This box set includes all of the stories in the Irish Pride Series: Rhythm of My Heart - Eilis Kennedy, gave up a singing career to become an Artists Representative with Eireann Records. Kieran Vaughan is just the talent she needs to contract who will really launch her career, while at the same time getting her out from under her boss's thumb. Fergus Manley vows to have Eilis in his bed at any cost. A Piece of My Heart and the short story sequel, Constant Craving - Ten years after their break-up, the addendum in Mick's father's will forces Mick and Kate together to save Mick's heritage. Kate thought she was falling in love with Mick all over again, but a new revelation is too much for her. She is determined to finally say goodbye forever to her childhood sweetheart. Mick has other plans for Kate's future. And none of them involve goodbye. Shape of My Heart - Gráinne moonlights at The Klub! to earn money for college tuition. John ‘JD’ Desmond is an undercover detective. The Klub!, owned by Jimmy Malloy, is being used as a drug front, headed by the notorious Taylor 'The Hunter' Wade. JD wanted Gráinne to snitch for him, but things get complicated when they fall in love. When Gráinne witnesses Jimmy’s murder, she and JD are forced to run for their lives.
I'm continually delighted when new reviews come in for this book, especially as it's now two years old. However, in light that the next book in the series, Rhythm of My Heart, will be out this summer, I'm not surprised with the renewed interest.
And don't forget that Constant Craving is the short story sequel to A Piece of My Heart. You don't want to miss that one!
Thanks so much, Ginger, for a wonderful review. I'm SO happy you enjoyed the story.
Kemberlee Shortland has charmed and captivated this reader with a romantic fictional novel titled, A Piece of My Heart. The novel begins with Mick and Kate who have been disconnected for several years. Mick lives in Dublin and has pursued life away from the farm in which he has been raised. His work, selfishness, and dissatisfaction with his current life have consumed an unresolvable tension that keeps him away from his family and past. During this same period, Kate has remained in the Irish countryside where she's been managing and helping to care for Mick's dying parents. With the death of Micks parents, Attorney Tighe initiates the reading of the will. This revelation of the will astonishes them and now they must confront their past and future. This and several other tensions like Deaman O’Flannery keep the narrative alive and is the core of the story.
Mrs. Shortland’s characters endear themselves to the reader with their candor, wit, and determination for love and respect. With A Piece of My Heart, the author has created several moments where the characters are brave enough to look back on their life and imagine themselves making different choices with resolution. Furthermore, Mrs. Shortland takes great pains in painting such an accurate and authentic Irish backdrop throughout this novel that it's nearly impossible not to find one transported to Ireland where one watches Gaelic football, listens to the wireless, visits pubs, and drinks in the solstice moonlight of the ancient stone circle. My favorite part of the novel was the scene that included the Claddagh Ring with its hands for friendship, heart for love, and crown for loyalty.
A Piece of My Heart is unlike any other romance I have ever read. It has a great contemporary style with a slight erotic flare. With this noted, the sensual petting is done brilliantly with a sensation of foreplay between the author and reader until the very last chapter! Additionally, this is first in the Irish Pride series. I was very excited to learn that the story of Mick and Kate continues. Solid writing and storytelling, excellent characters, and romance make A Piece of My Heart a novel you won't want to miss. I highly recommend.
Just a quick note to say, A Piece of My Heart and Constant Craving are available at iTunes. If you have an iPhone and like to read on it, or other Mac device, head over to iTunes and download your copies! Two books for under $5. Can't beat that in recession times :-)
These books are available through Smashwords in all digital formats, so pop over there for a version suitable for your reading device.
On another note, I will be republishing my first two short stories, Tuttu-Frutti Blues and Dude Looks Like A Lady in the near future. Both of these stories are set in my hometown, Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
Originally published in the No Law Against Love anthology from Highland Press, these stories are based on just two of the crazy laws from Carmel -- when it was illegal to eat ice cream on the streets of town, and one still on the books, having to obtain a permit to wear high heels! Yes, it's true. You still need a permit. Though, the ice cream ban was repealed.
Stay tuned for republishing news.
In the meantime, find me at Facebook and watch for new here and there for upcoming publications.
