Category Archives: New Release

October 3, 2016 · 7:54 am

“10 Moments That Changed My Life” by Author Kimberly Keyes

I am pleased to introduce today’s guest, Kimberly Keyes, a delightful new author friend, who is sharing the moments that changed her life and her latest release…

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  1. The first pivotal moment that comes to mind, is when I met the man who would be my husband. I knew right away I’d met someone special. Sure enough, he turned out to be the love of my life. We married five short years later haha. I often likened my husband to a thoroughbred—beautiful, talented, and temperamental.
  1. My husband was part of a package deal, and the day we married, I became a step mom. Toughest job you’ll ever love? Oh yeah. My step-daughter blessed me in so many ways—and continues to do so now that she’s *grown*.

Love seems to be the theme here, doesn’t it?

  1. The next moment has to be when I found Frank on the side of the road in an industrial part of the city. Who is Frank, you ask? A Florida black dog. The president of the Black Dog Club. A pacifist. The leader of the Quakers. A pilot for Her Majesty’s Royal Air Force. Okay, you might be scratching your head now. Yes, I admit to creating wild tales surrounding my puppy boy while talking in a funny pretend puppy voice. Suffice it to say finding that seven week old mange-covered puppy 16 years ago was the best thing that ever happened to me.

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  1. One thing hubby always did right (besides allowing me to adopt rescue puppies) was to support my dreams—like urging me to complete the masters degree I put on hold before I met him. Let’s call this moment the day I decided to finish my masters in history. Because writing my 200 page thesis not only grew my writing and research skills, I acquired the all important ability every author needs: sit-butt-in-chair-and-write.
  1. After graduating, I took a hiatus from reading all things non-fiction. Instead, I binged on romance novels. I’m not sure how many books I devoured before the thought struck: I wanted to write romance novels.

The desire wasn’t new. In high school I announced my desire to be a career romance novelist. People laughed and rolled their eyes. More dispiriting than that, I didn’t know anything about anything. How could I write an entire book? So I tucked my dream in a box and shoved it beneath my bed. But the time had come. I unearthed that dusty box and I decided to write a historical romance. I hadn’t finished drafting the first chapter before realizing I’d found what I was always meant to do. Writing is my calling. I cannot begin to express the joy it gives me.

  1. I entered my 100,000 word baby in a writing contest, and not only didn’t I win, I came in 50th out of 50 in my category! It hurt! I had a choice to make, keep writing and learn my craft or quit. The latter was an impossibility, so I forged on and got better. Of the last six contests I’ve entered, I’ve finaled in five. Yay me!
  1. Life was going along pretty well. And then…I was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. IBC has a pretty high mortality rate, so the outcome looked grim. My new normal was going to chemo appointments, sleeping, and seeing family and friends whenever possible because, hey, if you’re going to die you have to make the time. Surgery followed six months of treatment, and radiation came after that. During the span of my treatment I had tons of support, family and friends who loved me, and a husband who did everything he could to be there for me, from going to every one of my doctor’s appointments to dying his hair pink to bring attention to the cause.
  1. I survived.
  1. Soon after my treatment ended and I was on the mend from the cure that is chemo, surgery, and radiation I faced my biggest challenge yet. The disease we’d fought so hard to beat had taken its toll on my husband. Something in him broke, is the best way to put it. Long story short? I got divorced. It was hands down the hardest thing in the world I have ever faced. But I never faced it alone. I had and have the unswerving love and support of my family, friends, and, of course, my black dog club headed up by Frank-Foo—and my faith.
  1. I put my head down and pushed on. I did not survive cancer to crumple up and die of a broken heart. It was time to start a new chapter. As Ms. Wolff says so well, “A woman must have money and a room of one’s own to write fiction.” So, I bought a house, set up my office in my nice little house, and equipped it with dog beds for the BDC. Within two years (after having written for over six years with the goal of publication) I signed not one but two contracts with The Wild Rose Press. Lover’s Leap, a contemporary romance, was my first published book, and The Trouble with Tigers, a Victorian romance came out next. I’m now a multi-published romance author and well on my way to being a best selling author! (According to me *grin*)

Oh my gosh, Kimberly. What a roller-coaster of pivotal moments. I love that you ended on such a positive note, and thank God you survived the breast cancer. Thank you for joining me today!

And now, please tell us about your latest release…

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BLURB:

After finding her fiancé in bed with another woman, Candace, a twenty-something, up-and-coming romance novelist takes off for a friend’s vacation home in Tahoe.  The good news? She’ll share the place with fellow house guest, Logan, her best friend Eric’s lover.  Except…

Logan, the nearly-irresistible-to-women photographer, isn’t Eric’s lover.  Not now, not ever.  He’s in Tahoe licking his own personal wounds, and before he’s allowed near Candace, he’s sworn off of her.  No problem.  Except…

There’s something about Candace.  She’s not simply beautiful and enticingly off-limits.  It’s in the way she doesn’t flirt with him. In the way she treats him like he isn’t a shallow pleasure-seeker. In the way, somehow, she brings peace to his world-weary soul. 

Too bad she thinks he’s gay.  But even if he can clear that hurdle, can he really entrust Candace’s heart to his own haphazard keeping?  

EXCERPT

After a while she turned to gaze at Logan’s profile.  One tanned forearm rested easily on the steering wheel, the other settled over the stick shift, just inches from her upper thigh.  Her eyes drifted over his long, denim covered legs, stretched out in front of him in an almost leisurely sprawl.  It struck her she couldn’t remember ever feeling so utterly feminine, and so totally safe, in a man’s presence.  Being with Logan felt so…right.  

The peace inside her snapped in the face of her inappropriate affection for a man she hardly knew.  A man involved with one of her best friends–who also happened to be a man.  She dragged her gaze away, pinching her eyes closed and fisting her hands in her lap.  What in the world was wrong with her? 

“Everything all right?” Logan asked, his words piercing the silence. 

She shot him a look and saw his eyes flicking over her clenched hands.  Did the man miss nothing? 

She forced her hands to unfurl.  “Just thinking.”  Over thinking.  So she enjoyed his company.  That was no crime.  Besides, it was already Wednesday and he’d be leaving some time this weekend.  How much trouble could she possibly get herself into? 

BUY LINKS:

Amazon:

https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B014T3FG8O/ref=smi_se_mit_rcol_smi_2537928482?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&pldnCmp=rcol&pldnCrt=my-impact

Ibooks:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/lovers-leap/id1040722478?mt=11

Barnes and Noble:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lovers-leap-kimberly-keyes/1122591025?type=eBook

The Wild Rose Press:

http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191&products_id=6445

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BIO:

Kimberly writes single title contemporary and Victorian era historical romance, and is in her happy place working on two books in the two different genres, simultaneously.

The bulk of her time she spends writing, and re-writing, plotting, and dreaming up ways to perplex the characters living inside her head (though she squeezes in a bit of Yoga practice and binge-watching episodes of Game of Thrones and Outlander).

She lives in sunny Florida where she enjoys the unswerving support of her family, and most especially her three faithful companions: Frank, a.k.a. “President of the Black Dog Club,” who she found wandering on the side of a busy road when he was about 7 weeks old, Pappillon, a twenty pound rescue puppy from Puerto Rico who looks like she could be from Who-ville, and Roxanne, a tiny bit of miniature dachshund wonderfulness she inherited from her mom. The three are constantly by her side offering love and encouragement, and occasionally demanding chewies.

Contact links:

Website

www.kimberlykeyes.net

facebook

https://facebook.com/kimberly.keyes.romance

Amazon

http://amazon.com/author/kimberlykeyes

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/14291041.kimberly_keyes

Twitter

https://twitter.com/AuthorKeyes

 

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September 28, 2016 · 10:17 am

Author Jan Scarbrough: Research Anyone? – New Release: Timeless (Gothic Mystery Romance)

Please help me welcome back Jan Scarbrough with another Gothic Mystery Romance. She’s also sharing a little abou ther research for TIMELESS. Welcome, Jan…

Being a history major as well as an ex-English teacher came in handy when writing Timeless, a Gothic suspense.

I pulled out a couple of books from my research library: Haunts of Old Louisville by David Domine, and The Great Louisville Tornado of 1890 by Keven McQueen. I wanted to use information from both books as inspiration and background for my story.

It’s strange what a novelist needs when writing, and the Internet is a handy place to find that information. Some of the things I researched were Baxter Square Park—Louisville’s first park—a party game called Flip Cup, post-traumatic stress disorder, and the events of September 11, 2001. I also researched a hill in Louisville’s Cherokee Park where people sled in the winter and is still called “dog hill.” I investigated carriages from the 1890’s and period clothing.

I combined all my research into a first person account of the heroine and her journey from the past into her future.

I’d love it if you’d sign up for my monthly newsletter. As a subscriber, you’ll receive a list of my favourite places to visit in the Bluegrass, insider scoop on my stories including exclusive reads and sneak peeks for upcoming releases, and you’ll have a chance to win my monthly giveaway.

