Ely nodded, but didn’t say anything. His mood was still on a low and even though
he knew better than to forget his manners, he simply couldn’t bring himself to smile.
“It would make things a bit more comfortable for the next couple of hours if you’d
at least tell me your name, Mr. Stranger.”
Well, if that didn’t crack a smile on his face. He often forgot that his business name was LenHob Carpentry. Not many customers really knew his name.
“Ely. Sorry, crappy day.”
Jeri choked back a chortle as she turned to walk down the narrow hall. “Join the club.”
He followed her into a small room in the back of what seemed an add-on part of the building.
“This is the room in need of more space.”
Looking around, knocking on the wall here and there, stepping over piles of
paperwork and files, he said, “I can see that.”
“Can you do some magic here?” she asked hesitantly.
He laughed softly. “Magic is for dreamers. I’m a carpenter.”
Blurb:
A blind date that doesn’t happen might lead to love.
After her divorce, Jeri Belmont moved to Hobart and now runs a successful art gallery. When her niece sets her up with a neighbour, Jeri expects a blind date like all the others. But she never expected her date wouldn’t even sow up because of
her age. Despite feeling unjustly judged, when she unexpectedly runs into him
again, she finds it hard to ignore Ely’s charm.
Ely Lennox knows he shouldn’t have skipped the blind date because of the lady’s
age. After all, it had only been a date, not a lifetime commitment. When his carpentry business takes him right to the woman he bailed out on, his guilt
turns into regret when he finds out she’s everything a man could hope for. How
can he convince Jeri he made a big mistake?
Will she forgive him? Or is she hiding behind something else?
Little Beginnings by Iris Blobel is a wonderful love story about a 38 year old woman who learns to trust a man again, and who comes to realise that there is no obstacle two people in love can’t overcome. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters who were a memorable addition to the story, and I loved the humourous dialogue, the story’s emotional depth, and the engaging plot. This is a character driven story which I loved from beginning to end and I’m sure you will too!
Four months have passed since the E’mani destroyed the Earth and scooped up the remains. Elizabeth “Beta” Camden was one of those taken. With the help of their enemies, the Fost, she escapes and confronts her prior captors successfully. Though she knows she should remain vigilant toward the E’mani,
she follows her heart instead and falls in love with Marin, the sexy Fost warrior.
She should have trusted her first instinct.
This time the E’mani don’t come in force–they slip in silently. And any hope Beta had of a peaceful life is lost. She leaves in the dead of night to find the E’mani stronghold and end them once and for all. But love is a tricky bitch. It takes a threat to Marin’s safety to make Beta realize, if she can’t forget her past, she won’t have a future.
Bio:
Colleen S. Myers was raised in a large catholic family in the outskirts of Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania where she grew up on Harlequin teen romances and stories from her mother’s days as a paramedic. She went on to attend Allegheny
College majoring in Biology and English.
After college, Colleen spent a year in service in the Americorp giving back to the community at a local Pittsburgh Women Infants and Children Clinic (WICC) before attending Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine on a military scholarship.
Upon completing medical school, Colleen attended residency at Andrews Air Force Base in
Maryland and was on base in Washington, DC during 9/11. She earned three meritorious service awards from the military. After serving seven years of active duty, she promptly landed a position at
the VA to provide fellow veterans with optimum medical care. Still an avid fan of romances into adulthood, her love of the genre inspired her to hone
her craft as a writer, focusing on contemporary romance and science fiction.
Her background in medicine and the military provides an inspiring layer of creative realism to her stories and characters.
Her first book,Must Remember, the first book in the Solum series, is published by Champagne Press. The sequel, Can’t Forget, coming in June 2016, is the recipient of the 2015 RWA New England Readers Award.
Colleen currently resides in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband and son, and spends her spare time writing. She is also working on a new contemporary romance.
“That is for later. No peeking.” Well, now I deeply regretted not looking. He must have read my expression because his laughter rang out.
“I love you.”
