Dani Collins's Blog, page 52

#SampleSunday - Hometown Hero (4)

Count down to launch day. I'm so excited! And there's lots to cover (new giveaways and a recipe!) so keep reading.

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First I wanted to mention that I was finalizing the newsletter for Hometown Hero Launch Day before I started this blog post and I pulled the latest winner from my newsletter subscribers. Morgan from Connecticut has won a signed copy of The Russian's Acquisition.

Want in on that action? Join my newsletter!. Bonus reason: Hometown Hero will have a special introductory release price of 99c. I will send you my newsletter Monday morning as a reminder to get Hometown Hero before the price goes up.

I also wanted to clear up a small spot of confusion about Blame The Mistletoe (which you can pre-order here. That's the confusing bit. Blame The Mistletoe has gone up on NetGalley so some lucky readers are getting a sneak peek at it and they haven't got access to Hometown Hero yet. They are wondering if Blame The Mistletoe is part of a series and yes, it is meant to be read after Hometown Hero.

I also wanted to remind you that Hometown Hero is one of five in a series set during Homecoming in Marietta, Montana. Here's the line-up of authors who collaborated on this series along with the release dates for their titles:

Sept 22 - Sing Me Back Home, by Eve Gaddy
Sept 25 - Finding Home, by Roxanne Snopek
Sept 29 - Hometown Hero, by Dani Collins
Oct 2 - Long Way Home, by Kathleen O’Brien
Oct 6 - Home For Good, by Terri Reed

And now, #SampleSunday...

Please keep reading after this for a chance to enter for the Hometown Hero Prize Package and other giveaways.

If you've missed the previous posts, you can catch up here:

Chase caught an eyeful of Skye. Then he said something stupid.
Skye gives Chase an earful. Then she feels stupid.
Skye was caught on camera. And feels extra-super stupid.

Chase feels pretty bad about the whole thing too:

~ * ~

“She’s not a wing-nut. I won’t say that,” Chase insisted wearily to the team’s publicist.

His phone had exploded last night, about fifteen minutes after they got home. Flynn had elbowed his lanky, teenaged frame into Chase’s room and said, One of the guys got Ms. Baynard’s meltdown on his phone. He posted it while we were at the dance. I just told him to take it down, but it’s already been shared like a hundred times.

Chase had just stared at his brother. He was here to keep Flynn’s life under control, not lose his grasp on his own. The players in the series were the ones under the media microscope right now, not the guy who was out with an injury, leaving his team at the bottom of the standings. He’d been so relieved by the idea of coasting under the radar for the next few months, he’d actually been pissed when he’d learned the town wanted to honor him with Quinn Douglas and a handful of other outstanding local athletes. Quinn deserved it, but not him. He felt like a tool.

Now they were up into the hundred-thousand territory of shares on YouTube. Network news was asking for a statement.

“So you don’t want to refute anything she said?” the publicist demanded in a surly voice.

“I don’t have a tiny dick! Let’s get that straight,” he growled.

An hour later he dropped Flynn at school and met up with the physiotherapist he was supposed to visit twice weekly while he was here. The scar from the surgery to repair his torn rotator cuff was healing nicely, but bringing all the muscles back to full strength and range of motion was taking more time. The kind of time that had already been making him antsy when he’d thought Flynn and everything else in Marietta was fine. He hated downtime, preferring the intensity of being caught up in the season: the training, the need to keep his head in the game. Some found the demands exhausting, but he found them a perfect distraction from the mess of real life.

Messes like Flynn taking up drinking and getting kicked off the football team.

All his life, Chase had had one goal: Don’t grow up like the old man. That had meant leaning toward baseball over football, which had been his father’s first love and ultimate downfall. Not making the cut for a college team had sent his dad into a bottle and he’d never come out.

Chase and Flynn had inherited their father’s natural athleticism, but now Chase worried Flynn had inherited the same destructive thirst as well.

He wanted to believe that one Friday night of being a jackass did not a drunkard make, but he’d been out with his injury so he’d flown home to yank his half-brother back onto the straight and narrow. A few heart-to-hearts with Max, Mitch Holden and the other coaches, and he’d earned Flynn a chance to keep up with practice on his various teams. Flynn would bench-warm through the next few games, but sport had been Chase’s salvation through high school. Flynn had potential if he would only keep at it. If nothing else, Chase prayed that having a sober father-figure show up and act like he gave a damn would carry some influence.

The fact he was a god to some of Flynn’s posse was a plus. They wanted to hang with him so Flynn didn’t have to make excuses or feel torn between his brother and his friends. He and Flynn got on well, regardless. Flynn’s mother—and her pregnancy with Flynn—might have been the reason Chase’s mother had left, but he didn’t blame his kid brother. At least Flynn’s mother had stuck with their dad.

She’d been the main breadwinner until Chase had been old enough to get a real job. That had meant Chase had been the babysitter, dragging Flynn with him if he wanted to go anywhere, balancing him on the handlebars of his bike so he could make practice. Later, Flynn had met him at the feed store after school where Flynn had waited out Chase’s four-hour shift, asking Chase for help with his homework between Chase’s spurts of loading and unloading trucks.

He hadn’t felt good about leaving Flynn when he was drafted, even though his step-mom had had a decent paying job by then. Now he wondered yet again if it had been a mistake, but everything he’d accomplished since leaving Marietta had allowed him to keep a roof over their heads. He and Flynn had talked more than once about Flynn coming to live with him, but Flynn liked his friends here and Marietta was a solid town full of solid people, even if their father wasn’t one of them.

Chase really felt he’d done the best he could and he was here now, when Flynn was struggling. That had to count for something. Flynn was a good kid at heart, he reminded himself, just going through the typical strains and growing pains of approaching graduation and adulthood.

He hoped that’s all it was. He’d find out while he was here. His entire focus for the rest of the month would be Flynn.

If he could work up the nerve to go into the school and collect the forms that would allow him to hang around students and help with extra-curricular events.

Damned background checks. He’d told Max he would go all-in. Parent driver, chaperone, whatever they needed. Just get the forms from the office, Max had said.

It had sounded like a five-minute formality, but that had been before the school secretary had publicly disemboweled him.

Now that formality had become an entry into the Gorgon’s cave. He’d texted Max this morning, asking if he could pick up the forms for him. Max’s response: Hell no. Max had felt bad last night, saying, I shouldn’t have said anything to you about it. I know better. A town like this, you can’t move on if everyone keeps bringing up your shit.

Chase knew something about that, growing up overhearing neighbors talking about his dad, watching people shake their heads with pity and disgust when they heard he was Gary Goodwin’s boy. Just thinking about it brought back the sick knot in his belly, the one he used to get before a game, knowing some jerk from a neighboring team would trash talk about his father, trying to get a rise out of him. Trying to get him thrown from the game for fighting.

It’s why he’d been so anxious to leave town. Hell, he liked Montana. He liked the big sky and the clean air. Sitting in the car in the school parking lot, window open, he took a moment to drink in the sweetly familiar scent of a late summer morning in Marietta. The mower was taking down the grass on the field, the sun was baking dust onto the asphalt, the pines were sweating just enough to tinge the breeze with their faint scent. It smelled like a promise.

Rock music approached with the rumble of an engine. A kid with his mother’s car pulled in and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He gave Chase a double-take and a crooked, slightly puzzled grin. He obviously recognized him and wondered what he was doing sitting in the school parking lot.

Procrastinating.

Maybe Skye had called in sick.

Maybe he could apologize and smooth the whole thing over.

Maybe he should just do it.

Leaving the rented SUV, he trailed the kid and entered that unique sound of a school with classes in session, teachers’ voices rising indistinctly above the restlessness of students who resented putting their social lives on hold.

They’d painted. He’d noticed that last night. Had a few more trophies in the case.

Quit stalling. He forced his feet to take him to the office.

Ah hell, there she was, turning away to hang up her phone then swinging back around in her chair to her computer screen, face pale, expression stoic, gaze lifting as she realized someone was at the open door.

Her eyes widened and he heard her thoughts in the persecution that flashed across her face. Are you serious right now?

~ * ~

This is my last excerpt from Hometown Hero. I'm sad, too. The scene after this one is a very fun few minutes where Chase is all sexy and Skye is all flustered. He actually feels like a massive tool after and they still aren't finished bumping into each other. Small towns!

But you'll have to buy the book if you want to read it because next week I have to switch up to The Russian's Acquisition, which comes out November 1st.

However, you can keep reading about Marietta. I've started a new #TeaserTuesday series from the story that follows Hometown Hero. Read the first pages of Blame The Mistletoe here.

