Dani Collins's Blog, page 44

January 2, 2016

#SampleSunday - Baby Swap!

Happy New Year!

#SampleSunday - Baby Swap!

I started mine like this:

#SampleSunday - Baby Swap!

I was feeling very keen to get back on track with exercise and eating right. I went for a walk to buy healthy vegetables and promptly slipped on the ice and hurt my wrist. It was swollen and many pretty colours showed up, but I'm quite sure it's only a sprain. (I'm still typing! That's the important thing for me.) I have a doctor appointment on Tuesday just to be sure it's nothing more serious.

For now, the real news is...

The Marriage He Must Keep is available on all platforms (and shelves!) now!

#SampleSunday - Baby Swap!

SampleSunday - The Marriage He Must Keep

This scene happens after Octavia has left the hospital, but they're still in London. Sandro is re-courting his wife. They're at a restaurant in an old house that has a number of small dining rooms. They're alone in theirs.

~ * ~

“The music has started. Let’s dance.”

“I—Here?” She glanced around at the room containing a handful of empty tables, sparks of light glancing off the glass of the framed sketches. “There’s not a lot of room.”

“We don’t need a lot of room. I’m going to hold you very close.”

Little shivers went through her as he picked up her hand and she found herself standing, letting him draw her to him. He’d done this before, on their honeymoon, when she’d been so apprehensive about their wedding night she had bordered on telling him to “just get it over with.”

He had done this, though. Held her. Soothed her. His touch was light, yet confident. He was warm and strong, his arms a place of safety while the brush of their bodies revealed he was aroused.

She wanted to weep with relief that she could still affect him, but anxiety struck at the same time. “You know I can’t—”

“I know. I still want to hold you,” he murmured, lips brushing her brow. “I wish you’d told me about your parents before. You want a better life for Lorenzo, don’t you? We can have one, Octavia. I promise you we can. Give our marriage another try,” he coaxed, more gentle than dictatorial, but it was a command, not a request. “We’ll both give it a proper try.”

Oh, he was smooth, lulling her with the lazy circles of his palm on her back.

“I suppose I should take heart from the fact you’re saying that even though we can’t sleep together,” she muttered, turning her curled fingers on his chest to look at her fingernails.

“We’ll sleep together, cara.” He stopped swaying and tilted up her chin. His strong thumb caressed her skin while he lightly cupped her throat in his wide hand.

She instinctively turned her hand on his chest to press, staying him from making an advance.

Their gazes locked.

He must have felt the way her pulse was kicking. Beneath her palm, she was surprised to feel his heart punching with similar ferocity, making her tingle all over, as if they were caught in a force field that held them joined and motionless, frozen with anticipation.

He was going to kiss her.

“Do you want to?” he asked in a graveled tone. He wasn’t asking about a kiss. He was asking if she wanted to sleep with him.

She wished she could look away from his gray-green eyes. “I just told you I can’t,” she reminded him.

A very faint smile tilted his mouth. “That’s not what I asked.”

And she was transported back to the first time he had kissed her. After spending two hours locked in her father’s office, days after their first meeting at the gala. He had left the room and his tracking gaze had found her on her mother's settee and locked in. He’d come across to put a ring on her finger and asked, “Shall we seal the deal?”

She’d already been nervous while he spoke to her father, then terrified as she realized what he meant. It hadn’t been her first kiss, but it had certainly been the first one she’d felt like pure spirits burning down her middle. Heat had poured across her skin and made her fingers and toes tingle. She’d opened her mouth instinctively, accepting the exploration of his tongue. She’d loved it.

A thousand kisses had followed, all of them exquisitely delicious. She loved kissing him. Nothing compared.

But if she kissed him now, it would imply agreement.

Doubts continued to float and burst like rainbow-colored bubbles around her, but her gaze dropped to his mouth. She was giving in. She could feel herself surrendering the fight…

Because she really, really wanted him to kiss her.

His head lowered.

She expected a crush of ownership. Triumph even.

He kissed her like he had that first time. Lightly. Sweetly. Gradually coaxing her to part her lips and let the heat and dampness spread.

She was the one who slid her arms around his neck and leaned in and encouraged him to increase the pressure. She opened her mouth and fisted her hand in his hair and punished him for making her wait so long to feel alive. She had missed the sexual energy, the rush of excitement, the provocative differences in their bodies that stimulated her in ways she couldn’t even explain. She kissed him hard and drove her tongue into his mouth and made a noise of anger and relief.

He locked hard arms around her, holding her tight, just short of squeezing her. His hands moved with possessive familiarity, one splaying under her bottom and angling her hips into his groin.

She rubbed against him, inciting him with the grind of her hips and the scrape of her teeth against his lips. She wanted to bite him. Hurt him.

He grunted, kissing her harder as he took control, holding her with restrained power just short of crushing her while he pulled at her lips and ravaged her mouth.

To hell with her recovery and the tenderness across her belly. She wanted him. Her body went weak, signaling her willingness to be taken.

She felt the reaction in him, the gather of his muscles as if he would pick her up and carry her to the nearest surface. The floor. He had in the past.

He tore his mouth from hers instead, one hand moving to the back of her head to tuck her crown under his chin where he held her as though protecting her from the fireball that had exploded into flames between them. They panted, hearts slamming.

To her eternal shock, she realized they were in a restaurant. Voices drifted over the music from the other rooms.

