A YouTube video fiasco, a hurricane and the threat of losing her aunt’s inn leaves Maddie Henries with no choice but to trust Cole Harrell.
Cole isn’t a bad guy. He just has the misfortune of being kin to the man who her sister’s heart.
An enemies to lovers romance, this holiday story will make you believe anything is possible at Christmas. https://books.bookfunnel.com/holidayone/hj4s43yyey
Needing romantic comedy more and more in my life right now with everything going on in the world, I turned to Avery Flynn’s Awk-weird. This delightful story of misfits who find their place and create a family is more than a romance, it’s about friendship and teammates, and yes, it’s about finding that one person who completes you. When Tess Gardner ends up a wallflower at her best friend’s wedding rehearsal, she inadvertently draws the attention of one the groom’s Ice Knight teammates. She’s not his usual type, cute, not sexy gorgeous but when they team up against some of the other players in a trivia game, they wipe the floor with the guys until Tess gets concerned about taking the rookies’ money.
After a night of riotous sex, Tess is nearly late for the wedding. She gives Cole an out by telling him they’d been wedding-ed and what happened wasn’t their fault. But when they realize the expiration date on the condoms they’d used turned their one-night stand into something more, they’re forced to take a second look at each other. Could they find their forever person with one another? Busted pipes and a leaking ceiling has Tess in Cole’s guestroom messing up his well-ordered life. Cole likes things to always be one way but with Tess around things never go the way he expects and maybe, just maybe, that’s a good thing.
I loved this story, laughing and crying and swooning right alongside the pair as they navigate romance in reverse.
Secret Heir Seduction by Reese Ryan
There was a time I thought Harlequin Romances were passe`. I believed billionaire romances were not my style. Reese Ryan has defied all my beliefs. Y’all know I’m a fan. Even tropes and genres I thought I didn’t like Reese has showed me my error. The truth is a good story is a good story and that’s what Reese Ryan gives us again and again.
Secret Heir Seduction starts right off with the action. Darius Taylor-Pratt is a self-made man, he started his activewear company Thr3d from a dream and hard work. Learning he is the secret heir to a billionaire turns his world sideways. Learning who his father is only half the surprises he’ll face in the first few pages. It’s what I really love about this story, within a few pages we’ve learned who Darius is, some of his backstory and we’re thrown into his drama, and by chapter two we’ve met Audra, his former lover and boy oh boy do sparks fly. If that doesn’t make you want to read this book, then let me tell you they are one sexy couple in a town of sexy couples. Reese Ryan has peopled her story with secondary characters who add spice and diversity to the setting and story. We get a little taste of several other romances and family dramas going at the same time giving us a rounder view of the town of Royal.
This is a second chance love story. If you like hot, sexy, characters with deep emotional scars and strong ethics, then you’ll love Reese Ryan’s stories. Each book becomes my new favorite, but I think this one will be hard to beat.
The Forbidden Duke by Darcy Burke Narrated by Marian Hussey
Second chances at a happy ever after don’t come around every day. For spinster Miss Eleanor Lockhart, suddenly homeless and in need of a situation, it is like a fairy tale come true when her new employer decides to re-launch her into society. Eleanor lost her chance for happiness as a young girl when a rogue ruined her and left her to take the brunt of society’s punishment. Ten years later, the leader of the gang of rakes and rogues, now reformed, has been commissioned by his stepmother to assist Eleanor in becoming the angel of the ton.
Titus St. John, Duke of Kendal, is the Forbidden Duke. After years of debauchery, he changed to become the man his father would be proud of, unfortunately, it was too late for Miss Eleanor’s reputation. What started out as a favor for his beloved stepmother quickly turns to something more. Who is saving whom in this lovely Cinderella story of second chances?
Darcy Burke does an excellent job of showing weakness without making her characters weak. We all have our flaws, but we do not have to be defined by them. This was definitely a story I would listen to over and over again, and a series I want to read in its entirety.
The end of a decade. As we prepare to ring in the new year and the new decade, I find myself looking back over the past ten years. So much has happened in such a short time.
