Samantha March's Blog, page 4
May 20, 2015
#CoverReveal: Up To I Do
Today is the big day! I have finally (like, talk about last minute) decided on a title for my fourth book. May I present to you Up To I Do, and thank you to Ashley with Redbird Designs for this gorgeous cover. This cover is really special to me, because it’s one of my own wedding photos. Before I had the first word written of this novel (or even walked down the aisle) I knew I wanted to write a book about a wedding and use a personal wedding photo. After our wedding (and with the book about half written) I went through our photos and when I saw this one I knew it would be it.
While my wedding was about the complete opposite of Emerson’s, this story was really one dedicated to my Grams, who passed away when I was twenty-two. Emerson and her Grams have a close relationship throughout the entire novel, and I shed a lot of tears writing this, because I really wish my Grams could have gone through the wedding process with me and been there on my big day.
I hope you all love the cover as much as I do, and I’ll have a release date real soon for Up To I Do. For now, you can add it to your Goodreads shelf here:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25548799-up-to-i-do
I need to give a special thank you to my beta readers, Kaley, Kayla and Isabella. Your input along the way helped me so much, and you ladies seriously rock. Thank you!
About the Book
Emerson Sinclair, twenty-seven year old hotel heiress, has said yes. With just over a year to plan her extravagant, over the top nuptials to Logan Worthington, it’s all hands on deck with the wedding plans. A Sinclair marrying into the Worthington family is the talk of their small New Hampshire town, and ideas include filming the wedding for a TV segment. But as the items get checked off the list, plans start to go … not as planned. From not getting a designer dress to a selfish bridesmaid and unaccountable best man, Emerson is afraid her wedding will be more a joke than anything.
When both her mother and sister seemingly begin to lose interest in her wedding plans in favor of their own personal lives, Emerson fears her big day will turn into the forgotten wedding. With the pressure to pull off a beautiful and elegant event that everyone expects from their respectable families, Emerson starts to forget the reason why she is saying I Do in the first place.
But her spirited Grams is there to make sure neither happens. With her help and guidance, Emerson not only has her wedding plans back on track, but she remembers the reason why they are going through the stress of wedding planning – because at the end of it all she gets to marry her true love, and marriage is defined by more than a wedding.
May 11, 2015
#ChickLitMay: What’s on Page 45?
I’m so excited to share a little bit about my fourth novel, which will be on sale this summer. I’m still debating the title though so…hmm. Titles are usually the last thing to click into place for me, and this time around is no different!
On page 45, Emerson is having a dinner with her future in-laws. She feels super lucky that she gets along with the Worthington family so well. Logan’s mother, Sienna, is thrilled for this wedding, as she only has two sons, and she is more than happy to be involved in the wedding plans. Emerson has a lot of helping hands for her wedding – an esteemed New York wedding planner, her mother, her sister, her Grams, her best friend Honor, her four other bridesmaids, and now Sienna as well. Up to this point, plans have gone smoothly. But to all my girls who have been married (I’m coming up on two years) I think we all know that hiccups are bound to happen…
One of the best parts (for me) during my wedding plans was choosing my wedding dress. The dress I bought was actually one of the first dresses I saw online, and sent a link to my mom saying we needed to find that dress. It took two states and four stores, but sure enough, that was my dress, and I don’t have any regrets. Here’s a little clip from page 45, as Emerson talks to her future mother-in-law about dress shopping:
*****
“Have you been looking at wedding dresses?” Sienna asked me then, taking a seat on a wicker chair at the patio table.
“Of course! I’ve been online shopping at all my favorite designer websites. I have a huge list so far of dresses to try on.”
“Do you have any particular style that is really catching your eye? Ball gown perhaps?”
I smiled, hearing her words echo my mother’s. “Actually, yes. I’m leaning toward a ball gown. Maybe something tight on top but full and big on the bottom.”
******
Look for the cover reveal to come in the next few weeks, and hopefully a title will be decided on…real soon!
GRAND PRIZE
A one-pound package of caramels from Whitney’s Goodies http://whitneysgoodies.com/ Winner can choose their flavor from those listed below.
This giveaway is open to residents of the USA only.
