C.C. MacKenzie's Blog, page 21

RUN ROSIE RUN Soundbite #5

 

COMING SOON

And the edits are back! Just a few little tweaks, then reading on all the different Ereaders, then formatting, then…..

One of the things that I’ve loved about this couple is even when they’re intimate, they still manage to bicker.

To be honest I assumed because I know them so well writing about how they fall flat on their faces for each other would be straightforward. Noooooooo! Their journey to true love needed to be valid with authentic emotional conflicts, which meant digging down deep into their psyche, especially Rosie’s.

If you’ve been talking to me on facebook or twitter and I’ve not responded, we have Norovirus in this house. Thank you very much, son, who caught it during a course. H and I are not at our best, and that’s all I’ll say because the rest will be too much information.

Christine X

RUN ROSIE RUN Bite #1

IT’S THE COUNTDOWN TO  RUN ROSIE RUN!

And just to torture you guys I’ve lifted a very smart idea from the wonderful Olly Rhodes and come up with Coming Soon posters.

My readers *waving to you* are a vocal bunch and have been speaking to me on facebook and twitter. They also lurk here in large numbers.

This is just a taste of what happens when Rosie decides she’s had enough already.

RUN ROSIE RUN – COMING SOON

 

And book two of The Vampyre Legal Chronicles, Dirty Little Secrets is in final edits. It’s feast or famine in this game it really is!

Much love and hugs,

Christine X

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AUTHORS GIVING BACK by CC MacKenzie

Authors Giving Back is the wonderful idea of Contemporary Romance Bestselling Author the wonderful Ruth Cardello.

The idea is that today, the 3rd of December, we give back to readers a free book. My choice is A Stormy Spring which is attracting many fans and followers across distributors.

Think Flashdance meets PS I Love You

…Music was her life, choreography her only passion…

Becca had buried her heart with the love of her life…but when she spends a single night of scorching lust with a gorgeous Spaniard the lonely dancer finds there’s a price to pay…

To a man who refuses to take no for an answer…

But fans need to comment and sign up to my blog to win. And there will be THREE lucky winners. Hugo will pick the names out of a hat and I’ll post the name of the winners on Friday 4th December at 6.00pm GMT. Good Luck.

Yes, there’s always a small catch.

BUT that’s not all. Ruth’s also running a huge Pinterest competition (you don’t need to join to enter) where she has many authors participating over twelve days. I’m giving away twelve books and other authors are giving books and many more prizes. Enter as many times as you like and here’s the link: http://pinterest.com/authorsgiveback/...

Here’s the facebook page link too: http://www.facebook.com/authorruth.ca...

GOOD LUCK! COME BACK AND GIVE ME FEEDBACK ON HOW YOU GET ON!

Here’s some reader reviews.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars  Should have been titled “A Steamy Spring”  September 30, 2012
By Kathy
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

CC MacKenzie can write a sex scene like no other. She even beats out JD Robb (Sorry, Nora). Hot and sensual, and well *stops to fan face* did I mention hot?Becca is an independent woman, still healing from some major scars from the past, and she wants no part of love. But after what should have been a one-night stand with the irresistable Lucas Del Garda, she is caught in his web. As she struggles to resist and Lucas woes her, in his rather heavyhanded way, the story unfolds, with several unexpected twists and turns.

I enjoyed this book very much. I give it four stars only because the timeline seemed a bit off (you’ll understand why this is important when you encounter the first twist!) and there were a couple places where the characters’ moods shifted a little too quickly. But I would still very much recommend this story. It is well worth the price and the time invested in reading it. And it will leave you wanting more of CC MacKenzie’s work.

Barnes & Noble:

 FIVE STARS New Author. WOW!!! My New Fave!

Looooove the combination of uber sexy, macho man and human failings, and can relate to the struggle of a strong female to adjust to said male, lol! I can compare her writing to other fave authors, Nora Roberts, Lora Leigh, Jude Devraux, ect. Story lines that deely grab and effect the heart. You go girl! Aleady read; “Rome…Bronte & Nico’s story”, Cant wait to locate “Run, Run, Rosie” and any others.

