Love in the Lowcountry: A Vacation Collection Release Info!

Leave a comment

I’ve woefully dropped several balls in the leadup to the release of Love in the Lowcountry: A Vacation Collection. This is partially due to Real Life things, partially due to some internal organization adjustment (which I won’t go into here because it only affects our membership), and partially due to some changes that needed to be made around how the anthology needed to be released/published in light of certain things involving Amazon. (I mean, could the timing of everything be any crazier?)

Anyhoo, RELEASE DAY FOR LOVE IN THE LOWCOUNTRY: A VACATIONS COLLECTION IS FRIDAY, MARCH 7TH!

Anthology Blurb

Love, lust, and longing in the Lowcountry, from past to present, with magic and realism, these sensual to sexy stories will spice up your vacation reading.

You’re invited to escape to South Carolina. Our romance writers’ stories take you from the beach to the Holy City and from Edisto to Georgetown. Both bestselling and up-and-coming authors share tales of romance in this collection of Love in the Lowcountry.

Inside you’ll find:

Poe Substitute by Paula Gail Benson – Can a Charleston tour guide and an actor escape a historical time loop and find love in the present?

Analysis of Love by Linda Joyce – Can an overachieving, overly analytical woman capture the heart of a sexy man possessing equal brawn and brains and lives life to the max?

Forever After at the Ever Rest Inn by J. Lynn Rowan – A formative meeting from the past forges a relationship for the future.

Work, Play, & a Folly Vacay by Addie Bealer – Interpersonal Health. Profit Margin Wellness. Namaste.

Consider it Done by Victoria R. Benson – Does Presley have cold feet, or did the hot flame between her and Thomas burn out?

Moonlight in Moncks Corner by Janie Gordon – Moncks Corner magic turns a just-for-now marriage into “stay with me.”

IOP Connection by Elaine Reed – Beach and bang?

The Blue Victorian by Robin Hillyer-Miles – A staycation turns into a playcation.

Finally Found by Suzie Webster – Megan embarks on a transformative journey to Charleston, South Carolina, what she finds in the arms of a local high school football coach is something she never expected.

Our stories range from Sweet to Spicy, with everything in between!

Now for the important info – how do y’all get your hands on this awesome anthology?

Love in the Lowcountry: A Vacation Collection is currently available as an ebook for preorder on Amazon for Kindle, Apple Books, and Nook from Barnes & Noble. You can also preorder the paperback version from Barnes & Noble, and paperbacks should also drop on Amazon soon.

To help you preorder at the retailer of your choice, we have all the purchase links together for you all at Books2Read.com.

We hope you’ll check us out and, of course, leave us sparkling reviews!

Who’s Ready for a Romance Anthology?

Leave a comment

I have certainly dropped several balls in keeping everyone updated on my participation in the upcoming Love in the Lowcountry anthology. (Can I blame the ducks that refuse to stay in rows? I’m not sure all of them are even mine at this point.)

Anyway, y’all may remember my sadness at not being able to participate in this anthology because I just could NOT wrap my head around the story I wanted to tell. The draft just wasn’t drafting. But the amazing Powers That Be gave me extension after extension and granted me all the grace in the world. FINALLY, I was able to get the draft done.

Now, several months and rounds of critiques and edits later, we are only weeks away from the release of LOVE IN THE LOWCOUNTRY: A VACATIONS COLLECTION.

The release date is officially March 7th, but logistics of the release are still a little in flux. As soon as I have finalized details and preorder info, I will share it.

In the meantime, we are still welcoming ARC readers, so if you’re interested, you can sign up here.

Now to the fun part…. some details on my story!

Forever After at the Ever Rest Inn

Disillusioned with his career and reeling from a breakup, Max Andersen heads to a Lowcountry bed and breakfast near Georgetown, South Carolina, for time away to relax and determine the next steps in his life.

The Ever Rest Inn isn’t only a bed and breakfast. It’s Vivian Ravanelle’s family legacy. She’s inherited more than just the property. The inn comes with financial problems that must be solved if she doesn’t want to lose everything.

