In Defense of a Slower Summer by Josie Riviera

Every May, I have grand intentions. Long evenings on my screened porch. Spontaneous road trips on a Sunday afternoon. Farmers market Saturdays. Reading books in actual sunshine instead of scrolling through pictures of people doing exactly that.

And then June arrives and somehow I get busier.

This year I'm making a decision before the entire season gets away from me: One weekend morning a month with nowhere to be. One evening walk that isn't a workout. One book read purely for the pleasure of it.

This month, I'm giving away audiobooks of my sweet summer romance, 1-800-SUMMER. 

It's the perfect read for a porch, a beach chair, or a Wednesday afternoon when you decide the emails can wait an hour.

Get your free audiobook code for 1-800-SUMMER on my Google form. 

(Codes are available from Spotify Voices.)

Here's to a summer we'll truly remember.

What do you love about May? Please leave your comments below.

Josie Riviera is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, historical, and inspirational romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable Shih Tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovation.

Sign up for her newsletter and get a FREE ebook on her website: josieriviera.com

Spring sunshine and reading books...

Hello, friends!

I hope you are enjoying a lovely, sunny day wherever you are!  I love spring weather, with these bright blue skies and temperatures running in the 50's and 60's.  Just my cup of tea. ☺ 

But...I am wondering if the seasons impact book readership. There are so many variables that come into play.  What do you think?  Do you read at a fairly steady pace throughout the year?

I have a new book coming out June 9th.  DANGEROUS SPRING is a clean, small town romance, and is part of my Northern Pines Suspense series, though the books may be read in any order.  

CLICK HERE   to read more about DANGEROUS SPRING.

CLICK HERE   to see all of the other titles in this series.

I hope you will enjoy it!

Roxanne Rustand
USA Today Bestselling author

Lyn Cote Asks Have you discovered a new author lately?

His Holiday Prayer by Tina Radcliffe
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I'm really becoming a fan of Tina Radcliffe. She writes such lively characters, so believable and with such real lives. I enjoyed the vet clinic aspect of this, since I love animals, especially my two cats. And the love story was very really believable and the country conflict between the two was very believable, and the end was very satisfying. Thank you Tina.

View all my reviews

I try to read everyday. And I love trying new authors. And I just discovered this lady. I enjoy Love Inspired books. I wrote about 20 books for them and so have other of our authors here, such as Roxanne Rustand, Merrillee Whren and Jean C Gordon. This review appears on Goodreads. Are you a member? It's a great place for readers to find new authors!

You're worth more than gold

Have you ever had a song come on that feels like it was written just for you—right when you needed it most?

That’s what happened to me when “Gold” by Britt Nicole played while I was writing Gone Missing, a story about a woman who had lost everything and was trying to believe she still had worth.

Let me introduce you to my heroine, Joslyn.

She's a young woman who has had to fight for everything she has. Growing up without much, she's been putting herself through school in computer programming while working at an electronics store in Los Angeles—the kind of quietly determined heroine you can't help but root for.

Then her world is shattered when her ex-boyfriend murders her father, and she's forced to flee everything she knows, landing in Oregon with nothing but grief and fear.

By the time the story begins, Joslyn has lost almost everything—her father, her baby, her education, her job, and the future she had carefully planned.

But in the middle of all that loss, something unexpected is taking root—faith. A kind woman who helped Joslyn through her darkest moments spoke openly about Christ, and those seeds have stayed with her, slowly changing her.

Now she's found a new beginning working for Liam and Elisabeth at their skip-tracing agency in Sonoma, California. They rescued her when she had nothing, and she is fiercely loyal to them for it. She gives everything she has to help their business succeed.

The skills she learns there become the key to finding her missing friend, Fiona, before it’s too late.

At its heart, Gone Missing is a story about a woman learning that she is not defined by what has been done to her or what she has lost. No matter where she's been or what has happened, she is deeply loved—she’s worth more than gold.

That was my prayer when I wrote every page of this book, that each reader would set it down feeling truly seen and treasured.

If you've ever felt like you were starting over, or like your story was too broken to be worth telling, I hope Joslyn's journey speaks to your heart the way that song spoke to mine.

Because sometimes the story that feels broken is only just beginning.