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Blurb for Timeless

When Beth Abbott receives a surprise inheritance from her birth mother, she travels to the family’s nineteenth century mansion in Old Louisville, now a bed and breakfast. There the new mistress of Chadwick House meets the resident ghost, a little girl whose crying not only scares, but also intrigues guests. As she sets out to discover the identity of the ghost and why the child ghost appears happy to Beth, not sad, Beth is confronted by evil from the past.

Jeff Halstead, a man with many secrets, runs the bed and breakfast. But he’s more than that to Beth, and she feels their connection immediately. A psychic medium who doubts his skills, Jeff slowly uncovers the truth of their past lives. Will he be in time to reveal the identity of Beth’s enemy? Will the love they shared in the past follow them into the future? 

Excerpt – Timeless

I tried to go to sleep. My new life would be better in daylight. I could at least get a better look at my surroundings. Falling asleep would make the day come sooner.

But it didn’t work. Even though my eyes were shut tight, I couldn’t relax. Time went by. I don’t know how much time. And then I heard a faint noise.

It was the giggling of a child.

Could it be television from someone’s room?

But it didn’t sound like television. It sounded real, as if a child was playing in the hall maybe. It was a high-pitched laugh, like a little girl’s. My skin prickled, and my stomach tightened. Another chilly sensation swept over me. I was being watched. But there was no one in my room with me.

Tossing back the covers, I jumped out of bed and ran to the nearby window. Could the sound be coming from outside? A streetlamp pooled light on the sidewalk. Gray fog swirled in the air making the deserted street below seem spooky as if from a B-rated horror movie. I shivered at the thought and turned to hop back into bed.

At that moment, a flash of white raced past me, and I caught it out of the corner of my eye. I heard the giggling again, louder now. Looking back at my bed, I spotted a little girl standing on the other side of it. She was dressed in white and her slender hand reached toward my doll as if she wanted to touch it and play with it.

“Hey!”

She looked up, startled, and smiled at me as if she knew me. And then she ran from the bed toward the door to the parlor that was shut. My heart raced. I followed her, flinging open the door to stare out into the empty parlor with the gray streetlights creating a defused, half-light glow in the room.

How had the little girl gone through the door? It had been shut! How could she have disappeared so quickly? Was I dreaming? Hallucinating? I pinched myself to see if I was awake.

I was. The floor was cold even through my socks. I crossed the parlor and unlocked and opened the outer door to the hall. All was quiet except for the deep tick-tock of a grandfather clock at one end. I bit my lower lip and retreated to the parlor, making sure the door to the hall was locked.

Standing silently for a moment, listening for laughter, I let my heart settle into a normal rhythm. What was the matter with me?

Thinking back at the vision of the little girl, I realized something was wrong about it. The child’s clothes were more fitting for the nineteenth century, not the twenty-first. In fact, her clothes reminded me of the lacy frills of my doll. And the girl’s hair was long, curled in dark blond ringlets down her back, and she wore a white ribbon in her hair. Her body didn’t seem solid. It was transparent, almost ghost-like.

Ah, shit!

I charged back into the bedroom and leaped into the bed, pulling the covers over my head. As if hiding under covers could save me. I was behaving like a child myself, but I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t know a phone number to call unless I punched 911. Then what would I say to the firemen or police? I saw a ghost standing by my bed. Right. That made as much sense as me inheriting a million dollars from a woman I’d never known or seen.

But I had inherited a million dollars . . . two million to be exact.

That realization didn’t thrill me. So I tried to think of another explanation, something besides the paranormal.

Try as I might, I couldn’t make sense of my experience. My mind whirled and twirled but I couldn’t come up with a clear explanation. Later I heard the grandfather clock bong once in the distance, ghost-like itself. This place was too darn spooky for me, I remember thinking. Soon after that I must have relaxed enough to fall asleep.

GIVEAWAY!

Comment and enter to win! One commenter will receive a print copy of Timeless! Winner will be drawn and announced tomorrow…good luck!

Timeless buy links

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Bio for Jan Scarbrough

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan Scarbrough has published with Kensington, Five Star, ImaJinn Books, Resplendence Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press. She writes paranormal Gothic romances and heartwarming contemporary romances with a touch of spice. Her favorite topics are families and second chances and if the plot allows, she adds another passion—horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books, and the excitement of a horse race or a big-time, competitive horse show.

Website: http://www.janscarbrough.com/

Newsletter Signup: http://www.janscarbrough.com/contact/

Facebook: fb.me/Romancerider

Twitter: https://twitter.com/romancerider

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/janscarbrough

 

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September 21, 2016 · 9:58 am

Author Jan Scarbrough: Don’t Be Afraid to Make Your Dreams Come True – New Release: Tangled Memories

I am very pleased to introduce Jan Scarbrough who is sharing her latest release, Tangled Memories. It’s a gothic mystery romance…which I adore!! Welcome, Jan…

 

Don’t be afraid to make your dreams come true!

When I was thirty-eight, I almost died. After that happened, I figured it was time to make my dream come true. I’d always wanted to write a novel, but had been scared of failure and never tried. After my life-threatening experience, I knew it was time to make the effort.

Tangled Memories is like an old-fashioned gothic romance with a dark, mysterious hero and the spunky heroine. There’s a big supernatural element involving a medieval plot. However, the book is contemporary, set in a modern-day Kentucky mansion. After a few starts and stops, the book wrote itself, because I had a story to tell. I was fortunate that the Romance Writers of America selected Tangled Memories as one of its Golden Heart Finalists.

I’d love it if you’d sign up for my monthly newsletter. As a subscriber, you’ll receive a list of my favourite places to visit in the Bluegrass, insider scoop on my stories including exclusive reads and sneak peeks for upcoming releases, and a chance to win my monthly giveaway.

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Blurb for Tangled Memories

 After losing his wife, Dr. Alexander Dominican is determined his infant daughter will not grow up motherless as he did. Offering sensible, kind kindergarten teacher Mary Adams a marriage of convenience seems like the perfect solution. The widow’s husband left her with a mountain of debt. For Alex, paying it off is a small price to pay for his daughter’s happiness. Until his sensible new wife begins to lose her mind.

On the day of their marriage, Mary starts having frightening hallucinations of medieval England—visions that feel more like the memories of woman who lived centuries before. More terrifying, someone—or some thing—is stalking the new mistress of Marchbrook Manor. Could it be one of the sinister servants? Or Alex himself? Alex is reawakening hidden desires and longings in Mary, but until she can untangle the web of nightmares and secrets, she can trust no one. Not even Alex.

Alex has no idea he’s unleashing a destiny that’s taken him seven hundred years to fulfill.

If Alex and Mary are to salvage their future, they must first unravel centuries of…Tangled Memories.

Excerpt – Tangled Memories

By Jan Scarbrough

Present Day

His eyes were gray. I had never noticed before. They weren’t the color of slate but smoky and mysterious.

Swallowing a hard knot of dread that surfaced in my throat, I walked down the silent aisle toward him. Chin held high, very lady-like in posture and demeanor, a trace of smile upon my lips—I was the picture of confidence.

Inside, I trembled.

I stopped in front of the altar. A cloying scent of gardenias assaulted my senses. How curious the delicate white flowers in my bouquet should be so overpowering. Just like the man beside me. Just like the deep, heady gray of his eyes.

I extended my hand. He took it, and I drew a breath and held it. The firmness of his fingers surprised me.

“Friends.” The minister glanced up at us and smiled. “We are gathered together in the sight of God to witness and bless the joining together of Mary and Alexander in Christian marriage.”

Alex was tall, so tall I had to look up to connect with those mesmerizing eyes. I was aware of my breathing, erratic and shallow. I’d married for the second time in my life and, once again, my reasons were more practical than romantic.

How even more ironic was the Methodist minister’s white stole, a symbol of purity and love. I felt neither pure nor in love. His black robes better matched my somber mood.

“I ask you now,” Reverend Watts continued, “in the presence of God and these people, to declare your intention to enter into a union with one another.”

To enter into a union. 

Heaven help me. Would it be a union? How could it be? Our union was a business arrangement, plain and simple. I understood that. For some reason though, sadness settled around my heart.

Reverend Watts looked at me. “Mary, will you have Alexander to be your husband to live together in holy marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?”

Alex’s penetrating gaze burned upon my upturned face. “I will,” I said at last.

“Alexander, will you have Mary to be your wife?”

From underneath my lashes, I watched him. He wore his black hair swept back and long, curling at his neck. A stray lock touched his forehead and set off his eyes. His high cheekbones and jawline gave him a classic look. His lips were full and inviting. Enigmatic in his formal black tuxedo, crisp white shirt, and bow tie, he seemed a brooding Byronic hero. Handsome, though austere, his masculine good looks belonged to another century or, at least, on the cover of a romantic novel.

How different would my life have been if I hadn’t become pregnant my freshman year in college…if I hadn’t married Bill…if I hadn’t miscarried? What if I had met Alexander Dominican under different circumstances, before life touched me so cruelly?

