What makes a family? I've worked as a teacher for over 20 years. I see a variety of families. Some are people of blood- traditional- Mom, Dad and Siblings. Then there's the blood-extended families where Grandparents are the guardians and there aren't parents living at home. In addition we have blended families where some of the people aren't related except by marriage and foster families. I believe they are all families and deserve the same respect and love that a traditional family has. 

Ms. Moss' latest release, The Art of Being Indifferent explores family dynamics as well as what makes a family. This book has so many feels. I couldn't put it down. I had to read to the very end. A must read for everyone!

BLURB:
When opposite worlds collide…

Posey Briggs has a chip on her shoulder the size of Whidbey, the island off of the Washington Coast where she’s stuck with her annoying foster family, and their band of mismatched, screw up kids. The last thing she needs while she rides out these last few months until she’s eighteen and finally free from the system, is to be saddled with some bogus tutoring assignment given by an English teacher with a God complex.
 
Drew Baxter has the world in the palm of his hands. Best athlete in school, coolest guy on campus, nailing the hottest girl in school whenever he wants. What more could he ask for? Except for his dad to stop making his life a terrorizing game of whose face will get pounded tonight? He’d rather do just about anything other than sitting around listening to the school loser lecture him about Shakespeare every day.
 
Sometimes the universe has a way of thrusting two people together, even though they’d rather drink poison than sit across a library table from one another. And in this case, the universe knew something Drew and Posey never saw coming: they would become the single most important person in each other’s lives, and save each other from completely unraveling.

Will the explosion, save them or destroy them?
 
EXCERPT

I didn’t know how to be tender. My mom was never tender. The sweetest thing she’d ever done for me was tattooing my name on the side of her neck.

And as for John? Hell, I didn’t know what to do with one of those “father-figure” types. Every man I’d known before coming into foster care either hated me to the point of knocking me around, or liked me way more than he should have. And if the counseling I’d been forced to participate in since being in the system taught me nothing else, it was that neither of those kinds of relationships were okay. John was just...nice. Nothing more, nothing less. He didn’t cuss me out for breaking a plate while doing dishes, and he didn’t try to stick his hand in my shirt. John simply acted the way I imagined a dad should, and it was weird.

I shot Jessa a look, hoping she’d get the hint to shut up. “It’s not a job, really.”

“Oh?” Paula pulled her hand back, and tucked it in her lap. “Want to tell us about it?”

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, before putting down my fork and wrapping my arms around myself. “It’s just extra credit.”

When I didn’t elaborate, Jessa groaned. “Mr. Kingston asked Posey to tutor someone.”

Both John and Paula’s faces lit up. They’d read my transcripts, and I don’t think they had high hopes for my academic career. “Really?” John burst. “Posey, that’s great!”

“I’m so proud of you,” Paula gushed, beaming.

I looked away. “It’s nothing. He said it would help my grade.”

“I’m sure it will.” Paula helped Cooper twirl his noodles onto his fork. “At back to school night, he said you had great potential. I’m not at all surprised he picked you.”

“But that’s not the half of it.” Jessa practically vibrated in her chair. Good grief, she reacted to gossip like a damned Chihuahua. “Guess who Posey is tutoring?”

“The pope?” John joked, at the same time Paula said, “Barack Obama?”

The kids all laughed at their wittiness. I just sank lower in my chair. Golden Boy Drew Baxter was like royalty around here. They were going to fall all over themselves.

“Who?” asked Lacey, tearing her bread into pieces.

Jessa paused, looking around the family dramatically. “Drew Baxter.”

Micah’s head popped up. “No kidding?”
​
John and Paula exchanged a look I couldn’t read. One of his eyebrows was cocked upward, and Paula’s pressed her lips together tightly. After an awkward second or two, John said, “A heck of an athlete, that kid.” 

About the Author:
"I write because if I don't...my head will explode, and ruin the drapes." ♥
​
Brooke writes complex, character-driven stories about kismet, reunited lovers, first love, and the kind of romance that we should all have the chance at finding. She prefers her stories laced with some humor just for fun, and enough drama to keep her readers flipping the pages, and begging for more!

When Brooke isn't spinning tales, she spends her time drawing/cartooning, reading, watching movies then comparing them to books, and, of course, wrangling four kids, mugging on her hubby she lovingly refers to as her "nerd", and attempting to conquer the Mount Everest of laundry that is the bane of her existence.

You can find Brooke elsewhere on the web at www.brookemoss.com

Samantha saw herself as damaged. The pain and emotional toll her past put on her, gave her the feeling that she wasn't good enough for a happy ending nor for any happiness--at all. I understood that pain and thinking. We've all had times when we have listened to the negative loop in our heads and didn't believe we would amount to anything, or didn't think our dreams would come true. When the good things do happen, we would label it a fluke and go on, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I believe that's why I identified so closely with Samantha. I understood her thinking. Now you can get a chance to find out what's going on inside her mind.

