Daughter, Dentist & Book

Last Wednesday I had appointment at the dentist and my one my teenage daughters decided to give me a challenge of sort. She's my little book worm who for her birthday in mid-November and Christmas 🎄 put together a book list with over 50 titles which she requested has presents 🎁. I loved her list because it enabled to cross off some titles from my own list..like Canadian author Kelley Armstrong series The Summoning which is still sitting on her to read shelf 😤and since my daughter has this crazy rule that states I can't read one of her books until she's read it before... Arrgghh my long awaited series is still out of reach, for now. Her genius plan for for my dentist appointment, to provide me with one of her new favorite reads from her 50 titles. Lux Beginnings by Jennifer L. Armentrout now this book offers a love and hate relationship with the male lead character Daemon, reminds me of Daemon from Vampire Dairies or Edward in Twilight he's that infuriating. Kathy the female lead is strong willed and doesn't back down, I truly her backbone and quip backs. The men in black vibe is awesome 👏. I can definitely understand why my daughter fell in love with the book so much. By book three of this alien series the I'm just had hooked, the mysterious government conspiracy men in black is so twisted, friends turned to foe, dead brother returned to life... oh 😲 lalala can't wait to see how it all turns out mainly because daughter is reading, yes you guessed it Kelley Armstrong and when she's done that beautiful series will be mine till next time!

A new kitchen and a new release @LeoRosanna.

They often say spring is the season of rebirth, of newness and fresh starts.
I've had a lot of newness in my life recently and most of it has been exciting. First and foremost among the chances has been the renovation of my kitchen, which is still ongoing.

When my husband Doug and I moved into our house just shy of ten years ago, we knew a lot of changes had to be made. Little by little, we've replaced bathrooms, a driveway, the front door, and lots of other little details. We'd been saving the kitchen until last, knowing it was a huge expense.

People told us it was a huge inconvenience as well. "You won't survive without your dishwasher," they warned us. "You'll be eating takeout for the next month!"

Honestly, it hasn't been so bad. My kids' teeth haven't rotted out from eating junk yet and we've actually made some proper dinners. Sure, we've had to store all our food in the basement so we've walked up and down the stairs a lot. A LOT.

But it's worth it in the end. Change is good. We keep moving forward.
Just how much have we changed?

Here's the "before" shot:

Here's the "in progress" shot:

As you can see, our contractor gutted the room. New floors tiles are now down and our cabinets are coming this week. I can't wait to see how it looks in the end.

Like any change, it scares me a little. It'll be unfamiliar and we'll be forced out of our comfort zones. However, eventually it'll feel as comfy as my favorite old gloves.

Want to see the updates? Follow me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/rleoauthor/

To top off all my recent changes, I have a new release as well! Predator's Salvation, Gemini Island Shifters 8, just released this week and I couldn't be happier with the response.

Now this is the sort of change I love!

Blurb:

The shape shifters from Gemini Island’s Ursa Resort have been through hell. In the battle with their enemy the Alpha Brethren, they suffered losses and are still dealing with the emotional aftermath. No one in this heroic group has emerged unscathed.

When mountain lion shifter Connor Church lost his best friend, he made a vow to protect his widow and small children. Of everyone on Gemini Island, he knows best how badly the young family has suffered.

Unfortunately, Elaine Gleason hasn’t made it easy for Connor. Drowning in grief, she moved her family far away. When a medical emergency forces them to return, she is confronted by unexpected feelings for Connor, a man who has always been one of her closest friends. Her emotions send her into a tailspin when it becomes clear Connor feels the same way. They fight the attraction, tortured by their loyalty to Elaine’s dead mate.

When a remorseless organ trafficker develops an obsession for Elaine, Connor’s
protective instincts emerge and he realizes his feelings run much deeper than friendship. The friends at the Ursa must do battle once more. But even if they win, can Elaine ever move past her grief and start a new life with Connor?

Buy links  :

Liquid Silver Publishing    Amazon   Kobo     iTunes    Google Play

Spring Into Love

The only thing better than romance is FREE romance. Check out over one hundred free romances from dozens of authors, including several Romance, Eh? writers.

Choose your e-reader type and go to town one-clicking all the books you can stuff into your Kindle (or Kobo or Nook or iPhone). But be warned, some of these sales are one day only so you'd better get started here.

Spring fever! Happy Spring Equinox!!!

Who's got spring fever?...This girl!

Happy Spring Equinox

🌷🌹🌻

In like a lion, out like a lamb?

The winter blues are fading fast, but every time we get a nice spell of seasonal warmth and sunshine, we get hit again with the typical Canadian-confused climate.

Blistering winds and drifting snow-to-ice storms, and days later, major melt-downs and water-rise advisories. Us Canadians can't keep straight whether to wear our rubber boots or flip flops by the time mid-March rolls around!

