Something Life Changing by J. L. Regen

MUSE MONDAY

My guest, J. L. Regen, knows tradgedy. That tradgedy led her to write "hopeful." You'll enjoy her post today for Muse Monday on Discover...

Last month was the 25th anniversary of the 9-11 tragedy. On that day, I escaped with my life, walking three hours in fallen ashes. September 12 is my birthday. I was to meet a friend for an early celebration. When I finally arrived at her job, she said, “I thought you were dead.”

I replied, “No. As you can see, I’m very much alive.” 

Sadly, 200 close colleagues didn't survive. I mourn their loss. 

I decided to become an author as a result of surviving 9-11. I saw many people in distress that day and one colleague who walked down 72 flights said she thought a lot of the people we worked with were dead. After running from One WTC, which I was about to enter as my bus came in late, it collapsed before my eyes. I was pulled to safety by a NYC police officer and an FBI agent. I had started on a romance and a few other suspense stories after surviving cancer, but I had a wonderful job and between that and my volunteer service, there never seemed to be enough time. Once I survived 9-11, the time was then and there to do it. My father, now departed and Mom, were do distraught they called all their friends in NYC to find out if I was alive. I will never forget their fear or my anxiety in not being able to call them in Florida because the lines were tied up. 9-11 influenced me in life and career altering ways. 

With Secret Desires it was a choice between simply writing a romance or penning one that dealt with, at that time, an experience of a personal nature. I chose the personal: I dated someone like Edward. He didn’t tell me he was engaged after being a widower. I was shattered but pushed past anger to write a contemporary romance about two people who do have a happy ending. I wanted hopeful. 

I’d been through so much I couldn’t think of anything but Edward finding his new love and Margo being lifted out of the despair of a verbally abusive father.

BLURB:
Nothing in Margo Simmons’s life comes easy. She can’t claim the inheritance on a condo apartment her uncle has left to her until she is gainfully employed in a job for a year. She meets the man of her dreams but anguishes over a loving relationship because he is still emotionally tied to his deceased wife. With great difficulty, she becomes the guardian to a recently orphaned child she had been tutoring. 

Margo evolves from an insecure, newbie elementary teacher into a woman determined to fulfill the secret desires locked in her heart. My story speaks to anyone who has suffered a loss and had to start over.

BUY LINKS

Find all of J. L.'s books on her website:

www.joansbookshelf.com

J.L. Regen’s book was inspired by a real life story of lovers who join hearts against many odds. She lives in the New York metropolitan area, is a published photojournalist, has short suspense stories online, and has taught English as a Second Language to students around the globe. This is her first contemporary romance. She has also published three nonfiction books and is crafting a historical suspense with romance set in World War II.

Contact: J. L. Regen

Writerjr1044@gmail.com

Website: www.Joansbookshelf.com

Write What You Know—a No-No? By Karina Bartow

 MUSE MONDAY

It's always fun to find out how an author's writing evolves. Karina has an interesting journey for Muse Monday on Discover... 

We’ve all heard the saying, “Write what you know.” In truth, that’s how many of us start out in our writing, especially in school. Back in my elementary and middle school years, I wrote a couple of short stories about my dad and my honorary brother, among other people in my life. As I began to consider writing professionally, I was drawn to authors like Nicholas Sparks, who wrote in a relatable and realistic style, even setting his plots in his home state of North Carolina.

Once I made the commitment to put pen to paper, so to speak, my mentality changed a bit. While I still wanted to strike a genuine tone, I was afraid to make my stories very true to my own life. Though I love my home and familiar stomping grounds in Ohio, I never wanted to base a story here. I thought that, if I did so, readers wouldn’t be able to separate me from the tale, especially if they knew me personally. Plus, I wanted to show off my imagination, and I feared that I couldn't do that if I took advantage of the places in my everyday world.

