Category Archives: Contemporary Romance

November 30, 2016 · 10:18 am

RELEASE DAY!!

I think it’s a little serendipitous that today is the last day of NaNoWriMo and the day my newest book gets released into the world from my publisher.

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A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS is here! I’ve been waiting for sosososo long to share Gia and Tim’s story. I’ve read it so many times over the past few months, waiting, just waiting until it could be released as a holiday novel that I’ve got pages of it memorized!! The San Valentino family is one I’d like to call my own for so many reasons. They laugh loudly, live broadly, and love unconditionally. Who wouldn’t want to be a member of such a clan??!!

SO if you like romance/love stories centering around family and you need a little comedic break during these busy holidays, you’ll love this story.

Here’s a little sumthin’ sumthin to whet your book reading appetites. Since I never had a sister to share with and learn from, I created sisters who mean the world to one another, Chloe and Gia:

Excerpt:

Sometimes living in such a close-knit family was a little suffocating and lot of claustrophobic.

How to be a good Italian, lesson 3: family comes first, last, forever, and you do everything together. Always.

“Gia,” Chloe said, breaking into my thoughts, “come and help me with your goddaughter. She needs to be changed.”

She rose, as did I, and grabbed the diaper bag sitting in the living room with one hand, her other hand holding her two-month-old. “Lorenzo, be a good boy for Nonna and Papa,” she told her two-year-old son with a kiss to his head.

Up in Gianni and Paolo’s old bedroom, which now served as an all-things-bambino warehouse, Chloe held the baby up to me and said, “Here. You do the honors.” Once she handed her over, she plopped down into the rocking chair Mama had rocked all six of us in and let out a sigh that tugged at my heart.

I laid Arianna down on the changing table Nonna had brought over from Italy with her seventy-five years ago and tickled her little belly. Her toothless grin stared up at me. She was already a heartbreaker and owned my own heart and soul completely.

“Okay, baby sister.” Chloe folded her hands across her stomach. “Spill. What’s up?”

“What do you mean?” I popped open the crotch of the onesie, pushed it up to Arianna’s tiny waist, and bent down to kiss her soft, swollen, little baby belly.

“Your face went the color of Mama’s tomatoes when they started discussing the new priest. What gives?”

Chloe is nine years older than I am and one of the smartest women I know. At times she’s been more of a mother to me than our own, like during the horrible two years Mama went through chemo treatments for breast cancer when I was eleven. Chloe was the one who helped me buy my first bra, taught me about my period, and listened to me when I had questions about boys, sex, and what constituted appropriate dating behavior for girls who came from families like ours: overprotected.

BUY LINKS: Amazon// Wild Rose Press//  B&N

 

 

 

 

 

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Filed under A kiss Under the Christmas LIghts, Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Cooking, Family Saga, love, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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November 28, 2016 · 9:52 am

Home stretch…NaNoWrimo, Week 4

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It’s hard to think that November is almost gone already and with it, NaNoWriMo. On November 30th at midnight, not only will the month end – giving us 25 days until Christmas, but for the millions of writers around the world who are participating in this year’s annual event, it means we can all breathe a little easier, take a little break from the laptop ( a very little break!) and see where we are in our current works in progress ( WIP). Hopefully, many of us will have reached that brass ring of 50,000 words ( or more!) and be declared a WINNER by the NaNo team. Many of us will not have reached it, but that doesn’t make us any less a winner. Just devoting yourself to writing something any day is winning in my book.

I happened to make it to the golden number a while ago. Don’t hate me. I knew what I wanted to write, and my life is such that I can devote it to writing for long stretches if I so desire. I did. I realize I am one of the lucky ones who can do this.

But even if I hadn’t reached my goal I would still have considered my efforts winning-worthy. There’s an old saying that it’s not the destination of a journey that is important, it’s the journey itself. I sosososo agree.

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Just attempting to do the NaNoWriMo challenge is empowering. Getting in the habit of committing your words to your laptop everyday fosters that continual need to do so, so that, long after November is a memory, you are still devoting yourself to the thing that gives you such joy, namely, writing.

Take these last 4 days of the challenge and pour your heart and soul into it. Get those emotions, those worlds, those characters, settings, and plots from the depths of your imagination to the confines of the page.

The world needs your book.

And you need to give it to them.

