Zoe Dawson's Blog, page 15

Meet My Character Blog Hop

Welcome to the Meet My Character Blog Hop! First I want to thank Kyra Halland for inviting me to the blog hop. Her info is below to check out her post.

Kyra Halland Began with the Prydain books by Lloyd Alexander and the Earthsea Trilogy by Ursula K. Leguin. She has always loved fantasy. She has also always loved a good love story. In 1990, as a new stay-at-home mom with a young baby, she finally decided to combine those two loves - like chocolate and peanut butter! - by writing the kinds of romantic fantasy novels she wanted to read. Complicated, honorable heroes; heroines who are strong, smart, and all woman; magic, romance, and adventure; and excursions into the dark corners of life and human nature mixed with a dash of offbeat humor - all of these make up Kyra Halland's worlds. She is excited to share those worlds with readers, who she hopes will enjoy her stories and characters as much as she does. Kyra Halland lives in southern Arizona. She has a very patient husband, two less-patient cats, and two young adult sons. Besides writing, she enjoys scrapbooking and anime, and she wants to be a crazy cat lady when she grows up.

Meet My Character Blog Hop post | Website | Facebook | Goodreads

And now, an introduction to my last and third triplet from A Perfect Dilemma in my A Perfect Secret series:

1) What is the name of your character? Is he/she fictional or a historic person?
Braxton Outlaw may be a fictional character, but is very real in my head. He’s one of three triplets. His ancestor, Duel Outlaw, was branded a thief and a murderer and hanged for stealing a Confederate payroll and murdering the guards. The curse of his crimes has followed the family down through the years. Being outcasts has affected the whole family line including anyone who is associated with them. His love interest is River Pearl Sutton. She is the town's rich girl and descended from the town's founder, Colonel Beauregard Sutton.


2) When and where is the story set?
It’s set in present day Louisiana in the fictional town of Suttontowne that's on the ancient, mysterious and primal swamp. A place of lush ferns, colorful flowers growing in the shade of hardwood trees dripping with moss, teeming in wildlife and fraught with danger.

3) What should we know about him?
He owns his own bar/restaurant called Outlaws and is a very good chef. Very innovative. His brother Booker made it big publishing horror on the internet and helped him to buy the business. The triplets entertain there when all three of them are present. Brax plays the violin or as it’s called in the South, the fiddle, Booker the piano, and Boone the guitar. They all sing. He has a very strong bond with his mother and his two brothers. They have always had to protect each others’ backs growing up in a town that scorns them. Brax is extremely angry about two things. Not being able to pursue River Pearl Sutton because of his reputation and the disappearance of his father when the trips were six to avoid the law when he was accused of stealing.

4) What is the main conflict? What messes up his/her life?
Even though he’s been trying to resist River Pearl because of his reputation, she requests Brax’s help to research Duel Outlaw because he and Colonel Sutton were friends. She wants to write a speech about friendship for the annual Founder’s Day Festival that celebrates the Colonel. But during this research River Pearl stumbles on a terrible secret that forces her to either destroy her family or lose the man she loves.

5) What is the personal goal of the character?
His main goal is to resist River Pearl to keep her from being affected by his reputation, but resisting her becomes increasingly difficult the more they are together.


6) Is there a working title for this novel, and can we read more about it?
The series is called A Perfect Secret and the book is titled, A Perfect Dilemma. You can read about Booker Outlaw and Aubree Walker in A Perfect Mess and Boone Outlaw and Verity Fairchild in A Perfect Mistake. Links to buy are on the pages.



7) When can we expect the book to be published?
It should be out in August/September, but to ensure you don’t miss it, get notified about my upcoming releases by signing up for my newsletter. For information about all my other books, check out my website.

