![]() Read on for a chance to win an Amazon gift card! After years of work, I am so thrilled to finally announce that book 1 of the “Winds of Destiny” series is released! Drum roll…. Introducing “River’s Journey” |
![]() River Gallagher loves three things—her family, Frank Finn, and her hometown. Her property management career is going great, or at least it was until Calder Finn arrives in town. His rash plans threaten her and the future of everyone in Sweetwater Harbor, NC. Calder Finn returns home to settle his father’s estate. But not only is his father still alive, he has a wild and beautiful guardian. River not only threatens Finn’s intention for a quick escape, she also questions his beliefs. Something very few people have ever done before. Tempers flare and personalities clash until an uneasy alliance is forged—at least temporarily. Amazon Link Here is a little excerpt from “River’s Journey”, where River and Calder are discussing their thoughts about falling in love: “Are you telling me you would never marry a man if it were just mutually beneficial between you? Is that what you are implying?” he challenged her, bringing his palms back to the tabletop. She shook her head, moving tangled hair out of the way. “No, I would only marry for true love and nothing less.” He envied her confident answer. Yet, it explained why this tumultuous woman was still single. However, his curiosity won out. “Okay, and what do you consider nothing less than true love?” Was there even such a thing? She smiled. Her smile was the first real smile he’d seen from her. Almost dreamy, it slammed into his chest with all the tenderness of a bulldozer. He counted the seconds until he could force a shallow breath back into his lungs. One…two…three…four…five… Would she ever answer him? “That’s hard to put into words. It’s more something two people will feel when destiny speaks, and they are the right two.” He could have almost laughed, if he had been able to breathe properly. “Then you think it’s destiny that makes two people fall in love?” “No. I think destiny brings them together. They fall in love because they are meant to.” Ah, crystal clear, considering it was coming from her. “Well, that is an interesting point of view, I suppose.” He brushed off any crumbs that might be on the table or stuck in the scarred ridges. “However, my arrangement with Miss Jordon is my business and none of yours, so kindly keep your opinions to yourself.” “You asked.” Book 2, “Storm’s Warning” is currently in edits, book 3, “Raine’s Promise” is waiting for edits, book 4, “Winter’s Wish” is my next work in progress, and I am outlining books 5 and 6! Did I mention how stoked I am to finally have this series underway? Here is the best part…In honor of this series launch, I am turning my website into a treasure hunt. Yes! Go over to my website, http://www.ryanjosummers.com and read through it looking for answers to the following questions. (Trust me, this is super simple and quick to do). To enter, just email me from the ‘Contact’ tab and give me the correct answers. I will draw five random readers to each win $10 Amazon gift cards. Here are the particulars: 1… Readers must find answers to questions (below) on author’s website, and contact author with right answers using ‘Contact” form on website. 2…Author will randomly select five (5) correct entries. Each random winner will receive a $10 Amazon gift card. Entrants must leave a contact method for author to let winner know. 3… Last day to enter is midnight, Monday, March 22, 2021. Winners will be notified by March 24th, 2021 4 .. Questions are: —Name of my official office assistant —Name of song I wrote for “Cinnamon’s Courageous Heart” —Name of dog on the cover of “Ty’s Journey” —Give one hobby listed on the ‘About Ryan Jo Summers’ page —What title earned the US Review of Books Silver Star of Recommendation? |
Archive for the ‘romance books’ Category
Welcome to 2020 and Gamechangers
Posted in romance books, Summersrye, Uncategorized, tagged changes, Gamechanger, humor, inspiration, life, writing on February 18, 2020| 2 Comments »
Gamechanger has been a word used in my life a fair bit lately. When I reflect back over the previous twelve months, I can see several gamechanger events that blended together and made 2019 resemble a fruit smoothie.
Some have been good events, a few planned out and brought to fruition and others just a happy happenstance. A few were tragic, negative or just plain bad. Either way, they each added to the mixture.
A few happy examples include the installation of a secondary fenced yard that eliminates the need to leash walk dogs now. Not only does that make walking multiple dogs easier, that became critically important in December. A surgery in December proved to be helpful in long-standing health concerns. A new book release with a new publishing house last fall has opened more literary doors.
Most recently a chance occurrence with my old house lead to a partial bathroom remodel, that includes the happy addition of a 1925 Kohler claw-foot tub, which happens to be a long-term dream of mine to have. I have a wonderful old soaking tub now, which is a positive gamechanger.
