Mindful Banter

My Theme Song for 2014 and Why I Won’t Be THAT Girl Anymore

May 16, 2014 by ReeseRyan

I know what you’re thinking: it’s a little late in the year to pick a theme song.

I realize that more than a third of the year is gone, but I respectfully disagree. It’s never too late. Besides, it takes time to find the perfect fit. Andy Mineo’s “You Can’t Stop Me,” a song in which the artist talks about being his own worst enemy and acknowledges his battle with self-doubt and potentially paralyzing fears, fits like a glove.

The song, and the artist, seem to get me. Better yet, the song doesn’t just commiserate with my nagging self-doubts and leave me with a sympathetic pat of the head. It serves as motivation to push past those fears. You can listen to my new theme song below.

Today I’m over at All Things Girl talking about how I discovered that I’d become that girl (the naysayer, the negative Nancy, the dream killer) in my life and what I plan to do about it. Earlier this week I had an intimate Conversation Over Cocktails conversation about the most courageous things I’ve done and how I feed my creativity.

And of course, you’ll find me on the Sulia Romance Channel where I blog five days per week.

I’d love it if you’d pop over to visit me at one of these places. 🙂

In the meantime, what is your theme song for the year? Feel free to share the YouTube link in the comments below.

Gypsy Girl Guide to the Outer Banks and Gift Card #Giveaway

May 10, 2014 by ReeseRyan

It’s gotten much warmer here in North Carolina and it looks like the never-ending winter has finally come to an end. I love the mild weather in spring and watching all of the flowers bloom. Right now I smell honeysuckle every time I step outside of my door.

Most of us are beginning to focus on summer and vacations. If you’ve ever considered going to the Outer Banks, or you’ve been there before but would like to experience a different part, I’ve got just the thing for you.

My recent post over on All Things Girl, the Gypsy Girl Guide to the Outer Banks, explores Duck, North Carolina. It has no public beaches, so it’s not nearly as crowded as more popular areas of the Outer Banks. Plus, the Atlantic Ocean is on one side of the street and the Currituck Sound is on the other. It’s pretty tough not to get a room with a view in this town. Duck is definitely worth checking out for anyone who loves the ocean or just wants a quiet, peaceful place to relax.

Also, I wanted to give you a quick reminder that there are just a few hours left in my current giveaway of a $20 Amazon Gift Card and a $10 Starbucks Gift Card. The contest has been extended through Mother’s Day. So be sure to enter now and pass it on to a friend. Enter below:
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Once you’ve entered the giveaway, I’d love to see you over to All Things Girl. See pictures and get highlights of my trip to Duck, North Carolina in the Outer Banks.

Hugs!

Sanderling Aerial View courtesy of Sanderling Resort.

Moments of nostalgia, Godzilla music players and Record Store Day

April 18, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Remember record players? If not, just wait a few years and you’ll probably have the same nostalgic feelings about compact discs. 😉

Today, in The View from Here I revisit nostalgic moments from my childhood and the excitement I felt when I walked the four blocks from my house to the local record store.

My love for stories in both written and musical form hasn’t diminished with time.

In some ways, both passions seem stronger.

When my husband was gifted a vintage style stereo system–a sort of Godzilla of music players–I began a quest for vinyl records which led me to discover that tomorrow, April 19, 2014, is Record Store Day. I’m more than a little excited about this discovery. We plan to spend some time thumbing through stacks of records on wax revisiting fond memories from the past and hopefully returning home with a few new treasures.

Check out my post The View from Here: Moments of Nostalgia and tell me what makes you nostalgic about the past.

And don’t forget to enter for your chance to stock up on books or music with a $20 Amazon/B&N/iTunes Gift Card plus a $10 Starbucks Gift Card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“Logan Hardware Vinyl Shop” by Michael Choi. Some rights reserved.

