Category Archives: 3 Wishes

July 21, 2016 · 5:22 pm

Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop

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Growing up, I was a latch-key kid, a term almost extinct nowadays. Long before after school programs became the norm for most children of working parents, I would be discharged from school at 3 pm and be on my own until my parents came home at 7pm, every day from third grade until I was a teenager and got an after school job. This was my life. During the summer, though, I really couldn’t be left alone for up to 12 hours every day safely, so from the time I was in kindergarten until I turned 14, I was sent away every summer with my Grandmother.

My grandmother was a very hard, no-nonsense Irish immigrant who brokered no fools and ruled with that proverbial iron fist. I would accompany her every July and August to an upstate New York retreat owned by a good friend of hers. I learned to swim in the creek abutting the cabin we’d stay in, helped make breakfast, lunch and dinner for the guests staying at the main house, and generally spent the majority of the day on my own as my grandmother visited with her friends, played cards, and drank.

For an only child and loner who loved solitary pursuits like reading, this was nirvana.

 

This was the time before handheld technology ruled the world.

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No cell phones, no Kindles, no iPads or iPods. We listened to music on the radio, put coins into a pay phone to call people, and read actual books with pages you had to manually turn. And this was the time I learned to love romantic fiction. I read Pride and Prejudice for the first time  during my 11th summer, sitting by a cool, bubbling creek, a canopy of trees above me. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Rosemary Rogers, Victoria Holt, just to name a few, became my constant companions during those long lonely summers. I learned a lot about writing, about romance, and about sex. Much more than my compadres at the time, at least.twrpbloghop2

 

I was hooked. Romantic fiction, and all genres of romance, became my summer companions. I’d take out 20 or more books from the library at one time, put them in a separate travel bag, and work my way through them during those 2 months away from home. It made the separation from my mother less painful and, having to deal with an alcoholic grandmother, much easier. I could drift away to the times of knights and ladies, lords and wenches. I learned about strict, moral codes of times gone by, and that no matter what the chronological time period, love always won in the end. Every book had a happily ever after, something my life did not. But I could hope…and I did.

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Those long, drowsy, warm summer days and nights with a book in my hands remain my favorite summer  memories to this day. I grew up reading about love, hoping for it to come into my own life when I was grown.

And it did….

For other Authors Participating in the Wild Rose Blog Hop, click here:

1.
Sorchias Wild Rose Summer Treats Post | Visit blog
2.
RV Memory | Visit blog
3.
Tricia Schneider | Visit blog
4.
Anna Durands Spunk & Hunks | Visit blog
5.
Judy Ann Davis Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
6.
Spicy Summer Treats with Mia Downing | Visit blog
7.
Linda Nightingale. . . Wordsmith | Visit blog
8.
Jana Richards – Journeys with Jana | Visit blog
9.
Summer Memories of books well read @ Peggy jaeger. com | Visit blog
10.
Summer on Cape Cod ~ Kathryn Knight books | Visit blog
11.
Summer Fun at the Beach, with Katie OSullivan | Visit blog
12.
I Believe Ill Go Canoeing – C. B. Clark | Visit blog
13.
Summertime Love is Sweeter with. . . Frozen Mango? @ Kimberly Keyes blog |Visit blog
14.
Wild Rose Summer Treats Blog Hop @ Brendas Blog | Visit blog
15.
Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
16.
Midsummer Magic on the Isle of Skye! | Visit blog
17.
My Guilty Summer Treats from Lori Sizemore | Visit blog
18.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
19.
Hywela Lyns post for the WRP Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
20.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats & Reads | Visit blog
21.
Camping is a Recipe for Summer Treats and Reads | Visit blog
22.
The Snarkology | Visit blog
23.
Summer Survival Tips @ Nitty Gritty Romance | Visit blog
24.
Wild Rose Press Summer Treats and Reads Blog Hop | Visit blog
25.
Nell Castle – Summer of the Sweat Lodge | Visit blog
26.
Myth, Magic & Wonder Susan Edwards, Breathing Life into the Past | Visit blog
27.
Romance with Spice, Sydney St. Claire | Visit blog
28.
Author Kat de Falla | Visit blog
29.
Anni Fife. Exciting new author of Steamy Romance with Irresistible Heroes | Visit blog
30.
Summer Vacation, Victorian-Style, AND a Giveaway | Visit blog
31.
Wildfires, Monsoons, and Mojitos – Author Susabelle Kelmer shares how she keeps cool in a climate that is on fire! | Visit blog
32.
Casi McLeans recipe for Hot Reads and Cool Treats | Visit blog
33.
Cool Summer Reads: Jeannie Halls Romantic Suspense Blog – Where Hearts Tremble From More Than Attraction | Visit blog
34.
Summer treat – Adult Slushie | Visit blog
35.
How to Rediscover the Magic of Bicycling | Visit blog
36.
Charlottes Tips on How to Stay Cool in HOT New York City | Visit blog
37.
Caryn McGill | Visit blog
38.
Hywela Lyns Inrerplanetary Summer | Visit blog

 

 My most recent book, THE VOICES OF ANGELS.

