Books That Have Stayed With Me

Recently on Facebook I was tagged to list at least 10 books that stayed with me in some way. I was told that didn't have  to be the "right" books or great books of literature, just ones that affected you in some way. Below is the list that I created

There are so more than this but...
1) The Sweet Valley Twins the first books I feel in love with in elementary school
2) choose your own adventure books I loved being able to pick where my story went
3) Gentle Rogue the first romance novel I read that turned me into a romance novel lover
4) Fantastic Five Series again read in elem school made me want to write my own stories
5) You're marrying her? It made me want to write my own contemp. romance
6) Ransom by Julie Garwood, I simply love the book I have read more times than I can count.
7) Pride & Prejudice my favorite classic romance novel.
8) Nancy Drew books feed my love of reading in elementary and junior high
9) The Teacher's Billionaire the first romance I wrote that I thought was good enough for others to read
10) Jessica Andersen's Night Keeper series hooked my on paranormal romance

11) The entire Anne of Green Gables series

As I read over my list as well as the lists posted by other friends on Facebook, I realized something we all seemed to have in common.  For many of us, we fell in love with reading at a young age and remained avid readers as life went on. This in turn made me think of my own children who are ages 5, 5, and 7. Right now they all love books. The seven year old reads just about every night before bed and the twins love to have a bed time story. Does this mean they will be life long readers? 

What about you? When did you first fall in love with reading? Were you like me and constantly in the book store or library as a child or did you discover the joys of reading later on in life?  I'd love to hear when you discovered the secrets books offer and what books stayed with you.

#TeaserTuesday Snippet from Redeeming The Billionaire

A special longer unedited snippet from my upcoming book Redeeming The Billionaire due out in September, but it can be pre-ordered now on iTunes.

“That sucks, he must have been disappointed.” Trent turned away from the windows toward the office door. The minute his eyes landed on her, he smiled and waved her in. “Listen I have to go, but we’ll see you tomorrow. Congratulations again.” Trent tossed his phone down as he strode toward her closing the gap between them. Without so much as even a hello, he pulled her against him and kissed her as if ten months had passed since they’d last seen each other rather than ten hours. “I’ve missed you,” he said when he pulled back leaving her breathing ragged and her heart beating double time.

He slipped his hand under her T-shirt, his hands skimming up her rib cage as he kissed the pulse pounding in her neck. “I’ve thought about this all day,” he whispered his fingers undoing her bra.

Addie moaned when his hands took possession of her breast, his thumbs flicking back and forth across her nipples. “I missed you, too.” She let her own hands slide up under his shirt and then up his back.

Trent pulled away from her neck, but his hands continued to tease. “That’s it? You only missed me?” He sounded annoyed, but she knew it was only an act. “I couldn’t think of anything but getting you naked and all you can say is you missed me? I guess I’ll have to try harder from now on to pleasure you.” With no other warning, he pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it over his shoulder.

“Okay, I really missed you.”

“So that’s how it’s going to be tonight,” he said with a wicked grin. Before she offered up any kind of answer, he unbuttoned her jeans and pulled them and her underwear down in one movement. Then he picked her up and deposited her on the edge of his desk. Spreading her legs wide, he stepped between them, his T-shirt rubbing against her nipples, which missed his earlier caress. “The next time we’re apart I want you to think about tonight.”

Without another word, he kissed her his tongue sliding into her mouth as he drew her closer to him his erection pressing against her. As he kissed her, his arms kept her locked against him. Then just like that he pulled away and switched his attention from her lips to her neck. As if he had all the time in the world, he worked his way down her body. When he took her left nipple in his mouth she signed. When he switched to her other side and lavished that nipple with the same attention she closed her eyes. Once he’d driven her a little mad, he began to pull away, but she dug her fingers into his hair in an effort to keep him there.

“Don’t worry, I’ll come back to here,” he whispered and started trail of kisses downward.

“You better,” she answered as he placed a kiss on the lower half of her rib cage.

Each kiss added to the explosive current that raced through her. At any minute Addie expected to explode into a million tiny pieces and die a happy woman. At least until his lips passed her navel and kept on moving south. In an instant some of the fog in her brain cleared and her eyes flew open. Addie placed her hands on either side of his head in a weak effort to stop him.

Pre-order at iTunes

Cover Reveal and Giveaway with author J. Hughey

Today is cover reveal day for J.Hughey’s New Adult romance, Eruption, first in the Yellowblown™ Series that follows a college sophomore from her perfect semester through the life-changing disruptions caused when the Yellowstone volcano erupts.

Contest! All new subscribers to the J. Hughey’s newsletter between August 12 and August 19 will be entered to win some Eruption cover swag. You’ll have your choice of a necklace, bracelet, or bookmark decorated with the Eruption cover and the Yellowblown Series charms. Subscribe here http://www.jillhughey.com/contact. A winner or winners will be chosen using the number generator at random.org, and contacted via the email address given in the subscription.

