Oh, don’t I wish…

Carlsbad, CA
I’m packing frantically for our beach trip this weekend. I always seem to have blog posts scheduled just prior to vacation days. Not sure what that means!
But, it got me thinking – while hauling out the beach blanket quilt that my grandmother gave to me years ago. We always called it the snowball quilt – it’s bright green, covered with huge white polka dots, and looks like a bizarre twister game is set to commence! The kids are growing up enough to know that when the blanket comes out, a trip to the beach is upon us. Frenzy. Chaos. Screaming little girls running around, throwing bathing suits in a bag.
“Can we bring the sand toys?”
“Will daddy make the biggest sand castle ever this time?”
“Do we get to hunt for sea shells?”
“Will the grunion be running this year?” (okay, the last one was my hubby – the kids and I don’t take too well to night time beach walks around skittering fish burrowing in sand, spawning all over the soil. That’s more boy territory.)
So, when did these two little munchkins go and grow up on me?
And, with that thought in mind – I let them help decide what to bring. They piled who knows what in their bags (I did a little bit of checking and stuffed in some sweats, dresses, and jeans, but who cares if they match as long as they have enough bathing suits, shorts, t-shirts, and panties to wear!)
We’re beach bound, baby. And I’m about to pack my beach bag with some of my favorite books. Perhaps one or two of yours…
I’ve got:
- The Conqueror (Zebra Debut) by Kris Kennedy
- Something About Her by Jeannie Ruesch
- Dating da Vinci by Malena Lott
- The Preacher’s Wife (Love Inspired Historical) by Cheryl St.John
To name a few… Please name some of your own favorite beach reads for this summer!
Whoops! almost forgot my sunscreen!
~Ashley



Hey Ash! Beach huh? Check out our website for a complete list of my recommended reads, but my favorites are Sisterchicks (Robin Jones Gunn) or Chocolate Beach and Truffles by the Sea (Julie Carobini). I’m better than Barnes & Noble — you can borrow them for free.
) Have loads of fun with your precious family!!
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Hey, Denise!
Looking forward to reading your and Dan’s book next summer!!!
LOL – wish I did have time to stop by and enjoy a lemonade with you on your beautiful back porch… Looking forward to having the kids pal around this summer before school starts again!
Thanks for dropping by!
Ash
Hi Ashley!
I’m loving The Gunslingers Untamed Bride by Stacey Kayne. Definitely a good read. She spins a good yarn! And her characters are so vivid. *heehee* I showed the opening scene which is a gunfight to my hubby….and the man stole the book from me!
Have fun on your trip. We’re taking the kids to Pismo Beach next week! Fresh fish and chips- wowza!
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Sarah,
Thanks, hon! I have her on my list… I love what you said:
I showed the opening scene which is a gunfight to my hubby….and the man stole the book from me!
I think there’s a bit of romantic in all of our guys!
Have a great weekend!
Ash
Name a beach read? Oh! I heard that Journey To Forgiveness was a super one. OOPS! Did I say that?
I hope you have a wonderful weekend. But before you do anything, Ashley, you need to pop over to Sharon Donovan’s blog and help Miss Mae out of her dilemma. What was suppose to be a simple blog interview with me has turned into a “free for all.”
Help!
Hugs!
Laurie
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Laurie,
I’m coming! I’m being pulled 6 ways to Sunday, but I’m getting there!
Journey to Forgiveness is a lovely read — a beautiful, sweet redemption story.
I’m rather fond of the author, too. *wink*
In that same sweet vein of other books I’ve ALREADY read – that recommend as fun beach-bag reads:
Said the Spider to the Fly – Miss Mae
And, I’m looking forward to Turtle Soup, too!
What else am I missing!?
Ash
Twitter: silverwriter
says:
I wish I was headed to the mountains, Ashley! It’s hot and humid here and all that sand in places…*ahem*…all that sand.
Beach reads, Jennifer Lyon’s BLOOD MAGIC (out now) and Leslie Parrish’s PITCH BLACK. I’d highly recommend Leslie’s FADE TO BLACK, too, though the books come out after July 7th (FTB) and August 4 (PB). I was lucky enough to get ARCs! Jen’s BLOOD MAGIC is a wonderful paranormal romance that had me laughing out loud on one page, and in tears a few pages later. A perfect summer read!
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Silver, thanks for the tips!
I’m putting Blood Magic on my list for our next trip… We’re going shell seeking next Saturday – and I’m SURE to be done with this weekend’s read by THEN!
~Ash
Twitter: violaestrella
says:
Lucky! I want to go to the beach, too. Do you have room for one more? Just teasing. Right now, I’m reading and loving The Kept Woman by Susan Donovan. Have fun at the beach!
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Be sure and tell me how The Kept Woman turns out!
Great weekend. Foggy on Friday, Sunny on Saturday – bliss.
