I’m excited to announce that from today until May 5, CHANCE ( LAST MAN STANDING) will be FREE on AMAZON to whet your appetite for the May 17th release of SABLE ( ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID) If you didn’t read it when it was originally released, get it now for free!
Chance Miller, divorce lawyer extraordinaire, knows the whole happily ever after dream is an urban myth. He deals with miserable and wedded warring couples every day and swears staying single keeps him sane and happy. His friends and family consider him the last single man standing and fear he’ll never find someone and settle down. But Chance relishes his carefree status and unencumbered lifestyle and has no plans to change anything.
If only his relatives would stop trying to set him up with their version of the perfect woman.
Fredrika Poole already experienced her one great love, and the widow can’t read any future romance in her tea leaves. She’s content to bake, run her business, and care for her daughter.
When Chance meets Freddie and discovers her marriage thoughts run on the same road his do, he realizes she’s the answer to his prayer for keeping the relatives at bay. But the pixie barista has a way of making Chance question everything he’s always thought about love, marriage, and wedded bliss.
Will his last man standing status go unchallenged? Or will Freddie be the one woman he wants…but can never have?
And if you like CHANCE and want to read his sister, SABLE’s, story, I’m having a giveaway if you preorder and let me know you have done so. I’m giving away $10.00 Amazon GCs to 5 people who’ve preordered before the release day of May 17th. Rules are in the following graphic!
Last year I was part of a multi-author series titled LAST MAN STANDING. 14 men who were determined never to walk down the aisle, jump the broom, wear the ball and chain.
In essence, that guy who vows never to get married.
The authors took those 14 men and gave them the perfect mate, then watched as each and every one of them fell in love and changed their mind…and their lives.
This year, those same authors have joined together to bring you the ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID series, 13 gals looking for the one.
My addition to this series isSABLE – Book 12. She’s Chance’s sister, whom we met in last year’s book. Sable is a pediatrician, and she’s sick and tired of being the go-to, dependable bridesmaid in all her family and friends’ weddings. But her demanding job, the ridiculous hours, and endless family commitments keep her from finding the perfect man. A matchmaking service? Sounds like too much work. Swipe right dating? Not her thing. The bar scene? When was the last time she even had an evening free to go to a bar?
And forget about dating the myriad of on-the-make doctors and residents in her hospital. Besides, workplace romances never work out.
Sable’s options to meet the man of her dreams and start a family are dwindling and time is running out, because she promised herself the next wedding she would attend would be her own.
Kristopher Lee, the Physician’s Assistant assigned to Sable has a crush on his new mentor. But she’s got a hands-off rule when it comes to dating someone she works with. Kris is nothing if not persistent, though. After all, he didn’t survive three tours in the Army without focusing on a goal. And making Sable Miller fall in love with him is his best goal yet.
SABLE releases on May 17th and you can preorder her story, here: BOOK 12
And here’s a little giftaway from me if you do preorder. Check out the rules in the graphic below – and if you comment here, below in the comment section, and send me your email addy, you’re entered!
Sable groaned as she spotted her oldest aunt, Teresa, moving like a heat seeking missile across the ballroom aimed straight for her.
She took a massive chug of Cranberry Cosmo from her glass, swallowed, then put what she hoped looked like a sincere smile on her face.
“There you are. I’ve been searching everywhere for you, young lady.”
“Auntie, I’ve been right here all night,” Sable said, bussing the older woman’s cheek. “What’s up?”
“Well,” her aunt slid her hand into the crook of Sable’s arm and glided her toward a quieter spot in the back corner. “I wanted to have a little chat.”
And I bet I know what about.
“Now that your brother is finally married, you’re the only single one in your generation.”
Here it comes.
“I worry about you. All alone, a single woman living in the city. It’s a dangerous place for a girl on her own.”
Goodness, you’d think I lived in an abandoned drug den instead of an Upper West Side brownstone.
“I’m fine, auntie. My apartment has a doorman and Chance had me install security locks on my door. No worries about my safety necessary.”
“Yes, well your brother is a cautious man, thankfully, but it’s time for you to settle down like he finally has. Are you involved with anyone special? You didn’t bring anyone today, but then you never do to any family functions. I would think if you’re serious about someone they would attend your brother’s wedding with you.”
Sable clamped down on the snarky reply she wanted to make. “I’m not involved with anyone, Aunt Teresa. Not right now. Work is the priority. It has to be.”
