The 2nd book in my Sons of the Desert multicultural romance series, Castles in the Sand was released at midnight! I’m sooo excited! I’m also exhausted from being up all night having wayyyy to much fun with the new release <laughs> so I’m not going to say much more here, except, go check it out!!! It’s on Kindle, and free to read with Kindle Unlimited. I should have the paperback available by this evening, hopefully, approval on those takes a little longer.
Today I got this short but lovely 5-star review for SwanSong!!
Loved This One!
I got the formatted Kindle file of Castles in the Sand this morning, and my paperback file should be coming along in the morning. I’ve already uploaded the Kindle file to Amazon/KDP. Less than a week to the release, this is getting exciting!!!! I’ve also put a teaser in the back, the first chapter of the next book. I’ve only got about 5 chapters of that one written, that’ll be one of my first projects for early next year; the rest of this year will be finishing up A Cat for Troy and getting that published, and working on When Darkness Falls.
By the way, there’s still time to pre-order Castles in the Sand for the pre-order price of $0.99, before it goes live on August 6th!
So the new T
witter has just generated a crap ton of work for me, of which I am less than appreciative. I’ve got dozens of SQUARE images, which I’ve carefully cropped, edited and added text, to fit both Twitter and Instagram. One post, two social medias. Well, 3 really with FB, but I don’t post so much here, but it takes square or rectangular, anyway. Instagram takes ONLY square images, which is why I went with square, and all my purchased banners for my books are all square, with that in mind. Like the one for Wishes in a Bottle on the left.
But now Twitter has to change and go with ONLY rectangular images. Which makes multi-SM posting with Hootsuite or SmartQueue pretty much impossible. Now I have to create a separate post for each social media. Yes, sure Twitter will show *some* of a square image, but only the top half; and people rarely click on an image to open it up in a new window to see the whole thing.
So now all my purchased banners can only be used for Instagram (not my major platform). I have to completely re-make my graphics for Twitter, which IS my major platform. In some cases, have to purchase them all over again in the rectangular format. Neither makes me happy at all.
Check out the BeforeWeGoBlog site, where I’m on this week’s Indie Spotlight!!! I’m so thrilled to be featured!!
This was posted a couple of weeks ago by Jenny Schwartz on Goodreads, I was in the middle of moving and didn’t see it until today, which instantly brightened my whole day!
“A Gift of Jacinth” by Allie McCormack stars a genie – Jacinth – and a single dad. The troubles and drama of modern life – family can be both joy and heartwrenching agony (his children’s mom is bad news) – are beautifully explored in this gentle love story. The touch of magic adds to the romance, but it’s Jacinth’s compassion that I enjoyed most. This novel is magical in the best way – a celebration of love.
Jenny is a paranormal romance writer herself (I’m a fan!) and so it means a lot to me that she liked this!!!
This 5-star review for SwanSong, just in!
Spicy Romance!
Swan Song is a wonderfully creative, contemporary romance by Allie McCormack. It is book one in McCormack’s Sons of the Desert series. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I can honestly say I have never read anything like it before. It had twists and turns that I didn’t expect. I fell in love with both the hero and the heroine. Arab Sheik Khalid Al Mansour is entranced by a belly dancer at a local Greek cafe. American Sarah Pendleton dances to forget her worries and her past. Khalid is the consummate gentleman. He is extremely likable and relatable. “Her earlier impression of black eyes and deeply tanned skin was right on target. He was an Arab, perhaps in his early thirties, although it was hard to tell. He had thick wavy black hair neatly trimmed, and heavy black brows over deep, darkest-of-dark-brown eyes flanked by high cheekbones, giving him the profile of an eagle, fierce and free.. His lips were full and sensual, though his mouth closed firmly, decisively. All in all it was a rugged, arrogant face; not young, but having a strange magnetism that was ageless.”
Ah yes, an ageless magnetism. That says it all about Khalid. Sarah has her deep seated fears and an identity that she is hiding. Can they ever get past their different cultures and Sarah’s fears? There are quite a few very steamy sex scenes. All in all it’s a great book ,and I will be sure to read more from McCormack. I was gifted a copy of this book.
by Suzannah on Amazon, Goodreads and BookBub
I’m back to working on Castles in the Sand, and it’s going TERRIFIC! I hope to have it completely done very shortly! I got my June newsletter ready, I’ll be sending it out on Monday.
