Jan Romes's Blog, page 2
February 10, 2023
Craving absolute silence...
This is my first blog post of 2023. I've missed compiling posts, yet I didn't have anything specific to say. Today, I thought about the hiatus I'm currently taking (and not doing so great at staying away) from social media and decided to write a few thoughts on the subject.
Recently, I found myself craving absolute silence - no news programs, internet usage, cell phones, computer screens, ear buds, headphones, nothing technology related. I decided a break from all of it was in order. I envisioned a lot of amazing quiet.
Ha! That lasted about three hours and I found myself scrolling through my Twitter timeline and then popped into Facebook to see if anyone had left me any private messages. I also have an Instagram account and one for LinkedIn, so I checked out both of them.
I thought working on my current book (ERIN, book 3 in my Coffee & Dessert in Key West Series) would be enough of a distraction to help me disconnect from the outside world, at least for a few days. Again...ha! What is it about the social media climate that is so powerfully addictive? I've tried to understand the effect it has on me. Is it the political viewpoints from all over the world that keeps me coming back for more? Or is it the multitude of witty personalities that draw me in? I'd say it all plays a part, as well as my interaction with other writers, entertainers, photographers, painters, jewelry makers, foodies, chefs, and so many other talented people that I enjoy following. Honestly, social media has opened my world and changed my perspectives on some things. There are days it drives me absolutely crazy, and I want to back away. Other days I'm inspired by it and want to chat everybody up.
How does social media affect you? Are you also overwhelmed some days and all-in other days? Tell me it's not just me.
Thanks for stopping by to read my ramblings!
All the best to you and yours,
Jan
P.S. Now that I've broken through the drought of no ideas to post, I'll bug you with a lot more.
October 12, 2022
The Great Mistletoe Project: Getting to know Garrett
I love writing Christmas stories! Each one that I've written has a special place in my heart. The setting for THE GREAT MISTLETOE PROJECT is Ohio (my stomping grounds).
Today I'm doing a segment about hunky, millionaire Garrett Levi Turner, the male character in the story.
GETTING TO KNOW GARRETT...
"It's time to get to know you, Garrett Levi Turner." The multi-millionaire had lived in Starlight Shores for a handful of years. In that time, Julie had only caught a glimpse of him and it had been from behind as he'd entered a restaurant.
While his photos had been splashed everywhere, she never paid much attention to his looks or the fine details of his life. Tonight, her curiosity ran amok. She wanted to learn everything she could before meeting him face to face in the morning. The click of the mouse opened a digital information bank that would take days to sort through. Julie homed in on a slew of pictures taken by professional photographers, journalists, and stalking novices that tried to catch Garrett unaware. "Jet black hair. Dark brown eyes. Thick eyebrows. A crooked smile. You don't look so frightening." She read aloud from one of the hundreds of articles involving the magnate. "In his twenties, Garrett L. Turner bought crumbling apartment complexes, renovated the dwellings, and sold them for three times his initial investment. At thirty, he made the list of the youngest millionaires in the world. Blah. Blah. Blah. Wait. A millionaire at thirty? Who does that unless they're from old money?" Julie downed another mouthful of coffee. "Parents: August and Marianne Turner. Middle child of nine. Sisters: Karen, Layla, CiCi, and Lori. Brothers: Brodey, Rusty, Stan, and James. He grew up on a farm in northwest Ohio." She sat back and considered the specifics. "I was wrong. You're not from old money. You're from back breaking work and sweat." Closing her eyes, she tried to imagine him dressed in a flannel shirt and torn blue jeans, with a hay hook in his hand, instead of exquisitely decked out in an expensive suit, crisp white shirt, and a tie that probably cost as much as her monthly rent. Stretching her neck from side to side, she opened her eyes and went on to the next article. "After achieving financial success with his real estate dealings, Garrett Turner took another huge risk and bought a minor league hockey team. Two seasons later, an interested party made him an offer he couldn't refuse, and voila, another sizeable profit." Some people had the Midas touch. Garrett Turner was one of them.
Julie pushed her glasses higher on her nose and studied the high school photo of Garrett in a football jersey. Tall, broad-shouldered, with a can-do look in his eyes, he appeared to be a formidable foe on the football field. According to what she'd read thus far, he was also a force to be reckoned with in business. A whiz with numbers, he received a college scholarship to pursue a career in finance. "And you've never looked back, have you?
