I Create Purty Thangs: May 2022

The Joy Thief! is a story that helps children and adults to discover more about a subject that is often difficult to understand. Demonstrating the subjectivity of trauma, The Joy Thief! highlights how a seemingly ordinary occurrence can have a significant impact upon the wellbeing of a child, particularly if left unaddressed.

Challenging the idea that trauma only occurs during more "serious" incidents, The Joy Thief! leads us to conclude that such occurrences, or rather our responses to them, may be more significant for children's mental health than we would perhaps like to admit.

The story of The Joy Thief! encourages help-seeking, while challenging adults to consider the way they handle such situations.

The story is written in a person-centred fashion, seeking to normalize a range of outcomes that children may experience following a traumatic experience - including the little-acknowledged phenomena of imaginary "friends."

Whilst highlighting positive themes of intersectional diversity, The Joy Thief! also challenges us to consider issues of parental absence, inattention, and invalidation within the context of the needs of children.

Above all, The Joy Thief! is a story of hope.

"This book demonstrates beautifully a gentle reminder to parents about the way that children can perceive the world and then models to children how talking about difficult things helps. Supporting better mental health and wellbeing for children is invariably about how the adults around the child respond to what is so often in front of our noses, yet we fail to always see." -- Lisa Cherry, schools, services & systems consultant, and author on trauma-informed & relationship focused practice (Twitter: @_LisaCherry)

"The Joy Thief! is a joy to read and is a beautifully illustrated book with inviting and fun colours. The language is simple, using the idea of rhymes to communicate the powerful and crucial message of children sharing their fears and worries with a trusted grown up, so they can get rid of their Joy Thief and be happy. Learning to share our innermost anxieties and not hold onto trauma is an essential lesson that we need to teach at an increasingly early age." -- Deborah Somerset, safeguarding trainer and trauma-informed consultant. (Twitter: @DLSSafeguarding)

"Sean McCallum has written a lovely book with vivid colors, rhyming text and a message. He describes how the unexpected appearance of spider frightens a young girl and the subsequent distress that builds up with repeated suppression of the memory. With psychological underpinnings, this book explores the impact of keeping upsetting thoughts pent up as well as the benefit of being able to share them with someone you trust. Highly recommended." --Laurie Zelinger, PhD, ABPP, RPT-S, Board Certified Psychologist, author of Please Explain Anxiety to Me and Please Explain Alzheimer's to Me

From Loving Healing Press www.LHPress.com

Available to buy from...

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Enjoy these excerpts!

Guest book review by Carly Louise Wilson

The Joy Thief is a beautifully illustrated children’s book by Sean McCallum. It is suitable for all ages, and is an ideal book to assist parents in helping to demonstrate and understand traumatic experiences. The child in the story experiences something traumatic to them which could become a lifelong fear, and how the parent reacts is dismissive and unphased, which can later impact the child in future events and in being able to communicate any other traumatic experiences.

I love books such as these as they are a great go-to reference for adults/parents and carers on how to help/assist and deal with child trauma, but it is also a good way to educate children on those who have had differing experiences to them.

The use of rhyme helps deliver the story in a fun and captivating way, and all illustrations are colourful to draw you in.

I would recommend to all parents and children. It is a good ‘how not to react’ scenario.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

About the Author

A Firefighter within the U.K. Fire & Rescue Service, Sean is also an Infantry Veteran of the Iraq War of 2003. A specialist in crisis intervention, Sean developed the ‘CRISIS Schema®’ – an evolutionary model of psychological first aid, now in use by practitioners across 4 of the world’s continents. Sean is also a director of Eudemonics CIC, a non-profit agency helping people and organisations to recover from psychological trauma. Coordinating community programmes supporting military veterans, victims of domestic abuse, and people enduring addiction, Sean lives in Nottinghamshire, England, with his partner Caron and their daughters Morgan and Isla.

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NEW RELEASE........
Blazing heat, laugh-out-loud humor, and an abundance of swoon-worthy moments make this sexy standalone romance by New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melissa Foster unputdownable. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and guaranteed to leave you breathlessly in love with the fiercely loyal and wickedly naughty Bradens.