Teresa pressed her lips together in a thin line, the corners of her mouth pinching. “Your dedication to your medical practice is to be merited, Sable, but there comes a time when you need to do more than simply work. Now, I recently met this charming man I think would be perfect for you—”
Sable squeezed a hand over her aunt’s and forced a smile again. Best to get out in front of this. Her aunt was famous for her matchmaking efforts and Sable wanted no part in a family-mediated hookup.
“While I’m sure he’s as charming as you say, I’m doing fine in the dating world, Auntie. I’m simply taking my time and enjoying the process. You know the old saying? You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”
Sable shuddered internally as she made the declaration. So far, the amphibians in her life outnumbered the royals a thousand to one.
“Be that as it may, it’s time you start considering marriage. You’re thirty years old, Sable. Not old, but not in the first bloom of youth, either. You don’t want to have to use artificial means to have a baby because your eggs are drying up, do you?”
Was there anything more ego-deflating than a conversation about the status of her eggs with a woman who’d ended her baby-making career decades ago?
Intrigued? LOL. I’ve also got a preorder contest going on over on my facebook page. The rules are in the following graphic. If you comment down below in this post it counts!!! Good luck!
Episode 21 of MAGIC’S CHARM dropped this morning over on Amazon Kindle vella. Are you all caught with Rhys and Siobhan’s story? Here’ the link – and remember you can read the first three episodes for FREE to decide of you like the story. And if you do, please consider giving it a thumbs up or weekly favorite.
Next, if you don’t follow me on instagram or facebook you might not know this, but I’ve got a PREORDER CONTEST going on for SABLE ( ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID) The details are below in the graphic,but the gist is this: if you preorder the book and then put up a screenshot of the preorder and provide me with your email address, I’ll put your name in an invisible hat and once the book releases, I’ll be drawing 5 names to each win a $10.00 Amazon gift card. Sound good? A chance to will 4 times the cost of the book just for preordering?? YOWZA! I’d take advantage of that deal!!
Today kicks of the ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID series and with it, a brand new PERPETUAL FB PARTY. You have to join the Facebook party page here: AABFB to participate.
Every Monday and Wednesday from now until May 27, a new book in the series will be released. Readers are invited to participate in the author 0f the day’s post. Once all the books are out in the romance reading world, a grandprize winner of a Kindle or a $70.00 Amazon GC will be awarded. The authors may be giving away prizes too on their respective days!
Another day, another invitation to serve as Maid of Honor at one of her sorority sisters’ weddings. Who knew she had so many friends chomping at the bit to get married?
Professor Jenna Richardson is half-tempted to apply for a teaching position all the way across the country in an effort to get out of the bridesmaid spin cycle. The only things holding her back are the fact she slid haphazardly across the big 3-0 on her last birthday, and certain tenure is only months away.
Oh… and then there’s him. Elliott Maxwell, this year’s Writer-in-Residence. New York Times bestselling author, screenwriter, major pain in the rump who has all the department’s admins running around catering to his every whim.
Still, Jenna finds herself more than a little intrigued.
Elliott took this gig as Writer-in-Residence to—hopefully—jumpstart his creative mojo. The adage, ‘you’re only as good as your last’ is weighing heavily on his mind, and interrupting his muse. That, and the saucy, sexy English Professor in the office next door. She gets his ‘other’ mojo going with little more than a casual toss of her long, blonde hair. Or, the way she does her best to hide her beautiful smile.
Will their close proximity write them both a new chapter? Or, is their fledgling friendship destined for the bargain bin?
And don’t forget, my addition SABLE, is up for pre-order right now!
Sable’s a pediatrician and is sick and tired of being a bridesmaid in all her friends and family’s weddings. She’s determined that the next big wedding function she attends will be her own. Figuring out how to do that is a problem….
In this snippet, she’s trying to fend off the good intentions of her cousin’s matchmaking desires.
You can’t pick your family. ~ Sable Miller
Lord, please grant me the patience of Job.
Sable took another steadying breath – the sixth in as many minutes – and graced her oldest cousin with what she hoped was a normal smile and not an annoyed one.
“So I just knew he’d be perfect for you,” Moira said as she cut her pancakes into tiny bites, as if she were preparing it for a child.
