A visit with #author Judith Hudson

 

Today is a treat for me – and you as well! I’ve got one of my Romance Gems sistahs, Judith Hudson visiting me. She’s got a new 3 book boxed set out and she’s here telling us all a little about it.

Take it away, Judith….

Looking for feel-good escapist reading? Friendship, family and happily-ever-after. That’s how I describe this small-town romance series set in the Pacific northwest in the town of Fortune Bay.

It all starts with a ramshackle cabin on the lake – complete with an interfering ghost, landlord’s Aunt Augusta. In each book, the cabin proves to be a haven for people at the crossroads of their lives.

The series has grown beyond these first three books, the intertwining stories of three friends, but in my mind they are the heart and soul of the Fortune Bay series and it just felt right to put them out together in this three-book boxed set – new this spring!

Book one is Summer of Fortune
Maddie wasn’t looking for romance when she moved to Fortune Bay for the summer. She was just glad to find a place to stay that she could afford, where she could set up her dark room and work on the photographs for her first solo show.
A troubled childhood had left her a loner. It was just easier that way. But now for the first time she was finding the loneliness hard, since her daughter had gone and live with her father for the summer.
Maddie wasn’t expecting to meet a group of people who would change her life – and definitely not her landlord Jake Murphy, a single father himself, who just might teach her that she could have it all, friendship, family and happily ever after.

Book two, The Good Neighbor, is Maddie’s neighbor Frankie’s story, and it’s Sean who moves into the cabin this time.
Frankie’s life is going just fine, thank you very much. She has a lovely house on Majestic lake and a good job teaching at the local high school. What she doesn’t need is Sean Murphy moving in next door and shaking things up. He seems like just the kind of charming young exec her father would approve of – a black mark against him in her eyes.
What she doesn’t see are the demons Sean is hiding, the daughter he gave up as a teen who he’d give anything to find today.

Book three, Home For Christmas, it’s Louise’s turn.
Louise is coming home for Christmas, but just for Christmas. She has finally gotten out of Fortune Bay and now that her pastry course is finished, her future awaits her in Seattle, a long way away from her old job at the Fortune Bay Cafe.
Her old friend Blue has moved on too – he can’t wait forever, hoping she’ll see how much he cares. Growing up, he was her shoulder to cry on, but he’s moved on too.
But, with Christmas festivities swirling around them, Louise’s live take a sharp turn. Can Blue really turn his back on her now, when her whole future is at stake?­

Get this three-books-in-one introduction to the series. You might end up feeling like the reader who said – “I want to live in Fortune Bay!”

Judy Hudson

A little about Judy….

Judy grew up in Toronto Canada and St. Louis MO, then moved to the Pacific Northwest where she now lives on beautiful Vancouver Island.

Her romantic women’s fiction series, Fortune Bay Books, is set in the Pacific Northwest. In each book, someone at a crossroads of their life moves into a ramshackle cabin on Majestic Lake where they work through their problems with the help of friends and family, and the occasional nudge from the friendly spirit of Aunt Augusta. If a romance grows in the process, and it always does, well, so much the better.

As an landscape artist and photographer, the setting of the story is very important to Judy. “I’ve painted in the area for many years and I think it helps me make the setting real for the reader, helps draw them into the story. My characters are often artists, like Maddie, the darkroom photographer in Summer of Fortune who is at Fortune Bay for the summer to work on her first professional show, and Stephanie, the widowed matriarch of the clan who is finding a new life as a painter.”

You can connect with Judith here:

Website // Facebook // Instagram 

and of course on her one-a-month blog posts on the ROMANCE GEMS

 

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#SundaySnippet 5.3.2020

Today’s little gem comes from my Deerbourne Inn Novella HOPE’S DREAM which has just become available in PRINT form for the very first time. In this tiny snippet, Tyler Coleman realizes his plan to get Hope to sign a legal document is messing with the emotions he’s developing for her. 

As he started back toward the inn, his hands secured in his pockets against the night chill and his neck burrowed under his scarf, he realized he needed to tell her who he was before this went any further. He should have done it tonight, as he’d originally planned. Why he hadn’t was as clear to him as the night sky above: he was frightened once she knew the truth she’d want nothing to do with him.

Could he blame her? While he hadn’t outright lied, he hadn’t told her the truth, either.

Which was worse? An intentional fabrication or a lie of omission? Both felt equally wrong right now.

Disappointment had clouded her face when he’d broken their kiss. She felt something for him. That look proved it. He could only hope once she knew who he really was and why he was in her home town, she’d be able to forgive his subterfuge.

