The English Tycoon's Surprise Heir

I hope when this post reaches you, my dear reader, that you are having a fantastic day!

I have a little surprise...I've released a new short story!  The English Tycoon's Surprise Heir is a crazy fun read that I really enjoyed writing. This story and the Italian Tycoon's Bought Bride are part of some special projects I'm working on and I will keep you posted.

Here is the blurb:

Lauren Huntesworth is at her wit's end. She is barely making ends meet with her part-time job and is about to become a mother. Lauren reluctantly seeks out the father of her baby, Blake Barneburee, a charming English tycoon she had a one night stand with while he was visiting York Island.

Blake has no idea he is about to become a father and Lauren has no clue how he would react when he hears the news.  Will he acknowledge her child as his own? Will she be able to hide the deep affection she felt for a man, who stole her heart but made it crystal clear they could never be together? Luck was on Lauren's side when she found Blake...the only thing is...it's his wedding day...

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Pop a copy of this in your Christmas stocking today!

Available at Amazon. Also available on Kindle Unlimited. DOWNLOAD HERE.

I hope you have fun reading it!

This is where and when I leave you.....


Olivia

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Happy Independence Day, Beautiful Barbados!

I am sure many a Barbadian can think of at least fifty reasons to be proud of and be happy that they live on this sweet, little rock.  Cheers to Barbados!

HAPPY 50th INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

Olivia Teese

Saving Charlie- Free Short, Short Story

So, I have rebranded and I’m reloading one of my short, short stories; Saving Charlie was originally published as “Charlie’s Angel”. It’s got new clothes but the sweet and quick thrill is still the same. What’s Saving Charlie about? Read on…

Charlie leaves the country to pursue a life-changing opportunity with some very unsavoury characters. Her father hires a man called Zee to find her and bring her back home. Zee is a man who gets the job done but when he sets off to get Charlie, he realizes that facing bad guys is not the only danger he will be up against...

**This story was previously published as "Charlie's Angel"**

DOWNLOAD A COPY AT AMAZON
FREE for a limited time only! Available on Kindle Unlimited.

Happy reading!

Olivia

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Boo, Don't Be Shy! It's Time For Pumpkin Pie!

Hi everyone,

I guess all those who have plans of trick or treating have their costumes and candy and are anxious to hit the streets. And some of you have your pumpkins all carved and ready for display...and speaking of pumpkins...today I am featuring a spookylicious Halloween poem by poet, Dawn Haynes-Grimes. Now after reading this poem, some may toss out those pumpkins that are already carved...and for those who haven't started...they just might not do it at all. 

The Tale of Pumpkin Pie

I asked my gardener, Bobby, he’s such a dear

to carve me a pumpkin, Halloween was near.

He produced a spookily delicious work of art- oh my!

then christened the golden vegetable Pumpkin Pie,

placed it on the kitchen counter and sighed proudly.

Later that night as I was heading up the stairs

to prepare the candy stash for eager little dears,

there was a thud behind me, low but very distinct

I turned around and my stomach started to sink-

for at the foot of the stairs was Pumpkin Pie

A blue light emanated from his hollow eyes

when I looked in its jagged mouth, I wanted to die,

for wedged in between it was a bloody human ear!

My heart painfully rammed against my ribs, and fear

so crippling, seized my body, I could not move.

In the ear was a small cross, studded with a ruby

tears sprang to my eyes because it was Bobby’s!

Pumpkin Pie started to make a raspy growl

then the air was stained with a stench so foul.

Plunk. He started hopping up the stairs. Plunk, plunk!

I started to pray- heavens help me now please!

begging for some strength in my wobbly knees.

Managing to run- quite madly, I headed for my room,

Pumpkin Pie swiftly followed, growling a deadly tune.

Plunk, haargh, haargh, haargh. Plunk, plunk, plunk.

I made it to the door, wrenching it open in haste

then I felt Pumpkin Pie slam hard into my waist.

