Starting Over by J.L. Regen

 FEARLESS FRIDAY

Readers, welcome back J.L. Regen to Discover... Starting over can be scary and just might require some fearlessness.

Many years ago, I accepted a job that I hoped would be a steppingstone to bigger and greater things. 

At the six-month point, I learned that the company was heading toward financial ruin. The day after I left, it folded. I’d only been working for a few years after graduating with my B. A. in Marketing, and I thought my world was crashing. How could my dream job end so abruptly? 

This is what Margo in Secret Desires goes through when she must find her dream job: She has to ask herself a million questions that lead to one resounding reality: What do I want to do with my future? 

In my case I wanted to be in management and make decisions for the financial health of the company. 

I knew I’d have to acquire a master’s degree so when I chose my next job, I did so with the hands of a heart surgeon, aware that any move too far to the right or left would cut off my career longevity. 

I do hope you’ll take a peek at Secret Desires because Margo is a girl when the book opens and by the time you close the last page, you’ll agree that Margo is a risk taker worth cheering on.

BLURB

Margo Simmons is ecstatic when she inherits her uncle’s Manhattan apartment and a handsome sum of money. To her chagrin, she must be gainfully employed in a job for a year. 

Margo’s life has complications. She anguishes over how to fulfill her secret desires for a loving relationship with her dream man because he is still emotionally tied to his deceased wife and afraid to open his heart again. 

To replace her fractured childhood growing up with a distant stepfather, Margo becomes the foster parent of a child who longs for closeness. Secret Desires is written from the heart and speaks to anyone who has suffered a loss and wants to start over.

About the Author

JL lives in the New York metropolitan area, is a published photojournalist, has short suspense stories online, and has taught special education and English as a Second Language to students around the globe. This is her first contemporary romance. She has also published three nonfiction books.

JLR holds a Master of Science in Business, Medical, and Technical Journalism as well as two others in ESL and Education. She has published on a variety of topics from cochlear implants to the economy and has conducted workshops –domestic and foreign–on the nuances of business communications for managers and start-up companies. She is the leader of her own enterprise with training programs for entrepreneurs–all levels and recently published two books–Jamie is Autistic: Learning in a Special Way and Go for It Leadership Handbook for All Students.

She can be reached at joan@joansbookshelf.com

Go to my website for information at joansbookshelf.com or my Blog at https://writerjr1044.wordpress.com/

Taking a Second Chance on Love by JL Regen

MUSE MONDAY

Please welcome JL Regan to Muse Monday on Discover... Let's take a peek at her new book.

In Secret Desires, Edward, the hero, is taking a second chance on love. However, he must first get over the pain of losing his wife whom he loved dearly. As the book ends, readers will be left to their own conclusions as to whether Edward and Margo, the heroine, will unite in marriage. I envision a sequel in which their path to happiness is blocked by an unforeseen force. In life, so often, our second chances are hampered by our own fears of going for it due to past traumas.  Don’t let that happen to you. 

Book 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. 

Excerpt:

Chapter 1

MARGO SIMMONS GRIPPED THE EDGES of the leather

chair, waiting for details from the family lawyer about her

Uncle Harry’s death. She hoped it would be shorter and less painful

than the reading of her father’s will.

An older gentleman extended his hand. “I’m sorry your mother

couldn’t be here.”

Margo looked up from her reflections to acknowledge him.

“Thanks, Mr. Steinberg.”

“You’ve grown into a lovely young woman.”

Margo blinked back tears at memories of good times shared

with Uncle Harry. “Not so young. I’m twenty-three.”

The portly man squeezed himself into a swivel chair and peered

at her over wire-rimmed bifocals. “I’m ancient compared to that

number.”

Margo gripped her knees to steady her nerves. “My mother

wanted to come with me, but they’re downsizing at her dress

shop. She was afraid to leave early. My stepfather is furious because

Uncle Harry didn’t leave him any money.”

