M is for Morgan Mandel

Debra wouldn't be where she's at now without her best writing buddy.

I met Morgan at my local RWA chapter meetings. We joined right around the same time and became buddies. For a long while, we carpooled to meetings. Now, since I don't often attend, we keep in touch through e-mail and the occasional lunch or conference.

Morgan published her first book with a small press. After a couple of rejections from 'major' publishers, I decided I needed to do something else if I was really serious about being a published author. I asked Morgan about her publisher. She mentioned she wasn't too happy with them at the moment, but said she'd heard of another small press that was actively acquiring: The Wild Rose Press.


The rest, as they say, is history. I published my first book with them in 2008 and will have four releases with TWRP this year. To say she steered me in the right direction is an understatement.

Since leaving her original small publisher, Morgan has kept writing, opting to enter the world of self-publishing. I give her MAJOR kudos for doing this. I admire anyone who steps up to this challenge: to not only write a book, but take on the over-whelming task of publishing a quality product as well. She's done an amazing job from start to finish and everything in between: writing, editing, creating covers, publicity, etc. I've had the honor of being her beta reader on her last two books, which means I get a sneak peek at her stories before the rest of the world. Being RWA chapter mates, I've also had the privilege of hearing many of her books as first chapters during critique sessions.

Morgan writes in a variety of genres (sweet romance, thriller, suspense) and a variety of lengths from novels to novellas and her back list is extensive and well-rounded.

Her Deerview series is sweet and poignant and includes the titles Christmas Carol and Hailey's Chance: Will Baby Make 3? (so far...I hope there are more to come) and her cute, romantic comedy set provides us with Her Handyman and A Perfect Angel. She offers her collection of short stories from her Forever Young trilogy as a complete anthology and as separate novellas as well. Her debut novel Two Wrongs is a mystery set in Chicago. In addition, she has a stand-alone romantic comedy called Girl of My Dreams and a romantic suspense called Killer Career.

I love her tag line: MORGAN MANDEL - FOR DIVERSITY AND VERSATILITY which is the perfect way to brand herself as the author of multiple genres. She has something for just about every taste.

To find out more about Morgan and her books, pop on over and visit her web-site. http://www.morganmandel.com/

I'm proud to call her a fellow author. And proud to call her a friend.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

M is for Midnight Writer

Paula explains her writing 'habit'.

I’ve always been a night owl, never a morning person. When I was a child, I used to read under the covers with a flashlight long after my parents thought I must be asleep. Maybe not until midnight but certainly much later than my supposed ‘bed-time’.

As a teenager, I’d turn off my light, wait until my parents went to bed (probably about 10.30 or 11pm) then switch on my light again and either read or continue writing the next chapter of my current story, for my friends to read avidly the next day. Okay, those early romances of mine were very corny but my friends enjoyed them!

For a lot of my adult life, I had to cease burning the midnight oil. Baby era - 10pm feed, get some sleep before she wakes again. 25 year teaching era – gotta get up at 7am, need to get to bed early

Not always, though. Once the first baby started sleeping through the night, I was writing again in the evenings. My first novel was written (and typed out laboriously on an old upright typewriter) when my elder daughter was about one – fortunately the sound of those clattering keys didn’t wake her.

Once both daughters grew into school kids and I returned to teaching, I’d enjoy some ’me’ when they were both in bed, and when I’d marked books or planned next day’s lessons. Maybe not into the early hours, but certainly until late at night.

Eventually came retirement – i.e. taking early retirement in my mid-fifties. Wow, freedom! To do what I want, when I want! And that included staying up as late as I wanted, because I didn’t have to get up at (to me) some silly o’clock time in the morning. I might get up about 8am these days but most of my friends know not to call me until after 10am if they want any coherency from me!

Old habits seem t die hard. I still do my best writing at night. I may have a whole day free (sometimes!) but day-time writing doesn’t work for me. My mind works so much better from about 9pm onwards.  My muse is obviously a night-owl too.

I’m full of admiration (and envy) for people who can get up at 6am and start writing. But me? Yes, I’m a midnight writer.

M Is For MacKenzie

Jennifer reviews The Duchess of Love...

Despite the fact I write contemporary romances, my favorite genre to read is historical romance. I think I like it because it provides history and enables me to suspend some disbelief—a hero’s reluctance to do something or a heroine’s inability to do something else can usually be explained away by the time period. Additionally, sometimes the conflict is even greater because of the time in which the characters lived.

