Sunday, May 31, 2009
The Prince's Bride
Ciar Cullen
Help me celebrate the June 2 release of my erotic novella The Prince's Bride, from Loose ID.
Sexy young knight Sir Geoffrey’s holy vision of the True Cross sends him questing after a virgin, a unicorn, a sacred scroll, and a cursed island. Rita is a plump, poor peasant who speaks with the finder of lost things, St. Anthony. She hasn’t been a virgin for quite a while, so she’s thrilled to win the hand of Sir Geoffrey, and moreso since Geoff delights in introducing her to his sexual peccadilloes, including a generous night of brotherly sharing. It comes as a shock to learn that Geoff’s vision includes his own martyrdom! Is Geoffrey’s vision the result of insanity, or is St. Anthony leading him to something priceless? Only Rita has the power to save her husband, with some help from her heavenly friends.
Enter to win one of four copies of my JERR gold star winner, The Biggest Kahuna or my erotic fantasy The Wizard of Time. PLUS, one winner gets a gift certificate to Fictionwise and a signed copy of any of my print books! That's five chances to win. Just post your name here! Now how easy does that get? Contest ends June 5, midnight EST.
Friday, May 29, 2009
I do love paranormal romances very much because the authors create this totally different world that is similar to our own world. But these worlds these authors create are filled with all these paranormal creatures that we only think is myth but are totally real in paranormal romances. I know that author Jessica Coulter Smith loves to read paranormal romances so when she writes paranormal romances are what she ends up creating. I had the pleasure of hosting her guest blog about her current release Moonlight Protector, which is the first book of her Ashton Grove Werewolves series and I also reviewed it as well. I also had the pleasure of interviewing her as well if you want to find out more about Jessica's writing and about some of her hobbies and favorite authors. Today I will be reviewing her second book in her new series called Moonlight Hero for both Jessica and her publisher Wild Horse Press and what a nice read that was for me.
In the first novel we met the Andrews brothers Gabriel, the oldest and the alpha, and his younger twin brothers Cole and Michael. We read about Cole's happily ever after with his human mate Marin and got a look at how the other brothers Gabriel and Michael who are both feeling like they are in need of finding their mates as well. Now alpha werewolf Gabriel Andrews is stunned when his mate comes bursting through the door of his garage one day. Running from a ravenous vampire, Kiera is happy to see the hot mechanic and this confrontation between the couple and the vampire forces Gabriel to announce Kiera as his mate. Which is a surprise for the vampire, Kiera and Gabriel because neither of the three was expecting that when they woke up that morning. Then when the vampire throws down the gauntlet, demanding that Gabriel and Kiera marry each other in order to prove that she's really the alpha's mate, Gabriel is only too happy to agree.
Kiera on the other hand has her doubts because coming from a small town in Tennessee where werewolves do not assocaiae with other shifters, the little werefox can't believe that Gabriel could really want her in his life. But Gabriel is unlike all those werewolves she grew up with because he is more open minded about it and knows that no matter what Keira changes into that she is his mate and the only woman for him. It was such a pleasure reading about Gabriel and Kiera's happily ever after story because after reading about Cole and Marin's I wanted to read how his other brother's Michael and Gabriel would end up with their mates. Keira is such a timid woman but I think that she really changed since meeting Gabriel because he really gives her that extra boost that pushes her to be more independent, strong and able to her own person. Now I got to know a bit about Gabriel in the first book and reading his love story I got to know him better. Gabriel is such a wonderful, strong and charming man who really is good for Keira since they may not seem like a likely couple but in fact make a great for each other.
I was kind of sad to have finished the novel of Gabriel and Kiera's love story so quickly because they were such great characters to read about. I was also kind of happy to finally find out Gabriel's love story and that he ending up with such a wonderful mate in Keira, who I feel really blossomed with him. After finishing this novel I really wanted to e-mail Jessica and tell her to finish up writing the next book in the series because I want to know more about the Cole and Gabriel's other brother Michael and how he ends up with his own mate. I was also giddy to find out that she's in the works of also writing up Gabriel, Cole and Michael's twin cousins own love story to her Ashton Grove Werewolves series. Jessica Coulter Smith delievers another wonderfully written paranormal romance that had me totally captivated from start to finish as well as making me want more by the time I read the last sentence of the novel. This is one of those books that I will recommend to any paranormal romance readers out there to really check out as soon as possible you won't regret it. I give this book 4.5 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from Jessica's website and picture:
MOONLIGHT HERO by Jessica Coulter Smith $ 5.95 (Book 2)(170 Pages)
The second installment in the Ashton Grove Werewolves series is nearly here!
Alpha werewolf Gabriel Andrews is stunned when his mate comes bursting through the door of his garage. Running from a ravenous vampire, Kiera is happy to see the hot mechanic. A confrontation between the couple and the vampire forces Gabriel to announce Kiera as his mate. When the vampire throws down the gauntlet, demanding that Gabriel and Kiera marry in order to prove that she's really the alpha's mate, Gabriel is only too happy to agree. Kiera on the other hand has her doubts. Coming from a small town in Tennessee where werewolves do not assocaiae with other shifters, the little werefox can't believe that Gabriel could really want her in his life.
Will these two have a happily ever after? Or will Kiera's past life and an angry vampire keep them apart?
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Today we have a special guest here guest blogging about her latest release The Witch's Beast. Kiki Howell is a new author to me and when she contacted me about reviewing her latest novel The Witch’s Beast as well as to schedule a interview and guest blog I looked into her novels to see what she writes about. I found that her novel The Witch’s Beast to be very intriguing since it's similar to the story called The Beauty and the Beast but it's told in the perspective of the witch. I had a great time reading it and you should watch out for my review of it soon or you could read the very informative interview between me and Kiki Howell. Now onto the guest blog:
* * * * * *
As I said before, I wrote The Witch’s Beast to settle a long standing grudge I had with the Brothers Grimm. Even as a kid I wondered why the witch, who started it all with her spell so without her there would be no story, only got that one line mention. At the end of the Brothers Grimm version of Beauty and the Beast it says, “An evil witch turned me into a monster and only the love of a maiden willing to accept me as I was, could transform me back into my real self.” No why or when, and they didn’t even give her a chance to explain herself. Disney does give her three lines to explain that the Prince was selfish and unkind—the why. Only here, the old haggard woman became a beautiful enchantress before putting a powerful spell on the Prince and his castle. I went with that, but again, did we ever hear from her? No! So, I felt she had a story to tell. When I saw that Whiskey Creek Press Torrid had a line of Torrid Twisted Tales, I wrote my version of the story completely from the witch’s point of view. The erotic nature of the story was just an added bonus as I wove my tale. I was so excited I guess, that I wrote the story in no time at all. I really couldn’t get it into the computer fast enough. This becomes more of a problem for me as I can’t type! Shh—it’s a secret!
THE WITCH’S BEAST, A Torrid Twisted Tale
Blurb:
A witch rejected…a few spells for revenge…an arrogant Prince turned into a Beast…a beautiful woman taken captive…
And, that is just the beginning of this tale of a Beauty and a Beast told by the Witch who cast the spell that began it all. A dismal castle, possessed candles, and a little mangy fur will be the least of the Beast’s troubles as the Witch goes into a jealous rage over the Beauty he now holds captive.
A magic mirror…desperate sex spells…magical seductive dreams…orgasmic punishments in a dungeon…
This time, the Beast will be caught between a Beauty who has caught his eye but rejects his proposal of marriage and the Witch who allows him moments in his human form to fulfill his every sexual desire. For whom will there be a happily ever after?
Excerpt:
The witch stormed from the prince’s castle in a rage that turned the moonlit sky pitch black. The clouds conjured by her anguish pelted the land with rain disguising her own bitter tears. The brambles tore at her dress provoked by the violent winds that her madness ensued. As she ran, her heels kicked up the muck blanketing the wildflowers and hiding the last bits of beauty along the trail. The etched features of the Prince’s arrogant face loomed in her mind spurring her onward. Her thoughts were consumed with baneful spells that her beliefs would normally forbid her to do.
When she entered her own cottage, the squall slammed the door shut behind her. The atmospheric disturbance raged on as the conception of revenge incited her actions. She went for the book of spells that was hidden behind all of the others. The book, given to her long ago by an aunt who practiced her craft on the wrong side of morality, had been tucked away for years. Even though she had never considered using it before tonight, she had read it secretly several times.
Saraphina flipped through the book, her eyes skimming the pages for spells of revenge. When a spell finally brought a smile to her face, she went to work immediately gathering what she needed and prepping her kitchen. She warmed a chunk of black wax over a boiling cauldron. Oblivious to the heat, she molded and carved the glob into the vague image of a castle. Creativity pushed aside, she worked only until the piece evoked the image of the Prince’s home in her mind. The remaining wax she pounded into the image of a man until she could see the Prince’s form clearly. With wax-covered fingers, she wielded her bolline, a white-handled knife used to do work in the physical realm, cutting the name of the Prince into both of her sculptures. She welcomed in the stormy winds to harden her creations with their chill.
Grasping the spiny berry vines that had clung to her skirt, she allowed them to prick her fingers before wrapping the wax figures in the bloody thorns. That done, she reread the spell to reassure herself she had left nothing out. Satisfied with her work, she laid a piece of black velvet over the castle. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of a mallet, and she struck the cloth viciously maiming and breaking her sculptures.
Her angry voice sent forth the words, “Your beloved castle, home of pride and power, I now curse to be an wretched home that will instill fear into those who enter it’s rooms and towers. Make every inch of the castle ugly, dull and cold; so that those who dare to enter will be uncomfortable if they are but so bold. Make his possessions whither so that they can bring him no joy, all but the bare necessities destroy.”
She though through her words to make sure she had left nothing out. Satisfied, she moved the velvet from the ruins of the castle to the figure of the Prince. She brought down the mallet again and again spewing through her sobs, “The shallow and spoiled Prince Amir, I now curse into a hideous beast; with the fangs of a wolf and the hair of a bear, his ugliness I will increase. His image will suffer everyone to flee, with no one to serve him, alone he will be. The pain of rejection he granted me, I will now gift back to thee.”
