Back to School!

Orientation

I'm going back to school this fall. My first official school event was orientation. About a dozen adult students and grad students gathered and listened to the Adult Ed people talk about schedules, dates, parking...  Travis headed the team.  He asked who was nervous...no one raised their hands, but I glanced around the room and a few people did seem to fall into that category.  He talked about making sure you got the best grades you could in every class.  Scholarships and Grad programs rely on it.  I've got to confess, I wasn't nervous.  You see, I'm in this weird position.  Most of the adult/grad students are working toward a specific degree with a specific goal in mind.  I have no goal.  I'm going back to school for fun and for personal growth.  And while I'd like to get good grades, I will confess, I'm sort of ambivalent about the idea of someone else judging what I learned and accomplished in a class. I've spent my entire adult life taking classes and learning new things.  From my work advising lactating moms, to learning sign language, to beer classes, herb classes, composting class, water conservation class, basketweaving classes...and oh yeah, writing workshops.  You've seen some of my eclectic learning reflected in my books.  I covered composting in Her Second-Chance Family, sign language in Do You Hear What I Hear?...

But here's the thing, none of those learning experiences came with grades. My kids have assured me that years of working at home in a fictional world has ruined me for the real world.  I'm my own boss. I create my work environment every day.  I create my coworkers...otherwise known as my characters.  I choose my projects, set my schedules and basically learn what I need (want) to learn for fun.  And I'll confess, even though I will be graded on this first ceramics class, I'm going in with that same sense of learning for the joy of it...for the glee of it if you will.

I plan to blog the experience, so keep an eye out for my first day of class...it's almost here!

Holly

You can also keep your eye out for my newest releases:

2017 Beach Reads

Can't Find NoBODY

Confessions of a Party Crasher

The Book

Not Precisely Pregnant

My Top 5 Holiday Essentials

Seeing as it's Summer holiday season, and as you read this I will be somewhere hot by a swimming pool, I thought I'd share with you the essential items I pack in my suitcase.

1.    Teabags- Although I adore travelling and am an intrepid and inquisitive tourist, you cannot beat proper British tea. The impersonators sold in every other country never come close to a decent cup of Twinings, so I always pack a box in my suitcase and carry a few in my handbag for emergencies! Especially in America. American tea is the absolute worst.

2.    Double the underwear- I’ll grant you this is a weird quirk, but the thought of running out of clean knickers terrifies me. And I always buy new for a holiday- just in case the baggage rips open and my undies are displayed to the world.

3.    Kindle- I’ve never been particularly fond of watching films on planes. The screens are so small, there is so much engine noise and the other passengers and crew distract me from the action by wandering backwards and forwards down the gangway. Yet with a book, all that nonsense evaporates as I lose myself in the story.

4.    A decent pen- I can’t be doing with filling out landing cards or other documents with those cheap and nasty biros they give out. I like a fat gel pen. In blue.

5.    The TripAdvisor app- Choosing the right restaurant can be a perilous business at the best of times, abroad it can be catastrophic. I always pick eateries offering the local cuisine, with at least 40 reviews on them. That way I assume that all the reviews are not just from friends and family. No matter how good they are, any review that tells me tells me a restaurant offers a great selection of British or American dishes they are avoided like the plague. I want my food to be an adventure too. If I wanted to eat Shepherd’s Pie, I’d stay at home.

Why not take one of Virginia's books with you to the beach?

The Lure of the Summer Read

Available now!

by Joanne Rock

I’m a sucker for a summer story. I think that’s why a lot of my contemporary books have ended up set at the beach. Single in South Beach. The Murphy Brothers. Double Play takes place on Nantucket. Always Ready is set on a beach in Puerto Rico. 

Right now I’m writing a Harlequin Desire series that’s mostly set in New York City, but with all the wealth at my hero’s disposal, I have him jetting to Costa Rica and Miami.

I know that a story doesn’t have to be set in the summer or at a beach to be a good “beach read” but then again, it doesn’t hurt. All summer long, I turn to stories with that extra level of escapism where the summer days never end, the sunsets are long and violet, and the heroines hope that the fall doesn’t come. Maybe I’m projecting? My latest Young Adult project, Sun Kissed, is YA beach reading—romances at summer camp. The tag line—every summer has a story.

