Old flames and holiday heat – #SecondChanceRomance #HolidayRomance #MMFRomance

For most of us, high school is a time of sexual awakening. With all the hormones pouring into our blood, we’re in a near-constant state of excitement. I don’t know how kids are now, but during my high school years, my “sexual” experiences were limited to some steamy kisses and groping. Still, everyone around me seemed to have a heightened awareness of desire, although we knew very little about the details. Flirtation, teasing, crushes, fantasies, conspiracies – every interaction felt edged with erotic possibilities, even if most of these never materialized.

I remember that period with aching affection. In later years, when I’ve reconnected with some of my old flames, I’ve found the original heat still simmered in the background. Most of us are married now, some more than once. There’s no chance of consummating the old adolescent lust, even if it were reciprocal. But somehow, for me at least, the original thrill hasn’t totally dissipated.

Once Upon a Blizzard was loosely inspired by actual relationships from my high school years. As described in the story, there was in fact a triangle involving me and two of my male classmates (though I’m pretty sure that they didn’t have any homoerotic connection). For a time, I was the girlfriend of the taller, more popular, more alpha of the two guys, but I’ve often thought I might have made the wrong choice – especially after he dumped me, exactly as described in the book.

Writing this second-chance romance gave me the opportunity to imagine what might have happened between the beta guy and me, if we’d had the chance to revisit our old connection

Blurb

No electricity. No water. Plenty of heat.

Suzanne and Gino have a history going back to high school, but for more than a decade the workaholic CEO has been thousands of miles from her New England home town.

A mistletoe kiss at a Christmas party rekindles the old spark and Suzanne finds some things do indeed get better with age. When Gino rescues her from a blizzard, though, she discovers that she's not the only love in his life. Gino shares his bed and his colonial-era farm house with taciturn painter Harris Steele.

Snowed in with two lusty men who truly seem to care, she wonders why she’s so determined to return to her lonely West Coast life. Is there really a chance for a holiday happy ending? 

Excerpt (PG)

The kiss caught her off guard.

One moment Suzanne was standing in the doorway to Helena’s den, scanning the occupants and wondering if she knew anyone at all at this party. The next moment someone twirled her around and fastened a pair of firm lips on hers. Out of instinct or habit, she closed her eyes. The darkness heightened her other senses. Powerful arms circled her body and pulled her against a fuzzy male chest. Her partner’s scent rose around her, a complex mix of soap and musk, evergreen and wood smoke. His tongue teased the seam where her lips met and she let him enter, her self-protective reflexes dulled by his warmth and the glass of merlot she’d downed on her arrival.

His mouth tasted of eggnog and candy canes, appropriately seasonal. He was delicious, in fact—not just his mouth but the quiet confidence of his probing tongue, the sculpted muscle she felt under his sweater, his bold hands wandering across her back to her buttocks. She hadn’t enjoyed a kiss like this in a long time.

She’d felt chilled and tense ever since her plane touched down in frigid Boston but now her muscles began to unknot. He was a miniature sun, melting her, turning her languid and dreamy. She clutched at his solid form and returned his kiss, trading heat for heat. Tropical colors paraded behind her eyelids—fuschia, lime, peach, and aqua—shimmering like the water in her pool back home. She even began to perspire, her long-sleeved velvet dress suddenly too warm for comfort.

He pulled her full hips against his lean ones. A tell-tale lump, wonderfully hard, pressed against her belly. Her panties and tights dampened, too.

Normally she would have resisted but stress and alcohol made her susceptible. She allowed the kiss to lengthen and deepen, sinking into the pure pleasure of it.

A smattering of applause brought her back to awareness. “Whoa there!” hooted one of the guests. “You two want some privacy?”

Suzanne broke away from the man who had ambushed her. “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?” Embarrassment added a sharp edge to her voice.

The dark haired man favored her with a grin. “Mistletoe,” he said, pointing upward. Sure enough, a cluster of green leaves and pale berries dangled from the door frame. He could scarcely contain his laughter.

