Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fiction. Show all posts

Thursday, May 8, 2025

BOOK SIGNING - Barnes & Noble Lennox

Hey friends - mark your calendars! I've scheduled a book signing!

Check out the details below and visit me at the end of the month!

BOOK SIGNING

Where: Barnes & Noble #Lennox Columbus, Ohio
1739 Olentangy River Road

When: Saturday, May 31

Time: 12pm-2pm
Military Fiction

⭐️ Wayward Guilt
⭐️ Safe Now

Contemporary Military / Firefighter Romance
πŸ”₯ Don’t Call Me Sugar


Take care, and happy reading! 


 - Heather 




A strong-willed bookstore owner - a smokin' hot firefighter - and three flirty septuagenarians. 

What more could you ever need? 

Don’t Call Me Sugar is a slow-burn, Grant’s Crossing Romance - where family and friends mean everything, and happily-ever-afters are guaranteed.

Don't Call Me Sugar is available wherever books are sold online. If it's not already there, you can request it at your local library in paperback and digital for Libby and Hoopla.

Haven’t yet read the Heroes of Grant’s Crossing Books? 


No problem. Click here to find them in print and digital on Libby / Hoopla or wherever books are sold online.







Saturday, December 30, 2023

2023 - What a Year!

Wow! What a year! (Come back - my next post will be aboue what's planned for 2024!)

In 2023, I became a published author! Thanks so much to all of you who have read and reviewed and shared and supported. There's no way I could have done all of this without you.
 
THANK YOU!

- Heather

Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 1

What do you do when the one friend you've always turned to is no longer there?
⭐️ Small town 
πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Friendship
⭐️ Military - Homefront 
πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Loss & Grief
⭐️ First loves
πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Family
⭐️ MM love story 
πŸ‡ΊπŸ‡Έ Honor


Three friends leave home to serve their country. Only two make it back.


After the Twin Towers fall, Derek Mitchell enlists in the U.S. Army with two of his best friends. He dreams of helping people, whether in the field of combat or back home in Grant's Crossing, Ohio.


Juan dreams of marrying his high school sweetheart and starting a family.


Joey dreams of being happy and living his own truth.


Together, they serve in multiple deployments until Juan and Joey are each grievously injured in separate combat missions. Thirteen years after initially enlisting, one doesn’t make it back.


Four months after the funeral, friends and family gather to celebrate Derek’s return to civilian life. With each story shared, he relives their final missions together, carrying the guilt of having saved one friend but not the other.


What do you do when the one friend you've always turned to is no longer there?


Wow! I still can't believe I wrote a book. I WROTE A BOOK!

And to further my 2023 writing adventure, I delved into the wonderful world of Kindle Vella - serialized fiction that is published one chapter at a time. I plan on releasing a new Vella in January, too! I hope you'll jump in and try them out. The first three episodes are always free! Happy reading! 

GRANT'S CROSSING KINDLE VELLAS

A Grant’s Crossing Romance.

How far would you go to protect your brother when no one else will?

Sometimes, throwing a wrench in the works is all that's needed to find a happily ever after.

NON-FICTION KINDLE VELLAS

MUSICAL MISSIVES 
Thoughts on the local classical music scene.


Thanks, and happy reading! 

 - Heather 

WAYWARD GUILT is the first book in my HEROES OF GRANT'S CROSSING series. Click the cover below to purchase a copy via your favorite online booksellers. Available in digital and paperback. 

My companion novel to Wayward Guilt, Safe Now - Heroes of Grant's Crossing Book 2, is available for pre-order on Amazon.   

Find me online! 


Monday, January 30, 2023

Update - Wayward Guilt - Coffee Tour #2

Day 2 of my neighborhood coffee shop tour brought me to the Grandview Grind, the closest coffee shop to where I live, though it's maybe a block or two closer to the next shop, so not too far. 

I'm making some great progress on my book. By the end of the day, I've uploaded 44 out of 46 chapters in Wayward Guilt. See? Progress! My draft has 46 chapters and an epilogue though Chapter 45 will be rather tough, I think. Sure, it's drafted, but well... it's just a tough one. And I usually cry whenever I work on it. Can't help myself! 

