Who says you can’t go to heaven unless you die? By Taylor Lee

I’m here to tell you that old wives’ tale is simply not true. And I have the deets to prove it. Every August for the last ten years my guy and I take off for somewhere wonderful for the month of August. Given that we live in Phoenix, Arizona, you can understand why we choose that month to beat it out of Arizona. But this year Phoenix outdid itself. The Arizona Republic declared, “It’s official: July in Phoenix was the hottest month ever recorded in a U.S. City.” Yep. Seventeen days in July, Phoenix hit maximum temperatures at or above 115 degrees. And on three days in July we reached 119 degrees.

August Vacations

Okay so you know why we fled Phoenix on August 1.

For the last four years we have gone to extraordinary places in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. I’m in love with the four corners region. My two latest series, ten books in all, take place in one of those gorgeous states. But this year we opted for something different and headed to Sonoma, California in the heart of wine country. To be truthful, I was a tad worried that Sonoma couldn’t possibly compete with thee extraordinary mountains, red rocks and stunning vistas I’m infatuated with. BUT…  drum roll please.

Enter Glen Ellan, California. To begin with, Sonoma, particularly Glen Ellan couldn’t be more different form the Four Corners region if it tried. To begin with if I had to choose a single word to describe where we are staying it would be verdant. Seriously after the red rocks and mountainous climbs, I marvel at how green everything is. But it’s more than that. It’s as if everywhere you look something is growing. Lush flourishing vegetation as far as the eye can see. Having grown up in northern Minnesota, I’m accustomed to trees and farmland. But Sonoma is different. Miles after miles of “growing” things. Vineyards of course, but small farms growing every kind of vegetable you can imagine. I’ve obviously seen vineyards before but I’d never driven for mile after mile in wine country.  I’m infatuated with the rows of vines that look like they have been painted on the ground they are so perfectly manicured. And trees! I know, I know. How can a Minnesota chick marvel at trees? But after living in the desert for the last twenty years, I’m overcome by the trees. Everywhere you look that isn’t rows and rows of vines there are trees.

About Sonoma.

In Phoenix, after being forced to drive at least seventy miles an hour or be run off the road by irate drivers who think the seventy-five mile limit is the least acceptable lowest speed one can drive, the roads around Sonoma produce culture shock. Seriously, the two lane roads with no shoulders dare you to drive faster than the 20-30 mile maximum speed. In that my guy was doing all the driving, after the first week of white knuckles and closing my eyes for the most part, I’ve now become accustomed to being terrified but at least now appreciate the gorgeous countryside as we peel down the ads at a rousing 35 mile per hour.

Back to verdant.

The charming village of Glen Ellen (pop. 784) has one grocery store.  But given the annual household income of Sonoma County residents of $100,000 K plus plus, it isn’t surprising that the one grocery store competes well with the swankiest upscale markets I love. But then who needs grocery stores when you have Farmers Markets. Honestly I’m a Farmers Markets aficionado but I have never seen anything like the ones in Sonoma County. As a one time vegetarian, I’m in awe of the variety of the fruits and vegetables that fill the rows and rows of vegetables and fruit at the markets. Good grief, I was even introduced to a fruit I had not eaten…. I learned that a “pluot” is  a first-generation hybrid between  a plum and an apricot parent. Delicious.

And Glen Ellen makes it clear what they think about visitors. The frequent signs stating “homes not hotels” indicates that the long-time residents aren’t enthralled with the hordes of visitors that come their way. An indication that Glen Ellan has warded off the hordes is that our charming VRBO required a minimum of a thirty-one day stay.

We are coming to the last week of our extraordinary vacation. But maybe there is hope for us. According to the weather gurus, when we get back on Sep. 1, it will be a balmy 102°F to 95°F, unlikely to exceed 108 °F.  Ahhh, yes! Balmy indeed.

Now, onto books.

After all writing is my life. Be sure to check out the cool collection my author friends and I created! Snippets of great books that you will absolutely pique your interest! And right now, it’s FREE.

 

Inside this collection you’ll find chapter samples of eleven incredibly exciting books. Our hope is that you’ll be so thrilled, you’ll have to continue reading.
Many of the authors are NYT & USAT bestselling authors who understand that a reader loves to get snippets of a story before clicking that buy link. We’ve gathered these together to make the journey easier for you.

Since this is the perfect way for you to find your next book, we also hope it becomes a trail of discovery to a fresh author and her backlist.

