Woohoo! My longest book ever is now out. Here's what it's about:
Love Finds a Way
Contemporary, Fantasy Romance
The Album Book 2
When Ella hands over The Album to Pauline, the young
food blogger is about to embark on an adventure of a lifetime—she’s been chosen
as a contestant in The Culinary Dream, a TV cooking competition. Pauline takes
The Album with her to Italy where the filming is to take place and meets food
photographer, Xaden, the brother of the man who ripped out her heart and put
her off relationships for a long time.
To her dismay, she gets eliminated from the
competition on the first round. Humiliated and determined not to be pitied by
her friends and family, she decides to stay behind in Italy for a holiday as
well as blog about her restaurant experiences in the exotic European country.
Xaden won't leave her alone and proves to be a
friend in a time of need but when he kisses her, she pushes him away, afraid
he’ll hurt her like his brother did. The TV series offers her a job as the
editor of the food magazine and she is to work alongside the very man she
wishes to avoid. Forced to be with the man she can't resist but whom her
instincts tell her she can't trust, Pauline is in for an emotional
roller-coaster ride with The Album as her companion and guide.
Excerpt:
Five taxis awaited them outside. She bit her lip, certain the crew would
take their own taxi, but Caren ferried them to disperse and “get to know one
another.”
Much to her distress, Xaden followed her and plonked himself right next
to her in the taxi. Once the vehicle chugged out the airport, he placed his
camera down at his side, took her hand, shook it roughly, and grinned. “Xaden
Zander. And you?”
Zander.
Her mind frantically tried to place the very familiar surname while he
stared at her, his face only a foot from hers, so smooth, so confident, and so
easy-going. Tingles ran up her arm and she didn’t hold her suitcase with The
Album. No magic this time. Pure, breath-robbing attraction.
“Zander. Um…Zander. Are you? You can’t be…?” Icy showers cascaded over
her in one heart-rending second. Roan’s brother did have an unusual name. He’d
mentioned him at times.
Xaden is Roan’s brother?
“I’m…?” Once again, he seemed amused at her expense.
“You’re Roan’s brother, aren’t you?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, the first sign of any emotion except for
upbeat and exuberant. “I prefer not to be judged through the eyes of any woman
who’s come into contact with Roan.”
Oh, so he was aware of his brother’s sins?
“It’s hard not to…” His dark eyes became black holes. “…well, you do
resemble him, come to think of it.”
Could explain the immediate attraction. Why couldn’t she get away from
Roan and the memories he’d branded on her brain? Other women had many partners
and got over them all. She’d slept with one guy who messed her around and she
still drowned in the raging waters of his indiscretions.
Xaden gave off such a big presence. It filled the taxi, making the
driver and the other contestant seated in front seem like an insipid spice that
didn’t change anything about the taste of the meal. Xaden, instead, was the
garlic, the onions, the bacon, or the rosemary.
But no, he measured up to ghost pepper in danger and heat level. Anyone
only vaguely related to Roan should never touch her, even her knee or her back,
but never, ever, her heart. She remained way too vulnerable for the likes of
them.
It's the day - Looking for Love has released. I can't believe I pressed "publish" and took the plunge to publish my first official indie novel.
A hundred thanks to my editor, Zee Monodee. I couldn't have done this without her!
Blurb:
When Ella Haviland inherits a magic antique photo album that reveals the
future of potential couples, she starts a part-time matchmaking business with
the help of her three best friends. It's always been her dream to help people
find love. But finding true love herself isn't in her plans — even when her
best guy friend Ross confesses he's fallen for her. Friendship and love equals
recipe for disaster in her mind.
Ross Mitchell is devastated that Ella doesn't want more from their
relationship. He withdraws ... but maybe he should play along when Ella tries
to matchmake him with a friend, just to make her jealous. He will do anything
to make her notice him.
Through a series of adventures and happenings, Ella discovers that maybe
The Album brings more than love and magic into the lives of the people it
touches. But can she find true love herself, or is there too much holding her
back?
Excerpt:
“We’re so similar, it’s scary.”
