Tawny's Top Ten… and a Hot SEAL Deal

Years before I started writing romance, I was a voracious romance reader.  It was that love of reading romances that eventually sparked the dream to write one of my own.  To this day, my favorite way to relax is to curl up with a romance novel and get lost in the wonder of a fabulous story.

This got me thinking about all the reasons romance rocks (and hopefully reasons that people might be reading my books *g*) so I pulled together a fun top ten list…

Tawny’s Top Ten Reasons to Read Romance

·      Happy Every After’s Rock

·      Hellooooooo...  Hunky Heroes

·      We can see the world without leaving our reading-spot

·      We can travel through time in the pages of a romance

·      Did I mention hunky heroes? 

·      Living out a love story as we empathize with the heroine lets us explore the wonder of falling in love

·      Romances have a message of hope, and they make us better people

·      Strong heroines teach us to be strong ourselves

·      We get to explore a plethora of job options, without having to be qualified for any of them

·      And once again, the hunky heroes!  Because it’s those sexy heroes, their enticing personalities and their many... um, shall we say talents that we love to read about in great detail

And speaking of talented heroes, here’s a peek into my latest release, A SEAL’s Salvation: 

Oh, my.
     The years had been kind, indeed, to Brody Lane.     Even as his expression folded into a scowl when he realized she wasn’t who he’d expected to see at his door, she couldn’t stop staring.        It was as if Mother Nature had looked at the perfection that had been him at nineteen and decided to add a few layers of oh, baby gorgeousness to her work of art.
     Arresting before with its sharp planes and brooding features, his face was more intense now.  Even sharper, despite being unshaven and shadowed.  His eyes were just as striking, like molten gold.  They’d always been distant, except when he’d smiled.  But now there was a chasm there, like he was watching from miles away.  Assessing.  Her, the situation, their past, present and future, all without blinking.        It was kinda scary.  Not sure what he was seeing, or more important, what he thought about what he was seeing, Genna bit her lip.
     It was nerves as much as curiosity that made her peel her gaze from his to check out his body.  And what a body it was.     Broad and muscular, his chest and shoulders looked like they were sculpted from marble under his black tee.  He still had that lean build, his waist tapering to slender hips.
     Her eyes dropped lower and she gulped.    The blue cotton sweatpants did nothing to hide the muscle between his legs, either.
     Little dots danced in front of her eyes.  She realized she’d forgotten to breath.
     A gulp of air cleared the dizziness, but the tingling didn’t go away.
     He was... Wow.
     The things he could do with that body, she’d bet they were nothing short of amazing.  And she wasn’t just talking military things.  Her mouth was dry and she was starting to feel a little dizzy again.
So she forced her gaze to climb back up to his face.  His unwelcoming scowl had turned into a ferocious frown.
     She wrinkled her nose.  She should have kept checking out the bod.  He obviously wasn’t thrilled to have company.
     So what else was new?
     “Hi Brody.  I brought you some cookies.”  As greetings went, it was lame. But she added her best smile.  When that had no reaction, she held up the plate as proof.  And, yes, as a bribe.
     He didn’t even look at the plate.  Her lips threatened to drop into a pout.
     “Um, it’s me.  Genna.”  She paused, brows arched.  She tried a friendly smile that was only a little shaky with nerves.  When he didn’t even blink, she swallowed hard, then added, “Joe’s sister.”
     Your favorite pen pal, she wanted to say.  But given his reaction so far, she was a little afraid to bring that up.
     Genna waited.  After five seconds, her smile dimmed.  At thirty, she was straight-up frowning.  Knowing a glare was imminent at sixty, she crossed her arms over her chest, the cookie plate hitting her in the shoulder, and lifted her chin.     “Well?  Aren’t you even going to say hello?”     Now her scowl matched his.
     So much for dating.  She couldn’t even get the guy to talk to her.   

Ahh, the many reasons to love a good romance, right?  

How about you? Why do you read romance?  Besides the hunky heroes, of course :-)

A SEAL's Salvation:    Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Harlequin
A SEAL's Surrender:  Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Harlequin

New York Times and USA TODAY Bestselling author of over twenty-five hot books, Tawny Weber has been writing sassy, sexy romances since her first one hit the shelves in 2007.  A fan of Johnny Depp, cupcakes and color coordination, she spends a lot of her time shopping for cute shoes, scrapbooking and hanging out on Facebook. 

