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Hey Y’all! I’m excited to share with you the newly released boxed set that my novella, Camellia’s Smile is included in. If you missed my first post, I’d like share with you a little bit about the American State Flower collection. Each novella in this set has the state flower included in each title. This is the brilliant idea of Cynthia Hickey with Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publication. Love Blooms in the Here and Now is the contemporary collection.
Romance and flowers go together like an avid reader and a good story. These ten contemporary romance novellas center around a state flower and love. Curl up with your reader and see love bloom in the midst of adversity in America’s present. Some recipes included.
Love Blooms in the Past is the Historical collection.
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Romance and flowers go together like an avid reader and a good story. These nine historical romance novellas center around a state flower and love. Curl up with your reader and see love bloom in the midst of adversity in America’s past.
The Forget-Me-Not Authors has covered 19 states as of right now. But, I’m happy to announce in 2017 the remaining states will also be done. That’s right, there will be a novella for all 50 states! :)
Here’s an excerpt of Camellia’s Smile. (Alabama State Flower)
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Suddenly it dawned on her what she had to do as her gaze caught on her granddad’s gun cabinet. He had taught her how to shoot a gun when she was just a young girl, and she had gone hunting with him more times than she had fingers and toes. He even bragged about what a great shot she was. Maybe, just maybe, she could sneak up on the man and at least hold him at gun point until the police got here.
She knew the operator wanted her to remain on the phone with her until the police arrived, but Camellia decided to take matters into her own hands. After all, she couldn’t just wait here like a frightened child hiding under their bed. This man had to be stopped, and she was the only one who could stop him.
She pushed the off button on the phone and raced over to her granddad’s gun cabinet.
With a turn and a click of the key, she unlocked the gun cabinet, took out one of the shotguns and a box of ammo, and quickly loaded the gun. “Father God, give me strength and courage to do the right thing.”
Easing out of the front door, while the man was inside the barn, she tipped-toed around the back of the truck. Her heart pounded so loud in her ears, she was afraid the man would hear it. She peered into the barn, thankful he had his back to her and was bent over about to pick up another bag of feed. One step at a time, she crept up behind him, and stopped several yards from him so that he couldn’t snatch the gun out of her hands.
She lifted the gun and pointed it at him. “Hold it right there. Don’t move. I have a gun aimed at your back. Now, I want you to slowly put your hands up in the air so I can see them. Do it now!” It took everything inside of her to keep the tremble out of her voice. Only problem was, the tremble showed up in her knees instead. Good thing he had his back to her and couldn’t see them.
She swallowed hard as reality crashed in on her.
What was she doing?
Could she really shoot this man if he charged her?
The man didn’t say a word. Instead, he did as she asked. He slowly straightened and raised his hands above his head.
She took a step back, knowing she had to continue to keep her distance because he was at least six foot tall and looked to be very muscular from the way his t-shirt fit. The man could very easily overpower her five-foot-four frame.
His body flinched, and Camellia’s knees went from a tremble to shaking so violently that she feared they would buckle under her. “I said don’t move. Do you want me to shoot you?”
“Nope, I don’t think I feel like dying today. Can I at least turn around so I can see who’s holding me at gun point?”
“You can turn around but do it slowly and no funny business. I do have a gun, and I can assure you, I know how to use it.” This time, Camellia couldn’t keep the shakiness from her voice. She just hoped the thief hadn’t noticed that fact.
He circled around slowly and looked directly into her eyes. He didn’t look anything like she pictured a thief would look like. His classically handsome face took her by surprise as he stared at her with eyes as dark as the night. His clean-shaven jaw and silky short-cropped dark hair would make any movie star jealous.
“I don’t know who you are,” he said, “but if you’re going to rob me, I can tell you, you won’t get much. All I have is forty dollars in my wallet, but you’re welcome to it.”
“Rob you?” She drew in a deep, steady breath and matched his glare. “Aren’t you the funny one? But you won’t be laughing in a few minutes.”
(This is the scene where Camellia and Brody first met. Boy, you talk about a first bad impression :)
When I first met my husband, it wasn’t anything like this, but it was somewhat unique. His brother and I had a date and his brother’s car had broken down, and he had asked Steve to bring him to my house. (big mistake for him) If you ask me if I believe in love at first sight, I would say, YES, YES, YES.
I fell in love with Steve when I first laid eyes on him. That night, I ended up going out with him instead of his brother :) That was 35 years ago, and I still have stars in my eyes when I look at my own Prince Charming.
Now, here’s a question for you. How did you first meet the love of your life?
Leave a comment before midnight Sunday June 4 for a chance to win a signed paperback copy of, Camellia’s Smile.