The Girl Next Door (Crème Caramels): A scrumptious, full-bodied caramel. Old fashioned, melt-in-your-mouth bliss!
The Charmer (Chocolate Crème Caramels): This smooth, chocolate cream caramel will add panache to your day. An exquisite and elegant morsel, simply irresistible.
The Movie Star (Orange Crème Caramels): A timeless treat that will satisfy caramel fans of all ages. “The stuff that dreams are made of!”
The Bombshell (Lemon Crème Caramels): A bodacious bit of heaven with a bold citrus pallet. They will leave you satisfied and refreshed. Caramels are a girl’s best friend!
Always a Lady (Rose Caramels): A delicate bouquet of rose essence infuses this lovely caramel: alluring, tantalizing and reminiscent of another era. They are perfect for weddings and bridal showers. A definite for ladies who lunch or breakfast at Tiffany’s.
HOW TO ENTER
To enter, answer the following question in the comments section below.
“In 4 or 5 words, why do you think my new, untitled book would be a good read?”
Entrants must leave full name, along with an e-mail address. A winner will be chosen via Random.org on Tuesday, May 19th. Leave a comment on each participating blog and get 37 chances to win!
Be sure to stop by other participating author blogs taking part in this #ChickLitMay event today!
May 4, 2015
A Sensitive Sally With Thick Skin
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been a Sensitive Sally. You know, the girl who if you made fun of her ears, I would run into my room and cry. (True story.) If you called me a bad name I would stew on it for hours, trying to figure out why I made someone mad and how they could call me such a name. (Still happens to this day.) I cry at commercials that feature abused pets, or commercials that show hope. The latest one I’m crying at is the “Where will you be when the first woman pitches in the majors?” Yep, tears.
I’ve been in the book industry for almost six years now. I’ve had my manuscripts rejected and I’ve gotten scathing reviews on my books. I’ve been told I’m not a good business woman and that I suck at my job. Most recently, I got an email from a woman saying my social media posts are “ludicrous.” One would think I would just be a sobbing mess all day every day, but that’s not the case. I brush all these off with barely a thought, and keep moving forward. I know not everyone will like me, my books, or what I decide to share with the world, and I accept that. But I keep writing, I keep working, and I keep sharing what I want to share. I don’t let these negative words impact my professional career. If I did, I would have quit before I even really started.
This tends to baffle me. How I can be so sensitive in my personal life, take offense so easily, cry on average twice a day, yet I’m such the opposite when it comes to my profession? I wish I could take my thick skin and apply that when I get my feelings hurt by a friend, but I just can’t seem to combine these two sides of me. I’m twenty-eight years old, and I’m starting to feel like it’s hopeless to build a thicker skin in my day to day life. I loathe feeling like such a baby all the time and being known as the crier, but what else can I do? Maybe one day I’ll learn how to mesh my two worlds together, but for the time being…I’ll just continue to cry at commercials and laugh at bad reviews.
May 1, 2015
Spotlight & Excerpt: Lowcountry Boneyard by Susan M Boyer
I’m so happy to spotlight Lowcountry Boneyard by Susan M Boyer! Keep reading for an excerpt, or head to Chick Lit Plus to read my 5 star review. I’m also talking about it on my brand new YouTube channel, so you listen to me chat about it as well 
Enjoy!
Excerpt
ONE
The dead are not generally fretful of mortal affairs. My friend Colleen passed from this world to the next seventeen years ago last June. She can’t be bothered with global warming, the national debt, or those Duck Dynasty folks from Louisiana. She’s careful to stay focused on her mission, namely, protecting Stella Maris, our South Carolina island home, from the evils of high-rise resorts, timeshares, and all such as that. But occasionally, she fixates on what appear to be random concerns, mostly cases I’m working. Colleen minds my business, is what I’m saying.
To be fair, I make my living minding other people’s business. I’m a private investigator, licensed by the state. Roughly half of my casework is pre-trial investigation for criminal defense attorneys. Another quarter involves domestic misunderstandings. The remainder is a mixed bag of human comedy and suffering—everything from conspiracy to kidnap a prize hound for stud services to conspiracy to commit murder. Sometimes it’s difficult to know which I’m dealing with at first, but I pray for the wildly farcical.