Deleted scene from Love Me Not, Reader Events and VIP List #Giveaway

April 11, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Last week I invited you to join my VIP list (just click the pink bar on the left, or go here) because I have lots of news and goodies for readers in April and May. Here’s a little of what’s in store:

Upcoming Reader Events in Morrisville, North Carolina

April 30th: Lady Jane’s Salon RDU — Lady Jane’s Salons are fabulous events where romance authors and readers get together to celebrate the genre while also championing important causes. At each salon, three romance authors read from their work. Admission is a gently used romance novel or $5. The proceeds benefit the fight against cervical cancer and a local shelter for battered women. I’ll be reading scenes from Love Me Not at the event held at Another Broken Egg Cafe at 7PM. If you’re not too far from the Triangle, I’d love to see you there!

September 13th: Fly Hat Society Luncheon — The authors behind the blog Hot M.A.M.A. (Multicultural Authors of the Mid Atlantic) Land will be hosting their annual Fly Hat Society Luncheon. This catered event will give readers and authors the opportunity to hang out, enjoy delicious food and talk about sizzling romance novels. Fly hat required. ;-)I snagged my ticket and I’m excited to meet the Hot M.A.M.A. authors I don’t already know and to chat with readers. Now, if only I could find the right hat! We’d love to see you at the luncheon which runs from 11:30AM to 4:30PM. You can register for it here.

Today on Sulia I shared a snippet of a deleted scene from my latest release, Love Me Not. However, members of the VIP list will be able to read the scene in its entirety.

Last, but not least, I’m doing a giveaway from now through May 10th exclusively for readers on my mailing list. To enter:

Join the Reese Ryan VIP (Newsletter) list.
Spread the news and contest link on either Facebook or Twitter.

It’s that simple! You’ll get more chances to win every time you share the love on Facebook or Twitter. Just use the rafflecopter widget below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Until next time!

Recap: Life on the Other Side of 40, the Romantic Comedy Drought and the How I Met Your Mother Finale

April 4, 2014 by ReeseRyan

The past couple of months have been insanely busy. Though I haven’t posted frequently here on the Reese Ryan Diaries, I’ve been pretty active around the ‘net. This week:

Here at RRD I reminisced over my favorite How I Met Your Mother episodes.

In light of the volatile reactions to the show’s ending, I shared my take on the How I Met Your Mother Finale and the Promise of Happy Endings over at the Contemporary Romance Café.

Jana Richards, a fellow member of the Contemporary Romance Café wrote a brilliant post on how to write successful romantic comedies. That prompted my plea: Someone revive the romantic comedy, PLEASE! over on the Sulia Romance Novels Channel.

Today I’m over at All Things Girl, where it all started for me, talking about The View from Here (or life on the other side of 40).

Got a minute to pop over to one of the above stops to say hello? I’d love to see you! In the meantime, happy reading.

By the way, if you haven’t already registered for my VIP mailing list, you can do so by clicking on the hot pink bar on your left, or by popping your email address into the form on the top right sidebar. The next newsletter will go out next week and this month and next there will be exciting announcements and prizes. I want you to be the first to know.

Smooches!

Saying Good-bye to How I Met Your Mother #HIMYMFarewell

March 31, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Today I’m over at Sulia’s Romance Chanel, where I blog five days each week, saying good-bye to the long-running sitcom, How I Met Your Mother.

I’m a late-comer to the show. I only started watching it a few years ago. Thanks to syndication I was able to catch up pretty quickly and it soon became my favorite sitcom.

There are so many episodes of the show that make me break out into laughter when I think about them:

The Pineapple Incident

Spoiler Alert

Swarley

The Stinsons

Dowisetrepla

Intervention

How I Met Everyone Else

The cast that created the characters we’ve come to consider as friends said a lovely good-bye and thank you to their fans. Check out the good-bye video below.

If you’re a fan of the show, who is your favorite character? Which episodes make the list of your favorites?

