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First Line Friday — A Novel Proposal

24 Mar

Happy Friday! It’s finally Spring here in the sunny south, but a freeze turned all of our azaleas brown. šŸ™ Boo! I’ll have to content myself with beautiful book covers šŸ˜‰ . One I am sharing today — A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter. A book with a lovely cover that I am sure is lovely inside as well. I will be posting a review in a few weeks, but first here’s the first line:

Sadie Goodwin’s literary dreams came to a shuddering halt in the middle of her favorite SoHo coffee shop.

When western novelist Sadie Goodwin must pen a romance novel to rescue her lackluster sales, thereā€™s only one tiny problem: sheā€™s never been in love.

Desperate to salvage her career, Sadie accepts an invitation to hole up at her friendā€™s beach duplex for the summer and devote herself to this confounding genre. After all, where better to witness love than on the beautiful South Carolina shore?

But Sadie soon finds many ways to procrastinate the dreaded taskā€”like getting to know the beach regulars and installing a Little Free Library on the property. She even attempts conversation with Sam Ford, the frustratingly stubborn neighbor on the other side of the duplex. But things take an unexpected turn when Sadie finds inside her library an abandoned novel with a secret compartmentā€”and a beautiful engagement ring tucked inside.

Suddenly, locating the ringā€™s owner becomes the perfect way to put off writing that romance. Sadie draws a reluctant Sam into her mission. And as the two close in on an answer to the mysterious proposal, she discovers a tender side to him. She begins to wonder if he just might make the perfect hero for her romance novelā€”or maybe even her heart.

From the bestselling author of The Convenient Groom (now a beloved Hallmark Original movie) comes a sweet and sizzling story of a romance writer surprised by her own happily ever after.

To purchase, clickĀ HERE.Ā 

Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than forty novels, three of which have been adapted into Hallmark movies. She has appeared on the The 700 Club and been featured in Southern Living and Womanā€™s World.

Denise writes heartwarming, small-town love stories, peopled with layered characters who have real-life issues. Her readers enjoy the vicarious thrill of falling in love and the promise of a happily-ever-after sigh as they savor the final pages of her books.

In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and sheā€™s been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too!

When Denise isnā€™t orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling, drinking chai lattes, hiking, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband raised three boys and are currently enjoying an empty nest and two beautiful granddaughters.

You can learn more about Denise through her website http://www.DeniseHunterBooks.com or by visiting her FaceBook page at https://www.facebook.com/authordenisehunter.

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First Line Friday — Left on Main

17 Mar

I had a fun weekend with 3 book-loving friends and a small literary festival. I enjoyed meeting so many authors and, of course, buying their books. šŸ˜‰ Crystal Jackson lives in my neck of the woods, so I just had to buy one of her books. Left on Main is set in the real town of Madison, Georgia. I love the cover of this contemporary romance and am looking forward to digging in!

Here’s the first line:

Libby Reynolds listened to the rhythmic sound of sneakers against pavement as she ran through the historic district.

Libby ReynoldsĀ is having to reboot her entire life after a sudden divorce and relocation.Ā Seth CarverĀ has let work become his whole life, becoming himself the kind ofĀ anachronism he surrounds himself with in the antique store he owns. They’ll fall together, but can their love withstand a visit from the past she’s left behind?Ā Left on MainĀ is the first in the Heart of MadisonĀ series.

Left on MainĀ isĀ Crystal Jacksonā€™s first novel in the Heart of Madison series, an ongoing southern romance set in the charming real-life town of Madison, Georgia, where she lives with her two wild and wonderful children. A former therapist turned author, her work has been featured on Medium, Elephant Journal, Elite Daily, and The Good Men Project. When sheā€™s not writing for Medium and working on her next book, you can find Crystal traveling, paddle boarding, running, throwing axes badly but with terrifying enthusiasm, hiking, doing yoga, or curled up with her nose in a book.

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First Line Friday — Next Stop, Chancey

10 Mar

Happy Friday! I attended a small literary festival last weekend and met some wonderful authors. One was Kay Dew Shostak, author of several small town series. I love a book set in a small town, and one set in one of my favorite places, the north Georgia mountains, was irresistible. I purchased the first book, Next Stop, Chancey. I’m looking forward to some fun reading. šŸ™‚

Here’s the first line:

So how did I get stuck driving with my daughter, the princess, during one of her moods?

Looking in your teenage daughter’s purse is never a good idea.Ā 

After all, it ended up with Carolina Jessup opening a Bed & Breakfast for railroad fanatics in a tiny Georgia Mountain town. Carolina knows all about, and hates, small towns. How did she end up leaving her wonderful Atlanta suburbs behind while making her husbandā€™s dreams come true?Ā 

The town bully (who wears a lavender skirt and white gloves), an endless parade of teenagers through her house, and everybody talking about a ghost have Carolina looking for an escape, or at least a way to move back home. Instead, she’s front and center for all of Chancey’s small town gossip.Ā 

Unlike back home in the suburbs with privacy fences and automatic garage doors, everybody in Chancey thinks your business is their business and they all love the newest Chancey business. The B&B hosts a Senate candidate, a tea for the County Fair Beauty contestants, and railroad nuts who sit out by the tracks and record the sound of a train going by. Yet, nobody believes Carolina prefers the ā€˜burbs.Ā 

Oh, yeah, and if you just ignore a ghost, will it go away?

