Author Archives: ALBTALBS

Valentine’s Guests: Bobbi Romans Interviews Carolyn Hector

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Hi friends! With time being fluid here in ALBTALBS land, and mixed up dates on my part, I’m glad this all worked out and we’re welcoming the lovely Bobbi Romans who is interviewing her delightful friend Carolyn Hector. I do want to say first – Cocoa Dreams, Carolyn’s newest book just came out this week! Congratulations on your newest release, Carolyn! Anyway, you gotta love a pair who just take care of everything! So without further ado…

Bobbi Romans Interviews Carolyn Hector for Valentine’s Day

Her Mistletoe Bachelor by Carolyn Hector book coverWhoop-Whoop, its Bobbi Romans here interviewing the fabulous Carolyn Hector Hall, AKA my little cuddle buddy, about all kinds of juicy tidbits both Valentines Inspired as well as just nosey darn questions.

Lets jump right in.

Bobbi: Hey cuddle buddy!
Carolyn: I miss you! I can’t wait until we can sleep in the same bed together! And before we start… Happy Birthday weekend to you! 

Bobbi: So for y’all reading this and us for the first time, twice a year (pre-covid) Carolyn, and I, along with some other awesome romance authors got together for a lake house retreat. At these retreats we do get a lot writing done, but we also have fun. One year Carolyn brought us all our own barbies. And let’s just say when we woke up in the morning, someone one (thou shalt not be named) posed the Barbies in some pretty wicked poses. 
Carolyn: What happens at the lake house, stays at the lake house….. or it ends up in a novel or on Facebook.  Continue reading →

Guest Jeannie Lin: Hacking my own Brain and Writing for my Id

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Hi friends! I’m very excited to welcome Jeannie Lin back to ALBTALBS! Also also! Did you know Jeannie just had a new book out yesterday?! And that it’s the Lunar New Year tomorrow? I mean, all the stars [or you know >.> celestial body singular?] aligned for this post! Congratulations on the release of Tale of the Drunken Sword and welcome!

Hacking my own Brain and Writing for my Id

The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin book coverMy family has a bunch of different superstitions around Lunar New Year, the most pervasive one being that whatever you do on the first day of the year will be the nature of the mojo you get for the rest of the year. We eat a bunch, spend time with family, get showered with money and act cheerful in order to set ourselves up for posterity and wealth and happiness for the new year.

I’m not superstitious, but I am in my head a lot which can sort of amount to the same thing. I play mind games with myself all the time because I know my brain is super analytical, but I also know my brain likes novelty and whimsy so it CAN be convinced to do things even though it knows it’s being tricked.  

So, I thought it would be a good way to jump start a productive writing year by starting out the year with a book release. It’s something I think my brain can be convinced of. 

I’d just quit the stressful day job and Lunar New Year was less than month away, so if I was going to make something happen, I’d better make it happen quick.  Continue reading →

10th Blogiversary Wrap Up: Last Call to Enter ALL THE GIVEAWAYS

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Hi friends! All the giveaways close today unless otherwise stated. What’s up for grabs you might ask? Well let me tell you!

Unless otherwise noted, all giveaways are open internationally! We want you to win, so please comment! Join in the fun!

Blogiversary Guest: Janice Maynard!

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Hi friends! I’m so thrilled to welcome back Janice Maynard on the last day of January! We’re just doing things all over the place and offering giveaways galore here at ALBTALBS! 😀 It’s been ten years! We do what we want! 😜 Anyway Janice was kind enough to write a post and offer a prize, so read on!  <3

Happy Blogiversary to Limecello! I’m honored to be here today celebrating such a fun milestone!

As I was debating what to share with you, it occurred to me that Valentine’s Day is coming up soon. It will look different this year, of course. (My husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary in a restaurant parking lot eating carry-out.)

Whether you’ll be observing Gal-entine’s Day, or maybe you and your significant other are lifting a glass, because you’ve managed not to strangle each other during quarantine, this year’s events will be unlike any others.

Instead of reporting on a new release, I’d like to tell you about an older book that takes place in exactly this time of year. As you probably know, publishers “buy” the rights to publish books for a certain period of time. Eventually, those rights revert to the authors who can then re-publish the books. Continue reading →

Blogiversary Guest: Kali Anthony On the Little Things

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Hi friends! I can’t believe January is coming to a close! It’s gone by so quickly but also has felt like 10,000 years. I’d like you all to welcome one of our last 10th Blogiversary Guests, Kali Anthony! She’s a first timer at A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet, and has been very kind, patient, and generous. We’re grateful to have her as a guest, and all the other authors who were happy to help celebrate. I hope you all give a warm welcome to Kali!

