Taryn Raye's #sixsunday Ringing in Her Ears

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(Check out more by looking up hashtag #sixsunday on Twitter)

Welcome Sixers!

Well, today marks the last day of my Christmas with Catherine & Dawson Giveaway and I will announce the winner soon through the Rafflecopter widget. Tomorrow I have my "The Next Big Thing" Blog hop post in which I will be revealing---you guessed it!!! The COVER for Love By Design!!!! I've had it tucked away for a couple of months, but thought it was a good time to share it before this year ends so you all can

SQUEE!!!!

with me over just how GORGEOUS it is and what an awesome job Tracy Stewart at All About the Cover did! Definitely stop by tomorrow to see my pretty sparkly! It's so lovely. (and I'm becoming a tragic exclamation point abuser...someone stop me.)

As always, for those who might not know here's what 6 Sentence Sunday is all about-

Pick six (6) sentences from anything you like (it can be from a Work in Progress (WiP), something you recently sold, something you hope to sell or even something already under contract and available for purchase – and don’t worry, Six Sentence Sunday is for published AND unpublished writers). Then post them on your blog on Sunday. That’s all there is to it!

You can add yours link to their official list by signing up before midnight the Saturday beforehand, but for any who are familiar with it, you probably already know they will be shutting down soon and there will be no more Six Sentence Sundays. That's not to say I won't still continue to share a little something on Sundays and I'm thinking seriously of just changing it up a little and calling it Sexy Snippit Sundays, or something like that.

Heading back into my currently unpublished contemporary romance, Love by Design~

He moaned as well, though his hands never moved. He held her close, his fingers caressing the small of her back and her neck, while his hips rubbed against hers. The hard length of him surprised her. It seemed all systems were a go.

A ringing in her ears startled her.

Was this what happened during the best kiss of your life?

 

If you missed previous Six Sunday posts from Love by Design and would like to check them out, look at the top of the page in my pink tabs for SSS Posts where you can easily find links to each previous post.   

Favorite Christmas Treats- Guilty as Charged

There is just something about the goodies you can get this time of year that you just can't get any other time. My husband's favorites are the Reeses Christmas Trees, which we jokingly call the Reeses Arrowheads because they didn't go to too much trouble on the shape of the mold for them, but he (and I) love the fact that there is SO much more peanut butter in them than a regular Reeses cup. One of my favorites is of course the Little Deb Tree cakes. I once made up a song about it...I can't remember it now, but it was to the tune of "O Christmas Tree" and detailed how wonderfully edible they are. LOL

I love the store bought Holiday butter and sugar cookies. The cheap ones, which for some reason always taste better, but I'm also a fan of those Danish Butter cookies in a tin. When I can't find cookies like those, I can always make my grandma's Basic Spritz cookies, which are a buttery type cookie made with a cookie press.

My family and I have started the tradition of giving some of our family and friends tubs of homemade treats, so this year, the spritz cookies made the list of goodies. Another favorite is Peppermint bark, Chocolate Cream Cheese cookies, my hubby's Lemon Drop cookies, dipped pretzels, Chess cake and Peanut Butter fudge.

I've attempted Chocolate Fudge a couple of years in a row, but this year I decided against it. I've yet to find a no-fail recipe that works for me, so I'd rather not use my family and friends as guinea pigs until I get it right. ;)

I have done butterscotch haystacks before, but the flavor and aroma of butterscotch tends to overpower all the other flavors and sort of takes over. I have a recipe for Rolo Turtles that I'd like to try that simply involves small twist pretzels, Rolos & pecan halves.

 This year I'm going to attempt making a Pumpkin Roll, which I hope is as easy to fix as the Youtube video I watched. I might have to watch it again before I fix it, just to make sure I understand what I'm doing with it.

Pumpkin pie is always a favorite dessert and pecan pie, or turtle pecan pie. I personally would love a chess pie. Hubby's chess cake comes close but it's still just not quite the texture I expect with that flavor.

My dad has done a fruit salad for our Christmas dinner here in my home. My grandma has made apple pie. My mother-in-law and her husband usually brings us more treats than we can shake a stick at.

