Showing posts with label romance writers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label romance writers. Show all posts

New Year's Giveaway: Day 12, Alison Kent

>> Tuesday, January 18, 2011

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.
 
Contact Info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email
 
Tomorrow: Special review & giveaway of Sylvia Day's upcoming release PRIDE AND PLEASURE

Read more...

New Year's Giveaway: Day 10, Darynda Jones

>> Friday, January 14, 2011

Darynda Jones, like Vivi Andrews, was a 2009 Golden Heart Finalist® with me.  She also went on to WIN the 2009 GH for Best Paranormal Romance with her manuscript FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT, which sold to Saint Martin's Press in a three book deal. 

The novel comes out in hardback this February, and I thought about attempting to win an ARC. But when I discovered the chances (like 1 in hundreds), and went to her website to read an excerpt, which sent me running directly to Amazon to place my pre-order.  Screw those chances -- I had to have this book.  As soon as it came off the press.

Darynda has a sense of humor that had me laughing out loud, characters I immediately had to get to know better, an engaging voice so easy to read I felt like someone was talking to me and a premise that is fresh and so fun!

I know Darynda through Twitter, RWA and a chapter of RWA we both belong to, Kiss of Death Mystery and Suspense.   She is as sweet as she is funny, and I'm so pleased we connected this year.

Up For Win Today:
Darynda's debut paranormal romance, FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT.

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

Book Summary:
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.


Read the excerpt that caught my attention: HERE.

Upcoming Releases:
SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT, August 2011

Works In Progress:
THIRD GRAVE DEAD AHEAD, December 2012

Contact Info:
Website
Blog
Twitter
Email

Have a great weekend everyone!  Hope you'll come back next week for more AWESOME authors including Kris Kennedy, Alison Kent, Sylvia Day, Margie Lawson and the fabulous Elisabeth Naughton!

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 9, Larissa Ione

>> Thursday, January 13, 2011

I know Larissa Ione because my critique partner, Elisabeth Naughton, badgered me until I finally agreed to email Larissa and ask her for a quote for my debut novel, FEVER.

I'm not shy, but neither am I an extrovert who can just talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime.  And I'm incredibly independent, so asking for some one's help is tough for me.  And, mind you, I wasn't asking for something small.  I was asking for a New York Times Bestseller to take time out of her prolific schedule to read my manuscript, create a quote she felt described my work and my writing, and attach her name to it.  Her reputation.

Ack! The pressure!

When my editor expressed her excitement over the prospect of having Larissa's quote, I finally worked up the guts to email her. 

And...yes...I'm going to say this in public...my critique partner was right.  She told me Larissa was totally sweet, completely unselfish and absolutely professional.  And Larissa is all those things.  But she's also personable, down to earth, funny, easy to talk to and incredibly accommodating. 

SIN UNDONE was the first book I'd read by Larissa.  By about page 10 I knew I'd be reading the rest of her series.  I love kick-ass heroines, and Larissa knows how to write them.  Her plots are twisted and intricate and deep.  Her love stories heart-rending.  Her sex scenes sizzling hot. 

What more could you ask for?

I am thrilled to include Larissa in my list of authors I am grateful for everyday!  Whoever gets SIN UNDONE in the give-away is a true winner.

Up For Win Today:
SIN UNDONE, the fifth book in Larissa's Paranormal Romance series Demonica.
(Or any other book in her Demonica series if you win and have already read SIN)
To enter:
Follow me on Twitter: @joanswan & send me a tweet with #newyear in the message. (Tweet Here)

Book Summary:
As the only female Seminus demon ever born, master assassin Sinead Donnelly is used to being treated like an outcast. She spent decades enslaved, and now vows she’ll die before she’ll relinquish her freedom again. Then Sin’s innate ability to kill her enemies goes awry: She creates a lethal new werewolf virus that sparks a firestorm of panic and violence.

Half-werewolf, half-vampire Conall Dearghul is charged with bringing in Sin to face punishment for the plague. And she’s no stranger: He’s bound to her by blood, and the one sexual encounter they shared has left him hungering for her raw sensuality. Worse, Sin is the underworld’s most wanted and Con soon learns he’s the only one who can help her . . . and that saving her life might mean sacrificing his own.

Read an excerpt: HERE

Upcoming Releases:
  • ETERNITY EMBRACED, ebook, January 2011
    Originally printed in The Mammoth Book of Vampire Romance 2, Eternity Embraced has been expanded for the ebook release.
  • ETERNAL RIDE, April 2011
    The first book in the Lords of Deliverance series, which is about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and is a spinoff from the Demonica series.
Works In Progress:
  • VAMPIRE FIGHT CLUB, September 2011
    A Demonica novella that will release as part of the Supernatural anthology
  • IMMORTAL RIDER, December 2011
    The second Lords of Deliverance book
Contact Info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email

Tomorrow, Darynda Jones, paranormal romance debut author

Read more...

