Romancing the Genres: Contemporary

Showing posts with label Contemporary. Show all posts

Tuesday, December 19, 2023

More Holiday Reading for December and this Winter ... by Delsora Lowe

More holiday books…

As you can see, I have an endless supply that will take me halfway through 2024. But, hey, IMHO reading holiday books is a great activity any time of the year. And here in New England, we tend to get more snow in the early months of the year, than we do in November and December.

Books I Read in December:

A Last Chance Christmas (Sons of Chance) – Vicki Lewis Thompson – December 2023

Christmas Miracle for the Frosty Marquess – Sally Forbes – November 2023

A Very Merry Monday (A Dickens Holiday Romance) – Gracie Guy – November 2023

Jingle Spells – Vicki Lewis Thompson, Kira Sinclair, Andrea Lawrence – November 2023

Snowed In at the Ranch – RaeAnne Thayne + Plus (bonus story) A Kiss on Crimson Ranch– Michelle Major – November 2022

Christmas at the Inn on Bluebell Lane – Kate Hewitt – October 2023

Currently Reading:

Chasing Holiday Tail: A Holiday Rom-Com Charity Anthology – Kameron Claire, Melonie Johnson, Tracery Pedersen, Amy Award, Dylann Crush, Christina Hovland, Hope Ellis, MK Meredith, Brenda St. John Brown, Sylvie Stewart, Arell Rivers, Stina Lindenblatt, Tawdra Kandle, Kilby Blades, Serena Bell – October 2023

Holiday Books Still on The List to Read:

Christmas in New England (3 novella package) – Kari Lemor – November 2023

On a Snowy Night – Debbie Macomber – September 2022

Lights, Camera, Christmas Town! – Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb, Beth Carpenter, Cheryl Harper, LeAnne Bristow, Liz Flaherty, and Tanya Agler – October 2023

1001 Dark Nights (Christmas in Cape May) – Jennifer Probst – November 2023

Love for Christmas (10 novel set) – Alexa Verde – October 2023

Rodeo Romance Series (3 book package) – Shanna Hatfield – September 2020

A Perfect Match – Sabrina Jeffries – September 2023

The Holiday Heartbreaker – Maisy Yates – September 2023

Chasing the Mistletoe – Mary Waterford – October 2022

Treasure Coast Christmas – Leigh Duncan – October 2023

Snowed in for Christmas – Sarah Morgan – September 2022

This Christmas in Paris – Sophie Claire – August 2023

Home Sweet Christmas – Susan Mallery – October 2023 – Two small-town romances in Wishing Tree

Jingle All the Way – Sarah Everly – February 2023

Holiday Heat – Piper Cook – November 2020

The Christmas Pearl – Dorothea Benton Frank – October 2009

The Winter Cottage – Rachael Lucus – October 2021

Christmas Chaos – Paty Jager – October 2023

A Merry Bramble Christmas – CJ Carmichael – December 2023

Promise Me Please, Cowboy – CJ Carmichael – September 2023

Rodeo Romance Series (3 book package) – Shanna Hatfield – September 2020

Lights, Camera Christmas Town! – Melinda Curtis, Anna J. Stewart, Cari Lynn Webb, Beth Carpenter, Cheryl Harper, LeAnne Bristow, Liz Flaherty, and Tanya Agler – October 2023

Christmas Miracle For the Frosty Marque – Sally Forbes – November 2023

Honeymoon in the Works – Jodi Payne – December 2023

Do you prefer to read seasonal books within the season? Or do you read any book, no matter the subject, any time of the year?

Amazon

Draft2Digital

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple

Amazon

Draft2Digital

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Author of the Starlight Grille series, Serenity Harbor Maine novellas, and the Cowboys of Mineral Springs series, Lowe has also authored short romances for Woman’s World magazine. The Love Left Behind is a Hartford Estates, R.I. wedding novella. A Christmas novel (The Inn at Gooseneck Lane) and novella (Holiday Hitchhiker) were released in late fall 2022. Look for book 3 of the cowboy’s series, as well as book 2 of the Hartford Estates series, in 2024.

