One April After the War

by G.S. Boarman

GENRE: Historical Fiction

Blurb

When Mary Warner is requested to attend a meeting with her estranged godfather, President Ulysses S. Grant, she quickly finds that an invitation from the office of the President is an offer she can’t refuse.

 

Fresh from concluding a counterfeiting sting in Cincinnati, Secret Service agents Merritt and Argent are tasked by the President to convince Miss Warner to return with them to Washington, D. C. For the two Treasury agents, this simple assignment to escort the socially awkward and willful young woman on an 800-mile railroad journey from Louisville, Kentucky to the White House proves far more interesting and difficult than the men could have ever thought possible. And, in the face of danger, it may just turn out that Mary is more of an asset than a problem for the two agents.

 

For Mary Warner, the trip begins to take on a sinister meaning as she finds herself virtual prisoner to Merritt and Argent. Madness, morality, and murder all swirl in a strange April storm at midnight turning this odd odyssey into something so much more than a mere trip between cities.

Read an Excerpt

The jailer languidly unlocked the cell door, calling to Miss Warner, “Your custodians have come to claim you. Up with you.” Miss Warner remained unmoved. The jailer turned to Merritt and Argent. “This is how she has been all afternoon. What she needs is a good thrashing to bring her to a proper sense of respect.” Miss Warner’s plain dress, a work dress with none of the frills and fineness of a woman of any means, was not the only barometer by which the jailer measured her: she did not even carry with her a handbag, nor did she wear a hat or cloak or gloves. She gave all the appearance of a woman of the lower classes, and therefore not worthy of any special consideration.

The sheriff had accompanied the jailer to Miss Warner’s cell, mildly curious as to all this fuss over such a woman as she. He had, in fact, delayed sending the message that Miss Warner had asked him to send; he simply did not believe a woman of her apparent stature and committing such a crime could claim patronage at such high levels of Cincinnati’s judicial system or of the federal government.

G.S. Boarman will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway.

Meet G.S. Boarman

After the death of G. S. Boarman, a great niece cleaned out the old Kentucky family farmhouse and in the attic, amid the rusting coffee mill, the rickety outdated furniture that was still awaiting repairs, and the stacks of vermin-eaten Harper’s Weekly’s and Police Gazette’s, she found a curious box marked simply “M”.

On the kitchen floor, the metal hasps were flipped back and the top pried off. Lying on the top of a very neat and orderly collection of things was a scrapbook and lying loose inside the scrap book was a note that said simply, “Please finish the story.” The scrapbook itself contained a rough outline of a narrative with sometimes undecipherable glosses and cryptic references to mysterious sources.

From letters and notebooks, ledgers and calendars, train schedules and stockholders’ reports, the story was slowly extracted and pieced together, and the small treasures, carefully wrapped and preserved in the box, took their place in the narrative.

Boarman’s will had already been read, probated, and executed, but the niece, as executrix, felt obligated to fulfill Boarman’s last wish — to breathe life into the long-ago story of a woman who held some importance to Boarman.

Website: https://www.gsboarman.com/

Today I’m happy to host author Virginia’dele Smith as she shares some of her tips for writing a small-town romance. Be sure to read on for info about her new book, GROCERY GIRL, and a giveaway.

Tips for Writing a Small Town Romance

Consistency and detail are both critical to developing the setting when a story takes place in a small town. I like to think of the community I am designing as a character with attributes that my readers want to see and hear and feel and smell and sense and touch.

To keep up with how the town is created, I recommend building a world guide from the very beginning of your book or series. The world guide is a document that lists everything you know — both stated in the book and still living in your mind — about the small town. Include geographical region/state/country/roads/lakes/rivers/mountains, the names of businesses/parks/neighborhoods/schools/medical services, and be sure to write about the feeling, ambiance, and personality of the town through community events/festivals/ceremonies/decorations/teams.

Write down every single detail…the high school’s mascot and team colors, the name of the Christmas festival, the color of the reading benches that surround the courthouse on the grounds of the town square…every single detail. These seemingly petty, minute details foster a feeling of belonging within your readers. They know things that only the honored residents of the town know which makes them special, unique, and part of an elite and exclusive group. But when you include them in the text of the book, you must remember every tiny thing you’ve shared with the readers.

