Rebecca Zanetti's Blog, page 6

Win a $100 gift card, a Versace handbag, Sephora Survival Kits, books, swag, and more!

Hi all!  It’s PARTY TIME!  Or rather, it will be party time soon. 

We’re having a Facebook party to celebrate the release of Mercury Striking on Wednesday, January 27th from 3:00 PST to 9:00 PST.  We’ll have tons of prizes and wonderful guest authors.  If you click on over right now and mark ‘going,’ then you’ll be instantly entered into a drawing to win one of the first three Sephora survival kits!  Then, if you are able to attend, you’ll be able to enter all of the other drawings as well.    Feel free to invite anybody you want from your FB page as well.  Click on the FB header below to go to the site!

Here are a couple of the survival kits:

The Power of Dates

Guest Blogger-Ayesha Patel

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers. Every Friday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

 

Thank you so much for of having me today, Rebecca! I wanted to share a little something about a weekend date my husband and I had. We share a million funny moments, but we’re not date people. We always just go out and do what we want, but I guess those could be considered dates. However, when we make weekend getaways, we dub them “dates”. But no pressure!

For the longest time, and I have no idea why, I’ve wanted to attend high tea. (As it turns out, there’s a big difference between high tea and afternoon tea, and the latter was actually the image in my head.) After much persuasion, he agreed. I found this quaint little tea place in Victoria Canada called The White Heather Tea Room. You guys have to go there! You won’t be disappointed. It’s much smaller and cheaper than the big touristy tea room at a nearby famous hotel, and this is where the locals go. If we’ve learned anything about being tourists, it’s eat where all the locals eat, and everything here is delicious!

Hubs had to offset all this daintiness by going to an Irish pub the night before and get manly. But let me tell you about this favorite place of his. Yes, it has a great atmosphere, not too rowdy, great live Celtic music after 8, delicious food, lovely architecture…and bartenders. In. KILTS. No joke. The girls were short kilts, too, yeah, yeah…whatever…but handsome men IN KILTS. Plus I love plaid. And the hero of my last book is Irish. Yes, please.

I’m not the sort of girl who ogles other men or has eyes for anyone other than my sweetie, but hubs is the biggest joker. So guess what he does? Tries to get me to drop my fork when the bartender brings drinks to the table. He has the camera. He’s ready to film. And I’m mortified. He’s laughing so hard because I just don’t think to do things like that, much less actually do them! I didn’t drop my fork. Sorry, ladies. I didn’t have the guts to play along.

The next day, we skip breakfast and head to afternoon tea. The biggest three-tiered silver platter sits in between us. One layer full of delicious scones, the next little sandwiches and mini-quiches, and the top filled with an assortment of itty bitty desserts. We have lemon curd and clotted cream and raspberry jam. We have an assortment of house teas and honey and sugar and cream. You think that between a girl who can eat and a man who eats three times as much as she does, that we would devour it, right? We never finished. Desserts are to take home. But let’s not forget the big picture. We have photo proof of a six-foot tall, athletic, jack-of-all-trades, meat-loving, beer-chugging, nobody-better-mess-with-my-woman man with a cloth napkin on his lap, a hand on lace tablecloth beside a tiny spoon, and drinking tea out of a delicate teacup with pinky up. Yep.

The man loved it. And he’s man enough to admit it. Not even that, he tells everyone about it and why they should try afternoon tea. A few days later, I heard him leave the house and went outside to see what he was doing because he’d been outside for so long. I kid you not, I walk outside and see hubs chatting with a Hell’s Angel still on his motorcycle, telling him why afternoon tea should be on the top of his list of things to try. Here is a tattooed, burly man rubbing some intimidating facial hair in contemplation of how to get his girlfriend to try this, because as he said, his old lady is a beer chick and wasn’t going to go for some frilly tea. I can believe that my husband is talking to just anyone like they’re best friends. He’s just that outgoing. But I couldn’t believe he’d just convinced this random bad you know what with an equally bad you know what girlfriend to get excited about afternoon tea.

The power of dates. It changes lives.

Blog: www.ayeshapatelwrites.com

Twitter: ByAyeshaPatel

ABOUT AYESHA:

Ayesha was born in colorful Gujarat India, raised in Texas, and now wanders nearby Hawaiian beaches for the next breathtaking picture. With a love for literary things, diversity, culture, and food, she intends on stepping foot in as many corners of the world as time allows. Her head is always in the clouds but she occasionally comes back down to pen her next piece of multicultural fiction.

