Genre: Contemporary Romance

#ChocLitSaturdays vs #ChocLitSaturday : Two ChocLitUK features of #JLASblog in 2015! (Exciting news!)

Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , 1 Comment

#ChocLitSaturday header created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sebastian Boguszewicz

Last year, in late 2013 I made quite the extraordinary discovery, as I had found this wickedly delightful Indie Publisher for Romance Novels hailing from England called ‘ChocLitUK’! I started to host for them as a book reviewer, and quickly realised that I wanted to host their lovely authors as well, which is why I started to offer Guest Posts and Author Interviews! I had meant to keep the author features running in conjunction to each ChocLit novel I was reviewing, but due to different reasons I mostly posted the book reviews without the extras!

Then, in Spring 2014 in the middle of my weekly chats in the twitterverse, I had this scathingly wicked idea! Perhaps I should help promote my #ChocLitSaturdays book reviews & guest author features by hosting my own hour-length (an approx. time, we do like to chat past noon!) weekly chat! I will be forever grateful to the inspiring encouragement of the collective known as #StoryDam as they not only helped me realise what my idea involved but they were the ones who originally turnt me onto using Canva for creating my own blog banners, Twitter cards, and other badges you see throughout my tweets and bookish blog! (such as the main header’s on Twitter like the new one for #ChocLitSaturdays!)

The main idea behind creating #ChocLitSaturdays was explained previously, but what I wanted to explain today is why I am separating the two hashtags: #ChocLitSaturday vs #ChocLitSaturdays! The main hashtag I used from the beginning was #ChocLitSaturdays, as a way to encourage romance readers & romance writers to realise I was celebrating a genre I am truly passionate about on the weekends! However, when it comes to Twitter chats, the only way to safeguard your hashtag is to create a supporting account, hence why I created @ChocLitSaturday! You’ll notice the ‘s’ is missing? Apparently, the name ‘ChocLitSaturday’ is the full amount of available letters your allowed to use! Thereby, no one can ‘take’ the tag in theory as there is no way to create an account to lock it in! I was thankful to have this safeguard in place for both #ChocLitSaturdays and as a back-up #ChocLitSaturday!

One of the hiccups in hosting a chat on Twitter, is that due to the fact hashtags are public and able to be used by absolutely anyone who finds them, I started to notice a lot of non-kosher tweeting happening on the weekends for #ChocLitSaturdays, on interests outside the scope of where a book blogger like myself would like to see the tag promoted! I am not entirely sure why the weekends are a bit dicey at times for promoting “Romance Novels” as this has only been after the popularity of the chat #ChocLitSaturdays started to have more tweets & convos flying through the twitterverse! Laughs.

I have known about #Nurph (@Nurph) ever since I started chatting regularly with #LitChat (@LitChat) where readers & writers of fiction across the board (with a direct empathsis on literary fiction) meet-up to converse with each other on Wednesdays. Nurph is a pro-positive platform for tweet chats because if the host (such as myself) has any issues whatsoever, all I have to do is ‘tweet’ @Nurph and I have immediate assistance! Nurph also monitors the hashtag and tries to only keep the chatters in the visible stream! Chatters can RSVP through the “Upcoming Chats” section and I can alert those who attend #ChocLitSaturdays of when new chats will be hosted in quite an easier way than having to CC everyone on Twitter!

Nurph also allows a ‘replay’ option when chats have ended which help for archiving purposes, but I also know they are easier to find if I archive them myself, which is a bit of why all my archiving time has been lengthened for nearly half a year! In truth, there have been a lot of technical issues between Summer & Autumn; making it quite hard to archive the chats and I sort of fell behind to be honest! It is hard to archive a chat if you cannot even get a ‘tweet’ to stick inside a transcript! A few chats are still amiss, but I’m going to be releasing all the ones I have up to this point!

