It's been a while. My poor old blog hasn't gotten a whole lot of love the past few months. I've been working, but not taking that moment to savor my accomplishments, or honestly, to even think about what I've been working toward.

Focusing on staying positive isn't always the easiest thing to do, but necessary. My parents didn't raise me to be negative and it grates my soul like nutmeg on a superfine shredder.

So here I am, thinking only good things of my chosen profession. This quote spoke to me about continuing to work toward the goal. Today, that's enough for me.

​​Happy Monday everyone. 

I'm so happy for my friend, A.S. Fenichel. She has a lovely, lovely cover for the newest book in the Forever Brides Series. I could look at this cover for days. Congrats, A.S.

Blurb
​Sadly ever after. . . unless some dreams really do come true?
Elinor Burkenstock never believed in fairy tales. Sure, she’s always been a fool for love—what woman isn’t? But Elinor knows the difference between fiction and truth. Daydreams and reality. True love and false promises. . . . Until the unthinkable happens, and Elinor’s engagement is suddenly terminated and no one, least of all her fiancé, will tell her why.
Sir Michael Rollins’s war-hero days seem far behind him when, after onelast hurrah before his wedding, he gets shot and his injuries leave him in dire shape. He wants nothing more than to marry Elinor, the woman of his wildest dreams. But Elinor’s father forbids it . . . and soon Michael is faced with a desperate choice: Spare Elinor a life with a broken man or risk everything to win her heart—until death do they part?

Preorder buy link:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo 

About the Author:
 
A.S. Fenichel gave up a successful career in New York City to follow her husband to Texas and pursue her lifelong dream of being a professional writer. She’s never looked back.
 
A.S. adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story.
 
Look for her on the Historical or Paranormal Romance shelves. A.S. is the author of The Demon Hunters series, The End of Days Trilogy, Wishing Game, and more. A.S. will be bringing you her brand of edgy romance for years to come.
 
Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey, and now lives in the East Texas with her real life hero, her wonderful husband. When not reading or writing she enjoys cooking, travel, history, and puttering in her garden. Her babies are both rescues and include; a demanding dog and a temperamental cat, both bring constant joy and laughter.
 
 
A.S. loves connecting with readers. Here’s where you can find her.
 
Web Site- http://asfenichel.com/
 
Blog - http://asfenichel.com/blog/
 
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/A.S.Fenichel
 
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5154640.A_S_Fenichel
 
Twitter - https://twitter.com/asfenichel
 
Google +1 - https://plus.google.com/113195747154467378107/posts
 
Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/asfenichel/boards/
​

School age kids in my neighborhood head back to school this week. Already?! Seems like just yesterday the HOA dudes were filling the swimming pool. How can a new school year be starting already? 
​Today, as I realize how time is speeding by, I'm taking a moment to remind everyone to slow down on the roads. Especially around bus pick up and drop off times. As kids head to the bus stops, everyone should be aware they are out there, mostly innocent (come on, we all know there are some mischievous kids waiting with all the sweet ones), and excited (or maybe not) to head back to school and hang out with their friends. So be aware, and have a care. 

I hope your Monday doesn't need a restraining order, but is filled with only good things.

My good friend, Juliette Cross has a new release in her Vale of Stars series. Dragon In The Blood is such a masterful work of fantasy in the land of Morgons (super sexy dragon shifters). The world Juliette has created is so real, and filled with characters who come to life on the page. I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this and have already left a review for it. I'll post it here for your convenience. 
To celebrate this release, Juliette is giving away a $25 gift card. Be sure to enter on the Rafflecopter link below.

​I'm just gonna say you'll be doing yourself a favor to go grab a copy for yourself. Seriously.

Oh- one last thing: Be sure to sign up for Juliette's newsletter. She is including free short stories based on her secondary characters. You're gonna love them!

​Dragon in the Blood
Vale of Stars
Book Two
Juliette Cross
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Date of Publication: July 26, 2016
ASIN: B01FNI7L1E
Word Count: 72K
Cover Artist: Kanaxa
 
Book Description:
 
When desire bites, there’s no patience for a slow burn.
 
While all seems quiet in Gladium Province, the Morgon Guard—the global justice force for the dragon hybrid race—knows their enemy is rebuilding its forces in the underground.
 
Valla Moonring, an assassin for the Order of the Morgon Guard, is ordered on a mission into the Wastelands of Aria—a formidable, icy wilderness fraught with all manner of dangers, including outlaws, deadly weather, and big-game predators.
 
To her great distaste, she’s partnered with a Nightwing Security operative, Conn Rowanflame, a Morgon with the aggravating ability to get under her skin. While she takes her mission seriously, Conn’s confident charm throws her off balance, a dangerous place to be in conditions like these. Especially when cold nights require close contact.
 
