Friday 30 September 2016

Movie - "Bridget Jones's Baby"



Last weekend I went to see the “Bridget Jones’s Baby” movie. There were some funny moments and sometimes I couldn’t get enough laughs out of my chest before the story moved on. The movie trailer reveals the basic story—Bridget Jones is going to have a baby, but she doesn’t know who the father is. 

How mature singleton and Londoner, Bridget Jones, gets in the family way and gives birth to the baby is the comic, awkward, hilarious, and complicated entertainment in the movie.

Renee Zellweger is Bridget Jones and Renee does a wonderful job reminding the viewer of Bridget’s world. She’s still a mess, terrible at public speaking, clumsy, and makes the wrong decisions. She’s not perfect, she’s human and vulnerable. In this movie, Bridget get’s the distracted brain of a pregnant woman who forgets things like the PIN number for her money card, her handbag and flat keys etc. I’ve been in that hazy, zombie zone myself, and it lasted after the baby was born. Whoops!

But Bridget doesn’t give up trying to improve her life. It’s not that she thinks she’s strong. She just keeps going until things work out better for her. She has some sort of hopeful optimism that bubbles up inside of her.

The movie starts with Bridget celebrating her birthday, she’s alone and single again, but older in this movie world. It’s time for Bridget to kick up her heels and live a little. I’m not going to give away any spoilers about the baby Daddy, but Bridget does fall into bed with two different men on separate occasions.

source: www.mirror.co.uk
Romeo number one is American Billionaire, Jack, played by Patrick Dempsey (McDreamy). Bridget embarrasses herself, and the scenes with Jack start off funny. Jack is a likable guy. He’s a good time with no string attached. As the story unfolds, he supports Bridget’s pregnancy and says positive things to her. I liked that Jack was a caring man.

source: www.mirror.co.uk
Romeo number two is Mark Darcy, mister stuffy lawyer man, who seems to catch Bridget in her embarrassing moments. Is he judging her? Disapproving of her behavior? It’s always hard to read him. 

Mark dresses sharply in the way of a fine English gentleman. I was challenged by his cool reserve. The way he kept things close to his chest, and didn’t reveal much of what he was feeling. He described himself as “emotionally constrained”, and Colin Firth did portray that well. For ten years, Bridget and Mark had an unresolved relationship, did they love one another or was it over?

When the opportunity arose for Bridget and Mark to get together, the icebergs melted. The couple circled each other in the room of a country house. Something changed in Mark’s eyes, there was warmth, sparks, passion—he was going to seduce Bridget! 

Who is the baby Daddy? Which man does Bridget want a future with? At the end of the movie all of the answers are revealed.

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The Movie Synopsis

After breaking up with Mark Darcy (Firth), Bridget Jones’s (Zellweger) “happily ever after” hasn’t quite gone according to plan. Fortysomething and single again, she decides to focus on her job as top news producer and surround herself with old friends and new. For once, Bridget has everything completely under control. What could possibly go wrong?

Then her love life takes a turn and Bridget meets a dashing American named Jack (Dempsey), the suitor who is everything Mr. Darcy is not. In an unlikely twist she finds herself pregnant, but with one hitch…she can only be fifty percent sure of the identity of her baby’s father.
source: www.bridgetjonesmovie.com
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The Movie Trailer


Have a relaxing weekend.
Life's short.
We all grow old.
Do something you enjoy!
♥ Ashlyn

Friday 23 September 2016

Book - "Lost in Amber" by Rebecca Raine


Rebecca is back on the blogger with her third book, “Lost in Amber.” Last February, I got myself hot and tangled when I blogged about her book, “Our Little Secret”. Two erotic guys want to share their lives with one woman, only they have to make a move on practical, responsible Julia before she says goodbye.
“Our Little Secret” was the first book in the Finding Forever series.
“Lost in Amber.” is now the second contemporary romance book in the same series and it tells the story of Amber and Lincoln.
I was just reading a review of the book…
“Rebecca Raine has a wonderful quirky style of writing that makes you laugh out loud. With hot sex scenes tossed in to keep things spicy. –AusReader, Amazon.com

Here’s the Blurb
True love should always come with a convenient expiry date.

Amber O’Hara loves her life as a single woman. She does what she wants, when she wants and never answers to anyone. And when she wants someone to do? As far as Amber is concerned, that’s what friends are for.

