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Posts Tagged ‘Gambler’s Folly’

Which Do You Prefer?

Posted in Fantasy Romance, Mainstream sensual, Paranormal romance, tagged , , , , , , , , on January 2, 2022| Leave a Comment »

There is a lot of discussion between those who prefer “real” books and those who like ebooks. And then there are some who prefer an actual physical book, but buy eBooks for the sake of economy or space limitations.

I like a nice hardcover book I can actually hold in my hands. There is something about the smell of a new book the first time you open it, the feel of the cover and the pages as you turn them. I’m not sure what it is, but it isn’t just reading. It’s a sensory experience.

So why do I buy ebooks so often?

Economy. I can buy several ebooks for the price of one hardcover or paperback book. If I’m reading a new author, I might not want to keep it around, so why spend so much on something I’ll never read again.

When I travel, I find it difficult to take along enough books to read in physical form, but I can pack a whole library of eBooks.

I also have eyesight issues which make it difficult to see the printed page. My tablet or Kindle allow me the option of changing the brightness and contrast making it easier to see the words.

Whcih do you prefer? Are you in the e book camp or the physical book crowd? And why?

Whichever format you choose, you can find one of my books to suit your mood. All my books on Amazon are available for Kindle, in paperback, and in hardcover versions. So choose the format you like, pour yourself a cuppa, and enter a fantasy world for a little while.

For something futuristic, give Gambler’s Folly Series a read.

Looking for a simpler time where paranormal abilities abound?

Check out the Esperance Series.

Or maybe you’re in the mood for a little magic.

Check out my book under the name Sultonna Nadine–Master of the Fleet, in a world where elemental magic is real, but won’t necessarily help Richard with his love life.

Wishing you a wonderful New Year for 2022.

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

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Don’t Miss the Sale!

Posted in Book Sale, Fantasy Romance, Holiday, Mainstream sensual, Paranormal romance, tagged , , , , , on December 31, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Yes,January 1 is the last day of the year end book sale over at Smashwords. So if you haven’t checked it out, now is definitely the time.

Is everyone ready for the New Year? What do you have planned for the weekend? We’re just going to hang out with the cats and enjoy the quiet of the countryside.

But if you’re looking for something to read, head on over to the sale. And for tonight and tomorrow only, you’ll find a special discount on all my books for the last hurrah of the season.

Hope your Christmas holiday was great and wishing you a wonderful, magical new year.

From all the folks on Gambler’s Folly, Esperance, and the Cote d’Or

Happy New Year!

And as always…

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Where Did You Get That Idea?

Posted in Book Sale, Fantasy Romance, writing, tagged , , , , , , on November 12, 2021| Leave a Comment »

This question always comes up when someone hears I’m an author. And the answer isn’t necessarily a simple one. It depends on the book.

I’ve been told by some that I channel my stories. I don’t know exactly how that would be different from how anyone else writes, but once I get an idea, I just sit down, put my mind in neutral and go for it. And usually what I think is going to happen goes in some other weird direction I never would have thought of.

Jareth, First Lord began as a recurring dream. Not the beginning scene of the story, but somewhere down in chapter 1. When it wouldn’t leave me alone, I sat down and wrote it out. But how did we get to this point in the story? And where do we go from here?

Viviane was simply the second part of this story, so there was no problem there. But Morgan was a secondary character in Jareth. I liked Morgan and wanted to know more about her, so I sat down and began to write. I knew she’d come from Clan Belfort, but why had she come? And where would she end up?

Gambler’s Folly started from a song–South Coast. It’s an old song, but it tells about a man who won his wife in a card game. Now how could that happen today? As my mind turned this question over during the day, it began to spin me this tale of a pleasure world away from Earth, where anything could be won or lost in the games. And Gambler’s Folly was born. How the rest of it came about is nearly as much a mystery to me as it is to anyone else.

Dante’s Angel, the second book in the Gambler’s series came about much like Morgan did. He was a minor character I really liked and wanted to know about. And so I let my mind go and began to write. He turned out to be quite a character, as did his soul mate.

But The Russian was born from someone I saw in a video. A Russian rapper by the name of Geegun just looked like a werewolf to me. Probably with dire wolf blood. Now, how could I write him?

What about Master of the Fleet?

At various times in various places, I’ve been a member of the Society for Creative Anachromism–SCA. My persona was named Anne-Marie de Villehardouin, from 13th century France. One night, for some unknown reason, I dreamed a scene at one of the feasts. We had planned a sketch as part of the entertainment, run it by those in charge and had it approved. It involved a couple who started arguing at the table and escalated into her trying to stab him with a dagger. When that doesn’t work, and she loses the dagger, she grabs a sword and the two of them fight in front of the high table.

Now, this was not possible for real, at the time. But I thought it would be fun to do. As I turned it over in my mind, the thought came that it would make a good scene for a story as well. Only instead of it ending as part of the entertainment, it should end with a forced marriage.

Maybe he was a wizard of some sort as well as a swordsman…

I know. My mind is a very strange place. I can assure you, you wouldn’t like to visit.

But feel free to visit my worlds–Gambler’s Folly, Esperance, and the Cote d’Or.

If you shop on Smashwords, go check out my sale this weekend.

In the meantime…

Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

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Anyone Got a Knee for Sale?

Posted in Fantasy Romance, reading, writing, tagged , , , , on October 24, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Yeah, I’m not a happy camper this week. About a week ago, I tripped in a parking lot and fractured my right patella. After an after noon in ER, they decided I just needed to wear a brace until I could see an orthopedic specialist. So a few days later, I got in to see the doctor,, who told me much the same thing. Keep a brace on when I’m up and walking around. Take pain killers as needed. See me in two weeks for more x-rays.

It’ll be about 8–10 weeks healing time.

In the meantime, it is taking me forever to get things done. My daily walks are not a thing until I can walk properly again. And sitting at my desk is somewhat less than comfortable. Go figure, right?

So I haven’t done much writing this past week, though I have been reading through the next book for Gambler’s Folly to mark it up for editing. I do this on my Kindle Fire, so I can read without sitting at my desk. I’ve found I can highlight areas I want to work with and then take the Fire in to my desk and go through it there.

Much easier on the knee that way.

So what will be the next book for Gambler’s Folly?

Old Flame, which will be Book 4.

What’s it about?

They met at university thirty years ago. Though they were friends, they never really dated each other. Since then, Kort has had two failed marriages and become a multibillionair, considered the most eligible bachelor on several worlds. Elizabeth married and has recently become widowed.

Her kids bought her a ticket to visit them out west, and then surprised her with a vacation package to Gambler’s Folly. At the hotel her first night, waiting to fly to the spaceport for the shuttle flight, she runs into her old friend from university, also going to Gambler’s Folly.

And then the fun begins.

Still in editing, this will be a little while yet before it’s ready to publish, but I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime, how about an excerpt?

EXCERPT

It was only a short drive to the hotel from the spaceport. Word must have gone ahead that Kort would be in town, so as soon as he stepped out of the limo cameras were flashing.

When she stepped out of the limo, there were questions from all sides.

“No, Liz is an old friend I met before I got on the shuttle. Since we were both staying here at the Stella d’Oro, I offered her a lift. I may convince her to have dinner with me later, but that’s all. We’re simply friends from our university days.”

“Is Liz short for Elizabeth?” someone called.

“Yes,” he answered.

“What about it, Liz? Any designs on Mr. Behrens?” someone else asked.

Feeling in a mood, she answered, “Who says I’d have him?”

She had expected a laugh or two, but got stunned silence before the questions began again.

“Now, you’ve heard it from the lady in question. Like I said, we’re simply friends who met again recently after several years. We’re catching up on old times. Don’t imply anything else, please.”

When they’d finally made it in the door and out of sight of the reporters, Kort turned to her with a laugh and gave her a big hug.

“Who says I’d have him? That was brilliant, Liz. It’ll keep them going for days.”

“I have no idea why I said that. It just slipped out. Are we likely to have a following everywhere we go?” she asked.

“For a day or two, until they get the idea I’m telling the truth. Unless you change you mind and decide you’ll have me instead?”

“Don’t press your luck.”

Wish me luck with the knee, and I’ll try to keep you posted on what I’m up to down here in the Southeast.

And as always…

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Crazy Days

Posted in editing, Fantasy Fiction, Fantasy Romance, Mellie Miller, Paranormal romance, tagged , , , , , , , on August 20, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I don’t know about you, but it has been crazy around here since I last visited with you. I’m not sure what all has been going on, but we’ve been super busy and away from the house.

But I have done some writing, so don’t worry. And some editing, mainly on Whiskey Jug Genie. That Bubba is a character for sure.

And writing? Mainly on Unwilling Soulmates. All Trevor wanted to do was his job after he’d been transferred to Soeranza. And everything would have been fine except for Theresa, or Ms. Langley as she insisted he call her. From there first meeting, before he’d said more than hello, she’d had it in for him, and no one knew why.

Theresa was irritated. Of all the people on Gambler’s Folly, why did she get stuck with this rich kid on her team? What do you do when you can’t stand a person and Mother Nature decides he’s it? Granted, the reason you don’t like him has nothing to do with him personally. It’s his background–the whole wealthy class thing–you can’t stand. A couple incidents in your past have poisoned your mind against rich kids playing cop, as you see it. And you’re not having any of it.

And Mother Nature means business, going so far as to have her look him up over the weekend and issue her mating challenge. But when she wakes up in the morning and realizes what she’s done, she has no idea where to go from there. Someone must have a way to reverse the bonding process, mustn’t they?

Where will it all end? Who knows? But we’re working on it.

Have you read the other books in the Gambler’s Folly Series? If not, go ahead and catch up while you wait for the next book in the series to come out. The first book, Gambler’s Folly, sets the scene on Gambler’s Folly. Book 2, Dante’s Angel, follows our first couple to Earth, where another match is formed. And Book 3, The Russian, brings a new love to a 500 year old wolf shifter who has hunted alone since his soulmate died 200 years ago.

What else is going on? Still working on Gregor Thayne for Esperance. And of course, editing on Whiskey Jug Genie, which will be published as Sultonna Nadine.

Gregor Thayne will bring in new characters and romance, as well as advance the overall story of Esperance with it’s trials and tribulations from the previous books. We reconnect with Jareth and Viviane, as well as other First Lord’s from the first two books.

Whiskey Jug Genie is a lighthearted tale with a hint of magic and romance. Picturea young Englishman touring the Southeastern United States. A collector of antique bottles and jugs, he finds an old whiskey jug which would be perfect for his apothecary shop in London.

Imagine his surprise when he cleans it and pulls the stopper and a redneck genie appears, having been trapped in the jug for two hundred years. And for many years before that, he’d been in the American south and picked up a lot of country along the way. Bound to the jug by a curse, our Englishman now finds himself stuck with this character, who is so out of touch with the modern world, he sees everything from the refrigerator to mobile phones as magic.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Happy reading!

And Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Welcome to August!

Posted in Fantasy Romance, reading, Romance, writing, tagged , , , , , on August 2, 2021| 1 Comment »

Does anyone else have trouble believing the summer is almost gone? Here we are in August already. Where has the time gone?

I’ve been working on a couple WIPs. One for each of my series. They’re going well, though I’m not sure where we’ll all end up. My characters tend to have ideas of their own and take off without informing me beforehand. So I try to keep and sort it out to a happy ending. Trevor and Theresa, on Gambler’s Folly, are no exception.

Do you prefer e-books or paperback?

My personal preference is for paperbacks, but these days they can cost quite a bit. And if we’re traveling, I can take a whole library with me in e-book form. But there’s something about the feel of the pages in a physical book, the smell of the ink, or the scent from an old book which has seen a lot of the world.

What is the oldest book you own?

I have a book I bought when I was in high school at a Goodwill store. It was priced at twenty-five cents and I loved it. It has travelled with me for years and about once a year, I retrieve it from the bookcase and read it one more time.

Copyrighted in 1909 by Arthur Hornblow, By Right of Conquest is a turn of the century romance. While it is pretty tame for today’s readers, it nonetheless gives us an insight into the written word as it was over 100 years ago, as well as life in society at the time.

So share your books with me in the comments below.

While I doubt any of my books will last as long as By Right of Conquest, I have fun writing and sharing them with you.

Check them out at Amazon, Smashwords, or any major bookseller. The first two books from the Esperance series are available from Audible as well.

Have a wonderful month, my friends.

And Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

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It Has Been a While…

Posted in Book Sale, Fantasy Romance, Mainstream sensual, Paranormal romance, tagged , , , , on July 21, 2021| Leave a Comment »

And I do apologize. Summer has kind of gotten away from me this year, what with my husband in and out of town quite a bit, trying to garden in a thunderstorm, and find a way to walk without drowning.

But other than that, things are moving pretty smoothly here in the Southeast

So what has been happening in my writing?

Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale is still on through July 31 and all of my books are included. Most of them are a name-your-own-price book, a few are a very low price. All the books in the two series and the one published as Sultonna Nadine are there for you to snap up.

I love their Summer Winter sales for trying out new authors, adding more books to a series I’ve started, or just picking something at random. And with the sale prices, I can afford it.

Now, works in progress…

Gregor Thayne has been growing, and I believe I see a path toward the ending. One of the Esperance series stories, it will come after Ben of Blacstone’s Forge, which will come after Too Many Talents, so I have time to finish it and tinker. But I think you’ll like Gregor and his wife Caela. We were introduced to the family Rowan in Viviane, First Lady, at Viviane’s brother’ s trial. First Lord Kinsey was one of the judges on the bench during the proceedings.

Gregor is quite different from his father. More of a rogue than one would expect from the heir to the house, at one time in his life, he ran away from home, fled to the other side of the clan, took his mother’s maiden name, and joined the city guard. Eventually reconciled with his father, he agreed to take up his duties once again, but retained the name change.

On Gambler’s Folly, we have Unwilling Soulmates. Trevor is a leopard shifter from a wealthy family in Scotland, recently transfereed to Speranza from Crystal Mountain. Theresa is from Chicago and has an extreme prejudice against rich kids “playing cop.” Mother Nature is trying to push them toward a mating challenge, but she can’t stand the mention of his name, and her attitude has put him quite off. Every time they meet, she hurls more barbs and insults to the point of the chief threatening her with a three day suspension.

In the meantime, they have a drug issue going on, which this department of shifters is trying to track down. But the suppliers are an elusive bunch. Working with Dmitri, Nagi, and Shoda, Trevor would love to settle in to this new post. But that woman is making things particularly difficult.

Where will this end up? I’m working on that bit. But it will come in after Old Flame and Scotch and Soulmates in the Gambler’s Folly lineup.

Do you follow me on Twitter or Facebook? I’m thinking of starting a weekly snippet on Friday. What do you think? It would be little peeks at my WIP’s as things progress. Leave a comment if you have an opinion.

But do go check out the Book Sale at Smashwords. And check out my profiles on social media. For now, it’s time to sign off and get some writing done. Esperance? Or Gambler’s Folly? Where shall I visit today?

Ciao for now!

And Don’t Forget…

...to Share the Romance…

Coming soon…

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Happy Memorial Day!

Posted in Book Sale, Holiday, tagged , , , , , , , on May 28, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Yes, it’s that time again. Memorial Day. In the United States, it is a federal holiday set aside to honor military personnel who died in the performance of their military duties.

I know it isn’t, but it always seems like Memorial Day signals the beginning of summer. Maybe it’s because we always got out of school about then and our summer began.

Those of us in the marching band played in the town parade, whether school was finished for the year or not. We started at the school, marched through the town square, and then turned right to go to the cemetary. The eerie sound of the echo performance of Taps always brought tears to my eyes.

But let me tell you, those forest green wool uniforms were hot in the Ohio sun, whether marching or standing at parade rest. Complete with hats and gloves, we always hoped for a cloudy day.

Are you doing anything for Memorial Day this year? For many, it is a time for family get-togethers, barbecues, fireworks… Of course, around here, it seems any type of holiday is a time for fireworks.

I don’t have any family plans for the holiday, but I am planning something special for my readers.

A Book Sale over at Smashwords!

That’s right! Just click the link above to go to my author profile. All of my books, listed by series, will be there for you to peruse.

Beginning tonight, all my books will be available for $0.99 each. And the sale will go through Monday night. So if there any you need to complete a series, now’s the time to stock up!

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend and holiday. Stay safe out there!

And as always,

Don’t Forget…

…To Share the Romance…

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Of Peppercorns and Spice Grinders

Posted in Fantasy Romance, Happy weekend, Paranormal romance, tagged , , , , , on May 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

I love fresh spices and the flavors seem a little brighter if you grind them right before using them. I love to do this with coriander, cumin, cardamom and peppercorns.

And most of the time this works out well.

Except with peppercorns.

For some reason I tend to forget that the grinder produces a fine, powdery dust which billows out of the grinder if you open it too soon. You need to give it a few seconds to settle. Otherwise…

Yes. You get a nose full of pepper dust and think you’re going to die from sneezing. And coughing. And grab a fresh box of tissues, because you’re gonna have a runny nose for an hour.

But the pepper is ground, I’ve nearly recovered, and the steaks are ready for the grill Now as soon as the grill is ready, it can all go out to the grill master–my guy who is home for the weekend–and I can ready everything else for dinner while he works his magic.

Got any weekend plans?

I’ll take some time this weekend and do some more editing on Lady Calloway. I must cut it down by at least 15,000 words. (sigh) I really kind of envy those people who need to bulk up their word count. Me and short stories? Doesn’t happen, unless you consider short around 75,000 words.

Yeah. Really.

If you’re looking for something to read, go check out my books on Smashwords or Amazon. I may go over to Smashwords later and see about some sales for the weekend…

Prefer paperbacks?

Dante’s Angel is now available in print from Amazon!

Have a great weekend.

Watch out for the peppercorns!

And as always.

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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Mother’s Day Book Sale

Posted in Book Sale, Fantasy Romance, Mainstream sensual, Mother's Day, tagged , , , , , , on May 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

This weekend I’m putting three of my books on sale for $0.99 on Smashwords!

The first book of each series–Gambler’s Folly and Esperance– plus Master of the Fleet will be available now through Monday May 10 for only $0.99 each.

Which books are those?

Gambler’s Folly Book 1–Gambler’s Folly.

Esperance Book 1–Jareth, First Lord

And of course Sultonna Nadine’s book Master of the Fleet.

Don’t miss the sale!

And have a marvelous Mother’s Day!

As always…

Don’t Forget…

…to Share the Romance…

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