He stroked her cheek. “It’s nice.”
“You’re nice.”
Close up, he really had the best face in the
world—a face that brought her the most comfort.
He bent toward her until his lips touched hers,
only a brush. She jerked back. “No, Ross.”
What
just happened? Did I give him the impression I…?
“Ella, I…” He moved forward again as though she
hadn’t just said no.
“Ross, please.” She stopped him on the chest
with her palm, closing her eyes to block out the sight of his mouth close to
her. “Leave the kissing out of it. We’re friends. We’ve never had anything
romantic.”
“I can’t see why not.”
“Do you have feelings for me?” She opened her
eyes as the ache in her chest expanded again. She didn’t know how she would
handle it if he did.
“I don’t know. I care about you. You just
looked kissable. I wasn’t thinking. I’m sorry.”
“Okay, you scared me there. The last thing I
want is another boyfriend. I’ve had my fill of relationships for a century.”
She rolled her eyes. Although her tone came out light-hearted, the fear he’d
want more had paralysed her for a second. She could have lost everything—except
her besties and new job—in one week.
Ross nodded. “I can relate to that.”
“I seem to keep on attracting the wrong guys,
or rather ones who don’t understand me.”
He patted her on the knee, once again his
normal, kind self. “One day, you’ll find someone.”
“Yeah, one day. But not today. For now, I’m
concentrating on building a life for myself. We’re still friends, right?” She’d
hate to lose her precious friendship because of an attempted kiss.
“Of course. We’ll always be friends. My partner
in crime.” He knocked his knuckles against her fist in a fun gesture. Phew, he
didn’t seem at all offended at her pushing him away romantically. Truly a
saint, he was.
Be warned - this may be a long post. But a fun one!
I've written series before, but not one where the story continues on and the characters are deeply involved in one another's lives. I have to admit. I LOVE IT! No, I didn't love every minute. Sometimes, I didn't know how to go on. Some days, I stared at the screen and wrote maybe two or three sentences or nothing at all! But, I had to share with you the joys I've discovered in writing The Album series.
First off, let me give you a brief overview of what the series is about. Later on, I'll give a blurb of each book and I have a cover reveal for the first one at the bottom.
The Album is a magic antique which shows the owner whether a couple has a good future together. The photos of the couple are placed in the first two pages of the antique book and then the book comes to life with images of their future in the subsequent pages. Four girlie friends who live in a hot, boring place in South Africa share pain - they've never had much luck with men and love. But they have each other. Ella is the matchmaker of the group and she inherits The Album from a relative. Thus begins her adventure in using The Album to bring couples together. Little does she know that The Album also brings magic into the owner/user's life in the form of love and a whole lot more goodness. Beware - lots of romance ahead.
Why I enjoyed writing this series SO MUCH:
1. I didn't have to think of new characters for each book.
2. I became deeply invested in the characters' lives and loved having them hang on throughout the series.
3. I loved showing the characters from different point of views, for e.g. Andrea, the heroine of Book 4 is quite a tough cookie. Her friends often find her bossy and that she can speak her mind too easily yet they love her. Ella struggles with her straightforwardness the most. Pauline not as much but a bit. Carol gets on with her easily as she's also tough-minded in several ways. Anyway, in the last book, the true Andrea is understood as we burrow inside her mind and heart. True love also changes her as you will find out...
4. I loved coming up with new ways to incorporate the magic into the lives of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed writing about magic and seeing how it plays it differently with the unique stories and characters of each book.
5. I adored having four girlie friends who stick by each other no matter what. To be honest, I kind of envy their relationships. They're there for each other and support one another through all sorts.
6. I used a series bible to make sure I didn't forget important points from previous books. It can be a bit daunting as I could have gotten an eye or hair colour wrong. I may still find this in editing. But it actually turned out a fun challenge.
7. The message threading through each book also gets threaded through the series.
I could go on, but I don't want to bore you.
Here are the not-so-quick summaries of each story. How hard it was to summarise these stories.
