C.D. Hersh's Blog, page 85
June 4, 2020
Friday Features Tricia’s Dream
Guest talks about
her book Tricia’s Dream
by
Ana Morgan
Tricia’s Dream
After the death of her beloved grandmother, Trisha Kane is ready to cut all ties to her small hometown. The last person she wants to see is her ex-high school sweetheart. As soon as she readies Nana’s house for sale, she’ll return to New York City and pursue her photography career.
Dalton West knows his chances of winning Trisha back are slim. He foolishly broke her heart seven years ago because he felt anchored in rural Nebraska, and she dreamt of traveling the world as a professional photographer.
A cryptic final-wish sticky note from her matchmaking grandmother sets Trisha and Dalton on a collision course. Trisha has three days to submit a winning photograph to a prestigious contest that will catapult her career, but she needs Dalton’s help.
This is his chance. Can he convince her he’s changed?
Tricia’s Dream will be published June 19 in the Feisty Heroines Romance Collection of Shorts. Over 30+ pulse-racing shorts to capture your heart with USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Award-winning authors in the mix.
Paranormal, Contemporary, Fantasy, and Historical Romance that will whet your appetite with titillating, heart-pounding tales you’ll want to read again then beg for more. Fall in love with your next book crush!
Find Ana here:
Twitter @anamorganana
Bookbub anamorgan19501
June 2, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight favorite recipe from mother
Shines On
The remembrance’s of Tina Griffith who shares a favorite recipe today!
I (Tina) was born in Germany where my mother frequently filled our home with the most amazing aromas. This is one of my favorite recipes and I want to share it with you.
Rouladen – Braised Stuffed Beef Rolls
6 slices top round steak, 4 x 6 inches, sliced ½ inch thick
6 tsp. German or coarsely ground mustard
½ cup onion, chopped fine – divided
5 garlic cloves, chopped fine
3 dill pickle spears cut in half lengthwise
Freshly ground pepper to taste
Toothpicks or kitchen twine
3 tbsp. lard or vegetable oil
2 cups water
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. butter
Preheat oven to 325° F.
Place meat between 2 pieces of cling wrap or waxed paper. Gently pound meat to ¼ inch thick. Be careful not to tear the meat.
Spread mustard along meat slices. Sprinkle on ¼ cup onion and garlic. Lay a pickle piece at the bottom of each roll or the narrow end.
Roll meat into a cylinder starting at the pickle end. Pierce with toothpicks to hold together or tie with twine.
Brown meat on all sides in a medium size frying pan. Lay rolls in a roaster pan.
Add water to the frying pan and bring to a boil, scraping the sides and bottom to collect all the meat bits. Whisk in four and butter. Pour this mixture over the meat rolls.
Bake 1 hour or until meat is fork tender. Remove toothpicks before serving.
If you prefer a thicker gravy, combine 2 -3 tablespoons flour in ½ cup water. Bring to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, to your desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper then stir into roasting pan gravy.
Boiled potatoes or dumplings along with red cabbage make this meal complete.
Here’s a bit from The Elusive Mr. Velucci, a timeless romance, I hope you’ll enjoy while your dinner is cooking.
Enrico and Sadie were now standing alone, and it was their turn to say good-bye. They faced each other, he took her hands in his, and he spoke in an extremely compassionate tone.
“I didn’t realize how much you would mean to me when we first met”, he whispered with total sincerity. His eyes had filled up and he could hardly see, and with everything in his soul, he very much wanted to stay right where he was. He was miserable because he knew he couldn’t, so he promised to come back as soon as possible.
“Enrico”, she whimpered, as she looked lovingly into his eyes. Her voice had a gentle softness to it, with undertones of abandonment. She wanted to say a thousand more words, but they got stuck in her throat.
“I know”, he revealed, in a voice that was fragile and shaking. It was quite evident to everyone around them, that he wasn’t prepared to say good-bye to the beautiful girl standing in front of him. He brought his forehead forward until it was touching hers, and they cried with immense fear that they would never see each other again.
An announcement came over the P.A., which stated that all passengers must get checked in. It was in that moment when Enrico knew in his heart, that no miracle was coming and that he would have to leave. He pulled his head back from hers and looked deep into Sadie’s unhappy eyes. He had not expected to fall in love, and now he could feel his own heart breaking.