“Moira—”
“The fact he’s never been married is a plus, don’t you think? No bad habits from the first wife to contend with. No kids to worry about sharing weekends with. Of course, I know your first question is going to be why isn’t he married if he’s so great. But thirty-six isn’t old by anyone’s standards anymore. He’s been building his business, devoting all his time to that. And it’s a success. Really. And now he’s ready for the next chapter in his life, and when he asked me if I knew any women looking to settle down, your name jumped right into my head.”
Of course it did.
“So I invited him to dinner this Saturday. You’ll be done with night rotation by then, right?”
Sable sighed and shoved her plate of barely-eaten eggs away from her. She hadn’t been hungry to begin with, but Moira had beat her to the diner and ordered for them both.
She wanted –desperately wanted – to lie and tell Moira she was still going to be working on Saturday night. But it was an easily verified fact and she knew Moira had it in her to call the hospital and find out if she was scheduled or not. She wondered if she already had and her question was merely an affirmation. Besides, Sable knew she was a terrible liar.
“I’ll be done, but Moira I –”
“Great. I told him seven, but you can always come early. In fact, why don’t you? I’ll do your hair and makeup so, you know? You’ll be more appealing. Not that you don’t do a decent job when you take the time, but you never wear makeup when you’re working, and I’d think you’d want to look, you know? Alluring.”
Alluring? This was too much.
“I’m not working Saturday night, Moira, but I already have plans. Plans I can’t, and don’t want to, break.”
Moira’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of plans?”
And this is why she didn’t lie. Thinking quickly, she said, “I’m having dinner with an…old friend.”
“Who?”
“A guy I knew in high school.” Stick with the truth as much as possible, she thought, because Moira was known for her grilling tactics. “I tutored him, in fact, in chemistry. You wouldn’t know him since you were years and years ahead of me.”
Okay, that was a little petty, but it felt good to see Moira’s back go up a tad. She never liked being reminded of her age.
“He’s recently begun working at the hospital and we decided to have dinner so I can clue him in to the workplace politics and such.”
Moira’s mouth stood open, a half-chewed slab of pancake sitting front and center, as she gaped across the table at her cousin.
“Is he good-looking?” she asked after finally swallowing.
“Very.”
“Give me his stats. Name. Age. Ever married? Kids? The aunts will want to know.”
Sable shook her head. “I’m not going to do that, Moira. It’s just a simple dinner. I don’t need you all Googling him and—”
“So he’s Googlable? That’s interesting. Is he a celebrity or something?”
Patience, Lord, pretty please?
If you’re interested in reading it before it’s officially released, and you’re a Booksprout subscriber, here’s the link to read and review: BOOKSPROUT
I’ve put up a few copies of SABLE over on Booksprout for those of you who read through that site. The cutoff date is 4.30 and the reviews have to be back by or on the release day of May 17.
ALWAYS BEING A BRIDESMAID IS GETTING OLD…
Pediatrician Sable Miller is sick and tired of being the go-to, dependable bridesmaid in all her family and friends’ weddings. But her demanding job, the ridiculous hours, and endless family commitments keep her from finding the perfect man. A matchmaking service? Sounds like too much work. Swipe right dating? Not her thing. The bar scene? When was the last time she even had an evening free to go to a bar?
And forget about dating the myriad of on-the-make doctors and residents in her hospital. Besides, workplace romances never work out.
Sable’s options to meet the man of her dreams and start a family are dwindling and time is running out, because she promised herself the next wedding she would attend would be her own.
Kristopher Lee, the Physician’s Assistant assigned to Sable has a crush on his new mentor. But she’s got a hands-off rule when it comes to dating someone she works with. Kris is nothing if not persistent, though. After all, he didn’t survive three tours in the Army without focusing on a goal. And making Sable Miller fall in love with him is his best goal yet.
EXCERPT:
Of all the gin joints in all the world, he walks into mine. ~Sable Miller
What were the odds?
Of all the men to walk into the department it had to be the guy she’d crushed on all through high school and even into college. The one she’d snuck love-panged peeks at over her books during the classes they shared; the one she’d sat watching from the school’s stadium for, and cheered on, during games even though she hated football and didn’t understand it; the one whose girlfriend, Brittany, mocked and jeered her about her supposedly secret crush in gym class, calling her pathetic and stating no guy like him would ever be interested in a boring, bookworm of a girl like her.
The one guy she knew she subconsciously used as a yardstick to measure all other guys with.
