25
| Jul 2011 |
The winner of Confessions of an Improper Bride by Jennifer Haymore is Tia (le********@ya***.com). As my newsletter subscriber, she had two automatic entries to the giveaway.
Congratulations, Tia! Please check your email for information on how to claim your prize. :)
11
| Jul 2011 |
I was going to announce the details on July 8th, but it just wasn't meant to be. Sorry about that.
So here are the rules and information:
Why read Confessions of an Improper Bride?
Because Jennifer Haymore is an awesome writer. And don't the blurb and excerpt intrigue you?
Jonathan Dane, Earl of Stratford, has become an incorrigible rake, drinking, gambling-and trying to forget Serena Donovan. Yet the moment he's introduced to the prim and proper “Meg”, he recognizes the sensual young woman who captured his heart. Haunted by his past mistakes, he refuses to lose Serena again. But convincing her to trust him is no easy task. Claiming his lost love means exposing the truth and destroying the life Serena has sacrificed everything to rebuild. With the future of all the Donovans at stake, and their undying passion capable of triggering yet another scandal, how much will Jonathan and Serena risk for a chance at true love?
Excerpt (from Jennifer Haymore's website)
“There you are, Miss Donovan.”
It was Langley's voice. With a sigh, Serena dropped her hand and turned. There he was, standing not an arm's length away, with Jonathan Dane at his side.
Jonathan's wide, sensuous mouth hadn't changed in shape, but its turn seemed more cynical, more inclined to smirk rather than display the genuine, joyful smiles she remembered. His lips were parted, and she could see the hint of teeth behind them.
She remembered those lips. How often she'd kissed them, had run her tongue over those teeth.
“Good evening.” Serena's voice emerged smooth and deep and contained no tremor. It reminded her of her voice when she was with Jonathan before, when she was aroused and could only think she wanted more, she wanted him to take her to the pinnacle.
He had taken her to those heights, not only physically, but emotionally as well, and she had counted on it never to end. But then it had ended with an abruptness that had shattered her.
He gazed at her as if startled, a slight frown forming between his brows. “Serena?”
The cheerful roar of the ballroom faded to nothing behind the din of her shock. She glanced at Langley to see him blanch. Everyone standing nearby had turned to gape at them.
She stared up at Jonathan, unable to speak, to breathe.
He stared back at her, his eyes dilated in the shadows until they looked black. She remembered them, though. They were midnight blue, like the deepest ocean on a sunny day. They always appeared quite dark whenever there wasn't enough light to illuminate their true color. In broad daylight, his eyes were exotic, their dark cobalt sparks contrasting with the gold streaks in his hair and the broad slashes of his eyebrows. Such a handsome man.
Langley gave an awkward laugh and clapped Jonathan on the shoulder. “No, this is Meg, man. Meg Donovan, my betrothed.”
Jonathan shook his head, as if flinging away a fog that had descended over him. He blinked hard, and seeming to come to his senses, he bowed. “Of course,” he murmured. “Of course. Forgive me. Miss Donovan, it is a pleasure to see you again.”
The low timbre of his voice made something within Serena clench. She remembered that voice, had dreamed about it more times than she could count. That voice had whispered in her ear, caressed the most private parts of her body, told her wicked things she was certain she'd never hear again. The words he had uttered to her had made her first fall madly in love and later tremble in ecstasy.
It had nearly killed her when she learned all those words had been lies.
Was he still a liar?
Such characteristics were usually ingrained in a person by the time he reached adulthood. If a man was a liar at twenty-two, he probably was at twenty-eight as well.
Serena couldn't answer him. She simply stared. Langley gave her an apologetic look, as if asking for forgiveness that he hadn't warned her about the arrival of the man who had defiled her sister. Serena sucked in a steadying breath. Suddenly, she felt perilously close to bursting into tears.
Langley came to her rescue. “Were you going to take some air?”
She nodded dumbly.
He gave her a gentle smile. “May I accompany you?”
His kind words made her find her voice, and she waved her hand. “No, no, please. It looked like you two were headed toward the punch bowl.” She gave them a game smile. “I certainly wouldn't want to deprive two gentlemen of their punch.”
Langley returned her smile and inclined his head. “But I won't have you outside alone.” He clasped Jonathan's shoulder. “If you'll excuse—”
Just then, an arm slipped through hers. Lady Montgomery squeezed her wrist. “Oh, do come onto the terrace with me, Miss Donovan. I was just thinking about taking some air myself.”
Serena swallowed hard, then smiled at her savior. “Thank you. I'd love to join you outside.”
She gave a faltering, watery smile to Langley, silently thanking him for his thoughtfulness. The two men bowed, Langley looking understanding and Jonathan looking as bewildered as if he'd just been awakened from a year-long sleep. They turned toward the punch bowl, Langley holding on to Jonathan's shoulder, guiding him away and across the room.
Keeping her arm tightly entwined about Serena's, Lady Montgomery flung open the door and led her toward freedom and the outside.
Why are you giving away a copy?
Because I think more people should read Jennifer's awesome historical romance novels. Also Jennifer is one of the sweetest people I know, and she was instrumental in helping me publish Carnal Secrets. Without her, the story would still be languishing on my hard drive.
