A BRIDE FOR HOUSTON

 By Caroline Clemmons

What are you reading? This is great weather to stay in and curl up with a good book. Actually, I think anytime is great for reading—unless I’m writing one.

Hero is reading PLAYING FOR PIZZA by John Grisham. I’m reading Loretta Chase’s TEN THINGS I HATE ABOUT THE DUKE, which I received for Christmas. Each of us loves reading and generally we enjoy the same books. The exception is that I don’t care for sci-fi or futuristic .

I don’t read erudite, thought provoking tomes. Hero reads things like Stephen Hawking. But each of us reads for entertainment. Of course, I delve into non-fiction for research. After a career working with defense missile guidance systems, Hero enjoys space subjects and scientific books that would leave me yawning. I want a happily-ever-after in anything on which I invest my time!

We also read favorites again and again. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read Louis L’Amour’s westerns, Julie Garwood’s PRINCE CHARMING, and Loretta Chase’s LORD PERFECT. I think we have most of Jayne Ann Krentz’s books by that name as well as many by her Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle pen names.  

With so many great authors as friends, I’ll never run out of good reading material. The other members of this blog, for instance, are great writers whose books I enjoy. I hope you support them and buy their books.

But this is my chance to tell you about my current work in progress. A BRIDE FOR HOUSTON is part of the popular Proxy Brides series. It won’t be released until March, but (big hint here) it is already up for preorder at https://www.amzn.com/B08THSBZH5/. Once released, the book will be in e-book and print and will be in Kindle Unlimited.

Isn’t the cover lovely? Virginia McKevitt of Black Widow Designs created each cover in the series.

Here’s the blurb:

She barely escapes death…

He is angry when a mail-order bride jilts him…

They must defend themselves against mysterious assailants.

Theodosia “Theo” Jordan has lived with the harsh aunt and uncle who are her guardians since her parents’ death five years ago. In three weeks she will turn twenty-one and inherit the estate now controlled by her uncle. When she overhears her aunt and uncle planning her death, she immediately escapes Atlanta by becoming a proxy bride and heading for a small town in Texas.

Houston Kingsley yearns for a happy family like his brother has. Being cheated by a fraudulent mail-order bride who jilts him and keeps the money he sent her discourages him. Is he destined to live alone? His brother convinces him to try for a proxy bride.  The process sounds simple enough—if he can scrape up the cash for a second fare and travel expenses.

But unknown forces create danger for Theo and Houston. Can they discover and defeat the guilty to achieve the happy home each desires? 

Obviously, I hope you’ll preorder A BRIDE FOR HOUSTON. I’m loving the story and hope readers will, too.

Thanks for dropping by. Keep reading!

Weddings: The Ultimate Love Story? by Joan Reeves

In today’s world where couples live together and often have children without marriage, getting married seems to have become the ultimate commitment if not the ultimate love story.

Weddings are celebrated in ceremonies ranging from small, family-only events to splashy galas costing as much as a house.

Ancient People Knew What Was At Stake

It wasn’t always like this. Ancient history tells us that marriage was first a private, domestic affair.

According to Curious Customs of Sex and Marriage by George Ryley Scott (out of print but available at used book outlets), the basic function of marriage was to multiply. After all, the population was small. The planet needed more people. Marriages were simply a way of sponsoring procreation.

You may kiss the bride. Go forth and procreate.

Less Ancient Times

It didn't take men long to decide that the value of a woman--daughter, sister, or a female related by marriage--lay in making marriage contracts that enabled them (the men) to gain more wealth and power.

Yet, marriage was a hard sell to most men. Those testosterone-fueled beings didn't embrace the concept. They took persuading which is probably why the dowry played such a big part in landing a man who would enhance a father's power and wealth.

Perhaps that explains why so many nations (remember, just about all society was patriarchal) experimented with Polygyny, a form of plural marriage in which a man is allowed more than one wife, and Polyandry, a form of polygamy whereby a woman takes two or more husbands at the same time. So they could take a wife many times and get many dowries and expand the old power base.

Eventually, in most civilized nations of the world, monogamy was accepted almost universally, at least in theory, as the perfect form of marital union. As we all know, nothing and no one is perfect, but monogamy was probably what kept the world rocking along for a couple of millennia—dragging all of the customs and superstitions created along the way into our modern world.

Customs Transform To Fit The Times

Many marriage customs continue, with some slight alterations. Although some may still practice Marriage by Capture, that’s usually performed in an altered version called Elopement.

Betrothal in Infancy and Arranged Marriages still survive as do matchmakers. Even Marriage by Purchase survives elsewhere.

In our culture, cynics assert that Marriage by Purchase is alive and well. Just look at all the wealthy sugar daddies--and a few sugar mamas--who are always looking for sexy young sugar babies. Or maybe all of them are just looking for love like the rest of us.

Marriage of Convenience

Another classic tradition in the wedding arena is the Marriage of Convenience in which an unwilling man or woman is forced into a marriage. Sometimes this is because of the need for protection or for economic reasons.

I explore that theme in my romantic comedy, April Fool Bride. which is available at most ebook sellers as well as Amazon Kindle.

Is it a marriage of convenience or something more? Something that sizzles like steam heat between Maddie and Jake that neither can resist!

Oil heiress Madeline Quinn needs a husband by the time she turns twenty-five in order to claim her full inheritance. Mad Maddie, as the tabloids christened her, has learned the hard way that men only see dollar signs when they look at her.