When I’m not participating in NaNoWrimo, you can find me here:

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

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November 23, 2016 · 10:48 am

One Week Countdown!

I’m all aglow because in just 7 days ( the time it took God to make the world!!!) I get to introduce you all to Gia San Valentino and Tim Santini. My new Holiday/Christmas novel A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS releases on  11.30.16 and I am sosososososos thrilled the time is near.

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Gia could, truthfully, be one of my best friends if she were, you know, real! I loved writing about her and how she deals with her crazy family. As you all know,  family is a big topic for me when I’m penning a story, and a loud, loving, full of life family is one I just love to write about.

Families are a complex network to deal with, navigate through, and survive! Truth, no? The San Valentino family lives hard, loves even harder, and they are a loyal bunch who put the welfare of one another ahead of everything – and everyone – else. Gia, the “oops” baby in the clan, the last of 6 – five planned and, well, you figure it out(!) is the last kid left at home. At the age of 24,she longs for a home of her own, filled with bambini she can spoil and love, and a man who will love her unconditionally.

Into her life walks a man who just might fill the bill. Tall, dark, ridiculously good looking. And best of all: Italian/American and Catholic! But…. he’s forbidden to her, in every conceivable way.

Or, is he? You’ll have to read the story to find out, but I’ll tell you this: love can find you anywhere – even under a set of  glowing and festive Christmas lights.

Preorders are available here: Amazon  //The Wild Rose Press  // B&N //Kobo

Here’s a little sumthin’ to whet your romance reading appetites:

          At twenty-four I still lived under my parents’ roof, had no full-time paying job other than helping my father with his business books and those of a few of his business associates, and my love life was nonexistent.

     It wasn’t that I didn’t get asked out or date. I did. Often. Plus, I was perpetually being set-up by the aunts and uncles. I’d had a steady boyfriend all through high school, but we went our separate ways when we each left for college. My choices had been limited in recent years to guys I met in college–who were all looking to score, not forge a life-time commitment—and then in accounting school who were, for lack of a better word, boring and absorbed either in numbers theory, finding jobs after graduation, or in just getting into my pants. The men my extended family routinely set me up with were mostly thick-necked, uneducated, wise-guy wannabes who wanted a conventional Italian bride they could keep barefoot, pregnant, and cooking.

     So. Not. Me.

     I needed to make some decisions about my life and make them soon. First, pass the exams and get licensed. Then, look for a real job so I could afford to live on my own. This one might be the hardest to accomplish since my parents were old-school thinkers who believed girls should stay home until they were married. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t want to go from their house to a husband’s house, and never experience what it would be like living on my own.

     Lastly, I wanted to find the one special guy I could commit to. A guy who’d be family oriented like me, want kids, the minivan, a house in the ‘burbs, the whole family-comes-first-and-always mentality I’d been breastfed on.

     I wasn’t too picky. Obviously, I didn’t want him to look like a troll, but nice looking wouldn’t hurt since I’d be spending eternity staring across the kitchen table at his face. A good-paying job would be nice in a career where I didn’t need to worry he’d make one wrong move and wind up as fish food in the Meadowlands marshes.

     Don’t laugh: have I mentioned my Uncle Sonny?

See? I love families and all the crazy that goes with them!

When I’m not basking in this glow of new release-dom, you can find me here:

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

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Filed under A kiss Under the Christmas LIghts, Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Family Saga, Life challenges, love, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, The Wild Rose Press

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November 20, 2016 · 12:26 pm

The power of PEOPLE who care…

I’m going to go off the NaNoWriMo blog bandwagon for a moment because  I want–need–to tell you about an event that happened in my little town yesterday that still has me weeping.

The problem of hunger,  homelessness, and economic disparity in this country is nothing new. Go back to the Great Depression and you can practically mimic some of the events that happened during those devestating years with what is happening in our country today. Hunger, especially, has always been a big concern of mine. I’ve mentioned before I didn’t exactly grow up in the Leave It to Beaver or  Brady Bunch version of a family or household. We were, by today’s standards – poor. The term bandied about nowadays is working poor. My mother and stepfather had jobs, but they didn’t quite make it paycheck to paycheck every month and there were times when the easiest thing to let go was the food bill. I ate a lot of mayonnaise sandwiches growing up, and in a weird way, its kind of like a comfort food for me today.

