The end of the year is rapidly approaching. Season's Greetings to all my readers, whatever you celebrate. |
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Three Rulers, Three Coronations December is a month of celebrations, so let's celebrate the coronations of the three men above, who were all crowned in December. Charlemagne: King of the Franks from 768, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in Rome on December 25, 800. William I (the Conqueror): Duke of Normandy from 1035, defeated Harold Godwinson on October 14, 1066, crowned King of England on December 25, 1066. Napoleon Bonapart, First Consul from 1799, crowned Emperor in Notre Dame Cathedral on December 2, 1804. |
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Authors of the Month: J. Bengtsson and Brian Wyvill Every month, I want to highlight favorite authors, whatever their genre. One of the delights I have had both as a reader and as an author is getting to know the people behind the books I love to read. This month I am highlighting two authors with very different types of books that I've gotten to know virtually. One lives in California, the other in Canada. I fell in love with Cake and the McKallister family soon after the book was released in 2016, and I have avidly read each new book as it has been released. I was bowled over when she asked me to be one of her first ARC readers. Since then, I have had the pleasure of hanging out with her, and her family, on an Alaskan cruise in 2019 and recently in Philadelphia at Indies Invade Philly. Jill Bengtsson is the bestselling author of the Cake Series. She writes contemporary novels focused on love, humor, passion, and family. Her heroines are strong, nurturing, and quirky while her heroes are what dreams are made of - gorgeous, committed, and in need of a little saving. A native Californian, Jill’s novels are set under the glittering lights of the West Coast entertainment industry. They are for the dreamer in all of us. Jill resides in Ventura County, California. She’s married to the Swedish boy she met as an exchange student her junior year in college and they have three children, a golden retriever, and two ragdoll cats. Check out Jill's other books on her website, along with great character sketches for each one. Jill's latest book, a standalone, will be released this month. You can find Ripple Effect here. Ripple Effect is an enemies to lovers tale with an earth-shaking twist! International pop star RJ Contreras finds himself at a crossroads when his mega famous boy band, AnyDayNow, breaks up. After his solo career fails to take off, RJ retreats to a no-frills apartment where he can hide out from the world and lick his festering wounds. But when the girl next door starts slipping 'good neighbor' contracts under his door and complaining about his behavior through strategically placed Post-it-Notes, RJ snaps out of his self-absorbed melancholy to wage war. Nothing short of an act of nature could repair the relationship between these two strong-willed enemies. But guess what Fate has in store? |
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I "met" Brian Wyvill as a member of my Early Bird Sprint group at The Creative Academy for Writers, a Canadian-based organization with members from around the world. Born in England, he moved to Canada and makes his home in Victoria. He was kind enough to read part of At First Sight and comment on Max's voice. Despite rumours to the contrary, Brian was not raised by wolves in the wilderness, but enjoyed a peaceful London childhood. Growing up with Nelson’s column and the old clipper, Cutty Sark, to inspire him. Brian Wyvill’s early work in computer animation in the UK included making some sequences for the movie “Alien” in the 1970s and shortly afterwards he moved to Canada, where he became a Computer Science Professor and later Canada Research Chair. In the Second Gate series, he writes a time travelling collection of sea faring adventures set during the Napoleonic wars. The Second Gate Published by Thunderchild Publishing The Mediterranean 1798.
Sea battles, a slave galley, a ghost ship, A woman who wants to change time.
What would happen if Napoleon’s admiral had a smart phone? Annette, a spirited student from 21st century Montreal, steps back two hundred years through a time gate to Malta during the French invasion. With a dream to reinvent the critical sea battle between Nelson and Napoleon in Egypt, she must get to Aboukir Bay before her twenty first century hunters can stop this dangerous quest. Sea battles, frigate actions, a slave galley, a ghost ship and a young fanatical Francophone woman trying to change history come together in this adventure story, which plunges three present day history students into the middle of the Napoleonic wars. Is the modern world safe from slips in time that would change our history?
Watch for book two, The Spy of Malta coming in 2022. And be sure to check him out on his website. |
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🤩 🎉 It's here! The ROMANCE COLORING CHALLENGE! 🎉😍 👀 Choose a challenge 📔 Read a romance ✍️ Color a hero ⚡ Post & tag #ColorfulRomance 🏆 Win free ebooks from participating authors 30 challenges & pages to color (so far!). 26 authors offering prizes for participation (you don't even have to read their book—just color & post their page to be entered). Challenge #1 runs through December so grab your colored pencils, crayons, markers, finger paints, nail polish... and let's see some creativity! Find all the challenges If you read romance, love a romance book challenge, or just enjoy coloring, this fun, free event is for you! I've joined a group of romance authors who've contributed challenge ideas and reading suggestions to this project! Read, color, post, win! Can't wait to see which challenge you accept and the page you color. A paperback version will be available soon, perfect for gifts. Check out the website Individual pages can be downloaded here Or get the whole thing here |
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At First Sight is one of the books being featured. |
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News News News I had two book signings and was a featured author During the weekend of Oct. 21-24, I was at Julie and Sandy's Readers Retreat at Mountain Lake Lodge in Virginia, where I participated in the book signing. So exciting to sign books just as they were released. On November 20,I was at Love's Sweet Arrow, a fabulous romance book store in Tinley Park, Illinois, for a book signing. In the virtual world, I was one of two featured authors on Joanna Slan's Mystery Monday. |
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A Walk in Rogers Park Enjoy a few highlights from my Chicago neighborhood This month I'm highlighting Holiday Lights in Chicago. |
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The ebook edition of At First Sight is now available on Amazon and in paperback from Amazon and Barnes and Noble. You can also order paperbacks from your favorite local bookstore. Remember, books make great gifts. |
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I create stories full of romance, suspense, and mystery. Seasoned romance where love has no age limit. Stories that prove second chances can happen, enemies can become friends, and friends can become lovers. Stories that show no two happy endings are the same. And at the core of every story is love. Website Facebook Instagram Twitter Amazon author page Goodreads BookBub Pinterest And check me out on Verve, a fun way to follow authors for book bites and posts about their books. |
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