Blurb:

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Love is the last thing Carly Lennox is looking for when she sets out on her new book tour. The independent, widowed author is content with a life spent writing and in raising her daughter. When newscaster Mike Woodard suggests they work on a television magazine profile based on her book, Carly’s thrilled, but guarded. His obvious desire to turn their relationship into something other than just a working one is more than she bargained for.

Mike Woodard is ambitious, and not only in his chosen profession. He wants Carly, maybe more than he’s ever wanted anything or anyone else. As he tells her, he’s a patient man. But the more they’re together, Mike realizes it isn’t simply desire beating within him. Carly Lennox is the missing piece in his life. Getting her to accept it-and him-may just be the toughest assignment he’s ever taken on.

Buy Links: Amazon /// TWRP /// Kobo /// Nook

If you need to find me, you can:  Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

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Filed under 3 Wishes, Author, Candy Hearts, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, female friends, First Impressions, Life challenges, Literary characters, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women, The Voices of Angels, The Wild Rose Press, There's No Place Like Home, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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May 31, 2016 · 9:27 am

Lessons I’ve learned about being a published author.

I found out my first book, SKATER’S WALTZ, had been contracted for publication while I was attending the 2014 RWA conference in San Antonio, TX. Shocked, thrilled, and terrified, I thought the hard part – finding someone willing to publish my novel – was over.

Yeah, not so much.

Lesson one: it’s not over when you type THE END. It’s just the beginning…

the end

After I signed on the dotted line, the real work began. I’d been published for years in literary fiction anthologies and in non-fiction magazines and periodicals. The literary magazines accepted the work as is, the non-fiction articles were sometimes reworked and refined by editors to allow for spacing considerations. My point is that it was someone else’s job to get the piece publishing presentable.

Not anymore. Welcome to the world of book fiction.

Lesson two : the hard work starts after you contract for publication…

the end2

My first book went through 3 rounds of edits between my editor and myself before it was sent to galleys for actual publication. And even after it went out to the copy editor, there were still some changes that needed to be made. I was ready to rip my hair out at one point. All I kept thinking as more and more edit suggestions came my way was, “Why the heck did they want this if it needs so much work??”

Lesson three: Editors are the most underrated and undervalued people on the publishing food chain…

the end3

All editors are good at their job – they have to be. But the ones who are truly great make a good book even better. They find the little twists and turns of a phrase, or a word change, or a sentence deletion that is key to making the reader want to read more.

My editor is one of the great ones.

Lesson four: you should have taken marketing classes in college…

I will admit this freely – I was unbelievably naïve when I signed that first contract. I thought the publisher was going to do all the marketing necessary to promote my book, get it on a best-seller list, and generally skyrocket me to fame.

Yeah, AGAIN, not so much!

The minute your book is contracted and the editing begins, you need to start promoting it. Often and everywhere. FaceBook, Twitter, Pinterest, your website, blog tours, newspaper press releases, your Aunt Maimie’s bridge club. Anywhere, everywhere, and as often as you can, so that when you finally have a release date, the buzz about the book will have started, grown to fever pitch and resulted in so many pre-orders your head spins.

Lesson five: before the first book hits the shelves you’d better be working on, or done with, book #2…the end5

As a writer you can never – NEVER – rest on your laurels. It is a true axiom of publishing: you are only as good as your next book. So while you are doing all that dreaded marketing, take time each day and write…write…write. I had book two on my editor’s desk before book one was released. Same for book 3. Keep ‘em coming.

Lesson six: you need to take time to breathe and enjoy…

 Yes, I was overwhelmed, naïve, frustrated and generally anxious with the release of my first book. But I was also thrilled at having my dream – finally – come true. It was a long road for me to book publication. I was 54 years old when the first one came out, a time when most people are starting to look toward the end of their working life. Not me. Mine was just beginning and I wanted to savor every moment of how it felt to hold my first book in my hands; see my name in print on the cover of a book I’d penned; sign my first autograph on a copy someone had actually paid cash-money for! Don’t let anything ever take away or overwhelm you from that sense of wonderful, soul-soaring achievement you’ve accomplished.

the end 4

My fourth book, THE VOICES OF ANGELS was released on March 11. I didn’t feel as overwhelmed this time because I knew the basics. Promotion and marketing were all lined up and ready to go, I pre-ordered by print copies so I had them ready, and a book signing was waiting for me.

But the anticipation, the soul-empowering elation of having a book actually published was as spine tingling and heart-stopping as with that first one. And I think it will continue to be that way each and every time.

THE VOICES OF ANGELS

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Love is the last thing Carly Lennox is looking for when she sets out on her new book tour. The independent, widowed author is content with a life spent writing and in raising her daughter. When newscaster Mike Woodard suggests they work on a television magazine profile based on her book, Carly’s thrilled, but guarded. His obvious desire to turn their relationship into something other than just a working one is more than she bargained for.

