D.E. Haggerty's Blog, page 43
June 5, 2017
My research trip to Istanbul #MondayBlogs #AmWriting #History #WWII
Have you ever contemplated a project that you just knew was going to be time-consuming, intensive, and perhaps even a bit heartbreaking? That’s how I’ve been feeling about my upcoming manuscript. The novel is a love story between a German consulate worker and an American Jew in Istanbul during WWII. I’ve been delaying the project for years now. I always have plenty of novel ideas – why start a difficult project if I didn’t have to? But, finally, I couldn’t delay any more. I just knew if I didn’t write this novel now it wasn’t going to happen.
One of the reasons I’ve procrastinated is the difficulty researching Istanbul during the 1930s and 1940s. I don’t speak Turkish and most of the source material is – understandably – in that language. But then I went book shopping with a good friend and happened upon a used copy of Midnight at the Pera Palace: The Birth of Modern Istanbul. I grabbed that sucker and rushed to the check-out.
Slowly making my way through the book, I noticed that the Pera Palace has been completely renovated and is still open for business. As I was planning a trip to visit the hubby in Istanbul anyway, I decided this was the perfect opportunity for me to do some on-site research. I booked a night at the hotel and dug into reading Midnight at the Pera Palace.
Istanbul was a hotbed of spy activity during the Second World War. With its location at the edge of Europe as well as across the Black Sea from the Soviet Union and it’s declared neutrality, it made an ideal location for espionage. The Pera Palace Hotel and Park Hotel were two locations where these activities routinely occurred. The Pera Palace is a stone’s throw from the (former) American Consulate and the Park Hotel is just across the narrow street from the German Consulate. Time to discover just how close things were.
We started our research trip by checking into Pera Palace hotel.
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A laptop hidden in a book? I must be at the right place!
As soon as we’d dropped our bags, we headed out to the former American Consulate. The building now houses a private club, so we couldn’t get inside but I was able to see how close the two historical locations are to each other.
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The former American Consulate of Istanbul, now a private club.
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Standing in front of the American Consulate looking towards the Pera Palace (building on left with red awnings)
Continuing down the same street, we walked to the Galata region of what is now called Beyoğlu region of Istanbul. This region was home to four synagogues during the 1930s.
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The Galata Tower
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The Ashkenazi Synagogue of Istanbul
After walking around for a few hours, we decided it was time for a beer. Naturally, we ended the evening with a beer in Pera Palace’s own bar. The beer was overpriced, but if it’s good enough for Agatha Christie then …
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The next morning, I lumbered around Pera Palace studying the various bits and bobs displayed throughout the hotel.
Then, we checked out and headed towards the German Consulate and Park Hotel. The original Park Hotel had been torn down. To my surprise (and delight!), there is a new hotel on the same location. They’ve maintained the history by also displaying some historical items.
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The German Consulate was up next. Obviously, we couldn’t get too close, but I was able to see just how close the building was to the hotel. You could practically throw things out the window of the consulate into the hotel!
I couldn’t resist a trip to the Sirkeci station – the railway station was the end stop of the Orient Express. It’s also the station many Jewish refugees from Europe traveled through. It took us a while to find the small museum located at the station, but we managed.
Then, we jumped on the Marmaray and made our way back to the Asian side of Istanbul where I lived for two years and where my husband still lives. My research trip was finished. Time for a beer.
Check out #AwesomeAmazonAuthor @MsFelicia & Follow for a chance to win a $25 #Amazon Gift Card! #giveaway
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A wife, mother, daughter, sister, blogger and indie author, Felicia loves all things book-related and coffee-related. A southern girl by birth, the fiftysomething, voracious reader now reside in Arizona (via Michigan and California) with her husband of thirty-three years. Their three adult children also reside in Arizona – with their dogs. Felicia frequently reminds them she is the only one of her parents’ nine children who isn’t a grandparent.
