My #ThreeWordsToLiveBy Love, Life, Laughter - here are some other tweeters tweets:

#threewordstoliveby God is working.
Never text first #threewordstoliveby
#threewordstoliveby don’t give up.
#ThreeWordsToLiveBy Life goes on…
#ThreeWordsToLiveBy Young and Reckless.
#threewordstoliveby let’s get weird
#ThreeWordsToLiveBy where’s the party?

Share yours, its only fair *pouty face*

You haven’t heard?

Whaaaaa?

Let me fill you in -

Hot Assassins Hunksare featured in author Toni Aleo’s hockey world … beginning with:

Taking Shots – In Toni Aleo’s exhilarating Loveswept debut, the first in a series featuring the hockey hunks of the Nashville Assassins, a reformed bad boy helps a charming, willful woman face off against the demons of her past.

Trying to Score – In a captivating novel of second chances and healing hearts, the newest member of the Nashville Assassins pulls a power play to make things right with the one that got away.

Empty Net – In Toni Aleo’s third novel in her hot Assassins series, the chiseled men of this Nashville hockey team can make anything happen when they go all out for the women they want—even turn a one-night stand into a happily ever after.

Falling for the Backup - Meet Aynslee and Jordan as they soar the friendly skies on their way back to Nashville, where fate has a mind of its own!

Blue Lines - Opposites do more than just attract in Toni Aleo’s latest Nashville Assassins novel about a very bad boy and the good girl he can’t resist.

Ruthie’s Reality interviews Elisabeth Barrett — learn about the Grayson brothers and Star Harbor!


Welcome back to Ruthie’s house! Today I’m talking to Elisabeth Barrett, whose third Star Harbor book was just released with Loveswept. Star Harbor is a beautiful, charming Cape Cod village of the sort where one would like to live. It is quite unlike my fifth-grade memories of Cape Cod, which involve crowded tourist traps, saltwater taffy, and long hours spent browsing at the Fashion Bug.

But I digress. Hello, Elisabeth!

EB: Hi, Ruthie. Thanks so much for having me on Ruthie’s Reality. I’m very glad to be here today to talk about Long Simmering Spring, the third book in my Star Harbor series, which follows the lives of the four Grayson brothers as they live, work and find love on Cape Cod! Long Simmering Spring features Cole Grayson, who’s recently returned to Star Harbor to become the town sheriff. He and Julie Kensington, the local physician, have known each other since high school, and she’s less than impressed with the bad boy he used to be. But after stints in the military and on Boston’s police force, the question isn’t whether Cole has changed, but how much. It isn’t long before Cole realizes that this sweet, sexy doctor will force him to confront his past and help him to face the future.

RK: “Simmering” is a great word for Cole. He’s hot, and he has a sort of quiet explosive potential that can be unleashed in positive or negative ways. What were the best parts and worst parts of writing Cole?

EB: I’ll start with the bad: Temper, temper, temper! I went through multiple iterations of Cole, trying to get his temperament just right, and I constantly had to fight back against him exploding all over the place. He tries so hard to keep it all in check, it becomes kind of like a full-time job for him. It was a tough balancing act for me to write. And the good: The flip side to the temper issue is his need to heal. He’s struggling with so much without asking for help. I wanted to show the man beneath the armor—to help readers understand how much he’s hurting, and how much he needs someone like Julie Kensington in his life.

RK: In Long Simmering Spring, the hero and heroine have a history. Tell the readers what Cole did and how Julie reacted.

EB: In high school, Cole and Julie knew each other, but they were not friends. Cole hung out with the bad boys, and Julie with the good girls. The incident to which I think you are referring happened as incidents often do—behind the stadium bleachers. Cole made a move, Julie rejected him, and then—bonehead that he was—he went in for the kiss anyway. That stolen kiss came with a price—a slap from Julie so hard it rattled his teeth and a dressing-down including a diatribe on making something of himself. I originally wrote that scene as a prologue and then decided the book was actually stronger without it. Still, the specter of that stolen kiss hangs over much of their early encounters, until Cole and Julie start making some new memories.

RK: Do you see this same dynamic as driving their romance, or are their adult selves being propelled by different identities and forces?