When it came to characters, I had somewhat of the same mindset. Apart from a few special people I wanted to honor in my work, I didn’t want all of my characters to resemble someone from my life. Along with the same reasonings I had about the location, I also worried over upsetting people or making readers compare the characters to the people who inspired them. Since I write fiction, I didn’t want them to believe that everything I wrote about the characters happened in the individual’s real life.

Little by little, however, my approach pivoted back to the old adage, “Write what you know.” Why? I saw the way readers responded to the characters that were based off of real people. One of them was Mabel, a dear family friend I considered a grandmother. I put her as a secondary character in my second novel, Forgetting My Way Back to You, and my writing coach absolutely loved her from the first draft onward. Eventually, that led to a prequel about her, Wrong Line, Right Connection. Though I did have to clear up some curiosities about what was true and what was fiction, a lot of the readers who were acquainted with the real woman savored the opportunity to envision her in the plot.

Over the years, I’ve grown to realize that your bond with a character resonates with readers.  In many cases, you can develop that over time even with a completely fictitious character. When they are inspired by somebody you have a personal relationship with, however, it can give that extra spark to the character. You’re familiar with their habits and personality, and when you implement those features, it doesn’t mean you’re putting your imagination on cruise control. Rather, you can use your imagination to convey such in a way that fosters a bond between readers and characters similar to the one you have with the individual behind them.

My upcoming release, A Craving for Chaos, is the most true-to-life portrayal of people in my circle that I’ve crafted to date. My uncle and aunt were my muses for the protagonists, with their dynamic personalities providing all kinds of material to use! From their common expressions to fun family anecdotes, I stirred in many dollops of reality. Need I worry about them shying away from the spotlight? Nah. My uncle’s favorite phrase through this whole experience has been, “Put that in your book!”

Yes, I’ve evolved a great deal from when I resisted to “write what I know.” I still haven’t set a plot in Ohio, but I wouldn’t rule it out in the future. All the same, I continue to use discretion with the approach, not basing every single character off of a person in my life and only using those who would be honored by a fictional counterpart rather than uncomfortable with it. When you find the right balance, readers can escape and lose themselves in the storyline, at the same time as enjoying that seasoning of authentic flavor you can provide through “writing what you know.” 

A Craving for Chaos blurb:

Griffin Garrets has a hearty appetite for sweets, steaks, and everything else, but his favorite dish is serving up justice.

The retired detective and his wife retreat to Florida as snowbirds, but the resurgence of Griffin’s final case thrusts Griffin back into the investigation he thought he escaped. His once-trusted informant, accused of murder, appeals to him for help after evidence surfaces that can exonerate him.

Too connected to the investigation, Griffin teams up with bounty hunter Robin Parker to unravel the cover-up that left him with a bitter aftertaste. As they follow the breadcrumbs in search of the truth, can they put the icing on top of this complex case? Or will their differences create a recipe for disaster? 

 

Bio:

Karina Bartow hails from Northern Ohio. Though born with Cerebral Palsy, she’s never allowed her disability to define her. Rather, she’s used her experiences to breathe life into characters who have physical limitations, but like her, are determined not to let them stand in the way of the life they want. Her works include a mix of mysteries and love stories. She may only be able to type with one hand, but she writes with her whole heart!

To learn more, visit www.KarinaBartow.com

 

https://x.com/KarinaBartow

https://www.facebook.com/karinabartowauthor

Life's Adventures: In Domesticity (Confessions of an Ex-Domestic Goddess)

I'M STILL NOT A DOMESTIC GODDESS...POST RECYCLED FROM 2025

Many moons ago, when I was first married, my husband told people we lived in a hospital. He’s prone to exaggeration, but I was kind of fanatical. I was raised by a stay-at-home mom who bought into the whole 1950s feminine persona. So, I cleaned the house every day, sweeping and dusting. I did all the grocery shopping and cooking. 

My first cookbook was a paperback entitled The I Hate to Cook Book given to me by my mother-in-law. I now think she was a visionary and knew how my house-wifey days would evolve. 

