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Fiction

EXCERPT: Aphrodite’s Tears”

January 22, 2018 Leave a Comment

“Aphrodite’s Tears” by Hannah Fielding

Blurb: In ancient Greece, one of the twelve labours of Heracles was to bring back a golden apple from the Garden of Hesperides. To archaeologist Oriel Anderson, joining a team of Greek divers on the island of Helios seems like the golden apple of her dreams. Yet the dream becomes a nightmare when she meets the devilish owner of the island, Damian Lekkas. In shocked recognition, she is flooded with the memory of a romantic night in a stranger’s arms, six summers ago. A very different man stands before her now, and Oriel senses that the sardonic Greek autocrat is hell-bent on playing a cat and mouse game with her. As they cross swords and passions mount, Oriel is aware that malevolent eyes watch her from the shadows. Dark rumours are whispered about the Lekkas family. What dangers lie in Helios, a bewitching land where ancient rituals are still enacted to appease the gods, young men risk their lives in the treacherous depths of the Ionian Sea, and the volatile earth can erupt at any moment? Will Oriel find the hidden treasures she seeks? Or will Damian’s tragic past catch up with them, threatening to engulf them both?

Excerpt

She and Damian ascended slowly, holding the dive rope and stopping at intervals along the way, a barrage of bubbles breaking the surface as they finally rose to the top. They were helped into the boat and were immediately surrounded by the other divers, who were all talking at once, everyone wanting to have a look at the antique finds. ‘Thavmahsios, thavmahsios, wonderful, wonderful,’ they cried out as they examined Damian’s Roman seaman’s knife, and a perfectly intact drinking cup with a rudely fashioned face leering from its side. When Stavros saw that Oriel’s amphora had an unbroken seal, he laughed, eyes twinkling. ‘We need to celebrate, and we’ve got the wine right here!’

‘Not sure what it’ll be like after two thousand years,’ said Damian, throwing down his mask. ‘I’ve heard Cousteau talk about trying some from an amphora he’d raised from a wreck near Cap Ferrat. It tasted worse than vinegar, and there was no alcohol left at all. But this one might be worth a toast, I suppose,’ he added with a lopsided grin.

‘Wait a minute, everyone,’ laughed Oriel. ‘Not until it’s been properly cleaned and documented. I don’t want anyone touching that seal!’

‘How’s the wreck looking?’ asked Mohammed, the keen young Algerian diver who was due to go down next.

‘Most of the artefacts are embedded in the calcite that’s formed around the wreck,’ answered Damian. ‘It’s going to be impossible, working underwater, to extract them without breaking them. I suggest you only pick up the smaller, accessible items for now.’ He turned to Oriel. ‘I propose we cut the wreck into blocks of about two hundred pounds apiece, which is the maximum our winches can raise.’

‘I think that’s the only course open to you,’ agreed Oriel. ‘So long as all the necessary drawings, maps and photographs have been made first. There’s a lot to do before we can even think of carving up the argosy.’

Damian nodded and said to Stavros, ‘This is such a big job, I think we might have to ask Vassilis and his crew to help us bring the big pieces up.’

‘Yes, he’s just bought some sophisticated equipment from America. He was boasting about it at Manoli’s last night,’ Stavros told him.

As the next pair of divers were being seen off, Damian turned to Oriel. ‘I take it that Vassilis looked after you well at the temple site yesterday?’

‘Yes, he’s very thorough. I was impressed.’

Damian glanced at her. ‘Not too impressed I hope,’ he said, devilment in his eyes. He paused, then added: ‘You did well down there. There’s something methodical in how you work. Good under pressure too, I’d guess. Not a thermokéfalos hothead like Spyros over there. He’ll need to be watched.’

Oriel glanced over at the wiry young Greek who was showing off, arms gesticulating wildly, his excitable voice rising above the laughter of his diver companions. She was glad to have an opportunity to turn her face away so that Damian couldn’t see the pink hue rise in her cheeks. There was something very intoxicating about approval, and she felt a heady warmth at the remarks he’d made about her.

