Spotlight on Unexpected by Jana Richards

Posted on September 28, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Wild Rose Press author Jana Richards. Today, Jana shares her new release, Unexpected.

Tagline

A marriage of convenience. An unexpected love.

Blurb

Single dad Ben Greyson wants only to retain custody of his two stepdaughters. A dysfunctional childhood has made family the most important thing in his life. When his late wife’s parents sue for custody, a desperate Ben is left with two choices – run away with his girls or marry his next-door neighbor.

Jamie Garven wants to be a mother. She’s intrigued by her handsome new neighbor and falls in love with his little girls. Then Ben is faced with losing his children, and Jamie agrees to marry him for a chance at motherhood. They’re determined to show the world, and the girls’ grandparents, two loving parents.

Their marriage of convenience turns into unexpected love. But Ben interprets Jamie’s efforts to save their family as betrayal—they could lose everything, including each other.

Excerpt

Jamie didn’t sleep the rest of the night. The logical part of her brain told her if Ben lost custody it wasn’t her fault. Circumstances beyond her control, and Ben’s, had conspired against them. But guilt and worry wouldn’t let her rest.

The crazy thing was she could see the four of them together as a family. And she could see herself with Ben. She’d been fighting her feelings for him since the day they met. Learning he was a recovering alcoholic was a shock, but she knew he was much more than that. He was kind and funny, and a loving father.

But he didn’t love her.

She remembered what it was like to watch, day by day, as Carson fell a little more out of love with her. Every day another piece of her soul withered. To the outside world they probably still looked like a happy couple. But she could feel Carson pull away bit by bit, like water trickling out of a broken vase. It was in the awkward silences between them, the unexplained absences, the times he didn’t reach for her in the night.

Eventually the slow trickle turned into a torrent and he was gone. It had nearly destroyed her.

Could she live with a man who didn’t love her for a second time? Could she willingly step into a relationship, knowing it would likely end the same way her relationship to Carson ended?

Thoughts and emotions whirled in her brain, making her dizzy.

At four a.m. she gave up all pretence of sleep. She went to the kitchen for a drink of water and as she ran the tap, she saw the lights were on in Ben’s house. He probably couldn’t sleep either.

What must he be going through? She couldn’t imagine losing a child.
The old longing ache she’d worked so hard to dispel pressed on her heart. This is your chance, her heart whispered. Maybe your only chance to have children.

Jamie groaned out load. She couldn’t say no. Ben and the girls needed her.
Yet how could she say yes and expose herself to almost certain heartbreak?

Maybe some things were more important. Maybe it was enough to be a mother to the girls and create a family with them. She couldn’t expect Ben to love her as well. It was asking too much.

She couldn’t let him lose the girls. And she couldn’t let her one chance to be a mother slip away.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Goodreads | BookBub

Author Bio

When Jana Richards read her first romance novel, she immediately knew two things: she had to commit the stories running through her head to paper, and they had to end with a happily ever after. She also knew she’d found what she was meant to do. Since then she’s never met a romance genre she didn’t like. She writes contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and historical romance set in World War Two, in lengths ranging from short story to full length novel. Just for fun, she throws in generous helpings of humor, and the occasional dash of the paranormal. Her paranormal romantic suspense “Seeing Things” was a 2008 EPPIE finalist.

In her life away from writing, Jana is an accountant/admin assistant, a mother to two grown daughters, and a wife to her husband Warren. She enjoys golf, yoga, movies, concerts, travel and reading, not necessarily in that order. She and her husband live in Winnipeg, Canada. She loves to hear from readers and can be reached through her website at http://www.janarichards.com

Social Media Links

Virtual Book Tour: Something Lost

Posted on September 27, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome bestselling author Bernadette Marie. Today, Bernadette shares life lessons learned from her martial arts training and her new release, Something Lost.

10 Life Lessons I Have Learned from My Martial Arts Training

10. Lifelong friendships are forged through shared experiences.

9. Your body can accomplish amazing things when you push a little harder, especially through doubt.

8. Discipline is a key factor in your success.

7. Failure is a teaching tool.

6. Respect should be earned not demanded.

5. Muscle memory is an amazing thing.

4. Hitting someone is powerful.

3. Getting hit is powerful.

2. You can do anything at any age (even if it has to be modified.)

1. You can overcome anything.

Blurb

Saying goodbye is sometimes the beginning.

Craig Turner was Coach Diaz’s star player, back in the day. He was held in high regard, until he broke the rules and dated the coach’s daughter. Young and stupid, his affection for her lasted until graduation, and then it was time to face the real world–but his love for her would never leave him.

Rachel Diaz became who her father wanted her to be, a well educated, well traveled, successful woman, but she holds a well full of secrets from the outside world. As a high school therapist, she uses her past traumas to help others overcome their own.