One of the hardest things to remember when tweeting in a weekly chat is to ‘add the hashtag’ and this is why I previously advocated for platforms such as Twubs, or tchat.io or even TweetDeck. However, in the months since I hosted my first #ChocLitSaturdays, I have discovered a few things:

  • Twubs has (supposed) email support with a support team who never responds back!
  • Twubs is easy to set-up but if a problem occurs your blocked from entering again!
  • Twubs was simply abandoned due to never being able to login!
  • tchat.io was brilliant until I realised my account was nearly hacked & compromised! ack!
  • TweetDeck is quite lovely but has become unstable & unreliable in high volumes!

In regards to using Nurph, I have never experienced anything but a soothing chat, where you can easily click the “favour”, “re-tweet”, or “quote” options per tweet as the chat is happening! It is easy to login as you just click the link and authorise Nurph to be used. The hashtag is auto-added to your tweets and therefore it provides any easy streamlined experienced! The main reason I hadn’t used Nurph originally is due to not opening the supporting account on Twitter until late Autumn, early Winter 2014! I also wasn’t sure if I should change the hashtag or spilt the tag between the blog features & the weekly chats, until I realised it was getting difficult to separate the two from each other!

At long last, I feel the best way I can help promote my passion and love for ChocLitUK is simply to have two different channels of threaded conversations:

  • #ChocLitSaturdays | tweeted mostly through @JLovesAStory will anchour my book reviews and author guest features (which are resuming in 2015!)
  • #ChocLitSaturday | is the new hashtag for the weekly chat on Saturdays which is explained here:

ChocLitSaturday 2015 badge created by Jorie in Canva

JOIN US:

http://nurph.com/choclitsaturday

Full Archive of #ChocLitSaturday Chats via my blog

  • To be added lateron today! Drop back when you see my updated tweet!

I look forward to hosting #ChocLitSaturday throughout the coming New Year, and seeing where the bookish conversations take all of us next! I am welcome to suggestions for topics of discussion which can be pitched to me in the comment threads below! Be sure to bookmark the new Nurph Channel for visiting & chatting with us on Saturdays! And, I will be tweeting out the book reviews via this account as well as a cross-promotion between my blog’s Twitter account and this one for the chats!

I have a special surprise for everyone who is enjoying my ChocLitUK book reviews! I am going to be posting my final three book reviews for ChocLit in 2014 between today and New Year’s Eve! The books you will be finding threaded through my @JLovesAStory tweets and my blog are as follows:

Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Amanda JamesUp Close by Henriette GylandDance Until Dawn by Berni Stevens

I am truly blessed with getting to know three authors I haven’t previously read, with the exception of Ms. James as I previously posted my book review on behalf of her time travelling series A Stitch in Time with the first novel “A Stitch in Time”! Her sequel published in December 2014, Cross Stitch!

I cannot think of a better way to close 2014 than by expressing my thoughts on these lovely novels! I am going to be reading through the library of Christina Courtenay throughout January & February as I have her full collection of historical novels set during the high sea epics I adore reading so very much! There is a lot to celebrate with ChocLit, including the lovely ‘ChocLit Treats’ or super short stories which you can receive by email direct from ChocLitUK! I have somehow managed to forget to blog my bliss with these lovelies, so if you want a bit of ‘ChocLit’ in your Inbox, be sure to sign up to receive their ‘ChocLit Treats’!

{Sources: #ChocLitSaturday header created by Jorie in Canva Photo Credit: Unsplash Public Domain Photographer Sebastian Boguszewicz. #ChocLitSaturday 2015 badge created by Jorie in Canva. Book covers for “Somewhere Beyond the Sea”, “Up Close”, and “Dance Until Dawn” were provided by ChocLitUK and used with permission. Twitter Header Banner for #ChocLitSaturday created by Jorie in Canva. Photo credit: Sebastian Boguszewicz (Public Domain Image via UnSplash).}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014

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Posted Saturday, 27 December, 2014 by jorielov in Blog Tour Host, ChocLitSaturdays, ChocLitUK

Blog Book Tour | “A League of Her Own” by Karen Rock a #Contemporary #Romance centered around baseball!

