Saturday Excerpt – Chill Out by Jana Richards

How about a sexy/sweet excerpt from CHILL OUT?

“Dylan wasn’t just my brother, he was my best friend, and in some ways, he was like a father. When our mother died, he petitioned the court to make him my legal guardian so I wouldn’t have to go into care. He made sure I studied, pushed me to apply to med school, helped me with expenses.”

“He sounds like a wonderful big brother.”

His lips curved in a sad smile and Renata’s heart ached for him. “He was, and I know he’s going to be an amazing father. I want this animosity between us to end. I want my brother back.” His voice cracked. “But I’m not sure he feels the same way. I said some ugly things…”

“Perhaps, with the baby coming, he wants to mend the rift between you as much as you do.” She hoped she was right.

“Maybe. I’ll find out tomorrow. I’m going to phone Dylan and try to arrange a meeting.”

“It’ll work out. You’ll see.”

He leaned toward her, the corners of his eyes wrinkling with his smile. “I appreciate the pep rally.”

“Well, I was a cheerleader in high school. Rah, Rah.”

He laughed softly, then cupped her face with his hand, his thumb idly stroking her cheek. Her breath hitched at his tender touch. “Thank you for making this easier for me, Renata.”

He leaned in and her heart pounded in anticipation of his kiss. When his lips touched hers, a firestorm of longing ignited inside her. She strained toward him, needing his kiss, needing to heal his pain. His lips parted against hers, and she opened her mouth eagerly, reveling in his taste as his tongue danced with hers. The world faded away, and nothing existed for her except this man and all the tenderness she felt for him. It felt so right to kiss him, so perfectly, completely right.

 

Join me next Thursday, when I interview my fellow Resplendence Author Jan Scarborough.  ~Tina

 

 

 

AuThursday- Jana Richards

Please welcome multi-genre author Jana Richards.  Jana, I have to ask with so many books, how do you make time to write?

Thank you for having me on your blog! Finding time to write is one of the most difficult things an author faces. I know many authors who work full-time at their day-job, or they have families, especially young children, who need their attention. Somehow they make it work. They get up early and write before work, or late after the kids go to bed. I’m no different. My kids are grown, but I work part-time. However, a staffing issue at work has meant that I’ve been working nearly full-time since October. I think our staff shortage has finally been solved (fingers crossed!) so I can soon go back to my regular part-time schedule. In the meantime, I’ve been writing on weekends, and during the week I try to write something. If I tell myself I only need to write 100 words, essentially a paragraph, it doesn’t seem so daunting. Usually I’ll be able to write more than 100 words, though sometimes even that small number is painful. But I’m moving forward and staying in the story, which is important.

Q:  You’ve written for multiple publishers, what are the benefits and challenges of writing for different publishing houses?

Different publishers can offer different things. For instance, one of my publishers, Carina Press, has name recognition through the Harlequin brand. Another publisher only retains e-publishing rights, so I’m free to self-publish the print books if I wish. The third publisher prints books and novellas over 100 pages, making both print in e-versions available, and saving me the expense and work of doing it myself. And I have the opportunity to meet numerous authors and take part in various promotional opportunities.

Honestly, I can’t see a downside. It’s great to have the opportunity to work with different editors, and I definitely will submit new stories to these publishers, and perhaps new ones in the future!

Q:  Which one of your covers is your favorite and why?

That’s a tough one, like asking which daughter is my favorite! I’m quite fond of the cover for CHILL OUT, my Valentine story. I love the fun, cartoon feel of it, and especially the cute dog on the cover. An English Mastiff named Spike is featured prominently in the story, so I’m pleased to have him on the cover.

Q:  What are you doing to promote your book(s)?

Lots of things – guest blogs, Facebook parties, Twitter blasts, Book Blog tours and paid advertising, among other things. You have to get your name into as many places as you can think of because no one is really sure what sells a book.

