I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Kate Ellington. Today, Kate shares her new release, Teacups and Temptations.

Blurb

Molly Merriwether readily accepts an invitation to Waverly Hall, eager for adventure and amusement with her best friend. She never expected to be left unchaperoned with three intriguing young gentlemen for weeks.

Roger Bailey, recuperating in more ways than one, avoids Molly until her kindness and humor tempt him to deepen their acquaintance.

Molly lands in one unlikely escapade after the next with Roger and soon considers him a friend—perhaps more—but the barriers he puts up make it impossible to truly know him. Has she only imagined those tender looks in his eyes?

For a chance at love, Molly will need to bare her innermost self and trust someone more deeply than she’s ever dreamed possible.

Excerpt

Molly finished her tea and turned to Caroline. “Perhaps we should take some time to discuss our options. Alone.”

“Yes, I think we’d better,” Caroline said, setting her cup down.

Benedict rose. “We’ll step out so you can talk.”

Fred settled deeper into his chair as if hoping not to be noticed, but after a sharp look from Benedict stood and followed him out of the room. Mr. Bailey took Penny by the collar and left, closing the door behind him.

As soon as it clicked shut, Molly replenished their teacups. “Would you ever have dreamed we’d find ourselves in such a pickle?”

“Absolutely not. I imagine this means we need to leave.” Caroline sighed a sigh that sounded like it had been waiting years to get out.

Molly lifted one shoulder. “I don’t know…we’re already here and, as Fred said, it isn’t as though we’re alone in the house.”

“I’ve the feeling Fred would say anything to get us to stay. He seems the type of man to enjoy bending the rules.”

“I have the same feeling.” After glancing at the door, Molly whispered, “What do you think of Benedict?”

Caroline shifted on the sofa so she was facing Molly. “It’s too soon to say.”

“Do you think we should move to the inn?” Molly held her breath as she awaited Caroline’s answer.

Author Bio and Links

Kate grew up in a woodsy New England town where summer days at the lake seemed to last forever. She read her first historical romance at age eleven when a teacher challenged her to find a book in the library written by an author she’d never heard of. Thus began a life-long love of love stories.

After graduating from college, she settled in the Pacific Northwest, where she currently resides with her family.

Kate wrote her first romance when she was sixteen, then set her pen down for years until another story floated into her head out of the clear blue sky. She jotted it down, just for fun, but soon it took on a life of its own.

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Kate Ellington will be awarding a $20 Amazon gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Kate on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome editor and author Deborah Chase. Today, Deborah shares her new release, Geogia’s Folly.

Blurb

For fans of “Antiques Roadshow” and “American Pickers” – this is the one for you!

Beginning at a cluttered flea market and ending at a glittering art auction, Georgia’s Follytells the compelling story that blends past and present and the search for a valuable and illusive antique. Chloe Bishop grew up in foster care. She loves shopping at flea markets, picking up family heirlooms like old pottery or vintage furniture to fill in for the family and home she never had. As Chloe walks through the Brooklyn Flea Market, she stumbles upon the diary of Miss Georgia Potter, a young woman who had lived in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania during the Civil War. The yellowed pages reveal the impact of the war on daily life and spotlights the role of women including Harriet Tubman, Clara Barton and Louisa May Alcott. Like Chloe, Georgia Potter was a passionate collector and her diary lists her collection of valuable antiques—including the Holy Grail of 18th century furniture—a Chippendale settee. Well versed in antiques, Chloe is aware that There are only five known examples and a sixth settee would be worth more than $4 million.

Chloe immediately contacts Ben Thompson, the man who sold her the diary. Ben is a picker who drives his RV across America, searching for collectibles to sell to dealers. He is estranged from his wealthy, prominent family who cringe at his chosen career. Ben agrees to take her along to search for the valuable and iconic settee. As Ben and Chloe head to Gettysburg, they are unaware that Gregor Petrov, a shady antiques dealer and Harrison Kent, a respected but unscrupulous art expert are trailing them.

