Raine Balkera - Romance Author

As promised, I'm going to share my latest haul from a Book Fair held semi-annually at an upscale mall in a city near mine. Their library (and ours) also do this twice a year, holding their versions of probably the largest book fair in my area. And, yes, I attend them all and buy as much as I can hold with my increasingly arthritic limbs. Which is kind of sad because the affliction also affects my ability to hold a traditional book for a length of time -- usually while lying on my side in bed prior to falling asleep. But, it will not prevent me from continuing to attend these fascinating and time-consuming endeavors. No, I don't like or really even notice the smell of a new or used book (unless it is musty, then I can't help but notice) and I don't make it a habit of sniffing them, either. However, READING them just thrills me to no end, and as long as I have eyes to use, I'll continue to buy traditional books along with all of the Kindle e-books...

Pages -  388 Publisher -  Christina Dodd Published -  March 19, 2014 Original -  2003 Sold by -   Amazon Digital Services LLC Genre -  Contemporary, Mystery & Suspense, Family Saga Series -  Lost Hearts 1 of 3 Language -  2/5 Sexual Content -  5/5 (smut) Hope Prescott lives in Boston, far from the warm, southern home she recalls. She works with one goal in mind--finding her long-lost siblings. Yet her job at the answering service and her own loving nature creates a family of friends, people she knows only by their voices. She especially likes Griswald, gruff old butler for wealthy Zack Givens. Meeting Griswald is a shock; he is neither gruff nor old, but a powerful, handsome man. In fact, he is Zack Givens, mysterious, cold, heartless--and charmed by the artless young woman who brings him chicken soup, treats him like a friend...and falls in love with the humble man she imagines him to be. Inevitably she will di...

THE WEATHER It's raining here in SE Michigan, and after a severe drought that began in late May and lasted until late August, RAIN is a welcome weather occurrence. Except when it lasts for days (like it has) and causes flooding (which it is). please ignore the word EPIC The clouds are rolling in not from the West but the East to bring Atlantic moisture, which means heavy downpours (since Wednesday). It also means clean, fresh air that smells semi-tropical, and I love that. Of course, this puts a "damper" on my nightly sky viewing pleasure, and it's also being reported that the Northern Lights (aurora) may be visible as far south as here for the next few nights. In other words, once this Low moves off to the east in a few days, the sky will clear and the Aurora sightings will have passed. It's a bucket list item, and one of these days I'm going to head WAY up north with camera in tow, hopeful about catching a glimpse of ...

Because I Want To It is true that I read a variety of fiction and non-fiction books, but the only genre that interests me enough to want to write my own versions is Romance. www.zazzle.com Because I Love to Read  I've enjoyed reading Romance novels since I fell in love with them at age fourteen, which was around the time I began to notice boys and my head became filled with silly, zany things like appearance, body contours, eyes, mannerisms, and sex. Because I Want to Experience True Love While romance itself has managed to elude me all these years, I still find the topic fascinating and want to pursue the fantasy versions via my imagination and the ability to write. Because I Need This Outlet I still beat myself up for not pursuing this dream much earlier in life, but that I let too many outside sources dictate my life is neither here nor there anymore. One day I decided to stop the unhappy merry-go-round and take back what I'd let s...

Author -   Christina Skye Amazon buy -   Link Genre -  Regency Romance Pages -  416 Published -  July 18, 2015 Series -  The Dangerous Delameres Style -  3rd Person Sexual Content -  2/5 Language -  irrelevant SYNOPSIS India, the beautiful and headstrong sister of Come the Night's hero, Luc Delamere, fell in love with the rakish Devlyn Carlisle when they were just children. Innocent love bloomed into deepest passion when they reconnected as adults. But soon after the two are joined in a secret wedding bond, the Napoleonic Wars tear them apart. Then, betrayed by a comrade-in-arms, Devlyn is pronounced dead. India swears to continue her life alone, without the only love she's ever known. But now he's back – with the cold eyes of a stranger. Plunged deep into the mystery to discover who betrayed Devlyn, India vows to make the lost earl remember all they once shared, no matter how dangerous to her reputation – and her...

Pages -  372 pages Publisher -  Sugar Skull Books Publication Date -  June 1, 2015 Link -   Amazon Genre -  Paranormal Romance Sexual Content -  Mild Language -  Mild SYNOPSIS Welcome to Nocturne Falls, the town that celebrates Halloween 365 days a year. The tourists think it's all a show: the vampires, the werewolves, the witches, the occasional gargoyle flying through the sky. But the supernaturals populating the town know better. Living in Nocturne Falls means being yourself. Fangs, fur, and all. After seeing her maybe-mobster boss murder a guy, Delaney James assumes a new identity and pretends to be a mail order bride. She finds her groom-to-be living in a town that celebrates Halloween every day. Weird. But not as weird as what she doesn’t know. Her groom-to-be is a 400-year-old vampire. Hugh Ellingham has only agreed to the arranged set up to make his overbearing grandmother happy. In thirty days, whatever bridezilla...

A long time ago I read an article about a 'famous' Playboy photographer who let us in on his biggest 'trade' secret to capturing the best photos for the magazine. He said when he starts with a new model, he is silent and refuses to offer the woman any words of encouragement. That way, she becomes desperate and starts to expose herself more, works harder to attract him as a woman, and ends up making love to the 'camera' so-to-speak. This was an eye-opener moment on Manipulative Behavior because at that time, a friend's photographer friend wanted to work with me, and I hated him. He rubbed me the wrong way and was the most insulting creep I had ever met. It confused me why he wanted to take my picture if he had nothing nice to say and treated me like dirt. After reading that Divine Providence article, it made perfect sense. Especially since he wasn't the first rude guy I had encountered back in the day. From about the 6th grade on, I met m...