Q:  What support are you receiving from your publisher(s)?

CHILL OUT came out January 4, 2016 from The Wild Rose Press. They came up with the concept of the Candy Hearts Romances for Valentine’s Day – each novella’s title in the multi-author series comes from one of the sayings on candy heart candy. Something like 39 novellas in the series will be published right up to Valentine’s Day. The Wild Rose Press is helping us out with promotion by setting up a Rafflecopter draw for a Kindle Fire. The draw will be made on February 14.

Q: How did you deal with rejection letters, if you received any?

Oh yes, I’ve received rejection letters, more than I care to remember. When I received the most recent rejection, I wallowed, whined, and generally gave myself a pity party for a few days. And then I pick myself up and tried to figure out what to do next. Do I revise, submit somewhere else, or write something new? The important thing is keep writing and not let a rejection defeat you.

Q: What advice would you give to writers just starting out?

They’ll need something of a thick skin to weather comments from critique partners, editors, and eventually reviewers/readers. They should also know that perseverance is needed in this business. So many people have told me they’ve tried to write a book, but it was just too hard. A published author is simply one who wouldn’t give up. If you want it, don’t give up.

Q: What books can we expect to see in the near future?

Like I said, CHILL OUT just released on Jan.4. Aside from that, I’ve designated 2016 as my year for finishing things; I currently have three romance series in various stages of incompleteness! At the moment I’m working on a series I call “Love in the North Woods”. It’s about three sisters who inherit a fishing lodge in Minnesota from their grandfather and try to bring it back to life, while at the same time trying to solve the mystery of their parents’ deaths.

Q:  Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

Website:  http://www.janarichards.com

Blog:  http://janarichards.blogspot.com

Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/JanaRichardsAuthor

Twitter:  http://www.twitter.com/JanaRichards_

Amazon Author Page:  http://www.amazon.com/author/janarichards

Newsletter Signup: http://www.eepurl.com/m3UnT

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2892274Jana_Richards

Google+ Profile:  https://plus.google.com/100820406211390323245

 

Join me on Saturday when we read an excerpt from Jana’s latest release, CHILL OUT. ~Tina

 

 

Saturday Sexcerpt – The Caress of a Commander by Linda Rae Sande

…from THE CARESS OF A COMMANDER.

“How many men have you kissed?”

Victoria blinked. And blinked again as she straightened on the seat. “I do not see how that is any of your concern, sir,” she replied, rather indignant just then.

Stephen narrowed his own eyes at her. “I am one. How many others are there?” Try as he might, he couldn’t get the hint of anger out of his voice. He didn’t even know why it was there, or even why he wanted to know how often she kissed other men. But for some reason, at that moment, he wanted to know. He needed to know.

Victoria’s resolve to ignore his question melted away after a moment. “One. My second cousin,” she finally admitted. “We were five at the time.”

Furrowing his brows, Stephen considered her answer for a moment. “Did he put his tongue in your mouth?”

Victoria allowed a rather loud gasp. “Of course not!” she replied, now really indignant. “He was five!”

“Did you put your tongue into his?”

Stephen realized after the fact that he really should have been more aware of the fact that her right arm was entirely unencumbered, even by his topcoat resting over her shoulders, for when she suddenly leaned back and swung at him, he felt the full force of her open hand as it impacted his left cheek.

“Ow!” he exclaimed, his eyes squeezed shut against the sting of the blow. Had his eyes been open, he would have seen her wince and the surreptitious shaking of her right hand, probably because it felt as if all the bones were broken.

“You rake!” she exclaimed, her anger most evident. “My first kiss—at a ball, no less—and you have to go ruin it with … innuendo and rude questions!’

Stephen sighed, realizing he had angered the girl. Offended her with his assumption that she had kissed other men besides him. Been kissed by other men besides him. But, dammit, her kiss—or series of kisses, rather— had been so delicious. So passionate. So perfect.

