Sarah Ballance's Blog, page 21

Audra North: A New Year and “One Night in Santiago” (#Giveaway)

HAPPY NEW YEAR! If you’ve resolved to spend a steamy night with a hot guy, you’re in the right place. Author Audra North is here to tell you all about it!

Audra North: Giving Yourself Permission

Happy 2014, everybody! Huge thanks to Sarah for having me back here on her blog!

Today, I’m talking about giving yourself permission. Now I know, I know. Often, a New Year rolling around is not about allowing things. Frequently, it’s about prohibiting things. No more smoking! Instead of watching television, you will spend that time learning to speak French! You will count every penny and deny yourself that extra helping of buttery mashed potatoes and—oh, now I’m hungry.

Those resolutions are important, because they could lead to something that you think is important, and that matters. Getting healthy is great. Saving money is great. Speaking French is—well, it’s something. (Ha! I kid! I kid!)

But sometimes, too much denial ends up hurting more than it helps. In the case of Lily Stanton, the heroine in my latest novella, One Night in Santiago, she has been denying herself too much, for so long, that she’s lost a part of who she is along the way. When she meets sexy stranger Bruno Komarov in the lobby of a hotel far away from home, she feels an attraction to him that she hasn’t allowed herself to feel in a long time.

She doesn’t even realize that she has given herself permission to start getting bits of her life back, but as the evening progresses, that’s exactly what happens. I loved writing this story because I’ve long wanted to create a work that shows just how important it is to appreciate ourselves enough to allow us to be human.

So to all of you, I wish you the best of luck with those resolutions, but don’t forget to cut yourself some slack now and then—give yourself permission. Although…after you read One Night in Santiago, you might just resolve to work extra hard on learning to speak Spanish so that you can travel to the gorgeous city of Santiago and maybe meet your own Bruno!

One Night in Santiago

by Audra North
ISBN: 9781622664108
Entangled Flaunt

Lily Stanton’s vacation goes from bad to worse when a storm strands her in a foreign country, arguing with an arrogant—and very sexy—stranger over the last available hotel room.

Successful CEO Bruno Komarov wasn’t expecting the gorgeous woman checking in at the reception desk to challenge him over a room. Even more surprising, he actually enjoys their exchange.

But when Lily proposes a compromise—she’ll take the bed and he can sleep on the couch—Bruno pushes his attraction aside and assures himself that this can remain strictly business. After all, they’re both adults capable of keeping their hands to themselves. They’ll share the room, get a good night’s sleep, and be off to their respective destinations in the morning.

What could possibly happen in just one night?

Find it @ Amazon  |   BN  |  Goodreads

About the Author

Audra North fell in love with romance at age thirteen and spent the next twenty years reading as many romance novels as she could.  Even now, after having read over one thousand of them, Audra still can’t resist the lure of a happily ever after, and her collection continues to grow.  She lives near Boston with her husband, three young children, and a lot of books.  Visit her website at audranorth.com or find her (way too frequently) on Twitter @AudraNorth.

Website: http://audranorth.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AudraNorth
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AudraNorthAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22788470-audra-north

Giveaway

1- $25 Amazon e-gift card
1- $10 Amazon e-gift card

CLICK HERE to enter.

 

Diane Alberts: Kiss Me at Midnight (Guest Blog & #Giveaway)

Please welcome author Diane Alberts with a guest blog on the perfect topic for New Year’s Eve: midnight kisses. She even brought a giveaway!

Diane Alberts: Kiss Me at Midnight

With my new release, Kiss Me at Midnight; I had a lot of fun playing on the fun of New Year’s Eve, and the inescapability of going home—and returning to your past. For Ethan Pierce, this is a lot harder than you might think. He fled his hometown after years of ridicule in high school, and he still thinks he’s that boy who was shoved into lockers…despite his uber hotness.

When he goes back, he’s determined to get the heck out of there as fast as the holidays will allow him, but then he sees Ashley, his old best friend, and the woman he’s always had a thing for—up until he walked away from their friendship.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and he’s determined to get her to understand why he did what he did, and what better time than when everyone is drinking and having fun?

Holidays can give us all a feeling of starting anew, and making amends, and he seeks out to do exactly that. To get a second chance when the spirits are high and the drinks are flowing. Does it work? Well, you’ll have to read Kiss Me at Midnight to find out!

But in the mean time…have you ever tried to capture the holiday spirit and maybe a little bit of that magic, too?

Kiss Me at Midnight

by Diane Alberts
ISBN: 9781622664375
Publisher: Entangled Flaunt

Her New Year’s resolution was seduction…

Doctor Ashley Hanes has one mission and one mission only—end her annoyingly long dry streak and ring in the New Year with a bang. Literally. When her long lost and oh-so-sexy ex-best friend, Ethan Pierce, shows up as if he hadn’t broken her heart all those years ago, suddenly she doesn’t want to bring home just any man. She wants Ethan.

What should have been one night of blow-your-mind make-up sex quickly turns into another. And another.

Before long, Ashley thinks maybe she and Ethan should reunite for good. If only the elusive bachelor will stop running from his tortured past and trust a future in Ashley’s arms…

Find it @ Amazon | BN | Goodreads

About the Author

Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times and USA Today bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. ON ONE CONDITION hit #18 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list, and TRY ME hit #76 on Amazon. CAPTIVATED BY YOU hit #31 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romace reader will know her name.

Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author.  Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another.