That laugh. That voice. Something tickled Suzanne’s memory. “Gino!” she exclaimed, finally, chuckling herself. “I can’t believe it! Still acting like we’re in high school.”

“I couldn’t resist, Suzy Q.” The old nickname made her blush. He hadn’t relinquished her hand. “In fact, if you don’t move, I’m very likely to kiss you again.”

 

 

Visit my website for buy links: https://www.lisabetsarai.com/onceuponablizzardbook.html

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas!

Join us for Charity Saturday, 28 December 2025 #CharitySundaySignup #Altruism #Marketing

Image by Myriams-Fotos from Pixabay

Since 2017, I’ve been devoting the last Sunday in each month to a post which features some worthy cause. Often, other bloggers join me in this effort, turning the event into a blog hop. The last Charity Sunday of 2025 will take place this coming weekend, on December 28^th. It would be wonderful if you could join me!

Charity Sunday is a meme designed to give authors and bloggers a chance to give back to the world, as well as to attract new readers.

How does it work? Each participant selects a favorite charity. Before the date, you should prepare a blog post that: 1) talks about the charity and why you support it; 2) provides a link to the charity; 3) includes an excerpt from one of your books; 4) includes the code to show links to other participating blogs.

It’s fun if you can make the excerpt relate somehow to your chosen charity, but this isn’t required.

For every comment left on your post, you commit to giving some amount to the relevant charity. The specific charity and the amount to donate are up to you. You can set an upper limit to your donation if you want.

If you’d like to participate in the next Charity Sunday on November 30th, sign up using the Linky List below. Please be sure that the link you enter will lead directly to your Charity Sunday post, not just to the home page of your blog.

Please download the Charity Sunday banner for 2025!

https://www.lisabetsarai.com/2025CharitySundayBanner.jpg

For an example post, check out this link from my last Charity Sunday:

https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2025/11/charity-sunday-women-lead-change.html

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A naughty holiday fantasy – only 99 cents! #MILF #HolidayErotica #99cents

Looking for something spicier than cinnamon-spiked cider to warm up your festive season? Check out my hot, hilarious holiday tale Santa, Baby! It’s on sale from now until New Year’s Eve, for only 99 cents at all outlets.

Don’t miss this wildly entertaining erotic romp!

Blurb

This Christmas, Santa discovers it’s nice to be naughty.

Recent university grad Matt Glaser may not have the Santa Claus beard or belly, but when it comes to earning extra holiday cash, it's a case of 'ho ho ho, let's start the show'—he loves his red suit like a reindeer loves carrots. This potential client, though—classy, curvy Eleanor Danforth—seems more interested in checking out his butt than his references. And two grand for a private party? Oy vey, Prancer, something's not kosher about this particular Vixen. She's not one to be denied, though. When the interview takes a carnal turn, he finds he’s unexpectedly eager to satisfy the demanding older woman.

Wearing the provocative costume supplied by his employer, Matt arrives at the Danforths’ swanky apartment to discover he’s been cast as the emcee for Eleanor’s intimate gathering. His duties include managing a pair of scantily-clad blond elves, distributing decadent treats to guests who’ve been good, and meting out punishments to the naughty. Meanwhile, the mistress of the house has a Christmas gift especially for him—one made of silicon and leather straps, which requires plenty of lube. Ho ho ho, Matt! It's going to be a very merry Christmas indeed. 

Excerpt (Explicit)

Her office—Eleanor Danforth, Private Investment Consultant—turned out to be on the fifteenth floor of a vintage, pre-Depression-era brick building. With her champagne blond bob, pearl earrings and tailored suit, Mrs. Danforth had a vintage quality, too. She’d risen to her feet when I entered, giving me the chance to admire her classic features and ample curves. I guessed she was in her early fifties, but she might have been older. Wealth offers tremendous benefits in terms of physical preservation. In any case, she projected a natural authority that made me feel like I was back in high school. I stood in front of her desk with my hands clasped behind my back, as though I’d been sent to the principal for some infraction.

