Posts Tagged ‘giveaway’

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Have You Ignored an Important Call?

Bonnie_Paulson | August 24th, 2011

Take that call next time.

Telemarketers always bug me during my writing time – afternoonish when my kids are sleeping. One or two a da. You’d think I was rich.

November 4th I sat down to write a particularly difficult scene and my phone rang. I glared at the offending buzz and shook my head.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz. I groaned and answered. “Hello?”

“Is Bonnie Paulson available?” Super sweet voice which makes it even harder to say “no, not interested”.

“This is.” Mama taught me manners and I use ‘em.

“Hi, Bonnie. This is Angela James from Carina Press. I’m calling about the manuscript you submitted.” At this point, my eyebrows scrunched together. Had I done something wrong?  I’d never heard of an editor calling an author. Maybe I’d offended someone. Still wasn’t 100% certain she wasn’t a telemarketer.

But Ms. James continued on and I realized she was offering me a contract. I’d said “Uh hunh” to her comments and she paused, asking if I had any questions so far.

My response? Yeah, she tweeted about it. I said, “I think I’m gonna throw up.”

And you know what? I didn’t, but that sense of surreality hasn’t left.

Mallory Braus proved to be as sweet and romantic-at-heart as Breathe Again needed.

Angela James has been more than accessible and supportive at every turn – even when I sent her interview questions for my own blog that were less than professional.

My cover artist took my breath away.

The copy editor made me smile and taught me a thing or three.

But Mallory worked my story over and in my developmental edits she made a suggestion that, as I worked it out, brought me to tears. I finished the scene sobbing, closed my laptop and looked around. The only think I wanted to do involved an empty wineglass (I don’t drink), a fireplace (green of course) and me looking for tissues around the apartment/house.

Mallory and the Carina Press team made me feel like Joan Wilder discovering my stories all over again.

Here’s a favorite part of mine from Breathe Again.

How could one man be sweet and genuine while the other lacked all sense of manners? Maybe the brute was raised on a farm where he never had the opportunity to see normal people and acted like a bull because he was raised among the cows. Maybe my sheep reference hadn’t been far off… Shampoo bubbles filled my hair and a chuckle escaped at the thought of Brodan in denim overalls slinging muck.

Ryan, on the other hand, seemed smooth and courteous, fun even. He’d made me laugh and that hadn’t happened in a long time.

But if I could put Ryan’s personality into Brodan’s body, it might have been just what I would be looking for, or not looking for, since the idea was strictly shower thinking. I’d gotten in trouble before, pursuing thoughts generated in the shower.

I lathered my body, trying to push the images of the men from my head. Aided by my hunger, I switched easily to considering menu items, with thoughts of pancakes smothered in syrup and crisp sizzling bacon ruling my mind.

By the time I finished washing, my stomach growled in earnest. I wouldn’t make it another two hours. Rather I left for the 24-hour one-stop shop ten minutes farther.

Beside my adorable VW van, blue with a white top from the early 70s, I drew in a deep breath. I loved when the rest of the world slept and it felt like I was the only one awake. Opening my door, I tossed my purse onto the seat beside the driver’s side. Before I climbed in, the blue paint glinted, reminding me of Brodan….

Dang. I’d have to retrain my attraction guide. The man’s similarities to Dean should have been the only repellent I needed. Add his rudeness and the fact we couldn’t be in the same room together, I should feel nauseated just thinking of him. Get him out of your head, Maggie.

I wrote Breathe Again while I was pregnant and you’ll notice I involve food a lot in my story. I’d write about the lasagna (recipe to follow) Maggie makes for Brodan and of course, finished the scene and had to make some. I ate most of it – much to my Hubs distress.

I drew my husband in with this recipe I developed – my own personal creation. You can find it at the bottom of this post. Maybe make it for you and your *wink* friend or eat it while you read Breathe Again.

Breathe Again Cover
Don’t you love this cover? Maggie leans against Brodan. The skyline reminds me of a Montana sunset. Carina Press artists captured the mood perfectly. I literally gasped when I saw it – and teared up.

I hope you enjoy Breath Again. Another book I would direct you do – well, two actually – Craving Perfect by Liz Fichera and Endless Night by Maureen A. Miller OH and Man Law by Adrienne Giordanno, so three.

They capture the essence of what Carina has to offer – exceptional authors with a phenomenal team backing them. Harlequin is so awesome I used superlatives that aren’t slang.