After winning the Ann Peach Award in 2009 and joining Romance Writers of America, I started truly thinking about being a published writer ending the last decade on a creative high.
In January 2010 we lost our home to fire. While this was mind-numbingly devastating it wasn’t the worst that could have happened. It may seem that this decade started with tragedy but with every bad blow we were also given a blessing.
The night after the fire I went with my daughter-in-law to the hospital, it was the last chance she’d have to tour the hospital before our grandson Harley was born. My son, and her husband (at the time) was stationed overseas and trying his best to get home before the birth of his son. We lost nearly everything in that fire, but we walked away with our lives and a few short weeks after, we gained a grandchild.
When I think of all we lost, it’s not the Christmas presents we haven’t replaced that fill me with regret but those items that can never be replaced: the horse whip that belonged to my husband’s grandfather from his time in the wild west show, or the quilt his maternal grandmother made, my baby sister’s baby shoes, my children’s baby books, photo albums and high school annuals.
But both sons who were living with us at the time, are still alive. The youngest whose room was in flames had to leap from his bed to the stairwell, became a firefighter. Our other son has always been someone we could call if we needed anything. The fire was devastating but many blessings came out of it.
We stayed a few months with my parents. It was stressful at the time. I wasn’t sleeping good. I was having nightmares and the added stress of trying to conform to someone else’s schedule made it more difficult. Adding to the stress was the fact that my daughter-in-law wasn’t happy living in such a rural environ with two small children. She was ready to get back to Savannah and her life and friends. I was thankful for the time with my family but there were days I was barely functioning.
Our community were a great asset to us. People brought us clothes, household goods, and money to help us during this time. Moving into our present home that spring was thanks in large part to the physical help of my sister-in-law and her family and to the financial help of our friends, family and community. With each blow there has been a blessing, most times the blessings have outweighed the trauma.
On New Year’s Day 2011, my dad was found dead in his bathroom. The EMTs believed he suffered an aneurism and died suddenly. His death was followed by the birth of our granddaughter Ava. My son calls the day of the funeral, he’s not going to be able to be a pallbearer, he’s on his way to the hospital with his wife. He tried to convince us that as soon as she had the baby, he’d come to the funeral, but I knew my daddy would prefer he stay with his wife and child.
In the spring of 2011, Mom, my youngest son, oldest grandson and myself went to Savannah to visit. We spent a week with my Army son and his family. We explored downtown, Tybee Island and went on a ghost walk. I want to go back again.
Late in the season, we had our first hurricane. It was the first since my daddy died and I insisted my mom come stay with us. It didn’t seem all that bad, it was down to a category one. Hurricane Irene destroyed my parent’s home with flood waters and devastated our community. We had several rescues the night of the hurricane, our niece and her family and a couple of friends. When mom and I went to check on her place I was shocked to see the damage. The tide waters had been pushed ashore through two high tides, flooding even the church which was on the highest piece of land in the community.
My sons came with a generator and began helping us sort through the salvage in Mom’s house. The fire was easier, there was nothing left to sift through. This loss was probably harder than any other because everyone was going through something at this time and there was no one to offer comfort. Everyone was overwhelmed and exhausted.
Just when we’re returning to some sort of normal, later that year, my mother, who was living with us at the time, fell and broke her hip. 2011 was not a very good year for us but we did get a new granddaughter.
2012 Vietnam Homecoming with my father-in-law and started writing articles for the Pamlico News. My first stories were interviews of Vietnam Veterans and their families. I was also able to follow my youngest son around the track for track and field and use my role as reporter to promote my community and special interest. Many of the stories I covered while writing for the paper inspired my fiction.
The next few years were a blur of babies, weddings, separations, divorces and graduations. Blake graduated from Pamlico High School. Dustin got his master’s degree from East Carolina University. Aries graduated from Pamlico Community College. My in-laws, Wayne and Verna’s celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary 2014
.