Website: www.dianealberts.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianeAlberts
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DianeAlberts6
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081315.Diane_Alberts

Giveaway

5 ecopies Take a Chance series bundle by Diane Alberts – ENTER HERE

3 Steamy New Releases from Entangled Flaunt (#Giveaway)

December brings three brand new releases from Entangled’s Flaunt line of steamy novellas. Delicious romance AND giveaways? Yes, please. Read on!

Kiss Me at Midnight

by Diane Alberts
ISBN: 9781622664375
Publisher: Entangled Flaunt

Her New Year’s resolution was seduction…

Doctor Ashley Hanes has one mission and one mission only—end her annoyingly long dry streak and ring in the New Year with a bang. Literally. When her long lost and oh-so-sexy ex-best friend, Ethan Pierce, shows up as if he hadn’t broken her heart all those years ago, suddenly she doesn’t want to bring home just any man. She wants Ethan.

What should have been one night of blow-your-mind make-up sex quickly turns into another. And another.

Before long, Ashley thinks maybe she and Ethan should reunite for good. If only the elusive bachelor will stop running from his tortured past and trust a future in Ashley’s arms…

Find it @ Amazon | BN | Goodreads

About the Author:

Diane Alberts is a multi-published, bestselling contemporary romance author with Entangled Publishing. She also writes New York Times and USA Today bestselling new adult books under the name Jen McLaughlin. ON ONE CONDITION hit #18 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list, and TRY ME hit #76 on Amazon. CAPTIVATED BY YOU hit #31 on the Barnes and Noble bestseller list. Diane is represented by Louise Fury at The Bent Agency. Her goal is to write so many fantastic stories that even a non-romace reader will know her name.

Diane has always been a dreamer with a vivid imagination, but it wasn’t until 2011 that she put her pen where her brain was, and became a published author.  Since receiving her first contract offer, she has yet to stop writing. Though she lives in the mountains, she really wishes she was surrounded by a hot, sunny beach with crystal clear water. She lives in Northeast Pennsylvania with her four kids, a husband, a schnauzer mutt, a cat, and a Senegal parrot. In the rare moments when she’s not writing, she can usually be found hunched over one knitting project or another.

Website: www.dianealberts.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/DianeAlberts
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/DianeAlberts6
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5081315.Diane_Alberts

Giveaway:

5 ecopies Take a Chance series bundle by Diane Alberts – ENTER HERE

One Night in Santiago

by Audra North
ISBN: 9781622664108
Entangled Flaunt

Lily Stanton’s vacation goes from bad to worse when a storm strands her in a foreign country, arguing with an arrogant—and very sexy—stranger over the last available hotel room.

Successful CEO Bruno Komarov wasn’t expecting the gorgeous woman checking in at the reception desk to challenge him over a room. Even more surprising, he actually enjoys their exchange.

But when Lily proposes a compromise—she’ll take the bed and he can sleep on the couch—Bruno pushes his attraction aside and assures himself that this can remain strictly business. After all, they’re both adults capable of keeping their hands to themselves. They’ll share the room, get a good night’s sleep, and be off to their respective destinations in the morning.

What could possibly happen in just one night?

Find it @ Amazon  |   BN  |  Goodreads

About the Author:

Audra North fell in love with romance at age thirteen and spent the next twenty years reading as many romance novels as she could.  Even now, after having read over one thousand of them, Audra still can’t resist the lure of a happily ever after, and her collection continues to grow.  She lives near Boston with her husband, three young children, and a lot of books.  Visit her website at audranorth.com or find her (way too frequently) on Twitter @AudraNorth.

Website: http://audranorth.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AudraNorth
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AudraNorthAuthor
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/22788470-audra-north

Giveaway

1- $25 Amazon e-gift card
1- $10 Amazon e-gift card

CLICK HERE to enter.

The Twelve Days of Seduction

by Maire Claremont
ISBN: 9781622664368
Entangled Flaunt

Alexander Hunt, Eighth Duke of Berresford, is aware his ward’s governess misrepresented herself to gain employment, and he’s quite displeased, even if she is one of the most intelligent women’s he’s ever met. His ward deserves a reputable governess, so he threatens to give Adriana the sack mere days before Christmas.

Desperate to convince the sexy duke not to tear her from the little girl she’s grown to adore, Adriana challenges him to prove she’s not the reputable governess he believed he hired. If he can seduce her before the Twelve Days of Christmas have come to an end, she will leave without protest.

But when they find the challenge more difficult than either imagined, can they face the consequences of their decisions?

Find it @ Amazon  |  BN  |  Goodreads

Previously published in an anthology

About the Author:

2011 Golden Heart winner Máire Claremont first fell in love with Mr. Rochester, not Mr. Darcy. Drawn to his dark snark, she longed to find a tortured hero of her own… until she realized the ramifications of Mr. Rochester locking his frst wife up in his attic. Discovering the errors of her ways, Máire now looks for a real-life Darcy and creates deliciously dark heroes on the page. Oh, and she wants everyone to know her name is pronounced Moira. Her parents just had to give her an Irish Gaelic name

Website: http://www.maireclaremont.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MaireClaremont
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaireClaremont
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5778128.Maire_Claremont

Angela Aaron’s “Pleasure Island” Now Available in Audio

If you’re looking for a way to make a cold winter day blistering hot, look no further. Angela Aaron’s steamy PLEASURE ISLAND is now available on Audible. Check it out, then visit Angela’s blog for even more smokin’ yumminess!

