If you are looking for something new to read in Contemporary Romance my publisher, Book Boutiques is offering these titles of mine for 99 cents.
You can buy these at the following locations
Amazon| B&N | Google | KOBO |iBooks |
Tag Archives: E-books
AuThursday – Laura Brown
Please welcome author Laura Brown to the Clog Blog, I’m so happy she could join us. Laura, your tagline is “Romances full of heart, heat and hearing loss”, can you tell us more about you and your stories?
As a Hard of Hearing person I grew up without many role models, and felt I was less deserving of love because of my disability. In my stories, I put characters with hearing loss front and center and give them their happy endings! I love stories with complex characters, where the reader roots for them to find love and other ambitions, and I do my best to create characters worthy of this.
Do you have a special time to write or how is your day structured?
As a mom with a day job, I feel like I steal time to write wherever I can! On my days off while my son’s at school I write, slow moments at the day job I write, weekends at home. I used to write at night but that time is now reserved for unwinding from the day and watching something with my husband.
What is the most difficult part of your artistic process?
Titles. Hands down the titles. I always struggle with them and so many of my titles get changed before publication.
How long on average does it take you to write a book?
From start to finish, it takes me about three months to write a book. I tend to “word vomit” my first drafts, so they roll out quickly, revising often takes much longer.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
Definitely. I hit many walls along the way as I write and revise. Sometimes it’s because I haven’t figured out the right direction the scene needs to go. Other times it works out to be that I know where it needs to go, but I’m fighting with myself because it doesn’t feel like the right direction just yet. I’m working on trusting those ideas more.
How did you deal with Rejection Letters if you received any?
Rejection is part of being a writer. You get rejections from agents, editors, readers, etc. I don’t always have the thickest skin, but I expect to get those rejections. When I was a querying author, I took those agent rejections and turned around and sent out another query. I also find that you can learn things in rejections. My first main character with a hearing loss came from a comment in a rejection letter. For those rejections that sting more than the others, I reach out to my close group of writer friends and they hold my hand through it.
Can you tell us your story of getting “the call” (or e-mail)?
I’m on my second agent, and it really is just as exciting the second time around! Different, because the experience was not brand new, but a good different. We get conditioned to the rejections, so when I saw the email I thought it was going to be a pass, but it turned out to be a request to chat. I’m super nervous on the phone, and with my hearing loss I have a caption phone to help me understand, so I scheduled some time when I was home to use my caption phone. Connected with my agent right away and then was on cloud nine when it turned into an offer!
Where do you see publishing going in the future?
Good question. Things are shifting more digital in many ways, but die hard book lovers still love the feel of a paper book. I think we’re going to continue seeing digital and paper mixing together.
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Connect with other writers. I wrote in my own bubble for years and it wasn’t until I ventured out and met fellow writers that I truly expanded on my craft. That’s where I learned all those little rules and tips and tricks. And where I gained critique partners to help show me where my writing needed to be stronger, and point out where it already worked! I would be nowhere without my fellow writers.
Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
https://www.laurabrownauthor.com/
https://www.facebook.com/LauraBrownAuthor/
https://twitter.com/AuthorLBrown
https://www.instagram.com/a_laurabrown/
https://www.pinterest.com/LauraBrownAuthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7829692.Laura_Brown
Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share with us?
Not an excerpt, but I can share my latest blurb:
Gaby Fineberg just wants to get through Passover Seder without her “well meaning” family playing matchmaker. She needs a date, just for one simple meal—that includes singing, the history of her forefathers, and not one bit of yeast. The hot guy at her gym would be perfect. He probably hates bread, anyway, with a body like that. But when she finally works up the nerve to ask him, he doesn’t hear a word she said…
Levi Miller is Deaf and happily single. He doesn’t know why this beautiful woman is talking to him, but it’s clear she needs help—and suddenly so does he. When his bad-news ex shows up trying to rekindle their romance, pretending Gaby is his new girlfriend is an easy decision. But to return the favor? He has to convince her family they’re the perfect couple, when they can barely communicate without writing every word.
This Passover is starting to feel like the ten plagues might be coming back to haunt them before the weekend is over…one hilarious misstep after the next.
Share this:
AuThursday – Kate Hill
♥♥ GiveAway ♥♥
Kate is giving away a $10 Amazon GC during the tour. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Remember there is a chance to enter everyday so be sure to follow the Blog Tour. You may find the tour schedule and locations here https://bit.ly/2G1mPye
Tell us a little about yourself and your background?
Thank you for having me as a guest today. I’m a vegetarian New Englander who enjoys romance novels and horror movies. I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember.
How do you make time to write?
