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Lilly Gayle Romance

Lilly Gayle Romance

Tag Archives: romance novels

My Review of Laura Browning’s Last Call

28 Thursday Jun 2018

Posted by lillygayle in Uncategorized

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Book Reviews, Contemporary Romance, Laura Browning, romance novels, Romance Series

Summer is in full swing, and I’m finally reading again. If you’re like me and like finding great stories to read during the summer, check out the latest by Laura Browning.

Last Call (A Place to Call Home Book 3)

Blurb:

A Place to Call Home…
It’s exactly what Caleb Allred wants and exactly why he’s returned to Mountain Meadow, Virginia to open his dream of a sports bar. Last Call is his only baby. Or so he thought.

The last person Leah Scott wants to see face to face is Caleb. They already have a history. He just doesn’t know about it, and at this point, she’s not telling.

Fate has a way of changing things, though, and now Caleb and Leah have to find a way to pull together for the sake of the son they share.

Don’t miss Last Call, book three of a sexy new contemporary series from author Laura Browning.

My Review:

Ms. Browning puts a new spin on the secret baby trope in this romantic family drama featuring another Allred sibling. Leah is not your typical accomplished heroine, but she is determined. Her trashy family and abusive father have made her a virtual outcast in the Blue Ridge town where everyone knows and respects the Allred family. If not for that one night, Caleb Allred wouldn’t have given her a second look…or would he?

Caleb isn’t as oblivious to Leah has always believed, but she was always so shy, and her family so unlike Caleb’s family or any other family he knows in town, he didn’t think twice about leaving town and making a name for himself along the coast. But when he returns to Mountain Meadow, Leah is not only a beautiful woman trying to make a living at the local florist and get out from under her father’s thumb, she’s also a single mother. And her son looks hauntingly familiar.

I love this series. I’ve read the first two books in Ms. Browning’s A Place to Call Home Series, and while I enjoyed the first two, this book is my favorite…so far. But there’s another book in the series that features Caleb’s twin brother, and if the teasers in Last Call are any indication, I might just like the next book even better than this one.

Last Call is available through Amazon and most online retailers.

About the Author:

Laura Browning graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Journalism mainly because a wise person, namely her father, suggested Journalism might be a steadier income than trying to write romance. She has worked in television markets in Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri and North Carolina. In 2001, she won a Regional Emmy for her work writing and producing.

After dealing with reality for far longer than she should have, the urge to spin stories from the fiber of fiction outweighed her desire to report only the facts. Now she combines her writing career with teaching English.

Browning lives in the South with her husband, son, and a menagerie of animals that runs the gamut from horses to a lizard. When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, photography, baking and contemplating actually having time to ride her horses.

Reviewing Reese Ryan’s Playing by the Rules

27 Wednesday Jun 2018

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book review, Contemporary Romance, Reese Ryan, romance, romance novels

Playing by the Rules

Playing by the Rules is part of Reese Ryan’s Playing by the Rules Series, which is set in London. The series focuses on a female cousins who find love when they least expect it. This is book one in the series and my first book by this author, but it most definitely won’t be the last book I read by Ms. Ryan.

Blurb:

When Meredith Jane encounters her ex’s elder brother at a saucy Valentine’s Day party for singles, the last thing she expects is to spend ‘seven minutes in heaven’ with him or to discover that he has feelings for her.

Hunter Westbrook adored Merrie long before his competitive younger brother asked her out. Now that their relationship is over and done, he faces the hardest decision of his life. Will he risk his relationship with his brother and jeopardize the future of their family’s luxury resort empire by pursuing the woman he loves? Or will he suffer in silence to keep peace in the family and risk losing her forever?

Merrie has spent her entire life playing by other people’s rules. One of the few women on the management team at her firm, she can ill afford to get caught up in the gossip and scandal sure to come if she chooses to be with Hunter. Nor does she wish to hurt Liam’s family or disappoint her own. Nevertheless, she has discovered a startling truth: She’s been with the wrong brother all along.

In a society where perception is everything, is true love worth risking everything they’ve both worked so hard for?

My Review:

Six months after Meredith breaks up with her boyfriend, her cousin invites her to a Valentine’s Hook-up party. Meredith is reluctant to go, but she knows she needs to move on from a bad break-up or she’ll go back to her jerk ex-boyfriend. Again. When  she runs into Hunter at the party, she’s more than relieved. She’s always liked Hunter, probably more than she should, but Meredith always plays by the rules.

