Guest Author: Susan Lyons & Giveaway!

I’m thrilled to have my pal Susan Lyons back on the blog.  She’s appearing as her alter-ego today – Susan Fox, who writes very sexy, very steamy contemporary romance for Kensington Brava.  Susan has a brand new book out called Yours, Unexpectedly, and it’s already getting great reviews.  Here’s the blurb:

What happens when the runaway bride finds that her discarded groom has come along for the honeymoon cruise?

Merilee Fallon has been planning her wedding to Matt Townsend since she was seven. But, two days before the big day, she has a serious case of cold feet. She shocks both Matt and herself—and calls off the wedding. Needing a total change of scene, Merilee decides not to let their non-refundable Mexican Riviera cruise go to waste—not realizing Matt has the very same idea. Can they be friends? Will they find new lovers? Or will they discover that sometimes there’s nothing more arousing than a second chance at first love—especially on a cruise ship where there are no rules and anything goes…

Yours, Unexpectedly is the fourth book in Susan’s sexy “planes, trains, automobiles, and a cruise ship” Wild Ride to Love series featuring the four Fallon sisters.

Doesn’t that sound like a whole lot of fun?  I’m going to turn things over to Susan, so she can tell us all about her new book.

Thanks so much, Vanessa, for inviting me here today to talk about my new book.

For some reason, my muse is drawn to series. No, not ones where you have to read every book to know what’s going on – that kind of series intimidates me as a reader, so I’m sure not going to write one! No, I like series that have related characters and themes. In my Wild Ride to Love series, the theme is about journeys – physical ones, emotional ones, and romantic ones. The related characters are the four Fallon sisters.

The four-book series starts with a wedding announcement: baby sister Merilee is getting married to Matt, the boy she’s loved since they were both seven. She wants her three much older, and still single, sisters to come home to Vancouver for the wedding of M&M – partly to help her organize things, partly to share the moment, and partly to gloat, because she’s the one sister who’s lucky in love!

In book 1, Sex Drive, oldest sister Theresa, the serious professor, comes home by planes from Australia – and her sexy seatmate, Aussie thriller writer Damien, shows her some in-flight entertainment that just might turn into true love.

In book 2, Love, Unexpectedly, second sister Kat, the girl with the worst luck in love, comes home by trains from Montreal – and her best friend Nav plays “stranger on the train” and gets her to view him in a whole new, sexy and romantic, light.

In book 3, His, Unexpectedly, third sister Jenna, the free spirit, comes home from Santa Cruz by automobiles – and hitches a ride from marine biologist Mark, who shows her that some things in life – and some people – are worthy of commitment.

As for Merilee . . . Well, when I initially conceived of the series, I thought it would end with her wedding. But the muse had other plans, and as Merilee saw her three sisters arrive home with exciting new romances, she realized that her own relationship was sadly lacking in excitement and passion.

And so, book 4, Yours, Unexpectedly, is a runaway bride story. Merilee calls off the wedding and she and Matt break up. But there’s a twist. When she decides to go on the honeymoon Mexican Riviera cruise alone, to get some distance and perspective, she discovers Matt has the same idea. So there they are, reluctant roommates, aboard a luxury ship bound for Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas.

When you’ve been with someone for fourteen years, when you’ve grown up with them, you’d think there was nothing left to learn about them. But M&M are in for a wild ride now that they’re individuals rather than half of a couple. It’s time for each of them to find out who they really are and to become adults. There are lots of surprises in store for them as they discover whether growing up means growing apart or growing together in a way that’s deeper, more exciting, and more passionate. A way that will last a lifetime.

You can read an excerpt on my website. Also, if you’re a chocolate-lover like M&M, you’ll find recipes for Matt’s mom’s chocolate chip pancakes and the chocolate mousse Merilee enjoys at her first lunch as a single girl.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about my Wild Ride series. Do you find travel a learning experience? Is it romantic? What do you think about long-term relationships, and how to keep them exciting? Or feel free to comment on anything else that interests you.

I have a copy of Yours, Unexpectedly to give away to someone who comments.

 


We Have Winners & Another Great Contest!!

We have two winners today.  The winner of Ashley March’s latest historical, Romancing The Countess, is Kendra.  And the winner of Tina Gabrielle’s fabulous romance, Lady Of Scandal, is Maggie Jagger.  Congratulations, ladies!  I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks to all the readers who stopped by to visit with Tina and Ashley.  My guests next week include Susan Lyons and Cynthia Eden.

And check out the great contest I’m running with several other romance authors–it’s a really awesome one.  All the details are below.

Recent visitors to my blog might not realize that I’m running a FABULOUS contest with some of my writing pals – all talented authors.  We’re giving away the entire signed backlists of some of your favorite romance writers, including Lisa Kleypas and Julia Quinn.  Amazing, right?  Just keep reading to get all the details on how you can be entered in this contest.

There comes a time in a romance reader’s life when something amazing happens. Something awesome. Something really, really cool that makes you emit a high-pitched shrieking sound which then causes everyone around you to gape and stare. That shriek often sounds something like SQUEEEEEEEEE.

Dear friends and fellow romance readers, you might have a SQUEE moment ahead in your future.

Five huge romance fans who just happen to be romance authors as well have decided that we want to give you the opportunity to receive complete, SIGNED backlists of one of your very favorite authors (and yes, that means EVERYTHING they’ve ever written).

The romance fans/authors who are participating are: Ashley March, Shana Galen, Lila DiPasqua, Heather Snow, and moi, Vanessa Kelly.