Giveaways

As I said, lots to cover on this topic:

My Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition has started and runs until October 23rd. (scroll down)
Starting Sept 29th, I have a Hometown Hero prize package up for grabs. Enter before October 5th. (scroll down)
In October, there will be a special promotion with a bunch of Tule/Montana Born authors for a $500 Visa Gift Card. I know! You'll definitely want to enter that! It will run October 6th-20th and I'll post the links here and on my Facebook Page.
In late October, I'll have a Blame The Mistletoe Package (similar to Hometown Hero one) which will likely run for about a week.
Finally, sometime in November, I'll have a Facebook party with lots of giveaways from my author friends so you can hopefully win some romances to help keep you warm through those long winter months.

Here's the Goodreads Giveaway:

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

And you can enter the Hometown Hero giveaway after September 29th here:

Hometown Hero Giveaway

Want to be sure you don't miss a new release? You can pre-order The Russian's Acquisition here and pre-order Blame The Mistletoe here.

Need something to read while you wait for all these new releases? May I suggest you start on:

The Makricosta Dynasty

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Harlequin has marked down the digital copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage? by $2.00 until September 28th.)

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk are also still showing a sale price. Hurry. I'm not sure how long those will last.

Note that the N.American version is a 2in1. Those are the first two books in this series. If you haven't read them yet, this is a great time to start since the book I'm currently revising, Seduced Into The Greek's World, is Book Four (Demitri's story). If you like to read in order, it goes:

No Longer Forbidden?
More Than A Convenient Marriage?
An Heir To Bind Them
Seduced Into The Greek's World (releases mid-2015)

All my Harlequin titles are available on Mills & Boon UK, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus.

Want to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...etc? Click here for Dani's Social Media links and take your pick.

Somehow the entire morning has got away from me. We're prepping for new flooring, had some people drop by, and I have a recipe for Hungarian Goulash I've been dying to make (thank you Natasha Pow!) Would you like to try it too? I'll post it below and sign off, because I really have to get back to revisions on Seduced Into The Greek's World.

Have a great weekend!

Goulash Soup

1 kg (2.2 lb) beef or venison

2 tbsp flour

Vegetable oil

2 medium onions, diced

4 medium carrots, diced

2 celery sticks, leaves and all, diced

1 red pepper, seededand diced

5 garlic cloves, crushed

4 tbsp good sweet Hungarian paprika

2 tbsp caraway seeds, crushed (good luck with that)

4 tbsp (1/4 C) tomato paste

3 bay leaves

2 litres (3 ½ pints) beef stock

4 potatoes, peeled and chopped in small cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

Sour cream (garnish)

Flat-leaf parsley (garnish)

Preparation method:

1. Trim the meat and cut into bit-sized chunks. In a large bowl, mix the flour with a teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Add the beef and toss so that all the chunks are dusted with flour.

2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan and brown the beef in small batches, setting each batch aside while you brown the next. Take care not to crowd the pan or the beef will steam rather than brown.

3. Meanwhile, heat a little oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan, add the onions, carrots, celery, red pepper and garlic. Cook gently for about 10 minutes until they start to soften. Add the beef, paprika, caraway seeds, tomato paste and bay leaves, then pour in the beef stock.

4. Stir well, cover the pan and simmer for at least 90 minutes until the beef starts to become tender. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer for another 30 minutes. Check the seasoning before serving.

5. Serve the soup in bowls with a generous swirl of sour cream and a sprinkling of parsley.

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 27, 2014 11:56

#Thursday13 - Lines from my WIP

This is a fly-by blog post because I just received revisions and want to jump on them.

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So you're getting thirteen sentences from said manuscript that needs revising. It's a quick peek at Demitri and Natalie, Book Four in what my editor just called my Makricosta Dynasty stories. Yes! A Dynasty!!

Oh, and it has a title: Seduced Into The Greek's World

Here ya go:

~ * ~

“Even if I was looking for romance,” she blurted, “Which I’m not, I’d hardly start with the owner of the company, would I?”

“I don’t know. Would you? Let’s have dinner tonight and talk about it.”

Her stomach swooped and her heart stopped, like she’d hit an unexpected wall.

That’s how it’s done. She’d been observing, trying to crack the code of dating and casual hook-ups. It had seemed complicated, but he made it look easy.
Practice, she surmised cynically.

But hook up with him? Impossible. Her heart restarted, pounding with sudden panic, partly because, well, look at him. He was gorgeous and obviously knew his way around the entire city, not just the block.

~ * ~

Now I'm cutting and pasting from other blog posts so you've probably read all that's below. If you haven't entered the Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition, here's the contest entry widget:

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

You can pre-order The Russian's Acquisition here and pre-order Blame The Mistletoe here.

Hometown Hero will have a special introductory release price of 99c. Join my newsletter to be notified when Hometown Hero (and each new title) goes on sale.

Note: I always draw for a signed copy of my next print book from my newsletter subscriber list so you could also win a copy of The Russian's Acquisition or The Sheikh's Sinful Seduction or Seduced Into The Greek's World--provided I quit blogging and get revising.

Please tune in for #SampleSunday. Starting Oct 5th, I'll switch to The Russian's Acquisition, but I'll have the last instalment from Hometown Hero this weekend, then the book launches on the 29th!

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By the way, Hometown Hero is one of five in a series set during Homecoming in Marietta, Montana. Here's the line-up of authors who collaborated on this series along with the release dates for their titles:

Sept 22 - Sing Me Back Home, by Eve Gaddy
Sept 25 - Finding Home, by Roxanne Snopek
Sept 29 - Hometown Hero, by Dani Collins
Oct 2 - Long Way Home, by Kathleen O’Brien
Oct 6 - Home For Good, by Terri Reed

Need something to read while you wait for all these new releases? May I suggest you start on

The Makricosta Dynasty

Harlequin has marked down the digital copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage? by $2.00 until September 28th.)

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk also had it knocked down to almost half price. You'll have to check if it's still on sale.

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Note that the N.American version is a 2in1. Those are the first two books in this series. If you haven't read them yet, this is a great time to start since the book I'm revising, Seduced Into The Greek's World, is Book Four. If you like to read in order, it goes:

No Longer Forbidden?
More Than A Convenient Marriage?
An Heir To Bind Them.
Seduced Into The Greek's World (releases mid-2015)

All my Harlequin titles are available on Mills & Boon UK, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus.

Want to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...etc? Click here for Dani's Social Media links and take your pick.

Okay, work to do. Thanks so much for stopping by. I'll be back (usually on Saturday) with #SampleSunday.

Cheers,

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 25, 2014 08:16

#TeaserTuesday - Blame The Mistletoe

This is a Two-Fer-Tuesday. I have a blurb for my March book along with an excerpt from Blame The Mistletoe. Keep reading!

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I'm starting this #TeaserTuesday series because I have a lot of books to promote this Fall: Hometown Hero Sept 29th, Blame The Mistletoe Oct 13th, and The Russian's Acquisition Nov 1st.

(I'm getting bookmarks for these three books! They're so cute. Email me your snail address and I'll send you a signed one.)

So I have lots of titles that overlap in the next few weeks, then no new titles through December and January.

As I write that, (with a small measure of panic) I realize how ridiculous it sounds to be worried about going a couple of months without a new book. Some authors go years.

But I think I'm acclimatized to write, release, promote, lather rinse repeat. By the end of 2014, I'll have eight titles that qualify for this year's Rita contest (like the Oscars for romance writers). That doesn't include The Secret In Room 823 which is too short to enter.

The heck, right? I don't know how I did it either.

So, depending on how my next Montana Born book is scheduled (It's the story that follows Blame The Mistletoe, about Blake's sister, Meg), I may or may not have a book in February before The Sheikh's Sinful Seduction, comes out with Harlequin Presents in March. (I predict they'll be on top of each other, which is fine. I'm definitely learning to roll with it!)

On the topic of my March book, I caught this for the first time today myself and wanted to share it with you. It's the blurb for The Sheikh's Sinful Seduction:

Ruled by duty…

A king among men, Sheikh Zafir cannot allow emotion or feelings to color his judgment. His carnal desires must be curbed for the sake of peace in his kingdom. But his control is tested by the feisty Fern Davenport; Zafir must have her.

Driven by desire…

Innocent Fern Davenport tries to resist the sheikh's skillful seduction—she knows that he could never marry her. But under the blistering sun an incendiary thirst awakes, and one incredible night results in a very lasting consequence.

Now this sheikh must claim his heir and his bride!

Seven Sexy Sins—The true taste of temptation! <

"Where's my #TeaserTuesday?"

