I’m so honored and grateful to let you know that my non-erotic romance (written as Anne Krist), Burning Bridges, has been awarded the Gold Medal for Best Romance of 2020 by Coffee Pot Book Club!! You can see the list of all the 2020 winners on Coffee Pot Book Club’s blog page. Scroll nearly to the bottom to find the Romance listings.
Winning recognition for Burning Bridges is wonderful for me 
personally because it is truly the book of my heart. I lived in Virginia Beach during Vietnam. Jack was #68 in the draft lottery, and had he not been attending school at VMI (they figured they would get him eventually), he would have gone over, just as the book’s hero did. The war touched all of us in that time–especially the lovers.
Blurb:
Not your typical “secret baby” book! This Southern romance packs in the emotion.
Letters delivered decades late send shock waves through Sara Richards’s world. Nothing is the same, especially her memories of Paul, a man to whom she’d given her heart years before. Now, sharing her secrets and mending her mistakes of the past means putting her life back together while crossing burning bridges. It will be the hardest thing Sara’s ever done.
Buy link:
Amazon Kindle Unlimited
Excerpt (Sara calls her mother to find out how she came into possession of letters nearly thirty years old, from a man long dead–a man she loved:
“I thought it would be you. Have you read the letters?”
“No. What happened, do you know?” Scattered on the table, the three packets drew her gaze and she stared as though trying to read their meaning through the sealed paper.
“Only what the Department of Navy letter said. Some bags of mail were lost. I suppose if I weren’t still receiving part of Dad’s retirement, they wouldn’t have found me.”
Sara closed her eyes and leaned against the wall. “I mean, do you know what happened to the rest of the letters?”
“What?” There was no mistaking the naked fear in her mother’s voice.
“The envelopes are numbered. I have twenty-eight through thirty. What do you think happened to the others?” Tension radiated through her shoulders and neck. Her mother was about to say something she didn’t want to hear, she knew it.
“Sara, you have to understand, Dad and I only wanted what was best for you. You were a child, a high school senior with a wonderful future in front of you. You’d been accepted at William and Mary. The last thing you needed was to get mixed up with a sailor who would love you and leave you. Which, I might add, is exactly what he did.”
Sara could barely suck air into her lungs. Her fingers whitened with the hold she had on the phone cord. “What did you do, Mother?”
“More than anything, we didn’t want you hurt.” Moments passed. “Your father made the decision, but I was in favor of it, I want you to know that. He’s not here, so if you’re going to get mad, I suppose it will have to be at me.” She ended with a sigh. “After—that man—left Virginia Beach, we determined it would be best for you to make a clean break. We never had any doubt that he was wrong for you. So, we intercepted the letters.”
The blood drained from Sara’s face and she pulled over a chair. If she didn’t sit she’d fall. “You did what? How could you do that?” Her voice broke.
“You put your letters in the mailbox and I took them out after you left for school. And his…”
All too well, Sara remembered days of rushing into the house to sort through the stack of mail on the hall table, never finding a letter from Paul. Each day with no news added a stone to her wall of doubt that he loved her and depleted her store of faith that he’d stand by her.
Sara moaned. “Do you know what you did with your meddling?”
“Sara, you were seventeen, a child. Do you know what that means? He could have gone to jail. Your father was in favor of going to his commanding officer—even to the police. It was fortunate for your friend that his ship left.”
Sara envisioned her mother sitting alone in her living room. About this time each afternoon, a gin and tonic sat on the table beside her. She’d wear a skirt and blouse and her hair and make-up would be flawless. Sara also didn’t doubt that her mother’s posture was rigid and that her thumb rubbed the tips of her index and middle fingers. Those were indications her mother’s emotions—anger, frustration, fear, whatever—were threatening to override her normal control. Today she deserved every terrible, panicky feeling she was experiencing.
Mary Ellen sighed. “Try to see it from our point of view. You were a good girl with a good future. He destroyed all of that in a matter of weeks. You were our responsibility and we protected you the best way we knew how.”
“Protected me!”
“Yes, protected you. We loved you more than anything on earth.” She quieted, as though considering the next bit. “He died in service to his country. That was at least an honorable thing.”
A sob broke from Sara.
Her mother softened her tone. “I have no doubt he might have been a good man, but not for you, and not at that time. I don’t regret ending the relationship, whatever else happened.”
“I can’t believe you did this. I don’t even know what to say to you.” A headache inched its way forward to throb behind her eyes. She used her free hand to block the light coming through the kitchen windows. “The horrid things I thought about him, the certainty I had that he’d forgotten me…all wrong. I mailed the first letters from school. I wish I’d kept on doing that and asked him to write me at Cindy’s house. Who knows what might have happened?”
