Don’t Worry: You Can Still Buy Typewriters!

Even on the Day of Its Funeral They will Still be Writing Articles on the: “Myth of Print Media’s Death”

I keep reading articles about how the print media is not dead. All is well. This reminds me of all the articles about how computers would never replace the typewriter. It was said with total confidence that secretaries would never give up their typewriters.

What happened was this: computers got so powerful and easy to use, that they replaced both the typewriters and the secretaries.

Sometimes your premises can be right but your conclusion wrong.

“Sailing with You” is Your Ticket to a Beautiful 'Highly Romantic' Romance!

The book is just like this picture.

What You See is What You Get!

It’s like a Mini Vacation!  Mona Risk Creates a 'New Subgenre':  The ‘Highly Romantic’ Romance!

“Sailing With You”
Mona Risk
Print Length: 149 pages 
Publisher: Mona Risk (March 7, 2012)
Price .99 at this time.
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

It’s been so long since I’ve read a romance this romantic that I’d forgotten how good a genuinely romantic romance could be!   This is high romance!  This is the type of romance that dreams are made of!  Indeed, reading “Sailing withYou” is like taking a mini vacation!

Look at that beautiful cover art!  That’s what you get! Mona Risk delivers!  The setting is Mykonos in all its beauty.  Most of the action takes place outdoors around the island, on the beaches and swimming in the sea.  There’s also romantic dinners under the stars on the hero’s luxury yacht.  A ship nice enough for the Queen of England!  

Oh, yes, there’s even driving around the island in the hero’s Ferrari.  If this makes you tired, awaiting you on the yacht is a near pool-size bubble bath.

Is the Hero a Bronze Skinned Greek God?

The heroine seems to think so!  While very rich, the hero is still a sensitive romantic who is fully prepared to offer the heroine a loving lifetime commitment. 

Is the Heroine a Feisty, Beautiful, Harvard Trained Lawyer?

Oh, yes. The heroine is highly intelligent and capable. You won’t find a ‘too stupid to live’ heroine in any of Mona Risk’s books. (She has a PhD in chemistry herself and has worked professionally all over the world in 60 countries).  A Mona Risk heroine is worthy of any hero’s love – if he can win her over! (Of course, being a Greek God gives a guy a definite advantage).

Would you enjoy “Romeo and Juliette” with a happy ending? 

You got it!  How much more romantic can you get? “Sailing with You”   involves a fifty year romance that was thwarted by the woman’s family.  All the tear-stained love letters are here.  The hero and heroine come from feuding families!  The heroine’s beloved grandfather is the hero’s number one enemy.

“I’ll See You in Court”

The heroine is a high powered lawyer brought to Greece to stop the hero’s efforts to demolish the ancient family home in order to build a resort. 

If you have heartstrings, they will to be pulled at some point in this story.  If you have a funny bone, you find yourself laughing.  The story has one of the best openings I’ve ever read in a romance. 

 To Go Topless or Not to Go Topless?

As the story opens, the heroine is on a topless beach debating whether she should take off her top.  She’s new on the island and knows no one.  All the other women are topless. As she is making up her mind, the hero is watching her with his binoculars.  He is really enjoying the show! 

That reminds me, Mona Risk writes with a hot pen! The romantic action does not stop at the stateroom door! As I said before, “Sailing With You” delivers! And it delivers in every way a romance can deliver! What fun!

It’s Almost Criminal!

“Sailing with You” is so enjoyable that it's almost criminal that it is priced at only 99 cents! (At time of review on Amazon Kindle). This romance is better than many books I've paid $14.99 and up for!  Pricing really doesn't make much sense today! But who's complaining? 

Look at that Cover Again! 

Can You Really Say No to this Book?
*****
5-Star Excellence!
Love Under Greek Skies!

“Babies in the Bargain” – A 'Best Buy' Bargain in Romantic Reading Enjoyment!

A Highly Emotional Insider's Look at A Neonatologist’s Life!  

