This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bernadette Marie will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

I have been writing nearly nonstop since I was in the seventh grade. It didn’t become a full time job until I was well into my thirties, but by then I had five busy kids and multiple businesses.

Gratefully, I’ve usually run my businesses from my home, which allowed me the opportunity to be with my kids. But, it became a game of making sure I could accommodate everything in my life.

I am a big list maker. Often it has been my lists that offer me time to accommodate everything I need to tend to. I know in order to output the number of books I want per year, I need to stay on track. So, writing usually started before anyone in my family woke up. And even though all of my kids have since moved out, I still keep this schedule. Tending to my words first thing in the morning gets those words into that book before I’m pulled in a million different directions.

I’m not only a big list maker, but I’m a time blocker. I block out my time per week. I know I have 168 hours each week to accomplish as much as possible, and to also take care of myself. I organize my tasks by writing, publishing, tending to my other businesses, family, friends, and myself. (Oh, sure, these are just a few of my categories, but you get the idea.) From there each area in my life gets a certain number of hours in which I work those tasks. It truly keeps me focused on not only getting everything done, but making sure that I have time for myself to exercise, spend time with family and friends, and to just veg on the couch.

I also believe in giving yourself grace. So if I choose to go to lunch with a friend, or go shopping with my mom and sister, I easily move those blocks around to allow myself that time to take care of myself.

When Will seeks to rekindle a flame with his ex-girlfriend, his best friend Monique reluctantly suggests a plan involving secret admirer notes to divert his ex’s attention. In a surprising turn, Monique finds herself infatuated with her new boss, prompting Will to reciprocate with anonymous tokens of affection. However, as the deceptive game unfolds, both Monique and Will come to realize that the heartfelt sentiments expressed in the secret admirer notes were their own true feelings. So, what happens if the plan works? What happens if it doesn’t?

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“Happy New Year, sweetheart,” he says, his words slurred from champagne.

“Sure,” I say, letting my eyes close. “Can’t even imagine anything happy about it.”

“Cynical,” he teases, but I don’t have the energy to argue with him.

Lifting my head, I sit back in my chair, and scan a look over him. Will’s hair looks like he just rolled out of bed, but that wasn’t how he looked when he’d brought me home. Alcohol and stress has had him raking his fingers through it until now it stands on end.

Will is a handsome guy, though lacking in any fashion sense. He’s my ride or die friend, has been since middle school, and I adore him.

“Are you going home?” I ask, noticing his eyes blink slower, or maybe my eyes are blinking slowly.

“No. Since you begged me to drink away the old year with you, you’re going to have to let me sleep on your couch.”

I was hoping he’d say that. I don’t want him to leave. Tonight, I want the company.

“Do you think she’s home?” I ask.

Will leans his elbow onto the table, resting his head in his palm, and he watches me. I move to mimic him, placing my elbow on the table, and my head in my hand.

“She’s home,” he says. “I’m just afraid that maybe she’s not alone.”

I reach for his other hand, and lace our fingers together.

“You know your living situation makes no sense, right?” I say.

“I know that more than anyone,” he admits.

“I mean, who lives with their ex?”

About the Author: Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie writes contemporary romances and believes in Happily Ever After. The married mother of five believes in love at first sight, quick love, and second chances. An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a certified instructor and holds a third degree black belt in Tang Soo Do. She loves Tai Chi, traveling to Disney parks, and having lunch with friends. When not writing, or running her own publishing house, Bernadette is probably immersed in a Rom Com, from which she will often quote one-liners.

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This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Bernadette Marie 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.

Sometimes coming home opens the door to discovering something new.

After Coach Diaz’s funeral, Alex Burke realized there was nothing left for him in Boston, especially after he found out his girlfriend had moved on. Moving back to Colorado, and bonding with his college friends, is what Alex needed to get his life back in order.

Catherine Anderson grew up in the shadow of Coach Diaz’s daughter. The best friend that was always overlooked, Catherine had reservations about the men who had been Coach’s Fabulous Five, especially Alex Burke who always had eyes for Rachel, and didn’t even know Catherine existed.

Coming together to mutually help Rachel through hard times, Catherine and Alex realize they’d had eyes for one another back when. Perhaps now that Alex was home, it would be a good time to explore an adult relationship. But when news out of Boston rocks his world, it just might be more than Catherine can handle.

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He understood Catherine’s dislike of the whole team, in general. She was a protector, and when that many horny teenagers are hanging around, any sensible girl would want to shield their friend. And, Alex had made his move on Rachel after Craig left back then, but in his head, he remembered his intentions being a little more wholesome than Catherine might have thought they were.

