B Is For Brogan

Jennifer reviews Tracy Brogan's Love Me Sweet...

Tracy Brogan is a new author to me and she had me in stitches! Her book, Love Me Sweet, follows Delaney and Grant in the town of Bell Harbor, Michigan and later in Nashville, as they both try to start their lives over. With a klepto mother, a wannabe country music band, a group of Elvis impersonators, siblings who don’t understand them and sexy times, this book was one of my most fun reads in a while!

Here's the blurb from the back cover:

Delaney Masterson isn’t looking for fame.

Yes, she has famous parents and a reality TV show, but she’s not the wild-child celebrity the paparazzi have painted her to be. Until…The Scandal. When an old boyfriend releases a private video, Delaney’s name becomes every comedian’s favorite punch line. To escape the media, she sneaks away to Bell Harbor, Michigan—during the worst winter in fifty years.

Adventure show cameraman Grant Connelly has stayed away from Bell Harbor—mostly by choice—but when a family obligation converges with a spontaneous career decision, it’s time to return home.

When bad weather, missing money, honky-tonk musicians, and Elvis impersonators throw Grant and Delaney together on an unexpected road trip, emotions get all shook up. They know only fools fall in love, but they can’t help falling. Still, Delaney has a secret that could tear them apart forever.

Can they weather the storm? Or will this romantic ride end at the Heartbreak Hotel?

Brogan is great at creating memorable characters who could be cliché, but aren’t. Grant’s mother steals things when she’s stressed. She could be portrayed as a villain in this story, and she definitely causes problems for both Grant and Delaney, but she’s portrayed sympathetically and made me feel for her. The country music band was full of honkytonk men who made come-ons to Delaney, yet each member was distinct and loveable at the same time.

Although not the first in the series, it can easily be read as a standalone, and it made me want to read the rest of the Bell Harbor series. I highly recommend this book, if only to find out who the heck escapes FROM California TO Michigan in the middle of winter!

Rating: 5 Hearts

Buy on Amazon here

B is for Beatrice Small

The first romance Ana bought in 1998 was a historical scorcher by Bertrice Small. My flight out of Hartsfield Airport was delayed and I asked the snack shop clerk to recommend a book. It was an eye-opener!

Ms. Small is one of the grande dames of historical romance. Her heroines are all young virgins. Her heroes, two per story, are older, experienced and smitten by the heroine's spunkiness and fiery beauty.

In the stories I've read, the heroine submit to the first hero to save-protect-benefit her family. The hero who awakens her to the delights of the bedroom. Circumstances (king's decree, storm, etc.) propel her to the second hero, who shows her even more delights. She grudgingly falls in love with the second hero and learns that her heart is big enough to embrace the complexities of life and love. She thrives using her wits until the first hero survives a harrowing journey and reclaims her. He confesses his earlier arrogance, begs for forgiveness and they reunite in love.

Here is the back blurb from 'Betrayed':

When Fiona Hay offers Angus Gordon her virtue in exchange for a dowry for her sisters, she so intrigues the rogue that he demands a higher payment: She will be his mistress. Thus begins a battle of wills and sensual delights. Destiny soon draws the ardent lovers into the turbulent court of King James. But the king's political schemes force Fiona away from the man she loves...and into the arms of a wild and passionate Highlander, The MacDonald of Nairn. Will this coldhearted and callous betrayal forever destroy Fiona's chance at happiness?

Small writes bodice-rippers. Between the fully-clothed-couple covers are super steamy sex scenes.
She knows her 15th century English and Scottish history backwards and forwards. Her dialogue includes a lot  of 'Ye's.  Her depiction of era customs (i.e., hand fasting and the legitimacy of resulting offspring) is believable. She probably taught Nora Roberts how to head hop.

I skimmed Betrayal to write this post, and found I did not enjoy it as much as when I first read it. I guess my tastes have evolved. But if I were teaching a History of Romance class, Beatrice Small would be on the mandatory reading list.

