Brenda Whiteside's Blog, page 47

Sleeping in a Treehouse by A. R. Kennedy #FearlessFriday #SleuthOnSafari

FEARLESS FRIDAY On African safari, sleeping in a treehouse certainly classifies as fearless...and FUN...in my estimation. So, read on for A. R. Kennedy's fun story.
Unlike my main character, Naomi, I booked my South Africa safari six months in advance. I researched the tour company thoroughly and compared tours with other companies before placing the deposit. After booking the trip, I printed out all the information, put it in a folder and didn’t think about the trip anymore until my arrival in Cape Town.
I had forgotten that one of the nights booked would be spent in a treehouse. The travel agent was very excited about it. She said it was an expensive add on at the lodge that was included without added charge on my trip. I had forgotten about it until I arrived at our first lodge. Because one of the other travelers was ill, they asked me to go the first night.
In front of the other guests, I agreed and appeared pleased about it. On the inside, I was a little afraid. I can count on one hand how many times I’ve camped and although each time was enjoyable—sleeping on the sand on a Greek island, in a tent at Havasu Falls— it is not my ideal choice of lodging.

After dinner, the tour guide, Sonny, drove me out to the treehouse. Most of the guests had dinner at the treehouse. I chose to stay with the group to have dinner. For the camaraderie, I said. But it was to delay being abandoned in the middle of nowhere, miles away from another human, with my only companions the wild animals.
It was already dark when we arrived. The treehouse was lit up by lanterns hung along the railings. Soony gave me a tour of my lodging for the night. There was a bathroom—no shower but a toilet and sink with running water—so I wasn’t actually roughing it.
He showed me, twice, how to latch the doors. He showed me how to use the walkie-talkie and cell phone to reach him and the lodge’s front desk. When he left, I’m sure he thought he’d be back shortly to pick up the terrified city girl. 
As he drove away, I remember watching the vehicle’s headlights slow disappearance into the night and thinking how alone I was.
I would love to tell you that I enjoyed every moment spent at the glorious treehouse. The truth is I slept, in my clothes, gripping the flashlight, walkie talkie and phone. 

At dawn, I awoke to the gentle honking—not the honking of car horns that I’m accustomed to but that of my neighbors for the evening, hippopotamuses. I watched as a mother and her baby walked from the trees to the river.
For one hour, I watched the sunrise over the river and listened to the sounds of nature. I was disappointed when I heard the vehicle’s engine coming to pick me up. 

Pre-order Book link — https://books2read.com/b/bPRZlr
Will be available on Amazon 12/26/19









Contact links Web Page http://arkennedyauthor.com Amazon https://www.amazon.com/A-R-Kennedy/e/B00GOKCWHEFacebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ARKennedyauthor
Twitter https://twitter.com/ark_authorGoodreadshttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7382548.A_R_KennedyBookbub https://www.bookbub.com/authors/a-r-kennedy  Bio — A R Kennedy lives in Long Beach, New York, with her two pups. She works hard to put food on the floor for them. As her favorite T-shirt says, ‘I work so my dog can have a better life'. She’s an avid traveler. But don’t worry. While she’s away, her parents dote on their grand-puppies even more than she does. Her writing is a combination of her love of travel, animals, and the journey we all take to find ourselves.

In the Book and Synopsis Torture #inspiration #ghoststories

Book one in my latest Romance Thriller is finished. I have books two and three brewing in my head. This series takes place in the mining town, turned ghost town, turned tourist haven, Joshua, Arizona. Joshua hangs on the side of Spirit Mountain.

Before I send my manuscript off to a publisher, I have to write the synopsis. The synopsis is only two to three pages, but is MUCH harder than writing the entire novel. I have to condense 350 pages down to three, give the whole story, make it engaging, and show my style. Publishers demand the synopsis.

Well, it's the holidays, and I doubt I'll be able to face the synopsis ordeal. I can't take punishment during my favorite part of the year.

Today is 12/6, so I'm sharing page 12 from chapter 6. Until it's off to the publisher, I'll share different partial scenes with you every few weeks. Maybe you can help me come up with a title!


