Monday, August 28, 2017

Caris Roane and A TOUCH OF FLAME #newrelease

Caris Roane is my guest today. She's here to talk about her latest paranormal romance, A TOUCH OF FLAME. She also has a RAfflecopter giveaway, so be sure to enter below for your chance to win a variety of prizes. 



A Touch of Flame
Flame Series 5
By Caris Roane


Caris is giving away A Purple PNR bracelet (International Winner Receives Gift Card), A $25 Amazon Gift Card, A $15 Amazon Gift Card. to randomly drawn winners via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here
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WOW! Something extra from Caris Roane! 
Just leave a comment for a chance to win!
Caris Roane here and I'm so glad you're touring with me. Be sure to visit as many blogs on my tour as you can and leave a comment at each one to be entered into this WOW giveaway! Don't worry if you miss a couple of blogs, visiting every blog isn't required, it just increases your chances of winning! I'll be creating a second bracelet for the WOW giveaway (International winner receives gift card) similar to the bracelet in the Rafflecopter. I will choose the winning blog then choose the winning comment some time after midnight, September 5th, Arizona time. I will use Random dot org to make the selection. Let's support our bloggers who give us so much! Hugs, Caris
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BLURB:
A powerful alpha wolf. A gifted witch. Each haunted by death. Can passion drive them to an everlasting love? Or will the enemy forge a hopeless chasm? Braden should have died in the Graveyard, but the witch, Maeve, saved him. The call of his wolf is on him and he wants her. She can be his alpha-mate. But she has powers that can destroy him and a disrupted memory that holds the answers to his wife’s murder. Can he ever trust a woman who can kill with the power she streams from her bare hands? Maeve has known only horror, death and destruction since her arrival in Five Bridges as a transformed alter witch. She goes to the Graveyard nightly to rescue those left for dead by the evil rampant in all five territories of her new world. She fears the power she possesses and the gaps in her memory frighten her more than anything else. But when she rescues Braden from an attack in the Graveyard and she realizes she’s drawn to the handsome wolf, the nightmare really begins.

~*~*~*~*~*~ EXCERPT:

Chapter One
The Graveyard was not the place Mark Braden thought he’d breathe his last. He was sure he’d die in the pine forest of Savage Territory, chasing a drug-runner and getting hit by a spray of bullets.

Instead, he’d been ambushed.

He lay face down on the hard, rocky ground. Blood streamed from a deep gash in his skull and pooled in the debris beneath him. The rogue wolves kicked him, but he barely registered the blows anymore. One or two of his ribs had snapped and punctured his left lung. He had a deep stab wound in his abdomen. His heart felt like a bird fluttering wildly in his chest, nothing more.

The Graveyard was a cess-pit, a central place in Five Bridges used for dumping bodies at night. In the morning, Tribunal clean-up crews would arrive to cart off the dead, catalog them with unfailing carelessness, then send them to the crematory.

“He’s gone.” Ely Gammet, a powerful warlock, stood over him. The bastard had been one of six who’d drawn him to the Graveyard with the promise of information about his wife’s killers.

A few more kicks, and the crew started walking away. He had a dim view of their boots and heard the crunch through the loose rocks. Braden flared his nostrils to take in the warlock’s scent. He catalogued it in his shifter brain for future recall.

He almost laughed. What future?

His breaths were shallow now, small jolts of air he brought into lungs that barely worked anymore.

Maybe it was for the best...



Author Info:  Hi, Everyone! Caris Roane here! I'm a NY Times Bestselling Author and I write super-sexy paranormal romance books. With every book I create, my goal is to take you away ~ far, far away ~ from the difficulties and frustrations of your life. I began my career with Kensington Publishing and wrote Regency Romance as Valerie King. In 2005, Romantic Times Magazine honored me with a career achievement award for my Regency work. To-date, I've published eighty-nine books. Thirty-nine of those are paranormal romances, some self-published and some with St. Martin's Press. Though my stories conjure up hunky PNR warriors, like vampires and wolf-shifters, the romance is everything, including a satisfying Happily Ever After. My hope is that you'll become engrossed in the lives of my tortured heroes and my worthy women as they wage war, as they make love, and as they face the tough issues of life and relationships!  I live in the Phoenix area, in the city of Buckeye. When not writing, I’m a real homebody. I love gardening, sewing, and cooking. (Um, cleaning, not so much!) I also enjoy creating jewelry and I frequently offer my handcrafted, PNR bracelet giveaways to my newsletter and blog subscribers. You can sign up for both on my Home Page. My motto: Live the Fang! Caris Roane

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Friday, August 25, 2017

#AuthorInterview with Bernard LoPinto

Today I'm taking a break from romance to focus on something completely different. Bernard LoPinto is a new author over at The Wild Rose Press. We met recently online in one of TWRP's weekly chats. His new release, CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, a political thriller, sounds like it was ripped from the headlines. Please welcome Bernard LoPinto!


Where did you get the idea for CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED?

The American political scene of the past two years got me asking, “What if?” I always start with that question. This time, it was “What if a president came into power and greed and incompetence, suspended the Constitution?” The rest was riffing off that idea, trying to answer that question.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book you’d like to share?

In the early 1970s, I was teaching in a high school. I overheard a conversation in which a sixteen-year-old-student told her teacher about the sexual abuse her parents subjected her to. In those days, there were no hotlines to call, though the teacher told me he later notified the guidance counselor who was supposed to know what to do. Months later, I had some minor contact with the girl’s mother who proved to be pretty much crazy. That incident became my character Annie’s backstory.

