Genre Blending

I didn’t do it on purpose. The first time I wrote a book for Kensington Brava, I thought I was just writing a paranormal romance. My hero was a wolf shifter, and my heroine was psychic. I really, truly thought the book was simply a paranormal tale…until Kensington editor Kate Duffy told me that the book was a paranormal suspense.

And then I realized the truth—I was a genre blender. Yes, I can now proudly admit to the fact that, when I write, I like to blend genres.  I like to include dark, dangerous elements of suspense in my stories. Sure, I can write about demons and vampires—and I can also write about serial killing demons.  It’s just the kind of girl that I am.

In my latest release from Kensington Brava (ANGEL BETRAYED, out on 6/26/12), I’m back to my genre blending. My  hero is a fallen angel of death, my heroine is—well, let’s say she isn’t exactly human, and they two of them are desperately battling for their lives. They’re being hunted. Stalked.  And if they want to survive, they have to show their stalkers just how dangerous they can truly be.

Paranormal…and romantic suspense.

A combination that I love.

I know there are lots of other genre blending stories out there. I often enjoy reading historical novels that have strong paranormal elements. Or sci-fi stories that include suspense.  Blend the genres, and you’ll make me one very happy girl. What can I say? Sometimes when you mix plot elements, you can have a whole lot of fun.

What genre blends do you enjoy reading? I’d love to hear your favorites!  One randomly selected commenter will win an autographed copy of my novel, ANGEL BETRAYED. I’ll leave the contest open until noon tomorrow, and then I’ll be back to post the winner’s name.

And here’s the blurb for the book that you could win:

  

Sammael–call him Sam–was an angel once. An angel of death. But the dispassionate, watch-from-above thing just wasn’t working for him when it meant watching evil torture innocent souls day in and day out. It might have cost him his wings, but these days he gets to apply the direct method on the bad guys. Problem is, what’s making his life difficult is a bad girl…

Seline O’Shaw needs protection, and with the hounds of hell on her tail, she’s not going to quibble too hard about where she gets it. Sam’s virtue is questionable, but he’s smoking hot, massively powerful, and owes her a favor. So what if she’s getting a little case of angel lust? There are some damn deadly sins after her hide…

Happy reading!

Cynthia Eden

My Love Affair With Miss Havisham by Rachel Johns

Despite the fact I have an English lit degree, became a high school English teacher, am a book addict AND a writer, I barely read any of the required books in high school! They BORED me senseless. Books that may be good if I picked them up now, were not at ALL interesting to my teenage self who thought Sweet Valley High should have been on the curriculum. But there was ONE book that grabbed me – Great Expectations by Charles’s Dickens.

And I’d go further and say that it was one particular character in this book that captivated me. Already a true romantic at fifteen years old, my heart went out to Miss Havisham.

(NB. For anyone who hasn’t been lucky/sensible enough to read Great Expectations, Miss Havisham is a wealthy spinster who lives in an old ruined mansion with her adopted daughter Estella (love THAT name too). She is not depicted kindly. Dickens called her “the witch of the place”. The truly fascinating thing about Miss Havisham is that she was stood up twenty-nine minutes before she was due to marry the love of her life. She was of course already dressed in her wedding gown and alas, she then refused to take it off and spent her life wearing it.)

Fascinating character don’t you think? That’s if you don’t start to think about how she would have SMELT or LOOKED after wearing the same dress for so many years. It’s TRAGIC actually.

In my newest release JILTED, the heroine did to the hero what Miss Havisham did to her. She left him at the altar and then she fled town. BUT, when she left town, she left her wedding dress draped across her bed and her godmother (whom she lived with) never moved it. When the heroine returns ten years later, she finds the dress, tries it on and then falls asleep wearing it. Now a spinster herself, she recognises her likeness to Miss Havisham and all but rips the dress off not wanting to become this character.

I had a lot of fun with this image and love it when an old text is referred to like this in a modern novel I’m reading. Would love to hear of any books you’ve read where this has also occurred?  Or just tell me your favourite classic and maybe I’ll work a way of putting that into my next book!

If you’d like to read excerpts or find out more about my novels, please visit my website at www.rachaeljohns.com  (NB. At this stage Jilted is only available to purchase in bookstores in Australia and New Zealand or on Kindle in Australian/New Zealand territories). 

Time Passes So Quickly...

