I’m happy to be part of Jan Sikes’ promotional party by sharing her new release here today now on preorder – Saddled Hearts, book 3 in the White Runes Series.
Colt Layne owns the Layne Horse Sanctuary. He lives an idyllic life, between caring for the animals and playing music with his band. That is until a stranger appears with unreasonable demands. When someone murders the man, Colt is arrested. He’s been framed, but by whom and why? He needs to talk with his deceased grandfather. But that’s impossible. Or is it? Sage Coventry is gifted with the ability to communicate with the deceased. Skeptical but desperate, when Colt consults with her, he gets more than messages from beyond the grave as she breezes into his heart with sweet patchouli fragrance and tempting lips he longs to kiss. The race against time to clear his name and save the ranch launches them on a mission that brings shocking revelations.
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Early reviews are in from Reader’s Favorite! Here’s what they had to say:
“A story that pulls you in from the very first sentence. A story that reminds you that the power of love is strong and can conquer anything. While the pair thought the love part of their life was done, Fate had a different idea. Enjoy Jan Sikes’ Saddled Hearts and go on a fantastic journey in the race against time to prove Colt’s innocence and protect his home and the animals that live there in this powerful romance story.” R. Lyles
“The skeptical but chivalric way Colt deals with Sage in the beginning and the increasing tension as they come closer to the truth, makes Saddled Hearts a genuinely romantic and mysterious story. Lovers of romantic-suspense tales will get a kick out of this.” V Dablado
“I shuddered when the characters were placed in danger, and searched the pages for clues to the identity of the suspect. The cleverly written narrative kept me guessing until the end, but I was sure of one thing – Sage and Colt belonged together!” C Hopkins
When you asked me to marry you, my heart held all the joy in the world.
Yet, the fear of the future and concern about how I’d deal if I were to lose you because of our age difference, it frightened me to my soul.
I weighed the odds and decided that another love like ours could never be.
I hugged you in true laughter, and said yes, but I made you promise me at least 20 years.
What a fool I was, short-changing myself and not asking for thirty.
Your promise gave me 22,
That fateful fear that’d sometimes niggled at my mind, came back to bite.
No amount of years would have ever been enough to have to let you go.
I love you now, still, and forever.
I love you forever into the beyond.
God gifted me you, but only on loan. Because he wanted you back.
You were my lesson on love.
I tasted true unconditional love,
A gift that many have been denied the privilege.
You’re a gift that will blanket my heart for the rest of my days.
I love you.
In my heart forever
One year ago today, I lost the love of my life. I can’t even fathom the thought it’s been one year. It still aches like yesterday. My heart is still heavy, and the missing is a continuous gaping hole in my heart.
Today I will visit my husband’s grave, our grave, and lay a new rock upon the headstone. Although I feel the need to visit his grave, I feel him more when I’m home, or wherever I go, as though he is with me. He sends me lots of signs, so I know this much.
The only thing I’ve learned about heart-wrenching grief, is that it never subsides. Each wave that comes over me is like a fresh wound. It doesn’t get easier, I just learn to dance around it when it hits. I don’t suppose it ever goes away because as long as there was love, there will always be grief for the giant loss that resides in my heart.
Next week I will begin planning a celebration of life for my Puppy, the one Covid restrictions denied him; just like the Covid hospital restrictions that added to his demise. I still carry a lot of anger inside for that.
Ours was a true love story, and such as grief is, the more we love, the harder and longer we will grieve.
In the past year, I watched my husband die daily before my eyes. My heart was ripped, yet I had to carry on taking care of him because it was all I could do. I cast my brokenness aside, held back my tears and wouldn’t even admit to myself that my other half was leaving me. Until he did.
I packed up 25 years of our life together, gave things away and moved two months later. I don’t even know how I did it all, I just felt like I was on auto pilot going through the motions.
It was my friends who got me through the difficult days, allowing me to speak about him, about the pain, without any interruption or words of empowerment. Grievers don’t need all those foofie condolences, they need love and support and an ear to blanket the soul, for there are no solutions. Grief is just a process that one must journey through alone. But ears and hugs go a long way to comfort. So I thank my wonderful circle of friends, both here and at home, and all of you here for your love and support and for giving me back some of the ‘normal’ I need to continue on.
I’m a longggg way from healing, but I’m doing and showing up, and taking in all the moments of gratitude along this painful road. And the only thing that keeps me doing so is believing my husband is still always here with me.
