So Much Excitement

Wow! It’s Labor Day. That’s the big end of summer celebration for Canada and the USA. Mexico celebrates Labor Day May 1. But for most of us in North America, it’s the last big picnic, BBQ, or vacation before the school year starts.

Unfortunately, some places have decided to start school earlier. That just fouls up vacation times for many families who have timeshares or long-standing vacation plans. Personally, I’m glad that my area doesn’t participate in earlier school starting dates. Tidewater, Virginia is a tourist area. That means many families have thirteen weeks to make a living. It’s an odd way to live, but so many people are dependent on summer vacationers. I’ve got an upcoming book set in an island town that depends on summer tourists.

In 114 days, it will be Christmas. Yikes! I’m not certain where this summer went or how it is possible that Christmas is around the corner. That also means that the Authors of Main Street will be putting out another Christmas boxed set. Most of us are putting the final edits on our books for that set.

I’ve written quite a few books for those boxed sets. In fact I’d have a difficult time deciding which books I like best. I guess my readers like A Snowy Christmas in Wyoming as it has sold over 100K and is still popular.

The other book that stands out is A Sister’s Christmas Gift. It will be released this fall as a single title. Both those books contain toddlers. Babies and Christmas just seem to go together.

What doesn’t seem normal is writing a Christmas story when it’s hot outside. So I try to imagine I’m sitting in front of the fireplace snuggled under a warm blanket. I might even listen to a little Christmas music. Every job as its idiosyncrasies. Writing Christmas stories in the summer is part of my job.

This year’s Christmas boxed set, Christmas Cookies on Main Street, features cookies and we’re including favorite cookie recipes.

 

Loving Arabelle, a historical western, will be coming out this month. Cynthia Woolf’s book the first in this series, Thorpe’s Mail Order Bride, was just released.

One more thing! (Yes, I’m liberally using exclamation points because all of it is exciting.) I’m getting a new website. I can’t wait. I’ve turned it over to an agency. Meeting with them was almost overwhelming as the number of things they say they will do makes my head spin. I’m sitting there thinking huh? I am the most techno-challenged person alive. Yet this company swears it will be a cakewalk for me when they are finished. I hope so.

My little website was fine in 2008. Eleven years later, it’s 2019, and it totally sucks. The website has been in severe need of updating for quite a few years. So I’m excited and hopeful. I can’t wait to see what this company will do to it.

Here’s the way it looks now. http://www.ayersbooks.com/ Before the end of the year, it should be spectacular.

With luck, I’ll being putting out the newsletter for the Authors of Main Street. I’m going to learn how to do that and tie it to Facebook. Don’t forget to like us on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/AuthorsofMainStreet/

~New Release~ A Fun Beach Read by Raine English

AMY: BEACH BRIDES SERIES

Twelve friends from the online group, Romantic Hearts Book Club, decide to finally meet in person during a destination Caribbean vacation to beautiful Enchanted Island. While of different ages and stages in life, these ladies have two things in common: 1) they are diehard romantics, and 2) they’ve been let down by love. As a wildly silly dare during her last night on the island, each heroine decides to stuff a note in a bottle addressed to her “dream hero” and cast it out to sea!

It’s been three years and Amy Sheridan has yet to hear that her bottle’s been found, reaffirming her belief that love isn’t in her cards, so when the book club decides to return to the island for a reunion, she’s reluctant to go, until a psychic informs her that she’ll meet a handsome stranger there. Will romance be in her future after all?

Dawson Yates has it all…except a wife. Being a wealthy bachelor hasn’t been a problem until a talk show host questions his single status as CEO of a popular matchmaking service. After that, board members pressure him to give up his playboy lifestyle or step down from his position. Setting up a phony engagement at Enchanted Island seems like the perfect solution, until he learns that his chosen “bride” is already married. While pondering what to do next, he discovers a message in a bottle, wedged between some rocks. Could the author of the note be the answer he’s looking for, or would she steal his heart and break it in two?