Vivi never forgot the boy who helped her overcome a lonely summer twenty-two years ago. But the boy has become a man—a handsome one who seems to reciprocate a new attraction. During Max’s stay, the two share more than family stories and personal problems. Perhaps Max’s next steps are tied to Vivi, who may find not only hope for the inn’s future, but happiness and love.

Stay tuned for more updates!

Some Unexpected and Bittersweet News

Leave a comment

Not quite ten years ago, when Babycakes was just a couple months old, I decided to submit a manuscript for consideration to a couple small presses who would accept unsolicitied work directly from authors. This manuscript was the result of an experiment in both first person POV and present-tense writing. Beta readers thought it was cute and funny. I hired a high school friend, who had started her own editing business, to give the manuscript the once-over before I sent it out in to the world.

Babycakes was about four and a half months old when an acquiring editor from Soul Mate Publishing offered me a contract for a multi-book series based on that manuscript.

pages-7765438_1280

That manuscript became BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE, and that contract resulted in the four books that make up my Sweet Somethings series. With a publishing schedule of about six to eight months between releases, I soon found time – somehow, in the midst of raising an infant, moving 750 miles from my hometown, and going back to teaching full time – to write WHEN IN ROME, THE ONE I’M WITH, and HE TAKES THE CAKE.

Plans were soon made for a spin-off trilogy about Marissa’s three besties from THE ONE I’M WITH, but subsequent babies, family obligations, work, the stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, and prioritizing freelance work that gave us a little extra “fun” money kept pushing that project onto the back burner. But my editor, and later the owner of Soul Mate Publishing, Debby Gilbert, kept encouraging me, granting me so much grace and extending my original contract when I wasn’t quite ready to take on self-publishing.

About a month ago, the authors of SMP received some bittersweet news – Soul Mate Publishing is closing its doors, officially, on September 30th. All of us are receiving our rights back, and our books will be taken down from Amazon that day.

This is bittersweet news for all of us. I was a rookie author who didn’t know anything, and SMP opened the door to seeing my work in print. A lifelong dream come true!

The SMP authors have banded together to create something of a support group, both to mourn the end of an era but also to provide each other with support and suggestions as we all begin to decide how to handle our next steps. There are many ducks that need to be arranged in rows, and ducks keep arriving to join the lineup, from making sure we have the correct info from Amazon (ugh, metadata) as well as necessary steps to republish either wide or KDP-exclusive.

It’s a little scary. But I’d been mulling over whether to go indie for some time and using the excuse of “babies” to put off the leap. I kind of don’t have a choice with these books, though.

For me, here’s what I know will be happening going forward:

  1. I am allowed to use my current cover art, though if/when I set up POD, I will need to recreate the spine and back cover. So all front-cover images you will see on my socials, here on the blog, and my once-ever-two-years email newsletter will stay the same for now.
  2. There is no required timeframe for me to republish, and I have to decide whether I want to keep it simple and stick with Amazon, or go wide and have the option to be available anywhere books, be they ebook or print book, are sold. At this point, I don’t see this happening before the holidays, so keep an eye out for news.
  3. All four SMP-published editions of the Sweet Somethings series will be gone from Amazon and Kindle Unlimited on Monday, though exactly what time, I do not know. Anyone who thinks they want to purchase a Kindle copy before then…. hey I’m not going to say no to a final uptick in royalties.
  4. If you have previously left me a review, THANKS, and know that it will not disappear from Amazon. When I republish, there’s a process to link the new edition with the old, and all reviews should repopulate. (If you’ve read my books but having left a review yet, also wouldn’t mind if you took a minute or two and left one, please and thank you.)

Print books haven’t been available via Amazon in quite some time (if you see one available, it’s through a third-party seller and the pricing seems to be all over the place). I have a small inventory of print copies I got for book signings, so if you think you’d like print editions (either individually or the four-book set), please do contact me directly for info on how to buy them. I hope to get something set up in the next month or so to more easily facilitate this. For now, just email me at jlynnrowanliterature@gmail.com and put “Sweet Somethings Print Editions” in the subject line.