A is for Art

 

 Margaret talks about being artistic

 

  My dictionary definition of art is skill - human skill as opposed to nature; skill applied to music, painting, poetry, etc. It refers to the arts but does not specifically mention writing, which I find somewhat surprising because isn’t writing an art?
  I paint as well as write but I consider both of them artistic. In fact I would say there is more creative artistry in writing than there is in painting. Painting is a visual form, writing a mental one, but the art form is always there because when we write we picture each scene in our mind’s eye. As we hope our reader’s do!
  Below is the opening scene from my book Rachel’s Retribution which I hope paints a very artistic picture of what is happening.

 Rachel felt a chill steal down her spine as the man strode into the bistro. She shrank back into the shadows, her heartbeat accelerating. The last time she had spoken to him he had verbally thrashed her to within an inch of her life. She had been young and foolish and had let him down big time. For days afterwards she had cried, feeling as though it was the end of her world.

Their last meeting had prompted her to move from Ireland to North Yorkshire in England. She had needed to get away from her old life, make a new start, forget her stupidity. As she studied him she placed her hand over heart, as if by so doing she could somehow bring calm. Heat ran through her, even her palms were clammy. This was a man she had never hoped to see again.

If everything had gone according to plan she would not have been here, she would not be shaking life a leaf in the wind. Liam Mallory belonged to a part of her life she had thought was over, a part that still mortified her every time she thought about it. Meeting him now, having to speak to him, would be far too embarrassing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A is for Aslan

Debra's current read aloud is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I read C.S. Lewis' classic tale back when I was a kid: I believe it was fourth or fifth grade. I remember liking the story, but I have to admit I didn't get a lot of the hidden meaning in it. And I also have to admit that I really didn't enjoy the rest of the series. If fact, I think I stopped reading after the third book because I lost interest.

As an adult I've grown to appreciate, and understand, the hidden depths of that story. And so it's a read aloud favorite in my class each year. The kids love the adventure of the story, and I'm fortunate that in my school we can talk about what the characters represent.

Aslan is the Christ-figure in the story. He sacrifices himself to save others. And, just like Christ, he rises again to fulfill the prophecy in the story.

It got me to thinking...I rarely write a story with such deep, hidden meanings or connections and representations. I do try to give my characters depth and let their actions, words, and environment help the reader learn about them and relate to them, but I don't use a whole lot of symbolism when I write. Perhaps it's the genre. Although I've read modern romance that gives a nod to Shakespeare and Jane Austin (among others) in their themes and plots.

Do I need to include more symbolism? Maybe. Maybe not. Don't get me wrong, I think romance can tell a deep, meaningful story, but I also think it's more for escapism rather than literary discussion and dissection. I really don't think anything written by Debra St. John will ever be required reading in a lit class, but who knows...maybe folks find hidden meanings in the things I write, even if it's mostly unintentional on my part.

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com

A is for Adjectives

Paula looks at adjectives.

Mark Twain said: "As to the adjective, when in doubt, strike it out."

The question is – which adjectives should you strike out?

First there are the redundant adjectives – the tiny kitten (aren’t all kittens tiny?), the narrow alley (an alley IS a narrow passage), the cold snow (if snow wasn’t cold, it would be water!). Omit the adjective if the noun is self-explanatory.

Secondly, there are the adjectives which, with their nouns, can be replaced with a much more descriptive word e.g. ‘a downpour flooded the streets’ instead of ‘heavy rain flooded the streets’, or ‘the witch cackled’ instead of ‘the witch gave an evil, sharp laugh’.

There are also some adjectives which have become almost meaningless and should be avoided (except in dialogue), including wonderful, lovely, gorgeous – and the obvious one, nice.

However, a story without any adjectives could end up as very clinical and dry. As with most things, moderation is the key. We are not advised to avoid adjectives altogether, but to avoid overusing them.

