Love takes you to unexpected places
Krista Lopez has traveled from the white sands of Boracay Island to the bright lights of New York City for love. Once again out of her element, Krista embraces Carpe diem as a motto. With her boyfriend by her side, she has confidence to take on The Big Apple and the prospect of …
Meeting the Parents
Blake Ryan won the approval of his girlfriend’s conservative family when they met in the Philippines. Now, he’s eager to introduce the woman he loves to his Irish-American clan. To share his past with her as he prepares to ask her to be part of his future. But an urgent call in the middle of the night reminds him that things can change …
In a New York Minute
A terrible crime and his family’s mixed reception of Krista conspire to derail their plans for a stress-free vacation. Will the circumstances cool Krista and Blake’s romance? Or will they seize the day and strengthen their bond?
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To my husband, B, and our son, Stevie, for always inspiring and supporting me.
To my editor, Linda Hill, for giving me proper guidance. This could have gone so differently if you didn’t show me the way.
To Trish Smith, for brainstorming the plot with me.
To my high school kabarkada, Dr. Love Mariano and Grace Soriano, for the expert medical consult.
To my Beta Readers: Milly Bellegris, Gena Gilliam, Sue Schober, and Violet Olivo, for your invaluable input. They improved my story tremendously.
To my cover artist, Lucy Rhodes, for finding Krista in New York. I adore working with you. You’re so spot on and we’re super in-sync. I always look forward to our working chats.
To Tessa Dare, for giving me the idea for Krista’s back story.
Krista Lopez, with her American boyfriend Blake Ryan, goes from the white sands and blue waters of Boracay Island to the bright lights and majestic skyscrapers of New York City.
From white bikini to red winter coat.
From sun to snow.
It’s important for me to show that NEW YORK ENGAGEMENT is a continuation of Krista and Blake’s romance and I believe the cover delivers completely. It certainly looks like the same girl on the cover. The hat, and the way she holds, it is an excellent identifier. The fonts, the colors, and the composition are all in sync with my Carpe Diem Chronicles brand.
Like the grotto in Boracay, The Empire State building is easily recognizable as a symbol of New York City. There was never any question that it would be on the cover of any book I write that is set in The Big Apple.
Many thanks to Render Compose for finding Krista once again and for being so easy to work with. This cover was done in only a couple of days – another quick turnaround considering my designer is in Australia and I’m in the USA. Thanks, Lucy.
I hope y’all like the cover of NEW YORK ENGAGEMENT as much as I do and grab a copy for yourself. .
Harmon General is book two in the WWII historical fiction series entitled Misfits and Millionaires—set in Longview, Texas. The novel picks up about two months after the story line in The Big Inch ended.
Familiar characters and locations get a shot of adrenaline from the biological hazard espionage going on at the U.S. Army’s new medical hospital treating diseased and wounded soldiers—a 156-acre pop campus created as part of a master plan to place U.S. Army hospitals around Texas specializing in long-term wound care for WWII soldiers. The Office of Strategic Services has one of its best agents in place as a nurse at Harmon General—Sgt. Emmie Tesco—and she’s soon up to her blood pressure cuff in intrigues at the hospital campus, particularly the mission to stop a culprit code-named “Dr. Death” who is accused of skewing the malaria test protocols being established at Harmon so that no one will notice him preparing to sell the malaria research to the enemies of the Allies. Heroes and villains circulate in Longview from the post at Harmon General, and Emmie ropes Lane Mercer into helping manage the overload of responsibilities. Readers of The Big Inch will better understand what drives Emmie Tesco and why poking at old wounds can be a messy affair. The backstory of Lane Mercer and her first husband gets a brutal airing too, and stakes grow dangerous for Lane and Zeke Hayes as the plans they’d wanted for their wedding are upended by well-meaning, Aunt Edith.
