10 Inspirational Quotations

Posted on July 13, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Wild Rose Press author Sadira Stone. Today, Sadira shares ten inspirational quotations and her new release, Gelato Surprise.

Here’s Sadira!

Thanks so much, Joanne, for welcoming me back to your blog. Since I’ve already chatted with your readers about my reinvention from high school teacher to romance novelist, today I’d like to share ten of my favorite inspirational quotations. ‘Cause goodness knows we all need inspiration to keep us moving forward during the Quarantimes!

1. “Honey, ever’body’s got somethin’ to teach you, even if it’s how not to be.” This golden nugget came from an older Southern lady I worked with when stationed in Fort Stewart, Georgia. My job: to help folks process their claims after a reassignment move had mashed up their household goods. Lots of negativity heaped on me by pissed-off customers who often took out their ire on me. This reminder served me well then, and every year since.

2. “Life may not be the party we hoped for, but while we’re here we might as well dance.” I couldn’t hunt down a reliable attribution for this one, but it’s my Northern Star. There’s so much I can’t change about my circumstances, but I can still enjoy my time, look for new opportunities, and write schmexy romance books.

3. “The grubby chores will still be there when you’re done whining, so you might as well do them now.” ~Mom

Her work ethic and practicality have served me well.

4. “The purpose of life, after all, is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt

Don’t you feel exhilarated after going somewhere new, meeting someone new, trying something new? I sure do.

5. “Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large. I contain multitudes.” ~Walt Whitman

My favorite poet and proto-hippie refused to be squashed into a box of others’ expectations.

6. “Don’t fence me in.” ~Gene Autry

We women, especially, face societal pressures to make our lives smaller. Phooey to that!

7. “Insight, curiosity, to wonder, to mull and to muse why it is that man does what he does. And if you have that, talent makes no difference, whether you’ve got it or not. ~William Faulkner

As a writer, I sure hope he’s right.

8. “Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and above all confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something and that this thing must be attained.” ~Marie Curie

She should know!

9. “Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic.” ~Freda Kahlo

Again, we women must resist others’ urgings to settle for less than we deserve.

10. “The best work anyone ever writes is the work that is on the verge of embarrassing them. Always.” ~Arthur Miller

True! My best work comes when I spill my heart’s blood on the page.

Blurb

She came to the beach to find herself—and found him.

Forty-two-year-old divorcée Danielle Peters ends up alone on her family’s annual beach vacation. Maybe time to herself is exactly what she needs. That and gelato from her favorite ice cream shop. But when the owner’s intoxicating young nephew offers more than sweet treats, she’s tempted to indulge in a hot summer fling before returning home.

Thirty-one-year-old Matteo Verducci craved a fresh start to mend his broken heart, and he’s found almost perfection in Ocean View, where he scoops gelato by day and crafts furniture by night. But when a sexy older woman stops to sample his wares—Mamma mia! He only has two weeks to convince her their passion is more than a delicious surprise.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple Books | Kobo | Google Play Books

Author Bio

Ever since her first kiss, Sadira’s been spinning steamy tales in her head. After leaving her teaching career in Germany, she finally tried her hand at writing one. Now she’s a happy citizen of Romancelandia, penning contemporary romance and cozy mysteries from her home in Washington State. When not writing, which is seldom, she explores the Pacific Northwest with her charming husband, enjoys the local music scene, belly dances, plays guitar badly, and gobbles all the books.

Where to find Sadira…

Charlotte O’Shay’s 10 Life Lessons

Posted on June 29, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Wild Rose Press author Charlotte O’Shay. Today, Charlotte shares ten life lessons and her upcoming release, Always, Almond Fudge.

Here’s Charlotte!

Hello Joanne,

It’s such a pleasure to visit your blog again.

I’m certainly old enough to know better. Finally I do—kind of. In spite of my patient parents, it took me forever to learn these lessons. Anyway, here goes.

1. Every day is a gift. Unwrap it. We make plans and we have schedules, calendars and appointments and of course, some of these are commitments we cannot neglect. But take a moment to appreciate the energy and promise of the new day. Be open to it unfolding in a way you might not have anticipated or planned.

2. Say yes. Of course you’re scared, but there is no growth without fear. Have courage. Be open to learning, doing something new. This gets harder as you get older, but more necessary.

3. Say no. Your time is precious. Don’t let people waste it. You don’t need to say yes to every invitation, join every committee or raise your hand to do something because you think you should. Take on what you truly can and want to do, and do it with joy.

4. Surround yourself with the people who make you happy. There are toxic people out there. As you get older you can see them coming from a mile away. Life is too short to engage with vitriolic people whether on line or in person. Corollary: Tell the people you love, that you love and appreciate them.

5. Surround yourself with the things that make you happy. I’m not talking about expensive objects. This is for all the yard sale lovers out there. I’m talking about a pine cone found while walking, sea glass from the beach, a pretty plate from a tag sale or a wonderful piece of music. I’m also not talking about hoarding. If you find something new, give away something you no longer need. If a color soothes you, paint it on a wall.

6. Trust your gut. We’ve all been there. A tough, even dangerous situation. Or you’ve met a new, potentially important person. Maybe it’s a big decision you must make about a job. There’s that niggling feeling like an itch you can’t get to in the middle of your back. Don’t ignore it. You may not know why you feel the way you do, but learn to scratch the itch by trusting your gut.

7. Struggling with a big decision, dilemma? (see 6. above) Walk. Running is okay and so is biking. But there is nothing quite like walking to ruminate. Extra points if you can walk on a beach.

8. Don’t complain, make a change. I vent. You vent. And we all have the friend who vents—constantly. But when does it cease being a vent and more just a state of being? After you hash out your issue with a few trusted people, take action. Don’t complain about something endlessly. Can you change the situation? Do you need legal, medical, educational, psychiatric help? Reach out for it. Educate yourself. Take action.

9. Listen (patiently, not waiting to barrel in with your side of the issue). Sometimes spoken words aren’t necessary. Write a thoughtful, appreciative letter. Hug it out.

10. Sleep on it. This works for problems in writing and all manner of life issues. Let your subconscious mind lead you to a solution. Meditation helps too.

