Living the Dream

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. I’m continuing with It’s a Match, my contemporary romance with a touch of comedy. Imagine going from an everyday life as an electrician, competing in a man’s world to spending three weeks hobnobbing with the aristocracy. Anything can happen. Our word this week is MIRROR.

At the back of my mind, forcing its way out despite my determination, was the thought of how Ken would react to seeing me all gussied up as we used to say. On the heels of that notion was another. How would Zak react? Dressed the way I would be at the wedding, I wouldn’t look like the electrician he’d tossed aside for a nurse, but then she would be there as well, so it might be a moot point. As the saying went, you couldn’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.

I spent most of the afternoon at the beauty spa with Mom, Marley, the Duchess, and Solange. Once again, the level of pampering had been intimidating. Before the hairstylist took me in, I had a manicure and a pedicure. Gel nails turned my worker hands into objects of beauty with a gorgeous garnet polish that matched the dress I would wear. Hands and feet suitably decorated, I moved along the assembly line to the hairstylist. My hair had been washed, conditioned, and highlighted in spite of my objections. It had been trimmed once more and now flowed down my back from the crown in a cascade of curls held in place by enough hairpins to have me avoiding magnets. When the hairstylist finished, the makeup artist took over. I found it hard to believe that some women went to these lengths each day. It would take me a couple of hours and I would come off looking like the clown from It.

The cosmetician added another layer of pain to my lips and smiled. “You’re very beautiful, Miss Kimble. Thank you for allowing me to make you shine.”

Mirror, mirror in my hand, who’s the fairest in the land?

When she held the mirror up in front of me, I gasped.

“That’s me?” If I were to meet myself on the street, I would never recognize myself. The blue-gray eye shadow, eyeliner, and black mascara gave size and depth to my sapphire eyes. The creamy peach foundation hid the marks on my face and my freckles, while the pink blush highlighted cheekbones I didn’t even know I had. She’d used a deep garnet lipliner and then a garnet lip paint with a coat of clear lip shine on top. I was … I was … beautiful and hot … and fake.

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Unforgettable Love: Unforgettable Wonder. Grab your copy today!

If you’re looking for a light, fun, contemporary romance to kickstart your summer reading, why not pick up a copy of Tequila Sunrise, free this weekend.

She left him in stitches before pulling a Cinderella and disappearing. Ten years later, she wants a second chance.

Kelly Winters, an up-and-coming recreational facilities designer, is excited to be part of Conway Enterprises’ latest resort reconstruction in Mexico.
Discovering Liam Conway, a blast from the past and sexier than ever, will be her seatmate on the flight thrills her, especially when he’s willing to forget parts of their first encounter and start fresh.
When Liam shows up at the Mexican restaurant where she and her coworkers are enjoying lunch, she can’t believe her luck. Sun, sand, and sex. Who could ask for more?
But when she realizes Liam is Conway’s CEO and her new boss, her hopes plummet. Can they make their renewed attraction work, or will it be another short-lived office romance?

Enjoy!

Welcome to this week’s Tuesday Tales. Hasn’t it been a crazy month and we’re only thirteen days in. I feel as if someone told Mother Nature she couldn’t do something, and she answered “Hold my beer.” Heat, cold, and smoke have been the orders of the day. Who knows what the next seventeen days will bring?

This week, we’re working with a picture prompt, and I’m working on It’s a Match, a Contemporary Romance with a few laughs in it. Since we have a picture prompt. We’re limited to 300 words. Here’s the picture I chose.

“Are you telling me that Zak Mitchum is going to be staying in the same house as me? That I’m going to have to put up with him for the next two weeks until your wedding day? What other disastrous news have you been keeping from me? Let me guess. He’s part of the wedding party—maybe even the Best Man? Seriously, Marley. How could you keep this from me?”

“For the exact reason that’s happening right now.” She rolled her eyes. “Calm down, Marissa.”

Calm down?

As if telling someone to calm down ever worked.

“He’s not part of the wedding party, but since he’s Aaron’s special guest, he will be part of the festivities. Zak and the horse will arrive the day before we do. I’m not asking you to spend time with him. I simply expect you to be polite. Canadians are polite. It’s our shtick. Surely that isn’t asking too much?

The blood in my veins turned to ice. I hadn’t laid eyes on Zak in five years, not since …Now, not only was I supposed to share accommodations with him, I was expected to be polite to him? Polite to the man who’d broken my heart and had left it in tatters? That was like going up to someone with a nut allergy and handing them a piece of the most gorgeous almond cake in the world and saying to them, “It’s okay. Go ahead and eat your fill. It’ll only kill you once, but you’ll enjoy it.” This wedding might well be the death of me.

“You don’t know what you’re asking.” I swallowed the tears choking me. Even after all this time, the mere mention of his name turned me into a mess.