She’d waved me to a chair. “Thank you for coming, Mr. Glaser. May I call you Matt?”

“Sure. No problem.”

“I know this is rather short notice, but I decided at the last minute to throw a party for my husband. A small, intimate party for a few of our closest friends.”

Her emphasis made me squirm in my chair.

“And given the season, I thought it would be great fun to have a Santa and a few elves.” She’d licked her red-painted lips and looked me up and down. “You seem to have the basic qualifications, though I would have preferred someone with a bit more muscle.”

“I’m strong,” I’d objected. “I can bench press a hundred pounds—”

She’d made a gesture of dismissal, her manicured nails a flash of crimson. “Never mind. You have something of a bookish look, but I’ve always been attracted to nerds. Still, I’d appreciate your removing your shirt, just to be sure.”

“What?”

Perhaps that was the moment when I should have left.

Now it seemed to be too late.

I stood in the middle of the swanky office, bare-chested, my form-fitting underwear betraying my state of helpless arousal. My cock hardened further when my prospective employer rose from her ergonomic chair and circled me on her designer heels, assessing me like some prize bull.

Her perfume tickled my nostrils, a delicate mix of gardenia and musk. “Lovely,” she crooned in my ear, giving my butt cheeks a firm squeeze. I jumped at the unexpected contact, while blood surged into my dick. “Clothes don’t do you justice, Matt. You’re delicious.”

“Um—thank you, ma’am.” The honorific seemed natural.

Her laugh was like silver bells tinkling. “Oh, I like that! Ma’am! Young people these days so rarely show any respect.” She grasped the waistband of the briefs and peeled them down to expose both my ass and my raging cock. “This hard-on, though—that’s not exactly respectful.”

“I—I can’t help it, ma’am.”

Capturing my aching dick in her fist, she stroked the shaft once or twice. I gritted my teeth, trying desperately not to embarrass myself further.

“Yes, I think you’re perfect for the job. But just to make sure…”

Releasing my cock, she hiked herself onto the desk. I let out the breath I’d been holding, then gasped again as she raised her skirt and spread her thighs to display her bare, plump-lipped pussy.

“Your boner suggests that you find me attractive, or at least stimulating. So show me how much you like me.”

“Ma’am?” I knew what she wanted. I just couldn’t quite believe it.

“Roll that chair over here, between my legs, and lick my pussy, my little Santa. Use that sensitive, intellectual mouth of yours to make me come.”

Slick, vermilion folds beckoned, twitching and fluttering around the shadowy hole at her center. As I scooted closer, I noticed droplets of sex juice gathering on the inner surfaces, swelling until they broke and dribbled onto the desk. Her clit was shiny, swollen, cherry-red. A rich, complex odor rose from her cunt, earth and ocean mixed. My dick pulsed in my lap as I breathed her in. What I really wanted was to sink my rod deep into that fragrant wetness. But I knew that I’d have to earn that privilege.

I glanced up at her handsome face.

She winked at me. “What are you waiting for?” Using both hands, she opened herself wide. “Eat me!”

Get your discounted copy today!

Kinky Literature –

https://www.kinkyliterature.com/book/6465-santa-baby-a-naughty-holiday-fantasy/

Amazon US – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B082ZTHVKJ

Amazon UK – https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B082ZTHVKJ

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/996887

Barnes and Noble – https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/santa-baby-lisabet-sarai/1135798713?ean=2940163426959

Kobo – https://www.kobo.com/th/en/ebook/santa-baby-39

Apple Books – https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id1492940948

Add on Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49763700-santa-baby-a-naughty-holiday-fantasy

Friday Friends: No Shrinking Violets – #EroticRomance #FridayFriends

For this week’s Friday Friends feature, I want to introduce you to the work of Fiona McGier. Actually, if you’re a regular visitor to Beyond Romance, you will recognize her name. I’ve read and reviewed many of her quirky romances over the years.

