Instead of my 'Monday Musings' today I'm featuring a lovely series about two of the things close to my heart Animal Shelters and Romance
SHELTERED LOVE SERIES
GENRE: Contemporary Romance
When love involves shelter animals, these four stories will warm your heart.
Book One ~ Unleashed Love by Jackie Marilla
Glenda Weber is tired of roaming around her big empty house alone. Her volunteer work at the local animal shelter in Cedar Grove, Iowa is satisfying, but she’d give anything to have a companion and a few pets. Too bad her loyalty to her deceased husband prohibits bringing pets into the house and her insecurities about finding new love complicates matters.
When Glenda meets Loman Cejka at the animal shelter and he invites her for supper two times in one week, she starts to gain confidence that she can build a relationship and maybe even fall in love.
Glenda and Loman agree their grown children need to be comfortable with their relationship, so when all four children are home for the town’s 4th of July Celebration, Glenda and Loman make plans to introduce everyone.
Loman is sure his grown kids will love Glenda. She’s friendly and smart and loves animals, including Bert, the family parrot. When his daughter hatches a plan to reunite her divorced parents, Loman has to make a difficult choice—alienate his daughter or give up on his relationship with Glenda.
Loman rolled up his sleeves and joined Glenda at the cleaning station. She mouthed a thank you then pointed to the rubber gloves meant for the process. She wrapped the first little female in a towel and asked Loman to hold her while she cleaned its ears. The pup’s yelping brought on a mournful serenade from the litter.
“You’re gonna feel so much better when this pretty lady gets you all cleaned up,” Loman told the pup in his arms.
Glenda stopped cleaning and looked at him with a broad smile. When was the last time anyone called me pretty lady?
Jackie Marilla writes contemporary romance from the Hawaiian Islands and beyond. She and her husband live on a macadamia nut farm on the island of Hawai'i where they feed a clowder of cats and a flock of hodgepodge chickens. In a past life, she was an elementary school teacher.
Book Two ~ Love is Always Paws-able by Joanne Jaytanie
Second chances at life, love, and a forever home don’t come every day.
Faith Daniels leaves a successful Silicon Valley career to follow her life’s dream: in Cedar Grove she builds a foster home for unwanted and abused dogs. She knows dogs have the ability to love even after being abandoned. Abandoned by her fiancé and friends, Faith wishes she could learn to love and trust again.
Tanner Keen leaves behind the stress of his multi-million dollar advertising firm to save his life. He needs peace and quiet. So when a friend asks him to help a small town animal shelter, the opportunity seems perfect.
But all is not peaceful at the shelter in Cedar Grove. Can Faith and Tanner discover the deceit in others and still find trust in each other?
Love’s always paws-able.
Joanne was born and raised in Sherburne, New York, a quaint village surrounded by dairy farms and rolling hills. From the moment she could read she wanted to explore the world. During her college years she slowly crept across the country, stopping along the way in Oklahoma, California, and finally Washington State, which she now proudly calls home. She lives with her husband and Dobermans, in their home located on the Olympic Peninsula with a panoramic view of the Olympic Mountains.
Joanne writes romantic suspense, paranormal, and contemporary romance. She loves to submerge herself in the world of her characters, to live and breathe their lives and marvel at their decisions and predicaments. She enjoys a wide variety of books including paranormal, suspense, thriller, and of course romance.
Joanne is a member of Romance Writers of America, and past President of Peninsula Romance Writers, which was Debbie Macomber’s home chapter.
Book Three ~ Love Again
by Angela Ford
Madi Wilson’s life was perfect. Or so she thought. Until her husband of thirty-five years left her. Alone in a big house with no one to love, she decides to volunteer at the local no-kill animal shelter. The shelter and a Puggle in need of love and a home begin to fill that void.
Dr. Noah Felton accepts an offer and moves to Cedar Grove after his wife of thirty years left him. A colleague introduces him to the local shelter, and Madi.
Noah and Madi get to know each other while working on a project for the shelter. They discover it is never wrong to love again. You just have to love the wrong person first.
“Are you feeling okay tonight Noah? You seem a little flushed.”
Madi touched his arm gently. The concern in her eyes calmed him.
“I’m fine, just a little nervous.” He admitted through a hearty chuckle.
“About what”
Noah took Madi’s hand in his. His thumb rubbed along the palm of her hand.
“To ask you out”
He said it. Not the way he’d planned. He wondered how pathetic he sounded.
“Out, like a date?”
He smirked and then nodded like a young bashful boy. Madi made him feel young; young at heart. “If it’s too soon or you feel rushed, no worries; I don’t want to scare you away. I enjoy spending time with you. I’d like to take you out on a proper date, that is, if you’ll have this old bugger?”
“That is so sweet. It feels like we’ve been together always. I enjoy our time together. You are a true gentleman. I like the old fashioned way. And you are not an old bugger.”
“Is that a yes?”
Noah anticipated her answer.
“Yes, I’d love an old-fashioned date.”
Angela Ford originates from Nova Scotia…Canada’s Ocean Playground!