BLURB:
Happy ever after’s don’t exist for girls like me.

For the past nine years, Samantha Paisley has been playing a tiresome game of back and forth with her longtime friend with benefits, Alex Clark. Growing up in a toxic environment, Samantha never learned how to love or how to be loved.
​
So, when Alex tries to get closer to the fiery, foul-mouthed red-head, she cuts herself off from the only man she loves—not wanting to destroy the one stable relationship in her otherwise turbulent, troublesome life. But Alex will stop at nothing to have his woman by his side and in his bed, even if it’s the last thing he does.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
S.M. Soto was born and raised in Stockton, California where she currently resides with her son. Her love for reading began when she was just a young girl, and has only continued to grow into adulthood. S.M. lives for reading books in the romance genre and writing novels with relatable characters. She refers to herself as a bit of a romance junkie. S.M. loves to connect with readers and eat copious of donuts that will surely lead to her demise (carbs are life).

Follow links:
Instagram.com/authorsmsoto
Twitter.com/AuthorSMsoto
Facebook.com/romanceauthorsmsoto
www.authorsmsoto.com
 

Fall in love with Diane Burton's latest romantic suspense, The Numbers Never Lie.

Blurb:
​A shocking secret brings danger to Jack Sinclair and his sister Maggie.
 
As kids, they were the fearless threesome. As adults, Jack's an accountant; Drew, a lawyer; Maggie, a teacher and camping troop leader. Upon returning from a weekend camping trip, Maggie receives horrifying news. She refuses to believe her brother Jack’s fatal car crash was an accident. If the police won’t investigate, she’ll do it herself. Convincing Drew Campbell to help is her only recourse.
 
Drew Campbell was too busy to return his best friend’s phone call. Too busy to attend a camping meeting important to his teen daughter. Too busy to stay in touch with Jack. Logic and reason indicate Jack’s accident was just that--an accident caused by fatigue and fog. Prodded by guilt, he’ll help Maggie even if he thinks she’s wrong.
 
A break-in at Jack’s condo convinces Maggie she’s right. Then her home is searched. What did Jack do that puts Maggie in danger?
 
Excerpt

“What do you mean no toilets?” Drew Campbell stopped on the dusty forest path, hooked his sunglasses on the placket of his golf shirt, and stared at his daughter.

“Dad-dy.” Ellen groaned. Was she only fourteen? She did exasperation better than his administrative assistant. “I told you we were camping.”

Not for a moment would Drew reveal that camping was not what he remembered her saying a week ago. She said she wanted him to come along on an outing with her little group of friends. He figured a hike, picnic lunch, and then home in time for supper.

After taking a call on his cell in the parking lot near the trailhead, he’d gotten his first surprise. That’s when he found out about the “no electronics rule.” No cell phones, no iPods. All were locked in the vehicles. Only the leader carried a cell phone, for emergencies only.

His second surprise came when he opened the hatch of the Navigator. Five backpacks. Five backpacks with bedrolls. He’d transported four girls. It didn’t take a law degree to figure out who the fifth backpack was for. He was in deep shit. But what could he say in front of Ellen and her friends?

“Of course, sweetie. I knew we were camping.” A lie to save face wasn’t wrong. Right?

“Yeah, sure, Dad.”

She didn’t believe him? What happened to the adulation that used to be in her eyes? The “Dad is perfect” look.

He tried again. “Camping, like KOA. You know, kiddo, shower buildings, restrooms, flush toilets. Right now, I’d settle for a port-a-potty.”

Ellen groaned again. “Da-ad.”

If he didn’t know better, he’d wonder if she had a stomach ache.

As he’d done several times in the past three hours, he took out his handkerchief, looked at it in disgust, and tried to find a clean spot. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. It was hot and sticky, more like August in Michigan than June. Drew intensely disliked sweating. Clean sweat—in a gym—was all right. Not this . . . dirt. More than sweaty, he hated being dirty.

Considering the rain in early spring, he was surprised at how dry the path was. And how much dust twenty feet could kick up on a forest path. That, however, was not his first concern. He needed a john. Bad.

“C’mon, Ellen. Isn’t there a restroom nearby?” he asked quietly. “Even an outhouse?”

“Dad, this is Prim.” Ellen had mastered the art of eye rolling. As he’d learned in the past few months, that innate skill emerged in girls during adolescence.

“Prim? What is that?” Drew gave her the self-mocking grin that always made her laugh. “A new all-girl rock group?