Amy: Beach Brides is available at Amazon for $2.99, or Free with Kindle Unlimited!

~*~

USA Today bestselling author Raine English writes sweet small-town contemporary romance, along with paranormal and romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. To receive information on all her new releases, you can sign up for her newsletter, visit her website, like her on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter.

Once Upon a Time…in Serendipity

Since last time I wrote a blog here, a “book birthday” has come and gone.

Taylor Kincaid’s story, Once Upon a Time, released on June 8th. Most of this year’s deadlines have been related to group projects, and Taylor’s story got sidelined several times. So I was super excited to get this book out into the world for readers.

Taylor and her twin sister, Hannah, were introduced in Serendipity, Indiana Book Two–Emily’s Dreams. Emily wasn’t the most lovable chick on the planet at the beginning of that story, but her teenage sisters were beyond obnoxious!

A few years later (in Serendipity time), Taylor and Hannah have grown up a little bit. In fact, they’re out of college! But as you might expect, Taylor has some emotional growing up to do.

Here’s the blurb for Once Upon a Time:

From the USA Today Bestselling author of Small Town Christmas, another heartwarming romance set in the beautiful, rolling hills of Southern Indiana. Follow your heart, and believe in the powerful magic of Love…

Taylor Kincaid has big plans for her life. Falling in love with the mysterious new shop owner in town isn’t one of them.

Taylor and her twin, Hannah, have graduated from college and are ready to leave Serendipity forever. The only problem is an absence of jobs in their fields.

They decide to move back home temporarily, living with their parents again, and taking a little sabbatical from all the hard work (and partying) of college.

But Marcus Kincaid has different expectations of his daughters. The free ride is at an end, and they have to find work in Serendipity if they expect to live at home.

Hannah accidentally volunteers to work at the Standish Family Christmas Tree Farm with their sister Emily (Kincaid) Standish. But Taylor will float resumes in the little town, and find a job that will pad her bank account, and be easy to leave when the right employment opportunity comes along.

It’s a great plan, until she steps into the antiques shop on the town square, and meets its handsome, enigmatic new owner. Now leaving may be more complicated than staying.

Sweet romance, “coincidences” that might be more than that, and a love that survives the unthinkable come together in this new Serendipity, Indiana tale.

***

Writing Once Upon a Time was a joyful experience, and I hope that reading it is, too.

Hannah will get her own romance this autumn. In Once Upon a Time, you’ll get some hints as to where Hannah finds her guy. But if you’ve read any of the Serendipity books, you know there are surprises in store for her.

A reviewer touched my heart recently when she said that reading the Serendipity, Indiana series makes her happy. These days, that’s some pretty awesome validation.

Happy summer reading to you!

Magdalena

It’s November in August

Yesterday, I got a fan letter about my Calendar Girls series. As trite as it sounds, I love hearing from my readers, and I do answer every fan who writes to me, whether it’s via email, Facebook or Twitter. I’m always thrilled when a reader takes the time to let me know they enjoyed my work. I delight in learning they stayed up ’til two in the morning reading. After all, it’s only fair. I had lots of long nights writing those words.

This particular reader had devoured all four of the stories available in the series in the last month and was anxiously waiting for the next installment. I hesitate to tell her, I’ve only written the first chapter of that book. I mean, the most recent book, HOMECOMING IN NOVEMBER, was only released on July 28.

If you haven’t checked out my Calendar Girls, now might be a good time. Each book features two different women from the same Long Island seaside town, Snug Harbor, at a different crossroads in their lives. In HOMECOMING, you’ll meet Terri O’Mara, a recovering alcoholic, and Dr. Jayne Herrera , the new veterinarian in town who’s struggling to get over her own sordid past.

Continue after the cover to read an excerpt:

“What I want is for you to relax and spend some time with me.”

“Why?” Yes, my mouth often ran faster than my brain, thanks for asking.

