May 27, 2020

Spotlight: Autumn Allure by Allie Boniface

May 27, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

Whispering Pines Sweet Small Town Romance, Book 2

Contemporary Romance

Release Date: May 27, 2020

Publisher: DFM Publishing

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Bartender Nate Hunter enjoys his small-town, no-strings-attached life in Whispering Pines. Then a dying ex-girlfriend tracks him down to tell him he has a daughter he never knew existed. Nate doesn't know the first thing about being a father, but one look at Autumn and he's a goner, so he agrees to take care of her until her aunt returns at Christmas.

When Nate asks the town’s librarian, no-nonsense Maxine Abbott, to move in with him and help take care of Autumn, she agrees, but only if he'll pretend to be her boyfriend and get her mother off her back. Their relationship of convenience works perfectly at first, until real feelings begin to invade their false romance. Then Autumn's aunt shows up early, and everything changes.

Will Nate and Maxine's budding love end in heartbreak before the last leaves fall?

(Please note that this book was originally released in 2016. It is being re-released with a new cover and as part of a newly-titled series in 2020).

Other Books in the Whispering Pines Sweet Small Town Romance Series:

Second Chance Summer

Whispering Pines Sweet Small Town Romance, Book 1

Publisher: DFM Publishing

Release Date: April 29, 2020

Ten years after leaving home, the last thing Summer Thompson expects is to inherit her estranged father’s half-renovated mansion. And the last thing she wants is to face the memories of the night her brother died, fleeting as they may be. Now a San Francisco museum curator, she plans to stay east just long enough to settle the estate and get rid of the house. Until she finds it occupied by a hunky handyman who’s strangely reluctant to talk about his past.

Damian Knight has been hiding his mother and sister from a violent ex, and Whispering Pines is the one place they’ve found peace and safety. He keeps to himself. He tells no one about his past. Yet when the lonely, haunted Summer steals his heart, he finds himself opening up to her in ways he should never risk. Especially to a woman who’s planning to leave town after selling their refuge out from under them.

As their attraction grows, the past begins to catch up with them. Summer’s mounting flashbacks leave her confused and determined to uncover the truth about the night her brother died. But that truth will cross paths with the man Damian and his family have been avoiding for years.

Can new love help them defeat the pain of the past? Or are some scars too deep to ever heal?

If you love small towns, memorable characters, and swoon-worthy happy endings, then you’ll love this sweet romance by a USA Today best-selling author! (Note: this book was previously released as Summer’s Song. Revisions and updates accompany this new version!)

Buy your copy on Amazon

About the Author

Allie Boniface is the USA Today best-selling author of over a dozen novels, including the Cocktail Cruise, Hometown Heroes, and Pine Point series. Her books are set in small towns and feature emotional, sensual romance with relatable characters you'll fall in love with.

Allie currently lives in a small town in the beautiful Hudson Valley of New York with her husband and their two furry felines. When she isn't teaching high school and community college English, she likes to travel, lose herself in great music, or go for a run and think about her next story. Take some time to browse around Allie's website, check out new and upcoming releases, and sign up for her newsletter. You'll get all the news about releases before everyone else, along with free stories available ONLY to subscribers

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May 26, 2020

Spotlight: Time Off by John Fitch & Max Frenzel

May 26, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

What do Aristotle, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Lebron James all have in common? Time off in the most creative and nourishing way!

Amidst a culture that worships “busyness”, millennials John Fitch and Max Frenzel want us to unlearn workaholism by learning “noble leisure” of the past and developing a quality #RestEthic. The AI researcher (Max) and entrepreneur (John) have collaborated to share the history of how we value time and work, show us that a little time off will go a lot further than we may think, and that it doesn’t have to be a vacation or even a full day.

Science supports that time off (whether that be walking on your lunch break or saying no to drinks with friends to work on a passion project) is a critical factor for anyone who wants to achieve a fulfifilling life, both personally and professionally. Time Off is intended for knowledge workers, creatives, entrepreneurs and business leaders who feel overwhelmed, giving them the knowledge and tools to hone the essential skill of taking time off work before it’s too late.

Excerpt

Rest Ethic

Take in a deep breath and hold it.

Keep holding.

How long can you hold your inhale until it gets uncomfortable?

Thirty seconds? A few minutes? It doesn’t take long until we all, eventually, need to exhale.

Think of your work ethic as the inhale. (It is, in a way, as essential to your career as air is to your body.) With a good work ethic we make, execute, coordinate, manage, fulfill, and get things done. Task list—inhale. Project execution—inhale. Making our ideas come to life—inhale.

