Monthly Archives: July 2016

Welcome Author @CarolinClemmons #RomanticIdea #WesternRomance

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Summer #RomanticIdeaThanks to Linda McLaughlin for having me as her guest.

Caroline’s #Romanticidea:

Turn off the cell phones. Pop some corn, open the beverages of your choice, and snuggle for a movie. Time together is romantic.

Ophelia coverOPHELIA, Bride Brigade Book 4

A new book is always exciting for the author, but also fraught with worry. Will people like our baby? Will readers buy our offering? So many fears and hopes combine for each publication. Even though I’d had many requests for OPHELIA’s story, I couldn’t help wondering how readers would receive the book. So far, reviews are excellent.

As you’ve no doubt noticed, my current series is the Bride Brigade. In this group readers meet seven women who—for various reasons—need a fresh start. At the same time, lovely young widow Lydia Harrison wants young women in her town of Tarnation, Texas. (I confess I love the town’s fictional name.) The bachelors want wives. The townspeople would like to have young families with children populating the town.

To achieve this goal, Lydia goes to Richmond, Virginia where she grew up and places an advertisement in the newspaper inviting young women of good character to apply. (This is only eight years after the end of the Civil War and so many men died during the conflict and traveled West afterward, that there are far more marriage-age women than eligible men.) Traveling with Lydia to help chaperone is Sophie Gaston, mother of one of Tarnation’s lonely bachelors. Sophie had encouraged Lydia to do something to help the town’s bachelors so they wouldn’t move to more diverse locales.

That’s all covered in the first book of the series, JOSEPHINE (which was my grandmother’s name). Additional books are ANGELINE and CASSANDRA. The current release is OPHELIA, Bride Brigade book 4. The other young women whose story is to come in the future are RACHEL (coming at the end of August), LORRAINE (this fall), and PRUDENCE.

Here’s the blurb for OPHELIA:

Escape…
A painful past…
Hope for the future…

Ophelia Shipp wants safety, a home, husband, and to raise a family. To achieve her goal, she travels halfway across the country to a tiny Texas town, Tarnation. What awaits her there must be better than what she left. She longs for a respectable man who will be a gentle and kind husband.

Elias Kendrick had a difficult childhood but he has overcome poverty to build his empire in Tarnation. Now that he owns a successful saloon and the opera house, he is ready to marry and start a family. He’s vowed his children’s life will be different from his—if only he can find the right woman.

Two opposites attract—or are they actually so different? Ophelia and Elias must learn to overlook their superficial differences to work out their chance at lasting love.

An excerpt from OPHELIA:

Mr. Kendrick strolled toward her holding a cup and a plate filled with samples of Mrs. Murphy’s delicacies. “You look as if you could use punch and a snack.”

She fought for something clever to say, but nothing came. At least she managed a smile. “Thank you. I am thirsty after introducing myself so many times.”

He sat in the chair separated from hers by a small table. “Nice shindig, isn’t it?”

She took a sip of punch before answering. “I love watching and listening. Everyone appears so happy and excited.”

“What about you? Are you happy or excited?”

She couldn’t prevent a grin. “Both. Being in Lydia’s home is so pleasant and the other women are very nice. This morning I woke up excited about this event.”

“Me, too.” He chuckled. “What brings you to Tarnation, Miss Shipp?”

“Same as the others I suppose. No point pretending otherwise, I want a husband and home and family. This appears to be a nice town even though it’s small. I notice there’s even an opera house.”

“That there is. I built the opera house only a year ago. The manager and I try for a variety of acts so that by the end of the season, everyone has enjoyed at least a couple of shows.”

She leaned forward, happy to know he was so fair-minded. “I’m sure I’ll enjoy them all. I’ve never been to a live performance.” Oops, she hadn’t intended to admit that.

He leaned back and his eyes widened. “Never? You mean except at school, of course.”

A blush’s heat seared her face. How embarrassing to admit she was a country bumpkin who had done nothing interesting in her life. “My father was very strict. I couldn’t appear in or attend school plays. Mr. Kozlov has invited me to the opera house performance in two weeks. I’m looking forward to the event.”

Was that disappointment she saw on his face? “You’ll enjoy Geraldine Chitwood. We were exceptionally fortunate to book her. Normally, she only plays larger towns more easily reached. Being without railway access places us at a disadvantage.”

“Oh, my bones haven’t forgotten that stage ride.” She leaned toward him. “Tell me about yourself, Mr. Kendrick. Besides owning the opera house, I mean.”

“I’m twenty-nine and never married. If you led such a quiet life that you weren’t allowed to attend plays, then you’ll no doubt look down on me because, as well as the opera house, I own the local saloon.”

She hoped she hid her surprise that Lydia included a saloon owner in this group of “acceptable” men. What should she say?

Trying for the truth, she said, “I try never to pass judgment, Mr. Kendrick. I don’t approve of drunkenness but I know most men enjoy meeting with others and sharing a drink or game of cards.”

He raised his eyebrows. “Very broad-minded of you. Do you play cards, Miss Shipp?”

She couldn’t help laughing. “I don’t play anything. All I’ve ever done is work.”

I hope you will read OPHELIA and enjoy the book. Buy links at Amazon:

Amazon US, Amazon Canada, and Amazon UK

Caroline ClemmonsAbout the Author

Caroline Clemmons is an Amazon bestselling and award winning author of historical and contemporary western romances. A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, she has taught workshops on characterization, point of view, and layering a novel.

Caroline and her husband live in the heart of Texas cowboy country with their menagerie of rescued pets. When she’s not indulging her passion for writing, Caroline enjoys family, reading, travel, antiquing, genealogy, and getting together with friends. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, WattPad, Shelfari, and Pinterest. Click on her Amazon Author Page for a complete list of her books.

