Dani Collins: New Year, New Books!

I'm delighted start the year with a new book! Not In Her Wildest Dreams, released yesterday, Jan 15th!

I'm equally delighted to tell you that the wonderful Lee of Author Sound Relations, who runs this blog, was my cover artist. Didn't she knock it out of the park?

These books are very much a project of passion for me. I wrote them before I sold, back when I was struggling and facing repeated rejections and growing quite sure no one would ever read my books.

When you take twenty-five years to sell, you get pretty disheartened. But after much soul searching and fist shaking and crying in the shower, I accepted that I am a romance writer, whether my books find eyes beyond my own or not. I kept submitting because I hoped to sell, but I wrote because I had to.

I actually had an agent when I wrote these books, but they weren't picked up and we parted ways. I set the stories aside when I placed in Harlequin Presents Instant Seduction contest. By that time, I had realized that one of the reasons I hadn't sold was that I kept writing something different every time I sat down. Glamor? Check. Small town? Got it. Erotic Romance. Shh. Medieval Fantasy? Why not? I didn't know where I wanted to be.

Actually, I had always, always wanted to be with Harlequin Presents, so I focused on that and six or eight manuscripts later, this happened-->
(It should be noted that Harlequin Presents are published as Mills & Boon Modern in the UK.) The career I had been waiting for had arrived!

But I had all these manuscripts on the hard drive. Some were out on submission (The Healer) and some I'd started to look at indie publishing (Hustled To The Altar.) I no sooner had those published and I found Montana Born. Those six books filled my time between Presents for the next three years!

Paige and Sterling and L.C. and Mercedes waited quietly in the wings. Well, Paige was miffed, but she's used to being taken for granted so she just rolled her eyes. Sterling is perfection personified so he was like, "I know you're waiting for the right moment. I can wait, too." Mercedes was so busy running after her niece and nephew, she didn't have time to notice, and L.C. couldn't give a f--- about anything. Although, now that he and Mercedes have found their HEA, he's more pussycat than badass. Getting laid has a way of settling him down.

If you're a fan of my Montana Born books, you'll love these. They take place in fictional Liebe Falls. Actually, L.C. leaves after book one and winds up in Arizona, at a senior's complex, of all places, but certain things are calling him back.

They're longer books, full of quirky secondary characters, angst and drama and laughs. They're different from my Presents, but I hope you try them and enjoy the heck of them anyway!

Not In Her Wildest Dreams is available now on all platforms:

Amazon Universal | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | GooglePlay | Smashwords

Only In His Sweetest Dreams releases Feb 1:

Amazon Universal | Nook | Kobo | iBooks | GooglePlay | Smashwords

Dani Collins is the USA Today Bestselling author of thirty romances for Harlequin Mills and Boon, Tule's Montana Born, and herself. She lives in rural BC, Canada with her high school sweetheart. 

Short and Sweet

I love February for its shortness.

And yes, I realize it has that extra day this year, which doesn't make it any more or less sweet. It's still shorter than a thirty or thirty-one day month.

About four years ago, we here in Canada finally got a long weekend in February. (Family Day) Before that, there was always the desert wasteland of unbroken weeks from New Year's day until Easter. Yes, Easter! Which sometimes waits until April to show up with chocolates and a day off from work.

So February was my friend, usually arriving with a hint of weather just mild enough to tease of spring, and finishing fast so I was suddenly looking at March and daffodils and a day off.

Now, of course, I'm a stay-at-home-writer which means I never get a day off. You think I'm joking. I'm totally not, but I'm also not complaining.

And I still love February for its shortness.

Which makes if perfectly fitting that my bad boy short story, Taken By The Raider, released this month. Griffen Woodlock, corporate raider, 'acquires' Aubrey Hargrave in a hostile takeover. He quickly seizes more than her assets. That's the short version, anyway. Here's the full blurb:

The first time Aubrey Hargrave was “acquired” by corporate raider Griffen Woodlock, she was unable to resist his potent sexuality. She made the fatal mistake of mixing business with pleasure, but had to end their passionate affair to save her father’s reputation—and her heart. 

