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Romance

Tonya Kappes

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TonyaKappes

About author, Tonya Kappes:

“Full of wit, humor and colorful characters, Tonya Kappes delivers a fun, fast-paced story that will leave you hooked!” Bestselling Author, Jane Porter

“A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING is hauntingly good read with authentic Southern charm.” -Heather Webber Author Heather Webber

“Tonya Kappes strings together the perfect blend of family, friends, and fun.” Author Misa Ramirez

USA Today Bestselling Author, Tonya Kappes writes humorous cozy mystery and women’s fiction that involves quirky characters in quirky situations. Not only have her novels made the USA Today bestsellers list, but they are an Amazon Top 100 author, Amazon Movers and Shakers, and International bestsellers.

Splitsville.com, the first novel in the Olivia Davis Mystery Series, is a double finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards in the Mystery and Humorous Categories.

Carpe Bead ‘em is 2012 winner in Amazon’s eFestival of Words in the Women’s Fiction Category.

A Charming Crime, the first novel in the Magical Cures, is the 2013 eFestival of Words in the Fantasy Category Winner.

A New Tradition the Indie Romance Convention 2013 novella of the year.

When not being the princess, queen, and jester of her family of three teenage boys, an adoring husband, and three fury kids, she travels to various writing groups as guest speaker on “How to Market and Promote Your Novels Effectively,” where she is known as a marketing guru.

Become a member of Tonya’s STREET TEAM! It’s a gathering place of readers who love Tonya Kappes novels and Tonya gives away monthly prizes! To sign up for Tonya’s STREET TEAM, newsletter, view book trailer, and upcoming news, check out Tonya’s website, Tonyakappes.com.

And be sure to stalk her on Facebook and Twitter!

INTERVIEW

What attracted you to writing in the first place? The idea that I could tell a story.

What genre are you most comfortable writing? I consistently write in two genres: romance and mystery. I love them both. Once I finish a romance, I have to have a break and I get a chance to do that by starting a new mystery.

How has your upbringing influenced your writing? Every novel of mine is set in a small town, I grew up in a small town. Every novel I write has to do with a strong family unit, my family is thick as thieves. I guess you could say that I want everyone to experience the love of a small town and the love of family that I did.

Where do you get your inspiration and ideas from? Everywhere! It might be an overheard conversation, a situation, or just an idea that pops into my head.

Do you have any writing rituals or listen to “mood music” when you write? Where is your favorite place to write? I do have some type of white noise going on in the background. Most of the time it is music. I love to write in my office or on my back porch starting at 6:00 am.

What’s your favorite place in the entire world? My parent’s house.

Fame or fortune, which would you prefer? Fortune!

What was your favorite part of this book to write? Which part was the hardest? I love writing the coming of age of the protagonist. I love developing that storyline. The hardest part was when my protag realized what was truly important in her life and what she believed was never the case.

When you were a child, what did you want to be when you “grew up”? Actress.

If you couldn’t be an author, what would your ideal career be? I do have an outside career. I’m a Child Intervention Therapist. I guess you could call it my part time job where I work two half days a week. I love working with children and their families to become the best person they can be.

If you could live inside the world of a book would you choose? I would have to pick Whispering Falls from the Magical Cures Series. It’s a magical place with talking crystal balls, fairy dust, and fairy god-cats~how fun is that?

Give your fans three fun facts that they may not already know about you. I’m addicted to Red Hot candy. I order a large diet coke with extra ice in a stryofoam cup every single time I go to McDonalds. AND I’m scared of the dark.

Chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry? Hands down, chocolate.

If you were stranded on a desert island what 3 things would you want with you? Pen, paper and my hubby

Please tell us in one sentence only, why we should read your book. It’s 285 pages that is filled with fun, love, laughter and coming of age.

You just made the USA TODAY BESTSELLERS list with TWO novels in the same week. WOW! How did that feel? AMAZING! Nothing short of amazing! I was shocked with one, but two…..le sigh. The Perfect Ten is a box set collection of nine other bestselling authors that we put together in order to reach more readers and cross-promote, so I knew it would be well received by readers. But STRUNG OUT TO DIE! To make the list on my own is a dream come true. I couldn’t be more honored and grateful for it. I’m still giddy over it.