As she brushed the remains of her wax sculptures into a pail of graveyard dirt, an even more inspired idea flickered within her. Pushing the pail under her worktable and leaving everything else askew, she ran for her bedroom to her altar. She fell to her knees looking as wild as she felt. She was soaked to the bone in her torn dress with smudges of dirt and wax her only remaining adornments. Forgoing the usual preparations of her altar, the Witch laid out further plans for her Prince.
“I am devising a superbly wicked spell that will not also harm me, it will be cast in accordance to the law of three. I will curse the Prince with virtuous traits that will be a detriment to the life of such a person as he.” With her first spells against the castle and the Prince, she had gone against her rede to harm no one with her powers. According to the law of three, any negative she sent out into the universe would come back to her threefold. In her mood she had chosen to ignore it or risk it. On the other hand, with this spell she would be granting something positive like honesty. Being truthful and sincere were positive attributes, therefore she would be harming none. Except that, she knew that the spoiled Prince would complain now that he was a beast and his castle was in ruins. Yet with this spell, he would not be able to lie about how he truly felt, and he would not be able to lie about why it happened. He wouldn’t even be able to lie to himself. Plus, the spell insured her that he could never pretend to like her just to be turned back into a man.
Sparking the candles before her to light by merely running her hand over them, she now softly spoke, “With this flame that makes light live, the gift of honesty I will give. In accordance with the law of three, this is what I want, so mote it be.”
She fell back upon her bearskin rug and passed out into an exhausted fit of sleep. Her restless dreams brought to her flashes of the day. She had spent hours making herself beautiful, donning a newly sewn dress that did much to accentuate the best of her curves. She had washed her long red hair and twisted each of its natural curls around her finger while they were still wet to perfect them. After mixing just the right combination of herbs to accentuate her own femininity, she had doused herself with the perfume.
Standing nervously at the door of the castle, she waited upon the approval she needed to speak with Prince Amir. At first, he had refused to even see her having a servant claim him too busy. Yet, she persuaded, as only a young woman can, the aging servant to convince the Prince to see her in his study. She had told him quite truthfully that the purpose of her visit was of the utmost importance to Prince Amir’s future. In her mind, it was not a lie or even an exaggeration of the truth.
Prince Amir was none to happy to see her standing before his desk.
“Why have you come? I am busy. Therefore, can we please make this short? What news do you have for me concerning my future?” The words were spoken fast and laced with arrogance. He was clearly annoyed with the woman before him, and disinterested in anything she may have to say. She had been challenged by his aloofness before and had not let it intimidate her.
“I have come, as always to persuade my old friend to grant me some of his time.” She purred out the words as her hips swayed girlishly back and forth to catch her hands.
“I have no time. If you have something of importance to say about my future, please do so quickly.” He had not even glanced up at her again continuing to look over something on his desk as he spoke in the monotone of distraction.
“Prince, if I may have permission to be completely honest.”
“I don’t suppose I can stop you.”
She walked around his desk to stand beside his chair. A bold move that she had dared to force him to look at her.
“What are you doing?” His voice had risen in volume as he glared up at her seemingly oblivious to the body she tried to display before him.
“We were friends as children, you must remember, but then you took power and since have had no time for me. You seem consumed with your work, which is very important indeed.” She spoke fast not allowing him to interrupt her. “Yet, I think a man needs more than work. I am offering you love. I can take care of your other needs.” After brushing aside the curls that had covered the swell of her breasts, she caressed his hair.
He pushed her hand from him. “Get out before I call in the guards. My future does not involve you.”
“But, Prince…”
He cut her off with his angry words, “Get out Witch! I may have been too stupid to know better as a child, but now I am a grown man and have no time or desire for the likes of you. Know your place from now on. I have allowed you to live on these grounds because your mother was a dear servant to mine, but that is where you rank, servant. Remember, you are a servant I have no need for. My mother felt the need for a witch, therefore you and your mother were granted many privileges in this castle once. I, on the other hand, do not see the need for your so-called magic. Please hear me clearly because I never will. So, if you wish to remain on these grounds, you will leave me alone.”
He had never said such things to her before. He hadn’t had time for her in the year since he had come to power with his father ill, but he had been at least briefly polite to his childhood friend when she had forced their paths to cross. She had just thought he needed to be reminded of the friendship they once shared and made to see the woman she had become. Thereupon, she thought that given time he could maybe come to love her too.
“Don’t just stand there with that dumb look on your face. Leave me alone!” He bellowed once more. “Guards!”
She turned then and ran past the guards that had quickly come at his call.
A witch rejected…a few spells for revenge…an arrogant Prince turned into a Beast…a beautiful woman taken captive…
And, that is just the beginning of this tale of a Beauty and a Beast told by the Witch who cast the spell that began it all. A dismal castle, possessed candles, and a little mangy fur will be the least of the Beast’s troubles as the Witch goes into a jealous rage over the Beauty he now holds captive.
A magic mirror…desperate sex spells…magical seductive dreams…orgasmic punishments in a dungeon…
This time, the Beast will be caught between a Beauty who has caught his eye but rejects his proposal of marriage and the Witch who allows him moments in his human form to fulfill his every sexual desire. For whom will there be a happily ever after?
Excerpt:
The witch stormed from the prince’s castle in a rage that turned the moonlit sky pitch black. The clouds conjured by her anguish pelted the land with rain disguising her own bitter tears. The brambles tore at her dress provoked by the violent winds that her madness ensued. As she ran, her heels kicked up the muck blanketing the wildflowers and hiding the last bits of beauty along the trail. The etched features of the Prince’s arrogant face loomed in her mind spurring her onward. Her thoughts were consumed with baneful spells that her beliefs would normally forbid her to do.
When she entered her own cottage, the squall slammed the door shut behind her. The atmospheric disturbance raged on as the conception of revenge incited her actions. She went for the book of spells that was hidden behind all of the others. The book, given to her long ago by an aunt who practiced her craft on the wrong side of morality, had been tucked away for years. Even though she had never considered using it before tonight, she had read it secretly several times.
Saraphina flipped through the book, her eyes skimming the pages for spells of revenge. When a spell finally brought a smile to her face, she went to work immediately gathering what she needed and prepping her kitchen. She warmed a chunk of black wax over a boiling cauldron. Oblivious to the heat, she molded and carved the glob into the vague image of a castle. Creativity pushed aside, she worked only until the piece evoked the image of the Prince’s home in her mind. The remaining wax she pounded into the image of a man until she could see the Prince’s form clearly. With wax-covered fingers, she wielded her bolline, a white-handled knife used to do work in the physical realm, cutting the name of the Prince into both of her sculptures. She welcomed in the stormy winds to harden her creations with their chill.
Grasping the spiny berry vines that had clung to her skirt, she allowed them to prick her fingers before wrapping the wax figures in the bloody thorns. That done, she reread the spell to reassure herself she had left nothing out. Satisfied with her work, she laid a piece of black velvet over the castle. Her fingers wrapped around the handle of a mallet, and she struck the cloth viciously maiming and breaking her sculptures.
Her angry voice sent forth the words, “Your beloved castle, home of pride and power, I now curse to be an wretched home that will instill fear into those who enter it’s rooms and towers. Make every inch of the castle ugly, dull and cold; so that those who dare to enter will be uncomfortable if they are but so bold. Make his possessions whither so that they can bring him no joy, all but the bare necessities destroy.”
She though through her words to make sure she had left nothing out. Satisfied, she moved the velvet from the ruins of the castle to the figure of the Prince. She brought down the mallet again and again spewing through her sobs, “The shallow and spoiled Prince Amir, I now curse into a hideous beast; with the fangs of a wolf and the hair of a bear, his ugliness I will increase. His image will suffer everyone to flee, with no one to serve him, alone he will be. The pain of rejection he granted me, I will now gift back to thee.”
As she brushed the remains of her wax sculptures into a pail of graveyard dirt, an even more inspired idea flickered within her. Pushing the pail under her worktable and leaving everything else askew, she ran for her bedroom to her altar. She fell to her knees looking as wild as she felt. She was soaked to the bone in her torn dress with smudges of dirt and wax her only remaining adornments. Forgoing the usual preparations of her altar, the Witch laid out further plans for her Prince.
“I am devising a superbly wicked spell that will not also harm me, it will be cast in accordance to the law of three. I will curse the Prince with virtuous traits that will be a detriment to the life of such a person as he.” With her first spells against the castle and the Prince, she had gone against her rede to harm no one with her powers. According to the law of three, any negative she sent out into the universe would come back to her threefold. In her mood she had chosen to ignore it or risk it. On the other hand, with this spell she would be granting something positive like honesty. Being truthful and sincere were positive attributes, therefore she would be harming none. Except that, she knew that the spoiled Prince would complain now that he was a beast and his castle was in ruins. Yet with this spell, he would not be able to lie about how he truly felt, and he would not be able to lie about why it happened. He wouldn’t even be able to lie to himself. Plus, the spell insured her that he could never pretend to like her just to be turned back into a man.
Sparking the candles before her to light by merely running her hand over them, she now softly spoke, “With this flame that makes light live, the gift of honesty I will give. In accordance with the law of three, this is what I want, so mote it be.”
She fell back upon her bearskin rug and passed out into an exhausted fit of sleep. Her restless dreams brought to her flashes of the day. She had spent hours making herself beautiful, donning a newly sewn dress that did much to accentuate the best of her curves. She had washed her long red hair and twisted each of its natural curls around her finger while they were still wet to perfect them. After mixing just the right combination of herbs to accentuate her own femininity, she had doused herself with the perfume.
Standing nervously at the door of the castle, she waited upon the approval she needed to speak with Prince Amir. At first, he had refused to even see her having a servant claim him too busy. Yet, she persuaded, as only a young woman can, the aging servant to convince the Prince to see her in his study. She had told him quite truthfully that the purpose of her visit was of the utmost importance to Prince Amir’s future. In her mind, it was not a lie or even an exaggeration of the truth.
Prince Amir was none to happy to see her standing before his desk.
“Why have you come? I am busy. Therefore, can we please make this short? What news do you have for me concerning my future?” The words were spoken fast and laced with arrogance. He was clearly annoyed with the woman before him, and disinterested in anything she may have to say. She had been challenged by his aloofness before and had not let it intimidate her.