"Babies in the Bargain"
Mona Risk

Product Details

File Size: 341 KB

Print Length: 220 pages

Just .99 at this time!

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.

“Babies in the Bargain” Displays Three Areas of Excellence:

1.    Very Strong Emotional writing. 

2.    All pervasive centrality of the romantic relationship.

3.    A high level of medical expertise essential to the plot.

In short, “Babies in the Bargain,” has everything I like to see in a medical romance but often don’t see.  The author, Mona Risk, has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and a daughter who is a Neonatologist. The medical elements are very realistic and they are also essential to the plot. I don’t like it when medical terminology is used simply because the story is a medical romance.

I also appreciate the romantic relationship between the hero doctor and heroine doctor is as pervasive as I’ve ever seen in a romance. When the hero and heroine are not interacting, they are still thinking about each other and the relationship. If you like the romantic part of a romance, then “Babies in the Bargain” can’t be beat.

“Babies in the Bargain” could serve as an object lesson on how to ‘show’ and not ‘tell’ a story. You know exactly what the characters are feeling at all times and for the most part you feel it along with them. It’s a great read.

The heroine is a doctor who is working to get board certified in neonatology. The hero is a respected anesthesiologist who had an affair with the heroine seven years earlier. When a family emergency took the hero away to Puerto Rico he seemed to have abandoned her. She has always loved him and now he has come back into her life by moving back to town. His brother and sister-in-law are soon killed leaving a premature baby that the hero must raise.  Of course, he is in need of a mother and thinks the heroine is the perfect candidate.  

Excellent Story!   5-Star Reading Enjoyment from Start to Finish!

Scarlet Wilson Blazes a New Standard for Medial Romances! 5-Star Brilliance!

To Buy in Australia

To Buy in UK

To Buy in North America

Scarlet Wilson Writes Big! 

There is so Much More Here than I Expected to Find in a Medical Romance!

“West Wing to Maternity Wing”

Scarlet Wilson

Publisher: Harlequin Medical Romances (June 1, 2012)

Available as eBook or Print

A Romance for all Continents!

The scope is big! The action moves from the Amazon River, to the California coast, to an apartment on Fisherman’s Warf, (with a view of Alcatraz), back to the Amazon and to California once again!

The characters are big! From the President of the United States and First Lady to world class medical consultants.

The conflict is big! That’s big in the sense of being meaningful. This is a significant book written with great sensitivity and insights. I actually felt good about myself for having read it.

The reading enjoyment is big! That’s big in the sense that you get so much more to like. The characters are extremely likeable, worthy, and sympathetic. You will deeply care what happens to them. This is also a story with no easy fixes. The conflicts are real and the outcomes are realistic. Don’t expect any cliché answers to star-crossed lovers' problems here.

The medical situations are big!  Big in the sense of being important and complicated. This medial story demands the greatest skills from the author.

“West Wing to MaternityWing”  masterfully deals with breast cancer and body image issues after having a mastectomy. There is the problem of having, IVF, in vitro fertilization, after taking chemotherapy. And at the core of the narrative are the serious complications of dealing with a very premature baby.

The story is so well written that when the heroine says to herself that it would not be fair to the hero, who she truly loves, for her to marry him, I really had to stop and think. Probably it would not be fair to the hero for her to marry him! Indeed, the heroine faces very difficult conflicts.

Now, usually the conflict in many medical romances  is such that I often want to yell at the heroine: ‘don’t be stupid, marry the guy’!  This ‘romantic’ kind of conflict is often solved with a simple change of mind on the part of the hero or heroine. Well, this is not the case in “West Wing to Maternity Wing”.  The conflicts will not be resolved quickly. The conflicts will only be resolved as they would be in real life. It will take counseling.  

When it is all said and done, this makes the HEA especially meaningful and emotionally rewarding. The reader will probably remember the hero and heroine for a very long time.

I found the “West Wing toMaternity Wing” to be one of those rare books that made me feel like a better person for having read it. It’s that good. Scarlet Wilson is a rising star in the Medical Romance heavens.  In fact, I’d be surprised if the Medical genre can contain her! Brava!

