First Light a Candle, then… #MFRWauthor

I’m kidding. Incantations, invoking the muse, and even lighting candles aren’t parts of my writing ritual. And I don’t chant or dim the lights or listen to a particular song. In fact, I don’t really have a writing ritual. Usually I go back and read the last thing I wrote and then plan in my mind what would come next. In fact, this planning is so minuscule that it doesn’t even really count as planning.

Oh, God! I need some writing rituals!!

Maybe I should make a list of acceptable things to do each time I begin writing. It can’t have to do with music because I like to have it quiet when I write. Or read, for that matter. And it can’t involve eating or drinking because once I do start hitting the keys I forget food and drink. There’s no Candles as inspirationneed organizing particular things to wear (“clothes to write in…”) because that’s too much trouble. Surrounding myself with inspirational photos and books won’t work because there’s too little space in the office for such things. And besides, what about when I write in the living room using my Alphasmart or the laptop?

Now that I think of all this, I think I’ll stay ritual free after all.

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!

Dr. Mel Crandall has quite a problem!

Meet Mel Crandall on RLFDr. Crandall is a great person. She’s smart, well liked and respected, has interesting hobbies. One problem. She was raised in the military (the Marine Corps, no less!) and has a firm grip on her decision not to live the wife of a military man. How sad then, that she’s let herself fall in love with a naval officer! Find out more about Mel in my blog post on Romance Lives Forever (RLF)!

Mel and David Stimson fall in love hot and hard in Weighing Anchor, Naval Maneuvers.

Thanks!
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!

Cover Reveal: Worth the Wait (The Harvest Ridge Series, Book 1)

Worth the Wait by KL RamseyTag Harrison never met a woman as stubborn as Piper Flynn. Fifty-two times, he’s asked her out, and she has turned him down each and every time. Will Tag be able to help Piper get over her painful past to move on to a future with him?

Worth the Wait by KL RamseyBlurb:
Taggert Harrison knows what he wants, and he wants Piper Flynn. She is the most stubborn woman that he’s ever laid eyes on. He has spent the last year begging her to go out with him. Every Monday morning, for the past fifty-two weeks, he has asked her out only to be rejected fifty-two times. He wants to give up, but he knows how good it could be, if he could just tear down her walls. Will Tag be able to help Piper get over her painful past to move on to a future with him?

Piper Flynn witnessed the horrific murders of her parents when she was just twelve. She grew up isolated and afraid to let anyone get too close to her, for fear of losing them. When Tag asks her out, everything in her wants to tell him yes, but her past ghosts keep her from taking what she wants. Tag could be her first, in every way, if she could just free her heart from the walls that she has carefully built up around it.

K.L. Ramsey’s Worth the Wait excerpt:
“I get it, being here with me isn’t what you signed up for. Honestly Piper, you are just proving my point for me.” Tag was pretending to busy himself with clues around the room, but Piper could tell that he was only going through the motions.

“What do you mean, I’m proving your point?” She grabbed Tag’s hand as he tried to pass her, effectively stopping him in front of her. Without his jacket, she noticed his tattoo sleeve that circled his lower arm. It was a scene of a forest with snowcapped mountains in the background. It encircled his entire forearm and seemed to perfectly fit who Tag was.

He gently pulled his hand from her grasp, “What I mean, honey, is that you have made your point. It may have taken me an entire year to catch on, but I get it. You’re just not into me. Message received, loud and clear.”

Piper could hear her own breath catch. How could Tag think that she wasn’t into him? Just looking at him made her body react like it never had before. For so long, she’d wanted to just tell him that she’d go out with him, but she was also so afraid. She couldn’t let herself suffer another loss. She wasn’t strong enough. She guarded her heart like a sentry standing watch. She knew her limits and Tag pushed every one of them.

“How can you think that I’m not into you? You own a mirror, right?” Piper felt her own smile, unfortunately, Tag didn’t return her humor.

“This has nothing to do with the way that I look. You have turned me down fifty-two times.” She cringed at Tag’s words. “I like you Piper. I thought that you might like me too, but I guess I was wrong.” Piper could feel her head shaking, denying his words. “You don’t have to deny the truth. I was there every Monday, when I asked you out and you politely smiled and turned me down.”