In the past ten years we’ve been blessed with Trinity whose big sister Alijah came along when her mom married into the family. Sophia, followed in close succession by two sisters, Sabrina and Carol to parents Chris and Shannon also married in this decade. Conner whose brother Cody and sister Hailey joined the family just ahead of him, along with their mom Brandi who married my soldier son, Jason, who is now a civilian. We have another Brandy, making three Brandies for one family (my niece Brandy informs me she was the first and our first baby girl), and a Sherry (spelled with an I) but then I do work at the ABC store. What does ten years look like? Well, coming into this decade we had five grandchildren, only one a granddaughter, and at the close of this decade we have 20 grandchildren, standing about half and half. The third Brandy in the family just gave birth to a handsome little boy, Jessie David and he was greeted by big sister Sylvia who is two and half years older but rules the roost. Our youngest son, Blake married Katelynn Scott and they have two boys Elijah and Kaysen.
I met Louise Penny at a book signing in Fearington Village when I went on a girls’ trip with Marni Graff and friends.
Became chairperson for the Pamlico Writers’ Group in 2015.
2016 I had my first stories published in a book, the Pamlico Writers’ Anthology, “A Carolina Christmas,” and had my first book signing.
Published my first book in 2017, “Chrome Pink” and had my first solo book signing.
Went to my first Comicon in 2017. I even dressed up. We had a lot of fun.
In 2018 I published my second book, White Gold and in 2019, I’ve published two books, Titanium Blue and Evergreen Crystals. I’ve also had two novellas published with The New Romance Café anthologies, Love in Bloom and a historical in Kisses and Other Scandalous Pastimes.
Gave my first writer’s talks in 2019 and published my fourth book.
So much more has happened in the past ten years. We’ve lost good friends. Buried friends and husbands of friends, my great aunts and a few cousins. We’ve gained weight, lost weight, turned gray and turned loose. Some of us aren’t as mobile as we were before but those that are left keep marching on. As difficult as the first of this decade was, I still believe it’s been a good one. I miss my dad and friends who have passed on. I mourn them but life goes on and I don’t think they would want us to stop living.
As 2020 peers around the edge of 2019, I’m working on my next novel, Red Steel which is part of the Leeward Files series and a bridge for my new series, The Harrell Family Chronicles. I’ve also had a historical series on the back burner for years I want to start working on. It’s going to be a busy year but I’m looking forward to it. I plan to spend as much time as possible with grandchildren and family, writing and reading good books, and just enjoying each day. Remember we are not guaranteed tomorrow, the past is done, today is a gift that is why it is called the present. Have a happy new year.
May your 2020 be amazing!
Tirza Schaefer, it is great to have you at my Creekside Café, this is my virtual café where I meet the most interesting people from all over the world. If I ever win the lottery it would be my dream job, a place to write, drink coffee and talk to other writers and readers.
Tirza: That sounds absolutely beautiful! I’ll be a regular guest there!
Sherri: Tell me a little about yourself. Where are you from?
Tirza: I am from Germany and live outside of Cologne in a small city with a name no one who isn’t German can pronounce. It’s like a suburb here, lots of green, gardens and cats and dogs and children. I like to post my coffee quite often on my Instagram or on Facebook. I love to sit on my patio, overlooking the garden with my laptop, coffee and often the cat beside me and work there. I call that my summer office.
I am a mother of 3 wonderful children, a boy, 20, and two girls, 17 and 12. My son left for university already and will study history and archaeology. We also have a cat, an Arabian Mau that was flown in from Dubai. Taani is very talkative, spoilt and loved to abandon, but she is also so loving and devoted herself. We are so blessed to have her as part of our family, and I am so blessed with my children whom I’ve raised all by myself from birth.
Sherri: Have you ever been to the United States, especially the east coast? My imaginary café is on the Inner Banks of the Pamlico Sound which is in eastern North Carolina. We just dodged a hurricane though our neighbours on the Outer Banks weren’t as lucky. There is something beautiful about a storm though after being through several very bad hurricanes, it is difficult to separate the destruction from the beauty. How is the weather where you are? I always think of England as raining but that’s not true, is it?