How could he be her first?

I am her first! The thought had him feeling rather proud just then, so it wasn’t a surprise his ego would follow suit.

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Stephen had his arms wrapped around her shoulders and his mouth pressed against hers, a move made easier in that she was still so startled by his earlier implied accusation that her mouth was open and perfectly placed to accept his.

He thought at first she was going to fight him off. And he wouldn’t have blamed her one bit. He couldn’t quite believe what he was doing, either, but then he was lost just then, lost in the sensation of her soft lips against his, in the sensation of a slight buzz which he realized was due to the fact that he was pressing far too hard. Bruising her lips, no doubt. He couldn’t even imagine what his looked like.

Softening the kiss, he gently nipped her lower lip and took her mouth again, this time using his tongue as he had the night before, teasing her tongue to join his, tasting her teeth and tongue and once again nipping her lower lip, kissing her jaw line, her neck, the line of her collarbone to the hollow at the base of her throat.

He felt more than heard her soft moans, felt more than heard her staccato heartbeats where her bosom was pressed into his waistcoat. And he would have continued his assault of soft kisses along the tops of her breasts except that he was suddenly aware that the coach had come to a bumpy halt. The tell-tale jerk of the driver dismounting from his box had Stephen straightening, although he still had his arms around Victoria’s shoulders.

He dropped his forehead to hers while he attempted to catch his breath. “I’ll walk you to your door,” he managed to get out.

Victoria shook her head against his. “I would rather you didn’t,” she whispered.

The coach door opened at the same time Stephen pulled his arms from around her shoulders, one of his hands suddenly clutching his topcoat as Victoria stood up and took her leave of the town coach. She managed to look rather steady as she did so, a feat Stephen found he admired in the chit.

He rather doubted he could stand up just then.

Join me next Thursday when we meet romance author, Jana Richards.~Tina

AuThursday – Linda Rae Sande

Please welcome historical romance author Linda Rae Sande to the Clog Blog.  Welcome Linda Rae, you have so many novels, how do you make time to write?

Thanks, Tina! My favorite time to write is at night, and my favorite places to write are at local restaurants that have bars or cantinas. I bring my old iPad and keyboard and either sit at the bar or a small table. I can usually write an entire chapter while I enjoy dinner and a drink.

Q: Why did you decide to write Historicals?

About twenty years ago, I started helping my mother with genealogical research. At the time, I was more interested in finding the names and dates than I was in learning what was happening to those people. How and where they lived was so important! Those that lived during the Regency era were the most interesting.

Although I was reading science fiction at the time, I soon started reading Regencies. I thought they would be “lighter fare”, and some were, but most of the stories had very dark themes. Mistreated women, poverty, prison, illegitimate children—I actually wrote one and found I just didn’t enjoy the process until I realized I could write a lighter story and include some humor. Now I’m always looking for ways to add humor to the overall story.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for this series?

My series have all been about the relatives of those who make up the aristocrats in Regency England. I’ve written about the daughters, the sons, the cousins, and the sisters, so it made sense to do the brothers next.

I love writing male characters, and with “The Brothers of the Aristocracy” centered on men, I concentrated on using characters I’ve mentioned in the past as well as created some new ones.

Each book in this series has a theme. THE LOVE OF A RAKE is about two men who are confirmed bachelors and who happen to enjoy bedding women. One realizes he wants to be married while the other swears he won’t ever. Two days is all it takes for plans to change.  THE CARESS OF A COMMANDER centers on two bastard brothers who are each at a crossroads in their lives, one determined to find a lost love and marry her while the other just wants to be accepted in London society. THE EPIPHANY OF AN EXPLORER will feature Harry Tennison, Earl of Everly. He’s been in several books as a background character, and it’s finally time for this world explorer and naturalist to get bit by the marriage bug.

Q: To date which of your books was the hardest to write and why?

