Tuesday, May 24, 2016

Rockin' it!

Anyone else have a thing for rocks? I didn't realize until today that I may have a rock-fetish or a mild obsession. (lol)


(In case you're wondering the plant is the start of a butterfly weed bush)




Maybe it's their strength that fascinates me, or how great they are under pressure.




I might've got carried away with the rocks. They're everywhere - outside and in the house.  




Betcha didn't know...the scientific study of rocks is petrology. (I didn't know it either)






Maybe in another life I was a geologist! (?)






Or maybe I'm just weird. (Proudly weird, that is!)




And then there's this! My not-so-subtle rock! :)




Guess what's hiding in the rhubarb?


When I'm not collecting rocks, I'm writing rockin' romance! ♥ You can check out my books at:




or












Wednesday, May 11, 2016

WILD GOOSE CHASE ♥

From The Wild Rose Press and Jan Romes comes...
WILD GOOSE CHASE! 





My excitement has been building the past few months in anticipation of sharing Olivia and Dezz's story with you. They're a unique couple - like-minded nerds who love the written word. You'd think their mutual interest would've drawn them together. Nope. It didn't. Instead of navigating and enjoying the familiar, they become fiercely competitive. Olivia and Dezz's troubles started in kindergarten and kept going into adulthood. Born and raised in Iowa, they take a job in the Big Apple working for Brilliance Magazine. Olivia's angst with Dezz heightens to the point of madness. In the mix is their boss, Magda Mattsin, who has had enough of their bickering. To fix their situation (or not), she sends them on a two-week road trip. Separately they're to find fourteen serendipitous things to enchant their readers. 


Did I mention there's a ton of chemistry brewing too? (Much to Olivia's dismay) And so sets the stage for plenty of conflict, humor, serious issues, and a resolution that just may give you that moment of "ahhh" when you reach The End.    


Photo courtesy of Kim Stapf

 
Wild Goose Chase is my 20th published book! I can remember when I was desperately trying to get my bearings with book #1. Now here I am at #20. I'm grateful for my publishers, my readers, my family and friends who said 'go for it' and who match my excitement with each book, and The Lord who unlocked the potential and continues to guide me every step of the way.


In celebration, I'm giving away some great prizes: 


1 - $25 Amazon Gift Card
1 - $25 Barnes & Noble Gift Card
4 - $10 The Wild Rose Press Gift Cards
2 - e-copies of my very 1st book - One Small Fib
2 - e-copies of Lucky Ducks




** To enter to win, all you have to do is leave a comment saying hello or anything else you'd like to say to me (just keep it clean...*grins*). Please make sure I can find you either by leaving your email address, Twitter name, or Facebook link in case you win one of the prizes. On Monday, May 16th at 12:00 noon (Eastern Standard Time), I'll be drawing names and I will post them here. **


Thank you for being part of my excitement!! ♥♥





Photo courtesy of Kim Stapf


Here are the links to find WILD GOOSE CHASE...









 





Monday, May 2, 2016

Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! An Interview with Lisette Brodey!

Lisette Brodey

I'm pleased to have author Lisette Brodey on my blog today with an interview. She's a prolific writer who pens stories with strong lead characters and interesting plots. Her book Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! is an enjoyable read. Molly is an independent, down-to-earth woman who's afraid to give her heart to the wrong man after having her heart broken. That's the core story but there's so much more that Lisette puts Molly (and the reader) through. It's an adventure that will have you smiling, laughing, and feeling Molly's angst.



On with the interview...

Molly's a fun, engaging character who's brutally honest - mostly with herself. When you were inspired to write her story did you already have her personality nailed down or did she surprise you as you went along?

I knew she was a strong-willed, funny, and loving woman who wasn't going to settle for Mr. Wrong just because others referred to her as picky. I also knew she was steadfast in her pursuit of finding true love and refused to be swayed by popular (or in Molly's eyes, unpopular) opinion. That was the starting point. Almost immediately, Molly revealed herself as over-analytical and self-deprecating, not only in her quest to find love, but also in her everyday life.

