Top Ten Tuesday: Authors from Connecticut

 This week's topic is authors from your state. Mine is Connecticut 

Kristan Higgins

Regina Kyle

Jamie Beck

Luanne Rice

Lucy Burdette

Suzanne Collins

Jerry Craft

Janae Marks

Abi Cushman

Gail Chianese

Wrap of 2024

2024 is over and it was a year!

Pictures:

I met Mychal Treets at our CT Librarian Annual Conference

I hiked in Glacier National Park

Went to a pop-up Gingerbread Bar

Saw the Northern Lights (finally) with friends

Visited Hyde Park

Vacationed in Ocean City, Maryland where we saw wild horses

I completed some goals and not others...

I did complete my reading goal of 225 books

I did not reach the 500 picture book reading goal

I did not reach my blogging goal of 350 blog posts

BUT I did reach 2 million views on my blog!

I did spend the year highlighting middle grade books

I did paint more

I failed at paper quilling

I did try resin - made a huge mess in the kitchen

My home library is more organized - my work office, not so much

Reviewed a bunch of books for Fresh Fiction and a couple for SLJ

Highlights of the Year

Visiting Glacier National Park

Visiting Banff 

Saw my friends in Seattle - we went to a Wallaby farm

Visited friends in Knoxville where we saw Northern Lights

Attended a James Ponti author event

Attended an event with Kristan Higgins and Kate White with author friend Regina Kyle (sadly, I took no pictures)

Visited Elizabeth Park for the tulips 

Interviewed a favorite middle grade author, Jessica Burkhart

Visited Nantucket with family

Wrote a mini essay for KidLit for Kamala on my experience with book banning

Ate lots of ice cream from Mel's and other sweet treats

I was sent lots of great books from publishing folks

There were some hard moments too, but not as easy to talk about those things.

 Some of them happened indirectly to me, so I'm not sharing those.

Conference proposal rejected - which I thought was a sure thing

After visiting the doctor, I have high cholesterol - so I've worked hard to change the way I eat, which has been a struggle. I do love sweets and cheese. Everything in moderation. 

What were some of your highlights from the year?

Book Lists: Adult Sports Romances

Ok, this book list is a little bit different.

Regina Kyle told me all about Ted Lasso. She talked about it so much, I had to get Apple TV just to watch the show. And I binged the first season in 24 hours.

I'm waiting to watch the second season because it's nice to have something awesome in your back pocket when the world is so horrible these days.

What I loved about Ted Lasso:

Ted Lasso 

His Wolf Pack

The Sports Team

Rebecca and Keeley

Grumpy Roy

Jamie Tarte/Shark song

Practices

Nathan

Horrible ex-husband of Rebeeca (Giles) getting played

The Pub

The Scenery

The British Ways

The Army Toys

The first three, I read and loved.

Blitzed by Alexa Martin

Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

The second three, I'm looking forward to reading.

Head Over Heels by Hannah Orenstein

The Fastest Way to Fall by Denise Williams

Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan

I love sports romances, but I don't read enough. So I'm asking for your help. I'm not great reading ebooks, but I'd love some recommendations for print sports romances.

I read a bunch of YA ones, but not too many adult ones.

Bonus points if the heroine is the sports hero!

Review: How Not to Mess with a Millionaire

 

* First in a new series *

Zoe's life is a mess - so she decides to escape for a little while. What better place to escape to than Italy? Unfortunately, it seems the house she's rented is otherwise occupied. The owner's grandson stopped in for a visit not knowing the house was rented.

The house is so big, they reluctantly agree to share it. But they secretly passive aggressively attempt to be so annoying the other will leave early. It's clear that neither of them will break and they become a united front when a small pig enter their lives. 

Will this change spark a difference in their relationship?

My Thoughts: Another winner from Regina Kyle. I loved the banter between Zoe and Dante - especially when they were trying to get each other to leave the house. Of course, Houdini the pig was adorable. He stole scenes in the book for sure. Lots of laughs and tension in this book.  I enjoyed how grief was handled in Dante's case. I loved spending time in Italy - the setting was magical. So looking forward to the next book in the series. I couldn't put this book down - it was just what I needed. Regina's books never fail to make me smile. 

Cover Thoughts: Cute

Source: Purchased 

Library Recommendation: Perfect choice for your romance collection.

* I'm friends with the author.

Cover Reveal: How Not To Mess With A Millionaire

 How Not To Mess With A Millionaire by Regina Kyle

Ingredients:

·      One broody Italian billionaire looking for some solitude

·      One spunky American interior designer running away from it all

·      A villa on Italy’s picturesque (and romantic) Amalfi Coast

·      A pig with a penchant for running away

 

Throw in a dash of early-morning yoga, some late-night Puccini, an oops-there’s-only-one-hotel-room-available-with-only-one-bed night on the island of Capri, and copious amounts of Italian food (and wine), then sit back and watch the sparks fly.

Sounds great, right?

Add it to Goodreads  https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57102389-how-not-to-mess-with-a-millionaire

About the Author:

Regina Kyle knew she was destined to be an author when she won a writing contest at age ten with a touching tale about a squirrel and a nut pie. By day, she writes dry legal briefs, representing the state in criminal appeals. At night, she writes steamy romance with heart and humor.

A lover of all things theatrical, Regina lives on the Connecticut coast with her husband, teenaged daughter and two melodramatic cats. When she’s not writing, she’s most likely singing, reading, cooking or watching bad reality television.

Looking Back: 2019 in Review

Personal:

* Hiked in Acadia National Park

* Found a great ice cream place in Bar Harbor

* We celebrated 16 years of marriage

* I turned 40

* My family created a fun celebration of 40 days to 40

* Spent a week in Walt Disney World eating lots of great food and chatting up characters

* Rediscovered my love for pie

* Visited San Diego and had a great time, especially at the zoo

* Helped volunteer for the zoo with a photo tracking giraffe project which was really cool 

(They're working on an owl project now. And it's easy to help)

* Built Harry Potter Lego Set - Hogwarts Castle

* Put in a new kitchen floor and backsplash with my husband. It made our kitchen looks SO much better. We also had new counters and new appliances put in. Our kitchen renovation is almost complete - just a few finishing touches

* Went to Florida to visit family 

* Visited Historic Deerfield with my family

* Went to the a big fair in Vermont

* Hiked in a park with lots of Waterfalls

* Successfully exited a wine maze

* Saw my friend Val get married - she had an amazingly bookish/witchy wedding

* Saw Ani Difranco in concert with my college BFF 

* Saw the tree lighting in Burlington, VT

Professional:

* Still reviewing books for VOYA, SLJ, and Fresh Fiction

* Created a new section at the library for Emerging Readers (still a work in progress, but so many people have been happy with it)

* I was the co-chair of the Library State Conference where I was a moderator for a panel of romance writers and got to introduce Vashti Harrison, the awesome illustrator

* I also presented with my co-chair about romance novels in libraries

* My STEAM program at the library was written up in the Hartford Courant

* Hosted my friend Regina Kyle for the CT Author Trail event at my library

* Regina and I also went to the finale together

Blogging/Reading

* The blog turned 11 this year

* I hugged Meg Cabot at BEA 

* I attended the first (annual I'm hoping) New England Kiss Con

* Read many many wonderful books

* Lots of great books and ARC sent for review