Thirteen Years and Counting

This seems like an odd title to me on this, the thirteenth anniversary of my first ever blog post. Why? Because I haven’t written a new post since September first of last year. Of course, you know I have plenty of excuses. Some legit ones even. Part-time teaching, deaths in the family in December, January, and February, plus all of the every day, garden variety stuff life throws at everyone.

Mostly though, it boils down to two things. First, I just lost track of time. In a major way. But I’m also an expert in the art of procrastination and, faced with editing the fourth book in the Weko Harbor series (Loser Wins the Girl, The Bell Ringer’s Christmas, and Josh), I found many reasons to avoid opening the computer file.

After writing most of the scenes in Enza out of order, I swore I’d never make that mistake again, but that’s exactly what I’ve done with this book. And given that editing is my least favorite part of writing, well…

But, for the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a plan. One that I intended to roll out in the next month or two. But when I realized that my blogging anniversary had arrived, and that the future starting date was probably just another way for me to procrastinate, I decided to dive back in. Now.

Scary thought since I’m so out of practice. I also have a habit of making plans – with less than stellar follow through. But I have hopes that this time will be different, for a reason I’ve never shared with anyone before. 

With one of the deaths I mentioned above came the long overdo and unexpected end of a long-term, toxic relationship. Yes, it was one I could have walked away from a long time ago, but for reasons I won’t bore you with, I didn’t. So, while I’ve spent the past few months being quietly grateful that I’m finally free, I’ve also been focusing on me. Who I am now, where I want to go from here, and what I want to do with the rest of my life. 

And what I want to do is throw myself back into the writing game again. That means books. That means blog posts. That means Facebook. And, once I figure out the new email rules recently imposed by Gmail and Yahoo, that means newsletters. 

So I hope you’ll stick around and join me as I work on making my ‘comeback,’ and navigate this new and exciting life. Well, as exiting as life for an introvert can be.

Before I forget, please consider following me on Facebook. I do have an author page, but I mostly stopped using it because Facebook has throttled the reach of authors for years, so most followers don’t see their posts. So, I’m encouraging anyone who wants to see those posts to join my reader’s group. And for those who do, maybe you could help me come up with a better name for it than ‘Kristy’s Cozy Corner.’ Maybe something fun. 🙂

Well, I guess that’s about all for now. See you soon!

Oh! And don’t forget you can read some of my books for free…

*The Daddy Pact
* A Prince on the Run
*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

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Uphill Battles

It Wasn’t My Fault. Honest!

I know I use the term ‘the best laid plans’ a little too often, but this time my failed plan to share a Fitness Friday 1.0 post last week really wasn’t my fault. A wicked storm moved through Michigan Thursday night, knocking my power out around 9:30 p.m. And it wasn’t restored until after 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. Those two and a half days felt more like two and a half weeks, but was nothing compared to those who didn’t get it back until yesterday. 🙁

So even though it wasn’t a whole lot of fun, I’m feeling very blessed. I didn’t lose any frozen foods, though half the contents of my fridge had to go. And the heatwave that arrived last Wednesday was gone with the storm the next night so … yay!

I still managed to stay on plan though…

I know. Quite the shocker. I ate a lot of peanuts and string cheese, so when my daughter dragged out the kerosene heater late Saturday afternoon to cook ten pounds of ground beef I was afraid to leave in the cooler any longer, I was happy to eat about a cup and a half of it – with just salt. I was so ready to NOT eat anymore string cheese and peanuts … yet that’s exactly what I had for my first meal the morning after the power was back on, lol.

After all of that, I messed up Tuesday afternoon. One thing I’m finding is that if I don’t let myself get hungry, or at least not very hungry, I’m fine. I don’t crave things I shouldn’t. But Tuesday? I wanted a Milky Way candy bar so bad, but I had a couple handfuls of raisins instead. Those are healthier than a candy bar, right? 

Wrong!

Just a normal sized candy bar would have been about 170 fewer carbs, and half the added sugar of those ‘healthier’ raisins. That wasn’t the worst of it though. Raisins, which I’ve never loved before, are like a potato chip company used to claim – can’t eat just one. I swear they’re addictive to me now. And they are like tiny concentrated inflammation bombs too. I had a hard time sleeping that night because every ache and pain I had from my pool workout that day came screaming to life.

