Debra L. Martin's Blog, page 56
September 18, 2020
#Excerpt: LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD by Whitney Dineen
[image error]
Love is a Battlefield
Whitney Dineen
(Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
EXCERPT:Something is definitely up.
Brogan interrupts his mom, “Where are you thinking about setting up a glamping site?”
“We have those old cabins up near the fishing cabin. I thought that would be the ideal place,” she tells him.
He visibly jolts. “No one has stayed in those in years. At this point they’re probably more shack than cabin.”
“That’s why I want to do something with them now. I thought Addie could check them out and get a feel for what we’d need to do to make them worthy of the glamping title.”
She’s got to be kidding! Before I can express my shock, Brogan lets out a great big boisterous that’s-the-most-ridiculous- thing-I’ve-ever-heard-of laugh. He sounds borderline hysterical.
“What are you laughing at?” I demand.
‘I just can’t see you being interested in a project like this, that’s all.”
“I’ve decorated resorts that specialize in all kinds of different things.”
“Don’t be rude, Brogan,” Ruby admonishes her son. “Addison is an accomplished young woman known the world over for her innovative designs.”
“I’m sure,” he says. “But she’s known for fancy five-star designs, not something like this.”
“Are you saying I can’t do it?” More than anything this gets my dander up. I am first and foremost a professional. “How about a little wager?” I ask him.
“I’m game if you are. I bet you can’t spend a week up there without running home to New York.”
I never said anything about staying up there. But instead of pointing that out, I knowingly and ill-advisedly declare, “I could do that in my sleep. In fact,” —and here’s where I totally lose my mind— “I raise your week to a month. What do you think about that?”
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Love is a Battlefield
Whitney Dineen
(Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Romance
Who doesn’t want their mom to play Cupid?
Addison Cooper had planned on an all-expense paid vacation to the Cayman Islands to celebrate her most recent business success. Instead, she’s trekking to the outback of Oregon to help a friend of her mother’s.
Reclusive novelist Brogan Cavanaugh’s new thriller just hit the New York Times Best Seller list. To reward himself, he was planning to spend the summer at his family’s fishing cabin until his mom unexpectedly calls in a favor.
Even though moms Libby and Ruby have been best friends since they were college roommates, Addison and Brogan have barely spent time in each other’s company. And when they did, things didn’t go well.
How will they react when they start to suspect their interfering mothers are setting them up?
Find out in this deliciously funny rom-com about mothers who really do know best and the children who don’t know they need them.Goodreads / Amazon—
EXCERPT:Something is definitely up.
Brogan interrupts his mom, “Where are you thinking about setting up a glamping site?”
“We have those old cabins up near the fishing cabin. I thought that would be the ideal place,” she tells him.
He visibly jolts. “No one has stayed in those in years. At this point they’re probably more shack than cabin.”
“That’s why I want to do something with them now. I thought Addie could check them out and get a feel for what we’d need to do to make them worthy of the glamping title.”
She’s got to be kidding! Before I can express my shock, Brogan lets out a great big boisterous that’s-the-most-ridiculous- thing-I’ve-ever-heard-of laugh. He sounds borderline hysterical.
“What are you laughing at?” I demand.
‘I just can’t see you being interested in a project like this, that’s all.”
“I’ve decorated resorts that specialize in all kinds of different things.”
“Don’t be rude, Brogan,” Ruby admonishes her son. “Addison is an accomplished young woman known the world over for her innovative designs.”
“I’m sure,” he says. “But she’s known for fancy five-star designs, not something like this.”
“Are you saying I can’t do it?” More than anything this gets my dander up. I am first and foremost a professional. “How about a little wager?” I ask him.
“I’m game if you are. I bet you can’t spend a week up there without running home to New York.”
I never said anything about staying up there. But instead of pointing that out, I knowingly and ill-advisedly declare, “I could do that in my sleep. In fact,” —and here’s where I totally lose my mind— “I raise your week to a month. What do you think about that?”
Author Bio:
Whitney loves to laugh, play with her kids, bake, and eat french fries -- not always in that order.
Whitney is a multi-award-winning author of romcoms, non-fiction humor, and middle reader fiction. Basically, she writes whatever the voices in her head tell her to.
She lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest with her husband, Jimmy, where they raise children, chickens, and organic vegetables.
Gold Medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2017.
Silver medal winner at the International Readers' Favorite Awards, 2015, 2016.
Finalist RONE Awards, 2016.
Finalist at the IRFA 2016, 2017.