The Album 1 - Looking for Love - Ella's Story
When Ella inherits a magic antique photo album that reveals the future of couples, she embarks on a part-time matchmaking business to bring couples together with the help of her three best friends - Pauline, Andrea and Carol. It's always been her dream to help people find true love. But finding true love herself isn't in her plans. Even when her best guy friend Ross confesses he's fallen in love with her. In fact, she's really mad at him because he may ruin their solid friendship. Ross is devastated that Ella doesn't want to pursue more than friendship. He withdraws and when Ella tried to match him to her friend, Pauline, he's not happy. Maybe he should play along with her plan though just to make her jealous. Through a series of adventures and happenings between Ella and Ross, Ella discovers that maybe The Album brings more than love and magic into the lives of people she meets, but also touches her own life. While she uses it to bring people together, she discovers things about love and what's been holding her back in opening up her heart.
The Album 2 - Love Finds a Way - Pauline's Story
Pauline's dream is to run her own cooking school but she's stuck in a boring job at a quiet crafts shop. At least she has her food blog. When, to her surprise, she gets chosen as a contestant in the reality TV cooking competition called The Culinary Dream and flies out to Italy for the filming, her hopes seem possible. She reluctantly assumes ownership of The Album upon Ella's insistence she needs it. Being kicked out on the first round devastates and humiliates her. Pauline decides to stay on in Italy on holiday so she doesn't have to face up to her family and friends. The cute food photographer and cinematographer of the show, Xaden, catches her eye but she discovers he's the brother of the man who broke her heart, so she pushes him away. Then when The Culinary Dream offers her a job as the magazine editor for their show, she can't turn away the opportunity to stay on in the beautiful European country even if she has to work alongside Xaden. As the couple spend time working together, they are drawn close, despite Pauline's fear of Xaden being like his brother and her reticence to any romance. The Album gives her opportunities to impact other's lives and also makes Xaden more curious about the woman with the magic. But there are barriers to their love - her friends' warnings of her getting involved with a fling with the brother of a heart-breaker and Xaden has his own issues about settling down.
The Album 3 - The Magic of Love - Carol's Story
Carol inherits The Album from her friend Pauline. She's always been fascinated with the magic and longed to use it. But then The Album disappears before she has a chance to make use of it. Why her? Why now? Devastated and feeling guilty for losing her friend's antique, she soon discovers her boyfriend, Cliff, is the one who stole it. Anxious for answers and to obtain the antique back, she hires a private investigator to help her out. Darryn isn't into relationships. His main goal in life is to find his late father's killer. That's why he opened up his investigative business years ago. When Carol asks for his help, he's fascinated by her request but even more by her. They embark on an adventure and fly to Canada to find The Album and its thief. Their moments together are charged with sexual tension and attraction. But Carol is devastated by Cliff's betrayal and Darryn holds back because of his pledge. Besides that, Carol discovers that The Album isn't the only magic antique missing. Now she and Darren must find the antiques belonging to several owners back in South Africa who are missing their precious treasures.
The Album 4 - Love's Gentle Wish - Andrea's Story
Andrea's always found the magic of The Album creepy so when Carol dumps it in her bag, she puts the artefact away. She's been working toward a promotion for years, but when her boss calls her in and gives her a retrenchment package instead, she's devastated and financially desperate. Carol insists she take up the job she was offered by Jeanie, one of the magic antique owners, to help her research in writing a book on the magic antiques. Desperate for some income, Andrea takes up the position while also assisting Pauline in the office of her new cooking school. Really, now she has to interview people about magic? Of all things? Andrea moves into the cottage at the bottom of Jeanie's garden to help save money. Jeanie's son, Trent, the mommy's boy, struggling artist, as she presumes, takes an interest in her and becomes her "saviour." Andrea's going to need all the help she can get as she not only inherits a scary magic album, but also her orphaned cousin, Lucy, who doesn't speak to her at all. How will she help the young teen overcome the grief of losing her parents and adapt to a new environment away from her friends? Trent turns out to be not a struggling artist, but rather a knight in shining armour in her time of need. But Andrea doesn't do romance. No, she's suffered a broken heart that, four years later, she still hasn't gotten over.
