AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Jodi Thomas - Picnic in Someday Valley

 Good morning, friends.

I have been waiting months to share this post with you. PICNIC IN SOMEDAY VALLEY - the new release from Jodi Thomas - is finally available for purchase! Did you pre-order your copy? If you're read it, please remember to leave a review. I'd also love to hear your comment below.

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Picnic in Someday Valley is Book 2 of 3 in the Honey Creek series. 

I think one of the reasons I fell in love with this book is that, while anyone not knowing the behind the scenes or be familiar with Texas wouldn't notice, the setting resembles a town in the Texas Hill Country.  If you don't know by now, while I was born in Colorado, spent a large part of my life in central IL and now have retired to Missouri, Texas holds my heart. 

The story opens up with the Mayor, Piper Mackenzie, anxiously awaiting the arrival of her love interest, Colby McBride. We first met these two in the Book 1 - Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe. I loved that Jodi began by reintroducing these two before bringing on the other characters this story revolves around. She also brought in Marcie Latimer. Texas music is a genre all it's own and I was pleased to see Jodi shine the light on this part of the great state. FYI, while I'm sure Jodi doesn't reference any real place where Marcie sings, Luckebach (it's own zip code)  as well as Poodie's Hilltop Roadhouse (Spicer) would be fitting locales to find someone of Marcie's talent. 

Like pieces stitched together to create a warm, comforting quilt, Jodi Thomas brings smaller intricacies of the story together, forming a larger picture. Each piece compliments the others, taking us from one step to the next. Through the journey we find heartbreak, laughter and love - mirroring our own life while reminding us there is a happy ever after. 

I'm givng Picnic in Someday Valley -

While you're purchasing your copy of Picnic in Someday Valley, go ahead and Pre-Order Book 3 - Dinner on Primrose Hill

You'll find Jodi Thomas via the following Social Media links. She'd love to hear from you!

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   BOOK BUB 

GOODREADS    AMAZON

MONDAY MOTIVATION - #amwriting

 

Good morning, everyone!

As you read this, I am on the road for Iowa to meet my 'grandbabies'. Mia and Lia are four months old and I have yet to meet them. This is a quick trip but on the way home I'm stopping at a hotel for a couple of days so I can write. 

I am way behind on where I need to be with my word count. I'm hoping to amp that up in the coming days.

In the mean time, please come back tomorrow where I'll be sharing my review of  Jodi Thomas' new book:

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Samantha Chase & Ford (Book 7)

 Good afternoon, friends!

We have reached the end of the 7 Brides for 7 Soldiers series! Wow! The diversity in how each of these seven authors - Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase - each wrote a separate story while blending the collection together was nothing short of masterful.

Today's spotlight is on Samantha Chase.

Here's a bit about Samantha from her website:

Samantha Chase is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller of contemporary romance that’s hotter than sweet, sweeter than hot.  She released her debut novel in 2011 and currently has more than sixty titles under her belt – including THE CHRISTMAS COTTAGE which was a Hallmark Christmas movie in 2017!  When she’s not working on a new story, she spends her time reading romances, playing way too many games of Solitaire on Facebook, wearing a tiara while playing with her sassy pug Maylene…oh, and spending time with her husband of 28 years and their two sons in Wake Forest, North Carolina.

On to the series:

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

We've had glimpses of Ford Garrison throughout the series. We also saw that Eagle's Ridge is the last place Ford wanted to come back to for any extended length of time. Right down to the beginning hos his story when he thought this trip back to repair damage to his grandmother's house was a 'get in, get the job done, get out' kind of thing. He didn't count on the cute little kindergarten teacher, Callie Shaw, to give him a reason to stay. Well, you know what that reason is, right? It's the reason we read, and write, romance novels!

Unlike the previous six books, Ford's story wasn't about his struggle after leaving the military. Instead, we saw a real internal war with himself about the people he loved and a town he didn't feel like he had a connection to, other than those people. Nothing that made him want to stay and everything that kept him running away. 

I loved this story for lots of reasons. One in particular... while Ford and Callie do wind up in bed in the very beginning, Samantha Chase took her time taking us to the heat level. Slow and steady won this race for me. Maybe that's why I've enjoyed a lot of Samantha's books including one made into a Hallmark movie (which I've watched repeatedly)

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I've read and seen The Christmas Cottage, but I don't believe I've read the second in the series - Ever After - The Christmas Cottage Book 2. I'll have to fix that - maybe a Christmas in July?

Let's give this series, FORD in particular, a final ink & quil:

You will find Samantha Chase via the following links:

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   INSTAGRAM   TWITTER   YOUTUBE

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Cristin Harber & Noah (Book 6)

 Good morning, friends. 

I just could not finish the book last night. My eyes had looked at a screen as long as possible. So instead, I got up early, made cup of coffee and curled up on the sofa to finish Noah's story. Cristin Harber was another perfect choice for this seven-stsory collaboration.

Today, I'm shining the spotlight on Cristin Harber:

Here's a bit about Cristin from her website:

Cristin Harber is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling romance author. She writes steamy new adult, romantic suspense, and military romance. Readers voted her onto Amazon’s Top Picks for Debut Romance Authors in 2013, and her debut Titan series was both a #1 romantic suspense and military romance bestseller.