I set aside time each day to work on my writing. When I’m working on a story, I like to have a daily word count goal, even if it’s just 500 or 1000 words.
Do you believe in writer’s block?
That’s a tricky question. Every writer is different. I’ve been lucky because I’ve never had a problem with ideas, but there have been times in my life when I’ve had to place writing aside due to things like an illness in the family. I’m not sure that’s the same as writer’s block, though. When I sit down to write, I don’t have a problem putting something on paper (or screen, since I mostly write on my computer). If I’m stuck on the story I’m working on, I try writing something completely different, just for fun. Usually, that’s enough to get my creativity flowing.
Tell us a bit about the genre you write and why you love it.
I write mostly subgenres of romance. Paranormal is my favorite because I’ve always enjoyed horror movies, monsters, and things from beyond. For me, it’s natural to include the supernatural in my writing if that makes sense.
How are you publishing your recent book and why? (*e.g. Indie, traditional or both)
My latest story, Demon’s Grotto, has been released by Changeling Press. I’ve worked with them for many years and they’re great. The publishers, my editor, the staff and other writers are a fantastic group of people who do their best to help each other. That kind of support is important to me.
Are you an Introvert or Extrovert? How does this affect your work?
I’m basically a loner, so I’d probably be considered an introvert. To me, it makes writing easier to be comfortable spending time alone to work,
What is your favorite motivational phrase?
It’s a quote from Bruce Lee. He said, “I fear not the man who has practiced ten thousand kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick ten thousand times.”
What advice would you give to aspiring writers?
Keep writing, but if writing is what you truly love, that’s what you’ll do anyway. I’d also say listen to others, but know when to trust your own instincts. What works for one person doesn’t work for another. Everyone gets criticism and praise, so don’t place too much emphasis on either one.
Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?
My website is https://www.kate-hill.com.
I’m also on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/katehillromance
and https://www.twitter.com/compbeastsblog
Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share with us?
Yes, thank you. My latest release, Demon’s Grotto, is an anthology of dark romance stories tied together by a common theme. All the stories take place in the same mysterious building. This excerpt is from the second story, called the Demon Within.
Excerpt:
The next morning when Anna entered Justin’s room, she didn’t take physical form — not even as smoke. She wasn’t there to touch this time, but to observe.
Some other residents of the rooming house were still in bed — dead to the world, as they say, from the previous night’s indulgences. So many times in the past she had taken advantage of their weakened state to satisfy her hellish hunger. After observing their pathetic lives, putting them out of their misery was almost easy.
Justin was different. He slept by day like most people slept at night — a genuine sleep. Few people had such a cycle, and even fewer woke from sleep to meet her outside of the dreams she created, but Justin had.
She realized he was unique. Deep inside, something told her to stay away from him — or take him quickly. Still, an even deeper place pressed her to learn more about him.
Hovering over him, just inches from touching him if she had been in corporeal form, she studied his angular face. He had perfect cheekbones and thick golden eyelashes. Darker gold stubble dusted his jaw and upper lip. He was probably in his forties, but somehow he looked ageless.
Today he lay naked on top of the sheets. The building was chilly, and she thought he must be cold — even though he was hot in another way.
With a suddenness that shocked her into solid form, he reached up and wrapped his arm around her. Anna landed with a grunt against his lean, hard body. They lay chest to chest. Thigh to thigh. Nose to nose.
He stared at her, the expression in his slanted blue eyes emotional, yet at the same time unreadable. “Who are you?” he asked in a rough voice.
“How did you do that?” she demanded, torn between the desire to melt even closer to him and the impulse to fade to smoke so that she could escape this man who had done what no other ever had. He had sensed her and forced her out of her reality and into his.
“I asked first.”
Her jaw clenched and she tugged against his grip, but he refused to let her go.
“I think I have a right to know. You’re invading my space, not the other way around.”
“Unfortunately for you, there’s nothing you can do about it.” She faded to smoke, but not before whispering against his lips, “You can call me Anna.”
Buy Links:
- Amazon – https://amzn.to/2UAUM2c
- Changeling Press – https://www.changelingpress.com/victor-fangs-and-fists-3-b-2610
*♥*♥*♥*15% off any order when you shop Kate Hill *♥*♥*♥*
Code: Fangs-and-Fists
Will work on the entire cart, as long as there’s one Kate Hill book in the cart.
Only at Changeling Press
Share this:
Saturday Spotlight – The Duchess and the Highwayman by Beverly Oakley
The Duchess and the Highwayman
By Beverley Oakley
Beverley is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate and an eBook The Mysterious Governess.to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here.
BLURB:
A duchess disguised as a lady’s maid; a gentleman parading as a highwayman.
