Joanne Kennedy & Hot, Dark and Cowboy!

Today I'm happy to welcome Joanne Kennedy!  Joanne's newest cowboy romance, Tall, Dark and Cowboy with Sourcebooks released November 1st and is available everywhere books are sold (links below).  I've got my own review for you and an interview from Joanne. 

As always, we've got some great giveaways as well!  Danielle at Source has generously offered 2 copies of Tall, Dark and Cowboy for giveaway today and I'm giving away five custom handmade bookmarks!  So get out there and tell us what you love most about cowboys! YUM!

 

TALL, DARK AND COWBOY

She's looking for an old friend. . .

In the wake of a nasty divorce, Lacey Bradford heads for Wyoming where she's sure her old friend will take her in. Bit her high school pal Chase Caldwell is no longer the gangly boy who would follow her anywhere. For one thing, he's now incredibly buff and handsome, but that's not all that's changed. . .

What she finds is one hot cowboy. . .

Chase has been through tough times and is less than thrilled to see the girl who once broke his heart. But try as he might to resist her, while Lacey's putting her life back together, he's finding new ways to be part of it.

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Author Sarah Grimm Interview + Giveaway!

Sarah Grimm is here talking about her new release After Midnight, and we're giving away 5 custom handmade bookmarks AND an Ecopy of After Midnight! Simply leave a comment to enter. Open internationally.

Sarah, tell us about your latest release.
She wants to forget her past.

He wants to reclaim his.

Sometimes the moment that changes everything comes After Midnight.

Thirteen years—that’s how long Isabeau Montgomery has been living a lie. After an automobile accident took her mother’s life, Izzy hid herself away, surviving the only way she knew how. Now she is happy in her carefully reconstructed life. That is until he walks through the door of her bar…

Black Phoenix singer/front man Noah Clark came to Long Island City with a goal—one that doesn’t include an instant, electric attraction to the dark-haired beauty behind the bar. Coaxing her into his bed won’t be easy, but he can’t get her pale, haunted eyes nor her skill on the piano out of his head.

Can Noah help Isabeau overcome the past? Or will her need to protect her secret force her back into hiding and destroy their chance at happiness?





What’s your favorite thing about the book featured here today?
That even though Izzy views herself as damaged, through Noah's love she rediscovers that she's beautiful.

What sparked the idea for this book/series?
Teenage fantasies about meeting and marrying a rock star, combined with the maturity to know that a twenty-something musician is not happily-ever-after material. Add to that the picture in my mind of a woman alone in a bar, playing the piano. That picture spawned a series of 'what if' questions which led to After Midnight.

What creates the biggest conflict between your hero and heroine?
Music. It’s what brings them together as well as threatens to tear them apart.

What was the hardest part of this book to write and why?
Isabeau’s childhood was so tragic all the scenes that dealt with it were extremely hard to write. But the most difficult was the scene where her step-father (for lack of a better name) sits Noah down and tells him about losing Izzy’s mother in the car accident, followed by immediately losing Izzy in a court battle, and how these events shaped Isabeau into the woman she is today. I can’t really get into it too much without giving away any spoilers, but it is a traumatic scene that was emotionally draining for me to write.

How does your family view your writing career?
They accept it as a normal part of who I am and are proud of the fact that I have achieved my goal of becoming published.

What is your writing routine?

I do my best writing in the morning when the rest of the house is still asleep. I wake up around 4:30 seven days a week. Not necessarily by choice, my internal alarm clock just goes off at that time. If I don’t sit down and write in the morning, chances are good I won’t get any writing done that day. I’m too easily distracted by the million other things I need to get done – grocery shopping, the day job, orthodontist appointments, or house cleaning.

How do you keep in touch with your readers?
My all time favorite way to chat with readers is face to face. Unfortunately, I don't get enough of that with my hectic work schedule, so I settle for keeping in touch with readers through my blog, online chats, and email. I love to hear from readers and encourage them to email me at sarah @ sarahgrimm.com.

