Romance Novels

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} Please tell us a little bit about your current projects? Kelley: I’m currently writing The Descendant Vampire Series.  The Descendant (book 1) was published May 2012 and The Search (book 2) will be published later this year.  Dubbed a vampire tale of biblical proportions, The Descendant reveals the origin of the vampire through the experiences of a woman who discovers that she’s a descendant of the first vampire.  The search is on for answers in book 2 as Allison’s journey picks up where it left off in book 1. When was the moment that you knew you had to be a writer? Kelley: It was in 2009.  I call that period in my life my career midlife crisis.  I was unhappy with my day job and felt that there had to be something more for me out there. At that same time, I had just finished reading a book, the premise of which was so simple that I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it myself. Later that night, I declared to my husband that I was going to write a book.  To this day, I think that he thought I was nuts, but he never questioned me and I’ve been writing ever since. Every writer dreams of getting “the call”. What were you doing when yours came? Who got to hear the good news first?  Kelley: I never got the call from a literary agent. I found the process of querying agents in order to find a publisher quite tedious and time consuming. I did it for awhile, but after attending a writer’s conference and learning that my chances of landing an agent were essentially equivalent to finding the proverbial needle in the haystack, I decided to independently publish. I guess my version of “the call” is the first time I received a proof of my paperback. I was home alone and certainly knew what the package was. I opened it, held the book in my hand, then set it on the kitchen counter. After staring at it for a few moments, I said aloud “I did that.  I did that,” and pointed at the book.  Then I proceeded to jump up and down and scream before taking pictures and posting it on Facebook. Who gave you the one piece of writing advice that sticks with you to this day?  Kelley: It’s not so much writing advice as it is just plain good advice on this writing adventure and I don’t really recall where I heard it. The saying is, if you don’t ask, the answer will always be no.  For me, this really hit home as I don’t like to ask for things. But in this industry, if you don’t ask, you’re not going to get anything. I’m now asking for book reviews and donations for events and asking for my book to be carried in book stores, and surprisingly – most people say YES! Describe the “perfect” hero. What about the “perfect” hero for you? Kelley: I think the perfect hero is imperfect.  No one is perfect in the real world so why should a literary character be perfect?  I prefer bad boys with long hair and tattoos, a chip on his shoulder but a soft spot for the people he loves (think Jax from Sons of Anarchy). What are some of your favorite pastimes? Do you have any hobbies or collections?  Kelley: I love to ride my Harley Davidson. My husband taught me how to ride

A bit about the novel Talking Dirty with the CEO: Gadget journalist Christie St. John is more geek than chic. But when research for an article she has to write on online dating leads to the bed of the hottest guy she’s ever met, she knows that if the geek is to keep the hottie CEO, she’s going to have to come out of her digital shell. Tech mogul Joseph Ashton never expected an Internet blind date to end in the best sex of his life. Yet as the chemistry between him and Christie burns out of control, he can’t help but think this woman is out for his money like all the rest. She claims she wants his heart instead – but that’s the one thing he can never give. Top Ten Places to Get It On With An Alpha Hero You may have heard writers complain about how their characters do stuff that the writers themselves didn’t make them do. You may think that sounds nuts.  Okay, it IS nuts. But it’s also true. My characters are ALWAYS doing stuff I don’t approve of. Take the sexy times for example. Sometimes they get it on when I don’t think they’re ready. Sometimes they DON’T get it on when they ARE ready. Sometimes they get it on in TOTALLY INAPPROPRIATE places and I’m thinking ‘My God, people! Have you no shame??’ Or – more often – ‘how on earth am I supposed to choreograph that??’  Because once they get into it, you can’t move them. It kills the mood, man! Talking Dirty with the CEO, and in fact my Talking Dirty series as a whole, has sexy times in places that I was not expecting nor approve of (hear that Christie and Joseph???).  Most of them are not in beds. So, to give you a taster, here’s my top ten places where my heroines get it on with their heroes. A bathroom vanity. Hey, they were in the bathroom. Joseph decided to make his move and baby, it was all on. They did not want to stop to find somewhere more comfortable. The fools! Against a wall – rather tame but at least they had the decency to be inside the apartment at the time. On a couch in a photographic studio. I guess I should be grateful the hero didn’t take photos…then… On a Ferrari. Honestly, dude, did you not think of the paintwork?? In an office supply room. Yes, it’s a cliché. I told the hero that but he didn’t care, the idiot. On a couch in the heroine’s apartment. That’s when the hero started taking photos (honestly, that was all his own decision, nothing to do with me). In a rugby locker room. It was empty – thank God – and interestingly it was the hero who decided not to go all the way. To my surprise! A shower. Well, at least it’s warm and there aren’t any jockstraps (see above). Okay, so that’s only eight because the other sexy times are in beds. So I’ll include another couple from some of the books I’m working on now. On a plane. I know, it’s virtually impossible to do this on a plane these days but still. Thank you very much, hero! Not. In an elevator. At least I think they’re going to do it in an elevator. I haven’t finished the scene yet so who knows?  They may decide to stop and wait till they find somewhere more comfortable. Anything’s possible! So what about you guys? What’s the most unusual sexy times location you’ve read about? a Rafflecopter giveaway A bit about Jackie: Jackie has been writing fiction since she was eleven years old. Mild mannered fantasy/SF/pseudo-literary writer by day, obsessive romance writer by night, she used to balance her writing with the more serious job of librarianship until a chance meeting with another romance writer prompted her to throw off the shackles of her day job and devote herself to the true love of her heart – writing romance. She particularly likes to write emotional stories with alpha heroes who’ve just got the world to their liking only to have it blown wide apart by their kick