Writing has been a hobby of Felicia’s since grade school, but other than serving as editor and writing for her high school newspaper, she never publicly shared anything until the early 2000s when she began writing fan fiction. At the urging of a good friend, Felicia took on the challenge of NaNoWriMo in 2015, writing what would become her first published book, In the Best Interest of the Child. It was released in the fall of 2016.
In her free time, Felicia sews, creates new recipes, and of course, reads. She’s also an avid history buff and loves exploring museums and libraries.
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Currently working on several projects, Felicia plans to release book 2 of In the Best Interest of the Child – Family Matters, in summer 2017. Felicia’s latest release is the short story, Free, a Novella.
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Grab a copy here!
Add to your TBR
Genre: Women’s Fiction
Release Date: May 30, 2017
~ Synopsis ~
Lenore Porter’s life had not gone as she planned.
The marriage she put her heart and soul into failed.
The man she sacrificed so much for abandoned her.
But Lennie refused to be broken. She pushed on, running a successful business and raising her three sons alone.
Through health scares and severe family dysfunction, and trauma which forever changed their lives, the Porter family clung to each other to keep from sinking into the darkness.
With her marriage over long ago and her adult sons living their own lives, Lenore Porter decides to sell the cold fortress she worked so hard to make a warm, loving home.
A short, final inspection of her former home turns into a confrontation with ghosts from the past, and decisions and events Lennie felt she’d dealt with and moved on from.
Free is a short, clean read recounting one woman’s determination to not be broken by life or lose her identity.
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June 3, 2017
Check out #AwesomeAmazonAuthor @Didi_Oviatt & Follow for a chance to win a $25 #Amazon Gift Card! #giveaway
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Didi Oviatt is a small town gal who married a small town guy. Within a few years of experiencing a new families bliss, she discovered that she had a thirst to write.
Now, after digging down deep and getting in touch with her literary self, she’s writing mystery/thrillers like Search For Maylee (coming soon in the fall of 2017), Aggravated Momentum, The Stix, and New Age Lamians (the first in a trilogy to be continued in 2018), along with a six piece short story collection called Time Wasters.
Didi enjoys chatting with readers, bloggers, and other authors and easily found on Goodreads, Facebook, Twitter, and WordPress.
The psychological thriller Aggravated Momentum is Didi’s latest published work.
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Synopsis
Deadly thriller, twisted plot, shocking, and dark conspiracy hardly scratch the surface to define Aggravated Momentum. Not everything is as it seems in what appears to be an average family. When danger lurks so close to home, skeletons emerge, and the darkest of secrets surface, causing twisted desires to become reality. Aggravated Momentum offers the perspective of some very diverse and unique characters, including fun, witty personalities to fall in love with, along with an intellectual killer to die for. You may be surprised as to whom exactly you can relate. Is it the cold, calculated murderer, who’s name is yet to be revealed? Markie or Kam, the independent sisters, guilty of nothing more than getting tangled with the wrong people at the most inopportune times? Or, the cowardly snake curled in a hidden corner? Who are you, exactly? And, more importantly, who are they? The deeper you dig into the psyche of another, the more breath taking are the secrets you will find.
Follow this #AwesomeAmazonAuthor for a chance to win a #25 Amazon Gift Card!
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June 2, 2017
Read an excerpt from Guardians of the Crown, #historicalromance from @AlisonStuart14 #giveaway @RABTBookTours
Alison Stuart
Guardians of the Crown
Historical Romance
Date Published: 25 May 2017
Publisher: Escape Publishing
From award-winning author Alison Stuart comes a stirring historical trilogy about soldiers, spies, and the strong women that love them.
By The Sword (Amazon Rating 4.5)
England 1650. In the aftermath of the execution of the King, England totters once more on the brink of civil war.
Kate Ashley finds her loyalty to the Parliamentary cause tested when she inherits responsibility for the estate of the Royalist Thornton family.
