A Match for Mr. Write is out now! #resorttoromance #sweetromance #99cents

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Hey, everyone!

Welcome to WEEK 8 of the 10 Weeks of Romance Giveaways!

Ten of some of the best authors in the inspirational and sweet romance genres are hosting a 10 Weeks of Romance Giveaway to celebrate their new Resort to Romance series!

Here’s the series premise:

It’s Matchmaking Week at an all-inclusive resort on a private island in the Bahamas. Each guest has been expertly paired and is here to enjoy one full week with their match. While there’s no money-back guarantee on the paid trip, the participants are guaranteed to find love!

Each week beginning Tuesday, February 19th through the week of Tuesday, May 7th, a new book by a new author in the series will release, and you have the chance to win one, some, or the grand prize which includes all ten novellas plus a $150 Amazon gift card!

Here’s how it works: Register at the rafflecopter HERE. We’ll randomly select a winner each Tuesday. And the great thing about this giveaway is the books build with every author’s new release! That means your entries roll over each week all the way up the grand prize.

This week’s prize is: A Match for Mr. Write by Jennifer Shirk

 

Magazine editor Gemma Carmichael has been secretly in love with her co-worker Blade for 5 years and when he suddenly breaks off his engagement, Gemma decides this is her chance to woo her man. He signs up for a matchmaking getaway and she decides to do it too, positive they’re a match. But to her surprise, she’s matched with Sawyer Bennett, a brooding romance author who only came on the island to write and who doesn’t even believe in love. (Obviously the Sterling sisters have no idea what they’re doing!)

Romance author, Sawyer Bennett, did not sign up for this. He thought his travel agent cousin was sending him on a nice, normal vacation in the Bahamas, not to bad reality TV recreation. The only romance he’s interested in is the one between his characters. After all, family history has shown him that true love is just fiction, which is why he’s so good at writing it. But now, he’s stuck in a romance book situation, with contracts that can’t be broken and matched to the pretty but kooky redhead, Gemma. (Obviously, the Sterling sisters have no idea what they’re doing!)

However, the magazine Gemma works for would provide great publicity for his next release, so he agrees to help her win her true love in exchange for her putting his book on the reviewer’s upcoming list. Seems like an easy enough way to pass the week. Sawyer still doubts the existence of true love but by the end of the week, he can’t help but wonder if he could finally have found the write woman for him after all.

 

Be sure to stop by Julie Jarnagin’s blog next Tuesday to see what book is being added to the giveaway.

Good luck!!

About Jennifer Shirk

Jennifer Shirk is a USA Today bestselling sweet romance author for Montlake and Entangled Publishing who also happens to be a mom, pharmacist, Red Sox fan, P90x grad, and overall nice person. 🙂

#SaturdaySeven on THSG Blog

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This isn’t a writing post or a reading post or even an industry post [but I bet I can make it one]. It’s just a fun way to make fun of the old people in your life. There are probably a gazillion ways to identify with aging. [And here you go…] Maybe this can help you create a secondary character your readers will relate to!

Seven ways you know you’re old.

  1. You get excited when your kids come home.
  2. You’re the one paying for your kids to come home.
  3. Random people call you ma’am.
  4. Gray hair.
  5. 20th wedding anniversary.
  6. You don’t care about stupid studies that tell you not to wear jeans.
  7. Naps are fun.

About Beth Rhodes

Beth jumps into life with both feet...or head first. Impulsive and spontaneous to a T, she joined Passionate Critters and never looked back. She loves writing and reading, which made this wonderful group of woman a perfect match for her.

The Magic of Music

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During the past month I have been trying to get back into old routines that proved fruitful in the past. Since I’m trying to incorporate more writing into my life once again, I tried to figure out just what I’d used in the past to get those 5000 word days.

I was contemplating this one afternoon as I was doing one of my hourly walks where I get at least a 1000 steps. It was walking to the beat of the music, I realized it was staring me in the face. And I was listening to it.

There is nothing more motivating to me than a good song. I used to put play lists together so I would be in the mood for writing certain scenes. How I did this was to gather a lot of movie sound tracks then try and match them to what I was putting down on the page.

This tried and true method worked for me over and over again. So, I thought why not. Unfortunately, I have been spending a lot of time getting all my playlists together again on my iTunes. When I set up my new computer last year, I didn’t realize the play lists didn’t get copied over to the new iTunes on the new machine. It’s been a real pain but I was lucky enough to have many of those play lists in my OneNote file. Now I just have to put it all back together again.

However, I did manage to find one on YouTube that I just saw the movie for and am loving it. The movie was Alita – Battle Angel and it reminds me a lot of a new sci-fi novella series I’m putting together called The Warmonger Series all about an elite group of enhanced soldiers who are all women. I listened about an hour today and managed to crank out about 1000 words. Yeah me!

What do you use to crank up your writing productivity? Can wait to read all your suggestions.

See you next month!

About Lynn Crain

Award winning author Lynn Crain has done it all in her life. From nursing to geology, her life experiences have added to her detail rich stories. She loves writing full time as she weaves contemporary, fantasy, futuristic and paranormal tales, tame to erotic, for various publishers. Her home is in the desert southwest and she’s just returned from her latest adventure of living in Vienna, Austria while her husband worked his dream job.

New Directions and Slow Starts

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Hi, my name is Beth, and I spent 2018 figuring out what I want to do with the rest of my life.

And guess what?

