Saturday, April 29, 2017

Happy To Meet You by Patricia Forsythe


 
 

This month, the Sweet Romance Reads authors have been reintroducing ourselves to our readers and today, it’s my turn. Like most writers I know, I would rather listen to other people talk about themselves (I’m always on the hunt for new stories), than to talk about myself, but here goes.
My hometown is the small copper-mining town of Morenci, in southeastern Arizona. Like almost every one of my friends, my dad worked in the mine. It was a good place to grow up, but it wasn’t until I was grown that I realized one of the best things about it was the diverse population and the interesting, and sometimes downright nutty, characters in the area. When I became a writer, I remembered these people and used them in my books.

After college, marriage, teaching school, and having four children, I began to pursue my lifelong dream of being a writer. That was in the days of typewriters and white correction fluid. In order to avoid having to retype an entire page, I often wrote my first drafts in longhand on yellow legal pads while standing by the waist-high pass-through from the kitchen to the dining room. My children seemed to need my undivided attention less if they could see me standing in the kitchen – where they knew moms were supposed to be.

Since those days, I have written more than thirty books and currently write sweet romances for Harlequin Heartwarming. I’ve discovered that, as I publish more books, it becomes both harder but also more fun to write compelling stories. It’s harder because I have to come up with ideas I haven’t used before and because I want to write the best book possible. It’s more fun because I’ve met so many people, heard so many of their personal stories, and incorporated amusing incidents into my books.
Currently, I’m working on a new series for Heartwarming. The third book in my Oklahoma Girls series, His Twin Baby Surprise, is available for pre-order and will be released on May 1st.

Please don’t forget to sign up for the Sweet Romance Reads newsletter. You can do it right here on this page. Scroll down the right side of our blog and enter your email address under Newsletter Signup.

Also, come join us in the Facebook Sweet Romance Reads Cafe where we’ll be having a Mother’s Day party on May 11th.
Patricia Forsythe is the author of twenty-five books for Harlequin, with many more to come, and eight self-published e-books.  She loves creating stories with interesting characters and happy endings.

 

 

Friday, April 28, 2017

New Release ~ Raine English

I’m pleased to announce my new release, FROM NOW ON. It’s part of the fabulous Magnolias and Moonshine series. Twenty New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling authors joined together to bring you a taste of Southern charm.


 Who says love’s sweeter the second time around?

When Whitney Adams discovers her first love is back in Atlanta, she can’t help but wonder if they might have a second chance at love. But after she learns there’s more to his kisses than wanting to rekindle their romance, she isn’t about to let her heart rule.

Cash Galloway has never forgotten his high school sweetheart, so when he might have another chance with her, he’s elated. However, his happiness is short lived once he discovers his new dream job involves acquiring Atlanta Belles—Whitney’s popular salon and spa. Will Cash lose the perfect woman a second time, or will love prevail?

FROM NOW ON is available at the following retailers for just $0.99!


~*~



USA Today bestselling author Raine English writes sweet small-town contemporary romance, along with paranormal and romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. To receive information on all her new releases, you can sign up for her newsletter, visit her website, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter


And don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter. Scroll down the right side of our blog and enter your email address under Newsletter Signup. Remember to join the Sweet Romance Reads Cafe too.


Thursday, April 27, 2017

Bold Women and the Brainy Men who love them reintroducing Victoria Pinder


So this month we are reintroducing ourselves. I'm Victoria Pinder. I know that I could never write Twilight or a 50 Shades book because I love to write about women who choose their own lives and can live without a man. They are bold, but that doesn't make them brash or anything other than they live their own lives and can be insanely happy. All my books are romance so they fall in love with men smart enough to see the value inside.

And none of my books really go into the rated R crowd as I want to be known for a good romance.

So how did I get started in writing romance?

The second I bought my own computer and put it in my own room as a teenager, I didn't play video games. I didn't really enjoy the online chat rooms either. So I found myself writing, including online horrible fan fiction I'll never mention. Writing was my release but I never thought as a teenager I could make money at it.

