guest author

New Release: A Sour Note by Jill Piscitello

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

When murder provides a welcome distraction…

On the heels of a public, broken engagement, Maeve Cleary returns to her childhood home in Hampton Beach, NH. When a dead body turns up behind her mother’s music school, three old friends land on the suspect list. Licking her wounds soon takes a back seat to outrunning the paparazzi who spin into a frenzy, casting her in a cloud of suspicion. Maeve juggles her high school sweetheart, a cousin with a touch of clairvoyance, a no-nonsense detective, and an apologetic, two-timing ex-fiancé. Will the negative publicity impact business at the Music Box— the very place she’d hoped to make a fresh start?

What inspired your story?

I wanted to write a mystery for quite some time but always veered into sweet romance territory. The summer of 2019, I was strolling along the beach in Hampton, NH when the idea to drop my next book into that setting took shape. The idea snowballed into the realization that a cozy mystery could include elements of sweet romance while staying true to the cozy mystery genre. My hope was for readers to enjoy following the trials and tribulations of a relatable character as she navigates a new path while managing a variety of family dynamics and extracting herself from a limelight she never planned on stepping into.

Give us a brief look at your writing process. Are you a plotter or pantser? How much time did you spend on this project? What is your writing schedule like?

I begin each manuscript as a pantser but eventually make periodic stops to draft and update an outline. I spent a few years writing and editing A Sour Note. The summer of 2020 limited social activities, so that allowed for more time for writing. I am also a teacher and am limited to nights and weekends during the school year.

Enjoy an excerpt of A Sour Note:

With his mouth set in a grim line, he waited.

If anyone else had enough nerve to presume she owed them an explanation, she would respond with a solid mind your own business. Instead, the seventeen-year-old still inside her refused to tell him to get lost. “He was hiding money in his office.” This was one of those times when learning how to wait a few beats before blurting out inflammatory information would come in handy. Each second of passing silence decreased her ability to breathe in the confined space. She turned the ignition and switched on the air conditioner.

“How do you know?” His volume just above a whisper, each dragged-out word hung in the air.

“I found it.”

“When were you in his office?” He swiped at a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face, then positioned a vent toward him.

“Last night.” When would she learn to bite her tongue? Finn’s switch from rapid-fire scolding to slow, deliberate questioning left her unable to swallow over the sandpaper lump in her throat.

“Where was Vic?”

She stared at the back of the building, wishing she’d kept her mouth shut. “He’d left for the night.” If she averted her gaze, she could pretend his eyeballs weren’t bugging out of his head, and his jaw didn’t need a crane to haul it off his chest.

“You were at the town hall after hours? Did anyone see you?”

“A custodian opened his door for me.” She snuck a glance. Sure enough, features contorted in shock and horror replaced his boy-next-door good looks.

A Sour Note can be purchased at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Jill Piscitello is a teacher, author, and an avid fan of multiple literary genres. Although she divides her reading hours among several books at a time, a lighthearted story offering an escape from the real world can always be found on her nightstand.

A native of New England, Jill lives with her family and three well-loved cats. When not planning lessons or reading and writing, she can be found spending time with her family, trying out new restaurants, traveling, and going on light hikes.

Follow Jill at her website: https://jillpiscitello.com/

New Release: Dark Highlander by Virginie Marconato

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

I think I became a writer the day I decided to write a (very bad, shamefully close to the real story) version of White Fang when aged nine or ten! As for the Middle Ages I fell in love with it at school during a history lesson, then Kevin Costner’s Robin Hood put its final seal on it all. A girl of twelve then, I never recovered!

Hi!

I’m Virginie, a historical romance writer specializing in 14th and 15th century England. Why? Because I live and breathe anything Middle Ages, have done since I fell in love with that time in history during a lesson at school. It was as if I’d been there, watching my dashing knight ride off into the distance (now I think of it, shouldn’t I have pictured him riding towards me??)

My husband and two children know all about my passion for castles in all states of ruin and even have stopped rolling their eyes when I suggest visiting yet another one. I didn’t choose my husband because he’s Welsh but what a marvellous coincidence that he happened to be born in a place where we can’t move for castles, courtesy of Edward I’s conquest of Wales in the 13th century! The only downfall is, every time I see a new one, I come back home with a new idea for a story and then remember I already have 15 on the go… When they find out I write books everyone tells me: “Ooh, I don’t know how you can come up with all these stories!” Well, for me the writing is the fun, easy part. I could write all day every day and never run out of ideas.

I have published 8 books now, and have many more projects queuing up in a more or less orderly fashion. Fortunately my job as a part-time English teacher gives me some time to see to them.

