Lorraine Nelson's Blog, page 27

Christmas Giveaway!

On December 24th, I will be drawing one name for a free download from my Thunder Creek Ranch series.

All you have to do is leave a comment to be entered. Tell me who is your favorite character so far. Easy as can be.

Zakia and the Cowboy Blurb:

With a stalker following her every move, Zakia has no choice but to flee the city. Her options limited, she runs to the only place she's ever felt safe…the Thunder Creek Ranch and her ex-husband, Lucas.

Will he protect Zakia from the stalker? And if he does will either of them be able to ignore the feelings that have simmered for so long, ready to explode… before danger either draws them together or pulls them apart.

Covert Mission: Undercover Cop Blurb:

Two cops have been murdered, two convicts escape. Samantha Muldoon and Blake Northrup pair up to protect their friends. Will their attraction to each other hinder their effectiveness and distract them from their job? Can it grow into something lasting, or will previous hurt keep them apart?

(Releasing Jan 6th, so if this is your choice, I'll send it then.)

Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek Blurb:

Lucas Manning, Sr. is married to Winnie, Roy Grayson's mother. Trouble ensues from the moment authorities arrest her son for stalking and terrorizing Lucas' daughter-in-law, Zakia. Winnie feels guilty and withdraws from the Manning family. Suddenly a threatening phone call disturbs their lives even more as Winnie becomes a target. Can Lucas convince her of her worthiness and save their marriage? Or will danger and loyalty to her son drive a further wedge between them?

Coming Soon!!!

Today I received new cover art for Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek. The release of this novel, Book 3 in my Thunder Creek Ranch series, is scheduled for January 6th, 2012, through Evernight Publishing. Dara England did another fine job portraying my cowboy, don't you think?

Excerpt: 

The warm water sluiced over their hot bodies in a rushing stream as they stood entwined in the tiny stall. Her kisses tasted like chocolate mint from the candy bars they'd snacked on earlier.

She poured a liberal amount of his shower gel into her palm. "Turn around."

He did as requested, and she dutifully soaped his back. As her hands moved to soap his chest, she rubbed her breasts against him, and he shivered in response to the sensations rioting through his body. When her hands reached to soap his cock, he gasped, taking in a mouthful of water, which he promptly spewed out.

"Lady, you sure are full of surprises," he said as he turned to face her, rinsing off under the spray before turning the taps off. He grabbed a towel and dried her body, his ministrations causing exquisite little moans to escape her lips. Quickly drying himself, he tossed the towel aside and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Side-by-side, they walked through to the bedroom where he could make love to her in comfort. He loved this woman. He'd shown her every day in every way he could, but the words themselves didn't come easy, not since his first wife died and took a piece of his heart with her.

As they lay down, he cuddled close and worshipped her body with his hands and mouth, old memories pushed to the farthest recesses of his mind.

Her breasts spilled from his hands as he massaged their silky softness. "So damned soft. I could play with them all night long."

She clutched his head urging him forward to taste her rosy buds. "Be my guest."

He laved a tongue over a nipple, teasing before pulling it into his mouth, his hand pinching the other one. Her soft murmur of delight spurred him on. He let go of her breast, with a light bite, trailing kisses down over her abdomen to reach the honeyed prize nested in reddish curls. Her legs spread for him, the most feminine part of her open and waiting for his attention.

 [slideshoClick to view slideshow.w]

Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek

Final edits on Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek are completed and sent. This is the 3rd book in my Thunder Creek series with Evernight Publishing. I have to say I love their efficiency. Just awaiting a cover image. WooHoo!!! Dara England designed my first two covers and did an excellent job. I can't wait to see what she comes up with for this one. Releasing January 6th, 2012.

Here's a teaser excerpt for you:

Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek

The warm water sluiced over their hot bodies in a rushing stream as they stood entwined in the tiny stall. Her kisses tasted like chocolate mint from the candy bars they'd snacked on earlier.

She poured a liberal amount of his shower gel into her palm. "Turn around."

He did as requested, and she dutifully soaped his back. As her hands moved to soap his chest, she rubbed her breasts against him, and he shivered in response to the sensations rioting through his body. When her hands reached to soap his cock, he gasped, taking in a mouthful of water, which he promptly spewed out.

"Lady, you sure are full of surprises," he said as he turned to face her, rinsing off under the spray before turning the taps off. He grabbed a towel and dried her body, his ministrations causing exquisite little moans to escape her lips. Quickly drying himself, he tossed the towel aside and wrapped an arm around her waist.

Side-by-side, they walked through to the bedroom where he could make love to her in comfort. He loved this woman. He'd shown her every day in every way he could, but the words themselves didn't come easy, not since his first wife died and took a piece of his heart with her.

As they lay down, he cuddled close and worshipped her body with his hands and mouth, old memories pushed to the farthest recesses of his mind.