What happens when you find your soul mate but she belongs to someone else?

Months ago, famed wedding-gown designer Jax Braden met the woman of his dreams when a bride-to-be came in for a consultation. He’s tried to move on, but there is no forgetting beautiful, smart, and refreshingly real Jordan Lawler, or the loneliness she cleverly tries to hide. When Jordan hires him to design her wedding gown, Jax knows he’s in trouble, but he cannot walk away. As business meetings turn to late-night confessions, their connection deepens, igniting passion too strong to deny. They’re drawn into an inescapable and forbidden love. Loyalties are tested and hearts are frayed, but neither will cross that invisible line in the sand. Come along for the sexy, emotional ride as Jax and Jordan face their toughest competitors yet—their hearts.

LOVE IN BLOOM novels feature alpha male heroes and smart, empowered women. They're flawed, funny, passionate, and relatable to readers who enjoy sexy contemporary romance and women's fiction.

The Bradens & Montgomerys are part of Melissa's Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. All Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone and may also be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive right into this fun, sexy romance.

Available to buy from ...

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Audio coming soon narrated by Aiden Snow and Meg Sylvan!

"Melissa Foster is synonymous with sexy, swoony, heartfelt romance!" - NYT Bestseller Lauren Blakely

"You can always rely on Melissa Foster to deliver a story that's fresh, emotional and entertaining. Make sure you have all night, because once you start you won't want to stop reading. Every book's a winner!" - New York Times Bestselling Author Brenda Novak

"With her wonderful characters and resonating emotions, Melissa Foster is a must-read author!" - New York Times Bestseller J. Kenner

Guest book review by Carly Louise Wilson

Then Came Love is the brand new romance book from Melissa Foster, and it is the ninth book in The Bradens & Montgomery’s Pleasant Hill and Oak Falls Series.

Firstly you do not need to have read any of the previous books to enjoy this tantalising romance, as with all of Foster’s books they are uniquely tailored for anyone to sit and enjoy. But if you have previously read her book, you will have been like myself, desperately waiting for Jax and Jordan’s story.

Secondly, this is an absolutely amazing forbidden romance! Jordan Lawler is set to be married and has opted for the famous Jax Braden to design her wedding gown. After an initial consultation, Jax is unable to get the incredibly beautiful Jordan out of his mind, but with a pending wedding, and a betrothal to someone else, it is more than complicated.

But what happens when you feel a pull and instant connection to someone else? An incredibly hot and passionate romance! Jordan is unable to fight the spark building between her and Jax, and with a fiancé who is always away and opting to put others above her, she is starting to realise perhaps accepting a proposal was a bad idea.

As a romance reader I hate cheating troupes, and i can say this story is written in a respectful way that will please all. Their romance is cute, the connection strong and you totally ship their happily ever after.

I would recommend to all romance series lovers and those who want to get stuck into and excitingly addictive read. With Melissa Foster you will never be disappointed, and I know I can always count on her to deliver a flawless and heart captivating read.

More Bradens & Montgomerys: Pleasant Hill - Oak Falls

EMBRACING HER HEART

Welcome to Oak Falls, Virginia, home to horse farms, midnight rodeos, bookstores, coffee shops, and quaint restaurants where you’re greeted like family and treated like treasured guests. Buckle up for a wild ride. Like any Southern girls worth their salt, the sweet-talking, sharp-tongued Montgomery sisters can take men to their knees with one seductive glance or a single sugarcoated sentence.

A second chance at their first love…

Leaving New York City and returning to her hometown to teach a screenplay writing class seems like just the break Grace Montgomery needs. Until her sisters wake her at four thirty in the morning to watch the hottest guys in town train wild horses and she realizes that escaping her sisters’ drama-filled lives was a lot easier from hundreds of miles away. To make matters worse, she spots the one man she never wanted to see again—ruggedly handsome Reed Cross.

