July 4th Celebration - Everyone Wins!

THE WINNER IS BUFFY KENNEDY! I will be contacting you, Buffy for your choice of one of my books in addition to The Marriage List. Everyone else, will either get their book or be contacted for best format Friday morning. Thank you all for entering!!

Thank you for stopping by! Celebrate our independence with me and others authors on our Sweet Swap Blog Hop and win a FREE copy of my bestselling book, The Marriage List. Everyone who leaves a comment will win a copy and one lucky commenter will win his or her choice of any of my other books, in addition to The Marriage List. 

Step back into 1776 with me as we look at that turbulent time in history with pictures and quotes from some of our famous forefathers.

But a Constitution of Government once changed from Freedom, can never be restored. Liberty once lost is lost forever.
John Adams, letter to Abigail Adams, 1775

We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.
Benjamin Franklin, (attributed) at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776.

General Horatio Gates

"The distinctions between Virginians, Pennsylvanians, New Yorkers, New Englanders are no more. I AM NOT A VIRGINIAN, BUT AN AMERICAN!"
Patrick Henry, n.d.

"The die is now cast; the colonies must either submit or triumph.... we must not retreat."
King George III, In a letter to Lord North, 1774

Revolutionary War Flag. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value.Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No. 1, December 19, 1776

"All men are created equal and have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Thomas Jefferson, In the Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776

Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.
Patrick Henry, speech in the Virginia Ratifying Convention, June 5, 1778

"The injuries we have received from the British nation were so unprovoked, and have been so great and so many, that they can never be forgotten."
George Washington, Letter to John Banister, 1778

 "The cement of this union is in the heart blood of every American."
Thomas Jefferson, Writings, n.d.

I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.
Nathan Hale, before being hanged by the British, September 22, 1776

Where liberty dwells, there is my country.
Benjamin Franklin, letter to Benjamin Vaughn, March 14, 1783

             

Can happily ever after start with a list? Grey Andrews thinks so. After ten years of working, saving and investing, Grey finally achieved a level of wealth that allows him to do what he wants with his life. He needs a woman to share it with, but not any woman, the perfect woman. A woman who has the three essential qualities on his marriage list. But after three years of searching he isn’t any closer to finding her than he was when he started out.
 Carrie Tucker, an aspiring mystery writer and divorcée struggling to make it in the world of advertising, turned her focus from men to her career after dating too many creeps and losers. She’s finally earned her big break, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the first female creative director in a hot New York ad agency. So what if it means working nights and weekends? It’s not like she has a social life anyway.
Is the marriage list a failure or will a chance meeting at a fiction-writing conference prove the list to be the key to Grey’s happiness after all?
LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDY AND PREFERRED FORMAT AND YOU'LL GET A FREE COPY OF MY BESTSELLER, "THE MARRIAGE LIST"!HOW ARE YOU CELEBRATING THIS IMPORTANT HOLIDAY?
HOP TO THE OTHER GREAT BLOGS ON THIS HOP BY CLICKING ON THE LINKS BELOW:

Dawne Prochilo
Sherry Gloag
Kathleen Ball
Front Seat Romance
Michael Charton
Lizzie Black
Layla Hunter
To learn more about my books, go to my website, click here

TUESDAY TALES, PROMPT "MONEY"

Welcome! Thanks for stopping by. My story this week is from my new WIP, a military romance.

        “Get out of the car.”

        “What’d I say?”

        “Get out.”

         “Look, Perri, the kid’s been gone for five years already. When are you gonna let go?” Ike closed the door and leaned on the open window.

            “Mike. His name was Mike,” Perri said as she peeled out, depressing the gas pedal almost to the floor. “asshole…”

 Perri slowed down when she crossed the George Washington Bridge into New Jersey. Putting on her turn signal, she forked right off the bridge onto the Palisades Parkway. The pretty brunette leaned back against the rich leather seat of her BMW and relaxed. This trip to Pine Grove was so familiar she could do it in her sleep. You’d be five today, Mikey. If you had lived. Five years since we scattered you in Cedar Lake. Perri took a shaky breath. SIDS took four-month-old Michael Jessup. Son of Perri and Sergeant Matthew Jessup, her husband, now her ex.   

 After an uneventful trip, Perri pulled into the driveway of the Pine Grove Guest House, facing Cedar Lake. She had a standing reservation for a week every year at this time. Lacy Ryan, owner of the guest house, held a plate of homemade cookies. Perri took one.

“Rooms ready, Perri. Uneventful trip I spose.”

“Yup. What’s all that lumber in old Doc Branford’s yard?”

“Doc moved to Florida. Somebody bought the place. Fixin’ it up, too.” Lacy took the plate into the kitchen. “coffee’s still hot.”

Perri felt a twinge in her gut. Doc Branford’s house was the house she and Matt stayed in on their honeymoon, such as it was. He was on leave from the Marines when they met. Every year she peered at the old place from next door, watching it get more and more rundown. She couldn’t bear to stay there. Too many memories…it’s where Mike was conceived.

They stayed there, too, when they brought his ashes up. It’s where they had that brutal fight. Perri shook her head to get rid of the memory.

“He wouldn’t have died if you had been here instead of in Afghanistan!”

“You…you let my son die!”

The shouting match echoed in her brain as if she was hearing it for the first time. Her stomach knotted as the words knifed through her gut.