Blurb

On a lengthy car ride to their annual seaside vacation, a mother recounts the true story of a sweet family tradition.

It’s the summer of 1941 in the seaside town of Langford, Rhode Island, and seventeen-year-old Meredith Franklin works as a server at Seymore’s Ice Cream Shoppe.

When aspiring baseball player Anthony Fanelli strolls into the ice cream shop, his teasing banter leads to romantic sparks and dreams of forever love.

Their whirlwind courtship comes to an abrupt halt on December 7, 1941, when America enters World War Two, forcing the couple to put their future on hold.

Decades later, a treasure trove of letters details the wartime romance of Merry and Anthony and the sacrifices of a generation.

Bio

Author Charlotte O’Shay was born in New York City into a big family and then married into another big family.

Negotiating skills honed at the dinner table led her to a career in the law.

But after four beautiful children joined the crowded family tree, Charlotte traded her legal career to write about happily ever afters in the City of Dreams.

Charlotte loves to challenge her heroines and heroes with a crisis and watch them figure out who they are while they fall in love.

Where to find Charlotte…

Top 10 Ways to Embed Carrots Into a Recipe

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Julie Howard. Today, Julie shares tips on embedding carrots into recipes and her novel, Crime and Paradise.

Here’s Julie!

Okay, this is a strange topic. But Joanne has this “top ten” list theme on her blog, and this came immediately to mind.

I love carrots. I love my children. But when my kids were little, they didn’t like carrots. As any good mother would do, I tricked them at every opportunity into eating plenty of these vitamin-laden vegetables. Over the years, I became an expert into sneaking carrots into recipes.

My children are now grown, but I still sneak carrots into a variety of dishes where they wouldn’t normally belong. Now I deal with a husband who hates cooked carrots, so I’m still up to my old tricks.

1. Chili – I dice them up and toss them in. They get soft during the hour or so the chili is on the stove or crockpot. With all the other strong flavors in chili – from garlic to red peppers – the carrots add a delicious hint of sweetness.

2. Enchiladas – Chicken enchiladas with a verde sauce is my favorite, but I love adding a hefty variety of vegetables to the mix. My enchiladas are 2/3rds veggies to 1/3 chicken, and of course I never forget the carrots.

3. Zucchini or pumpkin bread. It’s easy to add a little extra veggie to these breads, and grated carrots keep them moist.

4. Lasagna – Same as enchiladas. I dice them up, give them a quick saute, and sprinkle some in. I love adding a few extra veggies to lasagna, even zucchini or spinach. I’m careful not to overdo it though as too many veggies can make your lasagna watery.

5. Potato latkes – I don’t make these too often, but when I do, I grate some carrots in. They add a nice color to the savory pancakes and a bit of sweetness. I’m not sure why more people don’t do this.

6. Smoothies – You need to cook the carrots first so they are soft and will blend well into the rest of your ingredients. I’ll make a fruit smoothie and add in a carrot for extra vitamins, and you’d never know it was there.

7. Salads – I’ll grate a raw carrot and add to a salad. Those tiny orange tendrils add a beautiful color to a green salad without overwhelming the flavor.

8. Stuffing – This isn’t weird at all! I’ll microwave a carrot until it’s soft, dice it up and add it. Stuffing can be so bland so it’s just begging for some variety – like some carrots!

9. Jello salad – I’m not the first in my family to trick kids to eat carrots. My mother added shredded carrots to Jello salads all the time. This is a tried-and-true way to get kids to eat their vegetables.

10. Carrot cake – I’m going end this on a sweet note. I love carrot cake, a dessert that is unabashedly carrot-based. I learned quickly not to call it “carrot” cake when my kids were little. Anyone want some cake?

Voila! And eat your veggies.

Blurb

Meredith has been uprooted to the middle of nowhere with two kids and an abusive husband. After she fantasizes about ways to kill him, he ends up dead. Despite all the evidence pointing to her, Meredith finds an unlikely supporter and friend in the county sheriff. Together, they uncover some ugly truths about her husband and this small, isolated town.

Can Meredith make this place a new home for her family, or will the real secret behind her husband’s death send her away for good?

Amazon | Apple | Barnes and Noble

About the Author

Julie Howard is the author of the Wild Crime and Spirited Quest series. She is a former journalist and editor who has covered topics ranging from crime to cowboy poetry. Now she edits an online anthology, Potato Soup Journal, and spends many delightful hours writing her books.

Wild Rose Pass ~ 10 Facts About My Protagonist Ben

Posted on April 27, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Karen Hulene Bartell. Today, Karen shares 10 interesting facts about the male protagonist of her new release, Wild Rose Pass.

Here’s Karen!

Thanks so much for hosting me on your blog. It’s a pleasure to be here today!

Wild Rose Pass has two protagonists—Cadence and Ben. In many—okay, ten—ways, Ben is my favorite, and here’s why.

Ben Williams is based on a real person—a friend’s great-great-grandfather, José Maria Bill, who was captured as a small child. The Comanches killed his parents and brother and, at first, treated Ben as a slave.

They beat him so often, a Comanche and his wife took pity. The couple had three daughters but no son, so they traded him mula ensillada—for a mule and a saddle—and raised him as their own.

When old enough, he left the Comanches for two reasons: politics and a woman. According to the terms of the Guadalupe Hidalgo Treaty, Apaches and Comanches had to return all captured Mexicans from the States. But he wasn’t sure if he were Mexican or American. His Comanche father said he was born near the west Texas-Mexico border, but Ben was captured at such an early age, he couldn’t remember which side.

Politics aside, what compelled Ben to leave was a woman. Marriage in the Comanche campamiento was straightforward. If a young man saw a woman he wanted to marry, he simply asked her father for her. Unlike the widespread practice in 1880s Texas Anglo communities—where a man asked a woman’s father for her hand in marriage—when a Comanche asked for a man’s daughter, the father simply handed her over.

One day, Ben and his best friend noticed a pretty girl. The friend said he’d ask for her. Teasing him, Ben told him no, he’d ask for her. Though meant as a joke, the prank fanned into a feud. Even after his friend married the girl, he was suspicious and jealous.

Ben decided to leave the camp before the resentment turned to bloodshed. Though the tribe’s capitán offered him his choice of young women to change his mind, Ben realized his friend would never let go the bitterness.