Available in print exclusively from The Wild Rose Press here: Hope’s Dream

Or, you can get your copy digitally, here: Amazon // Nook // itunes //

And, if you like to listen, Hope’s Dream is also available at Audible, here: Audible

Until next time ~Peg

Looking for me? I’m right here: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// Book Me

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#HappyAnniversary to Romancing the Genres – 10 years strong!

 

It’s the 10th Anniversary month for Romancing the genres and the Genre-istas are having a full month party! Today it’s my turn and I’m talking about why we should be celebrating out Independent Bookstores.

It’s no secret that writers are readers first. I know I was – and still am.

As a child, before I had disposable income of my own,  I got all my books from the local library. It was wonderful to be able to stop by any day and take out a number of books to read. The one drawback? I  had to return them. I really wanted to keep them, too, but couldn’t.

Flash forward to the time when I began making my own money and could spend it on things I wanted. Did I purchase fabulous clothes? Travel to exotic locations? Drive a luxury car?

Nope. I bought books. Hardbacks, paperbacks, new and used. Books were my binge purchase, my addiction.

Still are.

Drop by and read the rest of the blog, here:
Romancing the Genres

Until next time ~ Peg

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A visit with #author Marie Tuhart and a wicked good new book series!

You all know I love when one of my Wild Rose Press sistahs comes to visit. Today I’ve got Rose MARIE TUHART with me and she’s got a brand new book – the first in a new series – available that she’s excited to talk about ( so am I!!)

The title is TEMPT and the cover is hot!

 

A Wicked Sanctuary Novel – Surrender your inhibitions…..

I’m super excited to have the first book in a new series available. The idea for this series had been wandering around in my head for a few years. I had a basic sketch for three books but that was it. Last year I was in-between book and sat down with the idea and began really looking at it.

While things changed, the series soon blossomed from three books to nine book, with the possibility of more. The characters have changed since I first sketched them out, and continue to as I write the books. It will be fun to see each character as I write the books.

Blurb:

Wicked Sanctuary: surrender your inhibitions

After escaping her ex-boyfriend’s horror-themed campout, Sierra Blake stumbles into the a world she didn’t know existed. Dominance and submission. Curious and spirited, but with a history of picking the wrong man, she learns to trust Max and her instincts. But old fears come back into focus, and Sierra will have to find the inner strength to take control of her own life and become the woman she wants to be for Max.

Max Preston has shut himself off from woman, until Sierra crashes into his life. Confronted by a uninvited guest, Max’s protective instincts go into high gear seeing a lone, rain soaked woman on his doorstep. He wants nothing more than to bring her into his world of dominance and submission. But when his ex shows up, life becomes more complicated. All Max wants is Sierra now he has to prove it to her.

Discovering a new confidence under Max’s protection, Sierra finds herself falling for him. But when Max’s too-prefect ex-wife triggers old insecurities, she run – smack into her past with her ex-boyfriend and abusive father. Sierra fights against old insecurities and fight for what she wants. Max.

Excerpt:

“What the…?”

Sierra fought the urge to take a step back at the rough male voice. Blinking the rain out of her eyes, she stared at the bare male chest. Her heart pounded as she allowed her gaze to travel up the sculpted pecs, to unsmiling lips, stormy hazel eyes, straight, medium length black hair and a pair of red devil horns on his head. The man was tall, over six feet.

She swallowed. “Sorry to bother you. If I could borrow your phone, I need to call someone to pick me up.”

The man made a noise in the back of his throat. “Ralph,” he said over his shoulder, “towels please, and lots of them.”

His husky voice sent a shiver down her spine. Must be the rain. He was staring down at her.

“Get in here before you catch a cold.”

“But the floors…” She was dripping water from everywhere.

He reached out and took her by the elbow before pulling her into the foyer and slamming the door shut behind them. “Floors can be cleaned. You’re shivering.” He glanced down at her. “May I?” He gestured to her feet.

She nodded without thinking. He was right; she was soaked and cold. Her gaze shifted as he knelt down and unlaced her boots.

He was wearing dark, well-worn, loose pants and a pair of soft black shoes. Okay, maybe he was afraid she’d stomp on his toes.

“I’m sorry to disturb your party.” She ignored the zing of arousal shooting down her spine as his fingers curved around her ankle after removing her boots.

“Party?”

“The horns.” She waved toward his head.

He grinned, and her breath caught in her throat.