* If you'd like to read more about Garrett and Julie's journey to happily ever after, you can find it on Amazon for $1.25. Just click the link below:
The Great Mistletoe Project on Amazon
October 10, 2022
My interview with author Nancy Christie!
Today I have author Nancy Christie on my blog with an interview! She's a prolific writer who has several published books and is now working on a new series featuring middle-aged women. Find out more about their stories in Nancy's answers below.
Grab a cup of coffee and read on...
1.) I'm so excited to hear that you're working on a series with lighthearted stories about middle-aged women who face personal and career challenges and finding their inner moxie along the way. Without giving too much away, can you share a little bit about your characters to whet our appetites?
Nancy: I'd love to! The one I just finished and am actively pitching is called Reinventing Rita about a 50-year-old woman who is hit with a series of unexpected and unwelcome events that forces her to reinvent herself. With the help of two friends -- Donna, her employer and Karen, her ex-husband's second wife -- Rita discovers that it's never too late to achieve your goals and follow your dreams.
The next one is called Finding Fran, the story of Fran Carter who, at age fifty-five, appears to have it all: a successful career as a romance novelist and a handsome lover with whom she shares her life. But the reality is that her significant other is cheating on her, her book sales are sliding, and writer's block is keeping her from meeting her deadline. Knowing she must write a new story, both for her readers and for herself, Fran escapes to a northern California bed-and-breakfast where she learns something new about herself and creates her own version of "happily ever after" -- all with the help of old and new friends.
The third one that I am currently writing is Moving Maggie -- can you tell I like alliteration? Despite always considering herself as an organized person, Maggie was completely unprepared for a triple whammy; the loss of her job, the end of her marriage and the need to find a new place to live. Now approaching her 60th birthday, she's forced to deal with the physical, financial, and emotional challenges that confronted her and move into a new phase of life.
These three and others that are rolling around in my brain are part of my Midlife Moxie Series.
2.) The books in the series are slated to be standalones. Will any of the characters in each of the stories carry over from book to book?
Nancy: At this point, I would have to say no. They are more like people you meet on vacation, form a brief friendship with, and then never see again.
Even with my short fiction, I rarely carry over characters from one story to another. The only exceptions I can think of are Waiting for Sara (part of Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories) and Going Home (part of Peripheral Visions and Other Stories) -- both about a mother and her estranged daughter; and two stories about Charley Adams, PI and his assistant, Terry McCallister. The pair first appeared in Charley Catches the Christmas Spirit which is in my forthcoming collection, Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales. I liked the interplay between them so much I brought them back in Charley and the Cupid Caper that I'm writing now.
3.) This series is a work of fiction, but when we write our stories, a bit of our life experiences and personalities go into them - sometimes consciously, sometimes subconsciously. Do you think you drew inspiration from what you've stored inside you or maybe from people you personally know? Or maybe a TV show or song clicked and from that, one story was born, then two, then a third?
Nancy: It's a little bit of everything. I'm a late-bloomer. My first published short story appeared when I was 40, I went full-time into my freelance writing business when I was 42, and published my first book The Gifts of Change in 2004 when I was 50. During that same time period, I also had a lot of personal challenges I had to deal with, overcome and move on from. So I know all about having to discover who you can be when who you were isn't who you are anymore -- if you can follow that!
And I also got tired of how women of "a certain age" were portrayed on shows and advertisements. It seems like once she crossed in Menopause Land, she was relegated to being the grandma/babysitter who suffered from incontinence and incompetence -- sometimes both!
I wanted to write stories that illustrated how life was full of possibilities no matter what age you are, that the loss of a career, whether through age discrimination or retirement, didn't mean that all you had to look forward to would be years spent staring at the same four walls while your brain cells atrophied, or that the end of a relationship, whether through death or divorce, didn't mean decades spent all by yourself with no one to talk to but the cat.
I also wanted to show the importance of having a strong group of women around to support you, comfort you and, at times, kick you in the behind if needed. I love watching TV shows that feature female friendships, and now actively seek out books that show that as well -- think of the novels by Terry McMillan, Ann Garvin and Gina Sorell, just to name three authors. That's why the relationship aspect in my series is so important as is the age range of those friends -- from teenagers to those who have a few more years under their bra than the main character!
4.) From the title of your series, I assume there will be humorous character personalities or humorous situations. While laughter or at least smiles come easily for the reader in these types of stories, writing humor isn't as easy. Would you like to say a few words on the subject?