I just thought I'd mention that most of my short stories are now available on their own, outside of the anthologies in which they were originally published.
The sequel to Tutti-Frutti Blues, Dude Looks Like A Lady, will be available soon on a stand-alone basis, but can still be found in the anthology No Law Against Love.
I've been asked a few times what inspires me in my writing. I'm afraid my answers are probably the same as many writers. I get my inspiration from what I see or experience around me -- observing people, hearing stories, reading old diaries, researching family history, and of course music.
In the case of A Piece of My Heart, I was inspired by a number of pieces of music. As I'm sure many already know, the title alone was from one of Janis Joplin's most famous songs. The first part of the song goes like this:
Didn't I make you feel like you were the only man I ever wanted and needed? And didn't I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can ? (you know I did) And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I've had enough, I'm gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough.
I can't put it any better than an anonymous posted on sing365.com who said: To me, this song signifies a woman's love. How it is unstop(p)able. This song is how true love should be defined. You can break my heart, but I won't leave you and I won't stop loving you. Yes, you have been a jerk, but I fell in love with (you). I see more to you than how you can hurt me. When you hold me in your arms, you are someone different than the juvenile and cruel man that hurt me. I will always forgive you and love you, because my heart is strong. I am tough, and you can take my heart, rip it to pieces, and then eat it, but only you can do that. Because I love you and I have already given you my heart anyways. This song shows the side of love that most people never want to deal with, or don't even want to a(c)knowledge that it exists. It is inevitable, the people you love will hurt you, but will you let them "take another piece of your heart"?
To answer the question, of course you will. Because hope lives in love. Where there's love, there is always hope.
This was the base of my story, A Piece of My Heart. The deep love between Mick and Kate gets torn apart by another person's jealousy. Deep down, they still love each other, but Mick can't get past the event that tore them apart, and Kate doesn't understand the events that pulled him away from her. Over the years, they're forced to remain in contact, albeit limited contact, as Kate cares for Mick's parents. Every time she sees Mick, she has hope they can get past whatever it was that pulled them apart. And even if they don't have a future together, they can at least remain friends. She still loves Mick, therefore has hope things will turn around for them. Going back to the anonymous quote above, yep, that's exactly my Kate . . . I will always forgive you and love you, because my heart is strong.
But Mick isn't as hard as he seems. He's suffered hurt too. But men will be men and sometimes it takes a miracle for them to get over their pride and find ways to get what they want when it comes to real love. For Mick, it takes a strong woman to do that.
The song that inspired me to write the scene where Mick and Kate finally come together was written by the amazing and sadly late Christy Hennessy. The song is I Will. Take a listen --
By the way I feel tonight I'll love you all my life I know I will, Let's take it from the top and make a brand new start Please say you will
How beautiful is that?!
I have to say I'm inspired by a lot of Christy's music. Drop over to his website and click on Discography. Some of his songs are linked to clips, like If I Were to Fall, I'm Looking Up To You, and Roll Back The Clouds. I really like Roll Back the Clouds!
Drop over to Christy's website and check out his discography. Or go right to his Platinum Collection.
So, what inspires you? Drop me a note and let me know.
This pair of books presents an adorable and realistically romantic story of two high school sweethearts who never lost love for each other. Ms. Shortland writes Mick as the kind of many that any woman would love to have the chance to have, hold, and heal. Kate is a powerful, independent but innocent woman with a firm grasp of what love means.
In A Piece of My Heart, Kate and Mick share a lot of commonalities: an inheritance, a need to reconcile the past, and a sense of lost connection. Their reactions to each other and to the situations in which they find themselves are delightfully realistic, and their passion for each other is steamily respectful; a line that most authors have trouble walking. Predictably (why else do we read romance novels?!?) Kate and Mick work through their problems and the story ends with something akin to “…and they all lived happily ever after.”
One of my biggest problems with most romance novels is that they only deal with the heat, the passion, the chase that leads up to the long-awaited (and extremely satisfying) coupling. Yet few novels dare to delve into what happens when the after-glow fades and the couple is forced to live together with normal trials and tribulations. This is where Kemberlee Shortland shines.
