Chapter One-ish
Steep a cup of tea and treat yourself to a first chapter
With Love From Paris
by Em J. Knowles
Coming May 13, 2024
Secret Identity, Billionaire,
Matchmaker
Career driven romance writer who doesn't believe in true love, Frannie Darling, is under deadline and experiencing writer's block. As a last resort, she runs away to Paris to try a new story technique called Method Writing, similar to Method Acting.
World traveling billionaire and hopeless romantic Sebastian is exhausted from being used for his money, so he seeks the assistance of world famous Matchmaker Adeline L' Amour.
When the walls are up, how in the world is Elias ever going to penetrate the fortress of his love interest?
Prologue
Frannie
I OPEN MY NIGHTSTAND DRAWER and pull out a rope of condoms and toss them into the suitcase.
“Are you serious?” My best friend, Becca, plops down on the bed. She picks up the condoms. She’s always had at least one more button done up than me.
Straight faced, I feign sincerity. “I’ve never been more serious about anything in my whole life.”
“Stop,” she says. “What if TSA searches your suitcase? In front of everyone?”
“That’d be really funny.”
“We’re so different,” she says.
With Love From...
by Em J. Knowles
Blurb Coming Soon
Becca is the Heroine!
But Bill is not her Hero...
A new setting
A new man
A new life
Do fairy tales really come true?
Snippet from Chapter One
Becca
FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, I promise to love and cherish myself. I promise to take care of my own heart in sickness and in health. I drink the fizzy nectar down and grab a full bottle and head to the cliff.
No one notices that I leave. I'm all alone in this beautiful foreign country. Life can be pretty wonderful and pretty shitty at the same time.
I plop down on the edge of the cliff and pop the top of my champagne. I watch the cork fly far and then head down to the water.
The beach is quiet. The water is like glass. Several hundred feet off shore a sizable yacht is anchored.
"What the fuck?"
Greta and Charlie
by Em J. Knowles
Best Friend's Brother
Badass loner surfer girl
Scared nerdy bird photographer guy
What could possibly go wrong?
Coming Fall of 2024
Chapter One
Greta
THE MOON IS ROUND AND FAT, bulbous really. If it were a woman, she’d be pregnant, an overdue Mamma, like a giant glowing pumpkin, bowing at the sides. The orb looks as if it’s bobbing on the surf, then it slowly rises into the night sky. Men in black and blue wet suits straddle their boards and nod with the waves.
Just like every other day, they invite me into their circle. I respectfully decline, but I sit on my board close enough to hear their conversation but far enough to feel like I can get away. Even though they don’t know my story, they seem to respect my choice, but still, they leave an opening for me and my board. I imagine they want me to know I’m welcome, whenever I’m ready, if I am ever ready, but I do not want to enter their sphere. My heart whispers I can trust them, but my brain reminds me my heart is a trickster.
Under the Banyan Tree
by Em J. Knowles
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Enemies to Lovers
Layla
School teacher by day
Dog-mom by night
Always chooses the bad boy,
i.e. bad for her
Snow
Single dad and fisherman finding his way after an honorable discharge from the Army
Will he ever believe in love again?
Will Layla and Snow give up old ideas & old ways of loving
for one more chance at happiness?
Chapter One
Layla
“YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. You are smart. You are kind.” A calm woman’s voice echoes through my AirPods.
I shift in my seated position.
“Now breathe,” she says.
I inhale through my nose and blow the hot Florida air out like it’s my birthday.
“You are beautiful. You are smart. You are kind.”
I know my best friend Jasmine meant well when she passed along this meditation, but this woman’s so-called soothing voice might be too nasally for me. I squint one eye open. The predawn sky glows purple, and a smattering of stars still sparkle.
“You are beautiful—”
I pinch the voice off and open both eyes. The grass under my thighs is pointy and jabbing me in all the wrong places. Settling my mind this morning is not happening. I wonder if the donut shop is open this early. Don’t start your day with sugar, I tell myself. I sigh at the thought of my desire to eat every last donut in St. Pete. I won’t do it, but I want to.
To distract myself, I look across the water and search for rising dolphins. After dogs, they’re my second favorite living creature. It’s not uncommon to see the beauties around St. Pete especially just before dawn, but the bay is still dark, and the water is barely moving. From someplace close by, a dog franticly barks. In my experience when a dog barks like that, it means they or someone nearby is hurt.
“Where’s that dog?” I say to my toy poodle, Annie, as I rest my hand on her tiny back. Her ears perk up, and a quiet whimper escapes her mouth.
Everything in Between
by Emma Wilde
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Available Now
Later in Life, Beach Town Romance
Jack
Silver Fox ~ Doctor ~ Widower
Once upon a time, he married his soulmate.
But, she died. Can one person be so fortunate as to have two soulmates? And if so, will Jack risk another broken heart for the chance at loving again?
Daisy
Artist ~ Yogi ~ Divorcee
A woman who lives in the moment because we're never promised tomorrow.
Will a life changing diagnosis make Daisy give up on the possibility of finally finding her one true love?
Chapter One
Jack
I’M STANDING IN THE PRODUCE SECTION squeezing every avocado in the bin. I can’t help but think about the silver haired woman I keep seeing around town and hoping she’ll walk through the doorway in front of me.
The glass doors slide open, and I’m disappointed because it’s not her. Lately, it’s felt like we’re on the same schedule even though we’re complete strangers. In the last week, we’ve run into each other at the BMV, the library, and even the dentist’s office. It’s like fate is in a hurry and pushing us together at every turn. I pick up one more avocado and find it’s almost ripe.
The doors slide open again. I look up, and there she is. For just a moment, our eyes lock. My heart quickens. There’s a flicker of recognition before she looks away. She grabs a basket and glances back at me. She has the most mesmerizing deep blue eyes I've ever seen. She tilts her head, and her hair falls across her cheek. She smiles. I turn to make sure no one is behind me, so I can know if she’s smiling at me. She is. I toss the avocado in my palm and fumble the catch. She giggles and looks away. Feeling a little embarrassed, I pick up the fruit and toss it into my basket and walk over to the tomatoes.