​Like so many other authors, I never dreamed of being one; though in all honesty, the signs were always there if only I’d been paying attention.  As a child, I was a consummate daydreamer.  My happy place was most often found wandering my grandparents’ farm in rural Nebraska, dreaming up intricate stories in my head.  Writing in school came easily to me.  When I was in college, the professor of my required creative writing class continually called attention to my work as an example of what to do.  Despite all of this, it never occurred to me to actually write anything.  I thought knowing how to write well was no big deal.  Couldn’t everyone do it?  Didn’t everyone have movies running in their heads, with the only requirement for writing that you snatch those images and commit them to paper?
 
Fast forward into adulthood… While working as a paralegal in downtown Minneapolis, I rode the bus to and from work, an hour each way, every day, all week.  Needless to say, I inhaled books.  It was during these years that I discovered historical fiction novelist Sharon Kay Penman.  After several years of loving her books, social media became a “thing”, and I began to actively engage in her Facebook fan club -- and through that, with Ms. Penman herself.
 
In 2011, Ms. Penman published her book, Lionheart, her most recent addition to her growing list of books about the Plantagenet kings and queens of England.  As the result of a Facebook conversation in which she mentioned that authors rarely get detailed comments from readers about the specifics of why they love the books they read, I decided to do just that.  Consequently, I wrote her an embarrassingly long review (12 pages) of Lionheart.  After she recovered from her shock, we began to communicate regularly.  It was Ms. Penman herself who asked me the fated question, “Have you ever thought about writing?”  My favorite author became my own inspiration for writing.  And thus The Scribe’s Daughter was born.
 
I decided to tackle writing my first book from the first person perspective.  As someone who loves to daydream, and who has an inner monologue continually running in her head at any given moment in time, it seemed a natural method of writing a story.  For reasons still unknown to me, I immediately imagined that scene from the Disney movie Aladdin where Aladdin has just stolen an apple and is running away from the city guards, singing the song “One Jump”:
 
Gotta keep
One jump ahead of the breadline
One swing ahead of the sword
I steal only what I can't afford
 
I loved the idea of a feisty female heroine, so I re-imagined that scene from Aladdin, but this time with a character who would become Kassia.  She intrigued me so much that I kept writing, adding one more scene, and then another.  Her sarcasm and caustic wit grew on me, and I couldn’t stop writing.
 
Kassia’s story attempts to explore the idea that strength and resilience, self-worth or the inherent value of a person, is not determined by outward circumstance or external labels.  Kassia experiences then overcomes a great deal of trouble and trauma, but in the end, she finds out that she is stronger than she knew, that she is worthy to be loved.
 
I have an older sister, and more than once it has struck me how two sisters can share a childhood yet come away from it with differing perspectives on that childhood.  As such, I wanted to write a second book, telling Kassia’s sister’s story.  Originally I wanted to explore the idea of perception solely, but as events unfolded during the writing of Irisa’s tale, my purpose became less about perspective and more about personality.
 
The King’s Daughter follows Irisa, the sister whose fate is left in question early on in the first book.  Her internal development followed a similar path to Kassia’s but for different reasons.  Over the course of her tale, Irisa finds out that the truths alluded to in the first book are not all as they seem.  So here is a hint at the question of perspective that intrigued me early on.  As Irisa develops as a character, she discovers her own internal strength and self-worth like her sister, but her journey comes about in a way very different from her sister.  While many of life’s problems are similar for each person the world over, how a person approaches solving those problems varies greatly depending on one’s life experiences and personality.  This is definitely the case for Kassia and Irisa.
 
My next book will be a prequel about Irisa and Kassia’s mother, diving into the background of the sisters’ stories and how they ended up in the place they did.  While children certainly live lives of their own, their journey is begun by the path their parents have chosen, at least initially.  The third book will explore that fascinating topic.
 
The Scribe’s Daughter was released in 2015, and the sequel, The King’s Daughter, is available now for pre-order.  