I don’t think I’ll ever have an answer. My life is ever-changing. It flows like a river, taking me one way until a boulder or something shifts me the other way. But then, slowly I change the boulder and my direction shifts again. You know what? Life isn’t about getting to the end! Michelle Obama said it in her book. The most useless question is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” as if at some point you become something and that’s the end.

This year, I’m adding editor to my journey. I love writing. I love my stories. I even love the process of publishing. And then once I week, I get to read other people’s work as I critique for the lovely ladies on this blog. The satisfaction in that is more fulfilling. I don’t know why. But, I think it’s time to take that feeling to the next level. So, I opened the doors to Love Junkie Editing. Yes, it’s a cute, goofy name…for a professional.

Don’t let that fool you.

I’m all business when it comes to the written word. Same as I’ve applied my work ethics to my own career in the last 16 years, I’ll apply with my clients’ careers.

It’s going to be a slow start, and I don’t mind that. Mostly because it’s a nervewracking endeavor! I want to do well. I have lots to learn. I need to get some projects under my belt and figure out how different being on the editor side of the desk will be. But I’m also looking forward to it…

The next time you have a manuscript you need copy or line edited, I hope you do your research and check me out. 🙂

About Beth Rhodes

Beth jumps into life with both feet...or head first. Impulsive and spontaneous to a T, she joined Passionate Critters and never looked back. She loves writing and reading, which made this wonderful group of woman a perfect match for her.

The Game of Writing

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As some of you might know, I’m a gamer. I’m a hardcore World of Warcraft fanatic and have been playing since right after beta. I’ve belonged to the same guild for over 20 years, across multiple MMO (Massively multiplayer online) platforms.

I’ve decided that the publishing industry is like gaming. Not a compassion you’d expect to hear, but let me explain.

As an up-and-coming writer (new adventurer) you set out to hone your craft (level up) and tackle your first manuscript (your first quests).

Work hard and stay the course, and you land yourself an agent (level-up and gain access to a new area).

Keep writing, work with your agent to polish that manuscript, and earn a publishing contract (keep leveling until you earn that coveted legendary piece of armor)

You’ve made it (won the game), right?

Wrong!

Just like in MMOs, there’s no real endgame. Your work (the world) is constantly evolving. There’s always a new skill to learn, a class to take to level-up. A few simple things and you’ll be skipping down the path to success (pillaging the enemy and amassing hoards of gold)

Always raid with a party – Just like in gaming, the road is smoother if you don’t go it alone. Find your tribe. You’ll need them to navigate rocky terrain (setbacks, bad reviews, rejections) and provide a trusted ear for battle strategy (plotting, venting, ect!).

Remember there’s no in-game hack to get you to the finish line – in gaming, we call it an exploit. A trick to fool the game and advance without putting in the work. (Hopping on twitter and calling for a “follower trade” to amass thousands of followers isn’t going to earn you a platform. Editors and agency are looking for quality, not quantity. You can’t possibly have meaningful exchanges with that many people! Make real connections, interact, and grow your following through hard work and putting your all into creating your masterpiece—your book!)

There might be twenty different servers, but there’s still just one internet. Watch what you say/do – I remember badly behaved players from the first years I started playing WoW, and to this day, those player’s names still live on, their reputations still soiled. Wiping a raid ALA Leeroy Jenkins, to kiting a boss into a low-level town and watching all the AFK people get smushed, the internet remembers. (Remember to think before you speak/act. The same author’s book who you talked trash about for four days on twitter might one day be someone you want a blurb from. Trust me, they’re going to remember—it’s happened to me, and while I didn’t hold an actual grudge, I didn’t go out of my way to help the individual. Remember to treat everyone with kindness and respect. The publishing industry is surprisingly small, and people talk.)

And that’s all from me this month. Happy writing (gaming)! May your words flow free and your plots remain untangled (may your gold be plentiful and your rares abundant).

About Jus Accardo

JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. But at the last minute, she realized her true path lay with fiction, not food. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

Guys & Galentines: This is For You

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If the person you love literally looks like this (to the right), then you should be reading this post because I have some killer gift ideas for you for the month of love.

The Book Boyfriend candle smells delightfully “manly” scents of a light cologne, musky earthy notes, and clean cotton to remind you of the boys from your favorite books.

That’s a direct quote from the artisan’s etsy listing.  Who wouldn’t love to settle in with their favorite book (boyfriend) and light this candle? Boys in books aren’t just better, they smell better, too.

A beautiful vintage hardback book style e-reader and tablet cover handmade in England using 40 years of bookbinding experience.

Someone has taken their skills from the past into the next century to give us the ability to read any book, carry around hundreds in your pocket, all while looking like a beautifully bound cover of Pride and Prejudice (or what have you).

Any book reader will love the humor and your special appreciation of the joys a good book boyfriend can bring.

So, does your best friend/girlfriend take her book boyfriends seriously enough to wear this adorable t-shirt? Because, well, I do. “Try Living Up to My Book Boyfriend,” it reads. Try, indeed.

This is a small, easy reminder to love what you read and own it.

This may be my favorite (but in fairness, that could be because I collect coffee mugs). All the same, this is a winner for any romance reader.

This may be the best gift yet, especially if you’ve got the mouth of a well-educated sailor and (again) love coffee mugs and reading almost as much as I do.

In short, I hope my husband, daughters, and/or friends find this post because I basically low-key want every item shown here. Please?

About Lori Sizemore

Lover of nail polish, pens, her Kindle, and fresh coffee. She likes romance filled with messy, real characters and lots of snarky banter. Reading was (and still is!) her BFF; when she discovered writing she fell in love. Come for the snark. Stay for the story.

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