Fabulous Summer #RomanticIdea from Author @Carmen_Books #MFRWAuthor

Author Carmen Stefanscu is here today with some fabulous romantic ideas to try out this summer! She’s also sharing an excerpt from her latest release, Till Life Do Us Part.

Summer #RomanticIdeaHere are some romantic ideas to rekindle the spark:

Learn a romantic foreign language.

Take an intro-class together for a language that neither of you speak –  French, Italian, Spanish or Romanian  simply sound romantic –  and practice whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears, in that new language!

Cuddle up together in a horse-drawn carriage ride.

You’ll probably feel like you are in a romantic comedy, and that’s a good thing.

Read each other’s Tarot Cards.

Take turns reading each other’s fortunes using Tarot Cards. Even if you don’t believe in divination, it will make for one fun evening spent together.

Go on a ghost tour together.

Find the nearest ghost tour in your city and head out on the adventure together. At least you’ll have someone’s hand to hold onto should things start to get a little spooky.

Feed each other fondue at home.

It really doesn’t get sexier than feeding each other chocolate dipped strawberries.

Till Life Do us part coverTill Life Do Us Part
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Reincarnation, Mystery, Suspense
Release date: 9th June 2016

Blurb:

Barbara Heyer can hear voices of dead people. They whisper of their deaths, seek comfort for those left behind, and occasionally even warn her about future events. But when Barbara’s brother, Colin, is accused of murder, it will take more than her gift to prove his innocence.

Becoming smitten with the handsome investigator, Detective Patrick Fischer, is a serious complication given his assignment to her brother’s case. Barbara senses there is something far deeper—and perhaps much older—than the surface attraction between them. Could that be why she’s visited by a mysterious woman named Emma in her dreams? Could past life regression tie all the seemingly unconnected events together?

Barbara and Patrick must overcome heartache to find the truth to save Colin, and perhaps themselves.

Now available at: Solstice Publishing and Amazon.

Read an Excerpt:

 He watched the windows of the house for several days, hidden by the mantle of the falling night. Taking advantage of the cover the lime trees in the garden offered, he avidly followed her every movement across the bedroom. He could have hidden in the attic as he had a few times, watching her through the peephole he’d made, but from here, he could see her better.

He had a cautious nature, yet wasn’t afraid of being spotted. There was little likelihood of his presence being announced to the police as a stalker. After all, they’d been seen together quite often.

./././././.

The first drop of rain fell with a splash on the windshield jolting Barbara back to reality. She opened her eyes and slipped her small handbag into the glove box. The money she received would help her solve many of the “not-for-now” things, like replacing the floorboard in the bedroom and repairing the leaking pipe in the kitchen.

She looked through the windshield at the pelting rain washing over her car. She reached for the key to start the engine when a faint light flickered on top of the steering wheel.

Barbara, Barbara, a voice came, more like a whisper, in her mind. He killed me. He just killed me…

Who are you, dear? Who killed you?

Kathleen… He killed me.

./././././././.

“Detective, please, don’t  think I’m raving, but I have to ask. Do you know someone called Mabel?”

The man riveted Barbara with his dark blue eyes for a moment. Barbara cringed inside. He’ll rebuke me. The man passed a hand over his face and nodding, he answered, “Yes, I know a Mabel. My… my wife.”

“How long ago did she pass away?”

In a voice that was more than a little surprised he asked, “How on earth did you know she’s dead?”

“She’s here,” Barbara replied in a small voice.

His eyebrows shot up in disbelief. The steel in his voice was hard to miss. “What? What are you talking about?” He spun round and looked at the apparently empty space behind him.

Tell him I no longer suffer, Barbara heard Mabel’s voice.

Detective Fisher was still staring blankly around him.

“She wants me to tell you she no longer suffers. She hopes you’ve found in your heart the power to forgive her for committing suicide… for jumping off the bridge.”

The detective looked straight into Barbara’s eyes. The grief she saw in them was almost palpable.

Carmen StefanescuAuthor Bio

Carmen Stefanescu resides in Romania, the native country of the infamous vampire Count Dracula, but where, for about 50 years of communist dictatorship, just speaking about God, faith, reincarnation or paranormal phenomena could have led someone to great trouble – the psychiatric hospital if not to prison.

Teacher of English and German in her native country and mother of two daughters, Carmen Stefanescu survived the grim years of communist oppression, by escaping in a parallel world, that of the books.

Her first novel, Shadows of the Past, was released in 2012 by Wild Child Publishing, USA.

Carmen joined the volunteer staff at Marketing For Romance Writers Author blog, and is the coordinator of #Thursday13 posts.

You can stalk the author here:
Blog: http://shadowspastmystery.blogspot.ro/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Carmen_Books
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/carmens007/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Stefanescu-Books/499245716760283
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6624397.Carmen_Stefanescu
Google Plus: https://plus.google.com/117216040843648957646/posts
Follow Carmen at her Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Carmen-Stefanescu/e/B00APVDGAA/

Recommended Summer Reads for Kids #RecycledReviews

Recycled Reviews

School will be out soon, so I wanted to recommend a couple of books for teens and pre-teens: Drawn and The London Eye Mystery. Both take place in England, a favorite destination for me and a lot of travelers.

DRAWN by Marie Lamba
Young Adult Time Travel, 2012

Michelle DeFreccio, an American teenager just moved to England, is a talented and sensitive artist. Her father has started teaching at an upscale English academy, which Michelle now attends. She hopes to start over without the baggage of her past, namely her “psychic” mother and schizophrenic brother and the label De-Freak-O.

But life in England has its own challenges. As an American, she’s not always sure how to navigate the social divide within her school. More troubling are the pictures she finds herself sketching of a young man in Medieval garb, a young man named Christopher who refuses to stay on the page. Before Michelle knows it, she is drawn into the past where her presence changes things, not always for the better. Worse, she’s in love with a man who died long ago and there’s nothing she can do to save him. Or is there? She tries to figure out what happened in the past in order to change things, sometimes with terrible consequences.

I was so impressed by this book. I was utterly “drawn” into it by the great story and wonderful writing. One of the best YA novels I’ve read in recent years. Five stars.

THE LONDON EYE MYSTERY
by Siobahn Dowd
Middle Grade mystery, Random House, 2007

Ted Sparks is budding meterologist who sees the world through the language of the weather. A 12-year-old genius, Ted also suffers with high-functioning Asperger’s Syndrome. His brain is wired differently than most people’s which allows him to see connections between things and people that others miss.

This comes in handy when his 13-year-old cousin, Salim, disappears while riding the London Eye. Salim and his mother, Aunt Gloria, come to town to visit with Ted, his parents and his older sister Kat, often referred to by Ted as Katastrophe. Salim and Aunt Gloria are on their way to live in New York, but Salim doesn’t want to go. Is his disappearance from the Eye a crime or the ill-fated prank of a disgruntled teenager?

Ted and Kat work together (somewhat reluctantly at times) to solve the mystery of Salim’s disappearance and are surprised to find that they make a good team. Ted may be the genius, but Kat is pretty smart, too, in a more practical way.

Ted’s narration is a delight. I love his voice and the interesting and strange connections he makes in his brilliant mind. Though he doesn’t have good social skills, he tries to learn appropriate responses, and his quirks become endearing to the reader. Very enjoyable read.

Linda

First posted at Flights-a-Fancy 9/5/12