​In this gripping sequel to The Scribe's Daughter, a young woman finds herself unwittingly caught up in a maelstrom of power, intrigue, and shifting perceptions, where the line between ally and enemy is subtle, and the fragile facade of reality is easily broken. Irisa's parents are dead and her younger sister Kassia is away on a journey when the sisters’ mysterious customer returns, urging Irisa to leave with him before disaster strikes. Can she trust him to keep her safe? How much does he know about the fate of her father? Only a voyage across the Eastmor Ocean to the land of her ancestors will reveal the truth about her family’s disturbing past. Once there, Irisa steps into a future she has unknowingly been prepared for since childhood, but what she discovers is far more sinister than she could have ever imagined. Will she have the courage to claim her inheritance for her own?


​Website:
www.stephaniechurchillauthor.com
 
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/stephaniechurchill
 
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/WriterChurchill
​

​From September 1939 to the Blitzkrieg of May 1940, 'Run The Gauntlet' follows the adventures of an RAF light bomber squadron at the beginning of World War Two. Having traded in their Fairey Batttles for new Bristol Blenheims, Falcon Squadron are off to war. The CO, Wing Commander Winwright must overcome the lethargy of peacetime and mould his unit into an effective fighting force. Pilot Officer Chandler is the new arrival and the welcome has not been exactly friendly. The old hands view him with suspicion and he must survive friendly fire as well as enemy action to show them what he is capable of. On a routine training flight, Flying Officer Hagen catches a glimpse of the hell that is waiting for all of them if they let their guard down for a moment. Facing the battle hardened Luftwaffe, Falcon Squadron are about to discover that war is far from a game. Supporting the Blenheim Society. This novel has been written with technical input from members of the Blenheim Society based at Duxford. The worlds only flying Blenheim is owned, operated by Blenheim (Duxford) Ltd who are the trustees of the aircraft and she was restored to fly under the auspices of the Aircraft Restoration Company who provide the licence coverage. Operating such a rare aircraft is an expensive undertaking so £1 from every novel sold is donated to help keep this warbird in the air for future generations to enjoy.
​Check out Vincent on Facebook

Ghostly phenomena plague the lofty halls of the museum with the arrival of a mysterious ebony statue. A prominent pastor is found dismembered after a night alone in the museum. The local police are stumped as the bodies keep piling up.

Despite slaughtering 135 men, the spirits of two man-eating lions failed in their mission to stop the invasion of modern technology into the heart of the African continent. A hundred years later, a new sorcerer has claimed the power to command the spirits of the lions. He releases them into the museum that houses their mortal remains. Neither ghost hunters nor exorcists can muster the power to defeat the spectral lions. Finally, Artemis Lewis, a Native American shaman, takes a stand. ​


​
​Check out Monica's Website
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  Bunnyzine Archive (Ears O'Fluffin's first case begins in Volume 2, Issue 6) 

​Mr. Keith D. Guernsey is retired after a forty year career in sales and sales management with several fortune 500 companies. He currently lives on Lake Lanier with his wife Susan and four-footed son Harley.  Mr Guernsey spent a good portion of his youth playing sports, active in both football and hockey. In 1995 Keith was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumor (called an Acoustic Neuroma) and he underwent a ten hour operation at the world-renowned Brigham and Women's hospital where it was successfully removed.  While recovering, he met and married Susan. Together they faced his next challenge. In 1997 his neuroma returned. He was to undergo yet another, more complex, operation which resulted in a complete cure, however side effects of this second more invasive procedure caused prolonged inactivity and led to severe weight gain of over 100 lbs.  Today Mr. Guernsey is very proud of the fact that he has been able to overcome his physical challenges, losing over one hundred and thirty five pounds, and has found the time to write two successful books (“Confessions of a Beantown Sports Junkie and “Fathers and Sons-Sports and Life”). He now enjoys a more active and rewarding lifestyle at age sixty five than at he did at twenty five!  His current interests include senior softball, he has recently been elected to the Board of Directors of ITN Lanier, he volunteers as a delivery driver for Meals-On-Wheels and works as a counselor for veterans who are looking to re-enter the work force.