My latest release, Dark Highlander, is my first Scottish romance and Cormac, my first Highlander hero. I enjoyed creating him so much that I can already say he won’t be my last! I’m toying with the idea of giving Cormac’s brothers their own stories, I love them all so much. In fact it’s always a sad moment when I finish a book and know I will never be with these people again. They have become part of my life, it’s like saying good bye to a friend moving to a different country when you’ve been living in close quarters for months. That’s why I like rereading my own books after a few months or years have passed; it’s like revisiting the good old times. I remember where I wrote a particular scene, or laugh when I recall how long I spent rewriting another bit.

There are common themes to my writing. Foods and smells always feature heavily. I also love books where the hero and heroine come from different countries. I suppose that, being a French woman married to a Welshman, I know first hand that it adds an extra dimension to the relationship. Different languages, different cultures… It’s a godsend for a romance writer.

This particular book just wanted to born, it kept playing in my mind, the story developed on its own and all I had to do was put the words down. It’s difficult to explain but it was a very pleasurable experience. As a consequence, it was written twice as fast as my other books, even if it is longer. I am not one for plotting in advance, I prefer to see where the story goes and see what has possibilities and the premise for Dark Highlander was full of them.

Cormac has been tricked into marriage. Pregnant Hazel has been duped into accepting his hand. Together they will flee to escape this union they do not desire – only to fall in love with each other.

I hope you have as much fun reading Dark Highlander as I had writing it!

Follow Virginie at her website: https://virginiemarconato.com/

Lady Hazel Fletcher’s father, fiercely opposed to Scottish independence, means to use her as a weapon in his scheme to instigate trouble between England and Scotland. She is pregnant by her lover, a neighboring nobleman, but her father blames a Scotsman he has deliberately framed.
Cormac MacLeod, realizing the trick when he’s accused of fathering the child of a woman he’s never met, refuses to marry her and is thrown into the dungeon.
Allied against her father’s treachery, Hazel and the fierce Scot plan to escape together, then go their separate ways. But once free, they find Hazel’s lover cannot protect her, and reality hits—they have no choice but to flee to the heart of the Highlands together…

A Fourth of July Romance: A Boy and His Dog by Chloe Holiday

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

There are two holidays in A Boy and his Dog, actually, and both are integral to the plot. The first is New Year’s Day, when a bombing at a Kosovo parade forever changes the lives of Sergeant Grant Calloway and his bomb detection dog, Mojo.

The main holiday featured is the Fourth of July. The small town in the Colorado mountains charms the heroine, Hope Hernandez, as the community decorates for the upcoming celebration. I wanted to invoke that carefree childhood feeling of summer: the fireflies, the awe-inducing fireworks, running around at picnics, and swimming until our lips turned blue. Hope really wants a place to belong, to call home. However, she’s working in the ER as a summer “audition” intern, and her holiday is spent stitching up accident victims, unaware that her newly-adopted ex-military K9 will have PTSD triggered by the fireworks, and that the dog’s former handler is desperately searching for him.

Chloe is a military physician-turned-novelist who writes the things she loves to read: steamy, fun stories about ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, smart women and men who aren’t jerks. About friendships, whether it’s close women or a good bromance. She wants all the feels: the thrill of a smoldering gaze or the barest brush of fingertips, the shocked gasp at the underhanded villain, the angst of heartbreak, the joy of reunion, and of course, happily ever after!

Chloe enjoys delivering a sneak peek into intriguing scenarios, drawing from her background (military personnel, medicine, aviation) as well as other cultures like Greece. A bit of danger always gets her going, so many of her Romances have a suspense subplot.

She hates to read the same old thing, with only the names and places changed, so her goal is to bring folks a fresh, fun, new story every time, with NO CLIFFHANGERS!

More than anything, she wants to craft a rollicking, great story readers can’t put down, one where love prevails in the end, one that will whisk people away from their own tribulations.

Come join her at https://www.chloeholiday.com/! and sign up for her newsletter to download a free copy of Finders, Keepers.

Medically separated from the Army, bomb tech Grant Calloway will stop at nothing to track down his former K9 partner. But the lady doctor who’s adopted Mojo doesn’t want to let him go.

If Dr. Hope Hernandez were any more exhausted, she’d be the one on the gurney. Her drive for perfection leaves her scrambling to juggle an insane ER schedule, studying for boards, and her boyfriend—whoops! Ex-boyfriend.

Fine. One less thing demanding her attention. Hope buries her pain in work. The truth is she’d get more affection from a dog, with less risk to her heart. Safe and uncomplicated. The second she sees the forlorn, retired military K9, Hope falls hard: he’s sad and alone, just like her. They head to Colorado, aiming for a fresh start—if she can score the coveted ER job. Yet when a scorching hot veteran shows up to lay claim to her dog, he disrupts her careful plan. He’s anything but safe—he’s dynamite. And he’s oh, so wrong if he thinks he can charm Hope into giving up her loyal companion.