In the meantime, you can still grab a copy of my historical fiction short, THE FURLOUGH, and find my historical romance short, “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, in LOVE IN THE LOWCOUNTRY VOLUMN 2: A WINTER HOLIDAY COLLECTION,

Going into the next couple months, I’ll be wrapping up another romance short for the next anthology from Lowcountry RWA and getting my full-length historical romance FINALLY sent out on submission (I only have room for so many ducks).

Make sure you’re following the blog and/or receiving my newsletter (I seriously don’t send it out unless I have something real to share) to stay up to date with announcements!

Knowing One’s Limits

Leave a comment

It’s been one of those years, it seems, when things just keep coming one right after another.

When I last posted in May, I shared that Little Bro was dealing with a bout of HFM. This, of course, coincided with all of the insane end-of-school things that happen in May.

Babycakes had her sixth dance recital and her final band concert of the year (which was essentially a huge “all-county” type deal for the elementary bands across her school system).

We’ve been working through some, how shall we say, challenging things with Sugarpie – it’s getting better, but slowly.

I took on a couple of relatively easy freelance projects, but it’s tricky to find time to work on this stuff in the summer. I can utilize naptime, but then the other two kids want and need time with Mommy, too.

We had a big three-week trip planned for June and early July. But then my grandmother passed away at the beginning of June, so the three weeks turned into four weeks with way more back and forth driving than we planned.

We were all just done by the time we got home.

Little Bro’s schedule has definitely suffered for all the traveling, and while I’ve got him pretty well resettled into his usual routine, his nap and bedtimes are all messed up. It’s been literally months since I’ve been able to consistently get him to bed before 9pm. So by the time all three kids are tucked in and kissed good-night, I’ve been lucky to get a half hour or so to be an adult without a small person trying to climb on me.

Or merge with me. Sometimes it feels like they’re trying to get back inside.

I am very touched out.

And as for me and my writing.

HA.

I have hit the wall.

wall-324637_1280

I had hoped to join in on an anthology project this year. I had a great idea and a great start. But I just do not have the energy, either physical or mental, to finish it right now. The folks in charge were even gracious enough to give me an extension, but it wasn’t enough. I have sadly had to pull out, though I do hope to help out with beta reads if they need extra eyes.

I’m not sure if it’s lack of motivation or if I’m just that tired. It’s been over two years since I’ve written something new, and I almost feel – out of practice.

Maybe things will get better once school starts. Oddly, despite the fact that the school year is really so much busier than the summer – someone always has to go here or there, there are projects and people get sick, plus extracurriculars – I always feel like I have more time to breathe when the kids are at school.

Does that sound horrible? I don’t mean it to be. Maybe it’s that there’s more structure to the day so I know what to expect. I know when this kid has to be to this place, and the other kid needs to be to this other place, and I know when the baby is going to need a nap and what time to pick everyone up. So with all that structure, I can almost plan the time I need to get things done.

It’s been an emotionally hard summer, and I’ve been fighting through a lot mentally, for a lot of reasons, and unfortunately, my little story for the anthology project ended up being a casualty of war.

Hopefully the fall will bring better prospects and more creative energy. Because I have none right now.

Toddler Tantrums Version 3.0

Leave a comment

It’s been a whopping six months since I last blogged. Obviously life threw me a couple monkey wrenches that derailed my literary plans for the last few weeks of 2023.

But that’s all right. Onward and upward.

Things around here are generally settling down, at least in terms of everyone’s immune systems. Mostly. Babycakes is just about over an allergy-induced ear infection. Sugarpie seems to have avoided the last cold of the school year. On top of having produced copeous amounts of nasal secretions for the last month, Little Bro has managed to pick up hand foot and mouth from somewhere unknown.

Freelancing hit a black for much of the past year, but things are looking up as I finally have a project slated to start later this week. I’m hopefully going to be participating in the next anthology from Lowcountry RWA (more on this down the road, fingers crossed). And I’ve got the post-Civil War historical romance in the hands of several beta readers in preparation for a fall submission.

But I didn’t come here today to talk about any of that.

