Chatting with Gabbi Black author of Beautiful Eyes

I'm delighted to welcome Gabbi Black to my blog. Her newest steamy romance Beautiful Eyes is now available. But before we learn more about her book, let's meet Gabbi.

Speed round...

Good guys or bad guys? Oh, good guys all the way.

Good girls or bad girls? Bad girls trying to go good.

Morning or night? Morning.

Favorite food? Nanaimo bars

Favorite beverage? English Breakfast Tea Latté

eBook, paperback, or audiobook? Audiobook

Plotter or Pantster? Pantser

Favorite season? Fall – the leaves.

Dogs or cats? Both!

Wonder Woman or Top Model? Wonder Woman

Night on the town or cozy evening in? Cozy evening in

Favorite book? Persuasion by Jane Austen

Favorite fictional world? Outlander

Last book read? Bright Fire by Roxie Clarke

Favorite song? Hurricane from Hamilton

Beach or mountains? Mountains. You should see my view.

About the Book

Beautiful Eyes

Author: Gabbi Black

Genre: Dark Erotic BDSM Romance

Heat level: Scorching

Blurb

Entrepreneur Smith MacLean is obsessed with Alessandra Soriano, a woman he met briefly who disappeared six months ago. After a shocking reunion at Club Kink, he insists she stay with him. He means to find out where she's been.

Alessandra walked away from her life after making a mistake that cost everything. Her self-imposed penance is living in poverty and doing questionable things with questionable people. Now she's in Smith's luxurious condo, under his hand, and obeying his rules.

He has thirty days to convince her to come back from limbo. She has thirty days to convince him she needs to be forgotten. Unless the flames of lust consume them first.

Read it today

Amazon US  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Apple Books  |  Google Play  |  KOBO

Peek between the pages

Did you not sleep well?”

“I never do when I’m not in my own bed.” Petulance? Perhaps. He deserved her ire.

He snickered. “That crappy excuse for a mattress at your old home could hardly be called a bed, and you should’ve been more concerned with your safety since the room didn’t even have a lock.” His glare lessened a fraction. “Perhaps you can take a nap.”

“That was my problem yesterday—I slept too much during the afternoon. I just want to go back to your place.”

“Why don’t we have lunch first?” He steered her toward a bistro.

“If that would please you.” Her response was listless. She wasn’t hungry and wouldn’t eat, but if this would get him off her back, she could survive. In truth, she had no choice.

He slowed his pace and turned to look down at her. “Maybe we can stop by Indigo on our way home, and you can select several books.”

The joy was instantaneous. “Really? Oh, that would be wonderful. I haven’t had a new book in—” She halted, catching herself.

“Six months?” He completed the sentence.

She nodded.

“Well, eat a full lunch, and maybe we’ll add a couple more.”

Maybe a meal wouldn’t hurt. If that meant she got a book, maybe it’d be worth it.

About the author:
Even though Gabbi Black is a firm believer in happy endings, she makes her characters work for it in every romance she writes, no matter what the genre. From contemporary to BDSM, they are penned early in the morning in her home in beautiful British Columbia while her trusty ChinPoo dog and her cantankerous Himalayan cat keep her company. She also writes gay romances as Gabbi Grey.

Stay in touch with Gabbi

Website  |  Bookbub  |  Instagram  |  Facebook  |  Pinterest  |  Twitter

How about you, do you like good guys or bad guys (or good girls or bad girls)? Do you have a favorite fictional world? Night on the town or cozy evening in?

Book Blast and Giveaway - Shattered by C. Lee McKenzie

I'm excited to be a host for the Shattered virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. C. Lee McKenzie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

About the book

Courage put Libby Brown into the final selection for the Olympics, but betrayal crushed her spine and her chance at the Gold. Now she has two choices, use her courage to put her life back together, or remain shattered forever.

 

Peek between the pages

I knew hearts didn’t stop beating until you died, yet I was certain mine had just stuttered to a halt. I couldn’t breathe. My lungs refused to expand. My throat went dry. I’d planned most of my life for this one year. I’d worked out, built my strength, gone to ski camps, kept at it until I’d made it through the selection process—until I’d almost made the US Olympic slalom team. I had my passport. I’d packed my bags weeks ago. Now, my mother was telling me I couldn’t do what I’d lived for all these years?

My heart kicked in and air filled my chest. “Shut up! Shut up!” In my mind, I screamed, but that’s not the way I heard my voice. Shut up sounded like a whimper.

