Mary Smith's Blog, page 6

BOOK REVIEW: The Five Stages of Falling in Love by Rachel Higginson

Blurb: 
Elizabeth Carlson is living in the pits of hell- also known as grief. Her husband of eight years, the father of her four children and the love of her life, died from cancer. Grady’s prognosis was grim, even from the start, but Liz never gave up hope he would survive. How could she, when he was everything to her? Six months later, she is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life and get the kids to school on time. Both seem impossible. Everything seems impossible these days. When Ben Tyler moves in next door, she is drowning in sorrow and pain, her children are acting out, and the house is falling apart. She has no time for curious new friends or unwanted help, but Ben gives her both. And he doesn’t just want to help her with yard work or cleaning the gutters. Ben wants more from Liz. More than she’s capable of ever giving again. As Liz mourns her dead husband and works her way through the five stages of grief, she finds there’s more of her heart to give than she thought possible. And as new love takes hold, she peels away the guilt and heartache, and discovers there’s more to life than death. 

My Review:
I want to tell you a story. It will be a little lengthy, but worth it. Now, I’ve told this a million times, but I never tire of it.


I had the pleasure of reading Rachel Higginson way back in the day (of 2011/2012). I read her debut novel, Reckless Magic, and instantly fell in love with Kiran. (Now, he’s mine, so back off ladies.) However, the funny part of this story—and why I love to tell it so much—is because of book two, which is Hopeless Magic. At the end of that book, I broke my kindle because I was so mad at Kiran and the cliffhanger I slammed it on my counter.


It was a sad day for me. Not only because of my kindle, but because of Rachel. She ruined Kiran. R-U-I-N-E-D!! 
Oh, I don’t think I had ever been mad at an author before; however, that’s one reason why I love her so much. She’s so good that you go through ever emotion! (BRILLANT!) Needless to say, the rest of that series can’t be measured in all the EPICNESS of the world!





Now, I love Rachel and I can call her friend—which is an honor for me. However, it’s her stories that keep pulling me back to her. It’s not only the Star-Crossed Series (which is still my fave!), or the zombies, but it this story.


The Five Stages of Falling in Love is by far the greatest book I’ve read from Rachel. I’m going to my best to put it into words and PRAY that I do it justice.
Liz is in love with one man, Grady. He’s her husband, best friend—well, soul mate is the best way to say it. But, as life can seem perfect Karma (that evil B****) is always lurking around and Grady is stricken with cancer. Liz never thought that she would be a widow. (This isn’t a spoiler is in the blurb). Now, she has to continue life with alone and try to be strong for her four children.
As it all seems to building around her, Ben—her new neighbor—pops into her life. Now, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Oh I know where this is going.” … NO YOU DON’T!!!



This book made me laugh, CRY—a lot of tears—and, above all LOVE. I don’t know how Rachel does it. I absolutely LOVE Liz and Ben. Let’s be honest for a moment…had I read this book ten years ago I may not have all these feelings. However, I’m married to my soul mate, and reading this book it got me thinking of the ‘what if’ and such. What if something happened to my husband? What would I do? Could I ever love again? As I turn the pages of Liz’s story I felt all her pain, denial of Ben and her life, the hurt of Grady not being there and the process of all her life happenings.
Bravo Rachel!
I mean that from the bottom of my book nerd soul! This is a masterpiece and I can’t wait to share it with everyone to read!  


 

Goodbye 2014! Hello 2015!

Wait...what? 2015!!!??? Really? I mean didn't I just do the 2014 post a few months ago.
Where does the time go?


Let's recap 2014 a bit...
I finished The Ice Series with the release of the final book: Shattering the Ice

It was bittersweet to end the series, but I'm glad that I did. 
Then Lindsay Paige and I finished our series The Penalty Kill Trilogy with the final book:
Game Winner 

Oh, Levi and Presley ... I do miss you both. 
Now, LP and I took a small break from writing and I published my ROCKER Romance
Always Forever

In June and July I spent with going to conventions and two of them with LP:
UtopYA
LP and Me  LP, Bailey Ardisone, and Me
Then we were in TNVAE and even got tattoos
Our Tattoos
LP and Me
During our travels, LP and I came up with a new hockey series called Oh Captain, My Captain. After feverishly writing we came up with four stories and three were published in 2014
Looking for You 


A Hockey Player's Proposal



Finding Carson Lee

AND FINALLY, my last solo book of 2014


A Hockey Tutor

WOW what a year I had! (HAHA!)
Now, I'm sure that you're asking about 2015
Well ...

I have a lot planned with my own solo projects and with LP! 
I'm going to keep everyone updated and I promise to do better this year on this site.
Now, I want to wish every a

What's Happening, Mary?

Yep, I've been a bit busy here lately. I figured that I should give you all an update. I've been out of the loop because my nose has been stuck against my Kindle screen or writing on my laptop.