When the Fabulous Five arrive at Coach Diaz’s funeral, to pay their respects, a rekindling happens between them all—and between Craig and Rachel.

Is Rachel woman enough to face her demons and is Craig man enough to accept them? Or will their encounter be as brief as the affair they had a decade ago, behind her father’s back?

Excerpt

“Dr. Olivia Chasen,” Santa’s jolly baritone popped her mental fuzzy bubble.

She stopped as she struggled to whirl around. “Me?” She touched her chest with a dramatic flourish she didn’t know she possessed.

A powerful spotlight illuminated her; its heat burned her already flushed face.

She pressed a clammy palm to her chest. “How do you know my name?” The haze in her mind was paralyzing all cognitive function.

“My dear girl,” Santa chuckled, “you should know by now that Santa knows everything and everyone,” he tapped an index finger to his temple.

Santa Claus turned to address the waiting line. “Girls, Boys, Moms, Dads, everyone, if you don’t mind waiting for a brief moment, I’d like for Olivia,” he pointed a white gloved finger at her, “to please come up here on stage, and tell me what she wants for Christmas.”

She stood dumbfounded as the audience and the people in line clapped and chanted her name, “Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!”

Oh no! What was she going to do? She couldn’t possibly go up onto that stage. She was far too shy to address a theater full of people.

But if she didn’t go that would be so unexciting and so like the old Olivia.

But she wasn’t unexciting! She was the new Olivia, and she was exciting! And she wanted to have fun! Correction: She was determined to have fun. Besides, she’d never see these people—her fellow passengers—ever again.

Author Bio and Links

Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then, she has authored and published over thirty-five books. The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.

Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well.

When not immersed in the writing/publishing world, Bernadette Marie and her husband are shuffling their five hockey playing boys around town to practices and games as well as running their family business. She is a lover of a good stout craft beer and might have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

Giveaway

Bernadette Marie will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

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

10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Light Through the Pouring Rain

Posted on September 20, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author James Ruvalcaba. Today, James shares his new release, The Light Through the Pouring Rain.

Hello, I’m James Ruvalcaba the Author of The Light Through the Pouring Rain and I’m here today to tell you 10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Light Through the Pouring Rain. My story is an emotional story that details the trials and tribulations of a couple battling a cancer diagnosis. So, now I want to give you a “behind the scenes” look of the top 10 things you didn’t know about my book.

1. I wrote this book in one month.

During the Covid lockdown, I found myself stuffing my face with Oreos and washing them down with pop-tarts. I noticed some weight gain and needed a change, so I began to establish a routine. I would walk and then write. With a clear mind, the ideas flooded the pages as I wrote. Next thing you know the book was complete in a month.

2. There is a longer version of the book.

I originally wrote a 400-page version of The Light Through the Pouring Rain, but after sampling the book to the younger generation, they informed me that “400-pages is too long.” I decided to trim the book to what it is now – 150-pages.

3. Tik Tok & SportsCenter inspired the new length of the book.

After sampling it, I thought I shouldn’t worry about others’ thoughts of the book, but then I thought of the length of Tiktok and highlights on SportsCenter. The shorter the better, so I made sure to cover the highlights of our story and made sure it stayed true to the message.

4. Kobe Bryant inspired the book cover.

When it was time to come up with a direction for my book cover I had communicated that I was looking for something that was artistically similar to the animation that was used for Kobe Bryant’s live poem “Dear Basketball”. After one simple conversation, my illustrator got it right on the first try.

5. All included in the story declined to be named.

Out of respect to all involved in my story, I asked if they would like to be named, but all unselfishly thought it would be best for my name and my fiancée Anabel’s name to be the only ones included so readers would walk away only remembering our two names.

6. The story told is very true but was originally going to be taken in a different direction.

Throughout our process, my fiancée Anabel and I attempted to document as much as possible with hopes to use our story to inspire others to continue to push forward in their battles and appreciate their loved ones. Unfortunately, that story didn’t get told but was planned throughout the cancer process.

7. The story is out because of a friend.

After completing my story I had no direction where to go or what was next, so on one particular day I was followed on social media by an Author (that will remain nameless) or I should say my friend and one direct message later on social media the rest was history. It’s due to her that my book is out and available. Without her, my book may still be sitting on my computer waiting to be released. I will be forever grateful to her.

8. My book was fully completed within a week.

I was very blessed to be connected to a very amazing group of individuals that had a quick turnaround on my book. From the editor to the book cover illustrated they had my book up and ready for release within a week.

9. I released my book with no marketing.

Due to excitement on just being able to come through on my promise I made to my fiancée in our last moments, I released the book as soon as I could. I only made one Instagram post about it and released it immediately afterward.