Before I stopped at the Grind, I took a walk down Grandview Avenue to stop by Pure Imagination Chocolaterie to treat myself to a 4-pack of delicious truffles for my birthday. I picked up 4 different flavors: Espresso, Vanilla Bean, Coconut, and Key Lime. The Espresso is already my favorite! 

Special thanks to the gentleman working behind the counter. He treated me to a little birthday present, too - two pieces of chocolate-covered coconut. They didn't last long. (TASTY!)

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 

Take care, and happy reading!

 - Heather 


Follow and friend me online! 


Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Follow me on Facebook

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing


Saturday, January 28, 2023

Update - Wayward Guilt - A Grant's Crossing Novel

2023 to-do list: FINISH MY BOOK!

I don't have to return to work until next Thursday, so I'm going to spend my next few days writing and cleaning up my book, Wayward Guilt, at various coffee shops in my neighborhood. 

Coffee shop #1 of my local writing tour. Boston Stoker in Grandview. Shout out to the awesome, correction: AMAZING, college students who shared their table with me today. They are our future! (I really hope they see this because they made my day!)

I have the first 21 chapters uploaded for my Alpha readers / Critique partners and am already getting some fabulous feedback. I hope to get the majority of what's left uploaded this week, so I can feel a sense of accomplishment. 

My true goal is to publish in September. Fingers crossed!

Wish me luck! 

As always, my reviews can be found on Goodreads and other retail sites. 


Take care, and happy reading!

 - Heather 


Follow and friend me online! 


Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Follow me on Facebook

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing



Friday, July 15, 2022

Grant’s Crossing Book Files - July 2022

 Hello! I’m making some writing progress! 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #1 - Don’t Call Me Sugar (Tara & Steve) is currently with Beta readers (OMG!!!!) and I’m already getting some great feedback. Tara already loves her hometown when she meets Steve who's figuring his life out now that he found his brother, Nick. Together? Oh, the feels! 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #2 - Title TBD (Logan & Nick) is outlined and I’m writing it now. I just finished an early scene and I’m at about 7700 words. Just getting started, but yeah - it’s good to be writing vs. Editing. I love both, but have been concentrating on editing lately. (P.S. Julie Anne Lindsey’s outlining / book-prep class was a huge help in getting me going on this!) Can Logan find love again and can Nick be the one who inspires him to take that risk?

Grant’s Crossing Romance #3 - End of a New Life (Derek & Callie) is being outlined. This is the first book that I wrote that was a complete, god-awful mess. I’m using some of what I used, but it’ll be a completely different story though - Derek is speeding out of control in a vicious downward spiral, meeting Callie along the way. These two have a great story to tell. 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #4 - Warm Drink on a Cold Day (Kiro and Celeste) is in the notes-to-outline-ish stage. Did we ever think they'd get together?

Grant’s Crossing Romance #5 - Title TBD (Emerson & Aimee) In the works. Not everything is as it seems. 

Grant’s Crossing Romance #6 - Title TBD (Tim & TBD) In the works. I get to write about Tim's love of romance novels in this story. 

Grant’s Crossing Novel #1 - Wayward Guilt is about 85% written. This is a literary fiction novel that serves as a prequel to all my romance novels, ending just before Tara and Steve's story begins. I wanted to tell Joey's story, so this book dives into the lives of Logan, Joey, Derek, and Tank, four men who grew up together through small-town antics, self-discovery, war, and brotherhood. I love them and their story so much, even if it makes me cry. No offense to the readers, but I hope you cry half as much as I did while writing it. It’s fun to write scenes with tears falling down my face. Yeah. I know. Weird. 

I’m excited! 

Hope you all have a great weekend.


Take care and happy reading!

 - Heather 


Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing


Tuesday, June 15, 2021

Grant’s Crossing Update - Overall for June

I’m making progress on Joey’s book. I’ve added close to 20,000 words since the beginning to June. 

I don’t actually have titles yet for the books I’m currently writing, so I’m naming each one by the main character whose story, or stories, I’m writing. Joey has been speaking to me lately. He has a good story to tell. 

CALLIE/DEREK     142K (It’s a mess = Editing / Rewriting / Dropping a lit match on it)

ABE     12,203K

JOEY     34,465K

KIRO/CELESTE     9,622K


Happy reading! 