Hunter has always had a thing for Merrie, and seeing her again reminds him of just how much he wants to make her his. There’s only one problem. Merrie is his brother’s ex, and both he and Merrie would never do anything to hurt his family. He stepped aside once before. He’s not going to do it again, even if it means breaking the rules.

Everyone knows bro code says don’t mess with a buddy or your brother’s ex, but there is a time and place for breaking the rules, and Ms. Ryan sets this up beautifully, giving Hunter and Merrie their happily ever after.

I got my copy on Amazon, but Breaking the Rules is available through most onlilne retailers. Get your copy and start this awesome series.

About the author:

Reese Ryan writes sexy, deeply emotional romances with family drama, surprising secrets, and unexpected twists.

Past president of her local Romance Writers of America chapter and a panelist at the 2017 Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Reese is an advocate for the romance genre and diversity in fiction.

Cover Reveal for my Western Hearts Series

08 Friday Apr 2016

Posted by lillygayle in Uncategorized

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Cover Reveal, Helpless Hearts, romance novels, Western Hearts Series, Wilder Hearts

It’s finally happened. I finished book two of my Western Heart Series. Wilder Hearts is a stand alone romance novel featuring Jake Harper, a young boy in the first book, Helpless Hearts.

Today, I’m not only revealing the cover for my soon-to-be released sequel, I’m also sharing the new and improved cover for the first book, Helpless Hearts.

Helpless Hearts Blurb:

Helpless HeartsCan a former gunslinger find redemption through love?

Former gunslinger Noah Sinclair returned home so he could regain his respectability. Instead of redemption, he finds temptation in Juliana Jeffries—a woman engaged to the man who offered him a job and a second chance. Despite Noah’s loyalty to his boss, Noah’s Helpless Heart still yearns for Juliana—a woman with dreams and ambitions that don’t include a former gunslinger.

Noah stole Juliana’s heart years ago, but then he left town to avenge his father’s death. Now, she dreams of becoming a doctor and she’s obliged to marry Avery, a man with a secret she’s sworn to protect. Noah’s return could test her loyalty, her ambition, and her heart.

Wilder Hearts Blurb:

Wilder heartsWriting about the outlaw, Jake the Snake, could be the opportunity of a lifetime—if it doesn’t get her killed.

When Ellie Wilder takes her sister from their grandfather’s home, she’s  determined to put her family back together and write of their adventures.  Then she runs into Jacob Harper, a man who resembles Jake the Snake, a notorious outlaw who once rode with Billy the Kid. Is it possible the outlaw who escaped justice has mended his ways? Or is the handsome Mr. Harper now murdering servant girls in Austin? Finding out the truth could be the journalistic opportunity of a lifetime.

Former Texas Ranger Jake Harper has returned to Texas to help solve the Servant Girl Annihilator murders. But when a similar murder occurs in Harmony, Texas, Jake goes undercover as Jake the Snake to find a connection between the series of brutal murders. Then Ellie Wilder shows up. Her snooping could blow his cover and get her killed,  but Ellie soon becomes a bigger threat to his heart than his investigation.

The updated version of Helpless Hearts should be available by Monday. I’ll announce the publication date for Wilder Hearts when I have it.  And hopefully, I’ll be starting book three, Hardened Hearts, sometime this month.

Please let me know what you think of my new covers!

Write Right: Ten Common Mistakes

22 Friday Jan 2016

Posted by lillygayle in Uncategorized

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Grammar, Punctuation, romance novels, Wiritng Mistakes

While I struggle to find the time and inspiration to complete two manuscripts and start a third, I’ve done some editing along the way. Although I only have six books in print, I’ve been writing for almost twenty years. Granted, I spent the first thirteen of those years learning what not to do. I thought because I was fairly intelligent and had done well in all my English and writing classes in college that I could just read a few romance novels and sit down and write.

Wrong!

Writing isn’t just about having a good story. It’s about writing that story in such a way the reader feels a connection to the characters. So today, on this cold and snowy January day, I thought I’d share my TOP TEN WRITING MISTAKES:

REPEATS:

Almost every writer unconsciously leans on a “crutch” word. If you’re reading a romance, those words frequently come out during the love scenes. Watch out for how many times you use certain phrases. If you find yourself describing the same action or emotion with the same word in every chapter, the reader is going to notice. If your heroine’s pulse quickens ever time she sees the hero, the reader might think she has a fatal heart condition. Also, watch for using the same word multiple times in the same paragraph.