by Amy Wilkins, Harlequin Digital Your local public health wants you to know the dangers of Red Lung! What is Red Lung you ask? In Julie Kagawa‘s Blood of Eden series (The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure), the Red Lung virus has killed most of the earth’s population, and the survivors now live in a walled city — and under the control of vampires. MTV’s Hollywood Crush blog got an exclusive look at the New Covington Public Heath Dept.’s posters about Red Lung and other dangers of the post-apocalyptic world of Blood of Eden (hint: the virus is just one thing that could kill you–or worse!). Here’s a peak at one of them! See all four posters here. Which one is YOUR favorite? To learn more about the Blood of Eden series and get free downloads, visit www.bloodofeden.com.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine. "With her signature heart and humor, Julie Halpern explores a strained friendship strengthened by one girl’s battle with cancer. Alex’s father recently died in a car accident. And on the night of his funeral, her best friend Becca slept with Alex’s boyfriend. So things aren’t great. Alex steps away from her friendship with Becca and focuses on her family. But when Alex finally decides to forgive Becca, she finds out something that will change her world again--Becca has cancer. So what do you do when your best friend has cancer? You help her shave her head. And then you take her bucket list and try to fulfill it on her behalf. Because if that’s all you can do to help your ailing friend--you do it."Why I Can't Wait: First of all, the cover? Love it! I originally saw this book in Macmillan's winter catalog and immediately wanted to read it. It's a book about friendship and loss, two subjects I personally hold dear. I'm also curious to see what's on this "F-it list" and how both Alex and Becca deal with everything going on in their lives. This doesn't seem like an easy read but definitely sounds like a good one! Expected publication: November 12th 2013 by Feiwel & FriendsAdd it on Goodreads.

