Susan Hanniford Crowley's Blog: From Nights of Passion Blog, page 105

Tears for the Unforgotten by Susan Hanniford Crowley

Soon it will be September 11th again. My thoughts will go back to the Twin Towers, the Pentagon, and in a field in Pennsylvannia. I think about those lost and those brave first responders. A few years ago, I had a very unusual dream. I wrote it down, but that was not enough. I did research on the first responders, the people both dead and surviving, and how it happened. I read reminisces of people who received last phone calls. I read last emails, too. A friend of mine kept newspapers of that time and allowed me to read them all. I read about those that dug frantically trying to save as many lives as they could. So I went back to the story, and it became When Love Survives.

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Background Photo by Landry Gapangwa on Unsplash

An excerpt:

“I’m late!” Reggie stared at the alarm clock. “I can’t believe this is happening to me!”

Pulling her wet, red hair into a sophisticated bun, she ran down the stairs of her apartment

building. She never liked her hair.

The postman slipped the mail into the boxes. “Hey you, Regina O’Malley?”

She stopped. Crap! I’m going to lose the best internship in the city and maybe a chance of a great job when I graduate. “Yes.”

He handed her an envelope from Alaska. Read Immediately was written in large letters, so

she ripped it open.

Dear Reggie,

We can’t get through on your cell, and your father and I have been worried sick.

We’re sending our love and protection. We’ve held off telling you this, but it’s time you

know. Remember how you always made a joke that your father was a leprechaun and your

mother an elf? Well, sweetheart, I hope you’re sitting down, because it’s true. Call us as

soon as you can. We have a lot to tell you. We love you, and please, be careful.

Love,

Mom

Mom’s letters were always strange but this one took the cake. If what her mother said was

true, it explained all the weirdness in Reggie’s life. Giggling nervously, as she usually did to

cope, she folded up the letter and put it in her pocket before rushing out the door.

Damn! The bus is at the corner!

Reggie ran. It pulled away from the curb into traffic. She screamed, but it didn’t stop. Why

would it? The city drowned out her screams. That was life in New York. You screamed and

mostly people didn’t notice. Exasperated, she looked at her watch. Damn, I want that job.

She flagged a cab.

The cost from Brooklyn to Manhattan would be a mint, but an internship with a good

brokerage house was worth its weight in gold. Reggie tried to think happy thoughts. That’s what her mom had taught her. And when she got home, she’d have to find that cell phone.

The ride was nerve-wracking. Her mind kept dwelling on things she couldn’t change. She

thought the pale gray suit would make the best impression. Maybe she should have worn the pink, low-cut crepe blouse instead and not this blue, silk one. Reggie lifted her fingers to her mouth and immediately put them down again. The last thing she wanted to do was waste a perfect manicure. Oh, God, Mr. Holmut is going to be so angry. Her academic advisor at NYU had worked hard getting this paid internship for her.

The cab stopped and it wasn’t for a light. They were in Manhattan. Reggie looked around to see if she could figure out her location. The World Trade Center was only four blocks around that corner at the most. After paying the man, she leaped out of the cab.

She was almost there, pausing only to catch her breath in front of the coffee shop before the corner. A tall man opened the door, pulled her inside, and shut the door behind her.

“What the . . .” Reggie stared up into the bluest eyes she’d ever seen. His handsome,

sculpted face was framed by thick, dark hair. She was dazed and confused.

Then everything shook. Coffee cups jingled. The customers in line fell into each other.

Donuts and pastries slid on the rack. People screamed in the streets. Fire trucks maneuvered through traffic.

Reggie turned to go out, but the man put his hand on her shoulder. “Don’t go outside.

Please.” It was the way he said it that captivated her.

A man covered with soot ran into the shop. “The World Trade Center’s on fire!” Some

people hurried out to look. Others rushed out the doors in the opposite direction. Reggie

collapsed into the seat of an empty booth. Her head ached, then throbbed, then changed to a pain past describing. She raced for the restroom and upon entering fell on her knees in the first stall to violently puke. Hundreds of screaming voices filled her head. She’d been in the city for two years and had never heard the thoughts of New Yorkers, but now their horror crashed down on her in deafening, unceasing, agonizing waves.

