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New Romance and Fiction In The Garden Click on covers for more information and to purchase

Beautifully Flawed (Shine Design Series Book 2) $5.99 Elle Fiore wants a prince on a white horse. Maverick Wallace does not fit the description. It doesn't matter they shared the best kiss of her life, or her friends think he walks on water...and his Greek-god looks have absolutely no effect on her whatsoever. If only she can convince her heart he's not for her. Maverick is happy with his free and easy no-strings lifestyle. The last thing he wants or needs is someone complicated like Elle. He doesn't do relationships or sleepovers. She's beautiful, but a diva with a capital D. But something magical happens whenever they're in a room together, whether they want it to or not.

Ghosts Just Want to Have Fun (Adventures in Ghostsitting Book 6) $1.99 Mel Hargrove is getting married to her fiancé, Becker—on a night when all her relatives, both living and dead, can attend—Halloween. The bride and groom to be are hosting the entire town at their nuptials. And as a treat for the ghosts attached to her junkyard, she is allowing them a night out. What could possibly go wrong? Famous last words. Her cousin shows up with an agenda of her own, and the portal between worlds slams shut with a noise loud enough to wake the dead. Mel and Becker must figure out what went wrong and how to sneak in their vows before all Hell breaks loose.

Kitsune Enchantment $3.99 On the verge of losing her job, Shannon leaps at the chance to sell her graphic novel series to a major publisher. If only she could trust her reclusive artist partner, Ryo, to show up for editorial meetings at the science fiction convention they're attending. She'd love to have a closer relationship with Ryo, but how can she count on a man who keeps disappearing with the flimsiest of excuses? Ryo feels the same attraction to Shannon, but he isn't sure how she'd react to the truth. He's a kitsune—a fox shapeshifter—prone to transforming at awkward moments. Furthermore, a bungling amateur sorcerer is stalking him. When the wannabe wizard follows him to the convention, Ryo's secret, liberty, and budding romance with Shannon are all threatened.

By Promise Made $4.99 Hugh Cullane, accused of murder and sentenced to hang, is forced to deliver a message of betrothal to four-year-old Queen Mary of Scotland. He faces death yet again when, in rejecting the proposal, the queen's guardian orders his severed head sent back to England in a jar. Trained to protect her queen at all costs, Katherine Payne can show no mercy to the handsome messenger, despite the way his stolen kiss unsettles her single-minded sense of duty. Trapped between the English and Scottish armies, she must escape with Mary. Hugh joins her as they are chased by men determined to murder the young queen in their own quest for power.

Echoes in the Storm (The Echo Series Book 2) $4.99 A melancholy Darla Hennessy struggles to be happy for her best friend in her role as the maid of honor in her fairy-tale wedding. A last-minute wedding party change pairs Darla with her ex-boyfriend, rocker Eric Boyd. Now, she has to face him, and the realization that he's happily moved on without her. Having to be near the ex-girlfriend who dumped him, even for only a few hours, sours Eric Boyd's mood. The appearance of another of her exes, who seems interested in a reunion with Darla, and her responsive attentiveness only amplifies Eric's anger. All he wants is to get this weekend over with, head home, and nurse his broken heart. When the groom goes missing, Darla and Eric put aside their animosity to work together to search for him. But their quest leads them into danger. Will this once-loving couple overcome their resentment and admit their love? Or will they perish before they come to their senses?

Welcome Cynthia Harrison to our Garden Interviews

 Hello Cynthia

tell us about yourself

When I first began publishing my novels, I was a pantser all the way. Once I began writing mysteries, I quickly learned you have to be at least part plotter or you will make yourself crazy. You have to write out the murderer’s story, even if it will not be part of the book. You’ll need to know everything about him from behind the scenes so when you write those scenes they will feel more authentic.

 

In Blue Heaven had one character, Lily, who really got to me. At first she was just a walk on. She showed up, a 17 year old hitchhiker on the only highway out of town. She stayed. She wanted to be the star of the show. Blue Heaven was the first book in a series so I kept thinking “one of these days I’ll write your story, so can you simmer down for now?”

 

Yes, I talk to my characters. Lily went away to college but four years and two books later she was back in Love and Death in Blue Lake. And she really did almost steal that book. I could hardly hold the lid on her. Also, she added an element of mystery to the series, yet another thing I was not expecting. Since then, I’ve only written mysteries. I finished that series with a Christmas mystery, and while Lily was not a character, she was like a ghost hovering over the book.

