Tag Archives: Free

Get out! Perfect heroes who cook? 🥘🦐

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Hello, friends!

I’ll start this post with a fun fact: did you know that today is National Men-Make-Dinner Day? Yep, you read that right! Today is the perfect excuse to get your man cooking, and although the rules say that no BBQ is allowed, I say you should take what you can get. 😉

I am lucky and blessed that my husband actually enjoys cooking, and in the little free time he has, he spoils me with dishes from great chefs like Gordon Ramsay. I don’t even care if he makes a little mess, if I get a delicious dinner (but he does clean up afterward!).

I know what you must be thinking: some guys sound too good to be true, right? Well, it’s not like us, women, are perfect, so I figure men are allowed to get away with a few flaws here and there. Even in fiction.

But if you do like romance with heroes that are too good to be true, I have a treat for you this weekend. My romantic comedy, Unabridged, is FREE! So if you’re in the mood for some romance, steam, and lots of laughter, take advantage of this limited offer and grab your copy from Amazon.

Whoever thought Cinderella had it easy didn’t stick around for the alternate ending…

Everyone believed I was an idiot to leave Blade Spencer—rich, handsome, and head-over-heels in love with me. But I did it for his own good, determined to take the secret to my grave.

I moved to Seattle, pursued my career as a journalist at Unabridged magazine, and almost convinced myself I didn’t need a man. I had enough virtual admirers, and my email was jam-packed with marriage proposals and X-rated pictures—not to mention hysterically funny letters from a clever fan.

Imagine my surprise when I show up at work, and Blade is my new boss. Did I mention he has no idea why I left him and thinks I’m a cold-hearted bitch?

Just as I decide to prove him wrong, I discover Blade’s life has changed in ways I never imagined. Having to work with him is the least of our problems…

 

If you prefer audiobooks, you can find Unabridged on many retailers, including SCRIBD, audiobooks.com, Kobo, etc.

Here’s a sample for your enjoyment! Click to play: 

Fondly,

 

 

 

 

Judge a Book by its Cover by @Dani_Haviland

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Picking pretties to read on the phone is FUN!

Do you judge a book by its cover? If you said no, you’re in the minority. The first thing a person sees when it comes to selecting her next read is the cover. Whether it’s the title, the author, or the image, they’re all there together on the cover. It doesn’t matter whether they are displayed in brick-and-stick stores, on smartphones, or on the neighbor’s coffee table, either. Their purpose is to grab your attention.

Of course, there’s the huge possibility you’ll hear the news your favorite author has a new book coming out. If you’re like me, then the cover won’t make a difference. I’ll grab it, sight unseen.

An author’s tastes change as do the buying habits of readers

It was over ten years ago I published my first book, DANCES NAKED. I thought the title would grab attention, but the original cover said nothing. I knew it was a painting of The Trees, the Portal through Time, but it conveyed nothing. The next one, by Kim Killion, was great. I chose the model (Harvey Stables) and she changed his hockey gear into a breechclout. He was supposed to be an older man, but he was so cute, I let it go, hoping his pose was enough. He looks older (and hotter!) in the third version (current).

I wrote twelve more books for the series and used four other cover creators, then came back to Kim Killion. I trusted her to find a theme for my series. Wow! She really delivered! Check these out and see what I mean.

The early versions of my covers lacked continuity. Now you can tell they’re part of a series.

If you like time travel with a splash of Fountain of Youth water or discovering your favorite ‘fictional’ characters are real, check out THE FAIRIES SAGA. You could start with the first one in the series (LOST: THE TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE THAT STARTED IT ALL) which is essentially a prequel and #free, but sometimes you aren’t ready to know everything about a guy.

That’s what happened with James. I fell in love with the British lord even though he was only a minor character in the original first book (now the second) in the series, Naked in the Winter Wind. See what I mean in AYE, I AM A FAIRY. Sharp, compassionate, and willing to come to anyone’s aid despite the consequences. The 21st-century hottie has the heart of a white knight despite his spotty history.

So, turn off YouTube and the TV and tune into a great book (or series of thirteen). Let the cover inspire you, and leave the rest up to the author and your vivid imagination.

Get ready for the FIRST Cozy Mystery Box Set from The Authors’ Billboard!

Preorder for only 99cents. Price goes up soon after release. It will be available to read for free with Kindle Unlimited, though.

Magic for the Multitudes

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When prehistoric men marked cave walls with images of animals and events, were they bragging about their kills or letting others know which four-legged food could be tracked and conquered in the area? Magic. Was this art or information sharing?