And Christmas Eve morning, when we have breakfast with my father-in-law's bunch, I've done a variety of dishes, from Pineapple Surprise to breakfast burritos. I think one year I made monkey bread, another time a honey bun cake. This year I'm thinking of making homemade (or almost homemade) cinnamon rolls with thawed bread loaves that you let rise and then bake and homemade cream cheese icing or maybe just my powdered sugar drizzle. I haven't decided yet.

As you can tell, food is kind of the center of our holiday celebrations. I am guilty as charged.

What are some of your family favorites or holiday traditional goodies that you enjoy?

Friday Spotlight- Men in Uniform Anthology @FictionWitches #TMPress

We admire a man in uniform, and what better way to celebrate it than a collection of stories inspired by men fighting to defend our country, and the women who love them? This sweet collection of romance spans the generations of men of valor from present day dating back to World War II.

The Authors: 
The Imposter, Jennifer Johnson
String of Pearls, Margaret Ethridge
Mind over Matter, Ruth J. Hartman
Dorthea’s War, Lozi Hart
Faith, Love, & the Coastguard, Julie Anne Lindsey
Knight in Armor, Jennifer Anderson
Lightning Always Strikes Twice, Patricia Marie Warren

Excerpt from The Imposter by Jennifer Johnson
Ding.
Paige wrinkled her nose as she stared at Giana’s cell phone sitting on the crate they used as a coffee table.
It was Liam again. The poor guy was deployed in Afghanistan, and Giana was blowing him off refusing to answer emails or calls when Liam’s number came up.
“Giana?” she called to her roommate who was in the bathroom dolling up to go out. “Liam’s emailing you again.”
“I wish he’d get a clue,” her friend replied.
“I don’t see how you can treat him like that, Gi.”
“It’s easy when he’s half a world away.” She walked through the room wearing four inch heels and a tight dress, grabbed her purse, and walked back into the hallway. “Liam’s a sweet guy, but who knows what is going to happen when he gets back, or even what he’s doing over there.”
“He’s probably sleeping in a sand pit somewhere wondering how come you won’t talk to him.” Paige picked up the phone and pressed the Internet email icon.
G, ur on my mind. L.
Paige bit her lip. The poor sweetie.
Glancing back toward the bathroom, she pushed the keys on the screen.
I’m thinking of you too. Miss you.
She pressed send and set Giana’s phone down quickly. In less than a minute, the phone signaled an incoming email.
Y cold shldr?
Why the cold shoulder indeed? What should she say? Because I’m a heartless bitch?
Paige glanced behind her to be sure Giana was still occupied with her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
“Are you sure you’re done with Liam?” she asked aloud.
Giana marched out of the bathroom, and Paige hid the phone under her thigh. “Look. I just can’t deal with him fighting a war for a year, and he told me most of the guys are having to turn right around and get redeployed within two years of coming home. That’s not the kind of life I want. He’s a nice guy, but even he’s not worth it.”
“Can’t you wait until he gets home to break up with him?”
“I am waiting until he gets home to break up with him. How mean do you think I am?”
Paige gestured to Giana’s attire with a raised hand.
“Oh, spare me, Miss Goody Two Shoes. It’d be easy for you to love him. You don’t have a life anyway.”
“Thanks a lot. I think you do enough socializing for both of us.”
Giana smiled wickedly. “That’s right. You go hit the books while I hit the bars. I had two men fighting over me last night.”
Paige resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She was pretty sure they both had won seeing as how Giana had stumbled in about eleven o’clock this morning wearing last night’s prowling clothes.
“Where’s my phone?” Giana’s gaze scanned the room.
Paige’s grip tightened on the phone while she, too, looked around as if searching. “Maybe it’s in your bedroom.”
“I haven’t been in my bedroom except to get my dress.”
Paige didn’t resist the eye roll this time as Giana stalked toward the hallway—probably to the counter in front of the bathroom mirror—her favorite spot in the apartment.
Quickly Paige pulled out the phone and sent another message:
I’m changing emails. Will email you from my new account.