The complete, SIGNED backlists they’re giving away are books from the following authors (henceforth known as “The Amazing Authors”):

Lisa Kleypas

Julia Quinn

Elizabeth Hoyt

Cynthia Eden

Julie Garwood

Before we can give these awesome prizes away, though, we need you to show how fanatical of fans you are. Since we know that you’re already following The Amazing Authors on Facebook (you are, aren’t you??), all you need to do is follow the authors who want to give away these complete, signed backlists to you. We all have to reach a certain number of followers; once that happens, then we will run a Facebook giveaway on our individual pages where you can enter to win the complete, signed backlists from the Amazing Authors.

(Please note, you must follow and enter on each of the five Facebook pages to be eligible to win each backlist. The giveaway won’t happen until AFTER the goals are met for ALL of us, and the giveaways will be open to US and international residents! All books will be in English as print books; if any books in the Amazing Authors’ backlists are currently our of print, used books will be purchased for those titles so that the backlist will be complete.)

Ashley March (must reach 2500 total “Likes” in order to give away Lisa Kleypas backlist)

Shana Galen (must reach 2000 total “Likes” in order to give away Julia Quinn backlist)

Lila DiPasqua (must reach 3500 total “Likes” in order to give away Elizabeth Hoyt backlist)

Vanessa Kelly (must reach 2000 total “Likes” in order to give away Cynthia Eden backlist)

Heather Snow (must reach 2500 total “Likes” in order to give away Julie Garwood backlist)

Those are the rules! Tell your friends, tell your family, tell any fellow romance fan you know. Soon, 5 lucky winners will win a complete, signed backlist from a favorite author that will make you SQUEEEEE!

Now get out there and start liking those pages!


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Susan Lyon’s fabulous new book, Heat Waves, is Na.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  Tomorrow I’ll be featuring historical romance author Kelly McClymer, and on Friday it’s historical romance author Emma Wildes!


Guest Author: Susan Lyons & Giveaway!

I’m really happy to be showcasing a fellow Canadian today – Susan Lyons, who also writes as Susan Fox.  Susan is one of those extraordinary women you often find in the romance world, a multi-talented, multi-tasking person who had at least one successful career before becoming a writer.  In Susan’s case, she was a project manager, a computer consultant, a legal editor, and a lawyer (she says becoming a lawyer was way easier than becoming a published writer).  She eventually found her way to writing, and has been penning fiction for 15 years.  In additional to her novels, she’s had stories published in Canadian literary journals, England’s Women’s Weekly, and Australia’s Woman’s Day.

In 2005, Susan finaled in the Golden Heart, the prestigious contest for unpublished authors sponsored by the Romance Writers of America.  A year later her first book, Champagne Rules, was released, and she has subsequently published over 16 novels and novellas for a number of publishing houses.  Susan has also won a whole slew of awards, including the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, The Book Buyers Best, The Booksellers Best, and the Laurel Wreath.  Her book, Sex Drive, was a Cosmopolitan Magazine Red-Hot Read.


As if you couldn’t tell by that last bit, Susan writes really sexy books, with great titles like Touch Me, and She’s On Top.  Readers and reviewers alike love her books, and rightly so.  Her stories are steamy and passionate, but they also have a lot of heart and truly wonderful characters.  For instance, RT Book Reviews gave She’s On Top a 4-1/2 stars, Top Pick review:

“Full of internal conflict, good friends and delicious sensuality, this book is hard to put down.”

By the way, this book also won the Aspen Gold Readers’ Choice Award for Best Erotic Romance, the Golden Quill for Best Erotic Romance, and finaled in the Maggies, the Laurel Wreath, the…well, you get the idea!  If I listed all the awards and accolades Susan has received we’d be here all day!  You should definitely check out her website, which has tons of info about her books, novellas, and short stories, and some really cool features like recipes for each of her books.

Susan’s latest book is Heat Waves, which is two-story, interwoven anthology that is part of her Destination Wedding Series.


As usual, Susan has garnered wonderful reviews.  According to Romance Reviews Today, Susan has “created a perfect blend of interesting characters, romance, intrigue and, of course, hot sex.”

Sounds like my kind of book!  Here’s the blurb for Heat Waves:

Get ready to sizzle…

Liz and Peter can’t think of a more fun, sexy place to get married than the Greek Islands. And they’re not the only ones looking for a steamy holiday, cruising in the sun…

“Rock the Boat”
For widowed wedding planner Gwen Austin, the charismatic Santos Michaelides is the perfect man to help her rediscover herself as a sexy single woman. At least until she finds out there’s more to the cruise director than meets the eye—in more ways than she believed possible. In fact, he’s an insurance investigator, working undercover to get the goods on one of the passengers. How is control-freak Gwen going to cope when she discovers Santos has the potential to mess up the wedding—and mess with her heart?

“Making Waves”
When prosecutor Kendra Kirk meets up again with Flynn Kavanagh, the sexy IT consultant she’d unsuccessfully prosecuted for white collar crime, sparks of all kinds fly. When he professes his innocence, she believes him and soon they’re lovers—secret ones, because if her boss ever found out, she’d be seen as sleeping with the enemy. Kendra’s job is the most important thing in her life, so what will she do when she learns the truth about the crime and must choose between work and love?

Heat Waves is available on Amazon and at all the usual booksellers.  Check out Susan’s site for the buy links and to read an excerpt.

For my readers, Susan has graciously donated a copy of Heat Waves to the blog.  Since Susan is a sexy writer, let’s talk about sex!  When reading romance novels, how hot do you like to go?  Full-on and steamy passionate encounters, or do you prefer sex in novels behind closed doors?  Enquiring minds want to know!  One person who comments will win a copy of Heat Waves.


We Have A Winner!

The winner of Cheryl Alldredge’s lovely book, Ladybugs and Fireflies, is Kelly Wallis.  Congratulations!  I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks to everyone for stopping by the blog.  I have some great guest authors coming on next week too, including Susan Lyons and Kelly McClymer.  Hope to see you then!


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