Constant Craving is a wonderful short story that takes place a year after Kate and Mick buried the hatchet and shook the standing stones. There is little classical romance to be found here; instead Kate is tired, has baby blues from a recent birth of twins, and finds herself bogged down by housework. Mick is sexually frustrated (gotta wait for a while after babies are born!), tired from working the farm, and spends all his free time working on repairing the house. How they manage to rekindle the romance, and reconnect as lovers is a beautiful story and is more than just icing on the cake; it’s a story of REAL love, and how it endures, perseveres, and grows.
It's the 18th of January and I'm still playing catch up. Happy New Year!!
A great New Year surprise came in my email this morning -- A fabulous new review for Constant Craving!! What a great way to start the day. Here's what Huntress Reviews has to say . . .
FOUR STARS! This short story is a sequel to "A Piece of My Heart". If you have not read the previous title, I highly suggest you do so. You will not find yourself lost if you do not, however, the characters went through a lot and knowing about those events would make this story more special. (The price for "A Piece of My Heart" is low and the price for this sequel is [at the time of this review] under one dollar.) Both titles are part of the Irish Pride series.
To me, the nicest thing about a short story or novella is that there is no room for "filler". Every word of the story is needed and none are wasted or added. I, as the reader, am guaranteed a good tale in a small amount of time. And this author, Kemberlee Shortland, writes some fantastic stories!
Kemberlee Shortland has a creative writing style that easily communicates to readers all of the ardent feelings which Kathe and Mick feel for one another. Readers who have been married and then had kids will especially enjoy and empathize with the Fairhills' delimma. This story may be short, but it will linger in your mind for a long time.
Thank you SO much, Detra, for your kind words. Indeed, what a great way to start the day!
On other fronts, I've re-started posting articles over at Hearticles: Articles with Heart. I started out the New Year with Januarye - The Door to the Year. This piece discusses the significance of January and the New Year, and some of the things on my 2011 To-Do List.
More recently, I posted a couple Review Quickies, which is a new feature on the site. Drop over to see what I've been reading, and how writers can learn from the experts. In this article, I discussed Flipping Out by Marshall Karp and Switch by Grant McKenzie.
Upcoming events for me this year start off with a guest spot at Book Soulmates eMag. Stay tuned for the date for that one.
Thank you to Long and Short of It Reviews. The Jingle Bell Blog Fest was great fun. Seems their readers really enjoyed my exclusive pre-Xmas interview with Kris Kringle! And why not? He's a big fan of romance stories.
As a reminder, A Piece of My Heart and Constant Craving are on sale over at Smashwords. You can get BOTH for under $5!! Chose your format, including Kindle.
As always, I enjoy hearing from readers, so drop me a note the next time you're cruising through.
Happy New Year and all the best for a wonderful 2011!!
As part of my day on RTB, I awarded two lucky winners a copy each of A Piece of My Heart and the short story sequel Constant Craving. Those winners are Danielle DoNascimento and Afshan Nawaz. Congratulations ladies!!
I've recently received an email back from Danielle and asked her if it was OK to share it online. She kindly said yes. So here it is . . .
I thought I'd email you to report to you what I thought of your novels 'A Piece of My heart' and 'Constant Craving'. I must congratulate you Kemberlee. That was the most fascinating and intriguing story I have ever read. I love it. And I do not like when I say this, but I absolutely loved it. At first I was saddened but by then I had understand along the way! Mick and Kate were super fascinating characters. Your story portrayed a lot of emotions. Love, anger, distance, etc. It was quite amazing and it had me trying not to ball over with tears! I loved the scenery of Ireland. To think that even in other countries....some follow old tradition, Neh? Even more the characters...were truly amazing. The legend of the stones was interesting too! Tell do they really exist? Either way I feel the need to go to Ireland to tour around.I have always wanted to travel you know. But I read both of your stories...and I was quite....shocked and very happy they had a very good happy ending. I didn't like Flann though! He was a mean heartless person and Gob? Oh Geez! But I loved Michael and Kathleen. Though stubborn they were headstrong and knew what they wanted! I am truly writing to you to congratulate you and ask that you keep up the good works! I'll be looking forward to purchasing your stories :D! Tell me are Irish men truly handsome? I wouldn't mind have one of my own. LOL! Anyways...Thanks for choosing me in the contest. I am so thrilled to have won something and just finishing your novels....I fell in love!
