Delilah Devlin's Blog, page 296
September 3, 2017
Fran Thomas: Island Dream
I have always enjoyed watching cooking shows. As a teenager, I never missed an episode of Julia Child’s show, The French Chef. What a hoot she was. I doubt I ever made any of her dishes, but I certainly admired her attitude. Cooking should be fun.
Nowadays, my favorite is Pioneer Woman. Although I’ve never been on a ranch in my life, I often steal ideas from her. (Sorry, Ree.) For me, they are just a starting point. Depending on what ingredients I have on hand, I tweak things to suit myself. I rarely make a recipe as written. Fortunately for me, my dear husband is willing to eat my experiments.
I guess it was inevitable for me to blend cooking and writing. I began by editing a cookbook. It was a collection put together by the members of the Insurance Women of Pittsburgh as a fund raiser and cleverly titled Premium Recipes.
Then for a few years I entered recipe contests. I even snagged a couple small prizes—an apron, a cutting board. The best prize I won, however, was a trip to New York City to take a class at the Institute of Culinary Education. The contest, sponsored by French’s, entailed creating a sandwich using one of their products. This was when American Idol was first on the air, so I devised a sandwich and called it the Simon Cowell. The ingredients included roast beef as rare as musical talent, as I recall.
Isabella Ramos, the heroine in my third Calusa Town Tale Island Dream, has long wanted to open her own restaurant. That is something I’d never do myself. It involves a lot of hard work and a fair amount of risk, as Izzy soon finds out. I’ll confine my culinary activities to my own kitchen, but it’s fun to experience Izzy’s adventures in cooking vicariously.
Visit me at RusticatingintheTropics.com or FrancesOThomas.com.
Island Dream
Romance with a side of comedy
Zumba teacher Isabella Ramos moved from Miami to the quirky small town of Calusa to open a restaurant. Luc Girard arrives on the Florida island to become a painter, or so he says. The attraction is instant. But the secret he’s keeping threatens to deflate their relationship like a fallen soufflé. It takes the right mixture of ingredients for dreams to come true.
Island Dream is available on Amazon in paperback at http://amzn.to/2xFM6sj or on Kindle at http://amzn.to/2iBtGWG.
Excerpt:
One step closer to her dream.
Isabella Ramos drove her refurbished van across the drawbridge and towards her home in Calusa. After catering a breakfast at a golf club on the mainland, she had already dropped off the two women she hired for larger jobs like this one. She yawned and let go of the steering wheel long enough to rub her eyes. It was only noon, but she had risen early to prepare three varieties of Cuban pastries along with the hot items she had served.
The society women who belonged to the club had oohed and aahed over her food, and many had taken her business card, promising to call her for future high-profile events around town. The manager of the club was a valuable contact too. Isabella was certain he had a vast network that she hoped to tap into when she finally opened her restaurant.
Isabella had loved to bake from the first moment she stood on a chair before her abuela’s kitchen counter back in Miami and wielded a miniature rolling pin. As she got older, and taller, she learned how to prepare the Cuban dishes that made her grandma’s home the place to be when mealtime rolled around. The seed of the dream to open her own restaurant was born.
Up ahead, she spotted a man standing on a ladder next to a utility pole. She didn’t recognize him, and he wasn’t dressed in an official uniform of any kind. She didn’t see a truck, only a rusty bicycle that lay flat on the adjoining bike path. Who was he? Was he up to some mischief?
But what if he was in trouble? Before she could stop to think twice, she pulled the van over to the side of the road and got out.
The man shaded his eyes against the Florida sun as Izzy approached. The light glinted off his brown hair, gathered in an untidy man bun. A beard obscured the bottom half of his face making his expression unreadable.
“Can I help you?” he called.
He spoke with an intriguing accent. French?
“Oh, no,” Izzy said. “I wondered if you needed help.”
“You mean you wondered what I am doing,” the man replied. He gestured to several open cans at the foot of the ladder, half hidden in the weeds. “I am painting.”
“Painting on that pole? Why?”
He chuckled. “Because it is there. Is that not what people say when they climb Mount Everest? Simply because it is there.”
September 2, 2017
A Three Syllables Saturday…and A Glance Back at August! (Contest–3 Winners!)
It’s 6:27 a.m. The latest I’ve slept in all week. I’ve had a ton of books to edit—for other people—over the course of the past two to three weeks. I feel like my body is solidifying into this humpbacked, gnarled-fingered gargoyle, perpetually bent toward a computer screen. But one last manuscript to finish polishing, and then I can get back to my own imperfectly-written masterpieces.
Yeah, it’s way to early to be thinking in words longer than one or two syllables. I’ll stop. Now.
So…. You know I have a new release this week, right? A sexy menage with cowboys. Can’t get any more decadent (Oops! Three syllables) than that! Anyways, (Ugh! Did it again!) Family Values is out there, ready for your enjoyment (Ack! I give up!).
Well, it being a long weekend holiday (urg!) for some folks, I’ll remind you that I had several (ridiculously many) stories arrive in August…
Psst! If you have read some of these, do me a favor and post a review!
Toodles! (Yes, too much Mickey Mouse Fun House!) Have a great weekend!
What you might have missed in August…
Reined In
Released August 10!
Who says a cowgirl can’t have it all?
Stormy is a rancher’s daughter through and through, and although she went away to college, her soul is firmly rooted in home ground–and the cowboys she grew up tormenting. When she hears her father might be selling the ranch, she packs her bags and high tails it for home, terrified she might never get another chance to lasso the heart of one of her cowboys before the hands scatter to the four winds.
