Category Archives: Romance Books

May 5, 2015 · 9:45 am

Old hat at this…I think not

So, tomorrow my newest addition to the MacQuire Women Series, THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME is released. It is a scant two months since book 1, SKATER’S WALTZ went out into the book reading universe and you might think I am still basking in the wonderful-ness of the first release and that this new one is sort of taking a back burner to it.

Yeah, NO!

I feel as excited and giddy today as I did on March 3. ANY book, any work, any story I have sent into the world for public consumption has thrilled me. To know that tomorrow people will be reading about Quentin and Moira and how they fell in love is beyond exciting for me. The personal responses I have received from people who have read the first book is humbling and mind blowing. Even my father in law read it and I know he did because he was able to discuss things that happened in the book!!!

I remember my mother in law once told me she loved my husband ( her firstborn) so much she didn’t know if she had any love left over for another child. But when her first daughter was born, she realized a mother’s love knows no bounds or limits. She loved each child equally and thoroughly.

That’s the way I feel about my new release. I love the story and the people in it as much as I loved the first one.

So, I hope if you read There’s No Place like Home you will feel the same way I do.

Here’s a snippet to whet your appetite:

“Remember when your cousin Tiffany got married in the backyard here?”

Confused, Moira nodded.

Quentin rubbed her bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “When the Reverend told Cole ‘you can kiss your bride,’ and he swooped her off the ground, spun her around and kissed her silly? Remember what you said?”

“I think I said it was the most romantic thing I’d ever seen.”

He nodded. “The exact quote was, ‘I hope someone kisses me like that some day.’”

Her grin was quick at the memory. “Pat snorted and said I’d better be satisfied with licks from the horses and Rob Roy because no guy was ever gonna kiss me.”

“He wasn’t known for tact back then.” He rubbed a hand down her back as he held her. “Remember what happened later on behind the barn?”

Because she did, she couldn’t stop the heat from spreading up her face like wildfire. When she nodded again, he said, “You wanted to know what it felt like to be kissed like that and since I was your best friend, you thought I should be the one to do it, because you – quote – felt safe with me – unquote.”

“What was I? Eleven?”

“Thirteen. And I was more than willing. Almost broke my heart in two when you said afterward, ‘I don’t see what all the fuss is about.’”

“Q—”

“Hush.” He kissed her forehead. “Ever since that day, all I’ve wanted is a second chance. Now,” he pulled her body closer, wrapped both arms around her small waist, his hands resting just above the dent in her spine. “We’re both a little older, a little more mature. Some of us are much more experienced—”

“And conceited.”

“Experienced,” he said, the laugh in his voice quiet and seductive, “and things can be so much better.”

Get your copy here or order it at your local bookstore:

Buy Links for THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME 

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1J1f3OZ

The Wild Rose Press: http://bit.ly/1GmM1Je

Barnes and Noble Nook : http://bit.ly/1JjMUG7

 

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April 24, 2015 · 4:20 pm

Challenges…

I love a writing challenge. That’s why I participate in NANOWRIMO every year, and whenever my local  chapter of RWA holds a writing challenge, I am raring to go.

Personal challenges are another thing entirely.

Backstory. Last Spring I attended a fund raiser for Project Graduation titled DANCING WITH THE KEENE STARS. It was exactly like it sounds – the television show DWTS, just a local edition with people in my community as the “celebrities” or Stars. Everyone with me, including me, had an absolute blast. It was such a fun evening, that I volunteered to be a contestant the following year if they held it again.

Yeah, so. Be careful what you ask for.

I was asked, I said “Yes,” and I was thrilled.

Then the real work started. I am not a dancer. I barely have enough rhythm to keep upright when I walk (as evidenced by  the fact I fall a lot. A lot.) It  looks so easy SO EASY on television. The dancers get up, do a few steps, and there you have it.

