• Blog

    Release Day for Shut Up and Dance With Me

    8/12/2019

     

    Happy release day to me!

    Shut Up & Dance With Me - Oceanic Dreams Series - Monique McDonell - Cover​It’s release day for Shut Up and Dance With Me, Oceanic Dreams Book 7 and I’m super excited to be sharing this sweet, fun read with you.

    All the books take place during the same week on a cruise ship – it’s a singles cruise but my characters are there for a wedding. Sandy and Danny are standing up for their friends who are remarrying and neither of them is exactly pleased to be there or to be seeing each other again.

    This is an enemies to lovers story which isn’t my usual jam but as this is my 25th book under my own name it was nice to shake things up. Speaking of shaking – there are lots of cocktails shaken and stirred just like the emotions in this book.

    Blurb: Shut Up And Dance With Me
    As they set sail for madness and mayhem aboard Oceanic Aphrodite as Sandy and Danny stand up as witnesses to their friends second marriage. The maid of honor and best man can only agree on two things – this wedding is a bad idea and they can’t stand each other. A week on a cruise ship is a long time and hard though they try to avoid each other, the universe has other ideas. All aboard for a fun opposites-attract romance for lovers of cocktails, second chances and happily ever afters.

     

     

     

     

     

    To celebrate I have this awesome prize pack to give away. Enter below to win. Share it with your friends. Download the book and enjoy.

    Enter Win this fun Summer Prize Pack full of goodies from Downunder
    Down Under Giveaway Box
    enter here

  • Blog

    Release Day for Brew or Die, A Java Jive Mystery by Caroline Fardig

    4/25/2017

    Brew or Die - Cover
    Nashville’s perkiest private eye—coffeehouse manager Juliet Langley—goes undercover in the party-planning industry to solve a suspicious death in this thrilling cozy mystery from USA Today bestselling author Caroline Fardig.

    Book Description:

    Inspired by her past sleuthing successes, Juliet Langley has officially joined the ranks of Nashville’s licensed private investigators. Her best friend, Pete Bennett, doesn’t worry that her detective work might interfere with her full-time job running his coffeehouse, Java Jive. He just wishes she would spend her free time rejoining the local music scene instead of tailing cheating spouses. But when one of Java Jive’s baristas, Shane, asks Juliet to look into the suspicious death of his fiancée, Pete encourages her to plow full steam ahead.

    Since his fiancée died on the job, Shane suspects that her party-planning colleagues are up to something criminal—and will do anything to keep it quiet. After Juliet recruits Pete to go undercover with her at a wedding showcase, she discovers that white lace and black satin have a way of hiding big, fat secrets.

    If that weren’t enough to fill her plate, her latest P.I. job has her crossing paths with her ex, Detective Ryder Hamilton. They’re barely on speaking terms, but to solve the case, they might have to cooperate. No matter where Juliet goes, she’s brewing up trouble.

    BREW OR DIE is the fourth book in the JAVA JIVE MYSTERIES series.

    Buy link for BREW OR DIE : http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/539481/brew-or-die-by-caroline-fardig/

    About the Author:
    CAROLINE FARDIG is the USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR of the Java Jive Mysteries series and the Lizzie Hart Mysteries series. Fardig’s BAD MEDICINE was named one of the “Best Books of 2015” by Suspense Magazine. She worked as a schoolteacher, church organist, insurance agent, funeral parlor associate, and stay-at-home mom before she realized that she wanted to be a writer when she grew up. Born and raised in a small town in Indiana, Fardig still lives in that same town with an understanding husband, two sweet kids, two energetic dogs, and one malevolent cat.

    Social Media:
    Website: www.carolinefardig.com
    Blog: http://www.carolinefardig.com/blog/
    Mailing List: http://www.carolinefardig.com/mailing-list/
    Twitter: @carolinefardig
    Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/carolinefardigbooks/

  • Blog

    Release Day Blitz for Not Quite Sheer Happiness by Melissa Baldwin

    6/8/2016

    Not Quite Sheer Happiness Release Bitz 2016 Banner

    Melissa Baldwin

    Summary
    Sienna Harris is back and appears to be on top of the world! Her company, Sheer Happiness Events, is booming, but personally she’s a mess. She never imagined that with amazing success would come tremendous pressure. Although her professional life seems in disarray at times, her relationship with the dashing Ace Eckelund is finally progressing.
    Friendships are tested and so is her relationship when—once again—the past collides with the present. Sienna begins to question everything in her life and wonders if she should throw out her desire for constant certainty and live life on the edge for once. But, will she be able to change the person she has always been for who she wants to become?
    Find out in this captivating third installment of The Event to Remember series.

