The Romance Studio's 10th Anniversary Party!

I'm participating in TRS's 10th Anniversary Party from September 15 to 21. I'm posting excerpts from my books all week, and on September 21 I'm holding a contest. Find the answers to my questions in the excerpt for a chance to win a $5 Amazon Gift Certificate. There are a ton of other prizes to be won, so I hope you'll drop by www.trsparties.com and say hello!

My Sexy Saturday - Always a Bridesmaid

Happy Sexy Saturday! I'm back with another 7 paragraph snippet from "Always a Bridesmaid", Book 3 of my Left at the Altar series. "Always a Bridesmaid" releases from Uncial Press on January 17, 2014. 

In this scene, Zach comes to Dani's room to tell her she's the one he wants:

He cupped her cheek, his eyes searching hers. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make a joke or accuse me of being patronizing when I try to compliment you?"

Because I can't believe you mean it. "I know I'm not perfect, not in looks, not like Chantal. Far from it."

"Maybe I don't want perfect." His thumb traced lazy circles over the delicate skin under her eye. "Maybe I want sweet and kind and funny. Maybe I want someone who makes me laugh, and makes me believe happiness is possible."

She stared at him, his gaze rendering her immobile. She wanted to tell him not to say things like that to her, not unless he was very, very sure he meant them. Because if he didn't really mean it, she might not survive. But her heart lodged in her throat, making speech impossible. All she could do was pray that when he left her, her heart would still be in one piece.

Zach lowered his mouth to hers. His lips touched hers, softly, sweetly. She wanted more, so much more. She stepped closer to him, stretching on tiptoes to wrap her arms around his neck and press herself against him. His kiss changed in a heartbeat, consuming her, devouring her in a vortex of sensation and need. Nothing mattered except this moment with Zach in her arms.

Thanks for stopping by. Check out more sexy snippets at http://www.mysexysaturday.blogspot.com  

My New Cover & and an Excerpt!

I'm thrilled to show off the new cover of my next release, FIRST AND AGAIN, coming October 7, 2013 from Carina Press. Here's a blurb:

Bridget Grant is back in Paradise. Paradise, North Dakota, that is.

She’s swallowed her pride and moved back to her hometown with her daughter after her divorce and the loss of her catering company. Now she’s trying to navigate the strained relationships she’d left behind – including her first love, Jack Davison.

Jack never forgot Bridget, or the day she left town – and him. When Bridget caters a lunch at Jack’s tourist ranch, old flames reignite. They have more in common than ever – Jack’s also a single parent. Though they both try to keep things casual, Bridget, Jack and their girls are starting to look a lot like a family.

But Bridget’s only planning to stay in Paradise until she’s saved enough to relaunch her business. Jack’s invested too much in his ranch to leave. And with their daughters involved both have a lot more at stake than heartbreak. How can they risk falling in love?

I was in a baking mood today, so I wanted to share a scene from FIRST AND AGAIN where Bridget learns to bake a flaky, mouth-watering pie crust:

Martha hummed as she used a knife to cut the block of shortening into dice-sized bits. A moment later she switched to a pastry blender and began to mix the flour and shortening with surprising strength. She attacked the mixture with enthusiasm, working her way around and to the bottom of the bowl in a fast chopping motion.

“My mother used to say you had to be quick and fierce to bake a good pie.”

“I see what you mean,” Bridget said. “I never thought of baking pies as an aerobic activity before.”

Martha laughed. “You can mix the next batch. I’m nearly worn-out already.”

“I’m sorry. Are you all right? You’ve been standing for too long. I’ll get your wheelchair.”

“No, no, don’t fuss,” she said. “I can rest later. Right now we have work to do. Get me a glass of ice water.

“Now, watch carefully,” Martha commanded, after Bridget handed her the glass. Her hands shook slightly as she added the ice water to the flour and shortening mixture, a tablespoon at a time, in different spots in the bowl. She handed Bridget a fork.

“Here, you try it. Stir as hard and fast as you can.”

She stirred vigorously as Martha supervised.

“If you have enough water the dough will start to form a ball,” she said. She added another tablespoon and nodded her head in satisfaction.

“That should do it.”

