Carly Phillips's Blog: Carly's Web Blogs, page 68
February 4, 2014
PERFECT TOGETHER IN STORES & ONLINE
TODAY is a bittersweet day for me – it marks the release of PERFECT TOGETHER, the long-awaited story of Sam Marsden. It also brings the end of Serendipity and Serendipity’s Finest. I hope I’ve given you a lot of enjoyment in the small town … and I hope you’ll find more enjoyment in the future in wherever I take you … but today is devoted to Sam and Nicole …
In the picturesque town of Serendipity, New York, three siblings have grown up in the shadow of their proud and respected police chief father. But what do love, fate, and fortune have in store for the next generation of Serendipity’s finest?
Tired of being the easy-going daughter, always ignored in favor of her high-maintenance sister, and no longer wanting to be her fiance’s trophy wife, Nicole Farnsworth calls off her wedding. All she wants is to be herself. And where better to find her destiny than Serendipity? The place where she met the one man who made her heart beat faster, and gave her the courage to reinvent her life-even if he doesn’t know it.
Officer Sam Marsden calls Serendipity home and he loves it there-even though his childhood sweetheart was stolen by his best friend. After such heartbreak, Sam fears he can’t trust his instincts when it comes to love. Yet he’s so tempted by Nicole, a woman he met only briefly but who has starred in his dreams ever since.
For Nicole and Sam, opening their hearts one more time could change their lives forever. But who’ll be the first to take that chance?
BUY LINKS at this page on my website, right hand side! CLICK HERE.
Today’s the day to talk about all things SERENDIPITY!
February 3, 2014
Book Boyfriend Types
Do you have a type? Tall dark and handsome? Blonde sexy and scruffy? In a suit? On a plane? In a car? On a train? No, we’re not in a Dr. Seuss book! But every time I have to describe a male lead character, I stop and think. Who is he? What should he look like? Interestingly, in the case of Alex in Dare to Desire, he started off a scruffy blonde type but when I was cover model hunting and when I created his history with Ian, I decided he’d work better as also having dark hair.
But then I realized, most of my male characters are dark haired men. I think that’s because I lean towards liking that type in real life and when I go to pick out a character I want to pin so I can envision my character, I want to be looking at Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome.
Which of course got me wondering if you have a book boyfriend type? What do you prefer in your perfect reading men? Is it the same as your real life preference?
February 2, 2014
25,000 LIKE GIVEAWAY WINNERS!!!
~ 25,000 LIKE GIVEAWAY WINNERS! ~
1. KINDLE WINNER – Entry #7361Elle
2. $25 Amazon GC WINNER – Entry #7748Melanie M.
3. $15 Amazon GC WINNER – Entry #2280Cathy D.
4. $10 Amazon GC WINNER – Entry #1872Rozy M.
CONGRATULATIONS! Winners will be emailed and notified how to claim their prizes! THANK YOU ALL for entering and sharing my days with me here and on FB! xo
February 1, 2014
Saturday’s Book Talk
As I write this, I’m driving home from visiting my daughter I’m Boston … Worked on Dare to Desire while my husband drove. Wish I could tell you what I’ve been reading but it’s still the too secret RITA judging so I can’t say. I did however read one gem so far. Hope to share with you in the future!
So it’s up to you to tell me … What are you reading??
January 31, 2014
Carly’s Friday Giveaway!
Over at my Faceboook Fan Page I’m celebrating hitting 25,000 LIKES with a HUGE giveaway! And you don’t have to be a FB user to enter!
4 Winners!
Kindle
$25 Amazon GC
$15 Amazon GC
$10 Amazon GC!
CONTEST LINK BELOW!
http://rockstarlit.com/196/
HAPPPY FRIDAY ALL!
January 29, 2014
Special 24 Hour Sale!
2 Books for .99 for 24 hours ONLY!
DARE TO LOVE and TRULY MADLY DEEPLY, a Carly Phillips Collection of 3 full-length earlier works are on sale for 24 hours. For those of you who already purchased, please know I waited a long while to put Dare to Love on sale … and I discounted a bit the first week the story was out. I hope you enjoy or share with your friends and family who love Romance as much as we do! xo
DARE TO LOVE BUY LINKS:
TRULY MADLY DEEPLY BUY LINKS:
Post from the Puppies
I’ve heard a rumor that you like my dogs … I figured I’d let them out to play once in awhile, but not today. Today I’ll tell you a bit about each of them instead. They’ll talk to you another time.
MEET BRADY – He’s a 19 pound (mutant) Havanese. If you don’t know, Havanese are supposed to be toy dogs who weigh in up to about ten pounds. Maybe 12. Honestly? After having wheatens with big eyes, getting used to a dog who was all black, black fur, black eyes who couldn’t photograph all that well was a big adjustment. For the first year, people used to say he had a big head. Personally I didn’t think that was all that nice. I will say it took awhile to find a haircut that fit his looks and leave it at that. He’s the sweetest boy and a lot of fun. His favorite things are taking walks with the big dogs on Sundays with his dad and eating things that he shouldn’t. And that’s all I will say on that subject. I have doggie breath spray upstairs though.
