Wednesday, May 31, 2017

Lyn Cote--MORE PRIZES for YOU!




HERE'S SOMETHING GOOD TILL
MID-JUNE--DON'T MISS THIS!


This is a special promo--19 prizes in total

Grand Prize Winner: Selected from all participants, receives 1 copy of each book, plus a Kindle Fire or Nook Tablet.

Runner Ups (6): Selected from the participants in each category of the promotion, receives 1 copy of each book in the genre. Thus, there will be 1 runner-up for the Christian contest, 1 for the Cozy contest, 1 for the Crime Fiction contest, etc. 

Bookstore Gift Cards (12): One winner will be selected from each of the 20 contest sections to receive a $25 gift card to the bookstore of their choice.  Thus, there will be 1 gift card winner selected from entrants in Cozy Mystery (Amazon) and 1 from Cozy Mystery (BookBub), etc.
Here's the link: 
https://booksweeps.com/enter-win-mega-spring-bundle-christian-mysteries-thrillers-may-2017/

HOPE YOU DON'T MISS THIS!--Lyn


Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Beach Brides Series: Lisa - by Denise Devine

Grab your beach hat and a towel and prepare for a brand new series brought to you by twelve New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors…

Twelve heartwarming, sweet novellas linked by a unifying theme.

Beach Brides! Fun in the summer sun!

 
BEACH BRIDES SERIES (Lisa)

Twelve friends from the online group Romantic Hearts Book Club decide to finally meet in person during a destination Caribbean vacation to beautiful Enchanted Island. While of different ages and stages in life, these ladies have two things in common: 1) they are diehard romantics, and 2) they’ve been let down by love. As a wildly silly dare during her last night on the island, each heroine decides to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to her “dream hero” and cast it out to sea!

Is it possible to find true love through a message in a bottle?

Spending a week on a Caribbean island with the members of the Romantic Hearts Book Club is like a dream come true for Lisa Kaye. On their last night, each woman writes a personal message to her “dream hero,” stuffs it in a bottle and tosses it out to sea. Lisa’s real dreams crash, however, when she returns home and loses not only her job but her boyfriend in the same day. Determined to start over, she returns to Enchanted Island, the idyllic place of her childhood to manage her aunt’s bed and breakfast.

Fifteen months pass without a clue to the fate of her bottle. Then it happens. She receives an email from the man who found it and she doesn’t know what to do. Should she ignore it or take a chance at finding true love?

Lisa (Beach Brides Series) is available for pre-order!

** $2.99 on Kindle, FREE in Kindle Unlimited **

www.amazon.com/dp/B071F9P1W7

Find all the Beach Brides at Amazon!

https://www.amazon.com/Beach-Brides/e/B071HW8F9H

MEG (Julie Jarnagin)
TARA (Ginny Baird)
NINA (Stacey Joy Netzel)
CLAIR (Grace Greene)
JENNY (Melissa McClone)
LISA (Denise Devine)
HOPE (Aileen Fish)
KIM (Magdalena Scott)
ROSE (Shanna Hatfield)
LILY (Ciara Knight)
FAITH (Helen Scott Taylor)
AMY (Raine English)
 
~ * ~ * ~ *
 
Denise Devine is a USA TODAY bestselling author of romantic comedy, contemporary romance and she also loves to write inspirational fiction. She wrote her first book, a mystery, at thirteen and has been writing ever since. She writes about true love, happy endings and stories that touch your heart.

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Monday, May 29, 2017

A Love Letter to Veterans by Patricia Forsythe



Because I was a very self-involved child, I thought the purpose of Memorial Day was to help me remember things that were very important. Later, I understood it was to help us all remember our loved  ones who were very important, especially those who had died in the service of our country. Sadly, I think too many people see it as an excuse for a three day weekend with parades and picnics, without giving a thought to the blood, sweat, and sacrifice that made it possible.

