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