He wouldn’t blame her? For what? She hadn’t done anything. She hadn’t killed Callie. Or was he reaching into her soul and seeing the doubt she’d harbored about him for so long? A fear so horrific she’d left it unspoken all these years. A fear he’d killed Callie.
Her tongue went dry with unspoken words—words they’d never ventured uttering. He seemed on the brink. A confession? She couldn’t ask for what he didn’t blame her. And if honest with herself, she didn’t want to know. about it would only disrupt their peace. Her throat constricted so tight she couldn’t speak.


He took another drink of coffee, swallowed deep, and squinted. “There’s something else. Yesterday, before I got to your place to fix the stairs, well…”
“What, Dad?” she managed a whisper, and her heart thumped hard against her ribcage.
“I saw a man walking along the street with some other people. But this guy, he looked like—Mark Donaldson.” He cupped both hands around his mug and peered into her eyes. “They all ducked into the ice cream shop before I got a real good look. And like I said, one thought led to another.” His lips tightened in a gesture of doubt that he should’ve said anything about the body or the stranger to the daughter who had been so affected by the events.

Seeing Zac added to the anguish of his memories. She could understand. “I met him. His name is Zac Peartree.” And he walked through my dreams last night.
The tenseness in his face and hands tightened. “You did, huh? Then I’m not losing it.”
“No.” In spite of the seriousness of the conversation, she forced a smile. “He jarred me too. He and his friends came into the mercantile yesterday and the bar last night.”

My Wickedly Funny Nanny Fee by Peggy Jaeger #romance #WickedWednesday

WICKED WEDNESDAYIt's a wickedly amusing day on Wicked Wednesday with Peggy Jaeger. Enjoy!
Growing up I had a very strict, stern, and sometimes even mean, Irish grandmother. She was my mother’s mom and there were decades of family drama behind both of them that filtered down to me. Suffice it to say I never did anything right in her eyes and I was destined for a life of failure if she was to give her opinion.
Yeah…like I said. She could be mean.
When I decided to write my bridal series, I knew I wanted to add an elderly Irish grandmother into the family mix, but I was going to write her the way I would have wanted my own grandmother to be. Funny, outrageous, loving, and above all, supportive of her grandchildren and their choices in life.
Fiona Bridget Mary Darcy Sullivan O’Dowd Heaven Scallopini better known as ninety-three year old Nanny Fee, has the height and exuberance of a leprechaun and the same lilt in her voice she was born with despite having left Ireland at the age of four.  She is a fiercely independent, self-educated woman with four ex-husbands she’s buried and mourned, and an only son who doesn’t know how to handle her.
Nanny Fee has a wicked, biting, and witty sense of humor, is an outrageous flirt and can make grown men blush when she bats her eyes at them.
In this scene from Today, Tomorrow, Always, she’s just met writer Mac Frayne, a man not known for smiling or an outgoing personality. Once Nanny gets hold of him, though, things change for the better.


