The following book review for Milk Chocolate Kisses was posted on Amazon.com on March 30, 2020 by Kindle Customer:

I know your face…
I too live in Maryland, wow I love African American writers. Your books are places I know about, being home. You have great faith, WONDERFUL BOOKS I’m going to read The Candy Beach Series . I love Ocean City. I have a small question, why don’t you have on your cover African American people? For great reading and you being a fantastic writer, why wouldn’t you find a beautiful woman and man of Color. Just a question, I probably won’t hear from you but just think about it, thank you be blessed😇

Well, Kindle Customer in Maryland, I could not find a direct way to contact you via Amazon, so, am resorting to respond to your question via this blog post.

I’d contemplated placing an African-American couple on the cover of my novels, but, was hesitant. From my experience, SOME Caucasians MAY mistakenly feel that books with an AA couple may only be written for AA readers.

I wanted ALL folks to enjoy my books. So, in the end I decided to simply use silhouettes on my covers. I wanted to appeal to all races, so, that’s why I did that. My books are categorized as African-American, and, with the exception of Sweet Delights, my main characters are African-American. So, I’m hoping most folks who enjoy a good romance will give my books a try! I hope that explanation helps! May God bless you! Thank you for your question!

Have you ever had a broken engagement?

Movie star Mia Emerson is spending her honeymoon, alone, at the Bluebell Inn. Suffering through a broken engagement, and untrue tabloid rumors, she’s anxious to spend some time alone on her honeymoon. After all, the Bluebell Inn used to belong to her grandparents. She longs for a nice, loving family since she’s never had any strong familial roots in her life.

Innkeeper Levi is stunned when movie star Mia Emerson stays at his family’s inn. She’s beautiful and they hit it off so well…but Levi has a lot of problems – both familial and financial.

I thought that both Mia and Levi had a lot of emotional baggage to work through. Both of them had deceased (or estranged) parent(s) – and the deaths/estrangement of their parent(s) caused strife in their lives. Family problems can filter down to generations, which can prove hurtful.

A secret necklace and a diary were added twists to this lovely story. It was also different to see a famous person as a heroine. I seldom see famous folks in romance novels. From my experience, publishers tend to shy away from movie star characters. I believe they (publishers) shy away from that subject matter because readers cannot relate to being a famous person.

I felt that Mia was relatable since most of her struggles dealt with familial issues – and lots of folks have family problems.

So, have you ever suffered from a broken engagement? If so, were you able to resolve your differences?

Do you like the taste of good, sweet candy?

Bittersweet Dreams was released on July first! It’s also available on Kindle Unlimited! Earlier, I shared an excerpt here.

So, do you like the taste of good, sweet homemade candy? If so, what’s your favorite flavor?

Are you ready for a good, sweet book?

I’m seeking readers/reviewers for my sweet, inspirational romance novels. I will provide the e-book versions of my books to you for free. If you are able to read the e-book, and you like the story, then you may leave a review on Amazon (and any other place you wish, such as Goodreads, Bookbub, etc.).

Come join if you are interested! If you know of others who are interested in reviewing some sweet, inspirational romance novels, then spread the word! Please share with all of your friends!

Have You Read Any Good Books Lately?

The Texan’s Secret Daughter is a book that I briefly mention on this blog post.

This was a nice sweet book. I enjoyed reading it. It’s a book about second chances. The book also dealt with alcoholism, and that is a subject on which I’ve often focused on with my own writing. I thought the hero (Elijah) was so hard on himself regarding his past mistakes. The heroine (Jazmine) has made mistakes as well. I thought the second-chance lesson pertained to Jazmine’s and Elijah’s relationship, as well as our relationship with our Creator. The biggest takeaway from this book is that God gives all of us a second, third, fourth…etc. chance. Forgiveness is also a major lesson learned from reading this insightful novel.

I initially sold a novel (First Mates) to Love Inspired back in 2003. My novel was released in 2005. At the time, Love Inspired did not publish many romances with ethnic characters. There were a few Love Inspireds which were released within the span of a few years, with African-American characters. I only sold one book to Love Inspired. I kept submitting, but was not able to sell another book to them. I was glad to see Love Inspired publish The Texan’s Secret Daughter. If you know of any other Love Inspired novels with ethnic (non-Caucasian) hero or heroine, then please share the titles.

I recently received the publishing rights back to First Mates (it’s out of print) and am re-releasing it as Coffee and Kisses.

This was a nice, sweet story about a billionaire and his young daughter’s live-in schoolteacher. I honestly believe this was the first billionaire romance I’ve ever read. (I’m not counting Fifty Shades – which is not really a romance). Sure, I’ve read countless romances with rich heroes, but, not one with a billionaire.

The billionaire lived in a regular house. He’s renting his current home, waiting for his mansion to be built. So, although you know this guy is mega-rich, with his body guards and successful business, he still lives like a regular guy, otherwise. You don’t see expensive fixtures and tons of servants, as you may see in other rich-hero romances.

There’s also a bit of suspense in this novel. I liked the relationship between the hero and his daughter. He’s a bit overprotective of her, but, given his background his temperament is understandable.

Both of these novels are nice, sweet cozy reads to enjoy at the beach.

So have you read any good romances, lately? If so, please share!

Raspberry Kisses is FREE for the next couple of days! The rest of The Bakery Romance Series and A FEW TITLES from The Candy Beach Series are 99 cents! Grab all of them before the price goes up!

Do you want to publish your romance novel?

I’m now offering critique and writing advice on a limited basis. Details are here.