thepopculturedivas

Want A Read You Can Sink Your Teeth Into? How about the vamps from my Love Covenant series?

2013-05-18T01:00:00.000-04:00

Vampire romance from the pen of romance author

Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

I never set out to write a vampire romance series, just a stand-alone title inspired by a late night drive and a stop at a rather creepy rest area this side of Memphis. But it began like this…….

When I turned around and saw him, leaning up against the concrete wall, one boot propped against the building, he looked dangerous. His black denim jeans fit his muscular, long legs as if they were poured over them and left to harden. His boots were black too, and studded with little silver spikes that caught the artificial lights of the rest stop to reflect back at me like twinkling stars. As I gaped at him, mouth open like a fish taking the bait, he smiled at me, a slow wicked smile that made my skin grow sensitive as if I had a high fever. That smile made little ripples run along my nerve endings and down my spine.

“Hello, there, darlin’.” His voice came out as dark and sweet as molasses.

I gave him a closer look because my Mama taught me never to talk to strangers. His black hair curled tight against his head, not cropped short but not quite long either and there was a lot of it. Above those tight jeans, he wore a black Western shirt with white pearl snap buttons and over it all, a black leather jacket. Between his hair and clothes, he looked all black and white – his face and hands glowed pale, almost translucent – except for his eyes.

Those eyes shimmered blue, not just a light blue like most people have but a rich, dark shade like sapphires or the clearest, azure autumn sky. He looked at me as if he knew me, as if he could read me like a favorite paperback book, and what he saw, he seemed to like.

I found my voice, or really it found its way up out of my throat and into my mouth before I could think about what to say.

“Good morning to you.”

He flicked ash from the cigarillo that he held in his right hand and raised it to his lips. The end of it glowed red like dawn, bright as fire and he exhaled smoke, his eyes never leaving my face. I didn’t even know his name and yet he attracted me, pulled me toward him as the moon draws the tides to shore. Until he spoke, his appeal was physical but his next words captured my heart without a single shot and conquered it. After that, he could own me if he wanted. He knew it, too.

“Speak again, bright angel, for thou art as glorious to this night as is a winged messenger of heaven unto the white, upturned wondering eyes of mortals that fall back to gaze on him when he sits bestride the lazy-pacing clouds and sails upon the bosom of the air.”

Shakespeare, quoted at a God-forsaken rest area along Interstate 40 somewhere in Arkansas before daybreak, had an immediate effect on my heart. Any man that could quote the Bard without cheating or peeking at a book impressed me and in this unexpected setting, he had me. Romeo’s words, his aside as he watched Juliet dither around up on her balcony, had a heady and intoxicating quality. But I was no Juliet, no thirteen year old virgin pining for love.

I had my big girl pants on so that I could get to Nashville and sing for my supper. I had been before and did nothing but turn around for home, beaten and defeated. This time should be different. I planned it, I saved up money from my nothing job, and I had studio demos. I had contacts in the business and even a room to rent in my best friend Sheena’s grandmother’s duplex. Everything was set for me to make one more run at stardom before I gave up, got married and fat, had three or four kids, and sang karaoke on my nights out on the town.

All my ambitions shifted in that moment and dissolved like a pair of discount store shoes in a flash flood.

I tried to think of something to say, some quote of Juliet’s that might fit, or just something, that would sound sophisticated or at least cool.

What came out of my mouth was, “Who are you?”

He pulled hard at the cigarillo one more time and tossed it. His laughter sounded like church bells ringing or a steel guitar played by someone who knew how to make the thing sing.

“I am either your worst nightmare or your salvation.” That voice purred like a happy cat on a comfortable lap. “My name is Will Brennan and it is a pleasure to meet you.”

That pivotal moment, when would-be singer Cara Riley meets Will Brennan for the first time opens Love Tattoo, now book one of my popular Love Covenant series from Evernight Publishing. The other books, in order, are (so far) Love Scars, Love Knots, and Love Shadows.

Readers fell in love with Will Brennan as fast as Cara did. So did more than a few reviewers. When we were finished with the edits for Love Tattoo, my editor suggested there might be room for a sequel. I considered it and Cara started talking again (the novels are in first person perspective). And she kept on talking.

I still like vampires. In fact, I just signed a contract this week for a brand-new vampire novel with Rebel Ink Press called Comanche Forever. I’ll share the blurb soon – I think readers will enjoy Ned, my new vamp, too.

For now, though, for all you vamp loving fans out there, here are the blurbs and covers for my Love Covenant series beginning with Love Tattoo….

One unexpected late night encounter, one titillating kiss detours Cara Riley from reaching Nashville for a last shot at a singing career and lands her in Memphis. Dark, mysterious truck driver Will Brennan oozes sexuality and Cara finds herself drawn to him. Will quotes Shakespeare and dresses in black. He brings her to a higher level of sensual pleasure than she even imagined could be possible. As their relationship explodes into something real, she learns he has more than a few quirks. He sleeps by day and prowls by night. Their excursions to Beale Street, the Tunica casinos, and downtown Memphis become legendary but her curiosity grows. At his home – a castle – nestled in a wooded area just outside Memphis, she learns just what his sweet love tattoos really mean and must decide if she wants another. Whether or not they find their happy ending is all up to Cara.

From Love Scars

After marrying her sexy undead husband Will Brennan, Cara Riley Brennan thought her happy ending would last forever but she soon learned that the course of true love doesn’t ever run quite that smooth. Just when she thought they were settling into eternal bliss, Sallie Hawkins, the woman who made Will into a vampire in the past, intrudes into their lives. She’s wicked, she’s jealous, and she won’t stop till either Will or Cara is dead. Her psychic presence tortures them both in body and soul but when she arrives outside their home in the flesh things go from bad to worse. Cara and Will realize that confrontation is inevitable. When the three meet for battle, they all may not survive and in the end, who lives and who dies is up to Cara who will do anything to keep her chance at a permanent happily ever after ending intact

Love Knots

After surviving the wrath of a wicked she-vampire bent on revenge, Will and Cara Brennan have a new task – finding Will’s brother that Sallie Hawkins made a vampire centuries ago. Both bear the scars of their battle but they’re glad to be alive and together.

Cara wants to find the only family Will has in this world and so they set out on a search for Seamus that takes them from Memphis to the rough bars of Oklahoma, Las Vegas casinos, to Hollywood Boulevard and to New Orleans. Along the way, their love deepens and the sensual connection they share heightens.

Whether or not they find Seamus isn’t the only issue – they have no way of knowing whether he has gone wicked or if he’s an average vamp like them. The journey defines their love as the story told in the Love Covenant series continues in Love Knots.

Love Shadows

Cara couldn’t be happier now that her sexy vampire husband Will Brennan located his long lost brother Seamus. Her new found brother-in-law even has a theater where she can sing - until a vampire named Henri shows up in the audience. He covets Cara but not for a happy ending. The old vampire, far more powerful than Will or Seamus has a bad reputation among the undead.

Back in Memphis Henri demonstrates he can make them suffer at will. A cat and mouse game begins and takes them back to Missouri, then onto Texas for what they hope will be a happy family holiday.

A last minute grocery store run puts Cara in Henri’s hands and leaves Seamus near dead. When Henri takes Cara deep into the mysterious back waters of Caddo Lake, it’ll take more than just Will Brennan and his brother to save her – if they can.

Buy Links for Love Tattoo (and it’s easier to find the other titles from these too)

Love Tattoo Buy links:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Shadows-Covenant-ebook/dp/B00776T3M6

http://www.evernightpublishing.com/products/Love-Knots-by-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy.html

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/135420

http://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-loveshadows-679526-139.html

http://www.bookstrand.com/love-shadows

MY LINKS

Twitter: leeannwriter

From Sweet to Heat: The Romance of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

https://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Sweet-To-Heat-The-Romance-of-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/287540748010934?ref=hl

Website/blog: http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogpspot.com

Blog: Rebel Writer: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I

Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/4543214.Lee_Ann_Sontheimer_Murphy

TRR/Manic: http://www.goodreads.com/author/list/4543214.Lee_Ann_Sontheimer_Murphy

From Love Knots

“It’s part of the surprise,” he said. “Come, mo ghra.”

We walked away from the highway, leaving the parking area far behind us, and onto the beach. Above us, the February sky sparkled with ten thousand stars, each one radiant and bright. A full-bellied moon rose in the east, promising to bathe us in its rich, silvery light if we remained here long enough. The wind that wafted ashore rippled across the water and ruffled my hair, cooler than Will’s fingers. Anyone else, meaning someone human, would probably have shivered but it felt refreshing to me, clear and clean and good.

My bare toes squished in the damp sand and I liked the feel of it, not icy but still cold. We went right down to the edge of the water where the waves sluiced up onto the beach, gentle for now. I stood, staring at the infinite ocean as it swept out to the farthest horizon, as far west as I could see, spread out north to south as well. The night sky stretched above me, just as endless and vast. I felt so small and yet not insignificant at all but empowered. If I needed a visual to define eternal, to paint a picture of what an everlasting love that I shared with Will, then there could be none better than this moment. I stared; eyes open wide and made a mental image, a brain snapshot to last forever, something to keep and remember always.

I wanted to sweep all of it into my arms, to embrace the ceaseless space, the immeasurable beauty, and the ageless wonder of the sea, the sky by night. I have no idea how long I stood there as the waves washed up around my feet, silent and yet filled with more emotion than I could ever select words to express but Will stood beside me, just as quiet, my hand clasped in his. We were part of this and we remained one. When I turned to him, eyes brimming with joyful tears, heart overflowing with love, he faced me and with his own eyes shimmering with moisture, he spoke words now familiar to me because he used them before.

Now, however, the beautiful poetry resonated with even more meaning for us both,

“And yet I wish but for the thing I have, my bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have for both are infinite.”

The immensity of his love overwhelmed me, the power more enormous than anything, greater than any man made wonder. The scope of it stretched beneath the timeless stars, the wonder of it expanded through whatever heart I possessed, and brimmed over to flood my soul. What I had with Will Brennan, I thought, was worth all I gave up to claim it and whatever I might face at the end of time; I could because of this love.

The truth of that sang in my soul, a greater, stronger song that any I ever attempted to sing before. I wished I knew as much poetry as he did, Shakespeare or otherwise, but instead, the words that came into my mouth came, as usual, from a song. Suzi Quatro and Chris Norman did a song that I loved back in the late 1970’s, vintage but with lyrics I loved so I sang some of them to Will now,

“Our love is alive and so it begins, foolishly laying our hearts on the table, stumbling in, our love is a flame, burning within.”

He opened his arms to me, as broad and open as the vast panorama of water, wind, and sky spread out around us and I walked into them. I came home into his embrace and all the emotion, strong and potent, welled up in me and exploded so that I wept in his arms for a kiss. I sobbed not with sadness but with immeasurable joy, rich feelings too volatile to contain. He wept, too, for I felt the rain of his tears, the tremors of his body against mine. After we spent our emotions, poured them into one another, we sat down on the sand, wrapped together and listened to the wondrous night music of God.

After a long time, secure in our contented silence, he kissed me, soothing and so sweet that I almost wept again. Will brushed the remaining tears from my face with a gentle finger.

“I take it you liked my surprise,” he said, voice soft beneath the pounding thunder of the waves.

“Oh, yeah,” My voice, hoarse from tears, came out in a croak but I didn’t care and knew he would not either. “What’s in the basket?”

“Oh, this and that,” Will told me with such careful nonchalance that I knew the contents would be amazing. “Some wines, some cheeses, and such.”

The such included smoked salmon, gourmet crackers, olives imported from France, chocolate covered cherries, brie, and much more along with two lovely wine glasses. So we sat on the beach as the moon climbed high into the sky, bathing us with amazing silver light, drinking fine vintage wine as we snacked. Every moment tasted as savory as the gourmet finger food and contentment made me purr within like a satisfied cat. I dreamed of some intimate romantic moments when I suggested our getaway but this exceeded any expectation I might have imagined; this felt like perfection.

Moonlight glittered across my rings and I held out my hand, admiring them for their beauty but what mattered most to me was not the diamonds but the meaning. Will can be a romantic man and we shared many sweet moments but this night stood out, a once in a lifetime magic interlude that neither one of us could ever forget. There would be many more beautiful spaces in our existence but this one would remain unique to us both.

Odd Thomas Series

2013-05-17T12:13:00.000-04:00

From the writing desk of Christine Mazurk

I had a hard time with my topic this morning, spent hours mulling over ideas and finally came to the conclusion that I should write about a book I recently finished. Have any of you read the Odd Thomas books by Dean Koontz?

My husband and I have been reading them for years. In fact, I just bought the newest release a few weeks ago; Odd Interlude - a special Odd Thomas adventure - but realized I hadn't read the last one.

Odd Hours, which I think is the fourth book in the series, was sitting on my TBR (to be read) pile, and I decided to revisit Odd. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. He gets into all kinds of dark happenings. He's been drawn into situations by inexplicable paranormal forces, and he's even killed people to thwart huge catastrophes. So what makes us like him? Why do we root for him to save the world?

He's a nice young man, an unassuming fry cook. The books are written in his POV, a journal of his adventures, and we are right there with him as he's chased, beaten up, shot at ... He dreams, has premonitions, even sees dead people - usually stars like Elvis or Frank Sinatra - but through all of it, he stays true to his character. He has a sense of humor, and for the most part, is optimistic about life and the world we live in.

He's suffered devastation - lost his only true love, but he takes off after the things that call to him. He sees things that don't make any sense, but he believes the 'Greater God' has it all planned out. He's got a huge heart, is always polite, and never - well almost never - curses. With each adventure, we learn more about the special gift (or is it a curse) he possesses. Why he's the chosen one for these journeys.

He's simply a likeable guy! And he's determined to help when he can.

The next book on the 'Odd' pile is Odd Apocalypse, but I just learned that Odd Interlude begins exactly where Odd Hours ended, so Apocalypse will have to wait. I want to continue the journey with Odd and his new friend Annamaria. Where else will he go? What other trouble awaits?

I need to find out. The books are calling.
So until next time ... Pick up one of the Odd books and enjoy!
Christine

Thursday Thirteen - 279 - 13 More Author Promo Ideas

2013-05-16T01:21:00.000-04:00

by Julia Phillips Smith

Last month, I posted about promotional ideas for authors: blogging, starting your web site, securing your own domain name, starting up your own Facebook Author Page, a Twitter author account, a Pinterest page, a Goodreads Author Page, holding online Facebook and Twitter parties, taking part in real-life events like Fan Expo and Hal-Con, and the traditional in-store book signing event.