Kristopher Lee. That guy.
As she unlocked her front door and tossed her purse on the foyer table, slipped out of her sneakers and jacket and left them lying on the floor where they landed, Sable groaned.
Of all the gin joints in all the world, she murmured, reciting a line from one of her all-time favorite movies.
Sable shook her head and sighed.
Kristopher Lee. Star athlete. Senior Council President. Voted best looking and most popular. Football quarterback. Army vet.
And now Physician’s Assistant.
He’d said it was a twisted path he’d taken to get where he was today. Natural nosiness had her wondering about that path. She could have asked. He’d wanted to talk with her, she could sense that. But if she asked him about his life, he’d want a quid pro quo about hers.
Never married. No kids. No long-term relationships. All I do is work. All I have is my job.
Brittany had labeled her pathetic in high school.
“Still fits,” she mumbled as she fell, fully clothed, into bed.
At the end of the shift, he’d caught up with her as she was about to hail a cab for home.
“I’m starving,” he said. “Want to grab a quick breakfast somewhere and catch up?”
I’d rather have a root canal.
Good manners kept her from saying it aloud. Instead, she told him she was always exhausted the first night of her rotation and needed to crash or she’d be useless for the next shift.
“No worries,” he’d said. “Rain check?”
“Sure,” she said, absentmindedly, as a cab stopped in front of her. Kris opened the door, and she slid across the back seat and gave him a murmured, “thanks.”
“See you tonight,” he said, before closing her in. “Have a good sleep.”
As he stood on the curb looking as if he hadn’t just spent the past twelve hours running ragged, and with an open, easy, non-tired smile on his face for her, Sable couldn’t help but give him one in return.
With exhaustion pulling at every fiber in her body, the last image she had before all went black was of his smile.
Bet you thought this day would never come, huh, since I’ve been talking about it FOREVEH!!! LOL
I am so happy SASHA’S SECRET SANTA is finally available. Did you preorder it? If so, thank you from the bottom of my writer’s heart!!! Hopefully, it’s on your Kindle right now! I’ve also made is available in Kindle Unlimited, so if you’re a subscriber…enjoy!
The early reviews on the story have been amazing and OH MY GOSH i want to cry happy tears at them!
InD’Tale Magazine says SASHA’S SECRET SANTA is a …”delectable holiday-themed book wrapped with emotions and finished with a big red bow on top!” And it was awarded a CROWNED HEART!
Mistress of Reviews says that …”this installment of a Dickens Holiday romance delivers all you could want in a love story.”
An Amazon reviewer said: “Sasha’s Secret Santa truly delivered all the feels. This was a captivating read that had me running the gamut of emotions but left me feeling warm and fuzzy at the end!”
Can I just say….wow!!! I am truly humbled. I hope you enjoy the book, too, and if you do, please let me know! My little ego needs recharging every now and again and the best way is when a great review gets posted.
Enjoy!
And then there’s this review from NN LIght’s Bookhaven that just about did me in, emotionally!!! These tears are such happy ones!
The character of Amy Dorrit (Charles) is fascinating for so many reasons, but the main one for me is how she loves her 3 adoptive kids and how strongly she protects them. She also doesn’t suffer fools and calls it like she sees it, evident in this scene. She’s found a distraught Sasha crying in her apartment and after listening to the reason why, she…well, she acts like a mom who lays it on the line.
Enjoy.
After several minutes of Amy rocking and cooing to her, Sasha shifted, her tears finally starting to abate.
“I won’t ask if you feel better,” Amy said as she cupped her daughter’s chin and rubbed her thumbs across her cheeks. “A cry like that one serves the purpose of emotionally cleansing and physically exhausting a body.”
“I think I’m more exhausted than cleansed,” Sasha said, swiping her sleeve under her nose. “And now I’ve got a headache to add to it, to boot.”
With a shake of her head, Amy leaned forward and kissed Sasha’s forehead.
“Why are you home so early? I thought you were going to take the entire day to shop.”
“Took most of it.” Amy lifted a shoulder and added, “When we were done, we were done.”
“Most of the day? What time is it?” Sasha asked.
“Half-past three.”
“Oh, God. I told everyone I was only taking a few minutes and it’s been three hours. I need to get downstairs.” She tried to stand but Amy held her back.
“The diner’s fine, baby girl. The girls and Chet have been taking care of things just fine. You sit back down and tell me what got you to blubbering.”
