Dear madame,

I love to read, obviously, I have a blog about the books I read. I also like to write emails to the author whenever I have fallen in love with their book. So, I thought it would be fun to share one of those letters with you instead of doing a traditional book review.

Ms. Ursula Sinclair/ Lavern Thompson,

              I am writing you this email to tell you that I need more of this. More of these well written characters; Ivy and Maze. From the very first paragraph I was entranced by your creations, their was something so tangible about Maze's need to know this beautiful stranger. The tradgedy both find themselves pulling back and finding their own way in life. This is where we get to know Ivy, who is such an amazingly written heroine; strong, intelligent, open, and talented. So often I read heroines that as written are vapid with bad attitudes and too many concerns about small minded issues that an actual strong woman would be able to rise above. Her perseverance and drive really make me love her. Their are lots of strong-willed women with a hard edge and than their is Ivy, the type of young woman we wish our daughters to be; strong-willed with finesse and the work ethic, grace, and talent to make her dreams come true. 

             Maze! OMW He is so sexy, so sensitive, so well rounded. His will reminds me of an alpha male, but he is better because he leaves the demanding and ordering at the door. He is the good man we all dream of. Not a knight in shining armer, but a man that respects and appreciates you enough not to steamroll and intimidate when his words will work. Is her perfect? No. Does he have issues? Yes, and you create, convey, and address them well.

            To be honest with you my favorite character in the whole book is Dante. Dayum! I want some of that. Such a great supporting character; he has a purpose, presence, and background story that I understood and really got into. I was a little bit rooting for (team) Dante as a potential love interest for my girl Ivy. He is strong, rich, beautiful, gets and supports her art, cooks and cleans. Men should be taking notes on his moves! 
            And the action scenes? Fighting and dancing were perfectly balanced with the characters developing story lines and the love growing between our hero and heroine. There was no one 'bad guy' but more like bad men and a skank, who I scowled and rolled my eyes at and then cheered when they were humiliated with a loss or in one female characters case, got kicked to the curb for skankiness.

Misty Copeland the pirma African-American ballerina

            So, I did find a few errors, but we are all human and the story is just SO GOOD that I didn’t even feel like writing them down.

            Honestly, I am salivating for the next installment of this book; I cannot wait to hear more from these characters and you!

Favorite line: "I was no longer the boy she'd once known I was a man now. And she no longer that young ballerina just beginning to fly. She was shooting among the damn stars now."~ Maze

 Get your copy of this 5-star read from Amazon or check it out on Barnes and Noble

Thank you for reading, please subscribe!

You’re My Best Friend…Oh God! I Love You!

I guess it shouldn’t be a surprise that one of my favorite romantic tropes is “Friends to Lovers”. Well not to me, anyway. It was how my husband and I fell in love. Our epic romance began in college. Though we attended different schools, we spent a lot of time together—partying, road tripping…partying. Eventually we became close. I trusted him with my most intimate thoughts, dreams and concerns—he was my best friend. Then, one fateful New Year’s Eve he declared his love for me. We were a tad bit inebriated—just a tad bit, mind you—but it was so sweet! I can still hear his impassioned declaration now: “I love that girl, man! I love her!” It just about moved me to tears…or it could’ve been the dry-heaving over the toilet that brought on the tears… It’s still so unclear. Anywaaaay, fifteen years later we are living our happily-ever-after! And he doesn’t need alcohol to tell me he loves me! *Cue the Disney birds chirping and One Day My Prince Will Come music now*

There’s something about falling in love with the person who knows you best—faults and all—and still adores you. In my new release, Secrets and Sins: Gabriel, with Entangled Publishing’s Entangled Suspense line, my heroine, Leah Bannon, has been in love with her best friend, Gabriel Devlin, since she was a teenager. She’s not blind to his faults—he’s broody, sarcastic, and has a thing against chatter—but she also recognizes that he’s loyal, trustworthy, loving and honest…well about most things. That’s where the Secret and Sins part comes in…

So who are some other famous Friends to Lovers? Oooh! Glad you asked!

Ross and Rachel/Chandler and Monica/Joey and Rachel –Like the title Friends indicates, the show was about six friends who lived, laughed and loved. And boy did they love! Sheesh! I intended to only mention Ross and Rachel, but then I remembered there were several hook-ups on this show! It was ménage a…a lot! Although the Ross and Rachel storyline is my favorite. “Unrequited Love” and “Friends to Lovers” all rolled up into one big, jumping-off-planes, I-realize-I-love-you-voice-mail happy ending!

Beauty and the Beast – From—you guessed it!—Beauty and the Beast! This is my favorite fairy tale. When most people read this story they think of the “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” or “the inside determines a person’s beauty, not the outside” themes. But this tale is also about a girl with a kind, loving heart who befriends a growling, lonely beast. Before their happily-ever-after, they took long walks together, dined together, talked and laughed together. Only later did she realize she loved him, and the power of that love and friendship ultimately broke his curse. 

Keith and Watts – Oh, Some Kind of Wonderful! It was one of my favorite 80s movie! Watts was a tomboy, I was a tomboy. She had a crush on her best friend, I had a crush on Michael Myler, my friend. I even think we shared the same haircut at one time…which was really unfortunate… Watts loved Keith and, though he was infatuated with popular socialite Amanda, she stuck by him. Even helped him win Amanda! But Keith eventually opened his eyes and realized Watts not just had his back, but his heart. Sigh.