Generations later, we’re still using Magic, the media changing: oils and canvas, print and cellulose to encrypted data and electricty. We’re able to share images, thoughts, and information beyond the cave to a much broader range and more quickly, the speed not dependent on how fast a courier can transport paintings or printed works, but how fast and strong the internet connections are.

Magic: making marks that will correspond to the words of plans, pacts, and passions can be shared with succeeding generations. Egyptian heiroglyphics and Babylonian cuneiform tablet remains prove that oral histories are limited. A tangible form has always been needed.

I’m grateful to live in a time where I can share my thoughts and fantasies with people around the world via the ‘Magic’ of the internet. My daughter’s great-great-grandparents were missionaires to an isolated area in South Africa, the first white people in that neighborhood. Generations later, she can communicate, share photos, or even play games with people in that part of the world without having to travel long distances, learn a new language, or risk dengue fever, all with the Magic of the internet and digital translators.

What’s next? It seems we have it all now, save a few magic potions to cure the ever-expanding list of plagues and diseases. A cure for cancer? Let’s hope so. How about a vitamin that takes away the urge for alcohol and drug addiction, a tonic for menopause or mental illness? Scientists and physicians are working on these now.

Two ‘Magics’ on my wish list: a Fountain of Youth elixir and safe method of Time Travel. I’ve already ‘claimed’ both. Check out the Time Travel series THE FAIRIES SAGA. The prequel (a parody of Time Travel fanatics) is part of SWEET ROMANTIC NIGHTS, Fabulous Freebies Collection #4.

FREE! Sweet Romantic Nights! SEVEN by Seven of The Authors’ Billboard ladies.

Meet James, Leah, and others before they knew the ‘truth’ about time travel in the prequel to The Fairies Saga, LOST: THE TIME TRAVEL ROMANCE THAT STARTED IT ALL. Free as a single or in the Authors’ Billboard box set SWEET ROMANTIC NIGHTS, Fabulous Freebie Collection Book Four. Available all over the world via Amazon, Google Play, iBooks, Kobo, Nook, and a few more venues. 

Are you a reader, a watcher, or a listener?

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The Authors’ Billboard: a great place to find Free & Bargain Books & Box Sets

We all love to be entertained… or to entertain. Some of us wear both sombreros. Before there were books, entertainers – jesters and gladiators of one sort or another – strutted their stuff to elicit reactions. Then folks learned to write. Can you imagine the thrill when someone figured out how to go beyond hash marks for tallying sheaves of grain and used scribbles to create words to share stories and histories?
Coming forward a few millennia, new ways have been developed to entertain us. I still like the written word, but I can’t read and drive, shop, garden, or clean house (ugh) at the same time. Well, I can – sort of – if I ‘listen’ to my book. Audiobooks are cool, but unless you have a fantastic public library that lends them, they’re pricey to buy and only a small percentage of books are recorded.

The solution to reading while driving, washing dishes, pulling weeds, swinging from the trees… whatever… is to enable text-to-speech on your phone, computer, or other smart device. Chrome, Apple, and Amazon all have their own versions of TTS. I couldn’t test Apple’s because I have a PC, but here are two other options.
The Chrome Store has a free app that will read several different formats (Kindle, Google Play, Scribd, Overdrive) to you. The reading pace is adjustable in settings, but the speech is mechanical. I’d have to be desperate or really mad at Amazon to use it.


The other way to go is with Amazon. I think all their Echo and Fire devices are now Alexa enabled. I love my Echo units. I can start ‘reading’ (listening) to a book in the car, walk into the store and continue listening through the wee speakers in my Echo glasses frames, come home and listen to more on the Echo Show, then fall asleep as Alexa continues to read on the Kindle Fire. No eyestrain involved plus all the devices automatically sync to each other. Alexa’s voice is sweet and the rate and manner of speech are great, too. Oh, and she also pauses, skips forward or back, or changes books when you tell her to (no fumbling for a keyboard). Awesome if you missed a passage.
Now, no excuses for not checking out a great read. Go ahead. Put in your earbuds and listen to a book while your sweetie is watching a ball game or you’re hauling kids to karate class. You deserve a break today. Just try and time it right so you’re not at an emotional moment in the story when picking out produce. The other shoppers might wonder if you’re crying at the prices or losing it completely. They won’t know it’s because Claire just left Jamie (again).

NEW RELEASE! Sweet Romantic Nights – A Fabulous Freebie Collection

A great place to start! SWEET ROMANTIC NIGHTS: Seven stories, all sweet, a few are also funny, but all were created with love by @gr8authors from The Authors’ Billboard. Available everywhere for Free. Limited Release, so grab it now.