Do you like character name guides or nah? + What I’m Watching and Listening to Now.

*Three Weeks Until Never the Right Time!!

*Reader Question: Character Name Guides?

*What I’m Watching: My Life is Murder

*What I’m Listening to: Casablanco by Marsha Ambrosius

Three weeks till Never the Right Time!!

How’s the weather where you are?

Here in Central North Carolina, it’s been wild. Temperatures in the high eighties and low nineties and thunderstorms and rain at some point nearly every day for what feels like at least two weeks. I’ve lived here for nearly fifteen years, and I don’t ever recall this much rain.

Tell me where you hail from and what your weather has been like here.

We’re on the countdown, Rachel It’s just three more weeks until NEVER THE RIGHT TIME, Ced and Nikki’s story, will be here. I’ve loved writing this story and watching these two express their love through both practical means and grand gestures. If you’ve read any of my books, you already know how much I love writing secondary characters. In NEVER THE RIGHT TIME, Nikki’s sister Avionne and Cedrick’s sisters Rionne and Quita also make multiple appearances in the story.  And I loved writing their family dynamics.

Reader Question: Character Name Guides?

Have you ever read a story, and you weren’t quite sure how to pronounce one of the main character’s names? Did it bug you the entire time, or were you cool with just deciding for yourself how the name should be pronounced?

Not knowing how to correctly pronounce a character’s name is very distracting for me, but not enough to make me stop reading a story or to prevent me from enjoying it. But I’d love to hear your opinion. You can share it with me here or by clicking the button below.

What I’m Watching: My Life is Murder

Though I write romance, most of what my husband and I watch at home is murder mysteries. Many of the shows we watch are British or Canadian. Recently, we’ve added a couple of Kiwi shows (set in New Zealand) to the mix. My Life is Murder, starring Lucy Lawless (Xena Warrior Princess) follows the adventures of unconventional private investigator Alexa Crowe, who solves the complex unsolved crimes the local police can’t solve with the help of her hacker friend and assistant. It’s a fun show with great characters, perplexing cases, and seasons two through four feature lovely shots of Auckland, New Zealand. 

What I’m listening to: Casablanco by Marsha Ambrosius

I love fusion music that is a mashup of different styles. A classical version of a hip-hop classic like “SpottieOttieDopaliscious” by Outkast? Yes, please! Latin jazz? Absolutely! “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” country singer Shaboozey’s take on Chingy’s “Everybody in the Club Gettin’ Tipsy”? You bet! And when a current artist samples a classic and creates a song that pays homage to the past while also delivering something fresh and imaginative, I’m hooked. So I loved the ambitious undertaking of Casablanco by Marsha Ambroshuis (The Songtress from Floetry). 

The songs on Casablanco fuse jazz, hip-hop beats, and R&B classics in fresh and interesting ways. Ambrosius engages a 27-piece band to accompany her unique, pristine vocals on songs that incorporate samples from standards by Michael Jackson, George Benson, Duke Ellington & John Coltrane, Nas, the Mary Jane Girls, and so many more. I don’t think I’ve ever heard an album quite like this one, and I loved that. 

Content Warning: Explicit Lyrics