Where the Road Ends

Where the Road Ends By Kathryn Beck
Publication date: January 13, 2025
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Bartender Mara Sawyer has sixty days to turn her life around. If she can’t, Mara will lose the chance to regain custody of her daughter. 

Never having envisioned her life as a living, breathing, public service announcement for the Wyoming judicial system, Mara embraces the judge’s harsh rebuke. Finding a steady job will be easy, finishing school will be easy. Eluding the distraction of the new swaggering Texan, Luke Whitten, will be anything but easy.

With all her cards on the table, Luke and Mara build a strong friendship and along the way, she gives herself permission to fall in love again. When Mara’s ex offers up full custody in exchange for betraying Luke, Mara must choose — her daughter’s happiness, or her own.

—

EXCERPT:

New guy held up his finger for the fourth time in an hour.

She swept his plate and silverware into the dirty dishes bucket and pulled the handle to deliver him another beer. “Are you sure you don’t want a shot of something?” She waved at the collection of liquor bottles behind her. “Your something unpleasant is going to get expensive at some point.”

He ran his finger along the grain of the wood, up the condensation of the glass. His hands were large and calloused. Workingman’s hands.

Refusing to bite, or speak apparently, he looked up and smiled.

Second Time Charmed (Rendezvous at Midlife, #2)

Second Time Charmed (Rendezvous at Midlife, #2) By Maggie Blake
Publication date: August 28, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Sometimes a second chance is all we need.

When Margot Whitley receives devastating news, she keeps it a secret from everyone, determined to maintain her newfound commitment to herself and her career. Having to overcome obstacles as an independent businesswoman, and not wanting to bother anyone else, she feels she can handle it on her own. 

However, when Margot’s daughter, Callie, and best friend, Susie, sense that something is off and become determined to uncover what Margot is concealing, her secret unravels.

Vaughn Jameson, the love of Margot’s life, currently touring with his rock band, also sensing a change in Margot, decides to head to Los Angeles and check on her between concerts. From the moment Vaughn shows up on that fateful day at Margot’s, a story full of sacrifice, loyalty, and newfound destiny unfolds.

In life, we encounter unexpected twists and turns, surprising opportunities, and occasionally, second chances.

Can also be read as a standalone.

—

EXCERPT:

“Each step Margot took felt heavier than the last.

One foot in front of the other.

Margot’s heels clicked rhythmically on the pavement as she strode through the parking lot. The cacophony of car horns, laughter, and the distant hum of construction seemed to amplify in her ears.

Reaching her car, Margot paused for a moment, leaning against the cold metal and taking in the chaos that surrounded her. She observed the sea of faces that flowed past her on their way toward the tower, each one blissfully unaware of the storm that could meet them there.

Rendezvous at Midlife

Rendezvous at Midlife By Maggie Blake
Publication date: June 11, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

A fateful meeting in an airport sends her on the journey of her life.

Margot had always been a woman who knew what she wanted. She worked hard to build her successful locations scouting business in Los Angeles, and in her late forties, Margot felt she was in the prime of her life. 

A prosperous businesswoman with a loving husband and a beautiful daughter, Margot was living the dream. That is, until her husband left her for a younger woman. Moving forward with the help of her daughter and best friend, Margot once again enters the dating scene and soon finds that she is unable to make a meaningful connection.

Vaughn Jameson has spent his life on the road as a drummer for a well-known rock band, thankful to be living his childhood dream of making music and good times. While he yearns for something more, he isn’t sure what.

Margot and Vaughn’s lives change when they have a chance meeting that sends them on an incredible rendezvous at midlife.

 

Goodreads 

—

EXCERPT:

He started to pour more wine into her glass. “Rick, it’s been fascinating hearing about your accomplishments,” she said, deciding to give it one last try. “But I’d love to hear more about who you are as a person—what makes you tick, what drives you beyond these material achievements.”

“Uh…” he hesitated, clearly unprepared for such introspection. “I guess I just love the thrill of success, you know? The pursuit of excellence in all that I do.”

And there we have it—back to square one.

