From Amazon: Sometimes you have to stop trying to be like everyone else and just be yourself. Bea Stevens and Ryan O’Marley are in danger of falling through the cracks of their own lives; the only difference between them is that Bea doesn’t know it yet. When her world is shaken like a snow-globe, Bea has to do what she does best; adapt. Homeless man Ryan is the key to unlocking the mystery of her friend Declan’s disappearance but can she and Ryan trust one another enough to work together? As the pieces of her life settle in new and unexpected places, like the first fall of snow, Bea must make a choice: does she try to salvage who she was or embrace who she might become? Just Bea takes the reader on a heartwarming journey from the glamour of a West End store to the harsh reality of life on the streets and reminds us all that home really is where the heart is.

My Review: Tackles the hard to write stories. This is a book that mixes genres. Certainly, contemporary and there is romance, yet other issues are taken on in a rather informative manner, such as homelessness, and has been researched well. Not only touching, but angst is inserted in among various scenarios and it’s worth noting that the issues brought out in this novel will reach and all readers. Five stars.

From Amazon: Desdemona, a pianist in the Austin life-music scene, is channel-surfing when she stumbles upon the program Marriage Exposure. The trashy television show gets people to spill all the secrets of their sex lives, and Desdemona’s ex-boyfriend just happens to be a guest. To her shock and horror, Desdemona’s ex announces on national television that he dumped her because she never got the big O. “She faked…,” he says. Every single time. Her life is wrecked! If her friends, family and colleagues haven’t seen the interview yet, they will. How do you survive a scandal like this? How did he know she faked? And why is it that in the bedroom, Desdemona never, ever gets lucky? The lovable, creative and quirky heroine tackles these challenges. As Desdemona tries to run damage control on her reputation, she begins to explore her sexuality. Along the way, she will get a second chance at genuine love. Q. D. Purdu’s Finding Lucky won first place in the romance category of the Texas Writers’ League. Desdemona’s quest for the Big O is full of hilarious moments, handsome men, and heartfelt memories.

My Review: This novel is sexy yet touching, romantic yet painful, and all things associated with human feelings and laugh out loud moments. Be prepared for some sex scenes between uncertainties, misunderstandings galore, intimacies, embezzlement, music, laughter, and lots of twists and turns. Five stars.

Wow. First book signing since before Covid-19. Mask was off for this picture only, then back on the ret of the time. Held inb a small town cofee shop. Phrases used by readers include:

“Davy’s Dragon Castle has a lot of depth around the issues of race and inclusion and is aimed squarely at an audience who needs to be hearing that message.”

“The story is a delightful festive tale of equality, acceptance and inclusion.”

“It teaches respect and friendship in a way that the child learns without realizing it.”

From Amazon: TEA TIME POETRY is a wide collection of poems written by Author Brenda Mohammed. She has expressed her thoughts on almost every subject in her poems, such as, doubts, money, friends, truth, rumours, passion, celebrations, literary celebrities, and much more. Award- winning Author Brenda Mohammed has published 42 books to date and Tea Time Poetry is her tenth poetry collection.

My Review: Lots of meaningful poetry is found in this book, along with awesome quotes and a nice author interview. The poems cover many facets of life, real life, and the struggles of dealing with everything from cancer to covid and happy poems. The quotes are meaningful. Five stars.

Recipe for Sugar Free, Low Carb, Low Fat cookies and you can make most any flavor you like.

Preheat oven 350.

In bowl add one cup of Bisquick, one package sugar free pudding of your choice, 1/4 cup Splenda or your choice, and 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, if desired. Blend well.

Make a well in mixture and add 1/4 cup Canola oil, one egg, one teaspoon vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar free flavoring of choice.

Mix well, I just use a fork. Then spoon onto ungreased baking pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let set in pan for 30 minutes, then transfer to cookie plate, or whatever you want to place them in.

This makes one pan of cookies. Sugar free and low carb. I just baked Lemon with a dollop of Raspberry and some unsweetened Coconut.