Mimi Barbour – Special Agent Walker
Patricia Rosemoor – Fake ID Wife
Rachelle Ayala – Preying Heart
Dani Haviland – The Midwife’s Son
Rebecca York – At Risk
Denise Devine – Small Town Girl
Susanne Matthews – Sworn to Protect
Calinda B. – Gravestones
Taylor Lee – Forbidden
Cynthis Cooke – Deadly Secrets, Loving Lies
Susan Jean Ricci – Evasion

Too Busy To Take a Vacation? Think Again by Taylor Lee

Can you buy a ticket to a better mood? Hop a flight to a healthier heart? The travel industry would say yes—and increasingly, so does science. And so do I. My guy and I just returned from four weeks in Grand Junction, Colorado. If you haven’t been there, add it to your must-visit list. Breathtaking mountain cliffs, red rock canyons, the hub of  Colorado’s wine country, beautiful golf courses nestled in canyons (check out my photo below)… and peaches!  I promise you once you eat a Palisade peach, you’ll never be satisfied with grocery store peaches again.

Vacation

Back to the benefits of vacations. For decades, researchers have been probing the benefits of vacations. Almost across the board, they’ve found evidence that vacations can positively impact everything from blood pressure to energy levels. But you do need to take those days off, a challenge for many Americans. “We’re one of the only advanced economies that does not guarantee paid leave,” says Brigid Schulte, author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love and Play When No One Has the Time, and director of the Better Life Lab at the think tank New America. One in four Americans has no access to paid vacation, and those who do often don’t use it, she says. See her reasons below confirming why and how vacations positively affect our health.

Seven health benefits of taking a vacation

Studies have shown that taking time away from the job can have physical and mental health benefits. People who take vacations have lower stress, less risk of heart disease, a better outlook on life, and more motivation to achieve goals. If you still need a little convincing, here is a list of some of the additional benefits of taking time away from work.

  1. Improved physical health Stress can contribute to heart disease and high blood pressure. For both men and women, the New York Times reported, taking a vacation every two years compared to every six will lessen the risk of coronary heart disease or heart attacks.
  2. Improved mental health Neuroscientists have found that chronic exposure to stress can alter your brain structure and bring on anxiety and depression. When you take a vacation, feelings of calm arise and relieve stress, which allows the body and mind to heal in ways that it couldn’t if it were still under pressure.
  3. Greater well-being According to a Gallup study, people who “always make time for regular trips” had a 68.4 score on the Gallup-Heathway’s Well-Being Index, in comparison to a 51.4 Well-Being score for less frequent travelers. One study found that three days after vacation, subjects’ physical complaints, quality of sleep, and mood had improved compared to before vacation. These gains were still present five weeks later, especially in those who had more personal time and overall satisfaction during their vacation.
  4. Increased mental motivation Many who return from vacation are more focused and productive. Studies have found that chronic stress can make it difficult to achieve certain tasks and cause memory problems. Taking time off can be like getting a tune-up for the brain, improving your mental health and cognition.
  5. Improved family relationships Spending time enjoying life with loved ones can keep relationships strong. A study by the Arizona Department of Health and Human Services found that women who took vacations were more satisfied with their marriages.
  6. Decreased burnout Employees who take regular time to relax are less likely to experience burnout, making them more creative and productive than their overworked, under-rested counterparts. Another way to manage burnout is through the Oxygen Mask Rule: “Secure your masks before assisting others.” In other words, address your mental, physical and spiritual needs before committing to responsibilities benefitting others outside of your immediate family.
  7. Boosted happiness Research shows planning a vacation can boost your happiness. Some people experience an elevated mood up to eight weeks before the trip. The bottom line is, take a vacation if you can. When you take time away from the stresses of work and daily life, it can improve our physical and mental health, motivation, relationships, job performance and perspective. A vacation can help you feel refreshed and more prepared to handle whatever comes when you return.

As you plan your next vacation, be sure and add these great books to your “must take-along”.

EXPOSED

Exposed

FREE September 26-27

  • A renegade police officer infiltrates a dangerous cartel intending to take down its leader.•Little does she know that the handsome Drug Lord is a special operative hotshot heading up a mission two years in the making.

    •Learning who the outrageous woman is, the undercover commander does the only thing he can to protect the mission, and her. He claims her for his own.

And add to your must-read list our Author’s Billboard sensation:
Unforgettable Loyalty: Craving and Devotion

Unforgettable Loyalty

Is there anything more important in a relationship than loyalty from the one you love…

My book in the set is:

Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door

Knockin On Heaven's Door

She’s a go-it-alone detective. He’s a psychiatrist and FBI profiler. A serial killer brings them together. In more ways than one.

Deacon Walsh has more degrees than any one man should. A former Special Ops physician, psychiatrist, and now FBI profiler, the stunning black agent has spent a year tracking the serial killer of four Colorado girls. When the trail goes cold, a brutal murder of an Albuquerque girl with all the marks of his victims convinces Deacon his killer is responsible.

Unfortunately, in addition to being brilliant, Deacon is also charming. And to Tyra’s dismay, as accomplished a lover as he is an agent.