    Book Links – COMING
    Amazon US: https://amzn.com/B01GQLVE74
    Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GQLVE74
    Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/641901
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29953685-not-quite-sheer-happiness

    Author Biography
    Melissa graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications; she has always had a love for writing. An avid journal keeper, she took her creativity to the next level by fulfilling her dream with her debut novel, An Event to Remember . . . Or Forget. Since then, she has written and published two more novels, Wedding Haters and See You Soon Broadway.
    Melissa resides in Florida, with her husband and young daughter. When she isn’t writing, this multi-tasking master organizer is busy being a mother, wife, chauffeur, PTA President, and Fitness Trainer.
    When she has free time, she enjoys traveling, running, fitness, fashion, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.

    Social Networking Links
    Website: http://www.authormelissabaldwin.com/
    Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8297292.Melissa_Baldwin
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authormelissabaldwin
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/mpbaldwinauthor
    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mdpb/
    Amazon Author: http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Baldwin/e/B012M1S100/

    Not Quite Sheer Happiness - Cover

  • Blog

    Release Day for Gamer Girl and a guest post by Glynis Astie (who has indeed got game)

    6/2/2016

    Got Game? A guest post by Glynis Astie
    Glynis Astie and Game ControlsI love video games. LOVE them! The catchy music, gorgeous graphics, engaging characters and exciting journeys—what’s not to like? Every time I turn on my console, I have countless choices in front of me. (I live with three boys who crave variety, so our library is rather extensive.) Am I in the mood for military strategy, martial arts or traveling through a fantasy world? Do I want to put the pedal to the metal or ski down a beautiful mountain? Or is it time to kick it old school with Pitfall or Donkey Kong? Simply asking these hypothetical questions makes me giddy. My fingers are itching to grab hold of my trusty controller!
    There’s just one tiny problem. I have no skills. I’m completely devoid of game, if you will. It’s sad, but true. I used to be able to fake it when I was younger, when the most I had to do was weave a small square through a maze in Adventure or shoot a few targets in Duck Hunt. I could even handle that crazy Centipede! But as technology advanced and video games became more complex, it was clear that I didn’t have what it took to keep up. This, however, did nothing to quell my fascination with all things gaming.
    For a number of years, I took the role of observer, living vicariously through my friends and family as they tackled the latest offerings from Nintendo, Capcom and Konami. Then I met my husband and he opened up a whole new world to me with games like Manhunt, God of War and Halo. To him, a new game meant spending the weekend lounging on the living room floor, glued to the TV, until his new adventure had been finished. While his games had way more violence than I was used to, I admired his dedication. Since I had no desire to shut myself off from the world, I spent those days sitting by the pool with a good book, waiting for the onslaught to be over.
    Then I became a mother and was forced to give gaming another try. When your three-year-old son hands you a controller and asks you to help him, you can’t really say no. I did my best, but it didn’t take long for his abilities to surpass mine. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen the disappointment in your little one’s eyes when you can’t bring Mario through his latest world unscathed. He has since developed quite the sense of humor about it, chuckling and saying, “silly Mommy” when I try to follow him on one of his video game adventures. (Until I fall too far behind and he asks me to exit. D’oh!)

    Glynis Astie and toysEver the astute child, he introduced me to The Simpsons: Tapped Out. Finally! A game I could play! All I had to do was tap the screen with my finger. The characters did all kinds of funny things and I earned money to buy tons of imaginary stuff. Woohoo! After a few months, my confidence grew and I tackled more challenging offerings like Candy Crush and Juice Cubes. Next stop: Plants vs. Zombies. Watch out world!
    Unfortunately, it’s doubtful I will ever be a true gamer, but this won’t stop me from obsessing over the gaming world. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, it was watching a documentary about the history of video games which gave me the idea for my latest book, Gamer Girl. Why not create a character who had the mad skills I craved? Brilliant!
    I started by designing a game I would want to play. I knew it would be an MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game) because I wanted the ability to create a second storyline for my heroine—the escapades of her online alter ego. Since I’m the only girl in my house, I may have gone to town with my love of magic, fairies and dragons. (I live in a world ruled by Lego, Transformers, army guys and toy guns.) Then I picked the brain of my favorite gamer–who also happens to write fantasy novels–and voila, my main character’s sacred gaming world of SpellBound was born.
    It was such a blast to write Gamer Girl! I sincerely hope it will be just as much fun to read. It’s a completely unique creation—part chick lit, part fantasy, with a dash of gaming and a whole lot of fun! And at least in the world of writing, I’ve got loads of game.
    Gamer Girl - Cover
    Gamer Girl
    Struck by tragedy at an early age, Meri Palmer escaped into the only world she understood. Within the virtual realm of online gaming, she lived a life filled with mythical creatures and thrilling adventures, where she was strong, powerful, clever, and beautiful—everything she believed she wasn’t in real life. As the years went by, her desire to cling to her cherished fantasyland only grew stronger.