Fast forward a few years. Once I learned playing house got tedious, my love of shiny floors and squeaky-clean sinks died. I worked outside the house at a 9 to 5 job just like FDW. No way was I putting in 9 to 5 on the weekends inside the house. I luckily drew a mate who enjoys cooking. And he cooks good food from scratch. We lapsed into a nice routine of whoever got home first cooked. Whoever didn’t cook, cleaned up. We shared laundry and other details around the house so we could get out to fish, ride bikes, hike, or party with the Parrotheads. 

Then I found out I loved writing books. Now fast forward a few decades. Who the heck has time to do much of anything if you’re a self-taskmaster writing and promoting? Not this lady. I’m just very glad FDW still loves to cook, grocery shop, and a few other domestic shores I’ve pawned off on him. 

But once in a while, I like to step out of my self-imposed writing cave. Yesterday, while FDW vegged in front of sports on TV, I went grocery shopping…all by myself. When I hopped out of the car, I paused a moment. The carts were lined up on the sidewalk. People were rushing in and out of the automatic door. Could I do this on my own? I go with FDW once every couple of months just to see if there are new things I might want. Plus, he’s a very linear shopper…list in hand, in and out…same stuff every week. I might want to try that oddball fruit on sale or see if they’re carrying Peach Brandy yet. But I hadn’t walked those aisles alone in ages. Just inside the door is a Starbucks, so with a caffeine jolt, I did the deed. 

Costco was on the schedule for today. Naw, I’ve had enough of the grocery experience for now. FDW is there as I type. Yay, for him!

In TO SAVE A LADY, Elise finds these irresistible (Besides the hero)

 MUSE MONDAY

I have a very yummy post for Muse Monday on Discover... today. Patricia Preston's book sounds delicious, and she's got a yummy recipe for us too!

In To Save a Lady, the heroine, Elise, loves pralines. From Paris, she is a stranger to the French Quarter, and life has not been easy since she arrived in Louisiana. She finds some joy in a French Quarter delicacy called pralines (prawlins). Throughout the book, she is often treating herself to a praline. 

In 1727, when the Ursuline nuns came to New Orleans, they reportedly brought a French recipe for sugared almonds. Over time, the recipe was modified to use pecans because almonds didn’t grow locally, along with other ingredients. By 1762, pralines were being sold in the French Quarter. These pralines were made using molasses, cream, sugar, and pecans, which were local ingredients that were plentiful and gave the pralines a sweet, buttery flavor. In the early 1800s, pralinieres, who were among the first Black businesswomen in the Quarter, made and sold pralines. A favorite with locals and tourists, pralines have been a part of Louisiana culture for almost three hundred years. 

Pecan Pralines recipe by the Ursuline Nuns 

1 c brown sugar, 1 c white sugar, 1 cup pecan meats, ½ cup cream, 2 Tbl butter 

Dissolve sugar in cream; bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the butter and pecans. Cook until soft-ball stage (238 degrees). Cool without disturbing. Then beat until somewhat thickened. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto a waxed paper-lined surface or well-greased pan. The candy will flatten into large cakes and harden. Makes about 20 pralines. 

Blurb:

SHE'S BOUND BY A PROMISE. A move from Paris to New Orleans brings disaster to Elise's predictable life as a lady's maid. As war approaches, the son of her grief-stricken mistress disappears, and to find him, Elise must turn to a devious gentleman whose motives are as shadowy as the city itself.

HE'S BOUND BY DUTY. Amid the unrest of a worried city bracing for war, Captain Jesse Cross crosses paths with a mysterious French spy whose courage and charm defy all reason. Their forbidden romance ignites in a moonlit courtyard, and Jesse soon learns that his greatest battle will not be fought on the front line, but in his heart.

UNTIL LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING. As the British surround the city, an unexpected betrayal puts Elise and Jesse at odds as their mission and their hearts are at risk. Love and loyalty collide with sacrifice and duty as the dangerous plan to rescue the missing boy could cost them far more than they ever imagined.

