I’ve joined with 11 other VELLA writers to give you a chance to win a $170 Amazon giftcard in this amazing giveway.
Just click on the following link to enter: VELLA Scroll down.Follow the instructions and enter to win! Easy Peasy.
If you are new to VELLA, here’s a little about VINDICATION, my current episodic story ( new episodes are listed every monday-wednesday)
Someone is murdering teenage girls in Washington, DC. The FBI’s special division, the SPCD – the Sexual Predators of Children – has been working the case for the past 6 months. When a Senator’s daughter goes missing, the team, lead by Tucker Petrie, has to call on retired profiler – and his past partner – Kella O’Brian. Reluctantly, she rejoins the team and they search for a link to the girls who have been abducted, then killed.
ONE FINAL NOTE: you DO NOT have to sign up for my newsletter like the promo says because my newsletter is now defunct. You can enter and just like the read pages listed. Mailchimp corrupted my recent newsletter and it was just easier to delete the account.
I’m not a grandma yet – still have about 3 weeks to go before the blessed event – and it is a blessed event! There’s something so magical about your baby having a baby. I simply can’t wait to be a grandmother – much like I couldn’t wait to be a mom.
Back then, when I was 29, having a baby was an exciting, and in some instances, fearful time.
Becoming a grandmother at 61, I find I am experiencing the same emotions of excitement and fear. The fear is founded. Anything can go wrong during a birth, even if the woman is healthy and hale, as my daughter is. But I don’t want to dwell on the fear today. I want to express the excitement – and if I’m being honest with myself – a little self indulgence as well.
When my daughter told us she was pregnant I screamed, fell to my knees, and started sobbing, uncontrollably. Why? At the time I hadn’t a clue in a cardboard box, but it was such an emotional release I don’t think I stopped smiling for a week afterward.
Now, with the arrival date imminent, I think I can understand why I reacted the way I did.
First, I was so happy for my daughter and her husband. They were supposed to get married in a huge to-do in May of 2020 and had to -of course – postpone the wedding because of Covid. The huge reception ( 400 people) is still on tap for May 2022 now, but they wanted to be married, so in a small church ceremony with only a few family members, they wed a year ago, today, so Happy Anniversary to them.
Both of them are over the age of 30 and I knew they both wanted children. I thought they were going to wait until after the reception, but they figured, “why not now? We’re married, legally, so…”
I truly can not wait to be a grandmother. I’m thrilled I’m still young and healthy enough to experience having a baby that isn’t mine but that is related to me and be able to hold it in my arms, play, feed, and cuddle it whenever I want.
I truly can not wait to see how my daughter is going to be as a mother. We all think we will never say/do the things our own mothers did – that classic mother/daughter angst dynamic — but in the long run, we find ourselves doing and saying if not all the same things, many of them. It will be interesting in coming years to possibly hear things come out of her mouth she swore she’d never say as a mother because I said them, or do things she vowed never to do, again for the same reason.
Since I didn’t have a great role model for a grandmother – too strict, too mean, alcoholic – I intend to be the antithesis of that for my grandchild. I won’t say I’ll be indulgent because I respect my daughter’s rules and requests on things ( like no sugar, junk food, etc) but I will be loving, caring, strict with a smile, and of course, present. My grandmother never was present even when she and I were the only people in a room. In truth, she didn’t like my mother much so that trickled down to me since I was her child.
Family dynamics will kill you every time, kids.
But…
Not me. I WANT to be in the child’s life. I WANT to experience the things my grandmother never wanted to because she couldn’t be bothered. I ALREADY love this child and I haven’t even met it yet. I WANT to do all the things I loved doing with my own daughter and which I know she loved as well. I want to be a positive influence on the child, impart whatever wisdom I can ( and have) and I want the child to know and experience love. Complete, all encompassing love.
So.
Happy Grandparents Day to all the GP’s out there already, and those like me, the soon-to-bes.
I love this entire series from the Wild Rose Press. Darlene Fredette is the latest author to pen one of these scrumptious stories in CHERRY RED, available now!
She creates ice cream. He radiates heat. Cherry Red (One Scoop or Two)
This summer, ice cream entrepreneur Carly Redd’s only focus is expanding her business—until she’s coerced into attending her ex’s engagement party. Showing up without a date is unthinkable. She reluctantly agrees to be escorted by her brother’s co-worker, although doing so breaks her rule of not dating firefighters.
The daughter of the town’s fire chief should wear a Do Not Touch sign, but firefighter Noah Harding’s interest blazed the moment he saw Carly. Agreeing to be her fake boyfriend is a no-brainer, but convincing Carly to trust him with her heart is harder than extinguishing a fire.
Overstepping the platonic-only rule is as dangerous as fire and ice swirling into a tempting combustion.
“This might seem like a strange question, especially since we’ve just met, but would you be interested in going out for a coffee? Or an ice cream?” Noah rested an arm on the bar.