LATEST RELEASE:

Priya in Heels

Priya Patel strives to be the perfect daughter for her traditional Indian parents. With her medical residency underway, she faces the inevitable pressures to marry an Indian man of her parents’ choosing. She’s perfectly content to do so until the Irish-American musician down the hall gets her attention and destroys everything she has worked so hard to build.

Tyler O’Conner can’t stop thinking about the beautiful doctor who treated his sprained ankle in the ER. But between weekend band gigs, an intense workload at NASA, and trying to lower Priya’s barriers, he doesn’t expect to fall in love…with a woman who is meant to marry another man.

Priya struggles to maintain her relationship with her parents, to be their source of happiness, but falling for an American might be the one thing that unravels their world and leaves her in tattered pieces.

Want to Know My Secret?

Guest Blogger-Riley Murphy

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers. Every Friday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

I’m doing a giveaway for a 25.00 Amazon gift card (to be emailed to the winner) and…

An eBook copy of each book from my completed “Make Me” series.

And my newest release: PERSUADED

All you have to do to be entered is answer the three questions I ask within this post in comments. *Side-eyes you* Don’t despair. It’s going to be super easy. Three little questions that require either a “yes” or “no” response. That’s it.

Now, before I get to the dirt, a.k.a the dating portion of my post, I’m sharing one of my biggest secrets right here. I hope you’re ready.

As an author, I tend to look at life as one big unfolding tale. So my ideas about romance and dating are as follows.

I’d liken a courtship to a prologue and a marriage as the culminating story that follows. Think about it. A prologue is meant to tease. It’s filled with all kinds of things that are designed to capture the reader from the very start of the first meeting. In essence, a seduction.

Now the story that follows is trickier because it’s filled with one inescapable truth. None of us are immune to the consequences of the vagaries in life. We all have to move through them in order to survive.

The author in me tries to touch upon some of these everyday trials and tribulations between the lines of my stories. I strive to let my characters ride out their emotional journeys with as much common sense, dignity, and humor, as possible without becoming caricatures. The truth is I prefer my hero and heroines to laugh in the face of the small, but difficult adversities they meet on a day-to-day basis, rather than cry over them. Well…sometimes they cry and when they do, I want it to be a big deal to the reader. Huge. That’s why I consider myself a literary sadist.

Be Selfish With Your Love

Guest Blogger-Rebecca Brooks

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers. Every Friday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

In April 2015, my brother passed away after a long and heartbreaking struggle with depression. I know, this is a huge downer, but bear with me. Because I’ve been thinking a lot about relationships in the eight painful months that have passed, and I think I’ve stumbled on a little wisdom: be selfish with your love.

Once, on a first date in college, the person who’d asked me out started talking about family while we were heading to a café. I don’t remember what I said, but my brother was in the middle of a particularly difficult period and I was trying to lighten the mood—not fair, probably, but I’m not getting that intense on date number one. Well, whatever I said was clearly the wrong thing because my date started crying in my car.

We didn’t hang out much after that. Because if you’re going to be in my life, romantically or otherwise, you need to be able to support me. And that’s the biggest piece of unsolicited advice I want to shout from the rooftops. Be with the person you want to be around in the worst possible moments of your life. Not just the person who sweeps you off your feet, but the one who’ll take off from work at a moment’s notice, and give you cookie wrappers that say “The Power is Within” to make you smile, and make lunch for your mom and sit with your grandma and listen while she tells the same stories over and over again.

If there’s one thing I’ve been constantly reminded of during this, the worst period of my life, it’s how generous, loving, and amazing my family is. And how deeply my husband cares for me in all the small ways that matter. (And how much writing and reading about Happily Ever Afters is the best job I could ever imagine.)

I try to stay from people who need comforting when it’s their turn to comfort me—like the person I once dated who got upset when I had to cancel plans to go to a funeral. So I say be with someone you can be selfish with when it’s your turn. And someone you’ll be just as giving to when the time comes—the person you’ll go above and beyond for when they are in need. Without resentment, without keeping score, but because that’s what we do for the people we love.

ABOUT REBECCA:

Rebecca Brooks lives in New York City in an apartment filled with books. She received a PhD in English but decided it was more fun to write books than write about them. She has backpacked alone through India and Brazil, traveled by cargo boat down the Amazon River, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, explored ice caves in Peru, trekked to the source of the Ganges, and sunbathed in Burma, but she always likes coming home to a cold beer and her hot husband in the Bronx. Her books are about independent women who leave their old lives behind in order to try something new—and find the passion, excitement, and purpose they didn’t even know they’d been missing.

