Jude’s Blog

Archive for the 'Promos' Category

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**Permission to Forward**

Please welcome this week’s guest blogger, fellow Cobblestone Press author, Kate Sterling. Thanks for taking the time to be with us today, Kate. What is your main inspiration for writing and why?

Hmm… I guess I write because I love words and languages. Whenever I see something that strikes me as interesting, my mind immediately starts telling a story to fit it, trying to pick out just the right words – looking for the most economy and greatest impact.

What is your favorite genre to write and why?

My problem is that I don’t have a favorite! Against conventional wisdom, I like to write in many genres, and in many heat levels. Sweet to sizzling, light to dark, realistic to fantastic, and any combination thereof. Trying to stick with just one is almost like asking a mother to pick her favorite child.

Who is your favorite hero in one of your books? Why?

This is tough, because I have four favorites and three of them are from works in progress! However, from a published work, I’d have to say Jason in “Managing Maggie”. I just love him because even though he’s younger than the heroine, he was such a gentleman, yet also very, very hot.

What is the heat level of your books?

They range from sweet to extra hot. My current release is an erotic romance.

Where can readers find your books?

The most recent, “Managing Maggie”, is at Cobblestone Press. Following is a blurb:

Maggie was devastated when her husband divorced her because she couldn’t have children, but she moved on and started her own graphic design business.

When her business partner Jason indicates he wants their relationship to be personal, Maggie is tempted by the sexy young designer, but thinks she’s too old for him. Yet an unexpected encounter featuring fuzzy handcuffs and a pink flogger leaves her feeling he may just be “The One”.

She’s riding a wave of happiness until a younger woman claims to be pregnant by Jason. Broken-hearted, Maggie doesn’t see how their relationship can survive, but Jason has other ideas.

To read an adult rated excerpt, be sure to visit Cobblestone Press.

Thanks again for stopping by, Kate, and I must say that your cover is one of my favorites at Cobblestone. Good luck with sales!

Please welcome guest blogger, Tina Gayle, an erotic author with Amira Press:

What is your main inspiration for writing and why?

The need to tell a story. I’ve been a story tell all my life. After my kids got to old to listen and I learn to write adult tales, I enjoy putting my story on paper and sharing with others who love romances.

How many books have you written and which is your favorite?

Six, and Mating Rituals is one of my favorites but Summer’s Growth which is coming out in 2010 from Wild Child Press holds top spot in my heart.

What book are you promoting today?

Mating Rituals from Amira Press

ISBN: 978-1-935348-58-0
Genres: Fantasy Romance
Heat Level: Spicy
Word Count: 82,800
Blurb-

With rock-hard fortitude, Marohka Taunton battles to maintain her position as top mineralogist and refuses to see why she should marry even if the law requires she take a mate. Fighting her attraction for Stihl Fermesium, she struggles to save her father’s company.

Stihl, determined to win her as his mate, is faced with the commission deal of a lifetime and needs the money to save his family land. He wrestles with her emotional resistance and discovers someone other than Marohka is unhappy about their union. In fact, they want to separate them in the most basic of ways, death.

Excerpt-

Staring straight ahead, Marohka Taunton avoided eye contact with every man she passed. Moving along the edge of the dance floor, she wove her way back and forth across the assigned path. Her steps, jerky and clumsy, she hid her natural smooth gait. No man, in his right mind, craved an ungraceful wife. At least, she hoped not.

With the stairs a few steps ahead, she tasted victory and allowed herself a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness.”

A masculine voice in front of her chuckled. “It’s not over yet, princess.”

Marohka paused to inspect the stranger. The laughter reflected in his warm brown eyes—surprised, the intelligent focus—intrigued, and the dark spark of interest—captivated.
A foreign response slithered through her chest. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. Her heartbeat rang in her ears. Her hands turned clammy. Awareness of the man claimed her senses.

His face, framed by dark brown hair, showed rough lines of strength and fortitude. A crooked nose, a square jaw, and a chiseled chin marked his unique personality. Added together, the sum indicated the man rarely backed down from a fight. He’d stand up for his beliefs and defeat his opponents. His lopsided grin with a dimple at the corner of his mouth teased her.

A silly feature on such a stern face. The little mark claimed her heart and spoke of a rare sense of humor, a trait absent in most men.