She closed her eyes, needing this moment to collect herself. That had been raw and voracious. Alarming. They’d never been like that before. It made her a little frightened for when they could make love again. They might shred each other to pieces.

“It hurts,” he said gruffly. The hand low on her spine pressed just enough to make her aware of the iron-hard muscle digging into her tender abdomen. “It hurts to touch you and not have you. To smell your hair and feel you against me and kiss without having the rest. It damned well hurts, Octavia. That’s why I stayed away. But I’m not letting you leave me.”

Fine trembles gripped her as she tried to think and couldn’t. She just wanted to feel. She wanted him. She wanted to believe this was something they could build on.

“You haven’t even said you’re sorry,” she managed to say, forcing herself to pull back enough to see him. Pathetic as she was, she needed his support to stand, even as her voice cracked with suffering.

~ * ~

Love it? Want it? It's everywhere, including store shelves like Walmart, grocery and drug stores.

The Marriage He Must Keep is Book One in The Wrong Heirs duet. Next week I'll post a scene from Book Two, The Consequence He Must Claim (available now on the Mills & Boon site!)

#SampleSunday - Baby Swap!

Want to pre-order The Consequence He Must Claim to deliver to your device auto-magically on Feb 1?

I hope you have a terrific start to 2016. Do be careful through January. Mercury is retrograde for most of the month. Apparently February and March will be strong months for initiating new things, but April through August will be a slower pace for everyone. I'm okay with that. The last few years have been frantic. What are your plans for the year?

Take care,

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Published on January 02, 2016 09:52

December 19, 2015

Happy Holidays from Dani!

This is probably my last post of the year. My daughter is driving home today so we'll be enjoying some family time over the next week as I'm sure you will be, too! But since you've made the effort to visit me during this busy time of year, please enjoy a couple of free reads on me.

If you belong to my newsletter, you received this earlier this month. I won't always share my bonus reads here, but it is Christmas.

Download The Russian's Acquisition Christmas Epilogue here.

Happy Holidays from Dani!

Subscribe to my newsletter and you get Cruel Summer, my free short story ebook about college sweethearts who get a second chance when they attend a weekend wedding. If you don't have it, sign up now and it will take you to a screen where you can download once you've approved your subscription.

Watch for....

Come January, you'll be hearing more about my baby swap duet, coming to your bookstore shelves in January and February of 2016.

Happy Holidays from Dani!

If you'd like to pre-order, you can get The Marriage He Must Keep here:

And The Consequence He Must Claim here:

Have a safe and happy season. Take extra care on those winter roads! See you next year!

Much love,

Dani

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Published on December 19, 2015 11:14

December 12, 2015

#SampleSunday - The Marriage He Must Keep (2)

The last few weeks, as I've sat down to blog, I've realized that I've fallen down on taking pictures. We've had some pretty snowfalls, but I've taken zero photos. Then this week it was nothing but rain. I still walk, but the view isn't anything worth blogging about. At least I have this gorgeous Sexy cover to gaze at...

#SampleSunday - The Marriage He Must Keep (2)

Before I jump into your #SampleSunday, I'll just mention for my Aussie readers that I have quite a line up for you over the next three months. Vows of Revenge, which was my September release in North America and the UK, was postponed so it could be a holiday release Down Under. I love how pretty the cover looks with the holly and such.

If you'd like a taste of this one, read a #SampleSunday from Vows Of Revenge here or tap the image for the Amazon Australia link.

It's on your shelves now, through December. Then I have The Wrong Heirs for you in January and February (as far as I know.) If you're an Aussie reader, you'll be thinking I write a book a month. I wish!

Now for...

SampleSunday

I have very, very belatedly realized that you can read a good chunk of the beginning on Amazon. So I've changed up my #SampleSunday previews to give you a taste of other scenes.

In this one, Sandro has told Octavia he wants her to return to Italy with him. (Of course he does. Their son is born. Her need for the London Specialist is over. It's time to come home.) She has reservations...

~ * ~

“You want me to pretend we’re happily married,” she confirmed. “Despite all that’s happened.” She was crushing Lorenzo’s soft new jacket into a ball against her diaphragm.

“I’m not trying to downplay what he’s done, but we have to move past it. We can’t let it impact our marriage.”

A million responses tore through her mind, but the one that came out was an incredulous, “What marriage?”

“We’re not talking about Primo, are we?” he said grimly, expression shuttering. “You think I was dishonest about my reasons for marrying you.” He folded his arms. “You’re turning this into something bigger than it is, cara. Why I married you doesn’t matter. We are married and we’re going to stay that way.”

This was the man she’d caught glimpses of when he spoke with other powerful men, like her father. When she had stood beside him at company events and seen minions leap to do his bidding before he’d finished stating what he wanted. No one said no to him, but she had to. Had to.

“Of course it doesn’t matter to you,” she corrected, blinking and trying to ignore that her eyes were stinging, hoping the low light hid how wet they were growing. “Because I mean nothing to you. I realize that now, thank you, although I admit it was a bit of a shock. I mean, I knew my father didn’t care which Ferrante took me so long as one of you did—he’s never had my best interests at heart—but I thought you, at least, had been more discerning. I thought you decided that night that you liked me, but no.” It hurt so much to face that. Her voice scraped all the way up her breastbone, abrading her throat. “I didn’t go into our marriage expecting love, Alessandro.”

