Nancy Lee Badger's Blog, page 61

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Author Lauren Smith

Lauren Smith stopped by to share interesting facts about her and her book, Blood Moon on the Rise. This paranormal romance was released on May 29th 2013.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.
Blood Moon on the Rise is really a teaser. It’s the first story set in an eventual series set in Present day Detroit. The world is plagued with dangerous supernatural creatures that threaten humans. The Brotherhood of the Blood Moon is a secret organization with the sole purpose of protecting human kind. The Hunters with the aid of their assigned Trackers (those who possess the ability to wield magic) work together to eliminate threats. In Blood Moon on the Rise Tamara, a hunter, and Nicholas, her tracker, have been working together since they were fifteen years old. Now as adults, they face life-threatening dangers which is only made harder by the depth of their feelings for each other. Love between hunters and trackers is forbidden because it puts too much stress on the couple when they are in the heat of battle. But sometimes love is too hard to resist…and it is for Tamara and Nicholas.

When did you start writing toward publication?
I started writing towards publication in my second year of law school about four years ago. That was about the time I met a lady at a local library when I participated in a NANOWRIMO event. She and I became close friends and writing buddies and she was the one who suggested I learn to write romance and that was when I really started pursuing publication.

Do you have any rejection stories to share?
The strength of a writer is only half the time about the quality of the words on the pages. The other part is how the writer handles the trials and tribulations. I found out that numbers play a big part and sheer dumb luck. I’m not a lucky writer. Not at all. I had to learn to play the numbers game. I was rejected 87 times that’s my magic number during my 4 year hunt for an agent. This 4 year period spans from when I finished my first (and completely a mess) first manuscript, to the very first book I got contracted. There were 6 books written between the first every completed book and the first one that got contracted. I queried on 3 different manuscripts and it wasn’t until I figured out to try writing regencies, that I started getting agent interest. I then went on to have 3 agents at one time offer representation. It was very exciting. But as a writer, I’ve learned trouble is never far behind. Due to the hurricane in NY and other situations, the agent I picked retired from the business. I was then on to agent hunting again and found a lovely new agent through a fellow author friend of mine. That was perhaps more luck than I’ve ever been blessed with. She helped me negotiate the first contract I got and is now submitting a new book to editors (fingers crossed).
 At the end of the day, I have learned that the most valuable thing a writer possesses is the ability to get back on the horse after being thrown (since I’m from Oklahoma this metaphor is accurate). You get tossed like a beanbag, you hit the ground and it hurts like the very devil. You have to get the wind back in your lungs, scrub the dirt and possibly blood from your hands and clothes and march right back over to that horse, grab the reins and swing back up. Those first few minutes after you get back up, you remember the fear of being thrown, the pain still seems to lance through every bone in your body, but eventually your confidence comes back. That’s what it takes to be a writer. And believe it or not, the more times you get thrown, the less scared you become of the fall and the easier it is to get back on. There will still be days when the fall hurts more than it should, maybe the contract you wanted or the agent you wanted doesn’t happen, just keep at it. Statistically, if you have a good book, and you keep submitting, there’s an agent or an editor out there who will take a chance on it. Or, in the alternative, have the courage to self-pub and find the readers who will see the value of your writing. Either way, bravery is a must for all writers who are serious about their careers.

What is your writing routine like?  
I know we as writers are supposed to have routines. I actually don’t, not anything concrete. I’m a lawyer by day. So I tend to write in the spare moments when I’m not working. I probably do about 4-5 hours a night of editing/revisions or writing and if I’m lucky, on my lunch break. I essentially make the most of five minutes here or there to get my notebook out and write. It’s quite funny the places I’ve managed to write (on a train, waiting for dry cleaning, at a restaurant waiting for breakfast- this is a weekly habit). I found the trick is to never let the story get that far from your mind so that the second you have time to put pen to paper, even if it’s just ten minutes, you can hammer out a couple hundred words and feel like you’ve accomplished something. The key I think for any writer is finding the discipline to make it work, no matter what your schedule or how you of a period each day you sit down to do it as long as you make the magic happen!
 
Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?I’m a member of my local OKRWA, Passionate Ink, The Beau Monde, FFP, and Celtic Hearts (all RWA organizations). They have all be incredible in helping me succeed in my goals. But I do have to give a special shout out to Passionate Ink where I currently serve as the Vice President., we offer members monthly pitch sessions via the internet with REAL EDITORS! You get to pitch 300 words to the volunteer editor that month. I got my first contract through one of these very pitch sessions so I owe Passionate Ink so much!Please share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know. 1)  I’m currently learning to speak conversational Russian. 2)  I lived in China for a month and got to be one of the first Americans since Bill Clinton in the 1990s when he visited, to take a tour of the Panda Preserve in Chengdu and I sat down on a bench next to a baby panda and fed it fruit and got to pet it! The fur was surprisingly springy, like an English sheep dog only a little more bristly.3)  My mother named me after Princess Diana (my middle name is Diana), and my love of England and English set stories apparently stems from my namesake.
  What’s next for you? I’m currently in revisions on my first Regency romance called Wicked Designs which is hopefully going to come out from Samhain Publishing in January. It’s the first book in The League of Rogues Series where a band of titled rogues get caught playing a game of cat and mouse with a feisty little debutante who doesn’t want to be used as a pawn in their game of revenge against her uncle who embezzled from one of the rogues (A duke named Godric who happens to be the hero). I already have books 2 and 3 written and am merely waiting to get them submitted and hopefully published soon!
 Blood Moon on the Rise BOOK BLURBTamara wants nothing moreEXCERPT“Tamara!” A low, anxious shout drew her head up.Relief flooded her when she caught sight of the man emerging from the shadows by the bar’s back door.“Where the hell were you, Nicholas? We said we’d meet at the bar at seven,” Tamara snapped. Her partner, Nicholas Rubin, rushed over and knelt at her side. His face sported a small cut across his high cheekbone, and his clothes were spotted with blood.“Oh, God, are you okay?” She reached for his cheek, and he flinched, jerking away at her attempt to touch him.“I got waylaid. Apparently, our furry friend had some goons with him who tried to stop me from following. They knew what we came here for. By the time I got inside, you were already gone. You couldn’t have waited? Damnit Tamara…” His eyes assessed her injuries, his brow furrowing as he concentrated on her. “Come on, let’s get you home and patch you up.” Nicholas held out a hand. Tamara winced when he pulled her to her feet.“Huh, some tracker you are,” she muttered.She fingered the crystal on the leather band around her wrist, the one he’d made for her. Even though it had a purpose for her job, she wore it the way a woman would a piece of jewelry from her boyfriend. Here was the man she wanted, the chocolate haired, cinnamon-brown eyed god she craved. He was her closest friend, her partner, and completely off-limits. The ache to touch him, to reassure herself he was okay, was ever present. Every single minute she was with him, she covered her feelings for him with sarcasm or offhanded remarks. Anything to keep distance between them. But not tonight. She had to feel him, comfort him, even if he wasn’t hurt. Nicholas’s eyes twinkled mischievously as she reached up to stroke his face. He didn’t pull away, and her heart jumped wildly in her chest. Her hand lingered against his warm skin for a moment longer than it should have. A tiny thrill rushed through her body when he didn’t step away to avoid her. “You’re the hunter. It’s my job to lead you to the beasts. You have to kill them, remember?” He flashed a wise-ass grin and retrieved her purse and jacket from the ground. He helped her slide it over her arms, his hands tightening on her shoulders ever so slightly before he let go. The heat of his touch sent her pulse skittering. She had to diffuse the sudden throbbing of desire for Nicholas. It was a battle she fought every hour of every day. Each time she pushed away that hunger for him, it made it harder to work with him. She couldn’t fight off werewolves when she was busy thinking about jumping Nicholas’s bones.“You are so buying me a beer later,” Tamara snapped, her bravado masking her trembling hands and the lancing pain in her leg. “Sure. Oh, you might want to fix your jeans…they’re uh…open.” Even in the moonlight, the ruddy stain of a flush on his cheeks was unmistakable. For a brief instant, Tamara thought she saw anger flicker in his eyes.“Damn.” She fixed her pants and looked determinedly away. Did he get jealous thinking of her being with other men, of her luring vamps and weres using her body as the carrot on the stick? Or did he not think about her at all? She thought of him every time; with every kiss, every touch, she envisioned him doing those things to her. What would he think if he knew it was him she fantasized about? About the tender yet heated way they’d come together, and how they’d lie still and quiet, hearts beating in time as they slept afterwards.“Better call it in,” she reminded him, teeth gritted, her head tilted toward the alley and the dead werewolf.MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORLauren Smith is an attorney by day, author by night, who pens adventurous and edgy romance stories by the light of her smart phone flashlight app. She’s a native Oklahoman who lives with her three pets: a feisty chinchilla, sophisticated cat and dapper little schnauzer. She's won multiple awards in several romance subgenres including being an Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist and a Semi-Finalist for the Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Award. Her first regency novel Wicked Designs will be released early 2014.  Connect with Lauren Smith at: Facebook      BLOG      Twitter        Goodreads      Amazon Author Page Check out my book trailer HERE      How can my readers buy your book? Amazon     NOOK
  