Wounded and resentful about losing not only his friend, but his adoptive family and clan, as well, Ben left the Comanche community. Since he didn’t know which side of the Rio Grande he’d been captured on, he decided against being repatriated to Mexico. Instead, an American Anglo family took him in and taught him to read and write.

How did he become an officer of the buffalo soldiers at Fort Davis when he wasn’t a West Point graduate?

When the Civil War broke out, he enlisted and was assigned to the USCT, the Colored Troops—regiments made up of black men—but some Native Americans, as well. He rose through the ranks, and during combat, received the title of brevet lieutenant. Then after the war ended, his commanding officer recommended he apply for an officer’s commission to the buffalo soldiers.

That’s where he met the commander’s daughter, Cadence, a free-spirited nonconformist, who yearned to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. Though expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West, she found the daring new lieutenant exhilarating.

Orphaned and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearned to belong. Cadence embodied everything he craved, but he was neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Could two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier? From these ten facts, what do you think? The first chapter of Wild Rose Pass is on me!

Suggested tags

• Travel back to the Frontier with two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Lose yourself in time, where 1880s East confronts the West Frontier, and two opposites are drawn together by conflicting needs!

• Based on a true story, WILD ROSE PASS is a romantic journey into yesteryear. Share the challenges with Cadence and Ben in a ride through the past! https://bit.ly/2T1V3JM

Blurb

Cadence McShane, free-spirited nonconformist, yearns to escape the rigid code, clothes, and sidesaddles of 1880s military society in Fort Davis, Texas. She finds the daring new lieutenant exhilarating, but as the daughter of the commanding officer, she is expected to keep with family tradition and marry West Point graduate James West.

Orphaned, Comanche-raised, and always the outsider looking in, Ben Williams yearns to belong. Cadence embodies everything he craves, but as a battlefield-commissioned officer with the Buffalo Soldiers instead of a West Point graduate, he is neither accepted into military society nor considered marriageable.

Can two people of different worlds, drawn together by conflicting needs, flout society and forge a life together on the frontier?

Excerpt

Reining his horse between catclaw and prickly-pear cactus, Ben Williams squinted at the late summer sun’s low angle. Though still midafternoon, shadows lengthened in the mountains. He clicked his tongue, urging his mare up the incline. “Show a little enthusiasm, Althea. If we’re not in Fort Davis by sunset, we’ll be bedding down with scorpions and rattlesnakes.”

As his detachment’s horses clambered up Wild Rose Pass, the only gap through west Texas’ rugged Davis Mountains, Ben kept alert for loose rocks or hidden roots, anything that might trip his mount. A thick layer of fallen leaves created a pastiche of color shrouding the trail from view. He glanced up at the lithe cottonwood trees lining the route, their limbs dancing in the breeze. More amber and persimmon leaves loosened, fell, and settled near the Indian pictographs on their tree trunks. When he saw the red- and yellow-ochre drawings, he smiled, recalling the canyon’s name—Painted Comanche Camp.

“How far to Fort Davis, lieutenant?” called McCurry, one of his recruits.

“Three hours.” If we keep a steady pace.

Without warning, the soldier’s horse whinnied. Spooking, it reared on its hind legs, threw its rider, and galloped off.

As he sat up, the man groaned, caught his breath, and stared into the eyes of a coiled rattler, poised to strike. “What the…?”

Flicking its tongue, hissing, tail rattling, the pit viper was inches from the man’s face.

A sheen of sweat appeared above the man’s lip. “Lieutenant—”

Buy Links

Amazon eBook | Amazon Paperback | Barnes & Noble NOOK Book | Barnes & Noble Paperback

About the Author

Author of the Trans-Pecos, Sacred Emblem, Sacred Journey, and Sacred Messenger series, Karen is a best-selling author, motivational keynote speaker, wife, and all-around pilgrim of life. She writes multicultural, offbeat love stories that lift the spirit. Born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually, Bartell found her earliest playmates as fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night—reading feverishly. The paranormal was her passion. Westerns spurred her to write (pun intended). Wanderlust inherent, Karen enjoyed traveling, although loathed changing schools. Novels offered an imaginative escape. An only child, she began writing her first novel at the age of nine, learning the joy of creating her own happy endings. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, Karen resides in the Hill Country with her husband Peter and her “mews”—three rescued cats and a rescued *Cat*ahoula Leopard dog.

Connect with Karen

10 Lessons I Have Learned From Life

Posted on March 16, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome author Erin Pemberton. Today, Erin shares ten life lessons and her new release, The Prophecy.

1. Life is hard, don’t make it harder by making stupid decisions. As a teenager, I thought I knew best and I thought I could get away with playing around with no real consequences. I was wrong. Being a teenager is hard, going to college right after high school is not easy either. Being a single parent while finishing high school and then going on to college is even harder. You have your whole life ahead of you, make wise choices.

2. It’s okay to say no. I am one of those types of people who like to help out others despite what I have on my plate. Through many stressed out days and lots of hard lessons, I learned that it’s okay to say no when you already have a lot going on. In fact, when you do, your work will reflect it in the fact that you’re able to give more attention to the things you’re already taking on. They’ll be of better quality and you’ll be happier with the results.

3. Marriage takes two. Through two failed marriages, I realized in my third one, that it really does take two. You have to be willing to put your spouse’s needs ahead of yourself and make them a priority. By both of you doing this, everyone’s needs are met. Even when you have kids, your spouse needs to come first. Because when the kids are all gone, you’ll still have each other. Better to enjoy life with your spouse than to resent life with them.

4. It’s okay to let your kids fail. This is something that I struggle with daily. It’s unnatural for us to let our kids fail. However, how will they learn to live life if you’re constantly taking over for them? Last fall, my son was failing three out of five classes in high school. After trying to put him on a homework schedule, emailing teachers daily, and more screaming matches with my son than I care to admit, I finally looked at him and said, “I have two jobs, a husband, and five kids. I cannot and will not fight with you on this anymore. If you fail these classes, you’ll have to take them again. If you pass, that’s one more step toward your goal of going to Shawnee State. I’ll help when you need it or ask, but otherwise, I’m tapping out. Fail or pass, it’s on you.” By the skin of his teeth, he passed and he’s done so much better this year with keeping up to date on all his assignments. It was a tough lesson for us both.

