Month: January 2019

Three ways romances influence daily life #MFRWauthor

This post is supposed to be about how books can influence our daily lives. First thing I thought of is a DYI book (yes, building that fabulous mobile coffee station would make my daily life better!) or a religious text, but I’d Romance novelslike to speak for a moment on how romance novels make our lives better.

1. We all know how a romance book will end. Happily, right? So they help release endorphins—they make us feel happier. If they are humorous, all the better. What other activities release endorphins? Drinking wine, eating chocolate, having sex, laughing. I rest my case.
2. Speaking of having sex, I’ve actually been told by readers that they read my books with their significant others in bed. Who knows? I might be partially responsible for a population explosion. But at least those kids are born to parents loaded with endorphins!
3. Our lives are sometimes filled with stress. Romance books, regardless of the sub-genre, take us away from worries for a while as we read about a flower girl and an earl, a couple escaping a war-torn country, a kick-assKey to Happiness heroine and her FBI man, or a staid teacher and his stripper girlfriend. There’s no demand for heavy thinking or bracing for a tragic ending. Love is going to win in the end, the mystery will be solved, the villain will be vanquished. Contrary to being insipid escapism for unhappy housewives, romance novels give our minds a chance to recharge and our souls a necessary boost.

Love knows no ageRomance novels make us believe in love, know that happily ever after does exist, and that a true kiss from our soul mate can change even the most awful world into a place we want to be. Of course, we all know that romances are novels, fiction. But if a little enjoyment for a few hours a day makes us happier and better able to face scraped knees, broken down cars, coffee spilled on the last clean blouse in the closet, I’d say they greatly influence how we go about our daily lives.

To read the next post in this week’s blog hop, go here.

Dee
Only a Good Man Will Do

Naval Maneuvers

What if…? #MFRWauthor

They say life is a series of moments that together tell a story. Well, “they” don’t say that. I just made it up. But it sounds profound, doesn’t it? And profoundly right. An adjustment in any single moment will change the way the story proceeds. I met my husband as a 13-year old freshman at Kellam High in Virginia Beach. We happened to be in the same algebra I class. We happened to sit near each other, and we happened to do our homework together, along with a few others. Two years later, after he’d been away at another school, we happened to attend a Christmas concert and meet up again. And that night he asked me out for a double date, after which neither of us ever looked back.

What if?But what if I’d been assigned to another math class, we hadn’t hit it off as friends, I hadn’t gone to the Christmas concert, or arrived a few minutes later? Small moments in anyone’s life but they combined to form a unique path in my life and afforded me the kind of love I’d dreamed of as a child. Maybe I would have been just as happy without having met my hubby—maybe I’d become a doctor who saved lives, or married to a professional living in a house with a white picket fence with two-point-three children running around the yard with a black Labrador puppy. Or maybe my life wouldn’t have been happy. Maybe, fate having passed me by, settling me into another algebra class, I would have remained alone. That road not Make your world happiertraveled might be fun to think about, but my philosophy rests more along the lines that we live the lives we should, and we should make every effort to be happy.

Playing a different kind of “what if…” like what if I could have anything in the world, cost notwithstanding, is more fun. I always said that if I won the lottery I’d travel, and I still think that is true—especially with enough money to be comfortable, with first class or private flights, nice hotels, and personal guides. That would be fabulous!! But only with the present love of my life along. That’s a what if I’m not prepared to mess with!

To read the next post in this week’s blog hop, go here. http://mfrw52week.blogspot.com/

Dee https://nomadauthors.com/deesknight/index.html
Only a Good Man Will Do https://nomadauthors.com/deesknight/_Books/bookOnlyGoodMan.html

Naval Maneuvers https://nomadauthors.com/deesknight/_Books/bookNavalManeuvers.html

Reading, Writing, or Living? #MFRWauthor

Right now, I’m living. Living with a computer that bit the dust over the weekend, darn it. I would have said something stronger but this is a family site. 😉

Yes, this old machine is close to ten years old. It’s served us well and we’ve gotten our money’s worth, but still, why oh why does technology have to give up the ghost? I mean, ever? Is it too much to ask that a computer never die?? I mean, really?