I fell to the ground, bashing my nose onto the floor,

Pumpkin Pie hopped on my back, then I heard a roar

and I braced myself for the worst surely to come.

But all I heard was a loud whack and an angry grunt

the weight from my back disappeared, and then, CLUNK!

As I cringed, strong hands hauled me up to my feet

my eyes made four with Bobby’s, then I started to weep

his right ear was gone but he was no less of a hero to me.

I looked around the room and set eyes on a huge shovel

Pumpkin Pie was all over the place like chunky orange rubble.

We cleaned up in silence trying to scrub away the horror

but we knew it would dwell in our minds forever-and ever.

Ever since that horrid night, for Halloween we carve melons.

(C) 2016 Dawn Haynes-Grimes

May the spooks be with you!

Happy Halloween!

Olivia Teese

And the Title Is...

I really dislike coming up with titles for my work. Absolutely hate it. Sigh...okay...just needed to get that out of the way. Lol! So without too much ado, the title for my next romance parody book is....(a drum roll is playing but you are too far away to hear)...

So, that's all folks. I came, I said; now I'm off to do some work on said title which is scheduled for release in 2017. You can read more about this story HERE.

Stay awesome.

Olivia

Goings On Etc.

A big hello to my dear readers!

I just wanted to give you a little update on my new book.  My crazy writer's brain is hard at work weaving plots and scenes. Gian, the genius but weird tycoon and feisty Mariella are really coming alive.

The story will unfold in the fictional city of Ealing, the metropolis of a place called York Island which is off the coast of Antigua. Ealing is where the elite of York Island can be found living high and existing on low sleep hours (it often takes a ridiculous work schedule to be able to roll around in mounds of money and pay medical bills that arise from the stress).  I just finished a scene of the newlyweds' first meal together and it is something straight out of an asylum- I can hardly wait to share previews with you. As the tale unravels I will be giving you little peeks here and there.

If you haven't read previous posts about the new story you can catch up here. You can follow my blog by email or follow me on Facebook for updates CLICK HERE.

I have not pinned down a publication date as yet but I am aiming for a spring release.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Olivia

Dear Annie

Hi guys, here is a little tale I wrote that will hopefully brighten your day.

Dear cousin Annie,

I thank you so much for trying to help me out with the cooking for our family luncheon over the weekend. However, for future reference, when preparing coleslaw it is less messy if you wash the carrots then grate them, instead of the other way around. I will be sending you my plumbing bill by the way.

I also need to mention that to my knowledge, guacamole dip is made with avocado pears-not Bartlett’s. And one more thing before I go, ketchup is not usually a dressing people put on tossed salad, just saying. I will appreciate it very much-actually I am demanding-that you never set foot in my kitchen again.

Take care until we meet again.

Love,

Olivia

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**The part with the carrots is actually true. When I was a teenager one of my friends actually grated a bowl of carrot then tried to wash it after. Her mother was hopping mad because most of it ended up in the drain and they had to do a fresh batch!**

An Interview with Ben Starling

Welcome back to my blog Ben! I thought it fitting we have our interview on the beach given your love for the ocean. Lol!

Tell me Ben, how is your basil plant Fawlty, is he still around?

Fawlty, after many selfless and generous offerings (in salads, pastas…) is now enjoying life in the great herb garden in the sky. My efforts to keep him going into a second year proved ambitious—someone pointed out basils are annuals! That fact probably doubled my knowledge of gardening.

How did your journey in writing begin? 

I started writing to entertain my children with a picture book and got distracted by creating the illustrations. By the time it was finished, they’d grown up!

More recently, I’ve been driven by the challenges, the sense of achievement when things finally fall into place. The emotional high always trumps the writer’s block low. And the feedback from satisfied readers (last time I looked Something in the Water was averaging 4.8 stars (out of 5) on Good Reads and 4.7 on Amazon. Yay!) Endorsements like these make my candle bill (somewhere here there’s a metaphor about burning them at both ends!) so worthwhile.

