As Luck Would Have It with author Gemma Halliday!

We are honored to feature author Gemma Halliday's latest release here on the Book Boost!  In fact, leave a comment and tell us about a stroke of luck you've had and be entered to win a copy of the book (sponsored by the Book Boost)!

C'mon...you know you wanna get lucky!

Blurb:

Luck Be a Lady
Tahoe Tessie Mysteries Book #1   

Tessie King has just inherited the biggest casino in South Lake Tahoe, Nevada: the Royal Palace. What she didn't bargain for are the problems she'd inherit with it.

Having left Tahoe years ago, the underbelly of the casino trade is a far cry from the art world Tessie is used to. High-stakes cons, inside jobs, wise guys... Tessie quickly realizes she's in way over her head. And things go from bad to worse when questions start to arise about the nature of her father's death.

Enter FBI agent Devin Ryder, member of the Nevada Organized Crime Task Force. He's had his eye on the Royal Palace for months, and with the suspicious death of its leader, Ryder now has Tessie squarely in his sights. If Tessie doesn't want to be running her casino from behind bars, she needs to find out how her father really died, who's behind it, why, and how to get them into Agent Ryder's hot little hands before he gets his hands on her. All the while catching a con-man, beating the competition, and running a multi-million dollar business.

Tough job? Fo'get about it. All in a day's work for this lady luck.

Want More Gemma?

Visit her on the web here: www.gemmahalliday.com

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:

Leave a comment about a lucky moment you've had and we'll enter you in a drawing to win a free copy of Luck Be a Lady!

Be sure to leave your contact information.  We want to get your prize to you!

Don't Worry, Be Happier with author Lynn Crandall

Chat with romantic suspense author 

Lynn Crandall today at the Book Boost!

I always considered myself a glass-half full kind of person. I don't know why, other than that's the preferred personality type in our society, it seemed to me. No matter what, see the rainbow in all things, is a common message.

But…I was wrong about myself. I saw myself as a happy person, one who makes lemonade out of lemons, when in truth, I was more like Eeyore, the little grey donkey in the Winnie the Pooh books who lived in a part of the Hundred Acre Wood that was called Eeyore's Gloomy Place. Like Eeyore, I was a person who almost expected the worst things to happen. The worst was inevitable. I thought I had evidence of that truth. If I planned a trip to the lake, it was likely to rain. If I wanted the contractors working on the garage to show up and complete the project on time I was engaging in wishful thinking, setting myself up for disappointment. I was happy, but a realist, I told myself. If I expected to be disappointed by something or someone, it was only because I was a realist. Better to see the truth than to be disappointed with reality.

Boy, that sounds so gloomy. And so not the truth for me anymore.

I think what we focus on is what we experience. I may have been conditioned from childhood and young adult experiences to set my bar low for happiness, but that was a defense that I no longer needed or wanted.

When I began writing my eyes opened up to the simple but amazing things around me. I started seeing that people on the whole are pleasant and interesting, and if they're having a bad day it's just a part of life, not something that proves the world is an unhappy place. I smiled first and the world around me shifted into something far more pleasant and full of possibilities. I could change my outlook and my experiences. Anything was possible. All these revelations taught me that I could be fundamentally happy, blissful, accepting whatever came my way. I could contain disappointment and unhappiness in a different way that let it pass, not take up residence in me. As writing introduced me to a deeper connection with things that stimulated my senses, my mind, and my heart, I felt gratitude. Happiness happened a lot more often.

According the Secret Society of Happy People website, there are a number of things we can do to boost our happiness quotient. Two pretty easy ways they list are to engage in life in meaningful ways and surround yourself with happy people because happiness is contagious.

Another way to create happiness is to take a look at what's causing sorrow or helplessness or any number of inner beliefs that shape life experiences. It naturally leads to dispelling misconceptions that create unhappiness.

In my early years of writing, I wrote a short story about a character who felt defeated. To her, the sun was always shining somewhere else. In the space of the short story, though, the character faced her inner context in which she framed her life experiences. She realizes her thoughts were making her see life through a perspective of helplessness and despair, when all around her were wonderful and supportive things. She was missing all that good stuff with her attitude, so she opened to change and made happiness happen.

Changing a personality bent doesn’t happen overnight. For we Eeyore's of the world, it takes trust and believing that we can contain more joy, it's safe and it's possible, and available to us all.


A Note from the Book Boost:  I hear you, Lynn.  Thanks for the insightful post.  I'm still a little bit more on the "realist to avoid disappointment" side.  I know that there is still a chance that I'll be disappointed either way, but I feel better prepared this way.  I envy the changes you've made, though.  Good for you!


Blurb:

Uncovering secrets and exposing truth are all in a day’s work for private investigator Sterling Aegar. But when her latest case threatens to reveal her own buried feelings for an old love, Sterling runs for cover.

A body in the bathtub and pleas from a jilted wife to find her wayward husband mean a welcome break from the usual humdrum cases Sterling and her sister, Lacey, are called to investigate. But when Sterling’s old flame, Detective Ben Kirby, walks into the murder scene, she feels her world spin out of control. Danger from thugs and murderers poses no greater threat than the peril she’d suffer if she lets daredevil Ben get too close.

Seeing Sterling for the first time in two years is for Ben like drinking in a healing tonic. He could never forget the way it felt to run his hands over her delicious curves or the way she touched his soul. She remains the one person who can make the emptiness in his gut go away. Finding the murderer is his job, but protecting Sterling from seriously dangerous people is his mission.

As the case unfolds, Sterling and Ben not only solve the murder and locate the missing husband, they confront secrets that set them each free from a painful past.


