FREE
Amazon
In this 12K short story, Los Angeles jazz club owner Dan Allport has
been flirting with Tanya Diaz via text for months, ever since he met her
that one day she was in town last fall. But she had to fly back to New
Orleans, where she runs a center for troubled teens, and it seems so
unlikely that they'll ever get to see one another again. But then on
Christmas Eve, Tanya gets the chance to go see Dan. If she can make it
through a storm up from the gulf, an unexpected adventure with two
teenagers, and the unpredictable calamities of flaming rum punch, she
just might get to do more than texting with Dan this Christmas.
Friday, November 30, 2018
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Christmas at the Grand Hotel by Amie Denman and May Williams
$0.99 or FREE for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers
Amazon
Sometimes the heart hits a hole in one.
Bethany Hinkle arrives at White Pine Island’s Grand Hotel for her sister’s wedding and to do a little environmental snooping. She snaps pictures of the hotel’s pristine golf course to ensure its compliance with EPA standards. Soon, she realizes that the course’s manager is as attractive as the course he so carefully protects.
Ned Phillips feels the weight of family expectations squarely on his broad shoulders. The Phillips Family has owned and operated the Grand Hotel for three generations. For now, he manages the hotel’s golf course and makes plans for its future—plans that could be destroyed by Bethany’s spying. He gets close to the lovely environmentalist to watch for her next move until he gets too close to let her go.
What happens when you fall in love with your best friend just when it’s too late?
All her life, Ellen Phillips has loved working for her family’s Grand Hotel on White Pine Island. Flying the hotel’s airplane and piloting the island ferryboat while knowing someday she will inherit the luxurious resort is a fairy tale existence she has no desire to change. She’s always loved Pete McCormack, too. After all, he’s her best friend, confidante, and playmate. Until she suddenly sees him in a different light just before Christmas.
Pete McCormack has made sacrifices for his family’s golf cart rental business on the island, choosing to stay home and run it instead of pursuing his dream of his own career on the mainland. When his parents announce their plans to sell the business so Pete can leave the island, he has to choose between the future he thought he always wanted and his newfound love for the woman he would be leaving behind.
Amazon
Sometimes the heart hits a hole in one.
Bethany Hinkle arrives at White Pine Island’s Grand Hotel for her sister’s wedding and to do a little environmental snooping. She snaps pictures of the hotel’s pristine golf course to ensure its compliance with EPA standards. Soon, she realizes that the course’s manager is as attractive as the course he so carefully protects.
Ned Phillips feels the weight of family expectations squarely on his broad shoulders. The Phillips Family has owned and operated the Grand Hotel for three generations. For now, he manages the hotel’s golf course and makes plans for its future—plans that could be destroyed by Bethany’s spying. He gets close to the lovely environmentalist to watch for her next move until he gets too close to let her go.
What happens when you fall in love with your best friend just when it’s too late?
All her life, Ellen Phillips has loved working for her family’s Grand Hotel on White Pine Island. Flying the hotel’s airplane and piloting the island ferryboat while knowing someday she will inherit the luxurious resort is a fairy tale existence she has no desire to change. She’s always loved Pete McCormack, too. After all, he’s her best friend, confidante, and playmate. Until she suddenly sees him in a different light just before Christmas.
Pete McCormack has made sacrifices for his family’s golf cart rental business on the island, choosing to stay home and run it instead of pursuing his dream of his own career on the mainland. When his parents announce their plans to sell the business so Pete can leave the island, he has to choose between the future he thought he always wanted and his newfound love for the woman he would be leaving behind.
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
Blue Bottle Beach by Amie Denman
$2.99 or FREE for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers
Amazon
There’s no better place for a bachelorette party than Key West, Florida. Jackie and her accountant friends call in sick and escape wintry Chicago to celebrate in the sunshine, but an unexpected twist breaks up the party. On her own for a weekend in America’s least inhibited city, Jackie meets a man who makes her heart do a tropical dance. Mitchell is handsome, charming, and knows just where to touch her. If he looks a little familiar, the thought is quickly lost on the hot sands. Mitchell finds Jackie equally irresistible as he romances her on Blue Bottle Beach, but he has no idea she should be in her cubicle in Chicago balancing the books for one of his many companies. What will happen when Mitchell and Jackie eventually look past their attraction to discover he’s her boss? Will a hot weekend in Key West still sizzle in wintry Chicago at the corporate Christmas party?
