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His Secret Past

Katie_Reus | January 3rd, 2012

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This month I’m celebrating my third romantic suspense release from Carina! It’s also my first release of the year so I’m even more excited! I read and enjoy pretty much all sub-genres of romance, but suspense will always be one of my favorites. Probably because it’s the reason I fell so in love with romance in the first place. Throwing characters into a dire situation full of suspense and danger automatically heightens the tension in a story. Whether it involves a serial killer, stalkers, rogue CIA agents (like in His Secret Past!), mafia henchmen, just give me risk and excitement and I’m happy.

I like a good balance of romance and suspense, but in my reading it often doesn’t matter if one area is heavier than the other. With some authors I find that I really dig the action-packed non-stop adventures from chapter to chapter, while with others the characterization is so amazing that I don’t mind if the suspense aspect is slightly slower paced. Of course, in real life I probably wouldn’t want to deal with what most of the characters I read about have to live through, but romantic suspense is such a fun escape.

If you’d like a chance to win a digital copy of His Secret Past, just tell me what you like about romantic suspense.

Official blurb for His Secret Past:

Six years ago, Alexis Baptiste’s world was turned upside down when Hunter Cassidy disappeared without a trace, leaving her alone and pregnant. She’s finally moving on with her life when he resurfaces, just in time to rescue her from a would-be assassin. Forced to join him on the run to protect herself and her young son, Alexis is now in even more danger: danger of falling for Hunter all over again.

Betrayed by rogue CIA agents after infiltrating an infamous drug cartel, former DEA agent Hunter Cassidy has spent years trying to clear his name. He’s not proud of the things he’s done, and knows he doesn’t deserve a future with Alexis, or the son he never knew he had, but he’s determined to protect them from the men who ruined his life. Convincing Alexis to trust him—and denying his feelings for her—is going to be the hardest mission he’s ever faced.

His Secret Past is now available from Carina, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other major online retailers. To read the prologue and part of the first chapter, please click here.

Thanks so much for stopping by today! One random commenter will win a digital copy of His Secret Past. I’ll announce the winner in the comments section tomorrow on January 4, after noon Central time. (Contest open to all readers, 18 years or older, who are legally allowed to participate in such a contest as allowed by their local laws.)

A little about me: I’ve been reading romance since I discovered my mom’s hidden stash at a young age and the addiction stayed with me into adulthood. I write dark paranormal romance and sexy romantic suspense. I write for Carina Press, Harlequin Nocturne, and NAL/Signet Eclipse. To learn more about me please visit my website, my blog, facebook or find me on twitter @katiereus.

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Posted in Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 25 Comments »

Lady Seductress’s Ball

Eliza_Knight | December 20th, 2011

I am so excited to be here today and announcing the release of not only my first Carina Press novella, LADY SEDUCTRESS’S BALL, but also the release of a story that has been waiting a long time for readers to enjoy… and perhaps one that might even spark a bit of controversy… You see, my heroine commits adultery.

Now, before you all start tossing tomatoes, my heroine was guilt-tripped into marrying a man old enough to be her grandfather, who is very ill. I don’t blame her for falling in lust and eventually in love with another more virile man. In my opinion, she deserves love and pleasure, just as all women do. The few instances that her elderly husband has made it to her bedroom have been embarrassing, quiet, uncomfortable moments. This story is not only about a discovery of love, but a discovery of one’s body. An invitation to pleasure :-) I was so pleased that (after several rejections from elsewhere) my editor at Carina, Charlotte, actually GOT the story and was willing to give LADY SEDUCTRESS’S BALL a chance, for it isn’t an adultery tale, it is story of love and discovery.

Olivia hears women in drawing rooms talking about love making, and enjoying it. She doesn’t feel the things they are talking about when she is with her husband. In fact, Olivia starts to feel that she might truly have something wrong with her—even dubbing her affliction, amatory deficiency.

But there is one thing she’s fighting inside—her dreams. Dreams of a man who brings her to the brink of pleasure, but never to completion. This makes her feel even more inferior. She isn’t supposed to feel these things, and top of it, feel them with a man who is not her husband. And then, her dream man walks into her drawing room. Everything changes.