The Cinderella Seduction by Hope Tarr (Tour-Wide #Giveaway) – Entangled Indulgence

The Cinderella Seduction

Greek tycoon Nikolaos Costas has a debt to collect fro the Stefanopoulos family and he won’t leave until he gets his money. Stefanie Stefanopoulos has been tasked with entertaining—i.e. distracting—him while he’s in town, all in hopes of getting him to forgive the debt. She may not be an ugly duckling, but she’s a far cry from her petite stepsisters and she knows that the gorgeous playboy won’t even notice her. It doesn’t stop her from wanting him to, though.

Four months ago, Nick’s bachelor-style life was turned upside down. Now the sole parent to a seven-year-old daughter he never knew existed, Nick doesn’t have time for pleasure. But he hadn’t factored in Stefanie or the intense attraction he’d feel for her. As her seduction heats up, so do the stakes, both professionally and romantically. Can he let business go long enough to allow Stefanie into his heart?

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iTunes

Excerpt

Cornering Stefanie alone in the kitchen, Nick reached for the platters she’d collected. “Stop,” he said, reaching for them. “It is a holiday, is it not?”

Stefanie hesitated and then surrendered the stack. “It is, but I’m the caterer. And you’re a guest.”

Setting the plates on the counter, he shook his head. “No, today you are a generous friend who has made beautiful food to be enjoyed by, it seems, everyone but herself.” A dark brow lifted. “Have you even tasted this baklava?” He gestured to the tray set out on the counter.

Stefanie hesitated. It wasn’t as though she needed the extra calories, though she could hardly say so to him. “No I haven’t, but I make it all the time.”

“For others, yes. When was the last time you sat down with a sweet and an espresso and savored?”

Stefanie hesitated. She spent so much time tasting dishes in her kitchen as she was preparing them that she was rarely hungry—and just as rarely full. Sitting down to an actual meal, or even a snack, was a rarity. “I don’t know. A while, I guess.”

Nick reached around her to the counter, his pectoral brushing her breast, whether deliberately or accidentally Stefanie couldn’t say for certain. What she could say for certain was that it felt good—really good. Good enough to want more.

I am the seducer, not the seducee, I am the seducer, not the seducee…

No matter how many times she mentally repeated the mantra, she didn’t feel in complete control at the moment. She didn’t feel in control at all.

Eschewing the spatula, Nick stuck his hand in the pan and pulled off a gooey precut wedge.

“You know what you just did is sacrilege,” Stefanie said, fighting a smile.

Smiling back, he brought the dessert to her lips. “I am making the food gods very angry, I am sure, but I will risk it if you will. Open.”

The last time someone had fed her she’d probably been all of five. Stefanie hesitated and then opened. Gooey, honeyed heaven sweetened the inside of her mouth.

“Chew,” he ordered softly, bringing his face down to hers, and to her surprise once more, she obeyed.

A syrupy thumb slid across her bottom lip, raising a bevy of tingles. “It is good, yes?” His eyes locked on hers and suddenly she wasn’t at all sure he referred to the pastry.

Fighting the urge to suck at his digit, Stefanie swallowed—hard. “It’s delicious.”

Nick stepped back, eyes dark and dancing. “Yes, Stefanie, it is. Now come upstairs and join the party. Your friends are missing you. I am missing you.”

“But I—”

“No buts.” He held out his hand, the same hand he’d used to feed her. “There is a time for staying behind-the-scenes, for hiding out in the kitchen, and this is not it.”

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iTunes

About the Author

Award-winning author, Hope Tarr earned a Master’s Degree in Psychology and a Ph.D. in Education before coming to grips with the tough truth: she wasn’t especially interested in analyzing people or teaching them. What she wanted was to write about them! Today Hope is the author of more than twenty historical and contemporary romance novels for multiple publishers including THE CINDERELLA SEDUCTION, the finale to her Suddenly Cinderella Series for Entangled Publishing. Hope is also a co-founder and current curator of Lady Jane’s Salon®, New York City’s first—and still only—monthly romance reading series now with satellites in eight U.S. states. The Romance Writers of America’s New York City chapter recently honored Hope as their 2013 Author of the Year. She lives in Manhattan with her real life romance hero and their feline family members. When not writing, she enjoys running, hiking, martial arts—and browsing restaurant menus.

Hope’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Suddenly Cinderella Facebook | Goodreads

Giveaway

Click here to win a $25 gift card or one of four $10 gift cards to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice).

Book #Review: Public Relations for Authors – Take Hold of Your Own Promotions

Public Relations for Authors: Take Hold of Your Own Promotions

Book Description

Getting help to promote your book just got easier. Public Relations for Authors Take Hold of Your Own Promotions will help you locate that special publicist who will help you promote your book the right way. A Publicity Director for two publishers, Babs brings knowledge to this book.

Public Relations teaches you why you need a publicist and how to find the right one for you. To understand what you need she covers:

How publicity can help sell books
What you need to know about publicity
Writing Pitches
Media Kits
Press Releases
Where to find a PR agent
What to send to your PR agent

Find it @ Amazon

About the Author

Babs Hightower has been helping authors since 2000. She owns a book review blog Babs Book Bistro which got her started in PR and helping authors promote themselves. In 2012 she started working for Entangled Publishing and worked her way up to Publicity Director of the Scandalous Imprint. She is also the publicist for World Castle Publishing. She is also known as Morgan Kincaid, writer of Historical Romance.