Mike Woodard is ambitious, and not only in his chosen profession. He wants Carly, maybe more than he’s ever wanted anything or anyone else. As he tells her, he’s a patient man. But the more they’re together, Mike realizes it isn’t simply desire beating within him. Carly Lennox is the missing piece in his life. Getting her to accept it-and him-may just be the toughest assignment he’s ever taken on.

Buy Links: Amazon /// TWRP /// Kobo /// Nook

If you need to find me, you can:  Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

 

 

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Filed under 3 Wishes, Author, Contemporary Romance, Editors, Family Saga, First Impressions, Life challenges, love, MacQuire Women, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Skater's Waltz, Strong Women, The Voices of Angels, The Wild Rose Press, There's No Place Like Home, Uncategorized, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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May 1, 2016 · 1:12 pm

A necessary Evil…Reviews

As a writer,  just like any artist, you can live or die by the reviews of your work. I’ve had 5 books published since March 2015 and many reviews. Nearly all of them have been positive, but there have been a few that have stopped me in my tracks.

First, a disclaimer: I’m going to be honest and tell you I really don’t care all that much about reviews. I know you’re probably thinking I sound conceited or snobby or even elitist, but when all is said and done, I write stories for myself. I’ve said before if I’d never been published I would have been fine because I still would have written down all the stories in my head, despite the fact no one would ever see them but me. I write for me.  Me. The fact that other people like reading what I write is a humongous bonus to my ego, but in the end, I’m my biggest fan and critic.

Okay, that really does sound conceited, but I don’t mean it to!

So, on to the clunkers.

My Valentine’s Day book 3 WISHES was a simple boy meets girl-misunderstanding story. Chloe thinks Matt is taken and, to boot, has a baby on the way. A miscommunication that drives the story. Part of the plot included the issue of Chloe’s father’s affair with a much younger woman. One reviewer gave me a one ( 1) star rating because she said I wrote the wrong story. I should have centered the plot on the affair and not on Chloe and Matt and that it detracted from the story I wanted to write. Okaaaaaaaaay. How dumb does that sound? The book was a ROMANCE, not a woman’s fiction novel about infidelity. Now, a one star rating sucks, no mistaking that. But the real issue was the statement I’d written the wrong story. That one made me mad. It was my story. I wrote it the way I wanted. If this reviewer wanted a story about a cheating husband, SHE should have written one.

Okay, rant over.

Another reviewer for the same book said that it wasn’t funny “at all.” I put that in quotes because that’s exactly what she said. Okay, I realize not everyone gets every joke, every innuendo, every nuance of a pun.  People’s funny bones are tickled by different things, I get that. But she’s the only one who mentioned the humor in a negative way. All the other reviewers stated it was  funny and filled with amusing moments and thoughts. I guess my humor just didn’t work for her.

It’s a good thing my skin is thick, my ego solid, because there’s no such thing as a perfect review for every book you write. I’ll admit that even some of my favorite authors have written books that I didn’t like, but I didn’t put up negative reviews about them, and second guess their talent or story telling. I simply held my tongue and continued reading their newest books when they were released. One very real fact of life my mother drilled into me growing up is that if  you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Keep your mouth shut and  your opinions to yourself. SHUT THE  **** UP, in other words.

Not everyone is like going to like everything you write. Fact of life as an artist. But do you really have to tell the world how much you didn’t like something? Have we become a society that just panders to the negative, degrading and insulting one another’s work?

I sure hope not.

Now, having gotten all that off my chest, I’m going to open my ego for another round of  – hopefully – nice comments and let you know that my newest book THE VOICES OF ANGELS, is a Netgalley offering this month. If you are a  Netgalley member you might want to check it out. Click here for the link.

And, please, if you do read and review it – be constructively kind, not maliciously cruel. My ego is intact, but it’s still fragile at times. Thanks for  listening to me b***h.

 

 

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February 20, 2016 · 10:38 am

A little post-Valentine’s Candy…

I’ve had several readers write to me asking for Chloe’s candy recipes. Now what kind of a professional chocolatier would she be if she divulged all her secrets and recipes?? She was persuaded to give you all one, though, and I’ve listed it below.

You’re welcome, from Chloe!

Caramel Oreo Cookie

***I’m giving you the easy recipe for this one – you don’t have to be a chocolatier to make it. Just know in my shop I make and temper my own caramel and chocolate pieces. Chloe San Valentino

1 bag of Oreo cookies – the REAL kind, not the generic, cheaper kind.

1 bag of baking chocolate ( Baker’s semi sweet chocolate pieces is the best brand commercially.)

1 package Brach’s caramel pieces

1 bag of white baking chocolate ( again Bakers is the best)

Method:

1. line a huge baking sheet with parchment paper because nothing sticks to that.