**Aphrodite’s Tears is out in paperback on 25th January for £7.99.

Amazon

*****

**About Hannah Fielding: Having already had huge success as one of the UK’s leading romance authors with total sales of over 130k, Aphrodite’s Tears follows the award winning success of Hannah Fielding’s previous novels Burning Embers, Echoes of Love, Masquerade, Legacy andIndiscretion. Echoes of Love won Romance Novel of the Year at the IPB Awards in 2012, Burning Embers was Amazon’s book of the month in 2011, and Hannah’s novels have been translated into 13 languages. With its spectacular setting and deep emotional drama, Aphrodite’s Tears will appeal both to fans of her backlist, as well as lovers of atmospheric travel writing including Santa Montefiore, Penny Vincenzie, Victoria Hislop and Lucinda Riley.

Egyptian by birth Hannah is fluent in French, English and Arabic and has lived all over the world. She currently lives between her writing retreat in the South of France and her rambling family home in Ireland.  Hannah’s grandmother, Esther Fanous, was the revolutionary feminist writer in Egypt during the early 1900s and helped found the Women’s Wafd Central Committee in 1920.

**Contact Hannah: Facebook  Twitter

Filed Under: Aphrodite's Tears Tagged With: Aphrodite's Tears, Coming Soon, Fiction, Hannah Fielding

BOOK FEATURE: “House Divided”

November 8, 2017 Leave a Comment

“House Divided” by Jami Deise

Blurb: When it comes to the work/life seesaw, Erin Murphy is a balancing-act expert. True, she works for Democrats while her husband Jack is a spokesman for Republicans, but at home they’re in sync. Their jobs stay at the office. Their children — 13-year-old animal-nut Jessica and 8-year-old Batman-obsessed Michael – come first. And her career is just as important as his. But on Election Day 2014, everything changes. Suddenly, Erin is out of a job … and Jack is the new star of The Right Choice TV network! As Erin searches frantically for her next position, Jack begins to practice what he preaches. Their house turns into a battlefield:  What’s wrong with saying “Merry Christmas” to their Jewish neighbors? How can there be global warming when it’s cold outside? Jessica takes her mother’s side (her father is a “disgusting planet murderer”), while Michael just thinks it’s cool that Dad’s on TV and he’s making a million dollars. And Michael’s not the only one impressed with the family’s new money: Who are all these new people floating around Jack, and what do they want? As Erin’s friends take sides about what she should do with Jack 2.0, the only person who understands is a fellow stay-at-home parent: Scott. Scott is easy to look at, and just as frustrated with his marriage as Erin is… But the biggest battle is Erin’s alone:  Should she keep pounding the pavement? Or become a perfect trophy wife and mother that Jack now wants her to be? Without a title and a salary, how can Erin figure out who she really is?

Excerpt:

Because even though Jack and I shared the same sarcastic sense of humor, love for action movies and disdain for country music, we spent our working hours opposing each other.

Jack and I met on opposite sides of a House/Senate conference committee table. It was three in the morning, and my colleague Zoe Nelson and I were arguing passionately on why a funding mechanism for recycling that our boss placed in an energy bill absolutely, positively needed to be preserved no matter what. Zoe was in tears and I’d been shouting. The people on Jack’s side of the table were just as wound up.

But Jack was just sitting there, scribbling on a note pad. I thought he was mapping out a response, but when I looked over, he’d drawn a very professional caricature of his boss, complete with the drunkard nose and hairy ears. I covered my mouth to hide the laughing fit, but he looked over and smiled. And then he reached into his backpack and pulled out two beers. I was hooked.

On our first date that weekend, he told me a friend of his dad’s got him the job with his Republican Congressman — he didn’t really care one way or another. Fifteen years later, that hadn’t really changed. Currently the vice president of communications for the American Business Association, Jack watched politics the way a sports reporter watched sports. Some days it was because he was cynical; other days he just didn’t care. He worked for ABA because they offered him more money than the hospital people and the shipping people did.

Republicans paid a lot better than Democrats. Even though Jack was only a level or two above me, his salary was three times what I brought home. Which worked out, because Jack was only in it for the money. Maybe that’s why he was so good at his job. It’s easier to craft arguments for or against a position if you really didn’t care either way.

The other benefit to Jack’s not caring was that we didn’t take our work arguments home. Our house was about our children, thirteen-year-old Jessica and eight-year-old Michael, their after-school activities, where we were going on vacation, questions such as have you seen my yellow tie? It was a place of peace, an oasis in a political jungle.

