The Friessens, stars of the bestselling series, are back with THE DECISION, another heartwarming fan favorite romance from New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart.

Emily Friessen has everything a woman could want: a husband who’s the love of her life, a family that stands together, and children she wouldn’t trade for anything. To everyone around her, she’s confident and strong—but then, she has to be with a man like Brad, who is all about family and too handsome for his own good.

Emily isn’t as together as she appears, though, and when life throws her and Brad a curveball, it tests their relationship, leaving Emily scrambling and feeling very much alone as both are faced with a decision no parent should have to make.

Don’t miss any of The Friessen books, beginning with The Forgotten Child, the very first book in this big family romance series:

THE OUTSIDER SERIES
The Forgotten Child (Brad and Emily)
A Baby and a Wedding (An Outsider Series Short)
Fallen Hero (Andy, Jed, and Diana)
The Search (An Outsider Series Short)
The Awakening (Andy and Laura)
Secrets (Jed and Diana)
Runaway (Andy and Laura)
Overdue (An Outsider Series Short)
The Unexpected Storm (Neil and Candy)
The Wedding (Neil and Candy)

THE FRIESSENS: A NEW BEGINNING
The Deadline (Andy and Laura)
The Price to Love (Neil and Candy)
A Different Kind of Love (Brad and Emily)
A Vow of Love, A Friessen Family Christmas

THE FRIESSENS
The Reunion
The Bloodline (Andy & Laura)
The Promise (Diana & Jed)
The Business Plan (Neil & Candy)
The Decision (Brad & Emily)

“Lorhainne Eckhart has a way at really tugging on the heartstrings and this story is no exception.”

 “The latest installment into the Friessen legacy has continued the rich storytelling and chemistry since the series began with The Forgotten Child. I love how all of these characters have grown/matured with each new story. Thank you Ms. Eckhart for continuing this wonderful saga.”

“Eckhart is one of the best storytellers that I have read in a long time. I was riveted by this series as much as I was by Saved. I am an avid reader, and I’ve become impatient with poor writing. I would recommend reading any of Lorhainne Eckhart’s books, but only if you enjoy reading books that you can’t put down.”

“Wow, what a story!
Loved this, loved this, loved this! Grabbed me from the start and held me the whole way through. Obviously this writer has the talent to pull the readers in and keep them – thank you.”

 “A brilliant book, a must read and thoroughly enjoyable. I am passionate about Lorhainne Eckharts writing.”

 “This family history is so intense it is hard to stop until the end. I enjoy this story so much that I bought all the books concerning this family. Had a hard time closing the book until I finished.”

“Best Family Series Ever!
I love the dynamic of this powerful close family. Three brothers, a cousin and all the spouses and children make for an interesting spellbinding story you won’t want to put down.”

 “Whole lot to love!
Haven’t read one yet I haven’t absolutely loved, this one is no exception. Get it, read it, fall in love with this series and this author.”

“I loved the whole series. I could keep on reading about this family. Makes a person wish they could be part of them.”

THE DECISION (Brad and Emily are back) releasing March 30, and for all my superfans I’m offering a very special #99Cent pre-order DEAL on THE DECISION up until March 31 when it will revert to its regular price of $2.99

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Lorhainne Eckhart’s books have been described as Longmire meets old-school Dallas, and she recently received the 2015 & 2013 Readers’ Favorite Award for Romance & Romantic Suspense for her titles The Price to Love and  Lost and Found. With over forty titles under her belt, her big family romance series are loved by fans worldwide. Books that celebrate love, family, commitment, hope, and making a relationship work. With flawed strong characters, characters you can relate to. Lorhainne writes the kind of books she wants to read.

She is frequently a Top 100 bestselling author in multiple genres, such as romance, western, military and mystery/suspense. She has written multiple series, including The Outsider, Walk the Right Road, The Wilde Brothers, Saved, The Friessens, and her two newest additions, Married in Montana, and her high-stakes suspense and sizzling, red-hot romance series, Kate and Walker, Deadly, Dangerous and Desired.

