Victoria James's Blog, page 6
July 15, 2013
Cover Reveal-The Best Man’s Baby!!!
The Best Man’s Baby is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble!! I’m so excited to finally be able to share this book cover with you! What do you think?? I can’t wait to share the book with you as well-I hope you love Jake and Claire as much as I do!! Tomorrow’s Teaser Tuesday, I’ll be sharing an exclusive excerpt from The Best Man’s Baby!
Florist Claire Holbrook has always played by the rules her entire life, but breaks them to spend one night with sexy lone wolf Jake Manning, a man she’s adored since she was a teenager. Six weeks later things get complicated when she discovers they created a bond that will last a lifetime…
Jake has never played by the rules. Getting Minister Holbrook’s daughter pregnant wasn’t part of any life plan, but he won’t run from his responsibilities. He’ll step up and be the best man he can, even if he doesn’t have a clue where to begin. The more time he spends with Claire, though, the more he wants her, and the harder it is to get close because that would mean sharing the one thing he hasn’t with anyone–the truth and his heart.
Here’s what Romantic Times Magazine had to say about The Best Man’s Baby:
The Best Man’s Baby (4) By Victoria James: Fueled by a few too many drinks at her best friend’s wedding, good girl Claire decides to let loose. She decides that she deserves one night of pleasure with her long time crush. Jake is hiding secrets about himself and knows that he can never have a future with the beautiful Claire. But he finds that he can’t say no to the preacher’s daughter. They agree to one night of no-strings-sex; the don’t count on making a baby. Now they have to figure out if everything happens for a reason. Readers will be charmed by bad boy Jake and the sweet yet strong Claire. With slightly sarcastic dialogue and dynamic characters, The Best Man’s Baby is a wonderful read.
Thanks for reading!! Thank you all so much for your support, xo. I’ll be back tomorrow…
Tags:Cover Reveal,Preorder,Romantic Times Review,The Best Man's Baby
Motivational Monday-Chasing the Dream
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do, so throw off the bowlines, sail away from safe harbor, catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore, Dream, Discover. –Mark Twain
I love this quote-maybe because I feel it absolves me of all guilt towards my lack of housekeeping this last year to pursue my writing. Or maybe it’s because the imagery is so vivid and the message so inspiring. Sometimes we are so afraid of failure or criticism and judgement that we pull back from pursuing our dreams. I distinctly remember the night before The Billionaire’s Christmas Baby was released, saying to myself: Why did I do this? Why couldn’t I just be happy writing stories and saving them on my computer. Why did I open myself to being evaluated and reviewed? Stage fright? I know that fear can be gripping, all consuming, and paralyzing. But if we don’t face our fears, we’ll never grow, never achieve. It’s my job to write stories that I believe in, and can stand behind. Beyond that? It’s out of my hands.
We can so often get caught up in the daily routine of our lives, thinking if we stray everything will collapse. I am a person who loves routine-I thrive on routine-but sometimes I think this is detrimental to growth. I find I have to force myself to stray from routine, to take a chance and have a day without any concrete plans….or even a week!
Well, this week we’re at the lake. We arrived on Saturday, SUV packed to the brim with kid/toddler gear. It’s a family cottage that we go to throughout the year, located in one of my favourite villages. This is the village that Red River was loosely based on. We’re heading down with the kids for the week. We’ll both be bringing our work with us, but I’m really looking forward to having my laptop with the views of Lake Erie right outside my window while I write. I find that I actually write faster when we’re there, and I think this might be because I’m not bogged down by all the interruptions and commitments that come from working at home. Long walks, trips to the beach, farmer’s markets, and local shopping will give us a nice break from the daily routine. And a glass of wine (or two) at night on the balcony will soothe the memory of the inevitable meltdowns from the two year old during the day 
When we get back, I’ll have a little less than two weeks before I hand in Evan and Grace’s story to my editor…What about you? Plans for the summer?
Tags:dreams,Evan,Grace,lake erie,Routine
July 10, 2013
Writer’s Wednesday-Rancher to the Rescue
I’m so thrilled for my friend, Jennifer Faye, and the release of her first Harlequin Romance, Rancher to the Rescue. I ‘met’ Jennifer when we were both aspiring authors, so this is extra special. I was fortunate enough to read this book before it was even published, and trust me when I say it was a wonderful romance filled with a lot of tenderness, humour, and not to mention a hunky cowboy
Fun, quirky and romantic, Faye’s tale moves along without a hitch, with an original storyline and solid characters. ~ TOP PICK! 4.5 Stars ~ RT Book Reviews
Damsel in a wedding dress!