I am here to discuss the onset of Toddler Temper Tantrums, version 3.0.

That’s right. Little Bro is into the tantrum stage of babyhood.

He’s actually got a rather extensive vocabulary for his age and is quite good at letting us know what he wants, needs, or feels.

But as parents across the world know, tantrums and meltdowns occur when a child does not have the verbal capacity to express their emotions in an adequate way.

Little Bro hasn’t been feeling well lately, understandably if you recall our house’s last brush with HFM disease in 2021. So that’s just made things worse. But yesterday… Ooooo boy.

So what set him off?

Well, lately he’s been rather obsessed with cleaning tools. Like mops. The electric sweeper. The Roomba (or at least he was until he pressed the button on top and accidentally started it, thus terrifying himself). The vacuum cleaner.

He also hates being confined and/or blocked or locked out of places.

Has that set the stage well enough?

I needed to run the vacuum cleaner in the living room, and he was insistant that he HAD to do it himself. This thing isn’t heavy, it’s a stick vac, but its length is like two and a half times his height, and it’s not like he can actually maneuver it.

I do hope his enthusiam for the vacuum (and the sweeper and emptying the dishwasher) continue into his teen years. I have my doubts, but we’ll see.

So I let him “help”. But he couldn’t really handle it, as expected, so he kept getting stuck in the corner and wouldn’t let me help him back up to try a different area of the floor. It boiled down to the floor needing to be vacuumed and me wanting to get it done so we could have lunch and a nap. So I just kind of took it away from him and tried to finish as quickly as possible, while Little Bro, wailing indignantly, chased me around the room.

At last, the job was done. I put the vacuum away. We had actually had to add a child safety lock/strap to the closet door, so he was doubly mad when I put it in there.

And then, I told him quite lovingly that we were all done.

Well.

This was clearly the most tragical injustice of the not-quite seventeen months he’s been alive. He wasn’t just crying. He wasn’t just yelling.

This boy was voicing his abject despondency at the top of his lungs – for a full twenty minutes – while alternating between trying to open the closet door and just running about the house with his head thrown back, wailing.

So what did I, his loving mother, do?

I laughed my ass off.

Sorry. It was the most hilarious thing.

I legit got to the point where I could neither stand up straight nor produce any actual sound while laughing.

Eventually I got him upstairs, where my mom (whom he calls “memaw” right now, but that’s another story for another day), read him some of his favorite books while I got lunch ready.

Of course, we are also gluttons for punishment around here. So after dinner, I decided Little Bro’s epic hair was a little too epic and took the hair clippers to his curls. Which meant more vacuuming.

This time I just put him in the playpen, so at least he wasn’t chasing me and getting tripped up on the cord while he voiced his displeasure.

Then today he gave us an encore performance because I took away the bottle of baby gas drops.

Fun times.

Three Kids is Not for the Faint of Heart

Leave a comment

Please let me preface this entire post with the clear and unabashed statement that I love my children. They are amazing gifts and I cannot imagine my life without them.

Well, I can, and it’s a horrible existance to imagine. I know this because I spent YEARS dealing with infertility while desperately wanting children.

With that being said, I am here to tell you that life with my three wonderful children, all of whom are in vastly different stages of child development, is also one of the greatest challenges I have right now.

busy mom

Getting through our crazy days takes a lot of prayer, a lot of patience (which is in short supply sometimes), and a lot of tears some days. I know I’m luckier than a lot of people because my Romantic Hero of a Husband is a great dad and I have my mom here, and I also have the privilege of not needing to work right now. So I don’t want to come off as whiny or ungrateful.

I had great aspirations of carving out dedicated time to work on my writing once the school year started back up. Babycakes is obviously school age, Sugarpie goes to preschool three days a week, and Little Bro is finally on a solid two-nap schedule. HOWEVER, Little Bro’s favorite place to nap, still, is ON ME. Heck, his favorite place to sleep, period, is on me. Which has meant little to no time to take care of household business when he’s napping, let alone writing. And night time? Whoooo boy, I’m happy if I get a two hour stretch where he’s in the crib instead of in our bed, because if he’s in our bed, I don’t really sleep.