“Libby, stop.” Dad was back, his hand on my shoulder, his face filled with pain. “Please, stop.”

His calm presence and the terrible sound of his plea brought me up short.

I gulped back the ragged clutch that filled my throat. “Why? Why can’t I ski with my team?” Then I glanced down. Mom was lying across the foot of the bed. She was lying across my legs, and I didn’t feel the weight of my mother’s body.

About the Author:

I’m someone in love with the English language...well, any language for that matter. How did we decided to use words, intonation, structures to communicate? Does our language come from our culture or does our culture come from our language? I love to drive people nuts with questions like this.

I have a background in Linguistics and Inter-Cultural Communication, but these days my greatest passion is writing for young readers. My young adult novels are Sliding on the Edge, The Princess of Las Pulgas, Double Negative, Sudden Secrets, and now Shattered, A Story of Betrayal and Courage. Sometimes I write Middle Grade Fantasy and have four of those stories published.

When I’m not writing I’m hiking or traveling or practicing yoga or asking a lot questions about things I still don’t understand--like what is language anyway?

Podcast
Amazon
Barnes and Noble

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Book Tour: Spell Sweeper by Lee Edward Födi

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Lee Edward Födi will be awarding a Spell Sweeper prize pack: Hand-made miniature broom, hand-made magical creature egg, spell bottle, and bookmarks to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

 

There's nothing magical about wizard school

. . . at least, not for Cara Moone.

Most wizard kids spend their days practicing spells and wielding wands, but Cara? She’s on the fast track to becoming a MOP (a.k.a. Magical Occurrence Purger). You see, when a real wizard casts a spell, it leaves behind a residue called spell dust—which, if not disposed of properly, can cause absolute chaos in the nonmagical world. It’s a MOP’s job to clean up the mess.

And no one makes more of a mess than Harlee Wu. Believed to be the Chosen One, destined to save the magical world, Harlee makes magic look easy. Which makes her Cara’s sworn nemesis. Or she would be, if she even knew Cara existed.

Then one of Harlee’s spells leaves something downright dangerous behind it: a rift in the fabric of magic itself. And when more rifts start to appear around the school, all in places Harlee has recently used magic, Cara is pretty sure the so-called “Chosen One” isn’t going to save the world. She’s going to destroy it.

It will take more than magic to clean up a mess this big. Fortunately, messes are kind of Cara’s thing.

Peek between the pages

Brooms aren’t for flying,
not even when it comes to wizards

* * *

These are the essential items in a spell sweeper’s kit:

Broom

Most people think broom + wizard = flying. But take it from someone who actually attends wizard school—no one straddles a broom and jumps from the top of a Dragonsong tower unless they’ve drunk too much of Madame Kree’s secret-recipe Halloween punch.

Goggles

Good for protecting your eyes from residue splatter or from the venom that an attacking creature might spray in your direction. I only use them when absolutely necessary because even wizards don’t seem to have conjured up a solution for preventing fog-up.

Sweeper scarf

These are woven from the fiber of elf’s breath (a very purple and very pretty plant), which has excellent properties for filtering out toxic fumes. We wear our scarves around our necks and pull them up around our faces when required.

Steel-toed boots

Because when dragons stomp, they apparently don’t mess around.

Gloves
Made with special residue-repellant material. A pretty good idea, because you definitely don’t want magical gunk under your fingernails.

Utility belt

Next to my broom, this is my most important piece of equipment because it’s where I store my broom snippers and vials of stain removers and neutralizers.

Barricade tape

When we do a purge in Bliss territory, it’s procedure to rope off the entire area to ensure no one stumbles upon any magical activity. Our tape reads: Chemical Spill Containment Site: Do Not Cross—because no Bliss would take Danger: Feral Magic at Work seriously.

Miniature dustpan

Useful in both the wizarding and the Bliss worlds.

Flashlight

Same.


About the Author:

Lee Edward Födi is an author, illustrator, and specialized arts educator—or, as he likes to think of himself, a daydreaming expert. He is the author of several books for children, including The Secret of Zoone and the Kendra Kandlestar series. He is a co-founder of the Creative Writing for Children Society (CWC), a not-for-profit program that helps kids write their own books. He has the joy of leading workshops for kids in Canada, the US, Korea, China, Thailand, and other places here and there. Lee lives in Vancouver, where he shares a creative life with his wife Marcie and son Hiro.