I loved this machine. Loved the speed, loved the screen resolution, loved the memory capacity. I loved it from its little motherboard to its raid stacks. Desktop computerFrom its DVD writable drive to its mic plug. I’ve lived with this machine for so many years I had to look up the date we bought it. Now its chugging away back in the office trying to recover files at the manufacturer’s settings so we can see how much stuff we’ll be able to recover. (Note to self: Have “Back up more!!” tattooed on forehead.)

In the meantime, while I’m learning to live without my computer, I’m reading! Just finished the very sexy Block Shot, which I loved, and then twoReading on Kindle by Becky Wade that were Christian books (yes, I like my reading eclectic 😉 ), True to You and Falling for You. Both made me laugh and Falling for You made me cry, too.

Speaking of crying, I’m going to go now and shed a few tears for my computer. I’ll be feeling low until the new one arrives next week. 😉 Hooray!

To read the next post in this week’s blog hop, go here.

Dee
Only a Good Man Will Do
Naval Maneuvers

5 Top Childhood Memories #MFRWauthor

My childhood is somewhat different than most of y’all’s in that I had polio as a baby. Most people nowadays don’t know what polio is—or was, since Shrinersit’s mostly been eradicated here in the U.S. I was lucky. One leg and my back were affected, and even luckier, my godfather was a Shriner, so as soon as I stabilized and reached the age the Shrine Hospitals would take me, he got me in. The Shriners were like my fairy godmothers throughout my life. I can’t think of a finer organization! So thank you Shriners! I mention all that because having polio is part of my childhood and my memories. So here goes…

  1. Going from Iowa (home) to see the doctors at the Shrine Hospital in Minneapolis. My great uncle Richard lived in Minneapolis, so Mom and I would stay with him when we went up, and we always went by train since it was a heck of a long drive and Mom only had a couple of days off work. Uncle Richard was a giant of a man who cussed worse than any sailor I knew but who but soft as a marshmallow inside. I loved him. He changed girlfriends often, and frequently we stayed in one of their apartments instead of with him (maybe why he changed girlfriends so often?). I remember staying in his place once and he told mom that he’d left fish in the refrigerator for dinner. When she opened the door there was a WHOLE fish, uncleaned in the fridge! Going up to see him was such an adventure, it made going to the hospital almost fun.
  2. Spending time with my grandparents. In Sioux City, we lived just across town from my grandparents—Mom’s mom and dad. My grandmother backed the best pies in the world, especially tart cherry from cherries picked in her backyard. But my grandfather—Papa—Papawas my favorite person in the world. He was my mom’s stepfather and I guess he’d always wanted children, and then he got me. I rode him around the living room like a horse, danced while standing on his feet, and watched TV with him while sitting on his stomach. Nothing I did was wrong or bad as far as he was concerned. I loved that man with all my heart!
  3. Moving to Philadelphia. When Mom married my stepfather, we moved to Philly where he took a training course for a few months. Having lived in Iowa, I’d never seen a black person before. I walked into my new classroom in the first grade and there were only three white kids in the class. Quite a shock. But such fun. I learned how to double Dutch jump rope in that class (even in a brace up to my thigh), and one of the girls introduced me to soft pretzels from a vendor who came by the schoolyard at recess. When my mom walked me to school, we met a boy in my class whose grandmother walked him to school. He was always dressed so well, with a beautiful coat and matching cap. We met up at one corner and he took my hand and walked me the last two blocks while Mom and his grandmother watched. The reverse happened after school. His name was William. I never knew his last name but I’ve never forgotten him and his kindness.
  4. Learning how to ride a bike. After Philly, we moved to Alameda, California. Dad’s duty took him to Asia on his sea tours, and on his last he brought back a beautiful blue bike. He was on the Midway and had First bikealready flattened the tired once by riding the bike all over the flight deck when he could. I was so excited over that bicycle I couldn’t see straight Soooo…he taught me to ride but not to stop. I used to run into things—fences, trees, etc.—in order to stop instead of using the brakes. Don’t judge. I’m a slow learner. We took that bike with us to Virginia, our next duty station, and I rode it for years.
  5. Going home. I had many stays in hospitals, going from hospital visits in Minneapolis to surgery in San Francisco and a stay for more than two months to several surgeries in Greenville, SC with stays more than two months for each. Once, when the stay was for more like three and a half, I had had surgery and therapy and was wondering when I might go home. We were coming back from the schoolroom when we rounded a corner and there were my parents! I dropped my crutches and started crying. They hugged me, helped me pack up and said I was going home right then, that day. It was the greatest feeling. I don’t think I stopped smiling all the way back to Virginia Beach.