Bomb disposal technician Grant Calloway’s whole life blows up after an IED detonates at a Kosovo parade. He and his working dog, Mojo, save hundreds with their off-duty heroism, but reality bites hard: Mired in red tape, then bounced out of the Army for hearing loss, Grant’s blindsided when Mojo’s adopted out by a civilian who won’t understand the needs of a military-trained dog. Grant’s best friend deserves better. Grant turns his back on a lucrative job and instead hits the road for Colorado to track down his dog.

He thought finding Mojo would be the hardest part, but the woman who took him won’t listen to reason, and Grant’s charm has no effect. Refusing to be diverted by her big brown eyes and gorgeous smile, Grant lays siege to reacquire Mojo—by whatever means necessary.

A Boy and His Dog can be purchased here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097JBFXVQ?tag=namespacebran246-20

An Oldie but a Goodie: A Shop Girl in Bath by Rachel Brimble

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Thanks so much for having me here today, Chelsey, and for the opportunity to tell your visitors a little bit about the first book in my Shop Girl series, A Shop Girl in Bath. The book was published five years ago today on July 1st 2018, and it is so wonderful to be celebrating all its past and (hopefully!) future sales 😊

The book is set in Bath’s finest Edwardian department store and opens in January 1910. It is a story of female empowerment, family drama and, of course, romance! The heroine is Elizabeth Pennington, the eager heiress of Pennington’s who is passionate, ambitious and desperate to wrench the reins of the store from her father who would much prefer to be passing Pennington’s onto a son rather than a daughter.

When he finally relents and hands over the running of Pennington’s to Elizabeth, she is determined to bring the store into the new decade and encourages the store’s shop girls to embrace their own aspirations and dreams. Not long after she takes over, our hero and master glove maker Joseph Carter enters the store in a bid to secure a contract for his collection of gloves. From there, Elizabeth and Joseph become a business dream team and romance blossoms along the way with plenty of drama and intrigue to keep the reader turning the pages! 

A Shop Girl in Bath was inspired by my love of the British period dramas Mr Selfridge and The Paradise. I adored these shows and if your visitors did too, I am sure they will enjoy this series. After the shows finished, I had a nagging compulsion to create a department store series of my own but focus almost entirely on the ambitions and personal lives of the women. The series goes on to encapsulate the growing opportunities for women as well as major Edwardian events such as the fight for the Vote and even a shop girl travelling aboard the fated Titanic for New York…

I am lucky enough to be able to write full-time and treat my writing as a job the same as any other, working from 8.30am – 5.30pm with a lunch break in between. I am naturally disciplined, but I think my commitment (I will often squeeze in a couple of hours or so on the weekends, too!) comes from my absolute love for writing. I am a plotter at heart and spend a lot of time getting to know my characters and writing a chapter plan before I begin the actual writing. Once I’ve started the first draft, I write from beginning to end without looking back. The hard work comes in the following drafts, but the first draft is my opportunity to have fun!

People have often asked me how I have managed to be so prolific over my career having written 29 books in sixteen years and it is very much due to my writing process. However, in January 2022, I embarked on a history degree so my writing time has definitely been drastically reduced! I have gone from writing two and half books a year to one and a half. On top of that, I am a firm believer in the joy of paying things forward whenever you can, so I also run a First Chapter Critique service for aspiring romance and women’s fiction writers. The writer sends me the first 3,500 words of their novel and I fully critique the pages as well as providing them with a 3-4 page report on characterization, dialogue, setting etc. specific to their story. If any of your visitors would like to know more, I invite them to visit my dedicated webpage at https://rachelbrimble.com/first-chapter-critique-service/ for all the details!

Rachel lives in a small town near Bath, England. She is the author of 29 novels including the Ladies of Carson Street trilogy, the Shop Girl series (Aria Fiction) and the Templeton Cove Stories (Harlequin). Her latest novel, Victoria & Violet was released 17th October 2022.

Rachel is a member of the Romantic Novelists Association as well as the Society of Authors and has thousands of social media followers all over the world.

To sign up for her newsletter (a guaranteed giveaway every month!), click here: https://bit.ly/3zyH7dt

Follow Rachel on her website: https://bit.ly/3wH7HQs

1910 – A compelling tale of female empowerment in Bath’s leading department store. Perfect for the fans of the TV series Mr Selfridge and The Paradise.

Elizabeth Pennington should be the rightful heir of Bath’s premier department store through her enterprising schemes and dogged hard work. Her father, Edward Pennington, believes his daughter lacks the business acumen to run his empire and is resolute a man will succeed him.

