Showing posts with label Lapses of Memory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lapses of Memory. Show all posts

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Lapses of Memory Featured at NN Light's Mother's Day Event

I’m thrilled to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Mothers Bookish Event. Featured today is one of my favorite mothers: Sydney Bellek of  Lapses of Memory. She enjoys a special—one might say, unique—relationship with her daughter Olivia.

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/post/lapses-of-memory-cmbe

It is spring in Old Town Alexandria, and Sydney Bellek is dictating her memoir to her daughter Olivia. Every few years from the age of five she meets her true love Elian Davies, but while he remembers her, she doesn’t recognize him. Only after surviving wars, revolutions, and years of separation will she realize they are meant to be, but this time it is Elian who has lost his memory of her. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Meanwhile, her daughter Olivia has her own dilemma—how to choose between the rich and dashing Rémy de Beaumec, who wants to take her around the world, and the steady, quiet, American-to-the-core, Benjamin Knox, who only wants to make her happy.



Check out all books in time for Mother’s Day and enter the giveaway to win a $15 Amazon gift card:

https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750218

 

https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-mothers-bookish-event

 

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Mason's Mark & Lapses of Memory Featured at NN Light's Mother's Day Event

 


I’m thrilled to be a part of N. N. Light’s Book Heaven Celebrate Mothers Bookish Event. Featured are 3 of my favorite mothers: Letitia and Andromeda from The Mason’s Mark: Love & Death in the Tower, and Sydney Bellek From Lapses of Memory. They all have wonderful, funny, close relationships with their children.

First up on Tuesday is Lapses of Memory:




Then Thursday is The Mason's Mark:



Check out all books in time for Mother’s Day and enter the giveaway to win a $15 Amazon gift card: https://www.nnlightsbookheaven.com/celebrate-mothers-bookish-event  

Enter to win a $15 Amazon gift card:

 https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/92db7750218

Open Internationally. You must have a valid Amazon US or Amazon Canada account to win.

Runs May 9 – May 16, 2023.

Winner will be drawn on May 17, 2023.


Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Global adventure from M. S. Spencer: Lapses of Memory & Orion's Foot

Ready for some global adventure? Want to roam Europe and the Middle East? How about the Amazon? Throw in mystery, suspense, romance, and maybe a monster or two and voila! Edge of your seat thrills. Here are two books that fit the bill:





Petra Steele is wallowing in self-pity after being dumped at the altar, when her brother Nick invites her to come to the Peruvian Amazon. Before she even sets her suitcase down, she's confronted with a murder victim. In a research station peopled with a quirky assortment of scientists, she is drawn to Emory Andrews, a gruff, big man with a secret past. That is, until his beautiful ex-wife shows up. More murders, more secrets, more mysteries ensue, all in the deeply romantic, sizzling jungle.

Or

Lapses of Memory

Sydney Bellek first meets Elian Davies in the 1950s on a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser when she is five and he is seven. They run into each other every few years after that, but while he knows from the start that she is his true love, she does not. Later, as rival journalists, they vie for scoops on international crises from the Iranian revolution to the Lebanese civil war. The handsome and intrepid Elian beats her out at every turn, even while keeping his love for her secret.

Only after years of separation does she finally realize they are meant to be together, but this time, in a twist of fate, it is Elian whose memory of her is gone. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?


Friday, August 28, 2020

13th Anniversary Bash Long & Short Reviews Features Lapses of Memory

 


Join me today at Long and Short Reviews 13th Anniversary Bash Aug. 24-28. Read all about my romantic suspense Lapses of Memory and enter to win great prizes, including 2 $100 Amazon gift certificates.