Someone held her hair, which had fallen out of the bun. Then Reggie puked again. Totally

devastated, the physical and emotional pain held her captive. She collapsed on the floor and curled into a ball. When Reggie looked up through tear-filled eyes, the same man reached for her. She couldn’t stop shaking. The very instant his hand touched hers, the voices stopped. Oh, what sweet relief. He helped her sit in a small chair beside the sink.

“What happened to you?”

“I don’t know.” Reggie blinked back tears. “What’s happening to the world?”

“People are coming in saying there’s a fire in the North Tower.” He shook his head in

dismay.

“I was supposed to be in the North Tower. I was late for my internship.” She couldn’t stop

shaking. He had let go of her hand, and the voices in her skull grew stronger with each passing minute. When Reggie slid off the chair, he reached for her again. Sitting on the floor, he enclosed her in his arms this time. Everything in her should have been repelled, but he was like a sanctuary. In his arms, the world of pain didn’t exist. Did she enjoy his touch because he sheltered her from this torment, or was it the blue eyes, face sculpted like an Adonis, and strong arms that made every fear melt away?

“I was in the North Tower. I work there, and I hate the office coffee, so I left to get

everyone coffee and donuts on me just so I could get my coffee here at Phil’s.” Even though a wave of sadness radiated out from him, Reggie felt his calming strength.

*

This is just the beginning of what happens to them!

When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 is available in Kindle and Print, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

Sometimes when I dream and write a book, I learn that there is always hope and love even in the darkest moment. We just have to look for it. Even in remembrance there is love.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

NEW: Vampire Princess of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 2 available in Kindle! In Amazon Print! In Barnes and Noble Print!

Vampire King of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 1 temporarily offline for a re-edit and new cover.

Vampire in the Basement, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 4 available in Kindle.

Poseidon’s Catch (mythology romance) available in Kindle.

Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room (steampunk romance) available in Kindle.

A Vampire for Christmas,Vampires in Manhattan, Book 3 available in Kindle.

The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print

When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 available in Kindle and Print, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

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It’s Coming! by Stacy Hoff

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It’s coming! My new novel is finally on its way! MAD FOR YOU IN MADRID (Building Love #3) will be released on October 10, 2018. It’s the grand finale of my Building Love series. Each book in the series is a stand-alone novel, complete with a happily ever after (“HEA”), steamy romance, world-class location, and drama between family members!

There are, however, some distinctions between the three books. MAD FOR YOU IN MADRID (Building Love #3) is classified as a “new adult” novel because the heroine is in her early twenties. This story is also more comedic (because, really, I can’t help myself). HOTTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN (Building Love #2) is also “new adult” and has my most off-beat protagonist yet (a young woman who is tattooed, artsy, and highly creative). BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS (Building Love #1) has a heroine who is a little older (late twenties); she’s had a tough time finding her own independence.

The Building Love books comprise the first series I plotted out from the very start. Planning three books presented a fun challenge. Characters had to weave in and out. Storylines had to maintain continuity. Tension had to remain constant. All this, while still creating a stand-alone romance for each. Good thing I love a challenge!

So, how’d I do? On October 10th you can tell me. In the interim, here are the book blurbs for all three books. Hope you fall MADly in love with them!

Hook line for MAD For YOU IN MADRID

A surprise business trip to Spain leads to something even more unexpected—a forbidden romance with the client.

Book blurb for MAD FOR YOU IN MADRID

Lori Cayne is in a tricky situation. Her public relations job has sent her to Spain for a project that is way over her head. Her task is to convince American tourists to stay at a Madrid hotel. Unfortunately, Lori knows little about public relations and even less about the hotel industry. Dealing with the client, however, will be the real challenge. Hotel magnate Daniel Vega is rich, uber-sexy, and the one night stand that wasn’t. That’s because Lori had inadvertently stood him up before things got a chance to really heat up. Now Daniel wants nothing to do with her, personally or professionally.