Thus, when someone suggested I read The Duchess of Love, I jumped at the chance (despite the somewhat cheesy title). I loved it! The characters were well-developed and fun to get to know. The story was enjoyable. And I was able to escape into another world. Additionally, the writing was excellent, enabling me to truly enjoy reading, rather than getting caught up editing.

Amazon

Here’s the blurb:

A DUKE IN DISGUISE…

The day was as hot as the pond was inviting. It’s not as if anyone in Little Huffington was going to happen upon a secluded vale on the Duke of Greycliffe’s lands. And Venus Collingswood didn’t want to get her shift all wet. It was the perfect setting in which to plan her lovely bookworm of a sister’s betrothal to the mysterious new duke arriving seven days hence. If only she had a suitable accomplice…

Andrew Valentine, Duke of Greycliffe, never thought arriving at his own household a week early would cause so much trouble. The housekeeper thinks he’s his own cousin. Actually, the chance to not be the duke for a while is a pleasant opportunity indeed. It might even help him interrogate the delectable little nymph he’s discovered swimming in his pond—if he can manage to get a word in edgewise…

5 Hearts

M is for My Memory

Ana muses about what she remembers and how things change.

For years I longed to find the Rissa Trilogy by F.M. Busby. I'd lent my copies to a former friend and never got them back. First published by Berkley in 1976, the books are out of print, not available in e-format.
I finally bit the bullet and ordered used copies on Amazon. Book 2 arrived, but not books 1 and 3. Amazon refunded my money. I stared at Book 2 but really wanted to reread the series from the beginning, when young Rissa is seized from her parents and tossed into Total Welfare.
Last week, I caved. I started reading Rissa and Tregare.
The book is nothing like I remembered. The writing is stark but repetitive. 90% dialogue. If I had to assign it a genre, I'd call it YA science fiction, but was YA even invented back then?

I'm trying to recall why I loved it so much.  Classics defy the passage of time, and I was so sure this series was a classic. Either my memory is flawed, or my tastes have really changed.
If I find Books 1 and 3, I'll probably purchase them. Read them like people watch cult classics like, say, Rocky Horror Picture show. For campiness and nostalgia. To remember how I've changed.

L is for Little Women

Margaret posts an extract from one of her favourite books

 

I mentioned in an earlier post that this book is a keeper. It was written by the American author, Louisa M Alcott (1832-1888) and was a Sunday School prize when I was about thirteen. It’s a book I can’t bear to part with and below is how the story starts:

 

“Christmas won’t be Christmas without any presents,” grumbled Jo, lying on the rug.

“It’s so dreadful to be poor!” sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress.

“I don’t think it’s fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all,” added little Amy, with an injured sniff.

“We’ve got father and mother and each other,” said Beth, contentedly, from her corner.

The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, “We haven’t got father, and shall not have him for a long time.” She didn’t say, “perhaps never,” but each silently added it, thinking of father far away, where the fighting was.

Nobody spoke for a minute; then Meg said in an altered tone –

“You know the reason mother proposed not having any presents this Christmas was because it is going to be a hard winter for every one; and she thinks we ought not to spend money for pleasure when our men are suffering so in the army. We can’t do much, but we can make our little sacrifices, and ought to do it gladly. But I’m afraid I don’t;” and Meg shook her head, and she thought regretfully of all the pretty things she wanted.

“But I don’t think the little we should spend would do any good. We’ve each got a dollar, and the army wouldn’t be helped by our giving that. I agree not to expect anything from mother or you, but I do want to buy Undine and Sintram for myself; I’ve wanted it so long,” said Jo who was a bookworm.

“I planned to spend mine in new music,” said Beth, with a little sigh, which no one heard but the hearth-brush and the kettle-holder.

“I shall get a nice box of Faber’s drawing pencils; I really need them,” said Amy decidedly.

“Mother didn’t say anything about our money, and she won’t wish us to give up everything. Let’s each buy what we want, and have a little fun; I’m sure we work hard enough to earn it,” cried Jo, examining the heels of her shoes in a gentlemanly manner.

“I know I do – teaching those tiresome children nearly all day when I am longing to enjoy myself at home,” began Meg, in the complaining tone again.

“You don’t have half such a hard time as I do,” said Jo. “How would you like to be shut up for hours with a nervous, fussy old lady, who keeps you trotting, is never satisfied, and worries you till you’re ready to fly out of the window or cry?”