“I will.” His deep voice resonated throughout the empty chapel.

Turning from the minister to me, Alex’s eyes brightened as his gaze captured mine. Out of habit, I licked my lips, but nothing eased my tension. The strain I felt surely communicated to the self-assured man who held my hand. Did he feel the hypocrisy of our oath? Or was he simply satisfied with a marriage of convenience?

GIVEAWAY!

Comment and enter to win! One commenter will receive a print copy of Tangled Memories! Winner will be drawn and announced tomorrow…good luck!

 

janscarbrough_gravatar

Bio for Jan Scarbrough

A member of Novelist, Inc., Jan Scarbrough has published with Kensington, Five Star, ImaJinn Books, Resplendence Publishing and Turquoise Morning Press. She writes paranormal Gothic romances and heartwarming contemporary romances with a touch of spice. Her favorite topics are families and second chances and if the plot allows, she adds another passion—horses. Living in the horse country of Kentucky makes it easy for Jan to add small town, Southern charm to her books, and the excitement of a horse race or a big-time, competitive horse show.

Website: http://www.janscarbrough.com/

Newsletter Signup: http://www.janscarbrough.com/contact/

Facebook: fb.me/Romancerider

Twitter: https://twitter.com/romancerider

Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/author/janscarbrough

 

 

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September 14, 2016 · 12:58 pm

Author Interview: Patti Sherry-Crews & New Release: The Ghost and the Bridegroom from The Good, The Bad and the Ghostly

I am thrilled to once again welcome Patti Sherry-Crews to my blog…and what a fascinating book she’s sharing with us today! The Ghost and the Bridegroom from The Good, The Bad and the Ghostly

 

Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

I live in Evanston, Il where I was born and I’m married to fellow Evanstonian, Bob. I have two children, one of each, and a stepson who has made us grandparents. We have a parakeet, a cat and a puggle. I have lived in Iowa, Boston, and Wales, UK during my student and post-student years.

Where did you get the idea for The Ghost and the Bridegroom?

All of the stories in this anthology are connected by a paranormal detective agency. Somewhere at the beginning it was suggested this agency is like the Pinkerton Detectives, so I thought it would be fun to have my agent meet a Pinkerton detective while they are staying at the same hotel in Tucson while working on separate cases. They fall in love, of course. Not really sure how I came up with the rest of the story. I thought it would be interesting to have my rather socially awkward young lady detective find herself put on a case where a rancher is unable to consummate his marriage to his mail-order bride because he’s being terrorized by a ghost in the bedroom. Eventually the case the Pinkerton is working on intersects with the case my agent is on. My story is more humorous than scary.

Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)?

I usually write historical westerns or contemporary. I never wrote a paranormal story before, but I was excited to be asked to be part of this anthology which is a collaboration between western and paranormal authors.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc, you’d like to share?

Yes, at the suggestion of one of the other authors I named my heroine Healy Harrison after my daughter. When she was born I wanted to give her more than her father’s father’s surname. So Healy is the maiden name of my great grandmother and Harrison is the maiden name of my mother-in-law. I thought I was being clever, but the poor girl has to go through life correcting her name because everyone calls her Kelly or something similar. The same thing happens to the character in the story.

What is the most difficult thing about writing a book?

I think everything that comes after writing the book is the hardest part, starting with what to do with it once you write “The End.”. I write for Prairie Rose Publications for my historical westerns and medieval romances. I’ve also self-published a number of things. Keeping up on all the social media sites alone is time consuming. And then there is the promoting…Thank you Alicia!

What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular?

I really love Tucson but as stated earlier I live the Midwest. I also live in the 21st century with the rest of you, not 1880. So trying to get the setting right for this book was a challenge. I mean, I don’t want folks from Tucson coming back to me and telling me I put the streets in the wrong places. I was trying to find maps, etc. when something fortuitous happened. Some man on Pinterest messaged me to say he had boards devoted to late 19thc Tucson and he invited me to repin. He had so many photos and maps! We didn’t even follow each other so I don’t know how he found me and I haven’t heard from him since. Thanks to him, I could be more accurate with streets and buildings. He had a great photo of a Chinese laundry across from the train station, which I put in my story.

Are there any tricks, habits or superstitions you have when creating a story?

People who know me are probably sick of hearing me say this, but I’m a big believer in walking. I find an hour long walk at the start of my day stimulates my creativity. I do much of my “writing” while I’m walking. And because I do not have a fenced in yard, but I do have a dog with a small bladder, I’m frequently taking more walks during the day. It really clears my head. People who know me are probably sick of seeing me walking by their houses ten times a day.

What actors would you like in the main roles if your book were made into a movie?

While I was writing this story I had Irish actor Aidan Turner in mind for detective Aaron Turrell (see how I did that with the name). If you don’t know him from the Hobbit or Poldark, he’s tall, dark and handsome. Since the heroine is based on my daughter, I’d cast her, and then she’d get to meet Aidan Turner.

If you could be a character in any of your books, who would you be?

Oh, good question! I make such delicious heroes; I’d be happy to be any of the ladies in my books. But, there is one book very close to my heart, Patrick III. It’s based on a trip I took with 3 generations of my family to Newfoundland to discover our roots. Even though the book has nothing to do with that trip other than I liked the dynamics of generations of a family traveling together outside their usual roles, I did weave in some personal experiences–including finding a small town named after my family. It was full of Healy’s and Nugents (the other Newfie branch of my family) who never left Newfoundland and remain in situ (they welcomed us with open arms). There is more of me in the main female, Gwen, than I usually put in a character. Plus, I think the hero, Patrick, is one of my favorite creations.  He’s a solid, reliable guy, who’s taking some personal time to reevaluate his life. He and Gwen keep crossing paths on the island as they are each on their own quest. Eventually Gwen ditches her family and spends a glorious time riding out on the back of his motorcycle, doing outdoorsy things like hiking and kayaking during the day and ending their excursions in fine hotels and restaurants. My dream vacation: I’m an active person but I’m not going to sleep in a tent.

If you could spend time with a character from your book, whom would it be? And what would you do during that day?  

One of my favorite characters is Des Costello in Love with an Expiration Date. He’s dynamic, charismatic, and has a wicked sense of humor. He’s an independent filmmaker who lives in Dublin. He’s kind of a player (he’s been wounded) but when he meets a visiting American English professor, he falls head over heels. His mission becomes to make her fall in love with not just him but Dublin as well so she’ll stay. I’d love to walk around the city with him or visit the pub. He’s so charming. I could talk to him forever.

Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

Probably like most authors, I love to people-watch. I’m also a shameless eavesdropper, so I store bits of things I’ve seen or heard in my head. But really I make up my characters. Though on two occasions I woke up from vivid dreams where I saw a scene with people I didn’t know. I based two books, Love with an Expiration Date and Pairings, around the snippets I dreamed about.

What do your friends and family think of your writing?

My friends and family are very supportive and my biggest fans. Big shout out to my husband for letting me disappear hours a day doing dubious things with my time and who also helps me with technical stuff. My friends are my beta readers and have always encouraged me from the start.

How did you come up with the title?

Coming up with titles is a challenge for me. If I ever strike it rich I’d hire someone to think up titles for me. Then I’d hire another person to write blurbs. Because this story is a detective story set in the past, I wanted to give a nod to the classic detective novels whose titles started with “The Case of…” Originally I was going to call my story The Case of the Ghost and the Bridegroom. But because my own name is long enough, I didn’t want to eat up the cover with text. I also didn’t want to type the longer title every time I had to refer to it, so I chopped off the first few words.

 

Thank you for sharing such an interesting interview, Patti. Now, she has a question for readers:

When you start reading a romance novel and the Hero first appears what qualities about him hook you into the story?

 

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The Ghost and the Bridegroom by Patti Sherry-Crews

Life is looking rosy for Abbott Foster when he brings his new bride to his ranch in Arizona. But when he is unable to consummate his marriage due to a malevolent spirit in the bedroom, he is forced to call in Psychic Specters Investigations.

Agent Healy Harrison doesn’t want to accept this case. She has her own demons and likes her quiet life, lived in the anonymity of St. Louis. But Tucson is where she finds herself—with instructions to “Have an adventure! Have a romance!” Things get interesting when she meets handsome Pinkerton detective, Aaron Turrell. Is this the romance she’s meant to have, or when their two cases intersect, will it drive him away?

In this excerpt agent Healy Harrison meets the rancher for the first time and learns about his haunting.

He ran a hand through his sandy brown hair. “I can’t talk to you about this. I thought you’d be a man. This is a delicate matter.”

“Mr. Foster, I assure you I’ve seen everything. There isn’t anything you can tell me I haven’t heard before. What’s happening to you has happened to many before you.”

“That’s just it. I’ve heard about it happening to other men, but it’s never happened to me before.”

“Ah, I see. Well, this too is a common reaction. Many don’t believe in ghosts until they experience the phenomenon themselves. You’re not alone.”

He looked down. “I’m not talking about ghosts.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I can’t talk to a young lady about this.”