Right here, Dear Reader. But first, the blurb for Blame The Mistletoe:

Liz Flowers has never enjoyed Christmas, but this one is shaping up to be the worst by far. She let her ex take her daughter to Mexico while she stays behind in a strange town, sitting her former mother-in-law’s high strung little dog. It’s an opportunity to meet new people, but this California girl doesn’t have much in common with the ranchers in small town Marietta.

Blake Canon perks up with male interest when he sees a new face at his friend’s Christmas cocktail party. His son is away and a light affair would take his mind off his financial troubles. Then he realizes he knows Liz. She was once married to the brother of his ex-wife.

Their children might be cousins, but Blake and Liz do the kissing—under the mistletoe. It’s the beginning of a new view of Christmas for Liz, but when their children arrive home unexpectedly, and family secrets are revealed, Liz isn’t sure she’ll stay in Marietta for Christmas after all.

~ * ~

And here's a nice long excerpt of the opening pages.

WARNING: If you feel strongly about reading a series in order, Hometown Hero comes before this story and features Skye and Chase, the hosts of this cocktail party that Liz is attending.

Liz Flowers busied herself arranging her bruschetta-topped baguette slices into a wreath shape, trying to act comfortable, when she was out of her element arriving at a party in full swing like this.

Welcome new people into your life, she chided herself, as she took extra care placing little toothpick bunches of cherry tomatoes and green olives in strategic spots to look like berries. The ‘ribbon’ was made up of strips of lox threaded into a rippling pattern onto skewers. The arrangement looked fantastic, if she said so herself, and spoke of how much time she had on her hands these days.

A pang of loneliness struck, but she ignored it. That emotion was precisely the reason why, despite a mild attack of anxiety at being a stranger in a strange land, she had come here this evening and would stick it out for at least an hour.

Cocktail parties had never been her thing. Her hostess, Skye Wolcott, had assured her this would be more of a potluck get together with neighbors and friends. Skye and her fiancé have a lot of friends, Liz thought ruefully, moving her dish into a more central position on the cluttered table. The gorgeous, high-ceilinged, open-plan house was packed.

To give herself an excuse to scan the crowd, she took in the tasteful extravagance of the Christmas decor. The tree was the focus, as it should be. And real, of course. The one thing she’d begun to learn about this little town was that Marietta was authentic. For some reason, she hadn’t noticed that before, on the few quick visits she’d made over the years.

So, she suspected that the tree might have come from a farm, but was more likely from someone’s ranch. The tree’s base of white lights and tiny silver baubles was layered with colorful ornaments, obviously homemade by children.

Giant poinsettias splashed red and white throughout the room between the shift of bodies as people crossed with drinks and plates in their hands. Their pleasure at seeing familiar faces was genuine. Vases full of frosted sticks vied with bunches of holly encircling candles on end tables and across the mantle.

Whether it was the candles or something in the oven, Liz noted a waft of nutmeg and cinnamon under the heavier aroma of meatballs and lasagna, roasted garlic and ham. This was the kind of home, the kind of Christmas, she’d envied all her life.

So, even though she was having a moment of nerves, she pushed it aside, determined to at least drink in what she’d always yearned for, even if it was second hand.

The table fairly buckled under the mix of finger foods, crock pots, platters of cheese, baskets of buns and bowls of salad. Laughing, joking voices created a lively din over the Christmas music, as people jostled and reached. They all seemed friendly enough, but she didn’t know them and they all seemed to know each other. Their circles looked too intimidating to crack.

Being in an unfamiliar town for the holidays, making new friends, would put butterflies in anyone’s middle, she reasoned. The sense of being an outsider would only get worse if she didn’t take chances like this.

Which was basically what she’d been telling herself about dating for the last couple of years.

She was definitely not looking for Mr. Right while she was here. Not at this party or even this month. No, she refused to put that sort of pressure on herself when she was already feeling vulnerable. The specter of her thirty-eighth birthday could loom all it wanted, along with the false deadlines she’d set for herself to meet the right man, remarry and have another baby before she turned forty. No. She had come to the realization that trying to force things was only making for disappointment as things failed to pan out.

As a Christmas present to herself, she was letting go of all of that and keeping her expectations simple: get out of the house and meet new people. That, at least, she could do successfully.

Maybe.

She suppressed a sigh, not wanting anyone to see how hard she was finding this. Come on, Liz. You talk to strangers all the time.

It was way easier to strike up conversations with a nail file in her hand and when people came to her, but—Wait, was that guy staring at her?

Heart skipping, she reflexively shied away, taking her plastic tub back to the kitchen counter along with an impossible-to-shake impression of a good-looking cowboy in a blue plaid shirt. He’d been clean-shaven, rugged. Familiar? No. Everyone she knew in Marietta had climbed onto a plane for Mexico six days ago.

Oh, quit being such a chicken, she cajoled herself, surprised by how much electricity was running through her limbs. Chatting to a man for five minutes was not a lifetime commitment, she reminded herself. If he wanted to approach her, she shouldn’t act like a nineteenth century school marm about it.

Gathering her courage, she forced herself back to the table where she picked up a plate and began loading it for herself, trying to act like she was open to chat.

“Auntie Liz,” a male voice said in a tone of discovery.

Startled, she looked up.

It was him. The guy who’d been staring. He’d moved to stand across the table from her. Perhaps they’d met somewhere with her niece or nephews, who lived here in Marietta. He looked familiar, but he wasn’t a long-lost nephew to her.

Like most of the men here tonight, he’d left off his cowboy hat for the party. He had thick dark hair with a hint of curl, a smart shirt. Cowboy boots, she surmised, even though she couldn’t see his feet. He had the stance. And he was trim in a natural way. A lot of the men here were ranchers, which was demanding work. She’d always had a thing for nice shoulders so she let herself admire his. Briefly. Very briefly. She couldn’t help it. He was very good looking with his strong jaw and direct blue eyes that gave her a girlish swoop in her middle.

Had she just caught him glancing up from a male assessment of the glittery top she’d purchased the day after she’d been invited to this party? It was a T-shirt style, but clingy with a cowl neckline in midnight blue with streaks of silver and shiny black. She’d been working out lately, trying to build her dating confidence, but hadn’t felt like men had noticed until now. Trickles of flattery and attraction worked through her.

“I’ve been trying to place you since you walked in. Blake Canon,” he said. “Ethan’s dad.” He offered his hand.

She gathered the neglected female hormones that had scattered in a teenaged fit of giddiness. Reaching across to shake his callused hand, she saw him in her mind’s eye wearing a tuxedo, very young to be at the altar . . .

“Uncle Blake,” she countered, laughing softly to cover her mixture of relief at knowing someone after all and shock at how he’d only grown more good looking with the passage of some fifteen years.

Oh, that realization caused a wistfulness in her. Her hand lingered in his a bit too long before she pulled it away, vaguely aware that he hung on loosely, making her fingers slide from his grip. Making her imagine he wanted to maintain the connection longer, too.

Lucky Crystal, she had thought about her sister-in-law back then. Doesn’t have a clue what she has...

And probably still didn’t know what she’d lost, but Liz shook off those sorts of thoughts. Blake was still too young for her. She probably had four or five years on him, which wasn’t a huge issue, but more importantly, he’d married a Flower, just like she had. The association put him totally beyond her reach.

Nevertheless, in the way of soldiers who’d done similar combat tours, she experienced a surge of camaraderie and warmth toward him, probably making her smile too big, but he was smiling at her in a way that made her warm all over. If she blushed, she’d die. The air was way too sexually charged for merely bumping into an old acquaintance.

~ * ~

Like it? You can pre-order Blame The Mistletoe now. Hometown Hero will have a special introductory release price of 99c. Join my newsletter to be notified when Hometown Hero goes on sale.

Note: I always draw for a signed copy of my next print book from my newsletter subscriber list so you could also win a copy of The Russian's Acquisition or The Sheikh's Sinful Seduction.

Keep tuning in for #SampleSunday. Starting Oct 5th, I'll switch to The Russian's Acquisition, but for now it's still Hometown Hero.

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By the way, Hometown Hero is one of five in a series set during Homecoming in Marietta, Montana. Here's the line-up of authors who collaborated on this series along with the release dates for their titles:

Sept 22 - Sing Me Back Home, by Eve Gaddy
Sept 25 - Finding Home, by Roxanne Snopek
Sept 29 - Hometown Hero, by Dani Collins
Oct 2 - Long Way Home, by Kathleen O’Brien
Oct 6 - Home For Good, by Terri Reed

Tired of reading about how you can win free books? Wait, don't guess yet. I'll also throw in this wonderful Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition, which started today (Sep 23rd)!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Need something to read while you wait for all these new releases? Harlequin has marked down the digital copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage? by $2.00 until September 28th.)