“It’s naughty to fret; but I do think washing dishes and keeping things tidy is the worst work in the world. It makes me cross; and my hands get so stiff, I can’t practise at all,” and Beth looked at her rough hands with a sigh that any one could hear that time.

“I don’t believe any of you suffer like I do,” cried Amy; “for you don’t have to go to school with impertinent girls, who plague you if you don’t know your lessons, and laugh at your dresses, and label your father if he isn’t rich, and insult you when your nose isn’t nice.”

“If you mean libel, I’d say so, and not talk about labels, as if papa was a pickle-bottle,” advised Jo, laughing.

“I know what I mean and you don’t have to be satirical about it. It’s proper to use good words, and improve your vocabulary,” returned Amy with dignity.

“Don’t peck at one another, children. Don’t you wish we had the money papa lost when we were little, Jo? Dear me! How happy and good we’d be, if we had no worries!” said Meg, who could remember better times.

“You said the other day, you thought we were a deal happier than the King children, for they were fighting and fretting all the time, in spite of their money.”

“So I did, Beth. Well, I think we are; for; though we do have to work, we make fun for ourselves, and are a pretty jolly set, as Jo would say.”

“Jo does use such slang words!” observed Amy, with a reproving look at the long figure stretched on the rug. Jo immediately sat up, put her hands in her pockets, and began to whistle.

“Don’t, Jo; it’s so boyish.”

“That’s why I do it.”

“I detest rude, unlady-like girls.”

“I hate affected, niminy-piminy chits!”

“Birds in their little nests agree,” sang Beth, the peacemaker, with such a funny face that both sharp voices softened to a laugh.

“Really, girls, you are both to be blamed,” said Meg, beginning to lecture in her elder-sisterly fashion. “You are old enough to leave off boyish tricks, and to behave better, Josephine. It didn’t matter so much when you were a little girl; but now you are so tall, and turn up your hair, you should remembevr that you are a young lady.”

“I’m not! And if turning up my hair makes me one, I’ll wear it in two tails till I’m tweny,” cried Jo, pulling off her net, and shaking down her chestnut mane. “I hate to thin I’ve got to grow up, and be Miss March, and wear long gowns, and look as prim as a China-aster! It’s bad enough to be a girl anyway, when I like boys games and work and manners! I can’t get over my disappointment in not being a boy; and it’s worse than ever now, for I’m dying to go and fight with papa, and I can only stay at home and knit, like a poky old woman!” And Jo shook the blue army-sock till the needles rattled like castanets, and her ball bounced across the room.

 

This conversation goes on for several pages and is quite amusing. I’d forgotten how entertaining it was.

 

 

                                                    

L is for Laura Moore

Debra is a big fan of her talented fellow C-N members.

I met Laura Moore when I was the president of my local RWA chapter. She joined our group shortly after publishing her first novel. Her writing entranced me from the start and hasn't let go since. And not only is she a fabulous author, she's a truly wonderful person as well.

Her latest series is the Silver Creek series. Laura is another must read author for me, and when she writes a series, I like to collect them all before I dive in, knowing I'll want to read one right after the other in order to soak up as much of her gripping, emotional stories as possible. That said, now that I've collected the three book set over the course of a year or so, they'll more-than-likely sit in my TBR pile until summer. This has more to do with strategy than busyness, though. Again, these are books that are hard for me to put down, so I like to give myself ample time, without interruptions, to read them. (Last summer I read her three-book Rosewood series in three days...that's how I roll...)

The series premiered with Once Tempted.

Sweeping passions, family drama, and searing scandal play out at the magnificent Silver Creek Ranch as the heirs to a powerful dynasty seize their legacy of love.

Oldest son Ward Knowles feels the sprawling California ranch in his blood. And now that the family business has expanded to include a popular resort, he’s working harder than ever. Silver Creek is his legacy and his life, which is fine for the ruggedly sexy ladies’ man and committed bachelor. Love and trust don’t come easily for Ward since he lost his heart to a gold digger—until he meets a shy, unpretentious beauty whose sweet grace is about to turn his jaded heart into a hungry one.

Tess Casari has found sanctuary at Silver Creek, working as an assistant to Ward’s mother, Adele. Grateful for her busy new life running the ranch’s spa and resort, Tess can escape the heartbreak, humiliation, and secret shame of her failed marriage. The last thing she needs is temptation—especially from a man who reminds her so much of the husband who shattered her faith in love. But passion and destiny are about to change the rules for two people who have stopped believing in the healing power of love.