Finalist at the Book Excellence Awards, 2017
Finalist Top Shelf Indie Book Awards, 2017
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram
GIVEAWAY!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 17, 2020
#SALE .99 DARE TO LOVE A SPY by Debra Elizabeth
THIS BOOK WILL BE ON SALE FOR ONLY .99 FROM SEPT. 17 - 24, 2020
[image error] Miss Hannah Richardson is enjoying a Season in London. She's not looking for a husband, at least not this Season. She wants to enjoy herself before settling down to married life. All that changes, however, when she sees the Duke of Wetherby. He's tall, dark and impossibly handsome and someone Hannah wants to get to know better.Camden Darkin, the Duke of Wetherby, is not fond of attending soirees, dinners or balls, but his latest mission for the Crown demands he mingle with the ton. He has vowed not to marry because of his dangerous work and the constant bevy of beauties anxious mothers throw into his path is not tempting him in the least. That is, until he meets Hannah Richardson, a young woman unlike any other he's ever met. Can he learn to love or will his hardened heart rob him of the very thing he needs the most. Read for FREE with KindleUnlimited
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Love-Spy-Book-Innocence-ebook/dp/B01IWR62CW/ref=twoen-20 Reviewers Comments: 5 stars - I loved this book! While it’s short (200 pages), there’s a lot that takes place. It has everything I love in a romance: Regency era, hero is a spy, heroine is spunky and speaks her mind, a bit of danger and a happy ending. From the first page, I was transported to Regency England. I connected with Hannah right away and found her excitement infectious. Camden is a hero conflicted between what his heart wants and his very dangerous job as a spy for the Crown. The plot is character-driven with plenty of intrigue and romance. The romance is sweet and the stolen kisses caused me to grin as I read. - N.N. Light 5 stars - Just enough clues to keep you guessing. Good descriptions of scenes so you feel you were there. Liked the ending too. - Amazon customer Excerpt:
The Season thus far had been exciting, most especially because Hannah wasn’t on the hunt for a husband like many of the other young ladies who were attending their first Season. Her parents were not pushing for her to marry. She had time to find a husband, although she would like to experience the excitement of the hunt, especially after watching her brother, Ethan, marry Miss Emily Stanton and her cousin, Colby Tisbury, marry Lady Isabel Knott, all within the last two years. She craved that drama, that rush of tantalizing feelings of impending romance, of flinging oneself into the pool of suitors and being the one to decide which young man would sweep her off her feet. The Season was one enjoyable party after another. Tonight, her aunt was hosting a dinner party followed by dancing. Hannah was trying hard to remember to address her as Lady Tisbury in public and not revert to the more familiar moniker of Aunt Mary. Tonight’s affair was as lavish as ever, and she was enjoying it immensely.“It’s so lovely here,” she murmured as she stepped off the balcony and wandered down the path. She breathed deep inhaling the exotic smells of the gardens. Her aunt had hired the best and most experienced gardener in London, and no other gardens rivaled the Tisbury Gardens, especially with its many varieties of roses. Hannah bent over one of the more fragrant roses and let the fragrance envelop her. When she straightened, she thought she heard voices scattered on the breeze. She looked farther down the path, but the shadows were deep and no one was in sight. “Who’s there?” she whispered. Perhaps it was a couple seeking privacy. She knew she shouldn’t go snooping, but the thought of seeing who was meeting in secret spurred her down the path.She looked left and right, but there was no one around. She sighed. There would be no spying on illicit love tonight and it was time to return to the ballroom before her own reputation was compromised. Before she could take another step, an arm circled around her waist and a hand tightened around her throat tugging back against a broad, hard chest.“Oh!” she cried out in surprise as her heart hammered in fright. A cold, quiet terror unfurled in her chest. She had never been handled so roughly in her life. Who would dare do such a thing, and especially in her aunt’s gardens? What was the meaning of this? Was she going to be harmed? “You must be careful not to walk alone at night, Miss Richardson,” a deep, husky voice whispered in her ear. “What do you want? Unhand me at once,” she demanded, her rising indignation overtaking her original scare.“To pass along a warning, that’s all. Heed my advice,” he said, his hot breath on her neck sending unexpected shivers down her spine.“How dare you put your hands upon my person?” she asked, trying to dislodge the arm around her waist.In an instant, the pressure was gone, and she felt adrift with the mystery man gone. Hannah whirled around to confront the scoundrel who had accosted her, but there was no one there. “Well, I never,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her foot. The encounter had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit, but if she was completely honest, that deep voice had resonated within her and she was more than a little curious about whom the owner could be. She was being foolish, of course, and shook her head free of such thoughts. A gentleman should never put his hands on a lady like that, and yet, it had been thrilling all the same.
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[image error] Miss Hannah Richardson is enjoying a Season in London. She's not looking for a husband, at least not this Season. She wants to enjoy herself before settling down to married life. All that changes, however, when she sees the Duke of Wetherby. He's tall, dark and impossibly handsome and someone Hannah wants to get to know better.Camden Darkin, the Duke of Wetherby, is not fond of attending soirees, dinners or balls, but his latest mission for the Crown demands he mingle with the ton. He has vowed not to marry because of his dangerous work and the constant bevy of beauties anxious mothers throw into his path is not tempting him in the least. That is, until he meets Hannah Richardson, a young woman unlike any other he's ever met. Can he learn to love or will his hardened heart rob him of the very thing he needs the most. Read for FREE with KindleUnlimited
Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Dare-Love-Spy-Book-Innocence-ebook/dp/B01IWR62CW/ref=twoen-20 Reviewers Comments: 5 stars - I loved this book! While it’s short (200 pages), there’s a lot that takes place. It has everything I love in a romance: Regency era, hero is a spy, heroine is spunky and speaks her mind, a bit of danger and a happy ending. From the first page, I was transported to Regency England. I connected with Hannah right away and found her excitement infectious. Camden is a hero conflicted between what his heart wants and his very dangerous job as a spy for the Crown. The plot is character-driven with plenty of intrigue and romance. The romance is sweet and the stolen kisses caused me to grin as I read. - N.N. Light 5 stars - Just enough clues to keep you guessing. Good descriptions of scenes so you feel you were there. Liked the ending too. - Amazon customer Excerpt:
The Season thus far had been exciting, most especially because Hannah wasn’t on the hunt for a husband like many of the other young ladies who were attending their first Season. Her parents were not pushing for her to marry. She had time to find a husband, although she would like to experience the excitement of the hunt, especially after watching her brother, Ethan, marry Miss Emily Stanton and her cousin, Colby Tisbury, marry Lady Isabel Knott, all within the last two years. She craved that drama, that rush of tantalizing feelings of impending romance, of flinging oneself into the pool of suitors and being the one to decide which young man would sweep her off her feet. The Season was one enjoyable party after another. Tonight, her aunt was hosting a dinner party followed by dancing. Hannah was trying hard to remember to address her as Lady Tisbury in public and not revert to the more familiar moniker of Aunt Mary. Tonight’s affair was as lavish as ever, and she was enjoying it immensely.“It’s so lovely here,” she murmured as she stepped off the balcony and wandered down the path. She breathed deep inhaling the exotic smells of the gardens. Her aunt had hired the best and most experienced gardener in London, and no other gardens rivaled the Tisbury Gardens, especially with its many varieties of roses. Hannah bent over one of the more fragrant roses and let the fragrance envelop her. When she straightened, she thought she heard voices scattered on the breeze. She looked farther down the path, but the shadows were deep and no one was in sight. “Who’s there?” she whispered. Perhaps it was a couple seeking privacy. She knew she shouldn’t go snooping, but the thought of seeing who was meeting in secret spurred her down the path.She looked left and right, but there was no one around. She sighed. There would be no spying on illicit love tonight and it was time to return to the ballroom before her own reputation was compromised. Before she could take another step, an arm circled around her waist and a hand tightened around her throat tugging back against a broad, hard chest.“Oh!” she cried out in surprise as her heart hammered in fright. A cold, quiet terror unfurled in her chest. She had never been handled so roughly in her life. Who would dare do such a thing, and especially in her aunt’s gardens? What was the meaning of this? Was she going to be harmed? “You must be careful not to walk alone at night, Miss Richardson,” a deep, husky voice whispered in her ear. “What do you want? Unhand me at once,” she demanded, her rising indignation overtaking her original scare.“To pass along a warning, that’s all. Heed my advice,” he said, his hot breath on her neck sending unexpected shivers down her spine.“How dare you put your hands upon my person?” she asked, trying to dislodge the arm around her waist.In an instant, the pressure was gone, and she felt adrift with the mystery man gone. Hannah whirled around to confront the scoundrel who had accosted her, but there was no one there. “Well, I never,” she said, putting her hands on her hips and stomping her foot. The encounter had unsettled her more than she wanted to admit, but if she was completely honest, that deep voice had resonated within her and she was more than a little curious about whom the owner could be. She was being foolish, of course, and shook her head free of such thoughts. A gentleman should never put his hands on a lady like that, and yet, it had been thrilling all the same.
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September 16, 2020
#Excerpt: ETERNAL CURSE by Kara Leigh Miller
Eternal Curse
Kara Leigh Miller
(The Cursed Series, #1)
Publication date: September 15th 2020
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult
After pulling the plug on her mother’s life support, seventeen-year-old Chloe Madison moves to live with relatives she hardly knows.
Her new hometown in the Adirondack Mountains is barely more than a pinpoint on the map, but it’s shrouded in deadly secrets and strange family legends. Chloe is determined to keep her head down, finish high school, and get the heck out of there. Until she meets the enigmatic Trent Halstead. Something intriguing hides beneath his quiet self-assurance and hero hair. Maybe there’s something—or someone—worth sticking around for after all.
But when a rash of unsolved murders leaves two of Chloe’s classmates dead, she begins to suffer from disturbing hallucinations that build to the horrifying image of Trent as a murderous vampire. With nowhere else to go, she’s stuck in a town she hates, surrounded by people she can’t trust, and she’s pretty sure she’s going to be lunch.
If all that isn’t bad enough, Trent is hiding a lethal secret, besides the whole immortal bloodsucker thing. He’s the not-so-proud owner of an ancient, family curse—no Halstead will ever know true love—and he’s desperate to find a way to break the curse. Could Chloe be the key to his happiness or just another secret Trent wished he never unlocked?Goodreads / Amazon—
EXCERPT:He hopped out of the truck and was around to my side with the door open before I even had my seatbelt unhooked.
“Everything all right?” He tucked his cell phone into his pocket, concern blanketing his face.
“Yeah. Why?”
“You were frowning pretty intently.”
“Oh.” It was sweet how he was so worried. “Guess the heat is getting to me,” I said with a faint smile. The temperature must have jumped twenty degrees while we were at Trent’s house.
Trent put his hand on my forehead like he was checking me for a fever. The stark contrast of his cool hand against my heated skin made me shiver.
“You are pretty hot.” He winked.
I laughed. “That’s a horrible line.”
He raised a brow and lightly dragged his fingers down the side of my face, stopping to cup my cheek, making the hairs on my arms stand on edge. I looked into his crystal-clear eyes and held my breath. His mouth was so close, and I wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on mine. Why wouldn’t he just kiss me already?
“Do you trust me?” His voice was soft, almost hesitant.
“Yes.”
It amazed me how quickly and easily I said that—and how much I meant it. I barely knew him, but deep down in the darkest corners of my soul, I knew he would never hurt me. I didn’t know how I knew that, but I did.
Slowly, Trent closed the distance between us. His lips pressed against mine, featherlight and much too quick. In the split second when our lips connected, I was hit with a wave of intense longing that had my knees shaking. And then in the next moment, he straightened and moved away from me.
Trent cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry.”
Author Bio:
Kara Leigh Miller is a full-time wife; stay-at-home mom to 4 kids, 3 pit bulls, and 6 cats; writer, and the Editorial Director at Anaiah Press. When she’s not herding her family, she’s working out, reading, or binge watching Netflix.
She's previously published two adult Christian romantic suspense books that are no longer in publication. Though she’s published a young adult Christian romance (Perfectly Imperfect), Eternal Curse is her first foray into the secular young adult market.