After being raised in a small-town in Tennessee, Kay Dew Shostak lived around the country in a variety of settings. Taking a look at the familiar and loved from new perspectives led Kay to see, and then write about, the absurd, the beautiful, and the funny in her South.

After publishing several stories in compilation books and spending a few years in journalism, Kay wandered into writing fiction and found it hard to leave. She currently is working on the fourth book in the Chancey series and living in Fernandina Beach, Florida with her husband. 

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First Line Friday — Heirlooms

3 Mar

Happy Friday! My book club is reading Heirlooms by Sandra Byrd this month. I have already read it and LOVED it! It is dual timeline women’s fiction featuring 2 women of the 1950s and their granddaughters. Secrets were kept in the past and uncovered in the present. I am really looking forward to talking about this book!

Here’s the first line:

Helen Devries carefully removed her nurse’s cap, fluffing her platinum back-combed bouffant, crackling the Aqua Net lacquering it in place.

Answering a womanā€™s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.

After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmotherā€™s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.

Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmotherā€™s final breaths: ask Grace Kimā€”Eunheeā€™s granddaughterā€”to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothersā€™ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.

Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four womenā€”grandmothers and granddaughtersā€”intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.

The author of more than fifty books, Sandra Byrd’s work has received many awards, nominations, and accolades, including a starred review, PW Pick from Publisherā€™s Weekly, as well as multiple starred reviews and Best Book selections from Library Journal. Other awards include the Historical Novel Societyā€™s Editorā€™s Choice award, two Christy Awards nominations, a Bookpage Top Pick for Romance, and inclusion on Booklistā€™s Top Ten Inspirational Books of the Year list.

A dedicated foodie, Sandra cooks through the topic and location of every book she writes. In addition, she collects vintage glass and serve ware in her free time, loves long walks with her husband, and Sunday Suppers with her growing family.

Visit her at sandrabyrd.com or http://www.sandrabyrdbookcoach.com.

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First Line Friday — Under Fire

24 Feb

Happy Friday! Today on First Line Friday I am featuring Under Fire by must-read author Lynn H. Blackburn. The 3rd book in her Defend And Protect series promises to be a page turner. I can’t wait to get started, hopefully this weekend. It doesn’t release until March 7, 2023, but you can preorder HERE.

Here’s the first line:

US Secret Service Agent Tessa Reed was no stranger to hangovers.

USSS Special Agent Zane Thacker has landed his dream assignment protecting the president of the United States. When the president plans a fundraiser at the exclusive estate of a political supporter in Raleigh, Zane is thrilled to be working again with Special Agent Tessa Reed, his best friend–and the woman he desperately wishes could be more.

Though Tessa almost lost everything, she battled her demons and came out on the other side healthy and healed. But when her role as the liaison between the Raleigh office and the president’s protective detail wrenches her past back into the present, her greatest failure threatens to come to light.Ā 

Zane refuses to let Tessa go through this alone. But can he stand by the woman he lovesĀ andĀ protect the president from a mounting threat at the same time?

Sparks fly as award-winning romantic suspense writer Lynn H. Blackburn closes out her Defend and Protect series with this explosive tale of secrets kept, lies exposed, and relationships restored.

Lynn H. Blackburn loves writing romantic suspense because her childhood fantasy was to become a spy, but her grown-up reality is that she’s a huge chicken and would have been caught on her first mission. She prefers to live vicariously through her characters and loves putting them into all kinds of terrifying situations while she’s sitting at home safe and sound in her pajamas!

Lynnā€™s titles have won the Carol Award, the Selah Award, and the Faith, Hope, and Love Readerā€™s Choice Award.

She is a frequent conference speaker and has taught writers all over the country. Lynn lives in South Carolina with her true love and their three children. You can follow her real life happily ever after by signing up for her newsletter at LynnHBlackburn.com and @LynnHBlackburn on Bookbub, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

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First Line Friday — The Weight of Air

17 Feb

Happy Friday! I am featuring The Weight of Air by Kimberly Duffy today. Duffy consistently delivers well-researched historical fiction with an exotic locale. This time she sets her story in the circus! I have heard great things about this novel, especially the mother-daughter relationship that is explored. Can’t wait to get into it!

Here’s the first line:

“You are sure you don’t want me to go with you to the station?” Bram asked.

Two women–bound by blood, torn apart by circumstance–find together that true strength comes in many forms.

In 1911, Mabel MacGinnis is Europe’s strongest woman and has performed beside her father in the Manzo Brothers Circus her entire life. When he dies unexpectedly, she loses everything she’s ever known and sets off in the company of acrobat Jake Cunningham in hope of finding the mother she thought was dead.

