Did I mean to rant on TV about the inconvenience of sharing the ice with San Jose’s brand-new women’s hockey team?
No, of course not. I’m not an idiot, whatever my second-grade teacher might have written in my quarterly progress reports.
But I probably should have noticed my teammates’ frantic arm movements. And I definitely shouldn’t have blurted out that I’m actually supportive of women’s hockey because I’m dating Diana Marsh, the captain of the San Jose Pumas.
Because the fact is… we’re not dating. Even if maybe, we sort of did, uh, sleep together. Before I ghosted her.
But now our teams’ billionaire owner is eager for our ‘romance’ to be public, and since my face is all over his health app, I can’t say no to him.
Besides, the Pumas will get publicity, and my reputation as captain of the San Jose Jackals will be salvaged.
Kandi Cain inherited her Dr. Doolittle abilities from her
grandmother and became a psychic pet detective. To her dismay, she just
acquired the power to communicate with the spirit world, but dead people give
her the willies.
Just when Kandi thought her life couldn’t get more complicated, the neighbor
from hell moved in next door. The nasty guy’s name is Dutch Callaghan. How can
someone so gorgeous be such a dick? Kandi could chalk some of it up to his job.
Dutch is a Phoenix PD homicide cop.
Kandi’s current case is rescuing a Yorkie from a brutal dog fighting ring.
Little does she know her dog napping suspect is involved in a series of brutal
murders. Disguised as an elderly nun, Kandi rescues the Yorkie and, in the
process, blows the hell out of Dutch’s undercover operation.
Kandi now finds herself a person of interest in her client’s murder and her
sexy-as-hell, pain-in-the-butt neighbor is in hot pursuit of the Ninja Nun. Is
Dutch about to slap the cuffs on? Only time will tell.
Lions and tigers and skunks, oh my! Kandi Cain’s a psychic
pet detective. Her cases range from wrangling baby goats, to finding lost
critters. Her current case is rescuing a lion from a Nigerian warlord. Kandi
knew dressing up as a demonic clown and walking a lion down a city street would
freak people out. But, wow! She didn’t expect Armageddon.
The hot as hell Detective Dutch Callaghan’s on her trail again and showing more
than a professional interest. Kandi’s talents have attracted the attention of a
CIA black ops agent who wants her to steal twelve endangered white tigers from
a Pakistani warlord. The mission’s crucial to prevent a terrorist attack.
Wait! What? Terrorists? What had she gotten herself into? Kandi wasn’t a
superhero. She couldn’t bend steel with her bare hands, and she wasn’t faster
than a speeding bullet. She’s Doctor Doolittle. She talks to the animals and
occasionally the dead.
Howdy. My name is Gail Koger and once upon a time I was a
9-1-1 dispatcher. Too many years of wild requests, screwy questions, bizarre
behavior and outrageous demands have left me with a permanent twitch and an
uncontrollable craving for chocolate. I took up writing science fiction romance
to keep from killing people. So far, it has worked.
Melody is a simple woman with simple needs that include good clean books, safe and intelligible television, and a job that she loves. As far as she’s concerned, she has everything she needs, including a beloved gig as the assistant librarian of her local public library. When a Winter Reads program turns chaotic and Melody is caught in the crossfires of a massive child-induced food fight, her dream job becomes a nightmare – a nightmare that continues into a snow-covered, accident-prone next day. After waking up to a sudden massive snowfall covering her town, she becomes the unwilling victim of a snowball fight between two identical twin brothers. Melody must then decide if she has met her very own Mister Right, or if her perfect life can handle an imperfect interruption. Lighthearted laughs and endearing moments fill this modern romantic comedy by humorist Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe.
CLICK TO PURCHASE!
This book will be on sale for $0.99 for the
duration of the tour.
As she walked, she read. While there were a lot of people around, it wasn’t very crowded. She didn’t worry about bumping into anybody or tripping over anything as long as she stayed on the paved pathways that circled around and wound through the city park. The pathways had plenty of snow covering them, but the people who had arrived before her did good work in trampling through and stomping down the snow that covered them.