New Years Giveaway: Day 4, Monica Burns

>> Thursday, January 06, 2011

Monica Burns and I are Twitter buddies.  By now, that's probably become familiar news to you all.  I have met quite a few of my author-friends on Twitter. 

As an author living in a small community without in-person access to an RWA chapter or other romance writers within about 150 miles, I thank God for social media.

Monica is an award winning erotic and historical romance author.  She is a 2005 RWA Golden Heart Finalist as well as a 2009 Eppie winner!

She is also running a promotional blog from January 17th through March 1st starring more than 35 bestselling historical romance authors, including Sabrina Jeffries, Madeline Hunter, Lorraine Heath, Sarah MacLean, Julianne MacLean, Lucy Monroe and many more!

Up For Win Today:
Monica's most recent release, PLEASURE ME.  Talk about a scorching cover...this one burns right through the screen!  Gorgeous!!!

(Note: This book is not available until March 2011)

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

Book Summary:
Youth and beauty are a courtesan’s greatest assets. At forty-one, Lady Ruth Attwood appears to have lost both, as her latest lover just abandoned her for a younger mistress. Struggling with the knowledge that she’s no longer considered desirable, she’s uncertain whether to be offended or flattered when a younger man makes her an unusual offer. In need of funds, she agrees. But then she does the unthinkable. She falls in love.

Despite his reputation as a man’s man, Baron Garrick Stratfield has never been with a woman. His physical impairment is such that he knows not even a whore will touch him, and he needs a mistress who’s willing to be kept without sharing his bed. But passion is just a delicious kiss away because his new mistress is wreaking havoc with his senses. Worse yet, someone is not only out to ruin his reputation, but frame him for murder.

Read First Three Chapters: HERE

Works In Progress:
INFERNO'S KISS, the third book in the Sicari series.

Contact Info:
Website
Blog
Promotional Blog: Begins Jan 17th and runs through March 1. Daily giveaways & grand prize

Tomorrow:  Elizabeth Craig, writing as Riley Adams, mystery writer and blogger extraordinaire!

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New Year's Giveaway: Day 3, Jules Bennett

>> Wednesday, January 05, 2011

Jules Bennett is another Twitter buddy.  We have never met in person, but I have enjoyed her camaraderie on-line.

Jules writes for Silhouette Desire, which will change to Harlequin Desire in 2011. 

Up for win today:
Jules latest release from Silhouette Desire, FROM BOARDROOM TO WEDDING BED?

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

Book Summary:
He’d been faced with the toughest decision of his life—a future full of wealth and power, or the love of Tamera Stevens. And self-made billionaire Cole Marcum had never regretted his choice. Until now, when circumstances forced him to work as partners with the woman he’d left behind. The brilliant CEO was determined to keep their relationship strictly business. Even so, working so closely with the only woman he’d ever cherished had Cole rethinking his priorities. This time, was he prepared to choose love over money?

Jules Works In Progress:
HER INNOCENCE, HIS CONQUEST, will be out with Harlequin Desire, April, 2011.

She is also working on another series for Harlequin Desire, which has not been named yet.

Where you can find Jules:
Website
Blog
Email

Tomorrow:  Monica Burns, award-winning erotic romance author.

Read more...

New Years Giveaway: Day 2

>> Tuesday, January 04, 2011

Gail Barrett and I met by a quirky twist of fate.  Her name was inexplicably adhered to one of my query letters printed in an article in the October issue of Writer's Digest. 

I considered contacting her to let her know that her name had been printed somewhere she hadn't expected, attributed to something she hadn't written, but, honestly, as a new author, unversed in the industry and its unwieldy ways and somewhat of an introvert, I was a little...uneasy...about how she, a seasoned, published author, might react.  So, I let the proverbial sleeping dog lie.

Gail contacted me recently, after one of her RWA acquaintances congratulated her on the information printed in the article regarding a sale from the query letter.  And I realize now I was silly not to contact her sooner.

She has been wholly gracious and good natured about the confusion, which to this point we can only figure occurred because of the similarity of titles in books we had written: Gail's FACING THE FIRE, published by Silhouette in 2006, and my novel query, then entitled Facing the Fire, but changed to FEVER, for publication by Kensington in 2012.

Gail has been an unexpected and pleasant gift to close out my already fortunate 2010.

Gail writes for Silhouette Romantic Suspense.  Her work has won the HOLT Medallion Award, finalled in the New Jersey Golden Leaf Contest and been a Top Pick of Romantic Times Magazine.


Up for win today:
A signed copy of her latest release MELTDOWN with Silhouette Romantic Suspense (soon to be Harlequin Romantic Suspense).

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

Book Summary:
Zoe Wilkinson only has hours left to rescue her famous grandfather -- and stop a deadly terrorist attack. Running into ex-love Cooper Kennedy just as the clock starts seriously ticking is a complication she doesn’t need. Their old attraction is more potent than ever -- and it just might be their greatest threat...


