Sourcebooks – Vanessa Kelly, Author

Guest Author: Mia Marlowe & Giveaway!!

March 15, 2016September 12, 2013 by VanessaKelly

I’m so pleased to be hosting fellow historical romance author Mia Marlowe on the blog today. Mia is a fantastic writer who can fashion a captivating tale and place it in just about any historical period. It’s no mystery to me why she’s a bestselling, award-winning author! She’s with us today to share some very exciting news.

Plaid to the Bone is your 20th book, which is an amazing accomplishment. How do you feel about that? Has your writing career given you any surprises along the way?

I’m thrilled! And no one is more surprised than me. I’ve been published since 2006 and of course, my career has had its ups and downs. Please don’t ask me about the fiasco with my first agent (whom I had to threaten with legal action to get the advance on my debut!) or the sad sinking of Dorchester. Fortunately my editors (Alicia Condon at Kensington & Leah Hultenschmidt at Sourcebooks) have championed me and kept me in print. I have a wonderful agent now (Natasha Kern) and readers have kept reading. I’m a very lucky girl and I know it.

The heroine in Plaid to the Bone is pledged to murder her husband, which is an awesome basis for conflict! What can you tell us about the book, and how did you come up with such a splendid idea?

I had already written Plaid Tidings (October 2103, Kensington) in which my hero becomes laird of Bonniebroch Castle. Only trouble is, there’s a pretty hefty curse on the place which he must lift before Twelfth Night. My editor asked if I’d write a novella that explains how the castle came to be cursed in the first place, so Plaid to the Bone took shape in my head.

I reasoned that the curse was the result of a betrayal. At her father’s behest, Cait Grant has sworn a blood oath to kill Adam Cameron after they’ve been wed a month. What more heinous betrayal could there be than a bride who plans to murder her new husband?

You have another book coming out soon – what can you tell us about it?

In Plaid Tidings, 300 years have passed since the events in Plaid to the Bone. It’s 1821 and my hero Alexander is part of the advance team preparing the way for Prinny’s visit to Scotland. He’s on the look out for any remaining Radicals who might threaten the king. To hide his true purpose for being in Scotland, he wins Bonniebroch and the accompanying barony in a game of chance. What Alex doesn’t know is that the title comes with a betrothal to a Scottish lass whose brother is a notorious Radical. And to add to his troubles, the castle to which he brings his unwanted bride is haunted!

The final book in my Songs of the North trilogy will be out in November and the last of the Royal Rakes releases in January. I just signed contract with both publishers for more Scottish and Regency romances. Please check my Coming Next page for the latest news!

You’re running an amazing contest right now – what’s that about?

I’m hosting a 20Days/20Books Celebration on my blog to mark my 20th published work milestone. Each day I share a bit about Plaid to the Bone, host amazing guests (like you, m’dear!) and reminisce about one of my backlist titles. There are multiple daily giveaways and the Grand Prize is a Kindle Paperwhite! I hope your readers will join me at http://www.miamarlowe.com. The celebration runs till September 15th and the winners will be announced the next day.

That all sounds awesome, Mia! And for my readers today, Mia is giving away a digital copy of her 3-book anthology, The How To Series. Just tell us why you love Scotland, or why you might like to visit there someday, for a chance to win.

Guest Author: Mia Marlowe & Giveaway!

March 15, 2016August 13, 2012 by VanessaKelly

Mia Marlowe writes absolutely gorgeous historical romance, and she’s got the phenomenal reviews to back it up. Her last book, Touch of a Rogue, was named by Publishers Weekly as one of the Top Ten Romances for Spring 2012. Pretty cool, eh?

Mia has a new book out, and she’s here to tell us all about it.

Can you tell us a bit about your Touch of Seduction series? What’s the premise behind it?

First of all, thanks for having me here today, Vanessa. My Touch of Seduction series is near and dear to my heart and I hope readers will find it great fun, too. In each of the stories, my hero or heroine has the “gift of touch”—a psychometric gift that allows them to glean information by touching certain objects. It’s an occupational hazard for my jewel thief heroine in TOUCH OF A THIEF. It’s a help sometimes to my enquiry agent hero in TOUCH OF A ROGUE. And in TOUCH OF A SCOUNDREL, my hero sees it as a curse because in his case, he sees the future but cannot do anything to change it.

Your lovely historicals contain a touch of the paranormal. What do you like about combining historical romance with the paranormal?

I adore both sub-genres. Nothing takes me away quite so well as a historical hero in glossy Hessians with a sword at his hip. My paranormal elements are pretty tame compared to some. I don’t have any vampires or shifters. My characters are ordinary people with extraordinary gifts. I like to think my magical elements are things that might actually happen.

The heroine in Touch of a Scoundrel is a bit different from the average historical miss or seductive courtesan. Can you tell us a bit about her?

Ah, yes. Emmaline Farnsworth, adventurer, dutiful daughter and con artist. She and her foster father have bounced around Europe hocking fake reliquaries. Now they’re in possession of an unusual Egyptian artifact which they hope to parlay into a big score. They’ve convinced Theodore Nash to fund a bogus expedition, but unfortunately, it’s his older brother, Griffin, the Earl of Devonwood who holds the purse strings. And Griffin is no one’s fool. Emma has never run such a trying long con. She’s fending off the offers of marriage from the younger brother while fighting the wild attraction she feels for the elder.

