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For the Love of Books

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Destination: Love

01 Tuesday Aug 2017

Posted by elizaknight in Books, contemporary romance, Uncategorized

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I am known best for my historical romance novels, but I do love contemporary, and so every so often, I get the bug to write one. I’m thrilled to announce that my 3rd story in the One Night series has released in the Destination: Love anthology! Wherever You Are is the story of Max and Calista who meet one night on a beach in Grand Cayman–a night that will change them forever.

You first met Max in The Rebound Pact, when his sister Gabriella joins up with Holden to open a bistro at a local vineyard.

Check out an excerpt!

“What are you doing out here?”

“Staring at the stars.” She shrugged.

Max laughed softly. “No, I mean, here in Grand Cayman.”

“Vacationing like everyone else.” Calista turned away. What little part of her had felt the need to open up to this stranger tightened. Talking with a handsome stranger was one thing, relaying the melancholy that was her life was another.

“I don’t mean to pry,” Max said softly.

Calista’s lips curved slightly as she flicked her gaze at him. “Yes you do.”

Max laughed and tapped his hand to his chest. “You got me. I do.”

A little flip of her belly, and she found herself letting her guard down again. “Forgetting.” Though, she was doing a better job remembering and wallowing than anything else. And she had every right, didn’t she? “Forgetting,” she said again quietly, as if hoping to convince herself to do so.

He nodded but didn’t ask any more, as if he could understand the need to forget. He lay down beside her, stretched his legs out so the waves touched his feet and tucked his hands beneath his head. “Have to admit, this is a nice view.”

And it was. But Calista wasn’t looking at the stars anymore. She was staring down at Max. At his lean, cut body and the chisel of his features, dark reddish-brown hair that resembled the color of an old, lucky penny. He was handsome. Hot. Looking at him, a spark of desire flashed inside her, coursing its way along her limbs, making her breasts feel heavy, achy. God, she hadn’t felt like that in a while. Not even with Randy.

Desire. Need. Yearning.

If she were anyone else, she might have taken the opportunity that was being presented to her. Might have taken the chance and jumped this hot hunk’s bones. But she wasn’t any other person. She was Calista Adams. Jilted bride.

Tearing her gaze away from him, she flopped back onto the sand, her arm over her eyes.

“Can’t see the stars like that,” he murmured.

A smiled snaked over her lips, and she tried to stifle it. But all that kept running through her mind was the way she felt so at peace with Max here, lying beside her in the shallow water, waves lapping at their feet. And how wrong that had to be. Right? She shouldn’t feel like this. Not yet.

She’d not felt at peace since her life was inexplicably torn apart. Not since she’d lost—

“Do you live near the beach?” Max asked.

Calista cleared her throat, thrusting her sadness away. “No,” she whispered.

“Oh.”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because of how comfortable you are just lying here. Sand in your hair. Clothes rumpled. As though it’s part of a routine you couldn’t live without.”

A routine she couldn’t live without. Warm water slicked up her legs, a gentle breeze soothed her soul. And this man… He was making her think of things that she’d not yet touched on. What she couldn’t live without. And that was affection, kissing, companionship, love.

Destination LOVE Individual Teasers_Eliza Knight

Go the distance, fall farther than you planned…

Don’t bother with your passport – you can watch our HOT couples fall in love from the comfort of your couch! USA Today bestsellers Christi Barth, Eliza Knight, Misty D. Waters and Piper J. Drake, and Christina Elle take you along on sexy, romance-drenched vacations all over the globe. Enjoy the exotic settings, the steamy vacation flings that become something more. Take the plunge with five couples as they throw caution to the wind and give in to temptation. The final destination in this itinerary is love, and you’re in for the trip of your life.

Wherever You Are

After life takes a heart-breaking turn, Calista Adams indulges in a fling while on vacation. But that steamy encounter fills her heart with something she thought never to have again. Maxwell Dane can’t stop thinking about Calista, but he’s home in Paris, she’s an ocean away. Until Calista takes a nine-week sabbatical to travel Europe. With a second chance in sight, Max won’t let her push him away. This could be the forever kind of love, and there’s only one way to find out.

 

Order Destination: Love Now!

Amazon: http://amzn.to/2rH8crI

Kobo: http://bit.ly/2rsSdOu

iBooks: http://apple.co/2rNJVE8

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2s29alS

Google Play: http://bit.ly/2tQEDbO

 

Destination LOVE charity

 

More Books in the One Night Series…

ElizaKnight_TheReboundPact_2500

Kindle: https://goo.gl/eMQRv6
Nook: https://goo.gl/VsJXvx
Kobo: https://goo.gl/fuXaVc
iBook: https://goo.gl/WMyy8n

 

ElizaKnight_AKiltedChristmasWish200

Kindle: https://goo.gl/bCcmyn
Nook: https://goo.gl/JktYp7
Kobo: https://goo.gl/af4vRd
iBook: https://goo.gl/xwCFTM

 

HARD AS IT GETS by Laura Kaye

26 Tuesday Nov 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, contemporary romance

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Tags

chocolate, contemporary romance, Hard As it Gets, Laura Kaye

HARD AS IT GETS smaller release graphicI am so excited for you all to check out my good friend Laura Kaye’s new book, HARD AS IT GETS! I had a chance to read an early copy and it was AWESOME!!! She’s here today to talk about a thing we both love in addition to romance and hot heroes–CHOCOLATE!!!

Enjoy!

 

Five Favorite Chocolates

e5516-laurakaye-21I’m thrilled to be at my good friend Eliza Knight’s place today celebrating the release of my new book, Hard As It Gets, the first in the Hank Ink series. This series has ex-military guys, a tattoo parlor, intrigue, mystery, a kick-ass heroine, and a three-legged dog. And it also has a couple of sexy scenes caused by chocolate. LOL! So, first, I’m sharing my own personal favorite chocolates, and then second, I’m sharing an excerpt in which chocolate is featured.

 

My favorite chocolates include:

1) Snickers. This candy has always been my absolute favorite. And, really, any chocolate paired with caramel ranks pretty high for me.

2) Godiva chocolate. Godiva makes the best hot fudge you’ll ever have. And the best chocolate dip for strawberries. And incredible truffles. And…and…

3) Chocolate chips. I love the way they crunch, and enjoy them by themselves, in cookies, in ice cream, in muffins – you get the picture!

4) Chocolate ice cream. In pretty much any form, I love the chocolate frozen stuff!

5) Nutella. The delicious chocolate-hazelnut spread is incredible on pancakes and even better in crepes. Anything would probably be better with Nutella.

 

HardAsItGets mm cNow for a chocolate-inspired excerpt:

 

Becca opened the fridge and surveyed the shelves and drawers. After all, the last thing Nick had said to her before they’d gone their separate ways at bedtime was “Make yourself at home. What’s mine is yours.” Which had left her mind churning on exactly what the full practical application of that principle might include . . . But, at the very least, she assumed it included midnight raids on his fridge. One of her worst and most favorite habits.

 

But the contents primarily fell into one of four categories: beer, other drinks, restaurant takeout and general leftovers, and meat.

 

Wrinkling her nose, she closed the lower door and opened the upper one. Icy air blasted out as her gaze landed on a two-deep stack of ice cream tubs, the double chocolate fudge brownie catching her eye in particular.

 

“That’s more like it.” She pushed the door shut and turned to the counter.

 

And screamed.

 

Nick was standing like a silent phantom at the edge of the dim light. The half-gallon

container flipped out of her hands and did a triple somersault in the air before she dove for it at the same time Nick did.

 

They crashed and she shrieked, her hands flush against a mountain of bare, hard flesh, and the tub of ice cream fell at their feet. His arms came around her, his greater weight nearly knocking her over and making them stumble until he’d all but pinned her against the counter.

