Hear! Hear! Audio Books! by Christine Bush

 I’ve been an avid reader for all of my life.  In the early days, I’d always have at least one book stashed in my pocketbook in case “down time” appeared in my day.

On my bed stand, I had the often discussed “to be read” pile of stories by my favorite authors.  At times, I might even be reading more than one at a time.

Then the Kindle appeared on the scene, and in a flash, it was filled with a zillion books, easy to carry around and ready for any occasion.

I come right down the middle in the “kindle vs paper book” discussion.  I’ve decided it’s an “and”.  I like them both.

Reading, reading reading!

But then the pandemic hit, the library temporarily closed, and the zoom phenomena began. For a long time, my life was on screen.  I was writing on line, teaching zoom classes on line, reading those zillion books loaded on the Kindle. I was holding meetings of many types on line, reading college students’ electronically submitted assignments  and papers on line, communicating with friends and family in little zoom boxes…

After a while, it was clear that my eyes were feeling the strain.

Enter Audible books.

It was such a thrill to be able to download some of my favorite author’s stories.  I could sit back, close my eyes, and LISTEN.  And rest my  tired eyes.  What a joy!

So then, I had to learn how to bring my own stories to the audio world.  What an experience! Auditioning readers, hearing my work read out loud, I faced the learning curve. Exciting!

Three novellas are available so far..

 

Christmas Holly

Amazon.com: Christmas Holly (Audible Audio Edition): Christine Bush, Ann Bumbak, Christine Bush: Audible Books & Originals

Christmas Rose

Amazon.com: Christmas Rose (Audible Audio Edition): Christine Bush, Annika Connor, Christine Bush: Audible Books & Originals

Meddling Mona

Amazon.com: Meddling Mona (Audible Audio Edition): Christine Bush, Ann Bumbak, Christine Bush: Audible Books & Originals

 

Go check them out!  The first time you order from Audible, the book is free.  Give your eyeballs a break! I’d love to hear what you think. 

 

Christine Bush is a USA Today Bestselling author of romance, romantic mystery, and suspense.  She can be found living in the Lehigh Valley in Pennsylvania with her husband and 2 lazy cats, and spending time with her 14 grandchildren.   When she’s not writing, she’s teaching Psychology at a local college, and working with clients in her private practice as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She loves to hear from readers and writers!

  

www.ChristineBush.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Christine-Bush-Author/213919128638762
http://www.amazon.com/Christine-Bush/e/B001KHSLRG/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1392688497&sr=1-2-ent

 

Another Covington Falls Chronicle...by Kristin Wallace

 

I'm so excited to celebrate the upcoming release of my latest book, CHRISTMAS CHARADE! It's part of the HOLIDAY FAKE-OUT box set, with 22 other romance authors, including NYT Bestselling Author, Heather Graham. 

Perhaps the most exciting part is that the new book allows me to return to the "Covington Falls Chronicles". My heroine is related to an important family in Covington Falls, GA. She's the niece of the mayor's wife, Catherine Manning who my readers might remember from my first book, MARRY ME.

CHRISTMAS CHARADE

Maggie Lewis left her hometown of Covington Falls, Georgia three years ago with a broken heart and a dream to become a sculptor. Maggie’s family never understood her passion, preferring she act like the perfect Southern woman. She found a haven in Raleigh, NC, working as a waitress at Sullivan’s, a popular family-owned restaurant, while building her reputation as an artist. 

Now, she must return to Covington Falls for her cousin’s Christmas wedding. She can’t face returning alone, particularly seeing her HEX (heinous ex-fiancé) again. So, she invents a boyfriend. Then she has to find one to take to the wedding. 

Turns out Maggie’s new “boyfriend” is closer than she thought, and she has a way to convince him to be her fake date to the wedding.

Wyatt Sullivan once had dreams of being a country music superstar. The sudden death of his parents meant giving up that dream so he could take care of his five younger siblings. Now, he runs Sullivan’s with them. Then Maggie Lewis offers a way to finally pursue his music career. All he has to do is agree to be her fake boyfriend at her cousin’s wedding. 

