Month: March 2021

Top Ten Book Characters Whose Job I Wish I Had

Posted March 1, 2021 by Jana in Top Ten Tuesday / 10 Comments

Welcome to another TTT! How is it March already!? We’re coming up on a year of COVID, which feels like it began both yesterday and 35 years ago. What is time right now?

Anyway, this week’s topic is Characters Whose Jobs I Wish I Had. This could seriously be spun in any direction, so I hope people get really creative with this! Maybe you want to be a Duchess because of a historical romance you read and loved. Maybe you want to be a guardian of gifted, magical children or a pirate or a rock star. Maybe you want to be someone’s cool co-worker or the enemy of that hot guy in marketing in the enemies-to-lovers workplace romance you just finished. Or perhaps you read a memoir that mentioned a cool sounding job. Whatever the case may be, forgot about working from home and masking up and being socially distanced and pick some fun jobs or workplace environments you’ve read about and would like to become a part of.

1. Bailey, Dr. Russell’s surgical assistant (from Hotshot Doc by R.S. Grey)
Dr. Russell is a dreamboat, so…

2. Heidi, the receptionist at an audiobook recording company (from Heidi’s Guide to Four Letter Words by Tara Sivec and Andi Arndt)
Bookish environment, celebrity narrator encounters, free reading material, and tons of really cool workplace stories to share with friends? Yes.

3. Liv, amateur documentary director and Atlantis hunter (from Love & Olives by Jenna Evans Welch)
I don’t think this needs much of an explanation, but I’d be happy exploring Greece and looking for Atlantis, all while dressing people up, staging scenes, and falling in love with the cameraman.

4. Henley, cruise line marketing manager (from Shipped by Angie Hockman)
Yes, I’ll go on a cruise of the Galapagos in order to find inspiration to develop a new campaign for the company and hopefully get a promotion, boss. Even if it means I have to work alongside a smokin’ hot social media manager fighting for that same promotion.

5. Stacey, Renaissance Faire actress (from Well Played by Jen DeLuca)
Renn Faire sounds like so much fun, but to dress up in period clothing and play a role? Yes. Plus, I’d get to fall in love with a man in a kilt which is really not a bad thing, in my opinion.

6. Angel, chef at a research station in Antarctica (from Whiteout by Adriana Anders)
I’m solely interested in this job because I’d love to go to Antarctica! And think of the people she met and the things she learned!

7. Victoria, scientist aboard a research vessel in the Mariana Trench (from Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant)
I can’t say I’m excited about the idea of going on a voyage where imminent death by murder mermaids is what I’m looking for in my life, but I would like to go on a ship to visit this location and learn about the sea life there. It just sounds so interesting.

8. Nani the travel blogger (from Christmas at Frozen Falls by Kiley Dunbar)
I just want to travel, ok? I want people to pay me to travel and write about it. Ideal job right there. THAT’S the dream.

9. Maddie, owner of adorable book store (from Dating By the Book by Mary Ann Marlowe)
I love book stores, and owning one sounds amazing. I’d love to talk books with people, host fun events, and flirt with the cute regulars.

10. Gracie, jewelry designer in NYC (from The Gem Thief by Sian Ann Bessey)
What a cool job!! AND when a beautiful piece she designed was replaced with a forgery, she has to go on a mission with her rich client and that rich client’s sexy FBI agent grandson to solve the mystery. She gets an all-expenses paid vacation around the Mediterranean! What a hard job… I’ll take it.

Which jobs have you read about in books and wish you had?

Lovebug by Erin Mallon | Book Spotlight

Posted March 1, 2021 by Jana in Blog Tour, Book Spotlight / 2 Comments

Welcome to my stop along the blog tour for Lovebug by Erin Mallon, hosted by Social Butterfly PR.! Erin is one of my very favorite audiobook narrators ever, so it’s fun that she’s started writing her own books as well. Lovebug is the second book in the standalone contemporary rom-com series, Natural Selection. Read more about the book below, and see what others are saying about it! I’m currently in the middle of it myself, and am excited to see how it turns out. Mabel is super quirky and unbelievably sweet! She’s definitely a character to root for.

My name is Mabel, the girl who “wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

Of course I wouldn’t.
I’m an entomologist for goodness’ sake.
I work in a nature center.
Bugs are my jam.

It’s the humans in my life who are starting to get me down. I’m used to them calling me sweet and innocent. I can even handle them calling me naive. But when they lie and keep secrets from me? That’s when my proverbial pincers want to come out.

Trouble is, I’m not the girl who fights back.

Not until a handsome groundskeeper with a dirty mouth and secrets of his own shows up and lights all sorts of fires in me.

In the bug world, the female is always the fiercest. The praying mantis doesn’t worry about being a “good girl.” Nope, she follows her instincts no matter how crass or crude they may seem to others.

Turns out I could learn a thing or two from her.

I’m not necessarily looking to tear anyone’s head off, but after decades of being nice, it’s high time for me to return to nature and unleash my wild side.