For Cam and Joe, foreman and wrangler on the ranch, Stormy was a pain in the seat of their Wranglers. But when she roars back onto the ranch, the spoiled brat they remember emerges from the cloud of dust in skin-tight jeans and spike heels and all grown up.
It only takes a hot second to figure out she’s hell-bent on seduction. But if she thinks they’re going to make it easy for her to pick which cowboy she wants most, she’s sadly mistaken. And who says she has to choose one?
*~*~*~*~*
Long Howl Good NightReleased August 15th!
Werewolf Aila Mack is ready to get her groove on during a full moon. Because she prefers to keep her liaisons strictly about the sex, she’s a part-time were-hooker. She’s had a taste of were-domination, but now prefers to be in charge of her own destiny.
Brothers Kynan and Jack Parker are on a mission. When their Dark Mountain clan finds an agency dealing in female werewolves, they aren’t happy learning that women are selling their bodies to satisfy their monthly howl. However, they have to take action once they discover there’s a fertile female in the agency’s stable. Their species is in dire need of breedable females.
Kynan and Jack are given the job of bringing home their mate, but they quickly discover there’s more going on beneath the surface than simply a stubborn female who refuses to be collared. Aila’s tempted like never before, as the brothers, one gentle and one fiercely intense, peel away the hard shell surrounding her Wolfen heart.
*~*~*~*~*
The Entire Delta Blue series!
Released August 21! Click on covers!
*~*~*~*~*
Everything, so far, in the Delta Heat series!
Released August 21! Click on Covers!
*~*~*~*~*
Handy MenReleased August 24!
Two very handy men mend a divorcée’s broken heart…
Rather than cry over spilt milk, a newly divorced woman throws caution to the wind and decides to seduce her neighbor’s handsome handyman.
Jeff isn’t stupid–Pamela tossed those screws into her sink to get his attention! The fact she’s beautiful and vulnerable convinces him she needs “special” attention. When he has her hot and horny, he surprises her with his partner Casey and a threesome.
What starts for Pamela as a wild, no-holds-barred fling quickly gets stickier as the guys push for something lasting.
*~*~*~*~*
Family ValuesReleased August 31!
Three brothers in love with the same woman make a pact….
Angelina Flores lived a perfect ranch-kid childhood, complete with three princes on horseback who treated their housekeeper’s daughter like a princess. At age eighteen, the fairytale came crashing down when she realized she had to choose between Brand, Nate, and Eli McAffee. And when she did choose one–she lost all three.
She’s older now. Wiser, thanks to her college education and a few years’ distance. A distance she’d planned to maintain…until her mother begs her to fill in at the ranch while she takes care of a sick relative.
The minute her boots hit the front porch, the memories come flooding back, right along with the hunger. It’s tough to put the past behind her when temptation is so close. Especially since the brothers seem bound and determined to woo her. Separately. Together. Whatever it takes to keep her right where she belongs–in their arms.
*~*~*~*~*
Contest! 3 Winners!
So, you have plenty to read over the long weekend, right? Something for just about anyone who likes a sexy read! Winners’ choices of any story in the Lone Star Lovers series, the Night Fall series, or the Planet Desire series! To win, all you have to do is tell me this…
What are you reading this weekend?
A Two Syllables Saturday…and A Glance Back at August! (Contest–3 Winners!)
It’s 6:27 a.m. The latest I’ve slept in all week. I’ve had a ton of books to edit—for other people—over the course of the past two to three weeks. I feel like my body is solidifying into this humpbacked, gnarled-fingered gargoyle, perpetually bent toward a computer screen. But one last manuscript to finish polishing, and then I can get back to my own imperfectly-written masterpieces.
Yeah, it’s way to early to be thinking in words longer than one or two syllables. I’ll stop. Now.
So…. You know I have a new release this week, right? A sexy menage with cowboys. Can’t get any more decadent (Oops! Three syllables) than that! Anyways, (Ugh! Did it again!) Family Values is out there, ready for your enjoyment (Ack! I give up!).
Well, it being a long weekend holiday (urg!) for some folks, I’ll remind you that I had several (ridiculously many) stories arrive in August…
Psst! If you have read some of these, do me a favor and post a review!
Toodles! (Yes, too much Mickey Mouse Fun House!) Have a great weekend!
What you might have missed in August…
Reined In
Released August 10!
Who says a cowgirl can’t have it all?
Stormy is a rancher’s daughter through and through, and although she went away to college, her soul is firmly rooted in home ground–and the cowboys she grew up tormenting. When she hears her father might be selling the ranch, she packs her bags and high tails it for home, terrified she might never get another chance to lasso the heart of one of her cowboys before the hands scatter to the four winds.
For Cam and Joe, foreman and wrangler on the ranch, Stormy was a pain in the seat of their Wranglers. But when she roars back onto the ranch, the spoiled brat they remember emerges from the cloud of dust in skin-tight jeans and spike heels and all grown up.
It only takes a hot second to figure out she’s hell-bent on seduction. But if she thinks they’re going to make it easy for her to pick which cowboy she wants most, she’s sadly mistaken. And who says she has to choose one?
*~*~*~*~*
Long Howl Good NightReleased August 15th!
Werewolf Aila Mack is ready to get her groove on during a full moon. Because she prefers to keep her liaisons strictly about the sex, she’s a part-time were-hooker. She’s had a taste of were-domination, but now prefers to be in charge of her own destiny.