I came across the perfect word while reading things in one of the online grief groups I follow. There is a Portuguese word called ‘Saudade’, pronounced ‘Sodahd’. In the article I read it talked about this being the perfect word for which there isn’t a perfect English translation. But the gist of the word is it means a deep emotional state of nostalgic or profound melancholic longing for something or someone that one loves despite them being gone. It’s akin to the term ‘bittersweet’, a longing for something or someone that will never be again. I too now feel it is the perfect description for my grief. According to Dictionary.com,
saudade
[ soh-dahd; Portuguesesoh-dah-juh ]
noun
(in Portuguese folk culture) a deep emotional state of melancholic longing for a person or thing that is absent:the theme of saudade in literature and music.
I love this new word, it describes well the indescribable longing of grief.
My Puppy
I haven’t published much in the last few years, during my husband’s illness and his dying, and subsequently, after. But don’t be fooled. I’ve been writing like a fiend. I’ve written many poems, conversations, observations and soul searching thoughts through this journey. Turns out I’m 30K words into a book about grief and love, although written in drafts. One day, when my heart can take it, I will put that book together. For now, I would like to share one of the poems I wrote for my husband:
Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing a #shortstory by Jan Sikes – Satin and Cinders. This is a sweet love story between a privileged horse and a wild stallion.
I’m currently halfway through another of Jan’s books, as well as an historical fiction memoir and a book about NLP therapy, but I wanted to put up a last review before I take a blogging break later this week, and pulled up this sweet short story on my BFK. I’m looking forward to a timeout and a readathon on the beach – in between having actual conversations with human beings.
Blurb:
A wild black stallion has cautiously watched a beautiful white mare, from the safety of the forest for many years. He longs to be with her, and ventures close to the barn nightly to communicate with her. They share their deepest desires and secrets. Now it is winter, and the rest of the wild herd has moved on, but the stallion stays. He cannot stand the thought of being so far away from her. The scent of sweet alfalfa hay and the enticing lure of the white mare is too much for him. He must find a way to be with her. But will it be worth the risk? Satin and Cinders is a story of courage and determination.
My 5 Star Review:
This was a sweet love story about two horses in love. This story could have been about any two people, but it’s about a beautiful mare, Satin, and the wild black stallion, Cinders, who are in love and separated by living standards and a fence. Cinders narrates. The author does a wonderful job of bringing the emotions to life and writing about the horse’s thoughts, inviting us into their story. An equine love story with a human feel.
Welcome to my Sunday Movie Review. Happy Halloween! And seeing as today is Halloween and wanting to keep with the theme here, I want to share my review of Practical Magic. This is the title of the book written by Alice Hoffman, an author whose books I always enjoy. As what often happens, the book is collecting dust in my Kindle, but I came across the movie version. What I found interesting were the comments I read on the book page on Amazon. . .
Whenever I watch a movie made after the book, I always go over to Amazon to read reviews to read opinions from reviews on whether the book was better than the movie or vice versa. Interestingly enough, this book has thousands of reviews, but the most poignant points on most all comments from those who’ve both read the book and seen the movie were that THE MOVIE was better than the book! Also, the movie strayed a bit from the original book, yet, many appreciated the movie version more. With that said, now I’m curious to the read the book. But for now, I’m sharing my review of the movie version.
The book and blurb:
*25th Anniversary Edition*—with an Introduction by the Author!
The Owens sisters confront the challenges of life and love in this bewitching novel from the New York Times bestselling author of The Rules of Magic, Magic Lessons, and The Book of Magic.
For more than two hundred years, the Owens women have been blamed for everything that has gone wrong in their Massachusetts town. Gillian and Sally have endured that fate as well: as children, the sisters were forever outsiders, taunted, talked about, pointed at. Their elderly aunts almost seemed to encourage the whispers of witchery, with their musty house and their exotic concoctions and their crowd of black cats. But all Gillian and Sally wanted was to escape. One will do so by marrying, the other by running away. But the bonds they share will bring them back—almost as if by magic…
“Splendid…Practical Magic is one of [Hoffman’s] best novels, showing on every page her gift for touching ordinary life as if with a wand, to reveal how extraordinary life really is.”—Newsweek
“[A] delicious fantasy of witchcraft and love in a world where gardens smell of lemon verbena and happy endings are possible.”—Cosmopolitan
My 5 Star Movie Review:
This was a fun and entertaining romp of love, sisterhood and of course, magic.