A tingle ran down her spine. Her toes curled. Either as an appealing partner or a worthy adversary, the man presented a dangerous combination. Right then, without question, Marohka decided never to cross paths with him again.

“It is for me,” she responded to his comment. She lifted her chin a little higher and repaired the chip in her armor with a sassy comeback. “But you’re welcome to any of the girls behind me. I’m sure they’ll enjoy your charm.”

Marohka lifted her skirt and swept up the stairs. The sound of his laughter spoiled her intended snub.

To read more and/or order, be sure to visit Amira Press!

Thanks for stopping by, Tina! Good luck with Mating Rituals!

I’d like to welcome my first guest blogger today! Her name is Olivia Starke, a fellow Cobblestone Press author!

Why do you write and what are your inspirations?

I write because I love it, as do all authors I suppose. I have always had a vivid imagination. I was the kid sitting in class staring out the window daydreaming of different worlds. Of course I do that now in any regular job I have as well. As a child my parents were told I had ADHD, but I believe I was simply an artist and storyteller needing an outlet! It wasn’t until last summer when I took a romance writing class online it suddenly clicked that this is something I should seriously consider. I had written a ‘novel’ in 7th grade about a love story between a pegasus and unicorn. I got journalism awards in high school for stories I’d written and even had a poem published at the time. I let writing fall to the wayside, unfortunately, for too many years. In this class I rediscovered my passion.

I love providing my readers some escapism. I want my readers to feel what my characters are feeling, to really imagine their worlds. This is something magical to me, and why I personally love reading so much.

My inspirations are varied. It can be something I see while driving down the road, but more often than not I have an idea or just a sentence come to mind and I write around that. I have a never ending flow of internal inspirations that I can’t keep up with.

What is your favorite genre to write about?

My favorite genre to write is paranormal/fantasy. I’m a horror movie fan and a science geek so these areas seem normal to me. I also like to throw in suspense to keep one on their toes. These are areas I prefer to read, though I do enjoy historical as well–something I’d like to tackle someday.

Visit me at www.OliviaStarke.webs.com

http://RomancingThePenToday.blogspot.com

What is the book you’re promoting today?

Order of Terminus: Blood Heat

Detective Josie Lewis, a homicide investigator, finds herself looking into two brutal murders in her Illinois town. When a tall sexy suspect makes an appearance she has no idea the turn her life is about to take.

Can she trust Grant Stone, or will she become another murder victim?

Following is an excerpt of this erotic romance:

An officer gagged next to her, and Josie Lewis barked, “Don’t do that here.” She pointed toward the door. “You’ll contaminate evidence.”

The rookie police officer darted outside, and moments later, she heard his retching. Josie shook her head in empathy as the smell boiled up into her nostrils, forcing her to take shallow breaths. The heavy curtains on the bedroom windows were drawn, leaving a fitting, somber ambience and obscuring what was surely an even more horrendous sight in broad daylight.

Jotting notes into a small notepad, she nodded toward the coroner who’d just arrived.

“Hey, Josie, how’s little league going?” the coroner, Dr. Katherine Walsh, asked. She was a petite woman, barely five-foot-one, with a touch of grey laced in her curly black hair.

The coroner surveyed the bloody scene. Her soft, flowery perfume wafted to Josie, and she sucked in a greedy sniff of the jasmine bergamot mixture that momentarily overrode the smell of death.

“Pretty good,” Josie said. “My nephew is first base this year. How’s Caroline’s new job?”

Dr. Walsh was kneeling next to the body looking it over, lifting it this way and that. “She loves it. She’s worked so hard for her doctrine in psychology, the position at the children’s hospital is a dream come true. I’d say this poor woman has been dead for three days.” Dr. Walsh sighed and brushed a strand of curly hair from her forehead with the back of her hand. “Caroline and I are having a barbeque next week. You need to come over and see the new décor.”

“Sounds great,” Josie said. “Cause of death?”

“Looks like she bled out from the laceration on her neck. Odd though. I’d expect more blood than this.” Dr. Walsh looked around the horrific scene. “I’ll let Caroline know.”

“More blood than this?” Josie cocked her brows.

Shrugging, the coroner stood and removed her latex gloves. “We’ll see after an autopsy. Crime scene can come in now.” She nodded toward several individuals standing just within the doorway, and they entered carrying large black cases.