Website: http://www.leefodi.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leefodi
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorleeedwardfodi/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/leefodi/

Purchase links: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/spell-sweeper-lee-edward-fodi


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Giving Thanks

Photo credit: hudsoncrafted/pixabay

      Hi. Thanks for stopping and pursings posts today and over the years. I'm always very thankful to have you here. Today, I want to wish you and your family a very happy holiday filled with happiness and joy, wealth and prosperity.

     Happy Thanksgiving!

     All my best, Cherie

~ *-* ~

If you're looking for something new to read, check out one of the multi-author promotions. There's a wide selection of books to choose from. Just click the banner to browse the selection.

Have a safe and happy holiday, and happy reading!

Chatting with Karen Guzman, author of Arborview

I'm delighted to welcome fellow Rose author Karen Guzman to my blog. She has a beautiful new book out that I'm excited to tell you about. But first, please help me welcome Karen. 


Hi, Karen. what new project are you working on?

My new project is a short story collection.


What are you currently reading?

I am presently reading the novel, “Gone So Long,” by Andre Dubus III. It is phenomenal, just blowing me away.


What is your favorite comfort food?

Hmm. There are so many good choices, but I guess I’d have to go with dark chocolate and sourdough bread—or any good artisanal bread with a crusty crust and soft center. Pumpernickel is another favorite!

Oh, I haven't had fresh baked pumpernickel in a while. I'm going to have to pick some up soon. Thanks for sharing a little about yourself.

Now, let's find out more about Arborview...

Arborview

Author: Karen Guzman

Genre: Mainstream Fiction / Women’s Fiction

Blurb 

 

When the recipe for a new life is bittersweet…

Ellen Cahill’s financial future rides on the success of her new pastry shop. A bruising divorce has drained her bank account, along with her spirit. A man enters her life promising love, but Ellen, haunted by the past, questions whether she can pull off this new beginning.

College student Rosa Escamilla has her own culinary dreams—and a difficult mother who’s dead set against them. Rosa won’t be deterred. She scrapes up the money to enroll at a prestigious culinary school, setting out to prove everyone wrong.

When hidden betrayals by the people they love most surface for both Ellen and Rosa, can they overcome the blows they never saw coming on the road to where they want to go?

Grab your copy today

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  The Wild Rose Press

Peek between the pages

She found the old book that night, buried at the back of the living room bookcases. The spine cracked when she opened it, and dust drifted from the pages.

With Bold Knife and Fork by M.F.K. Fisher. Ellen had discovered Fisher early in her marriage, when she was pregnant with Taber. She had left her teaching job, due to unrelenting morning sickness, and Zach was putting in long hours, launching the version of himself he wanted to show the world. They were in the loft apartment in Hartford, and Ellen spent afternoons on the couch beneath the tall windows, nibbling saltines, as the ceiling fan whirred in the summer heat.

She had savored the book’s words, dreaming of her own garden in the country, where she would grow herbs and spices and vegetables crunchy with sunshine and promise. Larger mysteries would then surely unfold. The sharp, fecund scent of the soil beneath her feet would call them forth. Zach would be amazed at the bounty she would bring into their life. Love would lead them.

That was a long time ago.

Ellen tucked the book beneath her arm and carried it to the kitchen. She left it near the coffee maker, where she’d be sure to remember it.

Upstairs, she got ready for bed. She left her clothes in a heap on the floor. She did laundry so rarely now—once, maybe twice a month. There was a time when she was doing three loads, twice a week. It seemed the machine was always sloshing and clicking in the mudroom. She had loved hanging the clothes out in the sunshine to dry when they first moved here. A sunny day proclaims the glory of God, the nuns used to say. Ellen would carry a burst of fresh air back into house, pausing to bury her head in a pile of towels or Zach’s t-shirts before tucking them away into drawers and closets.

Then Alice told her clotheslines were low-rent. “Underwear and bras flapping in the breeze for all the world to see?” How young Alice was then—still in her headband phase. She liked the plaid ones with the little ribbon on top, all colors and shades. She gave them up in her thirties, as she said any self-respecting woman should.

“Nobody can see into our backyard,” Ellen had argued. But Zach seconded Alice’s opinion, and Ellen loaded the clothes dryer.

Zach had dismantled the clothesline, but maybe she’d put up a new one now, at the edge of the yard near Arborview, and show the world just how low-rent she could be. She knew the perfect spot where the ground was flat, and breezes rippled in from the woods. Ellen closed her eyes, smiling at the notion. A clothesline rebel. Why not? This house was hers alone now, for as long as she could hold onto it.

