inspiration

Excited about Reading: Now & Forever by Mary Connealy

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Purchase Link

The Cover Story ~

Saddle up for romance and adventure with the Wilde sisters!

Shannon Wilde is the middle sister–and the one who loves animals. She’s established her own homestead and is raising sheep for their wool. Things are going fine…until Shannon gets swept over a cliff by Matthew Tucker!

Tucker seizes every opportunity to get away from civilization, but one particular walk in the woods ends with him sprinting away from an angry grizzly and plunging into a raging river, accidentally taking Shannon Wilde with him. Their adventure in the wilderness results in the solitary mountain man finding himself hitched to a young woman with a passel of relatives, a homestead, and a flock of sheep to care for.

As Tucker and Shannon learn to live with each other, strange things begin to happen on Shannon’s land. Someone clearly wants to drive her off, but whoever it is apparently didn’t count on Tucker. Trying to scare Matthew Tucker just makes him mad–and trying to hurt the woman he’s falling in love with sets off something even he never expected. 

Sharing my takeaway ~
I just love Connealy’s kick-em-in-the-teeth, explosive, laugh-out-loud openings scenes! They never fail to yank me right into the story. By the end of the first chapter, my palms are sweaty and hubby’s asking what is so funny. Now & Forever was no different.  

Circumstances led Shannon and Tucker to an abrupt wedding shortly into the book, but the romance didn’t stop there. No, it progressed until the very last page, sweet, funny and oh-so-tender. There was never any doubt about their love for each other. They had plenty of obstacles, though, to keep me turning pages.

Nightmares plague Shannon and at one point she questions where God was during the war. Tucker’s faith is steadfast and sure, and I like how he responded without judgment, by suggesting that she bring her doubts to God and not to hide them, that God’s big enough to handle our doubts.

I thought Tried & True, the first book in the Wild at Heart series featuring Kylie and Aaron, might’ve been my favorite Connealy book, but I was wrong. Now & Forever took its place, but that seems to happen with every one of her books. Both books can be read as stand alone, but trust me and just start with the first one. You won’t be sorry! Contemporary and historical romance readers alike will enjoy Now & Forever. Set aside a few hours to read it, though, because you won’t be able to put it down! 

Disclaimer: Sending a big thanks to NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group/Bethany House Publishers for the privilege of reviewing Now & Forever. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

Excited about Eating by Ernie Hiers

/ Dora Hiers

This edition of Excited about Eating takes us to the South End neighborhood of Charlotte to Tupelo Honey Café which is located on the second floor in a renovated historic building near Charlotte’s light rail. The interior is a mix of industrial and rustic with lots of wood, exposed brick walls, and high ceilings.

Exterior
Interior
Dora here. Don’t you just love the interior? This is my kinda place. Parking around noon on Saturday was non-existent in the lot behind the restaurant, but no worries. There’s free on-street parking on the other side of the light rail. Also, the 35-minute wait only ended up being 15 minutes. Another score!

Rather than table bread, Tupelo serves scratch-made biscuits with blueberry jam. These biscuits were great, crispy and buttery and warm, and the blueberry jam was the perfect pairing. We would have preferred to eat ours prior to the meal, but with a packed dining room, they came out with our meal. Dora here. I don’t care what time they got to the table. I could’ve stuffed myself with these biscuits! The food did seem to take awhile, but service was very attentive and gracious.

I chose the Tupelo Farm Fresh Burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce, house-made pickles and a secret sauce along with fried okra and tomatoes. The burger was outstanding, grilled perfectly, tasty, and the secret sauce brought it all together. The okra and tomatoes were fresh, lightly battered with just the right amount of crunch.

Tupelo Farm Fresh Burger

Dora here. So many choices! But I finally decided on the Charleston Chicken Sandwich, a marinated grilled chicken breast with lettuce, Havarti cheese on sourdough wheat bread with a side of mac-n-cheese. Doesn’t that sound great? The chicken was oh-so-tender and juicy, and I really liked the cranberry flavored mayo. First time eating sourdough wheat bread, and I liked it. The mac-n-cheese was creamy with just the right amount of firmness and kick. 

Charleston Chicken Sandwich

I would rate this restaurant 5 forks out of 5 for a family friendly restaurant serving outstanding food. Definitely worth a return visit!

