I am currently editing the final galley copy of the above book for Wild Rose Press. It’s the first in a three book series called A PRIDE OF BROTHERS. For those of you who read my WILL COOK FOR LOVE SERIES, this is the story of Abigail Laine and Rick Bannerman. These two are both alphas and boy do they annoy each other. And by annoy I mean – YOWZA!
As soon as I have a release date and a cover, you’ll see it. Promise!
Until then, only 6 more sleeps until IT’S A TRUST THING releases exclusively in Kindle and KU. Have you reordered your copy yet???
Nell Newbery has trust issues. It’s hard to trust when you’re the daughter of a fallen financial scion who bilked people out of billions. Nell’s done everything in her power to keep away from men who see her as their ticket to fortune and fame. All she wants to do is run her ultra-successful business, HELPFUL HUNKS, in peace. But it wouldn’t hurt to find a guy who doesn’t know a thing about her father’s felonious past; one she can give her heart to and trust it won’t come back to her battered, bruised, and broken. Is Charlie Churchill that guy? On the surface he seems perfect, all polished manners and quiet mirth. Nell’s convinced he knows nothing about her, other than she likes superhero movies and views junk food as a food group. Can she trust him to be what he appears to be? Or is he just pretending? For Nell, trust is everything in life…and in love.
Love Match has been out for a week now and the reviews are so wonderful I thought I’d give you another insight into the storyline.
Cody’s divorce hit him hard because he thought, erroneously, everything was fine with his marriage. He had no idea what was really going on with his wife, Cassidy. Once she left him, his entire life changed and with it, he lost some of his confidence and became a bit of a cynic. In this scene, he is talking with his mom and you can tell she is the person he can reveal his true self to without fear or worry.
“Shit. I knew something happened. Layla pulled a complete one-eighty by the time she came home.”
Sally’s eyebrow lifted. “And Cass was, obviously, the cause. Layla believes what she said.”
“How could she?” he cried. “It’s not true. I never sle—” he stopped short. It was one thing for your mother to suspect you had sex, quite another to talk about it, openly.
Sally sat next to him at the table and slid a hand on top of his fisted one. “I know you, Cody Angus Fonda. You’d never sleep with a woman just to gain an advantage. It’s not you. It’s simply not. Your head, not to mention your heart, would never let you do something so wrong.”
The tips of his ears felt like they were on fire.
“Apparently Layla doesn’t share your high opinion of me.”
Jane laid her head down on his lap, her eyes tracking his face. Absently, he petted her.
“Did you ever tell her you were interested in buying the house?” Sally asked.
After another gulp of coffee, Cody shook his head. “I kept meaning to. I should have from the very beginning. I know that.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “But after working on the house, spending time with her and then, well.” His mother didn’t need details about their sleeping together. “I was more focused on getting her to stay. I thought she was going to, I really did. But yesterday,” he shook his head, “she told me she’s considering leaving. That the house is too big for one person. Too much upkeep.”
“Did you tell her you wanted to buy it, then?”
“No.”
Sally tilted her head and regarded him for a long while with that all-knowing look inherent in every mother he’d ever known. She was so focused on him, in fact, he started to fidget.
“What?”
“You are one of the smartest men I have ever known, and every day I’m thankful you’re my son.”
“Okay, there’s a but screaming in that sentence, loud, clear, and terrifying.”
Sally reached over and ticked him on the head.
“Hey! OW!”
“Respect your mother, Cody.”
He shook his head, closed his eyes and mumbled something that he knew she couldn’t hear. Then, “What were you going to say?”
She took a breath. “For someone so smart you can be dense at times. Did it ever occur to you that Layla was hurt by what Cassidy said not because of the words but because of the truth that you didn’t tell her, up front, you wanted the house? I’ve got a feeling trust is hard for Layla, with her mother being the way she is, and everything that happened with the loser fiancé. How do you think she must have felt when Cassidy screamed the only reason you were with Layla was because you wanted her house when you never mentioned a thing to her.”
“I would have hoped she’d ask me directly, not just assume Cass was right. I thought she knew me better than that.”
Sally’s phone chimed just then and she tugged it out of her purse.
“Grandma,” she told him. “Hey, Ma. What’s up?”
Cody tuned her out, considering what she’d told him, instead. How many times had he berated himself for not telling Layla his feelings about the house? How many excuses had he given himself why he hadn’t shared his desire to buy it, fix it, flip it? And now look; his silence on the subject had caused her to pull away from him just when things were heating up between them. And now she was considering leaving town.
