Summer Blog Hop - Welcome Regina Andrews!

Welcome to my blog, Regina. What is your new book about?

Thank you so much for inviting me to visit. I am delighted to be here. This book is very exciting to me, as it is a re-issue that I am looking forward to having people enjoy.

THE PERFECT PROPOSAL centers on Lindsay Richardson, a quiet elementary school teacher, whose world is turned upside down when she becomes the assistant to Dean Singleton Copley, one of the nation’s most dynamic business leaders in the high-powered corporate world. Lindsay’s father recently died unexpectedly and the school where she was teaching could not allow her time off to take care of her mother, who has Alzheimer’s. Thanks to a chance encounter with one of her father’s friends, businessman Mr. Copley Sr., she is offered a position at his company. When she arrives at work, she discovers she will be working with Dean Jr., the dynamo – not the kindly elder Mr. Copley who knew her father.

This time in her life is a test of her faith, her courage, and her strength. Her questions extend to not knowing what the Lord expects from her regarding her new boss, a dashing bachelor so different from her on the surface. Lindsay begins to see that Dean is scarred from situations in his past. Only faith gives Lindsay the strength to deal with the many challenges of her new position, all her personal crises, and the turmoil in her family life.

Where did you get your inspiration for this novel?

Actually I read an article about a situation like this on the Wedding page of our Sunday paper many years ago. The two met at work and lived happily ever after!

I love “happily ever after” stories. What kind of research did you do for this book?

It was crucial to understand Alzheimer’s disease. There were many questions I had to research, and facts I had to verify. Such as, for example, the matter of a patient wandering away from the house, which is a scene in the book, or the phenomenon of “sundowning”, which also occurs. I tried very hard to treat the entire subject of Alzheimer’s disease and its ripple effect with the utmost respect and dignity. Additionally, I had to research a bit about the various social clubs at Brown University, which involved several enjoyable visits to the University’s facilities.

Did you put real experiences from your research in this story?

At one point I served as a member of the Senior Citizens Governing Board in Rhode Island, and much of my experience from this appointed position could be applied to the subject matter of this book.  The “research” in this case was my actual life experience.

Wow! To use your own experiences is fantastic. You love to write Inspirational Romances. What intrigues you most about writing these love stories? 

To me, the most exciting aspect of Inspirational romance is that unlike a traditional romance with two main characters - the hero and the heroine, an Inspirational romance actually has three main characters – the hero, the heroine and God. That dynamic creates a fluid, vibrant paradigm that propels the story along without my having to construct it, because it is not just the hero and heroine’s thoughts or the way they relate to each other that propels the plot along. Rather, it is the hero and heroine’s relationship with God in addition to their relationship to each other directly impacts the storyline. And since it is a romance and we can be assured of a positive outcome, the path towards that evolves very naturally in my stories. It is guided by human foibles, triumphs and actions -- all held within the loving heart of God.

 Thank you so much for having me visit! 

1. 

   Award-winning author Regina Andrews, a resident of Providence, Rhode Island, grew up in the seaside village of Barrington, about 20 miles South of Providence. After graduating from Providence College she earned her degree in American Civilization from Brown University. The author of numerous works including romantic fiction, plays, essays and articles, Regina is currently working on The Sterling Lakes Series. Regina is involved in numerous community organizations, and is a radio host for In-Sight, an association for the visually impaired. Her hobbies include travel, museums, theater, reading, chorale singing and gardening. She and her husband share their home with a semi-feral cat named Queen Tiana, whom they rescued from a shelter.

To learn more about this author, visit her website at http://www.reginaandrews.com. You’ll find all her books at this site. Here is the link to THE PERFECT PROPOSAL:

http://www.writers-exchange.com/The-Perfect-Proposal.html

Here are some more links where you can find her books:

Writers Exchange E-Publishing
http://www.writers-exchange.com
* Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/Writers.Exchange)
* Amazon
(http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=%22writers+exchange+e-publishing%22),
* Smashwords
(https://www.smashwords.com/books/search?query=%22writers+exchange+e-publishing%22),
* Barnes & Noble
(http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/-writers-exchange-e-publishing-?store=allproducts&keyword=%22writers+exchange+e-publishing%22)

From Regina's upcoming release, REFLECTIONS of the HEART:

Cascade closed her eyes, willing her mind to imprint the scene on her heart. The mist, the water, the fall foliage, the gazebo...it all created a mosaic that was the picture of her life.

