Sexy Suspense
A to Z April Blogging Challenge
Meaning: Tangled hair, as if matted by elves.
Origin: 1590s
As in: Jeez, Karyn, look at the state of those elflocks — brush STAT!
That’s it. That’s all I’ve got. On account of all the food, chocolate, and wine from the Easter celebrations yesterday. And also because I love owls.
Sexy Suspense
The A to Z April Blogging Challenge
Doubt. It can be paralyzing. At different times I find myself doubting myself, my abilities, my instincts, my actions. It’s times like those that I remember a piece of advice given to me: Never aim for perfect.
That’s a lot of pressure to achieve an impossible state, which in turns creates doubt. I’ll never be perfect, or write the perfect book, or be the perfect marketer. But maybe it’s not so important to be perfect as it is to be positive. To do a little better each time. To take small steps, make progress. To set realistic goals. Reach. Repeat. Till what you achieve is success according to the goals you’ve set and worked towards.
Someone else once said, “When in doubt take the next small step.”
Sexy Suspense
The A to Z April Blogging Challenge
Curiosity isn’t just for kids! And forget about it killing the cat. It’s imperative for writers, and many others I suspect. Curiosity fosters imagination which encourages inspiration. This helps when we’re creating plot lines, characters, and dialogue, etc.
Recently a family member commented on the fact that I notice things she never would. Probably not true. Probably we notice different things. She’s very interested in facts and amassing them and somehow manages to retain them, where as I have no interest in retaining that stuff. But what makes people tick? Oh, yeah. What makes people do the things they do? People and their choices fascinate me. Do I take note of what they do when they think no one is watching, you bet. I pay attention to the way people speak, react, or reply. In line. At the doctor’s office. At the beach. Well, you get the idea.
Being curious and exploring means we’e engaged, living in the moment, and making connections. It’s about exploring the world around us. So embrace your curiosity. Have conversations, read books, watch films, take a walk, ask questions, take a class, try a new hobby. Try a new recipe, a new look, a DIY project.
Have fun! How do you embrace your curiosity?
Once we believe in ourselves, we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight, or any experience that reveals the human spirit. – E.E. Cumming
Sexy Suspense
The Blogging From A to Z April Challenge is lots of fun!
We bought a new bed. Something we desperately needed. Oh my gosh, it’s ridiculous. And huge. I’m pretty sure you can see it from street-level and we’re on the second floor. I almost need a stool to get into the thing. My husband is confused by the amount of pillows needed to make it look perfect. And was even more confused when I said I needed to buy more. He’s not sure where we’re going to put them all at night. He’s got a point. There’s not a lot of room leftover in our bedroom.
I’m normally a very practical person when it comes to purchases, especially big ones. We both are. This bed is not so practical. But it is gorgeous. And I LOVE it.
A therapist my daughter once had (there have been many) said her own husband was of the belief you should be prepared to spend money on three things: beds, shoes, and tires. Makes sense, no? BTW, my daughter also got a new bed. But I’ll save that story for the G post on Guilt.
Another thing I spend money on: BOOKS! Another wonderful B word. Currently reading Deep by Kylie Scott. Will be reading The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty for book club.
Till tomorrow! What do you spend money on?
So, this year I’ve decided to join the Blogging From A to Z Challenge. That means I’ll be blogging every day in April except Sundays. Yikes! Challenge is right.
We’ve all heard the saying attitdue is everything. What better way to focus on making sure my attitude remains as positive as possible then meeting new friends and reading blog posts sure to entertain and inspire me. And just maybe participating in this blogging challenge will help me be present, to appreciate where I am. To help me take a breath and take a look, and be encouraged by the writings and thoughts of my fellow bloggers.
Without leaps of imagination, or dreaming, we lose the excitement of possibilities. Dreaming, after all, is a form of planning ~ Gloria Steinem
Sexy Suspense
A person can find inspiration everywhere, in the smallest or biggest of places. Or anywhere in between. One source of inspiration for me is live theater. I adore it. I live in a small city, with a population of 200,000(ish). The largest theater company here is the Globe Theatre, and its performances are done in-the-round, meaning the audience surrounds the stage. The latest production was called The Drowning Girls.
The Drowning Girls is inspired by a 19th century serial murder case where three women in succession where found dead in their respective bathtubs. Bessie Mundy, Alice Burnham, and Margaret Lofty were all married to George Joseph Smith who used many aliases to cover his tracks as a conman, bigamist, and murderer. The case became known as “The Brides in the Bath Murders”.