Brothers Kynan and Jack Parker are on a mission. When their Dark Mountain clan finds an agency dealing in female werewolves, they aren’t happy learning that women are selling their bodies to satisfy their monthly howl. However, they have to take action once they discover there’s a fertile female in the agency’s stable. Their species is in dire need of breedable females.
Kynan and Jack are given the job of bringing home their mate, but they quickly discover there’s more going on beneath the surface than simply a stubborn female who refuses to be collared. Aila’s tempted like never before, as the brothers, one gentle and one fiercely intense, peel away the hard shell surrounding her Wolfen heart.
*~*~*~*~*
The Entire Delta Blue series!
Released August 21! Click on covers!
*~*~*~*~*
Everything, so far, in the Delta Heat series!
Released August 21! Click on Covers!
*~*~*~*~*
Handy MenReleased August 24!
Two very handy men mend a divorcée’s broken heart…
Rather than cry over spilt milk, a newly divorced woman throws caution to the wind and decides to seduce her neighbor’s handsome handyman.
Jeff isn’t stupid–Pamela tossed those screws into her sink to get his attention! The fact she’s beautiful and vulnerable convinces him she needs “special” attention. When he has her hot and horny, he surprises her with his partner Casey and a threesome.
What starts for Pamela as a wild, no-holds-barred fling quickly gets stickier as the guys push for something lasting.
*~*~*~*~*
Family ValuesReleased August 31!
Three brothers in love with the same woman make a pact….
Angelina Flores lived a perfect ranch-kid childhood, complete with three princes on horseback who treated their housekeeper’s daughter like a princess. At age eighteen, the fairytale came crashing down when she realized she had to choose between Brand, Nate, and Eli McAffee. And when she did choose one–she lost all three.
She’s older now. Wiser, thanks to her college education and a few years’ distance. A distance she’d planned to maintain…until her mother begs her to fill in at the ranch while she takes care of a sick relative.
The minute her boots hit the front porch, the memories come flooding back, right along with the hunger. It’s tough to put the past behind her when temptation is so close. Especially since the brothers seem bound and determined to woo her. Separately. Together. Whatever it takes to keep her right where she belongs–in their arms.
*~*~*~*~*
Contest! 3 Winners!
So, you have plenty to read over the long weekend, right? Something for just about anyone who likes a sexy read! Winners’ choices of any story in the Lone Star Lovers series, the Night Fall series, or the Planet Desire series! To win, all you have to do is tell me this…
What are you reading this weekend?
September 1, 2017
Tina Gayle: The Story Behind the Executives Wives’ Club Series (Free Read)
When I consider writing a new romance series, I first look at what will make the stories different. What kernel of an idea sets it apart from other stories? I realized I wanted a series about how important women are to women. No matter how much we might enjoy the men in our lives. Women connect to other women in a unique way. Maybe, because we think alike or can share emotions men can’t understand, but women need women.
So then I asked, what type of situation would force four women together emotionally?
Okay, four women all lose their husbands at one time in a car accident. These women are connected only by their husbands’ jobs. They know each other, but are not what you’d call close—until their husbands are killed. This forever alters their world. Each has their unique problem.
Jen Larson is a realtor, who has for years lived as a married single. Her husband, Craig was her college sweetheart. She believes they had a good life, but less than a year after losing him, she’s ready to start dating again. This throws her relationship with the other executives’ wives into a tailspin. They don’t understand how she can do this, which makes for the first book in the series, The Marketing Exec’s Widow.
The truly fun part about a series like this is no one book is about only one woman. Each plays a part in the other book. Their stories continue and you learn more about what each woman is facing in her life. The happy-ever-after continues, and the reader learns how these women have grown to depend on each other.
In the second book, IT Exec’s Baby, the reader already knows from the first book that Brie Sullivan is pregnant. She has had the baby and is facing the challenges of dealing with a newborn as well as postpartum depression. She also has two other children she’s trying to raise alone. Life for her is not going well, and she’s searching for answers. During one of her more trying moments, she believes she has the answer and asks Jason Clark to marry her. He’s the son of one of the other executives’ wives, Marianne Clark. This is the beginning of their journey to finding happiness.
Book three, CFO’s Affair is about Sylvia Donovan. The reader finds outs in book one that Sylvia’s husband, Bob asked her for a divorce on the morning he left on the business trip in which he died. Sylvia is going through a difficult time with her daughter having just left for college. She’s suffering from empty nest syndrome. She needs a diversion from her loneliness and decides to help at the company where her husband once worked. This sets her on the trail of finding answers as to why her husband asked for a divorce. She discovers her husband had an affair, and his son is in an abusive situation. This rocks her world and forces her to make some very hard decision about not only her future, but also the future of her husband’s son.
The last book in the series, CFO’s Widow has not been released. Still working on this one, Marianne Clark is the oldest of the four women. She loved her husband and has done her best to deal with the massive hole his death has caused in her life. She is ready to give love a chance when she discovers a lump in her breast. Faced with her mortality, she has to make the hard decision of letting a man into her life or building a wall around herself. Shouldn’t she know the outcome before allowing a man she cares about into her life?
All of these books deal with major women issues. They show not only what women can endure during different phases of their lives, but how the relationship with not only men, but also women, help them deal with the problems they face.
