Ms. West wrote with such emotion I felt as if I was looking at the world through Sarah and Ted's eyes. Each one was carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders, but both handled their feelings and emotions quite differently. This story made me walk away analyzing things differently in my own life and all the people that are near and dear to me.
Because of Sarah and Ted, you realize that no matter how hard life's struggles may be for you, there is always someone out there willing to listen and shed some light onto what might be the dimmest of circumstances for you. You can't give up because you just never know who is depending on you to get them through their difficult time. I'm new to Ms. West's writing, but after reading this story I eagerly look forward to seeing what other stories she may have available.
If you would like to find out more about Ms. West and see what she has available for purchase, please contact her at: http://www.margaret-west.com.
That concludes this week's showcase. I want to thank all our devoted readers for stopping by and I'd also like to wish everyone a safe and happy 4th of July weekend. Please stop by next week and check out yet another talented author we'll be showcasing. Take care everyone!
Two Faces, One Life
Author(s): Margaret West Website
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: Apr 02, 2009
E-Book Price: $2.50 CA
Publisher: Eternal Press
Street Date: Out Now
Two Faces, One Life - Book Excerpt
Score: 5/5
Eighteen-year-old Sarah just doesn’t have the will to live anymore since being a victim of a house fire that badly disfigured her. All of her friends disappeared shortly after the accident and when she goes out in public now, people stare at her like she’s a freak of nature. Nothing she can do could ever give her back her beauty again. After months of physiotherapy and pain medication, she’s had enough and just wants to end her life once and for all. She decides that she’s going to go to the park one last time as a means of saying goodbye to the things she used to love to do. Today is definitely as good a day as any to end things.
When she arrives at the park, she decides to sit next to a young blind man on a nearby bench. At least he won’t see her scars and think she’s horrific looking. He senses someone sitting next to him. He wishes Milo, his companion dog, was with him right now because he would have nudged him to let him know that someone was near. He can only hope that Milo will be okay in the vet’s office and that the lump he found on Milo’s neck isn’t cancerous. What will he do if he loses his best friend? While sitting there, she begins to quietly sob. Ted strikes up a conversation to help lift her mood a bit even though he doesn’t know her. Hesitantly, she begins a conversation with him and they start opening up to one another.
With these two people visiting the park for their own melancholy reasons, could this be the beginning of a bright future for both of them? Or does Sarah still follow through with ending her life? What kind of news does Ted receive about his canine companion, Milo?
Ms. West penned such a powerful story and I felt it was like a roller coaster of emotions for me. My heart bled for both Sarah and Ted. They were both sitting in the park to seek out comfort from their surroundings because each one was facing difficult times in their lives. Sarah was getting ready to say goodbye to the world and all that surrounded her and Ted was being faced with the fact that he could lose his companion dog, Milo because of the lump he found on the dog’s neck. They both found each other during the saddest and darkest points in their lives and were there for one another even though, before today, they didn’t know each other. I’m so glad Ted was there for Sarah when all her friends had already run out on her. He was meant to be in the park the same time Sarah was. I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and I strongly believe that because they were both hitting it off so well, makes my theory fit even more so. The theme that I found throughout the story was: “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” I feel the beauty and love that everyone has to offer needs to be unleashed from within. It has nothing to do with our outwardly appearances. This was a remarkable story of having true faith in people, no matter even if they’re a stranger to you at that time. I also believe that you need to find the hope from within yourself that tomorrow will be better as long as you have the courage to face today.
Book Blurb & Info for: Two Faces, One Life
Sarah's world is shattered when she is badly disfigured after a house fire. After months of physiotherapy, her old friends have melted away and she decides that there is no longer a place for her in the world. No one will love a woman whose face is hideous scarred and whose body is just a canvas that advertises the damage that flames can do.
When Sarah goes to the park to take one last look at the world she wants to leave behind, she bumps into Ted. Blind from a young age, the young man strikes up a conversation with the lonely girl. He doesn't need his eyes see Sarah's beauty. He can hear it in her words. But can he convince Sarah that life is for living and that is possible to view life from a very different angle?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.aspx?daoid=3631
I first heard the term “high concept” applied to novels a few years ago and I have to admit, for a time, the idea had me banging my head against a wall. Generally used to describe a film or a television show, high concept is basically a one or two sentence tagline that’s tightly worded and conjures an immediate image in the mind. Take “Snakes on a Plane.” You almost can’t help but smile. Those four simple words practically scream “campy high adventure.” So while I understood the idea of pitching the high concept movie, I wasn’t so sure how high concept translated when talking about books. After mulling it over, I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s really not a lot of difference.
In today’s highly competitive publishing market, it’s not enough to simply write a good book. In order to get your good book read by agents and editors you have to have a hook. And high concept is the ultimate hook. A high concept tagline not only makes your book easier to pitch, it shows that you, as a writer, know the value of marketing.
A high concept pitch has several elements:
A great title
An original idea, or a well-known idea with a new twist
Has universal appeal
Take the following examples. These are recent deal blurbs that I pulled from Publishers Marketplace (an excellent place to find out what is selling and to whom).
Kate Pearce’s The Tudor Vampire Chronicles, a series of vampire romances dealing with the complicated supernatural lives of the queens of King Henry VIII, and the real reasons why some of them survived and some of them died.
This one is a no-brainer. Vampires are extremely hot right now (they have been for some time and it doesn’t look like they are going to go out of fashion) so a vampire romance is a good lead in. But there are a LOT of vampire romances out there. What’s different about this story is the Tudor timeline. It’s not a historical time frame that’s done often in romance. Add in the fact that Showtime’s’ hit series The Tudors have actually made Henry the VIII sexy, and you have a hot, fresh twist on a well-known idea. Plus, it helps that the story of Henry’s wives is something that almost everyone in English speaking countries is aware of. The story hints that paranormal elements are responsible for some of those beheaded queens and I’m instantly intrigued.
Vicky Dreiling’s Confessions of a Duchess: A Matchmaker’s Misadventures, The Bachelor in Regency England (minus the hot tub and camera crew).
I have to admit, the title didn’t necessarily grab me, however, historicals set in Regency England are extremely popular. The term “matchmaker’s misadventures” made me think “fun” which was cemented by the one line blurb: The Bachelor in Regency England minus the hot tub and camera crew. Brilliant!
Todd Ritters’ debut, Death Notice, in which a small town police chief must thwart a serial killer who is sending in obituaries to the local newspaper before the subjects end up gruesomely murdered.
Yuck. I’m creepily grossed out. But who doesn’t love a good suspense novel? There are elements to this story that seem familiar (the serial killer on the loose who thinks he’s clever enough to outwit the cops so he actually sends them clues), but the obituary element seems like a new twist, plus I’m empathetic to the poor small town police chief who has to catch this sicko.
So, while high concept is used to refer to the pitch used to try to sell the book, it also refers to the book itself. When I got the idea to write my Bunco Babes series, I immediately thought “Sex in the City meets Bunco.” I didn’t pitch my story in those exact words, but it was the tagline in my head as I wrote out my synopsis and I think it came through.
Is there a tagline or a short blurb for a novel that has instantly intrigued you? And if so, what was it? Leave a comment and you could win an autographed copy of my debut novel, Bunco Babes Tell All. Please visit my website at www.mariageraci.com
Thanks!
Maria Geraci
Goodie Bag Giveaways items that everyone who purchases one of my books will receive are:
1. A signed bookmark
2. A Stroke of Magic sticky pad
3. Lip shaped lip gloss keychain
4. A first chapter excerpt from book 3: A Breath of Magic, due out May, 2010
(Get Virtual Signing Details)
And…One lucky person (drawn at random from all entrants) will win a custom A Taste of Magic/A Stroke of Magic coffee mug!
--------------------------
A huge thank you to Tammie for having me here today, and for all the amazing hard work she’s done in preparing for this very cool virtual signing. I’m thrilled to be here. :o)
The Magic of Magic
I’m a longtime fan-girl of TV shows based in magic. When I was little, I think I watched every episode of Bewitched and I Dream of Jeannie multiple times, and as an adult I was an avid weekly watcher of Charmed. So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise to have started my published writing career with novels about magic, but somehow it did.
Especially because when the concept of A Taste of Magic first popped into my head, there wasn’t a bit of magic to be seen. Rather, it was a story about a woman who was trying to get her life back on track after a rather nasty divorce, but before she could do that, she had to bake her ex-husband’s wedding cake for his new wedding. And it was a good story, but I wanted more than that—I wanted to empower my heroine (Elizabeth) with something unusual, something unexpected, and I wanted it to just as much fun as it was emotional.
And then I grasped onto the idea of revenge, and what Elizabeth could possibly do to take revenge on her ex while baking his wedding cake? That’s when the magic came alive, and that’s when I decided that I was going to empower Elizabeth with a little bit of gypsy magic. Writing A Taste of Magic seemed as if I had been dusted with some type of magic, as the story flew from my fingertips…almost as if someone was whispering in my ear. By the time I finished, I knew I had to write A Stroke of Magic.
In A Stroke of Magic, the set up is different. The heroine (Alice) doesn’t have an ex-husband, but she is pregnant—and single—and her ex-boyfriend is not exactly a nice guy. When she discovers she has to find her soul mate before her baby is born to keep her child safe, everything in her world turns upside down. How does one go about finding a soul mate, anyway? Even with magic on her side, the journey is definitely not easy.
While each book has many differences, including different heroines with different wants and needs, the magical concept has stayed very much alive in the telling of both. Now, as I’m writing book three in the series (A Breath of Magic—out in May, 2010), I’ve begun thinking about what it is about the idea of magic that is so darn compelling for me. I’m pretty sure I know the answer, and I’ve already touched on it in this post: empowerment.
I love writing heroines who are in the middle of their normal, everyday lives, tackling some sort of an obstacle that they’re not sure they can overcome, and then twisting everything they know and believe in upside down by giving them a power they never even knew existed. How will use they use the power? Will it make their lives easier or more difficult? Will it really help them overcome their obstacle or will it create even more issues that they’ll then have to deal with?
The possibilities are endless! Exploring the many avenues each of my heroines can travel in their journey from page one to “the end” has been an incredible learning experience as a writer, because they always seem to surprise me. So, for me, the magic in magic is about empowerment and possibilities. What about you? Do you like the idea of magic? If so, why?
Dear readers and friends,
On Aug 4th my dear friend Delilah Marvelle's second book will be coming out = LORD OF PLEASURE. This is the second book in the School of Gallantry series. The first book MISTRESS OF PLEASURE got many great reviews and won contests. Including N.O.R's Best Historical Romance of the Year award and was a RT Reviewer's Choice Award Nominee.
MISTRESS OF PLEASURE has sold out its first run. Very good news for us all, but Kensington is citing that they are going to discontinue the series for lack of sales. Your probably going huhhhhh right now. How can something that's sold out be discontinued for lack of sales? Well I'm not sure...but I'm very sure I want this series to fully be published.
So let us readers speak. Let the publishing world know that we want this series to continue. We don't want to be left in the dark. We want more sensual lessons from the School of Gallantry.
To support our cause please PRE-ORDER LORD OF PLEASURE by DELILAH MARVELLE and join us at Night Owl Romance - for contests, reviews and friendships. I'll even be doing contests in July where three lucky winners will get a copy of MISTRESS OF PLEASURE. Signed copies!!! With the first run selling out these are going to be collectors items and being signed even more so.
In the fun of things Delilah is also giving away 3 - $50 Gift Cards via her website. To find out how you can enter visit: http://www.delilahmarvelle.com/index_002.htm
Pre-Order now via these links
Great news it's ONLY $4.99 - What a sweet deal.
B&N
Amazon
Katy Budget Books - Indie Store
Powell’s
Night Owl Romance.
Doncha love that name? I do. It’s everything that I am. Okay, the ‘Romance’ part is kind of a given. That is what I write. I write contemporary romance, romantic comedy, fantasy romance, historical romance … get the picture?
But the ‘Night Owl’ part? Oh lordy-be. yes.
According to Wikipedia a night owl refers to a person who is most active or creative during the night. Yeah, night, dark, moon, creative juices just flow for me. I am a night owl.
It really started when I was a small child. My mother was a very young and very in love bride. When her first child (me) was born, my father worked night shift at a local hospital. In order to allow him to sleep without the baby (me again) waking him all the time, she reversed my schedule to his. We played all night and slept when the sun came up.
Smart? Maybe not but it worked for them. Until the other kids came along and Dad got a different job. Trouble was, from infancy, I associated NIGHT with PLAY. That stuck. I have always operated better at night. I don’t do mornings unless seeing them from the back end. To me, 6AM is BEDTIME not time to wake up.
Under the covers with a flashlight, I visited the world my mother never knew about. I raided her bookshelves and read romances by the dozen when I was far too young to even understand the big words. The night came alive for me to the tale of doctors and adventurers and knights and heroes with mighty swords. Most kids were reading Old Yeller. I was sighing over a heroine’s flaxen hair in the dappled sunlight.
The night gave me romance. I brought home book after book, and snuggled quietly in bed and read until the sun came up. School, well, thank God I managed to do enough to graduate because I excelled at sleeping behind a textbook.
Through college, I maximized this, working nights and scheduling very few morning classes. I managed to avoid the dreaded 8AM class until my last semester and even then, managed to miss more of them than anyone else and STILL got an A (HA!). A night time restaurant job and then a midnight 9-1-1 Dispatcher and yep, I am firmly cemented in my night owl ways. Nights off were the same, I kept the same hours and did my housework, my laundry, my reading and my writing while others slept.
I have never written a vampire because other than that blood thing, I’m just like one. Sunlight and me, not a good combo. No, I don’t burst into flames but close enough.
Only problem is now I have kids and they have school. Of my three children, one *shudder* is a morning person like his father. That is unnatural. The other two would sleep beyond noon and party all night if I allowed it. I can’t though. I am not my mother and they have school. I fell asleep in every single class I have ever had. I even fell asleep during my own college graduation! They deserve a more normal life.
To lead by example, I talked to my Doctor, went to sleep clinics and took medication. Nothing worked to reset my inner clock. We finally decided that I am what I am (yam wadda yam- random Popeye memory, hmm).
I am a night owl.
So I drag my behind out of bed at 6AM after usually forcing myself to go to bed at 4AM and blearily stumble through the morning. When school is in session, I can come home, fall into bed until 2PM, and then start the day over. That works for me.
But it’s summer and there is no school. So I am up at 6 or 7 every day (one early bird kid *sigh*) and I hate it. I’m in a brain fog until later afternoon. No matter how tired I am, my second wind kicks in at 10PM and I want to write. Ninety percent of my stories have been written in the dark. Maybe the moon is my muse, the stars my dreams, I don’t know. It just works for me.
On any given night, you will find me sitting at my computer, pouring out words, verbs, phrases. Writing is a hushed affair. There may be quiet tears or stifled laughter or a soft sigh not to wake the rest of the house. Music is played at whispering levels if at all. My crit partner lives in Australia and we talk at night (for me).
I am a night owl. My romance happens at night. My daily grind occurs when the moon is high and stars dance in heaven of ink. Ink. Isn’t that just perfect for a writer?
And what is perfect for a blog reader? Well, a chance to win a prize!
In my debut Romantic comedy JINXED, Frannie thinks Jinx is crazy. Not a little loopy, but straightjacket club. But the craziest thing is she falls in love with him anyway. She gives him a crazy box, full of sweet little tokens of her affection that appeal to his quirky personality.
Leave me a comment telling me what you love about the night and, sometime in the dark, one random poster will win a JINXED CRAZY BOX just for you. - Leave the first portion of your email address on your post and be a member of the NOR newsletter to enter.
Stop by and visit me at my website http://inezkelley.com/ where you can read excerpts from JINXED, some free reads or the general mayhem that is my life. Happy Reading!!
Hello everyone and welcome back to this week's reviewer showcase. It's Thursday already and time to discuss another great book with all of our faithful readers. I chose an author who has tremendous talent and I've been extremely lucky to review her Damaged Heroes series for her. This is definitely an author to watch because with her talent, dedication and superb storytelling capabilities I know we will be seeing plenty more of her and her writing in the future.
So, let's jump into this week's reviewer showcase and let me tell you a little bit about: Free Falling by Sandy James. This is the second book in the Damaged Heroes series and was jammed packed with such emotion flowing between the two main characters, Laurie and Ross, that I just couldn't tear myself away from the story. I was pulled into the storyline immediately and Ms. James held my attention until the very last sentence.
The author knows how to convey her characters' feelings to her readers and makes us feel as if we're part of the story, watching everything unfold before us as we turn the pages. Laurie and Ross were both workaholics so they had a deep and mutual understanding of what it meant for the both of them to have no real social life and a few select friends to lean on. Since a terrible blizzard hit Montana, there was no other available choice for Ross than to stay at Laurie's house until the storm had passed. But having to weather the storm together and make do with only certain provisions because of the outages of the electricity and phone, only made it a bit more complicated for these two not to start developing some kind of bond between them. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it to other readers.
***Please note, this week in my showcase we will be holding a contest to give away a copy of Ms. James' latest story, Faith of the Heart, to one of our lucky readers. All you have to do is leave a comment and please include some form of contact information so Ms. James can contact the winner directly. Any form of contact information will do, but please make certain that she will be able to reach you with the information you provide us. This book is available in PDF format only through this contest and it's running for today only, Thursday, June 25, 2009. Ms. James will announce the winner later on here in the blog comments and she'll contact the winner directly. Good luck to all our readers!
If you'd like to find out more about Ms. James and see what other stories she has available for purchase, please contact her at:http://www.sandy-james.com/.
Well, that's it for this week's showcase. Please stop by next week to see who we're spotlighting and in the mean time, I hope you all have a pleasant week! See you all next Thursday and thanks for stopping by!
Free Falling (Damaged Heroes Book 2)
Author: Sandy James (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary - Suspense/Mystery
Review Date: 5/3/2009
E-Book Price: $5.99
Book Strand -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Free Falling - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Laurie Miller, a twenty-nine year old PhD in clinical psychology who has empathic abilities, decides that she needs to get away from her job as counselor from the clinic where she is half partners in. Lately, she doesn’t know why, but her empathic abilities just seem to have slipped away from her. No matter how hard she tries, nothing is working for her. Her dear friends, Dr. Deepika Sen, an Emergency Room doctor and Andrew Greve, her fellow psychologist and clinic partner, both think it’s a wonderful idea for Laurie to go spend a few days in Montana where her family’s vacation house is. Reluctantly, she decides to go in hopes of just using the time away to relax and obtain her abilities again.
While there, Montana is being hit with a winter blizzard. Sipping a cup of cocoa and looking out her kitchen window, she sees a car buried under the snow not too far from the house. Since her house and barn are the only structures for miles, she decides to head out to see if someone might need her help. When she approaches the vehicle, she spots a man dressed in nothing more than a suit and overcoat in the driver’s seat. Pounding on the window, she hopes the man is still alive and not frozen to death. Unfortunately, she gets no answer from him. She moves around to the passenger side of the car and begins to get as much snow away from the door as possible so she can enter the car and assess the man more closely. Once inside, she sees that his lips are a shade of blue, but his cheek is warm to her touch. She tries slapping him awake a few times and he finally wakes up. She helps him get out of the car and they start the treacherous trek back to her house.
Once inside the warm house, she tries warming him up because he’s so cold. He settles down on the sofa near the crackling fireplace and he can’t help but fall asleep. Because the storm knocked out the phones and the electricity, she knows the fire isn’t going to warm him enough. Not knowing what else to do to warm him up, she decides to lay next to him on the couch and falls asleep with him. This is something she hasn’t been able to do with any man because once her skin touches someone else’s, all their emotions start flooding to her because of her abilities. No matter how close her skin was to this guy, she couldn’t get any readings off of him. In a way, she’s relishing the fact that she is enjoying the closeness of a man’s body to hers without being inundated with emotions and such as she has in the past.
When they both awake, they start talking and getting to know each other. She finds out that his name is Ross Kennedy and he is an attorney, who just happens to be on a forced vacation from his law firm because he’s been working way too much to suit the firm. So his boss sends him to Montana to search out a client for their signature because it seems that they keep running from this paperwork that finally needs to be signed. Ross doesn’t consider this a vacation at all because now the blizzard has snowed him into Laurie’s house and he can’t try to find the client he desperately needs to get this signature from.
Since the weather is that bad outside, it’s going to be awhile before either one can leave the house. They both have no choice but to make the best of this bad situation they’re both in. But as their time passes, they both realize they are secretly enjoying each other’s company.
How long are they snowed in for? What do they learn about each other while being cooped up together? Does Ross ever get to find the client he came to Montana for? Does Laurie ever get her empathic abilities back?
Ms. James has penned another fantastic story within these pages. This was the second book in the Damaged Heroes series and it was just as entertaining as the first book. I loved how the author weaved her twist and turns throughout the storyline and she had me completely engrossed right until the very last page. I loved Laurie because she was a very smart and independent woman who wasn’t going to take any nonsense from anyone, but she also had a soft side for her family, friends and close clients she dealt with. I already liked Ross because he was introduced to me in the first book, Murphy’s Law, and it was nice to see he had his own story within these pages. I couldn’t help but fall in love with him this time around because Ms. James really went into detail letting her reader get to know Ross on a completely intimate level. I hoped all along that Laurie would get her abilities back and that Ross would find the client he was going crazy looking for. Since he and Laurie were getting along fairly well while they were stranded together, I found myself hoping that maybe something could come about between these two characters. I highly recommend this story and I urge you to pick up the series because you won’t be disappointed with this author’s writing style. She’s very talented and will definitely keep you entertained for a few hours while reading her work. I’m happy to tell you that the third book in this series, All the Right Reasons, has just been released also. Each book is a stand-alone story, but they’re well worth reading in order.
Book Blurb & Info for: Free Falling (Damaged Heroes Book 2)
Workaholic attorney Ross Kennedy never learned to enjoy life until he meets the woman of his dreams. If only Laurie Miller can convince him that’s exactly who she is. A psychologist with empathic abilities, Laurie rescues Ross, who has been stranded in the middle of a Montana blizzard. The two strangers are completely snowed in and out of contact. In just a few days, their attraction to each other is overwhelming, but Laurie is troubled. Her empathic gift seems to have vanished. Fascinated by his pretty rescuer, Ross struggles to open up his heart enough to let this woman in. When the two return home to Chicago, they try to solve a mystery revolving around a Prohibition Era journal they discovered in Montana. Will they find the missing treasure the journal points to? And as a former boyfriend begins to stalk Laurie, how will Ross be able to protect her?
Review available at:
http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3612
Thank you to everyone at Night Owl Romance for allowing me the opportunity to tell you all about my new release, ‘Lizzie’s Rake’.Can you imagine the life of a gently bred Regency girl whose life is in the hands of her male relatives? How it feels to have Briarfield, the home she has struggled to keep, snatched from her by a reckless brother who gambles all at the gaming tables? Said brother then sails for the Americas leaving my heroine to face homelessness for herself and the two siblings left in her charge. Thus is Lizzie’s lot.
Imagine how she feels when the new owner’s intent of selling Briarfield is announced. Can you blame her for the antipathy she feels toward this man?Here is the official blurb:
Can a rake reform his ways and truly love? Lizzie's head tells her one thing, her heart another.
However, events and his reputation conspire to thwart his efforts and his course is one fraught with dangers.
Trust does not come easily and determined to protect her heart, Elizabeth struggles to resist her own longings. At times, their difficulties appear insurmountable but the earl is widely known as ‘The Indomitable’ and the name was not lightly earned.
An Excerpt
“Maxim…” she began, and would have turned away but immediately his arm detained her, drawing her back to face him. For a long moment his searching gaze devoured her face until, tilting back her chin with his free hand, he bowed his head and kissed her.
*****
This is my first release with The Wild Rose Press and is available as both a paperback from
http://www.amazon.com/Lizzies-Rake-Hazel-Statham/dp/1601544650/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240305244&sr=1-3
and e-book http://www.thewildrosepress.com/lizzies-rake-p-1236.html?zenid=479dbc0fc788bfc3ca1602a8436eb24a
It is the first of my books to also be available in the UK and can be ordered from www.amazon.co.uk or by quoting
· ISBN-10: 1601544650
· ISBN-13: 978-1601544650
at your local bookshop.
I love to hear comments and questions from my readers and promise to answer all my mail.
Regards to all,
Hazel
She has been married to her husband Terry since 1969 and they have a grown daughter and beautiful grandson. Apart from reading and writing historical novels, her other ruling passion is animals and until recently, she was treasurer for an organization that raised money for animal charities. She currently shares her home with two lovely yellow Labradors named Lucy and Mollie, who are her constant companions. They are real sweeties, but it’s not always easy working at the computer with a large Labrador trying to get on your knee!
I’m having a milestone birthday in July. It’s “that” birthday. That major milestone that no woman looks forward to.
But one thing I can say with confidence, is I have accomplished something with my life. I can look up on the wall of my office and see my name on the covers of two books – Private Property which was released in January, and Personal Protection which released in May.
Although I’ve written since I was about seven, I’d never allowed myself to dream of actually getting published.
I’ve never saved any of the stories I wrote, I never showed them to anyone. They were just for me. My hobby. But back in December 2006, my eldest son challenged me to put myself out there.
“Mom,” he said. “You’ll always regret if you don’t try.”
Since Mom’s have to be the role model, and I couldn’t very well tell him to do something I didn’t do myself, I set a goal of submitting a manuscript to an editor. I emailed my critique partner and friend, Sue, who had been pushing me to do exactly that. She challenged me to write outside my comfort zone and dared me to write an erotica. We agreed that we’d both write one chapter and exchange them. The next day I sent her a chapter and received one in return. About ten minutes later I got another email – urging me not to open her document as she declared defeat and urged me to write more.
Eighteen months later, I had a contract for my erotic novella, Private Property. But I must admit that the story—which involves a trio in a ménage—pushed my writing boundaries as I tried to envision why a man (or a woman for that matter) would feel comfortable sharing someone they love with another person. My next novel, Personal 
Protection stretched my boundaries even further. Oh, it wasn’t that I found it difficult to write a story about a bodyguard company – I used to work with a security firm where I regularly liaised with the Toronto Emergency Task Force and the Bomb Squad and worked amongst 70 mostly-former military types.
What I found challenging was getting into the head of a character who belonged to a private sex club, who enjoyed BDSM amongst other things.
Turned out, Sam Watson was a blast to write. He could be funny, he could be urbane, but he also had that dark side I love in my heroes. The heroine, Rosie Ramos, found herself both shocked and intrigued, and ultimately had to decide whether Sam’s past would be a hurdle or a barrier.
I’m thrilled that my son issued that challenge. And now as I reach this banner year, I’m setting goals for my next birthday, and my next milestone. Another contract? An agent? Dare I dream of a contract from a NY publishing house? Who knows. But just because I reached that big ‘0’ birthday doesn’t mean that I have to stop dreaming, that I should stop trying.
The only woman in a houseful of men, Leah Braemel spends most of her days in her office, hiding from the dust bunnies. For excerpts of her stories, visit her website at http://www.LeahBraemel.com
My favorite part of writing a western historical romance is sifting through the historical information to find interesting tidbits to incorporate into my stories.
When I decide where a story will be set, I compile books on the history of the area, go online to find information about the historic places, and get micro film of newspapers in that area at the time my story is set. The other thing I like to do is visit the area and their historical museums. And I contact the research librarians in the area or at the historical societies.
For my first book in the Halsey brother series, I knew I wanted it set in the gold mining area in the Blue Mountains. While nosing around the museums in that area, I met a woman who’d lived in the area her whole life. She had some interesting stories and one that I used in the book was the fact a town had its post office, building and all, stolen in the middle of the night by miners tired of trekking down the mountain to get their mail. Since my heroine in Marshal in Petticoats was accident prone it seemed like the perfect place to set the story.
Visiting the historical center in The Dalles while researching for Outlaw in Petticoats, I again began a conversation with a woman who’d spent her whole life in the area. She had some great stories about the families of the area and she told me about the finger holes under the bar at a prominent saloon. I incorporated a scene in the book where the heroine uses those holes to remain standing while imbibing a bit much.
My current Halsey brother book, Miner in Petticoats, I researched the various forms of mining that took place in the Sumpter area in the 1880’s and learned a great deal about how stamp mills functioned in getting more ore out of the rock. I used this knowledge to create a fictional stamp mill on Cracker Creek, a stream that was one of the most mined creeks in the area.
Placing tidbits of history in my books is my way of entertaining and enlightening the reader. Do you like to learn things when you read or do you just read for the enjoyment of reading?
Here is the blurb and excerpt for Miner in Petticoats:
Shouldering the burdens of his family and the mining community, Ethan Halsey devotes himself to providing for his brothers’s growing families.
However, Aileen Miller, a widow, also looking out for her family’s interests, refuses to part with the land he needs. As they battle- one to push his dream to reality and the other to prove no man will hurt her again- their lives become enmeshed and their hearts collide.
Excerpt:
“Mrs. Miller?” he asked, extending his hand. She kept her head tipped forward just enough her
face was shadowed and hidden behind the brim of the hat.
“Who be askin’?” Her voice caught his attention with its deep, lyrical tone.
“I’m Ethan Halsey. My brothers and I have a claim just over the ridge.” It aggravated him he couldn’t see her face and register how she took his words.
“Are ye lost?” The voice vibrated under his skin, causing his body to warm.
He cleared his throat. “No, I’m not lost. I’m looking for Mrs. Miller. I’m assuming that is you,
since you’re the only grown woman I see here.”
“Ah m Aileen. Ah dinnae fancy bein’ called Mrs. Miller.”
This disclosure piqued his curiosity. “Mrs— Aileen. I’ve come with an offer.” Her head tilted, tipping the wide-brimmed hat to the side and revealing a slip of her face.
“And whit may this grand offur be?” He saw the slightest curve on one side of her lips.
“Ma’am, not to sound bossy, but I’d like to see your face as we discuss this proposition.” Her
shoulders dipped slightly before she squared them, stretched her neck to its full length, and
whipped the hat from her head. Copper sparks reflected off her hair as the sun lit her dark locks.
Ethan hadn’t believed the words of a cowardly man like Miles, and he was happy to see there
wasn’t any kind of mark on the woman’s face, at least none put there by the devil. Her skin was
abundantly sprinkled with angel kisses. That was what his mother had called the freckles on her
face. Angel kisses. He’d always had a fondness for freckle-faced women and children.
“Thank you, I appreciate seeing people’s eyes when talking business.” Ethan took a step closer
to the porch, waiting to be invited to the shade.
“And whit be yer business?” The woman didn’t seem inclined to invite him any closer.
“I’ve scouted the land all around our claim. The five acres of your land down where Cracker
Creek drops in elevation is the perfect spot to set up a stamp mill. The side of the canyon has the
right slope and the water is moving fast enough to power the mill.”
“So yer business is askin’ me tae sell ma land?” She clamped work-reddened hands onto
those ample hips and glared at him.
“We’d give you a fair price for the five acres, and you could use the stamp mill to claim more
gold from your mine.” The information didn’t seem to change her opinion. She still glared at
him. “We’re allowing the nearby claims to build rails to bring their ore to the mill. They can use
the stamp mill, giving us a small cut of their profits.” He smiled at his family’s generosity.