As authors, we juggle settings, characters, tropes, mysteries, deaths, births, loves, weddings, tragedies, victories, and many story elements that get edited out of a roughdraft and elements that we don’t even write into a story. It is so easy to forget what we thought and what actually made it into the final manuscript. This is why a world guide is essential to using wonderful details and maintaining consistency when writing a small-town romance.

Your world guide can be a tool that you keep behind the scenes just for your reference, or you can use your world guide as a lead magnet or share it to connect with your audience. If you’re writing a series that takes place in one small-town, refer to the elements of the community that you shared in earlier installments while adding new locales and interesting tidbits to keep your readers engaged, both in the small town and in its residents.

Grocery Girl

by Virginia’dele Smith

GENRE: Wholesome small-town romance

Blurb

She inhales life with every breath. He’s suffered a world of pain. Can they rise above tragedy to find their happily ever after?

Maree Davenport refuses to let a tearful past rule her future. After losing her parents at the age of five, the big-hearted fabric designer is determined to embrace her feelings and find happiness no matter what. So when she literally runs over a handsome new firefighter in the produce section, the hopeless romantic is certain she’s just collided with destiny.

Everyone Rhys Larsen ever loved has died. And though he may have hit it off with the pretty girl at the store, the haunted EMT knows better than to let her into his heart. But when an accident leaves her wounded and in need of care, he vows to nurse her back to health.

As Maree struggles to break through the grieving man’s walls, she fears his deep-seated superhero complex will make him unreachable. And as Rhys grapples with trying to protect the beautiful woman from his curse, he worries he’ll have to choose between doing the right thing and true love. 

Can this conflicted couple reconcile their opposite takes on adversity and find purpose in each other’s arms? 

Grocery Girl is the touching first book in the Green Hills wholesome small-town romance series. If you like strong but vulnerable characters, emotional growth, and quaint backdrops, then you’ll adore Virginia’dele Smith’s celebration of joy.

Read an Excerpt

And then her gaze locked with a set of uniquely gray eyes.

Maree had never seen this firefighter before. Their stare held for a smidge longer than a split second. Then he nodded a brief acknowledgment and kept walking. It took her a blink or two — or maybe ten — to get her wits about her.

He was definitely new in town, because there was no way she would have forgotten having seen him before. Taking a deep, intentional breath and with a little shake of her head, she broke out of the mini-trance she’d found herself in, forced herself to refocus, and finished her shopping.

She giggled at herself when she recounted the whole second-and-a-half time lapse of the not-quite interaction to Miss Sadie when she delivered her fruit a half hour later. When Sadie asked what the rest of him looked like, Maree honestly had no idea.

“Miss Sadie,” she confessed, “I didn’t make it past those eyes.”

“Well, that’s surely a shame,” Miss Sadie crooned. “Now you’ll never know if it’s the same fellow when you meet him in town or simply walking down the street.”

She was giving Maree a hard time, teasing in good fun, but Maree wasn’t worried.

“Oh, I’ll know him,” she replied with dreamy confidence. “I’m certain I’d know him anywhere.”

Virginia’dele Smith 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 Virginia’dele Smith

Ashli Montgomery is a wife, a momma, and an author whose passion is sharing love stories, books, quilts, yoga, recipes, and all of her favorite things in life. She is quilting to mend the mind by spearheading and educating a community of friends who love quilts and quilting but hate Alzheimer’s disease through Quilt 2 End ALZ, Inc. (https://quilt2endalz.org/) , a 501(c)(3) nonprofit she launched to use her quilting hobby as a platform to advocate for an end to Alzheimer’s disease.

Ashli writes under the pen name Virginia’dele Smith to honor Syble Virginia Tidwell, Adele Gertrude Baylin, and Etta Jean Smith. These three cherished grandmothers were beautiful role models, teaching Ashli to love without judgment and to always put family first. Through Grandma Syble’s journals and appetite for books, through Momadele’s priceless cards and handwritten letters, and through many, many hours of visiting over fabric at Mema’s kitchen island, Ashli also learned to treasure words.