Daniel Vega is none-to-pleased to learn that Lori will be handling his new hotel’s publicity campaign. Her flaky ways will be hell on his business, and on him. Yet shutting her out is hard to do when the woman is full of surprises and an even fuller heart. Her good nature makes her willing to do anything for anybody. When Daniel’s brother, Elias, asks Lori to be his fake-fiancé at an important event, Daniel is not surprised when Lori agrees. What he is surprised by is the pang of jealousy. Maybe Lori isn’t the only one with personal issues to work out. After all, if Daniel is truly the success he thinks he is, how can off-beat, business greenhorn Lori Cayne emotionally bring him to his knees?

When news of the fake engagement creates a scandal, both Lori’s company and Daniel’s world-wide enterprise may be damaged beyond repair. The damage done to their hearts, however, may be a whole lot worse.

Each book in the Building Love series is a stand-alone novel, complete with: a happily ever after (“HEA”), steamy romance, world-class location, and drama between family members! I’ve included the book blurbs for the other two stories here.

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Hook line for HOTTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN

In the Caribbean, the secrets, sex, and scandals are hotter.

Book blurb for HOTTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN

Luis Serrano, the unwanted love child of a hotel construction magnate, is determined to reach his father’s level of success. When Luis finds himself pitted against his half-brother for control over their ailing father’s company, sibling rivalry comes to a head. The stakes are high—the brother that best completes their portion of the Caribbean construction project will gain control over the entire company. To win, Luis hires an interior design firm. But the firm will have to perform difficult work under serious time constraints.

Melanie Merritt is used to sibling rivalry. She’s always been second best to her older sister, the “golden child” of their parent’s interior design firm. Melanie’s desire is to be an artist. She works for her family to appease them. Her newest task is to implement a complex project for Luis Serrano under an impossibly short deadline. If she fails, her family’s company may go bankrupt. But Melanie can’t keep her too-creative ideas away from her family, and the client.

Completing work on time won’t be easy. Especially when dual sibling rivalries threaten to destroy the project—and a passion hotter than the Caribbean.

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Hook line for BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS

In Las Vegas, there’s no bigger gamble than love.

Book blurb for BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS

Catherine “Cat” Warner has problems. The profits from her inns are down. The pressure from her parents is up. Her love life is non-existent. But Cat did manage to get the attention of tough, powerful, gorgeous hotel magnate Ty Orland. Unfortunately, his interest in her is for all the wrong reasons. Instead of wanting Cat, this debonair CEO only wants her land—a parcel he desperately needs for his next big development deal. Too bad, it’s notfor sale. A people pleaser by nature, Cat knows to stand strong. If she caves in to the demands of this sexy, alluring man, it will be her own neck on the line.

Ty Orland has a lot of things going for him. Success. Power. Respect. Unfortunately, he’s also got an old chip on his shoulder and a new financial nightmare. His development deal is going down in flames—and fast. His only way out is if Cat sells him her strategically located parcel. But romancing the land from her is not easy when love gets in the way. The woman is as beautiful as she is beguiling. And Ty no longer knows which prize is more valuable.  

Let me know what you think! In the meantime, I’ll be planning promo. Look for my posts on FB and Twitter! My handles are below.

