Have I mentioned yet that this year is the summer of road trips for the Stevens family? My last newsletter was sent to you from Maine. As you read this, we are preparing our 900-mile trip to Atlanta. It is the furthest we have traveled with the camper, as well as the furthest we have ever driven with the children. It will definitely be an interesting experience and I look forward to sharing our adventures with you.
I want to thank everyone who replied to last week's email blast looking for beta readers. I received a number of responses. However, I still have room for a few more readers for my young adult romance. Of all my books in the Hartfield Chronicles series, Book 2 is one of my favorites. Unlike the webserial, where both voices are presented at the same time, the book features the two voices separately. However, you have the story of reading either Pat's story or Melinda's story first.
As always, beta readers will receive free copies of the final product, including the option for a free signed paperback. In case you're interested, here's the blurb:
When his movie finally finishes filming, Pat can't wait to return to Hartfield to spend time with his brother. But Walter would rather pretend they're complete strangers. At least his friend doesn't seem to mind him hanging around.
Melinda has just about figured out how to balance her schoolwork with her new dance class and friends. She's even found a way to spend some time with her boyfriend, Eliot. Life should be perfect, right?
Except for the fact that Eliot doesn't like that Melinda's best friend is a boy. Or that Melinda happens to be friends with a famous actor.
And just when Melinda thinks her life can't get any more complicated, an unexpected kiss forces her to reexamine they way she thinks about one of her friends.
When Melinda is invited to join a new dance class, she sees this as her big break, a chance to advance her skills. Before she can accept, however, another kind of break stops her in her tracks.
Pat wants to be the supportive boyfriend, but his efforts seem to be making Melinda uncomfortable. He can’t go to his own friends for advice, because they can’t understand.
After Melinda calls for another type of break, she and Pat must examine their relationship to determine whether they are meant for each other.
Hartfield Chronicles follows the lives of Melinda, Pat, and their friends as they navigate their way through boarding school life. Each episode features two stories, one from Melinda's point of view and one from Pat's, along with an excerpt from Melinda's writing journal. New episodes are published every Friday.
Here's what you missed:
Episode 87: Melinda and her brother are invited to visit Pat's family
Episode 88: Melinda and Pat have a misunderstanding
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A short story loosely based on a popular fairy tale - Welcome to Grimmly Woods
She's lost her ability to sing. Will she also lose her chance at love?
Ariel can no longer sing after a mean prank by her cousin, Ursula.
Even worse, the one guy she'd had a crush on is returning to Grimmly Woods for a special duet with Ursula. There's a rumor that Eric has written a special song for a special girl, but since Ariel's lost her ability to sing, she doesn't stand a chance.
She hopes Eric leaves town as quickly as possible and never remembers the girl who once had an amazing voice. Because she doesn't want to relive the humiliating day she lost it.
Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery An Alien Sci-Fi Romance
There are a million ways to end up in the Bride Games. But it takes only one.
She's playing this game to lose.
Every unmarried female human over the age of 21 gets entered once a year. You can also accept extra entries for legal infractions—instead of paying a parking fine, for example, you can request an extra entry. Lots of women do that. I mean, why not? The chances are astronomical that your name will get chosen to be one of the hundred or so women who get shipped off to space every year.
And even if your name is drawn, the odds are slim that you’ll match up with an alien who’s looking for a mate.
Most of the lottery-drawn women come back to Earth every year and resume their lives as if nothing changed.
But some don’t.
And no matter what, getting drawn in the Lottery means you have to compete in the Bride Games.
Guess that's where I'm heading now.
I only hope I can avoid catching the eye of one of the giant, rainbow-hued brutes whose mission is to protect Earth—and who can claim me as a mate.
All because I was Entered in the Alien Bride Lottery…
72 Hours in Savannah Quick is Back for Another Adventure
Murder, Mystery, & Twinkies!
Jonathan Quick is in Savannah, just trying to find love and Twinkies. But the police have a different agenda. A body found at the local ballpark has a trophy sticking out of it. Not only is Quick the expert in identifying baseball relics, but he's also connected to the suspected killer. The police think revenge is the motive. Quick is sure it's greed. And now he has 72 hours to find the killer and the most valuable artifact in baseball history. It's a treasure hunt like no other in the land where pirates routinely buried gold and people who got too close to the truth.
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Secret Supers
What happens when 'differently-abled' people become 'super-abled'?
Jeremy Gentle fell flat on his face at therapy. That was normal since he had cerebral palsy. But his new superpower wasn't normal.
Then things got weirder when his best friend, Dan Elanga, got a different superpower. But Dan was still blind.
Kayla Verdera and Aubrey Wilcosky, two girls in their middle-school special ed class, discovered they too had new superpowers. Kayla was mute and needed a walker. Aubrey lost two legs and used crutches. But they were as powerful as the boys.
What should the four friends do? Jeremy knew if the word got out, it'd be a media circus. Then they started fighting crime, as the Secret Supers. Who knew a disability could be a perfect disguise? No one would ever think of disabled kids as superheroes. Then they ran into problems they never expected.
