Family Memories

When Mom had to move out of her house, we siblings worked hard to make it a positive experience. We also got lucky, and it was. You can read more about it on the other blog I participate in at Over The Backyard Fence.

Over The Backyard Fence

Happy day after Mother’s Day! I hope all the mother’s who read this had a day full of smiles and pampering.

Most of you know that my mother moved in with us in January. It didn’t take long for us to realize it was time for her to not live on her own anymore. So, with her blessing around the first of February, we began sorting through items in her house. We were lucky because our niece wanted to move in, which meant we didn’t have to talk about selling it. Everyone in the family knows how hard that would have been for Mom.

So the process of sorting through and clearing out 40 years of accumulation began. It quickly became a reason to gather. Mom loved being in the center of things as work progressed, loved the camaraderie as we found beloved items from our childhood. This may seem…

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Holiday Stories

I belong to a writer’s group, Olympia RWA, that is filled with some of the awesomest, most amazing women I have ever known. So, having written a holiday story myself, I thought I’d take a moment to showcase all the holiday stories written by my chapter-mates. There are all sorts of romance sub-genres so I’ll try to note them for you. Here they are in author alphabetical order. Have fun! And just click on the book image if you want to read more about a particular story.

SPICY CONTEMPORARY SHORT STORY

Four years ago on Christmas Eve, NHL hockey player Blake Daniels lost his entire family in a float plane crash. Every Christmas Eve he mourns his losses by returning to the family vacation home in Sunset Harbor, Washington, his family’s destination that fateful night. Only this year he’s also mourning the loss of his hockey career and wondering what’s left to live for. When he finds a kitten starving and half frozen in a foot of snow, he rushes the tiny thing to the local animal hospital.

Still reeling from the unexpected loss of her father on Christmas Eve two years ago, Dr. Sarah Whitney opens the door to her clinic and finds a rough and tough professional athlete holding a minuscule kitten in his big hands. Only a miracle can save the frozen creature and only a miracle can heal the devastating losses suffered by both Sarah and Blake.

But Christmas is the time for healing and miracles if only you believe and give love a chance.

HISTORICAL SHORT STORY

Lady Sabine escapes an arranged marriage by traveling from her native France to the Scottish Highlands to be a lady-in-waiting, yet when she arrives a few days before Christmas, she finds she is no longer needed. She cannot remain an unwed lass in a Highland castle so she is given the choice between returning home, joining a convent, or a hasty marriage of convenience. Even worse, Sabine finds that Highlanders do not celebrate her cherished Christmas customs. Sir Braden is the Master at Arms for the MacLaren clan and is assigned to guard Lady Sabine until her situation is resolved. Despite his intention never to marry, Lady Sabine shows him the joy of Christmas and his icy heart starts to melt.

SWEET HISTORICAL NOVELLA

After a gentleman rescues her from a winter storm, Miss Selene Banning finds herself snowbound with Sir Jared Kendrick, who is not precisely who he claims to be…

A Duke for Midwinter is a sweet (kisses only) Christmas-themed romance of approximately 80 pages.

 

 

SWEET HISTORICAL COLLECTION

Head to the majestic Northwest where logging history comes to life in four Christmas romances. Insecurity brings a logger and a young woman together, but will a “perfect” sister tear them apart? Will the dangers of the woods derail a young couple’s hopes and their chance at love? Amid town gossip, can a work-focused sawmiller win the heart of a prim-and-proper heiress? Will second thoughts have a sentimental girl and a hardhearted carpenter losing love? Find the answers in this heartwarming holiday collection.

HISTORICAL NOVELLA

Lily’s well-honed sense for trouble tells her no healer is safe in London while gangs roam the city looking for witches to burn. In the dead of night, she escapes on a northbound ship, intending to return after Christmas celebrations calm the city’s witch fever. But when Lily lands in the wilds of Scotland, her skills for surviving in the city can’t save her.

Roderick MacDonald is on a secret mission for his chieftain when he finds a lass near death on a barren hillside and is forced to take her with him. Though this mysterious Sassenach may have The Gift his clan needs—and he burns with passion for her—he’s determined to resist the enchantment she weaves on his scarred heart.

When love blooms amidst the harsh winter beauty of the Highlands, will these two obstinate souls from different worlds accept the Yuletide gift?

CONTEMPORARY

Always read the fine print!