Excerpt:I settled Nanny into the reclining chair she’d been able to bring from home and indicated the other chair in the room for Frayne, while I sat on the edge of her turned-down bed.I let Frayne take the lead in the questioning.“I’m doing research on the Reverend at the museum, and I noticed something odd when I began tracing the descendants’ files. There’s nothing I can find catalogued in the archives about Robert Heaven from after his college graduation until his marriage and then his death,” Frayne told her. “I find it odd nothing of note was ever saved by someone about him, when every other family member has literally reams of documents and files associated with them.” “Does seem odd, aye?” Nanny said. “Robert had a very full life before we married. Attended college. Yale. Ran his own company for a number of years. Stayed a bachelor until his late fifties, married to his company, most who knew him said. Then we met, and as the kids say these days, the rest is history.” Frayne’s smile was soft and, I had to admit, charming. “Together almost twenty years before he went to his maker with a smile on his lips and a full stomach, seeing as we’d just dined at the annual Jingle Bell Ball. Good years. Good times.” “You don’t happen to still have any of his possessions or personal items, do you? Or anything from his family archives? I realize he’s been gone for some time, but if you know of anything, or anywhere I can go to find something, anything, to help in my research, I’d be in your debt.” The twinkle in Nanny’s eyes brightened. “Well, now, darlin’ boy, it’s more careful you should be sayin’ those words to the likes of me. We Irish take the grantin’ of favors and the payin’ up o’ debts very seriously, you know.”Frayne must have recognized the devilish gleam in her gaze. My grandmother was many things, with flirt holding the number one position, harmless imp the second. And as a word of caution—never play poker with her. His mouth split into a grin rivaling Nanny’s. “I’m sure you’ll be able to come up with the perfect recompense, Mrs. Scallopini. Like the dish, minus the veal.” Her girlish laughter warmed my heart. “Ach, you’re a darlin’ man, you are. The charm of the devil himself. I don’t know anything specific about any documents or whatnot Robert may have had, but the man was a pack rat, a real hoarder if truth be told. And the messiest human being I’d ever met. Never put anything away once he’d taken it from wherever it was stored. A real chairdrobe and floordrobe, was he.” “Excuse me, what?” Frayne’s gaze swung from Nanny to me. Since I have a black belt in Nanny-isms, I translated. “Chairdrobe is what Nanny calls someone who piles their clothes on a chair instead of putting them away in a drawer or hanging them in the closet.” “Me dear departed granddaughter Eileen was a horrible offender as a teenager,” Nanny said. “So, going with the description”—Frayne cocked his head at me—“a floordrobe is...” “Someone who tosses clothes and belongings on the floor in the same fashion.” Nanny sipped her tea. “Horrible habits, both. ’Twas the cause of many an argument between us. O’ course, the makin’ up was worth the yelling.”
Honestly, if I’d had Nanny Fee for a grandmother, who knows how differently I would have turned out! Hee Hee.




If you’re intrigued by Fee or Mac and Cathy, Today Tomorrow, Alwaysreleases today.
Amazon : https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B081DRSKHB
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/today-tomorrow-always-peggy-jaeger/1134913671?ean=9781509229345
Apple books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/today-tomorrow-always/id1488239952
Author Bio/Social Media Links:Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance writer who writes Romantic Comedies about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. If she can make you cry on one page and bring you out of tears rolling with laughter the next, she’s done her job as a writer!

Website/Blog: http://peggyjaeger.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/peggy_jaeger Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Peggy-Jaeger-Author/825914814095072?ref=bookmarks Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/peggyjaeger/ Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13478796.Peggy_Jaeger Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peggyjaeger_author/ BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peggy-jaeger You-Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDR8RRIlssIyS0FYZWeGqsg/videos?view_as=subscriber

Undaunted Underdog By Jodi Rath #fearless #trauma

FEARLESS FRIDAY Coming out on the other side of an abusive childhood followed by marital abuse, being able to talk about it, owning it, and then helping others is huge on the fearless meter. Please welcome Jodi Rath back to Discover... for Fearless Friday. I was in tears half-way through this post, but it has a happy ending. 