Ellen wasn’t smiling. She lowered her voice. “It means Primitive Camping. We go in the bushes.”
“What!” He looked around, realizing that the other girls were staring at him. He hadn’t meant to sound so loud.

“You are embarrassing me.” She stomped away, kicking up more dust. Before she got to her friends clustered nearby, she shot over her shoulder, “I wish you’d never come. I knew it was a dumb idea to ask you.”

“Hey, come back here, honey. I’m sure this is a little misunderstanding. C’mon, Ellen.” In the year since his wife died, he and Ellen had had a lot of misunderstandings.

“I think she’s mad at you.”

Drew turned toward the quiet voice behind him. There she was, leaning back against a tree, her knee bent and booted foot propped against the trunk. Maggie Sinclair, Director of Camp Hell. He knew Jack’s sister was an outdoor nut, but he didn’t think she was this bad. Pissing in the bushes, for God’s sake.

Maggie was a tall woman, only a few inches shorter than his own six feet. She had the tan of a person who spent time outdoors, not a sunbather, though, with laugh crinkles around her eyes. Still, the rough-neck tomboy he’d grown up with. Who else would want to spend a summer day backpacking on dusty trails through snagging underbrush instead of out on a perfectly manicured golf course where you only ventured into the rough to retrieve an errant ball?

Despite the heat and humidity, Maggie’s white T-shirt, with its pink ‘Race for the Cure’ logo, was still white and her jeans, though faded, remained clean. With her dark brown ponytail pulled through the back of a Detroit Tigers baseball cap, she looked as cool as when they started on this trek three hours ago. That almost irritated him more than her awareness of friction between him and his daughter.

“Ellen? Mad at me?” He affected mock surprise. “Your powers of observation are amazing. Are you ever wrong?”

She cupped her elbow in her hand and tapped a finger against her jaw. “Let me see now. I was wrong once—fourteen years ago. That’s when I married Roger Dodger.”

Roger Dodger. An appropriate name for the jerk. The guy got out of paying alimony, in part because of Maggie’s inept divorce lawyer. It still pissed him off that she hadn’t come to him. Never mind he specialized in criminal law. He would’ve made an exception for her.

“Let me think. Have I been wrong since?” She continued the damn tapping then snapped her fingers. “I’ve got it. I was wrong to let Ellen’s city-soft lawyer daddy help chaperone this trip.”

Drew gave her the smile that prosecutors knew better than to believe. “And here I thought it was because nobody else would.”

About the Author:
 
Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides writing science fiction romance, she writes romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and five grandchildren.
For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com
 
Connect with Diane Burton online
 
Blog:  http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dmburton72
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor
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Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/
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​

BLURB
Despite her lack of dowry and cloudy past, Amy Winston becomes one of the most sought-after young ladies in the London marriage mart. Some desire her for her beauty and charm while others appreciate her unique skills of seeing with her mind, healing with her hands, and disappearing in plain sight. By her choice of husbands, she secures her safety. However, her marriage almost brings the English Parliament to its knees.
 
 
Excerpt
Marsh cursed beneath his breath and then glared at Amy. “Mark out dowd and put me in for your third dance,” he instructed.
Amy studied him for a moment. “Are you an only child?”
“Yes, why do you ask?”
“Did you like your nanny?”
“Very much.”
“And your tutors?”
“Not so much.” His forehead crinkled in annoyance. “Is there some point to your questions?”
Darby sighed and stared at the ceiling in exasperation. “She is trying to figure out why you are such a pompous ass and expect to have your way all the time. She has no doubt concluded from her three questions that you were spoiled by your nanny into a horrid monster of a boy who has no idea how to make or keep friends, and clearly from your display today, she will conclude you’ve not made much progress since.” He then looked at Amy. “You can move me to the fourth dance if you are still willing to give this brat a chance. In his favor, he’s a very good dancer and can be an interesting conversationalist, if you can keep him from talking about himself.”
Amy ran an arrow to the forth line for Darby and added JM on the third line.
“Why does Darby get more letters?” Marsh asked.
Amy laughed and added vsgd at the end of his initials for ‘very spoiled good dancer’.
“That doesn’t spell anything…”
At this point, Ann felt compelled to intervene. “John, you’ve got your dance, dear. Stop bullying Amy and leave now.”
 
 
 
SALES LINKS
Book 1- Pure Innocence
Amazon
Book 2 – Love’s Betrayals
Amazon
Book 3 – Lies and Deceits
Amazon
Free for KU customers
​

​More About the Author
Liza O’Connor’s favorite books are Pride & Prejudice and Douglas Adams’ four book trilogy, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Go figure…
Raised in the southern mid-section of U.S., Liza escaped to the East Coast once out of college. She’s worked as a journalist, a radio DJ, a security guard, a stock broker, a strategist, and a business solutions consultant to name a few of her many occupations.  Again…go figure.
She learned to fly planes, jump out of planes, hang-glide, kayak and scuba dive, to name of few of her ‘let’s kill Liza’ sports. However, her favorite activity is to hike with her dog Jess among the shaved mountains of NJ.
 
