Series and Settings!

 

By: Marcia King-Gamble

www.lovemarcia.com

Through the years, series books have maintained their popularity. There's something the reader likes about familiar settings and revisiting the characters they've come to love. 

With that in mind, three years ago, I partnered with bestselling author Sandra Kitt (whom I have admired forever, and who was my inspiration to start writing.) Together we created By Design.

https://www.amazon.com/Design-Store-Book-1-ebook/dp/B078K5JPRS/ref

 If you've never heard of Sandra, let me tell you a little bit about her. Mind you, this is just skimming the tip of the iceberg.  Sandra was the first black author to publish with Harlequin. In addition to being a talented writer, she  is a talented graphic artist and has exhibited in several corporate collections, as well as at the Museum of African American Art in L.A.  She has also designed cards for UNICEF, and illustrated two books for the late science writer, Dr. Isaac Asimov.  As if that's not enough, Sandra is the former Information Specialist in astronomy & astrophysics at the Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History in New York. 

Anyway, this amazingly talented woman and I joined forces to brainstorm and create a setting for a series we hoped would appeal to not only the fashionistas of the world, but to those readers who could relate to losing their jobs for one reason or another and were being forced to start over.  We'd thought with downsizing being such a common thing these days, readers would connect.

And, so, By Design was co-written; a story about Elle Stanford who loses a lucrative job and is forced to start over in retail as a store associate. Our setting was the world of retail, and  the fresh air that a  humble associate and former marketer was able to breathe into a failing store.

H.E. Caldwell, a black owned, Philadelphia store on a downward spiral, came to life from the embers of a "what if." We're romance writers after all , so of course, not only was there intrigue and  conflict, but in the telling of the story, romance prevailed and  Elle found her man, Miles Bradshaw.

Following By Design, and because Sandra was busy with other projects, I penned By Heart, a novella,  again using H.E. Caldwell's as the setting. This time there was  a Valentine's theme, and a jump off character, Cyndy Lawsen, who'd been introduced in the first book, and who hated Valentine's Day and anything associated with Cupid, found her man. You can pick up the ebook here:

  https://www.amazon.com/Heart-H-Caldwells-Book-ebook/dp/B08CRC78W1/ref.

Newly released, last month, and again as part of the H. E. Caldwell series, is By Golly, another solo venture. This novella takes place during the holiday season. All of our couples are now having issues and on the brink of breaking up. Will the magic of the season bring them back together?

https://www.amazon.com/Golly-H-Caldwell-ebook/dp/B08R5GN5B8/ref

Here is an excerpt:

A trio of musicians tucked away in the corner of the room struck up Kool & and the Gang’s Celebration. Elle wished she had something to celebrate. It was awkward enough Miles’ unexpected arrival with Heather Hamilton in tow. Had she brought her best friend, CeCe, as her plus one, it might have softened the blow.  At least she would have someone to vent to.  But venting would have to wait until later when she got back to the hotel. Regardless of the hour she would be getting her bestie on the phone.

At least Jay and Cyndy were here. They’d have her back. The executives had started playing musical chairs and were visiting with employees.

 “Dance?” Jay asked, coming to her rescue and whisking her away.

“What took you so long?” she asked, allowing Jay to twirl her.

Miles asked Heather to dance and joined them on the dance floor. Parker two-stepped Cyndy. That left Monique at the table alone, but not for long. She was rescued by a fellow store manager.

As the beat picked up, employees of every rank and file flooded the dance floor and it quickly became crowded.   Jay brought Elle up hard against him. “So, is Brett Anderson out of the closet?” he asked.

Elle chuckled. “Ask him. I don’t gossip about employees.”

“Sure, you do.” Laughing Jay twirled her around again. They were each other’ s confidant and Elle often told him more than she should.

“Cutting in,” a deep voice said from behind them. A heavy hand settled on Jay’s shoulder.  Jay was about to tell the person to get lost when he realized it was his boss he was about to blow off. He graciously handed Elle over.  Miles and Elle needed to work out their issues. There was still a lot of love between them. A blind sugar mouse could see that.

“She’s all yours,” were Jay’s parting words. Elle was a vision in her shimmering gold gown as Miles expertly led her around.  

“You look lovely,” Miles said,  his hands on the small of Elle’s back.  “New dress?”

“Just a little something I picked up in Formalities.” 

I hope that you will enjoy By Golly and the other books in the series. May 2021 be good to you and may you realize your dreams!

About Marcia King-Gamble

Romance writer, Marcia King-Gamble originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. This travel industry executive and current world traveler has spent most of life in the United States. A National Bestselling author, Marcia has penned over 34 books and 8 novellas. Her free time is spent at the gym, traveling to exotic locales, and caring for her animal family.

Visit Marcia at www.lovemarcia.com or “friend” her on Facebook: http://bit.ly/1MlnrIS

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