Excerpt: 

It’s no use, Sterling fumed. Her brain refused to work. She sorted through the case files at her office, willing her emotions to stop tormenting her as she recuperated from a long, sleepless night. The benign sounds of Michelle keyboarding in the outer office did little to interrupt the mindless emotional turmoil of last night’s restlessness.

In the darkness, thoughts of Ben and how it used to be, what she’d done to him, replayed unrestricted by the distractions of daylight. And now, in the light of day, the thoughts, haughty and determined, challenged her sanity, coaxing her to give them room to do their work.

It troubled her that the warning flags were up again. What were they trying to say? Were they warning her of a big problem with the case? Or were they trying to tell her to beware of involvement with Ben? It could lead to more pain, and she knew it.

Two years ago she’d told him it was over. Loving him had been so easy, but then the fear welled too greatly inside of her. With Nicholas’s death, she’d realized more than ever that a heart open to love was also a heart vulnerable to excruciating pain and insurmountable loss.

Silly girl. You’d actually believed in a happily ever after. The breakup had been difficult, but she’d only done what she needed to survive. And even when Ben had finally accepted that they weren’t going to be together, endorsing her decision to quit police work was quite another matter, something he’d railed against with all his usual unrestrained gusto.

But Sterling knew in time she’d get over Ben. And fortunately she didn’t need his permission to make a life as a private investigator. He didn’t even have to like it.

To make sure no one would get close enough to leave her hurt and broken like her mother, she’d made a life for herself invested in independence. She’d dated a few times, but quickly questioned, what was the point? She had friends and companionship, and she didn’t want anything more. Lacey liked to point out that Sterling’s single-minded devotion to her profession was her own way of building walls against the world. Maybe so. Maybe no one would get in. Especially not Ben Kirby. It didn’t have to make sense to be right for her.

Sterling dropped her forehead into the heels of her hands. If only life hadn’t cruelly smashed them up against each other again. If only Ben would stop forcing her into a corner where she questioned her decisions.

 

Want More Lynn?

Visit her on the web here:  http://lynn-crandall.com/

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Analyze This with author Tony Thorne

Meet author Tony Thorne 

today on the Book Boost & find out 

about a chance to win FREE books!

GENRE FICTION WRITING, a therapy? 

The occupation of writing Genre Fiction, to many non-professional enthusiasts, is a serious hobby, and mostly unpaid labor. To genre editors nowadays, it must seem there are more writers around now than readers.

Perhaps it's a way to express and analyze one's feelings about the world, and where it's heading, and one’s place in it. Years ago, to become your own psychiatrist, all you needed was pencil and paper; but nowadays, your laptop is more convenient. Anywhere can become a couch and writing is more socially acceptable than talking to yourself.

I had some initial success as a budding Sci-Fi writer but then gave it up to spend thirty five years as a design engineer and business executive, starting an R & D company in England, then developing  product lines. The Queen awarded me an MBE for one of them. Then I began setting up marketing outlets, crumpling the competition, getting the best out of my staff, listening to their problems, and solving them, even my own when I could find the time, and if I could.

Then I became brain-drained to an American Corporation, and set up all their international operations, based in Switzerland. It was an offer I could not refuse. Eventually however, I began to resent the rat-race, the never-ending battle just to stay level, let alone to advance, and I was filled with remorse at the neglect of my home-life and family. My conscience simply refused to believe my contrived excuses and justification for what I was doing.

So, one day I threw it all in and went to work for myself, back in England. Not as a writer of fiction, but as a computer programmer, specializing in developing AI software, to generate business programs.  However, with no more international traveling I had more time to start writing fiction again. The day came when my first acceptance arrived. I knew I was progressing when, on re-reading the item, I found I was dissatisfied with it. The magazine printed it in its last ever issue, but it did pay me.

More of the smaller magazines and genre websites began to take my work. I’ve published several collections of speculative tales, appeared in many anthologies, and won a couple of awards plus a few competitions. I had my first novel published in the US by Eternal Press, last year, and have received a contract for the first sequel to it.

To conclude this therapeutical discussion, I confess I still crave to be recognized as a really successful writer, but I’m not getting any younger and time may be against me. However, I believe I may have discovered that there can be contentment in researching the limits of one's abilities, without necessarily reaching them. It seems the trick is to get almost as far as you believe you can, and stop just before that.

A Note from the Book Boost:  I totally agree that writing is a form of therapy.  Where else can we calm the voices in our head?  Nice, insightful post there Tony and I wish you best of luck in achieving your writing goals--it is never too late!


Blurb:

Thirty speculative yarns, with a twist in their tails, selected from the original award winning trilogy. Almost anything can happen in that magical tropical Canary Island, and in these quirky stories it usually does. Includes an introduction by the legendary SF writer, Harry Harrison, plus a bonus new tale to both chill and entertain you.

Excerpt:

A few months later, the local Tenerife newspaper came out with the news that a JURASSIC MICRO PARK would be open for business the following holiday weekend. The rest of the newspapers and TV channels soon picked up the story and, on the opening day, the queues were enormous.  Extra railings had to be placed around the access area, to cope with them.

The long impatient wait to get in was well worth it though. The viewing area comprised a large glass walled enclosure containing a miniature jungle with several open pasture areas inside it. Little herds of tiny vegetarian dinosaurs browsed happily, feeding on the clumps of fast growing genetically modified Bonsai trees. There was also a miniature lake in one of the open areas, where the occasional miniature diplodocus could be seen paddling around  from time to time, with its long neck mostly up out of the water.

For the benefit of the public, there was a large raised observation gallery all around the enclosure, with closely placed sets of binoculars around it. Viewers were able to see the fantastic creatures in detail. There was also a large transparent roof held up in position over the enclosure. It was suspended from a set of computer controlled apparatus, and could be lowered and effectively sealed if for any reason the environment needed modifying, such as for climate control in the winter.