NEWEST RELEASES!
(Not in any particular order except as indicated)
This review hit Amazon this morning!!!! WOOT!
Allie McCormack has hit her stride wish Wishes in a Bottle and has a promising future.
Having read “Truck Stop” several years ago, I was delighted to discover that Allie is back on the writing scene. “Wishes & Dreams” shows that she has grown as a writer and has produced a non-stop read. Her characters seem real and true-to-life, and her story line incorporates several life issues that hold the reader’s attention. Allie shows that she has grown immensely during her sabbatical from writing and deserves to join the upper echelon of published and followed romance/paranormal authors. Laughing, crying or cringing at events, this story is an attention getter and you won’t be able to put it down. I certainly couldn’t. . . .
My very first Amazon review came in for SwanSong! I’d gotten one last month on Goodreads, but reviews have been slow to come in on SwanSong, although it’s matching the other books in sales and KU page reads. Weird. Anyway, I was thrilled to wake up to find this 5-star review on Amazon!!!!!
LOVE THIS BOOK!!
This Book!! I love Sarah and Khalid! Their chemistry is off the charts! Sarah is so sweet and sincere and Khalid is such a beautiful alpha male! The story is well developed, the supporting characters add so much to the story too! I can’t say enough about this book and this author! Her work is great!! I definitely recommend the book and this author! You will not be disappointed by this book!
Just in! This 4 Stars review by Wendy on Goodreads, who’d read Wishes in a Bottle when it first came out and gave that a great review also! 🙂
When I saw the cover of A Gift of Jacinth, I knew this would be a sequel to Wishes in a Bottle. In that book, I had already met Jacinth, the djinn who was looking after Julian, when he was trapped in his bottle. And she was hilarious, so I was very happy to see she got her own story.
The story starts with Douglas, who is desperate. His ex has abducted his children and he longs to have them back. Already two years he has been searching for them. When he stumbles upon an old teapot, he decides to buy it for a strange reason. But when a genie comes out of the teapot, he brings the teapot back to the store, where he bought the thing: Julian’s store.
But the teapot keeps on coming back to him and I couldn’t stop laughing about Jacinth’s tactics. When Douglas has finally realized, he will not get rid of the teapot, he asks Jacinth whether he could wish for his children to return. And Jacinth fullfils his wish. With suddenly two children on his hands and no nanny, he asks Jacinth to stay and help him take care of the children.
Jacinth happily obliges, because she adores the children and also their father. But she knows she can’t stay. Experiences from her (long lived) past are keeping her from attaching to someone. But Douglas makes it hard to resist. Can Jacinth free herself and create a happy ever after? Or will she go back into her teapot? Find out for yourself in this wonderful cozy read.
Four out of five stars from me and a special thank you to Netgalley for providing the arc.
OMG I cannot believe it! Yesterday, I had my very first FAN! That is, a reader who actually sent me an email just to tell me how much she loved my book and couldn’t wait to read more. Then today, a second! Two in two days! I am jumping for joy here!!! You have no idea! 🙂 🙂
Anyway, this was for Truck Stop, and Katie on Audible wrote this glowing review:
Incredibly moving love story……………
Truck Stop is the story of two incredibly strong young people damaged by their pasts but not letting those tragedies define them. Teri is a young woman running away from her abusive father when she happens upon three of the most amazing people that will forever impact her life. She meets Joe and Martha, the owners of a truck stop in Wyoming, who take her into their home, give her a job, and make her a part of their family. At the same time, she meets Mike, a trucker who recognizes in Teri a kindred spirit as he also ran away from his abusive father at a young age. The story and action take off from this point as Teri truly comes into herself under the loving attention of the people of this small Wyoming town and begins to develop a loving friendship and eventually maybe something more with Mike. Of course, the road to them falling in love was full of obstacles, but these two people completed each other in every way, and I felt privileged to watch their journey unfold.