Smashwords:

Review by: hrhsophia on Aug. 21, 2012 :     

Great book, love the men, love the women. A couple of nods to that hot book of the moment but not too many. Cannot wait to read the rest of the series.

HAIRLARIOUS

 

 

Oh Boy!

Do I have a treat for you guys!

Since I’ve been up the wall with editing Run Rosie Run, my very good and dear friend the crazy and insane, the lovely Lynn Kelley sent me a message offering to do a guest post on Fizz & Fangs. And never one to look a gift horse in the mouth I said YES!

Now, I feel I should warn you all now that Lynn is one of those special people who makes people smile just by looking at her and there’s a very good reason for that as you will see.

Take it away, Lynn!

Photo by Rilla Jaggia

Hello, Christine.

Thanks so much for inviting me to guest post today. I thought it might be fun to talk about the real life incident that sparked the idea for Curse of the Double Digits, my children’s chapter book for ages 7 to 10.

My niece was about six and her bangs were way too long to look presentable for a family event. My sister-in-law tried to trim them, but the scissors were blunt, so my brother had a light bulb moment and grabbed his electric razor. . .

To avoid a spoiler here, let’s just say the event made me wonder how a ten-year-old would react. And of course I left the parents out of the scene and had Becky, the main character, ask her best friend Jenna to do the trimming with the electric razor.

It seems everyone has a disastrous hair story, which supplied me with endless possibilities for scenes in Curse of the Double Digits. Hair problems are just one issue Becky has to deal with during a string of bad luck that begins on her magical birthday. Now that the book is published, more people have shared bad hair day stories with me.

Here are a few:

From Cindy Howland-Hodson (Hobo Annie Rambles): “I was camping with a group of friends up in Big Bear, and as we stood around in the woods listening to a campfire speaker, I leaned against a big ol’ pine tree. When I stepped away, my hair was stuck to the trunk!

“Turns out the sticky icky sap had been dripping into my long locks the whole time! It was a gooey mess! Fortunately my McGyver hubby knew enough to coat the mess with MAYONAISE, which softened and removed it! Unfortunately, I smelled like a sandwich for the rest of the weekend!”

 Hobo Annie!  You can see her hair is super duper long!

From Rhonda Hopkins: “When I was about 8, my aunt decided to trim my bangs. Not only were they nearly to the top of my scalp but they were cut at an angle. I cried and cried. Once my nieces were old enough to understand I’d tell them, “If Aunt Dell ever tries to cut your hair, run screaming and tell another adult.” One day, I heard this yelling and my oldest niece came running and jumped in my lap screaming that Aunt Dell was trying to cut her bangs. I thought I was going to bust a gut laughing so hard. Good thing my aunt has a sense of humor.

The following is more of a strange hair story than a disaster hairdo. The saying, “To each his own” definitely applies here:

From Nancy O’Connor: “My nephew, Sean, came to visit one fall. I hadn’t seen him for a while, so I was a bit surprised to see his new hair style. Although he was a quiet and polite kid, he was very proud of his red and blond spikes, which made him look like a punk Statue of Liberty! To make the long spikes nice and stiff, he used Elmer’s glue.

“When I asked him how he ever washed his hair, he patiently explained that when he took a bath, he leaned back into the water and went, ‘Crick, crick, crick, crick,’ bending the spikes back and forth until the water softened the glue enough to shampoo his hair. Then, once it was clean and dry, he started the process over again. When he started looking for a job, he had the audacity to comment on the narrow-minded employers who judged his abilities by his hair style.”

Elmer’s Glue! Who woulda thunk? I think I’ll use some the next time I try a crazy do like this one for my YouTube videos:

 

Do you have a hairlarious story you’d like to share?

 

Children’s author Lynn Kelley worked as a court reporter for 25 years while she and her husband, George, raised their four children. Her first chapter book, Curse of the Double Digits, for ages 7 to 10, debuted on October 10, 2012.