Knock-Your-Socks-Off Lasagna OR Dip-It Lasagna

  • Sauce Ingredients: One large can of tomato sauce, 1 large can diced tomatoes, 1 TB of minced garlic (with oil), chopped onions, italian sausage, 2 TB dry/fresh parsley, 2 TB sugar, 1 – 2 TB salt with pepper:
  • Everything but the sauce and diced tomatoes brown in a pan keeping the sausage oil. Add the tomato sauce and tomatoes. Simmer until the rest of the ingredients are ready.
  • Cheese ingredients: One small ricotta cheese, one medium cottage cheese, 2 cups mozzarella grated, garlic salt (about 1 TB).
  • Mix all and set aside to be layered.
  • Layering ingredients: Fresh spinach, fresh sliced mushrooms, sliced olives, anything else you like in your lasagna – like noodles – but don’t prepare too many, this is a less-pasta-more-fun-stuff dish.
  • Start your layers. Best to start with something like mushrooms then top with pasta, sauce then cheese. Next, olives, spinach, pasta, sauce then cheese. You should have a fairly thick dish with few layers. Cheese tops it and you’ll cook it in your pan (whatever kind you love) at 350 F for 30 to 40 minutes. This is SLOPPY and great to dip your garlic bread in. I love garlic.
  • Also, play with this recipe. You can’t ruin it because it’s a subjective dish. Like it sweeter? Add more sugar. More noodles? Add more. The sauce and the bread is the only reason I make it.

Bonnie R. Paulson

Enjoy and please! Please! Please! email me and let me know how you liked it! bonnierpaulson@gmail.com

Come find me on Twitter – @bonnierpaulson

And my blog: www.bonnierpaulson.com

I’m offering a $10 gift card to a randomly selected commenter on today’s post. To another a copy of BREATHE AGAIN – Woot!

I’d like to know who has supported you throughout your life? It’s all about people and the roles they play to our hearts. Maggie and Brodan help the other heal… Who do you have? This is your “I’d like to thank the Academy” moment. What would you say?

Oh, sorry? Did you say you wanted to know how you can purchase Breathe Again?

Carina Press (of course!), Amazon, Nook,Lybrary.com.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway, Cover Art, Excerpt | 32 Comments »

Let’s Talk About Sex with Dr. Hot and the HoneyPot – Inez Kelley

Inez_Kelley | August 2nd, 2011

“Hello, lovers. Welcome to a special edition of WTXT’s Let’s Talk About Sex with Dr. Hot and the Honeypot LIVE from the Carina Press blog! We’re going to bare it all and give you a little sneaky peek behind the scenes of TURN IT UP, a sassy little novel featuring US!”

“Honey, you can bare whatever you want. I’m not dropping my pants for anyone else.” Bastian’s rich butterscotch voice held a note of iron. “You’ve talked about my sex life, or lack thereof, quite enough to a certain writer who shall remain nameless.”

Charie’s laugh echoed from the open back of the mobile van, registering near red on the vocal gauge. “Lighten up, Doc. And if you’d dropped those pants before *edited by Inez for spoiler content* then Nez’s book would have had three big old neon Xs across the front.”

He looked up at the sky and exhaled loudly into his headset mike. “And this, listeners, is why I never tell her what movie we’re going to go see. Honey doesn’t get the whole SPOILER idea.”

“It’s a romance novel. A happily ever after is guaranteed, or at least implied. I didn’t tell them who won our bet.”

“You better not, either.” Hot wind ruffled the dandelion-gold of his hair, the hue dark next to the white van. “Some people actually enjoy being surprised. They like the whole anticipation thing, the excitement that builds into a mania, the look forward to the next day or the next page or the next minute.”

Naughtiness inched out and carried across the airwaves on her purr. She walked her fingers up his chest, each nail climbing higher and higher. “I do like anticipation, the building excitement, the pulse-pounding, breathless wait for that one moment when everything—” She dropped her eyes to his zipper “— and I do mean everything, comes together at the end.”

“Stop.” He shot her a warning glare. “This is a PG blog. Do you want to give Angela James a coronary?”

Jealousy struck like a cobra, swift, sharp and painful. Charlie’s shoulders straightened and her chin lifted. “Angie’s a big girl. She can handle it.”

Mischievousness played around his mouth, curving his bottom lip fuller than the top. “Probably, but I did take an oath, Honey. If anyone needs medical help, I can’t just stand by and watch.”

“She’ll be fine. There’s no reason for you to go into medicine-man-mode. No one gets mouth to mouth from you but me. She’s got her own guy.”

One tawny eyebrow arched. “So does Deb Nemeth. She edits all sorts of erotic stuff, but I seem to remember her having a few red-faced moments while editing all the wicked things you thought about.”