 

RED SHOES Deals with a Tricky Subject

by Guest Author Donna Steele
  I was recently asked where Red Shoes came from and why chose such a dark subject.  As for where it came from, Red Shoes started out as a bit of flash fiction. It was a picture and I had to come up with 100 words about it. I guess that’s what being a pantser is all about.

I immediately saw a sophisticated appearing woman trying to garner the attention of a high powered businessman. It wasn’t the real her, she was pretending to be what she thought he wanted in order to attract him. Now remember, none of this was shown, just feet in shoes. But I did not like the businessman. Sight unseen except for my imagination, he was bad news. My heroine had heard the rumors but dismissed them. No one that handsome, smart, powerful . . . you fill in the blanks, could be related to those rumors.

Then she finds out the truth.

I do seem to come up with creative villains. And so far at least, in my books, my heroines have had to pull the hero’s bacon out of the fire. I write strong women (probably because I never realized I was one until I found my own real-life hero)

I realize this is a touchy subject – an abusive relationship, but these relationships do happen. Since I concentrate on strong women, or women coming into the strength they didn’t realize they had, I wanted to show that they can escape even when the woman has been “successfully” cowed. Even if a woman doesn’t think she can stand up for herself, she might rise up on her hind legs to defend a child or a friend and there it is – strength she never saw coming.


I do recommend if you’re stuck (not that that ever happens to writers) that you give this technique a try. It’s incredible when the juices flow, especially when you can take those 100 words and write the whole story as well. bio -

Women strong enough for love.

I write science fiction , paranormal and women’s fiction romance eBooks about women coming into their strength and having the courage to find and accept love.

As an empty nester with my beloved best friend and husband (who actually encourages this mad passion of mine) I write all the time – whether or not I have a pen or keyboard handy.

Ever since I learned to read—from Superman Comics, Dick, Jane and Sally held no appeal—I’ve wanted to write. The possibilities of science fiction have always drawn me and I’ve read them all.  There just needed to be a little more romance in them. I finally got up the courage and I’m delighted that I’m able to share these stories with you.

My premiere novel, a science fiction romance – Rth Rising – was released on March 3, 2012 through Rebel Ink Press. My romance eBooks Learning Trust, Homecoming, Welcome Home, Red Shoes and Wraith’s Heart are now available at all eBook sellers. Wraith’s Heart is now also available in paperback through Amazon. I’m a member of Romance Writers of America, the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal Chapter of RWA and the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers.

Find out more about RED SHOES and check out the Buy LinksHERE
What's next for author Donna Steele?
Nowhere For Christmas will be released soon.
Please check it out it HERE

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Alexa Bourne

My guest is author Alexa Bourne. Her book, Fractured Paradise , is a romantic suspense novella and was released on November 3rd, 2012. It was nominated for Best Mystery/Suspense/Thriller of 2012 by the Love Romances Café.

Did you have several manuscripts finished before you sold? If so, did you send them out yourself? I did have several manuscripts finished before I sold. I used to submit them to agents and editors whenever I thought they were ready. I also submitted them to countless contests. Been there & done that. What is your writing routine like? LOLOL! There is no routine. I’m a teacher in my “real world” so my schedule often changes. I write when I can. What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?I love researching promotional opportunities. I mostly do interviews, comment on other people’s blogs, tweet and keep busy on facebook. I also run contests every once in a while and my best friend makes many of my promotional items such as bookmarks, cards, magnets, etc. I’m always looking for new ways to promote my books and my genres. Promotion is important, even if you would rather just write. Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?I am a member of Romance Writer of America and several of the RWA chapters: Kiss of Death (Suspense chapter), Austin RWA, and Celtic Hearts RW. I absolutely believe they’ve helped. I’ve made some great friends, learned so much about the craft of writing and the business, and I feel I have so much support with every new angle of writing I come across.  Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? If you really feel, in your heart, that writing is for you then don’t give up.  Even on my most difficult writing day or when I’m overwhelmed with promotional obligations, being an author is still the best job I could ever have. I wouldn’t give it up for anything.   Please Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.1) I’ve lived in 5 states: RI, MA, TX, NV, AZ
2) I love to sing and I’m pretty good.
3) I wanted to be a music major until I took my first music class in college and barely passed.

