Julie Kenner's Blog, page 79

Hump Day books from Jean Brashear, Rachel Grant, Elaine Raco Chase, Nicola Marsh, Eliza Gayle, Jayne Denker, Stephanie Julian, and The Summit Authors Favorite Romance Themes Reunion boxed set!

Be sure and check out these amazing Hump Day books!

Texas Roots: The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs Book 1 (Texas Heroes: The Gallaghers of Sweetgrass Springs)

First book in the series!

For more see Jean Brashear’s Texas Roots website!
Concrete Evidence (Evidence Series)

To celebrate the release of the second book in the series (Body of Evidence), the first book is on sale at $0.99 for a limited time (regular price $3.99)!

For more see Rachel Grant’s website!
BEST LAID PLANS

What’s more fun than: some fashion, some food (New Orleans style), some hot sex & a sale! Best Laid Plans – just $1.99 on Zon/Nook/Kobo/AllRomance & iTunes!!! Buy the eBook get the bestselling audiobook for $1.99 – no membership required!

And don’t forget to check out Elaine Raco Chase’s website!
Do It Write

Tips for publication and beyond!

Also by Nicola Marsh, CRAZY LOVE (2012 ARRA finalist & Amazon bestseller)…out now! NOT THE MARRYING KIND (Entangled Publishing) out now!

Find out more at Nicola Marsh’s website!
Levi’s Ultimatum, Purgatory Masters Book 2

In search of someplace to belong… He found an obsession.

See more in the Purgatory Masters series at Eliza Gayle’s website!
Unscripted

Sometimes life throws you a cliffhanger…

Visit Jayne Denker’s website!
An Indecent Proposition Part I

Now free!

Find out more at Stephanie Julian’s website!

Reunion Boxed Set (Favorite Romance Themes) (The Summit Authors Present: Favorite Romance ThemesTM)

Only 99 cents!

See more at The Summit Authors website!

If you would like to submit a book to the Hump Day feature, click here!

Judy Gill On Why Plagiarism is Theft, Plain and Simple

Please welcome Judy Gill, author of A Father for Philip, to the blog!

There’s been a fair bit of talk lately about plagiarism, which as most of us know, without the fancy term is theft, plain and simple. To me, it’s the same as calling rape “sexual assault.” Yes, there are lower degrees of sexual assault than rape, but as a woman I resent having that total violation of any person’s body lumped in with patting a butt or squeezing a boob. As an author, I also resent the term “plagiarism”, which can be anything from stealing a paragraph from another author’s book and sticking it in your own, to wholesale theft of entire novels, and that’s what’s happening right now. The thieves find novels online, “scrape” that is copy and paste and reformat, maybe change the character names and slap on a different cover and by-line, then rush out and sell it as a Kindle edition.

There are sites all over telling people how they can make up to a few thousand bucks a day with no work, which suggests there must be a lot of people who think that’s okay—otherwise the owners of those sites wouldn’t stay in business long. Some of those sites tell visitors how to go about stealing other people’s work. The thieves who steal from authors are not authors. They are not even writers. They are well-organized, completely ruthless smash-and grab operators no different from masked men using a crowbar on a jewelry store window and scooping up what they can. Some people believe that to be a victimless crime because the jewelry is all insured. Apart from the fallacy of that argument, when it comes to stealing from authors, the thought that it’s “a victimless crime” is completely wrong. Authors are not insured.

This brings me to another set of victims of this crime—the readers themselves. The self-publishing industry has already developed a bit of a bad reputation because so many books with unbelievable plots, bad spelling and grammar, and almost unreadable formatting have been flung against the fan, unedited. If the trend toward pirated books continues unabated, honest readers will lose even more faith in the online-book industry. I believe most people, in fact the vast majority, prefer not to buy things that “fell off the back of a truck,” or hand off their hard-earned money to thieves.

My suggestion to readers is to check out the author if you’re unfamiliar with his name but

think the book might interest you. Most legitimate authors have publishers and/or websites with photos, bios, and contact information and perhaps a list of creds on Google. Of course, the unscrupulous thieves (that, I know is a syntactical redundancy, but I couldn’t resist), can set up websites, post bios and photos, but they probably won’t bother because they believe the readers won’t bother. Well, in addition to being an author, I’m also an avid reader and believe me, I do check.

