R.L. Syme's Blog, page 15

A Month of Sundays: Chapter Eight

Our Wattpad story is nearly finished! The story of Joe Walker, our favorite first look into Somewhere, TX… it’s almost finished, and we’re almost ready to find out whether he can open up his heart enough to keep Krista, or if they’ll be done when their bet is done.

Only one more Sunday.

The new Wattpad Chapter… almost ready for the end of Joe and Krista’s story? We’re nearly there….

Exclusive: Inside Somewhere, TX

Somewhere, Texas is the setting for our new boxed set, Texas Sunrise. Today, I’m going to tell you a few things about Somewhere, Texas that you may not know, and introduce you to the town we’ll be writing in for years to come.

If you’ve read our Wattpad story, A Month of Sundays, you will already have met one of the staples of Somewhere, Texas: Joe Walker. Joe is the owner of one of the most popular bars in Somewhere, named Everyday Joe’s. Joe’s bar is a good ole-fashioned Texas honky-tonk.

One of the very first meetings we had about the Texas Sunrise boxed set, as we were getting ready to write our stories, was a meeting specifically about Joe’s Bar. Why? (you might ask) Because all of our stories are somehow connected to Joe’s Bar. KC has a rockstar who sings there, Jodi has set a date there, Krystal has a waitress who works there, Becca has Joe befriending her heroine, and Lavender has a hero who eats lunch there. Plus, the Wattpad story is all about saving Joe’s Bar from a corrupt city official who wants to close it down.

So exactly what happens in Joe’s Bar? Life happens. There’s a large staff, a kitchen that makes all of the bar staples, a mechanical bull, a dance floor, a karaoke machine, some booths and tables, and a nice big, heavy wood bar to belly up to.

Joe also makes signature cocktails. These signature cocktails show up in the Wattpad story, in our books… everywhere in Somewhere. The first one is called a TEXAS SUNRISE. Yup, that’s where the boxed set title comes from. The Texas Sunrise is a signature cocktail… sweet and strong with a little bit of a kick. Just like the heroes and heroines of Somewhere, Texas.

Just like Joe himself.

So we hope you will tune in and read more about Somewhere, Texas. We have all grown to love the people, the places, the stories… we love this town. We hope you love it, too.

TEXAS SUNRISE, the boxed set, releases on September 16th. You can preorder it on any platform, below. And coming soon… the PRINT edition!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/1BoQ4Ew

iBooks: http://bit.ly/1x0pbks

Nook: http://bit.ly/1sGlm3i

Kobo: http://bit.ly/1zhQSeb

Goodreads Giveaway for Fire Away!

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Goodreads Book Giveaway







Fire Away



by R.L. Syme

Giveaway ends January 13, 2015.

See the giveaway details

at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I Challenge You #GivingTuesday

Giving Tuesday means a lot to me this year. In this time of practicing gratitude, I think that one of the most important things we can do to actively practice our gratitude is to give to others. My parents taught me that, being incredibly generous my whole life. And I want to be that person. The person who gives generously, with no thought to my own welfare.

So this year, I’m challenging you to do something extra-ordinary for #GivingTuesday, which is coming up on December 2nd. After working in the non-profit world for a long time, I know that there are a lot of places out there that need your generosity. So this is my charge this year.

This year, for #GivingTuesday, I’m going shopping. Not for myself, though. For my local food bank. There are a lot of resources out there that can give you ideas about how to shop for your local food bank, I recommend just giving them a call and asking them what they need.

I’m going to make a shopping list, based on what they’ve told me they need, and I’m going shopping for someone else. I’m going to buy as much food as I can manage, and I’m going to get what they’ve asked for. I know there are some special things to consider when buying for your food bank (things like the fact that some people won’t have can-openers, may not have access to a stove, and may not have anything but water, and may have dietary restrictions like diabetes that prevent them from eating a lot of sugar or salt), and I want to be as considerate as I can.

And the more I think about it, the more I might make this part of my monthly routine. Not just for Giving Tuesday, but for every month. I have to do what I can do.

I want to challenge you to do something for Giving Tuesday. It doesn’t have to be what I’m doing, it can be whatever you want. But do something. Live for someone else for a day.

Coming Up in December

Just a quick reminder that the Somewhere, Texas boxed set (called TEXAS SUNRISE) is on pre-order and will release on December 16th. Watch the newsletter (signup on the left side of the page, or the front page of rlsyme.com) for some original content leading up to the release, in addition to the Wattpad story that we’re writing (about Joe & Krista) as a lead up to the release.

I will also be releasing my book from the boxed set (called FIRE AWAY) as a stand-alone book, and as a print edition. We will be running a contest on Goodreads to give away paperback copies of FIRE AWAY. Watch the newsletter for more information.

Also, have you joined my Facebook group? We do a lot of chatting there, talking about books and holidays and reading and writing. It’s so much fun. Click here to join.

Hope you are enjoying your holiday season!

Somewhere, TX Wattpad Story

Our Somewhere, TX Wattpad story (the preview of TEXAS SUNRISE, our December boxed set) has officially begun. The first chapter was posted today. Chapter two will be posted on Wattpad next Sunday. Read along and find out what happens to the owner of the honky-tonk bar in Somewhere, TX… Mr. Joe Walker.