5. It’s okay to ask for help or to let others lead for a change. As a preschool supervisor, I struggle with feeling like I need to accomplish everything our program needs in order to make it a great program. However, I’m finding that by creating teams and letting others take on leadership roles, it works out so much better for everyone. Not only do we end up with so many more ideas than I could ever dream up, but by sharing the role, I find my stress level goes down considerable and my team members value me more.

6. Take time for you. Whether it’s sitting down and reading a good book, doing yoga, or taking a mini vacation with my spouse, finding me time is critical being able to do as much as I do on any given day. I can recharge, I give myself permission to think of something other than work, and I’m ready to hit it again when I do come back.

7. Hobbies are for you. Something I struggle with as an author is asking other people to read my books. It’s not because I don’t want others to read them, I just don’t like asking what they thought of the book. I find that when I start valuing other’s opinions of my work more than I value my own opinion, my hobby or writing changes. I have a tendency to focus more on what other’s think and how I can make the world happy versus just writing because it’s something that I enjoy doing. When you find a hobby, don’t let anyone tell you how to do it. Make it yours.

8. Don’t let anyone stop you. If there is something that you want to accomplish in life, by all means, get it done! We can come up with a world of excuses, but the truth of the matter is, you’re the only person holding you back. Stop it and get it done!

9. Light will always defeat dark. As I mention in several of my books because they usually have a dark/ light battle going on, the light will always defeat the dark even if you have to search the darkness to find it. Hang on because around every dark corner, there is always light waiting for you.

10. Life without God, is not much of a life. God is the light in my world, my marriages, my parenting, and my work has all failed when I turned from him. By keeping him the center of my life, not only am I happier but I find myself blessed even when things are tough.

Blurb

In a land plagued by war, King Dorvin and Queen Shiara are expecting their first child. They are excited until the good fairies tell of a prophecy; that their daughter is the key to winning the war against the Shadow tribes. To protect her, mages of the kingdom create a tower to keep her and her guardian hidden until her eighteenth birthday. When Ella turns 18 she leaves the tower, only to find that her parents are dead and the Shadow tribes now control the kingdom. Trained as a warrior, and aided by the good fairies, Ella must now bring her subjects together and prepare for the final war.

Excerpt

“If you don’t tell me your name, you’ll find out the hard way,” Ella responded calmly even though butterflies were carrying out their own battle in her stomach. The magic was showing her just how far she could throw him with its use. She was beginning to think of it as a whole separate entity within her mind.

Just as she pulled her arm back in preparation of launching him through the night sky, he shouted “Erek! I’m called Erek.”

Ella, bemused, smiled serenely at him as she placed him none too gently back on the ground. “That wasn’t so hard, now was it?”

Erek mumbled something under his breath but made no attempt to say anything else.

“What are we going to do with him?” Ella asked, turning to look at Tia.

Tia, ignoring Ella’s question, took a step closer to Erek, grabbed the rope that bound him, and pulled him toward her. “What do you mean we’re trespassing on your land? This land belongs to Dorvin, king of Fablina,” she hissed, apparently taking care to spit in his face as she talked.

The ugly smirk appeared on his otherwise handsome face, a mirthless laugh consuming him. “My tribe killed and replaced your king seventeen years ago. This land belongs to the Shadow tribes, and you are as good as dead.”

Add to Goodreads | Buy on Amazon

Author Bio and Links

I’m just a small town girl, living in Ohio and making up worlds for my characters to live in. A preschool teacher by day, I live with my amazing husband while dreaming of walking hand in hand with him on the beach just searching for seashells. Together, we have five incredible kids, who are starting to make their way in this world as they take on college, high school, and elementary school. I love Christmas, the beach, seashells, painting, reading anything fantasy related, and in my very little spare time, creating new worlds for others to enjoy.

Website | Goodreads

Giveaway

Erin Pemberton will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner via Rafflecopter during the tour. Enter here.

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

10 Interesting Facts About Jennifer Wilck

Posted on March 13, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Jennifer Wilck. Today, Jennifer shares ten interesting facts about herself and her latest release, Waiting for a Miracle.

Here’s Jennifer!

1. I’m an only child. I loved all of the opportunities I was given growing up, due to the fact my parents only had me—horseback riding lessons, ballet, any college I wanted (within reason)—but I always wanted a sibling. I thought The Brady Bunch was the perfect family. It wasn’t until I had two daughters that I realized there’s no such thing as a perfect family, and it’s the imperfection that makes each family unique. I love how my girls get along, and I also love how they disagree and are each their own person. As a writer, I often include a child in my stories, but my heroes and heroines will definitely have children of their own—either naturally or through adoption. In Waiting for a Miracle, my heroine is unable to have children of her own, but wants to foster them. The hero is a single dad and is happy to support her dream.

2. My stories usually start out with a snippet of a conversation that I hear in my head. Sometimes those snippets are in the hero’s POV and other times they are in the heroine’s POV. It’s my job to figure it out and then build a story around that conversation. In my book, Addicted to Love, I “heard” the black moment first. Start at the end and work backwards? No problem!

3. In my other life, I wrote for technology magazines. As an English major, I tried to turn the techie mumbo-jumbo into something regular people could understand. However, in the real world, I’m not technology proficient. My husband used to laugh because I could explain why something worked, but couldn’t actually do it! I have several friends who work for major technology companies, so when I needed my characters to have particular jobs, I was able to interview them.

4. Most of the children in my stories are based in some way on my own girls (please don’t tell them that). And some of the character quirks are theirs. For example, Claire, the six-year-old girl in A Heart of Little Faith, loved the game Trouble. My oldest daughter and I used to play that game for hours!

5. My favorite characters to write are the meddlesome but loveable mothers or grandmothers. In Addicted to Love, my heroine, Hannah, lives with her grandmother, and she is one of my most favorite characters of all time (soon to be displaced by the grandmother in my current WIP, though).