Excerpt:

Jesse headed for General Jackson’s headquarters on Rue Royale. Seated at his desk, with lamps burning brightly, he couldn’t focus on the pile of correspondence awaiting his attention. He drummed his fingers on the top of the desk, and his thoughts drifted back to the seductive spy hidden by a hooded black cloak and luminous silver mask. “I am your liaison.”

The way she had said that. It filled his mind with candlelit rooms and sweaty sex. He straightened the papers on his desk. He wondered what had possessed her to get involved in such a risky scheme. She could have sinister motives.

For all he knew, she could be spying for the British. The city teemed with agents working for the enemy. Plus, the French Creoles harbored deep animosity toward the Americans. It was likely she intended to kill him.

Buy Links: https://books2read.com/ToSaveALady

Author Bio:

Patricia loves writing swoonworthy romances with charming heroines and irresistible heroes. When she isn't happily holed up in her writing cave with her characters, she loves taking care of her houseplants, streaming music and movies, eating chocolate truffles, and creating digital artwork. Fangirl of The Gilded Age series.  Check out her website at https://patriciapreston.com

Halloween Fun with a Scaventer Hunt

BOO!

It's that time of year. Miss those days of trick or treating? How about an adult Scavenger Hunt for some Halloween fun? You'll love the game and a chance to win. So heat up that pumpkin spice latte and join in the fun.

Join the Coffee Time Romance Halloween scavenger hunt, follow the clues, and enter for a chance to win. Three winners will each receive a $10 Amazon.com gift certificate! Start hunting: www.coffeetimeromance.com

Character Guest Post: “Is Stalking a Wicked Passion?” Wicked Wednesday Post by Amber Daulton

WICKED WEDNESDAY

My guest Amber Daulton has opened the door for her character Ángel Rascón. He has a villainous tale you'll want to read on this Wicked Wednesday. 

People talk about wicked men like we crawl out of the dark already ruined. Like the choices come easy. Like the line between right and wrong snaps clean. I used to believe that, too, until the day Marisol knelt beside me on the sidewalk and kept me alive with her bare hands.

I’d been shot. Heat tore through my chest and shoulder. Blood soaked my shirt and pooled under me. A drive‑by isn’t personal until you’re the one bleeding out on the street, trying to stay conscious long enough to figure out who pulled the trigger. I should’ve died there. Fate disagreed.

When I woke up the next day in the hospital, Marisol was there. She’d stayed overnight in her blood-smeared clothes just to make sure I pulled through the surgery. We were strangers, but her kindness hooked its claws into me.

That’s when I developed my new favorite passion—stalking.

I filed a background check on her, and once released from the hospital, I drove by her house. More than once. All right, a dozen times. Then I waited in her yard, behind the bushes, along the fence line, watching her move through her life like she wasn’t the reason I was still breathing.

Six weeks of recovery gave me too much time to think. Her voice replayed in my head. The memory of her touch. The sassy sweetness in her smile. The huskiness in her laugh. I built an innocent version of her in my mind and wanted the real woman in my life. I fell in love with the idea of her.

Before long, I knew her routine—when she slept, what she ate, where she went, who she associated with—and I learned one very important thing. She was as lonely as me.

Thankfully, she’s a physical therapist and agreed to take me on as a patient. She hadn’t seen me since the hospital, but when I walked into her treatment room for my first session, it had only been a few hours since I last watched her from the shadows.

She was mine to protect. She just didn’t know it yet.

Wicked men with a passion like mine justify everything. I’m no different.

When my crewmate, Bruno, broke into her home, I couldn’t keep to the shadows anymore. I didn’t think. Didn’t hesitate. I went straight through that door and dragged the man off her. Turns out, her brother stole from the cartel. To get the money back, my crew figured the best way to find him was to target her. Now, my loyalties are tested. But one thing will never change.

Marisol is mine. You touch her, you pay the price.

If that makes me wicked, then fine. I’m as wicked as they come. And I don’t regret a damn thing. 