Gillian and Sally are sisters. They were born from a line of witches. Their mother died of a broken heart when they were little girls, undoubtedly, because of the Owens family curse – any man to fall in love with an Owens woman would suffer a fatal curse.
Gillian and Sally went to live with their very witchy aunts as children. They both had ‘the gift’, only Sally wanted nothing to do with it until she was faced with a tragic situation, then all bets were off. Gillian was the wild child, free-spirt, and all she did was seem to get herself in trouble. But her clear psychic connection with her sister always alerted Sally when Gillian was in trouble.
Now, the present, Sally’s husband dies in an accident and spurs her to pack up her things and her own girls now and moves back into her aunts’ home. Meanwhile, Gillian had run off with some crazy guy who turns out to be a maniac wanting to be a vampire who ultimately becomes violent with her and it’s Sally to the rescue.
To get into all the shenanigans that happens because of Gillian, would be spoilers, but suffice it to say, the girls try a few methods to get rid of James, and Sally thinks she finally may have killed him, only to find this guy won’t die and tries to get inside Gillian’s body.
In the meantime, a good looking detective comes around looking for this James guy because of the evil he’s done to others. He can’t figure out whether or not the girls have killed him or not. All the while the detective gets swooped into the scene where James is trying to possess Gillian’s body, and with a bird’s eye view of the mayhem and magic going on, he realizes he’s dealing with witchcraft and not your average murder.
Throughout the action there becomes a strong attraction between Sally and the detective, but Sally is apprehensive to follow her feelings because she’s afraid of her mother’s curse taking another potential love away from her. Will she take another chance on love with her fear of the curse? I can’t tell you that. Will we see Sally, the ex- non willing participant for witchcraft form a coven of strangers to form an exorcism on Gillian? We surely will!
Despite my description, this book is anything but scary – oh, except maybe the possession part, kind of.. But it’s a fun movie to watch with plenty of love, magic and entertainment, oh, and some fine music in this film too!
I have two videos to share from this movie. One shows snippets of the film, the other is seven minutes long with actual scenes from the movie. A superb cast, starring Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock.
I’d recommend this fun, magical chickflick for a cozy Halloween watch.
Welcome to this edition this month to my author series, Q and A with D.G. Kaye. I’m happy to introduce Romance and Multi-Genre Author, Marie Lavender here today to share a bit of herself, her writing and her books, and tell us a little about her book Directions of the Heart – A Romantic Drama Collection.
About the Author:
Multi-genre author of Victorian maritime romance/family saga, Heiresses in Love Series, and 21 other books. Reached the Top 10 Authors list on AuthorsDB.com for the last 4 years. Featured interview in the January 2018 issue of Womelle Magazine. BLOOD INSTINCTS reached TOP 10 status in the Romance category. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART both reached the semi-finalist round in the 2018 AuthorsDB Book Cover Contest. Voted TOP BLOGGER for 2018 on the Romance Lives Forever Blog. TOP 20 Authors of 2018 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART was nominated and made it past the first round in the 2018 Author Academy Awards. UPON YOUR LOVE and THE MISSING PIECE placed in the TOP 10 on the 2017 P&E Readers Poll. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART was nominated for the 2017
Reader’s Choice Awards. The I Love Romance Blog became a finalist in Start Dating DK’s Romance Blog Awards of 2017. ILRB landed on Feedspot’s 2017 TOP 100 Novel Blogs and TOP 100 Romance Blogs. DIRECTIONS OF THE HEART placed in the TOP 10 Books of 2017 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. TOP 20 Authors of 2017 on Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews blog. Mystery Blogger Award for 2017. A to Z Blog Challenge Survivor in 2016. March 2016 Empress of the Universe title – winner of the Broken Heart themed contest and the I Love You themed contest on Poetry Universe. SECOND CHANCE HEART and A LITTLE MAGICK placed in the TOP 10 on the 2015 P&E Readers Poll. Nominated in the TRR Reader’s Choice Awards for Winter 2015. Poetry winner of the 2015 PnPAuthors Contest. The Versatile Blogger Award for 2015. Honorable Mention in the 2014 BTS Red Carpet Book Awards. Finalist and Runner-up in the 2014 MARSocial Author of the Year Competition. Honorable mention in the January 2014 Reader’s Choice Award. Liebster Blogger Award for 2013, 2014 and 2016. 2013 and 2014 Amazon Bestseller Ranking for UPON YOUR RETURN. Winner of the Great One Liners Contest on the Directory of Published Authors.