 I was honored to have presented this “Self-Publishing Road Map to Success” at the Writer’s in the Wind group recently.
Self-Publishing   101
I have written my masterpiece...now what?


Interviews: http://www.peggyshope4u.com/saturdays-pick-keith-d-guernsey
Podcast: http://www.theauthorinsideyou.com
Books Signings: Riggy's Grill
Fund Raisers and Giveaways: Charity events (Jimmy Fund), Holidays, Business cards, 
Blog:  https://niume.com/profile/74183#!/posts

"Fathers and Sons…" is a story of an uncommon love and devotion between fathers and sons. It is a story of my recovery from two rounds of life-threatening brain surgeries to play on three championship softball teams in two states. It includes a chapter on the most controversial sports topic of our time; Deflategate. It is also an ode to my late father Gordon, the greatest sports parent of all time!

Fathers and Sons Facebook page;
https://www.facebook.com/thegurns1/
Twitter=@thegurns
​

​Mark Stevens is the author the Allison Coil Mystery Series--Antler Dust, Buried by the Roan, Trapline and Lake of Fire. The last three books were all finalists for the Colorado Book Award. Trapline won (2015). Stevens is Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ 2016 Writer of the Year. He is president of the Rocky Mountain chapter for Mystery Writers of America and serves on the national board. He also hosts a regular podcast for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers. Kirkus Reviews called Lake of Fire “irresistible” and Craig Johnson, author of the Walt Longmire novels, said, “Mark Stevens writes like wildfire.” 

​If I could go back to the day I started writing fiction about thirty years ago:

1. I would have joined a writing group immediately, to share drafts, talk business, talk fiction, talk reading, talking writing, share ideas. Writing is solo sport. And it’s involved more teamwork than I would have ever imagined. 
2. I would have written more—not necessarily faster, but more. More isn’t always better, but it’s practice. By writing more, I think you’re training that part of your little old brain. Muscles like to work. Atrophy sucks. So, write more.
3. I would have learned, early on, to omit the word ‘that’ from all prose. (I think ‘that’ works okay in dialogue.)
4. I would have worried more about character. Character is key. The plot, yes, of course. But I’m convinced more and more it’s all about the character, whether antagonist or protagonist or, better yet, both. It’s the issues of the character that drive the action that create the plot. (Obvious, yeah. Maybe these are notes to myself.) If you have a good solid complex character with three dimensions and if that character needs something or wants something, you have the start of a plot. So write the character and write what that character desires (needs, wants) and then start throwing obstacles in his or her way. Final thought: by definition, great characters do something.
5. I would have learned, early on, to omit the word ‘just.’ My candidate for most useless nothing unspecific blah bland filler word ever. But I still whip it out in the first draft and sprinkle around like confetti.
6. I would have joined writing groups early on (see #1 above) and I would have leaned into every single opportunity to support those groups. I figured this out later on. I should have figured it out earlier. It’s not about hoping to “get something back” from others. It’s not about a transactional, deal-making kind of thing. It’s simply about being fully engaged, more thoroughly embedded in the community. (This idea isn’t original. I learned it from, yes, other writers.) And you know what else? Here’s what else: when you commit to doing something regularly for a writing community, you are indirectly making a pledge to yourself to write more and participate more. You’re taking it more seriously. That’s a good thing. Being more involved in writing groups has allowed me the chance to meet writers I admire, such as Ron Carlson, Stewart O’Nan, William Kent Krueger, Steve Hamilton, Lori Rader-Day, Ausma Zehanat Khan, Craig Johnson, Christine Carbo, James W. Ziskin, Reed Farrel Coleman, Megan Abbott … um, this list could go on and on.  And on.
7. I would have spent more time imagining each scene before I wrote it. I would have spent more time trying to see the scene—the emotions and the action, everything. I think I spent too long seeing the words on the page, not enough imagining the “real” people (my characters) doing real things. Now, once I see the scene, even if that “scene” is only the next few minutes of my story, I write what I see. And hear. And feel.
8. I would have gone to more book talks, author tour stops. I would have made this part of my routine, to take notes about how writers presented their work.
9. I would have taken it all less seriously. Yes—less seriously. I know, a bit contradictory from #6 above. But what I mean is this: have you seen the flood of books out there? Go stand in a bookstore and marvel at the sheer volume of titles. So yes you need to care about your craft and write with your personal style and flourish, but it doesn’t have to be so, well, precious. You got a story? Tell it. Let it rip. Take some chances. Have some fun. Get that first draft down and then start the shaping and editing and re-writing. 
10. I would have … no, WAIT!