Dr. Walsh wrinkled her nose. “If you ever get used to this smell, it’s time to leave the business.”

Standing outside the home, Josie ignored the flashes from cameras and news reporters who shouted for comments as she thought about the scene inside. Jolene Gomez had been a fifty-seven year old divorced mother of two. Her youngest had just married, and Jolene would have had her second grandchild in six months. The woman now lay face down on her bedroom floor with her throat torn out. Blood smeared the wall above the bed as if someone had run bloody hands over them.

Who would do this?

Franklin, Illinois was a moderate-sized city an hour and a half south of Chicago. They weren’t used to crimes this horrific.

What side of hell would you live in to be used to this?

She lifted her gaze from the notepad as a fellow detective approached.

“Hey, Lewis,” Detective Jones said, crossing thick arms over his chest. “What are we looking at here?”

“God only knows,” she replied, tapping her pen against the pad of paper. “Go take a look.”

Jones walked into the home. He soon reappeared, shaking his head and looking a little ashen.

“Holy hell,” he said, eyeing the reporters who were like hungry dogs hot on a trail. They strained to hear the conversation, and Jones lowered his voice.

“Drugs? I saw some cases like this in St. Louis that involved Meth,” Jones said. “Maybe not quite as bloody, though.”

“The friend…” Josie glanced at her notepad. “…a Mrs. Susan Wells, said the victim lived a clean life.”

Jones ran a beefy hand over his shaved head. A man in his mid forties, he was what some women would consider attractive with his deep-set green eyes and tall, solid build. Josie had never noticed him in that way. She could never be involved with a fellow cop, or any officer of the law for that matter. She typically went for the blond playboy jock types who knew how to love ’em and leave ’em. Having grown up in a home where male role models came and went depending on her mother’s whims, she shied away from permanency.

Jones scribbled on a notepad of his own, a sloppy chicken scratch that left Josie curious if he’d be able to decipher it later. Her gaze roamed over the crowd that had assembled along the street. She studied each individual from behind her dark, aviator-style sunglasses, looking for anything that might catch her interest. Mostly middle-aged, middle-class neighbors, but one figure stood out to her. He was a tall man, late-thirtyish with a muscular, athletic build, sandy brown hair, and eyes hidden behind his own aviator shades. His skin looked tanned against the crisp, white polo shirt he wore.

It’s fifty degrees out here, and he’s at ease in a short-sleeved shirt?

Josie committed his physical description to memory. Jones asked a couple of questions, and Josie referred to her notes. When she looked back toward the milling assembly of people, the man had disappeared.

To read more and/or order, be sure to visit Cobblestone Press!

Do you have anything else you’d like to add?

My next release is Order of Terminus: Blood Desires coming out Jan. 29th at Cobblestone.

Thank you for stopping by, Olivia, and good luck with both of your releases!

To jump start the Wednesday Author promos, I will feature myself. If you’re an author, you could be here next week. Let me know, so I can put you on the calendar.

Why do you write and what are your inspirations?

I have been writing for as long as I can remember. I wrote my first romance as a happy ending to one of my failed teenage relationships. Back then I wrote a lot from my own experiences, but as my writing matured so did I. I’m not really sure what my inspirations are now. An idea just comes to me, and I feel almost possessed while I’m writing it. It might be something I read in a book or saw in a movie, and I might wonder how differently it could have turned out. It’s nothing concrete. I sometimes surprise myself with the ideas I write about, as if my muse wrote the story through me.

Who is your favorite hero in one of your books? Why?

Drew from A Modern Myth will most likely always be my favorite hero (and character). If it’s possible to fall in love with one of your characters, that is what happened as I wrote about Drew. He is such an interesting and conflicted man, and I’m so happy that I was able to create such a complicated hero.

what is the heat level of your books?

That has definitely changed lately, since I’ve been writing erotica since June of last year. Before that, it could still run as hot as NC-17. The book I’m promoting today is an erotic contemporary romance novella.

What’s the book you’re promoting today?

Painful Reflections published by Cobblestone Press:

Meg Garrett loses her husband, Kyle, on their honeymoon but returns every year to the place she last saw him. There she meets Todd, a man who sets her blood on fire, but how can she move on when she can still feel her husband?

