my situation.
Hi. My name is Jacob. I’m an angel. And this is my story.
January 31, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Where Do You Vacation? ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, the question posed by Romance Writers Weekly is: "What is your favourite holiday destination? Mountain, ocean, big city, country?"
The answer to that is surprisingly easy for once. At the moment: the ocean. Hands down. I'm currently living farther away from the coast (any coast) than I've ever lived before. Most of my life has been spent within sight of salt water, so this has been a really big adjustment.
In fact, the stories I'm featuring this week--the Games We Play trilogy--are set along the Jersey Shore, one of my old stomping grounds. It's a fun set of stories and it has the distinction of being the some of the hottest stories I've ever written. So maybe check 'em out if the winter weather is getting to you and you're looking for a way to warm up...
Next, hop on over to Jenna Da Sie's page to find out where she likes to spend her vacations.
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The Games We Play Trilogy
Book a stay at the Wild Geese Inn!
A quirky, family-owned resort on the Jersey Shore is the setting for this erotic, lightly paranormal series. Cousins Brenda, Luke and Gwyn are determined to turn their failing hotel business around. They have no time for love. They're in no mood for games. But it's not going to matter. Not when they're up against a handful of ghosts, a mischievous boggart, a family curse, and destinies written in stone.
The Games We Play trilogy. Three connected stories designed to prove that holiday fun doesn't begin, or end, in December!
Download it here: https://books2read.com/u/4ENoKg
January 24, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Favorite Books of 2022 ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week's Romance Writers Weekly question is: "Writers are readers, too! Who are your one-click authors? What was your favourite book of 2022?"
Um...how long have you got? 2022 was a pretty great year for books with a lot of my favorite authors beginning and/or ending series, and releasing stand-alone books and/or spin offs.
Kelly Jamieson wrapped up the 2nd trilogy in her Bears Hockey series and released a stand-alone MMR, Royally Indecent. Jenny Schwartz wrapped up her Adventures of a Xeno-archaeologist series and gave us the first in a new spin off series with Any House in a Storm. Jennifer Bernard maybe, sort of wrapped up her Lost Harbor, Alaska series, but segued into a new kinda, sorta connected series, Lake Bittersweet.
Jordan L Hawk debuted a new series, (Outfoxing the Paranormal) with her story The Forgotten Dead. Jeffe Kennedy wrapped up Heirs of Magic with The Long Night of the Radiant Star. And Devon Monk has (maybe) ended her Ordinary Magic series, but hopefully there are more Souls of the Road books coming. The newest, Wayward Sky, released last month but I haven't read it yet.
Oh, and KJ Charles dropped a nice little Christmas present to wrap up the Year. Masters In This Hall is part of the Lilywhite Boys series, which in turn connects to both her Sins of the Cites AND her Society of Gentlemen series.
In case it isn't obvious by now, I LOVE interconnected series.
Well, I think that's enough to go on. As to my favorite...no. I don't play favorites. I'm far too indecisive. I will say that the most unexpected (in a good way) book I read last year by a new-to-me author was One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston. Set in New York City and partially during the time I lived there made it a very nice treat.
Next, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page and find out what she's been reading. And be sure and check out her book, Murder Most Notorious .
A beautiful homicide detective and a sexy cold case guy have to team up to find a vicious axe-wielding killer. Brutal murders have shocked the city and all the evidence points to a twin sister once thought dead. So many twists and turns in this action packed romantic thriller you might get dizzy. And so much passion
Mark your calendar! The Worth the Wait Seasoned Romance Readers group is hosting a party! It’s their 2nd annual Snow Day event coming soon! Invite your friends and pop in any time all-day Saturday January 28th, or Sunday morning. Author posts will close Sunday.
Hope to see you there!
You must join the group to participate.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/worththewaitseasonedromancereaders
COMING SOON
Christmas AngelYou’ve heard this story a hundred times before. Well. A dozen times, anyway. It’s a Christmas classic: Cranky guy dies without learning the true meaning of the season, gets turned into an angel and is given the job of saving someone else from suffering the same unhappy fate. Usually it’s billed as a romance, or at least as feel-good, family fun. Which is ridiculous. Even Dickens, the man who invented cheesy Christmas stories, knew better than that. His Marley was miserable, as who wouldn’t be in his situation? Which also happens to be my situation.
Hi. My name is Jacob. I’m an angel. And this is my story.
Releases May 16, 2023 in the limited edition anthology Redemption: a Fallen Angels Paranormal Romance Collection available for pre-order now. https://books2read.com/b/br1JkE
January 17, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ Let's Talk About the Weather ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week's Romance Writers Weekly question is: "What is your favorite kind of weather? Does it inspire your writing?"