The Helping Heart (Sisters of Stella Mare, #4)

The Helping Heart (Sisters of Stella Mare, #4) By Annie M. Ballard
Publication date: March 15, 2024
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Helen comes home and everything should be wonderful. Even if she’s returning due to a divorce. But there is more…

The Madison sisters, once close, are suddenly alienated as oldest Helen returns to Stella Mare. Her desire to help everyone includes keeping them at a distance, so her own secrets stay private. Her plan backfires, making her persona non grata and upsetting her father. 

To keep the peace with Dad, she suggests a group activity: the four sisters will hike the Fundy Footpath, an iconic and challenging backpacking trip along the Bay of Fundy. Why not? They’re young, they’re strong, and besides, they’re Madisons.

Despite each sister’s reservations, the desire to reconnect pulls them into this adventure. The hike is arduous and not for the faint of heart. Daunting cliffs, deep forests, rushing rivers and unpredictable tides accompany the gorgeous views, stunning sunrises, and the sheer power of nature. 

The challenges, though shared, fracture things further, and even Helen’s campfire confession doesn’t heal the breach. But when crisis happens, Helen is called to rise to the occasion and be the sister they need her to be.

Returning to Stella Mare was hard. Regaining her place in the family was harder. Come home to Stella Mare with Helen, as she, Rett, Evie and Dorie learn once again how to be sisters.

—

EXCERPT:

“Time to burn some of those calories,” Helen called out. “Let’s get going.”

Evie cast her a curious gaze. “Is there something we’re hurrying for? You should let us know, Helen.”

She narrowed her eyes. “We need to get going. We’re like sitting ducks here.”

Rett laughed. “We’re nobody’s target. We started early, we already did the tidal crossings, so we are not worried about tides right now, and we have time to take a break if somebody is vomiting. Really.”

Helen shook her head and walked away toward the tree line. Where was that wolf? And why couldn’t her sisters take direction?

Eat Dessert First

Today is the cover reveal for Eat Dessert First by Michelle Paris. Eat Dessert First is a heartwarming story of hope and learning to believe in yourself.

The cover is designed by Apprentice House Press designer Lindsey Bonavita. This cover reveal is organized by Lola's Blog Tours.

Eat Dessert First By Michelle Paris
Genre: Women's Fiction/ ChickLit
Age category: Adult
Release Date: 7 May, 2024

Blurb: 

Baker Abbey Reilly has heard you have such a pretty face enough to know that it’s code for but an ugly body. At thirty-three, she has been particularly unlucky in love and convinced that no one will ever see beyond her plus-size. So she’s stunned when a handsome regular customer not only shows interest but asks her to dinner.

Let down and devastated when she learns her would-be beau is married, Abbey is resigned to live a lonely existence. Until a sweet encounter with a dreamy guy at a bachelorette party gives her hope that her luck in the romance department has changed. But his horrible ex-fiancee has different plans.

Can this big-hearted baker find the recipe for happiness and romance?

With light humor and loving insight, Michelle Paris weaves a delightful tale of learning to believe in yourself. Juggling elder parent care, tight finances, and deeply ingrained insecurities, Abbey Reilly will charm any reader fond of rooting for an underdog.

Eat Dessert First is a heartwarming story of hope. If you like relatable heroines, chasing a dream, and maintaining hope while searching for happiness, then you’ll adore Michelle Paris’s sweet story of fulfillment.

Excerpt:

Abbey’s finger hovered over the little blue arrow on her phone—the point of no return. She read the text again.
How are you?!?! Been thinking of you. Then hastily added. Happy Valentine’s Day!! And immediately second-guessed the addition.
She had been plotting this day ever since New Year’s Eve, when Charlie broke up with her via text. So, this “make him want you back” text had to be just right.

Charlie was her last (okay, in truth only) long-term boyfriend. At thirty-three, Abbey was a late bloomer when it came to romance. But it had taken almost a decade for her to get up the courage to download a dating app. She set up her profile and loaded carefully cropped pictures only showing from the waist up. Within seconds, she got a match. He was a fitness model with glistening tanned six-pack abs and owned a business in Nigeria. They communicated back and forth for the better part of two weeks only using text because of the difference in time zones. And then, it all quickly fell apart when her fitness model crush asked her to text a photo of a hundred-dollar gift card with the pin numbers scratched off. Hmm. Really? Nudes she had expected and even planned for with dim lighting and a full-length, flesh-toned Spanx bodysuit. But she drew the line at his request for money.