One of the things I loved about this play is its focus on the lives of these three women, on their histories instead of making it about the murderer. It gave us insight into how these women found themselves at the mercy of George Smith. It is the victims’ story. A cautionary tale of what can happen, be it the 19th century or the 21st. There was plenty of pathos, sincerity, and humour. Cleverly written and beautifully acted, with three bathtubs and water as the setting.
Yes, these three young actors spent a solid hour and a half dripping wet. There was water in those three bathtubs and the play opens with each of them submerged. Water fell from the ceiling, there was a moat of sorts surrounding the small stage. It splashed on the floor, on the actors, and maybe even the first row. Not only that but they don weddings dresses, veils, and silk stockings while soaked to the skin. The choregraphy of movement and body language was perfection. They were in and out of those tubs, danced on the slippery wet wooden floor, and they entranced the audience.
If it comes to an area near you, you should check it out! Do you enjoy live theater
Sexy Suspense
The Romance Reviews is throwing a party with some serious chances to win! There are more than 350 participating authors and publishers with more than 350 prizes up for grabs during the whole month of March. Grand prize is a $100 Gift Certificate! There are games to play too! You do have to register to participate in the games. Click here to find your way there. Discover new authors and catch with favourite ones. Good luck!
Here’s an introduction to my latest romantic suspense!
OFF THE GRID
A committed doctor to Vancouver’s inner city, nothing fazes Sophie Monroe—until a pregnant teenager shows up at her clinic on Christmas Eve requesting sanctuary and claiming the baby’s father is one of the city’s most influential businessmen. Sophie is in over her head and thankful when aid shows up in the form of an attorney who’s a little too confident and a lot too sexy.
Family Law expert Caleb Quinn just wants a date, a chance to prove he isn’t the elitist jerk Sophie assumes. Helping deliver a baby is not what he has in mind. But before long protecting a traumatized teenager and her son become his first priority. Even if saving them pits him against the baby’s father, a childhood friend. A man who will do anything to keep his dark side private.
But justice never comes cheap. Will doing the right thing cost Sophie and Caleb their reputations? Or their lives?
Available Now
* The Wild Rose Press * Amazon * Kobo * Barnes and Noble * All Romance Ebooks * BookStrand * iBooks
In other news March is the month of my 25th Wedding Anniversay! Time for reflection and sifting through memories. 25 years seems like quite the collection of years, yet it seems to have gone by in a flash. Here’s to the beginning and the good times and the tough times that have followed.
We honeymooned in Montego Bay, Jamica. In a little all inclusive resort that wasn’t fancy but it was clean and the staff was kind and friendly. To the bar staff we were John and Mrs. John. At this point, as a someone who’d grown up on a farm in the of the Canadian prairies I don’t think I’d been further away from home than two provinces over or across the border into the northern United States. It was quite an adventure. And of course, I ended up with food poisoning. Which was also a shock for someone who’d hardly been sick a day in her life.
The rum punch was excellent!
“If you’re lost, you can look and you will find me, time after time.” Cyndi Lauper, Time After Time
My review tour of OFF THE GRID continues with an chance to win a $25 gift certificate. All you have to do is enter the rafflecopter at either of the following:
Sassy Moms Read Romance, OR Undercover Book Reviews
March is just around the corner and there will be all kinds of chances to win gift cards, books, and a grand prize at The Romance Reviews 4th Anniversary Party. Join us starting March 1st.
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I was reading the paper as I love to do on Saturday mornings. This past weekend there was an article about aborginal at-risk teenagers and the very real and horrifying struggles they face.
“Before a man strangles, or shoots, or stabs a woman in a cheap hotel room or a dried-up river bed, a hundred other terrible things typically happen to that woman to put her in that vulnerable, isolated position. For policy-makers, the lesson is clear, no matter whether victims are aboriginal or not: You can’t just go after the act of murder. You have to go after those hundred other terrible things.” Jonathan Kay, Of Horror and Hope, Editorial
I like to think my romantic suspense, OFF THE GRID, touches on a few of those “hundred other terrible things”. At least, I hope it does. I hope it touches on what it takes to be a warrior, a survivor, when the odds are stacked against you, practically from birth.
Sixty-seven women disappeard from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, the setting for OFF THE GRID, between 1997 and 2002. Like me and the women I call friends, these missing and murdered women had things in common. They were mothers, sisters, daughters, poets, and dreamers. They had people they cared about, cherished, and mentored. Unlike my circle of friends, the other ties that bind them are terrifying: child sex abuse, early drug addiction, untreated mental-health problems, violent boyfriends and early pregnancies. Many fled small communities to end up alone in predatory neighborhoods, the victims of drug dealers and pimps who knew very well how to prey on the vulnerble and the isolated.
