Finished Reading “Honeymoon Bite” and Happy Halloween

I’m currently sailing between Greece and Turkey and Halloween is almost finished here. However, it’s only Noon back home and the holiday is still fresh! So… Happy Halloween. Hope you have lots of goblins to pass out candy to, that’s if you like to do that sort of thing. I do, but I never seem to be home during Halloween anymore. The last couple of years we’ve been on a cruise!

By the way, the weather has been pretty nice out here on the Mediterranean. Sunny and mid-70s. I’m sure it’s a lot better than what it is at home. Whatever it is like there. I haven’t really looked.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 24

Dates read: October 11-30, 2025
Title: Honeymoon Bite (Blood Never Lies)
Year of publication: 2012
Author: S. Hamil
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Golden Vampires of Tuscany Book 1
# of Pages: 221
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Anne caught her husband cheating with the maid of Honor before their wedding cake was cut. She decided to take her planned and paid for honeymoon in Tuscany, alone. On the evening of what was to be her wedding night, she gets bitten by a female vampire.
    Marcus Monteleone has waited three hundred years to find his fated female, only to discover her dying in his arms. He saves Anne's life by turning her, and then works to gain her trust, to cope with being a newly-formed golden vampire.
    But when Anne finds out Marcus has not been completely truthful about his past, she vows to live as a human, and shuns the vampire world. Alone and unprotected, she falls prey to the very villainess who took her human soul, and who now takes the only man she’s ever loved.
    Which lover will have to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the other before they both are lost?
Recommend: Maybe
My thoughts: The blurb sounded so good, I bought it for the trip (it had been in my wish list for a while now). Unfortunately, the story dragged on for me. There was one POV I felt wasn’t needed which is probably why it dragged on…for me. This was book 1 of a 4-book series. I will not be reading the rest. I couldn’t get invested in the characters so I can only assume the same will happen with the other books. Now, lots of people do like these books, so it’s possibly just me, which is why I gave it a “Maybe” on the recommend.

So, we just finished Day 6 of this 14-day cruise. We’ve been to Santorini, Greece; Kusadashi, Turkey; and Kavala, Greece. Tomorrow we visit Istanbul, Turkey. Our excursions have been a bit exhausting. Certainly getting my walking done. But I did find out that when we were in Turkey, we were in Asia, so I can now add that continent to my list! Whoo hoo!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Lover Forbidden” and Our Road Trip

Between Sep 21 and Oct 5 I didn’t do much writing. Or reading. What am I saying? I didn’t do ANY writing, but I did a little bit of reading. Why? I was enjoying our road trip through National Parks and enjoying the scenery of our country (since we were mostly on non-interstate roads). Well… until the parks were shut down on Oct 1. Then we took a detour through Monument Valley and Four Corners (a first for both of us), since they were owned by the Navajo and not the National Parks, and then just drove home. Cut our trip a day short. Guess that just means we have to do it again. When? I have no idea. Our days seem to fill up with trips fast! In fact, we had to block out the dates in 2027 for our trip to Glacier National Park so we wouldn’t book something else in its place.

Yeah, I need a 2027 calendar now. Yikes!

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 23

Dates read: September 13 – October 10, 2025
Title: Lover Forbidden
Year of publication: 2025
Author: J.R. Ward
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #23
# of Pages: 414
Paper or plastic: Hardcover
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: When Lyric goes out for a night in Caldwell, New York, a brush with death is not on her bingo card—and she’s totally not ready for the man who risks his own life by shielding her with his very big, very enticing body. Her family, especially her sire Qhuinn, are so relieved she’s okay, but afterward, all she can think about is her mysterious savior.
    Even though humans and vampires are not supposed to mix, Lyric seeks out Devlin, and they are immediately drawn to each other. Her near-death experience gives her a fresh thirst for life. Devlin finds it impossible to continue his loner ways whenever he looks into her eyes. As passion ignites, both have their own reasons for keeping things short-term—and that’s before a betrayal that cuts to the core tears them apart. In the end as the Black Dagger Brotherhood hunts a traitor and terrible truths are revealed, Lyric has to decide whether the forbidden can ever be forgiven…in the name of true love.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: One of my favorite series. Still loving them, too.

