Celebrating Strong Women in History and Details of a Massive Giveaway: Michelle Styles

In the aftermath of the US Presidential election, I returned a manuscript I’d abandoned earlier in the year, partly because I knew my heroine needed to be a proper warrior and I wasn’t sure how she’d be received. Suddenly,  the way forward became clear and I was able to write the strong woman protagonist that I had envisioned. It also enabled me to focus my annoyance at male entitlement behaviour and use it in a constructive fashion. Some of the writing process for me is utilizing my emotions in a positive fashion.

Do not let anyone fool you, women have always been strong. And history is littered with examples of  women who broke the mould if you look beyond the brief outlines. For example, one of Xerxes’s main naval commanders was a woman – Artemisia of Caria. He revered her advice above his other naval commanders and when she said to attack the Greeks at the battle of Salamis, he did. Or  Septima Zenobia who fought the late Roman Empire. Or St Bathilde who rose from being a slave to ruling the Merovingian Empire and who instituted the first laws against slavery in the 7^th century. To name but three. They tend to be overlooked, just as the women who ran banks and had licenses to print money during the Regency period are overlooked and brushed under the carpet. As an aside, I still see no reason (except for a male self-publicist’s word) why the Lady Patronesses who had access to  bank records, foreign courts etc would need to hang on Beau Brummell’s words about who to admit.

Within the Viking sagas, there are the Valkyries, long held to be a myth because no solo grave was ever found which contained both women’s implements and weapons. However, DNA testing recently turned this on its head when it proved a number of male warriors were in fact female. It had merely been male prejudice that had them wrongly attributed.

When it came to revisions, my editor gently pointed out that I had bottled showing the villain getting his just desserts. I had to agree. In discussions with my daughter, I realised that my heroine had to act. It was a case of an editor’s eyes really opening up mine to the possibilities. I do think The Warrior’s Viking Bride is one of the best books I have written thus far.

The reviews I have received  for The Warrior’s Viking Bride have confirmed my view.  4 stars from the RT. No one does Vikings better than Michelle Styles. The Warrior’s Viking Bride is a passionate romance between a Shield Maiden and a Gael warrior, who find love amid danger and betrayal. Styles’ attention to detail will captivate readers, as will her powerful characters and elaborate plots.

  And a lovely one from Chicks, Rogues and Scandals.Ms Styles has created an original and I found it to be a very moving story about moving on, and second chances. The storyline is a wonderful blend of romance and action with that seductive and mysterious quality that you only get from the Medieval era. I think Ms Styles has got Aeden and Dagmar spot on, they are both highly charged individuals who need the other in each of their lives.

This is so good, I cannot recommend it more. 

You can read the first chapter of The Warrior's Viking Bride for free. 

Giveaway

I have teamed up with Book Sweeps and 41 other authors to create a lavish giveaway which includes my latest The Warrior’s Viking Bride as well as a chance to win a new e-reader. The giveaway ends on 19 February and is very easy to enter.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romances generally featuring strong heroines. Her latest The Warrior's Viking Bride is published on 22 Feb (in case you haven't guessed) You can learn more about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk 

Nicole Locke- Celebrations & Giveaways Continue!

In August, I celebrated my mum's birthday and the release of The Knight's Scarred Maiden. I'd like to say thanks to everyone for sharing your celebrations! It was great fun reading them. I've sent a mail to the winner, and hope to post Rhain and Helissent's story to you soon!

As for the continuing celebrations?

Well, as much as I love writing romances, I think I may love chatting with other romance readers even more. The recent Blog Tour kept me up many a night comparing what's in our closets, what's our favourite snack, and who our favourite heroes and heroines are.


Later this month, there will be even more chatting romance when I, and my fellow Harlequin Historical author, Virginia Heath, attend the Historical Romance Retreat https://www.historicalromanceretreat.com (hope to see you there!).

Now while Virginia is making her own outfits for the festivities,  http://authorsoundrelations.blogspot.com/2017/08/sat-hello-to-veronica.html, I can barely sew on a button.