You can chat with Lorhainne on Facebook www.facebook.com/AuthorLorhainneEckhart, Twitter @LEckhart, and her blog at http://www.lorhainneeckhart.com/blog/.

Hershey’s Choice

Choices Series

Darlene Fredette

Release Date: December 11, 2015
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Small Town, Humorous/Romantic Comedy
Sweet Contemporary, 184 pages, 45015 words
Britt may be Hershey’s choice, but can the boisterous Labrador convince his owner?

Engineer Ryan Jerome has a knack for designing the future but can’t create one for himself. When Ryan lets his dog, Hershey, take the lead, going to the park is never the same. Unintentional meetings, a soiled coat, and a meddling mother are a few of the obstacles in his way of convincing Britt he’s not a stalker. Will he accept his dog’s direction and open his heart to the beautiful woman with a side of crazy?

Ruined weddings, divorced parents, and disastrous relationships have left event planner Britt Wells a non-believer in happy-ever-after. She’s readying for a future in interior design with one last wedding to oversee. Complications arise when she learns a suspected stalker and owner of an unruly dog is related to her client. Falling for Ryan and Hershey were not part of the plan. Can she put aside her doubts in relationships and take a chance on love?

The Wild Rose Press * Amazon * Barnes & Noble

Excerpt

A thunderous pounding trampled the ground behind her. She turned to glance over her shoulder, but the bench suddenly jolted forward to hover on its front legs before landing roughly on all fours. “Ohh.” She would have toppled face forward if her heels hadn’t been firmly dug into the grass. Britt straightened then froze in mid-motion. Warm panting breaths caressed the base of her neck. Her own breath suspended in her throat. Without moving her head, she shifted her stare to the right.

Two very large brown paws gripped the back of the bench.

“Bear!” Britt jumped to her feet. Her coat and cold coffee flew into the air in a tangled dance. With a racing pulse, she spun to see the vicious beast before her impending death. The image of a man doubled-over at the waist turned her panic quickly to anger. Beside the laughing man sat the dog she had mistaken for a bear.

“You arrogant jerk! How dare you laugh when your beast of a dog scared the life out of me.”

Review

This is a light and clean romance but humor peppered throughout and a little tension between a few characters….basically a really good story!

I was in the mood for something light and this fit the bill perfectly.  Britt is a frustrated event planner who has taken a week off to coordinate her best friend’s wedding.  Ryan is unlucky in love, mostly due to his chocolate lab Hershey that doesn’t seem to like the women he dates.  Dogs are smart and Hershey isn’t going to let Ryan date the wrong woman.  And when Hershey senses Britt from across the park, he knows that she is the one for Ryan.  Of course Britt isn’t too sure about all of this but who could blame her for falling in love with Hershey…and Ryan.

There are a few twists such as who Ryan is related to in the story (can’t divulge too much because it is quite interesting how things come about).  There are some ups and downs in their relationship, but it all works out as it should (and if the book didn’t end this way it wouldn’t be a romance!)

If you like dogs and romance, check this book out.  We give it 4 1/2 paws up

About the Author

Darlene resides on the East Coast of Canada with her husband, daughter, and Yellow Lab. When not working on her next book, she enjoys spending time with her family. An avid reader since childhood, Darlene loves to develop the many stories swimming in her head. She writes heartwarming contemporary romances with a focus on plot-driven page-turners.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Pinterest * Goodreads

Release Blitz

Porn Money and Wannabe Mummy 

Release date: 23rd March 

Synopsis

Author info

Laura Barnard lives in Hertfordshire, UK and writes romantic comedy or ‘chick lit’ as its so often described. In her spare time she enjoys drinking her body weight in tea, indulging in cupcakes the size of her face and drooling over hunks like Jamie Dornan, Ryan Gosling and Leo Dicaprio.