I used to love weather. Beaches in summer, skiing in winter, picking apples in the fall and flowers in the spring... Blizzards were an excuse to stay home from school. Hail in the summer was magical. Fierce storms were exciting (especially at night or early morning when you knew you didn't have to go out in them). But a year and a half in Tampa--with its one-million-plus lightning strikes a year cured me of my love of storms. And thirty plus years in coastal California has turned me into a certified Weather Wimp.
Hands down my favorite weather is found in California. Never too hot or too cold. No such thing as thunderstorms. Virtually no humidity. And blessedly predictable. If it's morning, there'll be fog. If it's summer, it's not raining. And almost every day is perfect. It is, quite literally, like Lerner and Loewe's version of Camelot. I don't understand why anyone would choose to live anywhere else and the fact that I'm not currently living there... Well, the weather's been a struggle.
California weather completely informs and inspires my Oberon, California series, which I'll be re-releasing starting this year; and it plays a big part in my Children of Night series, which is set primarily in San Francisco.
When I started writing the Games We Play series, which is set at the Jersey Shore, I relied heavily on my memories of growing up in Jersey.
My current WIP (work in progress) is Christmas Angel. It's a sweet, second chance, M/M, fantasy romance set primarily on a Christmas tree farm in Central Texas, close to where I'm currently living. I have been having fun exploring this new world of weather in my book.
Next, hop on over to Leslie Hachtel's page and find out what weather she prefers. And be sure and check out her book, Stay With Me .
Evelyn Smith, a nurse, has just escaped from an abusive husband and bought a small cottage in Florida. It is in shambles and the previous owner, the handsome Donovan Hawkins, feels guilty and offers to help with repairs. Evelyn slowly begins to trust again and even love.
Evelyn discovers there is something about the house itself that feels welcoming. Through conversations, she finds that another woman in a similar situation lived there during the Civil War.
The woman from the past was Rebecca Faber, a healer who stumbles on a Yankee soldier who had been injured in a battle. Taking care of him leads to love, but he must flee before he is captured. And she is forced into marriage with a vicious man.
Parallel lives, more than a century apart, unite these women as they navigate danger and must take risks to survive. And find true love.
Buy it here: https://amzn.to/3Xt3egD
COMING SOON
Christmas Angel
You’ve heard this story a hundred times before. Well. A dozen times, anyway. It’s a Christmas classic: Cranky guy dies without learning the true meaning of the season, gets turned into an angel and is given the job of saving someone else from suffering the same unhappy fate. Usually it’s billed as a romance, or at least as feel-good, family fun. Which is ridiculous. Even Dickens, the man who invented cheesy Christmas stories, knew better than that. His Marley was miserable, as who wouldn’t be in his situation? Which also happens to be my situation.
Hi. My name is Jacob. I’m an angel. And this is my story.
Releases May 16, 2023 in the limited edition anthology Redemption: a Fallen Angels Paranormal Romance Collection available for pre-order now. https://books2read.com/b/br1JkE
January 13, 2023
New Poll: Help Me Choose!
So...we're two weeks into the new year and I'm already re-thinking my publishing schedule. Work on Christmas Angel is going great, but events outside my control mean I'm still writing more slowly than I'd like. So I've identified two stories that might have to be dropped from this year's schedule. I'm still planning on writing them, of course, but probably in 2024, rather than 2023.I'm still hoping I can write/publish everything as planned, of course, but for my own peace of mind (and the sake of the stories--rushed isn't a good look) I'm looking at options.
I've identified two stories that could (or possibly should) be rescheduled for later. One is the next installment in my Children of Night spin-off series, Beyond the CofN.
Those of you who've read my Halloween-set story Going Back to Find You will be familiar with Jason and Liz. In Light Up the Night (which takes place the following Christmas) the two of them (along with Marc, Conrad and various other vampires) left town to deal with a werewolf problem. Oops...I guess that probably should have had a spoiler alert, huh?
I don't like to leave stories hanging for too long. Mainly because the longer you do, the harder it becomes to pick the threads back up. Chasing Daylight is the story of what happened when the vampires and werewolves confronted each other. I don't write a lot of shifters, and I'd've been happy to leave this story to Kinsey Holley. But I've created some problems for Jason and Liz that I'd like to resolve. And I've had Marc wandering through the last few chapters of Light Up the Night dropping hints of what went on and somebody has to write that story. Right now, it looks like that somebody is me. I would love to include it in the Shifter Fever anthology that releases this April--especially since I have another Children of Night story scheduled to release in September as part of the Rejected by the Immortal anthology. But I could re-schedule it for a December release, if necessary.