"This is Sterling Lake. This is me. At least, who I used to be."

She opened her eyes and turning the key in the ignition, drove away into the night.

Two hours later, she pulled into the underground parking garage of her condo complex in Boston's trendy Beacon Hill neighborhood. Lively chatter spilled over from the streets outside as she got into the elevator and pushed '10'.

All the way up, images of Sterling Lake swirled in her minds' eye. Bobby Ryan, her first kiss, in the gazebo. Summer band concerts under the stars at the gazebo. The May procession and crowning the statue of the Blessed Mother in the gazebo. Ice skating in the winter, from the gazebo. And most of all, Dan. How had she strayed so far from there?

"It's like Fr. Greene said. I can't run away from who I am."

The elevator doors parted silently and she stepped out.

"Cascade."

She caught her breath. "Dan?"

"I'm here now, Cascade. And I love you forever."

Her eyes searched his face. "After what happened? All that I did?"

"You are amazing, Cascade." His eyes crinkled. "But - human."

Memories of the troubles she had caused swirled through her. "I never meant any harm."

"Amen." His warm arms wrapped her in faith and love.

Follow the links below to read my fellow tourist’s stories. Remember, we all used the same picture and had to limit ourselves to 250 words.

Sue Roebuck at http://worldofgood-gina-blogspot.com
Regina Andrews at http://kayleighmalcolm.blogspot.com/
Kayleigh Malcolm at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Ann-Tracy-Marr/114711658247?ref=hl
 Ann Tracy Marr at http://susanroebuck.com

Summer Blog Hop Wk 2 - Welcome Sue Robuck

(insert cover image)

Hello, I’m Sue Roebuck and I think I can call myself a novelist now my third book, Rising Tide, has been published.

Rising Tide is set in Portugal and is a suspense story with romantic overtones. Some people say I don’t have a “brand” (i.e. I don’t always write the same genre of novel) but I think I do and, for me, Einstein’s quote, “The World will not be destroyed by evil, but by people who watch them without doing anything”. Writing my stories are based on this, which is my way of trying to do something about this evil. The themes of injustice, corruption and unfairness run through my books “Perfect Score”, “Hewhay Hall”, and now “Rising Tide” which is set in Portugal.

You can see the blurb and extract on the publisher’s site:  http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Rising+Tide.

As I said, the story is mostly set in Portugal. Not many people know about this small European country, but - as they say - small is beautiful and it is very special. Cristiano Ronaldo, José Mourinho, Eusebio, Saramago, Fernando Pessoa, Henry the Navigator were all born here. Christopher Columbus offered to sail to the New World for the Portuguese royalty before he went to the Spanish court and he is said to have married a Portuguese girl and parts of their house are on the Portuguese island of Porto Santo still.

The Portuguese people are innovative (for example, they have the world’s most advanced ATM system) and very friendly. And they mostly all speak English.

The village of Luminosa in Rising Tide doesn’t exist but, geographically in my mind, it’s where the red blob is on the map

So the Alentejo is above the Algarve and below Lisbon. It’s an area of outstanding beauty of gently rolling hills, cork oak forests and vineyards. In Rising Tide, the villagers of Luminosa work the land as well as fish both near the coast and well offshore. 

The Alentejo cuisine is varied but relies on locally cultivated ingredients. Beware of the desserts—you’ll gain kilos. 