In the spring, I impulsively bought some day-old chicks, and then some more chicks. It was crazy when they outgrew their brooder and started wandering all over the house because everywhere I put them, they quickly outgrew it. It was several months before I finally got their outside coop finished and they moved out of my house. That was a gamechanger in itself, but it also taught me I could transform my little courtyard to a backyard chicken coop.
Negatively, February 2019 brought a tragic shock that took me about six weeks to even begin to recover from. Big gamechanger. In September my middle-aged computer crashed and I lost everything on it. Merrily I’d been storing files and pictures to a cloud-based storage, confident I had a good backup should I ever need it. Was I ever surprised to learn for three years everything that showed as uploaded on my end never actually reached the cloud. It was simply lost somewhere in the ozone.
Three years of everything was simply gone. Big gamechanger. One of those ‘gone’ things was the novel I’d been pounding away on for three years. It was to go to the publisher that coming weekend, I had the contract signed, a rough release date, and cover work was starting. Now it was Gone. Not a scrap was salvaged. That series of September losses took me two months to begin to get over.
As I run 2019 back through my memory, with the exception of those two massive setbacks, it hasn’t been too bad. I adopted a senior dog and enjoy her company immensely. I have stayed busy in my “day job” business and it feels good to know I am appreciated and needed.
I have learned to master new technology tricks, especially with my smart-alec phone, and they’ve certainly been gamechangers. I can now verbally dictate notes into the phone, send it to my email and retrieve it later on or text verbally on the go to clients, saving time I used to just sit and text. Gamechanger. Using the zoom and key photo options, I can capture great action shots of my clients, which makes them happy. Gamechanger. I have Lucille, the GPS map program that gives me shortcuts to places I need to go, saving me untold hours each month in lost travel time. Huge gamechanger. All that stuff is just sitting in the palm of my hand.
Thinking of all these gamechanger advances and revelations, I can only hope to use them positively in 2020. My hope is to remain more diligent with blogging. Time escaped me in 2019, and maybe I can reclaim some of it going forward. I might even get to reading a few of the countless books I’ve purchased in the last couple of years and start leaving reviews here again. I do read, but I am not at liberty to post those reviews.
I’d like to bring back the “I’ve been thinking…” feature. I do think–a lot–usually as I am running up and down the roads like the cartoon Roadrunner. Now that I’ve mastered the “Suri, send me an email” gamechanger, perhaps I can dictate the bones of my “thinking” and get it moved over to the blog relatively easily. Maybe.
With a houseful of critters, and those who live outside, I’d like to post pictures, anecdotes, and more. Heaven knows they keep me in stitches any given day.
Are there any special posts you’d like to see in this blog? If so, leave me a comment. I’d love to hear your thoughts. This blog exists for others to read it. If I can put something meaningful here, that is all I can ask for.
Book Review– Joy Smith’s “Sea Lust”
Posted in romance books, Summersrye, Uncategorized, tagged boating romance, Book reviews, Joy Smith, Romance novels, Uncaged Book Reviews on November 11, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I originally reviewed this book in September for “Uncaged Book Reviews”.
Joe Carella’s father is missing at sea, and presumed dead, lost while sailing his beloved yacht, the Anna Bella. Now it falls upon Joe to get the recovered boat from Florida back home to Mystic, Connecticut. He’s no sailor, in fact he has spent his life living under his dad’s controlling shadow, but he feels obligated to get the boat home. To succeed, he will need a good captain who knows what they’re doing.
Marty Chase is a fishing boat captain, now living in disgrace in Mystic, Connecticut. Resigned to painting the undersides of boats since she took the rap for a boating accident, she leaps at the chance to captain Joe Carella’s boat back home. He’s a privileged son of a famous yacht racer. This could be the turning point in her captain career. Never mind she never handled large yachts or deep ocean waters. How different can it be from a fishing boat in local waters?
Set sail aboard the luxury yacht the Anna Bella. Joe needs this trip to prove something to himself. And so does Marty. What they encounter is bigger than both of them. A brewing hurricane is just the start of their problems. Toss in a jealous ghost onboard, hijackers, being left for dead and having to fight to survive. The story does not suffer from lack of action.
In places the pacing does drag and there are frequent cases of abrupt timing changes. There are times Marty seems confused or inconsistent with her romantic choices between an old lover she knows she has to stay away from and her growing attraction to Joe. However, the chemistry between Marty and Joe is great, it’s hard not to root for them. The sex scenes are short, detailed without being overly descriptive.