Works In Progress:
Gail is writing COWBOY UNDER SIEGE, the third book in the continuity series, Secrets and Scandals: The Kelleys, releases September, 2011. 

The first two books in an exciting new mini-series, the perfect titles for which are still under development, will come out in October and December 2011.

Where you can find Gail:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Silhouette Romantic Suspense Blog

Tomorrow:  Jules Bennett, Silhouette Desire Author

Read more...

New Years Giveaway: Kick-Off

>> Monday, January 03, 2011

Welcome Vivi Andrews as the Kick-Off author to this month-long give-a-way. Yeah, you could also probably read that as kick-ass. :-)

Vivi and I both finalled in the 2009 RWA Golden Heart and are currently active members of The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood -- a group of 2009 GH finalists. But Vivi went on to WIN the Golden Heart Award for Best Single Title Contemporary Romance that year.

I have never met Vivi in person, but have chatted with her via blog, email and Twitter, and find her both charming and hilarious.

Vivi writes paranormal romance as well as a number of other sub-genres. Her first two paranormal romance novellas were released by Samhain Publishing, launching the Karmic Consultants and Serengeti Shifter series.

Up for win today:
Her latest release in the Karmic Consultants Novels THE GHOST EXTERMINATOR. (Or any of Vivi's other books available in e-book format at Amazon)

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

Book Summary:
Jo Banks has been seeing ghosts since she was six, so normal was never really an option. Embracing the weird and shunning normalcy makes her the top Ghost Exterminator in her region. Then she meets Wyatt Haines, the uptight, materialistic and irritatingly sexy owner of a successful resort chain.

Wyatt’s new Victorian inn is extremely haunted and the Commando Barbie Ghost Exterminator is just the girl for the job. Except Wyatt doesn’t believe in ghosts, or Jo, or anything outside the norm. He’ll have to start believing fast, though, because Jo’s extermination goes awry and accidentally throws two prankster ghosts into Wyatt’s body to haunt him.

Read an excerpt HERE.

Vivi's Works In Progress:
THE SEXORCIST - which was just nominated for the CAPA for best paranormal romance - is the sequel to THE GHOST EXTERMINATOR and follows a study exorcist and a cockeyed-optimist wedding planner as they try to save a wedding which is being plagued by a mischief demon.

SERENGETI SUNRISE, the last of her Serengeti Shifter novellas, releases as an e-book in May and features a pair of commitment phobic lion-shifters who might be perfect for one another if they could both just stop trying to prove to everyone how independent and self-reliant they are.

For more works in progress as well as free online reads visit her WEBSITE.

Vivi's contact info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email

Tomorrow: Gail Barrett, Silhouette Romantic Suspense Author

Read more...

New Years Giveaway: Kick-Off

>> Sunday, January 03, 2010

Welcome Vivi Andrews as the Kick-Off author to this month-long give-a-way.  Yeah, you could also probably read that as kick-ass. :-)

Vivi and I both finalled in the 2009 RWA Golden Heart and are currently active members of The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood -- a group of 2009 GH finalists.  But Vivi went on to WIN the Golden Heart Award for Best Single Title Contemporary Romance that year.

I have never met Vivi in person, but have chatted with her via blog, email and Twitter, and find her both charming and hilarious.

Vivi writes paranormal romance as well as a number of other sub-genres.  Her first two paranormal romance novellas were released by Samhain Publishing, launching the Karmic Consultants and Serengeti Shifter series.

Up for win today:
Her latest release in the Karmic Consultants Novels THE GHOST EXTERMINATOR.  (Or any of Vivi's other books available in e-book format at Amazon)

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

Book Summary:
Jo Banks has been seeing ghosts since she was six, so normal was never really an option. Embracing the weird and shunning normalcy makes her the top Ghost Exterminator in her region. Then she meets Wyatt Haines, the uptight, materialistic and irritatingly sexy owner of a successful resort chain.

Wyatt’s new Victorian inn is extremely haunted and the Commando Barbie Ghost Exterminator is just the girl for the job. Except Wyatt doesn’t believe in ghosts, or Jo, or anything outside the norm. He’ll have to start believing fast, though, because Jo’s extermination goes awry and accidentally throws two prankster ghosts into Wyatt’s body to haunt him.

Read an excerpt HERE.

Vivi's Works In Progress:
THE SEXORCIST - which was just nominated for the CAPA for best paranormal romance - is the sequel to THE GHOST EXTERMINATOR and follows a study exorcist and a cockeyed-optimist wedding planner as they try to save a wedding which is being plagued by a mischief demon.

SERENGETI SUNRISE, the last of her Serengeti Shifter novellas, releases as an e-book in May and features a pair of commitment phobic lion-shifters who might be perfect for one another if they could both just stop trying to prove to everyone how independent and self-reliant they are.

For more works in progress as well as free online reads visit her WEBSITE.

Vivi's contact info:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Email

Tomorrow:  Gail Barrett, Silhouette Romantic Suspense Author

Read more...

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