Soon, all thoughts of her surroundings faded away into the background as Sally and her tale of love and life took over. Melody was at a really great part too. Sally, the protagonist, was single and twenty-five – close enough to Melody’s own age to make her very relatable. And there was this guy named Eric who worked at the same clothing store as Sally. Sally had found him attractive, and she hoped the same from him. At the start of the current chapter, Sally received a dozen red roses with an unsigned note card attached that says, “You look beautiful today.”
Melody gushed and paused in her step to just take in the moment. And, in that very moment, she heard a man shout, “I got it! I got it, bro!”
Looking up just in time to see a snowball nearing her face and a man leaping in front of it to try and catch it, Melody squealed. The snowball splattered against the man’s hand. The man lost his footing on the snow and fell backward. This caused him to impact with a startled Melody, plunging into her and knocking her down to the ground. Her bottom plopped down into the deep snow, and her elbows helped prevent her from landing flat and making it worse. Had she not been holding on to Roses for Sally for dear life, she surely would have damaged the book in the snow.
The man who collided into her landed just a foot or so in front of her and was pushing himself out of the snow while laughing. She watched him as he wiped the snow off himself, oblivious to her existence on the ground behind him. More than a bit insulted by the moment, she glared up at him.
“I told you I got it!” he shouted and laughed again. “Dude, did you see that block?”
“Yeah, bro,” yelled another voice. “But did you see what else you hit?”
“Huh?” the man asked. “What’d I hit?”
Melody watched him look over his shoulder and finally see her there on the ground behind him.
“Oh…” he muttered, looked blank for a moment, and then smiled and said, “Hi!”
GUEST POST:
Please welcome the author of our featured book, Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe, to the blog today!
‘Smiles Brighten Rainy Days’
by Jennifer Patricia O'Keeffe
The reason I write romantic comedies is because I love
nothing more than to smile. To laugh. To be happy. That’s why I am a literary
humorist. I believe that joy opens us up to receive the greater things out of
life.
I wrote ‘Snowfall’ because I needed to smile. I needed to
laugh. I needed to be happy, but I wasn’t. I was depressed, which is not very
good for a humorist. Life around me had become different and chaotic. I’d
stopped writing after just beginning to build a steady fanbase. I was simply
going through the doldrums of each single day and into the next, off my path
and forgetting my dreams of goals.
Then, in late fall of last year, I had a serious heart to
heart with myself and reminded myself that the thing that makes me happiest in
life is writing and bringing joy to my readers. I sat myself down, opened up my
laptop, and wrote again for the first time in a long time.
That is how ‘Snowfall’ was born.
‘Snowfall’ is a book about a woman with a perfectly simple
life who believe she has everything she needs and doesn’t need anything more.
On one fateful morning, she awakens to a huge snowfall covering her city and
throwing a wrench in her day’s plans. It is then that her perfect, simple life
takes a series of heavy blows.
Her name is Melody, and she is strong and demonstrates this
throughout ‘Snowfall,’ taking on whatever life throws her way.
Through it all is what I do best – incorporating humor into everyday
life. Nothing feels better than a genuine smile, and the offer of that is what
‘Snowfall’ brings to the table.
If you’re expecting something along the lines of Amy Schumer
style romantic comedies, you won’t find that here. My romcoms are cleaner,
without the usage of foul language or explicit sex throughout. I believe in
leaving some things up to the imagination, and I believe the language in my
books shouldn’t offend my readers, no matter who they may be. I write light,
safe romantic comedies, and ‘Snowfall’ embodies that.
I enjoyed romantic comedies when I was a teenager, and I’ll
enjoy them when I’m old. That’s another reason my romcoms are appropriate for
most ages. They’re entertaining, plot driven, and – especially in the case of
‘Snowfall’ – they offer a realistic look at today’s young every-woman and a
glimpse of what today’s romance involves.