Enrico placed both of his hands against the sides of her face, and slowly closed his eyes. With all the love he had inside of him, he kissed her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and then her mouth. It baffled him that this woman had provided him with the absolute need to love another living soul, for he would not have guessed that to be possible. He wanted to hold her, take care of her, know her whereabouts, and love her for the rest of his life, but he could not; he had waited too long to change the course of his immediate future.
Enrico was becoming frustrated that he had taken eight months to get to know her, but he had only had six hours to really love her. He pulled her body closer to his, and then held on tight. ‘If only I had known or acted sooner…’ he whispered.
Enrico needed to go, so he ended their embrace as hurriedly as it had begun.
A flash of wild grief suddenly ripped through her soul, as Sadie realized the true reality of what was happening. “Enrico!” she cried from every pore in her body. Her eyes were begging him to stay, while her heart was breaking into a million pieces. The whole thing suddenly felt very real, and severe panic began to fill every fiber of her being.
Enrico examined her face and he knew what she wanted. “I’ll be back”, he assured her, in a voice that was both soft and trying to stay strong. He picked up his suitcase with one hand, and he placed something in her hand with the other.
Without looking to see what it was, she swaddled the object safely in the palm of her hand, while keeping her eyes locked with his.
Enrico twisted his upper body to face his family and shouted, “Good-bye everyone!” He turned around to take one more look into the face of his beloved Sadie, and then he began to walk away.
“No!” she shouted loudly. The simple word dissolved into the air like a crispy leaf in the fall.
Enrico hadn’t gotten very far, and now it was him who was falling apart. He took one more look in her direction, put his hand to his mouth, and blew her a kiss. “Bye for now!” he said quietly. As he faced forward again, he began to cry. Not full-out crying like a small child who had gotten hurt on the playground, but a grown man’s frustration and enormous displeasure of things that he couldn’t fix or change.
Nothing in her mind or body was able to let him go, and now Sadie felt like she couldn’t breathe. Her muscles were paralyzed and she was experiencing numbness all over. Her eyebrows were raised, her eyes were wide open, and a look of extreme anxiety shot across her face.
While Enrico was moving his feet, he was trying to hide his appearance from the other travelers. He was utterly depressed and having a hard time forcing his emotions to stay down. He tried to make it look like he was holding back a sneeze rather than a flood of tears, but when one or two drops of salty water leaked out from their moist environment, Enrico wiped them off of his face with the sleeve of his right arm and kept going.
Sadie had been watching the man she loves walk away, and with an incredible amount of courage, she boldly took a few steps towards him. “En-ri-co!” She shouted his name as she extended her left hand far in front of her body, but he didn’t turn around. With sheer desperation gushing from the very core of her soul, she wanted to run after him, to hold him one last time, but she knew she couldn’t; their time was up.
Enrico heard her calling him, but he couldn’t bear to turn around again; he knew that if he saw her, he would run back into her arms and he would never let go. Instead, he made himself a promise to return to New York as soon as he could.
Sadie stood frozen in her tracks, while anxiety guided her every thought. She watched Enrico, as he continued to walk in a hurried pace, and she wanted him to come back. “Enrico”, she sighed, with little air passing through her trembling lips. “I love you.” Her head was bent in sorrow while the world was crashing down around her.
After Enrico boarded the large vessel, he made sure to stand on the very end of the large deck. He was facing her, but they were so far apart. His hand leaped high into the air and swayed back and forth, as he watched her wave back to him. He could tell that she was beckoning him to come back, and it was killing him that he couldn’t.
Sadie’s heart leaped in her chest when she saw him. “Enrico!” she called loudly. She saw him waving, and she waved back with as much energy as she could muster. She couldn’t take her eyes off of the handsome man, who only hours ago, had made passionate love to her. “I’m here!” she cried. Her voice had cracked and was full of raw emotion.
Enrico’s face was wearing the biggest smile of his life, and he waved with all of his might. “Sadie!” he called, as if she could hear him.
“Enrico!” she shouted. She knew in that instance that he was the man who she would love for the rest of her life.
The ship blew its horn a few times, and then it slowly pulled away from the dock.
