Catherine Bybee's Blog, page 27

Time for a sample of Highland Shifter~

Highland Shifter
By USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Catherine Bybee


Helen Adams has a knack for finding lost objects, but the Simon McAllister she finds isn't what she expected. The missing California teen is now a grown man—a kilted, sword wielding, Highland warrior.
A mysterious Druid book and Helen's sixth sense send her to Scotland in search of a missing boy. After being attacked by strange men dressed in medieval garb, a handsome, desirable hero answering to the boy's name rescues her. No one is more surprised than she to find herself in sixteenth century Scotland. Unable to deny the reality of time travel, Helen discovers smoldering passion with a man destined to leave her.
Simon has lived his Druid life in two very different worlds, two vastly different times, and when Helen practically lands in his lap, he knows his life is about to change forever. There are enemies in California lying in wait for her, and an army in Scotland closing in on his family. Simon is the only person who can protect her. But when she learns his most guarded secret, will she still want him? Can Helen love a Highland Shifter?

Excerpt:


Simon stepped closer and felt the heat of her skin. She smelled of the strawberry shampoo she used in her hair. Helen's hands slid from her hips and fell to the side.

"'Tis time we clear up a few things in your lovely head about me."

He stepped closer, and Helen, the wise girl, took a step back until her bottom met the edge of the desk. She reached behind her to steady herself and keep from falling.

Like a predatory cat cornering his prey, Simon towered over Helen, watching her body twitch as her eyes travelled over his.

"Really?" Her voice wavered. After clearing her throat, she asked. "Like what?"

Simon licked his lips and glanced at hers. "I'm not evil."

"Uhm…." Her eyes never left his mouth while he spoke.

"And I'd never lure a child into my presence."

Simon leaned into her, their thighs touched and Helen's breathing started to quicken. He placed one hand on the table beside her, leaving her very little room to escape should she want to. From the hunger in her gaze, and the heat coming off her body, he didn't believe she would.

"A woman, however, might tempt me to entice her attention."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To be released in February 2012
Paperback &E-Book

Highland Shifter Cover Art!

Here is is... the next book cover and the first with those nice lil' letters next to my name... you know... USA Today Bestselling Author - Whoot

Well... talk to me? What do you think?

Snack Happy with Rebecca J. Clark

When I ask authors to do a guest blog I let them talk about anything... so here is Rebecca talking about something she understands all to well... Snacking! Now don't get all huffy with me, Rebecca is one physicaly fit woman who prides herself on her exercise routine and healthy eating habits. I wish I could say the same. This blog comes at a time where I've already forgotten that Jan 1st plan. 

So, without further delay... Rebecaa................ 

You've probably heard the suggestion to eat every 2-3 hours to keep your blood sugar levels even and to keep your metabolism stoked, right? This doesn't mean you should be eating huge meals every 2-3 hours. You can either eat small, hand-size meals throughout the day, or you can do like I do and eat three square meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner) and two snacks.


So, what constitutes a healthy snack? Ideally, you'll mix a protein and a carb. Here are some ideas:

·         Two rice cakes smeared with almond butter
      If you really want yummy, sprinkle 5-6 dark chocolate chips on top

·         Sliced apple with peanut butter

·         Plain Greek yogurt, berries, a sprinkling of lowfat granola or Grapenuts

·         ½ cup of cottage cheese mixed with ½ cup of sugar free yogurt

·         ½ cup of cottage cheese, ½ sliced apple, 1 tbsp chopped walnuts, cinnamon

·         ½ cup of cottage cheese with pineapple, 5 walnut halves roughly chopped

·         Hard-boiled egg, piece of fruit

Eating like this will give you tons of energy and you'll avoid that 3 p.m. afternoon slump.

Happy snacking! 