 

Time froze for an instant, then Becca burst out laughing, the ridiculousness of the past ten seconds growing in hilarity the more she thought about what had just happened. She covered her mouth with one hand as her head fell back and her laughter devolved into a series of choked chortles she couldn’t control. She gasped for breath, her forehead falling against Nick’s chest.

 

His chest. Holy crap, the man was half naked and she was touching him. Her hand. Her face. Her stomach against his. The details of their position finally registered in her sleep-deprived brain.

 

He was all over her.

 

Do you have a favorite chocolate?

 

Thanks for reading!

Laura

 

“Edgy, sexy, and full of suspense! A great read from a great new author!”

~J.R. Ward on Hard As It Gets

 

About Hard As It Gets:

Five dishonored soldiers.

Former Special Forces.

One last mission.

These are the men of Hard Ink.

 

Tall, dark, and lethal…

Trouble just walked into Nicholas Rixey’s tattoo parlor. Becca Merritt is warm, sexy, wholesome–pure temptation to a very jaded Nick. He’s left his military life behind to become co-owner of Hard Ink Tattoo, but Becca is his ex-commander’s daughter. Loyalty won’t let him turn her away. Lust has plenty to do with it too.

With her brother presumed kidnapped, Becca needs Nick. She just wasn’t expecting to want him so much. As their investigation turns into all-out war with an organized crime ring, only Nick can protect her. And only Becca can heal the scars no one else sees.

Desire is the easy part. Love is as hard as it gets. Good thing Nick is always up for a challenge…

 

Read an Extended Excerpt of Hard As It Gets

Buy at Amazon | B&N | iTunes

About Laura Kaye:

 

Laura is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of over a dozen books in contemporary and paranormal romance. Growing up, Laura’s large extended family believed in the supernatural, and family lore involving angels, ghosts, and evil-eye curses cemented in Laura a life-long fascination with storytelling and all things paranormal. She lives in Maryland with her husband, two daughters, and cute-but-bad dog, and appreciates her view of the Chesapeake Bay every day.

 

Website | Blog | Facebook | Hard Ink Puppy FB | Twitter | Newsletter SignUp

 

Want to visit more stops along the HARD AS IT GETS tour? Click HERE

New Release — A KILTED CHRISTMAS WISH

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, contemporary romance, Self-Published, Stolen Bride series

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Tags

A Kilted Christmas Wish, Christmas romance, contemporary romance, Highlanders, kilts

I love kilts, Christmas, chocolate, hot chocolate and even hotter heroes. Add all those together with heaping spoonful of love and you have my new Christmas novella–A KILTED CHRISTMAS WISH! (Oh and guess what??? The hero–Aaron Sutherland–is a descendant of the Sutherlands from my Stolen Bride series!)

ElizaKnight_AKiltedChristmasWish2500Down on her luck with men, Darla Strider wonders if she’ll ever meet her own kilted hero. Considering she lives in present day New York City, the likelihood of that happening is nil. She’s certain only a Christmas wish could make her dreams come true. Until the day Aaron Sutherland walks into her café, and changes her whole world.

Leaving his pain in Scotland for life in the States, the last thing Aaron has in mind is hooking up with a city girl. But one look at Darla and she’s got him singing All I Want for Christmas is You.

Want to read an excerpt? How about all of Chapter One??? Enjoy!

Highlanders. Oh, she wished.

Darla Strider, hopeless romantic and cynical love hater, tossed the Scottish romance novel she’d been reading aside. Highlander’s Reward… Ultra alpha hero, fiercely loyal, powerful, hot body, good in bed, not to mention his kilt… When was she going to get her reward? The Scottish hero from the novel certainly wasn’t going to leap from the pages, long sexy hair flowing, sword glinting, eyes filled with desire and ask her out to dinner followed by mind-blowing sex—except in her fantasies. And in her fantasies, she would say, yes, a thousand times yes, throwing herself into his waiting, muscular arms.

Leaning an elbow on the counter of her gourmet deli and resting her chin in her hand, she gazed out the paned glass onto the busy, holiday-adorned Manhattan street. Any minute the lunchtime rush would begin. Thank goodness her chef was in today. With Amanda, her hostess/waitress, out sick, the counter was going to get crazy. Reading time was over for the next few hours. What did it matter, anyway? She was beginning to be overly bitter about romance and a reminder of that was the last thing she needed.

One miserable, failed date after another. A couple of meaningless relationships and a series of messy nights bumping uglies. Romance, for Darla, was dead.

What she wouldn’t give to have a Highlander walk through her door that very moment. At least a free year’s supply of her prized veggie and goat cheese panini. To hear his brogue stroke her like a caress while he told her how beautiful he thought she was. She smirked. For that, she’d throw in a daily glass of sangria.

Never going to happen.

She glanced over at the miniature Christmas tree tucked into the corner near the window. Stockings hung from its branches, all in the name of holiday cheer. A little bronzed Santa sat nestled in the branches, surrounded by twinkling white lights and silver tinsel.

“Santa,” she murmured. “Please bring me one of these Highland heroes for Christmas.”

Oh, God, now she was resorting to talking to inanimate objects. Hopeless.

The bell over the door dinged. Swiping her hands on her snowman-covered apron as she stood straight and plastered a smile on her face, Darla resisted the urge to gasp at the gorgeous man who walked through the entrance. Dressed in a dazzling fitted, charcoal-gray suit, with a light blue dress shirt and shiny black tie, he looked like he’d just walked off a billboard titled, Every Woman’s Dream. Dark hair, slightly on the longish side, clean shaven, chiseled features—and those eyes. Gray as storm clouds and just as unpredictable.

Darla swallowed her shock and cocked her head slightly. “Welcome to City Café,” she said, silently cursing the slight shake in her voice. She clutched her fingers together behind her back, then quickly brought them around front when she realized she’d thrust her breasts forward, too.

A delicious grin curled his lips and his eyes raked over her making Darla wish she’d chosen her good jeans today. The ones that made her butt look bootylicious instead of I-eat-too-much-chocolicious.

“Thanks,” he said.

Darla did a double-take, her mouth falling open at least an inch. She definitely detected some sort of accent. Her heart sped up and she gave a furtive glance at Santa. Sounded Scottish, but it was hard to decipher from one syllable. There was no way… She was delusional, that was all.

“Would you like to eat in or carryout?” she managed.

He studied her for a few skips of her heartbeat. There was a wicked glint in his eyes. The kind that would normally make her melt. Okay, fine. She admitted it, the way he was looking at her, she was bound to go boneless if he didn’t look away.

“I’d like a table,” he said.

Holy, fucking, Santa Claus!

The man spoke with the most discernible Scottish brogue. Knees going weak, Darla gripped the counter to hold herself up. She blinked, staring at him and then back at her Christmas tree. Was this a joke? No. Couldn’t be. Just a coincidence. A huge coincidence. No stars-aligning, tragic romance bull, just chance.

“Is that all right?” he asked, staring around the café when she didn’t respond.

The door opened, bell dinging, as a group of three walked in, dusting snow off their sleeves. The noise pulled her out of her trance, and Darla jerked into motion, grabbing a menu.

“Yes, yes, of course.” She skidded around the side of the counter and took him to the table closest to her—selfish really. She wanted the ability to stare at him while she worked. Ugh. Maybe she should convince him to take his order to go?

“Would you mind if I sat by the window?” He shrugged, having the adorable awareness to look charming. “Just got into town and I do love to people watch.”

Darla managed to find her wit somewhere buried beneath the shock and drool. She gave a throaty laugh—hi-fiving herself for being sexy. “I love people watching, too. No problem.”

She led him over toward the Christmas tree, glaring at Santa as she went. Not fair for him to play such a cruel joke on her. “How’s this?”

“Perfect.”

Lord, was he ever…

A clearing throat behind Darla reminded her the line was starting to build. She felt her face heat. She might as well just strip off her clothes right then and there and offer herself over to her hot customer.