You are invited to join Ashli in Green Hills (https://www.facebook.com/groups/welcometogreenhills) and learn more about Virginia’dele Smith by subscribing to Ashli’s newsletter, The Gazette (http://eepurl.com/gJIDcv), at AshliMontgomery.com.

Website: www.AshliMontgomery.com

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09KQDK8D8

Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/author/virginiadelesmith

FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/AshliMontgomery.VirginiadeleSmith/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashlim.virginiadelesmith/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeAndCoach

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ashlimontgomery/

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/dy4m35uz51h4vasexqwy30e8g?si=0d9ba9c8948d49a4

Today I’m excited to host author Mariëlle S. Smith as part of her blog tour for her author journal and planner, 52 WEEKS OF WRITING. Read on to get some good advice for goal setting and author planning as we move toward the start of 2022, along with info on how to enter her giveaway.

It may seem obvious, but I start every year filling in my own author journal and planner. Each volume of 52 Weeks of Writing is undated, so you can start whenever you want, but even before I published it, I was used to planning out the year ahead somewhere during December. That’s why I crack open a copy for personal use at the end of each year.

I’m not saying everyone should buy a copy of 52 Weeks of Writing, that that’s the best way to start your writing year on the right foot. I do want to talk about a planning habit of mine that made it into the journal/planner because I’d been doing it for years already, and with great success.

In 52 Weeks of Writing, during Week 1, I ask you to write down your long-term goals. Where do you see yourself in ten years? Five years? Three years? Two? Where do you see yourself in a year from now? In nine months? Six? Three?

Over the past two years, I’ve often been asked why I ask after long-term goals backwards. Wouldn’t it make more sense to start small and then expand? Well. No. Not in my experience. And that’s because I don’t just believe in setting goals. I believe in setting realistic goals.

I’m very much in favor of dreaming big dreams, but the more unrealistic your goals, the more you’re setting yourself up for failure. And consistent failure is not a great motivator. Consistently achieving your goals, that’s a great motivator. That’s what causes those dopamine hits that’ll keep you moving forwards.

So plan for success, that’s how you start your writing year on the right foot. Planning backwards is helpful here because it makes you ask over and over, “So iIf I want to be there in ten years, where do I need to be in five years’ time? If I want to be there in five years, where do I need to be in three years’ time? And if I want to have achieved that in the next three years, what does that mean for my two-year goals, my one-year goals, etc.?”

Backtracking like this gives you a great sense of whether you’re expecting too much, too little, or exactly the right amount of yourself. Perhaps you see yourself having published ten novels in ten years. As you figure out what your other goals have to be in order to achieve that big ten-year goal by then, you might realise there’s no way you can possibly pull that off, not while, let’s say, working fulltime and are thinking of having another baby.

Maybe you set out to have been published in ten literary magazines over the next ten years. But, as you spell out for yourself what that means for your five-year, three-year, and so on goals, you might come to the conclusion that you could be doing much more with the time you have for writing.

Of course, having ten novels published or having been published in ten literary magazines in the next ten years might be utterly realistic for you. We’re all different, we all want different things from our writing, and we all find ourselves in different circumstances. That’s why this exercise is so useful, because it will demonstrate quickly what can and cannot be realistically done within your specific situation.

As you do the exercise, don’t forget that goals aren’t set in stone. I use goals as guidelines, as something to keep me focused, but I revisit them at least annually to see if anything needs to go or needs to be added.

And whatever goals you set for yourself, don’t forget to celebrate each and every milestone. In 52 Weeks of Writing, I explicitly ask you to write down how you’re going to celebrate each of your goals as you achieve them, because it’s all too easy to ignore the small steps and just keep going. But we wouldn’t reach our big goals without those small steps, and they should be honoured as such.

 

52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner

by Mariëlle S. Smith

GENRE:   Non-fiction / self-help creativity

Blurb

“A brilliant, supportive, challenging workbook, highly recommend.” Jamie Sands

You, too, can become the writer you’ve always wanted to be!