The whole project was a huge success. Viewing became only possible by purchasing reserved tickets, timed and dated. The money rolled in and the stockholders, and the employees, were delighted; until one day, when unexpected problems began to happen. The first was, when it was realized, that something very hungry was devouring the vegetarian dinosaurs. An unknown predator was at work.


 

Want More Tony?

 

Visit the author on the web today:   www.tonythorne.com

Pick up a copy of his book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:

There's a deliberate error somewhere in The Best of The Tenerife Tall Tales.  The first person to spot it and send me an e-mail gets three free e-books of any of my titles (see www.tonythorne.com). The second person gets two books, and the third lucky winner gets one..! The contest stays open until the third one is in.

Take a Ride Through History with Author Becky Lower

Welcome historical author Becky Lower 

to the Book Boost!

Being Part Of A Wagon Train

I’ve always harbored the notion I was born in the wrong century. The Little House On The Prairie books were a big part of my childhood and I fancied myself in Laura’s boots. As an adult, I purchased land in the West Virginia mountains and built a log cabin. Many a weekend was spent in the wild with no running water or toilet until the house got put together. I read the journals of the women who traveled west by wagon trains and pondered what it would be like to be a part of that trek. I thought the only way I’d ever experience that era was to write about it.

That is, until a friend brought to my attention the National Road Festival, held every year on the third weekend in May.

The Historic National Road was the first federally-funded highway in America and stretches 600 miles through six states from Maryland to Illinois. At the height of its popularity, the Historic National Road handled more than 200,000 people each year, heading west to join up with the wagon trains, or heading east to sell their livestock and goods. By having the government designate the entire road as a National Scenic Byway—All American Road, its significance to the settlement of the western United States has been preserved for all to enjoy.

Every spring the residents of the communities along the Historic National Road help preserve the legacy of this highway to the west by holding a festival. The towns along the road hold various activities during the festival, from reenactments of life in the early days of our country to quilt exhibits and more.  A leisurely weekend along the route will give you time to discover antiques, ethnic foods, local artists, music, and an assortment of other events any time of the year, but the third weekend in May is truly a special time.

Part of the festivities involves a reenactment of the major method of transportation for the early users of the National Road. A wagon train caravan, where participants dress up in costume and drive wagons from Grantsville, Maryland to Uniontown, Pennsylvania, is the most amazing part of this festival and is eagerly anticipated in each town it rolls through. Reservations to be part of this wagon train are available to the public and you can either do the route from east to west or vice versa. The actual miles covered by wagon are only a small portion of the trek made by our forefathers, and lasts for five days, but it’s long enough to give everyone a taste of what it was like to be part of a wagon train, and makes us grateful to hop in our cars for the remainder of the journey at the end of our trek.

I’d love to sign up to be part of the wagon train next spring. Do you think I could write it off as a business expense? More information on the National Road Festival can be found here.


A Note from the Book Boost:  This sounds very interesting and I hope you get a chance to experience it, Becky.  I love history but just enough to know that I'm glad I don't live in the past.  I need my modern conveniences.  :-)  Best of luck with the release and thanks for joining us.


Blurb:

Basil Fitzpatrick was born into a life of privilege. In 1856, at 23 years of age, he is the owner of the St. Louis branch of the family banking business. He has his pick of the ladies and life by the horns. Temperance Jones and her family are far from privileged. Her father is a circuit-riding preacher from Pennsylvania. But the rumblings of a war between the North and the South force the preacher to move his family to Oregon rather than to take up arms against his fellow man. However, hardship and sickness have slowed their pace, and they are forced to spend the winter in St. Louis, waiting for the next wagon trains to leave in the spring.

Basil is drawn to the large family the moment they roll into town, partly because they remind him of his own big family in New York. But also because of the eldest daughter, Temperance. She is a tiny, no-nonsense spitfire who is bent on fulfilling her father’s wish to get the family safely to Oregon. Basil is only interested in finding a mistress, not a wife. He knows if he allows Temperance into his heart, he is accepting the obligation of her entire family and their quest to settle in Oregon. He wants Temperance like he has wanted no other, but the burden of her family may be too much for him. And he can’t have one without the other.

Excerpt:

Temperance sputtered and fumed, breathing fire as the door to Basil’s apartment staircase closed behind him. That no-good, self-centered ass! How dare he say their friendship had been destroyed by her ambition! If they’d truly been friends, he would have stood by her and championed her clever attempts to get her family moved westward. But once he introduced her to Jake, it was as if he’d turned his back on her. She could take him turning his back on her as a woman, but not as a friend. She yanked open the door and ran up the stairs.

“How dare you!” She didn’t bother to knock at the top of the steps, she was so angry.

He turned to face her, but didn’t reply.

“Well? How dare you say that I’m the one who turned away from your friendship? You’ve become my best friend here in town, Basil, and I miss our good times. You never come to the restaurant anymore, and you barely talk to me at all here. Do you want me to quit? To leave?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“If you know what’s best for you, leave, right this minute.”

“Why? Because you’ll tell me something I don’t want to hear?”

Basil crossed the room to her in two strides. He placed his hands on either side of her face and growled, “Not because of what I’ll tell you, but because of what I’ll do.” He lowered his mouth to hers, crushing her tender lips beneath his own.

Want More Becky?

Visit her here:  www.beckylowerauthor.com

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Mom on a Mission with Author Lynda Kaye Frazier

Win a Copy of Rescued From the Dark 

and meet Featured Author 

Lynda Kaye Frazier

Research is an important tool for a writer. This is why mine makes my family nervous.

