Sara from I’m Sure on her friend Megan and Six Favorite Books
To take another peak inside my upcoming Candy Heart series book I’m Sure, the florist at the Riverton garden center where Megan works is here today. Hard to believe these two are best friends, they are so different in appearance. Megan goes for the natural beauty look, and she pulls it off with her coppery hair and that healthy outdoor glow to her skin. Sara likes drama, the impact of jet-black hair with a who-knows-what-color-today streak, Cleopatra bangs, and perfect eyeliner. Here she comes now, in a black lace blouse and royal blue capris, flashing that sapphire and diamond engagement ring…
How are the wedding plans going Sara?
“Great!” she trills. “Do you know the date we chose? May 1st! Thought we’d go for a little May Day Magic.” Sara gives me a knowing smile.
I laugh. This woman knows how to work the room; she’s promoting my books for me.
“But you asked me here to talk about Megan. Dear Megan.” She reaches up to adjust the chop sticks poking out of her high bun. “She’s been living like a nun. I don’t know how. Or why.” She shakes her head, her blue-streaked bangs swaying. “That last guy, Mr. Works-All-Night-But-Not-At-My-Job, really did a number on her.” The florist sends me a penetrating gaze. “I don’t think Megan’s ever had Stars In Her Eyes.”
Sara, those stars in my first book are because the heroine is knocked in the head by an incoming wave pool surfer, and you know it, not because she’s dotty with love at that moment, but nice plug.
“I know.” Sara grins. “But I mean the dotty with love kind. I’ve never seen Megan moving around in a daze, like everything’s twinkling.”
Is she now?
“Something’s going on, since she met Jason. The start wasn’t smooth.” She gazes down, her lips pursed. “I’ll do what I can to get them together. I think they could be Crazy Happy…” she glances up expectantly, her eyes twinkling.
Without missing a beat, I finish. Hearts. Crazy Happy Hearts, my last book, starring my sexy sixties-something couple who reunite at the Jersey Shore.
“And by the way, Bev–I can call you Bev, can’t I? You are rockin’ some Specs Appeal today.”
This woman is a piece of work. I do wear glasses. And she’s woven in one of my favorite books to write.
“I had to land that since we’re talking about I’m Sure. Specs Appeal was your first go around with ‘puny’ double entendres. You didn’t expect that reunion story to be such a huge hit with the reviewers, did you?! You were concerned they might think the puns were too silly…”
I nod. Yes, I was.
“But they loved it! So now we’ve got Megan and Jason and their double entendres…but a little racier this time.” She nods sagely. “That fits those two. They are two very attractive individuals. Can you imagine their babies? I predict, by next autumn, Megan and Jason will be Under A Halloween Moon–”
I resist the urge to genuflect. My couple in that book caved to the magic of the Halloween moon…but since it’s only February, I hope Megan and Jason don’t have to wait that long to figure things out.
“—planning their own wedding.” Sara finishes, a confident ring to her words.
My turn–to feed her for the finale. You sure about that, Sara? They’ll be planning a wedding?
“Of course.” She waits a beat.
Do I hear an orchestra crescendo?
“I’m Sure,” she pronounces with gusto. Then, with a flourish of her arm, her dozens of bangle bracelets chattering softly, she takes a deep bow.
A well-deserved one. Thank you, Sara. Flawless.
I’m Sure, coming February 10, 2016, for purchase at www.amazon.com and www.thewildrosepress.com
Be Mine by April Hollingworth
Beth and Mark are destined to be together; Mark’s sister Sally is Beth’s best friend. Then when Sally and Mark’s best friend Jonathan connect, it’s a double date match made in heaven.
And a two for one romance.
But Beth’s got serious baggage—an abusive ex-boyfriend who is due out on parole. April Hollingworth expertly weaves this serious story line into a sexy boy-and-girl-next-door pairing. Beth’s training at a gym in self-defense, and Jonathan and Mark, ex-Army partners, train and teach at the gym, so get ready for close encounters of fit bodies! Pick up Be Mine for flashes of heat and a very happy ever after.
Candy Hearts To Warm Last Week of January
Today Candy Hearts offers a celebrity, a corporate soiree, or an erotic fantasy.
Pick Me by Tanya Hanson
What will this school teacher do when she finds out he’s a celebrity?
Text Me by Erin Bevan
She answers an ad to find a date for the corporate Valentine’s dance, but is she if for a surprise when she pushes for that face-to-face meeting!
Surprise Me by Anita Kidesu
Sometimes a fantasy is better left undiscovered.
And they could all have the same subtitle: Read Me!
Sweet Kiss by Judy Ann Davis
Be delightfully transported to Little Heron Shores as soon as you open Sweet Kiss. The community is so perfectly evoked, you’ll feel like you live there and of course you’re rooting for café owner Kate to get together with her returning best friend Tappe–who has sold his internet security company and is back in town to stay. Judy Ann Davis provides a masterful backdrop of hometown nostalgia for the rekindling of high school affection into adult forever after. Find out how Kate and Tappe maneuver through their own insecurities, and the roadblocks thrown up by Kate’s angry sister and the clueless postmistress attempting to reel in Tappe and make him husband number three.
Love Those Candy Hearts
Three more romances to start the week off right!
One Kiss by Misty Simon
Was that one kiss only New Year’s eve magic, or something more?
Ever After by Candace Sams
Can Keira and Dillon put aside their differences in time to find an ever after love?
JeT’Aime by Ursula Whistler
Love is its own language.