As soon as I hit 'publish' on that post, I pushed aside all of the 'but I didn't include this' and 'I forgot that'. I figured I'd get back to it soon enough, and voila! Here we are.

1 – One of the less obvious methods of creating interest in You as a Brand is to take part in activities in which you know your readers take a passionate interest. While taking part, make sure to document your involvement, most importantly through taking photos. If you're a Twitter user, live tweet during the event with hashtags that connect you to others who also follow the event.

Make sure to add these photos to your web site, blog or newsletter so your readers can see that you love the same things that they do.

For example, if your latest release is a contemporary romance where the main character is a quilter, visit a local quilt sale or quilt exhibition and take lots of photos of yourself near the quilts. Chances are, something about quilting drew you to give that passion to your main character in the first place, and your readers are most likely now also interested in it, or were already attracted to quilting when they picked up your book.

Encourage interactive participation: when posting your photos or when tweeting, ask your readers about their favorite quilting patterns, favorite quilting tips and tricks, or sentimental quilts they've made or owned.

That's a picture of my husband and I unveiling a quilt made for our wedding by my husband's Aunt Carol.

2 – Take part in forum discussions that deal with topics you write about. For example, within Goodreads you can vote on lists that will take in your book's category, for example Best Vampire Novel. You can take part in a discussion on post-Roman Britain if that's the era you're writing about.

3 – Act upon events you might stumble upon as you make your way through social media. I discovered the Authors' Social Media Support Group Like / Follow Extravaganza because my writers' group friend Shawna Romkey joined it and posted about it on her Facebook page.

This event began on April 20th and continues until May 31st. We're all liking / following everyone's Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and Goodreads pages. I'm meeting tons of wonderful fellow writers and getting so many new likes and follows, I was the 10th most-followed person on Goodreads for a week.

4 – Things to remember while wearing your author hat in Social Media Land:

While it may seem counter-productive to leave your book out of posts and tweets, social media is first and foremost social. It's the great ethereal cocktail party. Simply join the conversation, give people a chance to get to know you, and don't forget to get to know other people as you mill around.

By all means, when an event attached to your book comes around, post and share and tweet about it. Until then, simply be yourself and don't drive potential readers away by constantly providing looped info about your books.

5 – If you haven't started up an author newsletter, consider launching one, especially if you're not attracted to blogging. You can coincide newsletter releases with upcoming events to generate reader participation, or you can regularly schedule newsletter editions quarterly to keep in touch with your readers.

6 – Hold contests. You can do this online on your blog, through your newsletter, on your web site, and promote the giveaway through your social media. I'm currently holding a giveaway through Rafflecopter.

Because my Dark Ages vampire novel is also a superhero origin story, I'm giving away e-copies and paperback copies of SAINT SANGUINUS, as well as six limited-edition prints of artist Ted Heeley's illustration of main character Peredur. This contest began on Free Comic Book Day, as my character has superhero aspects that appeal to comic fans as well as vampire fiction readers.

Enter the contest HERE -- it runs until May 31st.

7 - Are you part of a writers' group? Brainstorm activities your group can do together, then promote yourselves with your author hats on.

My writers' group Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada recently held three panels at our local library, where we spoke to the public on different aspects of our publishing experiences, craft of writing and the writer's life. We all brought promotional materials, had a background slide show of our books and physical brochures available.

8 – Take part in events like the Brenda Novak Online Auction which raises funds for diabetes research. My writers' group has donated a fully loaded Kobo mini, stocked with e-books from our published authors.

To check out our item, CLICK HERE.

9 – Book yourself onto an online blog tour.

You can tailor your tour to suit your needs. The one I just did through Black Lion Virtual Book Tours was an interview-and-review tour. For my next tour I'm going to focus exclusively on reviews.

Book tours obviously cost money if you go through a tour company, but for me the opportunity of reaching bloggers and readers outside of my normal social media circle is worth the fee. I consider it part of my ongoing promotional budget.

However, if you want to organize a free online book tour through your own blogger contacts, the only cost to you will be the time and organization, and you need those for the paid tours, as well. I did one of those for my debut release, and the fun part of that was the celebration aspect among friends.

10 – Be prepared to give away copies of your book. These can be physical Advanced Reading Copies, author copies, e-copies or free promotions through Amazon or other online retailers. You're trying to create buzz, and the money you've 'lost' on not selling these copies becomes money you've spent on promotion, the same as you would have spent it on any other form of PR.

If, for example, your limited free Amazon promotion leads to thousands of downloads which then pushes your book onto the Top 10 Free bestseller list, your book will show up in thousands of customer views of 'if you liked this author, you'll also like this author' recommendations.

Many authors who have done this recommend waiting until you have a second book in a series before offering your free promotion. Once your new readers have gobbled up Book 1 for free, they will be overjoyed to pay for Book 2.

11 – Seek out reviews. Ask your readers to post reviews for you on the back page of your indie release, remind readers to post reviews on your social media pages and ask readers in person to post reviews. Many of your non-author friends who were overjoyed to read your book may think that only professional reviewers post reviews, or that they have to come up with an English-essay-style piece of reporting, when all you need is a few lines in the customer review section.

The more reviews, the merrier as far as online algorithms are concerned.

12 – Find an online book podcast and do an interview. I've done two so far, and they've been fun.

13 – Produce a book trailer for your new release. I've done three of them so far, which I wrote and directed (produced by Charlie Mac Productions.)

~~

What are your promo tips?

Photo by Helen Tansey

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How do I write about Africa...if I've never been there?

2013-05-15T03:47:00.001-04:00

by Zee Monodee

Hey beautiful people!

Life's been hectic and it's been a while since I posted here. Apologies - knowing I'm the epitome of the headless chicken does not excuse this lack of posting...so I'm hoping to redeem myself as from now.

And also, please forgive me for blogging about something very close to my heart - the African romance Ubuntu line at Decadent Publishing, that I manage.

Ubuntu stories are tales of modern love, life, and relationships in Africa. There's something of Africa permeating every story in this lineup - whether the location is African, and/or the characters are of African origin and/or evolve in the African context of our age.

The first hurdle I encounter whenever I talk about Ubuntu is that everyone believes only native Africans can write such stories. As in,

How can I write about Africa when I have never been there?

The answer is simple, folks – Research! And in today’s age of Internet and social media, you can be an armchair traveler yet traipse all over the world. I’ll give you some pointers about how to travel to Africa for your research. 

And before anyone asks me if I’m speaking from experience, yes, I am. You see, I am an author, too, and I have set some scenes in a few books in locations I have never physically visited. For example, I have never been to Prague, yet a pivotal scene in one of my books takes place in the heart of this city. How did I achieve this? Exactly the same way you’ll end up writing about Africa despite never having gone there in the flesh.

The first thing to remember is – don’t write something based on how you ‘think’ a place and culture will be. If I tell you Africa, you imagine dry, red dust, endless arid plains with one or two spindly trees dotting the landscape, and in the distance, a feline animal chasing a gazelle or something. Yes, that is a true picture of Africa... but of an African safari. The urban landscape in big towns/cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa, Nairobi in Kenya, Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cairo in Egypt, even Port Louis, the capital city of my island, Mauritius, bear little resemblance, if any, with this kind of sprawling Serengeti-type setting. Just like nothing is ever black or white, Africa, too is painted all in shades of grey.

So how do you go about doing this research? Use the Internet.

Tourism sites – almost every country in the world, and every big city, has its own website nowadays. Go take a look at these pages full of information, and get a feel for the place as it stands in the world of today.

Guidebooks/websites – pick up any big-name guidebook like those of the Lonely Planet kind, and browse this travel information. Often full of vivid pictures, these will give you a very good visual to support the documentation.

Search for pictures – not at all hard to do with search engines like Google Images and sites such as Pinterest. Type in your location, and take a look at what the setting really resembles.

Youtube – take it one step further, and go look for guidebook-style videos on Youtube. The popular ‘In My Pocket’ video series is a trove of information about major cities of the world. Not only do you get to see a location in nearly-360 degrees, you also hear the sounds around.
Another wonderful way to get a true feel for a place is through video blogs or other such personal, opinion-type videos and posts from regular tourists. Their candid observations can be full of brilliant snippets and details.

Google Maps & Google Earth – as simple as grabbing the Google Earth plug-in and then viewing images of any place on the planet from the sky, with the ability to zoom in to the smallest detail, what’s keeping you from seeing any place on earth?
Google Maps allow you to devise an itinerary so easily! I've "walked" in the French city of Arles from the Place de la Republique all the way to the Roman necropolis through Google Maps.

Search engines – what can you not find on the Internet these days? Want to know how a particular town smells like? Type your query in a search engine and you’ll probably find a page pop up with the answer.

Social Media – if all else fails, get on Facebook and Twitter and find people who live in the place you want to write about. Most people love to see their place depicted as close to reality as possible – they’ll be willing to answer your questions and some might even check the finished writing for accuracy.

With all these means at your disposal, why are you not writing about Africa by now, peeps?

And you don’t have to write tedious, heavy, and ‘deep’ stories like literature that depicts Africa. At Decadent Publishing, we want to see light and airy romance. Think category-style stories of love – you can give us that, or go deeper; it’s all up to you, as long as it’s related to Africa.

I’ll give you examples of books we have lined up for release in this line:

Our debut release, Island Bound by Kiru Taye, followed an estranged couple in Nigeria. Will Christmas be a chance to rekindle their marriage?

Dragonfly Moments by Kathy Bosman (coming in June 2013) is a category-style, sweet romance set in the art world of Johannesburg, South Africa. The heroine, Tessa, finds herself in a dilemma – on the point of starting a committed relationship with a man she doesn’t love but who will give her fulfillment of her dream for a family, her first love walks back into her existence. What is she to do now?

The Island Girls trilogy – from me! – follows the hectic lives and love journeys of 3 Mauritian sisters of Indian origin. Book 1, The Other Side, comes out in July, and is a romantic comedy the likes of film director Gurinder Chada’s Indian-based contemporary rom-coms (Bend it like Beckham, Bride & Prejudice). My heroine, Lara, is a recent divorcee who never thought her ‘perfect on paper’ marriage to an Indian-origin man would crumble. Back on the island of Mauritius, she finds a snake pit of conventions and culture that cast her off because of her divorce. To make matters worse, she comes across her first love – the one that got away – a man totally not right for her...because he is of a different race and cultural background. Can second time around work for these former teenage sweethearts?

Light My World, Book2 in that trilogy, is a rom-com following a modern-day, self-made "princess" looking for her Prince Charming in a sea of frogs. Throw in Indian culture and said princess, named Diya, is at her wits' end dealing with overwhelming family. Things cannot get worse...or can they? Because she meets British widower & father of 2, Trent Garrison, and it's hate at first sight between them!

Alissa Baxter brings us The Blog Affair, a funny and engaging chick-lit type story set in Cape Town, South Africa. Based mostly around a blog on ‘serial datism’, the tale follows Emma as she navigates the testy waters of the dating scene in Cape Town.

And our latest acquisition is from Ghana author, Nana Prah. Midwife to Destiny is a true to life, sweeping romance that takes place mainly inside a hospital in Ghana – nurse Ora needs to get over her reservations and past fears to take a chance on Dr. Jason Lartey. Think Grey’s Anatomy, but in Africa! 

One more thing - we get gorgeous, amazing covers for this series! I've peppered them throughout the post so you can have a peek. *wink, wink*

Dreary and dark? I don’t think so! I hope you’ll join us as we roll out these books in the coming months. I also hope you will consider Africa under a new light, and why not, pen me a story to feature in this up and coming lineup!

You can find out more about the Ubuntu line in the post I did on PCD here, and also at the Decadent Publishing website in the submission spec sheet (featuring preferred length and heat ratings for the line) under the Submissions tab at www.decadentpublishing.com .

And of course, if anyone has any question about the line or a potential story, do not hesitate to get in touch – I am only an email away at this address zeemonodee@gmail.com

A touch of lightness & rhythm before I leave - get a glimpse of modern Africa in this video clip from Zambia-origin performer, Kay Figo.

From Mauritius with love,

Zee

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Zee Monodee
Stories about love, life, relationships... in a melting-pot of culture
Zee is an author who grew up on a fence - on one side there was modernity and the global world, on the other there was culture and traditions. Putting up with the culture for half of her life, one day she decided she'd stand tall on her wall and dip toes every now and then into both sides of her non-conventional upbringing.
From this resolution spanned a world of adaptation and learning to live on said wall. The realization also came that many other young women of the world were on their own fence.
This particular position became her favorite when she decided to pursue her lifelong dream of writing - her heroines all sit 'on a fence', whether cultural or societal, in today's world or in times past, and face dilemmas about life and love.
Hailing from the multicultural island of Mauritius, Zee is a degree holder in Communications Science. She is married,mum to a tween son, & stepmum to a teenage lad.
Find more about her books and crazy life at her website/blog www.zeemonodee.blogspot.com
You can also stalk her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, & Pinterest - she's there as Zee Monodee

Cheryl Kaye Tardif delivers another great thriller that will leave you on the edge of your seat!

2013-05-14T10:44:00.000-04:00

This week's REVOLVING BOOK is the suspense thriller SUBMERGED by CHERYL KAYE TARDIF.

Two strangers submerged in guilt, brought together by fate…

After a tragic car accident claims the lives of his wife, Jane, and son, Ryan, Marcus Taylor is immersed in grief. But his family isn't the only thing he has lost. An addiction to painkillers has taken away his career as a paramedic. Working as a 911 operator is now the closest he gets to redemption—until he gets a call from a woman trapped in a car.

Rebecca Kingston yearns for a quiet weekend getaway, so she can think about her impending divorce from her abusive husband. When a mysterious truck runs her off the road, she is pinned behind the steering wheel, unable to help her two children in the back seat. Her only lifeline is a cell phone with a quickly depleting battery and a stranger's calm voice on the other end telling her everything will be all right.

PUBLISHER: Imajin Books - http://www.imajinbooks.com/

WHERE YOU CAN BUY THE BOOK:
Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Submerged-ebook/dp/B00BJ64OHY
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/submerged-cheryl-kaye-tardif/1114677237
Create Space: https://www.createspace.com/4177344

REVIEWS:
*SUBMERGED has a unique tie-in to Tardif`s international bestseller, CHILDREN OF THE FOG.

