Beach Book Weather by Joan Reeves

Yes, it's that time of year when you can find beach books as plentiful as grains of sand on a beach.

Just who invented the fun reading known as Beach Books?

According to Katy Waldman in a New Yorker article, "The Invention of the Beach Read," railroads and steamships made travel easy and those who worked in the city had enough income to abandon the city and escape to coastal towns during the summer.

With the advent of these summer escapes to the coast, book publishers created special book lists for affluent vacationers and. promoted them as summer reads.

Proper reading material at that time was serious literature and nonfiction which meant that those publishers who targeted the monied society‑folk succeeded in changing the perception of reading fiction which was previously considered vulgar and tasteless. 

What better to read at the beach than a novel set at a beach? May I suggest Deceptively Yours, a

sizzling HOT second chance romantic suspense full of surprises.

You'll be captivated by the passionate romance, the intriguing mystery, and the thrilling suspense.

I'll confess that I'll take a wonderful romance with a happily ever after any day of the year, not just in the summer. 

I find Romance is the optimistic genre.

What do you think?

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10 Reasons to Love June by Joan Reeves

Purple hibiscus gone wild in my back yard.

Good morning! Yesterday was my monthly blog date, but I was so busy this past weekend with Father's Day hoopla that I simply forgot.

So today is my better late than never post.

We left home at sunrise to drive to our country house. (Yes, I actually managed to get up before the crack of dawn—not an easy feat for me since I've grown accustomed to sleeping in.)

Since I was able to get myself up and out the door by 6:20, I may try to make that the norm. I could certainly get more done that way.

We left early in order to beat the thunderstorms forecast for today. The landscape of rolling hills, grassy meadows, longhorns, and ancient oaks always is a delight. As we rolled along, I thought of how June is the final gateway before we move into the furnace of summer. I love this month, and here's why.

REASONS I LOVE JUNE

1.  The summer wildflowers covering the roadsides, climbing up the hills and down into the valleys of the highways.

2. June has the longest daylight hours in this part of the world, and that means there are more waking hours to accomplish more. I seem to have llived the last few years in a constant state of "running behind" so I'm always trying to get more done.

3. June is beach weather at its best. It's gloriously warm, but not scalding hot like July. Head to the beach, camp out under the stars, be lazy in the sunshine without burning up.

4. The smell of coconut-scented sunscreen. Wow. Does that bring back memories of the days when I thought nothing of wearing a bikini on the beach. I miss those days—mostly I miss my bikini body. *LOL*

5. Making ice cream out on the porch with the hand-cranked ice cream freezer. The lazy afternoons of sitting outside and taking turns with the hand-crank ice cream freezer. That will give you defined arms!

6. Lying on a patio lounger and seeing "images" in the marshmallow-puffy clouds.

7. Sitting on the front patio here and watching the sunset—complete technicolor. No mosquitoes here in the country.

8. The Watermelon Festival in Luling, Texas. 

9. Floating the river at Seguin, Texas, where the Guadalupe and Comal Rivers converge. Beautiful, cool and peaceful.

10. Reading outdoors. There's just something so satisfying about lying on a lounger, sitting in a porch swing, or sprawling in a hammock while reading. The weather is generally mild so all you need is a comfy place outside and a good book.

POSTSCRIPT

If you're looking for a good book to read outdoors, try Deceptively Yours, a sizzling HOT romantic suspense full of surprises and second chances.

Meet Declan Moran, and be captivated by the passionate romance, the intriguing mystery, and the thrilling suspense. 

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7 Wonderful Facts About Love by Joan Reeves

June was once the month for weddings just as wonderfully aromatic orange blossoms once signified weddings.

Things have changed, but Love hasn't changed.

Here are 7 Wonderful Facts About Love. Use some of them to counter arguments—like the one where men say it's unnatural to be monogamous.

1. In the animal kingdom, monogamous relationships exist. Some of our animal friends who mate for life are swans, albatrosses, black vultures, gibbons, wolves, and even termites. 