Find Rebecca on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+. Check out her books and sign up for her newsletter at rebeccabrooksromance.com.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LATEST RELEASE:

How to Fall

One week of adventure might just lead to love…

Julia Evans has always put others ahead of herself—her high school math students, her troubled best friend, and her ex. But with New Year’s approaching, she buys a round trip ticket to Brazil. For one week, she can put her needs first. She can meet a stranger in the hotel pool at midnight and dance all night on the beach.

Screenwriter Blake Williams has to keep moving before Oz’s latest scandal catches up to him. But the dark-haired beauty with a backpack and an adventurous streak is messing with his plans. He can’t seem to walk away from her. But secrets have a way of coming out, and when the week is up, Julia and Blake will have to decide if they’re jumping into the biggest adventure of all or playing it safe.

Excerpt: entangledpublishing.com/how-to-fall

Me And My Dogs

Guest Blogger-Aliyah Burke

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers. Every Friday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

A lot of people ask me what it is that I do in my spare time. After I finish laughing…I mean really, what free time…I begin talking about my dogs.

I’ve not always loved dogs; there was a time when they petrified me. Just the sight of one could send me into a corner crying. Not so much now. I train, show, and race my Borzoi. I used to own German Shepherds and will again one day, I just have to track down the correct bloodline.

Back to the Borzoi. I get to spend my race weekends, in comfortable clothing, hat, and getting dirty. It’s a lot of fun to course or straight race. Currently I have four borzoi and surprisingly my house is quiet. These hounds are couch potatoes if they’re not outside. Therefore, there’s not a lot barking inside. There are days I think my cat makes more noise.

It’s a time when I can just be me. DH comes along sometimes and we make a day or weekend of it. This is a great way for us to spend some time together.

As far as training goes, I truly enjoy taking a breed into the ring that people don’t expect to do well, not a shepherd, retriever, or poodle. Makes me smile when we can hold our own against them.

The three oldest ones are all therapy dogs and we go around to hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, and do presentations for smaller children to help them understand the best way to behave around dogs. I enjoy being able to bring a bit of joy to those who are going through tough times.

I guess, all of this is to say that dogs are my time to get away from everything in the real world. Their unconditional love is worth all the sleepless nights when they’re puppies, the long walks in rain or snow, and any other what could usually be considered a negative.

 

      
ABOUT ALIYAH:

Aliyah Burke is an avid reader and is never far from pen and paper (or the computer). She loves to hear from her readers and can be reached here. She can also be found on Facebook or Twitter: @AliyahBurke96.

She is married to a career military man. They are owned by four Borzoi, and a DSH cat. She spends her days sharing time between work, writing, and dog training.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

We all have demons, Jason. We won’t judge you for yours so long as you don’t judge us for ours.

~From Harrier to Snake in Snake’s Salvation

LATEST RELEASE:

Snake’s Salvation

Two people with painful pasts can create something spectacular with each other.

Jason “Snake” LaRue was a Navy SEAL. Now he’s not and he has trust issues and memories he can’t forget no matter how hard he tries. His one solace is a woman who works at the local diner who chases away the darkness in him. But would she ever consider a man with his past?

Loretta Swann has given up art and now works at an all-night diner. Running from her past, she up and goes when the mood strikes. Her one shining moment a day is when the ex-SEAL graces the establishment. An impulsive kiss makes her wonder about something more with him. But when she learns what he wants, will she run again, or stick around to be Snake’s Salvation?

GIVEAWAY:

Any commenter will be entered into win an e-book from my backlist. Thanks for stopping by today.

You May Call Me…ELF

Guest Blogger-Michelle Sharp

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers throughout the summer months. Every Monday and Thursday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

Michelle Fielden Photography

Woo-Who!!! It’s the day after Thanksgiving and I can officially say, “The holiday season is here!”

See, I couldn’t say it (or shout it) before today because I’m married to one of those Ebenezer Scrooge types, a bah-humbugger that doesn’t believe the Christmas tree should be dug out the day after Halloween. Can you believe that? He’s the guy who grumbles when radio stations start playing holiday music before Thanksgiving. Really? How did we even end up together? Why would anyone complain about Dean Martin singing that jazzy little version of Rudolf? I found a picture on Facebook that pretty much sums our whole dynamic in the Sharp household into a neat holiday nutshell.