“I have come, as always to persuade my old friend to grant me some of his time.” She purred out the words as her hips swayed girlishly back and forth to catch her hands.
“I have no time. If you have something of importance to say about my future, please do so quickly.” He had not even glanced up at her again continuing to look over something on his desk as he spoke in the monotone of distraction.
“Prince, if I may have permission to be completely honest.”
“I don’t suppose I can stop you.”
She walked around his desk to stand beside his chair. A bold move that she had dared to force him to look at her.
“What are you doing?” His voice had risen in volume as he glared up at her seemingly oblivious to the body she tried to display before him.
“We were friends as children, you must remember, but then you took power and since have had no time for me. You seem consumed with your work, which is very important indeed.” She spoke fast not allowing him to interrupt her. “Yet, I think a man needs more than work. I am offering you love. I can take care of your other needs.” After brushing aside the curls that had covered the swell of her breasts, she caressed his hair.
He pushed her hand from him. “Get out before I call in the guards. My future does not involve you.”
“But, Prince…”
He cut her off with his angry words, “Get out Witch! I may have been too stupid to know better as a child, but now I am a grown man and have no time or desire for the likes of you. Know your place from now on. I have allowed you to live on these grounds because your mother was a dear servant to mine, but that is where you rank, servant. Remember, you are a servant I have no need for. My mother felt the need for a witch, therefore you and your mother were granted many privileges in this castle once. I, on the other hand, do not see the need for your so-called magic. Please hear me clearly because I never will. So, if you wish to remain on these grounds, you will leave me alone.”
He had never said such things to her before. He hadn’t had time for her in the year since he had come to power with his father ill, but he had been at least briefly polite to his childhood friend when she had forced their paths to cross. She had just thought he needed to be reminded of the friendship they once shared and made to see the woman she had become. Thereupon, she thought that given time he could maybe come to love her too.
“Don’t just stand there with that dumb look on your face. Leave me alone!” He bellowed once more. “Guards!”
She turned then and ran past the guards that had quickly come at his call.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Today we have a special guest here being interviewed. Kiki Howell is a new author to me and when she contacted me about reviewing her latest novel The Witch’s Beast as well as to schedule a interview and guest blog I looked into her novels to see what she writes about. I found that her novel The Witch’s Beast to be very intriguing since it's similar to the story called The Beauty and the Beast but it's told in the perspective of the witch. I had a great time reading it and you should watch out for my review of it soon as well as for the guest blog by Kiki that will be posted this Thursday, May 28. Now on to the very informative interview between me and Kiki Howell:
* * * * * *
Phoebe Jordan: When did you know that writing romance was going to be the thing that you would do with your life? Which author inspired you to start writing romance?
Kiki Howell: I would have to guess end of high school to beginning of college. My mother owned every Danielle Steele book ever written, and I started reading them in high school.
Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Kiki: I really didn’t get to experiment much. I had not written in years as life had thrown me a few curve balls. When I started writing again, I guess I just started writing all those stories I had stuck in my head. I was an avid reader of paranormal romance by then, so it was where I wanted to start. The erotic thing on the other hand, came from a writing exercise that said you could get your creativity flowing again by writing in a genre you were not comfortable with, as in unfamiliar with. I had just read a few erotic romances, so I gave it a try.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Kiki: I remember writing stories as a kid, but nothing sticks out in my mind as far as subject. By middle school, I was writing the after-school special type of stories that were so popular back then. Only, I have no idea where they went. A question for my mom I guess. In college, as an English major, I was still writing the socially conscious type stories too, with some romance sprinkled in. Thank goodness I can only locate three of those now!!! But, I didn’t start writing romance until about two years ago after a long break of not writing at all.
Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?
Kiki: I get so caught up in the research. I really enjoy that phase and tend to linger in it too long. I buy books and get several from the library. I always have a notebook going of things I need to know for the stories. I read a lot of Wicca books, and spin it into fantasy. Right now I am reading about quantum physics, the 11:11 code (not the Da Vinci stuff) and about the Mayan religion to create a world of my own making. You just never know with me. My hardest research was for two regency stories that I have submitted now.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel The Witch’s Beast?
Kiki: It was a personal grudge I had with the Brothers Grimm. As a kid, I could never understand why the witch, who cast the spell that started it all, only got a one sentence mention. When I saw that Whiskey Creek Press Torrid had a line of Torrid Twisted Tales, I had to rewrite it. The erotic aspect was just an added bonus!
Phoebe: How do you come up with each of your characters for your novels? How do you choose their names out of so many names out there?
Kiki: Sometimes all I have is a character, and I have to ask myself what they are going to get into. If I am working the opposite way with a storyline first, I create a character that would be most interesting in it. All of my characters names have a meaning or two. For example, my current WIP has a character named Kamillia. The “illi” part of the name represents the 11:11 code device used in the story as a way for the spirits to speak to those on earth, K is the 11th letter in the alphabet, and the rest is derived from a friends name who gave me “The 11:11 Code” book that sparked the idea that got the story rolling. Then when I had to name her in her past life, I started with the nationality and time period I needed since she lived in Italy in 1427 and found a name with an appropriate meaning for the personality of the character, which was Alessandrina meaning “defender of men.”
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite character that you really enjoyed writing about in your novel The Witch’s Beast? Did you have a character that you felt you could really relate to in your novel The Witch’s Beast?
Kiki: Of course, the witch Saraphina, who I wrote the story for. Sometimes Saraphina, I guess. She got to do the things with her powers that thank goodness I don’t have the power to do when thinking vengeful thoughts! LOL!
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
Kiki: No, they have come at me for all different reasons, and from various sources. Anything from a call for submission that gets an entire story flowing like in The Witch’s Beast, to a Wiccan spell like in The Healing Spell, or to a need to re-write history with a little justice like in “A Witch’s Protection” in the Mystic Stones anthology.
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Kiki: So far I have only written stand-alones, although I have been asked for sequels. My current work in progress though is calling for one, so we will see.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Kiki: I was lucky, and it wasn’t a process at all. When I was trying to write again, my husband went on a trip to Israel for 2 weeks. An explosion in the background during our first phone call caused me many sleepless nights that gave me the time I needed to write. I wrote two short stories in those weeks in response to a call for submissions. When my husband got home he encouraged me to send them in. I got a contract back for both of them! Too easy, I know, but I have had rejections since if it helps.
Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?
Kiki: Not really once I started to write again, but I have had a few burn-out periods after I have finished a story and I just need a break. It only takes a few days for me to get the craving to write again. As I said earlier though, when I had trouble getting back into writing originally, writing exercises are great to get the creative juices flowing.
Phoebe: What is your biggest reader pet peeve, if you have any? (stock characters, unresolved endings, predictability, everything wrapped up hurriedly in the end, etc.)
Kiki: It drives me crazy the chapters that seem to be just repeats of the previous one to increase word length or something. I find myself skimming through chapters in books to just get to the end because I know it is going to be just one more of the same battle.
Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why? And what is your biggest writing pet peeve? (overuse of exclamation points, adverbs, bad guys named Wayne, etc.), if you have any?
Kiki: I enjoy description. I love to play with words until I get just the right picture or feeling described. I actually love adverbs, but apparently I am the only one!
Phoebe: What is the one writing tool can you not live without?
Kiki: Going back to the description thing, it would be the online reference tools of the reverse dictionary where you give them a concept and they give you words suggestions, the standard dictionary because sometimes a better word can be found in the actual definition and the thesaurus for obvious reasons.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?
Kiki: I have never claimed to be sane, and often my family doesn’t think I am either! My kids are both in school full days, so I do the majority of my writing then. I squeeze in house work when they are getting ready for school, or I call it exercise and skip that! No one eats as well as they used to, but I am still there for all of the sporting events, homework help and talks. One thing I do is work on all of the promo stuff at night with my laptop in the living room so I can be with everyone else and doing work that can be easily interrupted.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing? Do you have any hobbies?
Kiki: Don’t laugh, because my husband does, but I read! I do love to knit, but I don’t do it very often lately except to make bookmarks or coffee mug cozies for promo packages. I am also a certified Feng Shui consultant. So, I do a home from time to time, or I am tweaking my own. I am currently training someone too. I really believe in it and love it! My life in comparison to a decade ago is proof it works!
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kiki: Write your story! What I mean by that is get out of your own way. I spent a lot of time rewriting to an imaginary reader at first, and your creativity suffers for it. I completed my first story when I started writing the words that were inside of me without critiquing them before they even got onto the screen.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kiki: Promotion and marketing tips I am still looking for! But, research tips I have. Research your character’s personality traits and settings etc fully, but don’t write your story like a research paper. You have to know enough to just make the story flow right without trying to force it in there. This would have saved me a lot of editing time. I heard that from editors at first, this sounds too scientific or clinical, etc.
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
Kiki: I am always reading paranormal romance in all of its sub-genres. I pretty much read whatever catches my eye in that genre or something someone recommends to me. So, the best I have read within the past year is Teresa Medeiros’ After Midnight and its sequel The Devil Who Loved Me which I had to download the minute I closed the first book it was that good! A longstanding favorite is the Three Sisters Island trilogy by Nora Roberts.
Phoebe: What are you reading now? And what do you plan to read after that?
Kiki: I just finished Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Side of the Moon, because I have not read the Dark-Hunter series in any semblance of an order. Tonight, I am reading two more chapters in a friend’s WIP. And, I am going to the library tomorrow to get the first Laurell K Hamilton book in the Anita Blake series that someone just recommended to me.
Kiki Howell: I would have to guess end of high school to beginning of college. My mother owned every Danielle Steele book ever written, and I started reading them in high school.
Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Kiki: I really didn’t get to experiment much. I had not written in years as life had thrown me a few curve balls. When I started writing again, I guess I just started writing all those stories I had stuck in my head. I was an avid reader of paranormal romance by then, so it was where I wanted to start. The erotic thing on the other hand, came from a writing exercise that said you could get your creativity flowing again by writing in a genre you were not comfortable with, as in unfamiliar with. I had just read a few erotic romances, so I gave it a try.