I went not as a 20something, worked in engineering, and hated it. So I went to law school and realized I hated being a lawyer. (I knew in school but felt stuck.) So I became a high school history teacher to really figure out what I wanted out of life.

And I spent a few years when suddenly it dawned on me that people do make money writing. I penned my first two novels that no one has ever seen super fast and went to join this Romance Writers of America thing as the conference that year was in my state. I wrote my third book and sold it to a publisher, though now I wish I hadn't sold it (but that's neither here nor there.) I was not a published author.

Then when I figured out what i wanted out of life, my life blossomed. I never thought I'd be a wife or a mom, but once I was happy then everything else just settled. I write romances because what's more rewarding out of life than experiencing how people fall in love, all the time?

Anyhow this is who I am and these are my latest sweet romances! (And don't forget you can get a copy of Returning for Valentine's for free to test drive my work and see if you enjoy reading about the romances I weave.)

 Amazon


Barnes and Noble


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Weddings, the Beach, Sunset and a Cruise? What could be more romantic? Sandra Marshall is planning the perfect wedding for her best friend who is marrying her self made billionaire cousin. She's going to be the best maid-of-honor as well as wedding coordinator she can be as she is considering selling her business and starting new. This could be the start of her new career. Her only issue will be facing the bride's sister, Wyatt Colburn, who broke her heart years ago.



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After months spent rejecting Luke’s advances, one kiss changed everything for Caro Soliz. Now, her world is about to change again. Just like her mother before her, she’s accepted a position as the Morgan family maid. This time, her reunion with Luke leads to a whirlwind romance that throws both for a loop.


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Liam Collins loved one woman all his life, not that he ever told her. In high school, Sherry Worthing was the girl of his dreams. Even now years of CIA training and multiple sting operations, every time he sees her in his hometown, he loses the ability to speak. He can stop terrorists but gets tongue tied near her still. However, he receives word that she is a suspect, he has to come face to face with the one woman that he could never approach.

Wednesday, April 26, 2017

When You Least Expect It, Miracles Happen


Hi, everyone. My name is Mary Alford and I write Christian romantic suspense along with small town Christian romance.

Being an author was always a dream of mine since I was a pre-teen, but it was a long time before that dream came true in what I truly believe was a miracle.

For me, years of writing came down to five minutes in the spotlight. In 2012, I entered the Speed Dating Contest that Love Inspired editor Emily Rodmell hosted and I was one of the lucky ones who got an appointment to chat with Emily. On the day of the pitch, I was on vacation in Colorado. At our cabin, internet service is nonexistent. I could have given up and said, well, that’s it, better luck next time, but I didn’t. My husband and I drove into the small town of Pagosa Springs where I did the entire chat on my laptop in the parking lot of the Ace Hardware Store.

Emily was kind enough to request a synopsis although I was so nervous she probably didn’t understand anything I told her. I promptly sent the synopsis out to her. Then she requested the first three chapters followed by the full manuscript. With each request, I tried not to get my hopes up.

In December 2012, Emily called. To this day, I can’t tell you what she said to me other than that she wanted to buy FORGOTTEN PAST for Love Inspired Suspense.


LOST MEMORIES
Faith McKenzie was the only survivor of a brutal home invasion. Viciously attacked and left for dead, Faith can't remember anything about that night—including the identity of the killer. All she knows is that he's stalking her from every place she flees and has tracked her to a small Maine island. Her neighbor, private investigator and security specialist JT Wyatt, rescues her twice. Now JT is insisting on the whole story—a story that Faith can't remember. Desperate to feel safe, Faith puts her trust in the handsome P.I. Yet a killer is dead set on ensuring that Faith's memory never returns.
 

 
 
 
 
Selling my first book to Love Inspired was a surreal moment. One that still hasn’t fully sunken in yet. It's a great feeling to have your dream become a reality and even greater to hold your book in your hands.         

 Since that time, I’ve sold three more books to Love Inspired Suspense.
Rocky Mountain Pursuit – Book One of the Scorpion series, available now.