On to the series!

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

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While Noah's story didn't have the emotional tug we found in Jack's story (Book 5), the content shows Cristin understands what goes into a tactical operative and the 'checklist' of making sure all the boxes are ticked... whether you're talking about a SEALS mission, or making sure your new five-year-old charge has the perfect Halloween costume.  (just typing the last of that makes me smile!)

Noah is barely treading uncharted waters when he's thrust into the task of raising his best friend's young daughter, Bella. (We were introduced to Bella and the situation in Wyatt's story).  All of his military skills are called into play when he finds himself envisioning a family with Bella's best friend, Will and the young boy's mom, Teaden - who just happens to be the grade school counselor. Teaden and Noah are the perfect fit. They both are capable on their own but so much better together, as you will find out when you read their story.

Let's dip those quills....

You will find Cristin Harber via the following links:

WEBSITE   BLOG   FACEBOOK    AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE 

TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   YOUTUBE   PINTEREST

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Julia London - Jack (Book 5)

 Good morning, everyone!

I'm coming in a bit later this morning than I'd planned. I slept in later than normal, probably because I was up way past my bedtime swiping my kindle screen. Once I start reading one of these 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's books I can NOT put them down. I've been reading them from start to finish.

Today, we're shinging the spotlight on Julia London. 

Here's a bit about Julia from her website:

Julia London is the New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of more than thirty romantic fiction novels. She is the author of the popular  Cabot Sisters historical series, including The Trouble with Honor, The Devil Takes a Bride, and The Scoundrel and the Debutante. She is also the author of several contemporary romances, including Homecoming Ranch, Return to Homecoming Ranch and The Perfect Homecoming.

Julia is the recipient of the RT Bookclub Award for Best Historical Romance and a six-time finalist for the prestigious RITA award for excellence in romantic fiction.

She lives in Austin, Texas.

I love when author's take their bio to the next level. Make sure you check out her ABOUT page for  a 'more like Julia' bio. 

Julia wrote Jack's story in the series and I knew as soon as I hit a specific part in the story, this lady had to be a Texan. I also thought perhaps, she may have interviewed a friend of mine as part of her research. Maybe not, but as I read I seriously went 'Oh my God, this is Chuck's song' - a song by Texas musical artist (and he truly is an artist when it comes to songwriting - see my Interview with him HERE) Chuck Hawthorne and the story line of how Jack Carter came to have his struggle he needs to overcome in able to be with the woman he loves, 

A reminder about this series:

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

NOTE: Published in 2017

One of the best reviews you can give a book is to say this simple phrase: I could not put this book down! While the heroine, Whitney Baldwin, has her own struggle and tends to be a bit chatty, there's a reason. She tends to talk too much, and rapidly, when she's nervous. While I'm a big dialogue person, the chattiness bothered me until I understood why she talks too much at times.

Julia London did a superb job of getting into the soul of her character and his struggles with PTSD. I'm sharing a video by Chuck Hawthorne that while not talking about PTSD, does give us an incredible insight into what our men and women see over there. Things we don't even want to imagine and why so many come back troubled. Check out this video by Chuck:

As I've done with the previous books in this series:

Please check out Julia's BOOK PAGE to see a complete list of all her fabulous books! 

You'll find Julia London by following the links below:

WEBSITE   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   IG   PINTEREST   TUMBLR

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE   GOODREADS   

All my best!

~ Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image by pixabay contributor

Good morning, everyone!

I can not believe it's Monday again, already! Where does the time go?

Before I post what's going on this week, I do have to say I did not meet my writing goal last week. Trying to get too many things done around here and just flat wore out by the time I could sit and write. I am NOT a night person. I'd stop my day work around 4, eat supper, tidy up the kitchen. By then I didn't want to start writing because I knew the flow would get interrupted when Bob called around 6.  By 8, I am in bed to wind down for about an hour then hopefully, sleep the whole night through. I am usually up by 5 a.m. to start my day. Though, sleeping through the night is not something I do well anymore unless I take something. Zzquil is my friend about every other night.

As to talking with Bob, he is my real life hero. After 36 years of marriage, we still talk every day (signal allowing) when he's gone and we talk for an hour. I wait anxiously for him to retire when we can set a regular daily routine. Sadly, that isn't for another 20 months so must figure out how to make this work in the mean time.

He'll be home Wednesday night and there are several things I need to get done before he arrives. 

This week, I'll be finishing up the posting Author Spotlight/ Reviews for the 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's series. Those will run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. From there we can get back to the regular schedule postings.  If you've not read this series and love a quick read, this 7 Brides for 7 Soldier's is for you. 

While my word count is way off where I need to be, I'm okay with that. I finally made the final pass-through of Chapter 1. On to Chapter 2 tonight... part of which is roughly written so will be all about fine-tuning Katie's point of view and adding Marc's. 