Nancy: As I mentioned earlier, I started out as a short story writer, and most of my pieces skew toward the literary, serious, sometimes even dark in terms of tone and subject matter. But when I started writing my first novel back in 2010 -- an accident by the way, because I thought I was writing a short story that just kept getting longer! -- it just had an unmistakable humorous undertone to it, especially in the conversations that took place between the characters.
It's like the way we women talk when we are sharing something bad that happened to us with that "Can you believe he did that?" tone in our voice. And our friends sit there and say, "Yeah, girl, and we could have told you, but you wouldn't have listened to us anyway!" as they hand us another tissue and then devise ways for us to either get over it or get even or maybe both.
I also realized that, while I could do a serious story, say like Annabelle for 7,000 words, I didn't want to live in that space for 70,000 more. I just didn't think I could handle it. And with Covid and all, I just wanted to first, amuse myself and second, amuse my readers.
Julia Roberts explained it best. In an interview about her upcoming movie, Ticket to Paradise, with George Clooney, she said, "George and I felt a lot of happy responsibility in wanting to make a comedy together, to give people a holiday from life after the world had gone through a really hard time. It's like when you're walking down the sidewalk and it's cold outside and you get to that nice patch of sun that touches your back and you go, 'Oh yeah. That is exactly what I needed to feel.'"
That's what I want my Midlife Moxie series to be: a nice patch of sun that brings some happy warmth to people.
5.) Do you know ahead of time what kinds of teases in the forms of twists or surprises that you'll put in your story? Or do they happen organically as the story progresses?
Nancy: In other words, am I a plotter or pantser? Definitely a pantser! Even with my short stories, I never know what's going to happen or what my characters are going to say or do until they do it. So that way of writing just carried over to my novels.
That being said, I have tried a variety of ways to keep track of everything and everybody and all the related salient details -- easy in a 2,500-word short story but not so easy when you are well past 50,000 of them!
I tried a couple of software programs but that was just one more thing I had to learn and then keep updating. So my default is a combination of endnotes in the manuscript and an Excel spreadsheet with lots of columns. I also learned to not save chapters individually because then, if I want to check a detail, I had to search every one of them! Now it's all one big file, and I resave and rename them obsessively: RR - draft1, RR - draft2 and so on. That way I always have the older file to refer to if, in a burst of editing, I delete something that later I want.
6.) You've written short stories and books to help authors get moving again when they find themselves in a rut. What kinds of challenges did you face when you transitioned to writing full length fiction novels?
Nancy: I had to figure out a workable schedule because I also wanted time to write short stories, especially since I am working on my fourth collection. I prefer to write for a couple of hours straight on the novels, whereas I can work on a short story for a half hour each morning and not lose my train of thought.
Plus I work full time as a freelance copywriter so I had to factor in time to do the stuff that pays the bills and allows me to indulge in my fiction-writing addiction.
What also helped me was to set a production schedule: start times and deadlines, along with release dates. I haven't decided whether my novels will be traditionally published or self-published -- I'm already a hybrid author so I know about both -- but decided to approach it as if I was totally in charge of everything. And that means choosing a release date and working backward. My plan is for Reinventing Rita to come out June 1, 2023, so I need to do any last-minute edits, decide on a cover artist, and pick my self-publishing services company by the first of the year. And do more edits on Finding Fran. And finish the first draft of Moving Maggie. And--well, you get the picture!
7.) Could you tell us a bit about your short stories collection and the author-help books?
Nancy: I have two collections currently available and the third will be out late fall of 2023. Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories is about people who either can't or won't get control over their lives so, as they go down the highway of life, they tend to metaphorically go left of center. And that can lead to disaster.
Peripheral Visions and Other Stories is about people who get dealt a hand in life that isn't the one they wanted, but they choose to play the best game they can with the cards they've received. And through it all, they believe that life will get better if they can just hold on and stay strong.
Mistletoe Magic and Other Holiday Tales is about the wonder and excitement of the holiday season, as shown through the experiences of the characters in eight stories, which includes one of my favorites, Lucinda and the Christmas List.
The next collection, as yet untitled, is about love in all its forms: between friends, between lovers, between siblings, between parent and child. Some funny, some serious, some in the just-starting phase while others are at the goodbye stage.
