Tracey Alvarez's Blog, page 5

Monday Morning Mumblings

While it’s Monday morning here, for a lot of peeps it’s still Sunday (lucky!!) and the last day of my boxed set sale. I’m not going to post links because I’m pretty sure everyone from Oban in Stewart Island to Alaska has heard about my sale, and okay, if you haven’t, check out this post you have one more day. And in case you’re wondering what I look like after a week of rollercoaster highs and lows, here’s a self portrait:

Yes. I’m that jaded, and my mouse-clicker-finger is sore from all the refreshing of my rankings. Remember how I talked about my propensity to freak out over the sky falling in this post? That was me pretty much this entire week since last Monday (Tuesday New Zealand time). Day one of the sale I was convince that the whole thing was going to flop and I was NEVER GOING TO SELL ENOUGH BOOKS TO EVEN COME CLOSE AND OMG JUST HIT DELETE DELETE DELETE… Then on Friday my Bookbub ad came out and suddenly, hello, this happened…

Number 9 in the whole Amazon US store? GET. OUT!
But then this happened in the US iBooks store…

Refresh, refresh, refresh. I was sure there was a mistake.
And then…

HOLY CRAP! That was me! Number 2 in the whole B&N store. Next to Paula-freaking-Hawkins (and below me was James Patterson!!).
Is it enough to make the USA Today List this coming week? I don’t know, and FYI I am going a little nuts on the USA Today website (refresh-refresh-refresh) waiting until they update it. 
What I DO know, is that I have THE most generous author friends who have selflessly helped me promote this set and cheered me on from the sidelines. What I DO know, is that I have THE most supportive group of readers in my Facebook readers group Tracey’s KiwiChicks Tribe (if you wanna hang out and talk books and stuff with me and some pretty cool chicks, click on the link). And what I DO know is I am so grateful for all the readers who’ve taken a chance on me and my books by buying one, for the readers who already have my books but bought the set to support me, and for the readers who’ve sent kind messages to me on e-mail and social media during this week.
LOVE you guys! xx
Oh – and I DO know that I have THE most incredible husband who’s kept me sane this week and tells everyone about his amazing, talented wife. *blush*
So after all the excitement of this week, I’m heading back into the editing cave now to finish off TEACH YOUR HEART because I know you’re going to love Dr. O-for-Awesome Owen Bennett and the sweet and feisty Gracie Cooper.

 

Gas half empty, Gas half full

I found this online the other day and it perfectly sums up my marriage. I’m the worrier, DH is the ‘she’ll be right’ guy. 

I’ve lost count of the times DH has talked me down off the cliff’s edge (dammit, the cliff felt REAL to me!) and I guess I’m pretty happy about it. Goodness knows how I’d get through life if we were both like Chicken Little panicking that the sky was falling…
What’s worse is that DH is usually right and the sky isn’t falling. I hate it when he’s right…
I’d love to hear what your funny little relationship quirks are – let me know in the comments.

P.S
Don’t forget to pick up a copy of the Due South boxed set while it’s still $0.99 – LOTS of quirky (but sexy) relationships in there!

 

Amazon US
Amazon UK
iBooks
Nook
Kobo
Google Play
Smashwords
 

Time to Celebrate My Boxed Set Sale! (With A Giveaway!)

That’s right! The Due South Boxed Set, containing the first 5 Due South Books is on sale for $0.99 this week only! 
Normal Retail Price: $7.99

 

Why such a HUGE discount?
Other than I want every romance lover to read the Due South series… Okay, yeah, there is a reason. I was going to find a funny gif to set this up, but instead I’ll just put it out there. I’ve always dreamed of hitting the USA Today Bestseller list, and this is my chance. I’m going for it. May not make it…but I’m going to try. If you’d like to buy a copy and support an author’s dream (plus read some pretty damn good books if I do say so myself for only a buck!) there’s two ways you can help.
First, buy a copy from any of these retailers between today and Saturday October 1st.