Her breasts spilled from his hands as he massaged their silky softness. "So damned soft. I could play with them all night long."

She clutched his head urging him forward to taste her rosy buds. "Be my guest."

He laved a tongue over a nipple, teasing before pulling it into his mouth, his hand pinching the other one. Her soft murmur of delight spurred him on. He let go of her breast, with a light bite, trailing kisses down over her abdomen to reach the honeyed prize nested in reddish curls. Her legs spread for him, the most feminine part of her open and waiting for his attention.

Book 4, A Cowgirl's Pride, is almost complete. Yay!!!

For a little insight into Leah's story:

Leah Manning left the ranch and her all male, domineering, overproctective family for something not necessarily bigger but better. When her life takes unexpected turns, she's forced to tuck her tail and return to Thunder Creek. The only problem is, she's pregnant and trouble might have followed her home…

Kathleen's Birthday Bash Blog Hop!!!

Kathleen King Grieve is having another birthday on December 16th. Yep! They come every year whether we want one or not. lol

To celebrate this momentous event, Kathleen is giving away presents instead of receiving them. All you need to do is comment on each participating blog listed below. On Saturday, December 17th, Kathleen will pick winners for the books, gift cards, and the grand prize of a Kindle!

Join the fun!!! Win, win, win!!!

 
The fun starts tomorrow, December 12th.
The more blogs you comment on, the higher your chances of winning!

Don't forget to post your email address with your comment!
 

For more details, visit Kathleen's blog at:
 http://www.kathleengrieve.blogspot.com/
 
As my personal birthday gift to Kathleen,
I will also donate one of my Thunder Creek Ranch books
to a commenter on this blog.
 
Winner's choice:
Book 1 – Zakia and the Cowboy
or
Book 2 – Covert Mission: Undercover Cop .
 
Participating blogs, in no particular order:
 
Drea Beacraft / Doris O'Connor 
http://www.dreabecraft.wordpress.com/
http://thetardisscribbles.blogspot.com/
 
Lee Ann Sontheimermurphy

http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogspot.com  

  

Lorraine Nelson

http://lorrainenelson.wordpress.com

 

Kathleen Grieve

http://kathleengrieve.blogspot.com

 

Kerrianne Coombs 

http://kerriannecoombes.wordpress.com/blog-hop-fun/ 
 
CR Moss

http://crmoss.blogspot.com/
 
 Sandra Sookoo
http://sandrasookoo.wordpress.com/2011/12/12/birthday-bash-blog-hop-for-kathleen-grieve/
 
Stacey Espino

http://www.staceyespino.blogspot.com

 

Jean Joachim

Http://jeanjoachim.blogspot.com/grieve

 

Jennifer Labelle

http://labellebooks.blogspot.com  

 

 
Happy
Birthday,
Kathleen!!!
 

The Writing Life

Book 4 in my Thunder Creek Ranch series, A Cowgirl's Pride, is one of those books that seem to be writing itself. The characters are speaking to me and the words are flowing faster than I can type. lol Gotta love it when that happens. I only started it a couple weeks ago and today I reached the halfway mark.

Book 3, Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek, was written, subbed and accepted during Nano, but I don't have a release date, as yet. Eagerly awaiting the arrival of my cover. Wondering how Dara can possibly top the first two. I have no doubt she will, though. That girl is amazing!

Zakia and the Cowboy & Covert Mission: Undercover Cop are both 30 day bestsellers in Romantic suspense at Bookstrand. http://www.bookstrand.com/catalog/209/romanticsuspense?sortBy=bestSelling30

Only 2 days left to get 15% off your purchase of Book 2, Covert Mission: Undercover Cop at Evernight. A great Christmas gift for anyone who likes to read.  Easily downloads to your PC or ereader. http://www.evernightpublishing.com/covert-mission-undercover-cop-by-lorraine-nelson/

 Christmas is coming! Check out my Holiday titles at Amazon. Now on sale. http://www.amazon.com/Lorraine-Nelson/e/B005XMAYFQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

In other news, Harlequin is holding a pitch contest in January for their Romantic Suspense line…right up my alley, if I can get one written in time to enter. They upped the word count to 70-75k. That's longer than any book I've written to date. Should be interesting. If you write romantic suspense, you can find details on the pitch here: http://community.harlequin.com/forums/write-stuff/editor-pitch-challenge-harlequin-romantic-suspense

Happy writing and best of luck!

HEA Reviews, Zakia and the Cowboy

Zakia and the Cowboy by Lorraine Nelson

HEA Reviews, December 2, 2011

Monica's Review…4 Stars

Once you start this book, you won't want to put it down. It's filled with passion, suspense, happiness and a sense of finally being a family. One will do anything in order to keep their family safe from a crazy madman. Zakia truly had a friend in which she could trust her life with. When she needed to flee her home Sam was there to help her with anything she needed. There was only one problem what if her ex-husband had a wife, children and would turn her away and not help her.