Lesson learned … right?

We can hope so. I really need to stay on top of the not letting myself get too hungry. And keep plenty of things that help curb cravings. I’m going to start sharing some of the things I’ve come to love while pursuing this low carb/working toward keto way of life.

One of those things is La Croix Limoncello carbonated water. There are no calories or sweeteners of any sort in it, but I love it SO much. Runners up include their lime and beach plum flavors.

I’ve also started keeping a bag of Bake Believe dark chocolate chips in the little refrigerator in my office. That was an affiliate link. I earn small commissions if you click on the link and purchase the product, however, your cost doesn’t change.

And finally…

I tried to find a good video of at least part of Thursday night’s storm – and finally did. It’s ten minutes worth of what happened  throughout much of the state condensed into twenty-one seconds. While I’m not near Detroit, this is what happened in my area – for over ninety minutes. Literally non-stop lightning. I don’t know how many people I’ve heard say they’ve never seen anything like it before. I know I sure haven’t

Oops!

Don’t forget that you can read some of my books for free…

*Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings (newsletter signup).
*The Daddy Pact
* A Prince on the Run
Holding on to Yesterday
*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

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I’m Back

So… It’s been about 6 Weeks

I might start posting some writer Wednesday articles – to help keep me accountable for progress on the books. At this point, it’s looking like the Weko Harbor series, and all its spinoffs, will be about endless. If I actually buckle down and start writing more often again. So there’s that. Excerpts and the newsletter stories will be limited to subscribers, but I’ll announce it here for anyone wanting to sign up for it to read them. 🙂

But you might notice that this is Friday. Friday is a day I really need to help me be accountable – for my health.

Writing doesn’t exactly promote good health…

Well, it doesn’t. Writing is done at a computer. Editing is done at a computer. Plotting and outlining are done at … a computer. Social media, the website, and marketing…. Ummm… All done at a computer.

My fingers get lots of exercise though!

Therefore, I’ve decided to devote Fridays to getting in shape. I could have done it over the weekend and called it Shapeshifting Saturdays, but obviously, that has more than one meaning. So, since fitness is my goal, it’s back to my old standby – Fitness Fridays.

At this point, my main goals are:


1. Pool workouts on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays

2. Keto 5 days a week, with low carb the other 2 (working toward all keto eventually)
3. Put pomodoros back into my writing schedule – move 5 minutes every 30-60 minutes – at least 3 times each day. And to do them when I’m reading or watching movies something too.

No, fitness isn’t writing stuff … but it makes a huge difference in my ability to write. Cutting the carbs and sugar out of my daily diet makes most of the brain fog go away. And brain fog makes it pretty much impossible to concentrate enough to write. Carbs and sugar also make me super tired and, you guessed it. It’s hard to write when you’re tired. Finally, being sedentary so many hours a day is not a healthy way to go.

And so, I’ll be posting my progress, successes here each week, and any cool keto tips, tricks, and recipes I’ve found. And maybe around Christmas, or by my birthday in April, I’ll do some before/after photos.

In the meantime, I invite anyone wanting to get healthier to join me. Post your progress in the comments below. Not doing keto or low carb? That’s okay. What works for me doesn’t mean it will work for you – and vice versa.

One more thing before I call it a night on this post. In an effort to keep keto from getting boring, I decided to try something tonight. Keto sausage-cheese balls. Except, oops. No sausage in the house, and I didn’t want to run to town to get any. However, I did have some 90% lean ground beef, so this is what I did…

In a gallon zip top bag, I put about half a pound of lean ground beef, a big handful of shredded colby jack cheese, about 2/3 cup almond flour (affiliate link, learn more about those here), 2 ounces cream cheese, and a good pinch each of garlic powder, onion powder, and cayenne pepper. I also used a heaping teaspoon of sage, and 15 ‘twists’ of sea salt. I made 8 good sized meatballs, put them in a covered frying pan, and cooked on medium low about 30 minutes, turning them halfway through. I’ll warn you though, without an egg, you have to turn them carefully.

