Lacey Wolfe's Blog, page 7

5 Reasons You Should Read More Romance this New Year from Sherri Goodman

I have a guest author stopping by today - Sherri Goodman. She'd written a great article about why you should read more romance this new year, and I couldn't agree more! I can't get enough of romance myself.
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January is here and we all know what that means—time for another New Year’s resolution. But as Forbes notes, only 8 percent of people actually achieve the New Year’s resolutions they set. If you haven’t already come up with something to try out in the new year, why not plan to start reading more? With the rise in popularity of e-books, there are literally thousands of options at your fingertips. And the written word offers perks you can’t find anywhere else—not even in that gym you vowed you would start going to last New Year.  Reading Has Amazing Health Benefits

As any avid reader will tell you, diving into a good book has its rewards. Not only does reading do the obvious, like increase your vocabulary; it also boasts hidden health benefits, both physical and mental. According to Reader’s Digest, cracking open a (book's) spine can protect your brain from Alzheimer’s, give you more staying power on your morning run, and even land you that raise you’ve been wanting at work.

Romance Novels Can Boost Your Love Life

It makes perfect sense that reading about romance would put you in the mood for love. Adam & Eve writes here that reading steamy scenes from romance novels is a great way to boost your libido, whether you read the passages aloud to your partner or to yourself. By delving into the sexiest parts of the book, you can explore what turns you on most. Who knows, you may be surprised by which sexual fantasies arouse you. Also, inspiration from those scenes could even make their way into your next romp in the hay.

You’ll Be Less Stressed

Reading is proven to relieve tension, helping us to decompress and escape reality for a little while. According to Kumon, a 2009 study found that reading for just six minutes can reduce stress levels by up to 68 percent. Romance novels work double-time on this front. Each page filled with flirtatious banter, displays of affection, and hot sex helps produce the chemicals in your body when aroused, and that will do even more to help you relax.  

Readers of Romance Have Stronger Social Skills

Bookworms have a reputation for being more on the shy side of the social disposition spectrum. While this may be true in some cases, ABC News reports here that romance readers may be better at empathy than anyone realized. The study responsible for producing the theory found women who were avid readers of romance novels correctly identified the emotions on actors’ faces when shown photographs than the women who did not frequently read romance. Because the romance genre is heavily focused on developing interpersonal relationships between characters, reading these novels can lead to stronger, more improved social skills.

It Will Put You in Touch with What You Really Want

The more you identify with the character in your book, the more likely you’ll be to experience the events that take place within the pages vicariously through that character. So, if a character happens to want to go back to college for a second degree, and you’ve been considering the same, her actions in the book could help you realize, and maybe even act on, your own dreams. The same goes for relationship goals. Reading about a fictional relationship in a romance novel can help put you in touch with what you want out of your own union, making you more capable of expressing those desires to your partner.

With so many great benefits to reading romance, there’s no better time than the New Year to jump into a new genre. The trick to forming a new habit (and making it stick) revolves around the details. Make it specific, make it realistic, and make it tangible. So set that resolution and head to the nearest bookstore (or computer)—you’ll be glad you did. 

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What a great post with lots of information from Sherri Goodman. I hope you add a little romance reading to your list of goals for 2015.

About The Author Sherri Goodman is a freelance writer with a passion for good coffee, the perfect set of wedges, and animals of all kinds.

Currently enjoying the single life, she’s always open to sharing her dating blunders and successes with readers. When she’s not working she’s likely reading books in a homemade pillow fort or hitting the trails for hiking with her 2 and 4-legged buddies.

You can reach Sherri on twitter:@sherrigoodlove

Fitness Friday - Cutting out Processed Food

I've had a really good week. Very happy to have stayed on track so well. 
One of the hardest things, in my opinion, when trying to start eating clean is cutting out processed foods. Let's face it, a bag of noodles with chicken seasoning and spices in it that you boil in water is easy. Boiling whole grain noodles, using your own seasonings, etc, is a little harder. I've yet to get that same flavor I can get from a packaged meal.

This weeks biggest challenge for me is food prepping. I'm not someone who sits down and plans the whole weeks menus. Like with writing, I'm a fly by the pants kinda person. I'm currently in a Beachbody challenge group and I have a nice graph for each day for me to fill out my foods. This has helped. My current meal plan is 4 primary vegetables, 2 secondary vegetable and/or grains, 2 fresh fruit, 4 lean protein, and 3 healthy fats.

Sure, seems easy. I'm on day 12 of this meal plan, and I've only mastered the rights amount of each 5 times. That's okay. My struggles is eating more vegetables. Which brings me back to my processed foods topic.