Here are the blurbs for all the books…
Available at
Amazon | Smashwords | B&N | Kobo | Apple
Marketing Exec’s Widow
Needing to revive her life and jump start her heart, Jennifer Larson is facing the biggest challenge of her life, moving into an unplanned future. While the rest of the Executives Wives’ Club continues to mourn their husbands, Jen is tempted into the future by a sexy chiropractor, Hagan Chaney.
But does he really love her or is he only after her money?
On sale for .99cents
IT Exec’s Baby
Brie Sullivan has a new baby girl and there are a million things to do, but Brie doesn’t have the energy to keep up. Why? She’s still grieving for her husband and suffering from baby blues, but she won’t let that stop her. She’s come up with the answer–find a new husband to be the father of her kids.
Jason Clark has been doing everything he can to help Brie. He loves her but can he accept her proposal of marriage knowing she’s not thinking clearly about the future?
CFO’s Affair
Sylvia Donovan is emotionally wounded from the unexpected death of her husband and still haunted by their last conversation: his request for a divorce and his confession of love for another woman. Her husband gone, her only daughter off to college, Sylvia faces the challenges of learning to live alone and move on with her life.
Vince Wilshire, enchanted with Sylvia, is more than willing to do what it takes to capture the heart of the hurting and untrusting Sylvia.
Can he help her forget the past and make her believe in love again?
CEO’s Widow
After surviving the grief from her husband’s death, Marianne Clark has built a new life with the help of the other Executive Wives. She plans to enjoy grandchildren and friends until her doctor tells her he found a lump in her breast. Her world turned upside down. She re-evaluates her priorities and decides she will grab hold of life with both hands.
Knox Turner lost his first wife to cancer. He’s determined not to let Marianne face this challenge alone.
Can this couple face the trials ahead and build a future together?
Read the 1st chapter on my website www.tinagayle.com
FREE READ!
My Future Step Brother – FREE when you sign up for my newsletter
http://tinagayle.net/newsletter.html
About the Author
Tina Gayle grew up a dreamer and loved to escape into the world of books.
After years of working in the business world doing a variety of jobs, she decided to try her hand at writing in hopes of incorporate the joy of being a mother into her books.
Currently working on a series about four executive wives, she is excited about combining elements of women fiction with the passion of romance. The first three books have been released and the last one is coming out in 2015.
Married twenty-five years, she and her husband love to travel and play golf. She can’t wait for Mike to retire so they can do more of both.
Read the first chapter of any of her books by visiting her website.
Find Tina Gayle everywhere
Home – www.tinagayle.net
Blog – www.tinagayle.blogspot.com
Twitter – https://twitter.com/#!/AuthorTinaGayle
Goodread – http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1641826.Tina_Gayle
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Tina-Gayle/214633841921560?ref=hl
Google + – https://plus.google.com
Linkin – http://www.linkedin.com/pub/tina-gayle/11/689/759
August 31, 2017
Jan Hudson: The Right Moves
Thanks to Delilah for having me as a guest on her lively blog! I love reading and writing and talking about books—all kind of books. Books have always been one of my great passions. My mother swears that her labor with me was so long and difficult because I was born holding a tablet in one hand and a crayon in the other and wouldn’t let go. I was ready to write. (My mother was prone to tall Texas tales, too, so I get it honestly.)
Many, many moons ago when I was a fledgling author with a couple of romance novels published and was cavorting with a group of romance writers at a conference in Houston, someone in our bunch of six or eight suggested that we go out for drinks that evening. One adventurous soul suggested that a visit to a local club that featured male dancers would be the perfect venue. So we went.
…The place was dim, very dim, and packed with screaming women; the music was so loud that I felt it vibrate under my feet, and spotlights illuminated several small stages. Each stage featured a costumed hunk gyrating and flirting with the women going wild at his feet. We found seats, ordered drinks, and watched the show. As an astute observer of human behavior, I began to laugh at the antics of the women there. (The only men I saw were employees.) Most of the gals waving bills and making suggestive comments to the dancers were twice the age of the guys—or had at least a few years on them.
Several of the well-muscled strippers looked about the same age as students in the college psychology classes I taught—and about the same age as my son. Good grief!
What if I had walked in and found my kid on one of those stages? What if . . .
And the premise for a book was born that night.
THE RIGHT MOVES became one of my all-time favorite romantic comedies, one of thirteen that I wrote for Bantam Loveswept. And it had one of the worst covers ever. It was so bad that the publisher sent two dozen roses to me—and fired the artist. When the rights of my backlist reverted to me, I revised and updated the story and published it as an ebook—with a beautiful new cover that I love. (It’s great to have a creative director in the family.) Check it out on Amazon.
THE RIGHT MOVES by JAN HUDSON
Chris Ponder was a tough little cookie, tough enough to drive a tow truck in Houston on the weekends to help support herself and her 18 year old stepson. But the young widow was in for some surprises when she stopped to tow Nick Russo’s car and found herself waiting in a club filled with screaming women and scantily clad young men dancing for them. And holy g-string! Who was that tall kid she spotted on the stage swiveling his hips in a little-bitty Viking getup?
What was the impeccably dressed Nick Russo, multimillionaire businessman, doing in such a sleazy place? And why did her insides turn to tapioca when he gave her the once over with his bedroom eyes? He was way out of her league, and she’d been badly burned by a charming rascal before. Uh-uh. No way was she getting involved with him. But when he seduced her on a quiet night with his own dance just for her. . .