In truth, I have no regrets. Yes, despite all the could-haves and should-haves, it’s all good. I came close to selling a couple of books more than a decade before I finally got published. I am so very glad, now, that they didn’t sell. At the time, I was crushed. Now, I’m glad those words didn’t see the light of day. I still had things to learn … and I still do to this day.

In Lake of Fire, the fourth book in the Allison Coil Mystery Series, a giant wildfire is roaring through Colorado’s Flat Tops Wilderness. The massive blaze is wiping out Allison Coil’s precious hunting grounds and the flames have set their sights on the beautiful ranch owned by her boyfriend’s family. Backwoods survivalist Devo finds a body in the blackened forest. The dead man turns out to be a reclusive environmentalist with an unorthodox idea for the battle against global warming. The dead man was no stranger to Allison or her longtime friend, Trudy Heath. Allison, with help from Glenwood Springs reporter Duncan Bloom, burrows into an underground world of haters who harbor a grim view of the world. Suddenly, Trudy goes missing. If Allison can stop the wicked haters, ordinary hell might not be punishment enough for where these particular agents of evil belong. 

Twitter @writerstevens
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AllisonCoil/
​

​Bethany Turner is the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. A former VP/operations manager of a commercial bank and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned 35), Bethany knows that when God has plans for your life, it doesn't matter what anyone else has to say. Because of that, she's chosen to follow his call to write. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.

I always think it's so cute when we hear about J.K. Rowling and her twelve Harry Potter rejections. It's absolutely shocking to think that twelve book industry professionals held that manuscript in their hands and decided readers would never get behind the boy who lived, and it's positively inspiring, as a writer, to know that even she had to wait, but it's also...cute.
 
I self-published my first books after receiving 74 rejections.
 
Less cute.
 
But do you know what else is cute? The fact that as I received those 74 rejections, I felt dismayed. Indignant, even. I'd love to sit down with Jo Rowling sometime (yes, she lets me call her Jo) and ask her how she felt. Was she indignant? Or had she been more realistic from the beginning? The thing is, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I had written a book which became a three-book series, all centered around a woman named Abigail Phelps. The story is Abigail's delusional memoir, tied together by commentary and investigation from her psychiatrist, and the books boast the unique characteristic that, apart from Abigail and her psychiatrist, almost all of the characters are actual, real-life celebrities. George Clooney is her best friend, JFK Jr. is her first love, Robert Redford is her mentor...and on and on. Many of the rejections I received stated that, basically, they were intrigued by the concept, but didn't know what to do with it.
 
Everybody seems to want something new and different, but not too new and different.
 
Like I said, I didn't have a clue what I was doing. I am pretty sure that in the writing of those books and in my attempts to get published, I broke every rule known to man. I sent agents and editors query letters packed with every line that I now know they hate, but at that point, I hadn't done my homework. I convinced myself that I would get by on a unique idea, a strong voice, and George Clooney. (There are certainly movies which have gotten by on less!)
 
My career was in banking, not publishing, and those books had been written for fun, as a creative outlet, while I tried to survive in a career which had sucked most of the life out of me. But the unexpected happened. In the midst of the rejections and the overinflated ego having some of the air released, I discovered that I loved to write. I discovered that I was a writer.
 
I sure hadn't seen that coming.
 
My next book was written in about six weeks, with the newfound freedom of having left behind my solid, stable (though stressful and somewhat soul-crushing) job in bank management. Of course, with that newfound freedom came newfound challenges including, perhaps most notably, no real feasible way to keep paying the bills for long.
 
Once again, I had no idea what I was doing, but for the first time, that was a good thing. It was adventure. It was scary. It was exhilarating. It was a journey.
 