Mr. Steinberg saddened at the sorrowful expression on the

young woman’s face. “It pains me to hear Jerry hasn’t changed

his ways. However, since you’re the only one present to hear your

uncle’s will, I’ll get to the point. Harry has left you his Riverside

Drive condominium apartment and the sum of two hundred and

fifty thousand dollars.”

Margo jumped up from the chair and hugged the man. “This is

a miracle. I can’t wait to tell my Mom. She’s wanted me to get out

on my own. Now I can. Though I wish it hadn’t come with the

loss of my uncle. I adored him.” 

Buy Links

https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Desires-Joan-L-Regen/dp/0998409995 

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-desires-j-l-regen/1125516296?ean=9780998409993

JL lives in the New York metropolitan area, is a published photojournalist, has short suspense stories online, and has taught special education and English as a Second Language to students around the globe. This is her first contemporary romance. She has also published three nonfiction books.

JL's Amazon Page

Secret Desires and Second Chance Love by J. L. Regen #romance

MUSE MONDAY

Please join me in welcoming J. L. Regen to Discover... for Muse Monday. She has a contemporary romance novel, Secret Desires, all about taking a second chance on love.

I have always wanted to write a romance. I was inspired by someone I dated many years ago who, like my hero, was so traumatized by his deceased wife, he couldn't make a commitment.

Unlike Edward and Margo who continue their relationship, my someone and I were destined to part. 

What I wanted to convey in Secret Desires is a happier outcome when anyone takes a second chance on love. 

This is ever more challenging in a pandemic but worth the effort.

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 tohis 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.

Excerpt:  MARGO SIMMONS GRIPPED THE EDGES of the leather chair, waiting for details from the family lawyer about her Uncle Harry’s death. She hoped it would be shorter and less painful than the reading of her father’s will.

An older gentleman extended his hand. “I’m sorry your mother couldn’t be here.”

Margo looked up from her reflections to acknowledge him. “Thanks, Mr. Steinberg.”

“You’ve grown into a lovely young woman.”

Margo blinked back tears at memories of good times shared with Uncle Harry. “Not so young. I’m twenty-three.”

The portly man squeezed himself into a swivel chair and peered at her over wire-rimmed bifocals. “I’m ancient compared to that number.”

Margo gripped her knees to steady her nerves. “My mother wanted to come with me, but they’re downsizing at her dress shop. She was afraid to leave early. My stepfather is furious because Uncle Harry didn’t leave him any money.”

Mr. Steinberg saddened at the sorrowful expression on the young woman’s face. “It pains me to hear Jerry hasn’t changed his ways. However, since you’re the only one present to hear your uncle’s will, I’ll get to the point. Harry has left you his Riverside Drive condominium apartment and the sum of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars.”

Margo jumped up from the chair and hugged the man. “This is a miracle. I can’t wait to tell my Mom. She’s wanted me to get out on my own. Now I can. Though I wish it hadn’t come with the loss of my uncle. I adored him.”  

Buy links

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06XKH8F7F

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/secret-desires-j-l-regen/1125516296?ean=9780998409900

https://www.facebook.com/JoanRamirezAuthor

Bio: 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 set in World War II. 

 

Rebuilding LIfe After Lost Love by J.L. Regen #romance #LostLove

MUSE MONDAY

Please welcome my guest today, J.L. Regen. We're talking lost love and finding happiness today. Can you relate?

Loss can be wicked, sapping emotional strength, robbing sleep, and denying happiness. Someone who experiences lost love is left empty. Their life is shattered. With great effort, those emotional dragons can be slayed so a new life can spring from the splinters.

My book, Secret Desires, was written as a love story, but because both of the characters, Margo and Edward, suffered from broken promises in love (Margo) and Edward's wife died of cancer, it was the wicked devil of bad luck that drew them to each other.

Edward loved his first wife with all his heart. When she died of cancer at thirty, his world shattered.

Margo thought her high school love would last a lifetime. The flame died at graduation.

Now, Margo and Edward have to get beyond their emotional pain to unite in love.

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. AMAZON BUY LINK

Meet the author:

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 set in World War II.