Susan Hanniford Crowley's Blog: From Nights of Passion Blog, page 222

What I’ve Learned: Secret #15 – Eating! What Are Your Favorite Things?

One of the lovely things about my vampires is that if they are over a hundred years old,

Wikipedia – Peking Duck after being dried

they can eat human food. With the exception of garlic, they enjoy eating. It’s not all blood a cuisine.

A certain exclusive Chinese restaurant in New York City makes a special Peking Duck for a lovely vampiress.�� They make it for her without garlic.

I’ve had such a duck. Oh my, oh my. What are your favorite things to eat?

 

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

Vampire King of New York is available at Amazon Kindle and print, Barnes and Noble Nook and print and in Kobo

A Vampire for Christmas in Kindle

Filed under: A Vampire for Christmas, Characters, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, romance novels, Secret #15 - Eating, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampires

Why Engagement Matters

Performance management, talent lists, engagement��and Gallup surveys seem to be abundant these days. It seems that during my day job I am constantly thinking about one or more of these. To me, most of this stems from engagement in one’s work.

The truth is that I haven’t worked on a book in a while but even when I was writing several hours a day, I never worried about whether I was engaged enough. I traded sleep to write! I still think about writing all the time, but make the choice to hold off for now as it consumes me and quite frankly I don’t have time to be consumed by that these days.

So what does this all mean? Honestly, I think it means different things for each of us. I’ve read tons of articles about following your passion and I’ve even known some people to do this. I’ve also had a lot of real conversations with people and sometimes life doesn’t work out the way we went it to. Still, that doesn’t mean we should give up on what does engage us or what we are passionate about.

We each have reasons as to why we live life the way we do. Sometimes��we can’t pursue a passion because it doesn’t pay the bills or time isn’t there to do it. And sometimes we are too scared to take the risk.��It just may be a matter of finding a way to fit it in or taking a chance. The way I see it is we can spend our lives disengaged and not actively participating or we can search out and seize what helps us thrive. When we are old and wrinkled, what will we term acceptable? Only we can answer that and believe me, I’m still trying.

Happy writing this week!

Filed under: A writer's life, Toni Kelly

A Few More Days Until RTC! Books from Opal Carew! by Mandy Rosko

Okay, just a couple more days and I’ll be signing books for the first time ever! I ended up already giving a few away here and there, but there should still be enough. Hopefully :3 Gotta pick up some more bubble blowers since those are pretty cool, and now I have a number on how many people are going to show up.

Unfortunately, registration is now closed, so unless you’re in the area and you only want to get into the books signing, which is public, then you won’t be able to sign up for any cool speakings. But signings are still a whole lot of fun ;)

Man, I had so much fun going to my local writer’s meet on Sunday, got to talk with some cool people, had to drive there with my new license in my nice car :) I had to follow someone there behind their car. Then had to follow another write back until I recognized where I was. Totally pathetic. Turns out that when your volume is lowered on your phone, the GPS isn’t so helpful. Who knew, right? :D

Anyway, the point is that it was a lot of fun, and Opal Carew was super cool and she gave me two of her books that I’ve been looking at for a while. I asked if she was selling them since they were on display, but she totally gave them to me! I’ll be reading and reviewing these soon-ish. I took these images off of Amazon, but these are the books she gave me :)

There was also a box set recently put out with all the Invitation to Eden books bundled together. It’s called Bad Boys of Eden, as of this writing, it’s still available if you wanted to check it out and get it for a lower price instead of buying them all separate. (I’m really jealous of that cover, and in love with the chest)

Anyway! Those are my book recommendations and fun things that happened to me lately. Any book recommendations from you? Good books you think are worth checking out are always something I’m interested in while I get ready to give my website a new look :) And right now, if you wanted to sign up for my Newsletter, I’m giving away a free copy of The Vampire’s Curse!��http://rizzorosko.com/contact.html

Cheers

Mandy Rosko

————————–

Burns Like Fire (Dangerous Creatures Book One) is��Available Now!

The Princess’ Dragon Lord is Now Available at��Amazon��and��B&N

Connect with me online:

Facebook

www.goodreads.com/Mandyrosko

Twitter: @rizzorosko

Mandyrosko.com

Want the latest on hot guys, erotic romance, and sizzling action? Add your super cool name to my Newsletter list and I’ll make sure you’re the first to hear about new releases the day they come out:��http://rizzorosko.com/contact.html
Filed under: romance

Spring Starlit Weekly Paranormal-Scope

While I am not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets, I am intimately linked to the paranormal in the world in many ways. So are you.

The paranormal-scope is for entertainment purposes only and is not meant to guide your life by.

The week for:

Aries:

Hobbits are feeling the ease of past stress in the spring sunlight. Get enough sun everyday but not too much.