 

Judy Griffith Gill (who has a website, a bio, and plenty of publishing credits to her name), is a member of Novelists, Inc. an international organization of multi-published fiction authors. She has many of her backlist titles currently online through Open Road Media, and is working on reinventing a half-dozen more. These last were originally published under a variety of names and are classed as “traditional” or “sweet” romances, with the sex behind closed doors. The first of those, A Father for Philip, is available now in

Kindle format. In addition to that project, she is working on the third book in a four book Speculative Fiction series, to be published at intervals when all are ready.

Have you ever been the victim of plagiarism? Or know someone who has? Share your experiences below!

P.S. - We're only days away from the release of book 3 of the Stark Trilogy!!  Have you pre-ordered Complete Me yet?

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Charity Pineiro Discusses the Re-release of her Steamy, Miami romance, Now and Always!

Please welcome Charity Pineiro, author of Now and Always, to the blog!

Now and Always, the re-release of my first contemporary romance, is out in both e-book and print. It’s a very special book to me because it’s my first and dedicated to mom, who shaped so much of who I am today.

It’s also special because I wanted to get across a message about discrimination and how it happens in all cultures, in this case, Miami’s melting pot. There is the initial tension between Cuban Connie Gonzalez and Miami-born and bred Paul Stone. With them it’s a clash of cultures and socioeconomics. Paul is wealthy and has had all that he wants in life while Connie has had to struggle for everything.

You’ll find out in the sequel, Faith in You (Available July 2013), that with all that Paul has, he is still a poor man because he lacks love in his life. The love of his family and the love of a very special lady – Carmen Gonzalez, Connie’s younger sister.

But in Now and Always, you’ll also see that even within the Cuban community there is tension between those who have been here since the Sixties and those who came later. Plus there is the class issue as well between sexy and well-off physician Victor and FBI Agent Connie.

Melding with all that is the romance. Hot and sexy and with the tropical feel of Miami’s glittering night life and trendy South Beach environs. You can click here to see some photos from my last trip to South Beach.

I hope you’ll take a moment to check out the book and the free read from Faith in You that introduces all of the characters I hope you will come to love, including Paul Stone and Carmen Gonzalez.

FBI Agent Connie Gonzalez actually helped inspire the FBI Agent Diana Reyes from The Calling/Reborn vampire series. After the release of Connie’s book, I had many letters and e-mails saying how refreshing it was to see a female FBI Agent and how they’d love to see more stories with an empowered heroine. Diana Reyes was soon born and I know how much you all like her and those stories.

Without further ado, here is an excerpt from Now and Always.

As a special thank you to fans, the e-book is priced at .99 until August 16th.  Thank you for taking the time to drop by and visit with me!

Purchase the E-book at Amazon

Purchase the Print Book at Amazon

Caridad Piñeiro® is a multi-published and award-winning author whose love of the written word developed when her fifth grade teacher assigned a project – to write a book that would be placed in a class lending library. She has been hooked on writing ever since. Learn more at Caridad Pineiro’s website!

Thank you Charity Pineiro for guest blogging! 

P.S. - We're only days away from the release of book 3 of the Stark Trilogy!!  Have you pre-ordered Complete Me yet?

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Hump Day reads from Nancy Herkness, Emma Jay, Edie Ramer, Dana Marton, Savanna Fox, Terry Odell, and The Summit Authors Favorite Romance Themes (Marriage of Convenience) Boxed Set!

Check out these fantastic Hump Day titles!

Take Me Home (A Whisper Horse Novel)

Half-price sale ($2.00 on Kindle) during July!

For more see Nancy Herkness’ website!

All on the Line (A Blackwolf Hot Shots erotic novella!)

And don’t forget to check out Emma Jay’s website!

Hearts in Motion (Rescued Hearts)

Save a cat, feed a dog, read a book!

See more at Edie Ramer’s website!