    But when Meri meets Morgan, equal parts gorgeous and goofball, she begins to wonder if the time has finally come to rejoin the so-called real world. Channeling the bravery of her fairy warrior alter ego, Meri slowly lets Morgan beyond the protective walls she’s built around her heart. Just as she finds a comfortable groove in an uncertain world, Morgan succumbs to insecurities of his own, leaving her lost and confused. Through her battle to regain her equilibrium, Meri will discover that even in reality, things aren’t always what they seem.
    Will Meri win the battle raging in her heart and summon the will to rescue her knight in shining armor? Or will she give in to the fear and find her game over?

     

     

     

    Glynis AstieGlynis never expected in her wildest dreams to be a writer. After thirteen years in the Human Resources Industry, she decided to stay at home with her two amazing sons. Ever in search of a project, she was inspired to write the story of how, in only six short months, she met and married her wonderfully romantic French husband, Sebastien. The end result became her first novel, French Twist. As this was just the beginning of their epic love story, Glynis continued to chronicle their adventures in the sequel, French Toast, and the final installment in the series, French Fry. After she finished milking her life story for all it was worth, she decided to write straight-up fiction with Gamer Girl, which infuses her beloved chick lit with a hint of fantasy.
    When Glynis is not writing, she is trying to keep the peace amongst the three men and two cats in her life, finding missing body parts (Lego pieces are small!), supervising a myriad of homework assignments and keeping a tenuous hold on her sanity by consuming whatever chocolate is in the vicinity.

    Links to find Glynis on the web.

    Website: www.glynisastie.com
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glynisastieauthor/
    Twitter: https://twitter.com/GlynisAstie
    Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/glynisastie/
    Global buy link for Gamer Girl: mybook.to/amazongamergirl

    Comment

    Glynis Astie
    5/31/2016 03:24:48 am

    Thanks for having me to visit, Monique! 🙂

  • Blog

    Any Way You Dream It – release day!!

    5/25/2015

    Release day for a new book – always a great feeling.
    Any Way You Dream It - Upper Crust Series - Monique McDonell - Original Cover
    It’s already May 26 in some parts of the world (good morning Australia, hello New Zealand) which means that Any Way You Dream It is available right now for some.

    Amazon US:http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00XBFAUWO
    Amazon Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/Any-Way-You-Dream-Upper-ebook/dp/B00XBFAUWO

    And then the clock strikes midnight around the world and it magically appears on the e-readers of those that pre-purchased and it is then available everywhere.

    What does that mean to me?

    It means in the past months I:
    – wrote a first draft
    – had a cover designed
    – put it down and revised it and then revised it again
    – sent it to BETA readers who told me what they did and didn’t like
    – made their changes
    – sent it to someone else to read through it for a story edit
    – made those changes
    – sent it to an editor (we had a major disaster this time which set me back ten days)
    – sent it to the editor again
    – waited
    – made the final edits
    – sent it to a formatter who loaded it up for release
    – booked a blog tour
    – reached out to people for review and promotional opportunities
    – waited

    People think that indie authors skip steps, which isn’t true. In many cases it just means we’re just doing all that all by ourselves. It’s kind of a lonely process. In fact as I type this I am alone. Where’s the balloons? The champagne? They’re not in sight – I will go get myself a coffee shortly.

    It’s a bit like the day your child starts kindergarten…lots of hard work to get them ready and then you’re all alone, wondering how they’re doing.

    So if you know any authors indie or otherwise here are some tips.
    Tips for supporting an author when they release a book

    1. Acknowledge their new book -call, email, comment on their Facebook page.
    2. Buy their book and let them know you did. (Take a photo and if it is a paperback take the photo in the store).
    3. Let people know you have a friend who has just written a book – either on your Facebook page or in real life.
    4. Leave them a review on Amazon, Goodreads etc – you have no idea how much that means.
    5. Remember it doesn’t matter if it is their first book or their tenth – to them it is still exciting.