She was right. By some miracle, the mixture now resembled something approximating pie dough. Martha took the dough into her hands and shaped it into a more uniform ball before cutting it in half and placing half on a plastic pastry sheet sprinkled generously with flour.
 
“The fewer strokes you use to work the dough, the flakier it will be.”

After flattening the dough a little with her hand, Martha covered it with a piece of waxed paper and began vigorously rolling with a wooden rolling pin. Bridget marveled once again at her stamina as she worked quickly and with some strength, starting from the middle and pushing the dough out in all directions. She soon formed a thin circle of pastry.

“Now the moment of truth,” Martha said. She peeled off the waxed paper, then gently folded the circle of pastry in half. Lifting the folded half over a pie plate, she carefully unfolded the pastry over the plate.

“Beautiful.” She gently worked the dough to the bottom and sides of the pie plate and then took a sharp knife to trim the excess.

Gladys brought a bowl of filling to the table. “This is my mother’s recipe for apple pie filling. She always made wonderful pies.” She spooned the filling into the empty pie shell while Martha began rolling the top.
When she finished rolling, Martha placed the top over the filling, crimped the edges together with her fingers, and then cut small vents in the top in the shape of bird tracks. Bridget took the pie to the preheated oven. She’d taken meticulous notes and was anxious to sample their creation and see if it passed the taste test.

Rebecca and Leslie breezed into the kitchen, holding hands and giggling. Bridget had made arrangements for Rebecca to hitch a ride on the school bus with Leslie after school. Martha chuckled and pointed a bony finger at the girls.

“There’s two more strong pie makers. Wash your hands and come help us with the next batch.”

Leslie cheered while Rebecca’s eyes widened in disbelief. “But I don’t like cooking.”

Martha waved away her objections. “You like to eat, don’t you?”

“Well, yeah but—”

“Then if you plan on feeding yourself, you need to learn to cook.” She sat ramrod straight in her wheelchair and gave Rebecca an imperious wave. “Now go wash up.”

The look of horror on her daughter’s face made Bridget laugh. “You heard the lady. Go wash your hands.”

Gladys took Leslie by the hand. “Come with me. We’ll soon get you cleaned up and turned into little kitchen helpers.”

Rebecca followed them to the washroom, throwing her mother a doleful glance as she left. Bridget chuckled when she disappeared around the corner. “Now if I’d said that to her she’d likely stomp off and spend the rest of the afternoon sulking.”

“That’s one good thing about being as old as I am,” Martha said with a wheezing laugh. “No one will dare argue with you.”

The girls soon emerged from the washroom and Gladys found each of them a bibbed apron. Bridget hid her smile at the picture they made. Leslie pranced excitedly in the apron that covered her from her chin to her ankles, while Rebecca looked as if she’d rather be mucking out stalls.

“There now, you look like you’re ready to go.” Martha wheeled her chair next to the table. “Bring your ingredients over here. The counter’s too high for me.”

The girls obediently did as they were told. As Bridget made her next batch of pastry at the counter following the directions Martha had given her, she listened and watched with amazement as both girls followed instructions. She wasn’t surprised at Leslie’s enthusiasm but Rebecca’s transformation was nothing short of remarkable.

“Work it harder, girl! The faster you mix it, the flakier it will be.”

“Like this, Mrs. Kowalchuk?” She could see Rebecca’s arm energetically working the dough.

“Just like that, dear. We’re going to make pie makers out of you girls yet. And call me Martha. Everybody does.”

An hour and a half later they sampled the fruits of their labor. Bridget closed her eyes and sighed as the pastry melted in her mouth. The filling was sweet without being cloying and was just the right texture.

Perfection.

She smiled at the two older women and the two young girls. Apparently it took a village not only to raise a child, but to teach her how to bake a pie.

FIRST AND AGAIN is available for Pre-order at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Have a great day everyone!

My Sexy Saturday - Funny Snippet from "Always a Bridesmaid"

Happy Saturday! Here's 7 paragraphs from my soon to be released (Uncial Press, January 17, 2014) contemporary romantic comedy "Always a Bridesmaid". Zach and Dani are pretending to be boyfriend/girlfriend to fend off the unwanted attentions of Zach's former fiance Chantal. In this snippet which takes place in front of everyone at the breakfast table, Chantal is making it clear she wants Zach back, or at least wants him back in her bed. But Zach has other ideas:

He felt her hand on his knee. What game was Chantal playing? "Modern art's not my thing."

