Category Archives: #fridayfive

June 28, 2024 · 12:32 am

#fridayfive 6.28.24

So today’s #fridayfive is 5 things about my newest Dickens Holiday Romance book, A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS which will be released on 11.11.24

  1. smalltown romance ( Dickens!)
  2. holiday romance
  3. Dorrit’s Diner
  4. finding love again after a loss
  5. Cover reveal next week!

Here’s the blurb:

Successful Chef Anton Saparosa had the perfect life. Great marriage; beautiful and adoring wife; trendy, SoCal restaurant frequented by celebrities – many of them his friends.

Then Covid hit.

Anton’s perfect life dissolved before his eyes. With nothing left to keep him in California, he starts an itinerant cross-country journey searching for something to give his life meaning again.

Happenstance lands him in the tiny town of Dickens just as Dorrit’s Diner is thrown into chaos.

Literary Agent Portia Avon needs a rest. A messy divorce has her craving quiet and the company of her friend and client A.B. Cards, nee Abra Bree. She comes from the western heat of California to the eastern cold of Dickens and plans to do nothing but rest, relax, and read during her holiday stay.

When Portia spots a familiar face in Dorrit’s, she’s confused. Why is Anton Saparosa, one of the most recognizable chefs in California, working as a fry cook in Abra’s mom’s diner, and going by the name Tony Smith?

A question Portia wants an answer to, but one Tony isn’t willing to share, especially with a woman he can’t stop thinking about.

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June 21, 2024 · 3:35 am

#FridayFive 6.21.24

It’s been a while since I did one of these, but I actually have a topic for today, lol.

Here are 5 things I think you should know about my upcoming Dickens Holiday book A CHEF’S KISS CHRISTMAS ( Cover reveal coming in July 2024, so stick around, kids.)

  1. hero is a chef ( Duh!)
  2. heroine is a literary agent ( First time I’ve used that profession!)
  3. Abracadabra has 2 kids now
  4. the Covid pandemic and its aftermath is a major factor in the plot
  5. deals with loss and grieving and depression and still manages to be funny and heartwarming – hey! It’s a Dickens book!

More to come with the cover reveal starting on July 1!

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May 17, 2024 · 12:34 am

#fridayfive 5.17.2024

5 reasons to write a book review.

  1. it allows other readers to know a little about the book from a reader’s perspective, and helps them make a choice about reading it.
  2. it helps the author because it proves someone read their book (!)
  3. It also helps the author with book exposure esp. if you post a review to Amazon. Once a book has a minimum of 50 reviews, Amazon tends to promote it on the algorithm.
  4. it’s a good way to keep track of what you’ve read, what the book was about, what you liked and didn’t like about it.
  5. it costs you nothing but a few minutes of time to write the review

and every review helps the author!!!

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May 10, 2024 · 4:18 am

#fridayfive 5.10.2024

Today, I give you my five favorite RomCom movies.

  1. When Harry Met Sally. EVERYONE knows about the deli scene, but for me, the best scene is the last one at the New Year’s party.
  2. 4 weddings and a funeral. My first introduction to Hugh Grant. Swoon.
  3. My best friend’s wedding. Classic Julia Roberts.
  4. Life as we know it. A little movie but such a heartwarming story on what makes a family.
  5. The Philadelphia story/ HIGH Society. Best musical of all time ( for me!) Best movie of 1939 ( for me, other than GWTW)

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May 3, 2024 · 12:58 am

#fridayfive 5.3.2024

Today, I’m going to talk about 5 authors who inspire me.

Inspire me to read. Inspire me to be a better writer. Inspire me to use my talent.

  1. Nora Roberts/JD Robb. You had to know this would be the first one, lol. From the moment I read my first SIhoulette Nora in the early 1990’s until this very day, she is the author I love most to read, emulate, and wish I knew personally. I’ve met her at a signing event, but I’d really just like to spend one day with her and watch her writing process. She is my ultimate inspiration for writing, career, and just plain talent.
  2. Lisa Kleypas. Everything she writes, from lusty historicals to modern-day steamy love stories makes me want to be a better writer. She is so talented at conveying emotions through her words. Love that.
  3. Lorraine Heath. From the moment I read her first book I was hooked as a reader. And as a writer. The way she weaves backstory without ever making it boring or dull is more than a talent – it is a miracle!
  4. Lauren Layne. A modern-day writer, she takes contemporary topics and women and makes them so relatable. I love her sassy, quirky and always positive heroines. She was the one who made me think I could write series romances.
  5. Janet Evanovich. I know some people say this 30+ book series about Stephanie Plum and the two men in her life is getting stale- and that she needs to make a choice between them. What these people don’t realize is that it takes true, true talent as a storyteller to keep that amount and quality emotion and WANT up for 30+ books and have the reader keep coming back. Truly, inspiring talent.

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April 26, 2024 · 12:21 am

#fridayfive

Today’s five are a little self-reveling about my writing career. I’m gonna have to bite the bullet and realize I could embarrass myself here, but hey: it wouldn’t be the first time, LOL!

Okay, here we go.

