Three new romance novellas by three Inkwell Authors!  Please join us this week as we celebrate Route 66, The Mother Road, with a nostalgic trip to the not-so-distant past.

 Help us share the fun

Tweet This! #giveaway #Rt66 #nostalgia 3 sweet novellas! Join our virtual road trip: http://ctt.ec/7naf6+ Kindle Unlimited

It Happened One Night by Jennifer AlLee RELEASING THIS WEEK! 1939ish Rita Fisk runs the Durlin Hotel (today is known at the Oatman Hotel). Her predictable existence is interrupted one night when Clark Gable and Carole Lombard, newly married in Kingman, drop into the hotel to spend their honeymoon. Edgar, Mr. Gable’s driver and right-hand man, insists their stay be kept hush-hush. Of course, Oatie the ghost picks that night to cause mischief. Then, a reporter shows up, claiming he’s been trailing the famous couple and knows they’re in there somewhere. As Edgar and Rita fight their way through a comedy of errors, even pretending to be a honeymooning couple to throw off the reporter, they grow closer. By the time the night’s over, hopes are shared and promises are made. But is Rita the kind of woman to believe in promises, and is Edgar the kind of man to keep them?

Purchase Turquoise Treasure by Niki Turner Movies are king in 1956, and Gallup, New Mexico, on Route 66, is paradise for producing Hollywood B-movies. Veronica Scott wants nothing more than to be an actress, but her polio-afflicted leg has kept her off the casting rolls. Cooper Dean’s only interest in the movie industry revolves around finding justice for his wife’s death. When Cooper and Veronica are cast as secondary characters, much to their surprise, each sees an opportunity to help the other. But their cooperation will put Veronica in danger, and she’ll have to play the role of a lifetime to save them both.

 Purchase Starlight Serenade by Debra E. Marvin

The Englishman would look back one day and blame it all on Jazz… 

Flagstaff, Arizona 1930. Full-time Astronomer, and part-time sharp dresser Julian Dyson didn’t discover Pluto but he does discover a nasty case of self-righteousness when a former Ziegfeld Girl’s folly threatens his good name. 

Broadway understudy Clara Longworth and her peculiar younger brother are on their way to a new life in Hollywood when they're stranded along Route 66. Clara is asked to fill in as nightclub entertainment, but her good intentions set her up as accomplice in the blackmailing of a government man who makes the real thugs look classy. Until Julian and Clara put their heads together for more than dancing the Black Bottom, their big-as-the-night-sky dreams are on target to fail. Maybe they need a telescope to see what’s right in front of their starry eyes. 

Jen, Niki and Deb are part of this summer's GET YOUR KISS ON ROUTE 66 SERIES by Forget Me Not Romances.  

We're being virtually catered by  Mr D'z Route 66 Diner from Kingman, Arizona.  Grab a shake and some fries and here's a nickel for the jukebox!

We've spanned the thirties through the fifties, and sampled a lot of mom and pop motels and blue plate specials... Please leave a comment if you'd like to be our drawings-  Remember to safely add your email address. Three random winners will be eligible for our three Ebook giveaways.

We've all traveled on Rt 66. Have you?

Debra E. Marvin might have walked out of a diner in Albuquerque with toilet paper on her shoe.  Or maybe not. Check out her PINTEREST PAGE for Starlight Serenade and put a face to Julian and Clara.  

 Jennifer AlLee has been down this road before. Have you had a chance to read the incredible THE MOTHER ROAD? It's women's fiction with a contemporary setting you're sure to love

Niki Turner recently wandered the halls of the Gallup, N.M. El Rancho Hotel on a mental health road trip with two of her sons. Visit her PINTEREST PAGE for Turquoise Treasure details!



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The Perfect way to get Endorsements!

Mr. Veitch may really have hit upon the best way ever to get endorsements for his (fake) book. Hey if it works for a fake one, why not a real one?

I wish I was as quick witted as he is. But I guess that's why I write. I can take a night, or a week to come up with the perfect come back if I need to!

Epic Bird Battle

by Anita Mae Draper

One of the constants on my grandparents' farm was a tree under which we would park, play, and picnic. It always seemed to be large and so when I saw photographs before it was planted the farmyard seemed stark. It's fun to look back at the photos and see how we grew along with the tree.

When we moved to our own farm in October 1999 the first thing we did was plant an 18" spruce tree that we'd brought all the way from Alberta 5 yrs before and had grown in a container while we lived in town.

Once planted in the ground, the spruce grew slowly for 10 years. So slowly that we didn't realize it was growing until 4 yrs ago when it shot up 2 feet in one season. Just as parents measure their children against a door jamb, we take family photos standing in front of "the tree" because it's fun to look back and see how we all changed.

A month ago our youngest child graduated from high school. We needed some images of his journey to adulthood to show during the graduation ceremony and the following image is one of the ones I created for this event:

I have a great view of the tree from my kitchen window and this year I've noticed a variety of birds nesting in it, such as:
- American robins
- Chipping sparrows
- Eastern kingbirds

There is one problem however, the kingbird and robin built their nests within a couple feet of each other and have been at war. This montage shows the tree with nest locations as well as one epic battle that took place on July 7th. There weren't any injuries as far as I could tell and life went on.