 - Heather


Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown


Monday, June 7, 2021

Review - The Man From Darke County

This book was awesome! 

Have you read The Man From Darke County by N. Sullivan? If you haven’t, pick it up today and read it this week. It’s a fun, super quirky, well-written detective novel that touches on a bit of the paranormal. And, it’s set right here in Ohio.

Last summer, I just wanted to read a few pages so I could reference this book in my own book that I’m writing and two hours later, I’d read the whole thing. I couldn’t put it down it was so much fun to read. 

The Man From Darke County was an enjoyable read that did not at all go a direction I expected it to go, which is probably why it was such fun. 

A detective, deemed crazy by his fellow policemen, is pulled off suspension to join in with a police detective from a neighboring county filled with a most unusual populace. 

Be warned: there’s a lot of snark in the dialogue which is part of what appealed to me. Anytime an author can fill a character’s dialogue with copious amounts of sarcasm, I’m a happy camper. 

If you like detective novels and are looking for something a little different, I highly recommend you read this book. 

As for me, I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!

Find N. Sullivan online at Amazon - Patreon - Twitter 

If you’re unfamiliar with Patreon, as I was, it’s a digital subscription service that allows you to support your favorite indie authors with their audio stories, podcasts, behind the scenes footage, and all sorts of other fun content. You’re welcome to support at a variety of levels established by the various hosts. I encourage you to follow the link above and learn more. 

Read my original Goodreads review.

In the meantime, thanks and happy reading!

     - Heather 


Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown




Monday, May 10, 2021

Review - Anchored Hearts by Priscilla Oliveras

May 11, 2020 - that's when I read my first romance novel since I was in high school. If you're wondering how long that's been, I graduated from high school in 1987. 

So yeah. It had been a while. 

The book I read was by an author whose books I'd never read before named Priscilla Oliveras. I had heard of her only because I'm in the Between the Chapters Book Club, a Facebook group hosted by Kensington Books, a publishing house under the umbrella of Penguin Random House. So for fun, I decided to try the book. It was one of the May books of the month. I liked the cover. I'd seen it in a couple of Emails. Why not? 

Why not, indeed! Island Affair is a fake boyfriend/girlfriend romance that was a ton of fun and turned into the real thing for a happily ever after at the end of the book. Sara and Luis. Swoon. How could you not love it? It's a fantastic book - filled with a woman in Key West whose boyfriend basically stood her up on this trip and Luis, a dreamy Latinx firefighter paramedic whose family is big and accepting and more than happy to see their son find love. (This is Book 1 of why you should never go up against a Cuban mami. You won't win. Just smile, nod, and say Si, SeΓ±ora! For book 2 of this lesson, read Anchored Hearts. No. Really.)

Thanks to this book, I've been hooked on reading romance novels nearly non-stop since last May11. No really. It's true. 
Her latest book, Anchored Hearts, book #2 of the Keys to Love series just came out and does not disappoint! 

There’s nothing better than returning to Key West to visit the Navarro and Miranda families. Oliveras’ earlier book, Island Affair was my visit visit to the Keys (in real life or fiction) and it’s also the book that piqued my interest in romance novels. Island Affair was the first romance novel I had read since high school and I graduated in ‘87. 


In Anchored Hearts, we return to spend time with Annamaria Navarro as she’s working hard as a paramedic / firefighter but also doing a fabulous job building her own business that centers on fitness and good nutrition. She’s making a name for herself in that industry and is making great progress at growing her business. 


Enter Alejandro Miranda, her first love who ran off to Europe after high school to pursue his dream of photography - breaking her heart in the process. Now, 10-12 years later, he re-enters her life after a serious accident that has him laid up at his parents’ home. It’s definitely a challenge since he doesn’t get along with his father who still harbours resentment towards his son for not joining the family business. 


Now, combine two broken hearts with their Cuban Mamis and there is sure to be a lot of fun and friction. 


Remind me never to say anything but yes, ma’am to any Cuban Mami who crosses my path. They sure are forces to be reckoned with - especially when they’re right! 


I love the rekindling of emotions between Annamaria and Ale that built throughout the story. Priscilla Oliveras’ writing style drew me in from the first page, as she has on all her other books I’ve made a point to read in the last several months. 


