Tag: contemporary romance
Bad Boy Bachelor
Unbreakable Bonds
Jesse’s Girl
Author: Tara September
Narrator: Verla Bond
Length: 3 hours and 37 minutes
Publisher: Plus it Up
Released: Sep. 6, 2019
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Successful Texas lawyer, Reade Walker, curses that damn song every time it plays, all too aware of the irony of its lyrics. After all, he has been secretly and painfully enamored with Jesse’s girl, Gwen, for nearly a decade. It was love at first sight for him, but sadly she’s not his girl. She belongs to the one man who betrayed him and knows Reade’s hidden family secret. Yet, Reade can’t seem to love anyone except the one woman he can’t have. Or can he make her mine? When Gwen Clark’s senator husband runs off with his intern and all their money, the ensuing scandal turns her life upside down. Deserted, penniless, and desperate to provide for her six-year-old daughter, Gwen has no one to turn to but Reade Walker. The one man her heart desperately wants, but her pride dreads having to ask for help. Despite welcoming them into his home, it seems like Reade can barely stand being in the same room with her anymore, let alone under the same roof – in the same bedroom. But Gwen is determined to get her life back on track. It is past time to rediscover her own dreams…if only she can keep her aching heart from breaking all over again.
Tara September is an award-winning… and losing contemporary romance writer living in Southwest Florida.
Tara is proud to be the world’s most okayest mom to clones (identical twin boys). When not writing out her daydreams, she blogs over at When Tara Met Blog @tarametblog, a lifestyle and parenting blog of 14 years.
Holding a master’s degree in journalism from NYU, she previously was the Corporate Communications Manager at WWE and PR Manager for The Walt Disney Company, Consumer Products.
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Verla Bond is an American actor, improvisor, and storyteller, who makes her home in Los Angeles, California. She enjoys performing on the stage and screen, but especially loves recording audiobooks, where she gets the privilege of playing all kinds of diverse characters, such as British vampires, Irish leprechauns, and Southern gentlemen.
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I received this audiobook as part of my participation in a blog tour with Audiobookworm Promotions. The tour is being sponsored by Tara September. The gifting of this audiobook did not affect my opinion of it.
Q&A with Author Tara September
- Tell us about the process of turning your book into an audiobook. How did you select your narrator?
- It was a lot of fun actually. I got to listen to auditions and hear professional voice actors read my script. Although, at the same time it’s weird to hear someone else outside of my own inner voice read my words. There is no way I could have done as good as a job though. I’m way too nasally, lol. Still, I didn’t love some of the samples that I received. One made my hero sound too feminine, others took the southern setting a bit too far with their twang. So, I personally contacted my final narrator Verla Bond asking if she wished she had Jesse’s Girl. Luckily, my subject line didn’t scare her off and she agreed to the project.
- Was a possible audiobook recording something you were conscious of while writing?
- No, I never thought my book would be published and read by others, never mind available in audiobook format. It’s pretty surreal and totes exciting!
- How closely did you work with your narrator before and during the recording process? Did you give them any pronunciation tips or special insight into the characters?
- No, I figured she was the professional in this department not me. Luckily I barely had any edits for her. The only direction I had provided was that I’d like for the heroine’s voice to get stronger as the story progressed, to reflect her own transformation from victim to having control of her life again.
- Were there any real life inspirations behind your writing?
- Not my personal life, but I did base Jesse’s Girl off of the 80s pop-song by Rick Springfield and the love triangle he sings about. The current political climate and untrustworthy candidates also set the stage for the beginning of the novel. However, thankfully politics isn’t the focus. The heroine Gwen is also a former reporter like me, so I added in some of those background details.
- Are you an audiobook listener? What about the audiobook format appeals to you?
- Yes! I l love listening to audiobooks while driving or traveling. Nothing like multi-tasking to make the trip fly by.
- What do you say to those who view listening to audiobooks as “cheating” or as inferior to “real reading”?
- Insert eye roll. That’s annoying, after all, to each is own. Everyone is busy and audibooks are a great way to get in a good read while going about your day. Definitely, better than not reading at all or just having music or a show on in the background.
- How did you celebrate after finishing this novel?