To his credit, Max just laughed. How about that? I made Max Trayham laugh.

“Do you know why I sat next to you at the meeting?”

This time, I sipped my juice before answering. “Now that you mention it, umm, no. Why did you?”

“Because, right now, I need a friend. And out of everyone in that room, you looked like the one person I could trust.”

“I did?”

“Yes. And I sensed you could use a friend, too. You had this air of desperation about you that called to me.”

“Gee. Thanks.”

“I don’t mean that the way it sounded. We’re all freakin’ desperate at those meetings. I saw you race inside, and I felt this need around you, like you were hoping something or someone could fix whatever sent you there. And I realized I was in the exact same situation. Then I thought, ‘what if she and I could fix each other?’ I’m new to the program, new to this town, but I wonder if you and I might become ‘sober buddies.’ Not a sponsor relationship. I’m too much of a rebel when it comes to authority figures. We would be two people, two equals, who help each other stay straight. No judgment, just support, encouragement, and a sympathetic ear. You know what I mean?”

Throughout his speech, I gaped at him, sure this was some colossal joke my friends were playing on me. This wasn’t the real Max Trayham, but a celebrity lookalike. Any minute now, Siobhan and Pan would jump out of the kitchen and shout, “Gotcha!” But no one did. And he really did look like the real Max Trayham, a Max Trayham waiting for my answer.

“I think so. But here’s the thing.” There went my mouth again, leapfrogging over my brain. I drained the last of my juice to buy time for my gray matter to catch up, but when it did, it agreed with my mouth. I owed Max the truth. No matter how crushing the fallout would be. “I’m only forty-nine days sober myself.”

I expected him to realize he’d misjudged me. And when he leaned forward, I prepared for his speech about how he suddenly had an appointment he’d forgotten about. I even had my no-big-deal face ready to slip on. But, instead, he reached for his glass and sat back to sip, completely at ease. “That’s perfect, actually. You and I can find our way together. We’ll keep each other honest and on the straight and narrow. What do you think?”

What did I think? That he was either insane, or I was. My mind couldn’t get past the idea this television star wanted to be “sober buddies” with me: boring, small-town, ne’er-do-well Terri O’Mara.

“Don’t you have close friends or family you’d rather spend time with?” Curse my wicked mouth and empty juice glass.

“Honestly?” He offered me a wry grin, the one his television character wore whenever he was about to outwit a business rival. “That’s part of my problem. All my friends are what dragged me down. I need to find new friends—people outside the spotlight who can help me stay sober. People like you, who are also struggling and understand what I’m going through. People with their priorities in order. People who aren’t caught up in the Hollywood game. People who are down-to-earth, grounded, and fighting some of the same demons I’m facing—without the glitter. People who won’t sell me out to the tabloids for a quick buck. What do you say? You feel like doing me a solid?”

“So…we’d…like…call each other and stuff?”

“Absolutely. Any time. You get that itch in the back of your throat—you know the one I’m talking about—at three in the morning and don’t think you can fight it off, you call me. And I’d be able to call you in the reverse situation.”

“You’re going to call me. And I can call you.” I knew I sounded like an echo chamber or some robot on repeat, but I couldn’t fathom how I’d managed to get a television star to want to be my new buddy. Believe it or not, this kinda stuff didn’t happen to me on a regular basis. Still, there was only one answer I could give him. “Deal!”

HOMECOMING IN NOVEMBER is available now from Amazon.

 

New Release Day! BEACHCOMBER HEAT

Today book 6 in the Beachcomber Investigations romantic detective series is out. Beachcomber Heat sizzles with a heat wave hitting Martha’s Vineyard and a crime wave too. Of course it’s more complicated than that as the crime-fighting partners dangerous Dane and sexy Shana work to catch a jewel thief who’s out for more than jewels.

Here’s a snippet:

AMAZON          B&N          iBOOKS          KOBO

Books & Vegas!