Posted Saturday, 13 December, 2014 by jorielov , , , , 2 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

A League of Her Own by Karen Rock

Published By: Harlequin Heartwarming (#HarlequinHeartwarming)
(an imprint of) Harlequin Books (@HarlequinBooks) which is now a part of HarperCollins!

Available Formats: Paperback and Ebook

Converse on Twitter via: #ALeagueOfHerOwn & #KarenRock

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By: A few months ago, I was visiting the blogs I love to read via my Bloglovin feeds, as I have found Bloglovin to be the best way to keep track of all the beautiful bookish blogs and/or author blogs I regularly visit! Especially after I self-hosted my blog as I only kept a few linked to my landing page (jorielovesbookishblogs.com) and the rest are happily organised into folders on Bloglovin! Truly the best part of it! It was whilst I was visiting a fellow book blogger, I took notice of the badge “Lola’s Blog Tours”. I had three blog tours which perked an interest in me, two of which were science fiction and then there was this Contemporary Romance set around baseball! I had previously interviewed Ms. Alexander on behalf of her novel “Dare to Kiss”; one of my December reads for #IndieWriterMonth! Therefore, finding a second baseball themed romance was a bit happenstance, don’t you think?

I was selected to be a tour stop on the “A League of Her Own” virtual book tour through Lola’s BlogTours. I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Karen Rock, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Inspired to Read:

With all the mergers happening in the book publishing industry, I must confess as a reader who is now a book blogger it is becoming to be quite daunting to keep everything organised and in line! I like to show the imprints of publishers as much as give credit per book for each post I am inspired to share with my readers (irregardless if I am hosting a blog tour, a non-tour book review or borrowing a book from my library, etc). Part of my heart fell a bit when I realised my beloved novella INSPY series Heartsong Presents might be capsizing so to speak as it was almost not bought out in time until Harlequin took it over! Then, within a year of that merger I learnt Harlequin was merged into HarperCollins! Oy vie. I nearly feel there needs to be a ‘road map’ of a guide to which imprints fall under which ‘main publishing house’ and thereby a bit less of a puzzle to riddle out for those of us who do attempt to give proper acknowledgement when it’s due.

Having said this, I was always attracted to what I refer to as ‘non-traditional Harlequin’ stories, wherein I sought out the romances centered on the ‘relationship’ and had nothing to do with the ‘bodice’ at all! Laughs. I cannot remember all of the lovely imprints and special edition series I read or attempted to read over the years, but one of my favourite imprints happened to be Mira. Mira has published a lot of Contemporary Romance authors I have come to enjoy reading including Debbie MacComber and Sherryl Woods! If you seek out a particular type of story, you just might be surprised that even a publisher like Harlequin can give you exactly what you are looking to read!

Heartsong Presents I believe is ‘safe’ once more as it was meant to be an anchor and compliment to Harlequin’s own (former competitive imprint) Love Inspired. As 2015 marches into focus, I’ll be reading quite a heap of the beauties on my bookshelf whose patience for me to pick up their sleeves and dig into their stories has been remarkably kind! I have quite a nice selection of Mira authors, so this is only the first of many more Harlequin books to be spotlighted on Jorie Loves A Story! You’ll find each time as I highlight another story full of relationship-based romance that Harlequin isn’t quite what your expecting it to be!

In combination for my previous love of a particular ‘Harlequin’ story and my forementioned love of baseball, “A League of Her Own” felt like a good fit to me! Not withstanding the fact “A League of Their Own” is one of my top favourite motion pictures and that had a lot to do with Rosie O’ Donnell and Geena Davis!

Blog Book Tour | “A League of Her Own” by Karen Rock a #Contemporary #Romance centered around baseball!A League of Her Own
by Karen Rock
Source: Author via Lola's Blog Tours

He was attractive, talented…and way off limits.