August 30, 2017
Rochelle Weber: Character Interview Kristen Jensen of The Thin Person Inside
Q: What’s your story/back story? Why would someone come up with a story about YOU?
KJ: I guess the reason people would want to interview me is because of the unique way I met Sean Wesley. His manager pulled strings to get him into treatment at the Danville, Illinois, VA because he was having trouble staying clean after he ODed during a recording session. I was there to address my food addiction. I weighed three-hundred pounds when we met. Who’d ever expect a rock star like Sean to fall for someone that fat?
Q: Can you tell us about your hero?
KJ: Sean’s tall, and drop-dead handsome with black hair and incredible blue eyes. He’s one of the lead singers of The Haystack, and I was in love with his music long before I met him. He’s kind, and intelligent, and incredibly brave. Can you imagine a pianist making a comeback after losing a hand?
Q: What problems do you have to face and overcome in your life?
KJ: Having been morbidly obese most of my adult life was a pretty big one, pun not intended.
Q: Do you expect your hero to help or is he the problem?
KJ: Sean and I support each other. We have different addictions, so we’re not binge buddies. Although, he says he was a fat kid and he has to watch his food, so I guess I’m a good influence on him.
Q: Where do you live?
KJ: My apartment’s in Rantoul, Illinois. It’s about 125 miles south of Chicago, ten miles north of Champaign, and forty-five miles northeast of Danville. I was raised in Chicago, but rents are less down here and I’m close to my daughters.
Q: During what time period does your story take place?
KJ: You would call our romance a contemporary one.
Q: How are you coping with the conflict in your life?
KJ: Aside from having had a heart attack recently, I’m doing okay. I’ve lost about a hundred pounds so far and I’m still losing. I work out along with Sean when he does his physical therapy, and I’m healthier than I’ve been in over twenty years. My kids aren’t embarrassed to be seen with me anymore.
Q: Those’re all the questions we have for you. Thank you for speaking to us.
KJ: You’re welcome. I really think Sean is much more interesting than I am. After all—he’s the rock star.
THE THIN PERSON INSIDE
Kristen Jensen, a Navy veteran, tips the scale at a crippling three hundred pounds. In desperation she asks her VA therapist if she can go into addictions treatment with the guys where she meets Sean. With black hair, blue eyes, and a perfect body she figures the reason he’s speaking to her is that she’s the only other person in the room.
The Haystack told their lead singer, Sean Wesley, to get clean or get out. But none of the big-name clinics worked. Sean’s a Desert Storm vet, so they send him to a VA in the middle of nowhere. When he meets Kristen the first day, he thinks it’s tragic such a pretty girl’s trapped in a huge body. And her honesty, intelligence, and bravery are even more impressive. Sean’s drawn to Kristen, but she’s had decades to build layers of defense.
Review:
***** Amazon Review by Heather Haven September 12, 2015
Well done, Ms. Weber.
This is a raw and revealing account of addiction, with a sweetness to it that pulls the reader in from the first. http://www.amazon.com/review/RJPHI5QOBJPTH
Excerpt:
Sean Wesley went into the snack room to help himself to coffee and a roll. He’d probably gain weight while he was here without his personal trainer and weight room. He’d been a fat kid—always the last to be chosen for games, and stuck in right field when he did play. He’d been saved from a life of obesity by a growth spurt in his late teens, a judge who gave him a choice between jail and the Marines, and switching addictions from food to booze and then cocaine.
By rights, Sean shouldn’t be at a VA facility. Celebrities like him usually got sober at places like the Betty Ford clinic or Hazelden. Actually, he’d come from Betty Ford, but he’d still felt shaky so his manager, Don Nelson, had done his homework. Danville, Illinois, was in the middle of nowhere. The program was different, based on Rational Emotive Therapy, and Sean was a veteran. While he made too much money to be treated at the VA, there’s money and then there’s money. Sean had money—the kind that opens doors and breaks down barriers. The kind that makes even the Federal Government say, “We’ll see what we can do,” and then do it.
So here he was in the middle of a cornfield in bum-fuck Illinois at a shabby old VA hospital. An enormously obese woman came into the snack room interrupting his reverie, and Sean thought, That could’ve been me. What a shame—she’s so pretty.”
* * * *
Kristen noticed the table of goodies and the drop-dead-gorgeous man perusing them in the break room when she went in there to put her lunch in the refrigerator.
“Want one? I heard they send ’em over every morning. I guess they’re yesterday’s leftovers.”
That’s right. Offer sweets to the fat lady. She managed a tight grimace. “Thanks, but I’m here because I’m a food addict.” She held up her orange.
“I’m Sean.” He prob’ly wouldn’t give a fat chick like me a second look anywhere else. Still, what is it about men with black hair and blue eyes that makes me go all mushy?
“Hi.”
“I’ve heard of food addicts, but what makes ya call yourself that?”
“When my kids were little, I left them without a babysitter while I went to the store and wrote a rubber check for ice cream and M&Ms. I’d say I’ve been about as desperate for my fix as any addict or alcoholic.”
“Wow! Yeah, I guess so.” He held the door for her as they exited and then followed her into the Day Room.
Kristen sat on a love seat, taking up the whole thing, while Sean sat in the chair on the other side of the end table next to her. They were the only two people in there since there were classes going on. She was sure the minute other people came out he’d find someone else to talk to. She pulled out her crocheting. She was fairly certain Eric would propose to Viki at Christmas and had already begun work on a tablecloth for them. She worked on it a minute and then decided to be polite. “So, what’s your drug of choice?”