Social Media Links:
Author website: www.delsoralowe.com
Facebook Author page: https://www.facebook.com/delsoraloweauthor/community/
Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/Delsora-Lowe/e/B01M61OM39/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
Books2Read Author page: https://www.books2read.com/ap/8GWm98/Delsora-Lowe
BookBub Author Page: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/delsora-lowe-93c6987f-129d-483d-9f5a-abe603876518
Goodreads Author Page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/16045986.Delsora_Lowe
Instagram: #delsoralowe / https://www.instagram.com/delsoralowe/

Photo Credits: Book Covers from Amazon

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

Holiday Reading: Part One .... Delsora Lowe

As you can probably tell, I love both reading and writing holiday romances. Here's the list of books that I started reading in October. I still have more on my list and will post those holiday reads in December. Feel free to recommend any holiday reads you love or wrote in the comments section, since I am sure I'll be adding to my list of reads. Because obviously, I'll still be reading holiday romances into the new year. And if you care to read any of my holiday books, you can find them on both Amazon and Books2Read.

Happy Holidays Reads!

BOOKS READ:

The Matzah Ball – Jean Meltzer – September 2021

A Jewish author of Christmas romance books, hides her love of Christmas from her family. A second-chance book filled with secrets, family antics, and hilarity, plus some tender, romantic moments as the two get to know each other again.

Sweet Holiday Surprise – Cindy Kirk – Nov 1, 2023

A sweet, Secret Santa, unrequited love story set in St. Louis, MO, a stand-alone book 8 of a series.

Merry & Bright Christmas – Megan Ryder – October 2023

A second-chance holiday romance.

Kringle All the Way: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Judy Kentrus – November 2023

A second-chance love and time for forgiveness after so many years, with kids enjoying the magic of a Dicken’s Christmas.

Once Upon a Christmas Kiss – Collection: Ciara Knight, Brenda Lowder, Susan Carlisle, Terra Weiss, Susan Sands, Christy Hayes – October 2023

Six romantic novellas about women who receive the gift of love over the holidays.

Heating Up the Cowboy’s Christmas (Rowdy Ranch Book 8) – Vicki Lewis Thompson – November 2023

The matriarch of the Rowdy Ranch and anonymous western fiction writer finds her forever love.

Christmas Moon Over Holly Pointe – Cindy Kirk – November 2023

Strangers meet after a flight to Mexico gets cancelled. Ride along as they wend their way north to New England and end up in Holly Pointe, VT for a Christmas to be all.

A Christmas Reunion: A Tale From Blythe Cove Manor – Shirley Hailstock – November 20

Second chances in a delightful winter setting on Martha’s Vineyard – after all these years, can his attention be for real or does he want something she has? A quick read.

The Christmas Gift – Raine English – October 2016

A second chance, lost love, matchmaker story with puppies who are sure to show the way to love.

The Mistletoe Trap – Eve Pendle – December 2018

A second chance Regency, with some “naughty” embroidery and a misunderstanding in the bedroom leading to a forced marriage to spice things up and bring about a happily-ever-after.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Gift – Donna Alward – Nov 2023

A former soldier now must take over his grandfather’s ranch, the last thing he wants to do. Meeting the ranch foreman, a woman from his past, might or might not make his new “job” easier.

Don’t Mess With Mistletoe: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Peggy Jaeger – November 2023

Dorrit’s Diner in the tiny town of Dickens, Maine, never fails to entertain. This time the owner’s wayward son, the pilot, returns home for the holidays and takes over running the diner, so his mom can take time off. With a lot of surprises thrown in, one of Michael’s goals is to figure out the story around his mom’s new hire who lives in the apartment above the diner.

Carrigan Christmas Reunion – CJ Carmichael – April 2019

A Christmas reunion with an old childhood crush as Wren struggles to help her family prepare for the holidays during a medical crisis.

CURRENTLY READING:

A Song for Christmas: A Dicken’s Holiday Romance – Lori DiAnni – November 2023

A second-chance romance, with both heroine and hero have dreams and ambitions in music. Can they help each other realize their professional dreams and rekindle a lost love?

If you love dogs and the shenanigans of their owners as they find true love, this is the book of short stories for you.

What are your favorite holiday books?

Or favorite topics or tropes for holiday reads?

My Latest Holiday Read

Amazon (also in print)

Barnes & Noble (also in print)

Apple Books (also in print)

~ cottages to cabins ~ keep the home fires burning ~

Delsora Lowe writes small town sweet and spicy romances and contemporary westerns, from the mountains of Colorado to the shores of Maine.