6. I love writing both Jewish and non-Jewish contemporary romance. I think it’s important to represent all types of people in romance, and as a Jewish author, I can bring a unique perspective to my writing. There are always cultural elements that I include in my Jewish romances, and the stories revolve around more than just Hanukkah. Some of my biggest fans of my Jewish romance are a group of Catholic ladies who absolutely love the Jewish elements.

7. One of the best aspects of being a writer is that it has forced introverted me to be more extroverted. I have to toot my own horn a lot more than makes me comfortable, but I’m getting better at it. I’ve made contacts at local book stores and libraries, and despite my shyness, I love talking to readers about books—either mine or others I’ve read.

8. I love trying new foods. I was encouraged as a young child to eat a variety of adult food, rather than typical kiddie fare, and I think that has made me more adventurous as an adult. As long as it’s not alive, isn’t an organ, and isn’t any form of insect, I’m willing to give it a try. I include lots of food in my books, as well. There’s a great food scene—chocolate—in Five Minutes to Love, that was so tempting while I was writing it that even now, thinking about it makes me hungry.

9. In general, I prefer it to be quiet when I write. Music does inspire me, but if I write while listening to it, I’ll get distracted. The need for silence also means I stagger the times when I write based on who is going to be in my house when. Although, now that my girls are in college, my house is much quieter ad I’m able to write when the inspiration hits, as opposed to when they are out of the house.

10. My favorite trope to read and to write is Beauty and the Beast. I love damaged heroes and strong heroines (not necessarily beautiful ones), and I love adding a psychological component to my conflicts. I hope a reader gets a wide range of emotional responses when they read my writing, just as I want to get the same benefit when I read other authors.

Blurb

Benjamin Cohen, widowed father of six-year-old Jessie, is doing his best to hold it together through order and routine. The last thing he needs is his matchmaker mother to set him up with her next door neighbor, no matter how attractive she is.

Rachel Schaecter’s dream of becoming a foster mother is right within her grasp, until her meddlesome neighbor tries to set her up with her handsome son. What’s worse? He’s the father of her favorite kindergarten student! She can’t afford to let anything come between her and her dream, no matter how gorgeous he may be.

Can these two determined people trust in the miracle of Hanukkah to let love and light into their lives?

Excerpt

Six-year-old bodies were good at many things— bouncing, hugging, and racing. Rachel was thankful they were also good at hiding her surprise. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her favorite student, and her student’s father, would be at her neighbor’s house the same night she was invited to celebrate Hanukkah.

She met the hard gaze of Jessie’s father across the room. Eyes narrowed as if he suspected her reasons for being here. His broad shoulders were stiff. His jean-clad muscular legs were spread apart in a solid stance. Square hands fisted at his sides, and one of them held a menorah. Did he plan to throw it or club someone with it?

Giving Jessie a last pat, she rose. With an arm around Jessie, she extended her other hand to her father. “Happy Hanukkah.”

“Ms. Schaecter.” 

“Mr. Cohen.” 

“Oh, please,” Harriet said, “Such formality between you two. Rachel, this is my son Benny. I mean Benjamin.”

Benny. Rachel filed the information away for later, along with his flushed skin at the nickname. Interesting.

“And Benjamin, this is my neighbor, Rachel. We’re not at a school event. You can call each other by your first names.” Harriet pointed at Jessie, who gripped Rachel’s hand so hard, Rachel’s fingers lost their circulation. “Except for you,” Harriet added. “You have to call her Ms. Schaecter.”

Jessie giggled. “Yes, Grandma.”

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks

Bio

Jennifer started telling herself stories as a little girl when she couldn’t fall asleep at night. Pretty soon, her head was filled with these stories and the characters that populated them. Even as an adult, she thinks about the characters and stories at night before she falls asleep or walking the dog. Eventually, she started writing them down. Her favorite stories to write are those with smart, sassy, independent heroines; handsome, strong and slightly vulnerable heroes; and her stories always end with happily ever after.

In the real world, she’s the mother of two amazing daughters and wife of one of the smartest men she knows. She believes humor is the only way to get through the day and does not believe in sharing her chocolate.

She writes contemporary romance, many of which feature Jewish characters in non-religious settings (#ownvoices). She’s published with The Wild Rose Press and all her books are available through Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Where to find Jennifer

How to Interact with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Posted on February 24, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome ASL Interpreter and author Kelly Brakenhoff. Today, Kelly shares valuable tips and advice about interaction with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Here’s Kelly!

As an American Sign Language Interpreter with more than twenty years of experience, I’ve worked in college classrooms for fifteen different majors. I actually attend classes with the deaf students and overhear both the most inspiring and the most inane professors you could imagine. The academic world is the setting for my Cassandra Sato Mystery Series because it’s such a ripe environment for murder and mayhem. Today, I’d like to share tips and advice for anyone interacting with people who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing, and for writers who want to write about a character with a hearing difference.

1. USE the words “Deaf or Hard of Hearing” when referring to a person who was born deaf or hard of hearing or who lost their hearing later in life. Avoid using the words “Hearing Impaired” because calling someone impaired isn’t a positive description and can be offensive. My Deaf friends sometimes say, “I’m not hearing impaired. You are sign impaired.”

2. In your job, or when interacting on social media, consider whether your content is accessible to people with hearing differences. Caption your YouTube videos, please. Auto-captions are horribly inaccurate. Captions are very easy to add manually before you upload your videos and YouTube provides step by step directions on their help pages. An alternative is to provide a written transcript.

3. Not all deaf people can lipread. They do not have special visual superpowers because they can’t hear. Lipreading is hard and even the most skilled people catch an average of 30% of the conversation. Try turning off your TV volume and watching the news. How much do you understand what the announcer is saying without the volume?

4. People who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing are interested in more than just their ears. People who are born deaf don’t know anything different. They aren’t necessarily upset that they don’t hear music, birds, etc. They can drive. They have families. They can be doctors, lawyers, etc. Many of my friends say, “I can do anything except hear.”

5. Regarding technology: People who use hearing aids and cochlear implants are not cured. They use technology to maximize the benefit of what hearing they have left. Once the device’s batteries die or they remove the technology to go swimming, shower, or to sleep, they are still deaf or hard of hearing.

