It probably comes as no surprise that I love to read. For the past few years, I have jined the Goodreads Reading Challenge with the goal of reading a book a week. I have managed it the past two years.
This year, I am changing my goals slightly. I do a lot of beta reading, so I am still aiming to read 52 books this year, my goal is for less than half of that to be beta reads. You can track my progress on the sidebar of my website.
But reading is always more fun when I'm doing it with others, so I would like to start a reading challenge.
Would you like to join my reading challenge? Sign up here!
Hartfield Chronicles
Season 5 of Hartfield Chronicles is here!
Melinda loves Pat, but sometimes she wishes he had friends of his own. When he starts spending time with her dance partner, however, Melinda can't help the feelings of jealousy that surface, especially when he starts choosing him over her. Will their relationship survive Pat's new bromance?
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.
As a thank you, you will receive access to bonus chapters from the Hartfield Chronicles.
Announcing the New Hammerhead Club
Membership benefits:
Read new episodes 4 weeks in advance
Receive new episodes directly in your inbox
Access to new bonus chapters every season
Each month you are a member, $1 is added to your club credit. This credit can be used to purchase e-books and signed paperbacks at the Ashleigh Stevens Bookstore. Credits never expire.
Free Books
Movie Stars Don't Date Gossipy Girls A Young Adult Romantic Comedy
Dating a movie star is every girl’s dream. Except she’s the school gossip and he has sworn her to secrecy.
She’s The O.G. Gossip Girl. He’s a movie star. Will she get the scoop of a lifetime, or will her gossiping be the end of their relationship?
After an epic dance battle leaves Sarah sweaty but victorious, she’s shocked to learn her challenger was none other than movie star, Tod Strapper. She wants to shout it from the rooftops, but Tod warns her he can only see her again if she promises not to post anything about him. See her again?! What girl can resist the opportunity to date a star? Sarah grits her teeth and makes the deal.
When a video Sarah posts online uncovers a long-held secret about a girl at school, she begins to question her love of gossip. Then a revenge post targets her and Tod, effectively breaking her promise not to post anything about him and landing Tod in hot water with his manager. Can he forgive her? Does she even deserve forgiveness?
If you like when opposites attract, the disguise trope, and clean romantic comedy you’ll love Movie Stars Don’t Date Gossipy Girls. An Oak Grove High novella by KE Strand.
Rip Current A heart-warming, steamy contemporary romance featuring a neurodiverse hero.
The rip current of love is dangerous and unyielding, but it's the only rescue for two adrift hearts.
A bite-sized romance about a neurodiverse hero with autism who defies expectations, a psychologist masking her own grief, and their unexpected, steamy reunion. Life forces them to face turbulent history, embrace flaws, and jump into the terrifying rip current of love.
Murder at the Cellar
A fresh start small town cozy mystery
A recently widowed city girl. A curious note found by mistake. It’s about time this small town’s cold case mystery is finally solved.
When Avery Parker comes home following her husband's untimely death, all she wants is the familiarity and security of her peaceful hometown. All is good until she unexpectedly stumbles upon a cryptic note. Just twenty-six words hastily scrawled on a forgettable piece of paper and that’s all it took for everything in her life to be turned upside down.
As Avery scours the town to solve the mystery with old friends and new, she soon learns that in working to solve the case, her own life is in danger. With her trusty golden retriever pup unearthing clues, will she find the perpetrator before he finds her? The clock is ticking and there is no time to spare.
With more twists than the vines at Le Blanc Cellars, Murder at the Cellar will have readers guessing until the very end. Murder at the Cellar is best paired with a bold cabernet sauvignon. So, grab a glass of your favorite cab, cozy socks, and sleuth it out with the gang from Le Blanc Cellars!
Wine pairings and irresistible recipes included.
Would you like some free books in exchange for an honest review?
Want more free books? Check out these giveaways!
Do you have Kindle Unlimited? These books are free for you!
Other Books on Sale
Cross Country Hearts
A Sweet YA Enemies to Lovers
Her sister is the bride. His cousin is the groom. This love story involves two enemies, one car, and an epic road trip.
June's sister, April, is getting married. The lucky guy? A businessman whose cousin is Jasper King, the art maniac loner of her high school.
The hate between them is mutual, but they can't avoid one another before the wedding. That becomes impossible when the two are thrown together into a car and forced to drive down the East Coast from Boston to Jacksonville for the wedding.