Dating isn't easy. It's especially hard when well-intentioned friends/family think they have the perfect person picked out for you. Can you tease us with a little bit about one of Molly's dates (either about the person they thought would be perfect or about the date itself?)

When Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! begins, Molly's days of allowing people to set her up are long over, but that doesn't stop the meddlesome town socialite, Naomi Hall-Benchley (the "she-Devil"), from trying. As Molly is systematically thwarting Naomi's efforts, she meets Alan T. Cressman. Molly finds him attractive, yet a bit socially awkward. She's also consumed by the fact that he uses his middle initial every time he says his own name. She soon learns he does so to distinguish himself from his father, Alan C. Cressman, but she's still unsure about him. When Alan brings flowers to Molly's office at the Swansea Herald, she happily receives them, but isn't too happy when her co-worker and friend points out that they came directly from a funeral home. Stalwart in her efforts to give him a chance, Molly is determined to get past the flower blunder. But what happens next is an entirely different story!

There were some twists and turns in Molly's story. Did you know those ahead of time?

As with most of my novels, I know how the book will end, but I don't know all of the nuances and twists. I remember one particular day when I was writing and one of Molly's suitors gave her some news that shocked me. I never saw it coming. I thought to myself, 'Wow, that's interesting,' and I kept on writing. I do love it when characters throw curveballs because that's exactly what real life does. Also, there was one character who was created just to bring levity to one scene yet ended up being a far more important part of the story.

Despite the lighthearted nature of the book, it wasn't an easy one to write. I kept meticulous notes regarding the time frame of the events. When one woman has four romantic interests at once, things can get complicated fast - for both the author and the characters. Looking back now, I probably couldn't tell you precisely which twists were planned and which were not.

Molly has a great friend, Randy, who's an awesome secondary character. He keeps her sane throughout the year-long romp to find Mr. Right. Would you like to say a few words about him?

Randy is a gay man who believes he also has found his Mr. Right, Kyle. Hilarious and every bit as snarky as Molly, Randy is also a deeply caring friend. He would do anything for Molly (whom he calls "Molly Rose"). What makes their friendship even more important is that Molly has decided to keep her girlfriends out of the romantic loop because their "helping hands" helped her to lose the man she was once engaged to. Determined not to let past mistakes repeat themselves, she chooses Randy as her sole confidant while he confides the ups and downs of his relationship with Kyle.

Could you share a teaser about the end without giving anything away?

Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! takes the reader on a year-long romp through Molly's mind and a joyride through her life. Her dating life, town secrets, a group of quirky, crazy characters, and Naomi's machinations collide head-on at a holiday gala that will change the social landscape of Swansea forever.

As the New Year rolls in, Molly gets earth-shattering news. Can she go on? Will life ever return to abnormal again?

If you'd like to read Molly Hacker Is Too Picky! it's on sale (Amazon Kindle) for just $0.99 until May 8th. You can find it here:



You have a lot to offer the reading world, Lisette. Before you go could you say a few words about your Desert Series since you've recently published the third book in the trilogy?

Thank you, Jan. That's a great compliment coming from such a prolific and talented author as yourself.

The Desert Series is a YA Paranormal trilogy, but that's just a label. To more accurately describe it, the Desert Series (Mystical High, Desert Star, and Drawn Apart) takes place in a dying desert town in the Southern California desert called Mystekal. The entire series spans a time frame of six years. While this is a paranormal series, it's more accurately three coming-of-age novels with real-life issues that mix with paranormal elements. I cover many topics in the novels: friendship, divorce, mental illness, bullying, parental abandonment, true love, soulmates, death, and much more.

Thanks so much for being here today, Lisette! It was great having you and you're welcome to come back any time.

Thank you, Jan. You are always the most gracious hostess. Good luck with your newest novels, I'd Rather Be Growing Grapes and Wild Goose Chase.

To follow Lisette Brodey, you can find her here:

Website/Blog:  http://lisettebrodey.com

Molly's site:  http://mollyhacker.com