Short and sweet review for my Women's Fiction novel, My Own Voice
The minute our eyes met, I knew what to do: so I stopped in the middle of what I was doing, which was dusting off the glass shield over the ice cream buckets, and stacking up waffle cones here and sugar cones there. From the counter I grabbed a bunch of paper tissues, and bent all the way down, like, to pick something from the floor. Then with a swift, discrete shove, I stuffed the tissues into one side of my bra, then the other, ‘cause I truly believe in having them two scoops—if you know what I mean—roundly and firmly in place.
Having a small chest is no good: men seem to like girls with boobs that bulge out. It seems to make an awful lot of difference, especially at first sight, which you can always tell by them customers, drooling.
I straightened up real fast, and it didn’t take no time for him to come in. I was still serving another customer, some obnoxious woman with, like, three chins. She couldn’t make up her mind if she wanted hot fudge on top or just candy sprinkles, and what kind, what flavor would you say goes well with pistachio nut, and how about them slivered almonds, because they do seem to be such a healthy choice, now really, don’t they.
He came in and stood in line, real patient, right behind her. So now I noted his eyes, which was brown, and his high forehead and the crease, the faint crease right there, in the middle of it, which reminded me all of a sudden of my pa, who left us for good when I was only five, and I never saw him again—but still, from time to time, I think about him and I miss him so.
I could feel Lenny—whose name I didn’t know yet—like, staring at me. It made me hot all over. For a minute there, I could swear he was gonna ask me how old I was—but he didn’t.
And so, to avoid blushing, I turned to him and I said, boldly, “It’s a crime?”
And he said, “What?”
And I said, “To be sixteen. It’s a crime, you think?”
And he said, “Back in the days when I was young and handsome, that was no crime.”
And I countered with, “Handsome you still are!”
He had no comeback for that, and me, I didn’t have nothing with which I could follow it up. So I asked, “So? What kind of cone for you?” but that woman cut in, ‘cause I was still holding her three-scoops tower of pistachio nut on a sugar cone. And she started to cry out, and like, demand some attention here, because hey, she was first in line and how about whipped cream? Or some of that shredded coconut?
So I smiled at her, in my most cool and polite manner, and squeezed out a big dollop of whipped cream, which was awesome, ‘cause it calmed her down right away.
And I scattered some of them coconut flakes all over—quite a heap—and went even further, adding a cherry on top. At last, I raised the thing to my lips, because at this point, it was starting to drip already.
Then, winking at him, I passed my tongue over the top, and all around the ice cream at the rim of the cone, filling my whole mouth and, just to look sexy, also licking the tips of my fingers. Then I came around the counter, swaying my hips real pretty, and steadying myself over the wobbly high heels. I came right up to him, and before he could guess what kind of trouble I had cooked up in my head, I kissed him—so sweet and so long—on his lips, to the shouts and outcries of the offended customer.
Falling in love with Lenny should have been the end to all of Anita's troubles. But then, family secrets start unraveling. His ex-wife, Natasha, is succumbing to a mysterious disease. How can Anita compete with her shadow? How can she find a voice of her own?
★★★★★ "A creative, gripping and deeply moving tale of a young girl coming of age in unfathomable emotional circumstances."
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Reviewed: 11-08-25
I was thrilled to win the audiobook of Virtually Lace, and it pulled me in from the very first chapter. This Techno-Crime thriller launches with the chilling murder of a dancer, and Michael’s desperate race to harness cutting-edge AI to recreate the crime in real time—before the killer turns his attention to the woman he loves. The tension is relentless, the stakes sky-high.
The author’s vivid detail and pulse-pounding action made me feel as if I were right beside the characters, experiencing every twist and close call. And when the iconic Laguna Beach erupts in flames, the scenes hit even harder, especially having lived near the area myself. This book is an intense, immersive ride from start to finish.
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"I paint with my pen and write with my paintbrush.” |
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Cynthia Woolf writes historical western romance, specializing in mail-order brides.” |
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“Daniel E. Robinson weaves gripping, character-driven stories where fractured timelines, supernatural echoes, and buried truths force ordinary people to face extraordinary consequences.” |
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Award-Winning multi genre author. "I love to write exciting, adventurous stories that weave together characters and situations that are intriguing to keep my readers turning pages until the very end.” |
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”I write fun historical mysteries that will whisk you away to the past, keep you on the edge of your seat, and capture your heart.” |
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Award-Winning multi-genre author. “In my former life I was a CPA and now I love the journeys where my characters take me.” |
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“I walk in the shoes of my characters and weave the tapestry of their lives with the threads of my dreams.“ |
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"I write like every sentence owes you something—pace, purpose, and a reason to keep turning the page.” |
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AKA Thomas Ferreolus “'Discovering deep connections through scene and dialogue is one of the most humane things we can all relate to.’ |
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“Ro writes emotionally-charged, music-infused, inclusive tales featuring characters you want as your best friends, and rock ‘n’ rollers who find love with kindred spirits.” |
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"History is woven into my stories with a delicate thread." |
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“Family secrets, extraordinary abilities, love, justice, and redemption…” |
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“Award winning author who goes wherever her muse takes her, penning Romance & Humor.” |
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“I write so people can travel without leaving their homes.”
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“Sharing my imagination with readers around the world. Everyone deserves a happily ever after.” |
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“I want my pen to pull profound feelings out of my readers as they navigate through my stories.” |
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