Maggie Wells's Blog, page 24

Weekend Writing Warrior – 12/20/15

For those of you still reading along, here’s more from  LOVE AND ROCKETS (Coastal Heat #3) Coming in October 2016!

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The second she spotted Jake Dalton sitting alone in her last empty booth, her heart leaped into her throat and swelled like a bullfrog. Regret and nerves did a tango in her tummy. Ducking her head, she busied herself with delivering her orders. She managed to kill another three minutes refilling water glasses and depositing hastily scrawled tickets on several table tops before she forced herself to fill a cup with sweet tea, drop two wedges of lemon on top, and make her way to him.

As much as she hated apologizing to anyone for anything, it was particularly galling to have to spew ‘I’m sorries’ to a St. Pat’s grad. She’d admit Jake was a thousand times better than most of her former schoolmates, but still. It was hard.

 

From the moment she left her parents’ house, she did her level best to have little to do with the life she’d lived before Gracie came along. It hadn’t been terribly hard to sever the ties. Most of her so-called friends had stopped talking to her the second she began showing. The rest fell victim to natural attrition.

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Be sure to check out all of this weekend’s Weekend Writing Warrior posts!

Views – 33

Happy first birthday, Three Little Words!

Last December, I had my first Kensington/Lyrical release – Three Little Words!

Three Little Words is an erotic romance for those of us who aren’t in our 20’s anymore.

It’s never too late to make the best impulsive decision of your life.

Jo Masters isn’t the party girl she used to be, but now that she’s a woman without obligations, she’s ready to recapture a little of her misspent youth. Her niece’s wedding, with its open bar and dark dance floor, proves to be the perfect opportunity to let loose.

Gregory Stark is just trying to make it through his son’s wedding day. . . and make some time with the gorgeous brunette on the bride’s side of the aisle. His kid’s wedding probably isn’t the best occasion to put the moves on the sexy woman, who introduces herself only as ‘Josie’, but his best friend is closing in on her too and he has to act fast. With a couple of tequila shots under his belt, Greg propositions Josie — and neither wants to refuse.

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In the summer of 2016, we’ll finally see the sequel to Three Little Words – A Will and a Way!

Here’s the gist:

What’s a nice widow like you doing in a place like this?….

Consummate ladies man Will Tarrant has made it to middle age without walking down the aisle. People think he’s anti-marriage, but he knows he just hasn’t met the right woman yet. Then he lays eyes on Southern Belle Betty Asher–in the neighborhood pub of all places. She’s new in town, perfectly gorgeous–and a perfect lady. But can Will be a perfect gentleman?…

With small town life and her cheating late husband behind her, Betty is looking forward to big city adventure. When she captures the attention of the local heartthrob, she even indulges in some hot and heavy flirtation. After all, it isn’t everyday she gets to play the merry widow. She assumes their acquaintance will end there, until a job interview lands her in Will’s office–and in his arms once more. Despite their irresistible attraction, Betty’s enjoying her freedom, while Will’s finally ready to put a ring on it. Now he’ll just have to convince her that nothing could be sweeter than being tied down–with him.

Views – 36

Cover reveal! Y’all ready for this?

Title: A Will and a Way

Author: Maggie Wells

Publisher: Lyrical Press

Publication Date: July 5, 2016

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Format: Ebook

What’s a nice widow like you doing in a place like this?….

Consummate ladies man Will Tarrant has made it to middle age without walking down the aisle. People think he’s anti-marriage, but he knows he just hasn’t met the right woman yet. Then he lays eyes on Southern Belle Betty Asher–in the neighborhood pub of all places. She’s new in town, perfectly gorgeous–and a perfect lady. But can Will be a perfect gentleman?…

With small town life and her cheating late husband behind her, Betty is looking forward to big city adventure. When she captures the attention of the local heartthrob, she even indulges in some hot and heavy flirtation. After all, it isn’t everyday she gets to play the merry widow. She assumes their acquaintance will end there, until a job interview lands her in Will’s office–and in his arms once more. Despite their irresistible attraction, Betty’s enjoying her freedom, while Will’s finally ready to put a ring on it. Now he’ll just have to convince her that nothing could be sweeter than being tied down–with him.

Pre-order it now!

Views – 38

Monday Mayhem – I need a nap

Great weekend, but a busy one. Saturday was our annual DSRA annual lunch. We were actually fairly well-behaved this year. Don’t know how that happened, but I’m sure we’ll rectify that next year!

l to r: Brinda Berry, D.T. Dyllin, me, Jen Crane, KD Reep, Mia Kay, Carol Lytle, Cynthia d’Alba, Mandy Harbin, Elle James (Myla Jackson), Nena Clements, and Holly Goslin.

That evening, we also attended the party thrown by my company. A lot of talking for a girl who prefers to leave the dialogue to the characters in her head.

Sunday, I cooked a turkey dinner, and the family came over to help decorate the tree and inside of the house.

Now, I am in my stretchy pants and slippers, trying to psyche myself up for another busy week.

As I usually do at this time of year, I’ve been assessing some of my writing related activities and determining which are proving to be a good use of my time, and which I can/should ditch in my quest to be more productive in putting words on the page.