The cool sheet draped her body. Maybe she had turned away from her own sense of what mattered most, of what was possible, long ago. But there was so much rush and noise back then, so many others, their voices and need, their love, concrete and enveloping. Who could resist such love? Why had no one warned her that people go away? That time runs out, and unthinkable things come to pass.

About the author:
Karen Guzman is a fiction writer and essayist. Her new novel, Arborview, is being published on September 29 by The Wild Rose Press. Her debut, Homing Instincts, was published by Fiction Attic Press in 2014. Karen’s short fiction has appeared in a number of literary magazines, and her story collection, Pilgrims, was a finalist for the St. Lawrence Book Award. Karen is a regular contributor to the Collegeville Institute’s Bearings Online magazine. She is the recipient of a 2021 writing fellowship at the Collegeville Institute.

You can find Karen’s books on her Amazon author page.

Connect with Karen

Website  |  Instagram  |  Twitter  |  Facebook  |  Amazon  |  Write Despite

Do clotheslines bring back any memories? Ever hung your clothes outside to dry?

For me, clotheslines bring back fond memories of my grandparents. They used to hang various items outside to dry. 

Thanks for stopping by! Don't forget to pop your thoughts in the comments. 

More holiday romances to curl up with

 

Tis the season to treat yourself, and I have more holiday novellas for you to peruse, each part of The Wild Rose Press Christmas Cookie series. Enjoy!

SHORTBREAD SHAKEDOWN

by Sofia Aves

About the book:

Exchanging gunfire is easier than facing reintegration at Christmas alone.

A package determined to derail his scheduled future delivered by a mystery woman. A tiny note hints at who she is—and how to find her.

When veteran and acting Brigadier General Dominic Cage returns from deployment days before Christmas, he's unprepared for the shortbread cookies pressed into his hands in a case of mistaken identity by a stunning woman. Unable to forget her, Cage trusts Violet's promise of a true Christmas—until the lines of his reality blur.

Damaged and resolute, and unable to escape the gunfire that haunts him, Cage's choice could cost them everything.

Read it today!

Not a Chocolate Snowball's Chance in Hades

by Lianne Kelly
Release date: December 6, 2021

About the book:
Held in Demeter's overprotective grip, power burns deep and seductive in Persephone. She will do whatever it takes to win her freedom and the Olympian Duel of Yule.

When Hades, King of the Underworld, swaggers into the baking competition, Persephone's competitive spirit rises to meet his challenge. The two clash over more than cookies. Until a little chaos interrupts the competition. She shouldn't trust Hades, but a fiery death with Ares doesn't appeal. An escape to the Underworld leads to a passion that burns hotter than Tartarus.

Persephone is all too aware of Olympian rules. Loving Hades comes with a price. Can she condemn the human world to death for one night of passion with him?

Preorder your copy!

Tinsel and Tea Cakes
by Jill Piscitello
Release Date: December 14, 2021

About the book:
Hair stylist Scarlett Kerrigan lost her job and her apartment. To alleviate a touch of self-pity, she succumbs to her stepmom’s pressure to attend a wedding in the New Hampshire White Mountains. Unfortunately, she runs into the vacation fling who promised the moon but disappeared without an explanation. Months have passed, but she is not ready to forgive and forget.

After a chaotic year, executive Wes Harley settles into his family's event venue, The Timeless Manor. His carefully structured world is shaken to its core when Scarlett arrives for the Victorian Christmas wedding weekend. The feelings he never quite erased flood to the surface.

When secrets are revealed, will a magical chateau and a sprinkle of tinsel be enough to charm Scarlett?

Preorder your copy!

Aren't the covers fantastic? Did you see a book that interests you?

Author Alana Lorens Two truths and a lie, and more

I'm thrilled to welcome Alana Lorens to my blog. She's chatting about her book VOODOO DREAMS, sharing her favorite author, and two truths and a lie. Can you guess which is which?

What inspired you to write this book?

VOODOO DREAMS is part of the Pittsburgh Lady Lawyers series, which are standalone romantic suspense stories with the common element being that the heroine of each practices law in the city of Pittsburgh.

I’d been to New Orleans for Mardi Gras in 1998, and it was clear that there is an underside to the city, a shadowy place where things that don’t bear the sun go to hide. Even in a time as raucous and bright as the Mardi Gras season, dark plans are afoot. So when Brianna Ward, my lawyer heroine, steps out for her first parade, it’s already too late. Good thing her legal rival, Evan Farrell, happens to be close by to help her investigate the trouble she’s gotten herself into!

Who is your favorite author?

