Tomorrow is the Book Birthday for NEVER A BRIDE and I’m so excited to share Carlo and Emma’s story with you! To celebrate the release it’s giveaway time! For a chance to win a $50 Gift Card, please visit my Facebook Fan Page and share the giveaway post and tag a friend in the comments section. Each share and tag is a chance to win the giveaway. The giveaway will be open until midnight EST Friday January 24. A winner will be selected over the weekend and announced on Monday, January 27. To purchase NEVER A BRIDE, please visit http://bit.ly/NeverABride. P.S. I could so totally see Emma and Carlo doing this on their wedding day!
#FreebieFriday – Jersey Shore Romances
OMG counting down the days until the January 21 release of NEVER A BRIDE the next book in the At the Shore contemporary romance series. I am so excited about Carlo and Emma’s book and also excited to share a taste of the Jersey Shore that I love! To get you ready for the NEVER A BRIDE release, I’m offering up a free read of one of my military romance novellas that are set on the Jersey Shore. Actually, all the stories in the Take a Chance series are set in towns all up and down the Jersey Shore. I hope you’ll enjoy this sexy and emotional read! To download the free read, please visit https://claims.prolificworks.com/free/mpx6b.
#ThrowbackThursday – Outer Banks Trip
One of the things I’ve wanted to do as part of writing full-time is to visit new places as inspiration for new stories! For that reason, hubby and I did a road trip and did some quick visits to places that have always interested me. First up, the Outer Banks. I’ve always been fascinated by this strip of land that’s so exposed to the threat of hurricanes, but is also home to the birthplace of aviation – Kitty Hawk — and apparently the largest sand dune on the East Coast. Sadly the time we arrived and weather made it impossible to do a hike up the sand dune, but we were able to visit Kitty Hawk and the Wright Brothers Memorial before a nasty storm chased us home. So today I’m sharing some photos of that location. The view from the top of the memorial was amazing and if you look carefully, you can see the faint outline of one of the Outer Banks lighthouses in one of the photos from the top of the memorial. It’s definitely given me some ideas for a location like this in future novels!
#WriteWed – Free Read from Never a Bride
From the moment that wedding planner Emma caught the bouquet at Maggie and Owen’s wedding in ONE SUMMER NIGHT, I knew that she was due for her own very special story and happily-ever-after. I knew Emma would need someone very special to help her get over a difficult family history and I also suspected that sexy caterer Carlo was just the man to do it! I hope you’ll think so as well. And now, a little teaser and free read from NEVER A BRIDE.
Teaser
Emma never dreamed that the happily-ever-after would change her life. . .
But as her two best friends find love, Emma worries about what her future will bring. She has seen all too often what happens once husbands and children arrive. She puts on a brave face because she wants her buddies to be happy, but as a wedding planner, she has seen one too many marriages go south. Not to mention her parents’ bitter divorce which has soured her on the idea of marriage for herself. She can’t imagine ever finding a man who can bring her a forever kind of romance.
He’s been in love with her forever and can’t understand why she can’t see it. . .
Carlo da Costa knows why Emma avoids relationships and yet he can’t help but wonder how someone who puts such love and care into others’ dreams can’t allow herself to believe in the fairy tale. He sees the yearning on her face when she spends time with him and his big boisterous family and knows that deep inside, she wants the same thing. Carlo hopes that one day he can provide her with that because he’s sure Emma holds the key to his heart in her hands.
Excerpt
Prologue
The bouquet shot toward her head like a spaceship launched at the moon.
Emma Grant had no time to deflect the missile. She tangled her fingers into the luscious petals of the peonies, roses, and hydrangea, rousing fragrant floral scents as the bouquet grazed her face. When she was in wedding planner mode, she would have taken the time to appreciate the freshness of the blooms, but tonight she was also a bridesmaid and best friend and totally unhappy about her current predicament.
Flowers fisted in her hand, Emma whirled to face her other best friend and maid of honor, Connie Reyes, who with a subtle hip check, had knocked Emma straight into the path of the flying tussie mussie. “I thought you were my friend!”
“Totally,” Connie said with a broad smile and waltzed off to the side of the dance floor to where Carlo Gonzalez, her caterer extraordinaire and longtime man crush, stood with some of his wait staff.
Her friends thought Carlo was the man to give Emma her happily-ever-after, except it wasn’t possible that someone like Carlo could love someone like her. She was broken inside and had been for some time while Carlo was everything good in this world. A loving son and a supportive brother. A go-to-guy for her and so many others. But a lover? Even though her insides ignited at the thought of making love with the incredibly handsome Carlo, Emma knew it could only lead to misery on way too many levels.