First let's update you on the books!!

I release A Hockey Tutor on Oct 30, 2014 and didn't tell anyone but my two best friends.



Why???????
A Hockey Tutor has a serious and lengthy back story that I don't want to get into, but I love the story and wanted to publish it. It took me awhile it click that button to send it on to be published, but I'm glad that I did.
Now, what about Lindsay Paige and my newest series, Oh Captain, My Captain. Well, let me update you.
The first three of the series is out and ready for you to read them.
Book 1:Looking for You (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 1)



Book 2:A Hockey Player's Proposal (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 2)



Book 3:Finding Carson Lee (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 3)




AND you can pre-order.......
Book 4: Let's Be Crazy (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 4)
This comes out on Jan. 10, 2015




I love this series and writing with LP is like a dream everyday.
Now.....what does the future hold??

Well, LP and I are always working on little things here and there. So, there might be something to announce later on.
As for me, I have another surprise. In 2015 (praying for no issues/breakdowns/loss of income) I will have eight books to release. I have the majority of them done, but I'm so impatient that I don't want to make everyone wait for them. Therefore, I will release them when they all ready.
For example, I have written a Paranormal Romance trilogy. (Yep, I'm shocked too that there isn't any hockey players!!) I have them ALL written, but I'm waiting for all of them to be edited. Once, I have them all ready, I will publish the first one and then set the other two up for pre-orders. (if that's still available, when I publish the first one)
As for the others...well...I'll keep those under my hat for now.

Guess the Captain Contest ...........

There has been a lot of love for the Oh Captain, My Captain series that Lindsay Paige and I released last month.
Now, we are a few days away from the release of the second book: A Hockey Player's Proposal (oh Captain, My Captain #2)
Here is the blurb:
Brody Ross was one of the youngest captain in the hockey league. his one and only goal is to lift the Cup over his head. That is until he moved next door to Selene Porter. When he approaches her with a proposal, their friendship takes a turn. However, it comes at a price when an ex-flame appears in the picture. 
Selene Porter has two loves: her dog, Bonkers, and hockey. She’s been a lifelong fan of the Indiana Mustangs and their Captain. She refuses to let anything take away what means so much to her and Brody, his career, and his old fling has her wondering if love is worth the risk. 


With the unwanted presence, can Brody and Selene stick together or will Selene back out of the proposal?


Now, LP and I have been received SO MANY questions about this series and the same one keeps coming up: do we use a muse?
The answer is: YES! LP and I have picked an NHL player to 'muse' from. They're not always a captain, but they are players.
Looking for You (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 1) muse is Nathan Gerbe of the Carolina Hurricanes.
For the BIG QUESTION....who is Brody Ross muse?
That gave me the idea of a game - and of course a GIVEAWAY!
Here are the rules - I will give you a few clues and then you will use the Rafflecopter to end. The prizes are listed also
THE CLUES:
1.  He is Swedish2.  He has a twin sister3.  He was drafted by the Colorado Analanche4.  He's the youngest Swedish-born to score a NHL Goal5.  In hi first NHL season he score 52 points6.  He's the youngest NHL Captain in NHL history
That should make it a little easier ... I will announce the winners on Nov 11 the release of A Hockey Player's Proposal (Oh Captain, My Captain Book 2) and don't forget to pre-order it 
***Since there is "COMMENT" issues you can email me at: authormarysmith@gmail.com OR you can send me a message at www.facebook.com/authormarysmith ***


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Hello, Hudson King ................

Many of you know that Lindsay Paige and I have started a new series. Now, the good thing about this series is that you don't have to read each book to know what's going to happen in the next. 
They all are standalone.
Now LP and I love muses ... A LOT ... for this series EACH BOOK ... yep each book has a different muse.

Please meet Hudson King (aka Nathan Gerbe of Carolina Hurricanes) 

Let me tell you a little bit about Gerbe. 
He played for Boston College. He was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2005 and was traded to Carolina in 2013.
Here is the key that you need to know about Gerbe ... he is the SHORTEST player in the NHL. Gerbe is only 5'5'. 
Yep, that's it. 
However, that doesn't stop him from being one of the most respected in the NHL. He is constantly praised for his work ethic and determination to be the best. 
LP and I transferred that to Hudson King. 
So here is a little teaser for you ...

"This is my favorite thing about this place. I love to sit on the porch," Ellie says, resting her chin on my shoulder as she looks at me. 

"Really? So if you're not in a good mood, I should make you sit out here with me so you will feel better?"