The two embark on an unlikely truce and road trip, which brings them from art museums in New York to Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, and down to the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta. Along the way June must reevaluate her relationship to Jasper, which is that of bully and victim, and she must contend with her past actions. Sparks fly and ignite, and what happens next will go down in road trip history.
Craving Her Curves
A Billionaire Man Curvy Woman Romance- Insta Love Alpha Boss series
One Night. No Limits.
Jason
“When my financial right hand leaves me hanging right before the biggest meeting of my life, I’m furious. I need someone to replace him NOW—and the only person left at this hour is Melanie. I barely even know her – but since I walked in, I can’t stop looking at her…”
Melanie
"I take a few deep breaths before I leave the cubicle. I hurry out, only to run right into someone. The air is knocked out of me as they grab me. I look up and everything seems to stop.
Oh God. Jason Ford."
She’s a wholehearted girl struggling to support her family.
He’s her hot billionaire boss with his business on the line.
When Jason ropes Melanie into helping him in a multi-million dollar business meeting, she seems like the perfect stand-in. There’s only one problem. After just an hour in her company, Jason is dying to know what her curvy body looks like with nothing on…
Packed with a high dose of steamy romance that will keep you wanting more, delicious insta love and a hint of family drama, Craving Her Curves is perfect for anyone looking to get their fix for the day.
Deadly Diva
A Deliciously Addictive Cozy Murder Mystery
A luxury hotel, Hollywood stars, and a mysteriously dead celebrity.
Ivy Stone has her new job as a maid cut out for her when two halves of the ugliest celebrity divorce in decades come to stay at London’s Hotel LaFontaine. Everything goes wrong when a crashed murder mystery party ends with a smoking gun and a dead star.
Ivy finds herself in the middle of a thickening plot full of puzzling clues and multiple suspects with secrets to hide. Nothing is as it seems and someone is getting away with murder.
While navigating friendship & work, enjoying delectable dishes and falling more in love with Monty the Great Dane, Ivy’s amateur sleuth skills are put to the test as she realizes there’s more than meets the eye to this case.
When the story takes a surprise twist, Ivy must race against time to foil the true culprit before they strike again.
____________
A deliciously addictive cozy mystery full of charm and intrigue with bonus recipes included!
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I don't know about you, but every year I sit down and make a list of resolutions. For me, they are almost always the same: eat better, get in shape, actually use that gym membership I pay for.
And, of course, January always starts off well. But by the end of the month, I have given up on my resolutions.
So this year, I asked myself why. Why do I give up by the end of the month? And the answer was pretty simple. Because I usually set my goals too high. Within a couple of days, the goals feel unachievable.
So this year, I set myself specific, measurable goals. Instead of the broad undefinable Spend more time with my family resolution, I set the goal of Stop all work by 8pm to enjoy a family movie. Instead of the broad Get in shape resolution, I am determined to Exercise daily.
Of course, in addition to personal goals, I have also set goals as an author. A few months ago I attended my first post-covid author fair and, while it wasn't a great success for anyone, it was a fantastic reminder of how much I enjoyed these events. So my goal for 2023 is to Attend more author fairs. In order to make this measurable, I decided to Attend three author fairs in 2023. I even picked out which ones, although not all of them have been confirmed. (I would have picked more, but they would have interfered with the Spend more time with my family goal.)
I also have several publishing goals as well. Several months ago, I sent queries to many agents about my new murder mystery series. My goal for 2023 is to get an agent. My other goal is to publish three books this year. Two of them are almost ready and I hope to have them out by the spring.
How about you? What are your goals for the new year?
A Call for Beta Readers
A friend of mine has written a historical fantasy and is currently looking for beta readers. She is looking for readers over 18 who will be able to read the story and provide her with feedback by February 28th.
Here's the blurb:
1535 Scotland
Countess Malleta Wallace, the Lady Abbsmuir, has used the lessons she learned as a banker's daughter to turn around the failing estate her husband, the handsome Gavane Lesley, inherited as a young man. Abbsmuir now thrives thanks to her prudent investment decisions and his ability to attract loyal and hardworking tradesmen.