New Platforms

This is just an informational post to let you know that all of the Highland Renegades books are now out on more platforms. If you use iBooks, Kobo, Nook, or Scribd, you can now read the Highland Renegades books. Here is all of the information.

The Outcast Highlander

iBooks – Kobo – Nook – Scribd – Amazon – AllromanceEbooks – Page Foundry

The Runaway Highlander

iBooks – Kobo – Nook – Scribd – Amazon – AllromanceEbooks – Page Foundry

The Pirate Highlander

iBooks – Kobo – Nook – Scribd – Amazon – AllromanceEbooks – Page Foundry

Coming This Week! Malcolm’s Return!

Cover Reveal: Christmas Novella

I was invited to participate in a Montana Christmas anthology this winter and I wanted to reveal our very beautiful cover. The book will release on November 1st and I will be doing a Christmas release party on October 10th. I hope you’ll join us!

Here is the gorgeous cover, by MK McClintock.

 

My book is called “Montana Mistletoe” and is the second book in my new Chefs of the West series. Book one of this series is due out in the end of October and we’ll do that cover reveal in a couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!

Montana Mistletoe, Book Two – Chefs of the West

Gillian Potter is having the biggest night of her life. A giant fundraiser, a beautifully decorated Christmas scene, an original madrigal, and her job is on the line. When she needs a caterer at the last minute, her secretary books the only person they can find on short notice. Unfortunately, that person is Gillian’s ex: Mason Herrick. Hurt as she is by the way he ended things, she wants to hate him and tries to stay away…

Mason Herrick took too many years to grow up and the perfect girl got away. Returned to Madison Falls, a new man and a business owner, Mason is determined to make good and to someday show Gillian Potter that he can be different. When her job and her future depend on Mason, he’s not sure if he’s become a good enough man to save her. Or to deserve her.

Highlander Giveaway Hop

Hey, everyone! I’m participating in the 3rd Annual Highlander Giveaway Hop that author MK McClintock is hosting. I will be sponsoring a four-book giveaway. Winner can choose three paperbacks and one epub/mobi or four epub/mobi books. Please check out my fellow Highlander Giveaway Hop members and comment to win.

Click here to view the list of HGH members and giveaways.

The books I’m giving away are my current Highlander books, all in the Highland Renegades series of medieval Scottish romance.

Go to the other stops on the blog hop to find more Highlanders. Comment here to win the first four books in my Highland Renegades series. Begin the series with The Outcast Highlander and, releasing at the beginning of next week is the follow-up to The Pirate Highlander, called Malcolm’s Return. In the middle is The Runaway Highlander.

Follow the renegade freedom fighters and their families through one of the most intense and beautiful times in Scottish history. I hope you enjoy!

Once again, don’t forget that you can win tons of other books during the Highlander Giveaway Hop. Check out the other authors and their books by clicking below.

Click here to view the list of Highlander Giveaways!

Welcome to Somewhere

A lot of people have been asking me about my latest project and it’s been all hush-hush until recently. You see, I had to keep quiet because it’s not just me who’s responsible for the project!

I’ve been working with four other authors on what’s called an “author co-op” (we call the business “Chick Tales”). Basically, we’re a group of individual authors who have decided that we want to write together and we’ve officially banded together to create something we couldn’t make on our own.

What are we making?

It’s called a continuity series. For those of you who are familiar with individual authors like Debbie Macomber (Cedar Cove) or Jodi Thomas (Harmony), it’s common for an author to create a town and write in it for a long period of time. It generally provides the opportunity for authors to continue to write a lot of books in the same series, because the town itself becomes part of the character of the series. More than a backdrop.

Together, we have created a town called Somewhere, Texas. Not only are we all writing books set in this town for a boxed set, but we’re creating ways for our fans to engage in the town of Somewhere for a long time. We have plans for fans to get inside information, as well as a way to provide an ongoing story that will take place in Somewhere.

Each of us writes a different kind of books. We each have a different voice. But we’re all writing the same place. We’ve got maps, families, histories, menus… we know this town like we live there. In a lot of ways, we do live there.

We’ve decided to start talking about Somewhere for two reasons. First of all, we’re going to have a Wattpad story that will start in October. It will be ongoing–a chapter released every week–and it will provide the first little look into Somewhere, Texas. Free. Fun. New.

Then, on October 20th, we will have a cover release party for the first Somewhere, Texas boxed set and you will be able to pre-order the boxed set on any platform you want. Additionally, the week leading up to the cover release party, each one of us will be sharing our personal covers, for the books that will be in the boxed set.

If you’d like to come to the cover release party, click here to join.

If you’d like to know more about Chick Tales, follow us here.

You can find out more about my fellow Chick Tales authors here:

Jodi Vaughn

KC Klein

Krystal Shannan

Lavender Daye

I hope that you’ll pick up our Somewhere, TX books. And I hope that you’ll enjoy being in Somewhere as much as we do.

Five authors, one town, no limits…