Here’s the blurb:

Becky turns 10 on the 10th day of the 10th month!

She expects it to be magical.

 The whole class is invited to her party, including Chad, the cutest boy in the fifth grade. So is Darlenie-the-Meanie.

 Becky wants to look cute for her big day, but all her plans go wrong. Really wrong. The magic of turning ten disappears before she even has a chance to blow out her birthday candles.

 Things get so bad, she refuses to go to her own party. Becky wonders if the Curse of the Double Digits will jinx her forever.

 

Lynn also coauthors the spooky, fun Monster Moon mystery series for ages 8 to 12 under the pen name BBH McChiller. The highlight of her life are days spent with her grandchildren. Most of her time involves books: either writing books, reading books, or making altered art books. She tries her best to keep her overactive imagination in check.

To buy your copy of Curse of the Double Digits:

Amazon U.S  – Paperback and eBook

Amazon UK – Paperback and eBook

Barnes & Noble – eBook $2.99

Smashwords (formats for all eReaders)

Hope you’ll visit Lynn’s WEBSITE and follow her BLOG if you don’t already.

 

Haha! Thank you very much, Lynn!

You can come back anytime!

Christine X

 

EDWARD WHO?

 

 

As you know I’m a sucker for a well written burning hot vampire.

My perfect vampire hero would be a bad boy who takes the heroine right to the edge. And guys, do I have a doozy for you.

Meet Kane Malloy and boy is he bad to the bone. Woo Hoo!

My hardcopy of Blood Shadows arrived last Friday and cannot tell you how excited I was to receive it. This series first found traction during the New Voices romance competition where for two successive years author Lindsay Pryor reached the final four. I believe her reader comments during the competitions numbered in the high hundreds. For a paranormal author this was an amazing breakthrough where hard-core romance readers crossed romance genres to fall in love with Kane. And that says a great deal about the quality of Lindsay Pryor’s writing.

 

Since the fall of 2010, where I first read Lindsay’s work, I’ve followed her progress with huge interest. Lindsay had never let anyone, and I mean anyone, read her work before she entered the first competition. What she had been doing over fourteen years was to learn her craft and guys, she learned it well.

I finished Blood Shadows at 3.30am this morning. Yep, I couldn’t put it down and as for ‘Who’s Edward?’ I’d say, ‘Who’s Christian?’ because Kane Malloy kicks that bad boy’s ass (or as Kane might say, ‘arse’.)

Here’s the blurb:

For vengeance – would you trust a vampire?

For justice – could you betray your family?

For love – are you ready to question everything you believe in?

Gifted with the ability to read the shadows of ‘third species’ beings, Caitlin Parish is the Vampire Control Unit’s most powerful agent. Despite that, her mission to hunt down Kane Malloy – a master vampire – comes with a death wish. Many have tried, but few have survived.

For Caitlin, tracking Kane is about more than just professional reputation. With her parents both mysteriously killed 7 years apart to the day, Caitlin knows that without Kane’s help she is next.

She has four days to make a deal with the wicked, the irresistible, the treacherous Kane Malloy. The vampire who despises everything she stands for.

Or die.

Blackthorn: Book One

Brought to you by Lindsay J. Pryor – powerful, absorbing, intense paranormal romance.

“Lindsay J. Pryor easily earns a place alongside Paranormal Romance’s best writers!” Michele Hauf

“An incredible voice for paranormal.” Rhyannon Byrd

Now as you can see Lindsay’s already found an impressive list of famous fans.

I’m not famous but I know a literary diamond when I find one and Lindsay’s a shining, brilliant new talent in the paranormal genre. Her writing is fluid, lyrical with sensual descriptive prose which hits the spot. The dialogue between Kane and Caitlin sparks.