When she left him she thought that he would come for her but he never went. She felt lonely in their home and felt that he did not want to share his ranch life with her. Then she wrote him a letter after she left to let him know what was happening with her but she never heard back. After time past she believed he did not care about her and the day came when she received the divorce papers.

Even if that was a long time ago she knew that he could protect her but she knew once he found out about her secret he could make her leave but maybe he could care for the others and she would go back and face the stalker on her own. When Luke sees Zakia he thinks he is dreaming but when she speaks he knows that she has come back but for what she is the one that left. When he learns of her kept secret he is enraged but cannot let her leave so he tries hard and acts somewhat civil to her.

After spending time with Zakia and the others he finally feels that he is whole. He admits to himself that he has never stopped loving Zakia and there was no way that he would let her leave when they found her stalker. Now as for the stalker he was smart, clever and not even her security system detected him. Then when he finds her at the ranch she is so frightened but she knows that Luke will keep her safe. Then he ends up entering Luke's home and leaves her a nasty note on her mirror in her room. Anyone in there right mind would go into shock and that is what she did. But no matter what Luke was there to comfort her and tried to make her feel safe.

But Luke knew that they needed to do the cattle run and hoped that once they were out in the open he would strike and mess up somewhere but wrong again. The stalker was able to capture Zakia and take her on a ride she would never forget, underground.

When Zakia showed up at the ranch late one night it was time for the truth to finally come into light. It was a chance to start over and have a family if and only Luke could forgive her. This story tells of their journey in becoming a family and trying to leave everything in the past in the past. It was gripped with emotions as Luke comes face to face with the secret that  kept from him but he does not waste time in making memories with them. I felt so happy for them because you could tell that they still loved each other but it was going to take time for Luke to trust again.

Zakia and the Cowboy is a joy to read and it will take you on a guessing game. I loved how their HEA ended because this time things will be different. I can't wait to read Blake's and Sam story next.

4 Tea Cups!

Blog Tour Winners!

Thank you for following and participating in my blog tour to promote my Thunder Creek Ranch series. Below is a list of winners.

Empi's blog…Irie Spice

Kaily's Blog…Madeline Smyth

Michelle's Blog…Doris O'Connor

Lorraine's Blog…Karin Buchanan

Madeline's Blog…Imajicasnow

Georgia's Blog…Darcy

Michael's Blog…Darcy

Congratulations to all winners, especially Darcy, whose perseverance paid off by winning both books. Enjoy!                                                                                                             

 

TBR 5 Star Review for Zakia and the Cowboy!

This is such a fair and honest review. I couldn't be more pleased, especially since they want to read more.  Stop in and leave a comment for your chance to win a free copy.

 

TBR reviewer: B.H.

 

Zakia is running from a stalker. She flees for protection to her ex-husband with the surprise that she not only had his child but twins. Can they rekindle lost love or will the stalker end any hope of a good future?

The beginning was hard to continue, it was telling and the story just starts. There's the characters, there's the scene with no gentle ease into the book. That said, KEEP READING! It gets so much better. The growing relationship between Lucas and his twins was beautiful. Then add the flames between him and Zakia, it makes for a dynamic read. I'm not a mother and usually kids in romance novels never end well but Ms. Nelson did a fantastic job

incorporating them without smothering the steam. There was sweet and romantic. That hay scene was something special. 

There are small paragraphs from the stalkers POV and they really did not work as well as they could have. He/she should have had a lot more violent and malicious thoughts to be a convincing psychopath. Some scenes were redundant, such as why she left. I must have read Zakia explaining it at least three times. If they were trimmed it would have really added to the story. Back to the stalker, halfway through I knew who it was, but I'm usually ahead of the game in these kinds of thriller books. The ending could have been flesh out and a real explosion of intensity, this just fizzled out but it was still very satisfying.

So why, do you ask, did it get 5 stars? Well, it was sweet, romantic and truly entertaining. I really enjoyed the blooming relationship between the twins, Lucas and Zakia. If you have kids I have a feeling you'll love this book. I don't have any and I still really loved this book. I can't wait to read the next in this series!

Pick up your copy of Zakia and The Cowboy and prepare to swoon. 

 http://thetbrpile.weebly.com/1/post/2011/12/review-zakia-and-the-cowboy-by-lorraine-nelson.html

To read more reviews, visit my website at: http://lorrainenelson.weebly.com

It's Release Day Again!

Wow! Just last month Evernight Publishing released my debut novel, Zakia and the Cowboy, and now here we are celebrating the release of its sequel, Covert Mission: Undercover Cop.