 

Blurb 

A drive-by shooting lands him in the hospital. And in the arms of temptation.

Cartel enforcer Ángel Rascón knows he should stay away from the woman who saved his life. Marisol is a sensual blend of fire and innocence, irresistible to his inner beast. She’s also the little sister of a man now on the run from the cartel—Ángel’s friend and former partner. Getting involved with her could destroy everything he’s worked for, but when she’s threatened, it’s game on.

Physical therapist Marisol Cruz knows Ángel is dangerous, yet he’s always there. Watching. Waiting. Wanting. After her brother’s enemies track her down, Ángel appoints himself her protector with every intoxicating kiss.

Ángel will have to risk his position—and his life—to keep her safe. But Marisol faces the most devastating choice of all. Loving her stubborn enforcer may mean losing her brother forever. 

– Book 3.5 in the dark romance series, the Lozano Cartel. All the books can be read as a standalone, but are part of an interconnected series.

– Scenes featuring gang violence and suicide may be uncomfortable for some readers.

– No cheating. HEA guaranteed! 

Tagline: He was never supposed to touch her. Now he’ll kill to protect her. 

Download Links: 

Just 99 cents for a limited time! 

Direct from Author: https://books.amberdaulton.com/BreakingHerEnforcerDirect

Universal: https://books2read.com/BreakingHerEnforcer

Amazon: https://amzn.to/43dXnRa

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/breaking-her-enforcer-amber-daulton/ 1149425099?ean=2940185002971

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/breaking-her-enforcer

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Amber_Daulton_Breaking_Her_Enforcer?id=ncW_EQAAQBAJ

Apple/iBooks: https://apple.co/4uZMn5u

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1963634

BookShop.org (Support Local Bookstores!): https://bookshop.org/a/121133/9798233981111

 

Author Bio: 

Amber Daulton writes raw, edgy romantic suspense and dark cartel romance featuring high stakes, deep passion, and defiant hearts. She’s the author of the Lozano Cartel, Arresting Onyx, Embracing You, and Ramseys in Time series, as well as a rich catalog of standalone novellas. Her books are available worldwide in digital, print, and select audio formats.

From her home base in North Carolina, she builds dangerous criminal underworlds and maps out fierce, second-chance love stories alongside her supportive husband and her demanding feline writing assistant, Zita.

Website: https://amberdaulton.com

Facebook: https://facebook.com/amberdaultonauthor1

Cultural myths and superstition...Indigo by Karen Hulene Bartell

MUSE MONDAY

Please join me in welcoming Karen Hulene Bartell to Muse Monday on Discover... Her post is so intriguing, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and want to check out her book. Read on!

In the no man’s land between cultural myths and emotional vulnerabilities, superstition can devolve into delusion, and where does that lead?

INDIGO Blurb:

Reeling after her fiancé dumps her, she  inherits a rustic cabin from an unknown relative. Eerie incidents and rumors of a mythical windigo alarm her, but she’s determined to learn the truth about her dysfunctional family before she flips the property.

Despite unscrupulous realtors, bloodthirsty prowlers, and a devious ex, her life improves with a rescued puppy, and passion ignites when she meets Dylan McCoombs, but…

What does a demonic half-beast share with a psychosis and porphyria? Are monsters born or formed? Nature or nurture? Is a windigo spirit genetic? More importantly, does she carry the gene?

The deeper Raluca Olson digs, the more questions emerge. Is the darkness outside OR within her?

What is a windigo? Is it folklore, a legendary beast, OR something more personal?

The windigo is a moral warning from Indigenous and French traditions—OR it’s a manifesting evil spirit.

Origin: Algonquian folklore, especially Ojibwe, Cree, French, and other northern Indigenous peoples.

Nature: A malevolent, cannibalistic spirit OR a transformed human, often described as emaciated, with a heart of ice, glowing eyes, and a foul odor.

Cause of Transformation: Insatiable hunger, greed, or any excess, often originating with famine or starvation.