And just like that he dropped it on me. I froze like a deer in headlights. My heart fluttered. I’d suspected for a while that he did. He’d told it to me in so many small ways since I moved in. I was the first and last thing he thought of every day, thatlast hehadtold me. But this was the first time he used the L word. How I felt was more complicated. I was human and he was Fost. And to be honest, I didn’t know what I was anymore, not after the E’mani because I wasn’t me.
He laughed even more at my expression. “It is all right, I do not expect a response, but I wanted you to know.” He glanced down and shifted in his seat.
I pretended it was fine like he said and cleared my throat. “So.”
The silence stretched for a few beats. But it wasn’t all right.
Oh, forget it. I was no good at lying to myself or anyone else. He needed something.
It has enjoyed another full edit and an awesome new cover.
Here’s another little snippet.
THANK YOU
~~~
“Advice is what we ask for when we already
know the answer, but wish we didn’t.”
“But she’s like her mother when it comes to friends. Her father is coming this afternoon and wants to meet her . We thought it’d be better not to be part of that meeting for reasons which are none of your business.”
Thanks, Emma thought! Boy, oh boy, talk about manners.
“Anyway, Nadine likes you very much. She wouldn’t stop talking about you last night, so her grandfather suggested it might be easier for her if you were with her.”
“Ma’am, it seems that I haven’t really got a choice here considering that you have already asked Mr . Morgan, but may I ask whether I could pick her up an hour earlier and ease her mind a bit?”
Emma could only imagine that Mrs. Gibbs wasn’t impressed by this request, but in the end she heard a quiet and seemingly uncomfortable
“So it will be.”
Take that, Mrs. Grandmother. One for Emma, none for you. Ha!
She was once his secret desire… Will she be again?
Father Aiden, an ex-marine and new priest, falls in love with Maylynn, but he struggles to stay away from her. He’s successful for many years, though he can’t keep her out of his dreams.
Then one day she shows up for a pre-marital counselling session with her fiancé, Davis. Aiden soon realizes Davis isn’t who he says he is, but what does that mean for Maylynn, and for himself?
Will be released August 4, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.
M.S. Kaye has several published books under her black belt. A transplant from Ohio, she resides with her husband Corey in Jacksonville, Florida, where she tries not to melt in the sun. Find suspense and the unusual at www.BooksByMSK.com.
To receive news on upcoming releases, sign up for email updates on her website.
Will be released July 2, 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.
Her first and also her once.
Jonathan and Rebecca’s paths cross at exactly the right moment, when each most needs to hear what the other has to say.
But Jonathan is three days from entering the priesthood, and Rebecca leaves him to his peace. But he is unable to find peace.
Without each other’s comfort and strength, they must each struggle to forge a new path, with only memories of the one day that changed everything.
But are they able to forget and let go?
Once & Forever, book three
Will be released December 2016 from Inkspell Publishing.
Eden, a nun, is constantly struggling against her dark past of living on the streets, and her attraction to Trace, an ex-convict farm worker. After a twelve-year separation, Eden is finally reunited with her brother, Thomas, but why hadn’t she reached out to him in all those years? As Eden and Trace grow closer, confessing their pasts to each other, will they be able to resist getting too close?
Excerpt:
“You’re studying to be a priest?”
He made himself meet her eyes. “I am a priest.”
She let go of his hand and stepped back.
Her smiled was tight. “I’m glad you found your path.”
Quiet.
He couldn’t quite read her expression. The distance between them felt like a gorge chiseled into the earth.
“Are you all right, Maylynn?” he asked.
“I’m really happy for you.” Then she added, “Father Aiden.”
For some reason, her words stabbed him in the gut. He usually liked when people used his title—it seemed to imply a certain amount of trust.
“I’m sorry, Maylynn.” He wasn’t entirely sure why he was apologizing. He just didn’t like to see her uncomfortable.
“I’m happy for you,” she repeated.
Then he realized what the problem was. He hadn’t anticipated this.
He moved closer. “I’m so sorry.”
Her forced smile finally dropped. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“It didn’t occur to me…”
“That I might be attracted to you?”
“Yes.”
“Why aren’t you wearing your collar?” Anger prickled the edge of her voice.
“My mother’s last wish was that I find my father. I’ve been following her notes. She was convinced he was somewhere in this area.”
“Wait… Your mother’s name was Adalina?”
He nodded. With the number of times the shelter was mentioned in the notes, he figured his mother and Maylynn had met.
A pause.
Anger flashed in her eyes. “You still should’ve told me.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Why’d you play with me like that?”
“I swear that wasn’t my intent.”
“You knew damn well what was going on. Was it a game—see if you still had it? If you could still get the chicks?”
Under the anger in her eyes, he saw the hurt. He swore he could feel it exactly, as if it was his own.
He shifted even closer, just in front of her. “I’m sorry,” he said again. His voice lowered, quieted. “I didn’t see what you were feeling because I was fighting so hard myself. I still am.”
“Fighting what?”
“What I felt the first time I saw you, what I’m still feeling.”
Everything crumbled after Abby’s tragedy, even her close friendship with Jesse. But Ashleigh never leaves her, and doesn’t press for details. Distanced from everyone else, Abby finds solace in riding Motocross. After Jesse steps back into Abby’s life and offers his friendship once more, things slowly begin to return to normal. But explaining her reason for not speaking to him for seven months is too traumatic for Abby to reveal.
Just when it seems they’re becoming more than friends, Abby and Jesse face a horrific storm, which incredibly brings them into an even closer proximity. Due to the overwhelming damage, Jesse and his family stay at Abby’s house for a while. However, passing in the upstairs hallway at home is vastly different than passing in the hallway at school. Something between them has changed, and not for the better.
There are so many things that go unspoken, including Abby’s upcoming departure for college out of state, but neither of them seems to be able to connect. Maybe it’s best they just remain friends so that Abby can focus only on the upcoming Motocross competition.
But the arrival of Pamela, a pretty transfer student and fellow rider, complicates everything and Jesse makes a huge mistake.
Can Abby forgive him? Or will Pamela win everything?
Book Excerpt:
“Come on Abby, we have to go to the basement.” Jesse shook my shoulder.
“But, why?’’ I complained, hearing a weird sound I couldn’t place.
“The storm has gotten worse. We need to get in the basement now!” He urged me pulling me up by the hand and running down the hall to the basement steps.
We hurried down the steps as this noise grew louder. My sinuses ached and my head felt like it was being squeezed. Jesse threw me in a closet pulling the door shut behind him. He pushed me as far into the back corner as he could. Pulling me down to the floor, he threw a heavy blanket over us. My mind was slowly registering what was going on. I started to shake. Jesse picked up on this and gathered me up in his arms tightly.
“I am right here Abby. We will be okay.” He whispered in the dark.
“Jess-“ I started to say as a horrible noise came from outside the door.
I threw my hands over my ears and screamed. Jesse pulled my head into his chest shielding me while he gathered the rest of my body on his lap.
“It’s okay baby, everything will be alright,” he cooed in my ear.
The house shook all around us. Things were falling in on us from the shelves in the closet. I could feel the air rushing under the crack of the door. I heard the door being ripped off and felt the wind rushing all around us. I could hear myself whimpering. Jesse held on to me tightly. I kept my eyes tightly shut and prayed.
“It’s okay baby, almost over.” Jesse shouted over the noise. I held on tighter. I whimpered from the pain in my head and sinuses.
“You’re okay Abby, everything will be okay!”
It felt like time was standing still.
When the shaking of the house slowly stopped and everything seemed to calm down, I slowly released my death-grip on Jesse and opened my eyes one at a time. My brain could not put together what my eyes saw. Through where the closet door had been in the basement I could see the sky. I looked wildly at Jesse, who had some blood on his face and arm. I quickly disentangled myself from him and began giving him the once-over. He had been hit by some debris that cut a small space on his cheek. Most of the damage was on his arm. Nothing serious, but enough to be messy. He was checking me for injuries the same time I was working on cleaning up his arm with the blanket. He seemed satisfied with the results and pulled me hard against him in a crushing hug. I returned his sentiments just as violently.
“Abby, I am so glad you are alright.” He whispered with tears in his eyes.
“I am fine Jess, are you sure that you are okay?” I asked, tears swimming in my eyes.
“We are alive, thank God!” Jesse praised sniffing. A tear escaped from my eye and rolled down my cheek.
“Abby-“ Jesse groaned meeting my eyes and thumbing away the tear. He kissed me softly on the lips, it wasn’t long, but it made my insides turn to jelly.
Author Bio:
A Pennsylvania native, Amanda and her family moved to North Carolina three years ago. She is happily married with three children and a granddaughter.
A lover of all things creative, she will try whatever art of craft is out there.
You can usually find her doing one of four things; reading, writing, playing piano, or working on her embroidery machine.
Though Amanda has been writing since grade school, this is her first published book.
The sound of someone honking the car horn hauled him back and Ely started the
engine, heading down the streets to the address he’d been given. Ely’s job for the next few hours was to add shelves in the office of a gallery in the city. It should be an easy job.
The front door of the gallery was still closed, so he walked to the rear of the building. After the second knock, a woman opened the door, but she didn’t look pleased.
“Good morning. I’m here to get shelves done in the office,” he said, with more irritation in his voice than was necessary.
She let out a big sigh and said, “Oh good, you’re here. I’ve been expecting you.”
She stepped back to let him in. “Come on in.”
Ely took her in. She seemed tired. Her blonde hair was loosely tied up in a
ponytail, which emphasised her high cheekbones. She wore a tight tank top and faded jeans, simple, but it still looked extremely sexy. When he met her dark blue eyes, he knew she’d checked him out as well.
“I’m Jeri, by the way.”
Blurb:
A blind date that doesn’t happen might lead to love.
After her divorce, Jeri Belmont moved to Hobart and now runs a successful art gallery. When her niece sets her up with a neighbour, Jeri expects a blind date like all the others. But she never expected her date wouldn’t even sow up because of
her age. Despite feeling unjustly judged, when she unexpectedly runs into him
again, she finds it hard to ignore Ely’s charm.
Ely Lennox knows he shouldn’t have skipped the blind date because of the lady’s
age. After all, it had only been a date, not a lifetime commitment. When his carpentry business takes him right to the woman he bailed out on, his guilt
turns into regret when he finds out she’s everything a man could hope for. How
can he convince Jeri he made a big mistake?
Will she forgive him? Or is she hiding behind something else?
Little Beginnings by Iris Blobel is a wonderful love story about a 38 year old woman who learns to trust a man again, and who comes to realise that there is no obstacle two people in love can’t overcome. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters who were a memorable addition to the story, and I loved the humourous dialogue, the story’s emotional depth, and the engaging plot. This is a character driven story which I loved from beginning to end and I’m sure you will too!
It has enjoyed another full edit and an awesome new cover.
Here’s another little snippet.
THANK YOU
~~~
“Advice is what we ask for when we already
know the answer, but wish we didn’t.”
“Her name is Nadine.”
His thumb trailed over his bottom lip. “What makes you think she’s mine?”
Teresa straightened up in her seat. “There had been only one man in Sarah’s life.”
“She told me there was someone else, and that was why she didn’t come to live with me in Melbourne,” he countered too quickly. Taking a deep breath, he calmed
himself, because the last thing he wanted was to lose his cool.
Teresa’s demure smile seemed strained. “And anything else but a man doesn’t come to mind? Of course, you obviously thought of a man, didn’t you! She was talking
about Nadine. Not sure what she saw in you, though, but there was never ever
anybody else. And as soon as Nadine was born, there was just no time for a
man.”