Monday, September 23, 2019

Nora's Redemption by Carol Henry

Today my guest is Carol Henry talking about: NORA’S REDEMPTION— part of the Lobster Cove Series




Tell us a little about yourself.

Carol Henry is a #1 best-selling author who writes award-winning, 5-STAR reviewed Contemporary Romance, as well as American historical, holiday, and Romantic Suspense Adventure. A world traveler, Carol has written travel features for several major cruise lines’ deluxe in-cabin books, and Porthole Cruise Magazine, but also takes great pleasure in weaving her own travel adventures with her ‘characters’ in her novels. As a NYS Historian, she has published several history books on her hometown, and even wrote an historic novel based on historic facts in her Ribbons of Steel family saga.

Carol teaches creative writing workshops, has been a speaker at various venues, is a member of Romance Writers of America®, and is a member of Published Authors Network. She is also a member and past president of RWA’s chapter STAR—Southern Tier Authors of Romance (NY), a member of Sisters in Crime, and is the president of her local Write Now Writers’ Group. Visit Carol’s website at www.carolhenry.org.

What do like the most and the least about writing?

I’m a huge plotter, and like figuring out my characters’ story line, but what I really enjoy the most is editing. This is where I can go in and work with something that is already written—the creative process is on paper (computer).This is when I can change what my characters say to each other, what they’re really thinking, feeling, and how they need to respond accordingly, depending on their situation. I love searching for what I call ‘word choices’. As I’m writing, or re-reading (several times) I highlight words that need to be clearer, need to say what I really meant to say (or, my characters meant to say), and look for words that help with the pacing. I’m old school, so I prefer to print out my work, and with pencil in hand, sit down to enjoy the rewriting process. What I like least about writing is coming up with a blurb, writing the synopsis, and making sure the names fit who my characters need to be in the story.

Give us a peek into your latest published work?

CPA Nora Spears vows never to let another man take advantage of her, but she needs a job. Working for marine biologist Gavin Redmond seems like the perfect opportunity, except she's uncomfortably attracted to her new boss. After the death of his wife, Gavin has sworn off relationships. But when Nora applies for his office's receptionist/accountant position, he's drawn to her. He hires her on the spot—and then finds it hard to concentrate on work. Will their past hurtful relationships and an unexpected turn of events drive a wedge between them, or will they find the love they deserve in each other's arms?

What’s next on the writing horizon for you?

Just submitted my novella to The Wild Rose Press for their Deerbourne Inn Series entitled Ciara’s Homecoming Christmas. I love writing Christmas stories, and this is the third one I’ve published. But I have a couple more Connection Novels waiting to be written. Right now the hard part is trying to figure out which country I want to use for my setting, although my final Connection book will be in France.

Is there anything you want to tell readers?

I couldn’t leave Nora hanging after writing Juelle’s Legacy—the first Lobster Cove book in my series, as well as the initial book in the Wild Rose Press’s Lobster Cseries. Despite Nora being the ‘other woman’ and having a major melt-down and causing a scene at Sebastian’s funeral, Nora was also a victim of Sebastian’s duplicity. Her story had to be told—she was in need of redemption, and a love of her own. Also, I love the cover of this book. On closer inspection, I realized that I once had an identical pair of black, cat-eared glasses back in the day, just like Nora’s, and wore them with pride. I smile every time I look at the cover.



Excerpt:

He wished he had more time. But damn, he was desperate. He had an important call coming in and he needed phone coverage this morning.

“Look, my current hire won’t be in until eleven, if then, and I’m expecting an important call from the Society of Marine Consultants. I need to meet a client and will be out on the ocean this morning.”

“Wait a minute. Are you asking me to stay and babysit the phone for a few hours? Or are you offering me the job?”

“How about you sit and mind the office, become familiar with your surroundings, and we’ll discuss a full-time position when I get back at noon? We’ll go to lunch and work out the details.”

“Are you serious?”

“What do you have to lose?”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll walk off with everything, screw things up, or damage your reputation with a few phone calls?”

“If I was worried, I would have shown you the door the minute you walked in. So are you game? I need to leave. I don’t want to, literally, miss the boat.”

“Is there a coffee machine with cream and sugar available somewhere in the building?”