Determined to break from her father’s iron-clad hold and prove she is worthy of inheriting the store, Elizabeth forms an unlikely alliance with ambitious and charismatic master glove-maker Joseph Carter. United they forge forward to bring Pennington’s into a new decade, embracing woman’s equality and progression whilst trying not to mix business and pleasure.

Can this dream team thwart Edward Pennington’s plans for the store? Or will Edward prove himself an unshakeable force who will ultimately ruin both Elizabeth and Joseph?

A Shop Girl in Bath can be purchased here: https://geni.us/fl1Cxi

Meet the Characters of the Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

If you enjoy cozy mysteries, you might have seen these skeletons floating around the internet:

Shortly after the second book, Death by Pins and Needles was released, it became apparent that the cover skeleton needed a name. Ms. Black put the naming in the hands of the readers and set up a contest. The winning name got a free digital copy of Death by Pins and Needles. 

As you can see by the cover for the third book, Death by Surfboard, Susie now has a male skeleton that needed a name. She created another contest with the same prize. Well, I helped name the male skeleton (Susie will be sharing the details of these two contests down below), and I got a free copy of Death by Surfboard! 

So, here is my review of Death by Surfboard:

Holly is a swimwear executive, and she has a new colleague who she does not trust. She tried to warn her boss about him, but she got shooed out of his office instead. Well, quickly into this new hire Holly is proved right. And who does her boss assign to clean up terrible-colleague’s mess? Holly, of course!

Lucky for Holly, and unlucky for terrible-colleague, his body is found on the beach, attached to his surfboard. But the issue is not over for Holly because the detective, who also happens to be Holly’s friend, accuses not one, but two innocent suspects. So, Holly, being the nosy do-gooder that she is, can’t just sit back and let the detective figure things out. She then spends page after page doing crazy things that risk her job and her life on her quest to discover the real murderer. 

This is my first time reading a cozy mystery, and I’m in love. Even though it’s the third book in the Holly Swimsuit series, I was able to jump in and figure out who everyone is and the layout of Holly’s world. Holly reminds me of a grown-up Hanna Marin (Pretty Little Liars): fashion forward, blunt, and she can’t pass up an opportunity to solve a mystery. I thought it was a great challenge for the victim to be such an unlikeable character. I mean, the reader is made to feel he deserves what he got, so why try to solve his murder? Because the two suspects the police are looking at Holly knows are innocent. So, it becomes less about justice for the victim and more about protecting the innocent from being framed. I was determined to figure it out before Holly did, and I’m proud to say, I was half right. I’ll definitely be reading the first two in the near future.

Reading a series out of order is not new for me. I do it all the time. So, I have teamed up with Susie Black herself to introduce the recurring characters of the Holly Swimsuit Mystery series. That way, no matter where you start in her books, you will know who is who.

Hello, please allow me to introduce myself. I am Susie Black, author of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series. I’ve been asked to share what entails writing cozy mystery series.

Like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery series, I am a ladies’ swimwear sales exec. From the beginning of my career, I have kept a daily journal that chronicles the quirky, interesting, and often challenging people I’ve encountered as well as the crazy situations I’ve gotten myself into and out of. The journal entries are the foundation of all my writing.

As a sales exec, I am a people person. So, naturally, my primary focus is on character development. Once the characters are created, the plot easily falls into place because it reacts to the characters in the story, not the other way around. I chose to write my stories as part of a series, but because I like to give options, each book can be read on its own out of order without the reader getting lost. Pretty cool, huh? So, how in the world did I accomplish this? By making references to the background of the story setting and the main characters. I make each plot, the murder method, the victim, the murderer, and the minor characters different in each tale. But I anchor the continuing main characters with consistent and distinct histories, personalities, and quirks that readers invest in and root for because they appear real.

Here are some of the important continuing main characters who appear in every book and a bit about them:

HOLLY SCHLIVNIK: Wise-cracking, irreverent Holly is the protagonist of the series who is patterned after yours truly…Holly is the me I always wanted to be. Loyal to a fault and fearless, Holly is a ladies’ swimwear sales exec/nosy amateur sleuth who can’t mind her beeswax and sticks her nose everywhere it doesn’t belong. Holly has a quirky personality trait. She inherited her nana’s fear of death. They both respond to death by laughing.  And Holly does when she discovers a corpse. Holly is famous for this quirk and all her friends ask if she laughed whenever she has discovered a corpse. Holly’s pet phrases to describe her feelings are Yikes, Cripes, Holy Guacamole, and Merde.  

QUEENIE LEVINE: A compact dynamo equipped with a razor-sharp wit and sharper tongue, Queenie is Holly’s close friend and professional colleague…and her erstwhile crime-solving sidekick. Queenie has a distinctive habit of pushing her index finger up on the tip of her nose whenever she’s thinking out loud. When trying to flesh out the murderer, Queenie is always the one who asks “Who has the most to lose?”

