Writing about a location – Do you have to go there?

Don Massenzio talks location, location on his blog today. Stop by for a visit, he’d love to hear from you 🙂

One of the most important aspects of your writing is the setting. You want to accomplish a couple of things when you write about a particular place. First, you want to give your reader a sense of the place you are writing about in a descriptive way that transports them there. There are books I have read that have made me feel that I was experiencing the place even if I hadn’t been there. One of my favorites, To Kill a Mockingbird, made me feel the humidity of Alabama. The Shining gave me a chill through Stephen King’s description of the unrelenting winter around the Overlook Hotel.

There are authors that excel at describing their surroundings. Dean Koontz is especially astute at describing indigenous vegetation in California, where many of his books are set. In his Odd Thomas series, the fictional California desert town of Pico Mundo comes to life…

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October 5, 2017

Jacquie Biggar2 Comments

Another roll of the dice… Bidding On the Bachelor by Kerri Carpenter #Harlequin #Romance @Barclay_PR @AuthorKerri

Recently divorced Carissa Blackwell returns to her hometown and reconnects with her first love Jasper Dumont, while the ubiquitous Bayside Blogger reports their every move for the town newspaper in this delightful & playful novel by award-winning romance author Kerri Carpenter.

**Rafflecopter for Bidding on the Bachelor Blitz Giveaway:**

Kerri is offering one (1) lucky Grand Prize winner a $50 Amazon Gift Card and three (3) Runner-Up winners with an eCopy of one of Falling for the Right Brother (Saved by the Blog #1)! To enter, simply fill out the Rafflecopter below:

Direct Link: http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29428/?

**About Bidding on the Bachelor:**

Title: Bidding on the Bachelor

Author: Kerri Carpenter

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: October 1, 2017

Publisher: Harlequin Special Edition

Series: Saved by the Blog #2

Format: Print/Digital

Print ISBN: 9780373623792

Digital ISBN: 9781488079146

Another roll of the dice

Big news, fair readers! Bayside High’s favorite It Girl is back. Would you have bet Clarissa Blackwell would ever return? Ten years ago, she crushed Jasper Dumont’s heart under her Jimmy Choos and left town for a bigger, better life. Her return raises one question: What is she running from (or is it to) now?

Perhaps Jasper knows? One look at Carissa and he fell in the bay! (Rich, single and devastatingly handsome, Jasper’s our catch of the day.) That icy plunge should have brought him to his senses, yet “Casper” has been spotted together all over town. Does this mean Bayside’s legendary couple may reunite? The stakes are high, but the Bayside Blogger’s money is riding on love!

Add to your TBR list: Goodreads

Available: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iTunes

Excerpt:

“I’m back in town.”

“For how long?” he asked quickly, too quickly. In fact, if she wasn’t mistaken, anger laced his question. She must have reacted to it because his features softened. “Sorry, it’s none of my business. And I do remember that today is your birthday. So, happy birthday, Carissa.”

“Thanks,” she said, and meant it. She decided to offer an olive branch because the truth was that she’d dumped him and she hadn’t been kind about it. This icy reception she was receiving was well deserved. While she knew the reasons behind her decision, she’d never let Jasper in on it. She’d been a bratty, selfish teenager, not capable of understanding her emotions. Unwilling to admit that Jasper had always reminded her of her father and that summer her dad had dropped a bombshell on her.

“I don’t know how long I’ll be in town. I’m sort of in a transition period right now.” He waited patiently. After another long drink of beer, she finished. “I just got divorced.” Saying the words out loud left an awful taste in her mouth. An acidic aftertaste of yuckiness.

First, shock flashed on his face. Then, true concern shone in his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he said.

And that might have been her undoing. Because he had every reason to be stiff and awkward with her. Instead, any kind of compassion from him loosened her lips.

“Today is my twenty-ninth birthday. I’m having a beer next to my ex-boyfriend, who hates my guts, in a dive bar in the town I swore I would never step foot in again. An ex-boyfriend I should really apologize to because I was an evil witch to him.” The words were flying now. She gripped her hand tightly around her glass. “I’m not even thirty and already I’ve been married and divorced. And I got divorced because he freaking cheated on me.”

She couldn’t miss the way Jasper’s eyes narrowed, his hands curled into fists, and there was a definite tic in his clenched jaw. “He cheated on you?”

“Yep. Apparently, the fact that I was homecoming queen, prom queen and head cheerleader did nothing to impress him. Or keep his pants zipped up when anyone wearing a skirt in the Central Time Zone walked by. That probably makes your whole day, doesn’t it?”

He slammed his hand on the bar and she jumped. But she just as quickly composed herself. “What? You have every right to revel in my misery after the way I broke up with you. I got divorced. You win.”

His eyes narrowed. “I don’t want to win at that game. And I certainly don’t want to hear that some idiot cheated on you. I’m sorry you’re getting divorced.”

“That makes one of us.”

Other Books in the Saved by the Blog series:

Falling for the Right Brother

Saved by the blog!

This just in, fair readers! Chic and stunning, that gorgeous new woman about town is none other than our very own little Ellie–now Elle–Owens. She’s a far cry from the frumpy, bookish student we used to know, but then, living in Italy will do that to a girl! Still, this blogger can’t forget the infamous video that caused her to leave!

Apparently Miss Elle has been spotted with yummy contractor Cam Dumont…but we thought her heart belonged to his little brother. Are Cam and Elle a new couple? They were seen cooling their passions in the bay…in April! If this is love, let’s hope she’s swimming with the right brother. The Bayside Blogger will keep you posted.