I am about to attend the high school graduation of my oldest son.  (Yes, that’s him in the picture, but I’d dare anybody to try to recognize him now from this image.)  It seems like just a moment ago I was in the delivery room with him, and my husband looked up at me in amazement and said, “He’s pretty wonderful.  When are his parents going to come and take care of him?”  I look at the six-foot tall man before me and have a hard time putting him together with that small baby I held in my arms.  I’ve seen every stage of his development, yet it is hard to believe that one could have become the other.  Of course, there is NO WAY that I am old enough to be the mother of a college student.

We attended his college orientation last weekend and I felt caught out of time.  I wanted to be the one choosing classes and looking over the crowd, deciding who was a likely friend, with whom I could imagine staying up to the early hours of the morning have deep, deep discussion?  I was not ready to be the parent, to have crowds of eager, rising freshmen rush by me without even seeing me.  I wanted to have all of life in front of me once again.

And what does this have to do with books and romance?

When I pick up a book I do have it all before me again.  I’ve been rereading a bunch of my old favorites this early summer, and when I read them, I am back to exactly where I was the first time.  There are a few that are not what I remember, but mostly I can take that step back in time.  And even when I read a new book and get lost in it, I can be whomever I am reading about.  And it’s not often in real life that I kiss a duke, kill a vampire, steal a priceless piece of art, paraglide down to take out a terrorist, dance in a strip club, solve a murder (or commit one), have a half-dozen puppies running through my living room, or become a famous chef.  In fact, I’ve never done any of those things – but in my reading I’ve done all of them.

And writing is even better.  I can sit in my flower-filled back yard, listening to the birds, and become whomever and do whatever I want.  I can do it again and again.  When I write, I can fall in love for the first time – as many times as I want.  And I do want – because one of the great secrets of living is that we never grow older in our minds.  I am always that young girl gazing across the room at a man who, I can sense, will take my breath away.  Exactly what I consider young may change, but the feelings don’t.

At this point last summer I was frantically trying to finish the four novellas for my The Real Duchess of London series and having a great deal of fun (and a few headaches) trying to quickly come up with four different women and four different stories that all fulfilled my fantasies of true love.  I had just finished writing What a Duke Wants (my personal favorite).  I had allowed myself to be nineteen for six months, and went through a bit of shock as I head-bopped between my duchesses.

I am currently working on finishing the fifth novella, which I hope to have up by the end of the summer.  I am not working as fast as I’d like, because this duchess is very picky about what she wants to do and not do, but I am pushing her along.

And after her?  I am not quite sure.  I’ve got a couple of very different ideas brewing in my mind – and also another lonely Regency lady ready to meet her handsome lord at any moment.

And the rest of the time?  I may not be quite ready to watch my son graduate, but I am pretty happy being me, lying in the hammock gazing up at the trees and listening to the birds.  Time may go fast, but life is good.

Let me know how fast time is passing for you, and I’ll reward one lucky commenter with a set of my first four novellas (either paperback or Kindle).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Thanks for having me,

Lavinia

***Lavinia's winner is Jeanne M!  Please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing info!***

Ghosts are Live!

by Anna Campbell

I've got a new release this month! Huzzah!

My mini novella "The Chinese Bed" is included in THE MAMMOTH BOOK OF GHOST ROMANCE which came out on 7th June. Ebook only in North America at the moment. Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Mammoth-Ghost-Romance-Books-ebook/dp/B005RYLUP8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1338579951&sr=1-1 Print to follow on 7th August, print and e-book in the U.K. Here's the Book Depository link to the print edition: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/Mammoth-Ghost-Romance-Trisha-Telep/9781849014687

You can read an excerpt here: http://annacampbell.info/chinesebed.html

This is the story of two couples, one living and one dead, who fall foul of a cursed Chinese bed on the day of their wedding. The ghostly couple are Josiah Aston, Lord Stansfield, and his beloved Lady Isabella Verney who both died in 1749. The current couple (well, current in 1818) are Miles Hartley, Viscount Kendall, and Lady Calista Aston, Josiah's great-niece. So you get two love stories for the price of one with this tale. Bargain!

The Chinese Bed of the title is based on a real bed, the 'Great Bed' of Calke Abbey in Derbyshire. That's a picture of the bed on the right. Isn't it magnificent? Bizarrely, it seems the family never unpacked it from the crates it arrived in, although the upside of that is that the colors on the embroidery are still as bright as a new day. Like the bed in my story, it was a gift from the British royal family to some long ago bride of the Harpur family who lived in Calke Abbey.

I've also included a close-up picture of the exquisite embroidery on the bedcover. Isn't that breathtaking? The detail is mindboggling. Imagine owning something so gorgeous and never even taking it out to look at it.

