September National Days by Cindy Flores Martinez

 

Do you ever celebrate National Days? September is almost halfway through, but here are a few of my favorites for the rest of the month.

 

September 13 – National Bald is Beautiful Day

September 15 – National Felt Hat Day

September 17 – National Hug Your Boss Day

September 20 – National Pepperoni Pizza Day

September 27 – National Scarf Day

And here’s the perfect way to celebrate the start of Autumn:

September 30 – National Hot Mulled Cider Day

Happy Autumn!

Cindy Flores Martinez is a USA Today bestselling author who writes sweet and Christian Romance. She has an MFA in Creative Writing with an emphasis in Screenwriting. Her debut novel, Mail-Order Groom, started as a screenplay and movie project, which she shopped around Hollywood, New York, and other parts of the world. You can learn more about her at:

www.cindyfloresmartinez.com

It's Apple Picking Time by Josie Riviera

 Labor Day is over, summer is past, and now it's time to look towards fall.

I love this season, as the leaves change and the air gets crisp. Our outdoor activities change to football games as we cheer for our favorite teams.

One of my granddaughter's favorite activities is apple picking. She prefers to pick a bushel of apples, though I'm content picking a small container. My grandmother used to store apples in her cellar, and they would last all winter. I, however, store apples in my fridge.

A favorite recipe in our house is homemade apple sauce. but apple pies and cobblers are equally delicious. For apple sauce, I simply peel and core apples, and simmer them in a pan on the stove with sugar and cinnamon to taste.

What are your favorite apple recipes?

Please leave your comments below, and let's get baking!

Do you love inspirational Regency romances? Be sure to pick up your copy of Seeking Patience, one of the books in my Romany Gypsy series. This book is on a Kindle Countdown and only 99¢ for a limited time. (U.S. residents only.) I hope you love the beautiful new cover!

Do people prove their worth by strength, or by character?

Available in ebook, Paperback, Large Print Paperback, audiobook, and Hardcover.

Josie Riviera is a USA Today bestselling author of sweet contemporary, inspirational, and Historical romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area, with her wonderfully supportive husband.

 They share their empty nester home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

"Like" her author Facebook page.

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Remember to join our Sweet Romance Reads Cafe.

New Book Still a Bargain!

Lyn Cote announces:

My latest title, book 3 in my New Neighbor Lane series

just debuted yesterday and will be on sale for  $2.99 a few more days!

Click here for more info.

 

Sweet Romantic Mysteries ... by Christine Bush

 Sweet romantic mysteries…

Romance is a genre.

Sweet romance is a sub genre

Sweet Romantic Mystery is a sub sub genre!

Most of the stories I write are sweet romance.  The conflict between the characters might be contradicting goals, or past emotional situations that have put up a barrier.  Their personal lives may have been put on hold by career responsibilities or a variety of other elements that may be a hurdle they need to conquer to find love.

But some of my stories include another ingredient.  There is a mystery in the story.  In these stories, there is an external conflict that is creating danger, suspense, or suspicion, right along with those same internal conflicts in the development of the characters’ romance.

In these books, just as there is no graphic sexual scenes, there is no graphic violence.  Violence may have happened, or may be threatened, but it is not described or enacted in a horrifying way. Sometimes these stories are called “cozy”, with a happily ever after romance woven into the novel.

Do you like reading romantic mysteries?

Here are a few of mine:

Sunny’s Smile 

  Sunny is a doctor on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, trying to incorporate modern medicine and technique into the Navajo traditions for her patients. She strives  to honor her peoples’ beliefs while providing them the best possible medical care.  Benedict Highfield, a wealthy and handsome pilot crashes his Cessna airplane on the reservation.  He knows nothing of her culture, and their worlds collide.  But when someone is threatening the water supply on the rez, they join forces to solve the mystery of what is happening, and begin to join their hearts in the process. 

Cindy’s Prince 

 Cindy lives a simple life as a children’s librarian in Philadelphia, lovingly raising her deceased sister’s two young children.  Prince Highfield’s bossy war hero brother demands that he deliver a package to her.  The task is aggravating, until he lays eyes on the adorable and quirky librarian.  The moment changes his life. Cindy wants no part of the rich young man who belongs more easily at a ritzy country club than the city library.  Prince is determined to change her mind.  When a mystery from the past comes to life, and someone thinks that Cindy is a threat.  When she and the kids are in danger, she becomes willing to accept the help she needs.  Can they work together to solve the mystery and end the fear?

Noah’s Bark

Hope is a small town veterinarian and animal lover.  Caring and kind, she rescues people as well as animals. But when she sees signs that make her suspect that the company across the river is experimenting on animals, she jumps into action, causing quite a stir. But then the Type A CEO of Brandywine Cosmetics arrives in her driveway in his fancy Jaguar,  and sparks fly.  Noah Brandywine knows that he’s NOT the culprit experimenting on animals.  But someone is.  And the only way he’s going to keep the feisty veterinarian off his back is to help her solve the mystery and restore peace to their small town.  But he’s losing his heart in the process…

Are you a mystery lover, too?

