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I’m Reading the One Week Girlfriend Series by Monica Murphy

<12345>You know my latest reading trend has been New Adult sports romances . . . I tore through Cora’s Rusk University books, Sarina’s Ivy Years, Kristen Callihan’s Off Campus books. . . and my next logical step was Monica Murphy’s series.

To be honest, as I always am with you, it took me a while to get into book 1. I didn’t feel like I could relate to either character until about halfway through the book. I’m happy to say I persevered and was glad to see improvement in all areas in the subsequent books.

Last night I made it to Four Years Later. I wasn’t sure how I’d like it, but wow! It was my favorite yet, and I just fell totally and absolutely in love with Owen and Chelsea. I couldn’t put it down.

Owen is a flawed character for sure–the younger brother of the female lead from One Week Girlfriend. Owen’s messing with drugs, drinking too much, letting his grades slip and getting suspended from the football team–and lying to his big sister about their no-good mother showing up again in his life. Still, we know Owen cares; he’s struggling to do the right thing, even when it feels way too hard.

As I’ve said here before–girls in college, if you want to get yourself a hot athlete boyfriend, be a tutor. Because once again, that’s how uptight and super-smart Chelsea–a girl with secrets of her own–meets Owen. She knows he’s not what she needs, but that doesn’t matter–because he’s what she wants.

They go through the typical ups and downs, but as always in these books, there’s a healthy realism. Chelsea and Owen struggle with their demons, but ultimately, they realize that they’re stronger together. (Everyone now, say it: awwwwwww . . .)

Now I did discover there is a follow-up book to their story, called Five Days Til You. I’m not sure I can handle it–I don’t like more angst for my people after they’ve made it to their happily-ever-after. But you know I’ll read it anyway.

If you haven’t delved into any of these series, I encourage you to check them out–great writing, awesome stories and amazing characters. What more can you ask?

A Little Emma Magic

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You may know we have a special relationship with erotica writer Emma Fallon . . . so I figured today for Teaser #Tuesday we’d celebrate the upcoming release of the fourth and final installment in Emma’s Small Town Swingers serial!

You can find all her books here:

iBooks/Amazon/Nook

And you can preorder the last book here:

iBooks/Amazon/Nook

All the books are short, sweet and sexy . . . so if you pick them up today (the first one is free!), you’ll be ready for Sunday’s release when we find out #WhoIsMrEnigma?

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Memorial Day Monday

Today is the unofficial start of summer, and as such, it’s the official kick-off of the summer music season (I have deemed it so!).

recordimagesSummer’s always been a time when we listen to more music than ever: driving to the beach, sitting in the sand, hanging out at the pool, barbecuing in the backyard . . . summertime fun and awesome tunes go together like hotdogs and mustard.

Since 2015 is the Summer of Beach Lovin’, each Monday of this summer I’ll be posting a different summer-themed song and talking about it. I’d love to hear YOUR favorite summer jam: which song absolutely means summer and beach to you? Comment here or on my Facebook page, and I’ll feature it in an upcoming post.

We’ll start with what is to me one of the most-often identified favorite summer songs: Surfin’ USA by the aptly-named Beach Boys (1963). I’ve loved this song since I was a kid–it named so many places in the US that were familiar to me, and my sister and I got a kick out of the lines:

You’d seem ’em wearing their baggies468-Kayla-Huarache-sandals-Ankle
Huarachi sandals too
A bushy bushy blonde hairdo
Surfin’ U. S. A.

Because no matter where we all live, whether in the middle of Manhattan, a wheat field in Kansas or on the shores of Lake Michigan, during the summer, don’t we all want to be going on a surfin’ safari?

Happy Memorial Day! Bring on the summer.

Five From Ruth Cardello

Welcome to Five From Friends Friday!

Each week, I’ll share with you five quick and quirky questions and answers

from some of my favorite author friends.

I think you’ll see some familiar faces in here, too.

Quickies from Ruth Cardello

Last fall, I was so surprised and flattered when Ruth Cardello messaged me, telling me that she’d seen an ad for BEST SERVED COLD and had shared it with her readers. I was even more excited when she invited me to visit her wonderful special group of readers, who were so warm and welcoming to me. Ruth is an example of what all indie authors SHOULD be–she’s nurturing, smart and professional, and I learn so much by watching her example. Thanks, Ruth–and take it away!

 

Q:We’re on the cusp of summer. Where is your preferred vacation spot this time of year–beach or mountains?