Jonathan Thornton, exiled and hunted for his loyalty to the King’s cause now returns to England to garner support for the young King. Finding Kate in his family home, he sees in her a chance at a life he doesn’t deserve.
But love is fragile in the face of history. What hope can one soldier and one woman hold in times like these?
(Winner of the 2008 Epic Award for Best Historical Romance)
For more information click HERE
The King’s Man (Amazon Rating 4.7)
London 1654: Kit Lovell is a disillusioned Royalist who passes his time cheating at cards, living off his wealthy and attractive mistress and plotting the death of Oliver Cromwell.
Penniless and friendless, Thamsine Granville has lost everything. Terrified, in pain and alone, she hurls a piece of brick at the coach of Oliver Cromwell and earns herself an immediate death sentence. Only the quick thinking of a stranger saves her.
Far from the bored, benevolent rescuer that he seems, Kit plunges Thamsine into his world of espionage and betrayal – a world that has no room for falling in love.
Torn between Thamsine and loyalty to his King, Kit’s carefully constructed web of lies begins to unravel. He must make one last desperate gamble – the cost of which might be his life.
For more information click HERE
Exile’s Return (Amazon Rating 4.8)
England, 1659: Following the death of Cromwell, a new king is poised to ascend the throne of England.
Imprisoned, exiled and tortured, fugitive Daniel Lovell returns to England, determined to kill the man who murdered his father. But his plans for revenge must wait, as the King has one last mission for him.
Agnes Fletcher’s lover is dead, and when his two orphaned children are torn from her care by their scheming guardian, she embarks on a perilous journey to save them. She didn’t plan on meeting the infamous Daniel Lovell.
Thrown together with separate quests – and competing obligations – Daniel and Agnes make their way from London to the English countryside, danger at every turn. Will they find the peace they crave, or will their fledgling love be a final casualty of war?
For more information click HERE
Grab a copy now!
Guardians of the Crown is available from all reputable online stores:
Amazon ~ Kobo ~ B&N ~ Google Play ~ Ibooks ~ Escape Publishing
Watch the trailer here!
Excerpt
Kate nodded, a faint colour rising in her cheeks. ‘I had a good dowry and Richard fair prospects.’ She looked up at him, holding his eyes with her clear gaze. ‘And we loved each other.’
Dear God, this bloody war, Jonathan thought.
‘And if it were not for the war, you would be living in wedded bliss in Barton Manor, surrounded by a brood of children,’ he said.
Kate looked away and he knew his observation had hit home. He reached for her hand and when she tried to pull away he tightened his grip, forcing her to look up at him.
‘I’m sorry, Kate, that was a thoughtless remark. I’m the last person who has any right to do that.’ He released her hand. ‘From what I knew of Richard, he did not have the heart of a soldier.’
He knew more about Richard Ashley than he was prepared to reveal. A scholar, not a soldier. Richard should be at home at Barton Manor with this woman and their children. Not dead in the ground at the age of twenty-two.
Kate looked up at him, her brow creased in puzzlement, and he cursed himself for revealing too much.
‘What could you possibly have known of him? The Thorntons have been estranged from the Ashleys for over thirty years.’ This time he bit his tongue and when he didn’t reply she continued. ‘To answer your question, Richard may not have gone willingly to the war but he fought bravely against the terrible odds in the North. He followed Sir Thomas Fairfax into hell during those early years.’
Jonathan nodded. ‘Fairfax’s men had it hard in those early years.’ He paused. ‘Was he with Fairfax that day at Marston Moor?’
‘Of course,’ Kate replied. ‘Were you there? Is it possible you faced Richard?’
Of course Jonathan had been there with Prince Rupert’s cavalry. It had been a bloodbath. Marston Moor had put in train a series of tragic events in his own life that had nothing to do with the battle.
He swallowed and gave a barely perceptible nod. ‘I was on the other flank with Rupert.’
‘What did it matter?’ A rare flash of anger rose in Kate. ‘You wouldn’t have known Richard if you had met on the battlefield.’