“Me? Want to tell our listeners about you and that shower? The one with the peach lube?”

High color erupted across his cheeks. “Tell me that did not make it in the final edit.”

“Oh yes, it did. Every warm, wet, peachy stroke.”

“You are evil.” Bastian paced away three steps until the headset cord halted his movement. Whipping around, he crossed his arms and breathed through his nose. “That was kind of a personal moment, you know.”

“Get a grip, Doc.” She bit her lip but a giggle leaked out. “Well, I guess you did that in the shower.”

His tightened mouth barely let his words escape. “It was doctor’s orders.”

“Uh-huh, sure it was. Come on, you’re always telling our listeners that masturbation is a normal human behavior and nothing to be ashamed of. Practice what you peach, I mean, preach.”

“Normal, yes. Private, yes. It didn’t need to be splashed across the page.” His eyes pinched closed as her laugh rang out. “Bad choice of words. You know what I mean. Go to a commercial break or something, will you? I’m dying here.”

Going to her tiptoes, she popped a fast kiss across his lips. “Don’t worry. I got your back… and your front, if you’d let me.”

“Honey,” he growled.

“Oh, all right, spoilsport.” Charlie stepped away and eased the remote console’s master lever higher. Theme music filled her earpiece.

“While Doc takes a breather to cool down, check out our story, TURN IT UP by Inez Kelley. Talk is foreplay and, oh boy, did we use it. This is WTXT’s Let’s Talk About Sex with Doctor Hot and the Honeypot, Live on the Carina Press blog, where no great story goes untold…even if it does come with peach lube.”

“HONEY!”

“Oops! Be sure to follow @DrHotBastian and @HoneyPotCharlie today on Twitter at #DocNHoney. Or you can talk to us in the comments below. We’re LIVE, after all. We’ll answer unless the SPAM filter eats us. We’re talking about sex, Carina, love and anything you want to throw at us. We’ll pick one commenter and one tweeter to win FREE copies of TURN IT UP! Talk to us, lovers.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

TURN IT UP

Dr. Bastian Talbot and self-proclaimed sex goddess Charlie Pierce heat up the air waves with their flirty banter as radio hosts Dr. Hot and the Honeypot. Off the air, they’re best friends…but Bastian wants to be so much more. He wants Charlie—in bed, and forever.

Problem is, Charlie doesn’t do commitment. Sure, she’s had X-rated fantasies of Bastian, but he was always just a friend—until he impulsively proposes and unleashes the lust they’ve been denying for years. Charlie’s willing to explore where their wild chemistry leads, but she won’t marry him. And he won’t have sex with her until she accepts his proposal, despite her seductive schemes.

What are Dr. Hot and the Honeypot to do? Ask their listeners for advice on how to tame a sex kitten and turn a perfect gentleman into a shameless lover. The Race to Wed or Bed is on…who will turn up on top?

Inez Kelley is a multi-published author of various romance genres. You can visit her at her website http://inezkelley.com/ Follow her on twitter at @Inez_Kelley or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/inez.kelley

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Posted in Authors, Behind the Scenes, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 30 Comments »

The Problem with Princesses

Bettie Sharpe | June 28th, 2011

Princesses are everywhere. You can’t avoid them, can’t escape them. Cinderella, Snow White, Waity Katie. There are princess parties, princess pedicures, princess diaries and princess diets. Little girls dress up in tiaras and tulle; big girls buy out the entire run of a certain royal blue Issa dress hours after the engagement photos hit the net.

According to the media, no matter what heights of personal independence and professional success modern women achieve, we still want the fairy tale. I can’t argue with that—I do want the fairy tale. Just, not the Disney Princess™ version.

Growing up, my favorite fairy and folk tales were “Puss in Boots,” “Brer Rabbit,” “Jack the Giant Killer,” and “Hansel and Gretel.” These stories do not star pretty, passive princesses who sit and wait to be helped, to be saved, to be married. No, my favorite fairy tales feature adventure, danger and derring-do! They are stories where the little guy triumphs over big odds through cleverness, cunning, and courage. Unfortunately, in these tales the “little guy” is almost always just that—a guy. Princesses aren’t the protagonists, they’re the prize. And therein lies the problem.

Most popular female-centered fairy tales are about princesses, but princesses are only special because of who their parents are or who they’re married to. Just as their importance is by proxy, so, too are their adventures. Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella and Snow White don’t really do anything, except suffer virtuously while waiting to be found and rescued.