She’s on the run from a murderer, he’s in pursuit of one…
In a remote Norfolk manor, Phoebe, Lady Cavanaugh is wrongfully accused by her servants of her brutal husband’s murder.
There’s little sympathy in the district for the duchess who’s taken a lover and made clear she despised her husband. The local magistrate has also vowed revenge since Lady Cavanaugh rebuffed his advances.
When Phoebe is discovered in the forest wearing only a chemise stained with the blood of her murdered husband, she persuades the noble ‘highwayman’ who rescues her that she is Lady Cavanaugh’s maidservant.
Hugh Redding has his own reasons for hunting down the man who would have Phoebe tried and hanged for murder. He plans to turn ‘the maidservant with aspirations above her station’ into the ‘lady’ who might testify against the very villain who would see Phoebe dead.
… Despite the fierce attraction between Phoebe and the ‘highwayman’, Phoebe is not in a position to admit she’s the ‘murderous duchess’ hunted across the land.
Seizing an opportunity to strike at the social and financial standing of the man who has profited by her distress, Phoebe is drawn into a dangerous intrigue.
… When disaster strikes, she fears Hugh will lack the sympathy or understanding of her unusual predicament to even want to save her a second time.
Buy Links:
~*~*~*~*~*~
Excerpt:
She was astonished by the stab of feeling his amused and interested gaze unleashed within her. Her nipples hardened and she felt an instant heat in her lower belly that surely wasn’t just gratitude for the dress he’d paid for. Tempering her smile she looked away. It was a relief she was still capable of warm feelings for a man but she mustn’t allow herself to grow too fond of him. He was a means to an end.
“Well, together we shall prevail, Phoebe.” They’d reached the window embrasure where he put his finger beneath her chin and tipped her head. “I was thinking long and hard about what you said the other day.” At her inquiringly look he added, “That the way to bring Wentworth down would be discover what he most wanted.”
“I already told you what he most wants. The estate he’s inherited through murder.”
“And you plan to return to Blinley Manor to spy on him, is that right?”
She shook her head, suddenly afraid. “I can’t possibly go into company where he might recognise me.”
Mr Redding frowned. “But the new dress. I thought that was your very intention. I thought you planned to pretend to be a lady -”
“A lady, yes, but not …” She trailed off, miserable and fearful.
“You are very loyal to your mistress, aren’t you, Phoebe?” His tone softened. “Yet, despite your boldness, you’re doubting your abilities, aren’t you?” He drew her unexpectedly against him and his hands contoured her curves, skimming up and over the fine muslin before cupping her face. “Don’t worry, Phoebe, I shall be your tutor?”
“My tutor?” She pulled away, not liking the change in him. “I am not as easy as you might suppose, Mr Redding,” she ground out, fighting the urge to cry. Just when she’d begun to like and trust him he’d reverted to type.
He put his hands on her shoulders. “I’m curious. You pretend you’re an innocent, but you clearly have experience of men. You speak and behave like a lady. Who are you really, Phoebe?”
She felt her mouth drop open and didn’t know how to answer. She wasn’t ready to confess her identity when she wasn’t sure enough of Mr Redding.
“Were you trading on past experience to be so beguiling when you desired a new dress? Were you a rich man’s mistress, perhaps?”
Phoebe hung her head. That’s exactly what she’d been and her body language and silence seemed to confirm it in Mr Redding’s mind.
“So once you had a rich protector but now you’re a lady’s maid?”
Unable to look him in the eye, she nodded, tears threatening.
“And now I am your protector and am funding a new wardrobe.”
She gasped and jerked her head up. “So this is when you ask me to sleep with you?”
He shook his head. “Not if the idea is so repugnant. No, I promised a fair trade: your information to bolster a case against Wentworth.” His voice dropped as his eyes travelled over her, lingering on her décolletage which, for the first time, was shown to best advantage thanks to the stays the dressmaker had procured in a hurry. “I still hold out hope I might persuade you of my inherent charm, though.”
“Well, you can hope in vain, Mr Redding. I may have lost my virtue but not my dignity.”
He put out his hand slowly, as if coaxing a small animal and Phoebe watched his seeking fingers gently skim the puffed roulade of her sleeve before advancing across her shoulder towards her bared skin. Anticipation rose and she sucked in a shallow breath as he slowly contoured the edge of her gown, skimming the top of her breasts.
“I know you’ve felt more than just a passing interest in me, from the moment we met, Phoebe,” he whispered. His hand dipped beneath the fabric of her bodice and she gasped, unsure whether to resist or succumb.
By God, but he was making this difficult. She’d wanted any encounter of a physical nature to be on her terms if only to prove she was not the weak creature she’d always been with Wentworth.