Yeah, NO! I haven’t  sweated, thought, or worked so hard at something in a very long time. I actually think the last thing I did that was as mentally and physically challenging was childbirth. And my daughter is 25!

Anyway, the real purpose of this entry was to say that challenges come in all forms, and in order to grow and thrive as humans, we need to take them up from time to time. Learning how to dance the cha-cha has been an enervating and exhausting thing for someone as sedentary (both in mind and body) as myself. I have to think logically, count ( not my strong suit!) and concentrate on so many aspects – head up, don’t look down, keep your shoulders square, smile. It’s a lot for someone like me who basically hibernates in a solitary writing room.

But having said all that, it is a challenge that I willing took on and I don’t have ANY regrets. I have learned a great deal about myself these past two months and wouldn’t change anything I’ve gone through. Well, maybe I’d lose a little more weight before starting, but that’s it! By challenging myself personally, I feel I’ve grown more as a person and a writer, because I have a million story ideas now concerning dancing. Ooo, baby!

If you’re in the neighborhood, here’s the link to get tix. Maybe I’ll see you there.  Just don’t throw any tomatoes at me!!

Project Grad 2015

 

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April 2, 2015 · 10:02 am

Freebies!!

Just a reminder: I’ve doing a GOODREADS giveaway this month of paperback copies of SKATER’S WALTZ in celebration of my May 6 release of THERE’S NO PLAC LIKE HOME, Here’s the link and remember: you gotta be in it to win it! Good luck. More on There’s no Place Like home to come!’

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24872836-skater-s-waltz-the-macquire-women-1

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March 29, 2015 · 3:29 pm

Why we should support each other as Writers….

One of my lovely, talented and fun-to-be-around NHRWA member chapter-mates just found out she is a finalist in the RWA GoldenHeart Contest. For those of you who don’t know what this means, listen up. The Golden Hearts awards are given to extremely talented and deserving romance writers who have not had a book-length romance published as of yet. It’s like the Golden Globes awards are to the Oscars. In romance, the Oscars are the annual RITA awards. So when my chapter-mate’s name was announced the other day, everyone who knows her was instantly thrilled for her, including all of us who belong to the New Hampshire chapter. Prestige, honor and open doors in the publishing world all accompany this nomination and, subsequent win. She – and we – will find out the winners at the annual RWA conference in July in NYC. It proves to be a truly memorable event.

Her nomination/finalist state and our happiness for her got me to thinking. Writers of romance are truly the most convivial and supportive group of humans I have ever met. We applaud each other’s successes, understand the emotional toils  the non-successes ( I don’t like the word failure) take on our souls, and we cheer each other on through the often grueling process of creating love on the page.

Romance writers are a rare breed. And I am so thankful they/we are.

Competition many times fosters a sense of isolation and removal from the group of people you are competing against. The goal is to win it all, many times at whatever cost. Friendships are lost and destroyed all just to grab that proverbial golden ring.

Not so with romance writers. Yes, we compete against one another in the basic sense because we all want to get our book published and into the hands of readers. But for every NYT bestseller and USA list out there where a romance writer makes it to the top, the rest of us know we can make it there, too. The trail blazers like Nora Roberts, Beatrice Small, and Kathleen Woodiwiss have made what we write relevant to the masses and  a force to be reckoned with in the sales division. We literally stand on their writing shoulders and are lifted up by their triumphs to gain success for ourselves. The better they do, the better we do.

So. I congratulate my writing friend with all sincerity and love. She is truly deserving of the nomination AND the win. When we are all in NYC in July I will be among the other 2,000 or so attendees who will be standing and applauding her victory, for her victory is also ours and we are better for knowing her.

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March 18, 2015 · 9:03 am

Why every one of us needs an Editor

Yesterday I was a guest blogger on writer Brenna Zinn’s blog. I talked about my love of figure skating and how I used this in my first romance novel Skater’s Waltz.  I mentioned Dorothy Hamill’s name several times and each time I spelled it incorrectly. So dumb! I know how to spell her name as well as my own and mine is much harder! Spell check doesn’t do names and I just glazed over it every time I read it in proofing. My Dartmouth grad English major daughter was the one who clued me into this mistake. Thank God for her.