Maggie and Wyatt are prepared to fake a relationship, but they’re not prepared for the very real feelings that begin to develop. Can they find the courage to take a chance on love and end the Christmas Charade?

Pre-Order TODAY!

AMAZON  /  APPLE BOOKS  /  BARNES & NOBLE   /  KOBO 

You can also enter to WIN an iPad. 

Can You Help? ~ Jean C. Gordon

My next Paradox Lake Sweet Romance, Trusting Love, will release in February, and I'm looked for Hero-Heroine cover art. Which art above do you like best? A little background: She's a certified nurse-midwife. He's an OB/Gyn. They're co-practitioners with decidedly different prenatal-delivery approaches and styles. Share your choice in the comments.

October $2.99 Preorder Deal

If you haven't read the No Brides Club multi-author sweet romance series that I've participated, now is your chance to. These 4-Book Collections are each available for preorder for $2.99--that's less than the normal price for one book!

The No Brides Club is a series of sweet and wholesome, contemporary romances that allow an escape to the Big Apple without leaving your favorite reading chair.

The career-minded bachelorettes in this series share a common goal to put business before bridal plans. But what happens when they meet someone who makes them want to trade in their no-marriage vows for a walk down the aisle?

PREORDER TODAY for $2.99

Books 1-4

Books 5-8

(includes my No Time for Apologies)

Booke 9-12

(includes my No Time for Detours)

Booke 13-16

(includes my No Time for Detours)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

For My New Releases

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Visit my Website 

Autumn beauty, and new beginnings

We had a long, hot summer here in the Midwest, so the arrival of fall is a blessed relief.  With temperatures now down to the mid-seventies and the promise of fall colors, I am rejoicing!

But though those colors have yet to appear here, each October a friend and I travel to the far north to visit a dear, mutual friend, Lyn Cote, and her family.  I'll post some autumn photos from up North at the bottom of this post.

Whether our weekend is cold, drizzly or sunny, it's the chance to be together that means everything. I look forward to seeing them all summer.  We talk a lot about writing and publishing, and I always leave feeling spiritually renewed because she and her husband are people of such deep faith. I am also motivated to increase my dedication for writing more books!

Do you have friends with whom distance and infrequency don't change anything in your friendship?  What a blessing it is! Lyn and I have been friends since 1992, when we were unpublished and praying for the day when we could see our books on bookstore shelves. What a journey that was for both of us. It's been wonderful to see her determination, focus, work ethic, and the trajectory of her career. I'm now at forty books, but she has far more!

Speaking of books, my September sweet romance,  ONE MORE KISS, is still free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers (or just $3.99 for those who are not.)  Romance with a touch of humor, suspense, and a troublesome menagerie, this was truly a book of my heart.

And releasing October 28th will be FINAL REFUGE, the first book in my new Montana Secrets romantic suspense series. A while back I posted questions on cover art options for this book on the Sweetromance Reads Facebook Cafe, and the majority of you chose this one (see cover at the top of this post.) Thank you! What do you think?

Leave a comment, and I will give a Kindle e-copy of ONE MORE WISH to the winner of my drawing.

Don't forget to scroll down for some autumn photos!  :)

Blessing to you all.

Roxanne

To receive notices about future book releases, click "follow me" at:
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/roxanne-rustand   

The Perfect Autumn Beverage

I love mulled cider. In trying to decide which recipe to use for this post, I was torn between recipes offered by 2 Food Network chefs that I love—Bobby Flay and Ina Garten. I went with Garten’s recipe because I love the flavor and scent of star anise. If you’ve never used this spice, you have got to try it! It smells like a holiday all by itself. I often put a few star anise and few whole cloves into a saucepan of simmering water. This concoction makes my house smell wonderful. Be careful not to let the water evaporate completely or you’ll end up with scorched spices. Now, on to the recipe.

Mulled Cider 

by Ina Garten of Food Network

Ingredients

·       1 gallon fresh apple cider

·       4 cinnamon sticks

·       8 whole cloves

·       6 star anise

Directions

1.       Combine all ingredients into a pot and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, or until all flavors are combined.
2.       Pour into mugs and serve hot.
3.       Makes 12 servings.