Website | Email | Twitter | LinkedIn | Goodreads | Facebook | Google +

My Review

If you’ve ever released a book, you know how much truth there is to the old adage that “writing is the easy part.” The rest…well, it’s mostly chaos, and it doesn’t begin or end with release day. Sometimes the chaos is more controlled than others, but for the most part you’ll find yourself going in ten different directions.  Yes, it’s exciting and amazing but ERMAGERD you’re going to wake up with bruises if you don’t have a plan.

This book is that plan.

Ms. Hightower has provided a blissfully succinct guide for author public relations. Yes, it’s about promotion, but note the focus on the RELATIONS–the kind that doesn’t leave would-be readers running and screaming from the very mention of your book title. We’ve all been there, haven’t we? There’s always that one author in your book feed who talks about NOTHING ELSE, and following the advice presented in this book will keep you from being that author. That alone makes it worth having.

But back to the chaos…I’ve been there a few times. THERE’S NO TIME to read a hundred pages of tips and advice. That’s one thing I absolutely love about this book–it serves as a checklist of sorts. Any author, no matter how busy, has time to work through the advice and suggestions presented here so they can go at this whole PR gig in a totally organized, well-thought out manner that’s both time efficient and effective.

And whether you’re writing your first book or releasing your tenth, there’s no better approach to promotion and public relations than that.

PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR AUTHORS: TAKE HOLD OF YOUR OWN PROMOTIONS – Find it @ Amazon

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Patricia Rosemoor: Marshall Field’s Christmas Memories (#Giveaway)

Please welcome author Patricia Rosemoor as part of her DUET IN CRIMSON blog tour. DUET IN CRIMSON is available now from Entangled Publishing’s Ignite line of romantic suspense.

Patricia Rosemoor: Marshall Field’s Christmas Memories

As a child, I lived in the far reaches of the city, then in the suburbs of Chicago. I didn’t know much about the downtown area, nearly twenty miles away by electric train, except that I always looked forward to my infrequent trips there. My mom treated me every holiday, taking me downtown to see the Christmas windows of the department stores. My favorites were always the windows of the iconic Marshall Field’s (now Macys) on State Street.

That’s why I used Marshall Fields as the model for Westbrook, the main setting for the two related holiday romantic suspense novels, HOLIDAY IN CRIMSON and NIGHTMARE IN CRIMSON. In thinking about a holiday romantic mystery, I knew I wanted to use a department store like the one I loved as a child. I wanted to involve the Christmas windows. And I wanted the murder victim to be Santa Claus. No, wait! Not the real Santa. The department store one. Rather the one dressed as Santa for the annual Christmas party. Okay, so I have a bizarre sense of humor. I killed him twice!

Duet in Crimson

In Holiday in Crimson…

Westbrook Department Store’s Christmas party wasn’t that wild–but Santa ended up dead and now window designer Shelby Corbin suddenly finds herself the prime suspect in his murder.  While CEO Rand McNabb’s romantic attentions both thrill her and frighten her, is Westbrook’s impossibly sexy co-owner really helping Shelby search for the truth about that fatal night?  Shelby wonders if Rand has a deadlier motive for courting the only possible witness to the crime…

In Nightmare in Crimson…

Last holiday, Pippa McNabb’s faithless husband was found murdered in a Santa suit after a Christmas party. Another year, another Christmas party, and another dead Santa – this time, run down by eight tiny reindeer and a sleigh. And now Pippa is the prime suspect. Sexy sleigh driver Sky Thornton seems intent on helping her, but is the man who knows too much about her really trying to clear her name, or is he trying to frame her for a murder he committed?

Find it @  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iTunes

For a look at my inspiration, go here:

Marshall Field’s Christmas Memories

I enjoyed creating these intricately plotted (and connected) romantic mysteries. A fun task, and fun stories, which I hope readers will make readers smile.

About Patricia Rosemoor

With 95 novels and 7 million books in print, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Patricia Rosemoor is fascinated with “dangerous love” – combining romance with danger. She has won a Golden Heart from Romance Writers of America and two Reviewers Choice and two Career Achievement Awards from RT BOOKreviews, and in her other life, she teaches Popular Fiction and Suspense-Thriller Writing, credit courses at Columbia College Chicago.

You’ll find Patricia at http://PatriciaRosemoor.com   or at https://www.facebook.com/PatriciaRosemoorAuthor

@Prosemoor is her Twitter handle

Patricia’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

Excerpt

He murmured something low and urgent against her mouth, then trailed quick, moist kisses along her jawline to the tip of her chin. Shuddering, she arched her neck for him while splaying her hands through his hair. His lips nuzzled her long throat, his tongue lathed the smooth skin, his teeth bit the soft flesh under her jaw. And then his mouth slipped lower, brushing the valley between her breasts. With a quick intake of breath, Shelby let her eyes slit open.

Through her lashes, blobs of color danced through darkness. Red. Green. Blue. Familiar shimmers.. .gleams of fuzzy brightness. Widening her eyes, she focused on the elongated silver star topping the Christmas tree. The reflected twinkling lights on its gleaming surface reminded her of similar images she’d seen on the door to the inner office the morning after the party…and consequently, they reminded her of why she was in the executive suite now.

So how had she ended up in Rand McNabb’s arms?

Her escalating pulse had nothing to do with the desire that was still fighting to claim her. Horrid images tried to slip past her guard, but she closed her mind to them.