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/lasr-anniversary-scavenger-hunt-lapses-of-memory-by-m-s-spencer/



Lapses of Memory follow the exploits of two journalists, Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies, as they travel the globe reporting on various world catastrophes. In one of their encounters they find themselves embroiled in the early stages of the revolution in Iran and only barely escape. A few years later we find them rivals in the search for a scoop on the Lebanese Civil War. Their love is reignited each time they meet, but in the long years following each meeting Sydney forgets him. For his part, Elian knows from the age of seven that they are meant for each other, but when Sydney finally sees the truth, he has lost his memory—literally.  Can she make him remember her? Will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

 

Having lived through some of the events that Sydney and Elian confront, I wanted to convey both the excitement and the fear you feel when enmeshed in a world-shattering crisis. As reporters, Sydney and Elian sensed that something important was happening, but couldn’t know the extent or the consequences of it. As lovers, their evolving romance was often interrupted by their ambitions.  Coupled with their daughter’s quandary, a happy ending for anyone seemed far from secure. And yet…and yet…I hope you find the story as romantic as I do.

 

HUGE PRIZES!!!  http://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/lasr-anniversary-scavenger-hunt-lapses-of-memory-by-m-s-spencer

 

Monday, August 24, 2020

Lapses of Memory at LASR 13th Anniversary Bash!

 

Come by Long and Short Reviews 13th Anniversary Bash Aug. 24-28. Read all about my romantic suspense Lapses of Memory and enter to win great prizes.

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/lasr-anniversary-scavenger-hunt-lapses-of-memory-by-m-s-spencer/

 

Lapses of Memory follow the exploits of two journalists, Sydney Bellek and Elian Davies, as they travel the globe reporting on various world catastrophes. In one of their encounters they find themselves embroiled in the early stages of the revolution in Iran and only barely escape. A few years later we find them rivals in the search for a scoop on the Lebanese Civil War. Their love is reignited each time they meet, but in the long years following each meeting Sydney forgets him. For his part, Elian knows from the age of seven that they are meant for each other, but when Sydney finally sees the truth, he has lost his memory—literally.  Can she make him remember her? Will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

 

Having lived through some of the events that Sydney and Elian confront, I wanted to convey both the excitement and the fear you feel when enmeshed in a world-shattering crisis. As reporters, Sydney and Elian sensed that something important was happening, but couldn’t know the extent or the consequences of it. As lovers, their evolving romance was often interrupted by their ambitions.  Coupled with their daughter’s quandary, a happy ending for anyone seemed far from secure. And yet…and yet…I hope you find the story as romantic as I do.

 

HUGE PRIZES!!!  http://www.longandshortreviews.com/guest-blogs/lasr-anniversary-scavenger-hunt-lapses-of-memory-by-m-s-spencer

 

Sunday, June 14, 2020

Know the hero: Spencer’s Lapses of Memory on Romance Lives Forever


Romance Lives Forever is hosting me with a look at my romantic suspense thriller Lapses of Memory today: https://rlfblog.com/lapses-of-memory-061420 


A rush of emotion dropped a veil over all but the tiny world of the two people in seats 11A and 11B, in a jet plane floating somewhere over the Atlantic, in a still moment in time.


Sydney Bellek first meets Elian Davies in the 1950s on a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser when she is five and he is seven. They run into each other every few years after that, but while he knows from the start that she is his true love, she does not. Later, as rival journalists, they vie for scoops on international crises from the Iranian revolution to the Lebanese civil war. The handsome and intrepid Elian beats her out at every turn, even while keeping his love for her secret.

Only after years of separation does she finally realize they are meant to be together, but this time, in a twist of fate, it is Elian whose memory of her is gone. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Lapses of Memory at NetGalley for May: Get Your Review Copy Now!

It takes thirty years for Sydney to recognize her true love only to have him forget her.





Lapses of Memory, my romantic suspense novel set on the world stage, is up for review at NetGalley for the entire month of May. Get a free review copy here: 


Sydney Bellek first meets Elian Davies in the 1950s on a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser when she is five and he is seven. They run into each other every few years after that, but while he knows from the start that she is his true love, she does not. Later, as rival journalists, they vie for scoops on international crises from the Iranian revolution to the Lebanese civil war. The handsome and intrepid Elian beats her out at every turn, even while keeping his love for her secret.

Only after years of separation does she finally realize they are meant to be together, but this time, in a twist of fate, it is Elian whose memory of her is gone. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace 
the old one?