Either way, she’d held onto that grudge for a very long time. And wasn’t it a shame?

The beautiful blonde with the magnificent smile had been on Alex’s mind since he’d seen her at Coach’s funeral. He’d thought there was a breakthrough between them when they’d all rallied around Rachel on the Fourth of July, when the sound of fireworks triggered the trauma she’d gone through with the active shooter at the school. Catherine had let him ease in, wrap his arm around her, and they’d even settled on the couch together. Maybe that night had done them all in.

Still, awkward wasn’t how he wanted to talk about his time with Catherine.

He sipped from his beer. Once upon a time, Alex Burke had game, maybe it was just time to try and get it back.

About the Author:

Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then she has authored and published over forty-five books. The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.

Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well.

When not immersed in the writing/publishing world, Bernadette Marie can be found spending time with her family, traveling, and running multiple businesses. An avid martial artist, Bernadette Marie is a second degree black belt in Tang Soo Do, and loves Tai Chi. She is a retired hockey mom, a lover of a good stout craft beer, and might have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

Buy the book at Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

There is a common question that I get from those who want to write a book but have yet to commit. “I want to write a book. Where do I start?”

The first thing I tell a wannabe author, or even a new author feeling the waters, is meet other authors. Get to know those who are likeminded and share the same passion. I don’t mean that if you write fantasy, you should only converse with those who write fantasy, on the contrary, mix it up.

Authors have a kinship that is easily shared. Most authors I know want to share their journey with anyone who is forging their own path. And every journey is different. Some authors have million-dollar publishing contracts on their first book ever. Other authors will pen one hundred books and make pennies. The point is, each author is passionate about their storytelling process, and they will share that with you.

Where do you meet these likeminded people? Writing groups are phenomenal for this kind of networking. They have local and national groups from every kind of genre, for fiction, nonfiction, screenwriting, you name it. Check out a local chapter. Go to a conference. Meet an author at a book signing and see who they’re affiliated with. Take a class from an author. The possibilities are endless.

Whether you have written an entire series or have yet to put a word down on paper, feeding that passion with people who understand your thought process and your dreams in invaluable.

My next piece of advice for a new author would be to write. I know it sounds like that would be a normal step, but authors sometimes like to get in their heads too much. You can spend years plotting out a book, or making character sheets and spreadsheets to follow. Sometimes, authors know every aspect of the book so well they’re living and breathing the details, but they’ve yet to get the whole story down.

Write that book. Write it from start to finish. It’s going to suck—that’s called a first draft. You’re going to massage it and make it better, that’s called editing and revising. So don’t be fearful of the words you’re putting down, just get them out of you. And when you go to a conference and you’re sitting with seasoned authors, they will commiserate with you. Because they too had to go through that same process to get their first book down on paper too.

Enjoy the process!

Saying goodbye is sometimes the beginning.

Craig Turner was Coach Diaz’s star player, back in the day. He was held in high regard, until he broke the rules and dated the coach’s daughter. Young and stupid, his affection for her lasted until graduation, and then it was time to face the real world–but his love for her would never leave him.

Rachel Diaz became who her father wanted her to be, a well educated, well traveled, successful woman, but she holds a well full of secrets from the outside world. As a high school therapist, she uses her past traumas to help others overcome their own.

When the Fabulous Five arrive at Coach Diaz’s funeral, to pay their respects, a rekindling happens between them all—and between Craig and Rachel.

Is Rachel woman enough to face her demons and is Craig man enough to accept them? Or will their encounter be as brief as the affair they had a decade ago, behind her father’s back?

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“Dr. Olivia Chasen,” Santa’s jolly baritone popped her mental fuzzy bubble.

She stopped as she struggled to whirl around. “Me?” She touched her chest with a dramatic flourish she didn’t know she possessed.

A powerful spotlight illuminated her; its heat burned her already flushed face.

She pressed a clammy palm to her chest. “How do you know my name?” The haze in her mind was paralyzing all cognitive function.

“My dear girl,” Santa chuckled, “you should know by now that Santa knows everything and everyone,” he tapped an index finger to his temple.

Santa Claus turned to address the waiting line. “Girls, Boys, Moms, Dads, everyone, if you don’t mind waiting for a brief moment, I’d like for Olivia,” he pointed a white gloved finger at her, “to please come up here on stage, and tell me what she wants for Christmas.”

She stood dumbfounded as the audience and the people in line clapped and chanted her name, “Olivia! Olivia! Olivia!”