What a mess.
He had to figure out a way to get her to understand what he’d done, why he’d been silent, and get her to forgive him.
He needed to come clean, but how? She wasn’t exactly speaking to him and the texts had been so chilly his hand had gotten cold holding his phone when he read them. He supposed he could drive over to her house, take the chance she’d be home and – even more of a chance – she’d let him in.
Cody closed his eyes after finishing his coffee.
“Okay, well, wait until you hear this.” Sally disconnected the call. “It wasn’t only Cassidy who told Layla about you wanting the house. Gran did, too.”
“When?”
“She must have driven over to the Arms right after seeing Cass yesterday. Effie and mom were together, and she asked Effie if you’d ever approached her about selling the house.”
“I never have.”
Nodding, Sally said, “That’s what she told Layla. But then Gran told her about the times you mentioned how much you’d like the house and wished you could buy it so you could fix it and resell it for a profit.”
“Oh, Jesus.” He swiped his hands through his hair again. “No wonder she thinks I’m such a douchebag—”
“Language, young man.”
Cody’s face heated like he’d placed it in a hot oven. At forty years old he shouldn’t feel chastised like a toddler when his mother scolded him.
“This is a nightmare.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, shook his head, and cast his eyes downward.
After a few moments, Sally cleared her throat. “Can I ask you a question?”
He shrugged.
“Promise you won’t brush me off, but really answer it? Truthfully?”
“Okay, now I’m getting scared.”
Sally shifted and ran her hand across his forearm. “I know you better than you think I do, son. I gave birth to you, wiped your tears when you skinned your knees, watched you with pride when your sisters came along and you vowed to be their protectors. It’s been a pleasure and an honor to witness you grow into the amazing man you are today.”
“Still hearing that but.”
She squeezed his arm, then patted it, a small smile tugging at the corner so of her mouth. “I remember the day you told me and your dad you were gonna marry Cassidy. Even though we knew you were too young and had reservations about her, we never said anything, just supported you, loved you, and welcomed her into our family.”
Touched, Cody placed his own hand over the one she still had across his arm.
“I know, mom. And I love you both for it.”
“That’s what family is for.”
“So what’s your question?”
Her eyes, twins to his own in color and shape, ping-ponged between his. She tugged her lips inward and pressed down on them, then, after releasing them again, asked, “You’re in love with Layla, aren’t you?”
The full weight of emotions seeped through his voice when he responded, “More than I ever thought I could love a woman again.”
“Oh, baby.” Sally shifted and pulled him into a hug.
All the sadness, rejection, even the feelings of loss and disappointment he’d been holding in for over three years, pretending didn’t exist, leached from deep down in his soul. He buried his face in her neck as she simply held and rocked him like she had when he was a boy.
“I didn’t think I’d ever feel this way again,” he said against her shoulder. “But somehow, somewhere along the way, she kinda…snuck in.”
“That’s how love works,” Sally said. “When you least expect to find it, wham, there it is.”
To celebrate my upcoming 10 years in the biz, I give you… my life in a timeline. My writing life, that is, lol.
It’s been a heck of a ride so far. 4 publishers; indie publishing; professional speaking gigs on writing.
Sometimes my head whirls. Sometimes I pinch myself. Sometimes I’m tired ( who am I kidding? I’m tired all the time!)
Would I do things differently? A few Would I change one moment of the feeling I get when a new book is in my hands after publication? Not even a little bit.
I chose this life and I embrace it wholeheartedly.
here’s to the next 10 years…20…(gulp) 30.
And thank you for all the love and support and words of encouragement along the way… ~Peg
Just a quick reminder that I’ll be appearing at the GOFFSTOWN LIBRARY on February 13th to talk about all things romance related.
I’ll be reading from my newest book plus, as an added bonus, talking about my soon-to-be-released suspense RETRIBUTION. If there’s enough time, I’ll be reading a little bit from that one, too!!!
I hope if you’re in the are you can come down, sit and listen for a while, and join me!
Are you a romance reader? Or did you just stumble upon this blog because you were scrolling Google and liked the name? Hee hee.