What was the most difficult thing about writing this book?

The most difficult part of writing this book was not letting real events take over. I was writing fiction, not reporting the news.

What do you want readers to come away with after they read CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED?

I hope that readers come away with the understanding that we are responsible for the type of nation we live in, the type of world we live in. Our government can do nothing without the consent of us, the people; hence, the title, Consent of the Governed. If we consent to give up freedom for the sake of security—real or imagined—we “deserve neither and will likely lose both.”

Do you have any words of advice to beginning writers?

As a teacher of composition, I tell my students that writing is learned first, by reading. Everything, anything. I would advise beginning writers to read books in and out of their chosen genre. Next, don’t wait for the muse to give you the perfect idea. Grab her by the throat and force her to give you something, anything, on the page, or screen. Even if it’s drivel, it can be fixed later. Even if it’s all about not being able to write, it’ll work later on.  Read. Write. Repeat.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I stink at planning. I start with a “what if” question and hang it on a theme, my philosophical statement. Then I describe some characters. Finally, I outline until I get too antsy. Then I jump in and let the characters take me where they want to go. I’d have to look back, but I don’t think I outlined Consent of the Governed at all.

How many books do you have under the proverbial bed? Will they ever see the light of day?

I have four stories in my head. I will write at least three of them.

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?

I live in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The window behind my computer looks out over hills that are now green, but in a few months will be orange, yellow, and red. And I can’t see a neighbor’s house, just a thin strip of road.

I think I’ve always been a writer at heart. When I was thirteen, I wrote a poem to help advertise my uncle’s supermarket. Somewhere, there’s a play I wrote in elementary school. I didn’t stick with it because I didn’t know how to continue. I had an idea that I wasn’t any good at writing. I didn’t get the idea that I could write until I started learning how to teach writing to high school students. Even then, I didn’t get serious until the late nineties.

Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it? Does it help you with your writing?

I work as an adjunct, teaching writing, critical reading, and literature at Lackawanna College. The work is great for my writing for two reasons. First, it gets me to look as deeply as I can into the craft of writing. Second, my constant harping on my students to take care with their writing forces me to do the same. Taking care with our writing—word choice and sentence craft—are the difference between “writing” and “typing,” to paraphrase Truman Capote.

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?

My seven years as a Pentecostal minister inform my writing about the absurdity, greed, and power lust of present-day American Christianity. My eighteen years in correctional education have given me a wonderful cast of evil characters to weave into my stories.

Name two authors we might find you reading when taking a break from your own writing.

Jonathan Kellerman showed me how slow down and give description a chance. He uses description of a character’s movements, expressions, to draw psychological profiles that clue in the reader.
Charles Dickens’s anger at selfish, self-serving Victorian society gives me inspiration to attack many of the same institutions he railed against:  the phony social welfare system and the greedy, sanctimonious church.

What do you like best about your hero from CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED?

Ans: A recurring character in my work  is the old warrior, past his prime but still strong and vibrant. My protagonist Stan Winthrop is one such character.  He is many years retired, but—without giving too much away—runs up an impressive body count.

What do you like best about your heroine? 

Annie Winthrop, Sid’s wife, remade herself at a young age after leaving her abusive parents. For an old lady, she is strong, sexual, and the driving force behind Sid.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters? Do you base them on real people?

None of the characters in Consent of the Governed resemble anyone I’ve ever met. This is a departure for me because usually, my characters are composites of people I have come in contact with or have read about. The names usually come from my imagination or something I’ve read. I’m not above pulling out the Scranton, PA, phone book.

How can readers reach you or find you online?

Readers can find my book at https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5220-consent-of-the-governed.html  It will be available September 1, 2017. You can pre-order at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Consent-Governed-Bernard-LoPinto-ebook/dp/B073XZ8QRF

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

I’m about 55,000 words into a new novel I’m calling No Such Thing as Enough. It’s about a young minister who gets everything he wants: pastor of a mega-church, money, position, power. Then he realizes what it has cost him. When young people in his ministry die because of the local drug trade, he realizes how isolated he is and how unimportant his accomplishments really are. He finds he has to make serious choices to redeem himself and win back the woman he loves. This is the second in my independently-published mystery/thriller series featuring Rev. Timothy Rathbone.

What’s your tagline for CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED? Why did you choose it?

“Sworn enemies until the truth brought  them together.”  I chose this tagline because it shows how two couples, one old, sworn to avenge the murder of their son, the other, young, sworn to support the oppressive government, find a common bond as they learn the truth about each other.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

I would recommend starting with Power in the Blood, the first in the Timothy Rathbone series. Besides introducing Tim; his girlfriend, Freddi Pringle; and her hitman father, Jimmy, the book also presents the village of Dayton Crossing, NY, itself a character in the series.

Tell us about your current release.

Consent of the Governed presents an America ruled by a president whose blundering has thrown the nation into economic depression, where citizens are threatened by international terrorists and Red Shirts—government thugs—who keep the populace in line. In the state of emergency, the president has declared martial law and suspended the Constitution and free elections. Sid and Annie Winthrop are an elderly couple who have sworn to take revenge on the Red Shirts for murdering their son. Victor and Brooklynn are Red Shirts, true believers who are confronted with the dark underside of governmental control. When these couples are thrown together, they both come to understand what is real.