REVIEWS:
"Submerged reads like an approaching storm, full of darkness, dread and electricity. Prepare for your skin to crawl." --Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of 15 Seconds
"From the first page, you know you are in the hands of a seasoned and expert storyteller who is going to keep you up at night turning the pages. Tardif knows her stuff. There's a reason she sells like wildfire--her words burn up the pages. A wonderful, scary, heart-pumping writer." --M.J. Rose, international bestselling author of Seduction
"Tardif once again delivers a suspenseful supernatural masterpiece." --Scott Nicholson, international bestselling author of The Home
"From the first page, Cheryl Kaye Tardif takes you hostage with Submerged--a compelling tale of anguish and redemption." --Rick Mofina, bestselling author of Into the Dark
"Cheryl Kaye Tardif's latest novel Submerged will leave you as haunted as its characters." --Joshua Corin, bestselling author of Before Cain Strikes
"Submerged will leave you breathless—an edge of your seat, supernatural thrill ride." --Jeff Bennington, bestselling author of Twisted Vengeance.

READ AN EXCERPT:
http://www.cherylktardif.com/children-of-the-fog-excerpt/

AUTHOR BIO:
Cheryl Kaye Tardif is an award-winning, international bestselling suspense author from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Her novels include Children of the Fog, The River, Divine Intervention, and Whale Song, which New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice calls "a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart...a beautiful, haunting novel."

Cheryl also enjoys writing short stories inspired mainly by her author idol Stephen King, and this has resulted in Skeletons in the Closet & Other Creepy Stories (ebook) and Remote Control (novelette ebook).

In 2010 Cheryl detoured into the romance genre with her contemporary romantic suspense debut, Lancelot's Lady, written under the pen name of Cherish D'Angelo.

Known for her expert marketing skills, Cheryl is also the author of the bestselling book marketing ebook, How I Made Over $42,000 In 1 Month Selling My Kindle eBooks.
Booklist raves, "Tardif, already a big hit in Canada…a name to be reckoned with south of the border."

CONNECT WITH CHERYL ONLINE:
Cheryl's website: http://www.cherylktardif.com/
Official blog: http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/cherylktardif
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cheryl-Kaye-Tardif-novels/29769736630
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cherylktardif

UPCOMING CONTESTS:
Check out Cheryl’s blog to see if she has a contest going on; she often gives away free ebooks. http://www.cherylktardif.blogspot.com/

Bella is curvaceous, confident, and complex...writing from male POV.

2013-05-13T02:30:00.000-04:00

by JoAnne Kenrick
Coming Together; With Curves released last week. It's a collection of rubensque stories by some of erotica's best authors. I'm uber honored to count myself among the group of awesome people who came together to create this wonderful book for charity. That's right, folks, not a single penny of profit will come my way from this, or to any of the folks who were in involed. All profits are going to PARKINSON'S UK.

My story, Buxom Bella, Just Squeeze Me....

Charlie’s in love with Bella Buxom. Can't focus on his work, can't go a day without seeing her. He’s never met her, mind, just admired her afar for the last year. When his dream woman steps off the burlesque stage and into his life, is she more woman than he can handle?

It's the first time I've ever written a story purely from the hero's point of view and in present tense. So far removed from my usual work, but darn I enjoyed the heck out of writing it. One could even say I 'became Charlie' during the period I took to rustle up this piece. I know I took a major risk writing from this POV/tense, but after reading the sub call, I just knew this was the only way my story would work.

The sub call went a little something like this:

"Curvy girls and the men (and women) who love them."

Right there - that one little sentence - that's the reason I went this route for Bella Buxom's story. THE MEN WHO LOVE THEM.

And what inspired the story?

Miss Rose McGowan did. I was pondering what on earth i could write about for this anthology while watching another episode of Charmed with my daughter - we were re-watching the box set through from beginning to end and the episode Sense and Sense Ability happened to be up next.

There's this one episode where Paige Matthews, the beautiful red head, gets up on stage and battles her confidence issues and signs a smoking hot rendition of FEVER.

It got me thinking...and thinking...

...and Bella Buxom was born. An overly confident curvy dancer with boyfriend troubles. As we progress through the story, we get to know the real Bella through the eyes of Charlie...or do we? ;)

Available at Smashwords Amazon.com for JUST $2.99, Amazon.co.uk for £1.98.

Curves is also available from as a paperback on amazon for $10!

Urban Renewal: A book about going home moms will love!

2013-05-11T00:30:00.000-04:00

From the pen of romance author Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy…..

This is Mother’s Day weekend and many of us will be heading home for a visit. For those who are going back to where they began or to a place they once called home, Urban Renewal is an ideal read. Mothers who enjoy reading eBooks on a Kindle or any other e-reading device will enjoy the story. Here’s a few snippets of reader reviews from around the ‘Net…

Mar 07, 2013 Jennifer rated it 4 of 5 stars

Who says you can't go home again??

This is the first book I've read by Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy & I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. The characters are down to earth & easy to love. The story line keeps you entertained from the first page til the end. This book will make everyone want to go back home to the past.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17451564-urban-renewal

and one more....

This story is about "going home" and finding yourself again. Learning what is truly important in life. I absolutely loved her description of Marie walking into Ma's house and taking in all the nostalgia. I'm apparently around the same age as Marie, because I remembered all of this from when I was young. It was a fun trip down memory lane. This was a heart warming love story, and I will definitely read more by this author.

http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Renewal-ebook/dp/B00BOK9XVW

Now here’s a little about me and about the tale…

I grew up in an old river town in a blue collar neighborhood. Since both of my parents worked when I was small, I spent a great deal of my time in the company of my grandparents. My Granny always liked to claim she raised me, something my mother still disputes but the reality is – Granny did. Although I no longer live in either the old neighborhood or my hometown of St. Joseph, Missouri, I possess very deep roots there. Someday I may even go back - go home although sages have often said you can’t go home again. I dispute their notion and the idea of going home is at the heart of my new release, Urban Renewal.

Urban Renewal, however, is not my story. It’s the tale of a movie star who finds herself jaded with her life and realizes she’s not only unhappy but that she’s become someone she doesn’t know. Somehow she became the persona behind her stage name – Mercedes Montague – and realizes she’s lost Marie Dillard.

I’m a sucker for second-chance-at-love stories. Maybe that’s because I knew my husband way back in high school and although we didn’t date then, I had a “thing” for him. We met again years later and sparks flew. In this story, Marie’s heart was broken by the love of her life, Joe Shelby. They never reconciled but when they come face to face, they both learn the past is not forgotten and love isn’t dead.

But the real question is whether or not a world famous movie star can return home and pick up a life she abandoned decades ago – and if she can make love work with the only man who ever mattered.

Here’s the blurb:

Movie star Mercedes Montague has it all – the fame, the fortune, and the glittering celebrity lifestyle. But she lost herself somewhere along the way. On a publicity tour for her next movie she realizes she’s just fifty miles from her hometown. Mercedes – real name Marie Dillard – decides to bolt and go home to see if she can find what’s left of herself. Hiding away in her grandparents’ old home in a working class neighborhood she’s haunted by memories and reminders of her first and only love, Joe Shelby.

Marie’s stunned when Joe shows up at her door. Passion kindles between them from the first moment their eyes meet but she won’t let it consume her unless it’s going to include a lasting love. As they renew their relationship, Marie and Joe face many struggles.

Can a movie star return to reality or is love just a distant dream?

Here’s an excerpt – the moment of “truth” when her first love confronts her at her grandparent’s former home:

“It was you,” Joe said, face drained of color, lips so pale they weren’t the slightest bit pink. “God, I thought I’d gone crazy.”

His voice sounded the same, a little gruffer maybe, but the roughness might be from emotion. Hearing it brought a rush of feeling and a powerful need to put her head against his shoulder. Two feet separated them, the shortest distance in more than twenty-five years and Marie burned as the old flame between them ignited. Heat rippled between them like summer lightning, faint but full of potential. Their eyes met and held. Marie stared into his baby blues until she thought she might drown. Her numb lips refused to respond but she swallowed hard and after minutes passed, she managed to nod. “No, it’s me.”

“So you saw me last night at Green Hills?”

“Yes,” she said, dragging the word up out of the sawdust filling her throat.

“You couldn’t bother to say hi?” Joe asked, the question a challenge. His eyes darkened from blue to indigo and she glimpsed decades of stored pain, hurt she inflicted.

“I wanted to talk to you but I ran away because I didn’t know what to say,” Marie told him. “I didn’t know if you’d want to see me. I didn’t come back to interrupt your life. I didn’t even know you were here, in town or in the old neighborhood.”

Joe glared at her and snorted. “What in hell are you back for?”

Five minutes, not more than two decades, might have passed since they last spoke. Anguish revived their last argument but he went for the offensive attack, abrasive and intrusive. Marie, who learned to field the questions of the pushiest paparazzi with skill, known for her ability to ice the biggest boors in the business, caved and answered, “It’s a long story, Joe, but I’ll tell you if you want.”

“Give me the short version.”

“I wanted to be me again,” Marie said, cutting through all the complicated layers to offer the truth. “I realized I don’t like Mercedes.”

“Neither do I,” Joe replied. “I never did.”

His short staccato words wounded her so much Marie took a step back. Feeling very self-conscious about her unkempt appearance, she grasped the handle of the screen door and prepared to shut it. “Then I don’t know why you came over,” she said in a voice as brittle as antique glass. “It was nice to see you again, Joe. Good-bye.”

As the door swung toward her, he stopped it with one hand. “God damn it,” he said, “Don’t be so prickly. It’s Mercedes I have a problem with, not you.”

Hurt yielded to a burst of anger. “Oh, yeah?” Marie asked, pure St. Joe, not Hollywood. “Prove it.”

Joe pushed the door open wide and walked through it. He wasn’t smiling when he took Marie into his arms and kissed her before she could protest. Her hands balled into fists and she meant to hit him but his embrace defused her ire. She relaxed into the strong circle of his arms and when his mouth touched hers, the single flame lit when she recognized him on her front porch exploded into a conflagration. He wasn’t gentle as his mouth devoured hers with hunger, with stored passion and maybe a taste of revenge. Heat rocketed through every nerve ending in her body and sweet little thrills erupted along her spine. As his mouth bruised her lips with force and need, Marie’s body softened as it hearkened to the hardness she felt through the crotch of his jeans. Her nipples ripened with desire and Joe’s kiss erased decades of stage kisses, social busses and meaningless smooches.

As Mercedes Montague she’d locked lips with most of Hollywood’s leading actors, the stars who incited lust in every woman across America from pre-teens to great-grandmas. More than a handful found their way into her bed and onto her expensive silk sheets for intimate encounters yielding physical release but nothing more. Sex turned into a celebrity rodeo as each man tried to prove his talents, to top the others and although maybe Mercedes liked it, Marie loathed it. She hated the lack of any real emotion, any passion beyond the need for another body in the lonely night and the few times she felt a spark with someone it always faded fast with morning light.

Joe brought back expectations long forgotten and evoked desire with such depth Marie sank into it as it sucked her down like quicksand. She should have fought it but couldn’t and didn’t even want to struggle against it. Her fingers clawed against his plaid flannel shirt as he tightened his grasp on her, his tongue darting into her mouth like an exploring snake. New waves of pleasure brought intense delight and Marie leaned against him so her weak knees wouldn’t dump her onto the floor.

His mouth stirred the ashes of their past and restored dozens of memories, brought back the memory of other kisses just as sweet. Whatever emotions they once claimed, all the old bonds connecting them renewed as power roared to life between them. Marie never knew how long it lasted and she never thought of anything but Joe within the same span. Her world shrunk to this, to his mouth and hers, connected. Driving in St. Joe yesterday she thought she’d come home but she hadn’t, not until now.

Urban Renewal is now available at Amazon, All Romance Ebooks, Bookstrand and Champagne Books…also at Barnes and Noble and Coffee Time Romance

http://www.amazon.com/Urban-Renewal-ebook/dp/B00BOK9XVW

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-urbanrenewal-1094889-148.html

http://champagnebooks.com/shop/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=643

http://www.bookstrand.com/urban-renewal

You can also find me at:

Twitter: leeannwriter

From Sweet to Heat: The Romance of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphyhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Sweet-To-Heat-The-Romance-of-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/287540748010934?ref=hl

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/leeann.sontheimermurphy

Website/blog: http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogpspot.com

Blog: Rebel Writer: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com

Author In The House blog:

http://authorinthehouse.blogspot.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I

Why Greek Yogurt is So Romantic...

2013-05-09T05:00:00.000-04:00

by Kellyann Zuzulo

...because it's creamy of course. I'm a long-time yogurt eater and when Greek yogurt sauntered onto the scene, I turned up my nose. The slippery sweetness of regular ol' yogurt was good enough for me. I knew what Greek yogurt was, in all of its

affected smooth thickness. I had made "Greek" yogurt every time I placed regular yogurt in a sieve over a bowl. I would do that for a Williams-Sonoma recipe I have for Leg of Lamb with yogurt sauce.

My personal favorite.

That's all Greek yogurt is...strained regular yogurt. I could do that. But I don't. So I says to myself, "Self, why don't we just tip our tongue in this Greek yogurt phenomena." Besides, Acme was having a sale on Oikos Greek yogurt for a dollar a dollop. Well, after the first luxuriant lick from a stainless steel spoon, there was no turning back. Yes, dammit, Greek yogurt tastes better than regular yogurt. Who wouldn't want increased creaminess?

It's about more than the yogurt.

Thusly does my Greek yogurt analogy bring me to a simple dictum that applies to writing as well as to yogurt eating. Creamier is better. That is, richer dialogue; more smoothly portrayed characters; sweet at the bottom of the cup so that you have to dig for it. If you want a more delectable story, you have to take the time to get there.Greek yogurt requires more time. Like a burgeoning romance, the best way to draw in the object of your desire is to take your time. Rush things and you'll curdle the interest. And that's never good for romance or for yogurt.

He wants his spoon back so he can eat some Greek yogurt.