I am so “Elf.” But this year I’m feeling it more than ever. The truth is, I think I need to feel it. Winter of 2014 was a rough year for us. I lost my step-dad to lung cancer. Soon after, my middle son was recovering from a sixteen day stay in the ICU with Pneumonia-let’s just say that whole experience was a mother’s worst nightmare.

By mid-December, to say that I was feeling drained to the bone would have been a huge understatement. For the first time in 22 years of marriage, the holidays passed for us with none of my usual crazy mom fanfare that my kids love to make fun of. My children put up the Christmas tree, my husband cleaned for the holiday, and me… well, I existed.

2015 came, and as I struggled to climb out of the funk, I inadvertently discovered something most interesting. There is one thing that my family hates worse than Mom’s insane holiday overkill—Mom being sad. A few days after Halloween we began talking about the upcoming holidays, my ten-year-old daughter said, “It’s not going to be like last year, is it?”

Awe. My heart skipped a beat. Not only was I sad last year, I had made her sad as well. And boy did she remember it. “No baby,” I said. “We’re having Thanksgiving at our house this year. That means Daddy has to dig out the Christmas tree and put all the lights on the house soon. Very soon.” And guess what? He did. Without even one eye roll. Gives a whole new meaning to the saying, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy!” Don’t you think?

So really, I learned three things last year. First, no matter how hard you try to hide it, children can always sense our moods. Second, even through turmoil, the holidays are a time to be thankful for the wonderful life I do have. And last, most surprisingly, I have a family who depends on my insane (and albeit a tad annoying) holiday cheer.

Well stand back, people. This year: GAME ON! Demanding that everyone participate in decorating the house until it appears as if a Christmas present threw up is my calling. Making everyone wear red Santa hats Christmas morning is my job. The dogs will just have to get over it. Santa CANNOT be everywhere, that is why I am here. To wake you up with holiday bells every morning in December. To perform the female half of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” with Barry Manilow every time it comes on the radio. My holiday enthusiasm is a service I provide—and you’re welcome.

My name is MOM. But you may call me ELF.

Michelle Sharp

www.michellesharpbooks.com

ABOUT MICHELLE:

Award-winning author, Michelle Sharp, has been nominated for a 2014 National Readers Choice Award for Best Romantic Suspense and Best First Book. In addition, her debut novel Dream Huntress has been selected as a finalist in the 2015 Daphne Du Maurier award for Excellence in Mystery and Suspense. Although she has a degree in Journalism from Southern Illinois University, she finds weaving tales of danger, deception, and love much preferable to reporting the cold, hard facts. Her goal in life? To team resilient, kickass heroines with the sexy Alpha’s who love them.

As most authors probably are, she is an avid reader. Her family may even call it obsessive. Growing up in St. Louis has made her a die-hard Cardinals fan, and having a child with Down Syndrome has made her passionate about any issue regarding special needs kiddos. She’s also a fairly big sucker when it comes to anything with fur or feathers.

Michelle is a proud member of Romance Writers of America and Missouri Romance Writers. You can learn more about her at michellesharpbooks.com, where you will also find links to her social media.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

from Michelle’s newest Jordan Delany – Dream Seeker Series:

1)  “I don’t need therapy. I have a gun.” –Jordan Delany in DREAM CALLER

LATEST RELEASE:

Dream Caller

Jordan and Ty are finally together, as in living together—mortgage and all. Now they intend to enjoy a little down time. They’ve purchased an aging horse ranch with plans to renovate, but their domestic bliss is put on hold when Ty is called in to investigate a murder case.

Coincidently, an unusually graphic nightmare about a young college student’s murder catches Jordan by surprise. In the dream, Jordan can see the girl’s pretty blonde hair. She can see the snowy ravine the girl was strangled in. Most shockingly, this time she can even see the killers face.

Being at home and still on vacation is making it challenging to figure out how to connect with this latest victim, until Jordan visits Ty’s precinct and recognizes a young man in interrogation as the murderer.

When Ty insists the suspect is innocent, Jordan debates just how far into Ty’s career she can interfere. Influencing another cop’s investigation on the basis of a dream is a line she’s never dared to cross. Even if the other cop is the man she loves.