Available at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks

About Kerri Carpenter:

Award-winning romance author Kerri Carpenter writes contemporary romances that are sweet, sexy, and sparkly. When she’s not writing, Kerri enjoys reading, cooking, watching movies, taking Zumba classes, rooting for Pittsburgh sports teams, and anything sparkly. Kerri lives in Northern Virginia with her adorable (and mischievous) rescued poodle mix, Harry. Visit Kerri at her website, on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, or subscribe to her newsletter.

October 5, 2017September 28, 2017

Jacquie BiggarLeave a comment

What happens at the shore, stays at the shore… One Summer Night by @CaridadPineiro #NewRelease #Romance #mgtab @Barclay_PR

ONE SUMMER NIGHT by Caridad Pineiro Review Tour!

It’s release week for Caridad Pineiro and her newest contemporary romance, ONE SUMMER NIGHT. Follow the tour for reviews, excerpts, and enter to win a $100 Amazon gift card and three runner-ups will win ONE SUMMER NIGHT branded T-Shirts and Hats.

What happens at the shore, stays at the shore in Caridad Pineiro’s contemporary romance, ONE SUMMER NIGHT. Maggie Sinclair is out of options, and Owen Pierce, life long neighbor and enemy has an offer that’s impossible to accept. Fans of Bella Andre’s Sullivans series and Shannon Stacey’s Kowalskis series are sure to love this light and playful enemies to lovers romance.

Title: One Summer Night

Author: Caridad Pineiro

Release Date: October 3, 2017

Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca

Series: At the Shore

Genres: Contemporary romance

Pages: 352

Synopsis:

An offer that’s impossible to accept . . .

Maggie Sinclair has tried everything to save her family’s business, including mortgaging their beloved beach house on the Jersey Shore. But now, she’s out of options.

The Sinclair and Pierce families have been neighbors and enemies for almost thirty years. That hasn’t stopped Owen Pierce from crushing on Maggie, and he’s determined to invest in her success. Now he has to convince her that he’s more than just trouble with a capital T…

Add to Goodreads: http://bit.ly/2w73ky4

Buy Now: Amazon | iBooks | B&N

Amazon → http://amzn.to/2krMwfE

iBooks → http://apple.co/2qsqdwx

B&N → http://bit.ly/2kNuo0p

ONE SUMMER NIGHT Excerpt

With keen interest, Owen Pierce took note of the three women as they hurried away from the dais and into the Sinclair mansion.

“Put your eyes back in your head, Bro. She’s nothing but trouble,” Jon warned in low tones.

Owen bit back the retort that if anyone knew about trouble, it was his brother. Jonathan had always marched to a different drummer and had set out on his own as a teenager to explore what he wanted out of life. Now a successful entrepreneur, he had captured the media’s attention with his innovative designs and daring adventures. That left Owen to shoulder most of the burden of the family’s real estate business, as well as deal with his father’s anger over Jonathan’s latest newsworthy escapade.

He envied his brother’s carefree spirit and determination, especially as Maggie Sinclair marched back onto the patio with her friends, an angry bride, and an obviously inebriated groom. Both the bride and groom looked far from happy as they approached the elaborate multi-tiered wedding cake that had been wheeled out to the middle of the makeshift dance floor.

He worried the bride might plunge the long knife she held into her new husband, but luckily for the newlyweds, Maggie directed the blade toward the cake.

Jon playfully elbowed him. “Seriously, Owen. She’s not for you. Father declared the Sinclairs off-limits ages ago. He would have a stroke if he thought the two of you were involved.”

Involved with Maggie Sinclair, Owen thought and sighed with regret.

In a way, he’d been involved with her forever. He’d like to chalk it all up to a sloppy, hurried, and stolen kiss at eighteen and the allure of forbidden fruit. But since that kiss, he’d watched her mature into a smart, beautiful woman. One who was willing to work hard for the town and business she cared about as well as friends and family. With every encounter, he’d grown more intrigued with the person Maggie had become.

But his father had come down hard on them about mingling with the Sinclairs right after Maggie’s mother’s death. For years, they’d been unable to come to their Sea Kiss home, and even when they’d returned, they’d done so without their father, who refused to be so close to the family he thought had wronged him.

Not that Owen expected that Jon would kowtow to such rules, since his brother was the kind of man who didn’t hesitate to take what he wanted.

He arched a brow and met his brother’s blue-eyed gaze, which glittered with a mix of undisguised challenge and amusement. “Do you think you’re the only one entitled to a little adventure in your life?” he said.

Jon chuckled. “My kind of adventure is way safer than what you may be considering.”

“Why’s that, Li’l Bro?” he asked, appreciating the sight of Maggie in a dusty-rose gown that hugged dangerous curves. Her chestnut-brown hair fell to her shoulders in soft waves and framed ice-blue eyes and a sassy, sexy face that snared his attention every time he saw her.

Jonathan took a last sip of his champagne and barely stifled another laugh. With a shake of his head, he replied, “Because all I risk is an occasional broken bone, but that…” He jerked his head in Maggie’s direction as she stepped back beside Connie and Emma. “That will break your heart.”

Enter to win a $100 AMAZON Gift Card and (3) Runner-ups will win a ONE SUMMER NIGHT Branded T-shirt and/or Hat!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/b050ef29431/

About Caridad Pineiro:

Caridad Pineiro is a transplanted Long Island girl who has fallen in love with pork roll and the Jersey Shore, but still can’t get the hang of tomato pies. When Caridad isn’t taking long strolls along the boardwalk to maintain her sanity and burn off that pork roll, she’s also a NY Times and USA Today bestselling author with over a million books sold worldwide. Caridad is passionate about writing and helping others explore and develop their skills as writers. She is a founding member of the Liberty States Fiction Writers and has presented workshops at the RT Book Club Convention, Romance Writers of America National Conference as well as various writing organizations throughout the country.