For a story to be believable, a writer has to have knowledge about what their book is about. Whether it is about a farmer struggling in the 1800’s or a novel about strangers meeting in an exotic resort, you have to be able to describe your setting so that the reader can see it. In order to picture the surroundings and believe the events that unfold in front of them it takes research.

I write romantic suspense and with my story lines I have to do extensive research on terrorists groups and FBI Agents. When I began to write I decided to not tell my children what my stories were about because of an event that gives us many laughs now, but not so many back then. Let me explain why I knew my research would make my son cringe.

My oldest son was in college on an ROTC scholarship at the time of the 9-11 attack. He was still in the Navy Reserves and I just assumed he would not be pulled into active duty so close to the end of his senior year. Like so many others, I was glued to the TV, watching the horrific event when my phone rang.  I dropped my coffee cup and knew it wasn’t going to be a call I wanted to take. One of those moments that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I answered the call and it was my oldest son, John. He said his Commander called him and told him he was pulled back to into active duty. I was very upset.

Now don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I’m not proud of all our children who protect us every day. I just wanted my son to finish his last year of college first. I decided to pull the parent card and tell him that he couldn’t go.  He laughed and told me it would be okay. Well that didn’t reassure me so I told him I was going to call the President and he laughed again. I told him I knew George Bush when he was the Governor of Texas, I met him personally so we were on a first name bases.

He continued to enjoy my little rant and all I could think was to never laugh at an angry mother. I was searching the web, reading all the stories about that day and I came across an e-mail for the White House, not the President, just the White House. I thought, why not? It would make me feel better and no one would ever see it. I figured it was just a generic one that went to a black hole. Well, I told our President that my son was not allowed to come out and play war games with him. He had homework to do and stayed out too late so I grounded him for the next four months. I made a few more motherly jokes on how bad little Johnny was and how he would not be able to play until he learned to share with others and do what his mother told him to and that I would let him know when I thought he was ready to have his restrictions lifted.

I hit send and had a good laugh because it made me feel better. I have three children in the military and I’m very proud of each one of them. Their sacrifices help keep us safe each day.

A few days passed and I truly forgot what I did until I checked my e-mail and saw that I had a response from the White House, Military Division. I about died because in the e-mail I sent I never gave my name, my sons name or what branch of the military he served in. I hesitated and even thought about just deleting it, but my curiosity got the best of me and I opened it. In the return e-mail they had my name, address, phone number and my sons name, rank and commander’s name. I knew after the first few sentences I was in a lot of trouble.

The message was short and sweet. They informed me in the first paragraph about the important role my son played in their plans and that whatever orders he received it would be in his best interest to comply fully. Then, in a joking manner, they told me that my son did not need my permission to play war games with the U.S. military because they were his mother now and the President didn’t need my permission for anything.

I sat there just staring at the screen and then I laughed hysterically. After I composed myself I called my son. He never says "hello" when he picks up, he answers by asking "what did you do?" He said he just got a call to come to the base for a meeting.  I felt so bad, I offered to fly down and go with him and he got really quiet then said, "Mom I’m twenty-three and don’t need my mother to go with me, I just need her to stop harassing the President.

To make a long story short, he was asked to keep his mother from sending anymore e-mails to the President especially during a time of war.

When my two boys went to Iraq they first told me it was going to be okay, then continued to instruct me to not e-mail, or call the President. I would just make matters worse for them and for me. 


After I informed my children about what my book was about I asked my boys for some information. I told them I had researched terrorists groups and terrorist camp but needed some help. They both begged me not to do anymore research online. They told me that I was probably on a White House watch list and they were probably tracking what I did.  Looking up bomb making and terrorist activities would get me more than an e-mail from the White House.

Research is an important tool for every writer and my children understand that, they just wished I wrote vampire stories or fairy tales.

A Note from the Book Boost:  Hope all your children are safe at home these days and please thank them for their service.  Best of luck with your book writing and research!


Blurb:

She has no memory of their love...

Kidnapped by terrorists and sent into a drug-induced coma, FBI intern Mercedes Kingsley awakes with no memory of her ordeal—or the intimate interlude that left her pregnant. Convinced her child was fathered by her ex-fiancé, she walks away from the only man she has ever loved, determined to make things work with her ex, a man the FBI suspects is implicated in her abduction.

He knows the truth, but no one will listen...

FBI undercover agent Jason Michaels remembers what Mercy can’t and those memories are breaking his heart. Forced to keep his distance from his lover and their unborn child, Jason risks his life to protect Mercy from a cell of international terrorists who have vowed to get the secrets locked in her memory, no matter the cost. Can Jason convince Mercy to trust him until she remembers their past, or will he lose her to a man who will trap her in a nightmare world of darkness from which there is no escape?


Excerpt:

An explosion ricocheted behind Jason Michael’s eyes as the pressure mounted in his head. The rush of panic consumed him. He struggled to move, tried to swallow, but nothing. His throat burned as the flames engulfed his lungs. He needed to breathe but couldn’t. Shit. He strained to make out the muffled voice, but the pounding in his ears erased all hope. His head started to spin and he succumbed to the realization, this was it, the end. He won. The flames dampened and his heartbeat slowed as the drums subsided, then the voice became clear.

“Give it to him now you son of a bitch. What were you thinking? We still need him.”

In a split second, Jason sucked in a breath, causing stabbing pains to shoot through his chest. Every muscle fiber burned as the cold blast of air shot through his lungs releasing the oxygen his body craved. He arched his back, raising his chest up to pull in more air when his head snapped to the side and the crack from his neck echoed in his ears. The pain ripped through his jaw, racing across his cheekbone. Before he could gather his senses, intense burning set his face on fire. What the hell?

The slap against his cheek stung, and his eyes snapped open. He wrenched upright, hitting his head on the roof of the SUV. His gaze darted back and forth looking for something familiar until he locked onto the ice-cold stare of the devil himself, Shaun Flanagan.