As much as I loved the drama, romance and intrigue of the story, it is truly the amazing characters that make this book so moving. I live in a small western town myself, and I thought the author did a terrific job of portraying just what I love about the people of my hometown. The acceptance, kindness and compassion of the people in Teri and Mike’s life left me with such a feeling of happiness that I want to listen to the book all over again. Combine that with the beautifully written love story between Mike and Teri, and all they go through to triumph in the end, and I can’t imagine any listener not enjoying this audiobook as much as I did. I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for more by this talented author on Audible in the future.
Jay Dyess is a new narrator for me, and I thought that he did an excellent job with the narration. He has an incredibly smooth and pleasurable tone of voice, and he makes a great storyteller. He handles the male and female roles equally well, and he uses several native dialects with ease. Overall, his performance added that special touch to an already incredible audiobook.
I received a copy of this audiobook at my request in exchange for this honest review.
This came in late last night, I was too exhausted to stay up and get it recorded, but here we go! This wonderful 5-star review was posted by rietpetite on Amazon and Goodreads.
Wonderful, dreamy yet lifelike – wishing you had a teapot like Jacinth’s
I loved this dreamy and romantic story of wishes that ‘d come true. It was like reading a fairy tale with real people falling in love, it was dreamy, but with a wicked sense of humour and a strong vibe of love. Needless to say that I loved reading it, I loved it so much that I bought the first book too, this is book 2 of the series. What is it all about:
Veterinarian Douglas McCandliss considered himself an ordinary kinda guy with an ordinary kinda life. He had no idea why he’d bought the old silver teapot, and when a young woman appeared before him claiming to be a genie, he almost wished he hadn’t. If only she wasn’t so damned cute.
Ebullient and cheerful, Jacinth loved granting wishes and helping people. So she was thrilled when her teapot’s new owner, a single father with custody of two young children, asked her to stay until he could find a nanny. The problem was, the longer she stayed, the more she was attracted to Douglas, and she was certainly not willing to turn over care of Ben and little Molly to just anybody. But she was a 900 year old genie, and had no intention of falling in love with a mortal man. None whatsoever.
And OMG!!! Not only did she leave this review last night, I just got an email from her, like… right now while I’m writing this! …saying how much she loved it and that she had to go back and buy the first book, Wishes in a Bottle, and she can’t wait to read more of my books! I HAVE A FAN!!!! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
Not one but TWO new 5-star reviews of the Audible audiobook of Truck Stop! Both were also posted on Goodreads 🙂
This one by Patricia on June 6th:
“This will suck you in! “
If you love a good story with some meat to it, look no further! Allie McCormick’s Truck Stop is one you will want to listen to. Terri has runaway from an abusive situation to find home and a new family at a truck stop. She is young, but not too young to fall in love, and a constant driver that stops is one she has her eye on. Mike is a responsible man, product of a difficult childhood, but has a good head on his shoulders. When these two finally get together, will they find their happily ever after? I loved this story as it encompasses so many topics. Runaway teens, teen pregnancy and sexual abuse are topics many authors will not take on, but this story hits it right on the head. It’s realistic and compassionate. It takes us through what a runaway teen may think and go through as well as the fear of being found. I loved the way this story unfolded, the warm and happy environment Terri found, and the suspense that came in the climax! It’s a great listen and I hope to hear more from Allie!
This is my first listen by Jay Dyess, and I enjoyed him! He has a good pace, and his voices are distinguishable and pertinent to the character. I loved his voice for the dad, very charming and authoritative, couldn’t have been more spot on! I will watch for more releases by him.
And by Maria on June 9th:
“Great story, with some surprises! “
I really enjoyed this story.
I fell in love with the characters before chapter 2. The naration was great, bringing the story to life and giving each character a unique voice.
There were some love scenes in the book, but they were not pointless, there was a purpose to them.
The story kept me hooked from start to finish. I totally loved the ending and the surprises. I won’t say more, as i don’t want to spoil the book for anyone.
I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.
This 5-star review was posted by Rachel Talavera on Goodreads. It’s short but TERRIFIC and made me feel… well… proud!! LOL!
Crazy GOOD.
In a world of the normal run of the mill plots, this one is way different than anything else you will read.
