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Archive for 'contemporary romance'
Wednesday, October 21st, 2020
Is anyone in the mood for Christmas yet?
If you’re like a lot of people I know, you might be wishing for 2020 to just end—but don’t skip Christmas! It’s a magical time of year that deserves to be savored and enjoyed!
Little did I know when I set out to write a holiday novel during the summer of 2019—which then got delayed—that it would be so important to release this heartwarming Christmas romance this year. But here we are, living in a world that is a completely different place than it was just nine months ago.
SLEIGH BELLS RING features some special sleigh bells that are tied to the main characters, so I was really excited when I ran across a small company called “Magical Bells” that I just have to mention. Yes, such a company really does exist—and if you feel like your Christmas spirit is depleted, you might want to purchase one of their bells to be replenished and inspired.
The company fashions its bells after the iconic “First Gift of Christmas” featured in the movie Polar Express—and they are faithful in every detail. I ran across Magical Bells when I was searching for a special gift for some of my loyal readers, and these ended up to be a perfect match to go along with the novel SLEIGH BELLS RING. The bells are beautiful, handcrafted, heirloom-quality and you can tell they are truly a labor of love.
I won’t go into detail on the company (you can visit them at magicalbells.com), but it is a family-run business that has a magical love story of its own. Oh, and I may as well mention that they were kind enough to offer a discount to all my readers at the link below. No need to use a coupon, the discount of twenty percent will be taken off automatically when you go to pay.
Back to my novel, which was just released yesterday! SLEIGH BELLS RING is about two best friends growing up who go their separate ways, only to end up on the same ranch at Christmas. It’s a best friend, second chance, cowboy Christmas love story that takes place on a luxury ranch in Montana. If I did my job correctly, it will transport you to a place where holiday traditions are deeply rooted institutions and where love can heal all wounds.
I truly hope that you find things that inspire you and bring you joy during the fast-approaching holiday season—despite the trying times. Sometimes it takes nothing more than to “believe” in a magical bell or to be swept away for a few hours by a book. May happiness and peace surround you!
Here’s to the Magic of Christmas!
Sleigh Bells Ring
Returning to her family’s Montana ranch after a ten-year absence, Jordyn Dunaway pitches in to help her mother create the special holiday magic for which the exclusive ranch is renowned. But when she discovers that her best friend growing up—the man she has never forgotten—is employed as a ranch hand, the holiday season turns into something she never imagined.
Chad Devlin was falling into a deep abyss after being medically discharged from the military. When his old employer invited him back as a ranch hand, he found himself recovering both physically and mentally…that is until he was blindsided by the return of the ranch owner’s daughter.
The rocky relationship of the former best friends takes a back seat as the future of the family-owned ranch is threatened. If Jordyn and Chad don’t put their painful pasts behind them, they might lose the ranch they both call home. Can misunderstandings, mistrust, and lost years be forgotten when the magic of Christmas is in the air?
Find out with the help of beautiful mountain vistas, warm Western hospitality, and the magical meaning of a special sleigh bell that ties both Jordyn and Chad to the past—and the future.
LINKS:
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08GPPRQQR
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1040135?ref=jessicajames
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/sleigh-bells-ring-a-magical-cowboy-christmas-romance/id1529351162?uo=4&mt=11&at=1010lv47
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/sleigh-bells-ring-a-magical-cowboy-christmas-romance
Google: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Jessica_James_Sleigh_Bells_Ring?id=H5j5DwAAQBAJ
Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sleigh-bells-ring-jessica-james/1137551912?ean=2940162758273
All Retailers: https://books2read.com/u/bxnyPl
GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55152871-sleigh-bells-ring
Excerpt from Sleigh Bells Ring Prologue
Chad Devlin leaned one broad shoulder against the porch post of the bunkhouse as a limousine pulled through the elegant arched gateway. “Another guest just arrived for the Christmas gala,” he said to no one in particular.
“Another city slicker you mean.” The man standing beside him sent a slug of tobacco onto the dirt near the steps as the car drove slowly up the gravel driveway to the main house about a hundred yards away.
Chad lifted the hat off his brow and scowled at the brown smudge on the ground, but didn’t say anything. Judd had been warned by Mrs. Dunaway about spitting anywhere he pleased, any number of times. It wasn’t exactly the type of thing that wealthy folks wanted to see when they were getting away from it all on this high-priced luxury ranch in the middle-of-nowhere, Montana. And it wasn’t behavior that one would expect from a man who was in charge of dozens of ranch hands.
With his eyes glued on the woman getting out of the car, Chad took a step forward, causing the coffee in his mug to slurp over the top. “Is that Jordyn Dunaway?”
Judd let out a whistle as the long-legged blonde accepted the suitcase handed to her by the driver. “I’ve only seen pictures.” Judd leaned forward and squinted as if to lessen the distance between them. “You know her?”
Chad grew silent and merely shrugged, angry that he’d expressed any emotion and let down his guard. He hadn’t seen Jordyn Dunaway since she’d left for a job in New York City more than a decade ago. Was that really her? Had she really come back home after all this time?