Thanks for being my guest today, Bernard!

Blurb for CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED:

It’s 2026 and the United States has fallen under the sway of an oppressive government where all citizens’ rights have been stripped, Red Shirts platoons patrol the streets, and people die for voicing opinions. Into this chaos step Sid and Annie Winthrop. The elderly couple set out on a murderous journey of revenge against the Red Shirts who murdered their son.

Red Shirt members Victor and Brooklyn have devoted their young lives to the cause of the president in protecting the nation. When attacks on their home town leave dozens of Red Shirts dead, Victor must help his superiors find the vigilante.

At their darkest moment, each couple finds a common bond in their suffering and must decide where their loyalties lie.

Author Bio, Bernard LoPinto:



In writing Consent of the Governed, as in my other work, I draw heavily upon my years in Pentecostal ministry and my background in correctional education.  It may seem strange that religion and prison are closely linked in my psyche, but both experiences have taught me to value freedom of thought and expression.  Both prison and religion set about stunting one’s individuality and personal growth.

Besides prisons, the bulk of my career has been in education, teaching in the inner-city and Job Corps, the suburbs, and a few rural areas.  In between, I’ve spent time in retail, professional photography, and any other side hustle I could pick up.  Along the way, I’ve earned a Master’s in Education and a Certificate of Advanced Study in Education Administration to go along with my BA in English.

I write from a place where the “good” people aren’t so good, and one’s best friends can be the “worst” people in town.  I don’t trust the ones who put their spirituality up front; those people make for some of my best comedy. I look for the ones who live the spirituality they don’t flaunt around town; they aren’t many, but they’re the real people. Between a two-bit saint and a stand-up sinner, I’ll take the sinner every time.

Social Media Links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bernard.lopinto?fref=ts
Blog: http://bernardlopinto.blogspot.com

Monday, August 21, 2017

THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE by Cj Fosdick on #sale!


Fellow Wild Rose Press author Cj Fosdick is offering the first book in her Accidental series for sale for .99 cents until August 31. THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE is an award-winning time travel romance. Here's a blurb:
Self-determined Jessica Brewster is wary of any emotional relationship after being betrayed in a bet. When the beloved grandmother who raised her dies, she inherits a mysterious teacup which transports her back to 1886 in old Fort Laramie, switching places with her look-alike great-great grandmother--wife to her ancestor's magnetic first husband and mother to his charming nine-year-old daughter.
Can she pull off the charade and find a way back, or will conscience and her twenty-first century "slips" expose her identity?  As true love--and a gypsy--derail her plans, her ancestor's brother shows up with his own dark secret. Is her future in the past? Her decision could save her legacy...and her life!

THE ACCIDENTAL WIFE is available at the following retailers:

Cj Fosdick Amazon   http://amazon.com/author/cjfosdick
Cj Fosdick Wild Rose Press   http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/1256_cj-fosdick
Cj Fosdick Barnes & Noble  http://bit.ly/1QcHLOq

About Cj Fosdick:




Born and raised in Packerland, Cj moved west to the medical mecca in Rochester, MN where her writing career bloomed with published award-winning stories and articles to her novel series inspired by Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. Rescued horses, dogs, cats, children and one patient husband have motivated the heart of Cj’s craft. Though living on a country hilltop haven for decades, she has ventured down on occasion to climb a Jamaican waterfall, float in the Dead Sea, kiss the Blarney Stone and research settings for her next novel.

Email: Falorac@gmail.com
Website:   http://cjfosdick.com
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/cjfosdickauthor

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Beverley Oakley and DEVIL'S RUN

Today I'm welcoming Australian historical romance writer Beverley Oakley to my blog. Ms. Oakley is truly a citizen of the world, having lived in so many different places. She's giving away an Amazon Gift Card, so be sure to enter the Rafflecopter at the end of this post. But don't skip over our interesting interview. Please welcome Beverley Oakley!

Devil's Run  Scandalous Miss Brightwells series
By Beverley Oakley


Beverley is giving away a $10 Amazon Gift Certificate to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour. Please use the RaffleCopter below to enter. Remember you may increase your chances of winning by visiting the other tour stops. You may find those locations here

BLURB: 



A rigged horse race - and a marriage offer riding on the outcome. When Miss Eliza Montrose unexpectedly becomes legal owner of the horse tipped to win the East Anglia Cup, her future is finally in her hands – but at what cost?


George Bramley, nephew to the Earl of Quamby, will wager anything. Even his future bride.
Miss Eliza Montrose will accept any wager to be reunited with the child she was forced to relinquish after an indiscretion — even if it means marrying a man she does not love.

But when the handsome and charming Rufus Patmore buys a horse from her betrothed, George Bramley, whose household her son visits from the foundling home, her heart is captured and the outcome of the wager is suddenly fraught with peril.