I’d have to say a tie between Stephen King and Anne McCaffrey. I tend to gravitate toward the world of science fiction and fantasy, so these two are solid entries in that field. I also write in both genres, as Lyndi Alexander. In the past few years, I’ve written two science fiction romance stories, A SMALL DEGREE OF HOPE and SIXSHOOTER, so I’m finding a way to cross over between SFF and romance!

Alana tells us two truths and a lie. Can you tell which is the lie?

Two truths and a lie…. Hmm. Do see if you can tell which….

I have three natural children, three adopted children, four stepchildren, twelve grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

I’ve gloriously sailed across the Atlantic on a fancy cruise ship.

I’ve sewn and donated over 100 blankets to Project Linus, which gives blankets to kids in shelters and hospitals.

About the book

VOODOO DREAMS

Author: Alana Lorens

Genre: Romantic suspense

Blurb

When her big trial goes bad, corporate attorney Brianna Ward can’t wait to get out of Pittsburgh. The Big Easy seems like the perfect place to rest, relax, and forget about the legal business. Too bad an obnoxious--but handsome--lawyer from a rival firm is checking into the same bed and breakfast.

Attorney Evan Farrell has Mardi Gras vacation plans too. When he encounters fiery and attractive Brianna, however, he puts the Bourbon Street party on hold. He’d much rather devote himself to her--especially when a mysterious riddle appears in her bag, seeming to threaten danger.

Strangely compelled to follow the riddle’s clues, Brianna is pulled deeper into the twisted schemes of a voodoo priest bent on revenge. To escape his poisonous web, she must work with Evan to solve the curse. But is the growing love they feel for each other real? Or just a voodoo dream?

Read it today

Amazon  |  Barnes & Noble  |  Goodreads

Watch the Book Trailer

Peek between the pages

The back door to the Voodoo Museum led to a sunlit courtyard, a different atmosphere than the dark, dusty collection inside. A weight lifted off Evan as they came out into the light.

“Did you see that collection of bones?” he asked. “Previous generations right there, ready to ask for their wisdom and experience in your daily life. It’s like the Chinese or Native American traditions of invoking the presence of the ancestors. Really fascinating stuff.” He smiled broadly. “And that snake!”

He’d found the experience much more interesting than he’d expected, including the depictions of gods in various forms, especially the thick python, said to participate in all rituals performed by those with the Museum.

“Yes, I saw them,” she said.

“That’s it? ‘I saw them’? I thought you were the one all hell-bent to jump into the world of voodoo.” She didn’t even respond, but he just grinned. Who would have suspected she was one of those girly girls? Doesn’t like spiders and snakes… Ha! She was just too proud to say so. “What next?”

“The readings are done through here. I guess we just wait and see.”

As if summoned, a turbaned black woman in a long dark dress passed through from the museum. “You desire a reading?” she asked, holding out her hand for the receipt. “Our priestess, Madame Masika, will help you. Come this way.”

She led the way into a darkened waiting room hung with black and red draperies, lit with multicolored candles that gave off a musky scent that approached cloying, as far as Evan was concerned. Gesturing for them to sit, she slipped through a hand-woven curtain in the back.

Evan perched on the edge of a mat-covered soft chair, studying their surroundings. The oil paintings on three of the walls depicted ceremonies or rituals, groups of dark-skinned men and women dancing in impossible postures, sacrificing animals, burning fires on altars and other bizarre acts. His early Methodist training rebelled, as did his sense of logic. How could these people possibly believe slitting a chicken’s throat would bring them what they wished?

Any crazier than he and Brianna tossing quarters into a public fountain and making a wish? Or those afore-mentioned transmogrifications of body to bread, blood to wine? When’s the last time he stepped on a crack, hmm? Just in case?

This was definitely a to-each-his-own sort of event. Now that they were here, he just needed to fasten his seatbelt and see where the ride took them.

About the author: Alana Lorens has been a published writer for more than forty years, after working as a pizza maker, a floral designer, a journalist and a family law attorney. Currently a resident of Asheville, North Carolina, the aging hippie loves her time in the smoky blue mountains. She writes romance and suspense as Alana Lorens, and sci-fi, fantasy and paranormal mystery as Lyndi Alexander. One of her novellas, THAT GIRL’S THE ONE I LOVE, is set in the city of Asheville during the old Bele Chere festival. She lives with her daughter on the autism spectrum, who is the youngest of her seven children, and she is ruled by two crotchety old cats, and six kittens of various ages.