That Tuesday in mid-October, I was sitting in an Adirondack chair on my deck savoring my second cup of coffee and the music of waves breaking and racing to shore. The sun was warm on my skin. I’d just finished a read-through of my final report on a case when a ringtone named pinball announced a caller not in my contacts list. I glanced at my iPhone. It was precisely nine o’clock. The number was local. I set my coffee down and picked up the phone.
“Talbot and Andrews Investigations.”
“Miss Talbot?” The man’s tone brought to mind a professor who’d caught me daydreaming in class.
I pulled the phone away from my face and scrutinized the number again. What the hell? “This is Liz Talbot. How can I help you?”
“Colton Heyward here. I’d like to arrange a meeting at your earliest convenience.”
Something heavy and dark settled in my chest. The Heyward family and their missing early-twenties daughter had been all over the news. Kent Heyward had vanished from the streets of Charleston one late summer evening.
I closed my eyes and forced air into my lungs. “Of course. I’ll come whenever you like.”
He gave me his home address on lower Legare Street in Charleston and asked me to be there at ten o’clock the next morning. Had I not been familiar with the family, the address—which was south of Broad Street near where the Ashley River converges with the Cooper to sculpt the end of the Charleston peninsula—would’ve told me I was likely dealing with old money and a family tree including names from history books.
Wednesday morning Colleen woke me at 4:45. She pestered the fire out of me to get an early start, proceeding to inform me of the time every five minutes during my run, shower, and the berry-yogurt-granola parfait that failed to summon my appetite. Kent Heyward’s disappearance weighed heavy on my heart. It haunted the entire lowcountry. I was both eager to help and apprehensive. What could I do that hadn’t been done?
“Are you about ready?” Colleen was working my last nerve.
“What is with you?”
“We can’t be late. I’ll be in the car.”
She rode shotgun on the trip to Charleston. As her sole human Point of Contact, I was the only one who could see her. Across Stella Maris, during the ferry ride to Isle of Palms, and through Mount Pleasant she barely spoke. I knew she was tense. Most days I would’ve quizzed her about it, but I was preoccupied myself. Colleen relaxed considerably once we crossed the Cooper River Bridge and I drove my green hybrid Escape into the Holy City.
Charleston was christened the Holy City forever ago, owing to the number of churches generously scattered across her cityscape and her history of religious tolerance. Her streets buzzed in the soft October air. Deliverymen unloaded their wares with a brisker step now that the oppressive summer heat and humidity had relented. The Carolina blue sky forecasted a pleasant day for all. October is my favorite month in the Lowcountry. The quality of light renders Charleston and her realm through a filtered lens, obscuring flaws and highlighting our best features. That particular morning, my joy in simply driving through the city was muted.
At nine-fifty—ten minutes early—we rolled through the lacy wrought iron gate and down the tree-sheltered brick drive to the Heyward home. Shades of green surrounded us—magnolias, tea olives, gardenias, camellias, ferns, palms—all manner of tree and shrub. We’d been swallowed whole by the Garden of Eden. I turned off the engine. Everything was still except the gurgling fountain in a bed of massive hostas. We stared at the three-story, clay-colored masonry mansion with triple-tiered piazzas.
“It’s magnificent,” I said.
“It was built in eighteen thirty-eight. Can you imagine everything that house has seen?” Colleen’s voice was reverent, her green eyes round, their color intensified by the similarly hued cardigan she wore over today’s dress.
“Do you think there are other ghosts in there?”
She cut me with a look. “You know I’m not a ghost.”
“Mmm-kay. Do you think there are other guardian spirits in the house?”
“No. I know all the locals.” She shrugged. “The place is crawling with ghosts. We may or may not see them this morning.”
The distinction, according to Colleen, was that guardian spirits had passed to the next world and been sent back with work to do. Ghosts were the lingering spirits of the dead who had yet to cross over to the next life. “This should be interesting,” I said. “If you run across any specters, find out where the family skeletons are hidden. That information could come in handy.”
Copyright © 2015 by Susan M. Boyer — This excerpt is reprinted by permission from Henery Press. All rights reserved.