Tupelo Honey Cafe on Urbanspoon

Crazy about Writing: Interview with Graham Decker #RorisHealing

/ Dora Hiers
“Graham Decker. Great to finally meet you.” I try hard not to blink at the strong odor, a mixture of cleanser, steel and rubber, as we shake hands, his grip firm and confident.
The man lapped a track at almost two hundred miles per hour. His grip should be firm, and with the number of wins and top five finishes he’d accumulated, he’d earned the right to be confident.
“Come in. Please.” With his trademark smile, Graham gestures for me to enter his office and sit. “Is this your first time visiting Graham Decker Racing?”
“Yes. What gave it away?”
He chuckles, the sound genuine and down-to-earth, as he settles way back in a leather chair. “Might’ve been the wrinkled nose. If you’d like, my assistant can give you a tour after we’re done.”
“That’d be great. So tell me a little about yourself, Graham. Besides the fact that you’re a highly competitive racecar driver. Everybody knows that.” I push the record button on my phone and set it on the desk.
“Let’s see. I just got married.” Graham’s face lights up and he leans forward abruptly. As if he couldn’t wait to ditch me and head home.
I couldn’t blame the guy. I’d seen pictures of his wife. “Rori, right?”
He nods.
“Wasn’t her father the—”
“Yes.” The warm welcome slips away. His jaw snaps closed tight as a jail cell.
Hmm. Interesting, but I better switch tracks. “So do you still live in Charlotte?”
“No. In Harrison at the Forever Family Animal Sanctuary. Rori’s like a llama whisperer. She works wonders with the animals that come to live with us.” Pride laces his tone. “Actually, that’s how we met.”
“Through your non-profit?”
“Yes. My sister does a fabulous job running the Foundation, but she was on bed rest because of complications with her pregnancy. She asked me to make a site visit since Rori had applied for a time-sensitive grant.”
“Not the typical way to pick up a woman.”
He smiles, wistful like, as if he remembers something special. “Rori’s anything but typical. And so was our meeting.”
“Care to elaborate?”
His mouth stretches to a grin. “Nah. She values her privacy and might not appreciate me sharing all the details. Let’s just say it involved mistaken identity and a llama delivery and leave it at that.”
He was going to leave me hanging with that juicy tidbit? I make a mental note to redirect later. “Ohhhkay. So how did you know Rori was the one? After all, you’ve been married before, right?”
“Yeah. That didn’t turn out so well, but it was my fault. God wasn’t at the center of that relationship. Unlike with Rori.” He scrubs a hand across his whiskered jaws, his expression lightening as if the sun just came out. “And Rori didn’t recognize me.”
Really? How was that possible? I have no words.
He steals a glance at the clock and drums a pencil against the desk.
I’m losing him. “So was it love at first sight?”
“Definitely on my part, but not so much hers. We had some issues to work through before she’d commit.”
“Like what?”
“For starters, I had to prove that I wasn’t going anywhere. That I could be there for her—” His cell phone buzzes, and he checks the number. “Excuse me.”
I can’t help but eavesdrop. I lean forward slightly, refusing to miss any opportunity for a scoop. Besides, I’m sitting close enough that I can almost hear her voice. At the very least, my recorder might be picking up their conversation.
“Jumbo did what?” He launches from the chair, banging my phone off the desk.
So much for that. I bend over, retrieve the recorder, and hit the off button. It didn’t take a doctorate degree to know that this interview was over.
“No problem, sweetheart. I’m just finishing up here. Be there soon. Love you.” He disconnects, mashes a cap on his head. “It’s been a pleasure, but—”
“I understand.” I do. Really. The guy’s practically still on his honeymoon. No wonder that fat grin is plastered across his face. Jealousy sprouts and curls up my spine like a weed. “Hey, does Rori have any unattached sisters?”
On his way to the exit, Graham angles over a shoulder. “Sorry. Just twin brothers, Beck and Burk.”
He dives into a sports car and cranks the engine, those high-performance tires squealing out of the parking lot. Nope. He doesn’t look the slightest bit sorry to be going home.

Rori’s Healing
Coming June 5 with Pelican Book Group

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Available on JUNE 5
with Pelican Book Group
Still stinging from the publicity surrounding her father’s death, social phobic Rori Harmon prefers the solitude of her animal sanctuary, accepting that marriage isn’t in her future. Racecar Driver Graham Decker refuses to be wrangled into a relationship by another money-hungry female. On a philanthropy mission, he arrives just in time to assist Rori with a llama birthing, but his appearance thrusts her into the media spotlight again. Has Graham found a woman who doesn’t care how deep his wallet extends? Has Rori finally met a man who will stick around when times get tough? Is healing for a hurting heart finally within Rori’s reach?