“Yes. And fresh donuts from the bakery around the corner. Help yourself.”

“Thanks. My name is Nora Spears, by the way. I’m assuming you are Gavin Redmond? The owner and my morning employer?”

“So much for my own communication skills. Sorry, Ms. Spears. I do appreciate your help this morning. If you decide to bail on me, make sure you lock the door on the way out.”



Buy Links:


Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2JPJf7Q




Social Media links:







Monday, September 16, 2019

New Release: More of You by Marie Tuhart

It's been a while since I had a release. No one ever said the publishing business was fast.

This is the first in a series of four short stories - they are short under 7,000 words. This series follows four couples at Club Crave on Game Night. Each couple will explore difference aspects of their relationship as well as kink.

When The Wild Rose Press asked for short stories, I thought I'd take a shot at it. I wrote these four stories during three weeks in September of 2018, and sent them into my editor in January of 2019. I had fun writing them, but it's hard to write short stories.

I hope everyone enjoys the stories.




Game night at Club Crave is heating up...

Blurb: 


Up until now, Anna Carson's relationship with Chris Peterson has been strictly D/s play. He's had a vanilla girlfriend. Anna has respected that boundary, but the sexy Dom is no longer attached. Now, Anna is ready to be more than his submissive. Game night at Club Crave is the perfect place to make her move, if only she can face her fears and be bold enough to ask her Dom for more...


Excerpt:

A bell sounded, and Master Jason took to the small stage. The room went quiet.

“Good evening, friends, welcome to game night. You are the first fifteen couples who RSVPed to the event invitation.” Master Jason’s voice was loud and cheerful. “Tonight’s game comes with a twist.” He lifted a shoe-size box and shook it. “Inside this box are pieces of paper with your tasks for the game. All the items you will need to play
tonight will be provided. The normal club safewords apply. Have an issue with the task? See me once everyone has chosen.”

“This sounds interesting,” Tanner said.

“Intriguing twist. That’s why we were told not to bring our play bags,” Chris said.

“You are not to share your task with others once you’ve drawn. You will read it, then get your submissive and follow the directions.” Master Jason looked out over the crowd. “Dom Chris, you are first.”
           
More of You is available at:








Find Marie on the Web:


Sign up for Marie’s newsletter at: https://landing.mailerlite.com/webforms/landing/p3y7p6

Monday, September 9, 2019

Guest post: The Sea Archer by Jeny Heckman

Today my guest is Jeny Heckman talking about her book: The Sea Archer



Tell us a little about yourself.

Hi Marie, and thank you so much for having me on your fantastic blog today! I’m a relatively new writer up here in the Pacific Northwest (Washington state), that writes a paranormal romance series entitled, Heaven & Earth. It’s a six-part series about the Greek gods and a prophecy, that only their disbelieving, modern-day descendants can thwart.

The first book of the series, The Sea Archer, was picked up by The Wild Rose Press and went on to win, “Best in Category,” for the 2019 Chanticleer International Book Awards. It was the second book I’d ever written, so felt supreme gratitude for the honor.

What do you like the most and the least about writing?

I love writing period! I love when you sit down after doing you’re outline and research and are about to begin the story. I really love fleshing it out and bringing it to life, like a butterfly! I’m not a huge fan of the re-write process, because it’s like cutting off parts of your proverbial child. I’m also not a fan of all the marketing stuff, simply because I’m not real sure how to do it.

Give us a peek into your latest published work?

Well, I’d hoped to have the second book, The Warrior’s Progeny, published by the time this interview came, but alas, it’s still in re-writes. So, here’s an excerpt from The Sea Archer, to get things kicked off