THE PROMISE OF A GENTLEMAN. The story takes place in 1802 and involves three couples, a huge cast of background characters, and several plots and subplots. Although none of the main characters are aristocrats themselves, they’re related to some either directly or by marriage. Since it was my first foray into writing in that period, I spent far more time researching than I did writing, and so it took two years to complete the first draft. At 740 pages in print, it’s also my longest book.  I love the characters, though. They make up the half-generation that comes before those featured in most of my books (and they make occasional guest appearances in the other books).

Q: Who designed the covers?

Karen Gee at KGee Designs in Cody, WY.  My early discussions with her centered on developing a common theme and color schemes to use for each series. Since I already had five Regencies written before the first one was published, it was easy to establish a consistent look and use it for all the titles. The photographs are from a number of sources including RomanceNovelCovers.com, Period Images, Inc., Novelstock, Inc. and HotDamn!

Q:  Like many successful authors, it looks like you have dipped your toe into the self-publishing waters.  What can you tell us about this process vs. working with a publisher?  What are some of the benefits and challenges?

I’ve only ever been self-published. Even when I worked with a publisher (briefly), I had such a frustrating experience, I decided I was better off going it alone. I haven’t regretted it. It does mean I have to keep track of everything (expenses, royalties and book signing and convention arrangements), and I have to do my own marketing (my least favorite part of the job). However, I like making the decisions about my cover photos, doing my own book design for the print versions (I used to make books for a living), and creating the ePub and Mobi files for the ebook versions of my titles. Of course, it’s on me to get everything right, but I try really hard to post updated versions as quickly as possible when errors are pointed out to me. Even with an editor and a proofreader, errors slip through, which leads to my biggest frustration—finding good editors. I’m not sure if it’s just historicals or if it’s all genres in general, but finding a good editor has been a challenge for many of my fellow authors.

Q:  What do you feel is the most important aspect for all new authors to remember when writing or creating their own stories?

Don’t get discouraged! This is one of the most difficult times to get “discovered” as a writer. There are just so many books out there vying for readers. As long as you don’t expect to sell thousands of books your first year or two, and you don’t expect to sell to friends and family—you are on your own when it comes to finding readers—you can quietly keep writing and publishing until you have proven you can do it. By publishing on a regular basis, you’ll soon have a collection of books for readers to discover and enjoy. Oh, and series fiction seems to sell better than single titles. We like our sequels as much in books as we do in movies because we come to care about certain characters and want to know more about their story.

Q:  What books can we expect to see in the near future?

THE CARESS OF A COMMANDER will be followed by THE EPIPHANY OF AN EXPLORER this summer, and the next book in “The Cousins of the Aristocracy”, THE PRIDE OF A GENTLEMAN, will be out later this year.

Q:  Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

www.lindaraesande.com

Join me on Saturday as we read an excerpt from Linda’s latest release “The Caress of a Commander” ~Tina 

Saturday Excerpt – A Highland Ruby by Brenda B. Taylor

He dozed and dreamed of Flora in the emerald gown again. Now her waist-length hair matched the deep red color of the large ruby hanging from a gold chain. The ruby and gold glinted in shards of green light flashing around her and in her eyes. How lovely she appeared, with flawless white skin, ruby-red hair, and eyes to match the emerald gown. Gavin’s heart near burst with her beauty. While he watched, Flora removed the ruby from her neck, dipped the stone three times in a crystal goblet of clear water. The water turned red as the ruby.

She held the goblet out to him. “Take this and drink. The ruby’s water will drive the evil away and make you weel.”

“Aye. I desire to be well.” Gavin reached for the beautiful crystal chalice now filled with red water.

Just as his hand touched the chalice, a large boot kicked his foot. Flora disappeared with the red, healing water. Gavin’s eyes popped open. He remained still, grabbing the sgian dubh from his boot with one hand and the pistol from his belt with the other.