The author is knowledgeable about boats and boating and her familiarity shows throughout the pages.
This book easily earns 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
Been Thinking About… Relaxation
Posted in romance books, Summersrye, Uncategorized, tagged Amazon KDP., books, fiction, Limitless Publishing, Melange Books, National Relaxation Day, Reading, Soul Mate Publishing on August 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »
August 15th is National Relaxation Day. In our crazy never-stop, always-on-the-go society, I personally think one day a year isn’t sufficient. I think we need more like one day a month, twelve days a year, in which to experiment, find and perfect the art of relaxation. With multiple methods available, we could find the one that matches our personality and needs the best.
Lying around in our jammies, binge watching TV or binge reading while eating ice cream? I’m in! Going to the movies? Cool. Traveling to the forest/beach/country/city/ happy place to take in the stillness? Or the sights? How about a spa? Massage? Golf? swim? Horseback ride? combing the flea markets? Most of those would be on my list to try.
Lounging on the front porch in a swing or hammock? With sweet tea of course. Chair with our bare toes gliding through the grass? Picnic? Park? Zoo? Day drive with the top down and music up loud?
I am so there!
How about gardening? Mowing the lawn? For some it’s work, for others it’s relaxing. For me, I find it soothing to putz in the yard, digging my fingers in the dirt, deadheading flowers and watching new transplants grow. And of course I am always planning next year’s planting designs. This next planting season I am seeking blue and white flowers to fill in some gaps. This was inspired by a lovely bouquet I received this summer, with a gorgeous, huge head of a hydrangea bloom. It was pure white with tiny baby blue pin dots in the center of each petal.
So in honor of National Relaxation Day, I’d like to offer some of my books for your consideration to find your perfect relaxation spot and get lost in another world. To me, that’s the ultimate relaxation!
If romantic suspense is your fave, there is “Upon the Tide”, set on a boat in the Caribbean. If you like a hint of two of mystical or paranormal with your suspense and romance, consider “Chasing the Painted Skies”, set on an isolated lighthouse island in the Great Lakes (complete with its own ghost) or “Wild Whispers”, built around the exciting world of horse racing.
If you prefer clean and wholesome Inspirational Christian fiction, how about “Shimmers of Stardust”, with a bit of time travel included; “Beside Still Waters” or “Rainbows in the Moonlight”. Both of these are family centered stories, rooted in romance, forgiveness and second chances. Sweet!
If you like anthologies, I got ya covered there too. “Sizzle in the Snow” is eight stories all about Christmas. “Food and Romance Go Together” is, yep, you guessed it, stories all about food and romance. Talk about cooking in the kitchen! “Craving Country” turns up the heat, with twelve stories all about finding love and good, country living.
And if you like a shorter read, consider “Glimpse Eternity”, a pretty little story centered around Valentine’s Day or “It Happened at the Park”, a rollicking romantic comedy including dogs and their humans.
Speaking of dogs, if you prefer non-fiction, how about my self-published story about Ty, my adopted collie (a beautiful blue merle) with PTSD and the first two years of our journey together? It’s called, appropriately enough, “Ty’s Journey” and features countless photos.
All these fine books can be found at Amazon or my website, http://www.ryanjosummers.com. Several have been nominated for various peer-review awards.
So there you have it, loads of ideas on how to relax on National Relaxation Day and a few not-so-subtle suggestions for a good book or two if reading is your fave way to relax. However you like to escape, feel free to drop me a line in the comments and share your secrets. As for me, I’ll be busy working August 15th, but I’ll be thinking hard of relaxing, most likely by trying to write another book.
Book Review: Lilly Gayle and “Winds of Time”
Posted in romance books, Uncategorized, tagged Book review, fiction romance, Lilly Gayle, time travel romance on July 30, 2018| Leave a Comment »
I received a free copy of this book from Reading Alley in exchange for an honest review.
Selena Tillman is a modern-day woman who is haunted by dreams of her ancestor, Mary, who disappeared in 1871. And of Dylan, the half-breed Native American man accused of murdering her. Peace and love in her time seem to be impossible to find, so Selena decides to return to Texas, the scene where Mary and her secret lover died. She hopes to lay the ghosts to rest so she can move on with her life. Instead she finds more trouble than she thought possible.
Witnessing Mary’s death by a tornado, she time jumps from the twenty-first century to the nineteenth. Encountering the handsome, and bitter half-breed army scout, Dylan, she wonders if she just met her destiny. Dylan just knows she is a liar and probably crazy to boot. He has enough troubles trying to prove his innocence in Mary’s murder, and thereby save his own life, while trying to stop a war between the white men and Indians. He doesn’t have time for Selena’s foolishness.