The search for the settee takes Chloe and Ben on fast paced journey from the Gettysburg battlefields to the 18th century street of artisans in Philadelphia to a historic mansion on the banks of the Hudson River. Traveling together in the small RV, Ben and Chloe draw closer. In the confines of the RV, embroiled in an unimaginable quest, Chloe confides that she is also in search for the father she never knew while Ben struggles to explain his complicated family to a woman who never had one.

In a thrilling ending, the rare Chippendale settee is not Chloe’s only valuable discovery.

Excerpt

Chole Bishop felt her pulse quicken as she walked to the jumbled tables at the Brooklyn Flea market. Under the soaring arches of the massive bridge, the piles of pottery, jewelry and tacks of vintage clothing sparkled with the promise of discovery. Every time she walked into a thrift shop or flea market, she remembered stories of the discovery of a long-lost Picasso or a rhinestone ring turned out to be a flawless diamond. But she really wasn’t treasure hunting—she just loved finding what she called “pieces of history.”

She never knew what she was going to find, but she knew it when she saw it. And there it was, as if it had been patiently waiting for her. Next to a vintage tin sign for motor oil and under a cracked ironstone pitcher, she could see the trim edges of a lady’s lap desk. Chloe smiled to herself. I have always wanted ne and here it is under the arches of the Brooklyn Bridge. She walked over to the table, gently removed the pitcher and placed it on the table.

The lap desk was clearly not a family heirloom. It was a very basic lap desk with a faded, stained finish. She opened the lap desk and smiled to see the worn well-worn, blue felt padding. The top and bottom offlaps were intact- a great sign for a well-used lap top more than 150 years old. Two small partitions on the bottom were stained from the ink bottles they once held. The bottom section was empty except for two vintage ladies’ hair pins but the top lid was jammed. A lady often kept personal letters there and Chloe was instantly curious. What secret romances could the lap desk hold?

Author Bio and Links

I grew up in a family filled with art and antiques. On the high end, my uncle, William Lincer, lead violist at the New York Philharmonic, was an art lover whose collection was sold at Sotheby’s. On the low end, her father, writer Allen Chase took me to flea markets and estate sales. He sparked a lifelong fascination with tales of lost treasures that ranged from plundered Egyptian tombs to trainloads of art stolen by the Nazis. It was this love of history and antiques that inspired my first novel, Georgia’s Folly

I was a founding editor of the Berkeley Wellness Newsletter and the author of 12 books including The Medically Based No-Nonsense Beauty Book (Alfred Knopf), Extend Your Life Diet (Pocket Books), Fruit Acids for Fabulous Skin (St Martin’s Press), Every Bride is Beautiful (Morrow), and with her husband Dr Neil Schachter co-author of Life and Breath (Doubleday) and The Good Doctor’s Guide to Colds and Flu (Harper). The books have been a selection of the Book of the Month Club and my articles have appeared in Ladies Home Journal, Self, Glamour, Redbook, Family Circle, Parents and Good Housekeeping.

I am a graduate of Bronx High School of Science and a winner of the Westinghouse Science Talent Search. A graduate of New York University I earned a degree with a dual major in journalism and history.

A native New Yorker, I like to spend my weekends at an upstate home where a big kitchen and an endless supply of estate sales indulge my dual passions for cooking and collecting.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Deborah Chase will be awarding a $50 Visa card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Deborah on the rest of her Goddess Fish here.

I’m happy to welcome author Jackie Kang. Today, Jackie shares her new release, Flamingo Café.

Blurb

A storm is brewing off the coast of Florida, but chaos has already made landfall for four women of Palm Beach society. Abigail, a self-appointed Cuban princess and queen of the WAGs, suddenly finds herself penniless and on the streets. Claudia, a Greek entrepreneur and CEO of a prestigious international clothing line, is entering her golden years only to realize secrets can weigh you down. Cassy, a barista and owner of the Flamingo Cafe, is doing her best to recover from a tragic past. Meanwhile her best friend, Bri, also harbors a secret: a romantic tet-a-tet with Cassy’s brother Nick. Each woman has played her part in a society obsessed with appearances and secrecy for years. So, when Hurricane Odette blows through town, exposing those secrets, it’s no surprise their lives collide like a clap of thunder. Only one thing is certain: if they don’t work together, Mother Nature will teach them the hardest lessons of their lives.