Rome’s Last Noble Palace

Rome’s Last Noble Palace By Kimberly Sullivan
Publication date: December 6, 2023
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Historical, Paranormal, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Two women. Two different centuries. One attic room

American Isabelle Field has been shipped off to Rome to live with her aunt, Princess Elizabeth Brancaccio. Isabelle’s aunt and mother share a common goal – replicating Elizabeth’s success by marrying Isabelle off to a European nobleman.

But Rome in 1896 is on the cusp of a new century and Isabelle longs for more than a titled husband. She secretly designs costumes for Rome’s burgeoning theatre environment and dreams of opening a fashion atelier. Can she gather the courage to forge a life for herself, even if it means going against expectations?

Over a century later, doctoral candidate Sophie Nouri can’t believe her good fortune when she is selected to intern in Rome’s Near Eastern Art Museum. Even better, the position includes an attic apartment in the spectacular museum property, the Palazzo Brancaccio.

Overseeing a major exhibition is stressful, but tension alone can’t explain the disturbing nighttime presence in the deserted hallways of the grand palace – especially one no one else can sense. Almost as if a spectral being is trying to communicate with Sophie directly. Or warn her.

—

EXCERPT:

Rome, 2018

SUNLIGHT STREAMED THROUGH the high windows, coaxing Sophie from her dreams. She cracked one eye open, groaning at the early hour on the travel alarm clock. How had she forgotten to close the shutters last night? Blame it on the jet lag of someone no longer used to international travel.

She turned her head to observe Matt’s sleeping form. His chest rose and fell in a calm, steady rhythm. A little sunlight seeping through the windows would never wake him this early. He was made of stronger stuff.

She turned back to the window, struck again by golden Roman light she’d forgotten after so many years away. Not at all like the diffused light back home. Sparrows swooped in graceful arcs across the cloudless, cerulean sky. As the sleepiness seeped from her eyes and her gaze sharpened, the bright, white blocks began to take shape. Her heart beat faster. The familiar but long-dormant sense of fear coursed through her body. She hadn’t been expecting to feel it so deeply after all these years away.

When All is Said and Done

When All is Said and Done By Christy Hayes
Publication date: December 5, 2023
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Summary:

A heartbreaking novel about the sacrifices we make for love.

After an unstable childhood, marriage isn’t just a promise to Dustin Carver, it’s his lifeline. He and Tegan grew up together, fell in love, and planned their perfect life. When the future they imagined gets derailed by her demanding law career, their marriage slowly slides off the rails.

Tegan can’t believe her husband took her threat of a separation seriously and walked away without a backward glance. Heartbroken and embarrassed, she covers for his absence with lies. 

Lies she tells herself about her career. Lies she tells her family about her marriage. And lies she’s yet to confess to her husband about a secret she kept while he was away. When Dustin finally returns, she’s running on fumes and her lies are about to be exposed.

Seven weeks in Key West licking his wounds and watching his best friend fall in love is enough to convince Dustin to come home and fight for his marriage. Saving their relationship means returning to therapy and facing a bitter truth neither wants to address. What if their childhood romance doesn’t have a happy-ever-after ending?

This emotional read told with brutal honesty begs the ultimate question for marriages far and wide. At the end of the day-at the end of our lives-what is worth fighting for, and when, if ever, should we walk away?

—

EXCERPT:

Dustin’s POV

He heard a noise from the kitchen, and his pulse picked up the beat. Was that the side door closing or the echoed rumble from his rebellious stomach? He stilled the strings with his palm and recognized the familiar sound of Tegan hanging her keys on the hook and shucking her shoes by the door. His heart lurched into his throat.

Dustin cursed himself for getting lost in the music and not preparing for her return. He should have been rehearsing speeches in his head or making dinner instead of mowing the lawn, adding a couple of towels to her burgeoning laundry pile, and playing around on the guitar. He propped the instrument against the couch and stood on unsteady legs.

A surging swell of love, swift and savage, swept over him as he looked at her, sent his heart thrashing against his chest. There she is—my center, my orbit—in living, breathing color. Tegan had her back turned and was flipping through the mail on the counter. Her hair was longer than normal, a dark curtain falling well past her sagging shoulders.