#HIMYMFarewell

5 Reasons You Should Read a Romance Novel and Your Valentine Will Be Glad You Did

February 11, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Yes, Valentine’s Day is a time to celebrate love. Ideally, that celebration takes place with a real–rather than a fictional–being. But spending a little time cozied up with a good book and a new book boyfriend can be pretty spectacular, too.

Here are five reasons you should read a romance novel during the countdown to Valentine’s Day and beyond, including a few that will make your real-life Valentine glad that you did. 😉

Speaking of romance novels, you can get my Bad Boys Gone Good series here.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Infographic courtesy of Harlequin.

Guest Post: Take a Coffee Break or How to Have More Time to Write by Amy Denim

January 15, 2014 by ReeseRyan

I love Some E-cards because of the true, but snarky insight into the world, especially when it comes to social media. My own biggest social media fail? The space-time vortex of Facebook, Twitter, etc known as The Timesuck.(Dun dun duhhhhhhhhhhn)

Last year I’m pretty sure I wrote more words on social media than I did on my WIPs. Woops.

But I had to build my platform, right? Ugh. How to combine writing and being on social media…

Coffee Breaks.

Yep, you read that right. The key to getting both done was – no, not more caffeine, but taking ten to fifteen minute breaks in my writing flurry to let my brain have a break and get my online socializing done at the same time.

Here’s what I came up with.

The Coffee Break Mentality

Coffee Break Guide to Social Media for Writers — Need to make more time for your writing? Get your copy of *The Coffee Break to Social Media for Writers,* available on Amazon.

1. Pick one social media site and be really good at it. Only after you’re comfortable using that one (and doing it well, not being a spammer) pick a couple more to pop onto every once in a while.

2. Take Social Media Coffee Breaks. When you sit down to write, it’s a good idea to take a brain break, get up from your desk, grab a drink and stretch at least once an hour. When you do that take a few minutes of your break to check in on your favorite social media platform. Say hi to a few people, post a funny Some e-card and by the time you’ve finished your coffee (or Mountain Dew or Earl Grey) you’ve done a great job on social media and it’s time to get back to writing.

3. Focus by having a plan. It’s so easy to scroll through your Facebook newsfeed, stare at Twitter or lollygag at all the pretty pictures on Pinterest for hours. Well, you’re going to whittle that down to fifteen minutes (set a timer if you have to) but what can you do in those fifteen minutes that will be effective interactions?

You need a plan. I recommend the power of three.

3 scrolls. Whichever social media site you’re on, you probably have to scroll down a couple times to see what’s going on with your people. Limit that to three times and you won’t get sucked too far in.

Comment on three people’s posts. Remember, social media is all about being social. Talk to someone!

Make three friends. Follow or friend three new people. Don’t ask them to check out your website, Facebook page or book, just say hi. Take a genuine interest in them, Don’t be a spammer.

Don’t be a Some E-card meme. If you’re wasting time on social media try my Coffee Break Mentality. Start with those three ideas and if you want more, check out The Coffee Break Guide to Social Media for Writers: How To Be Successful on Social Media and Still Have Time toWrite.

Do you have questions about how to be successful on social media? Ask them here! One lucky commenter will win a copy of the book and one hour of social media consulting with me!

Meet Amy Denim

Amy Denim writes business books for writers and contemporary romance. She loves hot heroes (like chefs and cowboys) and curvy intelligent heroines (like chefs and cowgirls.)

She’s been a franchise sales coordinator, a lifeguard, a personal shopper, and a teacher of English as a Foreign Language. But now she spends her days reading and writing at her local library or in her book cave.

Amy started out her writer’s life scared out of her wits because she didn’t have a business plan, hadn’t yet created an online platform, wasn’t on Twitter, didn’t have a Facebook fanpage and had never even heard of Goodreads. She just wrote books. So she spent a year becoming a publishing industry information fiend and now does consulting for creatives on how to use take control of their writing careers. She started Coffee Break Social Media to help writers and artists learn to use SM platforms effectively (without the scare tactics) but still have time to create. She believes business plans and social media can be every writer’s friend, sometimes they just need an introduction.