Next time, I’ll probably bake them, but I don’t mind that some didn’t stay completely together. But I have to say… Oh my word! They were SO good, I couldn’t believe it. Super good, in fact! I had it with some frizzled broccoli slaw – cooked over medium heat until tender-crisp, and seasoned with a little garlic and onion powders, and some cayenne pepper. *By the way, I throw bags of broccoli slaw and shredded cabbage or coleslaw in the freezer, then pull out what I need when I need it – for recipes when it needs to be cooked.

Okay. I’m done for the night. See you next Friday. 🙂

Oh! Don’t forget that you can read some of my books for free…

*Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings (newsletter signup).
*The Daddy Pact
* A Prince on the Run
* Holding on to Yesterday
*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

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The June Experiment

Experiment?What Experiment?

Well, I didn’t want to put anyone on the spot, so it was a secret experiment. And, as you may, or may not, have noticed, for the month of June, I started posting articles on my blog three times a week again. 

Why?

In an effort to work out a new writing routine/schedule, I’m going to be eliminating things that don’t produce a good return on the investment of my time. Unfortunately, it’s become clear that blogging isn’t a good use of my time.

While I love creating the Weko Gazette articles, and the Monroe Minute posts, they are very time consuming. So were the word searches, and trivia on the Coach’s Boys series. Given the results of those efforts, I’ve decided that my time would be much better spent working on a few dozen books I want to get written.

Eliminating unproductive tasks, some of the things that stress me out (like giving up Twitter, for the most part, years ago), help to make me a more productive writer – and that’s what my biggest goal is for my career. To get back to writing full-time.

So, I won’t delete any existing posts, but I won’t be adding to them from here on out. At least for the foreseeable future.

For now, I’ll be focusing my attention on my books, newsletter, Facebook author page, and Instagram account. I hope you’ll follow me on all three sites, and that you’ll consider liking and commenting on my posts. The fewer likes and comments an author gets, the less visible their posts are. Besides, I enjoy chatting with all of you.

That’s it for now. I’ll keep everyone updated on the social media sites, and in my newsletter (and newsletter subscribers get updates, sneak peeks, and free stories not available on Facebook and Instagram).

I’ll leave you with one of my favorite romantic songs – and get back to the stacks of notes I’ve been organizing into story folders for all of my series. Right now – in just the ones I’m working on, that’s about fifty books. Fifty books. And that doesn’t include all of the series I’d like to write. I really need to write faster. 🙂

Oh! Don’t forget that you can read some of my books for free…

*Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings (newsletter signup).
*The Daddy Pact
A Prince on the Run
Holding on to Yesterday
*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

Posted in #romance, Coach's Boys Series, free books, Goals, Love, Royal Sweethearts Romance Series, Weko Harbor Series, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Why Not?

 

Time to Dive In!

I’ve read this sentiment from different people, and in slightly different ways, but basically, it applies to anything you want to succeed at in life. From work, to health, to almost anything you want to do, the answer is simple. So simple, in fact, you’ll probably roll your eyes heavenward when I tell you (if you don’t know it already).

Over the past week or so, I’ve gotten serious about the fact that I need to incorporate an exercise program into my daily life again. The thing is, there are so many choices these days. Walking, biking, strength training, Pilates, yoga – and so many more things. What to do? What to do.

This is where the simple answer comes in…

What to do? Whatever I’ll love enough to stick with, of course. And that would be exercising in a pool. I love working out in water, so as soon as the office is open next week (likely Wednesday, thanks to the holiday), I’m going to be the first in line.

Originally, I thought I’d just go three days a week. Then I realized, for $2.00 more a month, I could get the family plan – and go five or six days a week! That’s how often I used to go – and it was perfect!

I can hardly wait to get started again. What do you all do to stay – or get – in shape? Do you love it? Look forward to it? Or do you dread getting started because it’s one of your least favorite things to do?