And here's the cover of The Album 1 for you to get a foretaste of this FUN series which should be coming out in a few months:
Today, I'm introducing a wonderful boxed set which has Elsa Winckler's story in it - she's one of my ROSA writing friends. I just adore her story and I'm busy reading through the rest of the stories and they're truly magical. The book is available for pre-order.
Magical Weddings ~ New Release ~ 15 Enchanting Romances
Whether real or only in the hearts of the bride and groom, the magic of weddings is undeniable and irresistible! As these 15 enchanting happily-ever-afters by bestselling and award-winning authors prove.
From sweet to spicy, the romances bundled into this set cross time and unite hearts, cast spells of laughter, battle wedding jitters and fight back tears, while weaving love's hopeful magic throughout 1400 pages.
Her Wedding Wager by Leigh Michaels, National bestselling and Award-winning author of over 100 novels. Celia's doomed to an arranged marriage--unless she can win the most important bet of her life!
~~~
The Last Wedding at Drayhome (Breens Mist Witches) by Aileen Harkwood. Never underestimate the power of a witch and warlock in love who have nothing left to lose.
~~~
The Dress by Eve Devon. Two couples, 400 years apart. From a masquerade ball in Venice 1615 to a wedding in England 2015, can a dress laced with magic weave its spell through the fabric of time?
~~~
Second Chance Bride by Raine English, USA Today bestselling and Award-winning author. She thinks she's marrying the man of her dreams, until a telepathic rescue dog leads her to someone else... Will this bride-to-be say "I do" to the wrong man?
~~~
Two Hearts Surrendered by Tamara Ferguson, Bestselling and Award-winning author. Will two warring hearts be strong enough to survive the ultimate battle?
~~~
Something Borrowed, Something Blue by Lynda Haviland. She has a wedding to crash--until love gets in the way!
~~~
Heart of the Secret (Witches of Lane County) by Jody A. Kessler, Bestselling and Award-winning author. A 500 year-old curse, a witch who will do anything to marry her one true love, and the heart of a secret that will either divide them or bring them together...forever.
~~~
The Jealous Love of a Scoundrel by Jane Lark, National bestselling author. How do you fight a calling that comes from your soul?
~~~
A Wedding Across the Winds of Time by Bess McBride, National bestselling author. Darius and Molly found each other Across the Winds of Time. Now, it's time for their wedding!
~~~
Kiss This by L.L. Muir, National bestselling and Award-winning author. You never expect the florist to catch the bouquet...
~~~
Caution is a Virtue by Jennifer Gilby Roberts. How much is too much to risk for love?
~~~
With this Kiss by Heather Thurmeier. Does a simple kiss have enough magic to reunite lovers?
~~~
Real Magic by Elsa Winckler. She's the bridesmaid, he's a best man. Will the magical evening stay just that or will it turn out to be real after all?
~~~
The Wedding Guests (A Tassamara Short Story) by Sarah Wynde. When unexpected guests attend Akira and Zane's wedding, lives will change forever. But for better or for worse?
***Meet the Authors***
Leigh Michaelsis the bestselling and award-winning author of more than 100 books, including historical romance and contemporary romance. Her non-fiction book, On Writing Romance, has been called the best guide available for romance writers, and she teaches romance writing online at Gotham Writers Workshop.
Six of her books have been finalists in the RITA contest sponsored by Romance Writers of America, and more than 35 million copies of her books are in print in 25 languages and more than 120 countries. Her books have been published by Harlequin Books, Sourcebooks, Montlake Romance, Writers Digest Books, and Arcadia Publishing.