Yes I would, he thought.
‘That is the tragedy of a civil war, Kate.’
She didn’t seem to notice that he had used her given name. Her eyes blazed with anger and misery. ‘They brought him home to die. It was a horrible death.’ Her voice cracked.
She lowered her head and took several deep shuddering breaths that wracked her body.
Without thinking, Jonathan lifted his hand to her face, tilting her chin so she looked at him. Her eyes swam with unshed tears. Tears he had caused.
‘So many deaths. Too many, Kate. Believe me, it’s not always easy to be the survivor. I may not be dead but I have lost all that is important to me. It’s a hollow victory over death.’
So many deaths…Marston Moor and afterwards, Oxford. He had run at life, stumbled into the path of innocent people, and he had survived while they had died.
About the author
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Award winning Australian author, Alison Stuart learned her passion for history from her father. She has been writing stories since her teenage years but it was not until 2007 that her first full length novel was published. Alison has now published eight full length historical romances and a collection of her short stories. Her disposition for writing about soldier heroes may come from her varied career as a lawyer in the military and fire services. These days when she is not writing she is travelling and routinely drags her long suffering husband around battlefields and castles.
To keep up to date with Alison’s news and for access to exclusive content subscribe to her Readers’ List. Just click HERE
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Website: http://www.alisonstuart.com
Blogs: http://www.alisonstuart.com/alison-stuart-blog-ms-stuart-requests
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AlisonStuartWriter
Twitter: @AlisonStuart14 https://twitter.com/AlisonStuart14
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4636079.Alison_Stuart
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/alisonstuart14/
Giveaway
If you would like to explore this fascinating period in history, Alison is offering a copy of her time travel romance SECRETS IN TIME to any readers who wish to sign up to her newsletter. The offer remains open until 30 June.
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/U0q8I
June 1, 2017
Check out #AwesomeAmazonAuthor @BrickleyJules & Follow for a chance to win a $25 #Amazon Gift Card! #giveaway
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Brickley Jules has been away from reading and writing for many years, but recently a spark by her family has reignited her love for both again.
Brickley started reading R.L. Stine-type books as a child. Followed later by Anne Rice Books in high school. She also fell in love with writing poetry during her high school years. But Brickley lost time for her beloved reading and writing after she started college. During a change in majors and schools she met her husband and his family, who are the ones who recently rekindled her love of reading and encouraged her to start writing again.
Brickley and her husband have two beautiful daughters that occupy most of their time. She was a stay at home mom but has recently found herself working a part-time day job. One day she would like to combine her college major, which is Photography, with her love of writing. She can be found on most social media platforms and tries to keep them fresh, when the kids let her. When she can steal a quiet moment, she loves to work on her drafts. If she ever needs a break from writing, she reads any type of romance. Recently, she has fallen in love with audio books; they do a busy mom’s heart good.
She has written several books since her writing journey restarted in 2015. Her first writing project, Out of the Blue, a paranormal romance, is getting a final read through by her trusted friend. Brickley’s 2015 NANOWRIMO project, Her Unexpected Life, a chick lit romance, is available for purchase at most retailers in both print and ebook formats. Book two of this series of stand-alones is ready for editing along with her 2016 NANOWRIMO project.
Brickley just released book one in another stand-alone series, Chrome Thunder-a biker MC romance called Vested in Her. It’s available in ebook format with print coming soon. Brickley is currently busy typing away on book two in this series.
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Genre: Contemporary Romance/MC
Release Date: April 26, 2017
Add to your TBR on Goodreads
Grab a copy now!
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Enter the giveaway here!
Check out #AwesomeAmazonAuthor @AuthorACMelody & Follow for a chance to win a $25 #Amazon Gift Card! #giveaway
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As an Army brat, A.C. was born abroad and spent the first three years of her life in Hanau, Germany, the hometown of the Brothers Grimm. Yet it would still be many years before she’d get the chance to add ‘writer’ to her creative family’s list of artists and musicians. After returning to the States, she was moved around a bit, before her family finally settled in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, where she still happily resides.