She smiles and nods. “Mhm. Thank you so much for the dress and everything. I still can’t believe you did that.”
Angling myself towards her better, I kiss her softly and rest my forehead against hers. “It was my pleasure, Ellie.”
Her eyes search mine for a moment. I catch myself wondering what she’s thinking, what does she see, and what she’s searching for? Before she can say anything, I push her hair behind her ear, my hand staying tangled in her hair at the base of her neck and mumble, “You’re gorgeous.”
My eyes keep jumping between her mouth and her eyes.
Faintly, Ellie says, “What are you waiting for?” The corner of her mouth lifts a little into a smile.

"You," I answer before pressing my lips to hers.


Pick it up here:Amazon: http://goo.gl/uVK1WuiBooks: http://goo.gl/cpv3v3B&N: http://goo.gl/s9HJBh
Kobo: http://goo.gl/ynZKwb  

BIG Announcement from Lindsay Paige and I ..............

Today, Lindsay Paige and I would like to share with you the first book in our new series and how the series will be released.

If you follow me or Lindsay Paige on Facebook, then you know that last month, we asked our fans to tell us how they wanted us to release the Oh Captain, My Captain series. 
 You told us. 
We listened. 

One book released every month for the first four books. Starting in October, we’re kicking off the start of a new hockey season with the start of our new series. In case you don’t remember, this will be an Adult Sports Romance series where each book is a standalone. The series will follow various captains in the NHL, who lead teams that we’ve created. Each captain gets one book, which can be read in any particular order. 

That said, let’s get to the first book, Looking for You.
Oh Captain, My Captain presents Hudson King of the Portland Vikings.






Blurb:
Hudson King loves his job and his family. His life is missing that someone special, and he’s ready to settle down. He has the bad luck of only finding women who want him for his money and fame. If only he could meet someone who didn’t know him by his profession...
Ellie Sullivan has had a hard life. It’s revolved around her family, and then her career, leading her to never have a real relationship. One night, in Portland, Ellie strikes up a conversation with a guy at a bar, not knowing that it was the Hudson King...
After several dates, Hudson is able to avoid Ellie figuring out what is really happening in his life. However, the secret can’t remain hidden. Will Ellie stay with Hudson after she discovers his lie? Or will Hudson lose the girl he’s been looking for? 

Add this October 9, 2014 release to your to-read shelf on Goodreads! You’ll learn the title, exact November release date, and blurb for the next book at the end of this book. We hope you’re as excited as we are!

The Rules of Co-Authoring and Why I Love Lindsay Paige

A while back a Facebook friend sent me a private message and asked how I liked co-authoring, I raved about it, because ... well ... I love it.
Flash forward to last week, when the same girl message me and told me a horror story between her and her friend (aka the co-author). They have since ended their friendship and had a third party publish the book, because they couldn't even handle the money.
Wow!


It's sad to hear about that.
So that's what is why I'm doing this.
Let me tell you a story first ...
Lindsay Paige (aka LP) came into my life a while back when I read her book Sweetness . I reviewed it and started to Tweet her (or stalk her, whichever). Her love and passion for hockey is what brought us closer, and during the lockout of 2012-2013 made us almost best friends.
When I made the step into becoming an author, LP is one of the first people I told. She read  Melting Away the Ice she loved it. I'm not sure how much longer it was, but she sent me an email asking me to co-write with her. I said 'yes' right away.




When I calm down for all the excitement LP and I had a serious discussion about the book and the contract.
YES, we wrote out an actual binding contract. Not only did I want to cover myself, but LP too.
We worked out all the details and dived into writing.
LP doesn't like when I say this, but I'm going to say it .. LP is by far the greatest author I've had the privileged to read. Her talent amazes me daily.
We are about to embark our one year anniversary of publishing together. We have wrote The Penalty Kill Trilogy, and are about to finish a brand new series called Oh Captain, My Captain (more details to come).
So, let me give you some rules of co-authoring.
1. (AND THE MOST IMPORTANT) Respect.
this is the wrong wayWhen LP and I bang out our ideas, I have to remember that this is her baby too. I have to listen to everything she comes out with, and if I want to express my ideas, I do it with respect. I'm not going to smash them like a person holding a hammer. I listen, and we go from there. And she does the same for me.
2. It's not only you!

Shocked, right?!
Like respect you need to remember that there are two people involve. I think of it as a relationship. I need to remember everything is a two-way street. Communication, trust, and kindness is key!
3. Be flexible.