“You all right? Ya look kinda pale,” Lacy asked. She put her hand on Perri’s forearm as she guided her into the kitchen.

“Do you know who bought Doc’s place?” Perri took a sip of her coffee.

 “Nope. Haven’t seen him yet.” Lacy fumbled with her cup, nearly dropping it.

“Think I’ll take a look after I unpack.” Perri finished the coffee in the dainty cup.

“Oh, I wouldn’t do that. I'd bet money he don't want you trespassing. It’s somebody’s property…he probably don’t like people snooping around.”

Perri shot Lacy a quizzical look, but the older woman avoided her glance. 
                                               **** 

Once outside, she approached Doc’s property cautiously. There was a car in the driveway and some of the lumber she spied before was gone. She stepped over the short hedge separating Lacy Ryan’s place from Doc’s and tiptoed toward the front window. The curtain was open. She leaned forward, peering in, her hands shading her eyes.

Strains of the 1812 Overture met her ears faintly over the sound of an electric drill. She spied the naked back of a tall man. His shoulders seemed to stretch from one wall of the living room to the other. In the middle of his back was a small tattoo. She bolted upright, pulling away from the window. How many men have a tattoo of a periwinkle flower in the middle of their backs! Matt!

CLICK HERE TO GO BACK TO TUESDAY TALES 

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FIRST CHAPTER FRIDAY, THE MARRIAGE LIST!

Time for a look at The Marriage List, a New York Nights novel. Roll into Manhattan with me and get to know with Grey, before he meets up with Carrie. First a few pix of New York City, then the first chapter of The Marriage List, which is still only $.99, by the way.

Lincoln Center, where Grey and Carrie have an...uh...interesting encounter.

 The Dakota, apartment building where John Lennon lived and died. Only about six blocks from Carrie's place.

 Skyline of Manhattan.

 Sexy guy running...oops...how did that get in here? " *grins*, just an added treat.

 Oohh, hot firemen. You can see where my mind is going. So on to the first chapter.

                                  FIRST CHAPTER - CLICK HERE
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TUESDAY TALES - WORD PROMPT "RED"

Today's tale comes from my WIP, "If I Loved You". 

“You signed Chaz Duncan?”

Megan nodded.

“Wow! That’s amazing! You’re awesome, Megan. How’d you do it?” 
 "Our brilliant plan plus a little charm.”

“You’re my hero.” Andy beamed his admiration at her with a huge smile.

“Time to get to work, Andy. We have to execute this plan. On Wednesday, I need to tell Chaz…er…Mr. Duncan exactly where we plan to put his money. So you’ve got a ton of research to do. Get your pad…let’s get started.”

Right after Andy left, her cell phone rang. It was Chaz.

“Are you strutting your stuff? Did old Harve give you a pat on the back?”

“How did you know?” Megan sat back in her chair.

“I’m a big fish. I’d expect as much.”

“You are. Andy and I are going to start work on your investment plan as soon as I hang up.” Megan put her hand up to stop Andy from entering her office then lounged back again.

“Who’s Andy?” Was that a hint of jealousy in his voice? She grinned.

“He’s my assistant. Too young for me anyway.”

“Oh. Good. Won’t keep you, then.”

“Where are you today?” Meg rested her feet on the waste paper basket.

“Over at PBS, shooting an American history series.”

“Who are you playing?” She tapped a pencil on her desk.

“Thomas Jefferson…with a red wig.”

 “Oh my God!” Megan burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?”

“Covering up that gorgeous brown hair with a red wig, I…”

“Gorgeous, huh?” He snickered at the other end of the phone.

Megan’s hand flew to her mouth. Shut up, Meg!

“Well…yeah…it’s kinda nice, I guess. If you like brunettes.”

Chaz laughed. “And you prefer blonds?”

“I prefer…to end this conversation.” Meg sat up in her chair.

“See you Wednesday at six.”

 After she hung up the phone, Megan fanned herself with her hand. Andy entered the office.

“You’re red as a beet. Was that a business call?”

 “Write down these stocks. I want you to get the p/e’s plus closing prices for every week for the past two years…make a graph. Let’s start with General Electric…”

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FUN FACTS ABOUT NEW YORK!

A rest from promo today. Enjoy some fun facts and pix of New York, city and state. Happy Monday!

The oldest cattle ranch in the US was started in 1747 at Montauk on Long Island. 

(This is supposed to be a pic of a cattle ranch, but thought you wouldn't mind if I just had the cowboys. You don't, do you?)

 The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan is the only school in the world offering a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Major in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing.

 New York City has 722 miles of subway track. 

 Adirondack Park is larger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Olympic Parks combined.  The only mountain range to have a chair named after it! LOL. (That's from me.)

For beer lovers! The first public brewery in America was established by Peter Minuit at the Market (Marckvelt) field in lower Manhattan. 

   Niagara Reservation became the first state park in the United States.

New York was the first state to require license plates on cars. 

 New York State is home to 58 species of wild orchids.

Wade Boggs and Cal Ripken Jr. played against each other in Rochester vs. Pawtucket Red Sox in the longest game in baseball history. The game went a total of 33 innings. 

 The Big Apple is a term coined by musicians meaning to play the big time. 














FROM THE BIG APPLE TO YOU, HAVE A GREAT DAY!

For info about my books, click here to go to my website.