BOOK BLURB
Technical analyst Rachel Grant arrives in Sunderland intent on tidying up her grandmother’s cottage, but the disaster she discovers requires more than a gentle sweep of a dust rag. Determined to please the most important person in her life, she trades her computer keyboard for a hammer and nails to make the repairs. She doesn’t count on the chilly reception from the locals who want to claim Nan’s home as their own.
Tour guide Aidan Camden wants to buy the cottage. He’s determined to acquire the property no matter how attractive he finds the current occupant. However, when tragedy strikes, throwing them both into a tailspin, he discovers he wants more than the house. He longs for the sexy American as well. Can Aidan put his own ghosts to rest in time to save the woman who’s claimed his heart?
EXCERPT

“A bit of a disappointment, I expect.” A rich, deep voice with a twinge of an English accent drifted from behind her.
She whirled around. Her hair whipped against her cheeks and made her wish for the hundredth time today she hadn’t packed all her hair clips.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”
The stranger paused beside the edge of the clearing, and her heart stuttered. Although no one would mistake him for a Hollywood leading man, this guy could command attention by stepping into a room. Or onto an island.
“That’s okay. You didn’t.” She permitted her gaze to wander over him.
He kept his hands stuffed into the front pockets of faded jeans. The wind tore at his gray long-sleeved shirt, outlining the contours of a well-defined chest. Unruly light brown hair touched his collar. High cheekbones accented his deep-set eyes. Not friendly eyes, but no threat lay behind them either, at least none she could uncover.
He pulled a hand from his pocket and held it out. “Aidan Camden of Dawson Tours, your neighbor from across the water.” He tipped his head toward the way he’d come.
Camden. His name sounded familiar, but why? She shook his hand with a hint of hesitation. “Rachel Grant.”
His fingers warmed her skin, his grip strong and confident. Awareness trailed along her arm. Then again, it could be the accent that made her skin tingle. British accents never failed to stir her emotions.
A trace of a smile danced on his lips. “Aye, the American.”
Huh. “You know of me?”
A low rumble of laughter slipped from his mouth, the sound relaxing her from deep within. “Word travels fast here. I saw you paddling your way out.”
Paddling? No, he’d seen her fighting with the oars. Until today, she’d never set foot on a boat, much less held an oar. But she would consider swimming across the Atlantic Ocean if it would make Nan happy.
“Tell me, Mr. Camden, are you in the habit of following foreigners?”
“No, lass, but you’re all the talk of the Roker area. The mighty Grant descendant, come to see about selling the family cottage.”
Selling?
Author Alexa BourneMORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alexa Bourne is a teacher by day and a romantic suspense writer by nights, weekends, and all school holidays. She also teaches online classes for writers throughout the year. She is thrilled to have the chance to share her love of Great Britain with readers everywhere.
When she's not concocting sinister plots and steamy love scenes or traveling and exploring new cultures, Alexa spends her time reading, watching brainless TV and thinking about exercising. She loves to interact with readers, so visit her web page, hang out at her blog, follow her on Twitter or drop her a note at Alexa@alexabourne.com!
How can my readers buy your book?  

Readers can go to the publisher’s home page at http://www.decadentpublishing.com
You can find more information about Alexa Bourne and Fractured Paradise at:
WEBSITE     BLOG    TWITTER FACEBOOK    GOODREADS   

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Felicity Heaton

Felicity Heaton stopped by all the way from the UK to talk about herself and her book, HER WICKED ANGEL is a paranormal romance and was released on September 21st.
Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  
Her Wicked Angel is the sixth book in my popular Her Angel paranormal romance series. It’s about Asmodeus, the wicked King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man. He’s an angel born for destruction and evil, but beneath his cold and often cruel exterior there is a glimmer of good, a seed that he hides from his master and the three realms (Heaven, Hell and the Mortal realms) because in his world, good is a weakness.

When he is sent to the mortal world to retrieve a female for the Devil and sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, a woman who challenges him at every turn and seems to have a mystical power over him, that sliver of good begins to grow and he realizes that he can’t let his master have her… because he wants her for himself.

Liora is a witch and has always known that angels existed, but she never thought she would meet Asmodeus. The glowering dark angel warrior with his black wings and golden eyes makes her burn hotter than Hell itself and she can’t resist the fierce attraction that blazes between them. He’s dangerous and deadly… and he might just be her only hope for survival.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?
Her Wicked Angel is a paranormal romance. I have written other genres in the past, and still dabble in science-fiction romance, but paranormal romance is my passion. I’ve penned over 35 paranormal romance stories since 2006. I love being able to create expansive and detailed worlds filled with incredible creatures with amazing abilities. It’s a playground that I never tire of and a genre I don’t think I will ever stop writing… I still have ideas for another 30+ stories!

What is your writing routine like?
It always depends on what I have to do at the time. I’m lucky enough to have a fantastic new assistant who is helping me with some aspects of marketing and promoting my stories and new releases, and that has freed up more time that I can use to write. I am a full time author and have been since 2011, when I began selling enough copies of my ebooks to give up my day job and pursue writing as my career.

I work from around 8am until 7pm most days, and try to take a couple of days out of each week for myself, but sometimes it doesn’t work that way, especially when there’s a new release on the horizon or deadlines I have to meet. Some weeks I can spend every day working on marketing and other admin, such as answering emails and scheduling promotion and other things. Because I’m an indie author, I have to do almost everything myself, so it’s a constant juggling act, especially since I design my own covers, create my own graphics for advertising, and format my own books too!

When I am in a normal week, I will generally dedicate a large portion of the day to writing or editing, leaving only a few hours to spend on marketing work or admin. If I’m writing a first draft, I always aim to write around 7000-10000 words in a single session. I can normally manage that in around 4-6 hours of writing. It just depends on what other things I have on my schedule really.

In terms of how I go about writing, I’m a plotter. I just completed an outline plan for my next book I’ll be writing and it has come out at 24000 words. I tend to write scenes down as they come to me and then compile them into an outline, which is why they can get big. Once I have the outline done and all my character profiles written or updated if they’re existing characters in a series, then I’ll begin writing. I always focus on one project at a time, so I’ll never write one book while editing something else, or write two books at the same time. I think that just gets confusing.

I’ll write the first draft straight through without pausing to read over it or edit anything. After that, I let it sit for a while and then I’ll send it off to my betas while I work on something else. I’ll then come back to it when my betas have read it and edit the book. Normally, I do two edits on my books and several rounds of proofreading before they’re released.

Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing? 
I love being able to speak with readers. It’s great communicating with them and interacting, and I’ve made a lot of friends on my social networks. There are amazing people amongst my readers and I really love being able to speak with them all and hear their opinions on my books, or on movies we’ve seen or books we’ve all read. It’s like a big community and it’s wonderful.

Please share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
This is always difficult. I get asked it a lot and I have to think about things to try to come up with something new. How about…
1)I’m an archery fanatic.
2)I’ve travelled to Japan five times and want to go back for more.
3)I’m British… seriously, readers are often surprised when I mention that.
What’s next for you?
I’m about to begin writing the second book in a new series. The first will come out in December this year. After that, I’ll be working on the next Her Angel book and the next Vampires Realm book, and the first book in another new series. It’s all go and it never stops.
BOOK BLURB
Her Wicked Angel
Felicity Heaton
The King of Demons and the Devil’s right hand man, Asmodeus is a dark angel born of evil and created for destruction. When his master orders him to venture into the mortal world and retrieve a female for him, he seizes the chance to leave Hell for the first time, uncaring of what the Devil has planned for her… until he sets eyes on the most beautiful woman he has ever seen—a female who awakens new feelings within his black heart, unleashing passion so intense that it controls him and desire he cannot resist.

He will not let his wretched master have her. She will belong to him.

Liora is a witch with a bad reputation and an obsession with fighting demons. A mission gone wrong sees her sent to Paris to cool off, but when a dark and deadly warrior with a gaze of golden fire lands in her life, she ends up burning hotter than Hell for the wicked angel. Nothing will stand between her and the immense, forbidding male. Not her cousin. Not Asmodeus’s sworn enemy and twin, Apollyon. And certainly not the Devil.