2. Melt the white chocolate in a double burner under a very low heat until it is smooth, stirring constantly. The color will be slightly dull. Pour it into a decorating bottle or into a pastry bag and add a #1 or # 2 tip to the bag. You want a small round opening to drizzle the chocolate out.

3. At the same time you are melting the white, melt the baking chocolate in a double burner under a very low heat until the chocolate is completely melted and smoothy. Dip each individual Oreo  into the chocolate letting the excess drip back into the sauce pot. Place on parchment paper and let cool at least 15 minutes.

4. Once cooled, drizzle the oreos with white chocolate forming criss-cross, thin lines around the entire cookie. Place on the parchment paper again let cool at least 15 minutes. ( you may have to heat the white chocolate up a little before deorating – just put the bottle into the bottom of the double boiler to let it stay hot, or don’t put the white chocolate into the bottle or pastry bag until you are ready to drizzle. Either way works.

5. When all the cookies are decorated in white chocolate and the outer chocolate coating, melt the caramels using the double boiler method until they are smooth and shiny, stirring constantly. Once again, you can drizzle the cookies, but I use the prong ends of a fork because the caramel will harden by the time you get it in a pastry bag or decorating bottle. Let cool.

6. Eat..Enjoy..Share.

Love, CSV

New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Get it here: Amazon //  The Wild Rose Press // Nook//  Kobo //

Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

 

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February 19, 2016 · 9:51 am

The benefit of having hobbies…

Some people I know who shall forever and always remain nameless, still consider my writing a hobby.

Yeah…I know. I’m surprised they’re still breathing, too.

Anyway. Writing, as you know, is like oxygen to me. I need to write in order to live, much the way I need oxygen in order to survive. It’s not a hobby, but a necessary facet of my life. A hobby, on the other hand, is nice, but I don’t need to have one to live.

awriter

This got me to thinking, though, that having a hobby is a…good thing, to quote Martha Stewart. Hobbies distract us from the mundane aspects of our work lives; they bring us a little fun in a day that can be fun-less and soul-sucking. Hobbies can clear our minds of the detritus and negative energy our work can bring, and focus us instead on something positive and enriching.

hobbies

Now, my writing gives me all those positive things I just mentioned. But it’s still not a hobby. Nor, is it in reality, work. Not for me. Writing is as necessary to me as water is to the balance of nature and all living things. Writing centers me; keeps my mind sharp, my memory intact. Writing makes me smile and laugh. Of course, when I’m writing something sad it can also make me weep and wail. Well, maybe not wail…but you get the premise. A hobby doesn’t do that. A hobby doesn’t make you sweat and toil, worry and wallow when you aren’t getting the thought you want just right, or the dialogue as tight as you can and still convey the essence of the words. A hobby doesn’t make you bleed emotions and rip your heart into shreds. A hobby doesn’t make you feel immortal or powerful or omnipotent.

So, don’t call my writing a hobby, because it’s not. It’s a…vocation; a calling; a mission. But  it’s not a hobby.

 

New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Get it here: Amazon //  The Wild Rose Press // Nook//  Kobo //

Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

 

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February 18, 2016 · 11:38 am

Starting anew..

I’ve started a new series of books ( see my previous post about storyboarding) and this time I’ve invented an entire town in New Hampshire as the setting.

Scary stuff…but also a little exciting.

I wanted a town with a specific name ( no sharing details for you yet, peeps!!) because the name is integral to the stories and it needed to be made-up because I needed to have total control over the street names, store names, etc. Can I just tell you how HARD this was?!! To not only come up with the town’s name, but the street names to go along with the theme and then the stores, businesses, etc, to further it? My head hurt after an hour of planning. There’s a reason I didn’t go into municipal development, folks.

city

But, after a while, the names started flowing and I felt…okay, I’ll admit it:  omnipotent. Tycoon-ish.  I made a town, I named the streets, shops, roads and government office buildings. It was like playing Monopoly, but for real!

All the other stories I’ve written have taken place in actual settings; cities like New York; states like Connecticut. This time I wanted a New England feel, so, of course, I chose my home state of New Hampshire, the prettiest state in the east, and built the town somewhere between Concord and Peterborough. A large enough geographic divide that I could play around with it, but far enough distance between the two where I wouldn’t be stepping on another town’s toes. Does that make sense?

Anyway, this is kind of cool. I’m looking forward to seeing how it all comes out and together and what the reader response will be.

So, writing peeps… ever make up your own setting? How hard was it? Or, how easy? Let’s discuss…..

 

New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Get it here: Amazon //  The Wild Rose Press // Nook//  Kobo //

Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me//

 

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Filed under 3 Wishes, Author, Candy Hearts, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Life challenges, New Hampshire, Romance, Romance Books, The Wild Rose Press, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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February 16, 2016 · 2:42 pm

The art of Storyboarding…

On Saturday, my New Hampshire chapter of RWA was given a treat: our chapter President, Christyne Butler, gave us a masterclass on storyboarding. What is storyboarding? I am so happy you asked.