In romance novels, a well-planned scene ties your characters to what they say and why they believe it. A well-planned scene takes time and thought. You have to place the scene over a sieve and drain out the excess. That is, unnecessary adverbs, redundant explanations for a character's behavior (trust your reader; I've noticed that a lot of books lately spend a lot of time on their characters' inner lives. Sometimes, less really is more.) And if romance is your genre, throw in some hot guys. Even yogurt eaters like to see a hot guy now and again.

What's your favorite yogurt?

Best Wishes,
Kellyann ZuzuloGenie Writer
What Would You Wish For?
Pick up a copy of 101 Nights and eat some yogurt while you read it. You can get both for less than $4.

Jane Austen would approve!

2013-05-07T09:55:00.000-04:00

This week's Revolving Book is the contemporary romance THE PROMISE OF CHANGE by REBECCA HEFLIN.

PRICED RIGHT at $3.00 on amazon kindle
http://www.amazon.com/The-Promise-of-Change-ebook/dp/B006QR2HL6

GENRE: women's fiction/romance
PUBLISHER: Soul Mate Publishing:
http://www.soulmatepublishing.com/the-promise-of-change/

SYNOPSIS:
Sarah Edwards loves stability, but now finds life has other plans for her. Divorced, bored, and twitchy, she’s convinced her impulsive, sometimes irrational decisions are the sign of a mid-life crisis, and the contradictory actions and emotions are giving her family and friends mental whiplash. Her abrupt resignation from her job is the final straw. But a two-week trip to England seems the perfect pick-me-up for this Anglophile and Austenite.
Enter Alex Fraser, a.k.a. the Earl of Rutherford, who although a member of the lucky sperm club, prefers to be known for what he’s accomplished, rather than a fate of birth. Despite his family’s disapproval, he is determined to work in his chosen profession of acting. He’s always preferred casual flings with beautiful women who have no illusions of marriage. That is until he literally bumps into Sarah in an Oxford pub.

Despite an idyllic week together, Sarah gets cold feet and returns to the States determined to come back down to reality. A year later, the realization of Sarah’s life-long dream unexpectedly brings Alex back into her life, in what she believes is an ironic twist of fate. Will Sarah’s decisions leave her life in shambles, or will they lead to the promise of change?

"The novel is riveted with allusions to Austen and readers will see a plot unfold that is not unlike a storyline from Austen; some pride, a little deception and plenty of romance fill these pages, making the novel a fun read." --Rachel Sale, INsite Magazine
http://www.insitegainesville.com/blog/2012/04/the-promise-of-change-book-review/

"Author Rebecca Heflin gives the reader much pause for thought as betrayals come full circle, misunderstandings come to light, promises are broken and others are made proving that The Promise of Change is the promise of excitement, great things to come and what’s more a great novel that promises to keep the reader riveted to the printed page until the final scene is played or in this case written." -- Fran Lewis
http://thebookmarketingnetwork.com/profiles/blogs/the-power-of-change

READ AN EXCERPT: http://www.rebeccaheflin.com/wordpress/excerpt-from-the-promise-of-change/

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER: http://youtu.be/vHNsLniINUM

AUTHOR BIO:
Rebecca Heflin has dreamed of writing romantic fiction since she was fifteen and her older sister snuck a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss's Shanna to her and told her to read it. Rebecca writes women's fiction and contemporary romance. When not passionately pursuing her dream, Rebecca is busy with her day-job as a practicing attorney. She and her mountain-climbing husband live at sea level in sunny Florida.

CONNECT WITH REBECCA ONLINE:
www.Facebook.com/RebeccaHeflinBooks
https://twitter.com/RebeccaHeflin
http://pinterest.com/rheflinbooks/

WEB SITE: www.rebeccaheflin.com

Watson vs. Watson - or Martin Freeman vs. Jude Law

2013-05-06T04:00:00.000-04:00

So, part one of this, Sherlock vs. Sherlock got many hits and a few comments, so let's see if this one does, too ;)

Watson vs. Watston - as in Sherlock, the BBC drama series and the films Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows. I must point out that I haven't seen the US show Elementary - and I think that would complicate this post further, so I'm going to stick with two for now.

(No pics this time, I'm afraid, as there were no Creative Commons Licensed ones on Flickr!)

Martin Freeman as Watson

Is great at being the constantly insulted, affronted sidekick
Tolerates Sherlock well, and often gives back as much as he gets
Pulls off the humorous parts of the show excellently
Is actually much brighter than Sherlock makes out he is
You can genuinely see him as an ex-army doctor
Is actually rather sweet - see the way he sticks up for Mrs. Hudson
Definitely has a soft spot for Sherlock (though not in a romantic way), which was shown to perfection during the final episode of season two (I'm not saying any more in case you haven't seen it)

Jude Law as Watson

Doesn't have much of a backbone when it comes to Sherlock ordering him around
Can pull off the humour and comic timing
Is really good in the fight scenes
Pulls off the damaged ex-army doctor persona well
Has a very funny dog
Bounces off RDJ well when they're annoyed with each other
Looks fab in the Victorian garb

Verdict: It's gotta be Martin Freeman for me. There's just something more memorable about his portrayal of Watson. He's stronger, somehow, and more fun. He also plays the various emotions really well; annoyance, confusion, anger, grief... though having said that, both Freeman and Law work well with their respective co-stars in these two different versions of Sherlock tales.

So, whaddya fink? Who do you like the best?

*****

Lucy Felthouse is a very busy woman! She writes erotica and erotic romance in a variety of subgenres and pairings, and has over seventy publications to her name, with many more in the pipeline. These include Best Bondage Erotica 2012 and 2013, and Best Women's Erotica 2013. Another string to her bow is editing, and she has edited and co-edited a number of anthologies. She owns Erotica For All, and is book editor for Cliterati. Find out more at http://www.lucyfelthouse.co.uk. Join her on Facebook and Twitter, and subscribe to her newsletter at: http://eepurl.com/gMQb9

Snow In May Plus What's Coming Soon!

2013-05-03T23:30:00.000-04:00

From the desk of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

The weather’s been crazy in Missouri – one day we had beautiful spring temperatures in the 80’s with sunshine and everything blooming but the next the mercury plummeted and we had sleet, snow and frigid weather. It’s still going to be much colder than usual for a few days and I plan to spend at least part of my weekend curled up with a good read. In the meantime, I’m getting rave reader reviews on both The Sin Eater’s Redemption and Urban Renewal. Plus, my sweet short, The Widow’s End gained a little extra attention with famous paranormal researcher John Zaffis visited the Pythian Castle in Springfield, MO on his SyFy channel show, The Haunted Collector. My story is set at the Pythian, once a combination retirement home and orphanage for members of the fraternal organization, the Knights of Pythias!! Now that’s the kind of publicity I like!

This week, I thought I’d share some of what I have upcoming….Pink Neon will be out from Rebel Ink Press on July 3 and Hear The Wind Blow, Love (another of my historical romances) will be out September 3. Check out these gorgeous covers – especially the one for Hear The Wind Blow, Love. Rebel’s own cover artist guru brought Harry Whitney to life!

Pink Neon unedited blurb:

When Cecily Brown roared into the vacation hotspot of Branson, Missouri, she had nothing on her mind but distancing herself from her life in Chicago after a divorce. She planned to make her long standing dreams of owning a boutique called ‘Pink Neon’ come true and forget the decade she spent trapped in a hellish marriage to millionaire jeweler Willard Bradford VI. Once she arrives, though, she finds she’s a minority among the tourists with her corn rowed braids and African-American heritage but Cecily is determined to stay.

Her cousin calls to tell her the news – her ex-husband managed to get murdered on the steps of his mansion but Cecily doesn’t care. Her old life is history and she’s eager to move forward with the grand opening of her boutique. Her first customer at Pink Neon is a man, dark and mysterious. She pegs him for a criminal or a cop but their attraction is intense. So is their first date which ends in intimacy and soon, she’s all but inseparable from Daniel Padilla. He carries his own old baggage too.

Life’s good until Padilla admits he’s an FBI agent sent to check Cecily out. She reacts with anger but as she learns she’s become the FBI’s favorite suspect, she has to trust Daniel if she can trust anyone at all. As the investigation heats up, she ends up heading south with him to Texas, as she and her FBI lover try to discover who the real killer might be. But danger lurks and it’s going to get rough before they straighten things out….if they can.

Hear The Wind Blow, Love unedited blurb

When the Armistace ends the Great War in November 1918, the end comes too late to save Maude Whitney’s husband, Jamie. But Maude realizes her heart still belongs to Harry, her brother-in-law who courted her first. He’s been her rock in Jamie’s absence while they shared quarters with the grandparents who raised the brothers. But Granpa died and Granny moved to town so when Maude invites him to move back under the same roof, it’s sure to be a scandal in the rural Ozarks.

Before gossiping tongues can spread the news, the Spanish influenza wreaks havoc in the area. It brings death close to home for Maude and Harry. As they fall deeper in love and plan to wed, their troubles are just beginning. Old feuds erupt and the day after Christmas, Harry’s hauled into custody and accused of a murder he didn’t commit. Harry must prove his innocence and survive a serious bout of flu or there’s no happy ending for the star-crossed couple.

Dancing with Determination

2013-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

From the writing desk of Christine Mazurk

I've written about the Boston Marathon bombings and the heartache felt for all the victims and their families. I've written about Dancing with the Stars and picked my favorites: Kellie Pickler and Derek Hough for the win, with Zendaya Coleman and Val Chmerkovskiy in second. (We'll see if my prediction plays out in the coming weeks.)

Today, I'm going to put the two subjects together, and bring up a few questions I want you to ponder and respond to in the comment section.

Tuesday night, DWTS honored Adrianne Haslet-Davis, a dance instructor who lost a portion of her left leg in the bombings, and they're passionate about helping her through her recovery. Adrianne not only has to deal with the physical aspect of her recovery to be able to dance again, but the emotional toll as well. Just imagine. Put yourself in her place. She was enjoying the day with her husband when the blasts occurred, throwing both of them to the ground. Covered in blood and a bit in shock, she said her foot felt strange and looked down to find a bloody, mangled, left foot. I think I would have passed out, but she went into survival mode.

Her husband, who was covered in shrapnel, used his belt to create a tourniquet, and they crawled toward the Forum. She screamed, "Please someone, help me. I'm a dancer, please save my foot." But it wasn't until she woke from surgery that her mother informed her they couldn't save it, a portion of her left leg and her foot were gone. What would you feel? Anger? Despair? That your life as you knew it was over?

I can imagine a gazillion feelings shooting through her, but afterward, she squared her shoulders and said, "I will not allow someone to steal my life!" And vowed not only to dance again, but to train and run the Boston Marathon next year. This is one determined Gal, and I, for one, believe she will accomplish her vow. (I'm sending healing and positive vibes your way, Adrianne. You can do it!)

Adrianne, unlike Amy Palmiero-Winters and Tom White - both lifetime runners - had no choice in her situation. She was an innocent bystander, who lost her limb because two 'terrorists' thought ... well, I don't know what they thought.

Amy's left foot was crushed in a motorcycle crash when she was 21. She tried everything to keep her leg intact for running, enduring skin and artery grafts with nearly 30 surgeries over 3 years. Her ankle began to fuse and her foot was barely functional. She OPTED for an amputation, and has since run countless marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons, and the Ultraman, which is an Ultra Ironman (to put that in perspective, that entails a 6.2 mile swim, 261 mile bike, and a 52.3 mile run!). Her personal best in a marathon (3 hours, 4 minutes, 16 seconds) was set after the amputation, and she promptly set a goal of 2:47, the time needed to qualify for the Olympic Trials.

She quit her job as a welder and joined the staff at A Step Ahead Prosthetics, a company who specializes in limbs for active amputees. She was once quoted in Runner's World, "Yes, bad things can happen, but what counts is how you deal with it. The loss of my leg will never change, but feeling bad won't change anything either. I've been given a gift, and I feel it's important to get out there and show the world what can be done."

An inspiration? I say 'YES' - a million times over!!!

Tom White, a 47-year-old doctor, had a degenerative condition - the result of a motorcycle accident in his 20's - that made it more and more painful for him to run over the years. Running was an integral part of his life and always had been. Not being able to run was more than a disappointment, it was maddening.

In October of 2007, after meeting Sarah Reinertsen - the first female amputee to finish the Ironman Championship in Kona in 2005 - he DECIDED to have his bad leg amputated, so he could run with a prosthetic leg. In his mind, his choice wasn't about life or death, but about life or better life. For him, amputation wasn't a loss, but a life regained.

he had surgery in November. The morning after, he woke up feeling exuberate - was it the drugs or the need to run? Family and friends were there to support him all the way. And soon, he was receiving phone calls from old running buddies, who'd heard about his surgery. He told one caller that he dropped five pounds in surgery, was back to his college weight, and couldn't wait to kick the guy's butt soon. (Quote from Runner's World.) His outlook was positive.

For months afterward, he struggled with the rollercoaster ride of emotion, including frustration that he couldn't run yet. Physical therapy and learning the ins and outs of having an artificial limb made it challenging, but he endured and by late Spring was running short distances. In mid-June, he signed up and ran his first 10-K with his new leg, and felt his third running life was starting.

How far would you go to preserve a passion? Would you cut off a limb? Or would you willingly give up that passion and find a different path in your life? Gets you thinking, doesn't it? And if you didn't have a choice, like Adrianne, what would you do? Would you pick yourself up and with passion, figure out a way to continue with your dream? Or would you give up?

Take a few minutes, think it over, and please share your thoughts below. What would you do?

Until next time - Christine

Thursday Thirteen - 277 - 13 of My Favorite TV Shows

2013-05-01T23:31:00.002-04:00

by Julia Phillips Smith

For longer than I can remember, TV has been devoid of much that has interested me. When you see which shows are my favorites, you'll understand why.

Now, however, there seems to be no end to shows that quite obviously had me and all the other me's out there in mind. Here's a look at some of my favorite TV series, some current, some which wrapped production years ago, but DVDs keep them handy when I need my fix.

1 – Vikings

2 – Supernatural

3 – Spartacus

4 – Game of Thrones

5 – True Blood

6 – BBC's Robin Hood

7 – The Prisoner

8 – Herc and Xena

9 – Spooks / MI-5

10 – Once Upon a Time

11 – Legend of the Seeker

12 – Cadfael

13 - Downton Abbey

~~

What are your favorite TV shows?

Photo by Helen Tansey

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This week's Revolving Book is . . .