Now, that being said, warm for the average Canadian is disputable for our more southern neighbours. After a winter that makes most of nature want to hibernate deep inside the earth, a day of cool breeze and sunshine is enough for us to toss our coats and boots in the cellar and consider short sleeves once again.

I know, personally, I've got spring fever when some of the following things start to happen:

• When driving, it's too hot with even a light jacket on
• I'm stuck deciding between the heat and air conditioning in my car
• More mud and sand is sprawled over my wooden floors than in my driveway
• The dust that's accumulated from the wood stove is considerably noticeable
• The urge to clean wraps around my soul
• Cabin fever sets in and I need to have daily adventures
• BBQ'ing in bare feet on the deck is tolerable, even though there are remnants of snow and ice around the yard
• The duvet cover on the bed becomes too hot for comfort at night
• The urge to crack the window open at night taunts me

So, tell me, how do you know when spring fever hits you? Are there any tell-tale signs or things you feel compelled to do?

Happy reading!

Clean Sweeps with @elle_rush

Spring has sprung.

The grass is riz.

I wonder where

The birdies is?

It’s here. Old Man Winter can take a hike. And with that, he can take all the salt and sand from the streets, and the unwashed windows with five months of dust spatters on them, and all the extra layers of clothes.

You know what I’m getting at, right?  It’s time for spring cleaning.

Out with the old, in with the new. So long, clothes that don’t fit anymore, or that you know you won’t want next winter. Goodbye, shoes you found at the back of the closet that have a hole in the sole that you never got around to throwing away last fall.

Some people tend to accumulate things. I’m a person who never throws anything away. I went through my filing cabinet and found 1-year warranty cards for things that I bought in 2005. I wish I were kidding. My recycling bin is filled to overflowing this week.

Cleaning is not a romantic idea but it’s a fact of life. (Unless you have a significant other who does half of the cleaning and the laundry, in which case it is a labour shared and still not fun but it's only half the work.) On the plus side, you can reward yourself for all your hard work with a book at the end of the day.

I got a little lucky. My spring cleaning was combined with moving, so everything was getting scrubbed and washed anyway. I purged bags and bags of junk, and put together half a dozen boxes to go to Salvation Army and the like. My house is literally lighter than it used to be. [Correction – not everything got scrubbed. I still haven’t done the windows. But I did do the kitchen cupboards.]

I even did the junk drawers. And my bookshelves. Yes, there is stuff in my bookcase that can go. I can’t bear to throw out a book, although I have recycled a few when I’ve had to buy replacements copies. I may be the only person you’ve ever met who has bought three copies of French/English and Spanish/English paperback dictionaries and used them to death.

I often read books I enjoy more than once, which is a problem when I don’t enjoy them. I probably have a shelf’s worth of books that I don’t plan on reading a second time, or that have been in storage for so long I’ve forgotten why I kept them in the first place. What do to do with them?

In Winnipeg, we can donate them to the Children’s Hospital Book Market.  (You may have something similar in your area.)  You can trade them in a used book store, give them to a second-hand/charity store, or donate them to your library if they are new enough and in good enough condition.

I’ve recently discovered a third option.  Long-term health care facilities, nursing homes, and women’s shelters often are looking for books too. If you have some good quality paperbacks and hardcovers, consider donating them at a centre near you.  Call the main desk and ask if they have a library that takes donations.  Romances are always appreciated. Mysteries are too. I’ve found that biographies – particularly about sporting figures – are also very popular.

This is less of a problem now that I have an e-reader. Whether you have one book on it or a thousand, it still only takes up half an inch on your bookshelf.

If you’ve done your spring cleaning, or are saving it for March Break, I salute you. 

***

May I offer you a free read to celebrate after you are done?

Free e-copy of SCREEN IDOL - Hollywood to Olympus Book 1

When an actor who will do anything for a part has to romance a woman on a fundraising mission who wants nothing to do with him, he’d better hope Hollywood magic is real enough to give them both a happily-ever-after. 

Sydney Richardson should have trusted her instincts and locked the door when a Greek god appeared on her doorstep at sunrise. After months of work, she needs every second of the day to wrap up a two-part fundraiser for burn victims like herself and she can't afford to waste time with a TV hunk, no matter how good he looks in a toga. 

Chris Peck, worshipped by millions as Zeus on the hit drama Olympus, desperately wants to prove to the producers of a soon-to-be-cast romantic comedy that he doesn’t need fight scenes or special effects to make the jump to the big screen. Acting as the slave-for-a-day in the show’s fan appreciation contest was supposed to cement his everyman credibility but the winner wants nothing to do with him. 