I ask that question because for today’s Friday Five, I’m going to list the 5 books I recommend a novice romance reader read in order to discover what the genre is all about. Ready? Here ya go. My recs…
SHANNA “From New York Times bestselling author Kathleen E. Woodiwiss comes one of her most iconic and beloved romances of all time…A pact is sealed in secret behind the foreboding walls of Newgate Prison. In return for one night of unparalleled pleasure, a dashing condemned criminal consents to wed a beautiful heiress, thereby rescuing her from an impending and abhorred arranged union. But in the fading echoes of hollow wedding vows, a solemn promise is broken, as a sensuous free spirit takes flight to a lush Caribbean paradise, abandoning the stranger she married to face the gallows unfulfilled. Ruark Beauchamp’s destiny is now eternally intertwined with that of the tempestuous, intoxicating Shanna. He will be free . . . and he will find her. For no iron ever forged can imprison his resolute passion. And no hangman’s noose will keep Ruark from the bride— and ecstasy—that he craves.” This was the first real adult romance ( read: SEX!) I ever read. To this day I think I’ve reread it 25 times! Perfection from a master writer.
FRENCH SILK “When she becomes a murder suspect, a New Orleans beauty and lingerie tycoon must share her most deeply buried secrets with a disturbingly handsome district attorney in order to clear her name.
Like the city of New Orleans itself, Claire Laurent is a vibrant beauty laced with mystery. As the founder of French Silk, a fabulous lingerie company, she has fought hard to achieve worldwide success. Then a TV evangelist attacks French Silk’s erotic sleepwear as sinful. And when he is killed, Claire becomes the prime suspect.
District Attorney Robert Cassidy knows Claire is damning herself with lie after lie about the murder, even as he feels her drawing him into her world and her very soul. But neither Cassidy nor her protests of innocence can save Claire unless she reveals a shocking truth — one she has sworn to take to the grave . . .” Sandra Brown has been a one-click author for me since I read this book. Mystery, sex, romance, and a great story are the definition of an SB book!
THE NOTEBOOK “At thirty-one, Noah Calhoun, back in coastal North Carolina after World War II, is haunted by images of the girl he lost more than a decade earlier. At twenty-nine, socialite Allie Nelson is about to marry a wealthy lawyer, but she cannot stop thinking about the boy who long ago stole her heart. Thus begins the story of a love so enduring and deep it can turn tragedy into triumph, and may even have the power to create a miracle…” He’s called schmaltzy and vanilla-y in his writing, but this story is a love story for the ages!
THE THORN BIRDS “The Thorn Birds is a chronicle of three generations of Clearys—an indomitable clan of ranchers carving lives from a beautiful, hard land while contending with the bitterness, frailty, and secrets that penetrate their family. It is a poignant love story, a powerful epic of struggle and sacrifice, a celebration of individuality and spirit. Most of all, it is the story of the Clearys’ only daughter, Meggie, and the haunted priest, Father Ralph de Bricassart—and the intense joining of two hearts and souls over a lifetime, a relationship that dangerously oversteps sacred boundaries of ethics and dogma.” Hands down one of the best books every penned. A love story for the ages – forbidden love, family intrigue, secrets, and heartbreak, This book has it all!
DEVIL IN WINTER“I’m Sebastian, Lord St. Vincent. I can’t be celibate. Everyone knows that.” Desperate to escape her scheming relatives, Evangeline Jenner has sought the help of the most infamous scoundrel in London. A marriage of convenience is the only solution. No one would have ever paired the shy, stammering wallflower with the sinfully handsome viscount. It quickly becomes clear, however, that Evie is a woman of hidden strength—and Sebastian desires her more than any woman he’s ever known. Determined to win her husband’s elusive heart, Evie dares to strike a bargain with the devil: If Sebastian can stay celibate for three months, she will allow him into her bed. When Evie is threatened by a vengeful enemy from the past, Sebastian vows to do whatever it takes to protect his wife . . . even at the expense of his own life. Together they will defy their perilous fate, for the sake of all-consuming love.” So no one writes a steamy, LONG, love scene like Kleypas. The hottest scene in this book takes place with the h/h standing upright and against a door. I’ll leave it to you to go read it!!! Kleypas is another of my one-click authors. I don’t write historical romance, but I read it because of her!
My good friend, writer LOUISE STEVENS has a new addition to her PORT SUNSET Mysteriesout today, and as she has ever since the first one was released, she’s visiting me and allowing me to tell you all about it! I love a good tradition, lol.
This series is sosososo good!!! Let’s get a peek at the newest addition….
