Yearly Archives: 2017

Sweetbriar Cottage

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Sweetbriar Cottage

Have you ever known a female barber?

Josephine, the town’s beautiful female barber, continues to be haunted from a past traumatic experience. The ghosts of her past affect her so deeply that she wonders if she is able to accept true love. The skeletons that invade her closet are so strong that it affects her marriage. She still feels bad about what what she’s done to her “ex-husband” Noah.

Noah has been a loner since he “divorced” Josephine. He lives on a ranch far away from town. He works with animals as he struggles to get over Josephine’s deception.

However, something happens and Josephine and Noah are forced to spent every waking moment together, alone, far away from humanity, for several days. This experience makes both of them take a good hard look at their lives and examine the nature of their mistakes.

This book was so good. This story gives an example of how something deeply traumatic can affect the view we have of ourselves, making us believe lies about ourselves. I thought that Noah was wonderful, and I really felt bad for Josephine. You’ll find yourself rooting for both of these characters in this deeply emotional story of true love.

I also thought it was sort of unique to read about a female barber. I seldom see female barbers. Usually a female works in a beauty shop and seeing Josephine as a woman barber was a refreshing change from the norm.

So, have you ever known a female barber?

Picnics and Promises – A New Summer Box Set – Available Now – 99c – Kindle Unlimited!

What’s your favorite childhood summertime memory?

Summer is my favorite time of the year! When I was a kid, I loved being out of school!. We’d run around the neighborhood, playing Red Rover, Dodgeball, Kickball and we’d ride our bikes. We’d yell and scream while we played Monsters. When I got older, I started watching soap operas during the summer! I got hooked onto General Hospital and All My Children. I also read TONS of romance novels and baked fruit pies as well as cakes and cookies. Those were some fun times!

So, what’s your favorite summertime memory? Leave me a comment!

Picnics and Promises is now available – only 99 cents and it’s available on Kindle Unlimited.

Come check out this warm, wonderful, delicious summer box set! Picnics and Promises features my novella, Sweet Delights – The Bakery Romance Series Book 6!  Come celebrate summer by reading Picnics and Promises! This is a fun summer boxed set that features six warm, delicious summer romances! There’s a delicious pie recipe featured at the end of each novella! 

A Proposal Worth Millions

A Proposal Worth Millions

Have you ever lost your spouse?

Sadie’s husband, Adem, died a few years ago and now she’s determined to make his Turkish hotel a success. She appeals to Dylan, Adem’s best friend, for help. Sadie has always been attracted to Dylan, but, she never acted on those feelings since she was married to Adem. Now that Adem is gone, could a romance can sprout between them?

Dylan has always been attracted to Sadie, but, since she was a married woman, he knew that he had to keep his emotions in check. When she solicits his help to save the Azure, her Turkish hotel, he wonders if he can keep their meetings strictly business. Adem suffers from past pain. Abandoned by his father, he feels that he’s just like his dad. He highly doubts he’d be able to make a good stable commitment to Sadie – or any woman for that matter.

It’s been ages since I’ve read a Mills and Boon Harlequin Romance. I loved the scenery in this book. Makes me want to go swimming in the Aegean sea! One thing this romance that was out of the ordinary – it was strictly romance. What I mean is, interactions with secondary character were minimal. The entire book was just interactions between Sadie and Dylan.

So, have you ever lost your spouse? If so, how did you cope? 

 

Dancing With Fireflies

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Have you, or someone you know, ever had an unplanned pregnancy?

After a traumatic experience, Jade returns to Chapel Springs, her hometown. The first person she visits is Daniel, the town mayor/ her pretend brother/close-family friend. Jade is broke, and she needs a job. Can Daniel help her find employment as she goes through her unplanned pregnancy?

 

Daniel has been in love with Jade for years. But, Jade has only seen him as a “brother”. Jade is hurting and Daniel wants to support her, and help her heal.

Jade is scared to love again. Can she open up her heart and trust Daniel?