Making the situation all the more frustrating is the sexy, red-headed Isobel Riley from Missouri Highway Patrol who is partnering with Ty for the duration of the case. And Isobel is a lot more than a mere detective consultant—she’s Ty’s ex-lover.

GIVEAWAY:

Leave a comment for one of three chances to win an e-copy of DREAM CALLER.

Why I Still Believe in Happily Ever After

Guest Blogger-Julie Particka

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers throughout the summer months. Every Monday and Thursday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

I got married right out of college—time enough over the summer to finalize wedding plans and get settled into jobs, but then BAM married. And I stayed married—every so often happily, but more often not—for sixteen and a half years before the D word came up. Honestly, by that point, it was a relief. I’d been fighting too hard for too long for something that was destined to fail.

At least it was a relief until reality slapped me in the face with a big, wet trout…multiple times. The house I bought? When I finally took ownership, the previous owner left rotting, maggot-filled garbage in the garage, a non-working refrigerator, and a host of other things that I couldn’t go back on her for because my crappy realtor signed a paper she wasn’t supposed to. But hey…I was a strong, single mother—there was no ruining my new life. The kids and I christened our new home with a bottle of cheap champagne, and we got to work. (The house is named Dobby, in case you’re interested. Yes, it does occasionally abscond with a sock. No, it hasn’t actually helped with any of the work while we’ve slept.)

Over that summer, I met a guy. It was one of those crazy things that happen in movies and people sit there thinking, “That is so fake—that never happens in real life.” Well, it happened. We literally locked eyes across a crowded room, and it was like everyone else disappeared. The chemistry between us was amazing, to the point that other people noticed it, even though we weren’t involved. Sadly, other than one late night make-out session, we never did hook up. (Apparently, our movie moment wasn’t from a rom-com. Sadz.) I decided it was okay because the universe had other plans for me.

(Please note: The universe also has a cruel sense of humor.)

I first dipped my toe in the actual dating pool about the same time my divorce was final. It wasn’t a date-date, more of an “I want to go see this movie, we’re friends and you’re bitching about nothing to do, want to go with?” Well…we went to see the Metallica movie, which in my defense had fantastic reviews from both critics and fans. I really don’t know what those people were smoking when they saw it, but the theatre I went to didn’t give us anything. Still friends with the guy, but we haven’t gone out again since. (Seriously, men, don’t let me plan the dates. Otherwise this happens.)

It was a couple months before I ventured out again. (Can you blame me?) This time I met the guy via online dating. Holy hell, online dating is not for the weak. Nor is it for anyone who isn’t up-to-date on their vaccinations. (I recommend adding rabies to the list of shots one should get, because while these guys weren’t necessarily foaming at the mouth, some of them came close.)

Let’s just say my online dating experience didn’t last long, and the one time I did talk to someone I really felt a great connection with, I made the mistake of googling him. (Seriously, don’t do that.) I wound up backing out of our date because, after a string of mediocre to horrible dates, just the potential for bad (he had gone public with his recovery from drug addiction about ten years before) was enough to scare me off.

While I reactivated my online dating account a couple times, I never set up another date. The “choices” seemed to get worse and worse as time went on, until I finally deleted my account completely, vowing never to return. (I’m serious this time. Really.)

Considering the mess life had been (other than my kids because my kiddos are awesomesauce) since the divorce, about a month ago I found myself asking why the hell I didn’t just adopt a dozen cats and get it over with. (Okay, I did adopt one, and his name is Boyfriend, but that’s kind of beside the point.) What possible reason did I have to believe in happily ever after?

Then it hit me. Mr. Intense Chemistry from that first summer? I realized I met him for a reason, and the reason wasn’t so that we could end up together. It was so I would recognize a good connection when I found it again. That’s why it happened before I started dating. Honestly, that’s why it was with someone who wasn’t meant to be (because at that point in my life, I would have hard-core screwed up any relationship I got into). I needed to realize what I’d miss out on if I “settled” or, worse, “tried to make a bad thing work.” (For the latter, please see my marriage.)

So, when well-meaning friends tell me I might be too picky, I just smile. Unlike the divorcees I write about, I’m good with my single life—I’m happy. Adding a man to the mix has to be an act I’m confident will make my life better. So, I am picky, and I’m willing to wait for a great connection with someone amazing. Because anything less than that isn’t good enough the second time around.

I believe in happily ever after because I found one guy like that, and I have no doubt I can find another. Once upon a time I had hoped connections and romance like in books and movies was possible in real life; now I know it is. And that, my friends, is the power of romance and the one that got away.