Heather Gadway may have been a world-class college pitcher and a top university coach, but she's a rank amateur when it comes to managing the Falcons, her father's struggling minor league team. And when it comes to managing her aggravating attraction to Garrett Wolf, their talented new pitcher. It's going to be difficult enough to make it as the first female manager in the league and prove to her overly critical father she's worthy. No distractions. No missteps. And certainly no romances with players. Everything stands between them—including their troubled pasts—even as Heather's world falls apart and Garrett's the one who's there to catch her…

I read the Large Print edition yet it felt quite regular to me!

Genres: Contemporary Romance, Romance Fiction



Places to find the book:

Also by this author: Author Interview (Christmas at Cade Ranch) Karen Rock, A Cowboy's Pride (Spotlight w/ Notes), A Cowboy's Pride, Christmas at Cade Ranch, Winning the Cowboy's Heart, A Rancher to Remember

Published by Harlequin Heartwarming

on 1st December, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 312

Read More

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Posted Saturday, 13 December, 2014 by jorielov in 21st Century, Baseball, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Bookmark slipped inside a Review Book, California, Contemporary Romance, Dating & Humour Therein, Family Life, Fathers and Daughters, Foster Care, Lola's Blog Tours, Modern Day, Postal Mail | Letters & Correspondence, Romance Fiction, Singletons & Commitment, Small Towne USA, Softball, Sports

Indie Writer Month (#IndieWriterMonth)| a special focus on Jorie Loves A Story during November & December 2014!

Posted Saturday, 1 November, 2014 by jorielov , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , 0 Comments

#IndieWriterMonth badge created by Jorie in Canva

I have always had a strong passion for the world of Indies (book shoppes & authors), yet despite all my best efforts to seek out stories published through alternative publishing platforms such as: Independent Publishers & Presses, Self-Published routes (such as POD or otherwise) or even Hybrid Publishing Platforms I found the availability of where they are adverted and spoken about to be a bit limiting prior to becoming a book blogger who became active in the book blogosphere, the book culture in the twitterverse, and a hostess for blog book tours via blog book touring firms and companies.

I had the the pleasure of seeing other bookish bloggers and writers take up the quest to host book spotlights and author features on their blogs leading up to Autumn 2014. I was partially inspired to host my own event as much as shine a light on the fact I read an incredible amount of Indie fiction on a regular basis now! I am always humbled and blessed to have my path cross with authors whose stories not only enchant my mind but they endear my soul. I love the diversity of the stories themselves as much as the love of the craft knitted into their pages.

I cannot wait to share all the lovely posts I am writing which will highlight all the lovely books on my Riffle List which compliments this event! Be sure to watch my Twitter Feeds for announcements & reading tweets whilst I walk through November with a thankfulness of Indie Fiction!

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

JLAS Features in Conjunction to #IndieWriterMonth:
  • #IndieWriterMonth Bingo Card Challenge for an Indie Reader
  • This ChocLit Girl has a ChocLit Next Reads List | Why I love Reading ChocLitUK novels
  • Upcoming 2015 Indie New Releases Wicked Happy About
  • Top Indie Children’s Lit: the stories for young readers & young adults
  • Top Indie Speculative Fiction: stories within science fiction, fantasy, & horror
  • Top 10 Favourite Indie Sci-Fi & Fantasy Novels & Writers
  • Top Indie Historical Fiction: stories brought forward out of time itself
  • Top 20 Under-appreciated Indie Novelists
  • Top Favourite Indie Publishers & Presses
  • Next Indie Books to Read on my Bookshelf
  • Next Indie Books to Read via my local library
  • Indie Novels I am Reviewing in December
  • Stories Seeking Love from Readers: the Indie novels spotlight
  • Surprises still to come! :)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

| Calendar of Book Reviews & Author Guest Features |

THIS SCHEDULE IS UNDER CONSTRUCTION : PLEASE READ NOTE!

{ titles in purple are cross-referenced/promoted via Sci Fi November }

Mondays:

(3 Nov) LIVE Author Q&A Piercing the Veil series by C.A. Gray (YA Sci-Fantasy)

(10 Nov) Book Review “Invincible” by C.A. Gray (YA Sci-Fantasy)

(17 Nov) Book Review “The Spoils of Avalon” by Mary F. Burns
(Cosy Historical Mystery : HFVBT)

(TBA Nov) Author Interview with Mary F. Burns

(24 Nov) #ChocLitSaturdays Book Review “Dance Until Dawn” by Berni Stevens
(Paranormal (Vampire) Romance)

(24 Nov) Book Review “Impossibe” by C.A. Gray (YA Sci-Fantasy)

(29 Nov) Series Showcase Spotlight “Piercing the Veil” by C.A. Gray (YA Sci-Fantasy)

Tuesdays:

(4 Nov) Author Interview Marcia DeSanctis “100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go” (#FranceBT)

(18 Nov) Series Spotlight w/ Cover Reveal & Author Q&A of Coming Home Series
by Brenda S. Anderson (Realistic Fiction | Inspirational Romance)

Wednesdays:

(5 Nov) Book Review “King of the Mutants” by Samantha Vérant (#Month9Books : MG Fantasy)

(12 Nov) Book Review “The Vineyard” by Michael Hurley (TLCBookTours)

(19 Nov) Book Review “French Twist” by Glynis Astie (French Romance)

(19 Nov) Audiobook Novella Review of “Dragons of Unrest” by Anthony Russo (Dragon Fiction)

(19 Nov) Author Q&A with Anthony Russo

(26 Nov) Book Review “Seldom Come By” by Sherryl Caulfield (Historical Fiction : HFVBT)

(26 Nov) Author Interview with Sherryl Caulfield

(26 Nov) Book Review “Portals, Passages, and Pathways” by B.R. Maul (YA Fantasy)

Thursdays:

(6 Nov) Book Review “100 Places in France Every Woman Should Go” by Marcia DeSanctis  (#FranceBT)

(13 Nov) Book Review “Fade to Back” by Sue Duff (YA Sci-Fantasy)

(20 Nov) Book Review “Sinking Down” by E. Chris Garrison (Urban/Paranormal Fantasy)

(20 Nov) “Softly Falling” by Carla Kelly (Historical Fiction)

(27 Nov) Book Review “A Home for Christmas” Novella Anthology by MK McKintock
(Historical Fiction : HFVBT)

(27 Nov) Author Interview with MK McKintock

(27 Nov) Book Review: “Crown of Dust” by Mary Volmer (Historical Fiction)

Fridays:

(14 Nov) Book Review & Author Interview “Like There’s No Tomorrow” by Camille Eide
(Sweet Romance)

(21 Nov) Book Review “French Toast” by Glynis Astie (French Romance)

(28 Nov) “Lila’s Choice” by Laura Brown (Equality in Lit / Contemporary Romance)

Saturdays:

(1 Nov) #ChocLitSaturdays Chat Fairy-Tales in Fiction | After Canons/Re-tellings

(15 Nov) #ChocLitSaturdays Book Review “A Stitch in Time” by Amanda James  (Time Travel)

(18 Nov) Book Review “Time and Again” by Deborah Heal (Time Travel)

(22 Nov) #ChocLitSaturdays Book Review “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” by Amanda James (Romantic Suspense)

(22 Nov) Book Review “I, Walter” by Mike Hartner (Historical Fiction)

(22 Nov) Author Interview with Mike Hartner

(22 Nov) Book Review “Unclaimed Legacy” by Deborah Heal (Time Travel)

(29 Nov) #ChocLitSaturdays Book Review “Up Close” by Henriette Gyland (Romantic Suspense)

(25 Nov) Book Review “Every Hill and Mountain by Deborah Heal (Time Travel)

