Category: Uncategorized

Romance! Moonlight & Moet… and Madison Michael

Welcome, Madison! This new book sounds exciting!

Moonlight & Moet
B&B Billionaire Romance Series (Book 2)
By Madison Michael

 Madison has put together some really awesome Prize Packages to giveaway during the tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember you may enter every day for your chance to win one of the prize packages. You may find the tour locations here (https://goo.gl/ESBmdA). 

About Moonlight & Moet:
 

Can the Hottest Man Around Melt this Ice Queen’s Heart?

 When her husband publicly cheats on her, Leigh Dobbs trades her humiliating reputation as an ice queen and a hometown that shuns her for the unknown of rural North Carolina. Taking over a small bed and breakfast, Leigh sets out to restore it, her dignity and her life. Excited at the prospect of adding more rooms and a full-service restaurant, Leigh’s big plans encounter the brick wall that is Caleb Rausch. Sparks fly even as Caleb votes no on the planning commission, crushing Leigh’s dreams.

 Handsome powerhouse Caleb Rausch is a man on a mission, expanding his huge corporation without encroaching on the small town where it resides. His commitment to his products, employees and historic preservation are unwavering. What’s lacking is his commitment to one woman. Caleb is the most eligible bachelor in three states, dating celebrities and models, but never settling down. Until now.

 Even as Caleb forces Leigh’s expansion plans on hold, the couple moves full-steam-ahead on their relationship, unable to resist the mutual attraction. So why, after a steamy night together, does Caleb disappear for weeks? Has Leigh put her heart out there again, just to be played?

 Will the magic of a moonlit night be enough to kindle their love or will Caleb’s constant disappearing act prevent him from melting this ice queen’s heart?

Moonlight & Moet Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2DDXQm9

 
Excerpt:

Exhausted and anxious to return home, Leigh wasn’t paying attention as she stepped out the door of the small law office at the end of the row of storefronts. Leigh went down hard on the cement, her skirt flying up, her brochures flying. A shook-up Leigh assessed the damage and caught her breath. Her dignity was beyond repair.
Leigh was brushing the dirt from her palms, scraped from trying to break her fall when a shadow blocked the sun, and a large, dirty hand, attached to a long, strong arm reached down to assist her. Leigh’s gaze followed the flannel covered forearm up over a muscled bicep and continued until her scrutiny was arrested by a pair of coffee-colored eyes surrounded by the deep laugh lines of an outdoorsman. He was staring vast expanse of creamy thigh and more than a hint of her magenta panties. His expression told Leigh that he liked what he saw.
Leigh clumsily scrambled to lower her dress, gather the brochures fluttering in the breeze, and take the proffered hand all at once. Several pamphlets escaped down the sidewalk, but she quickly forgot them as she was lifted like a feather against her mountain’s chest and too swiftly placed gently on her feet. She winced when the blisters made contact with the hard surface beneath them and the lumberjack buried behind a grizzly bear beard reacted.
“Injured, little lady?” he asked with concern. “Let me help you get you to urgent care.
“That won’t be necessary,” Leigh responded, smoothing her dress to cover her embarrassment and interest.
“Then at least let me help you to your destination.”
“I was just heading to my car, down the ways,” Leigh tried to gesture with the arm the man still held. “But, I’m fine. Really. I can take it from here.”
“Fine, indeed,” Grizzly Adams replied in a sarcastic, deep baritone.
He was tall, covered in a subtle sheen of dirt and sweat, but Leigh quickly realized the shirt under her fingertips was the finest wool and his boots, caked in an inch of dried mud, were Scarpa Phantom 8000’s. He was a very wealthy Grizzly Adams, and a dedicated hiker too. Those boots were featured in the mountaineering store up the road for over $1000, way too rich for Leigh’s blood.
He stood still, his smile twitching as caught Leigh checking him out. Then, without warning, he swept her into his arms, carefully adjusted her dress to modestly cover her behind while managing to slide his hand all along them. The man was a pro. Leigh couldn’t fault his effort, even as she realized he was copping a feel.  Carrying her easily, he began taking long strides in the direction she had pointed.
“This is completely unnecessary,” Leigh repeated more than once, interspersed with “put me down, please” and “Really I can walk.” He ignored them all, speaking right over her repeated and flustered objections.
“You took a nasty fall there. People are always missing that last step.” His face was too close and too handsome. He smelled of the outdoors – pine, sweat and sunshine. It was intoxicating.
 “Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer I took you over to the doc’s office or the urgent care?”
“Just to my car, thanks,” Leigh requested, done trying to argue with the hard-muscled man. Who was she kidding? It felt incredible to rest against his broad chest, his arms holding her securely and his minty breath blowing on her face. He may have been filthy, a bearded mountain man who was certainly not her type, but he was sexy as hell. Leigh wished her car was miles away.
“Will you be ok to drive, Miss…”
“Leigh.”
“Miss Leigh,” he repeated, caressing her name. “Are you sure you’ll be alright to drive?”
Leigh bobbed her head in the affirmative. She loved resting her head against the power of this man’s chest, secure in his firm grip. Leigh looked up at him from under her eyelashes, admiring what she saw. She could tell that under the caked on mud and scruff, he was handsome, with a cocky smile and those laughing eyes. She wished she could see more.
“This is my car,” she finally motioned. “Thank you, Mr…”
“You’re certain you can drive?” he asked in his slow, smooth drawl, ignoring her question.
“I’m not going far,” Leigh reassured him. “I’ll be fine.”
The mountain man placed Leigh on her feet, holding her by the waist as if waiting for reassurance that she was solidly standing. Leigh looked down as if to assure herself both feet were there and with a deep breath made eye contact. The man was a head taller, broad and powerful, and staring at her as if he wanted to devour her. A hot flush filled Leigh’s cheeks, and she extended a hand to shake his.
“Well, thank you again. You certainly turned out to be my knight in shining armor today,” she jested.
“Well, Miss Leigh, then I guess I get my knight’s favor,” the man responded with a devilish grin. Leigh was still registering his warning when he lowered his head to hers and placed his warm lips upon her cooler ones. 
 