It’s not just what I write either! This weekend I read Summers with Juliette, a book by debut author Emily Madden, happy to lose myself in someone else’s vision of long summer days. It was a beautiful book of quirky friendships and heartfelt romances… set in an Australia beach town. It was everything I hoped for in a beach read, but kept me reading for hours more with three main character threads to follow. I loved it.

What do you look for in a summer read? A beachy setting? Thorough escapism? Something light and frothy as opposed to darkly emotional? Share with me this week in the comments below and I’ll send one random poster a copy of my May Desire release,SECRET BABY SCANDAL which is set in New Orleans. Where the hero has a house right on Lake Pontchartrain J

Reading At The Beach

We were lucky enough to have a hot spell last week. It was perfect timing as I had just received a notice from Mills & Boon that they were starting their #SummerSizzler campaign. They were inviting authors to contribute.

Any excuse to go to the beach, right?

Here I am at 'my' beach. (It's not really mine. I drove there, but it was only two minutes. We can see the lake from my kitchen window, but we're not 'on' the lake.)

I have to say, as work assignments go, this one was about the best I've ever had. Here's another photo I staged while I was there.

I *love* the beach, especially reading (and napping) there.

For years, when I was still waiting to publish, I would take my kids to the beach and write on my alpha-smart or in a notebook while they swam. Nowadays, the beach is literally my vacation time, when I'm allowed to relax, unplug, and read my fellow authors.

In the summer, I run down to the beach so often, I keep a tote ready with all the usual supplies (sunscreen, lip balm, a few dollars for ice cream) and I always have a couple of books in there.

You're probably wondering who I like to read? Presents/Modern authors, of course! These were my favourite books long before I published and now it's even more fun because I know so many of the authors! And, even though in some ways it's 'homework,' it never feels like work.

The life of a romance author really is an amazing blessing!

How about I share some of this luxury by sending one lucky commenter some beach reading?

Seduced Into The Greek's World is on the shelves now, but the first three in the series are harder to find. Comment below with your favourite beach or favourite author to read on the beach and I'll pick a winner on June 22nd to receive autographed print copies of No Longer Forbidden?, More Than A Convenient Marriage?, and An Heir To Bind Them.

Here's the blurb for Seduced Into The Greek's World:

"I want you, Natalie. Not after five o'clock. Now." 

Every woman has a fantasy she only dares dream about in the dead of night. But for single mom Natalie Adams, the reality of an affair in Paris with infamous billionaire Demitri Makricosta surpasses even her wildest dreams!

Demitri is astounded by fiery Natalie. One night isn't enough, so to quench his lust he insists she become his mistress.

The closer Natalie gets to emotions Demitri has kept locked away, the more he distracts her with dazzling gifts and luxury holidays to ensure that seduction remains the only thing between them…

Here are the quick links for Seduced Into The Greek's World:

Amazon: US | Canada | UK | Aus | eHarlequin | Mills & Boon Aus | Mills & Boon UK 

Chapters | Nook | Kobo | ARe | BooksaMillion | GooglePlay | iBooks

If you'd like more information on the first three books in the series, please visit my books page.
Have a great summer!

~ Dani

Book at the beach - Kandy Shepherd

Look at that lucky book of mine! I wish I were sitting on that beach towel with it in beautiful Byron Bay in northern New South Wales.

Sadly no such luck—A Diamond in Her Stocking is with my daughter as she takes a break from her university studies. It’s summer Down Under and the long summer vacation still stretches out in front of her. She’s having so much fun I doubt any reading is being done!

Meanwhile I’m at home writing. I had three books for Harlequin Romance released in 2014 and hopefully the same number for 2015. That’s why I’m writing, writing, writing and not lying on the beach. But I’m also rejoicing that I work from home, my time is my own and I’m doing what I always wanted to do—writing romance.

When I left my “day job” I thought I was sliding into semi-retirement when what I really did was head into another fulfiling job. It was a change I’m so very glad I made.

I’m not great on New Year resolutions. It’s a tad too embarrassing when the year rolls on and the ridiculously unachievable resolutions still haven’t happened. But I find the new year is a good time to think about change.

This year I really am thinking about making regular exercise an indispensable part of my daily routine in response to all this time sitting in front of the computer. So far, so good because it’s summer I’m able to swim which is no hardship at all! (I just wish I was at that beach with my book!)