Being in education for over twenty years, I’ve run into students who have fallen victim to their environments and circumstances. I hope to help them find something deep inside themselves that enables them to pull themselves out of that darkness and gives them the grit and determination to create their own future path. And that is the key–they must be the one to find it, not me or anyone else. Also, they must believe it. Many times, I’ve been able to help them, and sadly, other times, not so much.
One of the reasons I’ve found success in helping traumatized teens is due to my own harrowing past experiences. Growing up, I faced abuse from my biological father. What I didn’t realize was, many people deal with abuse in one form or another. I learned that others had had similar experiences as I grew older and got into a profession where I saw it firsthand. It doesn’t make it any less daunting for those of us that experience it—and any type of abuse is as bad as the next: physical, sexual, mental, psychological.
I’m an only child, so I didn’t have siblings to talk to as I worked through things. Somehow, I found strength in reading and writing from the young age of five. When I was in fifth grade, most of the abuse ended—although the psychological effects have lasted a lifetime. Knowing I would be writing this blog today, I had night terrors last night and thrashed my body into a cramped mess. I awoke at one in the morning and spent two hours taking deep breaths while counting to six, pressing my thumb into the palm of my hand—these are little tricks my previous therapist taught me to help me get through these overwhelmed feelings. Once I caught my breath, I read until five a.m., when I got up. When this happens, I can forget about sleep. As you can see, reading is still an escape!
My first marriage, unfortunately, was to someone like my biological father. He worked extra hard to never to have see me, and when he did, he took that time to tell me how worthless I was. I got out of that relationship at age twenty-nine, and I was fortunate. Fourteen years after we divorced, my first husband set his second estranged wife’s house on fire. He barricaded himself in his apartment when SWAT came, firing his gun at them, injuring one officer and killing another. He is in prison for life now.
My biological father and my first husband are two solid reasons why I could have ended up repeating this vicious cycle of abuse. One of the things I’ve tried to teach my students is that for every monster that appears in their lives, there is an angel present somewhere as well. The trick is understanding which is which.
My mom married my stepfather, whose name is Mike Miller, when I was in fifth grade. He was invested in being a father to me, although I had a difficult time accepting him at first. But he worked hard and made us a family. He wanted to adopt me, but my biological father refused to allow him to do it. When I was seventeen, my mom divorced my stepdad. She and I left the house that he had built for us as a family, where most of my happy memories were made. I was sure I would never see him again, but before we left, Mike took me for a drive to talk about it. He told me he understood what I went through with my biological father, and he understood that it is difficult for me to trust people, but he promised that he would prove to me that he was in my life for good.
He was right. I didn’t believe him. But, he proved me wrong. He called me every day, even though he was broken-hearted by the divorce. He drove me to and attended all my major life events: sporting events, graduation of high school, and graduation of college. In contrast, when I got my college degree, my bio father said to me, “I never thought you would ever get through high school, let alone college.” Mike also walked me down the aisle for my first marriage, even though my biological father was strongly opposed to it.
Mike died from prostate cancer when I was thirty-seven years old. I took time off work from teaching to be there for him during his last months. The last thing I said to him was, “I love you, dad.” Then he kissed me on the cheek. He is and always will be my dad. He’s one of the good ones.
My second husband’s name is Mike, too. I say my Mike’s are my angels. He and I have been together seventeen years, and he has bought me fresh flowers once a week all seventeen years. We have nine cats in our home—our fur babies. (I had to have a hysterectomy at age twenty-nine, right before I left my first husband.)  We’ve had nineteen cats in seventeen years—my current family consisting of my husband, Mike, and our nine cats are my pride and joy.
I’ve wanted to be a full-time writer since I was five. Here I am, at age forty-six, having survived childhood abuse and domestic abuse–sporting psychological scars that I’ll never be rid of. But instead of passing on the pain, I channel it and have used it to help teens and adults through my teaching and writing. I now own my business, where I split my time between teaching Ohio teachers online, writing for educational publications, and writing The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. My third book in the series came out November fifteenth.
Writing the series is so therapeutic for me. My protagonist deals with some of the things I’ve dealt with, as well as issues like youth homelessness, and also physical, emotional, and mental issues, including characters facing challenges like navigating life with MS. These topics are near and dear to my heart. I’ve paired up with True Colors United, an organization that helps homeless youth (and is run by Cyndi Lauper!) and the National MS Society to help raise awareness as well as sharing a percentage of my profits with both organizations.
“Fearless Friday” blogs are about life-changing events: I feel like my entire life has been life-changing for me, and I hope for many others too. My wish is to continue helping to educate and write and create a ripple effect of kindness.
One of my all-time favorite quotes is by Ralph Waldo Emerson: To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
I’ve shared this quotation with every student I’ve worked with in trying to help them understand that it is their choice to be who they want to be—the world may try to dictate other things for our lives—but we get to be the ones to make the final choices.
COMING 2/28/20 BLUEBERRY COBBLER BLACKMAILPre-order here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07YX8Y1VM/
Family bombshells, sibling rivalries, blackmail, and a trip that could be deadly...and the new year has only just begun! After a disastrous Thanksgiving, Jolie Tucker is beside herself and feeling the walls closing in around her. She feels like she needs to escape Leavensport before she loses her mind. She unexpectedly gets her wish when her best friend and co-owner of Cast Iron Creations, Ava Martinez, gets a terrifying email revealing that her papa, Thiago, is in danger in Santo Domingo. The girls are off on a dangerous adventure in new territory. Will they be able to save the day before danger finds them? 
FIND JODI HERE:
Newsletter link to A Mystery A Month—sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive a free Mystery a Month and a chance to win prizes for those who guess the right answers! http://eepurl.com/dIfXdb
Website: www.jodirath.com  FB Author page: @authorjodirath or https://www.facebook.com/authorjodirath/ Twitter:@jodirathBookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jodi-rath Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard

PROMOTION AND THE REVIEW By Nancy Nau Sullivan #authorslife #memoir

MUSE MONDAY
Please join me in welcoming my guest, Nancy Nau Sullivan. Once the muse has pronounced "the end" an author is on her own with a hard road to becoming known. Nancy explains it nicely.
As a first-time author, I was the last one to know the rigors of promotion, and, in particular, the way to reviews. Writing the book was one thing, promoting it another. I had to dive in. Then I hit cold, hard reality. No stopping in mid-air to think about it. I had to go all in.  From start to finish, it had taken years to bring my memoir THE LAST CADILLAC  to market, and by the grace of God, I had to get out there and push that book.
I did get suggestions for promotion from my publisher, but I had to do the legwork. With so much to choose from, I didn’t know where best to start. I came to realize how very specialized every book is, how every choice to promote it is individual, and the avenues of publicity are pretty generic: social media, traditional media, interviews, calling, writing emails, getting a table at the local fest. So, it seemed, I  went everywhere. A scatter shot approach, if you will. The first bright (ahem) idea was to take out an ad for my book – four months before publication – in a prestigious writing magazine. It cost $ 750 (what was I thinking?). There are a lot of good ways to spend money on promotion, but this was not one of them.
Writing emails and phoning with both hands, I took a break and walked into my neighborhood branch of the Chicago Public Library. I got up the courage and handed  the manager a newly minted copy of my memoir for review. “Here. You’ll love it.” He was gracious. We chatted. “Get morereviews,” he advised, warmly. “Get one of the biggies if you can.”
It was too late for many of the “biggies” now that the book was published. (And, sadly, my publisher had missed all the deadlines for submission to get those reviews.) But I could send my book around to Kirkus, and I did. The review came back, and it was good. In fact, it was great!
And what did the branch manager at the library think of THE LAST CADILLAC? I was still waiting to hear. The days  ticked by. No comment. I called one time, and then again, and I felt like a pest, and that’s what I was. A first-time author, A PEST. Because I had to bug people. Constantly.
I finally reached him. He said he loved the book. It’s now in the Chicago Public Library collection. Whew. That was good news, but I still needed reviews. I checked Amazon. Andre Agassi with his autobiography, OPEN, sat next to me on  Amazon with more than a thousand reviews. 
Really?
I had in my possession a list of hundreds of reviewers, obtained through some research and persistence. How hard could this be, to reach out and request reviews? To sift through these names, many of them residing in Scotland or England with a super abundance of interest in the paranormal? But I dove in and heard back, mostly from bloggers, who were courteous and accommodating. Only one declined because we didn’t have “chemistry.” To my surprise, I enjoyed the process of reaching other readers and authors who were promoting their own work. We shared ideas. We learned from each other. One of the most satisfying “book exchange” I found was BookBub. I posted my book, my profile, and I get to recommend books I love. It’s a real book-loving experience.
And now for a shameless pitch--How about a review? From you. On Amazon or BookBub? On your own blog? Facebook? May I ask you to watch for my first mystery, SAVING TUNA STREET, due next June from Light Messages Publishing?
The promotional route is circuitous, and I’ve learned a lot. I keep circling back to the main premise: to connect to the audience. It’s what we do when we write and publish. We want to reach readers. We want that special exchange that only comes from one-on-one, putting eyes to the page—whether writing or reading—and we wouldn’t trade it for anything.
Middle-age is challenging enough, but when Nancy Nau Sullivan suddenly finds herself caring for two children, grappling with her mother’s death, and caring for her ailing father while at the same time navigating a contentious divorce and dealing with long-simmering sibling rivalries, she wonders how she can keep herself sane. Things get even more complicated when her siblings accuse her of “kidnapping” their father and carting him—and his Cadillac—off to Anna Maria Island, Florida, where they are greeted by Hurricane Josephine. In this gripping memoir, Sullivan guides the reader through the chaotic whirlwind of unexpected and unwanted change and offers a common sense and humorous guide to surviving family relationships. CLICK HERE TO BUY ON AMAZON