Rand’s head rose, changing her view to softened masculine features and mussed auburn hair. She took a deep breath. His lips loomed closer for another kiss. Panic replaced the more beguiling sensations still zipping through her body. She arched her neck farther in a successful attempt to block him. Determinedly, she placed flat palms against his chest and pushed.

He let go of her immediately, withdrew and stared. His expression changed from passion to surprise to confusion to blankness. Nothing. She couldn’t tell what he was thinking. She didn’t want to know. Somehow, she’d been lulled into pretending she was in a situation that was, in reality, a fantasy. Rand had forced this evening on her because of Pippa. Because he suspected her…at least of knowing something she wasn’t sharing.

Trying to deny the guilt she felt at deceiving Rand—not that she’d actually lied to him, Shelby told herself—she was relieved to be free of his embrace.

Find it @  Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books | iTunes

Giveaway

Click here to enter to win

a $25 donation in the winner’s name to be given to any animal shelter or animal sanctuary of the person’s choice
copy of WRITTEN IN THE STARS by Patricia Rosemoor

 

 

 

 

Susanna Fraser: Why I Write Soldier Heroes (#Giveaway and “Christmas Past” Blog Tour)

Please welcome author Susanna Fraser, who is here to talk about soldier heroes and her new release, CHRISTMAS PAST, which is available now from Entangled Ever After.

Susanna Fraser: Why I Write Soldier Heroes

Miles Griffin, the hero of Christmas Past, is a British soldier of the Napoleonic Era, just like the heroes of all but one of the books I’ve written so far. I’m working on a manuscript whose hero is a French soldier, and I have an idea or two for a naval hero. But one way or another, I’m drawn to warriors.

My interest started young. I have three much older brothers—they were 17, 15, and 13 when I was born. My second brother served several years in the Marines, and one of my earliest memories is of visiting him at the end of his boot camp on Parris Island. And my youngest older brother started West Point the same year I started kindergarten, as part of the first class to include women.

I was an extreme tomboy as a kid, and for years I dreamed of following in his footsteps. He left his cadet dress sword at our house while he was moving around a lot as a young officer, and I used to take it out and pose in front of the mirror with it. I developed an interest in military history, too, reading everything my hometown library offered on the Civil War and World War II in particular.

In the end I decided West Point wasn’t for me—“author” is a much better career than “officer” for anyone who equally hates receiving and following orders! But I still had that interest in military history. When I discovered Regency romances in high school, my favorites were always the ones with soldier heroes, and I eventually stumbled across and devoured Bernard Cornwell’s Sharpe books and Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series.

Writing soldier heroes allows me to honor my family’s military tradition—in addition to my brothers, I have a nephew who served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan with the National Guard, and I’m descended from men who fought in the Civil War and American Revolution. And writing about the Napoleonic Wars allows me to write warriors without the strife and controversy of present-day politics. (There’s plenty of strife and controversy to be found in historical politics, needless to say, but 200 years’ distance makes it easier to view them calmly. Most of the time. I’ve been in some heated arguments over the merits and appeal, or lack thereof, of both Napoleon and Wellington.)

And, there’s always something about a man in uniform, isn’t there?

Christmas Past

Susanna Fraser
Entangled Ever After
Release Date: November 25, 2013

Time-traveling PhD student Sydney Dahlquist’s first mission sounded simple enough—spend two weeks in December 1810 collecting blood samples from the sick and wounded of Wellington’s army, then go home to modern-day Seattle and Christmas with her family. But when her time machine breaks, stranding her in the past, she must decide whether to sacrifice herself to protect the timeline or to build a new life—and embrace a new love—two centuries before her time.

Rifle captain Miles Griffin has been fascinated by the tall, beautiful “Mrs. Sydney” from the day he met her caring for wounded soldiers. When he stumbles upon her time travel secret on Christmas Eve, he vows to do whatever it takes to seduce her into making her home in his present—by his side.

Find it @ Amazon | BN

Excerpt

Captain Griffin. Oh, hell. How had she missed hearing him come into the barn? If only she’d never spoken to him, or at least never flirted with him when he’d come to visit his regiment’s sick and wounded in the hospital where she’d been working as a nurse. It was a major Protocol violation, and she’d known better. But he’d been so persistent, so interested, and she’d been so glad to have a friend here. A very hot friend.

She thought through the strategy of how to respond if a local caught a traveler with twenty-first century technology. Disguise, distract, deflect. She sprang to her feet, slamming the time machine’s door shut. On the outside, it looked like an ordinary carriage, but an old one with a broken axle, not worth stealing.

“Captain Griffin!” she said brightly, fighting to maintain her carefully cultivated English accent. Thinking of home, she had a hard time suppressing her Seattle voice. “What brings you here?”

But she could guess that he’d followed her. He was too damned curious. He’d been the only one at the hospital to ask her probing questions about her unorthodox technique for bloodletting, how frequently she washed her hands, and her habit of making notes in a journal after every few patients. She should’ve distracted and deflected then, instead of getting all dizzy and elated that he’d noticed her too.

It didn’t help that he looked so sexy in that Rifle uniform. She could blame Sean Bean and her hours of watching the Sharpe movies for how hard it was to keep her eyes off a hot man in Rifle green, but Captain Griffin was his own kind of handsome—tall and broad-shouldered, with curly black hair and dark eyes that missed nothing.

Including what he’d just seen. “What is that thing?”

