Excerpt from About Us by Elizabeth Seckman

Blurb:

Hayden Matthews isn’t looking for love—she’s trying to get as far from it as possible. She's already wasted eight years in a failed marriage and is ready for a good life. A peaceful life. One where she can raise her daughter to be strong, independent, and happy. But to make that happen, she must fix her own life first.

Cam Vorelli has loved Hayden since he was in grade school. Always in the friend-zone, he stood on the sidelines, his heart breaking, as she said I do to the wrong man. A man he knew didn’t deserve her, who could never love her as he did. But what could he say? She was marrying into his family. Cam would never break a holy vow much less be disloyal to his kin.

Until he sees the bruises on Hayden. Abuse is a game changer.

Leaving a husband like Tag, who has a hot temper, a badge, and a gun is tricky. When Hayden calls Cam for help, she isn’t trying to lure him into any romantic webs. She needs someone she can trust and knowing her soon-to-be ex fears his former NFL cousin is a bonus.

When Cam comes to her rescue, he isn’t doing it to win her love. He does it because it’s the right thing to do. But if she starts to feel the same for him…couldn’t it be fate?

Excerpt:

Was she a monster for wanting to be happy? Screw happy. She didn't start the divorce process so she could be happy.  She wasn't a child. She knew happy was an elusive, often selfish goal. Being happy was Tag's thing. He wanted every day of his life to be some sort of party. 

She hadn't asked for anything so impressive. She didn't ask for a big house or a new car. Hell, she didn't even expect vacations. All she wanted was a simple life, a peaceful life. A life where she knew when her husband said he had to work late that he truly was working late, not diddling the bartender or dropping the grocery money into a slot machine. 

She'd have been content with a marriage that simply wasn't miserable. 

Kobo: FREE

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/about-us-a-second-chance-novel

Smashwords FREE
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1004700

Amazon: 99 cents 

https://tinyurl.com/u6xcrob

Elizabeth is a multi-published author of books for people who are believers in happily-ever- after, true love, and stories with a bit of fun and twists with their plots. The mother of four young men, she tackles laundry daily and is the keeper of the kitchen. She lives along the shores of the Ohio River in West Virginia, but dreams daily of the beach.

Facebook/ Blog/ Website

Hoosier Dad is here!

Sarah Andrews can hold her own in a courtroom, but when it comes to love, she’s 0-3 and Rich Cooper was her biggest loss to date. 

Hoosier Dad is available!

 Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Smashwords / kobo.com

Elizabeth is a mom, a wife, and the caretaker of far too many pets, all of whom her children swore they'd take care of. But they went off to college leaving fur babies in their place. She is a multi-published author of women's fiction and romance. 

Blog / Website / Facebook / Twitter / Instagram

Swept Away Tour - guest post by Elizabeth Seckman

I'm excited to have the amazing Elizabeth Seckman on my blog today. I see some nerdiness coming up! I'm super excited. Take it away, Elizabeth!

* * * * * 

Hi Christine!  Thanks for having me over.

I know you like geeky things, so I thought I'd come and share my favorite tips for researching for fiction.

Have fun. Einstein can't be wrong. I enjoy museums, documentaries, and non-fiction books. By indulging in that sort of fun, I am not only working, I am becoming the one very wicked Trivial Pursuit competitor.

Talk to people. People are so full of stories and little-known facts. And all you need to do is ask and listen. My novel,  Past Due, is set in 1999, right after the Cape Hatteras lighthouse's historic move inland. I found all the boring facts on the net- things like distance traveled, who did it...yada, yada...All the stuff that would probably make a reader's eyes cross. The best information, I got from islanders. You'd be amazed how many people are eager to put in their two cents when they know you're researching for a book.

Watch people.  We all know this one, right? Watch how people move...how they respond to situations...your world is full of amazing characters. You just need to take what they're doing and turn it into words.

Read memoirs and diaries. In writing Bella's Point, a historical novel set after the American Civil War, I read diaries from that era. It helped get my brain in that time period. Now, I know not everything is historically accurate in that story, but I like to think the flavor is palatable.

Use the net to your advantage. The world is at your finger tips. You can search pictures and facts- heck, you can even find people to chat with who are in the situations and places you are writing about. In Swept Away, Tucker is a former Marine. As a Marine, he should have picked up a certain amount of military lingo. I've never been in the military, so I went to Facebook (and my big brother who is former Army) and asked people who have served...what would you call this and that? Facebook is a great place for input. In writing Defying Reason, I wanted to know...if someone is arrested and put in jail, do they get to make phone calls home? I found out that all states have their own communication rules and at the time of the story, West Virginia did not allow calls to cell phone numbers. That tidbit worked perfectly into the Defying Reason plot.

Research after you write the story. For the minute details, research what needs filled in after the story is done. You want details to be accurate, but at the same time, you want those facts to be part  of the landscape of the story, not the highlights. Fiction isn't meant to read like an encyclopedia of facts, and I think sometimes, when we get excited about all the research we've dug up, we can dump it all in and bog a story down. So, finish the story, then during the edit stage, find the facts that support or compliment your tale. 

