New Beginnings.... by Christine Bush

I love fall.

I have ever since I was a kid.

Summer was great, from the warm weather, the relaxation, the lack of schedules for the most part.  But as fall approached, excitement would begin.  Fall meant change, crisp air, new beginnings.

Probably it began because I liked school.  A new school term meant back to learning, back to friends and activities.

There were signs when it was coming.

Ads for bookbags, new school shoes, and school supplies. 

Folders! Pencils! Markers! 

And then I became an elementary teacher.  The excitement of a new class was firmly entrenched in me. New beginnings. And great anticipation.

Today I am a college professor.  I don’t sharpen pencils anymore.  But I still stock up on supplies, books, and new ideas.  And I still approach my students with the same excitement and delight.

My rhythm as a writer seems to follow this same calendar.  Fall is a time for beginning a new book, a new project.  This year, like other years, I am gearing up to write the first page of my next romantic mystery.  It’s always a case of delving into the unknown.

As these last days of summer approach, so does the excitement of what’s to come.  I’m not yet sure of what it will be.  And I can’t wait to find out!

How about you?  Do you anticipate fall?  Any new beginnings?  I’d love to know!

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!

  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

 

 A "back to school" sweet romance!  Check out "Lucy's Laugh", available in print and ebook!

 

Amazon.com: Lucy's Laugh eBook : Bush, Christine: Kindle Store

Sweet City(?) Romance ~ Jean C. Gordon

Say sweet romance and many people automatically think of small-town romance. It doesn't have to be. The multi-author No Brides Club series which is relaunching this week is set in one of the largest cities in the world--New York City (or The City, as us Upstate New Yorkers say). Granted my three books in the series have one main character who's from a small town making his or her way in New York City. And in some of the other books, city dwellers are lured out of the city by love. But the bottom line is that they are all sweet city romances.

Have you read other sweet city romances? I (and I'm sure other blog readers) would love to know the titles so we can check them out, too.

The No Brides Club Is Back

What happens when you meet Mr. Right at exactly the WRONG time?

Kate Lewis left her family’s dairy farm and fell in love with everything about New York City--especially the high-powered, fast-paced world of finance. Once content to lie in the grass and watch clouds float across the sky, her biggest dream now is to work her way to the top of Wall Street.

Jon Smith is so much more than his plain name implies. He’s also a rising star in the world of finance, on a mission to save his grandfather’s cattle farm—and Kate’s former high school admirer. When a shocking twist of fate puts these two in direct competition for a job they both covet, the last thing they need is any new sparks of attraction. Too bad fate isn’t done with them yet.

Will they give in to their attraction, or is their newfound rivalry too intense to put aside? Find out in this sweet big-city twist on the classic second-chance romance theme.

                 

Ava Lewis can take care of herself. Thank you. If only she didn’t need to keep proving that to her well-meaning, but sometimes overbearing family. But now that she's been provisionally accepted into NYU's law school, she's on her way to dispelling their doubts and making her career goal come true. There’s only one problem. To afford that goal, she has to make ends meet. 

That’s where Nick Jansen and his unexpected job offer come in. When five-year-old twins are left in his care while their guardian goes off on a month-long honeymoon, he knows he can't handle the rabble-rousers on his own. Ava, with her early childhood education experience, to the rescue.

After a broken engagement, and repeated words of discouragement from his jaded mother, Nick has accepted that he's meant to be alone—with the world better off for it. But as the kids warm to Ava, so does he, and he starts to feel some of the ice around his heart melting away. However, when Ava's full admission to law school is jeopardized, Nick's inherent need to fix things threatens her independence and her dream of carving out the life she wants. 

What it will take to get Ava and Nick off their career-collision course and let love be their guide? Join them in finding the answer in this opposites-attract, single-dad sweet romance.

Victoria Hambersby is a charter member of the “No Brides Club, " giving her plenty of time to focus on her career. She’s even on the verge of creating a VA program to help vets with physical and mental challenges stretch their abilities. But that dream hits a major road bump when she’s informed that she must combine her program with that of Joshua Lewis, the owner of “No Limits” extreme adventure company.

Since two of his sisters are also members of the No Brides Club, Josh is aware of the group's no romance before career goals motto. So while he finds Vic attractive, the focus needs to stay on finding a way to blend their proposal ideas. But with baggage from their pasts coloring their viewpoints, that’s not going to be easy. To get a better idea of what Josh’s company offers, Vic agrees to a weekend adventure, which, despite herself, stirs her inner thrill-seeker.

Surprisingly they may have more in common than they think, but can Vic and Josh overcome their defensive barriers to let go of the past and reach for the future? See if they do in this opposites-attract, afraid-to-trust sweet romance.

The No Brides Club is a fun, sassy, and heart-warming series featuring sophisticated women and the men they fall for. Preorder one, all 15, or the titles you haven't yet read--starting this week. The release date is September 12.

No Tine for Love - Raine English
No Time for Temptation - Monique McDonell
No Time for Apologies - Jean C Gordon (click to preorder)
No Time for Surprises - Karen McCullough
No Time for Goodbyes - Christina Butrum
No Time for Romance - Raine English
No Time for Detours - Jean C Gordon (click to preorder)
No Time for Trouble - Monique McDonell
No Time for Regrets - Karen McCullough
No Time for Intrigue - Raine English
No Time for Adventure - Jean C Gordon (click to preorder)
No Time for Tears - Monique McDonell
No Time for Traditions - Kaci Lane
No Time for Mistletoe - Christina Butrum
No Time for Mistakes - Karen McCullough

 

  

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What was your last adventure? Roxanne Rustand

 I'll never be a deep sea diver or a mountain climber, or participate in a marathon bike ride. 

