Morgan Mandel and Her Handyman

I'm thrilled to introduce the prolific Morgan Mandel. Give her a warm Get Lost in a Story welcome.

A novella length romantic comedy, with a dash of the serious. Longer than a short story, shorter than a full-length novel - just the right size for a busy reader!

Throw a crazy canine, a handyman, and a quirky artist together and you've got mayhem!
 

Jake's engaged to a sexy, perfect woman, who's even a great cook!

There's no room in his life for wealthy unconventional Zoe, who eats raw vegetables and probably can't even boil an egg -- or is there? Are Jake's perfect plans about to be disrupted?

Blame it all on a far-out dog named FuFu, who dropped a toy into the toilet.

EXCERPT

“Handyman, please, you’ve got to help me. The water, it’s everywhere.”

“Calm down. Tell me more.”

A toy in the toilet, a messed up chain and flapper -- flood time!

 “I’ll be right there.”

Like a fireman, Jake knew the drill. He grabbed his jeans and shirt off the bathroom hook, and slipped into his rubber boots by the back door to the alley.

The Hawk, Chicago’s nickname for its malevolent wind, blew a dark strand of hair over his eyes. He pushed it away and continued down the stairs of his Northwest side two-flat. His pickup truck, loaded with sundry supplies, awaited him in the detached garage.

A round of February snowflakes began as he pulled off Wrightwood Avenue and turned toward the River North area.

As Jake of All Trades, he willingly performed tasks others couldn’t or wouldn’t do. Like an old-fashioned doctor, he stayed on call all hours. A certified plumber, electrician, and overall handyman, he loved facing and conquering challenges.

Merging onto Trendale, he evaded a Camaro weaving into his lane. At two a.m. on a Saturday morning, drunks were a common sight on the almost empty road.

Twenty minutes later, he pulled up to a brownstone high-rise on a prime site.

Another rich chick.

From their conversation, a mental picture of Sandra O’Toole flashed in his mind: blonde, helpless, about five years younger than his thirty. Far from the level-headed Angelina Fortunata, Jake’s intended bride and future bearer of their children.

EXCERPTS TO ALL OF MORGAN’S BOOKS

Get to Know Morgan

Morgan Mandel writes romance, thrillers, and mysteries. Her current release is the romantic comedy, Her Handyman, featuring a handyman, a crazy canine and a rich, quirky artist. Her other romantic comedy is the popular reality show book, Girl of My Dreams.

Coming soon is Blessing or Curse, sequel to Morgan’s Boomer thriller, Forever Young: Blessing or Curse.

Also still available are Morgan’s romantic suspense, Killer Career, about a Chicago lawyer’s dangerous career change, and Two Wrongs, Morgan’s debut mystery set in Chicago.

CLOVER: How often do you get lost in a story?

MORGAN: Very often! At breakfast and lunch, you’ll find my kindle sitting on my left (far from spillage) as I devour a book along with my food.

CLOVER:  You are a blogging queen, running a lot of different blogs. How do you find the time?

MORGAN: Somehow I manage to get it all together. I lost my day job a few years ago, and now am “retired.” Actually I work harder now  than before. On set dates I post on my group blogs at Acme Authors Link, Make Mine Mystery, and The Blood-Red Pencil. On special occasions I post on my personal blog, Double M. I also feature guests at my weekly guest blogs, Sweet Not Spicy and Spunky Senior Authors and Talents. I have others, but too many to mention! My desk calendar reminds me of what to do each day, or I’d forget.

CLOVER:  You have such a large presence online I really want to know what you do to relax.

MORGAN: I read, watch TV, go to movies, listen to country music, check out garage and rummage sales, attend outdoor Festivals; and, when on vacation, I’ve been known to play slots.

CLOVER: What was the first story you remember writing?

MORGAN: In grammar school, I started a story about a shipwrecked girl and boy who fell in love with each other. I never finished it.

CLOVER: What’s the first thing you do when you finish writing a book?

MORGAN: I wonder if I forgot something.

 

CLOVER’S GOTTA ASK:   Her Handyman features  FuFu, a Chinese Crested canine, inspired by your own dog, Rascal. Want to tell us a bit about that?

MORGAN’S GOTTA ANSWER:  Actually, Rascal doesn’t look at all like FuFu, but they are both unique dogs. I wanted to show my heroine’s soft spot, so I had her adopt FuFu, a Chinese Crested, who belongs to a breed that often wins the ugliest dog contests. My own dog, Rascal, is actually quite cute. We didn’t mean to adopt her, but it happened anyway. Before I and my husband set out to adopt a dog, I wrote a list. Some of the negatives were: Not a pit bull, not a puppy, and not one with physical problems. So, wouldn’t you know it, we fell in love with Rascal, a deaf puppy pit bull!

Morgan, that's great. You never quite know what animal is going to take off with your heart.

MORGAN CAN BE FOUND ALL OVER THE WEB AT ANY OF THESE PLACES:

Websites: http://www.morganmandel.com & http://www.chicklitfaves.com   

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/morgan.mandel and http://www.facebook.com/morgansbooks

Twitter: http://twitter.com/morganmandel (@MorganMandel)

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/MorganMandel

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/morganmandel/

Blogs: Double M   Morgan’s Book Links    Make Mine Mystery   Sweet Not Spicy 

Spunky Senior Authors and Talents   The Blood-Red Pencil

OUT THIS MONTH FROM MORGAN: 

Blessing or Curse, the sequel to Forever Young: Blessing or Curse

Romance with a Touch of Thriller - 5 separate stories about 5 different people who take the Forever Young pill, plus a few villains lurking in the background.

And Now, Morgan has a question for us: 

Do you stick to one genre when you read or write? Or, do you enjoy diversity, like me?

DON'T FORGET to FOLLOW us on Twitter #GetLostStories or LIKE us on Facebook to keep up with all our guest authors and their prizes.  ~ Clover