The kingbird babies hatched first and were practicing their flying by the time the robins hatched. One day momma robin was sitting on her eggs and the next day bobble heads stretched up for food.

Both robin parents worked tirelessly to feed the 3 babies with momma doing the babysitting and poppa getting the food. She was rounder than him with lots of fluffy down feathers that blew in the wind like dandelion fluff whereas he was much more slim from running around.

The babies grew feathers and looked cute with their ear tufts.

And then one morning I looked out the window while making my coffee and saw that the robins' nest was totally wrecked.

I checked around and under the tree but didn't see any babies, and the parents haven't been back. I don't know if it was the kingbird, a marauding cat, or some wild animal. It's all destroyed.

The kingbirds are still taking flying lessons but the juveniles are now hunting on their own.

The thing is, this reminded me of neighboring countries who could live in peace if they want to protect their families, but choose to fight because they feel their territory is threatened. Such a waste.


Have you noticed any nesting going around in your yard or area?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anita Mae Draper's historical romances are woven under the western skies of the Saskatchewan prairie where her love of research and genealogy yields fascinating truths that layer her stories with rich historical details.  Anita's short story, Here We Come A-Wassailing, was a finalist for the Word Guild's 2015 Word Awards. Her novellas are included in Austen in Austin Volume 1, and The American Heiress Brides Collection. Readers can check out Anita's Pinterest boards for a visual idea of her stories to enrich their reading experience.  Discover more at:

Website - www.anitamaedraper.com

Pinterest - www.pinterest.com/anitamaedraper/

Susanne's RWA Report

Hi gang! Susanne here, and I am tired but happy! Just got back from Romance Writers of America's Annual Conference in gorgeous San Diego. (I am biased about my hometown, but it's a great place to be.)

The view from my room!

It was a blast. Wednesday I attended the Annual Meeting for Faith Hope And Love chapter, where the winners of the IRCA and Touched by Love Contests were announced. Congratulations to all!

Enjoyng a chance to meet 'online' friends. Here's the lovely Piper Huguley

RWA had some big news this year--The inspirational category for RWA contests will have a name change!

Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements

Novels in which religious or spiritual beliefs are an inherent part of the love story, character growth and relationship development and could not be removed without damaging the storyline. These novels may be set in the context of any religious or spiritual belief system of any culture.

Later, I passed out Bingo sheets for a Faith Hope & Love Chapter Bingo game at the Literacy Signing. If you stopped by the tables of the FHL members who were signing, you got a sticker of their book cover for your Bingo sheet. If you got Bingo, you could get entered to win a nice Amazon gift card!

The workshops were amazing, as usual. Soon I'll share a few highlights in another post, but a few of the workshops I attended were Series Bible: The Savior of a Long-Running Series, presented by Jaci Burton and Jill Shalvis; Chemistry by Sherry Thomas, and Winning the Promo Game (part of the PAN retreat).

Networking is always a fun and important part of writing conferences. The Harlequin Pajama Party offered just one of the many opportunities I had to catch up with old friends and make new ones!

Harlequin Pajama Party. Here I am with Rita Finalist, Kristi Ann Hunter...who went on to WIN! 

Some things were new to RWA this year, like The Swag Shoppe.

In the past, attendees were given a tote stuffed with free books when they arrived at the conference. The sponsored books represented a variety of genres: YA, historical, sweet, erotica, etc, so as you can imagine, not everyone wanted every book she received. What to do with those books you don't want? Well, some attendees took them home. Others started stacks in public areas so passersby/other attendees could take their extras.

To address the waste, this year attendees were given a voucher good for one visit to the Swag Shoppe. Once inside, we could take one of anything we wanted--but there was no going back. I scored a RWA 2016 beach towel, a selfie stick, a a BPA-free water bottle with a fruit infuser, and of course BOOKS!

The Swag Shoppe is not to be confused with the Goody Room, which was open to all attendees whenever they wanted to peek in. Authors could leave promotional swag for others to take, but the rules this year stated all items must be in a container--no leaving postcards, books, pens, magnets, band aids, etc on the table. I dropped by a handful of times to pick up swag. There is no excuse for not having a pen handy at RWA!

A milestone for me? I got to attend my first Harlequin party. WOW! Fancy! It was held at the Omni hotel nearby.

All Glammed up with Kristan Higgens, Deb Kastner and Lisa Carter

And while we're talking fancy, I have to mention the Gala. RITA and Golden Heart winners were announced--congratulations to the winners! Special congrats go out to Kristi Ann Hunter who won the Inspirational category with her debut novel, A Noble Masquerade.

Here I am with LI authors Jolene Navarro and Belle Calhoune!

I look forward to going through my notes, processing, and applying what I've learned--and looking up all my new friends on Facebook! But today, I think I'll take a nap first.

***

Susanne Dietze began writing love stories in high school, casting her friends in the starring roles. Today, she's the award-winning author of over half-dozen historical romances who's seen her work on the ECPA and Publisher's Weekly Bestseller Lists for Inspirational Fiction. Married to a pastor and the mom of two, Susanne loves fancy-schmancy tea parties, cozy socks, and curling up on the couch with a costume drama and a plate of nachos.