“No!” she screamed, as her body went into an even bigger panic mode. Tears were trickling down her moist and flushed cheeks, as her soul was being smashed into a thousand different pieces. “Please don’t leave!” she pleaded at the top of her lungs. She was yelling with as much force as she had in her body, and was stunned that no-one was looking in her direction. ‘Why were they not helping me get him back?’ she wondered wildly.
“Sadie!” Enrico called, but the sound of his words were not as clear anymore. “I love you!” he added happily. “Can you hear me?”
With all the noise that was around her, Sadie’s ears didn’t get to receive his tender words. “How will I go on without you?” she cried, while choking on her own tears. Her heart was in her throat, her will to live had been taken away, and now there was a horrible, empty ache in her soul.
“Enrico!” Sadie shouted at full volume. She continued to step closer and closer to the edge of the platform, as the ship appeared to go further and further away from the shore. “No-o-o-o-o!” she screamed, as if that would somehow stop what was happening.
With each moment that passed, their hearts were growing heavier with the sadness that was now weighing them down. Minute-by-minute, their emotional pain was getting worse, and almost an hour later, the ship was nothing more than a mere dot on the large body of water.
Sadie had fallen to her knees before the ship had totally disappeared, and it was then when she discovered what Enrico had placed in her closed fist – a beautiful silver locket. On the left side of the elaborately engraved heart, was a picture of Enrico. On the right, was a picture of her.
AMAZON BUY LINKS E-BOOK – PAPERBACK
Tina Griffith, who also wrote twenty-seven children’s books as Tina Ruiz, was born in Germany, but her family moved to Canada when she was in grammar school.
After her husband of 25 years passed away, she wrote romance novels to keep the love inside her heart. Tina now has eleven romance novels on Amazon, and while all of them have undertones of a love story, they are different genres; murder, mystery, whimsical, witches, ghosts, suspense, adventure, and her sister’s scary biography.
Tina has worked in television and radio as well as being a professional clown at the Children’s Hospital. She lives in Calgary with her second husband who encourages her to write her passion be it high-quality children’s books or intriguing romance.
Stay connected with Tina (Griffith) Ruiz on her Facebook group Tina Speaks Out.
June 1, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday All critiques are positive @httpstwittercomDorlanaVann
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Don’t Get Mad, Get Editing (Look at every critiques in a positive way.)
By Dorlana Vann
I have observed some really upset writers after they’ve received written or verbal suggestions about their stories. And I think most writers at least wince (I know I do) when they receive tons of edits on one copy. But you can actually learn to see these as gifts, huge favors, and even unexpected muses instead of personal attacks on you and/or your writing. I’ve used a few famous quotes to . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
May 28, 2020
Friday Feature Let Go My Gargoyle by Tami Lund
Guest shares about the
Final book in the Taming the Dragon series
by
Tami Lund
Four years ago, dragon shifter Sofia had an affair with a gargoyle. The next morning, he disappeared—and abandoned an infant on her doorstep.
Now he’s back, and Sofia is afraid he wants to claim the child she’s been raising as her own.
Griffin isn’t back because he wants the child. What Sofia doesn’t know is that the kid isn’t even his. He’s back because his boss told him to protect her and the baby. A task he doesn’t think he’s capable of doing.
Unfortunately, the more time he spends with Sofia and her adopted daughter Penelope, the less he wants to leave.
And the more danger he’s putting them in.[image error]
Excerpt:
At the end of the block, he turned the corner, then clamped his teeth onto the straps of his duffle and summoned the magic. He directed his body not to turn to stone but to the leathery, winged creature that would allow him to fly across the lawns until he dropped with an almost soundless thud into her backyard.
Quiet as a cat, he stalked around the outside of the house until he figured out which window belonged to the sleeping child, and then he shifted into his stone form and stood watch, as gargoyles had for century upon century.
Good thing gargoyles needed little sleep, because the babe did indeed wake at 6:00 a.m.
As soon as he heard the first snuffle and yawn, the soft sound of blankets being kicked away, he shifted into human form, snagged his bag, and used his magic to unlock the kitchen door and slip inside.
He waylaid the child as she was about to head into Sofia’s bedroom. She looked up at him, unblinking blue eyes gone wide. Her red hair was tousled, her nightgown wrinkled, and she clutched a stuffed purple dragon in her arm.
Cute.
He lifted a finger to his lips and then motioned for her to walk down the hallway, away from the bedrooms.