What are you reading now?
Rafe’s Redemption by Jennifer Jakes, and Jezebel’s Wish by AJ Nuest

What is your preferred genre to read for pleasure?
Contemporary romance. A close second is contemporary romantic suspense.

Do you have a second career? (Yes, motherhood counts!)
Besides being the mother of two teenage sons, three mini schnauzers, a guinea pig, a rescued kitten in need of a home, and three orphaned mice—whew, that’s a lot to type—I’m the bookkeeper for my husband’s boat repair business and work full time as the bookkeeper for a local farmer.

How would you best describe your books?
I write sizzling, dangerously sexy contemporary romance and romantic suspense.

Which is your favorite of the books you have written?
Definitely After Midnight. Every author I’ve ever spoke with has one story they truly believe is THE story of their heart. After Midnight is mine. Isabeau Montgomery is the owner of Izzy’s Bar, a child prodigy, piano phenom—a woman who is hiding behind a lie of her own making. She’s just so very tortured, her past so full of tragedy… She deserves a happy ending and Noah is just the man to share it with her.

What are your current projects?
While writing After Midnight, one of the secondary characters kept telling me he needed his story, so I'm writing that one now. Midnight Heat is a reunion romance, and although I had no plans to make it so when I started, it looks like it may become a romantic suspense.

Are You The Same Person You Were As A Child, Or Much Different?
I am much different. I’m still a dreamer and impulsive, but I’ve learned to control the impulses and think before I speak.

Do You Believe That The Cup Is Half Empty Or Half Full?
Half full.

Are You An Introvert Or An Extrovert?
Extrovert.

Are You A Window Person Or An Aisle Person?
Window. I want to see where I’m going.

Do You Like Short Or Long Hair On A Guy?
Short.

What is Your Favorite Beverage?
Diet Coke.

Are you a night or a morning person?
Morning.

Are You Usually Late, Early Or Right On Time?
Early.

Where can we find you online?
Website: http://www.sarahgrimm.com
Blog: http://www.authorsarahgrimm.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/SGrimmAuthor
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SarahGrimm.Author

Sarah lives in West Michigan with her husband, two sons and three miniature schnauzers. Between mom's taxi service, parts runs, and answering the phone for the family marine repair business, Sarah can be found curled in her favorite chair, crafting her next novel.

Comment to enter for 1 of 5 custom handmade bookmarks AND an ecopy of After Midnight!
Open internationally.

**MUST** leave contact email to WIN!

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Career Author Jackie Braun Celebrates 25th Release!!

Welcome my guest author today -- Jackie Braun. Jackie She sold her first book to Silhouette Romance in late 1999 and started writing under the Harlequin Romance banner with the release of her third book in 2004.

Today's release, MR. RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG is Jackie's 25th published novel -- yes, you read that right! 25th! And today she answers interview questions about longevity in publishing and her own writing style. Plus, we've got an excerpt AND a giveaway!!

Comment to enter to win a copy of Jackie's August release,
MR. RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG
Jackie, you worked as an award winning journalist for 17 years before leaving to write full time. Can you talk a little about that transition?

It wasn’t as difficult as I expected from a creative and time-management standpoint. I had a 3-year-old at the time and was already very good at multitasking. The big transition was getting used to not having a regular paycheck. That was hard -- going from getting paid every week to wondering when the next check would come or, in the case of royalties, how much it would be. I did a lot of freelance for the newspaper still, including writing a weekly column. I invoiced them monthly. So that helped. The really big help, though, was my husband. He’s in charge of our household budget. If you could see the Excel spreadsheets he keeps to determine where every penny goes, you’d be green with envy. The man is a god. (And he has a cute butt!)

You worked for 5 years as both a full time journalist and a full time writer. As an author struggling with this very problem – day job and writing – what tips can you give for maintaining sanity while progressing as authors?

