Status Update…

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Just a quick update on what I’m working on…

Road to Reality is currently at the editors for the final proofread and with any luck will be released by the end of January…fingers crossed.

I’m currently running through another edit of Road to Reason, the last book in the Road Series. Yes ladies, this book is all about Ryan. I know you’ve been waiting to see this playboy be taken down, and let me tell you it was fun to bring him to his knees! My goal is to have it released in the Spring. I will be scheduling time with the editor soon.

Exciting news, in Road to Reality you will be introduced to the Harper Brothers…and of course, they are getting their own spin-off series. I just finished the first draft of All or Nothing. My goal is to have that book published mid-summer.

Within the next few weeks I hope to start on the draft of All of Me. This story has been busting at the seams in my brain and I’m dying to get started on it.

Since I’ve mentioned before I’m OCD, I’m going to give out a little easy timeline of things to come. Hope you are looking forward to everything!

Road to Reality–  Mac Malone & Beth Campbell – release date end of January 2015

Road to Reason– Ryan Mathews & Kaitlyn Harper – tentative release date Spring 2015

All or Nothing– Ben Harper & Presley James – tentative release date Summer 2015

All of Me – Phil Harper & Sophia Mansfield – tentative release date Fall 2015

All the Way – Alec Harper & Brynn Palmer – tentative release date Winter 2015

I would love it if you’d leave me a review on Amazon for any of my books you’ve read!  And if you are interested in being an ARC reader in exchange for an honest review, contact me.

Excerpt… From Road to Recovery

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In an ongoing attempt to reach my goal/objectives listed on my Resolutions…Not Quite…post, I decided to post a little excerpt from Road to Recovery.

This portion of the book comes from the Chapter titled Unbalanced. I’m a little quirky—and by quirky I mean OCD—in that all my books have chapter names rather than numbers. Why, do you ask? Easy, if I decide to add or delete a chapter I don’t have to renumber everything. See, simple, not quirky or OCD at all.

You can buy Road to Recovery on Amazon

So, without further ado, as promised….

         Lucas had waged an internal debate all day Sunday. He hadn’t wanted to pressure Brooke. He wanted her to make the next move. But by the time he was in bed last night, he realized that wasn’t going to happen. Not willing to risk all that he gained the day before at the mall, he finally caved and contacted her first—and was glad he did.
        But all it served was to increase his need to see her again, making him rush out the door earlier than normal on a Monday morning.
        Now, glancing at his watch, he knew she was most likely already at her desk working. Maybe he could think of an excuse to go visit her now. When she stepped in the elevator right as it was closing, he thought fate was on his side.
        She made eye contact with him, her eyes softened, and a bright smile started to spread across her face before she caught herself and stopped.
        As more people started to enter behind her, he decided to have a little fun with her. He reached down, tugged at the shoulder strap of her purse.
        Looking over sharply, she sent him a warning glance. He continued to look at her innocently, raised an eyebrow, and whispered, “Sorry.”
        She composed herself, looked toward the front of the elevator, and ignored him.
        He lifted his hand, touched hers slightly. Before she could jerk her hand away, which would no doubt have some heads turning, most likely what she was trying to avoid, he hooked his pinky around hers, held on tight and grinned. He soothed the pulse beating at the base of her wrist as his thumb stroked her and saw her head move around the elevator to see if anyone noticed them, but no one could see them in the back.
       Then she looked over at him once more with another warning glare. He added a wiggle of his eyebrows to his grin.  “What?” he asked.
       She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. He saw the corner of her mouth lift slightly, then settle back before she could grin.
       The elevator reached their floor, and everyone started to move toward their destinations. As she went to a take step, he held on tighter, made her look over at him again.
       “Bye,” he mouthed, then his finger released hers.

Road to Reality

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Beth Campbell grew up poor. The kind of poor that people only hear of but never actually see—the dirty-no-electricity-in-the-winter kind of poor. But she had brains, grit, and determination. She was making a better life for herself, until she met a man—and made a mistake.

Now at age twenty-five she’s a single mother working hard once again, making a better life for herself and her three-year-old daughter, Zoe. She’s learned from her mistakes and is focusing on the right things. No more wishful dreams for her.

Dr. Mac Malone was minding his own business on his daily run when he heard a child’s scream. Before he knew it, he was Zoe Campbell’s savior. Falling in love with the little girl was easy. Convincing her mother he really was a good guy was something altogether different. Can he help Beth learn to trust again?

