Mimi Barbour's Blog: Believe!, page 33

Having your cake and eating it, too – Creating sexy, male characters by Cora Maxine

I was really excited to be able to introduce you to my friend, Cora Maxine, who is also known as - A Girl and her Kindle, Amy Brantley. This is Cora's first book and it's a very exciting and scary endeavor for any author to release the baby that's been hers for so darn long. Welcome, Cora.





Thanks so much for letting me come and visit with your followers, Mimi.

One thing I discovered while writing my first novel, Choices: Make Me Paranormal, was the need to add sex appeal to many of my male characters. There's Vince, a sexy vampire who was inspired by Zak Bagans of the hit Travel Channel show, Ghost Adventures. Then there's Ian McGreggor, sexy Scotsman warlock with a to-die-for accent. Even minor characters such as Frederick Starke, elder headmaster of the vampire society, is an incredibly sexy character who was inspired by Danny Koker of the hit TV show, Counting Cars.

What can I say? It's hard to write a male character that isn't drool worthy. Maybe book two will feature some ugly – or even average – men, but I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you.

In the meantime, why not read an excerpt from Choices: Make Me Paranormal Book 1:

Chapter 1

I always wondered which paranormal being I would choose to be, but never thought I'd be forced to make the decision.

I rubbed my eyes and tried to let them adjust to the room. Though my eyes adjusted quickly, my brain didn't. I wasn't sure where I was, but I was certain I had been kidnapped by someone from the 100 Acre Wood. The bear, rabbit, or pig had some explaining to do. The walls of the room honestly made it appear as if the room was created inside a hollowed out tree. As I raised my hand to touch the wall, there came a gentle knock on the door and an old woman peeped around the opening.

“Oh good, you're awake,” she said coming into the room and closing the door gently behind her. I guessed her age to be around late 60s or early 70s. She had her white hair up in a bun and was wearing a light brown dress that cinched at the waist, but did nothing for her figure. “I'm sure you have many questions, including why you're here.” 

Actually, I had been wondering how I got here. I was a very light sleeper and someone shouldn't have been able to move me without waking me. 

“All the answers will come in good time, my dear.” She smiled sweetly and clasped her hands together in front of her body, looking quite harmless. “First, why don't you freshen up a bit? Everything you need is in the bathroom, including a fresh set of clothing. Once you're done, I'll be down the path, in the room on your right.”

Something inside nagged at me that I should thank the woman, but another part of me was still in shock about the whole situation so I just stared at her.

“Well, I'll just be going.” And she was gone. Either my eyes hadn't properly adjusted or that woman was damn fast because people don't just disappear...do they? I guess if a stuffed bear could pull off a high-stakes kidnapping, old ladies could also disappear. 

Wow, I was really beginning to lose it.

As I climbed from the bed, I found a pair of fuzzy slippers anxiously waiting for my feet. The interior of the slippers was warm and upon standing I found that they were lined with memory foam. It was like walking on air. As I walked past the mirror, I noticed that I must have gotten taller or the furniture was shorter. Then I noticed my feet in the mirror. 

“Holy...,” I said as my hand flew to my mouth. I was floating at least six inches above the floor. I immediately kicked the slippers across the room, ran into the bathroom, and locked the door.  I stood there for a second feeling relieved, but then I just felt stupid for running from a pair of slippers. I

carefully peeked out the bathroom door and saw the slippers gliding back into place, at the side of the bed. “Eek!” I closed the door back and stumbled backwards into the toilet, which made me scream even louder.

I sat there, on the toilet, slowly trying to gain control over my emotions. Last night had been my 29th birthday party, and while I'm not a drinker, someone must have slipped something into my sweet tea. I rubbed face with both hands and just sat there for a few minutes. 

Obviously, I was having a vivid dream. Damn melatonin. Vivid dreams were a common side effect of the medication, but without it, I couldn't sleep at all. 

I pulled my hands from my face and stared at the wooden wall before me. I have to admit, my imagination was still in top form. The room looked so real and every detail was perfect. I reached out to touch the wall and it even felt like real wood. 

The bathroom was huge for a hollowed out tree. There was a separate Jacuzzi tub and a large shower with a rainfall shower head and numerous jets. Pretty fancy for the forest. 

I couldn't help but succumb to the giggle fit that followed. It might have been just a dream, but I was feeling extremely nervous. It was time for this to end. I pinched myself hard enough to leave an angry red spot on my arm. Nothing. I was still lost in the forest. A yellow stuffed bear in a small red shirt had some 'splaining to do, but first I needed to take a shower.

***
I allowed the water to heat up as I undressed and stepped into the shower. While the rest of the room appeared to be made of wood, the inside of the shower had gorgeous slate tiles. Though it didn't look it from the outside, once in the shower, I felt that it was larger than my small apartment. I just shook my head at the impossible notion and allowed the hot water from the shower head to wash away my anxiety. After all, it didn't look like the old lady wanted to kill me or anything. It was just strange to be whisked away in the middle of the night, instead of being invited.

I opened my eyes and searched for some shampoo, finding three potion-like bottles. The one that was a beautiful shade of lime green was marked shampoo. There was another bottle that contained a creamy purple liquid that I correctly guessed was conditioner. The final bottle contained a hot pink liquid that was labeled body wash. I wondered if it was coincidence that the products were my favorite colors as I uncorked the shampoo bottle. 