 

I finally wrote Lily’s book Lily White in Detroit. There are two main characters, a police detective and Lily, who has become a private investigator. With a lot of baggage. I wanted to give her a happy ending. I wanted her to triumph over the tragedies in her past. And I wanted to not mess up on police procedure or private investigators. So, for Lily I went to the Writer’s Police Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin. I also read many many books on both cops and P.I.s The Detroit Police Department has a good website and I visited it. I also visited a state prison and the Wayne County jail in Detroit. I became a founding member of the Michigan chapter of Sisters in Crime.

 

That book took twice as long to write than any book I’d ever written before, but it had been a long time coming. Lily White in Detroit is my favorite book to date. I did base certain elements of Lily’s life on my own, but not in a way anyone but I can tell. I’m really proud of all the work I did to change genres and give Lily a book of her own. People ask me if I’ll write a sequel. Never say never, but for now, I’ve moved on to a new series set in Florida. Lily’s still in Detroit. Here’s the Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F92KX3C/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Tell us more...

My husband is my hero and my true love. He married a single mom, which he swore before he met me he’d never do. He supports my writing and is so proud of me. When he introduced me to his mom he said “Cindy’s a writer!” I just love him for that. He also was the first person to notice that I was in trouble mentally. After a couple of really bad car accidents, I had a whole mess of phobias, panic attacks, PTSD, you name it. And he noticed (how could he not, I was unable to control or hide my panic). He told me I needed to see a psychiatrist, and doing that changed my life for the better in really big ways. He’s been a great stepdad to my sons and a role model for me. He is so healthy. He eats healthy, he exercises, he drinks in moderation. He is wise and generous  with money and can fix everything from a refrigerator to a car engine. He’s forgiving. He’s gentle. He’s loving. He balances me out in so many ways. I owe my writing career (not to mention my sanity) to him, because whenever I needed to take a semester (or two) off work, he never complained.

 

I enjoy interviews. I’d rather do an interview than any other form of marketing. And yes, I laugh at my own jokes. My husband just retired this year, and he doesn’t always get my humor. So, I laugh and say “Did you notice I just told a joke?” Now he knows that when I say something and laugh, he needs to laugh, too. Work in progress.

 

I love autumn, but summer’s nice too. My favorite comfort food is mashed potatoes. I could eat them every day. I really want some right now.

 

I’ve had my website, http://cynthiaharrison.com, since 2002. I blog once a week on writing, retirement, reading, or whatever’s on my mind on Monday morning. I love #MondayBlogs hashtag on Twitter, but there is no book promotion allowed. But I still blog every Monday. I don’t have a business page on Facebook, but my Twitter handle is @cynthiaharriso1. I’m a fan of Pinterest and have boards for all my books plus boards for everything in my personal life from organizing the pantry to new haircuts I want to try. You can find the boards I’ve created here: https://www.pinterest.com/cynthiaharriso1/_created/.

 

I have a new book coming out November 2, Jane in St Pete, a brand new series about a woman who completely changes her life when her husband dies unexpectedly. She retires, sells her home, moves from Detroit to Florida. This cozy series is much more light-hearted than Lily White in Detroit. Jane gets involved in murder cases because, as a former art lecturer, she consults with the police on art-related questions in suspicious deaths. And of course, as in all my books, there’s a little romance.

 

Until then, I have a free short story on my website with characters whose story continues to unfold in Jane in St. Pete.  You’ll find it here: https://cynthiaharrison.files.wordpress.com/2020/08/the-charming-criminal.pdf

 

New Romance and Fiction In The Garden Click on covers for more information and to purchase

Against My Better Judgment (Mauzzy and Me Mystery Book 1) $4.99 When freshman year at the University of Alabama draws to a close, Sara Donovan finds herself grappling with the same old question—listen to her head or follow her heart. What she ends up doing is purchasing an Egyptian souvenir funerary mask, and after a mysterious phone call, she's certain a ring of antiquities smugglers are operating in Tuscaloosa. With finals never far from her mind and her return to 'Bama hanging in the balance, she should be studying. Instead she launches her own investigation to prove her mask is indeed a stolen artifact, and not a cheap trinket. When it comes time to snoop, Sara is more than ready, or at least she was until a hot new teaching assistant moves in next door. Suddenly she learns things are never as they seem. Ever.