Sensual attraction binds them ever closer, igniting a passion of unexpected force—the soulfire. But when the hunters become the hunted, their bond could prove perilous. Even fatal…

Buy The Book
Amazon

Tour Giveaway
​Enter to Win a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
​(You can buy lots of books with that!)

My Review:
I was so excited to re-enter the Morgon world and I wasn't disappointed by Juliette Cross's new release. The author is so gifted at creating a realistic setting, she makes it seem entirely possible that dragons really do exist. 

Valla and Conn have been charged with undertaking a fact finding mission through the frigid, desolate land of Aria. Their trip is full of discoveries about the nature of the dragons abducting human women to use as slaves and sacrifices. They also uncover a group of brigand dragons who might not be as criminal as they seem. And along the way, they discover an attraction to one another so incredibly strong, the only thing they can do to lessen the burn of desire for each other is to exchange soulfire, a mating ritual that bonds them for life. A perfect set up in an romance. Except Valla, a badass Morgon Guard Assasine, really doesn't want to depend on a Morgon man for anything.

I loved Conn's gentle, calm pursuit of Valla. He recognizes her as his mate, as does every other person around them. Valla seems to be the only one not aware of how brightly his flame burns for her. Or hers for his.

Cross's description of the world and the battles undertaken by Conn and Valla are exquisite. She has a gift for plunging a reader into the story, and holding onto their attention and their heart until the characters achieve their happily ever after. Although this is book two in the series, it reads as a stand alone. I loved Dragon in the Blood and would highly recommend it to anyone.
​

​About the Author:
Juliette lives in lush, moss-laden Louisiana where she lives with her husband, four kids, and black lab, Kona. Multi-published author of paranormal and urban fantasy romance, she loves reading and writing brooding characters, mysterious settings, persevering heroines, and dark, sexy heroes. From the moment she read JANE EYRE as a teenager, she fell in love with the Gothic romance. Even then, she not only longed to read more novels set in Gothic worlds, she wanted to create her own.
 
You can discover more of Juliette and her books on her website.
Website: https://www.juliettecross.com/ 
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Juliette-Cross/e/B00MQ18Z1W/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/juliettecrossauthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Juliette__Cross
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/crossjuliette/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7795664.Juliette_Cross
Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/XeKIn
 

The Set Up: Lia Thanos has to explain to Ben Jordan that she is a Muse and what that means for him.

He hesitated a moment. After a quick frown at his computer monitor, he leaned forward and propped his elbows on his knees. “So all of that last night was real?” He kept his gaze on her face but raised his brows.

Goddess, she didn’t want to dash his hopes, but it was inevitable. She nodded. “One hundred percent, straight up from the you-can’t-make-this-shit-up files.”

Humor flickered in his eyes, but was quickly buried in favor of a more skeptical expression. “Better start at the beginning. Tell me about being a Muse.”

“I’m first came into existence in the sixth century. BC that is.” At the moment she felt every one of those years. “I am one of nine sisters endowed with the ability to inspire mortals. We each have our own specialty. Mine is comedy, and I have a twin, Melpomene, who inspires drama.” She shifted in her seat to get more comfortable. “I have some sub-specialties, like architecture and agriculture. Most of the great advancements in any of those fields are a result of my influence.”

“Example?”

Her stomach rumbled and she eyed the waste bin holding the last of her funnel cake. “Without my guidance, Jerry Seinfeld would still be working as a waiter in Brooklyn.” The episode where George dug a bear claw from the trash had been her idea, and one she was seriously contemplating re-enacting right now. “Also, Gregor Mendel would never have begun experimenting with plant genetics without a push from me.” Her belly growled again and she pressed her hand to it.

Ben reached into a small refrigerator next to his desk, pulled out a piece of fruit, and tossed it to her.

She snagged it mid-air. “Thanks.” Sweet flavor exploded in her mouth as she bit into the flesh of the apple.

While she chewed, he watched with a heated gaze. He cleared his throat before he spoke. “So you’ve been alive for what—eight thousand years?” His husky tone belied his direct, uncompromising stare.

I hope you enjoyed this excerpt. I'll be back with more next week. Thanks for reading!
​

Reprinted from The Summer Of Love Books blog.

Who are we and what is this? We’re a group of romance writers who want to share our love of romance! Last year, we came up with the idea to give away a summer of love to a few lucky winners and we had so much fun we decided to do the giveaway again this year.