PRESENTING THE COVER
OF HARMON GENERAL
PRAISE FOR HARMON GENERAL:
“The war that changed the world brought the world to East Texas through Harmon General, a significant US Army hospital that treated thousands of wounded soldiers in Longview. In Harmon General, we meet again Lane Mercer, a World War II heroine, and we enjoy again how the drama of her secret service to the nation and her complicated personal relationships pull us into the vast impact of the world war.” –Dale Lunsford, Ph.D., President, LeTourneau University
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kimberly Fish started writing professionally with the birth of her second child and the purchase of a home computer. Having found this dubious outlet, she then entered and won The Writer’s League of Texas manuscript contest which fed her on-going fascination with story crafting. She has since published in magazines, newspapers, and online formats and in January 2017, released the first novel in the Misfits and Millionaires series set during the World War II years in Longview, Texas—The Big Inch. Her second book, Comfort Plans, was published later that same year. She lives with her family in East Texas.
The steamy Chicago Rebels series returns with this racy and sassy tale of embittered hearts, second chances, and going for the goal—on and off the ice.
Violet Vasquez never met her biological father, so learning he left his beloved hockey franchise—the Chicago Rebels—to her is, well, unexpected. Flat broke and close to homeless, Violet is determined to make the most of this sudden opportunity. Except dear old dad set conditions that require she takes part in actually running the team with the half-sisters she barely knows. Working with these two strangers and overseeing a band of hockey-playing lugs is not on her agenda…until she lays eyes on the Rebels captain and knows she has to have him.
Bren St. James has been labeled a lot of things: the Puck Prince, Lord of the Ice, Hell’s Highlander…but it’s the latest tag that’s making headlines: washed-up alcoholic has-been. This season, getting his life back on track and winning the Cup are his only goals. With no time for relationships—except the fractured ones he needs to rebuild with his beautiful daughters—he’s finding it increasingly hard to ignore sexy, all-up-in-his-beard Violet Vasquez. And when he finds himself in need of a nanny just as the playoffs are starting, he’s faced with a temptation he could so easily get hooked on.
For two lost souls, there’s more on the line than just making the best of a bad situation… there might also be a shot at the biggest prize of all: love.
REVIEW:
What a marvelous ending to such a fantastic series. Kate Meader’s Chicago Rebels books have been consistently amazing from the start with the prequel In Skates Trouble all the way down to the last Hooked On You. I have enjoyed reading about this team–this wonderful mishmash of a multicultural family–so much that I cried at the end. I will miss these characters, they have hooked me in and I’m finding it hard to let go. I might have to reread the whole series from the top.
Violet and Bren. I’ve been looking forward to their story since Irresistible You and Hooked On You delivered big time. They danced around each other for a whole season until finally, there was no fighting their feelings anymore. Their interactions are snappy, sweet, sexy, highly satisfying, and swoon-worthy. I laughed, I teared up, had a lump in my throat many times. I knew they’ll end up together, but man, did Kate make them work for it. I loved, loved, loved that they both have their demons to conquer and they each vanquished them individually, but with the thought of the other as inspiration when they claimed the victory.
Kate did a fabulous job of wrapping up the series, tying up all storylines from previous books while still keeping Violet and Bren at the center of Hooked On You. All the characters appeared and although I will forever be in love with Remy DuPre, I have room for everybody else in my heart: Harper, Isobel and Vadim, Dante and Cade, Addison and Ford, Erik, and Bren’s adorable daughters – Franky and Cat.
With themes of family, redemption, acceptance, and always, LOVE, Hooked On You and the Chicago Rebels should appeal to everyone. Oh, and there’s hockey, too. Five Stanley-Cup-winning stars for me.
DON’T MISS THE OTHER BOOKS IN THE CHICAGO REBELS SERIES!
Originally from Ireland, USA Today bestselling author Kate Meader cut her romance reader teeth on Maeve Binchy and Jilly Cooper novels, with some Harlequins thrown in for variety. Give her tales about brooding mill owners, oversexed equestrians, and men who can rock an apron or a fire hose, and she’s there. Now based in Chicago, she writes sexy contemporary romance with alpha heroes and strong heroines who can match their men quip for quip.