Damn, that was close. Jason could not blow his cover, even if it meant he would die as David Logan and not Jason Michaels.

“You’re finally awake, my boy. We almost lost you,” Shaun cold, emotionless laugh caused Jason’s blood to boil. “You stopped breathing, I think. It’s hard to tell with this new stuff. I hope you’re not too injured. We’ve got work to do.”

Jason’s vision blurred, but his other senses were sharp. Shaun had known exactly what the drug would do and the burn in Jason’s throat was a harsh reminder. Shaun’s sarcastic tone spoke volumes to him. He was evil and did not play by anyone’s rules but his own. Jason had spent the last two months undercover, playing their games and doing their dirty work to buddy up tight to this family.

He’d earned his spot with Thomas Flanagan, but his son Shaun had issues trusting anyone, even his own father.

Jason’s anger burned inside of him, but he couldn’t afford to make mistakes, not now. He was too close. It’s time to step it up, but first the drugs had to stop. He rubbed his aching jaw with one hand, clenching his other into a fist to hide his visible shaking. He had to get control of this game before he lost everything.

Want More Lynda?

Visit her on the web here: www.lyndakayefrazier.com

Pick up your copy of her book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:


Leave a question or comment for Lynda and be entered to win a copy of Rescued from the Dark.

Life Tales of a Military Wife with author Judythe Morgan

Win a copy of Love in the Morning Calm 

and meet author Judythe Morgan 

today at the Book Boost!

Adventures = Ideas for my Writer’s Well

Adventures are exciting or very unusual experiences. My life is filled with adventure and the adventures I have provide an endless source of story ideas.  2013 has proven to be one of my most adventuresome of all.

The year started with a major move from Houston, TX to a small, small town (population three hundred) in the Rio Grande National Forest. Downsizing from a big house of 3,300 square feet to a small house of 1,200 square feet offered many challenges and generated story ideas I may never get to unless I live to be one hundred!

Then two months before our scheduled move, temperatures dropped to -35 degrees for several days in South Fork and four pipes in our new house froze and burst. We rushed to repair the damage before delivery of our furniture and household goods. More fodder for my writer’s mill.

The move itself went smoothly, not much to write about there, but many emotions swirled around as we pulled away from our home of thirty-three years. Those feelings will show up in my characters.

When the moving truck pulled away, I thought my days of adventure were over. That was, after all why we chose to live in the forest…a quiet life with time to write. Not so.

We’d unpacked the last moving box and started plans for a garage addition when we received a call in the wee hours of the morning. The West Fork Fire Complex was heading toward our house. We had to evacuate! Nine days later, we were finally able to return to our home. Check my blog for details about life in a wildfire. There’s already a story percolating about that little adventure.

Prior to this year, the biggest adventure in my life had been following my husband after he received unaccompanied orders to report for duty at Eighth Army, Seoul, South Korea. Quite an adventure!

I was young and not willing to spend over a year separated from my husband. The Army could not stop me (and our toddler daughter) from joining him although housing on the military compound would not be available. I sold our car for airline tickets to South Korea and set up house in a village outside of Seoul. Many of the scenes in my newest release Love in the Morning Calm came from my time living in U.N. Village Apartments in Han Nam Dong.

Adventures are what make life so exciting. Some of my adventures are planned, others just happen. I hope readers enjoy the stories created from all my adventures. My newest novel is Love in the Morning Calm and the story blossomed from my adventures in South Korea. Ace and Lily, the main characters, are composites of the people I met and worked with as a Department of Army civilian.


A Note from the Book Boost: I did the same unaccompanied adventure many years ago but to Japan instead of Korea.  Many stories to tell there.  Thanks for joining us and I'm sure our readers will enjoy hearing your tales.

 
Blurb:

While on temporary assignment to South Korea in 1966, Major Ace Cabot meets Lily Reed, a Department of Army civilian at Eighth Army Headquarters.

A high-potential career officer, Ace knows he should resist the temptation of any woman, but Lily stirs feelings he can’t ignore.

She’s a firm supporter of the budding women’s lib movement with no room in her plans for any man. No matter how captivating his smile.

In an uncertain time, yielding to temptation changes two lives forever.


Excerpt:

Two days later at G3, Eighth Army Headquarters, Lily opened Mack’s door to the outer office and stepped into the crowded anteroom. The Green Beret from Walker Hill, the officer she’d seen in the restaurant, sat in front of Sam’s desk. Her shorthand pad dropped to the floor. Her lips parted, but her vocal chords froze as her gaze locked with the intense eyes she hadn’t been able to forget.

She scanned across the tautness of his Class A green tunic. The rows of colorful campaign ribbons confirmed the vast experience she’d assumed. Today, the rectangular tag above the left pocket revealed his last name. Cabot. It seemed only five minutes since she’d seen him at the resort.

An unrestrained smile swept across his face. He recognized her too.

Sam, his brow furrowed, moved into the narrow corridor formed by his desk and hers on either side of Mack’s door. Skirting her immobile body, Sam bent, picked up her shorthand pad, and leaned through the doorway. “Major Cabot has arrived, sir.”

“Send him in,” Mack’s gravelly voice called.

Sam shifted back to his desk. The major advanced into the space Sam vacated as Lily squished against her desk.

Cabot gave her an exaggerated wink and went into Mack’s office. His spicy aftershave misted her senses and sent her pulse soaring. Fireworks exploding inside her body singed her cheeks.

He stopped precisely eighteen inches in front of Mack’s desk and snapped his arm in a perfectly executed salute. “Major Cabot reporting for duty, sir.”