  1. My first book was published when I was 55 years old, not the typical age. Most published writers are published waaay before this age and are hitting their pinnacles before it. I’m a late bloomer. Like, a Christmas cactus, lol.
  2. I enjoy writing sex scenes. For me it’s all about the emotion of the scene not what goes into where and who touches which body part. Although, for full disclosure, there’s some of that, too!
  3. I do the majority of my new writing between the hours of 2 and 7 a.m. because I still suffer from menopause-induced insomnia. Yeah, it’s a thing.
  4. I talk out loud when I am writing, especially when I write dialogue. Which is why I don’t go anywhere like cafes, Starbucks, or even the library when I write. People would call the police if I did and report a crazy, talking to-herself woman was disturbing the peace.
  5. When I start a new book it takes me about 2-3 weeks to write the first 10,000 words.I go slow at the beginning because I am getting to know my characters and get the feels for what they would do, how they would talk, and where I want to take them, emotionally. After that, I kinda hit my stride and can do anywhere between 2k and 5k daily if I put my mind to it and have the energy.
  6. I’m adding a 6th because I want to – I like to write in bed and can do up to 1000 words an hour when I decide to stay in bed for a morning session after my hubby goes to work. With Maple by side, snoring, I find my creative energy is high because my body is so relaxed.

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April 19, 2024 · 12:35 am

#Fridayfive – what NOT to say to a writer!

This one’s been ruminating in my brain for years!! Years, I tell ya.

Okay. None of us like unsolicited advice. I don’t, especially. I never listen to it and I rarely accept it. But over the years, when I’ve told people I write for a living, these are just some of the things I’ve been told or that have been said to me in the guise of being good advice I should listen to – and my mental, unspoken, responses.

I’ll let you decide if they are snarky. ( I think they are!)

  1. No one reads books. ( I beg to differ since…BOOKTOK!)
  2. No one can afford a book. ( Um, that Starbucks grande in your hand costs more than an ecopy of my books. WAaaaaaaay more.)
  3. You’ll never be able to support yourself writing. (Want to see my tax returns?)
  4. Romance books are only for single women who can’t get a man. They probably have cats, too. ( My hand to God, I almost punched this guy in the mouth. I had to seriously think, “get behind me, Satan” before I did!)
  5. Aren’t you embarrassed to have people know you write that smut? ( This one still makes me laugh. I mean…have you read me??? Smut?? Me?? Some of my books don’t even have a hand-holding scene, LOL!!!)

Believe it or not, there are waaaaaaaay more of these I could share. But I’m not going to give them breath.

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April 12, 2024 · 12:45 am

#fridayfive 4.12.24

RETRIBUTION releases in just 11 days, so, today I want to share with you five tropes in the book

  1. The ANTAGONIST trope -in this book, the SERIAL KILLER is the antagonist. This person is the bane of the SPCD’s existence. I had such a good time writing the killer – their backstory, their road to what led them to kill.
  2. The KINDNAPPED trope – 6 girls have been kidnapped in the Washington DC Area – one every 21 days for 6 months. This also leads to the RACE AGAINST THE CLOCK trope in order to save them.
  3. The WOMAN IN PERIL trope. Not only the 6 girls, but the other two women in the story fall into this category as well. No spoilers here as to how, why, or even when, lol!
  4. The ORPHAN trope – if I told you why this one is in the book you would know too much before you read it. So…read it!
  5. The LOVE TRIANGLE trope. Again, this one will play itself out in the book, but if I told you about it now, it would spoil some of the discovery.

There are a few more I’ve added, such as the SCAR ( physical or emotion) trope, best friends, the protector trope, the red herring trope, and the hidden identity one as well.

It’ll be fun when you read the book to see if you can find any more!

You can order your copy from me, directly, here: RETRIBUTION

Or preorder it through Amazon, here: Retribution

Release date is APRIL 23 but if you order directly from me, you’ll get an autographed copy earlier than that!

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April 5, 2024 · 12:06 am

#fridayFive 4.5.24

Today’s five are a few more things about RETRIBUTION that I hope enthrall you and make you want to read it. These are all little pieces of info about and concerning the book,

  1. this was the first full-length book I’d ever written. I penned it 20 years ago, stuck it on a file on my desktop and then forgot about it. When VELLA became a thing I published it to that venue and had a great deal of positivity come back to me, so I decided to update it and publish it for real.
  2. I was serial killer obsessed back in the day. I’m that girl NETFLIX documentaries about them was invented, (LOL) and still am, to this day.
  3. there is no real-life team called the SPCD ( Sexual Predators of Children DIvision) at the FBI, but there should be. I know there are a few dedicated to child trafficking and plain ol’ serial killers, tho.
  4. shouting a gun ambidextrously ( as Kella and Anna can) is more common than you’d think.
  5. The psychology of studying the serial killer mind is relatively recent in history, starting in the past 1880’s. With the advancement of criminalists and forensics, it has become much easier to target a serial killer’s crimes, if not the actual killer.

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March 29, 2024 · 12:28 am

#Fridayfive 3.29.24

Today, I’m going to share 5 reasons I think you will love my newest release, RETRIBUTION. (I’m not too conceited, lol)

  1. Two kick-ass heroines. Kella O’Brien Calloway and FBI Agent Anna Langdon are two very dissimilar women, but they both are strong, smart, and articulate. And both shoot ambidextrously. ( A fact you need to know when you read the book!)
  2. A really good backstory about the serial killer. No spoilers here, but there’s a lot of depth to the killer’s character arc.
  3. Two Swoon-worthy heroes – Sean Calloway and Ticker Petrie. Two men who couldn’t be more unalike, but they both love Kella in their own way and would die for her.
  4. A fast-paced story ala Criminal Minds. The SPCD ( Sexual Predators of Children) Division of the FBI are a group of dedicated G-men who fight for kids every day of their lives.
  5. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever written. If you aren’t a fan of romance ( shame on you!) but like gritty, psychological crime dramas, this book has your name on it!

YOu can preorder an autographed print copy from me, here PRINT

or get the ecopy from Amazon, here. KINDLE

The book will also be available in KU for a limited time.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=kZIuhLrXxpk%3Fsi%3DeP4A7WnafMGX4Fqg

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