Like so many authors, you’ve been venturing into the realm of indie publishing. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

I’m very excited to be writing for both Kensington and Sourcebooks, but indie publishing is opening up some new opportunities as well. I’ve self-published 4 novels and 3 novellas since last fall and readers have been writing to let me know they love it. I’ve been fortunate to be able to partner up with a group of talented traditionally published authors who are also self-publishing to form a self-published brand called Rock*It Reads. My partners in crime are: my lovely host today—Vanessa Kelly, Pamela Clare, Elisabeth Naughton, Monica Burns, Kris Kennedy, Margo Maguire, Lila DiPasqua, Sharon Page and Joan Swan. Check out my Books page for my Rock*It Reads titles.

GIVEAWAY: Leave Mia a comment or question today and you’ll be entered in the random drawing. One lucky person will win a copy of TOUCH OF A ROGUE, Book 2 in the Touch of Seduction series and one of Publisher’s Weekly’s Top 10 Romances for Spring 2012! Another winner will receive TOUCH OF A LADY, my enovella prequel to the series in your choice of Kindle or Nook format.

Here’s a question to get the conversation going: If you could have any special paranormal ability, what would it be?

Vanessa, here. Thanks for joining us today, Mia! Folks, be sure to visit Mia’s website for all her book news (she has lots), and to read an excerpt of her latest book! And be sure to check the blurb for Touch of a Scoundrel:

Griffin Nash, Earl of Devonwood, wants to believe that he’s seducing Miss Emmaline Farnsworth out of protectiveness for his young brother. After all, if his brother is convinced that the tantalizing professor’s daughter is unworthy of his trust, perhaps Teddy will lose all interest in such an inappropriate choice for his station.

But in truth, something else motivates Devonwood: a scintillating vision he’s had of a future tryst with the lovely Emmaline. A vision too realistic to be doubted–and too scaldingly passionate to be denied.

Yet Emmaline is not as easily tempted as Devonwood might have hoped–nor is she actually in pursuit of a wealthy husband. No, the real reason for her visit to the manor is something much more shocking… though being enticed by a dashing earl may prove to be a most welcome by-product of her schemes…

And don’t forget to answer Mia’s question for a chance to win her books!

Guest Author: Lisa Renee Jones & Giveaway!

March 15, 2016December 9, 2011 by VanessaKelly

My guest today is award-winning author Lisa Renee Jones. Lisa has published more than fifteen novels in several different languages, spanning multiple genres of romance – contemporary, romantic suspense, dark paranormal and erotic fiction. Her debuts for both Nocturne and Blaze debuted on the Bookscan bestseller list.

Lisa now writes for Sourcebooks, and she has a new series called The Zodius, featuring some very bad-boy heroes. The first book in the series is The Legend of Michael, which has both a great cover and great reviews.

Check out Lisa’s website for all the details.

Lisa has a new book out in The Zodius Series, called The Storm That Is Sterling. I’ll turn the blog over to Lisa now, so she can fill you in on her new book.

Hello everyone! It’ s almost Christmas and I love, love, love the holidays. The holidays are about family, and celebration, and love and life. Love and life is about the good and the bad and the way we come together as we encounter those things.

Another reason to be happy this year is that THE STORM THAT IS STERLING is out! Sterling is one of those tormented Dean Winchester characters who says crazy stuff all the time. He loves M & M’s and Dr. Pepper, and some other things, as you can see from the short excerpt below.

The Storm That Is Sterling:

He was created, molded, formed from life, love, and misery…

Lethally daring. Ruthlessly passionate. He invites death to his door. Welcomes it with each breath he draws, each step he takes. And thus he is danger. A volatile storm that will sweep across the calm realms of humanity and shake it to the depths of its core. And that storm is…Sterling.

Sterling Jeter has remarkable powers and has shown himself to be just about indestructible. But beautiful, brilliant RebeccaBurns knows that even a Super Soldier needs comfort, and so much more…

But she can see that deep down, he’s just a man…

Sterling and Rebecca’s teenage romance was interrupted, but years later the heat between them flares back to life. Even though it endangers everything they’re fighting for, it’s impossible to resist picking up right where they left off…

EXCERPT:

Erotic images rushed through Sterling’s mind as Becca walked toward him, anticipation for the moment this gorgeous, sweet, yet incredibly sexy woman would touch him. She stopped in front of him, her gaze lifting to his, simmering heat expanding between them. He swayed slightly, then silently reprimanded himself, despite the very male, very caveman-like desire to reach for her and say “mine.” He knew that wasn’t the right move. Just as he had known what to order for her at that restaurant, she didn’t feel she had choices, like she was spinning out of control. Well, she was going to have them with him. Whatever she wanted, she needed—he wanted and needed.

Slowly, her lashes lowered as she pressed her palm to his chest. It was soft, cool—a contrast to the fire licking at his limbs, spiraling between them. She splayed her fingers, flexing them against his skin before trailing one finger downward to his lower abdomen, and then flattened her hand on his skin again with the promise she wasn’t going to stop there…

Well, that’s tantalizing little snippet, isn’t it? You can read a longer excerpt on Lisa’s website.

For my readers, Lisa will give away a PDF copy of either Michael or Sterling’s book, or her Vampire Wardens collection trilogy – all three stories in one. To be entered to win, just give me the title of at least one book you’re hoping will appear in your stocking this holiday season.