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GIVEAWAY!
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#Excerpt: PARIS WITH LIFE by John Taylor
This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The publisher will be awarding a $10 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter and a signed copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.
Forty-eight-year-old Corbett Thomas, a one-hit wonder of the 90s, now works as the lead sommelier at Napa Valley’s hippest restaurant. Set to become one of the few Master Sommeliers in the world, Corbett self-destructs during his final exam, ruining his last chance at capturing the stardom and adoration he got a taste for in his youth.
When billionaire game designer, Brogan Prescott, asks Corbett to consult on a major vineyard acquisition, Corbett sees it as a shot at redemption, until he learns of Brogan’s ridiculous vision of a virtual-reality, Woke Ant Colony Winery. Disgusted, Corbett decides to buy the vineyard himself and preserve its magic and history. Cashless, clueless, and with his reputation in tatters, Corbett enlists the help of his bass-player-turned-lawyer Seamus O’Flaherty, who may have finally lost his stomach for Corbett’s bad ideas; his uber-rational daughter Remy, who wants Corbett to uncork some family secrets he’d rather leave in the cellar; and Sydney Cameron, whose sudden appearance in Corbett’s life may repair his heart or shatter it forever.
With their help-and sometimes despite it-Corbett discovers what Brogan has known all along: a four-billion-dollar gold deposit lies beneath the vineyard. If Brogan acquires the property, the ensuing gold rush will destroy Napa Valley.
But if Corbett can get out of his own way long enough to purchase the vineyard first, he’ll be faced with the hardest decision of his life: take the fame and fortune he desperately craves, or save the soul of the valley he loves so much.
Excerpt:
I turned to face him. At six-foot-four, I was a foot taller and had at least seventy-five pounds on him. I wasn’t going for intimidation, though. Ok, not a lot of intimidation. “You getting the Harrison party only proves that there’s no such thing as a just and benevolent God.”
Andrew scratched his beard mockingly. Not a single hair was displaced. “Harrison? Oh, you mean Harrison-Lowell Partners? The massive private equity firm whose board is having their party here tonight? Those guys?”
I wanted to rip my face off. The truth was, Andrew was half my age, but only a few steps behind me. He was an Advanced Somm, a WSET-3, CSW, and a whole bunch of other mostly useless acronyms. But he had mad tasting skills, which while also hating, I grudgingly respected too.
“Just…get them to do different bottles with each course,” I said, trying to mask my aggravation. “No by-the-glass stuff and none of those imports I got on special—”
“Gee, thanks, Corbett,” he interrupted. “I’ll do my best to remember all of that complex and really insightful information.” He walked backwards towards the door, a smug little smirk spreading across his face. “In the meantime, you have an absolutely awesome evening with your bachelorette party.”
On my eighth birthday, my mom woke me up at 3:00 a.m., dragged me out of bed and into the cold backseat of her Datsun hatchback and said, “We’re going to Disneyland.” I’d never been but leave it to say I could sing all five verses of “Yo Ho, Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life For Me).” She didn’t pack anything except a bologna and American cheese sandwich for me, and a thermos filled with “Mommy’s Orange Juice” for her. We drove seven hours from Tucson to Los Angeles, got out, and discovered the park was closed.
“Oh,” she had said with a frown. She shoved me back in the car and we drove home to Tucson without saying a word.
When I heard that Jansen was a bachelorette party, it felt a lot like that.
I already knew in agonizing detail how the whole night would unfold. Jansen was a party of fifteen, but only thirteen would show up, because the group had been out wine tasting the entire day, and two girls would have already passed out at the hotel, their heads balanced delicately over the edge of the bed to avoid vomit asphyxiation.
Festivities would start with a round of Lemon Drops, followed by selfies, followed by a round of Himalayan Blow Jobs (the shot, not the Sherpa-based sex act), and more selfies. There’d be a polite but stern noise complaint from a nearby diner, which would be met with vitriol and retribution from the maid of honor, and eventually every single customer on the terrace would have to be re-seated with a comped entrée.
By the start of the second course, two more bridesmaids would be “Man down!” and loaded into the limo to be whisked away. This would cause the Bride to launch into Tearful and Wailing Speech Number One: Don’t You Understand This Is My Wedding? The remedy for this drama would be another round of shots, followed by the meat course, which everyone would secretly want to eat but no one will eat.
I would then be asked if dancing is allowed. I would say no. This would be met with Tearful and Wailing Speech Number Two: Don’t You Fucking Understand This Is My Wedding?
At the end of the evening, three of the four remaining conscious bridesmaids would attempt to split the check, and they would get it wrong three times. It would be my fault, obviously, and then Drunk Math would result in a three-hundred-dollar underpayment, coming out of the service charge.
“I’ll bet you a hundred bucks I sell the most expensive bottle tonight,” I blurted. I’m not exactly sure why I said it: Anger at a manager who didn’t respect who I was or what I’d been through; or jealousy of a kid who accomplished in six years what took me twenty.
Andrew froze at the door. “Wait, what? Are you serious?”
“Dead serious,” I said.
Andrew folded his arms across his chest and stared at me as if I asked him to solve a quadratic equation. “So, you’ll bet me a hundred dollars that you can sell a more expensive wine to the Mike’s Hard Lemonade Crew than I can to the Board of Directors of the nation’s third-largest private equity firm?”
Well, when you put it that way… No matter. I was betting on my ability to optimize potential. I mean, it’s not like the Jansens had booked their party at Applebee’s.
“You got it.”