Veterans may be partly responsible for this. Generally, they’re not the type to brag on themselves, though they will brag on their fellow service members. Veterans do their part to secure our freedoms, then they come home and restart their lives. It seems that most who struggle with the traumatic events they’ve seen do so quietly, and seek help from those who have been through the same thing. These men and women deserve our respect, our help, and our love.

So, this is a love letter to those who made our freedoms possible. There is nothing more romantic than being in love with an enormous group of people who gave us our lives.

Patricia Forsythe is the author of many romances, both traditionally and electronically published.  Her most recent release is The Husband She Can’t Forget, book two in her Oklahoma Girls series, which was released this month.  Book number one, At Odds With The Midwife was released in November 2016, and book three, His Twin Baby Surprise in May 2017.

 

 

 

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Beach Brides Series ~ Fun in the Summer Sun!

Grab your beach hat and a towel and prepare for a brand new series brought to you by twelve New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors…

Twelve heartwarming, sweet novellas linked by a unifying theme.

You’ll want to read each one!


Twelve friends from the online group, Romantic Hearts Book Club, decide to finally meet in person during a destination Caribbean vacation to beautiful Enchanted Island. While of different ages and stages in life, these ladies have two things in common: 1) they are diehard romantics, and 2) they’ve been let down by love. As a wildly silly dare during her last night on the island, each heroine decides to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to her “dream hero” and cast it out to sea! Sending a message in a bottle can’t be any crazier than online or cell phone dating, or posting personal ads! And, who knows? One of these mysterious missives might actually lead to love…

Join Meg, Tara, Nina, Clair, Jenny, Lisa, Hope, Kim, Rose, Lily, Faith and Amy, as they embark on the challenge of a lifetime: risking their hearts to accomplish their dreams.

Find all of the Beach Brides at Amazon!


Pre-Order your books today!
** $2.99 on Kindle, FREE in Kindle Unlimited **

My story in the series is KIM

Jon Whitfield was engaged when he “landed” the message in a bottle on a fishing trip, and it disappeared before he could decide whether to respond. Now unattached, he's on a road trip with Kim Rose, whose gratitude in spite of a painful past reminds him of the touching note he wishes he’d kept. 

Pssst--Serendipity readers, Kim was the nurse aid in Emily's Dreams! 

~*~

Thanks for letting me be all chatty about this new series. I'm very fortunate to be part of it, and my enthusiasm just needs to spill over once in a while! If you want to learn more about me, connect on social media, or sign up for my newsletter, please hop over to my website, here: http://www.magdalenascott.com/

 ~*~
P.S.: Have you signed up for the



Saturday, May 27, 2017

My First Mother's Day as a mom happened a few weeks ago and my husband's first Father's Day is coming up in June. Come to think of it we planned our wedding a few years ago on Father's Day. So I'll have to figure out a cool idea for my husband. (Suggestions are welcome!)

And my days as a teacher this school year is almost done. AP exams are done. So post exam May is always a fun month and this year it's extra special because I'm a mom and my daughter is growing so fast. Soon I'll be planning a first birthday.

And my daughter is truly my inspiration for writing more and more all the time. Every month in 2017 I intend to have a new release and so far, so good! So this month it's a sweet release, Favorite Coffee, Favorite Mistake.

Sandy is planning her best friend's wedding on a cruise ship, knowing full well the mother of the bride or the mother of the groom might be a spark to ruin the nuptials. So the bride asks her to watch out for either of them and she asks her brother to help Sandy.

However no one knows years ago her brother, Wyatt, broke Sandy's heart when she left for college and he met someone else. Sure she's moved on with her life, and she's successful. But she's never fully found someone else that made her feel amazing.

Wyatt never expected Sandy to forgive him for the past and he never sought her out. But when fate throws them together and they are forced to talk, then it's time to come clean and apologize. 

Can Sandy and Wyatt work out their mistakes and this time find a way to live Happily Ever After?

Amazon

Barnes and Noble 

Kobo

iBooks

(The actual blurb is different and it took me forever to come up with a fun way to make the blurb shine. So if you head over to one of the links, I'd love your opinion on the blurb.)








