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Five Things to Enjoy in July
Welcome, July! Summertime is supposed to mean vacations and getaways, maxin’ and relaxin’. I don’t know about you, but summer is just as busy as the rest of the year, maybe even busier with friends to see, family to visit, trips and travel to coordinate, and so much more.
Still, given the choice between frigid gray winter days and warm sunny summer days, I’ll take warm, sunny, busy!
I hope you have events and activities you are looking forward to in July. If your list is looking a little thin, add these five things for a fun, festive month.
1. The Dog Days of Summer. Technically, this term refers to the hottest, muggiest days of summer. I prefer to think of it in terms of four-legged friends having fun in the sun.
2. National Ice Cream Month. Vanilla, chocolate or…dill pickle?! Keep your cool by whipping up a batch of homemade ice cream. It’s easier than you think! Try Mason Jar Ice Cream – just four ingredients and no special equipment!
3. International Kissing Day – July 6. Celebrate with smoochies, pecks, butterfly kisses and the global favorite, French Kissing.
4. Capture the Sunset Week. Someone–not sure who–proclaimed the third week of July as Capture the Sunset Week. Whoever they are, a big thank you! Summertime is the perfect opportunity to pause and appreciate wonderful days that end with one of nature’s most magical moments.
5. Mission: Impossible to Love. Book 3 in my Impossible Mission series releases July 25. Preorder your copy today so you can start reading as soon as Sten and Izzy’s story is available.
She’s in over her brilliant head…
Elizabeth “Izzy” Benson has the brains to rival some of the best IT minds out there. Unfortunately her genius is going to get her killed—or worse, tortured. The Artificial Intelligence drone she’s developed is drawing all the wrong kind of interest, and the one man she thought she could trust is the one man selling her out. Now on the run, she’ll have to roll the dice on a stranger—a very angry Marine—who makes it obvious he doesn’t believe her or want her around.
He’s not buying her innocent act.
Sten Jenkins was a Marine on a mission. That is until Miss High IQ ruined his plan. Now, instead of going undercover as a “Black Hat,” a criminal hacker, to the biggest hacker convention in Las Vegas, Sten has to babysit Izzy while she tries to draw out those who are selling her IT work on the dark web. But it all sounds a little too convenient to Sten when he realizes Izzy’s boyfriend is a global tech wizard, known to have dealings with North Korea.
Now Sten and Izzy will have to decide who’s playing whom and who’s being played in this high stakes game of international security roulette.
June is Audiobook Month
Before we say goodbye to June, let’s take a moment to celebrate Audiobook Month. Audiobooks–known as “books on tape” back in the day–are the perfect solution for occasions where you need to multitask (such as driving or exercising) or when you need a diversion to pass time (such as travel delays or kids’ piano lessons). They are also a great option if you have vision problems or if reading text has become difficult.
If you aren’t already a fan of audiobooks, here are three reasons you should check them out.
1. Convenience. No more clunky CDs or tape cassettes to haul around! Technology now makes is possible to download audiobook apps to your tablet, iPod and smart phone so you can listen anywhere, on any device. Go from the car to the gym to the smoothie bar with nary an interruption!
2. Affordable. Digital audiobooks can run $20, $30, even upwards of $40 sometimes. If you know where to look and how to buy, you can save big bucks and find great deals. Here’s how to score audiobooks inexpensively:
- Borrow them from the library.
- Purchase a subscription service, such as Audible Escape. For $12.95 a month ($6.95/month for Audible and Kindle Unlimited members), you can listen non-stop to heartwarming, pulse-pounding romantic fiction.
- Check out the variety of audiobook distributors. Authors Direct, Nook, Kobo and Google Play all offer audiobooks nowadays. Cost varies and some are less expensive than others.
3. Portable. If you plan to do any traveling this summer, audiobooks are a must. You can download several titles, not just for yourself but for the entire family. Connect your device to the system in the car for road trips and then plug in your earphones for solo listening while the kids enjoy the hotel swimming pool!
If I’ve convinced you audiobooks are worthwhile, be sure to check out my Code Breakers Regency romantic suspense series. Most of the titles are available to download!
Regency Quote
Here’s a Regency quote to help inspire you today. Share some of your favorite quotes here!
Summer is officially here - let's celebrate Seattle style!
The first day of summer is also the longest. This event is known as the summer solstice. That makes it the perfect day to celebrate everything we love about summertime.
Before kicking off the fun, here are a few facts about the summer solstice.
- The summer solstice actually kicks off summer only in the northern hemisphere. It is the unofficial beginning of winter for locations south of the equator.
- Solstices occur twice a year when the Earth’s axis is tilted most closely to the sun. The (northern) summer solstice marks the longest day of the year while the (northern) winter solstice marks the shortest day of the year. For 2019, the winter solstice will be Sunday, December 22.
- Many ancient cultures considered solstices as revered celestial events. Many celebrated the occasion with festivals, gift-giving, drinking and dancing.
In Seattle and around the world, contemporary celebrations still include food, music, dance, festivals and gatherings. Here are a few of the events happening in my hometown this weekend:
Midsommar Seattle – Celebration of Musik
Celebrate the longest day of the year Scandinavian-style with three days of music.
Summer Solstice Soundscapes
Gary Stroutsos will play flute music drawn from worldly influences during a casual reception with food and wine. Head to the lower garden for Native American songs and storytelling.
2019 Fremont Solstice Parade
A giant costume-filled parade hosted by the Fremont Arts Council which includes stilt-walking, nude bicycle-riding and giant-puppets.
Facts Source: What is the summer solstice? The answer might surprise you.