After a childhood marred by casual neglect, Lincoln Zane craves a deeper connection—in life and relationships. He’s not about to settle for Amber’s offer of a friendship with benefits, but he will counter with an offer of his own. He’ll give her the freedom from commitment she desires, but in return he’ll demand she not shy away from the intensity of their passion for the short time they’ll be together. After all, love doesn’t have to last forever to be real.

In Lincoln’s proposal, Amber sees her chance to experience the depth of a ‘real’ relationship, without compromising her future. It’s a temptation too great to resist. But as the bond between them grows, they discover love doesn’t always play by the rules.

Now they’re lost in each other, will they ever find their way back to freedom?

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“Lost in Amber” is available now for the Kindle price of $2.99 US and $3.99 Aus.
Here's the link, Amazon.com

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Rebecca kindly provided an excerpt of the story.

Amber O’Hara stood on the footpath with only an umbrella to protect her from the rain and wondered if keeping her job was motivation enough to ruin her favourite pair of heels. Four metres of mud lay between her and the front porch of the almost complete house. Inside the house, her boss waited for her to deliver important documentation that required his immediate approval and signature. If she didn’t have the documents in the post by six o’clock, heads would roll. Her head, specifically.
Granted, with her current income she could easily afford to buy half a dozen pairs of shoes if she wished. But finding another pair of six-inch heels this comfortable would be like searching for the Holy Grail. Divine intervention would be required.
“Can I help you?”
The masculine drawl came from somewhere to her left and Amber turned her gaze from the inconveniently placed mud to see a pair of dirty work boots beside her. As she tilted her umbrella back, a pair of muscular legs came into view, followed by a body that knew exactly how to fill out a set of gardening clothes and did so admirably. Then her slow perusal reached his head and her admiration for his fine form choked up and died.
It wasn’t the liberal splattering of mud all over him that turned her off. She could appreciate the dishevelment that came from a hard day of manual labour. Nor was he unpleasant to look at. In fact, she would have considered him quite good-looking in a rough, uncompromising sort of way—if he wasn’t smirking at her.
Amber had no patience for men who smirked at women.
“I’m looking for Scott Mason,” she said. The rain had reduced to little more than a drizzle, so she closed her small umbrella with a snap.
The muddy gardener gestured to the house. “He’s inside somewhere.”
“Yes. That’s what I thought.” She eyed the mud again before asking, “Is there another way in?”
The smirk grew wider and he crossed his arms over his overly enthusiastic pectoral muscles and favoured her with an amused shrug. “Not currently.”
Amber sighed. He was not being particularly helpful in her time of need. “Don’t you normally put down wooden boards or something? So you don’t traipse mud all over the client’s new house?”
“Sure,” he nodded. “But just about everyone is gone for the day and I had to spread the soil before the lawn shows up tomorrow. So I removed them.”
“The soil,” she repeated. “You mean this mudslide?”
“Yes. That’s what soil turns into when it gets wet.” He wasn’t actually laughing out loud at her, but she figured it was a close thing.
Amber scowled at his condescension. “Well, it’s a very level mudslide. I’ll be sure to let the head gardener know how industrious you’ve been.”
“Would you?” he replied with a blatantly false look of sincerity. “That would be great. I really want to impress the boss.”
She felt the corner of her top lip lifting in a clear show of distaste and yanked it back down. It would be unprofessional of her to get into an argument with this man and since she’d inherited this job from her best friend, Julia, less than six months ago she wanted to be as professional as possible. Julia had been unflinchingly professional in every way and so could she. “Of course,” she said with a wide not-so-convincing smile of her own. “Well, I’ll be heading inside now.”
Her weight shifted from one foot to the other as she considered the best form of attack. Maybe she should take her shoes off before crossing the mud. Except then she’d have muddy feet and wouldn’t be able to enter the house at all—or put her shoes back on.
“You’re going to ruin your shoes.” Another drawled comment from Captain Freaking Obvious.
