The Day He Came Back excerpt reveal by Penelope Ward #contemporaryromance #wipwednesday #summerreads #fridayreads #newrelease #bookrelease

THE DAY HE CAME BACK 

(A standalone)

Release date: 8/19/2019

A Contemporary Romance Novel

New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author 

Penelope Ward 

Excerpt Reveal:

Copyright © 2019

By Penelope Ward

Penelope Ward Cover Reveal! The Day He Came Back releases August 19! #contemporaryromance #coverreveal #newbook #fridayreads

COVER REVEAL

THE DAY HE CAME BACK

(A standalone)

Release date:8/19/2019

A Contemporary Romance Novel

New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Penelope Ward

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

It was the summer of my life.

I’d met the guy of my dreams.

Unfortunately, he was the son of my uppity employer—and very much off-limits.

But Gavin was a rebel. He knew his mother would disown him if she found out about us; in his eyes, we just had to be careful.

He never treated me as his mother did—like hired help.

Instead, Gavin put me on a pedestal and loved me harder than I’d ever been loved in my life.

What a summer it was. 

Until it all ended—badly.

I was never supposed to see Gavin again.

That didn’t stop me from thinking about him every day for ten years.
I knew little about his life now, just that he was an entrepreneur living an ocean away.

When a twist of fate had me working again in the very place our love affair started a decade earlier, I knew it was only a matter of time before I might see him again. 

But I wasn’t prepared.

What if he hated me?

What if he loved someone else now?

I wasn’t prepared for all the unknowns.

And most of all, I wasn’t prepared for today to be the day he came back.

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**No Amazon e-book preorder. Will go live on/around release day.

Cover Design: Letitia Hasser, RBA Designs

Cover Model: Christian Hogue

Cover Photographer: Brian Jamie

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and beautiful daughter with autism. 

With over two million books sold, she is a 21-time New York Times bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

Facebook Private Fan Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/PenelopesPeeps/

Instagram @penelopewardauthor

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Twitter https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor

Vi Keeland's ALL GROWN UP release day! #contemporaryromance

ALL GROWN UP

Happy 4th of July! Did you know there's a celebration scene in The Keyboardist?

11th Annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale Runs July 1-31

My individual titles are 50% off this month! 

Kissed - free

Betrayed - $0.99

Forgiven - $2.00

Loved - $2.00

Completed - $2.00

The Bassist - free

The Keyboardist - $2.00

The Roommate - $2.00

The Holiday - $0.99

Sweet Reunion - $2.50

Buy these books in Mobi and Epub formats!

Vi Keeland Excerpt Reveal - All Grown Up releases July 8th!

All Grown Up by Vi Keeland

Excited about Vi Keeland’s upcoming release, All Grown Up? Check out this SNEAK PEEK
Eve’s face flashed on the screen, and I swiped to answer.

“Give me all the details.”

I shook my head repeatedly, even though she couldn’t see me. “It was horrible.”

“What happened? What did the bastard do to you? I’ll cut his balls off.”

Eve’s response made me smile for the first time since I’d laid eyes on my date. “No. It wasn’t that kind of horrible. He was a perfect gentleman.” 

“Okay...”

“Very sweet and funny, too.”

“Sounds awful,” she said sarcastically. 

“And gorgeous.”

“The balls on him.” 

“That’s not the worst part.”

“Let’s see...he’s young, gorgeous, sweet, and funny. What could be worse than that? He’s hung like a horse?”

“I wouldn’t know. And you know why I don’t know that?”

“Because you’re an uptight prude who hasn’t been laid in years?”

“That might be true. But the larger problem is that he is one of Ryan’s friends.”

Eve cackled. “That’s not a problem, that’s fantastic! Bang his brains out and send him to play golf with your ex. Let him eat his heart out when he realizes what he lost.”

“Ummm...Eve,I wasn’t talking about my ex,Ryan. I was talking about my son.”

"I'll be over in twenty minutes"

Excited?

We are too!