But sixteen years have proven that economic success and six healthy children aren't enough to sustain a happy marriage. As tensions with her reactionary mother-in-law rise and doubts of Gavane's fidelity can no longer be ignored, Malleta finds herself drawn to the Belgian portraitist Gavane frivolously commissioned, Phillipe LaLonde.
Malleta becomes torn between her many responsibilities to family and dependents, and a future in which she could share a true and lasting love, one that might be worth throwing everything away for. But will that choice bring happiness, or tragedy?
CONTENT WARNINGS: explicit sexual encounters, verbal and emotional abuse, violence and death
For more information on the process and to sign up, click here.
Hartfield Chronicles
Season 5 of Hartfield Chronicles is here!
Melinda loves Pat, but sometimes she wishes he had friends of his own. When he starts spending time with her dance partner, however, Melinda can't help the feelings of jealousy that surface, especially when he starts choosing him over her. Will their relationship survive Pat's new bromance?
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.
As a thank you, you will receive access to bonus chapters from the Hartfield Chronicles.
Announcing the New Hammerhead Club
Membership benefits:
Read new episodes 4 weeks in advance
Receive new episodes directly in your inbox
Access to new bonus chapters every season
Each month you are a member, $1 is added to your club credit. This credit can be used to purchase e-books and signed paperbacks at the Ashleigh Stevens Bookstore. Credits never expire.
Free Books
Frigg's Journey to Anasgar An adventurous journey for 8-12 year olds!
Invading trolls. A colony captured. And an unlikely group of friends who must save their world.
Is there such a thing as too much adventure?
When dreams come true . . .
They may not be all you imagined!
Captured by ogres! Exhibited in a freak show! When Frigg dreamed of adventure, this is NOT what she expected.
After trolls attack Frigg’s colony, the young dwarf and her friends escape and embark on a perilous journey to locate the legendary dwarf colony of Anasgar for help.
Blundering Bloodstones!
Can a dwarf, a faery, an elf, and a unicorn convince the defiant dwarves of Anasgar to help fight the trolls?
Or will her friends and family be enslaved forever?
Frigg’s Journey to Anasgar is the first book of an exciting new middle-grade fantasy series, Chronicles of Nadavir, that will follow a group of magical friends on journeys of adventure and discovery.
The Romance Dare The puns and innuendos of an Austin Powers movie set in a small Texas town.
What happens when a man is dared to read romance?
Welcome to Fortuna, Texas.
Jessie wants a romance reduction. But the Double D Ranch hides a secret. Since inheriting the property, Jessie kept her grandmother’s hoard concealed, but now she’s found the courage to purge the unwanted items: steamy novels, thousands of them. Romance has to go! Donating the books is a good thing, right? Not when coupled with a dare.
Enter B.J. Johnson, a bitter divorcee who wants nothing to do with women (but sex is okay). Shocked by the stockpile of paperback love, Jessie dares B.J. to read a few. The dare spirals out of control. Book clubs are formed. Plots acted out. In a town saturated with romance, Jessie finds her love life underdeveloped.
Keep Jessie safe. It’s the promise Josiah made to Jessie’s dying grandmother. He aims to honor it, even if it means protecting Jessie from himself. Failing her in the past has him on high alert when the Double D becomes ground zero for the arousal avalanche sweeping the town.
Read Jessie and Josiah's complete story in the The Double D Ranch.
Private Detective Carleigh Cole
An edge-of-your-seat story
Detective Carleigh Cole is on the case, but can she solve it?
Nora is missing and nowhere to be found. Her older brother, the only one who seems concerned, hired Private Detective Carleigh Cole. Why is she missing, and who is connected? With twists and turns and roadblocks at every new clue, will they ever find Nora, and is Carleigh good enough for the job?
Would you like some free books in exchange for an honest review?
Want more free books? Check out these giveaways!
Do you have Kindle Unlimited? These books are free for you!
Other Books on Sale
Wrestling With Bullies
Bullying, friendship, dedication and hard work run rampant in this coming of age pro wrestling novella.
Tibo walks into a new school. When he sees a kid getting bullied, he intervenes. A shared passion for pro wrestling quickly binds them together and a strong friendship starts to blossom. Tibo and his friend start training in pro wrestling and immediately want to reach for the stars. But the bullies do not take humiliation lightly and are plotting revenge. Will Tibo and his new friend be able to overcome the bullies and become the best pro wrestlers on the planet?