It was followed by Once Tasted

Three siblings, an extraordinary family, a lasting heritage—in the irresistible Silver Creek Ranch trilogy, they’ll fight for the land and the people they love.

Everything has come easily to Reid Knowles, the middle son of a California ranching family. But his charmed life is suddenly complicated when his good friend and neighbor asks him to help run the winery next door. His neighbor’s niece, Mia Bodell, is in charge—and she has made it clear that she’d rather be roped to a steer than to Reid Knowles. Never one to back down from a challenge, Reid vows to win her trust.

Her life marked by loss, Mia knows that nothing comes easily—love included. In high school, her heart was crushed by Reid, and even though years have passed, the hurt lingers. Mia is achingly aware that the teen heartthrob has matured into a devastatingly handsome playboy, and the budding winemaker refuses to let down her guard. But one taste of unbridled passion changes things. From Reid’s first intoxicating kiss to his unexpectedly tender seduction, Mia is swept into a passionate affair that could tear her heart to pieces . . . or give her everything she has ever wanted.

The series concludes with Once Touched.

For fans of Linda Lael Miller and Diana Palmer comes Laura Moore’s breathtaking final installment in her Silver Creek contemporary romance series.

The youngest of the three Knowles siblings, Quinn has in her blood the love of the land and its beautiful creatures. Raising enough money to build an animal sanctuary is a dream Quinn lives every day—while fending off her family’s well-intentioned matchmaking schemes. Though harboring secret fears about intimacy, Quinn soon realizes she cannot fight her growing attraction to a man who has suddenly entered her life.

Scarred by his months in Afghanistan and the violence he witnessed there through his camera lens, photojournalist Ethan Saunders throws himself into hard ranching work as a prescription for healing. But falling for Quinn has given him the one thing he thought he’d lost forever: hope. Ethan discovers that Quinn, like the innocent animals she rescues, is shy, and afraid of entrusting her heart to a man. Passion soon awakens Ethan’s strength, and his tender seduction may be just what Quinn needs to believe in herself—and in his love.

After I make my way through these, I'll wait with bated breath to find out what her next project will be.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

L is for Language

Paula looks at the words we use.

Language is the tool of the writer. All right, that’s stating the obvious. Or is it? All writers use words, but they don’t necessarily explore the richness of the English language. A poor or limited choice of words can make for weak writing; well-chosen words strengthen one’s writing.

It is worth taking the time to be selective in your choice of words. Personally I enjoy searching for the right word for the action or image or emotion I’m trying to convey. Sometimes, when writing a first draft, I’ll choose a word that I know isn’t exactly right, and highlight it, so that when I get to the editing stage, I can search my brain (or the thesaurus!) for the perfect word.

At the same time, I admit to a dislike of what I call ‘flowery’ language, littered with too many adjectives, adverbs, similes and metaphors. Some writers tend to go overboard with these, maybe thinking this improves the ‘literary’ quality of their work, whereas simpler writing can often be far more effective.

However, language isn’t just a matter of selecting the right words. It’s also the way in which you put those words together. It’s the style, flow and cadence of your writing – your own individual and unique voice. Writers sometimes ask how they can ‘find’ their voice, when all the time it is there within them. Of course, it may change over time, and hopefully it improves as you continue to develop your writing skills.

L Is For Little Boxes

Jennifer reviews Celia J. Anderson’s book...

Little Boxes is a contemporary romance that left me thinking about the story long after I finished the book. The heroine is admired by the hero from afar, but the heroine is already married. Her husband dies, and she meets her admirer, but things don’t heat up right away. They become friends, and while they are each attracted to the other, neither one is ready to do anything about it yet. Meanwhile, the heroine’s best friend goes on a long trip, and sends her boxes every few months or so. Inside each box is a quest for her to go on. His goal is to get her to reevaluate her life and be ready to move on.

It’s an interesting premise and the story kept me turning pages because it was exciting to learn about these quests and the ramifications. However, a lot of what the heroine learned about her husband—most of it, actually—was not particularly complimentary and it made me wonder. What kind of a friend would know this information about his best friend and not tell her? Moreover, if he was planning on telling her, why would he basically abandon her and have her find out all of this life-changing information on her own?

Granted, he knew she was getting close to the hero in the book, and the hero provided her with support, as did other people she met along the way. However, it was problematic for me.

