Cruise into Love by Jean C. Gordon

In a week and a half—for Valentine's Day—my husband and I will be flying to Fort Lauderdale for our first cruise—four days to Cozumel, Mexico, where we're going to tour the Tulum Mayan ruins. It's a combination of business and pleasure. The Florida chapters of the Romance Writers of America are holding a conference onboard, and I'm the sweet/inspirational romance author on the contemporary romance panel.

As I've been thinking about getting ready for the trip, it struck me that although I've shied away from cruises in the past because I have a tendency toward motion sickness, I've already been on three virtual cruises with the characters in three of my books. Two of them are set on cruise ships and, in the third, the hero surprises the heroine with a honeymoon cruise to the Galapagos Islands.

Mara Riley is out to prove she can make it on her own and to disprove her mother's contention that the only way to security—and therefore happiness—is to marry a successful doctor or lawyer. But with her job as an activity director at a North Carolina mountain resort on shaky ground and her penchant for choosing all the wrong men, Mara's not scoring high in the pursuit of either security or happiness. 

Alex Price is on the rebound from a broken engagement. Who would have guessed his social-climbing fiancee would drop him, a successful lawyer with his own practice—okay, a successful practice with his two overbearing older brothers—for a back-to-nature forest ranger? When these childhood adversaries meet on the "honeymoon" cruise Alex is now taking alone, they make a pact to help each other ward off unwanted attention from fellow shipmates--a pact that sends them sailing into uncharted waters.

Bridget O’Brien lost her fiancé to a dangerous job. And, while she’d love to have a relationship like the one she lost, the last thing she wants is one with another man who willingly puts his life in danger. Luke Foster is a motocross racer whose track record with women runs short and no-strings-attached on both sides. He’d never seriously pursue a forever-after woman like Bridget.

All they want is a holiday week away. Bridget from her well-meaning family’s condolences about her planned Christmas Eve wedding and her memories of a future that won’t be. Luke from his family’s annual critique at which he and his life choices always fall short of expectations.

But, under the blue Caribbean skies, anything can happen.

Physical therapist Dana VanAlstyne’s dreams of a family were lost in the dust of a motocross racecourse. Although she’s filled her life with her work and church activities, it hasn’t filled the empty space inside her. Nor has it eased the heartache of being abandoned by a man who wasn’t ready for a wife and children. Now her dream is to open her own private practice. All she needs is the capital to make that happen.

Anton, “Mac,” Macachek may be the top professional motocross racer in the country but he still has one race that matters more to him: winning a championship at Unadilla Raceway and showing the hometown folks the bad boy did amount to something. But when a horrific accident sidelines those plans, he makes a deal with the woman he once loved with all his heart. A woman who abandoned him. If Dana will get him back in racing shape, he’ll fund her new practice. Then an even more dangerous risk is revealed. If Mac races again, he could die.

Does Dana have enough faith to risk her heart again? She loved Mac once, but feared he loved motocross racing more than he loved her. If she helps him mend his broken body, will it also mend her broken heart? Or will it all be lost again in the dust and danger of a motocross racetrack?
Find them all on Amazon or click on the covers. You can read Mara's Move and Mending the Motocross Champion free if you belong to Kindle Unlimited.

So if you've ever been on a cruise, do you have any advice besides use lots of sunscreen?

For Amazon bestselling sweet and inspirational author Jean C. Gordon, writing is a natural extension of her love of reading. From that day in first grade when she realized t-h-e was the word the, she’s been reading everything she can put h hands on. Jean and her college-sweetheart husband share a 175-year-old farmhouse in Upstate New York—where she sets her books—with their daughter and her family. Their son lives nearby. Connect with Jean on Facebook, as @JeanCGordon on Twitter, or on JeanCGordon.com.

New girl in the class here, Rachelle Ayala

by Rachelle Ayala

Hello friends, Some of you may have seen me around and for others, I'm a new to you author. I'm happy to be accepted into Sweet Romance Reads and am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

I have been published since 2012, and write a mixture of sweet and not so sweet romances. My sweet romances are listed at my website on their own special page: http://rachelleayala.me/sweet

My sweet romances include A Veteran's Christmas Series (G-rated) which won Readers' Favorite awards.

and my family of San Francisco firefighters, The Hart Family, Have A Hart Series (which is PG-rated) and a few Christmas stories.

I love writing holiday romances, and this Valentine's Day, I will have two new releases - one sweet and one spicy. The sweet one is Valentine Wedding Hound where a reality show collides with a dream wedding. Don't worry, it is squeaky clean and lots of fun, especially when Harley the basset hound gets in the middle of things.