Marie Lavender lives in the Midwest with her family and two cats. She has been writing for a little over twenty-five years. She has more works in progress than she can count on two hands. Since 2010, Marie has published 22 books in the genres of historical romance, contemporary romance, romantic suspense, paranormal romance, dramatic fiction, fantasy, science fiction, mystery/thriller, literary fiction and poetry. She writes adult fiction, as well as occasional stories for children, and has recently started some young adult fiction. She has also contributed to several anthologies. Her current published series are The Heiresses in Love Series, The Eternal Hearts Series, The Magick Series, The Code of Endhivar Series and The Blood at First Sight Series.
Let’s get to know more about Marie and her writing:
Do some of your own character traits or personal experiences spill into your book’s characters?
A few of my own traits have spilled into some of my characters (for example, being a hopeless romantic), but mainly I let the characters guide me toward their own personalities. All of them are different. However, yes, my personal experiences have colored certain backgrounds for characters, or just events in stories. I believe there’s nothing more cathartic for a writer than pouring those deeply felt emotions about a certain experience onto the page. While I was going through a particularly rough time in my first romantic relationship, I found myself writing a historical romance novel. That became book one of the Heiresses in Love Series.
DG – I can well imagine that it’s not hard for us as writers to incorporate a little bit of ourselves and our own experiences into our books.
Do you have a difficult time choosing titles for your books? How do you choose your titles?
Titles are often challenging. My usual approach is to toss around a few ideas, and then start writing. I can worry about the official title later. As the story develops, and all the nuances come to light, I get a better picture of what might be the best title. Sometimes I know right away what that title will be – a catchphrase or a few words taken directly from a line of dialogue – but I often don’t know the exact title of a book until I’ve finished writing the manuscript. I ruminate on it for a while; let it stew in my subconscious. Then it cleverly falls into place.
DG – I totally hear you. Titles for my own books come easily to me too in a similar way.
Did you have a passion to write as a child? Do you remember the first thing you wrote?
I pretty much always knew I wanted to be an author. I often told my family how much I wanted to write for a living. Stories played out in mind even before I first put a pencil to the page. No, I don’t exactly remember the first story I wrote. What stands out in my mind, though, is one I had to write for a project in the fifth grade. We got our ‘books’ laminated, and I think I titled mine The Mystery of the Golden Chair. I only recall the barest of details about the plot, but I know the story was set in Italy.
DG – Wow! Now that’s impressive – writing a story in 5th grade in a different cultural setting. Makes me wonder how you did the research for such a young little girl. 🙂
Do you find your writing is geared toward a specific audience or do you just write what inspires you to write?
I often let story ideas just come to me. I don’t think about who will read them beforehand. The muse leads me, and I stay true to my vision for the story. If I wasn’t inspired to write something, I think it would be much harder to focus on that project. I wrote a children’s story once, and it became A Little Magick, book two of the Magick Series.
But there was no advanced planning with that one. It came out of nowhere! Had you asked me years ago if I’d ever write a kid’s fantasy, I probably would’ve said no. That’s the funny thing about the muse, though. It takes you to so many unexpected places!
DG – I think it’s incredible that you can write among so many genres!
Would you like to share with us what upcoming projects and/or ideas for books you’re working on?
Chasing Ginger, a romantic comedy and book one of The Misfits Series, should be out soon.
I’m also wrapping up work on a romantic mystery collection, which is titled First Target.
In other news, I plan to submit a young adult mystery story to a magazine. As for additional projects, my initial plan is to work on Magick Sunrise, a lighthearted romantic fantasy and the final book of the Magick Series, after I’ve accomplished the aforementioned goals. I would also like to get back to writing some historical romances again. The process of writing that type of romance novel is never easy, yet it’s so rewarding.
Blurb for Chasing Ginger (I am unsure of the release date, but hope to have it out in late 2019 or early 2020):
Chased by a group of angry men. Saved by quite a hunk.
This is not the résumé Ginger Halloway ever imagined having. But thanks to a miracle pill, which makes her size 22 frame instantly sexy, that’s what happened.
Yet, now Lance Franklin is showing interest in her, and she can’t figure out if he really likes her for her, or if it’s just because of a bizarre drug.