“I need a glass of water, first.” Once Amy let her stand, Sasha filled a glass and downed it in one long draught. After that she ran cold water over her face, knowing she must look like a swollen, red-splotched mess.
Done, she plopped down next to her mother, dragged in several deep, weary breaths, and told her all about her relationship with Steve Caldwell, ending with the conversation she’d had with Kane.
“I should have trusted my instincts,” she said once she was done, the tears spent, and her voice tired. “They told me from the get-go he was only interested in me because he wanted me for the hospital.”
“I’m not sure that’s true,” Amy said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’ve seen the way he looks at you every time he comes into the diner. The man is smitten.”
Sasha rubbed her nose, then shook her head. “If he’s smitten it’s with my skills as a nurse, not as,” she blushed, “a woman or anything else.”
“I don’t like repeating myself, but I’m really not sure that’s true, baby girl.”
On the end of a sigh sewn together with exhaustion and a strangled ache, Sasha said, “It’s true enough, mom. He didn’t deny it when I confronted him.”
“Did you give him a chance to? Or did you steamroll right over him like you always do when you want to make a point?
Surprised, Sasha said, “I don’t do that.”
Amy’s brows took a steady climb toward her hairline. When they arrived and settled, her eyes opened wide and she regarded her daughter with an expression Sasha had seen dozens of times during her childhood. A don’t even think about bullshitting me glower that made the person – or child – being glared at confess any and all infractions they’d committed
That the look could still make her crumble at the age of thirty-four like an unbalanced house of cards was worrisome.
And annoying.
“I don’t.”
“Really? I can give you chapter, book, and verse on any number of times you’ve done it in your life. You’ve always been like that, baby girl. Always need to have the last word in an argument; always need to get your point across before anyone else can make theirs.”
Amy’s words stung. So much so, tears started to swell in Sasha’s eyes again. Angrily, she batted them away with her lashes.
Her mother’s expression softened. “Look, sweetie. I’m not saying it to make you upset, just to point out that you have a…tendency we’ll say, not to listen to the other person during an argument when you think you’re in the right.”
“I am in the right about this, mom. Steve was just buttering me up before asking me to work for the hospital. Kane all but proved it.”
Amy’s thin-lipped glare told her daughter exactly what she thought about Kane Barclay and his declaration.
“I know you’ve never liked him,” Sasha said. Before she could continue, though, her mother cut her off.
“I don’t dislike him,” she said. “But he has a habit of embellishing any story he’s telling to garner more attention for himself. He was always that way as a kid and hasn’t changed much as an adult.”
Sasha waved a hand in the air with a careless flitter. “History aside, this time he didn’t embellish, just told me straight out what he’d overheard.”
“You should know better than to believe any info given to you second-hand like that, Sasha Charles.”
A sudden stab of unease speared through her. Was her mother right? Should she have regarded Kane’s declaration warily?
Intrigued? I hope so, LOL
You can preorder the book here and have it delivered to your Kindle on 11.7.2022 on release day. Or, the paperback version is available right now!
The 31st of every August is National Matchmaker day – who knew? Well, I did, for one, LOL.
Have you ever read a matchmaker-trope romance? Today would be a good day to start and as luck would have it, I have one for you: MIX AND MATCH ( Heaven’s Matchmaker) is out in the world and under wide distribution now, not only at Amazon. Here’s the universal link for other book distributors: M&M
Divorced and lonely, nurse Jasmine Green retains the services of Heaven, NH’s very own successful matchmaker, Olivia Joyner. The bar scene and dating apps give Jasmine hives and Liv’s reputation is stellar. If anyone can help guide her through the quagmire that dating has become, Olivia can.
Architect Donovan Boyd is ready to settle down. He wants the kind of marriage his parents have; long-lasting, filled with love, children, and joy. But even after a year of living and working in Heaven, he’s still considered an outsider by many. Finding the type of woman he’s looking for is hard in the tight-knit community. Retaining Olivia Joyner to help him find his forever love is one of the smartest things he’s done, especially after she sets him up with Jasmine Green.
But the red-haired, green-eyed beauty wants a different kind of marriage from the one Donovan considers ideal.
Can these two strong-willed people learn to compromise so they can both find their happily ever after? Or will their relationship forever be relegated to the friend zone?
Peggy Jaeger, Author 