Typically used in visual media, a storyboard is defined as such: a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a movie or television production. This helps the film people plot the story, frame by frame, sequence by sequence.

But writers use storyboarding as well.

Most books are comprised of chapters, scenes within chapters, and actions within scenes. Instead of framing the novel action by scene by chapter, writers approach the storyboard a different way. Christyne showed us her way, which is how her characters are plotted out. She boards each individual character and things that might pertain to him/her when she starts to write. She has a complete visual reference for the entire book at her fingertips when she begins to write her story. She must be doing something right because she is a multi-published, very popular author!

Now, when I plot a new story it looks something like this:

dashboard2 dashboard

I write everything out longhand once I find pictures of my  characters. I fill entire composition books with pictures, descriptions, motivations, and backstory. It takes a while, but so far it has worked for me. With Christyne’s method – a more visual one – it seemed like it was worth a try, so I did it. Here’s where I’m at after 2 days: ( those are my feet in the bottom of the photo – damn crop app didn’t work!

dashboard3

This is a three book arc. My heroines are on the left side of the board, my heroes on the right. Just from viewing this I can see I know a whole bunch more about my girls than my boys!! SO right away, this has become a valuable tool for me. Since I am character driven, I have pictures of my peeps, their bedrooms ( I always want to imagine where they sleep!), things about their careers – quotes or pictures of occupations, and the colors on their individual blocks are foils for one another. For instance, the top is black and white because those two love interests perceive everything emotionally in shades of black and white – no gray. My goal is to get them to the gray! I love assigning colors to characters because I think of them in shades of colors. It’s hard sometimes to explain how my brain works, but the black and white instance is the easiest way for me to get you to understand how I envision people/characters.

This is all after 2 days. I’m hoping ( wishing?praying?) to have it done this weekend. I’ve already written two chapters, but I feel as if now I’ll know my characters much better when I write the rest.

So, if you’re a writer, do you storyboard? Write out everything in longhand? Fly by the seat of your pants? What? let’s discuss……

New release 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance)perf5.000x8.000.indd

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her 30th birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Get it here: Amazon //  The Wild Rose Press // Nook//  Kobo //

Tweet Me// Read Me// Visit Me// Picture Me //Pin Me//Friend Me// Google+Me//

 

 

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Filed under 3 Wishes, Author, Candy Hearts, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Literary characters, New Hampshire, NHRWA, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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February 13, 2016 · 10:19 am

My Sexy Valentine #128

mysexySat

Readers, please visit  Author Central where we’ll be sharing even more from our authors besides Saturday’s snippets. We’d love to have each and every one of you there as we’re starting new things this month with fun and prizes along the way.

This week’s theme is My Sexy Valentine and this theme needs no explanation…show us the most romantic, the most frustrating or the most exhilarating sexy Valentine’s Day ever between two lovers…or maybe even between frenemies.

Share your story’s  most fabulous moments with some very sexy, hot characters in a love that’s destined to last forever, please share them with us…share all those sexy moments that you have between your characters even if your story doesn’t exactly fit the theme this week…remember every relationship is important!

Sexy can be anything, such as romantic moments like walks on the beach, a home cooked meal or even in another galaxy. It could be two lovers here on Earth dreaming about the day where they go on a magical vacation to another planet. Or staying right here at one of those wonderful places we can find in our own world.

Readers want to see those characters, the ones who can’t get enough of each other as well as ones who are fighting their way back to being part of the world once again. These are the types of characters they can’t forget, the one they want to take home and keep forever. Readers love the kisses, the looks or touch of each and every one of our characters.

Sexy has nothing to do with looks or status or even wealth. It doesn’t demand perfection and it isn’t pretentious but it does make us want to read those books.

We know that everyone has their own idea of sexy and we all love sexy!

Valentine’s day is tomorrow and my new release 3 WISHES takes place on that wonderful day devoted to love. My heroine, Chloe, isn’t oo sure about the availability status of the guy she’s just met, but she does know she wants to spend Valentine’s day – which also happens to be her 30th birthday – with him, preferably naked and horizontal. Here’s a little sumthin‘ sumthin‘ of their interaction:

His grin spread, and I swear my girlie parts quivered.

Quivered.

When he came toward me, eating up the floor with his long stride, a hot bead of awareness burst from somewhere deep, deep down inside me.

When he was within smelling distance—and have I mentioned how amazing he smelled—he stopped, his gaze lasered on my face.

“Your eyes are stunning,” he said, his voice soft, almost reverential.

“Says the man with the exact same eyes,” I spit out before thinking.

Heat flew up my face, and I couldn’t do anything to stop it. I heard his swift inhalation, and I swear my knees went wobbly.