But adventure still awaits around every corner when I pick up a book by an author I've never read before, and find myself completely enthralled. Does that happen to you?

Another adventure I love is  "treasure hunting" when I wander through consignment shops and find something perfect at a bargain price...like the $3.99 replacement work bowl I found for my thirty-year-old Kitchenaid food processor.  

Writing is an adventure, too--all of the research involved when starting a new book is like stepping into a brand-new world, as I figure out the characters' personality types, professions, their conflicts and dangers, and then gather accurate details about what part of the country they live in. 

DEADLY VENDETTA  is now up for a special pre-order price on Amazon at just $2.99 (click on the title to read more about it) and was exactly that sort of adventure to write...and deciding on covers for this new DEA Special Agents series was great fun.  What do you think of this cover?

I hope you are enjoying a great start to August, and that you, too will have many great adventures within the pages of a book!

Roxanne Rustand
USA Today Bestselling author

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Lyn Cote Asks: Have you ever taken a DNA test, searching for family?

  In my latest series, “The Preacher’s Daughters,” the thread that ties the four books together is the mother’s search for her birth family. At first, she resists it feeling that it is ungrateful toward her late adoptive parents who gave her a wonderful life. But her daughters want her to find other blood relatives besides them in light of her recent bout with leukemia.  She is now in remission. They were all tested and failed as bone marrow donors and they are her only KNOWN blood relatives. That worries them. What if the cancer returns?

In the third book, LUCY’S UNLIKELY LOVE, they have progressed to where the DNA service is providing matches for their mom. A friend who was adopted and found her birth family through this process explained it to me. I have not clicked the button on 23andMe, asking to see matches. I just don’t have any pressing reason to search for more family. I might do it in the future, but not now. Anyway the search in the book will continue. Who knows what the search will reveal. (Well, I think I do, but sometimes characters surprise even me!) For more information, click here.

Firefighter Heroes by Laura Scott

 

Good morning! As many of you know I'm a retired registered nurse turned full time author. 

As a nurse, I was blessed to care for many wonderful patients and families. I am grateful to have had an awesome career. You may or may not know that each year there is a survey about which professions the general public trusts the most. And for many years, nurses were always Number one at the top of the list. Except for the year 2011which is obviously when firefighters took a well deserved lead. 

When I began writing my Finnegan First Responders series, I knew I wanted to have a firefighter as one of the siblings. I have a great respect for those who put their lives in danger to protect the rest of us. Cops, firefighters, paramedics, EMT's and of course nurses too. While nurses may not face the same danger as the other professions, I have had more than one patient hit, kick, threaten and/or swear at me so I believe they deserve to be included.

Back to firefighters--my next Finnegan book features paramedic/firefighter Colin Finnegan. Scorched Secrets will be available on August 1st. If you haven't tried my Finnegan First Responders series, you will want to give them a try!

Scorched Secrets by Laura Scott $3.99

Threatened by an arsonist…

When Dr. Faye Kimble finds her car on fire, she believes it to be a teenage prank. But when her house is also torched, she realizes that someone has targeted her, on purpose. And as the arson attempts escalate, she turns to her high school crush, Colin Finnegan for support.

Colin Finnegan became a firefighter largely because of Faye’s father’s influence. Fire Chief Dorian Kimble believes the attacks against his daughter are related to his terminating a firefighter. Colin is determined to keep Faye safe, a difficult task as the arsonist seems to know their every move. The danger surrounding Faye, threatens her love for Colin. Will they uncover the truth in time to plan a future, together?

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Until next month...Laura Scott

A Fun Fact by Pat Simmons

 What would June, July, and August be without summer fruits? Here's something you might not know about pineapples. I didn't.

This is a reprint from an article I read on Interesting Facts:

Pineapples were once so valuable people rented them for parties

If you’re planning to throw a party, you might need to rent extra tables or chairs, perhaps even a tent or a tux. But in the 1700s, party hosts and guests looking to make a statement were in the rental market for an entirely different accessory: pineapples. And the message they were trying to send? That they were extravagantly wealthy. Prior to the 20th century, when pineapple plantations made the fruit widely available, pineapples were incredibly expensive imports to Europe (and most other places). In the 18th century, a single fruit bought in Britain could cost upwards of $8,000 in today’s money.

It's amazing the stuff I learn online. Have you ever used whole pineapples as table decorations or skipped them in your fruit salads? Although I enjoy them, recently I realized they are an acidic fruit, and I have to stay away from them. Bummer.

Enjoy the rest of your summer and have a slice or chunk of pineapples for me.

______

Pat Simmons is a multi-published Christian romance author of forty-plus titles. She is a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth passionate about researching her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She is a five-time recipient of the RSJ Emma Rodgers Award for Best Inspirational Romance and recipient of the 2022 Leslie Esdaile Trailblazer Award. Christmas Dinner was also an Emma Award winner for Book of the Year. Christmas Dinner and Here for You were featured in Woman’s World Magazine.

As a Christian, Pat describes the evidence of the gift of the Holy Ghost as a life-altering experience. She has converted her sofa-strapped sports fanatical husband into an amateur travel agent, untrained bodyguard, and GPS-guided chauffeur. They have a son and a daughter. Pat holds a B.S. in mass communications from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts, and has worked in radio, television, and print media for over twenty years. Visit her at www.patsimmons.net.

Sweet Regency Romance ebook sale

Hi everyone! This is Camy Tang, who also writes as Camille Elliot.

For the entire month of July, books 2 and 3 in my Lady Wynwood’s Spies series are on sale for $2.99 each!

The books are part of a huge Sweet/Clean Regency ebook sale, and there are lots of other Regencies available. You might find a great new series!

Check out the Sweet Regency Romance ebook sale.