Aileen Harkwoodis a Readers’ Crown finalist who lives in the Southern Rockies. The Last Wedding at Drayhome is the prequel to two concurrent series of fantasy romances, Spell Touched: Breens Mist Witches, Book 1, and Wedding Spell, first in the Breens Mist Weddings series, due out in September 2015. She’s passionate about green chile and the mysteries hiding in antique photographs. Check in with her at:
Eve Devon: Growing up in locations like Botswana and Venezuela gave Eve Devon a taste for adventure. Her love of romances began when her mother shoved one into her hands in a desperate attempt to keep her quiet during TV coverage of the Wimbledon tennis finals. She lives in leafy Surrey in the UK, a book-devouring, slightly melodramatic, romance-writing sassy heroine with her very own sexy hero husband! Visit the author at her website: www.EveDevon.com
Raine English USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Raine English writes sweet small-town romance, paranormal, and Gothic romantic suspense. She’s a Daphne du Maurier Award winner and a Golden Heart finalist. Her new lighthearted contemporary romance series, Love Always, will be available June 2015. It features three childhood friends who encounter a lot more than anticipated while searching for love. Raine lives in New England with her family and her French bulldog, Bailey.
Tamara Ferguson: A member of the Romance Writers of America, as well as the FTHRW Chapter, Tamara
Ferguson is the best-selling and multi-award winning author of the Tales of The Dragonfly Romance Suspense Series. Tales of the Dragonfly Book II: In Flight was a 2014 WINNER at the Readers’ Favorite International Book Awards. Her latest release, That Unforgettable Kiss, was recently a top ten Amazon bestseller in Kindle Saga Fiction.
Lynda Havilandshares her chaotic and creative life with her chef husband, two artistic teenagers, and an aging bearded dragon. She admits to being heavily influenced by hazelnut coffee, chocolate with caramel, and romantic comedies. Something Borrowed, Something Blue is a stand-alone romantic short story written for the Magical Weddings Boxed Set. But Nellie Pearle can’t be contained. Look for her and other oddly entertaining residents of Pearl Key in an upcoming paranormal suspense series.
Jody A. Kessler’s debut novel, Death Lies Between Us, is a #1 best-seller and the winner of the Readers’ Crown Award. She writes paranormal romance, historical time travel fiction, and contemporary fiction.
Jane Lark: Jane is a Kindle bestselling author and a writer of authentic, passionate and emotional Historical and New Adult romances, and she’s a sucker for a love story. “I love the feeling of falling in love and it’s wonderful to be able to do it time and time again in fiction.” She loves writing intense relationships and she is thrilled to be giving her characters life in others’ imaginations.
Bess McBrideis the bestselling author of over fifteen time travel romances as well as contemporary, historical, romantic suspense and light paranormal romances. She loves to hear from readers, and you can contact her at bessmcbride@gmail.com.
L.L. Muir lives in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains with a charming husband who makes her laugh, but does not make her do pans. Like most authors, she is constantly searching for, or borrowing pens. The best ideas always begin on a napkin.
Jennifer Gilby Robertshas a degree in physics and a postgraduate certificate in computing, so a career writing fiction was inevitable really. She was born and grew up in Surrey/Greater London, but now lives in North Yorkshire with her husband, her small daughter, a middle-aged cat and a lot of dust bunnies.
Jan Romesis a hopeless romantic who grew up in northwest Ohio with eight zany siblings. Married to her high school sweetheart for more years than seems possible, she is also a proud mom, mother-in-law, and grandmother. She likes to read all genres and writes witty contemporary romance.
Heather Thurmeieris a lover of margaritas and a hater of spiders. Born and raised in the Canadian prairies, she now lives in New York where she’s become an odd Canuck-Yankee hybrid. Heather’s currently writing her next romance, which will probably be filled with sassy heroines, sexy heroes that make your heart pound, laugh out loud moments and always a happily ever after.
Elsa Winckler: Inspired by the writing of Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, Henry James, and the Brontë sisters, Elsa Winckler likes her heroines beautiful, feisty, independent and headstrong. She married her college boyfriend who, after 40 years, still makes her weak in the knees. They have 3 interesting children, 3 beautiful grandsons and live in the picturesque little seaside village of Betty’s Bay, South Africa.