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Kiki: I remember writing stories as a kid, but nothing sticks out in my mind as far as subject. By middle school, I was writing the after-school special type of stories that were so popular back then. Only, I have no idea where they went. A question for my mom I guess. In college, as an English major, I was still writing the socially conscious type stories too, with some romance sprinkled in. Thank goodness I can only locate three of those now!!! But, I didn’t start writing romance until about two years ago after a long break of not writing at all.
Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?
Kiki: I get so caught up in the research. I really enjoy that phase and tend to linger in it too long. I buy books and get several from the library. I always have a notebook going of things I need to know for the stories. I read a lot of Wicca books, and spin it into fantasy. Right now I am reading about quantum physics, the 11:11 code (not the Da Vinci stuff) and about the Mayan religion to create a world of my own making. You just never know with me. My hardest research was for two regency stories that I have submitted now.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your latest novel The Witch’s Beast?
Kiki: It was a personal grudge I had with the Brothers Grimm. As a kid, I could never understand why the witch, who cast the spell that started it all, only got a one sentence mention. When I saw that Whiskey Creek Press Torrid had a line of Torrid Twisted Tales, I had to rewrite it. The erotic aspect was just an added bonus!
Phoebe: How do you come up with each of your characters for your novels? How do you choose their names out of so many names out there?
Kiki: Sometimes all I have is a character, and I have to ask myself what they are going to get into. If I am working the opposite way with a storyline first, I create a character that would be most interesting in it. All of my characters names have a meaning or two. For example, my current WIP has a character named Kamillia. The “illi” part of the name represents the 11:11 code device used in the story as a way for the spirits to speak to those on earth, K is the 11th letter in the alphabet, and the rest is derived from a friends name who gave me “The 11:11 Code” book that sparked the idea that got the story rolling. Then when I had to name her in her past life, I started with the nationality and time period I needed since she lived in Italy in 1427 and found a name with an appropriate meaning for the personality of the character, which was Alessandrina meaning “defender of men.”
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite character that you really enjoyed writing about in your novel The Witch’s Beast? Did you have a character that you felt you could really relate to in your novel The Witch’s Beast?
Kiki: Of course, the witch Saraphina, who I wrote the story for. Sometimes Saraphina, I guess. She got to do the things with her powers that thank goodness I don’t have the power to do when thinking vengeful thoughts! LOL!
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
Kiki: No, they have come at me for all different reasons, and from various sources. Anything from a call for submission that gets an entire story flowing like in The Witch’s Beast, to a Wiccan spell like in The Healing Spell, or to a need to re-write history with a little justice like in “A Witch’s Protection” in the Mystic Stones anthology.
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Kiki: So far I have only written stand-alones, although I have been asked for sequels. My current work in progress though is calling for one, so we will see.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Kiki: I was lucky, and it wasn’t a process at all. When I was trying to write again, my husband went on a trip to Israel for 2 weeks. An explosion in the background during our first phone call caused me many sleepless nights that gave me the time I needed to write. I wrote two short stories in those weeks in response to a call for submissions. When my husband got home he encouraged me to send them in. I got a contract back for both of them! Too easy, I know, but I have had rejections since if it helps.
Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?
Kiki: Not really once I started to write again, but I have had a few burn-out periods after I have finished a story and I just need a break. It only takes a few days for me to get the craving to write again. As I said earlier though, when I had trouble getting back into writing originally, writing exercises are great to get the creative juices flowing.
Phoebe: What is your biggest reader pet peeve, if you have any? (stock characters, unresolved endings, predictability, everything wrapped up hurriedly in the end, etc.)
Kiki: It drives me crazy the chapters that seem to be just repeats of the previous one to increase word length or something. I find myself skimming through chapters in books to just get to the end because I know it is going to be just one more of the same battle.
Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why? And what is your biggest writing pet peeve? (overuse of exclamation points, adverbs, bad guys named Wayne, etc.), if you have any?
Kiki: I enjoy description. I love to play with words until I get just the right picture or feeling described. I actually love adverbs, but apparently I am the only one!
Phoebe: What is the one writing tool can you not live without?
Kiki: Going back to the description thing, it would be the online reference tools of the reverse dictionary where you give them a concept and they give you words suggestions, the standard dictionary because sometimes a better word can be found in the actual definition and the thesaurus for obvious reasons.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?
Kiki: I have never claimed to be sane, and often my family doesn’t think I am either! My kids are both in school full days, so I do the majority of my writing then. I squeeze in house work when they are getting ready for school, or I call it exercise and skip that! No one eats as well as they used to, but I am still there for all of the sporting events, homework help and talks. One thing I do is work on all of the promo stuff at night with my laptop in the living room so I can be with everyone else and doing work that can be easily interrupted.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing? Do you have any hobbies?
Kiki: Don’t laugh, because my husband does, but I read! I do love to knit, but I don’t do it very often lately except to make bookmarks or coffee mug cozies for promo packages. I am also a certified Feng Shui consultant. So, I do a home from time to time, or I am tweaking my own. I am currently training someone too. I really believe in it and love it! My life in comparison to a decade ago is proof it works!
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kiki: Write your story! What I mean by that is get out of your own way. I spent a lot of time rewriting to an imaginary reader at first, and your creativity suffers for it. I completed my first story when I started writing the words that were inside of me without critiquing them before they even got onto the screen.
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kiki: Promotion and marketing tips I am still looking for! But, research tips I have. Research your character’s personality traits and settings etc fully, but don’t write your story like a research paper. You have to know enough to just make the story flow right without trying to force it in there. This would have saved me a lot of editing time. I heard that from editors at first, this sounds too scientific or clinical, etc.
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
Kiki: I am always reading paranormal romance in all of its sub-genres. I pretty much read whatever catches my eye in that genre or something someone recommends to me. So, the best I have read within the past year is Teresa Medeiros’ After Midnight and its sequel The Devil Who Loved Me which I had to download the minute I closed the first book it was that good! A longstanding favorite is the Three Sisters Island trilogy by Nora Roberts.
Phoebe: What are you reading now? And what do you plan to read after that?
Kiki: I just finished Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Side of the Moon, because I have not read the Dark-Hunter series in any semblance of an order. Tonight, I am reading two more chapters in a friend’s WIP. And, I am going to the library tomorrow to get the first Laurell K Hamilton book in the Anita Blake series that someone just recommended to me.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Crystal Jordan
She loves them too much to change them. Until they turn the tables on her… Every one of Candy’s werewolf instincts tells her that Michael is her mate. He’s a lawyer—smart, sophisticated, and handsome. The catch? He’s gay. There is no way she’s going to try to change who he is. Then she meets his lover Stephen, a seductive Fae-siren jazz singer, and she’s positive she’s got a screw loose somewhere. Mates with not one, but two gay men? She’s definitely doomed to be single forever. Michael and Stephen know that their unexpectedly flirtatious advances have thrown Candy for a loop. But there’s method to their madness—they’re both serious about her. And they plan to make sure she never spends another birthday alone. Warning: Nekked men doing dirty, dirty things to each other and a very lucky woman, sexy biting of mates, seductive siren singing and a naughty masturbation in a public restroom. Hey, a girl has to do what a girl has to do! Buy it here!
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Pump Up Your Book Promotion
“We take books to the virtual level!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kathye Quick has been writing since the sisters in Catholic School gave her a #2 pencil and some paper with ruled lines. From stories about her family for Writing Week in fifth grade, to becoming editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The Blueprint, to 1999 when she realized her dream of being published, Kathye’s love of the written word span numerous genres. She writes contemporary and career romances for Avalon Books, romantic comedy and historicals for Wings Press, urban fantasy for Cerridwen Press, and most recently medieval historical romances for Wild Rose Press.
Kathye is one of the founders of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a group launched in January 2009 to help writers of all fiction genres in their journey to publication. She had been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1988 and considered it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001. Kathye’s fifth hardcover romance for Avalon books, ‘Tis the Season, a holiday romance complete with Santa Claus, a sleigh ride and a New England snowfall earned a 2006 HOLT Medallion nomination.
Her debut historical romance, Daughters of the Moon, from Wings e-Press has been heralded as a flawless glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks. Writing as P. K. Eden with writing partner, Patt Mihailoff, Firebrand, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden, has won two Reviews Choice Awards and many five-star ratings. In August 2009, Avalon Books will publish her three-book contemporary romance series entitled Grandmother's Rings. The books, Amethyst (August 2009), Sapphire (December 2009) and Citrine (early 2010) follow the Archer family siblings in their quest to find their soul mates using rings given to them by their Grandmother. Kathye used the birthstones from her family for her inspiration for this series.
While writing romances has been her dream for many years, the book of Kathye’s heart, is a non-fiction work entitled, Hi Mom, How Are Things in Heaven, a book that developed after the death of her mother and deals with coping with grief though humor. She is currently still working on the concept for this book. In her “other” life, Kathye works for Somerset County government. She is married with three sons. You can visit her website or her blog.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leybourne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William—including Cynthia.
Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land.
Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives.
You can buy this book at Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobles.
GUEST BLOG:
Believe it or not, the concept for Cynthia and Constantine, my new release from the Wild Rose Press, sprang up during a season of American Idol. I work for county government and we have several satellite offices around the county. Once a month seven of us get together to have lunch. We call it the Lusty Ladies Lunch Group. Other times we keep in touch via email. During this particular season, Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis were competing. Two of the Lusties choose these guys as their favorites. While we didn’t agree on who should win that season, we did all agree that they had ‘romance book cover’ hair; the long and flowing kind of hair usually depicted on Knights in Shinning Armor on historical romances.
After one particularly hot and heavy day of emailing (after our constituents were served, of course) I went home and wrote a small piece about a knight meeting his ladylove. The next day I sent it off to the Lusties and got requests for more. Well one thing lead to another and I began to serialize a story about Bo and Constantine as knights in the Arthurian days. I named my hero Constantine and his lady was Cynthia, one of the Lusties. I gave Sir Constantine a brother, Sir Braeden and named his lady, Jane, another Lustie. The story just evolved on a weekly basis with email scenes going back and forth until I had 100 pages.
