Guest Author: Monica Burns & Giveaway!!

One of my favorite people on the planet – yes, the planet – is visiting with us today.  She’s  Monica Burns, and she writes award-winning, bestselling historical and paranormal romance.  Monica has won the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice Award and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence.  In addition to writing great – and spicy! – romance, she’s also a wonderful person.

I’m going to turn things over to Monica, who has a lovely blog about friendship and the romance community.

Do you have any idea how many times I’ve started this blog post now? Seven. Seven different openings and now that I’m on the eighth effort, I’m feeling desperate. Well that resonates, because as an author I *am* desperate. You might ask why? Well, like all creative types, we just want to be loved. Seriously, we want people to love our books and love us for writing those books. Any author who disagrees with me, well I’m not gonna believe them.

Whether you’re a fan of Star Trek, Star Wars, NASCAR, football,  or whatever, you’re going to meet people you connect with because you both like the same thing. The romance community is the same, and yet I firmly believe we have a fundamental difference. We love to read about love, and we all know that love is the most powerful emotion of all. As a result of that binding love, friendships develop among readers who might have met only one time in person, but communicate almost daily with online.

For instance, I consider Vanessa a close friend even though our friendship is a long distance one. I honestly don’t know why she chose me to be her friend, but she did (Vanessa, here.  Because Monica has a huge heart and she’s funny!). She listens to me whine, gives advice, offers emotional support, and makes me laugh. All of the things a friend is supposed to do. I reciprocate when she needs me, although that’s hardly ever.

Vanessa rarely rants, but I’m always there to support her when she does. Vanessa is one of four people in my most intimate inner circle of friends. You know the kind; they’re the friends who will call you on something you know better than to say. The friends who empathize, are ready to storm the castle with you and have your back.

Friendship is one of the strongest threads running through the romance reading community. A few years back, on a now defunct blog, I talked about the friendships I’ve built over the years. Friendships I wouldn’t have if it weren’t for the Internet and the romance community. I can tell you right now that I would never have met Vanessa, Becke, Keri or Rosie if it weren’t for the romance community and the Internet.

So, have you met another lover of romance books via the Internet? Have you met in person? Do you chat daily? Weekly?

Vanessa, here.  Thank you so much for that wonderful post, my friend!  And you know what else is wonderful?  Monica’s new historical, Love’s Revenge.  Take a look at this awesome cover!

Love’s Revenge

All her life, Sophie’s tried to earn her father’s love to no avail. Even her one chance for happiness was crushed beneath his tyrannical thumb, leaving her firmly on the shelf at forty-one. Sophie accepts her fate until she impulsively uses her father’s criminal activities to escape a life of servitude and right a wrong at the same time. She never really expected the Devil of Devlyn to actually accept her rash proposal, and she certainly hadn’t planned on falling in love with a younger man.

When Quentin Blackwell, Earl of Devlyn, discovered the woman he loved was carrying another man’s child, he refused to marry her. In retaliation, her father ruined Devlyn. When Sophie Hamilton, the man’s eldest daughter, comes to him with an unexpected offer, Devlyn seizes the chance for vengeance. What he doesn’t bargain on is how revenge could cost him the one thing he wants the most. Sophie’s love.

Sounds enticing, doesn’t it?  For my readers today, Monica is giving away a copy of the book.  And I’m giving away a copy of one of my historical romances, too.  Just answer Monica’s question about friendship for a chance to win Love’s Revenge and my first book, Mastering The Marquess!

Love’s Revenge:

Amazon      Kobo     Smashwords    Barnes & Noble

Twitter — @MonicaBurns

Pinterest — https://pinterest.com/monicaburns/

Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/AuthorMonicaBurns

Website – http://www.monicaburns.com

 


Guest Author: Emma Wildes & Giveaway!

Emma Wildes is a very talented, very prolific writer of historical romance, and she’s my guest author today on the blog.  I knew Emma was a very productive writer, but when I was checking out her website I was astonished to read that she had five releases in 2010, including several full-length novels.  At that point, I had to resist the urge to have a nap because just reading Emma’s release schedule tired me out!

Even more amazing, all those books were very well reviewed.  In fact, if you check out the books on her Bookshelf, you’ll see that she’s been winning awards and finaling in contests from the beginning of her career.  Ever since she started out in e-publishing, she’s won various awards such as the Eppie, a Lories Best Published, a WisRWA’s Reader’s Choice Award, and the prestigious Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, which she received for her book, An Indecent Proposition.


Here’s what the prestigious Publishers Weekly had to say about this novel:

“Regency fans will thrill to this superbly sensual tale of an icy widow and two decadent rakes…balancing deliciously erotic encounters with compelling romantic tension and populating a convincing historical setting with a strong cast of well-developed characters, prolific romance author Wildes provides a spectacular and skilfully handled story that stands head and shoulders about the average historical romance.

Wow!  It doesn’t get much better than that, does it?  And may I also underscore the point that this story has not one, but two decadent rakes?  Talk about a great fantasy for your average Regency miss!

Emma’s latest release is One Whisper Away, the first in her Ladies In Waiting series.  Like Emma’s previous books, One Whisper Away has been getting great reviews.  Again, from Publishers Weekly:

Readers will love the strong cast of intriguing supporting characters and the passionate and well-balanced central romance.”


Here’s the blurb for One Whisper Away:

Lady Cecily Francis is resigned to become the wife of Lord Drury, the man she suspects her sister is pining for. But upon her first scandalous encounter with the exotic Earl of Augustine–the American everyone is whispering about–Cecily is intrigued by the possibility of a more exciting life. If only she could contrive some way to marry the unconventional earl instead…

Around town he’s known as Earl Savage. Although he inherited his title legitimately–and with it the responsibility for his three half-sisters–Augustine is half American and part Iroquois. He can’t wait to settle his father’s estate, marry his sisters off, and return to his native soil. Until charming Lady Cecily has him considering a prolonged stay in England…

Now that’s an intriguing storyline!  I think we’d all better head out to the bookstore to check this one out, don’t you think?  You can find One Whisper Away at Amazon and all the usual on-line retailers and in bookstores.

Emma has very graciously donated a copy of One Whisper Away for my readers.  Let’s do something a bit different today.  Since Emma’s career spans both traditional and e-publishing, let’s talk about that.  Which reading format do you prefer, print or digital?  And if it’s digital, please tell me what device you read on.  One person who comments will win a copy of Emma’s wonderful book.


It’s All About Me!

 

I was thrilled to find out that my last Regency-set historical romance was recently nominated for the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, sponsored by Southern Magic, the Birmingham chapter of Romance Writers of America. Sex And The Single Earl was nominated in the best historical romance category, along with some really great authors like Miranda Neville.  How exciting is that?!

Gayle Wilson, of course, is the award-winning, multi-published author of historical romance and romantic suspense novels, and she’s also an educator and an all-around wonderful person.  I’m honored to be nominated for this wonderful award that pays tribute to Gayle.

Congratulations to all the other authors, and wish me luck in the finals!


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