Symbolism: A cautionary tale about greed, the loss of humanity, and moral decay.

Appearance: Humanoid with monstrous features, up to 15 feet tall, with a skeletal frame.

INDIGO Excerpt:

I followed the road as it dipped and twisted through the wetlands, rose again between bordering alfalfa fields speckled with blue gypsyweed stalks, then dead ended at a railroad track. About-facing, I backtracked.

Though the sun shone brightly, a cold shiver ran down my spine when I passed the cemetery. The hair rose on the back of my neck, and I turned, looking behind me. Instinct told me I was being watched. No cars or other hikers on the road…no houses nearby. I surveyed the wooded graveyard, peering through the trees’ long shadows until a pair of glowering eyes met mine.

Sitting on the stone chair was a man with a lean, lupine face, heavy beard, slanted, almond-shaped eyes, and a thick head of hair.

Fight or flight? My thoughts spiraling, I tensed as I played out one stressful scenario after another. My mouth dry, I swallowed hard, checking the country road for traffic. Nothing. No cars and no one except this skulker lurking in the cemetery.

But he stayed motionless, not waving or acknowledging me in any way. He just stared through hooded eyes.

Creepy…I kept him in my peripheral vision as I strode past, then sprinted to the cabin, checking behind me before punching in the entry code. Not until I slammed the door did I breathe deeply. What a weirdo.

I eyed my laptop on the kitchen table, debating whether to finish editing the latest manuscript but was too keyed up to concentrate. Instead, I unpacked one of the moving boxes stacked against the breakfast bar. Who knows how long it’ll take to flip this place?

I glanced about the cabin. A collection of fly-fishing lures and vintage fishing signs decorated the knotty pine paneling: Cast away your troubles. Support your local hookers. Wake and lake. Even the dinnerware featured a rainbow-trout motif.

Bordered by two windows, a fieldstone fireplace filled the front wall, floor to ceiling. Flanked by rustic end tables, a fold-out sofa lined the adjoining wall. The backdoor led to a covered porch, overlooking the lake. The kitchenette filled the back wall and part of the fourth wall, which opened to the bedroom and bath.

As I found homes for my clothes, books, and personal effects, I debated whether to redecorate or flip the cabin as is. Then the change of pace hit me.

How did I end up here? My thoughts slipped back to two weeks before, when I was in Chicago, ticking details off my wedding checklist. And why would Winifred Nelson leave me this place?

****

Contact Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KarenHuleneBartell

MeWe: https://mewe.com/i/karenbartell

X: @HuleneKaren

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/karenhulenebartell/   

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/611950.Karen_Hulene_Bartell  

Website: http://www.KarenHuleneBartell.com/ 

Email: info@KarenHuleneBartell.com

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/karenhulenebartell 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/karenhulenebartell/

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/karen-hulene-bartell

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karenhulenebartell/

AUTHORSdb: https://authorsdb.com/community/17847-karen-hulene-bartell

 

Buy Links:

Universal Link: https://books2read.com/u/3kRlWn

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Indigo-Cryptid-Charisma-Hulene-Bartell-ebook/dp/B0GHZHM1WQ

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/1149708480

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/books/indigo-by-karen-hulene-bartell

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/249818067-indigo

Walmart: https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=9781509265251

BooksAMillion: https://www.booksamillion.com/p/9781509265251

Indie Bound: https://bookshop.org/p/books/indigo-karen-hulene-bartell/d36bdd344e121211

iTunes: https://books.apple.com/us/book/indigo/id6760712664

The author of 30 published books and Indigo, Karen Hulene Bartell was born to rolling-stone parents who moved annually. Her earliest playmates were fictional friends in books. Paperbacks became her portable pals. Ghost stories kept her up at night--reading feverishly. Novels offered an imaginative escape, and she began her first novel at nine, learning the joys of creating her own HEAs. Professor emeritus of the University of Texas at Austin, she lives in the Texas Piney Woods with her husband and *mews*--three rescued cats and a rescued CATahoula Leopard dog.