This has left me in a pickle. Because many of you know, I don't like to shop. I really don't. We've been in this house since December, and as of three days ago, I finally bought...a chair. My living room consists of a rug, and that's what we sit on.

Buying dresses, shoes, hats? I'm hopeless. How am I supposed to know what fits, or what looks good. And the attention to detail needed for period dresses is off the charts. I've been busy making purchases, but I'm returning just as much.

I still can't find a pair of silver shoes to fit my feet or match the dress. None. If anyone has any ideas where I can find a 1930's-ish closed round toe with ankle strap or T-bar, please let me know! I need these for the Grand Ball. Without them, I'll be like Cinderella after midnight, and with no shoes.

So does that leave me in a complete crisis? No. I'm celebrating because I get to chat with more romance readers and no doubt the conversations will be about all my favourite things like food, drink and our favourite heroes and heroines.

And I'd like to keep celebrating here, too. Since this is my fifth book with Harlequin, I want to give five books away. One of each from the Lovers and Legends series: The Knight's Broken Promise, Her Enemy Highlander, The Highland Laird's Bride, In Debt to the Enemy Lord, and The Knight's Scarred Maiden.

Just share your favourite romance novels or heroes and heroines in the comments (with a way to reach you --you can contact me at nicole@nicolelocke.com, too). I'll drop your names in a bowl for my daughter to grab, and notify you (privately) by October 4th!  

-- Nicole

Nicole Locke - Birthday Giveaway and Release!

I’m celebrating this month.

First off, it’s my mum’s birthday today. To say how grateful I am for her in my life isn’t enough. Happy Birthday, mum! Love you lots. Really do.

I’m also celebrating the release of Rhain and Helissent’s story: The Knight’s Scarred Maiden.

Let me tell you a bit about it.

Mercenary knight Rhain wanders the lands, fights for coin, and is haunted by his past. Then in a wreck of an inn, he tastes a cake made sublime with honey, and rescues a woman he wants more than any sweet. But with a vengeful warlord pursuing him, he’s merely a dead man awaiting the sword.

Helissent’s family died in a tragic fire, and she bears the scars for all to see. When she’s forced from her home, she bargains with her cakes for the traveling mercenaries to take her to a different town, even though, disfigured and shamed she survived when her family didn’t, she knows she’ll never have a better life.

Along the way, both Rhain and Helissent reveal their pasts, and begin to long for a future. But with the enemy pursuing them both, is it too late?


There’s so much to this story. A fun fact would be that the heroine, Helissent, is a baker. She compares her struggles to failed bakes, and thinks of people like ingredients. She also talks in baking terminology, which confuses many a discussion. I loved discovering how she thought.

So I had the bright idea to try a few of her Medieval recipes. Let’s just say I had a few failed bakes of my own, and I shared my misadventures at the Harlequin Blog: http://harlequinblog.com/2017/05/misadventures-in-medieval-cooking-recipe
If you want to follow the Blog Tour from August 1st to August 25th, where I talk more about the story, what's on my desk and even in my closet, the schedule is here:

https://rbpp-nicolelocke.blogspot.com

 Now, to celebrate the release, I’m giving a signed copy of The Knight’s Scarred Maiden to one randomly chosen person who comments to this post.

The question is: How do you like celebrating special occasions?

The contest is internationally available and I’ll keep the comments open until August 22^nd when I announced the winner!

Lisa B. Kamps: Falling In Love With a Seal...

Not that kind of SEAL, although there's certainly enough reasons to fall in love with them, too. And I actually got to train with those SEALS once, too. Well, kind of. But that's a story for another day!

This time, I mean real seals. Or rather, sea lions. Yes, I'm talking about those sleek majestic creatures that plow through water and make those cute woofing-barking sounds.

My husband and I went to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, a few weeks ago—our first trip there. And yes, we did the sightseeing and tequila tours and the whole beach-and-pool thing. But I wanted to do something else, a bucket list item: I wanted to swim with the dolphins.