Other Books in the B&B Billionaire Romance Series:


Desire & Dessert Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2Fg1qo5


 About the Author: 
 
Madison Michael is an indie publisher, blogger and the author of the Beguiling Bachelor Series as well as the novella Desire & Dessert, from her sizzling B&B Billionaire Bachelor series.
A Chicago native and hopeless romantic, Maddy was raised on Chicago culture, fairy tales, great literature and swashbuckling movies. Maddy employs that history, writing steamy contemporary romance novels set against the sumptuous backdrop of Chicago’s elite society.
After receiving a BA in Journalism from the University of Illinois and an MBA from Loyola University of Chicago, Madison abandoned her writing to find her way in the corporate business world. Daughter of a librarian, it was inevitable that she would return to the world of books.
Maddy writes from high above Chicago where she can stare at its gorgeous skyline or the shores of Lake Michigan surrounded by feline assistants. When she is not writing,, Maddy can be found lost in a book, fighting for the rights of the mentally iil or dining on Chicago’s famous cuisine. Hot dogs and pizza, anyone?
 

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5 Brag-worthy, life-changing things #MFRWauthor

I’m sure not everything listed here will be seen as brag-worthy by all readers, but they are things that have been pretty important in our lives and I want to share them. Why? Because I feel like braggin’! See if you agree with my perspective on any of them.

  1. Wedding ringsNext spring, hubby Jack and I will be married 46 years. Considering that we dated for nearly seven years before that and had met two years prior to dating, we’ve known each other, dated, and been married almost 55 years. When I say it feels like forever, you can understand what I mean. When I say that it feels like yesterday maybe you’ll know what I mean, too. When we were falling in love, saying we’d be together forever sounded so easy. Hahahahaha! How naive! It hasn’t all been easy but it’s all been worthwhile, and made easier by being able to laugh, both at ourselves and with each other.
  2. As part of those 46 years, and just a couple of years after we’d married, we went on the road as over-the-road truckers. We went over all the 48 contiguous states, and into three Canadian provinces. We even went into Trucking--fun and clothedMexico once, for a harried, scary trip (do they have the concept of stop signs down? Not that I could tell.). For almost eight years, we were hardly apart except to go to the bathrooms, living in an 8 x 8 foot truck cab. There were times I wanted to murder Jack but I never considered divorce. (I’m sure he never wanted to murder me—I was the epitome of the perfect traveling companion.) And if you’re prone to divorce at all, driving a truck together will get you there faster than a CHP officer can write a speeding ticket. Those were great days!
  3. After trucking, Jack went into consulting. We stayed still for a few years and then he began consulting, helping companies prepare for FDA audits and validating software for FDA compliance. I guess trucking wanderlust hadn’t died, because we traveled to where the work was, once changing addresses six times in two years. We lived in such diverse places as Appleton, WI (loved it!), Kansas City (loved it!), the Civic Center area of San Francisco (loved it!), and tiny Greenwood, SC (loved it!). In fact, with few exceptions, we loved everywhere we lived. Exploring new towns and meeting new people is such fun.
  4. Graduating!After not graduating and leaving Virginia Military Academy in his junior year, Jack went back to school at age 63. Far from not graduating, he got his diploma and graduated summa cum laude! I’m so proud of him.
  5. This might be the most brag-worthy thing of all. After all our years, all our ups and downs, moving, sometimes settling, we’re still grateful to have found each other. We still laugh, even when we cry, we still lean on each other—maybe more now than before—and we still love. What more does anyone need to brag about?