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk also had it knocked down to almost half price. You'll have to check if it's still on sale.

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Note that the N.American version is a 2in1. Those are the first two books in my Makricosta series. If you haven't read them yet, this is a great time to start since I just turned in Book Four. (Like to read in order? Start with No Longer Forbidden? then More Than A Convenient Marriage? Book Three is An Heir To Bind Them.)

All my Harlequin titles are available on Mills & Boon UK, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus.

Want to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...etc? Click here for Dani's Social Media links and take your pick.

Okay, I really must get writing. Eight and a quarter books a year do not write themselves.

Cheers,

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 23, 2014 08:40

#SampleSunday - Hometown Hero (3)

Good morning!

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I'll get to the excerpt in a minute (you can scroll down to it, it's marked) but first I wanted to answer a question I often hear. Where can I buy your books?

What most people are really asking is, Why can't I get [insert title] where I prefer to buy books?

The short answer is, Because publishing has changed. I won't give you a history lesson, but we all know that e-books have caused the status quo to stop and cough.

Basically authors have three choices these days:

Traditional print publishers who release it in print and digital with standing orders for mass distribution to book stores, drug stores, Target, Walmart, etc. Harlequin does this with my Presents/Moderns. The books are also translated for internations markets. Note that 'Trad Pubs' (I'm teaching you the lingo) might go digital only, or digital first, as Harlequin did with my erotic romances.
Small, mostly-digital press who may or may not release it in print and would have limited distribution via online ordering or a book store placing an order for that book. Some of these small press outfits have connections overseas, but their bread and butter is digital books within North America.
Publish it yourself which means eating the cost of the editing, cover and formating, learning to publish, but you have more control in all aspects of the book and reap the bulk of the royalties.

Here's another fancy phrase: Hybrid Author. That's what I am. I have books in all those streams. I'm not saying every author should, but it works for me and I'm happy to share my reasons and experiences in a workshop. Email me.

The bottom line is, some of my books are digital only or exclusive to Amazon because of the publisher I've chosen to work with. (And who has accepted my manuscript and chosen to work with me.) This is how the publishing landscape has really changed. Authors have choices these days. It's quite empowering.

What does that mean for you, Dear Reader? It means that if you are die-hard paper book lover, you will miss out on a few of my titles. If you don't mind reading digital, but don't have a Kindle, no problem! There's an app for that. Go to the app store of whichever device you like and download the Kindle app. Voila! All of my books are now available to you.

Most of them are also available on Kobo and the other platforms. A few are exclusive to Amazon because Amazon offers specific promotional opportunities when you make your book exclusive to them. Many authors choose to 'enroll in KDP' and similar programs with Amazon because it improves their chances of being discovered there. Remember, authors have to think like publishers, which means they have to consider the best marketing strategies for each book.

This is the long way of explaining why Blame The Mistletoe is already available for pre-order on Amazon even though it doesn't release until Oct 13th while Hometown Hero comes out first (Sept 29th). It has to do with the marketing decisions made by my publisher, Tule, and me. I had input, which is a huge reason why I'm happy working with them and I'm already writing a third book for them before knowing how the first two will do.

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You see, in order to offer Hometown Hero at 99c for Sept 29th & 30th, we couldn't put it in the pre-order program. Honestly, there are so many factors to juggle, it's a full-time job in itself. But I believe they will all come out in print anthologies that will be available through Amazon so paper-book lovers stay tuned.

Ready for #SampleSunday? Here's what's happened so far:

Chase caught an eyeful of Skye. Then he said something stupid.
Skye gives Chase an earful. Then she feels stupid.

Prepare for agony, Dear Reader...

~ * ~

Skye woke to the buzz of her mobile on the bedside. She was just hung over enough to consider calling in sick, but she couldn’t. It would be bad enough facing the students and teachers snickering behind her back. She’d learned through the scandal-heavy months of her divorce that the first day after each horrid revelation was always the worst so she ought to just get it over with. Face the music.

But honestly, that tinkling ringtone was more than she could stand at the moment. She didn’t want to talk to anyone, wanted to pull the blankets over her head and die. What had possessed her to lose it like that? Wolcotts were good, solid, normal people with manners. If they had a complaint about something, they wrote a polite letter and requested a refund. When they had a disagreement with someone, they were the first to make apologies and amends. They didn’t pitch a scene in a public place.

The phone stopped and started again.

Snaking a hand from beneath the quilt, she snagged it and glanced at the face. Her brother’s photo glared at her. Sliding her thumb across the strip, she brought it to her ear. “Hey, Stan.”

“Why are you on the internet calling a major league pitcher a homophobe?”

“Whaaaat?” Her heart stopped. “That’s not funny.”

“Some kid posted it last night. It’s gone viral.”

“Noooo,” she cried softly, the sting of humiliation bleeding into her veins as she realized how easily that could have happened. Every second day, there was a new workshop or bulletin about kids and technology and cyber threats.

Still, she tried to will reality from manifesting.

Squinching her eyes shut, she curled deeper under the blankets. “Please tell me you’re joking,” she whimpered.

“Someone from Channel Nine’s news desk just called the house.”

“Stan—”

“I’m not kidding. Mom just got off the phone. I looked it up. It’s you and Chase Goodwin.”

“Oh Ga-awd. Remind Mom I love her, would you? Because I have to go throw myself off the back of Copper Mountain now.” She curled tight as a pill bug into the space under her blankets. “I hate my life, Stan. Why does it keep getting worse?”

He sighed, both sweetly protective and impatient at the same time. He hadn’t wanted her to marry Terry, especially so young. He hadn’t wanted her to stand by Terry while he sorted out his life, then keep living in this big, empty house. After their father died, he’d begged her to move back to the ranch. I’m not squeezing you out of your share, he had insisted a million times. This will always be your home, too.

But this house was her dream home, the one piece she had left of the Happily Ever After pie she’d been baking when she’d married Terry. Terry had felt guilty enough to sign it over to her, so why should she sell it?

“Goodwin’s a big deal,” Stan said. “You might wind up with quite a bit of attention. Come out here for a week or so until it blows over.”

Tempting, but along with everything else, she and his wife lived better apart. And if growing up on a ranch had taught her nothing else, it was that you didn’t let a bit of hardship defeat you. When you landed in the dirt, you got on your feet and back in the saddle before fear had a chance to take hold. It sucked. It meant feeling the bruises while you rode out the pain, but it had to be done.

“No, I’ll...figure it out,” she murmured, not even trying to imagine how. Get out of bed, shower, dress, drive to the school. Pretend everything was normal and fine.

Seriously? The internet? Why did God hate her?

“You know, you’re allowed to be angry, Skye, but you should take it out on Terry. He’s the one who cut you the raw deal.”

She was angry with Terry, but not enough to hurt him. He was her best friend. She loved him. Not as a husband, but as much as she loved Stan. Terry had tried so hard to be what everyone wanted him to be, to give Skye her dream—which hadn’t seemed like a big ask at the time, but it had turned out to be impossible.

Which was why she was so angry, she supposed. She came from simple folk and her dream hadn’t been far-fetched. All she’d asked for was a steady man who wanted to make a family and a good life. If things hadn’t worked out, it should have been due to a normal problem like money or cheating. She didn’t understand why her marriage had had to explode in such an extraordinary and public way. Wolcotts weren’t flashy. They didn’t demand attention. Why did her private business have to wind up in the spotlight?

On social media, for heaven’s sake. Really?

Her phone buzzed with a second call. Terry.

This was going to be a long, hard day in the saddle.

~ * ~

Quick reminder - This book is part of a five book series collaboration with the following books releasing on these dates by these authors:

Sept 22 - Sing Me Back Home, by Eve Gaddy
Sept 25 - Finding Home, by Roxanne Snopek
Sept 29 - Hometown Hero, by Dani Collins
Oct 2 - Long Way Home, by Kathleen O’Brien
Oct 6 - Home For Good, by Terri Reed

Do you want to know the minute my books come out, so you can take advantage of that 99c intro price? Join my newsletter! I always draw for a signed copy of my next print book from my subscriber list so you could win a copy of The Russian's Acquisition, my November Harlequin Presents.

You could also enter this Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition, which opens Sept 23rd. I'm including the widget for those visiting from the future:

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color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;
}

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Okay, must get back to making up stories. Further to above about where to get my books...

All my Harlequin titles are available on Mills & Boon UK, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus.