So what do you do when you love fairy tales, love adventure, and long for a strong heroine who can be clever and courageous and flawed, and still get her Happily Ever After? You write it yourself.

Catriona, the heroine of my novella, Cat’s Tale: A Fairy Tale Retold, is about as far from the typical fairy tale princess as you can get. There’s nothing long-suffering or virtuous about her. She may be beautiful, but at the start of the tale she’s also vain and indolent, a wicked woman with the morals of an alley cat.

After an evil wizard transforms our heroine into the feline she so resembled, Cat has to try to counter the curse without the aid of her looks, her money, or her killer wardrobe. What’s a pampered princess to do? Find a man to fix it, of course.

When she meets Julian, a handsome and kind-hearted miller’s son, Cat thinks she’s found the perfect patsy to buy her a pair of boots and aid her plans. But Julian turns out to be attractive, intelligent, and a bit too honest for his own good. Cat comes to respect him, to like him, to love him.

And all the while, Julian thinks she’s just a talking cat.

If Cat can keep her secret and regain her human form, she’s certain her beauty will win Julian’s heart—even though it means she’ll be gaining a lover at the cost of her only friend. But that’s a sacrifice she’ll have to make. After all, everyone knows men want women who are modest, chaste and virtuous—and Cat is anything but. A good man like Julian could never love a woman with such a wicked past. Could he?

If you’re like me, and you love fairy tales but have a problem with princesses, give Cat’s Tale a read. I guarantee Cat isn’t like any fairy tale heroine you’ve read before. If you’re hesitant to buy an unknown author, try me out first with Ember, my retelling of Cinderella. It’s available for free at my website. I’m also giving away an epub copy of Cat’s Tale to a randomly selected commenter. Tell me how you feel about princesses—love, hate, tolerate? All opinions are valid and welcome.

Bettie Sharpe is a Los Angeles native with a fondness for hot weather, classic cars and air so thick it sticks in your teeth. When she’s not busy attempting to metabolize smog into oxygen, she enjoys romance novels, action movies, comic books, video games and every other entertainment product her teachers said would rot her brain. She loves to write almost as much as she loves to read. As a child, she dreamed of seeing her name in shiny gold cursive on the cover of a luridly titled paperback book.

Bettie’s next release is a short story retelling “The Little Mermaid” called  ”Each Step Sublime.” Find out more at her website.

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Posted in Authors, Books | 21 Comments »

Confessions of a Closet Monarchist

Jane Kindred | June 28th, 2011

I didn’t expect to be writing novels about the unjust persecution of misunderstood monarchs. It just sort of…happened. I blame The Scarlet Pimpernel.

I loved that story as a girl; I loved the 1934 movie with Leslie Howard and Merle Oberon on the late-night movies, and I loved the made-for-TV movie in the 80s with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, and just recently as I was scanning Netflix for streaming videos to watch, I loved the 90s version with Richard E. Grant and Elizabeth McGovern. (And just about died of swoonage at the line Grant delivers to McGovern at the end, as Sir Percy realizes he’s in love with his wife; as they’re going in for the romantic final kiss, she says something that ends with “…in a word, marriage,” and he replies in his fabulously perfect foppish drawl, “Marriage i’n’t a word, it’s a sentence.”)

Okay, so maybe that says more about how I have a thing for somewhat effeminate men with foppish drawls, but that’s a story for another time.

It was while watching The Scarlet Pimpernel that I had this twinge of guilt: I was rooting for the French aristocracy. Shouldn’t I have been on the side of the poor and oppressed? Shouldn’t I feel downright evil for loving The Scarlet Pimpernel?

And then I got to thinking about the world of my novella The Devil’s Garden and how the divine monarchs are wronged during a violent revolution. Well, it’s one little story, I told myself. It’s not like I—and then I remembered I was writing a series inspired by the tragedy of the murdered Romanov family during the Bolshevik Revolution. That was when I realized it: I am a terrible, terrible monarchist.

So what is it with me siding with the ruling class of an outdated and oppressive form of government against the peasants who suffered under it? It isn’t that I think the peasants were wrong to resist oppression or that those monarchies should have remained in place (though I won’t deny there’s something romantic about royalty; I didn’t watch the recent British royal nuptials, but I got up at 3:00 a.m. to watch Charles’ and Di’s wedding live when I was a kid).

I suppose what it comes down to is that in all of these cases, it wasn’t just governments being overthrown, it was individuals being blamed for all the ills of their societies and then being brutally murdered as scapegoats. It’s the people caught up in situations beyond their control—like Tsar Nicholas and his Alexandra, and their four daughters and son murdered with them—who tug at my heart.