She shook her head.
“We don’t want to wake your, er…” What did she call Sofia? He had no idea.
“You aren’t supposed to be in my house,” the little girl said.
“Do you know who I am?” Was that even possible? She’d been three months old when he left her here.
She shook her head again. “That’s why you aren’t supposed to be here.”
“It’s okay. I’m your, er, Sofia’s friend.”
“Sofia is my mommy.”
Okay, one question answered. “And I’m your mommy’s friend.”
She shook her head yet again. “Mommy doesn’t have friends.”
Release date: 6/2/2020
Buy links:
Tami Lund writes paranormal and contemporary romance. And[image error] drinks wine. And wins awards. And loves her dog, possibly more than the rest of her family. (Just kidding… or not.)
There’s probably a new release coming soon. Check out her website to find out when.
May 26, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight #recipe smoothie by @BrigantiGina
Shines On
Banana Berry Smoothie from Gina Briganit , B.S., Certified Nutrition Consultant.
After trying every protein powder in the health food store and in my Urthbox delivery for the last three years, I know this is the best. Why? It’s organic. It’s hemp, which is a known superfood for its complete protein profile. It’s 100% hemp protein, no sugars or flavors added. I love the grind they use, which isn’t too fine, the way you often see with rice protein powder, which means that it blends well and has a nice texture. More bonuses – widely available, gluten-free, dairy-free, and there’s no bitter taste like you see with rice protein powder or pea protein powder.
Here’s an easy recipe to try out. Once you know the basics, you can take your smoothies as far as your imagination will go.
Freeze the strawberries if you want a chilled smoothie and freeze the banana, too, if you want an icy smoothie.
Banana Berry Smoothie
1 banana
1 cup strawberries
1½ cups milk of your choice, but one with protein*
¼ cup Nutiva Organic Hemp Protein Powder
Put the fruit into the blender cup. Add protein powder. Then add milk. If you like a thinner smoothie, you may want to add more milk at this point.
Blend for 45 seconds. Enjoy!
*We use Trader Joe’s Simply Almond and Good Karma + Protein. Both are unsweetened. If you use animal-derived milk, buy organic, grass-fed, and raw, if the laws where you live allow for it. If not, get as close to that standard as you can.
One handy reason why smoothies became and stayed popular is how versatile they are. You can put supplements in and never taste them. I use MSM powder (known for its bitter taste and for its effectiveness) for inherited arthritis. It helps me use my hands all day long without painful, forced rest breaks. Another supplement I put in my smoothie is liquid iodine, which I personally have a high need for to keep my thyroid happy.
Smoothies are fast, easy, and delicious. Pro tip: use only the best ingredients. The fewer toxins you take in, the fewer you have to detox. This way all the good stuff works extra well to give you longevity, happy taste buds, and the freedom to satisfy your cravings.
I have a delicious mocha smoothie recipe. If you want to see it, comment and I will share.
Do you have a favorite smoothie combination?
Nutrition is one of my greatest passions and it’s important for every living being. That’s why I love sharing easy, tasty ways to nourish yourself.
You know what else is important? Having lots of organized tools to turn to when you’re figuring out new parts of your life. Like the ones in this workbook.
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One reviewer called it “A personal blueprint for happiness.” You can get your copy here.
I include a monthly workbook exercise in my newsletter, which you can sign up for here. You’ll get 6 Fast Vitality Boosters delivered to your inbox immediately.
In closing I have two questions for you.
What are your dreams?
How can I help you live them?
Thanks for the time we spent together today!
Gina
Gina Briganti is a Holistic Health Consultant, Reiki Teacher, graphic designer and author. You can find her in Dallas, TX enjoying life, following my passion, and helping others do the same.
But it’s called The Reiki Cafe. Where’s the food? Gina is writing a book with fabulous healthy recipes in it. She will share all the good food in her newsletter, which you can sign up for here.
Reiki class retreats are forming now in north Texas, where the food is done for you, and you receive a copy of all the recipes you ate during the retreat. Get on the list for the next retreat by signing up for the newsletter.
Connect with Gina through e-mail, on Facebook, her Amazon Author Page, YouTube channel, Instagram, Twitter, Bookbub, and Goodreads. There are exclusives and announcements that she shares only in her newsletter, which you can sign up for right here.