 

Join me next week when we meet author Linda Rae Sande!  ~Tina

 

 

 

 

AuThursday – Brenda B. Taylor

Please welcome author Brenda B. Taylor to the Clog Blog.  Brenda I must ask, what inspired you to write your first book?

Writing novels has been a life-long ambition. I wrote fiction stories in elementary school, but only after retirement did I complete a novel for publication. Both series, The Wades of Crawford County and Highland Treasures, came from genealogy research. The Wades series was inspired by my ancestors who immigrated from Tennessee to Missouri before the Civil War. The Highland Treasures series sprung from research into my Sots ancestry.

Q:  Why did you decide to write Christian/Sweet Historicals?

My writing is part of a Christian ministry my husband and I co-founded. I enjoy reading and writing sweet romances that have an exciting plot and storyline. I have a teaching field in history and enjoy the research, then imagining the circumstances of those living in the era I’m studying.

Q:  Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

The message I want to readers to grasp from my novels is—ordinary people live extraordinary lives, and I want to tell their stories.

Q:  What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both? Do you use mood music, candles, no noise, when you write?

I use a combination of outline and fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes while I am writing a scene, the characters take off in a completely different direction from the one I have planned. I can’t do a thing to stop them. I like quiet while I write so my mind is not distracted and can concentrate on the story.

Q: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

When I have writer’s block on occasion, I sit down and begin a scene in the story. Soon, the characters start conversations and the action begins. I may go back and edit then rewrite, but the writer’s block is replaced with all sorts of thoughts about the direction for the action in the storyline.

Q:  Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

I belong to a local writer’s guild, and they have been instrumental in encouraging my writing and helping me get established as an author.

Q:  If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

If I weren’t writing, I would be looking for something else to do, piddling, and generally wasting time.

Q:  What do you feel is the most important aspect for all new authors to remember when writing or creating their own stories?

Let your imaginations run wild, because a storyline and characters will emerge out of the chaos. Sometimes our minds and thought processes are too inhibited by everyday life and expectations.

Q:  Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

I love to hear from my readers.  Connect with me here:

Website: http://www.historicalheartbeats.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/JV31xY

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rayburnlady/highland-treasures

Twitter: http://twitter.com/rayburnlady

Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorbrendabtaylor

Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/author/show/7203463.Brenda_B_Taylor

Tumblr: http://rayburnlady.tumblr.com

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104377029337086788786/posts/p/pub

Join me on Saturday as we read an excerpt from Brenda’s latest release Highland Ruby. ~Tina

 

Saturday Excerpt – Wayward Soul by Glenn Maynard

Excerpt from Wayward Soul:

“I bet you have your hands tied with twin boys,” Brenda said.

Wendy made a whistling sound, tilting her head forward so her

hair flopped out of her bun and hung where her face had been. She

then flipped her head back until her face returned, and her eyes

grew in size. “Let’s just say it’s a full-time job.” Wendy looked

down at the boys who were just sitting and giggling quietly in their

chairs as they played patty cake, unaware that the conversation

was now on to them. “It was an extremely difficult birth.” She

glanced over to the twins again as she said this.

“She almost didn’t make it,” Carl broke in.

“I made it, though,” Wendy replied. “They are identical twins,

if you couldn’t tell. Billy and Willy. The only way that we can tell

them apart is that Billy has a bottom tooth that is slightly

crooked.”

“They’re twins and you named them Billy and Willy?” Carter

asked. Brenda then shot him a look. His follow-up question earned

him an elbow to the ribs. “Isn’t that the same name?”

“No,” said Carl. “One is Billy and the other is Willy.”

“Yeah, but they’re both a nickname for William,” Carter said.

Brenda’s look evolved into a laser. She could not believe Carter

was having this conversation, but he just wanted to know the

reason they named their twins virtually the same thing.

“We don’t look at it like that,” said Wendy. “We look at it like

Billy and Willy are two different names, and you’re actually the

only one to challenge us on it.” She laughed a short laugh.