You can buy the book here on Amazon

Humor, Love and Sex…

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Yay me! I’m on my way to meeting one of my goals/objectives for 2015. You can read more about them at my Resolutions…Not Quite… post

Since my next book is currently at the editors, and I’ve finished the draft of another, I’ve had a bit of time on my hands, which has allowed me to attack #4 on the list I mentioned above. (Yeah, shameless promotion, I get it, but hey, if I can’t do it on my own blog, where can I?)

That being said, I just finished reading Tracy Brogan’s Hold On My Heart .

There are three things I look for in a book. Or I should say three things that I enjoy in a book. And really, let’s be honest, if I don’t enjoy the book, what’s the use of even reading it. But needless to say, Hold On My Heart hit all three of them. Want to know why? Sure you do, why else would you be reading this, right?

Humor— Libby is a riot. Or as my mom used to say, Libby is a clip. Not sure why a clip is funny, but she used to say that, and we laughed. That is neither here nor there. Moving on…Libby is just the right amount of funny throughout the book, but not so much that she could have been a comedian. It was more like she thought, said, and did all those things that most people in the back of their mind wish they could, but are afraid to. I’ll be honest, being caught with her pants down—literally, while attending to a much needed ‘nature’s calling’ behind a dumpster drew me right in. Sorry, I’m simple, anything related to bathroom ‘problems’ always makes me giggle. I’m kind of like an 11-year boy that way.

Love— On to Tom. He is the total opposite of Libby. He’s shy, quiet, a bit awkward and completely unaware of himself at times. But that combination is…cute…and sweet…and he wears jeans, a flannel shirt and a tool belt. Need I say more? A tool belt!! As for love, watching him struggle and fall in love a second time made my heart swell, but more so, his relationship with his 15 year-old daughter was priceless. At times, humorous, which is a plus, but one particular scene actually had me sniffling quite a bit.

Sex— Okay, this is a big one for me in a romance novel. I know, I know, cliché, but I like my romance novels with some steam in them. Or at least a little sizzle. And though this book wasn’t overloaded with sex scenes, there was plenty enough. And if you’re looking for steam…I don’t need to say anything more than “folding chair at the wedding reception”. Want to know what I’m talking about? Well then I suggestion you buy the book and find out! What’s that book again? Oh yeah, Hold On My Heart.

On to my next new author, don’t know what book it’s going to be yet, but I can tell you it won’t be the first two books suggested in the comment left for me on my Resolutions…Not Quite… post. Though I appreciate the suggestion, I really do, but the Book of Mormon and the Bible just don’t quite meet the three criteria I’m looking for in reading material.

But hey, if you’ve got a suggestion on a book you think I should read, just let me know!

Disclaimer: Book reviews are the sole opinion of me, myself and I.  All books I choose to read and post a review on are books that I personally purchased or downloaded from my Amazon Prime account.  I have not been asked, or compensated to read/review any books you see on my site.

Resolutions….Not Quite…

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I’m not a New Year’s Resolution type of girl. Not even sure where that originated from, or why people wait until the first of the year to say they are going to make a change. But that’s neither here nor there.  So, I’m going to set goals and objectives, or better yet, things that are to come.

I’ve been asked if any of the characters in my books are of actual people I know, or even myself. The answer to that, is no, not 100%—just bits and pieces. But any of the characters who are OCD…well that is me! Completely, utterly me.

So here we go—five goals/objectives/things to come. And of those who know me personally, you know I can’t have a list that doesn’t end with a 5 or 0…it’s that OCD thing again. When I see a list that ends in anything other than a 0 or 5 I want to shout, “Seriously, you couldn’t think of more, or take something off?!”

1. Average one blog post a week—I put this at the top, because I think it’s going to be the hardest for me. Even though I like to talk, I’m not sure I actually have anything to say.
2. Research and start promoting my books more—I’m great at research, just not so great at pulling the trigger. But it’s a goal of mine, and I’m determined to meet it.
3. Publish 4 books this year—actually this one should be easy. I’ve got 1 book scheduled to be published in late January, and 2 drafts completed already. Want to know what they are? Sorry,  I’m waiting until next week, then I can meet my first goal and have my next blog post ready to go.
4. Start reading different authors. There are some wonderful authors out there and I need to expand my horizons and branch out. So if you know of some great authors, pass them on. I plan on doing that, then spreading the word on some of those books. (see, possible blogs posts to help me meet the first goal)
5. Stop eating liver—sorry, I needed a 5th goal since I couldn’t take anything off the list in order to meet the OCD issue I mentioned above. Besides, this one I know I will  succeed at, thrive actually. I’ve never eaten liver before and the thought, not to mention the sight, of it makes me gag.