Mack returned the formal salute with a wave of his right hand in the general vicinity of his forehead.

"At ease, Major. Have a seat.”

The exchange broke Lily’s trance. She closed the office door and scowled at Sam. “Why didn’t you say something at Walker Hill?”

Sam shoved the shorthand pad at her. “Didn’t know it was him. Reporting orders don’t come with pictures. Even if they did, I don’t know that I would have recognized him. I wasn’t paying as much attention to the man at Walker Hill as you were.”

She didn’t argue. Her good manners had disappeared Saturday night at The Crane. And worse, the major likely took her attention for interest. She sank into her metal desk chair. The wheels creaked on the linoleum, mocking her distress. “He’s the liaison?”

“Yep. He’ll be coordinating between G3, the Embassy, ROKA staff officers, and the advanced White House staff.”

With more pomp than necessary, she propped her steno pad upright on the metal typing table with a clanking thud. Major Cabot would be around until President Johnson left. Way too long to have to deal with the man and the effect he had on her.

“From what I hear, the major’s quite the Casanova. I’m hoping to pick up pointers.” The G3 clerk, Lewis Watts, pushed away from his desk. I’m off to deliver the troop report.”

Lewis paused at her desk, slid his stubby brown fingers down into the key well of her typewriter. She looked up. He flashed one of his goofy, playful grins. His white teeth sparkled against his ebony skin.

“I saw that wink the major gave you. You may have met your match this time. He’ll not give up easily.”

A fireball of panic formed a knot in her stomach.

"Lewis is right,” Sam said. “I’ll be watching him, but you need to guard yourself, Lily. Cabot has a reputation.”

Lily aligned the letterhead paper and carbons in her typewriter. “I’m not interested. He’ll figure that out for himself soon enough.”

And, somehow, she’d ignore the explosions the major ignited in her body.

Want More Judythe?

 
Visit her on the web here: www.judythemorgan.com

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:
Leave a comment about one of your adventures and include your email for a chance to win a free copy of Love in the Morning Calm. Winner will be contacted on Tuesday, August 6th.

Lend Me a Line with Author Lauren Linwood

Welcome Featured Author Lauren Linwood 

to the Book Boost!

I Lived a Movie Line (Even If No One Was Watching)

I’ve loved watching movies ever since I can remember. Growing up, my favorite time of year was summer. One reason? I got to read as much as I wanted to – and believe me, I read voraciously! The second? I got to stay up late and watch movies with my parents…on a week night! No more go to bed at 9 or 9:30 (or 10, if I pushed it). We would start watching a movie on our local channel that showed classics every night at 9–so I was staying up REALLY LATE and doing something REALLY COOL! Of course, I was only in single digits, age-wise, so I thought a lot of things were pretty cool. It took reaching double digits to figure out hanging with my parents was…not so cool.

I got a great movie education doing this, seeing everything from Casablanca ("Here’s looking at you, kid”) to Sunset Boulevard (“All right, Mr. De Mille. I’m ready for my close-up.”). Movie quotes became old friends to me, and I could throw them into everyday conversation with my friends.

“We need a bigger boat.”
“Is it safe?”
“You can’t handle the truth!”

And I gravitated toward people who could do the same. I raised my own daughter the best I could, and I tried my hardest to give her a great education in pop culture by exposing her to all kinds of films. Give her a movie line (“Don’t forget. I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.” “He saved me – in every way a person can be saved.” or “We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!”) and, of course, she’ll know what it’s from (Notting Hill, Titanic, and Independence Day–just in case you’re quizzing yourself as you read along).

I swear that the only reason I wanted to begin dating was so that a guy would ask me out…and take me to the movies. My first date with my husband was to a movie. So was the second. He finally threw me a curveball and took me to the Byron Nelson golf tournament for our third date. He followed me around all day while I shadowed Jack Nicklaus. I didn’t know what I loved more–getting to see Nicklaus in person or falling in love with this wonderful guy who took me to movies AND was cute with a wicked sense of humor AND indulged me by letting me stalk a famous golfer.

When I began writing, it was hard to take that leap of faith. To put words down–my words–and then hope and pray they were entertaining enough for someone to read them and fall in love with my people and their stories. But I kept with it by taking Yoda’s advice–“Do, or do not. There is no try.” So I just kept on doing and doing. Eventually, I met my editor at a conference and my dream has come true with the release of Music For My Soul.

That leads me to sharing with you the movie line that I lived. One of our family classics that we’ve watched countless times is Love, Actually. Remember the part where Laura Linney gets a ride home from the Christmas office party from Carl, the man she’s been pining for…forever? He starts to leave and then looking at her with those soulful eyes tells her, “I don’t have to go.”

THAT’S when my favorite line and part happens. She politely says, “Would you excuse me for one second?” She goes around the corner and does The Happy Dance for slightly more than one second. She is amazed and delighted and excited that HOT CARL has come home with her and doesn’t want to leave! She then pops around the corner, calm and collected now, and says, “Um, okay. That’s done.”

And then she takes him upstairs.

That was me when I found out that Soul Mate Publishing wanted to publish my medieval historical romance, Music For My Soul. I didn’t have to excuse myself because I was home alone. But I flashed to the Laura Linney line. And I stood. I giddily did MY Happy Dance (for more than one second because it’s not every day that you find out your novel will be published). I saw Laura dancing as I did. I flashed to her one moment of euphoria. Then I sat there shaking, trying to breathe and take it all in.

My ending is infinitely better than hers. She blew that one magical moment with Carl, due to her love and loyalty for her mentally challenged brother. I, on the other hand, have realized my dream. I’ve published a romance novel, and my editor has already bought two more western historical romances that will be out in October and January.