Tycoon Vincenzo Tomasi needs a new nanny for his niece and nephew by Christmas. And the million-dollar salary on offer will be more tempting than anything in Santa’s sack! Audrey Miller already works for Enzo and loves children, and stepping into his family would dramatically help her own.

What Audrey doesn’t know is that Enzo expects the right candidate to become his wife—and high on the requirements list is sexual compatibility. While she’s lusted after her enigmatic boss for years, will innocent Audrey risk everything to explore her irresistible attraction in the most unlikely interview process ever?

SWEET HISTORICAL NOVELLA

Washington Territory, the frontier, 1825. Gentle Fawn and her beloved husband Hawk Catcher’s desperate hopes for a baby plummet until that magical Christmas Eve when their deepest prayers are answered… by two bumbling trappers and a goat.

 

 

SWEET HISTORICAL SHORT STORY

Written in a darker style than Miss Sheridan’s usual frothy tales, in this short story a lonely widow journeys from heartbreak to hope with the help of three Christmas ghosts.

 

 

 

SPICY CONTEMPORARY NOVEL

Derrick Fox only wants one gift beneath his Christmas tree–his best friend, Mia. When her latest moron walks out on her, Derrick finally sees his chance to break through the wall of friendship and claim Mia for his own. Forever. But when she propositions him instead, it leaves him reeling.

Insecure, image challenged and dumped–again–twenty-five-year-old Mia Patterson is sick to death of being a virgin. With her knight in shining armor nowhere to be found, naturally she turns to her BFF, the insanely sexy Derrick Fox, to help her out. The problem? Derrick wants far more than the body she’s ready to give. He wants her heart.

As the most magical time of year approaches, Derrick and Mia struggle to create some Christmas magic of their own–the sort that happens once in a lifetime, when two hearts finally come together in trust. And love. Unwrapped.

Last, but not least…

SORTA SWEET n SPICY CONTEMPORARY TWO-STORY ANTHOLOGY

Priceless Love
“For Richer, For Poorer.”
Taylor Hamilton, dissatisfied with a life designed by her parents, attends a friend’s fall wedding and finds small town life agrees with her. The problem is, her wealth doesn’t agree with the man she falls for. Is their love strong enough to find a bridge of trust where money isn’t an issue?

Healing Love
“In Sickness and in Health.”
Nicole Milbourne’s single-minded focus on a medical research career is thrown for a loop when charismatic Dr. Damien Reed shows her there’s more to life than studying diseases. Will an unexpected Christmas fill Nicole’s lonely heart and show her the healing power of love?

ENJOY! And have a very merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year!

Laurie Ryan

Triathlon? Me? Am I crazy?

Maybe I AM crazy, but I did it. And I blogged about it on Over The Backyard Fence. Check out how my mini-triathlon went here.

Laurie Ryan

Tropical Persuasions – Hold Onto that Summer Warmth!

Hi, everyone. As we wind our way toward the end of August, I’m hoping you all have had a summer filled with fond memories and fun times…and good weather. Is it bad that I’m already starting to look forward to a cooler season and curling up with some of the awesome books in my “to be read” pile?

I’ve kept busy with family and writing. We’ve taken several long weekends to go away, but mostly have been home. One of the good things about that is that my Tropical Persuasions series is now set for release. In fact, the first story is already out there!

I’m excited to reveal the covers for this series. An updated version of Stolen Treasures, the story of Dion Gaetani and Claire Saunders, who put everything on the line to capture a modern-day pirate, is now available on Amazon. Other venues coming soon.

Pirate’s Promise is slated for re-release on September 15th and is now available for pre-order on Amazon. I couldn’t write Stolen Treasures without realizing that the pirate, Hakon “Hawk” Thoralssen, needed his own story, so I introduce him to his attorney, Julia Branholt, and sparks fly.

And Dare To Love, the long-anticipated third and final story in the series, and also available for pre-order on Amazon, releases October 13th. Aidan Walker, friend and co-worker to Dion, meets his match in Gail Grayson, a spike-haired pixie who wants to turn the ladies’ man into a one-lady kind of guy.

As well, I’ve set up a newsletter list where news about my stories will be released first. To join the list, just click here and enter your name and email address.

Thanks! Enjoy the rest of your summer!

Laurie Ryan

New Release – Northern Lights

The story inspired by a bucket list item of mine (seeing the Aurora Borealis) has arrived!