IT’S THE LITTLE THINGS

It all started whilst I was watering the grass. To be fair, the grass had just been freshly laid, and I was trying to keep it alive in our bakingly hot Australian summer during a brief lockdown. But watering said grass took over an hour of my time, twice a day, so I had lots of that time to contemplate…things.

My thoughts centered on how life had become somehow small over the last twelve months. No travel, no grand adventures. Ignoring the fact that the world was going to hell in a handbasket, life out of necessity seemed to be about hearth and home. It got me thinking that the media fetes the life lived large. It’s always about how much you can pack in rather than what happens if that’s whittled away to almost nothing. And what I realised during my grass watering musings, was that I wasn’t unhappy about my smaller life.  Continue reading →

Blogiversary Version Guest Author & A Giveaway: Amanda McCabe

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Hello my dear friends! We are back! And I am delighted to welcome back first time guest Amanda McCabe! She is another generous soul who offered to help us celebrate ten years of blogging. Whew – ten years! We’re trying … Anyway! Amanda chose to answer my silly questions, so I hope you enjoy!

What was your favorite book as a child? (Why?) And what is your favorite book now?
The first book I remember reading for myself was a picture book about a princess who grew REALLY long hair, and it became a total mess!  I don’t remember the title, but I do remember the illustrations, very 1960s.  I also loved the Eloise books, a girl who got to make mischief in a fancy hotel was, I thought, living one’s best kid life.  It’s so hard to narrow down favorite books now!  But I’ve found myself doing lots of re-reading in this weird year, so Austen, Jane Eyre*, old-school romances, English mysteries set in country houses.  If I could only read one book forever, this might sound weird, but it could be War and Peace.  An old teacher of mine said it has “all genres of book in one” (which it does!), so it would keep me busy for a long time

If you could create any movie mash up – which films would you combine?
Jane Eyre and a Christie novel!  She’d make a great detective

What inanimate object would you eat if it was safe to do?
Interesting question!!  When I was a kid, there was a beautiful old Victorian house down the street from my grandmother that looked like it was made of whipped cream icing.  It seemed like it would be very yummy Continue reading →

Release Day Blogiversary Edition Exclusive Excerpt: The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince by Jeffe Kennedy

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Hi friends! It’s release day for the fabulous Jeffe Kennedy! She’s written in a number of [sub]genres, and high fantasy romance is one where she shines. She very generously offered to be part of the blogiversary and have a giveaway, so I figured her release day was the perfect timing! (Timing being 😅 something that I struggle with when it comes to blog posts.) ANYWAY! The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince is out today, and we’ve got an exclusive excerpt of it to share with our A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet readers! <3 I hope you enjoy!

The Golden Gryphon and the Bear Prince by Jeffe Kennedy book coverA Legacy of Honor

Crown Prince Astar has only ever wanted to do the right thing: be a credit to his late father’s legacy, live up to his duties as heir to the high throne of the Thirteen Kingdoms, and cleave to the principles of honor and integrity that give his life structure—and that contain the ferocious grizzly bear inside. Nowhere in those guiding principles is there room for the fierce-hearted, wildly free-spirited, and dizzyingly beautiful shapeshifter, Zephyr. Still, even though they’ve been friends most of their lives, Astar is able to keep Zephyr safely at arm’s length. He’s already received a list of potential princess brides who will make a suitable queen, and Zephyr is not on it.

A Longtime Obsession

Zeph has wanted the gorgeous, charming, and too-good-for-his-own-good Astar for as long as she can remember. Not that her longing for him—and his perfectly sculpted and muscular body—has stopped her from enjoying any number of lovers. Astar might be honorably (and foolishly) intent on remaining chaste until marriage, but Zeph is Tala and they have no such rules. Still, she loves Astar—as a friend—and she wants him to at least taste life before he chains himself to a wife he didn’t choose. There’s no harm in him having a bit of fun with her. But the man remains stubbornly elusive, staving off all of her advances with infuriatingly noble refusals.

A Quest to Save the World

But things change when a new terror threatens the Thirteen Kingdoms. Following prophecy, Astar and Zeph—along with a mismatched group of shapeshifter, warrior, and sorceress friends—go on a quest to stop a magic rift before it grows beyond anyone’s ability to stop. Thrust together with Zephyr, Astar finds himself increasingly unable to resist her seductive invitations. And in the face of life-and-death battles with lethal monsters, he begins to lose sight of why having her, just once, is such a terrible idea…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Zeph beelined to the fire, standing as close as she could without igniting her fancy skirts. “I like Castle Elderhorst. Suddenly I’m a lady!” Continue reading →

Blogiversary Version Guest Author & A Giveaway: Jennifer Bernard

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Hi friends! I’m very excited to welcome back Jennifer Bernard as a guest to A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet! When I put out a call for people to participate she responded immediately <3 As a[nother] personal thing, I realized when copying and pasting I did an oops in the questions I sent authors and none of them have called me out on it. 😅 So a general shout out for not embarrassing me I guess. 😜 (Thanks!) Anyway, Jennifer chose to do an “interview” so I hope you enjoy!