“So ye’re doin’ this oot o’ the goodness o’ yer heart? Takin’ yer neighbor’s land and their gold.”
Her light green eyes flashed with indignation.
You can purchase Miner in Petticoats in e-book at a reduced rate for Cowboy month at The Wild Rose Press or you can purchase it in print at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles, or any bookstore.
Miner in Petticoats
Paty Jager
The Wild Rose Press
First Cactus Rose Edition
www.thewildrosepress.com
ISBN# 1-60154-506-1
ISBN#13: 9781601545060
If you'd like to read excerpts from the other books in the series or learn more about Paty and enter her monthly contest go to her website: www.patyjager.com
Ms. Coverstone did a remarkable job with this one and made me fall in love with Scott Landry immediately. Every woman should have such a sweet, compassionate and handsome gentleman in their lives like Beth had. I was so happy that he was the one who found her during a time when she needed someone to help and nurture her back to health. The author did a wonderful job telling this story and I know you will enjoy it as much as I did.
If you would like to learn more about this talented author or see what other stories she has available for purchase, please visit her at: http://www.staceycoverstone.com/.
Thanks for stopping by our blog today and I hope to see you all next week. Enjoy the review and feel free to leave a comment or two for Ms. Coverstone. Have a great week everyone!
High Lonesome
Author: Stacey Coverstone (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary - Western Elements
Review Date: 5/3/2009
ISBN: 1-60154-473-1
Print Book Price: $12.99
E-Book Price: $5.40 (It's on sale! Regular price $6.00)
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
High Lonesome - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Thirty-two year old Scott Landry, who is the owner of High Lonesome Guest Ranch in Ghost Rock, New Mexico, just happens to spot a woman shuffling down the dirt road he’s traveling on and she looks completely dazed and confused. He decides to stop and asks if she needs any help. She just blankly looks at him and gives him no answer. He gets out of his truck and tries approaching her to offer some assistance, but she grows frightened of him and takes off sprinting down the road trying to get away from him. He runs after her and as he catches up, she faints to the ground. While she’s unconscious, he immediately notices an angry purple bruise on the inside of her arm and a lump on her forehead the size of a goose egg. He knows he needs to get her medical help because they’re out in the desert away from any place that she can seek help herself. When she finally comes to again, she becomes extremely combative with him because she thinks he’s there to hurt her more than she already is. He offers her some water that he has in his truck and introduces himself. He convinces her that he’s only trying to help her because she’s lost and hurt and he decides to do the gentlemanly thing by bringing her to his ranch.
Once they arrive at High Lonesome, he invites her into his house and asks Carmen, his cook and close friend of the family, to call one of the town’s doctors. As Scott and the woman talk, she explains to him that she has no idea who she is or even how she got so hurt. Scott makes every attempt at making her feel as comfortable as possible until Dr. Joanna Coleman arrives to examine her.
When the doctor finally arrives, she examines the woman and explains that she’s suffering from amnesia because of the hit on her head. Dr. Coleman wants her to do a CT scan in town to see if there is any internal bleeding or damage to her skull. She schedules the woman for an afternoon appointment that day and tells her she’ll do a full check-up once she has the CT results back.
Scott’s goal now since he already had the doctor take care of her, is to help this poor woman find her family because they must be so worried about her well-being. He calls Dr. Coleman’s ex-husband, Buddy, at the sheriff’s department and explains what’s going on. They launch into a full investigation trying to help her locate her family. As the days fly by and no solid leads come in, Scott and his seven year old daughter, Willow, decide to call the woman Beth. But when a solid lead finally does come into the sheriff’s office, it’s a day that will change everyone’s life forever.
Does Beth’s family finally find her while she’s staying at Scott’s ranch? Does she have any recall at all of the life she once had before the accident? What does she start learning about herself while staying with Scott and Willow?
Ms. Coverstone did a remarkable job with the storyline that she chose. I fell in love with Scott early on because of all the good deeds he was doing for Beth and he wasn’t even asking for anything in return. I found him to be a ruggedly handsome cowboy with a heart of gold and I had hoped that maybe Beth was single after all. My heart bled for poor Beth because she had no idea who she was, what happened to her or even how she ended up in the desert of Ghost Rock, New Mexico. She was so lucky that Scott found her and took it upon himself to help her during one of the darkest and roughest times in her life. The storyline was extremely believable and Ms. Coverstone carved the characters out to be everyday people. I would definitely recommend High Lonesome to readers because the author did such a great job writing this story. I was completely engrossed and swept away by this story and I know you’ll agree with me once you read it. Well done, Ms. Coverstone!
Book Blurb & Info for High Lonesome:
Scott Landry, steadfast owner of the High Lonesome Guest Ranch in Ghost Rock, New Mexico, happens across a dark-haired beauty who has been assaulted and left for dead in the high desert. She's suffering from amnesia--remembering nothing about the attack, where she's from, or even her name. From the moment Scott lays eyes on the woman they come to call "Beth", he knows everything in his life is about to change.
While recuperating, Beth embraces ranch life and grows close to the sexy, widowed cowboy and his precocious young daughter Willow--discovering a happiness and peace she suspects she's never known. But she experiences terrifying flashbacks and visions of a little girl. When she learns the truth about her life and returns to an uncertain fate, she wonders if she'll ever be safe again...
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3602
I have always loved the world of the paranormal. I have been drawn to it since I was a young child. Ghosts, witches, fairies, magick…the possibilities were all there for me. I never disbelieved.
I don’t know where the love of the paranormal came from, it was just something that always seemed to be part of my life. Maybe it was the books my mother read to me or maybe that just helped it along. I grew up 
reading fairy tales with my mom, not the Disney versions either but the real Grimm style fairy tales that did not always have a happy ending. (In the real Little Mermaid story, she turns to sea foam at the end and drifts away, there is no happily ever after).
By the time I was 10 I was already reading Steven King, Dean Koontz, and other adult paranormal novels. At the age of 11 I found Anne Rice’s Interview with a Vampire at a garage sale and was forever after thoroughly seduced by vampires.
As I grew older the paranormal stories became more than just a little creepy and scary but also a little…sexy. And later… outright erotic.
Over time I have watched books transform and change from the veiled eroticism in Dracula and Anne Rice’s books to the flat out hot sex scenes in today’s romance and erotica novels. And something about creatures with supernatural powers just adds a whole new level of sexiness to the books.
Alpha male shapeshifters give us that power, control, and animal magnetism coupled with primal urges that can’t be denied, vampires have centuries of sexual experience and awesome powers that make us swoon, demons are the ultimate hotties with badditude written all over them, and then there are the other magickal men; beautiful, wicked fey: wily wizards, seductive sorcerers…
They are just full of preternatural hawtness, are they not?
I have several favorite hot males in the books that I read. Laurell K Hamilton has many hawt as hell men in her books that I love. I adore Bones in Jeaniene Frost’s Night Huntress series (I am a sucker for a British accent, Spike anyone?).
One book that I found the male utterly drool worthy was the last book I read by Kresley Cole, Kiss of a Demon King. I am a vampire girl all the way but damn that demon, Rydstrom, is sexy as hell. I was utterly seduced by him.
Which paranormal man in a book has utterly seduced you?
My newest release, Torrid Teasers Volume 59 is now available through Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, http://www.whiskeycreekpresstorrid.com/, and contains two steaming hot paranormal erotica stories- The Questioning Concubine and Renata.
In The Questioning Concubine a witch does the one thing she knows she shouldn’t do…call up a demon. And she gets a lot more than what she bargained for.
In Renata, a vampire with succubus needs is prowling the carnival looking for sex and blood. Renata comes across an intriguing carnie that she just can’t resist. Too bad he’s a vampire hunter, but is he there to kill her or is he just there for her.
I hope you’ll be seduced by the paranormal “men” in Torrid Teasers # 59. (And be sure to drop by the Night Owl Romance website to download my free read, Princess Breastia’s Quest for Desire)
CONTEST:
If you would like to win a prize pack that includes a free pdf download of Torrid Teasers Volume 59 along with a Fang-tastic Books t-shirt, a notepad, a pen and some bookmarks and whatever other goodies I can come up with, please leave a comment answering my earlier question: Which paranormal man in a book has utterly seduced you?
I love weddings. Although the hubby and I have been married for 11 wonderful years, every wedding we attend brings us back to our own special day.
And it is a special day.
Everyone dresses up (or down, depending on the wedding). Even not-so-well-wishing guests.
In SEX, LIES & WEDDING BELLS
Weddings in Buckwheat Springs, Texas are special: they don't always result in a marriage. That's because this little town has its very own serial runaway bride.
Kieran Quinn goes to Buckwheat Springs to write a story about the wedding, hoping the bride will run again so he can get a juicy story. By the morning of the wedding, he still hopes she'll run, but for a very different reason: he's fallen in love with the groom, Jaxon Lang.
Kieran has to force himself to go to the ceremony--it's his job, even though inside he's miserable. He knows he has no chance of winning Jaxon, no matter what happens, but Kieran wants to look his very best and wears his favorite--and very expensive--Italian suit, a blue Zegna that everyone says looks fantastic on him.
He has one secret weapon to stop the marriage, but he knows he shouldn't use it.
EM Lynley
http://www.emlynley.com
SEX, LIES & WEDDING BELLS
Weddings are also filled with meaning. I wore pearls on my wedding but not just any set of pearls. My mother gave them as a thank you to her own mother (my grandmother) for making her dress.
In MORTAL COIL, the groom gives his bride a large single pearl on a gold chain. The pearl is from a necklace her mother wore on her own wedding day, a necklace that was taken against her will.
Julie Eberhart Painter
http://www.books-jepainter.com/
MORTAL COIL
In ON THE SILVER EDGE OF TIME, the groom's mother and the other women of the Viking clan hand weave roses to form an arch under which they stand. The mother also hand sews the dress out of purple fabric (a very costly item in those days) The purple was reserved for royalty.
Ciara Gold
http://www.ciaragold.com/
ON THE SILVER EDGE OF TIME
In real estate, it is all about location, location, location. That can be the same for weddings also. The hubby and I got married in a building with special significance to my mother-in-law. It meant a lot to her and she meant a lot to us.
In A TREASURE FOR SARA, vows are exchanged over the grave of a loved one. As this occurs in the middle of the Yukon in spring, there is no preacher and no chances of a real wedding with the groom fashioning a ring from a tea tin.
Allison Knight
http://www.allisonknight.com/
A TREASURE FOR SARA
What are some memorable wedding moments you've discovered in novels?
Although Kimber Chin loves weddings, there isn't a wedding in Breach Of Trust or Invisible, her first two novels. She does give away a romance eBook every month on http://businessromance.com/ and some of THOSE novels have weddings scenes.
Greetings, NOR readers! Hope you're all having a happy Friday. This is a pretty special Friday for me, since my first novel THIRTY-NINE AGAIN is being released today by The Wild Rose Press. Oddly, it's already been on sale for a couple of weeks at Amazon.com and BN.com. I'm not sure how that happened, but it was pretty cool to find the book in such high profile locations. Thirty-Nine Again is a "chick noir" novel about Sabrina O’Hara. She's a fortyish breast cancer survivor who discovers her boyfriend is leading a double life. Now she's on the run from him, his friends in the Mexican Mafia, and the very sexy Homeland Security agent who's investigating the case.What's "chick noir," you ask? It's like chick lit, only with guns and dead bodies instead of shoes. That's to say - the book has lots of thrills, but also a few laughs (I hope).
Thirty-Nine Again is also a romantic suspense novel with a cause. I'm donating a portion of all royalties received to various breast cancer awareness charities. I have a couple of friends who are breast cancer survivors, and I thought this would be a nice way to honor them.
It was a challenge finding a publisher for THIRTY-NINE AGAIN. The heroine is 40, and at the time I was shopping it around, I kept getting told that publishers weren't interested in "older" heroines. Now they seem to be all the rage, but a couple of years ago - not so much. Who knew I'd be ahead of the Cougar Curve? Then there was the fact that she'd had breast cancer; that made agents and editors think it would be a book all about cancer, which it's not. It's more about trying to figure out how to reinvent yourself after any huge, life-changing upheaval. Sabrina knows she's not satisfied with the life she was living before cancer, but she isn't sure what to do with herself instead. As she points out to Evan, the sexy Homeland Security agent who keeps trying to rescue her (with minimal success) - "They don’t give you a free ticket for a cruise with your last chemotherapy treatment, and they don’t give you a certificate for free flying lessons when they shave off the last scraggly bits of your hair."
No matter what kind of crisis you're going through, the same issues apply. Whether it's illness or divorce or a new job, you still have to figure out how to reinvent yourself within the limits of what's possible. Sabrina winds up doing a pretty good job of finding a new direction, although she has to go through some pretty rough times in order to figure herself out. In fact, she discovers that she's stronger than she realized, and that outwitting henchmen for a Latin American mob is even kind of fun. I hope you'll find her adventures fun too, and that maybe they'll inspire you to do some reinventing of your own!
Now, having said all that, let's kick off this week's showcase with a fun and sexy read I want to tell you about. My pick for this week is Love Me, Love My Sweetcheeks by Carrie Destler. I laughed at loud with this one from start to finish. Ms. Destler is a fantastic storyteller and she knows how to pull her readers into her storyline. She's an animal lover at heart and you'll fall just as much in love with her animal characters as you do her human characters. I never pass up reading any of Ms. Destler's stories and I assure you, once you read just one, you'll be hooked like me!
If you would like to find out more about this talented author and see what she has available to purchase, please visit her at: http://www.carriedestler.com/.
Thanks for stopping by our blog and please feel free to leave a comment for Ms. Destler. I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week and I'll see you all next Thursday. Take care everyone!
Love Me, Love My Sweetcheeks
Author: Carrie Destler (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 5/2/2009
E-Book Price: $2.00
Rating: Sensual
Pages: 29
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Love Me, Love My Sweetcheeks - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Ali Summers can’t help but lust after her hunky neighbor, Josh Sommers, who lives across the hall from her. Thanks to their older mailman having poor vision, they frequently receive each other’s mail because their names are spelled so similarly. Ali loves when Josh comes over to exchange his mail with her, but it seems he gets all nervous and flustered every time he comes to give her the mail.
Ali has a PhD in human sexuality and has written numerous books on male-female relationships. She writes a weekly column, ‘Talkin’ Sexy’ and it’s a big hit with the readers of SIZZLE since its inception two years ago. She also keeps busy doing a phone-in show every Wednesday night answering sex questions from her callers. When Josh comes over to exchange mail with her one day, she invites him into her apartment for a cup of coffee. He happens to glance at a book Ali has lying around, Talkin’ Sexy – Everything You Ever Wanted To Say But Were Afraid To, and he finds it a total turn-on that she is so openly sexual.
Since seeing that book, Josh gets the crazy idea that Ali runs a phone sex talk line at home. Then, he hears some crazy comments coming from the other room and he begins to think that he should leave now. Ali doesn’t want him to leave just yet, so she decides to introduce him to her crazy, sex talking African parrot named Sweetcheeks. The bird talks to Josh and begins blabbering, “Josh is hot,” and “Let’s be bad, big boy.” The poor guy is ready to die from the bird’s comments. He finally leaves her apartment knowing that he would do anything though to get her phone number and to get to know her better.
What exactly does Josh do to get closer to Ali? How does he deal with Ali and her sex talking bird, Sweetcheeks? Does Ali jump at the opportunity to get to know Josh better when he begs for her to help him out with a favor he needs done for his job? Do they finally admit to one another that they find each other attractive?
Ms. Destler did a wonderful job entertaining me with this fun, fresh and sexy story. I loved the storyline and I laughed out loud with all of Sweetcheeks’ comments to Josh. The author did a fantastic job sprinkling her humor throughout this hot, short story of hers. I absolutely love how she weaves animals and their humorous antics into her storylines. Even Rafferty, Josh’s best friend’s golden retriever from Love Me, Love My Rafferty has a cameo in this story. If you’re looking for a short, light story to put a smile on your face and make you chuckle, this is definitely one you should consider. I highly recommend this story and I’m definitely adding it to my library.
Book Blurb & Info for Love Me, Love My Sweetcheeks:
Josh Sommers just wants to mind his own business, but when the mailman keeps getting Josh's mail mixed up with that of Ali Summers, his sinfully tempting neighbor from across the hall, he has to put up with suggestive come-ons from Sweetcheeks the parrot. Not that he wouldn't mind putting some of Sweetcheeks' suggestions to use with Ali, but is he willing to risk his heart?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3575
Thank you Tammie and NOR readers for allowing me to share this time with you.
What would you do if a killer were hunting you? What if you’re child was the target? What if the killer was someone you knew?
What’s it like to look into the mind of a killer?
Ask any author who writes dark, romantic suspense and they’ll tell you, it ain’t no walk in the park at times.
I think even for writers who create fictitious killers it’s still a little disturbing to consider that there are really such depraved people living in the world amongst us. To make a believable killer you have to do your homework.
To quote Friedrich Nietzsche:
He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.
For me, I love to watch Forensic Files and 48 Hours Mystery on TV. You can gain a great deal of knowledge into the mind of a killer simply by studying old case files. I know it’s certainly been insightful for me.
So why do people kill? Well, most psychologists will tell you there are two fundamental reasons someone will take another life.
Love and money.
Both truly are the root of all things evil.
In SILENT WITNESS, my latest release from Cerridwen Press, the killer was someone who loved the story’s heroine, Faith McKenzie obsessively, and was willing to do anything to make her his, even if it meant killing her to keep her from belonging to anyone else.
But there is another type of killer that is far more evil and cunning than all others. He’s extremely intelligent. He can blend into society well enough to be your co-worker, your high school English teacher. Your neighbor next door. He lacks anything resembling a conscience. He’s a sociopath known as the serial killer.
The FBI estimates that today there are some 50 active serial killers working among us in the US alone. That’s a frightening statistic to consider.
In ROOT OF ALL EVIL, my upcoming release from Cerridwen Press, my heroine, Anna Sorenson comes face to face with a serial killer like none other. Anna tries to escape his deadly trap. She walks from everything to gain redemption. But she doesn’t quite leave the past behind and as Anna soon learns, even in paradise evil still exists.
For me, writing about the dark side of romance is both rewarding and challenging. The characters I create leave their mark on you and make it hard to move on to the next story.
And if they’re really chilling, like in ROOT OF ALL EVIL, they make it hard to sleep with the lights off at night.
All the best…
Mary Eason
www.maryeason.com
Root Of All Evil – Coming soon to Cerridwen Press
Win a copy of In Over Her Head - Be a member of the NOR newsletter, leave the first bit of your email address on the post, and leave a meaningful comment. USA / Canada Shipping only. No P.O. Boxes. Publisher to ship prize.
Night Owl Romance, June 9 2009
Thanks so much for having me here to talk about In Over Her Head. I’ve done quite a few interviews, most of which have discussed how I came to write this story, including the fact that I have an irrational fear of the ocean due to seeing JAWS at an early age. It ruined the ocean for me. Disney’s The Little Mermaid gave the ocean back and is one of my favorite fairy tales, so I decided to twist that story and make it my own. That’s the story behind the story.
I had to do a lot of research about undersea life and scuba diving and ocean currents, etc., because, thanks to that irrational fear, you won’t catch me with an oxygen tank on my back. The most I can handle is snorkeling and even then it’s touch-and-go. Especially fifteen years ago when I was in Hawaii and everyone neglected to mention there was a moray in Hanauma Bay who was “so well fed” he wouldn’t attack.
Uh huh. Okay. Next time post a sign so I can decide if I want to go in and not have me find out when he poked his six-foot length out to say hello.
I don’t think I ever swam to shore so fast in my life.
Or then there was the time my husband decided to snorkel in a bay off of Cancun that is known to have a barracuda in it. We could see the five-foot 
monstrosity from our balcony, and yet my husband decided to go hang out in the fish’s playground.
You have to understand this about my husband—he loves fish and to fish. We have had a dozen aquariums at any one time, and if he’s got the chance to snorkel, he will.
So, in he went while I hung out on the beach with my mai tai and a stack of books. I can get lost in books for hours.
Turns out, that day, I did. When I came up for air at some point, I realized that I’d read an entire book and he was still out in the water.
I, of course, was convinced the barracuda had gotten him.
So what do I do? (And this may have had something to do with the mai tai.) I head out to rescue him.
Makes no sense, I know, but that’s what I did. (Which, again, may have had something to do with the mai tai.)
So, after about twenty minutes (it was a big bay) of swimming around, all the while calling myself all kinds of idiot for being in the water and what did I think I was going to be able to do when faced with a barracuda (have you seen their mouths?), I find my husband.
Happily swimming along as if he doesn’t have a care in the world.
“Come back to shore,” says I, proud of my adventuresome and intrepid spirit. I’d overcome my fear and was there to rescue him. Ta-da!
“I don’t want to go back to shore.” And he starts swimming around again.
“But you have to,” I say after getting his attention by covering the air hole on his snorkel.
“I came out to rescue you.”
“I don’t need rescuing.”
“But you’ve been out here so long.”
“So?”
“But the barracuda…”
“Is fine. He’s back there. I already took a picture of him.” (These were the days when underwater cameras were new, and technologically challenged, i.e. you had to get reeeeeeeeeal close to get a good picture.)
Needless to say, that started a panic attack. (By this point, any sedative qualities from the mai tai were gone.)
“Well then, you need to come back,” says I, convinced that I am here for the Greater Good.
“No, I don’t. I’m having a good time. You go back.”
“Will you come with me?”
“No. I’m having a good time out here. It’s very interesting.”
“But I came out to get you.”
“But I didn’t ask you to.”
“Well, how am I supposed to go back?”
“The same way you came out. Swim.”
“But there’s a barracuda.”
“And he’s not going to come after you. Go.”
Needless to say, once I caught my breath after the second fastest swim of my life back to shore, I ordered another mai tai.
Or maybe seven.
You can see that the ocean and I have a love/hate relationship. So when I started writing this story about a merman and a woman who’s afraid of the ocean, the afraid-of-the-ocean part was easy.
There wasn’t much more to writing Erica’s fear than putting myself in her place. I could give her every stupid thought I have whenever I’m in the ocean, and it was fun in a morbid sort of way to 
imagine what she’d feel as she descended seventy-five feet at gunpoint then saw a shark.
It was fun because I was safe on land.
Now, if you’ve ever seen JAWS or read Peter Benchley’s book, you know that a great white shark attacks people close to the shore over the 4th of July weekend in a New England town named Amity.
It didn’t require any research because it’s pretty pervasive through society, so almost everyone knows at least what the story is about. Right? Right.
Or so I thought.
I’ve also said in my interviews that I go to the Jersey Shore every year for vacation, and have gone my whole life. I used to love the ocean and would float on a raft for hours, reading (of course!). I still go and I still read, but now I do it in my beach chair, occasionally at the water’s edge, but never on a raft. (I told you it’s an irrational fear.) This was why I set the story at the Jersey Shore.
So, over the weekend, I was doing a little clarification research for the third book in the series, Catch of a Lifetime, and one link led to another (I love getting lost in research, you find such interesting tidbits), and I end up here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jersey_Shore_shark_attacks_of_1916
which led me to here:
http://www.elasmo-research.org/education/topics/saf_nj_maneater.htm
and then to here:
http://www.semp.us/publications/biot_reader.php?BiotID=195
I stopped after that point. I mean, I’m going to New Jersey on vacation this month, only to find out that JAWS was based on a real event and it just so happens to be at the shore I go to—and am terrified to go in the water at—for what are, apparently, VERY REAL REASONS.
Oh I know that the attacks could happen anywhere; it’s certainly not endemic just to New Jersey, but what’s so funny about this is that this kind of thing happens all the time when I’m doing research. I’ll need something to be a certain way, or somebody to have done something, or what-have-you, and lo-and-behold, there it is. I wish I’d kept a list of all these serendipitous findings I’ve come across because every time one happens, I’m amazed.
So now the story has extra significance for me. A stronger tie-in to New Jersey than just the fact that we love to vacation there.And we’ll continue to go, but I have to tell you, if a barracuda shows up, I’m out of there.
Too bad Ocean City, NJ is a “dry” town; not a mai tai to be had.
A barracuda excerpt from In Over Her Head:
Erica poked her head out the door and around the corner of her prison. Whatever Reel had done to her system to make it possible for her to breathe had also amped up her night vision, so while she couldn’t see as well as in daylight, it was definitely more than shadows. That was going to come in handy as this little escape mission progressed. Especially since she had no weapons except for a piece of coral she hadn’t managed to break, no clue what was waiting for her, and, oh yeah, there was that whole sea monstress thing…
Part of her wanted to slink back inside the room and hang out in the hammock until Reel came to find her. The other part recognized that she’d cut the hammock, wrecked the door and, if she did decide to stay here and wait, Ceto was not going to be pleased to have her home destroyed. She was screwed either way.
Better to head down her own path to destiny than to let destiny decide it for her.
She pushed the niggling little voice inside her head out of the way when it reminded her that those kinds of thoughts were exactly what’d gotten her in trouble in the first place. If she hadn’t wanted to prove something so badly, she never would’ve taken the charter and thrown Grampa’s ashes—and Joey’s diamonds—overboard. But then she’d still be the scaredy-cat landlubber her brothers always teased her for being.
She stuck her head out the door again. The gobies were nowhere to be seen and a lone crab scuttled across the sea floor a couple dozen feet below her, dragging a remnant of some sea creature.
The barracudas had brought her in from the left, so she’d head that way. New bravado aside, she needed her weapons and those were by the entrance near Reel.
Rounding the corner of her prison cell, Erica remembered to check each direction before crossing the corridor—left, right, and up and down. No one. The crab had disappeared, too.
Hanging a right at the next corridor, Erica stole a look out another narrow window to where Ceto had put the small bag in the garden wall.
She should get the diamonds first then find Reel.
A long, black-and-white-spotted eel slithered up the wall, pulled the sea urchin from the hole, swam in, turned around, and poked its polka-dotted head out in time to catch the urchin before it hit the bottom. Then it began to pick the spines off and spit them out like porcupine quills.
Retrieve the diamonds. Yeah, that should be a piece of cake.
“Why Ceto wants anything to do with Spare is beyond me, Rasgo.” The words echoed off the walls, and she recognized the voice underwater.
Dropping ten feet, she slid in behind a trio of orange barrel sponges, pulling her dark hair around her face and shoulders as Carlos and Rasgo glided by.
“You’d think she’d kill him just because she can, but no. The woman was all about planning a big seduction. Ugh. The thought of it makes my scales trawl.”
“But then she left. Maybe she’s changed her mind and will let us have him,” Rasgo said, grinning. “She’s already promised me the other Human’s limbs. I’ve never tasted a female one.”
“Eh.” Carlos shrugged. “They’re scrawnier than their male counterparts. Taste like flounder.”
© Judi Fennell, June 2009, Sourcebooks Casablanca
About The Author:
Judi Fennell has had her nose in a book and her head in some celestial realm all her life, including those early years when her mom would exhort her to “get outside!” instead of watching Bewitched or I Dream of Jeannie on television. So she did--right into Dad’s hammock with her Nancy Drew books.
These days she’s more likely to have her nose in her laptop and her head (and the rest of her body) at her favorite bookstore, but she’s still reading, whether it be her latest manuscript or friends’ books.
A three-time finalist in online contests, Judi has enjoyed the reader feedback she’s received and would love to hear what you think about her Mer series. Check out her website at http://www.judifennell.com/ for excerpts, reviews and fun pictures from reader and writer conferences, and the chance to “dive in” to her stories.
ContestTo celebrate the release of each of her books, Judi Fennell and the Atlantis Inn (http://www.atlantisinn.com/) and the Hibiscus House (http://www.hibiscushouse.com/) bed and breakfasts are raffling off three romantic beach getaway weekends. All information is on Judi's website, http://www.judifennell.com/
One of my favorite quotes about writing is from Somerset Maugham who said, “There are three rules for writing. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
This was a very hard truth for a perfectionist like me to accept. In fact, even after seven published novels and an eighth completed for publication next spring, I keep hoping that someone with more experience is going to share a rule or two that will actually make the process easier next time.
The problem is that just like child rearing, there are all kinds of theories and schools of thought and none of them are guaranteed to work. I remember when I was in the throes of potty training my first child and the pediatrician kept smiling serenely and assuring me that no one walks down the aisle in a diaper—as if I should take heart that we would have conquered this issue by the time my son reached adulthood! What I wanted was a foolproof method and a guarantee of success; something this doctor and all the ‘how to’ books I read were unable to provide.
Like potty training, there are as many approaches to writing as there are people writing; it’s just not a ‘one size fits all’ kind of thing. I sure wish it was.
I was incredibly lucky to sell the first manuscript I wrote (not easily or quickly, but it did sell.) This was a wonderful thing, but it also meant that I was under contract and facing deadlines before I actually felt like I knew what I was doing. With each new manuscript I tried to figure out how to make the process feel less like brain surgery. I was absolutely certain that other writers weren’t sweating it out like I was! As it turns out, everyone’s sweating it to a certain degree and everyone’s come up with their own methods of writing and coping.
In my ongoing search for an easier way, I’ve tried and discarded all kinds of approaches that other writers swear by. There was the fill-in-the-blank plotting notebook that twisted me up in knots because I couldn’t come up with the required two-adjective descriptions of my characters and their motivations. And a color coded system of plotting that showed how much page time each character and story thread got. One writer friend outlines her entire book before writing a single word and that outline includes which character’s point of view each scene will be written from. I spent three weeks trying to do this once and found it incredibly painful. Worse, when I finally started writing what I wrote bore almost no resemblance to the outline that had so consumed me. This is not good for a paranoid perfectionist who begins to worry that if she can’t write an outline, how can she be writing a book?
I am happy to say that time and experience have helped me come to terms with my own approach, which is highly instinctual. There’s still that huge leap of faith required each time I sit down in front of a blank computer screen to begin a 400 page novel. And I confess to a ‘wee bit of whining’ during the months of writing. The truth is I still wish there were some rules guaranteed to produce a ‘perfect’ manuscript. But I’ve filed that away in a folder labeled ‘wishful thinking.’
In The Accidental Bestseller I’ve tried to capture not only the emotion invested in writing for a living but also what it takes to survive in the often turbulent world of book publishing. It’s a story about four multi-published authors, friends for a decade, and the lengths they go to for each other when one writer’s career and personal life begin to unravel. I’ve joked that ‘the names have been changed to protect the innocent’ but it’s as true a story as I could tell without having to label it non-fiction.
I hope you enjoy it. And if you’ve come up with any ‘rules’ for writing that you’re willing to swear by, I’d definitely like to hear them.
Night Owl Romance Note:
Purchase - The Accidental Bestseller
Praise for Wendy Wax:
"Fascinating...Wendy Wax brings the women and their lives to life...the backdrop of 'revealing' how the industry works is both illuminating and worrisome--makes one wonder how much is truth and how much is fiction." - Night Owl Romance
"A terrific story brimming with wit, warmth, and good humor. I loved it!"- Jane Porter, author of Mrs. Perfect
Win Some Goodies from Wendy Wax by responding to this post. You must be a member of the Night Owl Romance newsletter to enter and leave the first bit of your email address so we can find you in our database.
