Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Melinda Curtis!   Writes: Melinda Curtis always includes humor in her books. Why? Because she loves to laugh. You can get your own dose of laughter in her romcoms, especially the Summer Kisses series featuring Grandma Dotty. Dotty Summer is a widow with a bucket list and a boatload of grown grandchildren who she enjoys visiting, and not just because it gives her an opportunity to pursue her bucket list (but often because it does).   About: Melinda Curtis writes sweet/clean romances with over 75 books published by Harlequin, 40 self-pubbed, and 5 by Forever Romance. One of her books, Dandelion Wishes, was made into an UPTV movie – Love in Harmony Valley, starring Amber Marshall. She’s married to her college sweetheart, loves her Peloton, renovating homes, and slow mornings with hot coffee.   If you enjoy Hallmark movies on the lighter side, like Three Wise Men and a Baby, you’ll enjoy Every Little Kiss, especially if you enjoy: Fake date/relationship with a royal…

I grew up on a 50-acre sheep ranch where – with two older brothers – I was not encouraged to play princess games. There was work to be done. Usually, my work consisted of following my grandfather around the hilly ranch with his sheep dog while he mended fences, moved sheep to other parts of the ranch, and patiently answering my endless list of questions. Yes, he was something of a saint. So was my grandmother, but she was always busy canning, cleaning, tending their large garden, or sewing. She wasn’t nearly as exciting as exploring the outside world with my grandfather. When I wasn’t “working” and my brothers were at school, I was roaming the ranch alone. Climbing rocks, skirting the edge of a 3-acre eucalyptus grove (it scared me), exploring the strip of our property near the road where locals left stripped, derelict cars. I spent many an hour playing in a rusty Volkswagen Beetle and Audi sedan. If you’re wondering how old I was, I was a toddler, age 2-4. Where were my parents? Or my grandparents during my wanderings? My dad was no longer in the picture and while my mom worked as a teacher, my…

The Blackwells is a multi-author series published by Harlequin Heartwarming (the line most like Hallmark movies). In this lighthearted cowboy series, Elias “Big E” Blackwell has managed to alienate his entire family by his desire to run the large Blackwell Ranch alone. Now that he’s in his eighties and feeling his mortality, Big E is determined to bring the family back together—all branches of the family. This simple premise has led to a 20-book, sweet romance series divided into four connected sets: Books 1-5: Return of the Blackwell Brothers (Big E’s 5 grandsons) Books 6-10: The Blackwell Sisters (Big E’s 5 granddaughters from a son he didn’t know he had) Books 11-15: The Blackwells of Eagle Springs (Big E’s sister’s 5 grandchildren) Books 16-20 (releasing July-November 2024): The Blackwell Belles (Big E’s sister’s 5 granddaughters) Let’s meet the Blackwell characters I’ve written: In Book 3, THE RANCHER’S REDEMPTION, cowboy/jaded lawyer Ben Blackwell is called home because former friend Rachel is suing Big E over water rights. Ben has avoided returning to Falcon Creek for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which was that he was jilted at the altar by Rachel’s best friend. At first, he’s not worried…

From the moment the auto repair shop door swung closed behind him, Axel Martinez knew he’d made a mistake coming back to Sea Glass Bay Automotive. Not one to back down from the hard stuff, he planted his steel-toed work boots on the concrete of the closed shop and looked around. Standing tool boxes and electric diagnostic equipment lined the side and back walls. An old Ford sedan occupied a far bay, hood up. Car lifts sat empty in two of the three other bays. To his right, a small waiting room and office had been made with plate glass running waist high to the ceiling. Sea Glass Bay Automotive was a mechanic’s dream. Well-cared for and large enough to make a good living. Axel wanted to buy it. He’d scheduled a meeting here with the owner, Dennis Hammond, and his real estate agent, Sam Bell. But he’d been stood up. Axel stuffed his hands in his grease-stained coverall pockets. “I was supposed to meet Mr. Bell and Mr. Hammond?” He hadn’t meant that to come out as a question. There was no question about whether he had an appointment. The question was why hadn’t the men honored it. Axel…

Melinda Curtis here to share a scene from my latest book in the Love in Harmony Valley series – A SMALL TOWN WEDDING. In this book, Vince is invited home for his younger brother Joe’s wedding. Vince hasn’t been home since he left town years ago, not wanting to relive bad memories. His brothers have been worried about Vince and nagging him to find a woman and get settled down. That’s why he’s been telling them he has a girlfriend. But now, they expect a girlfriend to show up at the wedding. Hence his bargain with his ex-girlfriend, Harley, to travel back home with him in the role of girlfriend of good standing. This series is about the connections of community and family. I chose this excerpt because it shows the love between Vince and his brothers as well as some of the scars of the past.   Copyright Melinda Curtis 2024     The closer Vince had come to Harmony Valley, the more he’d wanted to turn around. Harley’s joking banter had helped, but she couldn’t keep him from falling into the past, not when he stood on the property he’d grown up on. He’d learned to ride a…

Instead of trying to find your perfect match in a dating app, we bring you the “Author-Reader Match” where we introduce you to authors you may fall in love with. It’s our great pleasure to present Melinda Curtis! Writes: Melinda Curtis writes sweet romance and sweet romcoms set in small towns and bigger cities. Her stories make readers laugh a little, cry a little, and sigh a little. Her latest release is a small-town ranching romance loosely based on Beauty & the Beast.   About: Melinda Curtis developed her sense of humor working her way from a corporate cubicle to an office, which seems surreal considering she grew up on a 50-acre sheep ranch. She’s raised kids and furry creatures and is a newly minted grandma living in a fixer with a fishpond in the backyard (the previous owners stocked it with regular old goldfish that somehow are still alive). To combat a chocolate addiction and writer’s butt, she gets on the Peloton every morning, but her nights are filled with reading romances and watching kdramas or Hallmark movies.   What I’m looking for in my ideal reader match: The ideal reader for my latest release – HEALING THE RANCHER –…

Don’t forget to come back each day this week for more holiday cheer from our pals at FOREVER Publishing and their Christmas romance authors. Today, we’re joined by Melinda Curtis!  ** What’s the name of your latest release? A VERY MERRY MATCH What do you love about writing holiday/Christmas romance?  I enjoy bringing in fun traditions, either drawn from my family or made up (read in magazines or enviously stolen from observing others, lol). Are your hero and heroine full of Christmas cheer or the holidays bring out the worst in them?  This year, Mary Margaret is struggling to find her holiday cheer. Doubly important since she’s a kindergarten teacher. What’s one of your favorite holiday traditions? My great aunt imposed a One Gift At a Time rule. She moved in with us and insisted she couldn’t enjoy gift opening unless she got to see every gift opened. We’d sit in a circle and starting with the youngest, one person would have the stage to open a gift. Some years, it takes two hours to open gifts at our house! But it does allow the gift giver a moment to shine as well. Which Christmas movie do you watch on…