Scarlet Wilson Blazes a New Standard for Medial Romances! 

5-Star Brilliance!

It's Fiction!

Literary Definition

Anolexia: 1. The compulsion to cut words from anything one writes.  2. The belief that anything one writes is too fat.

Examples:

Gertrude Stein:

“A rose is a rose is a rose.”

Gertrude Stein with Anolexia:

“A rose is.”

Shakespeare:

“To be or not to be that is the question.”

Shakespeare with Anolexia:

“Exist?”

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin  Franklin:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,”

Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin  Franklin with anolexia:

“Obviously, we’re all created equal.”

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“Showing for showing’s sake is like art for art’s sake. It’s done to impress other practitioners.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“Telling ‘story-tellers’ not to tell is so ridiculous I shouldn’t even have to point it out!”

Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

“Dogs really aren’t like they depict them in romances.”
Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

"The dog in this romance is just too stupid to bark."

Vince Mooney

Famous Quote of the Day

“A major problem with showing is that often you have to look at an object many times to get the meaning. Sometimes you never do get the meaning and sometimes you get an entirely different meaning. Oh, but that’s why they invented telling.”

Vince Mooney

A Doctor’s Devotion! A New Series! A New Voice! A New Vitality!

First Book in the “Eagle Point Emergency” Series is Author’s Best Book to Date!

“The Doctor’s Devotion”

Cheryl Wyatt

Love Inspired

On sale date: Jul 1, 2012

Publication date: Jul 1, 2012
Miniseries: Eagle Point Emergency
Category: Inspirational Romance

I’ve read all the author’s “Wings of Refuge” books and if I didn’t know before hand, I would think that “The Doctor’s Devotion” was written by a different author.

The “Wings of Refuge” are exciting books. As an Air Force veteran myself, I really enjoyed the heroics of the PJs featured in those stores.  The writing style in the “Wings of Refuge”  is exuberant, fast paced and action orientated. It’s like an impressionist painting painted in only one hour. It has a ‘voice’ that cannot be obtained in any other way. It’s a great series to read.

"The Doctor’s Devotion" is Different! 

The author’s voice has a new vitality. It is more mature. It rings with a new confidence. The conflicts are much deeper and more psychological. The conflicts raging within the hero and heroine themselves are as important as the conflicts keeping the hero and heroine apart.

For example, the heroine, Lauren Bates, is as angry with herself for being jealous of  Mitch Wellington’s very close relationship with her grandfather as she is angry with him for usurping a familial relationship that she feels rightly belongs to her.

"Mitch laughed. The sound both grated and soothed. Grated because of the closeness he obviously shared with her grandpa, which stirred a surprise pot of jealousy. Soothing because Mitch’s Grand Canyon voice could make a typhoon swoon."

In “The Doctor’s Devotion” the author has to manage unresolved conflicts within both the hero and the heroine and then, with all this going on, has to mesh these simultaneous conflicts together so that they evolve naturally into a loving relationship. This is like working on an automobile engine while it is running.

 

The Gradual Deep Process of Falling in Love

Much of the action in “The Doctor’s Devotion” is internal. The very process of falling in love is shown in great detail. When the hero and heroine do make a small move towards falling in love, often one or the other will pull back. These hesitancies were totally consistent with the character's  motivation for not wanting to form a relationship.

Watching this internal process of falling in love was much more fascinating than the typical emphasis given to resolving  the external conflicts keeping the hero and heroine apart. This approach is more reflective, deeper, and insightful than I’ve experienced in the author’s other books.

Deep Knowledge Makes The Difference

In reading this book I tried very hard to determine exactly what was making the author’s voice seem so much more mature and confident. Then I found my answer. “The Doctor’s Devotion”  is written in what I call deep knowledge.

Here’s what I mean. There is a difference between writing with knowledge and writing with deep knowledge.  

Writing with knowledge is like writing from the outside in. It is like reporting on an event you witnessed. I believe “Wings of Refuge” is written with knowledge of the events described in the books.

