Category: blogging

About the Book

Title: Half Empty

Author: Catherine Bybee

Release Date: July 31, 2018

Publisher: Montlake Romance

Summary

Trina Petrov’s marriage-by-contract was only meant to be temporary. But when tragedy strikes, Trina is left one of the wealthiest women in the world. To recover from the shock, she takes some time off in Italy, swearing not to fall for any men while there. But that doesn’t mean she can’t fall for anyone on the trip home . . .

Country-music superstar Wade Thomas is lying low in a hotel bar when he gets the cold shoulder from the woman next to him. He’s used to fans fawning at his boots, and Trina is a refreshing change—so is the fact that she has no idea who he is.

As things begin to heat up, Trina discovers that the circumstances of her late husband’s death are not what they seemed. Now she’s in trouble, and Wade isn’t about to let her out of his sight. Getting close to love and danger could get them killed . . . or it could sweep them both off their feet.

About the Author

New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling author Catherine Bybee has written twenty-eight books that have collectively sold more than 4.5 million copies and have been translated into more than a dozen languages. Raised in Washington State, Bybee moved to Southern California in the hope of becoming a movie star. After growing bored with waiting tables, she returned to school and became a registered nurse, spending most of her career in urban emergency rooms. She now writes full-time and has penned the Not Quite series, the Weekday Brides series, the Most Likely To series, and the First Wives series.

Social Media Links

Website: http://www.catherinebybee.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCatherineBybee

Twitter: https://twitter.com/catherinebybee

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2905789.Catherine_Bybee

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They closed the bar and took their last round to the hotel lobby.

Wade had to admit he was a bit more than tipsy, and Trina wasn’t exactly sober. She’d tucked her feet under her on the lobby sofa as she described Venice in a way that made him want to visit.

“There isn’t one car?” he asked.

“No place for them. You only get around on foot or boat. Which is probably best to help counter the pasta you consume while you’re there.”

“So why did you pick Venice?”

Her eyes drifted away, something Wade had noticed happened a lot when she was lost in thought. A hint of sorrow quickly came and went, almost as if she caught herself. The smile she flashed felt forced. “I wanted isolation so I could study.”

“Study?” She rattled off something that went completely over his head.

Her dark brown eyes glistened with her smile. “I’m learning Italian.”

Wade blew out a breath. “Oh, thank God. I thought maybe that last beer was one too many.”

“I like languages.”

“As in many?”

“A few.”

He was happy to speak English. “I’m impressed.”

“Don’t be. Most Europeans are fluent in a minimum of two languages.”

“Are you from Europe?”

“No. Born and raised in Southern California. My grandparents on my mother’s side are from Mexico. Spanish was always spoken in our home.”

“So you speak Spanish as well?” He squirmed in his chair.

“Yup.”

“Now I’m feelin’ a bit inferior.”

“Language is my hidden talent,” she said.

“So how did you end up in Texas?”

Her gaze met his before she wrinkled her nose and gave a quick shake of the head. “It’s a long story.”

“Which is your way of saying don’t pry.”

She stretched out her arms. “It’s my way of saying that we’ve had a pleasant conversation, and bringing up my recent move will change all that. I’d just as soon keep this light.”

Wade wasn’t expecting her reply. “Now you’ve piqued my interest.”

“Another time,” she said.

He offered a smile that usually had women crawling all over him. “Am I going to have that chance?”

“Chance for what?”

“Another conversation.”

Her eyes bored into him as if he wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed. “I told you, I’m not interested.”

He lifted one eyebrow, flashed a dimple. “What if I told you I was rich?”

She burst out in laughter.

His smile fell.

“Sorry…” She appeared to pull in her mirth. “You’re gonna have to do better than money.”

“Good lord, woman.”

“Sorry.”

He scratched his head. “I’m famous.”

She bit her lip. “That explains the arrogance.”

Wade placed a hand on his wounded chest. “I am not.”

Trina tossed her head back, and her deep laugh filled the empty lobby. “My name is Wade Thomas, you don’t know who I am?” Her mimicry of him was off by several octaves.

Her laughter tickled his gut.

“I can teach you the two-step.”

She pinched her lips together, trying to contain herself.

His pride was starting to dim.

“I’m not bad looking.”

She looked him up and down … twice. “I’ll give you that.”

He lifted both hands in the air. “Finally.”

For the span of a full minute, she stared. Her smile slowly started to fall, and he knew she was talking herself out of dating him.

“Tell you what. I’m flying home tomorrow. Private charter, because I’m rich, famous, and arrogant.” He moaned on that last word.