These aren’t all the childhood memories of course, just the ones that jumped out at me. Except for polio, I had a somewhat charmed childhood—no broken bones or broken hearts. I had people who loved me and people to love. It was a good time and I’ve been blessed.

Read the next blog in the blog hop by going here.

Dee
Only a Good Man Will Do: Seriously ambitious man seeks woman to encourage his goals, support his (hopeful) position as Headmaster of Westover Academy, and be purer than Caesar’s wife. Good luck with that!

Naval Maneuvers: When a woman requires an earth-shattering crush of pleasure to carry her away, she can’t do better than to call on the US Navy. Sorry, Marines!

Evil or wicked… Infamy by Seelie Kay

Nomad authors is excited to host Seelie Kay and her new book, Infamy.

Infamy Seelie Kay

Release Date: Jan. 4, 2019
Publisher: Extasy Books
Romantic Suspense, three flames

An Interview with Seelie Kay:

 Q: Why do you write romance?

 A. Because I am fascinated by the games people play to find and secure a lasting relationship, which is not always love. There’s the chase, the courtship, the falling, the surrender. That’s what I try to capture in my stories.

 Q: Do you prefer a certain type of romantic hero?

 A: I adore smart, dashing gentlemen who aren’t afraid to live on the edge. They can be a bad boy, a billionaire, a prince, or a secret agent. That hint of danger just hooks me! However, I also love strong, independent women who aren’t afraid to fight for what they want, even love.

 Q: Why did you write “Infamy?”

 A: The characters featured in this story—Sheikh Harun Ali and his wife, Marianne Benson–are both lawyers who focus on international law and their practice is devoted to compensating the victims of terrorism. So I was looking for a new hook, something on the horizon that could pose a serious threat to the world and in particular, the United States. I found it in an article on advances in “cloaking” technology or making planes disappear. For years, we have had stealth planes that do not appear on radar, but can be seen in the air if anyone is looking. I wanted to take that a step further: What if someone created a means to actually cloak a plane and hide it from everyone’s view? What if that technology fell into the hands of terrorists? And “Infamy” was born.

 Q: How does your former profession as a lawyer impact your writing?

 A: After 30 years, the law and the legal world are so firmly embedded in my brain that I can’t flush them out. That has become the lens through which I view the world and that naturally guides my characters and plots. Little peculiarities that I have witnessed in lawyers and the law always work their way into my stories.

Q:  Any plans to write outside the romance genre completely?

 A: Actually, I ghostwrite non-fiction for other professionals—doctors, lawyers, financial gurus—so I dip my toes into a lot of different genres. However, I have been itching to write a book about a relative who founded a religious cult. I researched it for years and found a lot of information that had been buried. I have a pile of paper a foot high. Someday, I need to go through it carefully and start writing. I have the interest, just not the time.

Infamy Seelie Kay

Blurb:

Infamy. An evil or wicked act. Terrorists bent on revenge have found a way to make planes disappear from the sky, without a trace. And when one winds up buried in a Wisconsin cornfield, it’s a race against time to rescue the passengers from certain death.