  • Blog

    Release Day for A Fair Exchange – Amazon GC giveaway

    3/31/2014

     

    A Fair Exchange

     

    A Fair Exchange Release Day Giveaway Banner

    Who hasn’t wondered about their first love? What happened? What went wrong? Where are they now?

    What if you got a second chance?

    Amelia Armstrong is about to find out. What a shame her long-lost love, Matt, has returned (looking way too good and acting way too sweet) when her life is a shambles and she has finally decided once and for all to put herself and not whichever man is currently in her life, first.

    How do you balance that desire to recapture that loving feeling with the need to finally be the best version of yourself? What if this really is the one, how do you choose when to stand your ground and when to cut your losses? Amelia takes a journey from Sydney to New York and back again trying to find the answers while negotiating with pop-divas, ex-lovers, crazy teenagers, a well-meaning cousin and the tabloids.

    A Fair Exchange is a story about being a grown up when, maybe, you’d much rather be sixteen again.

    Excerpt

    It was not as if he was the first one to mention it. In the past week everyone who had entered my apartment had commented on the shiny new Vespa parked in the middle of the otherwise empty living room. In fact, each and every one of them had imaginatively said “Amelia you have a red Vespa parked in your living room!” And they all said it in a tone that implied I might not have noticed, as if it may have magically appeared there.

    How could I not notice a vehicle parked in what was otherwise an empty room?

    What amazed me was that the Vespa was what they chose to comment on.

    Not that Nick had dumped me, after ten years, for a twenty-one year-old. Nor that he had moved out, taking basically all the furniture and leaving me with a great view over the beach and an enormous mortgage.

    No one even commented about the fact that I, in turn, had quit the fabulous job that had always meant way too much to me.

    No, they commented on the Vespa.

    What I could not understand though was why it hadn’t bothered me until right then, when Matthew Blue commented. And when he did comment, why had I collapsed into this embarrassing sea of tears?

    How had this happened? How had I become this sobbing pathetic figure of womanhood? And more importantly how had I ended up thirty-six and alone?

    Didn’t I used to have so much potential? Everyone had said so, hadn’t they?

    “Amelia Armstrong is something special.”

    I was one of those shiny young girls who took risks and dreamed big. I was one of the smart ones who knew what she wanted and went after it. I was one to watch.

    If I hadn’t been that kind of a girl I would never have met Matthew all those years ago. A different girl would not have found herself, on the other side of the world, at sixteen, staring into his dark and dreamy eyes.

    So where was that girl right now, I wanted to know? And how had a girl with so much potential gotten it so horribly wrong?

    ***

    To buy a copy of A Fair Exchange go to http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JBPPC08

    To celebrate the release I’m giving away a $25 Amazon Gift Certificate as part of my blog tour. Enter below for your chance to win. (It is running on US April 1st, apologies to Australian readers please come back later).

    a Rafflecopter giveaway

    Comments

    Karen e. Martin
    3/31/2014 03:03:24 pm

    Great excerpt! Congratulations on the book launch!
    Reply
    Monique
    3/31/2014 03:14:56 pm

    Thanks Karen 🙂

    Jacque
    3/31/2014 04:38:38 pm

    Can’t wait to read it Monique. Congratulations.

    girlfromwva
    4/1/2014 01:32:16 am

    looking forward to reading!

  • Blog

    Release Day for Opposite Attraction by Bernadette Marie

    8/16/2012

    Bernadette MarieOPPOSITE ATTRACTION, book 3 in the Keller Family Series:

    Curtis Keller is a lucky man. He has the love and support of a family like no other. But he’s never fallen in
    love with a woman. He likes to play the field, have a good time, and enjoyed friends with benefits. But when wild child Simone Pierpont comes into his life for the first time he considers settling down—until she abandons him.

    Simone Pierpont fell in love. She hadn’t meant to, but her best friend’s brother-in-law had treated her, the
    Parisian oil heiress, with more compassion than she’d ever known. What was she to do? So she left him stranded on a yacht in the French Rivera.

    Now, cut off from her father’s fortune, pregnant, and desperate to win Curtis’s heart; Simone must prove to
    everyone she can hold down a job and take care of herself. Curtis isn’t sure the spoiled princess can change, but because of his caring nature he has a hard time turning her away.

    However, all efforts might be for nought when he learns about her pregnancy and she is forced to run back to her
    father. But Curtis will eventually understand and come for her—or so she hopes.