2013-04-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

This week's REVOLVING BOOK is the historical western romance UNDER A TEXAS STAR by ALISON BRUCE.

PUBLISHER: Imajin Books http://www.imajinbooks.com/under-a-texas-star/

WHERE YOU CAN BUY UNDER A TEXAS STAR ONLINE:
AMAZON KINDLE US: http://www.amazon.com/Under-a-Texas-Star-ebook/dp/B00501H6YM

AMAZON KINDLE CANADA: http://www.amazon.ca/Under-Texas-Star-Alison-Bruce/dp/1926997115

AMAZON KINDLE UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-a-Texas-Star-ebook/dp/B00501H6YM

SYNOPSIS/BLURB:

Disguised as a boy, Marly joins a handsome Texas Ranger in the hunt for a con man and they must bring the fugitive to justice before giving up the masquerade and giving in to their passion.

When Marly Landers is fooled by con man Charlie Meese, she's determined to bring him to justice--even if it means dressing up as a boy and setting off across the plains to find him.

Texas Ranger Jase Strachan is also after Meese, for crimes committed in Texas. He joins forces with the young boy in a journey that takes them to Fortuna, where a murder interrupts their mission. Jase is duty bound to find the killer, no matter the cost.

Marly carries out her own investigation and comes to the aid of Amabelle Egan, the sister of one of the suspects. But appearances are deceiving, and Marly is mistaken for Amabelle’s suitor, making her a target for the killer. Not to mention, Charlie Meese is still out there.

Under the Texas stars, Marly and Jase are drawn together by circumstances beyond their control, yet fate plots to tear them apart. Will Marly finally get her man?

READ AN EXCERPT:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Under-a-Texas-Star-ebook/dp/B00501H6YM#reader_B00501H6YM

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cI6QJDltT8o&feature=youtu.be

REVIEWS:

A rollicking adventure of romance and True Grit... This is an historical Western romance in a style that reminds me of Hemingway. Although the descriptions are colorful and accurate, there are no wasted words here as the characters are developed through dialogue and action. The old West comes to life! Highly recommended. Goodreads

Good old-fashioned historic western romance with a kick!
Alison Bruce does an excellent job on setting the scenes and customs of the old west. History, characterizations, and the long ride of the heroes of the story are convincing for the time. There is lots of action and gun-play as they work together on a case in Fortuna. ... If you're looking for a dish of the old west with a dash of romance and humor minus the raunch dressing, this book is for you. Goodreads

"Alison Bruce captures the Old West in a delightful, if improbable, mix of romance, cultures and characters with UNDER A TEXAS STAR" Goodreads - Areletta Dawdy (4 stars)

"I cannot describe to yall how much I loved this book." Heather (5 stars)

"An endearing story of betrayal and love . . . " Amazon UK T. Tibbenham

AUTHOR BIO:

Copywriter and editor since 1992, Alison Bruce has also been a comic book store manager, small press publisher and web designer. She currently manages publications for Crime Writers Canada and is the author of UNDER A TEXAS STAR and DEADLY LEGACY.

Alison writes genre fiction. Her protagonists are marked by their strength of character, the ability to adapt (sooner or later) to new situations and to learn from adversity.

CONNECT WITH ALISON ONLINE:

https://www.facebook.com/alisonbruce.books
https://twitter.com/alisonebruce

WEB SITE: http://www.alisonbruce.ca/

BLOG: http://alisonebruce.blogspot.ca/

Free First Chapter - The Sin Eater's Redemption!

2013-04-27T00:30:00.000-04:00

From the desk of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

My latest contemporary romance, with some paranormal flavor, is garnering some attention out in the world. I explained a little of the inspiration and history behind The Sin Eater’s Redemption last week so I thought I’d offer up the first chapter. Readers can get a taste and hopefully want more!

Blurb:

Death brings singer Tessa Owens home from Nashville to her native Ozarks. But she’s not planning to stay. Tessa turned her back on the old ways of life for the modern world long ago. She didn’t expect to meet her first love, Lucas Rowlands, at the visitation. Seven years wasn’t long enough to forget him and sparks ignite when they meet again. Even worse, Tessa learns Lucas isn’t the simple country farmer she left behind but the sin eater, an ancient position handed down to him from his grandfather. As she struggles to understand Lucas’ life and role as a sin eater Tessa admits she loves him and there’s no doubt what he feels for her. The devil wants Lucas’ sin-heavy soul and if they don’t come up with something, Lucas is hell bound on an express ticket. If there’s any chance at a future, it’s up to Tessa.

Chapter One

If she’d ever seen a ghost, it had been at Tootsie’s, the famous Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge down on Broadway in the heart of Nashville. Tessa Owens slouched in a chair and sipped her drink beneath pictures of some of the country music legends that once hung out in the bar. Last time, she drank too much and swore she saw Patsy Cline. Her friends howled with laughter at the idea since everyone knew Patsy was Tessa’s idol and no one else believed she might’ve seen a ghost.

“Girl, you’ve got to get over your hillbilly bullshit,” Jed, her guitar player and best friend, told her. “Nobody believes in ghosts but those idiots hunting them on TV.”

Tessa did, though, and so had her Granny. Her late grandmother claimed to have seen images of their deceased kinfolk more than once. But Tessa learned when to keep her mouth closed and not let her Ozarks raising show. She said nothing else about Patsy’s ghost or what she thought it might mean for her own singing career. As if he read her thoughts, Jed asked, “Did you ever hear anything about performing here?”

“Nope,” Tessa said as she shook her head. “I sent the email with all the info and an MP3 file but no one’s responded yet.”

“They will,” Carin, one of her small circle of pals, said. “You’re too damn good for them not to give you a shot.”

“Yeah, Tess, you’ve got star quality,” Jeb added.

One review, a tiny mention buried in the entertainment pages of The Tennessean, said she did but it’d been more than a year ago. Tessa spent days working as a desk clerk at one of the hotels downtown and nights singing whatever gig she could find. Over the seven years she’d been in Nashville, Tessa sang anywhere possible. She’d done brief gigs at a number of small bars, sang at mall events, company picnics, a couple of adult birthday parties and in the park. Her one CD single, a reprise of an old Johnny Horton tune, one of his lesser known numbers, “Take Me Like I Am,” earned some airplay but not enough to boost Tessa onto the national charts.

Twice she performed as a Patsy Cline impersonator, decked out in a dark wig and vintage dress. Some people swore Tessa owned some of Patsy’s power and smoky, sultry quality. When Tessa trotted out some of Patsy’s biggest hits like ‘Crazy’ and ‘Sweet Dreams’, audiences erupted in applause.

“Maybe,” Tessa said. “If not, I can always head home, get a job at the chicken plant and buy me a double wide trailer.”

Her friends burst into laughter but she wasn’t really joking. None of them understood where she came from. Jed hailed from Memphis so he grew up on barbecue, blues, and Elvis. Carin came from down Shreveport way, more crawfish than cornbread. Staci and Nathan both were Nashville natives, born and bred with country music in their blood. Valerie came from Connecticut, from the world of commuter trains and the kind of snobbery some called class.

Tessa called the Ozark Mountains home, hailing from the southwest corner of Missouri, just a notch north of Arkansas. A slight twang flavored her voice, an accent different than those from Kentucky or Tennessee, so her buddies ribbed her about being a hillbilly. She never told them but in her heart, Tessa was redneck to the bone. Sometimes she dreamed of recording her own songs, poignant lyrics about home she scribbled on the back of napkins. Her melodies echoed the rugged, rocky hills and captured the sound of the wind through the trees. So far Tessa lacked enough confidence to sing her music because she was afraid no one would understand or appreciate it.

“Let’s have another round,” Nathan hollered but Tessa shook her head.

“No thanks,” she said and held up her half-full glass to show she didn’t need another.

“Aw, c’mon, just one more,” Jed teased. “Tomorrow’s Saturday, you can sleep late.”

If she didn’t, they’d all fuss so Tessa changed her mind. “Okay, order me another Bacardi and Coke. I need to go to the ladies’, though so let me out.”

Carin and Valerie shifted so she could slip out from beside the wall. Tessa navigated her way through the noisy crowds to the restroom and waited until she could enter a stall. On her way back, she paused to let several people pass and as she waited, she stared across the room. A man caught her eye and she stared, intrigued by a sense of familiarity. He wore bib overalls over a plain blue chambray shirt and was old. Except for a fringe of graying hair around the edges, he was bald and he stared at her but he didn’t smile. Cold shot through her body and she shivered. Tessa would know his somber face anywhere but he didn’t belong here.

“Uncle Calvin,” she whispered but no one heard about the raucous din. Her uncle, a man she’d never liked and considered to be meaner than a cornered rattlesnake, offered a nod in acknowledgement. Then he melted away, his form shifting from solid three dimensional to a faint shadow then into nothing at all.

First Patsy Cline, now her least favorite uncle. Tessa shook her head, distressed by the experience. There wasn’t any doubt Patsy was dead but last she’d heard, Calvin Bates remained on the top side of the grass. Memory flickered and she stopped in the middle of Tootsie’s. For a moment, Tessa saw her grandmother as she rocked on the front porch and told ghost stories.

“I knowed he was dead soon as I laid eyes on him,” Granny told her. “There I was at the county fair in July and I seen my boy clear as morning. He wore his combat fatigues but there was blood around his chest and I knew he must’ve got killed over there in Vietnam.”

Her eldest uncle, Stan, died at An Khe back in 1968, the same day if you allowed for the time difference, when Granny saw him at the fair. Everyone said Tessa inherited Granny’s gift. Uncle Calvin must be dead. There wasn’t any other explanation for seeing his ghost and Tessa wrapped her arms around her torso, freezing cold with dismay. Back at the table, she picked up her drink and downed it with one gulp. “I’ve got to go,” she muttered to her friends.

“What’s wrong?” Jed asked but she didn’t answer as she headed toward the entrance.

He caught up with her and grabbed her arm. “Tessa, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know,” she said as she faced him. “I think my uncle must’ve died. I need to call home and find out.”

Jed’s lips smirked as if he might laugh but he didn’t. Instead, he paled as understanding dawned. “You think your uncle died? Why? Wait. Don’t tell me. You saw his ghost.”

“That’s pretty much it,” Tessa said. “Go on back to the table. I’ll call you later.”

He stared at her, shaken by her claim then shrugged his shoulders. “Okay, if you want me to go, I’ll go. Keep in touch, babe.”

Tessa nodded and pushed through the crowd toward the door.

Outside, the wind, cool for late May, enveloped her with a rush and she sighed. Tessa pulled her cell phone from her pocket but before she began to dial, it rang. The familiar strains of the ‘Green Acres’ theme song blasted into the night as Tessa took the call.

“Teresa Lou,” her mother’s voice said across the miles from Missouri. If she hadn’t already seen Uncle Calvin, Tessa would’ve known something serious happened because her parents only used her full name in times of tragedy or major trauma. “I’ve got something to tell you.”

“Who died?”

“It’s Uncle Calvin, honey,” her mom said. “He passed away just a little while ago. You need to come home for the funeral.”

“Mom,” Tessa protested.

Her mother wielded the one thing certain to cut her objections down. “Aunt Vernie wants you to come, baby. You know you’re her favorite. She’s set the funeral for Monday afternoon but we’re doing the visitation and all at the house on Sunday.”

She wanted to refuse but Tessa didn’t. When she was a little girl, Aunt Verna kept home baked cookies in the cookie jar just for her and she always bought little trinkets in town for her favorite niece. As a teen, whenever she needed an ear or shoulder, her aunt provided one. Without any kids of her own, Vernie doted on Tessa and her brothers, but Tessa most of all. Her rambling old farmhouse felt as comfortable as worn out blue jeans, just as long as Uncle Cal wasn’t there. Feeling as trapped as a coon that the hounds put up a tree, Tessa sighed.

“All right, Mama. I’ll be there.”

Emotional blackmail accomplished what reason couldn’t. After promising to let her folks know when to expect her, Tessa ended the phone call and trudged to her car. She shouldn’t drive, not after two Bacardi-and-Cokes, but her apartment was just a few blocks away so Tessa did it anyway. Inside her tiny apartment, a studio flat in the basement of an old house not far off Music Row, she collapsed on the sofa which doubled as a bed. Packing and preparation for her trip home could wait until morning. She needed sleep now but the last thing Tessa did before crashing was set her alarm clock for an early rising.

Most mornings she woke to music but this time, Tessa set it to blare like a car alarm. The sound roused her and she brushed her hair out of her face. Remembering why she was awake, she splashed through the shower and packed. She made one quick call to the hotel to let them know she’d miss work for the next few shifts. By eight thirty, she headed out the door bags in tow. Since her beat up Chevy required gas and she needed coffee just as much, Tessa headed for the nearest convenience store a few blocks away. Fueled and caffeinated, she headed west at straight up nine o’clock, on the old two lane highway.

Life in the fast line might appeal in everyday living but when she drove, Tessa preferred what she considered ‘real’ roads, the ones cutting through the heart of America. She enjoyed the changing sights along the way, the old gas stations, the closed fruit stands, the empty home places. On traditional highways, Tessa allowed her mind to drift which was impossible on the interstate where huge trucks roared around her with dizzying speed.

The old highways yielded some of the best mom and pop cafes left anywhere, the occasional flea market with a real treasure or two and the kind of people who inspired Tessa’s songs.

As she drove, Tessa calculated the hours between here and home. Eight hours, probably closer to nine with minimal stops, ten if she paused for lunch or to stretch her legs. She popped a favorite CD into the player and sang along as the strains of rockabilly filled the car. Her Chevy ate up miles of gray pavement as the morning passed and the sun lifted higher into the sky.

Two hours into the journey, she hit Paducah, Kentucky. Since Tessa hadn’t eaten breakfast, she wheeled into a Dunkin Donuts. She took her cup of coffee and two frosted cake donuts to a big park on the northern edge of the city. Above the picnic table where she took a break, squirrels chattered and birds sang. After Tessa washed a little sticky icing from her hands and used the bathroom, she called her mom.

“I’m on the way,” she told her without preamble. “I should be there in six or seven hours.”

“That’ll be around six o’clock tonight,” Melissa Owens said. “Do you want me to keep supper for you?”

The last thing Tessa wanted was to sit down to a meal. She’d be frazzled and ready for a shower. “No, but thanks. I’ll grab something on the way.”

“Where are you now, honey?”