Our next trip is the cruise out of Rome, which leaves the end of this month. We’ll be gone for nearly 30 days. That’s a lot of days, isn’t it? But in reality, it will be way more relaxing than our 15-day road trip. We will only have to unpack once and we won’t have to go looking for places to eat each night. I’m really looking forward to that!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading “Redshirts” and Questioning…things

So… Alien Desires isn’t doing so well. Ghostly Protector did better last year, but not by much. Making me wonder why I publish my books at all. But I continue writing, except…

I am at a crossroad in The Alien’s Change of Heart. I knew what I wanted to do with a certain character at the beginning of writing it, but now I don’t know if it’s the right choice or not.

This is why I don’t plot. I can’t even stick with what I have in my mind. Imagine if it were on paper??

I know I could just write it one way and see if that works. If it doesn’t, try writing it the other way. Right? But my mind is still thinking about which way to go first.

I need to tell it to shut up and just start writing. And I need to stop making other excuses, too. I now have a deadline to finish this book. Although, I’m beginning to doubt it’s reachable.

I will be in Columbia, SC on March 28^th for a book signing. No other details are known at this time. Just the city and date. It would be so nice if The Alien’s Change of Heart were available then. But that means I need to finish the book NOW.

Nothing like adding stress to the mix, huh? Especially when Alien Desires tanked. I will certainly not end book 2 with any kind of unresolved issues, just in case it’s the last of that series.

Which is sad. I had such high hopes… Might have helped if I marketed it better, but when your newsletter subscribers don’t even purchase it, makes me wonder if that would have helped.

Oh well… At least I’m still writing. Sort of. Hahahahaha.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 22

Dates read: September 7-13, 2025
Title: Redshirts
Year of publication: 2012
Author: John Scalzi
Genre: Sci-fi comedy
Series: N/A
# of Pages: 302
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Union since the year 2456. It’s a prestige posting, with the chance to serve on Away Missions alongside the starship’s famous senior officers.
    Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to realize that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s senior officers always survive these confrontations; and (3) sadly, at least one low-ranking crew member is invariably killed.
    Unsurprisingly, the savvier crew members belowdecks avoid Away Missions at all costs. Then Andrew stumbles on information that transforms his and his colleagues’ understanding of what the starship Intrepid really is…and offers them a crazy, high-risk chance to save their own lives.
Recommend: Yes!
My thoughts: What a fun book! I loved it. Not at all heavy on the sci-fi. If you’ve ever watched “Star Trek” (especially the original series), you will get this. Sort of like how Galaxy Quest riffed on the series. Almost. It’s funny and totally whacky!

Just an FYI about Alien Desires. Yes, it’s listed as sci-fi romance. Or alien romance (if that genre is available at the vendor). But it’s as much sci-fi as “Mork & Mindy” (or even “My Favorite Martian”) was sci-fi. I just don’t know how to market that. Any suggestions would be highly appreciated.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

 

Finished Reading “Don’t Back Down” and Fun at Dragon Con

Dragon Con was great this year! One of the best I’ve attended (been going since 2010). I think because the weather was soooooo much cooler than other years, it made a huge difference. People didn’t congregate in the air-conditioned areas. They would venture outside more! Plus, I think there were soooooo many awesome guests (of which their panels were against each other, because of course they do that), that the lines weren’t too long a half-hour before the panel that you could still get inside. I really enjoyed seeing the guests from “Evil,” “Bones,” “Back to the Future,” “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.,” “Star Trek Voyager,” Star Trek TNG,” and the Arrowverse (John Barrowman!!). Next year is Dragon Con’s 40^th event and I’m kind of sad that I won’t be going. We have a 28-day cruise out of San Francisco, which we’ll fly to on 9/9. If we went to Dragon Con, we wouldn’t get back until 9/8. That just isn’t enough time to get ready.

Yeah, yeah, you feel sooooo sorry for me, right? Hahahahahaha.  

