A TRACE OF ROMANCE - Read on to Win Books!

5 Stars

Reviewed by Courtnee for Readers' Favorite

Ann Swann's characters are deep and many-sided. Once Trace enters the flower shop, reading the book is like listening in on a conversation between old flames. Though they've had other relationships, information about each other has reached them, and it's clear that Laynie's and Trace's thoughts aren't far from one another. Even though there's a significant attachment, it's hard to tell at first if the two will end up together. Swann tackles some difficult subjects in her story and her characters have overcome hardships and suffered tragedies. The book is short enough to read during a quiet afternoon, but the well-paced chapters can also be savored over a few days. A Trace of Romance is a good selection for readers who enjoy women's fiction and sweet, second-chance romances. 

Click the link to enter to win FREE BOOKS!

READERS' FAVORITES https://readersfavorite.com/rfreviews/search?search=Ann+Swann

Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/4admw44a

  5.0 out of 5 stars

 Real people in a beautifully written and heartfelt love story

Ann Swann is one of my favorite authors, and I’ve enjoyed her work across multiple genres for years. Her latest release, A Trace of Romance, is a truly sweet and extremely touching romance.

I’m not a fan of romance novels with bare-chested men on the covers, but I am very much a fan of romance stories with well-developed characters who are relatable … flaws and all. Real people.

I won’t recap the general plot in any detail as one can easily read the blurb. Rather, I’d just like to expound a bit on why I loved this beautifully written novella. So many of us can relate to past loves that for one reason or another, didn’t fully form into lifetime relationships … or continue to form at all. Life happens for all of us, and things can swiftly change. Especially when tragedy is involved. We move on, but often, we don’t forget. This is what happened with Laynie and Trace, both from the town of Beach Way, Oregon, who always thought they’d be together.

What I loved about this story is that when Trace returns to Beach Way, and Laynie and he see one another again, their chemistry is strong. The past, which determined their present, still plays a role in their story.

Author Swann doesn’t give us romance in a corny or clichéd sense, but she handles this reunion and this mutual love beautifully, realistically, and in a way that I found immensely satisfying and lovely to read.

A Trace of Romance is a truly sweet and extremely touching romance. Immensely satisfying and lovely to read. A beautifully written, heartfelt love story with relatable, well-developed characters … flaws and all. 

 

5.0 out of 5 stars

 Jan - 5 Stars

Laynie and Trace connected as kids in grade school and their feelings grew into more than friendship in high school. Tragedy strikes, causing Trace and his family to move away. Afterward, so much happens in Laynie's world when he's no longer around and it's the same for Trace. Their story will grab your heart, especially when years later Trace returns. All kinds of emotions surface for them both and so does an answer to the tragedy. The author put them through a lot -- love, loss, forgiveness, mystery, dealing with the past, dealing with the future, and hope. I rooted for them to get a second chance. There's a part of the story that brought me to tears. I truly enjoyed getting to know Laynie and Trace.

Happy Mom's Day! FREE Ebook for Mom

Does your mom bake cookies? Create amazing Sunday dinners? Bring home the bacon while Dad holds down the fort? If your Mom is anything like mine was, she probably does a little of everything.

All For Love

My Mom was a talented seamstress who not only made all our clothes when we were kids, but also all of our Barbie's clothes. She even sewed our quilts and curtains. Of course my Dad didn't care about all that, he was more interested in the food. Mom was a wonderful cook who had supper on the table at six o'clock every night. We never ate at a restaurant unless we were on vacation.

In addition to all that, Mom also grew gorgeous roses, kept the lawn mowed, cleaned the house top to bottom, and found time to sit in front of the fireplace and read. She loved to read. One day I came home from school and found Mom asleep in front of the fireplace, feet propped up on the hearth, book open on her lap, the bottoms of her Keds melted and curled down like little frowns.

So in honor of my late Mom's love of reading, I'm giving away ebook copies of ALL FOR LOVE to the first five commenters who tell me why they love their Mom. Just be sure to leave me your email address so I can send you the book. Happy Mother's Day!

