Reel to Reel

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Isla Grey will be awarding a $25 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Lights, Camera, Action! From the very beginning, the world of cinema has captivated us. We have found ourselves laughing at our favorite comedies, crying when love finally comes to fruition, being beamed to other worlds or battling in the midst of action sequences. While movies might be the perfect entertainment, most have slight imperfections, mistakes, which go unseen, until they’re released and caught by the movie audience. These mistakes don’t detract from the film, and finding them are just as fun as watching the movie. For the past several years, Isla Grey has written a “Movie Mistakes” column for Bellaonline. “Reel to Reel” is a collection of some of those columns, spotlighting the fun goofs found in some of our favorite movies. Can you spot them? Grab the popcorn, sit back, and happy movie watching!

Read an Excerpt

Love Story

Wealthy, preppie and angry hockey player - Harvard law student, Oliver Barrett IV, meets and falls in love with Jennifer Cavalleri, a head strong music student. Despite the misgivings of his mother and father, Oliver asks Jenny to marry him, and she accepts. The two marry and struggle to make ends meet during the first few years of their marriage as Jenny teaches school while Oliver finishes law school. Just as things start to look up for the young couple when Oliver gets a job at a big law firm, tragedy strikes. Here are a few movie mistakes to look for while watching “Love Story”.

In the second hockey game, against Cornell, Oliver’s dad is in the crowd. Oliver gets penalized and is sent to the penalty box for five minutes for fighting. His face is bleeding but there is no blood on his shirt. It cuts to a view of his dad and then back to Oliver. There are now splotches of blood on his left shoulder.

Jenny and Oliver receive the invitation to the dinner for his dad’s birthday. Jenny is reading the invitation out loud and the view of the two shows her holding the invitation down, near her lap. It cuts to a right-side view and she’s holding the invitation in her right hand, up in front of her face. Also, when it cuts to the right-side view, Oliver is holding a pencil in his left hand that he was not before.

About the Author

Isla Grey is from Central Virginia and at an early age developed a love of movies. She shared many Sunday afternoons watching old favorites with her grandmother that included everything from “Gone with the Wind” and “Rio Bravo” to “Titanic” and “The Mummy”. (Her grandmother may or may not have made fun of her when she covered her eyes during “Anaconda”.)

Working as Bellaonline’s Movie Mistakes editor since 2012 has given Isla the opportunity to indulge in two of her passions—movies and writing.

When Isla isn’t writing or watching movies, most of her time is spent with her ever active daughter and her band of cats. She also enjoys good music, reading biographies and ghost stories and taking quiet strolls.

Website: http://www.islagrey.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorIslaGrey/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IslaGrey1

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0918MM97L

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Damsel in a Dress

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Kirsten Weiss will be awarding a $10 Amazon or B/N GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

Bridesmaid duties can be deadly…

Maddie Kosloski has more than wedding cake on her plate. She’s managing her paranormal museum, helping her best friend Adele with wedding plans, and trying to prove that Adele’s vintage wedding dress is most definitely not haunted.

But when a bridesmaid turns up murdered, Maddie has to solve the crime to save the wedding. As her bouquet of suspects grows, and everyone’s alibis have the ring of truth, Maddie begins to doubt this wedding will go off without a hitch.

If you love laugh-out-loud mysteries, witty heroines, and a touch of the paranormal, you’ll love Damsel in a Dress, book 5 in the Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum series of novels. Read this twisty cozy mystery today!

Read an Excerpt

Harper pointed and brushed her long, dark hair off her shoulder.

A slender woman, eyes open and sightless, lay on her back beneath an owl box. A pool of blood had formed around her head in the soft earth. Beside her, a chihuahua barked at us hysterically.

Bile rose in my throat. I pressed the back of my hand to my mouth. I thought I’d been prepared. But nothing can really prepare you for sudden death.

“Do you think she tripped and fell?” Harper said, pointing to the rock half-hidden beneath Bernadette’s spill of hair.

“Maybe,” I croaked, my mouth dry. Bruises darkened the skin above the collar of her cocktail dress, and there was a reddish mark on her face. They didn’t look like they’d come from a fall. “Did you call the police?”

“Of course I did. They’ll be here any minute. I just…” She pressed her hands to her stomach. “It’s Bernadette, one of Adele’s oldest friends, her bridesmaid.”