I happen to know that Fiona is very happily—and lustily—married to a man she considers her soul mate. Whether she’s writing werewolves, spies or paranormal time travel, she excels at portraying the glorious conjunction of love and lust. Her heroines tend to be feisty, self-confident women with strong libidos. No shrinking violets in Fiona’s novels! The men with whom these women connect appreciate both their strength and their sensuality.

Unlike my own books, Fiona’s romances almost always focus on heterosexual and monogamous relationships. That doesn’t make them any less erotic. She’s expert at portraying the thrill of making love—as opposed to just having sex. I adore the authenticity of her work.

Fiona has written quite a few books, almost all of which are available through Smashwords and/or Amazon. Here are few of my personal favorites.

Saoirse McColl, a research biologist, keeps getting fired from labs for refusing to produce results the clients want. Her best friend suggests she look for a new line of work. She applies to an ad for a high school biology teaching job at an academy in northwestern Maine that promised living quarters plus salary.

Diego Vargas, a werewolf, is the principal of the academy, despite having no background in education. He has proven to the pack leader that he is dependable and detail-oriented, but he hates hiring new teachers, not knowing what to ask them.

Once Saoirse is in his office, Diego can’t concentrate because his wolf loves her smell. When it turns out that she is the best-qualified candidate, Diego and his wolf rejoice, because both are convinced she’s their mate. But she’s not a shifter, so they need to bide their time, waiting for the right moment to inform her that she’s living in a compound of mostly wolf shifters.

Can these two find happiness together, once the scientist discovers that myth is reality?

My review: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2020/08/review-tuesday-when-wolf-howls-by-fiona.html

 

Dr. Marcus Jones is world-famous for inventing a procedure to make cardiac surgery quicker and safer. He has achieved much in the ten years since he graduated from medical school, including accumulating more wealth than he had ever dreamed of growing up in the projects in Chicago. But he has not been as successful in his personal life. His lawyer wife is divorcing him--but then, he was never really in love with her. He has only felt that way about one woman--the one he dated back in college--the one who got away. When he finds her name on the internet, he contacts her, determined to see if he can rekindle what they once had together in college, back when he could only spare one night a week away from his studies and his world revolved around Tuesdays.

My review: https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2021/03/review-tuesday-two-for-tuesday-by-fiona.html

Raul Roderick, a sexy Hispanic action movie star addicted to life in the fast lane, needs to clean-up for a major role that even he doubts he can deliver. The indie director sends him up to a resort owned by his grandmother in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area of upper Minnesota, to learn to commune with nature. His guide is Veronica, the director's cousin, a tall, athletic woman who has the relaxed, sensible nature of someone who knows herself well, and has the natural confidence that comes from being surrounded by a loving and supportive family. Raul's initial clumsy attempt to seduce her makes her laugh--so he calls her fat. Is there any hope that their relationship will progress beyond its rocky start? Can Raul overcome his partying nature to discover who he really is, and what he really wants from life? And can Veronica ever learn to trust a man who "lies for a living?"

My review:

https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2021/08/review-tuesday-for-love-of-his-life-by.html

When romance author Delu Morris is troubled with unexplained panic attacks, she seeks help from a doctor who’s researching dream-therapy. He explains that he’ll accompany her into her dreams to revisit her memories and to try to uncover if an event from her past is causing her trouble now.

His grad assistant is a handsome Scotsman who wears a kilt the first time he meets her. She’s intrigued, but they remain at arms’ distance while he’s a part of her therapy team. When she discovers that only he can make the machine work, he confesses that he’s the 7th son of a 7th son, and the Unseelie are using him for some unknown reason. When he touches the controls, he pushes a wee bit o’ magic into the machine to make it work.

Will they discover together what her long-lost memory is? Or will the guilty person manage to keep her from that discovery—for good?