Genre: Historical Fiction / 20th Century / Literary
Publisher: Lake Union Press
Date of Publication: May 1, 2018
Number of Pages: 384
Scroll down for the giveaway!
Hearts and dreams evolve in the shadow of the once-magnificent Penn Station.
Vera Keller, the daughter of German immigrants in turn-of-the-century New York City, finds her life upended when the man she loves becomes engaged to another woman. But Angelo Bellavia has also inadvertently opened up Vera’s life to unexpected possibilities. Angelo’s new wife, Pearl, the wealthy daughter of a clothing manufacturer, has defied her family’s expectations by devoting herself to the suffrage movement. In Pearl, Vera finds an unexpected dear friend…and a stirring new cause of her own. But when Pearl’s selfless work pulls her farther from Angelo and their son, the life Vera craved is suddenly within her reach—if her conscience will allow her to take it. Her choice will define not only her future but also that of her daughter, Alice.
Vera and Alice—a generation and a world apart—are bound by the same passionate drive to fulfill their dreams. As first mother and then daughter come of age in a city that is changing as rapidly as its skyline, they’ll each discover that love is the only constant.
PRAISE FOR THE WAY OF BEAUTY:
“The Way of Beauty is a thing of beauty. The writing is gorgeous, the story is engaging, the characters are amazing. The amount of research that goes into historical fiction just astounds me. Add this to your TBR!”
“If you want to be swept away by a love story set in a fascinating and meticulously researched past, Camille Di Maio is the author for you. Don’t miss this one.”
“A captivating story of love and family that spans several generations.”
“The writing transports you to the time, not so long ago when women had to choose between love and their rights. Camille Di Maio’s dialogue, descriptions, and relationships create a complete picture of the era and struggles. Great book club book.”
Inspiration for Writing The Way of Beauty
Guest Post by Author Camille Di Maio
It’s funny, for me at least, how a book starts and how it ends up.
The idea for The Way of Beauty came while I was sitting on my bed and my then-15yo daughter came to sit with me. She’s got a good creative head, so I asked her if she wanted to brainstorm with me.
We were all over the place. There was a secret diary, a father/daughter story thread, dual time periods, you name it.
But in the end, it was an image that came to my mind that became the foundation. I had this concept of a soldier kissing his girlfriend goodbye in a train station. He was in a WWII uniform and sunlight streamed through the cathedral-like windows making the dust look like sparkling diamonds.
The train station image stayed with me, so I began to do research. I knew I wanted to set it in New York, and as I was familiar with Penn Station, I started there.
I searched for pictures, and most of what came up was this beautiful, soaring structure. My first thought was, “I’ve been to Penn Station many times, but I must not have been upstairs. I’ve never seen this!”
What I did not know was this: it doesn’t exist anymore.
The gorgeous, marble, soaring, majestic train station I was seeing on the internet was torn down in the 1960s to build Madison Square Garden.
I dove into some research, my favorite part of writing historical fiction. And I learned that the station was the brainchild of Alexander Cassatt, the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad. And coincidentally, the brother of Mary Cassatt, the famous painter.
In 1900, Cassatt was frustrated that all train travel toward New York ended in New Jersey, where travelers would then take a ferry over crowded waters to Manhattan. So he began a project to build tunnels underneath the East and Hudson Rivers. He traveled to London and Paris to study some of the world’s greatest train stations and endeavored to make his bigger and better.
I researched the sandhogs – the men who dug those tunnels at great peril, and I read about the strangers Cassatt hired to secretly buy up buildings in the Tenderloin so that they could demolish them and build the station.
Penn Station was magnificent when it was completed in 1910 and it was expected to last centuries. But in the 1950s, as air and car travel increased, railroad companies fell into financial trouble. And Penn Station was sold.
The arc of the station – its creation, heyday, and destruction was fascinating, and I knew that this would be the backbone of my story. I created the characters of Vera, Angelo, Pearl, Emmett, Alice, and William and how their lives and loves paralleled the story.
