Category Archives: Spotlight

Tour Stop & Spotlight: Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean

Title: Ten Rules for Marrying a Duke by Michelle McLean
Publisher: Entangled: Scandalous
Genre: Historical, Romance
Length: 253 pages

Summary:

Bookish Arabella Bromley never gave a fig for society’s rules—until her sister ran off with a man below her station. Now Arabella is desperate to restore her family’s ruined reputation to favor amongst the ton. She’ll have to marry quickly and well. But in order to carry off her plan, Arabella needs a duke… and she has just the rakish fellow in mind.

The Duke of Whittsley has an ungentlemanly tendency to disregard the rules. Unfortunately, a sense of mischief doesn’t excuse a high-ranking noble from family duty—especially where it concerns producing a son. And that’s where he can’t quite resist Arabella’s distinctly outrageous plan: if he saves her family, she’ll give him an heir.

Now the deal’s been struck. They have one year to achieve their goals and ten iron-clad rules to keep them on track. Like long, scorching kisses and ensuring they’re both exquisitely satisfied. And the only thing that could ruin their plan is the one thing they never planned on: love.

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Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N


Author Bio

Michelle McLean is a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl who is addicted to chocolate and goldfish crackers and spent most of her formative years with her nose in a book. She has a B.S. in History, a M.A. in English, and loves her romance with a touch of suspenseful mystery. She resides in PA with her husband and two amazing children.

Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

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Spotlight & Interview: Campfire Confessions by Kristine Ochu

Debut novel is a laugh-out-loud tribute to sisterhood

Sex and the City meets Eat Pray Love in secret-spilling, soul-searching novel

“Ochu captivates from the first page of this sharply written, highly engaging tale of three childhood friends and their troubled—and ultimately triumphant—adult lives” –BookLife, by Publishers Weekly

Title: Campfire Confessions by Kristine Ochu
Publisher: Books Fluent
Genre: Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Length: 324 pages

Summary:

Can you ever really hide a secret from your best friends?

Annie, Sondra, and Jo were the best of childhood friends—but they haven’t seen each other in far too long. To the outside world, their lives are perfect. But appearances can be deceiving…

Married to a pastor in a small town she’s never left, Annie’s devoted her life to family and the church. Most people consider her a saint—but they don’t know she’s hiding a big secret. Sondra’s living it up married to one of the richest men in L.A. and appears to have it all—beauty, brains, and a successful career. But when a real estate deal becomes more than just a transaction, she quickly realizes she’s in over her head. Jo is four years sober and struggling through a divorce. After a one-night stand takes an unexpectedly comic turn, she’s forced to reckon with a lifetime of bad choices.

When Annie’s secret catches up with her, Jo and Sondra rush to her side, escaping on a hilarious canoeing trip that turns into a soul-searching, death-defying adventure. Lost in the woods as one thing goes wrong after another, they find themselves sharing their deepest secrets around the campfire. But as each new revelation unfolds, one thing becomes clear: it will take more than a night of true confessions for the three of them to find their way back home.

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Purchase Links (Available March 8th): Amazon * B&N


Interview

What inspired you to write “Campfire Confessions”?

Personally, I was hungry for a book that was upbeat, full of humor and witty banter, including a little “swizzle of sex” while capturing more serious, real-life issues that women are going through. I felt by having three relatable characters who were best friends, and putting them in situations where they each had to face their fears through a soul-searching, death-defying adventure would make it unique and engaging for women.

I also wanted to bring women together in laughter and camaraderie as they share their own adventures and at the same time, to create dialogue around topics that they tend to struggle with alone—their own secrets. My hope was by bringing light to these inner struggles, that we can empower ourselves and each other to overcome our obstacles and live the lives we desire.

What does sisterhood mean to you, and how did you incorporate that into this book?

I’ve been blessed to have three sisters and some very close friends. When we get together, we fall back into patterns filled with laughter, banter, antics and sharing memories. Just being together, skyrockets our moods–our energy, and suddenly our problems are solvable–no longer insurmountable. In minutes, we are sharing the good, the bad and the ugly and are able to laugh at ourselves. To me, sisterhood is about trust, unconditional love and support that empowers us to be our authentic selves which is the essence of the book. The deep bond of friendship that the characters have allows them to open up, be vulnerable and confess their secrets. And in the events that follow they need to rely on each other to survive the soul searching, death-defying adventure that occurs!