I’ve always been fascinated with how sex and pleasure were treated in history. In Regency times, women were just supposed to grin and bear it. Not enjoy it. Women who did enjoy it were looked upon as harlots in Society (although I suspect if a man married a woman who enjoyed it, he counted himself lucky!). This past summer I visited the Museum of Sex in NYC, and the contraptions they had to keep people from masturbating, and then instruments physician’s used to bring women to orgasm (treating them for hysteria—more likely they were just sexually frustrated) looked painful. But more to the point, I feel that a woman’s pleasure is still looked upon as “you’re lucky if you do.” I remember the first time I read a romance novel, my mother telling me that all the sex was fake and it wasn’t so in real life. I set out to prove her wrong :-)

LADY SEDUCTRESS’S BALL is about living out your fantasy. Taking your life into your own hands and discovering who you are. Shucking off the rigors of society and giving into your heart’s desire. It is about love, romance and pleasure.

Ever been to the Museum of Sex? I highly suggest it!

I truly hope you enjoy this tale, and I wish you all the best in 2012! I would also like to say, I have really enjoyed my experience with Carina. My editor really was instrumental in making this story come alive! I want to wish Charlotte, Angela and the rest of the Carina team Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!

Cheers,

Eliza

LADY SEDUCTRESS’S BALL now available!

Invitation to Pleasure

As the wife of the elderly Earl of March, Olivia Covington has never known the intimacies of the bedroom. Though her curiosity is piqued by the shocking whispers of society ladies, she is too wary of causing scandal to indulge in an affair. But Tristan Knightley, Earl of Newcastle, tempts her to throw off propriety.

Tristan wants Olivia for his own, and has sworn off all others until he can rid himself of the obsession. He is sure once he has a taste, he will tire of her, and can return to his rakish existence. Unable to wait to have her in his bed, he invites her for a tryst at Lady Seductress’s Ball…

24,000 words

Eliza Knight is the multipublished author of sizzling historical romance and erotic romance. Eliza grew up playing in castle ruins and traipsing the halls of Versailles when visiting her grandparents during the summer, which instilled a love of history at an early age. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain, and enjoys cold winter nights when she can curl up in front of a roaring fire with her own knight in shining armor. She is the owner of the popular historical blog, History Undressed.

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Posted in Carina Press | 15 Comments »

eBooks Make Great Gifts Too!

Julie_Forrest | December 16th, 2011

Julie Forrest, Manager, eBook Marketing

Are you giving a tablet or an eReader this holiday season? Why not load it up for the lucky new owner. Or are you looking for stocking stuffers for your favorite eBook devotees? Carina Press has eBooks for everyone on your list, and they make perfect gifts—convenient and sure to be appreciated. Make it personal with a card or note telling the recipient why you picked the book just for them.

How to Gift an eBook
If your loved one’s eReader supports ePub, purchase from CarinaPress.com and sideload directly to their device. Or, find your book on Kindle or Kobo, click on “Give as Gift” (Kindle) or “Send this book as a gift” (Kobo). Follow the instructions and you’re all set.  If you’re shopping for Nook, Apple or Sony eBooks, you can email gift cards.  It’s as easy at that.

If you’re not sure which books to choose, here are some suggestions to get you started. If you don’t see the perfect gift here, describe the person on your list in the comments and the Carina Press elves will find the perfect book for you.

For the romantic….

Click here for more.

For the Steampunk fan…

Click here for more.

For the passionate reader…

Click here for more.

For the history fan…

Click here for more.

For the Fantasy lover….

Click here for more.

For the SciFi Fanatic…

Click here for more.

For the Mystery and Suspense buff…

Click here for more.

The elves are on standby. Tell us who you’re shopping for in the comments, and we’ll find the perfect gift. Happy holidays!