The author did a great job portraying people’s flaws and making the characters jump off the page. The pacing was terrific and the story was good. I'd recommend it. I’m just not sure how I feel about it.

Amazon

Here’s the blurb:

Suddenly bereaved, Molly White realises that she has never really known her feisty husband Jake when random boxes begin to appear through the post, each one containing a tantalising clue to the secrets of Jake and Molly’s past. Someone who knows them both well, for reasons of their own, has planned a trail of discovery. The clues seem to be designed to change Molly’s life completely, leading her around Britain and then onwards to rural France and deepest Bavaria.

Meanwhile, waiting in the wings is Tom, a charismatic artist who runs a gallery in the same town. Strong, independent and wheelchair-bound from the age of fifteen, he leads a solitary life and has no idea how devastatingly attractive he is to women. When Tom meets curvy, beautiful and funny Molly, he knows that she is his dream woman, but she seems way out of his orbit until the boxes start to weave their spell and the two of them are thrown right out of their comfort zones.

Little Boxes is a story of love in a variety of guises - mother-love, unrequited passion, infatuation and the shadow-love held in memories that refuse to go away.

3.5 Hearts

L is for Lonely

Ana muses on the gift of loneliness.

It could be argued that for readers, the overarching drive of romance is to defeat, or at least suspend, loneliness.
Readers reach for stories that entertain. They recommend stories that touch their emotions, especially stories that depict a hero or heroine in a dilemma they can relate to.
Lost love? Finding true love? The main character starts lonely. She may have a fantastic job, a thrilling career, satisfying friendships, exciting lovers, but there's a longing deep inside her for a true life partner. She overlooks him, even shuns him, but he's the only one who can make her happy. She overcomes self-imposed loneliness.
Another plot line is that life stole the love of his life--through war, accident, illness. This hero goes bravely on, scars protecting his broken heart, doing his best to keep his children-business-clinic running smoothly. He knows he'll never find love again, so he never takes a chance, despite the blind dates and overt nudges from young daughter, business partner, or nurse assistant. Then despite his belief that he has to accept his loneliness, he meets someone who sets is pulse racing--or pisses him off non-stop. His second chance.
Loneliness could be a story about an abused forth wife in Afghanistan, but I could not write that story. The point is, 99.9% of us feel horribly lonely at some point in our lives. We relate to stories of triumph over loneliness. They reassure us that we don't have to die of a broken heart.

H is for Hearts

Margaret talks about writing from the heart.

As this blog is called Heroines With Hearts I thought I’d dwell on the word Heart. What do we actually mean by it?

 

I was always told to write from the heart. To believe entirely in what I was writing. And that is what I do. I live the life of each of my heroines. I am that person. It’s not an easy ride, not for me, or for my heroines until they actually settle down into their Happy Ever After. But what fun it is. Naturally nothing runs smoothly, there would be no story to tell if it did.

 

For instance, in the book I’m currently writing my heroine has been forced into marrying a man she does not love, simply to make his father happy. She had actually tricked her way into the hero’s life (she’s a newspaper reporter and wanted to do a story on him.)  His payback was to fulfil his ageing father’s dream of his only son getting wed. The problem is - they live in the south of England, his father in the Caribbean. This was something she certainly hadn’t counted on. Of course things happen when they get there – but that’s not something I’m giving away at the moment. I will tell you, though, that his father falls ill and needs treatment in England, so my poor heroine has no escape even then.

 

I know the story will have a happy ending but how they get to it even I don’t know yet.

 

K is for (Carolyn) Keene

Debra still enjoys a good Nancy Drew mystery.

There are a few authors I credit with my love of reading and Carolyn Keene is one of them. Keene is actually the pseudonym for a variety of authors who wrote the Nancy Drew series. Growing up while reading the mysteries, I had no idea there was more than one author contributing to the series. I was in awe that one person could write so many stories. Mildred Wirt is credited with starting the series and writing quite a few of the original stories. Those stories have been updated and rewritten over the years.

The series premiered in the 1930s and was updated in the 50s and 60s. Some of the stories stayed somewhat the same, with changes made to bring them up to date. Some of the stories were completely changed, even though they kept the same titles. New titles were added as well.

It was the updated books that I read when I was younger, and will even pick up now and again to this day. I was a library reader, heading to the corner shelves to those rows of yellow books every time I went. Only as an adult did I start collecting the books for my personal collection. Of the yellow hardcovers, I have probably 2/3 of them.