Aliens on Earth
a Limited Edition Science Fiction Romance Collection
What's worse than being mated to an alien warrior? Finding out your new mate is exiled to Earth, which means your hopes of getting off this forsaken rock just went out the window of his broken down spaceship.
In this limited edition collection of romances you'll find heroes and heroines thrown into heart-pounding adventures as they help their alien mates escape condemnation to exile on Earth, while others settle into a comfortable almost-human existence.
Out of this world romance can be found here on Earth with this limited edition collection of alien romances brought to you by a diverse group of USA Today bestselling authors along side some new and notable voices in the genre. Explore a whole new world of intergalactic intrigue featuring stories from the following sci-fi romance authors:
Mandy Melanson,
Elle Ryan,
Jade Waltz,
Melissa Riddell,
Diana Dawn,
Aurora Caine & Nova Edwins,
Ainsley Jaymes,
Corinne M Knight,
Holly Hanzo,
E.J. Powell,
Mariah Peace,
Chloe Parker,
Ami Wright,
Olson & Vance,
J.A. Roles,
Jodie A'Lores,
Calla Zae,
Debra Elise,
Kathleen Ryder,
Alys Fraser & Sassa Daniels,
Aurora Welkin,
Isabeau Moon,
Ashlyn Hawkes,
Leann Castellanos,
Aerin Ida Celestia,
Deysi O’Donal,
Tricia Schneider,
Sandra R Neeley,
Tori Kellett,
Margo Bond Collins,
Ashley Amy,
Susanna Eastman,
Remy Cavilich,
Helena Novak,
Elsie Frick,
Rhylie Matthews,
Elizabeth Gage,
Astrid Seabright,
Ambrose Cross,
C.E. Lashua,
Evie Burks,
Leeah Taylor,
Faera Fenix,
Kerry Keller,
AJ Mullican,
Cara North,
Kristen Collins,
Danielle Jacks,
Nyx Black,
K. ROSE,
Dove Priest,
Raven Hush,
Cassandra Joy,
JC Brown,
Kae Galla,
Melinoe Black,
Chrissie Angel,
Miri Stone,
K.O Newman,
Mariah Thayer,
Ruby Banks,
Sapphire Winters,
YD La Mar,
Star Wing,
Cedar Rose,
Jenny Evans,
Sienna Sway,
Kassandra Cross,
Aurora Hunter,
MK Robert,
Kerry Keller,
Kira Roman,
Muse Hunt,
Sheri-Lynn Marean,
Demelza Carlton,
Stacey Jaine McIntosh,
Ever Avarice,
TB Mann,
Delilah Rose,
Mariyam Hasnain,
K.N. Fray,
Minette Morean,
Maya Black,
Maggie Bonnet,
Ingrid Atwood,
Avery Meadows,
Faedra Rose,
Zoey Indiana,
Vivian Murdoch,
Naomi Valkyrie,
K. Rea,
Marley Tobin,
Lucee Joie,
Minette Moreau,
A.M. Proctor,
Zadie Fox,
Lena Lane,
Sabrina Silvers
This collection is chock-full of star-crossed lovers and fated mates. Meet these exiled alien warriors, princes and kings today!
Cat Scratch Murder
A Crystal Beach Paranormal Cozy Mystery
Magic in this witch’s family has a name: Trouble
Meet Sidney Grace. Quirky journalist, Hesitant witch, Professional butterfingers.
Her grandmother believes Sidney’s talent for communicating with the dead makes her the most powerful witch in the family, but Sidney just wants to make it through the day without getting fired.
A young writer living in Boston, Sidney is far from the small wacky town of Crystal Beach, Florida, where her spell-happy grandmother retired. She is perfectly happy with her career, her four cats, and the fact that she hasn’t been on a date in… well, years. All is well until her estranged mother informs Sidney that her grandmother has been arrested for murdering a resident at her retirement community.
Sidney road-trips to Florida to discover that her grandmother has no alibi, her grandfather isn’t as dead as she thought he was, and one of her cats can speak. To make matters worse, the handsome Officer Reece is tough on criminals and even tougher on witches. Who cooked up the deadly scone? And why are residents at Shifting Sands suddenly disappearing?
Now, Sidney must embrace her own magical talents to prove her grandmother’s innocence and stop the killer bent on destroying anyone who gets in the way.
You may also be interested in these books
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