But we can’t keep inhaling forever. Eventually we have to exhale. This exhale is your rest ethic, and it is just as essential.

A solid rest ethic gifts us inspiration, ideas, and recovery. It allows us to build up our enthusiasm and sustain our passion. Gaining a fresh perspective—exhale. Project ideation and “aha” moments—exhale. Letting big ideas incubate in your mind—exhale. And just as a deep exhale prepares you for a better inhale, your rest ethic enables you to have a better work ethic.

[…]

Excessive hours don’t guarantee quality work. And quality work, not quantity or busywork, is what a good work ethic is all about. Now, there are plenty of fantastic books out there about improving and refining your work ethic. Titles like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Relentless, Mastery, and Turning Pro have got you covered. Our focus here will be on your rest ethic, leisure, and the wellspring of creativity and impactful ideas your time off can produce.

So, what might a well-designed rest ethic look like?

This book will teach you that it involves much more than taking a vacation or a day off. A great rest ethic is not just about working less. It’s about becoming conscious of how you spend your time, recognizing that busyness is often the opposite of productivity, admitting and respecting your need for downtime and detachment, establishing clear boundaries and saying no more often, giving your ideas time and space to incubate, evaluating what success means to you, and ultimately finding and unlocking your deepest creative and human potential.

A rest ethic and a work ethic—we need both. They are two sides of the same coin. But today, it seems like too many of us are running around holding our breath for way too long. How effective is our work ethic without enthusiasm and creativity? How can we be effective leaders and come up with the big, innovative, impactful ideas our world needs if we’re stressed and burned out?

The team behind this book experienced the need to exhale firsthand. John reached a breaking point in his life and discovered a novel concept of time while on a life-changing sabbatical. Max was drowning in busyness without feeling productive, and during some quiet days in the mountains started thinking back to his leisurely but highly productive Ph.D. days. Our illustrator Mariya was falling out of love with drawing because she had taken on too many projects and had to relearn to emphasize quality of work—and enjoyment—over quantity of projects. All three of us had a bumpy and winding road discovering the importance of having a rest ethic. We wrote this book to make your road a bit easier.

About the Authors

Max Frenzel (Tokyo) and John Fitch (Austin) have both spent time working in software startups where many are worshiping the mantras that are so pervasive in our current working culture. Max got his Ph.D. in Quantum Physics and has been an AI researcher. John is an entrepreneur and business coach.

At breaking points in both of their work experiences, they realized that many of the commonly held beliefs aren't useful, but destructive. As a result, they decided to be more intentional and deliberate with their approaches to work and time off. Their quality of work and life have improved ever since, and they now want to share that transformation with others.

Connect: https://www.timeoffbook.com/

May 26, 2020

Spotlight: Rebel Princess by Lynn Stevens

May 26, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

REBEL PRINCESS by Lynn Stevens is a modern romance retelling of the Hunchback of Notre Dame. Fans of military romance, sweet love, and coming of age stories will enjoy this new adult romance. The next installment of the Modern Princess Collection is now LIVE!

Only on Amazon + Read for FREE on Kindle Unlimited!

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I was born to rebel.

Against love. Against authority. Against myself.

Perfect precision, that’s how I planned my life. Dancing was my whole world. I wanted to be in the spotlight with all eyes on me, but recently, my heart’s pulled me in a different direction. Writing for the school paper has excited me in a way dance never has. Exposing truths trumps pirouettes and countless hours in the studio and being true to myself is more important than keeping dangerous secrets hidden.

Getting close to Colin and his lacrosse buddies allowed me access to their secrets—but I had no idea how deep they went. On the brink of exposing them, I was set back. No sources, no boyfriend, and no way to get justice. No matter which angle I pursued, my story kept getting shut down.

Until I met the guy with the scars. The one who helped me when I didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. He came into my life out of nowhere, saved me, and taught me to believe in myself. Then, when I finally did, he didn’t believe in me. I had to stand on my own two feet, fight for my values and for what I needed—for what I had earned—and learn that justice always comes with a cost.

About Lynn

Lynn Stevens flunked out of college writing her first novel. Yes, she still has it and no, you can't read it. Surprisingly, she graduated with honors at her third school. A former farm girl turned city slicker, Lynn lives in the Midwest where she drinks coffee she can't pronounce and sips tea when she's out of coffee. When she's out of both, just stay away.