Taurus:

Gnomes have restless feet. Vacation planning is in order.

Gemini:

Gnomes sometimes find it difficult to connect with others. Look for the circle in life. Ride a carousel. Go skating at a rink. Take a circular walk and you’ll find yourself in sync again.

Cancer:

Werewolves are a cuddly bunch. It’s time to hang out with good friends and plan some relaxing activities.

Leo:

Vampires like to explore. Plan on going someplace new and meeting new people.

Virgo:

Pegasus has offered you a ride. You have the opportunity to take your career higher and further.

Libra:

Orcs pass you by.�� Trouble has been avoided so breathe easy. Indulge in a hobby you love but didn’t have time for before.

Scorpio:

Faeries are entrancing creatures. True beauty is more than surface appearance. Friendship and love are more than skin deep.�� You have the opportunity for both.

Sagittarius:

Dragons are the dearest of creatures. They have a bigger view of the world and are into helping others but not so that others see.�� They find working in the background to be very satisfying.

Capricorn:

A vampire gave you a gift. It’s time to use it. You can shine like a star. You just have to want it.

Aquarius:

Goblins are careful with their money. Make a budget for that next big expense.

Pisces:

Shapeshifters enjoy taking beauty naps. They like feeling well rested and energized. Look into more healthy eating choices.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

Vampire King of New York available at Amazon Kindle and print, Barnes and Noble Nook and print and in Kobo

A Vampire for Christmas in Kindle

Filed under: Max Vander Meer, Norse, paranormal, paranormal romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampire books, Vampire David Hilliard, Vampire King of New York, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampires, Viking, Weekly Paranormal-Scope, Yule

Cover Reveal for Only Marriage Will Do by Jenna Jaxon

Earlier this past week I revealed the cover for my next Georgian romance and I wanted to share it with all of you.

ONLY MARRIAGE WILL DO

Not every happy-ever-after begins at ���I do.���

When the hero of her dreams rescues Lady Juliet Ferrers from the man claiming to be her husband, she is sure she has found her one true love. But is she free to marry him? Not to be deterred, Juliet arranges for her hero, Captain Amiable Dawson, to escort her to her family estate, hoping that along the way she can win his love.

Amiable is charmed by the sweet, beautiful woman he rescued, and although he has grave reservations about her marital status, he allows himself to be swept up into Juliet���s romantic spell and the promise of a happy-ever-after.

The spell breaks when legal questions arise and Juliet faces the horror of not knowing if she is married to her knight in shining armor or the cruel viscount who is determined to have her at any price.

Excerpt:

London July 2, 1761

The brass lion-head knocker under Amiable Dawson���s hand sent a sharp rap through the dark walnut door of Dunham House for the second time. The hot July sun hadn���t done his temper any good as he waited on the marble stoop for entrance to the Marquess of Dalbury���s townhouse. He���d been in a foul mood ever since the news of his beloved Katarina���s marriage to the marquess had reached him. Blast it to hell, he was supposed to have married the girl. At least he could make sure she was well and well taken care of by this man she had married.

At last a short, dark-haired maid opened the door. She took one look at him, gasped, and stepped back into the house. Her eyes widened and she glanced to her right, wringing her hands. ���Who may I say������

A man shouted from within. ���No, I do not believe you.���

���It is true, I tell you!��� A woman���s voice, raised and sharp with terror, sent a chill through Amiable.

Katarina. What in God���s name?

He barged past the stunned girl and strode down the hall toward the commotion. He burst through the doorway, expecting to defend the woman he loved, only to stop dead at the sight of a man lunging across a sofa and grasping a woman by the wrist. Amiable had half drawn his sword before he realized the woman was not Katarina, but a complete stranger. He dropped it back into its scabbard. This was none of his affair.

The young man, foppishly dressed in a robin���s egg blue satin coat dripping too many layers of frothy lace at throat and wrists looked at Amiable, a snarl on his lips.

Taking advantage of the distraction, the woman wrenched her arm from the man���s grip. ���Praise God. Here he is.��� She staggered as she righted herself. ���Now you will have to believe me, Philippe.���

The fop scrambled back off the sofa and groped for a black lacquer walking stick that lay on the floor. Lips pressed together, he glowered at the woman. ���That remains to be seen, ma chere. In any case, I have shown you the papers. They speak for themselves.���

The woman ran from behind the sofa to Amiable���s side, grazed a kiss over his cheek and whispered, ���For God���s sake, help me. I am alone here and he is trying to take me away. Please, agree with whatever I say.���

Smiling into her pleading face, he grasped her hands and gave them a gentle squeeze to signal his acquiescence. ���Whatever is the matter, my dear?��� Hell if he knew. But he could play his part, even with little information. Let the lady lead and he���d follow as well as he could.