A:I love to be near water. There is an island near Rhode Island where my family tries to spend a week or two each year. We also love to drive down to the ocean as soon as the weather is warm enough. There is something so peaceful about walking barefoot down a beach and listening to the sounds of the waves crashing.

Q:It’s the time of year for big backyard barbecues! So what’s your favorite–hamburgers or hotdogs? And bonus–favorite side dish at a cookout?

A:Hamburgers and Dynamites. Dynamites are a Rhode Island spicy version of a sloppy Joe. Okay, it’s really much better than it sounds. You’ll have to come here and try one. Every family has their own recipe. {Note from Tawdra–YES, I’d love to try dynamites!}

Q:A mysterious benefactor offers to gift you the first edition of any book you choose. Which will be taking the place of honor on your shelf?

A:Jane Eyre. It’s one of my old favorites.

Q:Confession time: do you make your bed every morning?

A:My husband does it for me. He’s a retired Marine. He can’t go to sleep unless it was made nicely. I, on the other hand, could sleep just fine either way.

Q:You’re on an airplane, in first class, about to take off on a trans-Atlantic flight, and the flight attendant is here to take your drink order. What will you enjoy as you fly over the ocean?

A: You know, I’ve never flown first class. When I fly I’m always with a group–my husband, our kids, my assistant.  It would probably be a very unexciting glass of water 🙂  But I’d be just as happy. Flying in coach with everyone I love trumps flying in first class any day–no matter what beverage they serve.

***

Somewhere Along the Way (The Andrades, Book 4)

SomewhereAlongTheWayLuke Andrade: Wealthy, talented, fiercely loyal. He’s the glue that holds his family together, but every man has a breaking point. When he heads to Ohio to attend a funeral, he does so with the intention of taking time off to clear his head. The very last thing he expects to do is meet a woman.

Cassie Daiver: Scarred, but not broken. She’s recreating herself in a small town far away from her painful childhood.

He’s angry with the world and himself. She finally has something she’s afraid to lose. They couldn’t have met at a worse time.

Luke and Cassie are about to discover love often happens somewhere along the way, and usually, when one least expects it.

Preorder on Amazon!

Ruth Cardello is a New York Times and USA today bestselling author. She was born the youngest of eleven children in a small city in northern Rhode Island. She lived in Boston, Paris, Orlando, and New York before coming full circle and moving back toRuth Cardello Headshot Rhode Island, where she lives with her husband and three children. Before turning her attention to writing, Ruth was an educator for twenty years, eleven of which she spent as a kindergarten teacher. She writes primarily about rich, alpha men and the strong women who tame them. She also dabbles in cowboy romances. 

Follow Ruth here:

Website/Facebook/Facebook/Twitter

 

Writers: A Higher Standard?

{This post originally appeared here three years ago. It’s a rerun because this week, this author is on vacation! That’s right, folks, I actually have a life. So enjoy a little blast from the recent past. It holds true even for today. See you next week!}

These days, I spend a good deal of time with other writers on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.  It’s wonderful to interact with these creative minds, and most of the time, I really enjoy it.

tumblr_lvhuqruxUd1r1vzzeo5_r1_500But every now and then, I see a tweet or post pop up. . something along these lines:  “This is how my book got it’s title!”  Or “My characters love there story.”

Cringe worthy grammar issues make me. . well, cringe.

Am I too picky?  Maybe.  After all, these are just a few lines tossed out into cyberspace; it’s not the Great American Novel.

True. . .but shouldn’t authors, people who have chosen to embrace the written word as their vocation or avocation, be held to a higher standard? At the very least, shouldn’t we use the basics correctly?

My own personal biases are the least of the reasons to watch our grammar. As indie writers, we are already fighting preconceived notions that we just weren’t good enough to make it in the world of traditional publishing. I’ve encountered some traditionally-published writers who sniff (in their tweets of 140 characters or less!) that indie books are poorly written, poorly edited, amteurish imitations of ‘real’ books.  Why should we give them reinforcement for that argument?

You can be a writer even if you don’t know all the basic grammar rules, but you’ll be a better writer if you make the effort to understand them. Learn how to use there, their and they’re as well as its and it’s.  Study sentence structure.  And then pay attention to every tweet and post.  Yes, we’re all going to make mistakes here and there. That just means we need to proofread all the more vigilantly.

Writing well truly is its own reward. . .and the best revenge!