At school I was a gawky, skinny dreamer. Rubbish at sport, useless at most things, with very little interest in anything outside my main obsession, which was women. Writing – I never had time for, there were simply too many gorgeous girls to think about. Of course none of them know I existed, which didn’t help, just made me want them more.There were a bag of reasons why I failed to impress girls. My hair was a good starting point. Many a morning my parents would wonder why they were paying for my education, as I hung there upside down, hairdryer in one hand pushing a mixture of sugar and water and mustard (don’t ask) into my scalp with the other. During my teenage years no one thought to tell me that if you have thick curly hair the following styles just wont work no matter what you put in it: Mohican, punk and flat top. I did however manage to grow a big wedge over my whole face when the new romantics came along; but got beaten up by bullies with flat tops. So I cut it off. This didn’t stop the beatings but at least I could then see who was dishing them out.
So my book then. Not really sure why I’ve been rattling on about my hair as a teenager, but maybe there will be a clever little tie-it-up question at the end. Or maybe there wont. Let’s see. No I know why – because letting you know how utterly useless I was with women goes some way in explaining why I wrote book under a women’s name, and also why it’s a romantic comedy. I have had my heart broken so many many times, that I felt I could write something about it.
The way I tackle having my heart broken is by wallowing in it for a bit, then taking a deep breath and laughing about it. You get that huge rush as you go from ‘the world is over’ to ‘the world is just beginning yipeeeEEEEEEE watch out here I come!!!’ (kind of thing.)
So this book then.
The idea for the site came when my wife and I had to search through a previous ex-employees work email account. The woman in question was single, extremely flirtatious and had always loved us to bits. We discovered she was married with four children, and couldn’t stand the sight of us. The life she was leading was so full of mystery, intrigue, romance (and many many lies) that it made me wonder what it would be like to read a story told in this way.
I commissioned a fantastic website developer and together we began working out a way of getting a story across by way of emails.
An email went out to 90,000 people telling them NOT to visit Hollysinbox.com because unscrupulous IT hacks had posted a live email account of a fellow employee onto the web in total disregard of our privacy laws.
We said - if she was working for your company it was essential you let her know NOW! Before the world discovered what she really thought about her co-workers.
The site went into melt down.
As the story reached it’s climax I began to panic. The site would be over and I had no idea what I was going to do next, so I began emailing as many agents as possible the web link; without knowing what I wanted from them. At last a wonderful fabulous woman replied and told me it would work in a book and I have been amazed at its response. Hollys inbox has now been translated into 6 different languages but the one place I had always dreamed about being published was of course the USA, and Sourcebooks have at last let me achieve this dream!!!!
The site has been re-launched and http://www.hollysinbox.com/ is now live with emails being sent and received by Holly Denham, I hope you like it.
About the Author:
Bill Surie is the owner of a placement service for receptionists and secretaries in London. He started the http://www.hollysinbox.com/ as a place to serialize his first novel. His second novel is now in the works and currently lives in England and Spain with his wife and daughter. You can also find Holly on facebook and twitter! Also, be sure to check out the June 5 Issue of Entertainment Weekly (on newsstands now!), which features a q & a with Bill!
I'm a huge fan of paranormal stories and I gravitated toward this story very easily. The blurb immediately pulled me right in and I knew I definitely wanted to review this story for Ms. Ringle.
Once I became aquainted with Lina and her story unfolded before me, my heart went out to her because she was dealing with a few tough blows that life decided to hit her with. I was hoping that she would pick herself up, dust herself off and jump right back into living life again - a life that better suited her this time.
Ms. Ringle created a unique storyline that thoroughly entertained me. As the story played out as I turned the pages, the characters all came to life for me. I honestly felt as if I was in the story seeing everything happen firsthand. This is definitely a story that I would highly recommend to other readers.
If you would like to find out more about this talented author and see what other projects she might be working on right now, please visit her at: http://www.mollyringle.com/.
Well, that's it for me this week. I hope everyone has a wonderful week and I look forward to having you stop by next Thursday! Take care everyone!
The Ghost Downstairs
Author: Molly Ringle (Author Website)
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic - Paranormal
Review Date: 5/2/2009
ISBN: 1-60154-447-2
E-Book Price: $6.00
Rating: Sensual
Pages: 284
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
The Ghost Downstairs - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Lina Zuendel decides that quitting her job as a nurse at Everglade Hospital is the only option available to her since she accidentally injected a patient with the wrong medicine and killed him. The hospital is still willing to keep her on staff, but she feels it’s too much of an embarrassment to keep her job there knowing everyone already heard the news of what she did to poor Mr. Ambaum. The news even spread to the newspapers and local TV stations, but she is thankful her name remained out of the headlines. She doesn’t need to be marked for life wherever she goes to live or work. She already knows she will never forgive herself for this terrible mistake she made even though the family seems all too relieved over the news of Mr. Ambaum’s demise. Being only thirty-two years old, she knows she is still young enough to take up residence somewhere else and start her life over again away from this craziness that is happening to her now.
Looking for a job, she drives to the University District for an interview and hopes that the ad in the Seattle Times, which is seeking a live-in nurse for the “Drake House, an elegant retirement home,” is still available and will fit what she’s looking for. When she arrives, she instantly falls in love with the house. She meets Marla and Alan Drake and hopes they are as impressed with her as she is of them. She could see herself living here and taking care of the senior citizens. This would be a much easier position with less likelihood of another catastrophic situation happening to her again. The very next day, she is offered the position. She accepts and on the first of October, moves in. She never realizes that from this day forward her life is about to change dramatically in so many ways.
Who does she meet while she is working at the Drake House? What are some of the strange occurrences that seem to be disturbing all the residents? Are the ghost tales true that everyone fills her in on? Does she witness anything happening firsthand or are all the stories really just tall tales being told by the seniors to pass their time?
Ms. Ringle did a remarkable job in telling this story. I was immediately drawn into the storyline and I found myself losing track of time while I was reading it. I sympathized with Lina because she was dealt a rough hand even though the hospital was willing to keep her on staff after the terrible accident. I wanted her luck to change for the better because it just seemed she was having a tough time since her boyfriend left her and announced he was marrying someone else only a few short months later. She needed someone who would be there for her and love her unconditionally no matter what happened to her. She deserved that. I enjoyed reading about the ghost tales the author weaved throughout the main storyline and I couldn’t help but fall in love with Ren, the houseboy. I was intrigued with him from the very beginning and I was curious as to what his story was all about. Since he and Lina got along well, I found myself hoping that maybe something more could come out of this then just a work friendship. I am new to Ms. Ringle and her work, but I assure you, she definitely has a new fan now! I think you’ll enjoy this story as much as I did.
Book Blurb & Info for The Ghost Downstairs (Rating: Sensual Pages: 284):
After making a fatal mistake on the job, Lina Zuendel seeks shelter in a Seattle assisted-living facility as their live-in nurse. But peace is not what she finds. She soon hears tales of ghosts haunting the house, and of two tragic deaths that took place in the 1930s. Unexplained events send her to ask questions of the handsome resident houseboy.
Ren Schultz, a seemingly young live-in houseboy, tries to avoid his growing attraction to the new nurse. His secrets are too dangerous to share, no matter how lonely he has become. But Lina is persistent, and soon uncovers dark truths that no one else has dared to face.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3553
Something that writers rarely talk about is the fact that writing is a business. We like to talk about the creative process, the relationships we have with our characters, the relationships we build with our readers. We talk about the books of our hearts and the story that keeps us up nights. Readers and writers alike get emotionally attached to and involved with people and places that don’t really exist. Total strangers become friends. Events that don’t really ever happen make us cry. But the bottom line is, it’s still business. Because it’s a creative, fluid business, it can’t really be broken down into a flow chart along the lines of writers are the employers; publishing houses are the bosses; readers are the board of directors, for which many of us (myself included) are very grateful. It’s part of why it’s easy to forget that this is a business.
Let's make one thing clear: I love sex scenes in the books I read. I'm not worried that romances are becoming "too spicy." When I follow the lives of characters who fall in love, consummating that love physically is, for me, a crucial part of the story.But there are good sex scenes and bad ones, and let's face it, if the author is not working hard at keeping them fresh and interesting, they can get repetitive. If I wanted boring, repetitive sex, I'd rent a porno video! For me, the whole point of a romance novel is that we get to know the characters and fall in love with them. A sex scene is not just a pile of generic body parts writhing.
If the author has done their job in making the characters fresh and interesting, that's the first step in making the sex scenes fresh and interesting, too. Each character will have their own unique attitudes about sex, their own preferences and style, and also their own hang-ups and fears.
Although any sex scene should be a golden opportunity to characterize and let us know more about the characters, it will really knock the reader's socks off (and possibly other pieces of their clothing...) if there is something at stake in the scene. Is there fear of rejection? Inner turmoil about their sexual history or past abuse? Is one character hiding something from the other? Will the sex that they have result in a change for either character? Will their love be jeopardized or strengthened? Will they heal? Will they learn something? There's much more that can be tackled in a sex scene than just writing Tab A went into Slot B.
It also helps a lot if the sex is part of the plot, rather than incidental to it. In my novel MIND GAMES, I wrote about a couple getting together while they are investigating the disappearance of our heroine's sister. Wren hires a private detective to help her, and finds herself very attracted to him. I could have just been running two plots intertwined--in one thread, they are falling for each other, in the other thread, they are searching for her sister. But it was far more fun, and made the sex scenes much hotter, to make the sex they have part of the search. First of all, it turns out that Wren's psychic powers are heightened during sex, and the characters wonder if they can fine tune them to the point where Wren might be able to actually find the location herself. Secondly, the one lead they have for where her sister was last seen is at a swinger's club that has sex parties, and Wren and Derek eventually have to go undercover there to check it out.
This doesn't mean that "normal" sex in books is automatically boring, but there are ways to keep it hot for the reader. In THE HOT STREAK, my novel about a woman who falls for a major league baseball player, the first thing I tried to do while planning out the book was plot it so that each successive sex scene would be hotter than the previous. Each time, they explore different things about each other, and the settings and situations keep changing, so that no two scenes were the same. The emotional stakes keep ratcheting up, too, of course, as their relationship builds through the book. There are even some sex scenes that are SKIPPED OVER! I know, that sounds crazy coming from me who loves sex scenes, but if a scene didn't actually add anything new to the plot or what we knew of the characters, then I didn't feel it deserved to be "on camera." You don't see every single meal they eat or every conversation they have, either, only the significant ones, so why should you see every single time they have sex?
Finally, I have to say I am glad to see that most writers and readers these days are abandoning euphemistic language for more realistic descriptions. Euphemisms like "manhood" can have their place, especially in historicals and in books where the characters really would have used such language if they spoke of such things. But in contemporary romance, it just isn't believable that a hip twenty-something narrator would talk about a guy's anatomy as his "pulsing rod of love." I've read the writers guidelines for several romance companies this past week and most of them make a point to ask for realistic language.
This isn't to say that writers should not use metaphors as well as every other technique of vivid description to bring a sex scene to life! But there is a difference between, say, alluding to the parallels between the female anatomy and flowers, and making me snort tea out my nose because you described intercourse as "her ravenous tiger lily devoured his sausage." (Watch out overusing the food metaphors, too.)
The final thing that I think keeps sex scenes hot, is when the authors themselves are turned on by their writing. Every now and then you get the feeling the author is just going through the motions. Maybe they're uninspired or not in the mood because of real life stuff, but still had to meet a deadline. Or maybe they can't see why this scene should stand out and be scorching. If it's dull to the author it will be dull to the reader. My characters are not "me," but I always try to find something in each scene that turns me on personally, and that keeps my creativity just as interested as my libido! Hopefully it does so for my readers, too.
It’s great to be here again! Tammie has been gracious enough to let us continue the discussion we had a while back about vampires, which spurred on the question: Why are we so attracted to werewolves in our romances?Admittedly, I hadn’t thought about this one as much. Even though I’ve written werewolf tales, I hadn’t considered the move from the scary monster werewolves of the movies from my childhood to the modern magical lovers of the romance novels we love today. So, it took a little research.
Have they always been sexy?
From the earliest stories, werewolves have been, by definition, shape shifters. Their legend is in almost every culture throughout history. The master legend of our modern werewolves seems to be from Lycaon, who some say was cursed by Zeus for sacrificing a boy on the god’s alter. Others believe that either Lycaon and/or his sons made a meal of human flesh and fed it to Zeus at a banquet. Either way, he supposedly angered the god, who transformed the man and his sons into wolves. This legend is a monster who has little resemblance to our modern hero. Unlike the vampire, werewolves were true monsters until a few short decades ago.
Oh, the passionate monster.
In modern romance, we’ve moved to modern stories featuring humans who have lycanthropy from a virus, such as in Laurell K. Hamilton’s Anita Blake series. Or, they inherit the genes as the wolves do in the Twilight series or in my first werewolf short story “Changing Moon” in the Power Plays anthology. Either way, these half humans keep most of their human characteristics and incorporate their differences into their lives in ways that vampires can only dream of. Perhaps this human quality has an influence on our attraction to them. Is it this struggle to remain human in the face of an almost uncontrollable desire to kill and maim? It’s almost the ultimate in passionate, flawed mates.
We all want to be free.
Or is it the desire for freedom? Werewolves in modern romances tend to enjoy running wild in the forest in all their furred glory. In their pack world, the normal human rules no longer apply. Justice is swift and decisive. Sexuality and nudity are usually very open and may involve various pack members. Instincts trump most every other influence. It’s the height of freedom both in the physical and psychological realms.Does loyalty count for anything?
Another popular characteristic of these beasts is their loyalty. Within their pack, a hierarchy exists that is something of a monarchy. The Alpha male and female lead the larger domestic unit and will protect them with their lives. On an individual basis, they have families with close ties. They generally have children. Lots of them. And they have mates that they protect at any and every turn. These wolves have a family oriented attitude that surpasses all other supernatural creatures.
What does it all mean?
If vampires are the wise, seductive paramours of our dreams, then werewolves are the nature loving, uninhibited lovers of our days. My personal theory is that werewolves are another, more human extension of our escapist needs. Where vampires take us into a new life, werewolves unlock our cages to let us run free as humans. Of course, there will be as many theories as there are readers. For me, the attraction is all of these things (even if I did make the werewolves old school monsters in my Blood and Sex series). Who wouldn’t want a passionate, loyal, fearsome, sexually adept, confident, family oriented mate?
But what about you? What’s the attraction to werewolves for you? I can’t wait to see your answers! So, if you post a comment today, I’ll automatically enter you in the drawing for a free copy of one of the Blood and Sex series books.
Until next time…
Angela
If you want to know more about me and the guys of the Blood & Sex series, check out my blog at angelacameron.wordpress.com. You can also find excerpts at http://www.ravenousromance.com/ and at my website http://www.angela-cameron.com/. If you stop by, leave a message. I’d love to talk to you!
This is the second book in the MacGruder Brothers series and I enjoyed it just as much as Ms. Cosby's first book, His Captive.
In this installment, we are introduced to Sir Duncan MacGruder and Lady Isabel Adair. You see, Isabel broke her and Duncan's engagement off three years ago. As if that wasn't bad enough, she provided no explanation for this unthinkable stunt she pulled. Duncan's heart was literally ripped out of his chest over being so betrayed by someone who he loved so deeply. Then, only to add insult to injury, he found out that she had become the Earl of Frasyer's mistress. So Duncan did the only thing he could do to try and heal his broken heart - he decided to totally write Isabel off. Now though, while her brother Symon is in trouble, Symon asks Duncan to protect Isabel if anything should happen to him. Although it will go against everything he believes and feels toward Isabel at this present time, he will not break the promise he makes to his friend Symon. But just how far would Duncan go to protect Isabel if the need were to arise?
Ms. Cosby knows how to entertain her readers and she tells an intriguing story every single time. As I understand it, she is hard at work finalizing the next book in this series. This is definitely a series you shouldn't pass up!
If you would like to find out more about this talented author, please visit her at: http://www.dianacosby.com/.
Well, that's it for me this week. I hope you are able to leave a comment or two for Ms. Cosby and I look forward to seeing you all next Thursday. Have a great week!
His Woman
Author: Diana Cosby (Author Website)
Genre(s): Historical
Review Date: 5/2/2009
ISBN: 9781420101096
Print Book Price: $4.99
Kensington Publishing (Website)
Zebra Historical Romance
Street Date: Out Now
His Woman - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Lady Isabel Adair did the unthinkable three years ago. Without any explanation given, she broke off her engagement to Sir Duncan MacGruder a week before they were to be wed and then became the Earl of Frasyer’s mistress. This cut Duncan to the core and he felt betrayed, confused and disheartened by Isabel’s actions. She swore she loved him and accepted his marriage proposal, but then ran off with Frasyer. Duncan could never find it in his heart to forgive Isabel for making him look like the fool in front of not only his family, but also all the people Duncan and Isabel knew.
Now, three years have passed and Isabel still harbors her hidden secrets from everyone surrounding her. She is living with the guilt of breaking Duncan’s heart and for betraying him and the MacGruders brothers’ trust. When Duncan shows up to rescue her from Frasyer’s dungeon for fraternizing with her brother, Symon, who is considered a rebel, Isabel is reminded how much things went array when she broke off their engagement. What puzzles Isabel even more is that Duncan is keeping his word to Symon to protect her with his own life. Why, after breaking their engagement and Duncan’s heart, would he lay his own life on the line to satisfy Symon’s request? Could he still be harboring feelings for her or is it just that he’s keeping a promise that he made to her dying brother?
This was a magnificent read that I fully became immersed in from the very first page. This is the second story in the MacGruder Brothers series and it was as entertaining as Ms. Cosby’s first book. The author penned a wonderfully creative storyline and wrapped it around well rounded characters that you just couldn’t help but fall in love with. Honestly, it’s hard not to fall in love with the devilishly handsome and sexy MacGruder brothers. All along I prayed that Isabel would finally open up and tell Duncan all the secrets she was withholding from him and all the people that were close to her. I felt Duncan deserved to know the truth, but I couldn’t imagine just how that situation would be able to play itself out in the end. Would Duncan even care to listen to Isabel if she offered an explanation to him three years later? Could he find it in his heart to forgive her for what she had done to him? The only way for you to find out these answers is to read this superbly written story yourself. You will not be disappointed. I eagerly look forward to reading more stories written by Ms. Cosby in the near future.
Book Blurb & Info for His Woman:
Lady Isabel Adair is the last woman Sir Duncan MacGruder wants to see again, much less be obliged to save. Three years ago, Isabel broke their engagement to become the Earl of Frasyer's mistress, shattering Duncan's heart and hopes in one painful blow. But Duncan's promise to Isabel's dying brother compels him to rescue her from those determined to bring down Scottish rebel Sir William Wallace.Betraying the man she loved was the only way for Isabel to save her father, but every moment she spends with Duncan reminds her just how much she sacrificed. No one could blame him for despising her, yet Duncan's misgivings cannot withstand a desire that has grown wilder with time. Now, on a perilous journey through Scotland, two wary lovers must confront both the enemies who will stop at nothing to hunt them down, and the secret legacy that threatens their passion and their lives...
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3555
Tori Morgan, the heroine of my latest book, A Little Light Magic (Leisure, May 26), believes in magic. She reads Tarot, and looks for the future in a crystal prism. She’s also in possession of seven candle magic spell kits, given to her by a Cajun hoodoo witch.Tori’s recently inherited a rundown bungalow at the Jersey Shore, which she wants to renovate as a New Age shop. Only problem is, finding a contractor on the cusp of summer at the shore is like collecting beach sand in a sieve. Just about impossible.
Contractor Nick Santangelo took a look at Tori’s job as a favor for a friend, but it’s a small job and he’s plenty busy with bigger stuff. He’s got no interest at all in doing the work, even though the client has caught his eye. He wishes Tori luck and walks out the door.
And then Tori remembers her candle magic spells. Seven colors for seven different situations. Often, some sort of prayer, prop, scented oil, or a spice is included to enhance the power of the spell.
White – The spell Tori casts in Chapter One is for help, and involves a white candle. And lo and behold, Nick turns around and comes back. :) This invocation has Tori sprinkling sugar, and raising the flame above her head.
As A Little Light Magic continues, Tori casts her remaining six candle magic spells, one by one.
Black – The color of reversal. Tori casts this spell using a mirror and a black candle, to banish negativity.
Yellow – The color of intelligence and confidence. Tori lights a yellow candle studded with cloves while seeking some much needed clarity of mind.
Orange – A color that attracts specific influences. Tori casts a spell involving an orange candle scented with cinnamon oil for success in her new business.
Green – Green candle magic can be used for problems concerning money, prosperity, growth, and abundance. Tori casts this spell for fertility. Her aids are green felt, a needle, and a hard-boiled egg.
Blue – Blue is the color of healing, peace, patience and happiness. The location of this spellcasting is important. It occurs on the beach, at the ocean’s edge (but any outside body of water will do). The blue candle is set in a shell.
Red – Red is the eternal color of love. Tori casts a love spell with a red candle anointed with rose oil--but not for herself. Selfishly casting a love spell for yourself, or on a specific person, can backfire.
In A Little Light Magic, the hero, Nick, is a practical guy. He doesn’t believe in magic. Tori does, with all her heart. Who’s right? Well, the proof is in the results, isn’t it?
All the summer’s best,
Joy Nash
http://www.joynash.com/
I have to admit to a bias where photography, book cover shoots in particular is concerned. Having dabbled in cobbling a cover or two of my own, I have gained great respect for the hard work of the models and photographers that produce such beautiful work.
Saturday at the RT Booklovers convention brought a much-anticipated treat---the welcome of industry professionals and readers into the world of a romance novel cover shoot. Sets carefully assembled, lights mounted, photographer clutching expensive Nikon equipment, lucky attendees buzzed with excitement as the host of the shoot welcomed us.
Internationally renowned model, Jimmy Thomas (http://www.jimmythomas.com)moved/
moved effortlessly through pose after pose, change of costume accomplished in the blink of an eye (and largely in view of the rapt audience :)) Mr. Thomas charmed his way in a graceful ballet that included numerous emotions. Whether a cowboy, a regal regency gentleman or between creamy satin sheets, Jimmy made what is not easy, look it. Spinning a spell of romance and sensuality that seemed to raise the temperature in the room twenty degrees, Mr. Thomas moved about each female model with poise and 
smoldering masculinity.
To be a really great cover model one must not only appear to make love to his partner, but the camera as well. A consummate professional, Mr. Thomas captured the definition of being 'top of his game' all whilst adding absorbing commentary, casually adjusting a prop or an errant strand of hair.
After the final scene was shot, the three model participants stayed to answer questions.
Methods of lighting, posture and matters or professional concern were all discussed. Ever the generous spirit, Mr. Thomas even conveyed warning to aspiring models to beware of contract specifics; to not sell them short by allowing their personal images to fall into unsavory use.
The man himself tells me that we can expect further surprises at next year’s RT Convention in Columbus, Ohio. The mind does dance in imaginings of what that might be….
Thank you Jimmy for being so kind as to share an area of the business few have opportunity to experience.
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Night Owl Romance Note:
Christine London Titles
Sunninghill Snow
Bryce and Kay are high-powered career people who just happen to be in hate. When a freak snowstorm isolates them in a romantic rural cottage will the time together be a recipe for war...or passion?
Soul In His Eyes
Scottish Film star, Erik Bartholomew is rescued from the lonely isolation of fame by an unlikely fan living half a world away. Little does she know he will return the favor when her world is torn apart by tragedy.
Shadows Steal The Light
A love at first sight experience for rock star Colin Dunlow when he runs into sultry jazz singer, Jenna Lindstrom, with a few complications. The woman of his dreams hates rockers and there's someone who wants him dead.
Hog Wild
Hog Wild is a fish out of water love story that starts on route from painful Los Angeles memories and continues to the stark beauty of the desert southwest. A head strong woman and a lost man vie for position under layers of twisted emotion & hot metal.
Against the Current
Against the Current pits hero against villain in a heart pounding rescue mission gone wrong. Grant Cooper, head pilot of an H-65 helicopter out of Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco, is the man in control of his life. Or so he thinks until an emergency endangers his ex-lover's life. Julie MacKinnon couldn't suffer Grant's command. One sinking vessel, four surly smugglers and a breech in regulations shake them to the core. Can he save her and his crew in time without sacrificing himself?
Read Excerpts, Blurbs and Get More Info on These Titles at:
http://www.christinelondon.com/books.htm
Hi Readers,
Diana Coyle normally showcases a book and author each Thursday. Since she is enjoying a vacation week at Hershey I'm here to make sure we tell you about some more great reads.
Tammie King
Night Owl Romance
Owner
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Just about a year ago I was presented with Immortal Warrior by Lisa Hendrix to review. The premise of the book really intrigued me...Viking warriors who have all been cursed to live as animals either during the night or day hours. To break the curse each must find their own amulet and true love.
After I read the first book I was very hooked on the series and have waited not so patiently for the second book - Immortal Outlaw. Luckily it arrived at my house for review this week and I've just finished it 10 minutes ago. I must say it's another winner and not to be missed.
Here is the blurb for the first Book - Immortal Warrior.
He came to England in search of treasure. Two hundred years later, he’s found her…
Ivar Graycloak is a brave warrior, a man known for his strength and integrity. He is also a man with a terrible secret. Long ago he was part of a Viking crew cursed by an evil sorceress to live for eternity as were-creatures. An eagle by day and a man by night, Ivar has lived a solitary existence for over two centuries. Then the king orders him to marry.
Lady Alaida is everything a man could want in a bride—intelligent, spirited, and beautiful—and their wedding night is a balm to Ivar’s lonely spirit. Then a seer brings him word of a dark vision, one that makes Ivar vow to stay away from his lovely wife forever. But now that Ivar has sampled Alaida’s passion, her humor and warmth, he is enthralled. His traitorous body-his very heart-longs for that which hecan never possess.
Lady Alaida may surprise him yet, though, for she has a power of her own-a power that will either destroy everything they hold dear or ultimately set them free…
The second book - Immortal Outlaw involves the tale of Robin Hood, but as you will find the tales of today are not at all like what Lisa Hendrix writes. She has come up with a very inventive way of twisting Robin Hood in with her own Immortals legend.
Here is a blurb:
For centuries he’s hidden in the woods. Now a maid has come to lead him out…
It’s been four centuries since Steinarr the Proud was cursed by a wicked sorceress-along with the rest of his Viking crew-to live for eternity as half man, half beast. By day Steinarr is like any other man-by night he is a lion. He has taken refuge in the woods of Nottinghamshire, England, and there he encounters two young travelers, Robin and Marian.
Painfully aware of the danger he presents when the moon rises, Steinarr initially refuses to help them search for the key to Robin’s inheritance. Then a kiss from Marian awakens his desire. Driven to protect the maid he so desperately wants to possess, Steinarr joins their quest…while the sorceress Cwen gathers her dark magic to destroy them.
As a legend spreads of an outlaw in the woods, their band is joined by others. But it is Steinarr who has the most to gain and the most to lose-if he is ever to be free of the curse and free to love as a man…
If you are at all interested in paranormal or historical reads these two must are must buys. I can't say enough about how they have transported me into the realms of love and fantasy.
The hero of Immortal Outlaw is very yummy and the heroine is one that any reader can easily come to love and really route for. No matter how many forces try to keep them apart you know that they are meant to be together and feel if the author doesn't put them together you will find a way yourself to make sure that they get their happily ever after...luckily Lisa Hendrix knows how to give you what you want and you don't have to go and help her out.
I just loved how this whole love story played out as well as the fun scavenger hunt that keeps the whole story flowing.
To find out more about Lisa Hendrix books visit her website at: http://lisahendrix.com/
Tammie
I’ve been reading romance novels since I was 12. I’m 38 now. That’s 26 years of loving romance. During those 26 years, I’ve seen storylines and character types come and go.
Some of them I’m bringing back. With a wink and a nudge in my own novels.
My fun, short July release, Selling Forever, is a twist on the bachelor auction. Remember those plots? Walk a successful man down the catwalk, look him over, bid on him, and end up buying yourself a future hubby. I thought that was very liberating. Eye opening for a gal from a conservative small town.
Now, I don’t exactly follow the script. In Selling Forever, it is a handyman auction and Cara, the heroine, is trying to convince the hero, Richard, to participate. That puts them on a more level footing. But it is still a nod to the past.
Invisible is a marriage of convenience plot. A beloved relative is dying. The only way the hero will receive his inheritance is if he partners with the heroine. Ohhh… I love that! Two strangers forced together. They appear, at first, as total opposites. What will they have in common?
Except in Invisible, it is a business partnership instead of a marriage (and there’s a treasure hunt and some baddies and…).
Then there are the secret baby stories. The hero and heroine had a wild one night stand and the heroine gets pregnant. She, being an independent sort, doesn’t tell the hero. Then one fine day, he finds out.
Secret babies have always interested me. So what happens if the heroine is GOOD at keeping the secret? What if the hero never finds out? What if that baby grows up and becomes the heroine of her own romance? I’m still working on that one (right now, I’m dealing with knife wielding vigilantes and Russian crime bosses so that story will have to wait – but it is jingling around my brain).
What storylines would you like to see again? Are there any that should stay in the past?
Every month, Kimber Chin shares an original short story (with a nod to the past) and gives away her favorite Romance eBook on http://businessromance.com/
IN THE SHADOW OF HEROES
Portland Police Bureau – SE Precinct
by Minnette Meador - Romance, Children and Fantasy Author
Her experience on a ride-along -
When the Crown Vic’s V8 engine roared to life the cruiser heaved forward, the red and blue lights parting the busy traffic like Moses splitting the sea. A primordial surge of adrenalin, sparked by 225 horses of power seeping through the floorboards, rushed through my body, triggered my heart, and finally settled into my face. An uncontrollable grin blossomed. I could no more avoid that smile than I could slow the pounding in my chest.
Next to me was a man wearing a dark blue uniform, a baseball cap, and a jacket that said simply “Police” on the back. Around his waist was a crowded duty belt that cradled the tools of his trade; a pad of paper, handcuffs, flashlight, spare ammo, a taser, a baton, and a gun that looked like it meant business. It was reported that a nineteen year old and his buddies were holding a house hostage with rifles. The cruiser was heading straight for it…
As we rushed to the scene, I got to thinking: This was an ordinary human being who did extraordinary things every---single---day. That was his job. His “office” was the streets of Southeast Portland, his co-workers were men and women just like him who stood between people and those that prey on them. Their “clients” were local citizens, the homeless, anyone who needed protection. Their “competitors” were pushers, thieves, killers, and rapists. In two hours on a Tuesday afternoon, I witnessed just how thin the line is between safety and danger…between security and chaos. I watched the unified teamwork of a handful of extraordinary people keep that membrane of protection intact. The thought was a sobering one.
When I called Lt. Steffen for an interview and ride-along with the Southeast Police Precinct in Portland, I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. Dozens of cop shows flashed through my head and visions of prostitutes hanging out at grubby desks with surly sergeants taking down information were paramount in my mind’s eye. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The Southeast Precinct was a beautiful building with a well designed reception area, including pioneer artwork, tiled floors, and even dazzling high windows. The precinct itself was warm and comfortable with nice offices, friendly, funny people, and a kind of camaraderie rarely seen outside of dangerous occupations. When my husband worked for the fire department, it was the only other time I’d seen this kind of good natured, if sometimes irreverent, banter among people whose lives are on the line…and in each other’s hands…every day. There seems to be a kind of espree-de-corps to these groups unlike any other.