Lead weighted my gut. This was awful. Worse than awful. How were we going to tell Adele?

About the Author: Kirsten Weiss has never met a dessert she didn’t like, and her guilty pleasures are watching Ghost Whisperer re-runs and drinking red wine. The latter gives her heartburn, but she drinks it anyway.

Now based in Colorado Springs, CO, she writes genre-blending cozy mystery, supernatural and steampunk suspense, mixing her experiences and imagination to create vivid worlds of fun and enchantment.

If you like funny cozy mysteries:

Pie Town - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/pie-town-mysteries
Tea and Tarot - https://www.kirstenweiss.com/tea-and-tarot-mysteries
Paranormal Museum- http://www.kirstenweiss.com/the-perfectly-proper-paranormal-mus-1
Wits’ End - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-cozy-mystery-series

If you’re looking for some magic with your mystery:

Witches of Doyle - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/doyle-witch-cozy-mysteries
Riga Hayworth - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/riga-hayworth-paranormal-mysteries
Rocky Bridges - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/rocky-bridges-mysteries

If you like steampunk:

Sensibility Grey - http://www.kirstenweiss.com/sensibility-grey-steampunk-suspense

Kirsten sends out original short stories of mystery and magic to her mailing list. If you’d like to get them delivered straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up for her newsletter at http://kirstenweiss.com

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/kirstenweiss/
Bookbub: http://www.bookbub.com/authors/kirsten-weiss
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/kirsten.weiss
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kirstenweissauthor

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One Kind Word

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Title: One Kind Word

Series: One Kind Deed Series

Author: Christine DePetrillo

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 29, 2021

Cover Design: Wicked Smart Designs

Marco Vieira serves his customers at Cups Café with a smile even though he’d rather be working on his novel. Recently, however, he’s having more success making specialty BLT sandwiches for the citizens of Maplehaven than adding any words to his manuscript. He’s tried all the tricks to get over writer’s block, but nothing seems to work. He can’t find any inspiration—in writing or in relationships. His friends have all found their soul mates, but he’s still staring at the blank pages of his love life.

Shaina Windsor needs money. If she doesn’t get some cash soon, her very sick twin sister, Heather, isn’t going to survive. Shaina has to find a way to afford medical treatment for Heather before she loses her only living relative—and her best friend. Out of funds and nearly homeless due to their late Aunt Patty’s financial debts, the sisters arrive in Maplehaven in a rusty RV, hoping for a miracle.

When Shaina eyes Cups Café as a potential source of money, she decides desperate times call for desperate measures. What she doesn’t expect is to play the role of hero when she discovers Marco is still inside the café after hours and in trouble. Her next move could mean life or death for both of them.

Is one kind word enough to write a happy ending?

Marco ushered Shaina and Bones out to his SUV. Once he got behind the wheel and started the engine, he angled toward Shaina.

“So, do you totally hate Jorden and Diana?” he asked.

“Oh my God. They are the worst. I don’t know how you can stand them.”

“Yeah, I figured. Awful. The both of them.”

Shaina rested her hand on his forearm as he prepared to back out of his friends’ driveway so he paused. “You’re the worst too.”

“Of course. I’m absolutely horrible. You definitely shouldn’t come home with me.” Having someone to joke around with like this was fun.

“Totally should not kiss you either. Not at all.”

“Ugh. You’d have to be out of your mind to suggest kissing me.” He eased down the driveway and had to remind himself not to push the accelerator all the way to the floor. This talk about kissing made him want to get home as soon as possible.

“For some reason though,” Shaina began, “all I can think about is kissing you.”

Happy he wasn’t the only one, Marco said, “Well, I suppose I can allow it so you can get it out of your system.”

“How kind of you.” Shaina laughed and leaned forward.

Marco didn’t waste any time meeting her halfway. He had to remind himself to keep his foot on the brake as his lips met hers, but she was careful to not let the kiss get out of control. A quick tangle of their tongues then Bones joined in. One minute he had Shaina’s soft lips on his and the next a wet dog tongue sloshed across his beard.

Shaina pulled away with a giggle.

Marco didn’t find it quite so funny. “Listen, Bones, we need some rules here when Daddy’s kissing someone else.”

Shaina kissed Bones between the eyes then gently nudged the dog back a bit to drop another quick kiss on Marco’s nose. “Get us out of here.” Her voice was breathless and the sexiest thing he’d heard.