“Cocaine. I’ve been clean a coupla months, but it’s hard ta stay clean.”
“I’ve heard that. I was at a halfway house fundraiser and they said it takes something like over a year for cocaine to completely leave the body, and during that time a person can still have random cravings. They were raising money for an extended treatment program.”
“That explains why I’ve been having such a hard time. I hope this treatment helps.”
“Yeah.”
People started coming into the Day Room from classrooms just down the hallways. Several of them gave Sean and Kristen curious looks. Yeah, what’s a great looking guy doing sitting with a fat chick?
Rochelle Weber Biography
Rochelle Weber is romance author, a Navy veteran, and holds a BA in Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. Her two previous novels, Rock Bound and Rock Crazy are available in all formats.
Ms. Weber has over twenty year’s editing experience and publishes the Marketing for Romance Writers Newsletter, winner of the 2013 and 2015 Preditors & Editors Readers’ Polls for Best Writers’ Resource. She battles bi-polar disorder, quipping, “You haven’t lived until you’ve been the only woman on the locked ward at the VA.” She lost about a hundred-fifty pounds and has kept it off for about three years, and has incorporated these experiences into her books. Ms. Weber lives in Round Lake Beach, Illinois. She has two married daughters, eight assorted grandchildren and step-grandchildren, and a cat who has her very well-trained.
Contact Rochelle At:
Website: www.rochelleweber.com
Blog: http://rochelleweber.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/rochelle.weber2
Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/Rochelle.Weber.Author
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/RochelleWeber
Amazon Author Page: http://amazon.com/author/rochelleweber
THE THIN PERSON INSIDE:
Trailer: https://youtu.be/DLJBtjXWwRk
Buy Links:
MuseItUp Publishing, Inc.: http://tinyurl.com/rwmusettpi
Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/rwttpiamz
BN: http://tinyurl.com/rwttpibn
August 29, 2017
Coming this Thursday! Have you pre-ordered your copy? (Excerpt)
I loved writing this story. The brothers are all distinct personalities I heard chattering in my head. (I know, the crazy’s coming out!) I loved the mom, the solution they came up with, the ENDING! I hope you will too. In the meantime, enjoy an excerpt. I dare you to resist clicking on that pre-order link. 
Family Values
Excerpt from Family Values …
Her voice came from the other side of the door. They were separated by only a few inches of wood—the closest they’d been in years.
“Angel…”
She gave a heavy sigh, and then turned the lock. “Come in.”
Into her room? He’d never been inside while she’d lived here, although after she’d gone he’d often come to sit on her bed to talk to her whenever the loneliness crowded in. He turned the handle and stepped into her bedroom.
Angel sat on her mattress, cross-legged, gazing back at him. Her black eyelashes were starred, sticking together because of her tears.
Since he didn’t want to tower over her, and the chair in front of her vanity looked too delicate, he sat on the edge of the bed. He kept his gaze on his hands fisted on his thighs. “I’m sorry I shouted. But I’m not sorry for what I said.”
She snorted softly. “That was an apology?”
He aimed a frown at her. “I don’t have much practice.”
One corner of her mouth twitched. “I bet you don’t. Don’t get out much, do you?”
“Do you mean on dates?”
“Yeah, with women.”
Her tone was warm but slightly sarcastic. “I don’t date at all, Angel. I haven’t kissed a woman in years. Maybe it’s unnatural, but since you came of age, there hasn’t been anyone I wanted more.”
Her mouth dropped an inch then snapped closed. Her cheeks grew pink. “That was to the point.”
“I don’t know how to be any other way.”
Her chest expanded with her next shaky breath. “But you sent me away. Did I disappoint you that much?”
The quaver of her voice caused a pain inside his chest. “You were eighteen. What I wanted was wrong. The fact my brothers were after you, that only added to my worries. I didn’t want you trapped by a pregnancy before you had a chance to see a bit of the world.”
“I was on the pill. Mama told you that. And I only saw Austin.”
“That’s hardly Texas.”
She ducked her head, smiling slightly. “I never wanted to be anywhere but here,” she whispered.
Brand dropped his head, staring again at his fists. “I’m sorry, Angel. It’s all I can say. You have an education now. You’re grown. You can make your own choice.”
“But I can’t.”
He shot her a sideways glance. There were tears in her eyes. “Are you afraid of hurting one of us?”
Her chin trembled. “That, and…” Her gaze went to the wall, and she released a slow breath. “I love you. All three of you. So, you see…”
He stopped breathing when he heard the I love you. The second sentence was disappointing, but better than a rejection. She didn’t know it yet, but they were going to make this easy for her.
Brand reached out for her hand and held it inside his. It was slender, soft, and so small. He worried now about so many things. “Will you trust me? I know I haven’t given you much reason, but before I sent you away, we were friends, weren’t we?”
A tear rolled down one cheek, and she wiped it away with the back of her other hand. “You were always quiet, Brand, remote. A little too removed from me for us to be besties. But I did trust you. When I was scared, you were the one I ran to.”
“I was older. I had no business lustin’ after you.”
“Lusting?” Her plump mouth twitched again. “There’s only twelve years between us.”
He narrowed his eyes. “And back then, I could still see you in pigtails.”
“Do you see me as a child now?”
He tightened his jaw. “No,” he rasped.
“Brand…” She paused and bit her lip.
“Out with it,” he growled. “We’re bein’ honest here.”
