Are you singing the song yet? ;)
I know that May isn’t officially summer for some of y’all but that calendar flips over and my mind already starts thinking about summer. And I thought there was no better way than to get you in the summer mood then to talk about my upcoming novella, An Ever After Summer. It’s one of the four book in the collection Once Upon a Summer.
If you read Once Upon a Christmas, you may be wondering what’s the connection. So I have that answer for you! It’s contemporary fairy tale retellings. The characters are all different as are the fairy tales.
Andrea Boyd (former InspyRomance author) writes a retelling of Rapunzel; mine is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast; Teresa Tysinger (new InspyRomance author) retold Goldilocks and the Three Bears; and Jaycee Weaver writes a retelling of The Frog Prince.
All of these contemporary romances are set in the summer. We’ll take you from the Carolinas to France to New Mexico. This collection is currently on preorder for 99¢ and will be available on paperback sometime later this month. I thought I’d share an excerpt of my novella to pique your interest.
From Chapter One:
“Bonjour.”
“Bonjour.” Bellamy Larson repeated the French greeting, copying the inflection and tone from the French language audiobook. She was running out of time for the vocab to stick in her head, since her flight out of Baltimore left this evening. She hadn’t used any of her high-school French in almost eleven years.
She placed her neatly folded shirts into her suitcase next to a stack of leggings. Her luggage already held a few dresses, skirts, and cardigans in case the summer nights held a chill.
When her coworker Carter had returned to the office of In a Bind in tears, that had marked the fourth employee to be sent away from the Thibodeaux project. Her dad had been determined to fly across the Atlantic and give their client a piece of his mind. Unfortunately, her father had also been diagnosed with walking pneumonia earlier that day, which meant Bell was being offered as the sacrificial lamb. She couldn’t let her father worry when he should be focused on healing. Who knew what kind of germs he’d catch on the plane if he had to fly to France instead of her?
No, Jean-Luc Thibodeaux would just have to deal with her and not her father or any of the other employees at In a Bind. Three of the employees they’d sent to try and please the Grinch—though he lived in a château, so maybe Beast would be a better nickname—had threatened to leave In a Bind; a fourth actually had. There weren’t enough book curators in the world to lose one to a surly customer.
When Bell had offered to go, her father had been appalled.
Giveaway
Before I go, I’d love to offer you a giveaway. For a chance to win a $5 Amazon gift card, tell me what your favorite summer activity is. Please comment by 5/9 at 3:00pm and I’ll use a random generator to pick the winner.
Toni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace thanks to the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior. She writes to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness. She spends her days hanging out with her husband and their two boys. She is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Find out more on her website at http://tonishiloh.com.
Hi Toni! This German American avid reader enjoys imaginative spins on favorite fairy tales. Once Upon a Summer is preordered. One of my favorite summer activities is sitting on a swing on the bluff over looking Lake Michigan watching people and boats, hearing children playing in splash fountain, and being tantalized by the most delicious aromas from Silver Beach pizza waiting for the evening train to zip by – while slowly savoring a lemon custard ice cream cone. Best wishes. Enjoy your day. Only 43 this morning in SW Michigan.
While I don’t get to do it much now it would be going to the cricket now I watch it on tv. The next for me would be Christmas as its in Summer here all the lead up events etc.
My favorite summer activity is spending time with my grandson.
My favorite is visiting my sister in New England and reading at the lake.
Hi Toni, after 24.5 years of teaching preschool, I’m retiring May 28! My favorite summer activity has always been to enjoy my backyard pool, laying on my floatie and reading.
My family enjoys heading to the beach. Thank you kindly.
I am so looking forward to this boxed set!! When I was younger, my favorite summer activity was swimming, I could spend 10 hours in the pool! Now I am grateful for my air-conditioning, lol!
My favorite thing to do in the summer is to go camping and read.
A lemon custard ice cream cone sounds so refreshing! It was in the 40s this morning too. We did have 80 degree weather the past few days.
Have you ever had a cold Christmas?
Spending time with family is always awesome!
I love the water!
Congrats on the upcoming retirement!
I want to go to the beach this summer. Not sure if I will though.
Ac is the best in the summertime!
I keep trying to get my family to go camping!
Yeah, Florida skipped Spring again this year and moved straight to Summer, with temps being in the 90’s already. At least we aren’t contending with too much humidity yet! I stay inside in the A/C. I have a stationery recumbent bike I ride in a room with no A/C, just a fan blowing on me. That’s enough “outside” stuff for me in this heat!
Yeah 90 degree temps with humidity is rough!
People watching and reading outdoors.
People watching can be fun!
My favorite summer activity is buying a Rita’s water ice and savoring it while sitting on the beach. Or sitting on my porch. Swedish fish is my favorite flavor, so good!
My favorite summer activities (yes plural) are camping, kayaking, and reading by a creek or lake. We’re hoping to get out camping next weekend for the first time this year. Ah…
Sitting outside in the sun
My favorite summer activity is sitting outside and enjoying the sunshine and warmer weather. I sit on a bench that has shade from the sun and its so pretty to watch nature.
My favourite summer activity is curling up with a great book in air conditioned arctic chill conditions, simply perfect. Thanks and congratulations on the fairy tale retellings :)
I don’t think I’ve had those.
I love kayaking despite not knowing how to swim.
Yes! Sunshine makes me happy.
Nature watching can be nice!
Arctic chill temps? I’m scared to ask.
Here in the Carolinas, summer can often be pretty miserable! Unless you are an early riser, it’s not always much fun to be outside.
We do live in an area with quite a few big lakes. We try to take a trip to the lake at least once or twice in the summer, and enjoy the water.
I enjoy sitting poolside and reading.
Hi, I enjoy going to the park with my grandchildren , actually with my whole family. God willing this summer we can all go to a park and have a picnic and just enjoy our time together. Have a Great rest of the week and stay safe. God Bless you and your family.
I’d be out on the water everyday, lol.
That sounds relaxing.
A picnic sounds fun. Blessings to you too!
I love spending time with family and going swimming
Summer means the beach for me.
Favorite summer activity is taking my grand-girl to the park, walking along the Prom (I live on the Oregon coast), and getting ice-cream at our favorite little place :-)
I’m hoping to do a bit more traveling this summer to visit my sis-in-law or just some day trips with the family….last year was a bust for any kind of travel. I’m praying this year will be better.
My favorite summer activity is sunsets and ice cream.
My favorite summer activity is trying to avoid the heat. If I have to go out, I go out early and then I become a hermit for the rest of the day. I don’t care for the sun or heat. Not so good when I live in SoCal.
If I have my sunscreen, it would be flying big kites in a stiff breeze at the beach.
I don’t get to do it often, but sitting under a beach umbrella and reading is my favorite way to relax during the summer.
My favorite summer activity is to read and work on crafts.
I’m learning to wakeboard ;) I love water, so anything on the water would do lol
I love to camp & swim in the summer!!
I like to fish & camp in the summer time.
By cold you mean like winter No but we have had a few where the temp was around 64 which is cool for us in summer. I do remember one that was wet and cold and we had to put on a fire to dry clothes so my brother could go to a Christian Endeavor camp the next day. Normally we don’t have fires after Oct. I remember we had to move a few things so we could have the fire if not for drying the clothes we wouldn’t had it.
oh wow!
Yay!
Agreed
Ice cream is a must in the summer!
Watching sunsets are so soothing.
Yeah you’re surrounded by the sun there.
Oh flying kites sounds awesome way to pass a summer day!
That sounds the best!
What kind of crafts?
That sounds so cool!
Fun activities for sure!
I’ve never been fishing.
Wow!
Karen, I’ve been in the school district for 17 years and I’m retiring in 6 weeks, too. So Cool!
Congrats!
Hi Toni,
I’d say my favorite summer thing to do is sit on my back deck, listen to my pond and waterfall, reading or spending time with my grandchildren.
Oh listening to a waterfall sounds so relaxing.
I cross stitch, hand quilt a bit, crochet, and I also sew sequin and beads on banners and calendars.
I love reading on the porch or at the beach.
I love reading in the sun and swimming in the sea with my cousins.
One of my favorite summer activities is plays in the park a d outdoor concerts.
Reading outside is so nice!
Family time is always nice!
I love outdoor concerts!!