About the Book
Where is Kent Heyward? The twenty-three-year-old heiress from one of Charleston’s oldest families vanished a month ago. When her father hires private investigator Liz Talbot, Liz suspects the most difficult part of her job will be convincing the patriarch his daughter tired of his overbearing nature and left town. That’s what the Charleston Police Department believes.
But behind the garden walls South of Broad, family secrets pop up like weeds in the azaleas. The neighbors recollect violent arguments between Kent and her parents. Eccentric twin uncles and a gaggle of cousins covet the family fortune. And the lingering spirit of a Civil-War-era debutante may know something if Colleen, Liz’s dead best friend, can get her to talk.
Liz juggles her case, the partner she’s in love with, and the family she adores. But the closer she gets to what has become of Kent, the closer Liz dances to her own grave.
Author Bio:Susan M. Boyer is the author of the USA TODAY bestselling Liz Talbot mystery series. Her debut novel, Lowcountry Boil, won the 2012 Agatha Award for Best First Novel, the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, and garnered several other award nominations. Lowcountry Boneyard, the third Liz Talbot mystery, was released April 21, 2015. Susan loves beaches, Southern food, and small towns where everyone knows everyone, and everyone has crazy relatives. You’ll find all of the above in her novels.
Susan lives in Greenville, SC, with her husband and an inordinate number of houseplants.
Connect with Susan!
Website: http://www.susanmboyerbooks.com/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/Susanmboyerbooks
Twitter: https://twitter.com/susanmboyer
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/SusanMBoyer
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/SusanMBoyer
Buy the Book!
April 14, 2015
#ReleaseDay: Twenty-Something, A Collection
The day is finally here! The first multi-author collection from Marching Ink is officially on sale today. Twenty-Something features three full-length novels from myself, Cat Lavoie and Laura Chapman. The eBook is available on Amazon for the special discounted price of $1.99, and we do hope you grab your copy! And stayed tuned…Marching Ink will be announcing the next multi-author collection for 2015 shortly 
The first collection from Marching Ink features three full-length novels in Twenty-Something. From the good girl that is tired of playing by the rules in the new adult novel from Laura Chapman, to the friendship between two women that isn’t what is seems in the women’s fiction novel from Samantha March, and then the loveable Roxy that will give us plenty of laughs and touching moments in the chick lit novel from Cat Lavoie. While all characters are indeed Twenty-Something, we believe this collection can be enjoyed by readers in a variety of ages.
Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman
After losing out on a coveted promotion at work, Lexi Burke is done playing the nice girl. Her first order of business: Giving in to her longtime workplace crush. But Lexi soon learns that balancing a workplace romance and her job might be harder than she anticipated.
A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March
While Brynne and Portland seem to have an ideal friendship, cracks are starting to show as their lives take a turn for the complicated. Not willing to go to one other with their secrets, one woman begins to feel shut out and the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself. Their journey will explore several questions of friendship, and show that happily ever after might not be in the cards for everyone.
Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie
When Roxy Rule shares a passionate kiss with her lifelong best friend, she must come to terms with her feelings for him while dealing with two sisters in full crisis mode, a boss who makes her want to stab herself with a letter opener and a fiancé who can’t wait to walk down the aisle. Can she keep it together–or will she break under the pressure?
Also by the authors:
April 6, 2015
Becoming a Vizsla Person
Um, can I sit here too?
This blog post was inspired by a chat I was having with my sister-in-law a few weeks back about dogs. Her family was considering getting a new puppy and we were discussing breeds. I asked what about a Vizsla, and at that moment, Aries came over and sat herself right into my sister’s lap, causing all of us to laugh. She said, “I don’t think I’m really a Vizsla person.”
That got me thinking. Before we brought Aries home, I wouldn’t consider myself a “Vizsla person” either. I had a yorkie growing up, a tiny little thing named Dusty who tended to mind his own business and loved to chase squirrels and motorcycles. I always loved dogs, and enjoyed playing with them. But everything changed after Aries.