May 26, 2020

Spotlight: Queen Move by Kennedy Ryan

May 26, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

Queen Move, an all-new powerful and moving, not-to-be-missed second chance romance from RITA® Award-winning and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Kennedy Ryan, is available now!

The boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can't have…

Dig a little and you'll find photos of me in the bathtub with Ezra Stern.

Get your mind out of the gutter. We were six months old.

Pry and one of us might confess we saved our first kiss for each other.

The most clumsy, wet, sloppy . . . spectacular thirty seconds of my adolescence.

Get into our business and you'll see two families, closer than blood, torn apart in an instant.

Twenty years later, my "awkward duckling" best friend from childhood, the boy no one noticed, is a man no one can ignore.

Finer. Fiercer. Smarter.

Taken.

Tell me it's wrong.

Tell me the boy who always felt like mine is now the man I can’t have.

When we find each other again, everything stands in our way--secrets, lies, promises.

But we didn't come this far to give up now.

And I know just the move to make if I want to make him mine.

**QUEEN MOVE will have the special release week price of $3.99. After that, the price will increase.**

DOWNLOAD YOUR COPY TODAY!

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ABOUT KENNEDY RYAN

A RITA® Award Winner, Wall Street Journal and USA Today Bestselling Author, Kennedy Ryan writes for women from all walks of life, empowering them and placing them firmly at the center of each story and in charge of their own destinies. Her heroes respect, cherish and lose their minds for the women who capture their hearts.

Kennedy and her writings have been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul, USA Today, Entertainment Weekly, Glamour and many others. She has always leveraged her journalism background to write for charity and non-profit organizations, but has a special passion for raising Autism awareness.The co-founder of LIFT 4 Autism, an annual charitable book auction, she has appeared on Headline News, The Montel Williams Show, NPR and other media outlets as an advocate for ASD families. She is a wife to her lifetime lover and mother to an extraordinary son.

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May 25, 2020

Spotlight: Lake Effect by K.C. Gillis

May 25, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

A Jordan Reed Mystery

Mystery, Thriller

Release Date: May 26, 2020

Publisher: Chesterfield Press

Mysterious marina accidents. Destroyed evidence. Can a tenacious reporter decipher the twisted clues at a small-town lake?

Jordan Reed is burned out from all the attention on her previous high-profile story. But when a new lead lands in her lap, she reluctantly postpones her vacation to investigate a classic New England marina. With hundreds of dead fish washing up on Copper Lake’s otherwise pristine shores, Jordan suspects a sinister cover-up.

But by the time she arrives on the scene, she’s surprised to discover the police chief eliminated every last carcass and seems hellbent on blocking her inquiries. And her search for the culprit takes a perilous turn when gambling kingpins descend on the city and a string of unexplained calamities plague the docks.

Can Jordan expose the corruption, or will she be the next to go belly-up?

Lake Effect is the second book in the fast-paced Jordan Reed mystery series. If you like steely female sleuths, gripping action, and clever twists that’ll keep you guessing, then you’ll love K.C. Gillis’s page-turning mystery.

Buy Lake Effect to dive into dangerous waters today!

Other Books in the Jordan Reed Mystery series:

A Jordan Reed Mystery

Publisher: Chesterfield Press

Published: February 2020

Strange symptoms. Bloody secrets. Can one reporter solve a medical mystery before she ends up in a body bag?

Jordan Reed put her world on hold to hunt down corruption. So when the gutsy journalist gets tipped off about blood money changing hands at a pharmaceutical factory, she dives into the story. With an otherwise healthy worker dropping dead of multiple organ failure, Jordan suspects something far more sinister than a simple accident…

Daring to go up against big pharma, she gains an ally on the inside and recruits two friends to join the investigation. But after a string of false leads and tight-lipped witnesses, she ties her case to disturbingly similar evidence in a medical trial on the other side of the globe. And if she doesn’t expose the lethal conspiracy soon, Jordan is terrified she and her team could be the next victims of the lethal cover-up.

Can Jordan take down a greedy corporation before they sacrifice more lives in the drive for profit?

Toxic Deception is the first book in the gripping Jordan Reed thriller series. If you like tenacious heroines, underdog stories, and edge-of-your-seat action, then you’ll love K.C. Gillis’s page-turning tale.

Buy Toxic Deception to unravel a contagious mystery today HERE!

