He has something she needs. She has something he wants. Neither expected the complication called love.
Journalist Addison Ingram has yearned for more serious bylines and being assigned to interview Stone Bennett of the upcoming Bachelors of Atlanta series isn’t a part of her plan. She loathes rich, entitled men like Stone but interviewing him is a means to even meatier stories. However, Stone is not the man she thought he was and that discovery could lead to more than she bargained for.
Stone Bennett wrangles horses and women but he never gets attached. No woman has held his attention for more than a night and he doesn’t expect things to be any different with Addison Ingram. Then he hires her as a ghostwriter for his passion project and the chemistry between them makes him yearn for more than a business relationship. Stone thought he didn’t need love, but will he discover Addison’s heart is what he wants?
A number of my author friends, and yours truly included, are having a particularly difficult time right now. We who know each other have cried and prayed together.
I’m so glad to rebroadcast this show from two years ago. My guest is Shoshanna Gabriel. When this show first aired, she had recently given up her lucrative career as an erotica author to write Christian inspirational romances. Her story and the encouragment within this broadcast I think are timeless. I hope you’re blessed by them too!
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**REBROADCAST**
I remember a scene from the movie, A Beautiful Mind, when Jennifer Connelly studies a painting and she makes the comment, “God must be a painter.” I thought about this as I write the show description for this episode of the Write Stuff. Within the vastness of everything that the Lord is, He is an artist. A painter, a writer, a musician, a…
When three women find their lives inextricably linked after a terrible mistake, they must work together to make the most of their futures.
Alexis Marshall never meant to cause the accident that left Jon-Jon Robinson paralyzed—but though guilt plagues her, her husband hopes to put the past behind them. After all, he’s in the middle of selling a tech business—and if Alexis admits to texting while driving, the deal could collapse and cost them millions. Meanwhile, Alexis’s life is not as shiny and perfect as it may seem from the outside. She has secrets of her own. As she becomes consumed with thoughts of the young man she hit, can she reconcile her mistake with her husband’s expectations?
Trish Robinson is just trying to hold it together after the accident that left Jon-Jon dependent and depressed. As the bills pile up, Trish and her husband, Dwayne, find themselves at odds. Trish wants to forgive and move on, but Dwayne is filled with rage toward the entitled white woman who altered their lives forever. Trish can’t see how anything good can come from so much hate and strife, so she determines to pray until God intervenes. Then one afternoon Marquita Lewis rings their doorbell with a baby in her arms and changes everything.
Vanessa Miller’s latest inspirational novel reminds readers that differences may separate us, but if we cling to each other, God can bring something good out of our very worst moments.
Available March 8, 2022. Pre-order Here https://linktr.ee/authorvanessamiller
Southern traditions, history, and hope come together in author Piper Huguley’s heartfelt romance from Hallmark Publishing.
Althea Dailey has succeeded beyond her wildest dreams: she’s about to make partner at her prestigious law firm in New York. So why doesn’t she feel more excited about it? When she has to travel South for a case, she pays a long-overdue visit back home to Milford, Georgia. To her surprise, a white man she’s never met has befriended her grandmother.
Jack Darwent wasn’t interested in the definition of success dictated by Southern high society. His passion for cooking led him to his current project: a documentary and cookbook about authentic Southern food. Althea’s grandmother is famous for her cooking at Milford College, a historically Black institution. But Althea suspects Jack of trying to steal her grandmother’s recipes.
Despite Althea and Jack’s first impressions of one another, they discover they have more in common than they’d guessed…and even as they learn about one another’s pasts, they both see glimmers of a better future.
This Southern small-town romance includes a free Hallmark original recipe for Grandma’s Biscuits and Gravy.
Available now from Hallmark Publishing Click HERE to buy.
My Review:
I need to approach this review with truth. I’m biased. I am a huge fan of Piper Huguley’s work. I have loved every single thing she as written. I would probably enjoy reading her middle school essays if she gave them to me, but this book…this book was so much more than I expected.