I was thrilled to work with Officer Robert Pickett, a seven year vet of the precinct, who was thorough, extremely helpful, and even charming during our interview. He was very patient with me. Let’s face it; when a romance writer comes in with tons of interview questions, some of them a bit risqué, what would you do? Officer Pickett was a consummate professional from beginning to end. It was hard to embarrass him, but I imagine he’s seen it all.
After a morning of interviewing, we went to the cruiser for the ride along. We talked about procedures, what he wanted to show me, and some of the rules. He then turned serious.
“While we’re out there, it’s possible I may have to leave the car. There might even be trouble. If I leave the car, I want you to undo your seatbelt and open your door, maybe even put one foot out.”
“Uh-huh,” I said, thinking that an open car door would just make it easier for a bad guy to get me.
He said, “We tell recruits that the cruiser is a coffin; if you stay inside you’re dead. If anything happens, I want you to get out of the car and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.” Then he added, “It’s harder to shoot a moving target.”
Okay, that got my attention. Hmmm, maybe I should rethink this…I’m a brave person, right? I raised six kids, didn’t I? I nodded my acknowledgement and did exactly what he told me. After all, this fellow fought bad guys for a living, right?
It turned out the first call was a false alarm; the kids were in the house playing video games (or something) and there weren’t any guns. I breathed a sigh of relief when he got back into the car.
When we left, Officer Pickett wanted to show me a traffic stop and pulled over some poor schmoe for a broken brake light. I felt so bad I wanted to tell the guy how sorry I was. Officer Pickett gave him a warning and sent him on his way. While we were stopped, another officer cruised by just to see how we were. There was that team thing again. It seemed like every minute they all knew where the other officers were, their status, and exactly what to do, without a spoken word.
Honestly, when I’ve been on the streets, moving from event to event like a dutiful ant, I didn’t realize these men and women were there with me, around a corner, down the street, or even in my neighborhood watching my home, or my kids. And what did I do when they got behind me when I was driving? I thought they are trying to catch me doing something wrong. Chances are they were watching the guy in the car beside me who was acting a little hinky. That’s how fine the line is.
Officer Pickett drove down to close-in southeast where he talked to a man who had a warrant out for his arrest. The man was very cooperative and did exactly what he was supposed to; he did not argue, did exactly what Officer Pickett told him to do, and let the other two cops who were there for backup help arrest him. Turned out the poor guy’s brother had used our suspect’s ID and the computer had a warrant out for him instead of his brother. Officer Pickett settled it with a thorough search on the computer, double checking identifying marks and photos, and let the guy go. He validated the young man for his cooperation. Pickett handled it so well, the guy even thanked him.
The day ended with a search for a flasher at a bus stop (we couldn’t find him - rats!) and the arrest of a woman driving a stolen car at a local gas station. The highlight was getting to examine a real police weapon, finding out what it was like to get handcuffed, and going over that wonderful Crown Vic cruiser with a fine toothed comb. Not bad for two hours.
I came away with a lot more than information for my book. I have to tell you that when I arrived, my view of the Portland Police was very different than the one I took away with me at the end of the day. During our brief ride along, I found that, to the officer, the police handled themselves with confidence and professionalism. What struck me most was the cohesion of the team dynamics demonstrated in every situation. Incidents were quickly diffused, expertly handled, and even taken care of with kindness and good humor, in many cases. This says a great deal about the obvious degree of skills these officers possess. Again, ordinary people doing extraordinary things.
I would HIGHLY recommend taking a ride-along to anyone. It will open your eyes and your mind. Who knows? You might even learn something. I know I’ll sleep a little better at night knowing they are out there.
My sincerest thanks to the wonderful men and women of the Portland Police Bureau. You are the people who stand between disaster and the rest of us. It was an honor and privilege to be part of your world for one glorious day.
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You can find Minnette Meador's website at: http://www.minnettemeador.com/
Titles:
Fantasy Titles:
STARSIGHT - VOLUME Books I & II
Romance Titles:
THE CENTURION & THE QUEEN a historical romance
THE EDGE OF HONOR a historical romance
Children's Titles:
A Boy & His Wizard (Nov. 2009)
A Boy & His Lizard (Feb. 2010)
OTHER WORKS IN THE WORKS:
*Keenan's Dilema
Paranormal Romantic Comedy
---- After hearing just a bit about this book I was laughing out loud and adding it to my list --- Tammie King - Night Owl Romance
*Arpeggios In The Darkness
Sci-Fi
*Lord Bennett's Inn
A Ghost Story
*Wy'east
Paranormal
*The Belle Stalker
Thriller
Poor Julia Chambers is looking for a place to do her next residency rotation that's away from Portland, Oregon. She needs to reassess her life and get back on track again after going through this troubled time when everything has crumbled before her. Accepting her next residency rotation in Jasper, Idaho seems like the perfect fit. It'll be away from Alex, her ex-fiance, and all the insecurities she is still facing since she happened to lose a maternity patient in her last rotation in the emergency room of Portland City Hospital. She needs to just go away for awhile and get a new perspective on things so she can come back to Portland and move on with her life again.
Little does know that temporarily moving to Jasper, Idaho is only going to complicate things more for her, especially when she meets the fellow doctor, Ben Taylor, that she'll be working with. Ms. Moore did a wonderful job telling this story and I easily fell in love with her characters. This is definitely a story worth picking up. It's a full length novel and is the perfect read to take to the beach with you or on your next vacation or for even just stretching out on your couch and relaxing for a little while at home.
If you would like to find out more about this talented author and see what she has available for you to buy, please visit her at: http://www.patricemoore.com/.
Thanks for visiting NOR's reviewer showcase this week! Next week, please look for Tammie King to be filling in my Thursday spot while I'm on vacation. Have a great week everyone!
The Making of a Country Doctor
Author: Patrice Moore (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 5/2/2009
E-Book Price: $4.50
ISBN: 1-60154-339-5
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Rating: Sensual
Pages: 212
Street Date: Out Now
The Making of a Country Doctor - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Resident Doctor Julia Chambers decides that she needs to get away from Portland, Oregon for awhile. It seems lately that too many bad things are happening to her. She is traumatized over losing a maternity patient during her emergency room rotation in Portland City Hospital. If that isn’t enough for her to deal with, everything really fell apart when her fiancé, Alex, another doctor at the hospital, deserted her right after the devastating maternity incident. She needs to go someplace far away from all the chaos. Julia wants to go to a place where she can clear her head and get her life back on track again, even if it’s only for three months during her next residency rotation. Jumping at the opportunity, she temporarily relocates to Jasper, Idaho and accepts a clinical rotation at Jasper Medical Clinic. Maybe now things can start changing for her.
When she arrives at the clinic, she meets Dr. Ben Taylor. She can’t help but feel that this may have been a big mistake because the clinic is in the middle of nowhere and they barely have enough medical equipment to even get by. She is so used to all the amenities of Oregon that she worries this wasn’t such a smart move after all. To make things even more difficult, Ben was involved in a motorcycle accident and is in a wheelchair while his leg is healing. This temporary disability is only making matters a bit more complicated than what Julia really needs right now. As the days pass though, Ben eventually gets her to open up about her less than positive comments regarding the clinic and Jasper in general and he begins to show Julia that sometimes the best things in life are the simpler things that should be enjoyed. But as her three month rotation nears the end, she is more confused as to what she should do now because she finally started to adjust to the rural area and the beauty it has to offer her. Not to mention that handsome Ben is trying to test the waters with Julia and see if she might be interested in starting a relationship with him.
Could this be something that Julia decides she wants too? Can she see herself settling down in Jasper and leaving all the amenities of the big city behind her? Or does she decide that going back to Oregon is the right thing to do so she can finish off her last rotation in a fully equipped hospital with more options available to her than what Jasper, Idaho can offer?
I absolutely loved this story Ms. Moore wrote. I instantaneously fell in love with Ben and I was hoping that Julia would keep her mind open to everything that Ben was trying to teach her, medically and emotionally. I wanted her to take a chance on life and starting a new relationship with Ben and permanently relocating to Jasper seemed like a good plan for her. The author developed a wonderful storyline that kept me turning the pages for more and she did a marvelous job with her character development. I loved how Ms. Moore told the story and weaved messages of hope, love and renewal throughout the pages. I highly recommend this story and it’s a definite keeper in my library. I’m new to Ms. Moore and her writing, but if this story is any indication of the storyteller she is, I’m her number one fan now! I definitely look forward to reading more of her work in the near future.
Book Blurb & Info for The Making of a Country Doctor
Rating: Sensual Pages: 212
It’s hard to attract doctors – and women - to rural areas. Physician Ben Taylor, temporarily confined to a wheelchair after a motorcycle accident, desperately needs help running his medical clinic in remote Jasper, Idaho. But he never expected his new Resident Doctor, Julia Chambers, to be an exotic beauty.
Julia is traumatized after losing a maternity patient during her emergency room rotation in Portland, Oregon, compounded by the desertion of her fiancé. She is seeking a place to hide and recover from her ordeal. She has no interest in developing a relationship with Ben. But when Julia falls apart during an emergency delivery of a pregnant patient, Ben wonders if she can handle the difficulties endemic in a rural medical clinic…or his own desire to keep her in Jasper.
Can Julia overcome both her professional and her personal fears in order to make it as a country doctor…and Ben’s wife?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3557
Win A Free Copy of Fire Me by leaving a comment on this post. USA Shipping only. No P.O. Boxes.
You must be registered for any Night Owl Romance Newsletter and leave the front portion of your email address on your comment. -One Day Only- 5/13/2009
FIRE ME by Libby Malin
An Interview with FIRE ME’s Protagonist, Anne Wyatt
Fire Me tells the story of one day in the life of Anne Wyatt, a communications specialist at a business quality consulting firm in Washington, DC. But oh, what a day it is! Anne goes into work prepared to hand in her resignation because she’s landed a great job thousands of miles away. But when she learns that her boss plans to lay off an employee by day’s end and give that worker a generous severance package, Anne changes course and decides to go for the pink slip and the money instead. Sounds like a great plan…until co-workers, life, and love start getting in the way! By the end of this wild and crazy twenty-four, Anne’s learned a lot about herself, her choices in life and love, and how hard it is to plan for the future when you don’t really know what you want.
Fire Me is a comedy, but its underlying story is about pursuing your dreams. Because the book is filled with crazy antics and over-the-top stunts, I thought readers would enjoy an “interview” with the novel’s protagonist, getting her to answer the Big Question: what was she thinking?
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Q. So, Anne, what were you thinking when you hatched this plan?
Anne: Well, I guess I was feeling more than I was thinking. I mean, my boss announces he’s going to treat the day as if it were an episode of Survivor, voting one of us off the island by the end of the day. So I really didn’t think my response to that kind of tomfoolery was out of line.
Q. Did you worry about long-term consequences—what if he gave you a bad recommendation?
Anne: I already had my new job sewn up without his recommendation. And I tried to choose stunts that would have credible “excuses” for them.
Q. But you “leaked” to a reporter that your boss was going to slash his big CEO salary and it became a news story—even though this wasn’t true. What was your credible excuse for that?
Anne: Hey, wouldn’t it be great to see more news stories like that--CEOs volunteering to cut their salaries? LOL! What you have to understand is that my boss had a reputation for doing crazy things to improve quality, to build a sense of “teamwork,” to motivate employees. He encouraged us to come up with new ideas. And this was just one new idea….that I accidentally let out to the press before I told him.
Q. What was the wildest thing you did that day?
Anne: Hmm….probably starting my own religion and trying to recruit followers in the office.
Q. Tell me about Ken—when did you start noticing he was interested in you?
Anne: Ken was still relatively new when this crazy day took place, so I hadn’t yet given much thought to getting to know him better. But when I saw he had a sketch of me he was working on—I wished I had taken the time to get to know him better and was sorry I hadn’t really given that idea a chance to grow. It was one of a long list of “wishes” I came to realize I had during that day.
Q. So you think the day itself and all the stunts triggered a kind of self-evaluation?
Anne: Oh, definitely. But when I look back on it now, I realize I shouldn’t be surprised it had that effect. I was really stepping out of my comfort zone that day. And any time you do that, I think you see things with a bit more clarity. You start seeing things you hadn’t seen before, from a different perspective perhaps.
Q. Any regrets?
Anne: Not a one!
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Thanks for hosting me on the blog today! You can learn more about Fire Me and my other books by stopping by my website, http://www.libbysbooks.com/!
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Night Owl Romance Note:
Purchase Fire Me Now
Ok - Here are the winners for the Ravenous Romance - Ornery 11 Blog Tour....
http://www.ravenousromance.com/
Jamie Cjamie
$5.00 gift certificate
Nancy Gillil and josh_granny
copy of Talley's Gift
Becky Ward beckyqward
Copy of I've Been a Naughty Nurse
Bridget bjhopper
Copy of Michael, Blood & Sex 1
Afshan NAFSHAN522
Copy of Murder and Magick, Copy of Sex, LIes & Wedding Bells, $25 gift certificate (our big winner!)
Jack C. Young jackcyoung
Copy of Pisces, Teacher's Pet
Carol L. Lucky4750
copy of Men in SHorts, $5.00 gift certificate
Elizabeth Loupaseloupas
Copy of Chastity Flame
Caffey tbranxiety
$5 gift certificate
Fatalis Fortune - screamingicecube
Copy of LUST IN SPACE
Amy S. amysmith98
Copy of Ripping the Bodice
Get a goodie package from JENNIFER ASHLEY. Click Here For Details!
Contest: Comment on this post to be entered to win a $10 Amazon Gift Card from Night Owl Romance. You must be a NOR newsletter subscriber or subscribe now to be entered. Please leave the first portion of your email address on the post. That way we can contact you if you win.
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Jennifer Ashley
http://www.jennifersromances.com/
It’s probably no secret that I like an usual hero. The hero in the recent release of The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie, features a hero with Asperger’s Syndrome, which is considered to be high-functioning autism. (I never state this in the book, but the syndrome wasn’t given a name until the mid-20th century, and the story is set in 1881).
Traits include the inability to make eye contact, trouble with nonverbal cues and subtext, obsession with detail (but missing the “big picture”), and others. Not everyone who has AS exhibits the same traits, and the syndrome tends to present differently in men than women.
Why did I decide to write Ian the way I did? The number one reason was: I thought he’d be interesting. I like to write about interesting people, places, times, problems. I’m not supposed to; I’m supposed to write romance to the “rules,” but I’ve never been one to follow the rules.
The book is a romance, of course, with a HEA ending, and it’s about Beth teaching Ian that he really can love (and already does), despite his problems relating to other people.
Ian Mackenzie isn’t the only unusual hero I’ve written. If you’re an Allyson James fan (me in disguise), you might have read the Tales of the Shareem books I wrote for EC. Futuristics about men created in a genetics factory, bred for one purpose and one purpose only—to pleasure women. Now they’re outlawed, the factory shut down, and women come to them in secret for sensuality that is forbidden in their society.
When I started writing the series, I thought, “What am I doing? No one will want to read about these guys because they’re not powerful, rich, in-charge men. They’re little better than slaves with no rights and no money.” But the characters had grabbed me, and I wanted to write about them. Result: The Shareem is my most popular EC series, and copies have continually sold since early 2005. (Fans: I’m about to submit TOTS: Calder.)
I’m also working on a new paranormal called Pride Mates. It’s a shape shifter romance, but I decided to forgo the ultra-rich, ultra-powerful males story. Instead, my Shifters are outcasts, shunted by human society into enclaves, forced to wear collars that suppress their violent tendencies. The hero is Liam, who is the liaison between the humans and the Shifters, and Kim Fraser, a defense attorney put into the position of defending a Shifter accused of murder. When worlds collide… That’s coming up in Feb. 2010.
Over to you blog readers: Who are some of your favorite unusual romance heroes? Not necessarily disabled heroes—just different from the norm. Or whoever? What about heroines? Any standouts?
And I hope everyone enjoys my unusual hero in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie! Thanks for participating in the virtual booksigning!!
Welcome back NOR readers to my reviewer showcase. I wanted to spice things up a bit for you this week with my reviewer pick. Nothing like a hot, sexy hero and heroine to do the trick, right? So without further ado, please let me introduce you to: Sugar Shack by Paisley Scott. This is one hot number Ms. Scott wrote up for her readers. I couldn't help but fall in love with both Catherine and Luke. Even though Catherine was reluctantly returning back to Vermont to do a writing piece for her boss, I had hoped that something really good would come out of this visit for her. I knew Catherine had regrets, but I was hoping that she wasn't only adding to the list by returning back again to the place that held so many mixed memories for her. I really enjoyed this story and I know you will too!
If you would like to find out more about this talented author or see what she has available for her readers to purchase, please visit her at: http://www.paisleyscott.com/.
Thanks to everyone for stopping by this week. To all the mothers out there, I wish you a very Happy Mother's Day and I hope you have a wonderful Sunday being treated like a queen! I'll see you all next week!
Sugar Shack
Author: Paisley Scott (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 5/2/2009
E-Book Price: $3.00
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Sugar Shack - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
In the past ten years that Catherine Bennett hasn’t returned to her hometown of Vermont, she’s done quite a bit of maturing and it’s only allowed her to realize that she screwed up big time with her boyfriend, Luke Mackenzie. Catherine left Luke and Vermont to pursue something bigger and better in Chicago once she had graduated college. Looking back now, she realizes she had everything she could ever have dreamed of, right there with Luke by her side, in beautiful Vermont where they grew up together. Now, being older and wiser, Catherine wonders what could have been if she hadn’t left all those years ago.
Against her wishes, her editor asked her to return home to Vermont to work on an article that she wants Catherine to write. Having no other choice in the matter, Catherine decides there’s no better place to stay then with her family while she’s writing this article. But on her way from the airport, a bad winter storm rears its head and she knows she’ll never be able to make it to her parents’ house without getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no help in sight, because of the storm. As she’s driving, she knows she has to take refuge somewhere immediately. Driving on the same road that will lead to the turn-off to Luke’s maple farm, she decides that there really isn’t any other option for her but to head over to Luke’s place. It’s the closest place to her right now where she can wait out the storm. While she’s there, maybe they’ll even get to talking about old times and she can finally apologize for tearing his heart out a decade ago. She wants him to know that she is a changed person and she regrets how she handled the situation between them when she last saw him.
When she arrives at Luke’s farm, is she still as welcomed as she was ten years ago? How does Luke respond to seeing her again after all this time? Did he move on to get married and have children during the time she was gone? Does she ever get to apologize to Luke for her hurtful and immature behavior back then and can they move forward being more than just friends to each other?
Ms. Scott penned a hot, sexy read within these pages. The attraction between Luke and Catherine was so hot that there was steam coming off the pages. The electricity between these two will definitely warm you up on a cold winter night. I fell in love with Catherine because she felt that she needed to spread her wings ten years ago and she wanted to see what the world had to offer her beyond just living in Vermont. I admired her for chasing her dreams, but on the other hand, I wasn’t happy how she chose to just abruptly break things off with Luke. I loved Luke because he was grounded and knew what his heart wanted out of life. His family’s maple farm was his life and he had hoped that Catherine would have been a part of that life that he had dreamed of. My heart bled for him when Catherine just broke things off and it seemed that she didn’t look back twice. I felt that she could have still pursued her dreams, but gone about breaking the news to Luke in a different way. They could have even worked on a long distance relationship for awhile to test the waters and see if their relationship was worth fighting to keep alive. Instead, she made hasty decisions and now hopes that Luke can find it in his heart to completely forgive her. I loved this story and I was entertained from the very first page. Without a doubt, I would highly recommend this story to others and I eagerly look forward to reading more from Ms. Scott in the near future.
Book Blurb & Info for Sugar Shack
Ten years ago, Catherine Bennett said good-bye to her fiancé, Luke MacKenzie, and his maple farm in Vermont. She wanted to be somebody. She wanted to break out of a small town existence and live the city life. But the higher she flew, the less satisfied she was, in love and life. She had left her heart behind. And she'd never forgotten the sizzling sex with blond-haired, muscular Luke.
Now, when her job takes her back home to Vermont, old feelings flame to life. But is Luke still interested? Is he married? And can he ever forgive her for leaving him so long ago? Only one thing's for sure; there's still an attraction. And their reconciliation will burn hotter than the fireworks that light up the New Years Eve sky!
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3576<
I was reading a chapter of my critique partner's Work In Progress recently (one of these days, she's going to knock the world of fantasy romance right on its butt, but I digress), and I noticed something interesting about her hero. Or rather, heroes. Because I've read two of her manuscripts now, and I realized that something I've picked up on in my own writing also seems to apply in hers: her men share a theme.So what do I mean by theme? Well, there's a certain thing that drives the men she writes, a shared core of their being that is of course an integral part of where their stories go, how they relate to their heroines, and what constitutes their happy endings. In the case of my CP's heroes, I always think of two words: honor and duty. These are very different men, from utterly different places, but they're both defined by these two words. And I got thinking: my heroes and heroines have a sort of theme as well, no matter how different they are as characters.
Bastian an Morgaine in my new release Wild Highland Magic is seeking redemption in a very literal sense, in that he's struggling to free himself of a dark curse that wiped out an entire side of his family. It was interesting for me to explore redemption in such a concrete way. I mean, none of my other heroes had an ancient soul-sucking shadow dogging their every step, preventing them from having a deep emotional connection to anyone. But Bastian is special, even amongst my supernaturally powered heroes. He not only belongs to an otherworldly tribe of demi-goddesses (the only male ever born to them, in fact), but he’s the very last of what had been his father’s kind, the world-jumping Athin ice mages. He might be uncertain of his considerable power, but if anyone was equipped to deal with the worst of the worst out of the magical races I’ve introduced in my MacInnes Werewolves trilogy, it’s him. And he not only wants redemption for himself, but for the people who were so cruelly wiped out by the curse that now hunts him alone. Bastian has to get a little innovative in his methods, but things aren’t going very well…and when he meets a beautiful, stubborn werewolf, he can’t quite decide if things have just gotten a whole lot better, or a whole lot worse. With my heroines, it's not as easy to find one word to describe them all, but the theme is still there. Metamorphosis, maybe, or coming into her own, or even embrace of self. Each of my heroines is on a journey of self-discovery as much as she is on a journey of discovering true love. And it isn't until she reaches within and accepts her true self that the happy ending can really happen. Carly Silver, Rowan an Morgaine, and now, Catriona MacInnes...to a certain extent, each of them has supressed an essential piece of her nature, and the discovery and embrace of that piece is a big part of what makes the story. Cat, for instance, is a half-witch, half-werewolf whose father has always denied knowing anything about where he came from…and who refuses to help his daughters learn to deal with what they are. But a sudden (and very odd) about-face from her dad brings Cat to the Scottish Highlands, to the annual gathering of a pack she never dreamed existed, and to the uncle, the pack Alpha, who holds the answers to questions she’s had her entire life. Being accepted should be a joy for Catriona, but her father’s condition is mysteriously deteriorating, and there’s a stranger staying in the woods who stirs her blood in a way she’s never experienced. Cat will have to learn to embrace her inner wolf to help Bastian in the fight of his life. The problem is, there are other secrets lurking that may deny her the chance.
I read somewhere that every writer, if she looks at her work, will find that there are certain themes she returns to time and again. Why? Who knows. The reasons are probably as individual as we are, and more than likely unconscious choices. Still, it's fascinating to me that those themes do seem to weave through our works time and again...through my own, at least. Obviously, these are just ideas my psyche is determined to explore at great length!
So what about you? Readers, do you find yourself drawn to heroes or heroines with a particular theme? I'm interested to hear what you think! Thanks so much to Tammie for having me back here at Night Owl Romance, and to everyone else for stopping by :) Happy reading, everyone.
Kendra Leigh Castle is the author of the MacInnes Werewolves trilogy, as well as the upcoming series The Fallen, coming from Harlequin Nocturne. She lives in Maryland with her husband, three kids, and menagerie of pets, and loves to be visited online at www.kendraleighcastle.com
Angie Fox will be mailing each reader who purchases "The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers" a wonderful goodie package including: (Items will be shipped anywhere)
One Goodie Pack Per Person. Proof of Purchase Required - Details at the end of this post. Proof of Purchase must be in our hands by 5/30/2009.
Purchase These Titles Today by Clicking the Name Links!
The Accidental Demon Slayer (Book 1)
Chris of Night Owl Romance - Full of not just humor but also a suspenseful tale and plenty of buried family secrets - 4.5 / 5 Hearts - Reviewer Top Pick
The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers (Book 2)
QUIZ: Take the Quiz: Are You Part Demon Slayer?
If You Purchased - "The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers"
TODAY (5/5/2009)
Please Fill Out This Form. Click To View Form
Details on How To Prove Proof of Purchase Are at the End.
Tammie King - Night Owl Romance
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FROM ANGIE FOX ---
Thanks so much to Tammie for having me here today. I’ve never done a virtual book signing, but I must say the set-up is lovely – heart-shaped couches, cover model waiters serving chocolate and an ice sculpture of a biker witch. You’ve really outdone yourselves.
Good thing you’re all here because I have some great goodie packs to everyone who grabs a book. But first, Tammie has put me on the hot seat to answer a few questions about The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers. In the mean time, could you save me some chocolate…and a cover model?
I understand you have a new release out called The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book?
The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers is the story of what happens when you take a bunch of biker witches to Las Vegas. Well, it’s more than that, I suppose. Lizzie and the gang head to Las Vegas to save her uncle from marrying a succubus.
As she experiences all kinds of new (and weird) things in Vegas, Lizzie is determined, once and for all, to master her powers. In fact, she’s going to write the book on demon slaying. So she begins a journal, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, where she records what she’s learning, starting with newfound discoveries about demons, gargoyles and a particularly mischievous live spell named Beanie who likes to fill Lizzie’s boots with pumpkin spice latte.
Things get dangerous when the demons get their hooks in Dimitri. He’s much darker and sexier in this book. And we introduce a new character, Max, who is half demon and 100% yummy.
Where did you get your idea for this particular book?
When I was writing the end of my first book, The Accidental Demon Slayer, this joke about Las Vegas popped into my head and I thought, “why not?” Lizzie is just about to kiss her man when she’s interrupted and told she and the gang have to head to Las Vegas to save her long lost uncle from marrying a succubus. Kind of fun. At least it made me smile. I was an unpublished writer at the time.
But then the book sold. Better still, The Accidental Demon Slayer hit the New York Times bestseller list. The sequel was on and I decided to pick up right where The Accidental Demon Slayer left off. Of course I should mention that each of the books is a stand-alone book. Each has its own complete story and happy ever after ending, so you don’t need to read the first book to enjoy the second.
What was your reaction when you learned The Accidental Demon Slayer was a New York Times bestseller?
Complete shock. The phone rang on a Friday afternoon, as I was writing the climax of The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers. I almost didn’t answer. After all, who would call in smack dab in the middle of a demon invasion?
Luckily, I picked up because it was my agent, saying that The Accidental Demon Slayer would be #34 on the New York Times list the next day. I didn’t know what to think. Heck, I’d just wanted to sell enough books so that I could keep writing about biker witches, demon slayers and talking terriers. I had to ask my agent to please email me too, just to make sure I wasn’t phone-hallucinating.
Did you have to do a lot of research for the book?
Loads, actually. First off, the biker witches ride Harleys, and I’d never been on a motorcycle before. Second, I had to figure out how to get Pirate the dog onto a bike.
I went online and learned about the Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club, made up exclusively of Harley riders and their dogs. I ended up meeting some of them, along with a few other bikers along the way. These bikers were so great to me. They hoisted me onto the back of their Harleys (with dogs in tow). They took me to biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink). And they laughed at me when I tried to put my helmet on backwards (I still say I was distracted by the Pomeranian wearing a tiny pair of motorcycle glasses). After a few outings with my new biker friends, I was able to make my geriatric biker witch characters a lot more realistic. And I took home some great pictures, too.
My second favorite bit of research was the behind-the-scenes tour of Hoover Dam. The climax of The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers takes place down there, and I was lucky enough to be invited to see first-hand what I’d be writing about. A guide took me far down into the inspection tunnels they used in the 1930’s and 40’s, when the cement was still curing. It was amazing to see the notes these inspectors made on the walls, to hear the stories of those that didn’t quite make it out and to walk the same old metal steps that they did. All of that made it into The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, along with lots of things I had a blast making up (this is fiction after all).
Tell us about how you develop your characters. Do you create character sheets, do interviews, that sort of thing? How does your research and/or world affect your character development?
For me, personally, it works better when I let the characters develop on the page. For example, when I sat down to write the first book, I had no notes about a sidekick for my heroine. But in the second chapter, when she’d learned she was a demon slayer and all hell was after her, she took comfort in her dog. As I was writing, I thought, ‘This is a sweet moment. Now how do I throw her off?’ Simple. I made the dog say something to her. Nothing big. After all, he’s only after the fettuccine from last week. And he knows exactly where my heroine can find it (back of the fridge, to the left of the lettuce crisper, behind the mustard).
It amused me, so I did it. Thanks to her unholy powers, my heroine can now understand her smart-mouthed Jack Russell Terrier. I don’t know if Pirate would be here today if I’d depended on character sheets or traditional methods of plotting. I think the most important thing when you sit down to the keyboard is to be willing to follow your story in new directions, because if you’re enjoying the surprise, chances are your readers will too.
How do you go about building your world if you use one? Do you use maps, charts or drawings?
LOL I actually got into writing so that I could avoid charts, graphs and any kind of math. I have a plot outline, so I know where the story needs to go, but when it comes to world building, I write what amuses me. I follow my instincts and let the story evolve on the page.
What do you feel is the most effective promotion you have done for your book?
Hmm…how do I say this? Okay. I’ll just say it. My readers are a bunch of crazy loud women and I love them for it. My best advertising has been word-of-mouth – girlfriends telling girlfriends, daughters getting their moms hooked, readers who tell me they’ve seen someone pick up my book at the store and told the person, “you have to read that.” It’s really neat and I’m just so grateful.
What do we have to look forward next?
Right now, I’m writing book 3 in the Accidental Demon Slayer series, tentatively titled A Tale of Two Demon Slayers. In it, Lizzie and the gang travel to Greece where they learn more about Dimitri’s past and a threat that could destroy them all. I’m having a ball with it because it’s so much fun to explore Dimitri’s home, his family and his juicy past.
I also have a story in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, which comes out on Halloween. And then I’m working on a voodoo novella for this amazing anthology that I can’t officially announce yet.
Thanks Angie! Let the virtual book signing begin. Everyone who grabs a copy of The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers here at Night Owl Romance will receive a devilishly fun goodie pack that includes:
- A signed galley page (think animation cell) from the final galley proofs of the book
- A cover flat
- Signed bookmarks
- A signed bookplate
Plus – one out of five packages will include a Kiss My Asphalt t-shirt like the ones the biker witches wear in the Demon Slayer books
To be eligible you must provide a purchase order with the date of the party and a Shipping Receipt. We will let you know where to send these items at the party. Items will be shipped anywhere.
Night Owl Romance will also give one lucky reader a $10 Amazon Gift Card to get them started on another pile of books.