May 25, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Validation of a Writer @lorraineambers
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
Writer’s Need Validation to Grow
By Lorraine Ambers
We all crave validation. We all desire acknowledgement and acceptance. It is one of our fundamental needs as a human. Despite this yearning, I’ve battled with this concept. In a modern society, we’re led to believe that we’re failing unless we push aside these impulses and set to the hard work of getting to know ourselves, of loving ourselves and not needing validation from outside sources.
I’m crying ‘bullshit’ to the notion, we . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
May 21, 2020
Friday Feature Twist on New Orleans Desert from Leigh Goff
Guest talks about
Confiscating a dessert to make it her own.
by
Leigh Goff
Here is a dessert I confiscated and made my own. This New Orleans treat is perfect on a special night for two as well as holiday gatherings and everything in between.
Here are a few tips to make preparing this dessert easier:
Soak the raisins in bourbon before you start this recipe. You can even soak them a day or two ahead.
The bread you use should be a little dry. If the bread you are using is fresh, after you cube it, spread it out on a sheet pan and put it in a 200° F oven for 10 minutes.
Go easy on the bourbon sauce. It is strong! But so delicious.
Bread Pudding
1 cup raisins
¼ cup bourbon whiskey
1 loaf French bread, at least a day old, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 qt. milk
3 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
¼ tsp. allspice
¼ – ½ tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. butter, melted
Combine raisins and bourbon in a small bowl. Cover and soak for 1 to 2 hours or until the raisins have absorbed most of the bourbon.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Pour milk into a large bowl. Add bread and press into milk with your hands or a large spoon until all the milk is absorbed.
In a separate bowl, whisk eggs until frothy. Whisk in sugar, vanilla, allspice, and cinnamon. Pour over bread mixture. Add bourbon-soaked raisins, with or without the remaining soaking liquid. Stir gently to combine.
Pour melted butter onto bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. Coat the bottom and the sides of the pan well with the butter. Pour in bread mixture then egg mixture.
Bake 35 – 45 minutes, until liquid has set. The pudding is done when the edges are just brown and pulling away from the pan edge.
Bourbon Sauce
½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
½ cup Kentucky bourbon whiskey, amount according to taste
Make the bourbon sauce while the bread pudding is cooking.
Melt butter in a saucepan on low heat. Whisk in sugar and egg. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove pan from heat.
Do not allow mixture to simmer! Or the sauce will curdle. By the way, if your sauce curdles, just take it off the heat and blend it smooth in a blender.
Whisk in bourbon. Whisk again before serving. The sauce should be soft, creamy, and smooth.
Serve with whiskey sauce on the side. This dessert is best eaten the day it is made.
Please allow me to share a sneak peek of my Coming Soon Southern Gothic book while you enjoy your pudding.
Koush Hollow:
Where bayou magic abounds and all that glitters…is deadly.
After her father’s untimely death, Jenna Ashby moves to Koush Hollow, a bayou town outside of New Orleans, dreading life with her wealthy mother.
As the sixteen-year-old eco-warrior is introduced to the Diamonds & Pearls, her mother’s exclusive social club, she comes to the troubling realization that secrets are a way of life in Koush Hollow.
How do the Diamonds & Pearls look so young, where does their money come from, and why is life along the bayou disappearing?
As Jenna is drawn into their seductive world, her curiosity and concerns beg her to uncover the truth. However, in this town where mysticism abounds and secrets are deadly, the truth is not what Jenna could have ever imagined.
Preorder at The Parliament House
Leigh Goff writes young adult fiction. She is a graduate from the University of Maryland and a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators (SCBWI).
Born and raised on the East Coast, she now lives in Maryland where she enjoys the area’s great history and culture.
Her third young adult novel, Koush Hollow, a Southern gothic set in New Orleans, will release on September 1, 2020 from The Parliament House.
Learn more about Leigh Goff on her website and blog. Stay connected on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Goodreads.
May 19, 2020
Wednesday Special Spotlight Pigskins and Plot Twists @AuthorCDHersh
Shines On
Writing from the C(Catherine) of C.D. Hersh who shares a dinner story.
My writing partner (The D in C.D. Hersh who is my husband) and I were talking about the Super Bowl over dinner one night. He commented that the game of football was a lot like writing a book.