After the yellow books went out of 'fashion', the series continued in the 80s with paperback books, which (at the time) were much more modern. Those I collected first-hand and have about two dozen. Eventually, as the series continued to grow, I stopped buying and once again returned to my local library if I wanted to read a new story.

Now the series has expanded even further and gotten more and more updates. There are The Nancy Drew Notebooks and even a series for younger readers in which Nancy and her friends are in Third Grade. As far as I know, stories about my favorite teenaged sleuth are still being written. Which is fabulous. It makes me happy to know new generations of readers will still get to know Nancy for years to come. For me, it's still those classic yellow books that speak to my heart and make me smile. They bring back wonderful memories.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

Keeping Your Readers Reading

Paula looks at how to keep readers reading.

We all know how important it is to have a good opening to draw the reader into your story, but how do we keep them reading?

Here’s what I think (in no particular order, just my take on what keeps ME reading a book!)

Don’t dump all the backstory in one lump, tease your readers with part-revelations, not obscure enough to frustrate, but intriguing enough to make them want to find out more.

Don’t introduce too many characters too quickly – readers can get confused (and annoyed!) when they can’t work out who’s who and /or whether they are important characters or not.

Move the story along. Don’t meander into irrelevant events or conversations.

Make your characters ones they can care about, empathise with, feel their emotions, cry when they cry, smile when they’re happy.

Make sure your plot is realistic and not contrived.

Don’t go into excessive description – readers tend to skip it.

Provide cliff-hangers i.e. page-turners. Your readers should want to know what happens next (so that they think, maybe late at night, ‘Just one more chapter’). Some of my reviewers have said they ‘couldn’t put it down’ which, to me, is one of the best things people have said about my books. I love keeping people awake at night!

Keep them wondering how the hero and heroine can ever get together for their ‘happy ending’. They know this is going to happen but they need to be curious about how it will happen, when all seems lost.

And finally, don’t hand a solution on a plate to your hero and heroine through some contrivance or coincidence. The reader needs to know they’ve struggled against the odds, overcome their problems, and, most satisfying of all, learnt something about themselves and each other in the process.

But please don’t have the hero and heroine hating each other all the way through the story until the final chapter when they suddenly realise they love each other!

What would you add to this list?

K Is For Katmore

Jennifer reviews Neverland...

I always say I don’t like reading young adult (YA) fiction. It might have something to do with feeling to mature to read it. It might have something to do with wanting a break as a mom—sometimes life with my teen girls feels like I’m in the middle of a YA book. I’m not sure exactly the reason.

But it’s one of those things I say that isn’t exactly true. I’m not lying, per se. YA is not my go-to book. And I have to be persuaded pretty heavily in order to consider it. Once persuaded, I have to admit that I’ve read some great ones—Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent are a few that spring to mind. But the one I want to talk about today is Neverland, by Anna Katmore.

Neverland, as you can guess, is a modern retelling of the Peter Pan story. It’s first in a series, and it was great!

The book was recommended to me by someone I follow on Twitter. At their recommendation, I looked into it. Being a fan of Peter Pan, I thought it sounded interesting enough to put on my Amazon wishlist. When it went on sale, I bought it. And when it finally rose to the top of my TBR pile (I’m a little anal about that), I decided to take the plunge and read it.

The heroine, who tells the story in the first person, is the modern version of Wendy. The story also tells the story from the POV of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. I won’t tell you anymore than that, because I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. But it’s creative, well-written and an interesting take on a classic.

Amazon

Here’s the blurb:

Strange things are happening in Neverland…

Although Angelina McFarland loves reading fairytales, she never dreamed of falling right into one herself. Literally! But who is this flying boy who saved her? And why doesn’t he want to grow up?

Desperately trying to find a way off this cursed island, Angelina runs into a ruthless pirate. Hook captures her and keeps her trapped on his ship, the Jolly Roger, to lure the flying boy out of his hiding.

But is Hook really the heartless man she heard about? The more time Angel spends with him, the more she starts to wonder. Her growing feelings for him are as intense as shocking, and soon she can’t stop thinking about how soft his lips felt on hers when he kissed her under the stars.

As time passes, an old train ticket to London is all she has left to remind her of her former life and why she can’t give up trying to find a way home.

Or is staying in Neverland forever the better choice after all?

Grab a happy thought and follow Angel on an adventure that will keep you breathless and smiling long after you read the last page…

As I mentioned, there is a sequel and it’s currently available, but I won’t post anything about it because, spoilers!

5 Hearts