You see, I used to work at the National Aquarium in Baltimore and got to see the dolphins every day. But I ran the retail operations there so that was all I got to do: see them, wave to them, play with them through the glass. So yes, a bucket list item was to actually swim and play with the dolphins, up close and personal.

So we did. And yes, it was wonderful! A real dream come true. If you get a chance to do it—do it!

I know, you're asking yourself what this has to do with sea lions. Well, when we checked in for the dolphin swim, they asked if we wanted to add on the sea lion adventure. I glanced at hubby.

                Me: You want to do the sea lion thing?

                Hubby (giving me a weird look): Really?

                Me: Yeah, it'll be fun.

                Hubby (rolling his eyes): Not really, no.

                Me (maybe kind of pouting): But I want to!

                Hubby (shaking his head and trying not to laugh at me): Then go ahead. I'll just watch.

                Bingo! One sea lion adventure coming up.

I really had no idea what to expect. Maybe a quick intro to learn about them; maybe lean over and toss them some disgusting raw fish or give them a quick pet. I was honestly clueless. I mean, everyone talks about the dolphins but I don't think I've ever heard anyone talk about swimming with the sea lions.

Let me tell you: I am so glad I did that impulsive add-on because I had more fun with the sea lion than I did with the dolphins!

Maybe it was because I didn't know what to expect. Maybe it was because I was the only person there. I don't know why, I just know it was way more fun than the dolphins!

It started with meeting the trainer, Jesus. He went over everything, gave me a lesson about sea lions, talked about conservation and rehab, told me what we were going to do. Then he introduced me to Marina, the female sea lion. A quick jump in the pool (which was a lot colder than I was expecting!) and it was play time!

Marina was the perfect hostess: cute and cuddly, smiling and winking, giving me hugs and kisses. Seriously. And we're talking real hugs here—there aren't any other kind when a 450-pound sea lion decides to give you a bear hug! And maybe she had fish-breath but with her diet, I can't really blame her.

 Marina giving kisses and lots of hugs!

I left the sea lion adventure with a new best friend, and memories of a lifetime. I also walked away with a lesson: bucket lists are great and I think everyone should have one. But never underestimate the lure of an impulsive adventure!

Oh…this has nothing to do with anything but I thought I'd do a shameless plug here as well. My newest release, PLAYING THE GAME, just came out on February 14. PTG is the launch title in a new hockey romance series, The York Bombers, and is already getting some great reviews! You can read more about it by checking things out here.

And just so I'm kind of tying things in here: comment below with some of your bucket list items (planned or impulsive) and I'll choose one random winner to receive a digital copy of Playing The Game. I'll post the winner's name in the comments on Tuesday morning, 2/21.

Until next time!

Lisa

Dani Collins: What Makes A Great Romance?

I read a blog this morning that talked about readers becoming frustrated lately because they are buying books marketed as romance, only to discover they don't have a Happily Ever After ending.

This got me thinking about what makes a great romance--which is very hard to pin down. But I think we can all agree that the lack of a satisfying, uplifting ending, one where the couple (or menage) look forward to a future together, makes for a lousy read if you're expecting a romance.

I remember the first time this happened to me. It was way back in the stone age, when I was still in high school. I was buying used books from garage sales. This particular story had a married man on a ranch kiss the heroine (brutally) and say some awful stuff. That was pretty much the extent of the romantic development. The heroine left the ranch alone, having learned something, I suppose.

Perhaps the book had literary merit. I actually can't recall much about it because I was so horrendously disappointed. Where was the angst? The love me, don't hurt me, the dawn of understanding? The emotional and physical intimacy?

Romance gets a bad rap sometimes because of its predictable happy ending, but it's obviously something readers want. (I do!) Romance is a (nearly) billion dollar industry. Its readership is obviously a strong and loyal one if non-romance authors are marketing their books as romance, trying to get in on that game.

But I guess that's why and how Harlequin found its niche with the Harlequin promise so many decades ago. It's definitely why I started reading them and why I wanted so badly to write for them.