The woman paused on the porch and swept the golden tumble of hair off her shoulders, an action that flaunted a regal confidence and elegant poise. Chad mumbled under his breath as another splash of hot coffee breached the top of the trembling mug, burning his hand.
Trying to slow the pace of his heart, Chad looked away and took a deep breath. Would Jordyn remember their last night together? Would she even remember him after traveling around the world and being away from the ranch for so long?
His gaze went back to the main house, but the door had already closed behind her.
Squeezing his temples, Chad tried to stop the memories. He even closed his eyes in a futile attempt to block the images that were branded in his mind as the best—and the worst—moments of his life.
Tagged: contemporary romance, cowboys, excerpt, Guest Blogger, Western Posted in General | 2 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Delilah - Jessica James -
Tuesday, October 20th, 2020
Download your FREE copy of the latest Love in Lockdown short story!
Reina Torres is back with another installment of her series, SUBLET! If you haven’t read the first and second parts—no worries! She’s combined all three in this installment to make it easy for you.
Enjoy! And have you subscribed to this blog? You might want to do that so you don’t miss a single story! More are on the way!
In a nutshell, this is what SUBLET is all about…
What happens when two exes have to live in an apartment built for one?
Follow this link!
Tagged: contemporary romance, COVID-19, Guest Blogger, isolation Posted in About books..., Free Read, New Release | Someone Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Delilah -
Monday, October 19th, 2020
UPDATE: The winner is…Buttonsmom!
*~*~*
One thing 2020 has done is to force everyone to examine our living environments. Staying at home for long periods of time will do that. I suspect when we look back on 2020 we will see mass migrations of people. Maybe they should have waited until 2021 to hold a census.
My husband and I decided not to wait any longer on a dream we’ve had. So, we are beginning the next chapter in our lives and will be moving into the motorhome we just bought and we will be going full-time. I will soon be writing from the road as we travel. Our house is on the market as I type this, and the second showing is tomorrow. Things are moving fast! And I am excited!
Our new home is a 2010 Tiffin Allegro bus. It’s a forty-three-foot motorhome with a residential size fridge, a dishwasher, microwave/convection oven combo, an induction stovetop, a washer and dryer, bath and a half, desk with computer set up, and a couch with hide-a-bed. Oh, my goodness it is huge. There are three different places I can set up with my laptop. So, I will be in writers heaven. Especially if we can park the motorhome somewhere near a beach.
I will be writing about full-time RV living on my blog https://beautifuldaytraveler.wordpress.com/ And I will share videos of our travels over on my YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/DebraParmleyRomance.
What about the books, you ask? Here is a sneak peek of the cover for Montana Delta Rescue which will be out in Dec. All these housing changes forced me to push the release back a bit. But once I am RVing full time I will have more time to write.
Since you are all having to wait on the next book, for a Halloween treat, 12 of my eBooks are just 99 cents on Amazon through Oct 31st here: https://www.amazon.com/Debra-Parmley/e/B002BM9H4A%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share
And I will give away one eBook to a lucky commenter, if you comment below.
Have you ever traveled in an RV? If you were to travel in an RV where would you like to go? What would you want to see? And if you love Halloween as much as I do, what is your favorite part about the holiday? I love seeing the children in their costumes. That is my favorite part. Happy Halloween and happy reading!
Debra
www.debraparmley.com
Tagged: contemporary romance, Guest Blogger, romantic suspense Posted in Contests!, General | 7 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Colleen C. - Debra Guyette - ButtonsMom2003 - bn100 - Mary McCoy -
Sunday, October 18th, 2020
I’m late posting today. So, I thought I’d just pop in and share the cover for my upcoming story, Preacher.
Actually, this was the first version, but I wasn’t quite happy with it, so I asked for a change. Tell me what you think…
Tagged: bounty hunter, contemporary romance, Montana Bounty Hunters, romantic suspense Posted in About books..., Cover Reveal | 9 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: Reina Torres - Debra Guyette - Delaine McLafferty - Laura - Colleen C. -
Wednesday, October 14th, 2020
Hi! My name is Bernadette Jones, and I write romantic suspense.
I’m also one of seven authors in the Aspen Gold Series.
Last time, we talked about the hard work of writing in a multi-author continuity series—how we are building the town and how each author is creating their set of characters. I told you we had 320 characters. Well, as of this month we have 340. Remember, we have six authors all writing new stories and all growing the town—it can all progress quite quickly.
My first book started with Hunter Jakob Lawe, one of the grandsons of the town patriarch. He made friends that now surround his personal family nucleus. Cheryl St.John started with the Cavanaugh cousins. Each of the authors is gradually forming their own entourage of characters, but we all meet up in the town of Spencer at the bank, grocery store, coffee shop or saloon.