I Used to be Fun

I Used to be Fun By Melanie Summers
Publication date: April 14, 2023
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

“Insightful, entertaining, and satisfying. A deliciously dishy look at a typical American family behind closed doors.” ~ USA Today Bestseller Whitney Dineen

“A life-affirming emotional rollercoaster. Perfect for fans of Where’d You Go, Bernadette!” ~ USA Today Bestseller Kate O’Keeffe

A richly satisfying family dramedy for any woman who has asked, “Whose life is this?”

Jessica Holloway is miserable. As mom to two ungrateful, almost-grown children and wife to one appreciative-but-needy husband, she has all-but-abandoned the extraordinary—and extraordinarily fun—woman she used to be.

She may be smiling while she volunteers at the school’s dog wash fundraiser, but inside, she’s seething. Having traded her future as a high-powered attorney for motherhood nearly two decades ago, she’s now desperate to reconnect with the woman she once was.

Pushed to her breaking point, Jessica is secretly terrified at what she might do.

Go on strike permanently?

Take the dog and run away to Mexico?

Tell her mother-in-law what she really thinks of her?

Whatever it is, it’s going to be a disaster. Because this time, Jessica will stop at nothing to get her power back – no matter the cost.

—

EXCERPT:

She was bored. No, not bored. How can someone so busy be bored? It was more like disconnected—slightly separated from everything and everyone around her. She didn’t see the point of any of it, which seemed ridiculous because on paper, Jess had it all. 

A healthy, mostly-happy family, a part-time job she didn’t mind going to, financial security, good friends. It was enough that she felt guilty wanting anything more. But that didn’t change the fact that she did want more. She wanted to live. Some other life. One that amazed her or, more accurately, one in which she was amazing. Before she was Jessica Halloway, she was Jessica Saunders. And Jessica Saunders was supposed to be extraordinary. 

Sea Magic

Sea Magic By Heidi McIntyre
Publication date: February 13, 2023
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Historical, Magical Realism, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

When a reluctant psychic tracks a ghost through the mists of time, the treasure she discovers is worth more than gold.

She knows everyone in this seaside, New England town of Penbrook, and everyone knows her—Madeline Hunter, the shy, quiet antique shop owner who whose idea of a hot date is snuggling up with a good book and her cat, Poe.

But she keeps one thing under her vintage hat—her ability to touch an object and connect with its history. Her new-age aunt says she should embrace her “gift”, but she’d rather pretend it doesn’t exist.

After buying an old box at an estate sale filled with rare items, Madeline started having dreams—startlingly vivid dreams about Maria, a young headstrong Puritan whose “knowing” could get her branded as a witch, and whose forbidden love for a poor sailor caused a scandal.

Together with Evan, an attractive history professor who tempts her to believe in love, she uncovers Maria’s story, helpless to stop its trajectory toward tragedy. She may not be able to change the course of history, but with Evan’s support, maybe she can lay the ghosts of the past to rest—including her own.

 

—

EXCERPT:

Prologue

Maria Hallett
Cape Cod, August 1717

There was a perilous storm last night, with gusts of wind that tore through Eastham like a scourge. The violence of the driving rain had matched my own rage, a pain so bone deep I wondered how I would survive it.

That’s what grief had become for me, a boiling pot of emotions that kept me teetering on the edge. My love was everything to me—my North Star, my

protector, and my deliverer. But now all that was left of him was this interminable rain that drove his coffin deeper into its watery grave.

In The Shadow of The Apennines

In The Shadow of The Apennines By Kimberly Sullivan
Publication date: October 21, 2022
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Contemporary, Historical, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

An American divorcée. An Italian shepherdess.
Separated by a century, united by common dreams.

The sleepy little Abruzzo mountain town of Marsicano seems about as far as Samantha can flee from her failed marriage and disastrous university career. Eager for a fresh start, Samantha begins to set down roots in her Italian mountain hideaway.

At first, the mountain retreat appears idyllic, but an outsider’s clumsy attempts at breaking into the closed mountain community are quickly thwarted when the residents discover Samantha’s snarky blog ridiculing the town and its inhabitants.

