It’s time to get to know each other better on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop. Let's share about ourselves! What are three things most people don't know about you or your books?
What about you? What are three things most people don’t know about you? I’d love to read your comments. Then be sure to hop over to PG Forte to learn more about her!
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It’s time to giggle this week on to Romance Writers Weekly Blog Hop. We’ve been invited to tell a joke or share a funny story. Get ready to laugh! I am going to share a story that has gone down in family lore. In fact, it is such a favourite that when my son had to chose a subject for a Grade Eight public speaking assignment, he chose it. I actually found his speech in my files, and thought it would be extra funny to share the story through his eyes. “This story about my Gramma is one so bad we had to make a song about it. Here's how it starts. It was a crisp winter morning and my grandparents decided to go snowshoeing through their trails at Tabor Lake. They walked and walked and then they were walking along side the Old Giscome Highway. My Gramma had always wanted to know what it felt like to have the snow from a snowplow fall on her. Well, it was her chance because a snowplow came barrelling down the highway. The driver blew the horn when he saw my Gramma in the ditch but she was clueless to what might happen. She thought it would just be a little sprinkle but boy was she wrong. Meanwhile my Grandpa who doesn't like snow in his face turned around when the snowplow drove by. When he looked back he saw nothing but snow and the points of snowshoes. Grandpa hurried to dig her out of the pile of snow. As soon as she told us this story my two sisters and I had a great idea. We made a parody of “Gramma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” and converted it to “Gramma Got Blown Over by a Snowplow.” We gave it to her for Christmas in 2007 and it is still framed on her living room table.” My mom’s going to kill me if she ever reads this blog post, but she should be used to it by now, as this is one of the first stories we tell new friends and family. Now it’s time to hop over to PG Forte and see what she has to share that will make you laugh!
This week’s Romance Writer’s Weekly topic is both super easy and super hard. Create a bucket list of the places you want to visit, the new experiences you want to try, or the goals you want to achieve before reaching a certain age or before you kick the bucket. The easy part is there are so many. The hard part is where to start! Therefore, in no particular order, here are ten things on my Bucket List (though you can assume there are many, many more!)
Obviously travelling is high on my list and experiences slightly lower. But as I said, there are so MANY things I want to do I couldn’t list them all, and these are just the ones that were top of mind this morning. How about you? What’s on your bucket list? Let me know in the comments below, then hop over to Leslie Hachtel for the next stop on the RWW Blog Hop. My next release will be featured in the anthology A SEASON FOR LOVE featuring contemporary romances with characters in their forties, fifties, and beyond. Pre Order now to have it arrive on your e-reader March 1.
Check out Leslie's romantic suspense, Murder Most Notorious. A beautiful homicide detective and a sexy cold case guy have to team up to find a vicious axe-wielding killer. Brutal murders have shocked the city and all the evidence points to a twin sister once thought dead. So many twists and turns in this action packed romantic thriller. And so much passion! Get it now! We’re having fun and learning new things about each other this week on the Romance Writers Weekly Blog! Have you played “Never Have I Ever?” Someone says “Never have I ever” and then mentions something they’d never done. If anyone in the group has done it, they had to confess. (Note – I’m pretty sure this started as a drinking game, LOL!) Here’s "Never Have I Ever - Book Edition." Feel free to play along in the comments. As an added incentive, one random commenter will receive an Advanced Copy of my next release, The Promise of Frost. My score is: 5 I have never: 2. Missed a meal to finish reading (it is, after all, completely possible to read and eat at the same time!) 7. Dreamed of a book boyfriend 13. Met a book model 15. Gone to a book signing (other than my own, of course!) 16. Joined a book club What about you? What on this list have you never done? Remember, comment below for a chance to win an Advanced Copy of The Promise of Frost. Or, if you'd just like to pre order it now, click here! Then, head over to Leslie Hachtel to see what score she got!
Jenna Da Sie has set up as FLASH FICTION challenge this week! Write about someone who unexpectedly comes into $20,000 and include this detail: a small black notebook. Here you go! *** Gerard opened his small black notebook, flattened the pages at the correct entry, and licked the end of his pencil. Yuck. Why did people do that? He thought about it as he smacked his lips and tongue trying to get the taste out of his mouth. Come to think of it, he’d only ever seen it on TV or in movies. Maybe no one really did it in real life. On the pristine page, in precise letters, he wrote Devlin J. - $20,000 – paid in full followed by the date. It gave him a lovely thrill to see it there in black and white. He hadn’t expected to collect that fee so easily or so quickly. Usually it took multiple attempts to convince his clients that non-payment was a non-option. Devlin, on the other hand, had handed over the twenty grand with barely a whimper. Maybe I should have asked for more. Gerard prided himself on knowing exactly how much his clients could afford, and how hard to push to get what he wanted. His clients might disagree—no one liked to be blackmailed, after all—but it was just business. And a very fine business it was. *** Now I’m wondering who Gerard will blackmail next… That was fun! Be sure to hop over to Leslie Hachtel and see what she came up with.