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

If she isn’t Melinda Crites, who is she? And why is someone trying to kill her? Can she trust anyone? Especially the stranger who makes her heart sing.

When a family Christmas present among siblings backfires, Melinda Crites faces an identity crisis. Not only is she not a real Crites, but she also has no idea who her biological parents are, beyond the information in the DNA analysis.
Struggling with this new knowledge, Melinda decides to join the platform and see what comes of it. Within a month of retesting to make sure there hasn’t been an error made, she’s contacted by a man who claims to be her biological brother and invites her to visit him and the rest of his family in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Desperate to find herself once more and discover her roots, she agrees to go, hoping that by learning the truth, she’ll be able to find her center once more and get on with her life. What she doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her brother’s partner.

When Marc Mason, CFO for Mason-Scott Aquaculture, the largest seafood growing and processing enterprise on Cape Breton, learns that his business partner and best friend, Darcy Scott may have located his missing twin, he agrees to help his best friend discover more about the mysterious Melinda Crites. If she really is his sibling, Darcy plans to give her a share of the business and the family wealth. If she isn’t, then he’ll expose her for the fraud she is.

But not everyone is excited to welcome a long-lost relative, and when a car tries to run down Melinda outside her hotel, quick action on Marc’s part saves her life. The last thing he wants from her is hero worship. She may or may not be a fraud and has no reason to trust him, but how can he let anything happen to the woman who calls to his soul?

Finding Melinda is now available in eBook format from Amazon and is also available in Kindle Unlimited. Check out the free preview!

For those following my blog, this is the box set you’ve been waiting for! It includes Beneath the Ashes. Check it out below!

Celebrate the Big 30 with Romance!

Once again, the amazing writers of The Authors’ Billboard have come together to bring you a box set filled with amazing stories of Unforgettable Love: Unforgettable Wonder. The 30th in the Unforgettable Romance Series box set collection will give you tingles and set your heart atwitter.
Join these talented and award-winning ladies on incredible and diverse journeys, where lovers find each other for the first time – sometimes under difficult or seemingly impossible conditions – or are reunited by fate after being torn apart by situations or deceptions.

No matter what life throws at them, these strong men and women will discover that Love will prevail.

Mona Risk – Secret Kisses: Will the three friends manage to convince their families to let them marry for love or will tradition tear the lovers apart?

Rebecca York – Nightfall: Will the mail-order bride be able to introduce her virgin husband to the pleasures of married love, while hiding her secret, all while living on a nearly lawless planet where savage wildlife roams?

Susan Jean Ricci – Sharing Sea Glass: A summer adventure nearly turns tragic when a young woman almost drowns. Her gratitude morphs into something else entirely different when she gets to know her handsome savior.

Stacy Eaton – Sometimes You Win: Can Haley be lucky enough to win the lottery and Devon’s heart too?

Josie Riviera – 1-800-IRELAND: A strong minded Irishwoman pursuing her dream. A disillusioned businessman ready to retire. Can two determined people separated by years find true love at the end of a rainbow?

Susanne Matthews: Beneath the Ashes: Can the archeologist’s fantasies really be memories of a past life in Pompeii? And if she gives in to them, what will happen to the future she has planned?

Complete blurb:

Lucie Raines loves her job overseeing the Mediterranean Gallery at the Perry Foundation Museum. She’s always felt at home among the remains of Rome’s glory days, so much so that she frequently dreams of the era and most recently of a dream lover who makes her feel the way no flesh and blood man ever has. When she’s offered a chance to go to Italy and join an archeologist on a new dig in Pompeii, she jumps at it.
Her excitement is tinged with confusion when the advance items recovered from the dig arrive. While she’s always been able to get impressions from the artifacts she’s handled, these bits and pieces of the past aren’t simply relics, they belong to her, but how is that possible? A day in Rome spent touring the Roman ruins leaves her questioning her sanity, but when she arrives at the site of the new excavation and meets the archeologist, she begins to question far more than that. Her attraction to him is so intense that it frightens her. Can her fantasies really be memories of a past life? And if she gives in to them, what will happen to the future she has planned?
While archeologist Mario Tedesco is the first to admit that ghosts exist and frequently haunt his worksites, he doesn’t believe in reincarnation. When an earthquake reveals the ruins of a Roman villa in the nearby countryside, one that draws him as no other dig ever has, he begins to reconsider the notion, especially when his nightly dreams include Antonia, an imaginary wife who satisfies him as no other ever has … until she vanishes after a mild earthquake with a desperate plea to find her, to find them, before it’s too late.
When Mario meets Lucie, he’s convinced that she’s the reincarnation of the woman from his dreams, but if she recognizes him she doesn’t own up to it. He can tell she isn’t immune to him but refuses to allow him to get close to her. Is she afraid of him or of herself? Can he convince her to take a chance on love? Or will the rumbles from Mount Vesuvius tear them apart once more?