Here’s the blurb to go with this eye-catching cover:

The perfect semester for Violet Perch starts with an awesome roomie and a freshman crush intent on becoming a sophomore reality. Yay! With everything going right, it only makes sense for the Yellowstone caldera to erupt for the first time in 630,000 years.

Violet struggles to maintain her new perfect normal as devastation in the west combines with the volcano’s ash to muck up the works all over North America. Her deny-deny-deny strategy does the trick…until college closes.

Hitching a ride home to Indiana with her hopeful boyfriend softens the blow of saying good bye to her roomie, Mia, even if it does mean Boone will be exposed to her family in apocalyptic prepper mode. When his parents warn him to stay away from their ash-pelted Nebraska ranch, Violet buys more precious time with the all-American guy she’s admired from afar for a year.

Having Hotness within arm’s reach definitely makes a global disaster more palatable. But a man with Boone’s sense of responsibility won’t stay away from his family for long, which will leave Violet where? Exiled at home with her parents, separated from Boone and Mia, lonely and single forever. Though forever might not be a long time if the eruption continues.

Eruption is book one in a series. While no major characters are left hanging from their fingernails on the last page, there’s definitely more to come.


In a unique bite J.Hughey pulled from the book, just for this blog, here’s Violet, a little wigged out by her geology professor’s description of the power of the Yellowstone caldera:

“Are we all gonna die?” I asked, feeling like the useless, helpless, clueless peon who perished first in every natural disaster flick I’d ever seen.

WHO IS J. HUGHEY

J. Hughey knows what a girl wants. Independence. One or two no-matter-what-happens friends. A smokin’ hot romance. A basic understanding of geological concepts. Huh? Okay, maybe not every girl is into geology, but J. Hughey is, and in the Yellowblown series she combines her passion for a timeless love story with her interest in geeky stuff to help Violet Perch get a life, despite an ongoing global catastrophe.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the Jill Hughey Romance newsletter at http://www.jillhughey.com/contact for your chance to win some swag! And tell us what you think of the cover in our comments.

New Release: Luck of the Draw by Cheri Allan

If only life had a refresh button...

Kate Mitchell never planned to be a 31 year-old widowed single mom, but when her soon-to-be-EX husband up and dies, her dreams of finishing college and starting over are thrown in the air like a game of 52 pick-up. When she’s given a leave of absence from work and told to “quit or recommit,” Kate retreats to idyllic Sugar Falls, New Hampshire, to figure out whether she can discover her passion and pay the bills. Cue the fresh air, summer sunshine and one sexy local contractor.

Tall, dark, and handy…

Volunteer fireman and all-around hunky guy in a toolbelt, Jim Pearson has sworn off complicated women with messy baggage. They cling to his nice-guy stability and skills with a power saw just long enough to straighten out their lives and move on… but then he meets the cute single mom staying at Grams’ lake house for the summer.

While a sizzling attraction draws them together, Jim's distrust of complicated women and Kate's incredibly complicated life threaten to pull them apart.  But forces beyond their control—match-making grandmothers, the lazy backdrop of summer, and their own reckoning with the past—conspire to make them risk it all... and bet on love.

Sounds good doesn't it?  Read on for a short excerpt.

“But when I think about going back… to a job I know is safe and secure… I can’t breathe.” She felt her arms grow cold despite the sunshine. “It’s like my future is closing in and there’s no way out. And the more I think about it, the more I realize that going back would mean I’m giving up hoping for something better. And… and I can’t bring myself to give up on me quite yet.”

She stared at him in the silence that followed, her chest rising and falling, feeling brittle and defiant all at once.

But then he tugged her hand until she sat beside him on the porch steps. He blew out a breath. “No one’s asking you to give up on yourself.”

“You think I’m giving up,” she said. “But I’m not. I’m not throwing my hands up in despair. I’m not trying to quit. I’m trying to let go of the handlebars to see if I can do this without help.”

“I don’t understand what that—”

“I’m saying… I know you mean well, but you’ve got to let me figure this out on my own.”

After a long moment, he nodded. “Okay,” he said, and he turned, the corners of his eyes crinkling in that warm, lovely way that always turned Kate’s insides to jelly. “You may not believe it, but I do believe there’s something better waiting for you.”

“You’re talking to a practically unemployed widow,” she sighed. “It’d be hard not to go uphill from here.”

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Meet the Author

Cheri Allan lives in a charming fixer-upper in rural New Hampshire with her husband, two children, two dogs, four cats and an excessive amount of optimism. She’s a firm believer in do-it-yourself, new beginnings and happily-ever-afters, so after years of wearing suits, she’s grateful to finally put her English degree to good use writing romance. When not writing, you might find her whizzing down the slopes of a nearby mountain or inadvertently killing perennials in her garden.

Cheri loves to hear from readers! E-mail her at cheri@cheriallan.com, friend her at facebook.com/cheriallanauthor, or visit her website and blog at www.cheriallan.com. Luck of the Draw, Book 1 in the ‘Betting on Romance’ series is available now through Amazon and Smashwords.