About the Author

K.C. (Kevin) Gillis is the author of the Jordan Reed mystery series. Despite being a lifelong lover of stories and books, writing took a distant back seat as his professional career travelled through the Canadian Air Force, a decade as a chemist, followed by a long and continuing run in corporate America. With writing no longer in the back seat (but not quite yet in the front seat), Kevin now has the Jordan Reed series well underway. His personal interests focus on endurance and water sports. Having grown up in the Canadian Maritimes, he now lives in the US northeast.

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May 25, 2020

Spotlight: Accidentally Family by Sasha Summers

May 25, 2020/ Michelle Bowles

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Welcome to Pecan Valley, where the town may be small but the townspeople will always lend a helping hand or a shoulder to lean on. Where good times, good humor, and good people will always lead to happily ever after.

Life for Felicity, and her teen children, is finally back on track. After her divorce, she wasn’t sure if her sweet family would ever be the same. But things are good––right up until her ex’s spirited toddler lands on Felicity’s doorstep. If the universe is going to throw lemons at her, thank God she has her best friend, Graham, to help her make lemonade out of them. How did she never notice how kind and sexy he is?

Graham is still recovering from his wife’s death years ago and trying to help his teen daughter get her life together. Who is he kidding? His daughter hates him. Forget lemons––he’s got the entire lemon tree. So when Felicity suggests they join forces and help each other, he’s all in. And suddenly he can’t stop thinking about her as more than just a friend. Too bad their timing couldn’t be worse…

Because life rarely goes as planned. Luckily there are many different kinds of family to hold you together and lift you up...plus maybe even a little love between friends.

Exclusive Excerpt:

Her sister was the strongest person on the planet, but she had to be running on fumes. Not that Felicity would say so, or confide, or lean—she was way too into the big-sister protector thing. Still, Matt had been dead five days. In those five days, her sister had been saddled with his funeral arrangements, keeping her kids’ spirits up, and the whole “when will the ex’s illegitimate love child and destroyer of her niece and nephew’s happy family wake up from his coma?” thing.

Charity felt for the baby, she did. But her loyalties were here, to Nick and Honor, and Felicity, too.

She grabbed a bag of sour-cream-and-onion chips and added it to her pile of snacks, then backed out of the kitchen. “Who’s hungry?” she asked, flopping onto the couch beside Honor.

Honor was watching the bloody melee on the television, a growing look of disgust on her face. “This is horrible. I keep jumping.”

Nick chuckled. “You should try it. Definitely calms the nerves.”

Charity snorted. She was pretty sure trying to shoot a zombie before it bit into you wasn’t relaxing. At least not her idea of relaxing.

“Right?” Diana added. “Dad took my game away because of the whole pot thing. It sucks, big time. Which is why I have lots of sleepovers.”

Charity didn’t say a word. She wasn’t sure how to read Diana yet. Was she really messed up? Or was she acting messed up for attention?

“Pot?” Honor asked.

Diana nodded, taking a licorice lace from Nick. “It’s no big deal. It was one joint. One. The school totally flipped out and expelled me.”

“You were expelled?” Nick looked skeptical.

“Why else do you think I’m going to your school next year?” Diana rolled her eyes. “Dad can’t buy my way back into any of the private schools. Why he thinks I’m better off at a private school versus a public school is beyond me. Where does he think I bought the pot to begin with?”

So, the real deal then. Not that she was going to judge the girl. She couldn’t imagine how hard it would be to lose a parent. There had been plenty of times during her school years when she’d wished her parents would leave her alone—disappear even. But death? Permanently losing one? She couldn’t imagine that.

Was this one of those times she should act like an adult or not? Felicity would probably pop off some after-school-special message that would instantly and forever change Diana’s outlook on life into some happy rainbow-and-cupcakes-kitten thing. But Charity didn’t know how to do that. She didn’t know how to be a mom. The kid in her belly was getting a raw deal. She needed to start taking notes on Felicity’s parenting style.

Get Your Copy Now! Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Target | Walmart

About Sasha Summers:

Sasha Summers grew up surrounded by books. Her passions have always been storytelling, romance and travel--passions she uses when writing. Now a best-selling and award winning-author, Sasha continues to fall a little in love with each hero she writes. From easy-on-the-eyes cowboy, sexy alpha-male werewolves, to heroes of truly mythic proportions, she believes that everyone should have their happy ending--in fiction and real life.Sasha lives in the suburbs of the Texas Hill country with her amazing and supportive family and her beloved grumpy cat, Gerard, The Feline Overlord. She looks forward to hearing from fans and hopes you'll visit her online. Facebook: Sasha Summers Author, Twitter: @sashawrites, or her website: www.sashasummers.com

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