All of this was planned out, the frailest of outlines laid out as a framework. But the joy of the writing – for me, at least – is putting meat on those bones.
The biggest surprise in my writing was how captivated I became by the suffrage movement. I vote in every election – midterms, local ones, presidential ones, you name it. So I wouldn’t say that I take the right for granted, and I appreciate those who’ve fought and died for that right. But that makes me think about the military. I hadn’t given significant thought to the women who championed that right a century ago. The character Pearl was a firecracker from the start, but her involvement in the suffrage movement became deeper and deeper and as I learned the extremities that some of the women went to – even going as far as having hunger strikes – and I knew that she needed to get that involved. Her storyline – initially meant to be somewhat secondary became much larger. A cornerstone of the story.
The book, then, evolved into the story of women and their emerging roles as the world changed around them. And I’m so happy that it did.
Life takes turns we don’t expect. And so does writing. But those surprises are often the sweetest bits. And I hope that as long as I have the privilege of doing this work, there will be many more discovers that wait to be illuminated.
~Romance Writers of America Honor Roll Inductee~
Camille recently left an award-winning real estate career in San Antonio to become a full-time writer. Along with her husband of 19 years, she enjoys raising their four children. She has a bucket list that is never-ending and uses her adventures to inspire her writing. She’s lived in Texas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and California, and spends enough time in Hawai’i to feel like a local. She’s traveled to four continents (so far) and met Mother Teresa and Pope John Paul II. She just about fainted when she had a chance to meet her musical idol, Paul McCartney, too. Camille studied political science in college but found working on actual campaigns much more fun. She overdoses on goodies at farmer’s markets (justifying them by her support for local bakeries) and belts out Broadway tunes whenever the moment strikes. There’s almost nothing she wouldn’t try, so long as it doesn’t involve heights, roller skates, or anything illegal. The Memory of Us was Camille’s debut novel. Her second, Before the Rain Falls was released on May 16, 2017, and The Way of Beauty is her third novel.
For the very first time since its release, BORACAY VOWS is on sale for only $0.99. NEW YORK ENGAGEMENT, the sequel to Krista and Blake’s romantic story is coming out this month and I want as many people as possible to read first how they fell in love in the island-paradise of Boracay.
I’ve also set Boracay Vows as FREE for libraries and for those who bought it on paperback.
If you already have Boracay Vows and enjoyed reading this multicultural contemporary romance, kindly post a review on Amazon, Goodreads, or BookBub. I’d really appreciate it. This helps my book get in front of other readers. Thanks in advance.
Catherine Whitfield is sure that she will never again be able to trust anyone in the medical profession after the town doctor’s excessive bleeding treatments killed her mother. Despite her loneliness and her broken heart, she carries bravely on as
Cimarron Creek’s dutiful schoolteacher, resigned to a life without love or family, a life where dreams rarely come true.
Austin Goddard is a newcomer to Cimarron Creek. Posing as a rancher, he fled to Texas to protect his daughter from a dangerous criminal. He’s managed to keep his past as a surgeon a secret. But when Catherine Whitfield captures his heart, he wonders how long he will be able to keep up the charade.
With a deft hand, Amanda Cabot teases out the strands of love, deception, and redemption in this charming tale of dreams deferred and hopes becoming reality.
Amanda Cabot’s A Borrowed Dream is a departure from what I typically read and I like that. This inspirational small town historical fiction with romantic elements hits all the right spots when you want to take a break from the regency or contemporary books that dominate the marketplace today. It’s the second book in the series but the first I’ve ever read by this author, yet I did not feel lost in not having read A Stolen Heart first.
This book introduced a lot of characters (the children – Hanna and Seth – are my favorites), but Ms. Cabot was able to center her story around Catherine and Austin. I really liked that they’re fully formed characters with strengths and weaknesses, so well-developed that you can picture them in your head. By the time you get through reading the book, you’ll feel like these people actually lived in 1881, in the Hill Country of Texas.