I pretty much dumped last week's goals. I did do the interview with Jennifer Connor of Sugar Lily Bakery & Floral. Learned a ton of stuff helpful for bringing a realism to my story. The official title by the way - AN OZARKS HOMECOMING

I reverted back to a previous working title because I want to keep AN OZARKS in each of the four titles. Book 3 - AN OZARKS REUNION and Book 4 - AN OZARKS PROMISE (tentatively)

So here we go for this week:

GOALS

* Complete Chapter 2 and have direction for Chapter 3

*Rethink the blogging/ social media book for conference

*Contact future authors for Writer's Nest posts

*Continue office clean out

I will be bakc tomorrow wiht Book 5 of the 7- Brides for 7 Soldier's series where I will introduce you to Jack. I hope you'll come back and meet Julia London. 

All my best

~ Angela

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Lynn Raye Harris - Wyatt (Book 4)

 Good morning, everyone!

I am really enjoying 7 Brides for 7 Soldiers... though there is never an actual wedding - you just know there's one in the offing. 

Today, I'm shining the spotlight on Lynn Raye Harris

Here's a bit about Lynn from her website:

Lynn Raye Harris is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the HOSTILE OPERATIONS TEAM SERIES of military romances as well as 20 books for Harlequin Presents. A former finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award and the National Readers Choice Award, Lynn lives in Alabama with her handsome former-military husband, two crazy cats, and one spoiled American Saddlebred horse. Lynn’s books have been called “exceptional and emotional,” “intense,” and “sizzling.” Lynn’s books have sold over 3 million copies worldwide.

Lynn loves to hear from readers!

Lynn also has a great collection of articles specifically for WRITERS! Check them out HERE. 

Scroll down the sidebar and you'll see FOR WRITERS.

On to the series!

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

AMAZON

Lynn wrote Wyatt's story in the 7 Brides for 7 Soldiers collection.  I think my favorite part was she opened up with what troubles Wyatt then later, with all the friends he has, it's sassy little Paige that gets him to open up. Lynn peels back the layers of Paige, letting us see who she is at her core a little at a time, while letting Paige be the one that helps Wyatt to heal. Lynn really works in the military aspect in a lot of her phrasing. Watch for them as you read. Then there's Mr. Fluffypants... but I'll let you discover him for yourself. lol

My daughter and her family live in WA state. I get a lot of pictures but none of them really bring the state to life the way these authors do by bringing us in to Eagle Ridge. I don't know if any of them have ever been to Washington or have just done internet research then created this magical 'Mayberry' town. Either way, I look forward to the remaining three books in the series and will be reading more from all of these authors.

Her most recent release is another collab:

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HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO is FREE on Amazon Kindle as of this posting!

You know what's coming... LOL

I'm giving Wyatt's story

    

You will find Lynn on the following links.

WEBSITE   BLOG   FACEBOOK   TWITTER   INSTAGRAM   

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE   GOODREADS

All My Best

~Angela

AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT & REVIEW - Christie Ridgway - Zane (Book 3)

 Good afternoon, everyone!

I'm having to change up my scheduling just a bit so bear with me, please. 

From now on the Author Spotlight will be combined with the Book Review by that author. This will free up Wednesdays for me to showcase things from my current book, release information, etc without having to post on the weekends. 

This week, we are shining the spotlight on Christie Ridgway. Christie wrote the third book in the 7 Brides for 7 Soldiers series (released in 2017. More about the book in a moment.

Here's a bit about Christie from her website:

Christie Ridgway is a California native and author of over forty contemporary romances. A six-time RITA finalist and USA Today bestselling author, she writes sexy, emotional reads starring determined heroines and the men who can’t help but love them. Married to her college sweetheart, Christie lives in Southern California in a house filled with boys and pets. She writes as an escape from sports equipment, football on TV, and dog hair. Order Soma online , buy valiums,overnight tramadol, buy soma online, cheap soma

Make sure to check out the ABOUT page on her website for some fun facts about Christie!

Christie wrote Zane's story for the collection. I fell in love with Zane... maybe because my real life hero/ husband is also a big guy. One night as we stood in line to see a movie, a little boy in front of us turned around, took one look at Bob then turned back to his mom - 'Mom, there's a giant behind us!'  Mind you, Bob is only 6'4" but seemed larger than life to that young man.

Fall in love with seven sexy and irresistible soldiers who find their courage and heart tested like never before in the battle for love! This multi-author collaborative series of contemporary romance novels is brought to you by bestselling authors Barbara Freethy, Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Ridgway, Lynn Raye Harris, Julia London, Cristin Harber and Samantha Chase. You won't want to miss a single one!

NOTE: Published in 2017

In the story, Zane Tucker sees himself as an oversized, clumsy person, yet he's quite athletic as Christie shows us in various situations. Toss in a large dog that could use some serious obience school (we were introduced to Gambler in Book 1) and Harper Grace, the cute librarian with an agenda of her own. You will laugh right along with Zane and Harper as well as the recurring cast in ZANE.

I've giving all of the books in this series:

Christie's newest release is Book 5 in the 7-Stud Club series: 

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You can find out more about Christie and all of her books by going to her WEBSITE

Please check out all of Christie's social media links below:

Facebook   Twitter   Amazon Author   Instagram 

Goodreads   Bookbub   Audible   Pinterest