For those of you in the U.S., have a wonderful Thanksgiving and a great holiday weekend!

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!

Lust Scenes vs Sexy Scenes in Romances

I recently wrote a post as a guest blogger on Night Owl Reviews about the difference between lust scenes—those with loving but not very explicit physical content—and sexy scenes with much more explicit descriptions. The scenes in my own books are not too detailed when the hero and heroine climb between the sheets. Though I don’t mind reading sexier books (and even enjoy it if the writing is good), I have to write what I’m comfortable with. Instead of focusing on the physical relationship between characters, I like to spend my words with drama, suspense, and mystery, as my three books show.

Perilous Love takes place in Belgium at the beginning of the first World War and tells about a husband and wife who have grown apart but who find themselves trapped as the Germans invade the country. While their physical relationship is not the emphasis, the suspense and danger in which they find themselves pulls them together. The question is, do they find love or just a respite from the hazards surrounding them?

Trafficking of slaves and gold smuggled to Napoleon carry the day in Lies of Gold. Again, the main characters are drawn together due to happenstance but their physicality takes a back seat to the intrigue and mystery behind the gold and murder. It’s not that going to bed together is unimportant, it’s just that intimate details are left more to the reader’s imagination while they sort out who is a treason to England.

Finally, The Proposition is another tale of World War I and centers around lies, a family’s dysfunction, and murder. While the main characters fall into bed, the door is closed with the Do Not Disturb sign pretty clear. That doesn’t mean that their sexual attraction is ignored, just that it’s not the main focus of the book.

This is a taste of my blog post. I hope you will hop on over to Night Owl Reviews and read the real thing!

Thanks–
Jan Selbourne
When history whispers, I pass it on!
Perilous Love
Lies of Gold
The Proposition

Family Survivalist Techniques #MFRWauthor

My family is pretty darn small—just hubby Jack here at home, my mom and aunt, and brother- and sister-in-law. That sums it up. So since I have only the one (very special and wonderful) family member at home to deal with my writing, his handling it is easy. He follows these techniques:

  • “Why aren’t you writing?”: Jack uses this guilting technique when he thinks I need to get my butt in gear and get work done. He uses it often because he wants to retire early and thinks I can help.Tedious Writer I
  • “Why are you writing?”: Jack uses this guilting technique when he would rather talk/watch TV/go to dinner and I am in the middle of a scene.
  • “I’m going to bed/to cut the grass/to watch Dr. Who if you want to write.”: Common hints by Jack that the green light is on if I want to dig out the Alphasmart for a couple of hours.

Brainstorming

  • “Let’s talk about your writing.”: Jack loves to brainstorm about writing projects—and I love to also. There is no knotty plot problem we can’t solve by hashing things out, usually over a meal out somewhere.
  • Crickets: The rest of the family’s reaction to my writing, no matter if I’m doing it or not.

So there you have it. Easy as pie to deal with anyone in the family when it comes to my writing.

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!

What’s better than Desire and Dessert?

We’re so pleased to host Madison Michael and Desire and Dessert! Be sure to check below for her Rafflecopter giveaway.