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT
LIZA O'CONNOR
Investigate these sites:
Liza's Blog and Website   Facebook   Twitter
Google +
Check out Liza’s Many Books
 

Amy has all grown up. However, she's still not safe from danger. Her former guardian doesn't have her best interests at heart and wants to get his hands on Amy's best friend. But Amy is determined to not let anyone hurt the people she loves.

It was wonderful to see what happened to such a unique character. Ms. O'Connor has created a character who is strong at a time when women didn't have much say in their lives, often at the whim of their guardians and husbands. Amy puts herself in danger in order to do what is right but this only adds to the amazing story.

Amy has become a young woman who knows her own mind and isn't willing to put aside her morals for anyone. Luckily, she has people around her who care about her and are able to help her remain safe. If only I could find such amazing friends!

If you love strong female characters and engaging stories, you will love Lies & Deceits. You also don't have to read them in order but you will want to learn about what made Amy into such an amazing person.

Haunted houses are fun when you are a kid. Going through the scary dark rooms only to have something jump out at you. However, those are safe places. No one is going to get really hurt. No one is going to carry you away. But what about a real haunted place?

Ghosts are believed to be people who linger rather than head into the afterlife. They either have something to finish or their deaths were so traumatic that their emotions force them to repeat the incident of their death over and over again. 

But what about if the ghost was someone only you could see? And he was someone you were friends with in life? Would you be scared? Would you listen to his advice? 

In Susan V. Vaughn's book, Love Detour, Ashlyn not only can see a ghost but he helps her escape an arranged marriage. But Bob has an ulterior motive....

BLURB:
Life can change in the most unexpected ways.
 
Ashlyn Montana had encountered ghosts her whole life, but none more charming or irresistible than Bob Abbott. From the moment the fatherly figure floated into her life, she knew she met a friend she could trust. Pressured by her family to marry young, Ashlyn takes Bob’s advice and goes on the run in disguise. But when he talks her into taking a job in Breaker Creek as a farm boy named Al, she becomes suspicious. Did her ghostly pal lead her to freedom, or entangle her into his past?
 
Hunter Abbott had no idea what he was getting into hiring the clueless and scrawny farm boy, Al. But he felt for the kid. There was a time he was once a lost boy looking for a place to belong, until his Uncle Bob took him under his wing. But when Hunter tries to help guide Al into a farmer it leads to a shocking discovery. His new hire is hiding an unbelievable secret. And Hunter is about to face a reality he never thought possible.

Can the two people Bob Abbot loves most, find love as they work to solve the mystery of his murder?
 
EXCERPT:
“Man it's chilly in here,” Hunter said suddenly, walking over to shut the window. “Must be a cold front coming in.”

“It is not a cold front,” she told him, standing up with renewed confidence. Bob was here. She wasn’t alone. She could convince Hunter she was telling the truth.

He gave her a strange look. “How do you know?”

“Because Bob is here,” she announced. “And when Bob is nearby it gets colder.”

Hunter stared back at her, his expression unreadable. “Don’t lie to me, Ashlyn. It will only make everything between us worse.”

“I’m not lying.” She reached out and ran her hand up his arm, feeling his goose bumps. “See how cold you are? That’s because your uncle is standing right here.” She gestured to the left of them with her free hand. “Right in this room. 

He took a step away from her touch and shook his head. “I don’t believe you.”

She lifted her chin, pretending his retreat didn’t hurt. “Then I’ll prove he’s here.”

“How are you going to do that?” His eyes darted to the left of them, looking spooked. Hunter said he didn’t believe her, but his nerves were visible. 

“Ask me something only Bob would know,” she challenged, looking him in the eye. “And I will tell you his answer.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Romance Author, Susan Vaughn understood the meaning of sarcasm before she could walk. Her childhood in the suburbs of Detroit was spent mainly trying to outwit her six creative siblings. When she wasn’t working on the next soul-crushing jab, she sharpened her imagination on romantic literature and day dreamed about her knight in shining armor.

It didn’t take long for this hairdresser by trade to turn her passion for reading romances into writing her own unique love stories. Susan lives her life finding laughter in all situations, and delights in marrying sarcasm with romance to create realistic falling-in-love stories in the unlikeliest of scenarios.  
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Susan lives on the shores of Lake Huron with her real life knight in shining armor and enjoys watching their three children learn the art of sarcasm and wit.