Mixed Blessings- Sequel to Getting Personal by Diane Amos ...

 

'Sequel to Getting Personal'

 

When Monique St. Cyr's mother, erotic fiction author, Ann Marie, leaves on a three-month honeymoon, Monique is certain her life is about to improve: that is until old-fashioned Aunt Lilly and deaf Gramps move into the duplex next door—boxes of her mother's ripped erotic books show up on Monique's doorstep with threatening notes—and her aunt and her best friend end up pregnant.

While Monique struggles to balance her career and her romance with gorgeous cop, Jake Dube, his ex-fiancée announces she wants him back. Monique wages the battle of her life, sometimes with hilarious consequences, providing many laughs for readers of this romantic comedy.

 

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~Meet Diane Amos~

 

 

THANKS for including me on your blog! 

 

The thought of writing a book never entered my mind until a friend mentioned she was writing a romance and belonged to the Maine Chapter of the Romance Writers of America. I accompanied her to a meeting, and I was hooked. Undaunted, to me, writing a book was simply stringing together sentences to form paragraphs, arranging the paragraphs into scenes, then placing the scenes into chapters. If I wrote enough chapters-viola, I had a book.

Little did I know!

Finally, nine books and seven years later I received "The Call" at 10:11 AM on October16th, 2002. The editor of Five Star wanted to discuss my book! The rest is history.

I live in a small town north of Portland, Maine with my husband, Dave. We have four grown children, four grandsons and two granddaughters. I operate an art studio in my home where I teach both children and adults. Many of my adult students have taken classes from me for years and have become great friends. We have so much fun in class, at times, I wonder whether I should be paying them. I hope they don't read this bio.

I'm an established Maine artist. My paintings are in private collections across the United States. When I'm not writing or painting, I'd like to say I'm either racking up miles on my exercise bike or jogging in a marathon-sounds impressive, but don't believe it. I know that exercise is good for me, but why can't it be as much fun as it looks on the television infomercials that persuade us to buy their torturous machines?

I enjoy spending time with my family at our camp on a small Maine pond or watching television-I confess I'm a reality show addict-what better place to find characters for my books!

I've been married for over thirty-five years to my real-life hero, a man who's supported and encouraged me over the years and still puts a smile on my face.


Visit Diane on the web- www.dianeamos.com

Read an Excerpt and get your own copy of GETTING PERSONAL by Diane Amos...

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Excerpt from "Getting Personal"

My mother wrote erotic fiction under the penname, Busty Galore, a misnomer because unlike me her shoulder blades protruded more than her breasts. I loved her dearly, but she had a way of butting into my life. Plus, her 20/20 eyesight and keen ears were capable of seeing and hearing only what she wanted.

As she clicked onto the personals, apprehension sliced through me.

"Look at it this way, by helping me, you'll help yourself too." She checked the box in front of men looking for women, then continued down the column, ages 28-40, built athletic, average, or slightly overweight.

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "The last time I got involved in one of your schemes I ended up knee deep in mudflats with bullets whizzing over my head."

"That clam digger sure got edgy when he thought you were staking claim to his territory." My mother laughed. "Anyway, everything turned out fine once I explained I was gathering information for a book I was writing. Besides, that was so long ago, I'm surprised you still remember."

"How can I forget! My boots were suctioned in muck. I ran barefoot, pursued by a wild-eyed man toting a sharp clam fork and shouting obscenities. I'm lucky I wasn't killed."

"You exaggerate," she said sweetly. "Besides, I thought he was kind of cute. And thanks to you, I got enough material to write my book, which I've already sold for a considerable sum, I might add. If you hadn't been so crabby, I bet he'd have asked you out."

"The man was a lunatic!"

"Once he calmed down, he seemed nice enough."

"I refuse to discuss this again." I smacked my lips shut.

My mother turned back to the computer.

I was twelve years old when my father died. My mother worked two jobs, often doing without so my brother, Thomas, and I could wear the right clothes and fit in with the other children at Saint Joseph's Parochial School. We owed her big time. Unlike me, my brother made himself scarce, which didn't matter because it was a Catholic daughter's duty to assist her "poor decrepit mother"—her words, not mine.

