Jennifer Bray-Weber's Blog, page 45
January 9, 2016
Link of the Weekend – Goodreads Giveaway
Here’s a bit of shameless promo for your weekend. I’m giving away a paperback of DEAD MAN’S KISS. Enter for your chance to win. It’s easy!
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Dead Man's Kiss
by Jennifer Bray-Weber
Giveaway ends January 21, 2016.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/widget/168447
January 6, 2016
Hump Day Kick Start – Party Girl Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
Happy 1st Hump Day Kick Start of 2016!
What better way to kick things off than with a wild prompt. Who is our party girl? Her expression is certainly one of pure satisfaction. Why? Who, if anyone, is she looking at? What happened to have her stockings ripped and tiara askew? Is she an immortal diety out causing havoc on eligible, mortal men? Could she be just another heiress behaving badly? What if she were a modern-day Cinderella who just happens to be very good at being very naughty? Maybe she seduced a business associate into a deal that will be devasting to him when he sobers.
What’s your take? Or just caption the photo.
Cheers!
January 5, 2016
December 25, 2015
Happy Holidays!
December 23, 2015
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas – 2015
‘Twas the night before Christmas,
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
Not even my wireless mouse;
The laptop glowed blank
With all creativity ka-put,
My Muse took a holiday
From inspiring my book;
The NaNo craze had ended
I’m in edits neck-deep,
While visions of “the end”
Dance out of reach;
Exhausted from writer’s block,
And with my satin sleep mask,
I had just curled into bed
For a short cat nap;
When out on the street
There arose such a thunder,
I sprang from my bed
To see what was the rumble.
Away to the window
In fuzzy slippers I sprang,
I stumbled and tripped
And drew back the drape.
The vapor lamps casting pools
Of pale light on the street
Gave the luster of mystery
To objects beneath,
When, what to my wondering eyes
Caught my sight,
But a red ragtop muscle car,
And eight Harley bikes,
With a super hot driver
His disheveled hair swept
I knew in a moment
It must be Johnny Depp.
More handsome in person
His buds they came,
And I whistled and squealed
As he called them by name.
“Now Bradley! Now Gosling!
Now Downy Jr. and Tatum!
On Rock! On Hemsworth!
On Franco and Beckham!
To the edge of the curb!
To the end of the way!
Now pull over! Pull over!
Pull over here, I say!”
As the growl of engines
Revved and roared,
Testosterone oozed
From their very cores;
So up to my house
The hotties they drove,
With Johnny in the lead
Of this tasty treasure trove.
And then in an instant,
I heard them out front,
The back-slapping and laughing
Of each manly hunk.
As I wiped the drool
And raced to the den,
In sauntered Johnny
A true perfect Ten.
He was dressed all in leather
From his head to his boots
Just like in my dreams
He was lip-smacking good.
A bundle of goodies
He’d flung on his shoulder,
With his smooth swagger
He simmered and smoldered.
His eyes—how they seared!
His lips, how inviting!
His jaw line so strong,
His smirk too enticing!
His russet goatee
Was trimmed just right
And his dark tousled hair
Gilded in the firelight;
The butt of a cigarette
He held tight in his teeth,
And he took off his jacket
And rolled up his sleeves;
Leather wristbands and tattoos,
And flawless firm rear,
Completing the package
All but brought me to tears.
He was lean and fit,
A right sexy heartbreaker,
And I fanned my face,
As ideas struck my story-maker.
A wink of his eye
And I nearly swooned,
Naughty or nice?
My thoughts lampooned;
He spoke not a word
But went straight to his work,
And left festive presents
As I giggled and lurked,
And smiling to me
My Muse had more than awaken,
And giving a nod,
Johnny left me a-quaking.
He hopped in his convertible,
Gave a whistle to his team,
And away they all drove,
Leaving me to scheme.
But I heard him exclaim
Ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas Writing to all.
And to all a good night.”
December 22, 2015
Link of the Week – Pirates, Police, Prowlers
Perfect for holiday gift giving or escaping the season’s stress, this week’s Link of the Week features…us! Get swept away in action, adventure, humor, hard-hitting emotions, danger, and lots of romance. (Links are to Amazon, but all these books are available at your favorite e-tailers.)