She had to flick her gaze away. The yearning had been there, no matter how self-deluded the wish had been. The death of that hope twisted her lungs in her chest, filling her voice with the wretchedness that gripped her.

“But I expected you to care. Not a lot, but enough to keep me from dying in childbirth on the floor of our bedroom—” It wasn’t even theirs anymore. It was hers.

Her throat seized and her eyes burned. She made herself fold the tiny jacket with trembling hands, refusing to look at him as she pushed her shattered expectations into an armored vault.

“Octavia.” His voice sounded like she felt. Shocked and shredded and tight. Strong hands took her shoulders in a warm grasp as he turned her into him. “I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t want to know,” she charged, knocking his hands away and stepping back. “You certainly never showed up to ask. He told me—” She didn’t want to say it aloud, didn’t want to know if it was true, but she had to face it if it was. “He said you were having affairs. Were you? Is that what happened? Are you in love with someone else?”

The look on his face created a kind of barometric pressure that couldn’t be heard or seen, only felt, making the air go dense around her. Pulsing and thick.

“No,” he said with understated thunder.

“I can’t believe you could think for one minute—”

Octavia tensed at his incensed tone.

He cut himself off, doing everything he could to stay this side of civilized. It was a struggle. The picture she painted of her terror during labor, along with the accusation she was throwing at him like tar, clung and burned. He was a man who took his responsibilities seriously, never behaved negligently, but he’d made a mistake. That was hard enough to take, but now this? Accusations of cheating?

“How would I know what you’ve been doing in Naples?” She was different. She’d hardened in the months since he’d seen her. As loving as she appeared toward Lorenzo, that was the only softness in her now as she stared at him, shades of denunciation and rejection skittering behind her eyes.

Something shook in his chest. Like a closed shutter taking a strong wind, testing the locks. It was painful. Disconcerting. Primo had been intent on hurting him. That was painful enough to face, but even more devastating was how effective Primo had been with his attack.

Octavia had been a delightfully easy addition to Alessandro’s life, biddable and filled with a shy passion he had mined with a type of gold fever. He hadn’t had to fight for her. Hadn’t had to give up anything of himself to get what he wanted.

He had taken for granted that he had her. He could admit that he’d been arrogant on that front. But what the fallout from Primo’s actions was rather graphically demonstrating was how nascent his connection to Octavia was. It was a piece of paper that bound their assets. He didn’t have her.

That unsettled him, which was odd because he hadn’t married for a love match. This, what they were enduring, was more angst than he had ever wanted to wade through. He’d deliberately sidestepped the highs and lows of an emotional landscape by marrying a woman who kept her own heart guarded.

Octavia pushing him away as she was doing, however, was the exact sort of chaos Primo had hoped to unleash.

“No one has ever accused me of so many dishonorable things,” he muttered. “But I am guilty of one thing only, Octavia, and that was trusting the wrong man.”

Her mouth twitched before she firmed it into a stubborn line. There was something else in her demeanor, however. Something bleak. “I thought he might be lying, but…” She searched his eyes with indecision clouding her own.

The air thickened as he instinctively sensed something worse coming.

“He said you only got me pregnant for the bonus my father offered you. That you didn’t care about how my pregnancy was going so long as Lorenzo delivered alive.”

“Porco cane,” he muttered, cursing his cousin while his mind exploded. “That is—” He had to move away and dig a hand into his hair. He clenched enough of a handful to hurt. Dio, at this rate his own security team would have to take him down if he was ever within five meters of his cousin. Otherwise he’d be jailed for first-degree murder.

“I was terrified for both of you,” he said, voice hoarse as he revisited those hours between being informed that she needed emergency surgery and arriving to hear they’d come through safely. “He deliberately played with me, leaving me hanging with partial information. It was a nightmare.”

She searched his expression and, just for a moment, he let the agony retake him. He let her see that he might not have been beside her, but he’d been with her.

But going to that place was dangerous. He couldn’t control his reaction to having been sent there by someone he had thought he could trust. He slammed the door on that torment and looked away.

“He wanted to hurt us and we can’t allow it. We can’t let him destroy our marriage, Octavia. We can’t let him win.”

~ * ~

Goodreads Giveaway

Book Two, the other half of the baby swap, is up for grabs if you're on Goodreads!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Consequence He Must Claim

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 15, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Other News

I'm writing this on my usual Friday night. I find that a relaxing time to wrap up my week. Well, it usually is. This week I've been wrestling revisions and my To Do list hasn't been as carefully tended as I'd like. I'm glaring balefully at it.

But I'm ready to knock off and have a glass of wine and watch Netflix for a couple of hours with MrC. It's a busy time of year, and we all deserve to unwind a bit, right? I hope you can find some time to relax this weekend, too.

Take care,

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Published on December 12, 2015 08:20

December 5, 2015

#SampleSunday - The Marriage He Must Keep

So this happened over at the Mills & Boon site this week:

The above is the UK cover for this one:

#SampleSunday - The Marriage He Must Keep

I dropped by to see if it was available on the Mills & Boon site and was stoked to discover it sitting in the #1 spot! Of course, look at Sandro! So sexy, right? (In both versions! Wait until you read him!)

The Marriage He Must Claim is Book One in my baby swap duet called The Wrong Heirs. If you belong to my newsletter, you have probably already downloaded the first two chapters for this and the second book, The Consequence He Must Claim. (Membership has its benefits! Join here!) You get a free ebook just for signing up!