 When international law attorney Sheikh Harun Ali is lured to the Amazon and warned of a frightening plot against the United States, he and his wife, Marianne Benson, enlist the assistance of their neighbors, covert agent Cade Matthews and his wife, Constitutional Law Professor Janet MacLachlan. Ultimately, these feisty lawyers are pushed to the wall, desperate to find a plane that has been buried in an unknown cornfield, the passengers still on board. The terrorists’ hatred for the Alis is absolute—the Alis once left their organization bankrupt and broken—but they hate America more. And their fiendish games are just beginning. They are seeking a much bigger prize, one that could destroy a nation and possibly the world. An act that will live in infamy.

Snatching Diana -- Infamy Seelie Kay

Excerpt:

Cade grasped his water bottle with both hands. “Before his brother died, he said eight words.”

Harun nodded. “They are going to make American planes disappear.”

Dianna’s eyes grew wide.

Anders rubbed a hand over his face, then through his long dark hair. His deep green eyes stared up at the ceiling of the plane. “Fucking hell. Nine-eleven all over again.”

“That is our fear,” Harun said. “However, so many precautionary measures are in place in this country, simply hijacking planes and flying them into buildings is no longer easy. They must have a different plan.”

Cade emitted a heavy sigh. “And that is what we need to figure out. What exactly do those eight words mean? For example, he did not specify that the planes would disappear in America, which could mean that they will disappear abroad or over oceans.”

Anders sat up straight. “And disappear could mean many things. Crash. Hijack. Pull a Malaysia. How many ways can you make a plane disappear?”

Buy links:

Publisher: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2291-2-infamy/
Amazon:  coming soon
Smashwords: coming soon
Barnes and Noble: coming soon

About Seelie Kay:

Seelie Kay is a nom de plume for a writer, editor, and author with more than 30 years of experience in law, journalism, marketing, and public relations. When she writes about love and lust in the legal world, something kinky is bound to happen!  In possession of a wicked pen and an overly inquisitive mind, Ms. Kay is the author of multiple works of fiction, including the Kinky Briefs series, The Garage Dweller, A Touchdown to Remember, and The President’s Wife.

When not spinning her kinky tales, Ms. Kay ghostwrites nonfiction for lawyers and other professionals. She resides in a bucolic exurb outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where she shares a home with her son and enjoys opera, gourmet cooking, organic gardening, and an occasional bottle of red wine.

Ms. Kay is an MS warrior and ruthlessly battles the disease on a daily basis. Her message to those diagnosed with MS:  Never give up. You define MS, it does not define you!

Author links:
 www.seeliekay.com
www.seeliekay.blogspot.com
Twitter: @SeelieKay https://twitter.com/SeelieKay
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/seelie.kay.77
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/Seelie-Kay/e/B074RDRWNZ/

Prior Books:
Kinky Briefs: http://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs/
Kinky Briefs Too: http://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs-too/
Kinky Briefs Thrice: http://www.extasybooks.com/kinky-briefs-thrice/
Kinky Briefs Quatro: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1734-5-kinky-briefs-quatro/
Kinky Briefs Cinque: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2023-9-kinky-briefs-cinque/
The Garage Dweller: http://www.extasybooks.com/the-garage-dweller/
A Touchdown to Remember: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1504-4-a-touchdown-to-remember/
The President’s Wife: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-1795-6-the-presidents-wife/
Snatching Diana: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2263-9-snatching-diana/
The President’s Daughter: http://www.extasybooks.com/978-1-4874-2032-1-the-presidents-daughter

Coming soon:
Cult (Part Three, Feisty Lawyers): TBD
Seizing Hope (Divorce Divas anthology): TBD

A treasure from the sea: A Merman’s Choice by Alice Renaud

Nomad Authors is excited to host Alice Renaud and her new book, A Merman’s Choice!