Get your copy here:

https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/book/139495

It's also in Audio:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lapses-of-Memory/dp/B07QB8LHBQ/ref=tmm_aud_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1554667660&sr=8-2-spell



Sunday, April 5, 2020

Who is Elian Really? Lapses of Memory ~ Blue-Penciled by Elian

Today in my fifth installment,  I’m talking about the genesis of my romantic suspense Lapses of Memory.  The excerpt “Blue-Penciled by Elian,” introduces the hero and a mystery—is he indeed the great Lothario of the journalism world…or is his reputation an illusion?



A rush of emotion dropped a veil over all but the tiny world of the two people in seats 11A and 11B, in a jet plane floating somewhere over the Atlantic, in a still moment in time.

Usually a story starts with a kernel of memory, or an anecdote, or even an image flashing across the inside of your eyes. Lots of things can trigger it—a news headline or a paragraph tucked away in the obituaries, a throw-away line from a conversation, or even a publisher’s idea. In the case of my new release, Lapses of Memory, it was the latter. A former publisher tossed out the idea of a series based on “love in the air.” Unfortunately, the high-pitched squeal I emitted sounded enough like “yes” to commit me to the project.

Now, rather than starting with a plot of my own devising, I had to come up with one related to someone else’s theme. Here’s the part where an image flashing across your brain comes in. Sitting quietly in what I euphemistically call my lotus position, I mulled. “Planes,” I said to myself. “Love in the air…snakes on a plane (nah, overdone)…old planes…my first trip on a plane…” Eureka (or aha, whichever you prefer)!  I saw before me an enormous, bulbous silver bird with EASTERN written in red across the side. I’d recently seen it at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum, and remembered because seeing it there made me feel old, since the plane was, in fact, the very first plane I’d flown on at age four. A Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, one of the first to make the transatlantic voyage a regular event, it allowed—with its sleeping berths and formal dining—for luxurious air travel in the 1950s.

Boeing 377 Stratocruiser


My heroine, Sydney, would take that plane. And so would the hero Elian. Everything was going swimmingly, until I realized that, this being a contemporary romance, Sydney and Elian would be too young in 1958 to fall in love. So I was forced to make them suffer through an intermittent romance as they (and airplane design) matured.

Blurb
Sydney Bellek first meets Elian Davies in the 1950s on a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser when she is five and he is seven. They run into each other every few years after that, but while he knows from the start that she is his true love, she does not. Later, as rival journalists, they vie for scoops on international crises from the Iranian revolution to the Lebanese civil war. The handsome and intrepid Elian beats her out at every turn, even while keeping his love for her secret.

Only after years of separation does she finally realize they are meant to be together, but this time, in a twist of fate, it is Elian whose memory of her is gone. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Excerpt (G): Blue-Penciled by Elian