From Amazon: When Santa’s sleigh crashes into The Lighthouse Café, Bluestar’s beloved waitress is reunited with the one man who broke her heart. In this holiday novella, Darla Evans isn’t living the life she’d imagined, but she’s working to reinvent herself. However, when her ex-fiancé returns to the island, she knows there’s no avoiding the past. Tech entrepreneur, William “Will” Campbell, has returned to his childhood home to be the best man in his father’s holiday wedding. But first he has a very special task—to restore an antique sleigh in time for the wedding. However with Christmas Eve quickly approaching, he needs help. As snowflakes cover the small town of Bluestar, Will and Darla work together to create a special surprise for the bride. Yet with the past looming between them, will the magic of the season be enough to open their hearts and allow them to find love again? Includes a holiday recipe for Darla’s frosted sugar cookies!

My Review: What a sweet book! I love Christmas and this book was excellent, especially on Christmas Eve. One couple married, others had their lives, and another couple managed to move beyond their past hurts by simply talking. That is key to any relationship, honest talking. Being best friends is the perfect foundation upon building a married life. I have that with my husband. This is a perfect seasonal romance. Five stars.

From Amazon: The year is 2277. Many of Earth’s ills, such as poverty and pollution, no longer exist, but others have surfaced. Besides bringing a viral pandemic to Earth, Man’s stretch beyond his solar system results in a conflict with a race called the Karlonians. Man keeps the alien threat from home shores on a perimeter zone several light years from his planet, but because of the results of the pandemic manpower is critical. New methods of keeping the remaining population healthy and alive longer are devised. Most effective, however, is the ability to distort space and time via an anomaly on the far side of Jupiter. Through this portal they select missing persons from their history to bolster their numbers. Most of these missing persons are designated for Transplantation where knowledge can be shuffled from brain to brain. This produces trained technicians in a week or two to replace the skilled lost through death whether natural or unnatural. Harriette (Harry) Calder is the most recent and unwilling addition to the 23rd century. She is a Transplant match to a PDC Bounty crewmember lost in battle. The transplant surgery results in the appearance (within Harry’s mind) of JM who is a recreation of the seventeenth century poet John Milton. Believing him to be a schizophrenic auditory hallucination Harry remains silent about his presence. Her presence aboard the Bounty produces mixed reaction from her fellow crewmates. In the main she is accepted because she is needed, yet she is also vilified and many times her life is jeopardized. While the Bounty is on perimeter patrol a horrifying communiqué from the normally silent Karlonians informs the Bounty of another pandemic which threatens not just Karlonia but Earth as well. A temporary truce allows them to address and contain the virus, and leads to a shaky alliance. Because of this alliance Quinn, Captain of the Bounty, is court marshalled by his own government based on records which have been tampered with by unknown saboteurs. Again the Karlonia/Bounty alliance works to reveal the truth. In both instances Harry proves vital to the plot. Like Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein the benefits of scientific innovation versus mankind’s inability to apply it responsibly and/or nurture it to a responsible end predominates. This is coupled with the presence of the “other” found within the main character , and to a certain extent the idea of the “tabula rasa” demonstrated through Victor Frankenstein’s creature. Man’s historical perseverance and ability to adapt figures prominently as well even if these characteristics are brought about through humanity’s short sightedness and abuse of the natural — a paradox that has haunted humankind since the mythological Fall.

My Review: Out if time for sure. Take Star Trek and mix in some aliens, fighting, time travels, bringing back to life, like Frankenstein, love, cool futuristic devices and ships, weapons, and much more, and then you have this five-star read. #scifi

Please welcome GL Robinson to my blog. I’m happoy to have you here today for a chat. Please introduce yourself to those reading this blog post.Hello!

I’m GL Robinson, author of Regency Romances, and more recently a contemporary crime thriller set at Christmas.

Let me first explain why I use initials in my name. It’s a bit of a story. My name is Glynis Louise. When I was growing up I was always called Glynis. But at school I was made fun of for having a name that sounded like Guinness (the beer). There was an ad at the time: “Guinness is good for you”. Of course, I hated it. So when I went off to college I called myself Louise. That means that everyone who knows me from before I was 18 calls me Glynis and everyone since calls me Louise. I use GL to cover all the bases!