If you enjoy stories where faith grows in the middle of danger—and where finding someone missing might uncover something far more dangerous—you might love Joslyn’s story.

Start reading Gone Missing here.

The Little Moments That Tell the Biggest Stories by Merri Maywether

Every once in a while, I step away from my story world to share what I’m writing with people. 

When I have to explain my stories at signings, I say that I write what would happen if the Hallmark Channel were set in Montana.

Two wonderful things happen. That she’s-writing-about-me light brightens their faces.

And we both know that through my stories, I’ve validated their world.

The next thing that happens is they begin to see the beauty in day-to-day life. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve been with friends, laughing about something or commiserating when things don’t go as planned. Eventually, one of them will say, “I know this is going in one of your books.”

Or I’ll get a tap on my forearm and hear, “It’s okay if you write this in one of your books.”

Or they’ll call me and say, “I have something you’ll want to write in one of your books.”

And I love it.

This is where I admit to you, Bookish Bestie, in a whisper voice—their stories are not in my books.

But I am proud because, through my storytelling, they’ve developed an eye for those nuggets of life worth cherishing.

In my stories, love is messy, sometimes complicated, and—most importantly—intentional.

It’s easier to see when we honor the moments where it shines.

Those moments of laughter after things don’t turn out as planned—that’s love.

Talking through a problem with a heart of understanding—that’s love.

Sharing something that happened so the other person can live it with you—again, love.

And while our Montana communities may be small in population, the abundance of love more than makes up for it.

If you think about your own week, what’s a moment that made you smile and think, this is love? I’d love to hear it.

What History's Boldest Women Never Waited For by Josie Riviera

April always makes me want to fling open the windows, clear out the clutter, and, for reasons I can't entirely explain, read about Tudor England.

Maybe it's because the women in that era are fascinating. They lived in a world that handed them almost no power, and yet many of them were brilliant and strategic, despite the constraints. Anne of Cleves negotiated her way to freedom and outlived them all. Katherine Parr published books. Bess of Hardwick built an empire from scratch, four times over.

Which is a good reminder for spring, when we're all tempted to wait. We wait until the kids are older, the timing is better, the budget is bigger, and the confidence arrives. It rarely does. It tends to show up after we've already started.

This month I'm offering my sweet/spicy Tudor short story, Seeking Catherine, as a free read. 

In fact, this book is always free, so pick up your copy today. (Fun fact: This is the first book I ever wrote and published.)

What do you love about April? Please leave your comments below.

Josie Riviera is a USA Today bestselling author of contemporary, historical, and inspirational romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable Shih Tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovation.

Sign up for her newsletter and get a FREE ebook on her website: josieriviera.com

The Retrospect Ends ~ Jean C. Gordon

My last and final new release was a holiday novella, His Thing about Cats, Honestly, all I can remember for tidbits on writing it is that the novella had such a fun premise that it was a joy to write. After that, writing or trying to write new love stories became more of a chore than a delight. So with this blog, I'm "demoting" myself from Sweet Romannce Reads Author to Sweet Romance Reads Reader. I'm hoping to continue my Find the Difference Sweet Romance Reads Covers on Facebook. So look for them.

PARADOX LAKE SWEET ROMANCE: Hurtling down a mountain on a sheet of ice at 90 mph is nothing to Ty Johnson. That's why he's a former Olympic bobsled champion. Holding a cute little fluffball cat for an endorsement—well, that's a deal-breaker. He's had a fear of felines since childhood, but this opportunity could not only give his custom furniture business a boost, but it would also allow him to give back to the sport that defined his life. He's got no other choice but to get over his ailurophobia to book this massive deal.

Dr. Julianna Hill wants to help Ty work through his issues, but she has to say no. At least professionally. She can't deny the immediate attraction, and there's no way she's going to let a man jeopardize the career she's finally starting to build, especially since returning to her childhood hometown. But Jule can't stop thinking about the man who has unexpectedly become her landlord. Perhaps she can help him as a friend—or more.Ty may be more nervous than a cat on a hot tin roof, but he's not the only scaredy-cat in this relationship.

Broken promises at critical moments mean this relationship is going to need nine lives to last. Hold on. This is shaping up to be the ride of a lifetime.

BUY