Welcome Barbara White Daille
Welcome to Mary's Garden. My resident gardener is watching... you got it, the World Series. So here is your gardening tip of the week.
Leave some leaves
Hooray! You don’t have to rake all the leaves! It’s OK not to rake up leaves under trees and shrubs and on sturdy ground covers (over time they become much-needed compost). However, must-rake leaves are those on perennial beds (they can cause crown rot) and grass lawns (they attract fungi and insects).
Welcome, Barbara White Daille, to the garden today, I'm excited to hear what she has to say.
Thanks so much for inviting me into your garden, Mary!
Readers - Mary asked me to share about my recent book club experience, so here goes.
Some studies show that for most people public speaking is the number-one fear. Most people, not all. But try being an introverted author who spends her days alone in an office filled with her characters! When it comes to facing a roomful of real, live people, the fear factor can easily multiply to the power of—oh, say a thousand.
Well, that might be a slight exaggeration… :)
Yet it’s not far off. So when a friend and former co-worker asked if I would come speak to her book club, I definitely felt a few heart palpitations. But she’s a good friend. And I may be an introvert, but I love to talk about books.
My hostess held the club meeting in her home. There were a dozen or so members there. She had also invited a few of our co-workers to come along. I’m grateful, as these friends wanted to lend me moral support, and seeing them that night really did accomplish that.
Luckily, after a few minutes of introductory chat, my panic level subsided and everything went well.
Also luckily, the group asked lots of questions to which I had answers. The questions ranged from details of how the book industry works to why I wanted to become a writer to the always popular “where do you get your ideas?”
From my perspective, the evening was a great success. To top it off, the book club meeting fell on the night of my birthday, and my hostess surprised us all with a birthday cake, complete with candles.
As far as first book-club experiences go, I don’t see how things could have been any better!
And now here’s a bit about my upcoming sweet romance release, book two in the Snowflake Valley series. FYI, all my books, even in series, are stand-alones, with each couple reaching their happy ending in their book.
From the back cover of One Week to Win Her Boss:
Single mom Amber Barnett loves family, kids, Christmas…and unfortunately, her boss, confirmed bachelor Michael DeFranco. It's a crush she really needs to get over. Except, when she’s temporarily forced from her apartment, her only option is to stay at Michael’s private ski lodge, where she's the housekeeper. No problem. Her handsome boss rarely visits Snowflake Valley unexpectedly, plus he’s spending the holidays with his family. Or so she thinks…
A stormy Christmas Eve reunion leaves Michael seeking the solitude of his lodge, where he finds Amber in residence—and in trouble. Attempting to save her from her matchmaking family, he announces they’re a couple. His good deed backfires when they’re instantly included in each and every holiday event in town. So much for solitude.
Only the more time he spends with the beautiful, cheery brunette, the more he yearns to make things real between them. But he and Amber want different things, and Michael could never be the family man she's looking for.
Excerpt – this is from early on in chapter one, just after Michael has caught Amber camping out in the lodge:
Nobody was perfect, not even Michael. Though he sure looked darned close…but then, how would she know? Above all else, her time with her ex had proven she couldn’t trust her judgment when it came to men.
“Come back down to Earth, Amber.” She jumped. Michael stood in front of her, too close for comfort. “When you land, tell me why you’re here. And in your pajamas.”
His almost seductive growl did funny things to her insides. Too bad the question hadn’t slipped his mind, the way she’d forgotten what she was wearing—a floor-length, fuzzy, pink bathrobe that had seen better days and floppyeared bunny slippers no one but she and Penny had ever seen. Nothing like making a fashion statement.
Hopefully, he would be more impressed by her response to his question—as soon as she thought of one. “I…um…didn’t ask if you would mind if I stayed here—”
“That’s obvious.”
“—because I didn’t expect you to drop in.”
“Twice as obvious.” His gaze ran over her from head to toe.
Her body flooded with heat she wished she could blame on the warm robe. Why couldn’t she and Penny have had somewhere—anywhere—else to stay? “What are you doing here, by the way?”
“I own the place.”
She rolled her eyes. “You said you were spending the holidays with your family.”
“Yeah. Huge mistake,” he said, sounding grim as he looked away.
What did that mean? She wanted to know more about his upset holiday plans and his visit with his family. She’d never met them and had always been curious about why they’d never visited the lodge. Besides, she wanted to know everything there was to know about Michael.
Way to get over that crush.
Time to take control of this situation. No matter how inconvenient his arrival was for her or how unsettling his presence was to her heart, the fact was, there he stood. If she wanted to save her job—and she absolutely did—she owed him an explanation.
Or at least part of one…
Book links:
Entangled https://entangledpublishing.com/one-week-to-win-her-boss.html
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/d/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Canada https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1127274067
Apple iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-week-to-win-her-boss/id1299758237
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-week-to-win-her-boss
About the Author
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!
Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed "The End" to her first novel many years later...in the eighth grade. Now she's writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Social Media Links
Website https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Newsletter https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Twitter https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Entangled author page http://entangledpublishing.com/category/barbara-white-daille/
Harlequin author page https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/23759_barbara-white-daille.html
Thank you Barbara for visiting the garden today! I have enjoyed it, and your book sounds great.
Leave some leaves
Hooray! You don’t have to rake all the leaves! It’s OK not to rake up leaves under trees and shrubs and on sturdy ground covers (over time they become much-needed compost). However, must-rake leaves are those on perennial beds (they can cause crown rot) and grass lawns (they attract fungi and insects).
Thanks so much for inviting me into your garden, Mary!