He was her business partner of sorts and she valued how well they worked together. They had even talked about forming an event planning business more than once so Emma could have her own company and Carlo could expand his. Not to mention that he was her best friend and she couldn’t imagine not having him in her life, but she was certain that was what would happen if they tried to go from friends to lovers and it didn’t work out.
But Emma’s fears weren’t keeping Connie from trying to drag Carlo into the center of the dance floor for the next part of the wedding ritual. He protested at first and as all eyes settled on him as he balked, embarrassment engulfed her. His hesitation confirmed to Emma that changing the nature of their relationship was not necessarily something he wanted to do either.
Others soon joined in to offer Connie assistance and Carlo finally relented, although clearly reluctant. The handsome caterer stood with the other single men, and as the groom prepared his garter toss, Emma closed her eyes and mumbled a prayer beneath her breath.
“Dear Lord, please be good to me,” she said and half-opened her eyes to watch.
Apparently God wasn’t listening since the garter flew across the air, and like a horseshoe tossed at a ring, the circle of baby blue satin ribbon and beige lace landed on Carlo’s index finger, earning hoots and shouts from all gathered at the perfect catch.
Emma groaned and popped her eyes wide open as Carlo stood there, dangling the garter for all to see. A stain of color marred his cheeks as he peeked at her with a chagrined smile.
The heat of a blush erupted all across her face and up to her ears. She half glanced at Connie who had returned to stand by her and Emma said, “I will kill you for this. When you least suspect it, it will happen.”
Connie couldn’t stifle her chuckle, and when the groom’s brother and best man Jonathan Pierce strolled to her friend’s side, Connie high-fived Jonathan for his assistance with the plot. Connie murmured something to him that Emma couldn’t quite hear as the band launched into a sexy riff to continue the wedding tradition. Carlo sauntered over, garter dangling from his finger as someone placed a chair for her to sit on in the middle of the makeshift dance floor.
“The quicker you get it over with, the easier it will be,” Emma thought, hurried out, and unceremoniously plopped onto the chair. It was like taking off a bandage with a quick rip. It cut the pain much like she wanted to lessen the humiliation of Carlo being forced into this wedding tradition.
The sexy music continued as Carlo kneeled before her and mouthed “Don’t worry.” In deference to the fancy event being held at the Sinclair beachfront mansion, he was dressed in a tuxedo. The black of the tux emphasized the deep brown of his thick wavy hair. The electric white shirt was the perfect foil against olive skin that still bore the remnants of a summer tan. He smiled at her, his teeth toothpaste bright and perfect. The smile was brilliant and transformed the chiseled features of his face. Made his chocolate brown eyes gleam with a mix of amusement and awkwardness.
It was way too easy to picture him as the groom. Her groom, but that was an impossible wish. As his gaze locked with hers, she detected something different for a moment. Something dangerous that she tried to convince herself wasn’t there. There was no way that was there, she told herself.
She silently pleaded with him not to make the situation worse. Ever the gentleman, he heeded her plea and kept it clean as she looked up toward the inky night sky to avoid watching him. His touch was deferential while he slipped the lacy fabric past her shoe and ankle, but even the faintest whisper of his rough palm against her skin had her trembling inside and heat racing across her body. He moved the garter up a little higher to her calf and paused, forcing Emma to look at him to find out the reason for his delay.
Carlo grinned sexily and the fire at her core ignited into a five-alarm blaze. He was just so damn handsome and it was impossible not to imagine doing more with him. He inched the garter past her knee, his palm teasing her smooth skin, but stopped there despite the entreaties of the single men to go ever higher. He wagged his head, shook his finger in a no-way gesture, and tenderly draped Emma’s gown back over her legs.
Emma met his gaze once more, thankful, but this time it was impossible to miss that his look was filled with yearning. With that emotion, she had maybe hoped for and dreaded at the same time. And then Carlo did something totally unexpected and decidedly risky. He wrapped an arm around her waist, urged her to her feet, and slowly drew her close.
Her knees trembled and her heart pounded so loudly, she barely heard the music and cheers from those who’d maybe had a little too much to drink during the festivities. Carlo steadied her, keeping his arm around her waist as he cradled her jaw. Slowly he leaned toward her and tilted her face up with the gentlest pressure.
She could have backed away. Could have stopped him, but truthfully she didn’t want him to stop. She inched up on her tiptoes to meet his lips.