JOAN BINDER: Quick-witted, sarcastic Joan is the oldest of the Yentas- four of Holly’s colleagues she meets with for coffee every workday morning at a coffee shop in the California Apparel Mart lobby to kibbitz and compare notes and opinions. Joan has a habit of looking over her eyeglasses perched on the tip of her nose in her “kindergarten teacher” disapproving pose whenever she delivers one of her acerbic zingers.

Dr. Sophie Cutler: Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Sophie Cutler is Holly Schlivnik’s lifelong friend and not your typical Coroner. For a medical doctor, “Snip,” as Holly calls Sophie, has atrocious eating habits. She is a pizza and cheeseburger lover as well as a desertaholic. Sophie refuses to share any of her cheesecake and is known to use a fork as a weapon to fight off Holly’s attempts to swipe a bite.

Smart Alec Snip has caller ID on her phone. When Sophie sees it is Holly calling, irreverent Snip answers the phone with hilarious greetings: such as “Good afternoon. This is Los Angeles County Assistant Medical Examiner Dr. Sophie Cutler. You stab ‘em we slab ‘em.”

Sigmund Freud AKA Siggie: Introduced in book three of the series, lovable, nosy Siggie is Holly’s male standard-size Poodle/assistant sleuth, and Psychiatrist. Holly discusses everything with Siggie-her love life, her friends, how to deal with pain-in-the-patootie customers, as well as viable options to flesh out a killer with her four-legged companion. Siggie might not speak but he gets his points across just the same. If he likes Holly’s game plan, he barks his approval. He shows his disdain for some of Holly’s crazier sleuthing ploys by rolling his eyes or shaking his head from side to side.

The book cover Skeleton:  Whodathunk that a skeleton wearing a swimsuit would ever garner such a huge amount of attention? I’ve had countless numbers of readers tell me they found the book cover with the skeleton so intriguing; they bought the book to see what kind of story was inside! The skeleton on every book cover was so popular it took on a life of its own and became the face of The Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series brand and became a successful marketing ploy.

Before the release of Death by Pins and Needles, the skeleton demanded she is given a name so I ran a contest to name the female skeleton and was inundated with hundreds of entries. So many great names were submitted that I ended up using several of them as a first name, middle name, and surname: Mizz Bone-ita Skelemina Bonz.

Before the release of Death by Surfboard, Mizz Bonz informed me she had a boyfriend and insisted he needed a name. So, to make our girl happy a second contest was launched and her boyfriend is now known as Mitzer Skeltor Bone-Jangles. Writing a standalone book requires a goodly amount of character development and plot planning. Writing a series requires the same. But by having a cast of long-term continuing characters an author must create one with distinctive histories, personalities, and quirks for them to keep readers interested enough so the series successfully continues.

The series continues in Holly’s next adventure, Death by Cutting Table, which publishes August 2, 2023.

Follow Susie Black and her journey at https://authorsusieblack.com/

New Release: The Snow Queen by Suzy Davies

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

The World of The Snow Queen

Let me take you back to London Town, in the old days. A sister and brother live in an upstairs tenement. They are poor and not yet worldly-wise. My book, “The Snow Queen” takes you to this London you may already know or have read about. But although the metropolis is very real, it is seen through a magic lens in the mind’s eye.

The city shivers with chiming voices on fragile winds that sigh. The presence of an ethereal beauty rides the wintry landscape. Children are in a playground on the swings. Back and forth, back and forth, they ride. Time stands still in an innocent world of cars and trains, traffic lights, steaming chips and ketchup, Christmas trees and oily rainbows on cracked concrete… and Mum at home awaiting them…

Yet as they grow, and the years pass slowly, someone else – a wizard – is watching. He has a plan. To conjure a spell to ensnare a boy, a teenager of good character, a hard-working boy, Adam. He will be The First Slave. 

And so, through this dark conjuring, this malevolent wizardry, the world of reality and the world of magic collide. The dark force of the wizard’s magic will be known and felt. And the children of the world will be held captives forever…

Far, far away, over the ocean, all the enchantment and wonder of a glittering winter; a winter in The Snowlands, a place of mystical animals that tread the land and soar on the wind awaits. This is a mythological land of dreams. 

A shoemaker is making a boot fit for a king. A princess awaits in her Danish castle with her horses who follow the star of Pegasus. A seamstress in Rovaniemi is sewing a gown of sparkling threads and jewel-drops, fit for a queen.

The Snow Queen resides in the frozen glass Ice Palace in Norway. She is waiting for her wizard. Together, they will be an evil power couple, and rule till the end of days.