Add two almost back-to-back trips, visits with and from family, two colds and a nice round of RSV in the mix, well…

Let’s just say I’ve been literally trying to find time to properly write a blog post since July.

I haven’t even been able to commit to more freelancing hours, which stinks because I was bringing in some nice extra pocket change with freelancing the past couple years.

Anyway, I am determined to produce SOMETHING with my pen before we close out 2023. Stay tuned, and hopefully I’ll have an announcement to share soon! (Here’s a little hint!)

Wassail

Emerging (a little late) from the Fourth Trimester

Leave a comment

The past four months have flown by in a whirlwind of adjusting to a new baby, school activities, one illness after another (at least three colds per child, including the baby, the stomach bug for everyone EXCEPT the baby, strep for Babycakes that manifested as scarlet fever, and two ear infections (one double) for Sugarpie), family visits, potty training, Easter, and Little Bro’s baptism.

Add in the normal “newborns only sleep in arms and want to nurse 24/7” situation, and any and all aspirations I had to do anything remotely close to writing have just not happened. Which is disappointing, as I had a couple projects I’d hoped to complete this spring.

schitts-creek-chaos

Also, Sugarpie has officially dropped her nap. So that’s been…fun.

In seriousness, things have actually been going well with the addition of our new little guy. He’s happy and content, playful, and generally sleeps well given his age (various colds that resulted in yucky phlegm notwithstanding). He also is a champ at eating, so he’s now the size of a Thanksgiving turkey.

So what’s up for me going forward? I’ve been able to take on some small freelancing projects this month. While no actual writing has happened, I do have a outline for a sweet historical Christmas romance that I hope to finish up this summer or fall. I’m still planning to submit the post-Civil War historical romance, once I have a minute to finish some minor edits and get my submission materials together (ugh, synopses and blurbs). I also have some work I want to do to expand “Let Me Call You Sweetheart”, my sweet historical romance short story that appeared in Love in the Lowcountry, Volume 2: A Winter Holiday Collection.

And then there’s continuing work on the spinoff trilogy that ties into THE ONE I’M WITH, which has been in limbo for over a year.

In other news, Soul Mate Publishing has graciously extended my contract for Sweet Somethings, which means it will continue to be available for Kindle in its current iteration for another two years or so. Keep an eye out for news about how to get a print copy, if you’re interested.

So I think that’s all the important updates from me! Hopefully as Little Bro settles into more of a predictible schedule (and naps in the crib, not on me, with regularity), more actual writing will get done and I’ll have lots more to share in the near-ish future!

Another New “Edition”

Leave a comment

I hope all of you have had a joyous and restful holiday season!

December was surely a busy month in our house. Aside from wrapping up a couple freelance projects and prepping for the holidays, we were lucky to welcome a new “edition” to our family.

Baby Brother

Little Bro arrived right after Christmas. Big sisters Babycakes and Sugarpie are in love, and Mommy and baby are doing well!

Obviously, this is a big change for our family, and my plans for 2023 writing tasks are changed a bit, too. Once I get my feet back under me, I’ll hopefully have some fun writing-related tidbits to share! In the meantime, I’ll be soaking up baby snuggles while mulling over story ideas in my head.

Christmas in the Highlands (Virtual Tour & Giveaway)

1 Comment

Today I’m pleased to share Madelyn Hill’s holiday anthology, CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS. Read on to find out more about this pair of Christmas stories set in Scotland, as well as a giveaway happening through December 20th.

Christmas In The Highlands(1)

Christmas in the Highlands

by Madelyn Hill

Genre: Historical Romance

Blurb

A FAMILY FOR CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK ONE

Laird Malcolm Sutherland needs a bride. He has few requirements of his new wife; demands he should have insisted on with his former betrothed—namely, honesty, loyalty, and resources.

Lady Rossalyn Gordon will do anything to be rid of her tyrant father, even if that means deceiving the man who offers her an escape. If revealed, those secrets will either bring her mercy, or thrust her back into the hands of the devil who sired her.