Writing with deep knowledge is like writing from the inside out. It is like reporting on an event that you actually were a part of. It is writing as an insider. “The Doctor’s Devotion” is written from inside out. This is probably because the author is an RN nurse.

Writing from the inside out makes a profound difference in the writer’s voice and how realistically the narrative resonates with an insightful reader.

For example: I've read many Medical Romances. In many of these novels medical terms and conditions are usually mentioned. These terms are in the story because they are expected to be in the story. Readers enjoy the medicine part of genuine Medical Romances. I especially do because I have a great deal of experience with doctors, nurses, and with being a patient in a hospital.

When I read these medical terms I know right away if they are technically correct. I also know if they are being used in context as they would really be used in real life. Often they are not. The use is correct but stilted. The writer actually does not know how the terms would be used and not used or how their use would be expressed under actual conditions. (In a way it’s like the difference between how a foreigner would say something technically correct in Italian and how a native Italian would express the same thing.)

When a Medical Romance is written from the inside out, by an experienced doctor or nurse, then all the usage is where, when, and how it would really be used. The terms flow organically from the context of the situation. This is the best writing. This is at the heart of the new voice expressed in “The Doctor’s Devotion”.  And it is the basis of the author's new confidence, the greater maturity and the refreshing vitality.

As good as the “Wings of Refuge” books are, I believe that “The Doctor’s Devotion” stands an order of magnitude better. “Eagle Point Emergency”  represents a new beginning in the author’s ongoing experience.

It is difficult for outside in books to win national book awards. I predict that with the “Eagle Point Emergency” series, the author will garner her share of laurels.  This is the kind of writing that judges appreciate.  It is a very good book.  I look forward for many more to come.

About the story as provided by they publisher:

"When he fled Eagle Point years ago, former air force trauma surgeon Mitch Wellington left only broken dreams behind. Now he's back with a new dream--opening a trauma center in the rural area and saving lives. He hopes to hire the quick-thinking nurse who impressed him during an emergency. But Lauren Bates lost her faith and doesn't believe she deserves to help anyone. Mitch knows firsthand what loss feels like. And it'll take all his devotion to show Lauren that sometimes the best medicine is a combination of faith, community--and love."

The Doctor’s Devotion! A New Series! A New Voice! A New Vitality!

The Author's Best Book to Date!

It's Fiction!

This runaway bride didn’t get very far.

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“What everyone seems to be missing is that print books and eBooks are not the same product.”

Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

“When I asked her out, I thought she said she was a pantser.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“Writers should treat reviews like x-rays. They shouldn't read them themselves. Rather, they should let the radiologist read them first and then only pass on what they actually need to know.”

Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

“And I’ll have you know, my heroine is not too stupid to live.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“If your book is not worth reading without the conflict, then it is probably not worth reading at all.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“Reading 'How to' writing books offers little value until you have written much and have already experienced the problems addressed in the 'How to' book.”

Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

“At the rate I am going my TBR pile will reach the moon before I enter college.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“You don’t have to write what you know but you do need to know what you write.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“If you write for a traditional publisher, your customer is the publisher and not your readers. So don’t complain if your publisher only wants to see bonnet romances. If you can’t provide what your customer wants, then you can’t sell your product. To make your readers also your customers, then self-publish.”

Vince Mooney

Just Announced! “Oklahoma Reunion” CAROL Finalist!



Click Here for Review



Read What May Well Have Been The First Full Review of This Great Book!

Visit the Author's Web Site Here.

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“I never seem to get writer’s block when I’m vacationing at the beach and writing would take me away from the sun and fun.”

Vince Mooney

It's History!

“Knowing the past does not prevent humans from repeating the mistakes of the past. Humans all too often simply believe that knowing the past will make the next time different. So the past keeps repeating itself over and over but only in different variations.”

Vince Mooney

Famous Writing Quote of the Day

“Conflict should be the frosting and not the cake.”

Vince Mooney

It's Fiction!

