Hello Campers! Welcome back to Around the Fire. The past couple of weeks, I’ve been sharing my space with authors and their new releases. But I wanted to catch up with you all today.
We’ve been in Florida for a while, working at a campground on the Big Bend. Pete is the recreation director, and I’ve been his wingman or woman.
We’ve hosted a couple of parties, sat around the community fire pit, and played penny bingo. Pete’s been leading a bible study. Even though it’s been on the cooler side this year, we have managed to hit the pool and travel to the beach. One day, I made a huge pan of Paella and flat bread. We sat around sharing with our friends. Other mornings, Pete treated us all to Taylor, egg, and cheese. If YKYK. Bonus for it being on the chillier side is when we went to Crystal River, we hadn’t expected to see manatees this late in the season, but lo and behold, there were maybe one hundred or so at Three Sisters. 

I also saw my first alligator in the wild. And some owls at a North Florida Wildlife Sanctuary.

None of this is to say I haven't been working. I released Red Gate Farm in February to amazing reviews. In March two of my books, Rainbow Sprinkles and Rock House Grill had the rights revert to me. This means I can put Rainbow Sprinkles into an actual physical book. Both are now on Kindle Unlimited. Also all my books are now available in physical form on Barnes & Noble. 

I'm also keyboarding away on Honky~Tonk House. Here's the blurb...
               A honky‑tonk owner with a past he can’t outrun. A firefighter refuses to back down.
After a gunshot nearly ends former police officer Nick Bianchi’s life, he trades the badge for a second chance. Honky~Tonk House is the dance club that has fulfilled a dream and become a refuge, but trouble follows him like smoke. Violent gang members he’s put away hold grudges and circle like crows, and a firebomb nearly destroys the fragile peace he’s built.
Firefighter Lieutenant Kateri Swiftwater has fought her way up the ranks to lead a team with grit and heart, earning respect along the way. On her time off, she plays a mean fiddle and sings with a voice as warm and fulfilling as biscuits and gravy. Filling in for a friend's band at Honky~Tonk House, she meets a man with T-R-O-U-B-L-E written all over him. Though something about him pulls at her in ways she didn’t expect.
Threats escalate, and gang tensions burn, as their lives become dangerously intertwined. She’s trained to run into burning buildings. He’s spent years trying to escape the flames of his past. Together, they might just find the courage to face what’s coming—if the firestorm doesn’t consume them first.
There’s a spark between the two that could save them—or burn everything to the ground.

                                               Do you want a peek at the cover? You do? Okay.

So I haven't been sitting on my laurels. Does anyone say that anymore? We'll be leaving here in a very short while and traveling back to NJ. But this doesn't mean the adventures are over. Stay tuned. The annual Day of Wine Romance and More is coming up May 2nd and 3rd. I'm working on other possible local signings as well. Until next time remember...
                         "Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value." – Albert Einstein

Welcome back to my fire. I've been crazy busy these past few weeks. A book release, getting my rights back to several books and republishing them, trying to work on my website, and getting a few words in on Honky~Tonk House. Meanwhile, we've been working at the Perry KOA in Florida as recreation staff. Community Campfires, penny bingo, dominoes, movie nights, a chicken party, book club, and painting. This week is St. Patrick's Day, and the camp is providing corned beef and cabbage. My contribution will be mini Shepherd's Pies. Oh, did I mention I made paella and flat bread for a group of friends? Okay, I just tired myself out so I'll give today's guest the floor. Darlene and I worked together a few years ago on the Mortar & Pestle series. It's nice to see her again.

About the author.
Darlene Fredette is a multi-published author of contemporary women’s fiction that celebrates resilience, romance, and the small-town magic woven into ordinary days. Step inside her world for heartfelt stories, character-driven moments, a touch of charm, wit, twists, and just enough intrigue to keep you turning the pages. Residing on Canada’s scenic Atlantic Coast, where summers are too short and winters too long, she finds inspiration from family, nature, and the quiet moments that ignite the imagination, and enjoys life with her husband, daughter, and two oversized, loveable dogs.

