Romance and Love or Everything Else? What Are You Reading This Week?

Release week is over, and I was overwhelmed and so touched by the outpouring of love and support I received for Water So Deep. I cannot tell you all how much it means to me to have all of you jumping in to help raise my new baby book.

But now I feel like I've talked about it nonstop for months, and it's time to talk about something else. Like love and Valentine's Day.

I mean, let's face it. Valentine's Day has become a bit of a commercialized cliche, which is focused more on kids than on adults who are actually in love. I think in a lot of ways it's better this way because then all those people who are unattached can still enjoy the day, seeing little kids sharing their candy and cards. But that still doesn't take away the sting of feeling invisible or forgotten.

That's the beauty of reading, though, I think. I am such a sucker for a good old fashioned romance novel. And not the Nicholas Sparks kid of ending, either. Happy endings. Boy gets the girl or girl gets the boy, or whatever whatever, and the couple falls in love and overcomes all odds and obstacles because in the end they belong together. That is my favorite Valentine's Day reading go-to.

Because kissing. And love. And all things romantic.

(Side note: if you're reading Water So Deep right now, please don't hate me at the end! I promise book two will bring closure!)

This week, I'm reading Joyce DiPastena's The Lady and the Minstrel, Ally Condie's Atlantia, and This Shattered World by Aimee Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. I won't finish all three in a week, because I have a deadline of my own, but still. Those are on my nightstand right now.

What will you be reading this week? And is it romance and love or everything but that? I'm curious.

Cover Reveal: A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver

Hello again! I know I don't usually post on Thursdays, but, well, my publisher sister's cover has been revealed today and I just had to share!

Isn't it pretty? I love the waves and the beach, because, well, you know me. A Change of Plans is scheduled for release from Rhemalda Publishing on June 1st, 2013.

Here's what the book is about:

When Lyn sets off on her supposedly uncomplicated and unromantic cruise, she never dreams it will include pirates. All the 25-year-old, Colorado high school teacher wants to do is forget that her dead fiancé was a cheating scumbag. Lyn plans a vacation diversion; fate provides Braedon, an intriguing surgeon. She finds herself drawn to him: his gentle humor, his love of music, and even his willingness to let her take him down during morning karate practices. Against the backdrop of the ship’s make-believe world and temporary friendships, her emotions come alive. 

However, fear is an emotion, too. Unaware of the sensitive waters he's navigating, Braedon moves to take their relationship beyond friendship--on the very anniversary Lyn is on the cruise to forget. Lyn's painful memories are too powerful, and she runs from Braedon and what he has to offer.

Their confusing relationship is bad enough, but when the pair finds themselves on one of the cruise's snorkeling excursions in American Samoa things get worse. Paradise turns to piracy when their party is kidnapped and Lyn's fear of a fairytale turns grim. Now she must fight alongside the man she rejected, first for their freedom and then against storms, sharks, and shipwreck.

You can add it to your Goodreads lists and vote for it here.

If you'd like to stay informed about author Donna Weaver and her book A Change of Plans, you can follow her on Facebook and Twitter. To stay informed about all of Rhemalda Publishing's titles (including mine) you can follow them on Facebook and Twitter as well.

About the Author:

Donna K. Weaver is a Navy brat who joined the Army and has lived in Asia and Europe. Because she sailed the Pacific three times as a child, she loves cruising and wishes she could accrue enough vacation time to do more of it with her husband.

At fifty, Donna decided to study karate and earned her black belt in Shorei Kempo.

After recording city council minutes for twenty years, Donna decided to write something a little longer and with a lot more emotion--and kissing.

Donna and her husband reside in Utah, they have six children and eight grandchildren who live all over the world.

Interested in more? This book has a trailer. You can view it here!

An Ending and a New Beginning

This week, an important, lovely chapter of my life comes to an end. I have a lot of really great memories, some incredible life-long friends, a house I dreamed of owning, and an entirely excellent life.

While my friends will always be mine, and my life will continue to get more excellent, endings are never easy. But the thing about endings is that they are almost always followed by an entirely new beginning.

Twenty years ago TODAY, I married my best friend. A man who continues to be the most important person in my life, and who I would follow anywhere, without him even asking. Twenty years ago, after a ceremony and a really big party, we embarked on our very first huge, scary adventure together. 

Ironically, on the twenty-year anniversary of that first big commitment, we are once again jumping in with both feet and embarking on a second huge, scary adventure. 

That's right. 

IT'S MOVING DAY! 

Please forgive my absence for the next two weeks while we haul our cookies (and everything else we own--which is a crap-load of stuff) to Portland, Texas. 

Oh, and on a more personal note, I'd like to wish my honey a very happy anniversary. I'd do it all again in a blink. Twice. Or more. I love you! 

**I'll be back to blogging in December. Hope to see you then!