The fresh lime-orange scent that hit my nose immediately energized me and continued to do so as I massaged the shampoo into my hair and scalp. The conditioner was equally fascinating to smell, with a calming lavender scent. I excitedly uncorked the last bottle and was overwhelmed by the tasty smell of strawberries mixed with fresh cut green apples. It was an intoxicating aroma that left me excited about what was to come from this crazy adventure.

As I toweled off, I searched inside the cabinet and found a new toothbrush and what appeared to be homemade toothpaste. Either someone had guests here often or this had been planned for quite some time. After brushing my teeth and running a brush through my hair, I looked around the room to find a pair of cropped leggings and a t-shirt, which just happened to be my favorite type of outfit. It was an outfit that was comfortable, yet made it appear that I was into being active. Of course, it was a complete lie. I was about as active as a sloth. At least I looked good, I thought as I stared at my cute bottom in the mirror.

Enough getting ready. It was time to find out why I'd been brought there. At that point, I was actually pretty happy about being there. It was certainly an improvement from my boring studio apartment, but that didn't completely squash the anxiety I felt about being kidnapped.

Buy Links: Amazon  Barnes & Noble   Smashwords



 
Author Bio:

Cora Maxine lives in Western North Carolina and uses the towns around her as inspiration for her urban fantasy novels. When she's not writing, she can usually be found reading, baking, and spending time with her amazing boyfriend and houseful of pets.

Author Links: www.coramaxine.com  
www.facebook.com/CoraMaxine 
https://twitter.com/Cora_Maxinehttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6541045.Cora_Maxine 

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What a fabulous group to work with!! Ten Brides for Ten Heroes!! #tenbrides

One of our group posted the bios for all the women involved here on Goodreads....slightly intimidating for little ol' me....gulp!! But hugely proud-ful!!***Have you ever collaborated with a bunch of women (men) to bring together one perfect result?
I’m going through that experience right now and I must say - it’s been an eye opener, a learning experience and one I’d do again in a heartbeat!
I’ll admit to working with many of these gals in our Freepartay group and so when the idea of a ten-book collection first came up, I was happy to be involved. I knew and respected their work and thought it would be fun. We all went to our friends looking to add members and eventually we had the ten authors we hoped would be perfect….and we were right!
None of us is the same but we’re all bringing something to the table. Seems we all have talents in different areas of publishing that have been put to use throughout this endeavor. Remember, when you put out an Indie book all the formatting, book covers, promoting, editing, etc has to be dealt with by the author – in this case auth-ors. And it’s been a real learning experience. We’ve all worked together, adding something to make this Ten Brides for Ten Heroes box collection and cookbook a real success.
Some of us have a huge following of fans, are better known and have more acclaim. Others in our group work darn hard and will be on the top rung of the ladder in time – of that I have no doubt. Maybe with this book!! (Prayer-time - Now I lay me down to ….)
By setting up the pre-order buttons on Apple and Amazon, we hoped to get the word out early. So those who love wedding stories and would be thrilled to get ten under one cover would be assured they’d get the collection as soon as it was released.
For others, the release day is approaching and we’ve set ourselves up to burst out with a loud KABOOM!! Book tours, promo’s, facebook events – they’re all planned and will be shared with as many of you as we can reach.
And if you happen to see a post on facebook or twitter, here on my blog or one of the other author’s sites – please do me a huge favor and go share-zies as much as you can. Just like I would for you, my friends, just like I have for you!! XO
I’ll be inviting the Bride’s authors to Believe over the next while to introduce their novels and share their stories. These women will knock your socks off!! Just sayin…
 

LOVE ME TENDER - released and ready to entice the #romance loving #Elvis fan.

Anne Pichette, an eighteen-year-old exchange student living in Texas for one year on a ranch with Rose Walsh who treats her like a daughter, believes her life is perfect. Until, Clint, Rose's devilishly handsome son embeds himself deep within Anne's soul. Finding the courage needed one night to admit her feelings, she pours her heart to Clint only it turns out he's too drunk to remember. A week later having to return to Paris devastated - and pregnant, Anne fully intends to tell him about his expecting child. Her plans are halted due to a letter arriving announcing his impending marriage to another woman, a pregnant woman he loves. 
Eight years have since passed when Rose appears in Paris to bring Anne back to Texas to help her through her final days battling cancer. With the love Anne has for Rose, she agrees. Also, the time has come to divulge her secret to Clint. That her boy, Max, is in fact Clint's son and Rose's grandson.
Clint Walsh, now divorced, might be hardened and embittered but he knows he has a good reason for acting this way. After all, the woman he believed was his true love leaves him with their daughter and never looks back. So how’s a man supposed to handle that kind of treachery? Especially after sharing a beautiful night of lovemaking he’s never been able to forget—or remember clearly.