Increasingly isolated in her mountain cottage, Samantha discovers the letters and diaries of Elena, a past tenant and a survivor of the 1915 Pescina earthquake. Despite the century that separates the two women, Samantha feels increasingly drawn into Elena’s life, and discovers startling parallels with her own.

—

SNEAK PEEK:

Pescina, Italy

25 April 1914

Where do I begin? Mamma blames it all on Father Ignazio. She says if only he had left me to the chores I was employed to carry out at San Berardo and the parish house, my cooking and cleaning would be much improved, and I would not be constantly scribbling on any piece of paper I could find and begging for books to read.

She worries I will never find a husband.

Dark Blue Waves

Dark Blue Waves By Kimberly Sullivan
Publication date: May 27, 2022
Buy Link: Amazon

Genres: Adult, Historical, Romance, Time-Travel, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

When you wake up in Bath, England two hundred years in the past, how far can a love of Jane Austen get you?

Janet Roberts dreams of an academic career in literature, so she can hardly believe her good fortune when she’s accepted into a Jane Austen graduate seminar in Bath, England. Settled in Georgian splendor among her seminar colleagues, Janet and her classmates live, eat and breathe Jane Austen.

An accident interrupts this idyll when Janet regains consciousness in her own room—back in Regency England. For a scholar of nineteenth-century literature, this should be a dream come true.

But Janet quickly learns there’s a world of difference between scholarly knowledge of the written page and maneuvering real life as a reluctant time traveler.

Her burgeoning friendship with Emma Huntington eases her entrée into nineteenth-century society. However, Emma’s brother, the handsome, proud and frustratingly magnetic Sir Edward, is far less welcoming.

While desperately attempting to make sense of her dilemma, Janet treads a thin line between trying to blend into her new world and not being unmasked as the imposter she is. Can she discover the way to return to her twenty-first century life? After working so hard to create a rewarding nineteenth-century life for herself and opening her hart to friendship and love, does she even want to?

Only 99¢ for a limited time!

—

EXCERPT:

Janet marveled at her reflection in the mirror. Her light brown hair with its sunny highlights looked elegant swept up; her neck appeared long and delicate. Her green eyes sparkled. She looked older, more sophisticated with her nineteenth-century toilette. She was certainly too suntanned to be fashionable among the creamy-skinned young women of Bath. Her form was perhaps too muscular for nineteenth-century tastes, but sport-sculpted shoulders and legs would be well-covered by the fashions of the day.

It did not require an extreme stretch of the imagination to believe that she might have just stepped out of the Bennet household. If only she could learn the manners and banish anachronisms from her discourse, she might actually get away with it.

The Burly-Que Girls: The 6

The Burly-Que Girls: The 6 By Linda Hughes
Publication date: December 26, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Historical, Romance, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Get a front-row seat to classic striptease during the heyday of burlesque.

When former burlesque dancers Dolly O’Dare and her friends discover that their manager, Ballard “Balls” Benedict, has skipped town with their retirement funds, there’s no stopping the irate troupe from converging on Las Vegas to track down the scoundrel. 

But to rack up enough dough to hire a private dick, the six dames must sell their life stories in a steamy, hilarious, and – yes – sweet tell-all book.

They’ll do whatever it takes to find Balls and get their money back. After all, at this point in their lives, they’ve got nothing to lose. 

But along the way they discover that the real treasures are in zany old friendships, quirky new acquaintances, and maybe even a second-chance romance or two.

Join the fun and fall in love with these wildly wonderful women in this first book in the Burly-Q Girls series. You may end up doing a little hoochie-coochie dance to become a Burly-Q Girl yourself.

This work of fiction was inspired by real-life stories told to the author by her burly-que friends.

—

EXCERPT:

Suddenly, an impatient knock from outside assaulted the apartment door like a mobster’s Tommy gun. Rat-a-tat-tat. Rat-a-tat-tat.

“Who in hell …?” Ginger got up and opened the door.

Annie Fannie stood there in all her hoity-toity glory.

Ginger glared up at the tall, svelte woman, her shock evident. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Old Castle Secrets (Happil-TEA Ever After Tea Room, #1)

Old Castle Secrets (Happil-TEA Ever After Tea Room, #1) By Amanda Daire
Publication date: April 1, 2022
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Three generations of heartbreak. One chance to heal old wounds.