There’s a lot to this book–romance, friendship, some suspense and mystery, medical history, small-town intrigues–but amidst it all there’s always the messages of forgiveness and faith. Although it’s an easy read, some themes Ms. Cabot touched on were quite heavy. Child abuse, rape, adoption, and murder were treated with sensitivity. Cruelty to children is something I cannot abide that’s why I really felt for Seth.
A Borrowed Dream is a well-written book by a talented author. I especially liked the Author’s Letter at the end with its surprising information about plastic surgery. I do love books that educate and inform as well as they entertain. I’ll now have to go back and pick up A Stolen Heart while waiting for A Tender Hope.
PRAISE FOR A BORROWED DREAM:
“Cabot’s sweet love story will appeal to readers of gentle romances. . .Although this title stands on its own, readers of A Stolen Heart (2017), the first in Cabot’s place-based trilogy, will be happy to revisit the folks of Cimarron Creek.” –Booklist
“The second book in Cabot’s Cimarron Creek trilogy is even better than the first, with a dash of suspense, an intriguing bit of medical history and a host of enjoyable characters.” –RT Book Reviews
PRAISE FOR A STOLEN HEART, BOOK ONE IN THE CIMARRON CREEK TRILOGY:
“Readers will enjoy the surprising ending as well as the romance always found in Cabot’s books.”—Publishers Weekly
“Moments of humor provide a nice balance to the heartwarming scenes and the mild suspense thread.”—RT Book Reviews
“Cabot’s nonpreachy inspirational romance features characters who genuinely try to live honorable lives, and their story has broad appeal for readers of gentle fiction and historical romance as well as for readers of Christian fiction.”—Booklist
Amanda Cabot is the bestselling author of A Stolen Heart, the first book of the Cimarron Creek trilogy, as well as the Texas Crossroads series, the Texas Dreams series, the Westward Winds series, and Christmas Roses. Her books have been finalists for the ACFW Carol Awards and the Booksellers’ Best. She lives in Wyoming.
Congratulations to Patricia W. Fischer on the release of RESISTING THE DOCTOR, Book 1 of Marietta Medical series by Tule Publishing.
After being hired as the temporary director of Marietta Medical ER, Dr. Lucy Davidson meticulously plots the course she wants the quickly growing facility to take. She’s laser-focused, determined to prove herself worthy to become the permanent director. No distraction will sway her…not even the brilliant and disturbingly handsome new Emergency Room physician, Thomas McAvoy.
Fulfilling a promise, Thomas has come to Marietta to help the woman who saved his life then leave as soon as possible. Still sustaining injuries from the near fatal attack, he realizes how much he appreciates the slower pace of his temporary assignment at a rural hospital. It’s a soothing balm after years in an hectic urban ER.
The charm of Marietta and the friendliness of his colleagues lure Thomas into thinking he might like to make his temporary position permanent, especially since he and Lucy have become closer. As their relationship begins to heat up, Thomas realizes Lucy is everything he dreamed of in a life partner, and he can’t imagine letting her go. But when they both realize they are up for the same promotion, will they be able to keep their personal and professional lives separate?
Congratulations to Linda Morris on the release of her latest book Only You. Available now on Amazon.
Blurb:
Businessman Henry Stanton wants the safe, sane life he longed for as a troubled kid. Single mom Daisy Bishop dreams of a career in the glamorous world of burlesque. Their—ahem—memorable first meeting is captured on video and goes viral. The scandal gets Daisy fired from her day job and brings them together. Even straitlaced Henry can’t deny their attraction, but his past, her son, and her abusive ex make everything more complicated. First in the Viral Videos series.
Excerpt:
The curtain opened wide and a woman emerged into the spotlight. He stopped breathing.