I’m originally from the UK, where I went to a convent boarding school with my sister because our father was working in Africa. I’ve lived in upstate New York for over 45 years with my American husband. I was a French professor at Ithaca College before I retired about 8 years ago. I have three children, including a pair of boy/girl twins, and seven grandchildren. None of them live nearby, I’m sorry to say!

Has writing always been part of your life and when did you “know” that it was time to start writing your first book?

No, I didn’t begin writing until three years ago. I was in my seventies. I began writing Regency Romances after the death of my beloved sister Francine who was in the convent with me all those years ago. We used to read Georgette Heyer, the doyenne of Regencies, under the covers with a torch after lights out. After my sister died (unexpectedly) in 2018 I had a compulsion to write a story. It came to me whole and entire. I felt it was her talking to me. All my Regencies are dedicated to her.

How difficult was it writing your first book?

As I said, it came to me whole and entire. It was easy! And I haven’t stopped since. I’ve published ten Regencies and one romance/thriller.

Have you ever wanted to give up and what stopped you?

No, I can’t stop. It comes pouring out of me! I don’t know why I didn’t do it before!

Who is the most supportive of you and your dream to be a writer?

My husband, although he doesn’t care for the Regency genre and he doesn’t read my books! The funny thing is, he writes now, too. During early Covid he was tired of seeing the back of my head as I was writing like a fiend at my computer. He had nothing to do – we couldn’t go out, see friends or even go the gym, as you know. So I said, “Why don’t you write a book?” And, you know, he did! He’s now written seven cozy mystery novellas set in Upstate New York. He’s even done the audio books himself! Now I only see the back of his head!! He writes under his own name FJ Donohue, and is on most major publishing platforms. But I don’t care for his books either, so I guess we’re even!

Anything specific you want to tell your readers?

I’d like my readers to know that their opinion matters to me. In all my books I have a note asking them to contact me. Although I write mostly romances and they’re really not very serious, I do try to be historically accurate and to include real issues of the times: child labor in factories, women’s education (or lack of it!) I really like to hear what people think, and I do take it on board.

What is the best advice given to you (book or otherwise), and by whom?

Audrey Harrison, a successful Regency writer whom I have never met but have emailed with ever since I began, said “Begin with a killer sentence!” That was good advice and I’ve tried to follow it. Then one of the many marketing gurus I’ve read (sorry, can’t remember which one!) said “Don’t forget, people read on their phones. Don’t make your paragraphs too long.” My paragraphs were HUGE! Now they’re much shorter!

What is your target audience and what aspect of your writing do you feel targets that audience?

I hope my work appeals to a wide range of people, but, as I already said, my husband doesn’t care for it, and I imagine he’s representative of much of the masculine population! I do have a few very dedicated male readers, though, and I’m very thankful for them. But I suppose the majority of my audience is educated women over the age of 40. To enjoy my books, you have to like history and a sort of ironic sense of humor, and not expect the stories to be constant action. They tend to develop fairly slowly. So I think that excludes a large portion of the younger generation, who like things to be more fast moving.

Did the cover evolve the same way, or did you work with someone to make it come together for you?

Hmm… covers are a tricky subject, and I’ve had readers say both that they hate mine and love them! I make my own, frankly for financial reasons. Writing is not a well-paid endeavor!! Another marketing guru I follow says that you have to have covers similar to other books in your genre, but for historical romances, that tends to be half-undressed women swooning in the arms of a gentleman whose shirt is open to the waist to reveal a muscular chest. I like a muscular chest as much as the next woman, but that idea simply doesn’t fit my style. The other style of cover for historical romances of the non-bodice-ripping style is a woman in a lovely dress walking away, but I don’t do that either! I choose my covers from artists’ work of the nineteenth century. They usually have a pretty lady shown face on, but I do try to make them fit the title. One of my recent books called The Lord and The Cat’s Meow features a cat called Horace, so I put a cat on the cover. No people at all, undressed or otherwise! Next year I’ve got one coming out called Lady Beatrix and Jack the Dog – at least, I think that’s what it will be called. I often ask my mailing list subscribers to choose titles and I’ll do that this time, for sure – and I’ve found a lovely picture of a pre-Raphaelite lady with a retriever.