Instead, she handed him the menu and said, “I’ll be back in a moment to take your order.”

“Thanks.” He smiled at her.

Not the usual, thanks for the menu now leave me alone smile. No, this was a charming, I want to ask you to dinner smile. And if he asked, she might just find it impossible to say no.

Darla whirled back toward the counter, practically running behind it. Her limbs were tingling, going numb and she could barely catch her breath. Just a coincidence she kept telling herself.

And no dates. Even if he oozed sex on a platter. She wasn’t going down that road again. Besides, she had a half dozen people in line to attend to. Daydreaming about Mr. Hot Scotsman was only going to ruin her business. A chance she couldn’t take. The café was all she had. Her family was scattered across the country, and it wasn’t like she was going to beg a couch to crash on.

Jorge peeked his head around the corner from the kitchen, raising his brow. Darla pressed her lips together, suppressing a smile. Her chef knew her too damn well.

After taking the orders of those in line, she used the brief lull in traffic to rush back to her Scottish gentleman.

“I’m sorry about the wait. What would you like to have today?”

He flashed her that smile again and she gripped tight to her pen to keep from flinging it as her fingers twitched. Yeah, the last thing she needed was to poke out one of his gorgeous eyes.

“What is your favorite?” he asked.

“Hands down the roasted veggie panini, but if you’re in a meaty mood, the turkey and spinach pesto is amazing.”

“I’ll give yours a shot. If it’s not to my liking, I’ll have to come back tomorrow for the turkey.”

Her breath caught. He’d come back?

“That sounds great,” she rushed out. A blush crept up over her chest, a smile frozen on her lips. “I’m going to go put this in.” She hurried back to the kitchen, cursing herself for not being able to say something clever and witty, knowing she must look like a complete moron, mooning over the stranger like a woman who’d never seen a man before.

She’d been staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights. He probably thought she was crazy.

Plates started popping out of the kitchen window, and between taking more orders, she served lunches to those who were staying—including Mr. Hotstuff—and bagged up the to-go’s. Every time she looked toward the hottie by the Christmas tree he was watching her. A few times he tried to look away, pretending that he’d not been staring, but other times he smiled.

She was supposed to be the one staring—not him.

Damn. Double damn.

She’d vowed no more dates. Not one man was going to take off the metaphorical chastity belt she’d chained to her nether-regions. Not until she’d met a man worth it. Not until she felt that spark of love. No matter how much of a Scottish accent he had, or how much she wanted to stare into his stormy gray eyes.

“Excuse me?”

Darla jerked her gaze to the annoyed looking woman. The sound of her customer’s foot tapping in front of the counter made Darla’s eye twitch.

“Welcome to City Café, how can I help you?” She plastered on her snappy customer service smile and listened to the woman complain about how she’d said hello to her about five times before Darla answered.

“So sorry, we’ve been swamped. My apologies.”

“Take out order for the Simpson Firm.”

Darla rummaged through the called in to-go’s and handed the woman two large recycled paper bags, filled with hers and Jorge’s famous paninis. She rang her up, exchanging cash and change with the woman was painful as she seemed to have an affinity to rolling her eyes.

“Enjoy.” Darla handed her the bag.

The woman didn’t bother to say thank you, but stormed out at such a jerky pace, making Darla fear she’d drop the order.

“Guess not everyone can be pleased.” Her Scottish friend had somehow managed to leave his chair and approach the counter without her noticing.

“Not always,” she said with a smile. “Are you all done?”

“Yes, best sandwich I’ve ever had. You run a great café.” He winked. “Very charming. Just like its owner.”

Her mouth fell open. Charming? He was starting with the compliments already?

“I didn’t catch your name. I’m Aaron.” He held out his hand.

She stared down at his hand for a little longer than was appropriate, but finally snapped out of it, slipping hers against his palm. His hand was warm. Fingers long.

“I’m Darla.”

“Are you open for dinner, Darla?” he asked.

Her stomach did a little flip and she nodded. “Um, yes, we are.”

“Darn. I was going to see if you were free to go out with me this evening. Maybe some other time.” He picked up one of the restaurant deli cards and stuck it in his pocket.

She opened her mouth to speak, but only succeeded in nodding. He flashed her one more heart-throbbing smile before walking out of the door, and potentially out of her life forever.

READ THE REST!!! 

Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Smashwords

Outside the Lines by Kimberly Kincaid

30 Tuesday Jul 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Romance, Self-Published

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foodie romance, Kimberly Kincaid, Outside the Lines

Banner

I had the pleasure of meeting Kimberly in NYC at the RWA Con in 2011… when we went to the sex museum and sipped on crazy beverages at the bar there. She’s a wonderful author and a sweetheart! So excited for her new release. Check it out!

Portrait of young attractive happy amorous couple in bedroom

Outside the Lines

By: Kimberly Kincaid

Releasing July 30th, 2013

Blurb

As an ivy-league ER doctor who eats double shifts for breakfast (and lunch…and dinner), Blake Fisher has little appetite for anything other than work. Being on the staff at Brenstville Hospital means taking care of people, a need Blake understands all too well from losing his brother to cystic fibrosis eight years ago. When he’s asked to coordinate a carnival fundraiser for the cause, he jumps at the chance to help others with the disease…until it lands him side by side with the one woman he never thought he’d see again: his ex-fiancée.

Streetwise and rough around the edges, Jules Shaw is no stranger to earning a living through hard work. But when her job as the restaurant manager of Mac’s Diner puts her shoulder to really broad shoulder with Blake Fisher, she nearly balks. She’d rather dodge and deflect than admit the real reason she broke things off, but the catering contract for the carnival means big business for Mac’s, and feeding people is Jules’s lifeblood.

As Blake and Jules join reluctant forces, they quickly rediscover the spark between them. But the possibility of a future together hinges on coming clean about the past, with potentially devastating consequences. Can Blake and Jules overcome their drastically different backgrounds and learn to love again, or will they always be outside the lines?

 

Link to Follow the Tour: http://tastybooktours.blogspot.com/2013/06/now-booking-release-day-tasty-book.html

Buy Links

 

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18070953-outside-the-lines

 

KimAuthor Info

Kimberly Kincaid writes contemporary romance that splits the difference between sexy and sweet. When she’s not sitting cross-legged in an ancient desk chair known as “The Pleather Bomber”, she can be found practicing obscene amounts of yoga, whipping up anything from enchiladas to éclairs in her kitchen, or curled up with her nose in a book. Kimberly is a 2011 RWA Golden Heart® finalist who lives (and writes!) by the mantra that food is love. She has written two digital novellas, Love On The Line and Drawing The Line, about hot cops and sexy chefs, with a third novella, Outside The Lines, due this summer. She is also thrilled to have collaborated on a Christmas anthology with Donna Kauffman and Kate Angell, titled The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap, to kick off her Pine Mountain foodie series with Kensington this October. Kimberly’s first full-length novel, Turn Up the Heat, will follow in February 2014. She resides in northern Virginia with her wildly patient husband and their three daughters.

Visit her any time at www.kimberlykincaid.com or come check her out on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kimberly.kincaid1) and Twitter (@kimberlykincaid).

Author Links

www.kimberlykincaid.com

www.facebook.com/kimberly.kincaid1

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6938229.Kimberly_Kincaid

 

New Release! Notorious Woman!

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Erotic Romance, Historical Romance

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Happy release day to my alter ego, Annabelle Weston! Today the 3rd book in the Desert Heat series released!

notoriouswoman_msrNotorious Woman…

Kate has a bad reputation. Since her pa’s murder, she’s been a whip-wielding, ball-busting hellcat, determined to prove she can run a ranch just as well as any man. Then her little sister goes and hires a new foreman—a foreman who makes Kate tingle in places she shouldn’t be tingling, not if she wants to keep up a tough façade. When Jake takes liberties by kissing her—never mind where he kisses her—she clocks him in the chin then hopes he’ll kiss her some more. What’s happening to her?