“How so?” I asked.
“Football is a series of scripted plays set within the rules of the game,” he said. “With the object being to win. Writers have a scripted set of plays to work within too—the basic structure of a plot—with the goal being a satisfying ending. Certain plays are designed to fool the defense. The team that does this the best, with twists in the plays the opposition doesn’t expect, ends up with the big score and wins the game. The writers who come up with the best plot twists, the ones that make you go ‘whoa, I didn’t see that coming’ are the writers who often succeed in the business. The ones who score big and win the game.”
I admit I hadn’t thought much about comparing football to writing, but after thinking about what he said, I saw the connection. For example, last night we watched the romantic comedy When in Rome that had plot twists that made us both say, “Didn’t see that coming.” And believe me, as writers we are always dissecting the movies we watch. See if you can figure out the plot twists in this fun movie.
When in Rome, Italy, at her sister’s wedding, Beth, who doesn’t believe in love, meets the best man Nick and discovers she’s attracted to him. During the reception the priest comes by and asks Nick if he’ll come play poker with him again, explaining to a shocked Beth that he’s new to the priesthood and is still working on getting a handle on some temptations. Nick declines, saying the padre cleaned him out already and whisks Beth off to dance.
Later, giving into her attraction, Beth follows Nick outside with a bottle of champagne and sees him kiss another woman. Disillusioned, and drunk, Beth picks up four coins and a poker chip from a lover’s wishing fountain in the town square. Legend says those who throw their coins in the fountain
will have their wishes come true. Love has never worked for Beth, and she decides to save the wishers from ill fated love by removing their coins.
When she returns home to the States, the men who threw the coins in the fountain begin appearing, professing their love. One of the guys is Nick, the best man at her sister’s wedding. As her relationship with Nick grows, Beth discovers the lovesick men stalking her have fallen under a spell cast by the fountain when she removed their coins. To remove the spell she must return the coins to each of the men.
While at Nick’s apartment one night she sees a poker chip on the table that is identical to the one she removed from the fountain. She breaks up with him, believing he is under the spell too. Beth returns the coins to the men and, as she does, they snap out of the spell, everyone that is but Nick, who professes his forever love for her.
At this point, any romance reader knows that Nick isn’t under the spell. It’s too contrary to the rules of romance. True love always wins out. But the writer hasn’t shown us who the poker chip belongs too. All along we are lead to believe the chip belongs to Nick. We’ve seen a poker game at his home using the same chips. He’s acted with the same lovesick impulses the other four men displayed. There’s a plot twist in the wings, but we haven’t quite figured it out yet.
A year later Beth and Nick are back in Rome, preparing for their wedding when one of the lovesick men, a magician who played sleight of hand with Nick’s poker chip, comes to her and says he gave her the wrong chip back. Beth now believes Nick is still under the fountain’s spell.
As the wedding scene plays out, it’s obvious the priest is having trouble with the wedding sermon. He draws out the invitation to object to the marriage. He gives the bride inappropriate compliments. He changes the vows to “will you have this woman as your awful wedded wife?” He’s clearly under duress performing this wedding. When he asks Beth, “Will you have this man as your awful wedded husband?”
She presses the poker chip into Nick’s hand and runs out of the church. Nick follows and she confesses to him that he’s under the spell of the fountain because she removed his poker chip from the water. He doesn’t really love her.
“This isn’t my chip,” Nick say and throws it back in the fountain.
In the background, behind Beth and Nick kissing in front of the fountain, you see the priest whirling around on the square shouting, “I’m free from temptation!”
The second twist? The owner of the chip didn’t wish for love, but to be free of it.
Just like a football team’s defensive back is fooled by a play action pass, we have to admit—we didn’t see that one coming.
Here’s a sample of a miss-direction for the police and our main characters in our first book The Promised One. In this story a shape shifter is murdered and returns to the natural persona: a man. The problem was he had been shifted into a smaller female whose dress did not fit well over his muscular male body. Trying to keep the police from drawing the wrong conclusions keeps the main characters busy coming up with plausible explanations for a man in a dress that is too small for him.
EXCERPT
The woman stared at him, blood seeping from the corner of her mouth. “Return the ring, or you’ll be sorry.”