Click here for the tour stops!Entangled Publishing's newest category line, Covet, is all about contemporary paranormals with a strong, romantic trope at the core, hot alpha heroes, and deliciously satisfying relationships developed between hero and heroine. I'm thrilled to be part of Covet's official launch, and I think lovers of paranormal will be thrilled with the Covet releases.To learn more about me, please visit any of my Bad Mouth Official Blog Tour stops. Each blog stop will give you a chance to win a free ebook of Bad Mouth. There's lots of opportunity to hear from me on the blogs hosting me so I decided to offer you something different this time, a teaser excerpt from Bad Mouth. You can read the first chapter right here, but for The Romance Studio audience, I'm offering a scene you won't find anywhere else. In this scene, Val first meets Kade (I was sorely tempted to show the next scene after this which is Kade's POV, but I worried the content wasn't suitable for general audiences. It's not titled Bad Mouth for nothing, lol). You'll definitely want to stay tuned following the excerpt for TWO great giveaways!She turned away to focus on the horizon and calm her nerves and her rising anger. Alice had set this meeting up personally, so the useless desk-jockey vampire had known damn well to expect them. Rollins was playing with them already, but she refused to be intimidated by his lack of attendance.Val heard nothing, not even a hint of sound, but a heavy awareness swept through her. Her muscles tensed with a fight-or-flight burst of adrenaline. A charge of energy whispered along her nerves, causing her skin to tingle and raising goose bumps on her arms that had nothing to do with the frigid room. A ticklish sensation brushed at her nape, as if someone stood a hairsbreadth away. Though she tried for nonchalance as she turned, the movement was too fast and jerky to fool a vampire.She drew a sharp breath when she saw Rollins. He wasn’t right behind her but at least ten feet away. Lord, if he had that much presence at ten feet, he would overwhelm up close and in full contact. Before she could examine the thought further, he made a slow approach like a predator stalking his prey.She had to remind herself to breathe. The man was devastating. The top of her head barely made it to his shoulders, and he was nearly twice as wide as her, those broad shoulders straining the white fabric of his T-shirt. His denim jeans were dark but faded in the area snug around his strong, thick thighs.Where Graham had the soft features of an angel, this man was all solid, firm angles, his jaw a determined square, cheekbones high, and nose perfectly straight and proportioned, like Olen’s. His lean cheeks gave him a harsh aspect. His hair was shiny and black, but cut military-short in the back and slightly longer in the front. He wasn’t GQ pretty, but raw and wickedly handsome, so ruggedly sexy the sight of him made her inner muscles clench. The sensual being that had slumbered for too long inside of her unfurled and sat up at attention.Those seductive, kiss-you-senseless lips moved up into a humorless curve. Then his eyes registered through her daze. They were colder than the room, the deep bloodred of them reminding her just what he was and what he liked to do to humans. No matter how handsome his appearance, animosity hardened his face. It didn’t take a genius to figure out how he felt about the VLO’s investigation.“Mr. Rollins?” Her voice came out more like a whisper. She knew she must look like a deer in the headlights, and she would swear she’d tried to make her words into a statement, not a question. So much for appearing nonchalant. Despite the chill in the room, heat shot straight down to her core.“Valerie.” His voice fed dark chocolate to her senses, rich and decadent. The vampire was a hot, enticing male, and she was a healthy female in the midst of a sexual dry spell, so her attraction made perfect sense. It made her want to heave. Her bo

Anne here. Today the Word Wenches celebrate seven years of blogging — that's quite an achievement when you realize how many blogs have faded away in that time. To celebrate, we're having a little party — a dessert party, and each of us is sharing a delicious historical dessert. Mary Jo kicks off with Ice Cream!   “I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!”  The words above come from a popular song of 1925, but chilled desserts that literally melt in your mouth have a much longer history.  Flavoring snow with fruit and juices goes all the way back to the Persians, at least. Alexander the Great was said to be very fond of it, too. (The pics in this section are from Historic Food, used with permission.) The Arabs seem to have been the first to use dairy products—milk, cream, or yoghurt—in their chilled desserts, and they came up with a form of industrial production.  Flavorings could include rosewater, nuts, and dried fruits, and it was available in the major cities of the Arab world such as Cairo and Damascus.  There are lots of great stories of early frozen desserts, which seem to have been popular everywhere, with the key difficulty being the acquisition of snow or ice in order to make the treat.  The Mughal emperors of India used relays of swift horse to bring snow from the Hindu Kush for their sorbets.  It’s said that ice cream is one of the things Marco Polo brought back to Italy, presumably to follow up the pasta dinner he is also credited with.    I like this anecdote from Wikipedia: “Charles I of England was, it was reported, so impressed by the "frozen snow" that he offered his own ice cream maker a lifetime pension in return for keeping the formula secret, so that ice cream could be a royal prerogative.[12] There is no historical evidence to support these legends,”   Even if there is no evidence to support this, doesn’t it sound just like Charles the I and his divine right of kings nonsense, where the best stuff is saved for the very rich?  But it’s true that for centuries, frozen desserts were the prerogative of the elite.  George and Martha Washington famously served ice cream at Mount Vernon; his recipe began by saying to chop ice from Potomac and preserve it in an ice house until spring heralded the arrival of good cream and fruit.  The dishes used to serve the ice cream were tiny, holding only an ounce or two. (more about this here )   The 19th century produced the democratization of ice cream, with insulated ice houses, commercial production, and the invention of small hand cranked ice cream makers.  We’ve been scarfing down vast quantities of ice cream ever since, because it makes us happy!   What inspired me to contribute ice cream to the Word Wenches 7th Anniversary blog was a video  about a genius young woman in Chicago who invented a method of making custom ice creams in 60 seconds by combining a base, adding your choice of flavorings, and then blasting it with liquid nitrogen.  It was a grad school project for her.  Being Chicago, which gets seriously cold, the iCream shop can also make warm pudding.  I watched the video, and I want some of that Peanut Butter Oh My Gosh! ice cream.  Now! And now, here's Pat.  For our anniversary, I present a Victorian chocolate dessert from the queen’s kitchen:  You will notice the cake calls for Dutch cocoa, which didn’t exist until 1828 when a Dutch chemist invented a hydraulic press to extract half the fat from  chocolate liquid. By pulverizing the dry residue and adding alkaline salts (blech, ptui) to cut the  bitterness, he revolutionized the chocolate industry, making chocolate cheaper and more accessible to the average consumer. (There’s a wonderful, more detailed history here.)   When Spain first brought back the cacao bean (Columbus stupidly declined to take