Reed was one of Michigan’s leading historical preservation experts, but on the heels of catching his girlfriend in bed with his business partner, his uncle suffers a heart attack. Reed cuts all ties and returns home to Oak Falls to run his uncle’s business. A chance encounter with Grace, his first love, brings back memories he’s spent years trying to escape.

Grace is bound and determined not to fall under Reed’s spell again—and Reed wants more than another taste of the woman he’s never forgotten. When a midnight party brings them together, passion ignites and old wounds are opened. Grace sets down the ground rules for the next three weeks. No touching, no kissing, and if she has it her way, no breathing, because every breath he takes steals her ability to think. But Reed has other ideas…

The Bradens & Montgomerys are part of Melissa's Love in Bloom big-family romance collection. All Love in Bloom novels are written to stand alone and may also be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive right into this fun, sexy romance.

Available to buy from ...

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ANYTHING FOR LOVE

After Charlotte Sterling loses her last family member, she moves to Sterling House, her family's Colorado mountain inn, to live a solitary life. As an erotic romance writer, her days and nights are filled with passion and intrigue-even if only fictional. She loves her busy, quiet lifestyle, and she learned early on that real men can't live up to the fictional heroes she creates-until ruggedly handsome Beau Braden arrives to do some work at the inn and, for the first time in forever, she's intrigued by a real man.

Beau lost his first love years ago, and he's never let go of his guilt over her death. As he nears the anniversary of his loss, he is on the cusp of becoming the star of a home-renovation reality show. Escaping the painful memories of his past to work at the defunct old inn is just the promise of solitude he needs to clear his head before diving in to the all-too-public career. But he didn't count on being attracted to the whimsical, adorably sexy innkeeper.

Neither Charlotte nor Beau is looking for an attachment or a fling. But the more they learn about each other, the closer they become. Romantic evenings lead to intimate conversations, and neither can deny their deep connection or the passion it sparks. They've never fully healed on their own, but together maybe anything is possible.

Available to buy from ...

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TRAILS OF LOVE

When Graham Braden travels to Oak Falls, Virginia to attend the wedding of his buddy Reed Cross to Grace Montgomery, he sticks around to help with renovations to Reed's new theater. The last thing he expects is to be asked to assess and possibly invest in Grace's sister Morgyn's business endeavor. Graham is a careful, keen businessman, and Morgyn is impulsive, disorganized, and more interested in the energy flow in her eclectic retail shop than in the accuracy of her records. While Graham isn't ready to open his pockets to the sassy, sexy business owner, he may be ready to open his heart.

Available to buy from ...
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WILD, CRAZY HEARTS

Brindle Montgomery and Trace Jericho have been close friends forever and on-again off-again lovers for years. As rebellious as they are stubborn, they're both perfectly happy with their no-strings-attached hookups. But when Brindle returns from a trip to Paris with a baby bump, it sends Trace's wild, crazy heart into a frenzy--and Brindle is left wondering if she's made the biggest mistake of her life.

Available to buy from ...
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MAKING YOU MINE

Knox Bentley never liked the pomp and circumstance that came with being wealthy. He’d distanced himself from his pretentious family and their fortune as a young adult and found his own path to success. But even with the world at his fingertips, he realizes something is missing, and after a long stay overseas, he finally knows exactly what it is. His no-strings-attached hookups with Aubrey Stewart, an exquisite and stubbornly independent blonde, are no longer enough for him. They connect on every level, but Aubrey is a fierce businesswoman with a new movie channel on the horizon and no time for much else. She is the deal he can’t close, the precious jewel even his billions can’t buy. Now that he’s back in the States, he’s determined to show her that what they have goes beyond the bedroom and finally make her his.

For avid readers of the Love in Bloom series, you may have met sexy and hilarious Knox Bentley, Graham Braden's business partner, in Trails of Love, and Aubrey Stewart, one of the badass billionaire founders of the Ladies Who Write (LWW), in Anything for Love.

Available to buy from ...

