REVIEW WEDNESDAY - Once Upon A Royal Christmas: A Sweet Holiday Romance

 Good morning, readers!

I'm excited to kick off the Christmas in July series today with a book by previously featured author; USA Today Bestselling author, Robi Bielman.

AMAZON

Once Upon A royal Christmas is Book 2 in the Palotay's of Montana series. We met the family last week with Book 1. 

BLURB:

After a cringeworthy first encounter, Rowan Palotay hopes she’s seen the last of Prince Theodore Chenery. But fixing her mistake garners even more attention from the prince, and when he requests she be his reporter for a news story, she can’t say no.

Prince Theo is completely enchanted with Rowan and finds her special brand of kindness and honesty impossible to ignore. Back home, his choices are made for him, but here in this small town where his mother grew up, he feels connections he never has before. And the more time he and Rowan spend together, the more he wants her—all of her.

When obligations back home take a turn he didn’t see coming, he’s ready to stake his claim. But when his father and the media get wind of his relationship with Rowan, Theo must decide whether to follow his heart or his royal duty.

Once I got into the story, I really enjoyed the ease of which we saw a 'royal' be like normal people - in this case, we really saw Theo's mom in him. 

At first, for me at least, there seemed to be a dump of information I felt could have been shown in a smaller bite. But again, that's just me. Some readers enjoy the deeper dive up front.  But as the story progressed, Robin did an excellent job of peeling back the layers of the heroine, Rowan. She is memorable, for sure. A little moody, speaks her mind and pretends not to be afraid of what other people will think.  

I also loved how Rowan's character brought Prince Theo out, making him comfortable. The way she did the interview over the course of days while showing him the town his mother loved so much was creative on both Rowan and the author's part.

My only contention with the story is actually part of the title. A Sweet Holiday Romance. While the overall tone is very sweet and loving, I don't equate 'sweet' and  'visual lovemaking scenes' to mean the same thing. When I think sweet, I think Harlequin. And, while a few of Robin's books have been made into Hallmark ( I need to look for those this month), this one didn't fit the advertising bill with me. 

For that alone, I'm giving ONCE UPON A ROYAL CHRISTMAS: A Sweet Holiday Romance... 

.8

You'll find out more about Robin by following any of the links below:

WEBSITE    FACEBOOK   INSTAGRAM   TWITTER-X   GOODREADS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE

All my best!

~ Angela

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.

AMAZON

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 - 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

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image By Pixabay Designer

Good morning, everyone!

Wow, this is going to be a really busy week.  This is my last full week before Bob comes home for the next twenty-one days. As most of you know, I don't do a lot of work when he's home so this is cram week.

I know I dropped the ball on some book reviews. I'm going to run those this week and next with link-backs to the coordinating Author Spotlights, then next week we'll be back on track, so be prepared for back-to-back reviews.

Just a reminder that Jodi Thomas' Book 2 in the Honey Creek series, Picnic In Someday Valley releases April 27th. My review for that will run on a special SUNDAY REVIEW. In the meantime, the book is up for PRE-ORDER so go grab your copy and let's compare notes. By the way, Pre-order price is at a 26% discount! 

I'm way behind on Camp Nano but at least I'm finally in the story. I found my wings, so to speak, in setting the scene with Marc receiving the news they've found his grandfather's remains from the Korean War. As I type this I realize what is missing from that chapter so I'll have to work that in this evening.

My heroine, Katie, has a dream of opening her own bakery in Eureka Springs. That is her driving force since fate seems to have people walking away from her. She feels the bakery will be her one constant in her life. Today, I'm meeting with Jennifer Connor of Sugar Lily Bakery and Floral to get an inside look at what goes in to opening a bakery. 

For the past two years I've done a lot of research on military transfer and handling of remains. One thing I hadn't thought about was the way they get from Point A to Point B then to their final resting place. I've found some helpful videos (what did we do before YouTube University?!) on the inside look of a Boeing C-17 transport. Times like this is when I could fly to WA state to see my daughter and her family. She has an inside track with Boeing that I'm sure could get me an actual walk-on. Oh well, YouTube will have to do. 