Visit Amy on her author website at www.AmyDenim.com or for tips and tricks on the writing business at www.coffeebreaksocialmedia.com.

Michelle Miles: Countdown Release Party for A Knight to Remember!

January 13, 2014 by ReeseRyan

Hello! First thanks to Reese for allowing me to come to the blog today and talk about my upcoming release, A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER. I’m very excited about this book and looking forward to getting it into the hands of readers. I hope you love it!

A little about me. I’m Michelle Miles. I write contemporary, fantasy and paranormal romance. You can find my books online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Sony and other fine online retailers. What makes my fiction different? It’s a blend of romance, high adventure, fast-paced action, sassy heroines and sexy heroes.

Why am I here today? I want you to give my undying thanks to all my readers by giving away a Nook Simple Touch Reader. How do you enter? Come by the blog every day from January 4 through January 14 to the Countdown Release Party to enter! There are daily prizes as well as the grand prize. All you have to do is comment. Every day you do gets you another entry into the grand prize drawing. Isn’t that exciting?

Plus, other authors are joining in the fun. Come meet authors Vicki Batman, Sylvia McDaniel and Misty Evans. I’m giving away books from the Realm of Honor series including ONE KNIGHT ONLY, ONLY FOR A KNIGHT and A KNIGHT TO REMEMBER. PLUS get a sneak preview of the fourth book, A KNIGHT LIKE NO OTHER!

What’s all the fuss about? If you love fantasy romance, then you’ll love this series. Here’s the blurb:

Henry Chase is desperate to find his daughter lost in the Highlands. When he steps through a stone circle, he’s transported to the Otherworld. With his human form hidden by glamour, he masquerades as a Fae knight. He’s instantly besotted by Queen Maeve and determined to break down the walls she’s erected around her heart.

In the aftermath of war, Queen Maeve’s kingdom has been destroyed. She must close the portals to the human realm and restore her lost magic. But before she can set things straight, her archenemy, the Goddess of War, attacks, seeking revenge.

When the goddess captures the queen, Henry offers his life for Maeve’s in the hope his bravery will earn the queen’s love. Discovering Henry is human and knowing she must send him back to his world, Maeve tries to fight her feelings for him. Now she must choose—life at court or life with Henry—before she loses him forever.

And now get a sneak peek of the book!

He must be crazy to even consider asking her to dance. She looked so bored though. As though she might die of it any moment.

Henry stood, his palms damp with sweat. No, he couldn’t do it. He sat again, picked up his tankard and took a healthy swig. Perhaps if he drank more, he would have more gumption to ask her. He took another quaff of the—what was this stuff? Mead? He liked the way it warmed his veins. He stood again. But his damn palms still sweated.

“Dad, what are you doing?” Maggie’s rough whisper came from his left. She tugged on his tunic. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine.”

Yes, he was going to do this. He was going to ask the queen to dance. And if she rejected him, he would hang his head in shame and leave. She would never see him again.

“I’m going to ask the queen for a dance.”

“Are you mad?” Maggie jumped to her feet next to him, her hand on his arm, keeping him in place. “You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” he asked and it sounded more like a challenge than a question.

“B-because she’s the queen.” Maggie stole a glance at her before looking back at him. “And I forbid it.”

He nearly laughed. “You forbid it?”

“You…you can’t, Dad.”

“Why not?” he asked again, this time wanting a real answer.

“She’s….she’s the mother of my best friend. It would be…weird.”

“Mags, you’re a grown woman. Married. I seriously doubt it would be weird to ask her for a dance.” He paused, thought about his words when his daughter raised an eyebrow. “Okay, aside from the fact she’s a queen and I’m a…a…you know.”

“Human,” she whispered roughly.

“But she doesn’t know that.”

“Not yet!” She fisted her hands and perched them on her hips. “What if she says no? Then what?”