As far as I know, this particular bed isn't cursed, but ever since I saw it in 2007, it's preyed on my mind as something crying out to be part of a story. "The Chinese Bed" is the result.

The last photo is of Calke Abbey itself. It's one of the most interesting National Trust properties in Britain. The Trust keep it as an example of a country house in decline, so you get a picture of the decay that these magnificent houses had fallen into before they were rescued in the 20th century.

The story of the Harpur-Crewe family who lived there is almost biblical in its powerful depiction of great wealth declining to shabby poverty. Mind you, shabby poverty in a house crowded with treasures - this is a family who never threw anything out. Well worth visiting if you're in England. Here's the link: http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/calke-abbey/

I had such fun writing "The Chinese Bed," partly because it gave me a chance to play with woo-woo stuff that my usual historical romances don't. And I'd never included a secondary romance in a story before either, so it was interesting to play compare and contrast with each couple.

These MAMMOTH anthologies are fabulous value and a great way to discover new authors. I can't wait to read the other stories in the anthology.

So do you like ghost stories? Do you have a favorite? I must say one of my favorites is the classic THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR, the movie from 1947, with Rex Harrison and Gene Tierney. Rex makes a rather gorgeous ghost!

The power of a smile--Kandy Shepherd

You probably know that smiling lifts your spirits by releasing feel-good hormones into your bloodstream. But did you know forcing a fake smile also has a similar effect?

I was told this by a migraine specialist when I sought treatment for debilitating migraines. He told me when I felt a headache coming on to make myself smile—even if that was the last thing I felt like doing. He explained that the very act of the muscles lifting into a smile triggered the brain to release endorphins and serotonin into the bloodstream which led to an easing of the headache.

I'M EATING YOUR ROSES, SO WHY ARE YOU LAUGHING? (BANJO, MY DAUGHTER'S PONY)

Ultimately my migraines were treated with medication but the smile therapy still helps. Consequently, I find myself appreciating anything that makes me smile spontaneously rather than forcing an inane grin in front of the mirror!

Smiling isn’t just good for preventing headaches, of course. Experts say smiling makes you feel more relaxed and boosts your immune system. Smiling helps social interaction too. Different cultures may bow, shake hands, kiss or rub noses, but a smile is a human signal of good intent that crosses all cultural barriers.

What makes you smile? The antics of my animals often bring a smile to my face--dog, cats, horses, even the chickens. Babies and children (even teenagers!) make me smile. Comedians like Robin Williams are guaranteed to make me laugh and a good episode of a television show like The Big Bang Theory, Community or Mike and Molly can make me ROFLOL (roll on floor, laughing out loud.)

Books too, can bring a smile to my face, with authors like Jennifer Crusie and British chicklit author Jennifer Colgan coming to mind for laugh-out-loud humor.

When I started to write, I tried angst and drama but my characters just wouldn’t let me take them that seriously. When I got feedback from editors praising my “comedic voice” I realized angst might not be my forte. Readers too, responded to my lighter tone of voice. One reader tells me that when she feels down she rereads my contemporary romance Love is a Four-Legged Word to lift her spirits. Even Something About Joe, which deals with some serious family issues, also makes readers laugh.

I’m with Jane Austen when she said: “Let other pens dwell on guilt and misery.”

What brings a smile to your face? Humor is so subjective, I’d love to hear your thoughts!


Leave a comment to win a free download of my e-book Something About Joe. Be sure to include your email address.

Something About Joe is available for just $0.99c at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and other e-retailers.

Kandy Shepherd writes fun, feel-good fiction.

www.kandyshepherd.com
  
   

Soup For All Seasons by Fiona Lowe

Down here in southern Australia, we've just had record breaking rain and flooding, and the weather has been cold and dismal. It's soup weather!  


Now I realise many of you who are reading this blog are heading into summer and the thought of hot soup is more than you can bear, so to cover all bases, I'm sharing two of my favourite recipes, one for each hemisphere!  But before I do that I want to let you into my secret of great soup when you don't have time to cook.

You take either a can of pumpkin soup or tomato soup, add a can of milk, fresh black pepper and a teaspoon of curry powder. Mix together, microwave, throw some freshly chopped herbs on top and Voila! You have soup that tastes home-made. I have had people ask me for the recipe!

Talking recipes, I'll kick off with A Summer soup.  Cold Plum Soup! This is sensational to have as an appetizer for a summer lunch. Down here, I often serve it as party of Christmas lunch...the color is perfect!  I always use fresh plums but I believe my NA friends can buy plums in a can so you're all set if you or your neighbours don't have fruit trees.