When Rossalyn’s bastard of a father arrives at Sutherland Keep, going back on his word and ordering her return, Malcolm must decide if he can forgive his wife enough to listen to his heart and have a family for Christmas.

HIS BY CHRISTMAS
CHRISTMAS IN THE HIGHLANDS, BOOK TWO

Fiona Sutherland longs for love with the man she has pined after since she was a lass. When he weds another she is devastated, and questions why the man she pledged her heart to has forsaken a vow made in their youth. Could loving her be so hard?

Cameron Munro adores Fiona from afar, knowing her heart has been set on another. She is everything he desires—strong, loyal, and fiery in spirit.

Determined, he pledges to prove his love to her and win Fiona’s heart by Christmas.

ChristmasHighlands

Read an Excerpt

“I want to woo a wife.”

Brae tipped her head back and laughed. “You’ll not be needing my help with that, lad. Why, I could go in the kitchen and announce you’re looking for a wife and the lasses trample me trying to get to you.”

He chuckled, relaxed in his chair, and crossed his arms over his chest. “I want to woo Fiona.”

Abruptly, Brae sobered and then her eyes widened. “Fiona,” she exclaimed with wonder and a bit of surprise. “Are you certain, lad?”

He grinned. Fiona had earned her contrary reputation honestly. “Aye.”

“Well.” That single word held a heavy dose of skepticism. “‘Twill be tricky. She’s hurting and not likely to receive your attention. She’ll refuse you if you push her.”

Aye. Fiona was an independent woman, but with a vulnerability about her and something painful in her gaze that resulted from more than Mal’s so-called betrayal. Cam had witnessed it too many times. When those green eyes turned sad, it broke his heart. For her soul was strong and if sadness lingered, ‘twas a grievous wound within her.

“Lad, you’ll have to go slowly.” A quick smile flashed on Brae’s aged face. “Little things. Things a lass such as Fiona would appreciate. Nothing obvious.”

Aye, from what he knew of Fiona, she wouldn’t want a gift-giving swain made public. “Could you send a meal to her chamber as a courtesy?”

Brae’s smile forced her wrinkles to crease around her eyes. “For certain, Cam. ‘Tis a kind gesture.” She patted his arm and relayed his desire to one of the kitchen lasses.

His wooing would need to be quick, for if Fiona discovered his plan she’d fight him and the desire he kenned she’d have for him if she just gave him a chance.

Aye, he’d court her, gently but swiftly, for he’d only a fortnight.

And she’d be his by Christmas.

Enter for a chance to win free eBooks, Amazon Gift Card or a Holiday surprise. Give-a-Way ends December 20th! http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/f9e303c017/

Meet Madelyn Hill

Madelyn Hill’s novels have been nominated for the coveted InD’tale RONE Awards, awarded Favorite Historical Novel by Uncaged Book Reviews and Historical Novel of the Month by Long & Short Reviews. HeadShotMadelynHill

She has always loved the written word. From the time she could read and all through her school years, she’d sneak books into her textbooks during school. And she devoured books daily. At the age of 10 she proclaimed she wanted to be a writer. After being a “closet” writer for several years, she sent her manuscripts out there and is now published with Soul Mate Publishing. And she couldn’t be happier! 

A resident of Western New York, she moved from one Rochester to another Rochester to be with the love of her life. They are busy with their 3 children, grandson and a naught dog named Cannoli! They love to cook, go to the movies, and hang out with friends.

Amazon Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQKK4HG/

Amazon UK Buy Link: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01MQKK4HG/ 

Amazon Canada Buy Link: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01MQKK4HG/

Find Madelyn Online!

MadelynHill.com

Like Me!
Follow My Street Team!
Tweet Me!
Instagram!
Pin Me!
Goodreads!

Something Sweet (Virtual Book Tour)

Leave a comment

I’m very excited to be sharing a new Christmas romance release from a fellow member of the Moms Who Write community, Jessica Brown! Read on for more info about her adorable holiday romcom.