Ah, you assume I maintained my sanity. Ha! And double ha! Seriously, I got up early every day – we’re talking 4 a.m. There was no other way around it.

This is your 25th book! Happy Anniversary! What are the key character elements writers need to stay successful in this business for that long?

Gosh, I’m not sure I know. I will say I wasn’t willing to fail or give up. Life has a way of raining on your parade. During the time I wrote those 25 books I lost my brother to cancer, my grandmother, my mother-in-law to cancer, my dad and my father-in-law to cancer. My husband and I built a house. I left a career and became self-employed. We adopted two children, including a so-called “special needs” toddler from China. My husband was diagnosed with cancer and beat it. On and on and on … People talk about writer’s block, but when you’re a professional writer, you don’t have that option. You just write.

Your books often contain humor. I’ve found humor very difficult to write. Is there a trick to writing humor?

I don’t know. My husband and I like to laugh. We find it preferable to the alternative. I can remember times in our marriage when it felt like the world was falling apart and laughter saved us. So, in addition to writing about people’s struggles, humor just naturally leaks into my stories.

What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?

Believable characters even when they are doing the seemingly unbelievable. Readers need to relate to your characters.

How do you develop your plots and characters? Do you use any set formula?

Nope. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of gal.

What were your feelings when your first novel was accepted/when you first saw the cover of the finished product?

Immense satisfaction and pride.

What tools do you feel are must-haves for writers?

A room of your own and quiet time to work.

What dreams have been realized as a result of your writing?

I’m able to be home with my kids. This makes me crazy during deadlines, especially in the summer, but it’s worth it. My boys are 6 and 11 now. I’m going to blink and they’ll both be grown and gone.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Depends on the book. Some books all but write themselves, in which case we’re talking two to three months. Others, four or five months.

What is your work schedule like when you're writing?

I write every day. I currently do about 24 hours a week of freelance as a journalist. Since the deadlines for that are pretty much daily, I fit my book writing around that.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?

I don’t know that I have one.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?

In the summer I like to poke around in my flowerbeds. I love gardening, even though it’s a constant battle to keep the bugs and critters from mowing down all of my perennials.

What does your family think of your writing?

They are really proud of me. I’m blessed to have such great support.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in writing your books?

Sometimes my characters take off and do something I wasn’t planning. I always follow their lead.

Which is your favorite of the books you have written? 

“In the Shelter of His Arms.” It came out in 2005 and was named Harlequin Romance of the Year by RT.

What do you think makes a good story?

Believable characters, great conflict and an emotional payoff for readers.

What are you reading now?

You mean besides children’s books with my kids? I’m reading “Bed of Roses,” the second book in Nora Roberts’ Bride Quartet series.

What new author has grasped your interest? 

None at the moment, but then my TBR pile is overflowing.

What are the hardest/easiest scenes to write?

For me, the hardest scenes are love scenes. The easiest, those that include humor.

What are your writing strength/weaknesses?

Really? You’re asking me that? I plead the Fifth.

Who are some of your favorite authors and what really strikes you about their work?

I love Nora Roberts, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Sandra Brown, Barbara Delinsky, LaVyrle Spencer (Gosh, I wish she hadn’t retired), Jennifer Weiner, Liz Fielding … Again, it comes down to characters for me. They all write amazing characters.

Can you share a little of your current work with us?

When she spied the invitation amid the pile of bills and junk mail, Chloe McDaniels's lips pulled back in a sneer. She'd been expecting it, but that didn't make her reaction any less visceral.

Tillman High School's Class of 2001 was set to celebrate its ten-year reunion.

Chloe did not have fond memories of her New Jersey high school. In fact, she'd spent her four years at Tillman ducking into bathroom stalls and janitors' broom closets to avoid the unholy trinity of Natasha Bradford, Faith Ellerman and Tamara Kingsley.

She'd known the girls since grade school. They'd never been friends, but neither had they been enemies… until the start of their freshman year when, for reasons that had never been terribly clear to Chloe, she'd become their favorite target.