“I was never sure you wanted me,” she whispered. “You never kissed me. Eli brought me flowers and kissed me in the barn. And you know what Nate and I did.”
He felt a muscle jump at the side of his jaw and forced himself to relax. “I wanted kisses, Angel. I wanted you in my bed. Don’t ever think I didn’t.”
She shook back her hair and angled her chin higher. “And now? Do you still want me?”
Brand saw the challenge in the jut of her chin, but he also saw the vulnerability. There in her doe-like eyes. And the only thing he could think to do, because he sure as hell couldn’t force another word past his tight throat, was lean toward her and kiss her.
August 28, 2017
N.J. Walters: Small Town Living
Like anywhere, there are pros and cons about living in a small town. On the upside, you know your neighbors, or at least many of them. (That can be a downside too.) There is a sense of community in most smaller towns, a sense of pride in the place.
Of course, gossip is always alive and well in small communities. A person’s reputation can be easily called under scrutiny for the slightest infraction. There are always certain people who seem to have their heart on the pulse of the town, while others will have more control, more sway in the local politics. It’s not easy to keep a secret, but they are always there behind closed doors.
Services and shops can be limited as well. Many small towns have the basics—grocery store, pharmacy, diner, hair salon, hardware, and usually a few more businesses thrown in for good measure.
Small towns are interesting and have personality. They are also filled with people who have a story to tell. It’s one of the reasons I created my fictional town of Jamesville more than 20 years ago when I wrote Discovering Dani. That book wouldn’t get published for another 10 years. Eventually, I wrote 7 books in that fictional town. I love all the characters who allowed me to tell their stories.
I’m even more thrilled that the series is getting a second life and is now available once again.
Books in the series: Discovering Dani, The Way Home, The Return of Patrick O’Rourke, The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke, A Legal Affair, By the Book, and Past Promises. (The first two books in the series are “sweeter” in tone. The rest are all steamy.)
Discovering Dani
Jamesville, Book 1
Dani O’Rourke is no stranger to hard work. She’s been raising her two brothers alone since their parents died and she owns and operates her own business, O’Rourke Cleaning Services. Spending all her time working and looking after her family means she’s never had time for men. And if she was going to look for a relationship, it wouldn’t be with an arrogant and cynical man like Burke.
A brush with death has successful businessman Burke questioning his priorities. He’s come to Jamesville for some peace and quiet to figure out what to do with the rest of his life. Catching a woman breaking into his cabin certainly isn’t part of his plan, nor is being attracted to her after her finds out just how wrong he was about her.
Burke finds himself caught up in Dani’s family, but is there room in such a gentle woman’s life for a man as hard as him?
Buy Links:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074DYVLJF
Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/discovering-dani.html
B&N:
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/discovering-dani-n-j-walters/1013241610?ean=9781640630048
iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/discovering-dani/id1265731269
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/discovering-dani-2
To find all the books in the series, as well as links to other venues, just go to my Author Page at Entangled Publishing: https://entangledpublishing.com/author/n-j-walters
About the Author
N.J. Walters is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author who has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen, and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.
Visit me at:
Website: http://www.njwalters.com
Blog: http://www.njwalters.blogspot.com
Newsletter Group: https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/awakeningdesires/info
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/N.J.WaltersAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/njwaltersauthor
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/NJWalters
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/author/njwalters
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/n-j-walters
August 27, 2017
Shannon Nemechek: WARRANTED PLEASURES
Hello and Happy Sunday All….
So I thought I’d share a little of what I’ve been dealing with lately then share a little about my books.
So last Saturday night while I was sleeping at 11:54 Illinois, but 9:54 LA, California time, a hacker hacked my bank account, and by this past Thursday had hacked into all my accounts. Now, you would think that after the first one when I had asked my bank if my other accounts were safe and after going through and changing passwords, etc., that everything would be okay. That was a BIG FAT NO. By the time the hackers were done, all my accounts were frozen and in the negative by, oh yes hold on to your panties, almost 11,000 dollars. YES, $11 Grand.
So, here I am a Veteran of 23 years in the US Army; I am a 100% disabled Veteran; and now, I have no access to my money well for, as of today, 9 more days at the least and max time 24 more days. Now, having 3 kids in college and paying for books, etc., there are no savings anymore, so I sit, and I wait. But the reason I am telling you this is to recommend that you get credit monitoring, get bank monitoring, and watch your accounts. Now, I have been informed that the hackers most likely got mine, my husband’s and my children’s information from the Pentagon and the Office of Personnel Management Hacking from last year. Which would explain how the hackers were able to pretend to be my husband and create a profile connected to our accounts through our bank. Yes, the hackers called our bank and set up a profile linked to our account. How did they do this? Well, they had all the information from mine and my husband’s security clearances from the Army, so it was easy for them. I was not the only one affected in this hacking. There were other Veterans and Active Duty personnel who also got hit.
So, what I am telling you is this: I did have all the monitoring available through Experian and through my bank. So, pay attention! Do not rely on these companies to protect you, because like what happened to me, they were able to fool the bank into thinking they were talking to my husband. Now we have safe words and sentences that the bank has to ask, and get the right response from us, in order to discuss anything with that person. So the public service warning is, always beware and be on guard.
A Little about Me…..
If I’m new to you I will go through the whole speech. 
August 26, 2017
Those S*e*x*y Blue Collar HANDY MEN!