10. My book came out on December 21st in honor of my mom.

My mom was the MVP of the entire story and without her, I wouldn’t be here today. So as an honor to show my mom my token of appreciation I wanted to tell our story on her birthday. Mom, if you are reading this, Thank you for everything!

About the Book

A remarkable love story that pulls on your heartstrings and leaves you inspired. A page turner that gives a first-hand look into the lives of a young couple madly in love and eager to start their lives together, only to have it all halted by a cancer diagnosis. With no clear road map on how to navigate their new normal, James and Anabel proceed into uncharted territory, hand-in-hand, with the love of their families and their faith in God to guide them.

Book Trailer

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Before he started writing romance stories, James worked with the Special Needs population for 10 years. He devoted his life giving back to the population. From schools to agencies and everything in between, James has worked almost every job within the community. After that, during the pandemic James decided to start writing to pass the time, but to come through on his promise he made years earlier. He devoted his life to giving back, now he devotes his life to telling his stories.

Website | Twitter | Facebook

Giveaway

One randomly chosen winner via Rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon gift card. Find out more here.

When a Sequel Burns to be Written

Posted on September 13, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Brenda Marie Smith. Today, Brenda shares an interesting post about sequels and her new release, If the Light Escapes.

After I’d written If Darkness Takes Us and was querying it to agents and publishers, it was time for me to start a new novel. I considered several story ideas, but the only one that captured me was a sequel to If Darkness.

“Don’t do it!” more experienced writers told me. “Never write a sequel to a book that hasn’t been sold yet. Publishers don’t like it.”

But I had this compelling world I’d created, and a cast of characters I had carefully crafted until, to me, they had lives of their own. I couldn’t just abandon them. They’d be hanging there in stasis waiting for me to return and breathe more life into them.

I know this isn’t actually the case, but that’s how it felt to me. They and their world exist in my head, and my mind refused to ignore them. Besides, I had more plans for them. Not to mention that it’s easier to start with characters you’ve already drawn than it is to start from scratch. It was almost as though I couldn’t stop myself from writing a sequel. So, I gave up trying to refrain and started writing.

If Darkness centers on a grandmother named Bea who is keeping her four grandkids when a solar pulse destroys modern life, then their parents don’t return home. She has to teach the kids how to survive without power, cars, phones, or running water. In that story, Bea’s grandson Keno stands out as a complex older teen who is suffering but heroic in the face of it all.

Keno was the character I wanted to focus the sequel on, but because he was so young, I was worried he wouldn’t be able to carry the weight as the protagonist of an adult novel. I needn’t have worried. Keno’s eighteen-year-old voice poured out of me so fast that I literally couldn’t type fast enough to keep up with him. I wrote a 120,000-word first draft in 27 days. Nothing like that had ever happened to me before, and I wouldn’t expect it to happen again.

Of course, 120K words is much too long for a novel in the apocalyptic genre, so I spent months and months refining the story and trimming it down. Meanwhile, I won the 2018 Southern Fried Karma Novel Contest for If Darkness Takes Us, and the prize was a publishing contract. My first ever, from SFK Press.

I had to set If the Light Escapes aside while I focused on publisher edits for the first book and then on marketing it. Then, we had a pandemic. Still, I managed to get a contract from SFK for If the Light in the summer of 2020, and have spent much of 2021 working with an incredibly good team of editors to make it shine. The ARCs are going into production now in early June, and I’m getting more excited by the day.

It’s important to me to write what compels me. I’m not sure I could write a decent novel any other way. In this particular case, it’s working out well that I ignored the advice I was given. But even if I’d never found a publisher for either book, I would still be satisfied for writing what was burning in my heart.

Blurb

A standalone sequel to IF DARKNESS TAKES US

A solar electromagnetic pulse fried the U.S. grid fourteen months ago. Everything’s gone: power, cars, running water, communications, all governing control and help—gone. Now northern lights have started in Texas—3,000 miles farther south than where they belong. The universe won’t stop screwing with eighteen-year-old Keno Simms.

All that’s left for Keno, his family and neighbors is farming their Austin subdivision, trying to eke out a living on poor soil in the scorching heat. Keno’s still reeling from the the death of his pregnant sister. His beloved Nana is ill, Grandpa’s always brandishing weapons, and water is far too scarce. Desperate thieves are hemming them in, yet he can’t convince his uncle and other adults to take action against the threat.

Keno’s one solace is his love for Alma, who has her own secret sorrows. When he gets her pregnant, he vows to keep her alive no matter what. Yet armed marauders and nature itself collude against him at every turn, forcing him to make choices that rip at his conscience. If he can’t protect Alma and their unborn child, it will be the end of Keno’s world.

IF THE LIGHT ESCAPES is post-apocalyptic science fiction set in a near-future reality, a coming-of-age story told in the voice of a heroic teen who’s forced into manhood too soon.