3 WISHES perf5.000x8.000.indd

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Available from:  Amazon//   The Wild Rose Press //Nook//

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February 8, 2016 · 10:07 am

Final Week of CandyHearts releases…

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It’s the final week of the Wild Rose Press Candy Hearts Romance series. Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to authors Barbara Burke, Nancy Fraser,  Doreen Alsen, and, well, me,  and our releases today NOT2NIGHT,  ONLY YOURS, OohLaLa, and 3 WISHES. And remember to enter the Wild Rose Press RAFFLECOPTER at the end of this blog for a chance to win a Kindle Fire.

NOT2NIGHT by Barbara Burke

Blurb:

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When ARP warden Molly sees a light shining through the darkness of London on a cold winter’s night in the middle of the blitz she’s infuriated with the careless American who struck it. Doesn’t he know there’s a war on?

Guy’s just trying to find his way through a maze of unlit streets. He’s very sorry and Molly reluctantly forgives him. When he accompanies her on her nightly rounds the two learn about each other, themselves and whether it’s really possible to fall in love in only one night – especially when there’s no guarantee of tomorrow.

Excerpt:

They stood silently. Slowly her hand came out of her pocket to rest on the top of his arm. The other one reached up to gently touch his cheek. He could see the glint of her eyes, those impossible brown eyes, as she gazed up at him gravely.

“Are you going to kiss me?” Her cool British voice gave him no inclination of how she felt.

“Is that what you want?” Guy wasn’t sure what he would do if the answer was no.

She didn’t reply, and he took that for her answer. Quickly he undid the clasp on her helmet and pulled it away, letting it drop to the ground without a thought. Free of its weight, she tilted her face up, her lips dark and full in the black night, and settled more deeply into his grasp.

It was invitation enough.

He bent his head toward her.

Her lips were soft and cold. Willing, but tentative. Her arms circled his neck, and he pulled her to him more tightly, body to body despite the thick winter clothing they both wore.

The night suddenly got a lot warmer.

The kiss didn’t last long. It was too sweet to be sustained, and they were too new to the sensation to change it into something more. As soon as Guy sensed Molly withdrawing, he broke it off.

But he didn’t release her. And she made no move to pull away.

“Was that a mistake?” he asked.

“No.” Molly sounded quite sure, and Guy’s heart soared. But then she continued, “However, repeating it might be.”

Buy Links   Amazon    The Wild Rose Press

About Barbara

Barbara Burke

Barbara Burke’s peripatetic life means she’s lived everywhere from a suburban house in a small town to a funky apartment in a big city, and from an architecturally designed estate deep in the forest to a cedar shack on the edge of the ocean. Everywhere she’s gone she’s been accompanied by her husband, her animals and her books. For the last fifteen years she’s worked as a freelance journalist and has won several awards. She was a fan of Jane Austen long before that lady was discovered by revisionists and zombie lovers and thinks Georgette Heyer was one of the great writers of the twentieth century. She lives by the philosophy that one should never turn down the opportunity to get on a plane no matter where it’s going, but deep down inside wishes she could travel everywhere by train.

 

Find Barbara here: Facebook

ONLY YOURS by Nancy Fraser

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Everyone expects Rebecca Winston to marry her high school/college sweetheart, Garrett Langley. The problem is, the flame’s gone out on their romance. They’re still best of friends, but only friends. When Garrett’s father has a heart attack, his older brother Wyatt (an L.A. attorney) returns home for the first time in years. The attraction between Rebecca and Wyatt is immediate.

Can Rebecca expect her family and, especially, Garrett to understand that her desires have changed and turned toward Wyatt?

Can Wyatt get past the feeling that he’s poaching his younger brother’s girl?

Excerpt:

Wyatt pressed down on the accelerator, pushing the sports car a little harder, skirting the legal speed limit for the boulevard leading to her parents’ home. The purr of the finely tuned engine echoed through the tight confines of the car, setting her pulse on a complementary rhythm. Soft jazz played in the background, its melodic tones sinking into her senses, ratcheting up her heartrate yet another notch.

Before she realized it, he’d pulled the car to stop in her parents’ driveway.

“Home sweet home,” he said. “Or, at least I assume you still live with your parents. I guess I should have asked.”

She bit back an outright laugh in favor of a more ladylike chuckle. “Yes, I do still live at home. According to my mother, it’s the proper thing to do.”

Wyatt hopped out and came around the back of the car to open her door. Her mother would have been proud of how she’d waited for his assistance. Usually, she opened her own door before Garrett could get there.

“Would you like to come in and say hello?”

“I’d better not. I’ve been given an order to relay to the cook. I wouldn’t want Christina to have to wait for her supper.” He took hold of her elbow, as he had in the hospital. “I’ll see you to the door.”

Another round of sparks shot up her arm. She pulled away and took two steps forward. “It’s not necessary.”

He caught hold of her wrist and turned her to face him. His dark gaze flared. “Thank you for coming to see Pops. He obviously adores you.”

“It was my pleasure.”