It was faith.
 
So, like I said, in about six weeks I had what is now called The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, a Christian romantic comedy about a bestselling, rich, famous writer of steamy, provocative romance who must deal with the reality of who she has been and what she is known for when she decides to become a Christ-follower (and falls in love with her pastor). It's funny and features a relatable heroine and a swoon-worthy leading man, and more pop culture references than an issue of Tiger Beat magazine. (Do they still make Tiger Beat or did I just show my age?) I was fairly certain I was in for another long line of rejections, followed by eventual self-publishing. And that would have been okay. I was prepared for that. I was expecting that. I had learned so much, and I knew I wouldn't be crushed as I had been before. I had gained wisdom and experience and knowledge and...
 
I still didn't know anything.
 
I was accepted by a manuscript submission service, and thirteen days later, I was contacted by a major publishing house, requesting the full manuscript. The very next day after sending the manuscript, I was contacted again. My story had been read in one sitting, and it was going to the next step in the process. Over the next few months there were edits and revisions, proposals and pub boards. The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck will be published on October 3, 2017 by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
 
My contract was for the one book, and I have no idea if Revell or any other publisher will ever want anything else I ever write. I have one more manuscript complete, two others that are getting close, and finally I think I know better than to pretend I have any idea about what's going to happen with them. For me, it's all about faith. It's knowing that regardless of what happens (or doesn't), I am blessed. It's understanding that I can only do what I can do. And it's choosing to look back with fondness and learn as much as I can from the moments when I thought I was actually in control of any of it.
 
Wasn't that cute?

Becoming a Christian is the best and worst thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck. Best because, well, that's obvious. Worst because, up to this point, she's made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now Sarah is trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore. She's beginning to think that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling in love with her pastor doesn't make things any easier.

With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of wit, Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.

Website: www.seebethanywrite.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seebethanywrite
Twitter: www.twitter.com/seebethanywrite
Instagram: www.instagram.com/seebethanywrite
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7214754.Bethany_Turner
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​

​Writing from the Heart
By Cara Sue Achterberg
My writing has always grown out of the state of my heart. As a child, I labored over the pages of my tiny pink diary pouring out my elementary school life. Later I filled journal after journal with angsty poetry and teenage longing. As an adult writing has always featured into my professional work, so when I decided to quit my paying job and stay home to raise my kids, of course I wrote about it. I blogged and wrote newspaper and magazine articles about raising kids, eating organic food, growing vegetables, keeping chickens, and living on our tiny hillside farm in south-central, Pennsylvania.
Eventually, though, I began writing about other worlds beyond my own. I discovered that brewing a huge cup of tea and sitting down at my laptop could be a portal to a much more interesting world than my own. For several years I wrote in secret, still pounding out the paying stories, but escaping every afternoon into my fiction. Finally, I pulled my husband aside and said, “I need to tell you something….,” confessing to the hours I had spent crafting a story about two women from different walks of life (an obese, high school dropout, single mother and a beautiful, self-absorbed, taking-everything-for-granted young adult) who swap lives. Lucky for me, he didn’t laugh. (He did tell me that when I first told him I needed to talk, he thought I was going to tell him I was having an affair- that’s how distracted I’d become by my fiction writing!)
The road from that moment to published book was long, messy, frustrating, embarrassing, and exhausting. But it happened. It was nothing like I expected, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. (Okay, maybe I would trade it for the life of an overnight NYT best-selling author – although I’m skeptical such a path exists.)
And now? My second kid is graduating (will have graduated when you read this!) and I’ve been filling my empty nest with rescue dogs. But I’m still escaping every afternoon. When I ran into a friend from my PTA and dance-lesson days, I told her that I had a new book coming out. She looked surprised and asked, “Another book? So, you’re really doing this book thing? It wasn’t just something you had to get out of your system?”
I assured her that it was for real. I’ve got plenty more stories to get out of my system. My stories, like my writing (and hopefully me!) are evolving. I’ve thought about that exchange ever since it happened. It’s not surprising she asked the question that she did. She’d seen me move from one obsession to another. My organic days included making my own yogurt and even butchering chickens (only once!). I’d sold Mary Kay, created beaded jewelry, pedaled organic spice mixes, started raising chickens, worked a national presidential campaign, plus several local races, and fostered rescue dogs. I have an all-in kind of personality so whatever my latest interest, I went after it with all my heart.
It’s not surprising this friend assumed I would move on to the next fling after my first book was published. But writing is different—I don’t just give it all my time; I give it all my heart. And more than that, I finally feel a teeny, tiny bit grown up. I think of that quote, often credited to Confucius – “If you choose a job you like, you’ll never work a day in your life.” That’s writing for me. It’s not work. It’s joy. All the time. Even the hard parts. Even the editing (which is the bulk of the work).
It may have taken me some time to get here, but I’m going nowhere. My first book was published when I was forty-eight and I’m only getting started. I can’t imagine a day when I ever have writing ‘out of my system.’ That said, I know that all the work I’ve done, the obsessions that drove my family mad, the weird passions that came and went, and the odd jobs I’ve done to pay the bills were steps to where I am now. All of it informs my writing. Without it I’m not sure I’d have so many stories to tell.
When you write from your heart, the well is endless. Our hearts are filled with stories. What’s yours?