Excerpt

FROM CHAPTER 3

A huge sliver of moon rises to the east, lighting up the park and Alma’s face with an orange-yellow glow. We pull ourselves up and sit wrapped together on top of the monkey bars like we rule the planet, gazing into our dark subdivision, on the southern edge of our emptied-out city, in the middle of the scary*** world.

“Keno? Alma?” Bobby Carlisle calls from the street. “Y’all come home. Now!”

The crickets and tree frogs have gone silent. I hear Bobby cock his rifle thirty yards away. …Alma and I gape at each other, and then we run.

When we reach Bobby in the street… I scan the trees behind the swings and monkey bars, half a football field away.

Before the sun zapped us, those trees would’ve seemed pretty. Tonight, they’re creepy. I’ve been too worked up about Tasha and Mom to even think about watching the tree line. As bad as things sometimes get around here, I’m still not totally used to life post-apocalypse and the never-ending vigilance.

“I don’t see—”

“Shh!” Bobby aims his rifle…

I shudder and run my eyes back and forth among the trees. With all the different-sized trunks in the deep shadows, people could be hiding in there and blending in.

“There!” Bobby hisses, pointing to the north edge of the trees. And I see—what?… Two pairs of feet… Then …metal flashes in the moonlight. Behind me, Alma gasps. I pull my Glock, flick off the safety, and aim.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Author Bio and Social Media Links

Brenda Marie Smith lived off the grid for many years in a farming collective where her sons were delivered by midwives. She’s been a community activist, managed student housing co-ops, produced concerts to raise money for causes, done massive quantities of bookkeeping, and raised a small herd of teenage boys.

Brenda is attracted to stories where everyday characters transcend their own limitations to find their inner heroism. She and her husband reside in a grid-connected, solar-powered home in South Austin, Texas. They have more grown kids and grandkids than they can count.

Her first novel, Something Radiates, is a paranormal romantic thriller; If Darkness Takes Us and its sequel, If the Light Escapes, are post-apocalyptic science fiction.

Giveaway

One randomly chosen winner via Rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card. Find out more here

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

Spotlight on A Pride of Brothers: Aiden

Posted on September 10, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back award-winning, multi-published author Peggy Jaeger. Today, Peggy shares a short post about eidetic memory and her new release, A Pride of Brothers: Aiden.

Here’s Peggy!

Alexis “Lexi” Buckley, my heroine in A PRIDE OF BROTHERS: AIDEN has what is called eidetic memory. The easiest definition of the term is the ability to recall images in great detail after seeing or reading something once.

Along with this image recall, some eidetics can also remember things that have happened to them in chronological order or they can tell you what day of the week any date in any year fell upon.

Giving Lexi eidetic memory served an important plot point for me because when she reads something just once, she remembers it exactly, and this helped her and Aiden discover who was behind the killing of her sister in the book. It also didn’t hurt that she was able to get earn her Ph.D at a young age due to her amazing memory.

Famous people in history — and even today — who claim/claimed to have this gift include:

Leonardo da Vinci
C.S.Lewis
Nikola Tesla
Teddy Roosevelt
Rachmaninoff
Marilu Henner
James Spader

Blurb

Lexi Buckley wants answers about her younger sister’s death. The police have labeled it a suicide, but Lexi doesn’t believe it. Stymied in her investigation, she doesn’t know where to turn next. After a chance encounter with a private investigator, she thinks her prayers have been answered.

Aiden Keane has never been an answer to a prayer before, but he agrees to help Lexi. A quirky combo of brains and beauty, the pixie blonde makes him feel things no professional ever should for a client.

When their investigation puts Lexi’s life in jeopardy, her safety becomes his number one priority. The hard part is not falling for her.

Excerpt

Were you close with your sister?” Aiden asked.

Not the way we should have been. Not at the end.

“We had a sizable age difference between us. Almost ten years. I was the big sis. The oldest.” Her lips trembled when she pulled them into a sad line. Rolling her eyes she added, “The bossy one, according to her. She was the baby and took full advantage of her status from the moment she realized it.”

“And rightly so.” The corners of his eyes crinkled. “I’m the youngest of my brothers and I’ll can tell you with one hundred percent honesty, my oldest brother is the bossiest one of us. I think it comes with birth order. Although he takes his so called right uber-seriously. Especially at work.”

This time her grin was steadier. “What kind of business do you all own together?”

“We a run a private security company.”

“Security?”

“Personal bodyguards, if a client needs protection from something. Background checks for employers. Mostly we do investigations.”

“What, like private eyes? Like on television?”

He laughed. “Nothing so glamorous. The fast cars and hot babes are all fantasy. It’s a lot of boring research, computer work, and surveillance, but yeah, you could say I’m a private eye.”