Okay. I’m out of here. I forgot it was Friday, and didn’t have a post ready. Now I do, even though it’s short. A couple of things…

If you haven’t checked out the free and .99 cent sweet romance book promo I told you about on Wednesday, it’s going to end in about twenty-four hours. Just click this pink link, or the photo below to check out the more than three dozen books in this promo! And don’t forget, like Cinderella time at the ball, at the stroke of midnight tomorrow, it’s over. 🙂

And finally…

Don’t forget that you can read some of my books for free…

*Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings (newsletter signup).
*The Daddy Pact
* A Prince on the Run
* Holding on to Yesterday
by clicking on these links.

*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

 

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Good Morning, Weko Harbor 6/28/23

It’s your Monroe Minute again. Joss here.

This morning’s first reminder is for the annual Classic Car Festival coming up this weekend. Of course, no self-respecting Weko Harboran can forget our first summer celebration. This year, the Hi-Lite Drive-in will be showing Elvis Pressley’s Spinout and Doris Day’s Move Over, Darling. As always, admission is free, but don’t forget to bring plenty of cash because the concession stand will be open and stocked with all of your favorite snacks.

Saturday’s festivities kick off at eight-thirty sharp with the Beach Street Block Breakfast. Proceeds will help to stock the St. Mary’s food pantry, so bring your appetites and wallets. I know inflation has us all tightening our belts this year, but be as generous as you can.

The classic car parade will follow breakfast at ten, and afterward, you can head out to the high school parking lot to admire the beauties and catch up with old friends. You can also check out the craft show at Chandler Park before heading out to the beach to cheer on participants in the Weko Harbor/Tulley Falls sailboat race at five.

Finally, Kristy wanted me to let everyone know that her technical skills are sadly lacking, but she’s still working on getting free audible versions of The Daddy Pact and A Prince on the Run up on YouTube. Hopefully soon. In the meantime, check out the other freebies she has below. Just click on the pink titles to get your copies.

See you in a week or so!

*Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings (newsletter signup).
*The Daddy Pact
* A Prince on the Run
* Holding on to Yesterday
by clicking on these links.

*A Country Love Story (listen free on YouTube)

Psst! She asked me to share this with you too. She’s very demanding this week! Click on this Summer Lovin’ link or the photo below to check out the books.

Posted in #romance, Audible Books, Coach's Boys Series, free books, Newsletter, Royal Sweethearts Romance Series, Weko Harbor Series, Writing Wednesdays | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Well… I’m trying. :)

 

I forgot again!

Oops…

It’s a whole lot easier to decide to establish better habits than it is to actually follow through with them. Which is why the answer key for the second word search wasn’t posted last week. So today, we’re going to do that, as well as the answer to last week’s questions. Hopefully, that won’t happen again. And since we’re doing the answers to two different Monday Fun Day’s, it’s going to be longer than usual, so I’m going to wish you a great day. See you again on Wednesday! 🙂

Word Search #2 Answer Key

*****

Answers to Last Week’s Questions

1.   “The movie shouldn’t be starting for another-” He looked at his watch. “Eight minutes, if they get it going on time – and they hardly ever do. To be safe, I figure we’ve got about two hours. I could have done it myself, but I thought maybe you could use a little time away from the house. You know, in case you need to talk or anything. Not that you have to talk, but- I’m here if you need to.”
   “I know that. Thanks.”
   Did he need to talk? There were moments when he really wished there was someone to talk to, but that was usually late at night when he couldn’t sleep. When everyone else was visiting dreamland and would likely not appreciate being disturbed. When he was up and about though, he just tried to stay busy, to not think about the situation any more than he had to. Of course, that’s all he thought about, but if he could stay distracted enough, the nightmare stayed at the edges of his mind instead of taking center stage and haunting him every waking minute.

If you didn’t figure it out, this would be a scene Cal and Sam in Code Red Christmas.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2.   Slipping into a comfortable, faded pair of navy sweatpants, and a white tee shirt, he strode barefoot out to his miniscule kitchen. It didn’t take but two minutes to get the coffee brewing, and the butter-laden popcorn bag into the microwave.
   A glance at his watch told him he still had more than a quarter of an hour before the first program started. That gave him too much time to think about the crap his friends had given him after the game. _____ and his choice of beverage. So what if he preferred coffee to anything else? With a defiant shrug, he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of the Coke he kept on hand for company. He could drink sodas on occasion. He just wasn’t addicted to it like some people he knew.
   Now Snickers were another matter entirely, and he practically drooled as he pulled a king-sized bar from the drawer. At least he limited himself to eating them only during this particular hour of television viewing.

