Anniversaries are special no matter what you are celebrating. One-year smoke free; two years as a published author; been at your dream job for five; ten, fifteen, twenty-five years married. Celebrate them all. Embrace the tenacity that it took to get there.

It is my pleasure to join in celebrating the Sixth anniversary of Love Bytes. As both an author and an editor, I know that when a reviewer for Love Bytes picks up one of my/our titles, whether they think it’s the best thing they’ve ever read or not exactly their cup of tea (hey, every book isn’t for every reader), they will give an unbiased review in a professional manner without giving away spoilers. This is something that is appreciated on so many levels.

 

Presents are good for anniversaries, right? I’m giving presents to celebrate. One winner can choose either one ebook OR one print copy (yes, I’ll ship internationally) of a title from my WITH ME series.

As an extra giveaway you have a chance to win a ebook copy of choice from the MLR Press store

And since I’m giving away one of my boys, why not see how they celebrated an anniversary. Enjoy!

 

TEN YEARS ALREADY?

 

Fuck, this sucked. Scott was going to kick his ass once he made sure that Mackey was okay. Everything had been going so well this morning. He’d led the payday activities five-mile run, then he’d thrown out the first pitch in the baseball game between Headquarters and Charlie Battery.

Mackey had been standing off beyond first base talking to the battalion sergeant major when he’d heard yelling that had him turning. Bad move on his part according to the doc. When he’d shifted, he only turned his upper body. There had barely been a minute for him to realize a soldier was running right at him before he was tackled to the ground.

He just hoped that everyone forgot the sound he made when he felt his knee snap as he hit the ground. It definitely hadn’t been the manliest sound he’d made in his life. Thank God the heptad wasn’t around to hear it.

After spending three hours at the hospital to find out nothing was broken, his driver dropped him off at the house. Mackey had refused help up the stairs — he had the crutches, thank you very much — and hobbled up to the porch. Waving off his driver, he turned to open the door and saw a note taped on it “Wait for me. Love, S”.

Wait for him? Okay, yeah, he’d wait for Scott until the day he died but right now? He needed to sit down. He’d wait inside with his leg propped up. Did they have any peas in the freezer?

Mackey shoved the door open with his crutch and tossed his keys toward the table next to the door. Just as he watched his keys hit the floor, there was a loud roar of “Surprise!”

“I told you to wait for me,” Scott said from behind him. “What did you do?” Mackey lost his balance and almost ended on his fourth point of contact.

“Mackey, let me help you,” Mooney said as he caught him.

“What the hell?” Kevin shouted then yelped. “Britt!”

“Watch your language. There are still little ones that will repeat their uncle or Dad,” Brittany admonished.

Once Mackey was steady, Mooney and Danny helped him to the couch then he was attacked by his nibbles. “How— What—”

“Close your mouth, Mackey. We came to surprise you. Happy anniversary!” Debbie said from the reclining chair, holding up a glass of wine.

“Anniversary? Wrong couple, Debs. Kev and Britt are celebrating ten this year. Tomorrow, in fact?” Mackey looked to Scott for confirmation, who nodded.

“Ah but our fine fellow, you and Scott met ten years ago today. So happy anniversary,” Mike corrected.

“And Uncle Key?” Cam called from the dining room.

“Do you know what this means?” Cal asked.

Mackey just shook his head at his oldest nibbles. They were never going to change, and he was kinda glad about that.

“Cake?”

 

Kris Jacen grew up just north of Boston, Massachusetts, met her soldier in high school but didn’t marry him until almost ten years later. She moved around with him and their daughters (born in two different states thanks to the Army) for the first 19 years of their marriage (they celebrated their silver anniversary in 2018) before settling in western New York.

She has been the Editor in Chief and Formatting Director for ManLoveRomance Press and its imprints since January of 2008 and has never looked back. Working with the amazing authors at MLR has allowed her to both hone her editorial skills and indulge her inner fangirl. She also acts as editor, mentor and sounding-board for newcomers which lets her “pay-it-forward” and help authors realize their dreams.

You can find out more about Kris on her website www.krisjacen.com.

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GUEST POST – L. J. HARRIS

LOVE BYTES 6 YEAR ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

 

When I think back to any time in my life where I felt the need to take on a new challenge, I always found myself jumping into the deep end without thought of the consequences. Like the time I decided to try my hand at water-skiing. Instead of starting with two skis then graduating to one, as was my way, I did it the other way around. My husband, from what I seem to recall, called me ‘arsy’ when I managed to stand up on one ski my very first try.

 

I did the same when I took a pottery class. All I wanted to do was get to the good part and use the potter’s wheel (flashbacks to the movie, Ghost, anyone?), but no matter how much I begged, my teacher insisted I learn how to make some handmade pieces first. As far as the results of those early efforts were concerned, a pre-schooler could have done better, but I still learned by my experience. A few weeks later, I finally got the opportunity to use the wheel to my heart’s content (and still have some of the pieces I created dotted around the house).

 

Things were no different when it came to my writing. Instead of doing the sensible thing, perhaps building up to my first full-length novel, I dove on in and wrote 120k on my first attempt. Since then, I’ve pared things back a little, publishing some poetry, paranormal and contemporary romance while continuing to learn and grow with each creation. I have no idea whether or not I’ll publish my first writing effort (I’d probably need six months off work to even get it to first draft stage) but either way, it doesn’t matter. Creating that story ignited a passion in me that I don’t see dimming anytime soon.

 

Inspiration can come from many places, and my upcoming release is no exception. The idea for Just Like Pulling Teeth (due out this month) came about through my own experience of having my wisdom teeth removed by the most gorgeous looking dentist a person could ask for, humiliating myself quite thoroughly by flirting with the man while under the influence of laughing gas. It was originally part of an anthology, but the story has been revamped with an 8k bonus chapter, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

 

 

My upcoming projects include releasing eliXXir, book 2 in my Men of New York series by the end of 2019. In the next instalment, we get to know one of the characters from His Personal Assistant (book 1 in the series) a little more, and a new character by the name of Noah Middleton is introduced. Luke and Kade as well as Justin and Wes will feature also, and I can’t wait to share this story.

 

The Scottish Highlands will also be revisited with a sequel set one year after The Haunting of Angus Macgregor took place. Daniel and Angus will be returning along with Maddie and some new characters. I have one scene in my head already, and the storyline is coming along so well, I find myself telling the characters to shut up and wait their turn so I can finish writing eliXXir! They don’t listen, by the way.

I hope you’ll join me and many other wonderful authors in congratulating Love Bytes Reviews for their 6^-year anniversary, with many more years to come. To celebrate this special occasion, I’m giving away a signed paperback of Just Like Pulling Teeth before any versions of the story are available for sale, as well as His Personal Assistant. This giveaway is open internationally.

 

LJ Harris

L.J. HARRIS is a mother, wife, an introvert and author. Her family is her life, her soul, and the very reason she gets out of bed every day. Coming a close second is her writing.

 

She discovered a passion for putting pen to paper in her later years, jotting down poems in birthday cards for family members.

 

It was then a spark was lit, and ever since, she hasn’t been able to switch off the urge to share her stories.

 

L.J. Harris discovered that as much as experiencing pain, loss and betrayal can be devastating, capturing the feelings of anguish and loss that some of her characters have had to endure without firsthand knowledge would have proved difficult.

 

L.J. has been previously published and has shared several online stories and looks forward to continuing to share her work.

 

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/L.-J.-Harris/e/B009XVTC06/

Website: https://theworldofljharris.blogspot.com.au/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lisaharrisauthor/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LJHarrisAuthor/