2. Studies reveal that it only takes about 4 minutes for a man or woman to decide he/she likes the other. Rather than what one says or how one looks, it has more to do with body language, sound of the voice, and pheromones.

3. Snuggling together or cuddling releases natural painkillers.

4. Believe it or not, looking at a photograph of the one you love also releases natural painkillers.

5. When 2 lovers gaze into each other's eyes, their heartbeats synchronize.

6. Expressing gratitude toward the one you love creates an immediate increase in your happiness.

7. Last, but not least for authors, thinking of love and sex enhances creativity followed by concrete thinking. 

I guess Love is one reason romance novels are so popular! Right? Love may not make the world go round, but it's what makes the trip worthwhile. If the hot weather is getting you down, grab a few romance novels and read inside where it's cool.

If you're looking for a good book this weekend, try Foolishly Yours, for something a little different that's a Kindle Unlimited free read.

Samantha Ruiz is Quadracial and proud of her four ethnicities: African, Cherokee, Hispanic, and White. Filling that out on standardized forms was fun. Not! 

She led a charmed life until two life-changing events happened. First, she got engaged. Second, she resigned her commission as an Army officer to become a Warrant Officer, a military cop, and attracted the attention of an officer at her new post. Both events ended badly.

With her Army career over and wounded by the bitter breakup with her fiancé, Sam moves to Last Chance Beach to care for her grandmother. She’s made a new life for herself as a police officer and is content, if not happy—until Grayson Crawford moves into her Granny's beach rental.

Sam takes an instant dislike to the rude, insensitive beast of a man. What’s worse, the man seems to turn up everywhere she goes. To her horror, she finds herself attracted to the blue-eyed, blond-haired surfer who seems content to drift through life.

She's never dated unsuitable men, and Grayson could be the poster boy for unsuitable. So why does he take her breath away?

Have a wonderful June!

Summer Vacation Has Begun! by Laura Hunsaker

 I work in an elementary school and yesterday was our last day of school. Can I tell you how excited I am to have some down time? Oh wait, no I decided to work Summer School. I kid, I kid. It's actually really fun to work summer school where I am. That doesn't mean it isn't stressful closing out the year, cleaning classrooms out, and all that good stuff. But I did have to laugh that one of my student's parents gave me an end of the year gift...a bottle of pre-mixed margaritas.

This was hilarious and funny and seriously the best gift for your teacher friends ;)

But it really makes me want to sit on a beach and drink fruity drinks out of coconuts. So...I'm instead in my backyard with a margarita and editing a book, pretending I'm somewhere tropical. But this pretty much sums up my summer plans-beach, writing, enjoying a drink or two. How about you? It's summer vacation, do you have any vacations planned? 

And if you'd like a beach read, my book Dreams of the Past takes place in Last Chance Beach, and it's a low-angst and happy story.

Amazon | Kobo | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Smashwords | Goodreads

She needs rest, he needs relaxation…


Jenny Travers wants a fresh start. Leaving the nightmares of her past behind her, she heads to Last Chance Beach. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds peaceful and relaxing, which is exactly what she needs.


What she doesn’t need is a man.


Lieutenant Commander Scott Gordon was injured by an IED on his last mission, and while his leg has healed, it’ll never be strong enough to stay on his SEAL team. Renting the Sea Glass Cottage sounds like the perfect place to figure out how he’s going to handle his new normal.


He never expected to find a woman in his bed.


A mix-up at the rental agency means Jenny and Scott are both renting the small cottage. Sharing a space with a stranger should be hard, yet they both feel more at peace than they have in months.


Will their summer romance last, or is the magic of Sea Glass Cottage all they’ll have…


*This short story was previously published in the Last Chance Beach: Summer's End box set. It has an updated cover, some new content, and is available at all ebook retailers instead of just through Amazon's Kindle Unlimited.