She enjoys wearing yoga pants and reading fitness magazines while sitting on the sofa eating chocolate. She’s a real fan of the power nap and of course READING!

She writes not to get rich or famous, but because she LOVES writing. Even if one person tells her they enjoyed her book it makes the midnight typing worth it!

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Giveaway

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Hosted by Two Ordinary Girls and their Books 

Synopsis

Breakup Doctor Brook Ogden has spent the last year sifting through the fallout from the disastrous decision that led to her unconscious uncoupling with boyfriend Ben Garrett. Despite advising her clients you can’t be friends with an ex, she and Ben have somehow begun to stitch together a friendship—one Brook hopes is slowly turning into more. That is, until Ben introduces his new girlfriend, Perfect Pamela, a paragon of womanly virtues who is everything Brook is not.

While Brook navigates her newly volatile emotional life, an unwelcome surprise shows up on her doorstep: the ex-fiancé who broke her heart two years ago—one month before their wedding. Between her ex’s desire to rekindle their attachment, her best friend Sasha’s unexpected crisis, and her own unsquelchable feelings for Ben, Brook finds herself questioning the personal progress she’s made in the last two years—and threatened with the highest-stakes Breakup Doctor failures she’s ever faced.

Review

The 3rd book in the series and I think I like this one the best so far. I feel like there was great advice given by the Breakup Doctor that we could all take to heart in our own lives, and at the same time she could apply this to her own life – once she realized it!

There are some fun twists – the return of the fiance that dumped her, some news with Sasha and Stu and even with her parents.

This book just felt real to me…not that the others didn’t, but this one more so!

Loved the book and am giving it 5 paws up.

THE BREAKUP DOCTOR (Breakup Doctor series book 1):

Out-of-work therapist Brook Ogden has found her calling as the Breakup Doctor: giving her always-on-the-ball relationship advice to help clients shape up after a break up.

But when her own boyfriend dumps her – by text message – she finds herself spectacularly breaking every one of her own rules.

As her increasingly out-of-control behavior lands her at rock-bottom, Brook realizes you can’t always handle a messy breakup neatly – and that sometimes you can’t pull yourself together until you let yourself fall apart.

Amazon * B&N * Kobo * iTunes

BEDSIDE MANNERS (Breakup Doctor book 2):

Brook Ogden has never encountered a broken heart she couldn’t patch together. Her counseling practice as the Breakup Doctor—on call to help you shape up after a breakup—is so busy she’s expanded to offer group sessions. (Turns out there are far more than fifty ways to leave your lover.) Her radio show and advice column have made her a local celebrity, and even her personal life, after some gruesome breakups of her own, is in recovery: Ben Garrett started out as a revenge date against an ex, but has turned into so much more.

But when sizzling-hot Chip Santana, an old client she once shared a rather unprofessional midnight roll in the sand with, comes back into her life asking for her help, Brook can’t say no. Yet while she’s busy stitching up his relationship troubles, Chip reveals much more than a therapeutic interest in her.

In the standoff between her heart and her hormones, Brook’s cool, collected Wise Therapist persona begins to crack like thrown wedding china. She’s yelling at recalcitrant cheating husbands. Offering crazy advice to radio callers. She’s even hugging her clients.

When the situation goes critical, Brook’s forced into a decision she isn’t ready to make—and the Breakup Doctor has to decide what kind of casualties she’s willing to accept.

About the Author

Phoebe Fox has been a contributor and regular columnist for a number of national, regional, and local publications; a movie, theater, and book reviewer; a screenwriter; and has even been known to help with homework revisions for nieces and nephews. She lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband and two excellent dogs.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Goodreads

Synopsis

Readers first met sassy Kimberly Long in Blogger Girl, and now the feisty New Yorker is back in a sequel packed with quick wit, friendship, heartache, and, of course, romance.

