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Guest Author: Barbara Meyers!!

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I’m pleased to be hosting Barbara Meyers today, the author of the Braddock Brothers Series of stand-alone contemporary romances.  Barb has a new book out, and she’s graciously agreed to be my guest blogger today.

Vanessa asked for three to four paragraphs on a reader-oriented subject for this blog and I immediately wondered if I had anything appropriate already prepared.  I seem to write potential blogs all the time but mostly they are about my experiences, my thoughts, myself!

But if I were a reader reading this blog what would I want to read about?  This part about blogging always seems to elude me.  The truth is I don’t know what readers are interested in.  Books and reading, obviously.  Romance novels, right?

Although I love a good romance as part of the plot in the books I read I don’t seek out romance novels to read.  I think I od’d on them in my early twenties.  I read and re-read Rosemary Rogers and Kathleen Woodiwiss among others.  But as I grew as a reader and became a writer, I wanted more.  I do love well-written romantic suspense, especially Tami Hoag and Sandra Brown, as well as straight suspense.  Most recently I’ve read Lisa Gardner’s The Neighbor and am almost finished with Fragile by Lisa Unger.  Though I once eschewed male writers (too brutal and too graphic) I forced myself to reassess that decision and try reading their stuff.  That’s how I discovered the work of James Grippando and Lee Child.  Check out my Goodreads list for other authors I’d recommend.  (Like Ruth Rendell!)

I have never been a fan of faces on the covers of my books.  Yes, they are contemporary romance novels but there’s a bigger story going on around the romance.  Authors are given some input on the covers, and Samhain Publishing does its best to make the faces on the cover resemble the characters.  With my latest, when I questioned the cover choice I got an interesting response.  Something along the lines of “this book is straddling the line between romance and women’s fiction, that’s why we wanted a romantic cover…”

If you like romance novels with a little something more going on, here you go! 

Thanks, Barb!  Readers, here’s the blurb from Barb’s new book, The First Time Again:

There’s no defense when love blindsides your heart.

Once Trey Christopher was the small-town golden boy. Now he’s just another burned-out, washed-up ex-quarterback with a bum knee, a tarnished reputation, and a simple wish. To be the kind of man he can face in the mirror. Moving back home is a start, as is hiring a down-on-her-luck local woman to help him out around his grandparents’ old homestead.

The last thing Baylee Westring wants is to clean house for a high school crush who barely remembers her name, but Trey’s money will finally top off her get-out-of-Henderson-forever escape fund.  Before she hits the road, though, Baylee’s got something for the man she still finds wildly attractive: the virginity he almost—but not quite—took during a drunken teenage party.

Neither is prepared for the emotional impact of that encounter. But just when Baylee dares to believe in happy ever after, an old enemy turns up to even the score. And Trey finds his heart left in the red zone, with his last chance for love ticking down to zero.

Warning: Contains an overeducated housekeeper who’s open to receiving a pass or two, and an ex-football player who can’t seem to stop himself from showing her all his moves.

Vanessa, here.  Doesn’t that sound great?  Since I write sports romances myself as VK Sykes, I’m a sucker for an athlete hero.  Check out details and an excerpt for The First Time Again on Barb’s website.

EXTRA, EXTRA!!  I’m visiting Ramblings With This Chick today, giving away copies of my new VK Sykes sports romance, Curveball.  Come visit me for your chance to win the latest addition to the USA Today bestselling series that I write with hubby!

Guest Author: Linda Poitevin!

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I’m happy to be hosting a very talented author on the blog today.  She’s Linda Poitevin and she writes dark urban fantasy books that have received a lot of critical acclaim.  Recently, she’s made an interesting switch, which she’ll tell us about in her interview with us.  Let’s find out what it is!

You were a civilian dispatcher for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, although your original goal was to be a police officer.  How has that background influenced your writing?

In several ways, I think, because I tend to favor police storylines. I actually wanted to be a cop myself (but was turned down because of a faulty height measurement), so I tend to live vicariously through my heroine, Alex, in my Grigori Legacy series. Working as a dispatcher also gave me the chance to get to know a number of outstanding female police officers — little bits of whom have definitely made it into Alex as well — and having worked in the police environment has enabled me to give my setting a definite authenticity. And, of course, having married a cop has kept me ‘in the loop,’ so to speak. :)

 

Your first published novels were urban fantasy, with a homicide detective as the heroine.  Why the switch to contemporary romance for your current book?

It’s not as much of a switch as you might think, because I started out writing romance and there is a definite romantic element to all of my stories. To be honest, my Grigori Legacy series was actually intended to be a paranormal romance single title — that whole dark side of me that emerged (and the series idea) was a complete surprise! Despite that, I’m still a firm believer in happy-ever-afters. :)

Tell us about Gwynneth Ever After.

Gwynneth Ever After is a contemporary romance that is best described as Notting Hill with a role reversal and kids thrown in. It was originally published by Wild Rose Press as A Fairy Tale for Gwyn and has been given a fresh edit (because I’ve learned SUCH a lot in the last couple of years!), a new cover, and of course, a new title. The story is about a single mom who is neither looking for nor interested in a relationship until she meets her very own Hollywood hero — who won’t take no for an answer!

What’s next in your writing life?