Tirza: Last things first, England does have a lot of rain and clouds but when the days are sunny and bright, it’s beautiful! I love the UK, anyway. I used to live there in the 90s and studied at university. Tourism related. I never actually worked in that field as I had my children straight after and moved back to Germany, mainly being a full-time mum with a few stints at various offices before I started my own business.
Sherri: Oops, I misspoke, I thought you were from England. I’m sorry. But you studied in England, I cannot even imagine. I dropped out of college after my first year to have my oldest son.
Tirza: I’ve travelled to the US twice in my life and if I had the money, I’d go a few times more. It was beautiful each time and the country is so vast, you really have to travel around to see it all. I also have friends in Canada I’d like to visit one day as well. When I was 16, I was on a student exchange to Snowqualmie, near Seattle, WA, and when 2 of my 3 children were born already, my middle one still being a baby, we went to visit a friend in LA, Long Beach. I didn’t see that much as I had young children with me, so we spent most of the day at the playground, which was lovely, as everyone was so nice, but we did see some things and it was a perfect visit of relaxation which I needed after giving birth and the first few months of sleepless nights.
Sherri: I’ve never been to the west coast of the US but have a grandson in California and a niece in Seattle, Washington area. I’ve not travelled very much myself and especially not after having children.
I remember those sleepless nights after babies. I raised six sons, gave birth to three. I tell my daughters-in-law to sleep when the babies do, the house will wait.
Tirza: My current partner is a US Army veteran who lives in Germany. He is originally from Pittsburgh and by far the most mature, most responsible, caring and attentive, gentlemanly man I have ever met in my life! They don’t make them over here! I am so lucky, he decided to stay after he left the Army and our life paths crossed eventually. I smile every time I think of him.
Sherri: I have been to Pittsburgh, for a writer’s conference. Its beautiful but the traffic is scary. I’m from the country where a traffic jam consists of three cars and a tractor.
Tirza: The weather in Germany where I live is pretty muddy in general, rainy and cloudy, but lately, we had a dry spell and it’s been sunny, so the summer was quite lovely most of the time.
I love thunderstorms but ours are not as destructive, so we can concentrate more on the beauty of it all. I hope you didn’t suffer any damages.
Sherri: We were blessed this year and suffered only some wind damage and power outage. My deep freezer died, and I lost a lot of food but all in all, we were so lucky. Our neighbours to the east had a lot of flooding as well as wind damage.
Germany weather sounds a lot like North Carolina, a lot of rain and mud, a dry sunny spell then more rain and mud. This week has been fantastic, sunny with a bit of a breeze, not much humidity.
Tell me about your books. According to your bio, you cannot be contained in a box. You write in more than one genre, what is your favourite style of writing? Do you consider yourself a romance author?
Tirza: I would definitely consider myself a romance author – amongst other things. Fact is that out of my 24 books, 20 are romance novels and one is a collection of romantic poetry. So yes, can’t deny that part of me. However, I can’t really say I prefer one over the other. If I had to always write in the same genre, I’d be bored and uninspired, I am sure. I love that I can write a romance novel and hop over to do some research online to write an article on a Goddess or a Power Animal. So I’d say, books are romantic fiction mainly and articles and blogs are mostly spiritual.
However, one definitely touches the other. When I write a romance novel, I work in a Goddess archetypal scenario so the spirituality is mostly hidden beneath the layers of storyline. You can only really see it when you know what to look for but at the same time, it teaches you without being a teaching manual, through the story alone. Other times, my spirituality is more blatantly exposed, as in Snake Goddess Rising, or in Balcony Above the Sea, where the female MC tells a gay man how exactly being gay is absolutely natural and divine. It’s quite logical.
Sherri: It sounds very loving and reaffirming.
Your website is very interesting, but it isn’t just about your books, tell us about your meditation. How does your meditation and beliefs factor into your writing?
