2018 Spooktacular Giveaway and October Book Fair!

Time for the 2018 Spooktacular Giveaway! Over $200 in Amazon gift cards up for grabs. It's fun and easy. Enter now!

https://www.booksandmore.club/spooktacular-2018

And there's more...

Check out the October Book Fair! Vote for your favorite book cover for your chance to win a Kindle Fire or a $50 Amazon gift card. Enter now!

https://www.booksandmore.club/october-book-fair

Julie Howard: In the Spotlight! #NewRelease

Julie Howard is my guest today and she's got big news. Her newest book in the Wild Crime series, CRIME TIMES TWO, released October 8, 2018. And book one, CRIME AND PARADISE, is on sale for .99 cents for a limited time. Help Julie celebrate her new release and her sale. Welcome Julie Howard!

Blurb from “Crime Times Two”:

When divorce is out of the question, can murder be forgiven?

Meredith knows three things: First, the man in the library begged her to help him. Second, he was afraid of his wife. Third, now he’s dead.

While the evidence first points to a natural death, Meredith is certain there’s more to discover. People are tight-lipped in this small mountain village, and the man’s wife isn't talking either. Then a second death occurs, with remarkable similarities. It’s time to talk about murder.

As a slow-burning relationship heats up in her own life, Meredith struggles with concepts of love and hate, belief and suspicion, and absolution and guilt. Nothing is clear cut…

She must decide: Is guilt, like evil, something you can choose to believe in?

Excerpt from “Crime Times Two”:

Jowls quivered under the man’s weak chin, and Meredith noted the stained and frayed shirt of someone who spent a lot of time alone in dark rooms, sending out a better version of himself into the virtual world. His eyes were anxious and beseeching at her as though she should have a clear understanding of him and his life.

Somehow, over the past hour and a half they’d been sitting next to each other – him playing video games and sharing his life story and her ignoring him the best she could – she had become his confessor and friend.

Meredith gave him what she hoped was an impartial-though-quasi-friendly smile. She reached for her purse and papers and rose from her chair. “Well. Nice talking with you.”

The man was lost in his own train of thought and seemed only slightly aware that Meredith was leaving.

He shook his head, morose.

“To make a long story short,” he summed up, “I think my wife is trying to kill me.”

Flash sale! Julie Howard’s first book in the Wild Crime series, Crime and Paradise, is on sale for 99 cents for a limited time. https://www.amazon.com/Crime-Paradise-Wild-Julie-Howard-ebook/dp/B073MYJSP9


Author Bio:

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. She is a member of the Idaho Writers Guild, editor of the Potato Soup Journal, and founder of the Boise chapter of Shut Up and Write. Learn more at juliemhoward.com.


Social Media Links:

Website: http://juliemhoward.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/juliemhowardauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18116047.Julie_Howard

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B07D6CS4NQ

Anna Lores Balances Solitude with Companionship

Anna Lores visits Journeys with Jana to tell us about her writing buddies, who I have to say are totally adorable! Anna is featuring her shifter romance ONE NIGHT OF LOVE: LIVE FOR ME. I love the premise! Please welcome Anna Lores!

Writers: Balancing Solitude with Companionship
by
Anna Lores

People are not meant to be alone. It is in our DNA to want companionship. Yet writing is one of the most solitary of pursuits.  Creating entire worlds in a single mind, especially spicy romance, is an incredible challenge in isolation.

So how do you reconcile the need to be alone and create, with our human desire for companionship? I have writing companions that I know are going to let me focus, but also are always there for me when I need some unconditional love: my two dogs Evelyn and Marcus.

I’ve been a dog lover my whole life and have enjoyed canine companionship for many years. In 2011, I really started to focus on becoming a published author, and I found that my dogs at the time, Zippy and Mike, were always there with me while I wrote.  They became my silent writing partners.

Zippy and Mike eventually crossed the rainbow bridge, and we got new dogs.  You can never replace a dog, because they are each individual and unique in their own way.  But they each bring the same thing to me, their unconditional love. Evelyn and Marcus are there for me, just like Zippy and Mike were there before them.