IDENTITY: CONFIDENTIAL
Everyone believes agent Jase Bradford is dead—everyone but Reyna Peterson. Only he can protect her now that someone wants the information her CIA husband died to secure. As the one member of their spy team not killed, Jase must remain in the shadows. Yet when Reyna leads the enemy right to his mountain refuge and blows his cover, Jase risks his life for hers. As his best friend's beautiful widow scales the walls around his heart, whether out of loyalty or love, he makes it his duty to secure her safety. But when their pursuers trap them in the snowy Colorado mountains, will it become his final mission?
 








Deadly Memories – Coming June 2017.





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.

 

And Framed For Murder- Coming October 2017  
 

Even though getting the call for each of these books has been amazing, I will never forget the feeling of selling my first book to Love Inspired. Through all of it, God has been there beside me, guiding me each step of the way.     
 


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.

 

Don’t forget to sign up for our newsletter.

 
Sign Up For Sweet Romance Reads Newsletter.


 

And remember to join the Sweet Romance Reads Cafe too.

 

All the best…

 

Mary Alford
www.maryalford.net.

Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Today is Reader Appreciation Day! 10+ Prizes from Kristin Holt






Dear Friends--

Because I'm new to Sweet Romance Reads (January 2017), I introduced myself just three months ago on my fiftieth birthday and gave away 5 winners' choices of kindle-edition books. Remember that fun? Thank you again for the incredibly warm welcome and the ongoing support. I haven't a good excuse this time, so I'll make one up.

I hereby declare April 25th Reader Appreciation Day, as I want very much to say THANK YOU...with a drawing of TEN winners and TEN books! (impress me with the quantity of entries, like last January, and I'll double this number to TWENTY!)


Why? (thinly disguised as More About Kristin)
1.  I genuinely enjoy showing my appreciation and giving back to readers.
2.  I can't think of a better way to SAY THANK YOU.
3.  I subscribed to Stamps.com for the convenience of shipping paperback books without ever leaving my home office. I LOVE avoiding the Post Office! Might as well use this convenient service I pay money for.
4.  Although my name is also e-free, like the other correctly spelled Kristin on the Sweet Romance Reads team, I write Sweet Western Historical Romance (Kristin Wallace writes Sweet Contemporary)...and enjoy introducing my work.
5.  **I have no trouble giving away the farm.**
6.  I've discovered many readers enjoy collecting autographed paperback books--even if they prefer to read the kindle edition...or usually purchase/borrow the eBook.
7.  I have oodles of my paperbacks (I may or may not have the "if one is good, fifty is better" attitude).
8.  Connecting with readers is heartening, rejuvenating, and reminds me that it is for YOU that I write.
9.  I write frequent blog posts about everything "Old West"--tidbits of accurate history I found and fell in love with while researching for my books.
10.  Today, my sixteen titles are all historical...but this year I'm breaking that mold and my first contemporary will be published this autumn!
11.  I have a new page on my website For Writers. If you're writing, or want to start, come see.
12.  I'm a severe chronic pain sufferer.



APRIL 25: READER APPRECIATION DAY
1. Let's GO BIG or GO HOME. TEN (to TWENTY) names will be drawn at random from all entries, and each winner will receive their choice of any one title I've written, either in kindle OR in autographed paperback (as available).



2. Winners must be willing to provide me EITHER their standard email address or mailing address, privately, by Facebook's IM [instant messaging] / PM [private messaging] for use only in delivering their choice of book titles and formats. I promise winners will not suddenly find their email on my newsletter list or sold to some strange company. The drawing will close at midnight tonight (4-25-17), and winners will be drawn and announced tomorrow morning (4-26-17) in two places: an update to this blog post AND on Sweet Romance Reads Cafe (on FB).

3. TO ENTER, do three things: 1) Comment on this blog post, right here on SweetRomanceReads.com with an answer to this question: What is your preferred way to learn about your favorite authors' new releases? (answers might include, but are not limited to: Author Newsletter, BookBub notices, Amazon "Follow" emails, Facebook posts, blog posts, etc.) 2) Please FOLLOW me on BookBub (I'm new there), 3) then Comment on the pinned post on Sweet Romance Reads Cafe (this link on Facebook), about this blog article-- something simple like A) repeat your answer to the new release announcement method of preference, or B) a "Followed on BookBub!", or C) "Hoping to win _(title)_" (insert the title of mine you plan to claim if your name is drawn). 

https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kristin-holt
Click on the image to visit BookBub

Note: If you're not on BookBub, you're missing out! You might want to take a minute to register. If not, you're not out of the running--consider an alternative (your favorite method of hearing about new releases: sign up for my newsletter, friend me on Facebook, follow/like my Author Page, or Follow me on Amazon, and let your reply to this post in comments section reflect the substitution).