“Then I’ll look silly, won’t I?” He straightened his tunic. “Don’t worry, my little magpie. If she says no, I swear not to bother her again. But I don’t think she will. I may be old, but I still have some charms.”

Maggie scowled, looking every bit like the teenager he remembered. “Dad. Ew.”

“Hey, don’t look so disgusted. Your mother and I—”

“All right, all right. I get it. No need to explain.” She held up her hands in surrender. “But be careful. She doesn’t like humans.”

“Hey, who you calling human? I’m a Fae now.” He thumbed at his chest as he winked and Maggie laughed. “See you later, magpie.”

He headed for the front of the room, steeling his nerves. The delay with Maggie had made him nearly lose his nerve. But no. He was seriously going to do it. He wouldn’t let the fact she was royalty and he was…nothing, deter him. He stepped up to her, held his hand out across the table.

“Your majesty, would you do me the honor of this dance?”

The Elven king dropped his chicken leg in shock. Elyne stared at him wide-eyed. Derron clenched his jaw. Maeve’s expression hadn’t changed from bored and annoyed and he wondered if that was now directed to him.

“Sir Henry…?” Elyne asked, but her words waned and she didn’t continue.

“It would be my honor,” he said.

“And who are you, exactly?” Her silky voice caressed his senses.

He dropped his hand and gave a quick bow. “Sir Henry. At your service, my queen.” That sounded convincing, didn’t it? He almost believed it himself.

“Are you new to the Queen’s Guard?” She still didn’t seem convinced as she looked him over, sizing him up.

“I am,” he said, feeling rather confident. She was going to say yes. He knew it.

“I see. And how did you end up here?”

Crap. A question he didn’t have an answer to. Thankfully, Elyne piped up.

“He helped round up some of the orcs and humans wandering the realm, Mother. He came to the palace yesterday.”

Not an untruth. Points to Elyne for thinking fast and offering an explanation. He liked the princess more and more.

Maeve’s gaze never left his face as she peered at him with something he couldn’t read. Not mistrust. She seemed to trust him. It was something else. Curiosity. Interest. She bit her lip as though on the verge of agreeing to dance with him. He held out his hand again.

“Do me the honor of a dance?”

“I don’t think that’s—”

“I will.” Maeve cut Derron off as she rose.

Henry’s heart leapt as he watched her round the table. Her grace and poise was impeccable. She was every bit the dignified queen she appeared to be. She took his hand, his fingers closing around hers. Her warmth penetrated him to his soul. God, she feels good! His heart hammered a happy cadence as he led her to the dance floor. The tune had been lively, upbeat. Now it was something slower. Softer. He cheered at the thought of holding her close and feeling her body press against him.

As he took her in his arms, he realized he had no clue what the dances were of the time or the realm. How did the Fae dance here? He did a quick cursory glance around the room. The others had practically deserted the floor to give way for the queen. A few brave couples remained dancing side by side, their fingertips barely touching.

Henry would not do that. He wanted her in his arms, next to him. He wanted to smell her beautiful, heady scent. What was it? Jasmine? Whatever it was, it was exotic. And she was ethereal. He was acutely aware of the gawks and stares from those around the room.

Had it been a bold move to ask her to dance? Because he was a lowly Fae knight did that mean he was not allowed to speak with his queen? Knowing she really wasn’t his queen made it okay in his mind. He slipped his arm around her waist, pulled her close, while holding her other hand shoulder height.

“What are you doing?” She flinched and for a moment he thought she might pull away.

He tightened his grip, keeping her firmly in place. “Where I come from this is how we dance. I’ll show you. All you have to do is follow my lead.”

“Where exactly do you come from?” An eyebrow quirked in question.

Ah, yet another question he couldn’t answer. “Across the realm.” Did that sound plausible?

“Hm,” was her response.

He led her through the steps, keeping her as close to him as possible. Then turned with her still in his arms.

“You learned to dance like this there?” she asked.

“I did.”