It’s Valentine’s Day in Port Sunset and romance, fun, and murder are in the air. Yep, murder. I’m Millie Wentworth the assistant General Manager of the Gulf Palms Resort. And since our sleepy beach town comes with a body count to rival any big city, I’m an amateur sleuth on the side.
The hotel is hosting a Masquerade Ball and half the attendees are dressed as Cupid. When someone is shot through the heart with a bow and arrow there is no shortage of suspects since Cupids are everywhere. And the victim was so awful lots of people had reason to do her in…seriously…LOTS. Including me.
As usual Detective Green’s laser focus is aimed at the wrong suspects. When my fun-loving grandmother Lulu, Spud the corgi, and I discover another body we need to find the real murderer pronto. Can we catch the killer Cupid before they strike again?
I pulled out my phone and then tossed my purse into the back seat of Scott’s car. I planted my butt on the passenger seat and then swung my tail in behind me. I sighed dramatically. “I cannot wait to get out of this costume.”
The only thing keeping me from yanking the blue wig off my head was knowing what my pinned-up hair looked like underneath it. No need to send Scott running into the night from the horror of the sight.
Scott glanced my way before he drove away from the valet stand. “How many messages did you have from Lulu?”
“A lot. Let me just let her know we’re on our way home and I’ll talk to her in the morning.” I tapped on my phone as I spoke.
When I hit send, I lowered my phone and stared out the windshield in front of me. The roads were empty at this time of night.
After a couple of blocks of silence, Scott cleared his throat and said, “I’m going to hate myself for asking, but do you have any idea about who might’ve killed this woman?”
I flicked a long, flowing lock of aqua hair over my shoulder to see him better in the orange glow of the streetlights. “Why are you going to hate yourself for asking?”
“Because every other time you’ve investigated a murder, you’ve almost been killed, and I don’t want to lose you. And if I ask, it’s like I’m yielding to the inevitable … and it’s sleuthing time.”
“Without Tyler on the case, you might not have to worry too much.”
“It actually makes me more worried. I think Tyler getting your findings to Detective Green is the only reason the right people are in jail for three murders. If Tyler is excluded from the case, I’m afraid Green might arrest the wrong person,” Scott said as he stopped at a red light.
There were no cars in sight in any direction, but we sat at the light like good, little citizens until it turned green.
“I don’t want that to happen, maybe Jennifer can help me feed information to Green. He worships her. Heck, she was even able to get him to dress like Juan Peron tonight. She could get him to do anything,” I said.
One corner of Scott’s mouth tilted up. “You do realize you just proved my point.”
I scrunched up my forehead. “What point?”
“You’re incapable of letting a murderer go free due to Green’s incompetence. You’re already trying to think of ways to get the results of your investigation to him. Face it, Millie, it’s sleuthing time, and you’re all in.”
Louise Stevens is the author of the Port Sunset Mysteries series. A lover of mysteries since her discovery of Nancy Drew many years ago, she is thrilled to be writing cozy mysteries now. She lives in Maryland with her husband, who also loves a good mystery, in a house packed with books.
Louise Stevens is the pen name of contemporary romance author Donna Simonetta.
When the obnoxious guest in the penthouse is poisoned beside his private pool, my daily planner is turned upside down. I’m Millie Wentworth, Assistant General Manager of the swanky Gulf Palms Resort and Spa and solving the murder shouldn’t be my job, but the only food found near the body is a charcuterie board sent to the victim by yours truly.
The Port Sunset Police are looking my way until a shocking revelation shifts their attention to a friend. Suddenly, cracking the case moves to the top of my to-do list and it’s up to me to find the real killer and clear my friend’s name.
Uncovering the truth should be a breeze with me, my pink-haired grandmother, her rescue corgi, and her crew of fun-loving septuagenarian beach bunnies on the case. What could possibly go wrong?
****COZY MYSTERY OF THE YEAR FINALIST, N.N. Light’s Annual Book Awards****
“Get ready to curl up with your next favorite book!” USA Today Best-selling Author Claire Marti
“…one of the best cozy mysteries I’ve ever read.” N.N. Light’s Book Heaven
“…you won’t want this rollicking romp to end.” 5-Star Amazon Review
I’m Millie Wentworth and I never thought I’d be involved in another murder, but here I am smack dab in the middle of a crime wave at the swanky resort where I’m Assistant General Manager. It started with a major diamond heist and ended with a dead body on the beach.
When one of my grandmother Lulu’s group of fun-loving septuagenarian friends is a prime suspect it’s time for Lulu’s Crew, Spud the corgi, and me, to get sleuthing and uncover the real criminals.