Calling All Readers! Wicked Wednesday #giveaway #readingcommunity

Calling all readers! I've got two wicked fantastic events to tell you about, and you do not want to miss out on either one.


Win! Win! Win! Fill your library with N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Snuggle Up With These Books Readathon picks. 56 books from multiple genres featured plus a chance to win one of the following:
Enter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift CardEnter to win a $50 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift CardEnter to win a $25 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift CardEnter to win a $15 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift CardEnter to win a $10 Amazon (US) or Barnes and Noble Gift Card

I’m thrilled to be a part of this event. My book,  The Power of Love and Murder ,   will be featured on  November 25 . I even talk about what I’m thankful for this year. You won’t want to miss it.
Bookmark this bookish party and tell your friends:

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/snuggle-up-readathon


And the second is N. N. Lights Holiday Gift Guide . So grab a cup of something warm, choose a comfy chair, and settle back to browse. Take your time and discover some great books to treat yourself to this holiday season, or for a friend or family member. Books are the perfect gift! 

Your ticket to browse is right here: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/holiday-gift-guide

This Christmas, Penny Spark’s desire to reconnect with family causes her to expose her true identity—a secret she’s hidden for thirteen years from the political powers who murdered her family.
Jake Winters is out of rehab and coming to grips with his demons. When he meets Penny, he believes this holiday season could be the start of life after rock star status…until her secrets blow up his world.
With a government agent turned hit man closing in on her, Penny and Jake race to expose the presidential contender behind the murders of her family. Even if they win the race with death, the murder that stands between them could end their hope for a new life.



N N Light ReviewsIf you’re a fan of romantic suspense, this is a must read. If you’re a fan of suspense and/or political thrillers, you’ll love it!
Still Moments Magazine, Between the PagesA fast-paced romance packed with action and suspense.

Free Audiobooks Now

MUSE MONDAYMy audiobooks are free for a song and a dance. Well, for a review actually. Audible gives both authors and narrators a limited number of audiobook codes to redeem our books for free to listeners. All they ask is you leave an honest review on Audible. You DO NOT have to have an account on Audible. It's super easy, and you can listen at your leisure.

I have both UK and US codes for all of my books. But don't delay, I'm getting near the bottom of the barrel. Even if you aren't quite ready to listen, even if you have books waiting to be heard, get the codes now and download so you're able to take advantage of this free offer.

Leave me a comment or send me an email with the title of the books you want and whether you need UK or US.