Then, I’ve got a little giveaway to say thanks for helping me spread the word. Here’s the details.

Win a signed copy of Playing For Fun (Due South Book 6), a funky hand-printed ‘Kiwi sayings’ dish towel, a New Zealand beanie to keep your head warm on cooler days, and a yummy bar of NZ’s own Whittaker’s Wellington Roasted Supreme Coffee dark chocolate bar.
Open internationally.
Free to enter, no purchase required.
But as my Miss 15 says, ‘Sharing is caring’, so if you can spread the word on more than one social media platform, I’d be most grateful!
 
Before Saturday October 1st, all you need to do is:
SHARE my Facebook post about the boxed set sale which is pinned to the top of my author page here.
And/or
RETWEET the Twitter post about the boxed set which is pinned to the top of my Twitter profile here. 
And/or
POST about the boxed set sale on your blog.
 
Once you’ve done this, fill in the details here.
Giveaway ends Sunday Oct 2nd.

 

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

A girl and her daddy…

There’s something so special about a little girl and her daddy. And this is just BEAUTIFUL! 

 

I’ve written a few kid characters in my books, both girls and boys, and I confess, some of their best and worst characteristics are *loosely based* on my Master 19 and Miss 15 (who will be 16 in a months’ time!!).
Right now I’m working on TEACH YOUR HEART which has three kids–Morgan aged 13, William aged 10, and the baby of the family, Charlie, who’s 4-nearly-almost-5. I would say they’re secondary characters, but they’ve kinda stolen the show–and definitely my heart. The little girl’s sweetness in the video reminds me of Charlie–but her uncle, who is the hero of TEACH YOUR HEART, has a way to go at the beginning of the book to see what a treasure the three of them are.
Here’s an exclusive (but unedited) teaser from TEACH YOUR HEART, where the heroine, Gracie Cooper, first meets the two youngest siblings.

 

“Your brother’s right. I’m teasing.” Gracie glanced between them. “You are brother and sister?”
“Yes. He’s William,” Charlie said. “And you have to call him William, or Will, but never Willie because some people say that instead of penis.”
Gracie nearly swallowed a chunk of Hokey-pokey ice cream the wrong way. She coughed onto the back of her hand. “Always William or Will, got it. And you are?”
“Charlie not Charlotte,” Charlie said. “And I’m nearly, almost five.”

Copyright © Tracey Alvarez 2016

 
I can’t wait for you all to meet the Heath kids, especially Charlie!

Monday Morning Mumblings…

This weekend my crazy, but devoted DH took our daughter up to Mt Ruapehu on a ski camp with a whole bunch of other teenagers. It’s about a 4-5 hour drive from our place to the mountain, but because of torrential rain and masses of traffic they didn’t arrive until 11pm – seven hours after they left here. SEVEN HOURS in a car with five teenagers? Not on your life. Anyway.
This is what Mt Ruapehu normally looks like:

 

And….this is what Mt Ruapheu looked like for the whole weekend.

Go skiing they said. It’ll be FUN they said…

 

So DH and the kids romped in mud-slash-snow in the mountain carpark, checked out the thermal pools in Taupo, watched an All Blacks vs Springboks test at the local pub (the AB kicked butt, of course) and then on Sunday they played mini-golf before heading home in torrential rain. Gotta love that spring weather!
What did I do while the house was almost empty, you ask? I edited, watched Netflix, read, ate chocolate (shhhh, I didn’t save any for DH & my daughter!), snuggled with my two cats Kevin and Alfie on my bed (or herded them away from mischief), hunted for my dad’s hearing aid (which was on his night stand the whole time) and unblocked the toilet at 11.30 pm. Anyone who thinks an author’s life is glamorous, think again…
And after such an adventurous weekend, I need at least a day-long nap to recover.