“You can! Nothing you say will shock me.”

“Are you a…spinster?”

Healy huffed. “I don’t see how my marital status is relevant, but yes, I am not a married woman.”

“So you don’t have experience…”

“Please, I have traveled a long way under the most trying circumstances to help you. You’ve already paid the agency, and here I am!  Let’s just start at the place where you encountered the haunting?”

Abbott sighed. “In the bedroom.”

“You’re lucky in that sense. Some ghosts follow people around and make all kinds of mischief.”

“Naw, you ain’t catching my meaning.”

“Enlighten me.”

“Aw, all right.” He took a long pause, studying his boots before he looked up again. “I’m a newlywed….”

“Congratulations.”

“Yes, but here’s the crux of the matter. The ghost will not allow me to…consummate my marriage.”

Healy felt her face burn red. “Oh, I see. Well, that is a new one on me. Never heard of that one before. How is it that the ghost has power to stop…the act?”

“Ever since I brought Erline—that’s my bride—home, things don’t work right.”

She put a hand on his arm. “Are you sure you’re consulting the right expert? Have you talked to your doctor?”

His face went beet red with frustration. “It’s having a ghost in my bedroom gumming up the works.”

“You have to be more specific. I need details.”

He shuffled his feet in the dust on the boards of the porch. “I think about Erline all day. She’s so pretty. I can’t wait to go to bed. I get in next to her all cocked and ready to fire—and she’s eager too–I can tell, but then when I put….”

Healy put up her hand. “I don’t mean those kinds of details. Tell me about the ghost.”

“Oh, well, it always starts the same way. First there is this god-awful odor like rotten flowers.”

“Olfactory manifestations. Very rare. Interesting. Go on.”

He looked proud of himself a minute for having a rare haunting. “After I smell the odor a shape appears in the corner. A big, black shadow.”

“Oh, this is bad. Very bad. Black shadows are extremely malevolent.”

“It gets worse.”

“Worse than a black shadow? You’re wise to call in a professional.”

“The shadow moves. It walks, or floats–or whatever those things do–and comes and stands right next to the bed, and the creature points at me! Things shrink up down south at that point, if you know what I mean.”

 

https://www.amazon.com/Good-Bad-Ghostly-Western-Romance-ebook/dp/B01KKVK9BI?tag=geolinker-20#nav-subnav

 

kitchenme

Patti Sherry-Crews lives in Evanston, IL with her husband and two children. She writes both contemporary and historic romance. Under the name Cherie Grinnell she has written a series of steamy romances set in Dublin and Wales. She likes to include armchair travel with her books.

Patti studied anthropology and archeology at Grinnell College and the University of North Wales, UK. After college she opened an Irish and British import store, which gave her an excuse to travel to the British Isles for the next fifteen years.

Now she works from home and devotes much of her time to writing.

Contact me:

http://pattisherrycrews16.wixsite.com/author-blog

https://www.amazon.com/Patti-Sherry-Crews/e/B01C7L8QUU/ref=dp_byline_cont_ebooks_1

https://www.pinterest.com/patsherrycrews/

https://twitter.com/CherieGrinnell

https://www.facebook.com/Patti-Sherry-Crews-Author-1560094420912035/

 

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September 7, 2016 · 7:34 am

Linda Nightingale ~ New Release: A Vampyre Rhapsody

Please help me welcome Linda Nightingale with her latest release…

morgandarcyavampyrerhapsody_w10500_med

Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody
By Linda Nightingale
From The Wild Rose Press
Cover Artist: Debbie Taylor
Editor: Callie Lynn Wolfe
Digital Price: $3.99
Print Price: $13.99

Book Trailer:

YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlbRLTFQUHE&feature=youtu.be

A titled lord, concert pianist, and … vampire, Morgan D’Arcy has everything he wants…except what he most desires…the woman of his dreams—the search is on.

Blurb:

The greatest enemy of a vampire is boredom. Four centuries of existence have taught Lord Morgan Gabriel D’Arcy to fear nothing and no one. Humans and their weapons have little chance against his preternatural speed and arcane powers. Vampires are viral mutations of human DNA. Still, the Vampyre code requires secrecy, and he has learned to hide his nature from the world. The lure of mortality, of a life in the sun, puts Morgan again and again at the mercy of calculating human women though they fail to consider his charm and determination into the equation. However, even grooming a future bride from infancy proves to be fraught with heartbreak. And second chances are not always what they seem unless… you are Morgan. Immortality and beauty, aren’t they grand?

“…Morgan…is a tour de force of egotism, wit, sensuality, and talent…” ~Author Toni V. Sweeney

 “Morgan D’Arcy is a class act and the most arresting vampire I’ve ever encountered in literature or films.” ~ Historical and Paranormal Romance Author Beth Trissel

Excerpt: 

Snow built castles on the windowsills.  Wispy flakes swirled in the night air.  I stood at the mullioned window with my back to the Chief Councilor of the ruling body of the Vampyre.  The pure white silence of a snowy night echoed in the room.  A fire crackled in the fireplace, but cold seeped through the stone walls.

At midnight, Lucien St. Albans had arrived with shocking news.

Royal Oak wasn’t on the beaten path.  The castle perched on a hill above a small village on the Devon coast.  From my bedroom window, I could see the ocean.  Lucien had driven his new motorcar hard to tell me that there was no such thing as forever.  He was pale and drawn, worried.  I’d never seen the Chief Councilor rattled.  Lucien St. Alban’s self control was legendary.  The emotion in his black eyes was fear, and a shudder chased over me.

“I drove straight from an emergency meeting of Les Elus,” he announced without preamble.  “We are all in jeopardy.”

In a small principality between France and Spain, an epidemic of anthrax ravaged the countryside.  Not only human villagers died in Andorra.  Two vampires had perished.

Grief for Daphne and guilt for her suicide had wearied my spirit.  “Why send me?  I’m not a scientist.”

“Dear God, Morgan, I wouldn’t send you into danger.”  Behind me, Lucien’s reflection appeared in the window.  He rested his hands on my shoulders.  “One of our scientists plans to travel to Andorra immediately and investigate.   He believes the bacteria secretes an endotoxin that is a reverse mutagen.  When infected, the disease progresses at a phenomenal rate.  The victim reverts to mortal, and the body disintegrates to ash.”

A thrill pierced my lethargy.  Dead vampires presented an intriguing mystery.  Members of our select society should not perish to a disease fatal to humans, or very few others of the Grim Reaper’s tricks.  It was time for me to stop lurking in Death’s shadow.  My grief for Daphne was useless to her corpse.  She was quite simply and forever gone.  Reverse mutagen.  The mere idea sent a shiver of excitement over me.  If the Vampyre Effect could be undone, then the possibility of returning to human existed.

Buy Link:  Morgan D’Arcy: A Vampyre Rhapsody

 10682328_10152781399802140_2225571976580244875_o

About Linda:

Born in South Carolina, Linda has lived in England, Canada, Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Houston.  She’s seen a lot of this country from the windshield of a truck pulling a horse trailer, having bred, trained and showed Andalusian horses for many years.

Linda has won several writing awards, including the Georgia Romance Writers Magnolia Award.   She is the mother of two wonderful sons, a retired legal assistant, member of the Houston Symphony League, and enjoys events with her car club.  Among her favorite things are her two marvelous sons, a snazzy black convertible, and her parlor grand piano.  She loves to dress up and host formal dinner parties.

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/LNightingale – @Lnightingale

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/LindaNightingaleAuthor

Web Site:  http://www.lindanightingale.com – Visit and look around. There’s a free continuing vampire story.

Blog:  https://lindanightingale.wordpress.com/ – Lots of interesting guests & prizes

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4839311.Linda_Nightingale

Pinterest:  https://www.pinterest.com/lbnightingale1/

Amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/Linda-Nightingale/e/B005OSOJ0U

Other Reads by Linda Nightingale:

Gambler’s Choice

Love For Sale

Sinner’s Opera

Sinner’s Obsession

Cardinal Desires

Gemini Rising – Controversial Dark Fantasy with deep psychological undertones

 

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September 1, 2016 · 8:33 am

Author Interview: Diane Burton + New Release: Mission to New Earth

Please help me welcome a dear author friend, and her latest release, a novella I had the pleasure of reading pre-release. Although I’m not a sci-fi fan, I always enjoy Diane’s stories. She presents the world in a more real, relatable way than I would have expected. And, her books are imaginative and intriguing. Mission to New Earth poses an interesting questions. Without further ado, take it away, Diane…

Alicia, thanks so much for helping me celebrate the release of my new science fiction romance novella MISSION TO NEW EARTH. And thanks for your input on this book prior to publication. You are a great editor!

Aw shucks, Diane…thank you!! I’m thrilled to have been a part of the story’s journey. Please tell us a little about yourself, where are you from? Where do you live now? Family? Pets?

I’m from a Detroit suburb. Now I live on the west side of Michigan, near Lake Michigan. I’ve been married for 42 years and have two great kids who are married with three kiddies total. The grandkids are the best part of getting old(er). LOL No pets right now. But when I need a dog fix, I visit my kids who each have two dogs.