Christine DePetrillo can often be found hugging trees, conversing with dragonflies, and walking barefoot through sun-warmed soil. She finds joy in listening to the wind, bathing in moonlight, and breathing in the fragrances of things that bloom. If she had her way, the sky would be the only roof over her head.

Her love of nature seeps into every story she tells. As does her obsession with bearded mountain men who build, often smell like sawdust, and know how to cherish the women they love. Today she writes tales meant to make you laugh, maybe make you sweat, and definitely make you believe in the power of love.

She lives in Rhode Island and occasionally Vermont with her pack--a husband, a cat, and a big, black German Shepherd who defends her fiercely from all evils.

Visit her and sign up for her newsletter at www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com anytime.

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The Most Eligible Viscount in London

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Ella Quinn will award a $25 Amazon/iTunes GC to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

In bestselling author Ella Quinn’s intriguing new Regency trilogy, a dashing suitor must decide if love and marriage are mutually exclusive . . .

Viscount Gavin Turley is convinced that love matches cause nothing but trouble. Still, after months of courting, he’s fallen for Miss Georgie Featherton. He’s passionate about her, in fact. But words of love are not an indulgence he will allow himself. When he presents Georgie with his marriage proposal, he will lead with his head—not his heart. His qualifications as a husband are excellent, after all. What could go wrong?

No sooner does Gavin kneel on one knee than Georgie’s heart goes aflutter with joy. Finally, the proposal she longed for had arrived. Yet Gavin seemed to be listing his credentials for a business partnership, not a romantic union. Without a declaration of love, Georgie can only reject his offer—unless the ladies of the ton, and Georgie’s grandmamma, have anything to do with it. For sometimes it takes a wiser eye to see the love behind a guarded heart—and a clever scheme to bring it out of hiding . . .

Read an Excerpt

A light tap sounded on the door to Georgie’s parlor. Smith opened it and stood aside as Adeline swept into the room.

“I did not think you would be resting.” She sounded pleased to have been right. “How are you doing?”

Georgie shrugged. “I wish I knew.”

“I can tell you that he does want very much to marry you.” Georgie pulled a face. “Yet he is still haunted by his father.”

In an attempt to help, Littleton had told Adeline who in turn told Georgie about the mess the former Lord Turley had made of everything after his wife had died. “I understand why he thinks he should not love his wife, but I do not understand how one can stop oneself from falling in love.” And that was the essence of the matter. Georgie firmly believed that love was the thing that held two people together during difficult times. She began pacing the room again, changing directions so as not to wear a path in the rug. “Do I give him another chance? Or would I be wasting my time? If he is so certain he will not love his wife, I do not see what I can do to change his mind.”

Adeline’s forehead creased in thought. “Allowing him until the end of the month to convince you would still give you time to go back to Town before the Season ends, and it would answer your questions.”

“I suppose you are correct.” Georgie stopped pacing. Why was this so hard? She closed her eyes and reached deep into her heart. There was a chance that there might be another gentleman out there who was even more perfect for her than Lord Turley only because this unknown gentleman loved her. But until she knew for certain that Turley would never love her, she would give him an opportunity to prove himself. “I shall give him one more chance.”

“I need to tell you one more bit of information.” This time her friend had a wicked grin on her face. “Your grandmother and her friend the duchess arrive tomorrow. They are staying with Mama-in-law.”

“And Turley.” Georgie felt her eyes widen. “Oh my. That will be interesting. What I would not give to hear what they have to say to him.”

“That is exactly what I thought,” her friend agreed. “Frits has suggested that he be allowed to come here as often as he wishes in order to court you. Do you have any objections?”

Georgie began pacing again. For some reason, she could not remain still. Littlewood really was the perfect place for a courtship. Other than the house party entertainments, they could spend time out of the eyes of the ton. It would give her—them—both the opportunity to attempt to resolve the differences in what they each wanted in a marriage. “No.” She wondered what role her grandmother and the duchess would play. “No. I have no objections.” Having a course of action would, at the very least, help her shake off the malaise she had been experiencing. “In fact, I believe I am looking forward to seeing how he intends to convince me I should enter into a loveless marriage.”

About the Author:

USA Today bestselling author Ella Quinn's studies and other jobs have always been on the serious side. Reading historical romances, especially Regencies, were her escape. Eventually her love of historical novels led her to start writing them.