The 52 Weeks of Writing Author Journal and Planner:

• makes you plan, track, reflect on, and improve your progress and goals for an entire year long;
• invites you to dig deep through thought-provoking prompts and exercises; and
• helps you unravel the truth about why you aren’t where you want to be.

Two years after publishing the first volume of 52 Weeks of Writing, writing coach and writer Mariëlle S. Smith brings you the updated third volume. Similar in style but reflecting the tweaks made to her coaching practice during the pandemic, 52 Weeks of Writing Vol. III is even better equipped to help you get out of your own way and on to the path towards success.  

Ready to start living your writing dream? Order your copy now.

Read an Excerpt

Mariëlle S. Smith will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click here to enter the giveaway.

Meet Mariëlle S. Smith

Mariëlle S. Smith is a writer, writing coach, and editor. She lives in Cyprus, where she organizes private writer’s retreats, is inspired 24/7, and feeds more stray cats than she can count.

Contact Links

Website: https://mswordsmith.nl

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

Blog: https://mswordsmith.nl/blog/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18455235.Mari_lle_S_Smith

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

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYOpjmj83mvMM2L348F1w

Purchase Links

All purchase links can be found on https://mswordsmith.nl/journal

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Weeks-Writing-Author-Journal-Planner-ebook/dp/B081Y6ZMPY/

As we come to the start of the summer after more than a year of not being able to do, well, much of anything, I’ve noticed a lot of people discussing potential trips they plan to make in the near future. Many seem to be focusing on visiting family (that’s our big plan for the summer). But I know some people who itching to once again journey to far-flung locales.

Which makes today’s Wednesday Weekly Blogging Challenge from Long and Short Reviews rather timely.

My Fantasy Vacation

I’m kind of between far-flung vacations right now, as my kiddos are still so little. And I’ll admit that I’ve already taken a couple of fantasy vacations. Hubs and I went to Rome when we were still just dating (hence all the awesome on-location references I was able to make in WHEN IN ROME), and our honeymoon in St. Lucia was heavenly (though longer than the jaunt made by Marissa and Josh in THE ONE I’M WITH). And I’ll happily go to Disney World any time.

But I’ve always dreamed of taking a vacation someplace tropical, perhaps even by myself.

For this vacation, I would have pack so little that I could just take one carry-on bag on the plane. I would have a small resort cottage on the beach, with a fully stocked kitchen and lots of balcony or patio space. There would be direct beach access, and lots of amenities to enjoy, like a spa, a selection of movies to watch whenever I want, meals offered in a hospitality building if I wanted to partake, and, of course, plenty of time to nap, read, and write.

I don’t know if such a place exists or if I’ll ever be able to take such a vacation. But one can dream.

What’s your fantasy vacation?

Everybody has things they collect, and for various reasons. Maybe there’s some sort of sentimental value attached to the things people collect. Or perhaps a specific interest. Or maybe we just think something is neat.

For me, the things I collect are tied to memories or feelings I want to keep close. So what are my collections?

Books

This should come as a no-brainer. Most authors are also avid readers, and I am no different. At various points in my life, I have had to purge my personal bookcase because I’d either outgrown the stories it held or because I was moving and just didn’t have the space for everything. Most of the books that went by the wayside arrived at the local library (and probably their periodic bargain book sales, as paperbacks tend to fair poorly in circulation). But certain books remained.

I have a healthy collection of books about history, for example, particularly about the American Civil War. For much of my teen and adult life, historical fiction filled my bookcase. I have some Dickens, the entire Harry Potter series in hardcover. I also have quite a bit of Tolkien.

As far as authors go, I really only have two whose books I consciously collected and kept. The first is L.M. Montgomery, author of the Anne of Green Gables series and many more delightful books. I discovered her books in fourth grade, thanks to my then-best friend, and from there my collection was born. I’m pretty sure I have every novel she ever wrote and all of the curated short story collections as well.

The second author is John Jakes. I started off with his North & South trilogy, moved on to the Kent Family Chronicles, and then went about acquiring every historical fiction novel he ever published. I understand he has some science fiction(?) books written under a different pen name, but those I haven’t read.