Dead Man’s Kiss
Forced to make a bargain…
One drunken night in Cuba lands Captain Valeryn Barone in a life or death situation. To escape the gallows, Valeryn must agree to a bargain only a fool would make: Escort the tempting and tenacious niece of his captor across the Caribbean or lose his ship, his crew and his life! The caveat? The beautiful Spanish woman must remain untouched for the entire voyage.
Determined to get what she wants…
Catalina Montoya will stop at nothing to get what she wants—even when trouble is certain. Sent to live with her uncle after a scandalous affair, Catalina intends to concentrate on her dream to become a renowned naturalist. She never expected her uncle would send her with a notorious pirate to further her studies. Worse, she never expected to want the devilishly handsome pirate more than anything else.
It’s a battle of wills…
Now Catalina only has 8 weeks to seduce Valeryn and collect her specimens before he returns her to her uncle. And Valeryn has 8 weeks to secure his redemption. Except neither would be that lucky. Not when ruthless enemies threaten to destroy them at every turn. Can Valeryn save those that foolishly depend on him? Can he resist Catalina’s heart? Does a dead man walking even have a chance?
Echoes of the Heart
GOING UNDER 
For Dr. Calista Montgomery, losing her soldier husband was like diving into a cold dark sea, and the events at his funeral swept her farther from
shore. Crushed by the lies, Cali crawls into a bottle and flees all she knows. Inebriated and drifting aimlessly, she winds up in Esterloch, New York, where she’s arrested and hits bottom. Offered a chance to expunge her record, she accepts the conditions…but the real challenge is keeping herself safe from the arrogant, gorgeous and commanding sheriff.
FOR THE LAST TIME
Sheriff Jack Benfield hates drunks. They’re selfish, manipulative, and they break hearts, and his is no exception. He saw the damage inflicted upon his family, so he has no patience for any of them, not even the beautiful Dr. Montgomery. His body, however, has different ideas, and soon two desperate souls will discover that some breaks make us stronger—and sometimes we must drown before we learn how to breathe.
Mutiny of the Heart
Sloan Ricker will bow before no man—not ever again. That it’s a redheaded, female captain who buys him off the auction block makes no difference; he’ll do whatever he must to steal away. But when she offers him his freedom in exchange for decoding an old map, it’s an opportunity to begin again. No matter how intensely he despises his luscious new keeper.
Navigating the high seas means always being on your guard—especially when one takes a temptingly handsome captive on board. Captain Joelle Quint believes Ricker when he claims to be a cartographer and, perhaps foolishly, hopes he’ll be the key to unlocking her dark family secrets. She’s spent years on that infernal map.
To get the answers, independence and love that they both long for, Joelle and Ricker must relinquish control to each other…or die trying. Amid a battle with the Royal Navy and a first mate’s seething jealousy, Joelle also fights her growing lust. For Ricker, what begins as a chance at freedom becomes a struggle to make the beautiful, intriguing Captain Joelle Quint his mistress in more ways than one.
Kitty, Kitty Bang, Bang
Reilly Shay has built a reputation as a highly successful cat burglar. Her current contract—to steal a one-of-a-kind
diamond bracelet—puts her one step closer to freedom from her employer. But she suspects her days are numbered. She’s a target for cops and crooks, and no one has her back since her ex-partner, and ex-lover, Grant Aubrey turned on her.
Grant gladly takes the job to capture Reilly at her latest heist. He loved her and she betrayed him. Case closed. But as he waits in the shadows of a Greek villa and watches her crack the safe, old desires emerge. And, suddenly, taking her in isn’t nearly as enticing as just taking her.
Will one night of dangerous passion be the death of them both?
More from the Romancing the Pirate series (click on covers):
December 18, 2015
Friday Fun Facts- Ho Ho Ho!
Tis the season and it wouldn’t be complete without learning some rather unique bits of info. Before I enlighten you, I’d like to wish you the best coming days ever! Rest, love, laugh and be extra merry as we close out 2015. We all get a chance to start another year over soon so let’s end this one with a bang! :-)
Now, to be educated:
A lot of zoos will feed donated Christmas trees to their animals!
