Keep the Romance Alive with @AuthorNicMorgan and @RomanceBooks4Us #romance #books #vacation #getaway

Welcome to Romance Books 4 Us, I'm your tour host for the day, so sit back, prop up your feet and get comfy. I'm about to share some goodies with you.

Romantic Getaways...

Okay, the summer has begun and its time to grab your special someone for some alone time. Romance doesn't have to die just because you are busy with life. Keeping a relationship alive is an important ingredient in any successful couples recipe. 

Below are two getaways that will spark a flame without breaking the bank.

Do you have a place that you love to get away with, in an effort to keep romance alive?  

• Nemacolin Woodlands Resort and Spa: The Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa in
  Pennsylvania regularly hosts Couples Vacations, which are packed with sensual and bonding activities like couples yoga, a massage workshop, wine tasting, and sinful desserts. Active couples will be happy to know that the vacation also includes whitewater rafting, climbing, horseback riding and a shooting academy.

• Sugar Hill Inn: This New Hampshire getaway is full of rustic charm, lush greenery and
  beautiful landscapes. The owners of the Sugar Hill Inn specialize in massage therapy and romantic cuisine. Nearby are the Franconia Notch, a gorgeous mountain range, and the Robert Frost Place.

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Thank You for joining me today! I'll see you all next month on the 1st. Have a great month and remember to check out Romance Books 4 Us for some awesome reads! 

Nicole Morgan is an author of erotic romance novels, which more often than not have a suspenseful back story. Erotic romance mixed with good old-fashioned whodunit. While she's written everything from contemporary to paranormal her leading men will more than likely be wearing a uniform of some kind. From military to police officers, she has a love for writing about those who protect and serve. From her very first novel about Navy SEALs to her more recent releases you will be sure to find a few twists and turns you were not expecting.

She is a proud member of the Romance Books 4 Us Gold Authors and also one of the Sweet N Sexy Divas.  

Find out more about Nicole and her books by visiting her website, blog, Google + Page, Twitter, Facebook and her Yahoo Group, Nicole’s Think Tank.

Website http://www.authornicmorgan.com

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Until next month lovies ~ Nic 

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Visiting History #Williamsburg #melissa_keir

Visiting History

Welcome back to another (I hope) interesting blog post about writing and a writer's mind. To celebrate my husband's birthday, we did a small vacation to Washington DC and nearby Williamsburg. He hadn't been to the area since Nixon was president and I'd never been, so it sounded like a fun getaway. Two days in DC and two days in Williamsburg with a day in between for travel. We did the quick trip due to the doggies at home who don't do well with strangers or kennels. 

Step back in time. The buildings and town of Williamsburg are set in the Early Colonial period when the small area was the capitol of the English settlement. Governor's appointed by King George made their home in the Governor's Palace. Later, Thomas Jefferson would spend time in the building and left behind detailed drawings and floor plans which became important in the reconstruction of the historical home. 

Today, you can tour the Palace and walk through the gardens. While at one time, the main floor collapsed into the cellar, having the drawings was vital to the reconstruction. With the attached ballroom, marble entryway and fragrant gardens, be sure to spend time examining all the details of a time long past. 

At the Palace are working kitchens where you can see actual food from the period being made as well as many helpful docents wearing a variety of clothes from the period. Horse-drawn carriages travel the roads giving visitors a glimpse into history.

Additionally, there are other wonderful historic buildings in the town. We sat in and participated at a reenactment in the courthouse, which shed light on how right in Williamsburg the seeds of the American Revolution as well as the Bill of Rights began. 

For those people who are looking for more than history, the surrounding area boasts world-class golf courses, outlet malls, children and pet friendly hotels and amazing eateries. Busch Gardens, Water Country USA, and Great Wolf Lodge are close by and it's only a short drive to the ocean. In addition, it's the location of The College of William and Mary.

The historic shopping district was one of my favorites as I was able to see items made in the village as well as sample some local food in a historical tavern. But there was so much to see and do, that we could have easily spent more than two nights in town! Two other historic towns- Yorktown and Jamestown are both close by and form a triangle of history!

But you don't have to take my word on all the amazing things you'll see. You can check it out for yourself. Williamsburg Tourism

My trip was for pleasure but I did get some work done as well. I have a new release coming out in a few days. Only This Tuesday: A Copper Mills Novella is a stand alone story (for now) which takes place in Arizona.

Blurb:

Only This Tuesday...

