April is the perfect month to go on a Sweet Romance Getaway by Josie Riviera

Spring is in full bloom here in the Carolinas where I live, and April is a month for ideal outdoor opportunities. Whether you plan a weekend away with your special someone, or a longer holiday, there are plenty of experiences that spring has to offer.

Vibrant colors, chirping birds, and fragrant flowers--Spring is all around us. Take advantage of the nice weather to explore your local area's parks and gardens.  Pack a picnic lunch, or for the more adventurous, plan a hike.

Also, take the time with your loved one to visit a wildlife sanctuary or local farm. Special events such as Easter egg hunts might also be happening. You can also camp, and sleep under the stars. 

Be sure that wherever you choose, that it is peaceful so that you can disconnect, and spend quality time with your special someone.

April is full of fun possibilities. Make it a point to plan a special outdoor event today.

I have a new release this month:

The 1-800-Series Volume Two

Cozy up with your favorite beverage and lose yourself in these delightful sweet romance stories.

This collection includes the following 3 books:

1-800-SUMMER

The last thing she can fix is her own life. Until one man’s offer changes everything.

1-800-NEW YEAR
Her lost love is back in town. Is he back for a second chance…or closure?

Christmas in the Air
What if you told your innermost secrets to a guy you assumed you’d never see again?

Grab your copy today, of the 1-800-Series Volume Two today. FREE on Kindle Unlimited.

Available in ebook and paperback. Audiobooks for each book sold separately.

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 support 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

Sweet Rosie.... Roxanne Rustand

I know that we might have lots of winter ahead of us--we've had snow as late as early April--but our current stretch of weather in the 40's to 50's makes me so happy!   It's so nice to be able to go outside without being dressed up like an Eskimo, and I think the horses and our pets love it too. 

During the winter you won't see the horses laying out in the pasture flat as pancakes, but now that the snow has melted, they do--as if they are soaking up the sunshine.  The barn cats as well-- they line up in the sunshine pouring into the south-facing barn door.

Do you have pets? What kind are your favorites? 

We've had quite a menagerie over the years--I had many pets while growing up, and so I loved it when the kids wanted more.  So there have been all sorts of lizards, bunnies, cockatiels, "pocket pets"  like hamsters, gerbils and guinea pigs, a snake named Ssssid and a tarantula named Ned...many horses, and a long line of kitties and dogs. 

Now that the kids are grown, we're down to just the horses, cats, and dogs, plus all the grandpuppies that come to stay now and then.  If you don't follow me on Facebook (roxanne.rustand   rather than my roxanne.rustand.author page) then you haven't seen the newest addition to the family. I'd like to introduce you to our newest grandpup Rosie!

She was adopted by our son and his family who live in Wisconsin, and the saga of her homeless mom and littermates will be the spark of a novella that I'm writing later this year. I always have animals in my books, and this one will be such fun to write!

Leave a comment, and have a chance to win of a copy of my latest novel (January 2020,  Love Inspired.)

Best wishes to you all for a lovely spring!
Roxanne Rustand

Spring ~ Ready or Not

Welcome to Sweet Romance Reads! I’m glad you’re here. I’ve been thinking about spring. Wishing for spring. We experienced it briefly and it seemed like it was the real thing. I made plans to have landscaping done, including transplanting some existing shrubs and planting a new tree even though people warned us winter wasn’t finished with us yet. And they were right. Here in Virginia it’s very cold (as I write this on Thursday the 16^th). To the north, snow fell this week. For some, it was a bunch of snow. And yet, March 21^st is only a few days away. Spring will officially arrive and soon the warmer temps will be here to stay – for a while at least – and then it will be hot and humid and we’ll be wishing for autumn. It’s just a truth of life and how we are as people. We tend to want what we don’t have. Somehow our futures seem so much more promising and interesting than our reality such that we wish away our present. Instead of living in the NOW, we dream of the future. I’m guilty of that and I know many other people who are. Are you?

We save for a future vacation while we rush through each ordinary day. We are anxious for our infants to teeth or crawl or walk because others of the same age already are. We struggle through the present working for the future and one day we realize the future has arrived and we don’t know how to embrace it and enjoy it. We look back and wonder why we didn’t see the beauty in the present, in the memories we were crafting at the time, during those ordinary days.

 In my most recent release, THE HAPPINESS IN BETWEEN, Sandra Lovett wanted happiness and it eluded her. If she’d found the happiness in each day, perhaps her future would’ve been better sooner. In BEACH RENTAL, my debut novel, Juli lived very much in the now and considered self-reliance to be the most important ideal. Happiness was something she didn’t expect and it didn’t figure into her life, yet when she began to hope for the future, and took steps toward making a more promising future happen, she found joy, unexpected and overflowing.

What does all that mean? I don’t know. Maybe it means that the tree the landscapers just planted for me and the bushes they transplanted, should’ve been allowed to wait until the weather was more favorable to their rooting and future survival? Perhaps. Only time will tell. If they fail to thrive I’ll be sad, but I’ll try again and hope to get it right next time. Because, as humans, we may be impatient, but we’re also persistent. It’s who we are. Somewhere along the way we need to be sure to appreciate and embrace the present because, like spring, the future will arrive all on its own and become reality, and we need to understand how to live in it.