Jake isn’t just at the ranch to help run the place. He made a bet he could tame Kate, a bet that would give him the money he needs for his own piece of land. He never expected her to be so ornery…or taste so sweet. And he never expected to like her more when she’s cantankerous. Unfortunately, it’s a bet he can’t afford to lose, even though he’s already lost his heart.

Inside Scoop: This historical romp is a sexy Western take on The Taming of the Shrew.

An Excerpt From: NOTORIOUS WOMAN

Copyright © ANNABELLE WESTON, 2013

All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave Publishing, Inc.

About a quarter mile from the gate, he came upon a farmhouse, what appeared to be a bunkhouse on the left and a shed for a farrier on the right. Both could use a coat of fresh stucco. As Jake rode up to the house, he came to the conclusion these ladies were over their pretty little heads.

A chicken coop listed to one side. A few chickens scratched the dry earth. He doubted they laid a decent egg to breakfast on. The first winter storm would most likely knock the coop over. No self-respecting coyote would have any trouble breaking in and helping himself to a not-so-plump chicken dinner.

There was a good-sized barn with an empty corral behind it. Beyond the corral, a pasture where livestock should be grazing. He frowned. The girls had no idea how to run a ranch and obviously that idiot of a foreman who had worked for their pa didn’t either. Nobody had done a lick of work in a long time. Damn good thing he’d come along when he did. He’d fix the place right up.

Whoa there, boy! What was he doing? Thinking like that would have him trying to make a permanent home out of Crowley ranch. That wasn’t how it was going to be. He was going to win this wager and then get on to Texas where the real cattlemen lived. In his pocket would be a fat purse—enough to buy his own place.

Best to keep his goal in mind, else he’d wind up draining his blood and sweat on this spread with nothing to show for his effort.

Kate Crowley came out on her porch carrying a lit coal-oil lamp as the sun was about to set. She wore riding clothes and a hat. Thankfully, he didn’t see any whip or other weapon.

A gust of wind whipped her loose hair and reddened her cheeks. He had to admit she made a picture of Western country womanhood any man would be itching to come home to. The fact that for a split-second he thought of coming home to her disturbed him greatly.

Her eyes met his and he couldn’t help but notice taut nipples beneath her blouse. Jake sucked in a breath, his own body reacting with sudden lust. She drew a wool shawl tighter around her shoulders. It hugged her curves and gave the impression of vulnerability. She appeared sturdy enough, he reckoned, but there was no mistaking she was holding her own against a stacked deck.

“You found us,” she said kindly. In the dying light, Jake could see the gratitude reflected in her eyes.

“Yes ma’am.” Jake tipped his hat. He couldn’t afford to be sorry for her plight. Like he’d told the boys at the saloon, her dilemma wasn’t his concern. In six weeks, he’d be a man of means. Most likely, the sisters would be on their way back East, where ladies belonged. “You here to check on my sobriety?”

“Do I need to?”

He chuckled. She gave as good as she got.

“Come with me,” she said and stepped down from her perch. “I’ll show you where to put your gear.”

Like a general who’d just given orders, she marched off, her head high. He couldn’t help but watch the sway of her hips. No matter how much she tried to be one of the boys, this woman had virtues no man could ignore.

Resolve twitched his lips as he pictured her walking like that without any clothes on. Her ass would sway and dimple with each step. He imagined the curve of her bottom as he held her. Damn if he didn’t wonder what she’d be like underneath him. Would her fire scorch him?

His cock grew hard, pressing uncomfortably against his denim. He adjusted his stance, giving himself a chance to settle down.

Jake led Rascal to the bunkhouse where Kate stood waiting by the open door. She went inside, hung the lantern on a wooden peg and set the bedding on the nearest bunk. Her hands lingered a moment on the rough mattress, and seeing her bent over like that, Jake had the urge to come up behind her and press his aching cock against the curve of her buttocks.

Clearing his throat, hoping to gain some control of his lust, he asked, “Where are the other wranglers?” Jake poked his head inside.

“There aren’t any others,” she said, furrowing her forehead.

He raised a brow. She had to be joking. “You hired me to be a foreman. You mean to tell me I’m the only hombre working here?”

Her lips pressed together as she watched him, almost as if she was annoyed that he would question her. But question her he would. This was not the job he’d agreed to. Foreman was one thing. Doing the job of a dozen wranglers wasn’t.

“You’re our only employee. We can’t afford to hire any more help right now.”

“How in the heck do you expect to get the considerable amount of work that needs doing finished by the time winter rolls in?” He stared hard at her. “Which will be sooner than you think.”

Kate stepped forward, her shoulders pulled back, breasts pushed tight against her blouse. The intent he knew was to appear taller, stronger, but instead she looked hotter than hell and had him thinking of hauling her into his arms to feel the softness pressed against him. “I intend to do my share of the work. My sister too.”

Jake let out a whistle. “You must be joshing. I can’t bring cows down from these hills with a couple of women.”

Her eyes glowed in the lamplight. “That’s exactly what we are going to do, Mr. Madden. Are you telling me you’re not able to do the job?”

Jake pushed his hat back on his head. Was she questioning his abilities? He didn’t like what he saw but he wasn’t going to back down with so much at stake.

“I didn’t think so.” She rested her hands on her hips. Ample, curving hips. “You can put your horse in the barn.”

“No thanks. He’ll do fine in the corral. No use spoiling him.”

“Suit yourself.”

When she brushed past him, heat encompassed him. Instinctively Jake reached out, stopping her. She glanced up at him, fire filling her eyes. He breathed deep. She smelled of flowers, sugar. Gripping a tendril of her loose hair, he twirled it around his fingers.

“What are you doing?” Her voice was soft, husky, giving away that she was more affected by his simple touch than her words showed.

What was he doing? He wanted to kiss her. To touch her.

Instead Jake shook his head, pulling himself from whatever spell had overtaken him. He blinked a few times, dropping his hand to his side.

READ IT!

Check out the other books in the Desert Heat series!!

Self-Published Interview with Terry Spear!

18 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Self-Published Author Interview Series

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

Self-publishing, Terry Spear

Wolf and Terry SpearWelcome back to another week of my self-publishing interview series! Today we have best-selling author Terry Spear with us! Terry is a prolific and amazing author. Enjoy!

PUBLISHING QUESTIONS…

  • What was the deciding factor in self-publishing your book(s)? Did you decide on ebook or print only or both?

I have 29 self-published books as well as love being traditionally published. Some of the self-published titles were published with epubs that are now defunct. Some of the books agents and/or editors considered but passed on. The latest was a case of my publisher moving from sex and violence to inspirational. I still am writing on the highly successful series, The Highlanders—a Highland romance set in the time of King Henry I—but couldn’t remove the sex or violence without making my readers wonder what happened. So I went ahead and self-published Highland Rake, 3rd in the series.

Shadow Elf print cover1000I’m putting some of the titles into print—the more popular titles first. The YA fae series is extremely popular, so they’re all going into print. Dragon Fae (book 5) is just now available. Shadow Elf, another YA series, is also. I don’t have highspeed Internet where I live, so it makes it more difficult. But I did put Kiss of the Vampire (YA) into print. And also: Highland Rake, Lady Caroline and the Egotistical Earl, and Killing the Bloodlust. I read only print books myself so it’s nice to have another version for readers like me!

  • What went into the process?
  • Writing, editing, cover design, formatting, etc… Share your ups and downs and how you went about it. If you used a service from a someone, could you share who?

dragonfaecovermistBNSome of my books have been edited by editors that worked for epub companies. Some critiqued, read by beta readers.

On formatting, there’s a little bit of a learning curve—what works for one book site, might not for another. And book cover sizes are different for the different sites. But each of the sites has explanations on how to do it properly.