~Ash
Hey Ash! I love the beach and hope to go later on this summer. Beach read…hmmm. I just finished reading Tangled up in You by Rachel Gibson. Loved it, girl! Have fun at the beach and don’t forget lots of lotion and plenty of chips!
Sharon
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Sharon,
the sunscreen was heavily applied. no one got burned! hooray!
Rachel Gibson. check. Adding to my amazon wishlist now!
Ashley
I’m catching up on the Sookie Stackhouse books by Charlaine Harris. Usually the books I take to the beach are somehow summer or island related (seems an appropriate setting!), but I’m addicted to these right now.
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Tricia
I love having a themed beach read! My daughter themed out all the toys she brought. Only fish and beach related stuffed animals and books.
I curled up with The Conqueror – which I can’t put down. Kris Kennedy weaves a heck of a hero…
Twitter: KrisKennedy
says:
Ashley~
Oh, man, what a pain, to have a post due right before leaving! So sorry. I always tell myself such things won’t matter–I’ll just write the blog and upload it ahead of time. Hahahaha.
I love your story about getting ready. So much of it is what I recall as a child. The total excitement. Thanks for reigniting it.
I have ordered my first Kresley Cole’s paranormal _A Hunger Like No Other_ (I liked her historicals, so I figured I’d try these.) I’ve also got Elisabeth Naughton’s _Stolen Fury_ and Elizabeth George _A Great Deliverance_ (not a romance) and Hoyt’s _Serpent Prince._
That should get me through the next couple weeks, since my reading time is now constrained to bedtime, and I fall asleep within minutes. LOL
Have a blast at the beach! (And thanks for mentioning my book! I hope you love it.
)
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Okay – Kris, here’s the scoop.
I told you all about the books I shoved in my beach bag. These days, I only have a few minutes to see if I’m going to like a book or not.
I try to read them all, and truth – I enjoy many. I love to learn the writing voices of my friends, and listen to bits and pieces of their souls while I’m busy turning pages. But, for this beach trip, The Conqueror won. By the end of the prologue I was hooked. Handsome, caped hero with a sack of gold, purchasing passage where gruff old sea captains dare to tread? oooooh.
Chapter 1 – a lovely, saddened heroine — lost and alone, set upon by one who would steal her fortune and betroth her (or worse) without her consent? And who is the deep, reverberating voice from the trees of the one who would save her?
Griffin is one of my NEW FAVORITE HEROES of this summer!
Gwyn – “Raven” is equally awesome. They are perfect match.
I am having trouble doing anything but reading your story – able to get through 135 pages during my vacation which as all of you mamas know – is a FEAT for 3 days of reading.
Usually I drag my notepad out to the deck and write in the early foggy morning hours. Not this trip. It was me and the Conqueror — on the beach, on the deck, by the pool, and with my itty bitty booklight.
I’ll write a full review when I’m done but I LOVE templar lore, anything about the crusades, and this story hits a place that sings with me.
Thanks for the exciting read. Thanks for coming along with me – and those sandy, warped pages are why I’ll never be dragging a kindle to the beach. LOL.
((hugs)) my friend. Well written, well done, and I can barely wait for bedtime so I can get back to it!
~Ash
Twitter: KrisKennedy
says:
Okay, Ash, you are my new Favorite Adult in the whole world. I mean, I love my husband and all, but right now, you are SO up on him.
I am ecstatic that you liked THE CONQUEROR so much!! I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea–I have read a couple reviews to tell me so, LOL–but then again, I’m not writing for everyone. I’m writing for….you!
Seriously–we can’t try to please everyone. When we watch our children do that, it breaks our hearts, doesn’t it? In part b/c we know that it’s doomed to failure.
So, thank-you *so much* for saying such cool, amazing things about THE CONQUEROR! How’s it feel to be a Favorite Person?
(Other than your kids’ favorite person, of course. Umm … except when you’re their *least* favorite person, which follows directly from the mean, impossibly cruel things you’re required to do as mom, that is.
)
Twitter: KrisKennedy
says:
Wow.
Lotta grins there.
Ashley, you lucky duck! I want to go to the beach…
That would require a plane ride or one long car drive since I’m landlocked, but I can pretend. I’ll slather on the sunscreen, get out the wading pool, the umbrellas, the towels and settle in with:
THE CONQUEROR by Kris Kennedy
THE TROUBLE WITH MOONLIGHT by Donna MacMeans
LOOSE & EASY by Tara Janzen
Look out beach – here I come!
Have fun on your trip!
Tiffany
Twitter: wiremamma
says:
Tiffany
I thought I saw you in my beach bag along with sandy towels and sun screen.
The Conqueror should inch up to the top of your reading list. It’s AWESOME! (see above mini-review)
Thanks for your comment. Trip was lovely… mountains of laundry to be done. Can’t WAIT to go for a whole week. Next year.
~Ash