ABOUT JULIE:

Julie Particka (aka Seleste deLaney) was told to get serious about her future in Junior High. Several years after getting a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, she realized being serious was over-rated and went back to her first love–writing. Now rather than spending her days in the drudgery of the lab or teaching science to high school students, she disappears into worlds of her own creation where monsters sometimes roam, but true love still conquers all.

She can most often be located in the Detroit area with her favorite minions (the ones who know her as Mom) where she is currently hatching a plot for world domination. It involves cookies for everyone, so she’s pretty sure there’s no way it can fail…except the minions keep eating the cookies.

FAVORITE QUOTE:

LATEST RELEASE:

Blackmailed By The Hero

The wrong bed. The wrong guy.

Party planner Vicky Stone is on a post-divorce mission. Not only does she intend to land her dream promotion, she’s going to indulge in a night of hot hook-up sex. Preferably with the hunky actor she just met at a work function, no-fraternization rules be damned. Fortunately, his drunken directions included a right that should have been a left, landing her in bed with her brother’s extra-hot, extra-off-limits best friend instead of the unemployment line.

And, oh, he feels good. Too good.

Bad boy Dante Palladino’s forbidden fantasies are about to come true…until Vicky realizes who she’s feeling up. And to find out she risked her job for sex with some loser? Not on his watch. Dante throws down the ultimate, albeit self-serving, blackmail. Vicky will date him-and only him-and her secret will be safe. But Vicky swore never to fall for another guy who could break her heart…and Dante’s on course to do just that.

My Own Love Stories

Guest Blogger-D.R. Graham

Hi all! I’m Charly, Rebecca’s assistant. We thought it’d be fun to do a ‘Romance: The Good, the Bad, and the Disastrous’ theme with guest bloggers throughout the summer months. Every Monday and Thursday, we’ll have a guest blogger talk about fun stuff like horrible dates, good dates, etc. Some bloggers will have a contest, and some won’t – it’s totally up to them. If there is a contest, I’ll randomly draw a winner from the post comments, send the winner’s email address to the guest blogger, and they’ll take it from there. Rebecca will jump in and blog when she can. For now, enjoy as we play!

Hi everyone! My name is Danielle. I write as D.R. Graham. My characters have much more interesting love stories than I do, but I have been invited by Rebecca to share a little about my own personal good, bad, and disastrous romantic moments.

The Enigma…

One night, I was feeling out of place at a pretentious party when this guy named Mike sat down. We talked for a while and I mentioned the band was good. He said he wasn’t interested in many mainstream artists because he was exclusively into the Canadian hip hop scene.

Odd fact about me, I happen to have a working knowledge of all Canadian music genres. I opened the conversation with Drake’s new video. Mike made a funny face that I interpreted to mean he didn’t consider Drake particularly hip hop, or truly Canadian for that matter.

I shifted to k-os, thinking he’s an artist who is a little less mainstream, more artsy, but Mike’s blank stare made it seem as if he wasn’t a fan. I wondered if maybe he had meant he was into more old school Canadian hip hop style. So I switched gears to the most old school artist I could think of, Kardinall Offishall, and one of my all-time favourite songs, Money Jane. Mike had never even heard of the song.

Was there an entire secret underground world of Canadian hip hop that the average person knows nothing about? Or was he full of shit and only said he was into Canadian hip hop because he thought it was obscure and made him sound enigmatic?

The mystery is still unsolved because Mike excused himself to top up his martini and never came back. Maybe I had spinach in my teeth or garlic breath. I still think he should have at least given me some props for knowing as much as I did. Seriously, who knows that much about Canadian hip hop?

The Unclear Status…

I hung out with a guy one summer, we’ll call him Chad. There was a mutual interest, but our relationship was platonic. Normally he would call to find out where I was going, and his friends would meet up with my friends at whatever event we happened to be at. We never actually went on a proper date. Once, he sort of invited me to a get together at his friend’s house. I mean, I was in the car when he drove there, so I assumed that was an invitation.

When we arrived, five males were in the living room about to play poker. Five females I had never met before were in the basement, already drunk, and halfway into watching a chick flick. It felt awkward crashing on their already in progress peach Schnapps fueled movie night. I knew a few of the guys from high school. And, for the record, I’m a fairly decent poker player. I asked Chad if I could play cards with him. He said no, guys only, and I should go hang out with the ladies.