Sarah Wynde graduated from Wesleyan University with a degree in English, which she actually managed to put to use by becoming an editor. She’s worked on magazines, websites, and books, including ten years spent as a senior acquisitions editor with Pearson. Eventually, her love of writing pushed her into independent publishing. She likes to think of the stories she writes as unexpected fiction—bending, blending, and occasionally breaking genres.
For any of my friends or readers who live in the southern hemisphere, I'm sure you're aware that's it's fall already.
For the last ten years, I've lived in a part of Africa that experiences the four seasons. Africa is a largely tropical continent so it's not a common occurrence to go through them. Even when I lived in Durban, the warm Indian Ocean made it more like summer three-quarters of the year and a mild winter for a few months in the middle. Here, at the foothills of the mountains, although our summers are still long and very hot, we do have real fall and winter. The trees shed their leaves and many of them turn beautiful shades of orange, red and brown. The mornings are crisp, and toward the end of fall, we experience frost and need to bring out our warmer clothes. This year, it seems that summer is lingering long.
Last year during our spring and the northern hemisphere's fall, I joined a group of sweet romance authors to publish an anthology called Autumn's Kiss. I'm sure if you've been following my blog you will remember me talking about it. Anyway, to make the southern hemisphere readers happy, it's going on sale until the end of May for $0.99. And for those in the northern hemisphere who feel like reading it anyway, enjoy.
Here's an excerpt from my short story set right in my home town:
Seth spotted her from a distance, and she stood out from
the crowd. For him, anyway. She epitomized the typical country girl with her
soft mannerisms—the way she smiled sweetly at customers, bent down to talk to a
child and supported an elderly lady with her walker. She took time to chat
openly with each customer, never losing patience or looking harried. He made a
beeline to her stall, pushing through the rows and rows of people in the dusty
winter festival. Bodies of people he’d never met pressed against him, but he
didn’t care.
The Newcastle Winter Festival came every fall when the
trees turned fiery colors and fires burnt the grasslands of Northern
KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. He’d only lived there two years, but knew how
much the town revolved around the occasion. He still couldn’t figure out why
the festival was coined “The Winter Festival.” The weather had turned cooler,
but the frosty mornings hadn’t set in yet. No, fall was in full force, turning
the tree-lined Drakensberg road into a kaleidoscope while the days still blew
warm.
“I make them myself,” the pretty lady said, handing a bar
of soap in a gauzy, glittery bag toward a customer.
The older woman sniffed the cream bar dotted with green
flecks. “Mmmh, smells like lemon grass.”
“That’s exactly it.” Her face lit up, making her eyes
comets in a sky of ordinary stars, and dimples pressed at the base of full
cheeks. Something stirred within him as he watched the exchange, and his whole
body became alert. “Lemon grass and coconut oil. Great for your skin as the air
turns dry this time of year.”
“How’s your husband?” the customer asked. “Away as
usual?”
Could he have imagined the woman spoke of the pretty soap
lady? The one he couldn’t help watching?
She merely kept her gaze turned down toward her wares.
The table was laden with a variety of soaps, jars of creams, or so he presumed,
and about a hundred bottles of apple sauce and chutney.
Then he spotted it on the pretty lady’s hand, on the ring
finger—a huge stone the size of the Gibraltar rock. His heart sank and he
turned away.
He should have known by the way she dressed. Top class—sleek
cashmere sweater, hair salon-sculpted, classy make-up and
hot-potato-in-the-mouth speech. The faded denims didn’t match though. He sighed
and went back to his stall. Maybe a good thing, he realized, as he neared the
stand. A group of people harassed his assistant, Bongani, and the man looked
flustered.
“Just hand out the flyers, Bongi,” he said, patting the
youth on the back.
“They’re asking lots of questions. Like do you fell
trees, clean gutters, burn fire breaks?”
“What?” Burn fire breaks. Why would they think he did
that?
“Okay, everyone,” he announced to his new audience, “one
question at a time.”
Once everything had calmed down to a steady stream, he
chanced a last glance at her. Strange, he’d never thought of her as the
married-to-a-rich-guy type. She looked too sweet, too approachable and way too
lonely.