So what’s next for you as an author? Any last words? I’ve got another book coming out in a brand new mystery series, A GHOSTLY UNDERTAKING. Plus I just had two novels debut on USA TODAY Bestseller list, and I’m excited to see where that goes.

GroomingMrRightCover

Blurb of “Grooming Mr. Right”: Luvie Beiderman is blindsided when she is fired from her junior fashion design job in New York City and is forced to move back to her small town in Kentucky. . . under her parent’s roof.

Being home isn’t so bad, after all, Luvie started Primp My Pet Mobile Pet Spa and is dating one of her client’s owner, hunky Jase Nelson.

When Luvie is offered her dream design job in New York City, she is forced to make a decision between a career she’s always dreamed of or the new life she has created in her hometown with the man she loves

**Contact Tonya:

Website   Facebook   Goodreads   Pinterest   Twitter

**Buy the book!:

Amazon   Barnes & Noble   Kobo

**GIVEAWAY**

Leave a comment below to win a signed print or eBook copy of “GROOMING MR. RIGHT”!

(Please leave your email address so that I can contact the winner!)

Excerpt of Stained by Elizabeth Marx

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Today is the release day of “Stained,” written by one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Marx! With great pleasure, I’m sharing an excerpt of the book.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

 
“Is that why you were living in the same city as me and you never came to see me?” I asked a little bit more accusatorially than I meant to. “Why didn’t Mandy call me or come to see me?”
 
His jaw seemed to harden as he looked over the top of his sunglasses. “Do you want to know about me or Mandy?”
 
I rolled my eyes. “You know what I mean.”
 
“Maybe I was just admiring you from afar as I always have.” Revell merged onto the highway in the direction of Crossroads.
 
I snorted. “What’s Mandy’s excuse?”
 
Revell took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed the back of his neck. “She took Daddy’s death hard and she’s been busy with school there.”
 
“So for some reason, which you won’t explain to me, one of few people I consider a true and loyal friend came to live in my home town and she didn’t even want to see me?”
 
Revell sighed. “Since you didn’t come here when Daddy died, maybe she thought your friendship was over.”
 
“Is that what you thought? That our friendship was over?”
 
“We weren’t friends, Scarlett, don’t fool yourself into believing that!”
 
“Then I’d like to know what we were?” I countered angrily.
 
He wouldn’t look at me, and his voice was rough and tense when he spoke. “You knew I’ve wanted you in every way a man can want a woman since you were fifteen.”
 
“Friendship is better than nothing, especially when what you wanted to happen between us was completely inappropriate.”
“It was only wrong if it was one sided or if I’d acted on it when you were under age.”
 
“The summer I was fifteen and Mamaw found us in the deer stand you came pretty close to you going to jail.”
 
“The age of consent in Alabama is bit lower than it is up North.”
 
“You were twenty, it was a crush on an older man on my part. What was it on your part?”
 
Revell paused, turned, and looked me up and down. “It was I’m going to rot in hell because I want a minor or I’m going to die a slow death because I don’t believe I can live without her.”
 
I grumbled in disbelief, “And yet here you are perfectly healthy and happy.”
 
“You were the one who just said that I don’t smile the way I used to.”
 
I moved away from his ire closer to the door. “Are you blaming me?”
 
“I’m not blaming anyone, I’m just trying to tell you how I feel because you wouldn’t let me tell you back then, and you never came back to let me explain how it was.” Revell sighed. “Why didn’t you come when I wrote you?”
“I couldn’t.”
 
“Couldn’t or wouldn’t?”
 
“Couldn’t, Revell, couldn’t.”

 

Buy Stained on SMASHWORDS.
 
Add Stained to your GOODREADS want to read list!
 
