My Dear Readers,

As you might remember from yesterday, the Magic Matchmaker Agency series was published in November and December 2021, but it received lukewarm feedback.

After writing and self-publishing six books, I quickly realized that this was an expensive hobby.

All those promises about becoming rich quickly as a self-published author?

Clickbait.

My dream of establishing a location-independent author business fell flat as I watched my savings dwindle. As a beginner, I fell into every trap: overpaying for editing, covers, promotions, and advertising.

I joined social media communities in hopes of learning the ropes, but the discussions rarely focused on business. Instead, they mostly consisted of complaints about Amazon or showcases of six-figure and seven-figure royalty statements, neither of which were helpful.

After decades of intense hotel management, I found myself bored sitting at home with little to do.

So, I started looking for a job and eventually found a remote position with a cruise company on their COVID support team.

Those were challenging times, and there was no room for creative writing.

This is why book one in the Burger Wine Estate series - The Vintage of Love - wasn’t published until January 17, 2023.

This book is one of my most personal. The love story in it is mine, from more than thirty years ago when I spent two years in Johannesburg.

It was the most amazing time of my life, and if there’s one thing I regret, it’s leaving too soon, as the political situation in 1992 was challenging.

It may sound kitschy, but I have never felt as joyful, happy, and free as I did during that time. I’m convinced that a part of my soul remained there.

In the Burger Wine Estate series, I aimed to capture the profound love I have for South Africa.

Burger Wine Estate Romance Series

Welcome to South Africa’s sun-kissed Constantia Valley, where the Burger family’s historic vineyard pairs world-class wines with second chances at love:

The Vintage of Love
Divorced, Elisabeth returns to Cape Town and encounters her first love, John Burger, discovering that some bouquets become richer with age.

The Stormy Path to Love
Grumpy vintner Michael Burger teams up with vibrant landscape architect Patricia to build a Romantic Pathway…and finds himself on one.

The Secret of Love
Big-city lawyer Dianne Walker hides at the estate to escape a stalker; winemaker Robert Burger offers a fake engagement that feels far too real.

The Sweet Treat of Love
Celebrity chef Andrew Burger and perfectionist baker Karen Adams must create a show-stopping menu for a visiting critic—if their simmering attraction doesn’t boil over first.

The Patience of Love
Interior designer Alan Burger and returning winemaker Emily Du Toit face old family rifts—and rediscover a love that has been aging like a reserve vintage.

These later-in-life romances feature grown-up stakes and guaranteed happy endings. Family secrets and sibling banter unfold against sweeping vineyard vistas. Sweet heat, zero spice—ideal for fans of Debbie Macomber, Pamela Kelley, and Hope Holloway.

The reviews for this series have already been better, but to date The Vintage of Love has only an average rating of 3.7 on Goodreads.

Here is one of the reviews that this book received:

“This book/novella/whatever you want to call it because it was only 47 pages long left a lot to be desired. The plot of the story was really good, but the author crammed the whole story into just a few pages, which leaves the reader very unsatisfied. We don’t get to see their lives before or even during their rekindling and just seemed very unbelievable because of the quickness of the story. This could have been really good based on the premise but it just needed a lot more details.” (Amazon Review)

If you’d like a taste of the Western Cape, you can download the prequel to this series for free by clicking on the image. But hurry, this link expires on Tuesday, Dec 2:

The Choices We Make

If you’re in the mood for another South African love story, Second Chance at Love is a standalone romance also set at a winery in the Western Cape:

Second Chance at Love

Want to dive into the full Burger Wine Estate series?

You can get each book for 99 cents right now, and the Burger Wine Estate Boxset, which contains all the books in the series, is available for $2.99 for a limited time.

Thanks for being here. Thanks for reading my stories.

Take care wherever you are.

Much Love,

PS: Tomorrow, Day 3 stays in Cape Town—at a corner café where love is served with every espresso. I’ll also share one of my standalone books: a retelling of Beauty and the Beast that no one wanted to read.

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