Want to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...etc? Click here for Dani's Social Media links and take your pick.

Please check in for #TeaserTuesday. I'll be starting excerpts from Blame The Mistletoe. Oh! #SpoilerAlert. I didn't think ahead to this--Blame the Mistletoe opens at a cocktail party hosted by Skye & Chase. If you feel strongly about reading books in order, you might want to skip these #TeaserTuesday excerpts until you've read Hometown Hero.

Enjoy your weekend.

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 20, 2014 10:00

#Thursday13 - Random Notes From Conference

Okay, I'll just come out and admit that I did a terrible job of taking notes at conference.

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I've been promising and promising that I'd share some of my notes from various workshops and I have now reviewed my notebooks and half the time I didn't even write down which workshop I was in or who was speaking.

Occasionally--I remember this much--I would drift off into my own genius thoughts about what might make a good blog topic, or how to resolve an issue in my WIP, or an epiphany would strike that was vaguely connected to whatever was being said, but it was my own interpretation that made sense only to me.

I think 1 & 2 are Hugh Howey. I know the next few were from a workshop on emotion that I entered late. The last three are from a workshop on writing a series. Here ya go:

The authors making six figures a month are outliers. Most writers are never going to make a living at it.
Writers who give themselves a break between books just have more time off to hate themselves.
Stories are about people being uncomfortable.
Readers come to story for what's below the surface.
Story = what we say aloud vs. what we're really thinking.
Inside I'm a raging mess and I'm trying to keep you from seeing it. (Where does the mess come from?)
"...the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time." ~ TS Eliott
What does our specific past teach us will happen? This forms a misbelief that helps us for a while, but now it no longer does. Write the scene where the misbelief took hold.
Be Specific
Readers turn to story to be vulnerable with the characters because they don't want to be that vulnerable in real life.
Release on a consistent schedule as quickly as possible.
Build a rich world with layers and compelling problems. Build a website for it. (hahahaha.)
Love your characters.

Honestly, I expected more from myself too. I missed a couple of workshops I really wanted to attend. No, I wasn't drinking. Conflict of commitments. It happens.

My next assignment for myself, and this one genuinely is more detailed, is to transcribe my notes for the various proposals I sketched out while I was away. Sorry, but those will have to go through due process before you see them. By that I mean, you'll have to wait for the book(s).

But believe it or not, I'm really pleased to have gone through my notes at all. It's one more thing off my To Do list and that stuff on emotion was really interesting. I was peeved that I arrived late and missed her lead-in. And no, I can't figure out what it was called. I just spent five minutes looking through the whole schedule.

And it's late and I'm tired and just remembered as I was shutting down my computer that I hadn't posted today and didn't want to blow it off.

But the rest is all about reruns on excerpts so if you've read them all, you can close out and come back for #SampleSunday this weekend.

~ Excerpt Links ~

Want a sneak peek at my next book? Here's a #SampleSunday for Hometown Hero. It releases Sept 29th at 99c for the first two days, then it goes up to $2.99. These excerpts will continue until Sept 28th.

Want more? I got more:

Book Blurbs - for all five of my summer titles
#SampleSunday - An Heir To Bind Them - Six consecutive excerpts from my June Harlequin Presents. Post includes links to the previous five.
#SampleSunday - The Ultimate Seduction - final instalment from my August Harlequin Presents, includes links to previous.
#Thursday13 - The Secret In Room 823 (part of
Mills & Boon's The Chatsfield series).
#TeaserTuesday - Mastering Her Role - the first book in my 2in1 Erotic Romance Collection. Post includes links to previous.
#TeaserTuesday - Playing The Master - the second book in my 2in1 Erotic Romance Collection. This post includes links to all the previous.

I have a Goodreads giveaway starting Sep 23rd, but if you like free books, please join my newsletter for a chance to win a copy of my next print release The Russian's Acquisition. I always draw from my subscriber list.

Want to just buy one of my books?

For earliest delivery on my Harlequin titles, buy from Mills & Boon UK site, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus as they appear there soonest.

These other fine retailers have my books too:

Have a great evening.

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 18, 2014 21:00

#TeaserTuesday - The Russian's Acquisition

Since I just received a review on this one, I thought I'd offer up a taste from the actual book. This review is from RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 Stars!):

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And for those of you reviewing my blog, in which I have countless times promised to review my conference notes and organize the tips for my writer friends, here is a little something from Protecting Your Joy, a workshop given by Maisey Yates and Jackie Ashenden.

"Reviews are not for the author. They're for other readers." ~ Maisey Yates

Maisey also said:

"Writing is my job and if I had a hobby, it would be writing."

Which I include because I love it and feel the same way.

Going back to reviews, I agree with her there, too. I recently read a comment from a reader that said she likes to see negative reviews because that helps her decide if she can live with that particular flaw. For eg. if one reader says, "I hate Marriage of Convenience stories," but another reader loves them, this comment actually sells the book to her. So negative reviews are in the eye of the beholder.

I still dislike beholding negative reviews, however. I'm much more tickled with ones like the above. So, because I'm in such a great mood now, I will give you this quickie from The Russian's Acquisition.

~ * ~

“Did you travel with him?” he asked with exaggerated patience.

“I was supposed to, but he died before I went anywhere. Go back to that bit about why you…” She couldn’t bring herself to say “want” when it sounded as though the sexual attraction drowning her wasn’t affecting him. She shivered in a hot-cold shudder of uneasiness while blood rushed under her skin, flushing warmth into her chest, making her breasts feel swollen and sensitized. Her hips longed to press into his, seeking the hard length that had nudged her when they kissed.

He knew what he was doing to her. A smug gleam lit his narrowed eyes as his gaze dropped to her lips. He started to lower his head.

Jerking hers back, she gasped, “I haven’t agreed.” But did she really want to step onto the street at midnight with her meager possessions and become one of the homeless? Her few shallow friendships were all with people she worked with. They wouldn’t take her in for fear of losing their jobs. She didn’t have a cushion of savings, just a credit card she couldn’t pay off if she didn’t have an income.

The direness of her situation began to hit home. At least this afternoon she’d been sure she could find some kind of menial work, but not now. Any character reference out of the firm after today would be career-stoppingly negative. Flicking a look from his set jaw to his penetrating eyes, she whispered, “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?”

“I lost my redeeming qualities years ago,” he agreed, something dark flickering in his gaze. “Which means there’s no appealing to my better nature. Make this easy on both of us and give in, Clair.”

She was tempted to. She didn’t have anything to lose and no one to answer to while he was dangling—what? A night? A reprieve at any rate, one that advertised a fringe benefit of physical satiation she had never expected to want. The emptiness of a one-night stand was, well, empty enough to make her ache, but she wasn’t in the market for a real relationship, so…

“Why extend your takeover to include me?” she asked in a voice more husky than the disparagement she was aiming for. “Didn’t you get enough out of scooping up the firm from a dead man?”

“He was still alive when I started proceedings and no, I didn’t get anything near what I wanted. Don’t make out like you’re some kind of prey just because you’re used to being the predator. You get to keep the money,” he taunted softly.

“No matter what?” The jerky toss of her head was supposed to convey brash confidence. The question was real, though. She couldn’t help being seduced by the prospect of running the foundation her way, without needing approval on every detail. Without having to reveal that each of those details touched her personally and that was why she was fighting so hard for them. “I’m not into anything kinky,” she warned. “If you’re looking for someone to spank you, move along to the next girl in the secretarial pool.”

“I’m not the submissive in any relationship,” he assured her dryly. “I like straight sex and lots of it. I don’t hurt women, ever, if that’s what you’re dancing around asking. I might play with dominating one, controlling her…” He flexed his hands on her elbows, making her breasts press into his chest.

Excitement returned with a spear of pleasure straight into her loins. She gasped.

“If she likes it,” he murmured.

~ * ~

Like it? Preorder The Russian's Acquisition here.

You can tune in for proper #SampleSunday excerpts from The Russian's Acquisition starting Oct 5th.

Next week's #TeaserTuesday (Sept 23rd) will start a four week series from my Montana Born Christmas book, Blame The Mistletoe.

I'll continue with the Hometown Hero #SampleSundays until it releases Sept 29th.

Hometown Hero is one of five in a series set during Homecoming in Marietta, Montana. Here's the line-up of authors who collaborated on this series along with the release dates for their titles:

Sept 22 - Sing Me Back Home, by Eve Gaddy
Sept 25 - Finding Home, by Roxanne Snopek
Sept 29 - Hometown Hero, by Dani Collins
Oct 2 - Long Way Home, by Kathleen O’Brien
Oct 6 - Home For Good, by Terri Reed

Do you want to know the minute my books become available? You will when I tell you that Hometown Hero will have a special introductory release price of 99c!