“And good-looking.”

Now they were getting somewhere.

“I can give you a lift home.”

Trina blew out a breath. “I’m avoiding going home,” she reminded him.

“And I was thinking I needed a quick stop in Nassau … where the plane might not be able to leave right away. That tropical depressed storm and all.”

She pointed a finger in his direction. “I like the way you think.”

Title: The Bookshop Detective (The Bookshop by the Sea series)

Publisher: Waverley Books

Publication Date: May 2017

Formats: Kindle and Paperback

ISBN: 978-1849344456

Genre: Contemporary women’s fiction/humour/mystery

Page Count: 256

Buy Links:

Kindle – https://amzn.to/2KLTNqO
Paperback – https://amzn.to/2KwD7Ew

When a ghost ship is spotted on the horizon one spring evening, bookseller Eleanor Mace decides to investigate the myths and legends of Combemouth, the seaside town where she runs The Reading Room. As Eleanor digs deeper into the town’s history, she becomes intrigued by a Victorian crime report and is determined to find out what happened to a boy at the centre the case – one with intriguing links to the present.

As Eleanor begins to uncover the truth – aided by the vicar but somewhat stalled by the local librarian – she has an unexpected challenge on her own horizon. Daniel – her husband of six months – is determined that they give up their separate homes and find a new place together. But Eleanor adores her cottage by the sea and resists, guaranteeing that things turn a little frosty as the summer begins.

A celebrity book launch, an exploding dress and some salsa-dancing pensioners make this a mystery with a difference.

Author Bio

Jan Ellis began writing fiction by accident in 2013. Until then, she had led a blameless life as a publisher, editor and historian of early modern Spain. She fell into fiction when a digital publisher approached her to write a history book, then made the mistake of mentioning women’s fiction, which sounded much more fun.

In 2017, her four e-novellas were published in paperback by Waverley Books who also commissioned a brand-new title, The Bookshop Detective.

Jan describes her books as romcom/mystery with the emphasis firmly on family, friendship and humour. She specialises in small-town settings, with realistic characters who range in age from young teens to 80-somethings.

As well as being an author, Jan continues to work at the heart of the book trade. Jan Ellis is a nom-de-plume.

Website: www.janelliswriter.com

See also Stellar Scribes website: https://stellarscribes5.wixsite.com/stellarscribes

Facebook: Jan Ellis (Writer)

Instagram (even if I don’t know how it works…)

https://www.instagram.com/jan_ellis_writer/

Events:

I chaired a ‘romcom’ panel at WestonLitFest this spring (and have been invited back for 2019) and have also spoken at Tiverton Literary Festival. Thanks to The Bookshop Detective, I was part of a crime and mystery evening at The Big Green Bookshop in North London with best-selling authors Lisa Cutts, Simon Booker and William Shaw. In October 2018, I will again be talking about the book at the Yeovil Literary Festival.

I’m a member of ‘Stellar Scribes‘ and together we speak at libraries and run creative writing workshops. I’ve also appeared in the local press and spoken on the radio about my books which, at their core, are about family, friendship and the humour inherent in everyday life.

My paperbacks are widely available from libraries, and Waterstones currently stock them in five of their South West branches. I’ve also been lucky enough to earn shelf space on the shelves of independent bookshops across the country.

When I’m not being Jan Ellis, I do sales and marketing for part of the Booksellers Association of the UK and Ireland (BA) and I’m a non-fiction publisher by trade, which means that I’ve been attending the London and Frankfurt Book Fairs for more years than I care to remember…

Other paperback titles:

An Unexpected Affair and A Summer of Surprises (no. 1 in The Bookshop by the Sea series)

French Kisses and A London Affair

The  Bookshop  Detective by  Jan Ellis – Extract  for Cindy’s Love of Books.  

 Six  months  into their  marriage, bookseller  Eleanor and her husband  Daniel have still  not moved  in together.  Dan’s ex-­‐wife  Freya is always ready  to stir things up…

 Extract  from Chapter  8 A Blast from  the Past

Jogging  down the  hill the thought  nagged at him that  his first marriage had  failed and  his second  was not going  as smoothly as he  would have wished. How  committed  was Eleanor  if she didn’t  want to set up  home with him?

He had  reached the  end of the path  where it joined the  main street when he bumped  into Freya  looking cool  and elegant in  a pale blue dress,  a pair of outsize sunglasses  perched on her  head.

  “Well  hello, Dan.  And where are  you going in such  a hurry?”

  “It’s  called jogging,  and I’m going home  if you must know.”