Amazon
There’s no better place for a bachelorette party than Key West, Florida. Jackie and her accountant friends call in sick and escape wintry Chicago to celebrate in the sunshine, but an unexpected twist breaks up the party. On her own for a weekend in America’s least inhibited city, Jackie meets a man who makes her heart do a tropical dance. Mitchell is handsome, charming, and knows just where to touch her. If he looks a little familiar, the thought is quickly lost on the hot sands. Mitchell finds Jackie equally irresistible as he romances her on Blue Bottle Beach, but he has no idea she should be in her cubicle in Chicago balancing the books for one of his many companies. What will happen when Mitchell and Jackie eventually look past their attraction to discover he’s her boss? Will a hot weekend in Key West still sizzle in wintry Chicago at the corporate Christmas party?
HOW TO GET A RAISE!: Seven Steps to a Higher Paycheck by Gary Brose
$0.99 or FREE for Kindle Unlimited Members
Amazon
A book written for employees who are anxious to make more money. It explains, in simple easy-to- understand terms, seven sure steps to getting noticed and getting a raise from your boss. Written by Gary Brose, an entrepreneur who has owned over a dozen companies but also who worked for dozens more...so he has seen both sides of the situation.
Gary walks the reader through understanding the boss's mindset and then doing those things that will get you noticed and recognized. If you follow most or all of the steps in this book and fail to get a raise, a series of raises or a promotion (and more money), then you are working for the wrong person. Better to find that out now before you spend years in futile exercise. Gary believes that many employees work hard and fail to get recognized for it. They don't get raises because they are not doing anything to make themselves stand out and get the boss's attention. Gary shows how to do that easily and start making more money in a very short period of time.
Amazon
A book written for employees who are anxious to make more money. It explains, in simple easy-to- understand terms, seven sure steps to getting noticed and getting a raise from your boss. Written by Gary Brose, an entrepreneur who has owned over a dozen companies but also who worked for dozens more...so he has seen both sides of the situation.
Gary walks the reader through understanding the boss's mindset and then doing those things that will get you noticed and recognized. If you follow most or all of the steps in this book and fail to get a raise, a series of raises or a promotion (and more money), then you are working for the wrong person. Better to find that out now before you spend years in futile exercise. Gary believes that many employees work hard and fail to get recognized for it. They don't get raises because they are not doing anything to make themselves stand out and get the boss's attention. Gary shows how to do that easily and start making more money in a very short period of time.
Monday, November 26, 2018
Get Debra Salonen's Prince Charming Undercover for FREE!
What a crazy ride this BookBub promotion has been! Prince
Charming Undercover went to #4 in the Amazon FREE chart within four hours of
the BookBub mailing. I’m still in shock, but I’m determined to get this book
into the hands of as many readers as possible. If you’ve already read this
book, perhaps you could “gift” it to a friend. Word of mouth is still a
powerful tool!
And, please, if possible, leave a kind review. Here are a
few of my favorites to date:
"An utterly gorgeous start to a new series.”
“...a plot that makes caring about the final
outcome imperative.”
“...entertaining, intriguing, emotional and couldn't put the book down...you will not be disappointed!!"
Buy
links:
Thursday, November 15, 2018
Get a Look Into Montana Maverick by Debra Salonen
Do you enjoy reading
books that feature older heroes and heroines? I do. There’s something to be
said for life experience. For instance, in Montana Maverick, my heroine is on
sabbatical from her teaching position to write a novel. She’s holed up in her
mountain cabin through the holidays. She’s smart, well provisioned and
prepared. Her years of experience comes in handy when the hero’s helicopter
crashes on the mountain behind her on Christmas Eve.
Here's a little snippet
written in the point of view of my hero's grandson:
JJ curled in a ball in
the co-pilot seat, listening to the squeaks and moans and popping sounds as the
helicopter settled into its death.
A lot noisier than Mom.
Her last sounds--the one
time he snuck in to see her at the end--were low, ugly gasps that came from
deep in her chest, like a trapped animal trying to crawl out. He would have
done anything to make it stop, but everyone--the doctors, Grandpa, even,
God--had given up trying to help her.
A few hours later she
died.
Cancer.
Mom's death wasn't his
fault, but this was.
He made a fist and
pressed it to his gut to keep from throwing up.
He'd nearly killed them
all.
Maybe I did.
They'd crash landed in
the middle of nowhere in a freaking blizzard. They'd probably freeze to death
before help arrived.
He leaned sideways to
look into the back seat.
Bravo was strapped in his
seat, crying. His nose a snotty mess, like usual. The kid cried more often than
Annie, who was a girl.