He came looking for a ghost. Instead, he found a girl. 

Tucker Boone is a war-hardened Marine on a ghost hunt. Fresh out of the corps, Tucker learns he has a missing half-sister, Maddy. The only clue to her whereabouts is a cryptic note…I’ve gone Mad, Mags. Tucker agrees to search for her and heads to Ocracoke, North Carolina where a ghost named Mad Mags is said to haunt the ancient graveyards dotting the island. 

The note doesn’t bring him any closer to finding Maddy, but it does offer him a diversion to the doldrums of civilian life— his new island neighbor, Josie McCoy. Tucker is drawn to her quiet spirit. There’s something special about Josie…a connection he can’t quite explain. 

By summer’s end, he’s mixed up in deception, murder, and the love of a lifetime. Logic tells him to head home and forget the truths he found on the island. But can he walk away? Josie offers him more than love; she offers him hope. When the clues pile up and it looks like she can never be the girl for him, he has to make a choice- play it safe and break her heart, or risk everything for a chance at being swept away.

Elizabeth is a multi-published author and family laundry wench.  She is the mother of four boys, who are quickly all becoming men! Her life is filled with stinky size-twelve shoes and beard clippings in the sink. Is it any wonder she enjoys days spent writing women's fiction of stories of romance and happily ever after? 

Amazon/ Facebook / Blog / Website 

Realms Faire 2014 - Drench-a-Wench event

HUZZAH!

Welcome to the final day of Realms Faire 2014!

The Realms Faire is hosted by our most magnificent Lady Mary Pax.

I can't believe it's the final day already. We've been having so much fun!

There are several terrific events happening. Each host is giving away prizes for their games. Check out the Realms Faire page for all the links.

I'm hosting the Drench-a-Wench / Soak-a-bloke event!

The rules to this game are simple:

1) The dunkee is chosen by committee.

2) I post a link to the dunkee's blog and you click on it.

3) You leave a comment, soaking them with blog love.

4) You are entered into a drawing for a chance to win awesome prizes.

Today's prize package:
A signed print copy of Moonless by Crystal Collier (US only)
An ebook of your choice from Mary Pax

A digital copy of The 13th Floor Complete Collection.

You have until 7:00 pm EST to leave a comment on the dunkee's blog.

A winner will be chosen randomly each day and contacted at the end of the week.

Yesterday's winner is Melissa Maygrove!

One final awesome dunkee to surprise:

Elizabeth Seckman is an amazing romance writer and mom. How she finds time to write at all I'll never know. Now soak her with some blog love!

More Games! More Prizes! Visit other Realms Faire events for more fun and chances to win more prizes: Joust ~ Riddle Me This ~ Dueling Bards ~ Stockade Brigade ~ Phasers ~Dragon Hunt ~ Wisdom of the Creative Realms ~VelociRaffle

~ Live Performance / Cody Sill: Into Oblivion

Bella's Point Blog Challenge

To celebrate Bella's Point's release, the wonderful Elizabeth Seckman is hosting a blog challenge. Check out the details HERE. You can win prizes!

The basic rules:
1. Write something with the prompt: The year was 1865...
2. Display the blog hop badge, sign up on the linky list, and post Elizabeth's links.
3. Post between July 15th - 31st.

My entry is one where YOU get to pick the ending:

The year was 1865 when I saw a woman's ankle for the first time. Slender and delicate. The few freckles adorning it made it seem all the more exotic. My voice changed from a boy's to a man's in that second.

Did she even realize I watched her as she dipped her toes into the water? Perhaps she did, displaying what was forbidden. A soft smile turned up her lips as I hid my flushed face under the wide brim of my hat.

When I closed my eyes to sleep that night, all I could see was her lovely ankle. So many times did I dream of her, I felt we were closer than lovers. I had never known a desire so grand. It enveloped all my thoughts and directed all my actions.

I saved my pennies, and one year later, dressed in a modest gray suit, I asked her to marry me.

She said no.

What happens next:
a) Does our hero not give up and keeps attempting to woo her until he has captured her heart? (The HEA ending)
b) Does he go to the big city and becomes a famous cobbler of woman's shoes seeing many delicate ankles in his lifetime? (The fetish ending)
c) Does he go mad from a broken heart and creates an army of steam-powered spiders to take over the world? (The wicked steampunk ending)
d) Create your own option. (The _______ ending)

Blurb:

Isabella Troy Stanley is a divorced, slave freeing pariah surviving in the shattered post Civil War south the only way a fallen debutante knows how. She heads to a Yankee prison and buys herself a husband. 

Jack Byron is the former Troy plantation stable boy and object of young Bella's affection. He rejected her then, and he's still not sold on the idea of marrying her now.   

It’s complicated.

Though to Bella, it’s simple: make Jack love her, marry her, and live happily ever after. The plan seems to work...at least until her secret is revealed.

Elizabeth is a wife, a mom, and a writer. She has four wonderful boys, one dusty house, and three published books to her credit. Feel free to check them out and buy them HERE! Erm, the books, not the kids or the house... though all things in life are negotiable ;)

You can find her here - Blog // Facebook // Twitter

Cover art by Sprinkles on Top Studios.