(29 Nov) SPECIAL SHOWCASE: History Mystery Serial Overview w/ Author Interview

Sundays:

(9 Nov) Book Review “Becoming Beauty” by Sarah E. Boucher (Fairy-tale Re-Telling)

(16 Nov) Book Review “A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom” by June McCrary Jacobs
(Sweet Romance)

(16 Nov) Author Interview with June McCrary Jacobs

(16 Nov) Book Review “Category 5” by Paul Mark Tag (Science Fiction based on Science Fact Thriller)

(23 Nov) Book Review “Prophecy” by Paul Mark Tag  (Science Fiction based on Science Fact Thriller)

(30 Nov) Book Review “White Thaw: The Helheim Conspiracy” by Paul Mark Tag
(Science Fiction based on Science Fact Thriller)

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

In recognition of my participation in the reading challenge:

Go Indie 2014 Reading Challenge

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

This post kicks off my event on behalf of:

#IndieWriterMonth Blog Feature of Jorie Loves A Story, badge created by Jorie in Canva#IndieWriterMonth Take 2 (December) badge created by Jorie in Canva

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Reader Interactive Question:

Share your thoughts on Indie Pub | Press; Self Pub and Hybrid published authors of whom you’ve felt such a strong connection to you wish you could find more readers to share in the joy of the stories which captured your imagination & your heart.

{SOURCES: Poster for #IndieWriterMonth on Jorie Loves A Story created by Jorie in Canva. Badge for #IndieWriterMonth (November & December) on Jorie Loves A Story created by Jorie in Canva. Post dividers badge by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Riffle List embedded due to codes provided by Riffle.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2014.

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Posted Saturday, 1 November, 2014 by jorielov in #IndieWriterMonth, Jorie Loves A Story

+Blog Book Tour+ Come Dancing by Leslie Wells An unsuspecting #Contemporary #Romance novel set against the backdrop of the 80s rock scene & the book publishing industry.

Posted Tuesday, 21 October, 2014 by jorielov , , 3 Comments

Parajunkee Designs

Come Dancing by Leslie Wells

Published By: Allium Press
Official Author Websites:  Site | Blog | Facebook | GoodReads

Available Formats: Paperback, Ebook

Converse via: #ComeDancingBlogTour

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

Acquired Book By: I was selected to be a tour stop on the “Come Dancing” virtual book tour through Book Junkie Promotions. This is my first tour to host for Amy Bruno’s new endeavour where she is now able to host authors across genres and not limited to Historical Fiction! I look forward to successive tours with her in this new vein of book publicity and am thankful I was chosen for this one! I received a complimentary copy of the book direct from the author Leslie Wells, in exchange for an honest review. I did not receive compensation for my opinions or thoughts shared herein.

Interested in Reading:

I knew as soon as I read the premise for this story, it was going to be straight-up ChickLit and a bit of a departure from what I regularly read; yet that is exactly why I wanted to request it for review! I am always lamenting about how I like to break-out of my comfort zones in literature, try a story that is writ in a style and method that is not within my preferred niche of selections and take a chance on something uniquely different. I think it allows readers not to become clogged into a pattern of repetitive thematics and draws an expansive circle around the hearty breadth of what is regularly offered. I will admit, I can stumble a bit here or there, even find a miss amongst the gems, but what I appreciate about the journey is the unexpected joys, the startling wicked discoveries, and the wide expanse of what is being written across all spectrum’s of literature today. Mind you, as I already disclosed on my Review Policy, a bit of ‘heat’ isn’t something I blush away from reading, as I am far more concerned about the level of vulgarity in novels than I am about a bit of romance! And, as far as vulgarity is concerned — I prefer it to be non-inclusive or sparsely sprinkled if a necessity at best.

 +Blog Book Tour+ Come Dancing by Leslie Wells An unsuspecting #Contemporary #Romance novel set against the backdrop of the 80s rock scene & the book publishing industry.Come Dancing
by Leslie Wells
Source: Author via Book Junkie Promotions

Julia is a book-loving publisher’s assistant. Jack is a famous British rock star. “Opposites attract” is an understatement.

It’s 1981. Twenty-four-year-old Julia Nash has recently arrived in Manhattan, where she works as a publisher’s assistant. She dreams of becoming an editor with her own stable of bestselling authors—but it is hard to get promoted in the recession-clobbered book biz.

Julia blows off steam by going dancing downtown with her best friend, Vicky. One night, a hot British guitarist invites them into his VIP section. Despite an entourage of models and groupies, Jack chooses Julia as his girl for the evening—and when Jack Kipling picks you, you go with it. The trouble is … he’s never met a girl like her before. And she resists being just one in a long line.

Jack exposes her to new experiences, from exclusive nightclubs in SoHo to the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood; from mind-bending recording sessions to wild backstage parties. Yet Julia is afraid to fall for him. Past relationships have left her fragile; one more betrayal just might break her.

As she fends off her grabby boss and tries to move up the corporate ladder, Julia’s torrid relationship with Jack takes her to heights she’s never known—and plunges her into depths she’s never imagined.

With a fascinating inside look at publishing, this entertaining story of a bookish young woman’s adventures with a rock superstar is witty, moving, and toe-curlingly steamy.

Genres: Contemporary Romance



Places to find the book:

Also by this author:

Published by Allium Press

on 8th June, 2014

Format: Paperback

Pages: 382

Author Biography:

Leslie Wells
Photo Credit: © Leslie Wells

Leslie Wells left her small Southern town in 1979 for graduate school in Manhattan, after which she got her first job in book publishing. She has edited forty-eight New York Times bestsellers in her over thirty-year career, including thirteen number one New York Times bestsellers. Leslie has worked with numerous internationally known authors, musicians, actors, actresses, television and radio personalities, athletes, and coaches. She lives on Long Island, New York.

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Read an Excerpt of the Novel:

Chapter 1: One Way or Another

“Are you ever getting out of there?” my friend Vicky complained.

I crooked the receiver in my shoulder, scrabbling papers together.  “I’m heading out now. Harvey dumped a bunch of stuff on me right before he took off.” My boss, the publisher, liked to clear his desk at the end of the week—which meant I got to stay late every Friday night.

“About time. I’ll see you at your place in an hour.”

“We’re going to stick together tonight, right? Avoid the meat market?” I loved dancing off my pent-up energy from long hours sitting at my desk. Vicky saw it more as a smorgasbord of men, served up buffet-style.

“Depends what’s on the menu. See you in a few.”

The minute she hung up, my line rang again. “Is this Julia?” a familiar voice screeched.

“Hi, Louise. How’s it going in Seattle?” Our high-strung author was on a twelve-city tour for her new thriller, and the campaign had been plagued with problems. A celebrated Texas crime reporter, she had braved drug dealers’ bullets but couldn’t cope with delayed flights and lumpy hotel pillows. Harvey had stopped taking her calls a week ago, and ever since she’d been haranguing me.

“The escort hasn’t shown up yet. Why can’t these people be prompt?” Louise fretted.

I held back from pointing out that it was over three hours until her event. “Let me see if anyone’s left in publicity; maybe they can locate her.”

I scurried around the corner to the desolate PR department. The lights in Erin’s cubicle were still on, which gave me hope. A few doors down, I found her on her knees in front of the copy machine. Erin looked up at me and smiled. “Got it!” she exclaimed, extracting an inky wad.

“Could you come deal with Louise? She’s all pumped up for her signing, but the escort has gone awol.” I rolled my eyes.

“God forbid she should ask the front desk to call her a cab,” Erin grumbled as she followed me down the hall. “She’s stared down gun-toting Mafiosi, but on the road she turns into a quivering mass of jelly.”

“Typical of her,” I said.  Most of our authors were great, but a few were real doozies. “Do you want to come out with me and Vicky later? We’re going to hit the Palladium around eleven.”