And because dodging mobsters, international jewel thieves, and solving crimes isn’t stressful enough, my hypercritical parents are in town too. My mother doesn’t approve of Lulu and me in the best of times, and these are decidedly not the best of times. Plus she’s already planning my imaginary wedding to my kinda-sorta boyfriend Scott.
All I need to do is catch a murderer plus a jewel thief and survive my parents’ visit. No problem, right?
Solving mysteries with my fun-loving grandmother Lulu, her friends, and Spud the corgi is my side hustle. By day I’m Millie Wentworth the assistant general manager of the swanky Gulf Palms Resort, so you wouldn’t think sleuthing would be in my skill set. But lately it has been, and since summer is our busy season in Port Sunset I’d hoped it would be murder-free. Is that too much to ask?
Apparently so, because when social influencer Merry Marissa’s yacht cruises into town, we’re suddenly up to our necks in smuggling, stalkers, and slaughter. I have more suspects than the Tipsy Turtle has mai tais. And I’m without my sleuthing team, because Lulu’s Crew are busy going viral to raise money for animal charities.
Can I unravel the mystery and find the killer before Lulu’s Crew and I become the next victims?
Yesterday I sat down with the wonderful Cathy Mesaric-Bartlett for this wonderful interview for the S.A.W Book Club on facebook. SAW stands for SHARING AUTHORS WORDS and it’s an open group, so if you lovelovelove books, you may want to join it! Here’s the interview;
Okay, so in book 5 of the MacQuire Women series, PASSION’S PALETTE, we’re back to that action sentence again. And I did what all the experts tell you to NEVER do in a first line – I had my heroine waking up to greet the day.
I love when my author friends come to visit me. Today, I’ve got multi-published, best-selling author, Liz Flaherty, joining me and she’s telling me all about a re-release of one of her backlist books. She’s updated the story a bit to modernize it just hair and I’m excited to share it with you.
Here’s Liz…
I’ve been married for a long time. I’ve fallen in love over and over during the 51-plus years of our marriage. Always with the same guy and often with a different one who looks like him but…really, did he just say that? We’ve stayed married, never living apart or even doing any bedroom-door-slamming or sleeping on the couch. I’ve never either asked or ordered him to leave and he’s never driven away with any intent of not returning.
It has not always been nearly as easy as that sounds.
In A Soft Place to Fall, Early and Nash were married for a long time, too. She got pregnant while she was still in high school and they got married when she was 16 and he was 18. They both worked nearly all the time and got Nash through medical school and raised four children. Thirty years after they got married, they’re living in a pretty gated community in Lexington, Kentucky, enjoying grandbabies and freedom from debt and…
And maybe not enjoying anything at all. At least, Nash isn’t.
Divorced and in search of herself, Early moves back to the Ridge in rural Kentucky. She takes care of Nash’s father after he has heart surgery, of her mother when she breaks her ankle, and…finally…of herself, too. As she builds a quilt shop named A Soft Place to Fall, she also creates a life for herself.
But then there’s Nash.
A Soft Place to Fall was first released in 2013. Nine years later, with a few changes, it still feels relevant. I hope you find it so, too.
Early McGrath doesn’t want freedom from her thirty-year marriage to Nash, but when it’s forced upon her, she does the only thing she knows to do – she goes home to the Ridge to reinvent herself.
Only what is someone who’s spent her life taking care of other people supposed to do when no one needs her anymore? Even as the threads of her life unravel, she finds new ones – reconnecting with the church of her childhood, building the quilt shop that has been a long-time dream, and forging a new friendship with her former husband.
The definition of freedom changes when it’s combined with faith, and through it all perhaps Early and Nash can find a Soft Place to Fall.
USA Today bestselling author Liz Flaherty started writing in the fourth grade when her Aunt Gladys allowed her to use her portable Royal typewriter. The truth was that her aunt would have let her do anything to get her out of her hair, but the typewriter and the stories it could produce caught on, and Liz never again had a day without a what if… in it.
She and Duane, her husband of at least forever, live in a farmhouse in central Indiana, sharing grown children, spoiled cats, and their grandkids, the Magnificent Seven. (Don’t get her started on them—you’ll be here all day.) To find out more about her, stop by http://lizflaherty.net/ or any of the other places she hangs around by visiting linktr.ee/LizFlaherty
Peggy Jaeger, Author 