Happy Valentine’s Day!

Happy Valentines Day! 

I thought I would share the books my publisher has on sale for 99 cents at B&N, along with my short story “Snow by any other name”.    Most of these are the second and third books in their series, so it’s an opportunity to buy for a bit less.  You can find out more about these titles in the Books section (above).   So snuggle up and enjoy a romantic read.  

Also for Sale @ $1.99 is my Gaslamp (Steampunk’s cousin) The Alchemists of Archangel, the second in my Archangel Revolution Series.

Title: The Alchemists of Archangel

Series:  Archangel Revolution

Author: Tina Holland

Genre: Steampunk, Gaslamp Fantasy, Alternate History, Romance

Release Date:  December 30, 2020

Publisher: Book Boutiques

Cover Artist: Valerie Tibbs

Blurb:

When scientist Abigail Phelan is accused of murder, she must prove her innocence despite not remembering the crime.

Inspector Raven Clark knows Abbie didn’t kill the miner, but she is tied to the killer.

Abbie and Raven begin a search for both the killer and her memories bringing them closer to the truth and one another.

But when Archangel residents fall ill from a bizarre pandemic Raven must hunt for the killer while Abbie battles a ravaging disease. 

Will they discover the identity of the murderer before losing everything they’ve found?

Excerpt: 

She shot him a brief glare before concentrating on her plate. “As I suspected, the Gunns have left you alone with me.” 

“Did they?  Whatever for?”  Laurel and Ben could not have guessed his attraction to this vulnerable beauty. Could they?

“So you could begin your interrogation of me regarding Cornelius Turner’s death.”  She tilted her head.

He scanned her evaluating her.   “I doubt you had anything to do with Mr. Turner’s murder.” 

She leaned forward, “So foul play is suspected.” 

“I’m afraid so.  What can you tell me about that night?” Raven couldn’t help but wonder how this tiny breath of a woman was wrapped up in Alchemia’s gruesome murder.

“I can’t recollect much from the night of Mr. Turner’s murder. I’ve tried but every time I search my memory, my throat locks up, and I feel my limbs numb and my brain becomes foggy.  It sounds strange, I know.  Doctor Gunn says my symptoms are similar to shell shock.”

“I’m aware of the disorder.” His mind burned with the memory of his own experience. 

“I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.  Cornelius was a wonderful man and very kind to me and my birds.” 

“Tell me about him.” Her voice soothed him, despite the fact he found birds as exciting as watching a clock tick.

“Cornelius was my first canary courier.  The couriers run the birds to and from the mines.  They also have to sit with the fledglings so the birds become used to them.  Cornelius even went so far as to watch the hatchlings.  He was a surrogate to many of the colored canaries.” 

“Was he collecting birds from you that night?” 

“No.  I went to town.” 

“To meet him?” Raven wondered if more passed between Abigail and Cornelius.

“No to meet with…” Abigail began to rub her temples.  “I’m sorry I don’t remember.”

Buy Links: 

Amazon | B&N | Google Play | iBooks | Kobo | 

Tina on Tour

Silver Dagger Book Tours

I’m still on Tour this week. Here’s where to find me.

Dec 14

The Sexy Nerd ‘Revue’ 

Bayou Queen Book Fanatics 

Dec 15

Books, Authors, Blogs  

Craving Lovely Books  

Dec 16

Why I Can’t Stop Reading  – GUEST POST

Sapphyria’s Book Reviews 

Dec 17

Layla Writes Love  – GUEST POST

Drako’s Den 

Tina on Tour

I’m still on tour this week with Silver Dagger Book Tours. Here’s where you can find me. I hope you’ll stop by and visit.

Dec 7
wings_and_ruin – REVIEW + GUEST POST
Indie Author Book Reviews

Dec 8
Authors & Readers Book Corner
The Scratching Post

Dec 9
A Pinch of Bookdust
Twisted Book Ramblings

Dec 10
Books a Plenty Book Reviews
The Faerie Review

Dec 11
Bedazzled By Books
The Bookshelf Fairy

Tina’s on Tour

Silver Dagger Book Tours

I’m still touring with Silver Dagger’s Book Tours. Here’s where you can find me this week. I hope you’ll stop by and visit.

