Book Tour--Sensible Shoes

 

This post is part of a virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. Cindy Causey will be awarding a $20 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour.

At her fiftieth birthday party, Tess Thomason, a plain-Jane, divorced mother and decidedly unprepared women’s newspaper columnist, is blindsided by her well-meaning family with a stack of gift cards she interprets as meaning she’s fat, frumpy, and wrinkled. Facing a lonely future and failing career, Tess embarks on a journey of self-discovery, taking her readers along for the ride. But her resolve is nearly derailed by a hilarious season of family chaos that includes a surprise pregnancy, rushed wedding, and unexpected houseguests. In the midst of it all, Tess is drawn into a confusing new relationship with a man who is impossibly perfect for her. But if she can keep herself, her family, and her willpower firmly seated on the crazy roller coaster of her life, maybe Tess will find her own self-worth and a new love in the bargain.

Read an Excerpt

But first, I needed to think.

If I were to embark on this perilous journey of reawakening and discovery, I needed to consult my sweet muse, to experience the warmth of an old friend, to snuggle into the comfort of the familiar.

I needed a full caf, mocha hazelnut latte, with a double whip….

I leaned back in the chair, sipped on the sweet mocha froth, and sighed aloud.

“It can’t be that bad.” The sound of a rumbling male voice, laced with humor, made me turn to my right and stare at the man seated there, newspaper on the table in front of him.

“I beg your pardon?”

He leaned forward a little, and I could see traces of gray in his temples and laugh lines around his eyes. They were very nice brown eyes.

They went with his very nice face, which was perfectly proportioned and just rugged enough to be interesting. His mouth quirked up a little at one corner as if he were slightly amused.

“Whatever those cards are, they seem to be upsetting you.”

“They’re gift cards.”

“Mmm, don’t you hate those?”

I chuckled. “Not normally, but these are particularly evil.”

“Ah, gift cards for the seven deadly sins. You don’t see those every day.”

The guy was intriguing. A sense of humor. And those eyes.

About the Author:

Cindy Causey taught herself to type in the 8th grade because she couldn't write in her diary fast enough in longhand. A degree and career in advertising were the result. A fifteen-year stint as a copy chief at JCPenney Catalog led to the position of Internet Marketing Manager for JCPenney.com.

After 20 years at JCPenney, Cindy retired in December, 2007, and began working full time with her husband Scott in their multi-media production company, Dallas Media Center. They specialized in audio/video production and editing, vintage media transfer to DVD and CD, as well as website design and hosting. Cindy shuttered the company in 2021, three years after Scott passed away.

After her first book, a non-fiction work called Cherish the Gift: a Congregational Guide to Earth Stewardship, was published, Cindy began writing fiction. She found her voice in romance, the stories of the struggles two people endure on the road to happily ever-after. Her debut novel, A Different Drum was published in May 2009 by The Wild Rose Press, followed by A Hot Time in Texas that same year.

In early 2025, her latest novel, Sensible Shoes, a humorous look at a woman struggling with life after 50, was published by The Wild Rose Press. It will be followed in late 2025 by a romantic suspense novel entitled Saving Samantha.

Cindy makes her home in Dallas, Texas. In addition to writing, she enjoys traveling and spending time with her 5 grown children and 4 grandchildren. She would like to see the edges of the entire world from the deck of a cruise ship.

BLOG: https://thewidowwoman.com/
WEBSITE: https://cindycausey.com/
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/cindy.ubbencausey
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/cindycausey2
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/@cucausey
PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/causey3994/

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Blurb Blitz--Choice

 

A Taste of the Story

Val is a young Mexican-American quantum physicist and single mother struggling with an anxiety disorder and financial challenges. Her world is turned upside down when her ex-husband files for full custody of their three-year-old daughter to take her across the country where he was offered a job. The story unfolds as she decides either to stay put in Boston and meet job related deadlines or go on a holiday and visit her parents in Mexico.

Encouraged by her father, Val flies to Mexico with Maya, her service dog, and Daisy, her daughter, and she discovers a world of magic that will change her outlook on life forever. She also reconnects with her childhood friend, Mercedes, who gives her a glimmer of hope. Things, however, are not what they seem to be. As all areas of her life begin to fall apart, Val must explore the power of her intuition and make different choices to change the course of her and her daughter’s futures.

Another taste

It was magic that led me to Val. The day her mother, la señora María, came into our house, I felt something I had never felt before. This woman and her family needed me. I couldn’t explain why. But as soon as she stepped into the house, I ran up to her and started pawing at her shiny shoes. La señora Luz always wore sandals, but this lady had the most interesting shoes ever, with high heels and colors I didn’t even know existed. She petted all my siblings, but I kept pawing at her shoes until she lifted me and didn’t put me down until she got back to her own house.