Buy links:
http://www.bookstrand.com/her-one-night-prince
http://tinyurl.com/6u2sec4 Amazon
http://tinyurl.com/7m8y8wz Barnes & Noble
Find Rebecca online:http://rebeccajclark.comhttp://rebeccajclark.blogspot.comhttp://shywriters.blogspot.comhttps://www.facebook.com/#!/rebeccajclark.author
Twitter @rebeccajclark


Rebecca J. Clark works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor when she's not writing romance novels.

News and Updates

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS!

I'm home from our winter trip in the RV... aka The Big Rolling Turd... we had a great time traveling the southern section of the western states. We visited the snow, let the kids get good and wet, then moved to the dryer claimant of the southwest. All in all it was a nice vacation without a lot of drama or frozen pipes. Good times.

Now, onto Bybee news:

I'm working quickly on edits for Highland Shifter. And yes, I'm working with an editor. I learned with Wife by Wednesday to always have a third and forth set of editorial eyes. I missed a few things in Wife by Wednesday and many a reader has let me know it.

Live and Learn!

The cover for Highland Shifter is AMAZING! - Once the final tweak is done I'll post it here for all to drool over.

NEW NEWS:

I have pulled Before the Moon Rises and Embracing the Wolf away from the publisher. It's all amicable, but the bottom line in my world is a cover sells a book. I think BTMR is judged by the sweater vested man on the cover and I think that has kept this short werewolf novella from readers hands. The cover for Soul Mate is amazing and this book has done very well since its release. As for Embracing the Wolf... again, this cover doesn't scream paranormal romance and it should. I'd also like to put this book in print. It will be a shorter print book, but maybe after I revise it a little I can give it the glory it deserves. So, dear reader... these books will be reissued as self published work sometime in the early spring.

MEET THE AUTHOR NEWS:

I'm going to the Romantic Times Convention in Chicago this April. Because of policy changes with The Wild Rose Press I won't be able to sign my time travel books at the 'big book' signing, but I will try my best to sign books at the ebook / indie book signing. And I will have table time at Club RT. So, don't be shy and come on over so I don't look like a geek all alone! LOL

No update yet on Married by Monday... I'm still working on Carter and Eliza's story which has a ton more meat than Wife by Wednesday. I hope to make this book a little longer as well.

Over at Blame it on the Muse

I blog in different places from time to time and today I'm over at Blame it on the Muse. I've been asked a bunch of questions about how I managed to make it onto the USA Today Bestseller list with my Indie Title Wife by Wednesday ~ So I'm sharing my insight.

Come on over and wave ~ I do believe we still have a giveaway going on.... hint, hint.

Click HERE

In the Rolling Turd ~

I know... I know... I'm crazy. I'm back in the "Big Rolling Turd" again. The family RV is rolling down the road right now to destinations unknown. Our goal is to find some snow for the kids to play in and see a thing or two we haven't before.

My goal is to still love my family when we get home after being in the "Turd" for over a week.

I'm a twitter-holic these days so please log on and follow me at @catherinebybee and stay in tune with the never ending drama that follows us around the country.

Our goal is Colorado... maybe Utah. Of course that means driving through Nevada and Arizona... maybe a little New Mexico. The weather and road conditions determine if we hit the mountains or drive all the way around.

I'll try and post a facebook picture once in a while. So click on over if you're board stiff. LOL

Happy New Year!

So many times we look back on the previous year and run away from it. With the world in such turmoil, and people out of work, it's hard to look forward and not see dark skies. However, I've always been one to believe that we get out of this life what we put into it. My mother was a waitress the majority of my growing years, and we survived on very little. I know what plain pasta and a can of stewed tomatoes taste like. Nasty stuff that! Still, I think back on those times and the love we often had in our home and am thankful for what we did have.

I'm always thankful each and every year for the overall health of my family. Of the love we have for each other... I look to the next year with hope that the things that are beyond our control will work to our advantage or that we find a way to gain control and shape our future.

2011 has been a great year for me personally. My family is healthy... and that is the most important thing ever.