Perhaps my sympathies are misplaced, but I’ve always found these events in history deeply tragic. And tragedy, well—to me, it’s always the beginning of a great story.

Whether you’re a dirty monarchist like me or it’s vive la revolution all the way, I’d love to hear about your favorite classic stories. The Count of Monte Cristo and The Man in the Iron Mask are some others I’ve always adored. Tell me yours and I’ll pick one commenter at random to win a free copy of The Devil’s Garden.

The Devil's Garden by Jane Kindred

In The Devil’s Garden, appearances can be deceiving…

Ume Sky enjoys her place of honor as temple courtesan for the reigning Meer of In’La—until an assignation with a client ends in violence. Her elite status stripped away, Ume is forced to return to a life on the streets as Cillian Rede, the boy she used to be.

Cillian finds temporary harbor with dockhand Cree Sylva, where fear keeps him from revealing his former identity, but as the two become lovers, Cillian learns Cree is not without secrets.

When Cillian has the opportunity to regain his position through a liaison with the Meer himself, he is torn between his feelings for Cree and his need to live as Ume. But there’s even more at stake when Ume finds herself entangled in a plot to rid the Delta of divine rule…

The Devil’s Garden is available now.

* * *

Jane KindredJane Kindred began writing fantasy at age 12 in the wayback of a Plymouth Fury—which, as far as she recalls, never killed anyone…who didn’t have it coming. She spent her formative years ruining her eyes reading romance novels in the Tucson sun and watching Star Trek marathons in the dark. Although she was repeatedly urged to learn a marketable skill, she received a B.A. in Creative Writing anyway from the University of Arizona.

She now writes to the sound of San Francisco foghorns while two cats slowly but surely edge her off the side of the bed.

You can find Jane on Twitter: @JaneKindred
on Facebook: www.facebook.com/somewherebetweenheavenandhell
or on her website: www.janekindred.com

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 28 Comments »

Balancing the Differences

Lilly_Cain | June 15th, 2011

I’m so excited that THE NAKED TRUTH, the second book in The Confederacy Treaty series releases this week. The Naked Truth was actually written before my first book with Carina Press, Alien Revealed, but as I worked through the plot I realized that there was more to the story than what happened between a wrongfully accused human and an alien examiner sent to prove her innocence or punish her guilt. And so I wrote Alien Revealed. I was so happy when it came out last year during the launch of Carina Press.

A year later and The Naked Truth is being released, almost on top of Carina’s first anniversary. I want to take a moment and congratulate the team, Carina Press is truly fantastic!

But back to the balancing act within The Confederation Treaty. In Alien Revealed, the heroine is an alien from the Inarrii race, a part of the larger Confederation of races throughout the universe. In The Naked Truth the hero is also an Inarrii. Developing these people has been an act of careful balance. I want them to be identifiable and relatable to the reader as aliens, but I also want them to come across as wickedly sexy!

So first of all, thank you to Star Trek (check ou these aliens!) and Star Wars and all those other sci-fi adventures on the screens both big and small. You allow me to have aliens that are bi-pedal or humanoid. It would be hard to make a big spider or a blob of goo sexy. Those aliens no doubt exist out there, somewhere within the Confederation, but the Inarrii have been chosen to meet with the humans because they look a lot like us.

Inarrii are highly sensual, their physical differences from us demand this—they have nerves that run over a large part of their body that react to stimulation of any sort, and without sexual release, that stimulation can build within them until it threatens their sanity. This, coupled with varying levels of telepathy and empathy, and cultural diversity are what makes the Inarrii different. And yet it is also what makes then so delicious. They need a sexual union, but they also need a connection to the mind of their loves. Don’t we all want that?

What is your favorite alien race in popular sci-fi? Did you find them sexy and why? Or were they just so weird they caught you and wouldn’t let you go? Drop me a line below and I’ll give away a copy of The Naked Truth to a random commenter.

The Naked Truth:
Captain Susan Branscombe was the victim of brutal torture at the hands of terrorists. Though rescued, she’s now facing an equally brutal accusation: treason.

The only way she can prove her innocence is to allow Asler Kiis, a Confederacy Examiner, to delve into the depths of her mind. Asler is Inarri, the alien race that made contact with Earth just months before. His duty is to find the truth, but when he explores Susan’s mind he can’t resist drawing her into a more intimate experience.
Susan takes comfort in Asler’s heated sensuality. Their erotic sensory exploration chases away the darkness and her body aches for more. But as their desire reaches new limits Susan finds it difficult to suppress the memories she is desperate to forget.