Is it a coincidence that la señora María got me right before Val got sick? Not a chance. Like all of us, la señora María was guided by her intuition to get a puppy for her daughter just when Val needed someone the most. Val and I had only been together for a few weeks when Val got so ill that she couldn’t get out of bed except to walk me. If I hadn’t been there, who knows what would have happened? My being there helped her to get through the day until her doctor told her to train me as a psychiatric service dog. I can’t tell you how happy it made me to have a job!

More about the Author

Although Dora was born in Budapest, Hungary, she lived in Mexico for five years during her early childhood. Her connection to the Mexican language, history, and cooking inspired the cultural setting for her debut novel, “Choice.”

After getting her doctorate from MIT, she published her first book, “The Smart Way to Your Ph.D.” which paved the way for a six-figure consulting business while she was a stay-at-home mom with two daughters. She has given workshops about writing at MIT, Tufts, Boston University, the University of Connecticut, Ohio State University, the Scripps Research Institute, the University of Calgary, and the University of British Columbia.

Author website: https://dorafarkas.com/

Buy link: https://dorafarkas.com/Choice

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dora.farkas

Author website: https://dorafarkas.com/

Buy link: https://dorafarkas.com/Choice

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dora.farkas

And, yes, there is a giveaway.

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Book Tour--The Bookshop Ladies

 

 

Women's Fiction

Date Published: 09-10-2024

Publisher: Aria Fiction

 

 

Bestselling Irish writer, Faith Hogan, has created another gripping saga of friendship, betrayal and secrets in this story of a widow in search of answers to a shocking confession by her dying husband.

 

Joy Blackwood has no idea why her French art dealer husband has left a valuable painting to a woman called Robyn Tessier in Ballycove, a small town on the west coast of Ireland, but she is determined to find out.

She arrives in Ballycove to find that Robyn runs a rather chaotic and unprofitable bookshop. She is shy, suffering from unrequited love for dashing Kian, and badly in need of advice on how to make the bookshop successful.

As Joy becomes entangled in the daily dramas of Ballycove, uncovering the secrets behind her husband's painting grows increasingly challenging. When she finally musters the courage to confront the truth, her revelation sends shockwaves through the tight-knit community she's grown to love.

 

About the Author

Faith Hogan is an award-winning, million copy best selling author. She is a USA Today Bestseller, Irish Times Top Ten and an Amazon UK Number 1 Best Selling writer of ten contemporary fiction novels. Her books have featured as Book Club Favorites, Net Galley Hot Reads and Summer Must Reads. She writes grown up women's fiction which is unashamedly uplifting, feel-good and inspiring.

Her new summer read The Bookshop Ladies is out in June 2024 and it's a great big welcome back to Ballycove for her readers.

She writes twisty contemporary crime fiction as Geraldine Hogan.

She lives in the west of Ireland with her family and their Labrador named Penny.

 

Contact Links

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Purchase Links

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Book Blitz--Love by Design

 

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The Lilac Lake Inn Series, Book 1

 

Romantic Women’s Fiction

Date Published: August 22, 2023

 

 

Keeping a family promise can be the beginning of a whole new life for everyone in town...

Danielle “Dani” Gilford eagerly accepts her share of the gift of a cottage on the property of the Lilac Lake Inn in the Lakes Region of New Hampshire. Her grandmother, Gigi, has decided to sell the inn after realizing it’s too difficult to run as she ages and with rising taxes. Dani and her two sisters, Whitney and Taylor, must renovate and maintain the cottage and live there at least six months of each year, as a means of helping Gigi keep a vow to hold onto as much of the family property as possible.

The first person that Dani meets when she returns to the lake is Brad Collister, who, with his brother, has been hired to renovate the inn for the new owners. His brother, Aaron, is as attractive as Brad, but life with the brothers is complicated. Brad is still grieving for his wife, who died two years ago from cancer and Aaron’s interest lies with the business. And after working in Boston at an architectural design firm where the men in the office do everything they can to keep her from getting recognition for the work she does, the last thing Dani is looking for is a man. But the little town of Lilac Lake is full of interesting people, and surprises await Dani as she and her sisters work together to keep a promise to their grandmother, and Dani discovers new possibilities for herself about life and love.

Another of Judith Keim’s series books celebrating love and families, strong women meeting challenges, and clean women’s fiction with a touch of romance—beach reads for all ages with a touch of humor, satisfying twists, and happy endings.

About the Author

Judith Keim, A USA Today Best Selling Author, is a hybrid author who both has a publisher and self-publishes. Ms. Keim writes heart-warming novels about women who face unexpected challenges, meet them with strength, and find love and happiness along the way, stories with heart. Her best-selling books are based, in part, on many of the places she's lived or visited and on the interesting people she's met, creating believable characters and realistic settings her many loyal readers love.

She enjoyed her childhood and young-adult years in Elmira, New York, and now makes her home in Boise, Idaho, with her husband and their two dachshunds, Winston and Wally, and other members of her family.