- By drinking!! At the start of this adventure, I purchased a bottle of Irish whiskey appropriately called Writers Tears (IG photo) with the intent of opening it after I published my story. So, there it sat aging on my shelf for three years. Kinda like me, lol. The day it released, I poured a glass of the amber liquid and savored each sip. I poured another glass at the release of this audiobook and will do so again after my next manuscript is completed, etc. It’s still half full.
- What bits of advice would you give to aspiring authors?
- Be sure and join a local writing group or an online membership focused on your genre. I’ve learned so much from the talented authors in my local Romance Writers of America chapter, SWFRW from craft to marketing tips and overall moral support when I wanted to quit.
- What’s next for you?
- My manuscript Mine to Five is in my editor’s hands now. It’s an office romance set around the holidays in Manhattan and Connecticut. I’m hoping to have it out before Thanksgiving, but I also said that last year, lol. It’s looking quite feasible this time around though. The heroine has a temper and is quite sassy. The hero is burned out at work and needs love along with the holiday season to reenergize him. Fortunately for him, the heroine knows just what he needs, even if it is against office policy.
Tara September’s Casting Picks for Jesse’s Girl
When I read books, I’m often casting actors and actresses to play the different characters. However, when asked this question about my own book, it wasn’t as easy. Likely because I truly see Gwen and Reade as real people with their own features and characteristics. But…- Jennifer Aniston or Emma Watson as Gwen Gallo (an attractive, girl next door type that could be both a senator’s wife and a mom in yoga pants)
- Henry Cavill or Richard Madden as Reade Walker (a loyal handsome man that you can trust, a strong and steady Clark Kent)
- Ryan Gosling as Jesse Clark (Charming all-American southern boy look, but with a hidden darkness who can pull off jeans and a cowboy hat or black-tie attire.)
- A young Jennifer Garner as family lawyer Danielle Dixon, former tom-boy turned bombshell.
- Chris Pratt as Hunter, the former high school football star who fled town due to Jesse’s manipulations and is now returning home for the first time
Giveaway: $50 Best Buy gift card & Jesse’s Girl audiobook
Jesse’s Girl Giveaway: $50 Best Buy gift card & Jesse’s Girl audiobook https://widget.gleamjs.io/e.js
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Soul’s Desire
Carol Schoenig
Carol Schoenig is another of the Mystic Desires authors from Black Velvet Seductions. She write contemporary romance.
Author Bio
Carol Schoenig the author of The Caretaker a story of finding love in your golden years and Love that Binds. A Short Story – Part of the ‘Mystic Desire’ Anthology with Black Velvet Seductions to be released October 1. Carol reads and writes Contemporary Romance, Aged to Perfection Romance and Romantic Suspense.
Carol has a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership and Development. She had started writing in her earlies twenties and gave up when she failed to win a contest. Once she retired from her professional human resources job, she began to seriously pursue her dreams of becoming a writer.
Carol celebrates over 50 years of marriage, has two sons and five grandchildren ranging in age from five to twenty-one. She loves reading, music, nature, and animals. Millie her golden doodle is always at her side.
She loves to read romance stories and is a Hallmark Junkie. My hobbies are sewing and reading as well as singing in her church choir.
Tell us about yourself.

Not much to tell. I have one novel published The Caretaker and a short story in the Mystic Desire Anthology. Married 51 years, two grown sons and five grandchildren. I like to read, write, sew, sing and have fun in between.
When did you know you wanted to be an author?
In grade school when we were required to read the poem,
I think that I shall never see
A poem lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is pressed
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast;
A tree that looks at God all day,
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in Summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosom snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree.
The imagery and beauty inspired me in a number of ways, first I love trees and second I wanted to write words that would inspire others and touch their hearts.
What genres do you like to read? Are these the same genres you write in?
I enjoy reading Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, once in a while Erotic Romance and Mysteries. I write Contemporary and Romantic Suspense. I could see myself writing mystery.
Is your book for adults, young adults or children?
Adults.
What is your current release or project?
Mystic Desire Anthology, I have a short story included Love that Binds. Early 2020 I’ll be ready to release Bought and Paid for Fiancé.
Tell us about the key characters.