For those of you who haven't joined, the first chapter of Book One is here.

SampleSunday

First, the blurb:

Claiming his heir…

When Alessandro Ferrante dutifully married shy heiress Octavia it was a pleasant surprise to discover that his convenient bride was as sweetly sensual as she was beautiful. But when their newborn baby was swapped at the hospital their fragile marriage reached crisis point

…and his wife!

Now, with her baby safely back in her arms, the revelation that Alessandro’s family was involved leaves Octavia wanting nothing more to do with him. But Alessandro won’t take no for an answer – after all, in the bedroom she always said yes! He will seduce his wife again and ensure that Octavia – and his child – are his for ever!

Here's CHAPTER ONE

~ * ~

ANOTHER KNIFING PAIN speared into her lower back, radiating like a spiked belt around her middle and clenching her torso in a merciless fist that stole her breath.

“Please call Alessandro,” Octavia Ferrante begged in a pant, knotting her fists in the blanket beneath her as she braced herself for the next contraction. She was starting to fear that something would happen and she would never hear his voice again.

Her husband’s cousin, Primo Ferrante, only sighed. His hold on the curtain dropped with disinterest as he turned away from the window. “I told you. He said he would come if the baby is born alive. Otherwise he’s not going to put himself out.”

She didn’t want to believe it. Primo seemed to draw more enjoyment daily from tormenting her. She no longer trusted him and was sure this was more of his games.

But after this many months of being exiled to London by her husband, she was beginning to believe at least some of what Primo said. He was certainly correct in labeling her soft in the head. She’d let her life spiral beyond her grip. Pregnancy was an odd state, making you feel vulnerable in tiny degrees so you didn’t realize how defenseless you were until the need to fight arose and there was nothing to draw on. She had insulated herself here, licking her wounds over Alessandro’s rejection, and suddenly she had no resources. No one to help her.

Rebellion had backfired on her in the past so she rarely dissented, but she’d never been weak. At one time she’d been confident in herself, at least, if not truly assertive. She’d even felt a certain pride in those first few weeks of her marriage—

Another pain tore through her, making her grit her teeth to hold back a scream.

Alessandro, she silently begged, as a fresh wave of perspiration rose to ice her skin. But she knew all about men who wanted live births of their sons. Maybe Primo was telling the truth about her husband’s lack of concern.

Call my mother then, she almost said as another pain gripped her, but her mother was also in Italy and would have even less sympathy. Eight times she’d gone through this. Seven of them fruitless labors. Eight, really, since Octavia was hardly counted as a valid heir.

Female. Only good for one thing. This.

Octavia had lived in fear all her life that she would suffer as her mother had, losing babies before she could deliver them. For good reason, apparently. This was not the idealistic, natural process the books promised. This was torture. The baby was coming a month too early, and the pain was terrifying. Something was wrong. She knew it.

“Where is the ambulance?” she cried as the pain throttled back enough that she could catch her breath and speak. “The clinic said to call one as soon as I went into labor. Did you do it?”

“You’re being hysterical. These things take hours. You know that,” Primo muttered.
He had said he would, but she would bet her life that he hadn’t.

“Give me the phone,” she demanded, holding out her hand. Why was he even here? Why wasn’t her husband?

Her pains were coming on top of themselves. She had to wrap her arm across her swollen middle, fearful her skin would split under the stress.

“Please, Primo. I’m begging you. Take me to the hospital.”

“You’re an embarrassment to our family name,” he said, sneering at her rumpled, sweaty form and tear-streaked face. “Where is all this pride in duty you once told me you had? Show some dignity.”

His cruel words, delivered by a cruel man whom she hated with all her being, still had the power to wound. Because Alessandro had left her to this. Each time Primo verbally flayed her, she felt it as an uncaring swipe from Alessandro, like batting a fly. She had been his toy, perhaps, because he’d seemed so taken with her in those early days, but now she was nothing to him. Utterly forgotten. His indifference was a body blow every time she confronted it.

As anguished and defeated as that made her feel, she wasn’t about to give birth on her bed, risking her baby’s life and her own. Inching to the edge of the mattress, she braced herself on the night table, begging her knees to hold her. She’d crawl out of this room if she had to. Primo might wish her dead, but she wasn’t going quietly.

“Is that blood?” Primo demanded sharply. His hawk-like gaze swooped from her tense face to the spotted blanket and back. His complexion grayed.

As she looked at the small mark, what little body heat remained in her drained from her face and chest and limbs. This was it, then. Like her mother, she was doomed to lose her baby. If she survived, this would happen again and again as she tried to live up to her side of the marital contract. Why, oh, why had she thought going through with an arranged marriage would finally earn her some respect from her father? Why had she let herself begin to care for her husband, hoping to earn his affection?

Why had she opened her heart and taken this unborn infant deep inside it, believing that finally there would be a human on this earth who loved her back?

No one was ever going to love her. She was the only person she could rely on. It was time to face that.

With a sob, she staggered across to where he’d left her phone on the windowsill and snatched it up. Bowing her head against the wall, silently praying, she dialed the number for emergency services and told them to send an ambulance.

Alessandro Ferrante saw his wife was calling and his pulse tripped. He immediately tamped down on the involuntary reaction, ruthlessly regaining control over himself and annoyed that he let her catch him so easily, even when she was on the other side of the continent.