I hope I’ve “whetted your appetite” for this lovely region and that you’d like to read about it in my book “Rising Tide”. If you’d like to buy the ebook, you can go here:

amazon.com : http://www.amazon.com/Rising-Tide-Susan-Roebuck-ebook/dp/B00Y1I9FDK/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8

amazon.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rising-Tide-Susan-Roebuck-ebook/dp/B00Y1I9FDK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1432467956&sr=8-1&keywords=Rising+Tide+Susan+Roebuck

omnilit: https://www.omnilit.com/product-risingtide-1813241-149.html

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/rising-tide-susan-roebuck/1121969606?ean=2940151503532

The paper back is available on order from all major bookshops. Quote the ISBN number: 978-1-60659-857-3.  OR go to publisher’s site:

http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Rising+Tide

Sue can be found at:

http://www.susanroebuck.com

Facebook: http://www.mundania.com/book.php?title=Rising+Tide

Twitter: @suemonte

~~~

Thank you Sue! And if I can add,,Portugese wines are delicious! It's the home of Port (mmmmmm one of my favourites)

Don't miss out on some more fun on our tour. I'll be over at Sue Robuck's Blog today :) 

Regina Andrews and Ann Tracy Marr are switching homes today too!

The Summer Blog Tour! Week 1

Hello, bloggies. I am Ann Tracy Marr, guest blogger for Kayleigh Malcolm. Although I write Regency romance, my newest book is non-fiction, Dear Cancer. I kept a diary and researched the medical ABC’s while I wrestled with triple negative breast cancer a couple of years ago. You may not be interested in Dear Cancer (if you or someone you know just got diagnosed with breast cancer you might be!), but click over to my website and glance at my Regencies. You may find something you like.

Two Truths and a Lie.  Like Susan Roebuck, I love this game. You tell me, which is the lie?

1. My imagination places ghosts in my houses. The first house I lived in after marrying was still inhabited by an old woman. A bitter alcoholic, she alienated her friends and family and lived like a hermit in the bungalow, not appearing in public for weeks on end. She couldn’t be bothered to say “Hello,” to neighbors. She wanted to be left alone. The final time she made an appearance, it was involuntary; police and ambulance personnel don’t let you say, “Go away.” She died in the hallway, the stairs behind her, two small bedrooms to the right with the bathroom smashed between, and the dining room to the left. Her decaying body was found crumpled, just a smidge away from the telephone. How did I know she was there? She came to me in a dream, wearing a ratty pink chenille housecoat, her gray hair springing up from loosely rolled curlers. “Get out of my house,” she ordered. “It’s my house now,” I replied and rolled over.

Late at night, walking down the stairs, I had to pass through an invisible wall of fog. Always, it was on the third and fourth steps from the bottom of the stairs, with the old-fashioned telephone niche straight ahead. It wasn’t cold and it wasn’t difficult to walk through, but I could feel it and didn’t like it. It didn’t give me goosebumps and it didn’t scare me. I couldn’t see anything and couldn’t prove it wasn’t my imagination, but I didn’t have to like it.

2. I love to imagine what would happen if myths came true. What would life be like if King Arthur and Merlin were history, not just a series of romantic stories? Think of it. Way back, sometime before Richard the Lionheart, Arthur was king of at least part of England. He set up the Round Table and as time went on, that concept became the accepted way to rule a country. No Parliament in Britain, no Congress in America. We would be governed by Round Tables. Knights would rule because they proved they were wise, strong, and ethical by completing quests, not because they were good campaigners or garnered the most advertising money. Maybe a favorite quest would be setting up a really effective charity or devising a compassionate way to deal with feral cats.

Arthur’s history needn’t change the world so much that we don’t recognize it – after all, we don’t pay much attention to Richard the Lion-hearted, so why would we care about the Round Table? – but Merlin was Arthur’s advisor and Merlin had magic. So, if Arthur’s myth can come true, magic would be real. There might still be magic today. Not Penn and Teller’s type, but real magic. I might have a magician living next door. “How cool that would be,” I think, and my imagination revs up.

Since I write about the English Regency, I can create a Regency where King Arthur and Merlin once existed. Their influence would continue. The concept of chivalry would have a life of its own; the world could enjoy a kinder and gentler way of life. I’d populate my romances with magicians and magic, knights and quests.