Be sure to check out the next three stops on the Meet My Character Blog Hop:

Candace Carrabus I've been writing stories and riding horses-frequently simultaneously-for as long as I can remember. I grew up on Long Island and spent my formative years in the saddle-just imagining. After high school, I traveled to Ness, England and studied at a British Horse Society training school. This was an all-around amazing experience. When I left, I clutched a certification to teach riding in my hot little hand, and I enjoyed instructing riders for many years. Who am I kidding? We know it is the horses who do the teaching. All we can do is try to remain open to what they have to say. Not surprisingly, my fiction and non-fiction are both frequently infused with the mystery and spirituality horses have brought to my life. My philosophy, in brief: (No, not in briefs, but that's a nice image, thank you very much.) We are all immigrants in spirit, with our minds, hearts, and souls being the final frontier. Yep, that's it. I've discovered this is what happens to all my main characters-whether by choice or accident or design-they go somewhere else. They immigrate. At first, this change may be only external-physical. Over time, their journeys lead to a place of discovery and growth that is within each individual alone. The final frontier to which we all can go.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

 Margo L. Dill is the author of Caught Between Two Curses, a YA light paranormal romance novel about the Curse of the Billy Goat on the Chicago Cubs, and Finding My Place: One Girl's Strength at Vicksburg, a historical fiction, middle-grade novel. She currently has two more books under contract--both are picture books--with High Hill Press and Guardian Angel Publishing. Publication dates of both are to be determined. Besides being a children's author, she is also a freelance editor with the business, Editor 911: Your Projects Are My Emergency! and she is part of the WOW! Women On Writing e-zine's staff as an editor, blogger, instructor, and social media manager. She is also an editor for High Hill Press and specializes in memoirs, historical fiction and children's and YA novels. Margo loves presenting workshops to writing groups and school groups. She loves to ask children the question: Would you eat rats to save your city from falling into the hands of the enemy? What would you do to save your family from a curse? Margo believes that books are meant to be used with children and teens, and she started a blog about this very subject in August 2008, where she continues to blog on a regular schedule each week. She shares mostly children's and YA books as well as memoirs or other inspirational women's literature that encourages and supports women and girls around the world. She blogs at http://margodill.com/blog/. When she is not writing or editing, Margo loves to spend time with her husband, stepson, daughter, and crazy Boxer dog, Chester. She lives in St. Louis, Missouri; and if she could eat out every day, she would! She is also a member of the St. Louis Zoo, and this is one of her family's favorite places to go!

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

Lala Corriere has been passionate about all the arts since early childhood. She is a painter and a former stage performer. Early work careers blended high-end real estate sales and as President of an interior design firm. Her fifth grade teacher, Miss Macy, was the first mentor to suggest she consider a career in writing. That extension of the arts, the written word, turned into a full time passion in 2001.

Website | Facebook | Goodreads

SUMMER FUN SCAVENGER HUNT!

STARTING JUN 15, 2014 - ENDING AUG 31, 2014

FILL IN A MISSING WORD(S) FROM BOOK BLURBS FOR
CHANCES TO WIN AWESOME BOOKLOVER GIFT BASKETS!
FEATURING A PERFECT MESS!
CLICK ON THE COVER FOR INFO

WHERE TO BUY:
Amazon
B&N
Kobo
itunes
Smashwords


BOOKER OUTLAW
AUBREE WALKER

 THE SECOND BOOK IS ALSO OUT!
CLICK ON THE COVER FOR INFO


 WHERE TO BUY:
AmazonB&NKoboitunes Smashwords
 
BOONE OUTLAW AND VERITY FAIRCHILD

BOONE OUTLAW AND VERITY FAIRCHILD

WHAT I'M OFFERING!
BASKET: BAD BOYS RULE! EBOOKS, JEWELRY, CANDLE, SWAG, CHOCOLATE, GIFT CARDUSA Shipping Only
SOCIAL NETWORKING OPS:WIN 1 OF 10 $5 AMAZON GIFT CARDS

SUMMER FOR LOVE BLOG HOP!

Braxton Outlaw

Her hair drifted in the summer sun. Everything about her drove me mad. I'd brought her here to the tree where they'd hanged my ancestor to find out if she was playing me. A sick knot of tension tightened in my gut. It was something I don't think I could handle--her playing me. My brothers and I were the town bad boys, triplets who had each other's back. We came from a long line of Outlaws...well they were outlaws. Even my own daddy branded a thief.

She was River Pearl Sutton. Golden girl and descendent of the town's lauded founder, Colonel Beauregard Sutton. The Civil War hero who built Suttontowne. I was descended from a man who murdered confederate solders for their gold payroll. I stepped closer to her and she turned to look up at me with that guileless gaze. I absorbed her features with my eyes. The August sunlight illuminated her eyes to a fathomless shade of grey. The cool grey of river rock and running water. Staring at River had been something I hadn't let myself do. The sun was hot on my body or was that just her affect on me.