She was about to pull from his grasp when he tightened his grip, stopping her in her tracks. “My brother’s a lucky man.”

Her cheeks flooded with warmth. “Thank you.” He smiled and her heart did a little flip inside her chest.

His deep voice softened to a mere whisper. He released her wrist. “You’re welcome, Re…becc…a.”

She swallowed, smiled and dashed to the porch. By the time she turned back toward the drive, Wyatt had already climbed into the car and cranked the engine. The way he’d said her name, drawn out and distinct, had reminded her of a cat unfurling its lazy body in front of a raging fire.

And her with no extinguisher in sight.

Buy Links   Amazon    Wild Rose Press

About Nancy:

nancy

Like most authors, Nancy Fraser began writing at an early age, usually on the walls and with crayons or, heaven forbid, permanent markers. Her love of writing often made her the English teacher’s pet, which, of course, resulted in a whole lot of teasing. Still, it was worth it.

Published in multiple genres, Nancy currently writes for four publishers. She has published twenty-two books in both full-length and novella format. Nancy will release her 25th book in 2016. She is currently working on her next Rock and Roll novella and two new erotic romance novellas.

When not writing (which is almost never), Nancy dotes on her five wonderful grandchildren and looks forward to traveling and reading when time permits. Nancy lives in Atlantic Canada where she enjoys the relaxed pace and colorful people.

Find Nancy here: Website // Blog // Twitter // Facebook // Goodreads // Amazon

Ooh La La by Doreen Alsen

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Aspiring choreographer and dance teacher, Simon West is walking along the hall in the college where he teaches when he gets knocked over by klutzy, two left feet, accounting professor Veronica Cooke. Simon wants to get to know the beautiful woman who ran him down, but how will she react when she finds out his alter-ego is a super sexy cowboy at an upscale exotic dancing male revue and that he makes ends meet by taking off his clothes?

Excerpt:

Her eyes were a dreamy shade of blue, the greenish blue of a calm sea. Her nose was small and straight in the middle of an oval face. Pretty. Very pretty.

“Yes,” she said. “I came to apologize for running you over. Unfortunately I’m Queen of the Klutzes.”

“Okay.” He held out a hand for her to shake.

“Simon West. How did you know where to find me?”

She smiled and nodded at the Barrett University Dance T-shirt he wore. “I went to the Dance Department office and asked. I’m Veronica Cooke. I hope I didn’t hurt you.”

“You didn’t. Hurt me, that is.” Since when did he babble? Since now, he guessed. He had a hard time thinking around her. He wanted to reach out and touch her cheek to see if her skin was as soft and smooth as it looked.

“Well, good. You’re a wonderful dancer. I wish I had that talent.” She glanced at her watch. “I’ve got to get to my office hours. It was nice to meet you.” She turned to leave.

He didn’t want her to. He found he very much wanted her to stay. Here. With him. “Um, do you have time to get coffee later?” He wasn’t dancing at Hardbody that night.

“I might. When?”

“Around four?”

“Four sounds great. Where?”

“Sammy’s?”

“Okay. I’ll see you then.” She gave him one last smile and left.

He indulged himself and watched her trundle down the hall. “I think I need to get to know you better, Veronica Cooke.”

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About Doreen:

doreen

Doreen has wanted to be a writer her whole life but took a detour into being an opera singer and choral conductor. She realized that maybe she should spend more time writing when creating the back stories was more fun than actually singing them. Plus her romance lovin’ heart couldn’t take all the dead bodies littering the stage at the end of the performance. She is still an active conductor and is regularly found waving her arms around in front of singers.

Find Doreen here: Website

 

 

3 WISHES by Peggy Jaeger ( that’s me!!)

perf5.000x8.000.inddBlurb:

Valentine’s Day is chocolatier Chloe San Valentino’s favorite day of the year. Not only is it the busiest day in her candy shop, Caramelle de Chloe, but it’s also her birthday. Chloe’s got a birthday wish list for the perfect man she pulls out every year: he’d fall in love with her in a heartbeat, he’d be someone who cares about people, and he’d have one blue eye and one green eye, just like her. So far, Chloe’s fantasy man hasn’t materialized, despite the matchmaking efforts of her big, close-knit Italian family. But this year for her big 3-0 birthday, she just might get her three wishes.

Excerpt    

At about five minutes of ten I was almost ready to turn the Closed sign on the door when it opened. I heard Janie’s breath hitch and turned from where I was sweeping up. Staying open late is always a risk, with the thought thieves will invade at the end of the day.

If the guy standing at the door glancing around the shop was a thief, then Dio mio, I wanted to be robbed.

About six foot, his hair was the color of a deer’s pelt, with autumnal golds and browns shot together in a glorious patchwork that grazed the collar of his jacket and curled a little at the ends. He wore a faded brown bomber jacket over a shirt I couldn’t see, but he had shoulders almost as wide as my doorway. A pair of well-worn jeans covered his mile long legs, and the fabric on the stress points at his knees was practically white.