Caught up in a tempest of danger and soul-searing passion, can they survive against the odds and seize their forever after?
Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the links to your preferred retailer at: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/ebooks.php?title=Her%20Wicked%20Angel

Her Wicked Angel – Excerpt
Liora paid for her purchases and made her way back to the alley. Asmodeus was sitting on the step of one of the buildings lining the narrow street, his wings carefully placed so the longest black feathers curled around his ankles. He looked pale, his skin almost milk-white against his wild black hair and thick dark lashes. He lifted his head and gazed at her as she hobbled towards him, his golden eyes warming and then burning like fire as they took her in. Heat chased in the wake of his eyes, setting her body aflame and stirring a different sort of hunger.  She wanted to drop her things beside him, settle herself astride his lithe muscular thighs, and run her fingers through his hair, raking the satiny black strands back from his sculpted face. She would force him to tip it back and look up at her, and the action would cause his lips to part. She would swoop on them then, feeling their firmness beneath hers, waiting for him to hit that point where he found the courage to take the lead and showed her a hint of the passion he held locked beneath his incredible exterior. His gaze dropped to the bag she carried, reminding her that he had to eat before she could do anything with him or he was liable to pass out. She sat on the step below him, took the white box of pastries out of the carrier bag and carefully untied the ribbon. She pushed the lid up to reveal the neat rows of sweet treats and her mouth watered.  Asmodeus stared.
“What are those?” He looked curious. That was good. Maybe he would eat some for her.
“Pastries.” She plucked a strawberry mille-feuille out of the box and offered it to him.
He took it from her and peered at it, turning it this way and that and getting cream and icing all over his hand.
“It’s my favourite.” She picked up the other one she had bought and bit into it. The layers of fine crisp puff pastry, custard-cream and strawberries were delicious and she moaned and took another bite, unable to resist the tempting allure of the sweet heavenly confection.
When she risked a glance at Asmodeus, his pastry was gone and he was licking his fingers. She moaned for a different reason, her head filling with thoughts about what he could do with that tongue and some cream, and he looked at her.
There was a spot of cream at the left corner of his mouth and she couldn’t resist. She reached up, swiped it off and sucked her finger clean. His gaze darkened and zeroed in on her lips. Her heart fluttered in response, shivery heat washing through her and making her want to keep sucking her finger and giving him wicked ideas.
Food first. Fun later.
She finished her pastry and offered him the box.
He took a small rectangular slice of chocolate gateaux and devoured it in two bites before taking a pain au chocolat, and then a wedge of tarte au citron. He pulled a face on eating that one, his nose wrinkling up.
“Not into the citrus fruits?” she said and he shook his head. She pulled the bottle of orange juice from her bag and smiled apologetically. “You might not like this then.”
He took it anyway and inspected the plastic bottle. Rather than taking the bottle from him and twisting the cap off, something that would probably make him feel foolish again, she took her own bottle from the bag and opened it intentionally slowly.
Asmodeus mimicked her, acting like a pro and snapping the cap off his bottle. He drank half the contents in one go and then frowned at the bottle.
“It is not as bad as the sweet thing.” He set the bottle down beside him on the stone step and took the other slice of chocolate gateaux, and then paused when her gaze lovingly followed it towards him. “Would you like some?”
She had bought the pastries, so she deserved at least a portion of the gateaux. It was her second favourite item.
Asmodeus held it out to her and rather than taking it, she leaned over and bit into it, her gaze on his the whole time. His golden irises darkened again, his pupils expanding to relay his desire. They only darkened further when she licked her lips.
“Delicious,” she whispered and he growled, his gaze boring into her mouth, robbing her of her breath and making her silently beg him to kiss her.
He hesitated and she cursed him when he sat back, taking the remains of the gateaux slice with him. He devoured it and set the paper case back in the box.
Liora stuffed her face with a piece of tarte tatin. It wasn’t as sweet as kissing Asmodeus would have been and it didn’t satisfy her in the slightest.
“I enjoy these pastries,” Asmodeus said and licked his lips clean, enticing her into kissing him if he wouldn’t kiss her.
He finished his orange juice, leaned back and sighed. He was looking better already, his skin no longer a sickly hue and his strength returning. She could feel his power rising again, coming back to the level it usually rested at when he was around her.
“Are you feeling better?” She screwed up the paper her tarte tatin had been on and tossed it back into the box.
He should be feeling sick after eating that many pastries but, then again, she had seen Apollyon devour an entire chocolate cake in one sitting without it giving him an upset stomach.
He frowned. “My head still hurts.”
“It’ll pass.” Had he never had a headache before either? What else was new to him?
He lowered his eyes to the road and stared at it, his gaze turning distant and cold again. He stayed like it for so long that the worry that had faded on hearing he was feeling better began to return.
“Are you still unwell?” she said.
He blinked and his attention snapped to her, a flicker of surprise in his golden eyes, as if he had lost track of the world and was shocked to see her sitting beside him.
He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. “I am being compelled to return.”
The Devil was ordering him to return to Hell. Liora’s worry returned, worse than ever. If he went back to Hell, would the Devil punish him for killing the angel and lying to him about her?
What if he didn’t go back?
“Will the Devil send another bad angel after you if you don’t go to him?” she said and his eyes opened and slid across to her.
“I am a bad angel… the baddest.”
Liora blushed at that, wicked scenarios running through her mind. He quirked his right eyebrow at her reaction and she could understand why it had confused him. He had meant to place distance between them, warning her away from him, and she had the terrible feeling she knew why.
He stood, brushed the crumbs off the strips of armour around his hips and stepped down onto the pavement.
“Return to Serenity and stay with them. You will be safe there. I must go.”
The ground bucked and cracked, a glowing fiery fault line stretching thirty feet across the road in front of her. The jagged line widened and lava dripped down into the dark crevasse, hissing as it disappeared from view.
A gateway to Hell.
“Wait.” Liora shot to her feet and reached out to him.
Asmodeus looked over his shoulder at her and then dropped into the darkness.
His wings caught her arm as he spread them and she tipped forwards, flailed her arms in a desperate attempt to right herself, and shrieked as she fell over the edge and plummeted into the abyss.

Her Wicked Angel is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook, Apple iBooks stores and many other retailers. Also available in paperback. BUY LINKS


Find all the links, a fantastic 6 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to enter
the Her Wicked Angel giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift certificate at her WEBSITE   
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHORFelicity Heaton writes passionate paranormal romance books as Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. In her books she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action, intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then you will enjoy her books too.

If you love your angels a little dark and wicked, Felicity Heaton’s best selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong, powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series she writes as F E Heaton or any of her stand alone vampire romance books she writes as Felicity Heaton. Or if you’re looking for vampire romances that are sinful, passionate and erotic then try Felicity Heaton’s new Vampire Erotic Theatre series.

In 2011, five of her six paranormal romance books received Top Pick awards from Night Owl Reviews, Forbidden Blood was nominated as Best PNR Vampire Romance 2011 at The Romance Reviews, and many of her releases received five star reviews from numerous websites.