Your Fan For Always,Danielle DoNascimento! P.S. Keep up the good work!
Needless to say, this is one of the nicest things anyone has said to me in a long time. It's like Xmas came early! Thank you so much, Danielle for your very kind words. {hug}
I wanted to share items of interest --
I'm taking a holiday break from posting articles over at Hearticles: Articles from the Heart. I'll be back again on 7 January 2011. Mark your calendars and bookmark my blog.
21 December I'm participating in another Long and Short of It Reviews' programs, which is part of the Jingle Bell Blog Fest. Drop over and check out my exclusive interview with the man himself . . . Mr Ho Ho . . . Father Christmas . . . Santa . . . KRIS KRINGLE! Believe me. If you thought you know Kris, think again. A few spiked eggnogs and the man was babbling like a baby :-) I'll be giving away another pair of books, so be sure to post your comments on the day.
To all of my readers and all the reviewers who've taken the time to read and comment on my stories -- your support and comments mean the world to me and I want to take this opportunity to give a big THANK YOU.
Happy holidays everyone!!
~ Kemberlee PS . . . You can catch up with me on Facebook. I love meeting up with readers and new friends.
Mick and Kate thought they were falling in love. Kate hadn't been just the girl next door. She'd been Mick's life, and he hers. When an unforeseen force draws them apart they're left with wounds that refuse to heal. Now, ten years on, Mick's father's will should have been straightforward, except his addendum was like ice water in Mick's face.
It's essential that Mick and Kate work together to save his family's farm. Mick doesn't count on his new manager being accused of murder, and Kate doesn't expect a dangerously seductive woman from Dublin to claim Mick is the father of her child.
Kate thought she was falling in love with Mick all over again; however this newest revelation is too much for her. She is determined to finally say goodbye to her childhood sweetheart forever, but Mick has other plans for Kate's future. And none of them involve goodbye. Constant Craving is also repriced at Smashwords at an amazing .99 cents!
The perfect life Mick and Kate thought they had was slowly dissolving. With Mick obsessing about the farm and Kate thrown into a life of domesticity, both lose some of what they'd fought so hard to regain.
It all comes to a head when Kate suspects Mick of having an affair. Kate’s parents step in to give each of them advice from their own years of marriage.
Now, both Mick and Kate have set their own romantic plans in motion, but it could all fall through when Kate nearly blows up the kitchen.
With Christmas around the corner, what better gift can you give than these two stories? And both for under $5!
Smashwords offers versions for all popular ereaders on the market, including Kindle, Sony, Nook, and Stanza, as well as HTML, PDF and RTF.
To read excerpts for both of these stories, log into my website where you'll also find reader and reviewer comments.
As always, I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to drop me a note and let me know your thoughts.
Like those great Steve Miller Band lyrics go — Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' into the future! I know it's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been busy and a lot has been happening. Some writerly, some not. But it's all good.
For those of you who don't know, I keep a blog called Hearticles: Articles with Heart. You'll find a variety of writing-themed articles aimed to help other writers. I know I'm a relatively new author, but I enjoy sharing what I've learned with others. My latest post is Writing is Writing and aimed at writers who think they haven't had time to write. I grumble about it sometimes, then realize that I AM writing, just not fiction. But it's all good, as you'll see when you read the article.
It's all good with A Piece of my Heart, which is still selling well, as is the sequel, Constant Craving. And Christmas is coming . . . just saying! ;-)
My current WIP is The Diary. This is my first time travel and I'm having a lot of fun with it. The Diary is a project I've worked on in bits and pieces while writing the Irish Pride series, but now that those books are completed and starting to publish, I've gone back to The Diary and have HIGH hopes it will be published before April 2014, as this will be the 1000 year anniversary of the event in my story — The Battle of Clontarf. So it's all good there too.
What's coming up for me —
2 December - Romancing the Book will be hosting me for the day. Drop over and visit!
21 December - The Long and Short of It Reviews will also have me back on their blog for the day during their month-long Jingle Bells Blog Fest. I'm SO lucky! Kris Kringle let little ol' me into his workshop on the North Pole where we sat with a cup of tea and had a chat about the man behind the beard. Would love to see you there, too.