JJ got to his knees so he
could check on Mystic. He'd die if Mystic was dead. His mother gave her life
for that baby. Mom had refused any sort of cancer treatment for fear it would
hurt her baby. Mystic River Landry. Mom had the name picked out before the doctor
confirmed the baby was a girl.
If Mystic died so soon
after Mom, JJ would be glad to freeze to death. At least he wouldn't have to
live with that guilt, too.
"You okay,
buddy?" Hank asked in the pilot's seat beside him. Hank. To the little
ones he was Grandpa, but JJ used his given name because that's how Mom always
addressed her father.
JJ swallowed hard to keep
from crying. He had to man up.
Be brave, my love. I'm
counting on you to keep it together for the sake of the little ones, Mom said
before she got bad.
"Yeah. I'm okay.
But, your bird..." Hank always called the helicopter a bird. The thing
even had a name, but JJ couldn't remember it. "I...I'm sorry."
Hank, who appeared to be
concentrating hard on assessing their situation, gave JJ a questioning look.
"Sorry for wha...? No," his grandfather said sternly, his deep voice
going hard and serious. "This is not your fault, JJ. Something mechanical
gave out. I heard a pop right before the rotor went wonky.
"Could have been
from the cold, the snow, structural fatigue, who knows? But whatever the cause,
you are not to blame. Are we clear on that?"
JJ wanted to believe him,
but JJ had been the one holding the stick when the popping noise happened. Hank
had given him the controls so he could reach behind them to keep Mystic from
choking to death. Annie and Bravo had been crying so loudly JJ thought his ears
would bleed. He'd held the stick with all his might and tried to pretend the
whole thing was a video game.
But what happened next
wasn't pretend. The helicopter lurched and bucked like a living beast. His hold
slipped. The bird tilted sideways--only for a second until he got it
straightened out again--but that's when the bad sound happened. The helo cried
out as if he'd shot it. The moaning and groaning and vibration seemed to move
through his body as they fell.
He'd never been more
scared in his entire life. He'd prayed to God, his dead mother and the dead
father he barely remembered. He prayed hard. And, it looked like his prayers
were answered.
They were still alive,
right?
A gust of wind hit the
helicopter--Betsy, he thought, that was the bird's name--rocking it enough to
release a fine white mist of snow inside their shelter.
He tried to see into the
blackness beyond the frosty plastic window, but there was nothing. Just a black
snowy void.
His prayers might have
saved them, but for how long?
BUY here: books2read.com/u/mqzJPv
Tuesday, November 13, 2018
The Ultimate Motivated Employee!: 7 steps to a more productive workforce by Gary Bose
$7.99 or FREE for Kindle Unlimited Subscribers
Amazon
Are your employees unmotivated and uninspired? Can you imagine how much better it would be if they were all on the same page as you are? After 25 years of real world trial and error, Gary Brose has identified the seven steps to a more productive workforce. Simple techniques business owners and managers can use to engage their employees and get them all pulling together. This isn't a theory. These are proven methods identified by comparing notes with other managers and through years of agonizing trial and error in the real world, in real time with real flesh and blood employees! You will learn how to make several small changes in the way you interact with your workers that will get them to care as you do. You will see dozens of examples with real life stories from other business owners who understand the same principles. Don't wait until it is too late. Start today with this easy to read, entertaining and thought provoking book about YOU and your management style!
Amazon
Are your employees unmotivated and uninspired? Can you imagine how much better it would be if they were all on the same page as you are? After 25 years of real world trial and error, Gary Brose has identified the seven steps to a more productive workforce. Simple techniques business owners and managers can use to engage their employees and get them all pulling together. This isn't a theory. These are proven methods identified by comparing notes with other managers and through years of agonizing trial and error in the real world, in real time with real flesh and blood employees! You will learn how to make several small changes in the way you interact with your workers that will get them to care as you do. You will see dozens of examples with real life stories from other business owners who understand the same principles. Don't wait until it is too late. Start today with this easy to read, entertaining and thought provoking book about YOU and your management style!
Thursday, November 8, 2018
Thanksgiving is Still a Holiday by Debra Salonen
Thanksgiving is still a holiday
I was cleaning out a storage room the other day and ran
across some long-ago writings from 1988, including a complaint that Christmas
was putting the squeeze on Thanksgiving—the forgotten
holiday. In my opinion, it’s only gotten worse since then, but Thanksgiving has
always been my favorite holiday.