What would it be like? Would Prinny and Beau Brummel exist? Almack’s? Country house parties for the ton? Why not? Men would have access to more creative swear words than “bloody hell.” They could say, “bloody crystal cave.” Women could call on the Lady of the Lake for protection. Alongside the Foreign Office, a government agency would regulate magic. Balance history and myth and invent an alternate reality. It would add a fillip of excitement to a sometimes tired genre. My imagination sparkles.

3. My imagination is so active that sometimes I dream instead of paying attention to reality. I often do this when I am trying to work out a scene for a book. For example, I was plotting the scene in Keeper of the Grail where the hero and heroine are at a rout held by Lord and Lady Brinston. It was a complicated party: most of the people who figured in the story were in attendance, many things had to happen to fit together all those little sub-plots I had going, and I wanted it to be amusing.

Hungry, but with no desire to assemble a meal, I took myself to the local diner to eat lunch. It was a lovely day, so I sat at a table on the sidewalk, ordered a burger, and began to dream. In my imagination, I was walking around Lord and Lady Brinston’s London townhouse, having my toes stepped on by the elite of the Regency ton, when two men asked if they could sit at my table.  I glanced around; there were a lot of people at the diner and all the tables were full. I smiled, agreed the men were welcome to share my space, and in my mind, handed Sir Sloane Johnston a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Dimly, I heard the two men discussing possible restaurants for dinner; they tossed back and forth the names of the best places in Detroit. Pricy places. Ah, well, I couldn’t make a recommendation. I went back to the Brinston’s party.

That was how I blithely ate lunch with Clint Eastwood. He was in Detroit filming Gran Torino. The scene where he goes into a hardware store was filmed across the street from the diner where I ate lunch. It was that day, that hour, and the diner was full to the brim with gawkers and Hollywood types, so Clint ate lunch at my table. Maybe he appreciated the fact that I ignored his fame. Sadly, no paparazzi snapped a picture to prove my story.

To learn more about this author, visit her website at www.atmarr.com.  You’ll find all her books there. 

Be sure to continue touring our blogs for more fun! 

Regina Andrews (I'm hanging out at Regina's Blog this week) 

Ann Tracy Marr

Susan Roebuck

Biting off more than you can chew....or thinking you're superwoman.

Where's my cape! I really need a cape! No not to help me fly or look super-fly as a superhero, I was thinking more along the lines of hiding under one with a bottle of wine and a box of fudge.



We've all done it. Taken on projects and made decisions that sound great at the time...and they are great ideas but then suddenly you realize that the alligators are up to your ass and getting higher. Oooops...

 It just means I need to focus, *hah* for those who chat with me on FB - you know that I have magpie syndrome....Oh! Shiny.....





This month I'm juggling:

~ Camp NaNoWriMo. Yes, I'm attempting to write at least 50K this month. Actually my goal is 60K. I'd like to have a Black Hills Wolves, 1 Night Stand and my Beyond Fairy Tales books finished and ready for edits by the end of the month.
~ A Three week Blog hop with Regina Andrews, Ann Tracy Marr, and Susan Roebuck
~ Two social media classes that are part of the certificate I'm working on through Algonquin College.
~ A Mystery Knit Along based on "The Once and Future King". This is where I get a single "clue" or part of the pattern every week but I won't know what the finished project will look like until it's done. All I know is it's a lace scarf and I plan to wear it to Philly Author Fest in November.

So far I've managed to keep up...although I admit I'm about 7K behind my writing goals for the month but I'm determined to get to at least 50K and have two books finished.

The cool thing about my college courses is that I'll have to be more active with my blog and keep it up to date for my course, Hopefully I'll develop some good habits in keeping this up to date. *fingers crossed* ;)

I'll still pepper a bit of my day to day life in here but I'd like to start inviting other authors who I enjoy reading and are all around awesome people to guest post here time to time. Also, I used to do the Monthly Picture with Lori King where we'd write a short story based on a single photograph. That was always fun as well.

What would you like to see on here and keep you coming back for more? Bad jokes...I have a plethora of those ;) Blogging has changed so much over the years, what is it that you look for in a blog. Inquiring minds want to know and the comments are open below!