Connect with Alana

Website  |   Facebook  |  Goodreads  |  Amazon Author Page  |  Bookbub  |  Twitter  |  Instagram

Which of the options do you think is a lie?

Holiday romances to cozy up with

 

My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, has a new Christmas Cookie series being released this year featuring a wide selection of holiday novellas. There's something for everyone. I'll be spotlighting books from now until Christmas. These stories are perfect reads for those lazy winter days. So grab your favorite warm drink, a cozy blanket, and your eReader!

Here's a sneak peek at a few holiday romances now available.

Red Velvet Crinkles and Christmas Sprinkles
by Maria Imbalzano

About the book:
Competitive, work-obsessed Bella Simonetti has just been fired from her high-paying job at a Manhattan law firm. At an all-time low, she returns home and helps her parents at their small-town gift shop, but the business is failing and may not make it past the Christmas holidays.

Successful landscape architect Dean Jackson is like a son to Bella's parents. But he's a persistent annoyance to her—he seems to have forgotten his unforgivable blunder thirteen years earlier.

When Bella transforms her parents' gift shop into a cookie cottage, Dean's generosity and magnetic smile are hard to resist, and those feelings of unrequited adolescent love come rushing back. But can Bella let go of the past and accept Dean for the man he is today?

Grab your copy!

Cookie Collision
by Darlene Deluca 

About the book:
Before she can let up and enjoy some holiday cheer, real estate agent Alana Drake has work to do. With Christmas moving in fast, she has clients to meet with, houses to show, and cookies to bake. Every open house deserves her special touch—homemade and hand-decorated sugar cookies for a warm welcome. And she needs several dozen for upcoming holiday events and open houses.

But a poorly timed stop at the grocery store could upend more than her bag of groceries. Running into Doctor Justin Teague—literally—shakes up Alana's tidy world. The chance encounter leaves her with a bum ankle, forces her to reconsider some dating ideals, and reveals new information about a longtime nemesis.

When all she wanted was to bake some cookies…

Grab your copy!

Let it Snowball

by Margot Johnson

About the book: 

Divorced, empty nester Merilee is on a roll. Filled with scrumptious cookies and old-fashioned fun, her Christmas bus tours aim to add festive spirit to her hometown and new meaning to her lackluster life. Too bad her reserved driver slams the brakes on fun.

Widowed farmer Ross needs a little joy to combat his December blues. Behind the wheel, he wears a Santa suit but can't muster a convincing ho-ho-ho. Too many memories block his road to happiness…until irrepressible Merilee sparks a snowstorm of unexpected feelings.

In two weeks of holiday tours, Ross might drive Merilee crazy…or will romance snowball inside their lonely hearts?

Read it today!

The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder
by Maria A. White

After injuring herself on the job as a Los Angeles cop, Mel O’Rourke leaves the force battered both physically and mentally. Looking for a fresh start, she moves to a quiet mountain town and opens the Babbling Brook Inn. Excited for her new life, Mel decides to participate in the town’s holiday cookie contest, but her newfound joy goes up in smoke when one of her guests turns up dead in her lobby.


Mel is tempted to attribute the death to natural causes but when another guest dies, her cop instincts kick in. The local Sheriff tells her to stand down, but Mel can’t let it go. With everything on the line, she has to push through her fears to catch the killer before more bodies drop, perhaps even her own.

Read it today!

Did you find a new book? Have any recommendations? I'd love to know!

It's Here... Merry Little Wishing Spritz!

 

Does anyone else feel as if the second half of 2021 is flying by? I feel as if I blinked and it's November.

I'm humming Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas as I type this. My holiday novella MERRY LITTLE WISHING SPRITZ is now available. It's just one of fifty-two books in The Wild Rose Press Christmas Cookie series. I'm thrilled my book is included in a series with so many talented writers. And I just adore the cover Abigail Owens created. A huge thank you goes out to Eilidh MacKenzie, my talented editor, and to the entire Wild Rose Press team. They are amazing to work with. I'd also like to thank my critique partners, Kym Brunner, Katie Sparks, and Kathleen Reitman as well as my beta readers and ARC readers. You're the best!!

I also want to thank Goddess Fish Tours for organizing the Release Week Blitz and the amazing Tour Hosts. Some of the stops will include reviews, plus there's a $10 gift card up for grabs. Click here to check out the tour and see the schedule, which is at the bottom of the post. 

About MERRY LITTLE WISHING SPRITZ

What reads have said...