About the Author: Windy City writer, Elizabeth Marx, brings cosmopolitan life alive in her fiction—a blend of romance, fast-paced Chicago living, and a sprinkle of magical realism. Elizabeth resides with her husband, girls, and two cats who’ve spelled everyone into believing they’re really dogs. She grew up in the city, has traveled extensively, and still says there’s no town like Chi-Town.
 

 
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER

Purchase Links: AMAZON |

Kristina Knight

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KristinaKnightGuestPic2

About author, Kristina Knight:  Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police—no, she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a journalist. When the opportunity to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at it. And she’s never looked back. Now she writes magazine articles by day and romance novels with spice by night. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband and four-year-old daughter. Happily ever after.

 INTERVIEW

Hi, Isabella! Thanks so much for having me here today!

It’s my pleasure having you back.  Now, for the interview:

You knew you were a writer when…:  I wrote my first book, over summer vacation when I was 12. It was a girl power version of The Three Musketeers, with a little romance thrown in for good measure!

Salty or sweet?  Ummm…yes?

What is the writing/editing/publishing process like for you?  Probably a little weird, but it works for me: as I’m developing a story idea I will create an outline of events…as soon as I start writing, that outline is blown out of the water, but its important for me at the beginning stages. I write first drafts fast, and many times they include things like [INSERT SEX SCENE HERE] or [THIS MOTIVATION IS CREEPY, FIX IT], those places are what second drafts are for! I’m still new to the publishing world, but usually a couple of rounds of edits, cover art suggestions and we’re ready to send a new book out into the reading space.

What message do you want to send to you readers?  That they can do/be/achieve anything they want. There are so many people, even people important to us, who poo-poo our ideas or goals. But if something is important to you, know that you can get to that goal. It takes a lot of hard work and determination sometimes, but you can get there.

How do you come up with the titles of your books?  Titles are a bear for me. Usually I send out a panicked email to my critique partners that says something like, “I can’t call this book HawtVetCowboy any more…what should I call it?” And we brainstorm and come up with ideas that my publisher changes anyway…

Where’s your favorite writing location?  I love Starbucks in the morning. Give me my iPad, a smoothie and lots of noise and I’m a happy writer.

Are any parts of your books based on anything true?  Kind of? A lot of times real-life happenings will inspire a scene or a conversation, but I’m careful not to ‘out’ the real-world inspirations…

What is your favorite word?  Kerfuffle. I love that word, it kind of dances off my tongue.

If you books were turned into movies, who would you want to play the parts?  This is a tough one! I always have ‘faces’ in mind as I’m writing, but I like the readers to be able to draw their own conclusions as to what the characters actually look like. But Scarlett Johannsen has been heroine inspiration for me a couple of times and so has David Gandy. I’ll let you all decide who and what books…

How was the social media helped your career?  Social media is great. It’s helped me connect with readers, build better relationships with other authors…and basically kept me sane. I’m a full-time writer with a little one at home, so I need an adult outlet now and then. And social media is usually that outlet.

Every writer must have…:  Sharpies! Sharpies! Sharpies! They’re good for everything: editing, outlining, storyboarding. Plus they come in fun colors.

Can you tell us about any upcoming projects?  I’ve just released my 3rd (and final, sob) Texas Girl book, What a Texas Girl Dreams…and my next book, Mr. Right Now will be out in the fall. It’s a fun, contemporary, vacation romance with a mistaken identity twist and I’m really excited about it!

Additional comments by Kristina:  Thank you so much for having me here today, Isabella! I’ll be hanging out all day, so if anyone has a question, shoot!

WhatATexasGirlDreams**Contact Kristina:

Website   Facebook   Twitter   Pinterest

My Thoughts on The Bachelor: Season 17

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Insert a guy who has a body that was made for TV who claims to be searching his wife, a lot of dramatic women and the rose that always lingers, and you’ve got season seventeen of The Bachelor.

I’ve never really been that girlie kind of woman who watches shows like The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.  Okay, yes, I did watch the one with Trista and Ryan (who are still together, by the way), but the show wasn’t believable back then, nor do I feel it is now.  Could it all be a fantasy?  Yes, quite possibly.  We only get to see what the cameras show us, which makes for better drama, quite a bit of viewer judgements (both good and bad), and of course, the feeling of being let on by The Bachelor or The Bachelorette.