Lexi’s entire mood turned on his words. The sorrow flew, the hurt dissolved. Even her nervous trivia-speak went dormant. She sat bolt upright, her knees bumping against the tabletop when she shifted. Excitement shot from her system as she turned her body, placed a hand across his forearm and declared, “Oh, my God. You’re the answer to my prayers.”

Book Trailer

Universal Buy Link – https://books2read.com/u/braGJZ

Bio

Peggy Jaeger is a contemporary romance writer who writes Romantic Comedies about strong women, the families who support them, and the men who can’t live without them. If she can make you cry on one page and bring you out of tears rolling with laughter the next, she’s done her job as a writer!

Family and food play huge roles in Peggy’s stories because she believes there is nothing that holds a family structure together like sharing a meal…or two…or ten. Dotted with humor and characters that are as real as they are loving, she brings all topics of daily life into her stories: life, death, sibling rivalry, illness and the desire for everyone to find their own happily ever after. Growing up the only child of divorced parents she longed for sisters, brothers and a family that vowed to stick together no matter what came their way. Through her books, she’s created the families she wanted as that lonely child.

When she’s not writing Peggy is usually painting, crafting, scrapbooking or decoupaging old steamer trunks she finds at rummage stores and garage sales.

A lifelong and avid romance reader and writer, Peggy is a member of RWA and her local New Hampshire RWA Chapter.

As a lifelong diarist, she caught the blogging bug early on, and you can visit her at peggyjaeger.com where she blogs daily about life, writing, and stuff that makes her go “What??!”

Where to find Peggy…

Cover Reveal: The Texan’s Favor

Posted on September 8, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to reveal the cover of D. K. Deters’ novel…

A stranger’s path, a broken promise, and a second chance…

Blurb

Ambushed, Texas Ranger Jake Fontaine’s a dead man until a Kansas spinster raises her shotgun in his defense. Despite the rogue lawman’s obsession to bring in his brother’s killer, duty demands he escort her to the next town.

Kat Collins is a thief, though an honorable one. She’s on the run from controlling kin and aims to escape her past. Traveling with Jake offers the perfect cover—until her uncle finds them sharing a campfire and imposes his own kind of justice—a wedding.

Marriage will cost Jake his freedom but refusing may cost him his life. Kat figures he’s bound to recognize her on a wanted poster. Would sharing passionate nights in his arms be worth the peril?

Excerpt

“Not that it’s any of your affair, Ranger, but I’m goin’ to St. Louis. I didn’t plan for any delays. You were in trouble, and I tried to help.” She lifted her chin. “Although you bein’ a Texas Ranger and all, I’d think you would’ve had the upper hand.”

He stuffed his hat back on. Contrary to his usual confidence around women, she baffled him. “Lady, you’re riding a horse to St. Louis, alone?” Stubborn woman, someone should be responsible for her welfare. Was Emmett involved with her decision?

She slammed the coffeepot to the smoking fire and a moment later stomped across the ground separating them. At over five-and-a-half feet tall and her boot heels adding an extra inch, she dug her forefinger into his chest. “Ranger, you question where I’m going? Don’t forget you’re in Kansas. Don’t Texas Rangers ride in—Texas?” She stretched the word Texas and placed her hands on her hips. “Did you lose your way?”

Her words strained his good intentions. He leaned forward, wrapped his hands around her thin wrists, and murmured, “Honey, it’ll be a cold day in hell before I ever lose my way to Texas.”

Available for pre-order on Amazon and Apple Books

About the Author

D. K. Deters is a fantasy and historical romance author. She was a communications consultant before turning to a writing career. Like many historical romance authors, she’s always had a deep interest in history, and the nineteenth century is her favorite. When she’s not writing, she enjoys spending time with her adult children and their families. Her hobbies include restoring old dollhouses and secondhand furniture. Christmas is her favorite time of the year. Her debut eBook, Christmas Once Again, was also published by The Wild Rose Press.

Connect with D. K. Deters

Excerpt Tour: Life On Your Terms

Posted on September 6, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author and life coach Tanya Russell. Today, Tanya shares her new release, Life on Your Terms.

Blurb

What a shame it would be to come to the end of your life and look back and say, “That was it?”

Life on Your Terms is a practical blueprint for how to feel fulfilled while creating the life you imagine. No matter what situation you find yourself in today, there is a bright future waiting for you. Applying the skills and practices in this book will launch you to that place and beyond, faster than you ever imagined possible.

In this practical guidebook, the author compresses decades of lessons learned from her wins and failures as a businesswoman and single mother into actionable steps to achieve the life you truly desire. Once bankrupt but now financially free, her courage, faith and strong desire for something more for herself and her children have driven her to seek out ways to create exactly that.