Readers can check out Tawny’s books at her website, www.tawnyweber.com, or join her Red Hot Readers Club for goodies like free reads, complete first chapter excerpts, recipes, insider story info and much more.

You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest

Debra Cowan: TORTURED HEROES: Why I Love ‘Em

Give me a guy who’s gruff and tough then can eventually let a woman see the deepest part of him and I’m hooked!  Mel Gibson in LETHAL WEAPON, Rochester in JANE EYRE and one of my favorites from a book, Nick Gentry from Lisa Kleypas’s  WORTH ANY PRICE. 

Why am I drawn to tortured heroes?  They’re sexy!  There’s something about discovering that a macho, hard-edged man is vulnerable in some way. 

I love the idea that there are men with emotional, often painful secrets, who never let anyone close and there is a woman, somewhere, who can get under his skin and be the one person to accept him for who he is or help him to accept himself.  One woman who can see past the tough, steely-eyed face he shows to the world.  The whole Beauty & the Beast vibe, if you will.  :)  Who’s more tortured than a man who sees himself as damaged and must be restored by the love of the right woman?

As much as I love tortured heroes, they need to have a good reason for being the way they are.   When I write guys like this, I delve into their character to see how they’re put together and why they’re put together that way.  In reality, everyone I know has emotional baggage.  The way my hero handles that baggage, handles himself, further defines him for me.  Sometimes, I might initially know part of who he is, and I work with that to understand the rest.

All I knew about Gideon Black, the hero of my current historical, THE COWBOY’S RELUCTANT BRIDE, was his name, that he’d been in prison and had a mass of scars all over his body. 

Gideon was first introduced in my novella, “Once Upon A Frontier Christmas” from the anthology ALL A COWBOY WANTS FOR CHRISTMAS, as that hero’s best friend whom he’d met in prison.  But why was Gideon in prison?  Had he gotten his scars there?  What was the rest of his story?  Figuring that out took some help from the heroine, Ivy Powell.  She wanted answers to those questions, too.  If you read the book, I hope you’ll agree that Gideon was worth getting to know. 

A tortured hero needs someone not only to soothe the raw edges, but to challenge his seemingly-unreachable heart.  Someone to trust with every part of himself, just as the heroine needs from him. 

Maybe the best way to say it is he needs her.  He may not know it.  He certainly won’t admit it until it’s almost too late, but he needs her.  He can’t walk away from that.  And neither can I.  :) 

What about you?  Do you like tortured heroes?  Or is that too much angst for you?

# # #

Thanks to Lee for having me.  :)

Leave a comment below for your chance to win!  I'm offering two copies of THE COWBOY’S RELUCTANT BRIDE as prizes.

***Debra's winner is CathyP! Please email totebag@authorsoundrelations.com with your mailing details!***

Michelle Styles: Birchbox and me

It started with a phone call about my birthday from my sister. For a number of years she has given me a subscription to the Smithsonian magazine because basically it saved her sending me interesting articles but she wanted to know if I wanted something different – a subscription to Birchbox as they had just expanded into the UK (Birchbox UK).

Luckily I had heard of Birchbox. Birchbox is the brainchild of two Harvard Business School graduates who liked cosmetics. They had a friend who worked for a fashion magazine and who used to share cosmetic samples which they loved getting. The great idea was why not run a company which sends out samples of beauty products as well as having a website where people can buy the products. It sort of sounds like desperation when you are faced with a deadline and then having an idea which turns out to be pure genius. 

 These are the high end beauty products which are often featured in magazines but hard to find unless you know where to go. They pitched it, got the funding and the company was born.  It has gone from strength to strength and now has something like 400,000 subscribers as well expanding internationally. It sounds like it is straight from a romance novel in many ways – plucky women start company and succeed against the odds.  (I have no idea about their love lives but the whole company sent my imagination soaring but I don't do contemporary romance...). A true success story.

Anyway,thanks to my sister and her birthday present, I have signed up and am now getting my Birchbox box every month. It includes about 4 or 5 good sized samples. The quality has impressed so far.  Last month, among the goodies was a great anti-aging cream and the eyeliner  that Alexia Chung uses, plus instructions of how to put on eyeliner.  I am in love with the eyeliner. My 20 year old daughter nabbed the lipstick and loves it. This month, the box was edited by Lulu Guinness so they included a sample of her favourite eye primer as well as a stick of rock (a type of old fashioned boiled sweet) which helped to inspire Lulu’s Spring collection. I particularly like the Mouton Brown hand cream as it cleared up my dry elbow problem.  And I look forward to getting more boxes.