Have you got change in mind for this year? Or did you make a change last year that turned out for the best?

Whatever you live you live in the world, whether the new year starts in winter of summer I hope you’re enjoying a fresh start to 2015!

Kandy’s third Dolphin Bay story for Harlequin Romance, A Diamond in Her Stocking, was a December 2014 release and is available now.

Kandy Shepherd is an award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Midsummer Past-times

Isle of Palms SC

Well, we're into the thick of summer now and in southern NJ where I live I do mean thick -- the heat and humidity can be overwhelming! Temps reach into the 90s and so does the humidity levels. Most of us seek relief in air-conditioned places or pools or the sacred place that we South Jerseyans call 'the shore'. 

(And please do not mistake the REAL Jersey shore for that mess you see on MTV!)

I'm fortunate to live about 45 minutes from some of the best beaches, so day-trips are a favorite past-time -- both when I was a kid and when my kids were little. And some of my favorite vacations were spending a week down there, enjoying the sand and water during the day and then going on the boardwalk at night to play arcade games or miniature golf. 

For me though, I lived in anticipation of true joy -- sitting on the beach with something cold to drink and a book to read. I would slather on the sunscreen, put on the big sunglasses (sadly, now prescription ones! LOL!) and read away. My hubby and I had an agreement that I would get some non-supervisory time on the beach when we went with the boys. 

And the first thing planned and packed was my ample supply of books! 

My boys grew up knowing that if Mom began making a pile of books (and magazines), there was a trip coming. During the heyday of my reading (aka before I began writing romance novels), I would take no fewer than 10 books and 10 magazines for a week-long trip that would include reading time. 

Maui - 2012

 The boys have grown now and we haven't had a shore  vacation in a while, but I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii in 2012 and my goal was a simple one -- to read on a different beach every day of the trip. And I did, since there is beautiful beach after beautiful beach all around the islands. Can you say: ahhhhhhhhhh-loha!?                                                                                                                 So, what kind of summer pasttimes do you look forward to each year? How has your summer been so far this year? What are your plans for the rest of it? No matter what it is, I hope you have time for some reading! 

Speaking of summer activities - I'll be heading off to the Romance Writers of America's Annual Conference in San Antonio TX next week. If you're in the area, I hope you'll come to the Marriott Rivercenter on 7/23 at 5:30pm for the open-to-the-public Book Signing for Literacy party. There will be over 500 romance authors signing and raising money for Literacy projects both locally and nationally. I'll be signing my current book - YIELD TO THE HIGHLANDER! And visit my website or FB page for lots more info about my upcoming books and events! 

Happy Summer everyone! 

Book at Beachtime...

It hasn't stopped raining for weeks in the UK, but I'm that somewhere in the world readers are able to stretch out on the beach under a shady umbrella, or in their gardens, with a book.

There are a load of brilliant Harlequin Romances out there this month, to pick up at your local supplier - the perfect weight not to make your wrist ache while reading - or download onto your kindle. There are titles by Cara Colter, Shirley Jump, Jennie Adams, Rebecca Winters and of course, my own The Last Woman He'd Ever Date was published on the 3rd July.

I've hardly had time to talk about this book, since I moved into my new house on the crucial day! However, we've unpacked enough for me to draw up a packing case, open my laptop and drop by to tell you that this is one of my Maybridge books. The story kicks off when "good girl" (well, almost good girl) Claire Thackeray, late and in a hurry, runs into "bad boy" (with an agenda) Hal North - literally - and they end up entangled in a ditch.

As cute meets go, it's painful and muddy and brings back a heap of memories to Claire (who had a crush), and Hal, (who did not).

It's about then, that Hal's agenda gets thrown out of the window - although he fights manfully - and Claire begins to question what she's doing with her life.

It's light-hearted, funny, with just enough emotion tossed into the mix to make the perfect light summer read. I hope you'll enjoy it.k

Claire Thackeray: Hardworking single mom and gossip columnist. Hoping for the inside scoop on sexy billionaire Hal North,
aka her teen crush!

Most wary of: Gorgeous men who set her heart racing. (Been there, got the T-shirt—and the baby!)
Hal North: Bad boy made good. Back in his hometown as new owner of the Cranbrook Park estate. Determined to put his troubled past behind him.
Most wary of: Journalists—especially pretty ones, like new neighbor and tenant Claire Thackeray.