EB: Ah, you got to the heart of the book pretty fast, didn’t you? You’re a sly one, Ruthie Knox! At the start of the book, young Julie and adult Julie are pretty similar—driven, intelligent, and focused on work. But young Cole and adult Cole are very, very different. At first, Julie’s idea of who she thinks Cole is (really, who Cole used to be) colors their interactions, but once she sees that he’s changed, she realizes that she needs to change, too. I wanted them to help each other reach their full potentials, and it isn’t until they strip away their façades that they can propel each other forward.

RK: Now that you’re in book three, your cast of Star Harbor characters is getting larger. Do you find that unwieldy, or is it fun to develop these intertwined relationships as the series goes on?

EB: Not unwieldy. Fun. Very fun! I love interweaving each new character into the fabric of the town and developing their relationships with other Star Harborians. The only problem I really have is giving the characters I love enough page time. For example, I love Babs Kincaide, a local sculptor and the smart-mouthed owner of a fried-food stand. She’s known the Grayson boys since they were born and has plenty to say about their high-school antics. I only wish I had more chances to get her into the storylines. And in Slow Summer Burn, there’s a new character—a grande dame of Boston society named Hermione Alcott—who was tremendously fun to write. I had to cut out a whole scene featuring her, simply because there wasn’t enough room.

RK: Remind us what’s in store for the fourth and final Star Harbor book. Which brother is left, and what are you going to drag him through? And what can you tell us about the resolution of the suspense plot that unifies all four novels?

EB: Val, the oldest Grayson, is left, and I hope he’s worth the wait.
I think you’ll like Val, Ruthie. He’s a DEA agent who rarely talks, lives on a houseboat, and drinks beer. Cameron, on the other hand, is a Boston socialite who wears diamonds and chairs symphony fundraisers. And she prefers champagne. They’re a match made in heaven!
As far as the suspense plots go, I can promise you this: The drug mystery will be solved! The mastermind will be revealed! And the legend of the Siren Lorelei, the pirate ship that purportedly sank off the coast of Star Harbor, will be uncovered! Hint: the keys play a large supporting role!

Thank you for having me as your guest today.
It’s always a pleasure to chat!

RK: Thank you, Elisabeth! Can’t wait to read the houseboat-livin’, beer-drinking Val next. I will cross my fingers for awkward, cramped-quarters boat sex. And the rest of you will side-eye me, wondering why I am such a freak.



Okay, now for the giveaway! Tell me which Star Harbor brother most appeals to you: the cocky chef, Seb; Theo, the patient, brainy writer; simmering, explosive sheriff Cole; or houseboat-lovin’ DEA agent Val. Then tell me why (ha – you thought you were getting off easy, didn’t you?), and I’ll pick one random winner to receive all three of the existing Star Harbor books in the e-format of your choice.
This is a short contest—comment by midnight CT on Tuesday, May 22, and I’ll choose and notify a winner on Wednesday.

http://www.romanceatrandom.com/ruthies-reality-ruthie-interviews-elisabeth-barrett-giveaway/#more-16320

#CoverReveal with AFTER THE KISS by @laurenlayne - she’s new and a debut for #Loveswept - an author you’ll want to watch  …

Readers who love Kristan Higgins, Julie James & Ruthie Knox? You’ll love this book and the rest of the Stiletto Series too!!

    In the first book of a delightful new series from Lauren Layne, the star columnist of Stiletto magazine will do anything for a story. Anything … except fall in love.

    Julie Greene loves flings. Loves steamy first dates, sizzling first kisses, and every now and then, that first sexy romp between the sheets. Comfy pants, sleepy Sundays, movie nights on the couch? Shudder. But when Julie gets assigned the hardest story of her career—a first-person account of that magical shift between dating and “I do”—she’ll need a man brave enough to give a total commitment-phobe a chance at more.

    Normally, Mitchell Forbes would be exactly that man. A devastatingly hot workaholic who tends to stay in relationships for far too long, he should be the perfect subject for Julie’s “research.” But what Julie doesn’t know is that Mitchell is looking to cut loose for once in his life. And the leggy journalist notorious for avoiding love is exactly the type of no-strings fling he’s looking for. In other words, Mitchell is the polar opposite of what Julie needs right now. And, at the same time, he’s exactly what she wants.