This story has great potential and flowed along nicely, at a good pace most the time. It suffered from frequent misplaced commas, leading to awkward or jilted sentences. There is also frequent mild profanity and premarital, graphic sex between the two main characters. Beyond that, the heroine, Selena, is a fantastic character. She is quite likeable and her adaption to being unexpectedly transported to the past and her struggles against the typical male mind-set of the day make her winsome and likeable. The historical aspect seemed pretty spot-on as well.
Dylan is in need of serious work. He has such a massive chip on his shoulder, it’s a wonder it doesn’t make his horse collapse under the weight. So bitter with white women, white folks, and being the misunderstood half-breed Indian, he is convinced Selena is lying. He leaps to ridiculous conclusions faster than a spinning tornado, tries to constantly pick fights with the woman he loves, and treats her sometimes like dirt. He is so caught up in his own heritage and problems (mostly self-inflicted) that he is blinded to what Selena and others are trying to do to help him.
In my opinion, Dylan would have been a more likeable character and the story would have flowed along better without his chip, if the focus had been on Selena’s integration to 1871 instead. Clearly people did not understand her language or expressions of modern speech. It would have been nicer to see more character-wide confusion over the language gap filling the pages, with more “What is she saying” instead of “She’s lying again.”
Overall, I give this story three out of five stars. It’s a nice story hurt by randomly placed commas and Dylan’s deep running bitterness.
Been Thinking About: When More is Too Much
Posted in romance books, Summersrye, Uncategorized, tagged childhood memories, cute kitten, garden, rain, thunderstorms, too much, writing, writing life on April 15, 2018| Leave a Comment »
Heavy rain and thunderstorms are hitting my area right now. My poor collie, Ty, hated to go outside this morning and now is hiding in the corner of the kitchen as he tries to escape the big booms outside.
Me, personally, I love the thunderstorms. I delight in the rain falling in sheets and the crack of thunder and streaks of lightning. It’s a symphony I never seem to tire of. As I stood at the window, enjoying the show, it brought back a long-buried memory. And it got me thinking of when more is too much.
When I was young, we often grew a yearly garden to have vegetable reserves for the coming year. One spring, when I was about ten or eleven, we had a terrific thunderstorm. It was flooding our garden. I was instructed to go outside, take boards, and try to barricade the garden.
It was pouring rain. I was soaked. I recall using the board to push the dirt back as inches-deep muddy water rushed past my ankles, washing away our seedlings. I recall my bare feet sinking into the cold mud and my hair plastered to my scalp as I tried to beat the watery surge. It seemed equivalent to holding back the tide of the great lakes.
We had hoped for steady, soft rains to water our crops. Instead we got too much: a deluge of relentless rain that destroyed a portion of our garden. And sometimes we do that in other areas of our life.
Like when we tell a little white lie, that starts innocently enough and soon turns into a flood of endless falsehoods. Or spices added to a meal that should have enhanced it and instead drown out the food’s intended flavor.
Or when we are writing a scene and once we reach the wrap-up, we keep going and going like the Energizer Bunny. The scene is complete, the loose ends tied up, and the conclusion is satisfying. We should close and move on. Instead, we belabor points, add dialogue or narrative that isn’t needed, and in general we linger in the scene far longer than necessary.
We have all read books like that, and some of us have written books like that. Yes, me too. I call it a learning curve and a rite of passage as we grow and mature as writers.
This is Now
Posted in romance books, Summersrye, Uncategorized, tagged Cartoon, Charles Shultz, novel, Peanuts, short story, Snoopy, writing on April 4, 2018| 1 Comment »
I can so relate with Snoopy right now. I plowed into 2018 with three new releases under my belt and a firm resolve to take a few months to recoup from those, and then spend the spring writing two more time-travel novels for late 2018 submission. However, a new opportunity presented itself last month so I decided to temporarily pause the novels to work on a short story, of which I am now 3,000 words into.
While I do have more than one sheet of paper, I have limited time and reserves to write when I need to be doing everything else. I’ve heard it said writing is hard work. Personally, I don’t find the real writing so hard, I find many other aspects of being a writer the hard work.
I wish ol’ Snoopy all the luck with The Cabin and his one sheet of paper. In the meantime, please wish me luck on the literary endeavors I am writing my way through.