Carly Phillips's Blog: Carly's Web Blogs, page 81
February 11, 2013
Pretty New Facbook Banner!
Also follow me on Twitter!
FACEBOOK -
www.facebook.com/carlyphillipsfanpage
TWITTER -
www.twitter.com/carlyphillips
All the best,
Carly
February 10, 2013
PERFECT FLING Cover Reveal, Excerpt & Contest
Although Perfect Fling is the fifth full-length book in the overall series, it’s the second book in the Serendipity’s Finest trilogy, which showcases the cops of Serendipity.
Carly is also offering a $25 Amazon Gift Card.
And read a SIZZLING and I do mean SIZZLING Excerpt of Erin and Cole!
So please visit KINDLES & WINE and check it all out today!
http://kindlesandwine.com/2013/02/10/...
Perfect Fling
SERENDIPITY $1.99 Today ONLY
Nook - http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/seren...
and
Kindle - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005...
Carly Phillips
February 9, 2013
What’cha Reading this Snowy (for me) Saturday?
Hope those in the N.E. are surviving the snowstorm WITH power. Thank goodness ours stayed on! Yay! Hubby went to let dogs into yard, both ran out and ran back. Snow too high for them to pee. Hubby is now shoveling a dog path 
So whether you’re stuck in or not … we ask the all important Saturday question:
WHAT’CHA READING?
I’m in the middle of Juliana Stone’s Barker Triplets, Offside and now Collide.
Les, hope you don’t mind I was up and jumped in to post.
STAY WARM, all!
February 7, 2013
Guest Blogger – Marquita Valentine
OK I admit it. I opened the blog and sat down to write … and stared at the blank screen for way too long. I’ve had a rough week. A funeral for a good friend’s mom, at the same place as my dad’s was, which threw me completely and I broke down, and I’ve been a mess ever since. Dual doctor’s appts yesterday at opposite ends of Westchester County from where I live, and condolence calls each night. So I’m thinking … what can I write about that’s UPBEAT? And then a friend emails me to check in … and she has a book out, and she’s scheduled to blog here in a few weeks and I thought, why not have her today instead? She’ll definitely be more upbeat than me … and I can vouch for the fact that she writes great stuff – so you’re in for a treat! She’s been here before, so welcome back MARQUITA VALENTINE!
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Thanks for having me back on Plotmonkeys, Carly! I love hanging out in the jungle with all of y’all!
So, let’s get down to business: Hot Guys and Hot Cars. What, you might ask, does this have to do with my newest release, DRIVE ME CRAZY?
Plenty.
Carter Ambrose, the older brother of the heroine’s best friend, is one hot NASCAR driver. Of course he drives a really hot car- a classic, candy apple red Mustang Convertible. This car might be the location of a very hot scene in the book between Carter and Melanie. *might be*
You can take a peek at Carter, Melanie and his very hot car here. I even created an entire Pinterest board dedicated to hot guys and their cars. Oh-kay, so some of the pictures just have hot guys, but can you blame me?
So what’s your favorite kind of car: classic, sporty or luxury? And what kind of guy should be in the driver’s seat (maybe the passenger’s seat if you’re the one that does the driving! ): jeans and t-shirt, polo shirt and khakis or suit?
Two lucky commentors will receive an e-copy of DRIVE ME CRAZY!
Read more about DRIVE ME CRAZY (Going the Distance ~ Book 1) – all major buy links are included – CLICK HERE!
He’s going the distance…for love.
NASCAR racer, Carter Ambrose, has finally decided to take his doctor’s advice and find a new occupation before another wreck on the track kills him. Only his doctor hadn’t counted on his little sister’s best friend, Melanie Ann Smith, crashing his weeks of solitude with her short skirts and platform heels. And that’s not the least of his problems. His mother has decided that she wants grandchildren and the only woman that’s good enough for the job-his ex-fiance.
Twenty-four year old Troublemaker Extraordinaire, Melanie Ann Smith, isn’t asking for much out of life: a house without wheels, to travel further than her home state and her best friend’s older brother, Carter Ambrose. Only three things stand in her way: juggling all of her odd jobs, keeping her daddy from gambling away all of their money and getting Carter to see her as a woman.