I told him I was going to leave, and oddly, he was genuinely upset. He said he assumed I would want to hang out and get to know the other girlfriends.

Whoa. Girlfriend? When exactly did that status get updated?

First, if you are going to consider someone your girlfriend, you should probably discuss it with her and maybe take her on at least one date. Second, if you are going to consider me your girlfriend, you better accept the fact that I’m going to play poker with the boys.

Needless to say, it didn’t blossom.

The Keeper…

So, when I first met my husband, it was a botched set-up. A mutual friend told me he wanted to introduce us. Unfortunately, he had only told future hubby to just show up at the bar and forgot to mention the set-up part. As it turned out future hubby showed up with a date. He was cute and seemed nice, but, you know, not single.

I found out later she wasn’t really his date. Long story. Weeks later, we ran into each other again at a group get together. We hit it off. Clever banter. Flirtatious body language. All he had to do was ask me out. Although I lingered in patient anticipation at the end of the night, he didn’t even ask for my number. He waved with a big goofy grin and said “bye” before he left with his friends and I left with mine, disappointed and more than a little perplexed.

We ran into each other again at a pool hall a few weeks later, and unexpectedly, the first thing he did was ask me to go hiking. It was random and unusual, which I liked. The potential dangers of trekking into the remote and treacherous wilderness alone with someone who was essentially a stranger, hadn’t actually occurred to me. My mom, on the other hand, wasn’t overly thrilled. However, she warmed to the idea when he picked me up at the house and she met him. (I’m pretty sure she still jotted down his license plate number, though).

For the entire six hours on the mountain, we talked and laughed and were just ourselves. It was the best date I had ever been on. And the rest is history. When people ask how we met, we almost always say “at a bar” just because it’s easier than explaining the quirky way it really went down. A little off the beaten path is how it’s been ever since. We wouldn’t want it any other way. Twenty years together and still hiking.

ABOUT DANIELLE:

D.R. Graham is an author for HarperCollins and Entangled Publishing. She worked as a social worker with at-risk youth before becoming a therapist in private practice. The clients she works with are children and teenagers, and her novels deal with issues relevant to young and new adults in love, transition, or crisis. She is also an award winning columnist for the Richmond News. She currently lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her husband.

LATEST RELEASES:

One Percenter

99% of bikers obey the law. The other 1% make their own…

Eighteen-year-old Tienne Desrochers grew up in the rough world of the Noir et Bleu Motorcycle Club. Bikers. Family. Outlaws. But after her dad’s murder, she decides she’s had enough. Refusing to end up like her drug-addicted mom, Tienne grabs her younger brother and leaves it all behind…including her boyfriend, Aiden Gyllenhall.

More comfortable in the middle of a bar fight than at a country club, living with her wealthy aunt and uncle is an adjustment, to say the least. No swearing. Designer shoes that pinch. And charming, corporate types like Leland Crofton instead of super-sexy, tattooed Aiden. But even the upper class can’t escape the toxic touch of underworld violence. And this time, Tienne won’t just learn who she really is—she’ll learn who has her back.

The Handler

He promised he would never be an outlaw . . .

While searching for the member of an outlaw motorcycle gang who murdered his dad, Cain Allen is offered a boatload of cash to “handle” the stunning teen popstar Lincoln Todd. Although he doesn’t need the headache of a high-maintenance celebrity, getting out of town will help him keep a low profile until he testifies against the other two killers.

Touring Europe with Lincoln proves to be more complicated than Cain anticipated, and despite his efforts, the line between their personal and professional lives blurs. She’s sweet, smart, and totally unpredictable. And he loves it.

But Lincoln’s association with Cain puts her in more danger than anyone could have imagined. When he joins forces with the Noir et Bleu Motorcycle Club to protect her, Cain discovers the lengths he’s willing to go, and the person he’s willing to become to protect the people he loves…

Rank

The best bucking bulls are rank… and so are the cowboys who ride them.

Cole grabbed my arm. “You don’t need to do this. I got myself into this mess. I’ll live with the consequences.”

I exhaled and slid Shae-Lynn’s pink armband over my forearm. I kissed it, then did a prayer before climbing into the chute. “This isn’t about you anymore. I got something to prove.”