“You just don’t understand, Tag. I can’t let you in. If you tear down my walls, what will I have left?” She felt her hot tears running down her face and she crudely wiped them with her shirt sleeve. Tag put down the clue that he was working on and moved slowly across the room to where Piper sat.

“Piper, you would have someone who cares about you. You would have a partner, maybe even love. But you will never find out what you could have if you don’t let me in. Just give me a chance, that’s all I’m asking.” Tag wiped away her tears with his thumbs, pulling her in to gently kiss her lips. Piper froze, not knowing what to do next. A part of her wanted to see where this all led but her brain was overloading her emotions.

She pulled away from the kiss, “Tag, I can’t.”

Author K.L. Ramsey
KL RamseyK. L. Ramsey was born and raised in Maryland. As a child she struggled in school, having to attend speech and reading therapy. Her teacher told her that she would never be a very good reader; that English was just not her thing. She continued to struggle until eleventh grade, when she signed up for a Creative Writing class. Her high school teacher saw her potential and submitted a short story, that K. L. had written for class, to a local literary publication. The story was not only published but won an award for best short story. Knowing that someday she wanted to become a writer, K. L. received her BA in English from Salisbury State University.
K. L. Ramsey currently resides in West Virginia (Go Mountaineers!). She lives with a hunky scientist, two now not-so-little people, and six fur babies. In her spare time, she likes to read romance novels, attend WVU football games and drink wine with girlfriends.

K.L. Ramsey’s social media links:
Pre-order  Worth the Wait (The Harvest Ridge Series Book 1)
Facebook  (OR) K.L.’s Facebook page
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Talk about a Totally Useless Talent! #MFRWauthor

I don’t really think of myself as having any real talent. I mean, I can’t sing, play an instrument, dance, or even balance a ball on the tip of my Conversationnose. What I can do is recite a conversation word-for-word, complete with gestures and intonation. Unless I become an informant for the FBI or a spy, what good is that?

In fact, it’s a worse than useless talent. Once I launch into repeating a dialogue, people tend to get bored. They only want the summary, or even not that much, and here I go, voicing chapter and verse. I tend not to share my talent often for just that reason. 😉

I have found one place where my talent shines, however. Whenever my Gossipingmom, aunt, and I get together, we have fun—harmless fun, since “news” never goes beyond the three of us—sharing what we know about other people. What better time to let my talent shine than then?

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!

Moving Cures the Desire to Collect Things, Odd or Not #MFRWauthor

First of all, I’m not sure what makes a collection odd. Is it collecting the unusual, exotic, rare, or just kitchy? Second of all, as the title suggests, I stopped collecting when I started moving so much. Packing is hell.

When we lived in Virginia for a number of years, I loved to cook. At one Cookbookspoint, I think I had 300 cookbooks. Whenever any family member traveled anywhere, they knew what to bring back for my collection. I read them like novels and used them often. In the same line, I collected Bon Appetit magazine. I didn’t try their recipes as often as say, Betty Crocker’s, but they were still fun to read. When we left Virginia I had nearly 10 years’ worth. So you can see that holding on to all of that after two-four-six moves in a few years’ time was not enviable and I let them go. It was a sad day. ;(

Later, I collected magnets for the refrigerator. They were small and could easily be tossed into a box. I had a crystal from the science museum in Richmond, wooden shoes from Solvang, CA, a lighthouse from the OuterRefrigerator magnets Banks, a red phone box from London, a variety of stocking stuffer magnets, and one I kept from my mother-in-law when she died: “Dull women keep immaculate houses.” And so many more! Each magnet brought back memories. But two moves back, I think I lost the box. So temporarily, I’ve given up collecting anything. It’s not a bad thing. Now I’ve taken to giving away items I have for other people’s collections. It’s just as fun!

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!

Irrational Fears and Why They Aren’t Irrational #MFRWauthor

I mean really, is there such a thing as an irrational fear for a writer? Aren’t we known for having overactive imaginations? And if so, can’t we justify any fear as being rational? My imaginings include an open-minded approach to reincarnation, and with that I can rationalize anything.