​The houses in Pine Estates are beautiful McMansions filled with high-achieving parents, children on the fast track to top colleges, all of the comforts of modern living, and the best security systems money can buy. Welcome to normal upper-middle-class suburbia.
 
Meet the Turners. 17-year-old Jenna dyes her hair black and breaks into her neighbors’ homes, security systems be damned. Everett genuinely believes he loves his wife . . . he just loves having a continuing stream of mistresses more. JT is a genius kid with Asperger’s who moves from one obsession to the next. And Kate tries to manage her family and her mother (who lives down the street) while crafting the happy, normal life she’s always envisioned.
 
And now everything is changing for them. Jenna finds herself in a boy-next-door romance she never could have predicted. Everett’s secrets are beginning to unravel on him. JT is getting his first taste of success at navigating the world. And Kate is facing truths about her husband, her mother, and the father she never knew.
 
Life on Pine Road has never been more challenging for the Turners. That’s what happens when you’re practicing normal.
 
Combining her trademark combination of wit, insight, and tremendous empathy for her characters, Cara Sue Achterberg has written a novel that is at once familiar and startlingly fresh.
CaraWrites.com
Facebook.com/carasueachterberg
Twitter.com/caraachterberg
Instagram/carasueachterberg
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​Melissa Baldwin is an avid runner, planner obsessed, and has always had a love for writing. She is a wife, mother, and avid journal keeper who took her creativity to the next level by fulfilling her dream with her debut novel, An Event to Remember...or Forget. Melissa writes about charming, ambitious, and real women and is now a published author of seven Romantic Comedy novels and novellas.
 
When she isn't deep in the writing zone, this multi-tasking master organizer is busy spending time with her family, chauffeuring her daughter, traveling, running, indulging in fitness, and taking a Disney Cruise every now and then.

​Long ago I gave up my dreams of creating the perfect hair-bows for my daughter or learning how to sew my own designer gowns. And after many failed attempts at making the yummiest gourmet recipes found on Pinterest, I accepted that frozen pizza is okay once in a while. Speaking of Pinterest, those boards are still full of crafting and organization ideas that I have yet to implement into my busy life. I do consider myself a master at multi-tasking, but even I have sat in the middle of my bedroom floor doing the ugly-cry. I remember many days that I asked myself what else am I supposed to be doing?
 
It was New Year’s Day 2014, I began that day at the gym, climbing the dreaded revolving stairs trying to loose the many pounds of holiday treats I’d consumed between Halloween and New Year’s Eve. I was even listening to Tony Robbins in search of the ultimate method to motivate me.  It was at some point during those forty minutes that I asked myself this question… “What do you love to do? Find that and do it.” 
That’s all I remember. At that point I was ready to chase after my dreams and for once actually catch them.
Six months later I finished writing the book I had started over and over again. And with the help and advice from a wonderful friend, I published it.
 