Cookbooks

I love to cook and bake, so of course it’s no suprise that I have a collection of cookbooks. I think at one point early in my marriage, I had a total of like twenty different cookbooks. Possibly more. I got rid of a lot of them when we moved from New York to North Carolina, and then several more when we finally unpacked at our forever home. I think I’m down to about ten, now, but I’ve also acquired a few more since we moved south. So I might be creeping back up toward twenty.

Christmas Decorations

I love Christmas; it’s my favorite holiday. As with other things, I’ve had to purge a lot of decorations over the past few years as we made our move south. But I love getting new Christmas decorations (teachers get a lot of that sort of thing as gifts from students) and figuring out where to put everything when the time comes.

I have a couple themes when it comes to Christmas decorations. Snowmen, somehow, became a major theme on accident. We have a couple different iterations of the Nativity. The only ornaments I really collect have been the Hallmark Gone With the Wind movie collection (yes, I know), though I haven’t gotten any new ones in several years as they’ve started sort of repeating. My mom started the collection for me back in 1997, and I think I have about 27 of them.

INteresting Scarves

About three years into my teaching career, I got really into scarves as a fashion statement. Mostly because I was cold all the time in the winter. I have scarves of all materials, colors, and designs, though admittedly I haven’t worn many of them since moving to North Carolina. (Winters here are a bit milder.) I probably should clean some of them out, but I like knowing they’re hanging, all organized, in my closet.

Foreign Currency

The most interesting thing I collect may be foreign currency. The collection wasn’t even mine to begin with. My dad started collecting foreign currency when he was in the Air Force and deployed to different countries around the world. He kept them in an old cigar box that, I assume, he acquired during a deployment to Panama in the early 1980s (that’s unverified).

At some point when I was in middle or high school, he passed the collection on to me. I have added to it over the years. Some items came from more of his deployments. Other things came from friends who travelled out of the country. For example, a high school friend brought me a 1000 lira note from her family’s trip to Italy when we were in 10th grade, just prior to Italy adopting the Euro. One of my dad’s coworkers gave him a Polish banknote from the Cold War era, which he passed along to me. My aunt and uncle gave me a banknote from Nepal after one of their missionary trips. I received coins from a Swedish penpal when I was in 6th grade.

Some of the currency is probably valuable, such as the pristine Canadian two-dollar note (which they don’t make anymore as it gave way to the “toonie”). The Polish Cold War-era note, also, is obviously out of circulation, as is the 1000 lira. I also have some examples of American currency, like a $1 silver certificate, the Sacagewea $1 gold coin, and a couple of $2 bills. And some Euros to round it all out.

Right now, the collection is still in the cigar box. I plan to put everything into a currency collector binder to keep everything safe and neat. It just hasn’t happened yet.

What do you like to collect?

THE GUMBEAUX SISTAHS

by Jax Frey

Genre: Fiction Humor/Women’s Lit

Book Blurb

Five Southern women wage a hilarious war against the ageism problems of one of their deep-in-trouble sisters using their improbable friendships, evil-genius schemes, oh-so-numerous cocktails, and a shared passion for good gumbo.

When southern artist, Judith Lafferty, loses her long-time, prestigious museum job to a much younger man, she finds herself devastated, alone in her sixties, and on the brink of financial disaster. Enter the incomparable Gumbeaux Sistahs, who deliver day-old coffee to her front door as a ploy, then go on to kidnap her, feed her excellent gumbo, and come up with outrageous solutions to her problems. Their motives are just good excuses to drink wine, have a great time, argue over whose mother makes the best gumbo, and, most of all, help a sister out. Ageism, dangerous boyfriends, deep loneliness, and any other challenges that can face the over fifty crowd don’t stand a chance against these five resourceful ladies. The Gumbeaux Sistahs is a heart-warming, smart story of friendship and unexpected shenanigans that you do not want to miss.