What do you hope readers will take away from the book? Are there any empowering messages you’ve hidden in these pages?

First of all, I hope the reader has the wonderful experience of losing themselves in the character’s journey: the highs and lows; and to love the ending!

My goal was to embed numerous empowering messages throughout the book. One message is that we all make mistakes and have obstacles at some point in our lives–but we’re not alone! We can reach out and use the power of friendship, laughter and love to give us the inner strength to never give up. Also, as human beings, we can be very critical of ourselves, so by learning to embrace self-love, forgiveness and letting go of the past, we can empower ourselves to create the authentic and amazing lives we all deserve! In addition, we can take charge and use the abundance of free empowering tools like creative visualization, tapping, using “I am” statements, etc. to keep our bodies, mind and souls positive and healthy!


Author Bio

KRISTINE OCHU is founder of “The Night of a Woman’s Soul – Creating Your Amazing Life” workshops and is a former Human Resource Executive with a MAIR from the University of Minnesota. She is a member of the Global Women’s Club, Women in Film and Video New England, Harvard Square Script Writers, and community groups. A former log-rolling champion, she still log-rolls along with being an avid hiker, kayaker and explorer. Having previously written screenplays and a children’s book, Kristine incorporates her love of nature and adventure into all her stories. She lives with her husband and their rescue golden retrievers, and splits her time between Hayward, Wisconsin and Amelia Island, Florida. For more information, visit www.KristineOchu.com

Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads * Instagram * LinkedIn

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Blog Tour & Spotlight: Getting Good With Money by Jessi Fearon

Title: Getting Good With Money by Jessi Fearon
Pay Off Your Debt and Find a Life of Freedom—Without Losing Your Mind
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Genre: Non-Fiction
Length: 224 pages

Summary:

Certified financial coach and mom Jessi Fearon leads the way for overwhelmed readers struggling to get a handle on their finances and lays out the doable steps her family underwent to pay off all their debts–even their mortgage!–and pursue their dreams, all on a $47,000-a-year salary.

Jessi Fearon vividly remembers the day she broke down, knowing that her family could not pay the bills with a second baby on the way. Like many Americans, they were overwhelmed by debt and living paycheck to paycheck, wondering if it was possible to ever get ahead, or even catch up. But on that day, something changed, and she and her husband decided to make a drastic lifestyle change that would put them back on the path toward their dreams. Their decision not only allowed her to stay home with their children, but in two years, they were able to pay off their consumer debt and, in six years, they paid off their home mortgage–all on their $47,000-a-year income. And now she shares what she’s learned with others who are struggling just like she once did.

Getting Good with Moneyis written for the busy, overwhelmed reader who wants to manage the money she does have while still giving her family a good life, even if she doesn’t have a finance degree or a six-figure income. With been-there wisdom and step-by-step help, Jessi shows readers how to

  • take control of their finances with practical first steps to budgeting and understanding debt;
  • identify the four different ways people struggle with money and how each one affects the way they manage–or mismanage–their money;
  • replace the lies they’ve believed about money with the five Money Truths to overcome barriers and better understand how to make their version of the American Dream a reality; and
  • discover various money-saving apps, financial tips, and ideas for generating additional income to pay off debt more quickly.

Getting Good with Money will inspire, encourage, and equip readers to achieve the real-life changes they need. More than just a “how to budget” book, this is a comprehensive roadmap to financial freedom from an average family making things work on a middle-class salary.

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Purchase Links: Amazon * Thomas Nelson

Read a Sample HERE.


Author Bio

Jessi Fearon is a personal finance writer and coach who seeks to challenge, encourage, and equip women to take the steps they need to achieve financial freedom. Jessi firmly believes in living a real life on a budget and that personal finance is, in fact, personal. She seeks to help others learn how to make their money work for them. Jessi has written guest posts for popular websites like DaveRamsey.comm, MSN Money, MoneySavingMom.comClark.com, TheHumbledHomemaker.com, Popsugar.com, and HuffPo. She and her family make their home in the Atlanta area.