Here’s my reaction on reading it:
The BIG NEWS is that A Gift of Jacinth, book 2 in Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series, came out this last week Tuesday, June 4th!! I’m sooo excited! This means I didn’t get much writing done, as you can probably imagine. (Note to self: I need to remember to plan for that in future)
So… I’ll be back to working on Castles in the Sand tomorrow, and hopefully by the time I write up next week’s Writing Plan I’ll have a release date and a cover reveal set. SPEAKING OF WHICH! I’ve just gotten the cover from my cover artist, Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs, and it is gorrrrrrrgeous!! I have it posted on Patreon for my “In the Loop” patrons to get a sneak peak! 🙂
I still need to finalize my June newsletter… I just have to pick a family recipe for the recipe of the month, and it’s good to go!
NEWEST RELEASES!
(Not in any particular order except as indicated)
This was posted by Cathleen McKinney on Goodreads:
This Book is AMAZING!! The Author captures you from Page 1! I’m not usually into this type of book (Super Natural, Genies, etc.) I am into Romance! I Love this so much, I am going to grab Book one and can’t wait until September!! I also want to grab some of her other books now! You really should try it!! You may be like me and fall in Love with it!
Thanks so much for your fabulous review, Cathleen! 🙂
This 4-star was posted by Victoria Stolte on Goodreads:
Cute and interesting read with likable characters and a bit of drama mixed with intense emotions through out. I found it refreshing to read about a female “genie” and interesting as well as I had never read a story like this one before. This was my first book from this author and can’t wait to check out more!
Thank you, Victoria!!! 🙂
The 2nd book in my Wishes & Dreams paranormal series, A Gift of Jacinth, is released today, June 4th!!!
You can find it on Amazon as Kindle or (shortly) in paperback, or you can read it free with Kindle Unlimited.
Here’s the synopsis:
Douglas needed a miracle. What he got was a genie…
Veterinarian Douglas McCandliss considered himself an ordinary kinda guy with an ordinary kinda life. He had no idea why he’d bought the old silver teapot, and when a young woman appeared before him claiming to be a genie, he almost wished he hadn’t. If only she wasn’t so damned cute.
Ebullient and cheerful, Jacinth loved granting wishes and helping people. So she was thrilled when her teapot’s new owner, a single father with custody of two young children, asked her to stay until he could find a nanny. The problem was, the longer she stayed, the more she was attracted to Douglas, and she was certainly not willing to turn over care of Ben and little Molly to just anybody. But she was a 900 year old genie, and had no intention of falling in love with a mortal man. None whatsoever.
The BIG NEWS is that A Gift of Jacinth, book 2 in Wishes & Dreams paranormal romance series, is coming out on Tuesday, June 4th!! I’m sooo excited! It’s still available at $0.99 for pre-order until 11:59 pm Monday night, before it goes live, so nip in there and get it at the special price!
I’ve been working on the final revisions and polishing of Castles in the Sand, the 2nd book in my Sons of the Desert series. I’m at Chapter 11 of 24, and it’s going very well! I don’t remember writing some of this, so it’s a voyage of discovery as I go along, I’m having so much fun, and enjoying my own story probably more than I ought to! LOL! But I’m not letting that stop me! In fact, I’m diving back in as soon as I get this posted 🙂 I am hoping that by the end of the week I’ll be setting a release date. Castles is the only thing I’ll be working on until it’s finished (aside from my monthly newsletter).
NEWEST RELEASES!
COVER REVEAL
I’ve sent in the cover design request form for Castles in the Sand to my cover artist, Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. She’s just back from vacation, so she should get it to me soon, and I’ll set a Cover Reveal and Release dates once I have it 🙂
(Not in any particular order except as indicated)
Just a quick shout-out… I got my proof copy of A Gift of Jacinth today! I’m sooo thrilled, it’s gorgeous! I’ve been sitting here at my desk petting it, just because it’s so pretty and shiny and glossy and I love it!
Just for fun, I took this picture of the stand where I keep my paperbacks… okay okay I know, but I can’t help it, I LOVE looking at my books stacked there!! LOL! Anyway, from the top it’s SwanSong, then Wishes in a Bottle, then the new edition of Truck Stop, and then on the bottom, the first edition of Truck Stop 🙂 The first editions of Truck Stop on the bottom are the very old ones, with the old cover. I’m not sure just what I’m going to do with them (I actually have like 25-30)… but once Jacinth comes out, I’ll need to move these from the bookshelf to put Jacinth on the stand.
