I’m not financially savvy, and I don’t know a lot about marketing or advertising, but I’ve often wondered why electric service providers advertise.

In North Carolina, you don’t get to choose your electric service provider. If you are in Duke Power’s region, you use Duke Power. If you’re in Central Electric’s or Progress Energy’s territory, you have to use Central Electric or Progress Energy. Some electric service providers are membership co-ops. Others are not. Duke Power is not.

I have Duke Power.

In 1999 Texas deregulated the electric power industry. The law was passed to encourage free market competition and lower prices. Although some areas, such as municipalities and cooperatives, were not required to deregulate and don’t have electric choice, at least some people do.

In North Carolina, there is no choice and no free market competition.

In other words, the electric companies can charge what they want and there’s not much you can do about it unless you want to live off the grid.

So, here’s my question. If there is no free market enterprise and I’m stuck using Duke Power and have no choice, why does Duke Power have so many commercials? It’s not like they have competition and can lure customers away from Progress Energy.

Maybe they’re trying to lure in new customers in the area who don’t have electricity. Nope. That can’t be right either. If you don’t have electricity, you can’t see the commercials. So, I’m stuck with the same question. Why advertise?

Maybe if they didn’t waste all that money on commercials, they could lower their rates. Or provide free or reduced cost services to the poor and elderly.

What do you think?

Please note this book picks up immediately after All Wicked’s Eve.*
Gifted with the curse of darkness, Nina Blackfox’s life has never been her own. She’s accepted it—Hell, embraced it. Until the destined path crumbles out from under her, leaving her on the precipice of destruction.

The battle she was meant to face has become a war, and she’s not sure which side she’s fighting for—Heaven or Hell.

Cursed with the gift of Volition—the ability to press his Will on another—Archangel Benaiah avoids temptation at all costs. Which was a hell of a lot easier before a meddlesome Fate assigned him a woman who threatens to scorch his soul with one look from her cool, midnight eyes.

Heaven has fallen to the enemy, the world into darkness, and all Benaiah wants is to follow Nina into the shadows…

Andris Bear does it again with book 7 in the Deadly Sins series. So, let me preface this review by saying one thing. Read the rest of the series. This book pics up where All Wicked’s Eve left off. Ms. Bear is kind enough to warn the reader of this fact in her usual snarky and hilarious way. She’s also added a cast of characters to the back of the book as a reminder to those of us who’ve read them all and for those who are coming in at the middle of this unique and complex series.

I think a reader could probably just read the last 3 books and still know what’s going on, but why would he/she want to? This is an engaging series and I can’t wait for the next installment.

So, what’s Angel Unclaimed really about? Armageddon. It’s here. Extinction Level Event. End Times.

But if the apocalypse isn’t exciting enough, we have a cast of passionate characters willing to sacrifice all to save the world, and Nina and Beniah are no exception. They know what they must do to stop Satan, and they know saving humanity could mean the end for them and their love. But the scariest part is knowing the world isn’t supposed to end this way. Nothing is right. Fate and destiny no longer have meaning in this new world order.

So, how can they stop the apocalypse if the old rules no longer apply?

This is a fast paced romance with a lot of snark, a dash of comedy, and sexual tension that will leave you as breathless as the action.

About the Author:

Andris blames her mother for her fascination with books.  Growing up in northern Indiana, there wasn’t much to do and she’d often complained of boredom.  Her mother handed her a book and told her to shush.  She’s been obsessed ever since. 

Though  she spent most of her time in between the pages, fantasizing of other worlds,  she didn’t write her first book until she’d had three children—just in time to have not a moment to herself.  In an attempt to keep her sanity, she writes.  Her favorite stories contain strong heroes and heroines, fighting an attraction stronger than both of them.

She lives in eastern North Carolina with her hero and their three mini villains in chaotic bliss.

You can find Andris at https://andrisbear.com/my-writing/ and on Amazon.