"I guess that's true. You always liked the works of the old masters better. All those Rubenesque women. But I really think you should give this exhibit a try. Perhaps you'll come to a new appreciation of the art form."

Her hand inched up his thigh. Sweat broke out on his forehead. "I don't think so. I have other interests."

"There's no reason you can't appreciate two art forms at the same time."

Her hand drifted to the top of his thigh. For the first time she looked at him, giving him a triumphant smile. Then her hand moved to his crotch.

He shot to his feet, his chair scraping against the wood floor and nearly tipping. Just at that moment, Dani entered the dining room with a bowl, and after setting it on the sideboard, turned to smile at him. He reached her in three strides, enveloping her tightly in his arms and covering her mouth with his before she had a chance to protest or even say good morning. He wanted to make sure Chantal understood in no uncertain terms that he was with Dani now.

For several heart beats, she held herself rigid. And then something remarkable happened. He felt her sigh against his mouth as her arms wound around his neck and she pressed herself against him. His own response was swift and totally unexpected. He held her close, running one hand over the lush curves of her bottom, her softness speaking to a primordial part of his being. The taste of berries on her tongue made him want to strip off her clothing to taste every inch of her naked skin. Though he was vaguely aware of people entering the room, he ignored them. Urgency built inside him, demanding to be released.

Hope you enjoyed my snippet. For more sexy bits, go to www.mysexysaturday.blogspot.com

My Sexy Saturday - Sweet scene from "Always a Bridesmaid"

Welcome to another Sexy Saturday at a my blog! Today I've got a sweet and sexy seven paragraph snippet from "Always a Bridesmaid", the third novel in my Left at the Altar series. "Always a Bridesmaid" will be released January 17, 2014 from Uncial Press. For information on the other books in this series, please check them out on my website.

This snippet comes from the first chapter of "Always a Bridesmaid". Zach Morrison was standing at the altar, ready to say 'I do' when his fiance's ex-husband bursts into the church and informs everyone assembled that he and the bride-to-be have been sleeping together. Zach is devastated. But Dani, who is an old friend, helps him through the worst day of his life:

Wanting nothing more than to comfort, she wrapped her arms around his waist in a hug. He held her tightly, pulling her against him and burying his face in her neck. Dani inhaled the intoxicating scent of spicy aftershave laced with underlying notes of warm, clean male. How could Chantal treat a wonderful man like Zach this way? She gently pulled away, keeping him at arm's length. "You're going to get past this, Zach."

"It doesn't feel like it right now."

"I know, but someday, when you're old and grey, you'll be sitting on the front porch with your wonderful wife of fifty years, and you'll say 'Thank Heaven Chantal cheated on me or I never would have met you.'"

He made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a sob. "Fifty years, eh?"

"Trust me."

Some lucky girl would snap Zach up in a minute, and if she was smart, she'd shower him with the love and consideration he deserved. Some lucky girl, but not me.

Reluctantly, she took a step back. He squeezed her fingers before letting her go. With her heart pounding in her chest, and regret nipping at her heels, she hurried from the church. Before she did something stupid, like kiss the jilted groom.

I hope you enjoyed this sneak peak. For more great sexy snippets this Saturday, please go to www.mysexysaturday.blogspot.com Have a great Saturday!

If J.K. Rowling can't do it, how am I supposed to?

Recently, it came to light that J.K. Rowling had published a crime novel called The Cuckoo's Calling under the pen name Robert Galbraith. I'm sure Ms. Rowling is pleased that her new book received critical acclaim when everyone thought it was written by an author no one had heard of; no one was influenced by her well-known name to give the book either a glowing or a bad review. However, until it was discovered that Rowling was the actual author, no more than 1,500 copies had been sold. Of course now that everyone knows who the real author is, the book has become a commercial success.

This story begs the question: if quality determines success, shouldn't every well-written book be commercially successfully?