My review:

https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2023/10/review-tuesday-gaelic-magic-by-fiona.html

He's loved her for years, but she keeps running away from her blue-collar man, to please her family. She runs away from the church when her attorney fiancé answers his cell phone during the ceremony. Will she ever stop running away and make the right choice?

As a child, veterinarian Pamela Wilson always used to run away from home to get attention from her status-conscious, preoccupied parents. Years ago she met a man who loved her unreservedly, but her parents didn't approve of his blue-collar job, so she ran away from him too. When the ambitious lawyer she's marrying answers a phone call while she's walking down the aisle, it's the last straw! She runs away again—this time to a cabin her parents don't know about, owned by the mechanic. Does he still own it and is he still single? Will she finally stop running away and make the right choice?

My review:

https://lisabetsarai.blogspot.com/2025/03/review-tuesday-right-choice-by-fiona.html

Excerpt from The Right Choice

With a start, Pamela sat up suddenly. The sound that had woken her up was being repeated, from close to where she was sitting. She concentrated and realized that the faint grating noise was a lock being opened, and the thwack that had woken her up was the sound of a window being pushed open.

The cabin was no longer deserted. There was someone in it who was determined to let the fresh lake breezes in. She breathed a fervent prayer of supplication. Please, dear God, let it be Eric, and not someone in his family whom I’ve never met. Please let it be Eric.

She got out of the car, yawning and stretching. She walked slowly up the short walk to the front door to see if, despite her swearing in His house, God was in the mood to give her a break. Tentatively she knocked at the front door of the screened-in porch.

“I’ll be right there!”

She smiled, breathing a quick, Thank-you God, as she waited for Eric to come to unlatch the screen door. She watched as he rounded the corner onto the porch. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw who was at the door. Then he walked quickly over and opened the door. “To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?”

Pamela smiled at him. “Aw, come on, you must have seen me sleeping in the car when you got here. You knew it was me, didn’t you?”

As he pushed the screen door open, a slow smile crawled across his face.

“Yeah, I guess I did see a car with Illinois plates that I didn’t recognize. So being a suspicious kind of guy, I looked in the window. And was I ever surprised! I asked myself, Why is Mel here? And then I remembered the news story that’s being replayed over and over again, and I knew. You’ve run away again, and you need a place to hide out in for a while. Right?”

She gave him a defensive look. “Can’t I just be visiting you? Since I haven’t seen you in so long?”

“Bull shit, Mel! You’re using me as a safe haven again, aren’t you? Admit it—then maybe I’ll let you stay.”

She didn’t realize that her lower lip was trembling as she turned to look at him. But he did. She saw on his face that he was having some kind of internal struggle with himself. She tried to influence him in her favor.

“You will? You’ll let me stay her for a couple of days? Really?”

He nodded. “Yeah, sure. You can tell me all about why you ran away this time, and I’ll be sympathetic. It’ll make me fel good knowing that I’m not the only man you’ve run away from.”

She shot him a reproachful look. “That was totally different, and you know it.”

“Which time?” The sarcasm in his voice was extra heavy.

 

If you like authentic, original erotic romance, do check out Fiona’s books!

My journey into the past: researching Madame Rebelle – #HistoricalRomance #WWII #Review #Giveaway

By Amber Leigh Williams (Guest Blogger)

During research for Madame Rebelle, I immersed myself in 1940s France to the point I began to dream in French (…or gibberish. Three semesters of high school French hardly make me fluent). One of the most interesting things I learned about the region of Champagne is that beneath the landscape is a network of limestone caves. This system of caves, known to local Champenois as crayères, is so vast that it was transformed into underground cities during the First World War.

Let's back up a bit. Actually, let's back up a lot—to the 3^rd and 4^th centuries when the crayères came into existence. Then, the Romans plumbed the wealth of chalk and salt deposits beneath the cities of Reims and Épernay, leaving behind subterranean tunnels and chambers the size of cathedrals. Fast forward to the 17^th and 18^th centuries when champagne growers realized how great their sparkling wine responded to the conditions presented by these ready-made cellars. Temperatures were ideal for aging and conditions underground never varied.