Wow! Where did 2016 go? How did it get to be a new year already? And how have I fallen so far behind in my reading and writing? Must be that grandmother thing. I was lucky enough to see my daughter, granddaughter, and son (who live 12 hours away in Mississippi) in August, November, and December. That little granddaughter of mine is a hoot and totally distracting. But now it’s time to get back to work.

Last week, I started a new manuscript and read a pretty good time travel romance.

Emma Kaye writes for The Wild Rose Press, which happens to be my publisher as well, and I love time travel, so I decided to pick up her latest, Time for Love.

Time for Love is a Regency Era time travel romance, originally published by The Wild Rose Press and re-published by Amazon Encore.

Blurb:

Alexandra Turner will do anything to save her twin sister. Even when she’s transported back in time to Regency England. Rescuing her sister and finding her way back to her own time will take all her concentration. Falling in love is not an option. With the death of his brother, Nicholas Somerville became the ninth Marquess of Oakleigh and must return to England to take his place in society. Part of his responsibility will be to find a wife. It never occurs to him he might actually discover a woman he could love–until he meets Alex on his voyage home. Can Alex and Nicholas find a way to bridge the gap of time and circumstance? Can they overcome their fears to realize that true love transcends time? Or will a dark secret from Alex’s past rear up to separate them forever?

Review:

This book grabbed my attention from page one and kept me turning the pages until the end. I loved the beginning of this book and enjoyed it throughout, but the entire time I was reading it, I thought it must be a sequel. It’s not. Or at least, I don’t think it is. At any rate, I couldn’t find a previous book.

The reason I believed this book to be a sequel was because of Sawyer, the man who tricks Alex into going back through the portal to save her sister. He’s obviously part of some secret military operation because there are soldiers. But is it a legit operation? Black ops? In the book, he mentions observing the past and not changing it or saving anyone from the past who would have/should have died. But there is no explanation as to why he and his group have opened this portal. And then toward the end of the book when the author reveals a new twist to the plot, there is no real explanation as to how/why the events came about to begin with.

Then there is Alex’s sister and what seems like an entire story that has taken place earlier. I thought for sure there must have been a book about the sister before Alex’s story. Again, I don’t think there is. But maybe there is a sequel in the works, one that will tell Charlotte’s story and explain how a doctor, who is only twenty-five so maybe she is just a medical student or new graduate who hasn’t done her residency yet, managed to get forced back in time. A sequel could tie up loose ends and I would most definitely read it.

The story is fast paced and I loved the characters. There were just a few nagging unanswered questions that keep me from giving this book 5 stars. But since those questions didn’t stop me from reading the book or enjoying it immensely, I give it 4 stars.

About the Author:

Emma Kaye is married to her high school sweetheart and has two beautiful kids that she spends an insane amount of time driving around central New Jersey. Before ballet classes and tennis entered her life, she decided to try writing one of those romances she loved to read and discovered a new passion. She has been writing ever since. Add in a playful puppy and an extremely patient cat and she’s living her own happily ever after while making her characters work hard to reach theirs.

First and foremost, I want to thank all those who’ve served: past, present, and future.

Despite the idiocy of this past election, please know that your sacrifices were not in vain. Most Americas still believe in the constitution. They would never burn the flag you fought for while trying to pass it off as a protest. That’s just wrong. Period.

Does anyone remember when Dr. Martin Luther King burned flags, looted, and set shit on fire while fighting for civil rights? No? Me neither. He got his point across through peaceful protests. He spoke with
common sense and eloquence and sensible people listened, even if they didn’t agree with everything he said or believed. It is possible to do that, you, know.

Secondly, I’d just like to say that like many people, I was disappointed by the election. Not the election itself or even the outcome, but how people have behaved for the last eight or nine months. If folks exerted half as much energy and passion on social issues and righting the wrongs of the world as they have these two less than worthy candidates, then the world would be a better place.

And please don’t argue that such passion and energy was exerted because one or the other of these two candidates is the one who can make things right with the world. They can’t. Sorry. It takes more than one person to make any nation great. It takes a nation undivided to stand against evil. So can we please get on the same page now?