Read an Excerpt

At 3 p.m., she found herself in the living room, feet-up on the coffee table, sweaty, dirty and exhausted. Then the doorbell rang. In her mind she could hear her kids saying to her, “Don’t kill whoever it is, Mom, it’s probably just the mail lady delivering the mail as she does every day. You need the mail, Mom. Please don’t hurt the nice lady.”

She chuckled in spite of herself, and went to greet the mail lady, who had seen Judith looking this bad a time or two before from doing chores around the house. So Judith was not worried about her appearance when she swung open the front door. Before she could get it completely open, a hand carrying a coffee cup appeared around the corner, and came dangerously close to poking her in the eye.

“Hello, dear,” came a cheerful voice from the other side of the door. “You forgot your coffee yesterday, so we decided to bring it to you.”

Judith peered around the coffee cup and the door, and was completely shocked to find the four women from the coffee house yesterday, standing on her front steps. Stunned, she sputtered, “What the . . . ?”

“Special delivery!” yelled Lola, with a huge grin on her freckled face.

“You followed me home?” said a stunned Judith, in shock and embarrassment over her appearance. She did not want to be rude, but this was above and beyond weird. She thought, “Have they been stalking me? That’s so creepy!” She deeply regretted opening the door.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” said Dawn sarcastically, checking her phone as she talked. “Nobody has time for stalking anymore. Now we just follow people around. That’s different, right?”

“What?” thought Judith. She found herself wondering who the heck these women really were. They looked harmless enough, but she was suddenly filled with doubt, and a little bit of fear.

Helen gave Dawn an exasperated look and explained, “Don’t mind her, Judith. She’s teasing. We didn’t follow you. We know where you live. Lola lives right across the street, remember?”

Lola added with a smirk, “Don’t tell me you forgot that already.”

“No, I didn’t — sorry.” Judith took hold of the cup, and was surprised to find that it was cold and kind of used-looking. A thought occurred to her and she asked, astonished, “Wait — is this actually the same coffee from yesterday?”

“Yes, dear,” said Bea, smiling brightly, “We took good care of it for you.”

Author Jax Frey will award a randomly drawn winner a $25 Amazon/BN GC and will award a second randomly drawn winner a print copy of the book (US only). Click to enter the Rafflecopter contest!

Meet Jax Frey

Born in New Orleans, Jax Frey came into this world, whooping and hollering, with a sense of love and celebration of Louisiana culture, food, family and fun.  Translating that celebration into her writing and onto canvas is her true calling.  Her colorful art depicts everything-Louisiana from her dancing Gumbeaux Sistahs paintings to her popular line of original Mini paintings.  Because over 25,000 of the mini paintings have been created and sold into art collections worldwide, Jax holds a world’s record for The Most Original Acrylic Paintings on Canvas by One Artist.

Jax is also the co-founder of the Women of Infinite Possibilities, an empowering women’s organization started in Covington, LA, where Jax lives today with her loveable, tornado-of-a-pug named Lucy. The Gumbeaux Sistahs is her debut novel.

Email:  jaxfreyart@gmail.com

For more information please visit – www.gumbeauxsistahs.com

FB and Instagram – Gumbeaux Sistahs

https://www.facebook.com/jax.frey.3

Jax’s art can be seen at:  www.artbyjax.com

The Print Release Giveaway for THE ONE I’M WITH has ended, and winners have been notified!

And the Grand prize winner is:

• Mary Lou MacKenzie (GRAND PRIZE )

Winners of a Kindle set of the entire Sweet Somethings series:

• Vladimir Palyuga
• Rachel Flavin
• Alan Saxon
• Kimberly Camille Tiu
• Kathy Bergman

Thanks to everyone who checked out my giveaway!

THE ONE I’M WITH comes out this Wednesday, and I don’t know about all of you, but I’m excited. Remember that there’s a Rafflecopter Release Day Giveaway going on right now, and you can preorder your Kindle copy right this very second.

But you don’t have to wait until Wednesday to get a glimpse….