*****

**About the author: A lifelong resident of Maryland, Jami worked in public relations in Washington, D.C. before moving to St. Petersburg, Florida in 2012. A baseball mom for 15 years, she self-published her first book, “Keeping Score,” about a divorced mom whose 9-year-old son starts playing select baseball, in 2013. In 2015, Evernight Publishing released her urban fantasy “The Ties that Bleed,” about a vampire assassin working for the FBI. Jami is an associate reviewer at http://www.chicklitcentral.com and a freelance developmental and copy editor.  She is represented by Rachel Beck at Holloway Literary. She is also a Realtor with Century 21 Beggins Enterprises on St. Pete Beach.  She is married to a conservative Republican; their son is in a master’s program at Georgetown University and is a White House intern for fall 2017.

**Contact Jami: Website   Blog   Facebook   Twitter

**Grab Jami’s books: House Divided   The Ties that Bleed   Keeping Score

Filed Under: House Divided Tagged With: Books, Chick Lit, Fiction, House Divided, Jami Deise, New Release, Political, Women's Fiction

RELEASE DAY: “Wolf Hollow”

October 23, 2017 Leave a Comment

AVAILABLE NOW

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Wolf Hollow Ebook cover A REBELLIOUS OUTCAST

Cocky. Coy. Wolf shifter. Tabor is the hollow’s only half-breed, scorned and forbidden to use his powers. Constantly overlooked despite his strengths, Tabor believes Sasha is as shortsighted as the rest of the pack until she proves there’s more to her than a blindly obedient lapdog to the council.

A DUTIFUL PUREBLOOD

Spirited, stubborn, and deeply loyal, Sasha feels the pressure from her pack to claim another pureblood, yet no one is brazen enough to defy the elders and toy with her . . . no one besides a sexy, hotheaded half-breed.

AN ATTRACTION THAT THREATENS THE FUTURE OF THE PACK

Bewildered by the deceptively proud and surprisingly sensual Sasha, Tabor would risk everything to claim her. Despite her vanishing bloodline, Sasha can’t resist the charismatic half-breed even as predators threaten their pack and the elders pressure her to breed with a pureblood.

In a fantastical post-apocalyptic world, where only the strongest survive, sometimes trusting the heart is the bravest act of all.

WOLF HOLLOW - PURCHASE

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Click HERE to Enter the Goodreads Giveaway!

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Nikki Jefford is a third-generation Alaskan now living in the Pacific Northwest with her French husband and their Westie, Cosmo. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys nature, hiking, and motorcycling. Nikki is the author of the Wolf Hollow Shifters series, Aurora Sky: Vampire Hunter, and the Spellbound Trilogy.

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Filed Under: Wolf Hollow Tagged With: Fantasy, Fiction, New Release, Nikki Jefford, Romance, Romantic Fantasy, Wolf Hollow

BOOK FEATURE: “Letters to the Lost”

June 11, 2015 1 Comment

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“Letters to the Lost” by Iona Grey

Blurb: Just in time for romantic summer vacation reading, get swept up in LETTERS TO THE LOST by Iona Grey (St. Martin’s Press; May 26, 2015; $25.99), a mesmerizing and heartbreaking story about Stella and Dan, young lovers in chaotic London during World War II. Years after their affair, Jess, a singer running from her circumstances, takes shelter in an empty house and happens upon a series of letters that bring Stella and Dan’s tragedy to life.

In 1943, Stella Thorne has just married a vicar to become a church wife surrounded by a watchful congregation. Stella soon finds marriage lonely and cold, and is in the depths of loneliness when she has a chance encounter with Dan Rosinski. Drawn together by a love unlike anything they have experienced before, Stella and Dan cannot fight the feelings that spring up between them. But fate is unkind and they are lost to each other, maybe forever. In a last attempt to save that once-in-a-lifetime feeling they shared, Dan writes Stella a letter seventy years later, searching for understanding before it is too late.