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Posted in Carina Press | 4 Comments »

SCRIPTING UNSCRIPTED

Schwartz_Aaron | November 29th, 2011

Coverart When we met over ten years ago, we became instant friends. What brought us together? A mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Chick Lit books, a delicious little spread called Nutella and a new wave of television programming – reality TV.

Before the invention of TIVO or DVRs, we would religiously call one other every week during commercial breaks for The Bachelor or The Bachelorette. Our favorite pastime was to dish on every piece of drama and heartbreak the show could deliver. We were addicted and true, hardcore fans.

By the time we decided to write a Chick Lit together we were already working in reality TV so the the world of television production seemed the most natural of backdrops. However, when writing UNSCRIPTED, our protagonist Abby ended up being nothing like your typical, hopeless romantic Bachelorette. We considered making the character a reality show contestant, but rather than draw our inspiration from the shows and casts themselves, we found the people who made the magic happen behind the camera much more authentic and complex.

So we based Abby on the people we work with everyday. We focused more on her career, her friends and not catching a man – although that quickly changes…

Which brings us to Abby’s boss, Will. We didn’t see our Will on reality TV nor did we find him lurking behind the scenes with us. We wanted to create someone who could wake Abby from her reality TV induced fog, so we tried to make him a little mysterious, a little charming and a lot gorgeous.

After all these years, we are still true lovers of reality TV, The Bachelorette, and all that is good and unscripted in the world. So really, at the end of the day, if Trista could find her Ryan, why can’t Abby find her Prince Charming?

Are there any reality television shows that have inspired your own works of fiction? Are there any shows you can totally relate to? We’d love to hear about it!

You can find us at our website: http://www.unscriptedbook.com
on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/unscriptedbook?sk=wall and on Twitter @Unscriptedbook.

UNSCRIPTED is available at most e-book stores including Carina Press

All the best,

Natalie Aaron & Marla Schwartz

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press | 2 Comments »

The Girl Who Loves Wish Lists

Tara Stevens | November 28th, 2011

by Tara Stevens, Carina Press acquisitions team

With Christmas upon us and a good chunk of my shopping for other people done, I finally have time to revel in a recent addiction of mine: wish lists. I don’t know about you, but with so many fabulous books popping up every day all over creation, it’s hard to keep track of everything I want to devour in words.

Wish lists were probably invented by a Virgo, but sometimes Virgos invent useful things, especially if they’re also geeks. Having your heart’s desires at the ready is especially handy when your parents or partner want a gift idea that doesn’t involve stone-cold cash or a frying pan. I mean, they may know you’re generally a literary type who likes losing herself in other people’s stories, but they don’t necessarily know what particular book you’re craving at the moment. So why not help them (and yourself) out?

Besides being the more prepared way to go, I also think wish lists are a more polite approach to consumerism. (Maybe they were invented by a Canadian Virgo?) In light of recent “competitive shopping” incidents involving pepper spray south of the border, taking the civilized route not only nets you better karma (important at this time of year), but also increases your chances of actually getting what you want without landing yourself in prison.

The good and bad thing about wish lists (specifically book-related ones) is that they can be constantly updated and have the tendency to grow wildly out of control (like your bevvy consumption in December after one too many holiday parties).

Another neat thing about wish lists is that they’re so easy to set up online. With the advent of the interwebs, you just browse, pick and click to your heart’s content. The best part is that you can share your consumerist longings with those closest to you with a few taps on your keyboard. In my experience, you’ll quickly find out that some people know how to follow directions (i.e., keep you happy), while others don’t like being told what to do and go rogue with the nearest catalogue.

While most of my wish list this Christmas is populated by actual books (Blue Nights by Joan Didion, Then Again by Diane Keaton, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, anything I haven’t gobbled up by Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb), there are some other book-related things I also covet.

As part of the Carina Press acquisitions team, I’d love to see more male/male and witty contemporary romance submissions in my stocking this year. It would also be cool to get more connected editorial in 2012, so that when I find a story or character I love, I know there’s more guaranteed awesome to be had in the same vein coming my way soon.

But enough about me and what I want. What’s on your Christmas wish list (books or otherwise) this year?