Deathtrap (Broslin Creek)

A new Broslin Creek novel!

Want more from Dana Martin? Check out her website!

Dare to be Dirty (DIRTY GIRLS BOOK CLUB)

City girl Kim is about to lasso a sexy cowboy in the second book in Fox’s Dirty Girls Book Club series!

See Savanna Fox’s website for more!

Saving Scott (Pine Hills Police)

Chocolate, murder, and romance. A perfect combination.

Be sure and visit Terry Odell’s website!

Marriage of Convenience Boxed Set (Favorite Romance Themes) (The Summit Authors Present Favorite Romance Themes)

Learn more at The Summit Authors’ Favorite Romance Themes Webpage!

If you would like to submit a book to the Hump Day feature, click here!

P.S. - We're only days away from the release of book 3 of the Stark Trilogy!!  Have you pre-ordered Complete Me yet?

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

Complete Me is on Shelves! Release Day for the Final Stark Trilogy Installment!

I’m thrilled that Complete Me is finally here!
The third book in the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Stark Trilogy!

Haven’t pre-ordered yet?  You can grab your copy here:

Random House
Barnes & Noble (print or Nook)
Amazon (print)
Amazon (Kindle)
Amazon UK
Books-A-Million
Kobo
iBooks
Indie Bound

Be sure to join us for the final days of the Complete Me Blog Tour!

Enter to win a signed copy of Complete Me from Shelf Awareness!

Check out this awesome contest to win Complete Me … sponsored by Shelf Awareness!

A totally cool contest … and when you tell your friends you get more entries credited to you.  Cool, huh?

 

A steamy #StarkOnSunday excerpt from Complete Me (Stark Trilogy book 3) and a Giveaway!

Woot! #StarkOnSunday ! I’ve got a super steamy excerpt of Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy, up at The Book Reading Gals … have a fan ready

And, of course, there’s another chance to win Complete Me, courtesy of Bantam Books!

“We’ve done this before, remember? Our first night. You in the back of my limo, and I was miles away on my phone and so hard I thought I’d explode.”

I nod. It’s one of my most vivid memories. I was drunk and heady with lust, but I was alone and I could fool myself into believing that the extent of my arousal was my own secret.

Now, there is no hiding how turned on I am.

Read the rest at The Book Reading Gals!

P.S. - We're only days away from the release of book 3 of the Stark Trilogy!!  Have you pre-ordered Complete Me yet?

P.P.S. And why not scroll down and share the post? After all, sharing is sexy!

XXOO

--J.K.

The Final #StarkOnSaturday before Complete Me comes out!!

Just a few more days to the Tuesday, July 30 release of Complete Me, book 3 of the Stark Trilogy by me (J. Kenner!) that began with with Release Me, continued with Claim Me, and will conclude with Complete Me! )

(If you’re in the Austin or Houston areas, I hope to see you at the signings on 7/30 and 7/31 respectively!)  See the calendar for details!  

Can’t make either?  No worries!  Contact The Book Spot and order a signed copy of any of my books!

And now … today’s snippet!

“I’ll call him now,” he says, then pulls his phone out of his pocket. I watch from beside him, frowning as he’s put through to Charles. I can’t imagine why Maynard would be calling—could the court have changed its mind? Is it even allowed to do that?

I study Damien’s face, but his expression gives me no clues. It’s gone completely blank and totally unreadable. A boardroom expression designed to give nothing away to competitors—or to me.

After a moment, Damien stands, and though I reach for his hand, he doesn’t reach back. Neither does he meet my eyes. He heads to the back of the plane and disappears into what I assume is the office.

I try to focus on my book, but it’s impossible, and after I’ve read the same page over at least three dozen times, Damien finally returns. He nods at the attendant, who radios the cockpit, and by the time Damien has fastened his seatbelt again we are once again readying for take-off.

“What happened?” I ask.

“Nothing to worry about.”  He stills wears that bland, corporate mask and I feel my heart constrict, as if a giant fist is squeezing it tight.

“But I am worrying. Charles wouldn’t radio the tower unless it was important.”