“Finn, I understand how crazy it sounds, I do. I knew nothing about Greek mythology or who any of these people were until she told them to me.” Dee gestured to the box and took a deep breath. Suddenly she was exhausted.
“And now you think Poseidon... I’m assuming you think I’m some offshoot of Poseidon, right?”
“You have a trident on your back.”
“Because I thought it was cool when I was twenty- years-old.”
“And you’ve never felt anything strange that you can’t explain?”
“And Raven,” he continued, not willing to entertain those thoughts. “Who I just met, is Apollo? You realize, Apollo was a dude, the boy half of the twins, right?”
“God of music.”
 “Jesus!” Finn barked out his frustration. He stood up so quickly, he knocked his chair over. “This is fucking ridiculous.”
“Look,” Raven said, trying to placate, “it’s late. Everything is just confusing and out there. Maybe, let’s just take a step back and let things calm down.”
“What, are you actually giving credence to this bullshit?” he demanded, wheeling on her. Raven furrowed her brow at him, then looked at Dee.
“What I’m suggesting is we sleep on it, take some time to process what everyone has said, then talk tomorrow, okay?” Dee stood up and kissed the young woman on the cheek. She started back into the house, then turned to look at them.
“I don’t want you to be scared, Finn. I was terrified at first. But now—I’m not scared at all anymore. This was real. As real as you and I are right now. I didn’t dream it. I didn’t want to be a part of it, and I’m not crazy.” She turned and walked into the house.
“Well, that makes one of us,” he muttered, looking over at Raven. “Come on. I’ll take you home.”

What’s next on the writing horizon for you?

Well, after, the Warrior’s Progeny, is completed, I begin on book three. Also, the first book I ever wrote entitled, The Catch, a contemporary romance, is something I plan on re-submitting it now that I know more about the writing process. I self-published it and LOVE the story, so want to clean it up a little more and do it justice. I’m also slowly working on a political thriller. In other words, I have a lot of projects, but The Heaven & Earth series is my priority.

Is there anything you want to tell readers?

First and foremost, I’m a reader too. I love getting lost in stories. So, I hope you find this series and these books in your hands and can get lost in them as well. Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day for a visit. I truly appreciate it! May you always have time for new adventures!

Second, I’m having a drawing on a large fall gift basket. To enter, sign up for my monthly newsletter at https://jenyheckman.com/




Excerpt
The Warrior’s Progeny, and will hopefully be coming out this fall. Here’s a taste from one of Lilly’s dreams.

Lilly walked across a desolate landscape in a wedding dress. It wasn’t the one she wore when she married David, but stark white, and made of several layers of a gauzy, sheer, voile. She padded across red dirt that felt like talcum powder, and it clung to her hem as she took each step. In the distance, a man dressed in a gray flannel suit came into view, walking towards her. As she moved closer, she recognized him as her late husband. Overcome with relief, she started to run to him, but as she took the first few steps, his hand dissolved into the crimson dust.
“David?” she stopped, reaching out one of her own hands. He mirrored the gesture.
As she stepped forward again, his arm dissolved too. Looking puzzled, David glanced down at it, then back to her, before flicking his gaze to something directly behind his wife. When Lilly turned, the man from the beach stood before her at attention, like a soldier in a bronze-age military film. Behind him, stood a thousand warriors, hunched with spears and primed for battle. Lilly looked back to her husband, who once more reached out for her hand. Extending one to him, she took two more steps, but as she did, the dead man turned diaphanous.
“No!” she pleaded. “David, wait! Wait, a minute. Don’t leave yet.”
“He will not prevail.”
She turned to glare at Colt with fear, then loathsome anger. He gazed back at her admittedly, resplendent in his battle armor. The Trojan wore a chest plate of pure gold and its reflection shone like glass. The helm placed on his head had waves of flame cascading down it where otherwise there should have been horse hair.
“You are mine now,” he stated with simplicity. “Come with me mortal and we shall rule in glory.”
“Lilly,” David said, voice weak with fatigue.
She whipped back around and saw he now knelt, head bowed, turning into the red talcum powder of the dirt, settling onto the earth. The remains of hundreds and hundreds of people laid to rest the same way, revealed themselves to her, beneath her feet. Dropping to her knees in her gown, she placed her face in her hands and sobbed. When the first tear hit the dirt, millions of lilies sprouted from the earth, their happy faces tilted in the direction of the sun.
“Come now, weep no more, for I am here,” the warrior said.
When she turned back to face him, Colt held a sword that dripped with watery, red dirt, and the gray flannel suit laid at his feet.
“No!” she screamed.
Lilly woke bolt upright, trying to catch her breath with desperation. Slick with perspiration, she scanned the room for her dead husband. Realizing he wasn’t there, she hiccupped with frustration and tried to slow her breathing.