But some measure of surprise was legitimate. She never called him anymore.

Which he was trying not to let bother him.

“Cara,” he answered, ears straining for clues as to why she was calling now. It was late in London, even later here in Naples, but apparently they were both still up. Perhaps the baby was kicking. She had said a few times that she had trouble sleeping through that. It had made him feel the distance between them quite keenly…

He ignored the stab of something that might have been regret. The separation was necessary. He wouldn’t give in to weak yearnings and wind up putting her in danger. That would be irresponsible.

“Sono io,” Primo said into his ear. It’s me.

Not Octavia then. Disappointment fell through him before he could deflect it. He habitually fought extreme degrees of emotion, never allowing them to rule his actions, but this marriage was becoming so very much not a marriage and it was beginning to frustrate him. It had started with such promise. They had had a remarkable compatibility, particularly in bed, but it had disintegrated into something he didn’t know what to do with anymore.

Not for the first time, he questioned his decision to leave her in London, but all the facts remained the same: she was pregnant and at risk. Her mother had a history of losing babies. His mother’s house in London was in the same city as a world-class specialist clinic, one that had been monitoring her closely. She was also safe from the threats here in Naples. His refusal to bring her home was absolutely the best thing for her and their unborn child.

His wife had taken to avoiding his calls, however. His cousin made all her reports, which was an intrusion Alessandro didn’t appreciate. Why was Primo even still at his mother’s house? How long did it take to get an apartment painted these days?

“Si?” Alessandro prompted his cousin now, tone sharpening with dismay.

“She’s gone into labor,” Primo said bluntly.

Alessandro sat up, arteries stinging with an immediate shot of adrenaline, the desk full of work before him forgotten. This was too early. Almost a month before her due date. He had planned to fly out next week. He reached for his tablet, already tapping out a message to his driver and pilot.

“It all happened very quickly or I would have called you sooner,” Primo continued. “The ambulance was delayed and—well, there have been complications.”

Silence followed.

Alessandro waited.

A knife of dread went through him, impossible to dodge. Primo liked to frame things in as much drama as possible. Sandro had talked to him about it more than once, told him that it only exacerbated situations, but Primo loved to grab and hold attention.

This wasn’t the time.

Unless Primo was truly reluctant to deliver bad news.

Alessandro could hear the ticking of the clock that had been in his family for generations—tick, tick, tick. Like a bomb. He couldn’t breathe. He was paralyzed, completely devoid of feeling and his mind was empty as he held off what he feared would be a repeat of another moment when tragedy unfolded. When tires screeched and—

“Yes?” he prompted, throat raspy and thick.

“They had to take her to the nearest hospital, not the one where she was scheduled to deliver. It’s inundated with a bus crash, but they’re taking her for surgery right now.”

His nerves exploded with a rush of urgency, barely rational.

“Which hospital?” Alessandro demanded, fighting a ferocious grip of emotion that wanted to overstep reason and break down doors and walls and laws of man and nature to reach London. He grappled to stay calm, forcing himself to speak clearly even as his mind and heart raced. “I’m leaving now. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

~ * ~

What do you think? I'm really excited about both of these books! I hope you enjoy them!

Goodreads Giveaway

And remember, Book Two is up for grabs if you're on Goodreads!

The Consequence He Must Claim

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 15, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

Other News

On the writing front, I'm so far behind I think I'm out in front! I'm kind of angry with myself because I had planned to have a lot of December free, but one thing and another has happened. In some ways it's a question of my own priorities, so I really have no one to blame but myself. I like to get revisions done as soon as they arrive so that's what I'm doing, pushing the writing of a fresh project into the middle of December.

Of course, my horoscope is fine with waiting until the 11th to start something new. That's supposed to be a really friendly New Moon so if you have something new to start, you might want to make note of that date yourself!

I'm cutting this short. I have plans to crawl out of my Fortress Of Literature and blink at the sunny smiles of my family today. I hope you have a great weekend. I'll be back next week with more from The Marriage He Must Keep.

Hugs,

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Published on December 05, 2015 08:18

November 28, 2015

Website Refresh!

It's been a quiet week on the Western Front. We had our first snowfall, which means I shovelled for the first time this season. I did it once before it got too heavy and thought, This is nice exercise. By the second time I was less enchanted and by the third, in the dark, as it was turning wet and very heavy, I decided shovelling bites.

Website Tweaks

I'm very excited by some behind the scenes changes here on my website! I hope you'll check out my books page, which is much easier to navigate now. (Click on the list option on the right and you'll see the previous version, which has more detail, but I am greedy. I want to see all my covers with all my eyes!)

I'm also thrilled to now have a media kit and all my other fun extras on one page under Extras:

I have a few other tweaks. I would like a page of all my foreign covers, but that will take some time and effort to organize, especially if I add the links.

Please have a lookiloo around. I've switched up my About page to add some photos from old family albums and even my News page has been updated.

Other News

This also happened this week, and it's a bit of a story:

Website Refresh!

I live very rural so the courier does not deliver to my house. It's actually a whole thing that gives me the sweats. This is an true conversation with the driver that I had with him when I saw him on my street this summer:

Me: "Are you going to my house?"

Him: "I don't go that far."

Me: "It's just around the corner. Like a few hundred meters."

Him: "I don't go that far."