When Jess finds Dan’s letter, she feels a need to help Dan with his desperate attempt to reach the woman he cannot forget. Trying to escape her own abusive boyfriend, Jess is an unlikely champion for Dan, but works to uncover where Stella has been all these years. When a stranger appears, he too plunges into the story and a friendship with plucky, passionate Jess. As they pour through years’ worth of letters and records within London, they start to discover the circumstances that caused Stella to abandon her love and the dark secret she kept all these years.

With endorsements from Rosamunde Pilcher, Kate Alcott, Lauren Willig, and Lucinda Riley, LETTERS TO THE LOST is the perfect read for lovers of epic and romantic historical fiction.

ADVANCED PRAISE

“Letters to the Lost is a powerful debut, one of those rare books that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go.  It’s a heart-wrenching, smile-through-the-tears story of love lost and refound– you won’t be able to put it down! “ Lauren Willig, New York Times bestselling author of The Ashford Affair

“Letters to the Lost pulsates with life, offering a vibrant love story that transcends time and the heartbreak of war. Settle in somewhere comfortable; you are in for an enthralling read.” Kate Alcott, New York Times bestselling author of The Dressmaker and A Touch of Stardust

* * * * *

**Click HERE to buy “Letters to the Lost” on Amazon!

* * * * *

About author, Iona Grey: Iona has a degree in English Literature and Language from Manchester University, an obsession with history and an enduring fascination with the live so women in the twentieth century. She lives in rural Cheshire with her husband and three daughters.

Filed Under: Letters to the Lost Tagged With: Blurb, Books, Fiction, Iona Grey, Letters to the Lost, New Release, Romance

BOOK FEATURE: “Guessing at Normal”

June 8, 2015 Leave a Comment

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“Guessing at Normal” by Gail Ward Olmsted

Blurb: Jill Griffin has mastered the art of being invisible, so when she falls in love with sexy rocker James Sheridan, at first she is content to live in his larger than life shadow. Building a ‘normal’ life together under the glare of the media is challenging and further complicated by constant touring, James’ partying and the mixed signals she gets from James’ twin brother Alex.

When her poems and journal ramblings become the songs on James’ best-selling album, Jill has to step out of her comfort zone and figure out how to live her life in a spotlight all her own. With no road map to follow, she struggles to navigate her way in her search for happiness. As her professional success threatens her relationship with James, Jill questions whether she can make a living writing love songs without the love of her life.

EXCERPT

2009

Preface

I met James Sheridan in a motel lobby almost twenty years ago. When I gave him change for cigarettes, I cautioned him about the perils of smoking, but I was just messing with him. What did I know? It was a fluke- I should have gone home almost an hour earlier, but the guy who was supposed to relieve me was late, so there you go. Those cigarettes changed the course of my whole life and James’ too! A few years later, his hit song Jericho Road (from the bestselling album Guessing at Normal) climbed the charts on its way to the #1 song on America’s Top 40 for a record 23 weeks. At the time, there was a great deal of speculation about the title of the song and its origin. I’m here to finally set the record straight, because I wrote the damn thing. Jericho Road is not a song about salvation. I’m sorry if the title was misleading. For some, ‘Jericho’ is where the Israelites returned from bondage in Egypt, but for me? It just happens to be the name of the street where I grew up and lived until I was eighteen years old. They say you can’t go home again, but I wouldn’t know. I never really tried.

Carly thinks I should share my story, so here goes.

1990

Chapter 1 – What I Got

“Those things will kill you.” Those were the first words I ever spoke to James Sheridan. He was waving a five-dollar bill as he asked, “Can you change this? I need quarters to buy some smokes.”

I wasn’t surprised by his sudden appearance in the deserted motel lobby that night. I’d heard the hum of the elevator just moments before he appeared. I worked behind the front desk from 3:30 p.m. to midnight Monday through Friday. I was supposed to get two fifteen-minute breaks and another half-hour for dinner, but there was rarely anyone to cover for me. It was a pretty boring job, with long periods of inactivity, punctuated by a flurry that would keep three people busy. When I wasn’t at work, I spent a lot of time reading and writing in my journal. I usually slept late on weekends and hung out with my best friend and her new baby. That was me, livin’ the dream!