The hours that I spend writing are finally reaching an audience of unbelievable proportions. Each day I open up my browser and see Wife by Wednesday on the first page of bestsellers on Amazon is a very good day. Each review I receive means another person has read my work and took the time to tell me about it. I particularly like the reviews that say "This book was predictable but I couldn't put it down... I fell in love with these characters." I guess in ways Wife is predictable... but the fact that so many of my readers fell in love means they'll come back for more. Maybe Carter and Eliza's story will hold more mystery... I know it does for me.

Thank you 2011. You've been a great year.
*cracks knuckles* Okay, 2012.... show me what you got!

I tell you what I have for you, my loyal readers...
I have:

Highland Shifter (Simon's Story) coming before Spring
Married by Monday (Book 2 in the bride series) coming before Spring

Fiance by Friday (Book 3 in the bride series) coming by Fall
Not Quite Dating (Christmas contemporary) TBA

Oh... and... at least one more full length novel in the mix for this year.
Yeah, I'm that busy.

The Last Awakening ~ Rachel Firasek ~ Promo Stop

I have the pleasure of hosting a promo spot for Rachel Firasek on her blog tour.


CURSE OF THE PHOENIX - Book Two
Title: TheLast Awakening (Curse of the Phoenix, #2)
Author: Rachel Firasek
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Length: Novella
Release Date: December 2011
ISBN: 978-1-937044-44-1
 Book Description:

For three hundred years, Arabella's life has been one meaningless death after another. In a cruel twist of fate, Osiris–god of the Underworld–gifts the phoenix her mortality and returns her voodoo magic. If she fails to harness her wayward magic and save a man worthy of a second chance, she'll forfeit her power and her soul–forever.
Ex-soldier Greyson Meadows desperately wants to be freed from the nightmares and guilt that haunt him after the tragedy that brought him and Ari together. Confronted by the waif of a woman who forces him to face his worst fears, he resists, fighting the need to keep his personal demons hidden instead of setting them free.
When Ari becomes the target of her own magical blunder, it's not just her life in danger, but now the one of the man she loves.
Excerpt - Chapter One