“Paducah,” she replied. “But I’m fixing to leave.”

Already, just over a hundred miles out of Nashville, her speech shifted toward childhood patterns. Amazed and almost ashamed she reverted so easily, Tessa ended her call and motored ahead. The bridges on US 62 and US 60 crossed the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers. Tessa craned her neck to catch a better view but she couldn’t see much, just the wide waters of both rivers spreading out below her. Once over the mighty Mississippi, she entered her home state but she had no sense of coming home.

The rich bottomland lacked the rugged, rocky hills of her Ozarks and when she paused for gas in some little town, the fresh air she inhaled lacked the right aroma. Tessa motored onward, sunglasses in place, as her mind overflowed with memories. Her straight blonde hair floated in the breeze from the open car window and although it’d be a tangled mess by the time she made it home, she adored the freedom. The sun baked her left arm but she wouldn’t burn, she’d tan. Aunt Verna, Vernie to one and all, always offered her unconditional love. Later, she always scrounged up change so Tessa could ride the miniature merry-go-round in the Wal-Mart lobby. In the summer, Tessa spent every night she could at her aunt’s place. While Uncle Cal went out coon hunting and drinking until all hours of the night, she and Aunt Vernie curled up on the couch and watched movies together. They always had fun, until Uncle Calvin came home.

Tessa could be sorry he died for her aunt’s sake but she didn’t care. She didn’t like the man. As long as she could remember, he treated her as a nuisance. He never teased her like her other uncles did or told her she looked pretty. Uncle Calvin glared at her through the hazy smoke of his ever present home rolled cigarette and called her down every time she giggled or laughed. Once, hung over from a long night’s drinking, he backhanded her because she turned a somersault across the front porch. Afterward Tessa steered clear of him as much as she could. At holiday dinners or family gatherings, she stayed distant and spoke to him no more than required. By the time she’d grown up, Tessa realized he treated her aunt poorly as well but Vernie wouldn’t talk about it or dare complain.

“I made my bed,” she’d say. “Now I gotta lie in it.”

Other snatches of memory flitted through Tessa’s mind quicker than the changing scenery outside the window. Catching lightning bugs down by the creek at dusk with her brothers, wading through the cold waters, listening to the grown-ups play guitars on the front porch, and waiting for the school bus in all weathers were just a few of the images, like still photographs in her head. She recalled the delightful aroma of baking ham or frying chicken in her mother’s kitchen and the way her daddy always came home from the chicken plant in his black rubber boots. Her pink room, made for a princess, served as her haven from the outside world.

Thinking of old times revived high school memories, too. She’d been a homecoming queen candidate once but she wasn’t crowned. Tessa acted in every play possible, sang in the school choir, and also signed up for agriculture classes. At the annual county fair each summer, she showed a calf. By the time she headed out to Nashville, Tessa owned her own horse, a pretty little dappled mare named Skydancer. Tessa rode in a few rodeos and practiced barrel racing in the north field. At one time she planned pro-rodeo to be her fallback career in case singing didn’t work out. Now she hadn’t been on a horse in longer than she could pinpoint.

It was then Lucas Rowlands sneaked into her head like a midnight thief. Her conscious effort to block him out failed and he took over her recollections, banishing the rest away. Tessa saw nothing but Lucas. Sunlight brought out the highlights in his otherwise brown hair and his deep blue eyes, brighter than the sky, crinkled with laughter in her mind. She recalled walking down a wooded path with him, his hand wrapped around hers. His arm around her waist steadied her as the trail narrowed and he kept her from falling to the deep ravine below. Images flickered past in a virtual photo gallery, one after another.

Lucas in a tuxedo at prom, holding her tight as they danced a slow number, passion burning in her blood like fever. Tessa and Lucas rode in tandem on horseback to the old swimming hole. They dived into the deep water, colder than February snow, and screamed. Her hands clutched his naked body and he grasped her against him. “You won’t drown, honey girl,” he’d whispered and now, driving down the highway, his voice resonated in her mind.

Tessa lifted one hand from the steering wheel to wipe away a stray tear. Lucas and Tessa were together through high school and during her two years of junior college in Neosho. If he hadn’t got into his patch of trouble and then wrecked his truck during a high speed chase with the local deputies, they might’ve been married. The idea horrified her, scared the dickens out of her, and yet she liked it on some level, too. If they had married, though, she wouldn’t have gone to Nashville. She would be just another county wife, working somewhere and raising a few kids along with a little hell.

Last time she saw him, he’d been in the hospital. Two deputies were on duty outside his room so he wouldn’t bolt even though he’d suffered such serious injuries he couldn’t get out of bed. Tessa spent hours in the emergency room and twice as many in a waiting room down the hall, waiting to find out if he’d be okay or not. Tears she refused to shed now clogged her throat until it hurt as she remembered walking over to the bed.

Lucas stared up at her, his eyes bluer than usual, dark with pain. He’d been so pale, his face so bruised her heart broke into pieces and she’d bent down to kiss his mouth but he turned away.

“I hear you’re leaving,” he said, his voice husky from being so hurt.

“You know I am,” she replied. One of her cousins on her daddy’s side invited her up to Nashville and she accepted the offer. Nashville was her dream, her shot at the big time. When she shared the news with Lucas, she thought he’d celebrate with her but he hadn’t. He walked away from her without another word, headed down to a little liquor store, robbed it and drove away at a sedate pace. When the law caught up to him, he’d sped up and almost eluded them when he missed a curve and crashed.

“Good-bye then,” Lucas said.

“Come with me,” she whispered. “I’ll wait until you heal.”

He shook his head back and forth. “I can’t but you go on, go.”

“I love you, Lucas.”

“It ain’t enough.”

They were the last words he’d spoken to her ever.

Tessa pulled over at a little ice cream stand in some tiny town to get her emotions under control. She couldn’t drive with her hands shaking, her heart aching, her eyes blinded with tears.

I can handle going home, she thought, but I don’t want to see Lucas.

The funeral was Monday and on Tuesday she’d be on her way back to Music City.

Buy links:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sin-eaters-redemption-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1046493676?ean=2940016664606

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sin-Eaters-Redemption-ebook/dp/B00CDA9VDM

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thesineater039sredemption-1162793-140.html

InstaGroan...A Social Network You Can #skip

2013-04-25T05:00:00.000-04:00

by Kellyann Zuzulo

Photographers tend to do best on Instagram. Duh.

Take a picture and share it with thousands. That's what Instagram allows you to do. But does it help with your marketing if you're a writer or help you to identify new books if you're a reader? I'm going to say no. Instagram is all about images. A writer creates images with words. Stick with twitter or Facebook if you want to "spread the word." Unless you've created a picture book, you'll have some challenges sharing the fruits of your imagination. There's always the book cover shot, but that's not going to go over big on Instagram. You'll be competing with landscapes taken with high-resolution cameras and pictures of painted fingernails and fashion shots by professional photographers...oh yeah, and pictures of eyeballs. Yes, it's a bit of a hodge-podge on ig, but there is a structure to it and I don't think books are served by that structure.

I joined about three weeks ago. The primary reason I join any social network, besides disseminating news about my books, is sharing info, insight, and links with things/people that interest me. But, let's be honest, it's really all about marketing. This social network has been around since 2010, making me a late bloomer. But having been an early adopter of twitter, I had high hopes for Instagram. I looked up advice on how to gain more followers or, at least, get likes on an image; i.e. exposure on your specialty. This post on The Science of Instagram was somewhat helpful, but is still very random as far as collecting an audience. Then again, I haven't spent the hours that the author of the article did to "like" thousands of other posts a day. I liked a few hundred over several days (I was on deadline). The percentage of likes back or followers was negligible. And even those who did like my images obviously aren't my readership. I'm finding that the most accessible audience is 17 and under. My books weren't written for a young adult market. I'm not going to find my readers in Middle School. Take for example, a typical caption on one of the many photos I scanned in the last five minutes alone, "My boyfriend got his braces off today."

He would do well on ig. I just need him to hold my book...
...right there

So, three weeks later and countless hashtag searches to identify a consistent book community, and I'll post #skip. However, if you like to take pictures, give it a go. The Instagram app has filters for the photos you take so that you can reconfigure it to make it look a bit artsy. If you have an iPhone, which was the original platform for ig, you'll have access to many more apps to enhance your photo. Instagram included the android community about a year ago and, of course, countless apps have cropped up. I downloaded the "Keep Calm" app which allows me to make my own Keep Calm signs. That was fun for about three signs. Then I downloaded Photon, which allows you to lay text on an image...basically to make a sign. That might be good for advertising a book but, really, gets kind of tiresome for anyone who's following you. If you still feel that getting lots of likes on the picture of your dog staring curiously at the camera is for you, then check out this YouTube video on how to get more followers and likes.

There are those who will benefit from having their photos on Instagram. They're photographers. Major advertisers have recognized the value of a getting attention on ig and they're turning to Instagram users who are photogs to help them out. According to this article in Business Insider, these are The Fifteen Most Influential Instagram Users Advertisers are Dying To Work With. None of the advertisers are publishers and none of the users are authors. Well, not yet. Let me know when that changes. Or when the books and novels hashtag has more than a few hundred measly posts. Save your time. Go read/write a chapter.

I will hang around for a while on ig. I enjoy the NatGeo ig user. So check me out and let me know you found me here at The Pop Culture Divas by using the hastage #pcd and I'll follow you back. What the heck...we can start our own community for books on Instagroan...I mean Instagram. I'm geniewriter on Instagram.

Best Wishes,

Kellyann

101 Nights Starts Tonight. Download for $1.99.

This Week's Revolving Book is the paranormal/fantasy WARRIOR ROGUE by Nancy J. Cohen.

2013-04-23T09:21:00.000-04:00

This week's Revolving Book is the paranormal/fantasy WARRIOR ROGUE by NANCY J. COHEN

TITLE: Warrior Rogue (The Drift Lords Series)
GENRE: Paranormal/Fantasy
PUBLISHER: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=index&manufacturers_id=831

GET IT ON AMAZON KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/Warrior-Rogue-Drift-Series-ebook/dp/B00AU62NQS/

Paperback out April 26!

SYNOPSIS:
When fashion designer Jennifer Dyhr loses her lead actor for a video-game commercial, a replacement literally drops from the sky. Reluctant to let him leave, she hires him as a model for her studio. But when terrorists attack their flight home, Jen must awaken powers she didn’t know she had to protect them both. Will she be able to keep her heart safe from the sensual man beside her?

When space ops warrior Paz Hadar falls through a spatial rift onto Jen’s set, he soon realizes she is essential to his mission. Not only must he protect her, his success depends upon her special powers. But as they struggle to stay one step ahead of the enemy, he discovers that fighting his attraction to the lovely Jen is as much a challenge as keeping them both alive.

WATCH THE BOOK TRAILER: http://youtu.be/cjV-PRVGoVs

PINTEREST VISION BOARD: http://pinterest.com/njcohen/warrior-rogue/

AUTHOR BIO: Nancy J. Cohen is the author of 18 published romance and mystery novels. Her humorous Bad Hair Day mystery series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Several of these titles have made the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association bestseller list. Shear Murder is the tenth and latest title in this series. Nancy's imaginative romances have also proven popular with fans. Her titles in this genre have won the HOLT Medallion Award and Best Book in Romantic SciFi/Fantasy at The Romance Reviews. Warrior Rogue, #2 in the Drift Lords Series, is her latest title from The Wild Rose Press. Active in the writing community and a featured speaker at libraries and conferences, Nancy is listed in Contemporary Authors, Poets & Writers, and Who's Who in U.S. Writers, Editors, & Poets. Visit her website at http://NancyJCohen.com/.

CONNECT WITH NANCY ONLINE:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Nancy-J-Cohen/112101588804907
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nancyjcohen
Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/91508.Nancy_J_Cohen
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/njcohen/
Linked In: http://www.linkedin.com/in/nancyjcohen
Google +: https://plus.google.com/103605084765403650204
YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6Yb2zOkXEQ6xmAeYv8Jp5w/

WEB SITE: http://nancyjcohen.com/
BLOG: http://nancyjcohen.wordpress.com/

UPCOMING INFO:
Contests: http://nancyjcohen.com/fun-stuff/contest/
Appearances: http://nancyjcohen.com/appearances/

Sherlock vs. Sherlock - or Benedict Cumberbatch vs. Robert Downey Jr.

2013-04-22T04:00:00.000-04:00

Soo... this will probably be quite a controversial post. What fun!

Sherlock vs. Sherlock - as in Sherlock, the BBC drama series and the films Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes Game of Shadows. I must point out that I haven't seen the US show Elementary - and I think that would complicate this post further, so I'm going to stick with two for now.

By Consulting DetectivePaula Holmes

Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock

Has rabid fangirls
Looks intelligent without even speaking
Pulls off the eccentric, uber-genius role to perfection. I especially loved the scene (I don't remember which episode) where he's in his dressing gown and flops onto the sofa like a petulant child
Is mostly horrible to Watson, Mrs. Hudson and Molly, but loves them really
Is funny without meaning to be
Is totally convincing - especially when he goes into the mode where he's working things out
Looks awesome in a long coat and a deerstalker

By Dalboz17Matt DeTurck

Robert Downey Jr. as Sherlock

Gets better with age
Pulls off the British accent excellently
Is a very convincing eccentric
Has the right balance of arrogance and humour
Is mean and self-centred - especially when it comes to Watson having an outside life - but not so bad that you dislike him
Is excellent during fight scenes
Is top-notch where you see him working out what he's going to do next
Makes the films very accessible with his playfulness
Looks awesome in the Victorian garb

Verdict: Both bloody awesome! They've both taken a fictional character and put their own spin on it. Both versions are highly intelligent, of course, with Cumberbatch's version being much more arrogant, and Downey Jr's being funnier and more playful. Cumberbatch seems to have lots of rabid fangirls... not sure about Downey Jr. - what do you reckon? Who's your favourite Sherlock? I don't think I can choose just one, as they both work really well in the environments they've been placed in, and with their respective co-stars.

I think for my next post, I'll do Watson vs. Watson to extend the fun ;)

*****

New This Week - The Sin Eater's Redemption

2013-04-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

From the desk of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Maybe, like me, you first heard about sin eaters from grandparents or other family elders with some Welsh heritage. Perhaps you read about the tradition because you’re into folklore and old customs, again like me. Or you might’ve seen the 1972 episode of Rod Serling’s program, Night Gallery, where Richard Thomas (who later played John Boy Walton and who has some Welsh ancestry) played a sin eater. There’s also a newer movie out in the past few years although I’ll admit – I haven’t seen it.