Author Links: Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

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Tour Stop & Excerpt: The Artist Colony by Joanna Fitzpatrick

Title: The Artist Colony by Joanna Fitzpatrick
Publisher: She Writes Press
Genre: Historical, Mystery, Thriller
Length: 329 pages

Summary:

July 1924. Sarah Cunningham, a young Modernist painter, arrives in Carmel-by-the-Sea from Paris to bury her older sister, Ada Belle. En route, she is shocked to learn that Ada Belle’s suspicious death is a suicide. But why kill herself? Her plein air paintings were famous and her upcoming exhibition of portraitures would bring her even wider recognition.

Sarah puts her own artistic career on hold and, trailed by Ada Belle’s devoted dog, Albert, becomes a secret sleuth, a task made harder by the misogyny and racism she discovers in this seemingly idyllic locale.

Part mystery, part historical fiction, this engrossing novel celebrates the artistic talents of early women painters, the deep bonds of sisterhood, the muse that is beautiful scenery, and the determination of one young woman to discover the truth, to protect an artistic legacy, and to give her sister the farewell she deserves.

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Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N * Google Play * Bookshop.org * Kobo


Excerpt

Excerpt from THE ARTIST COLONY
By Joanna FitzPatrick

The sun’s rays were hot and Sarah took off her jacket and let her blouse hang outside her skirt. What was the point of raking over the past, she thought. I can’t change what happened.

Directly below and to her right, a dozen or so young women stood in front of sketch boxes unfolded into easels propped up on tripods stuck in the sand. They dipped their paintbrushes into large hand- held palette boards and brushed dabs of paint across their canvases.

She and Ada had often spent summers on the New England coast painting together like this. And now you’re gone and I’ve come to bury you.  

Why did you do it, Ada? When you had so much to live for? And why, when I so desperately need you to talk to me, are you silent?

Sarah frowned at her shiny black patent pumps, unbuckled the straps, stuffed the stockings in the jacket pocket, and dug her cramped toes into the warm sand while watching a slightly stooped gentleman in a Panama hat stop behind each painter, point at the canvas on her easel with a teacher’s pointing stick, speak briefly, and move on to the next student. All the women nodded deferentially when he spoke.

She recognized Henry Champlin, the renowned pleinairist and art teacher. Sixteen years ago, Ada was a student at his summer art school in Rhode Island.

When her sister came home, brown from the sun and feeling sassy, she hung the portrait she’d painted of him over her bed and pointed out to Sarah his handlebar moustache and rusty orange beard that ended in a sharp point on his chest. “His upper whiskers tickled when he kissed me. He’d get so angry when I giggled.”

Fourteen-year-old Sarah, still too young to have been kissed, was put off by the thought of Ada kissing a man twice her age. She wouldn’t have wanted his scratchy whiskers anywhere near her face, or Ada’s face for that matter. But his portrait had been painted by her talented sister and she made a study of it as she did with all of Ada’s paintings.

It was Champlin who had introduced Ada to Carmel. He had closed his Rhode Island school and taught here in the summers. When he offered Ada a teaching position, she jumped at the opportunity.

By then, Sarah and Ada were both living in New York with Aunt Helen, their mother’s sister. She’d offered to share her Manhattan apartment with them after Ada had graduated from the Art Institute of Chicago and gotten her first teaching job at the Art Students League on 57th Street.

Sarah had been jealous of Ada’s first summer spent in Carmel while she stayed behind in the stifling hot apartment to take care of Aunt Helen, who had become an invalid. After their aunt died, Ada continued to teach summer classes in Carmel and Sarah, never invited to join her, found work in Manhattan on her school vacations.

Albert tilted his head and gazed curiously up at her as if to say, “Why are we stopping here? I want to run on the beach.”

Sarah freed him from his leash and he scampered down the sand dune. She contemplated the steep drop and decided to take the rope handrail that led down through the sunbathers to the water’s edge.

As she dipped her feet in the water, a hefty wave took her by sur- prise and splashed water on her skirt. She laughed, pulled the skirt above her knees, and pedaled backward like the children dancing and laughing around her.

As children, she and Ada had often played like this on Lake Michigan. Ada had taught her to swim, if throwing her into the water and letting her fend for herself was teaching. If not a swimming lesson, it was certainly a lesson on survival.