When you remove the easy side dishes from your pantry. You're left scratching your head on side dishes with your meals. Potatoes aren't your enemy, contrary to what many believe. It's really about how you eat them (and how often-not an everyday good idea). I love to add a little oil to mine and roast them with spices and then have another vegetable on the side. Sometimes it's all about changing the way you think. Another veggie we eat a lot in place of the packaged noodles I always loved, is zucchini. There is so much you can do with this one vegetable. I love to sauteed it with just salt and pepper. Or dip it in egg before you place in the frying pan.

Snack - this is another hard one. It really has been a struggle for me to not walk to my pantry and get out a bag of chips or a handful of cookies. In fact, in these 12 days, I'm beginning to find I don't go to the pantry any more for snack. Most of my snack items are in the fridge.

I like cheese with gluten free/whole grain crackers.
Carrots and hummus
Carrots and peanut butter
yogurt
fruit
cucumbers
almonds

Changing the way you eat is hard. Sometimes you have to follow the 80/20 thinking. As in you'll do your best for 80 percent of your food, and won't beat yourself up if 20 percent wasn't on your meal plan. Let's face it, we're human. We're gonna mess up.

I admit, I have not gone 12 days without a cookie (my mom made fresh chocolate chip, how I could not have one?!) or a piece of chocolate. I've not had one everyday, but if I'm craving a piece of chocolate, then I eat one (just one---don't go overboard). Denying yourself food will make you fail. I'm currently looking for a healthy chocolate--if that exists. lol

One of my current coaches even instructed. If you know you're gonna cheat, then plan it in to your week so you don't feel so guilty.

See ya next Friday!

My career goals for 2015

I realized I've yet to sit down and really think about my goals as a writer in 2015. I do have some. In the past few months, there have been some changes in the publishing industry. EBook prices are going lower. Right now, if an author wants to be able to move a book, pricing it at 99 cents is sure way to do it. Where as a year a go, a 99 cents was for a sale or a new author wanting to get readers to buy their books to build a readership. I've spent the last two months trying to decide where I want to go in my career. It's hard for me to drop my books all down to 99 cents in order to sale books because I supplement an income in my household with my earnings. However, I've been resistant to this change, but finally I said to myself, do I want to be left behind in this field of work, or do I want to ride the wave. So, I'm choosing to ride the wave. Which means readers can begin to expect a few more sales from me than usual. The past two years, I have really delved into the self-publishing world. I still use small presses for some books, but in order to stay home and write, I have to self publish as well because that brings me monthly income. However, with the way the book market is at the moment, I feel like I'm going more unnoticed. This is the time for authors to get published. You no longer need an agent and a million rejections letters stuffed in a box under your bed. You can now hire an editor, get a cover made, and put your writing out to the world to read. Which is good---and bad. 

My goal in 2015 is to get noticed. Find a way to get my books in the hands of more readers. I'm looking into other ways to market. What worked six months ago, might not work well now. I kid you not, this industry is always changing. It seems like once I have it figured out....it's time to change AGAIN. I want to be more productive. Last year I gave up word count goals. I didn't sit down with a project and say, "This must be 30,000 words." I let the story be the story. Sometimes I wished the book had been longer, but that was a goal of mine.

This year, I want me writing sessions to be more productive. Last year, a goal had been to break my Facebook habit. That need to constantly click the browser back up to see what was going on. This was a hard habit to break and I didn't break it until November to be honest. I started with making Sundays a no computer day, unless I was just bored and had nothing to do. In November is when I began to get a little depressed about how the book market was, and I would go days without opening the computer. I didn't even open my phone app. Since doing this, I haven't felt the need to be on Facebook so much. I am hoping this is a habit I've broken and can stick to.

So, my goals aren't big. Get noticed more, ride the book market wave, and make my writing sessions more productive. I'll let you know in a year how I did. 

Teaser Tuesday

I have some of the best readers out there. Just sayin'. One of my readers', Liz Castillo, has made me some awesome teasers to some of my books. Check them out for a little teaser!

Wanted: Wife - On sale for 99 cents!

One of my favorite books I've ever written is on sale for 99 cents during the month of January! It's normally $4.50 - so this is AWESOME! Help Wanted: A Wife

Darcy White can't believe she's answering a help wanted ad from someone looking to hire a wife, but she's hit rock bottom and is on the verge of being evicted from her apartment. When she learns that the guy she had a crush on in high school is the one looking to hire, she'd be crazy not to live out her fantasy.