A perfect holiday romance that will make you laugh, smile, and perhaps even swoon. ~Sydney Winward, author

A warm and enchanting holiday romance… Just perfect for curling up by the fire with a cup of hot chocolate, and maybe a cookie or two! ~ Laura Strickland, author

Merry Little Wishing Spritz is a happy romance story that includes a little paranormal zing of witchy wonderfulness ~ Goddess Fish Reviews

This novella is the perfect story for when a reader is short on time but needs a quick fix of romance. Merry Little Wishing Spritz made me smile, grin, giggle and thoroughly entertained me. ~ Long and Short Reviews.

Blurb

Modern-day witch Cassie Moore’s cozy life turns upside down when her friend foresees the wrecking ball that threatens to destroy Cassie’s home and workplace. But Cassie isn’t giving up without a fight. She casts a well-intended spell meant to save her apartment and her job. But magic is unpredictable, especially when her friend casts a little charm of her own that has Cassie lusting after the man she desperately wants to despise.

Jack Quinn has had his eyes on Lakeside Books for years, and he couldn’t be happier the owner is finally ready to sell. He has big plans for the cozy waterfront property, but he didn’t expect to care about the store or its employees. And he never imagined he’d be drawn to a certain brown-eyed saleswoman.

Almost as if by magic.

Read it today

Amazon ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Apple ~ Universal link

Goodreads ~ Bookbub

Follow the tour for a peek between the pages, and don't forget to enter the giveaway when you're at one of the stops!

Does 2021 seem to be flying by for you too? Did you enter the giveaway? Do you read holiday romances?

Chatting with Sarita Leone, author of romance

I’m thrilled to have sister Rose Sarita Leone with me. Her new book Snickerdoodle Snowmen is part of The Wild Rose Press's Christmas Cookie series. Before we learn more about her book and read a tantalizing excerpt, let's get to know Sarita through a speed round of questions.

Let's begin...

Morning or night? Love a pretty sunrise!

Favorite food? Eggplant Parmesan.

Favorite beverage? Pineapple juice.

Coffee or tea? Chai! 😊

Favorite movie? Drop Dead Fred

Wonder Woman or Top Model? Wonder Woman

Stilettos or flipflops or sneakers? Barefoot or sneakers

Cake, cookies, or pie? Cookies—one for each hand!

Favorite TV show? The Big Bang Theory

Favorite vacation? Rome, Italy.

Beach or mountains? Beach for sure.

 

Snickerdoodle Snowmen

Author: Sarita Leone

Genre: Romance

Blurb:

Baker Kris Kringles sends snickerdoodles from North Pole, Alaska, across the globe, spreading holiday cheer like confetti. But she has a secret not dusted with sugar, and an incentive to speak with a slick journalist that isn't half-baked.

Reporter Santos Kloss hates Christmas. How could he not, with a name that makes him the butt of endless holiday jokes? He's got one last assignment to complete before he can begin a new chapter in his life, so he grits his teeth, grabs a parka, and heads to Christmas central.

Both expect the interview to be a snap, but a snowstorm, insistent sisters, and a little holiday magic have very different ideas!

Get your copy

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Peek between the pages

“You’re the newspaper man, aren’t you?”

Santos stopped the mug an inch from his lips and looked over the rim into the woman’s eyes. They were green—not merely hazel or a watered-down soda-bottle shade, but vibrantly colored, like the office parrot’s feathers. Polly, the newspaper mascot, looked like a beauty but swore like a sailor, courtesy of the newsmen who got their kicks from teaching the bird to talk. He’d even added some colorful Italian phrases to their feathered friend’s vocabulary.

She stared at him with those piercing eyes so long and hard that his heart began to pound. He wondered if she read right into the truth of him. It sure felt that way. As if despite his nonchalant entrance, small talk, and even observing her figure, she realized he wasn’t some fellow off the street, in for a coffee and cookies. He resisted the urge to pull his jacket closed.

Great. Precisely what he didn’t need. A dame with a brain, a killer attribute that never failed to stir something deep within him.

The stirring hadn’t ever proved deep enough to keep a woman, so he tried to steer clear of romantic involvements. But damn, it felt as if she reached into his soul with those incredible eyes.

Santos lifted his shoulders, then let them drop. He took a long swallow of joe before setting the mug on the counter. “Guilty as charged. I’m from the New York Daily, here to do a story on some cookies that I’m told are made in this shop and sent to crazy, obsessed Christmas fanatics all over the world.”

The minute he said it he realized he’d stuck his foot in his mouth. Pretty far down his throat, too.

~ * ~

About the author:
Sarita Leone loves happy endings—in life and on the page.