Tell me about your experience writing Something in the Water? 

I undertook the challenge as a form of catharsis. I was bereaved six months before I began writing it and I wanted to make sense of all that was going on in my head at the time. Melisa died aged forty-five from ovarian cancer, just thirteen weeks after her diagnosis. Some extraordinary things happened in her final weeks—things that made me question everything I thought I knew about life, death and love—I wanted to capture them as a way to remember Melisa. My hope is that Something in the Water will help others who have lost a loved one find a degree of peace because some of the spiritual events described in the novel are based on what happened during Melisa’s last days.

Also, I have always been passionate about the oceans and about what we can learn from other cultures (I did a course on social anthropology and ethnology at Oxford University) so I blended these themes into a sort of treble-helix plot. Challenging? Very! But so rewarding when it all came together.  

Do you have a muse? 

Yes—my wonderful Great Dane, Edington. She really was like a person in a dog’s body. Since she passed away years ago, she visits me in my dreams regularly—always at the right time. I feel she’s offering me hope and encouragement when things are difficult. 

 What are you working on right now?

I am currently writing short stories in the “Something…” collection. Each story explores defining moments in the lives of the major characters in Something in the Water, the central (full-length) novel in the collection. These short stories help the reader understand the person they’ve become in the novel. Each short story is an adventure, a mystery, a love story in its own right.

The first short story, Something in the Air, explores the defining moments in Dan Dragan’s life—he is a powerful and important character in Something in the Water.

The second short story is being edited (title reveal coming soon)! It examines a pivotal time in Perry’s life, he’s a central character in the full length novel.  

Tell me a little about your family life, what’s it like for you being a Dad?

 

Being a dad means everything to me. My children both live in London now and I get to see them a lot more than I used to—we have so much fun together—they threw a nine hour Father’s Day party for me this year! My son cooked while my daughter danced up a storm to the Bee Gees and some modern bands I’d never heard of. I’m so proud of them. My daughter is an extraordinarily talented artist and my son is embarking on a career in the restaurant world. Judging by his appreciation of great food, I know he’ll make a huge success of it!

What do you do to relax or for fun?

 

Not as much as I’d like to! I try to walk most days in the park, along the side of my local canal. Being close to nature is important to me and I find plot knots usually unravel while I’m observing herons (I snapped this grand fellow with my phone), swans, parakeets, foxes (yes, in London!) etc.

I am a regular gym attendee (target = 7 times a week, reality = 4 times). I used to amateur box and I keep fit with a variety of masochistic practices that includes pounding the punch-bag, light weights, various machines of torture. My next goal is yoga.

I also play scrabble (I actually got the word “vaccine” in, to win last time) and weekly chess. I’m at the enjoy-puzzling-things-out rather than learn-moves-from-a-book level, which of course limits how far I’ll get with the game.

What’s a favourite movie and song of yours?

I can’t think of a single favourite movie though a few oldies have left their mark. Some Like it Hot, Citizen Kane, Psycho, The Birds, Alien, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, The Tenant…

As for a favourite song—I have so, so many and my answer would change depending on the mood you found me in. Just now, I’d offer: Saint Saens The Swan, John Barry’s harmonica title theme to Midnight Cowboy, Hotel California (best guitar solo ever). 

Tell me a bit about your experience with Mills & Boon Man of the Year 2016 

This competition was to find a man to pose as the model for the cover of a Valentine’s Day romance produced by Mills and Boon (Harlequin UK). I made it as far as being selected as one of the final three. I had some exciting interviews and it was a lot of fun.  

You are very passionate about marine life and conservation, how and when did you become interested in the cause?