While I’m writing, I can use them as a sounding board for story ideas.  And no, I don’t actually think they will respond to me, but as writers, we have internal conversations in our heads all the time during the creative process.  I’ve found that externalizing those conversations with my furry partners helps me work through the process.

And here’s a little secret for you.  My latest novel is part of a paranormal series that includes werewolves.  My little pack here at home has been a great inspiration for me in the process.  None of the characters are based on Evelyn or Marcus, but the connection and love I feel for my pack is absolutely shared with the fictional pack I created as the foundation of my story.  Those feelings of connection are absolutely real and based on the real life connection we share with our pets.

Whether you have dogs, or cats, or guinea pigs, or fish, you have a partner that can help you navigate those times when you need to be alone, but also need that connection.  For me that is the writing process. For you, it might be something else.

**blurb
One Night of Love: Live For Me by Anna Lores

This work contains mature content, including graphic intimate descriptions and scenes, and is provided for adults only.

She’s hoping for a miracle. He’s looking for a soul mate. Will one moonlit night of passion grant their hearts’ deepest desires?

Lainie would do anything for a few more days with her dying husband. With his will to live fading fast, she knows only a miracle baby could pull him back from the edge of the grave. Desperate to conceive, she shares a night of passion with a rugged stranger whose skills under the sheets border on the supernatural… in more ways than she could ever imagine. 

As the alpha of his pack, Luke Wolfson could have his pick of the litter. Drawn to a mysterious woman’s irresistible scent, he knows he’s finally found his perfect mate… even if she's only a human. But when she slips out of his bed before morning, he knows there’s much more at stake than his broken heart if he can’t win her back. 

Before the due date arrives, can Lainie and Luke hold fast to each other and embrace the transformational changes that threaten to tear both their worlds apart? 

One Night of Love is the first book in a pulse-pounding paranormal romance series. If you like sexy shifters, sizzling chemistry, and fresh perspectives on werewolf lore, then you’ll love Anna Lores’s howl-worthy romance. 

Buy One Night of Love to turn up the heat with a case of full moon fever tonight!

AmazonUS: https://amzn.to/2pdBsXw
AmazonUK: https://amzn.to/2NhPVA8
AmazonCanada: https://tinyurl.com/ONOLca
AmazonAustralia: https://tinyurl.com/ONOLau-ed-1
iBooks:  https://tinyurl.com/ONOL-ibk-1
KOBO: https://tinyurl.com/ONOL-kobo-1
B and N: https://tinyurl.com/ONOL-bn-1

Author Bio:

Anna Lores started writing romance as a by-product of insomnia. After a year of late-night reading, she borrowed her son's laptop after he went to bed and set about breathing life to her very own characters. After a month, she was surprised with a new laptop to pursue her dreams.

With a B.A. in English Literature and a desire to fill her world with wonderful stories she and her close friends could not just talk about but gush over, Anna shed the job as mom of three in the late night hours and assumed her alter ego of Dirty Girl.

Now, Anna is a multi-published author of contemporary and paranormal erotic romance.

Social Media:

Author site: www.annaloresauthor.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/annalores
Facebook: www.facebook.com/authorAnnaLores
Publisher page: http://tinyurl.com/LoresTWRP

Review: Liz Flaherty's THE DARK HORSE

I had the great pleasure to read my friend Liz Flaherty's 2018 contribution to the Heartwarming Christmas collection. THE DARK HORSE: A Christmas Carousel Story was my first Christmas read this season and it was a joy to read. I hope you enjoy my review. 

Blurb:

Widowed Chloe Brewton has made a life for herself in Christmas Town, Maine, teaching literature and being the drama coach at the high school. Although she’d loved her husband and their life in the army, she doesn’t really want to start over with someone else, but when she meets Major Row Welcome, in Christmas Town to spend the holiday month with relatives and decide about his future, she feels stirrings of old wishes for happily-ever-after. The attraction is mutual, although the last thing Row wants is to try marriage again, plus he’s about as interested in having a family as…well, he isn’t. But then there’s Connor Michaud and his three younger siblings. Oh, no. What now in Christmas Town? 