Literally.

Somehow on that first, already awkward day of high school, they managed to attach a "Kick Me" sign to the back of her shirt just before the start of first period. It was the last time Chloe ever accepted a friendly back slap without taking a gander over her shoulder afterward. As cruel pranks went, it wasn't terribly original, but it was effective. She'd taken enough sneakers to the seat of her favorite jeans to feel like a soccer ball.

Then, between third period and lunch, Simon Ford had happened along.

"You might not want to wear this," he'd said simply, removing the sign and handing it to Chloe. That was his way. Understated.

Good old Simon. He always had her back. Or backside, as the case had been. They'd been friends since his family had moved into her family's apartment building at the start of third grade and their friendship continued to this day. Thinking of him now, Chloe picked up the phone before realizing the time. It was well after five on a Friday. He was probably out with his girlfriend.

Chloe realized she was sneering again. Well, it couldn't be helped. She didn't like Sara. The long-limbed and lithe blonde was too…too…perfect.

She glanced down at the invitation. Perfect Sara would never find herself in this position. Perfect Sara would have been the homecoming queen and the prom queen and the every other kind of queen at her high school. Unlike Chloe, whose only class recognition had come in the form of "curliest hair" and "most freckles."

Yeah, that was what a girl wanted to be remembered for, all right.

Her gut told her to ball up the invitation in a wad, spit on it and, with expletives she knew in four languages, send it whizzing into the trash can. Her heart was a different matter. It was telling her to reach for a spoon and the pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream in her freezer.

Diet in mind, she went with her gut. Sort of.

She lavished the invitation with every foreign epithet she could think of before heaving it in the trash. But, while she bypassed the ice cream, she booted up her computer and downloaded a recipe from her favorite cable cooking show, Susie Kay's Comfort Foods. If it was all but guaranteed to clog the arteries and contribute to heart disease, Susie Kay made it.

Tonight's dinner selection was a case in point. Macaroni and cheese with not one, but four kinds of cheese and enough butter and calories that Chloe swore her clothes fit tighter just reading the ingredients. Not good considering she was already wearing her fat pants.

Actually, the pants were elastic-waist exercise gear that she didn't exercise in but instead reserved for days when she felt particularly bloated. Today was just such a day. Strap a few cables to her and she would be right at home gliding down Sixth Avenue like one of those huge helium balloons in the annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Even so, that didn't keep her from making the mac and cheese and eating half of the six servings.

The wine she poured for herself was an afterthought. She'd been saving the pricey bottle of cabernet sauvignon for a special occasion. This definitely was not it, but three glasses later, she didn't care.

Chloe set the wine aside and went to her stereo. Music. That's what she needed now. Something with a wicked beat and a lot of bass. Something she could dance to with reckless abandon and maybe work off a few extra calories in the process. She chose…Celine Dion.

As one weepy ballad after another filled Chloe's Lower East Side studio apartment, her willpower wilted like the water-deprived basil plant on her kitchen windowsill. Again muttering foreign curses, this time aimed at herself, she fished the crumpled invitation out of the trash. When the telephone rang, she was still sitting on the kitchen floor smoothing out the wrinkles.

It was Simon.

"Hey, Chloe. What are you doing?"

Anyone else—her older and uber-chic sister, Frannie, for instance—and Chloe would have felt compelled to come up with some elaborate reason why she could be found home alone on the official start of the weekend.

Since it was Simon, she confessed, "Drinking wine, wearing Lycra and listening to the soundtrack from Titanic."

"No ice cream?"

How well he knew her. Despite her best intentions, the mint chocolate chip was next on her list. "Not yet."

"Want some company?" he asked.

Did she ever. She and Simon always had a good time together, whether it involved going out or just hanging out. Still, his question surprised her. Wasn't he supposed to be with his girlfriend tonight? She liked thinking he'd throw over Perfect Sara to be with Comfortable Chloe. Liked it so much that she immediately felt guilty. She was a terrible friend. To make up for it, she would share her ice cream and what was left of the wine. "When can I expect you?"