**This is book 3 in the Scandalous Miss Brightwells series, though it can be read as a stand-alone.

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Excerpt: 
Chapter One
“And there’s nothing else you’d like, my dear? No?” Straightening after receiving a polite rebuff, George Bramley found it an effort to keep the syrup in his tone. His bride-to-be had not even looked at him as she’d declined the piece of marchpane he’d been certain would win him at least a smile.
Hovering at her side, he weighed up the advantages of a gentle rebuke, then decided against it. Until yesterday, he’d thought her quiet demeanour suggested a charmingly pliant nature. Now he was not so sure. In fact, suddenly, he was not sure of anything.
“A glass of lemonade, perhaps, my angel? Or a gentle stroll?”
“I would prefer to be left alone.” Miss Montrose waved a languid hand in his general direction, while she continued to gaze at the still lake beside which their picnic party had situated itself.
The languid arm-wave had not even been accompanied by a demure thank you as subtle acknowledgement of her gratitude that not only had Mr Bramley, heir to a viscountcy, stepped in to rescue Miss Eliza Montrose from impoverishment, he was prepared to treat her publicly as if she were as fine a catch as he could have made.
A soft titter brought his head round sharply, but the ladies behind him, bent over the latest Ackerman’s Repository, appeared occupied with their own gossip as they lounged on cushions beneath the canopy that had been erected to protect them from the sun.
Awkwardly, he looked for occupation as he continued to eye his intended with a mixture of irritation and desire—both lustful desire, and the desire to put her in her place.
The idea of the latter made him harden. She was beautiful, this quiet, apparently retiring, young woman who said so little, but whose eyes spoke such volumes. The afternoon sun glinted on her honey-gold hair and imbued her porcelain skin with a warm glow. The skin that he could see, at any rate.
He pushed back his shoulders. On their wedding night in six weeks, when he’d at last take possession of her, he’d rip that modesty to shreds. The skin she was so at pains to hide would be his, not only to see, but to caress and taste. When she was his wife, the beautiful, distant Miss Eliza Montrose would no longer get away with paying George Bramley so little attention. No, he’d have her screaming and writhing at his command. He would make her like the things he did to her; or at least, show him she did if she enjoyed harmony as much as she appeared to. None of this languid reclining like a half-drugged princess in his presence. He’d keep her on her toes, ready to leap to his bidding at the sound of his footstep. She’d learn to be grateful.
Feeling ignored and superfluous, he turned to his uncle’s detestable wife, Lady Quamby, and said with a smile, “Perhaps you and Miss Montrose would like to accompany me to the turret. Since you appear to have enjoyed this new novel, Northanger Abbey, so much, you might be interested to know there is an excellent view of the ruined monastery not far from here.”
He was just priding himself on being so attuned to the feminine inclination for pleasure, when Lady Quamby half turned and sent him a desultory smile. “Oh, I think Miss Eliza looks perfectly comfortable, and Fanny and I are having such a lovely little coze.” As if imitating Miss Montrose, she waved a languid hand in his general direction. “Why don’t you take Mr Patmore off to see it? The two of you can tell us all about it when you return.”
The fact that Miss Montrose didn’t deign to even speak for herself, much less glance in his direction, sent the blood surging to Bramley’s brain. By God, when he was married to Eliza Montrose, the limpid look of love so lacking now would be pasted onto her face every time he crossed her line of vision. She’d soon learn what was good for her.
He inclined his head, hiding his fury, and was on the point of leaving when Lady Quamby’s sister, Fanny —for he’d be damned if he’d accord the little strumpet the title of Lady Fenton—leapt up from her chair. She’d been poring over the latest fashions, but now she smiled brightly up at him.
“I’ll come with you, Cousin George. We’ll have an excellent view of the  children learning to row from the battlements. I told Nanny Brown she could take them in the two boats if they’d been good.”
Bramley stared down her liveliness. In fact, he was about to give up the idea of going up to the battlements altogether when his other guest, Rufus Patmore, suddenly rose and joined Fanny’s side with a late and unexpected show of enthusiasm.
“Capital idea!” declared Rufus.
George flashed them both a dispassionate look. He'd chosen to invite his betrothed, Miss Montrose—whose chaperone was currently tucked up in the green bed chamber nursing a head cold—to be his guest at his uncle’s estate, Quamby House, after receiving intelligence that Ladies Quamby and Fenton would be safely in London with their husbands and children. Instead, the brazen Brightwell sisters—as they’d infamously been called when he’d first made their acquaintance—had altered their plans, and were now in dogged attendance, reminding him as they always had, of some awful tenacious climbing plant, determined to find a foothold wherever they could in order to rise in the world.
Rufus, a last-minute addition and acquaintance from his club, Boodles, was here because he’d just purchased a horse from Bramley the night before. Now, Rufus was gazing at Lady Fenton, with the same dewy-eyed fondness George was used to seeing reflected in the eye of his uncle, the Earl of Quamby, who called the Brightwell sisters his precious rose-buds. To George, they were common dandelions! And now they had overridden Quamby House, the rambling Queen Anne manor house and estate that would have passed to George the moment his uncle quit this mortal coil, were it not for the snotty-nosed infant Lady Quamby had borne far too early in her marriage to George's uncle.
George shook his head. He’d changed his mind. Only, there was Rufus striding across the lawn, skirting the lake with Fanny at his side, and George didn’t want to be seen as petulant for having offered the suggestion in the first place. Or have his snubbed and ignored status so much on parade, since the two remaining ladies—Miss Montrose and Lady Quamby—had their heads bent together in deep discussion, with no apparent interest in seeking his company.
By God, he thought, clenching his fists as he set off after them at a brisk trot, they'd all rue the day they showed George Bramley so little respect.


Where did you get the idea for your new novel, Devil’s Run? 

Hi Jana, thank you for having me!