Jilted at the altar, celebrity chef Meghan Finnegan flees the scene–and the baying press–only to run straight into the muscled torso of Cash Sullivan.
The former rodeo champion knows what it’s like to have your life crumble in the spotlight, so he offers Meghan a place to lie low at his ranch.
Fresh air, no paparazzi and the brooding rancher’s lazy smile are making Meghan not want to leave her sanctuary. But she and her unborn baby can’t stay here forever…can they?
Stop by The Hot Pink Typewriter on Friday, where I’m posting an interview with Jennifer!
Tags:Harlequin Romance,Jennifer Faye,Rancher to the Rescue,The Hot Pink Typewriter
July 9, 2013
Teaser Tuesday-Doctor in the house!
Isn’t he everyone’s favourite doctor? I guess it’s no surprise that McDreamy was the inspiration behind Dr. Evan Manning. Evan started out being more elusive than Quinn and Jake. He’s a lot more serious and straight-laced than his older brothers, much more guarded. He’s completely career oriented and has put his career above all else, especially close relationships. It has been ingrained in him from their father that he needed to achieve something great. The life-altering secret he’s about to discover brings out a much darker side to him that while justified, I had a difficult time writing. Quinn and Jake, while pushed to the brink by their heroines, never really lost their cool. Evan does. And perhaps that’s the biggest surprise, because he’s the calm, rational one. But he loses it, big time.
All right, enough rambling…here’s a little teaser from The Doctor’s Saving Grace (working title). Book three in the Red River Series. Evan and Grace are at a wedding (I’m not saying who’s wedding ) and he’s asking her to dance…
“I’m not really much of a dancer, but for some reason, I feel compelled to ask you.” His deep voice was deliciously gruff, his blue eyes shadowed under the twinkling lights. Grace’s mouth went dry. Her heart kicked into a gear it had never operated at and she knew what her answer was going to be. ‘No’ wasn’t a possibility. But if she said ‘yes’, that would mean she’d be dancing with the man she had been lying to. Dancing with the man that seemed very different than the one she remembered years ago.
“Just a dance,” he murmured, reaching out for her. The instant his large, warm hand enveloped hers, she knew she wouldn’t be able to refuse him…
Ach! I love Evan and Grace…and I hope you will too. Thank you for reading 
Tags:Book three,Evan Manning,Grace,Jake,McDreamy,Quinn,Red River Series,Teaser Tusday
July 8, 2013
Motivational Monday-Keep your eye on the ball…
“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.” –Babe Ruth
This summer we enrolled DS, who is six, in T-ball for the first time. Much to our surprise, our little guy really has a knack for this sport. He’s really active and constantly on the move, so we weren’t sure that a sport that didn’t require running non-stop would appeal. But look at that concentration! That picture, btw, was taken by my BFF who attended one of his games and snapped the most beautiful shots. One of that main areas that DS needed to work on was batting. He was pretty discouraged in the beginning (I think like a lot of kids, he thought he was going to go from amateur to all-star after one game) and we really had to instil in him the discipline to practice regularly. It’s hard to really make a child grasp that without hard work, and many failed attempts, great goals will not be achieved. Realizing your goals only comes after hours of practice, and lots of failed attempts.
Obviously, this is easy for me to relate to as a writer. How many times as an aspiring writer did I receive a rejection letter? And now that I have a few books under my belt, I still have my editor sending back proposals that need work. With each book that gets released, I still have the fear that it’s going to completely bomb,or get horrible reviews. But I have to stay focused and keep going, and growing as a writer. I like to set new goals, and I’m the type of person who’s never really satisfied with the status quo, because that kind of feels…ahem, boring. I like thinking of the next adventure…and how I’m going to achieve that home run…
What about you? Is their a particular goal or dream you’re aspiring to? Something you’ve been putting off because it seems like too big of a time investment? Or have you already achieved your major goals for now?
This week, we’ve got T-ball practice and a game, and swimming lessons every day, play dates and hopefully a trip to one of our favourite farms. And um, in the midst of summer chaos, I need to finish off that book! Poor Evan Manning still needs to find his HEA…I’ll be back to tomorrow with a teaser from his story
Tags:Evan Manning,proposals,T-ball
July 3, 2013
Writer’s Wednesday-and the Third Red River Book
In my feeble attempt to make amends for being such an absentee blogger, I think I’m going to implement a schedule…yup, I am going to attempt to go back to regular blogging. You’ve all been so great with the emails and the newsletter sign-ups so I need make a better effort at regular blogging! And there is so much happening, so I need to get back to ‘sharing’ mode and connect with all of you…
So here’s what I’m thinking…
Motivational Mondays-I’m a sucker for a good quote…and I’m a sucker for having a sneak peak into someone’s work/family week. So, Mondays are all about what’s on the table for the coming week, and I’ll throw in a fave quote to get us inspired to face the weeks’ daunting to-do list.