Is the passion they share enough to let Susan push aside her fear and trust Asler, not only with her mind and body but with her ever-opening heart?

Pick up a copy of The Naked Truth here.
Pick up Alien Revealed here.

Lilly has been a member of the Romance Writer’s of Atlantic Canada for about eight years, and writing erotic romance for the last three. When not living up to her pen name, Lilly is a single mom who loves reading and writing, dabbling in art and loving and caring for her two daughters. She loves romance and the freedom erotic fantasy provides her imagination. Her stories are an escape and a release, and she hopes that they can give you that power, too.

For more about Lilly and her stories of darkly seductive fantasy and sensual romance, visit her website at www.lillycain.com

Follow Lilly on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LillyCain
Visit Lilly’s facebook at www.facebook.ca/Lilly.Cain

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 17 Comments »

Origins

Maureen Miller | May 17th, 2011

So often an author is asked about their origins in writing. “How old were you when you first started?” “What brought you to your genre?”

Romantic Suspense attracted me long before I even had a grasp for what the subject matter represented. I can remember watching Scooby Doo with a sense of fear and anticipation over the ghosts and monsters, and at the same time, I would fantasize about what a nice couple Fred and Daphne made. Granted, as I grew older, I faced the fact that Daphne was intellectually challenged, and Fred wasn’t exactly the hero of the show…the dog was. In that naïve state of childhood, however, I was enthralled with the blend of danger and romance that Scooby Doo had to offer.

As a tween-ager, I moved onto the mystique of the gothic romance. Authors such as Victoria Holt, Mary Stewart, and yes, particularly the Bronte sisters captivated me. In my spare time I doodled my own gothic romance book covers because I thought they were as captivating as the books themselves. Using black construction paper and a white colored pencil, I sketched a woman in a white gown astride a white stallion, both creatures trapped in the moonlight. As admirable as that sounds, it is fortunate for the world that I chose to write instead of becoming an illustrator!

Then into my full teenage-mode, I played clarinet in the marching band. Not much from the romantic suspense genre can be derived from that except to say that those were the years I learned I wanted to write. Classes like Honors English and Creative Writing were just stepping stones to the inevitable.

In ENDLESS NIGHT you will see an infusion of my roots. Wakefield House, the sinister mansion perched on the cliffs evokes images of the haunted house in the opening credits of Scooby Doo. The cover, thanks to the wonderful talent of Angela Waters captures what I always tried to achieve with my white colored pencil and black construction paper. A woman in peril is poised on the cliffs, pinned by the moonlight with the portent of danger close at hand. I thrive on the same atmosphere I have since childhood.

Megan Summers, the heroine of ENDLESS NIGHT, I am proud to say is significantly more intelligent than Daphne−no disrespect to the cartoon character. And Jake Grogan…well Jake Grogan was written by a woman, not a nine year old girl. He is all man!

Neither character plays the clarinet.

Are there external influences that factor in what you choose to read? Do you pick up a book because it reminds you of something you enjoyed in your childhood?

I want to first add a hearty congratulations to my release-mates this week, Jennifer Greene and Marcelle Dube.
And for our readers today, I will be giving away a free copy of ENDLESS NIGHT to a random commenter!

Copyright © 2010 by Harlequin Enterprises Limited

ENDLESS NIGHT

A woman hiding from her identity. A man trying to find his.

After witnessing a murder, Megan Summers ran until she reached the remote coastal village of Victory Cove. She has a new name, but she knows it’ s only a matter of time before the murderer catches up with her.
Jake Grogan has come to town to unravel the mystery of his heritage. Instead of finding his grandmother at Wakefield House, he discovers an attractive stranger who will do anything to get him off her doorstep. Trapped by a storm, he’ s forced to stay the night with Megan—a woman who keeps a handgun under her bed and closes herself off from the outside world.

Jake tries to dig deeper into his past, but he’ s distracted by his fear for Megan’ s safety and his growing feelings for her. Danger is drawing near and he’ ll do anything to keep her safe. Will it be enough to help them survive the endless night?

Excerpt

“You’re hiding from me, Margaret.”

Megan clutched the phone and slid to her knees, the tremors in her limbs rendering them useless.

“It’s only a matter of time.” His voice had the sinister resonance of an executioner uttering the words, any last requests?

Cradled in Megan’s lap, the GLOCK felt heavy against her thigh as her uncooperative fingers gripped the handle.

“You can’t live, Margaret.”

Those raspy words incited her very obliging finger to loop through the trigger.