Soon Melanie and Carter agree to a temporary relationship. One with benefits that is mutually satisfying in every way, or so each believes. And just when they are ready admit their feelings, family secrets are exposed, threatening Melanie and Carter’s fragile relationship.
Will Carter risk it all for love, or will Melanie be left holding the trophy for second place?
Two lucky commentors will receive an e-copy of DRIVE ME CRAZY!
January 31, 2013
Guest of Honor – Ruthie Knox
Welcome back guest RUTHIE KNOX with her fantastic new novella/eBook, HOW TO MISBEHAVE … I know it’s fantastic because I read it. It was fast, fun and a really heartwarming couple who were pretty sexy and hot at the same time. I really loved them! Read on, as Ruthie tells you more about her view on happy endings!
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Thanks for having me back to visit, Plotmonkeys!
The first time I was here, nearly a year ago, I talked about epilogues. Namely, my distaste for them. I felt as though epilogues were often used to put a great big bow around the happily ever after, and I said that as someone who lives in the happily ever after – as a married woman with a son, in other words – I crave more realism in these peeks at the hero and heroine down the road.
“The happy ending is, for me, one moment,” I wrote. “It’s a respite. After a few hundred pages of conflict and strife, the hero and heroine deserve a few minutes to breathe and rest easy in the comfortable space they’ve made through their mutual disclosures, their lifting of burdens, and their hot smexin’. But nobody gets to live in the happy-ever-after moment forever. Not even romance novel characters. Being in love is hard work.”
After my visit here, I kept thinking about the whole question of epilogues, and eventually I began to change my mind. Sort of. I can see why readers often crave them, and I’ve even come to believe that some books need them – particularly stories that take place over a short span of time. I’ve actually written two epilogues now (not too goopy, I hope), and I’m open to the possibility of writing more.
But I remain fascinated with this idea of the ending of a story as a respite rather than an open door into the hero and heroine’s golden and glorious future.
My latest release, How To Misbehave, is a 100-page story that takes place over just a few days, and so – probably inevitably – it ends with a “happy for now” moment instead of a “happy ever after.” Thus far, readers have seemed satisfied with the way the story ends. But I’m not.
I want to keep going – to delve into the story of what happens to this couple, Amber and Tony, after they find intimacy, trust, and happiness together. Because I know they will get more than they have bargained for. They will get love and companionship, yes, and these are no small thing – but they will also get marriage, spiritual growth, family trauma, stress, financial difficulty, and pain. They will find out what it’s like to have three children and a business that you must put before your own needs, how those things can consume you, and how you have to fight to keep your marriage alive and at the core of what you value, or you’ll lose it.
I so want to write about those struggles, too. Because to my mind, that is romance. I would even argue that it is the same kind of romance as the romance that brings the couple together in the first place.
In the happy-ever-after, there is happiness, yes. But there is conflict and tension, hot sex and fail-sex, good communication and poor communication. And while I don’t like to imagine my characters backsliding after their story ends – unlearning the lessons the book has gone to such pains to teach them – life carries with it so many new lessons to be learned. I can’t help but want to write about those, too.
What do you guys think? Are you ever curious about what happens to a favorite couple post–happy-ever-after, or do you want to imagine them apart from all the ordinary struggles of life? Feel free to disagree with me! I’m interested in how you feel about what you read, what you want, what you hate. Knock yourselves out. ☺
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HOW TO MISBEHAVE
What woman can resist a hot man in a hard hat? Beloved author Ruthie Knox kicks off her new Camelot series with this deliciously sexy original novella, in which a good girl learns how to misbehave . . . with all her heart.
As program director for the Camelot Community Center, Amber Clark knows how to keep her cool. That is, until a sudden tornado warning forces her to take shelter in a darkened basement with a hunk of man whose sex appeal green lights her every fantasy. With a voice that would melt chocolate, he asks her if she is okay. Now she’s hot all over and wondering: How does a girl make a move?