Here’s an example:

 

 

One of the most challenging aspects of a paranormal author’s work is world building. And a dark dystopian world is a particularly tricky thing to pull off. Lindsay’s lived with her world, her characters, for many years which means she writes them with a confidence, an authority, that makes the reader believe they are real and the events which happen plausible and feasible. And that skill is what makes a talented writer a great one imho.  And Blackthorn is a dark, claustrophobic, almost gothic world where nothing is as it seems.

What struck me when I first read Lindsay’s work and especially after reading this book from cover to cover is the intelligent exploration and development of the love story. It’s hot, it’s passionate and it’s compelling, it’s even fiercely intense, but most of all Caitlin’s vulnerability and her courage in the face of that vulnerability – and how Kane copes with it – make this a fabulously valid emotional arc.  I loved it.

And there’s more to come, thank goodness.

To say I’m utterly thrilled to be able to write this today is an understatement. My emotions are all over the place; pride, joy and a lovely tickle in the gut that I was RIGHT, lol!

Oliver Rhodes of Bookouture (for authors click the link) has done a great thing by publishing Lindsay, a great thing, and he should take a bow while I give him a round of applause. Oliver’s had many years in publishing romance. The man knows his onions and he’s bridging a much needed gap between self publishing and publishing and given Lindsay the freedom to tell her story her way. A man of vision one might say and I for one wish him every success.

So what’s next for Lindsay Pryor? Want to see what she looks like? Here she is. I think she looks cute but she tells me she was channeling her evil side. Nope.

 

Book two, Blood Roses is out in the Spring of 2013 and Book three is out in the Fall of 2013.

And she’d better be well on the way with books four, five and six or I’ll want to know why – no pressure!

And finally, here’s my daughter (she’ll kill me for posting her but I do it with love) with her copy of Blood Shadows to buy it just click any of the title links:

 

 

I’ll keep you all posted on Lindsay’s progress, but if she doesn’t end up with a film/tv deal tripping along the red carpet with the rich and famous then my crystal ball’s faulty. And as you all know, there’s nothing wrong with my crystal ball!

I’ve missed you guys, but Rosie’s well, just being Rosie!

Have you found a new writing talent?

Big Hugs,

 Christine X

THE NEXT BIG THING – RUN ROSIE RUN by C.C MacKenzie

Welcome to THE NEXT BIG THING blog tour. Many thanks to the wonderful Stacey Joy Netzel who tagged me and I’ve tagged another writer at the bottom of this page.

The idea is that we all answer the same ten questions about our current or next release, which means I get to talk about Run Rosie Run…

What is the title of your latest book? 

It’s called Run Rosie Run and it’s the third book in the Ludlow Hall series.

Where did the idea come from for the book?

Rosemary Margaret Gordon is the best friend of Bronte Ludlow (now Mrs Nico Ferranti, lucky girl) from the first book in this series, Reckless Nights In Rome. Rosie’s character grabbed readers so much they demanded her own story. Luckily for me I was already writing her. Just this week I found handwritten notes/scenes with Rosie and Alexander dating from January 2011. So she’s been living with me for quite some time.

What genre does your book fall under?

It comes under the wide spectrum of Contemporary  Romance.  I write fast paced romantic fiction with authentic and valid emotional conflicts. They’re quite hot and steamy since the stories reflect the moment when two people fall deeply in love and physical attraction is a big part of that in real life.

What actors would you choose to play the part of your characters in a movie rendition? 

This is such a difficult question because I never have anyone in mind when I start writing characters. But the model on the prototype cover is definitely Rosie and my readers agree. Alexander might be a smoother, taller version of the British actor, Jamie Bamber.

What is the one sentence synopsis of your book?

She’d wasted enough of her life in love with a man she could never have and the time had come to give another man a chance, but now Rosie has two men who will stop at nothing to win her heart, which one will she choose?

Is your book self-published or represented by an agency?

I’m self-published by More Press. The freedom to write in two genres, Contemporary romance and Paranormal romance under the subheading of vampire fiction, is a gift.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of the manuscript?

From memory, I’d say about eight weeks in total. But I never work on one book at a time, I work on three or four. At the moment the book’s in the hands of my betas. I’m already halfway through a first draft of book five in the series, the story of Coco Monroe. After Rosie comes the story of Justine and Joshua.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?