Hot, heat, fire.

"Why did you bring me all the way out here?"

I crowded her back, but she only gave me a direct look. If it wasn't for the pulse in her throat beating with quick throbs, I wouldn't be able to tell there was any tension in her at all. She was so confident, so collected, so...my mind twisted up into chaos whenever I was close to River and this time was no different.

"This is where they hanged Duel Outlaw without due justice, without a trial, without even a night in jail." I looked up at the branch directly above us. I softened my voice. "His feet would have been just above your head, kicking and struggling."

Her eyes cut to the upper branches, the rope they'd used long gone, but the place where it had been wrapped left an ugly blemish on the limb.

She turned her sweet body toward me and draped her arms loosely over my shoulders. I closed my eyes briefly at her touch. My hands flexed at my sides. I wanted to touch her...just let go and touch her.

"I think it's more than that. What is it, Brax?"

"Why are you doing this speech about your ancestor and mine being friends? It's a hellava way to celebrate your Founder's Day. You looking to piss your daddy off?"

She leaned closer to me. Her height allowing her to lean in to whisper in my ear without me having to move a muscle. Her breath blew soft and hot against my moist skin. "You think I have an ulterior motive?"


There were many ways to make me perspire. Living in the bayou"Yes, I said. I think you do."
"Maybe I do, Brax. Maybe I want to know what it feels like to have your willing mouth on mine, participating, caressing, and passionate, taking me like I know you want to. Maybe that's what I want. My dirty little secret."
My heart lurched and my body went rock hard. Everywhere. Just when I thought I was invincible, she came and happened to me. I pressed her against the bark of the tree, my head dipped down to my utter doom.
Her soft, slightly parted lips.
That's an excerpt from my upcoming book, A Perfect Dilemma , the third novel in my A Perfect Secret Series.


  A Perfect Mess and A Perfect Mistake have already been released and are available at all retailers.

(6) $50 Amazon or B&N Gift Cards

Comment with your name and email to be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. Comments without name and email will not be counted. Commenting on each and every stop will increase your chances of winning.
Winners for the (6) Grand Prizes will be drawn and announced on THE ROMANCE TROUPE blog by June 10th.

Find a list of all stops here!

http://www.theromancetroupe.com/p/a-summer-for-love-blog-hop.html

Tell us something about summer love that moves you. 

My Prize1 $5 Gift Card

I'll choose a winner at random and contact by email after the giveaway is over.  Have a wonderful day, and happy hopping.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

HARPER AND CALEB ARE ON THE CHARACTER COUCH

The Character Couch is a reader-focused website where fans can go to nominate a favorite couple that they’d like to see go into a “light” therapy session—as fans did with Harper and Caleb. I say "light" because these aren't angst-ridden sessions, but fun and entertaining, certainly poignant at times. It is the brainchild of Tracy Tappan whose "therapist" persona Regan Malloy is a Family and Child therapist in Midtown, Manhattan. Keep this name in your databanks. You'll be seeing it crop up in Captured.


Harper and Caleb are on the couch. Yep, anyone who knows me as an author knows that I don't spare my characters conflict. That's the only way they learn the truth in their souls and the deep abiding love that builds and lasts between them. Head over to the session and comment. Check below. There are a couple of prizes and also a request. Would love to know your thoughts.

As anyone who is a fan of my novellas, you all know that the marriage and honeymoon can be rough for my couples.


Captured will be here before you know it. Here are the deets:
 

 Add Captured to your Goodreads Shelf!
A companion novella to Collared, Going to the Dogs, #4. Your reading enjoyment would be enhanced if you've already read Collared.
Harper and Caleb are getting married and for the most part nothing has really changed for Harper. She’s still uber rich, her life filled with charities and smoozing. But instead of loneliness and protective walls, she’s opened her heart to the best and most wonderful thing that has happened to her—gorgeous and tough, Detective. Caleb Shaw.
But Caleb’s once normal, blue collar life has been significantly changed. With Harper’s money taking care of everything, what is there for him to provide her? Especially when he hears it bantered around that he’s a “kept” man. Harper dismisses that kind of talk as nonsense and urges Caleb to not worry about it. But even as he tries to grow a thick skin, his pride causes rifts. Will Caleb let Harper’s wealth destroy the deep and abiding love they found?