Still in love after all this time…

 I spotted this online this week and just had to share, because love like this? Who doesn’t want it, right? Fifty seven years of marriage and this couple still look madly in love. It’s what I want my characters to have (whaddya mean, they’re fictional?!) and it’s what I hope in thirty years time my DH and I will still have. Perhaps minus the truck though…DH has waaaay too many vehicles as it is.

As an aside, are there any Nicholas Spark fan’s out there?
I confess I’ve never read one of his books, but I did love The Notebook movie. Yes, it was a tear jerker, but in my mind it had a satisfying ending–living a life with the person you love and then falling asleep in their arms one last time? Best way to finish a life-long love story.

The only other Spark’s movie I’ve watched is ‘The Best of Me’ and I loved the characters and the setting and the music and then…*no spoilers* but I was done. Like, completely done. That’s the romance author in me, I CRAVE those Happy Ever Afters. Actually, come to think of it, it was this song from Lady Antebellum that sold me on trying the movie…

 

So to save me from a complete weep-fest next time it’s my DVD pick, let me know in the comments what are your favourite romantic movie recommendations, and is there such a thing as a Nicholas Spark’s movie with a HEA??

Monday Morning Mumblings

This weekend DH managed to convince me to get up at the crack of dawn for an hour and three quarter drive to Carterton in the Wairarapa. And by crack of dawn, I mean we had to leave at 9 a.m. to meet up with some other Sunbeam Classic Car members to go on a group run. Turns out that although Wellington was grey and chilly, the Wairarapa put on a stunning spring day.

We saw beautiful rolling green paddocks with cutesy lambs frollicking about. An abundance of beautiful daffodils. And small-town New Zealand at its best in Carterton with a fantastic market day. I even managed to get a photo with some firetrucks, but alas, no bare-chested firefighters. Though not for the lack of trying…

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Let me know in the comments if you got up to something exciting.

#ThrowbackThursday A little excerpt from Ready To Burn

 

 

A little Teaser from Book #3 READY TO BURN

 

One second Del stood beside her all moody and mysterious, and the next, his hands gripped the railing on either side of her hips. He moved fast–fast enough that she made an embarrassing little eep-ish squawk. Nowhere to go unless she became flexible enough to do a flip over the wooden railing. 
Shaye yanked her hands from her pockets and gave his chest a shove. “Back off.”
Even after she added her sous chef do it now or die glare, he stayed, big and bad and way too close. He continued watching her with dark and unreadable eyes, his nostrils flaring slightly as he breathed. 
Her hands didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t put them back on those two hard pecs, since every single nerve-ending had soaked up the heat burning through Del’s shirt and transmitted swoony, oh yeah sighs into her brain. 
Stupid nerve-endings. Stupid brain.
She wriggled her bottom, so she half sat on the railing, arching away from him. “What are you doing?”
“Showing you the reason.”
The rough timbre of his voice stroked over her. Wickedly dark, decadently rich, scarily addictive. Like chocolate, the quality stuff made of eighty percent pure cacao. 
He leaned forward, his face level with hers. “It’s a compelling reason.”
Shaye’s hand shot out to grip his biceps–that or topple backward–but God, he felt amazing. All hard, sinewy muscle and why the hell couldn’t she unhook her fingers?
Her breathing hitched, high and ragged. “My sister’s a cop, and I know how to defend myself.”
“So, show me your ninja moves.” 
“Daring a cornered woman to hurt you isn’t very bright.”
One of his hands rasped off the wooden railing and touched the end of her ponytail. He selected a strand and stroked it down her jaw. Shaye licked her lips, unable to suck her gaze from his mouth, which angled closer. Close enough that she could tell the flavor of the last handful of potato chips he’d eaten. 
Salt and vinegar. Her favorite.
She strained upward to see if he tasted as good as he smelled…Freaking hell– 
Shaye reared back a little, hair slipping from his fingers, her chin narrowly missing his. “Are you going to kiss me?”
Her heart gave a little bunny-hop at the thought and leaped around her ribs.
“Not unless you ask real nice.” 
“Ask you?” There was that damn smirk of his again. She should’ve guessed he was playing with her. “When pigs fly.”
A muscle ticked in his jaw, but the smile didn’t falter. “Now you’ll have to say, ‘Please, Del. With a cherry on top.'”
“I’d jam that cherry up your nose before I’d kiss you, Hollywood. Get outta my face.”
His gaze dipped once to her mouth then flicked up. “I can’t go anywhere while you’re grabbing onto me.”
 