“Ah, yes. Saints and Sinners party.”

Halloween party. She’d totally forgotten Halloween was next week.

Another man, carrying towels, came rushing out of the doorway down the hall. The man in front of her grabbed the top one, shook it out, and offered it to her.

“Thank you.” She took the towel and rubbed her face. Warmth enveloped her skin. She bit back a delightful moan. The towels had been heated.

“Take the backpack off.” She obeyed without thinking.

Sierra shrugged the pack off and dropped it to the floor, then rolled her shoulders. When did her pack grow so heavy? She didn’t have that much in it.

The man shook out another towel and draped it over her shoulders before taking the one in her hands and replacing it with another one. “Ralph, grab one of the robes, please.”

“Sure, boss.” The man lumbered off.

“That’s not necessary. If I could just use your phone.”

He stared at her. She drowned in those hazel eyes. This was a man used to being obeyed, and she could play the game, at least for now. “Thank you, Mister… I don’t even know your name.”

“Max.” His gaze traveled from the top of her head to her toes and back again. Sierra’s spine stiffened and her chin rose.

“Max…” She used the stern voice she used with some of her co-workers. “I do apologize for pulling you from your party. All I need is a phone to call a friend to come pick me up.”

The gleam of respect that flashed in his eyes boosted her ego. After the last twenty-four hours, she needed to be reminded she still had a backbone. “Did your car break down?”

“No.” She wasn’t going to lie.

“How did you get here?”

“Walked.” Now wasn’t the time to get into the whole story.

His eyes narrowed. “Where did you walk from?” There was that note of steel in his voice once again.

Sierra let out a sigh. “The campground.”

Ralph appeared holding out a white robe. Max took it and held it out to her. By the weight of his stare, she had a feeling if she didn’t put it on, there would be an argument, one that had her losing.

With a sigh, she slipped her arms into the robe. She wobbled on her feet as Max pulled the fabric over her front, then before she could say anything, he lifted her into his arms.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was high as she instinctively put her arms around his neck.

“Carrying you. You’re swaying on your feet. I don’t want you to faint.”

“I never faint.” But after today who knows.

Get your copy  of TEMPT here:

Amazon // B &N //    appple books-iBooks // Kobo      // Universal Buy link

A little about Marie…

Marie Tuhart lives in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. Marie loves to read and write, when she’s not writing, she spends time with family, traveling and enjoying life.

Marie is a multi-published author with The Wild Rose Press, Trifecta Publishing and does some self-publishing. To be alerted on new releases on Amazon or  Book Bub. Also you can join Marie’s newsletter where she gives her group advance information on her books, runs contests and does giveaways just for newsletter readers. Marie can also be found on GoodreadsPinterestTwitter, and Facebook.

You can find Marie here…

Website // Facebook // Goodreads // Twitter // Pinterest // Book bub // Amazon // Instagram

Sign up for Marie’s newsletter at: http://bit.ly/32cZtiM

 

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HOPE’S DREAM now available in print from the Wild Rose Press

I love my publisher. I really do.

They’ve just released my Deerboune Inn novella in print form, sold exclusively through the Wild Rose Press.

HOPE’S DREAM was such a joy to write. It’s a rags to riches, sweet romance about a small town girl who survives loss and life changes, and a disillusioned lawyer trying to get his life together.

Here’s the blurb:

Hope Kildaire gave up her dream of becoming a nurse practitioner when a car accident killed her father and left her mother an invalid. Working two jobs and caring for her mother leaves the twenty-seven-year-old with no time for fun or relationships. When a law firm representing her paternal grandparents sends her several letters, Hope ignores them. She despises the family who disowned her father and wants nothing to do with them.

Lawyer Tyler Coleman’s job is simply to obtain Hope’s signature on a legal document. Getting it is harder than planned, though, when an unexpected attraction blossoms between them. If Ty is honest with Hope about why he’s in Willow Springs, he’ll fulfill his assignment but may risk hurting her.

The opportunity to have everything she’s ever desired is at Hope’s fingertips. Will her dream come true at the expense of Tyler’s love?

You can get your print copy only from the Wild Rose Press, here: HOPE’S DREAM

Or, if you like digital reads, here: Amazon 

And, lastly, if you like Audible, you can listen to the book here: Audible

So many ways to enjoy a lovely romance! Get your copy today.

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#LongandShortReviews #bloggingchallenge 4.29.2020

Here we are at Wednesday again. Today’s weekly blog topic for Long and Short reviews is Reasons why I stopped reading a series I loved.