Kim runs the most popular chick lit book blog on the web, loves playing house with her sexy lawyer boyfriend, Nicholas, and is finally pursuing her lifelong dream to become a published author. At first glance, her life is five-pink-champagne-flutes worthy.

But is there more to the story than meets the eye

After hearing the phrase “chick lit is dead” more times than she’s read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim is driven to desperate measures, seeking advice from up-and-coming chick lit author, Hannah Marshak, her high school nemesis and resident “mean girl.” As if Kim doesn’t have enough on her plate balancing her secretarial duties with her blog Pastel Is the New Black, shrugging off the growing pile of agent rejections, and keeping her best friend from turning green over Kim’s budding friendship with Hannah, Nicholas is so blinded by his career ambitions, he doesn’t see that their home sweet home could use more than a dash of sugar.

This is the year when all of Kim’s dreams—professional and romantic—are supposed to come true, but will the story have a happily ever after, or will Kim end up unpublished and all alone?

This novel can be read as a sequel or as a standalone and is best accompanied by a cocktail, preferably a pink one.

Read an Excerpt here

Review

This is the follow up story to Blogger Girl and I thought it was just as enjoyable. I know that I like reading about another blogger (even if fictional) and what she goes through with her book blog. Of course in this book, she has her man and now her dreams of becoming a published author are more to the forefront of her life.

Of course not everything is rosy – her boyfriend is working more and more and she sees him less and less, plus of course the usual problems – Hannah, her high school nemesis, and Daneen, her work nemesis.

I don’t remember all of Blogger Girl, but this book has some cursing and F bombs (BG may have, just don’t remember!) but not so much that it detracts from the story line. I like the conflict between Kimberly and Nicholas and how that plays out for the reader. And even her conflict with Hannah has Kimberly growing up and being more of an adult.

Enjoyable and a good read!  We give it 4 paws up.

About the Author

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related e-mails way more than she was probably supposed to. After trying her hand penning children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling write chick lit and contemporary women’s fiction. She secures much inspiration from her day job as a hardworking trademark paralegal and her still-single status. Meredith is also the co-founder of Bookbuzz, a live author/reader event held annually. She is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. Novelista Girl is Meredith’s fifth novel.

Website * Twitter * Facebook * Amazon

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Death of a Brooklyn Landlord: A Lorraine McDuffy Mystery
Suspense – Woman Sleuths
Self Published
Publication Date: December 23, 2015
Print Length: 319 pages
ASIN: B017KORLJG

Synopsis

A Mystery, A Kidnapping, A Missing Mom … The First Book in a NEW Spinoff Series!

When newly widowed Lorraine McDuffy gets a call in the middle of the night, it’s not the ghost of her dead husband on the line, but the trembling voice of an old flame, Frank Rizzo, a local butcher. He’s found the battered body of rent-gouging Brooklyn landlord Viktor Charnov. Felled by blunt trauma to the back of his head, the victim lies in the fetal position in the back of Frank’s shop, a pork chop clenched between his teeth. The distraught butcher asks Lorraine to investigate.

As the story moves through the entangled web left behind by the landlord’s evil dealings, Lorraine searches for Viktor’s estranged wife as well as a missing teen with ties to the landlord, believed to have jumped in despair from the Brooklyn Bridge two months earlier. Along the way, Lorraine spars with Detective First Grade Jane Templeton and cares for the victim’s ten-year-old son, baseball-loving Joey Charnov, while she searches for his mother. And despite her guilt, Lorraine and Frank deepen their relationship in fits and starts.

If you’re a fan of Fina Fitzgibbons and her crew, you’ll recognize the main characters in this new series—Lorraine McDuffy, Fina’s mother-in-law and protagonist in charge of the Fina Fitzgibbons Detective Agency while Fina and Denny are on their honeymoon; detectives Jane Templeton and Willoughby, her partner Minnie, admin assistant at Lucy’s and now taking on a greater role in the agency; Cookie and her husband, Clancy; and a newcomer, Fina’s estranged father, Paddy Fitzgibbons, who creates his own boozy havoc as he tangles with Lorraine and Cookie.