Don’t live the same day every day and call it a life. Apply these foundational principles and rewrite your future today.

Excerpt

Money Mindset

I wish I could say I learned my lessons quickly but the pain of the loss of my dad and not having a good understanding of finances led me to make some foolish financial and life decisions. At 23 I filed personal bankruptcy. Life was not at all going as planned! So where does one go from there?

This was the beginning of my money mindset transformation. I had some basic knowledge and had read some books on the subject by this time, but I wasn’t following that advice. The trigger and major changes happened at two different seminars that I attended during my 20s.

The most powerful change occurred at a Jack Canfield event. I was sitting near the front, taking in everything he was saying about success. Then he began talking about being a millionaire. At that time, I had mounds of debt and no real plan on how I would ever get to millionaire status! I could barely comprehend the enormity of a million dollars, let alone believe I could attain it.

It was the following few minutes that changed my financial beliefs forever. He went on to ask the crowd what we might be willing to sell one of our kidneys for, or maybe a piece of our liver, and what we thought our left arm would be worth to an insurance company if we lost it in an accident. (FYI the average worker’s compensation benefits for losing an arm in the USA was $169,878 in 2015 according to a 2015 article in propublica.org.)

The final question was about how much we would sell our eyes for. I immediately thought, “There’s no way in a million years I’d sell my eyes for any amount of money!” At that very moment, my belief about myself and my financial value changed. I was already a millionaire! I had a set of eyes worth well over a million dollars to me. It was that small click in my brain that evening that launched me forward.

Believing in the possibility of being financially successful is the first step. Maybe this simple exercise changed your views as it did mine. Or is there some other belief about yourself and wealth that is holding you back?

Purchase Links

Author Bio and Links

Tanya Russell is a successful multi-business owner and life coach. Her passions are her family, continued personal growth, and empowering others to live their very best lives. Tanya enjoys fast cars, motorcycles and travelling. She is currently enjoying the Okanagan lifestyle in Kelowna, BC, Canada.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads

Giveaway

Tanya Russell will be awarding a $15 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

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

Book Blast: Never Say Chai

Posted on September 3, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Amazon bestselling author Kirsten Weiss. Today, Kirsten shares her new release, Never Say Chai.

Blurb

It’s Halloween season in small town San Borromeo, and Abigail and Hyperion are determined to make Beanblossom’s Tea & Tarot spooktacular. But when Hyperion’s boyfriend, Detective Tony Chase, is arrested at Beanblossom’s for murder, the duo is certain someone’s playing a nasty trick. And when the official investigation turns into a witch hunt, the stakes to unearth the truth are raised…

But a clever killer has plans to squash their investigation… and the two amateur detectives. If they don’t solve this puzzle—and fast—it will be out of the cauldron and into the fire for them both.

Never Say Chai is the fourth book in the Tea and Tarot cozy mystery series. A fast-paced and funny cozy mystery, packed with quirky characters, pets, and murder! Perfect for fans of Jana DeLeon, Janet Evanovich, and Donna Andrews. Buy the book and start this hilarious caper!

Tearoom recipes in the back of the book!

Excerpt

There are some things that should go without saying. For example, don’t leave a coffin in your business partner’s driveway. It’s just not done.

But there was a coffin in my driveway. And it had wheels. I looked from the black coffin to the yellow bungalow. Yep, it was my house. Just above the peaked roofline, fog blurred a watery sun.

“Do you have any idea why there’s a coffin in my driveway?” Because there was really only one person who would put one there. I tore my gaze from the wooden coffin to Hyperion. “And why is it on wheels?”

He shifted his weight. “Didn’t I mention the coffin race?”

“No.”

“Why’d you think I had a t-shirt cannon?”

“I still have no idea why you’ve got one.”

“For the coffin race.” He patted the coffin’s hood.

I waited.

“I entered Beanblossom’s in the race,” he said patiently. “We’re going as the Death card. I’ve got a scythe and everything.”

“A scythe at high speeds. What could go wrong?”

“It’ll be like in one of those Italian medieval morality parades. Did you know those parades most likely spawned the Tarot’s major arcana cards?”

“Oh, boy.”

“Or was it the Renaissance?” He shook his head. “They were in Italy. I know that much.”

Buy Links

Amazon | Apple Books | Nook | Google Play | Kobo

Author Bio and Links

Amazon bestselling author Kirsten Weiss writes laugh-out-loud, page-turning mysteries. Her heroines aren’t perfect, but they’re smart, they struggle, and they succeed. Kirsten writes in a house high on a hill in the Colorado woods and occasionally ventures out for wine and chocolate. Or for a visit to the local pie shop. Kirsten is best known for her Wits’ End, Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum, and Tea & Tarot cozy mystery books. So if you like funny, action-packed mysteries with complicated heroines, just turn the page…

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Bookbub | Email

Giveaway

Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a $10 Amazon or Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

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

Trust Your Gut

Posted on August 30, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Susie Black. Today, Susie shares her creative journey and new release, Death by Sample Size.