His voice shook a little, she thought. But not much. He was an officer and a gentleman, so he couldn’t let himself freak out over something new and strange. If he was scared, he hid it well. She admired that. As a time traveler, she tried to live by the same kind of code.

“A carriage, sir,” she said. “And a broken one, at that.”

“No, Mrs. Sydney,” Captain Griffin said in a tone that reminded her of Professor Krakowski in lecture mode. “It appears to be a carriage, externally. Inside is something very different. I saw it. I may not understand the evidence of my eyes, but I’ve never been given to hallucinations. And,” he added with a musing, distant look that called her mentor even more strongly to mind, “if I were to suddenly take leave of my senses, I doubt very much I should hallucinate something I’d never imagined existed before.”

Find it @ Amazon | BN

About the Author

Susanna Fraser wrote her first novel in fourth grade. It starred a family of talking horses who ruled a magical land. In high school she started, but never finished, a succession of tales of girls who were just like her, only with long, naturally curly and often unusually colored hair, who, perhaps because of the hair, had much greater success with boys than she ever did.

Along the way she read her hometown library’s entire collection of Regency romance, fell in love with the works of Jane Austen, and discovered in Patrick O’Brian’s and Bernard Cornwell’s novels another side of the opening decades of the 19th century. When she started to write again as an adult, she knew exactly where she wanted to set her books. Her writing has come a long way from her youthful efforts, but she still gives her heroines great hair.

Susanna grew up in rural Alabama. After high school she left home for the University of Pennsylvania and has been a city girl ever since. She worked in England for a year after college, using her days off to explore history from ancient stone circles to Jane Austen’s Bath.

Susanna lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and daughter. When not writing or reading, she goes to baseball games, sings alto in a local choir and watches cooking competition shows.

http://www.susannafraser.com/
http://authorsusannafraser.blogspot.com/
https://www.facebook.com/susanna.fraser
https://twitter.com/susannafraser
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4133822.Susanna_Fraser
http://www.pinterest.com/susannafraser/boards/

Giveaway

Click here to enter to win a $50 gift card to Amazon or Barnes & Noble (winner’s choice).

 

 

Caris Roane: Embrace the Mystery (The Blood Rose Series)

Mastyr Quinlan pursues the artist, Batya, with only one thing in mind but soon discovers that his desire for her is just the beginning of an earth-shattering affair…

 He doesn’t want a woman in his life…

Quinlan must keep Grochaire Realm safe from the enemy at all costs.  As ruler of his realm, a woman has no permanent place in his day-to-day existence. But when his lust takes him to Batya’s bedroom, he soon discovers he’s deep into a powerful experience that threatens to blow his life apart.  He wants Batya with a feverish desire that makes no sense in his logical, warrior world.  But when an ancient fae attacks Batya’s gallery, he launches into protector mode and soon finds himself embroiled — body, soul, and fangs — with a woman he’d only meant to bed a couple of times.

She has no desire to get involved with a mastyr vampire…

 Batya’s intense desire for Mastyr Quinlan stuns and baffles her.  She doesn’t want to be involved with the vampire on any level.  His sole focus of ruling Grochaire Realm has kept him from staying with one woman longer than the proud length of his fangs.  Besides, she’s built a life for herself in Lebanon, Tennessee as an artist and healer to the realm ex-patriot community. But when the ancient fae attacks Quinlan at her gallery, then attempts to kidnap her assistant, Batya finds herself catapulted into an astonishing adventure.  Even so, she works steadily to get back to her free-clinic and her painting, but how can she leave Quinlan behind when he’s commanded her like no other man ever has?

Excerpt

Chapter One: The opening. Mastyr Vampire Quinlan pursues a woman with one thought in mind…

What would she taste like, her skin, her mouth, her blood?

The question had many layers and burned like fire in Quinlan’s vampire mind as he leaned against a brick building in the old section of Lebanon, Tennessee.  He stared up at a wide plate glass window on the other side of the street. His pursuit of Batya Cole had taken him away from Grochaire Realm way too often over the past couple of months, almost to the point of neglecting his duties as mastyr.

Yet, he couldn’t seem to help himself. Her blood called to him, like no woman before.

His instincts warned him away from the ex-patriot who lived a bohemian artist’s life in the small U.S. town, his realm’s access point to human earth. But she’d been on his radar for weeks now and he wanted her in his bed.

Nothing more.

And literally nothing less.

Once he set his sights on a goal, nothing could move him.

He pictured her now lying on her back, hands gripping the wrought iron headboard of her bed, the mass of her wavy blond hair spread out on her pillows.

He wanted to sink his fingers into her hair with both hands, lean close and smell all across the line of her cheek. He’d gotten near enough to her once to catch a fragrance that smelled deeply rich, like an exotic jungle flower. He didn’t have a name for her scent, but he wanted his tongue on her to find out every nuance of her deepest flavor.

He’d been seducing her for the past hour with just his telepathy and of course his mating vibration, a serious realm-ability he’d developed over the past seven-hundred-plus years of his life.  His world was a land of frequencies and vibrations, all kinds, for a multitude of purposes.

He let loose another set of waves.

How does that feel, Cha?

He heard her moan, a soft whimper through the window.

Stop calling me that.

His telepathy with Batya rang clear as a bell, one more reason he knew they’d be good together. He’d be able to whisper her name through her mind while he kissed her and moved inside her, working his magic.