“I have to finish a press release for that astrology guide. Another glam night in the big city.”

“Okay, be that way. Call me if you change your mind.” I ducked into my office and switched Louise over to Erin, covered my typewriter, then crammed my weekend reading into my backpack.

I sprinted down the deserted hall past shelves overflowing with manuscripts, a few framed awards gathering dust. Our titles ranged from literary to pure fluff; with the economy still in the pits, we were hawking anything from pop psychology to diet fads. This had been a shock when I’d arrived as a starry-eyed editorial assistant after a brief stint in grad school, thinking I’d be spending my weekends holed up with hot talent from The New Yorker. But now I was seasoned enough to plow through the B-list celebrity memoirs and breastfeeding manuals, while relishing any good novels that came my way.

I caught the elevator with a jittery messenger who bounced his bike tire, making the floor shimmy. I waved to the security guard and headed down lower Park Avenue in the balmy air. Usually I walked home to save money on subway tokens; I figured I had time tonight since my best friend was probably still primping.

Vicky had left the company a few months ago to join the publicity department of a larger midtown publisher. I missed her at the office, and I was also envious of her escape from assistantdom. But we still got together on weekends, and now I couldn’t wait to go to our favorite club. We liked the Palladium for its edgy mix of punks, rockers, and regular people like us.

I wove through some guys hissing “Sens, sensimilla!” in Washington Square and stopped at a street vendor selling earrings. A pair with long strands of beads and feathers caught my eye. I fingered them for a minute, calculating. Seven bucks for drinks; three for a cab home tonight … Reluctantly I put them back.

Halfway down MacDougal, I came to a screeching halt. An absolutely perfect small table was sitting right in the middle of the sidewalk.  I stepped close for a better look. Gold leaf curlicues adorned its surface, and ornate lion heads were carved into its corners. I gave it a shake to see if the legs were loose, but it didn’t even wobble. I couldn’t believe someone had thrown out something this nice—it wasn’t even large garbage night! At last I could get rid of the stacked milk crates I ate on.

Now I just had to get it home. My place on Broome Street was eight blocks away, and the table was about three feet square. Maybe if I swung my backpack around to the front and hoisted the table on my back …

As I stood there considering, a guy in a dirty tee-shirt approached, holding a can of beer. “You need some help with that?” he asked, swaying a little.

“I think I can get it. Thanks anyway.”

The man leaned against the brick wall of the apartment building to watch. Turning around, I backed up to the table.  I tried to reach behind and grasp its sides, but I couldn’t bend back far enough—why I’d always stunk at the limbo-la. Maybe if I bent lower …   I crouched down, the backpack wedged against my belly like an unwanted pregnancy, and strained to get a grip on its legs.

Suddenly a woman ran screeching out of the building. “Stop that! What are you doing with my table?”

I stared at her. “This is yours? I thought somebody was throwing it away.”

“Are you kidding? This is an antique! You couldn’t have thought it was being thrown out.” The woman glared at me, hand on her hip.

Oh my god, how embarrassing. “I didn’t realize—I mean, it was sitting here all by itself with no note on it or anything. I thought it was meant for the garbage.”

“The garbage!” the woman shrieked. “I paid six hundred dollars for that! I was waiting for my husband to bring it upstairs! You should keep your paws off things that aren’t yours,” she huffed as she flounced back inside.

The man in the tee-shirt smiled and took a gulp of beer. “Baby, you just took a bite of the B-i-i-i-g Apple.”

“Actually, I think it just bit me.”

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Posted Tuesday, 21 October, 2014 by jorielov in 20th Century, Blog Tour Host, Book | Novel Extract, Book Junkie Promotions, Contemporary Romance, Content Note, Dating & Humour Therein, Drugs & Alcohol, Musical Fiction | Non-Fiction, Romance Fiction, Singletons & Commitment, Vulgarity in Literature, Writing Style & Voice