I’ve also learned a lot about cover art and so some of my books are my own, others I’ve purchased from cover artists.

  • What did you do to promote your work?

I post that it’s up on my blog and give a link to it on FB and Twitter and Google +. I’ll add it to my blog, Shelfari, Goodreads, and my website. But then it’s off to working on the next book. That is always the biggest push for books.

  • What was the hardest thing you’ve found in the process of self-publishing? What was the easiest part of self-publishing?

young woman with a rose.  medieval styleThe hardest part sometimes is finding a picture or a cover that will work for the book. I have one I’m still having a time finding that right cover. It’s true that a cover can catch a potential reader’s eye, just so they will take a look at the book’s blurb. Other times, I’ve found the perfect cover that has launched a book.

  • Can you list some Pros/Cons of self-publishing?

The cons: The distribution isn’t as great. Most brick and mortar stores are not interested in carrying your book. Setting up a book signing at these stores might be out of the question. For many, sales can be slow or not at all. You’re on your own with editing, or hiring an editor, who might or might not be great. The same with cover artists. Some are just not that great. And some are out of this world. It’s not based on money, either. Some great cover artists charge lower prices and some who charge high prices can have lackluster covers. And you’re on your own! J You have to decide title, editing, cover, promotion, even deadlines!

The pros: A successful book can take off that editors and agents wouldn’t give a nod to and you’ve got a winning series. With the fae, that’s happened. It’s helped to raise interest in all the other YA titles that I have out. The more you have in a series, the better. Highland Rake is doing very well. And I have another sequel coming.

HighlandRake300You can spread your wings, try something that you haven’t tried, or that isn’t big right now. You can set your own price, title, and decide about your own cover art.

  • How long have your book(s) been out? How long between books if you have multiple sales—and if you have multiples did you see a bump in sales with subsequent publication?

For my self-published titles, since last year.

Definitely, subsequent books help to sell earlier books. That’s the best promotion an author can do. Have the next book in a series out.

  • Can you give a rough breakdown of your sales numbers from your first month to the present?

TVIM_533x800It would take too much time to go back and add it all up because I have so many books out and sell at a number of different sites, but let’s just say that I was working full time through this July, and decided that because of my self-published works, I was making enough to quit my job. And that was my goal. Instead of writing 40-45 hours a week and working a day job for another 40 hours, which meant an 80+ hour week, I’m able to spend all that time writing and promoting. I LOVE it. 🙂

  • What advice can you offer to anyone deciding to self-publish?

Keep learning how to write. Even if you have tons of books you’ve written, and published, it never hurts to keep learning how to write better.

READER QUESTIONS…

  • What genre(s) do you write in? How many books do you have out? Titles?

Paranormal romance, urban fantasy romance, contemporary romance, historical romance, YA paranormal romance, fantasy romance, scifi romance, romantic suspense, YA fantasy romance, YA urban fantasy

I have 29 self-published titles out.

  • What do you love about the genre(s)?

I’m an eclectic reader so I LOVE to read everything and I love writing everything.

  • Where can readers find you?

www.terryspear.com, or follow her on Twitter, @TerrySpear. http://www.facebook.com/terry.spear . http://pinterest.com/terryspear/

  • Where can readers find your books? Print/Ebook?

http://www.terryspear.com

  • What works do you have coming out in the future?

Darkfaebestsellercover1The Hawk Fae, Book 6 in The World of Fae series, The Highlander, Book 4 in the Medieval Highland series, The Vampire is Mine, Dangerous Liaisons (Book 2, sequel to Deadly Liaisons, vampire RS).

  • There is a rumor going around that all self-pubbed books are shoddily created. What do you say to that?

Yes, some are. And some Legacy books are. I read one in a contest that was so poorly edited, I counted 156 bad mistakes, and many more that were just the kind of thing where 15 sentences in a row started with the word: He. The world was built with definite boundaries, and then the characters broke those world boundaries, but with no explanation why it could have been done. Just all kinds of plot holes. Yet that was with one of the Big 6.

So yes, some self-pubbed books are awful. Some have sold millions despite being poorly written!!! And some Legacy books are just as bad.

  • What advice can you offer readers of self-pubbed books in making a decision on what to read?

Fortune teller looking very thoughtful staring into her crystal ballThis is so individualistic. When I worked in the library, readers would ask for advice on books they could read. If they liked a particular author, I would suggest they read books that other readers had bought in addition to this one. So it would help readers to find authors who wrote in a similar vein. But just to come out and say, “I liked this, and you might, too,” wouldn’t work. Because what I like, they might not at all.

Thanks so much for having me on your blog, Eliza. I love self-publishing and traditional publishing. I feel they complement each other. In the end, there doesn’t have to be only one. 🙂

Terry Spear

“Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!”

About the Author

USA Today bestselling and an award-winning author of urban fantasy and medieval romantic suspense, Terry Spear also writes true stories for adult and young adult audiences. She’s a retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserves and has an MBA from Monmouth University. She also creates award-winning teddy bears, Wilde & Woolly Bears, that are personalized that have found homes all over the world. When she’s not writing or making bears, she’s teaching online writing courses or gardening. Her family has roots in the Highlands of Scotland where her love of all things Scottish came into being. Originally from California, she’s lived in eight states and now resides in the heart of Texas. She is the author of the Heart of the Wolf series and the Heart of the Jaguar series, plus numerous other paranormal romance and historical romance novels.

Self-Publishing Interview Series: Janis Susan May Patterson

11 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Self-Published Author Interview Series

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Janis Susan May Patterson, Self-publishing

Janis SusanWelcome back to another week in the self-publishing interview series! This week’s author is Janis Susan May Patterson.

Janis is a seventh-generation Texan and a third-generation wordsmith who writes mysteries as Janis Patterson, romances and other things as Janis Susan May, children’s books as Janis Susan Patterson and scholarly works as J.S.M. Patterson. Formerly an actress and singer, a talent agent and Supervisor of Accessioning for a bio-genetic DNA testing lab, Janis has also been editor-in-chief of two multi-magazine publishing groups as well as many other things, including an enthusiastic amateur Egyptologist. Janis married for the first time when most of her contemporaries were becoming grandmothers. Her husband, also an Egyptophile, even proposed in a moonlit garden near the Pyramids of Giza. Janis and her husband live in Texas with an assortment of rescued furbabies.

PUBLISHING QUESTIONS…

  • What was the deciding factor in self-publishing your book(s)? Did you decide on ebook or print only or both?

LACEY WEB large - 444kThe deciding factor was I wanted to make money, and my backlist books were just metaphorically sitting under the bed doing nothing. Admittedly I was naïve as to what was involved; I thought you just popped a book up. It doesn’t work that way – the process is more work than I expected. Right now I’m only in ebooks because of the expense and my own utter incapability when it comes to things computer. I have the files for doing paper and may do them later. Or maybe not.

  • What went into the process? Writing, editing, cover design, formatting, etc… Share your ups and downs and how you went about it. If you used a service from a someone, could you share who?

As all my backlist books were done back in the days when the dinosaurs browsed outside the cave and books available only in paper, I had to get them into electronic format, and I was soooo not going to retype! I found the best scanner in the world (more later) but even with the best scan possible there are mechanical glitches (/ for I, Ii for h, that sort of thing) that must be found and caught. As I was checking the scan (two times – once overall for continuity, once word-by-word for typos) I realized that there were things I wanted to tweak. Styles in reading and writing change. These books had been professionally edited, so I didn’t want to do too much, but there were tweaks.

Then there was the formatting. As before stated, I am a techno-naif. I know there is a learning curve to formatting that can be mastered, but I didn’t want to. There are some things that are more time-sensible for me to hire out. My time is best spent writing, not in being beaten into submission by a new computer program. I was lucky enough to find the best formatter in the world (again, more later) and she is great!