Perhaps Bella Andre’s family sagas? It’s hard because I don’t compare my writing to anyone else. I try to write what I want to read and can’t find.

Who or what inspired you to write this book?

It’s always been a secret dream of mine to write a romance. My first love is paranormal and I’m a big fan of JR Ward, Christine Feehan, Nalini Singh and Sherilyn Kenyon. Those girls rock. However, I also have a love affair with the contemporary romance girls including Gemma Halliday, Bella Andre, Ally Blake, Kelly Armstrong and India Grey.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

It might surprise them, in a good way, lol!

So, interview over, I am now going to tag the fabulous John L. Leviness III  with the same ten questions. John’s post will be up on the 1st of December!

xxx

Thanks for Great Books Blog Hop!!!

 

 

 

The wonderful the stupendous, the gorgeous, the talented and all round beautiful woman, TamaraWard  is the brains and the beauty behind the WG2E Street Teams latest book, prize and fun giveaway over the 24th and 25th of November.

Nine fabulous authors have new releases and they’d love to have you celebrate with them. They’re showcasing  new books at the Beach Book Blast website and at their sister site for readers at the RG2E. They’ve something for everyone—from Romantic Suspense, to a sweet Holiday romance, to a YA Dystopian and a few mysteries. To make the event even more fun, they’ve added a blog hop where readers can connect to their favorite authors and learn what great books, characters, or authors have inspired them.

Here are the partners in crime, er authors, who are participating.

Fabio Bueno @ http://www.fabiobueno.com

Debra Burroughs @ http://www.DebraBurroughsBooks.com

L.C. Giroux @ http://www.lcgiroux.com/thoughts

Stacy Green @ http://stacygreenauthor.com/

Stacey Joy Netzel @ http://staceyjoynetzel.blogspot.com/2012/11/thanks-for-great-books-blog-hopfall.html

Janice Lane Palko @ http://www.thewritinglane.blogspot.com

PJ Sharon @ http://www.pjsharonyawriter.blogspot.com

Lily Silver @ http://romancinghistorylove.blogspot.com/

I, of course, would have been among this illustrious bunch if I’d had Run Rosie Run ready, but as we all know I’m nearing the endgame! And can only hope it’s all worth the agony and the ecstasy – if you catch my meaning.

I’m also full of some sort of horrible bug, sweats, a fever, swollen glands and earache. I hate winter and any sympathy you want to dispense will be gratefully received.

Enjoy!

Christine X

RUBBING SHOULDERS WITH THE FAMOUS

 

 

This is the wonderful Diane Capri – best-selling legal thriller author extraordinaire with the terribly sexy Lee Child. (That’s a name drop, so shoot me.)

It’s not often I rub shoulders with the famous who rub shoulders with the famous.

In fact I can’t really think of one famous person I’ve rubbed shoulders with, unless you count the ballerina Darcy Bussell years ago in Zimbabwe. But that’s another story.

Diane writes intelligent legal thrillers with intellectually kick-ass heroines. However, she’s really hit the big time with ‘Don’t know Jack’ a homage, in many respects, to the character Lee Child’s created, Jack Reacher. As you can see Lee loves Diane and all the girls love Lee.  Diane cleverly analysed the impact on the people Jack left behind, what happened to them and why after Jack touched their lives. The thing about Diane is that she understands the human condition. Might have something to do with the fact that she was a lawyer – see a wonderful interview with Karen McFarland here.

But I digress, Diane has me on her blog today, revealing me HERE. Omigod! One of the things she insisted or else requested was a real-time photograph of what I look like now. Omigod!

Can I just say in my defence, that I’m the one in the yellow T-shirt with the silver pompoms dancing on top of the moving float? And the other one with the bleached hair was after treatment when my hairdresser wanted a new look and I actually (must have been the drugs) said yes?

It’s not often I ask you guys to man up and help me, but please stop by on Diane’s blog and comment or she’ll kill me or worse.