A Snow Goose rides through the storm, carrying Sean to his one true love.

A brave dwarf has a plan…

Adam slumbers, a prisoner, alone in the fairy tower on the west wing of The Ice Palace. Beside his bed, a game of chess, the black king toppled over.

Aragog lies in wait in her glistening web …and always, there’s dark magic… 

The wind whistles through the skeleton tree. In her crystal ball, the old gypsy caught a glimpse of what would befall her daughter. The three sisters cast their spells, harnessing good and the forces of nature.

There is yet a ray of hope. Truth be told in the prophecy of The Book of The Ancients.

In a fair world of good and evil, there’s a battle ahead. Justice is all in this moral universe. Darkness consumes itself.  The Light shines forever. Shimmering rainbows dance through shadows in the snow. Celestial light glows from the heavens.

The world of “The Snow Queen” is a romantic world; a fairytale, of castles and queens, rivalry, jealousy, revenge, destiny and inheritance. It is a world of sacrifice and redemption.

My book is an epic love story. Bryony, a young warrior with dark gypsy eyes, is the heroine. Over the sea, as if in a dream, she rides, and back again, on an ocean of forgiveness, to a land, long forgotten, back in time…

The Idea for The Snow Queen

My book is a reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s original story.The seed of an idea to have a gypsy protagonist in my story came from my late dad’s cousin who was a television producer for Children’s BBC Wales. At a churchyard gate, in Llanberis, she informed me that on my late dad’s side of the family, we are descended from Roma people.

My Writing Process

I have written at length about my writing process on Goodreads. Basically, I combine plotter and pantser tactics. I have an outline of the story and a sense of an ending before I begin writing. However, I think you can overplan, so I revise and adjust my ending at intervals in line with the resolution of the story. The characters “tell me” which way to go. It’s a process of forward and back, and thorough editing before it all comes together. I think spontaneity is what makes writing full of life and exciting. From the seed of an idea, to outlining, writing and several edits, it takes me about 18 months to write a book this length. Part of this is because I enjoy tackling a variety of projects so I am never working on one project full time until I reach the editing stage.

Suzy Davies is a writer of fairy tales.

She was born into a dual language family. Her dad was a lecturer, and her mum a housewife. Both her parents shared a love of art.

In her early days, Suzy lived in a big old mansion in Wales; her grandmother rented the top flat for a peppercorn rent, and Suzy, her mum, dad and grandma lived there in an extended family. 

The house made a huge impression on her in these formative years. There was something magical about it; it had iron gates, a long sweeping driveway, and an island of trees that screened it from the road, making it seem like Suzy’s secret place.

In the neighbourhood, in spring, there were country lanes of wild flowers, in summer, hedgerows where berries grew. In autumn, the sea mirrored the sky in stormy colours, in winter, frozen waterfalls made ice sculptures and tunnels.

All year long, there were birds.

From an early age, Suzy loved the magic of nature and wildlife, and this is reflected in her writing.

Suzy is an educationist, and her varied background includes teaching, life coaching, counselling and voluntary work. She has worked as a bookseller.

She resides in Florida, with her husband, Craig who also loves to write. They have two tabby cats who are semi-wild, Dinky and Glammy.

Follow Suzy on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/473767.Suzy_Davies?from_search=true&from_srp=true

The Robber Girl is back! Bryony has a special destiny, foretold in The Book of The Ancients.With her dark eyes on a handsome Roma boy, Sean, and a gypsy crown, she has a battle to win, cheating death. She must rescue Adam from the Snow Queen’s web of evil, defeating the wizard and his dark sorcery. If she fails, the evil couple will cast a maleficent shadow of doom across the world, enslaving all children until the end of time. In this tale of romance, magic, rivalry, inheritance and destiny, a heartwarming epic journey awaits.

New Release: The Emerald Fairy and the Dragon Knight by Jennifer Ivy Walker

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

Inspiration for The Emerald Fairy and the Dragon Knight

The Emerald Fairy and the Dragon Knight is the conclusion of The Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy, a fated mates paranormal fantasy adaptation of the medieval legend of Tristan et Iseult (Tristan and Isolde), interwoven with Arthurian myth, Avalon, Elves, Druids, forest fairies, and dark magic.


My trilogy was inspired by the medieval legend of Tristan et Iseult, which I discovered while obtaining
my MA degree in French literature. When I became a high school French teacher, I wrote a little play,
Yseult la Belle et Tristan la Bête, which was a blend of the original story and the fairy tale, Beauty and
the Beast (which was originally written in French).


I decided to expand my play into a paranormal fantasy trilogy, incorporating dark tales from the enchanted Forest of Brocéliande, birthplace of Merlin, Lancelot, and Viviane, the Lady of the Lake. Many of the French myths I researched were incorporated into my trilogy!