Excerpt

I close my eyes and savor the calm moment, counting to ten and listening for the sound of the espresso machine whirling to life before opening my eyes and sprinkling my hands with the flour needed for the cutting board.

Looking for a distraction from my thoughts, and before getting started, I reach over and switch on the small television we keep in the back, quickly setting the channel to WESH 2 news. Then, with the soft hum of the reporters in the background, I prepare to get back to the work of baking pastries. Ignoring the oven scars taking up entirely too much real estate across my knuckles and wrists, I begin rolling the dough for the mini mango-Key lime pie tarts.

The simple act of kneading the dough is enough to lift my spirits, and it’s not long before I lose myself in the rhythm of the baking. Measuring ingredients, setting the mixer, sliding the pans into the oven—each task completed working ten times better than any therapy session. The stress of the morning melts off me like the butter in the pan as the routine unfolds.

My forearms are burning as I roll the dough with more force than is necessary, flattening it repeatedly against the counter when there is a buzzing in my back pocket. Without wiping my hands on the towel, I snatch the phone from my jeans.

Nick.

I have to swipe my floury finger across the screen two times before the phone finally accepts the call.

“Nick, what took you so long?” I practically shout into the phone, now on speaker.

“Dude, Cassy…” Nick drags the words out, like he’s just woken up, checked his missed calls, and decided to call back even though he’s still half asleep. “Why so early?”

Author Bio and Links

When not spending her time creating make-believe people and places, Jackie Kang lives in Kirkland, WA with her very real family of 1 husband, 2 dogs, and 3 children. In her past life, Jackie has held jobs as a personal trainer, a spa manager, a dental assistant, and an office manager, but her true love is writing and sharing a well-crafted story. Jackie is a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Jackie Kang will be awarding a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Jackie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome author Hannah Jordan. Today, Hannah shares her creative journey and debut novel, For You I’d Break, Book 1 in the Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series.

Here’s Hannah!

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

The best part of being an author is the job’s flexibility with time, place, and wardrobe. I can work anytime, anywhere in the world in my PJs. While editing For You I’d Break, I’d sit in my car with my laptop and work during my youngest daughter’s lacrosse practice.

The worst part of being an author, for me, has always been the rejection. I have a lot of experience as a nonfiction writer, so I’ve grown a pretty thick skin. As a parenting blogger, I had internet trolls comment on my actual life, but that’s the price you pay for putting your words into the world. I want to continue to improve as a writer, so I read the comments and reviews. Still, a bad review hurts.

Describe your writing space.

I have two main writing spaces. The first is my home office, which is a hot mess. I manage the HR, marketing, and accounting for my husband’s dental practice. My high schooler also likes to do her homework at the desk beside mine. So, there’s a lot going on. I only use the space to write when everyone is home and living loud.

When I have the house to myself, I go into the living room, where I have oversized, super comfy chairs and an ottoman. I switch chairs each week, so there isn’t a Hannah-sized butt imprint in only one (and for a slightly different view.) The room is usually tidy (not so much my office), which for some reason makes me feel more relaxed, and there are large windows where I can see both the front and back yards. My house has an open floor plan, which I love, but it means I can hear everyone when I’m in the living room, and people wander in and out asking what’s for dinner.

Which authors have inspired you?

I love Jane Austen. It should have been my first clue during my literary fiction phase that I might be in the wrong genre. Austen’s writing is masterful and I will die on that hill, but when it comes right down to it, she wrote romances. Exceptional romances, but romances.

The list of current authors I admire (and have learned from) is long, but includes writers in different subgenres. I’ll read an LJ Shen novel one week, a Pippa Grant another, and an Amy Harmon the following. One writes fairly dark romance, one writes romantic comedies, and one writes historical romance. I love it all!

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I love seeing new places and hiking. I’m not a hardcore hiker. I enjoy the outdoors for a few hours and then return to the luxuries of running water and air conditioning. I try to balance my travels between nature-focused trips, like St John, and cosmopolitan settings like London. My favorite trips combine both.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Rejection is an inherent part of a writer’s life, so embrace failure. There’s a point where the dreamers stop and the gritty keep going. Learn from your mistakes, especially the ones that gut you, and move on.