"Right now. I'm standing on the other side of your apartment door."

If he were a boyfriend—not that Chloe had had one of those in several months—this news would have sent her into a panic. Her apartment was a mess. For that matter, so was she. Her red hair was a riot of curls thanks to the day's high humidity. And what little makeup she'd applied that morning was long gone. But this was Simon. Simon, she reminded herself, after a glance down at her unflattering attire had her wanting to flee to her bedroom and change.

It was sad to admit, but he'd seen her looking worse. Much worse. Such as when she came down with the chicken pox in the sixth grade or the time in high school when she'd succumbed to salmonella after her cousin Ellen's bridal shower. Aunt Myrtle made the chicken salad, which was why, henceforth, the woman was only allowed to bring paper products or plastic cutlery to family gatherings. The coup de grace, of course, was last December. Three days shy of Christmas, the guy Chloe had been dating for the previous six months dumped her.

Via text message.

And she'd already bought him a gift, a Rolex watch, which she couldn't return since the street vendor who'd sold her the incredibly authentic-looking knockoff had moved to a new location.

So, now, she flung open the door, feeling only mildly embarrassed by what her hair was doing, by the mac-and-cheese stains on her shirt or the fact that her lips had probably turned a slightly clownish shade of purple from the wine she'd enjoyed.

"Hey, Simon."

Where can we find you online?

Website: www.jackiebraun.com
Facebook: as Romance Author Jackie Braun 

Remember: Comment to enter to win a copy of Jackie's August release, MR. RIGHT THERE ALL ALONG
**US/Canada shipping only**

*MUST leave a contact email to win*

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 20, Juliana Stone

Juliana Stone and I met at RWA 2010.  She is a good friend of my CP, Elisabeth Naughton, and we hung out the whole time we were in Orlando.

This girl is so damn fun!  She is sharp and outgoing and personable and funny as hell.  Hilarious.  I swear I never stopped laughing when we were together.  Found myself anticipating her next quip or comment.  She has an awesome voice (sings in a band in her "off" time - snort - like she has any after writing, mothering and wifing--is that a word?) and even set up a karaoke night at a local bar.  So, so fun!

I bought Juliana's first book in the Jaguar Warrior series, HIS DARKEST HUNGER, at the Barnes & Noble at RWA Orlando and had her sign it for me.  (Come to think of it, that's where I bought Cynthia Eden's DEADLY FEAR and had it autographed.)  Juliana's work is...HOT!  And twisted...I'm speaking of plot here, :) but you knew that right?

She also writes a sexy sci-fi, time travel series called Black Opals.

Up For Win Today:
The second book in her Jaguar Warrior series, HIS DARKEST EMBRACE.

To enter:
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
Jaxon Castille: jaguar shifter, warrior, assassin. He has long hungered for the chance to make his former lover, Libby Jamieson, pay for her deadly betrayal. After three long years he’s finally found her. The hunt is over…
But the Libby that he finds is not what he expected. She has no memory of their tumultuous affair; of her treachery; of anything beyond her own name. A shadowy and deadly clan has marked them both for death, and in an instant the game changes: the hunter has become the hunted.
On the run, with the ghosts of their past between them and a dark, desperate hunger quickly reclaiming their bodies and souls, Libby and Jaxon must discover the truth behind the dark forces working against them. Together, they must grab hold of a destiny that has the power to either heal them or destroy them.
But the truth is far more shattering than anyone could imagine…
Upcoming Releases:HIS DARKEST SALVATION, the third book in the Jaguar Warrior Series, July 2011
 
Contact Info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email
 
Have a great weekend.  5 of NYT bestselling author Stephanie Tyler up for giveaway Monday!