Where did you get the idea for MISSION TO NEW EARTH?

I’ve been a fan of NASA since its inception. Lately, I’ve been intrigued with the Mars Mission, a private enterprise sending explorers to Mars by 2020. The thing that intrigues me most is the one-way trip concept. Why would anyone leave everything and everyone behind to go on a dangerous mission? I’ve written science fiction romance before, so this was not a new genre for me.

What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do?

I love science fiction. Now I know many people do, but my extended family (not Hubs or my kids) and many of my friends don’t, nor do they like reading or watching (movies or TV shows) anything sci-fi. My favorite channel is the SyFy channel. I don’t like creepy aliens, though. I still haven’t watched Alien or any of its sequels. I know, shame on me.

Do you collect anything?

Nutcrackers. My mother-in-law got me started back in the 1980s. The collection has gotten so large, I begged my family not to give me anymore and Hubs can only select one a year. I usually breakdown and buy one if I really like it. At Christmas, you’ll find nutcrackers on every top surface. My granddaughter has danced in The Nutcracker for two years, so I’m giving her a start on her own collection.

What’s your favorite childhood book?

Anne of Green Gables. I understand a new movie version is coming out soon. I’m looking forward to see it.

What do you want readers to come away with after they read MISSION TO NEW EARTH?

That they’ve been entertained and feel good about the book, especially the ending.

Have you written any other books that are not published?

Too many to count. LOL We’ll call them “practice” pieces. I’m relooking at a couple of them to see if they are publish-worthy.

Who is the most famous person you have ever met?

Nora Roberts. What a gracious lady. She was my mother’s favorite author. I took Mom to one of Nora’s booksignings. After waiting in a long line, we finally got to the table. Mom gushed that she’d been reading her books since Irish Thoroughbred (Nora’s first book). She clasped Mom’s hand and said, “Thank you so much.” She really made my mother’s day.

How did you come up with the title?

Funny that you should ask. This was probably the hardest title I’ve ever come up with. It changed so many times until I wrote a blog post for Paranormal Romantics, which I titled “Mission to New Earth.” The old lightbulb went off. That was a perfect title for the book.

Your most prized material possession? Why?

That is hard. Since family is so important to me, family photos (and videos) is number one. I have two other possessions that rank right up there. A proclamation by President James Buchanan appointing my 3rd great grandfather a consul from The Netherlands to the state of Iowa, signed in 1857 The other possession is a vase that belonged to my grandmother that originally came from her mother. Family history means a lot to me. It’s a connection to past generations. My heritage.

In MISSION TO NEW EARTH, my main character, Sara, has no family. Her parents died in a car accident and she was an only child. A couple of distant cousins, but that’s it. So her decision to go on a dangerous one-way trip to a new planet wasn’t that hard. I just can’t even imagine being alone in the world.

Your favorite…

Movie: Star Wars: A New Hope because it started my love of science fiction.

Music: Golden Oldies

Place you’ve visited: Rocky Mountain National Park

Place you’d like to visit: Alaska

TV show from childhood: Mickey Mouse Club

TV show from adulthood: NCIS

Food: pizza

Sports team: Detroit Tigers

Which do you prefer: Board games/card games or television? Tough decision. Card/board games with family and friends. TV, if I’m alone.

 

My question for readers (part of my giveaway): Would you leave everything behind to go to a new planet?

MissiontoNewEarth-B&NCover

Blurb:

Earth’s overpopulation and dwindling resources force the United Earth Space Agency to expedite exploration of new planets for a possible new home. When new crises ensue—a giant tsunami and the threat of nuclear winter—the timeline changes. Eight years of training crammed into four. Sara Grenard and her team prepare for launch, but are they ready for the one-way trip? Will the Goldilocks planet prove just right for Earth’s inhabitants? Before time runs out.

Excerpt:

As we followed, Marsh strode across the corridor to the left. The only private place down there was a lavatory. Not my favorite destination for a team meeting. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, as my mom used to say.

“We screwed up again,” Marsh announced as soon as the five of us joined him. His voice echoed off the hard surfaces. “In RT, it could kill us.”

“You and your damn RT,” Tom spat out. “Why can’t you just say real time like a normal person?”

Marsh shot him a look, one I’d hate directed at me.

Military background evident, he stood in the middle of the area near the showers, his feet wide apart, hands clasped behind his back. The others were more casual. Bill held up a white-tiled wall across from the showers. Ana and Gloria sat on a fake wood bench. Meanwhile, I crossed my arms and leaned against a sink. I tried to look casual even though my nerves were strung tight. We had to be ready for the launch. Earth was dependent on us.

All of my team, except Tom and Marsh, wore hang-dog expressions. At forty, Tom was the oldest on the team and a damn fine pilot. His red face and mutinous expression as he confronted Marsh belied his usually even-keeled manner.

“You’re exaggerating, Rayburn.” That was more than angry. Tom was defiant. “You always exaggerate. Worst case scenario? Is that all you think about?”

I’d never seen Tom so worked up. Gloria walked over to him and rubbed his shoulder. Usually in stressful times, her gentle caress calmed him down. Not now.

When he shrugged off her hand, I caught the hurt in her eyes.

“C’mon, Bill. Back me up on this.”

Bill held out his hands in a don’t-get-me-involved gesture. He was our engineer, both formal and practical. He could fix anything from wonky engines to food replicators.

Tom turned to me. “Sara?”

I knew that was coming. I tried to let my team work things out by themselves. Soon we’d be living in close confines, not just on the ship but on our Goldilocks planet. If we couldn’t live in harmony during training, we would be in deep trouble once we reached our final destination. We’d be in even worse trouble if we couldn’t work out our differences here. Marsh was right to pick the only place that wasn’t monitored. We absolutely didn’t want the directors to think we weren’t a well-functioning team.

They could pull us and put in the Shadow Team. Our replacements.

“Okay, guys, what did I miss?” With a forced grin, I raised my right hand. “I swear I wasn’t dreaming about a day at the beach during the sim.”

 

MISSION TO NEW EARTH is available at:

Amazon – https://amzn.com/B01JXZR0AK

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/mission-to-new-earth-a-novella

iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/mission-to-new-earth-a-novella/id1148678942?mt=11

Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/661493

***Giveaway***

Diane is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Card to a lucky commenter. See the Rafflecopter for more opportunities.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Or use this link:

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/MTZjZjFkYWY5YmMyMDI2ZWIzOTI4OTdiM2Q1MmRkOjE5/?

 

DianeBurton

About the Author:

Diane Burton combines her love of mystery, adventure, science fiction and romance into writing romantic fiction. Besides the science fiction romance Switched and Outer Rim series, she is the author of One Red Shoe, a romantic suspense, and the Alex O’Hara PI mystery series. She is also a contributor to two anthologies: Portals, Volume 2 and How I Met My Husband. Diane and her husband live in West Michigan. They have two children and three grandchildren.

For more info and excerpts from her books, visit Diane’s website: http://www.dianeburton.com

Blog: http://dianeburton.blogspot.com/

Twitter:  http://twitter.com/dmburton72

Facebook:  http://facebook.com/dianeburtonauthor

Goodreads: Diane Burton Author  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2902110.Diane_Burton

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/dmburton72/

Amazon author page: http://amzn.com/e/B00683MH5E

Sign up for Diane’s newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bdHtYf

 

 

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August 29, 2016 · 7:25 am

New Release: Seeking Hope by J.M. Maurer

Please help me welcome author J.M. Maurer with her new release, Seeking Hope…

SH_Banner_Maurer_Aug29

Hello! Many thanks for having me, Alicia. I’m thrilled to be here. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m J.M. Maurer, author of the Emerging From Darkness trilogy, Jessica and Matthew’s story that embraces a theme of never giving up.

I recently spent the weekend in Wisconsin with my family. They’d told me I’d been working too much and needed a “guys’ day out.” Since I’m a girl, I laughed at first, and then realized they were speaking the truth. So, at least for Sunday, I donned my favorite Cubs t-shirt and watched numerous types of very fast cars drive a curvy four-mile road circuit. The engines were loud. Very. Very loud. I liked it, and admittedly picked out my favorite cars based solely on their fancy paint job.

But then there was the one car that seemed doomed from the moment the green flag dropped. Even to my untrained ears, that car’s engine didn’t sound as thunderous as the rest. It was clearly slower. And as I watched it plugging and chugging away, getting lapped by numerous cars, I was reminded of life and subsequently entertained the thought of how easy it could have been for them to bring in the car, pack up the big rig, and call it quits for the day. But they didn’t.

I wondered what kept them going. What changes they’d made to the car. What kind of data they were collecting with each lap. What they’d ultimately learn.

Much like that race team, we all have journeys we look forward to, journeys we learn from, and journeys we work to leave in the past. Jessica Winters believed for a long time that she would never again be “Okay.” She found herself by serving others, though, and learned to smile again when a warm light shined in her direction, brightening up her darkened world.