She’s new, and she’s a debut – an author you’ll want to add to your list — http://www.randomhouse.com/book/227822/after-the-kiss-by-lauren-layne

Early Sneak peek of COMPLETE ME with Damien Stark — and don’t miss, #StarkOnSaturday leading up to the release of Complete Me.
Complete Me (Stark Trilogy Book 2) – Chapter 1 (part A): I thought I’d post Chapter 1 of Complete Me in its entirety (split up into two days — but spoiler alert! It’s impossible to post the first chapter of book 3 in a trilogy without inherent spoilers.  So keep that in mind if you keep reading!).
http://juliekenner.com/2013/05/complete-me-stark-trilogy-book-2-chapter-1-part-a/

Show of hands, please. Who watches THE VOICE?

Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm. You with the hand down…WHAT??!! REALLY??!!

*Mira puts on her pushy pants…they are slimming and très fashionable, but once donned, difficult to peel off…so brace yourself*

Okay, I’m not going to snow you with a bunch of bunk about watching THE VOICE for the emerging talent. Sure, sure, that part is enjoyable, no doubt. Also, the performances are incredible.
The competition intense. It’s family friendly without any meanness and, because the singers are pre-screened before even making it onto the opening rounds, a fairly risk free watching endeavor (ie, you won’t finish the show grousing about the sixty minutes you’ll never get back after listening to a bunch of cats scream). All good reasons to pull up a couch and get your remote on…


But the deep-down, dirty truth of why I watch (and you should too) is for the coaches. And more specifically, for the duo of trash-talking hotness that is Adam Levine and Blake Shelton. Oh I like Shakira and Usher plenty. They’re both talented and fun and bring a fresh perspective to the show…but it’s that cocky, competitive dynamic between Adam and Blake that had me looking up from my saucy romance novel du jour night one of the first season and *gasp* closing my book.

You’ll have to take my word for it, but this is a big deal. I don’t watch a lot of TV. And when it comes to reality television, even less. But with one lobbed barb of all-in-good-fun, and the answering look that said oh-it’s-so-on…I was hooked.

These guys aren’t just incredibly talented musicians who happen to be eye-candy of the mouthwatering variety…they’re also really funny. They take their coaching responsibilities seriously, but between the insightful commentary on each artist’s performance, there is this irresistible flurry of mouth that has my inner twenty-year-old fan-girl all a-giggle and scrambling to find each man’s precise position on my list (clarification: my WISH LIST OF HOTNESS FOR AN EXTENDED DESERTED ISLAND STAY SANS KELLY KIDS AND HUSBAND, not the SHOULDER HIGH IN TROUBLE list).

Adam is all smolder. His dirty, angsty, pop-rock love songs are my favorite listening escape. Blake is all swagger. Tall and compelling enough to make me want to give country music another try. They’re like apples and oranges, both a tasty snack but too different to make picking one over the other fair.

So rather than choose…I suppose I’ll just enjoy them both. Together. On THE VOICE. And when Blake and Adam are not talking…well, the performances of these stars in the making are ALMOST as good!

Okay, so now that I’ve dished a bit about one of my favorite ways to kick back at the end of the day, I’d love to hear about some of yours! What’s your fave evening wind-down?

Happy New Release Day to Elisabeth Barrett for her Star Harbor release, LONG SIMMERING SPRING - Spring comes to Star Harbor, bringing unexpected passion for a sexy sheriff, as the next Grayson brother finds love with the town’s beautiful doctor.

Julie Kensington grew up in the same small town as the Grayson brothers and remembers when the boys were nothing but trouble. As teenagers, Cole’s rugged sex appeal set Julie’s heart ablaze, but she did her best to ignore it. Now a grown woman with a medical degree, Julie still can’t resist her searing attraction to the roughest, toughest Grayson. He’s ex-military, tormented, and sexier than ever, but are his wounds too deep to be healed by her loving, gentle touch?

Even back in high school, straight-arrow Julie had a way of making Cole think twice about his bad-boy lifestyle. When Julie decides she’s finally ready to embrace her wild side, Cole knows he is just the man to show her the way, unleashing years of pent-up desire. Neither of them counted on falling in love, but when Cole’s demons threaten to derail their relationship, it’s up to Julie to show him that together, they can overcome the past … and build a future.
http://www.randomhouse.com/book/222739/long-simmering-spring-by-elisabeth-barrett
Visit www dot raomance atrandom dot com for the giveaway!