Sharing a chair, looking up to my wisdom
What makes a Vizsla different? Owning Aries for over a year now, both my husband and I have truly become Vizsla people. When we see other Vizsla’s at the pet store or dog park, we all walk up to the owners (or them to us!) and chat about our dogs, like we’re in a special club. I had someone like my Chick Lit Plus Facebook page the other day, and send me a message saying she doesn’t read a lot, but she followed my page because she owns a V and likes to see my pictures. I belong to Facebook groups where we talk about dogs and ask questions and give advice and feedback. Sure, I’m sure other breeds do that too. I’ve just recently read You Tell Your Dog First by Alison Pace and she describes the same thing with her Westie breed. So again, what makes a Vizsla different? V’s are some of the most loving dogs I have ever come across. We did research before getting Aries and saw that the breed is called a Velcro Vizsla, because the dogs become so attached to their owners. My husband and I thought this might mean Aries would be by our side a lot – oh no. She’s ON us at all times. She doesn’t lay on the floor by our feet, she lays in our laps. She snuggles with us in bed. She fits her forty-five pound body onto my office chair, so she can be right next to me during the day. It’s crazy and I really have never met a dog who behaves that way. If
Best seat in the house?
you were to tell me before we got her that I would enjoy that, I might say you were crazy. Yes, I liked dogs, but to have a dog literally velcro themselves to me the majority of the day? Not so sure about that. Now, I can’t picture life any different. I can’t imagine getting another breed, ever, because if the dog sat on the floor and not on my lap, I would feel so unloved by them. I absolutely love the loyalty of the Vizsla, and the unconditional love from Aries. And since owning her, my perspective on dogs in general has completely changed. I treat every dog like a Vizsla, showing them as much love as I can, letting them lick my face with abandon, cuddling up to them even if they might not want me to. I am 100% a dog person, there is no doubt about that.
I won’t say owning a Vizsla is easy. They are high energy dogs, they are communicative dogs (meaning barking and whining when they want something) and because of their velcro tendencies to their owners, they get separation anxiety when apart from us. Each trait we work on to try to help our lives and her life be easier, but we try not to get frustrated when times are hard. We love Aries so much and at times can definitely treat her like she’s our child versus our pet, but we know that dogs don’t live forever, or anywhere near as long as we would like them to. She’s so special to us, and for
Kisses from my pup
all the love she shows us, we want to show it right back. The happiness my dog brings me has no limits, and for that, I am forever grateful.
Are you a dog or pet owner, and has having your pet made a big impact in your life like owning Aries has for us? I would love to hear your stories or see your pictures! You can find me on Facebook and Twitter both at Samantha March and Chick Lit Plus. I’m always sharing pictures of Aries too, of course!
Samantha March
https://www.facebook.com/samanthamarchauthor
Chick Lit Plus
https://www.facebook.com/ChickLitPlus
The Queen V, in her chair ready to work!
March 23, 2015
Happy 28 To Me!
Ah, here we are. March 23. A Monday. Twenty-eight years ago at 7:10 am on (what I like to think) was going to be a Monday full of sunshine (but my mom tells me was a rainy day) in Visalia, California – a 6 pound, 14 ounce baby girl with jet-black hair was born. Yeah, my mom didn’t know where the jet-black hair came from either. My baby pictures are still hilarious to look at, especially because not long after that, my hair was so blonde it was nearly white for years to come.
Twenty!
You may have seen my publishing company Marching Ink is putting out a multi-author collection, Twenty-Something. The book is on pre-order now on Amazon (for only $1.99 for three full-length novels, I suggest you hop on that and call it my birthday gift!). I wanted to write a post today tying in the new release – on sale April 14, or delivered right to your Kindle that morning if you pre-order – and was trying to brainstorm on what. The other night while talking to my girlfriend, we started wondering if we could go back to college and tell a friend – not us – to change something, make a different decision, etc, who would we tell and what would tell them to do differently?
Twenty-One!