“You’re on.” Andrew stuck out his hand and I shook it. He had that kind of non-committal handshake that feels like you’re clutching a wet hunk of pork loin. I dropped his hand and brushed past him.
I’ll never say out loud that I doubted my potential to win the bet, but it crossed my mind to add Franzia to the system and charge $1,000.00 per box for it.
Helena was leading service for the Jansen party that night, which was good news. She was awesome—an absolute pro at her job, and mostly unflappable. We met for a few minutes to talk strategy. I didn’t tell her about the bet, though maybe I should have, because she thought it was rather odd of me to be so concerned about a bachelorette party.
“Chances are we aren’t even going to need you,” she said.
“How sexist,” I admonished her, practically vomiting hypocrisy. “What if the bride is a director at Google? And all her friends are instructors at the Culinary Institute? What if they’re all writers for Wine Spectator?”
She wasn’t, they weren’t, and hell no.
When the bride-to-be finally sashayed into the restaurant atop a wave of millennial entitlement, it was as obvious as the rhinestone tiara atop her head that there would not be a single fuck given to the wine list. I had to admit, though, that the bride glowed; she beamed. She was all shiny teeth, dewy skin and smoky eyes, and radiating with the glorious possibility of a love eternal—a happiness unhinged and unfettered, as ethereal as a dream whispered to the breeze. It was practically contagious, something I could inhale or feel wash over me for one perfect moment as she sauntered by.
Oh, well. Life would drop its fucking jackboot on her heart soon enough.
Helena agreed to let me go in before she asked for an initial drink order, just to see if I could sell them on wine and not something vodka based. I gave the group exactly seven minutes on the terrace before making my entrance.
Author Bio:
John Taylor has been writing about wine since 2012, but his meanderings on life began way before that. Born and raised in San Diego, California, John moved to Los Angeles in 1982 to pursue dreams of screenwriting and filmmaking. He attended the University of Southern California, where he majored in Shattered Dreams and False Hopes, with a minor in Getting Gut Punched By Reality. After being handed a degree in Journalism in 1987 as a consolation prize, John dove into a career in music. Because getting gut-punched just isn’t painful enough.By 1996, John and his band, The Uninvited, had produced four independent albums and became one of the most popular acts in the western United States. This lead to a deal on Atlantic Records, which released the band’s self-titled debut album in 1997. The band had two Top 100 hits, and toured nationally with Dave Matthews, Blues Traveller, Third Eye Blind and many other acts. Their music appeared in the TV shows Beverly Hills 90210 and Party of Five, and in the motion pictures The Commandments and North Beach. The band can also be heard in several HBO Documentaries, video games and on that annoying “One Hit Wonders of The 90’s” station your co-worker always plays on Spotify.
In 2001, John’s vast experience in shattered dreams was once again called into play as the band hung up their touring shoes for good. After a brief but horrifying career in real estate, John got wise and made a career out of his favorite hobby – wine – and has held various sales and marketing positions in Napa Valley since 2011. John’s writing career started in earnest at this point, with blogs, essays and short stories appearing in various publications. John is the author of three novels, including the aptly-titled Pairs With: Life, which will be released by Hurn Publications in September 2020.
Author Links:
Website: https://pairswithlife.net/about-john-taylor-the-author-and-creator-of-pairs-with-life
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pairswithlife
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pairswithlife/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JATauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/52422370-pairs-with-life
Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pairs-with-life/id1447854343
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpJAMcM5_30XOMGLgp8accw
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/hurnpublications/pairs-with-life/
Buy Links:
BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pairs-with-life-john-taylor/1137309023
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1734763418/ref=x_gr_w_bb_sin
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/pairs-with-life
AbeBooks: https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=30694978993&searchurl=isbn%3D1734763418%26sortby%3D17&cm_sp=snippet-_-srp1-_-title1
The Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Pairs-With-Life-John-Taylor-Triumph-Book-Covers-Raven-Eckman/9781734763416
Alibris: https://www.alibris.com/booksearch?keyword=1734763418&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=GwEz7vxblVU&utm_campaign=10&siteID=GwEz7vxblVU-AsJ_RuF3DS_lmu1_KH3zEQ
Publisher: https://hurnpublications.com/product/preorders-pairs-with-life-by-john-taylor
Indiebound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781734763416
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September 15, 2020
Interview with Olga Werby, TWIN TIME
Dear Deb and Dave! Thank you very much for this opportunity to connect with your https://twoendsofthepen.blogspot.com/ readers. The book I’m promoting right now is “Twin Time”. You can point your readers to the first few chapters of that book here: https://interfaces.com/blog/twin-time
“Twin Time” is a story of identical twins, where one is autistic and the other’s not. It is also a time loop story. I wanted to explore the psychology and family dynamic of a family with a sick child. I wanted to give autism a voice. Like many of my books, “Twin Time” is fully illustrated. You can see some of the visual research that went into this story on a special Pinterest page set up for this book: https://www.pinterest.com/OlgaWerby/scifi-book-twin-time/
For this story, I’ve also created a book trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHCxRU64hyU
“Twin Time” got an honorable mention in San Francisco Book Festival. The book received a 5-star review from Readers’ Favorite: If there is anything I can do to make this interview work better for you, please let me know. I can provide art, reviews, links…
All the best, Olga
1. Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?
There are two major themes in the book. One explores what life was like in pre-revolutionary Russia and what incredible damage it did to families who survived it. Part of that story is based on my grandmother’s childhood, who was a survivor of that regime change. The other theme deals with what it means to be autistic. What does it feel like? Mostly, we have to guess because people who profoundly autistic are usually unable to communicate. There are also the pain and suffering that the whole family experiences while raising a child with severe autism. I write about how love can get twisted and people can end up damaging one another. And finally, I wanted a happy ending…sort of. I hope my readers get to find out what happens at the end.