So yeah, I heard this guy approaching before I looked up. We got some pretty sketchy folks most nights, and at first glance, he fit right in. Tall and lean, he had longish dark hair that looked like it could use a good washing. I pegged him to be in his mid-20s, but it was hard to be sure. He was barefoot (yew!!) and was decked out in a pair of baggy knee-length gym shorts and a black wifebeater. As he got closer, I could see a number of tattoos up and down his pale arms. He had a pair of bright blue eyes that were probably his best feature, but they were ringed in red and featured bluish shadows. He was a really good-looking guy, but probably a stoner. I was more attracted to the preppy types with short blonde hair and golden tans from days spent on the golf course or tennis court. The kind of guy who would never give me a second glance.

This guy was definitely glancing. From the corner of my eye, I could see him checking me out as I hit the buttons and rang a ‘no sale’ to get the cash register to open. That’s when I uttered my snappy line. I hadn’t said a single word out loud for more than two hours and I croaked it out, so I think all he might have heard was “kill you.” He held his hands up in protest.

“Hey, sorry. I can’t sleep and I’m out of cigarettes. So sue me.” Yikes, touchy! But something about him was vaguely familiar. I had heard that voice before. It was deep and rich and almost velvety. Maybe…

“It’s no problem,” I assured him. “I was just messing with you. Smoke all you want. I just want to get out of here.” I placed four singles and four quarters on the counter in front of him.

“What time do you get off?” the blue-eyed mystery man asked me.

“Gee, if I had a dollar for every time one of you guys asked me that,” I said with a smirk. He slid a dollar bill back towards me.

“You’re way too cheap,“ he told me with a grin and wandered off to the far corner of the lobby in search of his cigarettes. Moments later with his mission accomplished, he disappeared down the hall. It would bug me. I knew it would. I’m lousy with names, but faces and voices usually stick with me. Lost in thought, I jumped when Fran the night auditor came rushing up to the desk. He was in his early thirties, a big hulking guy who sounded more like a middle-school girl when he recounted his ongoing problems with his long-suffering girlfriend. I had never met Doreen, but she would have to be part saint to put up with Fran.

“Christ, Fran, you’re late,” I complained. “Again.”

“Come on. Don’t you bitch me out too,” he whined. I slipped into the adjoining office and opened the door that led out to the lobby. The damn thing locks automatically when it closes, and I can’t even count the number of times I had to shimmy over the counter to get back into the inner sanctum after sneaking out to the bathroom off the lobby. I can drop trou, pee and rinse off my hands in less than a minute, which was a good skill to have when nature called and I had to leave the registration desk unmanned.

“Oh, you big baby,” I volleyed back at Fran. “Are you two fighting again?”

“Yeah,“ he told me with a hangdog expression on his flushed face. “She’s really pissed that…”

“Save it for someone who cares, Fran. I’m off the clock.” I grabbed my car keys, my bag and the journal that I carried everywhere and took off through the lobby. Oh, wait. Don’t be such a bitch. “Good night, Fran,” I called out. “Full house tonight. See ya.”

“Jill, I’m sorry,” Fran called after me. “I’ll come in a half-hour early tomorrow night. I promise.”

“Make it forty-five minutes,” I hollered back and raced out the front door and smack into the blue-eyed smoker himself.

“Christ, you really do want to kill me,” he protested.

Oh man, I do not have time for this. Actually, I did have time as I had nowhere to be for the next fourteen hours or so until my next shift began. But still. “Sorry. I don’t really want to kill you,” I assured him.

“Well then, why don’t you come to my room and make it up to me somehow?” he teased.

“Now I do want to kill you. Hey, it’s been real. Got to go.” I race-walked across the parking lot towards my car. I was supposed to park out back and leave the prime spots for the paying guests, but I’d run late that afternoon and the back lot was pretty creepy in the early morning hours when I got off work. The mystery man quickly caught up to me, as his long strides easily outdistanced my short ones. “Do I have to call security?” I threatened, only half-seriously.

“No, I’m actually pretty secure,” he assured me. “But thanks, anyway.” Hmmm, cute and funny. “So do you have a name? Do you want a cigarette? Fresh pack.” He wiggled them at me.

“Yes, I have a name. No, I don’t want a cigarette. Any more questions?” I wiggled my car keys at him. “Good night, okay?” He dropped back and let me pass. I tried to unlock my car door, but the lock sometimes caught and you had to fiddle around with it. He came up from behind me and placed his hand over mine, steadying me long enough to actually accomplish the task.