When she’s not busy writing her next novel, this adventure-loving yoga teacher likes to hike, travel, and dance beneath the stars. She studies languages, enjoys making a mess in the kitchen, and never says “no” to fun.

Finding pockets of peace everywhere she goes, this author plans to make every moment of this journey count.

Catch up on book releases and other fun news on Sarita’s blog or Facebook page. Find her books at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Walmart, and wherever books are sold!

Find Sarita

Blog  | Amazon

Are you a morning or evening person? Did you enjoy the excerpt? 

Chatting with author Julie Howard

I'm thrilled to welcome Julie Howard to my blog and to share an excerpt from her new release The Three Widows of Wylder. 


Hi Julie! Can you tell us about your main character?

There are actually three main characters, with the story told in alternating points of view. Clara is a plain woman who has been married to Walter for nineteen years with no children. Now in her mid-thirties, she would like a divorce so that she might have a chance to remarry and have a child.

Mary Rose is vain and spoiled, used to having men fall at her feet. Her mother helps her find a rich, older man, but Mary Rose discovers quickly that wealth isn’t everything.

Emma is seventeen, toughened by mysterious circumstances in her past. When she meets the other two women, she has two horses and a gray mule and is tight-lipped about why she heads west.

What are you reading?

I’m currently reading “Cloud Cuckoo Land” by Pulitzer-prize-winning Anthony Doerr. It’s hard to describe this genre-crossing book so I suppose it lands in literary fiction. I found it difficult to get into at first, but then it grabbed me and I’m captivated. Definitely a five-star read.

Where were you grew up?

I grew up in California’s central valley and am a fifth-generation Californian. My great-great-greats traveled to the new state in the 19th century with a wagon train. I love the fact my ancestors were pioneers and true explorers. How brave they must have been to leave everything they knew and to be willing to work so hard to live in a new land. I thought about them quite a bit as I wrote The Three Widows of Wylder, which is set in 1882.

About the book

 

The Three Widows of Wylder

Author: Julie Howard

Genre: Historical fiction/Women’s fiction

Blurb

Three women on the run.

After the death of her husband, Clara flees a hanging judge and seeks refuge with her brother in Wylder, Wyoming.

With secrets of her own and good reasons to flee, spoiled and vain Mary Rose joins Clara on the trek to Wyoming. Surely a suitable man exists somewhere.

Emma is a mystery. A crack shot and expert horsewoman, her harrowing past seeps out in a steady drip. She’s on the run from something, but what?

After the three women descend on Wylder, a budding romance leads to exposure of their pasts. As disaster looms, will any of them escape?

Read it today!

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Peek between the pages

Emma stood, legs apart, one hand on the pistol at her hip. The covered wagon was the type used years ago by pioneers, before trains tamed the prairie, and they still lumbered across areas where tracks hadn’t been laid. Two women sat side-by-side, too focused on their argument to yet notice the camp they entered. Their one horse, overmatched by the heavy wagon, was damp with sweat, its mouth flecked with froth.

“We should have stayed on the main road.” The peevish one appeared much younger, curly gold hair topped by a large straw hat. She wore a light-yellow dress with lace at her wrists and throat, a perfectly inadequate outfit for travel. “Someone could have provided directions.”

The older woman had finely-drawn features, a few strands of gray threaded through her dark, uncovered hair. Dressed in sensible blue calico, she gripped the reins too tight and the poor horse gave a pathetic shake of its head. “The whole point was to avoid people,” she sniped.

Emma strode forward and seized the reins. “For God’s sake, you’re killing him.”

The two women gaped as though at an apparition. The horse, released from harsh hands, lowered its head and halted. Its sides heaved as flies drank at its sweaty flanks.

“Whomever let you two fools handle a horse should be whipped.” Tempted to dispatch the women to hell for their cruelty, Emma rested her hand on the pistol’s handle.

They two travelers spoke in tandem. “Who are you?” and “How dare you call me a fool.”

As Emma crooned into in the horse’s ear, her expert fingers undid the buckles at its shoulders and haunches. By the time the older of the two women climbed to the ground, the horse was unhitched and Emma led it to the creek.

“That’s our horse,” cried the one in yellow. “Clara, what is that insane girl doing? She’s stealing him.”

Emma halted, shoulders stiff. She turned and pointed the pistol at the one with lace at her throat. “I’m no horse thief.” She cocked the hammer. “Apologize.”

About the author:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime mystery series and Spirited Quest paranormal mystery series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild and editor of the Potato Soup Journal.

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