January--Why you do me this way?

I brought the new year in with some version of the flu that I picked up in Florida and have been battling it off and on for the entire month. So I'm ready to say buh-bye to January. What about you?

One of the plusses to being sick for a month is that I have been in bed and reading and/or listening to some fabulous books and podcasts. Here are my top 5. Maybe you'll find something to add to your TBR pile.

1. Nalini Singh's Guild Hunter series. I'm currently on book 3 and loving it. Strong, alpha (major alpha) hero and a heroine who is just as tough and strong but with vulnerability. Here's a link to check out the book!

2. Story Genius by Lisa Cron. This book is a writing craft book so if you aren't interested in writing a book it will probably not be on the top of your list. But it looks at story in a different way and I found it very helpful with the book I'm currently plotting!

3. The Chesapeake Shores books by Sherryl Woods. I got hooked on this series that is on the Hallmark channel in the US and on Netflix in the UK. I binge watched it and then of course didn't want to leave the Chesapeake Shores world so have started reading the books. I love them!

4. Cry Love by Eve Gaddy. I love this book. Not just because it is different from a lot of other romance books but because of the emotional complexity of the story and the characters. It's a story told over three different time periods with couples that are reunited in each of them. Right now it's .99 on all digital platforms. Eve is a fabulous writer who writes with honesty and when you pick up this book you will feel it from the first page.

5. Lastly, a podcast. I've heard Lani Diane Rich's name around Romance Writers of America (she's won a Rita!) and she designed some covers for some of my Tule Publishing releases but I'd never listened to her podcasts until I was sick. I started with #BigStrongYes which is a series she does with another podcaster and they read one chapter from one of three books and discuss it as it applies to their lives. It's really powerful. The three books they are using are Elizabeth Gilbert's Big Magic, Brene Brown's Rising Strong and Shonda Rimes' Year of Yes.