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Friday, May 26, 2017

And The Story Continues by Mary Alford



In honor of Memorial Day, I'd like to take a moment to thank all the men and women of our armed services along with their families and those who are first responders. We can never repay you for all that you've done to keep our country safe and our freedom secure.  

On June 6th, my second CIA Scorpion Team Romantic Suspense is coming out and I thought it would be fitting to feature it here for Memorial Day.

Deadly Memories, is Scorpion Agent Kyle Jennings story. Kyle was introduced in book one, Rocky Mountain Pursuit.

 


A WOMAN WITHOUT A PAST

Amnesia may be keeping Ella Weiss from remembering her past—but not from saving the little boy who's been her fellow prisoner the last seven years. After managing to escape her cell, all she wants is to find where little Joseph is being kept. Instead she runs straight into CIA agent Kyle Jennings. Kyle isn't sure if Ella is actually a kidnap victim or if she's working for the gunrunner he's been after. One thing he is certain of is her uncanny resemblance to the wife he thought he'd buried. To save a child's life and stop a terrorist from slipping through his fingers, he'll need to uncover the secrets of Ella's past—and whether or not she's really the woman he's never stopped loving.  

In honor of the release of the book, I’m giving away three signed copies of the book. You can check out the contest details on my website, www.maryalford.net. Look under the blog tab and you’ll see the contest page.

June Love Inspired Facebook Party
 

Also, I’ll be participating in a Facebook Release Party on June 6th from 4:00-9:00 PM Central Time with 14 other of my fellow Love Inspired Authors, so I hope you’ll drop by and join in the fun. They’ll be lots of fun, games, and giveaways.
 

 



Publishers Weekly Bestselling Author Mary Alford grew up in a small Texas town famous for, well not much of anything really. Being the baby of the family and quite a bit younger than her brothers and sister, Mary had plenty of time to entertain herself. Making up stories seem to come natural to her. As a pre-teen, Mary discovered Christian romance novels and knew instinctively that was what she wanted to do with her over-active imagination. She wrote her first novel as a teen, (it’s tucked away somewhere never to see the light of day), but never really pursued her writing career seriously until a few years later, when she wrote her first Christian romance and was hooked. Today, Mary still lives in Texas, and still writes about romance. In fact, she can’t think of anything else she’d rather do. Learn more about Mary Alford at: www.maryalford.net where you can sign up for her newsletter. Also feel free to send her an email to maryjalfordauthor@gmail.com.

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And remember to join the Sweet Romance Reads Café too.

 

All the best…

 

Mary Alford


 

Thursday, May 25, 2017

99-cent USA Today Beselling Anthology: Mail Order Bride Collection (A Timeless Romance Anthology)

I'm delighted to announce a killer sale on a highly rated anthology!

USA Today Bestseller!
**Amazon #1 bestseller in Western Fiction**
**Amazon #1 bestseller in Historical Romance**
**Amazon #1 bestseller in Victorian Romance**
**Amazon #1 bestseller in Inspirational Romance**

http://amzn.to/28YtQ5i
Six Sweet American Historical Romances (five of the six are Western), all about a Mail Order Bride. 
At 99-cents, this is a perfect chance to discover a new-to-you author, enjoy hours of reading, and be assured a clean read.

Six exclusive novellas from:

This special price reduction from $4.99 to $0.99 won't last long! Grab your copy today, from your eRetailer of choice:

http://amzn.to/2qj8LHC

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Order-Collection-Timeless-Romance-Anthology-ebook/dp/B017WXGGI2

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/a-timeless-romance-anthology-stacy-henrie/1123383055?type=eBook

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/a-timeless-romance-anthology-mail-order-bride-collection

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/mail-order-bride/id1120887647?mt=11

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Heather_B_Moore_Mail_Order_Bride_Collection?id=w5NUDAAAQBAJ


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Copyright © 2017 Kristin Holt LC

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Skipping Down Memory Lane by Pat Simmons

Every month of the year holds some significance. For example, March is usually for the long anticipated school Spring Break, while limos are in demand for prom season during April. Then May is a time for celebration with college and high school graduations.