“I never want to see you again!” Khrista didn’t believe her daughter when she stormed out of her life five years ago. But every day since, her daughter’s angry words have echoed in Khrista’s mind, even as she tries to hide the truth from her chosen family–the community that raised her. 

Finding solace in her preschool classroom by day and her whisky by night, Khrista is forced to confront her pride and her problems when someone from her past brings news that threatens to drive her deeper into the danger zone.

Kaelyn loves the life she built–doting husband, dream home by the beach, and a baby on the way. But when her long-lost grandmother contacts her out of the blue, life starts feeling off-kilter. She’s eager to have a blood relation to love, but meeting her grandmother again uncovers painful feelings about her own mother she keeps buried.

Estranged from her daughter and granddaughter for over twenty years, Daisy hasn’t had an easy life. But with the death of her abusive husband, she’s determined to start living. Step one: find her granddaughter, whom she hasn’t seen since the child was five. Maybe a reunion with Kaelyn will lead to mending fences with Khrista, too, and allow Daisy to rectify all the wrongs and fix everything before it’s too late.

Join the O’Donnell women on their quest for forgiveness and family and love.

—

EXCERPT:

Khrista

Careful not to spill her tea, Khrista bent to retrieve the papers from the plank wood floor, appreciating the nostalgic creak of the wood as she shifted her feet.

Clarice shook her head and chuckled as the kittens scurried under tables and over feet, causing a ripple of excitement among the tea-sipping, chattering patrons. “We only get one life to live. Might as well fill it with love.”

Her words struck Khrista in the heart, and something told her that’s where Clarice had intended them to land. Was it any wonder the people in town referred to Clarice and her community of do-gooders as the Love Warriors? She excelled at sniper attacks of nurturing.

Glory Unbound (Glory Bishop, #2)

Glory Unbound (Glory Bishop, #2) By Deborah L. King
Publication date: December 14, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Summary:

IN THIS SECOND BOOK of the series, Glory Bishop has finally broken free of her mother’s oppressive grasp and is offered a new life by a seemingly altruistic Chicago socialite, but there may be more than good intentions at play. 

Against the advice of trusted friends and family, Glory chooses the protection of Malcom Porter, her adoring, much older, bad-boy-turned-minister fiancé.

Thrust into a gilded world of wealth, society and privilege, Glory struggles to overcome the guilt of loving her new life. The whirlwind of 1980s designer clothing, penthouse views, and first-class travel is a far cry from her former existence.

With this new reality, comes unexpected complications and temptations. As she struggles to remain true to herself and her fiancé, Glory wonders if she will ever truly feel at home in this new world. Follow Glory Bishop in her continuing search for freedom and independence, as she once again strives to be her own savior.

—

EXCERPT:

Back in the living room, Mary leaned against the kitchen door fame, puffing a rolled-up brown-paper cigarette with a shaking hand. “I know y’all engaged.” Mary took a short drag. “But you cain’t just come in here and snatch a child without askin’. Not even you, Malcolm Porter.”

“Child welfare does it all the time when they see bloody sheets, bleeding welts, and years and year of scars. You should be locked up with nothing but demons!” He snatched open the apartment door and stepped out into the hallway.

“I love you, Mama.” Glory hugged her mother until she felt Mary’s arms around her. “I’m sure it’s only for a few days,” she whispered. “I’ll be back when he calms down.”

Midlife Witch Unexpected (Cougar Creek Coven, #1)

Midlife Witch Unexpected (Cougar Creek Coven, #1) By Melle Amade
Publication date: November 23, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Women’s Fiction

Middle-aged and starting over is the last thing I ever wanted on my bucket list. But since my husband announced he was gay and my daughter left for college, I don’t really have a choice.

If I’m going to get my “Happily Ever After” I have to start making new choices, starting with picking guys who like women rather than women’s makeup would be a good start.

Next!

I’m way past the point of caring what other people think. I’m 49, about to turn 50 and I’m pretty sure I’m entering the prime years of my life. It’s time to make my mark and do things the way I want to do them.

Like move.

I am sooooooo leaving the city that has sucked me dry with the commute and the executive position. There’s no way I’m doing that anymore. I have enough money from the divorce to buy a house, almost any house, outside of California. I take one suitcase and my jeep, and I leave town, not stopping until I get to Cougar Creek, which is so small I think it’s barely a town, but I’m all about it. This is where I will get my fresh start.

