Gem Sivad: Romance Author

Six Sentence Sunday

Gem — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 06:00:23 +0000

Hi everyone. *waving* Hope your week was fun and productive. Today I’m sharing my last six sentences from River’s Edge for awhile. Thanks for being such a great audience. You’ve really helped me get the personalities of these two fixed in my brain.

Straddling the mechanical contraption she’d ridden in on, Miss Prescott leaned toward him and said calmly, “I would like to hire you.”

“I don’t sell my gun skills any more,” Edge told her, wondering what in hell had her spooked enough to try and buy protection from a gunslinger.

She said tartly, “Well that’s certainly good news, since I’d rather sketch you alive.”

Remembering the last time she’d rendered his likeness, the devil in him couldn’t resist asking, “If it’s paying me to draw my pictures you’re offering, would that be with or without my clothes?”

She balanced one foot on the metal pad, pushed off from the ground with the other, and shouted over her shoulder as she pedaled away, “Yes. If you’re interested, be at the willow tree tomorrow.”

Check out more great Six Sentence Sunday Authors at the Official Site.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gem

Contest Winner

Gem — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 01:48:49 +0000

Posted @ The Reader’s Roundtable Days Gone By…

Thanks everyone who stopped at Days Gone By during the interview and book give-away this lovely site hosted for me.

CARA BRISTOL

Please contact us at:

thereadersroundtable @ gmail (dot) com to claim your prize.

Highland Storm Available Today!!

Gem — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 06:00:41 +0000

Woot! Tonight I’ll be reading Highland Storm by Ranae Rose. I’ve been waiting for this historical romance and it’s releasing today from Total.E.Bound Publishing

ISBN: 978-085715-872-7

Blurb: Highland heir Alexander Gordon is the answer to the disgraced Isla Forbes’ prayers—but should she redeem herself by killing him to avenge her brother, or let him rescue her by becoming his wife?

A Gordon man ruined Isla Forbes’ life. Blamed for her brother’s death and desperate for escape from her father’s abuse, she journeys to a saint’s spring to plead for help. A fierce storm that sweeps across the highlands drives her into the arms of the striking Alexander Gordon, heir of Benstrath and half-brother to her own brother’s murderer. It’s obvious he’s the answer to her prayers…but should she redeem herself by killing him to avenge her brother, or let him save her by loving him?

EXCERPT:

The air smelt of rain and lightning. Isla drew her cloak further over her head, holding it fast against the wind with a fist beneath her chin. Fat raindrops pelted her face anyway, driven almost sideways by a particularly fierce gust, plastering a few stray strands of her fiery red hair against her fair cheek. Water flew into her moss-green eyes, causing her to blink against the sting. She cursed under her breath as her horse plodded on, its ears laid flat against its skull. She hadn’t expected foul weather. There had been no sign of an impending storm earlier that morning when she’d ridden from home. Sign or no, her skirts clung to her legs, soaked, as she rode onwards across the rain-swept highlands without hope of shelter. Should she turn around and begin the journey home?

No. She was too close, and it might be weeks or even months before she had another chance to abandon her home and chores for half a day. Her father had gone to his brother’s farm to help him with the breaking of a particularly feisty colt, intending to stay at least two days. In preparation, she had doubled her efforts around their modest home and fields over the past couple of days to ensure this trip wouldn’t cause her to fall noticeably behind on her work. Her hands were raw from it—even holding the leather reins stung her fingers. She could only hope no one would come calling and find their cottage empty, or recognise her riding across the countryside and mention it to her father. He would demand an explanation for her dalliance, and what would she tell him? Certainly not the truth. She shoved the thought from her mind and focused instead on the road ahead, which had turned rapidly from a dirt path winding through the heather to a sticky ribbon of mud. She eyed the field to her left and the forest to her right in turn. She hadn’t come far enough yet to want to enter the woods. The heather, however, would make for better footing than the thick mud. She tightened a rein and pressed a leg against her mount’s side, urging him off the road.

The horse—a stout little bay gelding she called Briar—turned his head slightly to the left and lurched suddenly, plummeting beneath Isla. She bobbed in the saddle, caught unawares by his stumble. Briar struggled to right himself, heaving beneath her as an ominously sticky, wet sound came from below. She swung out of the saddle and landed in the mud, in which she found his front left hoof entrenched. It was hard to tell exactly where his leg ended and the earth began, because his coat was naturally the colour of mud, but it was obvious he’d sunk in well past his fetlock. He snorted and pulled, pawing the mud with his free foot. She placed a hand against his damp neck and attempted to calm him, fearing the sound of snapping bone would soon join the noise of sloshing mud and pelting rain to create a symphony of doom.

“Shh…” She stroked Briar’s neck with one hand while she felt her way steadily down his leg with the other.

Briar snorted and gave one last pull just as Isla’s fingertips brushed his soiled knee. His foot came lose with a loud pop and he slid a little in the mud, caught off balance. Something gleamed silver in the churned earth—a horseshoe. Isla groaned, placed a palm flat against Briar’s grime-splattered chest and pushed, urging him backwards, away from the treacherous pool of churned, wet earth that had robbed him of his shoe. He complied, his hooves splashing in the layer of rainwater that glazed the surface of the saturated ground. She pulled him into the heather, patting his neck and eyeing the lost horseshoe with regret. What would her father say? She’d better grab the shoe and tuck it into her saddlebag so she could take it home, toss it into the paddock and pretend it had been lost there.