Steven McDonald needs a wife, or at least a fiancée, before his grandfather retires or else he won't inherit the family business. He knows not just any woman will do, and in a desperate attempt to find a solution, he places a help wanted ad in the local paper. The day Darcy White answers it, his dreams begin to come true.

As Darcy and Steven pretend they're engaged, they make a promise to keep things platonic. But the more time they spend together, the harder it is to keep their hands off one another. With his grandfather's retirement approaching, and the possible end to their fake engagement, can Steven and Darcy admit their feelings to not only themselves but each other?

Content Warning: contains adult language and sensual love scenes


Amazon - Nook - Beachwalk Press - ARe - iTunes - Kobo

*Note: Nook and iTunes have not updated their sites at this time. They should very soon.

Fitness Friday - Fitbit and PiYo workout

Last spring fitness became a big part of my life. I lost 20 pounds last spring and then maintained that weight loss until the holidays. I only gained a few pounds with all the sweets, and so far already dropped two of the five I put on.

For Christmas the hubby got me the Fitbit I've been wanting. I learned then just how little I walk. It comes with the default setting of 10,000 steps a day. I didn't come anywhere near that goal. So I lowered it down to 8,000 and made myself reach it. That was a lot of work. My current goal is 7,000 steps. I've not made it yet unless I really make myself get there. Am I lazy? No. I get up and move all day, but I work from home. I don't have to walk far to the bathroom, etc. So I am still trying to figure out an attainable go for this fitness tracker. On top of my new gadget, I also just started a new workout called PIYO. I am doing a local challenge group for accountability. We started on the 29th of December. At the end of the 30 days, I will share with you some progress reports. Perhaps some photos. I did take before photos. And while I am currently in a healthy weight range for myself, I still have some fatty areas. Mainly my back...I had no idea until I took a photo. Anyway, this PIYO program is Pilates and yoga put together. It's suppose to help me tone up and build lean muscle. I'm excited to see the results it has on me.

Part of my 2015 goals is to start blogging again. On Friday's I am hoping to share fitness tips, healthy recipes, and updates on how I am doing. As I stated, I am now at a healthy weight range, but I'd like to tone up and maybe drop a few more pounds.

I'll see you next Friday. :) Have a wonderful weekend.

Where are all the blog posts?

I've been horrible with blogging. I keep telling myself I'm gonna get started again, but then I don't. I do want to blog more, because I feel like you get to know me a little more, and I you. I'm gonna get through this time of the year....that crazy time....and then starting in January get back to blogging more regularly about life as well as books. I'm still here, trucking along, even though it's been super quiet.

New lower prices!

My two clean romance books have a lower price. They went from $5.99 to $3.99. This makes me very happy because I love these stories, and I think they are finally getting some attention. Click the pictures to learn more about each book.

Love Brothers Series by Liz Crowe, Cover Reveals

Check out those gorgeous covers for Liz Crowe's latest series releases. I, for one, can't wait to get my hands on the books. I love Liz's writing, and I have no doubt this series is going to rock. Now to learn a little more about the books. And be ready, these covers are drool worthy! Love Garage
Book 1
January 5, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)
GoodreadsLink: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22294474-love-garage

Blurb
Antony Love is the quintessential responsible oldest brother of a boisterous, Italian/Irish family, placed in charge at a young age by his parents who are busy running the family business. He manages his siblings with a fair but iron hand, until his life is shattered by personal tragedy leaving him the shell of the man he once was.

 When outspoken matriarch Lindsay Halloran Love becomes ill, the youngest brother Aiden shows up at Antony's garage, having dropped out of school (again), needing work and a place to crash. Antony provides both, with three caveats: "Don't smoke in my truck, don't be late for work, and don't mess with my girlfriend."

 But Aiden Love, budding novelist, gets one glimpse of Rosalee Norris, young widow of Antony's lifelong best friend and all bets are off.

 Set in horse country near Lexington, Kentucky, The Love Brothers Series is a saga of family devotion that runs as wide and deep as the Ohio River--except on Sundays when brothers Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations on the basketball court, Love brother style.

 The Love Brothers: A family saga with humor, heat and heart—not to mention beer, bourbon and basketball.

Coach Love
Book 2
January 5, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)
GoodreadsLink: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22877945-coach-love?from_search=true

Blurb
The smoldering intensity of first love ~ the forbidden fantasy of temptation ~ the cold hard facts of real life.

When one man’s hopes are dashed apart in a split second after years spent chasing a dream, he returns home to Kentucky furious at the world and everyone around him.

