Name that star

Daily writing prompt
If you could have something named after you, what would it be?
Photo by Daniel Torobekov on Pexels.com

I think it would be fun to have a star (as in an astronomical body) named after me. There are milliona and millions of visible stars so I don’t think it would make me stand out in any way. Not like naming an arena after me. I’m not much for notoriety, so that would be fine by me. But what name would I choose? First name? Full name? Pen name?

How about you, dear reader? What would you have named after you?

Book release at Clockwork Alchemy 2023

I will be attending the 2023 Clockwork Alchemy steampunk convention on Easter weekend (April 7-9) in San Mateo, CA. I will be officially releasing The Vitruvian Mask there! If you attend this (extremely entertaining) convention, stop by the Authors’ Alley and say hello!

Here’s some info from their website:
Clockwork Alchemy is the San Francisco Bay Area’s own steampunk convention, celebrating alternative history, sci-fi, and fantasy.
For anyone who loves sci-fi with an alternate history spin, Clockwork Alchemy provides a 3-day event with an immersive environment, welcoming community, and many hours of panels, games, social events, and concerts.
Clockwork Alchemy is a great event for readers, artists, makers, crafters, costumers, fans, families and more
Immerse yourself in fun and activities all weekend long.
Attend educational panels and classes to learn history, science, literature, crafts and martial arts.
In the evenings, the convention transforms into a showcase of entertainment and music, with concerts and dancing.

https://www.clockworkalchemy.com/

I’ve gone to this event for years and it IS a ton of fun. The musicians alone are amazing. Hope to see you there!

Unwoman, goth cellist
Nathaniel Johnstone, master guitarist
Marquis de Vaudeville, psychedelic cabaret
Lee Presson and the Nails, spooky swing

Taming the Rake by Erica Ridley Book Tour + Book Review = enter daily to win books!


Hello friends!
I am so excited that I was chosen to be part of a blog tour for Erica Ridley’s new book, Taming the Rake. I love her books; they are so much fun. The characters are likeable and she does a great job of making the book world feel real and authentic.

Erica Ridley will be awarding a Winner’s choice ebook or paperback copies of the first TWO books in the Wicked Dukes Club series! (ebooks international) to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.
For other stops on her Goddess Fish Promotions book tour, please click on the link in the image above. Follow the tour and comment; the more you comment, the better you chances of winning.

Erica Ridley is a New York Times and USA Today best-selling author of witty, feel-good historical romance novels, including THE DUKE HEIST, starring the Wild Wynchesters. Why seduce a duke the normal way, when you can accidentally kidnap one in an elaborately planned heist?
In the 12 Dukes of Christmas series, enjoy witty, heartwarming Regency romps nestled in a picturesque snow-covered village. After all, nothing heats up a winter night quite like finding oneself in the arms of a duke!

Two popular series, the Dukes of War and Rogues to Riches, feature roguish peers and dashing war heroes who find love amongst the splendor and madness of Regency England.
When not reading or writing romances, Erica can be found eating couscous in Morocco, zip-lining through rainforests in Central America, or getting hopelessly lost in the middle of Budapest.
https://www.EricaRidley.com
https://twitter.com/EricaRidley
https://facebook.com/EricaRidley
https://instagram.com/EricaRidley
https://goodreads.com/EricaRidley
https://amazon.com/author/ericaridley
https://facebook.com/groups/HistRomBookClub/
https://www.bookbub.com/authors/erica-ridley/

Historical romance author Erica Ridley, Caucasian woman with dark curly hair wearing a yellow dress with a flower behind her ear.

My review:
Erica Ridley’s second installment in the Lords’ in Love series, Taming the Rake, is a delight. In this series, we’re in the fictional town of Marrywell, the site of a marriage festival, the May Day Matchmaking Festival! You just know there are going to be all sorts of goings-on in that setting.
In this book, I loved seeing the romantic convention of rake seducing innocent upended into a tale of a woman taking back her power. Gladys, our heroine, is smart and bookish while managing to be a sensual, lovely sought-after courtesan. She is so cool and collected while being witty. Her nemesis (and love interest) Reuben is all rakish charm on the outside while being horribly insecure. His evolution from a superficial jerk into a lovable, sweet man worthy of Gladys was great fun. Gladys kept Reuben guessing without it getting tiresome. I kept waiting to see what she would do next to torture him. I particularly loved her use of an hourglass to keep him on his toes. There was plenty of heat between them without a great deal of physical action. And as always, Ms. Ridley’s humorous writing kept me smiling throughout.
I recommend this one highly to anyone who enjoys a funny, sexy (without a sex scene in every chapter) historical romance.

**Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book and have voluntarily provided an honest, and unbiased review in accordance with FTC regulations**

Enjoy a fiery, passionate enemies-to-lovers revenge romance from a New York Times bestselling author!

