End of ROW80, and Two Stories by Kait Nolan!

ow, another round of A Round of Words in 80 Days has come to an end.

My ROW80 goals for this round kept changing -- which is the best part of ROW80; it's the "writing challenge that knows you have a life".

First I was knitting, then NaNoing. I've got some notes and five pages of Larksong still to type, Druid's Moon notes to check and editing to do, last year's NaNo story to type up, and this year's NaNo to finish (plus I should try to finish my CampNaNo story from July as well). Also some blog tidying and some more knitting...

Meanwhile, I've recently read two lovely stories, a short story and a novella, by the founder of ROW80 herself, Kait Nolan:

Be Careful, It's My Heart: The first book in Kait's Wishful series (though not the first book in the chronological timeline of the town of Wishful). This series is Kait's "love song to the South, showing everything I love about my home state of Mississippi. I hope you'll join me for the ride as I follow the independent women of Wishful as they look for love in this new southern contemporary romance series."

The best things happen while you're acting...
The historic Madrigal theater, in the heart of downtown Wishful, is about to close its doors forever. A last ditch fund-raising effort, a production of White Christmas, is probably the only thing that could bring Tyler Edison out of retirement. She fell in love on that stage, but when Brody Jensen abandoned her, she lost the heart to sing and dance for the crowd. Maybe it's time to take that back...
It seems like pure chance when Brody's job, which has taken him all over the world, brings him back to his little hometown to oversee his boss's latest secret project. Brody's looking for closure, planning to sell the house his parents left him and finally put his past, and his memories of Tyler, behind him. What better way than to be a part of this last show? Even though his leading lady is surely long gone...
Put on your dancing shoes, auditions start at six o'clock.

I love Kait's shorter stories, both the Wishful series and the Meet Cute romances. They're perfect for when you have an hour or two to spare and want to dive into a sweet, heartwarming tale. Not to say there isn't suspense! Tyler and Brody in Be Careful, It's My Heart spar with the best of them -- and just when I thought their story was done (and I was getting all teary), there was an added twist!

Which leads me to...

The newest story set in the town of Wishful: Once Upon A Setup

 

The historic Madrigal Theater in the heart of downtown Wishful is on the verge of closing its doors, and Piper Parish is on a mission to save it -- even if it means pulling a little deception to get her best friend back up on the stage where she had her heart broken. When new-to-town newspaperman Myles Stewart catches on to his co-star's shenanigans, he has a choice -- keep quiet or get to the bottom of things. He's never been able to resist a story...and he's not sure he wants to resist Piper.

Piper and Myles' story is deftly woven around the events in Be Careful, It's My Heart. You might think you know what they're up to, but there're still some tense moments... Not to mention some intense romance!

I love the idea of love at first sight, and Kait's stories are so good at making you believe in the characters' love -- and in their happily ever after.

Once Upon A Setup is now available here: Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks, Kobo, Scribd, Barnes and Noble, and Goodreads.

Also, the first novel in the Wishful series, To Get Me To You, is available for free, and a box set of all five Meet Cute romances to date is now on sale on Amazon -- this is going to make a great gift over the holidays!

Since we live far away from family and most friends, I'm always on the lookout for good gifts that can be ordered online.

All suggestions are welcome!