Join my newsletter to be notified when it goes on sale. I also draw for a signed copy of my next print book from my subscriber list so you could also win a copy of The Russian's Acquisition or get an advance copy of one of my future books.

I've set up a Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition. It doesn't start until Sept 23rd, but here's the widget, in case you stumble across this post while the contest is live:

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color: black; text-decoration: none; cursor: pointer;
}

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I must get back to work. I put down one thousand fresh words today on my spring book for Montana Born, which is not great output, but the first thirty pages are always a bit slow as I try to get a handle on the characters. Now I have a few more marketing tasks and hopefully a few more hundred words ahead of me before I have to cook supper.

Need something to read while you wait for my new releases? Harlequin has marked down the digital copy of More Than A Convenient Marriage? by $2.00 until the end of September (I think! They said 2 weeks from Monday the 15th.)

Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk also have it knocked down to almost half price.

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Note that the N.American version is a 2in1. Those are the first two books in my Makricosta series. If you haven't read them yet, this is a great time to start since I just turned in Book Four. (Like to read in order? Start with No Longer Forbidden? then More Than A Convenient Marriage? Book Three is An Heir To Bind Them.)

I'm insanely delighted to say that my erotic romance collection has been ranked #1 in romance, erotica for over a week. I keep taking screenshots, figuring there must be some error somewhere. Note that it's been marked down a little bit, too. Buy Dani's Erotic Romance Collection on Kobo here.

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Here are some of my other recent releases. As mentioned above, An Heir To Bind Them is Book Three in the Makricosta series. The Ultimate Seduction is a sex with a stranger story--reader reviews give top marks to Tiffany. If you like the erotic reads, The Secret in Room 823 is for you. Lady Hamilton Smythe has a thing for bondage.

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All my Harlequin titles are available on Mills & Boon UK, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus.

Want to follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest...etc? Click here for Dani's Social Media links and take your pick.

I expect to post on Thursday, unless I completely zone out. Not sure what you'll see yet, though. Have a great week.

Cheers,

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 16, 2014 15:31

#SampleSunday - Hometown Hero (2)

#Thursday13 - Ways To Make Promoting On Social Media Easier

If you're not a natural narcissist like me, you might find the online promoting thing a bit of a pain. To be honest, I have my moments. On the one hand I enjoy being artsy (note that that does not mean I have any skill at art, I merely enjoy messing around with artsy stuff like Photoshop.) On the other hand, I don't make money from creating stuff like this banner:

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Which I'm only claiming responsibility for so you'll see why I write for a living instead of doing this sort of thing. (#StarvingArtist #Don'tQuitYourDayJobAsAStarvingWriter.) FYI, I've been waiting impatiently for my thirteenth cover so I could make this banner for my #Thursday13 posts.

Honestly, I could probably fritter away all sorts of time on the promoting side of writing. I don't hate it. There. I've come out of the closet and said it. I find tweeting and Facebook posts and blogging a nice cross-training break from the marathon that is the writing of a novel. You exercise different muscles. You can experiment without (hopefully) doing too much damage. Every little bit of promo helps whether it's great or so-so. You will benefit in some way, even if you're learning what you like and what you hate.

At least, that's what I tell myself to justify killing an hour on something that is not word-count.

But for new authors, or old-hats who shudder at the thought of tweeting, but are being press-ganged into it by their publisher, I thought I'd offer a few tips on how to streamline and make it less burdensome.

Surgeon General's Warning: This is strictly my experience. I am not a Twitter Doctor, nor a Facebook Expert. I know very little about algorithms or the best time to post or how to drive traffic to your website. I'm talking to the writer who has set up some social media accounts, knows they have to do something and feels like they're spinning their wheels. I hope this helps:

Don't Try To Do It All. Figure out the one or two you can do well. Facebook and Twitter have the most reach. Your blog gives you the most space and freedom. Instagram and Pinterest are visual. What do you like? How much time are you willing to spend daily? Weekly? I found that after I concentrated on building my skills with Facebook and Twitter, it became easier to coast and maybe spend fifteen minutes a couple of times a day on them. Now I have time to develop some facility with Instagram. My goal is to develop my presence on Pinterest and Google+, but I'm not there yet. Which leads me to:

Do Claim Your Name. At least take the time to make an account in as many places as you can. Claim the name you intend to write under, direct traffic to your website, and upload a photo and short bio. Which means you should:

Write Some Bios of various lengths. Write three or four and update them with your current titles and any awards on a regular basis. Have a couple in first person, a couple in third. If you write for different publishers, slant them to focus on those titles or genres. Take a day to prep these and you will thank yourself forever. Which is one way to:

Automate Repetitive Tasks. I would like to say I'm super good at this. I'm not, but when I do take the time to, for instance, setup a blog tour template, I am grateful down the road. Another example would be to pre-write tweets. I'm going to talk more in a minute about content and when to reuse tweets, but for now, just trust me. Pre-write some with hashtags and links then learn to cut and paste (right-click, Copy, right-click, Paste OR Ctrl-C/Ctrl-V. Mac users: Cmd-C, Cmd-V) You are so welcome.

Content: This is a #Thursday13 post in itself and I think I might make it into one. Look for that in a future post. For now I'll just mention that there is a golden rule that you should entertain, inform and reciprocate more often than you sell. This is pretty self explanatory, but I'll add that no matter what you do, you should:

Be Authentic. Publicity specialists will talk about brand here. ie: Post content that reflects your brand. I struggle with this. My tagline is Author of Sexy, Witty, Vibrant Romance. When I was working on this, I was thinking of going with Sexy, Witty, Edgy. I asked my daughter for her opinion. She said, "Witty is good. Can you maintain the rest?" Thanks, darling. But it was good feedback and the reason I say I write Sexy, Witty, Vibrant romance. Am I vibrant? So freaking vibrant it's blinding. Are all my posts Sexy, Witty, Vibrant? No. I hit share on things that make me laugh or think. My personal belief--experts may barf on this opinion--is that readers want to know who the author is. I try to be me. That's my real brand. Dani Collins. Experts can lump it.

Re-purpose Content. Or, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. But not quite the way it sounds. Note: I had a website professional tell me to repost Facebook content every week to reach different segments of your followers, but I don't personally do this. What I'm talking about is quoting your own work and referencing past blog posts (as I did above with the link to setup a blog tour template. A lot of my tweets and Facebook posts are quotes from my books. I've already written those words. Why not use 'em? Eg. Good girl, Tiff. Keep biting back what you really want to say. It's not like that got you into these skin grafts. ~ The Ultimate Seduction. Every week when I write this #Thursday13 post, I cut and paste a bunch of stuff from recent posts about my contests and links to other excerpts. I review it before I hit 'send', often rewrite bits, but this allows me to Automate the inclusion of links and Reuse posts I've already written. (By that I mean I'm directing new visitors to content they may not have seen yet.)

Schedule Your Posts. This advice seems to fly in the face of being authentic, doesn't it? Many experts will call you a lying whore for showing up on Twitter when you are not really there. Here is the primary reason I use it: Time Zones. I schedule tweets to hit the airwaves so my Aussie and UK fans see my Mills & Boon links during their midday and my US fans get the ones with Harlequin and Amazon.com links. I schedule (Automate) posts like funny or inspirational quotes in the same way. Then I tweet and posts in real life about my day when something interesting happens to me. Like a mammogram. And by that I mean, I'm very boring which is why I post funny and inspirational quotes and not so much personal stuff.

Integrate Your Social Media Accounts. This is a bit of an advanced move, but it can be a huge timesaver and really help you Repurpose Content. Eg. One Instagram photo of my Author copies goes to Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr (I suck at Tumblr. Do not be impressed that I just name-dropped it.) I also then upload the photo to Pinterest. That sounds impressive, but it's not. It's also not hard once you set it up. The hardest part is remembering to do it. So look into this, talk to some experts (by that I mean teenagers), read some books. Here's my golden tip from what I've learned about integration: link Facebook posts to automatically post to Twitter, but Do Not automatically post your Twitter feed to Facebook. Clogs up the newsfeed. Facebook people hate that and will sent Sam and Dean after you with holy water and the special knife.

Post Regularly. This is where a lot of people whimper and scurry away. This does not mean you have to post every fifteen minutes. It means form a few social media posting habits. One of my first was #SampleSundays. I didn't have a lot of time for blogging when I was working full time and launching my writing career. I made a commitment to get something up on Sundays and it's usually an excerpt from an upcoming book. Yes, I repurpose content that's already written. Since it's a series of posts, I link to previous ones (cut/paste - it's not hard) and since it's regular, people know to check in for it. Go back up to the first item on this list if you're getting hives from the word 'regular.'