Me: "But I get a lot of parcels. When you leave them in town I have to drive 25 kms each way, an hour out of my day on my gas."

Him: "I don't go that far."

My girlfriend, minutes later, when I relay this conversation to her: "But it's just up there. A few hundred meters."

Me: "He doesn't go that far"

So he drops my parcels at a spa. Yes. A spa. Run by extremely nice people, but still. I work from home. I'm here to sign for boxes. But he doesn't go this far.

My entire family knows this topic gets me into a lather. On Monday, I was already eyeing the calendar, wondering if I was going to have to make some calls to find out where my books were. Then my son came home and he said, "Mom, I have a present for you."

It was my books. Which had been delivered to the spa on a snowy day when I would not have wanted to drive into town. Their daughter goes to school with my son and they hooked him up. (Not that kind of hook up!)

I was so thrilled, my son said, "Are you going to cry?" (I almost was.)

I've since set up a Goodreads Giveaway, but it doesn't start until Tuesday I think. There's a Murphy's Law principle with Goodreads Giveaways. If you want them to start right away, they won't get approved for days. If you set them to start a week down the road, they get approved overnight.

The Consequence He Must Claim

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends December 15, 2015.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

99c - Final weekend!

Last chance to get this for 99c! The price goes up on Dec 1st.

I hope you had a wonderful week visiting with family and friends, maybe even got yourself some bargains? Have a terrific weekend and I'll check in soon with some #SampleSundays.

hugs,

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Published on November 28, 2015 10:40

November 21, 2015

Look On Nook - A Year Of Love In Marietta

Hello from the Lake! Are you preparing for a family dinner this week? We did our Thanksgiving in October so it will be situation normal around here--although Canada has started to cash in on the Black Friday madness. I have no plans to brave it. What about you?

99c - This weekend only!

Ha! I just realized this is my own Black Friday madness! But it's true.

Today and tomorrow (Nov 21/22) are your last chance to pick up A Year Of Love In Marietta for 99c. It is on Nook if you've been waiting for it there. There were some techno-glitches, but I finally got the link yesterday.

News

I've had a solid week of behind the scenes stuff: research, outlining, organizing website updates, prepping my next newsletter... I even stepped out for a massage. My MT calls me a writing athlete and says I need to schedule a day of rest.

This is really hard for me! I love what I do! But I will try pulling back on the weekends. My husband was working such crazy shifts all summer it didn't matter how much I worked, but now he's back to Monday to Friday. I do want to be able to sustain this career for the long haul so days of rest are a must. Right?

Montana Homecoming

This one is 99c through all of November. Maybe you've come to me through this collection? Are you a fan of one of the other authors and found some new-to-you authors in this bundle? If so, Welcome! Please read on for info on free excerpts and downloads.

Newsletter!

My Christmas epilogue for The Russian's Acquisition is scheduled for my Dec 1st newsletter. If you're a subscriber, you'll see the link then.

In my last newsletter, I also included a download link for a sneak peek at my duet THE WRONG HEIRS. I'll be posting #SampleSundays here for those books starting Dec 5th, but if you're part of my reader group, you get the first two chapters of my Baby Swap duet right away.

Would you like to join? Wait, don't guess yet! You also get a copy of Cruel Summer, my short story ebook. Click here to join.

I hope you have a lovely week catching up with friends and family (and finding some deals if you're out shopping!) I'll be back next weekend. Until then, take care.

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Published on November 21, 2015 08:52

November 18, 2015

A Year Of Love In Marietta - Available!

How is your week? I wrote this post last Friday then Paris happened and I just today realized I hadn't made this announcement here yet.

A Year Of Love In Marietta - Available!

99c - Limited Time!

Have you read any (or all?) of my Montana Born novellas? If you have, and you enjoyed them, you may still want A Year Of Love In Marietta. I wrote some BONUS CONTENT for this anthology and it's priced at 99c until Nov 22nd. After that, the price goes up to $4.99 so now is the time to scoop it up!

Amazon US | CA | UK | Aus | Kobo | iBooks | Googleplay

Montana Homecoming

I'm delighted to see some reviews stacking up for this collection. Here was one that made me feel very good!

"I read each of these stories individually and they are some of the best sweet romances out there. If you enjoy second chance and coming home stories then this is a perfect set for you. I highly recommend it." ~ 5 stars, Amazon Reviewer

Newsletter!

Last week I mentioned that I offer exclusive content for my reader group. For instance, I have an epilogue for The Russian's Acquisition coming up in December.

Well! It occurred to me that my readers deserve a sneak peek at my duet THE WRONG HEIRS before I start posting excerpts here so... If you're part of my reader group, you got that little easter egg yesterday. You're welcome!

If you'd like to join my reader group, (along with the epilogue for The Russian's Acquisition, you'll get a copy of Cruel Summer, my short story ebook) click here.

The week is almost over. I'll be back in a couple of days! Take care,

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Published on November 18, 2015 21:10

November 14, 2015

Love Vs. Hate

I wrote my usual cheery post last night before I had watched the news and saw what happened in Paris. My heart goes out to all those people who have lost loved ones. It's tragic and horrible and shouldn't be happening in today's world. (In any world.)

Whenever these acts of hatred happen, we romance authors start questioning ourselves and our choice in career. From some angles, it might look like we're twiddling our thumbs, pushing fluff when we could be using our energy (and voices) to change the world.