This would be our favorite male chauvinist, Chris. The blank line would be for the object of his frequent bad temper, Harry – of A Harry Situation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3.  “Room service,” _______ called out, rapping sharply on the door.
   “What?” _______ asked, opening the door a crack. “This joint doesn’t have room service.”
   “It does tonight.”
   In a quick move, _______ rammed his shoulder against the door, throwing them both into the room. _______ stepped in behind him, closing the door quickly. By that time _______ had _______ by the throat.
   “Who are you?” _______ demanded, gasping for a breath. _______ loosened his hold marginally.
   “That isn’t important. What matters is that we know who you are…

So I don’t give too much away, blanks are Sam (blank 4), Ed (blanks 1, 3, 5 and 8), and Mike (blanks 2, 6, and 7) in A Hero for Holly.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

4.   He was sure all of the green groups on the planet would have him on a hit list in a heartbeat if they knew how many disposables he used, but he kept his belongings to a bare minimum, and that included most of the things that could be found in the kitchens of ordinary people. The only items in his cupboards were a few stainless steel pans, a handful of cooking utensils, and a set of dishes and silverware that served four. Those were only for the times he had a normal dinner with company who would expect to eat their meal on something other than paper. So far that hadn’t happened, and he hadn’t touched them since he’d put them away the first time.

Jon, from Her Best Friend Jon, of course.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5.   “It’s the last night,” she explained, pulling into one of the few empty parking spaces left in the vast, rutted field. “I was going to just say forget it this year, but I really love this thing. I hope you don’t mind.” He muttered something about most women loving chick flicks, his voice so soft she was surprised she heard any sound at all, but then he said,
   “Not at all.”
   Liar, she wanted to say, but she let it pass, fitting herself against his side as they exited the car. He slung an arm around her waist and they walked carefully to the line that seemed to wind endlessly from the entrance to the huge, creepy corn field in the distance. Screams and yells filled the night air, along with nervous giggles and whispers from those still waiting their turn.

Ed and Jenna at the haunted corn maze in The Detective’s Second Chance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

6.   “Shh. He may be a genius, _______, but I don’t think he has a lot of confidence.” Not from what she’d observed over the past few weeks anyway. _______ seemed like a pretty shy guy.
   “No,” _______ sighed. “I don’t know why either. He is smart, smarter than all the rest of us combined. He’s fairly wealthy. And he’s not ugly enough to actually scare anyone.” This time it was ______ who burst out laughing, but she cuffed his arm anyway.
   “______. Not ugly? That’s mean. _______’s adorable.”
   “You two want to share?” _______ called from where she sat on the other side of the fire. “What’s so funny?”
   “Private joke,” _______ said. _______ scowled at him, then grinned.

Dan (blanks 1, 2, 5 and 8) and Jess (blank 4) from The Daddy Pact, discussing one of Dan’s best friends – Sam (blanks 2 and 6). Jess’s foster sister Emma (blanks 7 and 9) is here too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Don’t forget the free books! If you haven’t gotten your copies yet (or listened to the one on YouTube), just click on the pink titles below.

*Get your FREE copy of Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings by signing up for my newsletter.
*Get your FREE copies of The Daddy Pact, A Prince on the Run, and Holding on to Yesterday by clicking on these links.
*And if you haven’t heard the audible version of A Country Love Story, click on that pink link. It’s FREE too! 

And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! Feel free to leave some comments while you’re there (and here!). It feels kind of lonely when you don’t. Yeah, that was kind of a like a mom guilt trip, wasn’t it? What can I say? I’m a mom. I’m extremely skilled at that particular art form. 😀 😀 😀

 

Posted in #romance, Audible Books, Coach's Boys Series, free books, Love, Monday Fun Day, Newsletter, Romance, Royal Sweethearts Romance Series, Weko Harbor Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Third Time’s the Charm?