When I was young, I wanted the fairytale, and I still do, but in order to have that and what the show doesn’t show is that couples have to work 100%/100% each day on their relationship.  If there were one thing about these shows is to show the couples working on their relationship instead of gallivanting around the country like two teens on spring break.  I’m not saying to take all the lovey-dovey stuff out, but make it more of a reality, hence isn’t that supposed to be “reality TV?”

And so, last night.  Oh, boy…

**SPOILERS AHEAD**

When Emily dumped Sean, I felt sorry for him.  While I liked Arie and Jeff who Emily picked in the end (but supposedly they’re not together anymore), it was obvious to me that he took the process very seriously and why not?  Okay, I was hooked, so I began watching Sean’s season, hoping that he’d find the love of his life.

After the first episode, Tierra was my favorite pick.  She certainly did have a “sparkle” about her.  When Sean gave her the first rose before knowing her for five minutes, I thought that she might be the one, however, that changed shortly afterward.  Falling down stairs (some think on purpose), jumping in freezing water and expecting Sean to dote after you and cause drama amongst the other women in the house, just didn’t work for her.  I’m glad that Sean finally saw through her and sent her home.  I guess it’s a good thing because in the episode of “The Women Tell All,” she’s engaged now to a guy who she claimed “they needed time away from each other.”  Hmm…

And then there’s Des, the wedding planner.  I loved her from the beginning.  She’s cute, fun and she looked like she belonged with Sean…but unfortunately, he sent her home.  I’d still love to know the reason, but I’m guessing that it has something to do with her brother.  I know I’d be upset with him for how he treated Sean.  Though there is good news, people — Des is the new Bachelorette, which begins this May!  Who’s going to be watching?  I know I will be!

Lindsay Yenter was the favorite between the final two.  She seemed the more genuine woman and more the Sean-type.  They didn’t seem fake and I liked her morals.  While she came out of the limo in a wedding dress and got drunk the first night, she quickly redeemed herself, but unfortunately not well enough to win Sean’s heart.  As I was watching the episode last night I was amazed at how classy and mature she acted when Sean told her that he wasn’t picking her.  I would have said the same thing…well, okay, I might have been a little more boisterous.  I also thought it was cool how she stopped and took off her shoes as she made her way back to the car walking away from Sean.  You go girl!  I like Lindsay Yenter and wish her the best of luck in life and in love!

And then there’s Catherine Giudici, the winner.  I never saw what he liked so much about her.  She seemed very immature and she brings Sean down with him.  She stayed under the radar for most of the show, but maybe that was what Sean wanted, a normal girl without a lot of drama…but I don’t see it that way.  Did Sean pick her because she didn’t want to leave him the night before the proposal?  I think so.  He seems like such a caretaker and wants to give, so I’m thinking that he let Lindsay go because he knew she can handle being without him.  She’s a survivor and Catherine’s not.  Hmm, just a thought…

I’d love to hear what y’all think of this!

Happy Monday, folks!

Viewer Discretion Advised

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Book Review for “Viewer Discretion Advised”

“Viewer Discretion Advised” by Cindy Roesel

When Charlene (Charley) gets fired from her job and moves to Miami to work as a news director at a local television station, she’s up for the challenge.  She soon realizes that her boss, Jonathan Lefton, will go to any extreme to get good ratings – no matter what.  After nude pictures are found of a female coworker, that’s just the beginning of her problems.  After meeting a very dirty cop who pulls her over, her life is turned upside down even more so!  Risking ratings for her show, will Charley risk her life to expose a crime or will she save a relationship with the one she’s sleeping with?

“Viewer Discretion Advised” was a quick read that was filled with TV drama, giving us a clear view of what it’d be like working in newscaster business!  Charley, Oz, the dirty cop, John, and Jonathan all played wonderful characters that kept the reader hanging.