I contend that we are, in our small way, not only changing the world, but comforting those who are disheartened by the agonizing one we occupy. Let me tell you why I believe this.

When my husband and I were in New York this summer, I had some commitments at conference so he went to the Guggenheim Museum without me. When we were catching up later that evening, he told me about Columbian artist Doris Salcedo's exhibit, which explores loss through violence. There were empty chairs to represent people who had disappeared and stacks of 'torture tables.' It disturbed him so much he had to walk away.

I was disturbed as he told me about it and I had yet another crisis of faith, questioning whether writing about love matters. Obviously Ms. Salcedo uses her creativity to communicate a profound message. Me? I write about people taking it off and getting it on. She is obviously of a calibre so high above me, I have no right to call myself an artist.

There. I've spared you the effort of judging what I do. I judge myself harshly enough for the both of us.

But.

"But," I said to my husband in our New York hotel room, as I felt deeply inferior to the Ms. Salcedos of the world. "I can't help wondering how people lose their humanity to the point where they torture and kill others." Then, because I can be horribly flippant, I said something like, "Maybe those torturers just needed someone to love them."

It was facetious and tasteless and go ahead and judge me for that, too.

But the foundation of empathy is love. That's the truth. When you love someone, you feel their pain and want to spare them from it. The world needs more love.

Not everyone finds their soul mate. Not everyone feels loved. In the pages of a romance novel, however, they can feel love. They can experience connection and come away with the hope of finding it in their 'real' life.

How is that a bad thing?

We romance authors have a romantic view of the world. That's why our books are called 'romance' novels. We are revisionists who consistently take dark reality, like the kind reflected by Ms. Salcedo or experienced by the people of Paris, and push it into the past, showing characters triumphing over the painful adversity of life and moving into a world of healing and support and compassion and love.

Yes, our picture of the world is not real. Some would claim it's not even 'realistic,' that we shine an impossible, candy-colorer light toward something that will never exist.

Lots of things didn't exist until people believed it could. (Women's right to vote?)

So I'm going to keep believing in my world, where love triumphs over hate. I'm going to keep putting love into this world.

#PorteOuverte

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Published on November 14, 2015 11:05

November 7, 2015

Montana Homecoming Available Now!

Make sure you scroll down for an excerpt from Hometown Hero, my contribution to this wonderful anthology.

It feels like a homecoming to me to see this boxed set come out. Hometown Hero was my first novella for Tule and I really didn't know what I was getting into when I wrote it last year. But I tell you! Tule, and the Montana Born imprint, is a wonderful community of welcoming authors who are tremendously supportive of each other. I'm so very, very pleased to have found a publishing home here.

And super delighted this boxed set is such a deal (99c through November!) Are there new-to-you authors here? Because this is a great way to enjoy a low-risk sample.

Here are your quick links, then I have an excerpt to further entice you if you're still not convinced.

Excerpt - Hometown Hero

Skye had a crush on Chase in high school and he has come back to help his kid brother. Last night they were at a school dance, he accidentally said something stupid, she went off like Fourth Of July Rockets, and one of the kids caught the scene on his cellphone.

Since Chase is a professional baseball player, the video has gone viral, creating a huge embarrassment for shy, small-town Skye (both of them, really.) Chase has just showed up at the school, where she works.

~ * ~

If he had come to apologize, she was going to tell him where to shove it.

This had been the worst day of her life, worse even than when Terry came out. Then, at least, she’d been the wronged party. Today people were asking, What were you thinking? Even Terry had defended stupid Chase Goodwin. He’s not a homophobe, Skye. I, uh, think he always knew I had a bit of a crush on him. He was really decent about it.

She had not needed to know her ex-husband had shared her crush on the town treasure.

“I’m not interested in talking to you,” she said to Chase, glancing anxiously toward the open door of the counselor’s office, where Brenda had left to fetch a student, then the firmly closed door of the principal’s office, where he was meeting with the VP and one of the trustees.

She didn’t know which was worse, having witnesses to this confrontation or not.

Chase leaned on the counter exactly the way the students did, like they wanted to order ice cream or a beer. “Maybe you can ask someone else to help me, then,” he said without emotion.

He looked insanely attractive, freshly shaved, lightly tanned, his dark brows stern above his intent green eyes, his mouth a sexy male pout that would make any female swoon.

“I need the parent volunteer forms so I can drive students and help with school events."

Take that, Skye. As if he’d come here special to see you. Like he owed you an apology.

Her throat stung and she feared she might be blushing. Rising, she turned away to open a drawer in the filing cabinet behind her, willing her composure back into place as she took her time fingering through and tugging out the forms. When she turned back, Chase’s eyes swiftly lifted to clash into hers.

Had he—?

Her butt tingled and her stomach swooped. Don’t, she thought. The last thing she needed was to start imagining he’d been checking her out. Hot and hating herself for it, she set the forms on the counter near his elbow.

“I need a copy of your driver’s license,” she told him.

He reached into his back pocket, the move drawing her eye to the way his T-shirt strained across his shoulders and pecs. Dear Lord, he was beautifully built. Were men allowed to have lean muscles like that without carrying a license for them as deadly weapons?

He offered the card in two fingers. Something in the way he did it made her lift her eyes to his. His brows went up ever so slightly.

He’d noticed her checking him out.

Kill. Me. Now.

She snatched the card from his grip and boiled with self-consciousness as she turned her back on him to make the copy. If he was looking at her backside again—but why would he? She didn’t want him to, did she?