This is a hard one because I haven’t. I still read the Stephanie Plum series, almost 30 books in, and I’ll never NOT read a JD Robb IN DEATH book – and she’s at 51!

I have, though, stopped reading authors who I adored once upon a time, so I’ll go with that today.

  1. Danielle Steele. I was a devotee of her work in the 1980s and 90s. But then every single new book she wrote was just like every other book she wrote. The heroines were the same character with different facial features and jobs, but they were all from a. poor backgrounds, b. abusive relationships, or  c.amnesiacs. After reading three books in a row where the same plot line in a different location occurred, I gave up. Some of her heroines were really too stupid to live. She’s still publishing books 30+ years after I stopped reading her, so what do I know? People still like her stories. Go figure.
  2. Michael Crichton. Loved the first few books, but after Jurassic Park it felt to me like he was phoning in his novels. Ridiculous plot lines that even I couldn’t suspend my disbelief over, and one dimensional heroes. Some people just don’t know when to leave the party. But again, what do I know?
  3. Robin Cook. Same thing. Loved the earlier books but then every new book was another pandemic, or outbreak, or the world’s gonna implode if not for this regular guy hero who just happens to be a doctor in some capacity. Enough. Time to call it a day.

Let’s see what some of the other authors in this blogging challenge have to say ( and let’s hope they’re nicer than I was!) L&SR

I’ve got a new release dropping on 5.20.2020. VANILLA WITH A TWIST is one of the new One Scoop or Two books in the Wild Rose Press summer series and it’s up for Preorder right now at the sale price of just 99cents.

 

Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenaged son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.

Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.

Can the budding friendship that follows help fix their broken spirits and lead to love?

Until next Wednesday, peeps ~ Peg

Looking for me? Here I am: Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// Book Me

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#teaserTuesday 4.28.2020

I’m excited about my new May 20, 2020 release of VANILLA WITH A TWIST, so today’s #TT is from that! hee hee. What, exactly, are Deacon’s motives in helping Tandy? Inquiring minds – Tandy’s,  in particular – want to know.

“Darla said these were caught this morning and are the true definition of fresh from the sea. I couldn’t resist. She gave me a sample of their”—he made air quotes with the tips of his fingers—“famous cocktail sauce to go along with it. Is it as renowned as she led me to believe?”

“More than their garlic knots, and that’s saying plenty.” She popped one of the warm and yeasty bread circles into her mouth.

They ate in silence for a few moments. It took everything in her not to devour the food like a pig at the trough, she was so hungry.

“Okay.” Deacon swiped his lips with a paper napkin. “We’ve both had a chance to eat a few bites, so why don’t you go ahead and tell me what’s on your mind.”

“What do you mean?”

He dipped his chin to his chest and regarded her over the top of his sunglasses. It was no wonder he was successful. If she’d had to sit across from him at a negotiation table, she’d have been the first to give in during a contest of wills.

She tried not to roll her eyes but found they had a mind of their own. “It’s just, well…”

He didn’t push, which earned him points for patience, something she was sorely lacking in, even on a good day.

“I’m not used to anyone helping me or”—she pointed at the table with her plastic fork—“feeding me. It’s a little, well, unnerving. I’ve been on my own a long time, taking care of myself, my business, and my son. And then one day, bam, you show up, and suddenly I’m eating lobster twice in a week when I haven’t had it for years, and my falling-apart machinery is being fixed without having to shell out hundreds of bucks I can’t spare. I’ve got a toolbox filled with stuff I could never afford, and my sink doesn’t leak anymore.”

“And those are bad things?”

“They’re unsettling things,” she shot back, her voice rising a notch. Determined not to let annoyance get the better of her, she dragged in a breath and mentally counted to five like she had so many times when she’d lived on her father’s farm. “It’s been my experience that men, er, people don’t go around doing stuff like that for other people they barely know, Deacon. Not without getting something in return. And what I can’t understand, what I can’t fathom, is why you would do what you’ve done for me this past week without the expectation of some kind of compensation. You know I don’t have the funds to pay you, so it makes me wonder what you’re really after.”

Intrigued? You can preorder your copy for just 99cents here: VWAT 

 

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#romancegems 4.27.2020 Covid19 Stress


It’s my turn over on the ROMANCE GEMS today and I’m talking about the stress COVID 19 is causing you. Stop by and give it a gander:  ROMANCEGEMS

And while you’re there, don’t forget to enter our monthly contest.