 Kieran Francesco is the middle son of the volatile, tight-knit Halloran-Love family. His role as peacemaker and the one true athlete is well established. He now faces life devoid of the sport he adores after a horrific, career-ending accident, which places him in a new and entirely uncomfortable position—that of the brother with no future.

Over the course of a few tumultuous months Kieran is plunged back into life at the center of the Love family, where he must cope with one self-destructive brother, one ill-timed reconnection to an old flame and a series of bad choices that land him in more trouble than he’d ever known existed.

COACH LOVE, book 2 of The Love Brothers, a family saga of sibling loyalty that runs as deep and wide as the Ohio River—at least until Sunday, when Antony, Kieran, Dominic and Aiden work out their frustrations at the weekly Love brother pick-up basketball game.

Love Brewing
Book 3
March 1, 2015 (ebook)
March 14, 2015 (Print)

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23344944-love-brewing?from_search=true

Blurb:

Every family has one—the black sheep, the problem child, the prodigal. But Dominic Sean Love could teach all of those guys a lesson or two. Stuck in the middle of a boisterous group of siblings, he’s given “acting out” a new meaning from the day he drew his first breath.

While he’s the one son who follows his strict father’s footsteps into the Love family business, he’s also the one who butts heads with him the hardest. Their epic clashes are the stuff of family legend. But they have made peace and work side by side to take Love Brewing to the next level of success.

Until Dominic does the one thing his father can never forgive.

Diana Brantley has been Dominic’s friend, girlfriend and ex-girlfriend so many times she’s lost count. When he shows up at the farm she’s slowly transforming into a wildly popular farm-to-table resource for restaurants all over the U.S. her first impulse is to shoot first and ask questions later. But she doesn’t. And their lives entwine once more, for good, bad and ugly.

About Liz Crowe
Amazon best-selling author, beer blogger, brewery marketing expert, mom of three, and soccer fan, Liz Crowe is a Kentucky native and graduate of the University of Louisville currently living in Ann Arbor. She has decades of experience in sales and fund raising, plus an eight-year stint as a three-continent, ex-pat trailing spouse.

Her early forays into the publishing world led to a groundbreaking fiction subgenre, “Romance for Real Life,” which has gained thousands of fans and followers interested less in the “HEA” and more in the “WHA” (“What Happens After?”). More recently she is garnering even more fans across genres with her latest novels, which are more character-driven fiction, while remaining very much “real life.”

With stories set in the not-so-common worlds of breweries, on the soccer pitch, in successful real estate offices and at times in exotic locales like Istanbul, Turkey, her books are unique and told with a fresh voice. The Liz Crowe backlist has something for any reader seeking complex storylines with humor and complete casts of characters that will delight, frustrate and linger in the imagination long after the book is finished.

Don’t ever ask her for anything “like a Budweiser” or risk bodily injury.

Website
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The Giveaway... a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ticket To Love - Available Now!

I'm excited to announce that Ticket To Love is now available. This is a single-title contemporary romance novella (40,000 words). Lots of fun in this story. We've got a trash eating dog, a walnut dropping tree situated on both properties, a hot personal trainer neighbor who wants to tell Eve how to spend her money, and a lotto-winning heroine who has too much time on her hands.
 
I really had a lot of fun writing this one. As an author, some stories are more enjoyable to write than others. In Ticket To Love, I wasn't looking to write a complex plot with damaged heroines and hero's. Just a light, fluffy romance, which is what you'll get. You can escape for a few hours and smile as Brad and Eve fight like cats and dogs, then kiss like there is no tomorrow. The Blurb When Evelyn Parker turns thirty-five, she isn’t happy. Life seems to be ticking past her. By now, she wanted to be married and have kids, the same life all of her friends have. Then Eve’s grandmother gives her a birthday gift that changes her whole life—a winning lottery ticket. With her new money, Eve tries to stay conservative, but for some reason, her pesky neighbor seems to think he gets to have a say on how she’s living life.

Brad Turner has lived next door to Evelyn for years. She’s always been a sweet woman for the most part, until his dog decides her trash is his next dinner. Then Eve shows her true self, igniting a spark in him, and a craving for more.

Before long, Eve and Brad find themselves tangled up in each other’s life. One moment they are fighting and the next kissing. Can they figure out if they can be a couple, especially given Brad’s obsession about money and Evelyn’s hiding her millions from him?

If you're looking for a fun romance, I hope you'll consider Ticket To Love. To read chapter one, click HERE.

Available at these retailers:
Amazon | Nook | All Romance | Smashwords | Kobo | iTunes