About the Author

Susan Russo Anderson is a writer, a mother, a member of Sisters in Crime, a graduate of Marquette University. She’s taught language arts and creative writing, worked for a publisher, an airline, an opera company. Like Faulkner’s Dilsey, she’s seen the best and the worst, the first and the last. Through it all, and to understand it somewhat, she writes. Too Quiet in Brooklyn, the first book in the Fina Fitzgibbons Brooklyn mystery series, published December 2013. The second book in the series, Missing Brandy, about a missing teen, published September 2014, and Whiskey’s Gone, about the abduction of a single mom, completes a trilogy. The working title of the fourth is Dead in Brooklyn.

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Synopsis

Tears of grief dilute magical Spring waters…

Hope Springs has a secret–the waters mysteriously uplift the spirits of whoever drinks them. When the town’s young men depart to fight in WWII, tragedy strikes. Grief dilutes the waters unique effects, and hiding the village away from the world may provide shelter from the pain—but at what cost? Preoccupied with honoring their loved ones’ memories, five shattered women struggle to gather strength to overcome their loss, and find hope again.

Liv Soderlund, at the precipice of adulthood, is safe within Hope Springs, but longs for change. When news of the war comes, she revels in the excitement of new possibilities. It all comes crashing down once reports of fallen servicemen reach them. Angry, she comes up with the idea which could protect the town from further hurt. At the promise of a new love, can she let the past go?

Maxine Fiekens, a young bride who has had to handle adult responsibilities too soon, sends her husband off to war while she remains behind tending the village store. She’s the first to get word from the battlefront. Can she go on in the throes of unending sorrow?

Ruth Ackerman refuses to have a rushed wedding to her fiancé so waves him good-bye at the train station and spends her days planning her dream occasion. When she also receives heartbreaking news, she rejects the notion of being stuck in a town filled with grieving women and heads off to California where she strives for her dreams.

Susie Bracht dreams of leaving the village to further her education, but when the Korean Conflict breaks out, her brother and her boyfriend run off to be heroes. Her life is put on hold as she waits.

Anna Frolander, a woman who already saw the devastation war can bring, sends two sons to the frontlines in WWII then another runs off to the Korean War. Sunk into a deep depression, will she climb out of the abyss?

Some battles of war are fought on the Homefront by those left behind.

About the Author

Tamara Eaton is a “western woman.” She divides her time between Nevada, New Mexico and South Dakota where she and her love spend their summers renovating an old school. Wide open spaces of the desert and prairie are often portrayed in her work.

A former secondary English teacher, she grabbed the opportunity to create her stories after she left the classroom. When not writing, she works with other writers editing and polishing their stories and poems.

Weeping Women Springs is her first full length novel.

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Synopsis

“How’s Simon? What’s he up to? When’s he coming back to LA?”

Blah, blah, blah. I mean, come on, give me a break, this wasn’t really what I wanted to hear right now. Duh! I was his girlfriend, wouldn’t you think I was missing him? Maybe I didn’t want to go there, especially on New Year’s Eve! Wise up, people!

Sylvie is a trendy, LA party girl with more going on than she knows what to do with. Between apartment hunting, insane friends, a rapidly growing puppy, and one too many boys to juggle, she’s just trying to catch her breath. Will the craziness overwhelm her, or will she find a better path to move forward? Draw a bath, pour some bubbly, and join her as she tries not to Lose the Plot.

About the Author

Sonia was born and raised in Southern California, living most of her life in Hollywood. Her mother was French, so as a result, her summers were happily spent traveling between Paris and Cannes. She eventually developed a love for all things European and returned to live in London as a young adult.

Losing the Plot in LA is Sonia’s first novel. She currently lives by the sea in San Clemente, California with her dog, Holly, and is working on her second novel.