1      can    purple plums -- 1-lb. 13-oz.

1     cup        water

 2/3  cup           sugar

1                    cinnamon stick

 1/4  teaspoon      white pepper

1      pinch         salt

1      cup           sour cream

 1/2  cup           heavy cream

1/2  cup           dry red wine

1      tablespoon    cornstarch

 2      tablespoons   lemon juice

1      teaspoon      grated lemon rind

3      tablespoons   brandy

 Pit and chop plums, combine with syrup in a saucepan.  Add water, sugar,

 cinnamon, salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer 5 minutes

 stirring occasionally.  Mix wine and heavy cream with cornstarch, add to

 mixture and cook until thickened.  Stir in lemon juice, rind and wine, remove

 from heat.  Place 1/2 cup soup in small bowl, whisk in sour cream.  Add

 brandy and stir mix back into the soup pan until smooth.  Chill at least 4

 hours.  Serve in cups, garnish with dollops of sour cream and sprinkle with

 cinnamon. 

All I can say is YUMMO!

Now for a Winter soup, Pea & Ham soup  which I have cooking in my slow cooker as I type!

A 500gm or 1lb bag of yellow split peas soaked over night or boiled for 40 minutes.

Rinse and dump into the crock pot. Throw in an onion, carrot, 2 bay leaves,  peppercorns, potato, and the Christmas Ham bone or ham hocks from the market. Cover in water. Put on low for 12-24 hours. Remove the bones which are now clean of meat and the bay leaves. Whiz until smooth.

Serve with crusty bread. It is the complete food for lunch after Saturday sport when everyone is cold and hungry!

I hope you enjoy these recipes!




Fiona Lowe is an award-winning, multi-published author with Harlequin and Carina Press. Whether her books are set in outback Australia or in the mid-west of the USA, they feature small towns with big hearts, and warm, likeable characters that make you fall in love. When she's not writing stories, she's a weekend wife, mother of two 'ginger' teenage boys, guardian of 80 rose bushes and often found collapsed on the couch with wine. 


A current RITA & RuBY nominee, you can find her at her website, facebook, Twitter and Goodreads.

Boomerang Bride is available now from Carina Press, Amazon Kindle, Nook and all other online book stores. It will be on shelf in Australia on July 1^st 2012

Letting Go With Dr Rodriguez is available now from Mills and Boon UK and will be out at Harlequin.com on July 1^st. Tom’s Redemption is out in Australia. All her books can be purchased from  The Book Depository and iBooks, 

On the Road Again : : Anne McAllister

A couple of weeks ago I went to Quebec.  It was a research trip, but it was very open-ended because I just knew I wanted part of a book set there. I didn’t know which part. I didn’t know what was going to happen.

It was pure serendipity all the way.

And it was terrific. Being open to whatever happened was great. Not having any preconceived ideas about what I wanted my people to be doing was freeing. I could just do whatever the spirit – or my DH – moved me to do, and if it rang a bell with my characters, then I was delighted. If it didn’t, well, maybe it would someday.

And if not these particular characters, then some others down the road a ways. In fact I think Quebec will be for the book after this one, anyway.  But who knows?  That’s the joy – and the panic -- of writing.

It’s all about those three little words that mean so much: You never know.

Oh, you thought I meant those other three words?  I love you.

Well, they’ll doubtless figure in the story somewhere. But in the meantime, I am working with the conflict – the unloving bits – and finding places for my characters to go and things they can see and do.

We were several days in Quebec City and two on the Ile d’Orleans.  They were totally different – city and country – and I loved them both.  Quebec is a river city like the one I live in – only a couple of hundred years older. And the Ile d’Orleans was one of the first places in New France that was settled back in the 17th century. My husband’s ancestors were some of the settlers.

In some respects little has changed since.  The same names are on the tombstones as are on the mailboxes.  The same style houses have existed there for hundreds of years.  The same crops are grown. And while farming methods have changed some, it wasn’t hard to imagine how families coped there almost 400 years ago.

We wandered the streets, prowled the bookstores (naturally), took the ferry across the St Lawrence, walked down country lanes and climbed as many hills as I climb at home every day.

And we spoke French. Or did our best. 

I can’t tell you how many years ago I last took French.  But three years in high school stuck with me a little bit. And my far more extensive years of Spanish helped some.  But I was impressed at how easily bilingual many of the people I spoke with were. Not all, of course. But they shifted so easily between French and English, even within the same sentence, that I was in awe – and wishing I had more opportunity to practice the language.

