My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, is doing a series of seasonal novellas based on either springtime or jellybeans! Here are the first three:
Rescuing Jellybean
Category: Romance / Contemporary
Series: Jelly Beans and Spring Things
When Conner Sullivan follows a trail of jelly beans to find an orphaned Sheltie, he immediately knows that he wants to adopt the beautiful dog. The only thing standing in his way is sexy Rainey Thibodeau, the uptight workaholic farmer who runs the Moose Pond Dog Rescue.No matter what, Rainey won’t give in to Connor. So what if he has the body of a Greek god, hair the color of a penny in the sun, and the eyes of an angel. The arrogant ass stole her heart over fifteen years ago, and he won’t get one more thing from her… including the dog called Jellybean.
ISBN: (digital) 9781509247370
Available through these fine retailers…
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Jellybean Kisses
Category: Romance / Contemporary
Series: Jelly Beans and Spring Things
Springtime in Polk Corners is anything but sleepy. Blooms, birdsong, and weddings abound… Tara Jackson owns a small confectionary shop where she makes all the sweets by hand. When she is contracted to provide gourmet jellybeans for the biggest wedding of the season, her quiet life is turned upside down. Pete Timbers has just returned to his old hometown. He plans to settle down and build a life in the place he loves so much, but memories of the woman he lost make it difficult. He doesn’t mind standing up as his brother’s Best Man, especially if it means he can find a chink in the armor his former high-school crush has in place. Their history isn’t great, but spring is the time for new beginnings…isn’t it?
ISBN: (digital) 9781509248025
Available through these fine retailers…
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Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Google Books
ITunes
When the Hope Rose Blooms
Category: Romance / Fantasy
Series: Jelly Beans and Spring Things
Blair Mallone, an elf agent for the Holiday Security Agency, is given the assignment of protecting a magical flower called the Hope Rose. When she arrives in the small town of Garland Falls, MN, she finds security around the rose lacking. But the man charged with the rose’s protection definitely isn’t lacking anything, except taking his task a little more seriously.Lucas Callahan is one of the fairy folk known as a Green Man. He’s been in charge of taking care of the Hope Rose for years. When Blair Mallone comes into his life, he’s surprised at how attracted he is to her. He reminds himself he needs to focus his attention on the rose, but Blair sneaks into his thoughts at odd times.A band of evil fairies have made it their mission to steal the Hope Rose and snuff out its light. Blair and Lucas have to fight their growing attraction and concentrate on protecting the Hope Rose, or all the realms will be destined to despair forever.
ISBN: (digital) 9781509246304
Available through these fine retailers…
Amazon
Kobo
Barnes & Noble
Google Books
ITunes
Birthdays: Heinrich Mann (1871), Thorne Smith (1892), Budd Schulberg (1914), Dick King-Smith (1922), Barnaby Conrad (1922), Louis Simpson (1923), Frank O’Hara (1926), Michael Jackson (1942), Julia Alvarez (1950), Dana Stabenow (1952), Patricia C Wrede (1953), Patrick McCabe (1955), Kevin J. Anderson (1962)
Louis Simpson won the 1964 Pulitzer for Poetry for “At the End of the Open Road”
Quote: “To be a writer is to embrace rejection as a way of life.” – Dana Stabenow
Tip: Don’t make your hero or heroine perfect. Give them a flaw or quirk. Make them real.
Jumpstart: Finish this scene: The day I died…(use: sunshine, ice storm, valentine)
Birthdays: A.E. Housman (1859), Robert Frost (1874), Joseph Campbell (1904), Viktor Frankl (1905), Betty McDonald (1908), Tennessee Williams (1911), Elizabeth Jane Howard (1923), Gregory Corso (1930), Richard Dawkins (1941), Erica Jong (1942), Bob Woodward (1943), T.A. Barron (1952)
Robert Frost won multiple Pulitzer’s for Poetry.
Bob Woodward is best known for his reporting of the Watergate Scandal
Quote: “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.” – Robert Frost
Tip: Begin a writing jar into which you toss your loose change. When it’s full, treat yourself to a writing-related indulgence—a fancy pen, pretty journal, new book, massage, etc.
Jumpstart: Write a short piece using as many clichés, metaphors, and similes as you can
Too many authors in the birthday list that I’ve read and enjoyed to highlight just one. Robert Frost is a favorite poet mostly because he was the first one my dad shared with me. Joseph Campbell is well known to anyone who reads (or writes!) mythology. Bob Woodward (of the Woodward and Bernstein team) broke the Watergate scandal. I’ve also read Erica Jong, Tennessee Williams, and Barron. To highlight any one of these would be a dishonor to the others. Have you read any of them?