Chris is captivated by the woman who refuses to fawn over his looks and fame, and he promises to put her fundraising efforts over the top if she’ll spend the day with him. However, just when he convinces Sydney they could have a chance together, the movie’s producers offer him an audition that would mean breaking his promise and leaving Sydney in the lurch. The king of the gods has until sunset to prove to his new off-screen love interest that Hollywood magic and reality can co-exist.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! (@KaceyHammell) #Writing #LuckOtheIrish #Sale

It’s a day of everyone in the world putting their best green and having the luck of the Irish. Being over 70% Irish, I used to do the day up huge for the kids. Green pancakes, juice, potatoes, cupcakes and decorated the whole house. Now, I don whatever green I have and appreciate the memories and stories learned at my Grandfather’s knees. The kids have grown and don’t find the same enjoyment in the day like they used to. I wish my Grandfather was around as they grew up to share the stories from Ireland that he told me as a child, which some he remembers from being a boy and then from his folks when they moved over here. Even as a storyteller myself, there’s something missing when I retell them to the kids. Sad and true, but they do get some enjoyment over hearing the old tales.

Nonetheless, I love watching the news for all the St. Pat’s celebrations on the news, and still wish it was a national holiday. I mean, it would be great to drink Irish Whiskey all day and not have to worry about work. Oh right, I work from home at present, and I can. LOL But I don’t. Long gone are my drinking for hours kind of days. I’m not that young any more. *g*

One interesting thing about my Irish heritage as well, is that unbeknownst to me when I decided on a pen name, I didn’t know that “Hammell” was indeed a surname dating back centuries from Ireland. I’d come up with the name because it was the surname of my favorite figure skater, Dorothy Hamill, who I greatly admired. Imagine my surprise when I learned it dated back many ancestors of mine. Things happen for a reason I believe.

On a side note, my one publisher, Evernight Publishing (and sister site, Evernight Teen) is having a St. Patrick’s Day sale of 25% OFF your website purchase Friday and Saturday (17^th & 18^th). Take advantage of the sale and get yourself some great stories for yourself. Sit back with some Irish Whiskey and relax.  

Click the links below to go shopping!

 

Evernight Publishing
Evernight Teen

May the luck of the Irish always be with you!!

www.kaceyhammell.com

Loving someone with PTSD @tdanielsauthor

Several months ago I began what I intended to be a series of blog posts that introduced you to my Bound4Ireland story. I wanted to share with you how the story came to life. If you missed the posts on how this story came to me, take a moment and go read them. You won’t be disappointed I promise. In between posts, I saw something shiny, or I had other thoughts I needed to share and I got a little off-track. Before you read the rest of this story, I want you to understand that my thoughts and opinions on this subject are just that… MY thoughts and opinions based on MY experiences. Everyone has different experiences and opinions that are completely valid. I’m only speaking from mine, with no intentions of upsetting or offending anyone who also has personal experience with today’s topic. Now that I’ve got that out of the way, I’d like to return to my regularly schedule programming. Bound4Ireland: the early years. 

Let me introduce to you my heroin, Olivia James. Brilliant IT specialist and over achiever. She puts 150% into everything she does. She CANNOT fail. Failing is not acceptable. She sounds like a bright, strong heroin. One that every woman would want to read about. Yes? There’s only one problem. Olivia has a flaw. One that made me very nervous. You see, Olivia is a survivor of domestic violence. She was victim of something so horrible that she, herself, refuses to accept what happened to her. Suffering from severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) she builds up walls to help stay off her triggers and keep her safe.

I really wanted everyone to love Olivia, flaws and all. That wasn’t the case at first. In my first draft of Intractable Souls - book one of the Bound4Ireland series, a large number of readers despised my heroin. Feedback revealed that they thought she was flaky and immature. One reader went as far as to say that she found her ‘annoying’ and couldn’t finish reading. I was disappointed. I think most authors include a little bit of themselves in every character they create. Those who know me well, quickly pointed out that there was A LOT of myself in Olivia. It was hard to argue. As I did a secondary read through my story, I realized that I had failed in explaining her suffering and how that shaped the person she was at the beginning of the story. Just how much did my readers know about the condition known as post-traumatic stress?

How much do you know? Post-traumtic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that can occur after a person is exposed to a violent and/or life-threatening event. 60 - 80% of people who experience this type of event develops PTSD. Woman are twice as likely to develop this disorder. There are a wide range of symptoms, which are often misdiagnosed, including re-experiencing the trauma through recollections of the event, flashbacks, and nightmares. Someone who suffers from PTSD may appear emotionally numb and avoids places, people and activities that are reminders of the trauma.

Don’t get me wrong when I say she had flaws. We all have them. Who wants to read about perfect people? Am I right? I’m not going to lie, I wanted my readers to like her (me). So, I spent months editing and re-writing because I wanted them to really understand her and the disorder. I wanted them to connect with her character and watch her heal and grow stronger. And I wanted those readers, who suffered from PTSD themselves, to know that there’s hope and there is love.