I thought that was the end of the adventure until I decided to flesh out Constantine and Cynthia’s story and turn it into a 55,000-word book. I was fortunate enough to have the Wild Rose Press expressed interest in the novel and then publish it. And yes, you’ll either love this or hate this, but the antagonist of the story is named after one of the American Idol Judges. I’m sure you can guess which.
You can find me at my website, blog, Facebook and Twitter
Kathye Quick has been writing since the sisters in Catholic School gave her a #2 pencil and some paper with ruled lines. From stories about her family for Writing Week in fifth grade, to becoming editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The Blueprint, to 1999 when she realized her dream of being published, Kathye’s love of the written word span numerous genres. She writes contemporary and career romances for Avalon Books, romantic comedy and historicals for Wings Press, urban fantasy for Cerridwen Press, and most recently medieval historical romances for Wild Rose Press.
Kathye is one of the founders of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a group launched in January 2009 to help writers of all fiction genres in their journey to publication. She had been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1988 and considered it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001. Kathye’s fifth hardcover romance for Avalon books, ‘Tis the Season, a holiday romance complete with Santa Claus, a sleigh ride and a New England snowfall earned a 2006 HOLT Medallion nomination.
Her debut historical romance, Daughters of the Moon, from Wings e-Press has been heralded as a flawless glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks. Writing as P. K. Eden with writing partner, Patt Mihailoff, Firebrand, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden, has won two Reviews Choice Awards and many five-star ratings. In August 2009, Avalon Books will publish her three-book contemporary romance series entitled Grandmother's Rings. The books, Amethyst (August 2009), Sapphire (December 2009) and Citrine (early 2010) follow the Archer family siblings in their quest to find their soul mates using rings given to them by their Grandmother. Kathye used the birthstones from her family for her inspiration for this series.
While writing romances has been her dream for many years, the book of Kathye’s heart, is a non-fiction work entitled, Hi Mom, How Are Things in Heaven, a book that developed after the death of her mother and deals with coping with grief though humor. She is currently still working on the concept for this book. In her “other” life, Kathye works for Somerset County government. She is married with three sons. You can visit her website or her blog.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leybourne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William—including Cynthia.
Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land.
Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives.
You can buy this book at Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobles.
GUEST BLOG:
Believe it or not, the concept for Cynthia and Constantine, my new release from the Wild Rose Press, sprang up during a season of American Idol. I work for county government and we have several satellite offices around the county. Once a month seven of us get together to have lunch. We call it the Lusty Ladies Lunch Group. Other times we keep in touch via email. During this particular season, Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis were competing. Two of the Lusties choose these guys as their favorites. While we didn’t agree on who should win that season, we did all agree that they had ‘romance book cover’ hair; the long and flowing kind of hair usually depicted on Knights in Shinning Armor on historical romances.
After one particularly hot and heavy day of emailing (after our constituents were served, of course) I went home and wrote a small piece about a knight meeting his ladylove. The next day I sent it off to the Lusties and got requests for more. Well one thing lead to another and I began to serialize a story about Bo and Constantine as knights in the Arthurian days. I named my hero Constantine and his lady was Cynthia, one of the Lusties. I gave Sir Constantine a brother, Sir Braeden and named his lady, Jane, another Lustie. The story just evolved on a weekly basis with email scenes going back and forth until I had 100 pages.
I thought that was the end of the adventure until I decided to flesh out Constantine and Cynthia’s story and turn it into a 55,000-word book. I was fortunate enough to have the Wild Rose Press expressed interest in the novel and then publish it. And yes, you’ll either love this or hate this, but the antagonist of the story is named after one of the American Idol Judges. I’m sure you can guess which.
You can find me at my website, blog, Facebook and Twitter
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Yesterday I had special guest Kathye Quick interviewed on my blog as part of her Virtual Book Tour with the online company Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Well today I'm going to be reviewing her historical romance novel Cynthia and Constantine which you can find out more about how she came to write it by checking out her author guest blog being posted tomorrow. I've read a couple of historical romances that have to do with the Knights of King Arthur and they're all told so differently it's always a pleasure reading how each author interprets the tale and makes a world of their own. The heroine of the novel, Lady Cynthia of Abertaine, is trapped and not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she's also not a titled Lady. From the start I felt that Lady Cynthia would have to go through a tough journey in order to find her true love so that she would finally have her happily ever after.Now Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leyborne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William—including Cynthia. Which isn't good at all because Cynthia's life is now been turned upside down which can only change if someone would stand up to Lord Simon.
The hero of the novel, Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William's oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed which is both sad and exciting news for her. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers that the shire is under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land. Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight's honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives. This is one well written novel that I had so much fun reading that I had a hard time putting it down for too long because I wanted to know what would happen next for Cynthia and Constantine. Kathye Quicke has written a wonderful story filled with one adventure after another that will leaving you breathless and wanting more even after the novel ends. After reading this novel I'm anxious to see if Kathye continues writing about other Knights of the Round table since they are such fascinating characters to read about. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from Kathye Quick's website and picture:
CYNTHIA AND CONSTANTINE by Kathye Quick $ 4.50 (Book 1)(185 Pages)
Monday, May 18, 2009
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| Pump Up Your Book Promotion “We take books to the virtual level!” |
Today I am interviewing Kathye Quick who is on a blog tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. You can read the interview below and at the end of the interview you can read her bio and the book summary of her current release.
Kathye Quick: I began to write in 1988 after reading a cajillion romances and thinking “I could do this.” Turns out I really couldn’t. I had an awful lot to learn about writing. Mainly reading romances is not the same as writing romances. There wasn’t one author that inspired me as much as there was one author who helped me. Barbara Breton, a New York Times Bestselling Author was getting started herself back then. She was a Harlequin author who I met at a bank one day. We began talking and she encouraged me to come to a local writer’s group that weekend. I did and that’s when I began to find out just how much I didn’t know about writing romances.
Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Kathye: I wrote a contemporary romance I thought was the bomb. It was. Literally. I couldn’t PAY to have it published back then. As I said, I had a lot to learn. Now I’m comfortable writing anything and I do!
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Kathye: WINCH!! The contemporary romance I wrote was called DUTY OR DESIRE. I actually still like the name. It was about a Police Officer and the women he left many years ago. Can you tell he ultimately had to choose between duty or desire? Needless to say it was awful. I had it on disk, but I lost it when I lost my house to the flooding of Hurricane Floyd back in 1999. Maybe that was someone’s way of telling my just how bad it was!
Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?
Kathye: This is probably not the right way to do it, but I research as I go. So far it’s been working. If I find that I’ve written myself somewhere I know nothing about, I get on the Internet and Google.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your novel Cynthia and Constantine, which is part of your Beyond Camelot, Brother Knights series?
Kathye: Believe it or not, the concept for Cynthia and Constantine, my new release from the Wild Rose press, sprang up during a season of American Idol. (To find out more about how Kathy came to write Cynthia and Constantine come back on Wednesday, May 20th to read her author guest blog about it.)
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your Beyond Camelot, Brother Knights series and how many more books do you think will you be writing for that series?
Kathye: If I like something I want to know more. I love the Arthurian Era and mythology, so I knew that just one book was not going to be enough. There will be a sequel to this book called Jane and Braeden because in the course of fleshing out the story so it would be long enough for a book, Jane’s character became an integral part of the story and now we need to hear her story also.
Phoebe: How do you come up with each of your characters for your novels? How do you choose their names out of so many names out there?
Kathye: My characters are a mix of people I know and my fantasies. My hero, Sir Constantine is the perfect knight—honorable, brave, kind and gallant. He’s also based on my husband who’s darn cute. Lady Cynthia is definitely based on one of my friends, Cynthia. She’s blond, beautiful, independent and true to what she believes. While the names of my characters in Cynthia and Constantine came from American Idol, believe it or not I Googled to find names. Try it. For my fantasy series I’m writing for example, I Googled “Ancient Greek Names” and then read them until I found one I liked. Then I adapted it to a more modern sounding name. You can also Google “baby names” or something to fit the timeline or genre in which you are writing such as “western names” or “native American names.”
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite character that you really enjoyed writing about in your novel Cynthia and Constantine? Did you have a character that you felt you could really relate to in your Cynthia and Constantine?
Kathye: I like the feistiness of Lady Cynthia, the mystery of Jane, the honor of Constantine and the loyalty of Sir Braeden. Lord Simon is a necessary evil and of course, he can’t work alone, so we needed someone to be a catalyst to get the action started in the form of Ranaulf, a townsman who found there was money to be made by getting certain information to his lordship.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
Kathye: Start with the blood on the floor, I was always told. That means, start your novels with something happening. Then the reader will need to find out why it happened or who the action is going to affect.
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Kathye: BRADEN AND JANE will be the second book in this series but I actually have a three-book contemporary series done and coming out at the end of this year/beginning of 2010 for Avalon Books. That series, grandmother’s ring, follows the Archer family siblings, 2 girls 1 boy, in their quest to find their soul mates. I named the books after my family’s birthstones, Amethyst, Sapphire and Citrine. What is fun about a series is that you know the characters from one book to the next. But I also enjoy writing stand-alone books. For me it depends on how involved the plot is and if my secondary characters develop a life of their own.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Kathye: As I mentioned before, I began writing in 1988 and had a lot to learn. Finally, when I was ready to submit, I wrote about a hero and heroine who met during a Hurricane and submitted it around. The rejection letters came, but some of them were actually encouraging. Then Hurricane Floyd hit the east coast. The foundation of my house collapsed and I lost just about everything I owned up to four feet on the first floor. But I also got a call from an eBook publisher—Starlight Writers—who said they wanted to publish my book. I think that call helped me through the next eight months of rebuilding. Starlight Writers does not exist any longer, but the book was then placed with Wings ePress that is going strong today. I will be forever grateful for that call. It helped me through some pretty dismal times. But if I thought my first book would have been so prophetic, I would have written about a lottery winner instead of a Hurricane!
Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?
Kathye: I live in writer’s block some days. When I hit that wall, it’s normally because I didn’t think through the story enough and I have no idea where it’s going. That’s when I pull out a book and read or pop in a video. That gets me thinking and I can usually restart. It may mean tossing out the last ten pages, but sometimes that’s OK too.
Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why? And what is your biggest writing pet peeve? (overuse of exclamation points, adverbs, bad guys named Wayne, etc.), if you have any?
Kathye: I love bringing the characters to life. They become real people to me over the course of the book. I get kind of sad when it’s time to say goodbye and miss them when they are gone. I detest bandwagons. Let me explain. Once something gets popular in a certain genre, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and the market gets saturated. Like now and vampires. The market is saturated. There are some very talented vampire writers, of course, but there is also a lot of testing the water type writers. Out of respect to the really good ones, I won’t have any of my characters bite anyone.
Phoebe: What is the one writing tool can you not live without?
Kathye: Actually there are two—Undelete and Google.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?
Kathye: A lot of my friends and all of my family say it’s too late already for me to worry about my sanity. Since I work full time until I win a Pulitzer or two, I found it difficult to write and get enough sleep to be coherent in the morning until I met Janet Evanovich one day at one of her books signings. She told me that (at that time at least) she writes 3–5 pages a day and that’s it. That translates to 90-150 pages a month. So realistically your book could get done in 3 months. I gave it a shot. It works. I try to average 75 pages a month, with the first frat done in about 5 months. So far, so good. Thank you, Janet.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing? Do you have any hobbies?
Kathye: Relax? There’s no relaxing in writing!!!! But after I finish a book, I take off two weeks before starting another. At least I try to only take off 2 weeks once that turned into 6 months. Not good. Not only was it hard to get started again, but I was totally clueless on what was happening in the industry. Now I say 3 pages. 3 pages and you can be like Janet Evanovich. (See sanity is not present in me!) But I love gardening, shopping with my BFF, Judy, and watching reality TV.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kathye: Advice and insight. Writing is hard! But if you keep at it, keep your dream in front of you, you can do it. It may take 10 years like it took me, but never give up. Failure is simply not knowing how close you were to success before you quit! (I didn’t make that up, but I don’t remember who did).
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kathye: When in doubt—Google. Seriously, it’s a great tool. You can get enough information on anything to be able to get through your scene. I just found a great article on what it felt like to ride in a Black Hawk helicopter that I needed to finish the last book in my grandmother’s ring series, the hero is in the military and flies evac missions in Iraq.
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
Kathye: I love historicals and sci-fi or paranormal. I started out reading the Native American historical romance by Cassie Edwards and branched out from there. I like Maggie Shayne for paranormals. Yes, I know she writes about vampires, but she’s one of the good ones just like Caridad Piñeiro, who I adore.
Phoebe: What are you reading now? And what do you plan to read after that?
Kathye: I’m reading Nina Bangs, ETERNAL PLEASURE now. It’s a paranormal. Not sure what I’ll read next. It’s time to begin another book soon. Thanks for having me. If so inclined, come by my website at and check out what I do write!
AUTHOR BIO:
Kathye Quick has been writing since the sisters in Catholic School gave her a #2 pencil and some paper with ruled lines. From stories about her family for Writing Week in fifth grade, to becoming editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The Blueprint, to 1999 when she realized her dream of being published, Kathye’s love of the written word span numerous genres. She writes contemporary and career romances for Avalon Books, romantic comedy and historicals for Wings Press, urban fantasy for Cerridwen Press, and most recently medieval historical romances for Wild Rose Press. Kathye is one of the founders of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a group launched in January 2009 to help writers of all fiction genres in their journey to publication. She had been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1988 and considered it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001. Kathye’s fifth hardcover romance for Avalon books, ‘Tis the Season, a holiday romance complete with Santa Claus, a sleigh ride and a New England snowfall earned a 2006 HOLT Medallion nomination.
Her debut historical romance, Daughters of the Moon, from Wings e-Press has been heralded as a flawless glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks. Writing as P. K. Eden with writing partner, Patt Mihailoff, Firebrand, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden, has won two Reviews Choice Awards and many five-star ratings. In August 2009, Avalon Books will publish her three-book contemporary romance series entitled Grandmother's Rings. The books, Amethyst (August 2009), Sapphire (December 2009) and Citrine (early 2010) follow the Archer family siblings in their quest to find their soul mates using rings given to them by their Grandmother. Kathye used the birthstones from her family for her inspiration for this series. While writing romances has been her dream for many years, the book of Kathye’s heart, is a non-fiction work entitled, Hi Mom, How Are Things in Heaven, a book that developed after the death of her mother and deals with coping with grief though humor. She is currently still working on the concept for this book. In her “other” life, Kathye works for Somerset County government. She is married with three sons. You can visit her website or her blog.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leybourne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William—including Cynthia. Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land. Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives. You can buy this book at Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobles.
* * * * *
Phoebe Jordan: When did you know that writing romance was going to be the thing that you would do with your life? Which author inspired you to start writing romance?Kathye Quick: I began to write in 1988 after reading a cajillion romances and thinking “I could do this.” Turns out I really couldn’t. I had an awful lot to learn about writing. Mainly reading romances is not the same as writing romances. There wasn’t one author that inspired me as much as there was one author who helped me. Barbara Breton, a New York Times Bestselling Author was getting started herself back then. She was a Harlequin author who I met at a bank one day. We began talking and she encouraged me to come to a local writer’s group that weekend. I did and that’s when I began to find out just how much I didn’t know about writing romances.
Phoebe: Did you know what type of romance you wanted to write about or did you experiment with different genres before you chose the one that you felt was for you?
Kathye: I wrote a contemporary romance I thought was the bomb. It was. Literally. I couldn’t PAY to have it published back then. As I said, I had a lot to learn. Now I’m comfortable writing anything and I do!
Phoebe: What was the first fiction you ever wrote? And do you still have it with you?
Kathye: WINCH!! The contemporary romance I wrote was called DUTY OR DESIRE. I actually still like the name. It was about a Police Officer and the women he left many years ago. Can you tell he ultimately had to choose between duty or desire? Needless to say it was awful. I had it on disk, but I lost it when I lost my house to the flooding of Hurricane Floyd back in 1999. Maybe that was someone’s way of telling my just how bad it was!
Phoebe: How much research do you have to do for your novels and does it take you a long time to gather that research?
Kathye: This is probably not the right way to do it, but I research as I go. So far it’s been working. If I find that I’ve written myself somewhere I know nothing about, I get on the Internet and Google.
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your novel Cynthia and Constantine, which is part of your Beyond Camelot, Brother Knights series?
Kathye: Believe it or not, the concept for Cynthia and Constantine, my new release from the Wild Rose press, sprang up during a season of American Idol. (To find out more about how Kathy came to write Cynthia and Constantine come back on Wednesday, May 20th to read her author guest blog about it.)
Phoebe: How did you come up with the concept for your Beyond Camelot, Brother Knights series and how many more books do you think will you be writing for that series?
Kathye: If I like something I want to know more. I love the Arthurian Era and mythology, so I knew that just one book was not going to be enough. There will be a sequel to this book called Jane and Braeden because in the course of fleshing out the story so it would be long enough for a book, Jane’s character became an integral part of the story and now we need to hear her story also.
Phoebe: How do you come up with each of your characters for your novels? How do you choose their names out of so many names out there?
Kathye: My characters are a mix of people I know and my fantasies. My hero, Sir Constantine is the perfect knight—honorable, brave, kind and gallant. He’s also based on my husband who’s darn cute. Lady Cynthia is definitely based on one of my friends, Cynthia. She’s blond, beautiful, independent and true to what she believes. While the names of my characters in Cynthia and Constantine came from American Idol, believe it or not I Googled to find names. Try it. For my fantasy series I’m writing for example, I Googled “Ancient Greek Names” and then read them until I found one I liked. Then I adapted it to a more modern sounding name. You can also Google “baby names” or something to fit the timeline or genre in which you are writing such as “western names” or “native American names.”
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite character that you really enjoyed writing about in your novel Cynthia and Constantine? Did you have a character that you felt you could really relate to in your Cynthia and Constantine?
Kathye: I like the feistiness of Lady Cynthia, the mystery of Jane, the honor of Constantine and the loyalty of Sir Braeden. Lord Simon is a necessary evil and of course, he can’t work alone, so we needed someone to be a catalyst to get the action started in the form of Ranaulf, a townsman who found there was money to be made by getting certain information to his lordship.
Phoebe: Do you have a process of how you start to write your novels?
Kathye: Start with the blood on the floor, I was always told. That means, start your novels with something happening. Then the reader will need to find out why it happened or who the action is going to affect.
Phoebe: Which do you like best, writing a series or writing stand alone novels? How is writing each different for you?
Kathye: BRADEN AND JANE will be the second book in this series but I actually have a three-book contemporary series done and coming out at the end of this year/beginning of 2010 for Avalon Books. That series, grandmother’s ring, follows the Archer family siblings, 2 girls 1 boy, in their quest to find their soul mates. I named the books after my family’s birthstones, Amethyst, Sapphire and Citrine. What is fun about a series is that you know the characters from one book to the next. But I also enjoy writing stand-alone books. For me it depends on how involved the plot is and if my secondary characters develop a life of their own.
Phoebe: What process did you have to go through to get your first book published and did it take you long?
Kathye: As I mentioned before, I began writing in 1988 and had a lot to learn. Finally, when I was ready to submit, I wrote about a hero and heroine who met during a Hurricane and submitted it around. The rejection letters came, but some of them were actually encouraging. Then Hurricane Floyd hit the east coast. The foundation of my house collapsed and I lost just about everything I owned up to four feet on the first floor. But I also got a call from an eBook publisher—Starlight Writers—who said they wanted to publish my book. I think that call helped me through the next eight months of rebuilding. Starlight Writers does not exist any longer, but the book was then placed with Wings ePress that is going strong today. I will be forever grateful for that call. It helped me through some pretty dismal times. But if I thought my first book would have been so prophetic, I would have written about a lottery winner instead of a Hurricane!
Phoebe: Do you ever get writers block? What do you do to get rid of it so you can get back to writing your novels?
Kathye: I live in writer’s block some days. When I hit that wall, it’s normally because I didn’t think through the story enough and I have no idea where it’s going. That’s when I pull out a book and read or pop in a video. That gets me thinking and I can usually restart. It may mean tossing out the last ten pages, but sometimes that’s OK too.