I love to hear from readers, so be sure to drop me an email, even if it's just to say howdy.
First, let me say a huge thank you to all of the entrants of my September month-long contest. Some of the answers were very interesting, some amusing, but all were most welcome.
The draw was done by none other than our dog Poppy. Poppy has a thing for paper, and she's probably the world's best fetcher. Well, she's the best in our world.
Each entrant's name was put onto a piece of paper and wadded up, then put into a container. Poppy was sent to fetch each name in order of placement. She first drew the third place winners, which was just as well since she brought me TWO at once. Then we drew second place, and finally first place.
As you can see, this was a totally impartial drawing. :-)
Without further ado --
Third Place - Ms. Yadira Alonzo, Ms. Sidolitta Mateo and Ms. Donna Womble!
You have each won digital versions of A Piece of My Heart and the short story sequel, Constant Craving. Ladies, If you have a specific ereader, please let me know and I will send you an appropriate copy for that reader. Otherwise, they will be sent to you as a PDF. Please let me know ASAP so you don't have to wait.
Second Place - Ms. Kathi Barton!!
You win an autographed copy of A Piece of My Heart, Constant Craving on disc, a certificate of ownership of land in Ireland (compliments of A Piece of Ireland), and a plush Jess dog toy. . . Molly's puppy from A Piece of My Heart.
There was only one correct answer to the bonus question. A bit of lateral thinking was required for this one. That person's name is on my quotes page, as is the image of the actor portraying him! You'll find the answer on the contest page, too.
The winner of the bonus question goes to Mercedes McCoy! Your prize for guessing correctly is a box of Irish chocolates. Yummmmmm! And yes, the chocolates will be in the box when you receive it ;-)
Big, big, big congratulations to all my winners! And thank you to everyone who entered. I don't know about you, but I had fun.
---> Join me tomorrow, 2 October, at You Gotta Read, where I'll be talking to the gang there and answering reader questions. Please stop over and say hello!
Yes folks, you heard right. For the month of September, I will be hosting a contest. And what a contest it will be. At least, I hope you think so.
I'm celebrating the release of not only a lovely new website, but also the long-awaited release of the short story sequel to A Piece of My Heart — CONSTANT CRAVING. September is the month of romance and love in Ireland. All month, people from all over Ireland gather in Lisdoonvarna, County Clare for the annual Matchmaking Festival. This tradition dates back decades, to a time when parents would bring their sons and daughters of marriageable age to the town and hire the local matchmaker to organize some weddings. This took place just after the last harvest of the year, which was the only time during the year when farmers could take time away from their homesteads. Without matchmakers, it would have been near impossible for farmer's children to find husbands and wives on their own because they would have spent most of their time on the farm. This was especially true for island folk. Another love tradition revolves around the Claddagh Ring. The original ring was designed around 1690 in the Claddagh region of Galway City. This ring has long been used as an engagement ring, the tradition of which continues today. The Claddagh Ring got its design from the old pre-Roman Fede Ring, which was a band with two hands clasped in the front, signifying the hands of friendship and the bond between husband and wife. The Claddagh Ring goes on to include a heart between the hands which is crowned. The heart represents love, the hands friendship, and the crown loyalty.
Claddagh Rings may be given as friendship rings or promise rings, worn on the right hand with the crown pointing out (hold your hand upright and the heart and crown face upright).
As an engagement ring, or even as a wedding band, the ring is worn on the left hand and worn with the crown pointing out, as above.
Above all, these rings must be gifts of love and never purchased for oneself!
The Lisdoonvarna Matchmakers Festival and the Claddagh Ring feature in A Piece of My Heart, so what better time to have this contest!
So here it is. The contest is simple. Answer five questions and submit them to me. On the first of October, all entries will be put into a container and randomly drawn, third to first place.
ALL BUT ONE ANSWER can be found on this website. The bonus question is a pure guess for you. The answer has no bearing on the other questions and will not affect your entry into the draw. It's just for fun and to see how well you really do know me. And . . . the person who gets it right will get an extra treat in their prize package!!
OH! You want to know what you'll win? There are FIVE prizes on offer —
Third Prize - Three winners will get digital copies of A Piece of My Heart and Constant Craving. These are PDF versions, but we'll be happy to supply an e-reader specific copy on request.
