Romance Gem Liz Flaherty Is Bringing Color To Our World With LIFE'S TOO SHORT FOR WHITE WALLS

Good morning, all! What crazy weather have you got cooking today? We've had a little bit of everything lately--rain, snow, hail, high winds... Well, luckily we have books to distract us from such things. I speaking of books, (see that smooth segue?) today the wonderful Liz Flaherty is joining us with her new release, LIFE'S TOO SHORT FOR WHITE WALLS. We'll find out more about that, but first, let's get to know Liz better.

[Make sure to enter her giveaway below!]

When did your love for writing start?

I always said it started when I was nine and my aunt let me type on her portable Royal typewriter. I created a terrible story in which I misspelled consciousness. However, it has lately come to me that in the first grade, I felt a story in my Dick and Jane reader ended incorrectly and that my ending would have been much better. I still think it would have been, so, to answer the question, I was six.

What is something you struggle with when you write?

I struggle most with freshness. Since I like the sound of my own voice—gasp!—I think I don’t try to improve it or change it up. While I like it to be recognizable by readers, I truly fear Good grief, all her books are alike! Syndrome. (It’s a real thing—I just made it up.)

Where do you live? Where would you love to live?

I live in the cornfields of central Indiana, five or six miles from where I grew up. I love it here, politics aside (way aside.) That being said, on my first trip to Vermont after our youngest kids moved there, I knew I was home. I’m convinced it’s where I was meant to live, but someone took a wrong turn somewhere. If I had no one but myself to consider, I would move there tomorrow. However, I like having people besides myself to consider, so it’s not happening.

If you owned a CB radio what would your "handle" be?

I used to have one! Prior to cell phones, I had a CB because I drove 20-some miles to work and my husband worried less if I was “online.” My handle, since I was a postal worker, was Letter Lady.

What was the last song you listened to in your digital library?

“Sweet Baby James.” I love James Taylor. A lot.

What one thing (modern convenience) could you not live without?

No question about it—the computer. I’ve written 20-some books. Without the computer, I undoubtedly would have stopped midway through the first one. Oh, I would have a ton of handwritten manuscripts under the bed, but even in the last century, I don’t think there was an editor alive who’d have welcomed them. 😊

Thanks for sharing yourself with us, Liz! Now let's find out more about LIFE'S TOO SHORT FOR WHITE WALLS...

I worry a lot about my stories sounding alike, my heroines being paper-doll-cutouts of each other. I’m afraid I’ve written too many heroes with dimples in their left cheeks. Do I have too many people with crooked grins, one raised eyebrow, or a shrug that somehow defines their personalities?

I hope not, but a few of the things that are the same from book to book are starting over, new beginnings, home, friendships, tenderness. And I’m good with that.

They are there in Life’s Too Short for White Walls, when forty-something Joss Murphy and Ezra McIntire find themselves in the same place, but searching for different things. They know a few things about themselves by now—Joss is determined she will have color wherever she goes and Ez is committed to always being one step ahead of things that are dangerous or hurtful to anyone around him. 

Blurb ~

Still reeling from her divorce, Joss Murphy flees to Banjo Bend, Kentucky, where she'd been safe and happy as a child. The family farm is now a campground. Weary and discouraged, she talks owner Ezra McIntire into renting her a not-quite-ready cabin.

With PTSD keeping him company, Ez thrives on the seclusion of the campground. The redhead in Cabin Three adds suggestions to his improvement plans, urging color and vibrancy where there was none.

Neither is looking for love, yet the attraction they share is undeniable. Can the comfort of campfires, hayrides, and sweet kisses bring these two lost souls together?

Excerpt ~

Joss stopped under the canopy of trees that led back to the campground, opening her car window so she could breathe in the scent of early autumn. It was a hard thing for a person as busy as she’d always been to stare the future in the face with no idea what she was going to do with it. She would give herself time to decide, time to take more deep breaths and get over the feeling of dread that seemed to accompany her everywhere. Although she didn’t have enough money to last forever, it would carry her for a while.

She looked up at the trees, noting that the colors of the leaves were already changing and that the air smelled different—it wasn’t just the day’s lack of humidity. It was, she supposed, the scent of things dying, but she wasn’t going to think of it that way. To her, it was going to be all about starting over. Starting new in this beloved place that still felt like home.

HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN BUY LIFE'S TOO SHORT FOR WHITE WALLS:

B & N: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lifes-too-short-for-white-walls-liz-flaherty/1140917290?ean=2940160796727

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09QXPBGG2/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tkin_p1_i4

Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/gb/book/lifes-too-short-for-white-walls/id1606569657

Bio~

Liz Flaherty is rather bewildered by where she’s at in life. She doesn’t feel…er…elderly, but the truth is that she is. The Magnificent Seven grands have grown up on her, her own kids are all now older than she is, and her husband Duane has the same firm hold on her heart he’s always had. And it’s all good.

HERE'S WHERE YOU CAN FIND LIZ:

http://lizflaherty.net/

http://www.facebook.com/lizkflaherty

https://twitter.com/LizFlaherty1

Newsletter signup: http://eepurl.com/df7dhP

Giveaway ~

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Today You Have A Shot At CLAIMING SHANDY, Return to Welcome Book 4, from #RomanceGem Bonnie Edwards

Good morning, one and all! Hope you guys are having a splendid day thus far! I've got my Romance Gem friend, Bonnie Edwards, on with her new book, releasing today, CLAIMING SHANDY! Let's find out more...

Blurb ~ 

She thought her divorce was final…

Welcome WA, where rumor, gossip, and old grudges endure long past their best before date.

Justin Camden wants his life back. His wife back. His son back. And he’s returned to Welcome to get them. Justin has a plan for the Christmas season and moving in with his ex and his boy is just the beginning.

Shandy Camden is stuck. Her big oaf of an ex-husband has finagled his way into her home for the entire month of December. He claims to want an old-fashioned family Christmas with their son. She’s forced to let Justin stay because refusing will break her son’s heart.

Slowly, Shandy sees that her ex may have another agenda. But she doesn’t believe in the magic of Christmas the way their son does. Helpless and forced to live with her ex, Shandy struggles to overcome her growing attraction to the only man who’s ever left her. The only man she’s ever loved. But Justin left once and if he leaves again, she’ll never recover, and neither will their son…

When the truth comes out, Shandy and Justin may well have discovered that more than anything, Christmas is about love.

 

Warning: This book has lots of groveling in it. If you don’t want to read about a divorced man making things right, then this romance isn’t for you. 

Excerpt ~

Chapter One

December 1 Welcome WA

Justin Camden was no quitter. Never had been and he wasn’t about to give up now. But first he had to do battle against the dragons breathing fire in his gut. He’d never been this scared. Not even at fourteen when his dad caught him out driving his mom’s car at midnight.

He parked outside the Welcome Bar & Grill and called his buddy, Jake Morrow who was inside with a group of friends. Friends who included Justin’s wife, Shandy.

Everything he wanted to accomplish tonight hinged on whatever BS line Jake had come up with. “It’s me. I’m here. What did you tell her?”

In the background, Justin heard happy people greeting each other over the distant sound of a Christmas song. The season had begun. He climbed out of his car while he heard Jake excuse himself to take the call.

“Bedbugs.”

The background noise had receded, but Justin couldn’t have heard right. “What?”

“Every hotel in the area’s infested. Didn’t you know?” Jake said with a smirk in his voice.

“She’ll never believe that.” He had his hand on the brass door pull. Yanked it toward him.

“I believe she does believe me.”

He shook his head. No way. Shandy was the smartest woman he’d ever met and for the past three years, she’d been made of stone. He had to make her crack, but nonsense about bedbugs wouldn’t do it. The flame-thrower in his belly belched. Maybe he should turn around and leave.

“Plus, I told Shandy how much Brianna and I are enjoying our honeymoon period,” Jake was saying. “She can’t force you to stay with us. She has to let you stay at her place. She’ll have no choice.”

“Our place.” The home they’d bought together, to raise their family in. “You ass. Bedbugs?” He was inside the vestibule now, looking through the stained-glass partition, searching the restaurant side of the building. “I see the table.”

Jake stood a few feet away from the group. “Don’t worry, you got this,” he said, looking right at him through the multi-colored pane.

“My best and only shot.” He ended the call, plastered a smile on his face and made his way through the tables to where Shandy sat beside an empty chair. If this crazy bedbug story worked, he’d have a chance to get her angry. He needed her angry.

If she were angry with him, it was a sign that she still cared. That he could still make her feel something for him.

An angry Shandy was honest, and open. Angry Shandy was not a stone angel, cold and remote, the way she’d been for too long. He needed honest and open or his plan to return to Welcome and be the husband and father he wanted to be would fail.

Justin Camden was no quitter. He doused the flames in his gut.