2. What is your writing process? Do you listen to music or do you like silence? Yes. Each of my books has a sound track. Once I get into the groove of the story, I know what music fits the narrative. So I put on my music list and it helps me get back into the mood of the story.
3. Do you outline your story or just go where your muse takes you? I don’t stop doing research, visual and factual, once I start writing. And the process of layering ideas one on top of another tends to yield unexpected (to me) results. Doing that means that I have a lot of cleaning up to do to make the story work in the end, but that’s okay. That’s just another opportunity to discover hidden gems that I can bring out and polish for my reader’s pleasure.
4. Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing? When I finish my first draft, it is only the beginning of my editing journey. My story goes through several iterations of edits before going out to a professional editor. When my editor returns my story, it usually is many months later. By that time, I have had time to put some emotional distance between my story and myself. I don’t feel in love with my turn of phrase or some plot point that I thought was kind of nice. I can let go of it all. And I then reedit the work again. After that, it goes back to my editor to check that I didn’t accidently add new mistakes. When I get my final draft back, I reedit the whole one last time and it is ready for publication. So it takes at least a year to publish a book after I’ve put the first word on the first page of my story and it goes past my professional editor twice.
5. What have you’ve learned during your self-publishing journey? Writing is easy; marketing is hard. I believe all authors feel this way. That’s because if you are a writer, you are probably not the most social human being or very good at self-promotion. Sure, some authors excel at both. But most, including myself, are lousy at marketing themselves. It makes life difficult. But in today’s publishing environment, there are no guarantees that a publisher will invest in your book. So even if an author goes the traditional route, there are expectations of working very hard to market one’s book. But if the book doesn’t sell, then the publisher pulls its investment and the author is stuck. They no longer have the rights to give their books away or run promotions, and the story might languish and die. I chose the indie way because I get to control what happens to my stories even if they are not as successful as they could have been if they were represented by a big publisher. Each writer has to find their own journey to success.
6. Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale? Most of my books are available at standard bookshops. That said, there are limitations. Amazon makes it difficult to sell ebooks at other online shops by setting up barriers to entry for indie writers like myself. So I make choices. For the moment most of my ebooks are signed up with Amazon Prime program, which requires giving Amazon an exclusive. But Amazon has 90% of the ebook market, so what choice is there for an independent writer? I hope that by making my books available on Amazon, my readers will discover me and make easier for me to sell books elsewhere. So please review books! That’s the only way authors get to get ahead and gain a bit of independence from Amazon exclusive contracts.
7. What kinds of marketing [twitter, facebook, blog, forums] are you involved with for promoting your book(s)?
Here are a few of my sites: Author’s Website: https://interfaces.com/blog/ Amazon: amazon.com/author/olgawerby GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4056895.Olga_Werby BookBob: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/olga-werby Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/OlgaWerby/ Twitter:https://twitter.com/OlgaWerby Company/Publisher: https://Pipsqueak.com YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDE3... LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgawerby/ Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/OlgaWerby/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olgawerby/
8. Do you find it difficult to juggle your time between marketing your current book and writing your next book? Yes! If I’m on tour, even if it is virtual, I’m not using that time for writing. But that’s true of all authors. And the thing about writing is that is a very cognitively intensive activity. When you write, you hold all these ideas and threads of the story in your head. Put any one of them down and it takes a lot of time to pick it up again, to find a path forward through the narrative. But there is no other choice—writing is an act of communication. I am not writing a diary entry. I’m writing stories that are meant to be read. And so marketing is just part of the author’s job, whether they like it or not.
9. What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena? Write. Write more. Like anything else, you get better by doing. Your first book won’t be as good as your second simply because you learn so much in the process of giving your story life. So the only way forward is to write.
10. What’s next for you? “Mirror Shards” —this is just a working titled, but it will do for now. This is the most complete project. It went through numerous edits and his been returned from my editor with additional comments. I haven’t looked at those for over 5 months! I got the comments back just around the time of COVID lockdown and just couldn’t take up the story. But here’s a quick summary: a boy is born with a deformity that rubs him of ability to walk or play or live his life like any other healthy kid. One day, he and his parents and uncle go to fair and visit a strange fortuneteller. They go in, including an infant sister, and each gets some personal and secret advice or a prophecy. Soon after, the boy is cured while his mom dies. And from that moment on, the boy believes that his miraculous cure was “bought” with his mom’s life. This belief tears him apart and he seeks to find the fortuneteller and make amends. But the world is not one timeline; each decision once made bifurcates the lifelines of the individuals who make those decisions. The boy is plunged into the universe of millions of possible lives, looking for the one where his family is all alive and happy and together. It is never what he thinks it is. I hope to release this book by the end of this year.
“Lunatic”—we’ve all heard about the stories when a man becomes a wolf. But what if instead, a man becomes a woman? A werewoman? Every so often, he turns into a woman for a few days or longer and his life spirals out of control. This story is about 25% complete.