Choosing Another ‘Hard’

Why is change so elusive sometimes?

Another Fitness Friday has arrived. And surprise! This one isn’t entirely related to health. Why? Because ‘fit,’ like health, can be applied to other things. For example:

*Is this couple a good fit for each other?
*If the shoe fits…
*We need to assess his fitness for the job?
*Jane Doe has a healthy bank account.
*John Smith has a healthy appetite. 

For my purposes, I will probably only apply fitness and health to … well, my health. But also to my writing life.  

First, let me say…

Last week, my doctor was very happy with pretty much everything about my appointment. Even the blood test results that were flagged weren’t high enough to concern her. My TSH (thyroid) was quite a bit higher than either one of us liked, but after explaining that I recently started taking a low dose iodine supplement (because I use pink salt that isn’t iodized), and that iodine has a reputation for sending the TSH levels skyrocketing, she just wants me to go back in six weeks for another blood test to see if they’ve leveled out.

Going sugar and processed foods free for thirteen months also resulted in a fifteen pound weight loss – and something even more surprising! Since the surgeries in 2020, I’ve been battling some pretty serious high blood pressure. The prescription medication only brought it down to about mid-high instead of super high for a couple of years. Today? It was 118/70. It’s a miracle I didn’t faint!

But here’s where the new ‘hards’ come in to play…

One of my biggest goals in life is to establish good writing habits again. That means everywhere I write, including this blog, my newsletters, Facebook, and Instagram. To do that, I need to feel my best. That means I need to nix the casual attitude about popcorn and red potatoes, which are allowed in limited amounts on the diet I’ve been following. I don’t know whether I’ll eliminate them 100%, but I do need to make them occasional treats, not a few times a week staples. 

It also means tackling the insomnia I’ve struggled with since a 2008 car accident. That means adding melatonin and B6 back to my supplement schedule. When I started taking them in early 2011, it was like someone flipped a switch and turned my energy back on. I’m hoping for the same results this time – because I really do want to write at least the first draft of eighteen (or more) books in the next two and a half years.

That’s a lot of books, you might say – but I refer you to the photo at the top of the page. I have big dreams, so I’ve chosen my hard.  🙂

For now, I’ll leave you with all the freebie information. Just click on the pink titles below to get your copies!  

*Get your FREE copy of Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings by signing up for my newsletter.
*Get your FREE copies of The Daddy Pact, A Prince on the Run, and Holding on to Yesterday by clicking on these links.
*And if you haven’t heard the audible version of A Country Love Story, click on that pink link. It’s FREE too! 

Posted in #romance, Coach's Boys Series, Fitness Fridays 1.0, free books, Love, Royal Sweethearts Romance Series, Weko Harbor Series | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Weko Harbor Gazette, Edition 5

Time for another edition of everyone’s favorite weekly paper, The Weko Harbor Gazette! Lots of news to catch up on. 

But first – you knew it was coming, didn’t you? – a quick reminder. I’m trying to get universal sales links up on all the book pages, so if you’re looking for a particular story, be sure to check for those links. 

Also, don’t forget to grab your copies of the books with the pink titles/links below (if you haven’t gotten them already!):

*Get your FREE copy of Hard Goodbyes and New Beginnings by signing up for my newsletter.
*Get your FREE copies of The Daddy Pact, A Prince on the Run, and Holding on to Yesterday by clicking on these links.
*And if you haven’t heard the audible version of A Country Love Story, click on that pink link. It’s FREE too! 

And don’t forget to follow me on Facebook and Instagram! Feel free to leave some comments while you’re there (and here!).

Posted in #romance, Audible Books, Coach's Boys Series, free books, Royal Sweethearts Romance Series, Weko Harbor Series, Writing Wednesdays, YouTube | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

How Well Do You Know My Guys?