Desire & Dessert
B&B Billionaire Romance Series (Book 1)
By Madison Michael
 
Madison has put together some really awesome Prize Packages to giveaway during the tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember you may enter every day for your chance to win one of the prize packages. You may find the tour locations here. 
About Desire & Dessert:

 Can they forge a business merger and a personal one too?Spoiled Stevie Jurran expects smooth sailing when she arrives at Lakeside Lodge to implement her plan to merge it into the luxury Bijoux Hotel chain. Completing this simple task will move her up the corporate ladder, increase her value to her father’s multi-billion dollar business and settle the score with her cheating ex-fiancé. Just one insignificant B&B stands between her and success –one B&B and its provoking and intriguing manager.Secretive and sexy Grant Harris is not your typical innkeeper. Digging in his heels, he tries to preserve the aesthetic of Lakeside Lodge by resisting every change Stevie implements. Retreating from his life in the B&B’s surroundings, Grant quickly learns there’s no way to combat his growing desire for the infuriating heiress. Can he concede to her demands and contend with his past to win this alluring woman?The B&B should be a perfect fit for the hotel chain. Stevie and Grant should be a perfect fit as well, but will they set aside their pasts and egos to complete a merger of a different kind?
Will love seal their deal?

Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2NJ30xy

 Excerpt from Desire & Dessert:

“Inside or out?”
The maître’d and Grant were both looking at Stevie expectantly. Usually assertive, she demurred to Grant. “You know the place better; you choose.”
“If you would like the patio, Dr. Harris,” the host suggested in a heavily accented voice, “I have a lovely corner table.”
The couple acquiesced and were seated in the back corner of the enclosed patio. The music was fainter, but still audible accompanied by the tinkling sound of a fountain. Stevie glanced across the patio. There were about eight tables outdoors, all for parties of two. High bushes of hibiscus and roses bursting with blooms surrounded the patio. The fragrance was wonderful, the table incredibly intimate.
“You like it?” Grant asked with a hint of uncertainty.
“I love it.”
“Wait until you taste the food,” he promised, his confidence restored.

 They hid behind tall menus, selecting dishes to share along with a carafe of sangria. After giving their order to the server they were finally alone.

 “It’s beautiful here,” Stevie breathed. “Thank you for suggesting it.”

 “Now that I finally have you alone,” Grant teased only to be interrupted by the server arriving to pour their drinks. “So much for my sinister plans.”

 “Do you have sinister plans?” Stevie queried in a low, husky voice.

 “Do you want me to?”

 “No answering a question with a question,” Stevie responded. She watched conflicting emotions waver across Grant’s face and waited quietly. She would not give him an out. She had learned from business that silence was a powerful tool.

 “Yes, in fact, Stevie. I have very sinister plans.”

 The words were out, electric between them like a live thing. Stevie sucked in a breath, surprised by how quickly and matter of factly Grant had stated his desires. She reached her foot forward under the table closing the few inches that separated them. She rubbed her foot slowly up his leg, allowing her movements to acknowledge what she failed to say with her lips.

 “Have I shocked you?”

 “I guess that depends on just how sinister you can be. Mostly you have pleased me,” Stevie admitted. No shy wallflower, she gave Grant a bold smile and placed her hand in his. “I’m looking forward to finding out.”

 Grant pressed a soft kiss on the back of her hand then released her as course after course of Latin inspired small plates arrived. For the next hour they spoke of the food, the atmosphere, the music, everything but each other and what lay ahead. After assuring that he ordered something to satisfy Stevie’s sweet tooth, Grant requested the check. When it arrived, Grant automatically reached for it and Stevie reveled in the moment. Too often she was the one who paid for the date. Not tonight.

 “We could go dancing?” Grant asked. “Perhaps a salsa club in keeping with our theme?” Stevie believed he was just making a polite offer but couldn’t quite tell.

 “Are you a good dancer?”

 “Not on a dance floor.” Grant offered her a wicked smile and reached to help her from the chair. “But in a bedroom…”

 “Braggart.”

 “Am I?”

 “Shall we find out?”

 
About Madison:

Madison Michael traded 28 years in Fortune 500 tech and management positions for a chance to spend her days with sassy heroines, sexy, rich heroes and nothing but happy endings. Growing up the daughter of a librarian, she learned to love books, especially classics and romances, and spent winters cuddled under blankets losing herself in books.

 Madison is the author of three novels in the Beguiling Bachelor series, as well as several short stories. She is a member of Romance Writers of America.

 After living in the northeast, southeast and the west, Maddy returned to her Midwest roots. She lives in Evanston, IL with two feline editorial assistants and great views of Chicago’s famous skyline.

 

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Allergies—What, Me Worry?? #MFRWauthor

In the words of the immortal Alfred E. Neuman, “What? Me Worry?” That’s my feeling when it comes to allergies, mainly because to my knowledge, I don’t have any (except perhaps, to housework). I’d like to think I’m allergic to trouble, but my life is one giant example after another of why that isn’t the case. Damn! I would have had so many fewer mornings standing in the corner growing up if it had been true, but no such luck.