To quote a little Shakespeare, there are more things in heaven and earth than dreamt of so I keep an open mind. My son, age twelve, watches a lot of programs about Bigfoot. Is it real? I don’t know but I’ll concede it’s possible. I do believe in ghosts because I’ve had too many personal experiences not to do so. Before experts determined a particular variety of woodpecker thought extinct was alive and well in the wilds of Arkansas, I’d seen them in my own woods. I once saw an egg tree, not the decorative kind but the kind designed to prevent witches in the Ozarks. I like to believe some things can and do survive into the 21^st century – like a sin eater.

Such possibilities intrigue me. I’ve long been fascinated with the ancient custom found in parts of the British Isles, especially Wales, of the sin eater. Although the last known sin eater was supposed to have died back in the 19^th century, who knows about the ones who continued the practice? Since a number of old folkways survive in the Ozarks – after all, I once saw a genuine witch tree, the kind meant to keep witches away – I decided a sin eater might exist today, especially if the custom had been handed down over the generations. And the story built from there….

The cover and blurb:

Buy and other links:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-sin-eaters-redemption-lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/1046493676?ean=2940016664606

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sin-Eaters-Redemption-ebook/dp/B00CDA9VDM

https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-thesineater039sredemption-1162793-140.html

Book trailer:

http://youtu.be/MHwh9xVPAy4

News release:

http://interact.stltoday.com/pr/arts-entertainment/PR041813032512612

Here’s not one but two excerpts to tempt your fancy:

They ended up out in the antique porch swing, side by side. As dusk gathered shadows into darkness, Lucas put his arm around her shoulders so she scooted closer. The sweet, rich smell of honeysuckle floated on the wind. Far off in the distance Tessa heard the whine of tires as they sped over pavement and down the road somewhere coon hounds barked. Tiny brilliant lightning bugs flickered across the pasture and she marveled at their quiet beauty. She hadn’t seen a single firefly since she left home but her nights were spent beneath city lights. Peace settled around her like a shawl and she sighed with contentment.

“It’s so beautiful here. Quiet and so tranquil.”

“I like it,” Lucas said. “Always have, always will.”

They rocked and the gentle sway soothed something in Tessa’s soul Silence stretched between them, comfortable as well worn shoes. He smiled and turned to her, “I don’t remember any place else but here, you know.”

His early life history was still almost as familiar as hers. Tessa nodded. “I do.”

“I’ve been a few places but I can’t imagine living away like you have. Was it hard to adjust?”

Was it? Tessa struggled to remember her first days in Nashville. By the time she left Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge to come back to bury Uncle Cal, she’d adapted, learned to thrive and survive. But it wasn’t always so. After a long pause to collect her thoughts, Tessa answered. “Oh, yeah, it was. Everything was so different when I got to Nashville. The traffic, the way the city goes on for miles and miles, the tall buildings, all of it felt so strange,” she told him. “At first I stayed with Karla, my cousin, in her apartment but it wasn’t very far from a large medical center and it wasn’t in the best part of town, either. Sirens ran all the time, ambulances, fire trucks, police cars. I got homesick and almost came home.” Tessa stopped and then added, “And I missed you.”

“Why didn’t you come back?”

She offered him a small smile but it hurt to remember. “I planned on it and even packed my suitcases. Then I got my first gig, so I thought I was on my way to the big time. I decided to stay a little longer to see what happened.”

Above the tree line the night sky stretched out, dark as black velvet. More stars than she could count brightened it like tiny diamonds. The big-bellied moon rose, not quite waxed full and coated everything in soft silver. Tessa found it magical and said so.

Lucas left the swing to offer her his hand and she took it. “Come dance with me,” he said, the last thing she expected to hear from his lips. “It’s something I’ve dreamed about a thousand times.”

Enchanted, Tessa took his hand and he led her out into the yard. They slow danced together in the moonlight. At first there was no music but the crickets and the other night insects but Lucas began singing an old Jim Croce song from long before their time. She remembered the name of it, Time In A Bottle. They’d heard it on an oldies radio station in their teens and both liked the poignant tune. Lucas bought a Croce CD the next day and for a long time, Tessa recalled, it’d been their song. Maybe it still was, she thought, with hope.

“If I could save time in a bottle,” Lucas crooned, his voice true on the notes, “that I’d like to do is to save every day until eternity passes away just to spend them with you.”

How could he sing the words, she wondered, and yet insist their time together had to be fleeting. Short term wouldn’t work and she knew it. For them, it had to be all or nothing, everything or heartbreak. Tessa said nothing, unwilling to break the spell Lucas wove. When he finished the song, he looked into her face.

“Now come love me. It’s the rest of the dream.”

Moved beyond words, Tessa nodded. Inside the house, he made love to her, unhurried and slow. He cherished her. His sweet tenderness spoke more than words ever could and when she fell asleep, afterward in his arms, moonlight shone through the window and over the bed with benediction.

Here’s the second sneak peek from the story. I always have a hard time deciding what excerpts to share but this one, the moment of truth when Tessa learns Lucas is the sin eater, seemed perfect.

“Hello, Lucas.” Her voice came out hushed, like school kids whispering in a library. “It’s been a long time.”

Lucas Rowlands grinned with a naughty smile she remembered very well. He looked the same, overlong brown hair lit with blonde highlights, dark blue eyes and a lean build. “I hear you’ve been living up to Nashville all this time,” he said.

“I have,” Tessa replied. “I live there now.”

His eyes locked on her face and she couldn’t look away, mesmerized by his steady gaze.

“Guess you ain’t famous just yet.”

Face to face, toe to toe, she remembered more than she wanted. His presence, his physical proximity exuded power, so much so the fine hairs on her arms came to attention. “No,” she said, her voice husky. “I’m not. What are you doing these days, Lucas?”

“I do as little as possible,” he said with a sassy grin. “I raise cattle and more than a little hell at my granddad’s old place. I live in the old house and mostly do what I want.”

That sounded like Lucas, she thought. “Are you married?”

“Nope and I don’t plan to get that way. What about you, darlin’? Do you have a husband and kiddies in a little house over there on the Cumberland River?”

He stood close, heat radiating from his skin as it moved over her in waves. Tessa grew too hot, overheating so much she thought she might faint. His questions irked her, though she couldn’t say why.

“No,” Tessa said. If she didn’t get some fresh air now, she would pass out. She stepped forward, prepared to head for the back door. Luke took her hand instead and kept her in place.

“Where are you going? We haven’t had time to catch up or talk about old times.”

His voice affected her like cheap strawberry wine with a giddy rush powerful enough to tilt her off balance.

“I need some air,” she whispered. “I’ve got to go outside.”

Lucas put his arm around her. “Let’s go then.”

He pressed through the crowd with a fake grin plastered on his face, exchanging a few nods and howdys. She allowed him to take her through her aunt’s kitchen, aware the women putting out food stared as they passed. In the backyard, Tessa staggered over to a plastic lawn chair and sat. Cool breezes flowed down the hills behind and she inhaled deeply. After a few minutes, she sighed.

“Better?” Lucas sprawled in a chair across from hers and watched with a frown she might’ve once believed came out of concern.

“Yes, thanks.”

“What the hell happened in there? You didn’t use to be such a wimp.”

“No.” Funny she could sing on any stage, hobnob with some of the remaining greats of country music, talk with today’s chart toppers, handle the meanest drunk in any bar and attend any event and never lose her cool. But come back to the hills and she lost it in her aunt’s house, among her own folks, thanks to Lucas Rowlands. “I’m okay now, though.”

He offered a hand so she could rise and Tessa accepted it. Before she had time to think, Lucas drew her into his arms like a spider catching a fly and put his mouth down over hers. She struggled, protested until his heat fired her and ignited all her old passions. Tessa kissed him back with the same unholy fire. Sweet little charges of electricity ran over her sensitive skin and when his tongue entered her mouth, she would’ve squealed aloud except she couldn’t, there wasn’t space to make a sound.

Pleasure from his mouth expanded lower and spread heat through her in waves. A dim sense Tessa should protest, should push him away hovered at the edge of her consciousness but everything felt too damn good to stop. His lips evoked the past, stolen kisses and heady delights she recalled much too well. If someone, she never could be sure who it was, had not thrust their head out of the back door and called, “Lucas, it’s time.”

Tessa might’ve let him do more than kiss her there, in the backyard, with her kinfolk and most of the rural community steps away. The reality check jarred her back to consciousness as he released her.

“I’ll see you later,” he said with a playful swat at her rear as he vanished into the house.

Tessa watched him go, divided between longing for more kisses and anger that she’d let her guard down so easily. Lucas was the last person she expected to see and before she could ponder why he’d come to Uncle Cal’s private family visitation, the back door swung open.

“There you are! You need to come in now, we’re about to get started.”

“Start what, Aunt Vernie?”

Her aunt ducked her head. “I had the sin eater come. You know what a wicked man Calvin could be, how mean he was. I just hated to think he might spend all eternity in hell so I decided to do it the way folks did back a few years. Truth is they do it more now than you’d think now that we got us a sin eater again.”

“You’re joking,” Tess said. This sounded insane. Clearly she’d left the real world behind in Tennessee and ended up here on the set of The Twilight Zone.

Aunt Verna folded her arms across her chest like fresh laundry. “I’m not, Tessa. You’ve been away too long. That’s why I had them bring Cal back out here from the funeral home. Today’s for the sin eater, the family, and close friends. It’s visitation, too, but this is the most important.”

Here are some places where you can find me!

MY LINKS

Twitter: leeannwriter

From Sweet to Heat: The Romance of Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphyhttps://www.facebook.com/pages/From-Sweet-To-Heat-The-Romance-of-Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/287540748010934?ref=hl

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I

My Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/#!/leeann.sontheimermurphy

Website/blog: http://leeannsontheimermurphywriterauthor.blogpspot.com

Blog: Rebel Writer: Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

http://leeannsontheimermurphy.blogspot.com

Author In The House blog:

http://authorinthehouse.blogspot.com

Amazon author page: http://www.amazon.com/Lee-Ann-Sontheimer-Murphy/e/B004JPBM6I

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/lee-ann-sontheimer-murphy/22/3a4/a75

Blue Monday

2013-04-19T05:00:00.000-04:00

From the writing desk of Christine Mazurk

I had other plans for my blog this week, but that changed Monday when I received frantic calls from friends and family, asking if I was in Boston. "No, why?" I replied, as my brain immediately shifted gears and latched on to the fact that the Boston Marathon was running! They were afraid I was running it.

"What happened?" I asked the first friend who called, she just told me to turn on CNN. Two explosions near the finish line - at the four hour mark, which is when the majority of runners would be finishing.

The harsh reality of evil filled the screen, and my heart hammered. As a runner and Ironman triathlete, I thought this was devastating, the impact surreal. Thousands of people - athletes and spectators, official personnel and volunteers - attend these events, and it makes me sick to think someone found joy in targeting innocent people. An attack that left three dead - one of those an eight year old boy - and left hundreds injured. It's tragic, just tragic.

I thought of my writer friends, many live in the New England area, several are runners or have children who run. How many were there? How many were running? Were they safe?

I wept for the victims whose lives have been permanently altered, for the others who scrambled to find loved ones, not knowing if they were safe. I cried for the rest of the country, because a senseless act of violence instilled fear in us.

We shouldn't be afraid to gather over a shared passion. We shouldn't have to look over our shoulders watching for the next attack. When will it end? When will humanity realize we must get along or the world will implode?

I walked around with a heavy heart for days and then I read a shared post on Facebook, and a little faith was restored. Laura Wellington was 1/2 a mile from the finish when the bombs exploded. Her family was waiting at the finish line, she didn't know if they were safe. After several calls, she reached her husband and learned her family was safe. She cried with relief, just sat down and sobbed. That's when a couple approached her. The woman removed the space tent from her husband's shoulders - he had already finished the race - and wrapped it around Laura. And when the gentleman asked if she was able to finish, she said no. He took the medal from around his neck and gave it to her saying, "You are a finisher in my eyes."

What a grand gesture, one from his heart. There are still good people in the world!

It's been a week of tears, tears of emotion and horror, tears of sorrow and compassion, and then tears of gratitude for the heroes who walk among us. I end this with a silent prayer that the heroes, the acts of goodness, outweigh the evil in this world, so we can embrace the love God intended us to share.

Then the explosion of the fertilizer plant in west Texas occurred ... oh, wow, what was happening? The world was exploding. Yikes!! My heart can't handle this. Can yours? Sending healing prayers to all involved. We love you and pray for your safety and preservation!

Until next time, hugs!

A to Z Blog Challenge - P - Thursday Thirteen - 275 - 13 Things About Promo Options

2013-04-18T00:53:00.000-04:00

by Julia Phillips Smith

1 – The A to Z Blog Challenge continues!

On Day 16

is for

Promo

2 – The moment a writer is no longer a writer, but has become an author, he or she begins a journey down an entirely new road of marketing and promotion. Since many--not all, but many--authors are introverts by nature, even the thought of marketing can actually shut down a writer from crossing that line into publication.

Isn't it nicer just to write stories and hang out with your characters?

3 – If you listen carefully, you'll notice those muffled protests your characters are making. It's time to take those restraints off of your remarkable creations and let them loose into the world.

You may not even be aware you're gagging your characters. Perhaps you're published but shy away from all of the social media. Perhaps you're willing to promote your work but can't make up your mind which route to travel.

4 – The first and easiest step towards promoting yourself as a writer is to start a blog. If you're still in the beginning stages of your writing career, and find it somewhat presumptive to even think of yourself having a career, a blog is the perfect way to step onto the social media stage.

Blogs are free. Blogs give instant feedback through the comments section. Blogs help you to connect with other writers in exactly the same stage of their journeys as you.

5 – If you're a little farther along, in the submitting-to-agents-and-editors stage, you should set up your own web site and secure your own domain name.

Writers become freelance artists as soon as they publish, and this means you need to treat yourself like a business. Businesses generally have a physical place in which to operate. For authors these days, your online web site becomes your office lobby or storefront, a place where readers can drop by and find you.

6 - If paying for a web site isn't possible at first, and if a do-it-yourself free web design is beyond your techie skills, consider setting up a Facebook Author Page as your online storefront.