My Review:

"The Dark Horse" is a beautiful story about heartbreak and hope, and finding family when you least expect it. A story about a place called Christmas Town, where Christmas magic reigns supreme, could come off as kitschy, but in Liz Flaherty's capable hands, the story has just enough grit mixed with the magic to create the perfect balance. I loved Row and Chloe's story, and I so enjoyed watching these two scarred people fall in love. Can't wait to read more stories in this series!

An Interview with author Leslie Scott

I'm welcoming back Leslie Scott and her novella from The Wild Rose Press, TWO HEARTS ONE STONE. She answered a few of my interview questions. If you haven't read my review, check it out here. 

Why did you choose this genre?

Because, in truth, it’s really hard to say no to a sexy cowboy. This one, wanted his story told. Who was I to deny him?

What was the most difficult thing about writing this book?

Writing so short. I’d never written a novella before. My other completed novels are eighty thousand words, plus. Keeping the story concise and on point was a challenge, but a really fun challenge.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I don’t know if you’d call them unusual. I work late into the night, mostly because no one is awake, I get more accomplished when the house is quiet. I also tend to work on multiple projects at a time. Right now I’m writing a paranormal suspense novel for an editor that liked a proposal I sent in. At the same time I’m outlining, longhand, a second novel in a romantic suspense series I have in the docket. 

What do you want readers to come away with after they read TWO HEARTS ONE STONE?

I want readers to feel good, to have several hours of escape into Stone and Emmy’s world—live vicariously through my characters and their story so that whatever thing is bothering them—the reader—, doesn’t matter for a while. 

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m a both-er. One of the novels I’m working on I’m completely pantsing. But because I’m pantsing it, I’m outlining the next one I’m working on. I have ideas and thoughts about both. For one, they go automatically in the novel (me writing, so pantsing)and for the other, the cliff notes go in my story outline notebook. 

How many books do you have under the proverbial bed? Will they ever see the light of day?

I have a whiteboard in my office where I keep a running track of all my projects. I have six currently in some level of development (one about to have a release date, one about to be submitted, one revising with editor notes… etc.). Six with partial outlines started. And four that are fully outline just waiting on me to have time to write them. This is not counting the running list of book/story ideas I keep updating constantly. Currently that leaves sixteen under the proverbial bed plus however many else I come up with from that long list of ideas. Certainly enough to keep me busy for a few years.

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?

Well, I live in northern Alabama. And before you think “wow, hicks”… keep in mind that Huntsville, Alabama (where I was born and raised) is the heart and soul of space exploration. We are The Rocket City. It’s an engineering stronghold, so I’ve grown up surrounded by people from all walks of life in a very intelligent part of the world.  Everywhere you go you meet an engineer and our universities are top notch. Not to mention the military installations here. All in all it’s a wonderful place to live and grow. Except… it’s super hot in the summer. Air you can wear, hot. 

As for writing I have been writing my entire life, winning contests as far back as like third grade. But only actively pursuing a career as an author for a few years now. 

If writing is your first passion, what is your second?

Writing is actually my second passion. The first being my family. Which is made up of Mr. Scott (tell me you said that like Captain Kirk, because I do all the time), my mother—she’s my best friend and Mr. Scott is lovely to her, one reason I adore him so, and my eleven year old son. I homeschool my son during the day, while writing. So, my life is basically books all the time in one way or another. 

Do you have any pets? Are you cat person or a dog person? Or are you into totally different pets, like goldfish? What do you like best about your pet?

We are a family of animal rescuers. My eleven year old actually helps me foster kittens for a local rescue organization. Of those kittens we’ve only had two foster fails (a silver tabby named Asher and a black kitty named Salem). Currently we have four cats, two dogs, and a cow-pig. Yes, you read that right. A cow-pig. Carry on to the next question for an explanation of such things. 