Tuesday Benson sets out to escape her past. A thieving boyfriend. A bankrupt restaurant. Memories of her brother. She's started over in Copper Mills with a taco truck more popular than most of the local eateries. But when Tuesday hires a local boy to help, will she stir up something more than a tasty treat?

Mayor Blake Rodgers enjoys the simple things in life. An early morning jog. Down-home cooking. The comradery of the small-town residents. With his help, Copper Mills has become a trendy tourist destination. But when Blake falls for the controversial food-truck owner, will he lose the town's backing?

Toss in bigotry and gossip as well as the mayor's former fiancée, and you have a recipe for disaster.

Come Visit Copper Mills, Arizona--a small town with a heart as big as the wide-open spaces and a long history of making dreams come true.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Only-This-Tuesday-Copper-Novella-ebook/dp/B07HLW4QPL

BN: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/only-this-tuesday-melissa-keir/1129610666

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/only-this-tuesday

Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id1437940443

Available in ebook and print

Until next month...

Melissa Keir

www.melissakeir

Research Trip by Janice Seagraves

I had been writing so many stories about a desert or desert worlds that I thought it was time to refresh my memory. I hadn't been to the desert since I was in the sixth grade.

So hubby and I packed our bags and headed out to the Mohave desert.

We stayed in Palmdale, in a good central location, and took day trips out to see the desert. I also took tons of photos. Here are a few.

We saw a lot of Joshua trees.

 At the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve, we saw a warbling Desert Wren

 Lots of Spotted Lizards. This one is taking a nap on the Joshua tree blooms. 

The funny thing was I didn't know Joshua trees bloomed.

 Lots of bunnies

 And did I mention lizards?

 We also went to the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, but no poppies.

On the way back, we stumbled across a antique store that reminded me and my husband of the old Sanford and Son show. We spend a delightful hour exploring there.

And we spend one day at the Santa Monica Pier which is a two hour drive from Palmdale. The direction we had said it was an hour and a half drive but it lied. The traffic in L.A. is terrible.

A nice Russian girl took our photo at the Marisol restaurant, located at the very end of the Santa Monica pier, and she made us this card. 

 

We had a great time. 

Wish you were here.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Blurb: Megan and Seth are finally rescued off their little island, but things are far from idyllic as they’re treated to one nasty surprise after another, which puts all plans of a wonderful future in jeopardy.

Will they ever get back together again or see the life they envisioned?

Except:
“Megz, I thought you were going home?” Seth chided as she took the seat across from him at the old beat up wooden table.
“I have a flight in two hours. Time enough to see you before I leave.” She blinked back tears.
This is so unfair. This can’t be the last time I see him.
Megan folded her hands on the table. “We already checked out of the hotel, but I brought your luggage. The commissioner gave me the okay, so now you have a change of clothes for when you go in front of the judge. I also bought you a few necessities. Since soap and such are not provided, I was told it’s customary for family members to buy those items for the inmates.” She sat a white plastic bag on the table. “These have already been cleared for your use.”
He eyed the bag. “Did your boys pay for it?”
This is the last thing I can do for him, and he doesn’t want it? “Don’t you argue with me, Seth Dawson. You need these.” She fisted her hands. “I also put some money into an account here at the jail for anything else you might need.”
“Ta fer that, love. I’ll pay your sons back somehow.” Seth took one of her hands and uncurled her fingers. “I did want to see you one last time. I didn’t reckon with us parting this way. You to yer rotten bloke, and me here on charges.” He smiled. “Cuddling up on one of your siblings’ sofas sounded nice.”
“Crowded maybe, but we would’ve been together.”
“I heard you made a statement.”
“I did.” She sighed and looked down. I’m not sure what good it’ll do, Seth.
“Thanks for trying, love,” Seth murmured. “I don’t reckon on it being much since you didn’t know Bill before he died.”
“The commissioner said most of my statement is hearsay.” She shrugged. “The only thing I could really tell them was: Bill was dead when we found him and looked the same as the other drowning victims. Also, you never said a bad word about him and showed genuine grief at seeing his body.”
“Not much to go by.” Seth rubbed his thumb across her knuckles.
The slight touch sent a tingle through her, and she wanted to throw herself across the table at him. “The commissioner said he was going to contact the harbormaster where the Dinki-Di had been birthed to see if you two had gotten into any fights.”
“We didn’t.” Seth shook his head. “We got along.”
“Maybe he’ll make a statement too.”
“Gawd, I hope so,” Seth said. “I don’t have enough character references, being from out of town.”
“No, just me.” She tried to smile.
“And old Bill who’s gone.” He lifted her hand to kiss her fingers.
“Times up,” said a guard.
Megan stood and stared at Seth wanting to remember him. Not like this in the black and white jail clothes, but the way he was on the island, happily rumpled in his threadbare outfits.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Buy Link: Amazon USA
Buy Link: Amazon UK

When Will Spring Arrive?? #RB4U @melissa_keir

When Will Spring Arrive??