In this trilogy, the Emerald Fairy Issylte is the Princess of Ireland who has been denied her rightful crown
by her wicked stepmother, the Black Widow Queen. The Dragon Knight Tristan is the heir to the throne
of Cornwall and Lyonesse who leads Issylte’s army as she confronts the wicked queen. Armed with
otherworldly weapons, the fated mates join a cast of characters that include Lancelot, Viviane,
Guinevère, diabolical dwarves, Druids, woodland fairies, Avalonian Elves, and shapeshifting wolves,
bears, and mermaids—the Wild Rose and the Sea Raven trilogy comes to its thrilling conclusion in The
Emerald Fairy and the Dragon Knight.

Anything else to share?
My novel, Winter Solstice in the Crystal Castle, features some of the characters introduced in my trilogy.
It’s a steamy medieval romance between a fiery French princess descended for Viking Valkyrie and the
sullen, solitary knight who suffers an impossible love for her, winning the chance to compete for her
coveted hand in marriage in the perilous Yuletide Joust.


My novella, Flames of Flamenco, is a sizzling romance set in Montmartre, the bohemian heart of Paris,
between a talented artist who melts the frozen heart of the heroine with his passionate flamenco
dance.


Finally, my second novella, Amour in Avignon, is a Cyrano de Bergerac inspired romance which takes
place in the French city of Avignon during the world-famous Festival of Theater.
All of the works will be published by The Wild Rose Press later this year.

Enthralled with legends of medieval knights and ladies, dark fairy tales and fantasies about Druids, wizards and magic, Jennifer Ivy Walker always dreamed of becoming a writer. She fell in love with French in junior high school, continuing her study of the language throughout college, eventually becoming a high school teacher and college professor of French. Explore her realm of Medieval French Fantasy at https://jenniferivywalker.com/. She hopes her novels will enchant you.

Wielding a trio of enchanted Elven weapons to battle a dark wizard and a legion of diabolical dwarves, Tristan is faced with the impossible choice between saving the woman he loves or defending his endangered kingdom. Inexplicably compelled to remain in the sacred forest where he hears the voice of her heart, the heir to the throne of Cornwall incurs the wrath and scorn of his army when he decides to hunt for his captive mate.


Her verdant magic greatly enhanced by the mystical Morgane la Fée, Issylte must summon a
coalition of Naiad nymphs and celestial fairies to destroy a nascent evil as she fights to reclaim her
rightful crown.


When the Black Widow Queen unites with a malignant menace and a ghost from Tristan’s
haunted past, the Emerald Fairy and the Dragon Knight must ally with a triad of shapeshifting warrior
tribes to defeat a Viking Trident and defend their trinity of Celtic kingdoms.
Interwoven fates. Otherworldly mates. Destiny awaits.

New Release: Forward in Time with Jelly Beans by Michelle Godard-Richer

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

My sweet romance, Forward in Time with Jelly Beans, is the second story in a time-travel romance duology. It’s set in the small, fictional town of Mayflower, Illinois during the Great Depression where new doctor, Henrietta Hinchcliffe, realizes her dream of becoming a doctor during a time when the profession is still predominately male. But she longs for more—a soul-deep love connection like the one her brother Henry has found. Little does she know, she’s about to embark on the quest of the lifetime in the future to save her unborn nephew where she’ll meet another handsome doctor, Joshua Bingham.

The inspiration for this story came from the first book in the duology, Back in Time with Jelly Beans. I wasn’t ready to leave my characters and the fictional world of Mayflower, Illinois behind. In fact, I still feel the pull to my fictional town, and I may return there again someday.

I would call myself a discovery writer. I have a loose outline and a sense of where my story is going, but mostly I’m pantsing my way along. As I connect with my characters, I just let the story go wherever they take me. This lends to additional suspense and unpredictability, especially when I don’t always know what’s going to happen next.

Michelle Godard-Richer is an award-winning thriller and romance author living in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. With her degree in Criminology, she writes edge-of-your-seat suspenseful stories with strong protagonists and diabolical villains.

Follow Michelle at her website: https://michellegodardricherauthor.com/

Forward in Time with Jelly Beans can be purchased here: https://books2read.com/ForwardinTimewithJellyBeans

In 1932, Henrietta Hinchcliffe graduates from medical school and jumps on the opportunity to reopen a clinic with Dr. Iain Carter. After realizing her dream, Henrietta should feel fulfilled, but she longs for more–the kind of soul deep love her brother and parents found.

Fate intervenes when a magic box of jelly beans whisks her away to the future. Soon after arriving, she discovers her unborn nephew will die in 1932 if she can’t find a way to save him. To complicate matters, the answers she seeks may lie with a handsome doctor named Joshua Bingham. 