The woman smiled then took a deep breath. ���My dear, may I present Viscount St. Cyr?��� She nodded toward the fop. ���Philippe, this is my husband, the Earl of Manning.���

Only Marriage Will Do is available for pre-order
on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Today I���m offering a copy of Only��Scandal Will Do, the first��book in the series,��to a commenter on this blog who tells me that they want a copy and who signs up for my newsletter.�� Winners will be announced on next week���s Jenna���s 411 (April 15).

Filed under: Jenna Jaxon

When Was the Last Time You Said Yes? By Susan Hanniford Crowley

Recently I’ve undergone a lot of changes. I’ve been ill so getting those last pages of my next book down has been a struggle.�� Right now I’m trying to tie up some loose ends and make sure my research is correct.�� I’m double checking. I spent some time last night taking to a woman of Cajun descent in order to get one of my principle characters right.

In the day job, I went from a cubicle person to a person with an office. It’s rather exciting.�� I’m decorating my office. I never considered anything like that, as I’ve been a cubie person for so long.

Next someone asked me if I would do a book signing at a major event. I almost died just in their asking. WHAT?�� I shook in my boots, and then I said, “Yes!”�� I haven’t a clue what I’ve signed on for but I know I’ll work out all the particulars.�� I can’t say what that event is yet, but I will announce it here as soon as the details are a done deal.

When was the last time you said, “Yes!”�� Did it change your life?

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

Vampire King of New York is available at Amazon Kindle and print, Barnes and Noble Nook and print and in Kobo

A Vampire for Christmas in Kindle

Filed under: A Vampire for Christmas, Characters, Max Vander Meer, Norse, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, romance novels, Susan Hanniford Crowley, The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, vampire books, Vampire David Hilliard, Vampire King of New York, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampires, Viking, Writer's Life, Writing Topics, Yule

MY FIRST BOOK-SIGNING EXPERIENCE ��� PART 2 by Stacy Hoff

On March 14th, the owners of Chameleon Haircolor Cafe and Spa in North Haven, Connecticut – the salon hosting my book signing event – went all out for me. They had live musicians playing romantic background music.

Endless plates of tasty appetizers (olive trays, Tuscan bread, artichoke plates, spreads of prosciutto and cheese). Red and white wine for all attendees. And my name, icon and book covers flashing across their wide-screen TV. Wow. Since hosting their event was their idea, my first thought was, ���Holy smokes, I hope I���m worthy of all this.���

If I failed, I was going to cry. (And no, at forty-four years of age, I���m NOT too old to cry.)

Thankfully there was a good turn-out (despite the horrible weather). I read the selected four pages from my book without choking. I answered audience questions without getting blank stares. In fact, the audience looked engaged and laughed when I read the funny parts. The evening was a success.

Maybe the lesson for me is to try to relax. Anxiety is not productive. Fear is a beast that must be slaughtered. Or, at least, one I will mount a defense against. After all, I haven���t fallen on my face yet. Though there may be failures in the future, I have to take stock in my success so far. Or I���ll never be able to stand tall and enjoy any success I have.

The evening of my book signing, my family, friends, and fans came out to support me. Now I just have to work on supporting myself. I can do this. It just helps to remind myself of this. Often.

What doubts and fears do you have? How do you conquer them?

Thank you, Chameleon Haircolor Cafe and Spa, North Haven, CT, for hosting me!

AMAZON LINK FOR LAWFULLY YOURS: http://www.amazon.com/Lawfully-Yours-Stacy-Hoff-ebook/dp/B00U7U2WCC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1425508177&sr=8-2&keywords=book+-+lawfully+yours

AMAZON LINK FOR DESIRE IN THE EVERGLADES: http://www.amazon.com/Desire-Everglades-Stacy-Hoff-ebook/dp/B00NFSMCYG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1410289138&sr=8-1&keywords=desire+in+the+everglades.

Find Stacy on Social Media: http://www.facebook.com/authorStacyHoff Twitter: twitter.com/authorStacyHoff Web: http://www.stacyhoff.com

Filed under: A writer's life, Marketing, New Release, romance, romance novels, Stacy Hoff

What I’ve Learned: Secret 14 – Do You Hear Music in the Background?

My husband and I were watching the TV show “Castle” recently. He was replaying the first

In the Public Domain and courtesy of http://publicdomainvectors.org

episode where Writer Richard Castle meets Detective Kate Beckett.�� They meet because some murderer is copycatting the death scenes from his books. He’s entranced by her, and she feels he’s in the way of her investigation.

During this whole thing, Castle has been stuck in his writing. Every author has at some time or other experienced that awful stuck feeling. He talks to friend authors about it. But it’s the change that comes from working on the case with Kate that make all the difference.