What it’s about:

When New York corporate man Renzo Gallini shows up with papers saying he owns the waystation Jess Jenkins lives and breathes for, she laughs in his face. But things get tense when he’s got the paperwork to prove it…and her father, who apparently signed their home away, is nowhere to be found.

Jess has lived her entire life at Last Chance Camp, a man’s world where femininity is relegated to wisps of time behind her closed apartment doors. Yet she’s proud of what they’ve built here. Last Chance is all she needs to be happy and no amber-eyed city-boy will convince her otherwise.

Renzo Gallini left New York on his mother’s foolish errand, to ferret out what changes would be needed to turn an Alaskan truck stop into a vacation destination. He finds little of merit in the wide spot in the road until the small community, led by a fiercely loyal tomboy, show him there’s more to Alaska than just ruts in the road. That survival depends not just on good planning, but on each other. And love can be found in places where you least expect it.

Where it’s at:

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
All Romance eBooks
KOBO

Coming soon to iBooks and GooglePlay

A sample:

Ren sipped coffee from the restaurant’s porch and watched the tourist group outside dwindle until only Jesse was left. She pulled her hair free of its band and gazed skyward. Then, to his surprise, she began to twirl in slow circles, her body swaying in time to a music he could not hear, her arms outstretched to the meandering ribbons in the sky. Her dark hair, unbound now that her day was done, swirled about her in soft waves.

Ren froze, caught in the hypnotic display of her almost spiritual union with the sky around her. She moved with a fluid grace Ren found more profound and sensual than anything he’d ever experienced. He swore he could feel the thrum of the spirits flowing through his own veins as a web of peace settled around his beating heart.

As he watched, Jess’s soft sounds of delight were joined by another quieter, more elusive sound, almost like a hushed whistle. He smiled, betting that Jess would say the spirits approved.
He waited and watched as Jess danced in their midst until the last light faded from the night sky. He watched until she wandered beyond his sight. Even then, he stood, his coffee forgotten. He felt…bereft with her disappearance. He wanted to call her back.

Somehow, Ren knew that, with tonight’s events, his life had been forever changed. And right now, at this moment, he didn’t mind one bit.

Cover Reveal – Northern Lights by Laurie Ryan

With only about two weeks to release, I wanted to share the cover and blurb for my newest story, Northern Lights with you. This story holds a special place in my heart, since it’s wrapped around my opportunity to check off a bucket list item: seeing the Aurora Borealis. That night, or early morning, since it was 1a.m., was AWESOME. Threads of color moving across the sky, yet not moving. In fact, if you’ve had a chance to see the Northern Lights, I’d love to hear your stories.

The Cover:

What it’s all about:

When New York corporate man Renzo Gallini shows up with papers saying he owns the waystation Jess Jenkins lives and breathes for, she laughs in his face. But things get tense when he’s got the paperwork to prove it…and her father, who apparently signed their home away, is nowhere to be found.

Jess has lived her entire life at Last Chance Camp, a man’s world where femininity is relegated to wisps of time behind her closed apartment doors. Yet she’s proud of what they’ve built here. Last Chance is all she needs to be happy and no amber-eyed city-boy will convince her otherwise.

Renzo Gallini left New York on his mother’s foolish errand, to ferret out what changes would be needed to turn an Alaskan truck stop into a vacation destination. He finds little of merit in the wide spot in the road until the small community, led by a fiercely loyal tomboy, show him there’s more to Alaska than just ruts in the road. That survival depends not just on good planning, but on each other. And love can be found in places where you least expect it.

Expected Release Date:

Tuesday, February 3, 2015

Bahama Christmas

Need a heart and cold-weather warming quick read? Check out this story by Lavada Dee!

After being pretty quiet on the news front, Bahama Christmas is giving me something to blog about. Jillian Chantal is featuring Bahama Christmas over on her blog today. It’s an interview and I love Jillian’s questions. They make me want to pull out my luggage and book a cruise.   So for a bit of cruise ambiance pop over it’s at http://jillianchantal.com/2014/11/20/lavada-dee-and-bahamas-christmas/

And, Bahama Christmas is also featured on Snowglobes Festive & Fun mini contest. This contest runs from today through Nov. 26^th. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with the Title and Name of the author of the cover your voting for and your email address. Snowglobe is at http://snowglobeawardcontest.vpweb.ca/mini-contests wishing you all luck.

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