She is married to her wonderful husband of over thirty years. They have a son and two beautiful granddaughters, and a Great Dane. After living in the South Pacific, Central America, North Africa, England and Europe, she and her husband decided to make their dreams come true and are now living on a sailboat. After cruising the Caribbean and North America, she completed a transatlantic crossing from St. Martin to Southern Europe. She's currently living in Germany, happily writing while her husband is back at work, recovering from retirement.

Ella loves when readers connect with her.

Website: https://www.ellaquinnauthor.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EllaQuinnAuthor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ellaquinnauthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7044274.Ella_Quinn
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/ella-quinn
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ella-Quinn/e/B00CAE0FSQ

Buy Links:

Amazon: https://geni.us/AzbRgd
Apple Books: https://apple.co/2PHZZEB
Kobo: https://bit.ly/3sD40si
Nook: https://bit.ly/3sDrldr
Google Play: https://bit.ly/3sDr2PP
Print: https://amzn.to/31t8qpU
BookBub: https://bit.ly/3fsGdb4
Goodreads: https://apple.co/2QFZyLh

Audiobook narrated by Rachael Beresford

Audible: https://adbl.co/3sCVQA6
Amazon Audio: https://amzn.to/3szTt1e
iTunes: https://apple.co/2QFZyLh

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How To Overcome Insomnia All By Yourself

 

How to Overcome Insomnia All by Yourself

by Antoinetta Vogels

 

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GENRE: Self-Help

 

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BLURB:

 

Antoinetta has a bachelor’s in French and a master’s in music. She worked in the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra as a bassoonist, has two grown daughters, and lives in Bellevue, WA, USA.

 

In 2013, Antoinetta created the Sense of Self Method, a self-help program for people who want to get a good night’s sleep no matter what!

 

With her company, Healthy Sense Of Self, LLC, Antoinetta and her team provide education about what can be wrong in the way a person experiences their self and, consequently, others. Antoinetta has made it her life’s work to help people improve their life by reversing issues related to a negative self-image. She wants everyone to have the ability to be their most authentic self.

 

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NOTE: This book is on sale for $0.99.

 

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EXCERPT:

 

Insomnia wreaks havoc on your quality of life and it’s bad for your overall health, so it is no wonder that sleeping aids are a twenty-nine billion dollar market. People need to sleep. You want to get rid of this problem, but you don’t know how. No clear solution has yet been found and nothing you’ve tried so far has worked. 

 

As an ex-insomniac, I have written this book to share with you how I managed to get rid of my chronic sleeping problems and hand you down the tools that helped me heal myself. It is my deepest wish they ensure that you will have fewer restless nights, and perhaps even free you from insomnia forevermore.

 

Let us first agree on how to look at insomnia.

 

If there is no medical explanation for your insomnia, please make the effort to understand the reason behind it. Doing so will allow you to make adjustments to your life so you can eliminate the issue. I’ve found that the best way to get started with that is to see insomnia as a type of self-sabotage. But note that I don’t use this term with the same negative implications that are commonly attributed to it. What I mean to say here is actually the opposite: What if insomnia is in fact serving an important natural purpose for you?

 

 

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Antoinetta Vogels is the Founder and CEO of Healthy Sense of Self™ LLC, author of "How to Overcome Insomnia All by Yourself" her newest book which will release in the fall. She also wrote "Healthy Sense of Self How to be True to Your Self and Make Your World a Better Place!" (2013), as well as the Online Course: Introducing the Sense of Self Method! (found on her website, www.healthysenseofself.com), the "Sense of Self Workbook" (based on the Online Course but also to be used independently) (2014), "A Guided Journal to a Healthy Sense of Self (2014), and "The Motivation Cure" (2017).

 

Through many years of searching for her Self, Antoinetta has come to conclude that from early childhood on, many of us have not been acknowledged as the autonomous people we truly are. She provides insight and tools to help you enhance and/or completely restore your ability to sense your Self and correct the ill-effects of childhood conditioning that reverberate in all aspects of our lives.

 

Antoinetta Vogels is a graduate of the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, Netherlands and a former bassoonist of the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. She is a ballroom dancer, a mother of two and lives in Washington, USA.