 Here’s the thing about Las Vegas, it’s proof that you actually CAN have too much of a good thing! 😀 Exhausting!

Earlier this month I went to my first book signing, as a signing author. I was both nervous and excited for this event. I got to Vegas a few days early to enjoy the town and catch a few shows. My favorite was Jersey Boys, at the Paris Hotel & Casino. This show was FANtastic and I recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Vegas. MUST SEE❗️

After two days of good times with friends, it was time to buckle down and spend time with my publishing house, editor, and fellow Forever Red Authors. Okay… we goofed off a little, before the work started. We walked the strip, saw Zumanity (another superb show), and maybe went to a show where a lot of men speak Australian. 🙈   

   
  
Eventually, it was time to get to work and attend the signing. I had such an amazing time meeting new readers and authors. There were also a few cover models in the room and I have to admit they did take a little attention away from the authors; even if they were instructed to keep their shirts on. (No, seriously, it was announced before the start that they had to wear their shirts! 😝) 

Five hours, several signed copies sold, a lot of really amazing people at my table,  and I managed to get through my first signing. Such a great feeling and experience. Every new step in my career is a reason to celebrate, although mostly I was just tired. 💤 There is so much to do and see in Vegas, that the last day I really only wanted coffee and a good read, by one of the new authors I’d met at the signing! 

The week did have an added bonus, because Books One & Two of the Series I was signing,One Day at a Wedding, released and a cover reveal went out for a follow up novella to the series, Call Me Yours❣The entire week was a huge succes and a lot of fun, but, and I hate to say it, I was beyonf ready to head home and sleep when it was all over. LOL 

   
Since then, Call Me Yours, released and I am getting amazing feedback on the series! It’s always encouraging when people enjoy the work. If you’d like to check out the series with little to no commitmen, lol, there is a prequel that’s FREE. See the series links below for all 4 stories that make up my One Day at a Wedding Series❗️
✯ ☆҉‿➹⁀☆҉☆

 AVAILABLE  NOW!

 ✯ ☆҉‿➹⁀☆҉☆

 Call Me Yours by Kelly Rae

BLURB :

Thad got his woman, but he also met his match. Brianna is tough and yet very skittish when it comes to having a real relationship. Thad, who is usually all about fun and keeping things light and loose, is not so sure he can do that with Brianna Simmons.

One Day at a Wedding Series by Kelly Rae 

PreQuel, When Cassie Met Thad, is FREE: 

http://www.amazon.com/When-Cassie-Met-Thad-Pre…/…/B019LQKDEG

Books One & Two Available NOW: 

amazon.com/Once-Upon-Wedding-Book-One-ebook/dp/B019E7TQ7C

http://www.amazon.com/Anything-But-Wedding-Boo…/…/B019GIUWZ4

Novella 2.5  ONLY 99cents! 

(this one is a little hotter):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01AV7JRZ0

I hope this first month of the new year treated you as well or better than it did me! Thanks for stopping by today and please, leave a comment below about #Vegas, your best Vegas story and I’ll enter every name into random.org and pick someone to WIN a signed copy of When Cassie Met Thad – the prequel to the entire series❣

As always, wishing you well in fiction and rel life! 

Kelly Rae

Small Town Romance: Real or Fairytale? by Stephanie Queen

I’m on “Team Real”. Small towns are real. Romances are real–they happen all the time–even in small towns (or else where would they get all those kids playing in the streets and the parks?)

It should come as no surprise however, that Myren, my chauffeur, is on “Team Fairytale”. He says small town romances remind him of Disneyland–all shiny and pretty on the surface,  and nothing but an illusion once you look behind the curtain.

So I said to Myren, “Quit looking behind the curtain.” I mean after all, why bother reading a novel if you’re looking behind the curtain to see what’s there?

What it comes down to is this: [Stephanie Queen Wisdom coming up] it’s a matter of being authentic rather than being real. It’s a matter of capturing the magic moments from life and blowing them up into a proportion that you can wrap your arms around and enjoy for a few hours as you read the story. The moments are real. Everyone has some in their life. The settings are ordinary and authentic. We all know a town with a charming Main Street that looks picture perfect at least sometimes.