A snow-sleet mix pelted the flapping windshield wipers and doused the inside of the cab with a bone-freezing chill. The driver ignored any discomfort and even cracked his window to belch through the seam, then took a drag off his cigarette.Mon Dieu, she had to pick this taxi. Arabella Durand shifted away from the smoke that mixed with the irritating atmosphere. A more perfect mood couldn't have been staged for her pending death.The driver belched again, filling the car with his noxious stench. Much more of him and she'd find a way to hang herself now and hope her next soul found his or her own way to survive—to hell with Osiris and his orders. But she couldn't. She was only allowed to die for him, the Egyptian god of the Underworld, and who knew what he would test her with if she failed? Probably another three hundred years of purgatory.She had only one option: find her mark and die. It was a cruel trick of nature, and in all the years she'd been at it, she'd never understood. No one had been there to save her people—from her. No. The god obviously hadn't thought them worthy of a second chance. And he sure as hell didn't think she'd learned enough to find peace in death.The cab rolled to a stop in front of the flickering Country Store sign that highlighted the cabbie twisting in the seat. Thank the Loa for answering her prayers to end the torturous ride. Long strands of hair fell against his face as he draped a beefy arm over the back of the passenger-seat headrest. He resembled Popeye with his bulging muscles and too-tight shirt—but instead of a pretty sailor tattoo, he had a dagger piercing a skull surrounded by snakes inked into his arm. The warning didn't go unnoticed. Ari believed in the signs the deities chose to bless on her.The driver grunted. "Lady, are you sure?"Sure that she'd suffer? Yes.Sure that she'd die? Yes.Sure that what she was about to do mattered to someone else? Yes.Would it be enough? She paid a price with each death, but she didn't know if she'd ever forgive herself. Too many sins laid their heads at her door."Yes." She passed him a hundred—twenty more than the ride deserved—which was the last of her hard-earned cash. She'd spent the past few months as a nanny for a temp agency—not the highest-paying job around. Soon she wouldn't need it anyway. Scooting across the seat, she held one hand to the scarf wrapped tightly around her hair. In this weather it would curl into an untamable mass and she wanted to look her best when she met the afterlife. The trip to the sun, Osiris's home for now, would take its toll. No reason to help it along. Besides, she'd never hear the end of it if Sadie—her sister phoenix—saw her looking less than perfect.To the women she'd spent the last three hundred years with, she was the strongest in the group. They gravitated to her whenever there was a problem, believing she would fix it or that she'd offer up some bit of wisdom to either make them laugh or cure their worries. Evidently, practicing voodoo and acting as the priestess to her village made her "all knowing."She'd never shared the deep sorrow she lived with, and she wouldn't. This was her penance, her problem. She'd never tell them that she was a murderess who couldn't face the pain of her past. She'd never see the disgust pass over their faces when they learned she'd wiped out her family and friends in one spell gone bad.The driver cleared his throat, drawing her back to the problem at hand. One bushy eyebrow rose. "You staying or going?""Going." She scooted to the edge of the seat and called back, "Merci."The passenger window hummed, lowering and allowing the man's bellow to catch her while she picked her way across the frozen ground. What now?He leaned forward with one arm planted across the back of the seat. "It's a long way back to town. Should I wait?"Ice droplets slapped against her slim-fitting, white leather jacket. Despite the misery caused by the rain, she couldn't ignore him. She hadn't expected concern from the man who hadn't said more than a handful of sentences during the half-hour drive here. Hoping the smile she plastered on her face didn't show the pain shuddering through her, Ari shook her head. "No, thank you."Wouldn't do any good—after the god was done with her, there wouldn't be anything left.She spun back around and hurried toward her target and the shack/station/grocery. The store's crack-riddled bricks supported a wavy roof. One corner of the metal topping smacked against the building with the rhythm of the wind. A few more cadences and she'd have all the makings of a good ritual beat. How many hours had she danced in front of a roaring fire to heal her people?Let it go, girl. You can't help them now.
http://www.entangledpublishing.com/the-last-awakening/


About the Author:
Rachel Firasek grew up in the south and despite the gentle pace, she harassed life at full steam. Her curiosity about mythology, human nature, and the chemical imbalance we call love led her to writing. Her stories began with macabre war poems and shifted to enchanted fairytales, before she settled on a blending of the two.
Today you'll find her tucked on a small parcel of land, surrounded by bleating sheep and barking dogs, with her husband and children. She entertains them all with her wacky sense of humor or animated reenactments of bad 80's dance moves.
She's intrigued by anything unexplained and seeks the answers to this crazy thing we call life. You can find her where the heart twists the soul and lights the shadows… or at www.rachelfirasek.com .

Merry Christmas

ChrisI know... I'm a day late. But give a girl a break. I had 20+ people at my home yesterday with several overnight guests the night before. I have such a lovely family and am truly blessed but boy is it exhausting to have so much going on all around you. I can see how this torch is going to be passed on to the young once the time comes.

I do hope the holiday spirit stays with all of us throughout the year. It's often that once the decorations are put away and the house is clean... and the diets begin that we forget about being kind to each other.

I'm thankful for many things this year but mainly the health of my family and friends. It wasn't long ago that our holidays were clouded with the threat of cancer... and loss. The year none of those things darken our door and I couldn't be happier for it.

Merry Christmas

Catherine

Interview and giveaway with Clarissa Yip

Welcome to my corner of the blogging world.

It's great to be here!
Let's get a little of the formalities out of the way. Tell us a little about your self and the genre you write.