This year, I tried adding some new features (Teaser Tuesday, Whatcha Reading Wednesday, and Fangirl Friday) to the blog to make it more interactive. They weren’t as much of a hit as I had hoped, so I will be discontinuing them. I’m also going to take a little break from the Weekend Writing Warriors in January, but will most likely pick it back up again as the year goes on.

That leaves us with our traditional Mondays together.

I’ll continue to post weekly updates on what’s happening in my life and with my writing (good news coming!) here each week, and I hope you’ll continue to keep me company.

With the holiday rush in full tilt boogie, it’s hard to keep on track with the writing, so I’ve started a new challenge to keep me moving forward even on the most hectic days. I’m trying to do 100 words for 100 days. It’s just like it sounds. I have to write a minimum of 100 words (about a paragraph) on my work in progress each day. Most days, I won’t stop there, but there may be times (like Saturday) when there’s so much to do in the real world, that 100 words will have to suffice.

What am I looking forward to in 2016? Well, it’s good of you to ask!

I’ll be wrapping up edits on book three in the Coastal Heat Series, LOVE AND ROCKETS, and starting drafts on books two and three in the Warrior series, RANSOMED HEART and TOSSING THE PLAYBOOK.

If I can get my act together, I’ll be re-releasing the HOT NIGHTS IN ST. BLAISE novellas in one big set this January. Then, there will be 4 more releases, so mark your spanking new 2016 calendars!!

April: FLIP THIS LOVE, Coastal Heat #2

July: A WILL AND A WAY, A Worth the Wait Romance

October: LOVE AND ROCKETS, Coastal Heat #3

December: FULL COURT PRESS, Warrior series #1

So, yeah, lots of good stuff coming up. Make sure you stay tuned!

 

Views – 40

Weekend Writing Warrior – 12/13/15

For those of you still reading along, here’s more from  LOVE AND ROCKETS (Coastal Heat #3) Coming in October 2016!

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The Pit barbecue shack stood on the same quarter acre of undesirable land near the Alabama and Gulf Coast railroad tracks for over fifty years. Natives claimed the worn clapbaord building was as much a part of Mobile as the bay itself. Everyone ate at The Pit. Governors, garbage collectors, movie stars, and construction workers rubbed elbows over racks of dry-rubbed ribs and succulent pulled pork topped with slaw. Darla had never met the original pit master, Beauregard Lavelle Pickett, but Beau Jr. had appointed himself her unofficial granddad the moment she first showed up at his counter asking for a job.

Pregnant, alone, and without any appreciable skill set.

He’d long-since turned the tending of the smokehouse over to his own son, Beauregard Lavelle Pickett III—a.k.a. Bubba—but Mr. Beau still held court each noontime at a small formica-topped table in the back. And every day, Darla served him and his cronies enough sweet tea to float the USS Alabama.

Wearing squeeze bottles of Bubba’s famous sauce tucked into her apron pockets like six shooters, she cocked a hip and stared down at the septuagenarians, a sassy smile curving her lips. “If you loved me, you’d make an honest woman out of me and take me away from all this.”

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Be sure to check out all of this weekend’s Weekend Writing Warrior posts!

Views – 44

Whatcha Reading?

Tell me…whatcha reading?

Views – 24

Monday Mayhem – Welcome to the world

It’s that time of year again…those crazy few weeks when ‘I have revisions’, ‘this book is going to galley’, and ‘I need to write this proposal’ are not counted as valid excuses for avoiding the world and all around me.

I do have revisions to do, and a book going to galley, and the first few pages of a proposal started, but those things count for nothing when this needs to be done:

I also need to attend to some shopping and baking. Somewhere out there, some poor, unsuspecting Christmas tree is out there just waiting to be dragged home and dressed up in a decades-old collection of mismatched ornaments.

The revisions, galley, and proposal will have to take a backseat for a few weeks. The holidays are upon us, and I have a candy apple red KitchenAid that needs to be christened.

To all my friends who celebrate Hanukkah, I wish you the happiest of holidays.

The rest of you…well, on your marks, get set, GO!

Views – 37

Weekend Writing Warrior – 12/6/15

Whoa! December already? Sheesh. Where did this year go? For those of you still reading along, here are some more tidbits from  LOVE AND ROCKETS (Coastal Heat #3) Coming in October 2016!

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Luckily, Grace was still more little girl than teenager. She ducked her head and pressed it into the crook of Darla’s neck, seeking comfort in the same place she’d found it since the day she came into the world. Darla brushed the heavy dark curls away from her baby’s face and sighed. “I’m sorry, baby.”

“So embarrassing,” Grace mumbled, but to Darla’s relief, her daughter relaxed into the caress.

“I’m your mom. Embarrassing you is in the job description.”

“You excel at it.”

Resting her cheek atop Gracie’s head, Darla smiled. “I’ve always been an overachiever. No one can screw up as big as your mama, kiddo.”

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Be sure to check out all of this weekend’s Weekend Writing Warrior posts!

Views – 40

Fangirl Fridays!

Got a crush? It’s okay to spill it here. Fictional boyfriends battling it out for your affections in your dreams? Talk movies, TV shows, books, or even video games. Do tell! Anything goes on Fangirl Fridays!

Views – 30

Whatcha Reading?

Tell me…whatcha reading?

Views – 31