6. If you’ve met one deaf or hard of hearing person, you’ve met one deaf or hard of hearing person. Each person is an individual with different skills, needs, and communication styles. Most Deaf/Blind people can either see some or hear some. Helen Keller was very unique in that she didn’t see or hear at all. If you don’t know how they like to communicate, ask. Don’t be shy or afraid to approach them. Even fingerspelling your name and knowing how to sign “please” and “thank you” is appreciated.

7. Where can you learn American Sign Language and how hard is it to learn? Check out your local community college, or school continuing education program. Some churches with a large number of deaf members have classes or clubs and would welcome you. Learning ASL is just like learning any second or third language like Spanish or French. With practice you can learn everyday phrases for conversation, although it takes years of study to become fluent.

8. How can writers understand what it feels like to have a disability if they don’t personally experience that disability? For example, I’m short and left-handed. Neither of those are disabilities but thinking about it helps me write accurate characters. Could I imagine how it would feel to be turned down for a job because I’m short? Would I feel angry and frustrated because there’s nothing I can do about my height? As a left-handed person, do I understand what if feels like when the whole world is set up for other people and not for me? Yes, I do. Do people tease me or was I bullied as a child for being small? Yes. Use those feelings when you write characters who aren’t like you. Your feelings are real and universal, even if you experience them to a smaller degree. Amplify them for your story.

9. Should you use a sensitivity reader on your writing project? In my second book, I was worried that I’d gone too far by choosing controversial topics. I wrote strong dialogue for my Deaf characters, but I didn’t want them to come off like jerks. When I showed those sections to my Deaf friends, they overwhelmingly said, “Yes! This is exactly how we feel.” A friend gave me more stories to illustrate the point. One of those stories ended up in the book. I’m very grateful for their viewpoint and advice.

10. What’s the big thing I wish people understood about deafness? As a group, deaf and hard of hearing people are tired of always being the ones to bend to the majority of people who can hear. They feel like hearing people rarely bend to accommodate them. An example of how you can be more accommodating to people with differences is found in my children’s picture book, Never Mind. Duke the Deaf Dog doesn’t like it when people tell him “never mind” when he asks them to repeat something he missed. Maybe we could all be more patient instead of brushing aside people who have a hard time keeping up with the conversation.

Kelly’s Books

Buy Links

Death by Dissertation | Dead Week

Bio

KELLY BRAKENHOFF is an American Sign Language Interpreter whose motivation for learning ASL began in high school when she wanted to converse with her deaf friends. Her first novel, DEATH BY DISSERTATION, kicked off the Cassandra Sato Mystery Series, followed by DEAD WEEK. She also wrote NEVER MIND, first in a children’s picture book series featuring Duke the Deaf Dog. She serves on the Board of Editors for the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf publication, VIEWs. The mother of four young adults and two dogs, Kelly and her husband call Nebraska home.

Website | Facebook Page | Goodreads | BookBub

10 Facts About Frost Fairs Upon the River Thames

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome back Caroline Warfield and the Bluestocking Belles. Today, Caroline share ten interesting facts about frost fairs and their new release, Fire & Frost.

1. The Little Ice Age produced a climate fluctuation that caused colder than normal temperatures worldwide from the mid 14th to the mid 19th centuries. It wasn’t a true “ice age” as in the age in which glaciers covered much of the world, but England endured a series of severe winters.

2. In addition to climate changes, differences in the river Thames at London compared to know made it more likely to freeze. The piers of Old London Bridge, for one thing, caused ice to jam up effectively producing a dam. Between 1600 and 1814 it was not uncommon for the river to freeze solid for up to two months at a time.

3. There are reports of activity on the ice dating from the 14th century. We know that in 1563 Elizabeth I ordered an archery field set up on the river.

4. The first fully documented frost fair occurred in the winter of 1608 when the Thames froze for six weeks.

5. Between 1608 and 1814 seven major fairs took place, but it is believed numerous more minor events occurred.

6. The winter of 1683-1684 was particularly severe. Lakes, rivers, and even the sea around the southern coast of England brought commerce to a complete halt.

7. Charles II visited the frost fair of 1684 and enjoyed an ox roasted on the ice.

8. The last and by most accounts largest, occurred in 1814. Temperatures dropped below freezing every night between December 27 and February 7. By the end of January creating a solid surface from Blackfriars Bridge to London Bridge.

9. Between January 25 and February 1 crowds began to gather and stalls and business sprang up on the ice. Tradesmen of all kinds hawked their wares. Fires were set up to keep warm, cook, and even roast full sized sheep. Rum, gambling, drinking tents were reported. Carriages drove up and down the ice. Dances took place. Games such as skittles and bowls were held. Paintings show swings, sled rides and skating. Not least, an elephant was walked the length of the place.

10. Folks prized one souvenir in particular, a printed ticket to prove they had been there. As in previous fairs, printing presses were set up on the ice to satisfy demand, and all sorts of ephemera was printed. The great fair ended February 5, 1814. It was the last one.

About Fire & Frost

In a winter so cold the Thames freezes over, five couples venture onto the ice in pursuit of love to warm their hearts.

Love unexpected, rekindled, or brand new—even one that’s a whack on the side of the head—heats up the frigid winter. After weeks of fog and cold, all five stories converge on the ice at the 1814 Frost Fair when the ladies’ campaign to help the wounded and unemployed veterans of the Napoleonic wars culminates in a charity auction that shocks the high sticklers of the ton.

In their 2020 collection, join the Bluestocking Belles and their heroes and heroines as The Ladies’ Society For The Care of the Widows and Orphans of Fallen Heroes and the Children of Wounded Veterans pursues justice, charity, and soul-searing romance.

Celebrate Valentine’s Day 2020 with five interconnected Regency romances.

Buy Links

Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | Smashwords | Amazon (US)

You can find more about the authors and the individual stories here.

Bio

Award-winning author of family centered romance set in the Regency and Victorian eras, Caroline Warfield has been many things: traveler, librarian, poet, raiser of children, bird watcher, Internet and Web services manager, conference speaker, indexer, tech writer, genealogist—even a nun. She reckons she is on at least her third act, happily working in an office surrounded by windows where she lets her characters lead her to adventures in England and the far-flung corners of the British Empire. She nudges them to explore the riskiest territory of all, the human heart.