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 19, Christy Reece

Christy Reece and I met initially online via Facebook.  That was before I was a big twitterer.  Then I discovered the wonders of Twitter and didn't spend near as much time on Facebook.  But I still wanted to chat with Christy.  So I bugged her, and bugged her, and bugged her -- along with many of her other friends -- and she took the plunge and joined us on Twitter.  Yay!

We met in person at Elisabeth Naughton's release party at RWA National 2010.  I remember I was in the process of rewriting my first novel to my editor's requirements, it was due shortly after nationals and I was...nervous.  Christy was so encouraging, so positive.  And it only took a few words of reassurance from her to make me feel like I'd make it.  And I did--met the deadline with a very polished new version of the novel.

I'm very grateful for Christy's words of wisdom that carried me through and always look forward to her fun and upbeat comments online.

Christy is a NYT bestseller of romantic suspense.  And you can win an autographed copy of the first book in her bestselling series here today!

Up For Win Today:
NO CHANCE, first in her bestselling romantic suspense series

To enter:
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
Skylar James told a lie to the man she married, and eight years later she still bitterly regrets the deception. Unknown to Skylar, her husband, Gabe Maddox, now lives in the dangerous shadows of elite operatives who rescue victims. When Skylar tries to save a naïve young beauty, kidnappers come after her. For Gabe, Skylar had been his last shot at trust and love. But news of her disappearance battens down his anger and launches him into action. Saving Skylar is Gabe’s only chance for peace and his last chance for happiness.

Read an excerpt: HERE.


Upcoming Releases:
SWEET JUSTICE, August 2011
SWEET REWARD, December 2011/January 2012
SWEET REVENGE, Early 2012

Contact Info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email

Tomorrow, paranormal romance author Juliana Stone!

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 18, Kristina McMorris

Kristina McMorris is one of the people you want to hate--gorgeous, funny, talented, intelligent--she's got the whole package tied up with a shiny bow. 

But you just can't.  She's too generous, too thoughtful, just too damned sweet.

Kristina is a longtime author friend of my critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, and I first met Kristina at the RWA conference in San Francisco.  As a prior PR director, she's always brimming with knowledge and ideas and she's always willing to share them and help out another author.

Kristina writes women's fiction.  Her debut novel, LETTERS FROM HOME, is a WWII love story inspired by her grandparents' courtship. It has garnered more than a dozen national literary awards, will be featured in a Select Editions Volume from Reader's Digest, and is a Doubleday Book Club selection. The film rights are represented by the renowned Creative Artists Agency (CAA) of Los Angeles. 

And you have a chance to win this award winning novel today!

Up For Win Today:
LETTERS FROM HOME, February 2011

To enter:
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
Chicago, 1944. Liz Stephens has little interest in attending a USO club dance with her friends Betty and Julia. She doesn't need a flirtation with a lonely serviceman when she's set to marry her childhood sweetheart. Yet something happens the moment Liz glimpses Morgan McClain. They share only a brief conversation - cut short by the soldier's evident interest in Betty - but Liz can't forget him. Thus, when Betty asks her to ghostwrite a letter to Morgan, stationed overseas, Liz reluctantly agrees.

Thousands of miles away, Morgan struggles to adjust to the brutality of war. His letters from "Betty" are a comfort, their soul-baring correspondence a revelation to them both. While Liz is torn by her feelings for a man who doesn't know her true identity, Betty and Julia each become immersed in their own romantic entanglements. And as the war draws to a close, all three will face heart-wrenching choices, painful losses, and the bittersweet joy of new beginnings.

Read an excerpt: HERE.

Works In Progress:
Kristina just completed her second novel, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, which is a very unique love story, again set during WWII and will release in February 2012.

Contact Info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Email

Tomorrow, Christy Reece, New York Times Bestseller of romantic suspense.

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 15, Elisabeth Naughton

How do you describe someone who is like the other half of your brain? 

Elisabeth Naughton and I have been critique partners for about five years now.  We met through another writer who we also critiqued with.  Elisabeth and I have both grown and changed over those years, yet we've grown closer and changed in similar ways. 