With schooling in Business and Computers, A.C. found herself slinging beer to the local Iron Workers and classic car enthusiasts, until she got a lucky break in the mortgage industry as a loan processor. In 2008, her career crashed along with the entire housing market. With the encouragement of friends and family, it was then that A.C. decided she was going to finish one of her countless manuscripts and turn her writing dreams into a reality.
On Mother’s Day, 2013, that dream came true when an e-publisher emailed her with a contract proposal for her first novel, The Zen Lounge. Writing and submitting books only to wait years to see them published just wasn’t enough for this writer, so in 2016, A.C. became a hybrid author, self-publishing her first Indie novella, Collar Me Foxy, followed by the Avarice trilogy. As a single mom, family genealogist and writer, she spends 90% of her time researching for one reason or another – but gets a break with her day job as a Real Estate Transaction Coordinator.
A.C.’s books include romantic erotica, Collar Me Foxy: Dark Day Isle, The Ultimate Kink Resort, the erotic science fiction romance, The Zen Lounge, and the erotic paranormal, Avarice, Hell On Earth.
Favorite Quote: “Be yourself. Everyone else is already taken.” ~ Oscar Wilde
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A.C. Melody’s latest book, Hearthstone Alpha (The Ulfrinn Series #1), released today!
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Genre: Paranormal/Norse Mythology
Release date: June 1, 2017
Follow this #AwesomeAmazonAuthor for a chance to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card!
Check out Where on Earth? An Adventure in Alaska from David H. Minton #romanticadventure #giveaway
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Where On Earth? An Alaska Adventure
By David H. Minton
Fiery Seas Publishing
May 30, 2017
Romantic Adventure
Synopsis
Dan Richards, an Iraq war vet, is a surveyor for the mining company, looking to open a new silver mine. Scrambling to establish his helicopter charter business in the wilds of Alaska, while trying to stay connected to his teenage daughter, his world soon turns upside down when he rescues a woman and her dog sledding team after an avalanche.
Samantha Bettencourt, an environmental engineer, is eager to begin her first project with the university. A spokesperson for an environmentalist group intent on preserving the wilderness, she is on the path to saving the wild, but when Dan walks into her life things start to change.
Sparks fly between Dan and Samantha as they find themselves running for their lives—from the good guys as well as the bad guys out to ruin the things they long to protect. Will they be able to escape before it’s too late? Will they get a chance at love or will they lose everything. . . including their lives?
About the Author
After graduating college, David spent two tours in United States Military Assistance Command Republic of Viet-Nam, before beginning his career as a nuclear engineer, then electronics engineer, tele-communications engineer, and software security engineer. He has previously published three non-fiction books, several poems, and many non-fiction technical and historical articles.
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https://www.fieryseaspublishing.com/david-h-minton
Giveaway
5 e-copies Where on Earth?
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Check out Where on Earth? An Adventure in Alaska from David H. Minton #romanticadventure #giveaway @Barclay_PR
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Where On Earth? An Alaska Adventure
By David H. Minton
Fiery Seas Publishing
May 30, 2017
Romantic Adventure
Synopsis
Dan Richards, an Iraq war vet, is a surveyor for the mining company, looking to open a new silver mine. Scrambling to establish his helicopter charter business in the wilds of Alaska, while trying to stay connected to his teenage daughter, his world soon turns upside down when he rescues a woman and her dog sledding team after an avalanche.
Samantha Bettencourt, an environmental engineer, is eager to begin her first project with the university. A spokesperson for an environmentalist group intent on preserving the wilderness, she is on the path to saving the wild, but when Dan walks into her life things start to change.
Sparks fly between Dan and Samantha as they find themselves running for their lives—from the good guys as well as the bad guys out to ruin the things they long to protect. Will they be able to escape before it’s too late? Will they get a chance at love or will they lose everything. . . including their lives?