Order
NEVER A BRIDE is available at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2MLZRyK
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1482927575
B&N: bit.ly/BN_Bride
Kobo: bit.ly/kobo_Bride
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/437777098
Stuffed Baked Eggplant – #TuesdayTip
One of the things I’ve been trying to do as part of my health journey is to eat more vegetables. One way I’ve been doing that is by adding veggies like carrots and celery to some of my traditional recipes, like my bean chili. Another way I’m doing it is by making a meatless dinner at least once a week. Last night’s dish was a delicious stuffed and baked eggplant so today I’m sharing that recipe with you! This recipe can be doubled to make enough for a second weeknight dinner. I could just imagine Carlo from NEVER A BRIDE making something tasty like this for a dinner with Emma!
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
1 carrot diced
1 celery rib diced
2 onions diced
4 cloves of garlic minced
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup ricotta cheese – part skim
1 cup shredded mozzarella – part skim
1 egg
1 cup seasoned Italian breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan
Salt and Ppepper to taste
Sauce
1 14.5 ounce can of crushed/diced tomatoes (I love Hunts Fire Roasted for making a small pot of sauce)
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice the eggplant in half and cut off a bit of the skin side so that eggplant boat will lay flat. Scoop out the inside of the eggplant, but do not cut through the bottom.
Oil a baking pan and lightly oil the scooped out eggplant halves. I used a spray cooking oil.
Lay the halves scooped side down on the baking pan and bake for 30 minutes. (Nothing worse than squeaky eggplant!)
Chop the scooped out eggplant and bottoms you sliced off and saute in about 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes and then add the mushrooms until they are all a nice golden color. Transfer to a mixing bowl big enough to hold all the ingredients.
Saute the carrot and celery for about 5 minutes or so and then add half of the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent and then add half of the chopped garlic and cook for another minute or two. Add to eggplant and mushrooms in mixing bowl.
Beat the egg and add to the mixing bowl together with the ricotta, mozzarella and 3/4 cup of the bread crumbs. Mix well.
While you’re waiting for the first bake of the eggplant, get to work on the tomato sauce! Saute the onions in a tbsp of olive oil until translucent. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two. If you like a slightly spicier sauce, add some red pepper flakes while you’re cooking the onions. Add the crushed/diced tomatoes and the tomato paste and simmer for about half an hour or to desired thickness. I like my sauce thick!
Back to the eggplant. Remove eggplant boats from the oven and flip over. You’ll notice that there is some steam coming off the halves. Fill each half evenly and sprinkle with the remaining bread crumbs and parmesan.
Bake for another half an hour at 350 degrees and then kick up the heat to 425 for another 20 minutes or so (or until the tops are a golden brown). Remove from the oven and let sit for about 5-10 minutes so they will be cool enough to eat. Top with the tomato sauce and more parmesan to serve.
Hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tip. Let me know if you try it out yourselves!
#ManCandyMonday – Carlo from Never a Bride
From the moment that Carlo stepped onto the page I fell in love with him and I knew he was the perfect match for never-happily-after wedding planner Emma. Carlo is patient, kind, hard-working, and totally sexy. I pictured him with dark hair and a bit of a broody look even though he’s quite optimistic and friendly. You might be wondering why this hero’s name is Carlo and not Carlos and the reason is that his mom had a thing for Italian names when she decided to name Carlo and his two younger brothers, Paolo and Tomas. Speaking of younger brothers, I can’t wait to write a spin-off to the series featuring younger bad boy Paolo and Army Ranger Tomas. You’ll get to meet them as well in NEVER A BRIDE and I hope you’ll like them as much as I do!
NEVER A BRIDE is now available for pre-order at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/2MLZRyK
Amazon Paperback: Coming Soon!
Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1482927575
B&N: bit.ly/BN_Bride
Kobo: bit.ly/kobo_Bride
Scribd: https://www.scribd.com/book/437777098
#FitnessFriday – Trying Out New Workouts
One of the things I’ve been doing in my new retired life, besides writing, is trying out new fitness regimens so I can maintain the same activity level I used to have when I was working. When I was working, I used to walk to and from Penn Station to my office and I’d also take a short walk around the office to drop off files and correspondence every hour or so. That added up to a lot of steps and now I don’t have that routine.
This past week I tried out a number of different classes. First up a Boxfit class that was a lot of fun and quite a workout. I liked it because I think it will improve my upper body strength.
Next up was a HIIT class – High-Intensity Interval Training. I also liked it, but there were a lot of routines with squats and my one knee was aching a little so the verdict is out on this one.
Finally, I tried a chair yoga class. My sister is a yogi and I plan on going to her classes as soon as I can, but the chair yoga was an interesting alternative. I got to do stretching which I really need and I was familiar with many of the poses since I’d done yoga on the beach a few years back (also on the list to do this year!).
I’ll keep you posted about what’s happening with these classes and I’d love to hear if you’re taking any fitness classes and what you like!
Original Image by Khusen Rustamov from Pixabay