I sat in silence for probably near five minutes trying to figure this out. I threw out a few obvious ones – tell my friend to stay away from the bad boy who broke her heart, tell a friends sister not to get behind the wheel that fateful night – but I wanted to dig deeper. I don’t really believe in regrets, I think mistakes are made for a reason and need to be made, so this question really made me ponder. Would I even want to advise her to stay away from the bad boy? Didn’t she learn something from that? Death is another story, and because it isn’t my story I don’t want to delve any further into it or play the what if games. So back to my pondering. I went through each of my friends, remembering their bad days, their heartbreak, their questionable fashion choices (and possibly mine). And then, I realized what it would be. Not don’t dance with that guy, or go to that party, or make friends with the mean girl. It’s a lot more simple than that, and such a cliché. But if I go back to my college years, my twenty-something years where life was a lot more carefree now, where my girlfriends were my everything, where love was just starting to bloom, I would tell not only my friends but myself, to slow down. Enjoy the little moments. Enjoy the time we got snowed in at our dorm and spent the night wearing funny hats, watching Laguna Beach and eating and drinking nothing but popcorn, cheap wine and lollipops. And then water
Twenty-Two!
when we ran out of wine. Enjoy the nights out on the town, dressed in short dresses and high heels, even when it was December in Iowa and freezing outside and we ran arm in arm to our destination, laughing hysterically. Enjoy the moments in the car as we drove to the mall, belting out songs like we were auditioning for American Idol. Enjoy the quieter moments, completing homework in the computer lab and trying to talk each other off a ledge when the work got to be too much, too difficult, too time consuming. Enjoy the sports leagues we did, even when we weren’t great at volleyball or basketball. Remember the moments when the pull of friendship was so strong you would leave the guy you were chatting with at the party to tend to your friend, or you would run red lights on your drive home from work because she needed you after a bad day. Remember the fights that would bring your friendship closer. Remember the silly moments, the laughs, the jinx- you-owe-me-a-coke – times. Remember turning twenty-one together, the shot books that were made and nowhere near completed, the not so fun mornings after. Remember the feeling you had when friends started to move away from each other, the fear you had that what if this friendship couldn’t survive the distance? Slow down, and don’t let those years, those memories, pass in a blink of an eye. Enjoy the time you had together with each other. My twenty-something
Twenty-Three!
years were filled with a little bit of everything, and I truly wouldn’t go back and change any decisions I made. It’s what got me here – to a life with a wonderful husband that I met in college, a faithful dog, the best friend that I can’t see myself without, and a career that I love. So instead of thinking what could you change, think about what you can remember. Those memories, man, they are so special. I don’t want to forget any of them.
I’m not out of my twenties yet. I still have two more years to go of making memories in my twenty-something years, and I’m going to work my hardest to take my own advice. Slow down, enjoy my moments, and live life to the fullest that I can. Each day and each decision is a new opportunity. Cheers to you, twenty-eight. Let’s make it great.
Twenty-Something is the first multi-author collection from Marching Ink and will be on sale April 14. Featuring three full length novels – Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman, A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March and Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie, the collection is now available for pre-order on Amazon for the discounted price of $1.99.
http://bit.ly/twentysomethingamazon
Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman
After losing out on a coveted promotion at work, Lexi Burke is done playing the nice girl. Her first order of business: Giving in to her longtime workplace crush. But Lexi soon learns that balancing a workplace romance and her job might be harder than she anticipated.
A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March
While Brynne and Portland seem to have an ideal friendship, cracks are starting to show as their lives take a turn for the complicated. Not willing to go to one other with their secrets, one woman begins to feel shut out and the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself. Their journey will explore several questions of friendship, and show that happily ever after might not be in the cards for everyone.
Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie
When Roxy Rule shares a passionate kiss with her lifelong best friend, she must come to terms with her feelings for him while dealing with two sisters in full crisis mode, a boss who makes her want to stab herself with a letter opener and a fiancé who can’t wait to walk down the aisle. Can she keep it together–or will she break under the pressure?
March 19, 2015
Twenty-Something, A Collection – On Pre-Order for $1.99!
Today is a big day! My publishing company, Marching Ink, has a first – the first multi-author collection! Twenty-Something features three full-length novels from myself (A Questionable Friendship) Cat Lavoie (Breaking the Rules) and Laura Chapman (Hard Hats and Doormats) and is available today for pre-order on Amazon at the special price of $1.99! The book will go on sale (and be delivered to your eReader if you pre-order) on April 14!
Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman
After losing out on a coveted promotion at work, Lexi Burke is done playing the nice girl. Her first order of business: Giving in to her longtime workplace crush. But Lexi soon learns that balancing a workplace romance and her job might be harder than she anticipated.