Chapter 1: Girls’ Night Out

Music blares from the Bluetooth speaker on my dresser, and I sing along at the top of my lungs as I buzz between my bedroom and the adjoining bathroom. Saturday’s long-standing girls’ night out tradition dates back to when my three best friends and I moved to Asheville, North Carolina, after our college graduation. This week’s get-together couldn’t come soon enough. Three spring redecorating jobs have kept me swamped for the past month and a half, and today I worked later than usual to wrap up a few odds and ends for my clients.

My gaze falls on the bedside clock. I slow my steps with a grimace. My ride should be here in ten minutes or so, and I still haven’t decided on shoes or jewelry to go along with the black burnout leggings and clingy thigh-length red tunic dress I’ve chosen for tonight. Normally I’d be waiting patiently on my front porch by now. But a last minute phone call right after dinner pushed the start of my night-out preparations back almost a half-hour.

Running my fingers lightly through my curly pixie cut, I duck into my closet and grab two pairs of shoes. I haven’t had a chance to wear the red heels yet, but the knee-high black riding boots would be a more sensible choice. Parking near Pack Square tends to be limited, especially on the weekend, and the boots will be more comfortable if we have to walk more than two blocks to the bar.

I put on one of each shoe and turn to the cheval mirror in the corner. Sexy sometimes trumps comfort, even if it means blisters the next morning. Hands on my hips, I lift my right foot up so I can only see the red shoe on my left. My eyes narrow, and then I switch feet. I alternate my view of the shoes a couple more times, no closer to a decision.

A phone call interrupts the music playing on my cell phone. I hobble over to my dresser and check the caller ID. My older sister, Beth.

Figures she’d call just as I’m about to head out the door.

My hand hovers over the phone. My sister calls me once or twice a month, sometimes more if I haven’t been diligent about keeping in touch. But tonight, given how crazy my week has been and how much I just want to relax with my friends and a cold beer, I don’t feel like talking to her. Pursing my lips, I press the button on the side of my phone and send Beth to voicemail. There will be time enough tomorrow to listen to her well-intentioned lecture on how it’s okay to stay home once in a while, that it’s time for me to focus as much on the direction of my personal life as I have my professional life.

Which is sister-speak for quit with the casual dating and commit to somebody already.

Easy for her to say. She married her college sweetheart, and two seconds after landing her dream job at a Manhattan talent agency, she popped out a kid who’s about as perfect as they come. Everyone expected me to follow suit.

Including myself.

But then life happened, and all my expectations evaporated.

Shaking my head, I banish those thoughts. Life is great. I like my life.

The doorbell rings, jolting me out of the morose track my mind almost took.

“Marissa!” a familiar voice shouts from my front hall.

To find out who’s at Marissa’s door, preview all of Chapter 1 here.

Now that all the official things are official, I can announce that you only have to wait one more month for the next installment in the Sweet Somethings Series.

Preorder info is still forthcoming, as are announcements about Release Day activities and so on. Be sure to stay tuned to my socials (Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube) and join my email newsletter to stay up to date on the latest news.

In the meantime…

The One I’m With (Sweet Somethings #3)

The truth is, letting yourself fall in love means daring to risk heartbreak.

Interior designer Marissa O’Brien has sworn off long-term relationships, instead protecting herself from a broken heart by following a specific set of rules when it comes to her many flirtations and first dates. She’s content to just have fun in the world of romance, but all her rules fly out the window when she grabs the attention of a sexy, international stranger during her weekly Girls’ Night Out.

Josh Mattingly has spent the last two years trying to turn over a new leaf, focusing on his role in the family corporation and erasing his womanizing reputation. In Asheville, North Carolina, on business, the last thing he’d planned on was getting involved with a local girl. But one encounter with Marissa has him hooked. He soon falls hard for the designer, and now he’s terrified to reveal his romantic past for fear she’ll bolt.

Marissa recognizes a playboy when she sees one and tries to keep her attraction to Josh under wraps–until they share a passionate kiss that leaves both of them singed. Still, she knows their love affair has an expiration date, and everything is destined to end once Josh finishes his business in Asheville. Now, along with showing his family that he’s left his old habits behind, Josh has a new challenge–proving to Marissa that she can trust him with her heart.

