My Fair Princess Giveaways!

My Fair Princess 2

Two chances to win a copy of MY FAIR PRINCESS, the first book in my upcoming Improper Princesses Series. The giveaway is running on facebook, so just click here to enter.

The second giveaway is care of Read-A-Romance Month, a fabulous initiative that runs for the entire month of August and features lovely, heartfelt blogs from some of your favorite romance authors. My post is up today, and I’m also giving away copies of MY FAIR PRINCESS. Just click here to join me. And be sure to check out some of the posts from authors like Shana Galen, Kieran Kramer, and Joanna Bourne!


Guest Author: Kate Noble & Giveaway!

As you can imagine, I love historical romance and I love featuring historical romance authors on my blog.  And today I’ve got one of the best — She’s Kate Noble, and she’s one of the new breed of historical romance authors like Kieran Kramer and Kris Kennedy, writing one fantastic book after another.

Kate’s first book, Compromised, was published in 2008 to wide-ranging acclaim, including this stellar review from RT Book Reviews

“Noble’s dazzling debut is witty, filled with the atmosphere of the era and brimming with unforgettable characters and a refreshing plot.”

Subsequent books earned starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly, and were even named as a Kirkus Reviews Best Romance.  Kate also received a prestigious RITA nomination for Revealed, which is no surprise to anyone who’s read her books.

Kate’s most recent book, Follow My Lead, received some of her best reviews yet, including this amazing one from the Chicago Tribune:

“If Austen were alive and writing novels today the result might be something exactly like “Follow My Lead,” a wickedly witty and superbly satisfying romance.”

How awesome is that?!  As you can probably tell, Kate writes wonderfully witty and romantic books.  Even better, she has a new book out and I’m positive that If I Fall will receive the same fantastic accolades as her previous books.

Don’t you just adore Kate’s covers?  Here’s the blurb for If I Fall:

Every great romance comes with a risk…

After a duke’s betrayal, the resilient Sarah Forrester reinvents herself as the Golden Lady: society’s leading light, the beautiful and witty life of the party. It’s all a façade of course-one that protects her from another intimate disloyalty. When her old friend, Lieutenant Jackson Fletcher, returns to London, he is determined to rediscover the true and trusting Sarah he once knew. It’ll take more than a kiss and a promise. It might even call for an innocent and necessary deception.

Then Jackson is enlisted to help capture the lead suspect in a murder— a man who happens to be Sarah’s most ardent suitor. Jack must continue the deception, and weathering this newest and gravest betrayal will be Sarah’s ultimate test. But as Jack’s passion for her grows, he must also reveal his own secrets. And as the killer turns his attention to his pursuers, more than love and trust is put at risk.

If I Fall is now in stores.  Stop by Kate’s website for all the details, and to read an excerpt.  For those of you who are not familiar with Kate’s books, I know you won’t be disappointed!

For my readers today, Kate has graciously donated a copy of Follow My Lead.  Today’s question is a little silly but fun:  If you could only take one romance novel with you to a desert island, what would it be?  One person who comments will win Kate’s book.

 


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Kieran Kramer’s lovely tea kit and a signed copy of Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage is Laney 4.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks, everyone, for stopping by the blog.  Tomorrow I’ll be feauturing contemporary romance author Karen Rose Smith.  You won’t want to miss that!  And some of my upcoming guests are historical romance authors Maggie Robinson and Shana Galen.  Fun!


Guest Author: Kieran Kramer & Giveaway!

I’m so thrilled to have a special guest on my blog today—the fabulous author of humorous Regency romances, Kieran Kramer!  Kieran’s debut novel, When Harry Met Molly, was a breakout hit on the romance writing scene.  It’s the first book in her Impossible Bachelors series, and it garnered rave—and I do mean rave—reviews, including starred reviews from both the Library Journal and Booklist.


It also received this Top Pick Review from RT Book Reviews:

“You’ll smile and even laugh out loud reading Kramer’s delectable debut—even the title’s nod to the famous film elicits a grin. With her perfect sense of pacing, comic timing, poignancy and marvelous characterization, this utterly enchanting new voice will have you eager for more.”

Books two and three in the series are Dukes to the Left of Me, Princes to the Right and Cloudy With a Chance of MarriageBesides having FABULOUS titles, they also received great acclaim, including more Top Picks and starred reviews.  And no wonder—I can assure you that Kieran’s books are delightful, romantic reads.  If you haven’t read the first books in the Impossible Bachelors series, you really must!

Kieran has a new book coming out in November—If You Give a Girl a Viscount—and it promises to be just as much fun as her earlier books.

Kieran is here today for a fun little interview, giving us a glimpse into her writing life.  Please welcome the wonderful Kieran Kramer to the blog!

Hi Kieran!  It’s so great to have you here with us.  I have a question I’ve been dying to ask—who are some of your favorite Regency rakes, real or fictional?

Oh, my goodness, I have *one* huge Regency crush–who else but Mr. Darcy? But I also fall madly in love with Mary Balogh’s heroes!

When you’re writing a book, do you avoid reading other Regency historical romances?  What genres do you like to read instead?

When I decided to get published, I thought, “I should do what the successful people do, and maybe I’ll be successful, too.” And so I listened to every word that came out of Debbie Macomber’s mouth. One thing she said was that she reads outside her genre when she writes (which is why she loves Regencies, LOL!). Anyway, that habit really resonated with me. So I have missed out on lots of great Regencies. I’m dying to read Sarah MacLean’s ELEVEN book, Julia Quinn’s ALMOST LIKE HEAVEN, and loads of other Regencies.

To be honest, when I got published, I wasn’t reading a whole lot of Regency historicals other than Julia Quinn and Mary Balogh’s. I had read a huge stack of Signet Regencies in college, but then I moved away from historical romance in general for a long time. Mary Balogh, Amanda Quick, and Julia Quinn brought me back, not that others couldn’t have done the same, but I had lots of other reading interests to indulge, too, all those years. During that more “contemporary “era,” I was reading lots of Jennifer Crusie, Jayne Anne Krentz, and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. I also fell in love with Janet Evanovich and Sue Grafton. I also read a lot of non-fiction and re-read some classics, including children’s classics with my kids.

Does music help you write? Do you put together play lists for each book? If not music, what other creative techniques do you use to spark your imagination?

Yes, music helps me a lot when I write. But I’d say 50% of the time I write in total silence. It depends what is required in the scene and what my brain needs to get creative. The closer I get to deadline, the more I listen to music. I don’t come up with playlists book by book–I tend to stick with the songs that inspire me all the time. This list I came up with on my Spinsters Club blog covers some of the basic tunes that rev my Muse.  Music, movies, going on a walk with my dog, hanging out and listening to stories from family and friends, reading the newspaper, surfing the Net…those are my indulgences that grease the rusty cogs of my imagination.

Thanks so much for being with us today, Kieran!  Just for my readers, Kieran will be giving away an extra special treat–a Regency-inspired porcelain tea bag rest along with some “tea time” goodies and a signed copy of Cloudy With a Chance of Marriage(Kieran’s cat Joon is not part of the giveaway!)

 

Kieran and I thought it would be fun to talk about books—what have you read recently that really knocked your socks off?  And if you have any questions for Kieran, feel free to ask!


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Tiffany Clare’s book, The Secret Desires of a Governess, is Christine A.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  My guest authors next week will be Kieran Kramer and Karen Rose Smith.  Be sure to stop by!


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