On the Road with The Men (Fred & Hugh).The Music.The Show

Hola! Jolene Navarro checking in from all over Texas.

On The Road Again. Traveling Texas

June has been a wild ride. (1687 miles to be exact)
On The Road Again has been playing in my head.

Tea at Boas & Tiaras 

Tiara's should be standard Sasha Summers,
Candace Havens & Jolene Navarro Fresh Fiction

It started with tea at Fresh Fiction's Boas & Tiara event with the amazing Candace Havens and Sasha Summers.
I now have a box of tiaras in my car for emergencies.




http://freshfiction.com/



Then on to Canyon, Texas to have the best week of a writer's life....summer camp with other writers at West Texas Writer's Academy with Jodie Thomas. Last year my current release, The Texan's Secret Daughter was brainstormed with these great ladies in my class.

Every writer needs a tribe. 

The ladies reading The Texan's Secret Daughter
they helped plot.

http://www.wtamu.edu/academics/eod-writing-academy.aspx

Fred & I celebrating 30 years of marriage

Then on to Houston to celebrate 30 years of marriage.

1987 in Houston, Fred Navarro asked him to marry him. I was 19. Then June 17, 1989 at 21 years-old I pledged my life to him and he to me. It was the best discussion I ever made in my life. It has been 30 years of an amazing journey full of bumps and growth (and four great kids).


Fred has always encouraged me to pursue my dreams even when they seemed way beyond my reach. This ranch boy from the Texas Hill Country even moved to Houston so I could finish school. To say it was out of his comfort zone would be an understatement.


I'm not one to get caught up in celebrities, but there is one that for some reason I have developed an weird and strange connection too....Hugh Jackman. Maybe not so weird...but intense. lol

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

When he announced his first live show, The Man. The Music. The Show. would open in Houston June, 18 my husband bought front row tickets for my birthday. See how amazing Fred is?

So thirty years later we headed back to Houston to watch Hugh sing and dance. It was amazing. First his wife and children came out and walked right in front of us. I adore her and the way they support each other.
He is so much more than a movie star. He gave everything to each dance and song. He told us stories of his childhood and being called a sissy by his older brothers and almost being fired from X-Men. He was open and authentic in a way that went above my expectations. 

If you saw The Greatest Showman, then you would recognize the captain of Hugh's dance crew. So much energy was in every move they choreographed. They were amazing. They sang, danced and included sigh language in one of the contemporary numbers.

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

He went on to add songs from Beauty and the Beast (Hugh played Gaston on stage). He played a little piano and sang songs from and The Boy From Oz.

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

It's the musical about Peter Allen. An Australian singer/song writer that wrote Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do), Don't Cry Out Loud, I Go to Rio and I Honestly Love You.

This is the role that won Hugh his Tony. 

One of my husbands favorites is I Honestly Love You because it was sung by his first crush Olivia Newton-John. Something he has in common with Hugh. LOL

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

When Hugh was talking about his Olivia poster in his bedroom my friend, Sonomi Kennedy, yelled that she had a poster of him in her room ...that got his attention and he chuckled and when she raised her hands he came to the edge of the stage and shook it.

The Man. The Music. The Show.
Hugh Jackman shaking Sonomi Kennedy's hand. 

He did a great job of interacting with the audience. You could tell he loves preforming live.

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman

The performance of One More Day from Les Miserables was breathtaking.



He did a full set in honor of his wife and family then left the stage to hug her.
It went from big performances to small quiet moments sprinkled with stories.



He did a tribute to 42nd Street with a full tap routine then went crazy with drums to AC/DC and Van Halen...It was AWESOME.



https://www.hughjackmantheshow.com/

He has added San Antonio to his tour and it so happens that Fred and I had our first date in October 1986 so we are going again. If you get a chance you should see the show. The performance is so big that just about any seat will be good.


How is your summer going? Is there a celebrities you would want to meet? Have you been to or plan to go to The Man. The Music. The Show. Hugh Jackman?

FEATURED BOOK AND INTERVIEW: Ransom by Terri Reed

"WE HAVE YOUR SISTER." 