But I think I’ll take Ferris Bueller’s advice and remember: “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

I don’t intend to miss a single thing, Ferris. I’m thankful for this “second act” in life. I’m not just a writer. I’m a published author.

A Note from the Book Boost:  Very nice post!  I'm a movie buff myself and have to say that I know all these lines as well.  Love, Actually is one of my top 10 movies of all time.  Well done on the publishing deal and may your sales bring you many happy dances ahead.


Blurb:

As the third wife of an abusive French vineyard owner, Madeleine Bouchard hasn’t produced the expected heir after three years of marriage. Fearing he plans to kill her, she flees during a trip to England. Unable to make her way home, she joins a troupe of traveling mummers and reinvents herself as the only woman troubadour in the land, captivating audiences with both song and story.

Nobleman Garrett Montayne’s fascination with Madeleine causes him to pay the troupe to bypass their next stop in order to journey to his estate. Though he suspects Madeleine of being a thief with dark secrets, love blossoms between them under the magical moon of summer solstice.

But Madeleine’s past is about to catch up with her, as her husband is set to arrive to conduct business with Garrett. Madeleine determines to free herself from her loveless marriage and make a new life with Garrett, no matter what the cost.

Want More Lauren?

Visit her on the web here: http://www.laurenlinwood.com/

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Romancing the Memories with Author Linda Hays-Gibbs

Win a Book from Author Linda Hays-Gibbs 

today at the Book Boost!

My Special Day with Doni!

I think the most romantic moments are spontaneous. My sweet love passed in 2005 but there are so many special moments when he surprised me.

July the Fourth one year, he took me off road in the car and I thought he'd lost his mind. We went forever into wilderness and straight up a hill that I was sure would kill us, but when we stopped we were in paradise. The trees sort of bowed over a pool of water so clear you could see the bottom. The bank and bottom of the water were smooth with beautiful different colored clays and the birds sang a chorus. It was heavenly. We were completely alone and protected. It looked enchanted.

He picked me a huge bouquet of wild flowers of every color and I saw a huge white flower on a tree I wanted, so he retrieved a blossom for me of that too.

He'd brought a blanket and lunch so we lay on the blanket making love then ate our meal. We swam in the water naked and lay in the sun. He massaged my back with scented oils and we talked about his life and mine. We kissed often and watched clouds float overhead, spotting bunnies and angels among them. We walked around the pool and gathered odd looking rocks while holding hands. It was glorious and it was mine, my lovely day with the love of my life. I shall never forget it.

Whenever I see wild flowers I think of it and the ones he picked just for me.

After that day we could be going somewhere and he'd stop the car and go pick me some flowers and say, "Remember these?" With that special smile and I'd laugh with glee and nod my head remembering so much more than just flowers. Our kids asked questions, but he would just grin and restart the car.

God I miss that man!


A Note from the Book Boost:  What a wonderful fantasy moment and how heartbreaking at the same time.  Thanks for sharing that memory with us, Linda.  My hubby is very romantic.  Hard to pick just one time.  Let's see...probably Valentine's Day in Ireland or breakfast in bed on Mother's Day, or having the chef write a special note to me in chocolate...sigh.


Blurb:

Pru is an orphan whose only close family member is her twin brother, Michael, the Earl of White. When Michael joins the army to fight Napoleon's troops, Pru's Scottish admirer promises to watch out for him, but nothing goes as planned. From a sparkling ballroom to the agony of a battlefield, an across the sea to a curiously lively deserted house, Pru despairs, gains independence, is hassled by an amorous ghost, reassured by an angel, guarded by a bereft dog and finally... well, if you're like me, you'll be smiling all over your face by the end.


Excerpt:

"I am so sorry my love but I must make a confession!"

"Do not tell me that you love another and I can never have you." "No, my love it is worse than that!"

"Oh my God, Pru what is It?What is wrong?" Tears streamed down her too innocent cheeks.

"I'm so...sorry but I have a man in my closet at home!"

Stunned he sat down, "So you love this man in your closet?"

"I can't say,  I just met him."

Want More Linda?

Visit her on the web here:   

http://www.lindahaysgibbs.blogspot.com

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:

Tell Linda about your romantic moments and be eligible to win one of two copies of Linda's book!

The Test of a True Bestie with Author Monica Garry-Allen

 Win a copy of The Makeover and

meet author Monica Garry-Allen!  

  

What’s the Craziest Thing You’ve Done for Your Best Friend? 

Friends, best friends, besties, bff’s…we have many names for those women we love like sisters, bicker with like frienemies and defend with our last breath. Whenever we need them they are there for us and we are quick to return the favor because, well, that’s what friends are for. So you tell me, what’s the craziest thing you’ve done for your bestie?

Personally, I have done so many embarrassing things in the name of friendship that there is hard to pick just one to share with you. There was the time I won a trip to a movie premier in California, (honestly this really happened) and I was allowed to bring one friend, so I chose my friend…for legal purposes let’s call her Angel. Angel was under twenty-one at the time and it was against contest rules for her to travel to California for the contest. So what did my clever friend do? She got a fake ID made and what did I as her bestie do? You got it, I vouched for her.

I mean, I was twenty-one and her birthday was in a few weeks so that was fine, right…right? Well that ended well for us, we had fun in California, and we got to meet A-list celebrities and took hundreds of pictures. However that was not the craziest thing I’ve done for a friend. A couple of years later, a friend who was also my co-worker at the time,  decided that she was done paying her beautician to color her hair for her. The results never came out the way she wanted them to, so what was the point in paying big money for cheap results. My friend decided to color her own hair. That’s fine… lots of people highlight and color their own hair.