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words.

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A few weeks ago, my daughter baked a strawberry-rhubarb pie. I sent out a photo to the family to show off her skills. My dad responded with, "Remember when we brought you cake?" (Because they had showed up with some a few nights before and left it with us.)

Today, my mom sent through this photo of a peach pie she had baked. She's feeling competitive, I guess.

Photos are fun and colorful and if they have a cute story, they're a super-easy post. I've already Repurposed both of these into Facebook posts for a Facebook party being hosted by one of my publishers, Tule, for their Montana Born Fall Fair Series. I dropped the first one on Instagram and Pinterest and will likely follow up with the peach pie. Not sure if either of these pies is Sexy, Witty or Vibrant. They're personal, though. They are authentically mine via DNA. (Kind of. Pie-baking is one of those skills that skips a generation in our family.) I hope you are entertained. Or maybe inspired. I'm gonna bet, if nothing else, you're hungry.

BLOGGER IS EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

This blogging platform, Ghost, is really great until it's not. It just freaked out that I interruped my list with photos and a story. In order to get the #'s 12 & 13, I've had to change my formatting. tsk Bonus lesson with Social Media promoting: be flexible.

12 - Spend Some Time, Not All Your Time. I'll admit it. This post has taken longer than I meant it to. That's because I'm trying to be authentic and offer genuine tips. Sometimes you can get lost in the online wormhole. Expect that quality can take time--just like real writing!--but you will get faster the more you practice. Everyone hates doing something if they feel like they're bad at it. Be willing to do the work to learn and improve.

13 - Have Fun! Social media platforms are the online equivalent of church, the community hall and the grocery store. Sometimes you bump into people you know. Sometimes you talk to strangers. If you're troubled, it's fair to share your angst and ask for advice. But walking around saying, "I hate the world and everything in it" will get you about as many online friends as it does in real life. If you truly, madly, deeply hate posting online, then don't! Somewhere up there I mentioned experimenting without doing too much damage. If you are an authentic crabby-cakes then I give you permission to keep that off the air-waves.

Note: I pre-wrote this post before I went away. For some reason I didn't post it and I just started a different #Thursday13 today that began to look like A Lot Of Work. In an effort to manage my time better, I'm reviewing this and posting it. It's better now than it was. You're welcome.

Want a sneak peek at my next book? Here's a #SampleSunday for Hometown Hero. It releases Sept 29th at 99c for the first two days, then it goes up to $2.99.

Like free excerpts? You can find a snippet from my August novella, The Secret In Room 823 here. (Until recently, it was available in the UK as a lone title. In N.America it had to be purchased as one of five in The Chatsfield Boxed Set, Vol 2.

If you'd like a further demonstration of my cutting, pasting, and repurposing abilities, along with links to even more excerpts you might not have read yet, or information on how to win a signed copy of my print books and buy links for all my titles, please continue to read.

Book Blurbs - for all five of my summer titles
#SampleSunday - An Heir To Bind Them - Six consecutive excerpts from my June Harlequin Presents. Post includes links to the previous five.
#SampleSunday - The Ultimate Seduction - fifth instalment from my August Harlequin Presents, includes links to previous. One more to go.
#Thursday13 - The Secret In Room 823 (part of
Mills & Boon's The Chatsfield series).
#TeaserTuesday - Mastering Her Role - the first book in this Erotic 2in1 Collection. Includes links to previous.
#TeaserTuesday - Playing The Master - the second book in this Erotic 2in1 Collection. Click on the #SampleSunday tag in this post and it should give you all the posts in that series.

I have a Goodreads giveaway starting Sep 23rd, but if you like free books, please join my newsletter for a chance to win a copy of my next print release The Russian's Acquisition. I always draw from my subscriber list.

Want to just buy one of my books?

For earliest delivery on my Harlequin titles, buy from Mills & Boon UK site, eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus as they appear there soonest.

These other fine retailers have my books too:

I hope I've helped a few people. Please do check back for another #SampleSunday from Hometown Hero this weekend. Cheers,

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 11, 2014 11:26

#WhatTheWednesday

I missed #TeaserTuesday because I had to take my car for a service. This is a bit of a big deal, driving all the way to the Big Smoke, three hours away.

However, sitting in dealerships, bored enough to stalk myself, has turned out well for me. Yesterday I happened upon this. Note the cute little #1 next to in Romance, Erotica.

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That's out of more than 87000 titles. I'm pretty stoked. Back in the spring, when I was buying this vehicle, I got this:

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I rather like Amazon's pretty tag. It kind of blows your mind when you come across it attached you your own book. Of course, seeing books with my name on them is pretty mind-blowing. Not that I can really appreciate it, here in my office:

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Yes, it's out of control over there. Bad Feng Shui, I'm sure. Organizing all of that into giveaways is on the top of my To Do List. Also, as it happens, on the top of my Nice Problems To Have list.

I want to get a start on my third Montana Born book today, but I do have a lot of housekeeping to get out of the way so I can concentrate, including making some promo decisions and arrangements on the first two Marietta stories.

I tell you this so you know that I'm not completely slacking off over here, when I miss my blog posts. Today was going to be a head-down, plow through my admin tasks day. Then I got a special invite to a shop in our local town. One of the stores is closing. I should say, the last decent clothing shop is closing. Which makes me super sad.

We've had a difficult run in our little town. In the last year, we've lost a drug store, a clothing store, this second clothing store, and this morning the cable guy told me the gadget store (like Radio Shack) is also shutting down. A woman at the gym mentioned there are 150 real estate listings. Lots of retirees down-sizing, I guess.

So I was tempted to shop for conference clothes at a discount, but my son wanted to go with me--they also carry a lot of hip, surfy brands like Ripcurl. But he got called into work, then the cable guy showed up. (And informed me we need a new router, which I will buy where?)

Honestly, my brain looks like that picture above. Tons of boxes open with stuff that should be looked at, labeled, sorted and shelved. Side note: I was also going to buy a new vacuum while we were in the Big Smoke yesterday. You know how to save 100% on the cost of a new vacuum? Forget your purse at home.

I remembered about ninety minutes into our drive. Kinda too late to turn back. Thankfully, when I called the dealership, they said they'd float me a twenty-four-hour loan on that oil change. My son had to buy me lunch.

But this is what I'm getting at. My mind is scattered all over the place lately. I really need to do some mental and physical housekeeping before I start another book (at which point it will all go to heck again.)

So please bear with me on the blog posts that aren't. According to my horoscope, this is a great time for behind-the-scenes work before the sun comes into my sign on the 21st. I'll make that my goal: Be so on top of myself by the first day of Fall.

But since I've missed my #TeaserTuesday, here are some links that I dug up for the Makricosta series. If you've missed some of these excerpts, you can catch up here:

#SampleSunday - No Longer Forbidden - Book One, Nic & Rowan. This manuscript was my First Sale, but it didn't come out in North America until it was paired in a 2in1 with More Than A Convenient Marriage in December 2013. This post is the opening pages to this book and has a link to a prequel kiss and an excerpt from Chapter Five. I hadn't really found my feet with #SampleSunday yet so there isn't a series of six like I usually do for my Presents titles.
#SampleSunday - More Than A Convenient Marriage - Book Two, Gideon & Adara. This post gives you links to the previous five in the series.
#SampleSunday - An Heir To Bind Them - Book Three, Theo & Jaya. This post links to the previous five.

My next Harlequin Presents, The Russian's Acquisition, is coming November 1st and is available for pre-order now.

My Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition starts Sept 24th, but I'll drop the widget in here, in case you're visiting from the future.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Russian's Acquisition

by Dani Collins

Giveaway ends October 23, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Does it say 'Embedded Javascript' in big bold letters below that widget? I don't know why. I write and I copy and paste. I don't code, so occasionally weird stuff shows up where I don't want it. Apologies.

Here are my most current titles in case you've missed some. Scroll down for the buy links and Thank you for being such an awesome fan.

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All my Harlequin titles are available on the Mills & Boon UK site. eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus have them too.

These other fine retailers have my books too:

Please keep checking back. I will post often, if not predictably. Cheers,

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 10, 2014 10:53

#SampleSunday - Hometown Hero

Welcome to Marietta!

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The cover of my new book is gorgeous, right? I wish I was as talented as the amazing staff at Tule Publishing. Alas, no. It took me all morning to craft this banner from a photo I'd taken a few years ago. MrC and I were celebrating our twentieth wedding anniversary (we're actually high school sweethearts) and we took off to Halcyon Hot Springs in Nakusp. Here's another photo from that very relaxing weekend.