Coming October 12, 2016 From

Have you all heard of Fresh Fiction? If not, it’s pretty cool. In addition to checking out new authors, books, and reviews of the same, they have this program where readers can sign up to receive a monthly Box Not to Miss, which contains free paperbacks and ebook download codes for new releases. It’s a great way to get some fresh fiction in your hands – literally.

Now, why do I mention this?

Because, as a #FFBoxNOTtoMiss sponsor, BETTER THAN CHOCOLATE is one of the May featured books!

And what’s even cooler is that I have a May #FFBoxNOTtoMiss, containing three paperbacks and all four ebooks, to giveaway to one lucky fan!

How do I win this box, you may ask?

Easy. Just enter my Rafflecopter giveaway between midnight on May 5th and midnight on May 9th!

One winner will be chosen and notified within 24 hours of the end of the giveaway, and must provide a valid mailing address within 48 hours of notification. (This is very important, as the access code for GOOD GIRL is only good through May 16th, and I want to make sure your box is in your hands before then!)

As always, be sure to follow me on my socials, and sign up for my email newsletter to stay on top of announcements about new releases and future giveaways!

2015 proved to be a huge year for me. We moved from my Upstate New York hometown to Charlotte, North Carolina. Even as I wrestled with sleep training, weaning, and teething, I returned to work full-time as a 4th grade teacher.

And I landed my first publishing contract for not just Better Than Chocolate, but an entire series! (If you want to keep up on the latest news when it comes available, don’t forget to sign up for my email newsletter!)

Another new year is upon us, and as usual, I find myself thinking about the goals I would like to set for myself this year.

In years past, I’ve focused my goals and/or resolutions on a variety of aspects of my life. But with my career as a published author in its fledgling state, I decided to be a little more precise with this year’s list of goals.

This is not to say, of course, that I don’t have goals relating to my personal life. I’d like to get back in shape (or even just start with finding time to exercise regularly again!), read more for pleasure (I just downloaded about a dozen new Kindle books), figure out how to balance my return to full-time teaching with being a mom (because I’m still not there yet), cook more (this will be much easier when we’ve moved to our new house and I have a gourmet kitchen), and so on.

But it’s important to put my writing goals down for all to see. You can keep yourself accountable if you not only write down what you hope to achieve, but make sure those in your support system are aware of what you want to accomplish.

So here goes.

1. Finish Sweet Somethings Book #2. This one is kind of a no-brainer and a requirement, as we’re looking at an April release. But to hit that release target, I need to get the finished product to my editor at Soul Mate soon. So that’ll be my primary focus for the next couple weeks.
2. Related to number one… Write something every day. I forget where I read it, and I’ve probably read it in several places. But this fall there were a lot of days, weeks even, when I never even opened my writing program. Even if it’s just a couple paragraphs, writing every day will help me keep moving forward with my career.
3. Develop a stronger online professional presence. Before Babycakes, I had more time to spend online, blogging, and interacting with friends and followers on social media. I used to live-tweet SU basketball games and episodes of “Sleepy Hollow” – which I haven’t even watched this season – and a lot of my early online connections were made with people who liked the same things I like. I want to get back to all that, along with doing a better job promoting colleagues’ work as well as my own.
4. Peddle my post-Civil War historical romance. I have a lot of editing to do, but I’d like to start shopping the manuscript around before 2016 is out.
5. On a similar note… Return to the “Magnum Opus”. I haven’t done any serious work on the Magnum Opus in close to a year. Volume one is almost to a point where I’d feel comfortable querying it, and the characters have started bugging me to not only take them down that road but also return to volume 2, which has sat in First Draft Limbo for literally years.
6. Do more freelance work. Some of it’s boring, some of it doesn’t pay particularly well. But I’d like to take on freelance projects with more regularity, even if just to say, “Hey look, I made an extra $50 this month!”
7. Write and submit more short stories. Short fiction isn’t my forte, and I don’t pretend that it is. But I have a lot of little plot bunnies swirling around that could become interesting stories if I ever got around to playing with them. I’d like to do that – and if they don’t hit the pages of online or print literary magazines, I’ll just start posting stuff here for fun.

Bring it, 2016!