I’m currently waiting for edits from my editor on book 3 of the Grigori Legacy, Sins of the Lost, and I’ve begun work on book 4, Sins of the Warrior. The series will be complete after book 4. After that, I have a romantic suspense that I’m considering dusting off and polishing, and I have a new urban fantasy series in mind as well.

Thanks for being with us today, Linda!  Readers, check out the blurb Gwynneth Ever After:

Gwyn Jacobs doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Ever since her ex-husband walked out four years  before, leaving her with three small children, Gwyn has been mother, father, and bread-winner all rolled into one. Her own scarred heart aside, she refuses to open up her children’s lives to the possibility of another heartbreak — so she has an unbending policy of no dating and no unattached men in their lives.

Until her very own fairy tale falls into her lap…and the hero won’t take no for an answer.

You can read an excerpt from Gwynneth and Linda’s other books on her website!

Guest Author: Genie Davis & Giveaway!

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I have a really interesting guest blogger today – she’s Genie Davis, who writes romantic suspense and is also a screen and TV writer.  Genie’s books have won a number of awards, and her screen work spans a variety of genres from supernatural thriller to romantic drama, family, teen, and comedy.  Cool, eh?  You can check out her full bio here.

I’m going to turn the blog over to Genie so she can tell us what’s going on in her world.

The Theme I Never Knew I Had

I never set out to write something with a particular theme. The theme is just something organic, something intrinsic to the story that appears in the course of writing the narrative for me. Imagine my surprise, a few years back, when I was interviewing for a TV staff writing job – a position I unfortunately didn’t get – when the executive producer said “What would you call the theme of your writing? I see redemption.”

Well, come to think of it – that was true of the screenplays he was reading. And still is, with my books. In fact, now I have an as-yet-unpublished novel actually titled Redemption. That particular book is a supernatural thriller with a solid romance stuck in between the Stephen King-ish chills, with the redemption of faith over evil, life over death, and love over loss the big three themes in this story.

But redemption is my own creative “key word” as it were, and it crops up in almost everything I write. I’m aware of it now, although I still don’t plan it, but I have to thank that exec for pointing out to me what I do.

Of my published books, my current title, the romantic suspense Executive Impulse, features redemption as a theme in several ways – there is, of course, the redemption of love – detective Kate has given up on men and love in general, following a lousy marriage, and even though she initially rejects Andy, she knows the real thing when she sees it. Andy finds redemption for his own self-worth – through Kate, his journalism, and his ability to work at whatever piece of business he’s thrust into.

A mystery I have coming out soon, Marathon, includes the redemption of a mother-daughter relationship; of a rocky, on-again, off-again romance finding purpose; and the redemption of a psychic gift, once discounted.

Previous works, the romantic suspense titles The Model Man and Five O’Clock Shadow, both include the redemption of purpose and creativity as themes, along with that all important love-redeeming quality of the main protagonists’ relationships. My first novel, literary fiction with a strong noir spine, Dreamtown, is pure redemption – a man without purpose or direction finds a true calling, and love; while a woman, bereft of hope, finds salvation.

Yes, I’m a fanatic about redemption, and I hope you’ll find some redeeming fun and suspense in all my titles.

If you’d like a free digital copy of Executive Impulse, or a hard copy of Five O’Clock Shadow, like my Facebook fan page and post which book you’d like to own on my wall – I’ll pick three posters at random to win the book of choice. :)

Vanessa, here.  You heard the lady!  Hop on over to her facebook page for a chance to win one of her great books!

CURVEBALL NOW AVAILABLE!!

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Some of you know that in addition to my historical romances, I also write sexy contemporary romances with my hubby under the pen name of VK Sykes.  I’m pleased to announce that book four in our USA Today Bestselling series, The Philadelphia Patriots, is now on sale at Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and Barnes & Noble. 

Curveball is also available in the iTunes store.

Here’s the blurb for Curveball:

Taylor Page has never wanted anything but a career in major league baseball. Through talent and guts, she’s finally landed a position as Assistant General Manager of the Philadelphia Patriots. But she wants the ultimate prize—General Manager. The only problem is that most men in baseball still don’t take a woman exec seriously, especially a thirty-year old blonde with no on-field experience. She needs to do something big to convince her bosses she has what it takes to run a team.

Veteran Pittsburgh outfielder Ryan Locke’s career is in jeopardy when a suddenly unreliable throwing arm comes on top of rehab from a major injury. He’s had a solid run but he’s not a star with a mega-contract. A single parent with a troubled daughter and an alcoholic mother to provide for, retirement is out of the question. Ryan’s best hope is for a trade to an American League team as a designated hitter, allowing him several more years of play.

When Taylor needs to find a replacement for an injured first baseman, she comes up with an innovative but risky idea: convince her boss to make a trade for Ryan Locke, and then convince the still talented slugger to play first base for the Patriots. With Ryan dead-set against that plan and both their careers on the line, neither Taylor nor Ryan can afford the explosive physical attraction between them. But despite Taylor’s best efforts to resist Ryan’s campaign of seduction, she’s not sure she’s got to willpower to keep from playing along.

And for a limited time, the first three books in the series are available in anthology form, for only 99 cents!  Zounds!  You can’t beat that for a deal.  So, please hop on over to your preferred digital vender to pick up a copy of Curveball and The Philadelphia Patriots 3 Book Box Set.

Happy reading!