This year, my son is hosting. I love passing the gauntlet to
the next generation, and I can’t wait to try out some new recipes to go with
our old favorites.
Here’s a snippet from my book BLACK HILLS NATIVE SON. It
mentions a recipe I’m going to try this year:
CRANBERRIES JALEPEÑO. (But we’re still eating turkey, not venison. ;-) )
She
opened the door.
“Happy
Thanksgiving,” they shouted in far from perfect harmony. Between them rested a
large ice chest and they each carried a grocery bag in one arm.
“We
brought dinner,” Damien said, a mischievous grin on his handsome face.
Char
felt so many conflicting emotions she couldn’t keep them straight. Shock,
surprise, hope, love. And fear. She’d let herself believe in this possibility
before.
“What’s
going on?”
Eli
set his bag on the cooler and removed his gloves. “I wanted to call, but I got
voted down. It was three to one in favor of surprise.”
Three?
“We
spent the night with Uncle Joseph and his girlfriend, Mae,” Damien explained.
“She
lives near Sturgis, remember?” Eli asked. “I was headed there and wound up
here.”
She
remembered their first encounter all too well. She’d relived that wild,
impulsive kiss about a thousand times in her mind.
“Okay.
So…you were in Sturgis and suddenly decided to surprise me with a Thanksgiving
dinner?” She pointed at the cooler. “If there’s a turkey in there, I hope one
of you knows how to cook it.”
Damien
juggled the bag in his arms. “Naw. It’s a venison roast. Already cooked. Joseph
said it was bad manners for Lakota men to go visiting without bringing a gift
of food—preferably meat. We got up at dawn to start the coals and do a little
prayer ceremony. Wild, huh?”
“At
least we didn’t have to kill and dress the deer,” Eli said. “My bow skills are
a little rusty. Not to mention the fact that I don’t have a license,” he added.
To Char he said, “Can we come inside. It’s cold out here.”
Char
stepped back to let them in.
“Cool
place,” Damien said. “I like the teepee.”
She
was so overcome by emotion she had to clear her throat twice to be able to
speak. “Thanks.”
“You’re
not working, are you?” Eli asked. “We were going to drive around back when we
noticed your lights on.”
She
locked the door behind them. The aroma of roasted meat filled the air, making
her mouth water. “I was on the Web cam with my Aunt Pam. She told me the
strangest thing. I—”
Eli
exchanged a quick look with Damien before breaking in. “Sorry to interrupt but
Joe wrote out specific instructions about how to finish cooking everything. Can
we talk while we take this stuff next door?”
She
reached for the bag Eli carried. “Sure. Of course.” She spotted two bottles of
wine wedged between several plastic containers and a loaf of bread.
“Awesome
spears,” Damien exclaimed as they wound through the displays. “They could do
some damage.”
Char
stifled a grin. “I’ll introduce you to the artist who carves them. How’s your
hand, by the way? No lingering problems with your fine motor skills?”
“I’m
better than a hundred percent. In fact, I’m two hundred percent. Unfortunately,
some people don’t believe that. Some people won’t let me drive until I get
written clearance from a doctor. Can you believe it?”
The
two men argued about law versus common sense and personal liberty the entire
time it took to unpack the cooler and the bags. Char loved every minute of the
quick-witted, good-natured exchange. She wondered if this was the way real
families were supposed to act.
“So,
Char,” Eli said, handing her the last of the cold stuff to put away while
Damien slid the roast into the oven and closed the door. “We wanted to—”
“Wait.
Are these cranberries?” she asked, cracking the lid on the small plastic
container.
“Yes,
but they’re made with chipotle peppers. Mae says the recipe is killer with
venison.”
Char looked at Damien.
“Interesting. Learn something new every day.”
Since I’m not a fan of chipotle, here’s my version of that
recipe:
Cranberries Jalapeño
Ingredients:
12 ounce bag of fresh cranberries (rinsed and sorted)
½ C cranberry juice
½ C sugar
1-2 fresh jalapeño peppers, depending on desire heat level
(I cook it whole then pull out when soft to remove seeds and chop)
sea salt to taste
Directions:
Place all ingredients in saucepan. Cover and cook
over medium heat until the cranberries begin to burst. Remove peppers. Let rest
until cool enough to cut. Remove seeds, mince. Add back into the cranberries. Stir
to mix. Add desired salt to taste.
Serve warm.
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving!
You can purchase BLACK HILLS NATIVE SON from my online
bookstore: HERE
and save 50% off using this coupon code: K2IR2OH4NN
Happy reading.
Deb
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)