Something Sweet: A Something Series Christmas Romance

by Jessica Brown

Genre: RomCom, Christmas Romance

Blurb

Marley Winters’ life is her bakery. Just as the holiday season is kicking off, handsome John Klaus serves her an eviction notice: Marley must leave her bakery by the end of the year. Determined not to lose her bakery, Marley strikes a deal with the man she sees as her executioner: give her three weeks to earn the money she owes and she can keep the bakery. But when John keeps showing up at the bakery, Marley begins to wonder if he’s really as Scrooge-like as she first thought.

Something Sweet Book Cover

Read an Excerpt

Like every other end of the day in this bakery, I go through my checklist. Cookies made and cooling. Doughs resting. Fillings made and ready for their desserts. 

Satisfied everything is as it should be, I throw on my scarf, bundle into my coat, and grab my to-go cup of hot coffee. 

The hateful wind flings the door wide as I open it. Somehow I manage to keep hold of my coffee. Right now, its heat is a lifeline for this walk home. 

The wind whistles. Snow distorts the world around me. And I can’t get the darn door closed. Between the wind and clumps of snow stuck behind it, the thing won’t budge. I’m just about to sever my lifeline when a pair of gloved hands grip the door frame around me.

“Let me help with that, Miss Winters.” Mr Klaus towers behind me. We pull the door shut and I lock it. I turn toward him. He stands close, blocking the wind.

“Thank you, Mr. -”

“I think we’ve interacted enough where you can call me John.” He smiles as though letting me in on an inside joke. 

“John.” I expect it to feel strange coming out of my mouth. The formality of using surnames keeps him at an appropriate distance considering he’s the one who started this mess. First name basis is reserved for friends or acquaintances. Then again. I suppose I’ve seen him enough these past days where some might consider us acquaintances. At the same time, he did serve me the eviction papers. Can I really be friends with someone who did that? “I think I’ll stick to Mr. Klaus.”

“The weather is getting nasty,” he says. “And the ground is getting a bit icy in areas. Can I walk you to your car?”

He wants to walk me to my car? This man is an anomaly. How can someone do something so awful one moment and be so kind the next? I suppose the serving of papers wasn’t his fault, specifically. He was just doing his job. He really doesn’t have as much blame as Mr. Ferrar or Henry.

“Marley?” My name on his lips sounds foreign but not wrong. 

“Sorry.”

The air in front of him crystallizes from the warmth of his laugh. 

“You should stop apologizing all the time.”

“Maybe you don’t apologize enough.”

“I guess I never thought of it like that. Perhaps I don’t.” He steps back, putting enough distance between us that the wind makes me shiver again.

SOMETHING SWEET is available NOW for Kindle and in Print!

Meet Jessica Brown

Jessica Brown is a writer and SAHM based in Upstate New York where she lives with her husband, son, and tabby, Cutey. SheJessica Brown Author Pic started writing in 2017 and hasn’t covered even a fraction of the stories floating in her head. She can’t help but create the drama you hate to love and HEAs with the heroes you want in your bed. When she isn’t writing, you can find her posting on Instagram, playing with her son, and drinking tea. All the tea.

And maybe some coffee, too.

Find Jessica Online!

Amazon Buy Link for Something Sweet: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHLGLSTD
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicabrownauthor/
TikTok: http://www.tiktok.com/jessicabrownauthor
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaBrownAuthor
Facebook Readers Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jessicabrownsirens
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/Jessica-Brown/e/B0B5Y81LBJ
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62896140-something-sweet

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/JessicaBrownAuthor
Newsletter Sign Up: http://eepurl.com/ha7iED

Cause for Eliminiation (Blog Tour & Giveaway)

3 Comments

TourBanner_Cause for Elimination

Cause for Elimination

by Marla A. White

GENRE: Mystery

Blurb

Reclaiming her life after a devastating riding accident, equestrian Emily Conners’ world shatters again when she discovers her friend and boss laying in a stall with a smashed skull. Now jobless and with a handsome cop underfoot investigating the case, she’s torn between wanting the killer found and keeping her own secrets safe.

Detective Justin Butler always gets his killer, but this victim has a stampede of enemies and few leads to go on. Stonewalled by the tight-knit equestrian world, he looks to Emily for help, but she’s strangely reluctant. Is she hiding something, or is she afraid of their growing attraction?