This year, we’ll have two Grand Prize winners, each of whom gets a book a week to last from Memorial Day to Labor Day. That’s 16 books for each Grand Prize winner—an entire summer’s worth of love and passion. If you don’t win the Grand Prize, you’ll have a second chance: We’re also giving away 1 print book to each of five other lucky winners! But that’s not all. Each day the contest runs, we’ll randomly draw a winner for one of seven daily prizes, including Amazon gift cards, a beach tote filled with summer fun, and a Kindle Fire!

The contest opens on May 1 and ends May 7, 2016. The winners will be drawn randomly, and we’ll let winners know as soon after May 10 as we can that they’ve won. Prizes will be shipped as soon as we hear from all the winners and can get to the post office (no later than May 23, 2016 – promise!)

Please read the full Contest Rules for all the legal stuff.

To enter, go to the Enter the Contest! link, and provide your information using the entry form there. Your entry adds you to the contest hopper and signs you up for Jennifer Lawler’s newsletter. J Law writes romances under three pen names, and she wants a little love for all this effort. You can improve your odds of winning by entering more than once, but the only way you can enter more than once is to give another romance author a little love, and you can do that by following the directions on the Enter the Contest! page. You can sign up for other newsletters or follow a blog—and each action gives you another entry into the contest.

On the right-hand navigation menu on the site, you’ll find all the authors who are participating in this giveaway, plus information about their books. Click the picture below to hop to the site and enter. Enjoy!

 I am so excited to wish a happy book birthday to my dear friend, and fellow KickAss Chick, Kyra Jacobs. Dragons Among Them released today from Samhain Publishing and is an amazing book about dragons (I love a good story about dragons and Zane is a hot, hot, HOT incarnation), and the woman who stumbles (literally) into their world. 
Want to know more? Read on:


Book Title:                Dragons Among Them
Series Name:            Kingdoms of Fire and Ice
Series Number:        1
Author:                      Kyra Jacobs  
Publisher:                  Samhain Publishing
ISBN13:                     978-1-61923-440-6
Publication Date:     April 19th 2016
 
 

Two worlds. One unstoppable passion. A fiery secret that could destroy them all.
 
Blurb:
 
Kingdoms of Fire and Ice, Book 1
 
Prince Zayne Godfrey, heir to Edana’s throne, is betrothed to the lone princess of rival kingdom Forath. While his heart is not in the arranged marriage, he will do his royal duty.
 
When he finds a beautiful stranger cornered by a pack of wolves, he doesn’t hesitate to shift into his golden dragon form to save her. She thanks him by taking one look at him and fainting dead away.
 
Photographer Adelaide Miller is in England for a career-making shoot when a bizarre jogging mishap lands her in a dangerous, medieval-like world of royals, wizards and dragon-shifting men. Her first instinct is to find her way back, but the fire-breathing prince intent on protecting her threatens to melt her heart.
 
Zayne’s burning passion for Adelaide not only jeopardizes the fragile peace between two kingdoms, it uncovers a ruthless plot to destroy his family. Remaining together may change Adelaide’s very definition of home—and expose one searing secret that could forever shift the balance of power in Zayne’s world.
 
Goodreads: http://bitly.com/Dat1GR

Buy The Book:
Samhain: http://bitly.com/Dat1Sam
Amazon: http://bitly.com/Dat1Amazon
B&N: http://bitly.com/Dat1BN
iTunes: http://bitly.com/Dat1iTunes
Kobo: http://bitly.com/Dat1Kobo

Excerpt:
 
Zayne watched with amusement as Addie’s crystalline gaze flashed to the odd slippers dangling from his fingers, then slowly shifted to his face. Even here, in the shadows, the sight of her took his breath away. Emeline insisted the girl was nothing more than a peasant sent into the woods as bait to lure him into a Forathian snare. But no peasant he had ever encountered possessed skin so perfect or golden hair so smooth and long. She rose to stand before him, her pale skin angelic in the moonlight, and the scent of wildflowers and honey nipped at his senses. His gaze trailed uninhibited over her trim yet supple body, dressed once again in nothing but her unusual yet gloriously minimal undergarments.
An angel in devil’s clothing.
“What are you doing with my shoes?” Her voice was low and unsteady.
Shoes? What an odd word. He held up her slippers and fought to keep a smirk from his face. “These? Why, holding them, my lady, nothing more. I feared for your safety and so removed them from your path.”
“Uh-huh.” The blonde vixen’s eyes narrowed. “You knew I was awake?”
“Aye. You blushed when I touched your cheek. I knew it would be but a matter of time before you magically awoke.”
“And yet you let Emeline leave,” she said. “Why?”
“Perhaps I wanted to have you all to myself for a moment.”
Her eyes widened a fraction. Addie took a step back, sucked in a sharp breath and quickly took another. “I see.”
She shifted her gaze from his and swept it across the room toward its lone window, feigning interest in the chamber’s furnishings. She was bold, this one. Perhaps that was why he felt inexplicably drawn to her. The feeling was both new and infuriating at the same time.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” he said. “Even if you survived the fall, there are things lurking in the neighboring woods far more dangerous than I.”
Her gaze shifted back to him. “Look, I don’t know who you are or how I got here, but if you’ll give me my shoes, I’ll be out of your hair in no time.”
“But you are not in my hair.” He took a step forward and wished very much that she was. “Nor am I quite ready to let you go.”
​