Excerpt

I check to make sure all kids and counselors are settled safely and the craft is underway, then start a slow walk to where the man is crouched down and working with a wrench.

I have absolutely no idea why I choose this approach, but I whip around the water fountain in a sort of sneak attack, and shout, “Hi!”

His body jerks as though I’ve startled him. Because clearly, I have. I smile and wave. Even though he’s right in front of me.

He turns and looks behind us as if he’s unsure I’m actually speaking to him. I’m noticing this happens a lot when I greet people. Calliope told me once that I approach strangers with “unearned familiarity,” and it freaks them out. Friendliness freaks people out? I’m not sure what to do with that information.

“Yes you, silly!” I say.

His full attention is trained on me, but he doesn’t say a word. I’m starting to think the kids were right, and this guy actually doesn’t speak.

“Hey you,” I breathe.

Was that my voice I just heard? I don’t say “hey you” in that shouty way people do when they’re trying to get your attention outside the grocery store for leaving your cart abandoned in the lot instead of in the assigned cart area—not that I would ever shout at someone or leave a cart abandoned in a lot. No, the “hey you” I give him is that breathy sort. That shy, smiley sort. The kind of “hey you” people say when they know you so deeply and truly that they almost never say your actual name because they don’t need to. Who else could they possibly be speaking to at that moment except… you. You. You. Wonderful, precious, irreplaceable you. Not that I’ve ever been the recipient of such a “you.”

“Did you need something?” he asks.

He speaks! Oh wow, he speaks!

His voice is… gruff. That’s the only way to describe it. Is he annoyed? Nah, it’s probably just his voice. I’ve heard of perpetual bitch face. Maybe he has a perpetual bitch voice? But he’s a guy, so I guess to be accurate, it would be called a perpetual bastard voice?

“Before we begin, let it be known that I don’t think you’re a bastard. Or a bitch.”

“Excuse me?”

“I was just thinking that you sound like a bastard, but I bet that’s just the way your vocal cords operate. They’re probably just prone to a gruff, bastardy tone.”

“No. You had it right the first time. I am a bastard.”

“Gotcha! So. How are you? Your name is ‘The Wall’? I mean, they call you ‘The Wall’? What is that short for? Walter? Walton? Wallmeranian?” I rattle off some suggestions.
“Wallace,” he huffs.

“Gotcha. Big fan of Wallace and Grommit?” I ask.

“No.”

“Gotcha. Can I call you Wally?” “No.”

“Gotcha. Hey, do you think I say gotcha too much?”

“Yes,” he says definitively.

“Gotcha. Thanks for the feedback. I’ll work on that. Hey, wanna hear something silly?”

“No.”

“Cool, here I go. My kids… not my biological kids—though I do hope to have some of those one day, how about you? Sorry, don’t answer that. That’s an invasive question. See those teenagers over there who are completely unrelated to me?” I point in April and Dante’s direction where they are decidedly not focused on their kids and are instead “hiding” behind a pavilion post watching my flailing interaction. I wave to them. “Hey, guys!” They ignore me and look off in random directions as if they’re suddenly fascinated by all the glorious nature around them. “I’m training them as CITs this summer. That’s right, I’m chief of staff this year! I mean head counselor. And well, the thing is, they’re… well… they’re afraid of you.”

Silence.

He goes back to working on the fountain as if he’s giving up on his conversation with me.

“Isn’t that ridiculous?” I start giggling uncontrollably. “Fine by me,” he says.

“What’s fine by you?”

“That they’re afraid of me.”

“Oh.” I feel my head jerk back. “Really? But if they’re afraid of you, they’ll keep avoiding you and making up stories about you instead of taking the time to really get to know you.”

“Perfect. Love that plan,” he says and swipes some sweat off his brow.

“Oh.”

I’m not sure how to respond to this man.

“Besides,” he continues, “you’re afraid of me too.”

What others are saying about Lovebug…

“Erin Mallon has a fresh and authentic comedic voice in her writing that completely immersed me with giggles!”
— Amy Daws, Amazon bestselling author

“A pitch-perfect rom-com and that manages to create a swoon worthy romance with substance.” – Books On Stereo

“Lovebug was a quirky and outlandish romcom with great characters and a storyline that wasn’t just all laughs.” – Reading Til the Break of Dawn

“I am still chuckling hours after finishing this book. Mabel and Wallace’s story is a complete breath of fresh air.” – A Bibliophile’s Desire

“This story is full of so many wonderful themes, great characters, warmth, witt and heart that it was a complete winner and oh so much fun!” – Patricia on Goodreads

About Erin

Erin Mallon‘s debut romantic comedy novel, Flirtasaurus, releases in July 2020. She is an award-winning narrator of over 450 books and an accomplished playwright and producer in New York City. She has written over 40 plays, which have been produced Off-Broadway and all over the country, including These Walls Can Talk, a raucous theatrical love letter to the romance audiobook community. She lives in a little yellow house on the outskirts of NYC with her husband and Three J’s.

Find her: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads | Bookbub
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