We stayed at some great small inns and b&bs.  We ate some fantastic food. We discovered churchyard after churchyard of dead relatives. And we met far more really fun and interesting live Quebecois.  They made us feel right at home. 

“Oh, you’re from here,” they said. “And finally you’ve come home.  Welcome back.”

I’m not sure yet what parts of our visit will make it into my book, but I’m sure some will – especially the wonderful hospitality we enjoyed.

Merci beaucoup, Quebec!

Anne’s most recent book, Savas’s Wildcat, was out in April from Harlequin Presents Extra.  Her next, Breaking the Greek’s Rules, should be out just before Christmas.

The Allure of Series: Spending Time With Old Friends

I have always loved books in series.  I think it started with Nancy Drew.  I was ten, and when I unwrapped a present from my dad (I think it was my birthday, but it might have been Christmas) there were three shiny Nancy Drew books in the familiar yellow boards.  Now, I’ve always been an avid reader (I’m the girl who would read a cereal box if nothing else was around), so just getting the books was enough.  But the truth was that my parents divorced when I was little (stick with me here, there’s a point to this) and when I was visiting my dad, I didn’t have my stuff.  Which meant boredom.  Which meant I made up stories in my head (always a good thing, but exhausting after a while, and back then no one paid me to do that). 

Imagine my joy to be presented with three, count ‘em, three books in a series I hadn’t read before with gobzillions of other books to come (as I could easily see from the checklist in the back).

Unlike my daughter who, when she finishes book 3 in a series has the next one on her Kindle in zero-point-five seconds, I had to beg my dad to find a bookstore.  And beg I did.  Pretty much the next day, as I glommed those first three in no time flat.  And not just because I was bored.  These were fun.  There was a strong female lead.  Adventure.  Danger.  A mystery.  And familiar characters that became my friends.  Heady stuff for a kid stuck up in Dallas in a neighborhood without other kids to play with.  (Ah, Daddy, if you’re reading this, I’m not complaining.  Good times. Really.  Good times.)

Anyhoo, I think that’s where my love of series came from.  And I share it in a lot of the books I write.  In the Shadow Keepers series that I write as J.K. Beck, each book doesn’t follow the same characters.  Instead, they’re romances, so each book has a different hero and heroine.  But the characters from other books populate the world and the setting itself becomes familiar (the series centers around a paranormal judicial system).  The heroine of the just released WHEN PASSION LIES, for example, first appeared in Book One, WHEN BLOOD CALLS, and now in Book Four, she’s getting her own story.

The Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series I write as Julie Kenner is just the opposite.  In that series, we follow the same core characters as they grow and develop over multiple books.  (And Kate is back!!  I’ve got a short story up as an ebook right now (THE DEMON YOU KNOW) and Book 6, PAX DEMONICA, will be out in just a few weeks!). 

That’s not to say that every book I read or write is part of a series.  I just re-released THE CAT’S FANCY, actually, and it’s a stand-alone light paranormal romance.  I guess the bottom line is that, in the end, I just like to read!

How about you?  Do you prefer series or stand alones, or do you happily switch back and forth?  What’s your favorite series (if you have one?).  Mine is J.D. Robb’s In Death series (sorry Nancy Drew!)  Share your thoughts and one lucky winner will receive a signed copy of their choice of When Passion Lies or Carpe Demon (book 1 in the Demon Hunting Soccer Mom series)!

***Julie's winner is Yadkny!  Please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing info - and your choice of prize/title!***

Delicious Desserts - Annie West

I wanted to write about something special for this post as I was having a rather unsettling day. Lo and behold, inspiration struck with something I really enjoy - dessert!

In our house dessert is a huge treat. Possibly because we all seem to be so busy, but getting one course on the table is enough and it's rare that we take time to provide dessert as well. However, as you can see from these recent photos, dessert holds a special place for me. And before you wonder, no, I didn't eat all of these. And no, I didn't order the decadent chocolate cake in this picture. Mine was one of the much healthier lemon tarts in the background. Of course it was healthy - it had fruit in it!

Lately though we've been trying some quite wicked desserts for special occasions at home. These have included chocolate hazelnut self sauced puddings in individual ramekins. As well as being full of chocolate and hazelnuts, they have a dash of Frangelico liqueur and are so rich you really need to eat them with ice cream so they're not too much!

Then they're maple pecan cake - delicious when warm, with cream. Sigh. In summer I like to make (as a treat) lime souffle with strawberry coulis which looks fabbo and is really easy. Did I mention I'm a lazy cook?