Sydney pulled out her crossword puzzle, mints, pen, glasses, embroidery, and tissues and set them on the other seat before stealthily slipping the miniature bottle of Jack Daniels into the magazine pocket. She checked her ticket once again. They’d be in Rome tomorrow morning and from there the flight to Beirut should be less than five hours. As she searched for her seat belt, a husky voice behind her ear said, “Excuse me. I believe I have the window seat?”
The scent of licorice filled her nostrils. She looked up into a pair of deep indigo eyes, half-obscured by a tangle of hair the color of cordovan. He used his angular chin, cloaked in reddish brown stubble, to indicate his seat. She looked him up and down without moving and pronounced, “Elian Davies.”
He drew back, an expression of mock surprise on his face. “Sydney Bellek? Could it be you after all these years? My, how you’ve aged…I mean matured.”
Whatever joy she’d felt at seeing him faded. “You.”
He scooted around her knees, grabbed her stuff, dropped it in her lap, and sat down. “Me.”
She opened her crossword puzzle and pretended to work on it. He pointed a tanned finger at a spot on the page. “Eleven down is Oslo.”
“Duh.”
The stewardess came by. “Please buckle your seat belt, sir. We’ll be taking off in five minutes.”
“Oh, Miss…” He peered at her name plate. “Petula? What a lovely old-fashioned name!” He beamed at her. “Would you mind bringing me a glass of ice before we begin to taxi?”
The stewardess opened her mouth, then opened her eyes wide. “Why, you’re Elian Davies, the famous photojournalist, aren’t you?”
“At your service, Petula.” He bent in a graceful half bow.
“Right away, sir. I’ll be back in a jiffy.” She tore down the aisle, knocking into passengers’ elbows and knees along the way. Holding a glass high, she ran back like a bartender in a Bastille Day race, and proudly plunked it and a packet of peanuts on Elian’s knee.
When she’d gone, he took a furtive look around and pulled a miniature bottle from his pocket. Sydney’s annoyance dissolved in giggles. “You too?” She pulled her own small whiskey out.
“Oh good, we’ll share this first one, shall we?”
She couldn’t say no, and besides, sipping kept her busy. Elian. She’d spent the last four years trying to hate him. It should have been easy. His reputation as an ace reporter and first-class scoop jockey had only grown since Tehran. Too many of her colleagues told stories of him racing across the tarmac just ahead of them to catch the final words of an escaping dictator, or jumping into a helicopter for a one-on-one interview with said dictator upon his triumphant return. Along with his derring-do came the even more infamous reputation as an inveterate ladies’ man, which the recent episode with Petula only confirmed.
She studied his left hand as it popped a peanut in his mouth—steady, strong, tanned. It looked familiar. Oh yes, I watched it unbutton my blouse in a supply room in Tehran. She turned away to hide the blush. When her cheeks had sufficiently cooled, she turned back only to have him glance away quickly.
Staring out the window, he inquired in a casual voice, “So how’s your boyfriend holding up while you’re off on these wasted efforts to follow in my footsteps?”
Her momentary affection melted away. Old Blue-Pencil Davies at it again. Prick. “They’re all moping of course, poor babies. And yours?”
“Me? I don’t hold with leading women on.”
“That’s not what your adoring public thinks.”
He swung around on her, the customary smirk on his lips gone. “They’re wrong, Sydney.”
The remark—and his deadly serious face—threw her. To cover her confusion, she sipped her drink. After a minute, he turned back to the window. As she watched his shoulders gradually relax, she reviewed the stories about him. From what she’d heard, women who crossed paths with him considered a one-night stand the standard reward. Could he be telling the truth? Just then Petula passed, slowing as she neared their row and heaving a soulful sigh. Sydney remembered the lovelorn look on her secretary’s face. He may not lead women on, but he sure draws them in.

Wild Rose Press, 3/15/2017, Imprint: Champagne Rose
Contemporary romantic suspense/Action Adventure; M/F; 2 flames
Ebook (70,560); Print: 296 pp.



Friday, June 7, 2019

Thrills, Chills & Flying Machines—Spencer at Fearless Friday



Discover. . .

Come join me for a little autobiographical tour and a taste of my romantic suspense Lapses of Memory. 



Follow my adventures from one of the earliest commercial transatlantic flights to the steps of the Golestan Palace in Iran. Check it out here:





Monday, April 1, 2019

Lapses of Memory Audio Coming Soon!



Coming Soon!

Lapses of Memory in Audio

It's spring in Old Town Alexandria, and Sydney Bellek is dictating her memoir to her daughter Olivia. Every few years from the age of five she meets her true love Elian Davies, but while he remembers her, she doesn’t recognize him. Only after surviving wars, revolutions, and years of separation will she realize they are meant to be, but this time it is Elian who has lost his memory of her. Will he remember her before she loses heart or will their new love be enough to replace the old one?

Meanwhile, her daughter Olivia has her own dilemma—how to choose between the rich and dashing Rémy de Beaumec, who wants to take her around the world, and the steady, quiet, American-to-the-core, Benjamin Knox, who only wants to make her happy.

Contemporary romantic suspense/Action Adventure
Ebook: 70,560; Print: 296 pp.

Look for it from Wild Rose Press this month!