Birthdays: Gabriel Fielding (1916), Paul Scott (1920), Flannery O’Connor (1925), Gloria Steinem (1934), Toni Cade Bambara (1939), Stephen Hunter (1946), Susie Bright (1958), Linda Sue Park (1960), Kate DeCamillo (1964),
Stephen Hunter won the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism for his film reviews.
Linda Park won the 2002 Newbery Medal for “A Single Shard”
Kate DiCamillo’s books “Because of Winn Dixie” and “The Tale of Despereaux” were made into feature films.
Quote: “The mere habit of writing, of constantly keeping at it, of never giving up, ultimately teaches you how to write.” – Gabriel Fielding
Tip: Most people have endless “to do” lists. Look yours over. Can you put some fun things in there to break up the tedium?
Jumpstart: Create an alter-ego. What is his/her name? Sex? Physical attributes? Be specific and detailed. How would you use this person? As a pen name?
Birthdays: William Morris (1834), Olive Schreiner (1855), Donald Hamilton (1916), Lawrence Ferlinghetti (1919), Mary Stolz (1920), Michael Legat (1923), Vincent Cronin (1924), Dario Fo (1926), Tabitha King (1949), Jo Shapcott (1953), Erica Kennedy (1970)
Dario Fo won the 1997 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Quote: “If you’re going to be a writer you should sit down and write in the morning, and keep it up all day, every day.” – Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Tip: Set up a calendar for each day and mark your progress—what you sent out, to whom, when it’s due back, how much you did that day (words of writing or pages of edits). At the end of each week, reward yourself for what you accomplished. Even if only a hundred words, that’s a hundred more than you had at the beginning of the week.
Jumpstart: Create a scene or story about a lie you once told—or someone once told you. What was it? How did it affect you? What happened?
Birthdays: Roger Martin du Gard (1881), Erich Fromm (1900), Eleanor Cameron (1912), Ama Ata Aidoo (1942), Alan Bleasdale (1946), Elizabeth Scarborough (1947), Kim Robinson (1952), Julia Glass (1956), Jonathan Ames (1964), Mitch Cullin (1968)
Roger Martin du Gard won the 1937 Nobel Prize for Literature.
Quote: “Understand that success in writing may (a) take a long time (for me, seven years to publish a short story, seven more to publish a book) and (b), once it arrives not offer you much in the way of financial reward.” – Julia Glass
Tip: When you’re ready to quit writing for the day, before you do, set a question or scene that you will have to answer the next time you write. That way, you won’t sit there staring at the page wondering what you were doing or what to do next.
Jumpstart: You’ve been asked to create a character for your favorite TV show. What show is it? What kind of character will you create? Would s/he be a villain or a hero? Or a sidekick? What happens?
Two nonfiction books and a cozy mystery for you to check out this week.
Under Mysteries:
BIRDER SHE WROTE by Donna Andrews – 5 Sparklers for this fun cozy, but note, it is #33 in a series! Still, worth a read.
Under Nonfiction:
THE CONFIDANTE by Christopher C. Gorham – 4 Sparklers for this book about Anna Rosenberg, a woman who helped shape American politics
GUT FEELINGS by Dr. Will Cole – 4 Sparklers for this book on the connection between our guts and our brains
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Title: Fireman’s Rescue
Series: Heroes in Helmets #2
Genre: M/M
Contemporary Romance/Law Enforcement
Release Date: Mar 14, 2023
Edition/Formats Available In: eBook & Print
Blurb/Synopsis:
A Heroes in Helmets Novel
The last thing Dash Wheaton expects when his home goes up in
flames is to catch his firefighter rescuer’s heart.
When computer security expert Dash wakes to his house on
fire, he manages to escape, but realizes his dog, Taffy, is still inside.
Heartbroken, he watches everything he has burn, worrying about Taffy, until a
firefighter hero shows up with her, covered in soot. With his home gone and no
place to go, Dash does his best to find shelter.
Firefighter Stone Jacobs lives for his job, and his life is
ordered just the way he likes it. So when he finds Dash sleeping in a shed,
he’s as surprised as anyone when he offers him a place to stay. But what he
really doesn’t expect is the way Dash gets under his skin and into his heart.
When the fire is ruled as arson, suspicion falls on Dash,
making it even harder for him to move forward. Thankfully, Stone believes in
his innocence and helps Dash begin to rebuild his life and business. Time
together leads to white-hot attraction and trust, but the truth behind the fire
could separate them… permanently
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Andrew grew up in western Michigan with a father who loved to tell
stories and a mother who loved to read them. Since then he has lived throughout
the country and traveled throughout the world. He has a master’s degree from
the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and works in information systems for a
large corporation.
Andrew’s hobbies include collecting antiques, gardening, and
leaving his dirty dishes anywhere but in the sink (particularly when
writing) He considers himself blessed
with an accepting family, fantastic friends, and the world’s most supportive
and loving partner. Andrew currently lives in beautiful, historic Carlisle,
Pennsylvania.
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