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SEARCHING FOR LOVE

Zev Braden and Carly Dylan were childhood best friends, co-explorers, and first loves. Their close-knit families were sure they were destined to marry—until a devastating tragedy struck, breaking the two lovers apart. Over the next decade Zev, a nomadic treasure hunter, rarely returned to his hometown, and Carly became a chocolatier and built a whole new life across the country. When a chance encounter brings them back into each other’s lives, can they find the true love that once existed, or will shattered dreams and broken hearts prevail? Find out in Searching for Love, a deliciously sexy, funny, and emotional second-chance romance.

Available to buy from ...

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HOT FOR LOVE

Trixie Jericho is on a mission to start her own miniature horse business. She’s sick of being told her idea is cute and wants nothing more than to be taken seriously. When rancher and sought-after freestyle horse trainer Nick Braden offers an opportunity she can’t refuse, Trixie jumps on it. The problem is, she also wants to jump on him, but the bullheaded, big-muscled, motorcycle-riding cowboy doesn't mix business with pleasure. Little does he know, Trixie has never backed down from a challenge, especially one she wants more than her next breath. Saddle up, big boy, because this boot-stompin’, risk-taking, Daisy Duke-wearing cowgirl isn’t afraid to play dirty.

Available to buy from ...

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SWEET, SEXY HEART

For this sweet bookstore owner, avoiding the charms of a famed-football-player-turned-author was supposed to be easy... Funny, sinfully sexy, opposite-attracts romance.

Amber Montgomery is perfectly happy with her quiet life, running her bookstore, taking long walks with Reno, her Labrador retriever seizure-response dog, and spending time with her close-knit family. She’s never needed thrills the way some of her sisters have. In an effort to control her epilepsy, she tries to avoid anything that creates too much excitement or stress—including relationships. When Amber hosts a book signing for famed-athlete-turned-author Dash Pennington, he’s everything she’s spent her life avoiding: loud, aggressive, and far too handsome, as proven by the hordes of women who surround him everywhere he goes. Amber can’t ignore the sparks flying between her and Dash, but this is a no-brainer for her: Ignore their chemistry and hold her breath until he leaves town.

Dash Pennington has spent his life running. Running the ball in for a touchdown, running from town to town to appease his public relations reps, and running into the arms of too many women to count. He’s also an expert at protecting—his reputation, his sisters, and lately, his sanity. But he’s ready to make a change. When he comes to the sleepy little town of Oak Falls, Virginia, and witnesses the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen living the life he craves, she refuses to have anything to do with him. But now that Dash has found the one thing he doesn’t want to run from, he’ll stop at nothing to win her over.

Available to buy from ...

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ROCKED BY LOVE - releasing February 8th, 2023

Scorching heat, laugh-out-loud humor, and an abundance of swoon-worthy moments make this sexy new standalone romance by New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author Melissa Foster unputdownable. No cheating, no cliffhangers, and guaranteed to leave you breathlessly in love with the fiercely loyal and wickedly naughty characters in the Love in Bloom series. All Love in Bloom books are written to stand alone or be enjoyed as part of the larger series, so dive in and enjoy the ride!

He’s a rock star with a secret. She’s a fashion designer with a nose for nonsense.

When Johnny Bad hires Jillian Braden to design his tour wardrobe and cancels for the umpteenth time, she’s had enough. Jillian is determined to set him straight, but she isn’t at all prepared for what she finds, or for the type of help Johnny Bad really needs. Come along for the hilarious, sexy ride as Jillian and Johnny get caught up in a storm that just might be bigger than both of them.

Available to pre-order from ...

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About the author

Melissa Foster is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, & USA Today bestselling and award-winning author. She writes sexy and heartwarming contemporary romance and women’s fiction with emotionally compelling characters that stay with you long after you turn the last page. Melissa’s emotional journeys are lovingly erotic and always family oriented, the perfect beach reads for contemporary romance and women’s fiction lovers who enjoy reading about loyal, wealthy heroes and smart, sassy heroines with complex relatable issues.

Melissa also writes sweet romance under the pen name Addison Cole.

Melissa enjoys chatting with readers and book clubs. Send her an email invitation to your next event!

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