​Social Media
Website: http://www.darlenefredette.com/
Blog: http://findingthewritewords.blogspot.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darlenefredette1/
BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/darlenefredette.bsky.social
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Darlene-Fredette/author/B005NAF660

Welcome back to Around the Fire. We've had a few campfires where I'm visiting in Northern Florida. It's one of the few places that doesn't have a fire ban due to drought, though we're mostly using the propane fire pit. One night, we pulled out the special rug my daughter-in-law bought us and put it in front of the camper. We call this sitting on the front porch. I had my rocker and made snacks. Soon people showed up, some carrying their chairs other grabbing a seat from the chairs we pulled out. We talked, laughed, and made others passing by dance. A good time was had by all. Now, let's welcome today's guest. Liz and I are dealing with common themes. I republished both Rainbow Sprinkles and Rock House Grill after my publisher returned my rights. Things happen with books. After you read about Liz's journey, I hope you'll visit my books page and check out the new covers. So, without further ado, please welcome Liz back to the fire.
​

I do love an evening around the fire! Thanks for letting me come again, D. V. I brought some rice crispy treats to share. They’re gloriously sweet and sticky.
Every time I release a book that was formerly with a publisher, I feel like I do when I buy a new puffer jacket. I get a new one every few years, with very few differences beyond color and the brand that’s on the tag in the back. But I love them, and I wear them until they aren’t warm enough anymore. Then, with every intention of finding something else for my go-to jacket, I buy another one.
With the book, I think I should be releasing something altogether new, but Pieces of Blue, first released in 2024 and the victim of publisher closure soon after, ended up being Book One of a series: Colors, the Harper Loch Trilogy. I was afraid by the time Books Two and Three came out, Book One would have been forgotten. While they stand alone, the tidy part of me—which is mostly imagined, by the way—thinks they should be read in order.
So I re-released it. It has a pretty new cover by Nancy Fraser that, like my puffer jackets, it’s different, but still representative of the Burl, Maggie North’s big house on Harper Loch.
D. V. mentioned that I should give my top three reasons to read Pieces of Blue.
Only three? But there are so many! 😊
First and primary to me is that Maggie North is a combination of all the favorite women in my life. Sister, sisters-in-law, and old friends. She has a bit of Anne Shirley in her and a stubborn chunk of Jo March as well. I like her. I like her a lot.
Second? The people at the lake. There are only 86 of them, and although I didn’t introduce them all, I admit you’ll meet quite a few.
Third, there’s Sam. I’ll let you decide for yourself what you think of him. I will say he’s warm and comfortable and … oh, wait, no, that’s my jacket. Anyway, be sure and let me know!

Life comes in shades of blue...
Self-imposed loner, Maggie North, has worked for bestselling author Trilby Winterroad her entire adult life, starting as simply his assistant and ending up as his ghost writer. Through ups and downs--including a divorce from an abusive husband--he has been the one person on whom she could always rely. So when Trilby dies suddenly, Maggie finds herself adrift, not sure what she’ll do or where she belongs in the world any longer. And the confusion continues when she discovers he’s not only left her his beloved dachshund, Chloe, but a house she knew nothing about, on a lake she’s never heard of.
It only takes one visit for Maggie to fall in love with both the house and the small lakeside community. The longer she’s there, the safer she feels and the more her life begins to expand...as do her feelings toward her friend and Trilby’s attorney, Sam Eldridge.
But is she really safe? Or are the glistening pieces of her new life about to shatter as an old danger returns?
​Get your copy today!
Amazon   D2D
​

About the Author.
Liz Flaherty has spent the past several years enjoying not working a day job, making terrible crafts, and writing stories in which the people aren’t young, brilliant, or even beautiful. She’s decided (and has to re-decide most every day) that the definition of success is having a good time. Along with her husband of lo, these many years, kids, grands, friends, and the occasional cat, she’s doing just that. Find her on Facebook or her blog, Window Over the Sink. A girl just can’t have too many friends! She’s at other places, too—find her via https://linktr.ee/lizflahert