About the Author
After graduating college, David spent two tours in United States Military Assistance Command Republic of Viet-Nam, before beginning his career as a nuclear engineer, then electronics engineer, tele-communications engineer, and software security engineer. He has previously published three non-fiction books, several poems, and many non-fiction technical and historical articles.
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https://www.fieryseaspublishing.com/david-h-minton
Giveaway
5 e-copies Where on Earth?
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May 31, 2017
Check out the just revealed cover for Biker B*tch #MCRomance from @authorandiej #giveaway
Follow the reveal and enter to #win a grand prize $25 Amazon gift and the first two books in the One Night on South Beach series. Four people will win an ebook of any Andie J Christopher backlist title.
Enter at: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29369/
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Title: Biker B*tch
Series: Heaven’s Sinners #1
Author: Andie J. Christopher
Genre: Contemporary MC Romance
Release Date: July 11, 207
Word Count: 75,000
Synopsis
Skyler Clark knows she’ll have to face her past when returns to the Russian River Valley to make pinot noir. People in the small town where she grew up haven’t forgotten her father – a country doctor turned outlaw motorcycle club president – and his fall from grace. But as long as she keeps her own business squeaky clean and stays away from bikers, she’ll be fine. Abner Travis sold his family’s vineyard and winery to build up his business. And he’s the president of a clean motorcycle club that does things the overburdened sheriff’s department can’t. He’s too busy making sculptures for Hollywood directors and quietly sabotaging meth labs to chase a woman. But now that Skyler’s all grown up, he wants her for his own. He just has to convince her that their dark, shared history shouldn’t get in the way. Travis is the one thing Skyler can’t resist, but she doesn’t believe they can last. When her father’s old club puts Skyler’s business and safety at risk, she has to decide whether to place her trust in Travis or to walk away. And Travis has to decide how much he’ll give up to keep the woman he loves. Warning: Contains a dead sexy biker who will pull on your pigtails, but only if you beg.
Pre-order now!
Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks
About the Author
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USA Today Bestselling author Andie J. Christopher writes edgy, funny, sexy contemporary romance. She grew up in a family of voracious readers, and picked up her first Harlequin Romance novel at age twelve when she’d finished reading everything else in her grandmother’s house. It was love at first read. It wasn’t too long before she started writing her own stories — her first heroine drank Campari and wore a lot of Esprit.
Although, she set aside writing fiction for a while, her love of romance novels stayed with her through college, law school, and multiple cross-country moves. During one long East Coast winter, she decided writing a book would be a good excuse to avoid braving the elements. It was love at first write. Her heroes are dirty-talking alphas, and her heroines traded Esprit for Free People. (None of them would turn down a Campari, though.)
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May 29, 2017
Spotlight on Better in the Morning, #romanticcomedy from @FernRonay
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Title: Better in the Morning
Author: Fern Ronay
Genre: Romantic comedy
Published: 4/26/16 by Red Adept Publishing
Synopsis
Veronica Buccino has a plan: marry John DelMonico and quit her soul-sucking job as a lawyer. And when he tells her he has big news, she’s certain he’ll pop the question. But instead of proposing, John informs her that he’s moving to London. Heartbroken, Veronica feels lost. Salvatore and Antoinette, her dead grandparents, begin to visit her dreams in an attempt to steer her in the right direction. At their suggestion, Veronica takes a news reporting class, which leads to a challenging freelance assignment covering a conspiracy trial. She also begins dating an unlikely suitor: creative Syd Blackman. Just when her love life and career are looking up, Veronica is tossed back to square one by an event that makes her question all her new choices.
Grab a copy!
About the Author
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Fern Ronay is a lawyer who has lived in Manhattan, Chicago and now sunny Los Angeles with her husband, but she will always consider herself a Jersey girl. She is working on her next novel. She is also a host at AfterBuzzTV Network.
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