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Posted in Books, Carina Press, Random conversation, submissions | 17 Comments »

Learning to Trust – and to love.

Lynne_Connolly | November 22nd, 2011

Learning To<img src=

In Learning to Trust, I tell the story of Jonathan and Lina, two damaged survivors who find love and strength in each other.

It started as a story for Harlequin Presents, but part way through, I needed something to bring them back together again. So I put in a firebomb. It just worked so well. So I went back and researched the background.

My heroine works in a café in Naples. She’s an ex addict, ex New York party girl of Italian origins, bringing her life back on track. Jon finds her in his search for his brother, Byron, and he knows she’s been seen with him.

So how could I connect drug addicts and bombs and Naples with a prominent New York family?

Easy. It turned out to be so easy, it was as if it was predestined. I couldn’t ignore this and turn it back to be a Presents, it would have been criminal to force all that wonderful source material back in the box.

The more I researched, the scarier the story got, and the more I loved it. Not scary in the horror sense, scary in the bombs and guns sense. Apparently, Naples is as gang-ridden as it always was. I avoided using the word “mafia,” because it’s not like “The Godfather” any more. It’s all business and money, and a lot of corruption. The government of Italy struggles to control the culture, but the gangs themselves are carefully organized, connected with others all over the world and enormously rich.

Naples itself has no-go areas, but Lina doesn’t work in one of these. She works in the kind of area where the working man and woman go, rather than the tourists. But even these areas have to pay protection money. And if they don’t—boom!

One of the things I learned was about knock-off goods. In most big cities you see people with makeshift stalls selling fake t-shirts, bags, sneakers and so on. They come from the East. But so do drugs. The main producer of heroin these days is Afghanistan, and the people who buy it will combine it with the fake goods for illegal importation to Europe and America. The old contacts in the States still receive the goods, and some of them have big legitimate businesses. Early in “Learning to Trust,” someone asks Jon where he gets his expensive sneakers from, and are they real. None of Lina’s friends know she is from wealth, and she doesn’t want them to, so he makes up a story on the spot, claiming he imports knock-offs to the States. A throwaway remark that leads to terrible repercussions later in the story.  Jon’s family owns sports and leisure goods stores. See what I mean about things working out?

This story melded so beautifully, I hardly had to write it. It happened in front of my eyes.Naples, Italy

I start writing by imagining the story, start to finish. I write the bare bones, the synopsis, then I go through it in more detail—in my head. I went back to the beginning and completely rewrote this one. It just came alive, the more I went into the research about this business.

Then another surprise. Someone I planned as a foil later in the story took on a life of his own. He wasn’t supposed to be a sympathetic character, but the more I saw his point of view, the more sympathetic he became.

More still. When I was doing research on how the authorities cope with the problems in Naples, I came across a covert section of British Intelligence I’d never heard of before. They’re the people who go to trouble spots and do things that aren’t quite legal, or they do illegal things in pursuit of a larger goal. The whole question of who you trust when there is nobody to trust fascinated me. And I’d love to write more.

So if you do your bit, I’ll do mine!

Lynne Connolly, http://lynneconnolly.com

Find me on Twitter as lynneconnolly

Learning To Trust from Carina Press

Lynne Connolly, http://lynneconnolly.com

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press | 5 Comments »

Carina Press Goes Steampunk at NY Comic Con!

Larissa_Walker | October 27th, 2011

by Julie Forrest, Manager, eBook Marketing

Last week we had the pleasure of attending NY Comic Con to represent Carina Press and “The Other Worlds of Harlequin.” To pay tribute to our fabulous collection of Steampunk (including our upcoming anthology, A Clockwork Christmas) Sunday was “steampunk yourself” day—booth staff dressed up and invited Con attendees to our tickle trunk.

(L-R: Elizabeth, Giselle, Julie, Drew, Carly)

We fully expected Sunday to be good times, but were still impressed by just how many people took part! And they were only too happy to strike a pose…

A few folks who visited us were already in full-on Steampunk attire. These two blew our minds:

The kids of the Con also got into the Steampunk spirit. Behold the cuteness!