His realm vibration, the one that emanated from deep within his body, flowed in a stream straight up and through the second-story window. He loved his mastyr status in these moments, that he could do things most other vampires couldn’t. He could stand across the street and touch Batya low with just a thought and a vibrating stream of energy that had found the sweetest nest between her legs.

He added a jolt and heard her cry out. He extended his hearing so he could savor every whimper.

You should leave, Quinlan. Stop tormenting me.

Another jolt and again, she cried out. He liked punishing her with pleasure. That’s for telling me to leave. For the fun of it, he added another intense stream.

She sighed, purred and moaned, one after the other. He had her now. He’d bring her, like he did last time, but he wanted to get closer. He wanted to watch this time and he wanted her watching him. And this time, he’d let her see what he had to offer.

I want in, Batya. Now. We’ve been playing this game long enough. He increased the force of the vibration and she groaned long and loud.

This is a bad idea, Quinlan. She panted while she pathed to him. You know it is.

I don’t care. We’ll be good together.

He levitated and drifted across the street moving close to the window. He saw her through a haze of multicolored sheers so that she looked surrounded by ripples of golden, blue-violet light. He couldn’t see her clearly, but she writhed on the bed, her hands gripping the wrought iron bars just as he’d imagined.

I see you.

She rolled her head. You bastard. I never wanted this.

You didn’t have to let it get this far tonight.

Why did you come after me? You can have any woman in the Nine Realms you want and maybe a couple billion here on earth as well.

It’s all your fault. You shouldn’t have smelled so good when I trapped you in your gallery.

I can’t help how I smell.

And I can’t help how bad I want to bury myself between your legs. Besides, you refused me and I always face up to a challenge…

1st two books in the series below.

Blurb for series: Enter a world of blood-starved mastyr vampires and the rare women who can satisfy their deepest needs…

About the Author

Caris Roane, aka Valerie King, has published thirteen paranormal romance novels.  As Valerie King, she’s written over fifty Regency romance novels and in 2005, Romantic Times gave her a Career Achievement award in Regency Romance.

As Caris Roane, she also writes contemporary romance and has recently released her first contemporary, A SEDUCTIVE PROPOSITION.

Caris lives in Phoenix, Arizona, loves to write, really doesn’t like scorpions, and has two cats, Sebastien and Gizzy.

For more information about Caris Roane:  www.carisroane.com

For more information about Valerie King:  www.valerieking-romance.com

 

Natalie J. Damschroder’s Pet Peeves and “A Kiss of Revenge” (#Giveaway)

We’ve all got ‘em, guys! Check out Natalie J. Damschroder’s pet peeves and get the scoop on A KISS OF REVENGE, her new romantic suspense from Entangled Ignite. And did I mention a giveaway? Yes, you want this. Please welcome Natalie to the blog!

Natalie J. Damschroder: Pet Peeves

Authors tend to insert a little bit of themselves into their stories, and sometimes those little bits are pet peeves. Because I’ve been writing romantic adventure for a while, the focus is more on extraordinary events rather than the day-to-day, so my biggest pet peeves (I think!) haven’t made it onto the page. But I thought I’d share them with you and see if anyone else gets annoyed by the same things.

1. Soda poured all over the side of the cup.

When I go to a fast food restaurant or the movie theater and order a Coke, I absolutely HATE it when they hand me a cup with soda all over the side of it.

I get it. Your job is to move fast, to get people out of there so you can help the next customer. Coke is fizzy. There’s no time to wait for the foam to dissipate, and god forbid you should hand over a cup that’s not full. So you dump about a quarter of the foam AND soda, fill, dump, fill, and you do it fast and sloppily so then *I* have sticky fingers and stains underneath my cupholder. Or the counter is all sticky and gross from all the drippy cups.

Well, no more. It’s stupid to complain about something without doing anything about it, right? So now I refuse take the cup unless they clean it off. I LOVE the people who do it with a cheerful apology.

2. Earbuds yanked out of my ears.

I get bored easily, so when I’m cooking or cleaning or doing dishes or walking through the grocery store, I listen to podcasts on my iPod. Inevitably, the earbud cord gets caught on a drawer handle or the shopping cart or the broom or something, and the buds get yanked out of my ears.

So I have to pull the earbuds up from the floor, hit the pause button, put them back in, pull out the iPod and rewind a little. Inevitably, my hands are full or wet or dirty.

And this is all on me! I can’t put the blame on anyone or anything else. But I haven’t found a satisfactory solution yet. Any ideas?

3. Overwhelmed E-Mail Loops

Yahoogroups and Googlegroups were great inventions, allowing large groups of people to talk to each other simply and quickly. I’m on a LOT of them. And I love them. But there’s one thing that drives me a little crazy.

Let’s say someone posts a request or an announcement. Then 50 people say “Done!” or “Congrats!” and the original person says “Thanks!” 50 times. It’s not a big deal to speed through those e-mails, and if I’m reading on my iPod I get a preview of the message so I can delete them without having to open them. And honestly, it’s all positive! People being helpful and supportive. But it’s really unnecessary, and can suppress other activity on the loop because people just don’t have time for stuff that’s not important.

A lot of loops have rules about this stuff, and some have found other solutions to avoid it, which is great.

4. Minor-Task Inefficiency

I hate having to go back and forth on a task. For example, I make everyone in my house separate their dishes in the sink. Stuff for the bottom rack on the left, stuff for the top rack on the right, silverware in the basket. This way I can load all of the top, then all of the bottom, instead of sliding the top rack in and out and in and out and going back and forth. (Our dishwasher tips forward, so we can’t pull out both racks at the same time.)