The kind of magic moments that happen in small towns romances are particularly charming and have a tendency to make this reader very wistful. Because we could imagine being there, imagine that moment from our own life maybe. That first kiss with a guy you’ve admired from afar for months. Or the moment a special man proposed to you at the town fireworks display and you actually saw the explosions of color in the sky. Ordinary authentic moments.

We can look back or forward at our own lives to see moments like those in small town romance novels. Unlike a romantic suspense where most of us don’t have magical moments from our lives about capturing bad guys at gunpoint or being rescued by a super spy. [I’m on the record saying now that I’ve never been shot at.] The feeling I get from the larger than life stories is more like an escape into someone else’s life than wistfully remembering or imagining a snippet of our own.

That’s why I love writing small town romance novels–you know, the kind set on Main Street. Writing these lets me explore those wisps of time where the stars aligned and things were wonderful, and then expand on them. Writing these stories lets me re-imagine my world with some minor adjustments to make things exactly right. You know–the kind of world where the characters say the things you wish you could have said when you were there in that situation–when you were tongue-tied.

In my small town story world, things work out, at least for that magical moment in time, perfectly.  Until the next story starts with a new journey to the next moment of magical perfection.

You can read my latest story about Tammy from the small town of Hamlin who is wary of a charming guy from out of town. It’s a classic tale of a small town girl being swept away by the irresistible force of the forbidden stranger. Small Town Hot Shot Bride is available now in the Authors of Main Street Boxed set Love Blooms on Main Street.

Never Give Up

Some days you just want to quit. To walk away from everything, as if that would somehow solve all your problems. But most of us can’t do that, either because we’re good people who would never abandon those who love and depend on us, or because we know the problems would still be there. They might be a different set of problems, but if you’re breathing, you will have problems.

The book I just released, Rookie Justice, had me in tears at some points. I wanted to hit delete and forget it. It was never going to get finished. My muse had apparently had it with the cold weather and hitched a ride to a beach somewhere. While I was here, shivering and struggling for every single word, she was sipping a Mai Tai and digging her toes into the sand.

I tried everything. Hot baths, long naps, going to bed early because that’s always when inspiration used to strike–as soon as my head hit the pillow. Nope, didn’t work. I increased my protein, just in case my brain was starving or something. I took my vitamins and B-12 every day. But no long strings of dialogue ran through my mind, no plot twists–or even a plot–magically appeared.

I had to slog it out. Some days I was lucky if I got a page written in a 4 hour stare-at-the-screen session. Other days, Zynga games seemed a lot more appealing than my hero and heroine. But finally, somewhere around the middle of the book, ideas began to form. Just a tiny thought, or something the hubby said, or maybe it was the threat of us starving if I didn’t just finish the da*%ned book, but they were ideas, and I grabbed them and wrestled them onto the page.

I wanted to quit. I really, really did. But quitting wouldn’t make my problems go away. Another book wouldn’t be any easier. And finishing finally seemed easier than quitting.

So, I now have a new release, and I’m already at work on a new one. Or I’m at least staring at a new screen with a few pages written. 🙂

 

It’s the sequel to Lone Star Justice.

 

Have you ever felt like giving up? Did you do it, or did you keep on and overcome the problem?

You’re all invited to join me and 12 other authors for a March Madness Book Frenzy party on Facebook this Sunday, March 15th, from 11 a.m. to midnight, EST. We’ll be giving away books and other prizes, and we’ll have a fantastic Grand Prize for a lucky winner.

 

https://www.facebook.com/events/847938481916360

Now, if Spring would hurry up and get here, I’d be a very happy camper!

 

 

 

Ready, Set, Go!