Yes, Steampunk was big at Comic Con this year, and our collection is growing. Check out our Steampunk titles at CarinaPress.com.

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Posted in Appearances/ Conferences | 3 Comments »

We do it for the love

C.J. Barry | October 4th, 2011

When I started writing science fiction romance, I had no idea what I was doing. No clue about markets or distribution or craft. I didn’t even know that the genre I was writing had a name. One day, I just decided that I wanted to write a book, and since I grew up reading science fiction and romance, the combination worked for me. I was so excited and passionate about every word. Plus, hey, I’d read so many books, how hard could it be to write one?

Cohl slid forward another meter. Instinctively, he whipped the laser pistol sights toward a small black object that sailed silently through the air and landed in a heap ten meters from his feet. He squinted under the dimmed lights. It didn’t move. Looked like cloth.

Then another dark object dropped a few meters from it. Was that a sock? He lowered his weapon. What the hell?

The sock’s mate landed next to the first one. Cohl stepped out from his cover and stared at them. He looked up just in time to snag a pair of pants out of midair aimed at his head.

Tess emerged from behind a nearby container, smiling triumphantly and sporting nothing but a black lace bra and matching panties. It took a while for him to notice her weapon pointed at his chest. His was hanging limp from his hand, much like his jaw.

“Gotcha,” she said smugly.

Her breasts peeked luridly from behind the lace. His gaze skimmed down the slender waist and firm legs in direct proportion to his rising body temperature.

He tossed his laser pistol to the floor. “I surrender.” (Unearthed)

Over the next few years, I learned that writing was the hardest job I’ve ever done, my genre was called SFR, the market is quite small, and the readers are fiercely loyal. I also learned that love is love, no matter what planet you set it on or where your characters are from or what kind of craft they drive/fly.

He looked ready to kill as he tossed the suit down and stepped toward her. She stepped back.
“Is that damn plate all that matters to you?” He wasn’t even blinking.

She raised her chin. “Yes.”

“Just so you can become a Majj?” He took another step toward her, the heat of his anger reaching her.

“Now you’re getting it,” she shot back.

“There’s nothing else to you?”

“No.”

“You’re wrong,” he charged, his voice steely.

She blinked at him in surprise. Then shook her head. “My work is my life, it’s who I am. It’s all that I am.”

“Wrong,” he repeated, taking another step and backing her to the wall.

“Ask anyone,” she stammered. “If I lose my career, I lose everything I am. I lose myself.”

“Wrong.”

His mouth closed over hers and if she’d had anything else to say, it was quickly forgotten in the great rush of blood from her brain. (Unraveled)

Love truly is the universal language. It’s why we are here. It’s why we sacrifice, how we connect, and how we keep going when all seems lost. These stories, they are you and me and every soul on this planet. We all tell our love stories in different ways—through music, literature, art, song, food, volunteering, nursing, gardening, and in all the many jobs we hold every day.

“I’ll help you across,” he said quietly.

Lacey shook her head. That meant “No, I’m not going.” He as an intelligent life form, he should be able to figure that out.

Zain took her clenched fists in his hands. He looked down, frowned and carefully pried open one of her fists. She winced and realized blood creased her palm where her fingernails had dug in.

She heard him say something softly, and hen he pried open her other hand.
Slowly, his gaze rose to hers. She waited for him to tell her that her fears were stupid and ridiculous. To tell her in a lengthy, humiliating lecture how she should be able to conquer them like a normal person.

Just like Robert.

Instead, he wrapped her fingers in his and gently pulled her toward him.

“Look at me,” he whispered, and she promptly lost herself in his dark eyes. (Unleashed)

The thing about love is that you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s no guide book, no classes, no training. Sometimes, you just have to hold your breath and jump. How hard could it be?

“You can’t hold it in forever,” Torrie whispered.

A hard shudder shook Qaade’s body as if her words gave him permission to release. He took a deep breath and held it.