Following a constant theme of familia present in all her books, Anchored Hearts did not disappoint. I look forward to her next book. Definitely an author whose books I pick up on sight.

Priscilla Oliveras' other books include: 

* His Perfect Partner (Matched to Perfection #1)

* Her Perfect Affair (Matched to Perfection #2)

* Their Perfect Melody (Matched to Perfection #3) 

* Resort to Love (Paradise Key #2) 

* Holiday Home Run (which has a main character who played for the Chicago Cubs. Fictional main character, yes, but whenever my favorite baseball team makes an appearance, I like it that much more!)

Her books can be found most everywhere. Click here for a complete list

On social media, Priscilla Oliveras is always super friendly and is happy to welcome new romance readers into Romancelandia. I'm a romance novel convert thanks to her. Find her online here: Website - Twitter - Goodreads

Thanks and happy reading!

         - Heather


Find me online

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown


Friday, May 7, 2021

Book of the Month - May

Subscription boxes are all the craze these days, especially since so many of us haven't been going out in the last year, opting instead for a lot more delivery services than usual. Subscription boxes ranging from wine to coffee to makeup to pizza to cleaning supplies are becoming more and more popular. Not wanting to be left out, I happily jumped on this bandwagon!

Last month, I signed up for a monthly subscription box of books. It's aptly named the Book of the Month Club. 

It's super basic and I love it. Each month, I choose one of five books and it's mailed to me. Simple as that. I'm welcome to pass on a month, cancel, keep it going. Whatever I want. 

This month's box arrived today. 

The book I chose is a thriller by Laura Dave: The Last Thing He Told Me (GoodreadsBarnes & Noble - Amazon

As with every month, I also get the option of grabbing an extra 1-2 books leftover from previous months. I did that this time around and ended up receiving these two gems. 

Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon)

The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon (Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon

Yes, my new addiction to romance novels continues. I can't help it. I can't not read them. 

April's book was People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry. (Goodreads - Barnes & Noble - Amazon). It's an early release, available for purchase starting May 11, 2021. I'm just now getting started on this book and am really enjoying it so far. 

Emily Henry is also the author of a bookI loved called Beach Read. (GoodreadsBarnes & Noble - Amazon). Beach Read is classified as a romance novel, yes, but I love how it follows two writers, each encountering writer's block for their own respective genres. Along the way they share with each other what typically inspires them to write. The romance is there, but takes a back burner to the friendship and mutual respect as writers that develop. It's a fantastic book! 

Have you signed up for any subscription boxes I our pandemic world? If so, I'd love to know what goodies you're having delivered to you every month!

Book of the Month is a fun club to join and while I'm barely into my second month, I can already tell I'm going to enjoy it. I look forward to sharing my reviews of these books in the coming weeks.

Take care and happy reading! 

             - Heather


Find me in your favorite places!

Twitter - @GrantsCrossing

Instagram - @GrantsCrossing

Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown


Saturday, September 19, 2020

Keyboards and Spin-offs

Things have been pretty quiet on the blog front since I’ve been doing so much writing of late. Plus - working a lot of hours for my day job! 

My book is coming along really well. I’m about 87,000 words in which is roughly 300 pages of writing. Crazy, right? I never though I could come up with a fictional story on my own - probably because I’ve never tried, but here I am. I love where it’s going and have been doing a lot of research on various subjects so that I may portray them more realistically and more honestly. Yes, the story is fiction, but the professions of my characters are not, so I want to be true to those who work them in real life. 

As a result of meeting with one professional this past week, I’m working on some corrections and rewrites. I’m learning a lot in the process of writing a book and am loving every step of the way so far. Now - whether or not I’ll love trying to market my book, that remains to be seen, but the writing portion - is fantastic!

My book started when my challenged me to write my own after having read a couple of bad romances. (Don’t ask me the author - I don’t even remember!) I’m really getting into this because I have ideas already for a sequel or two as well as a book set during early last century. Plus, my biggest and most amazing surprise, is a young adult spin-off book that I’m creating with my nephew. He helped me come up with some of the names in my book and then told my mom, his grandmother, that he wanted to help me write a book. (He’s in high school). 