I’ve always been fascinated by the ocean and sometimes sit down and draw pictures about it. As a small child I was lucky enough to spend many holidays (vacations) beside it, whether the Mediterranean, Caribbean or the Atlantic. I used to fish or snorkel every single day—and occasionally scuba diving. Water calls me and I’ve grown increasingly worried as I’ve learned more about the plight of the oceans, and our connection to them. If the oceans die, so do we. This is one of the key themes in Something in the Water.    

What is next for Ben Starling?

I’m sketching out several more short stories to complete over the coming months for the “Something…” collection. Also, I’m putting together a lecture road show (it starts next week) about writing in general and public speaking in particular.

Thank you, Olivia, so much for interviewing me.

Ben Starling is passionate about marine conservation and boxing, both central themes in his upcoming novel. His interest in marine life has taken him across three continents over the past three decades. He is Oxford’s only ever quintuple boxing Blue (varsity champion five years running), was Captain of the university boxing team, and coached and competed until a few years ago. He is 6’3”and 192 lbs. Ben graduated with a Master of Arts and a Master of Philosophy.

Something in the Water - available on Amazon http://bit.ly/SITWbtour2am

Something in the Air – join Ben’s private mailing list and get it for FREE at www.ben-starling.com  

Next story – coming soon!

Connect with Ben at www.ben-starling.com

Book Talk and Stuff-Part 5

It has been a while since one of these posts as I have not had the time to devour books as much as I would like (don't you just hate that?).

So the first title up is The Martian by Andy Weir which I really enjoyed! It has been a long time since a book kept me up during the wee hours of the morning.

The Martian

The Martian deserves more than 5 stars- a Hab full is more like it! The opening line of this book is the funniest and most interesting I’ve come across, ever! 

“I’m pretty much f**cked”. 

Yep that’s the first line. How could I not keep reading? An astronaut stranded on Mars, and his crew and the rest of the world think he is dead!

Mark Watney is a trooper and impressively resourceful. My goodness, the man grew potatoes on Mars! It’s been a while since I’ve read a novel that made me emotional. I cheered for Mark from beginning to end; I was sad when he broke down and cried; I laughed out loud at his wit (the man has an incredible sense of humour). And I nearly yelled out loud when he was finally rescued (wait, I’m pretty sure I actually yelled out loud). The technical terms and some of the calculations in the story gave me cross-eyes occasionally but hey-so trivial compared to what Mark was enduring! I highly recommend this novel!

Lethal

It’s hard for me to write the review I really want for this book. I’ll just say the story was suspenseful, had the right amount of action and tightly written. Lethal features a hot line in it, that will burn in my brain for a long time. There was a scene in this book, that after it unfolded, my mouth was hanging open and the words WTF promptly rolled out- very few books have had that effect on me. Lethal is a VIP member of my "Titan Reads" shelf. Loved it! Okay, I’m done now...

Master of the Game

I read this one many years ago but it still lives strong in my mind. The story spans a couple generations and is masterfully told. From the woman who has to be the most manipulative of characters I have ever come across in a book- enough to make her own son homicidal- to the dirty, not so little secrets and ruthless agendas. This book is on my “Titan Reads” list.

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I was reading A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman but I put it aside for later and not because I didn't like it, I loved it from the first chapter but I was reading it along with another title and A Man Called Ove seems to be the type of book that needs your full attention. I have added Outlander and The Girl On The Train to my list of books to be read and also The Wayward Pines series.

So, moving on from book talk onto "stuff", one of the movies I saw recently was The Nice Guys with Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling. The pairing of Crowe and Gosling worked quite well in my opinion and the film was funny, crazy and not cookie-cutter material at all. I laughed so damn hard I nearly ended up on the floor! Or did I actually hit the floor? Anyway, Matt Bomer played a really good bad ass and The Nice Guys is one of those movies I will definitely be re-watching.

I am glad for the summer rain-my pot garden loves it but so do the weeds which are growing like annoying aliens on steroids. And slugs and snails are greedy, slimy little bastards! Some of my plants look like colanders! Oh well, I guess I just have to go with the flow, nature's flow that is.