As the search for the murderer heats up, their hearts become entangled and their lives at risk, forcing Emily and Justin to work together to find the killer before they strike again.

perf5.000x8.000.indd

Read an Excerpt

“Is that Larry’s trailer?” Lottie asked, sounding annoyed.

“The third one to leave the barn today,” Emily grumbled and studied her ragged fingernails, too afraid to meet Lottie’s gaze. “You still convinced I can do this? Take over her clients, I mean?”

“Kid, I think you can do anything you set your mind to.”

The moment hung there between them, full of potential and fear, until the chirp of Emily’s cell phone rescued her. She glanced at the screen, snorted in disgust, and shoved the device back in her pocket.

“What was that about?” Curiosity outweighed courtesy for Lottie. It was one of her traits Emily both hated and adored.

“It’s the cop who’s investigating Pam’s death. He wants me to introduce him to Ben Sanders.”

Her friend nudged Emily with her knee. “I understand the man is quite handsome.”

“Trust me, he’d be the first to tell you so.”

Lottie raised an eyebrow at her vehement response. “Why not show him around? I can imagine worse ways to spend a day. Or night.”

Blushing at the insinuation, Em stammered, “After last week’s rains? The muddy, pothole-ridden street to Ben’s place will suck the detective’s expensive little hybrid up to its windshield wipers.”

“Take Ellie May.”

“Why should I get my truck dirty? You’re welcome to—”

The obnoxious meep meep of a sports car horn cut Emily short. She glanced over her shoulder and clenched her jaw at the former beauty queen driving an expensive red convertible. Right behind her rolled Emily’s truck, glowing from a wash and fresh coat of wax. Both vehicles parked along the driveway as far from the dust kicked up by the riders in the other rings as possible.

“Oh, crap,” she muttered.

Marla A. White will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway!

Meet Marla A. White

Marla White is a story analysis instructor at UCLA and writing coach who lives in Los Angeles. SheMW Reese headshot graduated from the University of Kentucky (go Wildcats!), where she took her first horseback riding lesson. After dabbling in hunters, barrel racing, and weekly trail rides, she fell hopelessly in love with the sport of eventing.  She conquered Novice level before taking a break to pursue novel writing but hopes to return to the saddle someday soon.  Her first novel, “The Starlight Mint Surprise Murder,” was published in 2021 followed by the first two books in her Keeper Chronicles series. When she’s not writing, she’s out in the garden, hiking, or putting together impossibly difficult puzzles.

Social Media Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheScriptFixer

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marlaw825/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarlaAWhiteAuthor/

Buy Links

Books2Read:  https://books2read.com/u/b6zjM6

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3qk7XCP

BookBub:  https://www.bookbub.com/books/cause-for-elimination-by-marla-a-white

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/62233827-cause-for-elimination

All Author: https://allauthor.com/book/70256/cause-for-elimination/

Time for a Reset

Leave a comment

Wow, it’s been a minute since I’ve surfaced in some way, other than sharing some great new book releases. There’s a lot going on around here, including some things literary (which I’ll be sharing details about soon).

I made a decision earlier this month that I need to take a bit of a reset. Real life has definitely thrown some interesting things our way over the past couple years, and I haven’t taken the time to figure out a good balance. I’ve focused on freelancing, which has been great, but at the expense of my own writing.

counter-949233_640

I made the decision to scale back my freelancing – a lot – so I can focus on next steps with some of my in-limbo projects:

  • Do one final read-through and edit of my post-Civil War romance and send out queries for it.
  • Finish first draft of the first book in my Sweet Somethings spinoff trilogy.
  • Expand a short story I wrote for an upcoming romance anthology (more on that soon, once I have the details) and prep for self-publishing.
  • Return – at long last – to the Magnum Opus and really dig into developmental edits to update, improve, and maybe, just maybe, move toward self-publishing in the future.

As often happens with my ambitious to-dos, there’s a good chance more than one of those goals will not make it to completion. But that’s the game plan right now.