Nov 30

Renee Wildes Weblog 

Inside the Insanity

Dec 1

Word Processor, Romance, Cats, Kids and Creed 

The Book Dragon 

Dec 2

Girl with Pen 

Sylv.net   

Dec 3

Interesting Authors | Eclectic Readers! 

T’s Stuff 

Dec 4

#BRVL Book Review Virginia Lee Blog 

Stormy Nights Reviewing & Bloggin’     

The Courtesan of Constantinople is available for Pre-Order and LIVE 11/10

Title: The Courtesan of Constantinople 

Series:  Archangel Revolution  Book 1

Author: Tina Holland

Genre: Gaslamp Steampunk Romance 

Release Date:  November 10, 2020

Publisher:  Book Boutiques 

Editor:  Misti Moyer

Cover Artist:  Valerie Tibbs, Tibbs Designs

Blurb:

Laurel Gunn’s freedom and body were traded for queen and country following her husband’s death on the battlefield.  Laurel Gunn is a courtesan, a spy, and a fae.  Like most Fae, she is not free. 

Doctor Benjamin Gunn is sent to investigate a body for clues as to the Cleaver’s identity.  Ben Gunn has been keeping secrets and is unsure if he can reveal what creature he is to Laurel, and why he is among the living.

Constantinople, also known as the Global City, is filled with politicians, espionage, and magic.  In a world of spies, not everyone is who they seem, but those seeking justice aren’t even human. Laurel must tread carefully as allies become foes and her very fate lies with England’s Queen. 

Excerpt: 

“Did you mean what you said about my being your only lover?” Ben asked. He simply had to know. The thought of spending every night with her would be more than pleasurable. She had a way of chasing away his nightmares.

“You think I lie?” Laurel asked.

“No, I simply wonder why me? You could have any man here.” He leaned in and breathed against her ear.

“Don’t you understand, husband?” She pulled back. The hurt was evident in her liquid brown eyes.

“I believe I do, but I want to be clear.” Ben didn’t know why he risked her safety to satisfy his own heart. He seemed helpless around this woman. Ben wanted to believe he wouldn’t hurt her. Those damnable blackouts made him uncertain.

Laurel drew closer to him, her lips were close, brushing his ear as she cooed, “Ben, you must know, I still love you.” Without warning, she kissed him. In front of the table at large and her current lover, she kissed him.

Her kiss was a simple touch of the lips, but to him, the gesture conveyed much more. A pink stain spread over her cheeks. Was she embarrassed or did she feel the same longing in her soul?

Buy Links: 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08MJQHYP3

https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-courtesan-of-constantinople-tina-holland/1138010535

https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-courtesan-of-constantinople

https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-courtesan-of-constantinople/id1538628214

Cover Reveal – The Courtesan of Constantinople

Title: The Courtesan of Constantinople 

Series:  Archangel Revolution  Book 1

Author: Tina Holland

Genre: Steampunk / MisGaslamp Romance 

Release Date:  TBA

Publisher:  Book Boutiques 

Editor:  Misti Moyer

Cover Artist:  Valerie Tibbs, Tibbs Designs

Blurb:

Laurel Gunn’s freedom and body were traded for queen and country following her husband’s death on the battlefield.  Laurel Gunn is a courtesan, a spy, and a fae.  Like most Fae, she is not free. 

Doctor Benjamin Gunn is sent to investigate a body for clues as to the Cleaver’s identity.  Ben Gunn has been keeping secrets and is unsure if he can reveal what creature he is to Laurel, and why he is among the living.

Constantinople, also known as the Global City, is filled with politicians, espionage, and magic.  In a world of spies, not everyone is who they seem, but those seeking justice aren’t even human. Laurel must tread carefully as allies become foes and her very fate lies with England’s Queen.

Happy Birthday to Me

Since today is my birthday, I decided to let a few of my friends from Facebook interview me.  Here are their questions.