“I’m aware of that,” she snapped. Why, oh why, had she offered to bring these papers to Scott after she left work? She’d thought it would be a quick matter of popping into a construction site so he could approve the changes his partner, Derek, had made and add his signature to the bottom. Then she could pop the envelope into the post box on her way home. It had all sounded so simple. Until she found herself confronted with a river of sludge. Damn it. She loved these shoes.
“Come on, princess.” The gardener stepped forward, grabbed her wet umbrella with one hand, and scooped her up into his arms before she had a chance to react.
Her feet flew up in the air and she squealed as she gripped onto him for dear life. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
He adjusted her in his arms before taking a few long strides over the mud. His step was sure and steady, despite carrying her squirming self in his arms. “I’m saving you the tears you’ll shed over the destruction of those torture devices you call shoes.”
“How dare you? Put me down!”
Coming to a stop, he leaned forward to peer over her body at the ground. The move shifted her balance in his arms and she squeaked in horror and gripped onto him tighter.
“Are you sure you want me to put you down?”
Amber peeked over her shoulder and saw the muck surrounding them. The front porch of the house was now a mere two metres away.
“Yes,” she said with as much dignity as she could muster. “I want you to put me down, right there.” She pointed at the safety of the porch with one manicured finger.
He started to laugh. The full, deep sound reverberated through her body until she could feel her own mouth twitching at the corners, despite her fear his continued mirth would cause him to lose his balance and drop her. She gripped onto his arms and felt the shift of heavy, corded muscles beneath the tanned skin. Yeah, okay, it was time to get out of his arms before she started to lose her head.
“You’ve had your fun. Can you please get on with the saving part now?”
A few long strides later, he stepped up onto the porch. One arm slid out from behind her knees and her legs swung down toward the wet, but relatively clean, wood. She held onto his shoulders as her feet touched down and she regained her balance.
His hands shifted to her waist, steadying her, and for a moment, their gazes met. The late afternoon light fell across his face, showing his eyes to be a pale green. Compared to the rest of him, which suffered the ill effects of toiling with dirt in the heavy rain of an hour ago, his eyes were crystal clear.
Yes, he was more than a little good-looking under all the dirt. Rough. Roguish. But hot all the same.
Realising she was staring, not to mention the fact they had yet to let go of each other, she snatched her hands away from his shoulders and stepped back so his hands slid off her waist. She took a deep breath in an effort to recover her composure.
“Thank you for your assistance, Mr…?”
“Linc,” he said as he handed the umbrella back to her.
“Mr Linc,” she repeated. “Though next time you decide to put your hands on a woman be sure to ask permission first. Do you understand?”
There was that maddening smirk again. “Sure thing, princess,” he said, placing his hands on his hips.
She paused in the process of flattening out the envelope she’d crushed in her hand to look up at him. “I’m not a princess. I’m an accountant.”
“My mistake.” He licked his lips and laughed as his gaze travelled the length of her—twice. “You sure do look like a princess.”
Amber frowned as she checked her outfit. She was dressed in a tailored navy blue skirt suit, paired with a cream knitted top. Her jewellery included a trendy coral necklace with matching earrings. It was a clean, modern look, but nothing was going to stop her ensemble from screaming ‘office worker’ to anyone within a fifty metre radius. In no way, shape or form, would she ever be mistaken for a princess.
Tilting her head back, and now she was this close she realised how far back she had to tilt to do that, she narrowed her eyes at his amused countenance and pressed her lips into a thin line. “Good day, Mr Linc. Enjoy your dirt.”
She walked into the house and slammed the door behind her, but she couldn’t block out the sound of his laughter echoing in her ears. For all his supposed chivalry, the man was still a condescending bastard. No amount of sex appeal could make up for a bad attitude.
When she exited the house twenty minutes later there was no sign of the dirty gardener. There was, however, a path of wooden boards stretching from the porch all the way to the footpath. Her shoes would live to see another day, after all.