Leaving It All Behind by Alice Renaud #FearlessFriday #FantasyRomance

FEARLESS FRIDAYPlease welcome Alice Renaud today. Fearless comes in many forms. Moving countries is a huge fearless step. Alice has a great story.
I’ve always liked the Fearless Fridays feature on Brenda’s blog. I love reading about people taking risks and getting way out of their comfort zone. I’m quite cautious by nature – well I was an accountant for 24 years, and am now a compliance manager, hardly devil-may-care occupations! I’d always wanted to do a Fearless Friday spot, but was racking my brain to find one example of brave or risky behaviour in my past.
Then I realized that I did get out of my comfort zone, when I was 26. I moved countries!
I am French, and was born and brought up in Western France, a beautiful area called Brittany (see the blue sky and sea behind me?) I studied in Paris and worked in Paris after my graduation. In 1997, I had been living comfortably in central Paris for 4 years. I had a nice flat, a good job, friends, and a young man I was keen on. I thought he was keen on me, too… However, something in me wasn’t settled. Strangely, in all the time I spent in Paris, I never bought a bed. For 4 years I slept on a mattress on the floor. Every time I thought about buying a bed, a voice in my head whispered, “Why bother? You might not be here for long.”
Then the company I was working for at the time offered me a job in their UK subsidiary, in London. It was a good opportunity, but I was torn – mainly because of the young man. I spoke to my mum, who said, “Go for it! You can always come back. If the relationship is serious, it will survive.”Wise words, mum. So at 26, I left flat, friends and young man behind, and moved to London.
The day I moved into my new London flat (it had furniture and a bed!) was a bright, sunny spring day. On the busy street outside, two middle aged ladies were trotting towards the shops. They both wore pink tutus, and had gauze wings on their backs. And nobody, nobody, batted an eyelid. I thought, “Hey… I like this!” In Paris people would definitely have stared, or said something.
The first months were not easy. The new job was more challenging than the one I’d had in Paris, I had a lot more responsibilities and had lost my support network of friends and colleagues. It took me a while to find new friends and build a new life. But something told me that I’d made the right choice.
It turned out the Parisian young man wasn’t that keen after all. But I met another young man, a Londoner. We’ve been married for 14 years now and have a 10-year old son. And I love London more each day. It’s truly my home.
My first fantasy romance novella, A Merman’s Choice, was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany, where I grew up. The second book in the series, Music for a Merman, was released on 1 November. The hero, Rob Regor, also gets out of his comfort zone. He’s a shape shifting merman who leaves his home and his people to live among humans and work as a policeman. The experience changes him in ways he could not have imagined, and leads him to meet the love of his life, the human eco-warrior Charlie.
Get the book here: AMAZON:  https://amzn.to/2ZkU5wRAND OTHER GREAT PLACES: https://books2read.com/u/mdG7Bw

A bit more about myself
Alice lives in London, UK, with her husband and son. By day she's a compliance manager for a pharmaceutical company. By night she writes fantasy romance about shape shifting mermen, water monsters and time-travelling witches. Her first book, “A Merman’s Choice,” was published in January 2019 by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. The second book, “Music for a Merman,” is out now. Alice has also written a short story, “The Sweetest Magic of All,” included in the BVS “Mystic Desire” anthology, out now. Alice loves reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

Stalk me here (links)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AliceRenaudAuthorRomance/Twitter: https://twitter.com/alicerauthorLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alice-renaud-author-4219b6166/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alicerenaudauthor/Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18670218.Alice_RenaudBookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/alice-renaudAmazon page: https://www.amazon.com/Alice-Renaud/e/B07L52P17B

Tips and Myths #ThursdayThoughts #MythBusters

TIPS AND MYTHSIt’s Myth Buster Thursday. Here are some fun ones to blow up things we’ve believed forever!
Don’t eat and swimAbout the only thing a full stomach will do to you while swimming is cause shortness of breath. Alcohol is the biggest risk factor or cramps.
Einstein failed mathHe failed an entrance exam for a school…bad enough. But he excelled in math so stop spreading that rumor!
Fishy three-second memoryGoldfish might not be the smartest creature in the world, they can boast a memory span of three months.
Chastity BeltsKind of kinky to think about what we’ve always believed…keep that mate from committing adultery. But not so. Then again, even kinkier is the real reason: 19th century prudes used them to prevent “dangerous” masturbation.
Alcohol warms you up Don’t use it for this! It can actually drop core body temp. You’re fooled because it dilates warm blood vessels near the skin which creates an impression of warmth.
Caffeine will dehydrate youThe diuretic dehydrating effect of caffeine is offset by the amount of water in a caffeinated drink. Darn! I counted on this to counteract that salty pizza.
Don’t swallow that gum!Still good advice but it doesn’t really take seven years to digest. What makes it chewy will pass right through you and the rest of it will be absorbed.
Shaving hair will thicken your furOptical illusion. When it grows back, it is blunt. It isn’t thicker, coarser, or darker.