Another favourite has to be Tart au Citron - lemon tart which is finished off with segments of lemon artfully (!) arranged on top, sprinkled with icing sugar and then caramelised under the grill.

Or perhaps a nice fruit salad? Great on a summer's day. Fruit kebabs are good too. At Christmas it's rich fruit pudding, hot and tasty. Or, if you don't want to finish with sweets, how about a nice cheese plate? I've got a weakness for lovely cheese (so many weaknesses and so many of them connected to food!).

How about you? Are you a fan of desserts? Do you have a favourite you want to share? Something you make or you've tasted or maybe one you've just heard about and want to try?

Speaking of sweet things, I'm savouring the pleasure of knowing Declan and Chloe's story - aka UNDONE BY HIS TOUCH is on sale this month in North America. I hope some of you see it on shelves and maybe even grab a copy. This is my first beauty and the beast story and was a real treat to write. Romantic Times have given it a 4 star review and said

‘…West’s twist on the Beauty and the Beast is an emotionally compelling read.’

 To read an excerpt of the book pop by my website and to buy it you can go to Amazon, Barnes and Noble or Harlequin. 

Shayla Black has an Embrace and a Hold for you!

Thank you so much for inviting me to stop by Tote Bags and Blogs!  I really enjoy all of the interaction with readers here and have been looking forward to my visit!  I am on my way to to a little get-away because I am celebrating the release of two books in a one week period!

On May 29^th I FINALLY released the fifth book in the Doomsday Brethren series, “Embrace Me At Dawn!” 

It was a long and arduous journey for everyone including Lucan, Anka and Shock, and there were some BIG surprises for me—and you—as they told me their story. There is death, new life, a new mating, and an epic battle that will make your jaw drop. I’m so thrilled and proud of how this story turned out, so I hope you enjoy it. Here’s the official blurb!

No man will ever define her again.

Anka MacTavish lost everything when Mathias D’Arc captured her, shattered her bond with her mate, and broke both her body and spirit. Determined to heal her bleeding soul, she joins the Doomsday Brethren’s fight to vanquish the evil wizard and seize her revenge. But becoming a magical warrior will require close contact with her former mate, the love who’s never left her heart, Lucan. And she’ll have to explain why she left him and fled to the arms of another lover…

No woman can ever take her place.

Lucan’s world crumbled when Anka escaped Mathias and sought protection from his long-time rival, Shock. Now she has returned, and Lucan must train her to confront a new and terrible danger that threatens magickind. With every punch, blow, and parry, Lucan discovers that Anka isn’t the demure wife he once knew, and his reawakening desire for this woman is a need he can’t control. He vows to do whatever it takes to reclaim her heart and make her his once more. But when the Doomsday Brethren are forced to make an unlikely alliance, it will test Anka’s resolve like never before. To survive, she and Lucan must rely on one another, face their deepest fears…and expose the dark secrets that threaten to destroy everything, including their love.

Chapter one is up on my website for everyone to sample. www.shaylablack.com  It’s on sale at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks and Smashwords.  A print version is being worked on right now with a professional typesetter and will be available at the end of June!  I am getting some terrific feedback about the many surprises and I couldn’t be more thrilled.

ON the Wicked Lovers front,- MINE TO HOLD hits the shelves June 5^th!!! I’m so excited the day has finally arrived, and Tyler and Delaney’s story will finally be in your hands! The advance reviews have been great, and I’m thrilled that everyone who’s been able to get an advance read has enjoyed the story.

4 ½  stars "Black does an amazing job adding passion and intensity to every page. The storyline is part mystery and part erotica and will leave readers yearning for more." ~ RT Book Reviews

4 ½ stars – “…Fast-paced and emotionally sexy story. It will pull you in and have you turning the page for more because the action is so hot you can't get enough.” ~ Affaire de Coeur

“In my opinion, this is the best Wicked [Lovers] book yet. Mine to Hold is a great addition to the series and a must read.” ~ Guilty Pleasures

Writing this story was a huge thrill for me. I loved getting to spend time with Tyler, see more about what made him tick, and meet the woman who finally captured his heart.

A friend’s duty.

Tyler Murphy was an LAPD detective, single and happy—until a near-fatal tragedy crippled his friend, fellow detective Eric Catalano. While he supported Eric, he also became a shoulder for Eric’s wife, Delaney, to lean on. But with one naughty suggestion from Eric, a drunken night with Delaney spilled into erotic abandon. Before it was over Tyler saw his best friend’s wife as a woman and yearned for more. When Eric struggled to deal with the aftermath, Delaney begged Tyler to leave. Crushed, he fled to Louisiana, hoping to escape his longing for the one woman he could never have again…and unaware of what he’d left behind.