Buy Links for The Sea Archer:
Amazon          

Social media links for Jeny Heckman:
Website:
Facebook:
Twitter:
Instagram:
Newsletter:

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Guest Post: Out of Splinters & Ashes by Colleen Donnelly


Welcome my guest today Colleen Donnelly talking about her book: Out of Splinters & Ashes





Tell us a little about yourself.

I’m a scientist turned author…or the other way around, maybe, since I was a writer from the beginning, but needed to pay the bills so I earned a degree and worked hard in laboratories while stories grew in my mind. I was born and raised in the midwestern states of the US, moved to more urban areas in my young adult years in order to experience other cultures, then returned to the rural quiet of the Midwest. I love the outdoors, reading, writing, interacting with my pug, and coffee. I believe in hobbies and passions, delve into several myself and encourage everyone I know to do the same.


What do like the most and the least about writing?

I relish the birth of a story and the time it spends developing in my soul. When that little spark becomes a flame, it is ready to become words on paper, and at that point I am in my element.

My least favorite part of writing is probably the same thing which vexes most authors – marketing. Writers are rather private in their work and easily lost in their craft. Definitely true of me, so I remind myself we don’t spend years loving and training a child only to boot it out the door when it comes of age, and wave goodbye. Tending still continues, and books as well need some parental ushering into the world.

Give us a peek into your latest published work?

This is from “Out of Splinters and Ashes,” winner of the Crowned Heart Award, and a finalist in the running for this year’s Rone Award in 20th Century historical fiction:

Cate is a runner. She prefers to help her fiancé run his New York senate race, but she finds herself running instead to fix what’s broken between her grandparents before he finds out—her grandmother has moved out of the family home, and her grandfather is accused of a pre-WWII relationship with a woman in Germany.

Dietrich is a German journalist with a spotless reputation. He prefers facts, but he finds himself lost in a world of fiction instead to prove his novelist grandmother couldn’t possibly have been the lover of a US runner in Berlin’s 1936 Olympics—especially when that runner’s granddaughter is Cate, a stubborn obstacle he should but can’t ignore.
Cate runs hard to cover up what Dietrich uncovers, until he shows her how it could have been—and how it could be again—that one can indeed love an enemy.

What’s next on the writing horizon for you?

I have a lighthearted book in edits now, a late 1800s story of a jilted spinster determined to get her man. My next book after that one is in the germination stage. It’s title and premise are set, and I’m letting inspiration leaf out the plot.


Is there anything you want to tell readers?

Authors rely on reviews. Please write one if at all possible. We not only depend on having them, we also learn from them, so approach the review as professionally as we approach writing. Dig beyond whether you liked the book or not, and tell why. We need to see our work through others’ eyes who detect what we might have missed and can teach us something.

Except:

     Grandma was impossible to stop. She charged around me, into the room, flipping on a light as she did. “You can go now,” she barked at the soldier still holding the door. “This won’t take long.” 

     He nodded at Grandpa, then shut us in, us and the mirror. 

      I saw Amabile’s story all over again as Grandpa spotted the mirror, the deep-down flicker I’d noticed before, but brighter now. Grandma and I disappeared as time took him backwards, his face transforming from old and haggard to young and alive—then to terrified, and lastly to nothing, except guilt. Grandma didn’t raise the mirror as I expected her to, and shake it in his face. She let it hang in front of her, between them, the charred frame and lone lily all he could see. 

     I stared at the trembling finger that stretched and touched the blackened wood, scars this man probably deserved exposed at the cuff of his sleeve. 

     “I believe this is yours.” Grandma’s voice was low. I’d never seen them this close together before, never seen them face each other. But I’d seen the mirror between them forever without knowing it was there.



Buy Links:

Sonata Contineo   https://amzn.to/2I0zzYi
Mine to Tell    http://amzn.to/1PNJo4S
Asked For     http://amzn.to/1TyflEu
Love on a Train          http://amzn.to/1m9eYCx
The Lady’s Arrangement             http://amzn.to/2qj7DE2
Out of Splinters and Ashes     https://amzn.to/2K0WTHt

Social media links:
Website:          http://www.colleenldonnelly.com/
Twitter:           https://twitter.com/ColleenLDonnell