But I digress…

As I said, hunger and people going hungry have always been a concern for me. I happen to live in a community that has a food pantry, a Saint Vincent DePaul society, and a community kitchen. In October, our local newspaper published a piece about the community kitchen and their struggles to keep available food on the shelves for its recipients and clients. The kitchen had barely enough food to last through Thanksgiving and if their food coffers weren’t filled, they would need to close down right after Thanksgiving. The Community Kitchen serves a large number of families and individuals in this area who–for whatever reason–are not able to adequately feed themselves. The holiday season is an especially difficult time for some families to cope with paying bills, trying to bring some kind of Christmas cheer to their children, and in general, just getting a meal on the table. To have the kitchen close its doors – and at the holiday season – was a grave concern.

Well, enter MOMS On A MISSION.

Yesterday, in an empty storefront in the center of Keene’s busy downtown, these wonderful women organized what was originally billed as 1000 cans in 1000 minutes. Facebook publicity, word of mouth, and in every way they could, these women got the word out that they would be manning this store all day to accept any and all food and monetary donations for the Keene Community Kitchen to aid them in keeping their doors open to the people who so need them.

That 1000 can goal quickly switched to 2000…then 10,000… then 20,000. And when it looked like they might be done, they issued another challenge: why not 25,000 cans/boxes of food?

Final tally last night when they officially closed their donation doors? 25,860 cans/boxes of food raised by the grassroots efforts of 8 Moms who know that no child or family or person of any age should know hunger in this day and age.

I love living in a small town because of unifying events like this. When you really know your neighbors, know their struggles, their strengths, the foundation of their circumstances, you know yourself as a human being in ways you’d never consider in a more urban, non-individualistic, less neighborly area. And you can see the benefits of generosity firsthand.

These women epitomize the good neighbor principle.

I just want to add one more thing before I finish. Yesterday in Mass, my Pastor spoke a homily extolling the virtues of living the Corporeal Code of Jesus as Catholics and Christians.  One of the codes for Christian behavior Jesus asked of us is to feed the hungry. These women, by the virtue of their actions, the love in their hearts, and their  spirit of giving, have shown our community what it means to be generous, selfless,  and charitable. They have truly shown us what it means to walk the walk and talk the talk of neighbor-helping-neighbor.

The power of a Mother on a Mission is one of the greatest and most powerful forces in the universe. I am so proud of these women. Proud to know them, proud to honor them, and proud to tell you about them.

No child, or any person really, should ever know the ravages of a hungry belly. Not at Christmastime or any time of the year. I ask you to be that good neighbor; that community spirited and minded person; that honorable human being. Take care of your neighbors as you’d take care of your own family. Put yourself in the body of someone who doesn’t have enough to eat and see what it feels like to them to know hunger when all around them are full. And, if you’re like me – someone who knew the horrors and pains of hunger and who now lives a full, better life – pay it forward.

A generous spirit, and a knowledge of how to make someone else’s life better make us all better human beings. I live this and I believe this with all my heart and soul.

To support our local Community Kitchen and other Food based charities in our area, click here:

Keene Area Food Pantries

The NH Food Bank

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Filed under Author, community advocacy, Contemporary Romance, Cooking, Life challenges, love, New Hampshire, Strong Women

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November 17, 2016 · 10:15 am

Thankful Authors

Since it’s the holiday season and it means so much more than just running around and trying to find the perfect gift, fellow author — and writing friend — Angela Hayes has invited me to post a blog to her ThankFul Authors website. Angela hosts a wide variety of authors each year who try to express just why they are thankful for all the blessings in their lives. Here’s the link to my post for today. It kind of explains why I write about the strong women I write about. And why I will continue to do so….hopeyou enjoy it.

here’s the link: THANKFUL AUTHORS 2016

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November 14, 2016 · 9:29 am

The benefits of writing sprints….

On my last NaNoWriMo post,  I told you a dirty little secret about how I bribe myself to continue writing when I’m getting tired/bored/unfocused. I give myself little incentives –aka BRIBES — to keep going and then reward myself when I’m done.

Another way I’ve found to keep myself motivated and typing  when I really want to do something else —  like watch a Real Housewives marathon or dive into the new J.D. Robb book on my Kindle — is to do timed writing sprints.