Check out these titles and several more romantic mysteries on my web site!

www.ChristineBush.com

I’d love to hear what you think.

LOVE,  Christine

 

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

 

 

Introducing my new Fur-Baby OREO...by Kristin Wallace

 

I did something a little crazy last weekend...I expanded my family, adding a new puppy to the household. He's a 5-month-old French bulldog (or Frenchie as they're often called). His name is OREO because his chest is mostly black with a big white patch in between. Officially, he's a brindle Frenchie. Brindle generally means the Frenchie is dark with lighter hair mixed in. Although his front is black, you can see brown mixed in on his back and legs. 

Oreo is the sweetest little guy, so calm and mellow. He hardly ever makes a sound, although he will let out this high-pitched whine when I pen him up. It's quite a sound. Aside from some chewing and a lack of potty training, he's a dream puppy. Unfortunately, he had a "cold" when I got him, with sniffles and an awful cough. I took him to the vet and they gave him all kinds of meds. I also had to do nebulizer treatments for a week, but he put up with that pretty well.

Oreo joins his big sister, Cocoa, my 1-year-old teacup Chihuahua. By contrast, she isn't always so sweet. In fact, her nickname is Cujo (and she's earned it). At first, Cocoa wanted nothing to do with him, but she's slowly coming around now. She hates when he "steals" her toys. However, yesterday they played together for an hour in the backyard. PROGRESS!

 

Kristin Wallace is a USA Today Bestselling author of inspirational and sweet contemporary romance filled with Love, Laughter, and a Leap of Faith. She has three best-selling series: Covington Falls Chronicles, Shellwater Key Tales, and Palm Cove Tales. Look for CHRISTMAS CHARADE, a brand-new Covington Falls Chronicles book as part of the Holiday Fake-Out box set. 

Christmas Charade - Covington Falls Chronicles

The story revolves around Magnolia (Maggie) Lewis. She left Covington Falls over a family rift and the desire to follow her dream as an artist and sculptor. Now, she has to return for her cousin's Christmas wedding. She can't go back alone, however, because everyone thinks she has a boyfriend. (It was just a tiny lie.) A non-boyfriend who has no idea he's about to get dragged into her family drama. 

Convincing Liam Sullivan to be her fake date to the wedding is only the first challenge. She needs to make sure she doesn't fall in love with him for real.

   

 

AMAZON  /  ITUNES  /  BARNES & NOBLE   /  KOBO 

Pot Luck Wedding Receiption Anyone? ~ Jean C. Gordon

Tomorrow is our wedding anniversary. So I thought I'd do something wedding related-today and came across pot luck wedding receptions. My husband and I grew up on pot luck dinners at the Grange and church and love them. And our wedding wasn't 100% traditional. I walked down the aisle to "In God There is No East or West," instead of Lohengrin's "Wedding Chorus." My dad—and the ring bearer—wore a burgundy sports jacket instead of a tux because that's what Dad was more comfortable in. We were married outdoors on my in-law's farm and had our reception in the church hall, despite my mother-in-law's pressing us to do the opposite. We took off on our honeymoon on a Triumph 650 motorcycle. 

So I think if it had been a thing then, we very well might have done a pot luck reception.

With a pot luck reception, guests are asked to bring a favorite food dish. The food can be the guest's gift or in addition to a wedding gift. But, while going pot luck can be a money saver, it takes some planning and has some costs. Consider:

• If your reception venue doesn't furnish them, you'll need to provide dinnerware, utensils, and linens, napkins, or other table coverings.
• You may have to rent tables and chairs and rent or purchase serving ware such a platters and large bowls, chafing dishes, serving utensils, pitchers, or drink dispensers—particularly if you want your spread to have a coordinated look.
• You may want to hire servers to fill coffee and tea cups, etc, and manage the buffet, and you'll need people to clean up afterwards.

As for the food itself, many couples provide a main dish to build the dinner around. And you don't want everyone else to bring the same side dish. To avoid chaos and ensure you have enough variety and food for all the guests, you'll need to know what people are bringing in advance and be prepared to fill in any gaps. 

• Sketch out what types of dishes and drinks are needed to round out the meal.
• Choose someone to coordinate the food.
• Have your coordinator contact friends and family members you think would be happy to pitch in. Or, if you or someone close to you is tech savvy, you could create a simple food registry online (like a gift registry) and direct family and friends there.
• Whoever is coordinating the food should confirm what everyone is bringing and how much at least two weeks before the wedding.
• On the wedding day, the food coordinator should also ensure that all the dishes are set up appropriately on the buffet table at the reception and are ready to be served at the right time.

For more information, you can find numerous articles on potluck wedding receptions online.

What do you think? Could you go/have gone pot luck? 

Hang onto Summer a Little Longer ~ 99-cents for a Limited Time Only

Two popular Indigo Bay Novels in one ebook.