 

https://www.healthysenseofself.com/

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7177981.Antoinetta_Vogels

http://www.twitter.com/HealthySoS

https://www.amazon.com/How-Overcome-Insomnia-All-Yourself-ebook/dp/B08T5Y299B/

 

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

Antoinetta will be awarding a print copy of "Healthy Sense of Self - How to be true to your self and make your world a better place!" to one randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour (US Only). 

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Beyond the Book: Biographies

In my opinion writing a good biography is lots harder than writing a book. I remember the first time I had to write a biography. It was a basic, no nonsense, to the point document. It went something like this:

Elaine Cantrell is a high school social studies teacher in South Carolina where she lives with her husband, son Scott and his family, which includes grandson Simon plus two dogs and a cat who rules the roost.

Not a lot of information, is it? Well, I wasn’t satisfied with it so I came up with another try which goes like this:

Elaine Cantrell was born and raised in South Carolina where she obtained a Master’s degree in Personnel Services from Clemson University. She is a member of Alpha Delta Kappa an international honorary society for women educators. She is also a member of Romance Writers of America. Her first novel, A New Leaf, was the 2003 winner of the Timeless Love Contest.  When she’s not writing or teaching, she enjoys movies, quilting, reading, and collecting vintage Christmas ornaments.  

Okay, I like that a little better. It has a little bit more information in it, but I don’t think this one is any good either. I think the purpose of a biography is to sell yourself to the readers so that they’ll try your book, and I don’t think I did. 

Here’s the third try. In this one I tried to make myself sound more exciting and energetic. It went like this:

Born and raised in South Carolina, I hold a Master’s degree in Personnel Services from Clemson University and am a member of Romance Writers of American and Alpha Delta Kappa, an international honorary society for women educators. I’ve been married for thirty five years to my college sweetheart. We have two sons-a physicist and a fraud investigator. They’ve given us three wonderful grandchildren-one girl and two boys.  We also have a sweet calico kitty, and a devoted little black and white dog. 

I’ve been writing since 2001 when my son asked me to proofread a book he’d written.  I figured if he could write a book, so could I.  My first published novel, A New Leaf, was the winner of the 2003 Timeless Love contest.  If I wasn’t sold on writing before, that did it.  I’ve been writing ever since and don’t have any plans to stop.  Frankly, I don’t think I could even if I wanted to.  Writing is a strange compulsion that drives me to spend long hours in front of a keyboard when I could be doing important things like napping or eating chocolate.  My house isn’t dusted as often, I rarely cook, and who cares if the laundry got done or not.  Yeah, no doubt about it, I’m addicted.

I don’t like that one either, but like I said writing a good biography is hard. Do you like one better than the others? If so, which one.

Chasing Victory

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Title: Chasing Victory

Series: The Game Changer Series

Author: Olivia Peters

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Release Date: April 26, 2021

Victory

When my best friend’s older brother breaks my heart, I flee to New York City without ever looking back. Well, almost ever. It’s not always easy to leave his perfectly chiseled body in my rear view.

I’m determined to resist temptation and his pleas for me to move back home. Back to him. History always repeats itself, and when a man breaks you once, only a fool would let him do it again…

So I guess you can call me a damn fool.

Cade

Letting the love of my life walk away was the biggest sacrifice I ever made. And now Victory has me firmly in the barely-friends zone as the penance I deserve. 

When tragedy throws us back together, we seek comfort in the familiarity of each other’s arms – and my bed. I’ve finally earned a second chance, and I won’t make the same mistake twice…

Even if that means lying to her about the real reason we broke up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Goodreads Review - “I'm so glad I took a chance on a new author and this book! This book literally had feelings so many things!”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Romance Reads Reviewed by K - “Olivia Petersen ripped my heart out, put it through the meat grinder before she tried to puzzle it back together.”

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ E&A Book Blog - “A second chance romance that will break your heart and make you swoon.”

Olivia Peters is an executive ghostwriter by day and a romance novelist by night. She’s based in Toronto, Ontario, but spends as much time as possible at her lake house dreaming about her next story.

Olivia writes unapologetically about hot, dirty talking alpha men, and the strong, sexy women who bring them to their knees. Readers can count on angst, steam and guaranteed happily ever afters. 

When Olivia isn’t writing, she’s spending time with her family, enjoying the great outdoors, and cooking up a storm in her cluttered kitchen.

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