“Hold still, now, Briar.” She relinquished her hold on his reins and stepped back out onto the road.

He stared at her complacently with large, dark eyes, any sense of adventure or mischievousness cowed by the driving rain.

Isla experienced one fleeting moment of shelter from the downpour as she bent to pluck the horseshoe from the road, her hood falling forward to hide her face as she eyed the muddied, upturned earth. And then the rain was back, cold and biting against her cheek as she rose and tucked the shoe into a fold in her cloak. A distant flash of movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention as she slogged forward to reach for Briar’s hanging reins. She turned and squinted against the downpour, barely able to make out a figure approaching on horseback.

Her heart leapt and her mouth went suddenly dry. Who could the rider be? Even from this distance, she could see the rider was so large it had to be a man. He couldn’t be her father—not coming this way, anyway, unless… Unless he’d returned early, found her missing and set out to search for her. She began to shift into a panic as the possibility, unlikely as it was, occurred to her and took root in her mind like a fast-growing weed. She clutched the reins tightly and leaned against Briar’s shoulder, peering from beneath her hood at the approaching horse and rider. When he came close enough for her to recognise, she realised she didn’t know who he was. The momentary relief that followed this revelation was quickly overpowered by a second wave of desperate speculation. Who was he, and why—oh, why—did he have to be riding here and now? His blue and green hunting tartan was woven in a pattern popular in the region, so he probably hailed from nearby. Isla knew she’d ridden far enough from home towards Gordon lands for there to be a strong possibility the stranger was indeed a Gordon man.

She wrung the leather reins, sending jolts of pain from her raw fingertips to her tired wrist. If her father was the worst man she could have met on the road, a Gordon was a close second. Her free hand twitched at her side as she remembered the knife she’d tucked into her boot, a bladed talisman against the danger that was approaching on horseback. She longed to reach for it, to feel its comforting weight against her palm.

Available Today @ Total.E.Bound Publishing

And the winners are Eileen, Kris, and Regina

Gem — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 18:21:13 +0000

Searching

The Duke Hondo

Western art by Kim Lockman

Can we say COWBOY? Yesterday’s visit @ Wild and Wicked Cowboys was a grand experience. The readers dropped by in a steady stream and I chatted all day about the merits of John Wayne, Sam Elliot, Clint Eastwood, James Arness, Antonio Banderas, Tom Selleck, the cast of Lonesome Dove and many other actor/cowboys. Yummm…

Using Randomizer.org , Randi Alexander, a W&W author, selected three winners and I’ve already sent to them their prizes–a copy of my Eclipse Heat titles Perfect Strangers and Quincy’s Woman and the W&W author, Denise McDonald’s ebook, Deadly Mistakes.

Congrats to Kris, Eileen, and Regina! Way to go ladies. Hope you enjoy curling up with a hot stud tonight.

To everyone who stopped by (record number of 496 visits), thanks so much for your support and interest.

Loved the fun!

Gem

I’m playing with the big girls today!

Gem — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:00:18 +0000

Yay! I’m over at Wild and Wicked Cowboys today gabbing and giving away books too.

Two titles of mine–Perfect Strangers and Quincy’s Woman–go in the hat. AND a backlist title from one of the W&W authors goes in too.

Count ‘em, there are 14 fantastic authors over there and a zillion books to choose from. Randi Alexander /marietuhart / Author Cat Johnson / sherryjames / desiree01holt / Denise McDonald / Larissa Lyons / Delilah Devlin /staceyespino / evecassidy/ Sophie Oak / J.L. Langley / Myla Jackson

Stop in @

Wild and Wicked Cowboys

See you there!

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Gem — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 06:00:15 +0000

Welcome everyone!

We’re in Edge Grayson’s POV in this snippet from River’s Edge.

As Edge prepared for his visit with Miss Prescott, he experienced a momentary flush of embarrassment when he remembered stroking his shaft to stiffness.

Why had a grown woman been sitting in a willow tree drawing pictures?

And how long was she there? Maybe she didn’t see me do that.

Instead of cringing in shame, his cock stood proud, evidently remembering too.

“Dammit, behave,” he muttered.

Check out more great Six Sentence Sunday Authors at the Official Site.

Thanks for stopping by.

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Gem — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 06:00:39 +0000

Hello again! It’s already the third week in January and time is moving at warp speed. Today, I’m posting another snippet from my wip, River’s Edge.

Scene set up: Still in courtroom.

“Let me see what she’s got there,” the judge demanded, holding out his hand for the pictures.

A hint of pink tinged her cheeks as Edge met her gaze, discovering eyes as green as the willow branches she’d hidden behind.

Now that it looked like he could relax, he studied her.

She was a small, thin female past the first blush of womanhood.