It is a great idea and I love getting my box. Anyway, I thought I’d highlight it as it is fun and other people might like to know about it.

In other news:

Earlier this week, I found out from the editor that the Viking setting is doing so well, my September release Saved by the Viking Warrior will be a North American Retail release  as well as being an ebook release.

Because Return of the Viking Warrior is released in May, I will be doing a contest next month for Tote Bag readers.

Michelle Styles writes warm, witty and intimate historical romance in a wide range of time periods. Her next book Return of the Viking Warrior will be published in May. You can learn more on about Michelle and her books on www.michellestyles.co.uk

Christina Hollis: Work In Progress - "Bright Danger"

Cover Art - Samantha Groom

I’ve recently taken some time out to write in genres beyond my usual category of contemporary romance. You can read an extract from my historical novel, Jewel Under Siege, by clicking here.  My current work in progress, Bright Danger, is a full-length contemporary thriller with a romantic twist.

Josh Ambrose turned to law-enforcement after a tragedy in his turbulent past. When mysterious woman-without-a-history Sophia Hope finds a dead celebrity at a local make-out point, she proves more dangerous to Josh's peace of mind than any murderer. He's in trouble, but her predicament is about to get a whole lot worse...

OPENING OF CHAPTER ONE, BRIGHT DANGER

'...but I love you!'

That was the last thing she wanted to hear, especially from him. She put on a spurt, desperate to get away. Would this guy never take the hint? She’d moved here to start a new, blameless life. He’d ignored every instruction not to follow her, from gentle hint to firm refusal. What was wrong with the man? He stuck like human chewing-gum. 

I’ll have to get nasty, she thought. Really nasty. 

The track ahead led up a bony limestone spine. Kicking on, she left her unwanted shadow for dead. The winter air burned her face, but she dragged it into her body like vodka.

‘I’m serious!’ his voice drifted up like cigarette smoke from a long way below her.

Something always managed to stop her running right to the summit of this heartbreaking hill. Today, that fawning fruit-loop wanted to hold her back–but it wasn't going to happen. Today, she was determined to find out what life was like at the top...

*

Josh Ambrose groaned and opened his eyes. It didn’t make any difference. His room was as black as an informant’s heart. Without much enthusiasm, he tried to extract himself from the duvet’s warm embrace. Then he remembered it was Sunday. 

Ahhh...Sunday.... 

Next minute, an unholy racket punched a hole straight through his head. Falling out of bed, he groped across the room. After ripping back the curtains, he killed the alarm clock. When the only thing still ringing was his ears, he dragged his hand down over his face. Then he went over to his bedside chair, and inspected the clothes he’d stripped off after coming home from the match.  They were alive with the smells of quattro stagioni and Black Pepper bodywash, but good enough for what he had in mind.

  Throwing his underpants aside, he got into his jeans. As he moved, he caught sight of his reflection in the mirror. Light ran over his body like honey. The double-headed eagle etched across his back roused as he flexed. It had taken a total of seven hours, eighteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds to get that inking done. The pain had been exquisite. He’d only endured it to fit in with the Anderson gang. All along, they’d thought they were using him. They'd realized too late that Josh was the one in charge, playing them like fish on hooks. In the end they’d lost everything. He’d walked away with the biggest prize of all. 

And Lucky.

Pulling on his shirt, Josh thundered downstairs. He almost filled the small kitchen, bouncing from light switch to radio, toaster to kettle and back again.  

In all that time, his new dog never moved a muscle. Brought up to expect nothing but trouble from men, she was screwed into her bed, still and silent.

  ‘Ready, Lucky?’ 

       He strolled toward her, braced for her usual morning routine of flinch and growl. 

This morning, it didn’t happen. His mouth dried. He dropped into a crouch beside the dog-basket. Was she sick? Instinctively, his hand went toward the danger zone, then he stopped himself. He could afford to lose a few minutes, but he wanted to keep all his fingers...

Josh Ambrose soon finds out that in a world where public faces hide private sins, he can’t count on loyalty from anyone. And the woman he wants has a lot of history, and it's catching up with her fast.

How do you think Bright Danger is shaping up so far?

Christina Hollis writes both contemporary and historical fiction - when she isn't cooking, gardening or beekeeping. You can catch up with her at http://www.christinahollis.blogspot.com, on Twitter and Facebook, and see a full list of her published books at http://www.christinahollis.com