Her love of the ocean and sunsets are always in her heart and give her inspiration. Her love for words keeps her turning the page. She is never without a book, whether she’s reading or writing. Now residing in Ontario, Angela works in Finance – numbers by day – words by night. Her dedication to volunteer and involvement with cyber safety seminars gave her an Award of Distinction and sparked the idea for her first book Closure – suspense with a dash of romance that hit the best- selling Action/Adventure and Women’s Fiction. Angela continued this FBI suspense with Forbidden and will deliver the final of the series in 2015. She also writes contemporary romance, sometimes sweet…sometimes spicy and sometimes with a dash of suspense. Unforgettable Kiss delivers a spicy romance with a dash of suspense. Blind Tasting of The Love List series and The Christmas Wreath of the Forever Christmas series are sweet reads. 2015 kicked off with a new Romantic Suspense Surrender.
Between two jobs, being a mom with a home always filled with young adults and rather interesting stories; she is lucky to have one very patient and understanding man. But it is the furry family members who rule the house – a Puggle (Pug/Beagle), a new Chug puppy (Pug/Chihuahua) and two loveable cats. Every possible quiet moment she finds, she treasures and just writes about the moments to come. Angela is an avid reader of romance, a member of the RWA, KOD (Kiss of Death – Suspense Chapter) and Mississauga Writers Group. You can follow her at BTGN www.bookstogonow.com or visit her website/blog Romantic Escapes at http://www.angelafordauthor.com to connect with her on her social network sites. She loves to hear from her readers – they keep her smiling!
Book Four ~ Champagne and Catnip by Amanda Ward
Dr Dan Livingstone has had a not so secret crush on Yorkshire lass Caryn Fielding since she started working at the shelter. Taking his courage in both hands, he asks her out on a date. To his delight she agrees.
As a retired midwife, Caryn has had to deal with heartbreak on a grand scale. Shutting herself off from the rest of the world bar her volunteer work at the shelter, Caryn finds a measure of comfort as she cares for the cats and kittens there. Could dating Dan lead to disaster?
As their relationship deepens, Caryn’s secrets and anxieties are revealed. Falling in love is never without its ups and downs, but together love really can conquer all. No matter how old you are.
‘Well that’s odd,” Dan murmured, more to himself. He walked over to Caryn, crouched down and tapped her on the shoulder. She shot to her feet, dislodging a couple of fur balls, but Dan caught them before they landed.
“What the hell do you think you are doing creeping up on people like that?” she accused, all but snatching the kittens back from him. “Did that nasty man give you a fright?” Caryn crooned, nuzzling them.
“I called your name several times, but you didn’t answer me. I’m sorry if I frightened you,” he apologized, holding his hand out.
“I’m―”
“Dr. Livingstone, I presume?” Caryn interjected, raising an eyebrow.
Dan winced at the pun.
“I gather you’ve heard that a few times?” she guessed shaking his hand.
At the tingle he felt from her touch, he wasn’t sure if he’d imagined it. Reluctantly, Dan let go. “More than a few.”
“So Dr Livingstone―”
“Dan.”
“Okay Dan. Is there a problem? I don’t think any of the cats are ill.” Caryn tilted her head back and looked up at him. Her eyes blinked a few times through her owl-like glasses, her gaze never leaving his face.
“Not at all. I was asked to give these fur balls a once-over.”
“Of course. I’m no expert on cats, but I would hazard a guess that based on their eyes still shut, they can’t be more than a week old.”
“Mom nursing them OK?” Dan took one of the mewling kittens, and began his checks.
“Yes, from what I’ve observed she’s feeding all five of them without complications.”
“That’s good.” Dan gave the family the once-over, placing them back on the blanket. Immediately the kittens snuffled off in search of food.
Dan washed his hands again. “So” he began, at a loss for what to say, when in fact he really wanted to ask her out for a coffee―or dinner.
“A needle pulling thread?” Caryn countered. Her gaze was still fixed firmly on his face, as if searching for something.
“You aren’t from the States are you?” Dan wondered at her accent.
Caryn shook her head. “No sorry. I’m a Yorkshire lass, but I married an American and have lived here for twenty years now.”
“Oh right,” Dan replied, shoving his hands into the front pockets of his chinos. So she was married. His glance slid to her hands searching for signs of a wedding ring. No ring on her left hand. There was a thin diamond hoop on her right hand though.
“Before you leave, may I give you a piece of advice?”
“Sure.”
“Remind the teenager you are with not to make assumptions. Just because I prefer to volunteer with the cats does not make me ‘the crazy cat lady.’ ”
Amanda is originally from Bexleyheath, Kent in England. Born in 1971 she lives in Bedfordshire with her husband Matt, three children and two rather mad moggies.
A proud member of the Romance Novelist's Association, she is an author with Books To Go Now Publishing and Hot Ink Press. Amanda writes romance novels featuring the hero and heroine in their forties and fifties and more often with a quirky twist added to the tale.
A fountain of useless knowledge about the Royal Families of Europe and history in General, Amanda's bookshelves are packed to the brim with romances, historical biographies and Amish/inspirational fiction.
As a self confessed fan of Doris Day, Amanda can often be found in the quietness of an afternoon on the sofa watching one of her many dvds with a pot of tea and digestive biscuits.
Amanda also has more than a slight fondness for The Big Bang Theory, Gilmore Girls, The Waltons and The Marvel Universe, as well as a huge fan of Dr Who!
