MONDAY'S MUSINGS—TOOK A TRIP AND NEVER LEFT THE RANCH

Hope everyone had a great Mother's Day. Mine was great and I got to spend some time with my mother on Saturday and got to see her mama cat's new litter of babies. She has them in one of her extra bedrooms—now a nursery, lol! That's my mom J.

We have a winner for M.L. Buchman's Pure Heat: Farawayeyes. If you'll contact me I'll arrange for you to pick up your copy. Congratulations!

While I was recuperating and restless I had the chance to read some books that I enjoyed. Somewhere along the way my sense of restlessness was assuaged by my 'travels'. I've been to Texas, Colorado, Montana and slipped up into northwest Canadian wilderness, traveled all the way over to Pennsylvania and up to Maine.  Pretty nifty. Take a trip and never leave the farm, J  I’d thought I share a few with you (All were at least 4 1/2 stars in rating). 

Being restless I wanted something different. Something to pique my interest and divert me from hurting. I do have eclectic taste in reading. And it is very much mood driven. About the only thing I don’t read is horror (sorry horror fans), I don’t care for heavy-duty erotic romance (I like a bit left to my imagination), and kid’s books (my kid’s all grown up). I've read and enjoyed a few YA—but I really have to be in the mood to read YA (preferably when I don’t have a house load of young adults running in and out or playing Dear Abby with me). 

I have a towering stack of TBR books I can read but nothing appealed. Have you had those times? 

A friend of mine who writes sexy and fun cowboys also writes women’s fiction (which I hadn't read yet). She has a great sense of humor and I've laughed a lot reading her books, her turn of phrase, her realistic settings, sense of family and community. I needed some laughter and so I thought, why not?

TheBlue-Ribbon Jalapeño Society Jubilee and the second, The Red Hot Chilli Cookoff, by Carolyn Brown. 

“Welcome to Cadillac, Texas, where the jalapeños are hot, the gossip is hotter, and at the end of the day, it's the priceless friendships that are left standing...”

Oh, I am so glad I passed that welcome sign! That was five days of fun and laughter spent in Cadillac, Texas. Just what the doctor ordered.  What drew me to her stories?  Well, I loved watching movies like Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes, and absolutely loved Designing Woman series on TV. These books encapsulate the best of those shows. The southern humor, laughter and tears, diverse multi-generational women and how they deal with life, and strong friendships that see you through everything life throws you. Scratch the surface of the southern charm and you’ll find some very strong women who can take you to the cleaners without breaking a sweat and smile graciously while doing it, bless their hearts. I have to tell you, I fell in love with the feisty Agnes! The woman is diabolical and Lord love her, she can have my back anytime. She is a character in both books. All I can say is I’m glad I’m not the pretentious Violet (I loved how that played out!).

If you like a face paced page-turner and laugh out loud situations these two stories are a must read this summer.

I tried a new, to me, author, Mark Nykanen. I haven’t read any of his books but that will change henceforth. I read his thriller, Primitive Excellent story. Definitely intense. I like stories that grab from current issues facing us and in this case it was climate control and what dangers could be facing our world if steps aren't  taken to correct consumption. I've read a lot about the issue. But Primitive doesn't preach and it is an involving, multi-layered thriller about climate change theories. It starts with a kidnapping of a well-known model, Sonya Adams, to act as a spokesperson for their group’s agenda and subsequent media frenzy and some darker governmental agencies involved. It kept me turning pages and I liked the growth of Sonya and how she found her own tough core to survive. There is a well-developed layer in the story that says the surface may not show the whole and that’s especially true in the relationship between Sonya and her estranged daughter, Darcy. They seem at first glance to be polar opposites and yet at the core of both are more similar they either believes. Tightly constructed and entertaining story. Makes you think. If you like a good suspense/thriller it’s worth the read!

Another new to me author, but not for long, is Melinda Leigh. I read her romantic suspense, Midnight Exposure. Another multi-layered page-turner. I really liked the reasons for the creepy villains actions. She developed that well without tipping her hand by prematurely revealing him (I knew one character had to be involved but minute clues said he wasn't the main bad guy and that kept me guessing for awhile). You really got to see the bad guy’s arc and goals and motivations. Still a very creepy guy but very well done. This one starts with the disappearance of two hikers, which is blamed on the snowstorms in the Maine wilderness, but it’s oh so much more. Add in the attempted kidnapping of visitor, Jayne Sullivan, a tall red-headed beauty who is a part time tabloid photographer, a reclusive sculptor with past, and sparks fly. There is a well done happy ever after but not before some serious danger to traverse and problems, one of which is to keep Jayne out of the hands of a creepy Druid with an agenda. I really enjoyed the story—clever in execution and fast paced with a good romance attached. Hope you will, too.