Choppy seasSo my biggest fear is water. I don’t like it. It’s okay to bathe in or drink, and I don’t break out into hives or anything when I’m near it, but all things being equal, I’d just as soon stay away at a distance from any large bodies of it. When I was growing up in Virginia Beach I used to go to the beach and even went out into the ocean—up to my waist, maybe—and cousins and I used to “swim” in the James River, but would I ever willingly go out to where I couldn’t see land? Um…no. All of those cruise ships you see advertised on TV? They are safe from ever having me as a passenger. My dad made me take swimming in college, and I was not even a happy camper in a pool. So when those same commercials show a cruise ship at sea and people frolicking in a pool, it’s like a double whammy for me.

Now, nothing happened to me that I know of to instill the fear of water. So I think something must have happened in a previous life. Maybe I was a British subject on my way to the Colonies when the ship was lost at sea. OrKraken perhaps I was a Roman galley slave, lost in a sea battle. Or maybe I was a Norse child who stepped foot in the north Atlantic and was taken by the Kraken. Who knows? I only see the result of those events.

Fortunately, not all fears are debilitating. So while I don’t care to take a cruise around the Ship at seaMediterranean, I did enjoy going out whale watching a few years ago in San Diego—within sight of the shore, of course. I absolutely cannot imagine my dad’s life, standing watch on board ship with nothing around him but water. That’s too much “Water, water, everywhere/Nor any drop to drink.” (Coleridge) Imagining that actually does give me hives!

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!

5 Reasons Why “Moon River” is My Theme Song #MFRWauthor

Moon River in Savannah, GAEver since I first heard “Moon River” by Henry Mancini and Johnny Mercer, I’ve been in love with it. It’s definitely my theme song and here’s why.

  1. I’ve always had wander lust. Hubby and I at one time had six addresses in two years. Every two years now I’m ready to pack up and move somewhere new. “Moon River” defines wanderlust to me—but only with the one I love.
  2. Mancini’s melody evokes a kind of laid back slow lifestyle where summer is long and the days are lazy. Just the kind of life a Southern girl appreciates.
  3. Johnny Mercer’s genius lyrics lead one to think of dreams and the longing to complete them. Andy Williams, my all time favorite singer, brought the words and melody to life.
  4. I requested that “Moon River” be played at our wedding to denote the kindDreaming couple of life hubby and I planned. We’ve lived the life we wanted (and still are!), and no song represents us more than this one.
  5. The song never fails to make me a little melancholy, a little wistful, a lot happy.

Have you never heard “Moon River”? Here’s a link to one of the best voices in music singing one of the best songs. Enjoy!

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!

Besotted with Madison Michael’s Besotted!

Nomad Authors is very happy to host Madison Michael and her book, Besotted. Find out more about Besotted and Madison’s amazing prize package below.

Besotted
Beguiling Bachelors Series Book 5
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 Besotted:

Time is Running Out…For Both of Them

Regan Howe, won her coveted CEO position through hard work and a willingness to buck family tradition. Now, Brandon Hockney, a handsome US Senator with his eye on the White House, wants her to give it up, along with her home, friends and family for a move to DC and marriage to him.

Regan wants marriage and family but this choice will require she leave everything she loves, including the alluring Tyler Winthrop. Regan has waited twenty years for Tyler to commit. He once promised her forever, then destroyed her trust and her hopes for a future together. Still, she cannot break the ties between them. Regan is besotted.

Tyler’s moment to win Regan is slipping through his fingers. He has remained on the outskirts of Regan’s life, reluctant to reveal his true past and expose her to danger. Despite their obvious attraction, Tyler has remained her friend and protector, keeping Regan at arm’s length for her own safety, When Regan determines to test the waters with Brandon, Tyler is tapped as acting CEO, throwing the pair together for one last chance at love.

Can Tyler shake off the thugs threatening to expose his past mistakes? Can he earn Regan’s trust and woo her away from Washington? Battling overwhelming odds and a racing clock, will Tyler be forced to release his one true love to find happiness with another man? How can he when he’s besotted?

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

Besotted is a contemporary erotic romantic suspense story.

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

 

Excerpt from Besotted:

Regan was just too damn alluring in that dress for him to accept that he couldn’t have her if he wanted her.