Oh no! What was she going to do? She couldn’t possibly go up onto that stage. She was far too shy to address a theater full of people.

But if she didn’t go that would be so unexciting and so like the old Olivia.

But she wasn’t unexciting! She was the new Olivia, and she was exciting! And she wanted to have fun! Correction: She was determined to have fun. Besides, she’d never see these people—her fellow passengers—ever again.

About the Author: Bestselling Author Bernadette Marie is known for building families readers want to be part of. Her series The Keller Family has graced bestseller charts since its release in 2011. Since then she has authored and published over thirty-five books. The married mother of five sons promises romances with a Happily Ever After always…and says she can write it because she lives it.

Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well.

When not immersed in the writing/publishing world, Bernadette Marie and her husband are shuffling their five hockey playing boys around town to practices and games as well as running their family business. She is a lover of a good stout craft beer and might have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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

The author’s journey is filled with criticism. It starts with our own words that play in our head, then we willingly hand over our work to an editor and beta readers, and then we face the sharp lashing of critics when they hand in reviews.

I’ve been in this game for a decade, and I’ve only been successful since I stopped criticising my own work. I write for me, and I’m blessed that my words resonate with others. However, remembering that I write for my own joy and my own therapy, it keeps me from criticising myself.

Very early on in my career, I was handed an amazing editor, and to this day I credit her with making me the author I am now. Looking back, as a publisher and editor myself, I would have turned away my work too. There was a great need for growth, and she walked me through it with kid gloves and gentle words. But I’ve had the harsh sting of words from those who judged my work. They sent me things like, “If I bought you a box of commas would you bother to use them?” and “I hate your character so much I would never buy you.” These are the harsh words that attack you right to your soul, but what you have to remember is they didn’t do their job by telling you things like this. It always made me wonder what was wrong with them, since their delivery was so hateful, not what was wrong with me. No, as a judge in some contest, they’re not paid or anything of the sort, but they too somewhere are being fed this kind of criticism, and I remember that now–I laughed at it then. I combat their ways by making sure that if I’m asked to critique someone’s work I’m honest, and kind. It goes a long way.

As for reviews, I deal with that criticism by not reading them. Well, not often. Usually a good review will come straight to me. If someone has something nice to say about you, they want you to know it. However, there is a lot of room for bad reviews, and I figure reviews are for the reader not for me. And think about it, how many times have you looked at a review of something and thought, “well, they hate it, but I really want to try this.” Or maybe you read a review and think, “that person has other problems.”

Criticism is all around us, and if we don’t learn to take it in and digest it a little, we will forever walk around worried about the world around us and what it will do to attack us next. Keep writing for yourself. Be willing to grow when properly critiqued, but know when a hurtful word is just that.

Kennedy Devereaux, owner of Kennedy Devereaux Designs, is a sight to behold in her signature pink colors, accented with custom designed jewelry. Intriguing enough that Joel Kingsley, the man building the new business next door, can’t help but keep coming around, just to get to know the woman in the designer clothes. He finds she’s not such a mystery, and his charm easily wins her over–until she finds that he’s forgotten to let her in on the secrets of his past.

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Pink doors, crystal light fixtures, white shelves. Joel cupped his hands around his eyes to get a better look at the feminine interior of the store he stood in front of. Kennedy Devereaux Designs, the lettering on the door said. Costume jewelry, purses, and a few pieces of clothing were elegantly displayed on uncluttered shelves. He could see a small sitting area toward the back of the store with white chairs on a plush pink rug.

When he stepped back from the door, he inhaled. Could he even smell the store and all of its femininity?

“Can I help you?” A soft voice had him turning to see a woman, as feminine as the store, standing behind him.

She was the smell—sweet and floral. Soft golden hair framed a delicate face, and her lipstick matched the soft pastel pink of the doors he’d been looking through. Sharp blue eyes watched him as he stared at her.

Joel Kingsley was no idiot around women, but this one seemed to render him speechless.

About the Author:

So Cute Photo San Jose Family Photography

Obsessed with the art of writing and the business of publishing, chronic entrepreneur Bernadette Marie established her own publishing house, 5 Prince Publishing, in 2011 to bring her own work to market as well as offer an opportunity for fresh voices in fiction to find a home as well.

When not immersed in the writing/publishing world, Bernadette Marie and her husband are shuffling their five hockey playing boys around town to practices and games as well as running their family business. She is a lover of a good stout craft beer and might have an unhealthy addiction to chocolate.

Buy the book at Amazon.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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