More Free eBooks from Authors’ Billboard

The authors at Authors’ Billboard are offering more free ebooks. Please download today!

She Belongs to Me by Carmen DeSousa

A passionate novel of love, betrayal, and obsession, She Belongs to Me will have you falling in love and wondering if you can trust anyone right up to the last page.

Charlotte police officer Jordan Monroe is used to being in control. Ever since his father died, he has provided for his mother and sisters and even hired his two brothers-in-law to help run his successful construction company. On a chance business trip, however, he meets the one person who throws his life into a whirlwind–Jaynee.

Jaynee has lived a tragic life and has sworn off all men. That is until a rugged southern gentleman lands in her seating area, refusing to take no for an answer. From the moment they meet, Jordan sweeps her off her feet, assuring her that happiness exists. But can she really escape her past?

Five years later, Jordan finds Jaynee on their back porch with a gunshot wound to the head. While Jaynee lies in a coma, Jordan has to go back to their beginning and figure out what went wrong. Did he push his wife to the edge, or has her past come back to haunt them?

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Seeking Catherine by Josie Riviera

Seeking Catherine

Bargained away to a brothel, she is beyond hope, beyond rescue … but not beyond the reach of the one man who can save her.

From a USA Today bestselling author Josie Riviera comes a heart-warming book set in Tudor England.

He’s hurt her in the past. Can she trust her heart to him again?

During an age of chivalry they were sweethearts, planning a future together in England.

Headstrong and proud, Catherine Sudfield remembers everything about Stefan Boswell. And she loved him in spite of his poverty and lack of nobility. The restless Gypsy rogue’s powerful good looks and promises of love were more than enough to satisfy her youthful dreams.

But then Stefan left without a word, and Catherine’s uncle bargained her off to a brothel.

Sometimes, bonds between a man and a woman, however young, are meant to last a lifetime. But will it take more than a dose of Gypsy magic to chase away the doubts between two guarded lovers.

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Twilight’s Encore by Jacquie Biggar ~ Free until June 26th only!

Twilight's Encore

One man’s betrayal will seal another’s fate.

Ty Garrett fell in love with Katy Fowler as a young adult. Her father’s betrayal yanks the couple apart, and Ty turns bitter.

After a decade away, Katy returns to Tidal Falls with plans to get married in her family’s theatre. But she never expected to run into Ty Garrett, the boy she’d never forgotten.

When a series of sabotages wreak havoc on the theatre and danger threatens Katy’s life, can Ty save her and win back her love, or is it too late for these star-crossed lovers?

Keep watching ABB’s Blog for more free eBooks!

 

 

 

FREE eBooks for the Taking @Donna_Fasano

Who doesn’t love FREE eBooks? No one I know, that’s for sure! Click the covers (or the links) below to download your free copy. Download one or two or all of them. There’s no purchase necessary in order to take advantage of this offer. The writers at Authors’ Billboard love it when readers enjoy our work.

Free eBooks

Nothing can make Native American Mat Makwa give up being a New York City police officer… except one little girl—all alone in the world—who needs a father. Returning to his Kolheek reservation to take on the safer job of sheriff of this small, close-knit community, he never expects his heart might be in danger to school teacher Julie Dacey. FREE June 16th – 20th. Click here to download a Kindle copy of AN HONORABLE MAN.

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The Jade Emperor

After a stranger appears on their doorstep late one night, a picture-perfect family takes a side-trip to crazytown in this story of a soldier’s last chance at love. Download your FREE copy of THE JADE EMPEROR.

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Road to Recovery

After surviving a horrific car crash, Brooke Malone is ready to start over. The last thing she wants is the distraction of a relationship. Least of all with a sexy more-than-perfect coworker who is adamant about needing to help her. Download your free copy of ROAD TO RECOVERY today.

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Cured

For six years, Ember has closed off her heart, moving from one man to another, trying to feel something other than her own pain and guilt. Plastic surgeon Colt Barnes offers Ember a challenge meant to get her to view herself in a new light–and it’s a challenge that will change both their lives. Download your FREE copy of CURED now.

Click here to learn about all the titles in the Heal Me Series.

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Lost Dani Haviland

Indulge in snippets from the epic tale while discovering how LOST – the lusty and indulgent eighteenth-century time-travel romance – changed the lives of several twenty-first century men and women: a gay detective, a crew of nurses, inept crooks stuck in Alaska, a British lord with the wife from hell, and several other very interesting people who are destined to be in each other’s lives. Download a copy of LOST by clicking here.

Find all the books in The Fairies Saga by clicking here.

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Retaliation

A virgin librarian with hot-chick potential, the conflicts in her story won’t let you put the book down. Be prepared for an all-nighter…  Download a FREE copy of RETALIATION today!

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