The other story I might re-schedule is called Witch Would You Rather? This is an Atlas Beach/Games We Play story. It's an F/F romcom between two Online Influencers. One of the heroines runs a successful ASMR channel on Youtube. The other...she's giving me a bit of a hard time. She's wanted to be known for a bunch of different things. It hasn't been easy pinning her down. The story is scheduled to be included in the Living Out Loud anthology which is setting up to be such a great anthology. It's a charity anthology that benefits The Trevor Project. And I desperately want to be a part of it. And I'm really excited about this story. Unfortunately, it would be due at the very same time as another Atlas Beach-set story I'm working on--for another charity anthology that I'm also very excited about--and that other story is one that I'm further along with in terms of plotting--thanks to heroine number two and her incredible career indecisiveness.
For the sake of the stories, for the sake of my peace of mind, for the sake of a healthy work-life-family balance, and with an eye towards the many, many, many hours that would be needed to complete all the necessary and required promo--hours that probably, in all reality, I don't actually have--I should probably drop all three stories from this year's schedule. I really don't want to do that. But I might have to.
That, however, is a decision for another day. In the meantime, I'd love to know what you think. Which of these stories are you most excited for? Here's a link to the poll. Please let me know!
January 10, 2023
Romance Writers Weekly ~ New Year's Resolutions ~ #LoveChatWrite
This week, the question posed by Romance Writers Weekly is a two-parter: "Did you make a New Year's Resolution? Have you stuck to it so far?"
The answer to both is no. I make goals and plans for each new year. Last year's plans worked out fabulously, for the most part. This year, however, has gotten off to a bit of a rough start. I haven't actually started anything and my leftover task from last year--finishing a story that needs to be turned in at the end of the month--is similarly stalled as LIFE continues to get in the way.
I have, however, bought a nifty new journal/planner to help keep me on track, along with some new pens and a set of colored pencils. Now, if I could only find the TIME to actually put things in motion.
Next, hop on over to Brenda Margriet's page to read about her resolutions. And be sure and check out her book, Secrets Under the Covers .
New year…new series!
Start the Silverberry Seduction Seasoned Romance Series for FREE with SECRETS UNDER THE COVERS.
Two long-time friends…one impulsive seduction…zero percent chance their lives will ever be the same again .
The peace Helen Mansfield struggled to achieve after the death of her husband is threatened when she discovers a lump in her breast. Determined to keep the alarming news to herself until the biopsy results are revealed, she sets out to wring every drop of delight from her days.
Nathan Spieth stood by his wife while she fought and ultimately lost her battle with cancer. Since then, he’s devoted his energy to rebuilding the career that he neglected during her final years, and all his hard work is about to pay off.
As neighbours and friends, Helen and Nathan’s lives have been woven together for more than twenty years. One impetuous, impassioned night might destroy everything they share—or prove to this fiercely independent woman and determinedly solitary man that love is always worth the risk.
Buy it here: https://books2read.com/SecretsUndertheCovers
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Just Another Day
This FREE Valentine's Day collection is available through Bookfunnel–but for a limited time only. It includes the short story: Put a Ring Around the Rosie
February 14th is just another day...until it isn't.
They say timing is everything, and that certainly has always been the case where Alex and I are concerned. We were friends for a while, and then we weren’t. And when we reconnected with each other last month it was after a prolonged period of hurt feelings and miscommunication during which we barely spoke to each other at all.
Now, our friendship’s caught fire, so to speak, but I feel like we’re both still recovering from that last, disconnected phase. Heaping a bunch of unrealistic expectations, or a need for chocolate hearts, plush toys, or rose colored anything on top of that seems like a little too much added pressure.
Download it here: https://tinyurl.com/Just-Another-Day
December 28, 2022
Get Your 2023 TBR Pile Sorted
If you missed Monday's big FREE event--or even if you didn't--there's still time to save on next year's reading. The Stocking Your E-Reader sale runs from now until the 30th with dozens of free or nearly free (.99 cents) books.
Check it out and enjoy! https://bit.ly/2022StockingEvent
December 26, 2022
It's Time to Fill Your E-Readers Once Again!
Do you like free books? Of course you do! And several times a year your favorite (and soon-to-be favorite) authors get together to put on a free-book-palooza. This time around we have more than EIGHT HUNDRED free romance books--all the genres, none of the strings.
That's right, you don't have to sign up for even a single newsletter, just click on the link and download to your heart's content.
Is there a catch? Well, a little one, I suppose: it's one day only! So what are you waiting for?