At 20, Griffen pushed his abusive father out of his CEO position to take the chair himself. Aside from indulging his passion for beautiful women, Griffen hasn’t made an emotional decision since. When Aubrey cuts short their white-hot affair, he tells himself she can easily be replaced. Except she can’t. 

Discovering Aubrey’s family secret gives Griffen the power to force a second take-over, but he intends to seize more than her business. He wants her. 

Want a short sexy read to keep you warm while you wait for the spring thaw? Here are the quick links:

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

What's your favourite month? 

Nicole Helm: The Allure of the Bad Boy

I tend to be a creature of habit, which makes me a writer of habit. I’m drawn to writing certain kinds of characters in certain kinds of situations. Uptight strong and silent (and a little grumpy) types, or laid back, easy-going types, usually hiding their scars with a joke.

After writing my tenth published book, I’d gotten to the point where I wanted to try something new. Something I’d never done before.

In my May release, Bride by Mistake, from Tule Publishing, part of the Montana Born Brides series, I decided to try my hand at a bad boy.

Of course, he’s not really bad. He made some bad choices as a teen, and in a small town, he can’t live them down even as he grows into a man who’s made some good choices. And it sometimes means he gets blamed for bad choices he didn’t even make, and to guard hurt feelings he sometimes accepts that blame.

This, of course, meant I knew his perfect match would be a good girl. The kind of girl who did what everyone wanted her to do, who followed the life plan that would make everyone else happy, only to find it had served her no purpose, and the bad boy might just. But more than that, I knew Beckett needed someone who would see through the bad boy facade he’s adopted to protect his heart. Kaitlin has known Beckett since she was a kid, since he’s her brother’s best friend, and she’s always been the one to see right through him—and call him out on his crap.

I love writing banter, and the banter between Bad Seed Beckett and Goody-Goody Kaitlin was no exception. I think more often than not banter is hiding a powerful attraction just waiting to be unleashed. And when that happens between Beckett and Kaitlin, their lives will never be the same.

Which do you prefer? Bad boys who are bad to the bone or ones hiding a secret heart of gold?

Authors who have influenced me - by Helen Bianchin

I love to read. Romance and romantic suspense, mysteries, crime ... the list is endless.

Bliss is reading a book by a favoured author, uncaring what the story holds, the characters, the setting. Just knowing I'll be held enthralled by the author's magical skill with words is enough. A comfortable chair, the benefit of several uninterrupted hours ...

A vivid imagination has been my companion for as long as I can remember. I was there with Enid Blyton's famous Five as they engaged in their various adventures; the probation nurse in all the doctor-and-nurse stories who fell in love with the resident hospital doctor, to the extent nursing almost became a considered occupation. The legal profession eventually won out, but that's another story!

I adore romance. The mythical knight on a white horse who rode to rescue the fair maiden. The modern day "Pretty Woman" scenario.

The darker marriage of convenience; the wild boy from the wrong side of the tracks who makes good; Cinderella in its various guises.

Which authors did it for me? On reflection, it was a paperback romance titled "The Distant Hills" by Lucy Walker which first made me think I'd like to write. Closely followed by Violet Winspear, who crafted and maintained sensual tension with just a look between her heroes and heroines.

Then along came Kathleen Woodiwiss, who dared to go where few authors in the genre had gone before! Wow! Who could forget Shanna? The Flame and the Flower? The Wolf and the Dove? Such passion! So much emotion. Sensuality.

As a reader, I was hooked. As a writer, I became totally enthralled. Excited by the talent, the magic, the words.

There are past works I can read and re-read countless times. All-time favourites. Keepers. To read and become entranced by the magic again and again.

I could list so many of today's authors whose work enthrall me as a reader. However the list would be long ... perhaps too long to occupy this space! And I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I inadvertently missed including someone.

Kind regards and best wishes to you all,

Helen