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SIGN UP FOR STACY’S NEWSLETTER! http://eepurl.com/bG0HZD

WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR STACY HOFF:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorStacyHoff

Web: http://www.stacyhoff.com

OTHER BOOKS BY STACY HOFF

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BUY LINKS:

BETTING ON LOVE IN VEGAS (BUILDING LOVE #1) http://amzn.to/2kAgBvK

HOTTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN (BUILDING LOVE #2)    http://amzn.to/2xW3WtJ

JOCKEYING FOR YOU  http://amzn.to/2c8Hi5t

DESIRE IN THE ARCTIC http://amzn.to/1KjfP9V

DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES http://amzn.to/1YEseie

LAWFULLY YOURS http://amzn.to/1Ky5CZm

 

The Perfect People

What if this world were filled with only superefficient and highly motivated people? We’d all wake up each day, get in a morning workout, eat healthy and be productive all day until we went to sleep. I woke up this morning wishing this for a moment before I wiped the sleep from my eyes and chastised myself for my ridiculousness. In essence, I was wishing for a world of robots, which is absolutely not what I want.

For starters, I’m just going to come out and say it—I am not one of those superefficient, highly motivated people. I’m motivated, but it ebbs and flows with the days or months. I can be efficient but I’m not all the time. And perhaps this is why I had my momentary brain lapse this morning. I have friends who work out daily, seem to only go up in their jobs, always look put together and whose kids behave like little angels. I wouldn’t say I’m the opposite of these friends but I’m definitely one of those who sit and wonder how the “perfect” people do it all.

Now, I know I’m being silly in writing this blog but I’m simply writing what goes through a lot of our minds—and that is the point. The truth is that no one is perfect. Perhaps there are those out there who seem like it but it is always about priority and sacrifice. Maybe you can work out daily or eat healthy all the time, but there is usually some sort of trade off. It could be less time working (if you have a demanding job) or spending less time with the kids. The same goes if you decide you are going to dedicate all your time to work—you might have less time to plan healthy meals and work out or spend time with friends and family.

And maybe after all of this a world of robots doesn’t sound so bad, but besides not wishing for our own species demise, I really do believe a world of drones would be quite boring. It is our differences and unique qualities that highlight who we truly are. As for efficiency and motivation and productivity? Well, we have to strive for something.

Happy writing this week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finishing The Billionaire Fantasy by Mandy Rosko

August is finished and the nights are getting cooler. I’ve kept to a steady writing pace but it’s been a couple of years since I started this project, so now that I’m at about 97K words, and the story is coming to a close, it’s kind of strange to think it’s almost done.

 

I’ll need to do a massive set of editing on this book, there’s a major character in this book that will need to be talked about a little more in the beginning, and I think I can up the heat factor a little before moving forward, but the first draft is almost finished, and I’m proud of that. I want to finish it by this month so I can work on getting out other stories out of my head.

 

I’ve got a lot of these going on, and with the new season right here, the end of the year coming up, I’m finding myself wanting to get a lot of this done. Wanting to get more notches on my belt

Zombies Labor Day Paranormal-Scope

The weather where I am is hot and humid and it’s not Florida. Zombies, however, are not bothered by this weather. I am sitting in air conditioning, because I am. Note: Some Paranormal-Scopes are harder to write.

While I am not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked to the paranormal in the world in many ways. So are you.

The paranormal-scope is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to guide your life by.

The week for:

Aries:

Zombies are not good with details but you can be. Your work is important, so focus get things done right. People will notice.

Taurus:

Zombies tend to follow their family or friends group. This will work to your advantage this week. You will make and important connection.

Gemini:

Zombies sometimes fall in love. Do something special for a loved one.

Cancer:

Zombies run from fire. In your case, the fire is within you for someone close and dear. Burn the past and run toward the future.

Leo:

Zombies are running toward all things fun. Plan some fun time for yourself.

Virgo:

Zombies love to wander in the sunlight. Doors are opening for you. Trust yourself to enter the one with the most light for your future.

Libra:

Zombies are persistent at work.  But be careful or you might miss something. Listen to colleagues and dot your i and cross your t.

Scorpio:

Zombies don’t understand transformational experiences even when they tumble over one. Keep your eyes open and take advantage of your opportunities.

Sagittarius:

Zombies don’t believe in Fate! People are coming into your life that will affect it profoundly. You are decisions to make.

Capricorn:

Zombies don’t understand change! Change and news can affect you now. Do everything you can to do your best work and make it shine.