I inherited my Aunt’s home here years ago and never even visited, but the renters just moved out and I might as well make it my home.

For now.

But Cougar Creek has a lot more in store for me than I ever imagined. There is a load of eligible young men from the local ranches, a couple of new BFFs in similar situations, and a strange invitation to a local secret society who think I’m the new high priestess of their local coven. I didn’t stop laughing until I realized they wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. They have a massive problem in the cemetery and they expect me to solve it.

But I didn’t trade in one life of rules for another one, so if they want me to be high priestess, they’re going to have to accept that I make the rules.

—

EXCERPT:

“That’s her?” A deep voice came from the front door.

“See anyone else around here, Branson?” Bianca swiveled away from me and spoke to the golden man who stood by the front door.

His laughter reverberated from his throat and all the way to my thighs. My eyes opened wide as I looked him over. Thankfully he was staring down at his phone, his golden eyes almost hidden by his blond locks falling forward over his tan skin. He wore a plaid red, white, and blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He was broad, lean, and muscular, and way too young for me.

COVER REVEAL: Glory Unbound (Glory Bishop, #2)

Glory Unbound (Glory Bishop, #2) By Deborah L. King
Publication date: December 14th 2021
Genres: Women’s Fiction

IN THIS SECOND BOOK of the series, Glory Bishop has finally broken free of her mother’s oppressive grasp and is offered a new life by a seemingly altruistic Chicago socialite, but there may be more than good intentions at play. 

Against the advice of trusted friends and family, Glory chooses the protection of Malcom Porter, her adoring, much older, bad-boy-turned-minister fiancé.

Thrust into a gilded world of wealth, society and privilege, Glory struggles to overcome the guilt of loving her new life. 

The whirlwind of 1980s designer clothing, penthouse views, and first-class travel is a far cry from her former existence.

With this new reality, comes unexpected complications and temptations. 

As she struggles to remain true to herself and her fiancé, Glory wonders if she will ever truly feel at home in this new world. Follow Glory Bishop in her continuing search for freedom and independence, as she once again strives to be her own savior.

Pre-order

Glory Bishop

Glory Bishop By Deborah L. King
Publication date: June 4, 2019
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Summary:

“Deborah King has written a compelling, thought-provoking novel that engages readers and made me wish the story would never end.” -Chicago Writer’s Association Windy City Reviews

Glory Bishop lives her life in pieces. At work and with her friends, she reads novels, speaks her mind, and enjoys slow dances and stolen kisses with her boyfriend, JT. But at home, Glory follows strict rules and second-guesses every step. Though she dreams of going to college and living like a normal teenage girl, her abusive mother has other ideas.

When JT leaves to join the navy, Glory is left alone and heartsick. The preacher’s son, Malcolm Porter, begins to shower her with lavish gifts, and her mother pushes Glory to accept his advances. Glory is torn between waiting for true love with JT or giving in to the overzealous Malcolm.

When a stranger attacks Glory on the street, Malcolm steps in to rescue her, and her interest in him deepens. But the closer she gets to him, the more controlling he becomes. Glory must eventually decide whether to rely on others or to be her own savior.

—

EXCERPT:

She was standing at a softly rumbling dryer, folding “mountain fresh” scented towels, when she heard the door opening behind her.

“Hello, Miss Glory.”

She continued folding, pretending not to hear.

“I said, hello, Miss Glory.”

She would not give that devil’s son the satisfaction of responding.

We Are Not Like Them

We Are Not Like Them By Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Published by: Atria Books
Publication date: October 5, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

“Now these women, they can WRITE!” —Terry McMillan, New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not All Downhill from Here

“We Are Not Like Them will stay with you long after you turn the last page.” —Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me

Told from alternating perspectives, an evocative and riveting novel about the lifelong bond between two women, one Black and one white, whose friendship is indelibly altered by a tragic event—a powerful and poignant exploration of race in America today and its devastating impact on ordinary lives.

Jen and Riley have been best friends since kindergarten. As adults, they remain as close as sisters, though their lives have taken different directions. Jen married young, and after years of trying, is finally pregnant. Riley pursued her childhood dream of becoming a television journalist and is poised to become one of the first Black female anchors of the top news channel in their hometown of Philadelphia.