  Freya  arched a  slender eyebrow  in a subtle gesture  that managed to convey  amusement,  curiosity and  a tiny bit of  disdain. “And where  is home these days?”  

  Daniel  stood with  his hands on  his hips panting  slightly. He nodded  towards the  sea front  and the bright  red door of his  house. It was known  as The Widows’ House  because  of the two  women who had  lived there before  him. “You know perfectly  well where  I live,” he  said, immediately  angry with himself  for falling into  Freya’s  trap.

  “With  Edwina?”  

  The  infuriating  woman always  knew how to push  his buttons for maximum  effect.  “My wife’s  name is Eleanor.”  

  “Of  course  it is. Silly  me.” Freya smiled.  “It’s odd, but I could  have sworn I saw you  coming  out of the  bookshop cottage  with bags of clothes  the other morning.  Don’t  tell me  you still  haven’t persuaded  Eleanor to move in  with you.” She laughed  outright.  “Or has your  snoring grown so  bad she makes you  sleep half a mile  away?”  

Daniel  could feel  the pressure  building at the  base of his skull,  partly as a result  of pounding  down the road  and partly from  being put on the  spot. It felt as though  he’d been  caught out,  even though he  and Eleanor made  no secret of their  unconventional  living arrangements.    

   “Why  the hell  do you care  who I live with  and where?”

  “Oh,  idle curiosity.”  

  “Well,  it’s none  of your damn  business. Now, if  you don’t mind, I’ve  got work to  do.”  And with  that he turned  and ran towards his  house, furious with himself  for  losing  his temper  when they both  knew that Freya only  had to ask their daughter  Emily what  Daniel’s living  arrangements were.  Freya had played him  for  a fool,  yet again.      

Once  at the  house, he  stomped angrily  around the kitchen  ruing the day he had  let her  take their  very expensive  coffee maker. He  had bought the damn  thing  for her  birthday only  a few months before  their marriage broke up  and, yes, he  could  quite easily  afford to buy  a new one but it  rankled nonetheless.   

  He made  himself a  cup of nasty  instant coffee and  headed for the shower  where  he hoped  a blast of  cold water would  help push Freya’s face  from his mind. But  it was  not to be.  Even though they  ran into each other  fairly regularly, Dan’s  heart  always missed  a beat when he  saw Freya’s familiar  figure in the distance,  a leather  folder of  architect’s plans  under one arm.  It had  not been  his idea to  divorce and the  pain of dividing up  ‘stuff’ had been hard,  but nowhere  near as hard  as wrenching Freya  from his heart. She  was his first  love and  her abandonment  had left him hurt  and angry.

When  they separated,  Daniel told her to  take whatever she wanted  from the cliff-­‐top  house they had  designed together,  a decision he regretted  when she emptied  the kitchen  of all their  best knives and  gadgets.

Freya  really was  the most infuriating  woman Daniel knew, yet  he couldn’t help  feeling  proud of  what she’d  achieved professionally.  Since their separation, she  had gone  from strength  to strength and  he had almost grown  used to seeing her  name in  the tabloids  as the ‘wacky’  architect responsible  for the latest startling  development.  

Daniel  picked up  the mug of  cold coffee and  swished it angrily  down the sink.

Pushing  the wet hair  from his face he  examined his face in  the bathroom mirror.

“When  will you  ever get the  hang of women?”  he asked his reflection.  The face in the  mirror  had no answer.    

[Ends]  

Opposites Attract: Character Questionnaire from Second Time Around by Nancy Herkness 

Today it is a pleasure to introduce Will Chase and Kyra Dixon to readers! The hero and heroine are from Nancy Herkness’ newest release Second Time Around and the title of the story certainly is inspired by the characters’ story. The ‘first time around’ for this couple was in college when Will was dating Kyra’s roommate. This evil ex cheated on Will and while Kyra longed to comfort her secret crush, but she was firmly friendzoned.

Years later in an accidental meeting in NYC, Kyra and Will are reunited–only this time sparks fly with nothing to get in the way of igniting….except the fact that Will is a little (okay, a lot) out of Kyra’s social circle. This makes interacting with his family and friends a teeny bit awkward. But while Will may have money, he is also kind, funny, hardworking, and stubborn. Too stubborn in fact to let a little bit of status stand in the way of him and the woman he wants.

However, we have to ask: Just how different are these two characters really? Read on for a questionnaire where we find out if Will and Kyra are true opposites or if they are more alike than they realize.

***

Question #1: What can you tell us about your favorite childhood memory?