So there you go…the start of 2015 for me!

Inspirations and my dog…

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Well…I did it. I published my second book.  My goal was three books by the end of the year, but time doesn’t always work in my favor.  But rest assured, my third book Road to Reality will be released late January—fingers crossed.

But Book Two of my Road Series, Road to Redemption…well that book was just plain FUN to write!  Cori is that girl you always wanted to be friends with, of course she is friends with everyone.  And she is all about fun.  I often found myself giggling during her character development. The things she says and her mannerisms are a riot.  And let’s not forgot the food, that girl likes to eat.

Then there’s Jack.  Tall, dark, handsome, smart and completely awkward.  Cori knocks him on his butt…hard. But boy was it fun to watch his fall.

That brings me to my inspiration for this story.  I heard this song on Pandora one day and the words just stuck.  Then ended up being Cori and Jack’s love song, what brought them together. I listened to this song over and over while I wrote, and it seemed to sum up Jack’s character perfectly by the end of the book.  Listen and tell me if you don’t agree.  “Amazed” by Lonestar

And what is this about my dog, do you ask? Well, lonely old Jack has a dog.  A boxer.  Any boxer owner will tell you this breed is loyal to the end. Along with almost being half human with their emotions and facial expressions, not to mention actions.

Jack’s boxer is a mixture of the two boxers I’ve owned.  Mostly my current boxer, she’s a female too.  And a tad bit needy. But the feather chapter in the book, well that was all my male boxer—100% it happened to me, not my bed pillows but rather a couch cushion! So yes, all the stories, mannerisms, and actions of Roxy in this story are related to incidents I’ve lived through.

No, the dog on the cover isn’t my boxer, but it’s really close.  This is my boxer, Indy. Isn’t she a beauty!

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So there you go, my inspiration and my dog. All wrapped up into one.  Be on the lookout for Book Three Road to Reality and a post regarding my inspiration there.  Hint hint, a little 3 year old in my life.

The Last Click

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Today is the day. I published my first book.

It seemed like this day would never come. Of course, more recently I was wishing for the time to slow down. Why, you ask? Nerves. And a healthy dose of fear. Fear for my characters. As most authors can attest, my characters are part of me. Born and bred in my mind. They’ve caused me grief, stress, frustration, laughter and tears. I’ve anguished over making them just right. Perfect. Of course no one is perfect, but I tried. They’re my friends, like family to me in my mind. And now I’m sending them out there to the big scary world.

So on batted breath, my mouse anxiously hovered over the button that read ‘save and publish’. I closed my eyes, pushed down on the mouse, that last click, and bam, it was done. Simple as that. It was almost anticlimactic.

And now I introduce you to the Malones, the Mathews and their friends in a 4 book series (The Road Series) starting with Brooke Malone and Lucas Mathews—Road to Recovery. Read a summary here

You can buy the book on Amazon.

Road to Redemption

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Relocating to Albany, New York, after the death of his wife, Dr. Jack Reynolds has decided he is better off alone. No worries, no headaches, no stress. The last thing he needs is the complication of a tiny redheaded nurse who has her sights set on making him see that life isn’t meant to be lonely.

Cori Summers thinks life is a bowl of cherries––covered in chocolate that is. She’s fast moving, witty and the life of the party. Why can’t everyone smile throughout the day, just like her? Life is easier that way. No worries, no headaches and no stress.

Yes, opposites really do attract, but is Cori’s big personality enough to overcome all the obstacles that Jack is determined to put in her way?

You can purchase Road to Redemption here

Road To Recovery

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road-to-recovery-copy

Being perfect isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.

After surviving a horrific car crash, Brooke Malone is ready to start over. Moving from her hometown of Burlington, Vermont, to Albany, New York, for a new job, her only goals are to focus on her career and her recovery. The last thing she wants is the distraction of a relationship. Least of all with a sexy more-than-perfect coworker who is adamant about needing to help her.

Lucas Mathews is any woman’s dream man. As a successful attorney, he could have any woman he wants. But he wants Brooke, the one woman who doesn’t seem interested.   Can he win her over when all she wants to do is rebuild her life? Or will the secrets Brooke holds deep shatter any chance at happiness?

You can buy it here on Amazon