Add Collared to your Goodreads Shelf!
Diamonds are a dog’s best friend.
Harper Sinclair discovers that her champion, award-winning standard poodle, Ch. Edgewood Sky High Blue is missing her $50,000 diamond dog collar that was given to her by Harper's eccentric, indulging grandmother along with valuable pieces of jewelry. Harper calls the robbery division of the NYPD and reports the thefts. The detective they send is surly and tough with a pair of brown eyes that make even this calm, cool socialite's lungs claw for air.
Rough and tumble Detective Caleb Shaw has better things to do than run over to the penthouse of a frigging socialite to find a frigging collar for a frigging pampered poodle---award winning or not. He has real cases to solve, but when he gets a load of the poodle's owner, his interest in the case...heats up. Satin sheets or not, he wants Harper. But there is more to this robbery than the dog collar. Has someone close to Harper pulled an inside job?
Can a lovely socialite collar a hard-boiled detective or are they worlds apart?
Buy Links:Amazon
B&N
Kobo
Smashwords
Itunes

Now for the prizes!
Tracy will be offereing a $10 giftcard to the first four posters.
I will be offering this bracelet to one random winner who tweets this giveaway and nominates A Perfect Dilemma for a session on The Character Couch. Click on the cover below.


Add A Perfect Dilemma to your Goodreads Shelf!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
About Tracy:

Tracy Tappan, founder and creator of The Character Couch, is a multi-genre author of gritty romance. Her latest release in her dark paranormal series, THE BLOODLINE WAR, about an endangered breed of human who are kidnapping genetically enhanced women to save their race, is available now http://amzn.to/18XDygs

Visit her website www.tracytappan.com and join her Author Updates to keep abreast of other releases in her paranormal series, her upcoming medieval historical trilogy, and her new pulse-pounding military suspense series. Tracy loves to connect with readers. Please follow her on Facebook at Tracy Tappan Romance Author and Twitter at @TracyTappan or email her at tracy@tracytappan.com

RELEASE DAY FOR AFTERLIFE!

Out Now!

The Starbuck Chronicles: AfterLife is released!

This book is a complete 360 to what I normally write. I got this idea about three years ago and put it on the back burner to get my feet wet in self-publishing with romance. It’s not that this book doesn’t have romance in it. It does. It’s just part of me. But, Lily has choices and they’re tough choices. Who will you be rooting for? Of course, to have any kind of love life, Lily has to survive and that’s her biggest challenge in this world gone mad!

Cover Design by the fabulous Jessica Allain Art

Please take a moment to add AfterLife to your Goodreads Shelf

Where to buy:

Amazon

B&N

Smashwords

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Release Date:  Now

Description:

In this world gone mad……Lily’s biggest challenge is to survive.

Lily Starbuck, kick-ass witch caterer, knows that a day that starts with blood on the horizon is a terrible omen. The day goes downhill from there when a grumpy werewolf refuses to pay his catering bill, her partner cleaned out their bank accounts, and Lily finds her murdered in their kitchen. To make matters worse, the Fairy Dust Administration (FDA) is sniffing around. Fae dust hounds hot on her partner’s trail for dealing in illegal dust now turn their attention to her. Their sexy Fae leader takes a particular interest in her and is hard to shake.

Heartbroken, flat broke and with her very livelihood in jeopardy, she discovers that the formidable Otherworlder Security (OS) is being tampered with. With no active investigation and a missing body, she has no choice but to discover who killed her partner. Her only backup is a cantankerous gnome who delights in going invisible on her. Clues lead her to an open case being investigated by a tough OS warden shapeshifter. It seems a rogue mage has created a video game that is unwarded and game monsters are being released to terrorize the human and supernatural citizens of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Trouble is Lily has reason to believe that this mage killed her partner. Looks like Lily will have to make a deal with a vamp devil and battle wits with the Twin Cities most powerful leader all in the name of justice.