Copyright © Tracey Alvarez 2014

Thoughts on a G.A.B (Great All Black) ~ Chasing Great movie

I’m the first to admit that up until a few years ago, I had little time and zero interest in rugby. I would catch snippets as I passed by the TV while my husband watched the odd test, and roll my eyes as he shouted encouragement at the screen. Puh-lease. It was just a bunch of dudes in shorts running around a muddy field.
And in fact, it took until the 2011 Rugby World Cup final for me to watch a whole televised game. Even I, the eye-roller, stopped fidgeting in my chair as the tension roiled around the room up until the final moments when the whistle blew. And yes, even I leaped to my feet and whooped as the All Blacks won the cup. I’ve only ever seen one test match live, and that was played in my home city of Wellington with the All Blacks annihilating the Springboks – what a buzz in the stadium and actually seeing Richie McCaw score a try…wow! Fast forward to the 2015 Rugby World Cup final, and those who know me were super-impressed that I got up at 5 a.m to watch the All Blacks take on the Wallabies and win.
While I don’t think I’ll ever be in love with the game, I have a fascination with the type of character it takes to succeed in such an all consuming and taxing sport. Rugby is raw, intense and yeah, brutal both physically and mentally. At least to the men and women who play it. So when I saw an advert for Chasing Great, the Richie McCaw documentary/movie, I rallied up some rugby loving friends (and my Miss 15 who didn’t want to miss out on a free movie!) and booked the back row of our local theater. Back row, get it? If you’re a rugby fan, you’ll understand the pun. I still don’t understand 90% of the rules, but that’s not why I wanted to see Chasing Great.

I can’t write a review on the technical/sports side of Chasing Great, because my lack of knowledge wouldn’t do it justice. If you’re a fan, I apologize now for any previous errors of terminology, and any errors to come. What I can say about the documentary was that it held my attention, and even the attention of Miss 15 who has even less interest in rugby than I do. 
Richie McCaw fascinates me. He’s guarded and stoic, focused with a gaze so intense I imagine it would blister if it landed on you. I am immensely impressed at his dedication and unswerving ambition to be the best. I enjoyed getting a little peek behind the scenes of his life, and imagining how a young boy who was often regarded as ‘small’ and an average player in his early years, became a G.A.B. Not just an All Black, but a Great All Black.

Watching Chasing Great is just one of many steps I’ll be taking in the next few months to find out more about the game and the men who represent my country in this sport. The 4th book in my Far North series MEND YOUR HEART (which I’m hoping to start writing early in the new year) features a former All Black with a mighty chip on his shoulder and a woman he wants but can’t have without breaking her heart for the second time.
If the Chasing Great does well in New Zealand, who knows, perhaps it’ll make it overseas since more and more people worldwide are discovering the excitement of the game.
Let me know in the comments if you’ve ever watched the All Blacks play.

Monday Morning Mumblings

So. I’ve decided to try using my blog a little more, in the hopes that A) people will read my mumblings, and B) it’ll prime the pump and help me kick ass on my current WIP once I’ve finished knocking back my first third coffee of the day.
Don’t expect any profound wisdom or advice or a 500 word essay on the Meaning of Life (after all, Monday is NOT my favourite day of the week) but hopefully it’ll give you a smile. Even if it is Sunday in your part of the world!
Here’s my most profound-est thought for Monday morning.

Coffee-coffee-coffee…!
How do you start a rough Monday morning? Coffee? Tea? Wine?
Let me know in the comments.