For You by Emma Kaye
Financial advisor Drew wants more in his life than work, but hasn’t met anyone…until he risks his life to save a friend, and wakes up in Regency London, the spitting image of a lost-at-sea earl whose bed he is sprawled across. Leaning over him is the earl’s lovely widow Julia, Lady Engledown, who is bereft, not because her heinous husband is gone but because he drained her inheritance and made no arrangements for her and his mother. The selfish cousin has already staked claim to the family estate. Masquerading as the returned earl, to whom Drew bears an uncanny resemblance, Drew rights the financial wrongs he uncovers, along the way realizing Julia is the woman for him. Too bad she’s from a different century. Emma Kaye gives us what we want in a time-travel Regency romance—an entertaining story juxtaposing Drew’s modern off-the-cuff responses with the proper conduct of Lady Engledown—until we happily discover Lady Julia is not so proper in the bedroom. In the best of historical traditions, at the end, Drew is rewarded for putting concern for those he cares about above any concern about himself. A well-done story sure to please regency and romance readers alike.
Riverton Cafe Owner Maggie Dishes on Megan and Jason from I’m Sure
Maggie, the owner of Peggy’s café in Riverton, California, is a chatterbox these days. She’s excited about the upcoming February 10th release of my Candy Heart Series title I’m Sure. She’s got a supporting role, as do two of her sandwiches, and she thinks—well, she can tell you herself…
Maggie rearranges her ash-blond-from a bottle locks to settle over her shoulders, framing the very ample chest she’s showcasing in a bustier-inspired top straight from the racks at Forever 21. Because that describes Maggie—who is on the high side of fifty—to a T; Forever 21. She finishes with an upward push on her hair near her crown, for height. Blinking her mascara-laden eyes, she blots her pink-frosted lips on a tissue. “Oh, am I on?”
Yes, Maggie, you are so on.
“Hi everybody. I’m Maggie. I run Peggy’s café, the best place to eat, not just in Riverton, but anywhere around here. You should see our menu, which is real cute.” Her long French manicured nails on display, she pulls a laminated card from one of her counter racks. “I’ve got one right here. I’ve named all the sandwiches, you know?” After a moment of indecision, she retrieves leopard reading glasses from under the counter, balances them on her nose, and starts reading. “Like The Sky is Falling—that’s a chicken sandwich with everything on it, and–” She jerks her head up.
I just reminded her what we are talking about today.
“Oh, yea, Megan Donovan. The water garden designer.” Maggie slips her glasses off and releases a loud exhale. “I gotta admit, that long hair of hers, that copper shade, is to die for.” She purses her shining lips. “But I really think that girl could use more make up. Where are her eyelashes? And every time she comes in for lunch with that friend who works with her, it’s like the girl’s been on year-long safari. Khakis, boots, mud spattered.” Maggie shakes her head. “Until the other day. You could have knocked me over with a feather when she walks through the door wearing a clean T-shirt–although it did need sparkles or somethin’–with this man.” Maggie’s eyes widen. “I’d never seen him before, but woo-wheeee. Tall. Cheekbones. A body that would take no prisoners. Calendar material.” Her eyelids dip lazily as her glossed-mouth widens into a cat-ingesting-cream smile. “What a woman wouldn’t want to do with that man.”
Did she just close her eyes? Her lunch rush could start any moment…
When Maggie’s lids pop back up, her gaze bright. “Jason.” She claps her beringed hands. “That was his name. Jason. He entered my candy heart contest for a free lunch…after I asked him, too, anyhow. I hope he wins, and brings Megan. I like her. She’s due for romance, if you ask me.” She snaps her gaze up, peering into the ceiling rafters of her café. “St. Valentine, you listenin’…?”
Real Love by Charlotte Copper
Monda is on her way to be delivered to her new master when her spaceship crash lands on an unknown planet. Her mistress is unconscious; Lieutenant Patrick Lancaster is anything but when he steps out of his shuttle craft and lands his gaze on this blue-haired vision. Monda dreams of a love pairing, and this unexpected detour may offer an escape from her expected path. But has the alluring Patrick already chosen his ship mate Demonna for his love mate? Monda wants to be rescued from her fate, Patrick is the man to do it, and Charlotte Copper is the author to write a charming story with a surprising twist about these two in a fantasy universe, keeping us happily engaged right to the very end. Monda is no helpless victim. A few more blinks of her large eyes, an introduction to popcorn, movies, and sweet candy hearts on the mother ship, and Monda could find her fantasy coming true…
Candy Hearts Series–Wednesday’s Winners
Equations, cupcakes, and animals–choose all three with these Wednesday winners from the Candy Heart Series.
Me + You by Brenda Gayle
Math teacher Lori Tait is solving the equation for love.
Adore Me by Darcy Lundeen
A hacker brought them together, but will her need for professional success drive them apart?
Melt My Heart by Marie Tuhart
In order to submit, veterinarian Lexi Mallory needs a special touch.
Available at http://www.thewildrosepress.com or on Amazon. Gotta love this time of year…
Adore Me by Darcy Lundeen
I adored this book. Meredith is a bake shop owner who is having an unusual amount of trouble with her computer. Vlad is the tall, handsome not-geeky computer geek who arrives to troubleshoot. But Meredith’s got more problems with her business than her computer, and she’s not sure Vlad is suitably concerned. Is he around just for a romp and some cupcakes? Adore Me is a rollicking good read with one of the more creative uses of candy hearts likely to be found. Highly recommend; Darcy Lundeen is an author to follow!
To Be Released: January 20, 2016