What was she doing with her life that she was going off the rails like this? She was basically a happy person. She didn’t have self-destructive thoughts so why would she long for a spark between her and someone who would devastate her in all the ways Terry hadn’t? It was crazy. Literally not sane or logical.

She took the photocopy to her desk and slapped it into her In tray, refusing to look at his photo even though she was dying to. She’d finish processing this later, after he’d filled out the forms. Sitting down, she set her fingers on her keyboard, determined to carry on with her day and be normal.

He continued to stand at the counter, watching her expectantly.

“What?” she demanded.

“Can I have my driver’s license back?”

Oh for God’s sake. Blushing hard, she shot to her feet so fast her chair rolled back into the filing cabinet with a crash. Get a grip, Skye. She scooped the card from under the lid of the copier and when she slapped it on the counter, she only dared lift her gaze high enough to see he was biting back a rueful grin.

“Look, I know my being who I am made this worse—”

“Oh, no, my life is great,” she snarked, managing to keep her tone a level under shrill. “Isn’t it everyone’s dream these days to be an internet sensation? Give the forms to Max when you’ve filled them out. He can leave them in my tray.” Never come back here again, she willed him.

Then felt inexplicably sad, but honestly. This fixation needed to be carved out of her psyche and cryogenically frozen for a future generation to deal with.

“Hey, I didn’t post that clip. And for the record, I was being sarcastic last night. I know you can’t turn people gay.”

“Sure about that?” she shot back, once again finding herself pushing back for the simple reason that he had the gall to say to her what no one else had. “Wanna put it to the test?”

“I’d love to.”

The smoky look in his eyes, the deeply male timbre in his tone, crashed over her like a tropical wave, softening her bones and put a tickling feeling deep in the pit of her belly. A type of yearning.

One that was beyond misguided. Look who he was. He was mocking her. Had to be. Probably because he wasn’t any happier than she was about the way she’d embarrassed him.

“That’s not funny,” she told him. “It’s mean.” And then, because the backs of her eyes were sizzling, she went into Brenda’s office and shut the door.

“Skye!” he called.

She heard a door open and the principal spoke to him, asking if he was looking for her. After a brief exchange, everything went silent, but she continued to hide, bunching a tissue that she dabbed to keep her makeup under control, until Brenda came back and needed her office.

~ * ~

Ah Skye. She and Chase started my affair with Marietta and it continues through not just my books, but all the other authors who make this small town feel like a real place. I'm as much of a fan of Tule books as you are!

Now, if you missed my post last week, I'll remind you that I'm all about bundles this month!

A Montana Born Christmas

Montana Homecoming Available Now!

Blame The Mistletoe was the second book I wrote for the Montana Born imprint and this bundle is still available for a discounted price of $2.99. (It goes up to $4.99 shortly. Act fast!)

A Year Of Love In Marietta

This is where it gets complicated. And this is why you need to act fast to claim all these deals!

Those top two bundles contain my first and second books along with awesome stories by other writers. This next one, A Year Of Love In Marietta, contains all four of my novellas PLUS (Wait! Don't guess yet!) BONUS SCENES available no where else!

So even if you've read these novellas as stand-alones or as part of the other boxed sets, I hope you'll take advantage of the pre-order sale price of 99c and scoop up this boxed set so you can enjoy spending a little more time with all my Montana Born characters.

Note: The introductory price expires on Nov 23rd. These are the links I have so far:

Amazon US | CA | UK | Aus | Kobo | iBooks

Newsletter News

Are you a member of my reader group? If not, you're missing out on some exclusive content. I have an epilogue for The Russian's Acquisition coming up in December and you get a free short story ebook right away as a welcome gift.

Click on the image to sign up and claim your copy or click here.

Have a great weekend!

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on November 07, 2015 08:14

October 31, 2015

Bundle Up For Winter!

I'm all about bundles this month!

Bundle Up For Winter!

Way back in July, I started planning to release my Montana Born novellas in a boxed set. Then the Christmas bundle came along and now I've just learned the Homecoming boxed set launches on November 4th!

Don't worry, you haven't missed any of them! The Christmas one will be available through the season and the other two have special introductory pricing! Keep reading for more details. But first...

Exciting Writing News This Week!

Bundle Up For Winter!

A Montana Born Christmas landed on the USA Today Bestsellers List!

We're all thrilled and I must extend a huge Thank You to you, Dear Reader. This would not have happened without your support. If you missed this bundle, your quick links are below. Act now! It's still only 2.99, but that price will be going up soon!

Montana Homecoming

Bundle Up For Winter!

Montana Homecoming contains my Hometown Hero along with four fabulous Montana Born authors, all telling heartwarming stories centred around Homecoming. It will be on sale through November for 99c. I'll have the links for you once it releases Nov 4th.

A Year Of Love In Marietta

All four of my Montana Born stories PLUS BONUS SCENES written exclusively for this boxed set!

Bundle Up For Winter!

Even if you've read these novellas as stand-alones, I hope you'll take advantage of the pre-order sale price of 99c and enjoy spending just a little more time with all my Montana Born characters. Introductory price expires on Nov 23rd. These are the links I have so far:

Amazon US | CA | UK | Aus | Kobo | iBooks

Giveaways

Finally, a quick note to mention this Goodreads giveaway is open until mid-November: