The long awaited sequel to Like a Closed Fist has almost arrived! Here's a cover reveal for my new novel, to be released later in the year. What do you think?
Here's the blurb from the back cover. Are you ready for the second leg of Phoebe's journey?

When we last left our heroine, Phoebe was floundering. Left with a broken heart and shattered pride, she turns to the much older Mitch to pick up the pieces. This time, her father's best friend doesn't resist her.

Bruce, everyone's favorite tough-love dad, finally takes a stand and tries to break the mismatched pair up. Phoebe, hurt and humiliated once again, runs away from home. Out on her own for the first time, she learns life's greatest lesson: how to grow up.

Phoebe 2.0, mature and enjoying her independence, is determined to take a break from romance. But love has other plans, and as much as she tries to fight it, Phoebe slowly falls in love - and with the last man she thought she'd see again!

With Bruce, Annie, Mark, Leo, Mitch, a return appearance from someone special, and another trip to beautiful North Carolina, this California girl has another adventure in store for her!

Hi everyone! I did a guest post called "4 Guys Not to Date" on a fantastic blog CravenWild. Plus, they're running a giveaway of my novel Like a Closed Fist! Check it out!

i everyone, it's been a couple of weeks since I've posted. I've been busy on my sister website Hot Toasty Rag reviewing three books a day. In case you missed them, the latest are listed below. Head on over to The Rag to check them out!

A Curse Dark as Gold
An Object of Beauty
And Then There Were None
An American Tragedy
Awaken
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast
The Best of Everything
The Bridges of Madison County
Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time
Cat Body Language Phrasebook: 100 Ways to Read Their Signals
Chocolat
City of Dreams: A Novel of Nieuw Amsterdam and Early Manhattan
Cold Mountain
Creative Theatrical Makeup
Dandelion Wine
Evil Under the Sun
Father of the Bride
Fortune's Rocks
The French Lieutenant's Woman
The Goddess Test
Hollywood Cats
I Do and I Don't: A History of Marriage in the Movies
Julia's Cats: Julia Child's Life in the Company of Cats
Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging
Landline
The Lie
The Little Bride
Little Women
The Lost Wife
Manners and Morals of Victorian America
Marjorie Morningstar
My Sister's Keeper
Murder on the Orient Express
Now, Voyager
Oink: My Life with Mini-Pigs
Piglets at Play
The Pleasure of My Company
Ragtime
Respect for Acting
Spy Girls: License to Thrill
Stella Dallas
Swine Not?
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
Winter Street

This week, on Hot Toasty Rag, I reviewed another 21 fantastic--and not so fantastic--reviews. Head on over to The Rag to check them out!
Before I Go to Sleep
Being Audrey Hepburn
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards
China Dolls
The Cider House Rules
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Cousin Bette
Desperate Housecats
The Diaries: A Clearwater Crossing Special Edition
The Fifties Chronicle
The Gin Lovers
The Husband's Secret
I Could Pee on This and Other Poems by Cats
A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and Things That Really Matter
My Movie Business: A Memoir
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Speak
Sweet Valley University #8: Home for Christmas
Sweet Valley University #9: Sorority Scandal
What Happened to Goodbye
A Widow for One Year

Hi guys! It's been a week since my new website opened, Hot Toasty Rag, and I've posted three book reviews per day.
To check out my thoughts on these titles, head on over to The Rag and let me know what you think!

The Accidental Book Club
A Hard Day's Write: The Stories Behind Every Beatles Song
The Art of Forgetting
Ben There, Done That (Sabrina the Teenage Witch #6)
Charlie Hartley #1: The Unlocked
Charlie Hartley #2: The Enlightened
The Comfort of Lies
Keep Moving: And Other Tips and Truths About Aging
The Lie
The Monk Downstairs
Peyton Place
The Riesling Retribution
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters
Sweet Valley University #1: College Girls
Sweet Valley University #2: Love, Lies, and Jessica Wakefield
Sweet Valley University #3: What Your Parents Don't Know...
Sweet Valley University #4: Anything for Love
Sweet Valley University #5: A Married Woman
Sweet Valley University #6: The Love of Her Life
Sweet Valley University #7: Good-bye to Love
Wrong Number, Right Guy

Hi everyone! If there's one well-known thing about me, it's that I love reading books, watching movies, and talking about them. Okay, that's three things, but anyway. I've just created a new website, called Hot Toasty Rag, which will be dedicated to my rants and praises of books and movies. Hooray! Head on over to check it out :) :)

Let's hear it for the boys! In Like a Closed Fist, Phoebe juggles six love interests. Throw in a devoted dad and an overlooked friend, and there's someone for every reader in this "emotional rollercoaster"*!
Which of Phoebe's men captured your heart, or at least your attention? Was it moody, broody Mason? Flirtatious Frankie or sophisticated Justin? Did you find Danny's childlike idolatry endearing? For you forward thinkers, there's Leo, the friend waiting in the shadows. Let's not forget Kennedy, the boy who made Phoebe remember the past. And of course, Mitch, the man with whom Phoebe longed for a future.
So far, the favorite is Bruce, Phoebe's tough-love dad. Check out his praises:

"A good solid and patient character that moved the story along."
(Angie Stroud, Eastern Sunset Reads)
"My favorite character. . . Phoebe's dad is incredibly supportive even though he's struggling with his new widower status. When he finally realizes that time isn't what Phoebe needs, he's there to give her a push in the right direction."
(Tracy Beth, The Coffee Pot)
"She had pushed him to join baseball and then he helps her by bringing tap back in her life. . . [Phoebe] and her dad could really talk about anything."
(Rachel Hurd, From Ink to Paper)
"He compels her to take charge of her life and she begins."
(Steve Kerner, Goodreads reviewer)

Who was your favorite? What was your favorite moment? Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email in the "About" section--I love to hear from my readers :)

*J.D. Stonebridge, author of the Charlie Hartley series

That's right, people: Like a Closed Fist is getting a sequel!
The ending that everyone's talking about, from "refreshing"* to "an interesting twist"**--and thank you for not spoiling it in your reviews!--will now be explored in Phoebe's next leg of the journey.
"Things and people are never exactly what you’d expect, and you’ll never guess the ending..." Hermione Flavia wrote in her blog CravenWild. How right she was! I won't spoil my own book, but if you haven't read Like a Closed Fist yet and want to know what all the fuss is about, head on over to Amazon, then come back to this page. For those of you who remember Phoebe (semi-fondly), Bruce (very fondly), and Mitch, Mason, Frankie, Justin, Kennedy, and Danny (phew! Got 'em all!) the wait to find out what happens to them will soon be over.
Phoebe 2.0: mature, independent, and enjoying Life-After-(no spoilers here). Picking up moments after the first book ended, Phoebe is convinced she's on the right path with her current squeeze. Bruce, everyone's favorite tough-love dad, takes a stand and tries to break the mismatched pair up. Will Phoebe find "lasting bliss in her life" in the sequel, as wondered by Goodreads reviewer Steve Kerner? Is Mitch her one true love, or will her heart turn in a different direction?
With all your favorites, Bruce, Annie, Leo, Mitch (okay, he's not everyone's favorite), a return appearance from someone very special (it's a surprise, wanna take a guess?), and another trip to beautiful North Carolina, this California girl has another adventure in store for her!

*Angie Stroud, Eastern Sunset Reads
**Rachel Hurd, From Ink to Paper

Mabel Crowley: Book Two is 99 cents on Amazon--
Those of you who read the first one and were waiting for the second installment to go on sale (Yes, I do that too) now is your chance. And if you haven't read the first one yet, it's permanently free on Amazon.
Feb 23 TODAY through Feb 26 SUNDAY only! Snatch it up today and let me know what you think of the next episode in Mabel's saga!

Mabel has agreed to stay with Theodore Hartley and his daughters, believing that Charlie will undoubtedly be killed on the battlefield during World War One. In this second installment of Mabel Crowley, Charlie travels to Bath during his leave; during his long-awaited reunion with Mabel, they become engaged, promising to marry once the war is over. Charlie returns to France, fighting for a safe return that will never materialize, not knowing that his one night with Mabel will result in lifelong repercussions.