COVER REVEAL SQUEE!: A PERFECT DILEMMA

The last but not least Outlaw brother is about to meet his match. River Pearl Sutton has always had a “thing” for Braxton Outlaw, the skirt chaser of the three brothers. She needs his help at the end of the summer to prepare for her Founder’s Day speech. What she doesn’t bargain for is how deep she gets into a relationship with him knowing that she’s heading straight for heartache. That Outlaw boy has his reasons for keeping his distance.

Without further ado, here is the cover.

 This cover was designed by the fabulous  Sarah Hansen at Okay Creations.

Please take a moment to add A Perfect Dilemma to your Goodreads Shelf!

Genre:  New Adult Contemporary

Release Date:  February 17, 2014

Description:

The one secret she can’t stand to keep is the one she can’t afford to tell.

The perfect little rich girl, River Pearl Sutton has always done what her family expected of her. She’d become the perfect little beauty queen, the perfect child model and now her global success locks her into a life she never really chose.

Coming home for the summer to prepare for the Founder’s Day Festival, a celebration of her lauded ancestor, she is tasked by her father to write a speech to be delivered at the end of the party.

Returning to Hope Parish brings her back into close proximity with sweet-talking, skirt-chasing Braxton Outlaw, the boy who always seemed immune to her charms in high school. But now he looks at her with those challenging blue eyes, both intimidating and seductive at the same time. Using research of her family lineage and his as way to get close to this bad boy, they fall into a hot, torrid affair.

She stumbles across a terrible secret that could bring to ruin not only her reputation, but the reputation and standing of her family. But when her infatuation with Brax grows into something that she can’t live without, she must decide what to do. Keep the secret and lose Brax or destroy her family and lose them.

It’s an awful, heartrending perfect dilemma

May Day Romance Facebook Party!

Do you like to win? Do you like to party? Please join more than 50 authors for a fun online party filled with books, prizes, eye candy and more!

When: Thursday, May 1 from 3 pm to 10 pm EST.

Where: Facebook

Who: More than 50 Romance authors in all genres

What can you bring? Your party hat and your good cheer! If you have a picture of your favorite hero, bring him too. Hunks are always welcome!

What do we offer?

Many chances to win!

Books, swag and hundreds of dollars in prizes!

Unlimited fun!

Load up. You won’t gain a pound!

HANDLED IS RELEASED!

Out Now!

 

This cover was designed by the fabulous Robin at Robin Ludwig Design



Handled brings my couple full circle, but instead of Drew being the workaholic, it’s Brooke. She thinks she’s handling everything, but her personal life is suffering, namely Drew. Drew is buffeted by the sheer amount of work that Brooke is doing and he knows the wedding is stressful and taking up so much of her time. So his mantra becomes after the wedding everything will get better. Will they work things out or will Brooke’s internal issues tear them apart? Drew and Brooke are going to beautiful Portugal for their honeymoon. You can go here to see what will be happening with the other three girls. Now, onto Poe and Jared.

WHAT IT’S ABOUT:

A companion novella to Groomed for Murder Going to the Dogs, #2. Your reading enjoyment would be enhanced if you’ve already read Groomed for Murder.

Brooke and Drew are getting married and Brooke is happy juggling all her responsibilities with her wonderful fiancé, Drew and her playful Bulldog, Boxer. She’s in her element running both Pawlish, her doggie grooming spa and Bone Appétit, her dog treat franchise.

But, even though Drew hasn’t been demanding, he’s unhappy. Whenever he brings up slowing down, she reassures him she can handle everything. But the reality is that she isn’t and their relationship is suffering. It isn’t until the honeymoon that things come to a head. Brooke is spending more time putting out fires with her businesses than she is quenching her new husband’s fire.

Will her need to handle everything cause her to lose…the only thing that matters?

Sneak Peek

Andrew “Drew” Hudson looked at his watch

Again.

For the umpteenth time.

Brooke was late.

Again.

The waiter came over to his table. It was bad form to hold a table in this posh restaurant. The glares from people standing at the bar were potent.

He gave the waiter an apologetic look and a wan smile. “She’s running late. She should be here any moment.”