My two writing books -- Rut-Busting Book for Writers and Rut-Busting Book for Authors -- are full of tips and advice from myself as well as others in the writing business -- authors, agents, literary attorneys and marketing experts. They both grew out of workshops I do and my (regrettable!) tendency to give people advice about this business or point them in the direction where they can find out more. While the first book covers everything from handling procrastination to starting a freelance writing service, Rut-Busting Book for Authors is for those who are engaged at any stage of the book process: writing, publishing or marketing.
8.) You do Wednesday Writing Inspiration blogs. Would you care to share a little about those?
Nancy: My Wednesday Writing Inspiration on my blog, THE WRITER'S PLACE, came out of my need to keep track of all those wonderful quotes I come across from various sources. Not wanting to be greedy and keep them all to myself, I figured I'd post them on my blog. Hopefully someone reads them and it's just what they needed to hear to keep them going!
9.) When you're not writing, what do you do for fun or to help keep the inspiration coming?
Nancy: There is always some part of my brain that is continually in writing mode. I will be pulling weeds, mowing the grass, going for a walk, and something will pop into my mind and bingo, there's the spark of a short story or a solution to a plot issue. I have also been known to talk out loud, mostly because that's how I make sure I don't forget that brilliant idea I just had! My neighbors are used to it. They just shake their heads.
I have also been working with my partner who rehabs houses on the side. I am the 'grunt' who washes walls, hauls out trash, cleans bathrooms -- anything that doesn't require a high level of skill and keeps me away from the chop saw, drills and other equipment. It's the perfect break from sitting at the computer all day.
Plus, sometimes, you find things people left behind that serve as an inspiration spark. For instance, in one house, a little girl wrote her name in red ink (at least I hope it was red ink!) all over the closet walls: Sonia, Sonia, Sonia. And the closet had a lock like an entry door, not an interior door. And there was a key stuck high on the wall. I just couldn't help but imagine what had been going on, and if that little girl had been locked in there and what took place in Sonia's room.
And there it goes again -- my little writer brain!
10.) Are you already looking into the future as far as what your next writing project(s) will be?
Nancy: The novels for sure, and more short stories. If I had a dream, it would be to see one of my stories or novels on the big screen (or little screen, given how popular online movies are these days!) and enjoy watching real people play the parts of my characters.
11.) If you could sit and have coffee with an aspiring author, what topics would you love to share with him or her?
Nancy: About never giving up. About believing in yourself. And about being disciplined in their approach to writing. It's a creative field but it's also a profession, and it requires a very business-like approach.
12.) If you could sit and have coffee with a well-known, best-selling author, who would you pick? There are many to choose from, but is there one that came to mind as soon as you read this question?
Nancy: Agatha Christie. I always enjoyed her stories, but it wasn't until I read her autobiography that I really felt I could make a career out of writing, in whatever form it took. She had a very pragmatic and practical approach to her work. Forget that whole business about waiting for the muse to arrive. Agatha came up with a story idea, sat down and wrote it, turned in her manuscript on time and then started the process all over again.
That's not to say that she didn't enjoy what she was doing. But she knew that the only way to keep the writing gears turning was to not let them stay still too long. Otherwise, they would get rusty.
And while I'll never reach her output, I can still follow her example. In the end, it's not about the money or the publishing credits or the fame. It's about using the ability you've been given and not stopping until you reach the end -- the end of your own story as a writer -- and feeling really good about what you have achieved.
Here are the links to follow Nancy:
Living the Writing Life podcast
September 19, 2022
Danna is a quirky character!
Danna is quirky! There's really no other way to describe her. She's colorful in the way she talks, the way she dresses, and in most other areas of her life too. Danna loves to cook and loves to eat. She's a full-figured gal who's comfortable in her skin. At twenty-seven, she's ready to find her perfect mate and is ready to settle down.
You'd think living on a popular island with nonstop tourists, she'd finally run into Mr. Right. Not the case. All she seems to run into is desks and other furniture. Did I mention she's a bit of a klutz?
Here's an excerpt that will reveal a little more about Danna's personality: (This is a conversation with her best friend Erin at the hotel where they're attending the wedding of their co-worker Meg)
Elevating her foot, Danna placed the ice across her toe, and draped the towel over it. Relaxing against the back of the chair, she murmured, "He must think I'm loony."
"Who thinks you're loony?"
Danna startled from the sudden presence of Erin. "Holy moly!" She threw her hands out for effect. "Don't sneak up on a person! If I'd been chewing gum, I would've choked on it and you'd have to give me the Heimlich maneuver."