Rachelle Ayala – Longer Than: Storytelling and horses foil Desiree’s father’s plan to marry her off to Kyle’s cousin, the town’s most eligible bachelor. Desiree wants to please her father, but when Kyle weaves his magic with her as his muse, she’s drawn into a romance haunted by his dark tales.

Taylor Lee – All Gia’s Men: Fiercely independent, accustomed to controlling and managing every element of their lives, will this go-it-alone couple embrace or reject the joys of parenthood?

Mimi Barbour – My Cheeky Angel: In one sweet night of loving, everything changes friends. Due to an overabundance of nightcaps, his lady ‘buddy’ doesn’t remember the night he can’t forget!

Get Unforgettable Love: Unforgettable Wonders for only 99 cents USD or read it free with Kindle Unlimited.

It’s so hard to believe that it’s already June. Where has the year gone? This month our question is: June 7 question – If you ever did stop writing, what would you replace it with?

Honestly, I don’t know. I do some gardening in the spring, summer, and fall, but my body limits how much I can actually do. I travel, but that too is limited by finances and time, not to mention global pandemics, wars, and civil unrest. So, the short answer is, I have no idea. I suppose I would read more, but I can’t see anything filling the void that would be left if I stopped writing.

To be honest, it isn’t as if I haven’t thought of it. Sometimes writing seems onerous, as if it’s taking over my life, but when I climb over that particular hump in a story, I can move on to the next phase of the book or start a new one. At my age, I’m not about to look for another job. I’ve been there, done that, and can enjoy doing what I want to do when I want to do it, for as long as I’m physically able to do it.

How about you? What would you do if you stopped writing? Check out other answers here. https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/p/iwsg-sign-up.html

Welcome to June and another week of scenes to read from Tuesday Tales. This week, we have a word prompt, SOFT, and a 400-word limit to our scenes. I’ve started a new book and all of this month’s scenes will come from it. It’s intended for my Cocktails for You series, so it’s written in the first person. It comes with a temporary cover for the box set in which it will eventually be published. It’ll get a vector cover when I publish it on its own later this summer. Enjoy.

The first thing that penetrated my tired brain was the lack of cars in the driveway. Even if someone had chosen not to drive drunk, wouldn’t at least one of them have driven here tonight?

The second thing was how quiet it was. There were a few lights on in the house, but the only sounds belonged to crickets, frogs, and the whistle of a freight train in the distance. I got out of the van and went up to the front door. I rang the bell and waited. No one answered.

The hoot of an owl sent goosebumps racing down my spine. I recalled a book I’d read in high school about owls and premonitions of death and sorrow.

Where the hell was everyone? Had the place been raided and all of them carted off to jail? It would serve them right—at least Ken. If anyone skirted the letter of the law, it was him. He called it living on the edge; I called it stupid and irresponsible.

I stopped walking to check my phone for messages. None.

Going around the house, I heard soft music coming from the pool area. Maybe they’d all passed out. They weren’t spring chickens any longer, although thirty wasn’t exactly old age, but alcohol had a way of making even the young feel aged. I reached over the top and unbolted the gate, letting myself into the yard. Over the sounds of Blue Rodeo, I could hear the bubbling of the hot tub. The yard was littered with red and blue Solo cups and beer cans, proof that there had been one hell of a party here. I turned the corner and stopped cold. The pool deck and patio were deserted, but not so the spa area. A woman, naked at least from the waist up, her long blonde hair streaming down her back was kneeling in front of a naked man sitting on the edge of the tub, his back against the wall, his head thrown back, his eyes closed, his … I started to back away until the bells and whistles exploded inside my addled mind, and I recognized the mole on the man’s shoulder.

“Zak!” The word exploded from me.

He opened his eyes, blinked, and smiled. The woman stopped what she was doing and turned to look at me. Karen.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I screamed.

She giggled. “I would think that was obvious.”

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Well. it’s the end of May. The heat has arrived and I’ve been busy working in my flower beds. This is the last post from Beneath the Ashes. Next week we’ll have a new story for you. Our word prompt is CUP.

“Until Titus demands your presence in Rome and turns you into his errand boy once more,” she stated and coughed.

He pulled her into his arms. “Antonia, he is the Emperor. While I may have retired from the army, I serve at his pleasure. Once I’ve spoken to Pliny, we’ll go to my uncle Cassius’s house in Neapolis and stay there as long as you like. We won’t come back until every speck of dust has been cleaned away. Will that make you happy, my love?”

“What makes me happy is having you by my side, but I know the truth, Julius. Duty will always come first with you. You belong to the Emperor.”

“No. I serve Titus, but I belong to you.” He released her to get her another cup of wine.