Sign up for Vi’s mailing list and/or Text alerts and be the first one notified when it goes live!

https://www.subscribepage.com/i6h3o5

Prefer texts? Text the word BOOKS to 77948to receive an alert when All Grown Up goes live. (You will only release new release alerts!)

RELEASING JULY 8th!

Pre-orders available now:

Audio pre-order➜http://hyperurl.co/jr8w50

Apple Books Pre-order➜http://smarturl.it/f07b66

Amazon paperback➜https://fave.co/2RFvfAO

B&N➜https://fave.co/2xq1R8m

Google Play➜https://fave.co/2Lu5Hpd

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Add to Goodreads➜http://smarturl.it/nqw8dp

Vi Keeland is a #1 New York Times,#1 Wall Street Journal,and USA TodayBestselling author. With millions of books sold, her titles have appeared in over a hundred Bestseller lists and are currently translated in two-dozen languages. She resides in New York with her husband and their three children where she is living out herown happily ever after with the boy she met at age six.

Who wants 50% off? July Summer/Winter Sale is here!

July Summer/Winter Sale

11th Annual Smashwords Summer/Winter Sale Runs July 1-31

My individual titles are 50% off this month! 

Kissed - free

Betrayed - $0.99

Forgiven - $2.00

Loved - $2.00

Completed - $2.00

The Bassist - free

The Keyboardist - $2.00

The Roommate - $2.00

The Holiday - $0.99

Sweet Reunion - $2.50

Buy these books in Mobi and Epub formats!

Remember what Memorial Day is about #memorialday #neverforget

Memorial Day

Did you know there's a WWI memorial in progress in DC?

They're still $13 million short of the $40 million needed and citizens can donate.

It'll be 8 ft tall and 50 ft wide, in a spot near the White House.

https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/honor/national-wwi-memorial.html

A soldier's journey is the story of the sculpture.

New Google Play Links

You might've noticed that my books disappeared from Google Play.

GP demanded new stuff from distributors, making them and authors jump through hoops. Though my paperwork was in April 7th, before the deadline, they pulled all books by April 15th.

Now they're back, but with brand new listings. All ratings and reviews were lost.

Shop for my books

It's inconvenient, but if you left a review on GP before, can you please do so again?

Believe me, my publisher is NOT happy. We've lost 6 weeks of income.

Authors - Your Narrator Needs to Know How to Act

Narrators Need to Know How to Act 

Not Just Read

A little tough love opinion in this post.

Authors need to get better at choosing narrators. Period. End.

Audiobook narrators need to be good actors!

I don't want to listen to a book read by Siri. Or Alexa. 

Have inflection. Personality. 

Attempt to sound like a NORMAL HUMAN BEING.

Go listen to a chapter of any of The Dresden Files Series narrated by James Marsters. THAT's how a narrator should sound from Chapter One. From Word One. You're immediately drawn in like you're sitting at a campfire hearing Harry Dresden tell his story.

If Robot Narrator is the only narrator you can afford, stop doing audio. Stop right now. Better to have no product than a substandard one. 

Make them do it better before you approve the final product. You're paying THOUSANDS of dollars for this! It should KICK ASS.

I've listened to samples from 2 authors recently that rave about the narrators they've chosen and they're so WOODEN. They're ROBOTS.

Like, how do you not HEAR that?

The writers write great characters, so the problem isn't on the page. It's certainly not how they sound in my head when I'm reading those books. But they keep picking these horribly robotic narrators that can't act their way out of a paper bag! PLEASE, go compare your narrator's delivered audio to any of the books James Marsters has narrated (more than Dresden Files btw) and LEARN. 

I cite JM just because I've actually heard those books, but pick any actor! Especially one experienced in theater as they'll know how to embody words without the help of film editing. I'm not saying you have to try to book TV or film actors - only 1% of authors could ever afford that. But every author doing audiobooks should be holding their narrator to that standard or what are we doing?

Really?

Hasn't the indie community gotten enough flack for putting out "substandard" and "unedited" ebooks? Now you're going to produce robotic audiobooks and perpetuate that narrative? Be better. 

DEMAND better.