I got the idea for Devil’s Run after I’d introduced a character on the first page of the previous book, Rogue’s Kiss (which is Book 2 in the Scandalous Miss Brightwell series), where the heroine’s carriage knocks over a young woman who’s running away with her illegitimate child whom she doesn’t want to give up to the Foundling Home. This girl, Eliza, isn’t mentioned beyond that – though the child is chosen for a naming ceremony in that book – but I thought I’d pick up the story seven years later when Eliza discovers her child (due to it’s tiny sixth finger) is a regular in the household of a very horrible man who wants to marry her, and this provides the motivation for her to say yes. Only, matters get complicated when she falls in love with a visitor to the estate who’s come to buy a race horse from Eliza’s horrible betrothed.

Why did you choose this genre?

I’ve always loved historicals and as I’ve been reading social histories and the Classics (late 18th C and 19thC), since I was twelve, I have a thorough canvas on which to lay the plot idea. That means I don’t have to spend ages researching the time period, only particular aspects that are pertinent to the story.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?

I can’t decide if I’m a morning person or a night person. I go through stages where my habit is to be up at 5.30am or 6am every day for months, getting my work done, but then I switch to being a night-owl. What is most important, though, is that I get 7 to 8 hours sleep a night. I time it so I can have 8 hours, but usually wake after 7, and then I’ll brainstorm my Goal, Motivation, Conflicts for the various characters.

I think that comes from being a pilot’s wife for 20+ years, so I’m not used to routine. When my gorgeous husband is around, I’ll spend time watching movies and cooking and being with him, but when he’s away for 4 or 5 days at a time, I’ll write for many hours in the morning and evening. (I’m really missing him during such a cold Melbourne winter, as he’s away for 7 weeks in Singapore doing his Airbus endorsement.)

What do you want readers to come away with after they read your book?

I want them to come away feeling the things that are mentioned in my favourite reviews: multilayered plots with unexpected twists and turns, and multi-dimensional characters, some of whom readers love, and others they hate, (or love to hate). So I’d hope that Devil’s Run lives up to that.

Also, having written so many books, I’ve found that I appeal mostly to readers who are not looking for a conventional Regency romance and who aren’t upset when certain conventions aren’t adhered to, since I find that my characters can do some pretty heavy scheming to achieve their desired outcome. So I do try and make it clear what my readers can expect so I don’t get some who are disappointed because they were expecting everyone to be worthy and lovely with a perfect HEA.
I love writing series where the first few books can be read as stand-alones; so there’s often a Happy-For-Now which becomes a HEA in the next book since it gives me a chance to have an even more multilayered plot arching over a number of books. That said, in Devil’s Run, all the events are resolved in Eliza and Rufus’s story.

It was really fun to write, too, because it carries on from the first in the series (Rake’s Honour, which is permafree) where two beautiful match-making sisters, who’ve made rags-to-riches marriages, love to orchestrate the love affairs of the deserving couples around them. At first they don’t like my heroine, Eliza, who has just become betrothed to their awful cousin, George Bramley, and who seems cold and distant. But when she rescues their children from drowning, they decide they have to do whatever it takes to stop her marrying awful George and so they find her a really lovely alternative in noble, honourable, kind and gorgeous Rufus Patmore. The problem is that Eliza has decided she needs to marry George because she’s learned that her long-lost illegitimate son is a regular playmate of the children in George’s household.

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?

Two years ago we moved into a house, which people describe as looking like Hogwarts in the Harry Potter movies. It’s opposite a rambling, Gothic 19th century insane asylum and the view from my writing space is very inspirational. So is my writing space, itself, which I also use to make historical costumes. One of my favourites is a 1780s polonaise with panniers, while my most recent is a tudor gown and Anne Boleyn ‘French Hood’ I made for my daughter, as she wanted a Tudor Feast for her 16th birthday. I’m about to get started on Regency gowns for all three of us so we can attend the Jane Austen festival next year, in style. I’ll also start posting pictures of my creations (and their inspiration) on my Beverley Oakley FB page, including drone footage panning over the asylum, so if there are any interested costumers out there, stay tuned.

Do you have another occupation, other than writer? If so, what is it? Does it help you with your writing?

I do contracts during the year, so the pattern these days is, perhaps, a 3 or four-month contract with a month or two off, in between. They’re all writing related, so that must help. Mostly, they’re in communications, or as a content writer, sometimes in government, or in education. I’m not fond of routine, so change and contrasts suit me well. During my 20+ years as a pilot’s wife we’ve lived in Solomon Islands, Japan, Namibia, Botswana, Norway, Canada (where I worked on contracts around the world as an airborne geophysical survey operator) and now we’re in Australia which, with two children, makes life more settled for them. 

How do you think your life experiences have prepared you for writing?

I’ve become far more patient, resilient and accepting. After years of following my husband round the world, we settled in Australia and bought a house. Unfortunately, he broke his back two weeks before I gave birth to our youngest, so I had a toddler, a husband in a world of pain (all his vertebrae were sheared off when he fell off a ladder while we were renovating), and who couldn’t fly, and our eldest was – at that stage – often in her own little world before we discovered it was Aspbergers. (She’s 16, now, and hugely into science and Literature and today, really, passionate about certain causes and very clever, and she relates well, socially, but back then it was hard.)

So, today, in 2017, with my husband now well, and back flying (after pulverizing his wrist two-and-a-half years in a motorbike accident which had him once again in rehabilitation having multiple operations, and unable to work until last month) life’s fantastic yet I’m always prepared for something else dramatic to rock our foundations.