While growing up, she was drawn to the idea of writing stories from a young age. Books were always present, being read, ready to go back to the library, or about to be discovered. All in her family shared information from the books in general conversation, giving them a wealth of knowledge and vivid imaginations.

Ms. Keim loves to hear from her readers and appreciates their enthusiasm for her stories.

 

Contact Links

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Purchase Links

Amazon

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Teaser Tuesday--Will

 

If It Feels Good, Book 3

Women's Fiction / Paranormal

Date Published: July 21, 2023

 

 

Sarah collects and sells antiques, and she lives in a fantasy world of her own creation. When she’s transported to another universe, she meets the man of her dreams, but he wants to teach her how to find pleasure in her “real” life.

Will Loudon is Sarah’s pleasure trainer. He’s also an honest-to-God English earl -- the exact sort of man Sarah reads about in her forbidden books. He does such a good job of teaching her to find real pleasure, neither of them wants her to go home.

 

 

EXCERPT

Copyright ©2023 Alice Gaines

 

The dust in the old attic made Sarah Meadows sneeze, but she wouldn’t have been happier anywhere else in the world.

“You sure you want to look through this ancient stuff?” Mr. Gamble, the owner of the house, asked from where he stood on a ladder behind her, his head poking out of the entrance to the attic.

“You said your wife saved everything,” Sarah answered as she scanned an assortment of old trunks, boxes, and antique furniture someone had found the strength to haul up the ladder.

“Never could get her to throw away anything,” he answered. “As soon as you’ve found everything you can use, I’m going to clean it all out.”

“I’m very grateful to be the first dealer you’ve had up here,” she said. “I’ll pay you a fair price for anything I find.”

“Guess that’s all it amounts to… a little bit of money.” He sighed. “Anything’s helpful these days. I’ll leave you to it.”

Which he did. Left her all alone in the relics of his wife’s life. Poor man. She’d probably find something she could sell in her shop. Then, she’d refer Mr. Gamble to a few businesses that could help him empty his attic in preparation for selling the house. This couldn’t be a joyful enterprise for him. It might be for her.

Dressed in grungy clothing for a dirty job, she got to work. The first box held a bunch of record albums. Vinyl was making a comeback these days. She pulled one of the discs out of its protective sleeve and did her best to scan it for defects in the dim light. Looked pretty good.

The next box had pots and pans. Nothing much there. She hauled herself to her feet and approached what looked like a lady’s dressing table. The wood was dinged, but it could be restored. Polished, it could make a lovely piece for a period boudoir.

One drawer held a hand mirror. Again, wood. Potentially salable. She glanced into it and almost dropped it. It wasn’t a mirror, after all, but the framed picture of a man’s face.

Okay, that shouldn’t have startled her. Maybe the lady who’d owned the piece kept her lover’s face framed in her dressing table. It sure didn’t look like Mr. Gamble, though. In fact, his wicked smile and scandalously long-ish hair fit more with a wealthy rake of another century. Maybe the piece was older than she’d thought.

“Don’t be frightened,” a man’s voice said from somewhere in the attic. A voice with a very distinct English accent.

Her heart started beating like crazy. “Who’s there? Mr. Gamble?”

That sure hadn’t sounded like Mr. Gamble. Neither did the laughter that followed her question. Even without having heard the actual voice of a wealthy rake, she recognized it as such.

She’d read about such voices in her favorite novels. She’d never expected to hear one. She put her hand over her heart and did her best to keep breathing.

“That wasn’t a picture,” the voice said. “It was my reflection.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” she said with as much authority as she could muster. “Who are you, and where are you?”

“Over here,” came the answer. But there was still no indication of the direction it came from. Rather, it seemed to be everywhere.

Crap. She wasn’t staying up here with some stranger who could be deranged for all she knew. Who hid out in attics? Instead, she got up and walked slowly toward the ladder. She’d tell Mr. Gamble he had a prowler, and once the police had evicted said prowler, she’d return.

“Don’t go, Sarah.”

He knew her name. How? She stopped in her tracks but didn’t turn around.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” the voice said. “I’m here to fulfill your dreams.”

What did a formless voice know about her dreams? She hadn’t shared them with anyone because they sounded ridiculous, even to her own ears. To live in a former time that seemed to glitter so much on the pages of novels and in the movies. Back then, most common folk, like her, had led difficult lives with no real education and folk remedies their only health care. But the gowns and the balls. The architecture and art. The manners. Today seemed so coarse compared to that.

“Come find me, Sarah.”

Oh, that accent, like butter on a scone to be covered with jam and clotted cream. Wise or not, she was going to find him, so she might as well set about it. But where?

 

About the Author

USA Today best-selling author Alice Gaines has published several sensuous and erotic works. She prefers stories that stretch the imagination, highlighting the power of love and sex. Alice has a Ph.D. in psychology from U. C. Berkeley and lives in Oakland, California, where she sings in her church choir.

 

Author’s Instagram and Twitter: @AliceGaines

 

Publisher on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @changelingpress

 

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