Here's a link to a book review which includes a review for each of the stories. Another Look Book Reviews

Here is a portion from another review: Men In Uniform is great for the reader that just wants something quick, sweet and warmly romantic. Those that have a little thing for our men that serve and those uniforms they don daily.
I give the Men In Uniform anthology 4 stars

Thursdays with Taryn- Valerie Haight

Thursdays with Taryn

Valerie Haight

Taryn!! I’m soooo excited to talk with you about my novella HAPPENSTANCE that releases TODAY! I can’t think of a better blog to share than yours since my MC’s name is Taryn and you both are ah-MAY-zing and we are TMP sisters! WOOT!

*insert triple cartwheels here*

This is just good mojo and I’m so happy to be here today celebrating with YOU! We can talk more about the book later because right now, you’ve got questions for me! I loooove questions. Let’s go! :D
 
What book(s) most influenced you as a writer?
Divergent by Veronica Roth, False Memory by Dan Krokos, Patrick Lee’s The Breach trilogy. I got into this writing for publication business fairly late (two years ago) and Janet Reid was one of the first agent blogs I read every day. So naturally, I wanted to learn what worked. She is a lover of fast paced, cut-to-the-chase, tense novels and I wanted to learn how to write like that.

What book do you read over and over again?
There are only a few books I’ve read more than once. One is Sandra Brown’s Texas Trilogy. I really love how she makes you fall in love with all three characters when you think there’s no way you could possibly love the next one as much as the last. But you do.

Another is The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough. Oh, the tragedies within and I can’t seem to get enough. I feel the Australian heat, hear the bustle of their dresses, smell the dust of the open prairies where the sheep roam. And a personal favorite of mine is by a lady I met while working at a video store when I was 19. She struck up a conversation when she returned “Bridge On The River Kwai”. She’d been imprisoned in a Japanese concentration camp and was writing a book about her experiences. When “Hell Came Twice” was published, I bought three copies and I’ve probably read Sonja Schulz’s amazing story at least four times.

Thursday Trio-
1) Movie- Gone With The Wind
2) Music- Opus 23 by Dustin O’Halloran
3) Decadent Dessert- Brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, sprinkled with pecans. Because I’m sophisticated like that.  

What’s the most interesting or bizarre bit of trivia you’ve learned from researching for a novel?
In researching the Arkansas/Missouri railroad of the ‘30s and ‘40s, I’ve discovered many amazing facts like security for hauling gold bars back then was a hired bounty hunter with a shotgun. Of course, I’m taking advantage of THAT!

Novel on your Nightstand:

Who/what are you currently reading?
Chocolate Covered Baloney by K.D. McCrite. She is hilarious and I happen to know her personally which is a double treat! Her writing is superb, snappy and super entertaining. I’ve learned so much from her.

Whom would you cast as your Main Characters/Hero/Heroine if your book became a movie?
I wouldn’t be able to breathe if my book became a movie, much less cast characters! But…if I was forced, I’d choose Kate Beckinsdale for Taryn, Chris Hemsworth for Devin and Chris Pine for Wade because of his dry and brilliant sense of humor.


Blurb for HAPPENSTANCE

Taryn Ballard is happily married and a newly appointed analyst for a prestigious shipping company. Her career upsurges in record time but she's about to discover the real price of corporate life.

While on yet another business trip, Taryn suffers a brutal attack by a carjacker. Her husband isn't there, but her co-worker Devin is. The accidental bond Taryn and Devin share pitches them into dangerous and confusing territory. Taryn struggles to discern both her feelings for her sexy protector and Wade's reaction to it all. Unfamiliar emotions blur the rules of the game and Wade's ready to quit.

Taryn must rise above disaster to save her marriage. But is she ready to let go of the man who saved her life? In a single moment, Happenstance changes everything.

Valerie Haight is a short story writer and contemporary suspense and romance novelist. She is a member of Ozarks Writer’s League through College of the Ozarks in Branson, MO and a published author with Turquoise Morning Press.

You can find her scheming on the corner of Happy Trouble and Literary Mayhem, also known as Twitter @Valeriebrbr. Her author page on Facebook lists all the latest news on HAPPENSTANCE as well as her upcoming short in a wedding anthology, MAGNOLIA BRIDES. She also gives way more than her two cents on her website www.thewriteoneval.blogspot.com. To purchase HAPPENSTANCE, click HERE!