But now Sarah shrank back from the waves, afraid of the strong current that had dragged Ada underwater.

She walked southward along the shore, throwing a stick to Albert who happily retrieved it over and over again. Eventually a granite promontory, half buried under the incoming tide, blocked their progress. Another Ada painting, she thought. Being in Carmel was like walking through an exhibition of Ada’s work.

They turned back.

When Sarah saw the student painters again, the mid-afternoon sun had cast their shadows across the sand. Several were sitting and others were standing, posed like Georges Seurat’s painting Un Dimanche après-midi à l’Île de la Grande Jatte—Parisians wearing sunhats and straw boaters or berets, staring out at the sailboats on the Seine river.

Women’s fashion had noticeably changed since Seurat’s pastel painting of corseted silhouettes. These women on Carmel Beach had lived through the Great War, had earned their right to vote, and thrown away their corsets, bustles, layered underclothes, padding, and somber fabrics. Their blazing red, yellow, and orange blouses were like freedom banners waving in the sea breeze.

Copyright (c) 2021 by Joanna FitzPatrick


Author Bio

JOANNA FITZPATRICK was raised in Hollywood. She started her writing habit by applying her orange fountain pen and a wild imagination to screenplays, which led her early on to produce the film White Lilacs and Pink Champagne. Accepted at Sarah Lawrence College, she wrote her MFA thesis Sha La La: Live for Today about her life as a rock ’n’ roll star’s wife. Her more recent work includes two novels, Katherine Mansfield, Bronze Winner of the 2021 Independent Publisher Book Award (IPPY) in Historical Fiction, and The Drummer’s WidowThe Artist Colony is her third book. Presently, FitzPatrick divides her time between a mountaintop cottage in Northern California and a small hameau in Southern France where she begins all her book projects.

Author Links: Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

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Tour Stop: The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper

Title: The Cartographer’s Secret by Tea Cooper
Publisher: Harper Muse
Genre: Historical, Australian, Mystery, Romance
Length: 400 pages

Summary:

A map into the past. A long-lost young woman. And a thirty-year family mystery.

The Hunter Valley, 1880—Evie Ludgrove loves to chart the landscape around her home—hardly surprising since she grew up in the shadow of her father’s obsession with the great Australian explorer Dr. Ludwig Leichhardt. So when an advertisement appears in The Bulletin magazine offering a thousand-pound reward for proof of where Leichhardt met his fate, Evie is determined to use her father’s papers to unravel the secret. But when Evie sets out to prove her theory, she vanishes without a trace, leaving behind a mystery that haunts her family for thirty years.

1911—Letitia Rawlings arrives at the family estate in her Ford Model T to inform her great-aunt Olivia of a loss in their family. But Letitia is also escaping her own problems—her brother’s sudden death, her mother’s scheming, and her dissatisfaction with the life planned out for her. So when Letitia discovers a beautifully illustrated map that might hold a clue to the fate of her missing aunt, Evie Ludgrove, she sets out to discover the truth. But all is not as it seems, and Letitia begins to realize that solving the mystery of her family’s past could offer as much peril as redemption.

A gripping historical mystery for fans of Kate Morton and Natasha Lester’s The Paris SeamstressThe Cartographer’s Secret follows a young woman’s quest to heal a family rift as she becomes entangled in one of Australia’s greatest historical puzzles.

The Cartographer’s Secret is a galvanizing, immersive adventure following a family’s entanglement with a vanished Australian explorer through the lush Hunter Valley at the turn of the twentieth century, forcing the characters to reckon with the choice found at the crux of passion and loyalty and the power of shared blood that can either destroy or heal.” —Joy Callaway, international bestselling author of The Fifth Avenue Artists Society and The Greenbrier Resort

  • Daphne du Maurier Award Winner, 2021
  • Historical story with both romance and mystery
  • Full-length, stand-alone novel (c. 104,000 words)
  • Includes discussion questions for book clubs

Read my review HERE.

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Purchase Links: Amazon * B&N


Author Bio

Tea Cooper is an established Australian author of historical fiction. In a past life she was a teacher, a journalist, and a farmer. These days she haunts museums and indulges her passion for storytelling. She is the winner of two Daphne du Maurier Awards and the bestselling author of several novels, including The Horse ThiefThe Cedar CutterThe Currency Lass, and The Naturalist’s Daughter.