Liz Cantrell is terrified when she receives a call from a man holding her newlywed sister captive—and she's convinced her sketchy brother-in-law's involved. Willing to pay any price for her sister's freedom, Liz flies to Niagara Falls with the ransom: an uncut diamond necklace worth millions. But the moment she lands, a handsome, world-weary Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent takes her into custody. Blake Fallon's determined to catch a ruthless diamond smuggler—and the pretty antiques dealer trying to save her sister could be just the break his case needs. But as they team up to rescue Liz's sister and trap the criminal mastermind, a desperate standoff will threaten everything they hold precious—including their lives. 

Northern Border Patrol: Keeping the US-Canada border safe.

Interview:

Today we're welcoming Liz Cantrell the heroine RANSOM, by Terri Reed, a February 2016 Love Inspired Suspense. 

Wow, you've just had quite an adventure.   

1.  Tell us a little about yourself and how you came to be in the midst of such suspense. I’m a small town girl living on beautiful Hilton Head Island. I run an antique shop, my father’s legacy to me and my sister. I’m single and not sure I’ll ever find Mr. Right.

2.  So, during the book you met ICE agent Blake Fallon.  Tell us a bit about him.  What was your first impression?  When did you know it was love?  The first time I met Agent Fallon, I was so intimidated. He threated to put me in jail if I didn’t help him catch a criminal mastermind. I have to say I didn’t like Blake much at first but as we worked together my heart softened and I realized that he wasn’t as jaded and hard as he seemed.

3.  What strengths/skills do you have?  What is your greatest weakness?  My greatest strength is my determination to protect those I love. My greatest weakness is my need to be needed.      

4.  What scares you? Losing the people I love.

5. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

6.  Where are you in your faith at the start of your story? I’m too full of pride to fully rely on God.    

7.  Where are you in your faith at the end of the story? I realize how much I need to trust and rely on God for the good and the bad.

8. You've got a scripture at the beginning of the story.  Tell us why this scripture is significant.   For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you not harm you, to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 This verse reminds me that my plans don’t always line up with God’s plan and I must make the decision to trust Him to know what’s best for me.

9. If you could be a dessert what would you be and why?

I’d be a chocolate soufflé with raspberry sauce. Sweet and gooey, with a little bit of tartness.

Reviews

Terri Reed here.  I'm racing toward a deadline and coming up for air.  This weekend I received a google alert on my name.  When I clicked on the link I found a review of my upcoming May book, Scent of Danger, on a legal news site.  Very interesting place to find a mention of my book!
 http://legalpronews.findlaw.com/article/0aDS9G5fyz0Hh?q=crime+OR+criminal+OR+arrested
From there you have to click on the link to the full article at Fresh Fiction.  The reviewer, Clare O'Beara gave Scent of Danger a favorable review!  For those of you who aren't familiar with Fresh Fiction, its a book review site of popular genre fiction.  I highly recommend stopping in to check out the site.

Which reminds me,  Romantic Times Magazine recently reviewed this book as well.

Here it is:

SCENT OF DANGER
by Terri Reed

Genre: Series, Love Inspired Suspense, Current Series Imprints

RT Rating

SCENT OF DANGER (4.5) by Terri Reed: Detective Melody Zachary is shocked to find an intruder in her office at the local youth center where she volunteers. Melody does not believe that the break-in is coincidental, but instead related to the unsolved death of her nephew, Daniel. Then, Detective Parker Adams appears, investigating rumors of drug deals at the center. Meanwhile, local crime lord “The Boss” is still at large, seeking the mysterious “code.” Are the center, and Daniel, linked to the “code”? Can Parker help Melody — and keep her alive? This fast-paced tale, punctuated with determined characters who tie in nicely with the other books, continues the collaborative Texas K-9 Unit series.(Reviewed by:  Leslie McKee)

Speaking of reviews, what do you all think of reviews?
Do reviews influence your book buying?
Personally, I try not to let reviews influence my enjoyment or displeasure in a book.  Or a movie, for that matter.  As a writer reviews are part of the business.  I am happy when someone likes my book enough to give it a favorable review and I shrug off the unfavorable.  Reviews are out of my control.  And if we all liked the same type of story or movie, there wouldn't be much variety.  I like variety.
What about you?