Captured by the Earl
The Secret Crusaders Book 2
As a member of the Distinguished Ladies of Purpose, Lady Emma Sinclair strives to help those less fortunate, even as others disregard her ideas as fanciful nonsense. That is, until she accidentally starts a rumor she is betrothed to Philip Fitzgerald, the powerful but absent Earl of Peyton. As society celebrates her victory in capturing the elusive lord, she enjoys new influence. Everything goes perfectly, until…
The earl returns.
Philip is shocked to arrive home to an unexpected betrothal. He doesn’t know Lady Emma’s motives or goals, yet the intelligent lady intrigues him. He will continue the ruse, chasing her secrets, even as he continues his own clandestine work. He saves people while in disguise, setting London aflame.
As everyone guesses the identity of the mysterious masked rescuer, Emma and Philip delve closer and closer to the truth, and each other.
When secrets are revealed, will a pretend betrothal become real?
Ivan's Dilemma
Mila K. Mysteries
It’s been a month since Mila returned to Chernivtsi. And it had been an eventful homecoming. She was still contemplating how Pietro, whom she thought was the lost love of her life, could have been such a fraud and then killed so horribly?
She was glad the school year had started, and she was able to focus on her courses and students instead.
However, with the arrival of the new dean circumstances become both good and bad for Mila. Though Sergei Vasilovici seems to be a challenging fellow with no real connections or much of a personal history, Mila finds him an acceptable replacement for Pietro Melnik as dean, especially when he offers her a promotion. At the same time, he is not as amiable with the students, particularly Ivan Popov. The two are seen arguing at Sergei’s welcome assembly and when Sergei is found murdered in his office the next morning Ivan is pulled in as the likely killer.
When she realizes what has happened Mila rushes to help Ivan. For though Ivan may be a womanizer and headstrong, Mila is very sure he is NOT a murderer. Ivan's arrest also brings his brother Oleck rushing home from his posting in Kyiv.
The two join forces to help Ivan and soon discover that there is more going on than meets the eye…and maybe that applies to the two of them as well.
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Every year, the Stevens family visits our family lake house in Maine. In times past, all the Stevens children would bring their families and all the cousins would be able to play together all week. The past few years, however, this has become difficult and we have found ourselves visiting with the grandparents alone.
Not that it isn't still fun. There are so many things to do. During our 2020 family kayak trip upriver, I was inspired to write my romantic suspence novella, Kayaks, Kisses & Monsters. (If you haven't read it, go download it now. It's free!) During our family hike this year, I gained some inspriation for the romance novel I started last month.
Did you know that I have a lot of stories set in Maine? They are based on some of the places I visit every year. Most of these stories are still in the refining process, although one is scheduled to be released by the end of the year.
Speaking of which, I am currently looking for beta readers for this book. The book is ready to be published, although there may still be a handful of typos that will be addressed during the final proofreading stages. I am looking for overall feedback, such as Did you like the book? and Is there anything in the book that felt unrealistic or forced?. As always, beta readers will receive free copies of the final product, including the option for a free signed paperback.
In case you're interested, here's the blurb:
She wanted to discover how her friend died. Falling for the grieving brother was never part of the plan.
Pen pals since the age of eleven, Katie and Lisa have been best friends for more than half their lives. When Katie learns Lisa has died, she drops everything to visit Lisa's hometown and pay her respects.
When a mysterious stranger turns out to be Lisa's grieving brother, Katie can't help herself. She offers to help Jeff go through Lisa's things and prepare their childhood home for sale.
But when she stumbles upon Lisa's unfinished novel, Katie begins to suspect Lisa's death may not have been an accident. The more she reads, the more convinced she becomes. Not only was Lisa's death not an accident, but she knew her killer. Now it's up to Katie to follow the trail before she becomes the next victim.
When Melinda is invited to join a new dance class, she sees this as her big break, a chance to advance her skills. Before she can accept, however, another kind of break stops her in her tracks.
Pat wants to be the supportive boyfriend, but his efforts seem to be making Melinda uncomfortable. He can’t go to his own friends for advice, because they can’t understand.
After Melinda calls for another type of break, she and Pat must examine their relationship to determine whether they are meant for each other.
Hartfield Chronicles follows the lives of Melinda, Pat, and their friends as they navigate their way through boarding school life. Each episode features two stories, one from Melinda's point of view and one from Pat's, along with an excerpt from Melinda's writing journal. New episodes are published every Friday.
Here's what you missed:
Episode 85: Pat and Melinda say goodbye for winter break
A Young Adult Coming of age dealing with choices and teen angst
Choosing a future is never easy.
Eli Sterling is the star pitcher on his high school baseball team. He has a bright future in the majors but recently, something has changed.
He’s angry, moody, and scared.
It seems that no matter how hard he works, he always falls short in someone’s eyes.
Except for Izzy. She is his best friend and the only one who understands.
As he begins to question everything about who he is and what he truly wants for his future, the only place he finds peace is in the treehouse that sits between his house and Izzy’s.