Champagne became vastly popular, of course. So popular that the more prominent champagne houses of the time expanded the crayères for aging and storage purposes. Several champagne houses in Champagne still use the original caves as a place to store and mature their product, such as France's oldest champagne house, Ruinart, founded in 1729. Its caverns run over 130 feet deep.

I guess we should have started even further in the past before human beings came into existence when Champagne was covered by warm water and bathed in a tropical clime. In one cave, some 300 species of fossilized shells have been uncovered. It is known as Cave aux Coquillages, or Shell Cave.

The history of the crayères is remarkable, to say the least, but never were they so remarkable than in the early 1900s when Champagne came under German bombardment. Instead of evacuating, the people of Reims fled into the caverns. There, they built cities complete with housing, hospitals, chapels, and schools. One cave, owned by the champagne house Taittinger, housed 200 students alone. As brutal warfare continued on the surface, hundreds of people spent the duration of the war in the safety of the crayères. Today, visitors to the caves can still see their carvings on the walls.

I was so intrigued by the stories from the caves that I knew they would play a major role in Madame Rebelle. When we meet the main character, Edmee Guillon, a young war widow in 1943, she is secretly using the crayères underneath her family's vineyard to hide refugees from the German Army. Over the course of the story, the crayères become the hiding place for a good many things Edmee must hide from the Germans and her family, including a wounded man in a German uniform who isn't at all what he seems.

I hope you have enjoyed learning about crayères and I hope you become as lost in 1943 Champagne with Madame Rebelle as much as I have been since my research journey started. Santé!

Blurb

Rebel. Smuggler. Spy.

Champagne, France 1943

Meet Madame Rebelle. Edmee Guillon is a smuggler. She hides people from the German troops surrounding her ancestral home. When a dying man in a German uniform seeks refuge at Maison Boutet, Edmee struggles to believe his claims that he is French. Her life, the maison and the people she loves are already at stake. Can she take the chance that this mysterious spy is who he says he is? And which side of this war is he really on?

Christian Vovk has been betrayed by someone inside his resistance organization. He knows asking the striking young war widow to hide him will put her in certain danger. However, Christian can help Edmee save as many refugees as she can. Falling in love with her will hinder his duty to the operation that brought him to her doorstep in the first place. When love and duty become inevitably tangled, will Christian sacrifice one for the other?

Excerpt

“You'll need to look as normal as possible.”

“What do I know of normal?” Edmée asked. “I’m tall. I have bright red hair. And I have this.” She waved at the mark on her chin.

The birthmark was unfortunate. Not because it was unpleasant to look at. It made an already interesting face fascinating to look at. It was unfortunate because it would be easy to remember. She was memorable. Christian wondered how long after they parted in Franche-Comté he would think about Edmée Guillon. “Do you think this is something you can do?” he asked.

She crossed to the table. Linking her hands on its surface, she gathered herself. “The hardest part will be convincing my uncle to let me go.”

“Use the same story we practiced,” he advised. “Practice it again. Your first pass at it can be with your uncle as your audience. You’ll gain confidence if he buys it.”

Her eyes circled his features. “You’ve trained other people to do this before.”

She was skilled at reading people. Reading him. He wasn’t an open book. But she saw him. He tried not to think about the growing admiration behind his regard for her. Leaning toward her in the halo of light from the lantern between them, he said, “You’re going to do fine, Edmée.”

“I hope so.”

Review by Lisabet Sarai

In September, 1943, France has been invaded by the Germans and partitioned into two sections, the south controlled by the authoritarian collaborator Vichy government, the north under direct German occupation. Red-headed widow Edmée Guillon lives in the latter, on her uncle’s Julien’s estate in the Champagne region. Julien maintains cordial relations with the occupying forces, supplying them with the best wines from the family vineyards. Meanwhile Edmée, her cousin Jacqueline and Jacqueline’s husband Michel secretly smuggle “undesirables” to countries outside the Nazi sphere of influence. Their charges – Jews and others who would otherwise be sent to concentration camps – secretly shelter in local caves until Edmée and her accomplices can acquire forged identity papers and pass the fugitives on to other members of the resistance who help them escape.