As for what makes a 'great' romance. That's highly subjective. You would think that, as an author, I would know. I write what I like to read and cross my fingers that others like to read that, too. Even at that, when I wrote my current Harlequin Presents, The Secret Beneath The Veil, I struggled. It was the first time my editor said, "Why don't we schedule a call?" rather than just sending a revision letter.

I won't get into all the things we (I) wound up changing, but it was a book that did not write itself. I was pretty sure my hero was too harsh, my heroine too wishy-washy, my premise too outlandish. All of it stank and my career was over. When it finally released, I glanced at the reviews sideways, with one eye. Cautiously.

I hope I don't jinx it by telling you the reviews so far have been very kind. Which leads me to believe what makes a great romance is author angst. The more insecure I am on this side of the screen, the more likely you are to enjoy the end product. I'll go with that, otherwise I'd be too paralyzed to continue writing.

I'm curious, though. Have you wound up buying a romance recently only to find it lacks that integral HEA (or happy for now?) What do you think makes for a great read in a romance?

Comment for a chance to win: Clair and Aleksy from The Russian's Acquisition make a guest appearance in The Secret Beneath The Veil. I'll draw one lucky winner for a signed copy of The Russian's Acquisition on Sept 20th, and announce it in the comments. Check back to see if you won.

Here's the blurb and quick links for The Secret Beneath The Veil, available now.

"You may kiss the bride." 

With five little words, Mikolas Petrides secures a vital business merger and finally repays his grandfather for rescuing him from the horrors of his childhood. But when he lifts his new bride's veil, it's not the woman he was expecting!

Viveka Brice will do anything to protect her little sister, even pretend to marry a stranger. Her deception revealed, she flees the wedding, but is soon confronted by Mikolas. He is a man who always gets what he wants, and if the marriage is off, Viveka will have to compensate him—by becoming his mistress instead!

Amazon

US  |  CA  |  UK  |  Aus  |  Nook  |  Kobo  |  iBooks  |  GooglePlay  

USA Today Bestselling author Dani Collins writes sexy, witty, vibrant romance for Harlequin Mills and Boon, Montana Born Books, and herself. 

Dani lives in rural BC, Canada with her high school sweetheart where they're getting used to being empty nesters. 

Join Dani's reader group and receive Cruel Summer, a short story ebook romance (with an HEA!) as a welcome gift. 

Carrying A King's Child

Early reviews have been favourable and I'm really excited for Carrying A King's Child to be out! It's not my usual story in that Emily is a bar tender and not some sort of assistant/business person. But she has a lot of me in here. :)

1. She's a native Floridian who grew up on the water. I could swim before I could walk!
2. She loves the sunshine, outdoor water sports (see number 1) and getting rowdy in a bar!
3. She's fiercely independent and plans to raise her child to be the same.

Things that aren't me:
1. She had a weekend fling...that's not me.  I am so cautious when it comes to letting anyone in.
2. She's a red head.  My maternal grandmother used to dye her hair red and I have always secretly wanted to be a red head.
3. She's not a pet owner.  I love my little Godiva!

Here's a quick little teaser from the book:
One night leads to the pregnancy surprise of a lifetime in this novel from USA TODAY bestselling author Katherine Garbera… Tapped to become king of his family’s ancestral homeland, hotshot Miami businessman Rafe Montoro needs a break from the pressure. A night with Key West bartender Emily Fielding is just the ticket—until weeks later, when she shows up pregnant! Emily wants her child know its father, though as an “unsuitable commoner,” she doesn’t want to block Rafe’s ascent to the throne. Still, there’s that unrelenting chemistry between them that won’t be denied. Will Rafe have to choose between love and country after all?

Amazon.com

BN.com

Tell me something about yourself!  Are you like Emily and me and love the water or are you a pet lover?  I'm giving away a Cheryl's Cookie Card and a signed copy of Carrying A King's Child to one lucky commenter.  :)