Here’s Susie!

I had always envisioned a career as a journalist, but life had other plans. Right after my college graduation, our family had an emergency while my apparel sales rep Dad was at a trade show in Atlanta. When no one from his companies could cover for him so he could attend to the emergency, dad asked me to help. Despite having absolutely no background or interest in his business, this was my dad, so of course, I said yes. After giving me a half-hour crash course in how to sell ladies’ apparel, dad left me alone to muddle through running the trade show. When he returned three days later, he was taken aback at how many orders I’d written. To my utter astonishment, he offered me a job as a sub-rep. Graduate school didn’t appeal to me and the opportunities for women in journalism at the time were few and far between. So, I accepted dad’s offer, and the adventure of a lifetime began.

At the beginning of my apparel industry career as a sales rep in the deep southern states, I was the ONLY woman traveling a territory. I had to prove myself to everyone in the industry every day. Retailers, as well as manufacturers, doubted my ability to do the job or last more than a season. I proved all the doubters wrong and broke every glass ceiling.

Things rarely turn out the way you think they will, but they do happen for a reason. I got into the rag biz because I was destined to write about it. My advice to anyone planning a second act is trust your gut, believe in yourself, never stop saying what if, don’t let anyone crush your dream, and always remember that regret is the worst human emotion as it is the one we can usually do little or nothing about.

Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec in the greater Los Angeles area. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal chronicling the interesting, quirky, and sometimes quite challenging people I have encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. My daily journal entries are the foundation of everything I write. As a female who has succeeded in a historically male-dominated industry, it was important to me to write about the apparel business from a woman’s point of view. All of my characters are based on real people, and the central characters are all strong, successful women who have beaten the odds. Holly Schlivnik, the main character in the series, is based on me with some poetic license taken, of course. The stories all take place in the fast-paced ladies’ apparel industry.

Susie is offering a free Swimsuit Fit Guide to interested readers.

Email Susie here.

Blurb

“The last thing swimwear sales exec Holly Schlivnik expected was to discover ruthless buying office big wig Bunny Frank’s corpse trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey with a bikini stuffed down her throat. When Holly’s colleague is arrested for Bunny’s murder, the wise-cracking, irreverent amateur sleuth jumps into action to find the real killer. Nothing turns out the way Holly thinks it will as she matches wits with a wily killer hellbent on revenge.”

Tagline

“Everyone wanted her dead…but who actually killed her?”

Excerpt

“When the elevator doors opened, I had to stop myself short not to step on her. There was Bunny Frank-the buying office big shot-lying diagonally across the car. Her legs were splayed out and her back was propped against the corner. Her sightless eyes were wide open and her arms reached out in a come-to-me baby pose. She was trussed up with shipping tape like a dressed Thanksgiving turkey ready for the oven with a bikini stuffed in her mouth. A Gotham Swimwear hangtag drooped off her lower lip like a toe tag gone lost. Naturally, I burst out laughing.

Before you label me incredibly weird or stone-cold, let me say genetics aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. If you’re lucky you inherit your Aunt Bertha’s sexy long legs or your father’s ability to add a bazillion dollar order in his head and get the total correct to the last penny. Without even breaking into a sweat, it’s easy to spout at least a million fabulous traits inheritable by the luck of the draw. Did I get those sexy long legs or the ability to add more than two plus two without a calculator? Noooooooooo. Lucky me. I inherited my Nana’s fear of death we overcompensated for with the nervous habit of laughing. A hysterical reaction? Think Bozo the clown eulogizing your favorite aunt.

I craned my neck like a tortoise and checked around. Then I clamped a fist over my mouth. Cripes, how could I possibly explain my guffaws with Bunny lying there? The disappointment was simultaneously mixed with relief when there was no one else in the parking lot. Where was security when you needed them?

I toed the elevator door open and bent over Bunny. I’d seen enough CSI episodes to know not to touch her. She was stiff as a board and I attributed the bluish tinge of her skin to the bikini crammed down her throat. I was no doctor, but I didn’t need an MD after my name to make this diagnosis. Bunny Frank was dead as the proverbial doorknob.

It was no surprise Bunny Frank had finally pushed someone beyond their limits. The only surprise was it had taken so long. The question wasn’t who wanted Bunny Frank dead. The question was who didn’t?”

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target | Kobo

Bio

Born in the Big Apple, Susie Black now calls sunny Southern California home. Susie is a successful apparel sales executive. Susie began telling stories as soon as she learned to talk. Now she’s telling all the stories from her garment industry experiences in humorous mysteries.