With a short laugh he stood. “Big words for someone bleeding to death.” After dropping the ring into his pocket, he gathered the scattered contents of her purse, and started to leave.
“Wait.” The words sounded thick and slurred . . . two octaves deeper . . . with a Scottish lilt.
Shaw frowned and spun back toward her. The pounding in his chest increased. On the ground, where the woman had fallen, lay a man.
He wore the same slinky blue dress she had—the seams ripped, the dress top collapsed over hard chest muscles, instead of smoothed over soft, rounded curves. The hem skimmed across a pair of hairy, thick thighs. Muscled male thighs. Spiked heels hung at an odd angle, toes jutting through the shoe straps. The same shoes she’d been wearing.
The alley tipped. Shaw leaned against the dumpster to steady himself. He shook his head to clear the vision, then slowly moved his gaze over the body.
A pair of steel-blue eyes stared out of a chiseled face edged with a trim salt-and-pepper beard. Shaw whirled around scanning the alley.
Where was the woman? And who the hell was this guy?
Terrified, Shaw fled.
The dying man called out, “You’re cursed. Forever.”
As you can see miss-direction can be quite startling when not expected. Do you have some memorable plot twists in stories that you consider winners? We’d love to hear them.
The Promised One The Turning Stone Chronicles Book 1
In the wrong hands, the Turning Stone ring is a powerful weapon for evil. So, when homicide detective Alexi Jordan discovers her secret society mentor has been murdered and his magic ring stolen, she is forced to use her shape-shifting powers to catch the killer. By doing so, she risks the two most important things in her life—her badge and the man she loves.
Rhys Temple always knew his fiery cop partner and would-be-girlfriend, Alexi Jordan, had a few secrets. He considers that part of her charm. But when she changes into a man, he doesn’t find that as charming. He’ll keep her secret to keep her safe, but he’s not certain he can keep up a relationship—professional or personal.
Danny Shaw needs cash for the elaborate wedding his fiancée has planned, so he goes on a mugging spree. But when he kills a member of the secret society of Turning Stones, and steals a magic ring that gives him the power to shape shift, Shaw gets more than he bargained for.
For the rest of the books in our series, The Turning Stone Chronicles, click over to our book page.
May 18, 2020
Tell Again Tuesday Hero Abilities @EllaHayesAuthor
A blog series where we shamelessly share posts from others that we have enjoyed.
The 5 Essential ‘Abilities’ of the Romantic Hero
By Ella Hayes
Oh my goodness I have such a blog post for you!
Mills and Boon Author Ella Hayes is here to talk about the essential abilities of the romantic hero. I always fall madly in love with Ella Hayes’s male characters and to me she’s the queen of creating sexy male heroes. Her latest character Zach Merrill, from Italian Summer with the Single Dad, made me throw out my new year’s resolution about not getting carried away with fancying fictional hunks and don’t get me started on her character, Cormac from Her Brooding Scottish Heir.
I am a hot mess before this post has even started so let’s quickly hand over to Ella Hayes.
Hello, here are my essential hero attributes: . . .
For the rest of the blog go to:
May 14, 2020
Friday Features #Newbook from @CarolABrowne
A new book
Wyrd’s End
by
Carol Browne
WYRD’S END, Book III in The Elwardain Chronicles series written by gifted epic fantasy author Carol Browne, is now live! The books in this trilogy are packed with action and adventure. Be sure to get your copies today!
Determined to spare Godwin the violent death shown to her in dreams, Elgiva uses the portal to cross over into his dimension.
Meanwhile, members of Godwin’s tribe seek sanctuary at the settlement. What has caused them to flee for their lives?
Disguises must be lifted and secrets revealed and wyrd will unfold as it should.
But time is running out…
For it is winter and the darkness is coming;
A darkness with teeth and claws.
BUY LINKS
Amazon US – Amazon UK
Born in Stafford in the UK, Carol Browne was raised in Crewe, Cheshire, which she thinks of as her home town. Interested in reading and writing at an early age, Carol pursued her passions at Nottingham University and was awarded an honours degree in English Language and Literature. Now living and working in the Cambridgeshire countryside, Carol usually writes fiction but has also taken a plunge into non-fiction with Being Krystyna. This story of a Holocaust survivor has been well received.
Stay connected with Carol on her website and blog, Facebook, and Twitter.