Amazon  Amazon CA Amazon UK 
 
There they were, coming down the ramp! The boy was tall for his age, quite a bit more so than Debbie. His golden hair, much like Annie’s, crowned his head with curls, reminding Clint of his own unruly mass.
Unlike Debbie, this kid swaggered rather than walked, which made Clint think the boy felt good about himself. As long as conceit didn’t drive that attitude, Clint favored it over his daughter’s hesitant movements.
The woman who waved reminded him of his old friend, if only because she had the same beautiful face. Her hair, she’d worn really long as a teen, was now cut shoulder length and hugged her face with dramatic effect. It made him think of models on magazine pages.
With his guts in his throat, he approached and waited for her to take the initiative about their greeting. Why her enthusiastic hug and kisses on both cheeks surprised him, he’d never know. But wrapping his arms around the slight body, feeling her warmth against the ice he’d lived with for so long, started the first melt he’d had in ages.
“Clint! How wonderful you look! I didn’t know you’d be here to pick us up. I expected Rose.” Her jabbering stopped at that point and she paled. “Rose?”
“She’s fine, a bit tired. So I offered to come and meet you.”
Annie nodded and her composure returned. “Max, this is the man I’ve told you so much about.” She put her arm around the shoulders of the boy, who’d held back as Clint approached.
The inspection made by the youngster flustered Clint. Senselessly, this lack of composure built unexpected anger. Not liking the feeling, he bristled and his greeting turned abrupt. “Howdy, Max.” Sternly, he shoved out his hand.
Stiffening, Max scowled back. He took the proffered hand and waited for the handshake to be over. Then he stuck it in his pocket as if he’d been burned. Turning away quickly, he addressed Anne. “Which carousal is our luggage on, Maman?”
Deadly silence screamed between Clint and a ferocious Annie until he dragged his eyes from her frown and answered for her. “Welcome to Texas. Come with me, we’ll get your bags and head on home.”
Shame rode Clint all the way back to the ranch. What had started out so nicely had changed in an instant with his unacceptable behavior toward Max. The kid’s eyes, so like Annie’s, had mirrored his distress after Clint’s unnecessary harshness. Rather than apologize, or at least try and mitigate the offense, he’d driven home making no effort at all to welcome his guests.
No one had to tell him. This time he knew. No doubt about it. He should be shot!




  
<!--[if gte mso 9]>Author of The Vicarage Bench Series, Angels with Attitude Series, Vegas Series, Elvis Series and the brand new sizzling romantic suspense series called Undercover FBI. Mimi lives on the East coast of Vancouver Island and writes her romances with tongue in cheek and a mad glint in her eye. “If I can steal a booklover’s attention away from their every-day grind, absorb them into a fantasy love story, and make them care about the ending, then I’ve done my job.”


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#Indie Authors - Information you should have to help you publish on #Amazon

  So - I guess the biggest hurdle in spreading your work is getting the accounts set up on these various places. I ran into a hurdle with nearly every one and had to struggle my way through. I’ll try and remember the difficulties I was up against and do up a blog explaining how I overcame each problem.
Amazon’s blog:
The first outlet an Indie author wants to publish with is Amazon. When you open an account with them on the KPD ( Kindle Direct Publishing ) page, you must remember that they need to have the proper tax papers filled out for you and on file. If you’re not an American, you can be subject to a 30% withholding tax (depending on your country and what rules apply). I went along for months with them holding back that amount before it finally dawned on me (procrastination is my nickname when it comes to stepping out of a comfy box) that I needed to get this done. My accountant warned me that old rules had changed and I needed to have the full amount of money paid to me because I would have to pay tax in Canada.
So, I had to obtain a tax identification number – called an ITIN (Individual Tax Identification Number). This is for individuals. For a business, you’d need an EIN (Employer Identification Number).
I know some of my friends phoned in and got EIN’s by setting themselves up as a self- publisher and that works just fine. They said it was easy and quick. Personally, I didn’t know you could do that and so I went the long route by filling in the ITIN form and getting my publisher to send a signed letter stating they were paying me royalties. Then I had to go to the Canadian tax office to get a specially signed copy of my passport. Once I had these three pieces of information, I sent it to the taxation office in Texas and waited weeks for the letter to get processed and for me to get my ITIN number in the mail..…only to find out I'd missed a question..... had to resend it.....trust me - You don’t want to go my route.
For the EIN, don’t be put off by the reference to ‘employer’ – if you are a director of your own publishing company, you can apply. If you’re a self-published author, then this works for you.
Step: 1 Download form SS-4 from the IRS website (PDF) http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf
Step: 2 Read the notes on page 2. Since you are applying to get this EIN for tax withholding purposes, they will confirm there are questions you can ignore.
Step: 3 Complete the form – fill in the necessary information online and then print it.
Step: 4 Now, call the IRS’s dedicated line for businesses that are located outside of the US: 1-267-941-1099. Have the completed form SS-4 beside you.
Step: 5 They will give you the EIN number over the phone and you can expect the paperwork in the post in the next 2-3 weeks.
Next, you will need to fill in and send a form W-8BEN (PDF). Make sure to enter your EIN on it. http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fw8ben.pdf
Keep a few extra hard copies on hand and leave this form on your desktop where you can have access to it later for when you apply with the other publishers.
***The other accounting you will need to do is fill in the details for their banking. I’m an old-fashioned check girl myself and love getting those envelopes every month. But, they do transfer the funds right into your bank accounts so I imagine if you fill in the information correctly, there won’t be any problems.
As far as uploading your books to Amazon, it’s quite simple. They have well-written steps for you to follow and they make it quite easy with instructions as you go along. (If you still run into trouble, let me know and I’ll be glad to help out :-) Truly, this company does work with its authors and considering the number of us that they’re interacting with; I certainly feel that they do a wonderful job.  
There is one more question you need to ask yourself when you publish with Amazon. Will you put your book into their 3 month Select program or not? If not, you’ll want to watch for my next few blogs as I go through each publisher and the headaches each gave me while I stumbled and cursed my way through their sites.  
 