Aside from writing in similar genres, we share common values such as work-ethic, professionalism, commitment and karma.  Outside publishing we share a love of family, dedication to our long-time marriages, support of true friendship and acceptance of individual quirks and styles -- even though my plotting and planning makes her want to pull out her eyelashes and her writing into the mist makes me want to jump off a cliff.

Elisabeth has an amazing ability to understand story structure and visualize the big picture, something I struggle with even after taking courses, reading books and applying it in my work.  She has mentored me along the path of writing a series and all that entails. 

In fact, it was Elisabeth who emailed me during her Hawaiian vacation because she had an epiphany--that FEVER, my debut novel with Kensington, was perfect for both a series of connected books and a paranormal element.  She was convinced that the only reason it hadn't sold was because the RS market had slowed.

Because I trust her opinion and her vision of my work (and because I have learned she's often right about most things) I rewrote FEVER, was subsequently offered representation by two well-known agents, and thereafter offered a two book contract.

I have myriad of reasons to be grateful for Elisabeth's role in my life as mentor and friend, and I'm thrilled to have this opportunity to share her fabulous work with all of you! 

She has an amazing voice, sarcastic wit that never fails to have me laughing out loud and kick-ass characters who take no shit.  Her stories move fast, twist, turn and flip upside down.  So if you're looking for an author who delivers on the promises they offer at the beginning of a novel (as described in my recent blog post at Brava Authors) Elisabeth is that author.

Up For Win Today:

2 copies of STOLEN FURY, the first in her STOLEN trilogy and double RWA RITA nominee for Best First Book and Best Romantic Suspense.

3 copies of MARKED, the first book in her ETERNAL GUARDIAN series.

3 copies of ENTWINED, the second book in her ETERNAL GUARDIAN series.

To enter:
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
STOLEN FURY:
To unearth a centuries-old secret, an archaeologist must team up with the rakish thief who’s stolen both an ancient relic and her heart…

Oh, is he handsome. And charming. And sexy as all get out. Dr. Lisa Maxwell isn’t the type to go home with a guy she barely knows. But, hey, this is Italy and the red-blooded Rafe Sullivan seems much more enticing than cataloging a bunch of dusty artifacts.

After being fully seduced, Lisa wakes to an empty bed and, worse yet, an empty safe. She’s staked her career as an archaeologist on collecting the three Furies, a priceless set of ancient Greek reliefs. Now the one she had is gone. But Lisa won’t just get mad. She’ll get even.

She tracks Rafe to Florida, and finds the sparks between them blaze hotter than the Miami sun. He may still have her relic, but he’ll never find all three without her. And they’re not the only ones on the hunt. To beat the other treasure seekers, they’ll have to partner up—because suddenly Lisa and Rafe are in a race just to stay alive.

Read an excerpt: HERE.

MARKED:
THERON – Dark haired, duty bound and deceptively deadly. He’s the leader of the Argonauts, an elite group of guardians that defends the immortal realm from threats of the Underworld.

From the moment he walked into the club, Casey knew this guy was different. Men like that just didn’t exist in real life—silky shoulder-length hair, chest impossibly broad, and a predatory manner that just screamed dark and dangerous. He was looking for something. Her.

She was the one. She had the mark. Casey had to die so his kind could live, and it was Theron’s duty to bring her in. But even as a 200-year-old descendent of Hercules, he wasn’t strong enough to resist the pull in her fathomless eyes, to tear himself away from the heat of her body.

As war with the Underworld nears, someone will have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Read and excerpt: HERE.


ENTWINED:
ZANDER — The most feared of all the Eternal Guardians. It’s rumored he can’t be killed, and he always fights like he has nothing to lose. But as a descendant of the famed hero Achilles, he’s got to have a vulnerability… somewhere.