Ten years ago my mother sold her first book, and much to the family's surprise became an overnight success. Unfortunately, each time she coaxed me into helping her, something backfired.

I rolled my eyes. "I absolutely refuse to root around in dirt, scale buildings, or anything else that might do bodily harm."

"There'll be no bullets this time. No mud either. This is very safe, and you'll enjoy yourself." She eyed me warily. "You really need to go out more."

"Humph," I muttered, knowing I'd already lost this battle.

"Look, mom, I know you mean well, but I'm happy, really."

"Keep your phony baloney for someone else. I know you're lonely, and I've found the perfect solution."

I groaned. If she heard, she didn't let on.

My mother clicked several categories. Checkmarks filled small boxes. A list of screen names appeared.

"Here we are, dear, males for the picking, just like ripe fruit off a tree."

A wormy apple sprang to mind. I shook my head in disbelief.

"The internet is a viable way to meet the opposite sex."

It finally sunk in. "You expect me to talk to men online?"

"Yes, and once you get to know them, you'll tell me all about your conversations. Of course, you'll go on dates with a few of our favorites and then report your results."

She beamed an innocent smile. "Who knows, you might even find the man of your dreams."

I glanced at the screen names on the monitor: Studman, MusclesManiac, I'veGotIt, Babemagnet, and Willin&Able. I turned to my mother. "You can't be serious?"

"I'd like to submit an ad with your profile and a recent picture. That'll allow me to learn what type of man prowls the Internet for love."

"There's no way in hell…"

Did you like what you read? Want to read the whole thing? How about for free?

Well you're in luck- GETTING PERSONAL by Diane Amos is free starting today, March 7th 2012 thru Sunday March 11, 2012-

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Free copy of GETTING PERSONAL

*Check back with us Tomorrow to Meet Diane Amos and to learn all about another of her wonderful books- MIXED BLESSINGS!*

GETTING PERSONAL by Diane Amos ...

Sometimes good intentions aren't enough. No one knows that better than Monique St. Cyr, parochial school dropout, dieter extraordinaire, and want-to-be investigative reporter with pit bull tenacity and a habit of leaping headlong before she looks.

Monique, obituary writer for a tabloid-style newspaper in Portland, Maine, lives next door to her mother, Anne Marie, an erotic fiction author. Anne Marie enlists Monique's help to do research for her next book about couples who meet online...by filling out several personals for her daughter.

Monique is swamped with emails, and her life gets even more complicated when she meets Jake Dube, a policeman with a wicked grin and a heated gaze.

From Booklist

Monique has goals and dreams just like everyone else. Some are modest in nature; some are pie-in-the-sky, but all are hampered by all-too-familiar issues. Monique is an obituary writer but wants to be an investigative reporter. She has a houseful of abandoned pets, a slight weight problem, a tendency for fibbing; she can't cook, and lives next door to her meddling mother. Monique also would love to meet a good man, but has no intention of marrying until she's a success in her chosen field. Quirky Monique charges headlong into life and often gets into trouble. It doesn't help that her novel-writing mother corresponds online with prospective dating partners for Monique in the name of research. The first time she has a brush with the law, she meets hunky cop Jake Dube. Although he's very interested and they develop a steamy relationship, those pesky issues prevent Monique from giving her all. Warm and lighthearted, Amos' novel will charm readers with its vivid characters, especially the spirited and all-too human Monique.

 

Romance Reviews Today—Perfect 10 (partial review)
GETTING PERSONAL is a delight! The book is filled with a cast of characters that provides plenty of chuckles and laugh out loud humor—the parrot who spouts obscenities, the "private eye" who works at Radio Shack, the parade of men who respond to the online ad, and Monique's mother, flower child turned erotic writer, to name a few. And then there's Monique herself, a quirky gem of a character who is a times side-splittingly funny while still exhibiting enough vulnerability and emotion to make her fully dimensional. Jake is the perfect foil for Monique's craziness; where she's impulsive and plunges headlong into trouble, he looks before he leaps and is somehow always there to pluck her out of the messy situations she gets herself into.

For a wonderfully funny, entertaining story, I highly recommend GETTING PERSONAL.

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Visit Diane on the web- www.dianeamos.com

*Check back tomorrow to read an excerpt from Getting Personal, AND for a special treat!*