But the deep bond they share is severely tested when Jen’s husband, a city police officer, is involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager. Six months pregnant, Jen is in freefall as her future, her husband’s freedom, and her friendship with Riley are thrown into uncertainty. Covering this career-making story, Riley wrestles with the implications of this tragic incident for her Black community, her ambitions, and her relationship with her lifelong friend.

Like Tayari Jones’s An American Marriage and Jodi Picoult’s Small Great Things, We Are Not Like Them explores complex questions of race and how they pervade and shape our most intimate spaces in a deeply divided world. But at its heart, it’s a story of enduring friendship—a love that defies the odds even as it faces its most difficult challenges.

—

EXCERPT:

If there’s a sound more magical than the Ebenezer AME church choir, I’ve never heard it. They’re opening with an exuberant medley of gospel, funk, and some Broadway-style riffs that feels more like a stadium concert than a church service. The choir calls everyone to their feet, and I rise, limbs loose, eager to abandon myself to the invigorating rhythm. 

It’s a packed house today, with some three hundred people filling the cavernous space, the energy palpable. There’s nodding and swaying, spontaneous shouts and murmurs. You don’t need an invitation to hug a neighbor, burst into tears, or sing along as loudly and proudly as Mahalia Jackson herself.

It’s been a while since I’ve been to church, but exultation is like muscle memory. For a blissful moment, I don’t feel stressed or self-conscious; I feel rejoiced. One of those rare moments when I understand what people mean when they say they’re filled with the Spirit. The sanctuary of this church is as close as I’ve ever been to feeling God. 

Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy (It’s Complicated, #1)

Never Fall for Your Back-Up Guy (It’s Complicated, #1) By Kate O’Keeffe
Publication date: August 3, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Adult, Comedy, Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Three things I’ve learned this week: 

1) Never fall for a client
2) Never fall for your best friend
3) And most importantly, never fall for your back-up guy
…especially if they’re all the same person.

I’m the queen of dating disasters—I’ve had more rotten dates than you can shake a long stemmed rose at. After years of one disappointment after another, I’m beginning to feel like I’ll never say “I do.”

So after being dumped one too many times I do something stupid:

I make a pact with my best friend Asher. If neither of us are married by 35, we tie the knot. That’s five full years of searching for The One.

I’ve got to meet Mr. Right by then, don’t I?

Except when I take a job redecorating Asher’s bachelor pad, I realize he’s a lot different from the guy I thought he was. Against all odds, I find myself falling for my best friend. Maybe my back-up guy could be The One after all?

Except there’s only one problem…

My back-up guy has a secret that could ruin everything.

The Restarting Point (Chammont Point #1)

The Restarting Point (Chammont Point #1) By
Marci Bolden
Publication date: April 27, 2021
Buy Link: Amazon
Genres: Women’s Fiction
Summary:

Marketing executive and mother of two, Jade Kelly can now add cancer survivor to her list of successes. 

But while her life looks good on paper, four months out of treatment, Jade realizes she hardly knows her college-age children and she and her husband Nick are little more than housemates.

Determined to start over, Jade schedules a family vacation to a lakefront cabin. When her kids bail and Nick stays home to handle a last minute work crisis, Jade heads to Chammont Point alone, determined to dust herself off and figure out what to do with the rest of her life.

While she’s away, the life she thought she had unravels. Secrets, lies, and old wounds drive Jade into new adventures and new relationships. With the help of family and new found friends, Jade learns starting over sometimes means finding a brand new restarting point.

—

EXCERPT:

Jade was thinking anything would be a welcomed distraction when the door swung open.

“Knock, knock,” Darby sang as she poked her head in without actually knocking. Nor did she wait for Jade to invite her in before entering. She held out a plastic container from the grocery store and lifted a bottle of wine. “I thought you might need these. I hope you like mint brownies and red wine.”

Jade had always adored both. However, she’d completely altered her diet after her diagnosis. She’d never been a heavy drinker, but as soon as she’d read that alcohol and junk food increased the risks for the type of cancer she’d had, she’d cut those indulgences from her life. She hadn’t had either in over a year. “You didn’t have to do that.”