Her long skirt had a high slit up the front. Her high-collared, low-cut jacket made out of some sparkly material, deep dark as midnight, shimmered with every movement. High, white breasts swelled above the deep vee front of the jacket. A charming little hat sat atop her head with a black net veil that covered her face, hiding nothing but daring him to rip it away all the same. Beneath the hat, hair as smooth and black as a raven’s wing curled back in a style that reminded him of a 40s pin-up girl.
Her slender fingers, perfectly tipped with dark red talons, clasped a tall walking stick the same shade of midnight purple of her dress. Curvy, pale legs clad in black stockings peeped from the high slit in her skirt as she strolled across the stage, making love to every man in the audience.
But especially him. Henry wasn’t being conceited, but even in his slightly messed-up state, he noticed the way she looked at him. She’d caught his eye two or three times, letting her gaze linger long enough to penetrate his vodka-fogged brain, her dark, artfully made-up lips curving in a wicked smile.
“She’s gorgeous.” He didn’t realize he’d spoken aloud until Matt laughed and pulled out his phone again.
“I told you, man.”
“I should have listened.” Trombones wailed from the sound system as she tossed the walking stick to one side. His gaze never left her. Her hands made a motion at her waist, and as if by magic, her skirt slid off, thrown to the side to reveal some tight-fitting bikini-like thing beneath, made of purple satin that gleamed in the spotlight.
“Like some kind of old-time movie star,” he muttered. She perched her hands on her hips, the high-collared jacket and the lacy scrap of satin at the juncture of her thighs emphasizing her hourglass figure. She shimmied her hips and he could practically hear a ba-dump sound effect.
“Take it off, babe!” a male voice screamed from behind Henry. “Show us your tits! What are we paying you for?” She didn’t respond to the heckler, and her smile never wavered. She sang right over his remarks, regal and unflappable. A queen who didn’t bother to acknowledge the fool at her feet. Undeterred, the drunk kept up with more comments in a similar vein, making Henry want to strangle him.
His fists clenched under the table and fury burned in his stomach. God, the guy deserved to have a few of his teeth removed with Henry’s fist.
About the Author:
Linda Morris is a multipublished writer of contemporary and historical romance. She writes stories with heart, heat, and humor. Her latest series, HARD HITTERS, is about a fictional minor league baseball team in small-town Indiana.
When she’s not writing, working, or mommying, she’s doing yoga, reading, working in her flower garden, or baking delicious things she probably shouldn’t eat. She believes that there are two kinds of people: pie people and cake people, and she is definitely one of the former. Her years of Cubs fandom (and their 2016 World Series victory!) prove she never gives up on a supposedly lost cause. A beat-up old copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss’s Ashes in the Wind that her mom bought for her at a garage sale years ago was her gateway drug into the world of romance novels.
Bonnie and Clyde: Defending the working class from a river of greed.
The year is 1935 and the Great Depression has America in a death grip of poverty, unemployment and starvation. But the New Deal is rekindling hope, with federally funded infrastructure projects, like Hoover Dam, putting folks back to work. So, why is someone trying to blow it up? That’s what Bonnie and Clyde set out to uncover in the novel Dam Nation by Clark Hays and Kathleen McFall, the second book in a provocative speculative fiction series that re-imagines the outlaws’ lives.
“A rollicking good read!” –Midwest Book Review
EXCERPT
WHAT IF?
The Texas Ranger looked up at Sal, a mixture of fear, respect and revulsion in his eyes. “Let’s pretend for a minute it wasn’t Bonnie and Clyde in that ambush,” he said. “Why? Why would it be different people in that car?”“How would I know?” Sal asked. “I work for the government. I trust that the government has my best interests at heart. I follow orders. You didn’t.”“I won’t be quiet about this unless you can tell me why anyone would try to save them outlaws.”“If they were still alive, I would tell you that everyone has a purpose in life, and perhaps they are fulfilling theirs. And if they were still alive, I would tell you that you don’t use good dogs to guard the junkyard, you use the meanest goddamn dogs you can get a collar around.”
ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Clark and Kathleen wrote their first book together in 1999 as a test for marriage. They passed. Dam Nation is their sixth co-authored book.
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