Phoebe: Which aspects of writing do you enjoy the most and why? And what is your biggest writing pet peeve? (overuse of exclamation points, adverbs, bad guys named Wayne, etc.), if you have any?
Kathye: I love bringing the characters to life. They become real people to me over the course of the book. I get kind of sad when it’s time to say goodbye and miss them when they are gone. I detest bandwagons. Let me explain. Once something gets popular in a certain genre, everyone jumps on the bandwagon and the market gets saturated. Like now and vampires. The market is saturated. There are some very talented vampire writers, of course, but there is also a lot of testing the water type writers. Out of respect to the really good ones, I won’t have any of my characters bite anyone.
Phoebe: What is the one writing tool can you not live without?
Kathye: Actually there are two—Undelete and Google.
Phoebe: How do you handle your writing schedule and your personal life without going insane?
Kathye: A lot of my friends and all of my family say it’s too late already for me to worry about my sanity. Since I work full time until I win a Pulitzer or two, I found it difficult to write and get enough sleep to be coherent in the morning until I met Janet Evanovich one day at one of her books signings. She told me that (at that time at least) she writes 3–5 pages a day and that’s it. That translates to 90-150 pages a month. So realistically your book could get done in 3 months. I gave it a shot. It works. I try to average 75 pages a month, with the first frat done in about 5 months. So far, so good. Thank you, Janet.
Phoebe: What do you do to relax after having spent a long while writing? Do you have any hobbies?
Kathye: Relax? There’s no relaxing in writing!!!! But after I finish a book, I take off two weeks before starting another. At least I try to only take off 2 weeks once that turned into 6 months. Not good. Not only was it hard to get started again, but I was totally clueless on what was happening in the industry. Now I say 3 pages. 3 pages and you can be like Janet Evanovich. (See sanity is not present in me!) But I love gardening, shopping with my BFF, Judy, and watching reality TV.
Phoebe: Is there any advice that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kathye: Advice and insight. Writing is hard! But if you keep at it, keep your dream in front of you, you can do it. It may take 10 years like it took me, but never give up. Failure is simply not knowing how close you were to success before you quit! (I didn’t make that up, but I don’t remember who did).
Phoebe: Is there any writing tips, research tips, promotion and marketing tips that you would give to an aspiring romance writer that you wish someone had given you?
Kathye: When in doubt—Google. Seriously, it’s a great tool. You can get enough information on anything to be able to get through your scene. I just found a great article on what it felt like to ride in a Black Hawk helicopter that I needed to finish the last book in my grandmother’s ring series, the hero is in the military and flies evac missions in Iraq.
Phoebe: Do you have a favorite genre you like to read? Who is your favorite author(s)?
Kathye: I love historicals and sci-fi or paranormal. I started out reading the Native American historical romance by Cassie Edwards and branched out from there. I like Maggie Shayne for paranormals. Yes, I know she writes about vampires, but she’s one of the good ones just like Caridad Piñeiro, who I adore.
Phoebe: What are you reading now? And what do you plan to read after that?
Kathye: I’m reading Nina Bangs, ETERNAL PLEASURE now. It’s a paranormal. Not sure what I’ll read next. It’s time to begin another book soon. Thanks for having me. If so inclined, come by my website at and check out what I do write!
AUTHOR BIO:
Kathye Quick has been writing since the sisters in Catholic School gave her a #2 pencil and some paper with ruled lines. From stories about her family for Writing Week in fifth grade, to becoming editor-in-Chief of her high school newspaper, The Blueprint, to 1999 when she realized her dream of being published, Kathye’s love of the written word span numerous genres. She writes contemporary and career romances for Avalon Books, romantic comedy and historicals for Wings Press, urban fantasy for Cerridwen Press, and most recently medieval historical romances for Wild Rose Press. Kathye is one of the founders of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a group launched in January 2009 to help writers of all fiction genres in their journey to publication. She had been a member of New Jersey Romance Writers and Romance Writers of America since 1988 and considered it an honor to have been NJRW President in 1992 and 2001. Kathye’s fifth hardcover romance for Avalon books, ‘Tis the Season, a holiday romance complete with Santa Claus, a sleigh ride and a New England snowfall earned a 2006 HOLT Medallion nomination.Her debut historical romance, Daughters of the Moon, from Wings e-Press has been heralded as a flawless glimpse into the world of the ancient Greeks. Writing as P. K. Eden with writing partner, Patt Mihailoff, Firebrand, an urban fantasy based on the fall of the Garden of Eden, has won two Reviews Choice Awards and many five-star ratings. In August 2009, Avalon Books will publish her three-book contemporary romance series entitled Grandmother's Rings. The books, Amethyst (August 2009), Sapphire (December 2009) and Citrine (early 2010) follow the Archer family siblings in their quest to find their soul mates using rings given to them by their Grandmother. Kathye used the birthstones from her family for her inspiration for this series. While writing romances has been her dream for many years, the book of Kathye’s heart, is a non-fiction work entitled, Hi Mom, How Are Things in Heaven, a book that developed after the death of her mother and deals with coping with grief though humor. She is currently still working on the concept for this book. In her “other” life, Kathye works for Somerset County government. She is married with three sons. You can visit her website or her blog.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Lady Cynthia of Abertaine is trapped. Not only has her fiancé, Sir William Leyborne, not been back to the castle for over ten years, but she’s also not a titled Lady. Lord Simon of Cowell, a renegade warlord aligned with Mordred against Arthur and his Knights, has declared himself sovereign over Leybourne Castle and everything that once belonged to Sir William—including Cynthia. Sir Constantine, Knight of the Round Table, has come to the shire to give Cynthia the news that her fiancé has fallen in battle. With him is William’s oral will giving all he owns to Cynthia as though they had been wed. But when he finds Cynthia and discovers the shire under the control of an evil warlord, he knows he cannot leave without first driving Simon and his soldiers from the land. Drawn together by an attraction older than time, Cynthia and Constantine soon discover that though a vow made by a knight’s honor has brought them together, it may just also cost them their lives. You can buy this book at Wild Rose Press, Amazon.com and Barnes & Nobles.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
So I decided that after reviewing Julie James novel, Practice Makes Perfect, I would give her debut novel a read. I really enjoyed reading this novel since it's about a lawyer and a movie start getting together, which I knew had to be a fun read. Taylor Donovan is a lawyer who is assigned to coach People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” movie star Jason Andrews with his role in his next big legal thriller. I laughed so much while reading this novel since I think Taylor and Jason clashed with one another many times because there was so much sexual tension going on between them. I liked that I laughed about the antics that these two characters would get into since it makes reading the novel so much more enjoyable. You can tell that Taylor and Jason can't believe that they are attracted to one another so intensely and they are trying to work through them working with each other while making their budding relationshiop work. One of the draw backs with this novel which I find is one of the things that I don't much care for in Julie's books is that it's a sweet romance with no actual love scenes just a prelude to a love scene. So I guess in the end I give this book 3.5 Open Books:
COOL. CALM. COLLECTED.
Nothing fazes Taylor Donovan. In the courtroom she never lets the opposition see her sweat. In her personal life, she never lets any man rattle her–not even her cheating ex-fiancé. So when she’s assigned to coach People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” for his role in his next big legal thriller, she refuses to fall for the Hollywood heartthrob’s charms. Even if he is the Jason Andrews.
CONFIDENT. FAMOUS. IRRESISTIBLE.
Jason Andrews is used to having women fall at his feet. When Taylor Donovan gives him the cold shoulder, he’s thrown for a loop. She’s unlike any other woman he’s ever met: uninterested in the limelight, seemingly immune to his advances, and shockingly capable of saying no to him. She’s the perfect challenge. And the more she rejects him, the more he begins to realize that she may just be his perfect match...
Saturday, May 16, 2009
I found out about Katie Alender through the amazing website/blog called Free Book Friday Teens edition, which branches of the main website Free Book Friday, that is both founded by author Jessica Brody. I'm so glad that I read and even heard the wonderful podcast interview of Jessica and Katie talking about her young adult debut novel Bad Girls Don't Die, which is about a young girl whose younger sister starts to act funny and then things get really scary after she tells a ghost story. I also recommend that you all listen to it also so you can decide for yourselves if you agree with me about Katie Alender's experience in writing her young adult debut novel.
I have been really getting into the world of young adult novels since I started visiting Free Book Friday Teens and I've found some wonderful authors to enjoy. Katie Alender's debut young adult novels takes place in the the world of fifteen-year-old Alexis Warren who is just a pink-haired troublemaker with a somewhat dysfuntional family. She doesn’t have any real friends, and her parents are way too wrapped up in their own problems to bother with hers so pretty much the only things Alexis can count on are the photographs she creates in her darkroom and her little sister Kasey. Though she doesn't have such a close relationship with Kasey who has a fascination with collecting dolls I think they might just get closer to one another throughout this novel. Alexis wants to understand her sister but I get the feeling that there is something going on with Kasey that is making their relationship strain to the point it can never be fixed.
Then one night, to help take Kasey’s mind off a vicious family argument, Alexis makes up a story—the first thing that comes to mind, really, just a harmless fairytale about a little girl with no friends. But Kasey seems to take the whole thing a little too seriously because Alexis feels that there might be truth to the story that just popped up into her head out of no where and gave her a vibe that didn't go away. Before long, she’s actually bringing parts of the story to life—and people are getting hurt but Alexis knows she has to find a way to stop her sister before something really terrible happens that can't be fixed and could get way too serious. But with no friends and no help from her parents, she’s basically on her own—until help turns up in the unlikeliest form—Alexis’ archnemesis Megan Wiley, who happens to be the captain of the cheerleading squad. And she starts to fall in love with a boy named Carter who she never thought would notice her and who she never thought she would ending up liking way too much.