My first discipline was graphic art, so I knew I would have no trouble designing a cover, and I didn’t. QUARTET is my design. Why don’t I do any more? Number one, it’s a time suck. You start looking at images, and wondering what you can do with them, and then you find more images, and there are so many lovely fonts and… before you know it, an entire day is gone and you have precisely one half of a cover designed. Again, you have to be time-sensible. So I looked and found that some people were paying several hundred dollars to have covers made. Yikes! I don’t have that kind of money, especially doing four books at once. So I looked some more and found the neatest artist (more – oh, you know…) who has both pre-made covers for ebooks and print, and does custom work as well. She’s also very very reasonable, as are all of my dream team.

And who are my three paragons?

Scanning – Melynda Andrews – melynda.thebrazeneye@gmail.com

Formatting – Vickie Taylor – vickie@vickietaylor.com (she also does fantastic editing, too!)

Covers – Dawn Charles of BookGraphics – bookgraphics@gmail.com

I have had wonderful results with all three of these ladies, and recommend them wholeheartedly. If you contact them, feel free to use my name.

As for writing directly to self-pubbing, I fully intend to do that in the near future and have already started a rather interesting series that will probably ‘hit the shelves’ sometime next year.

  • What did you do to promote your work?

TAM WEB large - 230kNot nearly enough. I loathe, hate, detest, abhor and despise doing publicity. I need to do more, but somehow I always find that at the bottom of my to-do list.

  • What was the hardest thing you’ve found in the process of self-publishing? What was the easiest part of self-publishing?

The hardest thing was paying out money, of which I do not have very much. I began writing in an era when the publisher paid you an advance (usually a good sized one) and all you had to do was produce a book. Now however we are published – self, trad or whatever – we’re expected to do so much more than write. It is difficult to turn the switch in my head that turns me from an artistic creator into a businesswoman. I am not now and never really have enjoyed business, but it must be done. I do know enough about business – any business – to know that you have to invest in it, so I am investing in myself, but it is difficult to pay out money when there is none coming in.

Another difficult thing was keeping track of everything. I make zillions of lists and checklists and my desk is so covered with sticky notes that it resembles a very peculiar plant, and still I forget stuff. But it all has to get done and go together, and as I do it everything gets easier. Not easy, never easy, but easier.

The easiest part? What’s always the easiest part – writing the book.

  • Can you list some Pros/Cons of self-publishing?

PRO – you get to control everything yourself

CON – you have to do everything yourself

PRO – no gatekeepers; your book will be judged on its own merit by the reader

CON – no automatic editorial support

PRO – no arguing for your points

CON – no check/balance system; you are literally both sides – writer and publisher; in a way it’s a travesty of the basically adversarial system of trad publishing. (Explanation – I say adversarial because you want to maintain the integrity of your vision; the publisher wants you to subscribe to their vision of what will sell.)

PRO – total freedom

CON – total responsibility

  • How long have your book(s) been out? How long between books if you have multiple sales—and if you have multiples did you see a bump in sales with subsequent publication?

I sold my first novel (trad) in 1979. I self pubbed QUARTET:FOUR SLIGHTLY TWISTED TALES sometime  in the summer of 2012. It’s a short story anthology and my ‘test’ for self pubbing. I put it into Kindle Select, which has to be exclusive to Kindle, and that was a total bust. I did not re-enroll it nor put anything else in Select. After doing all the business things (cover, formatting, scanning et al) I released all four books (QUARTET, THE AVENGING MAID, THE DEVIL OF DRAGON HOUSE and LACEY) across the board – Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords (with distribution to several smaller places) and All Romance Ebooks (with distribution to Apple). That was done within two or three days in November 2012

  • Can you give a rough breakdown of your sales numbers from your first month to the present?

I don’t want to talk about any of it, because it would be terribly embarrassing. I have good editing, good formatting, good covers and good stories, and still my books just lie there like dead marmots. At this rate I shall probably break even with what I have spent so far sometime around the next presidential election.

  • What advice can you offer to anyone deciding to self-publish?

Be prepared to work hard and become very detail oriented. Don’t check your sales figures several times a day – it’s depressing; twice a week is enough. Be prepared to spend a little money – do things right – but also be prepared to never earn it back. Even among good novels some flop and some soar and no one really knows why. Develop a thick skin and make yourself do lots of publicity. And, most importantly, never give up!

READER QUESTIONS…

  • What genre(s) do you write in? How many books do you have out? Titles?

A better question would be in what genres do I not write? As Janis Patterson I do cozy mysteries. As Janis Susan May I do romance and horror. As Janis Susan Patterson I do children’s. As JSM Patterson, I do non-fiction and scholarly works. In total, I don’t know how many books I have out – seems around 25 total over the years, but I’m not sure. I do know that I sold 6 novels to two major publishers (Carina Press and FiveStar Gale/Cengage) in 2011 (LURE OF THE MUMMY, TIMELESS INNOCENTS, INHERITANCE OF SHADOWS, THE HOLLOW HOUSE, BEADED TO DEATH and EXERCISE IS MURDER), that two of my favorite books came from the wonderful Vinspire (DARK MUSIC and ECHOES IN THE DARK, as well as the children’s DANNY AND THE DUST BUNNIES), that I have some truly fun over-the-top books with Red Rose (THE OTHER HALF OF YOUR HEART, WEDDING DAY, PASSION’S CHOICE, and SING A SONG OF SPYING). These have all been done and sold since 2005, when I returned to writing after a ten year hiatus. Before 1995 there were eight or ten more,

For self-publishing, there is QUARTET: FOUR SLIGHTLY TWISTED TALES, LACEY, THE AVENGING MAID and THE DEVIL OF DRAGON HOUSE. As soon as I have time from the unending crush of deadlines. I intend to self publish two more from my backlist, LEGACY OF SHADES and FAMILY OF STRANGERS.

And for what it’s worth, I’ve just finished a non-fic guidebook called A FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS MUSEUMS and am just starting on another guidebook called A FIELD GUIDE TO TEXAS WINERIES. (Did I tell you that great amounts of research are important?) I’m also working on a section of a college-level archaeological textbook for world-wide distribution; my chapter is called “The History of Archaeological Illustration Before the Napoleonic Paradigm of 1798.” It’s going to be a real grabber!

  • What do you love about the genre(s)?

Quartet Cover- originalWhich? In general, I think genres are not only guidelines, but reassurances. Yes, sometimes we want something different that blends two or three genres, but other times we want the security of a guaranteed read. We want to read a nice sweet romance (or sexy – your taste, your choice) where we are assured that the hero and heroine will get their happily-ever-after in the end. With so many genres – and so many genre-bendings – the reader can find exactly what makes them happy.

Personally, I like cozy mysteries because I love seeing a villain caught and justice prevail, even though I dislike too much blood spatter and graphic violence. I like romances because they make me feel good. I like guidebooks because they make my wallet happy, and support my habit of self-publishing. Children’s – that was done on a dare and doesn’t really count.

  • Where can readers find you?

Just about anywhere. I’m on all my publishers’ sites and my books are in all major markets. My websites are www.JanisSusanMay.com and www.JanisPattersonMysteries.com.  On Twitter, I’m @JanisSusanMay. I regard Facebook as a privacy-devouring tool of the Devil and avoid it assiduously.

  • Where can readers find your books? Print/Ebook?
Book links (Self-published only) :
Lacey :
Amazon : http://amzn.to/Wns1m2
B & N : http://bit.ly/YFOdoR
The Devil of Dragon House :
Amazon : http://amzn.to/TW1yEA
B & N : http://bit.ly/SLscEm
The Avenging Maid :
Amazon : http://tinyurl.com/d3ozfh7
B&N : http://bit.ly/SLscEm
Quartet: Four Slightly Twisted Tales :
Amazon : http://tinyurl.com/cnptu73
B&N : http://bit.ly/SGCHI3

All my books are available at the publishers’ sites, and on Amazon and B&N. Some – all of my self-pubbed ones – are also available at SmashWords, Kobo and Apple.