For example: He raked her with hot, hungry eyes—wanting her, and
knowing he could never have her.
“You thought what?” His voice was harsh, but he had to
make her understand. “That I could stay in Redemption and be your
friend?”
“Yes.” Her voice was little more than a groan.
With a groan of frustration, he bent forward and took her
face in his hands. He leaned closer. Their foreheads touched. His hands ached to pull her closer. Unable to resist, he leaned forward—his lips just a whisper away. “Think again.”
Then he lowered his head and molded his mouth to hers.

hhprintcover3Notice how many times the words, leaned, hands, and groan are used. This is from a rough draft of an earlier version of my western historical, Helpless Hearts.  And here’s the version that made it into print:

He raked her with hot, hungry eyes—wanting her, and
knowing he could never have her.
“You thought what?” His voice was harsh, but he had to
make her understand. “That I could stay in Redemption and be your friend?”
“Yes.” Her voice was little more than a whisper.
With a groan of frustration, he bent forward and took her
face in his hands—his lips just a whisper away. “Think again.”
Then he lowered his head and molded his mouth to hers.

Also check your manuscript for unnecessary words such as “just” and “that.” If the word can be removed from the sentence without changing its meaning or making the reader stumble or struggle to understand, remove it. That is one of the most overused and often, unnecessary words in the English language.

FLAT WRITING:

Amber met Gerard’s gaze, and she was afraid. Was he really a vampire?
“I’d give anything to drink beer again,” he said in a reverent voice.
Amber breathed a sigh of relief. Gerard Delaroche wasn’t a vampire, and he didn’t want to drink her blood. He wanted a beer. Like a normal guy.

a316b-embracethedarkness_w7757_750Boring! And flat. In this first draft of a scene from Embrace the Darkness, I’m telling the reader Amber is afraid. Gerard speaks, and then Amber chastises herself for believing he’s a vampire. Besides telling rather than showing Amber’s fear, it lacks emotion, and the reader will soon lose interests. This kind of flat writing tells the reader you don’t care about the story or the characters. Or, you’ve lost your way and don’t really know what to write. Whenever you see flat writing on the page, take a break. STOP writing. Rest, think, and find your muse. Then scrap the boring writing and fix it. Add emotion. Make it personal.

Gerard inhaled sharply. His eyes devoured her.
Despite renewed fear, she managed to set the bottle
back on the counter without dropping it.
He’s not a vampire. He’s not a vampire. He’s not a
vampire.
“I’d give anything to drink beer again,” he said in a
reverent voice.
Amber nearly laughed out loud. Her shoulders
sagged. Gerard Delaroche wasn’t a vampire, and he
didn’t want to drink her blood. He wanted a beer. Like
a normal guy.

EMPTY ADVERBS

“Ly” words such as actually, suddenly, completely, really, unfortunately, and hopefully, are a lazy way to write. It’s telling instead of showing. And it drags a sentence down. Use fewer, stronger words to tell more.

In stead of:  Abigail Halsey sat on a bench in the convent
garden. She was so sad and lonely. She really wanted to forgive the man who had done this to her but unfortunately, she couldn’t find it in her heart to do so.

Rewrite: Abigail Halsey sat on a bench in the convent garden, head bowed, trying to find forgiveness in a
heart grown cold.

– from Slightly Noble

 

 

PHONY DIALOGUE
Don’t have characters talk about things they already know just to advance the plot. Example from an original draft of Slightly Tarnished:

His mother glared. “How dare you! If you had ever once acted like an earl, things might have turned out differently, but you challenged your brother to a race in the polluted waters of the Thames. You recovered. He didn’t.”

The Earl already knows what happened to his brother, and he most likely feels guilty about it. In this example, his mother is only speaking so the reader will know the brother was somehow killed or injured and the mother blames the son, but it lacks emotion, and the dialogue doesn’t seem natural. So, I had to find another way to divulge the information. The Earl, Chad, is the POV character, so I gave the reader the information he or she would need by filtering the conversation through his thoughts and emotions.

“How dare you! If you had ever once acted like an earl, things might have turned out differently.”
Pain sliced through Chad like a blade, sharper than his mother’s tongue. “We were eleven years old.” He softened his words, his heart heavy with a guilt that would never fade.
Twenty-one years had passed since he challenged his twin brother to a race in the polluted waters of the Thames. Twenty-one years since they both contracted enteric fever. And twenty-one years of Chad shouldering the responsibility for the tragic outcome of his reckless actions.