MEET BAILEY – She’s gorgeous and she knows it. She’s neurotic and we know it. She’s a soft coated Wheaten Terrier. She’s on puppy prozac (kidding but she is on anti-anxiety pills) and she’s a daddy’s girl at night. During the day she follows me everywhere. It’s takes her awhile to adjust to new things. At six years old, she’s just starting to stay upstairs on her own. I kid you not. But one look at that face and she’s worth all the extra work. Don’t get me wrong, Brady’s tons of extra work too. It’s been said we have high maintenance dogs and although that’s true, I can’t for the life of me figure out why. I’m home all day working. My routine rarely varies. They know what to expect and the house is not chaotic. Go figure.
Are your pets high maintenance or is it just me?
January 28, 2014
Misconception About Me or From Lawyer to …
Stay at home Wife. I bet you thought I was going to say Romance Writer. hahaha! Everyone thinks I gave up being a lawyer to write Romance. The truth isn’t that pretty. After 4 years of college, 3 years of law school and one year (my husband claims it was 8 months. You can guess who’s fudging here) as an associate at Sonnenschein Nath and Rosenthal in Manhattan (a satellite firm of the Chicago office where Scott Turow is a partner), I abandoned the practice of law to … curl up in a ball. Not exactly. But the fact is, I couldn’t hack being a lawyer. To say I hated it is an understatement. Did I like going to school? Yes. I passed the NY and CT Bar Exams the first try, unlike JFK Jr, who was sworn into the NY First Circuit along with me – with Jackie O. in the back of the courtroom. (Because I like you, I am going to humiliate … I mean share a pic of me at my law school graduation, circa 1991 – wish I could say my hair wasn’t as big now, but basically I have to use a straightener to pull the underneath layers DOWN).
Did I like the actual practice of law? No. The profession ate me up and spit me out. I spent nearly a year with weekend migraines (yes, every weekend) – a resulting stress release from the pressure of the week. For me, practicing law wasn’t like the rapid banter and wit of The Good Wife. It was more like The Good Wife gets snapped at, lectured, told to wait for a partner to call with work – which they would do – AT 4 PM at which point I’d stay all night (Yes, ALL NIGHT) for a closing. Nothing went right. I wanted to learn real estate closings. I chose a firm who specialized there. They hire in 3rd year of law school. A year later when the job started, the stock market had crashed, the real estate market too and the firm was almost exclusively litigation, the one department I did not want to be in. Anyway, yes, I had to tell both my husband and my parents who I was fortunate enough to have pay for my education that I wanted out. I did send resumes to local firms after we moved out of Manhattan but then we agreed to start a family and I was lucky to be able to stay home.
Which segued into 4 months of vomiting and morning sickness … and ended with a beautiful COLICKY baby girl. And that resulted in me reading to escape when I could (I was always a reader), an argument with my husband about the cost of the hardcovers I was purchasing at Waldenbooks, and my introduction to paperbacks and Romance … beginning with LaVyrle Spencer’s Separate Beds, which I am certain is the book that made me want to try and write a romance myself. 10 completed manuscripts which each made rounds of rejections and revisions and more rejections … and over 7 years later and I sold BRAZEN (working title, Weekend Lover) to Harlequin Temptation, Heat and Brenda Chin, Editor.
And there you have it, how I became a romance writer. Questions, LOL!?
January 27, 2014
Carly’s Monday WIP Update
A lot of you have asked me about the writing process and what I’m working on and what point I’m up to … and how I do what I do. I usually have a bare bones outline/idea of where I’m going and a definite concept of characters, their past and what’s going on in the present. It’s never enough, LOL!
For example, I’m currently writing DARE TO DESIRE, the second book in the Dare to Love series. This is Alex and Madison’s story.I The first 100 or so pages of any story are a challenge for me. Every book I say I feel like I’ve never done this before. It’s crazy. This time around it’s Madison who is challenging me at every turn. She seems to want to think too much. I keep telling her nobody wants to hear her rehashing the past over and over but she needed Erika Wilde to read and tell her that before she would listen! Good thing I have had her as a critique partner because nobody else would put up with me! Now that Madison is well in hand and I’ve crossed page 100, I seem to be moving faster in the writing. Story of my life!
In case you want to PREORDER – DARE TO DESIRE - you can preorder now on Amazon – it will be available everywhere else on the release date, April 10, 2014!
In the meantime, don’t forget about DARE TO LOVE – the first book in the series:
DARE TO LOVE BUY LINKS:
My question today isn’t so much about my writing as about sharing characters and other things – I’m thinking about putting together Pinterest Boards with pics of characters and places in the DARE TO LOVE series. Who here is on Pinterest? Who would be interested in checking that out?
January 26, 2014
Friday’s Giveaway Winner & Funny
First up, I apologize. I set the Rafflecopter wrong and the Giveaway ended at 12 PM yesterday afternoon instead of 12 AM in the morning. OOPS! Sorry. Won’t happen again. And now …
The winner of Friday’s $25 Gift Card GIVEAWAY is: Gretchen Miller! CONGRATULATIONS!
Email me via my website CONTACT FORM to claim your prize!
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SUNDAY FUNNY
I posted this on my Facebook Fan Page and it’s STILL funny to me!
HAPPY SUNDAY!