She waited as long seconds passed, almost afraid of what might happen when he finally let go. And then he threw his head back and roared like a wounded animal. The plaintive howl pierced her soul and brought tears to her eyes.

Over and over again he roared, unleashing his anger and grief for his lost people.

She wrapped her arms around his torso and held him tightly, trying to get through to the man beneath the pain.

Steam rose from his skin with each tormented outburst, and her tears soaked the back of his shirt. It was like watching him be torn apart from the inside.

How could she have doubted him even for a moment? (Unmasked)

Here’s to jumping.

CJ Barry
www.cjbarry.com
The series on Carina Press
http://www.facebook.com/pages/CJ-Barry-Readers/300678919146
http://twitter.com/#!/cj_barry

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Excerpt | 5 Comments »

Walking the SF Plank

Robert_Appleton | September 28th, 2011

Remember the execution scene in Return of the Jedi, when Luke and Han are forced to walk the plank over the Sarlacc Pit? Classic pulp sci-fi stuff. I mean there’s no way they can get out of that mess, right? R2?

Well, that scene gave me nightmares as a kid. The appalling odds (shut up, 3PO) of escape. Han’s blindness. The tentacles reaching up, dragging Boba Fett and others in for a gratuitous thousand-year digestion. Um, thanks for that one, George.

Cut to me as a thirty-year-old SF author inching my way along that same plank, about to submit my latest manuscript for publication. In my mind, the odds of doom are equally appalling—I trusted in Sparks in Cosmic Dust as I was writing it, but as soon as I let it go…I could practically hear the Sarlacc’s burp.

Nervous isn’t the word. All those months of outlining, worldbuilding, writing, editing and heeding Angela James’s sage ‘Before You Hit Send’ advice are now Bantha fodder because:

a) the story sucks
b) the title sucks
c) I suck
d) I should have concentrated more on the Romance & eased off on the SF
e) I should have concentrated more on the SF & eased off on the Romance
f) my writing style has gotten more juvenile than an Ewok
g) my writing style has gotten more cryptic than Yoda on peyote
h) Carina’s contemporary romances are selling HUGE
i) Carina’s straight SF (without the romance label) is selling…hey, there aren’t any yet!*

*in late 2010

After twenty published books, you’d think I’d have this confidence thing licked by now. Maybe if I stuck to one genre or conformed more to the mainstream, hitting send might get easier. In a way it has—I have a track record behind me, so if nothing else, I know my writing itself is ready for prime time. But these offbeat stories…man, they lead me out over the Sarlacc every goddamn time.

It’s exhilarating when the acceptance call or email comes in—in the case of Sparks, it was a double acceptance email (with SF novella Alien Velocity, March 2012)—but I’m telling you, any confidence I had while writing this novel, my longest at 87K, evaporated as soon as I’d finished polishing the synopsis. Doubt is an ever-present entity for an author. But so is faith is one’s creative abilities, deep down, the way the Force is for Luke Skywalker. It has to be. As desperate as things seem, he can ultimately find that calm centre telling him everything will work out fine if he believes in his ability to make it so. Sometimes that means taking hits, revising strategies, and growing a thicker skin in the process.

It also means taking chances and following them through no matter what. More than anything else, that’s what Sparks in Cosmic Dust means to me. No half measures. No compromises.

“Do or do not. There is no try.”

As it turned out, the Force was strong with me. Alissa Davis, my steampunk editor at Carina, isn’t keen on straight SF so she passed it on to Deb Nemeth, who loved it. Consequently, I now have two of the best editors I’ve ever worked with, in my two favourite genres.

Eat that, Sarlacc!

The final frontier is shrinking. Interstellar Planetary Administration sanctions are forcing the border colonies of deep space into extinction. Kappa Max is one of the last major cutthroat outposts, home to the lawless and the lonely…

Varinia Wilcox, the star attraction of a lucrative bordello gambling house.
Solomon Bodine, spurned by his lover and looking for distraction.
Clayton Barry, AWOL and a few drinks away from having to live in the gutter.
Lyssa Foaloak, a double-crossing criminal who’ll kill anyone for a few credits.