“I know this cell phone is being forwarded, Maggie. That poses only a slight inconvenience.”

A low hum of static filled her ear, similar to the sound of an electrical tower. She tried to place the sound. Did it divulge his location in any way? Was he close? Panic wormed into her throat, preventing her from responding, although being mute was the best option. Any response would have been confirmation that he had located her, and she wouldn’t give him that one triumph.

“It took some doing to even locate this number.” His chuckle was oppressive. “But if I had killed you that night, then I would have missed out on all this fun.”

Megan’s teeth bit down on her lower lip to contain her scream. She tasted blood.

“Sleep tight, Maggie. I will see you soon.”

Romantic Suspense Author - Maureen A. Miller

Author Bio

Certain that her destiny was to become a writer, Maureen Miller’s life nonetheless took a different course. As a programmer in an industry that required constant travel, during layovers Maureen sought escape by writing exotic tales. Listening to the airport speaker rattle off another flight delay, Maureen rattled off another romantic suspense novel.
Her first book, Widow’s Tale, was nominated for a Golden Heart Award by the Romance Writers of America. A fan of gothic romance, Maureen enjoys the formula of danger, romance and inclement weather. Although there is no accounting for her book, Rogue Wave, which basks in the Hawaiian sun.

Website: www.maureenamiller.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/MaureenAMiller
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaureenMillerBooks

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Posted in Authors, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 31 Comments »

Science Fiction Is the Other Historical

Zoe_Archer | April 5th, 2011

ZA_CollisionCourse2

For most of my romance-writing career, I have focused on writing historical stories.  I’ve written about the Victorian and Georgian periods, and loved every minute of it.  I’ll come right out and admit that I’m a research geek.  Maybe it’s the former academic in me, but there’s something very exciting about chasing down facts and tidbits about eras and places I could never go.  I love learning a new detail and then having that detail influence the narrative, and I also love having a specific plot in mind, and finding the exact historical information I need to shore up that plot’s demands. It’s a thrill!  Some people base jump or swim with sharks for thrills.  I go to the library.

So, what’s an admitted history nerd doing writing a science fiction space opera romance?

The truth is that science fiction and futuristics are actually historicals.  Just like in historical fiction, science fiction takes place in eras different from our own.  Instead of requiring research at the library or online, sci-fi writers have to do extensive world-building.  We actually need to write a different world’s history, and make it just as rich and full of unique detail as our own history.  We must invent customs, legends, figures of speech, rules of conduct and laws, clothing, vehicles, taboos, spiritual beliefs—in short, we have to create whole cultures and make them relatable so that readers aren’t completely alienated (heh) from the story.

When I decided to write COLLISION COURSE, I took everything I learned from writing historical romance and applied that to realms beyond the stars.  Give detail, but not so much that it overwhelms the narrative or the characters.  Remember that the world exists to support the romance, not the other way around.  Unlike with historical romance, however, I couldn’t hope that my reader already knew certain facts about a time period or place, so I had to integrate details in such a way that made sense but also didn’t grind the action to a halt.

Ultimately, I wanted to tell a story with a ton of action, some very steamy scenes, a very sexy hero, and a heroine who unapologetically kicks ass.  It doesn’t matter what era in which I set my romances, it’s all about having a good time.

So tell me, do you think science fiction is the other historical?  What are your favorite time periods to read about?  Leave a comment, and I’ll pick a commenter at random and send them a print copy from my backlist! (US and Canada)

For more information about COLLISION COURSE, including an excerpt, visit my website.  You can also find me on Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr.

COLLISION COURSE is available from Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other retailers.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 24 Comments »

Monday blues (giveaway alert!)

Angela James | November 15th, 2010

Did you know…

Every Monday at the Carina Press Facebook page, we give you the chance to win a free download. We’re all about banishing those Monday blues!

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Posted in Contest/Giveaway | 2 Comments »

It’s not what you know, but who you know

Shannon_Stacey | November 3rd, 2010

One of the things a writer hears a lot is write what you know. That means different things to different people and, depending on how an author interprets it, she may or may not agree with that little tidbit of advice.

I spin it a little differently: Write who you know.

One of things I’ve seen written a lot about the Kowalski family from Exclusively Yours and Undeniably Yours is that they feel like “real” people. That probably stems in part from the fact I know those people. Not literally, of course. That’s never a good idea.

But I’m surrounded by men who work hard and respect their women. They give their brothers crap, but woe to the outsider with a bad word about one of them. I’ve waited my share of tables, as have my sister and my mother and my aunt and my grandmother and…well, you get the picture. I’ve never been to a nightclub and don’t really care to change that, but I’ll sit in a sports bar* and cheer on the Patriots. We laugh a lot, even through the rough stuff. Or maybe especially through the rough stuff. Small town, working-class people are my people. I know how they think. How they talk.