Kyra: My father worked at the Mack Truck factory so he was very wiry and muscular, even though he was short in stature. When I was a child, he would toss me up in the air and catch me. I’ll never forget feeling the strength of his hands wrapped around my waist as he boosted me up, the sense of exhilaration as I flew through the air, and the security of knowing with absolute certainty that his steely, powerful arms would be waiting for me when I came down.

Will: My parents’ house had a two story library with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and ladders on rails to reach them. It seemed like a magic cave filled with treasure to me. Once I convinced them that I would treat the books and the room with respect, they allowed me free run of it. I spent many a happy hour deciding which book to read and then stretching out on the Oriental rug to read it. Sometimes I even walked in merely to smell the scent of books waiting to be read.

Question #2: When you were growing up what types of activities did you enjoy?

Kyra: I was a voracious reader, and loved going to the public library where the librarians would set aside books they thought I would like. However, my favorite time spent there was wandering among the shelves until a book called out to me. Ice skating and riding my bike got me outdoors when Mom decided I’d spent too much time inside reading. Mom liked to shop, so we went “malling”, as she called it. I enjoyed that because I always got a treat.

Will: Reading was my activity of choice. However, my sister would sometimes bother me until I came to help her with her beloved horses at the stables, and I got to like that, especially because it was away from our parents. Tennis wasn’t bad. I hated sailing, which my mother forced me into. Couldn’t wait to give that up. I did the usual sports in school: soccer, lacrosse, basketball, etc. Working up a good sweat was satisfying.

Question #3: When it was time for college, how did you decide to attend Brunell college?

Kyra: I couldn’t afford to go far from home, so I stuck to schools in Pennsylvania. Brunell was the best school that offered me a good financial aid package. It also had a terrific English lit department, which was my passion. I only wish I had been able to finish my degree there.

Will: Brunell was my first flash of rebellion. Pops went to Harvard; Mum went to Princeton. I refused to apply to either of those. I wanted to study the classics and a noted authority on Homer taught at Brunell.

Question #4: What was your favorite part about college?

Kyra: Playing quote wars with Will Chase! Well, pretty much anything that had to do with Will. This smart, rich, golden boy from Connecticut was so alien that he fascinated me. Okay, so I loved the classes, too. I was pretty drunk on the whole “learning for the sake of learning” concept. The campus is gorgeous as well. All those brick buildings with white trim and vast, rolling, green lawns.

Will: The classics professor who made me choose Brunell, Dr. Weiss, was a spectacular teacher and mentor. His classes made me think and stretch and grow. Sometimes he’d hold class in his home where he always served the most delicious, sugary doughnuts from the local convenience mart. Every now and then, I still buy a box of those for nostalgia’s sake.

Question #5: What’s your career? How did you choose it?

Kyra: I didn’t exactly choose my career, if you could call it that. I needed to pay off the debt from college and my parents’ health issues and heard that bartenders at high end clubs in New York City could make a lot of money. I knew a little bit about bartending—and cooking— from working at a local restaurant in my hometown, so I packed up and moved. I also cook for the kids at the Carver After-School Care Center, which I love. But I started there only because the job offered a free apartment.

Will: I’m the CEO of Ceres, a multinational chain of cafés that I founded. I started the company because I didn’t want to join my father’s law firm, as he expected me to. Do you see a theme here? It was satisfying to battle the challenges of building a company, never knowing from day to day if it would survive or fail. Now that it’s grown so huge, I find myself restless.

Question #6: Do you have an active social life? What is a favorite date you have been on recently?

Kyra: Social life? I tend bar at night and cook for kids during the day. Who has time for a social life? I can’t remember the last time I went on a date.

Will: I’m the face of Ceres so I attend quite a few charity events, if you consider that a social life. I’m not sure I do. Between that and the hours I work, dating isn’t a priority. Not to mention, a broken engagement left a sour taste in my mouth when it comes to romance. My favorite recent charity event was held in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where I could wander through the classic Greek and Roman art exhibits without a crowd. That was an unexpected pleasure.

Question #7: What are your goals for the future? Where do you see yourself in a few years?

Kyra: My most urgent and immediate goal is to pay off my debt. Sometimes it feels like a boulder crushing me into the sidewalk. If I ever manage to do that, my aspiration is to finish my college degree in English lit and get a job as an editor at a publishing house. Hey, a girl has a right to her pipe dreams, doesn’t she?

Will: My goal is to figure out where the hell I see myself in a few years. Right now, my future looks like more of the same: long hours at work, too much business travel, attending events for PR purposes, and resisting my mother’s efforts to marry me off to one of her friends’ daughters. Not an exciting prospect.

***

Thanks Nancy for doing this.