I opened this book without reading the back cover copy. I tend to do that with books by authors I love. The blurb is not going to determine whether I buy or read the book. I prefer to let the experience happen organically and because Piper Huguley fits in the category of authors I love to read, I opened Sweet Tea blind. I had no idea I was in for not only a thoroughly satisfying romance, but a southern culinary journey. There was food. Lots of Southern food like fried chicken and homemade biscuits and collard greens. The desserts were not to out down by entrees. I enjoyed fantasizing about the Red velvet cake, pecan pie, and pound cake the characters enjoyed. And then there was the pie! Grape pie from one of my very favorite Southern delights–muscadines. Through Huguley’s description, I could smell, feel, and taste the food. My mouth watered on nearly every page as I thought about the sweet tea. I even had a few glasses while I read.
I loved the heroine, Althea Dailey. She was uptight and feisty and often right. In contrast, our hero, Jack Darwent was easy going, self-assured, and usually right. Huguley delivered tension, humor, witty banter, more sexual tension than I expected from Hallmark and a range of other emotions as Althea was forced to look at herself, her feelings about the past, and the choices she’d made. The third party in this romance was Althea’s grandmother. Her sass and sage advice were a blessing to my soul.
Island Queen by Vanessa Riley released this week. I channeled my #InnerDorothy on Pub Day, and it was fun.
About the Book
Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Montserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.
Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.
From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, Island Queen is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.
Today I’m sharing my review:
Vanessa Riley has grown a following of faithful readers by introducing us to the overlooked presence of free Black people from all over the diaspora who lived in the regency era. It is much appreciated. As a lover of regency, I have devoured every one of her books. With this story, we meet a real person in historical figure Dorothy Kirwan Thomas. Her achievements and courage are remarkable and arguably unique, not because she as fierce and strong, because many of our people, enslaved or free, fit that description, it was the wealth building that set Dorothy Kirwan Thomas apart. Kirwan, a free woman of color, rose from slavery to become one of the wealthiest and most powerful landowners in the colonial West Indies, yet she has been relegated to a paragraph in “some” history books. In the books, I grew up with, she had no place, not even behind a comma. This was a story that needed to be told.
Using expertly peppered, but clearly detailed research, Riley delivers an engaging and cleverly devised fictionalized account of Ms. Thomas’ life from childhood through the later years of her life. We meet Doll (Dorothy) as an enslaved child who eventually bought her freedom and that of sister and mother. She suffered many harsh realities and experienced a great deal of pain as she struggled with the politics and power struggles in a male dominated society.
Island Queen took me on a literary journey through beautifully executed, often heart thumping prose that I will not soon forget. I enjoyed the romance, the surprising twist and turns and victorious ending that was Doll’s.
Rest in heaven, fair Island Queen. We know who you are now. We see your power and we thank you for fighting for all the little black girls you cared for. They could have been my ancestors.
ISLAND QUEEN has already been named one of the most anticipated publications of 2021 by Essence Magazine, Cosmopolitan, Parade Magazine and Oprah Daily.
Born into slavery on the tiny Caribbean island of Monserrat, Doll bought her freedom—and that of her sister and her mother—from her Irish planter father and built a legacy of wealth and power as an entrepreneur, merchant, hotelier, and planter that extended from the marketplaces and sugar plantations of Dominica and Barbados to a glittering luxury hotel in Demerara on the South American continent.
Vanessa Riley’s novel brings Doll to vivid life as she rises above the harsh realities of slavery and colonialism by working the system and leveraging the competing attentions of the men in her life: a restless shipping merchant, Joseph Thomas; a wealthy planter hiding a secret, John Coseveldt Cells; and a roguish naval captain who will later become King William IV of England.
From the bustling port cities of the West Indies to the forbidding drawing rooms of London’s elite, ISLAND QUEEN is a sweeping epic of an adventurer and a survivor who answered to no one but herself as she rose to power and autonomy against all odds, defying rigid eighteenth-century morality and the oppression of women as well as people of color. It is an unforgettable portrait of a true larger-than-life woman who made her mark on history.
Riley holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University. She also earned BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University. Riley lives in Atlanta.