One night Edmée comes upon a seriously wounded man wearing a German uniform in the woods near the estate. Conflicted and suspicious, but unable to abandon a fellow human being in need, she hides him underground and gradually nurses him back to health. The man, who calls himself Christian, claims to be French despite his clothing. Edmée soon realizes that he is a spy of some sort, with secret goals he will not share, for what he claims is her own safety. Despite his concerns, however, Edmée becomes ensnared in his strategies and plans, engaging in increasingly risky endeavors to support his plans and to escort one last band of refugees to freedom.

I generally enjoy historical romance, but in most books in this genre, the history takes second place to the romantic relationship. Madame Rebelle is a welcome exception. Amber Leigh Williams does a magnificent job bringing the period to life – in particular the fear that pervades everything in the heroine’s world. Edmée’s conscience leads her into actions that could easily result in her being imprisoned, tortured or executed. Everyone around her – in particular the enigmatic but admirable Christian – faces the same risks.

At the same time, the author doesn’t turn the Nazis into cardboard super-villains. Partly because of her relationship to her collaborator uncle, the occupying forces treat Edmée with some level of courtesy, giving her the opportunity on several occasions to deceive them.

In one of my favorite sequences, Edmée agrees to travel by train to the city of Troyes to deliver a message for Christian. She’s nearly unmasked as a spy, but her courage and her ability to think quickly under pressure help her to escape detection. She has both a strong moral compass and a powerful survival instinct. Nevertheless, she’s still very human. The author lays bare her doubts, her flaws, her insecurities and her deep-seated sense of betrayal by her deceased cowardly husband. That shame may be part of what drives her in the direction of heroism, a desire to make amends and to make a difference.

The romantic elements in this story simmer beneath the surface, as Edmée and Christian gradually come to trust and to admire one another. Given the desperate circumstances in their lives, this is realistic. Eventually they do come together, as we suspect they will. That consummation, however, is not the author’s primary focus.

Instead, she wants to show readers the realities of the historical period: the brutality, the treachery and the bravery. The book includes extensive notes on the historical background. In the preface, Ms. Williams provides a very personal discussion of the novel’s roots, which stretch back to the first time she read Anne Frank’s diary. Indeed, the book is dedicated to Anne, which seems very apt.

Madame Rebelle is not a light book. It’s not a story you’ll forget. If, like me, you are a fan of strong, heroic women, I suspect that it is a story you will enjoy.

About the Author

Amber Leigh Williams writes pulse-pounding romantic suspense, historical fiction, and contemporary romance. When she’s not writing, she enjoys traveling and being outdoors with her family and dogs. She is fluent in sarcasm and is known to hoard books like the book dragon she is. An advocate for literacy, she is an ardent supporter of libraries and the constitutional right to read.

Website: https://amberleighwilliams.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/amberleighwilliams

Facebook: https://facebook.com/amberleighwilliamsbooks

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B0030VZW2C?ccs_id=972a6661-be68-4275-b311-8f8e0b259f83

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2713894.Amber_Leigh_Williams

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/amber-leigh-williams

Madame Rebelle - Purchase Links

Amazon Ebook: https://a.co/d/b7e849S

Amazon Paperback: https://a.co/d/cIS1iOp

Amber’s Website: https://amberleighwilliams.com/madame-rebelle

Amber Leigh Williams will be awarding a $25 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.

 

Not perfection, but presence – #SelfHelp #Relationships #Giveaway

Blurb

In an age of extreme technology and growing separation, we've lost our way. We've traded authentic human connection for a world of aggressive tactics, self-serving behaviors, and fleeting transactions that leave us feeling isolated and unfulfilled.