What do you feel is the hardest part of the publishing process? (From Vania Rheault)

Rejection – The hardest part for me is finding a home for finished work.   I haven’t been brave enough to enter into the Self-Publishing world because that all seems hard to me.   So finding a home for whatever completed project I have is hard in the sense a certain amount of prediction for agents and editors on what readers may want a year or more out makes it difficult.  I’ll send out a query and then get a rejection and if I’m lucky they will tell me why.  Sometimes I get a form letter or even worse that they liked the writing but it wasn’t a good fit.   

How are you just so damn adorable all the time? Inquiring minds want to know. (From Lyn Armstrong)

Lyn is biased, her and maybe my husband.  I love and miss you, lady. 

Do you work plots out with writing buddies or plot all by yourself? (From Marie Johnston)

Normally, I plot by myself.  But recently I asked for some input on a finished Regency I just finished and my local critique group helped me come up with a plot (it involves murder) that I will weave back in through the story.  This isn’t uncommon for me to finish a manuscript and then change one, maybe two, things, and then have to layer those elements back in. 

When you write so many books, what’s your strategy for keeping plots, characters, and settings fresh? (from Natalie Pierce)

It helps that I write in a few different sub-genres of romance.  Once you change the setting everything else can be fresh or new based on a new place or time.  I have started keeping series bibles so I can remember how old someone is at story X so I make sure to age them by story Y. I usually keep these in either Pinterest, Google Keep, or in a Notebook. 

Happy birthday! Let’s see. I’d love to know more about how you got started writing stories. How much of real life is included in your books? Do you have other business ideas you might work on in the future? (from A. Catherine Noon)

Figures A. Catherine Noon would have the most questions.   Here we go.  

I have been writing since childhood, before my grandmother passed she gave me a collection of stories I wrote for her about the various mythical holiday creatures, like the Easter Bunny, Tooth Fairy, A Leprechaun trying to find Baby New Year.   Unfortunately, they didn’t find him because I had only gotten as far as writing their origin stories.  I loved info dumps even as a child. 

I include much of real life in my contemporaries, including some of my friends (you know who you are).  Of course, I changed their names to protect the not so innocent.  I’ve used their professional knowledge among which include a pilot, an architect, a nurse, firemen, and of course a writer.   Most of my paranormal, sci-fi, and fantasy stories are entirely fiction.  

Future Business Projects – Writing Wise I’m working on my Brave the Elements Series – Wind Resistant is my Nano project.  I will be querying my Regency this month and maybe a bit in November.   I take December off because I find I need the break for the holidays.  Non-writing wise – I’ve thrown my hat in on a contest in ND pairing artists and writers.  Long Term I’m hoping to get a North Dakota Writers Conference so if you are thinking about something like that my fellow writers, let me know.   There are far more of us than the world knows about. 

I’m wondering what percent of your writing is actually non-fiction, in a fictional book. (Brian Daly)

It depends on the fiction.  In my Steampunk Series, I’d say 50%.  I altered parts of the timeline significantly.  

My Regency is fairly historically accurate but I did change a few things – my hero knows cane fighting which isn’t really a thing until closer to the Victorian period and was invented in France, not England.  So those are pretty liberal. My Contemporaries including my paranormal books are about 25% fiction accounting for characters and the mythology of fairies.   But the career choices are based on people I know. 

And I would say my Post-Apocalyptic books are 75% fiction the only real elements being geography and locations in the future. 🙂 

I hope you’ve enjoyed this Q&A.  If I missed your question here leave a comment below and I’ll try to answer it.  ~Tina

AuThursday – Aidee Ladnier

Tell us a little about yourself and your background?

Hi! I’m Aidee Ladnier and although I’ve been writing since I was a preteen, I’ve only been publishing romance for the last six years. I saw a call for submissions online and I’d been listening to a podcast where the host, Kevin Allison, ends each show by saying “Today’s the day. Take a risk.” So I wrote a story and submitted it. I took a risk. And the publisher liked the story and published it. And I haven’t looked back. My writing career is due in part to comedian Kevin Allison.

How do you make time to write?

This is a difficult question! I write on the weekends, of course. But during the week I have a demanding day job. So my writing is confined to early mornings before work and on my lunch hour. I sometimes write in the evenings if my DH has something he’s also working on. Otherwise, he gets that time. 🙂 And as you can imagine, prioritizing so little time to write means I only produce one novel a year—but I’m not in a race so it suits me fine.