Actually, he learned before his wedding. Maggie’s mother had made him take lessons so they could dance together and not look like fools. Her words, not his. He had reluctantly agreed. He wasn’t for the ballroom dancing but now he was glad he had learned. Now he was with this lovely woman whose curves seemed made for him.

“I have never seen such a dance,” she said.

“Mayhap, your majesty, you should relax and enjoy it instead of questioning it every few seconds.”

She blinked surprise. Had no one talked to her like that before?

“I would remove the head of most who spoke to me like that.”

“Like what?”

“In that insolent tone.”

“Apologies, your majesty. I hope I can keep my head. For my lips are attached and they’ve yet to have a taste of you.”

“You are bold, aren’t you?” She tilted her head back, gave him a look down her nose that he suspected she’d perfected eons ago.

“Too bold for her majesty?”

“That remains to be seen,” she said. And her mouth quirked into almost a grin.

Henry’s heart thumped and for the first time he could acknowledge the attraction he had for her. His nerve endings tingled and even his buddy in his pants was in agreement.

“Too bold to kiss you here?” He knew he pushed it but he didn’t care. He wanted to see what she’d say.

Her face hardened. “Definitely too bold.”

He slanted his head, as though ready to kiss her. She licked her lips, as though ready to let him. His mouth was close to hers. Oh so close. He could feel her warm breath tickling his face.

“Tempting me, your majesty?”

How to enter the giveaway:
All you have to do is visit my blog and comment on the Countdown Release Party posts. That’s it! You will be entered in the grand prize drawing as well as eligible for the daily prizes. Hope to see you there. In the meantime, happy reading!

Michelle Miles frequently gets lost in the pages of a good fantasy romance and can often been seen daydreaming about knights on white steeds and princess who know how to save themselves. Check out her blog for fun stuff, follow her on Facebook and Twitter and sign up for her newsletter at her website.

Enter the Love Me Not Blog Tour Grand Prize #Giveaway

January 9, 2014 by ReeseRyan

The Love Me Not Blog Tour has been great fun these past two weeks. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for being part of this wonderful journey! All of your tweets, comments and shares are greatly appreciated!

Since I can’t give you all a big hug (and I totally would, I’m a notorious hugger), I’m giving away a bundle of goodies to one lucky person. If you haven’t entered to win the tour grand prize, outlined below, you still have a few hours today and then all of tomorrow to enter to contest. If you have already entered, remember, you can enter each day by tweeting about the giveaway or commenting on a blog post.

GIVEAWAY

$25 Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes Gift Card
$10 Starbucks e-Gift Card
Digital copy of Love Me Not by Reese Ryan
Digital copy of Making the First Move by Reese Ryan

Visit any of the tour stops listed below to get in your last-minute entries. Not sure which stop to visit? If you’d like to know more about the story behind Love Me Not, visit:

Just Contemporary Romance to discover why Love Me Not deals with some serious dysfunctional family drama.
Carina Press Blog to find out why I’m slightly obsessed with characters keeping secrets.
Dr. Pepper Diva where I talk about the perils of writing about not-so-perfect heroines.
The Pen & Muse to learn why secondary characters always play an important role in my contemporary romances.
The Brunette Librarian to find out what happens when a secondary character decides she has a story to tell.
Kwana Writes to discover why my characters tend to be a bit…complicated.

Wanna see what reviewers are saying about Love Me Not? Visit:

Want to get to know a little more about me? Grab a cup of coffee and let’s get acquainted. Visit author interviews at Characters Behaving Badly & The Pen & Muse.

See book highlights and excerpts at these blogs:

If you haven’t already, consider joining my mailing list (the form is to the right, at the top of the sidebar) to stay tuned for future giveaways and sneak peeks. I love hearing from readers, so if you have a question or comment about a character or an element of the story, feel free to contact me here.

Good luck on your entry and best wishes for a happy new year!

***The Love Me Not tour is being coordinated by Irresistible Reads Tours.***