Eliminating all adjectives would be as big a mistake as overusing them. Adjectives can clarify meaning and add colour to our writing, and can be used to convey the precise shade of meaning we want to achieve. We should save them for the moments when we really need them and then use them selectively – and sparsely. Too often we feel the need to beef up our nouns in an effort to get our point across.

Use adjectives only to highlight something the noun doesn't tell us. We’ve already seen that the ‘narrow alley’ has a redundant adjective, but what about the ‘dark alley’ or the ‘filthy alley’?  Not all alleys are dark or filthy so in these examples, the adjectives are adding something that is already shown by the noun.  This is the main reason for using an adjective.

A Is For Allenson

Jennifer reviews debut author Allenson’s romance…

For Love of the Dame has been in my TBR pile since it came out in September 2014. Yeah, I know, a long time. But like most people, my TBR pile is huge, my time is limited, and therefore, it took me more than a year to get to it.

The contemporary romance is about a major league baseball player, Car, and an opera singer, Sofia, who is looking for her big break. She comes to the US from Italy to get it (and to escape her domineering father/manager). Car uses his fame to get her the exposure she needs in order to try to land an audition. And despite having nothing in common, the two fall in love.

Here’s the official blurb:

Italian opera singer Sofia de' Medici wants one thing: to sing Carmen in a first-rate New York opera house. She has escaped the clutches of her domineering father to achieve her dream, but can she overcome her own sweet nature and voluptuous beauty to take on the role of opera's greatest femme fatale?
 Major League baseball star Car Bradford wants one thing: to get his son away from his unfit ex-wife. In order to do that, he needs the help of her dad (and his boss) who demands a strange ransom -- pretend to be having an affair with a beautiful, curvy opera singer to get her the media attention she needs to nab the part of a lifetime.
 The trouble is, they have nothing in common. She's quirky; he's conventional. He hates her shoes; she hates his truck. She loves food; he sees it as fuel. But as they spend more time together, their awkward charade grows into a passion neither of them expected. Can the star athlete and sensuous diva get past their differences long to realize that they've both found the one thing they never knew they always wanted?

Now, I have to confess. I’m a baseball fan by marriage, which means I watch because my husband likes it, but usually get bored by the third inning. And I really, really, really dislike opera. However, I loved this book!

The characters are quirky and memorable and funny. I loved how Sofia compared every situation she found herself in to an opera, and even though opera isn’t my thing, I totally got it! I loved how Car shattered the stereotype of the “dumb jock.” And their chemistry together was hot!

Allenson’s writing style is fast-paced and distinct and she is phenomenal at choosing just the right word or phrase to exactly convey her meaning.

I can’t wait for her next book and I recommend adding her to your TBR list (even if you hate baseball and/or opera!). 

Rating: 5 hearts

Buy on Amazon here.

A is for Adjectives

Ana is studying how big name romance authors string adjectives in descriptive narrative.

From Nora Roberts' 'Entranced':

"But he continued to avoid the the little yellow teddy bear sitting lonely on the long, empty sofa."

"He started to push her toward the door and found his face pressed against a beefy chest covered in a sweaty T-shirt that announced that its owner was A Hard Driving Man."

"It was tempting to give her one good pop on that damnably arrogant chin."

"For the second time that day, Mel knocked on the dull brown door, wiped her feet on the grass-green welcome mat with the white daisy in the corner."

From Jayne Ann Krentz's 'White Lies':

"He steered her toward a leather padded bar at one end of the long, spacious room, evidently unfazed by the covert glances and curious stares."

"A large, tiered ice sculpture with hollowed-out bowls held an assortment of cold hors d'oeuvres."

"This time a balding, overweight man dressed in a pair of plaid Bermuda shorts and an aging white T-shirt looked out."

"His body ached with the need to sheath himself inside her dark, wet heat but he forced himself to wait until she was twisting beneath him, until her soft pleas became sharp commands."