Ianthee is a young girl, being chased and bullied by classmates. Ianthee is a quiet girl that loves nature.
Hauck is a sixteen-year-old boy, smart, handsome and athletic. Yet a bit of a loner and has a tender heart. He comes to Ianthee’s rescue when she falls in the mud.

Share an excerpt
Ianthee pulled the key from her pocket, picked up her bags, walked up the front steps and unlocked the door. As she slowly pushed it inward it squeaked. She heard scratching sounds and a few mice ran out the door. Well, at least there was someone living in the house. She made a mental note to get a cat.
Ianthee trailed her hand along the wall until she found the light switch and flipped it on. Dim bulbs in ancient fixtures came on illuminating the rooms with a dull glow. There were layers of cobwebs and mouse droppings everywhere. The broom leaned on the hearth the way it always had. Picking it up she swatted the cobwebs off the table and placed her bags on it. There was a chill in the cottage and a musty smell that made her shiver. Ianthee left the door open and used the broom to clear away more cobwebs around the hearth and into the kitchen.
As she went about her work, she could hear the taunts of the girls calling her ‘witch’. She’d sweep harder and faster working up a sweat. They would not win this time, she vowed to herself.
She went outside to find a few branches to build a fire in the fireplace. The cottage was inadequate, for now, but she would pull it together. The sun had almost dipped below the horizon, but she managed to get the fire going to heat a cauldron of water for washing up
In the meantime, she went upstairs and see if her bedroom could be slept in. Her room was to the right and the ‘forbidden room’ to the left. She turned and looked at the closed solid oak door. She heard her grandmother’s voice replaying in her head, “You’re not permitted in there. It’s where we mix the oil to give to those who need it. Some are delicate and strong. I’ll teach you when you’re older.” But she never had. They’d had to leave it all behind.
Ianthee tried the door, but it was locked. She ran to her bedroom and retrieved a long pin she used to collect leaves and things. She knelt down in front of the door and inserted the pin in the keyhole. She turned it one way and then the other until she heard a click.
Holding her breath, she carefully opened the forbidden room door. The door creaked as she pushed it back and with one foot in front of the other stepped into a room covered with dust and cobwebs. Measuring spoons, jars, and pipette on the table. The table and shelves heavy with dust. Bottles of flowers, herbs, and liquids were neatly placed. Cob webs hung in the corners of the room and she brushed away a cobweb hanging from the ceiling and made her way over to the table.
When she was young, her grandmother had taken her to the woods and gardens and told her about the different species of plants and flowers. She remembered how when she and Gram touched them; the plants seemed to come to alive in their hands.
On the table lay a leather journal with a ribbon sticking out at the end. It was Grandma’s magical book containing recipes that Grandma had used to heal people’s ailments. She remembered Grandma’s words about working in the soil. She’d said that the plants took our energy, grew, and then gave back life and healing. Curiosity about the magical book consumed her.
Ianthee hesitated to pick it up for fear that the pages would disintegrate. Instead, she let her fingers delicately caress the front of the book. The sensation of someone with her in the room gave her goosebumps as if granny herself was there.
She held the ribbon and eased the book open. The heat of excitement bubbled up within her. Grandma used to tell her stories of a special love potion. She had always believed it was fantasy and her grandmother teasing her about love but there was also professional curiosity.
Ianthee flipped through a few pages and read in awe. Mrs. Trotter’s bladder cancer showed signs of improvement after rubbing Frankincense on her stomach as well as the pressure points at the bottom of her feet twice a day. We also suggested she put 3 drops under her tongue. It tastes awful but does her good. There were more cases, documented in Grandma’s careful hand.

Do you have a favorite scene?
I have several. I like the beginning when they meet. And the end because it takes them back to where they met.
What advice would you give a beginner?
No matter how hard the writing gets, the frustration, the lack of confidence… don’t give up.
Social media links:
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Carol2948/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/carolschoenig/
Blog link http://carolschoenig-author.com/blog
Purchasing links https://amzn.to/322Ziq3






































