What are you working on next?

I’m very excited about the rest of the Peace Falls series. The second book, For You I’d Mend, launched earlier this month. It focuses on Rowan’s sister, Poppy, and Cal’s best friend, Theo. Poppy and Theo feature heavily in For You I’d Break as friends who are attracted to each other but haven’t yet left the friend zone. Poppy is my favorite character in the entire series, and I loved writing her story.

The third book, For You I’d Bloom, will come out in January. It’s my favorite book of the series because I fell a bit in love with the lead, Aiden. I’m currently working on edits of this book.

I know I’ll be staying in Peace Falls for at least three more books, but I’m still debating which story to write next.

Blurb

When Rowan’s two-year marriage ends with a crash, she returns home to Peace Falls, VA, riding shotgun in her sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse. Everything about her is damaged: her heart, her pride, her bank account, and her spine—thanks to a tourist, a Segway, and finding her husband getting busy with her boss. But Rowan is determined to reclaim her career and city life as soon as she recuperates and lands a new job.

Caleb “Cal” Cardoso didn’t notice wallflower Rowan in high school, but the former football star, and Peace Falls’s newest physical therapist, can’t take his eyes off the stunning redhead now. Too bad he’s sworn off relationships. After his last hookup purposely tanked his online reputation, Cal stands to lose his job if a single patient leaves his care. Which is why he can’t let Rowan switch to another practitioner, despite the friction between them, and why he definitely can’t act on his growing attraction.

Rowan agrees to remain Cal’s patient if he helps her younger brother train for football tryouts. Though Cal hasn’t touched a football since the accident that killed his best friend, he agrees, and as Cal helps heal Rowan’s body, she begins to heal his heart.

For You I’d Break is a small-town romance with a hefty dash of spice, a HEA ending, and a cast of memorable characters, including a goth sculptor who secretly loves to decorate cakes, a fearsome-looking felon with a heart of gold, a hothead with a sweet side, a karma-devoted barista who collects damaged pets and first dates, and a lovable dog with more emotional sense than everyone put together.

Excerpt

Being a wallflower makes you thirsty, so parched for attention your heart feels brittle. Then after years—or in my case a lifetime—someone finally sees you. The exquisite feeling seeps deep, the attention saturating your life. So, you jump, headfirst. The red flags go unnoticed. Declarations of love tossed as lightly as petals. Maybe you marry him, like I did. Maybe you bloom in domestic bliss with a house in the suburbs and two adorable kids. Maybe a dog. Bare minimum a pet turtle.

I wasn’t so lucky.

After two years of marriage, instead of house hunting in the outskirts of DC, I was riding shotgun in my sister’s 1990 Cadillac hearse, headed back to Peace Falls, VA, with everything I owned stuffed where a coffin ought to be.

I’d cried so much in the past three hours, I could barely make out the foothills rising in the distance. My throat was raw. Crumpled tissues littered the floorboard, and lint covered my leggings.

The tears surprised me. Apart from a couple of late-night phone calls to my mother after I left the hospital, I’d held it together pretty well. I was too busy tying up the loose ends of my life in DC to feel anything but stressed. The moment Poppy arrived to drive me home, the tears started and built with every box, bag, and lamp we slid into the hearse.

Author Bio and Links

Hannah Jordan grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia but wound up in South Jersey after falling in love with her complete opposite. She’s got all the degrees of a “serious” fiction writer but only smiles when she’s writing romance.

She lives with her husband and two daughters in a picturesque town outside of Philadelphia where she enjoys reading in all genres, especially the spicy ones, and confusing people with her half-Southern, half-Northern accent.

The first book in her Peace Falls Small Town Romance Series, For You I’d Break, launched July 17, 2024.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Hannah Jordan will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

I’m happy to welcome author Bobbie Candas. Today, Bobbie shares her new release, Falling from the Nest.