Swallowing, she suddenly pulled away, saying in as disinterested voice as she could manage, “What news of the murder at the manor? You were out on horseback in the village this morning, were you not?”
~*~*~*~*~*~
Author Info:
Beverley Oakley was seventeen when she bundled up her first her 500+ page romance and sent it to a publisher. Unfortunately drowning her heroine on the last page was apparently not in line with the expectations of romance readers so Beverley became a journalist.
Twenty-six years later Beverley was delighted to receive her first publishing contract from Robert Hale (UK) for a romance in which she ensured her heroine was saved from drowning in the icy North Sea.
Since 2009 Beverley has written more than thirteen historical romances, mostly set in England during the early nineteenth century. Mystery, intrigue and adventure spill from their pages and if she can pull off a thrilling race to save someone’s honour – or a worthy damsel from the noose – it’s time to celebrate with a good single malt Scotch.
Beverley lives with her husband, two daughters and a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy the size of a pony opposite a picturesque nineteenth century lunatic asylum. She also writes Africa-set adventure-filled romances tarring handsome bush pilot heroes, and historical romances with less steam and more sexual tension, as Beverley Eikli.
You can get in contact with Beverley at:
website | Facebook | Pinterest | Twitter | Goodreads
Share this:
Sunday Submission – Call from LSB
From the desk of Acquistitions Editor Georgia Woods at Liquid Silver Books:
“I Need a HeroWhen you think of classic romance, what stories stick in your mind? What do all the best-loved stories have in common? We think that special something is a Hero.
Liquid Silver Books is looking for stories that feature Heroes. Whether these Heroes are on the nightly news, or unnoticed, or hidden as they go about their work, they all deserve that one person who’s not only their perfect partner, but who also brings them a very special “happily ever after.”
These stories’ protagonists must be strong and capable, but should not be perfect – they should feel real, complex, with normal faults and problems, and they should learn important lessons about themselves as they fight to overcome the odds. There can be strong secondary characters, but the building relationship between the protagonists while they battle an intense and gripping conflict or villain must be the main thrust of the story.
Heroes stories can fall within any heat level, fitting our Platinum, Sterling, Liquid, or Molten guidelines – see www.liquidsilverbooks.com/guidelines.htm for more information on our heat levels. But they are romance stories, not erotica – there must be a strong and compelling story linking everything together, not a series of sex scenes. They must be 15K or longer, and can take place in any setting, from small town America to the vast light years of outer space. They can include paranormal elements, such as shifters or alternate worlds, but the underlying Heroes theme must ring true.
Do you have a larger-than-life Hero fighting against all odds in your latest manuscript? If so, we want to see it. We think strong ethics and leadership are in greater need today than ever, and we want to tell stories that showcase these qualities and entice our readers to add new books to their list of favorites.
If you have any questions, drop me an email – Georgia at liquidsilverbooks.com . ”
Here’s a link to the LSB website:
Good Luck!
Tina
Share this:
Earth Day Blog Tour!
Welcome to the last stop on the LSB Blog tour! You should have come from:
http://sharalanel.wordpress.com/
If you are just joining the tour we started at:
http://www.ninapierce.com/romanceblog
It’s no wonder we have global warming…have you seen the hotties heating up these blogs?
As you know the books being given away by the LSB Authors are all E-books. E-books are environmentally friendly in that besides paper far less resources are used. Here are just a few:
1) Less Gas – you don’t drive to pick up a book and a book isn’t delivered via vehicle to you (either to your home or a bookstore)
2) Less Waste – E-Books that are not sold are not “Stripped” and sent back to the publisher…they don’t sit in warehouse waiting to be sold.
3) Less Space – An e-reader or a device you already own (PDA, Cell Phone, I-Pod, MP3 Player, even your computer) can store multiple books and are always easy to find. When was the last time you hunted for that treasured paperback. For me that was last Wednesday.
4) Less time – The E-market doesn’t require a certain number of words or pages to justify print costs. So you can find shorter stories that would not otherwise exist. Only have an hour to read, it’s easy to find one, in fact Fictionwise usually displays on their sale site how long a book takes to read.
5) Less money – Since a book takes less time to read, They can cost less. It’s not difficult to find an e-book under $5.00.
Does this mean our precious paperbacks will go away? Not necessarily. I think of it as more opportunities for a reader. Not too mention finding a genre that is unavailable in bookstores. Remember when Westerns went out. No problem finding them in ebooks. Whether you like it spicy and hot or sweet and romantic…you can find an e-publisher selling it.
So don’t forget to leave a comment and do your part and save our valuable resources. I mean with all the Hottie Global Warming we have to do something, right?
The Clog Blog 