The Art of Human Connection offers a powerful and ethical alternative, a return to our shared humanity.

This educational book is your essential guide to mastering the simple yet profound skills that form the bedrock of true success. Through a series of practical insights and transformative principles, you will learn how to:

- Cultivate Self-Awareness: Understand your own emotional landscape and its impact on every interaction.

- Build Authentic Relationships: Master the art of empathy and genuine communication to forge instant rapport and build lasting trust.

- Navigate with Confidence: Learn to move through professional and personal challenges with less friction and more grace.

"The truest version of a person is never who they perform to be, it is who they become when they forget to perform!"

This is a powerful call to action, inviting you to reflect on your own experiences and visualize a clear path to improvement. By embracing this approach, you will discover a liberating truth: your greatest success and most profound connections begin the moment you stop performing and simply start being.

Excerpt

The Ultimate Hack to Connecting: Forget the Script and Just Be Real

I remember a colleague sharing with me about the recent time walking into a boardroom once where the air felt heavy. Everyone sat stiff, guarded, waiting for the “pitch.” You could almost hear the silent checklist in their minds: Is this person credible? Are they trying too hard? Can I trust them? In that moment, he felt the old instinct to perform, to tighten my shoulders, polish my words, and deliver the perfect script. But then he remembered a truth from The Art of Human Connection:

“The truest version of a person is never who we perform as, it is who we become when we forget to perform.”

So, he dropped the act. He softened his posture, smiled, not the rehearsed kind, but the kind that comes from seeing the people in front of him. He asked a question and let the silence linger. And something shifted. The room exhaled. People leaned in. The barrier dissolved.

That’s the real hack to connection: not perfection, but presence.

Drop the Act: Your Silent Superpowers

Before you speak, your body and voice are already telling your story.

• Body Language: Open posture, relaxed shoulders, and a genuine smile signal honesty and collaboration. When you’re real, others mirror it back.

• Voice: Let your tone carry warmth and variety. Use pauses like punctuation, moments that invite attention and reflection.

The Detective Mindset: Reading the Room

Connection isn’t just about what you say, it’s about what you notice.

• The Pause: After asking a meaningful question, resist the urge to fill the silence. Watch what emerges in the stillness.

• The Cues: A drop in energy signals resistance. A nod and steady eye contact?

That’s your green light to go deeper.

The Liberating Truth

You don’t need to be flawless. You just need to be real.

When you stop performing and start observing, when you trade polish for presence, you become magnetic, not because you’re perfect, but because you’re human, and in a world full of scripts, nothing is more refreshing than someone who simply shows up as themselves.

Ditch the Baggage: Forgive Past Flops

Everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes, a conversation just feels clumsy. But dwelling on past perceived failures leads to Self-Condemnation and overthinking, hindering your ability to connect now. The solution is simple but hard: don’t let past perceived failures sabotage your present interactions. Remember, failure happens only when we quit. 

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/Art-Human-Connection-Professional-Interaction-ebook/dp/B0CWDKJV3P

About the Author

Adir Biniamini is a visionary coach and the author of The Art of Human Connection. His journey into coaching began after a long and successful entrepreneurial career where he learned firsthand that genuine connection is the cornerstone of success.

From working at a flea market as a teenager to launching multiple businesses, Adir quickly discovered the power of authentic communication. A pivotal piece of advice, "Be exactly who you are . . . real, friendly, inviting," became his guiding light. Thirty years and successful businesses later, this commitment to genuine human connection remains the cornerstone of his success.

Adir's unique philosophy, forged from a lifetime of business and personal challenges, is built on the belief that a deep connection to ourselves is the key to creating meaningful relationships with others. Through his work, he helps clients master the essential skills of emotional intelligence and rapport, empowering them to navigate challenges and create lasting success in every facet of their lives.

https://adirbiniamini.com/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/60102851.Adir_Biniamini

Adir Biniamini will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn winner.