Mine Until Moonrise by Jennifer Bernard book coverWhat was your favorite book as a child? (Why?) And what is your favorite book now?
I’ve been an obsessive bookworm practically since birth, so it’s honestly really hard to pick out one favorite. Maybe A Wrinkle in Time. Little Women was up there, and the Narnia series. The Witch of Blackbird Pond was one of my all-time favorites. Lisa, Bright and Dark had a huge impact on me. Obviously I love the books that I grew up with, but I also think I would have devoured the young adult books coming out today. Right now I’m reading Legendborn, which I would have just inhaled back then – okay, I admit I’m doing that now as an adult.

If you could create any movie mash up – which films would you combine?
This isn’t a movie, but I’m currently binging on Insecure (so so good!) so I’d mash that up with… hm, maybe Crazy Rich Asians, so Issa Dee could have a happy ending?

What inanimate object would you eat if it was safe to do?
The moon, so I could glow on demand.

What is the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you have a go-to dish? And/or a signature dish? (What makes it so?)
Popcorn! With lots of butter and salt. And we didn’t have a popcorn maker so I learned with a frying pan (and a few burns.) My signature dish is something we eat all the time because I live in Alaska with a freezer full of salmon. You chop up pine nuts and herbs and salt and pepper, clump it onto the salmon and saute it in olive oil. Continue reading →

Blogiversary Guest Renee Dahlia on 10 Years and Reflection

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Hi friends! I’d like you to welcome back Renee Dahlia, who very generously offered to help us celebrate 10 years of blogging – and offer a giveaway! She took the time to write us this post, so I hope you enjoy!

Happy 10 years to A Little Bit Tart, A Little Bit Sweet
Renee Dahlia

Sometime in the middle of 2020, I was driving my car and people were calling in with stories of their worst cars. Someone rang up and talked about how they had a car where the CD got stuck in the player and they were forced to listen to the same CD over and over.

When I offered to write something for the tenth anniversary of this blog, it made complete sense to talk about Craving His Spotlight. This story is about having another go at life, about looking back at the past, and thinking about how to use those old experiences for good. The thing about anniversaries is they tend to make people think about the past and how far they’ve come in that time.

Craving His Spotlight opens with a voice and a memory.

Vince would know that voice anywhere. The rich dulcet smoky voice with sultry notes. Truly, it was the only good thing about the bloody pop beat of those songs. For two long years, he’d listened to it on endless repeat, because there was no other option. Hearing that voice meant only one thing—the lead singer of So You Think was here in the office of Vince’s advertising company, Kapow. It must be over a decade since the boy band was huge. He shuddered. That fucking car with the So You Think CD stuck in the dash represented some of the worst years of his life. Nah, not the absolute worst. They were the end of the worst and the beginning of now. Continue reading →

Blogiversary Version Guest Author & A Giveaway: Nicole Flockton

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Hi friends! So we’ve had a lot going on in the world, but we’re trying to truck along! Therefore, I’ve got another post for you to celebrate Blogiversary, and would everyone to welcome back Nicole Flockton! It’s also release day for her! Shelter for Cerise is out today so everyone also wish Nicole a very happy release day! 

What was your favorite book as a child? 
Hmm my favourite book. I’m not sure I had one but I had a favourite author. I read a ton of Enid Blyton books. I love the concept of toys coming to life and living independently. And what is your favorite book now? Hmm that’s a toughie. There was one book I used to read every year it’s a book called Fortunes by Vera Cowie. I need to get it out and read it again. It’s been a while since I’ve read it. It’s about an auction house and an ugly duckling heroine getting it all in the end.

If you could create any movie mash up – which films would you combine? (Why?)
Oh you ask the tough questions! Okay let me see. Let’s go with National Treasure and The Mummy. I’d love to see Nic Cage take on some mummies while hunting down the mother lode of treasures.

What inanimate object would you eat if it was safe to do? Why?
Ohh I know a football. I mean it was made out of pigskin so it could taste like bacon. 😉

What is the first thing you learned how to cook? Do you have a go-to dish? And/or a signature dish? (What makes it so?)
My first memories of cooking were helping my mum make a cake so I guess that was the first think I learned. My go to dish is what I call Sausage Pasta. Basically it’s smoked sausage, pasta, broccoli and parmesan cheese. It’s simple and quick and my kids really like it. I guess this is my signature dish. Continue reading →