A Merman's Choice

Buy links:
Amazon direct
Other sites

An interview with Alice Renaud

How did you come up with the idea for your book?
Years ago, when I was still living with my parents in Brittany, I saw a group of men come out of the sea. They’d been swimming, and they were wearing full-body wetsuits, with palms on their feet. It made me imagine shape-shifting mermen who could switch between an aquatic shape (with legs but webbed hands and feet) and the human form.

What sort of research did you do to write this book?
The characters spend a lot of time on boats, so I did some research on the web on how you sail a small boat. My father used to take me out on his boat, Gwilan, when I was young, but I never learnt to sail, so I had to make sure that the characters looked like they knew what they were doing.

A fun fact about writing your book.
I actually started off with a rather complicated plot where the heroine’s boyfriend tried to kill her, then pretended to rescue her. After a few chapters I realized I wasn’t pulling it off, so I scrapped the beginning and started again. The heroine’s horrible ex-boyfriend remained, but minus the killer instincts.

What started you on the path to writing?
I blame Tolkien. When I read The Lord of the Rings, at age 12, I thought, “I want to write stories like that.” It only took me thirty years!

What do your friends and family think about your being a writer?
They’re all very supportive. Although I do have to put up with some teasing from colleagues at work about the “saucy books” I write. I keep trying to explain to them that there are only a couple of love scenes in my books, but to no avail. A few weeks ago I arrived at church on Sunday to be greeted by the vicar booming away: “So, Alice, I hear you’re writing an erotic novel?” Gee, thanks, vicar.

The biggest surprise you had after becoming a writer.
I am amazed by how supportive other authors are. It’s wonderful, I feel I have joined a community of friends and I am so grateful to all my author friends, especially the other BVS authors, like Dee and Jan!

Do you outline books ahead of time or are you more of a by-the-seat-of-your-pants writer?
I outline the book then write a detailed background for the two main characters. However I find that once I start to write, the characters sometimes have their own ideas about what they want to do. I often end up writing something different from what I had originally planned.

Which kind of scenes are the hardest for you to write? Action, dialogue, sex?
I find love scenes very hard to write. I spend three times as long on them as on any other scenes. I admire writers of erotic romance like Dee, I could never do it!

What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
Reading newspapers and books, and watching TV series with my husband. We love historical and fantasy series (Game of Thrones, Vikings, Dr Who…)

A pet peeve
I hate cyclists who ride on pavements. Especially when they ring their bell at me to get out of the way. I AM A PEDESTRIAN. I HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE ON THE PAVEMENT. GET BACK ON THE ROAD WHERE YOU BELONG.

First thought when the alarm goes off in the morning?
How long can I afford to stay in bed before I’m late for work?

What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
Neil Gaiman, he’s one of my favourite authors and based on his interviews he sounds like he’d be an entertaining dinner companion. [I love Neil Gaiman, too!]

What are you working on now?
A Merman’s Choice is the first book in a trilogy about shape-shifting mermen. I am currently working with my wonderful editor/creative writing tutor, Laurie Sanders, to edit the second book in the series, Music for a Merman. I have just started writing the third book, Mermaids Marry in Green. I have also written the outline for a Christmas novella, “Santa and the Mermaid”, to complete the series. As Dory says in Finding Dory: “Keep on swimming!”

A Merman's Choice

Book blurb:

For centuries the shape-shifting mermen of the Morvann Islands have lived incognito among humans. But one of them, Yann, has developed some bad habits. Like rescuing humans, even when doing so risks revealing his true nature. When he fishes Alex out of the sea, he doesn’t expect her to reappear eight months later, and turn his life upside down by asking him to be her guide.

Alex is determined to fulfil a promise to her dying grandmother, by gathering pictures and stories of the Morvanns. But she soon discovers that, on these remote Welsh islands, legends have a habit of becoming true!
Over the course of a few days, Yann and Alex grow close. But some mermen hate humans. Their hostility, and Yann’s secret, threaten to tear the couple apart just as they are discovering that they are soul mates. Can Yann overcome the obstacles in his path and make the right choice?

Excerpt:

The girl wasn’t swimming any more. Yann’s sonar gave him a clear picture of her distress. She was flailing. Sinking.