Saturday, March 26, 2022

Romance in Every Day Moments ... M. Lee Prescott

“Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” Lao Tzu

Hi, I’m Mary Lee, writing as M. Lee Prescott, author of mysteries, romances – contemporary and western -- four series and a bunch of single titles. Two of the series are contemporary romances-- Morgan’s Run, Morgan’s Fire and two are mystery series—Ricky Steele Mysteries (humorous, 1^st person, woman PI) and the Roger and Bess Mysteries (small village, cozy). Whether a mystery or romance, my stories are about how people in communities from the southwest to New England nurture and support one another. I try to write characters with whom I would like spend time. That way I can be pretty sure readers will want to hang out with them too. Not that there aren’t a few villains along the way, but they never win out in the end.

If I look at it “broadly,” romance is present in almost everything I write. I love the “turn” when something shifts. Where a character’s anger, frustration, fear, queasiness or host of other negative emotions soften and change because of who they are, who they’re with, and how they approach the world. There is a kind of romance present in most human interactions that is palpable as in this chance encounter from Lady Love, my newest Ricky Steele adventure.

My martini days are over. It’s amazing what eight ounces of straight gin with a few ice cubes and a splash of tonic will do to a body not accustomed to drinking hard liquor. I slid out of bed with a pounding headache and queasy stomach. Yoga and inverted poses definitely out! I headed out for a short run that ended with me retching on the sand.

I had no sooner stood up, kicking sand over the vomit when Carter the moose dog leapt onto my chest and knocked me over. “Carter, no!” Charlie called, running forward to grab his leash.

Figures, the man I barely knew, but with whom I was already madly in love. I groaned, rolling over and standing shakily, my entire body covered with sand. “Morning.” I gave him a wan smile.

“I am really sorry,” he said, stepping on Carter’s leash as he helped brush sand off my back.

“No worries. I’m a little under the weather so I wasn’t prepared for him.” I patted Carter’s enormous head. “Good boy.”

“No he isn’t. What’s wrong? Are you sick?”

I vainly attempted to tamp down my hair and straighten my clothes. “I’m guessing it’s a hangover. I don’t do well with hard liquor.”

He grinned, his hand still on my shoulder. “Most people don’t.”

(Lady Love, in progress)

I’ve discovered that writing in multiple genres at the same time brings resonance and clarity to the “romance” in each. For example, as I plug away at the fifth book in the Ricky Steele mysteries I am also writing the eighth sweet and spicy Morgan’s Fire romance. The first explores dark deeds and hidden dangers yet love still finds its way in. The second takes place in a small village where everyone watches out for each other. The tone and backdrops may shift dramatically, but love and romance anchor the characters in both books informing me, as the author, in how it’s done and the importance of getting characters’ caring and passion for one another right.

Drawing her back from her remembering, Ben reached for her. “Hey, beautiful, good morning.”

“Hey, yourself.”

“Penny for your thoughts.”

“Well, if you must know, I was thinking back to Stanford and the first time I set eyes on a certain handsome cowboy.”

He chuckled. “Country bumpkin next to Ms. Bel Air Sophisticate.”

“Yet you still managed to sweep me off my feet and carry me off to the valley you couldn’t stop talking about.”

“Desperate times require desperate measures. ’Sides, I was afraid if I stopped talking, you’d get bored and walk away. The Valley was the only topic I could say more than two syllables about.”

“Well, we know that’s not true. Desperate?”

“Couldn’t imagine livin’ another day without you .”

“And, now here we are. Forty years later.”

“Blink of an eye, darlin’. Wouldn’t change a second.”

“Nor would I,” she said, smiling as she slid down beside him.

“That’s more like it.” He kissed her as he drew her into his arms.

“Mmm,” she said. “Someone’s perky this morning.”

(A Valley Christmas, 2020)

Without love, why bother reading on? Love transforms ordinary events, scenes or situations, hooking the reader and drawing them closer. Love can be ironic, generous, forgiving or a host of other things. While my romance novels have a central couple as focus, I find writing about sibling love particularly powerful. And don’t get me started on parental and grandparental love! Below is a quick snapshot of two Morgan siblings meeting for the first time in many years.