A Neapolitan Fairy Tale at Lake Okoboji (One Scoop or Two) $2.99 Twenty-seven-year-old workaholic Georgiana Bennet lost her sense of taste in an accident. When she arrives at Lake Okoboji, Iowa, looking for a cure she meets Michal, the handsome co-owner of the Lucky Star Ice Cream Bar, and his three eccentric partners. The three women weave their way into Georgiana's world as she finds herself spending long days in the sun with Michal and warm evenings under the stars. But the day she sees fairy wings on her new female friends changes her forever. The fairies manipulate Georgiana's life, including her love life, until she makes a decision that complicates everything.

Diomere's Mercenary (The Gate Keeper Chronicles Book 3) $4.99 Five Gates. Five Sisters. Five Very Different Men. Once there were two worlds connected by five magical gates. Then the Gate Keepers closed the gates and disappeared. The Gate Keepers have returned. Ripped from her home and sold to the mercenary guild as a child, Kardia Quinones overcame her father's betrayal and made a place for herself as a respected mercenary. Then war threatens her beloved guild and her homeland. Sahir Mekala wakes after twenty-three years to find his people on the brink of war and his intended mate unwilling to accept him. But dragons are as stubborn as harpies and he'll let nothing stop him from claiming her. When Kardia and Sahir find themselves working together, sparks fly. Despite Kardia's reluctance to ever trust another male, Sahir sets out to prove exactly how perfect the match between a dragon and harpy can be.

A Fallacious Seduction $4.99 When the train US Marshal Reese Calhan is riding on explodes, he is one of two survivors. Trouble is, the other survivor is the woman who betrayed him years ago. A woman he thought was dead. This time he will not fall prey to her wiles. He'll see the vixen jailed for her crimes if it kills him. Recovering from a recent jilting and now a train explosion, Shanna Johnston has no idea why the handsome stranger insists he knows her and calls her by another woman's name. His heated looks and knowing kisses spark a fire in her she cannot ignore--even as her own mysterious past is closing in.

At Her Request $4.99 Lady Olivia Worthington has had some ill-fated ideas in the past. This, however, might well take the prize for the worst. Olivia and her friend, Elspeth, set out late at night to catch a rumored demon in their net and send it home. Instead, they catch a man. Lord Derek Durham, Marquis of Durnhaven, walks the park late at night and alone. Since the day of the fire, when half his face was disfigured, it's the only way and time he'll ever venture outside the walls of his mansion. It is Olivia's nature to rescue every person or animal in need, and Derek's need is great. No matter his resistance, she will not rest until she sees him happy and restored. Olivia never expected to fall in love. Neither did Derek.

Welcome Marilyn Baron to our Garden Interviews

 Hello Marilyn

Do you plot or let the story unfold as you write?       I’m a pantser, which means I don’t plot or
outline or plan in advance. I always have the title of the book and the name of the main characters before I start and I know how I want the book to begin and end. Then I start writing. Writing the “sagging middle,” is the most difficult. I’ll admit that process involves a lot of rewriting.

 

What's your favorite book you've written? I write in a variety of genres from women’s fiction to romantic suspense to historical romance, and my first book published by The Wild Rose Press, Under the Moon Gate, set in current day and WWII Bermuda, combines all three genres. My family has vacationed in Bermuda about twelve times and I’ve always wanted to set a book there. That book took me ten years to write because it involved a lot of research and I had a day job, but it’s the book I’m most proud of.

Do you have trouble saying goodbye to characters? No. While I’m writing a book they’re all up in my head, talking to me, acting out scenes, but when the voices stop, I know the book is done.

What tips would you give a new writer?  Finish the book. You can’t correct a blank page but you can improve a manuscript draft. And read, read, read. I don’t know a good author who is not also a voracious reader. 

Do you have to travel researching your book(s)? I don’t have to, but I believe it makes the setting come alive and provides atmosphere. Usually I travel to a place, fall in love with it, bring back all the literature I can from the trip, including menus, museum brochures, anything and then I write the book. 

and for a little fun...

What did you want to be when you grew up?     I’ve always wanted to be a writer, ever since I read Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I was good in English, always writing scripts for school assembly programs, editing or writing articles for the school newspaper and writing for creative journals (poems and short stories). I majored in journalism (public relations) and minored in English (creative writing) in college so I became a corporate public relations consultant, have worked for corporations and had my own PR business. I didn’t get published in fiction until 2013.

What is your favorite drink? Lemonade.

Do you ever wish that you had an entirely uncreative job, like data entry or working in a factory? No! That would drive me insane.

Do you have any hobbies? Reading and traveling.

What is your favorite comfort food? Chocolate chip ice cream. I recently had a short story published about it—Stracciatella Gelato: Melting Time—where the elderly heroine is transported back in time to her college days in Florence, Italy.  