"Not all of us clomp like a camel to alert the world we're on the move."
"I don't clomp like a camel."
"A Clydsedale then. 'I promise I won't be gone long'," Erin mocked. "While you were in here sopping up cool air, I was outside roasting in the heat, babysitting your drink, and guarding your handbag. I assumed when you didn't come back you bumped into someone you knew." Erin sat their drinks down and dropped the handbag into Danna's lap.
"I didn't bump into anyone. I bumped into a desk."
Amusement instantly hit Erin's expression. "You didn't?"
The question was rhetorical and not out of line. "I'm as graceful as they come. Not." If there was a coffee table, lamp table, sofa leg, or desk anywhere near, she'd find it with her toe. "I couldn't take turns injuring the opposite toe. I had to jam the same one as I did when I slammed into Meg's desk a while back."
Erin lifted the towel. "You have ice."
"Thanks to LaRee."
"Who's LaRee."
Danna gestured to the desk. "The guy in the red suit jacket. Kind of cute, right?"
"The jacket? Or the guy?"
"You're a funny girl, Erin?"
"Hey, with you, I never know."
Colorful clothing, overlarge sunglasses, handbags big enough to hold everything including the kitchen sink, and shoes to complement each outfit brought Danna joy. She owed it all to her beloved grandmother who had taken care of her for years while her parents worked. On those precious occasions, her gram introduced her to feathered boas, floppy sunhats with all kinds of designs, pearl necklaces, rhinestone broaches, fancy shoes, dresses with loud colors and lace. She went all gushy inside at the memory of her gram saying, 'Wear colorful clothes whenever you can, Danna. You'll stand out in a crowd. Bright colors are supposed to boost feel-good hormones.' At the time, Danna had no idea what hormones were, but she hung on every word the sweet matriarch of her family uttered. Gone too soon, Danna kept her spirit alive with a fondness for all things bold and beautiful. "The guy, silly."
DANNA is book #2 in my Coffee & Dessert in Key West Series
MEG is book #1 in the series
You can find both here ---> AMAZON
Thanks for popping in! I appreciate your visit so much!
~ Jan
September 16, 2022
Forging Forgiveness by CB Clark
Today I welcome Christine Clark (writing as CB Clark) to my blog to help celebrate her newest romantic suspense, Forging Forgiveness and to hear about her recent trip to Iceland, which includes a recipe you might be interested in.
Forging Forgiveness is award-winning author, C.B. Clark's eighth novel published by The Wild Rose Press. When she's not busy traveling around the globe or hiking and camping in the wilderness near her home in northern British Columbia, she can be found in front of her laptop plotting her next story.
Here's the blurb for Forgiving Forgiveness:
When small-town college instructor Candace Cooper discovers bloody, bare footprints in the snow while running in a state park deep in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, it brings back the horrific nightmare of her past.
Detective Aiden Farrell is determined to redeem himself in his new position in Colorado, even if that means ignoring his growing feelings for the beautiful professor he meets during an investigation. His fear that the footprints she saw are connected to a recent spate of missing teens intensifies when Candace is assaulted on campus.
Aiden and Candace join forces, but as they start unraveling the truth, they get closer to each other - and to a killer who'll stop at nothing to achieve his nefarious goal.
Caught between duty and love, Aiden fights in a race against time to save the woman he loves.
Also available for purchase at Kobo.com and all other major online retailers.
Now on to Christine's post about Iceland:
My recent trip to Iceland was incredible. The scenery was stunning, the people friendly, and the food delicious. The best part of every meal was the bread. That may explain why I gained a few extra pounds while I was there even though I hiked the rugged terrain every day.
There were many different varieties of bread, but my favorite was thunder bread. It's also called rugbraud. A dense, dark rye bread that's slightly sweet and hardy, rugbraud is traditionally baked underground in a geothermal spring. There aren't any volcanic springs near where I live, but an Icelandic local gave me a recipe for rugbraud that can be baked slowly in the oven. It's delicious, especially lightly toasted with peanut butter, but it's also yummy with soup or stew.
Recipe:
2 1/3 cups dark rye flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup golden syrup
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Preheat oven to 200 F.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add buttermilk and syrup and stir.
Pour dough into a greased loaf pan and cover tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake for 8 hours.
Turn loaf onto a kitchen towel and wrap until cooled. This will stop a hard crust from forming.