Rodeo is all Billy Ryan and his brother Cole have ever known — until one deadly wreck changes everything. With their mom requiring full-time care and Cole dealing with his own demons, Billy needs to step up to take care of his family. So he walks away from his future as a champion bull rider. Convincing himself he didn’t quit because he lost his nerve…

Barrel racer Shae-Lynn, the sweet good-girl-next-door, grew up with the boys on the rodeo circuit. She’s the only person who knows Billy better than he knows himself. She could help him get back in the ring, but there’s a limit to how many times she’ll watch him make the same mistakes. Especially when it comes to her heart.

When Cole’s gambling debts get out of control and the bills at home pile up, Billy has no choice but to enter a winner takes all bull riding event. He needs Shae-Lynn by his side, but that isn’t going to happen unless he figures out a way to cowboy up and prove he’s good enough for a woman like her.

Intense, emotional and complex, this is Friday Night Lights meets Nicholas Sparks’ The Longest Ride… with edge!

GIVEAWAY:

Comment to let me know what your ideal first date would be. One winner will be chosen on Friday, November 20th to receive a digital copy of ONE PERCENTER from Amazon.com.

 

A new Dark Protector book – available right now!

Did you know that the Wicked series (the Realm Enforcers) is the Dark Protectors in Seattle on Harleys?  Wicked Edge releases today, and it features Daire Dunne and a surprising Cee Cee ‘Jones’ (not her real name).  You’ll see the king, Logan, Zane, Sam, Garrett, Janie, Hope, etc…

How about an excerpt:

Daire looked down at her chin. “All healed.” Satisfaction glittered in his eyes along with something else. Hunger.

Cee Cee nodded, her body crashing, even with desire fluttering through her. Her eyelids grew heavy. “Why are you being so nice to me?” she whispered.

He tucked her face into his neck and caressed a broad hand down her hair. “I’m not nice.”

The sheer comfort of the moment almost made her purr. “Yes. I drugged you and stole from you.” While the idea had seemed fine before she had gotten to know him, now it seemed shameful, although she’d had no choice. She’d done enough research to know his weaknesses, and she couldn’t afford to let him know the full truth. “You’re a good guy, Daire Dunne.”

He chuckled, and his heated breath stirred her hair. “Don’t think for a second that I’m a good guy. I’m just a guy who gets things done, and sometimes it’s bloody, and sometimes it’s necessary. Healing your face was necessary.”

She struggled to remain awake. “Thank you.”

He held her tight, keeping her warm and protected, even as he rested back his head. “You’re welcome. Now get some sleep, finish healing, and tomorrow you’re gonna tell me everything.”

She wanted to protest, because she truly couldn’t tell him everything. He was an enforcer, and if he had any clue who she was, he’d ship her home. Or at least he’d try to, and she really didn’t want to fight with him now. For years she’d done what she had to do, and now it was her time. Her time to set right the wrongs of years ago, and nobody, not family, allies, or even deadly witch enforcers, were going to stop her. “I wish things were different,” she whispered.

“They will be tomorrow.” His words had the sound of a vow.

She snuggled closer, enjoying the feeling of male all around her. It had been so long. “Is there anything you have to do? A calling or a duty? Something nobody else can do?” she mumbled.

“I’m an enforcer for the Council of the Coven Nine,” he said simply. “It’s not a job.”

It was a calling. “You’re a protector, Dunne.”

“Aye.”

“I don’t need a protector.” She couldn’t afford one right now.

“Well now, Cee Cee. Considering you have drugged me, stolen from me, and basically lied to me, if you did need a protector, it’d be from me.”

 

Help – Reader Poll – Win a book!

Hi all!  I know not all of you have FaceBook, so I wanted to put our reader poll and contest here on the blog, too.  (I’ll choose one winner from FB and one from here in the comments…so you probably have a better chance of winning here.  But you can enter both places if you want! )

** HELP—READER POLL—** Win a book!

Hi all! I have three quick questions for you – if you answer them, you’re automatically entered to win one of my backlist ebooks – your choice.

1. Did you know that the Wicked books (The Realm Enforcers) is actually more of the Dark Protectors?

2. Are you aware that many of the Dark Protectors, Dage, Emma, Conn, Garrett, Zane, Janie…all make appearances in the Wicked books? Does that make a difference in your reading those?

3. What could we do to tie the two series together better? (I think many folks take a look at the Wicked books and think they’re contemporary MC books?)

Take a look and tell me what you think. Thanks!

(If your comment doesn’t show up right away, no worries.  We might need to approve it, and we will.  If you’ve commented before here, then yours should show up, but we did just do updates, so maybe not.  We will approve it, though.)