Subscribe to Caroline’s newsletter here to receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE, a humorous historical wedding disaster that ends happily—but you knew it would, didn’t you?

She loves to hear from her readers at caroline@carolineclemmons.com

Sexy Mythology & Summer #RomanticIdea by Author @Sheri_Fredricks

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Ancient Mythology compared to Sexy Mythology
By Sheri Fredricks

Many thanks to Linda for hosting me on her blog today.

Greek mythology, both in art and literature, believed mythological beings once inhabited the Earth. They were god-like, creatures and people to be worshipped as deities.

SF-GreekGodWith thousands of artifacts pointing to the possibility of their existence, I wonder if mythics did indeed exist at one time. At one time, there were dinosaurs. Chinese history proclaims an emperor long dead had kept dragons. So why not mythological beings?

In my modern mythic romances, I give history a little twist and go out on a limb. Rhycious, in Remedy Maker, is born as a sexy shape shifting Centaur descended from ancient Greece. Like people everywhere, his ancestors left their country to find a new life elsewhere. They settled in the Boronda Forest.

Before I started writing this novel, my knowledge of Greek mythology was limited to what I learned in school. To educate myself, I dug into the research and crammed my head with TMI facts. Never boring, the intrinsic belief held for these beings fascinated me at each site I viewed.

And let’s face it—who wouldn’t want to meet a hot Centaur or sexy Wood Nymph?

Remedy Maker coverBlurb:

Man by day, Centaur by night, Rhycious is a remedy maker who needs his own healing.

He’s the royal physician, famous for his cures. War and posttraumatic stress disorder has broken his spirit, preventing him from finding true happiness. Then a direct order from the queen to investigate an uprising forces him out of his secluded cabin at the edge of the forest.

Patience is an optimistic, good-natured Wood Nymph who works as a mediator to ensure harmony within the Nymph sector.

Environmental pollution in the aquifer stream that feeds the taproot tree of her heart is slowly killing her. Resigned to the fact she will not live long, she sets out to discover the mysterious disappearance of her sister. Experience has taught her to deny herself the love of a male, but the gruff Centaur is different. He doesn’t push his expectations on her, only his healing nature.

When Rhycious loses his grip on reality, he believes his inability to control his disorder will drive Patience away. Nevertheless, desire flares, and Patience draws him close. Kidnapping and betrayal turn their mythic joint venture into a deadly bout.

Will their love endure when survival hinges on trusting each other?

Buy Links:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/1PlHSsO
Amazon.ca: http://amzn.to/1J5861F
Amazon.fr: http://amzn.to/1EnY0DK
Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/1MoFy5Z
Amazon.co.jp: http://amzn.to/1J0ajqM
Amazon.de: http://amzn.to/1TscNJJ
Amazon.com.au:  http://bit.ly/1V3rX3B
Barnes & Noble:  http://bit.ly/1iqhwL3
Kobo: http://bit.ly/20epJDZ
iBooks: http://apple.co/1YJrqXp

Here’s an excerpt. Rhycious (shapeshifting centaur) is with his Amish friend Samuel when he meets Patience (wood nymph) for the first time:

“You ever see her before?”

“No, I haven’t.” Rhy ran his hands down both bare legs and a slender exposed arm. He checked for broken bones, noting her supple skin and a clean woodsy scent.

Her blouse had an unusual design, made of homespun fibers. It had a diagonal cut neckline with tiny puff sleeves, pink and soft. Created from the same material, a short skirt flared, and was embroidered with spring-green leaves.

A tickle teased his neck again, but not from annoyance this time. He repeated the examination of her other arm. Tension curled tighter in his gut, suspicion spread like spilled wine.

Tilting her head with care, he pushed her dark brown hair from her smooth décolletage, sucked in a short breath, and froze.

“What is it? Snake bite?” Samuel raised the brass lantern higher and leaned over for a better view.

Rhy tapped his thumb against her neck. Designs a few shades darker than her natural color marred the creamy complexion. The millennia old skin formation carved its way into his painful memories. It started behind her ear, an inch wide at the hairline, and extended to the other side.

The words choked out of him. There was no use trying to hide his revulsion. “Wood Nymph.”

Sheri’s #RomanticIdea Suggestions:

Romantic Ideas don’t have to mean draining your wallet at expensive restaurants. There are plenty of affordable (and entertaining) things to do with your significant other. After all, it’s the time spent with them that matters. Here’s a few romantic ideas to try:

Go for a hike in a beautiful park.

Go to open mic night and sing your heart out.

Go swimming together.

Stargaze and name the constellations with the help of an app or book.

Try an upcycling project. (See this list of 200 suggestions.)

Sheri FredricksAlways on the hunt for the uncommon things in life, award-winning author Sheri Fredricks thrives on creating romantic adventures.

A former engineering secretary, she lives on California’s beautiful central coast. “I wanted to move away from a profession of inflexible right angles and create an unboxed world with no boundaries.” A voracious reader since her early years, Sheri found her brain crowded with stories of her own. “Ultimately,” she says, “my husband encouraged me to write them all down.”

Winner of the Paranormal Romance Guild Reviewer’s Choice Award, and a Finalist multiple times for InD’Tale eMagazine’s Reward Of Novel Excellence award (RONE), she has numerous five-star reviews everywhere eBooks are sold.

Sheri loves to spend time at home and connecting with readers. A computer hutch keeps her focused on creating stories, but the panoramic view of life on a ranch will call her outside to play in the sun.

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