“Those names are adorable,” Brenda said. “Just look at them

playing Patty Cake.”

Carter watched them interacting, then said, “Hi Billy and

Willy!”

The clock in the room seemed to stop. Billy and Willy still had

their hands connected, but they both turned to look at the man

who just called out their names. Carter looked around at the

others at the table, but all eyes were on Billy and Willy.

He wasn’t even getting a smile out of the twins. They appeared

to be sizing Carter up. They were staring right into his eyes

without as much as a blink. Carter noticed that everything about

them was the same; everything, including their blue eyes and

blonde hair, right down to the bowl-cut trim. Head shape: check.

Eye shape: check. Body size and shape: check and check.

Personality: check. Hell, even name: check.

Nothing was different. Carter was a bit taken aback, and smiled

out of nervousness. Finally the tension of the room dissipated

when the twins smiled back at Carter. Their wide grins were cute,

but they also revealed identical smiles. Missing was the identifying

bottom tooth. Carter could not find one difference between the

two.

Join me next Thursday as we meet author Brenda B. Taylor. 

~Tina

AuThursday – Glenn Maynard

Please welcome Glenn Maynard to the Clog Blog.  Glenn, I have to ask, what was the most difficult aspect of writing Wayward Soul?

This story is a sequel to my paranormal romance book, Desert Son. The most difficult part of Wayward Soul was figuring out where to begin and finding paranormal elements that would WOW the readers like in Desert Son. Then I had to upgrade the side shows that occur between scenes in order to keep the reader hooked. When I was able to create that WOW moment, I knew that I had created something special that would rival Desert Son.

Q:  Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?

Wayward Soul is what one reviewer called a “stand-alone sequel to Desert Son.” You can read the second book and survive because much of the backstory is rehashed during the sequel, but it would do you well to start with Desert Son, and as an incentive, the Desert Son ebook has just been reduced to $2.99 on all online platforms, so now is the time.

Q:  Do you use any techniques, tools, or aids to help you write?

My writing process has changed with each book. With Desert Son, I wrote every scene on an index card, and then methodically flipped the cards over once I completed the scene. Wayward Soul was more of a loose outline with a list of scenes on a sheet of paper. For the third book of this Desert Son trilogy, in which I just completed the first draft, I started with nothing. I just wrote and let the characters take me wherever they wanted me to go. I was lost the entire time, and ended up writing my biggest novel yet (over 100,000 words).

Q:  How do you make time to write?

I stay up late at night or write whenever I can in order to reach my writing goals. One day this summer I wrote while on the beach. I took notepad and pen with me. It was great for my weekly goal, but terrible for my sun burn quota.

Q:  Who has had the most influence on your writing?

I believe Stephen King has a way of creating total darkness and doing it more effectively than anyone I’ve read. He creates tension, horror, and fear like nobody else, and I marvel at his ability to alter human emotions with his writing. I tend to gravitate towards his books, and I learn from his writing, so I guess I’d have to say that Stephen King has had the most influence on my writing.

Q:  What advice do you have for other writers?

Keep writing books. You will find that your time will be consumed by marketing your books, but you also need to keep writing them. It may seem daunting at first, but you have to budget your time between writing your current book and marketing your published books. If there is any time left, then you can live. How many words are you going to write this week?

Q:  What books can we expect to see in the near future?

I have finished the first draft of my third book of the Desert Son trilogy. Carter and Brenda are just trucking along, but I’ve created a wild finish to my series. I still have a lot to do, but it’s shaping up to be just as intense as the first two books of the series.

Q:  Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

http://www.glennmaynard.weebly.com/

https://www.facebook.com/#!/GlennMaynardFanPage

http://www.amazon.com/Desert-Son-Glenn-Maynard/dp/1612963129

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20505634-desert-son

Join me on Saturday as we read an excerpt from Wayward Soul. 

~Tina