The giveaways before the giveaways!

/ Cheryl Harper / 1 Comment

Busy, busy, busy around here lately! I’m planning a BIG FEBRUARY with giveaways, but for now you have two great opportunities to get some free books.

Free books…that’s a beautiful sound, right?

Ending this week so HURRY!

1. Goodreads group. If you haven’t stopped in to see the chat over at Goodreads, head on over, leave a comment on the convo, and enter to win a signed paper copy of all 4 February Harlequin Heartwarming titles. That’s a deal! Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1643160-feb-heartwarming-releases-giveaway

2. Over in the sidebar here or on on my Facebook page, you can enter a Rafflecopter giveaway that Melinda Curtis and I are running this week. Enter to win and you could get an ebook of either her February title, Summer Kisses, or mine, A Minute on the Lips. BUT EVERYONE’S A WINNER! If you enter, you’ll get the first 3 chapters of both books. Can’t find the link? Here it is again:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

And I’ve got big things cooking…come back. Excerpts of A Minute on the Lips are COMING (and also fun giveaways, a FREE READ, and much, much more (that might actually be it but if something else occurs to me, I like to leave my options open, you know?))

2013, 2014, and goals

/ Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

I am a resolution maker. I think this is because I’m a list-making, step-outlining planner and I like goals. The cold, hard truth is that I’m not much of a resolution keeper. Exercise more, eat less, and lose weight…those would be so awesome but I have failed often enough to understand that resolutions aren’t magic. I have kept two with spectacular success. The first: I resolved to buy more shoes. If the thought behind resolutions is to repeat enough to make new habits, this one worked very well. From this I learned I will always have an easier time spending money than sticking to a budget. Not exactly earth shattering, right? And the second: I resolved to write more. “More” wasn’t that hard. Aside from emails and instructions and all manner of boring homework, I hadn’t written much for fun since my creative writing class (which was also technically homework but a lot less boring than economics). I said both out loud, and I had a good friend take me at my word. She helped me find a local writing group, took me to my first writing workshop, and generally cheered me on, something I desperately need to try anything new.

I don’t remember 2013’s resolutions at this point (*cough* eat better, exercise more, lose weight *cough*) but I’m pretty sure they were epic failures. I have already set 2014 writing goals, although at this point, making them happen seems to take magic and I have no wand. Obviously I need to make smaller goals. And I will. I have more travel planned for this year, something I’m really looking forward to, and I believe this is the year I’m going to take the trip I’ve been dreaming of instead of waiting for a better time. And I’m totally going to eat better, exercise more, and etc.

But I think instead of resolutions this year, I’m going to try that other popular idea, coming up with a word for the year. I haven’t settled yet, but I’m thinking TODAY. Yes, I see the irony of choosing it, but the flip side of being a planner is that I WORRY, usually about mistakes I’ve made or things that might never happen. That’s exhausting. I can’t change either. So I want small goals, things I can do today.

Day 1: I resolve to eat a salad (never a hardship), edit 30 pages, and take myself to a movie (with popcorn because I ATE A SALAD already).

What about you? Have you made resolutions for 2014?

 

Santa, Bring My Baby Back, Chapter 2 Excerpt: New man, new plan, fresh lipstick

/ Cheryl Harper / Leave a comment

Santa Bring My Baby Back(Available now. Amazon Link:::Barnes and Noble Link:::Indiebound Link)

All the way around the pool area with its cheery inflatable snowmen and flashing candy canes and down the long hallway decorated with album covers and three different themed Christmas trees, Grace rehearsed her lines in her head. She was going to need a job, a place to stay, and some time to pay her hotel bills. Checking all three off the list might take some finesse.

Grace paused in the doorway of Viva Las Vegas to give her eyes a chance to adjust to the change from the bright lobby to the darker restaurant. Her first impressions were of lush plants—a theme at the hotel—and some rocking Elvis tune competing with the clinks of silverware on plates and low conversations. A very cute, very young hostess dressed as a showgirl in Santa’s workshop pointed her toward the bar. When Grace dumped all her baggage in a seat and draped the dress over the top, she noticed Charlie, but he didn’t look up from his plate.

Thanks to his concentration, Grace had a chance to observe him before she announced her presence. His crisp white dress shirt and black tie were covered by a large cloth napkin, which might also be a tablecloth in real life. She appreciated his broad shoulders and the flex of muscles in his back as he twisted on the seat. The edges of his sleeves were white flashes as he made steady progress of clearing his plate with quick bites, not like he was in a hurry, but took pride in efficient operation. And his long legs were propped up on the brass footrest that ran along the bottom of the bar. His slicked back black hair was probably the stillest part of his body. Charlie seemed capable. Strong. Solid. For some reason, she had the urge to wrap her hand around his arm and maybe rest her head on his shoulder.

Not exactly what she expected from a man with rock-star good looks and enough gunk in his hair to preserve his style in a tornado.

She patted her own, slightly crunchy updo and decided to give him props for that. It showed commitment.

When he’d opened her dressing room door, the first thing she saw were his dark brown eyes. For a minute, she’d been frozen by the connection. Then she’d noticed his Elvis-like hair and had to wonder what his story was.