Author Links: Website * Facebook * Goodreads

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Release Day Spotlight & Excerpt: Played by Cara Dee

Title: Played by Cara Dee
Auctioned Series Book Four
Publisher: Cara Dee
Genre: Contemporary, Gay, Romance, Suspense

Summary:

The Auctioned Series is a journey packed with action, nail-biting suspense, family, and love. In Gray and Darius’s fight for freedom and a future where they aren’t haunted by the ghosts of their pasts, they’ll make you laugh, cry, possibly yell at your e-reader, and swoon just a little bit.

One last mission. One last operation—and the stakes had never been higher. Truth be told, Darius was exhausted. He didn’t want his past mingling with the life he was building with Gray and the kids, but he had no choice.

They were facing their biggest threat yet, and in order to even stand a chance, Darius had to revert to the man he’d once been. He had to set aside fatherhood and love and be the grunt, the private contractor, the soldier who went deep behind enemy lines.

It was time to rally the troops. With Gray by his side, Darius cashed in the last of his favors and put together a crew that would hopefully help them bring an end to this chaotic year. The desert waited for them. Again. So did Las Vegas.

The problem with Vegas…?

Just when you thought you knew how to play the game, it played you.

This story takes place in Cara Dee’s Camassia Cove Universe, a fictional town where all books/series’ stand on their own, unless otherwise stated. The Auctioned Series should be read in the following order: Auctioned, Stranded, Deserted, Played, and Finished.

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Purchase Link: Amazon


Excerpt

“Pizza delivery!” Ryan’s booming voice echoed and sent a pack of birds fleeing the trees. “I have two brothers here too, bitching about how I drive!”

The cavalry had arrived.

Darius descended the steps and lit up a smoke. Sorry, knucklehead, the two-smoke limit wasn’t in effect tonight.

First to appear out of the shadows was his brother, the person Darius preferred to work with the most. A skilled marksman and sniper, bold, two steady hands, a happy-go-lucky grunt who knew how to go oorah.

“Brother.” Ryan handed over a stack of pizza boxes and eyed the cabin. “You’ve come a long way since last time. Good shit.”

“Maybe next time you bring the family,” Darius replied. Because they had to fucking stop meeting up only for work they’d supposedly quit doing.

“Amen.”

After leaving the pizza on the porch, Darius went to greet the next two men. River and Reese Tenley. They’d met in the field maybe ten years ago. A set of batshit-crazy twin brothers who’d taken more risks than Darius had. Mainly because River’s job had usually involved handling sensitive information, and as soon as that was the case, you had a red laser dot on your forehead. His brother, Reese, had been in charge of security. He was loud and outgoing where River was quiet and observant.

“For the record, Riv was bitching, not me,” Reese stated. “Ryan was always good at operating heavy machinery.”

“I love you too, sunshine,” Ryan hollered from the porch.

Darius shook his head in amusement.

“Good to see you again, guys.” He shook their hands firmly.

“Not too good,” River noted with a wry smirk.

Darius chuckled.

“Fuck it. I’m stoked.” Reese looked it too. “Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t retire a minute too soon, but it’s still a rush, innit?”

No one could deny that.

“I am too fucking old for these rushes, boys.” The voice emerged from the darkness and revealed Alicia Dawson, a petite ballbuster with an impressive résumé. Everyone coming here tonight was in their early to mid-forties, but Alicia had the most experience, though not that many years in the field.

Once a wunderkind who’d started college at fifteen, she’d been recruited into the private sector from MIT when she was just two shits high. Granted, she was still only two shits high. She’d worked all over the place, it seemed. For one, she was former CIA. As a biochemist specializing in chemical warfare, she’d always been able to pick freely among employers. So it was no wonder she’d returned to the private sector eventually. That was where the money was.

“Ally.” Darius smirked and offered to grab her luggage.

She huffed and handed it over, then promptly lit up a smoke. Fuckin’ menthols. “I guess these heels weren’t made for walking in grass. Christ—ever the heathen, Quinn.”