A lover’s desire.

After two years of living with regret, Tyler finds Delaney on his doorstep, her husband having abandoned her long ago. She’s protecting a shocking secret and desperately needs refuge from a killer determined to see her dead. As they fight to stay alive and catch the stalker, they struggle to resolve the guilt of their past pleasures. But they can’t deny that what was once a spark is now a flame burning out of control. To possess Delaney—body and soul—Tyler must heal her pain and thwart the evil that’s a mere breath behind her…

Reach chapter one on my website if you haven’t had a chance to take a peak yet.

Additionally, most of the Wicked Lovers books are now available for download to your Kindle at Amazon.co.uk. Search for Shayla Black, and you’ll find them! The titles that haven’t been loaded yet will be very soon, I’m told.

Wicked Lovers come to audio books! Tantor has released WICKED TIES and DECADENT on audio! They are available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble in both CD and MP3 formats. Links available from my website!

And now,  I am taking off on my vacation! Thank you so much for letting me visit! I will check in here daily and try to answer questions if there are any. I will be hard at work re-releasing another backlist historical, STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. In my “spare time,” I’ll be working with Lexi Blake to release the third book in the Virgin Series, THEIR VIRGIN CONCUBINE. And I am also finishing up the next Wicked Lovers book “Ours TO Love” featuring Xander, and then of course another Doomsday Brethren.  Which of the Brethren do you think I should focus on next? Hmm.

Release the Reviews by Nancy Gideon

SEEKER OF SHADOWS, the 6^th book in my dark paranormal “By Moonlight” shape-shifter series from Pocket Books is a return to sultry New Orleans and the unique characters that populate its Shifter community. You’d think after 50+ books I’d be fairly blasé about release week, but it never gets any easier.  Because with a new book comes a new avalanche of reviews: the good, the bad, and the sometimes painfully ugly.

One thing every writer needs to pack for release week is a bulletproof vest to deflect those anticipated slings and arrows of sometimes outrageous misfortune. Don’t read them, you might suggest. But how can you not at least take a peek?  Reviews can be ego-boosting, insightful, mean, or just miss the mark. Think how you’d feel if you carried your new baby from the hospital and all your friends and family grimaced then politely smiled. Ouch. Only with publishing, every stranger has an opinion (as well they should) and feels free to express it.

Sometimes, we authors just want to duck and cover until it’s all over but the royalties.

But the power of the review is that it’s an expression of impact. Your writing has made someone feel (or not!) enough of a reaction to share it with others.  And word of mouth is the best possible advertising, even if it’s not positive (Hello, Shades of Grey!). Reviews can be treated as a learning experience, as a scourging, or avoided altogether. It’s all in how you look at them.

Maybe I’m a glutton for stress and punishment, but I love Release Week.  I devour the feedback on Goodreads and Amazon and have been known to (Gasp, I admit it!) Google my title. If I don’t know what the readers are thinking, how can I give them the books they want to read? So I populate my week (or two) with blog visits and even request (!) the anxiety of a Blog Tour from my publishers. Go ahead. I can take.  I’m not just a writer, I’m a mom and I work for an attorney. Skin doesn’t get much thicker.

Of course it helps when this is your first review:

Says Publishers Weekly: “Rich and complex.  Gideon delivers. Series fans are rewarded with critical developments layered on previous books, while enticing new dimensions to the Shifter world keep things fresh. Newcomers can still enjoy the well-crafted prose and page-turning tension.”

Whew! That’s a load off.  My job is done  … almost. Then there are still two more books in the series to come, beginning with BETRAYED BY SHADOWS on 12-18-12, a Pocket Star, e-exclusive and PRINCE OF SHADOWS which I’m currently writing.

What can readers look forward to in SEEKER OF SHADOWS?  Here’s a tease:

How can he trust his future to the woman who stole his past?

Shifter club owner, Jacques LaRoche is fiercely protective of his freedom. Stripped of his memories of a former life, he instinctively longs for the mate stolen from him. Until a mysterious visitor from the North stirs desire in a heart he thought belonged to another.

Pursuing an unexpected key to her research, Chosen geneticist, Susanna Duchamps risks discovery in New Orleans when her presence ignites a deadly clan confrontation. Forced to choose between the rediscovery of forbidden passion and the fate of a species, can she risk all to reclaim the love of the man she’s never forgotten? Or will she have to betray him once again in order to save the secret she protects?


If he knew the truth, would he still claim her?