I liked how Cindy’s writing was fast and quick, and there was action on each page.  She did a great job of defining characters, giving them have their own personality.  Though, I had a hard time defining between John and Jonathan (Lefton).  While their names weren’t the same and they had different personas, I would’ve made their names less similar.  I wasn’t really taken with Charley’s character, nor did I believe the way felt about her job or her friends, or especially her relationship with Oz.  As for the book seeming real, I believe it — news is everywhere!  There were also quite a few random sentences that just popped up out of nowhere and I had to reread the sentence (sometimes the paragraph) over again that didn’t make sense.

**POSSIBLE ENDING SPOILER BELOW**

Overall, I think that Cindy Roesel has nailed it by writing a book that gives us a reality into the life of what it’s like to be in the news industry.  There were parts that were funny, which gave off a lighthearted feel to the reader.  I give her a lot of credit for keeping me interested to see what Charley does, though would’ve liked to know the details about her job at the end and what’s said between her, Jonathan, and/or the other characters.

I give this book 3 1/2 out of 5 stars!

About the author:

Cindy Roesel is an Emmy Award winning television broadcast journalist. After working for twenty years in newsrooms filled with ambitious backbiting adrenalin junkies, she’s turning her experiences into novels.  Cindy lives in Miami with her shih tzu, Sassy.

**Contact Cindy:

Cindy Roesel

Thoughts on This ‘n That

Email: writeoncindy@yahoo.com

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**Buy “Viewer Discretion Advised!”

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Adding A Little “Hump” To Your Wednesday, Part II

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Last August I wrote THIS post.  By far, it’s been the highest blog views each day.  It’s something I didn’t expect.  Anyway, I wanted to add a second part, but this time being sexy in a different way.

My first thought was to show pictures of all hot men, but decided against it.  Instead, I’m going to show you some of my favorite movie couples.  Read THIS for a preview of a few.  While these aren’t always “sexy” couples, they share something that could be even more sexy – the passion these couples have for one another.

"Love Story"
"The Mirror Has Two Faces"
"P.S. I Love You"
"When Harry Met Sally"
"Pillow Talk"
"The Notebook"
"Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"
"Up"

What movie couples do you find sexy?

RELEASE BLITZ: “The Best Moments” by Elena Monroe

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Title: The Best Moments
Series: The Amherst Sinners #2
Author: Elena Monroe
Genre: Bully Romance
Release Date: August 20, 2019



Blurb

SAINT
College turned out to be my first everything.
Love.
Sex.
Heartbreak.
Betrayal.
Giving up and running home wasn’t an option.
My life was stained by absentee parents, a night of regret still haunting me, and living so controlled I barely felt anything, but white knuckles before I met Oliver. 
Least he was a stain I wore proudly.
One pretty face made me feel everything.
For that, all I wanted was to save Oliver from his past more than myself.
Isn’t that what unconditional love is?

SINNER
College was supposed to be my second chance.
I was working on my third.
I broke her heart in record time.
Everyone leaves and no one ever comes back. I knew that best. Even Layla.
The guilt of another regret weighted too heavy. So heavy, I invited my demons back in to soften the blow.
I added more mistakes to my bad reputation.
Everyone was right about me.
It was never my demons, she was never the cure, and I’m simply a pretty face with an ugly past.



Purchase Links

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





Also Available


99c for a VERY limited time!

AMAZON US / UK / CA / AU

Free in Kindle Unlimited





Author Bio

Elena Monroe grew up in Florida scribbling down stories from a very young age. These stories were really just wavy lines filling the paper, but she knew each word, each emotion, each character’s name, and there was no tricking her into forgetting what each line signified. Just like her unconventional way of writing as a toddler Elena is setting her own rules and just telling stories.

Much like her debut novel, The Best Years, life certainly imitated art. Transplanting from the South to the East Coast, Elena currently lives in Connecticut with her soon to be husband, reformed bad boy.

Find her on her social media through Twitter at @elenamonroe, Instagram at @elenamonroewrites, Facebook at @elenamonroewrites, and more!


Author Links