Her story, Lord Ethan’s Courage, appears in Fire & Frost.

10 Ways to Build Writer Resilience

Posted on January 24, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome mystery author and executive coach Melissa H. Blaine to the Power of 10 series. Today, Melissa shares valuable insights and advice about building writer resilience.

Here’s Melissa!

What’s the bravest writing action you took today?

Creative work is filled with failure and setbacks. Rejections. Bad reviews. Publishers closing. Declining sales. Unsupportive family and friends. The list could go on. Every time we fill up a page with words or put paint to a canvas or pull images into a design we are taking a risk. Because creative work like writing is subjective, nothing that we create will be loved by everyone. Likewise, our writing or other creative work always includes some of ourselves in it. We’re not just laying our work on the line; we’re laying bare a piece of ourselves for the world to see and judge too.

Building resilience is important for writers as we navigate the challenges. Being able to bounce back from adversity is a skill that we can develop and nurture—one that will keep us writing when things look bleak or we don’t believe in ourselves. We may not feel brave or resilient or tough, but finding the paths ahead make us all of those things every day.

Looking to nurture your resilient spirit? Here are ten ways to find resilience in those challenging moments.

1. Acknowledge the Emotions

Emotions happen. As humans, we’re going to feel disappointment, anger, doubt, shame, and hurt when setbacks happen. Identifying and acknowledging what we’re feeling can not only be a healthy response but also help us move forward. By accepting the emotions, we give ourselves that chance to learn how to manage it in healthy ways and the acceptance can take away some of the destructive powers that negative emotions can have. Did a writing group member take a snipe at you that made you angry or upset? Acknowledge how you feel and why you feel it. Our emotions can be complicated creatures so getting to the bottom of things might reveal truths that help us move forward.

2. Find the Comeback Stories

Whenever we face a setback or a challenging event like a rejection, it can be easy to feel alone or to compare ourselves to other successful writers. The truth is that all of us struggle at some point. Look for the comeback stories in the people you admire or see around you. Maybe they have their own string of agent rejections or have had their publisher close the doors. Finding the stories of others who have gone through what you’re experiencing can not only make you feel less alone but also reassure you that the rejection, setback, or bad review doesn’t have to be the end of your story either.

3. Take the Big Picture

Setbacks, rejection, and bad reviews can feel like the end of the world. In the moment, it can feel like we won’t recover or that there’s no way forward. Taking the big picture can help you focus beyond the moment. Maybe your dream agent didn’t love your book, but there are many other agents out there who might love it. A missed deadline can be defeating in the moment, but might not even be noteworthy in five years. Try to see above the fray. Will this matter in two months or two years? Does it really close off the paths forward or do you need to shift a little to find a way through?

4. Use Your Strengths

Everyone of us has character strengths that we draw on every day. These include positive traits like hope, humor, curiosity, perseverance, and bravery. When negativity seems like it’s hanging around us like a dementor waiting to pounce, consciously using a character strength can help you summon your patronus to banish it away. Learn to recognize your signature strengths and you’ll get better about being about to call them up to help you rebound. Imagine that you’re on a writers’ panel at the biggest conference of the year in front of your favorite author and you fall getting into your chair and then spill a glass of water down the front of your shirt. Disaster? Maybe not. You call up your humor strength, crack a joke, and your favorite author invites you to lunch.

5. Look for the Lesson

Whenever we fall flat, it can be difficult to peer into the dark and look for the truth. We’d rather hide or blame it on someone else. It’s OK to take some time, but don’t forget to look for a lesson in there. Does that hurtful bad review have a grain of truth in there that can help you improve the next book? Is the feedback from your critique group the same week after week? Is that typo that haunts your dreams a symptom of rushing through things or not hiring a copyeditor? Finding the lesson can help you improve and grow, as well as giving you good practice in learning from the adversity.

6. Fall Forward

We all fail. At some point, something isn’t going to work or go our way. Falling forward means that we take what we’ve learned through the failure and fall forward with growth, new insights, and better skills. What we try might not work, but it can move us forward, if we let it. Maybe that story you wrote isn’t garnering rave reviews from your critique group, but you gained experiences and new insights so you’ll fall forward from where you started. If you fall forward, you use those experiences and insights to help you succeed on the next step.

7. Write Your Own Comeback

What if you could write your own success story? Try journaling about your next steps and successes in the future. Writing down what you’re feeling or where you want to go can help give you perspective about what’s happening. Research has also shown that talking to yourself in the third person or as “you” can help people perform in stressful situations better than if they use “I.” Give it a try in your journaling. It can help reduce feelings of shame as well as help us be more objective in our feedback to ourselves.

8. Build Your Community

We can’t always choose who we interact with but finding your community can help you foster resilience. Look for people who you can trust to both give you honest answers as well as who want the best for you with no strings attached. Your inner writing circle can have an effect on your self-talk so it’s good to be choosy and find your people, including the people that you hire and entrust your work to like editors, coaches, and marketers. Lean on your community in those moments when you need support and a boost up. That’s what friends are for, after all.

9. Use the Muse

Those hard moments can drain our creative well. It’s not unusual to find your creativity flagging along with your spirits after you read that not-great review or your book isn’t selling well. Sagging creativity then feeds into the negativity because if you can’t write, you can’t find your way out of the pit. Bolster your muse by doing something new, taking yourself on an artist’s date, or getting in some quiet time. Your muse might not make a sudden, dramatic appearance, but a new idea or story will eventually start itching in your brain. Give yourself the space and use the muse to pull yourself back into writing.

10. Delete the Doubt

Whenever those setbacks happen, imposter syndrome likes to show up right behind them. We doubt our ability to write, to be a writer, to succeed as a writer. Deleting the self-doubt that tries to keep us from moving forward can help us bounce back quicker and easier. If we believe that we are resilient and brave, we’ll act more resilient and brave. If we know how to kick self-doubt to the curb, we can find that healthier, stronger relationship with ourselves and our writing that lets us skip over some of those challenges like a pebble on water.