Ben found his sister in the largest washing room, hunched over a pump, wrench in one hand, hammer in the other.

She noted his presence but stayed focused on her task. “Heard you were back.”

Of all the Morgans, Beth most closely resembled her older brother. She had Ben’s angular jaw, chestnut hair, and lean, lanky build. Her eyes were the same dark chestnut, arresting if one was caught in their gaze. Her fiancé, Bill was fond of saying that those eyes had stopped him in his tracks the first time he spied her in his Biology 101 class. Today, Beth’s jeans were caked with mud and her flannel shirt soaked through. She swore as the wrench slipped from her grasp and clattered to the cement floor.

“Want some help?”

“Yeah, right.”

“Sarcasm doesn’t become you, sister of mine. You forget I have an engineering degree.”

She straightened up, met her brother eye to eye, and held out the wrench and hammer. “Okay, Surfer Boy. Knock yourself out.”

“No hug?”

“Let’s see how the pump project works out first.” Ben gave her a look and Beth laughed, extending her arms. “Oh, what the heck. A little incentive won’t hurt.”

As he folded her into his arms, Ben felt her stiffen. Touching was not Beth’s thing.

“Good to have you home. Mom and Dad must have gone crazy when you walked in. You’ve always been their favorite, you know.” She pulled up a stool. “This I gotta see.”

Ben stooped to his task, quickly ascertaining the
problem.

(Emma’s Dream, 2015)

In your face, understated, implied, or red hot, love and romance really are everywhere! I hope that is true in your life too! Happy spring!

M. Lee

After a scorching divorce, Tom Jacobi is left burned, the ashes of his life scattered all around him. Attempting to heal, he leaves his home in Montana and comes to Saguaro Valley. There he settles into a job as assistant manager at the magnificent Valley Stables surrounded by rough cowboys, prized thoroughbreds and wild mustangs. When he meets Grace McGraw the roughhewn, yet carefully sheltered world, he has created is softened, the fires of anguish quenched by love.

A Saguaro Valley native, Grace is consumed by the day-to-day care of her alcoholic father and her struggles to keep their family hardware store running. Then a tall, lanky wrangler walks into her life and changes everything, stealing her heart and lightening her load. Tom offers strength, comfort, and courage supporting her in ways she never thought possible. Join the Morgans and their valley community in book twelve of Morgan”s Run and witness the unfolding of Grace and Tom’s sweet, but also white hot love story!

Purchase links for Tom’s Ride!

Get in touch with Mary Lee and Lulu!

(www.mleeprescott.com)

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Tuesday, August 17, 2021

Giving Thanks for All We Have ... by Delsora Lowe

It’s not Thanksgiving yet, but after the year and a half we’ve all endured, there is so much to be thankful for. I mourn those who got sick and passed away or have lingering issues from Covid. The grief will stay with all of us for a long, long time. But I am thankful that those who are close to me managed to stay healthy.

I am thankful for the vaccination that means I can now get out more. I still wear a mask because at this age I have underlying conditions that worsen when I am sick. So, I am also thankful that the mask kept me from developing the flu or colds last winter.

My assortment of masks, bought and made by friends.

I am thankful that I am finally able to visit with friends and family this summer. I can’t begin to tell you how much I missed hugs and in-person conversations and trips that were cancelled and my children and grandsons.

Hanging with friends one warm summer evening - note huge lobster float in the pool

I am thankful for the bounty of the farmers in the area, where I can fill up on wonderful fresh vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat, and seafood. And decorate my deck with herbs, lettuce, and tomato seedlings, that are now growing and producing.

I am thankful for the flowers that bloom in my now overgrown garden.

NOT my messy garden, but my son's neighbor's GORGEOUS garden

I am thankful for lobster rolls from one of the food trucks that social distanced on our town mall (the rectangular green that sports a beautiful gazebo where music is played all summer, a Christmas tree that is lit up November through early January, and the area that afforded social distancing for all our farmers to set up their markets.)

I am thankful for all the surprises nature bestows on us every day.

After the storms - mushrooms blossom in the yard

I am thankful for my writing community. All of you have kept me sane, motivated, informed, and sometimes productive. Although I will admit to a great deal of lack of motivation through this last year—you all encouraged me to stay on track. And always provided tons of laughs.