It’s a new year and I have been excited for its arrival for a while now. There were a lot of fantastic things that came about in 2014. Including, the purchase of my One Day at a Wedding Series to Forever Red Publishing. The first two books, have been very well received and the third will be out on the 9th of this month. The best it yet to come, starting with the release of Book 3, Anything but a Wedding, starring Thad Carlmont!

Anything but a Wedding: Pre Order Now / Goes Love 01.09.15 (That should be LIVE – but I sort of preferred the typo, LOL!)

Amazon Pre-Order Link

Thad never expected to find anyone who meant more to him than his best friend, Cassie. She was the one woman he loved enough not to sleep with. He was a player, but an honest one. Unfortunately, not everyone felt that balanced out his love ’em and leave ’em ways. He just didn’t see a need to settle down — yet. Then, he met Brianna, who made him think about the future — a future with her — which was a new experience for Thad. Brianna is also a new kind of woman and convincing her that they have a future might just be the challenge of his life.

Thad is one of my favorite creations. He is everything we all hope for in a man, including his faults. Thad is kind and generous, he cares about his friends and is all around sexy. Sexy from his shoes to his well styled hair. As you get to know him you will find that who he is, how he treats people, and the way he loves are the real reasons to adore him.

Granted the sexy smile and haunting eyes don’t hurt! 🙂

It would be fair to say that I fell a little in love with him, as I wrote this story. Then a little more when I wrote Brianna’s story in, Not One More Wedding (also out this month). Luckily for me, my publisher has asked for another Thad based book, which will be out around Valentine’s Day! I was happy to write more about him and fall in love again, more, still – whatever the case may be. 😛

This year, I also sold 2 additional full length novels to be published, in 2015. That’s five books, signed and to be delivered THIS YEAR. Oh, and of course the women at The Authors of Main Street are working on another project for our readers this year, maybe two. Needless to say, I have a lot to look forward to this year. A lot of writing, promoting, and falling in love. What else can a romance writer ask for in a New Year? Not much!

Here are some teasers from the One Day at a Wedding Series, just for fun! If you want more info on the series or my other books, please visit my Author Page on Amazon, for details. You can also click the Yellow Favorite button and sign up for notices about new releases!

Now that I have shared what I have to look forward to this year, tell me what you have in store. What are your goals or resolutions, personal or professional – we like them all.

Thanks for stopping by today to spend some time with us, we always appreciate the time you take to read our blog.

Wishing you well, in fiction and real life!

Kelly Rae

Once Upon a Wedding – Cover Reveal

Today, I have the pleasure of sharing with all of you, my beautiful cover for Once Upon a Wedding. This will be the first book, of four, in my One Day at a Wedding Series, releasing 12/12/14.

Pre-Order: Once  Upon a Wedding, at Amazon Today http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00Q5L7O2K

It will be available at all outlets on 12.12.14!

Synopsis: Cassie Anderson, bridesmaid extraordinaire, is tired of attending her friend’s weddings either solo, or with her best friend, Thad. Finding a real date is simply too much work. Especially when she sees an old acquaintance from high school, Dan, at her friend Shelley’s wedding. After the spark shared between them, Dan has become the object of her affection. Too bad he has a nasty habit of having a date on his arm at every turn. Stealing another woman’s date is against the rules, but if she could just catch him alone…well, that would be fair game! Unfortunately, timing is everything, and she and Dan seem to have the worst. Always the bridesmaid, walking away with nothing more than a dreadful dress, Cassie is committed to changing her luck and getting her man!

Please be sure to keep an eye out on my Facebook page and Website for that Pre-Order information.

I am so looking forward to sharing this group of characters with you all, it should be a fun wedding season with the group, from my One Day at a Wedding Series!

A special thank you to the ladies here, on Main Street. Our June boxed set was the inspiration for my series and earned me a spot with Forever Red Publishing, who is now publishing my series. Being a member of this group is invaluable in many ways, they will all be added to my gratitude list, come this Thursday!

Wishing you well, in fiction and real life!
Kelly Rae