Hello, it's Melissa again. I drop by each month about this time to share some interesting insights into life of a writer, mom and teacher. Today, I'm feeling a little down in the dumps. The weather hasn't been too bad... in the 40's with a little sunshine, but the Winter Blah's have taken over my house.

February is a tough time in the Midwest. We've had Winter and the wondrous holidays that go along with it (Christmas and Thanksgiving) as well as fun snow but come February, we are ready for some Spring.

We know it's coming. There are signs. Yesterday, I heard birds singing at 6:30 when I let the dogs out. The sun is also up now before I am most mornings. My father says that he can tell it's almost Spring because he begins getting his vegetable catalogs and starts to think about the garden.

Yet, it's not quite here. 

Being patient is a challenge. We all have to wait for things, a doctor's appointment, a special holiday, for our best friend to come home. I think it is that feeling of waiting that makes February the hardest. Not to mention that Mother Nature can still hit us with a snow storm or polar vortex.

I hadn't heard about seasonal affective disorder until the early 2000's. SAD is a mood disorder characterized by depression that occurs at the same time every year. It's often caused by a lack of sunlight (the sun is at a different angle during the Winter) and can be helped with extra Vitamin D. Even my doctor is pushing the Vitamin D saying that "everyone in Michigan is low in Vitamin D because we don't get enough sun."

I vow to change that...

Not the Vitamin D... but the sun. 

While I'm waiting on Spring to arrive here, I'm taking a small working vacation in Texas where the sun shines and the temperatures will be above freezing.

The Wild Wicked Weekend is a Reader and Author conference in San Antonio. There is a book signing but more importantly, it's a time to let lose and connect, to be silly and recharge. 

If you happen to be in San Antonio on Feb. 27th, the book signing is open to the public. It will be held at the Menger Hotel with over 44 amazing authors from Desiree Holt and Rebecca Royce to little old me. I'd love to see you and share in some Sunshine and Vitamin D.

Melissa Keir is a best-selling and award winning author of over ten books, which range from hot and sexy cowboys to small town romances that sizzle. She's also the local radio station's movie reviewer and teaches in her spare time, but she's not given up that dream of being a race car driver. You can find information about her and her books at her website.

Until next month!

Sun, sand and books

My daughter and I returned home from our Girls Road Trip 2010 last week. We made a round trip 2500 mile loop from our SW Missouri home to the north east coast of Florida, not far from where we lived for eighteen years. Can't get much more land-locked than smack in the middle of the USA and after three years of living here, we missed the ocean something fierce.


I had no worries that the beach town had gone through radical changes since I'd left it. I expected changes but nothing drastic. There were new houses and restaurants, a few more shops and more traffic that went along with the growth, but life in and around the Atlantic hadn't changed. That phrase, you can never go back home doesn't hold true for the ocean. One not crippled by human-made disasters is a safe place for the nostalgic person to return to. Tides, surf sounds, beaches, shells, sand crabs, sea birds. Every size, shape and age of people in and around the water. Five, ten, twenty years could pass before I get to the ocean again and when I do, I can feel confident that what I love about it will still be as I had left it.


I expect I will find the same beachgoing activities in a decade as I found last week. Walking, jogging, kite flying, castle building, eating, drinking, reading. I was so happy to see that reading is still favored by so many beach lovers. Educational associations, writer's loops and book purchasing statistics have raised concerns about the decline of reading in this country. We're told paper book purchases are down, ebook purchases are up. I expected to see either no readers or those who were reading to have the popular Kindle or other handheld reading device inches away from their faces. Like the Kindle television commercial with the couple sitting in cozy canvas chairs on the beach, their backs to the camera, each reading from a Kindle. In the week I spent oceanside I saw not a single one. Paperback and hardback books yes, but no handhelds. Not that it matters to me what method someone uses to read a book, as long as books are still being read. But I was surprised and pleased--no offense to those of you who use electronic methods to read--to see so many actual books being enjoyed.


I'm strictly old school. I have to hold a book, turn the pages with my fingers, see actual print on paper, use a bookmark from my vast collection to mark my stopping place. Apparently plenty of people agree with me. But even more important is they agree that a good book is a fantastic beach companion. And as writers, that is absolutely something for us to celebrate.


Polly