♥Allie♥
There was a wee change in last week’s Writing Plan. I wound up giving myself the entire last week as time off from writing. That gave me 10 days off total, which was lots of fun, and very relaxing, and I got a whole lot of nothing done, which felt absolutely GREAT!!!!!!! Then this morning I dove back into Castles in the Sand, the 2nd book in my Sons of the Desert series. That’s the only thing I’ll be working on until it’s finished (aside from my monthly newsletter).
NEWEST RELEASES!
COVER REVEAL
I’ve sent in the cover design request form for Castles in the Sand to my cover artist, Dar Albert of Wicked Smart Designs. She’s just back from vacation, so she should get it to me soon, and I’ll set a Cover Reveal and Release dates once I have it 🙂
(Not in any particular order except as indicated)
This came in from Angel Hatfield on Goodreads 10 days ago, and I totally missed seeing it til now!!! She gave it 4 stars!
Julian had been a magically gifted man who wanted to help. He cast a spell to try to help his family who were dying in horrible was. But the spell went haywire. He was than cursed to be a Djinn in a bottle and forced to grant three wished to every new owner of the bottle. After the three wishes he just goes on to the next owner. He has now been in the bottle for six hundred years and he has seen a lot of greed and selfishness. Julian is desperate to have the curse broken as he’d like a home, family and love. He has seen too much of the greed in people such as the last owner chose to have jewelry instead of saving a child’s life. Julian feels life can’t get any worse. Than he is called to a new owner and it is Alessandra. Julian and Alessandra are attracted to each other right after meeting. Alessandra spends her time between hospice care and working at a women’s shelter After hearing Julian’s story she wants to free Julian but has to figure out herself how to do it. Jullian can’t tell her. Once her wishes are used she will never see Julian again. But time is running out for them and they have fallen in love. Julian fears he will endure this torture of loving her forever and not being with her.
I really enjoyed this book. There were a few editing problems that needed to be fixed but that didn’t stop me from reading this book. I loved Julian and Alessandra together and how they interacted with each other even of they feel their love is doomed if alessandra doesn’t figure out how to break the curse. I chuckled at times and I choked up at times while reading this book. I did hate Julian’s family.** I really liked the plot and pace. Alessandra was such a ewarm, caring, giving person! I felt bad for all the bad things Julian had to see because of people’s greed and selfishness. Especially when all he had wanted to do was help his family. I am going to see if u can find some more books written by this author as this was the first time a read a book of hers. I loved the characters and the ins and outs of this book and I recommend it.
**Note: She meant Alessandra’s family 😉
Check out Wishes in a Bottle on Amazon!
This Audible audiobook review for Truck Stop came in this morning! I was so thrilled!
This is a great, enjoyable story. It is original, well written and well told. The storylines are interesting and realistic, they captivated me from start to end. The characters are complex and well developed. I admired Teri, her strength and courage to get away from a bad situation and determination to make it on her own. I loved ‘Truck Stop’, loved how friendly the owners, Marsha and Joe, were and their willingness to extend themselves to help others. I also loved the camaraderie amongst the truckers and how they looked out for each other as well as the people at the Truck Stop, like their very own tight knit community. Mike is a regular at the Truck Stop, Teri crushed on him but he treated her like a kid sister. Eventually he opens his eyes and sees her as the woman she is. There was great chemistry between the two and I thought they were great for each other. A lot goes on in this book, there is plenty of drama, some suspense and great twists as well as romance. I was very happy with the way everything worked out and that justice was served. Allie McCormack thank you for this great and entertaining story and the emotional rollercoaster ride.
I listened to the Audible edition, Jay Dyess is a terrific narrator and voice performer. He brings the characters to life, gives each their own voice and personality. You can hear the emotions of the characters in his performance. He is an entertaining storyteller and a pleasure to listen to. Thank you for this great listen🎧
Check out Truck Stop on Amazon as Kindle or paperback, or the audiobook at Audible!