Romance Week Sale

Romance is in the air - in addition to the Valentine's Day Giveaway Below, you can now pick up a copy of ALL FOR LOVE for only 99¢ all week! http://tinyurl.com/cf6m3vg 5 Prince Books http://www.5princebooks.com

Cool Questions from 8th Graders

I was privileged to be allowed to read to students at Bowie Junior High school a few weeks ago. Here are some things they asked:

What themes do you write about? I write about people who struggle. In the Phantom series, the two main characters struggle with loneliness and with growing up. In All For Love, the woman struggles with so many things from infidelity, to alcoholism, to abortion and suicide. And in Stutter Creek and Lilac Lane, the protagonists struggle just to stay alive.

Who inspired you to write?  Edgar Allan Poe, Stephen King, Mary Stewart (The Crystal Cave); in other words, all my favorite authors

How long does it take to write a book?  From a few weeks to a few months. Writing in first person (like in my Phantom series) is much easier than third person like my adult series (for me, at least).

How do you get over writer's block?  If I get stuck on a story, it usually means my brain is fried, so I’ll go for a walk, or go to Sonic for a diet vanilla Coke. If I write myself into a corner from which I can’t possibly escape, I put that tale aside and start a new one. I have a file of hundreds of ideas for stories.

Were you excited when your first book was published?  Yes! I was also very excited the first time I had a short story published (way back in the dark ages). I remember getting a letter in the mail and literally screaming my head off inside my truck. I think I had picked up the mail and was sitting in there to open it.

Who is your favorite author?  Stephen King — although I have to say his earlier work excited me more than his recent work. I love Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, The Body (Stand by Me) and stories like that. I also loved The Dead Zone and The Stand. One of his newer works that I like is Joyland.

What is the hardest part of writing a book? Staying off Facebook and/or other social media. I also spend hours just reading articles on MSN, etc. I’m a very nosy person.

How do you decide on titles?  Sometimes the title comes right away, but sometimes it’s later, in the story. And then sometimes, it doesn’t come at all and I depend on friends and readers to help me find it.

Do you have other people help you with ideas?  Hmmm, no. I’m sort of close-mouthed about my ideas, but I do have a writing group (eh, Ms. Harris?) to help with rough drafts.

Do you have places you go to write?  No. Just my computer (s). Or if I get an idea away from them, I write in my iPhone notes or my handy dandy mini spiral that lives in my purse.

How many kids do you have? 2.5 (I inherited a beautiful daughter from my husband’s ex, but she isn’t actually my husband’s daughter. It’s complicated. LOL.)  I also have 5.5 grandchildren ;-)

Do you use symbols? Yes. And I usually don’t even know it until later, when I read it through.

What method do you use to brainstorm? Free writing — I just write without stopping and without thinking. It works best when I’m really tired. Which is most of the time.

What is your writing process? Catch as catch can. I love to write in the morning with a cup of coffee. And I always write the best parts first. I don’t outline, but I do write the ending as soon as possible. It’s like my goal, to get to the finish.

How do you choose your words to create a better mental image? The muse does that. My very best work doesn’t come to me consciously, but subconsciously. I really loved this line from ALL FOR LOVE, “The moonlight was seductive, it lay across the water like a transparent veil across a woman’s hair.” But I have no idea where that line came from. I wrote it out just like that, without stopping. And then I thought, well, I like that.

What is your favorite type of figurative language? Oh, I love metaphors, but similes are easier and they often pop into my work unbidden. I have to cut them out frequently. I also love onomatopoeia. Poe was the expert at making up his own sound words like susurration and tintinnabulation—I try to do that from time to time. I also fall into the alliteration trap sometimes—I love it, but it has to be seeded into sentences sparingly or it sort of starts to suck.

Why did you write Chems?  Awesome question! Chems came from an image of a boy finding a zombie in his dad’s toolshed. But I didn’t want just any old zombie—I wanted a zombie hero. So that’s what I wrote. I decided the government could make one using chemicals. Funny thing is, my cousin and I wrote an entire novel based on this blue pseudo zombie. We wrote every night sending the pages back and forth via email (she lives in Washington DC), but alas, the book somehow devolved into a zombie romance (I know, I know, it really was a horror story then) so it’s now simply lurking about in my Mac seeking asylum from the land of the dead novels.

Thanks for the cool questions kids. Take care and thanks to  your teacher for allowing me to come and invade your classroom!

Afterthought: Thank you, ToysRUs for coming back from the dark side. And thanks to the mom in Florida for helping them see the light.