Blurb

Spring 1946–Following four years of war on the heels of the decade-long Great Depression, Americans are finally feeling a sense of hope that begins sweeping the nation…

Jo-Jo Anderson feels that optimism too. Slipping the reins of her Iowa farming town, Jo leaves to make her mark on the entertainment scene in Manhattan. Audiences are clamoring for new musicals on Broadway, nightclubs are flourishing, and NYC is the beating heart of the radio networks. After arriving, Jo-Jo quickly realizes that thousands of would-be stars are following her same ambitions, making opportunities scarce, but her luck begins to turn when she hears about Talent Jackpot.

Her twin, Sarah, finds success with her studies as a scholarship student at the University of Iowa. But Sarah is adrift socially, finding it difficult to forge friendships. Her perfectly planned life is upended when her hometown boyfriend announces he’s suddenly joined the navy. Sarah’s top grades draw the attention of a crusty biology professor and after accepting his offer of a lab position, her rigid lifestyle gets a lot more complicated.

This novel tells a story of unexpected change. The twins make their way through multiple challenges with humor, ambition, and heartbreak but remain tied together by the bonds of sisterhood, winding their way through the seedier backdoors of the entertainment business, and into college dorm life and love nest apartments.

With the historical backdrop of the post WW2 era, Falling From The Nest, reads as a stand-alone story but also serves as a sequel to author Bobbie Candas’ previous novel, The Lost and Found of Green Tree.

Excerpt

The last of the audition line moved forward and I was suddenly thrust up on the stage of the Imperial Theater. There were three lines of ten on stage, filled with nervous male and female hopefuls auditioning for chorus line spots for a new Irving Berlin musical, Annie Get Your Gun. I could smell my fear as it branched out within me in tingling connections from my frozen face down to my feet. Feet that now felt like dead weights attached to heeled dance shoes whose soles were glued to the floor. I’d arrived late and was in the last group of an open-call audition and purposely nudged myself into the center of the middle line, hoping for a hiding spot. But hiding is hard when you’re a leggy, five-foot-nine, pale blonde female in a string of short, muscular dancers. Kinda like a spotted giraffe among the lions.

After lining up, our executioner and choreographer took about sixty seconds to show us a dozen linking steps to an opening dance sequence. His arrogant face, slim body, and searching eyes leaned back appraising the lines. “OK, boys and girls, this one’s simple. Think you got it?” Everyone around me anxiously nodded yes.

No, I wanted to shout. Repeat please!

The orchestra in the pit began cranking out a tune, as the choreographer yelled out…”And a one, and a two–knee up, kick left, circle back, hop, hop, knee up, kick right…” Then he motioned for the music to stop.

An exasperated expression covered his face. “Ladies and gentlemen, these are the basics, the easy connections. Let’s start again on three. And a one, and a two–knee up, kick left, circle back, hop, hop…” He stuck his arm out, motioning again for the music to stop.

“Alright, first cuts.” His long arm and dismissive finger pointed to the guilty dancers. “Tall blonde, center middle row, thank you. You…guy on the end, first row, that will be all. Back row, green sweater, left side, you may leave.”

He sighed deeply, clapped his hands, and said. “Let’s go again, cue music…repeat.”

Author Bio and Links

I’m a Texas girl: grew up in San Antonio, went to school at UT in Austin where I earned my degree in journalism, and settled in Dallas where I raised a husband, two kids and a few cats. My husband, Mehmet, and the cats will probably disagree on who raised who, but I’m a sucker for a robust discussion.

For years I was involved in retail management, but in 2014 I refocused on my writing, taking deep dives into the lives of my characters. When you can pry my fingers off the keyboard, I enjoy entertaining, sharing food and drink with friends and family. I enjoy shopping, usually on the hunt for apparel, with a special weakness for shoes, and will frequently jump at the opportunity of an unexpected trip to a far-away place.

And I always make time for reading. I keep a stack of novels ready and waiting on my night stand, with a few tapping their toe in my Kindle. I bounce around genres, and I’m always ready for a good recommendation.

Facebook | Goodreads | Amazon Author Central | Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Bobbie Candas will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Bobbie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.