She then finds out Kyle is still alive, and that Todd isn’t who she thought he was. Where has her husband been for the past four years, and why doesn’t he remember her? Meg must trust a man who has betrayed her to find out the truth behind the deception.

Following is a short excerpt. To read more, be sure to visit Cobblestone Press:

He choked on his own beer and sputtered. She stared at him with concern, half tempted to pound him on the back.

“You lost him on your honeymoon?” he finally asked.

She frowned and then realized she must have left that part out as she told him what had happened. She could have left a number of things out…like they had been making love just before. Meg smiled at the last pleasant memory she had of Kyle and nodded. “Yes.”

“How long had you dated?” he pressed.

“Just over a year. We clicked, you know? He was my soul mate.”

Todd’s eyebrows rose at that statement, and Meg could read his doubtful expression. “Don’t you believe there’s the perfect woman out there for you?”

He shrugged as he looked into her eyes. “She doesn’t have to be perfect.”

Her eyes misted as she saw the raw emotion in his gaze. “Well, Kyle was.”

“Are you sure?” Todd asked softly. “Or can it be just the memory of him that was perfect?”

Shocked speechless at first, Meg could only stare at him. Who was he to talk of Kyle? She glared at him and sputtered. “You didn’t know him, Todd. You would have liked him though. Everyone liked Kyle.” If his charm didn’t do it, the money always did. Friends were never in short supply, especially since Kyle’s generosity extended to everyone. He had been rich his entire life, but it hadn’t spoiled him. Meg truly felt he was the best person she would ever know.

At her silence Todd continued, “He’s been gone longer than you were with him, Meg. Isn’t it time you said your final goodbye and moved on?”

Tears trickled down her cheeks, and remorse crossed his tanned features. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…” His voice trailed off as she continued to shake her head.

“You have no right. You didn’t know what a wonderful person he was. The world is a sadder place without him. Everyone is sadder without him…so am I.” She wiped a hand below her eyes and pushed away from the bar. “I wish you hadn’t come back here.” Meg blurted the lie as she ran down the path toward her bungalow.

Todd caught up with her just before she reached the door. He grasped her arm just above the elbow and turned her toward him. She lost her footing and landed against his chest. The next thing she knew, his hot mouth pressed down against hers. Meg sucked in her breath and knew she should immediately push him away, but the shock mixed with the unexpected pleasure stilled her hands. Todd took advantage of her surprise and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss, moving his tongue to caress the insides of her mouth. She had never been kissed in such a way before, had never actually liked the way Kyle kissed and was totally blown away by the unexpected sensations erupting throughout her body.

As Kyle’s loving face surfaced in her mind, she choked back a sob and broke free of Todd’s inviting mouth. She pushed her hands between them and scowled. “No, don’t.”

He frowned but pulled back. “Don’t tell me that you didn’t feel anything, ‘cause I know you did.”

Not able to meet his gaze, she stared at his bronze chest, trying to regain her breath. “Maybe that’s why I stopped you. I can’t help but feel Kyle watches everything I do, and this feels like a betrayal.”

“He’s dead, Meg. I can’t believe that he would want you to be alone. You shouldn’t be alone.” His breathing was a bit unsteady.

She finally met his passion-filled gaze and could so easily have taken that step forward to be back in his arms. Her entire body quivered at the thought of what his mouth could do to the rest of her, but she held back. “Kyle was the only man I’ve ever loved…the only one I’ve been with. I just can’t do this!” She turned to grasp the doorknob, but Todd’s voice made her pause.

“I won’t give up on you, Meg…especially now that I’ve tasted you.”

Her eyes closed with a moan at his last words. She licked her lips and almost nodded. Instead she straightened her spine and spoke to him without looking at him. “It might be best to just stay away, Todd.”

“Kyle never kissed you like that, did he?”

She gasped but didn’t turn around, instead pushing open the door and stepping through it. Todd didn’t stop her as she closed it without a backward glance. Meg leaned her back against the door, tempted to bang her head against it as well. Her heart raced as she wondered what she should do. No other man had ever kissed her the way Todd had. She felt warm all over, especially between her legs. She’d never in her life been tempted by a one-night stand, but she could see herself … enjoying it. Admitting that made her wonder if she should avoid him the rest of the week in Mexico. But did she truly want to?