What genre are your books?

To date, I’ve published paranormal, science fiction, holiday, and mystery. But I have a steampunk novel and a young adult that I’m also working on. I can’t seem to stick to just one genre. LOL! But all of them have love at their core.

What draws you to this genre?

The paranormal shifter genre is well-established and one I never thought I’d be writing in. I’m not that fond of either the alpha male or fated mate tropes. But I started thinking about werewolves and how they might be perceived in our world—as if they had a rare medical condition. My wolf wouldn’t be an alpha or even part of a pack, and he certainly wouldn’t have a fated mate. But he would be awkward and adorkable and lonely. I knew the minute I saw him in my head that I had to write about him.

What are your current projects?

As I mentioned above, I’ve got a paranormal young adult novel I’m working on. In it, two young women discover that it takes two people to lay a ghost. I’m also working on a steampunk novel that intersects the Spiritualist Movement of the 1900s with the delay of Westward Expansion. It’s got strange inventions, a technology cult, and a plot against the government to thwart.

Are you an Introvert or Extrovert? How does this affect your work?

Definitely an introvert, but I try not to let it keep me from experiencing the world. I believe that adventure lies behind every corner, but if you don’t answer that call to adventure, you end up sitting at home a lot. Which is pretty boring. I love meeting people and doing new things but I also have to take a little time for myself every so often.

What is your writing Kryptonite?

Oooooo! That’s a good question. Usually, it’s television, the internet, online games, and good books. I always give them priority over my writing. I’ve been obsessed with the Great British Baking Show lately. And the Sims. Why oh why are they so much fun?

What advice do you have for aspiring writers?

The best advice is to sit your butt in a chair and write. You can never finish anything if you don’t actually write. The second best piece of advice is to read. Read as much as you can in every genre you’re interested in writing. Read genres that you’re not interested in writing. If you like a book, start analyzing why  you like it. Is it the characters, or the way the writer describes the setting, or maybe the plot twist at the end? If you’re not a reader, you’ll never be a writer.

 

Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

I have a website and blog at https://www.aideeladnier.com.  I write about my books, publish short fiction there, and post all my coloring pages there. I love adult coloring pages, so I have one for every book I’ve written. I also lurk on Tumblr (http://aideemoi.tumblr.com/) because it makes me laugh. I post a bit on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/aideelad), too. But Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/aideelad/) is where my horrible sense of humor comes out the most. I find the most bizarre things to take pictures of.

Do you have an excerpt you’d like to share with us?

I’d love to!! Here’s a scene after the “meet cute” where Tom and Frank are getting ready to have dinner with Tom’s family:

Tom rinsed the arugula, shaking off the water over the sink. “I couldn’t find candied walnuts, so I bought pecans instead.”

“The thweet oneth?” His niece Marcie jumped up and down, trying to see what he was doing. Her lisp was a new development caused by a couple of missing front teeth.

“Yep, the sweet ones, sweet pea.” Tom held one up for her inspection. Marcie smiled back, all but two of her teeth showing, and then took off out of the room.

“I had to drive to Waynesboro to get the gorgonzola, but it will totally be worth it.”

Annie stopped whisking her salad dressing and fixed Tom with a funny stare. “Hey, I hope you don’t mind, but I invited my store manager to dinner tonight.”

Tom shook the greens again but glanced back at his sister. “Sure. Why would I mind?”

“Well, he might be gay.”

Tom set the colander down beside the sink and turned around to face her. He leaned back against the counter and crossed his arms. “Might? Might, as in, you’d like to play matchmaker?”

Annie stirred the vinaigrette again. “Maybeee?”

“Uh-huh.” Tom grabbed the greens and tossed them into the waiting bowl. “I thought we were going to discuss what show to put on in your performance space.”

“Oh, we are.” Annie tipped her vinaigrette onto the waiting arugula. “He’s a creative guy, and he’ll have some good ideas. You’ll like him.”

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. Marcie’s footsteps thundered down the hall.