Aquarius:

Zombies don’t know what they want. That’s why they are so scattered. Be clear on what you want before moving forward in your career.

Pisces:

Zombies enjoy wandering in the country and clearing the mind. If overwhelmed by too much to do, do the most important first then cross it off your list.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

NEW: Vampire Princess of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 2 available in Kindle! In Amazon Print! In Barnes and Noble Print!

Vampire King of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 1  Temporarily Offline for an edit and new cover

Vampire in the Basement, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 4 available in Kindle.

Poseidon’s Catch (mythology romance) available in Kindle.

Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room (steampunk romance) available in Kindle.

A Vampire for Christmas,Vampires in Manhattan, Book 3 available in Kindle.

The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print

When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 available in Kindle and Print, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

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A List Without Misery… By Ripley Proserpina

This week we had one of those days where the weather was cool, and it was gray, and even though the leaves are still green, I can see what’s about to happen.

Fall.

If you haven’t guessed it by now, I dread winter. Sometimes, when the snow is falling and I’m cuddly warm inside and I have tea and my cats, I love it.

But it is so looooooooong. For every pretty day, there’s one where it hurts to breath. The sun shines and I think, oh, sunny! I’ll go outside. 

In the words of Admiral Akbar,

Sunny days in winter are the coldest days.

So I started thinking about movies for those rainy and inevitably cold days. AND THEN, I started thinking about my favorite movies about writers and writing.

Without further ado, my favorite movies about writers and writing in no particular order.

Bright Star… I literally swoon over the poetry of John Keats. And the ending? I’m still recovering.

Not Another Happy Ending… I love this Scottish film featuring Karen Gillan (aka Nebula from Guardians of the Galaxy). She’s a writer with a board full of rejections, who finally finds a publisher. This movie is choke-full of scenes where she argues with her editor about her writing.

Shakespeare in Love… Remember this one? From the long long ago? I think Gwyneth Paltrow is like eighteen or something. It’s about Shakespeare. There are plays. Dancing. THE QUEEN. Young Adult… Charlize Theron plays a grown-up mean girl who is a ghost writer for a popular middle-grade series. I don’t know what it is about this movie, it’s definitely not feel-good, but Theron’s character is one of my favorites.

 Julie and Julia… The story about a writer who blogs about her attempt to make every recipe in Julia Child’s cookbook. One of the few excellent book to movie adaptations I’ve seen. And the butter!!! The wine!! Meryl Streep!

Finding Love by Susan Hanniford Crowley

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This is a sculpture by Antonia Canova called “Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss.” The photo was taken by Pufacz and was placed in public domain according to Wikimedia Commons

Romance authors constantly research and inquire about how people find love. I enjoy couples telling me how they first met. Staying home isn’t the way, though I do know one man who found his wife on a dating site.  Another man found his wife at a church picnic and was introduced by friends.

Many people including my parents met through friends. So getting out and making friends can lead to bigger and better things. Let friends introduce you around to their friends. You can also meet people in club activities, parties, and classes especially where group interaction is encouraged. If your workplace doesn’t discourage dating, you might meet someone at work, I did.

Scientists have been doing studies and they say, “Opposites may attract, but people with similarities grow their attraction into the long relationship.” Some people just want hook-ups and the “opposite” nature person is mysterious and exciting. But do they have staying power? Lovers with a lot in common including values and goals often grow into true love.

I think, and this is only my opinion, a mixture of both is good. I have a lot in common with my husband, but then were are some interests we don’t share. He’s into western movies. I’m into fantasy and science fiction. I’ll watch cowboys for him, and he’ll watch star ships for me. Love may be a compromise!

I wasn’t looking for love when I found it. Maybe that is the key. I just wanted to have fun and learn new things, but the important part was that I was out and about and meeting people. I wanted to make friends and gave time for the friendships to develop. I did things that was fun for me. I tried out new experiences and places. The fact was I was very happy just being me. I felt fulfilled and enjoyed my life. Loving yourself may be another key!