Slice thinly and serve with lots of butter.
To Follow Christine (CB Clark) you can find her here:
July 25, 2022
Stay Close, Novac excerpt
It's been a while since I shared an excerpt from my romantic suspense-cozy mystery:
Stay Close, Novac!
I hope you enjoy this short scene...
Seduced awake by the smell of bacon frying and the sound of coffee gurgling, Jessi threw her legs over the side of the bed. An overlarge painting of a fisherman holding a stringer of fish greeted her vision, a reminder she wasn't in her grandmother's beach house.
Jessi chastised herself for spending the night with her newly-met neighbor, and for being a wimp in general. Who behaves like this? No wonder the stalker continued to rule her world - she was easy prey. What must Ian think? "Oh God," she groaned silently. She'd advanced on him, not the other way around. Kissing him equaled madness. After pulling in a breath of frustration, she blew it out and tried to rationalize her behavior. The kiss was most likely prompted by...by... Crap! She had nothing. In a nutshell, she'd finally lost it.
The coffee pot no longer made noises and the sound of bacon frying had stopped as well.
Jessi sprang from the edge of the bed and assessed her appearance in the dresser mirror. Egad! She looked like the spawn of Einstein, minus the mustache. Her short hair stuck out, only one side of her head - the same side where sleep lines creased her face. She looked as though someone had drawn a line down the center of her - one half rumpled, one half not. Her gaze fell to her attire - once again she'd slept in her clothes. But what a great night's sleep it was. She felt refreshed and ready to kick some stalker-butt.
* Thank you for popping in to read a little bit of Jessi and Ian's story!
~ Jan
December 28, 2021
Keeping Kylee - revisited with an excerpt and free for 3 days in January
Kylee Steele was a fascinating character to create. She's beautiful, not just in her looks. She's a woman with a big heart, a single mom, and a hardworking bartender who's also a college student. From time to time she's struggled to make ends meet and has had to rely on aid to survive. Now, when possible, she gives back to those less fortunate.
The one thing she doesn't need in her life is the complication of Quinn Randal's attention. He's handsome, wealthy beyond belief, and a well-known playboy. Rumor has it his fiancee just broke their engagement.
Kylee's brain keeps shouting "No", but the way Quinn makes her feel when he looks at her has her body shouting "Yes."
Excerpt:
Without taking his eyes off Kylee Steele, Quinn removed his tie and shoved it in the pocket of his tuxedo jacket. A raw and potent charge of sexual energy had sparked the moment he and Kylee set eyes on each other and it was still going strong. The powerful tug wouldn't let loose. They would stare at one another until Kylee was distracted by someone wanting a drink. Minutes later, they went back to the unspoken conversation taking place between them. Quinn made sure his eyes constantly conveyed, "Niiiice" and he interpreted her replies as 'Back at ya'. He snickered at the likelihood that there was no conversation and it was just the gin talking. One thing was for certain, they'd exchanged plenty of hot looks.
Kylee wandered to the opposite end of the bar, but she was still slanting him glances.
Quinn swirled the ice cubes in his glass and finished his drink. He loosened the top three buttons of his stiff-collared white shirt and shifted to get a better look at the voluptuous barmaid. He could watch her all night. God she was gorgeous! She had the most amazing green eyes. When the light hit them, they shimmered like... "Emeralds." He unwittingly finished the thought out loud and coughed to disguise a smile.
Ty Vincent shook his head with disapproval. "No, Quinn."
Quinn grinned at this best friend. "What?"
Ty scolded with a stern look and a tactful low voice. "Kylee is not for you."
"Killjoy."
I hope you'll want to read what happens next for Quinn and Kylee.
** KEEPING KYLEE IS #FREE ON AMAZON FROM JANUARY 7TH THROUGH JANUARY 9TH **
Here's the link: AMAZON
P.S. Married to Maggie (book #1 in the series) is #99cents
December 22, 2021
Excerpt, blurb, and a sale for Tucked Away
Hello, folks:
I'm currently working on a sequel to my romantic suspense, TUCKED AWAY. I thought you might like to read a short excerpt to see what book #1 is all about and to perhaps make you wonder where I'm going with book #2. I have tons of ideas for Chloe and Aidan, although how everything will play out for them is uncertain at this point. I have a feeling we'll both be surprised.
Blurb for TUCKED AWAY...
