Take care, and happy reading!
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.
Take care, and happy reading!
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.
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
Wow! What a year! (Come back - my next post will be aboue what's planned for 2024!)
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?
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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!
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
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
2023 to-do list: FINISH MY BOOK!
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!)
Take care, and happy reading!
- Heather
Follow and friend me online!
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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
- Heather
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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!)- Heather
Find me online
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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 (Goodreads - Barnes & 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. (Goodreads - Barnes & 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!
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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
Twitter - @GrantsCrossing
Instagram - @GrantsCrossing
Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown - for this and all my book reviews
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
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
Twitter - @GrantsCrossing
Instagram - @GrantsCrossing
Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown - for this and all my book reviews
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.
![]() |
| Michonne, my current editor. She loves everything I write as long as I keep refilling her food dish. |
Twitter - @GrantsCrossing
Instagram - @GrantsCrossing
Goodreads - H.M.S. Brown - for this and all my book reviews
H.M.S. Brown (Yes - her real initials!) is an avid knitter, crocheter, and CBJ hockey fan who stumbled into writing during lockdown in 2020 after delving into the world of romance. When her mom challenged her to write her own, the small town of Grant’s Crossing, Ohio, was born. She makes her home in Central Ohio, doing the bidding of her evil, yet adorable cat, Michonne, along with keeping a day job to maintain a roof over her books and yarn stash.
Watch for her latest project, a cozy mystery titled Face-Off to Murder, due out in late 2026.