How did you meet your loved one? Are you still looking? Are you happy with you?

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

NEW: Vampire Princess of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 2 available in Kindle! In Amazon Print! In Barnes and Noble Print!

Vampire King of New York, Arnhem Knights of New York, Book 1 temporarily offline for a re-edit and new cover.

Vampire in the Basement, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 4 available in Kindle.

Poseidon’s Catch (mythology romance) available in Kindle.

Mrs. Bright’s Tea Room (steampunk romance) available in Kindle.

A Vampire for Christmas,Vampires in Manhattan, Book 3 available in Kindle.

The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, Vampires in Manhattan, Book 2 available in Kindle and Print and Barnes and Noble Print

When Love Survives, Vampires in Manhattan Book 1 available in Kindle and Print, Nook, Kobo and Smashwords.

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Laboring Away on Labor Day by Stacy Hoff

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It’s Labor Day weekend in the U.S.A. For me, the holiday is off to a good start. I just found out that HOTTER THAN THE CARIBBEAN (Building Love #2) made it to the final round of the “I Heart Indie” contest run by the Las Vegas chapter of RWA (Romance Writers of America)! I can’t wait until late October when the winners are announced. I’ll be crossing my fingers until then.

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Many Americans will spend this three-day holiday weekend reading. I, on the other hand, will be spending my time writing. Not a novel, mind you. Nope, I’ll be writing promo pieces instead. That’s because MAD FOR YOU IN MADRID (Building Love #3) will be released very soon—October 10, 2018. This is the grand finale to my Building Love series. I’m very excited!

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A good promotion package always contains an intriguing hook line and book blurb (the back-of-the-jacket summary). Here’s what I wrote for MAD FOR YOU IN MADRID (Building Love #3):

Hook line

A surprise business trip to Spain leads to something even more unexpected—a forbidden romance with the client.

Book blurb

Lori Cayne is in a tricky situation. Her public relations job has sent her to Spain for a project that is way over her head. Her task is to convince American tourists to stay at a Madrid hotel. Unfortunately, Lori knows little about public relations and even less about the hotel industry. Dealing with the client, however, will be the real challenge. Hotel magnate Daniel Vega is rich, uber-sexy, and the one night stand that wasn’t. That’s because Lori had inadvertently stood him up before things got a chance to really heat up. Now Daniel wants nothing to do with her, personally or professionally.

Daniel Vega is none-to-pleased to learn that Lori will be handling his new hotel’s publicity campaign. Her flaky ways will be hell on his business, and on him. Yet shutting her out is hard to do when the woman is full of surprises and an even fuller heart. Her good nature makes her willing to do anything for anybody. When Daniel’s brother, Elias, asks Lori to be his fake-fiancé at an important event, Daniel is not surprised when Lori agrees. What he is surprised by is the pang of jealousy. Maybe Lori isn’t the only one with personal issues to work out. After all, if Daniel is truly the success he thinks he is, how can off-beat, business greenhorn Lori Cayne emotionally bring him to his knees?

When news of the fake engagement creates a scandal, both Lori’s company and Daniel’s world-wide enterprise may be damaged beyond repair. The damage done to their hearts, however, may be a whole lot worse.

Each book in the Building Love series is a stand-alone novel, complete with: a happily ever after (“HEA”), steamy romance, world-class location, and drama between family members! I’ve included the book blurbs for the other two stories here.

[image error]

Hook line

In the Caribbean, the secrets, sex, and scandals are hotter.

Book blurb

Luis Serrano, the unwanted love child of a hotel construction magnate, is determined to reach his father’s level of success. When Luis finds himself pitted against his half-brother for control over their ailing father’s company, sibling rivalry comes to a head. The stakes are high—the brother that best completes their portion of the Caribbean construction project will gain control over the entire company. To win, Luis hires an interior design firm. But the firm will have to perform difficult work under serious time constraints.