“Sara, it’s been so long. I thought you’d be able to understand after all this time, but maybe I was wrong. Put the whole episode with that man behind you, darling. Just throw those letters out. What difference could they possibly make now?”
“I don’t know.”
“Darling? We shouldn’t talk about this over the phone. I can be there in a few minutes and then—”
Sara’s eyes shot open. “No! I may never forgive you for this, Mother. In fact, I’m hanging up before I say something I probably shouldn’t.”
“Sara, let me—”
Sara pressed the end icon and dropped her phone onto the table. Vaulting from the chair, she paced around the kitchen table. Squared stopped eating and turned to watch, his Siamese-blue eyes following her path. In agitation, she picked up the letter from the Navy, glanced unseeing at the words then tossed it back. Stomping to the sink, she poured a glass of water, then drank it all without taking a breath. Finally, she turned and stared at Paul’s envelopes.
Reader and Reviewer comments:
Readers:
“I loved it! And now my daughter’s reading it.” Sherry, a reader
“I just finished reading BURNING BRIDGES. Thank you for writing such a powerful story about how real love can overcome all obstacles. I appreciate the fact that Sara and Paul were imperfect and made mistakes. They needed each other to polish off their rough edges and make them complete. How nice that characters of middle age were written as attractive and sexual human beings.” A reader, Virginia
“I give Burning Bridges 6 stars out of 5!! A true love story…I’m ready for more.” – A reader, Byron, TaylorMade Bod
“I loved it, just loved it! I was going to take it with me on vacation but I started reading and didn’t want to stop. It was addictive.” – Chiara, a reader
“Loved it. Just loved it.” – Beverly, a Beaufort reader
Reviewers:
“Burning Bridges by Anne Krist is a story of a love that will not be denied — that cannot be denied. Time does not change what the soul knew before Sara and Paul ever met. Their love is eternal, and they can weather any storm, any lie, to the very end of time if necessary. I loved every minute of this book. If you are looking for your next great romance, then look no further. Burning Bridges has it all, and then some.
I Highly Recommend._
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
“If you love dramatic family sagas with plenty of emotion, you have to read Burning Bridges. Highly recommend!”
N.N. Light
“…an emotionally captivating tale from beginning to end. … a beautiful story about a young love ripped apart that burns bright through two decades of separation.”
5 Ribbons, Chrissy Dionne, Romance Junkies
“I absolutely adored this story … packed with real emotion … There was a powerful “WOW” factor…”
5 Hearts and Reviewer Top Pick, Diana, Night Owl Romance
“Rarely does a story come along which touches one in countless ways from every affecting scene, yet this writer does so with her first release. The name of Anne Krist will become recognized as an author who conveys genuine and heightened feelings between her memorable characters.
With surprising twists and believable interplay between characters, BURNING BRIDGES is an unforgettable love story filled with passionate desires and potent emotions.”
5 Stars, Amelia, eCataRomance, eCataromance Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner
“Burning Bridges is a yummy romance. Anne Krist has a talent for conveying great emotion. Keep a box of tissues close at hand when you read Burning Bridges. I was wiping tears throughout the book. The plot quickly captured my interest, and I felt I was part of the drama. The tension between Paul and Sara (both are stubborn and hardheaded) left me tingling. The love they shared was obvious. I did not want this story to end. Fans of romance should place Burning Bridges at the top of this summer’s reading list.”
5 Stars, Anne, Review Your Book
“…a strong and poignant love story… Displaying unwavering talent when dealing with delicate situations, Anne Krist’s BURNING BRIDGES stayed with me long after I finished.”
5 Pixies Recommended Read, Twila King, Dark Angel Reviews
“Ms. Krist has a heart-warming, emotional story on her hands. … This is one I highly recommend!”
5 Cups, Krista, Coffee Time Romance
About Anne:
Anne Krist is the “sister” to erotic romance author Dee S. Knight. She is quieter, more reserved, and certainly more circumspect about S-E-X than her wild and crazy sibling. Thus, she’s more comfortable writing sweet(er) romance, where there might be a few sensual scenes, but no more than that. One thing about Anne: she’s not less romantic than Dee. They both write in happily ever after and share the solid belief that love can last forever and beyond!