But there is hope. More than ever we have a chance to improve the odds. We are learning and we speaking out and bringing attention to a crisis that we can do something about.
A committed doctor to Vancouver’s inner city, nothing fazes Sophie Monroe—until a pregnant teenager shows up at her clinic on Christmas Eve requesting sanctuary and claiming the baby’s father is one of the city’s most influential businessmen. Sophie is in over her head and thankful when aid shows up in the form of an attorney who’s a little too confident and a lot too sexy.
Family Law expert Caleb Quinn just wants a date, a chance to prove he isn’t the elitist jerk Sophie assumes. Helping deliver a baby is not what he has in mind. But before long protecting a traumatized teenager and her son become his first priority. Even if saving them pits him against the baby’s father, a childhood friend. A man who will do anything to keep his dark side private.
But justice never comes cheap. Will doing the right thing cost Sophie and Caleb their reputations? Or their lives?
* The Wild Rose Press * Amazon * Kobo * Barnes and Noble * All Romance Ebooks * BookStrand * iBooks
Welcome and happy to see you here! It’s so much fun getting to know other authors and having a look-see into their books or what they’re working on next. Make sure and check out the other great offerings or continue on down the list @ The Weekend Writing Warriors.
I’m happy to share another 8 sentences from my romantic suspense, OFF THE GRID.
Caleb let her go but took her hand. Her nails short, her fingers long, they curled around his. He brought her knuckles to his lips.
“You’re going to dream of me. Nothing sweet. Those dreams are going to make you toss and turn.” His other hand brushed her cheek. “There’s heat between us and making excuses not to feel it isn’t going to satisfy either of us.”
A committed doctor to Vancouver’s inner city, nothing fazes Sophie Monroe—until a pregnant teenager shows up at her clinic on Christmas Eve requesting sanctuary and claiming the baby’s father is one of the city’s most influential businessmen. Sophie is in over her head and thankful when aid shows up in the form of an attorney who’s a little too confident and a lot too sexy.
Family Law expert Caleb Quinn just wants a date, a chance to prove he isn’t the elitist jerk Sophie assumes. Helping deliver a baby is not what he has in mind. But before long protecting a traumatized teenager and her son become his first priority. Even if saving them pits him against the baby’s father, a childhood friend. A man who will do anything to keep his dark side private.
But justice never comes cheap. Will doing the right thing cost Sophie and Caleb their reputations? Or their lives?
* The Wild Rose Press * Amazon * Kobo * Barnes and Noble * All Romance Ebooks * BookStrand * iBooks
Sexy Suspense
February is nearly over. I have to confess it’s not one of my favourite months. I suffer from what I call my February Funk. Luckily there are birthdays and anniversaries and Valentine’s Day in there to help it speed by.
Yesterday I indulged in a little retail therapy. Tonight I think I’ll give myself a manicure. I have Dying Embers by B.E. Sanderson to read. I’m already getting chills! I might also sip a cocktail or two.
I’ve pinned some great ideas on my Cocktail Hour pinterest board. What’s your favourite beverage to curl up with in front of the fire? Or to sip while reading or watching a movie?
I’ve tried this one and I loved it: Dark and Stormy. Candied ginger, ginger beer and rum. Yum!
Two lovely reviews for OFF THE GRID you can find on Goodreads! If you head on over to either of these two lovely review sites you can enter to win a $25 gift certificate!
Huge secrets, drama, mystery, betrayal, cover ups, murder, romance, twists and turns on every corner kept me on the edge of my seat. Off the Grid sure satisfied my craving for that mystery I have been craving.
Sophie had to be my favorite characters in the book. She has a huge heart of gold wanting to help every patient in need. However, Sophie puts her own life on the line to help out a very pregnant Kellie. I loved the fact that they had scenes at a medical clinic in Vancouver.
Off the Grid’s book cover does not do the book justice.
4 out of 5 kisses
HOT DANG!!!! Yes, I’m trying to make my review as nicely worded as possible! Folks this book will have you on edge! The suspense it brings, the romance it gives, the balance it has of the characters and story plot show the remarkable skill of the author! The twist you don’t see coming… Yep, enough to expose enough truth, but why is it held back… If you haven’t read Off the Grid yet, you are missing out! I believe this will be a hot book for 2015!
* The Wild Rose Press * Amazon * Kobo * All Romance Ebooks (ARe) * BookStrand * iBooks *
Available Now