This wonderful friend of mine decided to save even more money by buying off-brand hair dye from a local thrift store we frequent. The next day when she called and said she was coming over to show me her hair I expected to see a brown haired diva with blonde highlights. That was not what I saw. What I saw was an orange haired half-crazed woman with tears in her eyes. She was so upset that her hair was orange. All she could talk about was how the other ladies at work were going to make fun of her. 

So what did I do, being the best friend that I am? I went to the same store and purchased the same dye and colored my hair also, but with less unflattering results. My black hair turned an odd light brown color, very light brown which did not look good on my skin tone. But hey, I did it in the name of friendship. When we showed up at work, everyone thought we did it on purpose. We still got laughed at, but we got laughed at together, that’s all that really matters.

In my new romantic comedy, The Makeover, three best friends – April, Robyn and Nicole understand the true meaning of friendship. When April finds out that her boss only invited her on a dinner date because he was trying to prove a point to his colleagues, she is furious and so are her besties. To top it off, the point he was trying to make was that he could bring a plain date to any event and still outshine his colleagues. 

Not only is April heartbroken over this news she is also reminded of her childhood days when she was bullied for being the "Nerd-Girl." However, her friends plan to make her over and help her prove to her boss and his associate’s that looks can be deceiving. That’s not the only adventure these three friends go on…you have to read the book to find out more.

Now that you know a couple of crazy things I’ve done for my friends share with me some things you’ve done for yours or some things your best friends may have done for you. Remember, keep it PG. One lucky commenter will receive a free copy of my new release, The Makeover. Hey, I may even feel friendly and give away two copies…because that’s what friends are for. 

A Note from the Book Boost:  Okay...craziest thing I've ever done for a friend (her name is Nicole, btw) is to attend college with her in order to room with her BUT this particular university is my family's BIGGEST rival in football.  Now, that may not seem big...but did I mention that I live in the south?  Home of the SEC?  Trust me...I've not lived it down yet.  This story sounds great, Monica!  Can't wait to check it out.

Blurb:

Her mission, if she chose to accept it, was simple. All April has to do is attend a last minute dinner party with her boss and in return he will allow her to have the weekend off to attend a Star Wars Costume Party. She’s excited, but her excitement turns to disappointment when she learns that her boss only invited her to the dinner because he needed an ‘average date’…someone plain, who wouldn’t steal the spotlight from him.

Hurt and upset, April, with the help of her friends, plan to show Dr. Stewart that she may be a nerd girl, but she’s far from plain.

Dr. Stewart needs a date and fast, but he doesn’t want a date that will outshine him in front of his colleagues. He thought his secretary would be the perfect date, until he arrived to find her looking like his wildest fantasy.

Can he convince her to forgive him for hurting her or will she walk out of his life…taking his heart with her?
 

Excerpt:

 

“What are you doing,” she asked him.

Chad wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her closer to him, something he’d wanted to do for months.

“I’m trying to get you to listen to me,” he told her.

“I could hear you loud and clear from my own seat. Chad, you’re embarrassing me.”

“You called me Chad, you never do that. I like the way you say my name.”

He adored the blush that crept up her neck.  It felt good having her in his lap. He should have done this a long time ago.

“Please put me down. People are staring,” she whispered.

“If you take a walk outside with me I will put you down. I promise.”

“Just go with him,” an elderly gentleman from the table across from them yelled.

April covered her face up with her hands. “This is so embarrassing,” she mumbled.

“He seems sorry,” another lady whispered from two tables over, “I say give him a second chance.”

“You hear that,” Chad whispered in her ear. The sweet scent of her perfume turned him on. The feel of her in his lap felt right…like this was where she was meant to be…in his arms.

“No, I will not,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be alone with you. I wouldn’t even be here if I hadn’t promised you that I would come. If you keep embarrassing me I am going to call a cab and go home, where I belong.”

“You don’t belong at home April. You belong with me.”

“Oh really Dr. Stewart, aren’t I a little too plain for your taste. Put me down.”

He heard the catch in her voice. She was trying not to cry and it was his fault. This whole mess was his fault.

“Let me talk to you outside April. I can explain myself better if we are alone. I never meant to do anything to hurt you. Come talk to me, let me make this right.” For a moment he thought she was going to agree, but her words dashed his hopes.

“There is nothing you can do or say to make me change my mind Chad. I don’t want to talk to you alone.”

He’d had enough of this. Chad stood up with her still in his arms. She was going to talk to him. If she didn’t forgive him afterwards that was fine, but he would have his time alone with her.

“Put me down. Have you lost your mind?”

“No, but I have lost your respect. I want it back.” Chad strode away from the table with April in his arms. Patrons of the restaurant began to clap as they left the room. Chad didn’t look at his colleagues, but he knew they were probably shaking their heads in shock at him. He didn’t care. He’d hurt the woman he loved. Yes loved, it was about time he admitted how deep his feelings ran for his petite secretary. He’d hurt her and he needed to make things right.

“Why are these idiots clapping,” April squirmed in his arms. “Do they not realize that I am being abducted?”

He laughed. “I am not abducting you. I just need a moment alone with you.”

Chad escorted her to the small garden located at the back of the restaurant and sat her down on her feet.

“What do you want to say?” April asked him with her hands folded over her chest. 

 She looked so cute when she was mad. He wanted to kiss her, but he knew that would get him slapped.

“I just want to say I’m sorry.”

Her lips quivered and his heart broke. Damn it, he’d hurt the only girl that mattered.

Want More Monica?

Visit her on the web here: http://mgarryallen.wordpress.com/

Pick up a copy of her book today!  Click here.

Contest Time:

One lucky winner will receive a copy of Monica's e-book, The Makeover. To qualify you have to comment on the post and tell us what the craziest thing you've done for a friend is? The one I find to be the craziest will receive the e-book! If I find two equally funny or crazy I will provided two copies.