What an amazing feeling! I still remember the day that I held the beautiful paperback in my hands. My eyes filled with tears as I flipped through the pages that I created. I actually did it, I followed through with something I had always thought about doing but never thought I could. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard someone say… Oh I could never do that or I wish I could do this?”
The worst part is that it never stops, no matter how much we grow, learn and accomplish our tasks. We will always want to be better. This is not a bad thing as long as we’re happy with where we are in the present. We can continue to strive to accomplish our goals and when we do, we can add another to that never-ending bucket list.
 
Since publishing my first novel in 2014, I haven’t stopped writing. I just finished the first draft of my tenth book. In March, I signed a contract with my publisher for two more books coming in 2018. The story ideas are endless and I love every second of it.
 
I have to say my favorite part of becoming an author has been the friendships I’ve made and the many talented authors I have met along the way. Next up on my bucket list, to meet the one and only Sophie Kinsella. If I’ve learned anything on this journey, it’s that anything can happen.

​To Spring With Love: A Novella
 
Summer Peters is thrilled to be done with the frigid winter. Spring is in the air, and she’s ready for a fresh new start. Her career is thriving, she’s searching for a new place to live, and she’s finally ready to take her relationship with Alexander Williams to the next level.
 
What she doesn’t expect is to be blindsided by Alexander’s assistant, Melanie, who seems to be up to her old tricks, even stooping as low as dating Summer’s ex-boyfriend, Jake. Once again, Summer is faced with the dilemma of having to share Alexander with a woman who’s out to destroy their relationship.
 
To add to these challenges, she receives devastating news from her best friend, Angie. At a critical time when she may need her best friend the most, she learns Angie may not be there for her. She quickly realizes that she may need to lean on someone she never expected during this time of change.
 
Continue to follow Summer on her wild one-year journey in this third book of the Seasons of Summer Novella Series. Stay tuned for the final installment coming Summer 2017.
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​Cristina Hodgson, mother of two, born in Wimbledon, London, currently lives in southern Spain. Cristina had a long career in sport, reaching national and international level and still actively participates in Triathlon races and enjoys outdoor activities. In her spare time she also enjoys reading and writing. She won a sports scholarship to Boston College. After a period in Boston, she returned to the UK and graduated from Loughborough University with a degree in Sports Science.
A LITTLE OF CHANTELLE ROSE is her debut novel. Amazingly, it has nothing to do with running!