Cover Reveal - #ElvisPresley Book #2 in the Elvis Series - Love Me Tender

 Amazon This is the day to reveal the new cover for the latest bookin the Elvis Series.  Book #2 - Love Me Tender  
Do you remember back in February when I had a "Make an Elvis song a book" contest? Well out of 426 entries, the winner of the contest was a lady by the name of Anne Pichette. The prize was simple. Whoever had their name chosen would have their favorite song be the title for the Elvis book #2 and Anne’s Elvis song was Love Me Tender .
The winner would also have the book dedicated to them and have one of the characters named after them. And my lovely heroine does have Anne’s name. Now, because Pichette had a French sound, I decided to use that fact by having my heroine live in Paris.
But then I had a quandary. I wanted the book to run along similar lines as the old Elvis movie by the same name. Therefore, I wanted to set the story in Texas. I overcame the problem by having Anne come to a ranch in Texas as an eighteen-year-old exchange student.
Of course, she has to find romance while there and so – surprise!!  The ranch where she stayed has a handsome son who loved the ladies almost as much as they loved him. I called him Clint Walsh.
If you remember, Clint was the same name that Elvis used in the movie. You know it’s kinda funny – by using that name, I kept seeing Elvis in the hero. Sure made it fun writing the book. I had such a crush on the guy. I’d swoon every time I heard him sing. And now... his music brings back great memories that mean so much. Youth, dancing, parties, necking....ahhh....and other stuff.....ahem!


Now that this book is finished, I guess I’ll have to organise another contest and think about Book #3.
Coming soon....
 

Spread the wealth! #Amazon ’s not the only distributor that pays royalties!

 I was going to share with you about what prompted me to stop with the Select program and start spreading my books over the other channels so here goes…
As I mentioned in an earlier blog, 99cents is the new free. Used to be that the readers would flock to any free book and have a download frenzy. Not so much anymore. I imagine there are still those who search out these gems, but I also know that most book fanatics are willing to pay for their enjoyment. I guess they’ve figured that a dollar or two for a book is less than a cup of coffee, lasts longer and in many cases gives you a lot more bang for your buck—especially those with hot sex….haha!
*** Recently, I started reading the conversations going on in the various Indie loops I belong to and realized that many of these authors had already made the changes and were :
- financially doing very well – okay – extremely well.
- now able to reach the lists like New York Times and the others because their books were available on the other platforms.
- satisfying many of the readers who owned e-readers other than Kindles.
- reaching a larger audience – not everyone shops at Amazon.
*** I made my choices of where to share my work by paying attention to what I was reading from the other authors who’d already blazed the trail and this was what I found out:
- Amazon absolutely – they are the biggest book seller by far and have made a lot of writers very wealthy. They’re wonderful to work with, easy to upload on to and accessible if you run into any problems.
- Apple itunes (ibooks) is the next one you want to get your work on. If you’re not a Mac owner, you’ll need to find someone else to upload for you. Two ways are open for doing that. You can hire a person like AmyAtwell who will charge you a onetime fee of $30 a book and will set it up for you (her advice about this company is invaluable) and then she’ll hand over the controls. Or, you can go through a distributor like Smashwords or D2D and they will take their 15% (or whatever they charge) on every sale from then on. Personally, I chose Amy and am very satisfied that I made the right choice for me.
- Barnes & Noblewould be next on my list. Unfortunately, being a Canadian, I had no choice but to go through a supplier like Smashwords or D2D. For the Vegas Series, I chose to use Smashwords because I wanted to put the first book Partners free. Recently, D2D has changed their policy and will do the same for you. I will probably use D2D to get access to B&N for the rest of my books because it’s so damn easy to use!! On the other hand, Smashwords has a lot of features one can’t ignore. (more about them later)
- Kobo is important for us Canadians because it’s connected to Chapters which is like our Barnes and Nobles stores. It also makes eBooks available for the Canadian library system. And… my sister and her family have their e-readers - so I promised one day to make it easy for them to be able to buy my books…hey – some things are kinda important??
- Google Playwill be making its …ahem…play for attention soon. Google is working very hard to take over some of the Facebook market and I have no doubt they’re taking steps to challenge Amazon in the book selling department also. Let’s face it, for their search engine capability alone you want to be connected with them.
- Smashwords this love/hate publisher is also one you don’t want to ignore. They have a huge number of smaller channels they are now distributing to. The latest e-mail from Mark Coker (the company’s owner) has explained the newest features they’ve added and they’re not to be ignored. I think one of their best features is Mark himself. He's a very hard worker, innovative and incredibly smart.
So - I guess the biggest hurdle in spreading your work is getting the accounts set up on these various places. I ran into a hurdle with nearly every one and had to struggle my way through. I’ll try and remember the difficulties I ran into and do up a blog explaining how I got out of  them because I now have accounts at all of the above....finalllyyy!What's left is to get 24 of my books uploaded to each place and formatted in the file they request.
Argggghhhh!!!
Don’tcha just love this business!??
 