I can’t express how much I love this book, and I am
appreciative of this opportunity to explain why. If you need a smile on your
face… if you need to breathe a sigh of joy instead of a sigh of angst or
boredom… if you need someone to root for and to love who would love you and
root for you back, meet Melody. Enjoy her snowstorm adventure.
Thank you for enjoying this moment with me here at Guatemala
Paula Loves to Read Blog! I do hope you’ll take a chance on my style of
romantic comedies and read my latest release ‘Snowfall.’ I promise, it’ll put a
smile on your face and a tickle on your funny bone!
If you’re interested in reading more of my musings, or my
book reviews, movie reviews, or the occasional recipe or household tip I feel
the urge to share, please follow my blog at: https://singlegirlsguidetohappiness.blogspot.com/
Much Love and Many Laughs,
Jenn.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Jennifer Patricia O’Keeffe is a humorist fiction author whose works include the stories My Name is Not Cupid, The Scent of a Man, and the beautifully reviewed thriller about a mother who would stop at nothing to save her child, Hot Chocolate on a Cold Winter’s Night, among others. Known for her quirky romantic comedies that feature realistic women of various ages and races and the trials and tribulations of adulting and dating, Jennifer’s writings allow real women to see themselves in her characters. Jennifer is also a proud LGBTQ+ ally and often features gay characters in her stories, including the tale All I Want is to be Happy, which features a wonderful gay protagonist. Jennifer, herself, is a single straight woman, still looking for love, and living with her cats in an apartment in Nashville, Tennessee.
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SYNOPSIS:
All
Casey wanted was to have hot, mind-blowing sex with Hothar, her soul mate. That
little fantasy went up in smoke when she’s stuck babysitting a cowardly witch
who is the galaxy’s only hope of survival.
My gaze fixed
on a tall, brawny warrior dressed in a spiffy black uniform striding across the
landing pad. God, why did he seem so familiar? I eyed his short hair and beard.
He didn’t look Coletti. Maybe he was one of Zarek’s mercenaries. I mentally
scanned him, and my jaw dropped. “Oh, my God. Hothar?”
The warrior
stopped and turned to face me.
My affectionate
companion had turned into a cold-eyed stranger. My stomach tied in knots; I
walked over to him. “What happened to your warrior’s braids?
“I cut them
off.”
Color me
confused. Braids were an important part of a Coletti warrior’s identity. “Why?”
“I went
undercover as an Avicii mercenary.”
Which explained
his brown eyes. “And the beard?”
“It hides my
Coletti features.” Hothar’s gaze roamed over me. “You have not been eating
properly.”
“Gee, I wonder
why?”
“I must go.
Zarek awaits me.”
Talk about a
slap in the face. Was he that eager to get away from me? “Who do you think told
me where you were? Should I call you War Commander now or will Hot Lips still
do?”
The muscles in
Hothar’s jaw bunched. “I do not answer to Hot Lips.”
“Don’t I get a
hug, Hot Lips?”
Hothar’s hands
fisted. “I gave my word to Zarek that I would not touch you.”
“Well, I
didn’t.” I wrapped my arms around him. “I’ve missed you so much.”
“And I you.”
Pain squeezed
my heart at his cool, impersonal tone. He didn’t sound like he had missed me at
all. His body remained stiff and unyielding. My God, he hadn’t even smiled at
me. I took a step back and smacked his chest. “You’ve changed your mind about
us. That’s why you never wrote or called or linked with me.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
I
was a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Glendale Police Department and to keep from
going totally bonkers – I mean people have no idea what a real emergency is.
Take this for example: I answered, “9-1-1 emergency, what’s your emergency?”
And this hysterical woman yelled, “My bird is in a tree.” Sometimes I really
couldn’t help myself, so I said, “Birds have a tendency to do that, ma’am.” The
woman screeched, “No! You don’t understand. My pet parakeet is in the tree.
I’ve just got to get him down.” Like I said, not a clue. “I’m sorry ma’am but
we don’t get birds out of trees.” The woman then cried, “But… What about my
husband? He’s up there, too.” See what I had to deal with? To keep from hitting
myself repeatedly in the head with my phone I took up writing.