Daniel is also dealing with a lot. He’s determined to go beyond the mayor-ship and get a senate position, possibly going all the way to the White House. His rich parents are determined to make his political aspirations come true. So, how can he even think of pursuing politics and leave Jade behind? He knows how lonely it is to be part of a political family. Can he even think about exposing Jade to such a life?

I loved this book so much! Daniel was a man who was too good to be true. I wanted to package him up and marry him myself! He’s so sweet and kind and he really loves Jade. Jade is not aware of Daniel’s feelings, which causes some sticky situations between them.

I highly recommend this story. I also read the Chapel Springs Book 1, too, and I enjoyed that one too!

So, have you, or someone you know, ever had an unplanned pregnancy? If so, how did you cope? Did you have family to help you out by offering support?

The Cake Therapist

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The Cake Therapist

***This is a secular title

Are there any foods that bring back vivid memories of your childhood when you taste them?

Neely is struggling since she’s separated from her famous football-star husband. A pastry chef, she opens a bakery in her hometown. Her treats are so delicious! She has scheduled wedding cake tastings in her home. When Neely eats foods, she can see into people’s lives. She can get a glimpse of what may be bothering a person, sensing if they have secrets.

Sometimes her sightings can bring strength to couples who are about to get married. Some of these cake tastings proved shocking, just letting you know if you should decide to read the book.

What I liked most about this book was the descriptions of the bakery and the sweets. The tastes of orange, salt, sugar, chocolate… You can almost taste these delicious flavors – they are described so well in this book.

This novel has two stories, one in the past and Neely’s story which is present day. The stories intersect in a unique and very surprising way!

So, when you taste certain foods, do they bring back vivid memories of your childhood? Please tell me about them!

This book reminded me of another secular title I read awhile back:

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

Both The Cake Therapist and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake involve tasty food and how food is connected to our emotions.

Picnics and Promises – Coming July 2017

Image may contain: one or more people and text

 

Image may contain: one or more people and text

Picnics and Promises – a pie-loving boxed set is coming next month! Each tasty story features a romantic picnic and a delicious pie! Each story features a pie recipe at the end!

Sweet Dreams – The Bakery Romance Series (Book 6) will be featured in this wonderful collection!

Patty-Lynn Palmer loves creating mouth-watering pies in her bakery, Patty’s Pie Palace. She’s recently won the prestigious French International Pie Competition for her banana cream pie, and now she’s determined to save up enough money to buy the nostalgic house of her dreams.

She’s stunned when she runs into her wealthy ex-boyfriend, Sam Richardson. Sam has recently relocated to her hometown, Crystal Spring, to open a new office for his family’s food distribution company, Richardson Enterprises. Running into Sam awakens both wonderful and painful memories. Sam’s upper-class family never accepted her. Their contempt of her poor, country, foster-care upbringing caused her great pain, leading to Sam’s earth-shattering breakup with her seven years ago.

Sam is shocked when he encounters Patty-Lynn. He feels awful about their painful breakup, and he now longs to fix their broken relationship. Recently widowed, he desperately longs for his father’s approval on his new business venture. He’s unhappy working for his dad and seeing Patty-Lynn, happy in her pie shop, gives him hope. By using her prize-winning pie recipe, it appears that Patty-Lynn may be able to help him with his quest to gain his father’s approval. Can he find the courage to rekindle their romance and finally stand up to his domineering dad?

Why Do People Join Cults?

Have you, or any of your loved ones, been involved in a cult? If so, what happened? Did he/she/they get out of the cult? Or, are they still involved in it?

Since I was raised Jehovah’s Witness, I find the subject of cults interesting. This is a good video that tells why people join cults.

I’ve often thought about doing a series about someone/some folks in a cult. I’d tell how each person got out of the organization. Not sure if I’ll ever write this series, but, it’s in the back of my mind.

So, have you ever known anybody who was involved in a cult? Please share details.