There’s a great scene where you see him pounding on the computer with the night scenery of the city behind him and dramatic music playing in the background. This really amused my husband who asked me, “Do you have background music playing when you write?”

It took me a split second to smile and answer, “Yes, I do.”

What’s really funny is that I do use music that way. When I write a scene from my head, there’s usually music playing in the scene. Sometimes I will put on music to help things along but many times the music is already there.�� In a wedding scene I recently wrote, I heard a particular love song playing the entire time the bride and groom danced.

So to the writers out there, do you hear background music when you write?�� To the readers, do you hear background music when you read a book?�� I want to know.

-Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley, Amazon Kindle Bestselling Author of Vampire Romance

www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal and whispers in the dark!

Vampire King of New York available at Amazon Kindle and print, Barnes and Noble Nook and print and in Kobo

A Vampire for Christmas in Kindle

Filed under: Characters, Do You Hear Music in the Background?, Emotions, Norse, paranormal, paranormal romance, romance, romance novels, Secret 14, the romance of life, The Stormy Love Life of Laura Cordelais, vampire books, Vampire King of New York In Print, Vampire Maximillion Vander Meer, vampire movies, vampires, Viking, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, writing prompt, Writing Topics, Yule

Just a Memory Means a Lot

I saw Interstellar this past weekend. I have to say, I was impressed. The premise was interesting and the acting pretty decent, but then I’d also say that Matthew McConaughey has really grown over the years as an actor– he has always been good looking but not always a favorite in the roles he has taken on. I’d say over the years he has truly evolved to become a much more skilled, well rounded actor. But I digress…

Where I was going with this is there is a part in the movie where Matthew McConaughey says that once we have children, we become their memories. For some reason this really stuck with me throughout the weekend and into the week. There is something amazing in this statement at how we become sort of a page in a history book so to speak but it is also a bit wistful to think that your time is passing, even if it is a sure truth from the moment we take our first breath of air.

As I pondered this statement I also thought about my impact on my children, my family, my friends and in general, this world. It can get a little overwhelming if you let it snowball, but as I spoke with a co-worker of mine the other day who seemed to be going through some sort of self-discovery phase, I realized just how important it is for many of us to feel that we are having an impact. In translation, it also points to just how important the memories we create are. As I try to think back to my earliest memories, I think I land at around age 3 or 4. The truth is that even back that early, we are learning, absorbing, forming and our experiences or memories as they’ll soon be called, will impact us.

Ponder that as you exist–I know that is a heavy duty task, but think about it this way, everything you do matters in some way or to someone. Everything has meaning so think before you act.

Happy writing this week!

Filed under: A writer's life, Toni Kelly

This Week’s Reading and What To Do for My Newsletter List by Mandy Rosko

I’ve been thinking about this for a while because I keep on posting things, prizes and books that I’ll be giving away when the Romancing The Capital convention comes along :)

Nail polishes, lockets, bubble blowers, that sort of thing, but I’ve been wondering about the people who couldn’t make it. I have no idea what I will be giving away, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing it on my Newsletter List and not my Facebook list, just because there’s fewer members on it, so odds of getting something will be better :) I figured I’d get one or two cool things and mail them out. An Amazon Gift card, some more print books, I haven’t really decided yet, but I’ll definitely be keeping this in mind going forward. I want as many people to get in on the fun as possible, and I hate to leave people out who can’t attend.

Anyway, as for books I’m reading and writing, this week I was spending time with my family for Easter, so I brought some books and my kindle and started reading Polar Bared by Eve Langlais. I’m about 30% of the way through that one right now, and so far so good! I’m hoping to finish soon since I’ve still got a lot of reading to go!

As for writing, as of right now I’m about halfway through my new Billionaire Brothers novel, and also halfway through my short paranormal story that will be in a box set in the fall. Yay me! I’m a machine, baby! Not really, but you get the idea, I’m a little pumped up right now ;)

Anyway, I’ll keep you posted on what cool stuff I’ll be looking for to give away as prizes for RTC. Hints on what’s on your wish lists would be pretty sweet as well, hint, hint.

Cheers!

Mandy Rosko

————————–

Burns Like Fire (Dangerous Creatures Book One) is��Available Now!

The Princess’ Dragon Lord is Now Available at��Amazon��and��B&N

Connect with me online:

Facebook

www.goodreads.com/Mandyrosko

Twitter: @rizzorosko

Mandyrosko.com

Want a free ebook? Add your super cool name to my Newsletter list and I’ll make sure you’re the first to hear about new releases the day they come out, and I’ll send you an e-copy of The Vampire’s Curse!:��http://rizzorosko.com/contact.html
Filed under: romance