And for those of you wondering about Run Rosie Run, she’s in edits and I’m wondering why the hell Alexander Ludlow wants her, seriously.

 

WHY MEN NEED HELP

Hello, my lovelies.

This was taken in the lovely Cheshire town of Wilmslow last week. I’m a regular visitor, usually with one or both of my daughters where we enjoy a coffee at a French cafe people watching before surfing through Benetton. We’ve shopped at the Benetton store in Wilmslow for over twenty years. And if you just happen to be passing feel free to pop in and say hello because the people who run it deserve a big gold star for customer service and buying choices. The stock is always fantastic. Awesomesauce.

Speaking of sartorial choices, a recent survey came to my attention a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, and this is true, fifty per cent of the men responding to the survey admitted to being dressed by their wife, partner or significant other. For example, ‘helping them choose which tie went with which shirt.’

Hmm. I can hear many of you sputtering over your coffee, ‘Nonsense!’ I hear you cry.

Well, I’ve got news for you. I don’t let mine out of the door unless I’ve cast a wary eye over what he’s wearing. You see mine likes to wear his ‘favourite’ shirt/jeans/cords/shoes etc., until they’re threadbare which is fine as long as I’m not with him. BUT when I go out with him, he’d better be polished, coordinated and a picture of sartorial elegance and that includes zipping up his fly.

Why is it a man can forget to zip up his fly? I remember once walking down the high street in our town and out of the corner of my eye I realised his gate was open. ‘ZIP!’ I hissed and walked in front of him so that he could do it unobtrusively. Can’t call me a passive-aggressive – I’m aggressive all the way.

Anyway, I asked my good friend Mags about this. Mags is a card carrying feminist. Did she dress her husband? I wondered.  She rolled her eyes and said, ‘Of course I do. I’ve better things to do with my time than argue with him about choices. I make it easy and don’t give him a choice. If I left it up to him he’d look like reject from Oxfam.’

‘That’s a bit harsh, isn’t it?’ I said. Her husband’s a big pussy cat and lovely.

She snorted. ‘I draw the line at matching anoraks. Those woollen hats with a pompom irritate the hell out of me too.’

Oookay. Since I’ve been giving the survey much thought (instead of editing the hard bits of Run, Rosie, Run) I reckon being married is why men can’t be bothered. Once they’ve snared won the woman of their heart’s desire, most married men care about their clothes the way they might look after bird seed: with a total lack of care and attention.

However, there is one part of Hugo’s wardrobe that certainly claims his attention. Gilets and cargo pants. He has duck down gilets, quilted, cotton, waterproof and many more and in many colour ways and the reason for that is they have plenty of pockets. It’s the pockets that do it for him. A pocket for his cell phone. A pocket for his keys. A pocket for his wallet. A pocket for loose change. A special pocket for pens. A pocket for his camera lens. A pocket for his glasses. A secret pocket for his secret cigars. (Supposed to have kicked that habit, darling.)

I blame David Beckham for the unfortunate rise in popularity of the woollen cardigan among middle-aged men who should know better. It is not a good look, guys. David is built like Adonis and as much as it pains me to tell you this. You do not.

So, guys, do you allow your wife to dress you?

Girls, do you dress your husband?

You know I adore hearing from you!

Christine

PS Reckless Nights In Rome is at varying levels in the top twenty in iTunes across many countries and sales of A Stormy Spring are rocking too. Click on the iTunes link on the top right hand corner of the blog to get your free copy of Reckless! Enjoy!

British Paranormal Romance Author Signs Three-Book Deal!

Reblogged from Lindsay J. Pryor:

Yep, that’s me! And I have waited sooo long to be able to say that.

But let’s cut straight to the chase because I know what you’re here for – you might want to grab a coffee first! Here’s the official press release that just went ‘live’ from my publisher (and there’s information that follows about them too if you scroll through):

Read more… 1,125 more words

My baby is going out into the world - AT LAST! How exciting is this?