Cabin fever is a real thing here in Northern BC. With travel restrictions in place, it’s been even more insidious this year. But no matter what our “real” life is like, reading can take us to other worlds and times, and help us get through the darkest days. Maybe that’s why I chose this topic for the Romance Writers Blog Hop today: Writers are readers, too! What have you been reading lately? I am a big re-reader. It’s not a lie to say I’ve read some of my favourites ten or more times. When I know the ending, I can really get involved in the way the story unfolds, and see nuances I never noticed before. In February, I reread (again) two different series by Courtney Milan – The Brothers Sinister and The Worth Saga. These are both set in the late 1800’s, and have heroines who are chess champions, biologists, computers (when that word meant someone who does complex math), suffragettes, daughters of traitors, and more. Ms. Milan’s romances are complex and emotional and ALWAYS a delight. Even if you don’t think you like historicals, I highly recommend you give them a try. What did you read in February? I’d love to hear from you below. Then hop over to Leslie Hachtel to see what she’s been perusing lately. It’s March – which mean’s is release month for RICHLY DESERVED!
Sign up for my newsletter, and you won’t miss out on any of the behind the scenes stories, excerpts and other exciting news in the lead up to release day on March 29! CLICK HERE I took a few weeks off from the weekly blog hop to celebrate the end of 2020 and welcome the beginning of 2021. But it’s time to get back into the groove (especially since I have a new release coming up in March. More on that in future blog posts!). This week, I challenged our members to write Flash Fiction using the phrase/words: Happy New Year, cigars, and orchids. If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome! Here is my contribution: Eloise had never felt the slightly hysterical excitement so many others did watching the seconds tick down to the new year. It was a completely arbitrary distinction between one moment and the next, something dreamed up by whey-faced administrators centuries ago. There was no magic in it. Nothing ever changed. It was the same old same old, just with a new number next to it. She had planned to sleep away the last hours of the year, much as she'd slept the last week away. Instead, she found herself curled in bed, the glow from her phone the only light in the room, streaming the countdown from New York City that had already happened three hours ago but was being replayed for those in the Pacific Time Zone. Just one more indication of how fake the whole celebration was. Like another version of the movie Groundhog Day, only without the saving grace of Bill Murray’s comic insanity. “Happy New Year!” the crowd in Times Square shouted. “Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled. “Happy freakin’ New Year.” The doorbell rang. Eloise blinked. Had it really been the doorbell, or was it one of the bells and whistles shrieking from the video on her screen? She muted her phone. The doorbell rang. Who could possible be at her door at midnight on New Year’s Eve? Well, it was New Year’s Day, she supposed, but midnight New Year’s Day was still twenty-four hours away technically, so it seemed calling it New Year’s Eve made more-- The doorbell rang a third time, cutting off her dribbling thoughts. She flung back the covers, trod barefoot through her darkened home to the front door, and peered through the sidelight. Jax stood on the stoop and she recoiled, pressing her back against the wall, her heart racing. Rapid knocks thudded on the wood panels of the door. “Eloise! I know you’re in there. Please, I just want to talk.” “Go away!” The words blurted out and she shoved her fist against her mouth. Damn it. If she’d stayed silent, he would have left eventually. Now she’d given him proof she was home, he’d never leave. “Please, Eloise.” His tone softened. “I made a mistake. It’s a new year. Can’t we start over?” A mistake. Hah! That’s what he called it? “Go back to your whiskey and cigars or whatever it is you rich people do on New Year’s,” she said bitterly. “I’m just the poor waitress you had a fling with. No need to worry about me.” “It was more than a fling,” Jax said. “Really? Then why did you pretend you didn’t know me?” What they’d had was still so new, they’d agreed that meeting each other’s families over the holidays would put too much pressure on their relationship. But that meant they wouldn't see each other for a few days, so when she’d gotten off work earlier than expected on Christmas Eve, she’d gone to his apartment, hoping to surprise him before he joined his family that evening. Instead, she’d been the one stunned when he’d opened the door with a tall blonde in a sleek, simple black sheath that screamed expensive draped over him. He'd stared at her in shock as the heavy scent of orchids had wrapped itself around Eloise, the woman’s perfume as cloying as the smirk on her face. “Who’s this, Jax? A friend of yours?” she’d said. Which was when Jax had broken Eloise’s heart. “No,” he’d said, “she’s not a friend.” She hadn’t stuck around to hear more, simply spun on her heel and fled. Now, in the silence of a new year, his voice came muffled through the door. “I was surprised to see you,” he said, “but I didn’t say what you thought I did.” “Oh, trust me, I heard exactly what you said.” The words were branded on her brain, still sizzling and smoking more than a week later. “You heard the words, Eloise. But you didn’t hear what I meant.” “What the hell does that mean?” “You aren’t my friend. You’re so much more.” Eloise realized she was standing with her palms pressed against the door's surface as if she could reach through to Jax’s warmth and strength. “I’m wh-what?” she stuttered. “I love you, Eloise. Please, let me in so we can talk properly.” “If you love me, then who was that with you on Christmas Eve?” “My sister.” Eloise closed her eyes. “I don’t believe you.” “Her name is Helene. We were driving to my parents together that night.” “If that’s the truth, why didn’t you call me to explain? Why did you wait until now to come see me?” “Because I was scared. I was scared you wouldn’t listen. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before. I didn’t realize how much it would hurt, to have the person I love distrust me.” They came from such different worlds. The dress his sister had worn was probably worth more than Eloise’s monthly rent. But when she was with Jax, all she could feel was how right they were together. Did she love him enough to work through her issues, to find the trust he deserved? She opened the door. I hope you enjoyed this little story. Now hop on over to Jenna Da Sie https://jennadasie.com to see what she came up with! I’m afraid Leslie Hachtel’s topic this week is not quite appropriate for the summer we’ve been having in Northern BC. It’s summer and it’s hot. What is your favorite meal to cool off? Recipe please. If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome! We’ve been having a rainy and cool summer so far where I live, which seems especially unfair since the season is short to start with. But we are supposed to be heading into a stretch of heat this week, so hopefully we’ll get some sun and a lot less rain! When the weather is really hot, my favourite meals are salads. While a juicy steak on the barbeque is a summer favourite, some times you just don’t want something that heavy in the midst of a heat wave. One of my go to recipes is this Tortellini Salad with Creamy Vinaigrette Dressing from 365 Great Barbecue and Grilling Recipes by Lonnie Gandara. Salad ¾ pound frozen tortellini (either meat or cheese filled) ½ pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut bite-sized ½ pound cherry tomatoes, halved if large In separate pots, cook tortellini and green beans until just tender. Drain and rinse under cold water. Add tomatoes. Toss with dressing below. Dressing (makes enough for two salads) ¼ cup white wine vinegar 3 tbps. Lemon juice 2 tbps. Plain yogurt 1 tsp. Dijon mustard 2 large garlic gloves, crushed ½ tsp. sugar ½ tsp. salt ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper 1/8 tsp. hot pepper sauce 2 tbsp. olive oil ½ cup vegetable oil Mix all ingredients except the oil in a jar with lid. Add both oils, cover tightly, and shake until well blended. Store up to 5 days in refrigerator. Discover a new summer recipe with Jenna Da Sie, next on the blog hop! I think this week’s Blog Hop is going to be more speculation than fact. I'll try not to be boring. :) Clair Brett asks: What are your hobbies, or what is a hobby you would like to start. Why do these interest you, and how does it make you happy? I really don’t have a hobby. I have lots of interests that may someday turn into hobbies, I suppose. But up until now life was pretty busy with working full-time and writing in the evenings so I haven't really developed anything you might formally call a hobby. As a child I learned how to crochet, and I putzed around with that off and on for awhile, though I never really achieved anything. I also did latch-hooking and macramé (does anyone do those anymore?), as they were less fiddly. I macramed an owl wall-hanging once – I wonder where that ended up…. If I do anything currently that I could see turning into a hobby it would be photography. I love to compose the frame, work with lighting, try different angles. When we go on holidays, I usually take hundreds of shots. The beauty of digital cameras is it doesn’t cost you anything to do that. Then I enjoy going through those shots and choosing the best ones. I would like to find something that I can do while watching TV in the evenings, especially in the winter. Since I now do my writing and publishing in the daytime, I am finding the after-dinner hours wide open. I may have to get back into crocheting this fall. How about you? What kind of hobbies do you have? I love to hear from you in the comments, and I’ll be sure to reply to you. Now, hop over to the instigator of this topic, Clair Brett and see what her hobbies are! Clair's Regency romance, WINN'S FALL, on sale for a limited tie! Click here to find it on your favourite retailer! Lord, Winthrop Burton will die on his own terms. A family curse says that will be by the time he turns thirty years old. He will not leave a young wife and a child behind like his father did to him. When childhood friend Miss Zoe Chase returns to stay with his sister and find a husband, Winn's plans are thrown into chaos. Not only is the once gangly, awkward girl he remembers now everything that tempts him, the accidents that once plagued his life are happening to her. He must keep her safe, but how can he do that when ravaging her is all he can consider? Or perhaps the curse isn't a curse after all. Will Winn die, or will he fall? We’re keeping things fun and easy on the RWW Blog Hop. After all, who needs more stress in their lives right now? This week, Leslie Hachtel asks: If you could be any animal, which would you choose and why? If you joined me from Clair Brett, welcome! This is hands down a no brainer for me. A cat. And if I had the choice, a cat in a suburban family home, spoiled and fussed over. I could eat whenever I want and not worry about getting fat, because cats, like babies, should always be roly-poly. I could nap all day and not wonder if I’d sleep that night, because when have you ever met a cat with insomnia? Someone would open the door for me with just a look—and then open it again, and again, and again—whenever I wanted in or out. Even if my family had other pets, I’d be the leader of the pack. Not because I cared, but because I didn’t! Indifference would be my default attitude. What about you? Which animal would you like to be? Leave me a comment, then hop over to Jenna Da Sie and see what creature she’d like to be.
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