We call our town / character playbook the “Aspen Gold Series Bible”. This is a conglomeration of Word and Excel documents. There is an Excel sheet with every character that has been named, which author “owns” the character, and what book they appeared in. Because we are trying not to have ten John Doe’s, we have filters to separate the list alphabetically by characters’ first name, and another one sorting last name as a quick reminder not to repeat names. We also have a document listing all the children, their ages and when they were introduced or born. It has been over a year since we started and we are having babies!
There are also characters we all use. In an effort to not have six grocery stores or gas stations, we have a list of shared characters, their occupations and business names. We have policemen, firemen, a sheriff and deputies, bankers and construction companies. We also keep track of our resident bad guys and troublemakers.
Confused yet?
If you want the real low down on the town, the first six Ebooks in the series will be free at Amazon, October 12 – October 16. Come discover Spencer, where our characters find inspiration, passion, love, and for many, a new home.
Lonely Eyes
There is an art to pursuit.
Keira is running out of time. The handsome stranger with a dragon tattoo says he can keep her safe, but he doesn’t know the demons on her trail… Will her mysterious past lead her to escape, or drag her back to living hell?
Owen Strong has suffered tragedy, but he’s made a new family in Spencer, Colorado—one he will protect at all costs. When he finds determined Keira Hoa, she rouses more than just trouble. Looking into her lonely eyes, he sees that everyone’s in danger.
But she’s come to the right place. He’s the monster hunter.
Get your copy here!
About Bernadette Jones
Romantic Suspense Writer, Never Give Up-er,
First Wives Club-er, Lifelong Dream Achiever & Mom
Bernadette Jones has been making up stories since she learned to read on her daddy’s lap. She has imagined casts of characters everywhere she’s called home: Texas, Oregon, Washington, South Dakota, Nebraska, Illinois, Massachusetts, and now New York.
Books and music filled her life as she, her dad and two brothers traveled the country. She would sit in the back seat of the car—her older brother always got to ride shotgun—listening to the current music on the radio, looking out the window and spinning a story based on a phrase she’d heard in the lyrics. As you can imagine, traveling the country, the music changed from state to state, as did the stories. To this day, she enjoys a wide variety of music and book genres.
After a career in corporate writing, she’s decided to settle down and put pen to paper doing what she loves. Living the dream in her NYC apartment with her canine companion, she’s bringing her stories and characters to life.
You can find Bernadette at:
https://www.bernadettejones.com/
https://www.bernadettejones.com/newsletters
https://www.facebook.com/BernadetteJonesAuthor/
Tagged: contemporary romance, Guest Blogger, romantic suspense Posted in Free Read, General | Someone Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: flchen1 -
Tuesday, October 13th, 2020
Book #5 in my Cowboys on the Edge series is here! If you didn’t know, I named the series that odd name because the town of Caldera (fictional!) sits on the rim of a canyon. Lawless is the 5th book, but it can be read as a standalone. Yes, if you’ve read previous stories, you’ll see other people who’ve had their own stories pop up. Plus, you’ll meet people you might want to see get their own stories. If you read Lawless, let me know whose story you’d like next!
These cowboy stories are sexier than my Montana Bounty Hunters. Just so you know. And yes, there’s plenty of humor, sexy times, and a fun HEA at the end. I hope you’ll pick up your copy today!
Lawless
When a Texas deputy’s motorcycle club trashes a bar with him leading the brawl, the sheriff decides his punishment will be serving as the bouncer/enforcer for the pretty owner while she runs a booth serving bikers during a weekend-long motorcycle club convention.
Get your copy here!
Tagged: contemporary romance, cowboys, erotic romance, Texas, Western Posted in About books..., New Release | Comments Off on My Bad-Boy Deputy is here!!! | Link
Saturday, October 10th, 2020
UPDATE: The winners are all 8 commenters!
*~*~*
Lawless comes out next Tuesday! Well, Monday night just after midnight! Can you tell I’m excited?
If you want to read the opening scene of Lawless, you can check it out here! I had a blast writing it. The story is very sexy, funny, and has a bit of danger to keep you worried about the heroine and let you enjoy the sigh-worthy kiss when her deputy comes to her rescue. Not that she needs a lot of help! Be warned, there are lots of sexy bits in this story. I just can’t help myself when it comes to cowboys. 🙂
Lawless
Come on, baby. Break a few rules…
When a Texas deputy’s motorcycle club trashes a bar with him leading the brawl, the sheriff decides his punishment will be serving as the bouncer/enforcer for the pretty owner while she runs a booth serving bikers during a weekend-long motorcycle club convention.
Get your copy here!
For a chance to win your choice of one of these Cowboys
on the Edge stories, answer me this!
Do you love cowboys who are also firefighters and lawmen?
(Click on a cover if you’d like to learn more!)
Tagged: contemporary romance, cowboys, erotic romance, excerpt, Texas, Western Posted in About books..., New Release | 9 People Said | Link
Last 5 people who had something to say: flchen1 - Jennifer Beyer - ButtonsMom2003 - Mary McCoy - Delilah -
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