Building contractor Tony Mazzara was just looking to escape nature’s fury. Instead, he finds himself all tangled up with lovely Amber. Sweet and sexy, she’s ready to unleash her wild side. Their mutual desire reaches a fever pitch and creates a storm of its own—unexpected, powerful, and unforgettable. But is it bigger than Tony can handle? Can he let go of painful memories and let the force of this remarkable woman show him a future he never dreamed existed?
Read More About How To Misbehave – including BUY LINKS at all major retailers!
Ruthie is generously giving away 3 eCopies of HOW TO MISBEHAVE to one lucky commenter below! Check back Sunday for winners.
January 24, 2013
Contemporary Romance Chat!
First and most importantly … HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO LESLIE!!!!!!!! Please join us in wishing her a very happy birthday!!!!
We love you, Les!
Myspace and Orkut Comments from www.webpagecollection.com
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Yesterday I had the pleasure of doing a LIVE video chat with fellow contemporary authors, Jennifer Probst and Jennifer Landon. It was a blast — once we got our sea legs – took us a few minutes to really get into the groove of who speaks when! I hope you enjoy. You’ll have to let me know!
January 17, 2013
Visiting
I’m in Florida visiting my mom … and finishing (I hope) PERFECT FLING! Then I get to work on Sam’s story … PERFECT TOGETHER. So I’m wondering, what do you want to read after the Serendipity’s Finest series? More Serendipity? New town? All new idea? Talk to me!
January 13, 2013
Sunday Winners and Funny!
Thanks for your patience while I sorted through the different entries and ways to win! There were 3 types of winners RANDOMLY chosen courtesy of Rafflecopter –
1. Thank you & Congratulations to Throuthehaze - Winner of $10 Amazon GC for LIKING my PERFECT FIT Amazon Page!
2. Thank you & Congratulations to Ashley C Turner – Winner of $25 Amazon GC for Leaving a REVIEW on my PERFECT FIT Amazon Page!
3. Thank you & Congratulations to Plotmonkey Commenter # 93 – elaing8 - Winner of $25 Amazon GC for commenting here on the Blog!
I’m THRILLED with the results of this contest and so grateful to you all!
Note – I will attempt to email you through the emails generated through Rafflecopter – ONCE – OR you can see your name here – and contact me at: carly phillips author @ gmail . com – to claim your prize! 1 week to claim prize – through Sunday January 20th!
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And now for the FUNNY!
Inner Peace
If you can start the day without caffeine,
If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,
If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,
If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,
If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,
If you can take criticism and blame without resentment,
If you can conquer tension without medical help,
If you can relax without alcohol,
If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,
Then You Are Probably:
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The Family Dog!
And you thought I was going to get all spiritual…
:-)
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Author of the Month UPDATE & GIVEAWAY – Of all my older books, the most talked about series (other than the Chandler brothers of course) has to be The Hot Zone series about three sisters and their crazy uncle who run a sports agency/PR firm, and the ATHLETES they represent. Over at Under the Covers they’re showcasing ALL 4 HOT ZONE BOOKS and giving away a copy of HOT STUFF (bk 1). CLICK HERE TO VISIT AND ENTER – YAY!
http://networkedblogs.com/H1ZHs
HAPPY SUNDAY, JUNGLE DWELLERS!
January 12, 2013
Saturday Reading and a Don’t Miss Contest!
It’s Saturday, I’m still on deadline for PERFECT FLING, so I’ll have to ask all of you!?
WHAT’CHA READING?
What’s good? What’s exciting?
Tell me …..
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And a new and exciting contest from moi and my talented pal, Jill Shalvis!
One Great Giveaway! Two Dear Friends & Three Chances to Win FREE BOOKS!
Follow the Rafflecopter Directions – the only MUST DO THINGS:
1. Sign up for Carly’s Newsletter (or already be signed up)
2. Sign up for Jill’s Newsletter (or already be signed up)
3. “LIKE” Both their Facebook pages!
Carly’s FB
Jill’s FB
It’s just that simple!
Then we’ll pick FIVE winners who will each get a book of their choice from both Carly and Jill.
5 winners. 10 books in all.
Don’t miss your chance and be sure to spread the word!