All her life, Miss Gladys Bell was a wallflower whose parents despaired of her ever attracting a suitor. Then she met the man of her dreams, who said she was the woman of his. One passionate night later, Gladys awaits a marriage proposal that never comes. Reuben Medford, the ton’s most notorious rake, doesn’t even remember her name.

Thanks to his cold-hearted callousness, Gladys lost her reputation, her dowry, and her chance at love. But now she’s back, and bent on revenge. He’s trifled with the wrong woman: This wallflower has thorns. Once Gladys holds that damnable rake’s arrogant, fickle heart in her hands… She’ll crush it, just as he did to her.

This time, he’ll remember her name.

https://books.apple.com/us/book/taming-the-rake/id6443430309
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BFP2NPBC/
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/taming-the-rake-erica-ridley/1142269126?ean=2940186632672
https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/taming-the-rake-1
https://books2read.com/2TamingTheRake

Here’s an Exclusive Excerpt!

Reuben smiled. “If you’re wondering why our paths haven’t crossed before, it’s because I rarely
attend gatherings of the beau monde.”
She gazed back at him, neither indicating she’d held any curiosity as to why they hadn’t met
before, nor asking any of the obvious questions, like Why would you avoid the aristocracy? Or,
What have you been doing instead?
“May I accompany you through the maze?” he offered.

“What about your friends back at the grotto?”
“They…” don’t mean anything to me was absolutely the wrong answer.
In fact, Reuben couldn’t think of a right answer. It was as though his mystery woman had laid a
verbal trap for him, which was absurd. Reuben himself had chosen to entertain his harem in the
grotto. It was nobody’s fault at all that this woman happened to walk past an extremely public
place in the center of a celebrated landmark in the middle of a festival.
He ground his teeth in consternation. Usually he was much smoother than this. Or rather,
usually he needn’t try to be smooth at all. The women he surrounded himself with didn’t much
care what Reuben had to say. They wanted what his body could give them, and he was happy
to comply.
Being forced to impress a woman in a rapidly diminishing minute-and-a-few-seconds was
dizzying and confusing. He’d never had to work this hard. If anything, he’d never had to try at
all. He was the one who could pick and choose, who never dallied with the same woman twice,
who had a waiting list a mile long.
“Are you staying for the entire festival?” he blurted out.
“I had planned to.”
“Are you here to find a husband?”
“Are you here to find a wife?”
“No,” he answered honestly. If she didn’t know of his wicked reputation, the least he could do
was set that much straight. “I’ve no intention to marry.”
“No one has caught your eye?”
Everyone caught his eye. It was his heart that would never be caught.

Enter to win two books – a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway info: a randomly selected winner will get their choice of ebook or paperback copies of the first two books in the Wicked Dukes Club series. Like this post and comment to enter the contest. And don’t forget to go to the other stops on the tour to enter there too.

A birthday gift to you!

Happy birthday to ME!

Hands holding a gift wrapped book.

It’s my birthday so I thought I would give you, my readers, a gift! How about a free ecopy of my soon to be released novel The Vitruvian Mask? Yes, you get a copy of the book before it’s even released! Send me an email at bjsikesauthor at gmail .com and I will send you a book, your choice of ePUB, MOBI, or PDF. Just let me know which you’d prefer. Offer good TODAY ONLY, March 13, 2023, so email me quick!

Happy reading, friends!

Five years from now?

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

It usually is asked in a professional setting, like in a job interview and it makes my skin crawl and my stomach clench: where do you see yourself in five years? I don’t know the answer to that question. Am I supposed to come up with some lofty ambition? And if I do, does that then make the questioner feel threatened? Or say something humble so they want me around? Ugh!!! And who even knows what their life or the world will look like in five years? I detest that question so much. So very much. Ugh.

Dream home

Write about your dream home.

To be honest, my home is probably 75% there. I live in a Victorian with a mid-century addition. I adore the high ceilings and sturdy baseboards and door frames. It has hardwood floors in some rooms but laminate in others. In my dream home, they would all be hardwood. The windows are thin and tall, just how I like them. I think the biggest changes would be in the bathroom and kitchen. My dream bathroom is an actual room, not a little closet. Enough room for a clawfoot tub, a shower room, a toilet room and a window looking onto a beautiful secret garden. Kitchen would be all tile with updated appliances and wooden cabinets.

And I’d move the whole house to a quiet village in the North of England, with hills and trees all around, and a sweet little cottage garden.

Reading ebooks with ReadEra

Hi friends, If you have been madly downloading all those free ebooks (including the Archimedean Heart 😉) from Smashwords during their Read eBooks event like I have, you should try this book reading app I am using. It opens all the formats and the controls are easy, unlike others. It has no ads and it’s free! We love free, right?

ReadEra https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.readera&hl=en