“Don’t forget to look out the glass first,” Annie called out to her. “You don’t open the door to strangers, remember?”

“Hey, kiddo.” The deep voice wasn’t strange at all.

Tom grabbed a rag to wipe off his hands and ambled into the hallway.

There was the buff guy from his apartment, Frank, clothed this time, in dark jeans so stiff and pressed they could have been dry-cleaned. His biceps bulged out of a short-sleeved brown shirt that brought out the auburn highlights in his hair and made his eyes appear almost golden. Frank’s cheeks reddened just enough to spread across the bridge of his nose, making him utterly adorkable. And gay. Tom so wanted to tap that. All those lascivious thoughts he’d tried to bury about Frank’s lickable frame were now roaring back to the forefront of his mind. And his pants.

“Hey, neighbor.” Tom transferred the towel to his other hand and held his right out to Frank.

“Neighbor? I didn’t realize you two knew each other.” Annie had followed Tom out of the kitchen. Her eyebrows rose in faux innocence. “So glad to see you, Frank.” She pecked him on the cheek as she closed the door behind him.

“I’m sure you didn’t, Sis. Especially since you were the one that told me Mrs. Anderson had a vacancy.” Tom booped her on the nose to let her know she wasn’t fooling anyone.

“Fwank, come and thee my new printheth pony!” Marcie hauled on Frank’s hand, her little sock feet sliding as she lost traction on the parquet floor.

“Hey, Frank.” Annie’s husband, John, swooped in to grab his six-year-old around the middle, hefting her up in a tickle hold. “Let’s get you washed up for dinner, young lady.” Marcie’s squeals and giggles echoed down the hall as John carried his daughter to the bathroom.

Annie gestured at the kitchen with a thumb that made her look like she was hitchhiking her way back to dinner. “I’ll go finish cooking.” Her sly grin hitched up the corner of her mouth. “Tom, could you entertain our guest for me?”

Tom smirked as his sister scooted past. He waited until she disappeared around the corner before zeroing in on Frank again. Frank stood frozen in the hallway next to him.

“So, clothes.” Tom did a visual sweep of Frank from head to toe, not missing the fidgeting fingers or the crooked eyetooth that bit into the pad of Frank’s lip.

Frank’s cheeks went strawberry red, and he ducked away from Tom’s gaze. “I usually wear clothes.”

“That is a shame.” Tom laughed as Frank’s ears turned red too. “You’ve got to tell me—what were you really doing in the bushes?” Because no way could somebody this well put together be that stupid. Annie had nothing but good things to say about her “store manager,” so Frank couldn’t be the guy brainless enough to fall out of an open second-story window.

Frank studied his shoes before peeping up, shamefaced. “Running naked in the woods?”

Tom almost laughed out loud at the absurd, obviously untrue answer. And then he sobered up as the image took shape in his mind of Frank’s gorgeous frame, free and unbound, dashing through the forest. That would be a sight to behold. And Tom would pay premium for a front-row ticket.

But he realized that whatever Frank had been doing, it had embarrassed the man, or he wouldn’t keep evading. Tom should just drop it, but Frank was so fun to tease.

“Is that what they’re calling it nowadays…?” Tom strode back toward the kitchen. “Wanna help set the table?”

Frank hesitated a moment in the entryway and then followed him.

Annie had already set out the stacks of plates and silverware. Tom handed the plates to Frank with a bow, their fingers brushing. The heat of that small touch sent a frisson of excitement down Tom’s spine. He met the golden brown of Frank’s eyes, seeing them wide and shocked as if he’d felt it too.

“I haven’t seen you around the apartments much lately.” Tom grabbed the silverware, and they escaped Annie’s watchful eyes by ducking into the formal dining room.

Frank smiled, but it flattened a little around the edges of his mouth. He moved to the other side of the table, laying down plates as he went. “I was afraid of giving you a worse impression than the first one.”

Tom tilted his head and nodded, placing the flatware at attention beside the plates. “Hey, I understand. I’m willing to put awkward first meetings behind us if you are.” He finished with the last spoon and found himself in front of Frank again. “But I have to say, some of what I saw was too good to forget.”