This got me to thinking about why it is so imperative that we have editors.

Spell check was one of the best inventions ever and one of the worst. It has made us a writing nation of people who don’t bother to learn how to spell correctly and who don’t truly check our work, thinking our laptop programs will do it all and we will look like geniuses.

Na-ah. Doesn’t work that way.

I recently read a novel by a very famous and much published author who I happen to love. She mentioned colored contact lenses in the narrative of her story and even named the manufacturer. The only problem was that manufacturer doesn’t make colored contacts and never has. I know this because this is what I do for a paying job right now: I am a contact lens technician, so when I say I walk the walk and talk the talk of lenses, you can bank on it. Her editors and fact checkers paid her a huge disservice by not validating her statement and I think more people than just me noticed it.

So, back to editing. I learned a valuable lesson yesterday. When I write something I need to read it very very very slowly to make sure I have all the names correct, the i’s doted and the facts perfect. I don’t want to look like an idiot in print ( or in real life).

Lesson learned. Thank you, wise and learned daughter. And my sincere apologies to the fabulous Dorothy Hamill.

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March 10, 2015 · 1:36 pm

Time and media…

It’s been almost a week since my book Skater’s Waltz went live into the reading stratosphere. And what a week it’s been.

I’m new to this whole world of publishing and marketing, and I’ve never been on social media so much. I can truly see how being on Twitter, FB and the rest can be an addictive process. I hear the “tweet” sound on my phone signaling another twitter message I’m mentioned in and I automatically grab my phone. I get “pinged” whenever  a new email arrives and “whistled at” when Facebook updates. All this audio is doing a number on my ears and my ego.

One thing I remember other authors saying at numerous conferences and during chats is that you can get carried away by your media sites if you don’t keep a lid on it, and believe me, this week I’ve found that to be true. As nice as it is to interact with folks on social media, it’s nicer still just to sit and write. That is, after all, what got me started on this path.

So, as I enter the second week of my book’s marketing plan – complete with interviews, a Twitter-purge,  blog posts, and GoodReads questions- I’m turning my phone down when I’m writing. I’ll check it periodically because there are some emails and texts I can’t ignore – like those from family – but for the rest, I’ll let the Twitter-verse and Facebook bloggers have their say and then respond at a later time.

Who new being social was so exhausting??!! But really uplifting as well.

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March 3, 2015 · 10:16 am

Release-Eve thoughts….

Tomorrow, Skater’s Waltz is released into the world. Last week I admitted how fretful – well, terrified really – I am about this for a  number of reasons. I’ve had a few days to sit back and, while biting my nails, reflect on this. So here goes.

I am a truly private person. I know that sounds ridiculous since I have this blog, Facebook account, Twitter handle, am a Pinterest follower,  am LinkedIn, and Google plus-ed, but it’s true. As much as is “out there” in the cyber-verse about me, I keep a great deal of my emotions, thoughts ( yes, believe it!), and musings locked in my head. So when I tell you I’m terrified of this book failing, it is a huge admission for me to give a voice to.

I fail all the time. It’s true. I fail at weight loss, I fail to keep up with my exercise regimen, I fail people…enough about that one. So, you can see, failure is familiar to me and I usually don’t dwell on it, just get back on my proverbial horse and push on.

But this… this is soooooo different in every aspect. This book represents everything about me. My hopes, my dreams, my thoughts, my words, my loves. To have it fail – and by fail I mean, no one likes it, derides it, and makes fun of it – would, quite simply, be devastating.