If you want to know more about Felicity, or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:
WEBSITE      BLOG       FACEBOOK   TWITTER     GOODREADS                            

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Linda Bennett Pennell

 Linda Bennett Pennell stopped by to answer a few personal questions.  Welcome, Linda! Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel tells of lives unfolding in different centuries, but linked and irrevocably altered by a series of murders in 1930. 
I am already intrigued! Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?
I am one of THOSE authors who like to blend multiple genre.  Agents and bookstores may hate the idea, but readers seem to love it. I guess I can blame it on my ADD. My book is historical suspense with romantic elements. I would have added women’s fiction into the mix, but it is appealing to men as well as women, so I think I’ll leave well enough alone.I love reading historicals. Do you have any rejection stories to share?  I have tons of them, but nothing worth repeating here! Forget ‘em like last year’s lover and move on. That’s my mantra.
Ha! A good idea. What is your writing routine like?   I fear I’m rather undisciplined. I have to be in the mood; otherwise, I just end up spinning my wheels and turning out yucky stuff.  Fortunately, the mood strikes pretty often. 
Fortune is smiling on you, if this book is any indication. Is research a part of your writing? If so, where do you find the answers? Since I write historical fiction, I consider research the first and probably most important step in my writing. Nothing sends me into a snit like reading a poorly researched book with inaccurate details, so I try no to be guilty myself.  Locating the answers? Oh, my! I owe my soul to Google Books (free), Google Scholar (free), Amazon (books purchased), and all of the informational websites! Google, a writer’s best friend!! I probably should remember it in my will!
Do you see writing as a career? I do see writing as a career, but not as a sole means of support. Eating and having shelter are rather high on my list of preferred creature comforts.
Chocolate is on mine! Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? I think the most important thing I can say is this: be kind to yourself. If you are doing your very best to study, learn, and write well, then turn off that blasted internal critic! It kills creativity. I’m not saying forget editing, proofing, or revising. I’m telling you to kill the internal monster that whispers damaging words that undermine your writer’s spirit and suck your soul dry. It’s an evil villain, so kill it and be done with it!
Harsh, but true. Time to lighten up, so please share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know. Well, let me see. 
1) At one point in my life, I had close personal relationships with gangsters, primarily Crips and Latin Kings. See the contact page on my website if you want to ask how/why. www.lindapennell.com 2) My husband and I bred American Quarter Horses for a time. I can stay on a working cutting horse and work a reining horse. 360 spin, figure eight, sliding stop, dosey doe, flying lead change? No problem!
3) In a moment of newly wed insanity, I agreed to camp across the US and up to Alaska and back. Picture this: seven days one way on the Al-Can highway (really a wide dirt road at the time), no motels, no restrooms, no stores, a truck cap camper sans bathroom, and Canuck’s Revenge all the way. My husband hasn’t pressed the camping issue since!
BOOK BLURB
Al Capone at the Blanche Hotel tells a story of lives unfolding in different centuries, but linked and irrevocably altered by a series of murders in 1930.   

Lake City, Florida, June, 1930: Al Capone checks in for an unusually long stay at the Blanche Hotel, a nice enough joint for an insignificant little whistle stop. The following night, young Jack Blevins witnesses a body being dumped heralding the summer of violence to come. One-by-one, people controlling county vice activities swing from KKK ropes. No moonshine distributor, gaming operator, or brothel madam, black or white, is safe from the Klan's self-righteous vigilantism. Jack's older sister Meg, a waitress at the Blanche, and her fiancé, a sheriff’s deputy, discover reasons to believe the lynchings are cover for a much larger ambition than simply ridding the county of vice. Someone, possibly backed by Capone, has secret plans for filling the voids created by the killings. But as the body count grows and crosses burn, they come to realize this knowledge may get all of them killed.   

Author Linda Bennett PennellGainesville, Florida, August, 2011: Liz Reams, an up and coming young academic specializing in the history of American crime, impulsively moves across the continent to follow a man who convinces her of his devotion yet refuses to say the three simple words I love you. Despite entreaties of friends and family, she is attracted to edginess and a certain type of glamour in her men, both living and historical. Her personal life is an emotional roller coaster, but her career options suddenly blossom beyond all expectation, creating a very different type of stress. To deal with it all, Liz loses herself in her professional passion, original research into the life and times of her favorite bad boy, Al Capone. What she discovers about 1930’s summer of violence, and herself in the process, leaves her reeling at first and then changed forever.
A little bit about the authorI reside in the Houston area with one sweet husband, one German Shorthaired Pointer who thinks she’s a little girl, and one yellow striped cat who knows she’s queen of the house. You can find more information about me, Linda Bennett Pennell at: WEBSITE    TWITTER   FACEBOOK   GOODREADSAMAZON AUTHOR PAGE  How can my readers buy your book?   AMAZON

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New Release: DRAGON Bites, a collection of ...Myths?

For centuries, myths were often considered an aspect of folklore, but not all. Mythology might include the belief in the supernatural, where as folklore and folk tales derived when people had the need to explain mysterious events. Pre-Christianity might have had a hand in old world myths and folklore. A people’s yearning to believe in the hereafter, or in some type of entity, lived on through stories passed generation to generation. Once Christianity became widespread, mythological creatures, such as the “Fairies”, faded away.

  Dragons are myths, some say, while others still ‘believe’. Do you?

Book Blurb  This book is a collection of three similarly themed novellas previously published as separate ebooks by Nancy Lee Badger. DRAGON’S CURSE, set on the Scottish island of Staffa in the late 16th century, features a young man cursed to transform into dragon at inopportune times and the woman he protects. SOUTHERN FRIED DRAGON pairs a Scottish dragon-turned woman and a federal soldier at Ft. Sumter on the eve of Civil War. DRAGON IN THE MIST is a contemporary love story on the shores of Loch Ness, which is a short story that won 1st Place in its category in the 2012 Self-Published Stars Contest. Available in ebook and print at various locations! Amazon Ebook    Amazon Print NOOK Ebook     BarnesNoble Print   Smashwords                 

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Katie O'Boyle

Set yourself in a rocking chair, sip some tea, and enjoy my interview of author Katie O’Boyle. Her book, Stepping Up To Love is a Contemporary Romance and was released August 7, 2013.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book. 
Stepping Up To Love, the first of the Lakeside Porches romances, is a college-town romance with a recovery spin.

Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in? 
My friends are surprised that I’m writing Contemporary Romance, since we’ve been trading mysteries back and forth for a decade.

What inspired you to write your first book?
A year ago in January we took a friend to brunch for his 90th birthday. As we sat on the beautiful porch of Belhurst Castle in the Finger Lakes, I watched the staff fuss over my friend, and I wondered about them, their comraderie, their lives, their hopes and dreams. The idea for the Lakeside Porches romances—starting with Stepping Up To Love—was born that day.

I miss our deck overlooking a New Hampshire lake. When did you first consider yourself a writer, and when did you start writing toward publication? 
Like Debbie Macomber I couldn’t read until I was  10 or 12; once I got glasses, I began to read voraciously and my pent-up desire to write burst forth. My early books were not publication worthy. I began to write professionally when I worked on my doctorate but finally returned to fiction in the past couple of years, with publication in mind. It’s been a fascinating learning curve, and I’m growing as a writer all the time.

How did you get into romance writing?
The stories in my head as a teen and young adult were usually romantic, but I didn’t understand “genre” and “genre fiction.” It’s just in the past couple of years that I’ve become serious about big-R Romance and eager to learn all about it.

I love my coffeemaker, and a quiet house in which to write. What is your writing routine like?
One morning each weekend you’ll find me at Spot Coffee breaking ground on a new chapter. I have to fit in my writing around a full-time job and adjunct teaching commitments, but I have promised to write an hour each day, one way or another. I’m able to carve out that much time at least.

Do you see writing as a career?
Yes, it’s the career I’m transitioning into as I move away from academia.

How many books have you written, and do you have a favorite?
Each of the 6-8 novels I’ve written is precious to me in its own way. Joel and Manda’s story is special because it’s the first to be published and also because it’s a sweet love story between two characters who make me smile every time I think of them.

What do you see ahead in your writing career?
I’m working on book three of the Lakeside Porches romances and there are more of them, all set in Tompkins Falls in the Fingers Lakes. I’ll get back to writing mysteries, too; several on-the-shelf books featured “NOB Tech,” the fictitious North of Boston Technological Institute. Higher Education is filled with intrigue and fascinating characters!

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?
Believe in yourself just enough to take that next step. And the next. That’s how it works J

Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
1.      I have fun “working titles” for my books that say something about either the hero or the heroine. Stepping Up To Love started as Manda the Brave; Coming Home To Lovewas Justin’s Time Out (think he has anger issues?); book three is Gwen Gets a Clue, and I have no idea what the “real title” will be.
2.      Just like Manda and her friends, my friends and I love to have lunch on a lakeside porch in one of the pretty Finger Lakes towns, then shop for bargains and new arrivals. We never spend much but we eat well and laugh a lot.
3.      I just found out my office is big enough to swing a hula hoop. I’m up to 100 reps, both directions. It’s great for working out writer’s kinks!

BOOK BLURB
When her boss Joel Cushman catches her using the spa shower at The Manse, junior accountant and graduating college senior Manda Doughty comes clean about the alcoholic drinking that has led her into a disastrous relationship with a predatory professor. Joel, who is also a trustee of the college, is faced with more problems than a beautiful, naked woman in his shower. While he’d rather make love all night with funny, brainy Manda, Joel knows his desire for her has no future if Manda cannot stay sober, grow up, and face her problems squarely. While Manda immerses herself in AA, Joel uncovers harassment and embezzlement that threaten the existence of the college his ancestors founded. Can he fix the problems at the college without exposing Manda to public humiliation? Can Manda clean up her mess and trust the love she feels for Joel? The odds may not be in their favor, but miracles happen for those who are willing to change their lives and open their hearts.
Excerpt Manda turned off the water and drew back the linen curtain dividing the shower stall from the dressing area, and screamed. Standing at the glass door was the big boss. Remy’s boss. Her boss's boss. She wasn’t sure, but Joel Cushman was probably everybody’s boss.
“Geez, Joel, I thought you were a pervert!” she yelled at him. I can’t believe I just called Mr. Cushman “Joel.” I am in so much trouble here.
“Manda? What—?” His voice cracked like an adolescent.
Manda stifled a laugh. His eyes were drinking in her body as though he couldn’t believe what she’d been hiding under her baggy clothes. Drink your fill now, Joel, because I am off men for life.
“I thought you were a criminal. What are you doing in the shower at seven fifteen in the morning? And stop batting that curtain around.”
Manda tried desperately to grab the linen shower curtain, flapping this way and that in the current created by the open door. “Do you mind?” she scolded him.
Giving up on the curtain, she crossed her arms and turned her back on him. He probably likes that view, too. “Could you hand me a towel, please, or get out of here?” Why am I yelling at the boss? Seriously dumb, Manda.
He was silent now, which was worse. What is he doing, standing there, looking at me? Panic overtook anger, and she turned back to look at him.
He had dropped the admiring once-over and was taking a second look at her purpling bruises. Silently, he handed her a towel from the top of the stack and looked her in the eye.
Manda wondered if he could read the shame and fear clouding her vision.
Joel cleared his throat and ordered, “In my office. Five minutes. Dressed.”
Author Katie O'BoyleA little bit about the author

Once upon a time, Katie O’Boyle was a stellar student and closet substance abuser at a picture-perfect small college. She credits loving friends, 12-step spirituality, and plenty of hard work for her transformation into tech-savvy college professor and passionate author of warm-hearted romance. Fall in love with her characters on the lakeside porches of the beautiful Finger Lakes in upstate New York. Lakeside Porches, Book One: Stepping Up To Love (Joel and Manda’s story), summer 2013; Book Two: Coming Home to Love (Justin and Gianessa’s story).







How can my readers buy your book?
 
Currently, Stepping Up To Love is available through Amazon at:http://www.amazon.com/Stepping-Love-Lakeside-Porches-ebook/dp/B00ED3TGMS/

In early November it will be available in other ebook formats and through the publisher soulmatepublishing.com You can find more information about Katie O’Boyleand her book, Stepping Up To Love at: WEBSITE    TWITTER    FACEBOOK      [image error]

Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Amy Jarecki

Today I’m interviewing  author Amy Jarecki. Her book, Chihuahua Momma, is a contemporary romance and was released in eBook on July 28th, and the paperback will be available in mid September.


Please tell my readers a little bit about your book. 
   


It’s a fun romance between an ex-football star and a top notch dog handler who doesn’t think she wants to date. Rebecca’s a widow. She’s got two teenaged kids—there’s no time in her life for romance.This is contemporary romance—sort of Jenifer Cruisie style. I also write historical romance, and have two “Celtic Warrior” romances coming out in the second half of 2014.

Since my heart is in Scotland, I cannot wait to read them! When did you first consider yourself a writer, and when did you start writing toward publication? I’ve been a writer since second grade. I wrote my first novel in the late 90’s, and though it was a piece of literary rubbish, It whet my appetite, and I’ve been striving toward improving my craft ever since.
How did you get into romance writing?I love romance, and after doing my research, I discovered that romance is the genre that sells the most. Why not write something you love in a genre that you have a chance of getting published in?

Let's get really personal: Do you have any rejection stories to share?The most baffling was from an agent who sent me the following e-mail after reading my full:
Thanks for your patience while I’ve evaluated this project. I read the sample in entirety yesterday and I’m afraid I’m going to pass. I think your writing is fabulous, and this is an entertaining read. I’m afraid it’s just the story itself that didn’t really set with me. Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with it, like I said, I have nothing but positives to say, it’s really just a matter of personal taste. I realize that’s about the worst thing to hear, but, I wanted to be up front. I think you have a lot of talent, it’s just this one isn’t right for my list. I wish you the best in finding a better suited match.
 
Is research a part of your writing? If so, where do you find the answers?
I do a ton of research. I find answers in books and online—anywhere I can…and if I can’t find it, I make something up and verify the facts later (if possible).

How many books have you written, and do you have a favorite?
Presently I’m just about finished with manuscript #10. My favorite is always the one I’m writing!

We connected as members of the Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. Are you a member of any other writing organizations and have they helped?
I’m a member of the RWA and the chapter Celtic Hearts RWA. I also am a member of the League of Utah Writers. Yes, all of these organizations have helped me immensely. I take a ton of writing classes, as I’m always trying to improve my craft.

Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
1)I used to be a plant manager in the plastics industry.
2)I play the piano badly.
3)I got my master’s degree from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Visiting Scotland is on my Bucket List! What’s next for you? Upcoming releases: Virtue - Release date, Dec. 1, 2013 A contemporary romantic suspense—Dancers, Cruise Ships, a Mayan Temple and the Prophecy of the Golden Goddess.Rescued by the Celtic Warrior – Roman woman, Pict man, forbidden love. Takes place during the Roman occupation of Britannia, Release August, 2014

Celtic Maid – Sequel to Rescued – Release Dec. 2014

Look for future announcements about my Highlanders of Raasay series…
BOOK BLURB

In the frenetic world of canine pageants like Westminster, where dog hair flies and personalities diverge, Rebecca Lee remains in a cocoon of loneliness. Widowed, with two teenaged kids and a business to run, Rebecca would rather mow through five-hundred poodle cuts than think about dating. But when former quarterback Matt Johnson shows up to buy a Chihuahua, his irresistible grin rocks her world—until Matt’s ex decides she wants him back and Rebecca’s daughter decides she’s against her mom dating. Rebecca now has a choice—crawl back into her realm of dogs or fight for the powerful love that fills her soul.
Excerpt
     Like all males, this one was a sucker for a back massage and he leaned into her skilled hands with a blissful moan. He arched his back when she found that “spot” and Rebecca chuckled at the dog’s leg-shaking response. She glanced in the mirror over the stainless steel doggie bath. The steam always made Rebecca’s red hair frizz and it tickled her cheeks as she worked suds into the Powder Puff Chinese Crested.
     With her teenaged kids at school, Rebecca sang along to the tune of “Uptown Girl” booming from the light-rock station. She sounded pretty good and blasted out the words she knew, substituting “doggie paws” where her memory failed.
     Rebecca took her hand off the Crested to swipe the encroaching frizz out of her eyes. Of course the dog took advantage of the freedom and shook, splattering her with water and suds. “Darn you little rascal.” She twitched as doggie bath water dribbled down her face. Glancing at the mirror, she dabbed her cheeks with her shirt sleeve. The suds in her hair would have to wait.
     As she reached for the warm water spray hose, a muffled doorbell rang. Her eyes shot to a plastic black-and-white Chihuahua clock, its tail wagging to the tick of each half-second. Damn, ten minutes early and he’s at the wrong door. Can’t people read the sign? She fastened the grooming loop on the Crested and folded up the side panel of the bath to ensure the dog’s safety.
     Dashing from her studio, she opened the door of her Southern New Jersey home. With a sharp jolt, her breath caught as a friendly grin and sky-blue eyes gazed down at her. “Hi, I’m Matt Johnson.”
     Rebecca stood motionless. Her mouth hung open, her mind unable to focus.
     “Ma’am?”

A little bit about the author Amy lives in Southwest Utah with her husband Bob and three adorable Chihuahuas. Born in Alturas, California, she holds an MBA from Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland. Amy loves dancing, hiking, golfing, but above all, she is a true Chihuahua Momma.

You can visit her at: WEBSITE       BLOG        TWITTER GOODREADS       FACEBOOK Amazon Author Page How can my readers buy your book? Readers can go to the publisher’s HOME PAGE AMAZON      
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Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Nikki Lynn Barrett

Today I’m interviewing Nikki Lynn Barrett. Her book, The Melody In My Head, is contemporary romance and was released July 26.

Welcome! Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.
The Melody in My Head is book two of my Love and Music In Texas series. The series revolves around an undiscovered country music band in Texas. The Melody In My Head features the lead guitarist of the band, Jameson Grant. The heroine is Melody Roland, a newcomer to the fictional town of Harmony's Echo Texas. There's lots of fun, emotions, and a bit of suspense wrapped up in the book.  The first book in the series is Baby Stetson.

The big question: why have you become a published author?
I love telling stories! I love sharing them with others, and being published allows me to do that. I've always had fictional characters roaming around in my head, and putting their story to paper has been my life long dream....I've been writing stories since elementary school.

What is your writing routine like?
I mainly write in the mornings when my four year old goes to preschool.  I've been getting up at six when my husband goes to work, get some writing in then, pause to get my son ready for school, and then get back to writing until twelve fifteen or so.

I never realized when I started writing that promotion would take up so much of my time. What sort of promo do you do? Do you have help?
I'm still learning my way around promo! Oh, there's always something to learn! I have an author page on FB, I have Twitter, though I don't use it as much as I should. I network with other authors, like for blogging.  The biggest thing I've learned that seemed to help was to participate/donate for others giveaways- like if they hit 1000 likes, I donate a book to their giveaway, and in return, I gain likes on my fan page. Or release day parties. I've gained some new readers from those.

Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing? 
Readers connecting with my stories. The most rewarding thing came recently, when my best friend who I have known since third grade thanked me for bringing the love of reading back into her life. Yes, I cried :)

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?
NEVER GIVE UP!! If this is your dream, go for it! Now, I may be self published, but no matter how you want to be published, keep striving for that goal. Keep learning, work on your craft, and follow that dream.

Please Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
1. I would totally go storm chasing.
2. I wanted to be a singer on the Nashville stages3. I'm visually impaired. My optic nerves never developed fully, and I can only see out of one eye. In fact, I was totally blind at birth and regained some sight in my left eye.
 Overcoming a disability? You are something very special. What’s next for you? I'm working on a new book, which is a Christmas story, and the follow up to my debut book, The Secret Santa Wishing Well. After that, I'll either work on Love and Music in Texas Book 3, or A Masterpiece of Our Love.
 BOOK BLURBThis is Book 2 in the Love and Music in Texas series. Baby Stetson kicks off the series.

Welcome back to Harmony's Echo, Texas.....

Melody Roland is on the run from the one person she trusted completely. One who hid a dark past she could never have imagined. When a pregnant woman on the bus she's fleeing on goes into labor, Melody rushes to her aide. Now she finds herself stranded in a tiny remote town just off the highway, with no way to her original destination.

She's alone, on edge, and unsure who to trust. Her instincts scream to get far away and fast. But how and where?
Jameson Grant struggles through the roughest year of his life. Suffering from the loss of his father, one grief stricken night, he made a mistake. One which cost him the only woman he's ever loved. Each lonely day he's faced with the constant reminders of how quick things can change. Throwing himself into the one thing he has left, his music, helps dull the pain he fights to keep hidden. His last salvation begins to crumble as things spiral out of control and he has no choice but to face the 'music' of his past.

The last thing he needs or wants in his life is a woman with more trouble on her heels than the best of country music lyrics. But Melody sings a sirens call within him that can't be ignored.