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About “Lost in Amber” from Rebecca
This book started out as my way of exploring two disparate parts of myself. Lincoln is the minimalist part of me who doesn’t like to be surrounded by too much stuff, hates the thought of wasting the earth’s resources and wants to live simply. Amber is the girly part who adores pretty dresses and fancy restaurants and wants to chill on the couch binging on chips and TV marathons. I really enjoyed putting them in a room together and watching the sparks fly!





About Rebecca Raine
Rebecca is a long-time lover of all things romance. Whether it’s a book, movie, or real-life, she will always have more fun if there’s a love interest thrown into the mix. She lives in Queensland, Australia with her very own hero husband, two adorable children and one big, black dog. Other than reading and writing books, her favourite things include loud music, enjoying a glass of wine on the patio, organising everything in existence, and spending too much time on the Internet.

Connect with Rebecca
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Rebecca’s other books...


Some risks are worth taking.
         Blog post link; Our Little Secret 



Ignite the magick within, or be hunted in the dark.
Blog post link; Splinter  

Rebecca, congratulations for the launch of your third book! I look forward to your "Finding Forever" book series growing with more hot and humorous, heroes and heroines.

Have a good week.
Ashlyn

Friday 16 September 2016

Book - "Hen Party 1 (The First Novella)" by Ashlyn Brady


Woo hoo, I’ve published my debut novella!

I resisted writing this rebellious romance because it wasn’t a story I could imagine myself publishing. I rewrote and revised the story over and over again for a long time, trying to make it not so loud, softer in its themes, and less raw. I lost the battle with the characters. The Hen Party story can’t pretend to be something that it’s not. With a lighter heart, I cheered on the unlikely couple who were falling for each other among the chaos of a girls’ night out. There’s some laughs to be had, the book is entertainment and not to be taken seriously.

I think it’s a rockin’ romance but ultimately readers will decide its worth.

I’d like to acknowledge the group of women with a sense of humor who helped me sort out the kinks in the story. The draft manuscript traveled around Australia, to the USA, England and Ireland. My heartfelt thanks goes to my fellow writers from RWA (Australia) for their critiques, Justine Lewis, Kate, and Catherine. And also to Cindy. To the three editors who sifted through the chaos and helped polish the words—Corinne DeMaagd, Sarah McNamara, and one other.

Amygdala Design in Norway made the beautiful book cover. Ida made the artwork better than I could ever have imagined.

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A year ago, I made my first video about the Hen Party. It seems a little amateurish now, but what the heck? It’s a bit of fun, and here it is;



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Hen Party the first novella is about…

A brave heroine, Kyra is thrust into the hen party action, lacking confidence, doubting herself and trying to safeguard her best friend— the bride’s happiness. She meets a mysterious man like no other she’s met before. He’s gorgeous, has good manners and is oh so seductive. Then she discovers his true identity and her life is never going to be the same again.

The handsome hero, Jovanni is a dark tiger of a man, with a secret agenda. He has traditional views on marriage and family. As the night unfolds, so does his sensual nature, and the longing to have a special woman in his life grows irresistibly. He finds the right woman at the Hen Party, but he’s more in danger of losing her than spending the night getting to know her.

Love runs a rocky course for the couple…and the Hen Party story is the beginning of their affair.

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 The Blurb from Amazon…

Secrets are never meant to be revealed…

Unlucky in love, Kyra Jamieson, is stuck in a rut. Her career in Sales is stalled and she’s all but given up looking for Mr. Right. As chief bridesmaid, she must put aside her failings, overcome her envy, and ensure her best friend, Elin’s hen party goes off without a hitch.

It should be a happy celebration if the crazy girlfriends don’t play tricks on her. And the racy entertainment doesn’t get out of hand. Who knew a gorgeous mystery man was going to invite himself to the girls’ night out?

CEO, Jovanni Tisci has a shocking agenda—to stop Elin’s wedding from going ahead without losing smart and beautiful Kyra, the woman he desires.

One kiss from seductive Jovanni and Kyra is caught in his sexy trap. Whether she gives away his secrets or not, there'll be consequences...for everyone.

Hen Party 1 (The First Novella) is available exclusively as a Kindle e-book at Amazon. The price is $0.99 US. If you’re interested, here’s the link, Amazon.com

 Hen Party 2 (The Second Novella) will be published 29 September 2016 on Amazon.

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I hang out at the Blogger site every week, and on Google + daily, and other places sporadically. If you’d like to connect with me on my other social media sites, you can find me here;

Blog Site

Google Plus

Facebook

Goodreads

Pinterest

Twitter

Email
ashlynbradyauthor@gmail.com

Ashlyn Brady – Sacred Earth, for the love of Gaia, Google + site

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News about the First Novella

Not good news…the novella had been published for one day when it was uploaded to a pirate book site. I was devastated…I felt like a mother whose newborn baby had been ripped out of her arms and taken by a sinister force. I questioned whether I should continue writing if people were going to steal my books from me. Fortunately, my romance writer friends gave me advice, supported me, and offered cyber hugs. They pulled me through the darkness and out the other side.

Over the days that followed, the pirate book sites who offered my novella for free, multiplied. I watched my story spread around the world, but it wasn’t in a good way. From my own investigations of a pirate website, when I clicked on my book, it unleashed an attacking virus on my laptop. Nasty, indeed!