Inspiration in Unlikely Places by Jodi Rath #mystery #MuseMonday

MUSE MONDAY
Please welcome back Jodi Rath to Muse Monday. It's always a pleasure to have her. She's talking inspiration and therapy today. We can all use a little therapy!
The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series becomes closer to my heart with each book I write. It’s become a type of therapy for me; so, it’s no wonder that the protagonist Jolie Tucker begins therapy in Turkey Basted to Death.  I’ve dealt with a dysfunctional family all forty-six years of my life. Growing up, I had an M.I.A. biological father (I’m sure you all can tell how close we are with my formal title). My mom married my stepdad (who, BTW, I treated horribly the first year because I wanted that M.I.A. bio dad) who ended up being more of a father to me than I could have ever hoped for. I will now refer to my stepdad as just ‘dad.’  Jolie deals with a similar situation, and she dives into it more in this newest book in the series.
Not only does this series provide therapy for me, but it also combines my passion for writing with educating. I was a high school English teacher for two decades. Now, I teach higher education online, working with teachers through my business. Many of my previous students read my work. I can’t help but expand knowledgebeyond the craft of something in a cozy (which for this series is cooking with cast iron), but I’ve found overarching themes of urban sprawl, gentrification, family dysfunction, and effective communication for finding solutions in society and families to come through. I think the thing that has surprised me the most is the feedback I am getting from readers through social media, emails, and messages. Readers are sharing their experiences of dysfunctional families; some readers refer to gentrification as urban renewal and share their experiences, and I get the exact opposite. I’ve learned about the process of gentrification/urban renewal that has taken place in New York, Ohio, and as recent as a year ago and as long as four decades ago.
One of the most exciting things to happen with this series recently is I’ve teamed up to collaborate with The National MS Society and True Colors United for this book and the rest of the series. Let me explain a bit: one of the characters in the series, Mick Meiser, has MS. My best friend was diagnosed ten years ago, and I write Meiser’s character to show how people navigate the disease. No one will feel sorry for Meiser! True Colors United is run by THE amazing Cyndi Lauper, and it is an affiliation that helps homeless youth—ALL homeless youth, but they do focus on the 40% of homeless youth that is LGBTQ as well. Turkey Basted to Death deals with issues of homeless teens, transgender teens, and homosexual teens that have been kicked out because of who they are. I am happy to announce this collaboration and that all purchases of this book and every book after in the series will have a percentage that goes to The National MS Society and True Colors United!
So, yes, this series has become close to my heart in many ways. It is helping me deal with my dysfunctional family and realize who my family is and help me heal old wounds—but it allows me to continue to educate and to learn from readers as well. The most amazing thing of all is being able to give back to help others in need!

Welcome to Leavensport, Ohio where DEATH takes a delicious turn! Thanksgiving is here, and Jolie Tucker has had quite the year! She is ready to sit back and relax with family and friends. But this is Leavensport, OH—so get ready for intense therapy sessions, dysfunctional family holiday gatherings, uninvited guests, and an inner-city teen advocate found DEAD—stabbed in the ear with the turkey baster!
Links to purchase book:Amazon: http://authl.it/b8o All other e-platforms:  https://books2read.com/u/ba2YM8
Moving into her second decade working in education, Jodi Rath has decided to begin a life of crime in her The Cast Iron Skillet Mystery Series. Her passion for both mysteries and education led her to combine the two to create her business MYS ED, where she splits her time between working as an adjunct for Ohio teachers, educational writing, marketing consultant work with authors, and creating mischief in her fictional writing. She currently resides in a small, cozy village in Ohio with her husband and her eight cats. 



Website: www.jodirath.com  FB Author page: @authorjodirath or https://www.facebook.com/authorjodirath/Twitter: @jodirathBookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jodi-rath Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
Newsletter link to A Mystery A Month—sign up for my monthly newsletter to receive a free Mystery a Month and a chance to win prizes for those who guess the right answers! http://eepurl.com/dIfXdb