St. Louis is the home of at least five colleges and universities. Washington University in St. Louis, a prestigious institution, is considered as one of the Midwest’s top schools. Students have to be extremely smart or their families have the means to enroll. Washington University School of Medicine has a reputation for attracting the best, talented international students. Here’s a tidbit I pulled off their website—“For 24 years straight, Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine have ranked among the nation's best hospitals by U.S. News & World Report.” Impressive, huh? 



 So with saying that, my heart swelled with pride the other day when I was on the Wash U campus at the time crews were setting up for the ceremonies. For two days, graduations for different departments would take place in this courtyard. Then there was the excitement of students posing in their caps and gowns for pictures. I made sure to congratulate them on their achievements as I climbed the steps to the office I had to visit that day. I also silently prayed for their success in life and careers. 

Their energy reminded me of my high school and college graduations, and the reunions and memories I’d missed. 

So next week, on the second of June, I decided to reunite with ladies from my all girls’ high school for our –clearing my throat—year reunion. Next, I’ll pencil in my college reunion.
Here’s my senior high school...and college graduation pictures.
.

So walk down memory lane with me. How many class reunions have you attend? Share your memories.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pat Simmons is celebrating ten years as a published author with more than thirty titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth who is passionate about researching her ancestors and then casting them in starring roles in her novels.
She is a three-time recipient of the Romance Slam Jam Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance Pat describes the evidence of the gift of the Holy Ghost as an amazing, unforgettable, life-altering experience.
Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked in various media positions for more than twenty years. Currently, she oversees the media publicity for the annual RT Booklovers Conventions.
She has been a featured speaker and workshop presenter at various venues across the country and converted her sofa-strapped sports fanatic husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, 
GPS-guided chauffeur. 
She is currently working on a new series and the sequel to LOVE BY DELIVERY. Download the this fun novella and sign the waiting list for SUMMER LOVE.


Readers may learn more about Pat and her books by connecting with her on social media, wwww.patsimmons.net, or by contacting her at authorpatsimmons@gmail. Don't forget to sign up for her monthly newsletter. 

Monday, May 22, 2017

New Release Alert by Julie Jarnagin

I'm excited to announce that I'm kicking off a brand-new series with a great group of authors. My book, Meg, is the first book in the Beach Brides Series. Here's a little about the series and Meg.

Grab your beach hat and a towel and prepare for a brand new series brought to you by twelve New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors...

Beach Brides! Fun in the summer sun!

Twelve heartwarming, sweet novellas linked by a unifying theme.You'll want to read each one!

BEACH BRIDES SERIES (Meg)

Twelve friends from the online group, Romantic Hearts Book Club, decide to finally meet in person during a destination Caribbean vacation to beautiful Enchanted Island. While of different ages and stages in life, these ladies have two things in common: 1) they are die-hard romantics, and 2) they've been let down by love. As a wildly silly dare during her last night on the island, each heroine decides to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to her "dream hero" and cast it out to sea!

Three weeks later, Meg Mullen's community theater is on the verge of closing if she can't raise the money to save it, but she's running out of time and needs a miracle. Television producer, Elliot Campbell, finds a message in a bottle from the perfect female contestant for his reality dating show. All he has to do is talk Meg into taking the job, convince her to choose one of the contenders, and figure out how to keep from falling in love with her himself. 

Amazon - Free with Kindle Unlimited! $2.99 on Kindle!
Barnes and Noble - Paperback Only
Goodreads


Find all of the Beach Brides at Amazon!

MEG (Julie Jarnagin)
TARA (Ginny Baird)
NINA (Stacey Joy Netzel)
CLAIR (Grace Greene)
JENNY (Melissa McClone)
LISA (Denise Devine)
HOPE (Aileen Fish)
KIM (Magdalena Scott)
ROSE (Shanna Hatfield)
LILY (Ciara Knight)
FAITH (Helen Scott Taylor)
AMY (Raine English)

Meet the authors of Beach Brides!