“We’re about to close,” I heard myself say. “Can I help you?”

It was at that moment he looked over at me.

His face could have been sculpted by Da Vinci or Michelangelo. A broad, smooth, forehead housed naturally arched eyebrows I knew some of my gay guy friends would have paid a fortune to have on their own faces. His cheeks were carved from marble, high, smooth and deep. And his mouth, mother-of-God, his mouth. Full, thick beautiful lips sat perfectly over a chin with a dent you could shove a button into and have it stay put.

“Sorry,” he said, those fabulous lips pulling up a little shyly at the corners. “I got stuck at work and couldn’t get here until now. I’ll be quick. Promise.”

So here’s the thing: the guy was gorgeous. But even if he’d looked like a frog with raw antipasto smothering his face, I would have dropped to my knees when he opened his mouth. Warm honey, a shot of raw whiskey, and a little hot puff of smoke wafted from his mouth like a fine and rare brandy being decanted.

Buy Links:  Amazon   Wild Rose Press

About Peggy:

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Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance author who writes about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them.

Her current titles, available now, include SKATER’S WALTZ and THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME, and FIRST IMPRESSIONS books 1, 2 and 3 in her 6-book The MacQuire Women Series, published by The Wild Rose Press.

Tying into her love of families, her children’s book, THE KINDNESS TALES, was illustrated by her artist mother-in-law.

Peggy holds a master’s degree in Nursing Administration and first found publication with several articles she authored on Alzheimer’s Disease during her time running an Alzheimer’s in-patient care unit during the 1990s.

FInd Peggy here: website // twitter // facebook //goodreads // pinterest

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January 29, 2016 · 8:32 am

I don’t just write, you know…

Recently, on my blog, I shared a conversation I had in the nail salon where a fringe acquaintance asked me, “Is writing all you do?” Yes, she did leave the salon upright – my nails were wet and I didn’t want to damage them – but it wasn’t the first time I’ve been asked that question since I retired and started writing full time. It’s made me mad a few times, chuckle some others, and left me befuddled a lot. A. Lot.

Why do people ask a question like that? To me, it’s as insulting as saying to a stay-at-home-Mom, “Oh, you stay home. You don’t work.” Hello? Have you ever seen a stay-at-home-mom? She may not be going outside the home to earn a paycheck, but she works 24/7/365, she’s always on-call for emergencies and the first line of defense with everything child, spouse, and home related.

The reasons I get crazed when someone says things like, “Oh, you write. Must be nice to be home all day just lounging around,” or, “You’ve got it made, never having to work at a real job,” are varied, but uppermost, they’re downright insulting. The implication of being a writer is that you don’t do anything during the day. You sit around eating Milano cookies and watching TLC. Do people actually believe that? Are they that stupid? Where do they think the books that are written come from? The minds of computers? Monkeys with keyboards? Do they think there are little fairies sitting in cupboards trolling them out? Where?

I spend 6-10 hours, 5 days a week writing, and 3-5 hours daily on the weekends. That includes not only writing my novels, but I also manage 2 blogs, pay blog visits to other sites at least 5 times per month, and am in charge of my marketing/promotion for my books. No time for cookies and reality tv, folks.

During the times I am not writing, I run the house which includes cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, bill-paying, exercising, etc. I don’t have a cleaning lady. I don’t have an assistant. I don’t have an intern. I do it. All of it. When my husband comes home from work we eat a made-from-scratch dinner cooked by…you got it: me.

And when all of those things are said and done, I also read for pleasure (other authors!), I love to cook new dishes and recipes from the 100+ cookbooks I have, and I paint.

No, dear nail salon bimbo, writing isn’t all I do. I have a life; a damn good one, too.

So, there.

….and here’s an example of what I’ve been writing. On 2/8/16 3 WISHES (A Candy Hearts Romance) is released. You can preorder now, here:

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And here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin’ to whet your reading appetite:

It was Dr. Dreamy.

The man had been a hunk-a-doodle when he’d been in my shop. Right now he looked like sex on a candy stick. Tall, lithe, wide-shouldered and narrow-hipped in his scrubs, he was every fantasy I’d ever had about what my man would look like. He stood in the doorway of the waiting room and stared at me.

And I stared right back.

“I assume she’s your mother,” he said, hooking his thumb in the general direction behind him.

I nodded. He grinned, and my toes curled up at the tips. “She’s a force to be reckoned with.”
I winced and replied, “She means well.”
Even to my ears it sounded more like a weak question than a declaration.
His grin spread, and I swear my girlie parts quivered. Quivered.

When he came toward me, eating up the floor with his long stride, a hot bead of awareness burst from somewhere deep, deep down inside me.

When he was within smelling distance—and have I mentioned how amazing he smelled—he stopped, his gaze lasered on my face.

Dear Reader: want more? You know what to do, LOL!

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