Fear punched him between the ribs. Just a few minutes earlier, she’d been splashing in the shallows, laughing and humming to herself. That music had rippled around him, brightening his journey. Now the sea was snuffing that light out. No! He wouldn’t let it happen. His webbed hands and feet churned the water, and he shot towards her like a torpedo.

Not this one, sea. Not this time.

She came in sight, slim and lovely, with long bronzed limbs and hair the colour of sunshine. But her eyes were closed, her movements slow, hesitant, as if she were falling asleep. His fear hardened into cold, sharp dread. He poured all his energy into the last powerful strokes. He’d almost reached her, when his eye caught the shadow, beyond the crystal surface, out there in the dry world. He sent a sound wave. It came back with an image, and the icy blade inside him twisted: two-legged shapes on the beach. Humans!

If they saw him, they’d know him for what he was. His people’s secret, kept for thousands of years, would be out.

The girl’s head vanished under the waves. To hell with that. He couldn’t let her drown.

He grabbed her and dragged her back to the surface. She thrashed in his arms and coughed up seawater. Intense relief swept through him as he hugged her to his chest. He’d sworn he’d never again swim by and let a human drown, and he’d kept his promise. If the young woman’s eyes remained closed, he might even get away with it. He wanted her to breathe, not scream in horror at the sight of his dark grey face.

He looked up. The shapes on the beach had gone. Another miracle, or perhaps he’d only imagined them. What if they came back? A fresh stab of anxiety propelled him through the surf. He lay the girl down on the sand, cushioning her head on his arm. Her round breasts, encased in the turquoise bikini top, rose and fell in a regular rhythm, but her skin felt clammy under his hands. He scanned the beach in vain for something to cover her with, and saw the motorbike. A sleek, sporty number, well camouflaged among the grass-covered dunes.

Shit. He retracted the webs between his fingers and toes, but his body would take at least twenty minutes to shift from the aquatic shape to the human form. And even when it did, what would the humans think, if they found him naked next to an unconscious girl?

They’d arrest him for indecent exposure, or worse. He touched the girl’s face with a tentative finger. The thought of leaving her sickened him. But he couldn’t stay.

Her eyelids fluttered and she muttered a name. “Boris?”

As if in answer, a male voice tore through the air, from behind the dunes. “Alex!”

Yann flew towards the waves. Help was coming for the girl. She’d be fine.
He sped into the open sea, leaving the human world and human fears behind. He’d saved her. That knowledge glowed inside him as he plunged into the depths. She was safe, and his people would remain safe too. He sang as he rode the riptide, a song full of triumph and laughter. Far away, the humpback whales heard him and picked up the tune. He’d got away with it.
For now. His euphoria abated. No humans had seen him, but his people had sharper eyes and ears. He shouldn’t even have been hanging around, in full merman shape, so close to an inhabited island, but he’d thought he’d be OK. In late September so few tourists were around, and locals had better things to do than go swimming in cold water. He sniffed the current and tuned his sonar towards the Clans’ Islands. Nothing. With luck, no one would notice that he’d broken the merpeople’s rules.

Again.

A Merman's Choice

A little about Alice:

I was born and brought up in Brittany, Western France. My father was French and my mother British (from Wales). I moved to London, UK, in 1997, where I now live with my husband and son. I work full time as a compliance specialist in a pharmaceutical company. I have been writing in my free time since I was 14. I got quite a few short stories published in UK magazines, before moving to longer fiction. I wrote three contemporary romance books, but didn’t find a publisher for them. I then realized that mermen, sea witches and water demons were a lot more fun than sheikhs and billionaires! My first two paranormal romances did not find a publisher either, then I wrote A Merman’s Choice, which was accepted for publication this year by Black Velvet Seductions. It is the first book in a fantasy romance trilogy inspired by the landscapes and legends of Brittany and Wales. I love reading and writing stories, and sharing them with anyone who’s interested!

Author social media links:
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