That light came in the form of Dr. Matthew Moi, a psychiatrist/sex therapist who had secretly been in love with Jessica for years. Now, no longer a prisoner under the blanket of depression, Jessica learns to live again and even love again. But much like real life, things aren’t always that easy. And although she doesn’t know it, someone is out to get her. Can Matthew keep her safe? Will they give up?

Question: Have you every wanted to give up? Or did you find your inner strength and fight like Jess and the race team did?

SH_JM_Maurer_Aug29

Blurb:

I’d been given promises in the past, all of which were broken.

Inevitably, they broke me.

I wouldn’t let those broken promises stop me from believing in new ones, though.

I couldn’t.

Matthew Moi was different.

His dimpled smile and witty sexual banter has held me spellbound since day one.

Falling in love with him came easy.

Marrying him—a dream come true.

Now, he wants something I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready for.

As I struggle, he faithfully remains at my side.

Through it all, his protective nature shields me from an evil I didn’t see coming.

Together, we have it all—love, passion, trust.

Apart, the possibilities are endless, even death.

Follow Jessica and Matthew’s captivating and steamy love story from the beginning—start the trilogy today!

Excerpt:

For the first time in a long time, I had an itch to do something ridiculous—two things, in fact. One was the reason I was sitting in the back of a musty old van. The other might just be the solution to my Holly problem.

At least I hoped so, because while my mind should have been racing with thoughts of my upcoming wedding, it wasn’t. Instead, I was thinking of my best friend. Problem was, no matter how I launched my plan to help Holly move beyond her commitment issue with Burdick, it wasn’t going to go over well. And the more I thought about her, the more I dreaded the growing possibility of a headache. I’d just gotten over a nasty headache and was now attempting to shake off the likelihood of another when the van rolled to a stop and the driver’s voice muttered in the distance.

“We’re here.”

Okay, Jess. You’ve got your plan and it’s a good one.

I was about to remind myself to stick to said plan when the driver hopped out and moved to my side of the van, his open door ushering in a blast of autumn air that chilled my skin. I shivered and scooted to the edge of my seat, waiting for what was to come next. The shrill of metal sliding over metal pierced my ears as the door slid open, and rough skin wrapped a secure hold on my wrist. This was it.

“End of the line.” His gruff tone registered somewhere between the brief time it took him to pull me out and when his tall, burly features came into full view. He snickered as I pulled the hem of my pullover down and worked to smooth it out. Judging by the way his eyes scanned up my body, I presumed his outburst had everything to do with my appearance. After all, this was the first time I’d pieced together an outfit for such an outdoorsy occasion. Eventually, he calmed and took my hand, turning it palm up. “You don’t want to forget this.”

Instinctively, my fingers clasped a tight grip around the cold steel as I stood, staring down at the black metal, hoping I’d do it right. I’d never held a gun before. They all made me nervous. Fact was, with a gun in the wrong hands, things could quickly turn ugly.

I knew all about ugly.

Drawing my attention his way, the driver stretched a tattooed arm, pointed a finger, and then offered his last words of advice. “Never give up.”

 

Book Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWjZv9ZGQ8

Buy links:

Amazon US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HQU6B22

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seeking-Hope-Emerging-Darkness-Book-ebook/dp/B01HQU6B22?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seeking-hope-jm-maurer/1123600085?ean=2940152945317

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/seeking-hope-1

iBooks: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/seeking-hope/id1120300183?mt=11

GooglePlay: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=VeuODAAAQBAJ&sticky_source_country=US

All Romance: https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-seekinghopeemergingfromdarknessbook3-2052848-149.html

J.M.MaurerAuthor

Bio:

J.M. Maurer started working as a registered nurse in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit where she cared for critically ill children, transported them from outlying hospitals, and even picked up overtime hours treating patients of all ages while inside a hyperbaric chamber. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in nursing, she loves to write about strong characters and their struggles in life.

When not writing, you can find her spending time with family and friends, exploring the outdoors, or attempting most any sport. She resides in Chicago with her husband and son.

 

Social Media Links:

Website: http://jmmaurer.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JMMaurerAuthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JMMaurer1

Goodreads: bit.ly/GoodreadsJMMaurer

Amazon Author Page: bit.ly/AmznJMMaurer

 

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August 24, 2016 · 11:11 am

A New Release: The Rancher and the Shepherdess by Caroline Clemmons

Please help me welcome today’s guest, Caroline Clemmons, author of THE RANCHER AND THE SHEPHERDESS. She’s written books for Kindle Worlds, something I would love to do again soon. Maybe she’ll inspire me. 😉 So happy to have you, Caroline!

 

Thanks to Alicia for hosting me today.

Amanda'sRancher

You probably realize authors love, love, love to talk about their books. I’m no exception. ☺THE RANCHER AND THE SHEPHERDESS is linked to my earlier book AMANDA’S RANCHER. Both are part of Debra Holland’s Montana Sky Kindle World. What this means is that—except for my characters—the other characters and the locale are from Debra’s Montana Sky series. Since I love that series, writing in Debra’s world was an honor for me. In keeping with Debra’s series, these are sweet romances in which the bedroom door is closed.

In this book, Gormalith (pronounced Gormley) McGowan is an Irish immigrant who’s lived in America two years since marrying the man her father chose. Now she’s escaping a desperate situation after the accidental death of her brutish husband. Her late husband’s mother and bullying brother believe she should remain in New York and marry the brother. If not, they vow to make Gormlaith pay by accusing her of killing him. After two years with her drunkard, gambling, and wife-beating husband, she has no intention of remaining in that family. She escapes by immediately leaving for Montana to become a mail-order bride.

Unfortunately for Gormlaith, while she’s on her way to Montana, the man who wrote for a bride dies. She arrives in Sweetwater Springs with no money, no place to live, and no groom. What a situation. The Sweetwater Spring’s sheriff comes to her assistance and convinces bachelor rancher Garrett McDonald to marry Gormlaith. Once Garrett sees the beautiful woman and hears her lilting brogue, he’s convinced.

In AMANDA’S RANCHER, Garrett was foreman on the Kincaid ranch. Now he’s bought his own place from a large family moving to California. Luckily for him, they left some of their furniture in the six-bedroom log home. He’d planned to write for a mail-order bride in the spring from the same agency Preston Kincaid used so he takes little convincing to wed now.

Confession time: I made a terrible mistake with the names. Both have GM as initials. That’s something I usually strive to avoid and hope no one is confused. My beta readers have given excellent feedback and I hope other readers will feel the same way.

A Sunrise of Moulton Barn in the Grand Teton National Park, WY

Here’s an excerpt from the morning after Gormlaith and Garrett arrive at his ranch when she’s prepared breakfast while he cared for the animals:

Gormlaith was beside herself with worry. Though she was certain the stove was a wonder, she hadn’t learned to regulate the beast. After she set the food on the table she wanted to break out in tears. She’d so wanted to impress her husband.

He came in and hung his coat and hat on pegs by the back door. “I’m hungry as a bear coming out of hibernation.”

She wrung her hands. “Sit down and let me explain.”

He took his chair and stared at the food. “Well, this looks different.”

She poured his coffee and set the coffeepot on the table. “I had a little trouble figuring out this fancy stove. I’ll learn to use it, but… today didn’t turn out as I’d expected.”

He picked up a biscuit and dropped it onto his plate with a thud. He met her gaze and raised his eyebrows. “I thought you said you were good with bread.”

“I am… I was in New York… and in Ireland. In those places, the stove was tiny and hardly compares to this one. I thought this big one would be easier and I’m sure the beast will be once I get used to the thing, but there’s more to regulate and figure out.”

“Sit down and we’ll eat what we can.” He took a piece of bacon so crisp it broke when he tried to pick it up. “I do like my bacon crisp, but this is overdone even for me and likely to break a tooth. How are the eggs?”

She twisted her napkin. “They turned out a bit better than the rest. And we have potatoes fried with onion. There are a lot of potatoes in the cellar and quite a few onions also. I remember you bought more potatoes so I thought you must like them.”

“I do. I guess any Irishwoman knows how to cook potatoes.” He picked up his fork and dug into his food—except the biscuits.

Throughout breakfast, she kept glancing at him but he didn’t speak. She picked at the meal on her plate. After he’d eaten his fill and had a second cup of coffee, he pushed away from the table.

He rose and put his hand on her shoulder. “Save all those biscuits and put them in a basket by the door.” He kissed her on the head. “We can use them for ammunition if we’re ever attacked.”

He donned his coat, clamped his hat on his head. She picked up a biscuit and threw it him. The missile hit him on the thigh.

He used his hands as a shield, but he was laughing. “Ow, ow, mercy, please. If that had hit my head I’d have a concussion.”

She threw another at him but he sped out the door, his rumbling laughter drifting her way. Ammunition indeed. She’d show him. She’d learn to deal with this beast of a stove and cook the best food he’d ever eaten.