The title of the newspaper column was:

“Why Do Smart Women Read Romances?”

If you take away the condescending connotation, asking why smart women like romances, is like asking why smart women eat chocolate.

Because they like it.

Because it gives them pleasure.  

I’m not sure either activity has anything to do with being smart. I think it has all to do with being human.

Vince Mooney

“Having Come of Age” Romance Hits the Spot with 5 Stars!

I loved it!

Feisty Heroine Gives Comeuppance to Snarky Seniors!

A wonderful 'If-I-knew-then-what-I-know-now' Romance You'll Enjoy -- Every Page of the Way!

“A Family to Cherish”

by Ruth Logan Herne

Love Inspired

Jul 2012

Miniseries: Men of Allegany County

Category: Inspirational Romance

Paperback and Kindle

"A Family to Cherish" is a joy to read on many levels.  The author's voice is a delight. Ruth Logan Herne is old enough to know that being old is no excuse for being rude or unkind ( or even nasty).  Her feisty heroine doesn't take any guff from the senior citizens who used to terrorize her with their gossip when she was a teen. The heroine has come back home after years away and is now of age and she acts like it.

For such a sweet book, with such adorable children, the older folk are shown in vivid living color without any blemishes covered up.

I kept chuckling and thinking, `this is so darn true'...the author is a genuine wit. She may be snarky at times but thist really spices up her prose. And I mean machine gun prose. At some of the fast moving points in the book, I believe the average sentence length is just a little over four words!

***

“Show-off.”

She grinned at Meredith and splayed her fingers as if reaching to catch the notes, hinting at the woman within. Strong. Assertive. Charming. Ambitious. Industrious. And a stunning talent, to boot.

***

Heather met his droll look and laughed as she nudged Rory’s arm. “And they keep growing. Needing things.”

“Shoes.”

“Coats.”

“Boots.”

“School supplies.”

“But we’re cute,” Rachel cut in, head tilted, looking like purity personified. “That’s gotta count for something, right, Dad?” 

***

The author also shows you what is happening and then she tells you what she just showed you. I call this demonstrative telling. I can't remember reading a more crystal clear presentation that was more fun to read.

Demonstrative telling

"The heavens opened. By the time she got to the car she was soaked through.

Yes, she was cold, wet and messy. Wretchedly so. But she felt great."

***

"He felt better, and that was kind of strange, because he rarely felt good when he finally dropped into bed at night, and today of all days he should be hating himself. But he didn’t, and that felt nice. Real nice."

***

'Show, Don’t Tell' in Dialogue

"Love them. That emotional truth bit deep, but wasn’t that exactly what Simon said today? To show our love, not just voice it. So she would, because hanging with Sophie and Rachel should never be about her, but about them."

***

Best of all...I couldn't stop reading this book.

Now, that's not a cliché.

Repeat: that was not a cliché.

With over 1,100 books on my Kindle, (and Amazon can verify this!) it doesn't take much boredom to cause me to switch to another book. In fact, of the last twenty-two books I've started to read, I've only finished five of them!

I read "A Family to Cherish" straight through with joy and anticipation. About 70% of the way into the book there is even a little feel good Christmas Carol moment when 'Scrooge', the hero, at long last, goes out and buys gifts!  Let it just be said that the clueless hero finally sees the light about the need for girly stuff for his two daughters. It's a hoot!  This happy moment is happier than some of full HEA's that I've read!

The Story:

As provided by the publisher:

"Wanting to do right by his impressionable daughters, widower Cam Calhoun knows they need a woman's touch. But when his high school sweetheart returns to town to open a beauty spa, Cam plans to keep his distance. Meredith Brennan left him without a word over a decade ago. Now talk of hairstyles and nail polish have his tomboy daughters way too excited. Yet when Meredith hires him to make her dream come true, Cam discovers he just might have what she needs most: the love of a family."

This book will make you feel good!

Five Stars and Refreshingly Delightful!

 

To read my reviews of all of Ruth Logan Herne's books click here.