“This dark and seductive story is rife with the delicious possibility of a happily-ever-after for an unlikely pair. Conflict keeps things exciting and plunging forward as the plot twists and turns. Don’t blink, the book will be over before you know it.” Romantic Times Book Reviews

To follow me on my blog tour, hop on board at: http://nancygideon.blogspot.com for a list of destinations on June 7.

How about you?  Do you read reviews? Do they color your buying decisions? Are you a reviewer?  What do you look for in a good read and what makes a truly bad one, in your opinion?  One commenter, chosen at random, will win a copy of SEEKER OF SHADOWS.

Nancy Gideon is the author of over fifty novels ranging from historicals and series suspense to the paranormal.  When she’s not at the keyboard, she works 9-to-5 as a legal assistant and indulges in her Netflix addiction. For more on SEEKER OF SHADOWS (including an excerpt!) and the “By Moonlight” series, visit: http://www.nancygideon.com/books/on-the-shelf.html. Enjoy the exciting new book trailer for SEEKER OF SHADOWS at: http://youtu.be/s-ez7m5LffQ. 


***Nancy's winner is Erin!  Please email me at totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your full name and mailing info!***

Diamond Celebrations - with Kate Walker

I have just enjoyed a lovely afternoon with my family. My son and his delightful brand-new fiancée came to visit and together with them and my DH,  I’ve had a really happy and fun time.  In spite of the fact that it’s June, the weather had been cold and very very wet, with heavy downpours and even rumbles of thunder in the distance. But that didn’t matter as we  spent a fun – and really rather old-fashioned time together.

The first half of the afternoon was spent  working on a jigsaw – a 1000 piece puzzle that we have set up on the dining table,  and that we all worked together on for a couple of hours.  We made progress –but  there’s no way we could finish it in that time, so we have all the edge pieces put together, creating a framework, and then there’s some of the middle done – but lots more to do later . . .  It’s a bit like writing a novel really! You get the basic framework sorted out – and then you have to fill in all the rest so that the picture is complete.

After a while we  took a break for that very English  institution – afternoon tea. There was an assortment  of salads, sandwiches, scones ( with  strawberry  jam and cream – my favourite indulgence) and  cakes, éclairs, custard tarts . . ..  And of course lots of tea to drink. What else?

Finally we  played games-  not computer games, or  ball games or anything like that but old-fashioned board  games,  with a dice or quiz questions – a lot of laugher and some rather wicked cheating by some members of the family (mentioning no names!) It was so much fun and a rather special way to spend a rather special day.

Because today  i a unique day here in the UK -  it’s Jubilee  Day -  the 60^th anniversary of the Queens’  coronation. A diamond anniversary.  In London there was the huge Thames pageant with  a flotilla of 1,000 boats all processing down the river and hundreds of thousands of people watching, waving flags and cheering.  Other places had street parties  - a trifle cold and damp they would be I expect, but I don’t think people minded.    When I was out and about this morning there were flags flying from cars, bunting on houses and posters in windows as I went past.  We didn’t get to any organised celebrations, but we had our own special time right here and I loved every minute of it. There seemed to be something so right about marking today,  with this  unique anniversary, with the sort of old-fashioned  enjoyment that we might have done all those years ago when Elizabeth  Windsor was crowned Elizabeth II.   

It was all about family and sharing and being together – and I was having so much fun that I’m a bit late coming here to post  my blog today. Sorry!  But it also made me think of the ‘family’ of romance writers and readers  and how much my reads mean to me.  I’ve not had 60 years  - just 25+ - but I have had 60 books published so for me this year is really my Diamond Anniversary too. And my latest romance novel - The Devil and Miss Jones is my Diamond novel.  So I thought I’d take this opportunity to say a great big Thank You to everyone who has shared in my career, by reading and buying my books, and so ensuring that I can continue to write  - hopefully into the future.  (Though maybe not  for 60 years!) You’re all very special to me.

So I hope that each and every one of you has had a great day, Whether you’ve been Royal watching on the Thames – or on the TV  - or just  sharing the  things you enjoy with your own family, I hope you had a wonderful time.   Because, after all, it’s not the ceremonies or the expensive pleasures that matter but being together with the ones you love.

And really, isn’t that the message of romance novels – that love is what matters.

Thank you all. Congratulations to the Diamond Jubilee Queen – and here’s to  an even brighter future

The Devil and  Miss Jones was published in Presents Extra on April 4th  and is still available on Amazon or eHarlequin. You can keep up with all my news on my web site, and the latest happenings are over on my personal blog.