GOALS:

* hit 20k on An Ozarks Homecoming

* continue to tweak a workbook on blogging/ social media that I want to sell at OCW

       (coordinates with the two sessions I'm presenting at the conference)

* get more stuff put away in the office so I can stop working 

at the dining room table when Bob is gone.

I don't have a Writer's Nest post for this month. Hopefully, I can get some authors in here for the rest of the year. I will admit I've not worked on that much the past few weeks but I do have some lining up - an entire series from a really strong critique group. Mid-South Writers Group of Cassville now have a more of a social media presence than just Facebook so I want to give them a boost.

I did look into putting a word count meter on my sidebar. I did not find one that wanted to play nice with blogger. If you have you that you like, please let me know in the comments below. I know there used to be one.. I used it when I first started the blog. My next step is to look up the one I used (should be in my password book) to see if that one is still available.

In the mean time, I'm off to discover things and get back to my characters.

All my best

~Angela

MONDAY MOTIVATION - Setting Goals

 

Image By Pixabay Designer

Good afternoon, everyone!

I'm a bit late coming to the party today because, well, I've been working! I just wasn't working on these blog posts. I'm here now, so let's talk about what's different.

For starters, I'm no longer using, TOP 3. If you liked that type of posting, please leave a comment and let  me know. I can always revert back. In the mean time, I think this new path covers the subject.

Next, whenever I use a pixabay image, I will post a link to the creator (not just pixabay but the artists page). Please check out their work if you're ever in need of some cool graphics. While they are free, take a moment to buy them a cup of coffee and link to them as well. That really helps their SEO standings.

Finally, but by no means less important, are my GOALS for the week.

Each Monday, I check in with my buddy, Jen Nipps (jennippsonline) where we share our Top 3 for the week. Later (when we remember) we check in on Wednesday for a progress report then again on Saturday as to how our week went. That is what started the Top 3 posts here on the blog. But I'm switching things up a bit... partly for the SEO thing. 

If you don't know, SEO means Search Engine Optimization. Basically, all about how you fall in ranking when someone searches for a specific topic. I don't thnk Top 3 is going to rate as well as Motivation or Goals. The content of the post won't change a lot, just how I present the information.

I have four major goals this week... actually for the next two since Bob is gone for two more FULL weeks. 

* Blog Posts for April & May

*Collab Projects for YouTube

*Book 2 of Planned to Perfection Series

*Garden - spring planting

I've already been back to work on the manuscript. Whether I feel up to it or not, I sit and work for at least an hour. Not near as much as I need to hit my release date but that is a start. ... Far more then I've been doing the past two years. I've had more than one request for Book 2. Time to get it out there.

I'll see about putting a word count bar over on my side bar but not tops on my priority list right now. The sun is still shining and there are onions to plant.

Remember to leave a comment below!

Also, if there is an author who's WRITER'S NEST you'd like to peek into, let me know in the comments or by using the contact form and I'll do my best to get them to open their door for a visit.

All my best

~Angela

FINDING A GROOVE

I have to tell you, after so much time off finding that groove hasn't been easy. But as I sit at the table this morning with the laptop and cup of coffee, various planners surrounding the perimeter, I feel as if I might accomplish something.

Korean War Monument

I dug into the research on a now titled Book 2 last week as I'd planned. One night I hit a speed bump so sent a text to my sister. She's a good writer and amazing when it comes to research. No matter how hard I tried (okay with the exception of the one avenue she used) I could not find out any information about the high school situation in Eureka Springs in the 1940s-50s. I needed to know if Daniel had gone to high school in Eureka Springs? Were they going all the way to Berryville?

Details are important in ANY writing. Even if you do not use everything from your research in the story (and you never do), you just know something is going to come up in conversation between a couple of your characters and you'll need that gem to bring realism to the scene.

This story is as much about Cpl. Daniel L. Sterling as it is about Katie and Marc. Things they learn about the past will help them repair and rebuild the love they once knew.

I'm still contacting authors about spotlights. Hope to have those rolling by the first Tuesday in March.

Happy Reading!