Do you have any pets? Are you cat person or a dog person? Or are you into totally different pets, like goldfish? What do you like best about your pet?

We have the most gorgeous Rhodesian Ridgeback called Mombo (named after the safari camp in Botswana where my husband and I met). He has the sweetest nature and I feel sure he’d defend me to the death if he could only work out who the bad guys were.


Thanks so much for having me, Jana.

My pleasure, Beverley!

~*~*~*~*~*~ Author Info: 
Beverley Oakley was seventeen when she bundled up her first her 500+ page romance and sent it to a publisher. Unfortunately drowning her heroine on the last page was apparently not in line with the expectations of romance readers so Beverley became a journalist.
Twenty-six years later Beverley was delighted to receive her first publishing contract from Robert Hale (UK) for a romance in which she ensured her heroine was saved from drowning in the icy North Sea.
Since 2009 Beverley has written more than thirteen historical romances, mostly set in England during the early nineteenth century. Mystery, intrigue and adventure spill from their pages and if she can pull off a thrilling race to save someone’s honour – or a worthy damsel from the noose – it’s time to celebrate with a good single malt Scotch.

Beverley lives with her husband, two daughters and a Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy the size of a pony opposite a picturesque nineteenth century lunatic asylum. She also writes Africa-set adventure-filled romances starring handsome bush pilot heroes, and historical romances with less steam and more sexual tension, as Beverley Eikli.

You can get in contact with Beverley at:

Friday, August 11, 2017

#AuthorInterview with C.J. Fosdick

Cj Fosdick, a fellow Wild Rose Press author, is my guest today. Cj's "Accidental Series" is all about time-travel, one of my favorite tropes. The first book in the series, The Accidental Wife, is on sale for .99 cents until August 31. Please welcome Cj Fosdick!



Where did you get the idea for your novel?

Ideas for my own multi genre American family saga were popping like popcorn in a microwave as I read Diana Gabaldon’s fantastic Outlander series (over a year). Diana herself inspired me when I met her at a HNS Writer Conference in Florida four summers ago.

Why did you choose this genre?

For me, reading a good historical romance or mystery is “armchair time-travel” at its best. Time-travel has built-in suspense, drama and a unique opportunity to compare eras. Add a mysterious family legacy, diverse charismatic characters, mistaken identity and a breathtaking romance and you have a recipe for The Accidental Wife set in Wyoming.

Was there anything unusual, any anecdote about this book you’d like to share?

There were several odd coincidences that made me feel writing this book was karma!  As I sorted old photos of my stepmother after she died last year, I found black and white photos of her and my late father on a honeymoon trip out West. They posed at old Ft. Laramie in front of the 1870 Burt house, which played a key role in my novel. My stepmom loved my book, but never mentioned she was actually at Ft. Laramie in 1954.

Did you always want to be a writer?

After winning a Western Union writing contest at age 12, my avocation was set. I blew the $5 prize on candy dots to share with friends and loved the celebrity. Passion to write was etched in stone when I became feature editor of my H.S. newspaper and wrote a teen column for small newspapers in Milwaukee.

Do you have any words of advice to beginning writers?

There’s a network of social media at your fingertips today: Articles, blogs, webinars, reader and writer groups on Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Goodreads, Pinterest, etc. Plan for half your time to be absorbed with marketing. A website and FB following is as essential as good navigation skills on social media. I learned a lot about the publishing climate and pitching my work at Writer Conferences. I also joined groups like RWA, Women Writing the West and the Historical Novel Society to network and cover my genre interests. The conferences and the RWA magazine also offer contests which can benefit you with honest assessments of your talent, and if you place or win you can add that to your resume and bio. A critique group of writers can also help shape editing skills and toughen thin skin. Use spell check, research every fact and setting and edit your writing even before you invest in a good editor. Motivation and Persistence equals Discovery!

When were you first published and how did that happen? Was it a long or short journey? 

For decades, I managed to produce only short stories and articles. Time to write a novel was always elusive. Some of my stories won awards, however, and at a Women Writing the West Writer Conference in Kansas City 4 years ago, I placed in their Laura contest. The judge encouraged me to turn the story into a novel and my future publisher was in the audience. She encouraged me to send that potential novel to her. I didn’t waste any time and less than a year later I was contracted by Wildrose Press for “The Accidental Wife.

Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Both, but more pantser than plotter, I think. My characters have input and sometimes they take me down a pathway I didn’t plot.

What do you hope readers gain from your stories?

Besides a page-turning read, I hope my readers learn that love is timeless, and no obstacle is impossible if your heart and soul are open to the challenge. I love to add suspense with unexpected twists and turns and enough social awareness and diversity to tease thought after the last page is read.

What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to learn about you?

I hate eggs; never eat them. Though I also have a fear of heights, I climbed a waterfall in Jamaica and bent backwards over a sheer drop to kiss the Blarney Stone in Ireland.

What’s your favorite time management tip?

My new Amazon Echo is helping out with quick research questions. “When were chocolate chips invented?” When the answer was needed for scenes in The Accidental Wife, it took more time to check with Google and Wikipedia than simply asking Alexa--who also plays my favorite music while I write.

What’s your least favorite thing about being a writer?

I love everything  except   MARKETING—which gobbles up WRITING time!