She reads, writes, and speaks Spanish, albeit with an accent that sounds like Mildred from Michigan went on a Mexican vacation and is trying to fit in with the locals. Since life without pizza and ice cream as her core food groups wouldn’t be worth living, she’s a dedicated walker to keep her girlish figure. A voracious reader, she’s also an avidstamp collector. Susie lives with a highly intelligent man and has one incredibly brainy but smart-aleck adult son who inexplicably blames his sarcasm on an inherited genetic defect.

Social Media Links

Book Blast: Seventeen Butterflies

Posted on August 23, 2021 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author, Anna Katmore. Today, Anna shares her new release, Seventeen Butterflies.

Blurb

The embarrassment of being the only “un-kissed” girl in senior high is something Sandy Cardington refuses to accept. The first kiss project is her foolproof plan to finally get rid of the status at her birthday party while her parents are out of town.

With several kissable boys on her guest list, this should be a walk in the park. But she didn’t reckon on her older brother returning from college days before her 17th birthday, putting a spoke in her plans. To make matters even more complicated, he has a friend in tow, and the cute hockey player stirs unexpected butterflies in her stomach every time their paths cross.

While Sandy moves heaven and earth to make her party and project come true, she doesn’t know that Thane Griffyn is making his own plans to teach her the real meaning of a first kiss.

Excerpt

“You know what?” I follow him around the kitchen island with my breakfast and take a seat beside him. “Since you’re going to live here for the next few days, I guess it’s okay that you feel at home. So when you’re hungry, just come down and grab whatever you want.”

His black eyebrows knit in my direction. “Without asking?”

I bite the corner of one toast. “Mm-hmm.”

“Really? You mean everything?”

“Yes, I mean everything,” I assure him, laughing now while I chew. “Except my Oreos. If you want to live, don’t touch them.” This is a warning he should take very seriously. I’m addicted to the cookies.

As his gaze drops to my body and rises within a millisecond, I roll my eyes because I realize I ran right into that one. To his credit, he holds back his gamy smirk ninety percent. “Got it. Can eat everything. No Oreos.” Leaving his mug on the counter, he slides from the stool and gets the sugar bowl from where I pointed him. After he comes back, standing beside me now instead of taking a seat again, and adds a careful spoonful of sugar to his brew, he reaches over and snags the untouched second slice of toast from my plate.

My eyes widen in sharp protest. “Hey!”

“What? You said everything.” With a shower of mischief in his star-blue eyes, he arches his brows once as he takes a bite from the toast. Then he leans in really close, keeping our gazes locked with his intense stare, and adds in a drawl that makes shivers zoom down my body, “Be thankful that I didn’t eat the Milky Way.”

Author Bio and Links

I’ve been a storyteller all my life, building bridges into different worlds. Already in kindergarten, I’ve seen the most fantastical things and wanted to share them with everyone. My teacher called me a liar back then. Today, I call it the first real flash of my spiritual gift and the cornerstone of my writing career.

When I got older, I’ve had many visions of a perfect career, while writing has always been more of a hobby and kind of a therapy for me when the longing for more magic in this world once again caught up with me in a crushing way. When my first book was finished, I couldn’t even imagine sharing one of my stories with others, ever. In fact, I only got used to the idea while I wrote my second book and learned in a very miraculous way where the many stories in this world really come from.

It’s funny how, at that point, everyone told me I can’t possibly make a living with writing. They even warned me not to quit my job. But after my debut novella PLAY WITH ME came out and sales skyrocketed within the first week, I knew I could do anything I wanted if only I never stopped dreaming.

That’s also part of what I teach my students in writing and spiritual workshops today. Always dream big! If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.

Some personal stuff:

“I’m writing stories because I can’t breathe without.”

Disney is my attitude to life, and if I could I’d save the world from itself. My Patronus is a wolf, my wand the broken twig of an apple tree, 13 ¾ inches with a unicorn hair core. I can’t deny that on some days, I prefer my book characters over real people, but there’s not a single day going by where I wouldn’t try to find magic in reality. And when I’m alone, I love to listen to the many stories of the wind in a mystic mid-summer night.

So you see, I’m lucky enough to live in an enchanting world of my own. It’s peaceful there and full of magical things, fairies and wonders. You’re welcome to follow me there – if you’re ready to open up your mind and leave everything you learned about reality behind. But beware, if you dare to step through this door, you may never want to leave again…

Website | Facebook (German) | Facebook (English) | Buy Link (Amazon and Kindle Unlimited)

Giveaway

Anna Katmore will be awarding her entire GROVER BEACH PLAYERS series as ebooks, or alternatively any of her own novels in ebook format the winner likes, to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Find out more here.

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