Hubby says he has an allergy to black pepper. And honestly, you wouldn’t want to be around him if his food is topped with pepper. When we first married I didn’t believe anyone could be allergic to pepper. I mean really, how did one eat biscuits and gravy without a liberal dose of pepper? But after many attempts to sneak pepper into food (including white pepper added to milk gravy), I finally had to admit that yup, there is such a thing as a pepper allergy.

I do feel for those who do have allergies, especially when they are life threatening. We had a friend years ago who was allergic to shellfish and we lived about 40 minutes from a medical facility. And I know kids who suffer from peanut allergies who need immediate attention if they so much as inhale a whiff of peanuts. So I don’t mean to make light of allergies. I do know that they’re serious. And I’m grateful that I don’t have to worry about them.

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!

Reluctantly APPed #MFRWauthor

For years I avoided getting a smart phone. Well into the current millennia I used the reliable flip phone. It didn’t alert me to texts (there weren’t no stinkin’ texts) or when anything needed to be upgraded. It made calls, It Boring flip phonereceived calls. I laughed smugly at all those people glued to their Blackberrys and iPhones. I mourned for all those lost conversations when people sat across the table from friends and spent their time texting. I glared at those who unthinkingly knocked people on the sidewalk while playing Candycrush.

Then—through no fault of my own—I received a smart phone.

Now I too have apps. Now I text and I check the news and I look things up, yes, even once in a while as I sit at the table with friends. I am a bad Apps, apps, and more appsperson.

So… My favorite apps are pretty boring:

  • Weather—Yes, just like many very interesting people, I have an affinity for weather is. I check my phone for weather sometimes even when I could look out the window. But I don’t just check my own weather. I also check where my mom lives in Iowa, my in-laws’ home in Chicago, Fort Worth weather for my family in Texas, and any number of other places of interest (do you know the temperature is right now in West Yellowstone, WY? I do!). Weather is an important part of my daily routine. (Oh. My. God. I’m old.)
  • News—Okay, I admit to being a news junkie. I probably check the news a dozen times a day to read what I could also find out on the TV or radio. It satisfies some need in me that I wish I could get rid of.
  • Google—Despite disliking Google intensely, I still find it the easiest way to find out all kinds of useless, trivial information. We can be watching a show on TV. Jack will say, “We have seen that actress before.” I pull out the phone, look up the show we are watching and the episode, find the cast, find the particular character, link to her, and recite the shows that person has been in until we recognize where we have seen her. Meanwhile, I have missed the last five minutes of the actual program.
  • Google Maps—What good is hearing about a location of a murder on an Investigation Discovery program if I can’t conveniently see for myself where that place is?
  • Solitaire—I can’t help it, I play this mindless game whenever I am bored. If The ubiquitous SolitaireI had to give up all apps, this is the one I would go of last. I am a sad, sad person.

Okay, so now you know my secret life. Don’t judge me. 😉

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!

In the beginning…there was Prologue #MFRWauthor

Is there anything better than starting a book and the romance/mystery/thrill/atmosphere is set up well? That can’t always Great opener!happen in the first chapter because you have to be concerned with character introduction and plot hints. But using a prologue, the author can spend all of his/her time engaging the reader with emotion in what follows. You know me—I’m all for engaging!

According to Quora, some great prologues can be found in these books (and in others, of course):

  • Harry Potter (Book 1)
  • Water for Elephants
  • The Piano Tuner
  • The Alchemist
  • Shutter Island

Kristen Lamb has some reasons for not using prologues.

  • If it’s nothing more than an information dump
  • If the sole purpose is to hook the reader (don’t do this! Too many people skip prologues.)
  • If the prologue is too long
  • If it has nothing to do with the story (Now, why would anyone do that??)

And more.

It would be interesting to compare the “good” prologues to the “bad” #amwritingexamples and see where the author might have gone wrong. As for me, I never skip prologues. I might not read the rest of the book if the prologue is terrible, but at least I’ll have a good reason for it.

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

Dee

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!

A sale on Beguiling Bachelors?? Count me in!

I want a Beguiling Bachelor! Madison Michaels has hers on sale!