Her molasses colored hair bundled into a severe bun at her nape, framed a thin face with a sharp little nose and a mouth forming a delicate bow with a surprisingly full lower lip.

Old maid, plain as a mud-fence, and peeping-tom or not, he liked everything about Miss Prescott when she stared down the hostile audience and declared him innocent.

Check out more great Six Sentence Sunday Authors at the Official Site.

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.

Have a great week!

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Gem — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 06:00:06 +0000

Greetings, everyone. Hope the first week of 2012 was good for you.

Six more sentences today from my wip, River’s Edge.

Edge heard the name of his savior for the first time when she was sworn in–River Prescott.

She proceeded to tell her tale and the old lawyer serving as the county’s attorney in the case interrupted her asking, ”River, are you certain you have the correct day?”

She opened her satchel pulling out a stack of paper Edge was just as interested in seeing as the rest of the men in the courtroom.

“I’ve been sketching Mr. Grayson, using him as my model.” She handed the pictures to the attorney and said, “As you can see, each scene is dated.”

The judge couldn’t have been more sour if he’d been sucking on a persimmon and a shroud of disappointment hung over the the courtroom as the audience realized they weren’t going to get to hang him today.

Check out more great Six Sentence Sunday Authors at the Official Site.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

Gem

You’re a Winner!

Gem — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:01:32 +0000

Thank you everyone who stopped by yesterday during our amazing trip through memory lane. Hands down, Marvin Gaye’s ”Got to Give it Up” was the preferred version of hubs and my New Year’s Eve dance music.

And now onto the winners…

First Grand Prize Winner- Lilaz won the Kindle Fire! You go girl! You’re going to have so much fun filling your new ereader with delicious stories.

Second Grand Prize Winner-June won the $80 Amazon GC. Congratulations June!

Gem’s Winner-Using the randomizer to make sure I impartially chose a winner for my individual book give away, Izaboe’s name popped out.

Izaboe, thank you so much for commenting on my NY Memory blog. I also love Jim Croce’s music and “Time in a Bottle” is one of my favorites. You’ve won a copy of Perfect Strangers, my latest Eclipse Heat historical western (steamy) romance.

Enjoy!

Mark your calendars because Author, Carrie Ann Ryan (organizer of this event) has a St. Patrick’s Day Blog Hop planned.

Thanks for stopping by,

Gem

New Year Memories

Gem — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 02:45:55 +0000

It’s hard to separate one memory from the rest when I think over the experiences I’ve had during New Year’s celebrations. My husband and I always have a party, even if it’s only a few people coming in to raise a glass with us at midnight.

But one thing is consistent. Whether we’re alone or in a group, hubs and I dance. It’s one of the things that drew us together and each New Year’s Eve, we face each other, dueling to the tune “Got to Give it Up.”

We started the tradition 17 years ago when we married. Since then, there’s been a lot of new versions and new dance steps to try out. The original song is by Marvin Gaye. Click on the button below and you’ll see what I mean by “dueling”. It’s a looooong song, (The original is 12+ minutes, has two parts and I recommend it for anyone looking for a work-out tape. )

Click here to view the embedded video.

Then there’s Justin Timberlake’s version:

Click here to view the embedded video.

What’s your favorite dance song? Or which version of my two picks do you like best? Comments will go in a drawing for my latest Eclipse Heat book–Perfect Strangers.

Have a wonderful 2012, everyone!

Gem

To enjoy other authors on this holiday blog tour of memories, follow this link:

2012 Memory Tour

Gem Sivad: Romance Author

Six Sentence Sunday

Thanks for stopping by,

Gem

Contest Winner

Posted @ The Reader’s Roundtable Days Gone By…

CARA BRISTOL

Please contact us at:

thereadersroundtable @ gmail (dot) com to claim your prize.

Highland Storm Available Today!!

Blurb: Highland heir Alexander Gordon is the answer to the disgraced Isla Forbes’ prayers—but should she redeem herself by killing him to avenge her brother, or let him rescue her by becoming his wife?

“Shh…” She stroked Briar’s neck with one hand while she felt her way steadily down his leg with the other.

“Hold still, now, Briar.” She relinquished her hold on his reins and stepped back out onto the road.

He stared at her complacently with large, dark eyes, any sense of adventure or mischievousness cowed by the driving rain.

Available Today @ Total.E.Bound Publishing

And the winners are Eileen, Kris, and Regina

Loved the fun!

Gem

I’m playing with the big girls today!

Count ‘em, there are 14 fantastic authors over there and a zillion books to choose from. Randi Alexander /marietuhart / Author Cat Johnson / sherryjames / desiree01holt / Denise McDonald / Larissa Lyons / Delilah Devlin /staceyespino / evecassidy/ Sophie Oak / J.L. Langley / Myla Jackson

Wild and Wicked Cowboys

Leave a comment and check out all those hot studs living inside their book covers!

See you there!

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Thanks for stopping by.

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Thanks for stopping by, everyone.

Have a great week!

Gem

Six Sentence Sunday

Thanks for stopping by this week.

Gem

You’re a Winner!

Thanks for stopping by,

Gem

New Year Memories

Have a wonderful 2012, everyone!

Gem