Second Prize - An autographed copy of A Piece of My Heart, Constant Craving on disc, a certificate of ownership of land in Ireland (compliments of A Piece of Ireland), and a plush Jess dog toy. . . Molly's puppy from A Piece of My Heart.
And the Grand Prize - An autographed copy of A Piece of My Heart, Constant Craving on disc, a certificate of ownership of land in Ireland (compliments of A Piece of Ireland), and a ladies silver Claddagh Ring! And yes, the winning Claddagh Ring is given with all of the meaning the ring signifies!
So get your thinking caps on. The contest will run until midnight 30 September, that's Irish time . . . 4pm PST or 7pm EST.
The perfect life Mick and Kate thought they had was slowly dissolving. With Mick obsessing about the farm and Kate thrown into a life of domesticity, both lose some of what they'd fought so hard to regain.
It all comes to a head when Kate suspects Mick of having an affair. Kate’s parents step in to give each of them advice from their own years of marriage.
Now, both Mick and Kate have set their own romantic plans in motion, but it could all fall through when Kate nearly blows up the kitchen.
Reviewers are already hot on this story. Log into my site to see what they're saying.
Constant Craving is only available as a digital download through Smashwords and Kindle. Smashwords offers a Kindle version, as well as versions for your own digital book reader. Log in to read an excerpt, then click on the links to buy your own copy.
Don't forget that A Piece of My Heart is also available on Smashwords and Kindle. With the holidays coming up, what better gift for the one you love than a download of both stories onto your loved one's reading device?!
OK, hands up. Who noticed I've got a newly designed website? And it's purple!! I'm lovin' it :-) And I hope you do to.
I've also added the links to my articles blog, Hearticles: Articles with Heart. I publish articles for writers every other Sunday. The most recent just published on the 22nd. My topic was Romance in History. Drop over to read the full article and be sure to leave me a comment or question. While there, if you haven't read them already, look at the other articles and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
As well, my non-author blog, Heart Shaped Stones, also got a facelift. I don't have a regular posting schedule, but I recently posted an article with some fabulous recipes of my own. Check out Farm to Fork to see what I cooked up with those fantastic office-grown tomatoes! Put your bib on!!
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Contest
To celebrate the release of Constant Craving and the newly designed sites, I'm hosting a month-long contest for the month of September. .
I'm posting a notice here on the 31st at which time I'll tell you about the rules of the competition and about the THREE prizes. .
Winners will be announced by a random draw on the 1st of October. .
So bookmark this site and come back on the 31st to enter your chance to win!
The Long and the Short of It Reviews is celebrating their third anniversary in style. They're having a scavenger hunt that runs from August 2-29 and culminates in a two-day live author chat that final weekend (28th and 29th) in their Yahoo Groups, during which they'll announce the winners.
What are the prizes? THREE Nook eBook Readers that come with $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificates AND are already pre-loaded with dozens of romance and juvenile fiction eBooks, including A Piece of My Heart!
How to win? Log into The Long and the Short of It Reviews and follow their simple instructions. Click on the LASR Logo to follow the scavenger hunt on my site.
Good luck!!
Also, A Piece of My Heart (<---click here) is now available in the Kindle Store at Amazon. Finally!!
Be sure to bookmark my site and come back for more information later in the month for a contest with more fabulous prizes. My contest runs the month of September and will celebrate the launch of my newly designed website AND the highly anticipated release of the short story sequel to A Piece of My Heart -- Constant Craving!
The perfect life Mick and Kate thought they had was slowly dissolving. With Mick obsessing about the farm and Kate thrown into a life of domesticity, both lose some of what they'd fought so hard to regain.
It all comes to a head when Kate suspects Mick of having an affair. Kate’s parents step in to give each of them advice from their own years of marriage.
Now, both Mick and Kate have set their own romantic plans in motion, but it could all fall through when Kate nearly blows up the kitchen.
Wow! Can you imagine? You'll have to read the story to find out how that happens.
Things are moving right along. A Piece of My Heart is now also available at Barnes and Noble, and will soon be available at Fictionwise, Kindle, BookStrand, and Books-A-Million.
