5 Fun Ways To Enjoy Your Outdoor Dining Space

I prefer eating outdoors in the summer. To make meals even more festive, consider these tips. And remember, keep it simple!

1.  String a set of outdoor bistro lights for a celebratory flair. I love these bulbs, and have them hanging in my sun porch.

2.  Arrange a floral bouquet from your seasonal garden as an impromptu centerpiece.

3. Consider a long outdoor bench that can seat lots of people. Plus, that type of seating is flexible for kids and pets.

4.  Use lots of color. Mismatched acrylic glasses and plates are fun. The more vibrant, the better.

5.  Choose your outdoor furniture to handle all kinds of weather.

Do you love dining outdoors in the summertime? Please share your comments below.

 

If you love exotic tropical islands featuring exquisite international cuisine, then my summer beach read, Maeve, is for you. You will love this sweet romance, set on the beautiful French island of Corsica, France.

He’s all business. She loves to laugh. When business conflicts with pleasure, what could possibly go wrong?

Maeve Doherty needed a hard-earned break from Ireland’s rainy weather, as well as caring for her younger brother. When the offer from Perfect Match to enjoy a week on an island of her choice arrived, she hesitated.
But not for long.

She’d always wanted to visit Corsica. Besides, who passed up free?
All right, so she'd spend the week with a match. On her dating profile, she’d added that she was a workaholic. Hopefully, so was he.

Edward Newell had one thing on his mind when he reached Corsica, and it didn't involve meeting a perfect match. Dating? Love? Romance? Not for him.
He was determined to find the picture-perfect location for his thriving hotel chain.

When unexpected attraction burns for the beautiful Maeve, and business conflicts with pleasure, what could possibly go wrong?

Pick up your copy of Maeve today! Also available in paperback and audiobook.

Josie Riviera is a USA TODAY bestselling author of contemporary, inspirational, and historical sweet romances that read like Hallmark movies. She lives in the Charlotte, NC, area with her wonderfully supportive husband. They share their home with an adorable shih tzu, who constantly needs grooming, and live in an old house forever needing renovations.

Follow Josie on Bookbub and “like” her Author Facebook page.

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FROM AUTHENTIC LEGENDS TO ROMANTIC MEDIEVAL SERIES

by Vijaya Schartz, Guest Author

Vijaya Schartz, Author

In the French countryside where my father was born, the birth place of Merlin, near Broceliande, legends of Melusine the Fae abound. She lived notoriously in Lusignan in the 12^th Century, built the tower of Vouvant in one night to save the villagers from the invaders. Wherever you turn, you see the legendary ondine gracing the signs of the local taverns, the bakery, the museum. There, Melusine is alive, and part of history as well as legend. But very few are familiar with the entire scope of her story.

While visiting the Melusine Museum in Vouvant, years ago, I came upon a special exhibit that included a puzzling tapestry. It depicted the wedding of Sigefroi of Luxembourg with Melusine, in 963 AD. 963? The Melusine I had come to know had lived centuries later. How was this possible? Then I discovered many more legends of Melusine, her mother, and her two sisters, in the local folklore of various European localities at different times in history. As if the same family of Fae, immortal by nature, had survived through the centuries, each time with the same personality, each time afflicted by the same curse, for abusing their supernatural powers in childhood...

Excited by that discovery, I set upon a decade of research to connect all the dots. Yes an entire decade. While writing other books, I actively pored over ancient translations, old texts, I traveled to France to tiny libraries and museums holding on to their local legendary roots... until I put together the many pieces of that incredible puzzle, to uncover the entire picture. Only then did I understand what I had... enough fantastic material to write the most exciting medieval fantasy series.

My agent was very excited and prompted me to write the series. But publishers at the time did not receive it well. They thought the readers would not buy medieval fantasy... unless it was vampires. Well, my immortals are not vampires. Finally, a Canadian publisher, Books We Love, gave this series a chance last year, and I am grateful. Four books are out right now, with a fifth to be released around the holidays. More will follow as the tapestry of the entire legend unfolds.

The Curse of the Lost Isle series starts in the early 800s with Pressine the Fae, in PRINCESS OF BRETAGNE, during the Viking invasions in Scotland. In Book 2, PAGAN QUEEN, she defies the Goddess and gives birth to three daughters, Melusine, Meliora, and Palatina.

SEDUCING SIGEFROI, Book 3, and LADY OF LUXEMBOURG, Book 4, are set at the foundation of Luxembourg as a country. CHATELAINE OF FOREZ, Book 5, is set in what is now France, and was just released this year.

There is also a box set of the first three novels in the series… a true bargain. The rest of the series sweeps Spain, Aquitaine, and the Middle East during the Crusades, an exciting and dangerous time to be alive... especially for Pagan immortals. See an overview of the entire series on my website under Medieval Series.

CHATELAINE OF FOREZ
Curse of the Lost Isle Book 5
Medieval Fantasy Romance
by Vijaya Schartz

1028 AD - Afflicted by the ondine curse, Melusine seeks the soul of her lost beloved in the young Artaud of Forez, who reigns over the verdant hills south of Burgundy, on the road of pilgrims, troubadours and merchants. But this dark and brooding Pagan lord is not at all what she expected or even hoped. He knows nothing of their past love, her Fae nature, or her secret curse. Must Melusine seduce and betroth this cold stranger to satisfy the Goddess and redeem her curse?


The gold in the rivers instills greed in the powerful, and many envy the rich Lord of Forez, including his most trusted vassals... even the Bishop of Lyon. When Artaud’s attraction to Melusine makes them the target of a holy hunt, will she find redemption from the curse, or will they burn at the stake?

This series already gathered many five-star reviews, with titles like "Edgy Medieval, Yeah!" or "Wow!" or "Fantastic!" But be warned, I do not sugarcoat the middle ages, and some scenes are bloody and realistic. I hope you will try it and enjoy it. At this time this series is only available in kindle on Amazon. Follow the links below to find all my books.

Vijaya Schartz

Find Vijaya on her WEBSITE, and her books on AMAZON - B&N - ARE and other major eBook retailers on the web.

Blasters, Swords, Romance with a Kick
http://www.vijayaschartz.com 
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