Sweet Entanglement
Is Three the Charm? Lauren Cooper is on her way to her life’s dream. She’s financed and finished college and law school all on her own. And she’s up for partner at the largest law firm in Indigo Bay. There’s nothing to stop her from concentrating everything on achieving that goal. Until Jesse Brewster, the man who broke her heart twice, shows up sleeping off the night before on the beach, and she’s called in to serve as his public defender.

Looking to make a new start after the racing accident that ended his lucrative motocross career and sent him spiraling into darkness, the former champion had envisioned an entirely different scenario if he ever saw Lauren again. That vision was more along the lines of the successful businessman he’d be once he rehabbed the seaside mansion he’s inherited from his uncle and sold it to open a custom bike shop.

Sparks fly between them, and Jesse vows to fan those sparks once he’s got the project successfully underway. But someone starts sabotaging it, putting Jesse behind on the deadline he has to meet to get the property off the Indigo Bay Planning Board’s condemned property list. And Lauren has a sick suspicion that her bosses are somehow involved.

Jesse and Lauren had once promised they’d wait for each other while they pursued their career dreams. Despite that broken promise, neither can deny the love that’s still between them. But now that they are on the cusp of reaching those dreams, are they willing to risk everything to renew that love?

Sweet Horizons
There’s nothing like a wedding to bring people together. But family dynamics can be complicated, especially newly blended ones.  

Sonja Cooper is thrilled that her daughter Lauren is marrying Jesse Brewster and giving her a ready-made granddaughter in the irrepressible 3-year old Shelley. The fact that Jesse is also Sonja’s business partner in the launching of the Morrison Mansion B&B is just a bonus.

Custom bike shop owner Jeff Brewster is also delighted that his son Jesse is marrying Lauren and building a new family. The one awkward aspect is the unexpected attraction he feels towards Sonja. For although Sonja feels the same spark, having been burned in her divorce from Lauren’s father, she’s determined never to be dependent on a man again.

Then the Indigo Bay Business Association pits Sonja and Jeff against each other by having their businesses compete for the coveted “New Business of the Year Award.” All’s fair in love and war, but hearts don’t always listen!

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

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Foggy mornings, pumpkin spice, and horses on the loose.....plus a free book! ....Roxanne Rustand

 

First of all, I have a new release on September 10!   

I loved writing this one with its romance, suspense, and touches of humor. And I loved writing about the animals too, as they've all factored into my own life at one time or another!  :)  

The hero's elderly aunt has a very soft heart and an endlessly growing menagerie that she shelters.  Until she abruptly takes off for an extended, rambling European tour, that is--leaving him to deal with all of the animals, an unexpected house guest with a troubled past, her young daughter, and one very  recalcitrant miniature goat.

Interesting in finding out more?  CLICK HERE! 

It's FREE on KindleUnlimited, or also for sale--and you can pre-order it now.  Just click on the link above. I would love to hear your feedback on this book. If you read it, please leave a few words of feedback on Amazon. It would mean a lot!

How are you enjoying September so far? At the very end of August, we had our first foggy morning of autumn. Now that we are in September, the beautiful early morning fog appears briefly almost every day. Sometimes it's just wisps of low-lying mist, but this morning I can barely make out the horse barn as I look out our kitchen windows.  Can you find a horse and the barn in this photo?

Besides triggering my pumpkin spice tea addiction, these foggy mornings bring back memories of my elementary school days in September. I loved being in a brightly lit classroom on foggy or rainy days, looking out the windows and imagining that anything could be outside, hidden within that veil.  Dragons. Adventures. Lots of horses roaming by. Or maybe even my own horse,  because we didn't live far from school and he had a penchant for adventure, too.

Cherry was tall--a seventeen hand part-Clydesdale --yet he could lay flat as a pancake, wiggle under the fence, and be off to visit the neighbors (or wander far beyond) until someone reported him. A deputy would occasionally show up at our house in the early morning to take me to wherever Cherry was. Small town life, back in the day! Dad and I could always find the place where he'd escaped because the lower strands of wire were stretched and sagging.  But horses on the loose in our area weren't just mine. Our county had the second-highest horse population in the entire country at the time--many big stable and farms, but lots and lots of backyard horses as well. 

My dad endlessly patched our fence. Cherry continued to outsmart him. One night, some folks heard noises outside their bedroom window, turned on the lights, and peered out into the darkness only to see what appeared to be an amorphous white blob with glittering eyes peering right back at them.  Terrified, they called the cops, claiming there was an alien outside.  But it was just Cherry, with his wide, white Clydesdale blaze, standing on their roses to have a look inside.

If you would like to read about another adventuresome horse, you can find the rest of this post  at my blog. Just CLICK HERE.

And if you'd like just a brief notice whenever I have another book out--simply follow me at Bookbub by clicking  HERE and then click "Follow" when you get there. ☺   

Hint--I have two more books coming out this year! 

Do you remember any amusing stories about your own childhood pets? I'd love to hear them! Leave a comment and you will be entered in a drawing for a free copy of ONE MORE WISH.

Blessings,

Roxanne