Note: I'm not getting paid to do this or receiving any other form of compensation. I just like Jennifer. :)
So how do I earn entries?
Super easy.
The giveaway ends on July 24th (midnight, US Eastern Time). The winner will be announced on my blog on July 25th and will be contacted via Twitter (for Twitter entries) or email (for newsletter subscriber entries). The winner has until midnight US Eastern Time July 31 to contact me with a mailing address.
The book will be shipped by BookDepository regardless of your location. (Just to be clear, you're getting an unautographed final book, not an ARC or early copy.) If I can, I'll gift an e-copy if you prefer an ebook and have a US Kindle account.
Good luck!
5
| Jul 2011 |
I can't believe it's already July. It feels like January was just a day or two ago.
The first half of 2011 was pretty busy but productive. In January, I walked away from an offer on Carnal Secrets. I gave away Destiny Entwined to my newsletter subscribers on Valentine's Day and published it the same day to anybody who wants to read it but aren't subscribed to my newsletter. Then I self-published Carnal Secrets later in February.
In March, I received an offer from Carina for The Last Slayer. This time, I didn't walk. :)
In case you missed it, the Boy was born on June 18. You can read more about it and see his pictures here.
So what are my plans for the month?
I'm hoping that with some discipline and pre-planning, I can accomplish them all. :)
20
| Jun 2011 |
Every weekday, all week, Carina is offering a spectacular title for free download. And when they say free, they mean ACTUALLY free. Not “sorta free”, or “free with a $50 purchase” free, but actually, totally, no strings attached FREE! So, get thee to Carina Press to download a free book every day! Here are the books being offered, and the links and promo codes for your free download. Just type in the code when you check out.
Monday: The Debutante's Dilemma by Elyse Mady
Promo code: DEBUTANTEFREE
Tuesday: Demon's Fall by Karalynn Lee
Promo code: DEMONFREE
Wednesday: The Twisted Tale of Stormy Gale by Christine Bell
Promo code: TWISTEDFREE
Thursday: Blue Galaxy by Diane Dooley
Promo code: GALAXYFREE
Friday: Friendly Fire by Megan Hart
Promo code: FRIENDLYFREE
Enjoy!
12
| Apr 2011 |
Still stinging from a stringent management review at her workplace, office girl Susie encounters the very last man she wants to meet when she hits her favorite bar to relax and unwind. Gorgeous Noah Stevens is the ruthless company troubleshooter who's been making her life hell for the past three weeks, but after hours, he soon proves that his dedication to “efficiency” can work wonders in the bedroom.
2,900 words = approx 8 pages
N.B. Please be aware that this title contains sensual content that is only suitable for adult readers who are comfortable with frank language and descriptions of erotic scenarios
Author's note: This short story originally appeared in the anthology Passion: Erotic Romance for Women, published by Cleis Press.
Buy eBook: All Romance eBooks :: Amazon Kindle US :: Amazon Kindle UK :: Smashwords
This is Portia's first self-published title. She used my How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook to create ebook files to upload to Kindle and All Romance eBooks. Isn't that awesome? :)
Portia is a fabulous writer and one of the sweetest people I know, and I hope you give this story a try!
13
| Mar 2011 |
I recently did my first freelance job converting a Word doc into .prc, .epub, .lit, .html and .pdf for the lovely Dana Mentink. She's an inspirational romance writer, and I think you'll love the story if you enjoy inspirational romance novels.
The Arizona desert is lovely in August.
If you're a cactus.
If you're not green and prickly it's like standing in the bottom of a volcano hoping your SPF 15 will do the trick. So how does Simone Greevey, a twenty something e-zine editor from San Francisco wind up wearing a duck costume in sweltering Seepwillow, Arizona? In Desert Desperate, Simone loses her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop and runs to the arms of her eccentric aunt, owner of the Ruddy Duck trailer park, a hundred miles from nowhere.
There she meets Chaz Tagliola, a guy who doesn't know Jimmy Choo from Jiminy Cricket, a man with a passion for God and the one thing Simone has tried to forget about for the decade since her father's death. Before her suitcase is unpacked; Simone's aunt disappears, leaving Chaz and Simone to lead a five day junior high school Bible study camp. Bug lightings? Hot dog roasts? Cactus jam recipes? It's a whole new world for a San Francisco girl. Throw in a mysterious park tenant and a breathtaking natural discovery and the stage is set for Simone to learn a divine lesson that will rock her world in a big way.
You can request a free sample / excerpt from Amazon. Check it out!
P.S. My How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook has been updated with a brand new section on how to format for All Romance eBooks. Please re-download it if you bought a copy already so you can have the latest information. For those of you who haven't bought it yet, you can get a copy from Smashwords. (Note: You must have some knowledge of HTML and CSS. Also you must have a Windows system to run the freeware needed to create the .prc format for Kindle. Sorry, but I haven't found anything that works for MacIntoshes. If anyone knows of a good program that you can use to create .prc on Macs, please let me know.)
And if anyone out there just doesn't want to fool with the conversion at all (even using the manual), send me an email and I'll let you know my rates for such work.