Carly glanced down at her jeans and black T-shirt embroidered with the company name and logo…a cluster of red cherries. In a room full of women all dolled up in fancy—and some a bit scanty—dresses, why would this incredibly handsome man ask her on a date? “I appreciate the offer, but I’m not interested…”
Noah raised a brow. “I know you like ice cream, so is it the coffee, or me?”
“What? No. I mean, yes.” She took a second to collect her scrambled thoughts. “I like coffee. I just don’t hang out with firefighters.” Not that he was a real firefighter. Did impersonators count in her rules of men to avoid? She never dated a stripper, but she wasn’t sure she could have a relationship with a guy who was paid to take off his clothes and have other women fawn over him. Not that the guy asked her on a date…just a simple coffee. His frown made her feel badly. “I’m sorry. It’s nothing personal.”
“Burnt in the past? No pun intended.” He smiled.
She couldn’t help but smile back. “Something like that.”
Darlene resides on the Atlantic Coast of Canada where the summers are too short, and the winters are too long. An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loved to develop the many stories coming to life in her head. She writes contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners. When not working on her next book, she can be found with her husband, her daughter, and her yellow Labrador. Darlene’s favourite pastime is taking summer daytrips to the Valley to soak in the small-town feel.
I lovelovelove when my Wild Rose Press sistah’s come for a visit – especially when they have a new book releasing soon! D.K. Deters has a new Western Historical Romance coming on 10.6.21 titled THE TEXAN’S FAVOR. Here’s a little about it:
A stranger’s path, a broken promise, and a second chance…
Ambushed, Texas Ranger Jake Fontaine’s a dead man until a Kansas spinster raises her shotgun in his defense. Despite the rogue lawman’s obsession to bring in his brother’s killer, duty demands he escort her to the next town.
Kat Collins is a thief, though an honorable one. She’s on the run from controlling kin and aims to escape her past. Traveling with Jake offers the perfect cover—until her uncle finds them sharing a campfire and imposes his own kind of justice—a wedding.
Marriage will cost Jake his freedom but refusing may cost him his life. Kat figures he’s bound to recognize her on a wanted poster. Would sharing passionate nights in his arms be worth the peril?
“Not that it’s any of your affair, Ranger, but I’m goin’ to St. Louis. I didn’t plan for any delays. You were in trouble, and I tried to help.” She lifted her chin. “Although you bein’ a Texas Ranger and all, I’d think you would’ve had the upper hand.”
He stuffed his hat back on. Contrary to his usual confidence around women, she baffled him. “Lady, you’re riding a horse to St. Louis, alone?” Stubborn woman, someone should be responsible for her welfare. Was Emmett involved with her decision?
She slammed the coffeepot to the smoking fire and a moment later stomped across the ground separating them. At over five-and-a-half feet tall and her boot heels adding an extra inch, she dug her forefinger into his chest. “Ranger, you question where I’m going? Don’t forget you’re in Kansas. Don’t Texas Rangers ride in—Texas?” She stretched the word Texas and placed her hands on her hips. “Did you lose your way?”
Her words strained his good intentions. He leaned forward, wrapped his hands around her thin wrists, and murmured, “Honey, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever lose my way to Texas.”
D. K. Deters is a fantasy and historical romance author. She was a communications consultant before turning to a writing career. Like many historical romance authors, she’s always had a deep interest in history, and the nineteenth century is her favorite. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her adult children and their families. Her hobbies include restoring old dollhouses and secondhand furniture. Christmas is her favorite time of the year. Her debut eBook, Christmas Once Again, was also published by The Wild Rose Press.
I am so tickled pink this morning because the latest addition to the PRIDE OF BROTHERS series – AIDEN – dropped at midnight. This story just wrung me dry when I was writing it and I am so in love with the three main characters – yes 3! The hero Aiden, a cancer surviving Private Investigator with a naughty side and a twinkle in his eyes; Lexi, the trivia-Tourettes’ spewing Ph.D who doesn’t know her own worth; and Bronte, the chocolate lab who makes Aiden’s life run smoothly from a medical standpoint and who is more human than most, well…humans! Bronte even made it on the cover!
I hope you enjoy their story. If you’ve read any of my WILL COOK FOR LOVE series, or the first book in this one, Rick, you will recognize many of the characters that help Lexi and Aiden discover the truth behind her (Lexi’s) sister’s death.
Protecting her is his job. Loving her was never part of the bargain.
Lexi Buckley wants answers about her younger sister’s death. The police have labeled it a suicide, but Lexi doesn’t believe it. Stymied in her investigation, she doesn’t know where to turn next. After a chance encounter with a private investigator, she thinks her prayers have been answered.
Aiden Keane has never been an answer to a prayer before, but he agrees to help Lexi. A quirky combo of brains and beauty, the pixie blonde makes him feel things no professional ever should for a client.
When their investigation puts Lexi’s life in jeopardy, her safety becomes his number one priority. The hard part is not falling for her.
“Lexi?”
“You are, without a doubt, the most attuned and insightful man I have ever met.”
He cocked his head, a ghost of that sexy grin lifting one corner of his mouth. “I think that’s a compliment.”