Share a photo of your writing space, your pet, a favorite book, or something else that’s important to you.

Here is a picture of the cow-pig. Her name is Lotus and there is a story to how she came to be with us that I will briefly share. I told my son he could not have a googly eyed dog unless he found one at rescue. He was very specific in his desire for googly-eyedness. Only a Boston Terrier, a French Bulldog, or a Pug would do. As a rescuer and volunteer—I don’t buy from breeders. There are too many animals at our local shelters for me to do that. I told him that if he wanted one, he’d have to watch the shelters. Sure enough, that next weekend our sweet Lotus was on the front page of the website of the organization I foster for (http://anewleash.org/, you can visit their website to see all the great work they do for animals in North Alabama). We go to their adoption event, he meets her, they are instantly bonded. He says to me “I found my googly-eyed Boston Terrier.” She sneezed. Snorted. Then grunted a grunt to end all grunts. I replied with, “Nope, you found a cow-pig.” Thus, we have a cow-pig. 

What did you want to be (occupation-wise) when you were a child?

Shocker………………………a writer. 

What do you like best about your hero in TWO HEARTS ONE STONE? 

That he’s a lady’s man, a bad boy, but at the end of the day… he’s a good man who will do his best to do the right thing. 

What do you like best about your heroine, Emmy?

She’s incredibly smart, capable, and independent. But not in such a way that she comes across as callous or cold. She’s still has insecurities, just like the rest of us.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

Stone just came to me… though his last name is the last name of my first kiss. 
Emmy…I actually know a little girl with the same name. Which I fell in love with it.
The physical characteristics of both characters just sort of happen as I wrote this book. It wasn’t until the end I realized I’d written my first “red-head” heroine. 

How can readers reach you or find you online?

Website:  http://lesliescottromance.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesliescottwrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/leslieSwrites
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lesliescottwrites/
Youtube Playlists: http://bit.ly/2O6IDea

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

Oh my. Well, I have four that I am working on in full. One is a paranormal suspense that will be a series following the lives and loves of a coven of powerful witches. The other is a romantic suspense, friends to lovers story about a K9 Deputy and his best friend. Then I have my western Romeo/Juliet retelling (because a cowboy version of Romeo, how can I say no?).And last, the third book in my Arkadia Fast series. By far, my most challenging heroine to write, maybe because she’s as sassy and hard headed as I am?

What’s your tagline? Why did you choose it?

Currently, it’s Romance With a Shot of Nitrous because my first novel/series is centered around drag racing. Also because “Writes All The Romance” isn’t really catchy?

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

Currently I only have the two released (Two Hearts, One Stone and The Finish Line) … start with either, as I hope you’ll love both. 

Tell us about your current release.

Two Hearts, One Stone is the first time I get to put my first love on display. In that, growing up I was a cowgirl. I dreamed of my own horse, read all the books about horses, rode horses, and ended up working my way through college—at horse farms. Getting to rehash that knowledge, go back and relive the happy memories coated with the scent of a horse barn, was amazing. Also, if you read Stone, I hope you enjoy meeting Tink—he always was my favorite horse. 

Blurb, TWO HEARTS ONE STONE: 

Horse trainer Stone Dempsey’s life is all about the ride—with horses and women. He uses his equine talents to impress the country club set and earn money for Smoky Mountain Reining Horses. When his drug-addicted sister deposits her sick baby on his doorstep, he’s suddenly saddled with real responsibility. 

Dr. Emmersyn Cole’s goal of starting a practice in her favorite place on earth is finally coming to fruition and she is not going to be sidetracked. Everything is going great until Stone swaggers into her life, half-dressed with a smile that could melt her insides. She's determined to keep her distance…until he rushes into her grandfather’s home, clutching a feverish baby, terrified and vulnerable, and her heart’s hard shell begins to crack.