Where can we find you online?

www.marilynbaron.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marilyn-Baron-286807714666748/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron

On Amazon Amazon Author Page 

https://www.amazon.com/Marilyn-Baron/e/B008PJFQPC/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

New Romance and Fiction from The Wild Rose Press

 

New Romance and Fiction In The Garden

Click on covers for more information and to purchase  

After dropping out a semester short of college graduation, Bailey Madison inherits the management of her family's struggling ice cream shop in Seward, Alaska. When Kingsley Tours needs her prime location to expand their business into the Last Frontier, Bailey must use her wits and creative ice cream recipes to save her shop. Usually carefree and self-centered Brahms Kingsley must prove to his father he can buckle down and lead Kingsley Tours as the company grows. But how can he close Bailey's shop when she still holds a place in his heart? Brahms must choose between pleasing his father and earning the love of a woman he never forgot.

Jenn left the intelligence game behind to sell a delicious dessert using her family's magical age-old recipe. As the sole ice cream vendor in the food truck arena, success is hers until the hot, new ice cream guy arrives threatening to melt her competitive nature as he heats emotions she thought were dead. Former Navy SEAL, James "Camp" McLeod returns home wanting to bring joy to people. The perfect solution--making ice cream cones. Who doesn't like ice cream? But what he really wants is to forget his past. Not an easy task...maybe impossible with the mysterious Jenn Beagle and her tantalizing waffle cone distracting him. His past and her secrets may prevent the rivals from forging an alliance, but the magic spark is undeniable whenever they mix business with pleasure.

Sloane Osbourne, paranormal real-estate agent, receives a frantic call from another agent injured by a ghost. She races to help but instead she discovers she's the victim of blackmail. Things go from bad to worse when she learns FBI agent Jonah Prescott is missing. With time running out to save her job, she rushes to Las Vegas to search for the man she loves. In Vegas she frantically hunts for Jonah only to find him and lose him again. Not knowing if her one true love is dead or alive, she heads back to St. Louis. There events take another turn. With an enemy dogging her footsteps, she needs to salvage her business and prevent Jonah from becoming a ghost himself.

Rebecca Layton returns to her beachside hometown of Sunnyville, California, determined to explore the possibility of rekindling her past relationship with the love of her life, Raymond Colton. She's devastated to discover that he has moved on and is now engaged. Raymond Colton harbors resentment towards Rebecca for abandoning him to pursue her dreams of life in the big city. Now she's back and more beautiful than ever. But Raymond's heart has been broken more than once and risking more heartache with Rebecca isn't a gamble he's willing to take. When Rebecca agrees to use her marketing expertise to help Raymond's father salvage his failing family business--Colton's Ice Creamery--she and Raymond are thrown together, and old flames are ignited. Can they heal the wounds from their past and embrace the possibility of a brighter tomorrow?

Pregnant and licking her wounds from a messy divorce, Kyli Ryder returns home for the summer to work at her dad's Cape Cod ice cream shop. The small town is a familiar haven as she wraps her brain around a sudden future as a single mom. From the minute Kyli and Devon Daughtry laid eyes on each other—as she sat on the floor in a puddle of dishwasher water—there was an unexpected spark. Their friendly flirting and teasing over his daily vanilla waffle cone becomes a salted caramel seduction metaphor for Devon's growing attraction. Hooked by the undeniable connection between them—one which Kyli refuses to admit, and Devon refuses to ignore—she's a package deal he's intent on having in his life. Can Devon sweet talk his way into her heart, ultimately proving it's okay to love again?

Tall, beautiful and slender, she dressed like a boy and fought like a warrior and won Laird Macgregor's interest in a single moment. Jillian was fighting to protect her father and save her heritage – could she trust a Highlander to help her?

Avery Parker has finally realized her childhood dream of owning the quaint ice cream shop in Eden Beach, Delaware. Unoccupied for over a year, the place needs major renovations, but at what cost? The only contractor available for the job is the one who squashed her dream twenty years earlier. Will these two be able to put aside their differences while they bring Sprinkles back to its former glory and mend their broken hearts in the process?

Math teacher Melissa Tanner is managing her dad's beach front, ice cream stand for the summer. The tourist area is near a military base, and she knows the risk of dating service men. But when she meets Captain Ty Waltman, she re-evaluates her prejudice against men on temporary duty. Bachelor pilot Ty loves his globe-trotting career but meeting down-to-earth Melissa makes him reconsider his future. Yet, can he give up a life of travel and tie himself to one base and the Hurricane Hunters in order to be closer to Melissa?