Website: https://nomadauthors.com
Blog: http://nomadauthors.com/blog
Twitter: http://twitter.com/DeeSKnight
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DeeSKnight2018
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/265222.Dee_S_Knight
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B079BGZNDN
Newsletter: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/h8t2y6
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/dee-s-knight-0500749
Sweet ‘n Sassy Divas: http://bit.ly/1ChWN3K
There actually isn’t too much I would like to have for Christmas. Most everything I’d like to have, we have. We don’t live too high, but with just the two of us and very small extended families, we generally buy what we want when we want it. I know I’m blessed, and I try to be appropriately grateful. However… I do wish we could afford some household help. As a housekeeper I make a great trombone player. I was raised by a mom who loved to read, and she told me that dust bunnies can always wait until after the next chapter…and the next. I learned the lesson well. But now, I’m physically unable to care for things as I should. It would be nice to have someone come in every two weeks or so and just do the things very hard for me to do without pain—like vacuuming/scrubbing floors or cleaning the bathrooms.
know things will get done eventually by me. I’m my own little elf! 😉
How Charity Sunday works: for every comment made on this blog post, I will donate money to the charity named. The same promise is made for every blog site listed in the group–click the Linky Links link at the bottom of this post to see the list of participants and read/comment on any of them to see a donation go to that blogger’s charity. We’re all different! Thanks for your help and your participation!
Blurb:
This year I made a big, fat boo-boo. I had in mind to fix a ham for dinner. Ham is something we rarely have, so it sounded appealing—a treat in this year that has been no treat. So I bought a ham. Jack, at nearly the same time, said that a local grocery had turkey thighs and breasts on sale. Since he doesn’t like white meat and I don’t care for dark, and there are only two of us, so we didn’t need a whole bird, that seemed like a great solution. Without conscious thought, we ended up with both turkey and ham for Thanksgiving dinner. Talk about a plethora of goodness! We’ll have a little of each for dinner and then I will cut and package the rest to use in leftovers or to freeze.
ham and mac & cheese, and of course sandwiches. But with the turkey I’ll make turkey pot pie. Here’s my recipe, give or take. I kinda make it up as I go along but this is a reasonable facsimile. I make two—one with white meat and one with dark. I know, I know. I spoil the man but what can I say? I love him.
The question this week is whether characters are more fun as idealists or pragmatists. You know, do you prefer to write (or read) those characters who always strive for the vision and tilt at windmills, perhaps, or characters who see tings as they really are—and who maybe take advantage of that realism, as J.R. did. I think the answer is, too much of anything can be, well, too much.
dream a little bit are necessary. In my newly (re)published erotic romance The Cinderella Curse, heroine Charlotte dreams of meeting and capturing her Prince Charming, the head of her publishing firm. He’s somewhat out of her league in that he’s rich, influential, and worldly. And she’s…not. But still, she sees her goal and simply won’t accept that she can’t have him. We all know what happened to Cinderella when she made her wish and then made it to the ball: Katy bar the door!
Would I have enjoyed these two if I had written them too strongly in one direction or another? No. Charlotte had to have some common sense and Cooper some flexibility in order for them to be fun and realistic. A good book is composed of characters of both stripes. That can create good conflict and fun reading, no matter which type of character you tend towards.
Someone asked me a while back if my book, Burning Bridges, was romance or women’s lit? She said the description sounded like women’s lit, and she doesn’t review that genre. Gosh, this was something I hadn’t considered before. I thought of my book as romance. I think of women’s lit as centered around a woman and how she solves her life problems, but with elements of romance. In fact, so many books I read as “women’s lit” were actually (in my mind) romances. The woman’s problem was so often being alone (after a long-term breakup or a failed marriage) and finding a new partner while solving her problems. I fail to see how that is different from most romances.
there is very little romance or bonding with someone else? Is that women’s lit? 
While I know that eating healthy is best for all of us, and it’s darn hard to eat healthy and not cook the food yourself, I still like food that someone else cooks, serves up, and lets me eat at home without all the hubbub of preparation and clean-up. Plus, timing is always right. There’s no having the potatoes done at one time and the meat done at another. If necessary, I can stick the carry out container in to be zapped and have everything hot and ready at once.
restaurant, and their chicken parmesan is fantastic! For that dish alone, I’d have to say that’s our favorite and most used takeaway restaurant. When things were locked down pretty tightly, we could call in our order and they would bring it out to the car. Yummy!
Award-winning author Linda O’Connor started writing romantic comedies when she needed a creative outlet other than subtly rearranging the displays at a local home décor store. Her books have enjoyed bestseller status. When not writing, she’s a physician at an Urgent Care Clinic. She shares her medical knowledge in fast-paced, well-written, sexy romances – with an unexpected twist. Her favourite prescription to write? Laugh every day. Love every minute.