Tirza: Meditation in itself is a practice that helps you ground, focus, heal and calm yourself. To write on archetypes like Goddesses, Gods and Power Animals or even Tarot cards, is something that helps me personally a lot to explore, understand and heal my own psyche and through writing about these archetypes, I explain how it can work to others. Archetypes are personifications of certain aspects of your psyche. For example, Ganesha, the Hindu elephant God is the symbol for your inner strength, Aphrodite teaches you femininity and self-love, and so on. Tapping into their specific energies can connect you to them within yourself and show you where you still need to work on yourself.
I am also an Usui Reiki Master and founder of Goddess Reiki. Reiki is an energy healing modality that works with laying on hands but can also be projected across time and space. Furthermore, I am an intuitive reader, I work with oracle cards, tarot, pendulum, my own Goddess Oracle I made myself and I also channel messages straight without any “tools.” It all depends on the mood of the day and circumstances. I allow my intuition to guide me and follow it without question. I’ve learned in a painful manner that not listening to your inner voice can have terrible consequences. It is important to cultivate a good relationship with and to trust your inner voice, your intuition unconditionally.
Sherri: While our religious beliefs may be a bit different, there are similarities in our core. I agree, it is important to listen to your inner self, we often know what is best for us but sometimes we want what we know isn’t good for us. As my grandmother would say, hindsight is 20/20, too bad you didn’t know it first.
You don’t care to cook, or you only like to cook when you have something else to entertain you? I love to cook but it is more fun with an audiobook or YouTube interview going, or someone else to cook with. I enjoy cooking with my sons and daughters-in-law. I have six sons, four enjoy cooking. Do you cook with your children? Do you have a favourite recipe?
Tirza: I definitely like cooking together a lot more than doing it alone. However, our kitchen is unfortunately so small that only one at a time can comfortably prepare anything there, so it is very anti-social. In the old apartment, we had a bigger kitchen, which I loved, but there was a bedroom less and no garden, so we sacrificed on the kitchen for the many benefits we gained. But I do miss having a large kitchen.
Favourite recipe? Probably pasta or rice with vegetables, seitan and spicy tomato sauce. You can vary it according to which vegetables you have and as long as you season and spice it nicely, it’s always a delicious treat. We’re a vegetarian household and we love seitan a lot more than tofu. It is made from wheat protein and harder, as well as stronger in taste, as it is usually marinated in vegetable brine. Very tasty.
Sherri: I’m not familiar with seitan but my oldest daughter-in-law is Cambodian, and she has introduced me to many different types of food, including tofu, which I am not a fan of.
I cooked a lot of pasta meals when the boys were all home and still do when they are in for visits.
Do you have other hobbies? Do these show up in your writing?
Tirza: I used to dance quite intensely for years when I was younger. Ballet, jazz and modern dance mainly. Once in a while that shows, and sometimes a female MC will do a special sensual dance for the man she loves in one of my books. I find many things interesting, I’m a bit of a nerd and so like to read up on things I come across that I want to know more about. I cycle and walk a lot more than driving in a car, too. Once in a while I feel like painting, colouring in or crafting, but that happens maybe once or twice a year and I am not good at it. However, it’s about the feel-good-factor and it certainly serves that purpose then.
Sherri: I used to do a lot of crafting, painting and sewing but it seems writing has become a second job and there is little time for anything else.
Who or what has been the greatest influence on your writing?
Tirza: Jane Austen and William Shakespeare. When I lived in London back in the 90s, I read Pride and Prejudice and just when I’d finished the book, having mental orgasms over the language, the way she writes, the BBC showed the 4-part version of it with Colin Firth. What a man! Swoon! I was done for. I bought the video and watched it several times a week for years. I had to buy a couple of new ones before I got it finally on DVD and the tape could no longer wear out. It became less with motherhood, but I can still talk along most of it.