New Romance and Fiction from the Wild Rose Press

 

New Romance and Fiction In The Garden Click on covers for more information and to purchase

They looked alike, dressed alike, shared the same food preferences, finished one another's sentences. What were the chances that in a world where opposites attract and likes repel, two people so similar in every way, including their successful careers as serial killers would meet, fall in love and form one of the deadliest duos ever? Bernie and Bertie did just that, and this is their story.

When aspiring young actress Heather Shelton jumps in the car with her dog, Bear, and flees to her family's mountain cabin to escape an untidy romance, all she wants is peace and time to study for auditions. What she gets is murder. The only witness of a savage killing—and squarely in the cross-hairs of a ruthless assassin—she is injured and left for dead. Heather knows handsome men are bad news, but hottie lawman Matt McCrae's smile gets her every time, until he leaves her hanging out as bait to trap the killer. McCrae promises to protect her, but fails, and she faces the killer alone, with only Bear to help.

Gunslinger Shiloh Coltrane has returned home to work the family's Wyoming ranch, only to find there's still violence ahead. His sister and nephew have been murdered, and the killers are at large. Dr. Sydney Cantrell has come west to start her medical practice, aiming to treat the people of a small town. As she tries to help and heal, she finds disapproval and cruelty the payment in kind. When the two meet, it's an attraction of opposites. As Shiloh seeks revenge, Sydney seeks to do what's right. Each wants a new life, but will trouble or love find them first?

Mikayla DiAngelis has spent the past two years traveling the world and avoiding the demands of her overbearing warlock father. A confusing kiss from her former bodyguard is yet another reason for her to stay two steps ahead on the run. Warlock bodyguard Austin Luca will stop at nothing to bring Mikayla home. His loyalty belongs to her family, but his heart belongs to her, even though he has ties that bind him to his own family responsibilities. Their encounter was inevitable, and Mikayla is soon caught up in Austin's passion and the world she vowed to leave behind. Will surrendering to her former protector cost her the freedom she needs?

Schoolteacher Sienna Schultz is still stinging from a bad breakup with her fiancé when she finds herself unexpectedly infatuated with a new man. While working her summer job at her aunt's ice cream shop in the small tourist town of Sandhill Island, she meets Jake White, a college student from Corpus Christi who is working on a shrimper for the summer. Sienna is not ready for another relationship, but Jake is difficult to resist. Sienna's peaceful summer is shattered when a series of suspicious events unfold. Her aunt's suppliers refuse to sell to her, putting the future of the shop in jeopardy. Then, when the store is vandalized, they wonder if someone is out to harm not only the business, but Sienna and her aunt as well. Jake offers to help uncover who's behind the incidents, which brings the two of them closer together. Can Sienna trust him…or is she headed for another heartbreak?

On Lucy Legato's seventy-sixth birthday, she makes a wish to fix the rocky relationship she has with her daughter, Tessa. Suddenly a bright light blinds her, and Lucy finds herself young again and back on the Jersey shore. Did she actually travel through time? Or did her life flash before her eyes because she was dying? Lucy realizes she is not dead, but as impossible as it sounds, she's been sent back to an earlier time in her life. So, while she's there, she decides to keep a promise to her little girl. Tessa's not the only one delighted. Serving up the treat is the flirty ice cream parlor owner. And he's interested in more than good customer service! How far can she take this fantasy?

Designer Katherine Watson is enjoying a delectable frozen pistachio treat at Ginardo's beachside ice cream shop when her friend issues a playful dare. Katherine can't resist accepting the challenge and finds herself tasked with creating a designer purse out of pistachio shells. But the fun day takes a chilling turn when Katherine uncovers a clue in the ice cream store to a decades old missing persons case--and she suspects there may be a killer in their midst. Katherine is soon up to her shoulder bag in danger, but she's determined to see that a murderer gets his just desserts.

Who knew returning home would contain a cool nip in the air, irresistible chocolate, and a Santa suit? Candice Cane is not proud of the way she acted after her last encounter with Jackson Frost. Sure revenge was fun, but now Jackson is angry and looking for answers, and standing on the welcome mat in her chocolate shop. Now he's after some revenge of his own. Jackson returned to his small hometown for one reason and one reason only. So, he's not sure how he ended up in a Santa suit in the middle of a chocolate shop, at the behest of its beautiful owner, instead of high-tailing it back to the city as fast as he can.