I can hang a profession on my character—make him a bestselling horror author or a former Navy SEAL or whatever the story calls for—but at the core he’s still a small-town, family-orientated guy who’s not afraid to work with his hands.

So I write not what I know, but who I know in the hope characters who feel genuine to me will also ring true for you, the readers.

*Quick tangent: It’s very easy to type sports bra instead of sports bar. You can imagine the typos I had!

So my first job was waiting tables in a café in a VERY small town in Missouri, where I accidentally refilled the sugar dispensers with salt. Trust me, that’ll really wake up a farmer at the butt-crack of dawn. What was your first job? Or your oddest job?

About 10am eastern tomorrow (to let all the time zones play), I’ll draw a random name from the comments to win a copy of either Exclusively Yours or Undeniably Yours.

***

Shannon Stacey has written romances in a variety of subgenres, but they all have one thing in common—-a happily ever after is guaranteed. She can be found blogging (almost) daily on her website, www.shannonstacey.com and is often spotted running amok on Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Contest/Giveaway | 27 Comments »

An Ebook Convert

Tia_Nevitt | September 28th, 2010

I have a confession: I didn’t read ebooks regularly until I sold The Sevenfold Spell to Carina Press. I had only read a handful, usually at the request of an author I knew well. The reason why I usually avoided them? I had to read them at my computer. And I spent too much time at the computer as it was. My computer isolated me in the study, and my daughter hated it when I disappeared in the study. I hated it too.

Then came the sale to Carina Press in May. I said to my husband, “If I’m going to be an ebook author, I need to embrace the technology.” Besides, I needed a way to show off my book!

Before the end of the month, I had a nook, and I was itching to download the Carina Press titles I had already purchased prior to launch. These books on my nook reflect my love of fantasy, science fiction, mystery and historical fiction. Here they are:

Allegra Fairweather: Paranormal Investigator by Janni Nell – I just loved the idea of a paranormal investigator. The cover also sold me on this one.

Captive Spirit by Liz Fichera – I also love novels about different cultures. I got two here, Hohokam Indians and Spanish desperadoes. I really enjoyed it.

In Enemy Hands by by KS Augustin – The math genius whose memory was erased got me, plus I loved the cover with the nonstandard hero. He looks like he escaped a mental hospital, and I want to know more.

Rakes and Radishes by Susanna Ives – This novel just sounded so fun. The characters just get themselves in such a mess. Plus, there is an author’s note before the opening pages that explains about the discovery of Uranus. I was intrigued!

Song of Seduction by Carrie Lofty – A romance about the musical world in the time of Beethoven? As a classical music lover, this was a must-buy.

Scene Stealer by Elise Warner – I was unable to resist this cozy mystery.  A little old lady who tries to solve the mystery of a missing kid just had all the right ingredients.

The Bloodgate Guardian by Joely Sue Burkhart – I’ve read Joely’s earlier work (Survive My Fire) and I just love her authorial voice. So I had to have this one.

The Price of Freedom by Jenny Schwartz – I won this one! The cover copy for this novel intrigued me, and I would have purchased it even if I had not won it.

The Sergeant’s Lady by Susanna Fraser – As a military veteran, I loved the idea of a gentlewoman falling for a common sergeant, and I wanted to read her story. I also just loved the guy on the cover.

Alas, I have not had time to read much over the last few hectic months. Here are some other books that I want to give a try:

The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro – I read an excerpt from this novel last week and I think the voice is terrific.

Sunrise over Texas by M. J. Fredrick – Oh, man did I fall in love with this cover. I also love survival stories. Add the fact that the hero just wants to take care of these women and I’m in love with him too.

No One Lives Twice by Julie Moffett – A geeky spy? I’m all over this one.

On Her Trail by Marcelle Dube – This one interested me back during the author’s launch. The mafia in the Yukon? Cool!

Desperate Choices by Kathy Ivan – Blend New Orleans, a missing kid and a PI hero, and I’m hooked.

How did you get hooked on ebooks? Leave a comment and I’ll enter you into a drawing to win an ecopy of The Sevenfold Spell. I’ll announce the winner the evening.

You can visit Tia Nevitt at her website at www.tianevitt.com, where she keeps a book blog. You can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook, and she’s an active participant at eHarlequin.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Carina Press, Contest/Giveaway | 14 Comments »

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