Teaser Tuesdays-Every week I’m going to post a few lines from the book I’m currently working on…or perhaps a few lines of the book that I’m not supposed to be writing, but am cheating with
Writer’s Wednesday-This is a general day where I’ll share posts about writing in general-or info about what book I’m working on. I’m also fortunate enough to know some fabulous writers, so maybe I can coerce a few of them to do a guest post
So, since it’s Wednesday, here I go with my first attempt at Writer’s Wednesday…
Things have been pretty hectic since I’m a little behind with everything. I was pretty sick (nothing horrible) a while ago and completely fell behind. I blogged about it on The Hot Pink Typewriter last month. Anyway, I’m doing much better now-only to have summer holidays in full swing over here! It’ll be a bit challenging to try and stay on track this summer, but the non-control-freak part of me (it’s an infinitely small space that comes out for a few weeks at a time) is looking forward to no routine. We’ll be heading down to the beach for a few weeks hopefully (laptop will be joining us, of course) for some family time.
What am I working on now? Well, in less than four weeks the last book in my Red River Series is due! This book is has been very challenging…namely because of the hero, Evan Manning. Definately the darkest of the siblings, a true alpha that has put me through the ringer. The woman who challenges him is, Grace-and she’s about to turn his life upside down in a way he could never imagine. My working title for this book has been “The Doctor’s Saving Grace” (which I thought was kind of clever, hehe) but I know that title will be changed. I am excited to let you know that at the end of The Best Man’s Baby (coming next month!) there will be an exclusive excerpt of Evan and Grace’s story!
In a little over a month, Jake and Claire’s story will be released (The Best Man’s Baby) and I’m so excited-not even nervous yet! Oh, and I’ve seen the cover! Another gorgeous one-as soon as I can share it I will. I think it will be going up for pre-order on Amazon at the end of the month…
Thank you all for being so patient with me! But never think twice about sending me an email-it’s one thrill I will never get tired of. Really, reading and answering your emails are always a special treat
I’ll be back soon…
Tags:Jake and Claire,Motivational Monday,Red River,Teaser Tuesday,Writer's Wednesday
April 27, 2013
High Gear…
Spring has finally arrived and I’m buried in work! It’s been almost two months since A Risk Worth Taking released and now that the blog tour has finished, I’ve been hiding from Twitter and all time-sucking cyber places! My deadline for the final Red River Series book (Evan’s story) is fast approaching-less than three weeks! During that time, I’m also expecting edits on my second Red River Series book (Jake & Claire’s story). As soon as my book is handed in on May 15th, I’ve got to dive right into another manuscript that I’ve barely started, and it’s due in July…so it’s going to be pretty nuts around here! On top of all that, I’ve also just handed in a project for my agent to review…it’s something really special to me, and I’m not really sure where I found the time to get it done, but I did!
I’m so happy it’s Spring…kids have been sick so many times this winter and it feels like we’ve had very little down-time. I’m looking forward to getting together with friends, barbecues, and warm weather…and writing!
Tags:A RISK WORTH TAKING,agent,Entangled,writing
March 18, 2013
A Risk Worth Taking-The Blog Tour Has Begun!
Blog Tour Giveaway for A RISK WORTH TAKING: A $100 COACH Gift Card!!!!
Holly, in A RISK WORTH TAKING loves her designer accessories, so in celebration of the kick off to my Red River Series, I’m giving away a Gift Card-a Big One. If you love Coach, this is the contest for you. All you have to do is enter for your chance to win one! Good luck!
Tags:A RISK WORTH TAKING,Blog Tour,Coach,Giveaway
March 12, 2013
A Risk Worth Taking-Blog Tour Giveaway
Blog Tour Giveaway for A RISK WORTH TAKING: A $100 COACH Gift Card!!!!
My heroine, Holly loved her designer accessories, so in celebration of the kick of to my Red River Series, I’m giving away a Gift Card. All you have to do is enter for your chance to win one! Good luck!
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March 10, 2013
The Girl Next Door or the Princess of Salamria?
What the heck am I talking about? You’ll have to check out my post at Fresh Fiction!
I’m blogging there today about the allure of escapist romance and about everyday heroes and heroines. Come on by, comment, and enter for a chance to win a $10.00 Starbucks Gift Card!
Seriously, if I could enter my own contest I would. You know how much I love coffee
And don’t forget: big things coming this week! Release day and Contest News!
Tags:Fresh Fiction,Giftcard,Starbucks