Now I step off my soapbox. 

SWEET REUNION release day! #contemporaryromance #romancereads #newbook #newrelease #mancrushmonday #bookboyfriend

Sweet Reunion - The Bittersweet Series #1

Smashwords | Barnes and Noble | Apple | Kobo | Google Play | Amazon | $4.99.

Goodreads | Paperback | Amazon Paperback | Bookmate |

The Bittersweet Series

When finding your true love comes after a bit of heartbreak.

Flavors - like life - need balance. Nearly every cookie or cake recipe includes a pinch of salt. The finest dark chocolate rides the line between bitter and buttery sweetness.

So it is with The Bittersweet Series. Each book will start with the word Sweet.

20th high-school reunion. Back in the town where dreams seemed possible and the future bright, where Kate's old crush Sam still lives with his seemingly perfect life.

When Kate’s family was in a devastating car crash, she took custody of her little brother at age twenty and focused on giving him the best life he could possibly have in a wheelchair. Eighteen years later, he encourages her to put herself first for once and have fun at the reunion.

Sam is waiting until after the reunion to announce his divorce publicly, but seeing Kate again rouses feelings long buried and he wants her no matter how much it complicates the weekend. She makes him feel alive for the first time in years, he’s missed their closeness from the past, and his mom loves her like a daughter.

Kate finds Sam even more gorgeous and sexy than twenty years ago, but he’s still technically married and she lives in Nashville. No matter how amazing their connection is, a relationship would never work. Why couldn’t he have shown up to that reunion fat and bald?

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Read Chapter One

Sign up for my newsletter after reading Sweet Reunion and receive an exclusive bonus!

SWEET REUNION excerpt! #contemporaryromance #romancereaders #comingsoon

SWEET REUNION Chapter One

20th high-school reunion. Back in the town where dreams seemed possible and the future bright, where Kate's old crush Sam still lives with his seemingly perfect life.

When Kate’s family was in a devastating car crash, she took custody of her little brother at age twenty and focused on giving him the best life he could possibly have in a wheelchair. Eighteen years later, he encourages her to put herself first for once and have fun at the reunion.

Sam is waiting until after the reunion to announce his divorce publicly, but seeing Kate again rouses feelings long buried and he wants her no matter how much it complicates the weekend. She makes him feel alive for the first time in years, he’s missed their closeness from the past, and his mom loves her like a daughter.

Kate finds Sam even more gorgeous and sexy than twenty years ago, but he’s still technically married and she lives in Nashville. No matter how amazing their connection is, a relationship would never work. Why couldn’t he have shown up to that reunion fat and bald?

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Sweet Reunion - Book #1 - Smashwords | Goodreads | Paperback | Barnes and Noble | Apple |

When finding your true love comes after a bit of heartbreak.

Flavors - like life - need balance. Nearly every cookie or cake recipe includes a pinch of salt. The finest dark chocolate rides the line between bitter and buttery sweetness.

So it is with The Bittersweet Series. Each book will start with the word Sweet.

Chapter One

20^th high school reunion.  Back in the town where dreams seemed possible and the future bright.  Where Sam still lived.

When August Ends by Penelope Ward is NOW LIVE!

When August Ends by Penelope Ward is NOW LIVE!

Amazon ➜ https://amzn.to/2XnZUW3

Audio ➜ https://amzn.to/2BEz4ja

Amazon Print ➜ https://amzn.to/2SY4Zoj

Apple Books ➜ https://apple.co/2Tj776z

Nook ➜ https://bit.ly/2IiEqX7

Kobo ➜ https://bit.ly/2BAL4lC

Google Play ➜ http://bit.ly/2BCw3Qc

Goodreads ➜ http://bit.ly/2SL1z9e

Synopsis:

From New York Times bestselling author Penelope Ward, comes a new standalone novel.

What do you do when a sexy, older man moves into your family’s summer rental?

Well, apparently, you make a fool of yourself—over and over. Things didn’t exactly get

off on the right foot with Noah Cavallari. Our first encounter was embarrassing, to say

the least.