I'm Clarissa Yip. I write contemporary romance mainly, but I do at times dabble in suspense. I enjoy scrapbooking, reading, video games, trying new foods, and I'm also a cupcake addict. Oh, and I need coffee all the time.
Love to scrapbook, but don't find time to do it much these days. And who doesn't love cupcakes? Tell me, Clarissa, what do you love about being a writer?
Good question! Lol. I love losing myself in another world, being someone else even if it's for a little bit, and allowing my muse to run free, even though she does drive me nuts at times. I loveWhat do you hate about being a writer?
Writer's block. It's my worse friend. When I'm itching to write and be productive, something has to come along and push me off the cliff and then I'm totally clueless as to where I'm going with the story when I've spent three days plotting and getting to know my characters. I feel ingenious for the first three chapters, then everything after that I get frustrated because the story decides that it needs to go another direction. It's irritating. You think you know your characters, then they decide to be bipolar or that they want to be someone else who they're not!
I get that! If there was one thing about the industry you could change, what would it be?
For it to make up it's mind! You hear these fad trends and what's popular, then by the time you finish the book because you know everyone is asking for such, you and your story are old news. But I guess it's all part of the game. Markets evolve, new innovations come in, and it works for some and not so much the other. There's no such thing as consistency in this industry. But there's always a demand for romance! Write from the heart! There's no better advice than that.
So true. You can't write for the trend, it doesn't work. What do you like better, Twitter or Facebook? Why?

Wow. I feel like I'm back in Marketing Class. All these questions on industry and social networking. I think Twitter and Facebook are awesome! I started with Facebook when it used to be only for college students and no one who didn't belong to an organization was allowed to sign up. Now seeing it evolve with the new technological innovations, it's pretty amazing. News and communication travels so much faster. Twitter is pretty cool. I love the apps that utilize Twitter and allow for calculations of statistics and for a company/business to know their reach and influence. But most of all, I love that it's such an easy way to market and communicate with the public without leaving the comfort of your own home.
I do tend to ask questions about how authors market themselves because in my personal experience, without a marketing platform an author won't find readers. And I'm always interested in what is working for each author.
But since I don't want you to think you're back in school… for the most important question ever... Do you roll your toilet paper over the roll or under the roll?
Wow, I must be a slob, because I really don't think about such thing. I'm going to assume over because having it under would annoy me with the way the extra sheet falls and sits. *Runs to the bathroom to check *
Pulled you attention right out of the classroom and to the toilet! LOL My work here is almost done.
Tell us about your latest release and were we can find it.
My new release is Silent Night's Seduction . It's a 1 Night Stand holiday story that takes place in Alaska at one of the Castillo resorts. Lily is literally kidnapped, shoved on a plane, and flown to the lodge for a one-night stand. Only her date ends up being her ex-husband, hot DA Rafe Martinez. Sparks fly. Desire strikes. And a second chance may be in store! It's also part of the Madame Eve 1Night Stand Holiday Anthology by Decadent Publishing! You won't be disappointed!
Here's the blurb:
Stubborn and proud cowgirl, Lily McCormick, is finally coming to terms with her quiet life on her parent's ranch, until her older brother, as payback, signs her up for 1NightStand. Kidnapped and forced onto a plane to a foreign location, she faces the dreaded cold and an unwanted tryst, until her ex-husband appears before her…as her date.
New York City District Attorney, Rafe Martinez, would do anything to get his ex-wife back, even if it meant taking drastic measures to pretend he was there for another woman. When jealousy and rage surfaces and Lily's tough demeanor wanes, desire and lust sparks their once powerful connection as truths unfold. Will Rafe convince her to return to him or push her further away from giving their love a second chance?


I'm all about twitter and facebook, so can you be sure and add your handles and links here....
Website: Blog: Twitter: Facebook:
I'm also having a party at Romance Author Hotspot! (http://romanceauthorhotspot.com ) Everyone is welcome to come! There'll be publishers, your favorite authors, and also romance book vendors hanging out from Dec. 24th to Jan. 1st! We're giving away a Kindle Fire and over 40 prizes, so it's going to be a blast! I'll be there too!
One lucky commenter will win any e-book from Decadent Publishing's book catalog at http://www.decadentpublishing.com
You HAVE to leave a comment to enter and please leave your .com so we can notify you of your win.Thanks for being here, Clarissa and best of luck with your latest release.