And her wild bunch of friends, The Misfits…well, they’re always getting her into some
interesting situations.
So, yep, business as usual. Except for the guy. What the hell should she do about him?
As for Lance, he believes he’s lucky to have found Ginger. But can he convince her they should go for it?
With some new attention from the hottest guy she’s ever met, Ginger can’t help but wonder…is this all too good to be true?
Genre: BBW Billionaire Romantic Comedy
My Inspiration for Chasing Ginger:
The origin story for this book is actually a bit funny. I had posted a meme on Facebook about wishing extreme sexiness came in pill form, and a reader commented on the thread, saying I should write a story about it. My reaction was, “Oh, God! I don’t need one more to add to my numerous works in progress!”
However, the muse had a mind of its own, and lo and behold, a few days later, I’d come up with not only a basic synopsis for the plot of the romantic comedy novel, but also plans for the rest of the series. I guess you never know where a good idea will come from…
DG – Wow, I’m so impressed by the amount of books you’ve written – and are now writing. I truly commend you. And I love the origins of your book Chasing Ginger. This read sounds right up my alley!
Let’s turn our focus to your featured book today – Directions of the Heart. Were there any parts of the book where you struggled?
Yes, somewhat. I had to work hard to dig much deeper than the original drafts for these tales. To get into each character’s mindset and tell the story from his/her perspective. To think about the hardships I experienced in life, and how I might’ve reacted to their specific events. But once I did, I knew that being fully authentic was more important than my fears about getting real with readers. There are dark parts of the human condition told in this collection, and I never shied away from those realities.
Did you get your book cover professionally done or did you do it yourself?
Embark on a remarkable journey of drama, romance, and passion…
In all of these amazing stories, there’s one burning question…is love worth the risk?
Without You
Reece and Jenna are two childhood friends separated by time and distance. Can they find a way to heal their bond, or perhaps forge a new one?
Strange Heat
Spurred by her friend’s close call, Victoria decides to take a risk and prove the lifestyle she led was her downfall. But as Tory sinks deeper into the tumultuous abyss of desire with the mysterious Rick, can she climb back out before it’s too late? Or does she even want to?
Memories
Struggling to run her family’s farm on her own, Sadie takes on a hired hand, Matt. As they grow closer, so does the danger. Someone wants her legacy. Can they combat this new threat, as well as the demons of the past, before Sadie loses everything, including her life?
A Touch of Dawn
Caitlyn thought she’d be in the dark forever. But with the light came Jack, the police consultant who found her. Can they take a journey of healing together, or will Caitlyn retreat into the darkness of her mind, where she lived for so long?
(CONTENT WARNING: With an abuse awareness theme in this collection, there may be
triggers here for past trauma sufferers. However, HEAs are guaranteed.)
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Drama
My Inspiration for Directions of the Heart:
The idea for the collection actually came from a plan to fully revise and re-release some works from my backlist. But as I went through and decided which novellas to group together, a theme began to take hold. Before I knew it, an abuse awareness theme was threaded throughout each tale. I wanted to focus on PTSD, yet from a perspective that we don’t often think about.
As the tales became more emotional, I experimented with dramatic elements while still
remaining to true to the original romantic vision. Each character had a significant message to impart to the reader, and it all rounds out nicely with the final piece. Caitlyn and Jack will always hold a special in my heart.
Excerpt for Directions of the Heart
Reece ran up the steps to the stage and once he darted across it, a weird vibe like prickles on the back of his neck froze him in place. Slowly, he lifted his head, and his gaze caught a sight he could barely believe. She was hanging, hands behind her on the bar, her hair in a wild fashion around her shoulders like a fan. “Jesus Christ!” He swallowed the lump in his throat and hurried backstage, taking the spiral stairs to the rafters. Opening the door, he crossed the tension platform, then hesitated before proceeding. “Jenna?”
She leaned back against the rail to look at him. “Reece! It feels great up here. The thrill…oh my God, you should try it.”
He couldn’t cease the tight knots in his stomach, and tried to ignore the way every hair on his nape came to attention. An icy sensation shifted in his chest as he saw she stood on a tiny section of extra platform outside the main ramp. Unfortunately, it wasn’t housed in extra railing to secure the occupant, as some stage platforms had for crew members who pulled curtains or lowered props to the stage below. “Jenna, you okay?”