“I’m James,” he told me. “I’m in a band.” Okay, loosen up, girl.

“I’m Jill. Wait, you’re James? James Sheridan from Nomad? Oh my God, I love you guys,” I gushed. I might have liked my guys preppy, but I like my rock music hard-core with a hint of grunge, just like Nomad delivered on their first album.

His eyes lit up. Maybe it was the well-lit parking lot, but they actually glittered.

“You like us, yeah, really?” He grinned at me, and I was finally able to place his good-looking face. It had been staring out at me from the cover of the album I’d purchased nearly six months before.

“You’re staying here?” I asked. “Well, of course you are. They never tell us anything.” Like management should have sent out a memo or something.

“Yeah, we played the Palace. Tonight was the first of three big nights,” he added sarcastically.

Hmmm. The Palace for three nights. That couldn’t be a good sign, touring to support a newly released LP, playing at a second-rate venue in a second-rate town like mine for not one, but three nights. I tried to work up to my earlier enthusiasm, but failed.

“Cool,” I responded weakly.

“Yeah, the tour has been pretty tough,” he admitted sadly. ”Ticket sales are slow and getting airplay is nearly impossible. We had to reschedule…”

I cut him off. He did not need to apologize or explain himself to me. He was a musician and a good one.

“Well, I bet you guys stormed the Palace tonight. Did you have them rockin’ out in the aisles?” I asked tentatively.

“Yeah. They liked us, I think. We got called back for an encore.”

“What song?”

“Over You.”

“Oh, I love that one,” I told him.

He started humming the opening chords, and then broke into the chorus. “I’m already over you.” Oh my God! James Sheridan of Nomad is singing to me in the parking lot at one in the morning. Wait till I tell Beth! This is amazing. I could be in big trouble here, I realized, if I didn’t have a hard and fast rule about not fraternizing with motel guests.

* * * * *

Jill Griffin has her own playlist…everyone should!

What I Got by Sublime

Say My Name by Destiny’s Child

Friday, I’m in Love by The Cure

Got My Mind Set on You by George Harrison

I’ll Be Missing You by Puff Daddy

Baby, One More Time by Britney Spears

I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing by Aerosmith

Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison

Two Princes by The Spin Doctors

Bitter Sweet Symphony by The Verve

Only Wanna Be with You by Hootie & the Blowfish

Torn by Natalie Imbruglia

Hard to Handle by The Black Crowes

Everybody Hurts by R.E.M.

Walking on the Sun by Smash Mouth

Right Here, Right Now by Jesus Jones

You Get What You Give by New Radicals

Linger by The Cranberries

Crash Into Me by Dave Matthews Band

Come As You Are by Nirvana

(Everything I Do) I Do It for You by Bryan Adams

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Losing My Religion by R.E.M.

One Headlight by The Wallflowers

Something to Talk About by Bonnie Raitt

One Week by Barenaked Ladies

Un-Break My Heart by Toni Braxton

When I Come Around by Green Day

All I Wanna Do by Sheryl Crow

More Than Words by Extreme

You Oughta Know by Alanis Morissette

The Boy is Mine by Brandy & Monica

I Try by Macy Gay

Give Me One Reason by Tracy Chapman

One by U2

Daughter by Pearl Jam

Killing Me Softly by The Fugees

Ray of Light by Madonna

I Believe I Can Fly by R. Kelly

What’s Up? by 4 Non-Blondes

Lose Yourself by Eminem

End of the Road by Boyz 2 Men

Closing Time by Semisonic

Truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden

* * * * *

GailWardOlmstedPic**About author, Gail Ward Olmsted:

Gail Ward Olmsted is a professor in the School of Business & Information Technology at Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, MA. She was the recipient of the Deliso Endowed Chair Award and was recently recognized by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’s Department of Higher Education as one of “29 Who Shine”.

Olmsted’s first visit to Sedona, AZ prompted her to start writing JEEP TOUR, her first novel. A few years later, her second visit provided the incentive to complete it. Her 2nd novel is Guessing at Normal, a rock and roll romance. She is currently working on a sequel to JEEP TOUR, which will be based in Ireland. A hopeless romantic, she is married to the love of her life, is mom to two young adults, and enjoys her three cats, reading, music and travel.