But despite that, I found myself waking up every day with a newfound energy. Nothing

exciting ever happened on the lake—not until Noah moved into the small boathouse on

our property. He’d booked it for the entire summer…and I was still trying to figure out

why.

When my mother became ill, I inherited the responsibility of making sure our guests

were well taken care of. I should have been finishing up college. Instead, I was living my

best life…as a maid.

Dark, handsome, and mysterious, everything about Noah screamed forbidden.

I knew he was just passing through town for the summer.

I knew he was probably a little old for me.

Yet, I was drawn to him.

Not to mention, he tried to save my life when he mistakenly thought I was drowning.

I wanted him and made no secret of it.

His own attempts to warn me away soon gave way to late-night moonlight chats by the

lake. We were slowly easing into a friendship that was gearing up to explode into

something I might not recover from.

Because he’s leaving at the end of the summer.

And I have no idea what I’ll do when August ends.

BIO:

Penelope Ward is a New York Times, USA Today and #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling

author of contemporary romance.

She grew up in Boston with five older brothers and spent most of her twenties as a

television news anchor. Penelope resides in Rhode Island with her husband, son, and

beautiful daughter with autism.

With over one-point-five million books sold, she is a twenty-time New York Times

bestseller and the author of over twenty novels. Her books have been translated into

over a dozen languages and can be found in bookstores around the world.

SOCIAL MEDIA LINKS:

Facebook

https://www.facebook.com/penelopewardauthor

Facebook Private Fan Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/PenelopesPeeps/

Instagram

@penelopewardauthor

http://instagram.com/PenelopeWardAuthor/

Twitter

https://twitter.com/PenelopeAuthor

SWEET REUNION edits complete!

Finished editing!

Sweet Reunion - Bittersweet #1 - will now arrive very soon.

Stay tuned for release dates and buying instructions.



20th high-school reunion. Back in the town where dreams seemed possible and the future bright, where Kate's old crush Sam still lives with his seemingly perfect life.

When Kate’s family was in a devastating car crash, she took custody of her little brother at age twenty and focused on giving him the best life he could possibly have in a wheelchair. Eighteen years later, he encourages her to put herself first for once and have fun at the reunion.

Sam is waiting until after the reunion to announce his divorce publicly, but seeing Kate again rouses feelings long buried and he wants her no matter how much it complicates the weekend. She makes him feel alive for the first time in years, he’s missed their closeness from the past, and his mom loves her like a daughter.

Kate finds Sam even more gorgeous and sexy than twenty years ago, but he’s still technically married and she lives in Nashville. No matter how amazing their connection is, a relationship would never work. Why couldn’t he have shown up to that reunion fat and bald?

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

When August Ends excerpt by Penelope Ward #contemporaryromance #comingsoon #bookboyfriend

EXCERPT REVEAL

WHEN AUGUST ENDS

A Standalone Contemporary Romance Novel

New York Times, USA Today, and #1 Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Penelope Ward

Release date: 2/25/2019

EXCERPT:

SWEET REUNION is finished! Bittersweet series book 1 is coming soon!

Bittersweet #1

THE END

Finished a book today! 

"Sweet Reunion" will be available soon.

Edited and added to it for NaNoWriMo, then wrote 53,366 words since. Wrote the end this evening. 

103,661 words in total.

First, to betas, then polishing and proof reading, then ARCs, and launch!

Subscribe to my newsletter to get a copy of The Holiday.

Sign up for my Newsletter to get a free book! #exclusive

Subscribe to get a short story free!

Subscribe to my newsletter to get a copy of The Holiday.

This is the ONLY way to get this story free!

Christmas Eve. Two lonely hetero friends. A holiday movie. A little whiskey and pain.

It’s the recipe for truths and revelations that will change Dree and Kelly’s lives forever.

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Subscribe to my newsletter to get a copy of The Holiday.

Happy New Year! I'm Carla Krae and this is what I write

Is what I write your cup of tea?

With the Bittersweet Series coming, I feel it's a good time to talk about the kind of books I write. Despite being published since 2011, I might not have risen to the top of your TBR list, yet.