Kathy Wheeler Visits the Blog
I’m thrilled to have my friend Kathy Wheeler visiting my blog today. She’s celebrating the release of book 2 in her Western historical romance series, Mail Order Brides, which came out today. Book 1, MAIL ORDER BRIDE: THE COUNTERFEIT is also available now.
Without further ado, let me turn over the blog to her –
Kathy L Wheeler (a.k.a. Kae Elle Wheeler for her Cinderella Series) has a BA in Management Information Systems from the University of Central Oklahoma that includes over forty credit hours of vocal music. She was a computer programmer for the Hertz Corporation for over fifteen years and utilizes karaoke for her vocal music talents. Other passions include the NFL, the NBA, travel musical theatre, painting, reading, and writing.
She is a member of several chapters of the Romance Writers of America: Greater Seattle chapter, Olympia and Eastside chapters, The Beau Monde Chapter and Hearts Through history.
Her main sources of inspiration come from mostly an over-active imagination. She currently resides in the Seattle area with her musically talented husband, Al, and their bossy cat, Carly, and sweet dog, Angel.
Connect with Kathy:
https://twitter.com/kathylwheeler
https://facebook.com/kathylwheeler
https://pinterest.com/kathylwheeler
https://instagram.com/kathylwheeler
Mail Order Bride: The Counterfeit:
After a disastrous first marriage, Will Jeffers hasn’t the stomach for another emotionally entailed union. All he needs is a wife to cook, nurse his mother, and look after the homestead. But good women are few and far between in Colorado mining country. A mail order bride is the perfect solution.
Amelia Johannasen is running for her life. Her mother has decided it’s time her daughter joined the family business, shattering Amy’s dreams of marrying for love. Imagine her surprise when she is mistaken for Will Jeffers mail order bride. She’ll take it
With a head for numbers and talent for spinning tall-tales but no notion of how to cook or nurse a manipulative old woman how can she reach the heart of a man once burned so badly, he’s sworn off love?
Excerpt: Mail Order Bride: The Counterfeit
“I’m happy to see you made it safe, ma’am. I apologize for being late, but as I mentioned in my letters, my ma, well, with her sick and all. I figured we oughta to start back right after the ceremony.”
She froze still as a statue. “Ceremony?”
“Our nuptials. I’m afraid I can’t leave Ma alone for long. No tellin’ what kind of—” He chuckled, but even to his own ears it sounded forced. “We can, uh, talk about that later. Your nursin’ skills and all.”
Those lovely eyes blinked up at him. And once again, he found himself drowning in bewitching sensations.
She heaved in a deep breath and let it out slow. “We’re to be … m-married? Now?”
He hardened his tone. “Yes’m.” He had no time for cold feet or feminine hysterics. “It’s what we agreed on, ma’am.” He bit out the words, tamping down the surge of irritation…and something he couldn’t define. Panic, that she wouldn’t follow through? It was ridiculous, an outrageous thought. He shook it off and pressed on, determined to see his plans fulfilled. “Er, I don’t get to the Springs all that often. And there ain’t no preacher within twenty miles of Cripple Creek.”
Her plump lips turned down. The sight coiled his insides tighter than a rattler ready to strike. “Cripple Creek? That’s a long way, right?”
Was she trying to renege? He steeled his spine. He’d done wasted enough time and money getting’ her here. More than anything he wanted, no needed, to secure this marriage.
Something banded his chest, squeezing out every square inch of air, at the same time, softened him inside. Desire rippled through him. “I’m working the mines near there,” he said gently. “The homestead isn’t quite that far out.”
The small breath and small nod she gave, released his own held breath.
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, it’s a long way.”
Mail Order Bride: The Breakaway:
Tragedy sent Sherman Elias McHuay west twelve years ago. But his troubled past barrels in like a runaway train or—more appropriately—smacks him over the head in the form of a violet-eyed miss without a lick of common sense to her name. If one could actually determine her name.
Amaris Johnston’s carefully laid plans to head west as a mail order bride ratchet up when an announcement for her impending nuptials to the son of a prominent US Senator are set to go public. Not that she’d agreed to marry in the first place. A forced engagement and her family—a conniving slew of ambitious and power-hungry tyrants—send her running for the Colorado hills.
Can a slow talking sheriff and a headstrong girl bent on recklessness outwit her powerful family?
Excerpt: Mail Order Bride: The Breakaway
“Who are you, Mari Jones?”
She didn’t disappoint, leaning into him and whispering, “Aw, Sheriff, you don’t really want to know.” He couldn’t tell if she was teasing him as an interminable silence blanketed them before she seemed to come to her senses. She squared her shoulders and stepped back, clinging to his damn cat. She turned her back to him, clearing her throat. “The truth is, Sheriff. I’m a mail order bride. Already bought and paid for,” she said primly.
The words didn’t penetrate until she was halfway down the path. An unexplained fury roared through him and he was on her, grasping her upper arms spinning her around. “The hell you are,” he bit out before he crashed his mouth over hers with an unleashed violence he hadn’t experienced since Johnston held his hand over fire coercing his promise to leave town.
The desire to invade this beauty’s mouth threatened his ability in remaining upright. Her shock softened into the sweetest response. It was life-changing, life-saving. How was it possible?
Comprehension ricocheted seeped through a veil of fog. A single searing bullet that imploded his chest. Innocent. She was an innocent and he was in the worst danger of violating her. He tore his mouth away with a sharpness that left him gasping for breath, his lungs burning with need. His scarred hand throbbed.
The only sound in the still night was the harsh intake of their breathing. Relief flooded him. He was not the only one affected. Her large purple eyes glowed like ice in the slivered moonlight.