**Contact Gail: Email   Amazon – Author Page   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Guessing at Normal Tagged With: Books, Chick-Lit, Contemporary, Fiction, Gail Ward Olmsted, Guessing at Normal, Music, Romance

BOOK FEATURE: “Recipes for Melissa”

June 5, 2015 Leave a Comment

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“Recipes for Melissa” by Teresa Driscoll

Blurb: Is it ever too late for the gift of goodbye?

As I write now, you are eight years old – asleep in the bed next door in princess pyjamas, with a fairy costume discarded on the floor.

Twenty-Five. The age I had you. The age our story began. And the age, I hope, that will see you truly ready for the things that I need to say to you…

Melissa Dance was eight years old when her mother died. They never got to say goodbye.

Seventeen years later, Melissa is handed a journal. As she smooths open the pages and begins to read her mother’s words, she is instantly transported back to her childhood.

But returning to her past is painful and memories of her mother’s beautiful face are a cruel reminder to Melissa that she’ll never see her again.

As Melissa slowly makes her way through the precious book, reading the snippets of advice and cooking the dishes from the recipes, she is also shocked to learn of her mother’s secrets – secrets that if shared, could change Melissa’s world forever.

A beautifully written, heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting story of a mother’s loving legacy for her daughter.

**Buy “Recipes for Melissa”: Amazon – US   Amazon – UK

* * * * *

TeresaDriscollPic**About author, Teresa Driscoll:

For 15 years Teresa presented the BBC’s nightly TV news programme Spotlight from Devon. She has worked as a reporter and columnist for a wide range of newspapers and is a popular short story writer for Women’s Weekly and other leading titles.

She has tutored Writer Workshops supported by the Arts Council and away from the laptop is passionate about her family…and great coffee!

**Contact Teresa: Website   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Recipes for Melissa Tagged With: Books, Chick-Lit, Contemporary, Fiction, Mothers and Daughters, New Release, Recipes for Melissa, Teresa Driscoll

“Girl of My Dreams” by Peter Davis

May 28, 2015 Leave a Comment

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“Girl of My Dreams” by Peter Davis

Blurb: A sweeping novel of the 1930s that captures the essence of a golden, lurid era when Hollywood became the fantasy capital of the world.

Girl of My Dreams follows a wide-eyed young screenwriter in the 1930s when Hollywood, the Depression, and the Communist Party intersected powerfully in the American psyche. From the glamorous and mysterious star Palmyra Millevoix to the ruthless studio mogul Mossy Zangwill, protagonist Owen Jant struggles to navigate a world that is as seductive as it is toxic. Filled with scandal, romance, murder, riots, and celebrities of the day, Girl of My Dreams shines a spotlight on an American moment in all its magic and malice, glory and greed.

**Praise for “Girl of My Dreams”:

“A fast-paced novel of ambition, deceit, and disillusionment…as thrilling as a hit movie.” –John Irving“Irresistible. It has been a long time since I read anything so interesting in every way.” –Joan Didion

“Smart, snarky, richly detailed, gossipy, hilarious…a thorough delight.” –Richard Russo

**Click HERE to get your copy of “Girl of My Dreams” on Amazon!

* * * * *

**About author, Peter Davis:

Peter Davis is an author and Academy Award­-winning documentary filmmaker (Hearts and Minds). The son of screenwriters, he grew up in Los Angeles. Girl of My Dreams is his fourth book and first novel.

**Contact Peter: Website   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Girl of My Dreams Tagged With: 1930s, Books, Fiction, Girl of My Dreams, Hollywood era, Peter Davis

Book Feature: “Insatiable” & “Insatiable: Book Two”

May 27, 2015 Leave a Comment

InsatiableSeriesBanner

The “Insatiable” series by J.D. Hawkins

Insatiable1CoverPic“Insatiable”:

It’s not cocky when you’ve got the goods to back it up.

Lust-maker. Pleasure giver. Fantasy creator. I can blow your mind in five seconds flat — but trust me, you’ll want this to last all night.

There’s not a woman in the city who can resist me. Except one.

