The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hi to the co-hosts: Sarah - The Faux Fountain Pen Jacqui Murray, Chemist Ken, Victoria Marie Lees, Natalie Aguirre, and JQ Rose!

Hello, I am back from surgery. Recovery is going well and my pain has been very mild. The actual surgery itself went well, but not to plan. My doctor's exact words were "Horrible" and "1000 times worse than I expected." The problem was my bladder, bowels, and left ovary were cemented to my uterus. She ended up removing the ovary with the uterus because if something tore I could have bled to death. The risk wasn't worth it. (My mom fully agreed!) It took over 3 hours and she called another surgeon in to help her. I ended up admitted for two nights.

I don't do things half-assed!

Thankfully, surgery didn't derail my plans for 2021 too much. I was in good shape with A Quick Spell so the only thing delayed was the newsletter announcing it was available for pre-order on Amazon. (Subscribers will get a special deal for pre-ordering too, so if you want in on things like that when they happen... HINT HINT.) Other writing has been slow, but it is happening. I'm taking it easy getting back into the swing of things because healing is exhausting.

How has your 2021 been going? Kinder than mine I hope. I'm pretty sure 2021 is trying to make 2020 hold its beer. We might need a restart of the year...maybe the last few years just to be safe.

Also, I need reviews for A Quick Spell. If you'd like a copy to read and review, fill out the form below and I'll send it your way. Thanks.

I always find it fun to insert little Easter eggs into my stories. They're tiny bits from my life or things I enjoy. People may not notice unless they personally know me. Here are four that made it into Mistakes of the Past.

1)Rose’s cleft lip
My nephew was born with a cleft lip and palate. By the time he was five, he had five different surgeries. He still has more to go, but is getting a break. When I created Rose I wanted her to be a cleft lip baby. There really isn’t any reason and it has no impact on the plot. It’s just one of those things that affected my life, and I know it affects others, so it’s nice to see a character with something I can relate to.

2)Josh and his grandma
There is a scene where Luc is comforting a young man at the hospital about his grandma. The thing is, she is still alive in this scene. Still, Josh asks Luc why it hurts already when she’s not gone yet.

I have one grandma left. A few years ago, she was diagnosed with lung cancer, and every illness saps her severely. She’s in her 80s. That’s where the scene came from. I’m aware that I have less time than more with my grandma. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye and I doubt I’ll ever be ready. This scene is coming to term with that fact.

3)Rose’s memory of her teacher at the funeral
My main memory of kindergarten is getting in trouble with the teacher. My bestie of 30+ odd years and I met in kindergarten. We sat next to each other, and instead of listening to the teacher, we were talking. That got us in trouble. For the longest time, I was not endeared to that teacher.

4)The Gerrish farm and Rose’s landlord
Both those I drew from my own landlord. His last name is Gerrish, and I needed a one-time name and that popped in my head. When Rose gripes about her landlord not fixing her toilet and having to reach in to flush. That actually happened with my toilet. Although, my landlord fixed it really fast.

And as a bonus, here is one inspiration that isn’t based on real life.
Rose’s hair loops in chapter five. Anyone watch Avatar: The Last Airbender? Katara has hair loopies and I recall her brother poking fun about them. That’s the picture I had in my head when imagining Rose.

Luc has regrets, but is the Devil worth forgiving?

Luc lives the quiet life in a small town as a priest. It is his atonement for his past wrongs against his family that banished him from their lives. A chance meeting with a beautiful, young woman named Rose throws his resolve into question. Does he want to go home if it means never seeing Rose again? He sees no choice, Rose could never accept who he really is.

When when a Satanic cult from Luc’s past kidnaps Rose, Luc must not only face the cult, but himself if he wants to save Rose. Doing so means she will learn the truth. Will Rose be able to reconcile the truth with the soft-spoken man she knows? Or will Luc lose her forever?

Mistakes of the Past is an urban fantasy about over coming past mistakes and owning who you are.

Ebook available for $3.99 at your favorite retailer.
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I had plans on revealing my next release and asking for help with release day for Insecure Writer's Support Group, but February 1st I'm having surgery. Needless to say, I'm going offline for a bit. If you want to know I got through surgery fine (only positive thoughts here!) keep an eye on my Twitter. I'm going to ask hubby to send a tweet once I'm out of surgery.

Wish me luck!

Today I have Chrys Fey. She has written the Disaster Crimes series and is releasing a new book in the series. Since her books revolve around natural disasters, I want to know, out of all the disasters, which was her favorite to write/research? She also has an awesome giveaway, so be sure to check that out.