“Lord Night”—this is my first middle grade fiction novel. In this world, all orphans are assigned a demon godparent. Lord Night is mighty demon, but one night he accidently stumbles on a car accident where only an infant girl survives. By the laws of magic, he now has to take on the responsibility for this child. So this is the story of Lady Gray, Lord Night’s ward, and how she helped other orphan children get their demons. You can listen to the first chapter here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Fsxh7OR2Qo So these are the projects in my pipeline. If you sign up for my newsletter, you will get regular updates on my progress. Just visit my blog: https://interfaces.com/blog/<!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN;}size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:0in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-page-numbers:1; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;}</style><a href="https://interfaces.com/blog/">... style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK153;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK123;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK122;"><span lang="EN" style="color: blue; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></span></span></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK153;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK123;"><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK122;"></span></span></span></a><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK122;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK123;"></span><span style="mso-bookmark: OLE_LINK153;"></span><span lang="EN" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"></span> <style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Arial; mso-fareast-font-family:Arial; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial; color:black; mso-ansi-language:EN;}size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:0in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-page-numbers:1; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;}</style><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-6GHBxEuy..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="1200" height="133" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b-6GHBxEuy..." width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><br /></span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"> </span><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">BLURB:</span></b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Alex and Sasha are twin sisters, physically identical down to their freckles. But the resemblance is only skin deep—Sasha is profoundly autistic, while Alex is not. Sasha can’t communicate and acts bizarrely, and the family revolves around her and her intense needs. Yet the aged, wealthy, and mysterious Aunt Nana seems to have a particular interest in both girls. Offering a helping hand, she encourages the family to move to San Francisco to be near her. And when the young twins discover a tunnel in Nana’s tool shed, it leads them on a journey across the world and back 100 years in time. The tunnel is a pathway to the Firebird Estate, the home of their ancestors, located in rural Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century. </span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: .1pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: .1pt;"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Even more remarkable, through the effect that twisting time has on cognition, Sasha is not autistic when she’s at the Firebird Estate. Now, growing up in two strikingly different times and places, the twins must face their separate destinies among the ravages of the incipient Russian Revolution. Can they save their families on both sides of the tunnel? Can they simultaneously stay true to their own hearts, to each other, and to the people they left behind? Each sister must face her own personal challenge—but only together can they discover their own future within their family’s past.</span></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">~~~~~~~~~~~~~</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">AUTHOR Bio and Links:</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-pagination: none;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ujLUUTKL_3..." imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="977" data-original-width="800" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ujLUUTKL_3..." width="262" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Olga Werby, Ed.D., has a Doctorate from U.C. Berkeley with a focus on designing online learning experiences. She has a Master's degree from U.C. Berkeley in Education of Math, Science, and Technology. She has been creating computer-based projects since 1981 with organizations such as NASA (where she worked on the Pioneer Venus project), Addison-Wesley, and the Princeton Review. Olga has a B.A. degree in Mathematics and Astrophysics from Columbia University. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She became an accidental science fiction indie writer about a decade ago, with her first book, "Suddenly Paris," which was based on then fairly novel idea of virtual universes. Her next story, "The FATOFF Conspiracy," was a horror story about fat, government bureaucracy, and body image. She writes about characters that rarely get represented in science fiction stories -- homeless kids, refugees, handicapped, autistic individuals -- the social underdogs of our world. Her stories are based in real science, which is admittedly stretched to the very limit of possible. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">She has published almost a dozen fiction books to date and has won many awards for her writings. Her short fiction has been featured in several issues of "Alien Dimensions Magazine," "600 second saga," "Graveyard Girls," "Kyanite Press' Fables and Fairy Tales," "The Carmen Online Theater Group's Chronicles of Terror," with many more stories freely available on her blog, Interfaces.com.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Links: </span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://www.interfaces.com/blog/"... class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://amazon.com/author/olgawerby&qu... style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">amazon.com/author/olgawerby</span&... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/author/show... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/OlgaWerby/&q... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://twitter.com/OlgaWerby"&g... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="http://pipsqueak.com/">http:/... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDE3... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/olgawerby... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">Selected Book Links on Amazon:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Harvest”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Becoming Animals”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Suddenly, Paris”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“The FATOFF Conspiracy”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Twin Time”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Lizard Girl & Ghost: The Chronicles of DaDA Immortals”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Coding Peter”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Pigeon”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Fresh Seed”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“Good Girl”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08... class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 12.0pt;">“God of Small Affairs”: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07... class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Arial; panose-1:2 11 6 4 2 2 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Times; panose-1:2 0 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Times; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Times; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.25in 1.0in 1.25in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;}</style><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a class="rcptr" data-raflid="28e4345f3481" data-template="" data-theme="classic" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/disp..." id="rcwidget_l55tch6e" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a></span></span><br /> <script src="https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com... <br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XKwJ2KffG2..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="166" data-original-width="400" height="165" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XKwJ2KffG2..." width="400" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSj2Yd06Ee..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZSj2Yd06Ee..." /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YGx7xg1aV4..." imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="150" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YGx7xg1aV4..." width="200" /></a></div><br /><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/TwoEnd..." height="1" width="1" alt=""/>
September 14, 2020
#Review: WHEN THE EARL MET HIS MATCH by Stacy Reid
5 of 5 starsHugh Winthrop, the future Earl of Albury, has been corresponding with an unknown lady and finding himself more and more intrigued with the elusive lady. He's hiding a secret though that he's not sharing it with anyone. Lady Phoebe Maitland, the daughter of a duke, is expected to marry for the benefit of the family, but she takes a stand and refuses to be told what to do. She along with her maid takes the extraordinary step and runs away to avoid a marriage to an old man her father has chosen for her and goes to the only man she feels a connection with - Hugh Winthrop. Phoebe is hiding her own secret when she proposes marriage to Hugh. Can they overcome their own secrets and have a happy life together?