Readers - Mary asked me to share about my recent book club experience, so here goes.
Some studies show that for most people public speaking is the number-one fear. Most people, not all. But try being an introverted author who spends her days alone in an office filled with her characters! When it comes to facing a roomful of real, live people, the fear factor can easily multiply to the power of—oh, say a thousand.
Well, that might be a slight exaggeration… :)
Yet it’s not far off. So when a friend and former co-worker asked if I would come speak to her book club, I definitely felt a few heart palpitations. But she’s a good friend. And I may be an introvert, but I love to talk about books.
My hostess held the club meeting in her home. There were a dozen or so members there. She had also invited a few of our co-workers to come along. I’m grateful, as these friends wanted to lend me moral support, and seeing them that night really did accomplish that.
Luckily, after a few minutes of introductory chat, my panic level subsided and everything went well.
Also luckily, the group asked lots of questions to which I had answers. The questions ranged from details of how the book industry works to why I wanted to become a writer to the always popular “where do you get your ideas?”
From my perspective, the evening was a great success. To top it off, the book club meeting fell on the night of my birthday, and my hostess surprised us all with a birthday cake, complete with candles.
As far as first book-club experiences go, I don’t see how things could have been any better!
And now here’s a bit about my upcoming sweet romance release, book two in the Snowflake Valley series. FYI, all my books, even in series, are stand-alones, with each couple reaching their happy ending in their book.
Single mom Amber Barnett loves family, kids, Christmas…and unfortunately, her boss, confirmed bachelor Michael DeFranco. It's a crush she really needs to get over. Except, when she’s temporarily forced from her apartment, her only option is to stay at Michael’s private ski lodge, where she's the housekeeper. No problem. Her handsome boss rarely visits Snowflake Valley unexpectedly, plus he’s spending the holidays with his family. Or so she thinks…
A stormy Christmas Eve reunion leaves Michael seeking the solitude of his lodge, where he finds Amber in residence—and in trouble. Attempting to save her from her matchmaking family, he announces they’re a couple. His good deed backfires when they’re instantly included in each and every holiday event in town. So much for solitude.
Only the more time he spends with the beautiful, cheery brunette, the more he yearns to make things real between them. But he and Amber want different things, and Michael could never be the family man she's looking for.
Excerpt – this is from early on in chapter one, just after Michael has caught Amber camping out in the lodge:
Nobody was perfect, not even Michael. Though he sure looked darned close…but then, how would she know? Above all else, her time with her ex had proven she couldn’t trust her judgment when it came to men.
“Come back down to Earth, Amber.” She jumped. Michael stood in front of her, too close for comfort. “When you land, tell me why you’re here. And in your pajamas.”
His almost seductive growl did funny things to her insides. Too bad the question hadn’t slipped his mind, the way she’d forgotten what she was wearing—a floor-length, fuzzy, pink bathrobe that had seen better days and floppyeared bunny slippers no one but she and Penny had ever seen. Nothing like making a fashion statement.
Hopefully, he would be more impressed by her response to his question—as soon as she thought of one. “I…um…didn’t ask if you would mind if I stayed here—”
“That’s obvious.”
“—because I didn’t expect you to drop in.”
“Twice as obvious.” His gaze ran over her from head to toe.
Her body flooded with heat she wished she could blame on the warm robe. Why couldn’t she and Penny have had somewhere—anywhere—else to stay? “What are you doing here, by the way?”
“I own the place.”
She rolled her eyes. “You said you were spending the holidays with your family.”
“Yeah. Huge mistake,” he said, sounding grim as he looked away.
What did that mean? She wanted to know more about his upset holiday plans and his visit with his family. She’d never met them and had always been curious about why they’d never visited the lodge. Besides, she wanted to know everything there was to know about Michael.
Way to get over that crush.
Time to take control of this situation. No matter how inconvenient his arrival was for her or how unsettling his presence was to her heart, the fact was, there he stood. If she wanted to save her job—and she absolutely did—she owed him an explanation.
Or at least part of one…
Book links:
Entangled https://entangledpublishing.com/one-week-to-win-her-boss.html
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Australia https://www.amazon.com.au/d/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon UK https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Amazon Canada https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B076PJ7SNN
Barnes & Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1127274067
Apple iBooks https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/one-week-to-win-her-boss/id1299758237
Kobo https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/one-week-to-win-her-boss
About the Author
Barbara White Daille lives with her husband in the sunny Southwest. Though they love the warm winters and the lizards in their front yard, they haven’t gotten used to the scorpions in the bathroom. Barbara also loves writing, reading, and chocolate. Come to think of it, she enjoys writing about those subjects, too!Barbara wrote her first short story at the age of nine, then typed "The End" to her first novel many years later...in the eighth grade. Now she's writing contemporary romance on a daily basis. Sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest in her writing life: https://barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter.
Social Media Links
Website https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com
Blog https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/blog
Newsletter https://www.barbarawhitedaille.com/newsletter
Facebook http://www.facebook.com/barbarawhitedaille
Twitter https://twitter.com/BarbaraWDaille
Amazon author page http://www.amazon.com/Barbara-White-Daille/e/B002J6B0QQ
Entangled author page http://entangledpublishing.com/category/barbara-white-daille/
Harlequin author page https://www.harlequin.com/shop/authors/23759_barbara-white-daille.html
Thank you Barbara for visiting the garden today! I have enjoyed it, and your book sounds great.
Comments
I have to admit all the stars were in alignment for me that night. ;)
Thanks for the kind words about the book!