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Wish you were there? Me, too.

But enough nostalgia. I'm introducing my upcoming book to be published by Tule's Montana Born imprint. The stories in the various series are written by a number of award winning authors and are set in the fictional town of Marietta, Montana, full of ranchers, cowboys, bad boys and good girls.

I have two Marietta books coming this fall and a third planned for the spring. They're all linked, so once you meet Skye and Chase in Hometown Hero, you can visit them again in my Christmas book, Blame The Mistletoe, and then again in early 2015. Trust me, Marietta is a place you want to come back to.

Note: My Marietta stories are novellas so they're shorter than my Harlequin Presents. (HPs usually weigh in at around 180 printed pages. These novellas are more like 100 pages and yes, you'll be able to get a print copy via Print On Demand. I'll have more info on that soon and will share it in a later post.)

Hometown Hero will have an introductory price, one day only of ninety-nine cents ($0.99)! Sometimes Amazon doesn't make the switch right away and you can squeak that discounted price a day before or after the sale date, but if you want to be sure to get this at $0.99 then plan to grab it on September 29th. And sometimes those discounts aren't available outside the US. These are things beyond my control. I'm sorry.

So what's this story about? Here's the back cover blurb:

Skye Wolcott planned to marry, have children, and live happy ever after in her hometown of Marietta, Montana. Then her marriage imploded in a cloud of scandal. Now she’d be happy if people would just stop talking about her.

Chase Goodwin worked hard to get away from Marietta, where poverty colored his past. Living his dream as a major league baseball player, he has no reason to return beyond helping his half-brother escape as successfully. The last thing Chase would consider is staying.

Then he sees Skye Wolcott, a girl he always had a thing for in high school. They get off to a rough start, but are soon carrying on like high schoolers. Chase wants her to join his fast-paced, larger than life world, but Skye’s a small town girl at heart. Can she convince him that Homecoming is more than a game, and he’s back where he belongs?

Want more? Here's the opening few pages:

~ * ~

Chase Goodwin was in the one place he had never wanted to come back to, especially in September: Marietta Senior Secondary.

At least he was in the gymnasium, the part of the school he could tolerate if he wasn’t on the field. Watching a basketball game would have been his preference, but it was a school dance complete with the kind of club music he hated. Not that he’d minded the dances so much ten years ago. The girls were as giddy and nubile as he remembered, but so young. They nearly leapt out of their skin to land on a boy. The boys were all limbs and pimples. Had he overflowed with that much fascination coupled with terror back then?

“It’s like watching kittens and puppies,” he said to Max beside him, one- time catcher to his pitch when it wasn’t football season. Max was a good four inches taller than his own six two and was twice as wide. He’d taken over Mr. Kelton’s job running the P.E. department and watched the poorly lit, gamboling teenagers like he was watching the progress of a game, ready to shout orders to pass.

Max flashed a grin. “You said you wanted to know what your brother was up to.”

No, what he’d said was, If you want some help with the teams, I’d love to keep busy while I keep an eye on my brother. Max had put in a good word for him with the new football coach, Mitch Holden. In exchange, Max had roped Chase into chaperone duty. So here he was, suckered into reffing body contact at a dance to raise money for the homecoming float.

Another slender, ripening body swished across his field of vision. Don’t look, he reminded himself, but—hold the phone. He recognized that ass.

Deep in the back of his brain, where a crew was supposed to be working to retrieve her name, every single cell dropped his tools to take a long drink of the female that had paused about ten feet away to talk to his old classmate, Chelsea Collier.

The woman was a knockout, athletic and tight beneath a red plaid shirt knotted at her waist. Faded blue jeans hugged her firm round ass and were painted against long thighs before they disappeared into sassy red cowboy boots. Her shiny brown hair cut a precise line across her shoulder blades, held off her face by a headband like Alice in Wonderland’s—exactly the way she’d always worn it and it was still too innocent a look for a body like that.

He couldn’t hear her over the music, but the way she leaned close to Chelsea and gestured gave an impression of animation and humor. From her profile, he could see pale, clear skin without so much as a freckle to mar it. Her cheek rounded and he glimpsed perfect teeth, braces gone. She smiled and nodded.

Brown eyes, he recalled, even though he couldn’t see them. She had melty brown eyes like a baby animal. The kind that made you want to cuddle her to your chest so she wouldn’t get stepped on. She used to look at him like that when he came up to his locker and she was already at hers. She’d hide behind her door and watch him like she didn’t quite trust him.

Maybe she’d known she made him hard.

Skye Wolcott.

God, he hadn’t thought about her in years. He’d made a concerted effort to forget everything about this town except to send money home and check in with his brother as often as possible. His reaction to Skye was as strong as he remembered, though. He tried to turn it off, exactly the way he had intentionally resisted the lure of her then. She’d been taken and so had he. She’d also been a lifer, obviously intending to die here in Marietta. He’d been determined to get a scholarship, preferably baseball, and leave. He’d set her on the out-of-bounds shelf and barely chucked her a Hey when he saw her.

He was ready to talk now. Hey girl. Damn.

“You’re staring, dude,” Max said, keeping his own eyes forward.

“That Skye Wolcott?” he asked, pretending he wasn’t sure. Pretending that was the only reason he was asking. Pretending he wasn’t blindsided by old lust that threatened his well-developed, no distractions, determination.

A blank pause before Max gave a jerky nod. “Yeah. She goes by her married name, Mrs. Baynard. It took me a sec to remember that’s who she used to be.”

Married? Fuck.

Oops. Where the hell had that come from?

Wait, “Terry Baynard? She married him?” Dusty pieces of history fell together, reminding him of the other reason he’d held off pursuing her.

“Yeah. People are saying she turned him gay.” Max rolled his eyes at the small-minded concept. “They’re divorced now. He moved to San Francisco, but she still uses his name. I don’t get how they’re still friends when he lied to her all that time and she was as shocked as anyone when he came out, but I guess they are.”

Chase stared at Skye’s back, dumbfounded. And a tiny bit uncomfortable. She must have known Terry was gay. Maybe the guy had been deep in the closet, but he’d known Terry was gay. He’d honest-to-God believed she was Terry’s beard. He had thought she was being nice to a guy who was obviously terrified of being found out, which had made him like her even though he barely knew her. He hadn’t totally understood why a girl like Skye Wolcott, with so much to offer, would tie herself up like that, but he hadn’t seen the point in going after her, wrecking Terry’s setup, when he wasn’t sticking around.

“So she’s not married,” he said, grasping at the most important detail.

“Yeah, but she’s not interested,” Max said matter-of-factly. He was married with two kids so his dismissive warning wasn’t male possessiveness. It was the tone they used to take when out-of-town players thought they could hit on the local girls. Small town wasn’t all small minds. There were things about it, people here that were nice. They were a community, a team. They looked out for each other.
Chase knew that and respected it.

“I’m not interested either,” he drawled. “Especially if she has the power to turn men gay—”

Oh shit. The music stopped. His voice, pitched to carry over the pulsing beat, came out nice and loud and hit Skye right between the shoulder blades. He saw her back jerk like an arrow had struck the middle of her spine. She turned and her vulnerable brown eyes weren’t the least bit soft and helpless.

Her eyes narrowed, dark and ferocious, wounded and angry. They fixed on him like the dark spiral of a tornado seeking its touchdown point.

Oh hell.

~ * ~

What do you think? I hope you liked it, but if small town's not your thing, don't worry. My next Harlequin Presents, The Russian's Acquisition, is coming November 1st and that one is available for pre-order.

I'll also have a Goodreads Giveaway for The Russian's Acquisition starting in a couple of weeks.

If you're a fan of my Makricosta Series, you'll be thrilled to know I've turned in Demitri's story. I'm awaiting revisions and don't want to jinx anything, but I expect him to come out sometime mid-2015.

I have another Presents to write by the end of the year and that third Marietta story. While I was away I did make notes on what I want to accomplish next year. It's typically ambitious. We'll see how I go.

I'm starting to concentrate on my fall titles, but here's a last look at my summer books, which are still available:

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All my Harlequin titles are available on the Mills & Boon UK site. eHarlequin and Mills & Boon Aus have them too.

These other fine retailers have my books too:

Thanks so much for continuing to visit. Now that Demitri has been delivered, I'm taking a few days to catch up on things and hope to be finally, finally back to a regular posting schedule. Have a great weekend.

View more on Dani Collins's website »

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Published on September 06, 2014 11:28