YOU CAN PURCHASE CLAIMING SHANDY HERE: 

https://books2read.com/ClaimingShandy  

 Bio~

Bonnie Edwards has been writing all her life, starting with a poem about Santa suffering with gout. She was seven, Santa was a thousandteen years old. Delighted with writing, she went on to write family sagas, humorous contemporary romance, romantic suspense, erotic paranormal ghost romances and more.



She may jump around within romance, but all her stories come with a tear, a laugh, and a happy ending. Published by Kensington Books, Harlequin Books, Carina Press, and Robinson (UK) Bonnie’s stories stretch from short stories to novellas and novels. Now, she's happy to be publishing her work herself.

With 40 titles to her credit, she has been translated into several languages and sold books worldwide. Aside from standalone romances, she has 6 romance series that include Christmas romances and beach reads. Contemporary family sagas find a home in Return to Welcome. Learn about more exciting releases and get a free romance by subscribing to her newsletter, Bonnie’s Newsy Bits.

Cheers and happy reading!

Bonnie Edwards

Follow her online:  Amazon     Website     BookBub     Twitter     Facebook

 

 Thank you for joining us today, Bonnie! It was a delight having you! Come back any time!

The Return of Romance Gem Author Nancy Fraser and her RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDE!

Ladies and gents, please help me welcome back the lovely and prolific, Nancy Fraser! It's been forever since her last release. Like, four whole weeks! And, if you're thinking she's must not put out quality work at that rate, you're wrong. Her work is fun, smart, and well-edited. This month's release is a Last Chance Beach romance, RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDE. Not only is she a fantastic writer, look at the visual images she creates. This is her kick-butt cover!

Nancy brought along Jared Wilson, considered by some to be the second hero of RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDE.

Jared, to start off with, tell me about yourself? What is your occupation? Why? What are your strengths & weaknesses?

I have the honor of being best friends with Chase and Emily. I was supposed to be the best man at their wedding. At least until Emily ran away and left my good buddy at the rehearsal altar.

Now, five years later, Chase and I have gone into business together and own Sink and Swim Scuba and Land or Leap Parasailing. With Emily back as well, things are sure to be exciting.

As for strengths ... Basically, I’m a really good person. I care for my friends and all of Last Chance Beach. While both Chase and Emily left, I stayed behind and held down the fort, always expecting they’d return.

As for weakness ... I’m hiding a secret from my best friend. One that could end our friendship if he ever found out. Hint: I might have had a part in why Emily bolted on the eve of her wedding.

Whoa! Do tell! What is your earliest childhood memory?

My earliest and fondest childhood memory was my first day of kindergarten. It was also the day I met both Chase and Emily. I remember Emily fell off the monkey bars and Chase and I both rushed to help her. It was magic ... that first meeting morphed into all these years of friendship and togetherness.

What do you like about the heroine?

Emily? She’s the best. Not just a good friend, but a confidant. Despite running out on her wedding, she’s really a kind person. I'm confident that with her return to Last Chance Beach, she’ll realize coming home is exactly what she needs.

What is it that you want out of life?

Happiness. A great relationship, like Chase and Emily once had. Success. I want our businesses to thrive so that we can expand and never have to leave Last Chance Beach.

Has life handed you any major disappointments?

A few. Estrangement from my parents really hurt. Yet, as much as I want to fix that, it may not be possible. Having both Em and Chase leave me behind hurt for a while as well, but we’re working on it now that they’re back.

If you had an unexpected free day, what would you do with it?

That’s easy. I’d go cave diving. We dive nearly every day with customers, but that’s business and we only go as deep as the caverns – where you can still see the surface of the ocean. The real excitement is diving down into the underground caves. There’s nothing more relaxing, or reviving.

What is on your iPod right now?

I’m a mid-90s baby, but love music from the late 60s and onward. On my iPod at the moment ... a mixed tape of songs from the two Guardians of Galaxy movies. I get the best music of four decades all on one stream.

Hmm...interesting. Well, let's tell folks a little more about RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDE...

Blurb ~

Five years earlier, Emily Bennett ran out on Chase Michaels on the eve of their wedding. At twenty-two, she wanted more than the island of Last Chance Beach could offer. Intent on making a name for herself as a world-class journalist, she left to take a job with a big city newspaper.

Heartbroken, Chase left Last Chance Beach and joined the Coast Guard in an effort to rebuild his life. Returning four years later for a family emergency, he decided to stay and go into business with his best friend.

Emily’s returning as well. Not as the journalist she’d hoped to be but as a bestselling romance author. One of her books is about to be made into a movie, and filming will take place on Last Chance Beach and in the nearby town of Summerville.

Will Emily’s return give them a second chance at the love they once shared? Or, will her ‘other’ reason for leaving put a wedge between three best friends that can’t be healed by time or intention?

Excerpt ~

Last Chance Beach Wedding Chapel
Five Years Earlier

Chase Michaels stood at the front of the non-denominational chapel, in muted conversation with the justice of the peace. He turned slowly, surveying the half-dozen guests who’d been invited to the wedding rehearsal.

The only persons missing were his best friend Jared, Mr. and Mrs. Bennett and Emily, his bride-to-be.

Carly and Becca, Emily’s bridesmaids, hovered nearby.

“I’ve heard of a bride being late for the wedding before,” Carly whispered, “but the rehearsal?”

“You know Emily,” Becca responded, shaking her head in teasing resignation. “She does like to make an entrance.”

When the back door of the chapel opened, everyone raised their gazes in anticipation. Rather than the blushing bride, it was Jared Wilson, Chase’s best man, who entered the sanctuary and made his way down the narrow aisle.

Stopping just short of the flower-covered altar, he pulled Chase aside.

“She’s gone,” Jared said, his words falling like a lead brick on Chase ’s ears.

“What do you mean ‘gone’? Gone where?”

“Mrs. Bennett said Emily packed her suitcase, gassed up her car, and left. She’s on her way to Boston for a job interview.” Jared stuck his hand in the pocket of his jeans and withdrew a velvet pouch. “She left this for you.”

Chase didn’t need to look to know what was in the bag. After all, he’d been the one to give the modest ring to Emily in the first place. Drawing a deep breath, he spun around and faced his friends and family.

“Thank you all for being here for the wedding rehearsal.” Blinking back the threat of tears, he met his mother’s worried gaze. “However, there will be no need to practice. The wedding’s been called off.”

“Called off?” Carly asked. She and Becca exchanged glances and then closed the distance between themselves and where he stood. “If Emily’s got cold feet, we’ll straighten her out.”

Chase gave a quick shake of his head and bit back the string of curses welling up from within. “Emily’s gone. She sent back the ring and, as we speak, she’s on her way to Boston, eager it seems to put both me and Last Chance Beach in her rearview mirror.”

One-by-one, the guests slowly filtered out of the chapel, Carly and Becca giving Chase a hug of support. His mom wrapped her arms around his middle and squeezed, nearly drawing the tears he was fighting so hard to contain. Within minutes, he was left standing at the altar alone, but for the best friend he’d known since kindergarten.

“Are you okay, Chase?” Jared asked.

“No, but I will be. Just not anytime soon.”

Whoo! I don't know about you, but I'm already invested in this story! It may need to be bumped up on the to-be-read pile! 

Here's where you can get RETURN OF THE RUNAWAY BRIDE:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094TQVB28

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1567305673

B&N (Nook): https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/return-of-the-runaway-bride-nancy-fraser/1139455089

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/return-of-the-runaway-bride-2

Universal Custom: https://books2read.com/RunBride


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58049814-return-of-the-runaway-bride


BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/return-of-the-runaway-bride-last-chance-beach-romance-by-nancy-fraser

 

Thank you so much for joining us, Nancy, and for bringing along Jared! I can't wait to dip my toes in the waters of Last Chance Beach!

Return of the Runaway Bride Jigsaw Puzzle

Let's Get To Know GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH: DARBY ~ by #RomanceGems Author Jan Scarbrough

Welcome to Feature Friday where we have Jan Scarbrough in the spotlight with her book GHOST MOUNTAIN RANCH: DARBY. Let's talk to Jan about it...

DARBY is the second book in The Ghost Mountain Ranch series. Tell us about this series. What ties the books together?

Several years ago, I decided to give a story to Hank, the head wranglers at the Six Buckles Ranch in Montana. The story didn’t have such a happy ending, but it was a way for me to have Hank leave the Dawson family and go to Ghost Mountain Ranch where I knew he would meet his high school sweetheart Darby York.

The three books that I wrote after HANK tell the story of Darby and her two children Slade (named after her first love) and Kelsey. Darby is estranged from her father but comes home to the ranch at the urging of Hank and Kelsey. There she uncovers clues about her mother’s past. The next two stories in the series are complete romance, but they also reveal the mystery about what happened to Darby’s mother.


What's your inspiration for this series?

My husband and I visited a Montana dude ranch in 2016, so the Ghost Mountain Ranch is sort of a combination among several ranches. When I wanted to add a mystery to my new western series, my editor suggested doing something about the anti-war movement in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I read a few history books on the subject and came up with a complicated back story for Darby, her mother, and Darby’s family.


Tell us more about your heroine, Darby York. What in her past influenced her to be the woman we meet in the story?

Darby was very close to her mother. When her mother commits suicide, Darby feels guilty and thinks she’s somehow responsible. She flees the Montana dude ranch where she grew up and ends up working at a Kentucky horse farm where she meets and marries the wealthy owner. I wanted her life in Kentucky to be happy. She has children and a doting husband who indulges her passion for art. When the story starts, I wanted Darby to resist returning to Montana because of the guilt she’s never resolved.

What about Hank Slade, wrangler at Ghost Mountain Ranch? What's a wrangler? What kind of man is he?

A wrangler is someone who looks after horses or other animals on a ranch. On a dude ranch, a wrangler will get the horses ready and lead trail rides for the guests. Hank Slade is a loner. He’s been a wrangler at the Dawson’s ranch for years. Hank is unlucky in love. He had two loves—Darby and Liz Dawson, the wife of the ranch owner who has recently remarried. Taking the head job at Ghost Mountain Ranch gives Hank a new purpose in life. He doesn’t count on Darby coming back into it.


What inspired you to write about older protagonists?

I understand older protagonists better because I am older myself. I also like to give characters a second or third chance in life. We don’t get our lives right from the beginning. As Hank says, we learn from our mistakes.


Which character in the series is your favorite to write? Why?

I enjoyed writing about Darby and having her come to terms with her past. She runs away from her fears until she must confront the truth and her feelings.


Which character in the series is the hardest to write? Why?

I think Slade was the hardest to write. He’s unsure of himself but becomes a man working at the ranch. I hope I made his growth in self-confidence realistic.

Blurbs ~

HANK:

On Christmas Eve, Hank accepts the job of ranch foreman over the mountains in the Gallatin Canyon, Montana. But something dark is happening at the Ghost Mountain Ranch, where the past is reaching out in dangerous ways to haunt the living.


DARBY:

Thirty years ago, Darby Heston fled her family’s Montana dude ranch. Now she must return to help her father. Would the boyfriend she’d abandoned still be there? Hank Slade has never stopped loving Darby, but is he willing to risk his heart again? Secrets tore them apart once. Given a second chance at love, will more shocking secrets from the past destroy their hopes for the future?


SLADE:

Slade Heston is spending the summer as a hired hand at his grandfather’s dude ranch, trying to figure out life, not fall in love. Laurie Chastain is supposed to write promotions for the ranch, but she has a secret goal. What did a 1970s radical resistance group have to do with her grandfather? Laurie’s only clue leads her to Ghost Mountain Ranch. Will their growing attraction be enough to protect Slade and Laurie from the ghosts of the past?


KELSEY:

Kelsey Heston’s using the skills learned at her family’s Kentucky horse farm to improve tourism at her grandfather’s dude ranch. But what is her old college sweetheart doing here? Max Lee has come to Ghost Mountain Ranch searching for a missing woman. Instead, he finds Kelsey. But old secrets are stirring, secrets someone might be willing to kill to keep. Can they finally lay the old ghosts to rest, or will the echoes of a decades-old murder destroy their second chance at love?

Bio ~

Whether it is the Bluegrass of Kentucky, the mountains of Montana, or Medieval England, Jan Scarbrough brings you home with romances from the heart.

The author of two popular Bluegrass series, Jan writes heartwarming contemporary romances about home and family, single moms, and children, and if the plot allows, about another passion—horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books and the excitement of a Bluegrass horse race or a competitive horse show.

Jan leaves her contemporary voice behind with two paranormal gothic romances, Timeless and Tangled Memories, a Romance Writers of America (RWA) Golden Heart finalist. Her historical romance, My Lord Raven, is a medieval story of honor and betrayal.

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan self-publishes her books with her husband’s help.

YOU CAN BUY THE GHOST MOUNTAIN STORIES HERE:

https://books2read.com/HankGhostMountain

https://books2read.com/Darby

https://books2read.com/SladeGhostMountain

https://books2read.com/Kelsey


YOU CAN FIND JAN HERE:

Website http://janscarbrough.com/

Blog http://janscarbrough.com/blog/

Newsletter http://janscarbrough.com/contact/

Amazon Author URL https://www.amazon.com/Jan-Scarbrough/e/B001K8768A

Bookbub Author URL https://www.bookbub.com/authors/jan-scarbrough

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Romancerider/

Twitter https://twitter.com/romancerider

AllAuthor https://allauthor.com/profile/romancerider/

Thank you, Jan, for joining us today and for sharing your Ghost Mountain Ranch series with us!