Tell us a bit about you. Where do you live, and how long have you been writing?

I’ve lived in Rochester, MN for most of my life, but I was born and raised in Milwaukee, WI. For 30 plus years I wrote and published stories and articles until my debut novel was published in 2015. I celebrated that inevitable milestone by getting a red Rav 4 with a vanity license plate that reads “Novel CJ.”


If writing is your first passion, what is your second?

Animals. We raised or trained 19 horses (including 2 wild mustangs) and have had 12 dogs and cats, many of them rescues. I gave riding lessons for 15 years, but sadly gave up riding for writing full time. With an empty barn now, I’ve resorted to feeding deer, turkeys, birds, and other wildlife just outside my writing room.

If you could get rid of something in your life that would give you more writing time, what would it be?

TV and email are bittersweet necessities. My inbox grows daily!

What are your hobbies away from the computer?

Quilting.

What do you like best about your hero from The Accidental Wife?

Mitch is a half breed who grew up well-educated in two worlds. He is tall, athletic, and charming, with mesmerizing green eyes that reflect his emotion. He’s also a great father and can easily match wits with the heroine, yet uniquely vulnerable to his place in life and love.

What do you like best about your heroine from The Accidental Wife?  

Jessica comes from a line of strong, independent women that began with her infamous great great grandmother and the legacy she found back in 1875. She is smart, practical and curious, but also vulnerable to relationships since she was orphaned and later betrayed in a bet. Her wit and smart mouth serves her well. She also looks like her famous ancestor…and me on better days.

How do you choose the names and physical characteristics of your characters?

Important to me! I often choose names of my characters based on the first or last name of friends or family. In the Ireland part of book two in the Accidental Series, I used a book of Irish names. I spend days mulling over how the names sound and how they go with the characters. My long time historian connection to Ft. Laramie was Sandy Lowry. She became a character in both books--named Stella Lowry. Sandy laughed at that, as her mother-in-law was named Stella Lowry. The physical characteristics of my characters also match people I know…or favorite actors and actresses.

Tell us a little about your current work in progress.

The Accidental Heiress is set in Ireland with main characters who played minor roles in Book 2, The Accidental Stranger. The plot involves an Irish scandal that turned women into slaves for centuries and is still being litigated today in Ireland. As in all my books, I love adding an appetizer of social justice to the meat of the plot.

What’s your tagline? Why did you choose it?

“Lost in time, found by love.”  This applies to both hero and heroine in both novels, as they were vulnerable to time and circumstances that was altered by the healing power of love.

If I was a first time reader of your books, which one would you recommend I start with and why?

The Accidental Wife was the mainstream series debut but all the Accidentals can stand alone, unless your curiosity is peaked. Characters in both books will appear throughout the series, but minor characters from Book 2 will be elevated to major roles in Book 3—The Accidental Heiress.

Is there anything we haven’t covered here that you’d like to tell readers?

The Accidental Wife is a Golden Quill finalist and was a Top Ten P & E Winner for Best Romance and Best Author in 2015. This is the first time the eBook has gone on sale for .99. The Accidental Stranger is the sequel published this year.


How can readers reach you online?

Email: Falorac@gmail.com
Website:   http://cjfosdick.com
Facebook:  http://facebook.com/cjfosdickauthor

Blurb for The Accidental Wife:

Self-determined Jessica Brewster is wary of any emotional relationship after being betrayed in a bet. When the beloved grandmother who raised her dies, she inherits a mysterious teacup which transports her back to 1886 in old Fort Laramie, switching places with her look-alike great-great grandmother--wife to her ancestor's magnetic first husband and mother to his charming nine-year-old daughter.

Can she pull off the charade and find a way back, or will conscience and her twenty-first century "slips" expose her identity?  As true love--and a gypsy--derail her plans, her ancestor's brother shows up with his own dark secret. Is her future in the past? Her decision could save her legacy...and her life!

Excerpt:

He rose from the chair like an old man and touched my face with both hands, feathering his fingers lightly across my forehead, into the wells of my eyes, over my nose and cheekbones, like a blind man needing to know who stood before him. I tried not to stiffen at his touch, willing myself not to blink, not to release the fresh tears that had begun to pool. He collared my throat with his long fingers and ran a thumb over my lips. “I want my wife back. Come back to me, Mitawin,” he whispered.

The word on the teacup; the hallmark of my deceit. Our eyes locked, and I felt my throat closing and my knees begin to quiver. For a few seconds his grip tightened around my throat, and I clamped my eyes shut with a fleeting thought. Yes, take my breath...end this tormenting deception.

Buy Links for The Accidental Wife:

Cj Fosdick Amazon   http://amazon.com/author/cjfosdick
Cj Fosdick Wild Rose Press   http://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/1256_cj-fosdick

Cj Fosdick Barnes & Noble  http://bit.ly/1QcHLOq

Author Bio for C.J. Fosdick:




Born and raised in Packerland, Cj moved west to the medical mecca in Rochester, MN where her writing career bloomed with published award-winning stories and articles to her novel series inspired by Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander. Rescued horses, dogs, cats, children and one patient husband have motivated the heart of Cj’s craft. Though living on a country hilltop haven for decades, she has ventured down on occasion to climb a Jamaican waterfall, float in the Dead Sea, kiss the Blarney Stone and research settings for her next novel.