A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March
While Brynne and Portland seem to have an ideal friendship, cracks are starting to show as their lives take a turn for the complicated. Not willing to go to one other with their secrets, one woman begins to feel shut out and the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself. Their journey will explore several questions of friendship, and show that happily ever after might not be in the cards for everyone.
Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie
When Roxy Rule shares a passionate kiss with her lifelong best friend, she must come to terms with her feelings for him while dealing with two sisters in full crisis mode, a boss who makes her want to stab herself with a letter opener and a fiancé who can’t wait to walk down the aisle. Can she keep it together–or will she break under the pressure?
Amazon Pre-Order: http://bit.ly/twentysomethingamazon
March 10, 2015
Marching Ink New Release: Twenty-Something, A Collection
My publishing company Marching Ink is set to release another title! This one is a little different, and our first mutli-author collection that we’ve done. Twenty-Something features three full-length novels from myself, Cat Lavoie and Laura Chapman. All featuring heroines that are, you guessed it, Twenty-Something. The titles included are Hard Hats and Doormats, A Questionable Friendship, and Breaking the Rules. The collection will go on pre-order March 19 through Amazon, and officially on sale Tuesday, April 14.
Hard Hats and Doormats by Laura Chapman
After losing out on a coveted promotion at work, Lexi Burke is done playing the nice girl. Her first order of business: Giving in to her longtime workplace crush. But Lexi soon learns that balancing a workplace romance and her job might be harder than she anticipated.
A Questionable Friendship by Samantha March
While Brynne and Portland seem to have an ideal friendship, cracks are starting to show as their lives take a turn for the complicated. Not willing to go to one other with their secrets, one woman begins to feel shut out and the other enters into a web of lies to protect herself. Their journey will explore several questions of friendship, and show that happily ever after might not be in the cards for everyone.
Breaking the Rules by Cat Lavoie
When Roxy Rule shares a passionate kiss with her lifelong best friend, she must come to terms with her feelings for him while dealing with two sisters in full crisis mode, a boss who makes her want to stab herself with a letter opener and a fiancé who can’t wait to walk down the aisle. Can she keep it together–or will she break under the pressure?
Add your your GoodReads shelf!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25101146-twenty-something-a-collection
March 2, 2015
Paving Your Own Way
In 2009, I made the decision to spend a few hundred dollars and invest my time in creating a book blog, Chick Lit Plus. Two months after launching the site and dedicating countless hours to learning how to run a blog, reading and reviewing books, and making a social media presence, I was approached by Jackie Collins’ publicist and ask to review her books, plus phone interview Jackie. That was one of the first of many highlights from starting Chick Lit Plus, and my life has really changed with that one small decision of creating something that I was truly interested in.
After starting Chick Lit Plus, I got serious on writing my first novel, and published Destined to Fail in 2011. At the same time, I bought rights to a LLC and created an independent publishing company, Marching Ink. From there, Marching Ink has gone on to publish eight titles, three of them being my own.
Around that same time, I decided to venture out further, and created CLP Blog Tours, a blog tour company mainly marketed towards independent authors looking for more promotional services to get the word out about their book. At the time I started there wasn’t a lot of companies yet and really nothing for indie authors, and the company took off faster than I expected and is still going strong today.
Like I said, my life has changed a lot since 2009 and starting a small and simple book blog. I learned that paving my own way and being my own boss is what I love to do, especially when I get to work in an industry that I care about so much. Books are my thing, plain and simple. I love reading, I love working with authors, and I love helping authors promote their work. It’s a satisfying feeling and one that I truly cherish. Now, my business and my books are my full-time career. It still thrills me to be able to say that.
Do you have something you love doing, a field that you are particularly interested in? Is there a way that you can connect with your passion? Think hard, do some research online, and open your mind. I’ve always wanted to be an author. I did not think when I graduated high school in 2005 that blogging would open me up to that world – heck, I really didn’t think that in 2009. But times are changing. People are carving their own paths by creating blogs, YouTube channels, Instagram accounts. Be smart, take your time, and work hard. If it’s truly your passion, you’ll take it seriously and strive hard to make your achievements. Good luck!