From Jane Austen, as well as William Shakespeare, I learned that the most important thing in writing isn’t even the most eloquent language, even though both authors’ works possess it, but that you have to touch people’s hearts with your writing to make it immortal. I don’t want to be remembered for the most eloquent language expert. I want people to remember how I made them feel when they read my books. I want to touch their hearts and find a place there for good. To me, that is what a truly successful writer does.
Sherri: That is a great way to measure success. I like it.
If you could help someone else on the journey to be a published author, what would you tell them?
Tirza:
Sherri: That is fabulous insight Tirza. I need to print it out and post it on my mirror in my bathroom so I will see it every day.
Like me, your family is an important part of who you are.
Tirza: Yes, family is very important to me, so I decided to have a family alliteration, all starting with T to ensure my children grew up with a sense of belonging and family loyalty. My son’s name is Tajun, my daughters are called Tarjani and Tarini. It worked, too.
I’ve always been a bit of a rebel in my quest to find and voice the truth, not agreeing to keep quiet about dysfunctional patterns or avoiding taboo subjects. It wasn’t always an easy path, but it has, ultimately, been a rewarding one. I have not only gathered knowledge but gained wisdom. Ultimately, I am forging my path ever more along the lines I want it to travel.
One thing I would never change is my love for writing. My youngest daughter has inherited this passion and talent from me and writes stories already. This year, in January, I have suffered a burnout and subsequently had a long journey of healing that is by no means at an end. I found it quite challenging, not to be able to write, focus and retain information in my mind, forgetting and confusing more, the more I struggle against my condition.
It took me months to surrender to the healing process and first I was able to read again, not only watch TV and listen to audiobooks, then I started to write another article and managed to finish it. With all challenges, giving up has never been an option. I love what I do and how I make people feel. I’ll never give up on shining my light and encouraging and empowering others to shine theirs.
Website
Tirza’s Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/author/tirzaschaefer
Facebook Fanpage
Divine Writings by Tirza Schaefer
https://www.facebook.com/DivineWritingsTS/
Facebook Groups
Creations from The Heartspace
https://www.facebook.com/groups/CreationsfromtheHeartspace
Tirza’s Spiritual Advertising Group
https://www.facebook.com/groups/tirzasspiritualadvertising/
Tirza’s Bookstore
https://www.facebook.com/groups/TirzasBookstore/
Tirza on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/tirzaschaefer/
Tirza on Twitter
https://www.twitter.com/tirzaschaefer/
Tirza on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrI5PygTpxeYqcQPXFgdOKQ
Tirza on Tumblr
https://tirzaschaefer.tumblr.com
How Picasso Makes You A Genius
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1545092540
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LNLMB8I
This is my only published children’s book and it was inspired by a conversation I had with my youngest daughter Tarini when she was 8 years old. Knowing that children learn best when having fun and enjoying themselves, I brought the humour I teach her with into this book. So don’t be surprised when you are being catapulted from the racetrack to a cave and into the kitchen with a stopover in Rome.
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546367624
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00VI0J6QK
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546823972
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B072PPHTT3
Romance Books with Mature Content
The following books contain mature content of a sexually explicit nature, some contain mild graphic violence. HEA (Happily Ever After) is guaranteed!
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1548186597
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077H3XQ51
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542608724
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012PUL9V6
This is a biker story with some very funny scenes and some surprising twists en route from NYC to Tennessee.
Opposites Attract
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546563229
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015WPZH00
Working with opposites was so much fun! Not only in opposing characters, but individual characters being at war within themselves, because human nature is so complex, nothing is really straightforward…
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546613250
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M60TPHR
Badass Heroes
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547256834
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IUR1XQY
Band of Brothers
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542610001
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MQ37ZV4
The Dark Duke
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546962441
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3U5CNQ
This book was inspired by Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. I turned Lizzy into more of a freedom fighter, however.