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Good at Games by Jill Mansell

Release date: January 5, 2016
ISBN: 9781492604501
Published by Sourcebooks Landmark

Synopsis

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Mansell captivates with a madcap tale of the games lovers play.

Who will make the next move?

How does one become accidentally engaged? That’s what Suzy Curtis thinks when she suddenly finds herself very publicly engaged to handsome Harry Fitzallan, local town hero. Harry wants famous rock star Jaz to be his best man—only he’s Suzy’s ex-husband and a recovering alcoholic. Suzy’s half sister Lucille loves getting to know the family she’d never met, but she can’t help her attraction to Jaz, nor can Suzy quash her entirely inappropriate feelings for Leo, Harry’s engaged brother!

With all these wild players at the table, mayhem is bound to ensue. As each new piece comes into play, everyone has more to lose, and the only way to win is if you’re good at the games of love…

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * BAM * Kobo * Indie Bound

Excerpt

Could there possibly be anything nicer in the world than a Curly Wurly?

Alone in the office, Suzy lovingly peeled off the wrapper and admired the dappled chocolate covering. Then she bit into it, her teeth sinking through the toffee, her head twisting from side to side in order to bite off that first heavenly mouthful…oh, and they were sooo much better straight from the fridge…

“Ahem.”

Suzy’s eyes snapped open and she spun around guiltily. Damn, she’d been so carried away she hadn’t even heard the door open and close behind her.

And, double damn, it had to be Leo Fitzallan.

“Mmff…shorry…mmergh…”

“Bitten off more than you can chew?” inquired Leo with a slight smile.

Suzy’s mouth was full—OK, overfull—and the toffee was welding itself to her teeth like quick-setting cement. Waving her hand apologetically, praying the melted chocolate wasn’t about to spill out and dribble attractively down her chin, she chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed, threw the rest of the Curly Wurly onto her desk and chewed and swallowed again.

Oh dear, not at all like the girl in the Cadbury’s Flake ad. In fact, more like Waynetta Slob guzzling a pizza.

“Sorry,” said Leo. “I obviously interrupted a special private moment.”

And swallowed again.

Hooray, didn’t even dribble!

“There.” Suzy executed a quick curtsy. “All gone. Now, how can I help you?”

He was wearing Givenchy aftershave—none of your Tommy Hilfigers or Calvin Kleins for Leo Fitzallan, thank you very much—and an expensively cut dark suit. Suzy wondered if he had chosen the bottle-green shirt and blue and amber tie himself, or whether Gabriella had picked them out for him.

Probably Gabriella. A man who drove a gray Volvo would never be that adventurous. And the dark blue in the tie exactly matched his eyes.

Definitely Gabriella.

“I thought maybe we should call a truce,” said Leo. “How does that sound to you?”

Blimey, Suzy thought, like a miracle. Quick, give the man a bottle of water and see if he can turn it into Chardonnay.

Aloud she said, “So what’s brought this on?”

“My brother’s happy with you. By Christmas you and I’ll be related. The last thing I want is a family feud. Easier all around if we bury the hatchet now,” Leo said easily. “Put the bickering behind us. What d’you say?”

He was even more attractive, Suzy realized, when he was in a good mood. During the last few days all he’d seemed to do was scowl, sneer, and generally radiate disapproval, which was sexy enough in its own way, of course, but it really was amazing the difference a few laughter lines could make.

“I agree.” Her mouth curled up at the corners. “That’s it then. From now on we’re going to be completely lovely to each other. And I’ll just have to find someone else to bicker with.”

“So long as it isn’t Harry,” said Leo.

“Harry isn’t the bickering kind.” Suzy smiled sunnily at him and perched on the edge of her desk. “This feels quite weird, actually. I’m not sure what we’re supposed to do now. If this were Friends we’d be giving each other a group hug.”

For a split second something indefinable flickered in Leo’s eyes. The next moment it had gone. He pushed his fingers through his ultra-straight dark hair, heaved a sigh and shrugged as if searching for inspiration.