Also, when writing contemporary novels and romances, avoid trendy slang unless your characters are teens. It dates your book and can make your hero or heroine seem fake. And make your dialogue true to your character. A waitress will not drop to her knees to perform CPR while shouting, “Joe, dial 911. I think Burt is suffering from a myocardial infarction.” Unless she’s a cardiac surgeon in the witness protection program posing as a waitress, she’d more likely shout, “Joe, call 911! Burt’s having a heart attack.”

Dialogue shows the reader something about the character that a physical description can’t. It shows their personality.

THE UN-NEEDED SUFFIXES

Don’t use “ness” words needlessly. Words like mindlessness, precociousness, wittiness. They’re real words but why use them when there are much stronger alternatives?
Adding “ly” to “ing” words is another bad shortcut. Sometimes, it is telling, not showing.
From Wholesale Husband:

Instead of saying:
“This is a serious proposal,” she said nervously.
“Who are you codding?”His eagerness to leave the confines of the coach were exceedingly difficult to hide. Then she touched his arm again, and his body reacted to the contact in a most unwanted way. Narrowing his eyes, he pried her hand from his wrist.
I edited it to:

“This is a serious proposal,” she insisted, gnawing her lip.
“Who are you codding?” He leaned forward, stretching his leg, ready to descend from the suffocating confinement of the hansom cab.
Again, she stayed him with a touch and again his body reacted to the contact in a most unwanted way. He narrowed his eyes and pried her hand from his wrist.

THE DREADED ‘TO BE’ WORDS:

To be words are passive and slow pacing. Avoid them.
Once your eye is attuned to the frequent use of the “to be” words – “am,” “is,” “are,” “was,” “were,” “be,” “being,” “been” and others – you’ll be appalled at how quickly they deflate your writing, slowing the pace to a crawl.
Instead of- Standing behind a tanker car near the loading platform at Petroleum Center, Ellie was watching the passengers board the Oil Creek Railroad when she said, “Did the porter get our trunks loaded?”

I edited to: “Did the porter get our trunks loaded?” Ellie Wilder
stood behind a tanker car near the loading platform at Petroleum Center, watching passengers board the Oil Creek Railroad.  – From my WIP, Wilder Hearts.

Also, try not to use “there was” or “there is.” It slows pacing.

LISTS

“She looked at the big mahogany desk with its dark polish. It was cluttered with papers, pens, a letter opener, and yada,yada, yada.

Who cares? Unless she’s going to use a letter opener from that desk to kill the villain, we don’t need to know about it.

SHOW. DON’T TELL

This, is the most important thing to do when writing. Don’t tell us your heroine was afraid. Describe her facial features. Filter her emotions through her thoughts, words, and physical reactions. Don’t just say she was scared. The moment the reader can visualize the word picture you’re trying to paint, then you’re showing instead of telling.

Example from Out of the Darkness:

Gooseflesh pimpled Megan’s skin. She
shivered, feeling those footsteps on her grave
again, and followed Vincent into the living room.
He wasn’t a vampire. She hadn’t seen his
reflection in the mirror because of the angle at
which he was standing—or the dim lighting—or
whatever. But he was not a vampire, despite her
erotic dream of the night before.
She shook herself, pushing aside the
unwanted memories and her irrational fears.
“Can I get you something to drink?”

AWKWARD PHRASING

When you’ve completed a chapter, a manuscript, or even a paragraph, reread it as if you are reading a published book. If you stumble reading it or think something else while you’re saying the words aloud, then the phrasing is probably wrong. Awkward phrasing makes the reader stop in the middle of the story to ponder the meaning of what you’re trying to say.

COMMAS AND OTHER PUNCTUATION.

Know your grammar and punctuation! Refresh yourself on the rules. Get a style book. hcrwOr check out other books and/or websites on grammar and writing. In today’s digital age, a writer’s resources are virtually unlimited. So learn the rules. Know which ones you can break and which ones you can’t break. If you don’t already know, teach yourself about compound sentences. Most modifying clauses and many phrases *require* commas. A sentence whose parts cannot stand alone as a complete sentence on either side of an AND or BUT does NOT need a comma. And for God’s sake, KNOW the differences between your and you’re, then and than, too, to, and two, just to name a few.

But most of all. Just write!

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