I am so thrilled to be working with such a talented, efficient team! Dana Horbach did the editing on this one and I do admit to loving the finished product. Well done, Dana! Cover art, supplied once again by the talented DaraEngland of LF Designs, is superb! I do appreciate her sharing those hunky cowboys with us. Thanks, Dara!

 The Thunder Creek Ranch series is more exciting than I thought it would be when I first started writing it. To think it all started with one name, Zakia, and grew from there. Producing a series is much harder than writing a single title. The people, the timelines, location—everything has to agree in each book, especially where their stories intertwine and overlap. What color was his hair? Were her eyes blue or green? Darn it! What was the name of that judge? Cop? Neighbor? Horse? These things all need to be kept straight. It's quite often the little things that can take a reader out of a story, and I'd hate for that to happen with one of my books.

 

As with Zakia, I loved writing Sam's story. She's such a feisty, independent character and full of sass. No, she's not a redhead, but she does have the temperament, mostly earned from what she's lived through up until now. To a large extent, circumstances, the good and the bad, make us who we are. We can sit back and let the bad things—hurt, pain, disappointment and disillusionment—rule our lives, or we can rise above all that, take control of our thoughts…our very lives, and strive to be the best we can be.

Blake is…well…Blake. He's strong, handsome, caring, patient and protective. A cop and a delicious hunk of cowboy all wrapped into one gorgeous package. As an only child, he's known his share of unconditional love, knows that he belongs wherever, whenever, but when he meets Sam, he senses something entirely different. It was a real toss-up as to who would win the ultimate battle between these two. Would it be Blake with his seemingly unending supply of patience, or Sam and her independent, stubborn nature? LOL Needless to say, I'm not telling.

Blurb:

Two cops have been murdered, two convicts escape. Samantha Muldoon and Blake Northrup pair up to protect their friends.

Will their attraction to each other hinder their effectiveness or distract them from their job? Can it grow into something lasting, or will previous hurt keep them apart?

For excerpt, check out my website, listed below. 

I love hearing from my readers! It's important to know what works and doesn't work for you as I continue to craft stories of love and mystery.

 Website: http://www.lorrainenelson.weebly.com

Blog:  http://lorrainenelson.wordpress.com

http://www.facebook.com/LorraineNelson.Author

http://twitter.com/#!/lornelca

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5254629.Lorraine_Nelson

http://www.amazon.com/Lorraine-Nelson/e/B005XMAYFQ/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

 Just a reminder…Covert Mission: Undercover Cop is 15% off for the first two weeks at Evernight.

 Are you following my Blog Tour? Seven stops – Seven chances to win. Contest closes December 2nd at midnight, EST.

Date
Host/Hostess
Blog Url


25/11/11
Empi Baryeh
http://empibaryeh.wordpress.com/


26/11/11
Kaily Hart
http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/


27/11/11
Michelle Fayard
http://michellefayard.blogspot.com/


28/11/11
LorraineNelson
http://lorrainenelson.wordpress.com/


29/11/11
Madeline Smith
http://madelinesmyth.blogspot.com/


30/11/11
Michael Charton
http://www.iamanauthorimustauth.wordpress.com/

12/1/2011

Georgia Fox
http://georgiafoxauthor.blogspot.com/

 One commenter from each stop will receive a free download, their choice, Thunder Creek Ranch, Book 1, Zakia and the Cowboy, or Book 2, Covert Mission: Undercover Cop. That gives you seven chances to win! But you must be a follower of my blog.  Winners will be announced on December 3rd. So leave your comments and/or questions. I'll do my best to answer. Have a wonderful day! I know Iwill!

P.S.

Evernight has just accepted Book 3, Trouble Brewing in Thunder Creek. The series lives on! Yay!!!

Blog Tour Kick-Off!

Blog Tour, stop #1 + giveaway. Hey all! I'm over at Empi's blog today to kick off my blog tour for Covert Mission: Undercover Cop, Book 2 in my Thunder Creek Ranch series. releasing November 28th through Evernight Publishing. Stop by for a chance to win a free download. http://empibaryeh.wordpress.com/

Releasing November 28th through Evernight Publishing! http://www.evernightpublishing.com/

Blog Tour Schedule:

Date
Host/Hostess
Blog Url


25/11/11
Empi Baryeh
http://empibaryeh.wordpress.com/


26/11/11
Kaily Hart
http://kailyhart.blogspot.com/


27/11/11
Michelle Fayard
http://michellefayard.blogspot.com/


28/11/11
Lorraine Nelson
http://lorrainenelson.wordpress.com/


29/11/11
Madeline Smith
http://madelinesmyth.blogspot.com/


30/11/11
Michael Charton
http://www.iamanauthorimustauth.wordpress.com/


12/1/2011
Georgia Fox
http://georgiafoxauthor.blogspot.com/

Giveaway at each stop! Come join the fun!