In his article in Bloomberg News, Duncan J. Watts challenges that theory. He collaborated with colleagues Matthew Salganik and Peter Dodds several years ago at Columbia University to prove that "market success is driven less by intrinsic talent than by "cumulative advantage," a rich-get-richer process in which early, possibly even random events are amplified by social feedback and produce large differences in future outcomes."

In other words, Watts believes that if an author becomes popular with one book, that popularity will continue with subsequent books. He and his colleagues devised an experiment in which almost 30,000 participants were recruited to listen, rate and download songs by bands they had never heard of. These participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups; an independent group, which saw only the names of the bands and the songs, and a social influence group, whose participants could see how many times songs had already been downloaded by others in the group. They found that success was driven disproportionately by a few early downloads. "When people could see what other people like, the inequality of success increased, meaning popular songs became more popular and unpopular songs became less so."

Watts says that it's "clear that being good, or even excellent, isn't enough. As one of the hapless editors who turned down the Galbraith manuscript put it, "when the book came in, I thought it was perfectly good--it was certainly well-written--but it didn't stand out."

Are you depressed yet?

I think most writers are aware that readers tend to buy books from authors they already know. Many authors' new books become an auto-buy for some readers. It makes sense; if a reader has enjoyed an author's work in the past, they trust them to provide a good read in the future. Readers only have so much time and money, so they must choose well.

So how does a lesser known writer like me get on that auto-buy list?

Joanna Penn, who recently attended the Bookseller Marketing and Publicity conference, points out these statistics: "23% of buyers surveyed bought a book based on an author they had previously read, by far the largest percentage. A further 6% followed/were a fan of the author and 5% bought from an author interview/event."

For an author, this means that once we have entertained a reader, we have a better chance of having them come back to read more of our books. Keeping in touch with readers through a newsletter is important in order to touch base with them on what you're working on, on contests and new releases coming up, and to generally let them know you still exist.

She encourages authors to persist with small, cumulative marketing strategies. It usually takes a multitude of marketing efforts to sell a book. Penn quotes Simon Scott from Push Entertainment: “it’s the little things that have a cumulative effect over time...the things that go viral are just little things that go big.” Penn says "The only way to aim for that kind of success is to keep plugging away at the little things, because no one really knows what tips a book or a song or a video over the edge into virality (or we’d all be doing it!)"

So I think there's hope. I'll keep plugging away and trying to connect with readers through social media and blog tours. I'll also investigate different ways of reaching an audience. At the same time, I'll keep working on my craft. Who knows? Perhaps one day I'll be the writer on everyone's auto-buy list. I can only hope!

If you're a writer, what methods do you use to connect with readers? If you're a reader, what criteria do you use when buying a book? Do you ever buy books by writers new to you?

My Sexy Saturday - First and Again

Here's seven more sexy paragraphs from my October 7 Carina Press release, First and Again. I'm excited that First and Again is now available for pre-order at Amazon. Yay! Here's a sample:

It took only a few seconds for him to sheath himself, but it seemed ages to Bridget. She sighed in relief when he returned to her. Placing his hands under her buttocks, he lifted her. With two fingers, she guided him inside.  He filled her completely, pushing at all her boundaries. It felt almost as if he could break right through her. The thought was frightening and exhilarating. Instinct made her wrap her legs tightly around his waist.

He braced himself, pushing her against the wall. With each thrust, he seemed to go deeper inside her. She madly pushed back, their frenzied coupling building to a crescendo. A moment later he cried out his release. She followed him into the abyss, descending into a vortex of sensation where only he existed. She clung blindly to him as wave after wave of ecstasy washed over her.

Finally the spasms ended and he carried her to the bed, laying her down and collapsing next to her. He flung one arm over his eyes.

“Next time you go to the city, buy some more of that underwear. Damn fine investment.”

She chuckled. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind. I’m looking to build my portfolio.”

He made a noise that sounded like something between a grunt and a laugh. “You keep building your portfolio like that and you’ll put me in an early grave. But I’d least I’d die with a smile on my face.”

“Always happy to oblige.”

I hope you enjoyed today's sexy snippet! For more fun and sexy bits, please go to http://mysexysaturday.blogspot.com