 The purchase link is: https://amzn.com/B01J4R6364

Author Bio:

Caroline Clemmons is an Amazon bestselling and award winning author of historical and contemporary western romances. A frequent speaker at conferences and seminars, she has taught workshops on characterization, point of view, and layering a novel.

Caroline and her husband live in the heart of Texas cowboy country with their menagerie of rescued pets. When she’s not indulging her passion for writing, Caroline enjoys time with family, reading, travel, antiquing, genealogy, and getting together with friends. Find her on her blog, website, Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Google+, and Pinterest. Subscribe to her newsletter here to receive a FREE novella of HAPPY IS THE BRIDE.

 

 

 

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August 22, 2016 · 12:35 pm

Author Interview with Marilyn Baron & New Release: Stumble Stones: A Novel

Please help me welcome an author friend, Marilyn Baron, with an interview and her new release: Stumble Stones: A Novel 

 

  1. Where did you get the idea for Stumble Stones: A Novel? The idea for the book was sparked when my former next door neighbor who moved to Stuttgart, Germany, e-mailed me and told me about some stumble stones that were placed in front of his house. Stumble Stones is a real project. German artist Gunter Demnig has placed five thousand of these brass plaques—known as Stolpersteine or “stumble stones,” cobblestone-sized Holocaust memorial stones—in Berlin and some fifty thousand of them in eighteen countries in Europe. Every letter on every plaque is hand carved by the artist or one of his apprentices. Every plaque contains a name, the year of birth, the date the victim was deported, and the place and date of death. They are located in the last known home of the person or persons who lived in a house before they were taken. Sometimes the stones are placed where the victim worked or studied. There is often a ceremony including music, poetry and flowers at the placement. No one I’ve talked to about stumble stones has heard of this unique Holocaust memorial project, but once they find out about it, they are fascinated. In my book, the hero witnesses a stumble stones ceremony in front of his house and finds a cache of diamonds from WWII during a remodeling project and sets out to find out who they belonged to.
  2. Why did you choose this genre (is it something you’ve written in before)? I’ve written romantic suspense before and it’s one of my favorite genres to write. This story is set in contemporary Europe and WW II Europe. It involves Nazis, art theft and the Holocaust. Those themes almost ensured it had to be a mystery/thriller.
  3. Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book, the characters, title, process, etc., you’d like to share? Yes, most chapters in the heroine’s point of view start out with a soap opera script. The heroine is obsessed with Polly Winthrop, the character she writes for As the Planet Spins and her life often mirrors that of her alter ego.
  4. What is the most difficult thing about writing a book? Finishing it.
  5. What was the most difficult thing about this one in particular? Judging the right balance between dark and light—the darkness of the Holocaust women’s stories and the comedic elements of a contemporary romance between the rabbi’s daughter and a German-American hedge fund manager in Berlin, who cross the great religious divide and cultural prejudice to be together. I want readers to contemplate the horror of the Holocaust and at the same time be satisfied because of the hopeful ending.
  6. Are there any tricks or habits you use when creating a story? I have to come up with a title and the names of the characters before I start a book. Sometimes, listening to the music of the period where the book is set is helpful to get in the mood to write.
  7. What book have you read that you wish you would have written?  The Outlander series.  
  8.  Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it and how do you like it? I’m a public relations consultant and I write and edit newsletters, annual reports, brochures, ads, etc. I really enjoy what I do because I love to write.                                
  9. What do you love that most people don’t like and wouldn’t understand why you do? I love to watch soap operas. My grandmother got me hooked and now I watch (or record to watch later) two shows: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. That’s where I learned to write dialogue and why I made my heroine in Stumble Stones a soap opera writer.
  10. What’s your favorite book of all time and why? That’s a difficult question because there are so many great books and I’m an avid reader. But one of my favorites is The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak because it’s written from the POV of death and the voice was amazing. My favorite childhood book is Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder because that book inspired me to become a writer.        
  11. If you could change something about one of your books that’s already released, what would it be? I would make Stumble Stones: A Novel longer.                                                          
  12. What genre have you never written that you’d like to write? I’ve written in a variety of genres, including women’s fiction, romantic thrillers/suspense/mystery, historical and paranormal. So about the only one left is Young Adult. 

** GIVEAWAY: Readers should leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Marilyn’s romantic suspense Landlocked and a Stumble Stones logo notebook. The question they have to answer from Stumble Stones is “What is the name of the Berlin suburb where Alexander lives?”

 

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Teaser/Blurb

Teaser: Stumble Stones is multilayered, dark and humorous Romancing the Stone-style suspense novel about a cache of priceless diamonds hidden in World War II that sparks a hasty wedding on the high seas and a dangerous chase through Europe that holds the key to an unsolved mystery and a promise of lost love. 

Hallelujah Weiss, a writer for the steamy sudser As the Planet Spins, gets a second chance at love when she flees to Italy to get over her recent divorce, courtesy of her cheating ex-husband’s credit card. A woman scorned, Hallelujah has sworn off men and is determined to reinvent herself. The new Hallelujah is eager to live life on the edge, more like Polly Winthrop, a character she writes and idolizes.

Lonely Berlin hedge fund manager Alexander Stone, a number cruncher who puts his faith in numerical data, still believes in destiny, despite the fact his fiancée just dumped him. Always a man with a plan, Alexander did not plan on Hallelujah.

After a chance encounter on a flight to Rome, the unlikely pair faces danger when they team up to return to their rightful owner a stash of WW II vintage jewels.

Excerpt

Life was better in Business Class, especially when your cheating ex-husband was paying for it. Hallelujah couldn’t wait until Lloyd got the bill—for the airline ticket, the set of top-of-the-line TUMI luggage, the fashionable, Italian-worthy wardrobe, a two-week stay at a first-class hotel in Florence, an expensive day of pampering at the hotel spa, dinner in the city’s finest restaurant, and front row seats to the Il Volo concert. It’s not like Lloyd Evans couldn’t afford it. It would hardly make a dent in the bastard’s bank account.

Her short-term plan was to spend as much of Lloyd’s money as she could before his skanky secretary/fiancée Olivia Brewster got her greedy little hands on it. Polly would be proud of me.

 But she wasn’t Polly. Polly lived life on the wild side, and she had a vindictive streak. Hallie Evans was practical. She believed in playing it safe and paying her own way. But she deserved this final fling. She had scraped together the last of her savings, and she would use those funds when Lloyd’s credit card was tapped out. Then she would go back to the single life and the single paycheck and try not to dwell on how much her ex had hurt and humiliated her. But right now, Polly was in the pilot’s seat. And, from now on, Hallie was determined to live life on the edge, just like Polly.

Settling into her roomy Magnifica seat, she signaled the Alitalia flight attendant for another amaretto sour before the plane took off. Getting properly sloshed mid-air was a strategic and recent addendum to the plan. Oh, and part of her plan was to swear off men.

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Bio Marilyn Baron

Marilyn Baron writes in a variety of genres, from humorous coming-of-middle age women’s fiction to historical romantic thrillers and romantic suspense to paranormal/fantasy. Stumble Stones will be her 11th novel published with The Wild Rose Press. She’s also published five short stories with TWB Press and self-published three books, including a musical about Alzheimer’s called Memory Lane. AmazonEncore republished her book Sixth Sense on September 15, 2015. She’s received writing awards in Single Title, Suspense Romance, Novel With Strong Romantic Elements and Paranormal//Fantasy Romance. She is a Georgia Romance Writers (GRW) Maggie Award winner, a PAN member of Romance Writers of America and GRW and winner of the GRW 2009 Chapter Service Award. A public relations consultant in Atlanta, Marilyn graduated with a BS in Journalism and a minor in Creative Writing from the University of Florida. She worked in Public Relations for AT&T in Atlanta for 13 years before starting her own PR firm. She serves on the 2015 and 2016 Roswell Reads Steering Committee. She was selected as a featured author in the 2015 Atlanta Authors Series. She presented on two panels at the AJC-Decatur Book Festival (the largest independent book festival in the country) on September 6, 2015. She was a 2016 Nominee for the 52nd Georgia Author of the Year Awards (books published in 2015) in two categories—Detective/Mystery for Landlocked and Romance for The Widows’ Gallery. She’s a member of two book clubs. Read more about Marilyn at www.marilynbaron.com.

Contact links

Website www.marilynbaron.com

Twitter https://twitter.com/MarilynBaron

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/pages/Marilyn-Baron/286807714666748

Goodreads https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4722647.Marilyn_Baron

Amazon Author Page http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=dp_byline_sr_ebooks_1?ie=UTF8&text=Marilyn+Baron&search-alias=digital-text&field-author=Marilyn+Baron&sort=relevancerank

Buy Links:

Amazon Pre-Order E Book

https://www.amazon.com/Stumble-Stones-Novel-Marilyn-Baron-ebook/dp/B01HLSSXSY/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1467292613&sr=1-1&keywords=stumble+stones+baron+kindle#navbar

Stumble Stones E Book The Wild Rose Press

http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/4473-stumble-stones-a-novel.html

Stumble Stones Paperback The Wild Rose Press

http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/paperback-books/4433-stumble-stones-a-novel-paperback.html?search_query=Stumble+Stones+Paperback&results=1

Barnes & Noble Nook

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stumble-stones-marilyn-baron/1124055735?ean=2940158118838

All Romance ® eBooks

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-stumblestonesanovel-2069711-153.html

Kobo

https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/stumble-stones-a-novel

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August 17, 2016 · 8:06 am

Interview with Author Elizabeth Rose ~ New Release: Touch of Gold

Please help me welcome today’s guest, Elizabeth Rose with an interview and her new release, Touch of Gold.