Four strangers, each with secrets that could cost them their freedom, are desperate to get off-planet. They meet Grace Peters, a cynical ex-doctor with an intriguing offer: a six-month trip to a faraway moon where she claims a stunning fortune awaits.

But this adventure is no easy escape. Danger, passion, secrets and madness await. Can they survive the mission, and each other, to make it out alive?

87,000 words

To celebrate the release of Sparks in Cosmic Dust, I’ve written a five-part look at the book’s development, from initial concept to publication. I’m also giving away one SF title from my back catalogue with each segment, ending with this special Sparks giveaway. The contests are all still live, and the winners will be announced on September 30th on my own blog: http://robertbappleton.blogspot.com

Here’s where you can find the other installments:

Part 1: Concept (Aug 31)—Contact: Infinite Futures Blog
Part 2: Character (Sep 13)—Mercurial Times (my blog)
Part 3: Worldbuilding (Sep 23)—Shawn Kupfer’s Blog
Part 4: The Writing Process (Sep 26)—Cathy Pegau’s Blog

With this final installment, I’m giving away an ebook copy of Sparks in Cosmic Dust. To enter, simply leave a comment on this blog post. Also, anyone who enters all five contests will automatically win an ebook of their choice (except Sparks) from my SF backlist.

Thanks and good luck!

Robert Appleton
www.robertappleton.co.uk
http://twitter.com/robertappleton

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 16 Comments »

A Scandalous Proposition

Wendy_Soliman | September 13th, 2011

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What is it about men in tight-fitting breeches that’s so compelling? Okay, that was a rhetorical question and one that’s probably best not explored in exacting detail on this forum.

Hum, let’s start again. Call me a tart but I dream up heroes for my Regencies before turning my mind to his female counterpart. Well, there has to be some perks to being a writer! I think about his…er, physical attributes, his line of work, his place in Regency society, his integrity— that kind of stuff. I need to know what makes him tick and what hang-ups he has so I can invent difficulties that keep him from the heroine’s tender clutches.

A Scandalous Proposition is set in the middle of the Napoleonic Wars so it wasn’t unreasonable to have a soldier as a hero. Don’t know about you but whenever I think of those damned wars, images of Sean Bean, dressed in his dusty uniform of the 95th Rifles, springs to mind. (Pauses to fan herself). Once I got that picture in my brain it wouldn’t shift so I knew there was nothing else for it, my hero had to be an officer in that same regiment.

I like my romances mixed up with lots of intrigue, complications and even the odd murder, all of which you’ll find in A Scandalous Proposition. Major Lord Adam Fitzroy of you-know-which regiment gets involved with a Spanish émigré, (cue our heroine Florentina), who acts as companion to his mother, the Dowager Duchess of Southsea, and appears to have links to the local house of ill repute. Whilst wrestling with that delicate issue Adam also has to face his ex-intended, who’d calmly got herself hitched to his brother the duke whilst Adam was away fighting for king and county. Undeterred by the change in her marital status, she seems to think that she and Adam can pick up where they left off. What a floosie! Florentina doesn’t help matters by being far more complex than he’d realised, mixed up in all sorts of daring exploits that lead to those intriguing complications I mentioned earlier.

And that’s all I’m telling you, other than to say that whipped cream and strawberries come into the book! Want to know more? Go to my website at http://www.wendysoliman.com where you can read the first chapter. Enter the contest I’m running there and you stand a chance of winning a copy of the book.

Good luck!

Wendy Soliman was brought up on the Isle of Wight in Southern England where a plethora historic buildings littering the landscape spawned her love of bygone times. She lives with her husband and a rescued dog of indeterminate pedigree and divides her time between Andorra and the west coast of Florida.

Visit her website at http://www.wendysoliman.com
You can find her blog here: http://wendysoliman.blogspot.com/
Follow her on twitter: @wendyswriter
Facebook Author Page: https://www.facebook.com/wendy.soliman.author?ref=ts

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