Thursday, August 10, 2017

Ann Everett and CHIRP #newadult

I'm pleased to have Ann Everett back at Journeys with Jana for a return visit. Did you know August is National Read a Romance month? I have to confess I didn't, though for me, every month is read a romance month. Ann gives us a brief history of this national event, and tells us about her newest release, CHIRP, published by Amazon Kindle Press. Welcome, Ann!


August is National Read a Romance month, so I thought I’d do a bit of research about how the romance novel has evolved.

According to Wikipedia, Mass Market romance really took off after WWI. Category romances in the 1930’s, and in the USA modern romance genre fiction was born in 1972, with Avon's publication of Kathleen Woodiwiss's The Flame and the Flower; it was the first of the modern "bodice ripper" romance novels.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_novel 24/50

Over the years, many genres of romance have developed. One of the latest is New Adult Romance, which rose in popularity in 2012 due to many self-published books.

My latest romance, Chirp, falls into that category, which means the characters are in their twenties. Having been named a Kindle Scout Winner, Chirp is published by Amazon Kindle Press.


Chirp
A woman hiding from her future…

Heiress to the largest steel company in America, twenty-year-old, socially awkward Blaze Bledsoe hides out at Dessie Bishop’s farm. For the last three years, Blaze has eluded one investigator after another, but just when she thinks she’s safe, a PI closes in. Her luck is about to run out in more ways than one.

A man running from his past…

Rance Keller, a tough, hard-living ex-con, fresh out of prison for a crime he didn’t commit, arrives to claim the house his grandmother left him. Finding a strange girl living there, his plans for a solitary life take a turn. Her lack of modesty, no filter, and word of the day fetish baffles him, but those big green eyes and sweet mouth have him losing sleep.

Welcome to Bluebird, Texas

Where two damaged people with secrets, discover trust can lead to passion.

Excerpt from Chirp
Blaze

Blaze reached room three and referred to the next list: Blue eye shadow. Black mascara. Mauve lip gloss. Enhance beauty mark at corner of mouth.

Only thirty-nine years old, Ginny Elliott had met her demise when her biker boyfriend failed to negotiate a turn. Thank goodness she’d worn a helmet. Camouflaging a mangled face presented a challenge. Being tossed ten feet into the air before landing on the hard pavement had proved too much for the rest of her bones.

Ginny was dressed in a leather jacket and low-cut tank, her voluptuous breasts swelling over the top. Nothing like formaldehyde to pump up a woman’s upper thorax. Blaze tugged at her own T-shirt, conscious of the small boobs she’d been blessed with. Removing the pencil from behind her ear, she scratched out part of the note and made changes.

Proper shading and contouring made women appear pounds lighter and years younger. Once Blaze had finished, Ginny looked like a Harley Harlot. Blaze always regretted the client couldn’t witness the magic. She jotted another message, tucked it into Motorcycle Momma’s pocket, and zipped it.
“When you get to heaven, give this to Larkin Montgomery. You’ll recognize her because we look alike.” With only a few pictures for comparison, she wasn’t sure about that. The older she got, the less she remembered about her mother.

With her supplies back in place, Blaze peeked into the hallway. The coast appeared clear. No Cameron waiting to walk her out. Maybe she’d finally been rude enough for him to get the message.
Outside, a sharp February breeze cut at her face, but spring hid right around the corner. Almost time to break up the garden spot. Even though she liked living alone, she missed Dessie. The sweet woman had left the place to her only grandson, but Blaze would never meet him.

Since he was serving a fifteen-year prison sentence. She’d be long gone by the time he showed up.

Rance

Rance stepped outside and followed the aroma of bacon to Bubba’s Diner. Just what he needed after going heels to Jesus all night. He removed his last cigarette and tossed the package into the blue trash barrel at the corner of the building. Really should give up the bad habit, and he would. Later.

It occurred to him, last night’s tag-team event with the BFFs, had fulfilled his goal—fifty-two women in fifty-two weeks. No more pressure. With an early start and few stops, he could make it to Bluebird in one day. Grab a quick breakfast. Crank up the Harley. Hit the road. Couldn’t wait to see the place again. Enjoy the seclusion and relax in his grandmother’s old claw-foot tub. That’s what he loved about the little country town.

Everything remained the same. Never any surprises.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01MT7DXF4


Ann Everett's bio:

Award winning and Amazon Best-Selling author, Ann Everett embraces her small town upbringing and thinks Texans are some of the funniest people on earth. When speaking at conferences and to writing groups, businesses, book clubs, and non-profit organizations, she incorporates her unique brand of wit, making her programs on marketing, self-publishing, and the benefits of laughter, informative and fun.

A top reviewer on thenextbigwriter.com, she lives on a small lake in Northeast Texas where she writes, bakes, and fights her addiction to Diet Dr. Pepper.

Ten things you won’t know about Ann by reading her bio:


  • She’s married to her high school sweetheart.
  • She loves shopping at thrift stores.
  • She doesn’t remember her first kiss. 
  • She hates talking on the telephone.
  • A really sharp pencil makes her happy.
  • She secretly wants to get a tattoo. 
  • She thinks everyone should own a pair of cowboy boots.
  • She’s thankful wrinkles aren’t painful.
  • She sucks at math. 


Social Media Links:

Facebook     https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAnnEverett/
Twitter     http://www.twitter.com/TalkinTwang
Website       http://www.anneverett.com
Pinterest   http://www.pinterest.com/loacl/