So, how was your Mother's Day? Do anything fun? Read any good books you'd like to share?

 

MARILYN BRANT: INTERNET DATING?

It's a pleasure to welcome women's fiction author, Marilyn Brant, visiting with us today. 

What I enjoy about Marilyn's stories is, while she may touch on themes of Pride and Prejudice, it's not actually fanfiction—using the actual characters of Jane Austen's tale and retelling the same story—it's fresh and new. Original. I love her imagination and ability to extrapolate from the original without reusing the characters. She creates new characters and situations with a nod to Austen. The stories are fun! 

Thanks to Sia for being so gracious and inviting me back to visit you all at Over Coffee!

I know sometimes, after a writer has published a few books, some may think that it’s old hat, and not as exciting as it was in those early days... But that’s really not true for me, especially in this case. Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match is my seventh novel (“Lucky 7?!”) and, in a way, I’m even more excited this time around because I’m getting to come full circle.

My debut book, According to Jane, which was released back in 2009, was a romantic women’s fiction story (with some steamy scenes, be forewarned!) about a woman who had the ghost of Jane Austen in her head giving her dating advice. This new novel is a contemporary romance, and it also gives an honorary nod to the great Austen. The hero and heroine inherited their names and some of their characteristics from the famed pair in Pride and Prejudice, Darcy and Elizabeth (a novel which turns 200 years old this month, btw). But the courtship of the couple in my newest book revolves around an Internet dating site and, also, a local coffee shop called the “Koffee Haus.” And, oh, how I wish I could meet you all there this morning... I know we are all fans of coffee here, right?!

When I was writing the book, I thought it would be funny for the hero and heroine to fall prey to a bunch of different stereotypes about each other, which is easy to do if you’re trying to judge somebody’s character from a list of qualities on an online dating site or based on their choice of a latté. I’m a devoted coffee drinker, so I have a little bit of experience with the latter...however, I had no experience at all with the former!

I met my husband over 20 years ago, and the internet didn't exist in any widespread mainstream way back then. So, I've always been really curious about the whole online dating process. And, as a novelist who wanted use this activity as part of my plot, I had to resort to sneaky tactics (like interrogating my single friends who had Match.com profiles!) in order to find out about the kinds of dating experiences that were out there--both good and seriously-not-so-good.  

One twenty-something guy friend of ours would entertain me almost every week with talkes of his latest Internet love matches. Some of them were VERY WILD! I'm pleased to say that he's happily married now, although he didn't meet his new bride online...A female colleague I used to teach with, however, had far more success (although, her romantic tales were not nearly as soap-opera worthy, LOL!), and she did, in fact, meet her husband via the Internet.

All in all, I think if Jane Austen had the ability to do any modern matchmaking, I more than suspect she’d be all over the idea of online dating. *grin*

• Have you or anyone you know tried to meet potential love interests on Match.com or any of the other dating sites? If you haven’t tried it yourself, would you want to? I’d love to know your thoughts!

Wishing you all a wonderful 2013!!

                                                                                                                         

Giveaway: 

Because Sia included my last novel, Holiday Man, on her recent post “Hot Reads for Cold Winter Nights” (Over Coffee, January 2nd), I’ll give away one PDF copy of that ebook to one commenter on this post. Open internationally!

                                                                                                                                                             

BUY: AMAZON AND  B&N

A single mother and an ER doctor meet on an Internet dating site—each for reasons that have little to do with finding their perfect match—in this modern, Austen-inspired story. It’s a tribute to the power of both “pride” and “prejudice” in bringing two people romantically together, despite their mutual insistence that they should stay apart…

Would an Elizabeth Bennet by any other name be as appealing to a Darcy?

Beth Ann Bennet isn’t looking for love. She’s an aspiring social worker using an online alias to study sex-role stereotypes. Dr. William Darcy isn’t looking for love either. He’s just trying to fund his new clinic by winning a major bet. Both think Lady Catherine’s Love Match Website will help them get what they want—fast, easy and without endangering their hearts. Both are in for a big surprise.

Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match…where true love is just a fib and a click away.
first chapter excerpt