She didn’t like the woods. She preferred penthouses, deathtrap heels, and lipstick the color of blood.

“How the fuck are ya, darlin’?” Reese asked.

“I’m rich, bored, and I’ve been trying to pin something on Lange for years. I guess that works in your favor,” she replied coolly.

Darius smiled. “By the way, we have a funder.”

Alicia smirked and raised her hand.

Ryan had never met Alicia before—they only knew each other through the grapevine—so while Reese handled introductions between the two, Darius shifted his focus to the next car that pulled up.

“We can talk and eat at the same time. I’m starving,” Ally announced.

Darius spotted two guys, so that had to be Elliott and Tariq. They were close, and both lived in the LA area. Elliott Jones shared a similar background to Darius. Semiretired, twenty years in high-risk security and extractions, and these days, he ran a bodyguard business.

Tariq Amin was a short guy nicknamed The Fly. Because he was the proverbial fly on the wall who got access to information nobody wanted to share. He’d started out as a photographer in combat zones who’d seen the demand for interpreters early on. He was fluent in nine languages, and Darius had worked with him more than a few times, especially in the Middle East.

“I see retirement’s working out great for you, Quinn.” Elliott slapped his hand into Darius’s and shook it.

“I got five years of peace.”

Elliott grinned. “That’s more than most, I guess.”

Darius chuckled and shook hands with Tariq too. “Good to see you both. There’s pizza and beer on the porch. Dig in.” He saw their last arrival parking now too.

Dante Williams. Another fucker with an impressive résumé. Born in Jamaica but came to the US before he’d started first grade. He was ex-Army, ex-NYPD, ex-PMC, and now worked as a consultant in risk assessment, all while running a martial arts center in Queens.

“Of course you have to live in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere, Darius,” he said with a laugh.

“Of course I do.” Darius smacked Dante’s shoulder and offered to grab one of his bags. “You’ve been promised food and a briefing, so let’s get to it. How’s your ma? Do you tell her I miss her cooking?”

“She asks about you sometimes.” Dante slid him a crooked smirk. “She worries for your restless soul.”

Darius barked out a laugh. “Oh—I guess that’s one thing you can appease her with. I’m settled down and have two kids now.”

Dante did a double take. “What the fuck? I wasn’t too shocked to hear you’d hooked up with a guy, but kids? You fuckin’ with me? How many times have I heard you swear you’d never have any?”

Darius chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. Safe to say, he had a fair bit of shit coming his way for all the years he’d been vocal about never settling down.

The two joined the rest on the porch, where the table was already filled with open pizza boxes. Despite having brought two extra chairs to the short end of the table, Darius had known it wouldn’t be enough. But he had no issues using the railing. Ryan was already seated there with pizza and beer for them.

Darius grabbed a slice and got comfortable too. “Y’all need foreplay first, or can I dig right in?”

“If that’s what you tell Gray, I feel for the kid,” Ryan said with his mouth full of pizza.

All right, so the first laugh at Darius’s expense was out of the way.
“Don’t be gentle with us, hon,” Alicia said. “Just cut to the chase. I’ve been waiting far too long to end that motherfucker.”

That was a good place to begin.


Author Bio

I’m often awkwardly silent or, if the topic interests me, a chronic rambler. In other words, I can discuss writing forever and ever. Fiction, in particular. The love story—while a huge draw and constantly present—is secondary for me, because there’s so much more to writing romance fiction than just making two (or more) people fall in love and have hot sex. There’s a world to build, characters to develop, interests to create, and a topic or two to research thoroughly. Every book is a challenge for me, an opportunity to learn something new, and a puzzle to piece together. I want my characters to come to life, and the only way I know to do that is to give them substance—passions, history, goals, quirks, and strong opinions—and to let them evolve. Additionally, I want my men and women to be relatable. That means allowing room for everyday problems and, for lack of a better word, flaws. My characters will never be perfect.

Wait…this was supposed to be about me, not my writing.

I’m a writey person who loves to write. Always wanderlusting, twitterpating, kinking, and geeking. There’s time for hockey and cupcakes, too. But mostly, I just love to write.

Author Links: Website * Website * Facebook * Facebook Group * Twitter * Amazon Author Page * BookBub * Goodreads * Instagram

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