“Yes, sir,” the waiter responded, giving him a look full of pity. Sitting back in his chair, his throat suddenly constricted, Drew loosened his tie and the first button of his dress shirt. He was aware Brooke worked hard. Brooke always worked hard. But with the addition of Bone Appétit it seemed that she was gone more than she was home. This was supposed to have been an impromptu dinner, one she’d initiated since he was going out of town the next day for business and the rest of the week was going to be hectic with their wedding coming up on Saturday.

He didn’t want to act like a girl about this, but truth be told he was feeling neglected. Had been for some time, but every time he tried to bring up the subject with Brooke, she would dismiss it. Tell him that she was handling everything and he needn’t worry.

But the bottom line was that she wasn’t handling everything.

Especially him.

Mostly him.

Their wedding was four days away.

He understood that took up a lot of time. Hell, he’d even pitched in to help as much as he could. They had overcome so much in their relationship, and he needed to think carefully and make sure he wasn’t being…selfish.

“Drew? What is such a handsome man doing sitting here all alone?”

Drew snapped out of his thoughts at the sound of Jessica Farland’s voice. He looked up. She smiled at him the way a woman smiles when she wants a man, no matter what the circumstances. He worked with her at JMW Associates and, in fact, she would be on this business trip with him.

“Hi, Jessica. I’m waiting for my fiancée.”

“If I had a man like you in my life, I’d never make you wait,” she purred.

He smiled to avoid rolling his eyes. Okay, he was a man, and he was feeling ignored, so that comment made him feel good. Then he immediately felt guilty and shifted in his seat. People were still glaring and the waiter gave him periodic you-ready-yet? looks.

“She should be here any minute, but thanks for stopping by and saying hi.”

Jessica looked momentarily surprised, as if she’d expected him to offer her a chair, but her overt come-ons actually annoyed him more than anything else. He’d be the first to acknowledge that she was gorgeous, with her long, auburn hair, thickly fringed green eyes, and tall, willowy form. But he loved Brooke’s curves, her full hips, he loved running his fingers through her long, dark hair, and his heart clutched at the way she wore all her feelings on her face and in her eyes. He didn’t simply appreciate her beauty. Her beauty took his breath away.

Jessica just stared at him as if she had heard wrong. His cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his breast pocket, knowing it was Brooke because of the Who Let the Dogs Out ring tone.

“There she is now,” he said, dismissing Jessica again.

She huffed under her breath and marched away from the table.

With a spurt of annoyance, he answered, “Where are you? I’ve been sitting here for fifteen minutes. The people at the bar look like they’re looking for a rope to lynch me.”

“Drew…,” was all she said, then she sobbed.

“Brooke! What’s wrong? What happened?”

Where to buy:



As of this post, Handled is at the following retailers:

Amazon
B&N
Kobo
Smashwords

EVENTS & TOUR SIGN-UP AVAILABLE

A PERFECT DILEMMA is releasing this summer! Event sign-ups are OPEN!
Click below!

RELEASE DAY FOR TANGLED

Out Now!
The second wedding novella of my Going to the Dogs series. Callie Lassiter is marrying Owen McKay. It was so fun to get back to this couple. Since Leashed was a novella, I didn't really have as much room to play with the characters. As a result, Owen's past was alluded to. Now you get the full story of his life before he met my dog park babe and fell head over heels in love.
This cover was designed by the fabulous Robin at Robin Ludwig Design
Please take a moment to add Tangled to your Goodreads Shelf

Where to buy
AmazonB&NSmashwords 
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Release Date:  Now
Description:
A companion novella to Leashed, Going to the Dogs, #1. Your reading enjoyment would be enhanced if you've already read Leashed. Note: Leashed is currently FREE
Callie and Owen are getting married, but there’s always been something that’s bothered Callie. Owen has never opened up about his childhood, never confided in her what formed him into the man he was today.

As they tie the knot, Callie’s determined that now that Owen is her husband, she has a right to know about his past. A past Owen would rather die than reveal to his beautiful new wife. His past is ugly and brutal. He’s worried that Callie will see him in a different light. He can’t take the chance.

But as they embark on their new life together, Callie can’t let it go and Owen won’t open up. How can their marriage progress in light of what Callie feels is Owen’s distrust. Will their marriage even survive the honeymoon?