Get to Know You Giveaway

To get to know each other, I'd like to give four copies of Valentine Wedding Hound to four lucky readers (think four-leaf clover lucky). All you have to do is ask me a question in the comments. That's it! Meanwhile, please read an excerpt of Valentine Wedding Hound and sign up for my newsletter for a free sweet romance [a naughty one comes with it, but you don't have to download it, shhhh...].

Some random trivia about me:

I was born in Minnesota.

That bird on my shoulder is a Solomon Island Eclectus.

I have published over 40 books, 39 fiction and 4 non-fiction.

I love to read.

I used to ride a skateboard to school.

I was married on St. Patrick's Day.

...

[ Please drop a question in the comments to enter my Giveaway or comment on the Facebook post for this article at https://www.facebook.com/groups/SRRCafe1/ ]

Winners will be drawn by February 8, the day before our Party. https://www.facebook.com/events/245363182564850/

Wondering where winter has gone....

Happy February 5th to you all!

It sure doesn't seem like February here in the upper Midwest. I think of winter with a shiver, reminiscing about heavy snows, ice storms (see photo of our backyard a couple years ago), and the days the school bus could not make it up our country round...or the day our kids donned their ice skates and used that country road as a long, perfectly smooth ice rink.

But this January and February have been dry, with a few faint dustings of snow, temps hovering in the 30's to 40's and bright sunshine, It feels like spring!   And it's also a very different sort of start to February, because my husband has retired.  

As of February 1st, he is home for good...at least until he gets into the swing of things with possible volunteering and projects around the acreage.  Or, perhaps, a part time job. On his first morning of freedom, he looked at me over breakfast and said he was already bored!  So I don't think he will stay still for long.  :)  Have any of you been through the process of you or your spouse becoming retired? How did you cope with that huge change?

In the meantime, I will continue to do what I love--writing, and all of the myriad things that go with it.  Currently, I'm working with my webmistress on revamping my website, getting my newsletter going (finally!),  finishing up a book proposal, and various online efforts.  Just last week I learned about memes and had one done--which I am posting here. I learned that, done in this way, it is sort of like an online business card, but it's my first attempt and I would love any feedback for making it better!

Best wishes to you all for a wonderful, cozy winter!

Roxanne Rustand


PS: leave a comment, and you will be in a drawing to win a free e-copy of An Aspen Creek Christmas, Sweet Christmas Kisses III, or Summer at Briar Lake (your choice)

Babies in Books

“This is not a monkey. It’s an o-ran-gu-tan.” The three-year-old boy pointed at the picture on his electronic tablet. “You don’t know anything, Mon-Mon,” Scott added as his brothers, Brian and Ethan scowled at me suspiciously. The little sweethearts are triplets.

“Okay, I see. Maybe we can play the orangutan game,” I said with my most amiable tone of voice. I badly wanted to cooperate with the triplets I was babysitting while their mother, my young cousin, was at the doctor.

“No, too tricky for you.” Brian shook his head and Ethan protected his tablet behind his back.

Playing on the tablet was too tricky for a writer and grandmother!!!

A month ago I had the pleasure of hosting fourteen children under twelve for Christmas dinner and their week vacation. Among them we had two sets of twins and one set of triplets. All adorable and so good at using their ipads and their parents’ iphones! Even the three-year old triplets tapped their little fingers faster than I can ever do it.  

I also regularly babysit my grandchildren. The exhausted young parents never hesitate to bring their little angels—or monsters, depending if I’m full of energy or at the end of my patience—to spend two to four weeks with Grandma and Grandpa’s. I love chatting with them.

Is it any wonder that I have become quite an expert at taking care of young children?

“Write what you know,” a well-known editor advised during one of her workshops.

Have you ever featured children in your story?

I had several babies in BABIES IN THE BARGAIN; a teenager in NO MORE LIES; a baby girl and four little boys in AN UNUSUAL CHRISTMAS.

Children add a touch of humor and emotion to our stories, and bring smiles in our lives.

Babies play a major role in my Holiday Babies series.

Books in this series can be read in order or as stand-alone reads.

Holiday Babies Series:

Holly Jolly Christmas: Prequel to the series.

Christmas Babies: A sweet and powerful Christmas Story.

Valentine Babies: Can he love a woman expecting another man's baby?

Mother's Day Babies: Never too late to find love and happiness.

Wedding Surprise: Is it the worst or best wedding surprise?

Christmas Papa: Who's my Papa, Mommy?

On Christmas Eve: We want a mommy for Christmas.

“Mona Risk knows how to pull a reader into the minds of her well-crafted characters. Her work takes us on a journey be it local or overseas.”~Night Owl Reviews.