They don’t have to be very long, 15- 30 minutes at the least and 60 at the most ( mainly because there is no way on God’s green earth I can sit still longer than 60 minutes without imploding!) During these timed writing sprints I write as much as I can, knowing that I may have to stop in the middle of a sentence or a thought when my cell phone signals the time is up. I can justify this by knowing that the next time I get set to write I am prepared with what I want to say, how I want to say it, and how to carry the scene/dialogue/plot onward. Plus, this process keeps my body fresh and my mind sharp.

Knowing that my time is limited I can stay focused and set on getting my thoughts down on the page and not worry about spelling, tense, format, etc. I can always go back and fix that later on. The most important thing is getting everything I want to say, SAID, ( or written, in this case) before the time runs out.

If you’re one of those enviable people who can sit for long stretches of time, composing on end, without a break, know first that I hate you, and second, you are blessed! I have too much energy to sit still for long periods, which is why I hate to fly long distances or drive anywhere for more than an  hour before I need a break to stand up, stretch, and realign my body and soul. Writing in timed sprints allows me to do what I have to do – namely, get the words on the page – but also lets my body have a respite from sitting for too long.

Truly, my a** is big enough  – I don’t need to expand it further it by spending hours on end on it.

SO, writing sprints: they’re a good tool to use for NaNoWriMo.

When I’ not sprinting you can find me here:

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

And for a little writing motivation/inspiration, here you go…. from me to you.

nano24

You’re more than welcome!

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November 11, 2016 · 11:01 am

Bribery…and why it works so well during NaNoWrimo

So this is a totally ridiculous, narcissistic blog post today. I’m going full honesty here and tell you how I stay motivated to write so much during the NANOWRIMO challenge. Be prepared…you may learn something that clouds your opinion of me forever.

Okay…Taking a huge, cleansing breath…Here goes.

I bribe myself to keep writing.

I know! How awful is that?? I should be writing because I want to, not because I’ll get a reward if I do. The 50,000+ word book SHOULD be the reward. The ONLY reward.

But no, it’s not.

I start off with a mountain of motivation each morning as I sit at my laptop, fingers flying across the keyboard, giving full vent to all the thoughts and scenes and dialogue that have been running through my brain for the previous 8 hours – the time I should be sleeping but, well,  you know. Chronic Insomnia. The brain that never shuts down. That’s me.

Anyhooooo….

I start off like a speeding train and about hour 2-3 I start to get a little fatigued, a little distracted, a little, well, bored. I know I have many more words to write – can feel them jumping out of my fingertips in their efforts to break free from my mind – but I start to wane. To keep myself glued to my chair ( figuratively, folks) I’ve developed little bribery rewards for my diligence. Here are just a few of the things I pamper myself with for my perseverance at the laptop:

  • If I get another 1000 words down, I’ll have a cup of tea and a Peppermint Patty
  • If I finish this chapter I’ll troll thru Amazon and look for new books to read
  • If I hit my 2500 minimum daily word count, I’ll schedule a facial this afternoon
  • If I can get this dialogue perfect in the next 20 minutes, I’ll go get lunch at Panera.
  • If I exceed my daily goal I’ll go shopping for makeup/skin care products/perfume, in other words, I’ll go to Sephora.

See how this works???

And isn’t it ridiculous? I didn’t raise my child to do what’s right in life by bribing her. I would  have never even thought of that. Her father and I taught her to do what is correct simply for the reward of getting it right. We didn’t say, “do you your homework and you’ll get a cookie. Get an A on a report and I’ll take you shopping.” We never even gave cash for good report cards. The end result – the good grades – was its own reward. None other was needed.

Why can’t I, then, as a fully formed and functioning adult, heed that wisdom?

See? I told you your opinion of me would get clouded.

Le sigh….

When I’m not ruminating on my hapless state or bribing myself to go on, you can find me here:

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

And if you are in need of it, here’s a little distracting motivation for you to peruse and ponder…nano23

you’re welcome………

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Filed under Author, Contemporary Romance, Dialogue, Kensington Publishers, Life challenges, love, Lyrical Author, NaNoWriMo, New Hampshire, Romance, Romance Books, RWA, Strong Women, WIld Rose Press AUthor

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November 10, 2016 · 11:48 am

Commitment

The definition of commitment is:

  • the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.: the company’s commitment to quality.
  • a pledge or undertaking: I cannot make such a commitment at the moment.