I’ve been working away on my next Sinclair Sister’s novel. I keep getting interrupted with other work. Hoo boy. However, having realized the other day that I had started the book in the wrong place— Actually, that gives an incorrect impression that somehow I would have known the REAL chapter 1, if only I were a smarter, better, writer. What I should say is I realized that my current chapter 15 would be an EXCELLENT chapter 1 and that the book will be much much better for moving all the chapters around. It happens that that are currently only two chapters after 15. When I wrote my actual first words, they were a place for me to jump in. NOW I can get to my post Anyway, I’ve been working on Lucy and Thrale and thinking about them a lot even though because of all the interruptions I haven’t gotten in as many words as I’d like. And then I realized that I need a place for Thrale to live. I gave him a vague location in Lord Ruin, but now I need to know about the interior and his relationship to it. This meant I pulled out my reference books to start looking at pictures and diagrams and about five minutes later I started getting annoyed at whoever deiced homes should be build with 8 ft ceilings instead of 10 or 12 feet and THEN I started wondering about the kind of ethos in which a class of persons, who cannot help but see people living in squalid homes, build themselves houses that big and that spacious. Sometimes, when I’m staring out my window thinking about a plot point, or character issue, I think wouldn’t it be nice to be a bird? Because then I wouldn’t have to go to work. I’d just flit around all day looking for seeds or bugs or what have you. Plus, birds don’t stay up too late and then remember 4.5 hours later why it was a bad idea to keep reading :::damnalarmclock::: And THEN I remember that birds also do not have grocery stores. They have to get their own food ALL THE TIME and there are predators who think of them as dinner. There WAS such a thing as Bad Taste And so, as I flip through the pages of my Lost Mansions of Mayfair, glad, after all, that I am not a bird, I see photographic evidence of people with a lot more money than most. Some of them built big houses and then decorated the decorations until you think your eyes might actually bleed. It is in fact, possible to go too far with the bling. Seriously. There must have been some snickering going on with people who thought bling is an additive property. MORE!! MORE!!! Byzantene Good. Rococo Great! Byzantine AND Rococo BETTTER!!!!! Then again, suppose you hired cheap with the architectural work and when you come see your new home for the first time? GAHHHHH!!! And you blew your wad on someone who thinks there’s no such thing as too busy. While I’m on the subject, sometimes I see pictures of period gowns and I think the dress is ugly. There. I said it. Some of those dresses had too much frilly crap all over the place. Thrale’s Fate? So, what kind of house does Thrale have? I think maybe his father had awful taste….. ETA: Sorry about the late post! I put the wrong date when I scheduled it. Sheesh.