This novel took me in from the very first chapter and it didn't let me go even though I finished the book in less than a day. I really loved reading about Alexis and her family as well as the friends that she ends up making throughout the novel. While reading this book I really got chills because Katie really makes me believe that everything going in the novel with Alexis and her siseter Kasey is real and not just fiction that she came up with. From the podcast interview that Jessica Brody and Katie Alender had she said that when she started writing this book she didn't know it would end up like a ghost story novel since she doesn't read that type of novels. I think she did amazing in her debut novel and I really see a potential that she could write up a sequel to this novel because I get a feeling that Alexis, Kasey, Megan and Carter have more to tell in a future novel. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description from the cover flap of the book and picture:
BAD GIRLS DON'T DIE by Katie Alender $ 15.99 (346 Pages)
To the world, fifteen-year-old Alexis Warren is just a pink-haired troublemaker. She doesn’t have any real friends, and her parents are way too wrapped up in their own problems to bother with hers. Pretty much the only things Alexis can count on are the photographs she creates in her darkroom and her little sister Kasey.
One night, to help take Kasey’s mind off a vicious family argument, Alexis makes up a story—the first thing that comes to mind, really, just a harmless fairytale about a little girl with no friends. But Kasey seems to take the whole thing a little too seriously. Before long, she’s actually bringing parts of the story to life—and people are getting hurt.
Alexis knows she has to find a way to stop her sister before something terrible happens. But with no friends and no help from her parents, she’s basically on her own—until help turns up in the unlikeliest form—Alexis’ archnemesis Megan Wiley, who happens to be the captain of the cheerleading squad.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Kerrelyn Spark is an author that I stumbled upon on my trip to search for new books to buy at Barnes & Noble. I first picked up her second book in the series and I loved it so much that when I found out that there was a book before it I knew I had to get it. Since I first picked up the first two novels in this series I have been following this series very closely because Kerrelyn Sparks spins a wonderful love story about vampires, humans and shapeshifters. I actually had to search two bookstores to find the first book but I finally got it. There are a couple of new characters that are introduced in this novel that we may see pop-up in future novels and they may even have a novel all to themselves. I was so excited when I finally got my hands on the this novel because I was anxiously waiting for it after reading Ian's novel which left me wanting more and more.
This novel starts off with a typical bachelor party that is all about beers and beautiful woman in celebration of a man's on last night as a free bachelor before he marries the woman he loves. A vampire bachelor party is no different—except the men are drinking Blissky (whiskey-flavored synthetic blood) and no one can throw a party quite like Jack, the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova. But when the party gets out of hand and the cops show up, Jack has some explaining to do...if only he wasn't struck speechless by the beauty of Officer Lara Boucher. We met Jack in one of the previous novels but now he is the vampire who will finally find the woman perfect for him as a life mate and he doesn't expect to find out that it might be a mortal. Lara is sure there's something more than a bachelor party going on even though her partner for some reason doesn't remember any of the things that they saw or why they were there in the first place. What is Jack hiding? And why is he so interested in the recent disappearence of young women all over town? Her investigation uncovers more than she wants to know, especially about this modern-day Casanova, but if she's ever to make detective, she'll need to expose all his secrets...if only her heart wasn't on the line.
This novel was just ask great as the last one and I've noticed that almost all of these ancient vampires are finding love with mortal women who are unique in their own special way that make them perfect for their vampire mate. We only got a couple of glimpses of Jack throughout this series and all we knew about him was that he was Casanova's son but in his novel we really get to know more about him and his father. After meeting Lara I think Jack has finally found someone who could understand him and see him as someone more than the just the son of the great lover Casanova. But first Jack has to make sure that Lara could be trusted with his secret that he is a good vampire and not one of those vicious Bram Stoker killing vampires that the Malcontent vampires are. I really like Lara because she has been through so much in her life but she doesn't let that get in her way of doing what she knows she was meant to do with her life and I think falling in love with Jack was meant to be. This is really one of the best of the books in this series that I have had the pleasure of reading. The ending to this novel was very intriguing and made me want the next book in the series to come out faster because I want to know what happens next to the good vamps and their love lives. I give this book 4 Open Books:
Here is the description of the book from the back cover and picture:
SECRET LIFE OF A VAMPIRE $ 6.99 (Book 6)(371 Pages)
NOTHING'S SEXIER THAN A MAN WHO CAN KEEP A SECRET.
A typical bachelor party is all about beers and beautiful woman. A vampire bachelor party is no different—except the men are drinking Blissky (whiskey-flavored synthetic blood). And no one can throw a party quite like Jack, the illegitimate son of the legendary Casanova. But when the party gets out of hand and the cops show up, Jack has some explaining to do...if only he wasn't struck speechless by the beauty of Officer Lara Boucher.
Lara is sure there's somehting more than a bachelor party going on. What is Jack hiding? And why is he so interested in the recent disappearence of young women all over town? Her investigation uncovers more than she wants to know, especially about this modern-day Casanova. But if she's ever to make detective, she'll need to expose all his secrets...if only her heart wasn't on the line.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Pump Up Your Book Promotion
“We take books to the virtual level!”
AUTHOR BIO:
Rie McGaha was born and raised in northern California along the shores of Humboldt County where her grandmother often took her to search for seashells and watch the humpback whales migration. Though her father was a bit of a gypsy and moved his family all over, Rie always enjoyed the trips back to Eureka, California where many of her 12 children and 23 grandchildren still live.
As a dreamer of dreams and being born with a gypsy soul, Rie has lived all over the United States. Settling in SE Oklahoma with husband, Nathan, she enjoys a quiet life in the Kiamichi Wilderness where she takes in abused and neglected animals, nurses them back to health and tries to find them new homes. The ones that don't find new homes remain with Rie and she currently has 18 dogs and 1 cat.
Between her husband, children, grandchildren and all of the animals, Rie tries to find a few moments to write. She is currently working on Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, and Caleb and Arion the second and third installments of the My Soul To Keep Trilogy. She also writes reviews for Romance Writers United.
For more information, visit Rie at website or read her review blog or even check her out on YouTube.
BOOK SUMMARY:
Truck driver, Joshua Kaine and his wife, Jessie, enjoy the freedom of the open road until one night on a lonely country road Josh is attacked by a rabid dog. After killing the animal, Joshua becomes very ill, but quickly recovers. Weeks later, when the full moon rises and Josh begins howling, the trouble has just begun.
Drawn by an unknown force, Joshua finds himself in a remote mountain area at The Gathering where he meets Garan, a gray wolf who has walked the earth for thousands of years, and Joshua learns the rabid dog was actually a werewolf and his clan is now after Josh.
On the run, hunted by a clan of werewolves, and searching to undo his plight, Josh ventures into the swamps of Louisiana in search of an old, black woman who holds the key to his existence. Josh is pushed to the limits, and when the merciless werewolves kill his wife, the hunted becomes the hunter.
Available at Noble Romance Publishing and also you can enjoy the book trailer of Blood Lines below.
Voices, I Hear Voices! by Rie McGaha
My inspiration for writing novels is different for each one but I always say it's the voices in my head. I have no idea who the voices are or where they come from, but I can't write a word unless they are talking, and depending on the novel, they can become quite loud! Calen, My Soul To Keep Trilogy, was written a few years ago when I sat down to write a new kind of fairy tale for my grandchilren. I guess the voices got selfish and it wound up being a new kind of fairy tale for grown up girls! Blood Line, which was released last October, was probably the easiest book I've ever written. My husband is a truck driver and one night, while on the road, he had a dream that he was attacked by a werewolf. When he later told me about the dream, I thought it could be the beginnings of a great book, once the voices agreed, I had my novel! I never know how long it will take to finish a novel because it really is up to the voices and sometimes they are fickle! The original version of My Soul To Keep took about 80 actual writing hours, and Blood Line took less than half that time, but the rewrites and editing can take months. I have been writing Ancient Blood, the sequel to Blood Line, for well over a year and it's still not finished. There is no set formula for me while I'm writing. Each novel is like one of my children, I give birth to the idea, nurture it, watch it grow, and hopefully see the best of myself in it when it's done.
You can find Rie McGaha at her website, review blog, Noble Romance Publishing, Twitter and MySpace.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Yesterday Rie McGaha was interviewed by me here on the blog as part of her book blog tour with Pump Up Your Book Promotion. Today I will be reviewing her e-book Blood Lines published by Noble Romance Publishing, which I had the pleasure of finding out is going to be continued with a sequel soon. This is my first novel by Rie McGaha but after readinig the blurb of this novel on Noble Romance Publishing I know that I will have to give any of her previous and upcoming books a try. The novels start with truck driver Josh Kaine and his wife, Jessie, enjoying the freedom of the open road until one night on a lonely country road Josh is attacked by what they both think is a rabid dog. After killing the animal, Joshua becomes very ill, but quickly recovers which amazes Jessie because she has never seen that happen before. Then weeks later, when the full moon rises and Josh begins howling, the trouble has just begun because his sexual appetites have gone through the roof which both excites and worries Jessie. Soon Josh is drawn by an unknown force to go to a place he's never been before and he finds himself in a remote mountain area at The Gathering where he meets Garan, a gray wolf who has walked the earth for thousands of years, and Josh learns the rabid dog was actually a werewolf and his clan is now after him.
On the run, hunted by a clan of werewolves, and searching to undo his plight, Josh ventures into the swamps of Louisiana in search of an old, black woman who holds the key to his existence. Josh is pushed to the limits, and when the merciless werewolves kill his wife, the hunted becomes the hunter. I give this book 4.5 Open Books:
Here is the book description from Rie McGaha and picture:
BLOOD LINES by Rie McGaha $ 5.95 (Book 1)(222 Pages)
Truck driver, Joshua Kaine and his wife, Jessie, enjoy the freedom of the open road until one night on a lonely country road Josh is attacked by a rabid dog. After killing the animal, Joshua becomes very ill, but quickly recovers. Weeks later, when the full moon rises and Josh begins howling, the trouble has just begun.
Drawn by an unknown force, Joshua finds himself in a remote mountain area at The Gathering where he meets Garan, a gray wolf who has walked the earth for thousands of years, and Joshua learns the rabid dog was actually a werewolf and his clan is now after Josh.
On the run, hunted by a clan of werewolves, and searching to undo his plight, Josh ventures into the swamps of Louisiana in search of an old, black woman who holds the key to his existence. Josh is pushed to the limits, and when the merciless werewolves kill his wife, the hunted becomes the hunter.
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