Knock, Knock ~ Jean C. Gordon

With today being World Health Day and 2020 being International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, at first I thought I'd blog about that. But as I started writing, I realized that with my own unavoidable worry about the two essential medical personal in our household who have to report for work--our daughter who's a midwife at a clinic in Albany and our granddaughter who works at a medicinal production facility--I thought what I could use was some humor. I suspect you can too. 

So I've drummed up five "romantic"  knock-knock jokes to share.

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Kiss
Kiss who?
Kiss me!

Knock-KnockWho’s there?
Olive
Olive who?
Olive you.

Knock-Knock
Who’s there?
Honeydew!
Honeydew who?
Honeydew you know how much I love you?

Knock-Knock
Who’s there?
Orange!
Orange who?
Orange you stunning.

Knock-Knock
Who’s there?
Juno.
Juno who?
Juno I love you, don’t you?

Please share your favorite Knock-Knock joke in the comments. 

And Here's a Giveaway to Brighten Your Day

Don't miss your chance to win this International #Givaway offered by me and the other authors of the Sweet Kisses Limited Edition Box Set! Runs through 4/30.

GRAND PRIZE: One digital copy of the Box Set and a $50 Amazon Gift Card (The box set will be sent out upon release).

TWO SECOND CHANCE WINNERS will receive a digital copy of the Box Set (The box set will be sent out upon release).

ENTER NOW 

Only #99¢, This sweet contemporary romance anthology collection includes 21 original stories from bestselling and award-winning authors, Including WSJ and USA Today Bestselling authors. Each piece written for this anthology is to benefit Pets for Vets. The #21SweetKisses Box Set is available for a limited time only. 

What a great way to help veterans who've been injured in service to our country and the Pets that need them. 100% of preorder profits will be donated to Pets for Vets!

OTHER AUTHORS CONTRIBUTING TO THIS BOX SET: Tamie Dearen, Judith Lucci, Evangeline Kelly, Lorana Hoopes, Jo Noelle, Jessie Gussman, Donna K. Weaver, Melanie D. Snitker, Monique McDonell, Michelle Pennington, Kit Morgan, Emma St. Clair, Jeanette Lewis, Anne-Marie Meyer, Judy Corry, Bree Livingston, Juliette Duncan, Vivi Holt, Brooke St. James, Joy Ohagwu

Available for 99¢ Preorder at Select Online Vendors

Apple Books | B&N | Kobo | Coming Soon to Amazon!

Already Preordered ~ Read Some Books for Free

This is so exciting! The Sweet Kisses Limited Edition Box Set authors and our publisher have come together to say thank you to all readers who preorder the set from Apple iBooks and Nook.

We can't offer this forever so if you would like to read some books for free, please send your proof of purchase to our publisher at rukiapublishingus@gmail.com and they will send you a link and a code. You will then be able to choose from any of the ebooks displayed on the page.

Hurry, our publisher has limited the time frame of this event from April 7th through April 22nd.

Step one: preorder from Apple or Nook
Step two: email Rukia the receipt of purchase(screenshot, forwarded email, etc.)
Step three: enjoy hours of reading while you wait for the set to publish live on July 21, 2020.

On a more serious note, on this World Heath Day 2020, I invite you to join me in thanking all the medical personnel and other essential workers from grocery story clerks to warehouse workers to firefighters, police, and military and everyone in between who's still on the job for us all during this trying time.

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It's all subjective by Julie Jarnagin

I just had a fun exchange with some of my author friends. We were talking about our favorite books of last year. Several of the authors mentioned loving a romance novel that I had started twice but never finished. Another author and I both loved a different series that another writer said she hated!

These are fellow writers who write similar genres and who all know a lot about the craft of writing, but we had dramatically different reactions to the books. It just goes to show that reading is so subjective. Even when the writing is strong, everyone has different views about what makes a book great.

As we talked, we realized that a couple of things really made the difference in how we felt about the books. Sense of humor is different for everyone. We all like to laugh, but we each find different things funny. Certain things that make some people laugh out loud simply make me roll my eyes. Something about the humor in the books we liked worked for us.

We also noticed regional differences. The book I loved was set in my neck of the woods. I related to some of the off-the-wall characters, but my author friend didn't relate.