Jameson and Melody bond in ways stronger than either could have imagined, but one dangerous person from her past may threaten it all...
If she doesn't flee before he can convince her to stay, and that some love songs last an eternity.  Read an Excerpt    
HERE
 
More About the AuthorNikki Lynn Barrett lives in Arizona with her husband and son. She's an avid reader, a dreamer, and loves everything about books. She runs a book blog, an online used bookstore, and writes various genres of romance. Nikki can also be found outside with her camera when a storm is near, snapping photo after photo. Her dreams of becoming a writer started when she was young, when she started writing books in one subject notebooks by the fifth grade. The Secret Santa Wishing Well is her debut book. Nikki would love to hear from readers. Email her at nikkilynnbarrett@yahoo.com
  How can my readers buy your book? Amazon    BarnesAndNoble 

 You can find more information about Nikki and The Melody in My Head  at:



WEBSITE    BLOG    TWITTER   Facebook    Goodreads Amazon Author Page

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Nancy Lee Badger Interviews Cynthia Owens

Cynthia Owens joins me to speak about herself and her latest release. Her book, Deceptive Hearts, is a historical romance and was released July 1st.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.  

Deceptive Hearts is a poignant tale of class differences in old New York. Shane MacDermott is an ex-boxer, an officer with the Metropolitan Police Force, and a veteran of Thomas Francis Meagher’s Irish Brigade.  Lydia Daniels is a mysterious beauty who lives in a secluded mansion in Gramercy Park. Shane and Lydia meet in a squalid tenement in New York’s Five Points, and he’s immediately suspicious of her. Why is she there? Why is she approaching lovely young women and offering them employment at her home? Something is definitely not right, and Shane’s determined to find out what it is. As determined as Lydia is to protect her secret. Until a threat from outside forces her to seek Shane’s help.

Sounds interesting! Describe the genre of this particular title, and is the only genre you write in?  
Deceptive Hearts is a historical romance set in Victorian-era New York City, in both genteel Gramercy Park and squalid Five Points. It’s a new setting for me, as my first two novels are set in Ireland and the third in Baltimore and Philadelphia, but the timeframe is basically the same. Since most of my heroes (and some of my heroines) are Irish, and there was tremendous turmoil in Ireland at this time, it’s ripe for stories. I love history – in particular Irish history – and I suspect I’ll be writing historicals for a long time.

When did you first consider yourself a writer, and when did you start writing toward publication?  
I’ve always considered myself a writer. I’ve written stories from the time I was a little girl. When I was in the first grade, my teacher asked the class to write a sentence about Dick, Jane, and their dog, Spot. Well, I wrote one, all right…and then proceeded to write another, and another, until I eventually had about two paragraphs. I was so proud of what I’d done! Unfortunately, my teacher wasn’t as impressed. Instead of praising my efforts, she scolded me for writing too much! To this day, I wonder if my determination to succeed as a writer had something to do with this creativity-stifling teacher.

Wouldn't that make her blush! Back to basics...Is research a part of your writing? If so, where do you find the answers?
Research is a very big part of my writing. Particularly in a historical story, it’s important to get the facts right. As to where I go to get those facts…well, anywhere I can! I have an extensive research library that seems to be taking over my tiny office (or “creative corner,” as I like to call it) that spans subjects from Irish mythology to antique firearms to the fashions of the past.

The Internet is also a valuable resource, if used in the right way, and for me, that means sticking to the subject I’m researching and not getting side-tracked by all the other interesting topics I come across – not an easy task at times.

It also helps to visit my setting, which I discovered in July of 2009, when I finally realized my life-long dream of visiting Ireland. It was ten days of sheer magic, and I didn’t want to leave!
And recently, I connected on Facebook with someone who has become a very dear friend. An Irish historian, I call him my Research Hero, and I know I can go to him for just about any answers I need about Irish history.

Research is the key to historical romance. Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract? 
Never give up! Yes, I know it’s been said before, but it’s still true. If you don’t keep writing, submitting, and yes, collecting rejection letters, you may never receive that acceptance. Also, stay true to your own voice. Don’t try to imitate another writer’s style, no matter how much you may admire them. Write the story you want to write, the way you want to write it. Write from your heart.

Words to write by! Share three fun facts about you that most people don’t know.
1) I'm a collector. I have several collections, but my favorites are music boxes and postcards from the places I’ve been – or the places my friends have been.
2) I once took a fencing class. I wasn’t very good at it – okay, I’m a total klutz when it comes to sports – but I wanted to get a feel for fencing, just in case I ever wrote a hero who needed to know swordplay. To this day, none of my heroes has ever handled a sword.
3) I once fancied myself a female Andrew Lloyd Weber. I even wrote a musical (using music from the Big Band era) set in WWII Paris. Of course, it wasn’t very good, but it was fun, and it was also a learning experience.

What’s next for you?
Keeper of the Light, Book II of The Wild Geese Series, will be published by Highland Press! No release date yet, but I’ll keep everyone posted.

Cathal Donnelly is one of Shane MacDermott’s best friends. This handsome, mercurial storyteller has...shall we say...well, let's call them Fenian leanings, to use an Irish expression. There's something big coming up in the Fenian community, and you can bet Cathal is eager to be a part of it.

But...something goes wrong, and he finds himself on an island in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with no memory of who he is, where he came from, or why he was in a boat that capsized in a wild Atlantic sea storm. The only thing he knows is that he's desperately attracted to his beautiful rescuer...even though she's as English as the British soldiers who drove Cathal and his family from Ireland's green shores during the famine.

BOOK BLURB
…Like the Wild Geese of Old Ireland, five boys grew to manhood despite hunger, war, and the mean streets of New York…
He survived war, and returned to devastation

A hero of the Irish Brigade, Shane MacDermott returned home to New York to find his family decimated and his world shattered.

She risks her life to save the people she loves
Lydia Daniels will risk anything to protect the women she shelters beneath the roof of her elegant Gramercy Park mansion—even if she has to trust the one man who can destroy her.

Shane and Lydia both harbor secrets that could destroy them – and put their lives in jeopardy. Can their love overcome their carefully guarded deceptive hearts?

Read an Excerpt HERE

A little bit about the author

I believe I was destined to be interested in history. One of my distant ancestors, Thomas Aubert, reportedly sailed up the St. Lawrence River to discover Canada some 26 years before Jacques Cartier’s 1534 voyage. Another relative was a 17th Century “King’s Girl,” one of a group of young unmarried girls sent to New France (now the province of  Quebec) as brides for the habitants (settlers) there.

My passion for reading made me long to write books like the ones I enjoyed, and I tried penning sequels to my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries. Later, fancying myself a female version of Andrew Lloyd Weber, I drafted a musical set in Paris during WWII.

A former journalist and lifelong Celtophile, I enjoyed a previous career as a reporter/editor for a small chain of community newspapers before returning to my first love, romantic fiction. My stories usually include an Irish setting, hero or heroine, and sometimes all three. I'm the author of The Claddagh Series, historical romances set in Ireland and beyond. The first three books in The Claddagh Series, In Sunshine or in Shadow, Coming Home, and Playing For Keeps, are all available from Highland Press. Deceptive Hearts, the first book in The Wild Geese Series, has just been released, and Book II, Keeper of the Light,will soon be released from Highland Press.

I am a member of the Romance Writers of America, Hearts Through History Romance Writers, and Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. A lifelong resident of Montreal, Canada, I still live there with my own Celtic hero and our two teenaged children.

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