So, come and have fun and get to know Angie Fox and her wonderful characters.
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SEND US PROOF OF BOOK PURCHASE INFO FOR THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR DEMON SLAYERS: (Must Be a New and NOT Used copy)
Purchase Recipt must have the date of 5/5/2009 on it.
Online Purchase: Email a shipping receipt and purchase receipt to NightOwlRomance@gmail.com - Put Angie Fox Signing in the heading.
In Store Purchase: Mail a copy of your receipt (Circle The Title and print Angie Fox on the paper) to Night Owl Romance, 319 NE Hyde Circle, Hillsboro, Oregon 97124. - NOR is not responsible for the mail service.
In every book I write, I have the best friend and sidekicks. My contemporary sidekicks are the upstairs neighbors Wayne and Henry, the gay “boyfriends,” or as the guys dubbed themselves, the Fairy Godfathers.When I began writing about Henry and Wayne, I was thinking of two friends of mine. These were the friends I brought all my boyfriends to meet. You can tell so much about a man by the way he deals with gay men. If the boyfriend was the least bit homophobic, I knew he wasn’t for me. It was also a lot of fun to dish with the guys after the boyfriend left. My friends, Murph and Surf, always saw so much more than I could. When I brought my future husband to meet them, Murph was the first one to tell me I had finally found ‘the one.’ He was so right.
Surf is always way over the top. I’ll never forget the night my mother and I went over to their place for dinner. Surf walked into the dining room wearing an apron with a Merry Widow painted on it, he set a lasagna and a bowl of meatballs on the table, and as my mother and I murmured our appreciation, he wiped his brow and said “I’m glad you like it. I’ve had my tits over the stove all day!” Needless to say, when I wrote Wayne, I may have loosely based the character on Surf, but I toned him down considerably. No one would believe Wayne if he were as over the top as Surf.
Murph, like Henry, is the quiet, introspective type. I never know what Murph is thinking unless I ask, but when I do, I’m always amazed at his depth, his fascinating perspective and perception. He’s the yin to Surf’s yang. Together they are the best friends a girl can have. Surf will give fashion advice and is always up for retail therapy, while Murph handles the heavy emotional stuff. Surf flits around like a humming bird always tidying up whatever mess you find your life in, while Henry calmly sits, listens, and offers a comforting shoulder to cry on. When you do need advice on love or life, Murph’s the one who talks you off the ledge while Surf makes sure you have comfort food, chocolate and the perfect wine to compliment your whining.The other great thing about having gay boyfriends is when you go out with them, you always have someone to dance with and you never have to worry about guys hitting on you. It takes so much of the pressure of a night out off your shoulders. You can just go out and have a good time.
The Godfathers play a big part in Romeo, Romeo, and Too Hot to Handle. They’re the best friend’s a girl can have. They’re the comic relief and they have a way of gently holding my heroine’s feet to the fire without the baggage her family comes with. Writing them always makes me miss Murph and Surf. I hope you love the Fairy Godfathers as much as I do.
Night Owl Romance is proud to present the Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Tour. This is their last stop. Here at Night Owl Romance we like to introduce readers to new authors and publishers. Ravenous Romance has stood out from the start. They have great books, wonderful authors and a fabulous website. Make sure to check them out and don't forget to sign-up for their newsletter. It's full of information, including free books and discounts.
Whew! It's the last day of the Ravenous Romance Ornery Eleven Tour and our authors have just swarmed into Night Owl Romance with our host, Tammie. For our last stop, we're joined by Ravenous co-founder, editor, and literary agent Lori Perkins!
"Ravenous so far...
Wow, what a journey!
When Holly Schmidt and Allan Penn and I conceived of the idea of Ravenous Romance last year, the economy was strong and so was publishing. Epublishing was a side-line to print publishing, but with the downturn of the economy, readers are finding that epublishing is a faster and cheaper way to get what they want.
And we've been a part of that at the moment that epublishing started to turn. With Barnes & Noble buying Fictionwise and the Kindle app transferring to the iPhone, reading books on a portable device has become a real tangible possibility for the immediate future.
And the great thing about epublishing is that you know what your readers like and want almost immediately.
So, what sets RR apart from the rest of the eromance publishers? Our pop culture sensibility (even when we do time travel and historicals). From re-telling of classics with a new twist, (THE GLASS STILETTO by Rachel Kenley is an S&M Cinderella) and different take on popular stories (we think AN OFFICER AND HIS GENTLEMAN by Ryan Fields speaks for itself), as well as take-offs on the zietgeist (AMERICAN STAR,), we're the epublisher in step with what our readers are watching."
Now our Ornery Eleven want to let all you readers and writers out there what they'd like you to know about Ravenous Romance at the end of their tour.
Jamaica Layne: I'd like readers and writers to know that Ravenous is a professionally run publisher staffed by knowledgeable, reputable people with decades of experience in traditional publishing. I'd also like readers to know that many established erotica authors (in print and online) are writing for Ravenous because it offers some of the best contract terms (advance plus 38% royalties) and most experienced staff in all of erotic epublishing.
Elle Amery: How supportive they are of authors, especially new authors.
C. Margery Kempe: We'd like you to know that RR is your one-stop shopping place for all kinds of erotic romance. We have so many different styles and
genres that you can satisfy whatever urge you have on a given day
(hey, Tuesday, I need something a little kinky! or Thursday, I want me
some hot M/M action!). We got it all.
Sèphera Girón: It's my wish that readers realize that Ravenous Romance offers a wide variety of erotic entertainment. From real life romance to far out freaky space tales, seductive vampires and ripped randy surfer boys, there is certain to be a book line that will appeal to you. Ravenous Romance products are quick and easy to download, affordable and are available 24 hours a day with the click of a mouse.
Neve Black: I think what readers/writers will learn through this tour is that we're real people. We're a group of highly eclectic and creative souls that really just love to write.
Isabel Roman: Ravenous, like any other good company, is a company-professional, courteous, and respectful of its authors and readers. This is the 2nd e-book publisher I've worked with and while they haven't been in business as long as the other, they know what they're doing and how to do it.
Lisa Lane: It is my hope that readers will walk away from this experience with a better understanding of who we are and what we're really about. I would like to think that those who may have been turned off by the idea of erotic romance, set by preconceived stigmas and judgments, might see the literary merit in our work ... that what we do is an art, and it is beautiful.
EM Lynley: I'd love for readers to find out how many varied and talented writers we have at RR especially in the m/m and paranormal genres, and check out the hottest covers around!
Inara LaVey: I have been continually impressed with the professionalism of the RR editors and staff. Working with them has been a delight and I would not hesitate to recommend Ravenous as a publisher for both aspiring and experienced authors. The camaraderie and supportive nature of my fellow authors has been a delight and I'm still happily making my way through a pile of RR books. There's definitely something for everyone at Ravenous Romance!
Savannah Chase: I want readers/writers to know that Ravenous Romance and its authors are truly amazing. The publisher works hard to bring you books from authors that will blow you away. You will get lost in the pages of each story. RR brings something new and fresh to the publishing world and so do the authors. Once you get a taste of Ravenous Romance books you will be hooked.
Angela Cameron: Ravenous is truly an innovative publisher. Not only are they working in e-books, but audio and upcoming print books. Plus, the staff works harder than most that I’ve known to bring quality stories to their readers. I think that in a year or so, the company’s name and its authors will be synonymous with quality erotic romance.
And now a big thank you to Tammie with Night Owl Romance for hosting us and to all of you who've followed our tour, be it one stop, several or all of them, we're so glad you joined us on our Ornery Eleven Tour! We'll be announcing the winner of the $25 gift certificate in a day or so, here on Night Owl Romance, and will notify the winner via email, so please do leave your email when commenting! Please come check out Ravenous Romance, our Ravenous Romance Author blog, and join our Yahoo Listserv and Facebook groups so you don't miss the special Free Friday deals and other treats!
Winners will be contacted by email (so make sure to leave your email addresses in your comments!) and the official announcement will be made on May 9th, here at Night Owl Romance and at Zhadi's Den!
Hello.
My name is Laurie Brown and I am a Nightowl.
I can’t count the number of times my husband has stood at the top of the stairs and recited the time. “Are you aware it’s 2:30 in the morning and you have to get up for work in a few short hours?” He doesn’t yell but his very deep voice echoes down the stairwell like the Voice of Doom. Of course, I act as if I’m shocked at the swift passage of time, (sometimes I truly am) and I promise to be up in a few minutes. Does this sound familiar to anyone?
The problem is that I really prefer to read and write late at night. No interruptions. No phone calls. (Except my sister who knows I’ll still be up whenever she calls.) No one still awake to share my bag of popcorn. Just a comfy chair or my computer and a wonderful story to carry me off to other lands and other times. Okay, the real problem is that I have to get up for work. But I also love shopping and traveling and eating out, so I adjust. As best I can. Still some nights…
My new book What Would Jane Austen Do? is just out. I had so much fun sending a modern heroine back in time to 1814 to meet the real Jane Austen. Eleanor also attends a ball, prevents a duel, helps solve a mystery for two ghosts, and meets the sexy Regency rake, Lord Shermont.
The idea for the book was born (spawned?) from a discussion with some fellow writers on time travel. The question to the table was, if time travel were available, would you go? And what time period/place would you choose? My immediate answer was yes, Regency, and England. As I was writing this book I tried to imagine want a modern day woman would really experience in 1814.
In the course of Eleanor’s adventures, she realizes just how much she misses from her own time. Like plumbing. She remembers “her tiny little bathroom with the ugly Pepto Bismol pink tiles and the showerhead that whined and sputtered? She sighed at the heavenly memory.” And she misses music on demand and her cell phone. When Eleanor gets a toothache she even remembers modern dentistry fondly. (I got that idea while I waited for my dentist’s office to call back and set up an emergency appointment.)
While thinking of all the things Eleanor misses, I had to re-evaluate my own desire to travel back to the Regency. Could I really survive for long with no electricity? No microwave? Diet Coke? Could I even wake up without my morning shower and latte? I finally came to the conclusion that I’d like to go only if I could come back after a set amount of time, sort of like the camping trip I went on once. I put up with the inconveniences (read bugs, dirt, and outdoor facilities) for the sake of the great scenery and excellent camaraderie. The Regency would go on my list of ‘great places to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.’
Worst of all without electricity how could I stay up all night reading?
Would you go back in time if it were available? For a vacation? Where/when would you want to go?
**************************
Welcome NOR readers to my weekly reviewer showcase. I picked another fabulous read that I'd like to tell you about. So, grab something delicious to drink, make yourself comfortable and let me introduce you to Murphy's Law by Sandy James. This is the first book in the Damaged Heroes series and I'm thrilled to tell you that the next few books in this series are already available for purchase. As an added bonus to all those animal lovers out there, you'll be happy to know that the storyline to this book is wrapped around horses. Since you all know from my previous blog entries that I'm a big animal lover, I just couldn't pass up the opportunity to review this book for Ms. James.
If you would like to find out more about this talented author or see what she already has available for purchase, please visit her at: http://www.sandy-james.com/.
Thanks for stopping by again this week and please feel free to leave a comment for Ms. James. See you all next week!
Murphy’s Law (Damaged Heroes- Book One)
Author: Sandy James (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 3/24/2009
E-Book Price: $5.99
Book Strand -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Murphy’s Law - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5/ 5
Twenty-nine year old Seth Remington has the world at his feet thanks to the success and wealth of his father, Sterling. Remington Computers is owned and operated by his father’s own blood, sweat and tears and because of this wealth, Seth is a playboy in every sense of the word. He never held a job or even supported himself in anyway because dear old dad always took care of his son. Things are going to change though.
Since Sterling is now ill and dying, Seth needs to be taught a lesson once and for all on what it’s like to stand on his own two feet, with no financial assistance whatsoever, since he didn’t want to take over the reins of Remington Computers. So his father has his attorney rewrite the will and in it states that the inheritance will be completely tied up until Seth meets all the criteria his father has set out for him. One guideline is that Seth must labor as a groom for horse trainer, Katie Murphy, for one whole season and not break any of the criteria his father has set forth in the will. This includes no romantic relations with Katie at all. While working so closely together, Seth and Katie are forced to struggle with their growing attraction to one another.
Can Seth keep his end of the bargain and meet all the criteria his father has set forth in the will? Does Seth actually learn to work and stand on his own two feet? What becomes of Seth and Katie’s attraction they have for each other?
Ms. James wrote a thoroughly entertaining story within these pages. I have to admit that it took me quite some time to warm up to Seth. Even though he was extremely sexy and good looking, his flippant playboy attitude turned me completely off to him. I instantly fell in love with pretty, hard working Katie though. She clearly was no match for carefree, irresponsible Seth. I had every doubt in the world that Seth wasn’t going to make it to the end of one racing season as stipulated by his father’s will. I noticed this to be the first book in a series and I look forward to seeing what else can come about in other Damaged Heroes stories. I would definitely recommend this book to other readers and I’d love to read more work done by Ms. James in the near future.
Book Blurb & Info for Murphy’s Law (Damaged Heroes- Book One)
Seth Remington had a fortune at his fingertips, but something was missing in his life. Purpose. Knowing he has one last chance to redeem his son, terminally ill Sterling Remington rewrites his will. To earn his inheritance, his son Seth must labor as a groom for a horse trainer. Katie Murphy’s orderly existence is turned upside down by Sterling Remington’s will. Raised on hard work and dedicated to her harness racing stable, Katie agrees to take Seth on as a groom. How can she ever fulfill the challenge of instilling a work ethic in Seth and still keep her faltering stable running? Kept at arm’s length by the strict terms of Sterling’s will, Seth and Katie are forced to struggle with their growing attraction until a devastating racing accident forces them to take a hard look at their relationship. How much is he willing to risk for her love?
Word Count: 116,784
Heat Level: STEAMY
Author's Note:"This book is straight from my heart. Until my husband and I jumped into owning racehorses, I had no idea that world even existed. I fell in love with the animals and the wonderful, generous people who work with them every day, and I wanted to share that experience with readers. I offer this story to all my friends in harness racing in hopes they'll know how much I love being a part of their world." ~Sandy~
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3399
Second ChancesApril 29, 2009 Guest Blog Post for Night Owl Romance
By Tracy Cooper-Posey
Twenty-three years ago today, there was a fire at the central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library. 400,000 books were burned and destroyed. Some of them were gone forever because the authors have died, their original manuscripts with them.
I have the odd out-of-print title of my own for which I no longer have any print copies, and if I ever lost the original files, that book would be totally gone, and I would be devastated. The Los Angeles Public Library fire took 400,000 of them.
Think about that.
If you stacked your average romances one on top of the other, until you had 400,000 of them, you could build over thirteen piles as high as the Empire State Building!
That’s a lot of romances to lose in a fire – romances that you might never get back again. These days, though, thanks to the slowly building popularity of electronic reading, the chance of a story being irrevocably lost for all time are dwindling. If, say, today’s equivalent of Gone With the Wind was lost in a fire, then someone, somewhere, would have an electronic copy they would be able to donate to a publisher, who could swiftly set about producing new copies, giving that book a second chance at life.
(Project Gutenberg http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page was created in 1971 for exactly this reason – it was intended to preserve all classic public domain books in electronic format, so they would never be lost.)
Today, Night Owl Romance are kindly allowing me to celebrate the launch of Eyes of a Stranger by hosting me as a guest blogger. Eyes of a Stranger is published by Cerridwen Press, and is enjoyed a second chance of its own, for it was first published in 2000 when most romance readers weren’t even sure what an e-book was – I remember sitting at the book fair at the Romantic Time convention with my e-books and being ignored by everyone. I didn’t sell a single book. Big surprise!
Now, almost ten years on, everyone has heard of e-books even if they’re not raving fans of them (yet). And Cerridwen Press are giving Eyes of A Stranger a second chance to reach romance readers. The reworked, polished and updated Eyes is a contemporary romance, and won the inaugural Emma Darcy Award...perhaps you might consider giving it a second chance, yourself.
Eyes Of a Stranger
Tracy’s Website
Tracy’s Newsletter (get a free book)
Tracy’s blog for writers, Anchored Authors
Hello NOR readers and welcome to another week of Night Owl's reviewer showcase. I am eager to tell you about the book I chose today because I just couldn't put it down. I found myself reading it every chance I got and I fell deeper in love with the characters as I turned each page. So, without further ado, I would like to tell you about His Captive by Diana Cosby. This is a Historical romance that will just warm your heart as soon as you start reading it. I immediately loved Nichola and wished for her safety, but I had such a hard time not falling in love with Alexander. Although he took Nichola captive, he was a man of his word. He continually showed her that he would keep to the promise he made to her even though she was his captive. This is a book that you shouldn't pass up. I am happy to tell you that Ms. Cosby has made this a series and she already has the second book, His Woman, available for purchase.
If you would like to find out more about this wonderfully talented author and see what other stories she might be working on or currently has available for you to pick up, please visit her at: http://www.dianacosby.com/.
Thanks for stopping by and be sure to visit me next Thursday for another fresh and exciting read you may be interested in reading. Have a wonderful week everyone!
His Captive
Author: Diana Cosby (Author Website)
Genre(s): Historical
Review Date: 4/15/2009
ISBN: 9781420101089
Print Book Price: $3.99
Kensington Publishing -(Website)
Zebra Historical Romance
Street Date: Out Now
His Captive - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Lady Nichola Westcott of England is not having the best of luck lately. Her older brother, Griffin, Baron of Monceaux is causing her much stress because it seems he is intent on continuing on his path of self-destruction. With his uncontrolled drinking, womanizing and questionable men he keeps company with, Nichola worries for her brother’s well-being. During one of his many unexplained absences, she reviews the household ledgers and finds out their financial state. She has no other choice but to sell some of the family heirlooms to help pay off the creditors coming to collect their money. Grateful that her brother has made it home alive, she decides that now is the time to discuss some household issues with him and tell him of the merchants who are showing up demanding to be paid. Without further thought, Griffin informs Nichola that he is going away for a few days and they will talk when he returns from his trip. He opens the secret door from the solar and disappears into the secret passage without another word exchanged with his sister. Nichola is shocked by his actions. They both had knowledge of this secret passage, but never used it until he did today.
While pondering her brother’s actions, she takes notice that a stranger is standing near the far wall. Looking into his eyes she sees a man who has seen too much devastation. She makes small talk with him, trying to get a feel for who he might be, but is overcome with fear. He tells her that he has business to attend to with her brother. Trying to be as assertive as possible she tells the stranger that her brother is away and asks him to leave. He lunges forward and grabs her. Panic pulses throughout her body and she fears for her life because she realizes now this man is a Scot, a known enemy to the English.
Is Lady Nichola able to free herself from the clutches of Alexander MacGruder, this barbaric Scotsman? Why did he kidnap her in the first place? What happens when Lord Griffin returns and he can’t find his sister anywhere within the castle walls?
I thoroughly enjoyed this Historical tale that Ms. Cosby has penned for her readers. The storyline was riveting and her characters were quite intriguing. I was immediately pulled into the story because of the intense action scenes playing out before me. When Nichola was being kidnapped, the feelings of the scene were so powerful I felt as if I was the one Alexander was really kidnapping. Ms. Cosby is an eloquent writer and she knows how to entertain her readers from the very first page. Her storyline was flawless and her characters were likeable even though some were more rough and tough than others. I couldn’t help but fall in love with Nichola because I feared for her life and I felt bad that she was dealt such a hard hand with losing her family and now with her self-destructive brother not too far behind. But, I shamefully have to admit, I fell in love with Alexander too even though he kidnapped her and was a Scot, a true enemy of England. Not to mention that his devilishly handsome looks definitely helped seal the deal with me. Ms. Cosby is a new author that I have come across and I am truly a fan after finishing this first book in the series. It’s a keeper in my library and I highly recommend you add it to yours. You won’t be disappointed with this author!
Book Blurb & Info for His Captive:
STRANGERS
With a wastrel brother and a treacherous former fiance, Lady Nichola Westcott hardly expects the dangerously seductive Scot who kidnaps her to be a man of his word. Though Sir Alexander MacGruder promises not to hurt her, Nichola's only value is as a pawn to be ransomed.
ENEMIES
Alexander's goal is to avenge his father's murder, not to become entangled with the enemy. But his desire to keep Nichola with him, in his home-- in his bed--unwittingly makes her a target for those who have no qualms about shedding English blood.
LOVERS
Now Nichola is trapped--by her powerful attraction to a man whose touch shakes her to the core. Unwilling and unable to resist each other, can Nichola and Alexander save a love that has enslaved them both?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3517
Every story starts with an idea. The source of that idea is often as interesting and varied as the stories themselves.
I got the idea for Invisible, my contemporary treasure hunt romance, when I was helping a good friend clean up after identity theft. She wanted to make herself more 'invisible' financially. We spend weeks going over the basics. One day, she turned to me and said "You should write a book about this."
"No." I shook my head. "I'm an amateur. There are experts who specialize in making people disappear."
She wrinkled up her forehead. "What type of person would specialize in THAT?"
Exactly. What type of person. And that's how I 'met' Maeve, my heroine in Invisible.
Where do your ideas come from?
Back in 2007, I visited Texas and stayed at my critique partner's home on the shores of Lake Arlington. As I stood on Dani’s dock one hot July night, I stared at her neighbor’s houses and, like any good author, wondered “what if …” What if someone tried to break into one of those estates? What type of security would they have?
Part of that is because I used to work for a security firm - I was the only woman amongst 74 men. And part of it is because my home has been burgled so I guess I'm a little paranoid and automatically look for how safe a place is. But the writer-side of me also asked ... What type of person would answer the call? What would they be thinking? Doing? Looking for? I also asked What type of person lives in that house, and who would be breaking into it?
I may have been influenced a bit by Charlize Theron's character in the Italian Job - where she breaks into safes for a living. And the heroine in Private Property was born. The person breaking into it worked for the security company - was trying to prove the security was inadequate. But since I write romance, I needed a hero. The owner? Maybe. How about her boss? Possibly. And since I write erotic romance, that part of my brain answered ... Why not both?
With true Texas hospitality, two larger-than-life heroes started telling me their stories. Now what author in her right mind can resist listening to those sweet-talking southern gentlemen when they so graciously talk about the kick-ass heroines who tame them? And so the beginnings of Private Property was born.
Leah Braemel
www.LeahBraemel.com
PRIVATE PROPERTY
PERSONAL PROTECTION (May 12, 2009)
Well, a lot of time my answer is along the lines of "...uh...I dunno..."
But for My Lady, I do have a definitive answer. It came from the 80's movie Labyrinth, with David Bowie. I was watching it one night with my oldest daughter and one of the scenes at the end caught my interest. I've seen that movie dozens of time, and I always liked this particular scene, but for some reason, it really stuck in my head that time.
It was one of the end scenes between Jareth (the goblin king) and Sarah. He said, "I ask for so little. Just fear me, love me, do as I say and I will be your slave."
And I started thinking about a book where the goblin king wasn't the bad guy. The idea evolved from there.
Of course, my goblins don't look anything like the goblins in the movie...
As to my fascination with elves, I guess it probably started with that movie, too. I'm pretty sure my mom took me to see it when I was about 9 or 10, the same age as my daughter. I started enjoying fantasy type stories then, although I didn't start reading fantasy until I was in eighth or ninth grade-it was Mercedes Lackey, her Oath series. From there, I went on to reading more fantasy stories and started writing them, too.
Shiloh Walker
www.shilohwalker.com/
THE HUNTERS
MY LADY
My husband and I own a Harley, so my Wild Riders series was born of our love
for riding. Riding On Instinct, the third book in this series, is about a
biker and a federal agent who go undercover as a stripper and her bodyguard
at a club in New Orleans. I've been to New Orleans several times, both
before and after Katrina. Touring New Orleans after Katrina touched my heart
and I wanted to bring that to this book. I also wanted to show, especially
in a particular scene in that book, that some parts of New Orleans will
never be the same again after Katrina. It's a very emotional and pivotal
scene between Spence and Shadoe and changes the way they relate to each
other.
Jaci Burton
www.jaciburton.com/
WILD RIDERS
RIDING ON INSTINCT
The idea for Golden Enchantment came about over the span of several decades living in southwestern New Mexico. There is a wealth of history in the state dating back to the days of Coronado and various expeditions financed and led by the Spaniards. The conquistadores left behind not only their ancient footsteps, but various items, and it was not at all farfetched to imagine that at least one of them carried gold, became greedy, and was threatened by native peoples - so much so that he buried his treasure with the intent of later retrieving it. Personally, I have found many items of great worth just by hiking the hills and deserts and keeping my eyes peeled - anything from arrowheads to old buttons to complete Mogollon pottery and even documents.
Because I so deeply love the old west, I decided to place my plucky heroine with old treasure map in hand, on a ranch where she could search for buried gold left behind centuries ago by the first explorers. If I had lived in the wild west, I would have wanted to be Andrea Alexander. I modeled her as a strong and independent woman who not only learned to live in a harsh land, but came to love it.
Candace Morehouse
www.candacemorehouse.com/
GOLDEN ENCHANTMENT
SUSPICION OF LOVE
Kimber Chin finds story starters everywhere. Every month, she shares an original short story and gives away her favorite Romance eBook on http://businessromance.com/
I am so excited to be here at Night Owl Romance nearly one month to the day of the release of Soul Stealer, from Samhain Publishing. And to find out it is a Reviewer Top Pick? I'm throwing confetti and giving you all a slice of virtual chocolate cake.
One of the questions I've heard recently is—was getting published all you thought it would be. My answer? No, yes, sort of.
Let me explain. I've been writing stories for over twenty years and working my tailend off to get them published for the past five. When I first started dreaming this published author's dream it went something like this:
I sit down at the computer and lovely, thought-provoking, intelligent, heart-touching words effortlessly flow onto the page. The number one agent in the world reads my first draft and begs to represent me and my undeniable greatness. The next day I sign the publishing contract and deposit my six-figure check while the Publishing House sets up a round-the-world book signing tour with stops in Greece, Rome, and Barcelona.
Yeah right. Sorry, folks, it doesn’t work that way, and never will.
To my utter surprise, I found out that getting published is…what’s the word?…HARD. After being smacked upside the head with the gruesome truth I put away my notions of over-night success. Such a beast, like Big Foot, might exist, but is too hard to pin down and probably stinks in person.
Let me tell you what worked for me. I stopped dreaming about success and started fighting for it.
To be a contender, I knew I had to put my butt in the chair every day except Sunday. That’s six days a week, even during holidays. Writing two pages a day, I can generate an entire manuscript in four months. Four months, people! Writing mostly is pure joy for me, but many days I grappled with the words and wrestled them onto the page. Every step was a badge of honor, a demon slayed.
Any true fighter will tell you, they practice, workout, sweat. Writing is no different. I needed to hone my talents, sharpen my skills and get educated. I took classes, went to conferences and joined writer’s forums and associations. And I read lots and lots of books, studying how authors grab me by the scruff of my neck and yank me into their stories. I appointed myself an apprentice and learned.
The one key weapon writing warriors told me I needed in my arsenal was determination. Every rejection was a slap, kick to the gut, knock to the ground. I had to learn how to get up, dust myself off and head back into the battle. You can't win the war if you quit. I was determined to succeed.
And I did. Soul Stealer, Night Owl Romance's Reviewer Top Pick, is available from Samhain Publishing. My second novel from Samhain, Catch Me in Castile, is coming August 2009.
So was getting published what I expected? Not exactly, but I tell you the wait and the struggles have made it oh so very sweet.
I'd be happy to answer any questions about my debut novel or writing in general.
http://samhainpublishing.com/authors/kimberley-troutte
http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/shop/product.da/soul-stealer
Having said that, I knew that this week I had to pick a review to showcase to everyone that would be hot and sexy, along with having it warm my heart and body at the same time - something that the sun hasn't been doing for me lately. So knowing what I was looking for, I knew immediately what story would hit the spot perfectly. Without further ado, I'd like to showcase to you this week: Going Commando by Catherine Chernow. I've had the pleasure of reading many of Ms. Chernow's stories and I'm thrilled to tell our NOR readers that she writes stories that could satisfy anyone's palate, along with fitting into everyone's budget just the same. This story is on the shorter side so you can easily fit it into your busy schedule without a problem. If you are new to Ms. Chernow's writing style, this one is a perfect story to start with. She is an extremely talented author and once you read this story, I know you'll be just as hooked as I am!
If you would like to find out more about this author and see what she has available for her readers to buy, please visit her at: http://www.catherinechernow.com/.
Thanks to all who stopped by today and please feel free to come visit me next Thursday to see what else I have to offer in my reviewer's showcase. Have a great week everyone!
Going Commando
Author: Catherine Chernow (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary - Erotic Romance
Review Date: 4/7/2009
E-Book Price: $3.00
Resplendence -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Going Commando - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Being so enthusiastic about the whole idea, she emails her best friend Donna and shares what she is going to do. She’s so wrapped up in this liberating movement that she hits the send key and never realizes that instead of emailing Donna, she had already clicked on Derek Grayson’s name instead, which just so happens to be her boss, and sent this personal email to him.
When Derek opens up the email from Shyra he doesn’t believe his eyes when he reads that she will be going commando today. His hormones kick into overdrive and he finds it extremely erotic that Shyra is going panty free and that she let him know about it too. Derek has always been polite and professional with her and he is going crazy now because he’s so attracted to Shyra’s voluptuous body and everything she stands for.
Does Derek ever confront Shyra about the erotic email or does he keep quiet about it with her? Could this be his breaking point in which he tells Shyra how he feels about her?
Ms. Chernow knows how to write hot, sexy stories for her readers to lose themselves in. This is a short story that can be fit into anyone’s hectic schedule and it will definitely make you want to turn the pages as quickly as you can. I loved this fun and exciting storyline the author created and I couldn’t help but fall in love with Shyra and Derek. Deep down I was hoping the whole time that Derek would get the nerve up to confront Shyra about her provocative email and he would use it as a stepping stone to tell her just how he was feeling about her after all this time that they’ve worked together. Ms. Chernow is an author you shouldn’t pass up and she writes stories that will fit everyone’s tastes. Don’t just take my word for it though, pick up one of her stories and find out for yourself. You won’t be disappointed!
Book Blurb & Info for Going Commando
Inhibitions fade as the body is unclothed, lust spawns danger when she decides she's …going commando.
Bounty hunter Shyra Lawrence listens to her favorite radio station one morning - where the DJ's are discussing 'going commando' - a.k.a, wearing no undies. She's captivated by their conversation, and decides to shed her panties in favor of 'going commando' and the freedom that wearing no underwear brings. Enthusiastic Shyra sends an email to her best friend, Donna, detailing the delights of panty-freedom, but unbeknownst to Shyra, she's hit the 'send' key...to the wrong email addy!
Derek Grayson, a.k.a, Wolf, the Bounty Hunter, is New York City 's hottest celebrity. He's got his own reality show about bounty hunting...and he's Shyra's boss. When he opens his emails that morning, he discovers that his #1 employee and top bounty hunter, Shyra Lawrence, has sent him an erotic, enticing message about 'going commando.' Derek has always been polite, professional and so damned attracted to Shyra that it's almost painful! Working day in and day out with the voluptuous Shyra has sent Derek's hormones into overdrive on more than one occasion.