Forces of daemons are gathering and have broken through the barriers of the Underworld. Now more than ever the Eternal Guardians are needed to protect both their own realm and the humans’. Zander can’t afford to think about what might have been with the bewitching physician he once regarded as his soul mate. But with eternity stretching before him, he also can’t fathom spending his life without the one woman who makes him feel most alive. Perhaps he’s found his weakness, after all…

Read an excerpt: HERE.

Upcoming Releases:

• TEMPTED, the highly anticipated release of Elisabeth's third book in the ETERNAL GUARDIAN series,  October, 2011.
• BODYGUARDS IN BED, an anthology of romantic suspense with a bodyguard theme, co-authors Lucy Monroe and Jamie Denton.  May, 2011.
• ENRAPTURED, the forth book in the ETERNAL GUARDIAN series, April 2012.

Works In Progress:

• ENRAPTURED, the forth book in the ETERNAL GUARDIAN series, April 2012.

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Have a great weekend! Check back next week for more awesome giveaways!

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 12, Alison Kent

Alison Kent is another Twitter buddy!  I appreciate her humor and her insight and have enjoyed conversing with her online.  (If you're not seeing a pattern here yet...let me spell it out for you -- Twitter = priceless writing friends.) 

If you go to Alison's website, you'll see she is a long-time, prolific author in various romance genres from romantic suspense to contemporary, and everything she writes has lots of sexy spice.

Alison has generously donated TWO books for the giveaway, both contemporaries published by Kensington Brava, both with mouth-watering hero covers.

Up For Win Today:
<<< Those two hunks right there...drool...
One copy each: NO LIMITS and WITH EXTREME PLEASURE

To enter:
One tweet and you are entered for the whole month!
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
NO LIMITS:
Simon Baptiste’s latest SG-5 mission just went south in a major way. With his career on ice for awhile, it seems like a good time to take care of some business back home in Louisiana. Simon knows it ain’t going to be pretty. He’s got some old enemies in Bayou Allain who won’t exactly roll out the red carpet. But Simon’s first night back is more than he bargained for. Not only has the homestead gone to hell in a hand basket, but there’s a half-naked woman hiding inside it—a woman whose face Simon knows all too well. It’s Michelina Ferrer, the sultry spokesmodel for her family’s Ferrer fragrance empire—and Simon’s been staring at her picture on a billboard outside his Manhattan apartment for weeks…

Micky Ferrer came down to Bayou Allain looking for her old college friend, only to discover that Lisa Landry has been missing for days. As soon as Micky starts asking questions around town, someone runs her car off the road. She’s hiding out in the old Baptiste place when Simon shows up—and he’s the hottest thing she’s laid eyes on since she got to town. Simon agrees that something strange is going on and that Lisa’s disappearance may be tied to it. As he and Micky search for answers, the sweltering heat makes it hard to keep their heads straight or their hands off each other…even as they unravel the small-town secrets that some people are willing to kill for…

WITH EXTREME PLEASURE:
After three weeks in Manhattan, Kingdom Trahan is ready to get back to bayous, crawfish boils, and afternoons fishing on the Gulf. But before he can pull out of the parking garage, he meets a curvy detour. King noticed Cady Kowalski on the photo shoot he just endured—sexy and confident, with a waifish look that belies the way she corralled him into submission using only a can of hairspray. Yet Cady isn’t confident now. She’s bruised, edgy, and desperate to get out of town…

For years, Cady has been looking over her shoulder, wondering when the gang of drug-running criminals who killed her brother would make their move on her. She’s grown used to having no one to turn to, no one to trust. But King isn’t walking away—not even when their lives are threatened, again and again. Drawing Cady’s pursuers out of hiding is the only way to end this, and it’s also the most reckless thing they can do…short of diving into a red-hot affair from which there’s no turning back.

Recent Releases:
THE ICING ON THE CAKE, September 2010, is one of the first three reality based romances published by HCI True Vows.
 
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Tomorrow: Special review & giveaway of Sylvia Day's upcoming release PRIDE AND PLEASURE

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