Well - we both came over to my mom’s for dinner (She’s the best cook ever!) and while I was expecting him to want to talk about it for maybe 20-30 minutes, we ended up planning out characters and story lines for 3-4 hours. I’m so excited by this! 

Watch for more details, but I’m hoping to have my current draft done later this month or next and then work on the YA spin-off book during November for NaNoWriMo. We’ll see how it goes! 

In the meantime, I’ve been working at home since the lockdown, so I was amused when I looked at my keyboards. This is probably far funnier to me than the rest of you, but I thought it would be fun to share, anyway! 

It seems I always shift with my left hand and use the space bar with only my right hand. I tend to wear down the same letter keys as well.

    1st-my writing keyboard for my iPad.

    2nd-for my day job.

Apparently I wear down the same keys on each! Lol! 

Anyhoo - there’s my writing picture of the day. 

Be well and take care! 

Happy Reading! 

        - Heather

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Grant’s Crossing

I’m happy to say that my first novel, Grant’s Crossing, is really coming together. At over 18,000 words so far, I think it’s safe to say that my story and her characters are developing quite nicely. 

This past week, I’ve had a couple of rough days at my day job because I’ve awakened early in the morning with a great idea in my head that I just had to write down. I started writing and then, all of a sudden, a few hours had gone by and it was time to get ready for work! Who needs sleep, anyway, right? 

While writing more chapters and developing my characters, I’m also still working on how to describe the book itself. Like the story, that’s a work in progress, too! 

Here’s what I have so far. Bear in mind, I may change this 50 more times between now and publication, but I think this is a great start. 

I’ll start with the short version.

Grant’s Crossing


A woman in need of answers


A man living on the edge


A town in need of hope


And the longer version...



A journalist who relentlessly pursues the truth still can’t answer the one question that matters to her the most. 


An EMT who dedicates his life to helping others yet still lives his own life on the edge.  


A small town hit hard by addiction still needs that one catalyst that can bring them hope. 



So what do you think? 



Happy Reading! 

        - Heather


Sunday, June 21, 2020

Welcome to Grant's Crossing!

Hello! 

I'm Heather and I love to read. Thanks to the pandemic, I've been reading a lot more than usual, especially with being furloughed from my job. 

During those 8 long weeks, I read like it was going out of style. Mostly mysteries, but also some classic American lit, fantasy, current events, history, romance, you name it. And yes. I started to read some romance novels! My favorite two are Island Affair by Priscilla Oliveras and Breakfast at the Honey Creek Cafe by Jodi Thomas. Both are nice stories without any real unwanted drama. They're filled with likable characters and the best part? They each have a happy ending. Can't go wrong! Definitely what the doctor ordered during these difficult times. 

Michonne, my current editor. She loves everything I write as long as I keep refilling her food dish.


While on furlough, my mom challenged me to write a book. I had read one particularly bad romance (Not included on my Goodreads page!) and sarcastically asked her, "Seriously - how hard could it be to write one of these?!". Well - her response was simple. If they're so easy, write one yourself! 

Uh...um... ok? Uhhhh...OK! Challenge accepted! 

And with that, Grant's Crossing was born! I started by creating a town and making a list of characters I thought would be fun to include, though mostly by title - diner owner, bar owner, shopkeeper, primarily female lead, primary male lead, etc etc etc. This was fun!

After that, I started drawing out the town square, but also figuring out where it was. I wanted a small town in Ohio, near a body of water and near real towns and cities. 

After a few days, my characters started developing names and bits and pieces of background stories. 

From there, the actual story started to reveal itself. 

I started writing and now I have a prologue, my opening scene. I don't think this is going to be a romance though because it turned out to be darker than originally envisioned, but I'm good with that. I like it a lot and I definitely like where it's going, though I'm not yet sure where that'll be. 

The story is leading me. I'm just the one taking notes. 

Regardless of where this goes, I really look forward to bringing the town, and its residents, to life.

As I go along, I plan to introduce you to some the characters in Grant's Crossing as they develop and promise to keep you updated with my progress on the actual writing. 

I was challenged on June 10. Today is June 21 and I have a 600-word prologue. No idea how long it will be when it's all said and done, but I feel great knowing I've moved beyond the first sentence! 

Until next time, thanks very much and happy reading! 

 - Heather 

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