CHRYS: The tsunami in Tsunami Crimes (Disaster Crimes Book 3). I have so many tsunami dreams. Each year I have at least two or three. Those dreams—where I am running from the wave, surfing the wave, see it coming, or I’m in a building surrounded by water—helped me to write Tsunami Crimes. After that many dreams, you start to feel as though you’ve really been in one, survived one. Possibly in a past life.

The movie The Impossible, based on the Thailand tsunami 0f 2004, was by far the best source of research for me. Although the wave in the movie wasn't "real," I was able to see what a tsunami looked like and what happened to someone caught in one. They did amazing work on those scenes.

Real accounts from survivors also had an impact on me.

Writing the tsunami was exciting and exhausting all at once. I imagined what it would be like to be caught in one. While I show the aftermath of the other disasters in the series to some extent, I really got to dive into the aftermath of the tsunami and stay there. It was crucial that I do so because of how devastating and shocking and impossible a tsunami is. See? The movie The Impossible struck me, and has stuck with me. So much so that there’s a nod to it during the moment Beth and Donovan see the wave coming for them.

Enough about Tsunami Crimes, though. Let’s talk about…

Pages: 154 | Genre: Romantic-Suspense | Heat Rating: Hot

BLURB:
*A FIGHTING CHANCE is Book 6 in the Disaster Crimes series, but it’s a spin-off featuring a new couple, so it can be read as a standalone.*

Thorn has loved Amanda from afar, giving her whatever she needs as a survivor of abuse—space, protection, and stability. He yearns to give her more, though, to share his feelings, kiss her, love her, but he's worried the truth will frighten her away.

And Amanda is afraid. She’s scared of her attraction for Thorn. Most of all, she’s terrified of her ex-boyfriend, who is lurking nearby where no one can find him. When she grows closer to Thorn, Damon retaliates, jeopardizing their happy ending.

Up against an abusive ex and Mother Nature, do Thorn and Amanda have a fighting chance?

Book Links: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo / iTunes

EXCERPT:
Amanda looked up from the current list of up-to-date payments for classes. A movement outside the glass storefront caught her eye. She tilted her head to see a man coming up the sidewalk from the side where the picnic bench sat. Through the vertical blinds, she glimpsed a square face—a short, rugged beard and long, dark hair pulled into a man bun. Her breath fled from her lungs. Her body went from icy cold to flaming hot in the span of a millisecond. She dropped to the floor and slid under the counter, beneath the ledge where they put their purses and cell phones.

“What—” Beth peeked at the windows. Then she snapped her fingers at April and pointed at the stools.

April jumped into action. She pushed the stools in so they blocked Amanda. The bell attached to the door jingled as April removed the jacket she wore and draped it across the stools, creating a curtain to shield Amanda.

From a crack, Amanda watched Beth move to stand in front of the twins, who were in their walkers playing peacefully. “I’m sorry, but we’re going to be closing.”
“I don’t give a shit. I’m here for Amanda.”

The sound of Damon’s voice had her heart beating even harder. That voice had haunted her nightmares, had come back to life in her memories.

Beth cocked her head to the side. “Who? There’s no one by that name here.”

“Don’t bullshit me. I know she works here.”

His voice was closer now.

For the past few years, there has been a lot of talk of diversity in fiction. Most of it seems to focus on skin color or sexuality, but diversity is much more than that. It's one of the reasons I gave Rose a cleft lip history in Mistakes of the Past.

My second nephew was born with a cleft lip and palate. By the time he was five years old, he had had five surgeries. His first one to fix his lip was when he was one year old. That's a hard pill to swallow; watching your baby nephew go in for major surgery. He's a trooper for sure.

I don't think I've ever read a book where a character has had a cleft lip or palate. There have been lisps, but those characters tend not to be main characters. They're usually someone who is a stepping stone for the hero to save the girl or whatever the plot requires. Easily forgotten.

That's a bummer in my opinion because this is a type of diversity that can easily fit into fiction. It's a way to flesh out the character more and make them more rounded. Not all diversity has to be obvious. They can be a little throw away line about how a character has to ensure they have an EpiPen packed for their journey. It doesn't have to be important to the plot. All it does it tell us a little more about the character and how their life off the pages shaped who they are.

Luc seeks atonement for the actions that banished him from his home. Living as a priest in a small town, he strives to show how much he’s changed with the hope that one day he can return to his family. 

Haunted by the guilt that destroyed her family, Rose has shut her heart off. She vows to never let anyone near lest she hurt them. When she meets Luc, she can’t deny the powerful attraction she feels for him. 

But the demons of the past are not easily forgotten. When Luc’s dark past finds him, Rose is caught in the middle. Forced to face who he used to be, Luc must decide if he’s willing to give up his chance at redemption to save Rose. But doing so means he won’t be able to hide who he is. Will Rose be able to reconcile the man she knows with the devil he used to be? Or are the mistakes of the past too damning?

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