Online Course

Is doubt holding you back from writing or publishing your book, blog, or dissertation? Writing is hard; doubt makes it harder. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Delete the Doubt is an online course designed to help you learn to use good doubt productively and banish the bad doubt from your writing life. When you embrace the good doubt, you’ll be able to use it—because that’s where creative genius happens—and spot when good doubt starts to turn to self-doubt so that you can stop it in its tracks before it stops you. Through the course, you’ll develop your own roadmap for deleting doubt so that you can draw on the strategies that work best for you. Choose the Delete the Doubt course option that works best for you: course only, two-month course program with weekly group coaching and discussions, and premium three-month course with 1-1 coaching sessions each week.

Get 50% off any course through February 17, 2020.
Visit this website and use the code prelaunchhalfoff.

Bio

Melissa Haveman (aka Melissa H. Blaine) is a mystery author, Michigander, and executive coach. She has almost eighteen years experience as a developmental editor and writer, and she’s also served as the Director of Content for an academic publisher. She’s taken hundreds of writing projects from start to finish, working with experienced and beginner writers alike.

Melissa is the owner of Creatively Centered, an executive coaching business that specializes in making remote work, work. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, the SinC-Guppy chapter, the Short Mystery Fiction Society, and the Grand Rapids Region Writers Group (GRRWG), as well as the Center for Executive Coaching and the International Coach Federation.

Her sociology degrees have led to many hours researching gravestones, urban legends, and how villains are created in history. When she’s not in front of her computer screen, Melissa is off hiking with her (hell)hound.

Author Website | Coaching Website | Instagram | Twitter

10 Authors on my Keeper Shelf

Posted on January 6, 2020 by Joanne Guidoccio

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Helen Johannes. Today, Helen shares ten of her favorite authors and her latest release, Lord of Druemarwin.

Here’s Helen!

Ten Authors on my Keeper Shelf—in no particular order—and what makes me return again and again to their work…

#1 – Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Breathing Room, First Lady, It Had to Be You, etc. – Complex, fully realized characters whose sometimes wildly inappropriate actions are always properly and expertly motivated and who have a deep and authentic backstory.

#2 – Deborah Crombie, Duncan Kincaid, Gemma James (A Share in Death, Bitter Feast, etc.) series – Careful world-building, engaging characters that have become a family, and seamless interweaving of past and present so that the anatomy of a crime can be traced to the root cause.

#3 – Elizabeth Peters, The Amelia Peabody mysteries – The creation of characters, relationships, and settings sufficient to sustain a thoroughly fascinating series set during the archeological heyday in Egypt.

#4 – Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, Heroes of Olympus series, Magnus Chase series, etc. – Can’t-put-it-down pacing, humor, wildly imaginative world-building, great characters whose strengths are also their flaws, and—not to be forgotten—terrific chapter titles.

#5 – Jennifer Crusie, Faking It, Welcome to Temptation, Agnes and the Hitman, etc. – Fascinatingly flawed characters who fail at love at first but keep trying—in often hilarious ways—until they get it right.

#6 – Louise Penny, Inspector Gamache/Three Pines series – Amazing ability to lure the reader into a story with apparently ordinary words that nonetheless resonate and make the reader care and care deeply about these characters.

#7 – Janet Evanovich, Stephanie Plum series – Humor, pacing, snappy sentences, an unmistakable voice, and something never fails to explode.

#8 – JRR Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings – Incredible world-building, vast scope, great and memorable characters, and a mind-blowing ability to weave all the threads of an enormous plot together over three epic books.

#9 – Jayne Ann Krentz/Amanda Quick – Hook openings, flawed but immediately engaging characters who find a way to confront their demons and heal their wounds, effective dialogue, and fast pace.

#10 – Dick Francis – Spare, tight writing, intense action scenes, moral conundrums realistically handled.

Give me great characters and a strong sense of place, throw in some action, humor, and a mystery to solve or crisis to avert, and I’m likely to pick up your book. And because these elements please me as a reader, I try my best to incorporate them into my own writing. Well, except for the chapter titles; I bow to others’ greatness there.

*************LORD OF DRUEMARWIN*************

PAGES FROM THE HEART Winner in Fantasy Romance

Tag line: In a world of lies and betrayal, can they trust each other?

Blurb

Lady Raell can fight, ride, and argue politics as well as her brothers. Only being mistress of her father’s household keeps her in skirts. In Naed, the new Lord of Druemarwin, she has found devotion, a kindred spirit, and a marriage promise. But when a forgotten and unwanted betrothal comes to light, she has no choice but to run.

Amidst sweeping revolution, Naed must rally his people, fend off assassination attempts, and fight against claims he’s a traitor. Then he discovers everything about his lineage and family is a lie. And his beloved belongs to another.

With lives and a kingdom at stake, Raell and Naed must find a way to protect the innocent and save their love.

Excerpt

“Raell, now is not the time—”

Aye, it wasn’t. They stood in torchlight on an open parapet while assassins stalked them, but this might be her only chance to reach him across that precipice he’d thrown up between them, to secure the future they were meant to share.

“Does my honor mean naught? When weighed with D’nalian honor, is mine lesser because ‘tis a woman’s honor? Or because ‘tis a Tolemak’s honor? Be honest and tell me that.”

The world had gone silent; Raell could hear nothing over the rush of blood in her ears, the terrible heavy beats of her heart while she waited, dizzy with fear, breathless with longing, for the man she loved to respond with a word, a look, even a blink. Even a shift of his gaze she’d take as a sign he’d at least heard, mayhap begun to consider—

“Yes, be honest, Lord Naed,” said a voice she’d heard but once, a voice that raised all the fine hairs on her body and made her innards contract into a cold, tight knot. “Tell us both how much honor means to a bastard who’s betrayed his countrymen and his blood.”

Buy Links

Amazon | Nook

Author Bio

Helen C. Johannes writes award-winning fantasy romance inspired by the fairy tales she grew up reading and the amazing historical places she’s visited in England, Ireland, Scotland and Germany. She writes tales of adventure and romance in fully realized worlds sprung from pure imagination and a lifelong interest in history, culture, and literature. Warriors on horseback, women who refuse to sit idly at home, and passion that cannot be denied or outrun—that’s what readers will find in her books.

Other Books: The Prince of Val-Feyridge | Bloodstone

Where to find Helen…

Blog | Author Central | Goodreads | BookBub | Email