Sunday 18 September 2011

Wow! Three and a half books!

I'm delighted to find Long and Short Reviews have given me three and a half books for 'Monogamy Twist'. Read below what reviewer Xeranthemum has to say about it. (the good bits -I love them- and also the technical stuff that needs to be worked on. :-) )

...I loved the idea of a powerful man forced to marry a woman because someone manipulated him behind his back. I enjoyed the fact that a supposed amiable and easily led woman turned the tables and made the man face what is important in life. And it’s not the pursuit of money and power.
Monogamy Twist has at its core, a wonderful romance that grows from a practical base. The hero treats it like a business deal and the heroine treats it like an adventure and a challenge. What they both don’t expect is that their personalities mesh, her sense of humor and his inner torment balance each other out. They both heal, they both find love and they both are stunned that a dead woman could have such a profound impact on their lives. The charm of the story is their journey and they go from perfect strangers in lust to friends and partners in love.

Rhia is the heroine and the owner of Thor, the dog. She’s spunky, intrepid and I enjoyed her ability to rise to a challenge and not get bogged down with emotional angst and typical female hissy fits when it comes to jealousy and backstabbing ex-girlfriends. She’s pragmatic at best and equally lusty for her neighbor.


The focus of the heroine’s adoration and exasperation is Luke. He’s a tortured hero who had a loveless childhood and is a bit dysfunctional when it comes to relationships. He dates the kind of women he knows but falls in love with the kind of woman he needs. Not that he admits that right away. He was so mixed-up, he didn’t recognize the feeling for what it was.


The story is strong and the romance is a delight. The issues that knock down the rating for this book are varied. There is head hopping, strange word/phrase use, a few five dollar words like, ‘salubrious’, a hero who wails his complaint, emotional bouncing not in keeping with the character’s voice or scene, over the top embellishment - case in point, how Luke’s father died – and a lot of narrative where it came across not as a character’s point of view but the author filling me in on the details. The revelation about Luke’s mother made me laugh; the use of Danielle had me rolling my eyes, and after awhile the author forgot all about Thor. I didn’t. Amazingly enough, despite all of the above listed, the author created likeable characters in Luke and Rhia which kept me invested to finding out how they would eventually have their happily ever after. And even though there were some odd mixtures of phrases, their dialogue was often funny and entertaining.

Monogamy Twistis a cute story. It’s lighthearted, enjoyable and Luke and Rhia made a terrific couple. I’m glad I got a chance to read this book because it was a fun way to pass the time.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Dependence

Ever thought of how many things we are dependent on these days?
My adorable new granddaughter is entirely dependent on the adults around her to do everything. Old news there-definitely-and nothing startling about that!
The last few days I've had to be dependent on my darling other half to help me with all the nuisance factors of not having my own laptop this week. It's okay, I said, when I realized I'd left it 150 +plus+ miles away at a relative's house. My current WIPs are backed up-I'll manage on your Dinky-Dell for a week or so.
I find I'm sooooo dependent on my own little bit of technology, so much it's terrifying. My whole desk has had to be reorganised. We've swapped the printers...don't ask why it's too complicated. I'm now using a TV/monitor since the netbook display is so tiny, a separate keyboard and mouse... Just as well hubby is very competent at these things. I'm cringing at my own expertise.
*Big sigh here* and add another few more ****. It's not just my email contact addresses; it's not just the ease of looking at stored emails to make another vital print-out; it's not just needing the picture files I've stored for my current WIPpainstakingly saved after research at the planning stage. I'm usually a pantser, but this time I decided to be much more organised and PLAN!!!

How about you? How do you cope without your computer? I'd really love to know. Drop me a line and give me all the handy hints. Forget the vallium though...maybe just the glass of wine??

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Busy times

My latest update is that I've recently become the grandmother of the best little baby girl in the whole wide world. Annalise is just the best ever. Pity my current WIP has no baby in it but that may change...or...maybe I'll start a new one? Who knows, but what I do know is that when the opportunity arrises I'll be off to do the doting grannie tasks. Bye for now.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

New Monogamy Twist snippet below!

Got a moment? Here's another little bit of Monogamy Twist that I'm sharing with you. Hope you enjoy reading it below the blurb and let me know what you think...

Wednesday and all is....

Wednesday is here already ... Popped in to a blog or two over the last two days and found out some interesting info but since my WIP has been abandoned in the pursuit of better edits to the great 'historical' I haven't been doing any new research of my own. Got to keep at it!

Monday 5 September 2011

What do you like about a Monday?

Well, restarting the kilometer setting on the exercise bike means I can forget that I didn't do nearly enough km last week, and will have to do more next week. Did I mention probably not enough on the editiing pages, and wee bit less than was on the target for the WIP pages covered?Going to get on with all of these things and more this week...in between the family bits and pieces!

And make sure you don't miss the new little taste of 'Monogamy Twist' this week...

*hear the keyboard rattling???*

Sunday 4 September 2011

3 Hearts!!!

I'm really pleased that Monogamy Twist has received 3 hearts from 'Sizzling Hot Book Reviews'. Here's what they have to say about it:

....For all that Monogamy Twist is predictable, it’s an enjoyable read. Rhia and Luke go about things almost backward in this relationship, but watching them stumble about is what good storytelling is all about. The odd will forcing Luke into an almost arranged marriage and Rhia researching the house’s previous owners gives this contemporary story an historical feel. Luke swearing in Italian and Rhia’s huge dog adds humor to keep things from getting too serious at just the right times as well. All this makes Monogamy Twist much more than just the hot, sexy story I was expecting.

My thanks to you at Sizzling Hot book reviews for reviewing my first ever published romance novel.

Saturday 3 September 2011

It's the weekend!

Saturday now, and time to get on with the WIPs. It was good to visit with Lilly Gayle yesterday, and thank you to those who visited us.

Friday 2 September 2011

It's Friday and I'm off to visit Lilly Gayle today

The end of the week is looming again, but I'm off on a quick trip to visit Lilly Gayle. If you want to see some neat castles near me in Scotland pop in and visit us at: www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com
See you there!

Thursday 1 September 2011

What a busy day!

Well. What can I say beyond an enormous thank you to everyone who popped in to visit yesterday. Your support of Calisa, and me, was overwhelming!!! Tomorrow, Friday 2nd Sept., I'm off to visit Lilly Gayle, so visit us at www.lillygayleromance.blogspot.com if you've a free moment.