If LP wants a particular scene or character in our story, I have to think about how I feel about it. I might not always agree, but I do counteroffer her sometimes. If she doesn't go for it, then I have to figure out how I can put it into my story line too.
4. Schedule

LP makes our schedules. When we publish. When we send to editor, or betas. Whatever it is, I hand it over to her. There is a reason for that.....a MANAGER! Every good company (or partnership) has a good manager, and LP is the best.
Now, she doesn't ORDER ME! She simply tells me the schedule. If (for some reason) I can obey it, we readjust before we write anything into the calender.
5. Be Supportive and Remember Co-Authors have Lives


Sometimes, we have personal stuff to do. LP is still in college, and I need to remember that she has to study, and what-not. I'm married and take care of my handicap mother. I also work at a local domestic shelter and tutor underprivileged kids, and LP knows this.
There are times the characters hate me, and I can't write a single word. LP has those moments too.  There are times when our personal lives get in the way, and we can't find the time to write.
Do I get all pissed off and yell at LP? No. Never. I don't because I know how it is.
6. Don't fight about money


LP and I keep it simple. Everything is 50/50. No ands, ifs, or buts. If we make it, we split it. If we have to spend it, we split it. It's always that way, and it will always be that way.
Money can make some people act strange and I didn't want that. Plus, 50/50 is easy to deal with.
7. If it doesn't feel right, STOP!



If at any time you think you've made a mistake .. STOP! Never have I ever regretted a single moment with LP. No one can even realized how much I've learned from this little girl!  She has taught me more about myself, and being an author than anyone! EVER!
That's it .. That's my advice in a nutshell
But, I want to take this moment and say:


Thank you LP for taking a chance on me. Thank you for becoming my best friend. In my life I've had people cross my path, but you have taught me more in a year than my thirty *cough* something years on this Earth.
You mean more to me than anything! I love you forever! 
This is LP and my tattoos. I have the open and LP has the close.
We are forever linked! 

UPDATE ... UPDATE ... ALL ABOUT ME!

Hello World!
It's Tuesday, and yes I should be giving you a teaser of my new book ... BUT, I'm being selfish and going to do an update instead!


Oh yea!! 
I just finished up TNVAE event with (always amazing) Lindsay Paige!


And she 'tricked' me into a tattoo (FYI: it hurts! A LOT!)

Nonetheless, it was a great trip and I love spending time with my #writingbff !! She is my world!
Onto other news, I've signed on with Red Coat PR. They're an amazing PR company and I'm very lucky that they're going to take a leap of faith with me!

Remember Always Forever .... It's still on sale for 99 cents! So be sure to pick it up!
Now, about future projects:
LP and I are finishing up Oh Captain, My Captain, and we will be announcing release dates soon!
I'm also announcing another book! 
This book has a long, and very complex history, HOWEVER, it is a hockey book!! (WOO HOO!)
It's called:
The Hockey Tutor
and it will be out in September (sometime)
I'm still working out the details

So, that's it for now! 

Hockey Withdraws! What's a girl to do?

I am missing hockey bad! I know that October is right around the corner but it's still so far away.
So I've been reading, and doing a lot of writing!





Yep, that's me right there!
So, if you don't know already I have finished and published Always Forever  

If you haven't grabbed your copy, it's only 99 cents!! 
Anyway, I have been writing up a storm, and my next project will be a New Adult Paranormal. 
I know, I know

I'm not a Paranormal author! However, I've received good feedback about this book. 
I'm looking for a late summer/early fall release. 
As always, I will keep you updated! 

Teaser Tuesday: Always Forever by Mary Smith

Ah, it's Tuesday again ... which like Monday Part 2 for me ... but whatever!
This post is an update and a teaser! What?! That's like a 2 for 1 deal!
Update:
Always Forever is with the formatter and I'm hoping to get it back this week. When I do I will hit publish, grab a bottle of vodka and hide in the corner!


None the less I'm hoping to have it out this week!
Now for the teaser and it's from Colton's point-of-view:


Lucy slammed four stacks of papers in front of me. “The conference room is reserved and you need to go over these now.”“Lucy, I’m eating breakfast with my brother. This can wait a little bit.” I looked up at my assistant. Her bright blonde hair had purple streaks in it today. Her neon green capped sleeve shirt read ‘I Eat Brains and Pussy’. She sat down between Patrick and me, giving him a loud kiss on the cheek.“Good morning, Pats.”“Hello, Lucy.” He smiled at her.“And Colton.” She crossed her legs that were covered by leather white pants. “Don’t use Pats as an excuse to slack off this morning.”“You know, I should fire you,” I moaned pushing away my plate and sliding the contracts over to review them.“I’ve known you since kindergarten, you can’t fire me, I’m like family.” She reached for my plate, pulling it in front of her and eating the contents.I trust Patrick most in my life, but Lucy was a close second. We went to school together and ran with the same crowd of friends, but it was after high school everything happened, when we became close. Lucy helped me out with Patrick a lot, and when I started working more with Shine, I brought her along. Now, she’s my right hand and does everything for me. She was right. She was family, like our sister. I began flipping through the pages reading over Twisted Misery’s future. “Did you add that special clause to Ivee’s contract?”“Yeah.” She took another bite. “But I still find it a little strange.”
I didn’t comment, as I turned the pages. I tuned everything out as I continued through each stack. When I got to Ivee’s I double checked it, because I didn’t need her coming back at me with any smart remarks, and I knew this would work.