Monday Fun Day #2
~~~~~

For fans of the Coach’s Boys Series

So how well do you know Dan, Sam, Chris, Jon, Cal, Ed … and the loves of their lives? I’m going to give you six quotes from their books – and see if you can guess which book each one is from. Bonus points if you can figure out which characters are in each scene, in addition to which book they’re from. What will you win? Nothing. But I hope it’ll be a lot of fun for fans who love the guys as much as I do. 🙂

1.   “The movie shouldn’t be starting for another-” He looked at his watch. “Eight minutes, if they get it going on time – and they hardly ever do. To be safe, I figure we’ve got about two hours. I could have done it myself, but I thought maybe you could use a little time away from the house. You know, in case you need to talk or anything. Not that you have to talk, but- I’m here if you need to.”
   “I know that. Thanks.”
   Did he need to talk? There were moments when he really wished there was someone to talk to, but that was usually late at night when he couldn’t sleep. When everyone else was visiting dreamland and would likely not appreciate being disturbed. When he was up and about though, he just tried to stay busy, to not think about the situation any more than he had to. Of course, that’s all he thought about, but if he could stay distracted enough, the nightmare stayed at the edges of his mind instead of taking center stage and haunting him every waking minute.

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2.   Slipping into a comfortable, faded pair of navy sweatpants, and a white tee shirt, he strode barefoot out to his miniscule kitchen. It didn’t take but two minutes to get the coffee brewing, and the butter-laden popcorn bag into the microwave.
   A glance at his watch told him he still had more than a quarter of an hour before the first program started. That gave him too much time to think about the crap his friends had given him after the game. _____ and his choice of beverage. So what if he preferred coffee to anything else? With a defiant shrug, he opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of the Coke he kept on hand for company. He could drink sodas on occasion. He just wasn’t addicted to it like some people he knew.
   Now Snickers were another matter entirely, and he practically drooled as he pulled a king-sized bar from the drawer. At least he limited himself to eating them only during this particular hour of television viewing.

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3.  “Room service,” _______ called out, rapping sharply on the door.
   “What?” _______ asked, opening the door a crack. “This joint doesn’t have room service.”
   “It does tonight.”
   In a quick move, _______ rammed his shoulder against the door, throwing them both into the room. _______ stepped in behind him, closing the door quickly. By that time _______ had _______ by the throat.
   “Who are you?” _______ demanded, gasping for a breath. _______ loosened his hold marginally.
   “That isn’t important. What matters is that we know who you are…

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4.   He was sure all of the green groups on the planet would have him on a hit list in a heartbeat if they knew how many disposables he used, but he kept his belongings to a bare minimum, and that included most of the things that could be found in the kitchens of ordinary people. The only items in his cupboards were a few stainless steel pans, a handful of cooking utensils, and a set of dishes and silverware that served four. Those were only for the times he had a normal dinner with company who would expect to eat their meal on something other than paper. So far that hadn’t happened, and he hadn’t touched them since he’d put them away the first time.

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5.   “It’s the last night,” she explained, pulling into one of the few empty parking spaces left in the vast, rutted field. “I was going to just say forget it this year, but I really love this thing. I hope you don’t mind.” He muttered something about most women loving chick flicks, his voice so soft she was surprised she heard any sound at all, but then he said,
   “Not at all.”
   Liar, she wanted to say, but she let it pass, fitting herself against his side as they exited the car. He slung an arm around her waist and they walked carefully to the line that seemed to wind endlessly from the entrance to the huge, creepy corn field in the distance. Screams and yells filled the night air, along with nervous giggles and whispers from those still waiting their turn.

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6.   “Shh. He may be a genius, _______, but I don’t think he has a lot of confidence.” Not from what she’d observed over the past few weeks anyway. _______ seemed like a pretty shy guy.
   “No,” _______ sighed. “I don’t know why either. He is smart, smarter than all the rest of us combined. He’s fairly wealthy. And he’s not ugly enough to actually scare anyone.” This time it was ______ who burst out laughing, but she cuffed his arm anyway.
   “______. Not ugly? That’s mean. _______’s adorable.”
   “You two want to share?” _______ called from where she sat on the other side of the fire. “What’s so funny?”
   “Private joke,” _______ said. _______ scowled at him, then grinned.

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Maybe it’s just because I wrote them, but it was kind of challenging for me to come up with parts of scenes that didn’t seem totally obvious. Hopefully, anyone playing will be a little challenged. 🙂

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