Maddie decides a marriage of convenience is the only answer. She turns to the one man in the world she can trust, her housekeeper’s son who always treated her like a little sister when they were kids growing up together.

Jake Becker hasn’t seen Maddie since the night she tried to seduce him. Why should he help the woman who changed the course of his life? Simple. Revenge.

Joan Reeves writes funny, sexy Romance Novels--available at most ebook sellers. (Audio editions available at Audible, and iTunes.) All of Joan's books have the same underlying premise: "It's never too late to live Happily Ever After."

Joan lives her Happily Ever After with her hero, her husband, in the Lone Star State.

Readers, sign up for Joan's Mailing List/Free NL . Writers, subscribe to WritingHacks, Joan's free NL for authors. Connect Online with Joan: Blog * Facebook * Google+  * Twitter * YouTube.

APRIL FOOL BRIDE -- AN ALL BRIDES ARE BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE

April Fool Bride - An All Brides Are Beautiful Romance- by Joan Reeves

Reviewed by Mary Adair

Maddie has a problem. She needs a husband…and she needs one fast.

Maddie needs to find, a man who will actually agree to sign a prenuptial, marry her and then accept a hefty “pay off” to give her a divorce and exit her life. If she can’t find someone she can trust to pull off this marriage of convenience by April first her step mother will retain the control of her massive inheritance for another ten years.

There is only one man Mattie can think of that she could trust. Jake. He was her first love and the one special friend from her childhood she felt she could go to with her scheme. Jake’s mother worked for Maddie’s family when she and Jake were children. The two spent their childhood together and became fast friends, but Mattie had wanted more. Her impulsive nature put them in an embarrassing situation in which they were caught by Mattie’s stepmother. Jake’s mother lost her job and was kicked out. Jake’s well laid plans for a scholarship and his future crumbled. While Mattie’s life spun out of control, Jake struggled to achieve his dreams and over the years of their separation, unknown by Mattie, had done quite well for himself.  

Their meeting is uncomfortable, but Jake does agree to her scheme.  On April 1^st they are wed and the adventure begins.

This is a wonderful love story. April Fool Bride is well plotted and beautifully told. As the story came to an end I found myself wanting to read more.

I read a lot of books, but I don’t read them all to the end, and I only write a review on the ones I love. I thoroughly enjoyed April Fool Bride.  5 Stars!!

April Fool Bride by Joan Reeves

Reveal: April Fool Bride

For several months, I’ve been keeping the lid on my work in progress. Now I can reveal all: cover, publishing date, blurb, and excerpt. I'm even going to tease you with a video.

April Fool Bride is my novella that will appear in Weddings on Main Street, an anthology about, well, weddings of course! I hope you love the cover as much as I do.

This Box Set by eleven of us Authors of Main Street, consists of eleven novellas of varying degrees of sugar and/or spice. April Fool Bride is a bit spicy because I like a side order of sexy in my romance novels.

I plan to publish my novella separately a month after the release of the box set. April Fool Bride is the first of my new romance novella series: All Brides Are Beautiful.



Blurbing April Fool Bride

Oil heiress Madeline Quinn needs a husband by the time she turns twenty-five in order to claim her full inheritance. Mad Maddie, as the tabloids christened her, has learned the hard way that men only see dollar signs when they look at her.

A marriage of convenience is the solution, and Maddie turns to the one man in the world she can trust, her housekeeper's son who always treated her like a little sister when they were kids.

Jake Becker hasn’t seen Maddie since the night she tried to seduce him. Why should he help the woman who changed the course of his life? Simple. Revenge.

Or is it something else. Something that simmers between them that neither Maddie nor Jake can resist?

Weddings on Main Street, an anthology by eleven of us Authors of Main Street, consists of eleven novellas of varying degrees of sugar and/or spice. My April Fool Bride is a bit spicy because I write sassy, sexy romance. In length, each novella is between 20K–30K words.

Excerpt from April Fool Bride

Jake drained his cup and went back to the coffee carafe for more, using the time to mull over her "offer."

He didn't know what was going on in that rich girl brain of hers, but whatever it was, it was definitely intriguing. And so was Maddie. He’d be lying if he said she didn’t make his pulse throb. She wasn't conventionally pretty, but her face was arresting. Striking. Appealing in its sensuality.

Her lips drew his gaze. Briefly, he allowed himself to think about covering her mouth with his. How would she taste? How would it feel to have her mouth on him. Heat uncurled within him, and he had to fight the images.

He didn't have anything better to do at the moment, he told himself. So why not string her along? See what she wanted. He turned and faced Maddie. Crossing his arms, he leaning back against the black granite counter, aiming for nonchalance. "Okay. Tell me more. Who do I have to kill for this great financial opportunity?"

"Oh, it's nothing like that," Maddie said in a rush. "You just have to marry me."

Post Script

I hope you’ll like April Fool Bride. Please join me in June for April Fool Bride and Weddings on Main Street.

(Joan Reeves writes sassy, sexy Contemporary Romance. Her books are available at all major ebook sellers with audio editions available at Amazon, Audible.com, and iTunes. Joan publishes Writing Hacks, a free subscription newsletter for writers, and I LUV Books, a free subscription newsletter for readers. Visit her blog, SlingWords. Watch her videos for writers and readers.