~  ~  ~  ~

This month, I’m celebrating fall by putting MOUNTAIN LAUREL on sale for just 99¢ for Kindle readers. That's a $3 savings off the regular price. 

This sweet romance is the first book I ever wrote. It won a finalist spot on what was then called The Unpublished RITA Contest (now known as The Golden Heart). The book did not win the contest, but editor Tara Gavin of Harlequin did buy and publish the book. I was so proud! It's been completely edited and updated.

Links to buy in the Kindle Store:

US  #Ad

UK

Canada

Australia

 

If your store isn’t listed above, simply search for “Mountain Laurel Donna Fasano” in your Kindle Store. Thank you!

 

Fall is for Reading by Vickie McDonough

After a long hot, dry August and September with over 55 days in the nineties, I'm really glad to see the cooler temperatures of autumn. Fall is the time for hot chocolate, pumpkin pie, and cuddling up with a blanket and a book. If you're in the market for a new book to read, check out my Romance in the Badlands series, which is now in paperback.

Romance in the Badland contains three novels that feature the McFarland siblings who live on the Rocking M ranch.

In the rugged North Dakota Badlands, the three McFarland siblings struggle to make their ranch a success. 

 

Wild at Heart 

Dime novelist Mariah resents Adam McFarland claiming her facts about the West are wrong. At his invitation, she heads to his ranch in North Dakota. But when her train is robbed, and a man is shot trying to help her, she makes sure he gets home. When he turns out to be the very man she came to visit, she is shocked into silence about her identity. As she falls for the troubled cowboy who has his own secrets, will the truth ruin their blossoming romance? 

 

Outlaw Heart 

When Deputy Marshal Brett Wickham’s younger brother is killed in a bank robbery, he goes after the gang responsible. However, a bear attack lands him badly wounded in the gang’s hideout, with Lottie Salinger nursing him. The woman seems too kind and caring to be an outlaw, but the evidence is against her. When Brett starts to care for her, he wonders if he can still do his job. Will justice prevail, or will love win out? 

 

Straight for the Heart 

When the mail-order bride his grandmother secretly ordered for him doesn’t arrive, Quinn McFarland is relieved. But the only way to keep her from ordering another one is to find his own wife—and fast. When the sheriff suggests Quinn marry the gal in his jail, he balks. Marriage to Sarah could solve Quinn’s need for a wife and fix Sarah’s problems—but dare he marry an outlaw?

Available on 10/16/21. 

Pre-order now: https://amzn.to/3AXSbB6

Lyn Cote Shares a Fall Recipe!

 

The view from my porch

I LOVE MAKING SOUP in the fall and winter. It's a real time saver for me. I make a huge pot and then I serve it for one supper (with extra cheese and crackers or bread) and then for as many lunches as it will last. My husband is not a man who enjoy cold sandwiches for lunch.😝

I tried this last year for the first time because previously if I'd suggested to my husband that he would like butternut squash soup, I would have gotten the "LOOK."

But he has learned to love roasted vegetables. He's even eating cauliflower and asking for more! AMAZING! This is the man who only ate iceberg lettuce and raw carrots when we married. 

Here is the recipe I started with but of course I can't just follow a recipe. So read my "adjustments" in parentheses.

Ingredients

Original recipe yields 4 servings

2 tablespoons butter 

1 small onion, chopped  

1 stalk celery, chopped 

1 medium carrot, chopped 

2 medium potatoes, cubed (I deleted this since we're low carb people)

1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed (I avoided all this work but roasting it in the over for about an hour at 350 F so I only had to scoop out the MUCH MORE FLAVORFUL squash for the soup.)

1 32 fluid ounce container chicken stock  

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

(I added half and half just before serving and warmed it slightly--avoid high heat to avoid curdling OR use whole cream and no problem. I also added cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.)

Directions
Step 1

Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender.
Step 2

Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

The soup got rave reviews and I of course, doubled the recipe! Here's a fall bargain for you.

My four book series OPPOSITES ATRACT is now in a boxed set and on sale for $4.99--that's right 4 books for just over the price of one!

Here's the link for more info. 

Happy Fall Soups!