Secrets have cloaked Renee Dutten's entire existence. Placed in the New York foster care system as an infant, she was moved from family to family until high school graduation. With a bright future as a hairstylist in a posh salon, fate steps in and pulls the rug out from under her again. An eyewitness to a mob hit, the federal government becomes her guardian. From foster care to witness protection, with only a semblance of normalcy in between, she now has a higher degree of madness with a new identity as Chloe Barnard, a new address in Ohio, and nothing familiar to cling to. The Feds tuck her away in a campground for the summer, with orders for her to maintain a low profile. Chloe's attempt to be reclusive falls apart right away when she meets Aidan Gerrod. The attraction is strong and her willpower is weak. Wanting him with every speck of her being puts them both in jeopardy and becomes Chloe's biggest struggle yet.
Former Air Force Master Sergeant and ex-Intel government contractor, Aidan Gerrod is unhappy that physical injuries sidelined his military career and a short romance with his Intel boss cost him that job too. Thinking a campground is the perfect location to commune with nature, find serenity and regain his balance until he figures out where to go next, he gets just the opposite. His gorgeous neighbor grabs his attention and stirs a lot of drama.
When trouble from their pasts comes knocking, will Chloe and Aidan face it together? Or will they be forced to go their separate ways to stay alive?
On to the excerpt...
Aidan turned onto Market Street. "So we're shopping for clothes and shoes, hot dogs, and a cat."
"I have no intention of buying a cat. I'm going to adopt the kitten I saw hanging around the campground."
"Chloeeee, I don't know if that's a good idea. Those cats are strays. They live off scraps and mice."
"I'm a stray."
Aidan could tell by the stubborn set of her jaw she was determined to proceed. "From one stray to another, don't do it. You're asking for trouble. Cats are independent by nature. When they're wild, it stands to reason you can expect double the independence."
"It's the cutest little tabby, Aidan. The poor thing hasn't been on its own long enough to be wild. I'm afraid it will get run over by a car or devoured by a coyote."
"Still, giving affection to a stray might not pan out." The power of those words hit him square in the face. He, too, was pouring time and affection into a relationship that would probably end badly. Even if it did, he'd never regret the special connection he had with Chloe. "You know what? Adopt the cat. You'll be disappointed with yourself if you don't."
* To start the New Year off right, TUCKED AWAY will be #99cents from January 1st through January 5th. *
You can find it here: AMAZON
Wishing you all an amazing 2022!
Love,
Jan
September 22, 2021
An awesome new book by C. B. Clark - Twisted Lies!
Today I welcome to my blog, Christine Clark who writes as C. B. Clark. She's here with a guest post about her new romantic suspense, Twisted Lies.
Take it away, Christine...
There's something special about fellow authors. They're always ready to step in and lend a hand. This book release was no exception. When I received notification from my publisher that Twisted Lies would be released September 22, I panicked. With only six weeks before Release Day, I had to scramble to prepare. All in the middle of camping season.
This is a challenging business and not for the faint of heart. Having your book published is just the first step. Once the book makes it out into the world, it needs to be noticed. Somehow, out of the thousands of books published every day, you have to make your book stand out...an almost impossible feat. Yet, that's the name of the game. Unless you're close friends with a celebrity who'll endorse your book, you don't have a chance on your own.
That's where other authors come into play. Twisted Lies is my seventh published novel, and over the years, I've received loads of help from other authors. I don't know where I'd be without their unflagging support. And so, it's with a big, heartfelt thank you to Jan Romes that I'm pleased to present Twisted Lies, a romantic suspense set on British Columbia's rugged west coast. Enjoy!
Blurb:
Athena Cooper's tragic past drives her to seek solace in a bottle. The addiction threatens her legal career, and she risks spiraling out of control. When her dog engineers a meeting with an all-too-handsome hunk, it's lust at first sight...until she discovers his identity.
Businessman Russell Crawford is desperate to find the woman who cheated him out of his inheritance. His shock when she turns out to be the gorgeous red head he had a brief encounter with is only surpassed when she claims his father was a murderer.
Athena and Russ declare a truce and join forces to investigate the mystery of her parents' disappearance from an isolated island off the rugged Northwest Coast of British Columbia. Russ promises to be her safe harbor as they uncover long-buried secrets that rock her very foundation. Can she overcome a lifelong distrust and open her heart to love?