What are you working on now? Can we get a peek, an excerpt?

I’m re-issuing for Christmas a collection of short Regency stories with the title The Kissing Ball. As of December 3 it will be .99 cents for the ebook or $5 for the paperback. I think it would make a nice stocking stuffer; they really are cheerful, happy-ending stories, perfect for the season. These are the Amazon US/UK links:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LDZZ7NX/ref=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LDZZ7NX/ref=dbs

Here’s a peek from the title story:

Quentin Stapleton’s heart, usually a most reliable of organs and not given to somersaults or leaps, fell to his brilliantly shiny boots.

“Your fiancé?” he repeated dumbly, “Who is he?”

“Nicholas Branson. This is where he lives, isn’t it?”

“Nicky Branson is your fiancé?” he said, unable to conceal his surprise.

“Yes. Why are you looking like that?”

“Oh, er… No reason. I’m just a little surprised. I… er know Nicky well and he… well, he never mentioned being betrothed to… er, you.”

“Well, he may have forgotten. It was all arranged so very long ago, you see, and I think our letter informing him of our coming may not have arrived. We heard nothing in return, but the post is very unreliable. And then Mama has been unwell, and couldn’t come this evening. She’s finding the cold weather quite a trial. She’s completely unused to it, of course, and has had a dreadful grippe.”

“Miss Wentworth, I know I must seem amazingly obtuse. Do I understand that Nicky may have forgotten he was betrothed to you and the letter reminding him may not have arrived? Arrived from where?”

“From India. Oh dear, I know it must seem a strange story.”

“Why don’t you sit down and tell me about it,” said Quentin, leading her to a small sofa set against the wall. “First I’ll send one of the footmen to look for Nicky. He’s probably… er, in the billiard room.”

In fact, he rather thought he was with his lady love, but he didn’t say so.

Of course, it all turns out well and everyone gets the partner they want, but you’ll have to read it to see how!!

Any last words before we wrap things up?

Yes! Please visit my website to check out all my books, listen to the first chapters and sign up for a free short story. That’s also the way to contact me if you’d like to be on my subscribers’ list or become an ARC reader. I promise not to contact you incessantly. I do ask your opinion on titles, send out previews and let you know what I’m up to.

https://romancenovelsbyglrobinson.com

Thank you and Happy Holidays!

GL Robinson Bio

I’m a product of a convent boarding school in the south of England in the 1950’s and early 60’s. You can probably guess I received an old-fashioned education. I learned a great deal about the humanities and practically nothing in the sciences. I understand Latin, speak French fluently and my German isn’t bad. I read the Canterbury Tales in the original Middle English when I was 16 and Shakespeare is an open book. But the only science I remember is the ditty: Miss Cummings (our teacher) was a scientist, alas she is no more, for what she took for H2O (water) was H2SO4 (sulphuric acid). Not bad, eh? Words to live by! I met my American husband while working in Brussels (Belgium) and Bonn (Germany) and had three children before coming to live permanently in the USA.

I’ve lived here in upstate New York for over 40 years, and I was French professor at Ithaca College. I love it here! It’s so beautiful! Upstate New York features in my first contemporary crime romance Santa Baby, a different type of Christmas story!

I began writing Regency Romances 18 months ago after the death of my beloved sister who was in the convent with me all those years ago. We used to read them under the covers with a torch after lights out. My Regency novels are dedicated to her.

Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/GL-Robinson/e/B08113Q84K?ref_=dbs_p_ebk_r00_abau_000000

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gl_robinson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glrobinsonauthor/posts/342021163930592?comment_id=

Instagram: https://Instagram.com/@glrobinsonauthor

Tiktok: https://tiktok.com/@glrobinson1

UK/USA Book links: The Kissing Ball: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08LDZZ7NX/ref=https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08LDZZ7NX/ref=dbs