Just in time for your weekend reading enjoyment…
I have another story back “out there” for you to enjoy! If you love sexy mmf-flavored menage with some light BDSM, this will be your perfect cup of tea. I’ve included an excerpt from the opening scene below. My heroine is newly divorced and sick and tired of crying over it. Her eye is set on getting the handyman next door into her bed, and she’s not shy about tricking him to do it!
Also, there are several contests from Heather, Desiree, Susan & Allie, still open, below this post! Be sure to hit each one on your way out the door! Have a great weekend!
Handy Men
Two very handy men mend a divorcée’s broken heart…
Rather than cry over spilt milk, a newly divorced woman throws caution to the wind and decides to seduce her neighbor’s handsome handyman.
Jeff isn’t stupid—Pamela tossed those screws into her sink to get his attention! The fact she’s beautiful and vulnerable convinces him she needs “special” attention. When he has her hot and horny, he surprises her with his partner Casey and a threesome.
What starts for Pamela as a wild, no-holds-barred fling quickly gets stickier as the guys push for something lasting.
And remember what’s coming next week!
Coming August 31st!
When coming between three brothers, it’s best to just let go.
Angelina Flores lived a perfect ranch-kid childhood, complete with three princes on horseback who treated their housekeeper’s daughter like a princess. At age eighteen, the fairytale came crashing down when she realized she had to choose between Brand, Nate and Eli McAffee.
And when she did choose one–she lost all three.
She’s older now. Wiser, thanks to her college education and a few years’ distance. A distance she’d planned to maintain…until her mother begs her to fill in at the ranch while she takes care of a sick relative.
The minute her boots hit the front porch, the memories come flooding back, right along with the hunger. It’s tough to put the past behind her when temptation is so close. Especially since the brothers seem bound and determined to woo her. Separately. Together. Whatever it takes to keep her right where she belongs–in their arms.
Excerpt from Family Values…
For Angelina Flores, stepping across the threshold of the MacAfee ranch house was a moment filled with both nostalgia and pain. The dull thud her boots made on the natural, planed-oak flooring was a familiar sound—and not one she’d heard anywhere else. The faint smells of beeswax and Pine-Sol mixed with the scent of the freshly cut roses in the Mexican crockery atop the rugged fireplace mantel. If she closed her eyes, she could imagine herself at ten years old, running with her muddy boots through the family room to tell her mother about her day, about the animals and the cowboys—her new friends, who’d let her ride behind them on their tall horses.
Her childhood had felt enchanted. And she’d had three handsome princes fawning over her, showering her with pretty clothes and dolls. Even then, she’d dreamed of growing up and having a fairytale wedding, and when they’d teased her and asked her which one she’d choose for her husband, she’d asked why she couldn’t choose them all.
How prophetic that now seemed. As, when she’d approached graduation from high school, two of the McAfee men had suddenly let her know of their individual interest.
Oh, she’d been flattered. And thrilled. Until the moment she’d realized she really would have to choose. Then she’d been filled with dread, because she didn’t want to hurt any of them, and she didn’t know how she could favor one over the other, especially when she was also interested in the third.
Angelina shook her head to rid herself of the painful memories and entered with trepidation, wondering what her welcome would be like once the brothers returned home. The last time she’d been here, in this room, she’d been led through it by a hard hand clamped around her upper arm. She’d been escorted crying and half-dressed back to her room off the kitchen, and then her door closed in her face.
The next morning, she’d been taken by the same hard-faced man through the back door to his Expedition parked beside the porch. The chill in the morning air not nearly as cold as his final goodbye at the Dallas airport.
She’d been eighteen, and the only place she’d ever called home was her home no more.
Angelina took a deep breath and stepped farther into the room. She set her suitcase on the floor beside her and tilted her head to listen for any sounds of movement in the house. Her mother had said the MacAfee boys were at an auction in San Angelo, and that she’d have the place to herself for the weekend, to acclimate and to shore up her nerves.
“Mama, you know why I can’t be there,” she’d said in the early morning hours, holding back her hair and squinting at the digital alarm beside her bed.
“I have no one else I can trust, mija. It’s been years. Things have changed. You have changed. No one will say a word about the past. Have I ever asked anything of you, Angel?”
Angelina’s shoulders had slumped. “I don’t know if I can go there,” she’d whispered.
“I know it will be hard, Angel. I know. But you must take my place and look after the boys while I am away. Do this for me, please?”
She’d taken a deep breath and gripped her cellphone harder. “How long? How long must I stay?”
“Your Aunt Cecilia is having a hysterectomy. I might be weeks.”
Angelina shook her head. Her stomach twisted in a knot, and sudden nausea made her skin clammy. “I’ll have to call my boss. Damn, he’ll probably let me go. I just started there.”
“Gracias, mija. You will see. You worry for nothing. The past is the past.”
But the past wasn’t so distant that she didn’t feel the same longing as she gazed around the room for dreams she’d shattered when she’d followed her heart to make the biggest mistake of her life. And she would never forget the shame.
After picking up her bag, she trudged toward the kitchen and beyond it, to the small bedroom that had been her own when she was a child and the world had seemed such a bright place, full of romantic possibilities.
But princes didn’t exist, at least not in her realm. And she wasn’t a starry-eyed chatterbox anymore, eager to sit on certain cowboys’ knees. She was a college graduate. Had her own job—maybe. Her own place. She’d made a life for herself. The fact she still felt pangs of loneliness late at night when she went to bed alone was something she’d eventually outgrow. Someday. And somewhere far from the MacAfee ranch.