I write steamy contemporary romance.

I like to read books by Penelope Ward, Vi Keeland, Tijan, Kennedy Ryan, Louise Bay, Kendall Ryan, Lauren Blakely, Kylie Scott, some JA Huss, Kim Karr, Nalini Singh's contemporary, etc.

I don't write sweet or clean, but I know a few authors who do if you want names. Likewise with fantasy, paranormal, westerns, or historical.

The My Once and Future Love (Revisited) series is the saga of Jacob and Beth. West Coast Soulmates is a spin-off about secondary characters. Love Bites is a series of shorter romances.

If none of this sounds up your alley, no hard feelings at all. I want you to spend your time on books you're excited about reading! Fiction authors are readers, too, so we get it.

But if you're eager to hear more about The Bittersweet Series? 

Subscribe to my Patron today!

The Bittersweet Series is coming in 2019! #bookboyfriend #romancereads #romanceauthor

The Bittersweet Series

When finding your true love comes after a bit of heartbreak.

Flavors - like life - need balance. Nearly every cookie or cake recipe includes a pinch of salt. The finest dark chocolate rides the line between bitter and buttery sweetness.

So it is with The Bittersweet Series. Each book will start with the word Sweet.

These stories will release on Patreon. You can gain access for only $1/month.

Stay turned for the release announcement. Bittersweet #1 is coming soon.

Book #1 - Kate and Sam's story. Work in progress. 

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Book #2 - Rae and Wes's story. Work in progress.

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

New cover in time for Christmas! The Holiday is only $0.99. #christmasromance #holidayromance #romancebooks

The Holiday

The Holiday - $0.99 - Feb. 5, 2018. Apple | Smashwords | Amazon | Kobo | Barnes and Noble | Google Play | Amazon UK | Amazon CAN | Amazon AUS |

Christmas Eve. Two lonely hetero friends. A holiday movie. A little whiskey and pain.

It’s the recipe for truths and revelations that will change Dree and Kelly’s lives forever.

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.

Snippet of The Holiday:

Adrienne leaned close to watch it with me, her breast pressing into my arm. Our sides were pressed together down to the knees—how was I supposed to focus on a video? She had no idea what she’d done to me from the moment I caught a box slipping from her tiny hands and saw her face for the first time. Green eyes and black lashes in a canvas of ivory. Her hair had been pulled into a messy bun, but I got the full glory of its black silk the following day when she left for an appointment. The color seemed natural, but I’d never know for sure.

Dree’s string of boyfriends had put me in the Friend Zone, permanently left standing on the sidelines to keep my interest to myself. Tonight was no different—she needed a friend, not a guy with palms that broke into sweat every time she smiled at him.

My #NaNoWriMo project is Kate and Sam's book!

National Novel Writing Month

NaNo happens every November and the goal is to write 50K on a story. Or if you're a 'radical', to get a story to 50K or finish it.

I'm working on Kate and Sam, trying to finally finish this after starting it last year. I only have to write 20K new words for NaNo, but I want this book complete - however many words that is at the end.

Working title of the series has been Love Hurts - When finding your true love requires a bit of heartbreak. But I'll probably shift to something different when I start marketing this.

Anyway, I've edited through the existing chapters and started writing new ones this weekend. Wish me luck to reach 50K by Thanksgiving!

Chapter One

20th high-school reunion. Back in the town where dreams seemed possible and the future bright, where Kate's crush Sam still lives with his seemingly perfect life. 

Sam is waiting until after the reunion to announce his divorce, but seeing Kate again rouses feelings long buried and he wants her no matter how much it complicates the weekend.

But it’s clear Sam’s attraction isn’t only physical and that makes Kate nervous.  He likes a version of her, a projection that hides a lot of flaws and painful memories.  He’s a Boy Scout.  Freakin’ Clark Kent.  A pillar of his community.  He’s too good for her. 

Why couldn’t Sam have shown up to that reunion fat and bald?

This story is intended for readers 18 and over due to adult language, sexual content, and adult situations.