  • What works do you have coming out in the future?

I’m going to self-pub LEGACY OF SHADES and FAMILY OF STRANGERS before long. As for trad-publishing, I’m currently negotiating with several publishers regarding several books. (I never work on less than three books at a time – you see, I bore very easily.)

  • There is a rumor going around that all self-pubbed books are shoddily created. What do you say to that?

TDODH WEB large - 314kAnd all New York publisher books are paragons of perfection? I get very nervous when the word ‘all’ comes into a conversation. There are good books and bad books, shoddy books and should-never-see-the-light-of-public-day books. I admit, and I think most would agree with me, there is a higher percentage of rubbishy books in the self-published sector, simply because there is a certain kind of person who wants to be a Published Author whether they can write or not. Being able to use that title is more important to them than writing a good book. What might potentially be a good book is ruined by being put out too soon and with insufficient editing, etc. Some things out there are painfully bad and embarrassing to everyone. Except perhaps the author, who should be mortified but probably won’t be.

But everything has two sides. While self-publishing has made it possible for terrible wannabes to put their stuff out there, it has also given good writers (not necessarily known or even trad published) the chance to put their stuff out there – books that are good, yet for one reason or another failed to get past the (usually terribly self-important) gatekeepers of trad publishing. Genre-bending stuff. Regency vampires on an alien planet who like to knit – that sort of thing. Such freedom to cross, mix and generally destroy genre lines can only be a good thing, because it helps to explode the eternally constricting niches constructed by trad publishing in their pursuit of the bottom line. All too often their cry has been “to heck with literature or even good writing, such-and-such is selling now so let’s market only that.“

Ooops, I’m pontificating again. I’ll stop now.

  • What advice can you offer readers of self-pubbed books in making a decision on what to read?

Who am I to tell anyone else what to read? (Other than read all my books – please!) Seriously, all I can say is read what pleases you. Self, trad, e-, paper – those are just delivery systems. Read the stories that grab your heart and/or your intellect. Read the stories that touch you. And – sometimes – read a little outside your comfort zone. You never know what treasures await you there.

Six Sentence Sunday! (or maybe seven…)

10 Sunday Feb 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Historical Romance, Six Sentence Sunday

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

A Knight's Victory, historical romance, jousting

Happy weekend folks! For today’s excerpt, asked readers to submit the scene they wanted to see. After drawing the ideas randomly, the winner is scene is a fight scene from A Knight’s Victory...

This is from the tournament, where the hero Michael must win at all costs in order to protect the heroine, Elena. Here he is participating in the joust along with his horse Black.

ElizaKnight_AKnightsVictory800

 

It was time.

His opponent immediately took off, charging toward him. Michael didn’t budge. Instead he counted, one, two, three, and then spurred Black onward. Thrusting his body forward, he leaned a little to the left and lifted his lance into place. As his opponent neared, he leaned back and then, at the last possible moment, he thrust his body forward again. The man didn’t even have time to react before Michael was crashing into him.

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

BOOK TWO: The Rules of Chivalry

A knight’s victory will be the lady’s undoing…

Sir Michael Devereux has fallen for his childhood friend, Lady Elena. In return she has also given him her heart. However their love is not to be. Lady Elena is whisked from their homeland of Wexford, Ireland to marry the malicious Earl of Kent in England.

Suffering greatly Elena pleas for Michael to come and be her savior. At long last an opportunity arises in the form of a tournament. Winner becomes Kent’s Captain of the Guard—and closer to the Lady Elena.

But with victory comes tragedy… When stealing kisses in the dark leads to something more, and the sinister ambitions of people in their midst threatens their safety, Michael and Elena will have to make a choice. That choice could mean life or death and has them asking, does love really conquer all?

READ IT!

Amazon Kindle

Barnes and Noble Nook

Smashwords (all e-formats)

Check out the first book in the series!

Book One: A Lady’s Charade

 

Heartbreaker Blog Hop!

08 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Contest, Historical Romance, Stolen Bride series

≈ 39 Comments

Tags

Heartbreaker blog hop, Stolen Bride series, The Highlander's Lady

Heartbreaker ButtonWelcome to the Heartbreaker Blog Hop! Who doesn’t love a heartbreaker? All my heroes tend to be heartbreakers, at least a little bit.

ElizaKnight_TheHighlandersLady2500In my latest Stolen Bride book, THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY, Laird Daniel Murray, breaks hearts all the time. He’s a hawt, sword-wielding rogue. In fact, he met the heroine, Lady Myra several years prior and broke her heart. She fell in love with him almost instantly, only to come upon him flirting it up with a bunch of other ladies. Now he’s laying on the charm once more, and she has to figure out if she’ll open her heart to him again or run away.

What is it about heartbreakers that make us swoon? Is it their never-ending charm? Wicked smiles full of naughty promise?

Be sure to leave a comment (WITH YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!) below in order to be entered to win the GRAND prize (3 winners), as well as to win a prize on this site (2 winners)! I’m giving away a signed copy of THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY and a deck of Heart to Heart Conversation Cards for Valentine’s Day (learn, listen, talk, explore the unique history of the people you care about! Includes 46 question cards, 1 mystery/secret card, and instructions)–to one US/Canada winner, and 1 ebook copy of THE HIGHLANDER’S LADY to an international winner!

The GRAND prize… (Sorry, US winners only!) DSCN1367 ABOUT THE BOOK:

A Highlander tamed…

Laird Daniel Murray seeks adventure, battle and freedom for his countrymen. Putting off his duties as laird—with a promise to his clan he’ll return come spring—Daniel sets off with his men to fight alongside William Wallace and the Bruce. But soon he stumbles across an enchanting lady in need. She tantalizes him with an offer he simply can’t refuse and a desire he attempts to dismiss.

A lady’s passion ignited…

Escaping near death at the treacherous hands of a nearby clan, Lady Myra must find the Bruce and relay the news of an enemy within his own camp. Alone in a world full of danger and the future of her clan at stake, she must trust the handsome, charismatic Highland laird who promises to keep her safe on her journey—and sets her heart to pounding.

Together, Daniel and Myra will risk not only their lives, but their hearts while discovering the true meaning of hope and love in a world fraught with unrest.

SHORT EXCERPT:

“What of yourself? How will ye protect me from yourself?”

Daniel laughed at that, spreading his arms outward. “Have some faith, Lady Myra, I wouldna harm ye. I do possess a certain amount of self-control.”

Myra studied her escort for several moments, taking in his towering height, the breadth of his shoulders, strength of his legs. He was a man built for warring. Despite his considerable bulk, he moved with ease and grace, giving credence to his control of his body—but his mind was another matter.

“Ye’ll pardon me for being skeptical. ’Tis not a man’s tendency to contain himself when alone with a female.”

“Truly? Ye think all men beasts?” He stepped closer to her and she imagined heat coming off his large frame in waves.

“Those I’ve come to meet.”

“Ah…”

Was there a twinge of hurt in his words? Had she offended him?

“I mean no offense, Daniel. ’Tis only my experience that I speak of.”

“I take no affront, Lady Myra. Ye’ve been through quite a trauma today.”

He glanced up at the sky, assessing the whitish-grey clouds and she did the same, wondering at his thoughts.

“I will see ye safely to Eilean Donan, so ye might be about your business.” He paused, considering her. She felt more exposed than she’d ever been in her life, and she couldn’t be sure why. She was completely clothed. He had no idea who she truly was. “On one condition.”

Myra swallowed, feeling her nerves prickle. He was indeed a man. “What is your price?”

Daniel nodded his chin in her direction, a challenging glint entering his eyes. “Ye must agree to marry me.”

She gasped, stepped back, her mouth agape in horror. She fisted her hands into the folds of her gown and cloak. “Marry ye?” Shaking her head vehemently, she tried to keep her throat from closing in panic.