About The Author
Kyra Jacobs is an extroverted introvert who writes of love, humor and mystery in the Midwest and beyond. When this Hoosier native isn’t pounding out scenes for her next book, she's likely outside, elbow-deep in snapdragons or spending quality time with her sports-loving family. Kyra also loves to read, tries to golf, and is an avid college football fan. Be sure to stop by her website www.KyraJacobs.wordpress.com to learn more about her novels and ways connect with her on social media.
 
Author Links:
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/KyraJacobsBooks
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/KyraJacobsBooks
Website:  http://www.KyraJacobs.wordpress.com
Blog:  http://www.IndianaWonderer.wordpress.com
Goodreads:  http://www.goodreads.com/Kyra_Jacobs

Welcome to the 4.5.16 installment of Romance Writers Weekly blog hop.If you are joining me from Brenda Margriet's blog, welcome. Brenda wrote an amazing short story called _The Life She Had Before and released it in January.
​This week's challenge comes from Carrie Elks, author of Fix You, Coming Down and just releasing on Thursday, April 7, Canada Square. Carrie asked a very thought provoking question - If we were to make any new resolutions, what would they be?

I had one resolution at the beginning of the year.
I wanted to find Balance in my life. Now, I'd just renew that resolution, and add a codicil to it that I will try harder. It is nearly impossible to decide the exact amount of time I should spend on my job as an author, versus the time I spend with my family and friends. I don't have a time clock to punch and to be honest, this writer/author gig is a 24/7 affair. I use the word affair because I really love my job. But I love my husband as well, so I need to make an effort to step away from the laptop more often. So I guess my resolution is to work 8 hours like normal people and then punch my imaginary time clock and relax with my husband. 
​Yeah, I'll just keep it simple.

My dear friend and writing warrior partner, A.S. Fenichel is up next on today's hop. The latest book in her Demon Hunters series, Betrayal is on sale for only 99¢ at the moment. If your resolution was to treat yourself to more books, or just read more often, grab this one. I loved it, and I hope you will as well.

I've told you mine, what new resolution would you set?

I believe this would make an excellent tattoo someday. I don't have any, but if I was going to get one, I'd choose these words. I frequent talk about putting on my Pollyanna hat, and putting a positive spin on a bad situation. Growing up, I remember hearing the saying, when life hands you lemons, make lemonade. As an adult, I might be inclined to add a little vodka, but that's not the story here.
​
It doesn't cost a thing to smile at a stranger, to hold open a door at the grocery for the mother wrangling two toddlers. It only costs pennies to pay for coffee for the next man in line at the coffee shop drive up. One of my favorite ways to brighten someone's day is to invite my neighbors to cut lilacs from the six bushes we have growing on the side of our house. 

I challenge you as you live through this week to be the rainbow. Brighten someone's day. I hope this post has brightened yours.

I'm a writer (you may have already known that). I have the ability to use my words to tell a story that can make you laugh, or cry, or fall in love with the characters in my mind. The right order, the right emotion, just the right note with my words can do wonders.

That's why I believe words like sexist, or feminist, are the wrong words to use in this century. I'd prefer to be called a Humanist. One person, in favor of equality for all humans, regardless of gender, race, creed or sexual orientation. 

One of the reasons I picked this topic for today's Take A Moment Monday post is because the headlines lately seem to be all about hurtful words. There have been lots of news stories lately about name calling and personal attacks (thanks a lot all you political candidates), stories of trash talking sports figures, and now this latest story I read on CBSNews.com this morning. The CEO of the Indian Wells Tennis Tournament made some ill-considered remarks about the women in the WTA. That female athletes ride the coattails of male players. 

Read the words from his interview, and the response from one of the greatest athletes in the sport, quite possibly the world, Serena Williams.
Read the whole story here

​Here's a snippet of what Serena said in response to the gentleman's opinion (and let me just say he has a right to express said opinion. The first amendment guarantees that).
​

Now, how about a look at something a more informed man has to say about sexism and feminism...Justin Trudeau, Canada's Prime Minister.
​

So that's my #TakeAMomentMonday thought. Let's all go out and be humanists. The world will be a better place for it.