Please visit me over at www.GraceGreene.com  I write sweet romance and women’s fiction. My Emerald Isle, NC books are romance and sweet inspiration (BEACH RENTAL and BEACH WINDS) and my Virginia Country Roads novels (CUB CREEK, LEAVING CUB CREEK, KINCAID’S HOPE, A STRANGER IN WYNNEDOWER) feature more mystery and suspense, as do THE HAPPINESS IN BETWEEN, my most recent release, and THE MEMORY OF BUTTERFLIES, currently available on preorder and due to be released on September 5^th. I hope you’ll sign up for my newsletter. You’ll also find me here:  Twitter  Facebook  Goodreads  Pinterest  Author Central

If you don’t already subscribe to our Sweet Romance Reads newsletter, please be sure to do that while you’re here. You’ll find the signup on the right side of this page. 

Happy Spring! I'm glad it's coming whether we're ready or not!

Ready for Spring by Alicia Street

I’m one of those people who loves snow. As a child I would always curl up in a window seat and watch it fall, breathing in the wonder of its beauty.

So I was sorely disappointed when we had fifty-degree weather at Christmas. But now, when the spring equinox is just a few days away—I’m not too happy to see winter storm Stella dump with piles of sleet and snow in my neck of the woods.

After months of damp and gray days, I’m ready for spring! I hate to see snow covering the early buds that are just beginning to show. Spring is such a hopeful time when everything seems fresh and new beginnings are possible. But who am I to tell Mother Nature what to do, especially when humans have messed with her so much.  

My solution? I go to Trader Joe’s and buy daffodils and hyacinths and tulips and pussy willows and fill my house with their color and fragrant promises.

Are you ready for spring?

                                                                      ~*~

Alicia Street is a USA Today bestselling author and a Daphne du Maurier award-winner.

A compulsive reader of every genre, she writes both sweet and steamy romance. She spent many

years as a dancer, choreographer and teacher.  

Alicia loves to connect with readers~

Website   Facebook   Twitter   Goodreads

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Spring Cleaning - Shaking Off the Dust Covers!

Spring has arrived.  In my neck of the woods, that means it was thundering and pouring buckets a few days ago while we shivered in multiple sweaters, and today, we're sweltering in the heat.  All this back and forth, from one extreme to the other, doesn't seem to be harming our surroundings any — they're just bursting forth with life!

Spring cleaning frenzy has taken over my household, but as I pause between reorganizing drawers, cleaning out closets, and dusting out nooks and crannies, I've been watching the almond trees out my window.

A few months ago, these barren twigs looked bleak. We weren't sure they'd recover from last summer's wildfire that stopped right by them (and only two lots from our house).  The winter didn't make them look any better, except maybe by washing out the black charred bits to an ashy grey.

Yet, on the brink of spring, the trees were suddenly, improbably sporting tiny buds. And then bursting forth in full glory!

The intrepid little lemon tree next to them wasn't to be outdone either.

Two weeks later, here's where we are:  What looks like it's going to be a bumper crop of almonds later this year!

In case you're wondering, we won't be eating any of them — these are wild almonds, which may not be edible.  They're growing on empty land, as is that incongruous lemon tree.    I always wonder if one of us, walking home with groceries one day, inadvertently dropped a lemon there! It seems rather unexpected there.

Knowing the trees survived and are thriving again give me a lot of joy as I bustle around. Airing out the house we had sealed up tight against the winter winds, hanging up laundry in the warm sunshine again, I feel like we're all coming out of hibernation, too, and starting to bloom once more as well.

By the way my house isn't the only thing getting a face-lift this month.  If I'm rearranging the furniture and giving the kitchen a whole new look, why not do the same for some of my books?

I've got two new covers coming soon and they are just gorgeous. 

I'm really excited about them, so keep an eye out for them. I'll be revealing them soon!

Milou Koenings is a USA Today best-selling 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 Green Pines sweet romances, Reclaiming Home and Sweet Blizzard are available on Amazon and Amazon.uk. 

You can find her on her website,www.miloukoenings.com, on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram.
 

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And please join us at the Sweet Romance Reads Cafe to chat with our authors. We love to hear from you!

Fun Ways to Enjoy Spring by Raine English

Now that the weather’s warming up, it’s time to enjoy the outdoors. One of my favorite things to do is to sit on my deck and bird watch. The other day, a pair of cardinals built a nest in a nearby bush, and it’s fun to watch them flutter in and out of it.

Here are some other things I like to do in spring:

• Take a long walk on the beach
• Have a picnic
• Visit a farmer's market
• Plant some flowers
• Eat lunch outside at a  restaurant

What are some fun things that you plan to do this spring?

~*~

USA Today bestselling author Raine English writes sweet small-town contemporary romance, paranormal and Gothic romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. Too Good to Believe, book three in her sweet series, Love Always, is available now. It features three childhood friends who encounter a lot more than anticipated while searching for love. 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.

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