Excerpt:
How was it possible? After all these years? The past she'd been running from had found her. The nightmare was back. The envelope fell from her shaking hands. Her legs wobbled as she rose and stumbled out of the living room and down the short hall to the kitchen.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through the window above the sink. The cozy kitchen, with its walls painted a cheerful butter yellow, and the well-scrubbed laminate countertops, gleamed. The steady hum of the refrigerator and ticking of the antique clock on the wall were the only sounds in the silent house. The pungent smell of fried onions and roasted garlic from last night's homemade spaghetti sauce hung in the air.
The efficient kitchen, with its breakfast nook and view of the tidy, fenced backyard and the rolling, grassy foothills and snow-crested Rocky Mountains beyond, was the reason she'd bought the small ranch. This was her favorite room - the place she sought refuge when life overwhelmed her. How many times had she sat there in the evenings after work, sipping a glass of chilled white wine, watching the birds at the feeder on the back porch, breathing in the sweet smells of flowering Saskatoon bushes, regrouping until she was ready to face the world?
These days, her drink of choice was a cup of herbal tea or unsweetened apple juice. Alcohol was off the table...had been for twenty-one unendurable days.
But today, all bets were off.
** If you'd like to learn more about Athena and Russ, you can find Twisted Lies available at these online retailers:
About Christine...
Twisted Lies is award-winning author, C.B. Clark's seventh novel published by The Wild Rose Press. When she's not busy traveling around the globe or hiking and camping in the wilderness near her home in northern British Columbia, she can be found in front of her laptop plotting the next story.
You can follow C. B. Clark on social media:
July 22, 2021
Coffee Cup Ramblings and Ridiculous Poetry: Collecting Things
Hello, All!
Welcome to another installment of Coffee Cup Ramblings and Ridiculous Poetry. As always, this isn't a well-thought-out post. Just a bunch of nonsense put into words.
As I drank from my Holly Hobby coffee cup, I couldn't decide what I wanted to write about. Things I Would Tell My Younger Self sounded like a good idea and so did Collecting Things. For reasons unknown, Collecting Things won the mental coin toss.
I've often wondered what drives folks to collect certain things, mostly because I don't collect anything (except dust and an occasional coffee cup). Am I missing a certain gene? I think I am. (That would explain a lot... LOL)
Some folks love to track down treasures like old coins and tools, glassware and arrowheads. Others have a special affection for stockpiling seashells and everyday items such as wine bottles, baseball cards, and sports jerseys. I have a friend who collects rocks from every place she visits. Her rock garden is awesome. My sister is all about Christmas. She goes to estate auctions and garage sales looking for gently used decorations to collect. When Christmas rolls around, those valuables get put to good use and her home tastefully reflects her love for the holiday.
So this non-existent gene of mine, is it actually missing or just evasive? I'm leaning toward it being a wily little sucker that keeps ducking me.
Do the things that people gather somehow fill a void or bring comfort? Or is it simply the thrill of a scavenger hunt? Could it be a yearning to own a piece of the past?
As I'm compiling this post, I'm struck by something odd (which for me is a common occurrence - *big grin*). In a way, I've been a collector all my life. I just didn't acknowledge it until now. I'm a collector of words, which prompted me to jump up from the computer and sort through a stack of manila folders until I found the one labeled Vocabulary. Even before I was published, I amassed sheets of paper and Post-It notes with words that I love. To those who don't write, you're probably thinking that I need to get a life (and yes, I really do need to get one. i.e. last week's post was about mud. Need I say more?). To those who do write, you understand the treasure trove I keep in that manila folder.
Yahoo! I actually do collect something.
In book #1 of my Coffee and Dessert Series, Meg collects glass and ceramic turtles. I'm working on book #2, which is Danna's story. So far she hasn't collected anything. Maybe she has a missing or elusive gene too.
Are you still awake? Are you up for some bad poetry? If you answered yes to both questions, get ready to be dazzled! (Bedazzled?)
I always attempt to write good poetry. Seriously, I do. Why don't you believe me? LOL
Ceramic turtles, I have not a one,
for Meg, collecting them must be fun.
Treasured things don't line my shelves,
not even dusty Christmas elves.
Words crowd my brain, I save them all,
in my folder they stay, until my writing hits a brick wall.
The scavenger game I do not play,
to those who do, you're extraordinary is all I can say.
Collect special things, as well as moments in time,
why do I always have to make my poems rhyme?
Until next week, take good care of you and yours!
Wishing you love and joy!
~ Jan