4. To Sweeten The Deal: For a SECOND ENTRY (yes! your name in the Stetson, on two different slips of paper), share the pinned post about this blog article on your own timeline, making sure you TAG ME (Author Kristin Holt) so I know--and if in doubt, send me a PM on FB (with the link if possible).

http://sweetromancereads.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=61cf1d146fa3ad4a99a8a28b7&id=b4e0b3f63f



Kristin Holt, USA Today Bestselling Author, writes Sweet Victorian Romance set in the American West. She writes frequently about Old West history and contributes monthly to Sweet Romance Reads, Sweet Americana Sweethearts, and Romancing the Genres.


 
Copyright © 2017 Kristin Holt LC

Monday, April 24, 2017

The Mission by Pat Simmons

My Mission

Hi, I’m Pat Simmons, one of the Christian romance authors of Sweet Romance Reads. I’m celebrating 10 years as a published author and I’m grateful for every reader who has posted a review and called me their favorite Christian author.

5 STARS on LOVE LED BY SPIRIT by Vera Davis…Pat Simmons is one of the best, if not the best Christian romance writers. Her insertion of scripture is the icing on the cake. I love, love, all of her books and I highly recommend this one.

5 STARS on LOVE BY DELIVERY by Theresa Cartwright Lands. Mrs. Simmons, I am just beyond amazed if she's didn't tell my story I was Dominique and sure there's many more singles can testify that they too are or, was, Dominique I am going to recommend this book to the singles president of my church if she doesn't buy this book I am personally going to buy 50 copies for the single dept. Currently, I’m in the process of writing the sequel SUMMER LOVE.




5 STARS on THE CONFESSION by Helen Smith “I must say Pat Simmons books have you struggling to them down and The Confession was no different!! It deal with truly forgiving others and allowing Jesus to mend what is broken!! I love how she reference each scripture so you can read along with the book! If you want to follow fiction Christian author Pat Simmons is great! May God continue to bless you so that you will continue to bless us!!?”




5 STARS on COUPLE BY CHRISTMAS by Kindle Customer. “I read the first part of the book in a Christmas book bundle and was hooked. Had to find out what happened to the Washingtons. Glad to see that with the help of God they were able to fix what was broken. Would love to read Marlon's story. I love how the focus on God is so evident through this book. It's so rare to find it these days.
4 STARS on REDEEMING HEART by Lali. I really appreciate the fact that authors such as Pat are not afraid to show Christians who try live by the Word on all fronts.






For me, writing Christian romance is a ministry. My stories are designed to encourage readers. Restore their faith in God and romance. Romance doesn’t have to be about sex on paper one. Romance is about the long phone calls, flowers, walks in the parks, praying together, sharing Scriptures, sharing their salvation walk, the first kiss, and of course, standing before God at the altar, pledging that everlasting love. I strive to write memorable scenes that the reader will think and talk about after the last page. Now, those are the types of stories that leave my readers breathless. Want to fall in love? Download one of my 30+ love stories.

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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, in the hope of tracking down any distant relatives who might happen to pick up her books.
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. She believes God is the Author who advances the stories she writes.

Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. She has worked in various positions in radio, television, and print media for more than twenty years. Currently, she oversees the media publicity for the annual RT Booklovers Conventions.

In addition to researching her roots and sewing, she has been a featured speaker and workshop presenter at various venues across the country. Pat has converted her sofa-strapped sports fanatic husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, GPS-guided chauffeur, and administrative assistant who is constantly on probation. They have a son and a daughter.

Readers may learn more about Pat and her books by connecting with her on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or LinkedIn; or by contacting her at authorpatsimmons@gmail.