Both a blessing and a curse, their bond keeps him together, even as he slowly spirals out of control and realizes that not all is what it seems, and learns that it’s okay to reach for the dream.
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Pumpkin Run
A Cinderella Retelling, Clean & Wholesome High School Romance
Even though she’s a junior at Castlewood High, Cici Norwell’s life is anything but magical. She spends her days cooking and cleaning for her stepmother, a badly aging beauty pageant queen, and doing homework for her two mean girl stepsisters, Stacie and Drew, all while trying to earn straight A’s so she can one day escape to college… and freedom.
But Cici’s life takes an unexpected turn one fateful Saturday morning when she’s running late for work as a forbidden shortcut leads her to cross paths with Coach Z and his newest recruit, a fast-footed new student named Deke Encantador. Trying to avoid detention, Cici shows up for cross-country tryouts the next day. But before she can race toward a different future, Cici’s stepmother steps in to control her destiny with a wicked plot to keep Cici away from running, Deke, and any hope of a life of her own.
With the announcement of the City of Castlewood’s first annual Pumpkin Run 5K, Cici realizes it might be the last chance she has to earn a spot on the cross-country team and see Deke again. With a little help from an unexpecte--d friend, can Cici outmaneuver her stepmother and win the happy ending she deserves?
When Stars Collide
Second Chance Romance Book 2
When Stars Collide is a standalone sequel to When Time Stands Still, a multi-award-winning second chance romance.
Mena Straszewski has always lived life on her own terms. After graduating from the prestigious Cogsworth University, she landed her dream job as an editor at a publishing company in Queens, leaving her life in Virginia behind. Years later, having established herself in New York, a turn of events reunites her with her former boyfriend and partner in off-color commentary, Peter Monroe, now a single father still living in Virginia. Everything seems to be falling into place for Mena, until one by one, the dominoes of her life begin to fall.
Heartbroken after their long-distance relationship forces Peter to break up with her, Mena’s life is thrown off course in ways no amount of planning could have prepared her for, and straight into the path of Phineas Drake. Phineas Drake is handsome, charismatic, and one of the most eligible bachelors in New York City. He also happens to be the founder of Drake Publishing and Mena’s boss.
Between red carpet events and luxury penthouses, Phineas shows Mena a life she could only imagine before. But just as she’s beginning to move on, Peter finds his way back to her, and for the first time in her life, Mena is rendered indecisive; torn between the life she always wanted and the one she never knew she needed.
Masters' Mistress
The Angel Eyes Series A Cowboy Dystopian Romance
From the award-winning author of Jake's Redemption...
A man bound by chains.
A woman burdened by regret.
Will love set this tortured pair free?
In this nightmarish future where women own men, Bret Masters refuses to serve anyone. But after spending years evading slavers in the mountains of the Pacific Northwest, he’s furious when he’s finally caught and sold. So, although his mistress has a pretty face and deliciously tempting curves, he vows to escape.
Angel Aldridge hides her pain behind fences as sturdy and vast as her ranch. And even though her newly acquired slave is a ruggedly handsome cowboy, she’s not about to let her fantasies endanger the people she swore to protect. But between her always-watching enemies and her wounded heart, she’s reluctant to admit she may need him in more ways than one…
As the two toil side by side, Bret is surprised to discover Angel’s vulnerability and her compassionate nature. And the more time they spend together, the harder she finds it to resist her feelings and to soothe her lonely soul. But when they’re stranded alone together, the barriers between mistress and slave may not be strong enough to withstand their red-hot attraction.
Can Bret and Angel overcome their fears to sow the seeds of lasting love?
Sticker Sheet Murder
A Sticker Shop Mystery
When stickers are the key to solving murder...
Millie Grant enjoys working at her sticker shop in small town America. On a typical spring day, it's Millie's week to pick up pizza for the book club. When she goes to say hello to the owner, who happens to be her best friend's father, she finds him face down on top a pile of stickers from her shop.
Millie, with the help of her aunt and sidekick pug, begin their own investigation with disapproval from the hunky detective assigned to the case. Can Millie clear her shop's name from association and bring peace back to the town?
Happy 4th of July Murder
A Reporter Roland Bean Cozy Mystery
Barbecue, festive cocktails, fireworks and … a dead body?
During a 4th of July beach party, reporter Roland “Beanie” Bean enjoys the display of firecrackers exploding into the night sky — until he hears three bangs that sound more like gunshots than Roman candles.
Later, when Beanie trips over a dead body in the sand dunes, he realizes he was right. Someone used the booming explosions of fireworks to cover up a murder!
Covering the case, Beanie discovers a slew of suspects: A dangerous bookie. A bitter ex-girlfriend. And a strange man with ominous ties to the dead man’s past.
Beanie is determined to get the truth even though his sleuthing makes him the target of a demented killer.
Happy 4th of July Murder is a holiday cozy murder mystery novel. With lots of clues and red herrings, it features plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing until the end!
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