About the Author

With over 10 million copies sold, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jill Mansell writes irresistible and funny, poignant and romantic tales for women in the tradition of Marian Keyes, Sophie Kinsella and Jojo Moyes. She lives with her partner and their children in Bristol, England.

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Giveaway

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Synopsis

Readers first met sassy Kimberly Long in Blogger Girl, and now the feisty New Yorker is back in a sequel packed with quick wit, friendship, heartache, and, of course, romance.

Kim runs the most popular chick lit book blog on the web, loves playing house with her sexy lawyer boyfriend, Nicholas, and is finally pursuing her lifelong dream to become a published author. At first glance, her life is five-pink-champagne-flutes worthy.

But is there more to the story than meets the eye

After hearing the phrase “chick lit is dead” more times than she’s read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim is driven to desperate measures, seeking advice from up-and-coming chick lit author, Hannah Marshak, her high school nemesis and resident “mean girl.” As if Kim doesn’t have enough on her plate balancing her secretarial duties with her blog Pastel Is the New Black, shrugging off the growing pile of agent rejections, and keeping her best friend from turning green over Kim’s budding friendship with Hannah, Nicholas is so blinded by his career ambitions, he doesn’t see that their home sweet home could use more than a dash of sugar.

This is the year when all of Kim’s dreams—professional and romantic—are supposed to come true, but will the story have a happily ever after, or will Kim end up unpublished and all alone?

This novel can be read as a sequel or as a standalone and is best accompanied by a cocktail, preferably a pink one.

Excerpt

CHAPTER ONE

To: KimMLong@gmail.com

From: Libby_Knox@Knoxliterary.com

Subject: Re: Query—A Blogger’s Life

Dear Ms. Long,

Thank you for your interest in Knox Literary. While I found the premise of A Blogger’s Life interesting, I’m afraid I wasn’t sufficiently intrigued to ask for more at this time. Because this business is so subjective, and opinions vary widely, we encourage you to query other agents.

After all, it only takes one.

Best of luck on your journey to publication.

Libby Knox

Knox Literary

I let out a deflated sigh before resting my head on my boyfriend Nicholas’s shoulder. It was a Sunday afternoon, and after a late lunch, we had come back to my place to watch television. Well, I was watching television—a romantic movie on the Hallmark Channel. Nicholas was doing work. As the in-house attorney for a cosmetics company, he often took work home with him.

Nicholas stopped typing furiously on his laptop. “What’s the matter, Kimmie?”

With my eyes closed, I responded, “I got another rejection from an agent.” Making it fourteen rejections in total for my chick lit novel, A Blogger’s Life. When I finally gathered the courage to write a novel—a complete manuscript with a beginning, middle, and an end, as opposed to a partial story that I shoved in the back of my closet unfinished—I knew the journey to publication would be difficult. Now, I was thinking “impossible” was a more befitting adjective.

Giving my hand a gentle squeeze, Nicholas said, “I’m sorry.”

I opened my eyes and sat up. “Me, too.”

“It’s just one agent. Did you know Kathryn Stockett received sixty rejections of The Help before she got an agent?”

I jerked my head back in surprise. “I did know that. How did you know that?”

Nicholas smiled. “I did some research after your last rejection.”

I kissed his cheek and ran my palm up against his ever-present five o’clock shadow. “How nice of you.”

“I’m a nice guy.” Nicholas paused for a beat. “For a player, that is.”

When I first met Nicholas a little over a year ago, he was an attorney at the New York City firm where I worked (and still work) as a legal secretary. He was single, successful, hot, and flirtatious. Naturally, I assumed he was a player when we first hooked up. Either that, or out of my league. What would someone with his credentials want with me—a measly legal secretary with a nice rack? When Nicholas gently suggested my dreams might extend beyond book blogging to book writing, I worried maybe he was the one who wanted me to be a writer so I would be “good enough” to hang with all of his successful friends. I was blinded by my insecurity, but after some soul-searching, I concluded he was right, and I was wrong—something he enjoyed reminding me of on a regular basis. It had been almost six months since our reconciliation, and sometimes I still had to pinch myself to confirm that the guy I adored—the one who not only caused my knees to go weak and the butterflies to dance in my belly whenever he touched me, but also made me laugh and encouraged my dream to be a published author—was equally crazy about me. I was in love big time but too chicken to be the first to say the words.