To me, these are the reasons that this is a great time to be an author and a reader. We have so many options at our fingertips! Want to read about Amish vampires in space or fairy tales re-imagined with cowboys, there's a book for you. It also makes it possible for a group of sweet romance authors to exist. We're able to connect directly with readers who love the types of books we enjoy writing.

So have fun! Read the books that make you happy and keep you turning the pages!

Julie Jarnagin is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet and inspirational romance. She grew up in a small Oklahoma town where her family farmed and ranched. These days she lives in Louisiana with her amazing husband and two young sons who tolerate all her nerdy quirks. Julie earned a B.A. in Journalism / Professional Writing from the University of Oklahoma. 
www.JulieJarnagin.com

Meg - Beach Brides Series: 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. 

Have you signed up for Sweet Romance Reads newsletter? It's full of great info and fun stuff from our authors. 

Romance & Mystery & Egypt

I think I've told you already that my favorite books combine both mystery and romance, so it's only natural that the fourth book which I'd like to present to you today is a perfect mix of both. I'm talking about Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters.

There's one other element I can't resist, and that's humor. If a book makes me chuckle, I'm a fan. With Amelia Peabody, Elizabeth Peters has created a heroine that is irresistibly funny.

Neither beautiful nor timid, Amelia does exactly as she pleases. Here's one statement that's absolutely hilarious, because she characterizes herself: "I have been accused of being somewhat abrupt in my actions and decisions, but I never act without thought; it is simply that I think more quickly and more intelligently than most people. I am an excellent judge of character." The entertaining part about this is that she acts most of the time without thinking twice, and that she's quite often taken in by the people around her who turn out to be the villains she's trying to overcome.

In Crocodile on the Sandbank, Amelia meets the love of her life, but little does she know it. In fact, her first words to him are as follows: "And you, sir, are the lordly British male at his loudest and most bad-mannered. If the English gentle woman is covering the earth, it is in the hope of counteracting some of the mischief her lord and master has perpetrated. Swaggering, loud, certain of his own superiority . . . "
As the book is set around 1890, this is quite a statement, and it'll take illnesses and several other assorted catastrophes until this explosive couple finds happiness.

Crocodile on the Sandbank is a pure delight to read, a romp in Egypt that made me immediately buy the other books in the series, but the first one remains my favorite! Do you have any favorite books set abroad?

Beate Boeker
USA Today bestselling author
http://www.happybooks.de
Mischief & Humor from Page 1

Where romance and humor is deliciously combined

I've decided to start a new series of blog entries, sharing my most beloved books with you. It wasn't difficult to find a book for this first blog about my newly chosen topic: Frederica by Goergette Heyer wins hands down whenever I'm asked about the books I most enjoy!

Many of you will know Georgette Heyer for a writer of regency romances, and I'll readily admit that her romances are made of the usual elements that constitute a traditional romance – in general, some poor woman finds a rich man who's most suave and enigmatic. So what's special?

Goergette Heyer has a certain something that makes every book by her a pure delight to read: It's her humor, the underlying irony, and her masterful description of characters.

Take the first sentence of this book, for example. “Not more than five days after she had dispatched an urgent missive to her brother . . .” (he drives up to her house). That sentence already made me smile. It also shows in one masterly half-sentence that the sister is trying to push her brother around, and that he's having none of it. I'm intrigued and can't wait to read on.

Further down on the page, Georgette Heyer's skillful characterization continues with the hero's other sister: “Lady Jevington found herself unable to blame Alverstoke (their brother) for taking no interest in any of them (his nieces and nephews by the other sister). It was really impossible to be interested in such commonplace children. That he was equally uninterested in her own offspring did ,however, argue a selfish disposition.”

At this point, I was already hooked, chuckling to myself in delight. Heyer's sense of humor is wicked, and I often wonder how she looked at the people around her and how she must have seen through them and their antics to impress.

Frederica is a heart-warming and charming novel with amazing characters. Many people have reviewed the plot and the details over the years, so I won't go into that here. In fact, to me, it almost doesn't matter what Heyer writes about – it's the attention to detail, and the ironic notes in the sub-text that make me go back to her books time and again whenever I want something good and happy and fun to read – even if I already know most of what's happening.

I wish there were more authors like her. If you know of any that you've found just as delightful, do let me know! 

Beate Boeker
USA Today bestselling author
http://www.happybooks.de
Mischief & Humor from Page 1