You can treat your Facebook page like a web site until you're ready for the real thing. Be sure to separate your personal Facebook page from your professional one. The sorts of posts you'd share among friends and family may sometimes be a great addition to your author page, but keep your readers in mind.

For example, if you're a dark fantasy author like me, sharing posts about favorite shows like Spartacus and Vikings is a great way to reach out to readers who likely share my taste in program viewing. Posting photos from a YA paranormal book launch of one of my author friends would also appeal to people who follow my author page.

7 – Setting up a Twitter page is another smart option. You can create a brand between social media outlets by ensuring the graphics at all of your author sites match one another.

If you have a cell phone and have a moment standing in the line-up at the bank machine, you can whip out your mobile device and post a few tweets. Voila! You've connected to readers.

Weekly features like #WriterWednesdays (#WW) or #FollowFridays (#FF) are a great way to meet other like minded Twitterers.

The search feature is a great way to break out of the I'm-only-following-other-writers ghetto. Find book readers in your genre through the search field. There's a vast world of new-to-you readers out there, and many, many of them are on Twitter. Many of them have book blogs where they review books.

8 – Pinterest? Find someone to invite you aboard to start pinning glorious graphics of your fictional world, your book covers and shared interests. Pinterest is a great place to become inspired yourself.

Many authors set up boards for stories they're working on, to give readers a sense of what their story is like through visual collage. Often breathtaking and dramatic.

9 – Goodreads is a site where readers share favorite titles and recommend books to others. You can also have a professional Goodreads Author page, but here you do need to be published first, as you need to link to your own titles.

If you're still in the learning-curve-writer stage, or you're a veteran writer not yet in print, a personal Goodreads page would still be an important part of your online writing identity. You can interact with readers from your genre in the many groups and forums within Goodreads.

10 – When you're all set up in Social Media Land, consider holding a Facebook party or Twitter party to coincide with an author event or book launch.

Pick a date, send out invitations to Facebook friends and at the magic hour, all guests can find each other via the invitation link. The Facebook party takes place in the comments section of the Facebook event page. Giveaways can be a great part of the party.

The same holds true for Twitter parties. Decide on a hashtag for the event so all followers can find the conversation.

11 – Don't forget about in-person promotional events. For me, taking part in Toronto's Fan Expo and Halifax's Hal-Con events were fabulous ways to connect with dark fantasy readers. These types of conventions or conferences have been important for me in terms of networking above everything else. I met up with people at these events that made the entire experience worthwhile for a ten-minute encounter.

12 – For traditionally published authors, in-store book signings are a cherished way to connect with readers. They may be awkward and crickets-chirping ordeals at first, yet as you gain experience with them, you'll become adept at hand-selling your titles to complete strangers who are really future fans.

For self-published authors, there are other venues you can secure in order to have your own book signing. Use your imagination and come up with a place that is connected in some way with your story. You can combine efforts with other self-pubbed authors, rent a hall, advertise and have your own book fair. It's up to you.

13 – Don't forget about the humble business card and bookmark. You never know who you may be chatting with. Have a supply on hand at all times and be ready to pass one to a potential reader, agent or editor.

~~

What are your promo tips?

Photo by Helen Tansey

Visit my web site

Find me on Facebook

Follow me on Twitter

Find me on Pinterest

Is Jerry Trainor (the guy from iCarly) secretly related to Jerry O Connell (the guy from Sliders)?

2013-04-15T01:30:00.000-04:00

by JoAnne Kenrick

Hey, now, no poking fun at me. This is a serious question, k. It's a fiction writer's prerogative to ponder such things - we can't settle for the facts, we have to look for hidden plot twists everywhere...even in reality! Our brain is wired this way.

How did I come to the conclusion Jerry Trainor and Jerry O Connell are related?

I present to you my proof:

They are both called Jerry!
I have a crush on both of them - hey, again with the judging. Hours upon hours of watching iCarly, the guy kinda grew on me. You can blame my daughter for that. I do. ;) And who can resist the smooth charms of Jerry O? Sliders got me hooked in, and I've been a fan ever since.
They are equally awesome actors.
Both have been acting from a young age.
They both have fun public personas and come across as very likable guys.
LOOK AT THEM! They even look like brothers.

Am I the only one to ask this question? The first? Am I heck as like - go google! Women and girlies all around the world are pondering the very same thing. Why does Jerry look so much like Jerry.

And I sure as heck wouldn't say no to a JERRY SANDWICH!

Hey... here's some fun Jerry facts for ya

Jerry O was in one of my fav 80s movies STAND BY ME.
Jerry T was in my fav tv show ANGEL, the supersymmetry episode.

And Jerry O is currently the inspiration for a hero in one of my stories - which is what got me thinking about the whole Jerry related to Jerry question.

And now I hand it over to you... have you ever pondered this question? Reckon other famous people could be related? Are you now wondering if I need a white coat check? Whatever is on your mind, leave a comment!

Should You Do A Facebook Promotion?

2013-04-11T09:45:00.000-04:00

Is a FB promoted post for you?

Facebook will tell you that you should. It's easy. There's an option at the bottom of each of your posts to simply click and promote. But it will cost you. Is it worth it? You won't know until you do it. Everybody has a different focus, a different experience, but I'll share my experience and maybe give you some more data to help you make your decision.

My new book, To Have and To Hold, was released March 28 by Boroughs Publishing Group. Of course, I immediately posted links on my FB author page. (You can now also do promotions on your personal FB page, but my details refer to what used to be called fan pages and are now just known as your "Page"... usually a vehicle for your brand.)

I started the promotion on April 2nd and selected the $20 option. For twenty bucks, FB promised to expose my post in a more visible placement on the feeds of both my fans and the friends of my fans. This appealed to me because, while I had 643 fans for my page, I needed to reach beyond them. Promotions are a way to do this. Keep in mind that your post will be noted as "sponsored" with a little box beneath the ad.

These are the results of my FB ad campaign.

I shelled out $20 for a post that FB promised would be seen by anywhere from 2,100 to 3,400 Facebookers. The estimated reach seems to be constantly shifting. When I checked today, the estimated reach for a $20 promotion is 3,100 to 5,700. And right now, a $15 post will reach 2,200 to 4,000 viewers, which is a bigger reach than what I paid $20 for a week ago. Anyway, check how much your money will get you before you buy.

As you can see from the screenshot of my promotion results, I ended up with a reach of 3,160...not bad for what FB promised. The promotion lasted about two days. There were 20 clicks on my link (which is shown below) and which redirected people to the Amazon page for my book. My primary goal in doing the promotion was to sell copies of To Have and To Hold on Amazon and, thereby, increase my book's ranking. Ultimately, I ended up paying $1 a click. That's not a great rate but not bad either, especially for a wide-reaching outlet like Facebook. I also picked up two more page likes and 11 "likes" on that particular post. Would I have gotten those likes anyway? Probably not all of them. On average, posts on my fan page have been "viewed" by anywhere from 30 to 100 people, according to FB stats. I certainly increased the exposure for To Have and To Hold and also for my page.

This is the post that I paid to have seen
by 3,160 Facebookers.

Did I sell any books on Amazon as a direct result of this campaign? The first answer is not really. There was a slight spike in my sales ranking the first day, but there's no way to tell if that resulted from the FB post or from some other social networking outlet, such as twitter, Instagram, Google, and various other places that I posted about the new release. Once I get the royalty statement from my publisher for that time period, I can go back to April 2-4 and see how many copies sold on Amazon. But still, I won't know if those sales resulted from the FB campaign.

Would I do another FB post promotion? Yes, I would. But I would be discriminating about the post and when I sent it. Also, I would determine whether two $5 posts maybe a week apart might be better than a $10 or $15 post. I think that FB posts are not a good way to sell books directly, like some other advertising outlets, such as a clickable ad on a romance blog. However, what these promotions do provide is increased exposure for my name and my books. And that's always a good thing. Those who see my book on FB may not buy it, but may be more inclined to buy once they see it in another venue, such as a blog or on twitter or on Instagram or even here on The Pop Culture Divas.

Have you done a FB promtion? Would you? Good luck with all your promotion efforts!

Best Wishes,

Kellyann Zuzulo

Find me on Facebook, twitter, and Instagram.

And pick up To Have and To Hold from Amazon for $1.99 and let's see that ranking rise ;)

This week's Revolving Book is VICTIM: AN EMILY TAYLOR MYSTERY by CATHERINE ASTOLFO

2013-04-09T23:32:00.000-04:00

This week's Revolving Book is VICTIM: AN EMILY TAYLOR MYSTERY by CATHERINE ASTOLFO

GET THE BOOK:
http://www.amazon.com/Victim-Emily-Taylor-Mystery-ebook/dp/B0069CJJC8

PUBLISHER: Imajin Books

SYNOPSIS:
Ancient evil comes in many forms…

School principal Emily Taylor is caught up in the inexplicable disappearances of two well-known women and the violence linked to a disputed land claim.

When the legendary Walking Bear appears, she must also deal with the resurrection of an ancient legend and the terrified and unnerved villagers of the sleepy town of Burchill.

Once again, Emily is drawn into the unknown and must battle her own secret demons and fears. Only then can she unravel these mysteries—before there is more bloodshed.

BOOK TRAILER: http://tinyurl.com/9xsqov3

REVIEWS:
A disappearance...a Native legend...a murder...a terrific read!"
—Donna Carrick, author of The First Excellence
"Victim will linger in your mind long after you've closed the book…a gifted piece of writing."
—Don Graves, The Hamilton Spectator
"A deftly conceived, multilayered story told with a compassionate voice."
—Don Graves, The Hamilton Spectator
"An enjoyable, engaging read...original, sensitive and satisfying."
—Rosemary Aubert, author of the Ellis Portal mystery series

AUTHOR BIO:
Catherine is a past President of Crime Writers of Canada and a Derrick Murdoch Award winner (2012). She was a Zonta Club 2012 Nominee for Women of Achievement.

Writing is Catherine’s passion. She can recall inventing fantasy stories for her classmates in Grade Three. Her short stories and poems have been published in a number of literary Canadian presses.
In 2005, she won a Brampton Arts Award. Her short stories won the Bloody Words Short Story Award (second and first) in 2009 and 2010. She won the prestigious Arthur Ellis Best Short Crime Story Award in 2012.

Catherine’s novel series, The Emily Taylor Mysteries, are published by Imajin Books and are optioned for film by Sisbro & Co. Inc. Visit Catherine at www.catherineastolfo.com.

CONNECT WITH CATHERINE ONLINE:
www.catherineastolfo.com
www.katywords.blogspot.com
https://twitter.com/cathyastolfo
https://www.facebook.com/cathy.astolfo
https://plus.google.com/116263954589831804470
www.amazon.com/author/catherineastolfo

UPCOMING CONTESTS AND BLOG TOURS: Check out Catherine's amazon author page for details–www.amazon.com/author/catherineastolfo

Favourite Book Adaptations

2013-04-08T04:00:00.000-04:00

I read lots and I watch TV and films a lot, so I thought it would be a fun idea to write a post on my favourite book adaptations. The ones I'm discussing below are ones that I've read the books and watched the films/TV show. I admit, there are more that I've watched but haven't read, and I'm doing my very best to rectify that. Unfortunately there are only so many hours in the day, and so many books!

So, in no particular order...

Harry Potter

Probably a pretty obvious choice. I admit, I was a late adopter of Harry Potter - the fifth book had been released before I picked any of them up, but when I did I was immediately hooked. Watching the films was a must, and I've enjoyed most of them. They've done an absolutely brilliant job of turning some pretty complex books into engaging films. Granted, they couldn't follow the books to the letter because otherwise the films would have been hours and hours long, but they were as faithful as they could be... with the exception of Deathly Hallows Part One, which may as well have been called "Harry, Hermione and Ron Go Camping" - don't get me wrong, the scenery was gorgeous and parts were needed to further the plot, but if much of that had been cut out, they could have gotten the final book into one film.

The Lord of the Rings

I never read these books at school, like many people did. In fact, I was pretty oblivious to them until the first film came out at the cinema, and I was dragged along to see it. I was astonished to find I absolutely adored it, and saw The Fellowship of the Ring two or three more times at the cinema, and immediately went out and bought all three books, as well as The Hobbit. I was totally and utterly hooked, and have lots of memorabilia, figurines, film cells, etc. I admit, I haven't read the books for a while, but I re-watched the extended editions of all three films before the first part of The Hobbit came out at the cinema and still think they're masterpieces. It's clear to me that making those films wasn't just a job, it was a labour of love. And for that reason I adore them and despite the fact they're pretty damn long, I'll watch them again and again.

The Vampire Diaries

A show to keep you on the edge of your seat. It's gone a long, long way away from the books, and I don't think that's a bad thing. I've read nearly all of the books and got pretty fed up, I must admit. I think they're now just being churned out by the ghostwriters in order to make more money. There's no love. The show, on the other hand, is dark, sexy, occasionally funny, emotional, well-casted and continually surprising. It makes me cry on a regular basis, makes me gasp and, of course, makes me drool. What can I say, I'm a sucker (no pun intended) for Damon Salvatore. This is definitely one of my favourite shows and I'll be a fan until the bitter end.

True Blood

This is more adult than The Vampire Diaries, with lots more gore and blood, which I would say is pretty true to the books. I've read all the books currently available and think they're brilliant, if a little formulaic. There have been quite a few changes between the books and the films, but I can see why they've been made. However, I would say that as the seasons have gone on, the show has fallen a tad flat. Granted, it's still action-packed and full of sexy men, which keeps me watching, but I did (spoiler alert!) get fed up of the whole vampire council thing, where they were worshipping Lillith - or thought they were. Hopefully, though, it'll pick back up and maybe go back to some of the stronger plotting from the books. We shall see.

Bridget Jones' Diary

Wow - a contemporary in this list! Yes, I know this is totally different to all the others I've mentioned, but I just can't help it. I'm a huge Bridget fan - both of the books and the films. I love the humour, the realism, Bridget's self-deprecation, and the two films out so far I can pretty much quote line for line, and yet I watch them over, and over, and over... they're not fantasy, they're not magical, there are no vampires, but I still adore Bridget, her men and her world.

So, what are your favourite book adaptations? I may well revisit this topic in future, when I've had chance to devour more books :)

Happy Reading,
Lucy x

*****