I know I shouldn’t dwell on failure, because it can be a self fulfilling prophecy. Obviously, someone liked it because it’s being published. So there’s that. People will say “don’t worry about it. Everything will be fine.” And that’s nice to hear. But it’s so easy for someone else to say. Unless you have been in this position, as any writer has, it is impossible to empathize with what this feels like in your heart, soul and mind. As a writer, you put yourself out there on a ledge by asking people to read what you have to say. You love what you’ve written. It represents something that came from deep inside you, something that you gave your all to in order to bring forth. Discovering that people don’t like it, or worse – think it’s silly or stupid, or (the ultimate worst) badly written, is heartstoppingly traumatizing. I can hear how dramatic this sounds but believe me, from a writer’s viewpoint, it’s true.

As for the rest, I guess tomorrow will tell. I’ve done everything I could to promote it, market it, spread the word, and try to drum up some excitement from the people I know. I guess, as always, time will tell.

For now though, I’m going to go have a cookie…or several. And then try to exercise.

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February 5, 2015 · 11:30 pm

I must be a real author now!!

So I must be a REAL author because I have an author page on Amazon.com. The link to it is http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00T8E5LN0.

Come on over and leave me some love, FOLLOW me and check back in a week or so for the “buy link” for my March 4 release of Skater’s Waltz from the Wild Rose Press.

Now, I just have to figure out how to list myself on Goodreads!

 

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January 27, 2015 · 12:05 pm

Snowmageddon strikes as I write away…

21 inches of snow already here in the woods and the storm isn’t even half over. Isn’t it funny how a snow day  strikes the same happy chord in my adult heart as it did in my child one?

I’ve been up for hours due to the howling wind shaking against my weather treated windows, just watching it fall and writing. I’ve gotten 50 pages of edits under my belt, answered 18 emails, tweeted with 10 peeps, answered a few Facebook questions and am now blogging. Oh, and I made a batch of blueberry muffins for the hubman’s breakfast – who also has a snow day. His first in over 30 years of working! Can you think of a more fun thing for me to do than be snowbound with my laptop?? I can’t…well, I could if provoked, but I’d rather not!!

I got my official release date for my first book SKATER’S WALTZ. It’s March 4, 2015 so now I am embarking on the media junket. I have several blog tours already in the works but I need to get the press release to the local newspaper and then plot the rest of my media blitz. This is wicked time consuming,- but I will admit – fun! I know now, though, why multi-published authors with expense accounts opt to have publicists. I can see myself -someday- paying someone to do all this leg work. But for now, it’s lil’ole’ me doing it, so I am off to find more blogs to tour and presses to release to.

Stay warm, dry, safe and cozy where ever you are during this bit of winter wonder. Oh, and buy my book on March 4th!! I’ll put up the buy links when they are available. Shameless plug, wasn’t that?!

 

 

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January 21, 2015 · 12:30 am

In defense of being a hermit…

I could so easily be a bear. They eat five times their caloric needs just so they won’t starve when they hibernate during the winter season. They stay, cloistered, somewhere solitary and warm, sequestered away from the frigid temps, sleeping up to 23 hours a day.

I could so be a bear! I hate, HATE the winter. On my days off now from my paying job I find myself at my writing desk in my loft, typing away, day dreaming, coming up with plot twists and turns and looking out the window at my forest filled with snow. And I never go out.

I have friends who like to go for walks during subzero temps, claiming it’s invigorating and endorphin producing.

Uh, no, it’s not. Not to me anyway.

I like nothing more than to stay in my flannel pjs, my ugly and falling apart Elmo slippers on my feet, my hair in a knot and my glasses on my face, and just typing away… and away…

I can write an entire novel or two during the winter if I don’t go out. That’s very productive, don’t you think? My friends worry about me not interacting with other humans, not getting any socialization or camaraderie. They think I’ve turned into this antisocial hermit who shuns society.

I don’t shun society. I shun the cold! Big difference there.

I tell them not to worry. Come the spring they will see me again.

Until the time when black fly and mosquito season starts. Then I could so be a bear again.

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