Some other advice I received was that the pirate book sites can also be phishing sites, scams, trying to get people’s credit card details so they can steal their money.

There was a suggestion that book pirating is done by a computer somewhere in the world that trolls for new releases, and it’s not an actual person doing the thieving.

So I was a newbie publisher who did a google search on her book and got in a flutter over pirating. In the meantime, I’m writing a new series of short romance books about a Bachelor Pirate and his Lady Love set in the Victorian Era. Yo-ho-ho…I’ll have the last laugh on the book pirates when the wheel of karma turns their way!

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Thanks for reading about my debut novella.
Whatever book is in your stash, happy reading!
Ashlyn

Friday 9 September 2016

September Highlights - Romance Readers, Writers and Books



Is romance missing from modern courtships between women and men?
Is hook-up culture partly to blame?

The world of romance books tells a different story.
The desire for romance, sex, love, commitment or relationships are central themes in the genre books. 



Love the romance books and;

Happy times…

Travelling places…

Adventures,

Meeting new people…

Falling in love…

Hooked on a book…

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In my 2015 September Romance Highlights post, I wrote, Romance books are largely women-centric and written by women for women… The romance industry is evolving, dynamic, and at the forefront of change.”

Some changes worth a mention include,

  Men are writing romance stories for women. I ran a google search on male romance writers and the first three entries were;

The Secret Lives of Male Romance Novelists
List of Male Romance Authors (Some using Feminine Pseudonyms)
On Goodreads – Looking for romances written by men

  Couples are reading romance stories together, which seems doubly romantic. Sarah Wendell from the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books website, interviewed 2 couples who read romance. The interview is available as a podcast or transcript, here’s the link, http://smartbitchestrashybooks.com/ 

  Maverick women writers are upending the book industry. One of the authors, went against the norm, and self-published a romance story about a nice guy. Her series of books sold 12 million copies in three years. I’ll be posting an article about these writers selling millions on Google + later in the month.

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Hugh Howey is a best-selling American author, who writes Sci-Fi and also stories in other genres.  Over many years, Hugh has posted advice and guidance about self-publishing to help independent writers. Hugh Howey & Data Guy run a website called authorearnings.com. The purpose of the website is to gather and share information so that writers can make informed decisions. The secondary mission is to call for change within the publishing community for better pay and fairer terms in all contracts.

In July 2016, Data Guy made a presentation to the Romance Writers of America about Amazon author earnings for Romance books. He says that Romance is HUGE, but grossly under-reported. He discusses how many romance books are bought in the US every year, books in series versus stand-alone books, long or short stories, novel or novella, plus more. Here’s the link to the RWA presentation, author earnings-rwa-pan-presentation


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During September, I’ll be blogging and posting on Google+ , articles about romance readers, writers and books. It’s one of my favorite blog times of the year. 
I hope you can join me again, either here or over at G+ for a little romancing.
Happy-for-now or happy-ever-after?
Ashlyn

Friday 2 September 2016

Happy Father's Day for Sunday 4 September 2016


Hello to all the fathers!
It’s almost time to celebrate Dad’s special day of a year.
Fathers like jokes, there's so many of them on the internet that tell me so.
Let’s have a laugh together and remember our special Dads.


The Cook in the Kitchen
Has your father ever cooked a snack or a meal for you?
My dad used to make me a cup of hot milk coffee in the microwave oven.
My grandfather used to cook, almost boiled to nothing, cabbage with lashings of butter and black pepper.

Dad’s cookingSomething old, something blue, something frozen, call it stew.”

Source: Rob at www.jokesabout.net 
N.B  Apologies to the fathers who are good cooks.


The Star Wars Dad

For all the Dads who are Star Wars fans. Don’t worry, you can wear your favorite costume when you’re out and about with your kids.

source: www.dumpaday.com
And when the kids grow up, Dad can add to his Stars Wars costume with the “Darth Vader does not approve” look.

source: http://2damnfunny.com

The Shrek Dad

source: fotofolia.com


source: http://screencrave.com

Smiling Dad

Wanna know what makes me smile?
Face muscles.

Source: Pinterest.com

source: http://2damnfunny.com

The Singing Dad


It’s the Dad Life. Rap your heart out, Daddy-O!



Have a happy weekend!

Ashlyn