USA Today bestselling author JulieJarnagin (Meg) writes sweet and inspirational romance. 

Ginny Baird (Tara)is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of contemporary romance.

Stacey Joy Netzel (Nina)is a NY Times bestselling author of contemporary romance and romantic suspense.

Grace Greene (Clair),a USA Today bestselling author,writes sweet contemporary romance and women's fiction.

Melissa McClone (Jenny)is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet contemporary romance.

Denise Devine (Lisa)is a USA Today bestselling author of romantic comedy and contemporary romance.

Aileen Fish (Hope)is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet contemporary and Regency historical romance.

Magdalena Scott (Kim)is a USA Today bestselling author of small town sweet romance and women's fiction.

USA Today bestselling author Shanna Hatfield (Rose) writes sweet historical and contemporary romances, liberally sprinkled with humor. 

Ciara Knight (Lily)is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet contemporary and historical western romance.

Helen Scott Taylor (Faith)is a NY Times bestselling author of sweet contemporary romance.

Raine English (Amy)is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. 

Sunday, May 21, 2017

Writing About French Pastry by Milou Koenings

Have you ever noticed that books can be fattening?

Mini eclairs by Camillestyles
Yes, I get that all those hours I spend reading, I'm not moving — even if I am traveling to exotic places half a world away. But I meant in more direct way. For example, the most fattening movie I ever saw was Julie & Julia.

I never, and I mean never, ate butter if I could help it — until I saw that movie. If you've never seen it, it's really two stories in one: modern-day Julie who decides she's going to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook in one year and blog about it, and Julia Child herself, learning to cook in post-war Paris. Watch it and you'll never look at butter the same way. 

Honestly, I owe at least five extra pounds to Meryl Streep and Julia Childs.

For some reason, I've never written a book in which someone isn't cooking or baking. My characters have made spaghetti, baked apple pies, barbequed, and shared gingersnaps. But none of them have ever been professional cooks. However, not long ago, a delightfully sweet reader reviewed my latest release, I Love You Three, by comparing it to a mille-feuille French pastry.




I kept thinking about that delicious review and had a brainstorm. My next heroine was going to be a French pastry chef!

This is the first time I'm writing a character who is a professional baker. In my work in progress — another Green Pines romance — the heroine is a French-American pastry chef who studied in Paris.

Mille-feuille - from Bloglovin on Pinterest

Since I spent much my childhood school vacations living above my uncle's bakery, I figured that shouldn't take too much research. I have a pretty good idea of how a bakery works. I might have tried to swing a trip to Paris as work-related research, but since I took my daughters to Paris about five years ago, I knew a repeat wasn't going to be in the cards.

The pastry case of the bakery that
 my kids and I frequented for breakfast in Paris.

But the problem is that a pastry chef has to be making something, right? I can't just write, "Bailey was kneading something." It's got to be a particular kind of dough, and she's got to be making a specific pastry.

Eclairs ... croissants ...

Check out this croissant tutorial from Ironwhisk!


Profiteroles ...


Profiteroles by Beeta Hashempour


Madeleines ...

Orange-blossom Madeleines from Bakingamoment


Of course, I can't possibly write about baking something if I haven't made it. How else will I know what my character is doing, correct?

Palmiers ... brioche ... puits d'amour

(As a self-respecting Romance writher, I can't possibly not make a pastry called a "well of love," can I?)

Yeah.

This is going to be one very fattening book.





Milou Koenings is a USA Today bestselling author. She writes romance because, like chocolate, stories with a happy ending bring more joy into the world and so make it a better place.



Her other Green Pines sweet romances, Reclaiming Home, The Kampala Peppermint Twist and Sweet Blizzard are available on AmazonAmazon.uk, iBooks, Nook, Kobo and all your favorite e-book retailers.








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