First, because I love a good pun, I’d like to share an anecdote courtesy of my granddaughter Adrienne, a budding poet, involving my dog, Maggie, a dedicated fruit lover.
Outside my kitchen window grows a dwarf peach tree, which used to produce some fat, juicy peaches due to the diligence of my former dog, Lizzie, who apparently terrified the squirrels in the vicinity.
Alas, the squirrels are not intimidated by Maggie and dare to eat my peaches, sometimes boldly sitting on our back steps while they do it. The other day, I lamented that said dog wasn’t doing her job guarding the peach tree, and Adrienne commented that Maggie leaves the squirrels alone because they leave the half-eaten peaches in the yard for her. She said, … wait for it … “They have a peach treaty.”
Love that girl!

Where I’ve been …
I apologize for my disappearing act. Unfortunately, it wasn’t due to my traveling the world or anything equally glamorous. I can’t believe we’re already in the last quarter of the year. Obviously, time has a dark sense of humor and speeds up when you’re desperate to finish your work-in-progress. I’d hoped to have the third book in the High Tea & Flip-Flops series out there months ago, but … just when you think you’ve got it all under control, life happens. Gee, that sounds familiar. Oh right, it’s the tag line for Open & Honest (Sometimes) … yes, that’s the title of my latest book. And … drum roll …
I’m thrilled to announce that after a long and difficult labor a new romantic comedy has been born! If you’ve read High Tea & Flip-Flops and Love & Liability, you won’t want to miss this continuation of Chelsea and Jeremy’s story. (And if you haven’t read the first two in the series–you’ve missed out on a lot of love and laughter. so get caught up! 🙂 ) You can get your copy of Open & Honest (Sometimes) in print and digital at Amazon worldwide. If you’d like to read a preview first, go here.
I hope you’ll enjoy my new story–and if you do, I hope you’ll leave a few words saying so on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else you talk about books. Tell your friends. Give the book a shout-out on social media if you’re so inclined.
Just when you think you’ve got it all under control, life happens.
Chelsea Cole Pearce has a Perfect Life Plan: get married, buy a house, and have a baby. Two down, one to go—and she and Jeremy are eagerly working on that third one. (And loving it.) While he’s writing his literary novel, she’s writing romance and designing her dream nursery. Life in the Pearce household is totally awesome—until it’s not. The road to happily ever after is bumpier than Chelsea anticipated, and she’s trying not to freak out. But her talent for jumping to wild conclusions coupled with their difficulty being open and honest with each other complicates matters. Now Chelsea must devise a new plan to get their life back on track … or else.


Loved it!
While I was in hiding, I managed to read a few books—some I loved and some I liked. I’d like to tell you about one I loved.
One of my favorite authors is Kristan Higgins, romance and women’s fiction writer—or “mainstream fiction with a central romance” according to the prestigious RITA award her novel Now That You Mention It, recently won. Her latest book, Good Luck With That, is one that addresses an issue that most of us struggle with continuously … or at least at one point in our lives. That issue is body image. Kristan drew upon her personal struggle to write a beautiful story of three women, friends who as teens met at “fat camp”. The death of one of the women spurs the others to honor her by finally taking charge of their lives and dealing with their issues. If you read this book, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll probably become a Kristan Higgins fan for life.
That’s all for now! Take care and smile as often as you can.
So pleased to see the third book is out!! Can’t wait to read it. Your granddaughter is very clever (like her grandmother!)
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Thank you, Darlene. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the read.
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Just reading Open and Honest and will review it on Amazon and Goodreads and of course my own book blog very shortly.
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Thank you, Judith. 🙂 I appreciate your support.
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