I playfully punched his arm. “Are you ever gonna let that go?”

Nicholas flashed me a sexy grin. “Not likely.”

I shook my head in mock annoyance. Inching closer to him on my love seat, I draped one of my legs over his and sighed. “Maybe I should have tried to publish Read My Mind first.” A Blogger’s Life was technically my second novel. I had given up writing Read My Mind in high school only to pick it up and finally finish it ten years later. Although Read My Mind was the novel that qualified me as a “finisher,” I ultimately decided to shelve it and pursue A Blogger’s Life instead.

Crinkling his brow, Nicholas asked, “I thought you said this one was much better.”

Rubbing the opal pendant on my necklace, I said, “Do you not think so?”

Nicholas shook his head. “I can’t say. I haven’t started reading it yet.” Probably noticing my face drop, he added, “I promise I will soon.”

“It is better, but apparently, chick lit is dead among traditional publishers unless you’re an established author in the genre. Young adult paranormal, on the other hand, is hot.”

“Considering how many fans Pastel Is the New Black has, I’d say chick lit is pretty hot, too.” Patting my knee, he added, “Almost as hot as its founder.”

Nicholas was correct that my book blog, Pastel Is the New Black, had thousands of followers. Unfortunately for me, none of those fans were literary agents as far as I knew. “Why couldn’t I have written A Blogger’s Life ten years ago when chick lit was on fire?” I whined. Considering I didn’t even know what a blog was when I was nineteen, it was a rhetorical question.

“It is what it is, Kimmie.” Nicholas ran one hand along my thigh and then slowly up to the zipper on my black skinny jeans. “Anything I can do to make you feel better?” he asked.

“You can try, but it will be hard.”

Placing my hand over his crotch, he said, “It’s very hard, but you’re worth it.”

There was nothing I wanted more—besides an offer for agent representation—than to get down and dirty with Nicholas right then and there, but I was so behind on book reviews for my blog. I also wanted to make some revisions to my agent query letter based on suggestions from one of my author friends. And I knew Nicholas was swamped, too. I decided a compromise was in order. “How about we do it in an hour?”

Nicholas frowned and tugged at my zipper. “But I want to do it now,” he said, adopting the bratty entitled voice of Veruca Salt from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.

Sliding away from him, I said, “It’s called delayed gratification. You should try it.”

Nicholas got up from the couch and stood in front of me. Extending his hand, he said, “You don’t want to make my brown eyes blue? Do you, Kimmie?” He frowned, drawing my eyes to his full and completely bitable lower lip.

I couldn’t help but smile. “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue” had become “our” song the night we got back together. I sang it to him at karaoke in a grand gesture when my two best friends, Bridget and Caroline, dared me to stop moping about and write my own happy ending.

I reached for Nicholas’s hand and allowed him to pull me to a standing position. “I don’t want anything of yours to be blue,” I said as my eyes dropped down to his groin.

Leading me to my bedroom, he said, “That makes two of us.”

As promised, Nicholas made me feel better. He had mad skills. But even as I writhed in ecstasy beneath him, I wondered if my fifteenth rejection letter had already landed in my in-box.

About the Author

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related e-mails way more than she was probably supposed to. After trying her hand penning children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling write chick lit and contemporary women’s fiction. She secures much inspiration from her day job as a hardworking trademark paralegal and her still-single status. Meredith is also the co-founder of Bookbuzz, a live author/reader event held annually. She is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner. Novelista Girl is Meredith’s fifth novel.

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