Say "hello" to the Secret Father by Suz deMello (#sweetRomance)

It's been quiet in The Velvet Lair--most of my readers deserted me after I realized that they're readers, not book buyers, and stopped the insane blogging pace I had kept up in 2014--after I did my 2014 taxes, about a year ago, I saw that my royalties hadn't increased, so "sayonara, blogging daily, you were a drag anyhow!"

But I continue to explore ways to increase my income, and one of those ways was rebranding my website with the catchphrase "Romance from Sweet to Sexy and Beyond!" 

Pretty cool, huh?

Otherwise, the look of the site is pretty much the same, as you can see:

www.suzdemello.com

Another change I'm making is moving most of my works from the Sue Swift site to the Suz deMello site. I decided that maintaining two pen names is nothing but an awful drag. Of course, the Great Satan, a.k.a. Harlequin Enterprises, will never let four of my books go. They were written for Silhouette Romance, a now defunct line, but Harlequin never, ever lets books go if they can stop it. They're corporate assets, ya know? Writers for Harlequin sign away their rights for the entire term of copyright--an author's lifetime--plus a few years. All HQuin has to do is keep publishing the book, which is easy-peasy in this digital age.

But everything else will be under the Suz deMello umbrella in a year or two at most. 

Yay!

And that brings me to my latest publication--a sweet romance.

Try not to faint.

Yes, I'm known for stories that range from steamy to scorching to XXX, but I spent quite a few years writing sweet and mainstream romance.

This particular book was written in 2002, when my father was dying. It was one of six I wrote in eight months, mostly to get my mind off everything, I suppose. Secret Father was the last of the six, and man, it was a tough one. I was burned out beyond belief and have felt blocked ever since.

http://tinyurl.com/SecretFather

But it's a good book. As I start this promotional push, it's already garnered three five star reviews, all of which I appreciate.

Here's the 4-1-1:

When Linda Travers was fourteen, Dave Madsen, then age seventeen, rescued her from a snowy death. They later met at an end-of-term party at their college and lost their virginities to each other before Dave left the country.

And now...Despite spending her teenage years mooning over Dave, Linda has moved on with her life. Being left pregnant and alone will force that on a gal. Age twenty-five, she lives in their hometown with their six-year-old, Mac. Then botanist Dave reappears. A vicious snakebite has left him needing rehab from the only physical therapist around—Linda.

Their college lovemaking was the first time for both, so Linda and Dave remember each other. She’s amazed to feel the same old anger, hurt, and need. Less emotional, Dave’s curious about Linda, wondering why she didn't leave her address and phone number for him when what they’d shared had been so good. Neither totally believes the explanations the other offers.

Since the rescue, Dave was always Linda’s hero, but she doesn’t know him anymore. Is he worthy of fathering their son? And what of their love? Can they create a future…together as a family?

Here are a couple of reviews (shortened of course):

5.0 out of 5 starsBe sure to read this great book. It has plenty of real emotion, enough twists and curves to keep the reader interested!

By Gloria Antypowich on February 29, 2016

5.0 out of 5 starsA Sweet Romance!!

By Stephanie on March 12, 2016

5.0 out of 5 starsWow what a story.

By Charlotte Isaac on March 22, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

Wow, what a brilliant and beautiful story.

So buy it, okay? It's free with KU, and still pretty cheap otherwise--$2.99. ENJOY!