Melanie Merritt is used to sibling rivalry. She’s always been second best to her older sister, the “golden child” of their parent’s interior design firm. Melanie’s desire is to be an artist. She works for her family to appease them. Her newest task is to implement a complex project for Luis Serrano under an impossibly short deadline. If she fails, her family’s company may go bankrupt. But Melanie can’t keep her too-creative ideas away from her family, and the client.

Completing work on time won’t be easy. Especially when dual sibling rivalries threaten to destroy the project—and a passion hotter than the Caribbean.

[image error]

Hook line

In Las Vegas, there’s no bigger gamble than love.

Book blurb

Catherine “Cat” Warner has problems. The profits from her inns are down. The pressure from her parents is up. Her love life is non-existent. But Cat did manage to get the attention of tough, powerful, gorgeous hotel magnate Ty Orland. Unfortunately, his interest in her is for all the wrong reasons. Instead of wanting Cat, this debonair CEO only wants her land—a parcel he desperately needs for his next big development deal. Too bad, it’s notfor sale. A people pleaser by nature, Cat knows to stand strong. If she caves in to the demands of this sexy, alluring man, it will be her own neck on the line.

Ty Orland has a lot of things going for him. Success. Power. Respect. Unfortunately, he’s also got an old chip on his shoulder and a new financial nightmare. His development deal is going down in flames—and fast. His only way out is if Cat sells him her strategically located parcel. But romancing the land from her is not easy when love gets in the way. The woman is as beautiful as she is beguiling. And Ty no longer knows which prize is more valuable.  

Let me know what you think! In the meantime, I’ll be planning promo. Look for my posts on FB and Twitter! My handles are below.

[image error]

SIGN UP FOR STACY’S NEWSLETTER! http://eepurl.com/bG0HZD

WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS FOR STACY HOFF:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/authorStacyHoff

Web: http://www.stacyhoff.com

OTHER BOOKS BY STACY HOFF

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BUY LINKS:

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Oh Happy Days

Have you taken the time recently to think about what makes a day good or bad? These days, we move at such a fast pace that it seems unlikely many of us slow down to reflect on how we’d judge the day and what made it good or bad. Or in most cases, we usually tend to slow down and self-reflect when something goes wrong or unexpectedly. Why? My guess is because it takes us off kilter and we are forced to reassess.

But seriously, I’ve said this time and time again. There is some importance in treasuring the little moments. This afternoon, I received an email from a friend thanking me for my support, friendship, encouragement, etc. She recently went through her first house search and closing and found the overall process daunting and quite frankly exhausting. While I’d agree that this type of process is both of these items, I’ve also been on the other side and I know what it feels like once everything is said and done and you are now sitting in your house as a home owner.

At the time, I thought nothing of my support. I was being a friend, providing experience, encouraging her to hang in there and painting a picture of how happy I thought she’d be. Those are the types of things that friends do. And on her side, she responded in kind with a very touching email. At the end of the day, we both walked away happy—her in her home and me reflecting on the fact that I helped someone. They are small steps in our lives (on her side it was a bit bigger) but they have meaning and impact. They bring a smile to our faces and a lightness to our step.

It is important to remember these precious moments that make us happy, that make our days tip the scales towards “good”. In fact, I’d argue a lot more of these in our lives would go a long way to offsetting the bad days.

Happy writing this week!

Writing Challenges To Make Your Goals by Mandy Rosko

I’ve been really getting into writing challenges lately. On days when I have to write anywhere from 5 to 7K words to keep up with my deadlines, it can seem like a lot. It can drain you, but when I think of them in terms of challenges, as tired as I feel when I’m done, I have a better sense of accomplishment when I do it as opposed to simply feeling drained and grateful when it’s done.

 

I need to write another 21K words for my publisher by the 31st just to make sure I can keep my deadline. I missed one writing day because I went out to the Capitol Fair with my family. It was totally worth it. The pogo was delicious :3 The games were fun. We tried to win a Rick and Morty doll, it didn’t work out, but it was close