First off, I’d like to thank Alicia for inviting me to be her guest today. My name is Elizabeth Rose, and I have been married to the same wonderful man for the last thirty years, and have two grown sons who are just as wonderful. I grew up and still live in the suburbs of Chicago, although I am more of a country girl at heart. I’ve spent a good part of my younger years visiting my grandparents on a lake in Michigan, and have used instances from my own life as inspiration to write my 12 book Tarnished Saints Series.

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My Tarnished Saints Series is about 12 brothers who are sons of a preacher but far from saints. Matter of fact, they are nothing but trouble. It takes place in a small town and on a lake in Michigan. I invite readers to start reading this series, and right now if you sign up for my mailing list, you can get the Tarnished Saints Christmas Prequel free. Just use this link: http://bit.ly/freetarnishedsaints . While this is a contemporary series, I also write medieval, western, and paranormal, which brings me to my new release, Touch of Gold. This is book 4 in my Tangled Tales Series and also the twisted, tangled, romantic retelling of the fairy tale, Rumpelstiltskin.

My hero, Kin de Bar (Rumpelstiltskin) is one of the cursed de Bar siblings and everything he touches turns to gold. This happens to come in handy since he is escorting Olivia de Mil to the baron’s castle and because of the girl’s father’s boastful lies, he thinks she can spin wool into gold. Other books in this series so far are: Lady and the Wolf (Red Riding Hood), Just a Kiss (Frog Prince) and Beast Lord (Beauty and the Beast.) Touch of Gold will be followed by the rest of the siblings’ stories which include; Rapunzel, Cinderella and the Snow Queen.

I grew up loving fairy tales, and I’m from the days when Rocky and Bullwinkle had their Fractured Fairy Tales, if any of you are old enough to remember that. I also love watching the TV series, Once Upon a Time. I also love anything paranormal, so rewriting the fairy tales which often had horrific endings, and making them happily ever after as well as romantic was a fun challenge.

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  • Are there any tricks/habits you have when creating a story?

Yes! Since I also have a degree in art, I love making my own covers. I create the cover of the book before I write it, and include things in the cover in the story as well. For example, in my medieval book, Lady of the Mist from my Legacy of the Blade Series, my heroine is a pirate. On the cover you’ll see a woman with a sword wearing an ornate necklace. She’s also in front of a ship and there is a sea hawk in the air. In the story, that is her ship and hawk, and the necklace she is wearing is a big part of the plot. As long as I’m creating my own covers, you’ll always know exactly what the hero and heroine look like.

  • What’s your favorite childhood book?

It was a book called The Wednesday Witch. It had a witch that rode a vacuum cleaner. This sparked my interest of paranormal things and characters.

  • What do you want readers to come away with when they read your book?

If it is a medieval, I like them to feel they are learning something about history that they didn’t know before. For example, my Barons of the Cinque Ports Series tells about a part of history that no one seems to know about. There truly were barons of the Cinque Ports – the five major trade ports of England. If it’s one of my contemporary books – I want my readers to fall in love with the heroes and get involved in their lives. And if it’s a paranormal book, I hope my readers can open their minds and delve into the world of supernatural events. A lot of my books also have underlying morals weaved into them.

  • If you could be a character in any of your books, who would you be?

I couldn’t be just one character. It’s too hard to choose. If I were in one of my Greek Myth Series, I could be a goddess. Or if I were in one of my Elemental Series, I could wield the power of controlling fire, water, air and earth, like my heroines do. Of course, I’ve always wanted to be able to ride a horse and wield a sword and live in a castle, so any of my medieval books would do as well. I’d like to trade off from day to day.

  • Have you written any other books that are not published?

Here is a story I have to tell. It is all related to the question. My first book was published by a traditional publisher back in 2000. Then four more followed. But alas, I had young children and many bills and ended up going back to work after awhile. I had maybe fifteen books written that weren’t sold to publishers – not for lack of trying. (I stopped counting the rejection letters after 100.) So I worked and had no time to write. Then about 3 ½ years ago, I lost my job. Another writer friend of mine suggested I self-publish my books on amazon. (Lord knows I had enough of them stored in the closet.) So I did just that. I published all my backstock and then went on to write new books and am now an amazon all-star and bestselling author of historical romance and in the top 100 in this category on amazon. I have one book – a contemporary western – from the past not published. And that’s only because when I changed over from my old computer, it got lost somewhere and I have yet to find it on disks and places I stored them from so long ago. When I do find it, I’ll publish it as well and add to the 54 books I have published at this time.

  • Are your characters based off real people or did they all come entirely from your imagination?

A little of both. If my family and relatives ever actually read my books, they’ll be surprised to find characteristics of themselves in my Tarnished Saints Series. Actually, the old couple that own the bed and breakfast in Doubting Thomas – book one of the series, are a lot like my parents! Hee hee. And the house is really the house they live on now at the lake. (For the record, I convinced both my parents to read this book and they did. Not that they saw any similarities to themselves, of course.)

  • What do your friends and family think of your writing?

This is interesting. Of course since I have boys in their twenties, they are horrified to think of mom writing love scenes and as far as I know they don’t read my books – nor do I want them to. My parents are very religious, so I was the one horrified when my first book came out because I knew they would read it – descriptive love scenes and all. But I’ve always been the rebel of the family and tease them and tell them that is what they get for making me sit out in the hall in gradeschool while the other kids were having sex education. In reality, my mother started reading and enjoying my books after her best friend (my biggest 80-year-old fan) started telling her how wonderful they were. And the biggest surprise is that my mother’s favorite books of mine are the paranormal ones. Huh? Who would have thought she’d really like shapeshifting, vampires and sirens. You never know!

  • Is there a message in your novel that you want the readers to grasp?

Like I said, I like to weave in morals and lessons subliminally in some of my stories. For example, The Dragon and the DreamWalker has a good vs evil storyline with a huge moral at the end that you’ll just have to read for yourself. Touch of Gold is another one with a moral. This moral being that too much of a good thing can often turn terrible if you’re not careful.

  • My Favorite:

Movie: Lady Hawke

Music: Jazz or Acoustic Guitar

Place You’ve Visited: Machu Picchu, Peru

Place You’d Like to Visit: Castles of Scotland and England

TV Show From Childhood: I hate to admit it but, I liked the sitcoms like Brady Bunch, Monkees, Green Acres, Happy Days (anything you can find on METV now.) And Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. And later on, soap operas like General Hospital.

TV Show From Adulthood:  Ok, I still like sitcoms, but I really love reality TV like Amazing Race, Survivor, Master Chef, Big Brother – you name it. I enjoy Once Upon a Time, Lucifer, and Reign and Vikings, but when they start killing off all the major characters, I’m thinking about not watching them anymore. I like happy endings.

Food: Pizza and Coca Cola. Okay, I like junkfood – hotdogs, burgers, chips. And salads too!

Sports Team: None. I am not into sports, sorry.

Board Games or TV? Both. I grew up playing Life, Monopoly, Clue, Masterpiece, etc. I don’t play them anymore really so I guess TV is the answer, but I still like both.

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CONTEST: I have recently started putting my books into audiobook form. My tenth audiobook, The Baron’s Bounty will be available next month. So as a prize, I will choose three winners to win an audiobook copy of any of my books that are in audiobook form now. Just leave a comment telling me which of my audiobooks you’d like to experience. The books in audiobook form the winners can choose from are: The Baron’s Quest, (Barons of the Cinque Ports Series), Daughters of the Dagger Prequel, Ruby, Sapphire, Amber, Amethyst, (Daughters of the Dagger Series), Onyx, Aidan or Ian (MadMan MacKeefe Series.) If you’d like to know more, please visit my website at http://elizabethrosenovels.com where you can see all my books and read excerpts of any of them.

Thanks again to Alicia for having me as her guest, and I hope you’ll all pick up a copy of my new book, Touch of Gold which comes out on August 17th. It’s only 99 cents, but the price will go up to $2.99 shortly after release, so you’d better hurry. Amazon buy link:

https://www.amazon.com/Touch-Gold-Rumpelstiltskin-Tangled-Tales-ebook/dp/B01IPY75K0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1471438374&sr=8-1&keywords=touch+of+gold+elizabeth+rose

 

My pleasure, Elizabeth! I enjoyed your interview. and, wow, what a story about your journey into self-publishing. Congratulations on your success. I also love old sitcoms on METV, but I’m not a fan of reality shows, I must say. 🙂 Thank you for the awesome contest!!

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