In only a few short weeks, Stone’s wayward heart suddenly relies on two women—one who needs him—and one that he might not be able to live without. 

Excerpt:

His upper lip curled into a snarl, but it did little to dampen her flourishing attraction. She took a step forward and sucked her bottom lip between her teeth. Ready to do just about anything to wipe the forlorn look from his face.

That’s how he does it.

Without even trying, he’d reined her in like his horses. She stood closer, at ease, and far too eager to please him. When she lifted her gaze to his, the slow burn of tension-laced desire beckoned her.

“Oh no you don’t.” Emmy took two dramatic steps backward.

His laugh in response wrought a heat in her cheeks. Annoyed with her behavior, she fisted her hands on her hips and spun away. She was an intelligent, highly educated, independent woman. Absolutely not the sort to get sucked into the Stone Dempsey tractor beam of sex and debauchery. 

She only managed half the length of the barn when, abruptly, he stopped laughing.

“Emmersyn.”

Had the sound of her name ever held such a heated promise?

Buy Links:

Kindle:  https://amzn.to/2McJvS5

Nook:  http://bit.ly/2MtQkPA

Leslie Scott on the internet:

Website:  http://lesliescottromance.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lesliescottwrites/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/leslieSwrites

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/lesliescottwrites/

Youtube Playlists: http://bit.ly/2O6IDea

Leslie Scott Biography:

Leslie spends most days attempting to wrangle the voices in her head and often wishes she could clone herself so that their stories get told faster. She loves words, romance, and characters that feel like family and spends almost all of her free time with her own family; including a boisterous eleven year old that she homeschools and an assorted cast of rescue pets. She lives her own happily ever after with her soul mate and best friend in the northern part of Alabama and hopes you enjoy reading her stories as much as she enjoys writing them. 

Review: TWO HEARTS ONE STONE #WRPbks

Here's my review Leslie Scott's latest release. I received a copy of TWO HEARTS ONE STONE from the author in exchange for an honest review. Make sure to drop by my blog tomorrow for an interview with Leslie.

Blurb: 

Horse trainer Stone Dempsey’s life is all about the ride—with horses and women. He uses his equine talents to impress the country club set and earn money for Smoky Mountain Reining Horses. When his drug-addicted sister deposits her sick baby on his doorstep, he’s suddenly saddled with real responsibility.

Dr. Emmersyn Cole’s goal of starting a practice in her favorite place on earth is finally coming to fruition and she is not going to be sidetracked. Everything is going great until Stone swaggers into her life, half-dressed with a smile that could melt her insides. She's determined to keep her distance…until he rushes into her grandfather’s home, clutching a feverish baby, terrified and vulnerable, and her heart’s hard shell begins to crack.

In only a few short weeks, Stone’s wayward heart suddenly relies on two women—one who needs him—and one that he might not be able to live without.

My Review:

You gotta love a story about a reformed bad boy, because when he falls, he falls hard. And forever.

Emmy Cole’s first meeting with Stone Dempsey left her with two impressions; the first that he was a man-whore. And the second that he was six feet of gorgeous male. Despite believing Stone isn’t someone she should be interested in, Emmy can’t help herself. She’s intrigued when her new employee tells her Stone is a better man than most people gave him credit for, but she’s not sure she believes it.

Stone’s first impression of Emmy is that she’s beautiful and sexy and someone he wants to know better. But when his sick baby niece is thrust into his life, he has a whole new appreciation for her as a compassionate doctor.

What I loved about this story is the strong, immediate attraction between the characters. I also loved learning who they really were. On first meeting Stone, I was as convinced as Emmy that he was nothing but a shallow womanizer. But both of us came to see him as a loving uncle, a caring brother and a faithful partner for Emmy. I love when an author can convince me her character is really a good guy after spending considerable effort to first convince me otherwise. Leslie Scott does a great job of doing that in this well-written, sexy novella.

Buy Links:

Kindle:  https://amzn.to/2McJvS5

Nook:  http://bit.ly/2MtQkPA

Christine Grabowski's YA Novel DICKENSEN ACADEMY: In the Spotlight!