“Yes. I came up here to think about our friendship, how it was deteriorating by the minute.”
He tried to steady his breaths. “Uh-huh. And what did you conclude?”
“I’m not sure. I’m so free right now; I don’t feel like thinking about it. Is that why you came here?”
He wondered if she had gone a little nuts. Keep her talking, that was the only strategy he could come up with offhand. “No, Jenna. I was worried about you. Your mother came to my house and said you didn’t come home. So I went looking for you. But here you are, and you’re acting drunk or as delirious as possible.” He took a deep breath. “Jenn, are you on something?”
She blinked myopically. “Like drugs?”
“Mmm-hmm. Or alcohol.” His gaze briefly skimmed the platform for remnants of a can or bottle.
“No. No, I’m not.”
“To tell you the truth, I don’t even know if you’re thinking of ending things.”
“You mean us?”
Us? There’d never been an ‘us’ with Jenna. Sure, they’d been the dynamic duo, inseparable from the beginning. But ‘us’ implied a lot more than they’d ever be. For some reason, his chest ached at the notion. He shook his head, refocusing. “No. Hurting yourself.”
Jenna appeared to study his face and he watched as she attempted to climb up from the steel strip. As she went to step back over the railing, one of the cables got in the way and her foot slipped.
Only black space appeared – no barrier to steady her – and his heart jumped into his throat as she began to fall backwards, her arms spread out. A scream ripped from her throat.
Reese lunged, grasped at her flailing hands, and then got a better hold on her body to yank her towards him, propelling her back onto the platform. He steadied her quickly; his arms wound themselves completely around her. He pressed his face into her messy hair, aware her heart pounded as wildly as his.
“Oh, God. Oh my God.” Wide, cornflower blue eyes fastened onto him as he pulled away to look at her. “Jesus,” she breathed, her face white, not her usual rosy shade. “I nearly scared the hell out of me. I’m sorry, Reece. That was so foolish. What the hell am I doing?” She winced, as if expecting accusation in his eyes.
He frowned. He hadn’t thought at all, just acted. Though he didn’t know what she’d been thinking, he knew what he felt afterward. Thank God, he thought, his heart rate still increasingly fatal. “I don’t know, Jenna. Maybe it was hysterics? Still, I think it’s good you were afraid of falling. “
“Yes,” she agreed, pulling away from him to step back. She curled her hands into fists at her sides. “Wow, you’re strong. Thank you for saving me.”
“It’s nothing. You don’t need to thank me.”
“But, I do.” She sighed. “I hadn’t realized I’d complicated everything so much, even before this. What with my leaving and pushing you away at the same time…anyway, I’m sorry.”
“It doesn’t matter right now, Jenna. Obviously you needed to sort it out. So, you said you thought about our friendship before?” he managed through a throat as dry as sandpaper. He also wanted to distract them both from what might’ve happened.
She smiled. “This is not even close to being the answer,” she gestured toward the railing.
“Not that I was actually considering such a thing. The risk was appealing, I guess. I know I have people who love me. I’d rather not think about how my mother would react to the situation. It would affect you too.”
“You know I couldn’t live with that.” He took her hand and said thickly, “Come on. I’ll take you home. Your mom is worried sick about you.”
She nodded.
As he drew Jenna to his side and they exited the theater, he gazed up at the stars above and prayed for whatever god was out there to give him more days with her, just as he’d been offered more moments with her tonight.
A great review for Directions of the Heart:
5.0 out of 5 stars – July 25, 2017
“Simply and absolutely ravishing. As a fan of Lavender’s, I was looking forward to reading her collection for stories, and I was not disappointed. The stories she shares, hits the heart emotionally and puts that ever so gentle lump in the throat. The stories were put together very well and fit within the premise of the collection. My favorite of the stories was ‘A Touch of Dawn’ and I was immediately stricken when Jack uttered the words “I won’t be like him” and it
just made the story real, especially when he was dealing with his own issues, with being personal, with intimacy. I read that story twice, and maybe will read it again. A great collection and definitely highly recommended.”
I received this book free in exchange for an honest and unbiased review.” ~Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews.
Thanks for being my guest today Marie. I enjoyed learning about where some of your books ideas originated from and snippets of some of your books. I know Chasing Ginger is a series I will look forward to reading, and I already grabbed my copy of Directions of the Heart. Wishing you much success with your new series. 🙂
DGKayewriter.com 