Review for Past Due

Blurb:
Jenna Austin is a young, widowed artist raising a teenage son on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the costs of living in paradise rise, she struggles to make ends meet. Life isn't easy, but she manages.

When her car breaks down, she trudges on. She assumes life can't get any more complicated than it is. But it can...

Chance brings her nose to well-formed chest with Tres Coulter, the handsome, affluent aid to Governor Hunt. Jenna and Tres share a history; they also share a love they thought long lost. Their lives are about to be altered forever as the deceptions of the past transform the very foundation of the present.

The price of happily ever after may be too steep to pay once the past comes due.

My review:
Life can't get any worse for Jenna Austin. Even when her car breaks down, she keeps trudging onward. Her son counts on her after all. That's when gorgeous Tres Coulter steps back into her life. Once upon a time, she loved him, but he'd left her to struggle on her own. Neither of them know the truth of what happened, though, and their happiness depends on them finding out.

A sweet romance with a ton of heart. A cozy little beach town is the perfect place for a love story and a great big misunderstanding. The plot is a huge ball of tangles and knots, and it slowly unravels. It left me wondering each time how they were going to get past that conflict and surprised me with the strength and compassion of the characters. The characters are lovable and genuine even with their flaws.

I will definitely be reading more from Elizabeth Seckman!

Available in E-Book and print from Amazon & World Castle

In ebook from Smashwords, Barnes and Noble, or All-Romance E-Books.

You can find Elizabeth on her blog here!

Friday Five for May 2, 2014

1. Not a terribly productive week writing-wise. I've started on my synopsis for WIP #1. I'm doing my best not to spend as much time on it as I did writing the novel. My goal for this month is to get WIP #1 query ready.

2. The A to Z Challenge is over. I know many of you are still catching up on your sleep! I thoroughly enjoyed participating as a part of a group. Last year, I barely had enough time to respond to comments on my own blog. This year, I visited several new blogs. I would be happy to do the group thing again next year, but I'll wait until my son's in school full-time before I do it myself.

3. I'm going to settle back into a 3 day a week posting schedule. Lots of new releases and reveals coming from many of my writing friends this month. It's going to be an exciting month!

4. Speaking of reveals, have you seen Elizabeth Seckman's cover for Bella's Point? Absolutely gorgeous.

5. And here's some fun reading for the weekend. River Fairchild has released her awesome collection of Death & Chronos flash fiction, Living the Afterlife. Grab your copy for FREE on Smashwords.

Thirty stories filled with laughter and mishaps as a Harley-riding Death and anachronistic Chronos create havoc in Purgatory and on Earth. A host of Immortals join in the misadventures.

Find out what happens when Death teaches War how to bowl. Can Chronos fix his blunder when he loses a year? What is Gaia going to do when she discovers the invisible sheep? Can you win playing poker with Evil? 

 

Step into their world. The Afterlife will never be the same.

Fate Intended blog tour - guest post by Elizabeth Seckman

I'm very happy to host the wonderful Elizabeth Seckman today.

She's talking about being a writer mom.

She has four boys. I can't remember my name sometimes and I only have one. How does she do it?!

Take it away, Elizabeth!

Being a mom and being a writer comes with dilemmas, like why are they so bad when the muse is being so good?

 No one wanted me while I stared like an idiot into the screen.

Perhaps the sound of clicking keys inspired orneriness and hunger? Or possibly while the muse and I were hanging out, Mom lost track of time and forgot no one's been fed for hours?

The writer zone can quickly become a vacuum, and that's an occupation mommy/writer hazard.

I mean I would LOVE to write twelve hours a day, six days a week. But I can't. I have log off and be present in my family life. Or at least be more present than yelling, "Can you make yourself another peanut butter and jelly sandwich?"

I know, sometimes breaking the obsession is like pulling a two-year-old off the merry-go-round. I get it. Writing in the writing zone is fun. It's invigorating. It's totally absorbing. We probably sound just like those toddlers...the cries the, the begs, the bargains...please just fifteen more minutes and I'll have this chapter finished!

We can be sad.

Just as we knew- the kid can't stay on the merry-go-round all night. We also know that we can't either.

Being a mom (or dad!) brings responsibility. And as a mom, I have tried really hard to make sure my kids still have some semblance of a normal life while I pursue da dream. I mean if I fail them, they could declare me incompetent, take all my millions I earned form my books, and stick me in a nursing home without an internet connection. Whoa. That's a scary thought.

I think I'll go see what my kids are up to.

Chase the goal. Hug the kids. Keep the balance.


Fate Intended is the third book in the Coulter Men Series.  Trip is the last of the Coulter sons to find love. He’s a handsome man with all the skills a young spy needs to succeed. But when it comes to love, he misses the target. Jane is a sweet beauty who may or may not be wanted for murder. She’s hiding out as a cleaning lady when chance brings her and Trip together. It looks like a happily ever after is in the cross hairs until reality tries to destroy what fate has intended.

Elizabeth Seckman is a simple chick with a simple dream…to write stories people want to read.

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