He was an idiot. He should have told her years ago. He should have told everyone. Despite the tongue- lashing he was silently giving himself, Tyler was certainly no fool. “The professor” to his friends, he was generally serious and professional. He had the smarts necessary to obtain both an MBA and a law degree, and he was now CEO of LHRE and on hiatus from one of the fastest growing tech companies in the country. He kept his cool in general, but again and again he behaved like an idiot around Regan.

Since that damn frog almost thirty years ago, he had loved no one but Regan. Sometimes they made it work together, like in high school, but most times not. His feelings were unchanged, but something always stopped him from declaring his love and asking her to do the same. This time it was something insurmountable.
And yet Tyler couldn’t stay away. He was the proverbial moth to the flame, flirting with disaster every time he flirted with her. He had promised to stay away, to keep her safe,but the attraction was undeniable. Yep, prize idiot.

Returning to the ballroom after the latest threats, Tyler briefly considered sharing the conversation, coming clean with Regan and perhaps moving their relationship forward. He was at a fork in the road but remained silent, Tyler knew he was on the wrong path but couldn’t summon the will to fix it. Not only were his problems unsolveable, but she was involved with Brandon. Tyler felt hopeless.

He was preoccupied just as Regan accused, but Tyler tried to give Regan the attention she deserved. He failed miserably until Regan suggested they just leave. That got his attention. Who knew when he would hold her in his arms again.
“Come dance with me again. It would be a crime to waste that dress.”

Encircling Regan in his arms, his body responded to her nearness, even as his mind worried over the earlier texts. He was unaware of his hand stroking her back, fingers lightly skimming over her bare skin. He wasn’t thinking clearly when he pulled her close or when he dropped kisses on her hair. He wasn’t paying attention, just acting on instinct, Regan was responding, her breath growing uneven, her hands clinging to his shoulders.

Other Books in the Beguiling Bachelors Series:
 
Bedazzled (Book 1)
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2K3OL4D
Bedazzled is now on Kindle Unlimited 
 
Beholden (Book 2)
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2AjMtPg
Beholden is now on Kindle Unlimited 
 
Bedeviled (Book 3)
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2uUHsYu
Bedeviled is now on Kindle Unlimited 
 
BeWildered (Prequel)
Amazon Buy Link: https://amzn.to/2uXZXeu
Bewildered is now on Kindle Unlimited 
 
 
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

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POV Quandary #MFRWauthor

When I first started writing I was told point blank, no first person!! I was told that if I wanted to write in first person I might as well make up my mind not Writing a bestseller--in third person.to be published because no editor wanted first person point of view. Now of course, that’s not the case—lots of erotic romances are in first person, and a good many other genre books are, too. Times change, opinions change.

I always liked reading first person because it gives a much greater insight into each primary person’s feelings. As a writer, I think first person forcesMe, me, me! First person. us to stretch since another character’s emotions have to be revealed through the POV of the focus character. That’s not always easy.

In a writing class once, all of us were having trouble with the assignment until the teacher said to switch to first person. Wow! My writing flowed like water off a cliff. Dialogue was sharper, feelings exploded off the page, and I could barely get words written fast enough. So why do I write in third person…?

Heck if I know. Maybe I should give first person a try.

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!

Sizzling Summer Reveal

While the summer nights might be slipping by, they are still sizzling hot
If you love heat like we do, you’ll love the fantastic romantic fiction that can be found on the blogs of this hop. 
From sweet to downright sizzling, you’ll be sure to find something that you will fall in love with!
Thank you to the authors who are in the hop, and a special thank you to our two main sponsors, Books & More and Sensuous Promos!
Now go on…. get your hop on!

 

Naval Maneuvers by Dee S. KnightDuty, honor, service aren’t just words. Apply them to loving a woman, and see how hot Naval Maneuvers can get!

Naval Maneuvers is a book dedicated to the good men an women of the military, and specifically the U.S. Navy. They protect the seas and our country. But that’s not all they protect. They also watch over the hearts and souls of the ones they love.

Please leave a comment and mention Naval Maneuvers before you go on to the next blog in the blog hop. Thanks for participating!