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 21

Dates read: August 26 – September 6, 2025
Title: Don’t Back Down
Year of publication: 2023
Author: Sharon Sala
Genre: Romantic Suspense
Series: Jubilee, Kentucky #1
# of Pages: 257
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Free from B&N
Blurb from Goodreads: Army veteran Cameron Pope arrives back in Jubilee, Kentucky, for the first time in years. He barely has time to catch his breath when he becomes embroiled in a race of life or death for his little niece and a deadly hunt for the human traffickers who are destroying the peace of his mountain town. When he's reunited with Rusty Caldwell—a woman from his past who he's never stopped thinking about—he wants to believe they can finally be together. But Cameron is shocked to find out that Rusty belongs to one of the rich families in Jubilee—the same rich folks who scorn the rural families living on the surrounding mountainside, in spite of knowing nothing about them. With their community in the crosshairs, Cameron and Rusty will have to find a way to end the feuding and take down the human trafficking ring if they're to have a chance at happiness.
Recommend: No
My thoughts: I struggled to get through this. And it seemed to go on and on and on. I kind of expected better from her. She’s not a newby author. Then again, maybe she writes all her books this way. If so…Ugh. I won’t be getting another.

I was with Daughter when she got David Boreanaz’s autograph (which was just before we got our pictures taken with the cast of “Bones”), and she wore her Penguins cap and I wore my Penguins shirt. He saw them and just shook his head. She said, we purposely wore them for the photo later. He said, “I may just turn my back to the camera.” He didn’t, but he DID remember us at the photo shoot! Yay!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Finished Reading Two Stories and Dragon Con Starts THIS WEEK

On Wednesday, Daughter, Hubby, and I will leave for Atlanta and Dragon Con! I’m so excited about this one. The cast of Bones will be there. And so will some actors from Back to the Future as well as Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. Mainly David Boreanaz! Daughter and I plan on getting pics with the cast of Bones, so the question I need to answer… do I wear a Steelers jersey or a Penguins jersey? Only fans of Bones will get that, I think.

Here’s what I read since my last update:

Book 19

Dates read: August 15, 2025
Title: To the Stars
Year of publication: 2024
Author: Leah Lore
Genre: Cozy Sci-Fi Short Story
Series:  Possible, but not written yet
# of Pages: 34
Paper or plastic: Nook
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Goodreads: In the far future, Earth is ravaged by war. Deadly skirmishes between isolated human civilizations are frequent. New technologies are discovered, but others have been lost to time.
    Paige is trying to find her place in a shattered world. She’s a flight-school cadet determined to impress her military father, but she yearns to explore the stars. Her determination and constant practice in the cockpit rocket her to the top of her class.
    Still, she questions herself.
    When Paige takes a dangerous risk, she’s left grounded. At a crossroads, she must look inside herself to decide what's important, but the question remains—will she ever fly again?
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: Entertaining. I know the author (she is in my writer group), but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this short story. I look forward to her novel (which she says is in the works).

Book 20

Dates read: August 16-25, 2025
Title: The Summer Guests
Year of publication: 2025
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Thriller
Series:  Martini Club #2
# of Pages: 325
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: When former spy Maggie Bird retired to the seaside hamlet of Purity, Maine, she settled in for a quiet life with breathtaking views. But enemies from her past soon threatened to destroy everything.
    Maggie survived, thanks to her wits and the collective intelligence of the Martini Club, the circle of ex-CIA friends in her cocktail-sipping book club. Their handiwork, however, caught the attention of young police chief Jo Thibodeau. Now Jo and her neighborhood ex-spies have an uneasy alliance.
    After a teenager vanishes—and Maggie’s neighbor becomes the prime suspect—she joins the investigation, determined to prove her friend’s innocence. But the girl’s wealthy family pushes for an arrest. And when authorities discover a long-dead corpse in a nearby pond, the case becomes doubly complicated, with unthinkable ties to long-buried secrets.
    As Jo grapples with two unexplained mysteries, the Martini Club races to uncover the truth behind shadowy secrets…before more lives are lost.
Recommend: Yes
My thoughts: The people in the Martini Club are a hoot. I guess we all fight getting older, though, huh? This story is more mystery than thriller, but an enjoyable read. And I had no idea who did what, so I guess that makes the twists good? And there are some twists.

Writing is going well. Sales of Alien Desires is not, however. I am apparently marketing it wrong and I don’t know how to fix that. I mean, when your own newsletter subscribers aren’t even buying it… Yeah, it’s not pretty. Well… I will be at Dragon Con and there is a writing track. Hopefully I can get some tips there. But when BookBub doesn’t even have a genre for that book, I’m thinking I may be doomed.

Happy Reading!

Stacy