It is, in my opinion, a loaded word because you can attach so much to it and extract so much from its meaning.

NaNoWriMo, in my opinion, is the practical exemplification of the word commitment. In order to adequately perform the challenge, you must commit to writing every single day inorder to fulfill the 50,000 word goal at the end of the month. To break it down numerically, you need to have a minimum of 1,667 words written every day for 30 days to hit those 50,000 words . Or by the page, you must have written almost 7 pages per day of 250 words per page.

That’s commitment.

Most of the writers I know are far succeeding that minimum every day, myself included. Well, most days, anyway! Life does intervene.

So, as we move towards the end of the second week of NaNoWriMo, let’s keep committed to the goals of:

  1. writing daily
  2. writing a minimum of 1667 words
  3. writing 6-7 pages minimum of approx. 250 words each
  4. staying focused

And because I am such an avid fan of commitment, here’s a little motivation for you to be so, as well…

nano21

When I’m not committed to NaNoWriMo, you can find me committed here:

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

and I’ve also put together a Pinterest motivation/commitment board as well if you need more inspiration ( and by inspiration I mean looking at some pictures of hot guys telling you to write!)

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November 8, 2016 · 9:49 am

NaNoWriMo – week 2.

One week down, 3 more to go!! Yowza.

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So, all you NaNoWriMo peeps… how’s it going?
Have you gotten into the habit of writing every day yet? Or are you still struggling with life and finding little bits of time to carve out for you to write?
I’ll admit I’m having a little trouble fitting in as much writing as I’d like right now. I’m away from home, spending time with my daughter, and trying to fit in a little laptop time here and there has been challenging. I’m doing it, but my insomnia – which is active when I sleep in my own bed and rampant when in another – hasn’t actually helped me this round, because I’m so bloody tired at the end of our days, both physically and mentally, and even though I’m not sleeping, I have no where-with-all to do my usual 2-5 am writing sprints. Which truly, sucks,

And I just read that paragraph out loud and realized what a ridiculous whiner I am!!!

Hee Hee.

Writing shouldn’t be a burden…or a chore…or something that needs to get done just to say it was, or get to a finish line. It should be, what it is to me actually: A blessing. First, last, and always.

So grab a cup of whatever your daily poison is, crack your knuckles and flex your fingers, and go forth to…create magic with your words. (HeeHee – you thought I was going to say something else. Admit it!)

Here’s a little funny for today to inspire you:

nano1

 

For more inspiration and writing tips, check out my NANOWRIMO Pinterest board.

 

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November 5, 2016 · 8:43 am

The power of a blog hop…

Recently, I was privileged to be included in two Halloween Blog Hops, chock-filled with romance authors of every genre. Whenever an author is part of a blog hop, there is usually some kind of prize or giveaway attached to it – called a rafflecopter ( why? I don’t know!!) – where readers who visit the blog can get a chance to win prizes if they do certain things, such as  “Like” an author’s FB page, or “follow” them on Twitter. For one of the hops, my prizes were a free ecopy of my book FIRST IMPRESSIONS for two readers who responded to a question I put up in the blog post, plus I was involved in the bigger prizes of amazon gift cards.  One of the choices was to “follow” me on Twitter for a chance at a gift card. The day the blogs started I had roughly 600 follows on Twitter. Can I mention that I don’t even KNOW 600 people personally!! When the blog hop ended I had 1270 plus followers. This, my friends, is the power of social media…and bribery.

Now, when the hop officially ended and the prizes had been awarded, I was prepared to loose a few new followers. Let’s be honest, most probably FOLLOWED me because there was a prize involved and once it was paid, there was no need to continue with me.

But….

Several days after the hop ended I was still pleasantly surprised. I only “lost” 2 followers. Now, I may lose more as the days progress, but I am doing my darndest to hold on to them by blogging frequently, and by thanking them for the follows. I am not above pleading and whining, folks! If these new people decide they want to try me on as a new author, well, happy day!! The hop was worth it.

So, this, to me, is the power of social media, folks. Oh, and BTW my FB page followers tripled!!!

Gotta love an author holiday blog hop!!

When I’m not hopping around you can usually find me here:

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

And don’t forget, my newest release, A KISS UNDER THE CHRISTMAS LIGHTS releases on 11/30!

akissucl_850-1

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