Now, Shyra's shed her panties and Derek's got all he can do to contain his lust when she announces that she's...
GOING COMMANDO.
The RR Orney Eleven will be giving away three $5.00 gift certificates for Ravenous on three random stops. You won’t know which ones until the tour is over, so visit as many as you can!
Winners will be contacted by email (so make sure to leave your email addresses in your comments!) and the official announcement will be made on May 9th, here at Night Owl Romance and at Zhadi's Den!
Schedule:
Blog Stop Urls
Zhadi’s Den – http://www.danafredsti.com/blog
Jennifer's Random Musings http://jennifersrandommusings.wordpress.com/
Unbound - http://hagelrat.blogspot.com/
Talk about My Favorite Authors - http://talkaboutmyfavoriteauthors.blogspot.com/
Kissa Starling - http://kissastarling.com/blog/
The Countess: http://trishwilson.typepad.com/blog/
PNR Inklings Blog at ParaNormal Romance: http://pnrinklings.com/
Wicked Thorn and Roses: http://wickedthornandroses.blogspot.com/
Sia McKaye's Thoughts On... : http://siamckye.blogspot.com/
Bookwenches: http://www.bookwenches.com/
Neve Black : http://www.neveblack.com/blog
Night Owl Romance http://www.nightowlromanceblog.blogspot.com/
Inara LaVey – http://www.danafredsti.com/
Jamaica Layne – http://www.jamaicalayne.com/
C. Margery Kempe – http://www.cmkempe.com/
Lisa Lane - http://www.cerebralwriter.weebly.com/
Elle Amery – http://www.elleamery.com/
Isabel Roman - http://www.isabelroman.com/
Savannah Chase – http://www.savannahchase.com/
Neve Black – http://www.neveblack.com/
Sèphera Girón – http://www.sepheragiron.com/
Angela Cameron - http://www.angela-cameron.com/
EM Lynley - http://www.emlynley.com/
New Ravenous Author blog – http://www.rrauthors.blogspot.com/
The Geography of Romance
Research is the bane of some authors’ existence, but not mine. I love researching the times and places in which I set my books and sometimes I wonder if I set out to place a book in some new time or area just so I can spend lovely hours staring at photos of England or Germany, or reading weird and wonderful history of Yorkshire England, Belgium, The Dark Forest region of Germany. I adore researching artists of the time and study old paintings for clothing details, landscape, houses.
But as much as I thoroughly enjoyed researching Germany and despite setting the first two books of my paranormal Awaiting series there, I then moved Book 3 to England. I had wanted to take the series to Russia, but after some prodding from my editor, I caved. After all, I know the truth: North Americans are much more likely to buy a historical romance if it is set in England.
Why is that, do you think? Why do we have this connection to all things British (and in many cases, Scottish). Is it those aristocratic titles? Lord Handsome-DeVille, Lady Lovely? Or is it those beautiful, stately houses: castles, manors, halls, lodges, parks, mansions?
I think that for many of us it is the sense of the exotic, but still recognizable. We may know next to nothing about English history, but it feels familiar, perhaps soaked into our DNA from years of BBC and PBS teleplays, movies and documentaries. I set Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark (Sourcebooks Casablanca – April 2009) in Yorkshire, but also I set it in 1786, the late Georgian era, which, given that most of my knowledge is about the Regency period, altered the amount I knew about both the area and the settings, giving me lots and lots of lovely research to do!
So… why Yorkshire? Well, that particular county is big and rugged (kind of like the hero, Lord Darkefell) and moody and mysterious (again, Lord Darkefell) and a little wild, with the sense that anything can happen there, and—you got it—that echoes my sense of Lord Darkefell’s personality. There is murder and mayhem in ‘Howl’, and dark secrets, and the people of Yorkshire have historically been viewed (fairly or not) as close-mouthed and secretive. Even his title, ‘Marquess of Darkefell’, held the sense of mystery and referred to the faintly ominous Yorkshire ‘fells’, the rocky highlands.
In essence, I was using Yorkshire as kind of a shorthand for certain moods and feelings I wanted to convey. It is no surprise that the prototypical Gothic romance (or anti-romance) novel of all time, Wuthering Heights, makes use of that same sense of menace and danger.
It seems to me that different parts of England come with notions attached, as realistic or unrealistic as they may be. When I was working on the overall idea for the Lady Anne series, I knew it was going to be set in England. The book starts with a murder and a meeting between Lady Anne Addison, a stubborn nosey spinster, and Lord Anthony Darkefell, a powerful, moody marquess. So to get that kind of mood of menace and darkness, there was only one place in England right for the first book; Lady Anne and the Howl in the Dark would take place in Yorkshire.
I do want to stress here, though, that this has everything to do with perception and legend and nothing with reality. It is the world I am imagining for my series, and I’m making use of fictional archetypes, which are just that, fictional. I would imagine most Yorkish folk are quite cheery, and not all that mysterious. I have a close relation who is originally from Yorkshire, and she is vivacious and talkative.
The second book, Lady Anne and the Ghost’s Revenge, (Sourcebooks Casablanca – August 2009) has Anne scurrying away from Yorkshire and heading south, kind of like a modern day woman would escape south to somewhere tropical, warm and sunny. So where would that be in England, I wondered? Well, Cornwall, of course. Did you know that palm trees grow in Cornwall? Not naturally, of course, and not in the Georgian time, in which Lady Anne is set, but it is that warm and sheltered, the perfect place for a gal to get away from it all.
But Cornwall is also known for its smugglers and the standoffish nature of those who have been trying to protect their native language—Cornish—for quite a long time now. That insular attitude, and a sense that the people close in against ‘outsiders’ made Cornwall the perfect place to set the second book, because it echoed the claustrophobic sense in the novel that something is going on, but people aren’t talking about it, especially to an outsider like Lady Anne.
But for the third book, Lady Anne and the Gypsy Curse, (Sourcebooks Casablanca – November 2009) where Anne is really thinking things over, (including the memorable Lord Darkefell) I sent her home to Harecross Hall, in the eastern part of Kent. My sense of Kent is that it is often lovely and serene, warm in summer, an agricultural paradise for the hops growing industry of the Georgian period. It represents, for Anne, peace and harmony, family, home. And yet, she can’t stop thinking of the wild and rugged Yorkshire. And wild and rugged Lord Darkefell.
If other writers are like I am, then their settings are not arbitrary, but mean something to the plot and characters. For those of us readers and writers of fiction set in England, the various parts of the country become symbols, in a way, or motifs to use as background fodder, or even as part of the characterization. Bath, England equals genteel and valetudinarian. Bristol? A bustling shipping port, active and industrious, busy. The Cotswolds… a bucolic and gentle place of rolling hills, quaint villages and stone cottages.
How do those who reside in England feel about this, I wonder? It’s flattering, I suppose, to their country that so many of us write about it, read about it, dream about it, and make up itineraries of places we’d like to go, things we’d like to see. I’d like to visit Steventon, of course, and see the Pennines, walk the Dales, visit Bath. I’ve been to London, taken a boat along the Thames, and had my photo taken in front of Buckingham Palace. The England of fiction is probably a different country than the real thing, but it’s a place we all happily visit. I don’t see that changing any time soon. As long as people read Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, modern writers will set their romances there, in that fictional England.
To visit my fictional world, and learn more about Lady Anne Addison and Lord Anthony Darkefell, come see me at http://www.donnaleasimpson.com/!
I don’t know about you, but when I watch/read the news I’m fascinated by the quirky minor stories. You know, the ones that are tucked away before the sports section and placed well after all the relevant ‘doom and gloom’ stuff that is fed to us on a daily basis. They are usually weird human interest stories, and sometimes, just sometimes, they are a great inspiration for things in my writing. Nothing weirder than humanity…well, ‘in-law’s aside, that is (‘cause we all know ‘in-laws’ are from Titan or some other distant place like that).
Yesterday, what was I more interested in? Nope, not the G20 summit or whether or not there is going to be an interest rate cut. Not at all. I was interested in a story that featured a skeleton up a tree. And not just any skeleton, mind you. This one was 30 years old. Yep. That’s right. In Germany 30 years ago an elderly man climbed a tree and shot himself.
Which begs the question…
If you’re going to kill yourself, surely you could think up of a better place to do it than up a spruce tree where you won’t be found for 30 years! It was only found because a young hiker stumbled across a bone while walking through the forest. Said hiker then took the bone to the police, who then, naturally, searched the area. Low and behold, 11 metres (20 feet or so) off the ground there was a skeleton tangled in the branches. Next to the skeleton was a pistol dangling from a rope (I want to know which hardware store he bought that rope from ‘cause for it to last 30 years in all weather it must be damn good stuff)
Then again, 30 years ago was there a tree there? Perhaps he shot himself in the forest and a tree grew around him? Why did he go into the forest to do it anyway? Did he have any relatives that cared? (He was reported missing) Nothing better than a mystery, is there?
Then there’s the ultimate question, the one that has plagued me since I first heard this story. If a man shoots himself in a forest and no one hears, did it really happen?
So with this skeleton story in mind, I think writing, too, should hold some mystery for readers.
When I read a book I like to have some things left to my own imagination, especially when it comes to scene setting and descriptive details. There’s nothing worse than having to wade through pages and pages of exposition or information dump that has really nothing to do with the plot. As a writer we want to hold the reader right until the very last sentence. If, for example, that skeleton story started yabbering on about the variety of spruce or the describing the forest and the effects of climate change upon it, then it would have taken the focus away from what really mattered: why was the skeleton there.
There…that’s my quirk out the way—well one of them anyway. As for my reason for blogging here, it’s all about me letting you know about my book the “Call of the Hunted”. Available now from eXtasy books.
Here is the extract to help entice you.
The widdershins, an ancient creature that has walked the Earth for an eternity, calls out in the night for a companion. He has been alone for so long and yearns for another. When he comes to a small farming community, he calls out again, desperate to find the one that will love him and accept him for who and what he is, a being of great power hunted for an eternity by those that fear him.
This time someone unexpected answers his call.
A young man named Kayvan who has the exuberance and innocence of youth as well as being filled with everything that is pure and good comes to the widdershins. Will the widdershins accept Kayvan? And more importantly, what will happen if he does?
So there you have it. Also, one lucky person will win a free copy of the eBook “Call of the Hunted”. All you have to do is comment. Simple, hey?
Oh, I have a new ‘announcement’ only blog. Go here http://markalders.tumblr.com/ and check it out. It’s the place where I will place my writing news and up-coming releases, including stuff I submit to publishers and/or agents.
I also blog at the Wicked Thorn and Roses Blog http://wickedthornandroses.blogspot.com/
Welcome NOR readers to my Thursday showcase of reviews. I had the pleasure of reading a wonderful story recently that I just have to tell you about. So without further ado, let me showcase for you: Rules of Fire by Tia Fanning. This is the second story in her "Rules" series and it thoroughly entertained me from start to finish. Ms. Fanning knows how to pull you into her stories and keep you sitting on the edge of your seat the entire time you're reading. I love the idea of each "Rules" book being part of a series, but each book is completely different from one another. Ms. Fanning writes under many genres and this will appeal to many readers because she is so diverse in her writing. Her characters are so creatively written and the backdrop she picks for each storyline is original with each book she writes. If you haven't read one of Ms. Fanning's stories already, you must pick one up to see what I'm talking about. Once you start reading one of her stories, you will see just how creative and talented she really is.
For those readers who would like to start off with the first book in the series, you can click on this link: http://www.resplendencepublishing.com/m8_view_item.html?m8:item=05-201-107-411-1 for Rules of Darkness (Book 1).
If you would like to find out more about Ms. Fanning, please visit her at either: http://www.tiafanning.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/tiafanning.
Rules of Fire (Book 2)
Author: Tia Fanning (Author Website)
Genre(s): Paranormal
Review Date: 4/7/2009
E-Book Price: $5.50
Resplendence -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Rules of Fire - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Angel is not your average twenty-one year old. She holds a deep, dark secret from her family and friends and for the last seven years of her life she has secretly followed the seven Rules of Fire. If she doesn’t obey these rules, something as simple as fire could change her life forever.
Living these Rules of Fire has caused Angel to live a very burdened and hindered life. In fear of being anywhere near an open flame, she has altered her life drastically and has impacted her family’s life beyond her control. Her life depends on not being near an open flame or smoke and she will do anything she has to in order to save herself and everyone she holds near and dear to her heart.
If this isn’t complicated enough for her already, she is being summoned by a handsome prince from a far away land. Although this sounds like a fairytale in the making, it is truly a nightmare in every aspect of the word.
Does Angel ever finally tell her family and friends what happened to her seven years ago that made her change her life forever? Does Angel remain faithful to the Rules of Fire that she must obey? Where does the handsome prince fit into this puzzle and what does he want from Angel?
Ms. Fanning outdid herself yet again with this second story in the series and I found myself glued to the book. The author created a unique storyline and developed colorfully entertaining characters that just jumped off the pages at me. I loved the idea of Angel having to follow the Rules of Fire, but I felt terrible that she had kept her secret from her family and friends for so long. She carried the burden on her shoulders alone and didn’t want to have anyone near and dear to her injured or killed because of this secret. Ms. Fanning had me so engrossed in this wonderful story that I lost track of time and place while I was reading it. I felt as if I was transported right into the storyline with the characters and that I was seeing everything firsthand the entire time. There were quite a few times I found my pulse racing and my heart beating fast as I turned the pages and became more involved within the story. This is definitely a must read and I know you will enjoy it as much as I did. I highly recommend this story and anxiously wait to see what Ms. Fanning will release next.
Book Blurb & Info for Rules of Fire
Once upon time, a long time ago, in a far away land, a young girl journeyed to a magical desert temple and met a handsome prince.
To most, this sounds like the start of a beautiful fairytale. To me, it’s the start of a horrible nightmare.
My name is Angel, and I am that young girl all grown up. You might have noticed me around. I am that “strange chick” everyone talks about— the one who enters a room and somehow causes all illuminated candles to extinguish. The one who has an irrational fear of salamanders. The one who freaks out and runs away every time she sees a large bird with crimson and gold feathers.
But if you knew the rest of the tale, you would understand.
I have spent the last seven years of my life secretly following the Rules of Fire. My family and friends have no idea of the danger I’m in, nor can they fathom how something as simple and elemental as fire can be my undoing. They don’t know that, just beyond the flickering flames, he beckons me...
And I yearn to go to him.
Review available at: http://nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3482
We've all had our moments of revelation, that great idea that comes to us in the shower with shampoo in our eyes or creeps in while we sit on a mountaintop contemplating a glorious view. These are the moments when an idea hits with such force that you have to act upon it. For a romance writer, these moments are precious gifts that make the craft so much fun.
Most often, inspiration surprises me in the shower or just before falling asleep - when my defenses are down and I'm relaxed. Consciousness can step aside and let imagination play. Sometimes I've been so energized by a great idea that I have to run out of the shower or climb out of bed and run for my notebook to jot down that idea! Recently, sick of dripping water all over the floor - I've learned to develop mnemonics to let me remember those flashes of inspiration without running naked through the house (I'll save that for research!)
But sometimes I go through a dry spell when inspiration and motivation seem to be hiding and my muse has dashed off to Vegas to play the slots. So, I have to make my own inspiration. It's not all "eureka" moments. I walk around all the time with a notebook full of notes and observations about the world. It could be the guy with the amazing 70's ensemble, complete with sparkly belt buckle, pumping gas next to me, the sexy accent I hear from a customer service agent over the phone, the smile on a guy on an ad on TV, the unique nose on a checker in the grocery store. All of these might be the inspiration for a scene, a character or even a whole book.
All of life is inspiration and writing makes me appreciate the mundane wonder of the everyday all the more.
My latest book, Command the Wind, came to me in a flash. I finally made the time to watch a great movie, "Elizabeth: The Golden Age". I adore history, and Elizabeth I is one of my favorite historical persons. In the movie, there is a fabulous line, "I too can Command the Wind!" This sent a chill through me (and so it should, Cate Blanchett gives a scintillating performance), and immediately the plot for my latest Passion Magic story began to unfold. Together, my hero and heroine find their powers together, and working in concert use their magic and their love to help defeat the Spanish Armada. Elizabethan England is a fascinating time, and I think this flash of inspiration gave me the beginnings of a truly hot and memorable romance! I hope you enjoy Command the Wind, coming out on April 10th at Ellora's Cave!
By Kathryn Nelson - Author of Pemberley Manor
There’s only one thing worse than a story of a honeymoon gone wrong, and that’s when the honeymoon of the first couple in romance goes wrong! After the excruciatingly difficult path that Jane Austen led Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy down to reach their “happily ever after,” could their wedding night be a disaster?
I have to say that I saw it coming. Two characters who were so sure of themselves and yet so prone to say the wrong thing at the wrong time were bound to have some trouble adjusting to being married. The fact that Lizzy and Darcy reach the end of Pride and Prejudice in a state of bliss doesn’t clear them of all the missteps they took during the course of their romance. I found myself scratching my head as I read for the umpteenth time how one angry rejection from Elizabeth reshaped Darcy’s entire temperament. Miss Austen informs us of his true (former) character:
I have been a selfish being all my life in practice, though not in principle. As a child I was taught what was right, but I was not taught to correct my temper. I was given good principles, but left to follow them in pride and conceit…I was spoiled by my parents, who…allowed, encouraged, almost taught me to be selfish and overbearing, to care for none beyond my own family circle, to think meanly of all the rest of the world …Such I was from eight to eight and twenty; and such I might still have been but for you, dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!
Now, really. Is he not likely to have a slight reversion to type after he secures her affections? And Elizabeth was schooled by her father to think herself beyond reproach, the most sensible of his daughters. Scant praise coming from the man who failed to keep his little daughter Lydia from running headlong into scandal. As Elizabeth herself admits to her sister Jane upon hearing of Jane’s engagement to Bingley:
“If you were to give me forty such men, I never could be so happy as you. Till I have your disposition, your goodness, I never can have your happiness.”
It only remains to be seen which one of the happy couple makes the first blunder. My money was on Darcy, as only the most extraordinarily mindless passion would cause a man to attempt to revise his entire character in the space of a few weeks. Mindless passion is always going to create a little friction.
“The scent of her perfume, the blush that spread along her cheeks, and her nervous smile drove from him every sense but that of his passion, so long repressed. He lifted her to her feet and began to kiss her with such abandon that she could not prevent her body from stiffening in his embrace.
This is more than Elizabeth had bargained for, and when the groom realizes he has terrified the bride, he races from the room and, in typical Darcy style, goes off alone to think. Elizabeth struggles valiantly for some time with the confusion, but as she is wont to do, she soon leaps to a conclusion without reference to facts.
“Pity him! Why should I? If he suffers it is by his choice, not mine.” In the flush of her anger, she began to recite a litany of every previous example of his incivility…Her anger towards him was soon supplanted by reproach for herself, that his recent attentiveness should have so easily persuaded her to forget the indignity of those early meetings. “I was such a fool to believe that on the strength of my disapprobation alone his very nature could be overthrown!” she railed.
The reunion is, of course, deliciously, if discretely, passionate, but it is only the beginning of a litany of confusions that are to follow as the two work through the obstacles to their ultimate happiness. In Pemberley Manor, I conjured up a past that might explain the difficulty of Darcy’s temperament, and tested the strength of Elizabeth’s optimism and humor in dealing with his attempts to put that past to rest.
Laurel Ann has just written a lovely review in Austenprose: “The story is compelling, with a haunting mystery suggestive of du Maurier’s Rebecca, and the extended tensions and anguish of Bronte’s Jane Eyre, all combined with a historical romantic fiction.” I was pleased that she also found the humor: “Their conversations run hot and cold to downright hilarious.”
I’ve always longed for hilarious in my writing. My own take on Pemberley Manor is “Wuthering Heights meets Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man.”
Thanks for inviting me to the Night Owl. I hope you enjoy reading Pemberley Manor half as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know…
Hi NOR readers! Are you looking for a fresh and new Historical Fantasy to read, but haven't found one yet that tickles your fancy? Well, do I have one for you that's a must have in every library. This week I want to tell you about Shadow Magic: Sisters of Magic trilogy Book 1 by Donna Grant. This story had me glued to my chair as I was reading it. I wanted Drogan and Serena to work through all the obstacles that were being tossed their way while on their journey together to his castle. This journey was being made ultimately to protect and hide his best friend, Gerard and his family, from the evil darkness that was lurking around waiting to consume Drogan and Gerard's soul.
This is a story that pulls you into the storyline and keeps you entertained while you're turning the pages. I am so happy to hear that this is only the first in a three book series. The author is new to me and I am grateful that I stumbled upon her work. I can't wait to read the other two books in the series. I'm sure you will enjoy this story as much as I did. This is definitely one you shouldn't pass up.
If you would like to find out more about this talented author and other stories she has published or may be working on, please feel free to browse her website at: http://www.donnagrant.com/.
Shadow Magic
(Sisters of Magic trilogy Book 1)
Author: Donna Grant (Author Website)
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic - Historical
Review Date: 3/24/2009
ISBN: 978-1-60088-348-4
E-Book Price: $6.99
Cobblestone Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Shadow Magic - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Drogan, a wise and strong knight who has done years of service to the king and has partaken in numerous deeds directed by the king, has only come away from his loyal service with horrendous nightmares and insurmountable guilt that outweighs more than any one person should have to bear to suffer from. Dealing with the evil that follows him now because he has done his knightly duties to the king, Drogan decides that he must live his life in solitude, not subjecting anyone else with the darkness that consumes him daily. Fearful that the darkness will eventually claim his soul, he sets out to protect his best friend, Gerard and his family, ensuring that Gerard will be spared of his life even though they fought side by side together in many heinous acts.
In protecting Gerard and his family, Drogan is introduced to a close friend of theirs, Serena, who happens to be a witch. She has the ability to see into a person’s future and see how their life will play out for them. She too is burdened with a curse, though hers has been passed down from generation to generation and she suffers the ramifications from it daily. But when Drogan and her meet for the first time, sparks fly and there is an immediate attraction. This attraction puts both Serena and Drogan on edge, for they both know they can’t allow themselves to get close to anyone because of the endless burdens they carry upon their shoulders.
Even though both are fighting off their own demons, do they make an attempt to get to know each other? What could be the consequences of their actions toward one another? Do they live to see both their futures play out before them?
I fell instantly in love with this story from Ms. Grant. The storyline was quite intriguing and held my attention until the very last page. I couldn’t wait to find out just who the evil person was that was preying more so on Drogan’s life and I wanted to find out why Serena’s poor family was cursed for endless generations. The story was very well written and the character development was perfect. I was transported in the story and saw first-hand everything playing out before me. I fell in love with Drogan because of his loyalty to the king and his friends and I fell equally in love with Serena because of her quiet and loving nature she displayed toward Gerard, his family and everyone she deeply cared about. I wanted to see both Drogan and Serena get past the burdens they carried and possibly embark on a new road together free from any hang-ups that plagued them for years. Ms. Grant did a wonderful job telling this story and I eagerly look forward to reading the other stories in this trilogy. I highly recommend this story to others and have made it a keeper in my library. Ms. Grant is a talented writer that you shouldn’t pass up.
Book Blurb & Info for Shadow Magic: Sisters of Magic trilogy (Book 1)
Sisters of Magic 1
With a past soaked in sin and darkness slowly closing in around him to claim his soul, Drogan only wants to live his life in solitude. Years in the king’s service and his numerous deeds directed by the crown have left Drogan with horrendous nightmares and immeasurable guilt.
Serena is a witch, cursed and forever alone. She accepts her future. Until she meets Drogan. With Drogan a passion deep and unyielding awakens inside her. She is willing to sacrifice herself for his love, but can he put his past to rest and embrace the future?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3398
Cowabunga! One year and two days ago, my debut book with Berkley Publishing was released, and what a ride it was! I was kindly invited to do a blitz of blogs, and participated in my first booksignings, and the pure high of having La Vida Vampire hit the shelves was exhilarating.
Was it all smooth surfing? Matter of fact, no.
A writer is in control of only a few aspects of the publishing business. (1) Writing the best book possible in the moment. (2) Turning the book, copy edits, etc. in on time. Yes, we promote our books – and our names – but being a brand new author with zip name recognition and newbie swimming the promotion ocean was a challenge all by itself, and a whole ‘nother level of putting myself on the line.
Am I complaining? Heaven’s no!
I was stoked that La Vida Vampire received wonderful reviews, and if I’m not world-class at self-promotion, I became more comfortable with the process. Still, as La Vida Vampire was released and as I wrote and polished my second book, doubts pummeled me now and then with one burning question: With all the choices in books, in paranormal books, and in vampire books specifically, would readers buy mine and enjoy it?
Through those moments of doubt, readers came through and kept me sane.
Some readers let me know that reading my book turned the bummer day they were having into a good day. Others told me how much fun they had visiting – or revisiting – the city of St. Augustine in the pages of my book. Still others said they enjoyed my different take on vampires. I’ve experienced the joy of meeting readers at booksignings, but have also met readers visiting in town to have ice cream or coffee together. I’ll continue to answer each reader letter and to keep each one as a treasure – not to bolster my ego, but because each one has touched my writer heart. Each affirmed that my book, my work, held value.
A few kind words sing with power.
Now Last Vampire Standing is to be released May 5th. Am I amped? Oh, yes! The second book in the series is getting lovely reviews, and that’s a thrill. It’s also a comfort to know that, if doubts threaten to dump me in churning surf, readers will be on shore with their kind support.
The same kind of support I’ve always given to the authors whose books feed my need to read.
I see writers and readers as partners, and I wouldn’t have it any other way! How about you? Whether you’re strictly a reader or a writer-reader, do you let authors know when you enjoy their books? Why or why not? Inquiring minds want your take on the question!
Visit Nancy at http://www.nancyhaddock.com/ and participate in her Where’s Cesca contests on the Beach Party page.
In writing paranormal romantic mystery, Nancy drew on her long experience with things-that-go-bump, and on the historic wealth of St. Augustine, Florida. She writes full-time, and is a dedicated resident-tourist who never gets tired of exploring the sights of her new hometown.
_____________________
Purchase La Vida Vampire
Hi NOR bloggers, I am Renee Reeves, author of Night Angel, and I am extremely excited to be here tonight. As a new author I have been asked repeatedly what made me decide to try my hand at writing, so I thought it might be an interesting first-time blog topic for me. The answer to that question is simple--my love of books. As a child my favorite past-times were the library and horses. If I was not on a horse I could usually be found curled up with a book, sometimes even lying against my pony's stomach while she napped!! My mother, a single mother and avid reader herself, always encouraged my love of books and took me to book fairs and library sales every chance we got. But then, when I was about 14 or 15 I discovered my first romance book. It was in a box in my mother's closet and was titled 'A Rose In Winter' by Kathleen Woodiwiss. I fell instantly in love and after reading numerous romances I decided to try and write one.
Through the years I have written many stories and then thrown them away for many reasons--lack of confidance, a lack of knowledge on how to get published, no luck finding an agent, etc, etc...Finally at 32 years of age I said to myself, "Darn it! Write a story, FINSH it and send it out!" So while on vacation with my hubby and mother in SC several years ago we stopped to check out the Sheldon Church Ruins. Absolutely beautiful!! Pictures and scenes (enough for several stories) started popping into my head and the scene in Night Angel when Nick first see's Morgan was born. Originally the story was set in SC, but as I wrote and developed their lives I decided that a more secluded region of the US fit Nick and Morgan's personalities and desires better. Montana popped into my head and stayed. I also wanted to write a more simple story, one that focused on the characters inner emotions and demons rather than having a couple meet, and then have to fight off a psycho, solve a crime or mystery, or battle to save the world all while trying to grow and develop their relationship. That got a little tiring to me after a while and lets face it, everyday romances are not like that. Most of us meet someone, go on dates, and then work from there. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. But our backgrounds and life lessons do have a say in who we choose or who we are compatible with. Sometimes the first time around is a mistake and you have to start all over.
Night Angel is all about Nick and Morgan's past lives and how it affects them now. In Nick's case it's his label as an ex-con (if you want to know why he's an ex-con you have to read the story). Even though he is now a very successful horse trainer he still let's that ex-con label haunt him to the point of making him feel unworthy of someone loving him. Morgan has some of the same issues and has moved to Montana to start her life from scratch. She survived an abusive marriage but still lives everyday with mental and physical reminders of that trauma. So much so that her self-esteem is almost zero and she trusts no one. Especially not a man! Much less a man like Nick...so Night Angel, for me, was all about getting back to the basic struggles in a new relationship, and trying to help Nick and Morgan heal from their pasts.
On an end note I am pleased to announce that Night Angel just received NOR's TOP PICK review award!! Thank you all for taking the time to read my post and good luck in the contest.
I like to start every story with “wouldn’t it be wonderful if”, and I didn’t break that tradition with A Duke To Die For. Though I would like to take credit for coming up with that phrase, I can’t. I heard a Harlequin editor say it in a workshop several years ago, and took it as my motto and it’s never let me down.
When I started thinking about an idea for a new Regency story, my first thought was “wouldn’t it be wonderful if my heroine was a young lady who desperately wanted to be in charge of her own life, but couldn’t because her father’s will said she must have a guardian?” That sounded intriguing to me so I kept going.
Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the heroine’s new guardian was a young and handsome, eligible duke who set her heart to racing? Oh, yes, I really liked that idea. And, wouldn’t it be wonderful if his life was chaotic and undisciplined, and he needed an organized and orderly person just like my heroine in his life? Hey, opposites attract so that worked for me.
I keep going with my motto until I have the entire romance of the story plotted with these kinds of sentences, right down to the last wouldn’t it be wonderful if the duke decided he didn’t want the heroine to marry anyone but him, and he knew exactly how to woo her back into his arms?
I think you get the idea of how my motto inspires me whenever I begin a new book, and so far it has served me well.
Hello readers! Can you believe it's that time of the week again for me to showcase another wonderful story that Night Owl Romance has reviewed? We are a very lucky bunch of reviewers to be able to have such fanatstic stories cross our "desks" to review. My favorite author list is growing by leaps and bounds weekly and it just becomes harder each week to narrow down which one I will showcase on our blog.
This week, I chose to discuss a book that I know will hit a soft spot for all the animal lovers out there. So without further introduction, let me tell you about: Love, Lilies and the Unbroken Straw by Teri Wilson. This is the second story in the Hoofbeats & Heartstrings series and I instantly fell in love with the storyline and the characters both human and animal. Ms. Wilson has a way of telling a story that just makes you feel good afterward and makes you wish you knew all the characters in real life. She carves the characters out to be everyday people on a mission of searching for something they are missing in life. Each story is different and unique in their storylines, but are always centered around animals. This is something I absolutely love about the author's writing. I am an animal lover at heart and having a romance built around animals satisfies me on so many levels. Both of the Hoofbeats & Heartstrings books can stand alone, but I honestly think you will enjoy both of them by reading them in the order they were written.
If you would like to learn more about Ms. Wilson and all the stories she has available, please visit her at: http://www.freewebs.com/teriwilson/index.htm. Here you can also find out more information about the first book in the series, Do You Hear What I Hear?
