Wednesday, February 21, 2018

Finding Romance in Exotic Locales

Exotic locations always mix well with romance and that's just what we have in store today in My Writing Corner. So put on your dancing shoes as our guest author, Mariposa Cruz, takes us on a whirlwind trip to South America with her newest romance, Wedding Tango.  

Mariposa tells us she balances writing with working as a corporate paralegal in her hometown of Reno, Nevada. In addition,  she writes freelance articles for local magazines and newspapers, but she still finds time for salsa dancing! 


Let's hear more about Wedding Tango. Here is the blurb:

Moira Williams is dismayed when her daughter, Tami, announces her engagement. Sure, Jon’s a great guy, but why do they have to get married in Buenos Aires?  Though she dreads seeing her ex-husband, it is Alan, the gorgeous father of the groom, who has her pulse racing.


Widower Alan Rochester buries his grief with non-stop home improvement projects, but a sexy redhead has captured his attention.  He’s eager to show Moira the sights of Buenos Aires from his college days, but is he ready to face the world again?

 South of the equator, nothing is as it seems.  Can Moira and Alan navigate through their feelings for each other and save their kids'’ dream wedding from becoming a nightmare?

Want to read more?  Here is the buy link for Wedding Tango:

Amazon  

Wedding Tango is the third in Mariposa's Rhythm and Romance series. If you would like to know more about her and her books, you can visit her at:

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Thank you, Mariposa, for introducing us to your newest book.  Any comments or questions for Mariposa?





Wednesday, February 14, 2018

The Joy of a Rediscovered Romance

What could be better for Valentine's Day, the day known for romance, than an old love re-kindled or re-discovered? Those are the kind of books that can touch the heart at any time, but particularly now. That is what guest author Donna Simonetta brings us today in My Writing Corner. Donna is a Maryland author who says she is living out her own true life romance with the man of her dreams--her husband. She calls him her "real life romance hero." 


She tells us her career has been a winding road, having worked in the business world for years. She got her MLS and worked in a library,  but now she is living her dream as an author writing contemporary and fantasy romance. Like so many writers, she also says she loves to read and she and her husband love visiting family and friends and spending time on the beach with an umbrella drink and a good book.  Sounds like fun!

Donna's latest book is Love is Lovelier. Let's get a blurb:

Heather and Mick have a long history together, and Heather wants to leave it in the past where it belongs. Yet, here Mick is, very much in her present, thanks to her brother Jeff, who hired Mick to be her boss at the Retreat at Rivers Bend.

It wouldn’t be so bad, except Heather and Mick are still attracted to each other like metal to a magnet. Oh, and her brother is considering offering Mick a partnership in the Retreat, which by rights should be hers. And even if they act on their attraction, Heather is a small-town, country girl, and proud of it, whereas Mick can’t get far enough from his West Virginia coal-mining roots.

Will they be able to get a second chance at their first love and find their happy ending together in Rivers Bend?

YES! Definitely a great romance for this romantic day!

Let's read on with an excerpt:

“Stick close. I’ll get you out of here.”
He used his broad shoulders as a wedge to propel himself though the crowd; Heather scurried to keep up with him so she could take advantage of the gap he created, not wanting to be so close that she could feel the warmth of his body through his elegant suit, but because she needed somehow to beat this crush of people to the Retreat to make sure that everything was in place for the post-christening party she’d planned for Bethanne – only perfection would do for her BFF.
She watched Mick’s back as she stuck close to him; he looked so strong and fit – it was hard to imagine him the way he was ten years ago, when he’d suffered his NFL career-ending injury, but the same business acumen that kept him with the Portland Pintos organization back then was the reason Jeff and Cisco hired him at the Retreat.
He’d be good for business – she’d just have to keep chanting those words in her head like a mantra, or else she’d do one of two things she’d regret – kill Mick, or kiss him, and she’d gone the kissing route with him before. It did not end well. And tempting as the killing option was at the moment, it probably wouldn’t end any better.

Want to read more? here are the buylinks:


Barnes & Noble:

The Wild Rose Press:

Amazon UK:

Here are the links to get in touch with Donna if you would like to learn more about her and her books:







Thank you, Donna, for being my guest today and for introducing us to your romantic world.  Any comments or questions for Donna?

Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Joy of Reading & Writing Romance


February is the month of love so romance is naturally that is my topic this week. Let’s face it, who doesn’t love reading a story with a happy ending or one that leaves the reader with tears, whispering  “…ahhh?”  To me that has always meant what reading a romance was all about. I wanted that happy ending for the characters. No matter how chaotic my own life was at the time I wanted to know there were happy endings out there for at least someone – even if the people were fictional. 

When I ask writers about why they love writing romances a good many say the same things – they love writing stories with a happy conclusion and they like the idea of writing positive, upbeat stories. And let’s face it -- readers continue to look for those types of stories. They may want to escape from real life for a few minutes into a fantasy world where no matter how bad things look for a while, the ending will be happy.

That positive conclusion and knowing what is coming is also why I always have loved going back and re-reading some of the great romantic tales that I have always loved – stories like Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. Those books captured my heart in high school and I keep going back to them from time to time, just to finish them again with that same “ahhh.”

I have to admit in my writing I was always inspired by the “happily ever after” real life story of my mom and dad. She knew she wanted to marry him from the first moment she saw him, even though she was just a young girl.  The story she told us about the first time she saw my dad was a line I stole for one of the first romance novels I ever wrote – Home Fires Burning.  Now that one scene may have inspired the book, but her love story went in a more romantic direction--one I may write one day. She was truly a daring romantic heroine. The minute she learned he was back in the US from World War II, she quit her job in California to grab the first train back to Colorado to meet him. They eloped as soon as she got back.
            
Her love story and the fact that she told it to us so many times made me a fan of romance tales. She also loved reading romance novels -- Gone with the Wind being her favorite. She always seemed to have a copy of it around. A good many of my favorite old romances still grace my book shelves together with newer mystery novels, thrillers and fantasy tales.  Among them… that romance novel I loved writing so much – Home Fires Burning. I set it on a Colorado ranch, similar to the location where my mother met my father. It’s still available on Amazon:

“I’m going to marry that man some day!”

Little Bonita Dominguez made that pledge the first time she saw Max Cameron. Now it’s about to happen, but nothing is going the way she planned. Carrying a secret she has kept since she left the ranch ten years ago, she would prefer to be back in California, where she has built a new life, a new life that doesn’t include Max.

Now a chic, sophisticated woman, Bonita certainly isn’t the same playful girl Max remembers from the past. For the past ten years he has devoted his life to his ranch. Does he have room in his heart for Bonita? Or would loving her endanger the legacy he wants for his heirs?

Buy Link:  Amazon

Why do you love reading or writing romance? I’d love to hear from you!

Getting Into The Story

I've said it before, but it bears repeating--one of the reasons I began doing a blog on writing and writers was because I loved the idea...