Exclusive Excerpt for…BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL by @Jacqui_Nelson

**Welcome again, Jacqui, with your beautiful cover for your newest release. I Can't wait to get it in my pudgy little fingers!!!  Thank you once again, Mimi, for hosting me on your blog during the two-day reveal of my upcoming new release! Yesterday, I shared the cover for my newest Western historical romance available this June. Today it’s excerpt time.  I’m delighted to share with you this never-before-seen excerpt from Between Heaven & Hell. I hope you’ll leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the story that earned me a Golden Heart® for Historical Romance.  


    Excerpt Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - 1850   Paden Callahan lifted his gaze skyward. High above him, the pale blue arc didn’t even come close to rivaling the eyes of the woman standing beside him. How on earth had she made that shot? He knew only a handful of men capable of the feat she’d accomplished. Most of them were seasoned Rangers. Men from a life he’d left far behind.   He shook his head. A woman couldn’t be a scout. The job was chockfull of hazards. But the competition had been dangerous as well. Why had he allowed her to stand off against a brute like Dawson? Why had he behaved so impulsively?   Dawson looked none too pleased either. He clutched his rifle against his chest in a white-knuckled grip. “If you hire her instead of me, you’ll be sorry.” The scout’s voice was as close to a hiss as any Paden had heard. The man wasn’t going to leave quietly.   Paden suppressed a growl of impatience. He hadn’t shot anyone in years and meant to keep it that way. He strove for an even tone. “I’ve got a whole saddle bag full of sorrys. Adding another won’t make much difference.”   Dawson lowered his spent rifle until it hung by his side. His free hand twitched, inching toward the loaded pistol strapped to his hip.   Paden drew his revolver, cocking it on the upswing and leveling it at Dawson. The feminine gasp close beside him made him freeze. He suppressed the urge to tell her he wasn’t a killer. Why lie? He’d pulled the trigger in the past, and Dawson needed to believe he’d do it again. “Keep the supplies we advanced you. That’s more generous than I have to be. But this is the last time I’ll tell you—leave.”   Dawson slunk off with his two cronies dogging his heels. Paden released the hammer and shoved his revolver back into its holster. Then he spun to face the woman.   This time she didn’t retreat, but every bone in her slender body leaned away from him. He shouldn’t have reached for her earlier when she swayed on her feet. Being almost grabbed by a lout like himself had only added to the storm of emotions he sensed in her: caution warred with curiosity…and something more.   Cover Blurb Welcome to a new Old West…   Hannah knows one thing the moment she enters Fort Leavenworth—she's arrived in Hell. But inside is the means to a new life, a position as a scout on a wagon train bound for the Western Territories. All she has to do is convince the wagon master, Paden Callahan, she's the right person for the job.   After his wife was murdered by the Comanche, Paden let his work as a Texas Ranger consume him. Now he wants nothing more than to disappear into the West. Unfortunately, the one man he can't refuse has asked him to guide a wagon train full of tenderfoots across thousands of miles of Indian land. But Paden's greatest challenge turns out to be Hannah, a woman his heart won't allow him to ignore even though she was raised by an enemy he hates.   Release Date June 2014   Author Bio   
  Jacqui Nelson writes historical romantic adventures set in the American West and Victorian London. Her love for the Old West came from watching classic Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm. Her passion for Victorian London wasn’t far behind and only increased when she worked in England and explored the nooks and crannies of London on her weekends. She now lives on the west coast of Canada where she works in a bookstore. She is a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® winner and three-time finalist.   Jacqui’s debut release was Adella’s Enemy, a novella featuring a feisty female spy and an Irish railroad foreman. Adella’s Enemy can be read on its own or as part of the Passion’s Prize anthology inspired by the hit Western TV series Hell on Wheels.   Jacqui’s Golden Heart® nominated novels—Between Heaven & Hell (set on the Oregon Trail) and Between Love & Lies(set in Dodge City during the heyday of the cattle drives)—will be released this summer.   Awards for Between Heaven & Hell Great Expectations, Gotcha, Gateway to the Best finalist and winner of the 2010 Golden Heart® for Historical Romance.   Praise for the previous work of Jacqui Nelson “A great tale with subterfuge, saboteurs and sweet romance." – Nora (Adella’s Enemy on Amazon.com)  "A fantastic read that has you turning the pages faster with every sentence." – Lisa (Adella’s Enemy on Amazon.com)   Today’s Giveaway Be the first to receive Between Heaven & Hell as a gift directly from the author! Leave a comment below (with your e-mail address) and you’ll be entered in a draw to win a free e-book (for your Kindle or your computer).   Thank you everyone who visited yesterday and left comments!   To learn more about Jacqui and her writing, please visit… www.JacquiNelson.com  www.amazon.com/author/jacquinelson www.facebook.com/JacquiNelsonBooks   

 



  





Cover Reveal… BETWEEN HEAVEN & HELL by @Jacqui_Nelson

**It's my great pleasure to welcome my good friend and convention buddy, Jacqui Nelson, to be my guest today and tomorrow on Believe. I gotta tell you - I just love the cover and title of her newest release Between Heaven and Hell!! If this book is anything like her last one Adella's Enemy, then we're in for a real treat!!