Isabella Moreau, America’s most feted aerialist, has given everything to the circus. But age and injury now threaten her security, and Isabella, stalked by old fears, makes a choice that risks everything. Then her daughter Mabel appears alongside the man who never wanted to see Isabella again, and she is forced to face the truth of where, and in what, she derives her worth.

As Mabel and Isabella’s lives become entangled beneath the glittering lights and flying trapeze of Madison Square Garden, their resiliency and resolve are tested as they learn the truth of what it means to be strong.

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First Line Friday — Daughter of Eden

10 Feb

Happy Friday! Daughter of Eden by Jill Eileen Smith doesn’t release until next week, but I got my hands on an early copy! It is a fascinating what-if of Adam and Eve, their relationship with each other and with God, and the very different life they lead from the perfect one designed by their Creator. This one is a must-read!

Here’s the first line:

The first time he opened his eyes, light, brilliant and pure, moved in colored ribbons about him.

The first time she opens her eyes, Eve gazes on One whose beauty nearly blinds her, whose breath is in her lungs. Her Creator takes her hand and gives her to one like her and yet different. Together, she and Adam experience pure joy as they explore Eden. But her favorite moments are when the Creator comes to walk with them, day after day.

Until everything changes. With one act of disobedience, Eve finds that her world is no longer a friendly place. With remorse in her heart, she must face the unknown future–the births, the deaths, the sacrifices, the loss of the one home she has ever known. Perhaps worst of all is the loss of trust, not only with her Creator but with the man who shares her life. How will they ever survive out of Eden?

Bestselling biblical fiction author Jill Eileen Smith imagines the life of the first woman to ever live, unspooling a story of love, loss, and the promise of redemption.

To pre-order, click HERE.

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First Line Friday — Cold Light of Day

3 Feb

Happy Friday! I am so excited to share Elizabeth Goddard‘s latest romantic suspense, Cold Light of Day, book 1 of Missing in Alaska series. This novel doesn’t release until next week, but you can pre-order now. You know you want to! šŸ˜‰

Here’s the first line:

I never should have come.

Police Chief Autumn Long is fighting to keep her job in the quiet Alaska town of Shadow Gap when an unexpected string of criminal activity leaves her with a wounded officer, unexplained murders, and even an attack on her own father. Despite her mistrust of outsiders, she turns to Grier Brenner, a newcomer who seems to have the skills and training Autumn needs to face this threat to her community.

Grier is in Alaska for the same reason so many others areā€“to disappearā€“when Chief Long enlists his help. He emerges from the shadows and proves his mettle, but his presence in her life could be a deadly trap for them both. If his secret is exposed, all will be lost. And heā€™s not sure even Autumn could save him.

As the stakes rise and the dangers increase, Autumn and Grier must rely on each other to extinguish the deadly threats

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First Line Friday — The Cairo Curse

27 Jan

Happy Friday! My book club read The Mistletoe Countess by Pepper Basham in December — it was a big hit! Now I’m reading the sequel, The Cairo Curse, and loving it! Freddie is still his dashing self, and Grace is, well, Grace! My review will be coming in February.

In the meantime, here’s the first line:

Gunfire erupted from outside, sending Frederick Percy, Earl of Astley, leaping from his chair.

Clue meets Indiana Jones with a fiction-loving twist only Grace Percy can provide.
Ā 
Newlyweds Lord and Lady Astley have already experienced their fair-share of suspense, but when a honeymoon trip takes a detour to the mystical land of Egypt, not even Grace with her fiction-loving mind is prepared for the dangers in store. From an assortment of untrustworthy adventure-seekers to a newly discovered tomb with a murderous secret, Frederick and Grace must lean on each other to navigate their dangerous surroundings. As the suspects mount in an antiquitiesā€™ heist of ancient proportions, will Frederick and Graceā€™s attempts to solve the mystery lead to another death among the sands?
Ā 
The Cairoā€™s CurseĀ is a delightful sequel toĀ The Mistletoe CountessĀ by Pepper Basham in the Freddie and Grace Mystery series.

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First Line Friday — Everything Is Just Beginning

20 Jan

Happy Friday! I am having an excellent reading year! Next up for me is Everything Is Just Beginning by Erin Bartels. I haven’t read all of her books, but the ones I have are excellent. This looks to be no exception!

Here’s the first line:

I never wanted to live at my Uncle Mike’s.

Michael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he’s not sure he’ll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future. Until the invitation for a swanky New Year’s Eve party shows up in the mailbox. It’s for his uncle, with whom he shares his name, but his uncle is going out of town . . . 

On the effervescent night of December 31, 1989–as the Berlin Wall is coming down, the Soviet Union is inching toward democracy, and anything seems possible–Michael will cross paths with the accomplished and enigmatic young heir to a fading musical dynasty, forever altering both of their futures. 

Award-winning novelist Erin Bartels enchants with this story of two lonely souls who have exactly what the other one needs–if they could simply turn their focus from what is ending to what is just beginning.

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