A Family Forever Series by @DonnaFaz and a Cookie #Recipe

When the weather is cold and blustery, I love the smell of warm cookies fresh out of the oven. These cookies, rich with molasses, cinnamon, and ginger, are scrumptious and perfect with tea and a good book!

Marvelous Molasses Cookies

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

¾ cup butter, softened

⅓ cup molasses

1 egg

2 ⅓ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375º.

Cream the brown sugar and butter. Add molasses and egg, and beat to incorporate. Stir in the flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt until thoroughly combined. Roll rounded teaspoonfuls of dough into balls and place on lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake until just set, between 10-12 minutes. Makes about 4 dozen mouthwatering cookies.

Now that the cookies are baked, brew yourself a cup of hot tea and snuggle up with my latest sweet romance novel, A BEAUTIFUL STRANGER. This is the first book of my A Family Forever Series. Available in these fine stores:

Paperback 

US Kindle        UK Kindle

iBooks Store

Nook Book

Kobo

Google

Book 2 of the series, MADE IN PARADISE, will be out soon!

Click here to be magically transported to the Valentine's Party Page! The party is set for Feb 9th from 2-8 PM (Eastern). Be sure to save it in your favorites to join us on that day!

 

 

Want to get in on the latest information of Sweet Romance Reads? 

Then sign up for our newsletter here.

~   ~   ~

USA Today Bestselling Author Donna Fasano has written over 30 romance and women’s fiction novels. Her books have won awards and have sold 4 million copies worldwide. Her work is available in paperback, audiobooks, and ebooks for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, iBooks, and Google Play. Learn more about her at her blog, check out her books, and connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest. She loves to hear from readers.

Wedding Dresses by Melinda Curtis

My daughter gave me fair warning - her boyfriend is planning to propose to her this year.

Forget for a moment that this isn't spontaneous (although he might make it romantic, because he wouldn't tell her when - only that it would be this year). When your only daughter starts talking wedding, you occasionally find yourself looking at wedding dresses online.

So there I was, innocently looking at wedding dresses, when I realized those dresses looked more like prom dresses than what I would call a wedding dress. Call me old fashioned, but I consider too much black on a wedding dress to be a little morbid.

And then there are the colored ones. As much as I love Beauty & the Beast, I wouldn't want MY daughter to be married in Belle's yellow gown (if that makes you happy, by all means, go for it).

And then there are the ones with "princess" skirts or vintage lace - so prim and proper.

Mr. Curtis says all I've done so far is stress myself out - shouting during a football game about the horror of a wedding dress and practically jerking him out of his doze!

So tell me ladies, how's a mother to cope? Any advice?

Melinda Curtis is an award-winning USA Today bestseller. Her latest sweet romantic comedy release is book #5 in her popular Bridesmaid Series (a fact that hasn't helped her in this process at all) - The Bridesmaid Wore White.

Lyn Cote-A New Book for February--Winter Homecoming!

My newest ebook, Winter Homecoming, is the second in my Northwoods Past series. It's the story of two wounded hearts, a little lost boy and a very cold and snowy winter.

I wrote this book after reading the true story of Dr Kate Newcomb, called the Angel in Snowshoes. Dr. Kate was one of those pioneering women in the early 20th century who defied convention and wealthy parents to become a doctor. When her husband became ill, they moved to the wilderness of the northwoods for his health. She became a mover and shaker there and actually did snowshoe to patients. For more info, drop by  www.drkatemuseum.org/

Dr Kate in her snowshoes!

Here's the blurb:

Catching a freight train out of Chicago is no way to spend Christmas Day. 

But Will Gustafson has run out of options. The Depression has cost him everything--his classy wife, executive job  and high society life. Now he’s heading home to the northwoods of Wisconsin to face the “I told you so’s” he deserves. On the freight train a homeless little boy attaches himself to Will like a lost puppy. Who is the boy and why is he alone?

On the day after Christmas in her Model T, Cass Newton picks up Will and the boy and takes them home with her. Is she crazy? But a new widow, she needs a handyman to help her weather the winter in her isolated cabin. She’s concealed her “delicate” condition from everyone but can’t deceive Will. 

A baby is coming and Will wonders how he’ll handle this--when his lady boss refuses to see a doctor. Why not for heaven’s sake? He fights his growing attraction to this good but stubborn woman--so unlike the wife who divorced him. The three of them become an unlikely “family.” Yet what will happen when the snow melts and all their secrets are revealed?

*********
Have you subscribed to our newsletter yet? When you do you will receive a collection short romances. Look to the right near the top of the column and enter your email address!

To pre-order from amazon, click here.
QUESTION: Is there any person similar to Dr Kate in your hometown, a leader who went above and beyond? Leave a comment and enter a drawing to win an e-copy of Winter Homecoming.--Lyn