Thank you, Mimi, for inviting me to be your guest today as I reveal the cover for my newest Western historical romance releasing this June. My thanks would not be complete without giving my praise to Kimberly Killion and her team at The Killion Group and Hot Damn Designs.

Holy Hannah, do I have a cover that I love! I hope you like my cover half as much as I do, and that you’ll leave a comment for a chance to win a free copy of the story that earned me a Golden Heart® for Historical Romance.
 

Cover Blurb

Welcome to a new Old West…
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas - 1850
Hannah knows one thing the moment she enters Fort Leavenworth—she's arrived in Hell. But inside is the means to a new life, a position as a scout on a wagon train bound for the Western Territories. All she has to do is convince the wagon master, Paden Callahan, she's the right person for the job. After his wife was murdered by the Comanche, Paden let his work as a Texas Ranger consume him. Now he wants nothing more than to disappear into the West. Unfortunately, the one man he can't refuse has asked him to guide a wagon train full of tenderfoots across thousands of miles of Indian land. But Paden's greatest challenge turns out to be Hannah, a woman his heart won't allow him to ignore even though she was raised by an enemy he hates. Release Date June 2014 Author Bio 

  Jacqui Nelson writes historical romantic adventures set in the American West and Victorian London. Her love for the Old West came from watching classic Western movies while growing up on a cattle farm. Her passion for Victorian London wasn’t far behind and only increased when she worked in England and explored the nooks and crannies of London on her weekends. She now lives on the west coast of Canada where she works in a bookstore. She is a Romance Writers of America® Golden Heart® winner and three-time finalist.
Jacqui’s debut release was Adella’s Enemy, a novella featuring a feisty female spy and an Irish railroad foreman. Adella’s Enemy can be read on its own or as part of the Passion’s Prize anthology inspired by the hit Western TV series Hell on Wheels.
Jacqui’s Golden Heart® nominated novels—Between Heaven & Hell (set on the Oregon Trail) and Between Love & Lies(set in Dodge City during the heyday of the cattle drives)—will be released this summer.
Awards for Between Heaven & Hell
Great Expectations, Gotcha, Gateway to the Best finalist and winner of the 2010 Golden Heart® for Historical Romance.
Praise for the previous work of Jacqui Nelson
"Pulled me into the American West faster than a shot of whiskey could be downed on a hot day." – Gael (Adella’s Enemy on Amazon.com)
"Has enough to tempt and interest all readers." – Pat (Adella’s Enemy on Amazon.com) Today’s Giveaway Be the first to receive Between Heaven & Hell as a gift directly from the author! Leave a comment below (with your e-mail address) and you’ll be entered in a draw to win a free e-book (for your Kindle or your computer). Tomorrow the fun continues! The wonderful Mimi Barbour has kindly offered to host me again tomorrow when I post an exclusive never-before-seen excerpt from Between Heaven & Hell. I’ll also be giving away a second e-copy of Hannah and Paden’s story to another commenter who leaves their e-mail address. Hope you’ll join us again tomorrow! To learn more about Jacqui and her writing, please visit… www.JacquiNelson.com  www.amazon.com/author/jacquinelson www.facebook.com/JacquiNelsonBooks

 



 
 
 
   
 