We don’t have to agree on everything, but can we at least learn how to debate without fighting and to disagree without being so damn disrespectful and mean?

There are going to be times in life when we reach a metaphorical chasm or impasse, and it will seem impossible to make it to the other side without help. Some people find it hard to ask for help. Others seem to think the government owes them assistance just for breathing.

When faced with such a daunting gulf, some people would rather blame others than accept any kind or responsibility, but placing blame isn’t going to get you across the gap.

So when you get to that great divide, don’t give up and don’t just stand there blaming others for your predicament. Turn back and try a different path. Ask for help and then do what you need to do to help yourself. Or take ownership of the problem and work your ass off until you persevere.

And for God’s sake, can people please stop blaming the government, the democrats, the republicans, the Christians, the atheist, the blacks, the whites, the Mexicans, the Muslims, and global warming for every little freaking thing that goes wrong in their own private universe.

At some point, folks are going to need to grow up and take personal responsibility for their own failures and shortcomings.

Blurb:

Lacey Everhart has carved out a tough existence in the wilds of 1880s Wyoming, working hard to build a secure life for herself and her younger brother, Luke. She will stop at nothing to protect what’s hers and keep them safe. Even if it means keeping a secret that could destroy their lives.

Marshal Dylan J. Kane is a man who considers everything as black and white, right or wrong. He’s never seen life any other way until he sets eyes on Lacey. Suddenly the straight and narrow that he’s followed has a few twists and turns. Loving Lacey offers the home life for which he hankers…but can he really love a woman who seems to be plain lawless?

My thoughts:

I bought this books when it first released in 2013, and I’m finally got around to reading it. So glad I did.

It’s a fast read, basically, only 42 pages, but it somehow got dropped to the bottom of my TBR list. As with many novellas, the first kiss and/or episode of sexual tension, felt rushed, but the act wasn’t completed until later in the book, which was a huge saving grace.

Lacy is a strong woman trying to protect her brother from a devastating secret. Dylan is a Marshal who sees the world in black and white. But once these two meet, Lacy will have to learn to trust, and Dylan will be forced to admit that sometimes, the world presents itself in shades of gray.

The characters are as well developed as any can be in just 42 short pages, and while the language isn’t the prose of Kathleen Woodiwiss, it fits the times and education levels of the characters. It reads the way a western novel would if John Steinbeck collaborated with Linda Lael Miller and Louis L’amour. It also deals with subject matter I seldom seen in romance, especially a novella, and yet Ms. Downing handles it quite well.

If you’re looking for a western romance and don’t have a lot of time to read, then I highly recommend, Lawless.

About the Author:

Andrea Downing has spent most of her life in the UK where she developed a penchant for tea-drinking, a tolerance for rainy days, and a deep knowledge of the London Underground system. In 2008 she returned to live in the city of her birth, NYC, but frequently exchanges the canyons of city streets for the wide-open spaces of the West. Her love of horses, ranches, rodeo and just about anything else western is reflected in her writing. Loveland, a western historical romance from The Wild Rose Press, was her first book and a finalist for the RONE Award for Best American Historical in 2013. It has recently been re-released by Amazon Encore. Lawless Love, a short story, part of The Wild Rose Press ‘Lawmen and Outlaws’ series, was a finalist for Best Historical Novella at the RONE Awards and placed in the 2014 International Digital Awards Historical Short contest. Dearest Darling, a novella, is part of The Wild Rose Press Love Letters series, and came out Oct. 8th, 2014. It won the Golden Quill Award for Best Novella along with‘Favorite Hero’ and Honorable Mentions for Favorite Heroine, Short Story and Novel in the Maple Leaf Awards. It has also placed third in the International digital Awards for Historical Short. Dances of the Heart, her first contemporary novel, came out in February, 2015. The novella, Bad Boy, Big Heart, appears in the anthology Come Love a Cowboy and her old west ghost story, Long a Ghost, and Far Away comes out in another anthology, The Good, The Bad, and The Ghostly autumn 2016.
She is a member of Romance Writers of America and Women Writing the West. http://andreadowning.com