Tag Archives: #fridayfive

#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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#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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#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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#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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#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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#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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#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.

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#fridayfive 3.22.24

Today, I want to tell you about 5 books that impacted my life. A few of them I read years and years ago, a few, recently. But all of them left a mark on me and made my life, and my insights into life, a little bit better.

UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN by Jan Krakour. I knew nothing about the Mormon faith until I read this book. It is an encyclopedia of info and deals with a modern-day murder involving the belief system. Very powerful.

MIDNIGHT IN THE GARDEN OF GOOD AND EVIL by John Berendt. The most fascinating look into a society murder. The book was much better than the movie, but the movie wasn’t bad.

SHANNA by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss. The very first grown-up ( read SEX ON THE PAGE) romance I ever read when I was 16.

THE 7 HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This book truly impacted me and gave me a great deal of insight into the issues with being gay in this country. I adored this story, the characters, and the phenomenal ending.

7 HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE by Stephen R. Covey. Insights into how the mind works and what makes habits turn into success, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to get ahead int he word be it financially, socially, or academically.

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#Fridayfive 3.15.2024

Just because I’ve been published, that doesn’t mean I ever stop learning the craft of writing. I didn’t have an English degree ( I went the Nursing route) so there are many things I’ve had to learn as I’ve been along the journey of writing like scene structure, proper grammar, even punctuation.

These are the 5 books that have helped me along my journey and I refer to them often, even to this day.

NAUGHTY WORDS FOR NICE WRITERS by Cara Bristol ( A Sexual and Spanking Thesaurus)

SEXY WORDS FOR WRITERS by Stefanie Olsen

ROMANCE TROPES AND HOOKS by Karen WInter

THE TROPE THESAURUS by Jennifer Hilt

SELF-EDITING FOR FICTION WRITERS by Renni Brown and Dave King

These books are dog eared, and highlighted beyond recognition, hee hee

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#fridayfive

So today, five things to know about me…(I’m not too conceited, am I, lol!!)

~ I recently lost 62 pounds. The fact that I had that much weight to lose makes me crazy, but it took over a year and I am determined it stay off!

~ I sleep only 2-3 hours a night due to menopause-induced insomnia- and yes, it’s a thing! No cure.

~ I am techNOsavvy. Truly. I freak out whenever something goes wrong with my computer or phone or Ipad. I turn into a toddler having a tantrum and no one can deal with me.

~ I hate traveling. I am a real hermit and would never come out of my house if I didn’t have to. The pandemic shutdown and isolation? Didn’t have any effect on me because I was already staying home every day.

~ I have voted in every election since I’ve been legally allowed to, wherever I have lived. I’ve even voted for categories like dog catcher and coroner. It is a privilege to be able to vote and I never shirk the task. Ever!

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