There’s a village in Peru where they settle their differences during this holy season in a most unusual way…fist fights! Old and young participate and it’s a free for all.
All letters in the United States addressed to Santa Claus go to Santa Claus, Indiana.
It used to be on Christmas Eve, in the last century, folks would stay up and tell ghost stories.
Rock and Roll is here to stay! Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody is the only record to get to the UK Christmas Singles Chart…twice! 1975 and 1991 were very good years for the group. (I didn’t even know it was a Christmas song!!!)
The U.S. playing card company named Bicycle made very special cards during WW2. When the cards were soak in water, it would reveal escape routes for POWs. These cards were given to POWs all over Germany and the Nazis were never the wiser!!!
Dennys Restaurants ran into a problem. Since many of them were open 24hrs. a day, they had no locks on their front doors. It became a real safety issue the first time they decided to close on Christmas Day!
The year, 2010. The Colombian government put lights throughout the trees where the rebels were known to be during the Christmas season. As the rebels would walk by, the lights would come on urging them to put down their weapons and re-enter society. 331 rebels soldiers did just that. The government won an award for strategic marketing excellence!
An artificial tree has to be used for more than 20 years for it to be “greener” than cutting down a real tree.
The abbreviation for Christmas is Xmas. Why? The Greek letter X means Chi which is the abbreviation for Christ in Greek!
Who says marketing doesn’t work?!? In Japan, many many people eat KFC for Christmas dinner thanks to a brilliant marketing campaign 40 years ago. It’s so popular, folks have to place their orders 2 months in advance!!!
Norwegian scientist has concluded that Rudolph’s red nose is due to a parasitic infection of his respiratory system.
In A.D. 350, Pope Julius I, bishop of Rome, proclaimed December 25 the official celebration date for the birthday of Christ.
Alabama was the first state in the United States to officially recognize Christmas in 1836.
Early illustrations of St. Nicholas depict him as stern, commanding, and holding a birch rod. He was more a symbol of discipline and punishment than the jolly, overweight elf children know today.
December 16, 2015
Hump Day Kick Start – Shredded Santa Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
Ho! Ho! Ho! Dirty Santa, ripped clothing, wet with rain, intense expression—a writing prompt just for you.
Tell me about him. Who is he and how did he come to such a state? Had the office Christmas party gotten out of hand? Is he a holiday soldier fighting a war against Krampus? Did he get into a scuffle with Frosty? Get cut off by a cute, but jaded, helicopter pilot causing him to wreck his sleigh? Maybe he should have called her after he jingled her bells. Couldn’t resist the pun. Put me on the naughty list.
Love to hear your take or caption the photo.
December 15, 2015
Link Of The Week- Boroughs Birthday Holiday Bash!!
Join Boroughs Publishing as it hosts many authors and a variety of romance genres! Fun, games, prizes and books will overflow. If you like to read and you like chances to win, then this is a good stop for you to make today! (My time slot will be from 2-2:30 pm central time)
https://www.facebook.com/events/1094181493928460/
For example:
I had a reader who curled up with my book on a snowy Colorado day and couldn’t put it down! I can’t deliver a view of the Rockies, but I can provide a great blanket, hot chocolate, shortbread, and my book! See if you can win this prize!!
December 9, 2015
Hump Day Kick Start – Keeping Secrets Edition
Hump Day Kick Start – for your muse, a writing picture prompt, or ju st a visual treat.
This is so deliciously fun!
Today’s prompt is sure to stir the muse. Who is she? Where is she? What are her secrets? Has she just done something diabolical? Perhaps she set up her beautiful, yet naive, younger sibling in a compromising position with a playboy at a garden party knowing her sister’s boyfriend would find them, thereby destroying their relationship, and now is celebrating that soon she can swoop in and steal him away. Maybe it’s the opposite. Maybe she’s a girl in giddy love planning to elope. Or maybe she just married an old, very rich codger and has plans to murder him, collecting on his hefty estate. Is she drunk? Sharing her wildest dreams or sexy escapades from the night before with the cherub?
You tell me. Spin a tale or caption the pic.