He smiles, but it seems forced, and I see no corresponding humor in his eyes. “You’re right. He wouldn’t.”

“Then what is it?”

“There’ve been some time-sensitive developments on a couple of matters that I’ve been chipping away at.”  His voice is level, his words perfectly reasonable. I, however, don’t believe a word of it.

“Don’t shut me out again, Damien.”

“I’m not,” he says firmly. “Not everything is about us.”

I tense, the sting of his words as potent as a slap. “I see.” I finger the book in my lap. “Well, never mind.”

“Nikki…”  His voice is no longer cold.

I tilt my head to look at him, my own mask firmly in place. “It’s fine,” I say.

His eyes search mine, the near-black one seeming to see so deep into me that it is almost dizzying. I hold his gaze for as long as I can before I have to look away or else risk him seeing too clearly that I’m certain his words are all bullshit. What I don’t understand is why.

I turn my head, ostensibly to look out the window as the plane gathers speed, rushing forward to its inevitable climb. And as the wheels lift-off, I can’t help but think that we have reached the point of no return, Damien and I. Like this plane, we will either continue to move forward, or we will crash.

 

I know! I’m ending this round of Stark On Saturday with a cliffhanger … but in just a few more days you’ll know what happens next!  (And I just sent a REALLY steamy excerpt to The Book Reading Gals … link to that guest blog as soon as it goes live!)

Dying to know what happens?  Why not pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble! On-sale July 30!

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Random House

Amazon (print)

Amazon (kindle)

Amazon United Kingdom

Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)

Books-A-Million

Kobo

iBooks

Indie BoundAnd, of course, you can get Book 2, Claim Me, from these great retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Random House

your favorite independent bookseller

in the U.K. from Amazon

 in the U.K. from Waterstones

 in the U.K. from WH Smith

More soon,

XXOO

Last chance to sign up for dinner with me (J. Kenner), Sophie Jordan, Donna Grant and Tracy Wolff (aka Tracy Deebs and Tessa Adams)!

Come have a wild time with me (J. Kenner aka Julie Kenner), Sophie Jordan, Donna Grant and Tracy Wolff (aka Tracy Deebs and Tessa Adams)! 

We’re having a Dinner with the Authors event in Katy (near Houston, Texas) on July 31!  Hope you can join us!  Click the image to get all the details and make your reservation!!

A quotables countdown to Complete Me (Stark Trilogy, book 3)

Just a few more days until Complete Me, Stark Trilogy book 3 following the multi-week New York Times and USA Today bestsellers Release Me and Claim Me!

I’m so excited at the awesome feedback on the third book (and the series as a whole!) so far.  So I  thought I’d share a few snippets, quotables and general info!

Thanks especially to my Twitter friends, @redhotpolkadots and @MissChristy125 for creating and sharing these graphics!

Check it out:

This was a great ending to a great series!! With all the exciting unknowns coming at Damien and Nikki, I couldn’t put this book down. It was hot, passionate, thrilling, and enticing! The Divas give not only this book but the entire series 5 out of 5 very bubbly champagne glasses! Diva’s Daily Book Blog

 

The story is sexy, tense, haunting and intense as Damian’s dark secrets are close to been shown to the light. This story shows an erotic ecstasy and a heat between Damian and Nikki that cannot be extinguished by anyone.

This book is a fantastic sensual conclusion to this trilogy and has to be among my top 10. Nicci’s Book Blog

 

 

More fun snippets and review quotes tomorrow!

Why not pre-order Complete Me from Amazon or from Barnes and Noble!

On-sale July 30!

 

 

 

And if you missed Release Me, you can snag your copy from your favorite retailers here:

Random House

Amazon (print)

Amazon (kindle)

Amazon United Kingdom

Barnes and Noble (print or Nook)

Books-A-Million

Kobo

iBooks

Indie Bound

And, of course, you can get Book 2, Claim Me, from these great retailers:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books-a-Million

Random House

your favorite independent bookseller

in the U.K. from Amazon

 in the U.K. from Waterstones

 in the U.K. from WH Smith

Soon, soon, soon … Complete Me is coming!!!!!!