Love, Lilies and the Unbroken Straw
(Hoofbeats & Heartstrings Book Two)
Author: Teri Wilson (Author Website)
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic - Paranormal
Review Date: 3/28/2009
ISBN: 1-60154-375-1
E-Book Price: $4.50
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Love, Lilies and the Unbroken Straw - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Christabel Wilde is experiencing something quite strange as of late and she doesn’t know why it’s happening. She notices that the strange sensations she feels in her hands comes and go at their own volition, but when she’s working at Susan’s flower shop, which just happens to be a close friend of hers, her hands always seem to grow worse and more troublesome with her symptoms. She experiences stinging and burning sensations throughout her fingers and often times it creates a problem trying to work with the flowers that are needed for the bouquets and centerpieces she is creating.
While driving home one night after work, she takes notice that every time she leaves the flower shop, the stinging and burning sensations stop. Not exactly knowing what is going on with her hands, she decides to drive home. She isn’t paying as careful enough attention to the road as she should be and she inadvertently runs something over. Filled with fear, guilt and dread, she stumbles out of her car finally after several failed attempts at trying to pull the car door handle open. Her hands are trembling uncontrollably now and she hears a whimper coming from the trees on the opposite side of the road. With her heart slamming in her chest, she runs toward the sound to see who it belongs to. Sickened to the core, she notices that the whimpering is coming from the foot of the trees and there lies this little, white dog. If matters aren’t complicated enough right now for her, she becomes aware that her hands are burning and tingling more than ever before. Breaking into sobs, she reaches down to touch the injured dog and is in for the biggest shock of her life.
What happens when Christabel touches the injured dog? Does she ever find out the explanation as to why it’s happening to her? How does Christabel deal with her freakish hands? What drastic changes does she make in her life since that dreadful accident? Does everything fall into place for her in the long run?
Ms. Wilson outdid herself yet again. I fell in love with not only the human characters, but also all the animal ones as well. I love how the author weaves messages of faith, hope and love in her unique and entertaining storylines. She pulled me in from the very first page and I just couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen to Christabel and the human and animal friends she grew to love along the way. Ms. Wilson is such a talented author and she finds a way to melt your heart in every story she writes. This is the second story in the Hoofbeats & Heartstrings series and I eagerly look forward to reading many more stories from Ms. Wilson. This was a wonderful story to lose yourself in and I would highly recommend it to others readers. You won’t be disappointed with this series!
Christabel Wilde’s life has just turned upside-down. With little more than the clothes on her back and her newly rescued Chihuahua tucked under her arm, she makes a pledge to start over and applies for a job as a groom at a horse rescue farm. Nevermind that she’s never been up close to a horse before, she has a bigger secret to hide. A mysterious gift her new neighbor, Dr. Declan Armstrong, is determined to uncover. When the irresistible veterinarian volunteers to give her riding lessons, Christabel knows it could be the end of her secret. With the Easter holiday approaching, she tries to remember that sometimes what looks like the end is really a new beginning.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3459
Before we get to today's blog topic, I'd like to thank Night Owl Romance for allowing me the chance to join them today. As some of you might know, All Romance eBooks is sponsoring a Go Green/Read an eBook campaign. As one of their ambassadors, I am here to sprad the word about eBooks and how fabulous they are.
As an author who has been in on the eBook revolution since it began in the early nineties, I found myself fascinated by the idea of books in a portable, paperless format. I'm all for eBooks, and anything that gets people back to reading for entertainment.
There's only one problem I've found and, for me, it's been a big one. What is the best way to read an eBook? I have to admit that the idea of using my work computer is unattractive. After all, I sit behind the computer all day working on my own projects. When it comes time for pleasure reading, the last thing I want to do is look at the monitor some more! I could print the book—except that some eBooks disable the print function. Printing the book also defeats the purpose of eBooks. It wastes expensive ink and paper, something I'm not inclined to do in the first place. I purchased the book because of its portable format. It's supposed to be easy and convenient to read. But it's not! My problem is that I have yet to find the perfect eBook reader.
Therefore I am asking readers this question: What eBook reader do you use, and why?
Give us the specs and tell us how the device you've chosen is the perfect one for reading eBooks. In other words, convince me this is the reader for me!
And since this is an eBook campaign, I'll be giving away free PDF copies of my gothic novel, The Keeper of Eternity, to any reader who emails me, saying they saw this article at Night Owl Romance! Send your request to: admin@devynquinn.com.
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Devyn Quinn is a romance author and avid eBook reader, blogging this month for All Romance eBooks' Go Green/Read e Campaign. Find out more about the Go Green/Read e Campaign at www.gogreenreade.com. To learn more about Devyn, visit her website at www.devyquinn.com. You can find Devyn's eBooks and thousands of other eBooks on-line at www.allromanceebooks.com.**
What is Biker Fiction?
Biker Fiction is my favourite genre to write. I’ve lived amongst the ‘biker’ community most of my adult life. When I became a published author, I made it my mission to try and change the image of bikers, one book at a time.
More often than not, when you read something in the paper about bikers, it’s something bad. Unfortunately many people believe just that , that all people who ride motorcycles and wear black leather jackets are bad ass troublemakers with no regard for the law, or ‘citizens’ in general.
I’m here to say, nothing could be further from the truth. Every year bikers from all over the globe raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for charity—Ride for Site, Ride for Cancer Research, Ride for Juvenile Diabetes...the list is endless.
Most of the people I have grown up and lived amongst are contributing members of society who believe family comes first. These same people live, love and laugh the same as you and I. The only difference being, they share a love for riding motorcycles and the open roads.
My books try to portrait ‘bikers’ as regular people, who cry when their hearts are breaking and laugh out loud at the antics of children. I invite you to check out my Iron Horse Ride series, or Smiling Eyes. I also have a new release coming out next week, March 25th, titled Crucified.
Let me share a little about this before I sign off.
Available NOW at The Wild Rose Press
Crucified
Romantic Suspense /Crimson Rose Line
Sneak Peek:
Casey struggled to open her eyes. She blinked numerous times trying to focus in the darkness. Painfully, she managed to inch her way across the rank mattress and wedge herself upright in the corner. With every move, the duct tape binding her wrists and ankles bit into her flesh.
An insurmountable desire to scream was stifled by the duct tape her captor had pulled taut across her mouth. She’d only see him once since being brought here and even then the darkness hid his identity. He’d stayed long enough to snap a picture before he slipped through the partially open doorway. The sound of it locking behind him resounded through the room.
Who is this man? Why is he doing this to me?
The last thing she remembered was walking home from Tammy’s house when someone came up from behind her and shoved a putrid smelling cloth in her face.
She’d woken up in this room, bound and gagged. There was no telling how long she’d been unconscious. The only way to differentiate from day to night was the sliver of a crack at the bottom of the door where light filtered in.
Casey choked back the flood of emotion rising up in her. She struggled for breath, unable to open her mouth. Tears poured down her face unchecked, and she closed her eyes.
Am I going to die here?
Leave a Comment here and I'll draw a winner of an ECopy of my new release, Crucified.
Sign up for my Newsletter while you’re there.
Wishing You Miles of Smiles :)
Adelle ‘Legs’ Laudan
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Night Owl Romance Note:
Adelle Laudan has been a favorite author among our staff. Both Iron Horse Rider and Coming Home - Iron Horse Rider 2 received glowing scores of 5/5 Hearts (Reviewer Top Pick's) from Gail. Smiling Eyes also received a 4.5 / 5 heart Reviewer Top Pick Review. If you are looking for some books with heart then Adelle Laudan is your lady.
Join her as she takes you on the road and through an emotional roller coaster ride.
You can read the Night Owl Romance reviews of Adelle's books by clicking the links above.
To win a print copy of Iron Horse Rider visit our CONTEST page for details.
When Emmie Met Caleb…
I usually talk about the hero of SEALed With A Promise, Caleb "Do-lord" Dulaud, because he's, well…a SEAL. And trust me, he is sigh-worthy. He looks a little like Matthew McConaughey and hides a genius IQ behind loads of good ole boy charm.
And he has a bad problem. Ever since his last deployment, life—even the life of a SEAL—seems flat. Worse, a past he buried seventeen years ago refuses to stay buried any longer. He promised that one day Senator Teague Calhoun would get his comeuppance. But finally dealing with the past could jeopardize everything he cares about now.
Still, SEALed With A Promise is a romance and it takes two. So let me tell you a little about Emelina Caddington, PhD.
If they had a contest for "Girl least likely to be a romance heroine" Emmie would walk away with the title. Her friends—and she has more friends than she thinks—know she's brilliant, loyal, funny, sensitive, generous, and utterly guileless. She'll go to the mat to help someone else. She's on her way to the top in her field, the biology of wetland ecosystems. As a scholar she's completely self-confident, and has no trouble getting and keeping her student's respect. But off campus, she fades into the woodwork. She's socially awkward, introverted, and a bad dresser.
Emmie is the kind of person whose friends care about her so much—but have so little luck persuading her to fix herself up—they write to makeover TV shows on her behalf.
If there's one thing Emmie would never ordinarily do, it's walk up to a SEAL and strike up a conversation. If her awkwardness didn't stop her, her opinion of what she calls 'jocks' would. They are the bane of her existence. They crowd her Understanding Ecology class—a science elective for non-science majors. They are full of cocky attitude and arrogantly expect they should be catered to because they are star athletes. Caleb isn't an athlete, he's a member of a crack military unit—but really. Miami Dolphins, Navy SEALs—what's the difference? She recognizes the type. If that weren't enough, he has a bubba nickname—Do-Lord.
But Emmie's best friend will be getting married in just a few hours, and Emmie, loyal friend that she is, sees a problem with the wedding cake that has to be corrected. Now. Later will be too late. Emmie has an injured shoulder though. She can't move a wedding cake weighing fifty pounds or more all by herself. She's going to have to talk to him.
Unfortunately, the only thing that makes her more uncomfortable than having to make social chitchat, is having to ask for help. She's just going to have to suck it up and ask—before she loses her nerve. She hopes he's as loyal to his best friend as she is to hers.
She convinces him her plan, screwball as it is, is legit. He can see for himself that without his help, she’ll never bring it off. Suddenly he’s more purely entertained than he has been in a long, long time.
And just as suddenly, he realizes if he pretends to be her boyfriend, he can move in the same upper-crust circles she does. With her help he can get close to Senator Calhoun.
Maybe “Old Stupid” isn’t stupid after all. In fact, the more he’s around her, the more he thinks, why pretend to be her boyfriend? He could be her lover, if he handles things right. If a fling turns out to be more, he’s cool with that too. Everybody winds up happy.
Crafting a love story that would end happily for this pair of total individuals kept me on my toes, since he was in danger of getting more than he bargained for, and she was in danger of getting less.
They discover they have more in common than they think, more to give one another than anyone might guess, and—smart as they both are—they each have a lot to learn.
In the end, Emmie gets a makeover that comes from the inside out, and Caleb puts the zing back in his life, even if he doesn’t find it where he was looking for it.
Confident, kick-ass heroines are in right now. Do you think Emmie has a chance?
I have a new story that I would like to tell you about this week that hasn't been released yet. Although the release date is May 8, 2009, it's definitely one to add to your "want to buy" list. The story I'm showcasing is: Legend of The Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren by Donna Michaels. This is the author's first stab at writing a Sci-fi story and I can honestly tell you that she did a remarkable job while doing so. I know that it's not an easy task for every writer to cross over to a new, unchartered territory when it comes to writing in a different genre that they haven't yet, but without a doubt, Ms. Michaels did a wonderful transition to the Sci-fi writing world.
The author transported me into another world and took me on an adventure ride from the very first page. Her descriptions of events, characters and the planet, Lacerta, where the story took place, were all masterfully described from start to finish. This is definitely a story you can get lost in for an hour or so and you'll be glad you did!
If you would like to find out more about this talented author and her writing, please visit her at the following link: http://www.donnamichaelsauthor.com/.
Legend of The Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren by Donna Michaels (Author Website)
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic
Review Date: 3/18/2009
ISBN: 1-60154-452-9
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: May 8, 2009
Legend of The Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Xandra Monocerros, Princess of Lacerta, is experiencing visions containing a man that is absolutely gorgeous and very desirable to her. The problem is she doesn’t even know who this man is or why he invades her visions.
It is that time again, the coming of the Fourth Moon, which appears every five years. Xandra is beside herself in fear and dread because when the Fourth Moon arrived in the past, it had claimed two loved ones, her mother years prior then her husband five years to the date. And if that isn’t bad enough, Lacerta, her planet, is heading for the same implosion disaster that happened to planet Earth.
Is there anything Xandra can do to help prevent a catastrophic implosion of her dear planet Lacerta? Does she ever find out who this gorgeous guy is who keeps invading her visions? Does the Fourth Moon claim another one that is near and dear to Xandra?
Ms. Michaels surely doesn’t disappoint with this new novel. This was her first attempt at writing a Sci-fi story and she passed with flying colors. It was a wonderfully entertaining read for me and her character development left me falling in love with Xandra and her mystery man. I so wanted Xandra to find the answers she so diligently was searching for and I had hoped that her planet Lacerta wouldn’t suffer the disastrous outcome as planet Earth had done. Being Princess of Lacerta wasn’t always the easiest title to carry around because her father had guards protecting his children at all times. This hindered Xandra in fulfilling her responsibilities that she thought were special and needed to be accomplished even though she knew her father would have completely disagreed with her. Her safety was the utmost importance to him, but Xandra had to aid in saving her beloved planet. The author has successfully crossed over to the Sci-fi genre without any complications and I assure you that this book is definitely a winner to be picked up. Congratulations, Ms. Michaels, on spreading your wings and venturing down an unknown path in writing this Sci-fi novel. Your hard work and dedicated writing talent has now etched a place for you in the Sci-fi industry.
BookBlurb & Info for Legend of The Fourth Moon: The Mark of Goren
In the Andromeda Galaxy, XANDRA MONOCERROS, Princess of Lacerta, dreads the coming of the Fourth Moon. Every five years it appears, drawing death to someone dear. First her mother then her husband. Will this cycle take another loved one? Even worse, Lacerta is heading for the same implosion disaster as their ancestral planet Earth.
Seeking a solution, Xandra crosses paths with DARIUS VAN LAARS—the dangerous outlaw from her visions. Will their intense attraction dissuade Darius from carrying out personal revenge on the man key to saving Xandra’s planet? Can she save Lacerta or will she fall victim to the Legend of the Fourth Moon?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3342
They say those truly dedicated creative souls sometimes bleed for their art. Well my tale today includes not only blood, but also a bit of sweat and tears as well.
Hello Night Owlers. My Name is Christine London and I write romance with a twist…a decidedly British twist. It was late 2006 when my first contracted work, Sunninghill Snow was in edits and in need of book cover art. My wonderful publisher had sent me a questionnaire asking about my vision for the cover. Knowing exactly what I wanted in my mind, I filled in the query with ease.
My web mistress, Alex Kent, just happens to be a very talented digital artist as well as being married to a professional photographer. Long story short, we collaborated to create a mock up of the cover for Sunninghill Snow to send to my publisher as a map of sorts. Being a complete newbie, I really didn’t know the protocol and thought this visual would be nothing but a service to their artists.
Well the initial photos came out pretty well. In the meantime I noticed that some other authors in my publisher’s stable used other 
book cover artists and indeed read that it was an accepted practice. One of the great benefits of working with a small press is their desire that the author is as happy as possible with the final outcome of her cover. I also did not realize the difficulty on their part in finding stock photography to portray exactly what an author wants for her cover. No wonder my team was able to get it “just right”!
Said use of stock photography arrived in my mailbox much to my chagrin. I had not expected that my pub would be working on the cover as I had told them I was putting something together for them to look at. Crossed wires I expect. Anyways…my digital artist, her hubby and I did one last shoot and bingo---great, neah fantastic results. We sent the cover off to my publisher and the rest as they say is history. They loved our efforts.
Now here’s the blood part. Whilst posing me with knife propped in hand, my web mistress accidentally ran her fingers along the (very sharp) blade. Gush! We were mortified, jumping about to find medical intervention. Drip, drip on the floor, beads of sweat rising to foreheads as the sight of blood sent us all into a tizzy. It still brings a tear thinking how the injury could have been so much the worse. Alex has a bit of numbness in those fingertips, but the wounds did not require stitches; well healed.
At the end of the day we have a great cover that brings much attention and sense of mystery from the viewer. “Why does she have a knife? Why he a key? Why is she in her underwear? Hmmm…must have to read more. Lol. Gottcha!!
Never thought our excitement in producing a kick ass cover would be such a rush. I think I am possibly the only author that appears on her own front cover---unique indeed. Our success lead us to reassemble our team to produce the covers for my second novel Soul In His Eyes as well as the Coast Guard rescue tale, Against the Current. To see and read more pop over to my website: http://www.christinelondon.com/ “books” page.
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Night Owl Romance Note: Sunninghill Snow can be purchased from Phaze Books (Trade Paperback & Print) - Click To Purchase!
Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day, one of my favorite days of the year. No, not only because I’m mostly Irish (the hubby contributing the Chin to my name) but because it is a day celebrating luck.
I believe in luck. Luck has played a great part in my success both in life and in writing. Now, some folks will tell you that luck has no place in writing success, that hard work, perseverance, talent, and other more concrete variables are the only components needed.
Hogwash.
When I graduated and was looking for a full time job, it was tough economic times (sort of like today). I applied to 500 positions. I worked hard, I persevered, I had a degree and work experience to prove my talent. I got absolutely NO interviews. Not a single one. After the first 500, I stopped counting but continued on applying. Eventually, I got lucky. Lucky because the position I landed wasn't much different than the first 500 I was rejected for. I was simply the right candidate at the right time. In other words, I got lucky.
Last week, my generous publisher Champagne Books offered my most recent novel Invisible for free as part of Read an eBook week. Invisible being only one of two titles offered was pure luck. Sure, my publisher knew I'd work hard to help promote the offer, but many Champagne authors would have done the same. Yes, Invisible is a great book (the talent component though I can't claim it was all my talent), but all Champagne titles are. I (and Invisible) got lucky.
Luck is part of every success. The thing is, you can't control luck. It simply happens. So it is best to concentrate on all the other components you CAN control. That includes perseverance, hard work, and talent (often disguised as skill).
But when you make it, when you're successful, remember that luck played a part and be grateful.
Hi! *waves*
I’m Angela Cameron, and Tammie has graciously given me the run of the blog today. Actually, I threatened her—but that’s another story for another day.
I want to discuss something with all of you. My newest book, Blood & Sex, Volume 2: Jonas, came out this month, and all this talk about my vampires got me to thinking. What has us so enthralled by these mythical leaches?
I’ve researched this while working on the Blood & Sex series, though each of the vampires is shaping up to represent a single fetish. The more that I write and chat with readers, the more I learn that these creatures represent a deeper need that is often hidden, even from us.
What is so danged hot about vampires anyway?
It seems that even from the first vampire story, sexuality and the vampire are permanently united. Long before the modern dark romances became acceptable, if not mainstream, the vampires were bad guys. They were frightening monsters, closely related to the modern zombie. Still, a few stories featured attractive beings such as Dr. John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” and Sheridan Le Fanu’s seductive female in “Carmilla”. Dracula and a few of his contemporaries also tempted young women into dark deeds. The mind control that generally came along with the character's powers excused the sensual familiarity that the vampire’s embrace demanded, allowing the victim (and the reader) to experience the sexual experience without the guilt heaped on by religion and society.
After the sexual revolution of the sixties, vampires came out of the roles as villains or guilty pleasures, and moved into the hero category. Barnabas Collins of Dark Shadows started the sympathetic version of the monster with the elements of undying love in the story line. This daytime gothic soap opera made the vampire an endearing personality for the masses.
Anne Rice turned the monster into a sexy protagonist with much of his humanity intact, beginning with Interview with the Vampire. For many readers, the series was their first look at sensual stories and positive homosexuality in fiction. Today, Stephenie Meyers’ Twilight saga brings the vampire hero to the next generation through Edward Cullen. Although the story is far from being an erotic romance, Edward and Bella’s relationship smolders with the promise of more throughout the series. Their sexual relationship is one of the main conflicts and is, for many teens, the first brush with eroticism in literature. Even a generation ago, this combination of vampire and teen sexuality would have been unacceptable.
What does it mean?
I’m convinced that the vampire’s ascension to the hero in our modern myths is directly tied to the sexual liberation of our society. As we grow in the acceptance of our needs and the needs of others, our vampires become more mainstream and openly sexual. For some, they still represent an acceptable submission to another through no weakness of our own, as does the fantasy of mind control. For others, it is the draw of a lover with centuries of practice. In any case, these preternatural creatures represent the darker needs in us, which have remained taboo throughout our history, especially for women.
"I believe the fascination so many people have with vampires stems to the primal, basic urges that course through every human being. Vampires represent the wild, hungry creature that exists within us all, and the fantasies surrounding them allow us safely to explore hard-wired issues such as control and submission. We are all animals, but we are also all civilized beings; in exploring the animal, however, I believe we are able better to understand the human."
Your Opinion
This reference to animals from Lisa made me thinking more about the role that werewolves play within this vampire lore, but I’ll save that for another blogging day.
In the end, vampires are all of the above, depending on my mood, and that’s obvious in the dominant natures and fetishes explored in my vamp series.
That’s why I’d like to hear from you.
What do vampires represent to you? Is it simply the strength and danger of the mythical creature? Or is it something deeper?
Post a comment today, I’ll automatically enter you in the drawing for a free copy of Blood & Sex, Vol. 1: Michael.
Until next time…
Angela
If you want to know more about me and the guys of the Blood & Sex series, check out my blog at angelacameron.wordpress.com. You can also find excerpts at http://www.ravenousromance.com/ and at my website http://www.angela-cameron.com/.
If you stop by, leave a message. I’d love to talk to you!
I have to admit, each week it gets harder and harder to pick just one story to showcast on this blog! I've been extremely lucky to have chosen some fantastic stories to review for Night Owl Romance. The list keeps growing from week to week and it makes my job a little bit difficult to pick just the right one to tell all our readers about. So, this week I have chosen to tell you about Reason To Believe by Leslie Ann Dennis.I loved it because Ms. Dennis presented a different kind of storyline to her readers and wrapped it around a romantic love story. I was pulled immediately into the story and just couldn't turn the pages fast enough to see what was going to happen next for Lane and Conlan. I loved everything about this story, from the characters to the setting and it was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me. I definitely look forward to reading more from this wonderful author in the near future and I would urge you to pick up a copy so you can see just what I'm talking about regarding this author and her incredible talent.
If you would like to find out more about Leslie Ann Dennis, you can located her at: http://www.leslieanndennis.com/.
Reason to Believe by Leslie Ann Dennis (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 1/22/2009
ISBN: 1-60154-277-1
E-Book Price: $6.00
The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Book Excerpt
SCORE: 4.5 / 5
Lane Douglas has her hands full with her ailing grandfather. He’s in the hospital and is convinced he’s dying. Ironically though, the doctors can’t find anything wrong with him. Sensing the cause of his poor health, her grandfather pleads with her to go to Scotland and check on the tree that was planted in his name many years ago and is scheduled to be cut down because it’s now diseased. He feels that the tree is his lifeline and if it’s cut down, he will also die. To say the least, her grandfather is quite the superstitious man.
Desperate for her grandfather to get better, Lane takes the trip to Scotland to speak to hunky Laird Conlan MacGregor, who heads Wolfscrag castle, and to see the tree for herself. She discovers that the tree is truly diseased and could possibly destroy all the surrounding ones because it’s so ill. Lane does the only thing that she feels will save her superstitious grandfather’s health and while she’s in Scotland, she starts to get close to the MacGregor family. Possibly too close to certain family members.
After seeing just how diseased the tree is, what does Lane finally tell Conlan to do with it? Is her grandfather happy with her decision? Does he eventually start getting better or does he take a turn for the worse?
I enjoyed this story a great deal because I loved how the characters interacted so well together and how Ms. Dennis created such a unique and entertaining storyline. The planting of a tree to represent the birth of a new person was a wonderfully creative idea to write about. The author interjects sarcastic humor throughout the story and it works so well for Lane and Conlan. The immediate chemistry between the two of these characters was so hot, if sparks could fly off the pages they would have. I would definitely be interested in reading more work done by Ms. Dennis in the near future.
Book Blurb & Info for Reason To Believe (176 pages) Hot
Lane Douglas is a die-hard realist, so when her superstitious grandfather tells her he will die if the tree planted long ago in his honor in Scotland is chopped down, she doesn't buy it for a second. But when her grandfather's health starts a downward slide, Lane hops on a plane and flies across the ocean to convince the landowner to spare the old, diseased oak. To her surprise the landowner is a devilishly handsome man named Conlan MacGregor. Practical Lane came prepared for a fight to save a silly tree, but she soon finds herself fighting to save her heart from falling under the magical charms of the hunky laird of Wolfscrag castle.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3085
Never in a million years did I imagine having such a title, but it sure sounds nice, doesn’t it? Furthermore, I am proud to proclaim it! No negative connotations as far as I am concerned. Romance novelists have a long and illustrious history. From Samuel Richardson way back in 1740 and Jane Austen a century later to Georgette Heyer and Barbara Cartland to Nora Roberts and Jude Deveraux, romance novelists have striven to achieve the same purpose: Entertaining while instilling hope for true love.
We come in all shapes, sizes, and ages. We span every ethnic group and political belief. We place our personal spins on the romantic ideal, writing in every possible sub-genre imaginable. We range from firmly G-rated to wildly erotic. A seeker of anything remotely romantic can find it somewhere on the shelves of the “romance” section of the bookstore, and with increasing frequency in every other section.
For instance, my debut novel – Mr. and Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One – will eventually be sitting in the “L” section of the literature aisles (after a long stint at the front), but it is decidedly romantic! Inspired by the true originator of Regency Romance, Jane Austen, my saga of happily-ever-after continues the life and marriage of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet, and I do not shy away from the intimate portions of their relationship. Yet at the same time I delve very deeply into the history of the era, the lifestyle, the landscape of England, the societal interactions, the economic aspects, and even the layout of Pemberley Manor. I have tried to encompass all facets of what life may have been like if Lizzy and Darcy were real people existing in the day to day while we got to watch. Rather like reality TV! In doing so I span the aisles between romance and historical fiction. And I really love that.
Lizzy had learned much about the estate’s interests during her engagement. Darcy’s pride and pleasure regarding Pemberley were unmistakable. Unwittingly, conversations about his home, both then and now, had given Lizzy tremendous insight into the business affairs that her husband managed. She knew that his income stemmed not only from Pemberley itself but also from investments, trade, and industrial and commercial enterprises in England and abroad.
Nonetheless, the bulk of the estate’s income came from agriculture, livestock, cotton milling, and horse breeding. The farmlands were extensive and offered varying produce, including fruit orchards and grains. Two mills used the power of the River Derwent and modern technology to process the grains and shorn wool. Livestock consisted primarily of sheep with a few goats and wandering fowl. The wild game was generally left unmolested except for the occasional hunting parties Darcy allowed and, of course, for their own table.
Her husband handled all of these aspects of Pemberley’s business efficiently and dutifully. However, Lizzy had rapidly established that his heart lay with his horses. Darcy was a horseman through and through. He confessed to her that, if it were possible, he would happily consign all his responsibilities to someone else and immerse his energies into breeding and training the fine horses of Pemberley.
Thus it was that on Lizzy’s second day, Darcy enthusiastically escorted her to the stables. The complex that accommodated the horses, carriages, and equipment, and the massive staff necessary was only slightly smaller than the main house. It too was a marvel of exquisite architecture and craftsmanship. At two storeys high, the building could easily house all the staff, store the equipment and numerous carriages, and shelter the horses. A high arch facing south opened onto an enormous courtyard amid the complex where the animals were groomed and cared for. The thoroughbreds were separated from the working horses, each with their own handlers and grooms.
I love the challenge of writing, period. I exert just as much effort into the bedroom/romantic elements as I do the historical. So call me a Romance Novelist and I will smile with beaming pride. Call me a Fiction Writer and I will nod with happy agreement. It’s all good as far as I am concerned! I am thrilled merely to be given the marvelous opportunity to share my love of these characters and this time period with readers everywhere.
Is this your type of romance novel? If you still aren’t sure, come on over to my website, The Darcy Saga, at http://www.darcysaga.net/. I have tons of information, reviews, essays, and excerpts to share with interested readers. My Saga recounting the life of the Darcys and their friends spans three novels so far, this being only the beginning. Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley will be released in September, followed by The Darcys at Year’s End in January of 2010. More is forthcoming.
Abundant thanks to Night Owl Reviews for allowing me to guest on their blog!
*******************************
Reading is all about entertainment. If you aren't entertained by a book, then what's the point? 
Different people are entertained in different ways; some enjoy horror while others enjoy sweet, sentimental romances—and everything in between. I've aimed at a slightly different market; it's fun, it's erotic, it's exciting, my heroes are really hot, and best of all, it's science fiction.
I've been a science fiction fan for a very long time. I was in grade school when the original Star Trek aired, and I thought Mr. Spock was just the coolest thing I'd ever seen. Then Star 
Wars came along, and I was hooked. Of course, by then I had a husband who got a kick out of the B-movies in that genre—and I've seen them all—whether I wanted to or not! At any given time in my house, Red Dwarf, Star Wars, or an episode of one incarnation of Star Trek or another is on the TV—and that's just to name a few.
I know there is a lot of fan fiction being written about a multitude of science fiction movies and shows, so you know there's a market for it—and it isn't just men who are reading it. Women like it, too, but we want a little more romance in ours. My favorite episodes of just about any show I've ever seen are the ones that are heavy on the romance. I know it's difficult to write episodes of a TV series that continually focuses on personal relationships rather than the action and adventure of finding a new planet, but that is what most of us crave.
When I began writing the Cat Star Chronicles series, this is what I had in mind. I wanted sweet, devastatingly sexy alien men who could sweep even the toughest human females off their feet. They're irresistible to nearly all females, but are unflinchingly devoted to their chosen mate. They aren't rich, arrogant alpha males—in fact, most of them have been slaves—but they are 
no less masculine because of it. This is the kind of hero I wanted—the kind of hero I didn't often find in romance novels—but to get them, I had to write them.
When Slave first hit the bookstore shelves, I'm sure a lot of people picked it up because of its shiny, sexy cover not knowing what it was. I've seen reviews written by readers who were pleasantly surprised, some who were shocked, but entertained, and some who didn't care for it at all. The first three novels in the series are written in first person, too, and that's something that a lot of readers have very strong opinions about. The final three installments are written in third person because the stories have become more involved and have to be written from more than one point of view, but I've always felt that first person puts the 
reader inside the action and makes it seem more real. It's not someone telling you a story; it's someone telling you their story.
The current release, Rogue, has pushed the genre even further. In it, there are two sexy Zetithian brothers for our heroine to choose from, and she's not a swashbuckling femme fatale, either; she's a piano teacher. The guys have been the pampered pets of a queen for twenty years, and Kyra is the most appealing female they've ever encountered. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where I went with this scenario. Trust me, it's hot, even when the romance only concerns one of them.
I love creating new worlds and new alien life forms. Science fiction is limitless, and letting my imagination run wild is what makes writing it so much fun. I hope 
my readers can derive as much enjoyment out of as I have. So, come on along for the ride. I'll take you to places you've never even dreamed of.