    Excerpt

    Caterers moved about the house and Curtis fixed himself a plate of fruit. He’d be happier in the kitchen he decided. The
    reception was depressing him.

    When he lifted his head from the platters of food, he saw the reason it depressed him standing right in front of
    him.

    “Hello, Curtis.”Simone Pierpont’s French accent stabbed right into his heart before he choked on the grape he’d just
    swallowed whole.

    He coughed until he could breathe. Her eyes never wavered from him and he was sure they had bored a hole right through him.

    “Simone. I didn’t expect you here.”

    She twisted her fingers together and smiled nervously.“I’ve been out of town.”

    Didn’t he know that? He’d tried for the past two months to find her. Even his brother-in-law, Zach, who she claimed was her very dearest friend, hadn’t known where to find her.

    “You’re looking well.”He wasn’t sure what else to say. He’d been dumped by women before, but it had never hurt like this
    one did. Oh, she’d had him fooled. Yes, he thought there’d been a chance for something real. He’d thought it was love.

    But he had to acknowledge that there were women in the world who appreciated the art of seduction and fast steamy love affairs without stings just as men did. He just never thought he’d be the man who was used and disposed of.

    Damn her anyway, he thought.

    She took a step toward himand then stopped just short of reaching him. Her knuckles were white now and her nervousness wasn’t helping him keep calm.

    Simone bit down on her lip then shifted her blue eyes to his. “I would have called…”

    “Listen,” he set down his plate.“You don’t owe me any explanations. Zach and Regan set us up to share the evening together so we wouldn’t be alone. They didn’t tell us to,” he lowered his voice, “screw like rabbits and run off to your yacht in the French Riviera.So we had a good time. Really, who thought much of it?”He had and he fought his eyes to make sure she didn’t know how much he’d thought of it.

    “Right. It was just sex. I was hoping you would understand that.”

    “Got it.”He picked up his plate.“Well I think I’ll go see how the party is going. See ya‘round.”

    That wasn’t exactly how Simone had hoped that would go. She untangled her fingers realizing they were almost numb
    now.

    She deserved him to treat her like that. She’d been very forthcoming with him, over too much champagne on her yacht, that she’d bedded many men. Why she felt he needed to know that she wasn’t sure. She’d left out the hefty part of the tale though. Most of those men had been in her bed while she tried to wrap her head around the fact that Zachary Benson had never seen her as more than a sister or dear friend.

    Lucky for her, she loved him the same. She was glad he and Regan had found each other and now had a family. But that hadn’t changed her view on herself. Simone Pierpont longed for what Zach now had. Love, marriage, and a family. One-piece didn’t really fit without the other.

    She sucked in a breath. Had she not made such an ass out of herself in front of Curtis and then run off without a word,
    stranding him on the Rivera to find his own way home, perhaps she’d have just that.

    Simone ran her hands over the slim satin line of her dress, lingering only a moment on her jittery stomach.

    Well, she thought, at least she’d have some of what Zach had.

    Bio
    Bernadette Marie has been an avid writer since the early age of 13, when she’d fill notebook after notebook with stories that she’d share with her friends. Her journey into novel writing started the summer before eighth grade when her father gave her an old typewriter. At all times of the day and night you would find her on the back porch penning her first work, which she would continue to write for the next 22 years.

    In 2007—after marriage, filling her chronic entrepreneurial needs, and having five children—Bernadette began to write seriously with the goal of having her work published. That year she wrote 12 books. In 2009, she was contracted for her first trilogy and the published author was born. In 2011 she (being the entrepreneur that she is) opened her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, and has released contemporary titles and began the process of taking on other authors in other genres.

    In 2012 Bernadette Marie found herself on the worldwide bestsellers lists of iTunes and Amazon to name a few. Her office wall is lined with colorful PostIt notes with the titles of books she will be releasing in the very near future, with hope that they too will grace the bestsellers lists.

    Bernadette spends most of her free time driving her kids to their many events. She is also an accomplished martial artist who will earn her conditional second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do in October 2012. She loves to meet readers who enjoy reading contemporary romances and she always promises Happily Ever After.

    Where to find Bernadette Marie and connect with her:
    www.bernadettemarie.com
    www.5princebooks.com
    info@bernadettemarie.com
    www.facebook.com/authorbernadettemarie
    www.authorbernadettemarie.blogspot.com

    Twitter:@writesromance

    Buy links:

    Where to buy my books:
    AMAZON
    BARNES AND NOBLE
    iTUNES
    SMASHWORDS
    Opposite Attraction - Bernadette Marie - Cover