Bawdy Songs for a Sassy Siren: PISTOLS AND PETTICOATS @AdriennedeWolfe

 
  Bawdy Songs for a Sassy Siren: PISTOLS AND PETTICOATS By Adrienne de Wolfe   Schlock.  That’s what my high school English teacher called my best attempts at poetry when I was enrolled in his Creative Writing class.But the joke’s on Mr. Snooty, ‘cause nowadays, I’m a bestselling author, who writes bawdy rhymes for her latest heroine:   a wise-cracking, pistol-packing torch-singer, who headlines in Dodge City’s infamous Long Branch Saloon (1879.)  I have to admit, I’m having a ball writing schlock.  (So go suck a lemon, Mr. Snooty.)I’m not exactly sure where the inspiration for Sadie Michelson’s songs came from in my new novella.  SHADY LADY is featured in PISTOLS AND PETTICOATS, an Historical Western Romance Anthology that includes works by two other bestselling authors: Barbara Ankrum and Sharon Ihle.   For decades, I’ve been terrified to write anything even remotely like poetry for public consumption, thanks to a certain harrowing writing class.  To make matters worse, I get knee-knocking scared whenever I have to sing.  In another of my high-school era tragedies, I stood in an auditorium, packed with students and parents, and forgot the lyrics to my Christmas solo.   (Did I mention I HATED high school?) Needless to say, Sadie is nothing like me.  A red-headed siren with a rapid-fire wit, my lusty heroine isn’t intimidated by corrupt lawmen, drunken hecklers, raunchy gamblers, or sniveling high school teachers.   Sadie gave me the courage to write poetry again – even if some of it might raise a stodgy eyebrow.  Here’s a snippet of her cowboy song from Shady Lady:   "Then came a Texas cowboy,A downright orn'ry guy. Bulgin' at the chaps, he was, With notches on his fly ...”  Sadie sings the previous verse about her hot-headed, gun-slinging lover, whom rival bawds have nicknamed the Rebel Rutter.  (I’ll leave the reason to your imagination.)  William “Cass” Cassidy also sings bawdy songs, as you’ll see in the excerpted scene, below. But not all of my lyrics are bawdy. (Darn, huh?)  I penned two ballads and a love song, called Destiny, for Sadie to sing when she and Cass return in my upcoming Historical Western Romance, DEVIL IN TEXAS (Book 4, Velvet Lies.)  Here’s a sneak preview of Destiny: Suns may rise, stars may fail. Worlds collide; love prevails. Through all time, you and me, Heart to heart, destiny.  So now you’re probably wondering:  Did I ever muster the courage to sing solos again?  Yes, I did!  Years and years later (in another state, under another name,) I appeared in a variety show.  Nobody booed.  (And I’m pretty sure none of them were comatose!)
Excerpt from SHADY LADY , a Novella By Adrienne deWolfe from the Anthology PISTOLS AND PETTICOATS “Cass, I’m busy. Can’t you see I’m writing a song?” He recalled that Sadie turned into a fire-breathing dragon if someone dared to interrupt her creative frenzies. He cocked his head, plotting his strategy to whisk her off to the river. His ornery lover was sitting with her spine propped up by pillows against the headboard of her unmade bed. Her glorious red-gold curls tumbled in every conceivable direction over the sagging, ebony lace of her night wrapper. A sea of yellowed papers surrounded her exquisitely long legs, bared up to the thighs. Those papers had lots of black lines, little bitty symbols, and tea-cup stains. In fact, the whole room smelled like mint and rosehips, Sadie’s favorite brew. The teapot – and a pair of greasy, sunny-side-up eggs – sat forgotten where she’d left them: on a chipped china platter atop the traveling trunk at the foot of her bed. “The sun is shining!” he cajoled. “Yes, well, it’s daylight, isn’t it?” she retorted absently, her bare toes wiggling to some inner rhythm as she scribbled a few more symbols on the paper in her lap. She’d barely glanced his way. He steeled himself against a flare of temper. He was Coyote Cass, after all. He could charm the rattle off of rattlers. Strolling to the side of the bed, he was careful to keep his expression enthusiastic rather than provocative. There would be plenty of time for romping in the daisies and buttercups, where he planned to spread a blanket, pop a bottle of champagne, and practice all the creative ways that Sadie had taught him how to use whipped cream and berries. Maybe even honey. “What’s that chubby, black dot with the flagpole rising out of it?” he asked, knowing full well that it was a musical symbol. “Music.” “What kind of music?” he persisted, undaunted by her growl. She blew a curl off her forehead. “The usual kind.” “A love ballad?” Her stylus paused as those tawny Tiger eyes glared up at him. He just loved when Sadie glared. He didn’t mind arguing with the hellcat one bit. Not when her make-up sex was so divine. “When have you ever heard me sing about love?” she snapped. “Maybe it’s time.” She muttered something under her breath that sounded like, “Dreamer.” Smirking, he thought fast. The only person in the world who thrived on competition more than he did was Sadie. Calling upon a credible baritone – one that she had once described as “lyrical” – he belted out an improvised rhyme: “With looks that drive the gals insane, He rides them like a hurricane . . .” His musical lampoon succeeded. Her lips twitched. Her stylus actually lowered. “Not bad,” she conceded grudgingly. “Where did you hear that? From Wilma’s piano player?” “Hell, no. I made it up.” “You did not.” “I did too!” She hiked a challenging eyebrow. “Right here? On the spot?” “Damn straight! Wanna hear another?” Hooking his thumbs over his gun belt, he swaggered around the room, acting adorable. “He rides like greased lightning atop his black steed, The handsome young Ranger, renowned for good deeds, To rescue the damsel, alone in her bed From cold eggs and boredom and songs in her head. Away to the river, he carries the lass To woo her and feed her and kiss her bare . . . ” “Cass!” she shrieked, her laughter ringing through the room in merry peals. He chuckled, enjoying her earthy humor.  “I reckon Cass rhymes, too.” "You are a pest. And pests should be spanked." "Never argue with a lady. That's my motto." "Is it, now?" She tossed aside her stylus and swung her naked feet to the floor. "Since when?" "Since I was... uh... " He gulped. "Sun-up?" He'd lost the use of his brain the moment she'd started shrugging off that scanty black waterfall of lace. Nothing but freckles adorned her alabaster flesh now. "Maybe you've confused me with someone else, lover," she drawled. She was prowling closer, all sizzle and sin. By the time she halted before him, his loins were hot, and his mouth was watering. Those wicked, feline eyes laughed up at him.  "Do I look like a damsel in distress to you?" "Uh... " Trick question, some lucid part of his brain warned. "You look like my heaven," he rallied gamely. “Aw.  Isn’t that sweet?”  A dimple flirted with her cherry-red lips. "Who taught you how to lie so prettily? That Injun half-breed?" "Lynx doesn't like to be called -—" "I'm more interested in what I like," she purred. "And what I like is naked cowboys . . . " PISTOLS AND PETTICOATS
BOOK DESCRIPTION  