Off I run to do some plotting for my new novel and I hope you visit again soon.

Cheers!

Olivia

A Bride for Connor Reloaded--- Boy Meets Girl

The story takes off at a dizzying pace! When Connor Handsumm and Kristin Luvleigh set eyes on each other, it is classic insta-hot attraction, super-sized!. Time stands still, hearts gallop at Secretariat speed and things fall to pieces-literally! In short, the two lose their damned minds!

This meeting of hormones is quite opportune, as both Connor and Kristin are at crucial crossroads in their lives and this could be the day they were both waiting for. Let's head over to the cafe where it all begins! Read Chapter 1

A Bride for Connor Reloaded

Hi all!

I have been working on a reload project for my first book, A Bride for Connor, for quite a while now and it is ready to be launched.  I will be posting the story chapter by chapter, weekly and they will each be introduced with short, light-hearted commentary. 

Commentary will be featured here on my main blog but the story will be published on a separate blog I have created just for this project. The project aims to share the story with anyone who has an interest in burlesque romance reads or may want to dip a toe in the sub-genre. The site will go live very soon so stay tuned!

An Italian Walked Into a Bar...

Sorry, no, I'm not telling one of those kind of jokes! I'm just pulling your leg (hopefully it's not arthritic). Anyway, an Italian did walk onto a blank page on my computer screen and he had some very interesting issues in tow. And those issues transformed into the new romance parody I am writing now. The Italian's name is Gian Sorrinteno and he is a uhm...a little weird, very intelligent but weird.

Gian is at the helm of an empire. When it comes to business, Gian is a boss. He is well informed, intuitive and forward thinking. In the dating arena and in certain social situations however, Gian can be quite clueless. Now Mr. Sorrinteno has no difficulties whatsoever finding a woman to hook on his arm, after all, he is extremely wealthy and good looking; so good looking it can be nauseating. Sooo good looking that his attractiveness can be spotted from a space station (roll eyes). But Gian's personal lifestyle of being a bachelor with no apparent intentions of settling down is beginning to affect the reputation of his empire, especially after a very crucial change in operations. 

His life becomes even more complicated when he sets off to collect on a debt but returns home with a very angry fiancee instead- a woman he barely knows that despises his existence. Things are looking really messed up for Gian and he thinks that it can't get much worse...but Murphy's Law just came to play in his sandbox. 

Do we think they will eventually fall in love? But of course, it's a romance tale! So if we know that is how the story will end, why read it? Because it's common knowledge that it's not all about the destination in a romance read, it's about the journey.

I will keep you all posted on my progress and sneak you some peeks along the way. Click HERE to find out more.

Subscribe to my mailing list for updates.

Have a drama-free day, unless that's what you thrive on!

Until...

Olivia

Follow My Blog With Blog Lovin

Hello...yes, it's me!

Yes, I'm still around! And yes, it has been a while-a long while. I hope you guys have been doing well. Life has been busy giving me lemons...a bariffle of lemons! I tried to make lemonade but then I just ended up with a bariffle of that too! Sometimes you just can't win. But if you're feeling thirsty, I can offer you a refreshing citrus drink (it only comes in gallon sizes though).

So I've made some changes to my writing projects schedule for 2016/2017. I've shelved the second book in the "Fatal Treasures" series and the contemporary romance novel as the stories have not been unfolding as I want and it's been a maddening experience. So, I'm moving with what's flowing right now and that is a new romance parody about three Italian tycoons and their journey to the ever-feared altar. Also in the works is a poetry chapbook which is a very special endeavour for me (yes, I write poetry), and I will give some more details on that in future posts. I am very excited about the romance parody story and I can't wait to share it with you!

In the meantime I am dusting off the furniture at my social media spots just in case you drop by to say hi or as some people would say, holla at me. I don't particularly like being hollered at (does anyone though?) but you get the idea.

I hope you have a beautiful day! Take care!

Olivia