Debra Lynn Collins is an Amazon No# 1 bestselling author. She was born and raised in Georgia, but moved to Gaylesville, Alabama after her 1981 marriage. She considers herself a Georgiabamian. God has blessed Debra with four children and seven grandchildren. Through the years, she has tried her hand at many, many crafts. Everything from quilting, candle making, woodworking, cake decorating, scrapbooking, and the list goes on and on. She is now living her own happily-ever-after ending with her biggest fan and husband, Steve, while writing contemporary Christian romances. Debra is a graduate from The Long Ridge Writers Group and an active member of ACFW (American Christina Fiction Writers)
Such a nice blurb. It wws a bad first impression indeed.
My husband and I met almost 2 years before we went out on a date and I definitely wasn’t attracted to him then. It took him getting rid of the long hair and growing a beard for me to notice him differently plus of course getting to know each other and spending time together with other friends.
We actually met at his family’s church when the I went there with our local youth choir for a Sunday service. I barely noticed him as he came to talk with a friend who was also with the choir. The year after that he joined the choir and well he was one of our bests. It didn’t help that I took a semester off, but he also started hanging out with the same friends I usually did.
What a fun excerpt!
I first met my husband when a good friend of mine was showing me around uni my first weekend there. There he was, sitting in the upstairs balcony of College Church with a couple of girls chatting to him. My friend said “oh thats..all the girls like him” (my husband swears he was oblivious to this..!!). I next met him on a canoe trip on the local creek that runs past the university, we flirted a bit as we paddled, ended up sharing a canoe on my first white water trip, that progressed to hikes, canyoning trips and moonlight walks along “boys walk” (so named because it started behind the mens residence). Interestingly, it didn’t fully click for him until his best friend said he liked me… then he realised that he did too. We spent 4 years dating through uni, then married after we graduated and are blessed to share the adventures of life together.
Camellia’s Smile looks fun- cool idea of stories around state flowers:)
Good morning, Priscila, Sometimes love happens at first sight and sometimes it may take a while. But either way, isn’t it great :) I enjoyed reading how you met your Prince Charming!
Thank you, Elizabeth! :)
Good morning, Wemble! How romantic :) I can hear a wonderful romance novel in this one! Thank you for sharing your story, I enjoyed it very much!
Thanks for sharing the excerpt, Debra…I enjoyed it!
Thank you, Jill!
My husband and I met on the church bus in college when his girlfriend introduced us. I was not involved in that break up but wasn’t sad about it either. =)
Love your story and the excerpt!
That was an interesting introduction. My husband and I met in church when I sat next to him. He had asked the Lord to show him his wife and I showed up!! That was in September, we were married in June :-)!
Hahahaha! Your story made me smile, I loved it! She didn’t know it yet when she introduced the two of you, but he was meant to be yours all along :)
God is so good! Sounds like another ‘love at first sight’ meeting :) My husband and I met in May and we were married in December. And as I said in my post, we’re still going strong after 35 years!
We met in the kitchen of my home :-) I’d been away to college, and had heard about this fellow who was attending a Bible study that my dad had for foreign students. He needed another student who was a believer so that when he needed help, he could say, “Jim, what do you think this passage means?” I got home that Christmas vacation before the last Bible study before those students went on break, and when my little sister (around 11 years old) introduced Jim to me (I don’t remember where my parents were), she asked him, “Jim, how old are you?” When he told her, she said, “Oh, you and Margaret are the same age. You should get married!” He had another girlfriend at the time too! We’ve now been married 42 years :-)
My roommate introduced me to my future husband. She had met him in passing at a neighbor’s place in our apartment complex. He and his roommate went to a birthday party that night with my roommate and me, and a romance was born.
My husband and I actually met at the bowling alley!
He and his brother joined a league that my Dad and I were bowling in together. It seems he noticed me right way, but I had no idea he was single until I heard he was asking around about me☺️
It took a few months before we actually went out on a date, but as they say the rest is history! We just celebrated our first anniversary and are in the process of buying our first house right now.
Such a great title!
Out of the mouths of babes :) I know you must have been thankful for your little sister at that moment. I really enjoyed reading about your happily-ever after. 42 years, congratulations!
I think I see another ‘love at first sight’ Love it! :)
Congratulations, Patty, and Happy Anniversary too!!
Thank you, Karen!
I met my husband when I went out dancing with my college friend. He is no longer the love of my life unfortunately!
Love the idea of the American State Flower collections! I definitely want to read Camellia’s Smile after reading that excerpt. :) My husband and I met in college. My roommate actually had a crush on him so I asked him to hang out with us so she could get to know him better. As we hung out, he and I also got to know each other better and started spending more and more time together and we both liked what we saw. Fortunately, by the time I realized how much I liked him and he liked me, my roommate had lost interest in him as anything other than a friend. :)
What a first bad impression but who said they all have to be good. The excerpt is so good I want to know how they both fell in love. When did they both know they were falling for each other. Thanks for sharing
Sorry to hear that, Linda :(
He was meant to be yours all along :) I enjoyed reading your love story!
You never know when a bad first impression will turn into a happily-ever-after. :)