The Reluctant Amazon by Sandy James (Alliance of the Amazons #1) Carina Press (Sept 2012) Ebook, 300 pages Fantasy Romance When it comes to Urban Fantasy or even Paranormal Romance, it is becoming ever more difficult to find a book with a truly unique hook. For me, Sandy James’ series Alliance of the Amazons is one of those rare gems. Instead of the usual Vampires, Werewolves and Fae (along with those that hunt them), this series is all about a group of four women taking on the mantle of “Amazon” and serving their respective Goddesses element (Earth, Fire, Air, Water) in the fight against Zombies (or revenants as they are called). The first book in the series, The Reluctant Amazon, is all about Rebecca Matthews, a school teacher and her personal journey in picking up the mantle of being the Earth Amazon. We find that in every generation there is woman who is born with the potential to becoming an Amazon. They will only be called upon if the balance between good and evil is thrown off. On her wedding day, Rebecca not only gets jilted at the alter by her mamma’s boy fiancé, she also ends up finding out her destiny from the sexy Sentinal/Trainer/300 year-old Highland Warrior, Artair and the Amazons’ guardian, Sparks, who is the previous generation’s Fire Amazon. It seems that along with the previous Air Amazon, Maria, dying during battle, a number of blonde girls have gone missing and the other two Amazons, Heather (Earth) and Trishna (Water), can’t be found. It is up to Artair, Sparks and the new recruits to get to the bottom of who is causing this balance shift and stop them. This was a book that I couldn’t put down. With each chapter I grew more and more engrossed in the universe that James had created. True, some of the themes and plots (such as the empowering of seemingly normal women) have been covered and explored before in many other formats as well as books, but this was inconsequential. At the heart of this book still remains its vast and different characters. Since this is effectively Artair and Rebecca’s book, the focus is firmly on them and their story. However, that doesn’t mean that the other characters such as Rebecca’s sister Amazons Megan, Trishna and Gina are not changed, and by the end you do see that they have been evolved by the events in this book. The overall story arc of some off screen Super-villain is cleverly constructed and for most part of the book you are under the impression that it is in fact one of a number of disgruntled Demigods or ancient powers that is behind this latest attack. In fact, in true Super-villain fashion the prime suspect makes themselves known in a very public way, almost taunting the Amazons with their brilliance. I admit, I did believe that it was this person who was the true mastermind behind this scheme, but when the curtain is thrown back to show the true puppet master and more to the point the motivations for this play for power… Well let’s just say it did take me by surprise. This person was on my suspect list as helping the fake villain and I didn’t expect them to be the head honcho of devilish plans. This plotline is simmering in the background, while the majority of the book is concentrated on the training of Rebecca and Megan. The difference in personalities is evident, but the bond that is often talked about in books like this is very clear to see, with the little things that each woman does for the other. It is a pleasure to watch these two strangers form a very strong sisterly bond, right from their first meeting in the bar that Megan worked at. They are not rivals for the affections of some male (Though it is very evident from the time that Artair crashed Rebecca’s wedding that these two would end up together). This is the sisterhood that we all dream of having. Yes, you may fall out and there are the inevitable conflicts of personalities, but this group proves that you can transcend all that for the greater good. Rebecca travels the furthe

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the fabulous ladies at The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is my top ten favorite covers of books I've read. Y'all know what a cover whore I am. Here we go!Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton (the hardback!)Graceling by Kristin Cashore (the UK cover)The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin Hourglass by Myra McEntireDefiance by C.J. RedwineWither by Lauren DeStefano The Forsake by Lisa M. StasseJust One Day by Gayle Forman For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana PeterfreundWicked Lovely by Melissa MarrAnd there you have it! What are some of your favorite book covers?

Well, this has been an unexpectedly busy week! I have two new releases to celebrate. The long-awaited print release of A Taste of Honey (Oberon, book 4) and the hopefully-much-anticipated digital release of Ashes of the Day (Children of Night, book 4). A Taste of Honey is one of my all-time favorite books. I was just talking about that with a friend when I was at RT earlier this month. That’s why I’m thrilled that it’s finally in print! I loved the characters of Lucy and Dan, even if they did disrupt my sleep for months—waking me up and demanding I tell their story. Not that I minded too much; I loved their story, after all. Just like I loved the fact that, since much of their book was set in May, I got to celebrate Spring in California in all its abundant glory. This story isn’t just about two people who love each other very much but still manage to sometimes make mistakes, it’s about a whole family. Considering how much of the sub-plots revolve around teenagers, and food, various business enterprises (not to mention angels!) this still manages to be a very sexy book. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Taste-Honey-Oberon-4/dp/0744307872Ashes of the Day features another of my very favorite couples—vampires Conrad and Damian. They also haunted my dreams for many months. They’re also all wrapped up in family matters. I actually thought I’d gotten the two of them settled way back in book two, Old Sins, Long Shadows, but it’s taken another two books just to tie up all the loose ends. In this story, the Fischer-Quintano family is once again center-stage with flashbacks to the twins’ formative years, struggles as they grapple for independence and, more heartbreak and loss. Hey, they’re vampires—and not the kind that sparkle, either. It can’t always be rainbows and sunshine for them. But at least they have cookies—and you can too, if you enter my giveaway:Ashes of the Day is currently on sale here: http://store.samhainpublishing.com/ashes-of-the-day-p-7402.htmla Rafflecopter giveaway