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#SundaySnippet 4.26.2020

In a little less than a month, my new romance novella VANILLA WITH A TWIST releases from The Wild Rose Press. It’s a sweet romance set in a seacoast town in New Hampshire and takes place in summer, after July 4th.

Here’s the set up:

Tandy Blakemore spends her days running her New England ice cream parlor, single-parenting her teenaged son, and trying to keep her head above financial water. No easy feat when the shop’s machinery is aging and her son is thinking about college. Tandy hasn’t had a day off in a decade and wonders if she’ll ever be able to live a worry-free life.

Engineer Deacon Withers is on an enforced vacation in the tiny seaside town of Beacher’s Cove. Overworked, stressed, and lonely, he walks into Tandy’s shop for a midday ice cream cone and gets embroiled in helping her fix a broken piece of equipment.

Can the budding friendship that follows help fix their broken spirits and lead to love?

And here’s a little something from Deacon’s viewpoint after he meets Tandy for the first time:

Deacon slept through the night for the first time in months. After glancing at the analogue clock next to his bed and realizing he’d been down for over ten hours, he stretched and couldn’t help the smile drifting across his face.

Yesterday had been…fun. His stroll along the boardwalk, the hour he’d sat in the sand watching kids playing in the water and teens tossing a Frisbee around, even the unexpected repair job he’d done at Vanilla with a Twist had all blended into one of the most enjoyable afternoons he’d had in years.

Thinking of the ice cream parlor had him conjuring the face of its enchanting owner.

Tandy Blakemore was an interesting mix of died-in-the-wool Yankee, old-world New Englander, and modern-day siren. Although she probably wouldn’t consider herself the latter. That thick tangle of coppery red hair bundled on top of her head had his fingers itching to yank it all down and see it drift about her face from the ocean breeze. His mother’s antique emerald necklace didn’t sparkle and shine as much as the green in Tandy’s eyes did. The little knock of awareness that hit him square in the stomach when she focused on him was surprising. It had been a long time since he’d felt anything akin to desire. Another consequence of working too hard and not enjoying the life he’d built.

From sharing a meal with her and listening to her views, she seemed the sort of woman who didn’t suffer fools, called a spade a spade, and understood the concept of a good day’s work. Her striking looks and coloring added to his desire to know her better.

A quick check of his barren cupboards and near- empty refrigerator told him breakfast would have to wait until he went into town and bought some provisions. While the lobster roll he’d had for dinner had been mouthwatering, the leftovers wouldn’t be as appealing for a morning meal. The memory of the shocked look on Tandy’s face when she’d spotted the amount of food he’d brought made him smile. He’d taken the remaining garlic knots into the shop before heading home and left them with one of Tandy’s servers to give to her. From the way she’d sighed and closed her eyes when she’d popped one, hot from the container, into her mouth, Deacon knew they were a favorite and he’d wanted her to have them.

Available for preorder now at the sale price of just #99cents here:VANILLA WITH A TWIST

Looking for me? Here I am:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// Book Me

Until next time ~ Peg

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A LoveRomanceReads Facebook party – part II! 4.25.2020

We had so much fun last Saturday, we’re doing it again today!

Games, free books, and fun!

Want a little escape? Join us for a Facebook Party TODAY, April 25th from 12 to 6 PM, California time. THAT’s PCT, folks. Three hours later on the East coast! I’ll be on livelivelive at 7:30 P.M. EST!! ( 4:30 Pacific time.)

Authors will stop by every half hour and host the event – a total of twelve different authors! This is your chance to interact with the people who make love come alive and create Happily Ever Afters for a living.

It’s the ultimate Escape Into Romance while staying at home.

Here’s the link to join us: Love Romance Reads Romp

I’ve got some fun things planned, plus I’ll be telling you all about my new release, dropping 5.20.2020 and there will be chances to win free ecopies of some of my books!!!
Pass this on to all your friends who love romance and need a feels-good boost during these trying times!!! See you late, peeps.
Here’s the schedule of participating authors: See your fav author? Then come and support her!!
12:00 PM – 12:30 PM
Welcome
12:30 PM – 1:00 PM
Margaret Kay
1:00 PM – 1:30 PM
CM Peters
1:30 PM – 2:00 PM
Elle Keaton
2:00 PM – 2:30 PM
Ellen Mint
2:30 PM – 3:00 PM
Miski Harris
3:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Kris Jacen
3:30 PM – 4:00 PM
TL Travis
4:00 PM – 4:30 PM
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM
5:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Laura M. Baird

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