What an interesting story! I loved that Hugh had a disability and how he learned to have a rich life despite it. Phoebe was a darling and quite brave for a young woman of her time. Having been told what to do, think and say for her entire life, it was surprising that she would run away from everything that she'd known. The author does a great job teasing out the details of their lives and their blossoming romance. The Earl was a great addition to the story. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will be reading more from her.
I voluntarily read the advanced reader copies and all opinions are my own.
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#Excerpt: SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY by Jackie Barbosa
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.
Buy Links:
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
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/
a Rafflecopter giveaway
September 12, 2020
#SALE .99 THE ACCIDENTAL WEDDING by Debra Elizabeth
Blurb:Has Keira made the worst mistake of her life?
Unemployed Keira Callahan decides to try her luck at the casino before delving back into job hunting. As she walks through the casino, she bumps into the most handsome man she’s ever seen. When he asks her to dinner, she doesn’t hesitate. As she learns Cade Tyndale’s story—he needs to wed or lose his British estate, her impulsive nature rears up and she agrees to marry him and move to England for one year.
What does she have to lose except her heart to the impossibly handsome Earl of Barrett?
Buy Link:https://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Wedding-Loving-Billionaire-Book-ebook/dp/B0744PNS1H
Excerpt:
Cade put his glass down on the side table and pulled her into his arms. “Please don’t be alarmed. He will not succeed,” he said. Being in his arms felt so right. Keira sighed. “I just hate the thought of Edward being so nasty to you.”Cade lifted her chin. “That’s very sweet of you,” he said, brushing his lips against hers.His lips were soft and inviting. Desire scorched through her, leaving her breathless. She let him take the glass from her and stepped closer to him, pressing her body to his. Her curves fit perfectly against his solid muscles.His hand caressed her cheek, and she moaned with pleasure. “Have I told you lately how beautiful you are?” he whispered.Keira’s lips parted, and Cade deepened their kiss, setting her heart on fire. This wasn’t part of their deal, although there was nothing in the contract that said they needed to avoid all physical contact. This was want she wanted. This and much, much more. Her body was on fire, and she longed to know what it would be like to lie next to him. To have his hand trail up her body. To feel him fill her completely.As if reading her mind, Cade abruptly broke contact and stepped back. “I’ve overstepped the boundaries of our agreement. Please excuse me,” he said, stalking from the room.Keira stood speechless, staring at his retreating back. She missed the warmth of his body, and without it, she felt adrift. One minute, he was kissing her senseless, and the next, he was gone. What had just happened?
Reviewer comments:
"This book made me go Squee! This was a wonderful quick read that gave me warm fuzzy feelings. Keira and Cade are just perfect." - Certifiable Wenches
"This was one of those uplifting sigh-worthy stories that put a smile on my face and reminded me why I enjoy romances so much and I look forward to reading more delightful stories by this author." - Amazon customer
"My, my. Royals, a marriage of convenience and relatives that are justvile. Love it. It's catnip to me. I love royals and the trope of a marriage of convenience but I've said that already. What makes this one special are the characters themselves. Keira and Cade are just the hero and heroine that I like." - Harlie's Books
"I loved this book, it was beautifully written and kept me interested until the end of it." - Amazon customer
"This is truly a Great old fashioned love story that is easy to read and enjoy! Debra Elizabeth is an excellent author." - Amazon customer
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September 11, 2020
Septemer 11, 2001 - NEVER FORGET
Has it really been 19 years ago? With such chaos in the world today, we might tend to forget the horror of that day. It's not a holiday--we don't celebrate it, but we must remember what happened on that horrific day.September 11, 2001 was a day that will go down in history as the most deadly attack on the United States. The images were horrific from that day. I remember it so clearly. My daughter had called me and told me a plan had hit the first tower at 8:46 am. Everyone in the office piled into the conference room to watch the news. No one knew what was going on--was it an accident, was it an attack?
All too soon after that first plane hit the tower, we all watched in horror as the another plane hit the second tower at 9:03 am. I remember thinking it was like watching a Hollywood blockbuster movie, but sadly, it was no movie. It was all too real. 3,000 people lost their lives that day in New York. More lives were lost in Pennsylvania and the Pentagon as two more planes were involved in attacks against the United States.
A new tower has been built as an testament to the American spirit of never letting our enemies defeat us. As the new structure rose up into the sky, we could take comfort in knowing that we would also be honoring all those who died in those horrific attacks.We should all take a moment to reflect on all we should be grateful for--family, friends and anything else that is near and dear to you. My heart aches for all those who lost a loved one on that tortuous day. Time will never dull the outrage we felt watching that destruction, but maybe time will help heal the hearts of all those who suffered that day.
September 10, 2020
#Review: ALWAYS THE BLUESTOCKING by Emily E.K. Murdoch
3 of 5 starsPatrick O'Leary, Viscount Donal, has traveled to Oxford for the ten-year anniversary of his graduation. He intends to meet with friends, attend lectures and enjoy himself. When Mariah Wynn is caught inside a lecture hall, he's shocked because women are not allowed on campus or even the opportunity to gain an education. He's curious about this no-nonsense bluestocking, but the more he learns about her, the more he wants to know. Mariah is sick to death of being told she cannot get a gentlemen's education. It's just not done they say. Women belong in the home with children. She fights with every fiber of her being to gain entrance all the while thinking Patrick is supporting her only to find out when she needs him to step up, he fails her.
The plot of the book was good, but I found Mariah very off-putting at times. I understand her passion for an education, but too many times throughout the book, it seems her tunnel vision is to the detriment of anyone else's feelings. I almost stopped reading this book a number of times, but was curious to see if Mariah would mellow and if Patrick would step up to support her.
I voluntarily read an advanced reader copy and all opinions are my own.
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