Fellow Wild Rose Press author Christine Grabowski is my guest today. Unlike me, Christine writes young adult novels and she writes them very well. Her debut novel, DICKENSEN ACADEMY, was the #1 New Release on Amazon in Children's Coming of Age Fantasy the week it released. Way to go, Christine!

Blurb:

Dickensen Academy isn’t a typical boarding school. The faculty is hiding an unbelievable secret within their fine arts program. When Autumn Mattison receives an invitation to attend the high school, she yearns to escape her overbearing father yet remains reluctant to leave her mother and brother. Her doubts fade away when a vivid dream convinces her she belongs there.

Away from home, Autumn discovers a unique school environment that awakens her creative potential, and her new friends become like a second family. However, as she uncovers more about the dark side of the school and struggles with its curriculum, she questions whether Dickensen Academy is truly where she belongs. 

When tragedy strikes, Autumn must learn to believe in her own power and stand up to her greatest fear or risk having her memories destroyed to protect the school’s secrets. Caught between secrets and dreams, can she find her true self?

Excerpt:

“I feel like there’s something big we don’t know about. Something those students were protecting. I mean, really, why are we here?”

I thought it was just me who was confused. “Well…the recruiters said we’re creative and focused.”

“Yeah, that’s what Principal Locke said too.”

“And we have the right personality.”

Ben looked up at the sky, sighed then turned toward the forest. “What did he say…something about how it will soon become clear why we’re here, and there’s some ultimate purpose for our creativity?”

“I know. That whole creativity part was a bit bizarre.”

He shrugged. “It seems everyone is going with the flow. But I have so many questions.” Then he touched my arm to stop me, so I turned toward him. “I’m thinking they’re isolating us for some special reason,” he admitted in an embarrassed tone.

I tried not to laugh—he was acting paranoid. But I didn’t know Ben well. Maybe he was joking, trying to freak me out. Or was he hitting on me? The flutter in my chest moved to my stomach. I was already anxious about being away from home and whether or not I could hack the academics. I didn’t need to obsess about anything else. But I still had to know about Ben’s dream.

“So…I also had a dream about Dickensen before I accepted the offer.”

Ben’s head snapped toward me. “You did?”

Website:

https://christinegrabowski.com

Book Trailer:

https://youtu.be/sgjRes7zPLQ

Buy/Book Links: 

Amazon: 

https://www.amazon.com/dickensen-academy-map-success/dp/B07G71747S

Barnes & Noble:

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dickensen-academy-christine-grabowski/1129315140?ean=9781509221233

Apple: 

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/dickensen-academy/id1419915501?mt=11

The Wild Rose Press: 

https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/6044-dickensen-academy.html

Google Play: 

https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Christine_Grabowski_Dickensen_Academy?id=3LpsDwAAQBAJ

Kobo: 

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/dickensen-academy

Goodreads: 

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41065431-dickensen-academy

Bookbub: 

https://www.bookbub.com/books/dickensen-academy-by-christine-grabowski

Author bio:

Dickensen Academy is Christine’s debut YA novel. After graduating from the University of Washington, she earned her MBA at the University at Albany. She honed her technical writing skills in marketing and consulting but attributes the creative part of the process to her passion for reading.

When she isn’t reading or writing, Christine can often be found running, skiing, or hiking. She lives in Newcastle, Washington, with her supportive husband, two avid teen readers, and their energetic wheaten terriers.

Christine's Social Media Links:

Facebook:  

http://facebook.com/christinegrabowskiauthor

Instagram: 

https://www.instagram.com/christinegrabo/ 

Twitter:  

https://www.twitter.com/christinegrabo 

Goodreads Profile:  

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18276822.Christine_Grabowski

Bookbub Profile: 

https://www.bookbub.com/profile/christine-grabowski

Amazon Profile:

https://www.amazon.com/Christine-Grabowski/e/B07G7D9LJ2