From bestselling authors Barbara Ankrum, Adrienne deWolfe and Sharon Ihle come three fresh novellas, featuring three firebrand ladies, each determined to make her mark while making her match.
ETHAN'S BRIDE - 27,000 word sequel to CHASE THE FIRE(Wild Western Hearts, Book 4) Violet Bradford desperately wants a child. Believing herself barren, she answers Dr. Ethan Walker's advertisement for a mail-order bride in Colorado, knowing he only wants one thing: a mother for his young daughter. Surely the joys of motherhood can compensate for a loveless marriage. But Ethan's broken heart won't stop tugging at hers. And Ethan soon realizes he must risk his heart again or risk losing it all.
 SHADY LADY - 26,000 word prequel to DEVIL IN TEXAS(Velvet Lies, Book 4) Fiery singing sensation, Sadie Michelson, thinks falling in love is bad for business—until William "Cass" Cassidy, a hotheaded gunslinger, sets his sights on wooing her. But when a Texas Ranger arrives in Dodge City to extradite Cass for a crime of passion, Sadie must use all her wits and wiles to lure the law from her man's trail. And that means risking everything—including Cass's love.
 BAREBACK BRIDE - 25,000 word sequel to THE BRIDE WORE SPURS (The Inconvenient Bride Series, Book 1) Expert horsewoman, Shannon Winterhawke runs away from home to join the Buffalo Bill Wild West extravaganza. Shannon is hired on the spot, but the show's head horseman, Seth Edwards, simply sees another flighty gal looking for a cowboy fling before settling down with some unsuspecting fool. But all bets are off as Shannon slowly sneaks into Seth's heart and lassoes him with his own rope
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About Adrienne de Wolfe


Adrienne deWolfe is a #1 bestselling author of action-packed Historical Romance novels, where feisty Heroines buck the conventions and true Heroes must be wickedly funny.  Currently, she is writing Devil in Texas,  Book 4 in her Velvet Lies Series (September 2014.)  For sneak peeks of her sassy ladies and sizzling rogues, visit http://ebookdiscovery.com.p8.hostingprod.com/AdrienneDeWolfe
Twitter:  http://Twitter.com/AdriennedeWolfe
Facebook: http://Facebook.com/Writing.Novels
Website: http://WildTexasNights.com
Website: http://WritingNovelsThatSell.com Website: http://MagicMayhemBlog.com

My follow-up on Pressbook – A template useful for formatting mobi, epub and pdf files.

 
Pressbook: Part 2    From my blog post on May 19th, I did promise to let you know the areas on Pressbook where I ran into trouble. That way, if you hit the same snags, you’d know what to do. So here’s my sad tale….First of all, I overthought it. In other words, I expected it to be a lot more difficult than it really was. If you think of the site as a template where you insert the information into its slots, it will make more sense.So - the first thing that gave me trouble was the Copyright area. I don’t know why I ran into a problem there since all you need to do is insert the regular spiel about this being a work of fiction and all rights reserved, etcetera, in the space provided on the Info page and it will come out just fine. I guess I thought it had to go into the front matter and ended up with two pages. One they created and the one I added. Another thing I didn’t pay attention to was the Publish box on the right hand side of each page where it has the Export settings. It’s important to tick the top two spaces for the linked table of contents because the program will organize it for you. That’s so cool!!Include in exportsShow title in exportsAlso- when I did my first book, I had two chapter headings and it looked horrible.  I couldn’t figure out why that happened until I asked the same friend that told me about Pressbook. The way you fix this is to go to the left side panel of tabs and choose Appearance – themes - and when you choose the theme setup you’d like, then go to theme details and then theme options and where it says Global Options, make sure that the box beside Display Chapter numbers is left empty. Now save it. That will clear away the double headings. Another of my favorite things about Pressbook is that I had wracked my brain trying to come up with the correct way to insert a cover image into a word doc that wouldn’t disappear when I uploaded the file to Amazon. So many times, I ended up with a little camera instead of the picture. I tried the insert image with my windows 10 and for me it wouldn’t take.( I must have been doing something wrong….Ya think?)  When I spotted the add media button on Pressbook, my heart did a little leap for joy because I knew that this problem was now solved. And... I was right. It’s great!! I’ve even begun adding my author photo on My Page just ‘cause I can :-))))The last thing that threw me was when I had to upgrade because my file was too large. I had no idea what to do until I saw the Upgrade tab. It took me to a place where I set up a visa number and paid the $10. Once that was done, it let me finish loading everything and then Export the files in the three formats – mobi, epubs & pdf. Again, I had no problem downloading the files they formatted and checking them out through Caliber. But when I saw something I wanted to change, for some reason it didn’t dawn on me that I had to actually hit that darn big RED “Export your Book” tab again. Took me some time before that became clear….duhhh!! In fact, you can export as many times as you want. So, making corrections to the files is very simple. Like most new things, once you’ve used this tool, I promise you it will become easier. I still haven’t delved into the other parts of the program like comments, users and utilities but I’ll get to it. If you go to their help page, as I did, there is lots there so you won’t feel alone or... you can always e-mail me:-)Pressbook - Need some help? Here are some ways to get in touch:•Guide to PressBooks: An Incomplete Guide to Using PressBooks•User Forum: post a question on our PressBooks User Forum (NOTE: new registration required)•Email: send an email to support@pressbooks.com•Twitter: @ us on twitter.com/pressbooks•Read our FAQ (coming soon) ***If any of you reading this have anything else to add about your experiences with Pressbook, please do so in the comments so we can all learn more from each other.
  The yellow Rose is for friendship!!
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