“Drink this; then you should rest. We leave for Oplontis at dawn.” He picked her up gently and carried her out of her studio to their bedroom. He stood her beside the sleeping couch, helped her removed her chiton and settle into bed, covering her with the warm blanket. After she finished the cup of wine, he bent and kissed her, putting all of his love for her into that one kiss. He blew out the lamp, plunging the room into darkness.

“Julius, don’t leave me. Don’t leave us.” Her voice was filled with fear.

“I will never leave you, my love. I would sooner die than be forced to spend any more time away from you.”

He undressed and crawled into bed beside her, pulling her into him, his arms encircling her and the child, holding them tightly against him. He listened as her breathing changed, and she fell asleep. He tried to relax but couldn’t. What could have kept Lucius in Pompeii when the man knew how important the message he carried was? Could something have happened to him? He’d seen the way the dark clouds of ash had moved toward the south. What if Antonia was right, and he’d condemned them by waiting here? He only had the word of a priest that all would be well, and he knew from experience that their answers were rarely as truthful as they should be. He was asleep when the ground shook harder than it ever had startling him awake as it did Antonia. She cried out in fear. “I have you my love. I’ll never let go, you’re sa—”but he never finished the word.

That’s it. Stay safe, and don’t forget to check out the other Tuesday Tales.

Once again, the authors from the ABB present you with 8 new contemporary romance novels, perfect for your summer reading pleasure.

They never intended to become heroes…
But actions speak louder than words.

Find true love with these accidental heroes, in the pages of EIGHT BRAND NEW, full-length steamy stories, from New York Times and USA Today Bestselling, Award-Winning Authors.

TWO HEARTS’ ACCIDENTAL HEROES by Tamara Ferguson, USA Today bestselling author: Rick O’Neill has never been able to forget Shanna Weldon, the girl he suspected was being abused and had tried to help. There was evidence that she could be alive after her disappearance ten years earlier. Was she really a trafficking victim or could she be part of the organization?

SAVING ME by Natalie Ann, USA Today bestselling author: A relaxing day of golf soon turns into a life saved and the love of a lifetime found.

BAYOU HEAT by Suzanne Jenkins, USA Today bestselling author: After a devastating loss, Maggie embarks on a new chapter in her life when she takes a boat ride at dusk and discovers a body floating in the canal.

TARGETING LUCY by Cynthia Cooke, USA Today bestselling author: When a serial rapist is after the woman he used to love, can Jared Halloway protect Lucy, and keep his heart from breaking all over again?

WE’RE ALL STARS by Mona Risk, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: She points at two children drowning. He saves them and turns their lives upside down.

BORN A HERO by Mimi Barbour, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author: Bryce’s day turns upside down when he reaches out to help an elderly lady during a raging storm. By the time he gets her to her house, the levee breaks, and they’re in deep… ahh, water.

FINDING MELINDA by Susanne Matthews, International bestselling author: If she isn’t Melinda Crites, who is she? And why is someone trying to kill her? Can she trust anyone? Especially the stranger who makes her heart sing?

COMPROMISED by Taylor Lee, USA Today bestselling author: She’s as gorgeous as she is outrageous. He’s a political superstar. What quickly becomes a face-off is complicated by their passionate love affair.

Most of us define ourselves by being the person we believe ourselves to be, sons or daughters of a long line of ancestors who came before us, but how would you feel is everything you believed about yourself turned out to be false?

If she isn’t Melinda Crites, who is she? And why is someone trying to kill her? Can she trust anyone? Especially the stranger who makes her heart sing.

When a family Christmas present among siblings backfires, Melinda Crites faces an identity crisis. Not only is she not a real Crites, but she also has no idea who her biological parents are, beyond the information in the DNA analysis.
Struggling with this new knowledge, Melinda decides to join the platform and see what comes of it. Within a month of retesting to make sure there hasn’t been an error made, she’s contacted by a man who claims to be her biological brother and invites her to visit him and the rest of his family in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Desperate to find herself once more and discover her roots, she agrees to go, hoping that by learning the truth, she’ll be able to find her center once more and get on with her life. What she doesn’t expect is to fall in love with her brother’s partner.

When Marc Mason, CFO for Mason-Scott Aquaculture, the largest seafood growing and processing enterprise on Cape Breton, learns that his business partner and best friend, Darcy Scott may have located his missing twin, he agrees to help his best friend discover more about the mysterious Melinda Crites. If she really is his sibling, Darcy plans to give her a share of the business and the family wealth. If she isn’t, then he’ll expose her for the fraud she is.

But not everyone is excited to welcome a long-lost relative, and when a car tries to run down Melinda outside her hotel, quick action on Marc’s part saves her life. The last thing he wants from her is hero worship. She may or may not be a fraud and has no reason to trust him, but how can he let anything happen to the woman who calls to his soul?

Grab your copy of Irresistible Accidental Heroes today! https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0C1F1JWGB