Reviewers seem to be happy with the book so far, as it's received two FIVE STAR reviews so far...
Viviane Crystal at Crystal Reviews says: "A Piece of My Heart is terrific romantic/suspense fiction to savor and share with family and friends."
Detra Fitch at Huntress Reviews says: "***** FIVE STARS! Kemberlee Shortland has written a heartwarming story that will long remain in my mind. Recommended!"
Go raibh míle maith agat, ladies!
Coming soon:Constant Craving, which is the short story sequel to A Piece of My Heart. "The perfect life Mick and Kate thought they had was slowly dissolving. With Mick obsessing about the farm and Kate thrown into a life of domesticity, both lose some of what they'd fought so hard to regain. It all comes to a head when Kate suspects Mick of having an affair. Kate’s parents step in to give each of them advice from their own years of marriage. Now, both Mick and Kate have set their own romantic plans in motion, but it could all fall through when Kate nearly blows up the kitchen."
What's up with that woman? And Mick, well, Mick's a typical bloke, so there's loads of room for misunderstanding and reconciliation. We like reconciliation :-) This story should be available soon. I'll post the publication date when I have it.
On other news: The other two books in the Irish Pride Series include The Rhythm of My Heart and The Shape of My Heart. I'm currently working on re-editing these and hopefully they will be available at some point in the future. So watch this space for more information on those. Until then, you can read excerpts at the above links.
Contest: I'll be posting a contest here in the coming days, so bookmark this site so you can enter. Lots of fun prizes, so get reading!
I love hearing from fans, so please be sure to drop me a note at the above link and let me know what you thought of A Piece of My Heart, or any of my other works.
I don't know about you, but I can't believe the big day is just around the corner. For the first time in ages, I got my gift shopping done three weeks ahead of time. That's saying a lot because I'm normally the Queen of Last Minute Shopping.
We have a living tree we bring in every year, and last night we put the lights on and a few ornaments. Only a few, as the main box with most of the holiday decorations has gone missing since our recent house move. It's here somewhere, and we'll probably find it in the spring when we do the big clean. But, it's only a little tree so it's actually lovely with just the fairy lights and the few ornaments.
Now comes food time. While it will only be our little family this year, himself, myself and the two hairy kids, I'm still baking a pie or two (can never have too much pumpkin pie in my book), will roast a turkey, and make a few trimmings. I try really hard to convince myself it's just another dinner, but instead of chicken we're having turkey. Thinking of it this way keeps me from stressing out over the whole ordeal. But it will be great. Every year we get up, have breakfast, open our gifts, play with the dogs, and basically have a nice day. Until it comes time to shower and dress and make the long drive to my in-laws for the big dinner. While it's always lovely and we enjoy seeing them, having to make the long journey after a long, lazy day, when it's dark and the weather is bad, is hard. So this year we're staying home, staying in our PJs, and exercising some of the Seven Deadly Sins...particularly gluttony, sloth and greed. And not necessarily in that order! :-)
Speaking of Seven Deadly Sins, DESIRE! Which brings me to Constant Craving.
The perfect life Mick and Kate thought they had was slowly dissolving. With Mick obsessing about the farm and Kate thrown into a life of domesticity, both lose some of what they'd fought so hard to regain.
It all comes to a head when Kate suspects Mick of having an affair. Kate’s parents step in to give each of them advice from their own years of marriage.
Now, both Mick and Kate have set their own romantic plans in motion, but it could all fall through when Kate nearly blows up the kitchen.
A Piece of My Heart's publication has been pushed into early January 2010, and will be available through Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Fictionwise, Kindle, BookStrand and Books-A-Million.
Constant Craving will be available as a download only, and will be published on the novel's coattails, and will be available through CoffeeTime Romance and Kindle. Please check back for updates on the exact publication dates for both, which should be the first week or so of January. Each story page will have links to where you can buy the stories.
Also, watch this space for an UPCOMING CONTEST to launch A Piece of My Heart.
I really enjoy hearing from my readers, so drop me an email at the link above, or you can find me on Facebook.
Just for fun, I had the please of speaking with Kris Kringle recently. Check it out on my other blog.
However you celebrate, have a wonderful, safe, and joyous holiday season.
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