Three Things About Texas

I'm asked (a lot) why I wrote a Texas-set trilogy when I don't live there. Although I grew up on a farm in Missouri and have lived in a rural areas of Nebraska and Ohio, I don't - and have never - lived in Texas. But the state still calls to me. I love visiting, whether we're hitting a coastal area like Galveston, or the Hill Country around Austin. Like the saying goes, Texas is a whole other country. With that, here are three of my favorite things about Texas:

3. The space. I might live in a city now, but I've never outgrown the need for a little space. A long pasture to look over, space to roam. Room to breathe. Living in a city is great - there are restaurants open until all hours, there is plenty of shopping and always something do to. Movies, sporting events, plays. We're about an hour from a great ballet company, we have one of the Great Lakes practically out our back door and restaurants that will make your mouth water. But we also have police/fire sirens, crime and (every now and then) a little smog. On days when it's just too loud here, I dream about Texas and the spaces I've visited there.

2. The cowboys. And no, I'm not just talking football, although the Dallas Cowboys are my favorite
football team. I like men who know who they are, what they want and who aren't afraid to fight for those things. Sure, city guys can know the same thing, but there is something about a guy who can wear a three piece suit and still change a flat tire that appeals to me. And then there are the tight Wranglers (or Levi's, I'm an equal opportunity jeans girl), the cowboy hats and boots. Oh, the boots. I'm a heels girl for me, but I love a pair of dusty boots on a a guy. sigh. Sue me, I like a guy in boots.

And that brings me to my first love of Texas:

1. The style. Sure, we all love Michael Kors for a fancy night out in New York. But on a daily basis, I'm more of a Texas dresser than a New York dresser. I mentioned my love of cowboy boots on a man above. I also like wearing boots just for me. Flat boots, Ugg boots, heeled boots, stiletto booties. Love them all. And the jeans. Oh, I love my yoga pants, but a pair of soft, well-worn jeans fresh from the dryer? There is nothing better. Not even the quirky Stella McCartney dress I bought off the clearance rack a couple of weeks ago.

There you go, readers, three reason I love Texas...tell me, what is your favorite setting (for yourself or the books you read)? 

Kristina's second Texas Girls book, What a Texas Girl Needs, is part of the Sweet Child Of Mine romance bundle now available from Crimson Romance ~ six contemporary romances with secret baby twists! It's available now for only $0.99! Here is a bit more about Kristina's book:

What a Texas Girl Needs: Vanessa Witte is ready to finally claim her life. The middle of three

daughters born into the Witte family - a powerful Texas name - she's been content to float through life. Being dumped by her shady ex? A blessing in disguise. Having a one-night-stand with Matias Barnes? Not one of her more stellar moments. But she's back in Lockhardt with a secret and a reason to start fresh: A baby.


Matias Barnes knows all about society women - it's part of the reason he left his wealthy family behind and took a job on a ranch. He doesn't like the endless string of parties, the inane conversation, or the gold-digging tricks those women have perfected. But that doesn't stop him from wanting Vanessa Witte. Mat knows she's so not right for him, but with her back in Lockhardt, can he resist her charms long enough to really let her go?

Book Links:   Amazon   B&N   iBooks  KOBO 

You can find out more the book and Kristina on her website, and feel free to stalk follow her on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. 

Susan Stephens: My trip to Italy

Hello again,

So good to be back chatting with you :)

The hills really were alive with music during my recent trip to Italy. The local youth orchestra was playing in the town nearby and we could have listened to them all day.

I was in Italy for a wonderful writing retreat in Tuscany led by my great friend Sharon Kendrick. We had such a great time- good food, good company, and the best of Italian food to inspire our imaginations. I think the two of us must have broken the record for most miles walked - we both had step Apps on our phones and where better to keep up that daily average than amidst this type of scenery...?

Our last day in Pisa.

Tuscany was just beyond beautiful and I can't wait to go back. I hope you enjoy these photographs and only wish you could hear the birdsong and the rush of the river, and smell the moist green fields. It was just stunning.

Sharon Kendrick, Aine Ni Mhurchu, Linda Gask, and Yours Truly, enjoying the last of the Tuscan sunshine before we head home.

I returned home to find an exciting new multi-book contract with Harlequin waiting for me that will keep me happily writing through 2016/2017.

I have 2 more books in my Hot Brazilian Nights gaucho polo series November and December releases this year-- look out for The Brazilian's 9-Month Notice in November this year, and Back in The Brazilian's Bed in December, followed by a secret baby story - one of my favourite themes of all - in March 2016.

And that's it for now. I do hope you enjoy the pics of the ravishingly beautiful Tuscan countryside, and I look forward to being back here chatting with you next month!

With my warmest wishes to all of you for the merry month of May,

Susan

When is a Secret Baby Story Not a Secret Baby Story? Annie West

When it's not a secret, of course!

 Welcome to the world of Princess Marisa of Bengaria whose unexpected pregnancy to an almost-stranger has to be one of the worst-kept secrets in the world. After a one-night stand that left her hurt and embittered, she learns of her unplanned pregnancy at the very same time as does Damaso Pires, the man who walked out on her just a month before. There's no private time for digesting the news and how it's going to affect her. And Damaso is determined to be part of his child's life, even if it means sharing his world with Marisa, a woman who unsettled him so much he had to walk away from her once rather than deal with the complications she created in his neatly organised life. What does a tycoon do when he wants something? He takes immediate action to get it, in this case, demanding marriage to the woman carrying his child. And just to put the pressure on even more, the paparazzi discovers the news and broadcasts it to the world. Soon Marisa's royal relatives try to step in and force her to hush up the scandal. What's a woman to do?

 

I loved writing this book to find out exactly that: what will Marisa do and how will Damaso react?

 

I'd originally thought this might be a secret baby story, when I pictured this volatile pair having a brief but passionate affair at a luxury jungle hideaway for the ultra wealthy. But it didn't turn out like that as Marisa and Damao took control and proceeded to live out their dramatic story in front of the world's press, even while keeping their most precious secrets hidden not just from the press but from each other.

 

So instead of being a secret baby book this one is an oh-so-public pregnancy and scandal story. It's about two people who've learned never to trust and as a result carry the immense weight of emotional burdens both in public and in private. I loved watching them find their happy ever after.

 

When opposites attract!

 

The sexy North American cover

Damaso Pires should have known better than to get involved with Marisa—the scandalous princess of Bengaria! Yet soon he sees her true beauty and flawless virtue, which touches a place in him he thought ruthlessly destroyed by his childhood on the streets of Brazil.

But their brief affair becomes permanent when Marisa reveals she’s pregnant.

Damaso knows the sting of illegitimacy and, having fought tooth and nail to claw his way up to the dizzying heights of international success and financial infamy, he won’t let his child slip from his grasp. There’s only one way to claim his heir, and that’s marriage!

To snaffle a copy of DAMASO CLAIMS HIS HEIR try your favourite bookstore. Here are a couple of links to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, the Book Depository and Harlequin. To read more detail Behind the Book, or to find out about Annie's other stories, visit her website.

Do you have any stories to share on the best/worst way to share the news of a pregnancy? What would be your worst nightmare or your idea of the perfect way to break such news?

Annie will give away a signed copy of DAMASO CLAIMS HIS HEIR to one person who leaves a comment.