For a moment, Tom stared straight into the gold of Frank’s eyes. A rising anticipation fizzed in his veins. He was definitely going to get to know Frank better on this trip.

The Wait is the hardest part

So I’ve finally started submitting The Courtesan of Constantinople to Publishers.  I’d spent six months looking for an Agent and didn’t get feedback – positive or negative steering me in a direction that required changes to the manuscript.

I got a lot of letters saying, “I like this and that, but don’t feel I’m right for this project.”  So started to wonder if I missed the boat on Steampunk.   Hard to say.    I did a couple Twitter parties and nothing there either.

While I submitted to Agents 5-10 at a time.  I was doing large batch by January. 🙂   For Publishers, I only do about 3 at a time.   I don’t expect to hear back from any of them until May. Because they are larger houses I may not hear back at all. I think I’ve been spoiled by the almost instant responses of small presses  🙂

In the meantime, I’ll work on Alchemists of Archangel and maybe Ryder Hard if I get blocked, just to keep moving.  Also, I have this book about writing I want to do, so plenty to keep me busy while I hurry up and wait.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I thought I’d share a few of my top Ten favorite Romance Novelists. There is a pattern here.  Most of them write historical and are either on my auto-buy list or I re-read them over and over.   They are however in no particular order.

Johanna Lindsey – I have a few Johanna Lindsey books I read over and over. “Defy Not the Heart”, “say you Love Me” and “Love me Forever”  I had to purchase Nook versions because I’d worn out the covers so bad.

Catherine Coulter – I cut my teeth on Ms. Coulter’s Regencies.  I’m not as much of a fan of her FBI series, because hey I like Historicals.  A few of my favorites are “Sherbrooke Bride” and “Midsummer Magic”.

Hannah Howell – I binged and have purchased the Entire Murray Clan Series, but my truly favorite Hannah Howell book remain’s “Kentucky Bride”.

 

 

 

Cathy Maxwell – Cathy Maxwell makes me cry in the very best way.  She has some stories where such sacrifices are made you can feel it.  Hence the crying.  I don’t have a particular favorite and have read them over and over, all I can say is keep them coming Ms. Maxwell, keep them coming.

 

 

Tessa Dare – The first book I picked up by Tessa Dare was “When a Scot Ties a Knot”. Loved it, and was then forced to play catch up when it was the 3rd book in her “Castles Ever After Series” which lead me back to her “Spinster Cove Series”.  Ms. Dare has the right amount of heat in her stories that make me search out Mr. Holland.  So he’s a fan as well.  🙂

Maddy Barone – Maddy Barone writes a post-apocalyptic werewolf series, “After the Crash” which I  adore.  A few of my Read over and overs are “Wolf Tracker”, “Wolf’s Oath” and “Wolf’s Vengence”.  Thank god I have digital copies of these.

Template to be used to assemble cover art for Liquid Silver Books. It was created in PhotoShop CS6.

 

Kristen Callihan – I remember I was traveling for work and I was looking for something to read in my hotel room and purchased “Firelight” for 99cents.  Then began my binging of her “Darkest London” series.

 

Bec McMaster – I was waiting for the next Kristen Callihan book to come out when  I noticed on my Nook, people who bought “Firelight” bought “Kiss of Steel”, so I did and then proceeded to binge read her “Steampunk London” series.

 

 

 

 

 

Deborah Blake – I love the “People who bought” feature on my Nook.  While waiting for the next Kristen Callihan book or maybe it was the next Bec McMaster Book, I found Deborah Blake’s “Baba Yaga” series.  And subsequently fell in love with her “Broken Riders”

 

 

 

Beverly Jenkins – I picked up Beverly Jenkins up at the Library on Audio Book and listened to “Indigo” on my daily commute.  Now I read her books as they come out. 🙂  It’s funny but I really dug the historical knowledge she put in her books, and found myself telling people, “Did you know the underground railroad did this and this.” Thank you, Ms. Beverly, for reminding me why I fell in love with the Historical Romance Genre.

Happy Valentine’sDay!  I hope you have a wonderful and teriffic day and curl up with a good romance.   I know I will.