New Release: Back in Time with Jelly Beans by Michelle Godard-Richer

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

My sweet romance novella is set in the small fictional town of Mayflower, Illinois. The town’s economy is fueled by the Mayflower Jelly Bean Factory founded by Henry Hinchcliffe. Henry doesn’t realize it, but his life and factory are in jeopardy. And the only one that can save him is Bella Thomas, a journalism student from the future. But she’ll have to convince him to believe her wild tale of time-travel while trying not to fall in love with him knowing he’s destined to marry another.

The inspiration for this story came from one of the weekly chats hosted by The Wild Rose Press when the Jelly Beans and Spring Things Collection was announced. As a group, authors and our president Rhonda Penders were floating genres and ideas. Rhonda expressed a desire for more romance and the idea of time-travel came up. Somewhere in my brain, I connected the dots, and the idea of time-travelling jelly beans was born.

I would call myself a discovery writer. I have a loose outline and a sense of where my story is going, but mostly I’m pantsing my way along. As I connect with my characters, I just let the story go wherever they take me. This lends to additional suspense and unpredictability, especially when I don’t always know what’s going to happen next.

Back in Time with Jelly Beans is out today and can be purchased here: https://books2read.com/BackinTime

Michelle Godard-Richer is an award-winning thriller and romance author living in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in Alberta. With her degree in Criminology, she writes edge-of-your-seat suspenseful stories with strong protagonists and diabolical villains. Follow Michelle’s journey at her website: https://michellegodardricherauthor.com/

Fueled by curiosity, and her dream of becoming a big-time journalist, Bella Thomas digs deep into the history of her small town. Mayflower thrived until the local Jelly Bean factory burned to the ground in 1927, killing handsome founder, Henry Hinchcliffe, and devastating the economy.

In a twist of fate, instead of Bella finding the past, she’s snatched out of the present and transported to the factory a year before the fire. There she is rescued by the sweet and swoon-worthy Henry.

Bella can’t stop herself from falling for him even though he’s destined to marry another and suffer a tragic fate. Without any regard for her own happiness, Bella is determined to prevent the fire and save Henry. Even if he can never be hers.

New Release: Outcast Artist in Bretagne by Diane Scott Lewis

Posted on by Chelsey M. Ortega

My story is set in Brittany, France, in the small village of Saint Guénolé. It’s 1941, a year after the Germans have invaded France during WWII. A beautiful country backdrop marred by swastika flags, roaring motorcycles, and marching German soldiers. Norah, an Englishwoman, fled to France to hide the shame of her out of wedlock pregnancy the month before the invasion. Trapped, the baby stillborn, she lives with her cousins and draws birds, aching to return home.

August is the battle-worn German Commandant. He loathes Hitler’s policies. A widower, he starts to appreciate France and needs a change in his life. The lively Englishwoman catches his attention. Is she a spy? Or are his interests more visceral?

A TV mini-series, Island at War, inspired my story. The commandant was a complex, often-charming man.

I’m a terrible pantser, throwing ideas around, a vague idea of where to begin and where to end, until my characters show me where they need to go. Then I tighten it all up. The project could take a year and I try to write every morning, from 7 to 12. I fell in love with these characters and hate to say goodbye.

Diane Parkinson (Diane Scott Lewis) grew up near San Francisco, joined the Navy at nineteen, married in Greece and raised two sons in Puerto Rico, California, and Guam. She’s a member of the Historical Novel Society and wrote book reviews for their magazine. She’s always loved travel and history and has had several historical novels published. Diane lives with her husband and one naughty dachshund in western Pennsylvania.

Follow Diane at https://dianescottlewisauthor.blogspot.com/

Unwed and pregnant, Norah Cooper flees England to hide with her cousin in Brittany just before Germany’s 1940 invasion of France. After her baby is stillborn, she’s trapped under the Occupation as war expands across Europe. Norah grieves and consoles herself by sketching wildlife. When she’s caught too near the coast, she comes under scrutiny of the German commandant, Major August von Gottlieb.

August loathes what Hitler is doing to his country and France but is duty-bound to control the people in his jurisdiction. The lively young Englishwoman piques his interest. Is she a spy? He questions her and asks her to sketch his portrait so he might uncover the truth.

Soon, their relationship evolves into a passion neither of them can deny. She endures taunts from the villagers. His superiors warn him of not being harsh enough—he could be transferred or worse. He plans to sabotage a major war machine of the Reich, while she secretly helps the Resistance. Both acts are fraught with danger while kept secret from one another. Will their love ruin her and end in heartbreak? Or will they overcome the odds and survive the surging threats on all sides?