Love… now there was the next challenge. Anyone who suffers, or has a friend, or loved one who suffers from PTSD will understand that statement completely. It takes a special kind of person to love a survivor of violence. Some of you may think that you have a good understanding of the degree of difficulty that it causes in a relationship. I guarantee you, there are times that you could take that degree and multiply it by 100X and it still would fall short of how difficult it can be for the loved one of a PTSD sufferer. I know this, from experience. You see, as I’ve mentioned to you before, I am a survivor of domestic violence. I am also a survivor of a life-threatening head-on car collision with all three of my young children in the car. I witnessed a pedestrian crossing a busy road, being struck by a car with such force that her body was torn in half and I watched my grandfather die, while sitting beside him at dinner one evening and could do nothing to save him. The universe has thrown me more violent experiences then any one person should have to endure. My reward? PTSD.

When you love someone who suffers from any kind of anxiety disorder, it’s heart wrenching at times. There are many who just simply don’t understand. Everybody has stress, right? You just suck it up and deal with it. Isn’t that what normal people do? Believe me when I tell you, nobody wishes it was that easy more than I. Creating a hero, like Ethan O’Connell was easy. I could make him understand, and give him the unconditional and never-ending emotional strength to get them both through the episodes. In real life, it’s not that easy. People are… human and not everyone can handle dealing with someone’s severe anxiety disorders long term. It takes a special kind of person to do so. After 18 years of being guarded and trying to protect myself, enter Mr. Daniels.

I’ll admit that loving me isn’t easy. Gary always disagrees, and it amazes me that he thinks so. When we first met, I tried to push him away when he started to get too close, but he wasn’t having it. He quickly learned my triggers, and how to put me at ease. He knows when and how to settle me with the sound and tone of his voice. He pushes me, when I need it and calls me out on my own bullsh*t. He never gave up on loving me. The first year we were together the poor man lived on little, to no sleep, watching over me at night. He’ll tell you that he learned the hard way not to reach out and touch me, when I’m having a nightmare. Over that year, something amazing happened in my life. For the first time in nearly twenty years, I began to feel safe. Now the nightmares have faded, and rarely haunt my sleep. Love is real and life is good. For the most part, daily life is… daily life and we enjoy every minute of it.

Mr. Daniels always reminds me that I wasn’t broken. I was hurt. I didn’t need to be fixed, I needed to be loved and kept safe. Although episodes are fewer and farther between, PTSD still rears it’s ugly face without notice and he springs into action like a superhero. One day we were at a friend’s home for a bbq and their dogs started playing, chasing each other and barking around the backyard. Despite everything being a normal enjoyable afternoon, they whipped past my leg, nipping at each other and their act of aggression triggered my anxiety to go from zero to ten million in .2 seconds flat. Just as quickly, he jumped into action, got me away from the dogs and into a safe, calm space alone with him.

Returning to the party was embarrassing, although the hosts and other guests were all very nice to me and genuinely concerned. How do I explain my reaction? I was never, at any time that afternoon, in any danger. My brain tells me it’s irrational but the fear at that moment was painstaking real. I refuse to spend the rest of my life feeling afraid, and with Mr. D. beside me holding my hand, I am starting to take on the world again, one bbq at a time. I may not always feel normal, but I no longer feel flawed. That’s the feeling that I wanted my readers to walk away. A feeling that two imperfect people can love each other perfectly, and love helps you grow, heal and conquer. In real life it may not happen as quickly as it seems to in 260 pages of a romance novel, but it does happen. Trust me.

So how do you love someone with post-traumatic stress order? Mr. Daniels will tell you that it takes passion, patience, and perseverance. And when all else fails... Increase the dose.

For more information and support contact the PTSD Association of Canada or support group in your area. 

Are you looking for something different?  A change from bikers or rockstars and billionaires? Then the Bound4Ireland series is what you're looking for. Reviewers are calling this an emotionally charged series that you definitely don’t want to miss!

You can now save yourself a little money and buy all three ebooks in one collection and get the short story for free! 

Click here to order from Amazon.comThe Bound4Ireland Collection

New from Tricia Daniels Romance. Coming soon! I can't tell you an exact date yet, but the intended release date is May 2017.

Refusing To Expire

Love sometimes comes to us when we’ve completely given up on it.

You just have to let go of the past and accept it.

Tori Campbell has neglected her needs as a woman, for far too long. Times are tough, money is tight, and raising three boys without a positive male role model in the house is challenging. After months of online dating, she realizes that there’s a whole lot of crazy out there. Discouraged, she struggles to accept that she may spend the rest of her life alone.

Roger Ford hasn’t been lucky in love, so far. He’s looking for someone to share his life. Someone to laugh and dance with. The moment they meet and he gazes into her enchanting, green eyes, he falls hard. Everything just seems to fit. Well, almost everything.

Roger may not be the perfect man, but he is no quitter, and he’s determined to prove it.