In the Event of Love
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1548045403
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B010W7UB36
Chopped Encounter
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547009004
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3TOZUI
Dating A Hero
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547190922
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015BONRCM
Sealed Brothers
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1547236973
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V6XHP94
Cloud Nine
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1548045373
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XANZGD0
Snake Goddess Rising
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546517111
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00V3Y6CGS
Birthday Present
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546983325
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015BONONY
Christmas in Montana
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546441328
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01NCOHVEK
The Navy Seal’s Nanny
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546456910
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KTTJNZY
Love in the Sky
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546501290
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IW6SIDY
The Right Kind of Wrong
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/154647756X
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IW6SID4
Kisses in Darkness
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546466754
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01KTTJNVI
A New Family for Christmas
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546413952
Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IW4PD4I
Paperback: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1546508074
Breathless by Beverly Jenkins
My friend and mentor shared this book with me.
Portia doesn’t wish to risk the freedom she has by marrying a man who treats her like a belonging. Although her aunt and uncle have an amazing relationship, the men her mother entertained where brutes. Portia has no desire to give up the work she enjoys as bookkeeper and manager for one of the largest hotels in the Arizona Territory. She is content with her life, that is, until Kent Randolph comes to visit.
A friend of the family, Kent Randolph is not the same man who worked for her uncle years ago. Life and bad choices have honed him into a man of strength and honor. Not expecting Portia to be all grown up and beautiful, Kent is as surprised as she is over the power of their attraction. Ready to put down roots after living the life of a vagabond cowboy, Kent starts to imagine that life with Portia. Can he convince Portia he is the man for her, that she can continue to do what she loves with his blessing and support?
Portia can’t resist the lure of her attraction for the cowboy, but it is the little things he does that makes her realize he is nothing like the men who frequented their house when she was a child. Though she no longer leaves the room or puts furniture between herself and men, she is still apprehensive about trusting them. Kent proves to be someone she can trust, he also gives her the courage to go forward with her dream.
True romance isn’t needing someone to make you whole but wanting something to make your life more complete. Finding that person who knows what we need and is happy to give it to us or help us get it on our own. The person that puts your needs and desires above their own.
If you love strong characters, historical settings and interesting plots, Beverly Jenkins’ Breathless is a great choice.
Dead of Winter by Wendy Corsi Staub, read by Melanie Ewbank
Bella Jordan never planned to be an amateur sleuth. She was just a widow trying to survive being a single parent. Raising her seven-year old son, Max and trying to do whatever she can to see he gets a happy Christmas, Bella doesn’t have time for the dead body that has washed up from the lake.
The Valley View Inn and Lily Dale have become their home, and despite or maybe because of the weird things that happen there, Bella’s sharp wit and logic are often at war with the mystical and magical side of her community. A sceptic, Bella really doesn’t believe in visions or talks with the dead, even though a magical cat brought she and her son to Lily Dale, and they have offered the mother and son their protection, Bella refuses to allow herself to trust her other sight.
A scream in the night and a body on the shore have Bella rethinking her ability to be logical.
When Max’s friend, Jiffy goes missing, Bella believes it is linked to the murderer.
Magic and logic team up to help locate the missing boy, catch a murderer and retrieve priceless artifacts.
This is a delightful story of love, hope and possibilities mingled with mystery. If you like a good cozy mystery with a little twist, check out Wendy Corsi Staub’s Lily Dale Mystery series.
by Sarah MacLean Narrated by Rosalyn Landor
Cast from society with nothing but his title, the Marquess of Bourne has become partner in the most exclusive gaming hell in London. Cold and ruthless, he’ll stop at nothing to reclaim his inheritance, even compromise his childhood friend, Penelope Marbury, forcing her to marry him.
A wager lost him everything, another might win him more than he ever imagined possible, if he is willing to take a chance on love.
A second chance romance, redeeming a rake, Sarah MacLean loves her bad boys. She makes them bad enough to be interesting but with those honorable qualities that make a reader swoon. Bourne is definitely swoon worthy, but he is not to be out done, Penelope Marbury is more than a match for the Devil.
MacLean tosses us into the gaming hells of London, bringing to life a world on the edge of society and the daring, often desperate people who patronize the clubs. This is a book for all of your senses. If you want to be truly immersed in a story, you won’t want to pass this one up.
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