The Beguiling Bachelor Series
By Madison Michael
ALL on SALE for a LIMITED Time
 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
FREE until October 13th!
Bedazzled  (Book 1)
A Chance Encounter Can Change Everything…
Keeli Larsen is second-guessing her decision to support herself as an independent jewelry designer. She has no money, no friends, but she knows she has talent. Leaving her job, she rides the elevator one last time with the sexy man from the penthouse office. That ride and a well placed hand are about to change her life.
Millionaire and hot hunk Wyatt Lyons Howe IV is trapped by generations of family loyalty and tradition until a moment in an elevator rocks his staid world. Wyatt is captivated by Keeli’s beauty and fiery spirit, choosing to pursue her and his dreams. He just needs to rid himself of a scheming fiancé, defy his family, conquer his doubts, extricate himself from his traditional life and, of course, find the elusive Keeli again.
Is she Wyatt’s ticket to freedom or is Keeli an opportunist looking for a bankroll? Unsure of her motives, but unable to stay away, Wyatt is bedazzled.
Fans of steamy romances will fall in love with this contemporary retelling of Cinderella, a smart, sexy story, set within the splendor of Chicago’s elite society.
 
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2K3OL4D
Bedazzled is on Kindle Unlimited 
 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Only $.99 until October 13th!
Beholden (Book 2)
 
She’s Lost Everything. He Has Everything…
 
This is no docile heroine. Meet Sloane, assertive and tough, desperate for love. Meet Randall, drowning his troubles until Sloane provides a reason to sober up. Beholden is a sexy, romantic romp set in the glamour of Chicago’s elite society.
 
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2AjMtPg
Beholden is on Kindle Unlimited 
 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Only $1.99 until October 13th!
 

Bedeviled (Book 3)
 
Join Alex and Charlotte, along with characters you’ve met and loved in “Bedazzled” and “Beholden”, as they tackle the maze of half-truths and cover-ups threatening the lovers.

How can they build a bond with deceit on both sides? With malevolent forces advancing, is their love Bedeviled? 
 
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2uUHsYu
Bedeviled is now on Kindle Unlimited 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 
Only $2.99 
Besotted (Book 4)

Time is Running Out…For Both of Them

 Join Tyler and Regan as they seek their happily ever after in the conclusion of the steamy, contemporary Beguiling Bachelor romance series.

 Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2AiK2MQ

 
~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 
About Madison:
Madison Michael traded 28 years in Fortune 500 tech and management positions for a chance to spend her days with sassy heroines, sexy, rich heroes and nothing but happy endings. Growing up the daughter of a librarian, she learned to love books, especially classics and romances, and spent winters cuddled under blankets losing herself in books.

Madison is the author of three novels in the Beguiling Bachelor series, as well as several short stories. She is a member of Romance Writers of America.

After living in the northeast, southeast and the west, Maddy returned to her Midwest roots. She lives in Evanston, IL with two feline editorial assistants and great views of Chicago’s famous skyline.

Social Links:
Website: madisonmichael.net
Madison’s Blog: madisonmichael.net/category/maddys-blog
Maddy’s Romance Madness: madisonmichael.net/category/mrm/
Maddy’s Tours and Treats: madisonmichael.net/category/tours-and-treats/
Facebook: facebook.com/madisonmichaelromance
Twitter: twitter.com/madisonmichael_
Amazon Author Page: amazon.com/Madison-Michael/e/B01EVUGG6G/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

 

The End… Oh wait! There’s an Epilogue! #MFRWauthor

I’m one of those readers who enjoys an epilogue. I like it if a story ends satisfactorily, but I always like to find out what came “after.” Do the two The end or not?protagonists become engaged? Once they’re married are they happy? Do they have children? It seems that children or the announcement of a pregnancy are routinely in the epilogue of historical romances, and I like that little bit extra. It’s like biting into a chocolate—really good in itself—and finding a caramel filling that you didn’t expect. A step beyond satisfying and into the realm of happy.

Writer’s Digest gives six reasons why an epilogue is used effectively:

  • Tying up loose ends when the story itself ends abruptly.
  • To highlight the lessons told in the story and letting the reader know that justice has been done.
  • Detailing information not covered in the story, as in if a character is sick or circumstances are left unfinished.
  • Explaining a future for the characters.
  • Using a secondary character to explain circumstances and thus make the story more realistic.
  • Outlining futures for a large cast of characters.

I think all epilogues are used to answer the emotional questions a reader might have, though. And since I like romance, an emotional finish to a taleEpilogue is what I long to read. I have used them myself, and even enjoy reading them then. 😉

So, hooray for epilogues! Long may they live!

Dee
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!