“It is. Believe me, it is.” She clasped her hands in front of her, her own smile finally making an entrance. “You just put into words what I’ve been thinking but felt if I said it out loud I’d come off like a total bitch.”
He took a step closer, bringing them almost into contact. Lexi willed herself to stay put and not dissolve against him like she so ardently wanted to.
“I don’t think that word can ever apply to you.” He lowered his voice and dipped his head a bit, giving her the impression his words were only meant for her to hear. Fixated now on her and not the man—and woman—up ahead of them, his pupils grew in size, shoving the riot of blues to the edges, as he gazed at her face. The opposite corner of his mouth lifted, mimicking its twin, to create the most charming and seductive of grins. “In fact”—he was so close his body heat warmed her from head to toes like a blanket fresh from a hot dryer—“I don’t think you’ve ever had a bitchy thought or moment in your life.”
“You’d be surprised,” she mumbled. Of its own free will, her gaze dipped down to his mouth. She licked her lips at the thought of how they would feel against her own, and the rush of air he sucked in pulled her along with it.
Without warning, Aiden lifted a hand, caressed her cheek with the back of it, as he sighed her name.
The notion he was going to kiss her barreled through her, and she couldn’t think of one reason why she shouldn’t kiss him right back.
He swiped his tongue across his bottom lip, his lids dropping half closed as he continued to concentrate solely on her. It didn’t matter a whit they were standing in the aisle of a crowded bookstore surrounded by books and people and waiting to speak to a man who may be able to answer some questions about her sister’s death. All that did matter was the attraction crackling in the air between them—an attraction growing hourly since he’d sat himself down next to her on that first flight.
Just as he bent a bit more toward her, and she responded by lifting up on the balls of her feet, the moment shattered.
“Excuse me, but can you move up?” An irritated voice from behind yanked them out of the sexual fugue they’d both drifted into. Aiden’s eyes opened wide again, his lashes beating a rapid tattoo against the top of his cheeks. He shook his head like a dog shucking water from its back, turned to the woman with the annoyed voice and said, “Please. Go ahead of us.”
Without waiting for a response, he wrapped a hand around Lexi’s arm and gently tugged her off the line. Silently, he propelled her to the back of the store, down a secluded hallway near the restrooms. With a furtive glance to the right, then the left, assuring they were alone, he spun her so she faced him.
Brows pinched together and looking at her through inquiring eyes, Aiden took a breath, let it out slowly, then said, “I have to ask. I’m pretty sure of the answer, but I have to hear it from you first, Lexi.”
She stopped him before he could give a voice to his question by rising up on her toes and fusing her lips to his.
For the second time in the span of a few minutes, her never-resting mind went completely still. No data spewed forth about how humans were the only species who kiss, or the crazy laws about kissing still on the books and punishable by fines or imprisonment in some states, or even that, on average, each person spends about 330 hours of their life engaged in the art of kissing.
Intrigued? I hope so.
You can get your copy here if you are (hee hee): APOBA
Happy reading, peeps. For me, I’m off to eat cake to celebrate!
Over 225 (!) authors will be participating in a giveaway event that lasts the entire day – 9.24.2021~
Just click on over to the Facebook group any time during the day, scroll through the posts, comment on them and you’ll be entered to win whatever prize the author is giving away!
I’ll be giving away Amazon gift cards and ecopies of my newest books!
What have you got to lose? Absolutely nothing, right?
This new addition to the wonderful Thesaurus series drops on 10.12.2021 and it couldn’t come sooner for this writer!!! Jam filled with all kinds of conflicts your characters can get into plus the resolutions to solve them, this book is a game changer for writers.
Autumn is here and readers are gearing up for some serious tackling of their to-be-read list.
September is Read a Book a Month and N. N. Light’s Book Heaven is your guru to unleashing your inner reader. They have teamed up with over forty-five authors to offer loads of books plus gift cards. Readers can win free books including hardcover, e-copy and audiobooks plus Amazon gift cards. The list is long and personally, I’d love to win myself but alas, I can’t. So, I’ll just live vicariously through the lucky winners. If there’s a particular book or prize you’d like to win, be sure to say which prize you want when you enter via Rafflecopter. Enter below and good luck!
I’m so thrilled my new women’s fiction, NYC romance, BALANCEreleased into the book reading world today. Every book release day fills me with a sense of euphoria mixed with dread!
The euphoria is because I am so proud and excited to have a new book – one of my babies – out in the world.
The dread because I know not everyone will like it and the reviews may be mixed.
But I’ve developed a thick skin over these past few years, so that helps some with the negativity!
Phillip and Decker’s road to an HEA is winding and at times tortuous. As one of the book’s reviewers put it: “She( Peggy Jaeger) had me laughing, crying, angry, and hopeful, all between the first and last pages of this book.”
Love that!
I hope if you read the book, you’ll agree with that sentiment.
She’s a wealthy socialite who survived an abusive marriage. He’s a hardworking guy raising his son and caring for his widowed father. They come from different worlds, but it’s said…opposites attract. Can they find the balance between their two lifestyles to make their love work? Or will their differences tear them apart?
