Please help us give L. B. Joyce a warm welcome to the blog this week. She is here to share her contemporary romance, February’s Angel with us. Welcome! We are so excited you have joined us this week and we can’t wait to hear more about February’s Angel.
Hi,
My name is L. B. Joyce and I am the author of the contemporary romance series, Twelve Months, 
My books fall somewhere in the middle, right between sweet and erotic. There’s just enough spice to keep the story interesting, but at the same time, you’ll find a sprinkling of humor here and there. Because, let’s face it… one can’t be serious all of the time. Especially when it comes to falling in love.
When I’m not writing, I am a freelance artist. So, you can either find me, huddled over my computer and typing like mad, or deeply involved in my latest art project. This works for me – when I get tired of one, I move on to the other. And when I need a break, I go for a long walk to clear my mind.
I didn’t choose the romance genre, it sort of chose me. In the past ten or fifteen years, I’d entered and even placed in a few recipe contests. Encouraged by my baking friends, the plan floating around in my head had been to write a collection of humorous stories about the experience I had with those contests. Instead, I sat down one day and began writing A Million Decembers. A love story and one that was evidently waiting to be told. The first book took place in Chicago, but I moved one of the characters in the book to Cleveland and this is where all of the action has been since. I live in Chagrin Falls, a suburb of Cleveland. If you ever get a chance, come visit. It’s the perfect small-town setting for any romantic storyline.
I am now working on the seventh book of the series. I’m very happy I chose to do a series, because I don’t have to leave behind the characters I’ve come to know and love in the last book. I’m still not quite sure what month it will be, or the plot, but I’m not worried. I know this will come as I get further into the story. Since I always like to introduce the new main characters in the prior book, I do have a little, tiny bit of an idea in my mind of what will happen. I also know I can count on the past characters to help the story along.
Since we are now into the month of February, I thought I’d tell you a little bit about February’s Angel, the third book of the series. The main characters, Sophie and Chester, have become my favorite characters. So, they keep showing up, finding a way to be a part in the continuing stories. Chester, a professional baseball player thinks of himself as a rough, tough and no-nonsense kind of guy. But when he meets Sophie, a fashion designer and someone who wouldn’t hurt a fly, he finds out he’s not so tough after all. And Sophie? She still thinks she must be living a dream.
So, yes… I love (See, there’s that word… love.) writing in the romance genre. Because no matter what trauma develops along the way, it’s a given everything will turn out well in the end. And who doesn’t want this?
I know I do.
About February’s Angel:
Sometimes you just want another chance…
Even though it seems like Sophie Michaels has it all. An apartment in Paris, her dream job and the latest fashions at her fingertips. These should be more than enough in a girl’s life, right?
Tell Sophie this.
Instead, she’s been spending too much time thinking about what she left behind. It’s been six months since she left home to run her aunt’s boutique in Paris and now she’s returning home for her best friend Abby’s wedding. Her only hope is she doesn’t make a fool of herself when she sees Chester again.
All because of one unforgettable kiss.
Chester Mazzori’s life has always been about everything baseball… until he met Sophie. But after parting the last time on such uncertain terms, he knows the week they have together, before she is to return to Paris, may be his last and only chance to convince her to stay.
Like her, he can’t shake the memory of that kiss.
Book and Author Links:
- Link to February’s Angel – https://amzn.to/2SN0j2P
- UBL – https://books2read.com/u/mgGpVq
- Link to the series, Twelve Months, Twelve Love Stories – https://www.amazon.com/gp/bookseries/B0798SF1WG
- Website – https://www.lbjoyceauthor.com
- Blog – https://www.lbjoyceauthor.com/blog
- Twitter – https://twitter.com/bibbolinda
- Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LBJoyceAuthor/
- Pinterest – https://www.pinterest.com/LBJoyceAuthor/
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ljbibbo/
- Amazon Author Page – https://www.amazon.com/L.-B.-Joyce/e/B01N2AFD4L/
Excerpt February’s Angel:
He leaned closer to take the locket in his hand. After studying it, he turned it over. The inscription jumped right out at him.
Forever
Well… if this wasn’t enough to throw a damper on his expectations, he didn’t know what would be. He could only pray this simple single word message didn’t mean what it implied.
Noting the nervous expression on her face, he slowly removed his hand. He sat back in his chair, the tone of his voice casual. “Nice. It is from a boyfriend? And out of curiosity, what does the inscription on the back mean? Because it sort of implies something pretty serious.”
For a few moments, she was silent, her hand creeping up to cover the locket with her fingers. Almost as if she was trying to hide it from him. She finally looked directly at him. “A good friend gave it to me. A friend I met in Paris.”
Unsure why she felt the need to give him any further information, the words came tumbling out of her mouth. “Unfortunately, he seems to want more from me than I want from him. I… I’m not sure what I’m going to do. With the two of us, well… it seems like there’s something missing. At least for me, there is.”
He nodded slowly. “Ah, I see.”
And damn if he didn’t know what else to say. Probably because, truthfully, he didn’t see. Leaning back in his chair, he nodded a few more times as he studied her. He wasn’t quite sure what she meant with the ‘something was missing’ comment.
Then he decided, what the hell. He might as well come out and ask her. What did he have to lose?
Yeah, what was it they said? Go big or go home?
Yeah, sort of like playing ball. You give it your all and you either hit the ball out of the park or you strike out. And this was definitely one of those times he could use a home run.
He tilted his head towards her, giving another slow nod before he spoke. “So… what exactly is it you’re looking for?”
This brought on such a look of panic, he quickly continued. “Hey, I’m only trying to help you out. Part of the agreement we made earlier. You know, the you help me, I’ll help you in return. Then hopefully, between the two of us, we’ll be able to figure out how to make this whole relationship thing work for us.”
He was swift to reassure her. “Again, I’m referring to my relationship. And your relationship.” He nodded towards the locket. “Or whatever you’ve got going on with that.”
She hesitated, looking down at her hands. Then she looked right up and at him, the words flying right out of her mouth. Words she didn’t even know she wanted to say.
Words she suddenly believed with all of her heart.
“I want to be so in love with someone, I’d be willing to do anything for them, with them feeling the same about me. We wouldn’t have to think about it…. there would be no hesitation because we’d both know it was the real thing. And all of this would happen in the spur of the moment, with no looking back, no thought about the future.”
And this is when it hit her. The answer to what she was looking for was sitting right in front of her.
Oh my God… you want this to be with him. Nothing has changed. He really is the one… the man you want to spend the rest of your life with.
She blinked, almost holding her breath as she waited for him to say something. But he didn’t. He only continued to study her, his eyes holding hers. Finally, clasping her hands tightly together, she leaned in closer.
She had to ask. “And what… what about you?”
He smiled. It was a slow smile. A smile that settled deep inside of her,
sending her heart flip-flopping in response.
He reached across the table and took her hands in his. Gently caressing her fingers, his voice was so soft. “I’m beginning to think we both want the same thing. So, maybe we should just wait and see what happens next.”
He abruptly pulled his hands from hers and reached for his wallet. After he pulled out some bills and placed them on the table., he stood, holding out his hand.
“Come. We’ve got to get you home. It’s already after midnight. And after the long day you’ve had, you must be exhausted.”