Vanessa Riley writes Historical Fiction and Historical Romance (Georgian, Regency, & Victorian) featuring hidden histories, dazzling multi-culture communities, and strong sisterhoods. She promises to pull heart strings, offer a few laughs, and share tidbits of tantalizing history. www.VanessaRiley.com
Visit the author’s website for retails locations. Pre-order on Amazon at this link. Click.
Lenise Reid never thought that would be her story.
Widowed with a baby, Lenise was making it work as a single mother until a fraudulent transaction wipes out her balance at the bank leaving her with no money. Living paycheck to paycheck takes on new meaning as her world is turned upside down, and she ends up sleeping in her car.
Cole Bennett’s first date with Lenise was all he needed to know she was a woman he wanted to pursue, so when she ghosts him, he goes on a mission to find out why. What he finds is a woman so wounded that even in her most desperate state she struggles with his charity.
Cole has more to give than Lenise knows how to receive. Will past hurt keep her from accepting the most precious gift God has to offer?
It’s never too late to get started writing your book or in some cases finishing it. I’m back with classes and guess what? You still have time to finish strong in 2016!!!
I’m teaching the following classes:
Getting Started – Monday, July 25th (Free with the purchase of at least 3 other classes.
Creating Emotionally Dynamic Characters and Unskewing Point of View – Monday, August 1st
Building A Plot That Won’t Crumble – Monday, August 8th
Publishing and Marketing: The Basics and Some More – Saturday, August 13th – 5 pm – 7 pm (Please note this is the only class that’s not on a Monday night.)
Dialogue: It’s Not Just Talk and Heart-thumping Description – Monday, August 22nd
Revision and Self-Editing for Fiction Writers – Monday, August 29th
Class beings at 8 pm and we’ll go until 10 pm EST. All classes will be delivered online.
Each course is priced at $35. Take the entire program for $150. This program is normally priced at $225, but I know you need to go on a vacation too. Payment plan available with 50% deposit.
Registration deadline for full cycle July 22nd!
Bonus -Be added to a private Facebook Group where I’ll be available to support you after the last class ends.
Add-ons available for participants who take at least 3 of the 5 classes as follows:
5,000 word critique of your project – $50 (discounted 50%)
45 minute coaching session $35 (full price $100)
Both critique and coaching session $75
Full Manuscript Evaluation – 40% off
A description of these services available at my website. Add-ons must be paid by August 13th.
What You’ll Need
A computer or phone
A writing sample (not required)
A few hours outside of class to work on exercises
A great attitude and a desire to learn
Email me at rhondamcknight@gmail.com with the list of the classes you would like to take and I’ll invoice you. After payment, I’ll send a registration form and homework.
Sooo, there is a story circulating about a young lady who announced on social media that she is getting evicted. She spent her rent money on Beyonce tickets. She said “Shelter comes and goes, but Beyonce is forever.” Interesting value system there, but in the spirit of not judging her choice, maybe her mama moved her around a lot as a child. Maybe shelter does come and go.
As a child my character Samaria Jacobs grew up like that. Her mother moved around a lot because of evictions and it had some pretty damaging effects. In An Inconvenient Friend deceitful diva, Samaria Jacobs, plots to get close to her lover’s wife in order to get inside information about his troubled marriage. What she doesn’t expect to find is the one thing she’s never had…a friend. Available at Amazon, B&N, BAM, iBooks and through your local bookseller.
Powerful testimony. Where should you be going? Where might Jesus send you if you said, “I’ll go.”
A while back I was asked by a group of pastor’s wives to go with them to strip clubs.
That sentence alone sounds strange. But hang with me.
At first I was a little hesitant. And not for reasons you might think.
I love people. Especially ones who are broken; it’s part of my calling. But, given what I’ve walked through, I know how fragile broken people can be.
And I know how insensitive the church can be.
And I was uneasy.
But, these weren’t just any pastors wives.
They had a vision.
One that longed to love on women that society had thrown aside.
It reminded me a lot of Jesus.
So, I jumped on it.
Their plan was to visit these clubs once a month to deliver a meal and gift baskets. I joined them the first night and I’ll be honest, I had NO IDEA what to expect.
A while back I was asked by a group of pastor’s wives to go with them to strip clubs.