In my day job, I have to check names off a list after they’re processed. The list is alphabetical, and usually three pages long. I HATE having to go from page 1 to 3 to 2 to 1 and so on. I organize my source material alphabetically instead. I don’t know how much time it really saves. It’s all psychological.

One of my favorite inventions is the widescreen computer monitor, so I can have, say, an invoice and a spreadsheet side by side so I don’t have to flip between them.

5. Slowness, Obliviousness, or Both

I have always disliked getting stuck behind people who are slower than I am, either walking (like in the mall or on the street) or driving (10 miles an hour below the speed limit). I also dislike when someone meanders so that they zigzag across the hall, or stop in a big group without caring that they’re blocking the doorway.

And people who walk slow AND meander so you can’t get around them? ARRRGH!!! LOL

Okay, your turn! What are your pet peeves, and what are your coping mechanisms?

A Kiss of Revenge

Marriage is completely over-rated, especially after Reese Templeton’s quadratic failure. She’d rather settle down to a solitary life of owning a bakery—after she tracks down the man responsible for her husband’s death and making her a human Taser full of enough electricity to short out a city block or send a man into cardiac arrest with just one kiss.

But alluring P.I. Griffin Chase is stirring up those feelings of need again. Only this time, her desire to be in his arms has nothing to do with her fear of loneliness and everything to do with the current charging through her body every time he looks at her…touches her.

Griffin hasn’t remained at Reese’s side just because of the spark that has nothing to do with her super-human talents. He’s willing to compromise his rock-solid principles so she can find closure. But before they can move on, he must help her catch her late husband’s killer, staying on track before she has a chance to exact her revenge. Because leading Reese to jail in handcuffs may just break his heart for the final time.

Find it @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books

Excerpt

Griff smiled, and Reese’s stomach did a whole flippin’ somersault.

“I had meetings at the office in Boston and was headed back to DC. I thought I’d stop in and see how you’re doing.”

She grabbed a towel to wipe off her ice-cream-sticky hands. “Crestview is not on the way to DC from Boston.”

He shrugged and pointed at the butter croissants in the bakery display case. “Close enough.”

With a pair of tongs, she selected the biggest croissant and put it on a plate. “Coffee?”

“Of course.” He leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “You have anything for me to check out?”

She shook her head. “Not at the moment.”

“What about him?” He jerked his head toward the sidewalk outside, where Andrew Laine stood talking to the couple who owned the hardware store. “He giving you any trouble?”

“Not anymore. I told him I was married.”

She cursed herself as soon as the words were out of her mouth. Griff’s gray-blue eyes darkened, his rock-solid chin tightening. He’d obviously meant “trouble” because of Reese breaking the law, not because the chief of police had asked her out.

“You’re not thinking—”

“No!” She grabbed the towel again and swept it over the few crumbs and coffee drips on the counter, scrubbing vigorously at one dried spot. “I didn’t want to shove him too far away, that’s all. As long as he had an interest, I could keep track of what he knew.” Even if it kept her on edge and fried her equipment. “Anyway, he knows now. It’s fine. You don’t have to worry.”

“You pay me to worry.”

That wasn’t strictly true. Griff was co-owner of a multi-city private detective firm. He ran Chase Investigations in Washington, DC, where Reese had lived before the plane crash. Reese had hired him to help her track down clues about whoever had tried to kill her. But they’d become friends. He’d helped her through physical therapy, been a sounding board while she dealt with her new reality, and was the only person on earth who knew what that lightning strike had done to her body.

“I’m paying you to do research,” she reminded him. “You choose to worry.”

He grinned and shook back his shaggy dark-blond hair. “You make it hard not to.”

Another group came in, and he retreated to a table with his breakfast. Reese saw Kimmie eyeing him, and the young woman flushed at his greeting. Reese couldn’t blame her. He had the classic “hunk” build, with a broad chest, narrow waist, and shoulders shown off by a tight gray T-shirt. His gray-blue eyes were nothing special at first glance, but they sparkled at everyone and made his charming smile even brighter. No doubt that smile was what pinned Kimmie in place now, wearing a slightly stunned expression.

Reese wasn’t immune, but her friendship with Griff had become one of the most important things in her life. It was something she’d never had before, and she was going to treasure it as long as it lasted.

Find it @ Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo Books

About the Author

Natalie J. Damschroder is an award-winning author of contemporary and paranormal romance—Love with a Shot of Adrenaline. She sold her first book in 1999, and 2014 will see the publication of her 15th novel. She grew up in Massachusetts and loves the New England Patriots more than anything. (Except her family. And writing and reading. And popcorn.) When she’s not writing, revising, proofreading, or promoting her work, she does freelance editing and works part time as a chiropractic assistant. She and her husband have two daughters she’s dubbed “the anti-teenagers,” one of whom is also a novelist. (The other one prefers math. Smart kid. Practical.) You can learn more about her and her books atwww.nataliedamschroder.com.

Natalie’s Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Google+ | Everybody Needs a Little Romance

Giveaway

iFrogz GoLite – 2600 mAh Battery and Flashlight

Reese Templeton can draw power wherever she is…and now you can, too! Win this portable battery and charge any USB mobile device on the go.

Winner may choose the color. Subject to availability; comparable substitution to be made if necessary. Shipping in U.S. only. International entries acceptable; non-U.S. winner will receive alternate prize, to be discussed).

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