At the age of twenty-four, Chantelle Rose has all a city girl can expect: a tiny bed-sit in South London, a lousy poorly-paid job, a tyrannical boss, and quite a few exes added to an ever-growing list. 
Desperate for change, she becomes an extra in a seedy crime film. When that leads to the opportunity of a lifetime – a role to play with a million dollars to win and seemingly nothing to lose – she accepts without thinking twice. After all, what could possibly go wrong? In any event, she´ll earn enough to buy her dream home, set up her own business and never worry about money again.
And what about love? Two men have won her heart: Robbie – sultry, silent, mysterious; and Lionel – Hollywood heart-throb, charm, wealth, adventure.
But who can she trust? Who is bent on scaring her away, and why?
There seems to be more at stake than just her heart. Will a million dollars be worth it?
Website: http://cristinahodgson.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HodgsonCristina/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/HodgsonCristina​
Email: Hello@ChristinaHodgson.com
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​Hi there. I’m Jennie Marts. I’m a hybrid author from Colorado that is sadly addicted to Diet Coke and Cheetos and wishes that typing burned more calories.
I started writing as a career about seven years ago. I’d always considered myself a writer and had dreamed of someday writing a book. As my kids were getting ready to graduate and leave the nest, I was evaluating what was next for me now that my role of mom was changing and decided to just go for it. And I’m thrilled and so happy that I did.
I knew that I wanted my first book to be fun and light and to be filled with scenes that conveyed laughter, romance, the friendship of women, and a little mystery and intrigue.
I independently published my first book, Another Saturday Night and I Ain’t Got No Body, at the very end of 2012. It was the first in my romantic comedy/cozy mystery Page Turners series. The series is about a group of women in a book club who search for clues and romance while eating really great desserts. Each book follows a different woman in the book club and the first is about Sunny, an ordinary schoolteacher who discovers that dating can be deadly as she goes on six blind dates and one of them might be with a murderer.
After indie-pubbing my first book, I got my first three-book deal with Entangled Publishing for the Hearts of Montana series. These books follow my passion for stories set in small towns with warm summer nights, spunky heroines, and hot, hot cowboys. Tucked Away, the first book is about a city girl who inherits a farm in Montana and discovers a lonely teenage girl, a goat named Clyde, a super-cute cowboy, and a place she can finally call home. Hidden Away and Stolen Away complete that set.
After that, I became a true hybrid, splitting my books between traditional publishing and indie-publishing. I continued to write the Page Turner mysteries, but also branched out into a series of hockey-playing brothers in the Bannister Brothers series and hunky Colorado country boys in the Cotton Creek Romantic Comedy series. And I now have written nineteen books and have seventeen published, and have a new three book cowboy series debuting with Sourcebooks Casablanca next spring.
I knew that I wanted this writing career and have gone after it with all I have. One of the key things that changed my life and turned my writing career around was when I discovered writing sprints and found my ‘sprinting tribe’. The concept seems so simple: set a timer and write during a set amount of focused time. But having the support and accountability of the others in my sprinting group makes all the difference. And suddenly I went from writing two books a year to writing four to six books a year.
Learning to sprint really changed everything for me, so I decided to write my first non-fiction book, and created a Writing Sprints Journal, a way to manage your time and increase your writing productivity. I published the journal last month and hope that it helps other writers in their journey. You can find my Writing Sprints Journal here: http://a.co/dPGMjff .
I think the world of publishing has changed so much and so fast that as writers we feel the need to write faster just to keep up. The support I’ve received from my sprint partners has been tremendous. I truly believe having a group of writer friends, whether in person or online is one of the best gifts that a writer can give themselves. And the romance industry is great at supporting each other.
My tagline is love, laughter, and always a happily ever after, and I love to make readers laugh and cry and fall in love with a swoony hero. I have been inspired by writers like Nora Roberts and Janet Evanovich. I adore Susan Elizabeth Phillips, and when I met her in person the first time, I started crying as I tried to tell her how much she inspired me. She was, of course, wonderful and gracious and simply gave me a smile and a hug. I’d like to be her when I grow up.
For now, I’ll keep writing stories about cute cowboys and hot hockey players who fall for cupcake bakers and the coach’s daughter. My newest release is Skirting The Ice, the third book in the Bannister Brothers series and this one is so much fun because the heroine is actually the hockey player and the hero is Jack, the third brother who is a cute-as-sin nerd. Murphy is wild and reckless and Jack is steady and solid, and declares his love in a math equation.
This book is so much fun. You can find it on Amazon at: http://a.co/bNUWvKn and the whole Bannister Brothers series is Free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers.
I love to hear from readers. You can find me on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. And visit www.jenniemarts.com to sign up for my newsletter and keep up with the latest sales and new releases. 

"The Bannister Brothers series has everything I love...hockey, humor, and heart!" - Kristin Miller- New York TimesBestselling author

Buttoned-up accountant Jack Bannister lives an uncomplicated life until his teenage crush moves back into the house next door—all grown up and sexy as hell. Murphy Ryan is still wild and reckless, and danger has followed her to Colorado. Jack will do whatever it takes to protect her, even it means letting her go…again.
Murphy Ryan is focused on building a new NHL women’s hockey team. But staying on her game is hard with the distraction, and the memories, of the hot nerd in the house next door. Jack Bannister had been her first kiss, and she wants him to be her last. With his dry humor and sexy glasses, being smart never looked so good.
Jack’s been given a chance to win back the one that got away, but worries this gorgeous hockey player is still out of his league. He’s kept his heart on ice, but now that Murphy’s back, she might be the one to finally thaw it.

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