Well, it's that time of the week again where I get to decide which review from Night Owl Romance I would like to showcase to all our readers. So, this week I've decided to highlight Puppy Love by Jane E. Jones. Since it's a short story, it's a perfect one to read when you have a few minutes free in your busy schedule. You will find that Ms. Jones did a wonderful job of packing these pages with a fun love story and making certain that she sprinkled plenty of humor throughout to keep you laughing right until the very end. I love her writing and I know you will definitely agree with me that she is a very talented author!
If you would like to find out more about this author, please visit her at: http://janeejones.blogspot.com/
Puppy Love by Jane E. Jones
Book Length: Short Story - Sweet
Author: Jane E. Jones (Author Website)
Genre(s): Contemporary
Review Date: 2/26/2009
E-Book Price: $2.99
Publisher: Freya's Bower -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Puppy Love - Book Excerpt
SCORE: 4.5 / 5
I found this to be such a charming tale that Ms. Jones wrote. The author tells the story of how two people, who were next-door neighbors, didn’t hit it off very well from their first encounter together.
Sarah loves her dog, Casper Salt, very much and wants nothing to happen to him. Seeing how Michael took so well to the dog the first time he saw him and even picked him up to pet him, Sarah becomes neurotically overprotective of her precious dog. Unfortunately though, it was not as protective as she should have been because now Casper Salt is missing. Without even putting some serious thought into where the dog might be, Sarah immediately accuses Michael of stealing her beloved four-legged friend.
If the matter weren’t bad enough this far, when Michael leaves his house one night, Sarah sets out on a mission to break into his house to find and rescue Casper Salt. Little does she know the crazy kind of chaos she is going to cause by acting out her foolish scheme.
Ms. Jones did a wonderful job of entertaining me with Sarah’s wild antics. I immediately fell in love with Michael and felt terrible when Sarah accused him of being the dognapper just because he got along so well with Casper Salt. The author sprinkled humor throughout her story that made me laugh out loud. I thoroughly enjoyed this lighthearted story and I would definitely recommend it for others to read. Ms. Jones’ story will not disappoint you!
Book Blurb & Info for Puppy LoveBook Length: Short Story - Sweet
Sarah loses her little white dog, Casper Salt, and is sure her hunky next door neighbor has stolen him. When she realizes who the dognapper really is, she enlists Michael's help to get her dog back. And falls in love in the process.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3259
The Night Owl Romance bookshelf is over flowing with items that thave been sent to us for contests. We would love to give lucky readers something to drool over.
Please help us out by winning some ARC's. We will be picking winners for the below ARC copies on 3/12/2009.
To enter you just need to become a member of the Night Owl Romance Newsletter.
The form is at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/
Some are already out but some are not out till later this year!
Nauti Intentions by Lora Leigh
With a Twist by Deirdre Martin
Defender by Catherine Mann
My Man Michael by Lori Foster
Would-Be-Witch by Kimberly Frost
Fish Out of Water by Mary Janice Davidson
Rewriting Monday by Jodi Thomas
The Flame and the Shadow by Denise Rossetti
Hard and Fast by Erin McCarthy
The Captive Heart by Bertrice
Small All of Me by Lori Wilde
Get your entry in! - USA Shipping ONLY!
http://www.nightowlromance.com/
Thanks for having me, ladies!Here's the blurb for Destiny of the Wolf, just released:
Lelandi Wildhaven is determined to discover the truth about her beloved sister’s mysterious death.But everyone thinks she’s out to make a bid for her sister’s widowed mate…
He’s a pack leader tormented by memories...
Darien Silver blames himself for his mate’s death. When her twin arrives in his town, he finds himself bewitched, and when someone attempts to silence her, he realizes that protecting the beautiful stranger
might be the only way to protect his pack…and himself…
Here’s from Destiny of the Wolf:
As soon as she saw him, she knew it was him—not only because silence instantly cloaked the room and every eye in the place watched Darien Silver’s reaction. His sable hair curled at the top edge of his collar. Brooding dark eyes, grim lips, features handsomely rugged, but definitely hard, defined him. Wearing a leather jacket, western shirt, jeans, and boots, everything was as black as his somber mood. He looked so much like Tom and Jake, she figured they must be triplets, and he was the leader of the gray lupus garou in the area. Had to be, the way everyone watched him, waiting for the fireworks.
© Sourcebooks, Inc.
***
Another scene that I love to write is the first kiss. In every story I want it to be really different—including who initiates the first kiss, and why, but I want it to also have conflict. Just two people kissing wouldn’t do. :)
From Destiny of the Wolf, Darien and Lelandi’s first kiss:
“Sam was shot in the arm, nothing vital struck,” another said. “But you know him, he’ll be serving drinks by this evening, boss.”
“Lupus,” she whispered and Darien’s eyes grew wide.
Before she uttered another sound, he leaned down and kissed her, but the kiss didn’t stop at silencing her words. His lips pressed deeper, promising more, willing her to agree, and then his warm mouth tantalizing hers faded away.
“Larissa,” he called out, drawing her forth from the darkness.
Darien’s dark eyes gazed at her, pensive, pained.
Several of the men chuckled.
“The ladies will be clamoring for a kiss that would make ’em pass right out.” Silva’s voice was silky soft, dreamy, wistful.
© Sourcebooks, Inc.
***
The reaction of others to their pack leader’s kiss makes the scene even more fun. :)
So what other firsts are fun? The first love scene? The first fight? The first make up?
A fan told me that he kept reading, wondering when my Highlander in Winning the Highlander's Heart was going to get some. :) That she was really tough on poor old Malcolm. So for my fan, that was the “first” scene he couldn’t wait for. :)
But there are other fun firsts in a story. The first time the hero and heroine really understand each other. The first time they protect one another. The first…well, you get the point. But for me, my favorites are their first meeting and the first kiss. I think it’s because they’re so new to each other. And even if they know each other, as in Heart of the Wolf, it’s still the reader’s first meeting of the hero and heroine. And the reader’s first time to see the hero and heroine kiss. :)
!Here is the blurb for Heart of the Wolf:
Devlyn Greystoke has a mission—return Bella to the gray pack for safekeeping before she exposes their kind and gets herself killed. But little red wolves are in short supply and high demand and Bella’s determined to be the bait to flush out the killer. Keeping her out of danger is only half the trouble Devlyn encounters as his compulsion to make her his mate grows and she fights being his, fearful the pack leader will kill him.
Volan Smith, the gray alpha leader, claimed Bella when she was young. Now that he has located her, he wants Bella back. And he will stop at nothing to have her.
Thanks so much for having me at Night Owl Romances!
Terry Spear
http://www.terryspear.com/
http://twitter.com/TerrySpear
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=698072929http://www.myspace.com/terryspear
Wizard Meets Witch – Red Hearts Abound
Wizards and witches aren’t supposed to mix. It’s that whole class thing as wizards consider themselves at the top of the magickal food chain. Just as witches see themselves there. And Weres do. Trolls. Fae. Well, you get the picture.
But wizard attorney Trevor Barnes didn’t expect to meet witch Stasi Romanov and see red hearts dancing over her head, which means that she’s slated to be his soul mate. After all, a human woman retained him to sue Stasi in Wizard’s Court for alienation of affection when one of Stasi’s charmed sachets kept the woman’s cheating husband from returning to her, as she wanted.
Trevor always had exquisite control of his life. The lawyer to avoid in court because he always won. The wizard who looked like a surfer dude. The wizard plenty of women lusted over.
Except Cupid had other ideas. Wizards and witches don’t mix. But who says that Cupid plays by the rules?
But when Trevor went up to Moonstone Lake to meet Stasi, he’d expected someone more like a cold calculating magick miss, not a sweet blonde who bowled him over at first look. Or that Samhain mixed with Mercury retrograde and a lunar eclipse could cause so many problems for one small mountain town.
Or that his visit to Moonstone Lake would turn into a time of attraction, danger and olde magick all over the place. And all of it seemed to be revolving around Stasi. The lake the town was named after was harmed by an olde magick that even Trev’s powerful skills couldn’t treat, ghosts who visited their descendants were affected by the odd magick flying around and while Stasi has red hearts over her head, she also seems to have a target on her back, because someone has a grudge against her and it’s not just the human woman suing her.
What started out as your everyday lawsuit in Wizard’s Court that Trev saw as a slam-dunk turned into love for a sexy witch, figuring out why a power outage and snowstorm would turn a town into a seething mass of paranoia and even fighting to save his own life.
But Trev’s a guy who can do it all. The question is, if he can keep Stasi safe and help fix a tainted town.
What do you think? Can one wizard do it all? Or will he need help such as three witches, a vampire, a ghost, a gargoyle, and a pair of toothy bunny slippers?
Linda
This week I would like to showcase to our readers a book that I instantly fell in love with. Spirit Lake by Carol A. Guy is a wonderful story of love, mystery and some very strange happens going on in a quaint little town called Spirit Lake, PA. This was a thoroughly entertaining read for me and I was thrilled to find out that there will be a second book in this Spirit Lake series. I'm sure you will enjoy this story as much as I did. This author definitely has remarkable talent and I am so lucky to have stumbled across her and her work!
For more information about this author and what other stories she has available, please visit her at: http://www.geocities.com/cguy1943/carolguy.html.
Spirit Lake by Carol A. Guy
Genre(s): Paranormal - Suspense/Mystery
Review Date: 1/22/2009
ISBN: 978-1-55487-062-2
E-Book Price: $4.99
Publisher: Devine Destinies -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Book Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Erica Parkhurst is going through some troubled times in her life. All in one week she loses her husband to another woman and her lucrative job as an editor for a leading consumer magazine. Only thirty-four years old, she was just beginning to gain confidence in her future.
Not wanting to stick around, she decides to buy a bus ticket and head to Chicago. She just wants to get away and have some breathing room to think things out and see what her next plan of action should be. But while traveling on the bus, her bad luck seems to still be hanging over her. The bus breaks down in Du Bois, PA and the bus driver tells them they will all be spending the night in town until the bus is fixed. Not wanting to sit idle, Erica rents a car and heads out on her own. Beginning the trek to Chicago by herself, she doesn’t make it far onto the interstate when she realizes how famished she is. She sees a sign saying that Spirit Lake is 5 miles away and decides that will be a good place to stop and grab something to eat. When she arrives there, she sees this beautiful inn located next to Spirit Lake. She decides this is where she will settle in until she can think of a better plan of action.
Since it’s off season and the inn is closed for renovations, the inn keeper graciously offers Erica a room anyway. Erica accepts the inn keeper’s hospitality and settles in for a short stay. While staying there though, she begins to encounter strange things happening to her that make her question her sanity.
Could she be losing her mind or is she really witnessing all these strange occurrences even though no one else seems to be experiencing the same things? How long does she stay in Spirit Lake? What happens when her husband shows up in Spirit Lake after trying to hunt her down for days?
I found this to be a wonderful mystery wrapped around quite a bit of deceit and betrayal of many of the characters throughout the story. I was thoroughly entertained from the first page and I found myself transported into the story as if I were another character watching everything unfold before me. Ms. Guy penned quite an intriguing storyline and I’m thrilled to find out this will be the first in a series of other stories wrapped around Spirit Lake. I’m extremely anxious to read the sequel, Echoes of the Past. I would highly recommend this story to other readers and it’s definitely a keeper in my library.
BOOK BLURB AND BOOK INFO:
This book was previously published with eXtasy Books, but has been reedited and adapted to suit Devine Destinies guidelines.
Nestled near the base of Pennsylvania's Allegheny National Forest is the small town of Spirit Lake. Rich in folklore, it has become a tourist attraction due to its quaint atmosphere and unique antique shops. When Erica Parkhurst flees New York City in the wake of a marital split and accidentally discovers the little hamlet she is intrigued by the ghost stories surrounding the local inn and the mist-shrouded lake nearby. Then one night she encounters a mysterious man on the dock but before she can find out his name he disappears into the fog. Did she imagine him? During a trip into town the next day she see's the man again and follows him into a dead end alley, where he vanishes once more!
Hot on the trail of his soon-to-be ex wife, Grant Parkhurst shows up unexpectedly at the inn but Erica flees out the back door into the surrounding woods to avoid a confrontation. Lost and frightened, she is met by a rescuer of the canine variety who leads her to a secluded cabin where she finally meets her elusive stranger, Joe Lakota, and his trusty wolf/dog, Mingo.
Soon Erica finds herself involved in a murder case when a skeleton washes up at the edge of the lake and Joe becomes the prime suspect. Can she risk falling in love with a man who may be a murderer? And what other secrets are hidden beneath the glassy surface of Spirit Lake?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3065
Miles Chapeau misses the wife, the mother of his two children, he’d known before the war. When he returned from WWII in 1945 she’d been hurt in an air raid and now has the mind of a child. He loves her and would never forsake his duty, but misses the intimate side of marriage and a woman to share his life. One day she disappears and his existence is turned upside down.
He staggered back. What the hell was she talking about? “Yes, my wife did disappear yesterday morning. Do you know where she is? Have you seen her?” He moved close to the bed and bent down, face next to hers. “If you know tell me. She has the mind of a six-year-old and needs constant supervision.”
She patted the hand he didn’t realize grasped her arm. A jolt of energy shot through him. “She’s fine, Mr. Chapeau, just fine. Yesterday she wandered onto my property. She scared poor Molly to death.” She laughed. “Snuck up behind her and grabbed her in a hug. When Molly screamed, the blonde lady laughed and laughed.”
Miles didn’t know whether to believe her or not. The woman she described definitely acted like Miriam.
The patient waved her hand. “I feel kinda drunk.” She shook her finger at Constable Jones. “No more of those drugs, you hear?”
The Constable shrugged. “We have to do whatever the doctor orders, Mrs. Fairchild.”
“Bullshit. Man doesn’t know one end of a horse from the other.” She grabbed Miles shirt front and pulled him closer. He breathed in her scent and didn’t like his body’s reaction. He didn’t like her vulgar mouth either. “Shh, listen. Constable Sanders had her taken to a hospital for observation. Don’t you worry now; they’ll take good care of her in 2007.”
http://www.lindalaroque.com http://wwww.lindalaroqueauthor.blogspot.com/
Romancing the Web A Hillsboro reader tends one of romance readers' popular Web sites
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
By JoAnn Boatwright
The Hillsboro Argus
Read the Article
Rogue: The Cat Star Chronicles #3
Author: Cheryl Brooks
Genre(s): Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic
Review Date: 2/24/2009
ISBN: 9781402217623
Print Book Price: $6.99
Publisher: Sourcebooks/Casablanca
Street Date: Mar 1, 2009
SCORE: 4.25 / 5
Cheryl Brooks brings us the third installment in her fabulous off world adventures. The Cat Star Chronicles can be read as stand-alones, but you will get more out of them if read in order as characters from previous books have a way of showing up at some point. Why read only about you sexy Zetithian when you call have them all and be looking out for the next? Cheryl creates some of the sexiest beasts.
In Rogue we meet Kyra Aranis. She is a young piano teacher who has never left her home planet. She is setting off on an adventure of a lifetime. Kyra was lucky enough to be chosen as a piano teacher to royalty. She has no idea what the planet she is to teach on is like, but is willing to give it a try. The Queen of Darconia has hired her. She is to teach the queens daughter to play and ends up teaching other members of the household. It turns out one of the queens sons is a natural. On Darconian men do not rule. Men are seen as having too hot of tempers to rule. The queen also has an interesting hobby of her own. She likes to collect different types of species. Is Kyra just one more species for her to collect? Does the queen have more in store for her than teaching piano? And what’s up with he gorgeous cat like men the queen has in here menagerie
Trag and Tychar are Zetithian brothers and hail from a world that no longer exists. The world of Zetith was annihilated by another race. The few to survive were sold into slavery. Some are treated better than others and Tychar and Trag seem to have it pretty good on the whole. The queen is more of a savior as the race who annulated the Zetith have a bounty on all Zetithian heads. Trag and Tychar have not had full on sex for 20 year, but with the introduction of a piano teacher something triggers their hormones. How will she deal with two gorgeous men who want her? How will she pick just one when they both come to mean so much to her?
Hold on ladies, hot Zethithians are on their way. Make sure to set several hours aside to read this book cover to cover. Once you get started it’s hard to put down. Cheryl Brooks knows how to write descriptions with the best and her sexy men round everything out. With two Zetithians you will surely be seeking a third. Not one, nor two will do. Rogue is a fascinating book that will have you salivating for more. Cheryl books Zetithians are incredibly sexy and wonderful to read all around. This is the third book and I’ve read the whole series. There is also another book coming out in 2009, Outcast. It’s not to be missed and already in my hot little hand. So, stay tuned for a review of Outcast at the end of May.
Review Online at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3223
I've been quite lucky to get the opportunity to review some fantastic stories by some extremely talented authors. So, since I post my blog entry once a week, I think about which one I would like to showcase for the week. It's not always an easy decision to make because there are some wonderful stories out there, but this week I have to say that one story came to mind without even a second thought.
This week, I have decided to showcase a story that I thoroughly enjoyed and know you will too! I have chosen: Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues by Jacquie Rogers. From the very first page I was pulled into this comic love story and I just couldn't help but fall in love with the cast of characters. Yes, I'll admit that cast of characters also included a very smart mule, a de-scented trained skunk and two lovable dogs that just tickled my funny bone like no other story has in the past. It is definitely a story you have to pick up and I know once you start reading it, you'll fall in love too! I hope you enjoy my pick for this week!
You can find out more about this talented author at: http://www.jacquierogers.com/.
Down Home Ever Lovin' Mule Blues by Jacquie Rogers
Genre(s): Romantic Comedy - Western/Cowboy
Review Date: 2/19/2009
ISBN: 978-0980035681
Print Book Price: $9.95
Publisher: Highland Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Read an Excerpt
SCORE: 5 / 5
Even though Rita Markum grew up in Grasmere, Ohio, she desperately wanted to leave the country life behind her. Now living and working in Seattle, her life is completely different. She carries herself like a city girl and she is quite content being that way. Or so she thinks.
Rita is engaged to be married to David even though she still finds Brody Alexander, her childhood crush, quite attractive. But she can’t be serious with someone who travels the rodeo circuit being a clown and bullfighter. She doesn’t want a broken down cowboy that she’ll end up taking care of for the rest of her life. She wants someone who will be healthy and be able to meet the expectations that she has set in her mind for what a husband should be. So, David, being a corporate person, fits the bill much better for her.
That is, until Rita returns to her hometown to help her mom, Judy, during her knee surgery and rehabilitation and who does Rita happen to see again that gets her all flustered, but none other than sexy Brody.
Add to the mix, Socrates, Brody’s stubborn but comical mule who completely understands humans and will do his tricks to one way or another get thickheaded Rita and Brody together. If that isn’t enough to tickle your funny bone, lets add Socrates' animal sidekicks, Guinevere, who is Brody’s de-scented trained skunk, and his dog, Perseus, plus let’s not forget about Beauty, the Markum’s dog and you have one story that is chock full of laughs and plenty of lessons to learn in this rodeo game of love.
Without a doubt, I fell in love with this storyline from the very beginning. I absolutely loved how Ms. Rogers created a comical story and did a superb job of holding the reader’s attention right to the very end. I loved the characters she created and couldn’t help falling in love with Brody myself. The author had me laughing so hard throughout the story that my sides were hurting from all the antics Socrates and his friends were constantly up to. I honestly didn’t want the story to end. Socrates, Guinevere, Perseus and Beauty are such a comical team that I couldn’t wait to turn the page just to see what new trouble they were going to get themselves into next. I’m an animal lover at heart and I will recommend this story not only to my fellow animal loving friends, but also to anyone that would love to read a lighthearted love story that will entertain you for a few hours. This is definitely a keeper in my library and I look forward to reading many more stories from this talented author in the months to come. You’ve done a fantastic job, Ms. Rogers. Maybe Socrates and the gang can become Grasmere’s matchmakers now and we can have another book with him and his friends being up to their old antics again.
BOOK BLURB AND BOOK INFO:
It Happened in the Idaho Desert
The rodeo clown: Brody wants the thrill of bullfighting and the wind at his feet.
The actuary: Rita doesn't want anything to do with a busted up cowboy-and odds are, Brody will be.
The mule: Socrates understands humans. And love, even if humans don't.
Can Socrates lead Brody to Rita's heart?
Will Rita let herself take the biggest risk of all?
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3239
As I didn't believe in love, romance was the very last genre I read in the village library. Being a speed-reader, I had run through all the others (including the book on how to rewire light sockets) so I hadn't much choice. It was either read romance or read nothing.
I picked up a Barbara Cartland. It had a horse on the cover (at 12 years old, I was a horse freak) and a sheik (very exotic for this sheltered gal). I gobbled it up. I didn't understand why the heroine talked… like… this… I didn't know why she kept fainting. I DID know I loved it.
I read another and another and another. I read all of Barbara Cartland's 300 plus backlist (including the book on honey). I then moved onto other authors.
But Barbara Cartland's novel was my first (I can't remember which one). It changed my life and I'll always have a soft spot for them. I recently wrote a manuscript with a blonde, violet-eyed heroine as a nod to Barbara Cartland.
We always remember our first.
"My first romance novel was a Karen Robards historical called "Loving Julia" that I swiped from my mother's dresser when she wasn't looking. I can't remember how old I was, but it was way too young to be reading romance novels yet. This was a pygmalion style story with the hero thinking he would pull a fast one over on society by passing off his dead brother's pickpocket bride as a member of the ton. I liked that it was forbidden and racy (though maybe not by today's standards), and that first book got me reading something other than the horror and science fiction I was used to, inspiring me to try and put the two together in my own writing."
J.K.Coi
www.jkcoi.com
The Immortal Series...Immortals to Die For
The Trouble With Destiny…Available now
"The very first romance novel I ever read was Nevada Nights by Ruth Ryan Langan. It's a western romance from the mid-1980s that features all those fabulous stereotypical 1980s romantic tropes. Convent raised heroine, mysterious gunslinger hero, long lost family, and a very soap-opera-like plot. I read it when I was around 14, and it was the first "grown-up" book I read in one day.
Despite being enthralled by Nevada Nights, university sort of sucked all the fun out of reading for me. Also when I walked out with 2 dipolmas, I carried with me a new healthy disdain for the romance genre. However, I quickly realized that if I was going to be a good public librarian, I had to change me tune. So I scoured reviews online, and started reading some of the better reviewed ones. The first book I picked to read in my romance experiment was Watermelon by Marian Keyes. I was 23 years old.
Certainly that book is more chick lit than romance, but it really was a light bulb moment for me. It was funny, smart, and had a nice happy ending. It was nothing like some of those older romances I read as a teenager! So I kept reading, and soon discovered that romance had come a long way baby. Not all the heroes were Alpha jerks. Heroines weren't getting "forceably seduced" in every book. And not every heroine was a damsel in distress in constant need of rescuing. Wow! I was hooked, and haven't looked back since.
I'm not sure how all this influenced me, but I do know it's made me better at my job. While I used to disdain romance, I don't anymore. For that matter, I don't turn my nose up at any genre. I encourage people to "read what you like." Don't listen to what others say. Reading should be fun. It should be a pleasurable experience. It should never be a slog."
Wendy Crutcher
Fighting For Truth, Justice And The Right To Read What You Want
http://super_librarian.blogspot.com
"The first romance I ever read was ANGEL IN SCARLET by Jennifer Wilde. I loved the cover - it had a woman in this red flowing dress and was all dramatic swirls of fabric. The story was interesting, but more of a woman's journey story - the heroine was a seamstress who married first for money and next for love and finally realized that her best buddy all along was the guy for her. It wasn't a huge surprise to discover afterward that Jennifer Wilde was a pseudonym for one Tom Huff - some men think that being best buds is the ideal romantic relationship. At any rate, it was lushly written and full of adventure as well as period details. I really enjoyed it - although I'm a bit afraid to hunt down a copy to read it again - it was the beginning of an addiction with historical romances, which is probably why I first wrote historical romances.
I do think that historicals give a writer a taste for setting and sensory details. People tell me that they feel they're right on the spot when they read my books, and I'll credit that to those big fat historicals that I gobbled up so quickly."
Deborah Cooke
Kiss Of Fate
"First romance I really remember are the Elizabeth Lowell Desire's about the
ranch - Fire and Ice, Granite Man and two others I can't remember and I
think about those books every time I start writing about a group of men who
are friends. She did such an amazing job of making me so excited about the
next book in the series, she set up her heros like no one else. The tension
and drama in the male friendships are incredible. And then she goes and
writes sexual tension between the hero and heroine like no one else. Those
are amazing books."
Molly O'Keefe
The Story Between Them
"The first true romance I remember reading was The Wolf and the Dove by
Kathleen Woodiwiss. The story was more emotional and sensual than anything I'd
read before, the characters bigger than life and riveting. In my opinion it
was a perfect balance, a yardstick to shoot for as an author."
Linda LaRoque
Forever Faithful
What was your first romance novel?
Kimber Chin credits romance novels for her belief in love. This belief allowed her to find the man of her dreams (aka the Hubby). 15 years later, she's still in love. Every month, Kimber Chin gives away her favorite Romance eBook on http://businessromance.com/
This week I decided to showcase another story reviewed by Night Owl Romance that received 5/5 hearts. Caribbean Dreams of Love by Bess McBride is the perfect read that you can settle into your favorite chair with and allow it to sweep you away into another world. This Fantasy/Sci-Fi/Futuristic novel will entertain you for a few hours and keep you turning the pages to find out more about the plot as well as the characters. You can find out more about this talented author on her website: http://www.bessmcbride.com/. Enjoy!
Caribbean Dreams of Love by Bess McBride (Author Website)
Review Date: 12/13/2008
ISBN: 1-60154-374-3
E-Book Price: $6.00
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Read an Excerpt
SCORE: 5/5
Spending time together is something that Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lily, love to do. One of their favorite pastimes is to take different cruises together. They both decide they want to go on a Caribbean cruise and can’t wait to relax, eat until they’re content and bask in the Caribbean sun. They loved taking this cruise together in the past, so they can’t wait to get this one started.
While on the ship, they meet a variety of new people, but a few couples in particular bond well with them throughout the length of the cruise. Johana and Bjorn of Denmark are one of these couples. Bjorn is full of knowledge of the area and knows quite a few pirate legends that have been passed on throughout the years. While they are all intrigued with the legends they’re hearing about, each one of them takes the stories with a grain of salt.
They all remain skeptical until Daisy meets a handsome fellow named Peter on the ship and he begins telling the group more about the legends that he knows. Now this confuses Daisy even more. She begins to seriously wonder who Peter is and why he is as eccentric as he is. But there is something about Peter that keeps drawing her to him to the degree of being obsessed with him.
What happens during the cruise that has Daisy concerned for her and her daughter’s well-being? Who is this Peter fellow that Daisy keeps running into? Do they keep in touch after the cruise is over?
Ms. McBride has outdone herself yet again. I absolutely adored this story! The author’s descriptions of the characters, the beautiful scenery and the legends were all exquisitely done. I felt as if I was aboard the ship with the characters and seeing everything first hand. Ms. McBride is a true storyteller and her creative storylines are sure to please many readers’ tastes. I highly recommend this story and I know you’ll be thoroughly entertained as I was. This author is definitely one you shouldn’t pass up!
BLURB AND BOOK INFO:
Daisy and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Lilly, are embarking on a Caribbean cruise. She isn’t looking for anything special on the cruise other than a pleasant break from her humdrum existence as long-time divorced single mother to a busy teenage girl. She certainly isn’t prepared for an enigmatic man named Peter whose idiosyncrasies in dress and speech mark him as an eccentric person to avoid. But Daisy can’t avoid him. In fact, she begins to obsess about him from the first moment she catches him staring at her in the cruise ship terminal. Peter remains elusive and mysterious throughout the cruise. She catches sight of him occasionally, never often enough to please her, and they connect one wonderful night as he sweeps her into his arms for a waltz. A waltz? On a Caribbean cruise ship? While Daisy’s dinner companions share nightly tales of the legends of cursed pirates, Daisy dreams of the mysterious man who has captured her heart.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=2874
If you're looking for a short story that's exciting and hot and you want just the right one to fill in a few minutes of your free time, I have the perfect suggestion. Eight Erotic Nights by Catrina Calloway is a must read! This is her debut story and I assure you this won't be her last. She's a very talented writer and I hope to see many more of her stories cross our desks here at Night Owl Romance. Check out her myspace page at: http://www.myspace.com/CatrinaCalloway. Enjoy!Eight Erotic Nights: A Red Garters, Snow and Mistletoe Tale by Catrina Calloway (Author Website)
Genre(s): Erotic Romance
Review Date: 2/3/2009
E-Book Price: $3.00
Publisher: Resplendence -(Website)
Street Date: Out Now
Read an Excerpt
SCORE: 4.5/5
Laney Taylor is as depressed as she can ever be. Doing the best thing she can think of, she decides to take the last piece of exquisite china belonging to her late grandmother and sell it so she could help feed the homeless people who are living in their cars on the outskirts of town. The last time she sold a piece of china, she was able to feed quite a bit of homeless folks. Unfortunately though, it is extremely cold and the sidewalk near the antique shop is quite slippery. While noticing a loose shingle from a nearby roof, a gust of wind rips it up and sails it though the air right toward Laney. Feeling something hit her hard on her head, she reaches up to touch the area and panics when she sees her hand is covered with blood. Her vision begins to blur and she collapses to the pavement.
The next day when she finally opens her eyes again, she finds herself in the hospital with stitches and a bad lump on her head. She doesn’t recall much of what happened, but an aide fills her in that two hunky good Samaritans saved her life and brought her to the hospital. Unbeknownst to her, she has no idea that her life is going to change from this very moment on.
Who are the two good Samaritans that took her to the hospital and kept vigil at her bedside while she was unconscious? Did they know each other before the accident? How does Laney’s life change after the accident?
I really enjoyed this debut story written by Ms. Calloway. The storyline was quite creative and the characters were easy to fall in love with. I’m glad the author created Laney out of the likeness of any everyday sort of woman instead of molding her to be some super model. It was a delightful read for me to the very last page and I eagerly look forward to reading more from Ms. Calloway in the near future.
BLURB AND BOOK INFO:
A Red Garters, Snow and Mistletoe Tale
The holiday season is a time for joy, but Laney Taylor couldn’t be more depressed. She’s selling the last piece of her grandmother’s exquisite antique china to feed the hordes of ‘new’ homeless living in their cars in an abandoned parking lot on the outskirts of town. But on the way to the shop, an accident lands her in the hospital—and into the arms of the two hot, hunky Samaritans who saved her life.
Josh Goldman and Zach Brenner share a successful construction business, and a secret longing. They can’t believe their good fortune when they save Laney Taylor from a freezing to death. Both men have desired Laney since high school, and made a pact that if they ever had the chance to have a relationship with the sexy, full-figured woman of their dreams, they wouldn’t mind sharing.
When a winter storm gives Josh and Zach an opportunity to share the pleasures of the ‘festival of lights’ with Laney, and a chance to fulfill their long-held erotic fantasies, they can hardly believe the good fortune the Hanukkah holiday has brought them. While fate and circumstance may require their eventual separation, all three are determined that they will not waste a moment of their…
Eight erotic nights.
Review available at: http://www.nightowlromance.com/nightowlromance/reviews/Review.asp?ReviewId=3148