Now she’s got a proposition: Seven days. Every position. No strings attached.

She wants to know what she’s been missing.

Who am I to say no?

**Click HERE to buy “Insatiable” on Amazon!

* * * * *

Insatiable2CoverPic“Insatiable” Book Two:

It was supposed to be simple: I teach her a crash course in pleasure. No commitment. No strings.

Now she’s found the perfect guy — and it’s not me.

I should move on, but I need her. And I never back down from a fight.

Now I’ve got one last lesson for her:  I’m going to make her mine.

**Click HERE to buy “Insatiable: Book Two” on Amazon! 

* * * * *

**About author J.D. Hawkins: JD is a new erotic author from LA. He grew up in Southern California and now lives with his wife in Venice. He loves to travel, writing, surfing, and is also a martial artist, which he’s practiced since the age of 5.

**Contact J.D.: Amazon   Facebook   Twitter

Filed Under: Insatiable, Insatiable -- Book Two Tagged With: Book Features, Erotica, Fiction, Insatiable, Insatiable: Book Two, J.D. Hawkins, Sex, Women's Fiction

“The Right Design” 1st Birthday Celebration

March 1, 2015 6 Comments

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Happy 1st Birthday to “The Right Design” by Isabella Louise Anderson

The_Right_Design_Cover_for_Kindle**Blurb:

In the author’s debut novel comes a story about picking up the pieces, letting go of the past, and finding love along the way–even if morals are tested!

Interior designer Carrie Newman could not have envisioned a more perfect life for herself. She had a great job doing what she loved, wonderful friends, and a close relationship with her sister and brother-in-law. Add in an amazing man who she’d hoped would soon become her husband, and her life was perfect. Until one devastating decision ruins her relationship and changes the course of her life.

Determined to make a new start, Carrie leaves Texas and heads to Palm Beach to pick up the pieces of her shattered and broken life. The last thing she expects is to find herself attracted to her first client at her new job–Brad Larson, who has proven himself time and time again to be caddish.

But there’s something beneath the surface of Brad’s arrogant exterior that keeps her craving more of him–something almost sweet that Carrie can’t seem to resist.

Is Carrie ready to take another chance on romance? And will this new design of her life prove to be the right one?

* * * * *

BlueHappyBirthday**To celebrate, Isabella has put “The Right Design” on SALE for the entire month of March!

Get it now for only $0.99!

Amazon US (Kindle)   Amazon US (Paperback)

Amazon – Canada   Amazon – UK

Barnes & Noble (Paperback and Nook)

* * * * *

**GIVEAWAY**

1st Birthday Gift Pirze package copy

Click HERE to enter to win “The Right Design” Birthday Prize Package, (US residents only, and no P.O. boxes, please)!

(The grand prize package contains the following: a mini-beach bag, lip gloss, ring/jewelery polisher, Scentsy “Love Story” hand lotion, bookmarks, and an 8-inch Nothing Bundt Cake–not shown).

* * * * *

BioPic**About author, Isabella Louise Anderson: Isabella grew up with a book in her hand, and to this day nothing has changed. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America and has been featured on several blogs. While Isabella doesn’t blog a lot, she focuses her time on featuring other writers, along with writing and editing. Isabella Louise Anderson created Chick Lit Goddess to share the love of the following genres: Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Romance, and Romantic Comedies! She loves featuring authors and their books. She lives in Dallas with her husband and cat. She enjoys spicy Mexican food and drinking margaritas, and can be found spending time with family and friends, cheering on the Texas Rangers, and reading. Isabella’s short story, Meet Me Under the Mistletoe, was featured in Simon & Fig’s Christmas anthology, Merry & Bright, in November 2013. The Right Design is her first novel.

**Contact Isabella Louise Anderson:

Website   Author Facebook “Like” page   Goodreads   Pinterest   Twitter

**Chick Lit Goddess:

Chick Lit Goddess “Like” page   Twitter

Filed Under: The Right Design Tagged With: $0.99 Cent sale, Authors, Beach, Birthday, Books, Chick Lit Goddess, Contemporary Romance, Dallas, Fiction, Florida, Isabella Louise Anderson, Palm Beach, Prizes, Romance, The Right Design, Writers

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