“Aye.” He didn’t sound even a quarter as nervous as she did. Almost like he asked lasses to wed with him on a daily basis.

Was the notion of being forever tied to another so mundane to him? Of so little value? What kind of a man was he?

Miraculously, she was able to recover her voice and was pleased when her reply came out in steady, even tones, “Why would I do that?”

“Because ye want to reach the Bruce in one piece. Because your reason for getting there is of such importance ye will not tell me why. Because I will keep ye safe and ye’ve already had the misfortune of meeting one of the many vagrants upon the road. Next time ye may not be so lucky—even with your swift hand.”

He had a point… Myra didn’t want to die.

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Self-Published Interview Series: Dorothy McFalls

04 Monday Feb 2013

Posted by elizaknight in Books, Self-Published Author Interview Series, Writing Tips

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Dorothy McFalls, Dorothy St. James, mystery, romance, Self-published

White House Garden 2 025Welcome back to another week of the self-published interview series! This week’s author interview is with mystery and romance author, Dorothy McFalls.

PUBLISHING QUESTIONS…

  • What was the deciding factor in self-publishing your book(s)? Did you decide on ebook or print only or both?

I started out my self-publishing journey be publishing my backlist of books—those books that had once been published by a traditional publisher. What a liberating experience! I enjoyed having complete control over the covers and prices and also the ability to change the content of the books if I wanted. That feeling of being in control of my career is what made me decide to start writing books that I won’t shop to publishers but will go straight to the self-published market.

  • What went into the process? Writing, editing, cover design, formatting, etc… Share your ups and downs and how you went about it. If you used a service from a someone, could you share who?

Huntress_200x300I’m lucky. The editor I worked with for the White House Gardener Mystery series, which is traditionally published by Berkley Prime Crime, works as a freelance editor. Since we already have a good working relationship, I’ll continue working with Brittiany Koren (http://www.writtendreams.com) for all my new work. Only now, I’ll be paying her. I wouldn’t try to self-publish without a good editor to stand beside me.

For my backlist books, I’ve created most of the covers myself, using images purchased from sites such as Shutterstock. If a cover doesn’t seem to grab a reader’s attention, I’m not shy in pulling it and using a new cover. Some of my books have had three or more covers since I’ve self-published them. As a self-published author I have the freedom to experiment. If something doesn’t work, I change it.

When I have purchased covers, I’ve bought them from Razzle Dazzle Stock (http://www.razzdazzstock.com/).

For formatting, I mainly do it myself. Again, I like the ability to be able to quickly make changes and upload new versions of my books. However, I have worked with a formatter to make sure what I’m doing is correct. I still find myself beating my head against the desk trying to figure out how to get the format perfect. If you want t

o avoid a headache, hire this done. There are so many changes going on in what formats work. It’s no longer as simple as uploading your Word document to a server.

  • What did you do to promote your work?

Like I did with my traditionally published works, I promote on social networks as well as send out a newsletter whenever I have a new release in the works. In addition, I work with other indie-published authors to cross-promote our work. We will all put a book for free at the same time and promote the heck out of it. This cooperation with other authors during the free promotions has boosted my sales greatly. I highly recommend it.

  • Can you list some Pros/Cons of self-publishing?

The biggest Pro of self-publishing is that I have control over the look and content of my books. If I feel like a price is too high (or too low) I can change it. Immediately. If I don’t like the cover, I can change it. If I decide the ending doesn’t work, I can change it. I love that the books are dynamic. I also love that I can offer my books at a greatly reduced price than many traditionally published books while making an equal amount, or more, in royalties.

However, self-publishing isn’t all wine and roses. There are Cons to self-publishing. I miss the feeling that I was part of a team that I got with traditional publishing. My self-published books don’t show up in bookstores. I’m only creating e-books. But even if I produced print books, I wouldn’t have the distribution channels that traditional publishers enjoy. I don’t have access to many of the reviewers that traditional publishers can send their books to. And finally, some people automatically assume that all self-published books are trash. Thankfully, that last one is becoming less of an issue as more traditionally published authors decide to try the self-published route.

  • Can you give a rough breakdown of your sales numbers from your first month to marriagelist 500X700 he present?

I currently have ten self-published ebooks available for sale. Eight of them are for sale exclusively on Kindle Select. When I first started selling, and didn’t have that many ebooks available, I sold between 50-100 ebooks a month. And I was happy. Now that I’m cross-promoting with other indie authors and offering many of my books for $0.99, I’m selling an average of 5,000 books a month. I’m extremely happy with that number!

  • What advice can you offer to anyone deciding to self-publish?

If it’s your first book, hire an editor who will tell you the truth. If self-publishing had been around like it is now when I’d finished my first book (it was never published), I probably would have published it myself. And that would have been a HUGE mistake. I didn’t yet know how to craft a compelling story. I still had tons to learn. So even though I loved (and still love) the book, it wasn’t publishable. I cringe when I look at it now and see the mistakes I didn’t know I was making.

Just because you finish a book, doesn’t mean you should publish it. Even now, I look long and hard at my own work, and have others look at it as well, before deciding whether or not it’s good enough to put out for sale.

When you decide that your book rocks and is ready to be published, work with other indie authors in order to cross-promote. That way you won’t be trying to gain interest and sales all on your own.

READER QUESTIONS…

  • IMG_2587 (Custom)What genre(s) do you write in? How many books do you have out? Titles?

As Dorothy McFalls, I write historical romance, contemporary romantic suspense, and paranormal romance. As Dorothy St. James, I write the White House Gardener Mysteries for Berkley Prime Crime.

I have 12 books out with lucky number 13 (OAK AND DAGGER) due to be released April 2013. My goal is to write three books for the self-published market next year.

moonlight (Custom)I have recently released a paranormal historical romance, TAKEN BY MOONLIGHT, exclusively on Amazon. I have a Christmas paranormal romance, A WIZARD FOR CHRISTMAS, that should get you in the holiday spirit. And my debut novel, THE MARRIAGE LIST, has recently been put on sale for $0.99 and is heating up Amazon’s best-seller list for Regency romances. As of this writing, it’s at #5!

  • What do you love about the genre(s)?

I love tackling new challenges, which is probably why I write in so many genres. I can’t imagine being pinned down to just one genre. But I’m a die-hard romantic. So no matter what genre you read of mine, you’ll find a common theme of love conquers all. I promise you will get a happy ending.

  • Where can readers find you?

Readers can find me in several places. My website: http://www.dorothymcfalls.com. On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dorothy.mcfalls. On Twitter: https://twitter.com/DorothyStJames. And on Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/656571.Dorothy_McFalls.

  • Where can readers find your books? Print/Ebook?

Print copies of my books can be found at most online bookstores. All but two of my ebooks are exclusively on Amazon. You can find them at: http://amzn.to/SK3l02

  • Are you participating in any reader contests?

Yes! I’m going to be in an upcoming Free eBook Event. As part of the event, a Kindle and a $25 gift certificate will be given away.

msfinal3 200x300February 6-7, my short cozy mystery, Birds in Paradise will be free along with ebooks by several other authors. You can find out more about the upcoming event at http://www.freepartay.com. The books that will be offered for free will be listed there a few days before the event is scheduled to begin.

  • What advice can you offer readers of self-pubbed books in making a decision on what to read?

If you’re not sure you’re going to like the book, don’t buy it. Instead, download the sample. Most ebook retailers allow readers to download a couple of chapters prior to buying it. Or if the author is offering a free book, download it. I’ve found several authors that are now auto-buys (like Tina Folsom) from downloading samples and grabbing up free ebooks.

This is a great time to be an author and a reader. Books no longer have to neatly fit into a popular genre. Many authors are now able to explore subjects that publishers didn’t know how to market or would only appeal to a niche market. No matter what you like to read, no matter how obscure, I wager you can find an author writing about it!

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