tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12122947244330349572024-03-05T10:31:40.700-05:00Rosanna Leo's RoomLet me tell you a story…Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.comBlogger247125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-23362188054167910992015-03-06T08:16:00.000-05:002015-03-06T08:21:27.310-05:00A new blog for a new Rosanna! I'd like to thank everyone who has been kind enough to follow this blog, especially those wonderful peeps who nurtured me at its inception, when I really had no clue what blogging was about. Your support is appreciated.<br />
<br />
However, after some deliberation, I've decided to make a move to Wordpress, seeing as my group blog Love, Lust and Laptops, and other circles stem from Wordpress as well. The new site is up and running, packed with my book info, and simply awaits some lovely followers.<br />
<br />
The address is: <a href="https://rosannaleoauthor.wordpress.com/">https://rosannaleoauthor.wordpress.com/</a><br />
<br />
I would love to see you follow me there as well. For now, this blog will direct people to the new site, but any new posts will be scheduled for the new blog. I think it's got a more professional look, interesting capabilities and will set the stage for a lot of naughty fun.<br />
<br />
I hope to see you there soon!<br />
RosannaRosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-20586934950613680412015-03-04T08:15:00.000-05:002015-03-04T13:18:12.816-05:00Menage is not enough.My readers may be aware I am currently working on the latest book in the Gemini Island Shifters series. As they may know as well, this one is a menage.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJrTLsaNqRs/VPcCoQyaadI/AAAAAAAADnI/9I4pmj5claA/s1600/174727809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pJrTLsaNqRs/VPcCoQyaadI/AAAAAAAADnI/9I4pmj5claA/s1600/174727809.jpg" height="264" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Believe it or not, it's not my first attempt at literary threesomes. In fact, would you believe <i>Predator's Kiss </i>and <i>Predator's Serenade</i> were originally plotted as a menage for Ryland, Soren and Lia? I'm glad Liquid Silver Books gave me some crucial feedback early on and I was able to redo those romances and create the books we know and love.<br />
<br />
However, this next one is most definitely a menage and was always planned that way. Killian Moon from book 5 has two twin brothers Percy and Byron. From their inception, I just knew they needed to be the P and B in a yummy P&B sandwich, so to speak. And I can tell you I've been enjoying writing this one, establishing the relationships and seeing how they unfold.<br />
<br />
Of course, menages can be very sexy romances, and if readers are to be believed, they are certainly popular. However, in writing this one, I am learning it's not enough to throw a bunch of arms and legs together and to add in a few well-placed thrusts. You need a plausible story, too.<br />
<br />
I've always found menage romances can be a little slim on plot. After all, when you have three main characters, you need to explore three sets of motivations, wants and wounds. That's not easy to do when things are happening outside the love relationship. Not easy, but essential in my mind. I want my readers to remember this one for more than just the sex.<br />
<br />
It's important to me as well that these twins not be cookie cutters. I want each of them to stand out, to the heroine Suzan and to the reader. And because my boys are twins, this is uppermost in mind as I write. Each man must have quirks and needs and mannerisms.<br />
<br />
If anything, while there is hot sex involved, I don't think I've gone overboard. Like any of my romances, I am trying hard not to be gratuitous with the physical expression of love. Yes, Percy and Byron are focused on pleasing their woman, but they must do so while Gemini Island is threatened in the worst way possible.<br />
<br />
So, there will be arms and legs...and hopefully a few penises too...but hopefully I've given you a whole lot more as well.Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-58717183610818032692015-02-27T07:00:00.000-05:002015-02-27T07:00:11.509-05:00Felicity Heaton...Bitten by a Hellcat!I'm thrilled to welcome bestselling author Felicity Heaton today! As a special treat for you, she is offering a copy of <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><i>Kissed by a Dark Prince</i> to one lucky reader who comments here. </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
****</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Bitten by a
Hellcat, the sixth book in <i>New York Times</i>
best-seller Felicity Heaton’s hot paranormal romance series, Eternal Mates, is
now available in ebook and paperback. To celebrate the release, she’s holding a
FANTASTIC GIVEAWAY at her website and sharing sneak peeks of the book. This
book works as a standalone, so it’s perfect for those new to the series too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mYX8baFAQyk/VOedg6f5p7I/AAAAAAAADi0/xq0HKclc_dA/s1600/bittenbyahellcat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mYX8baFAQyk/VOedg6f5p7I/AAAAAAAADi0/xq0HKclc_dA/s1600/bittenbyahellcat.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB">Find out how to enter the Bitten by a Hellcat international
giveaway (ends March 1st) and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25
gift certificate at her website, where you can also download a 5 chapter sample
of the novel: <a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php">http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Here’s more
about Bitten by a Hellcat, including an excerpt from this paranormal romance book.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<strong><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal;"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php"><b>Bitten by a Hellcat (Eternal Mates Romance
Series Book 6)</b></a></span></strong><span lang="EN-GB"><br />
<strong><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Felicity Heaton</span></strong><br />
The sole remaining member of the most famous shifter hunter family in history,
Owen Nightingale is a mercenary and a man with a secret held in his closely
guarded heart, but when a beautiful rare shifter catches his eye and offers him
a job, he has the feeling he’ll be the one paying for helping her—with his
heart.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Cait is in a spot of trouble with a capital
T. A male hellcat has set his sights on claiming her and she’s one kitty who
doesn’t want a collar. When she meets a dark, alluring and mysterious hunter,
she sees a chance to rid herself of the male, but the price Owen sets and the
fierce passion that burns white-hot between them lures her dangerously under
his seductive spell.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Can Owen discover the true intent of the
male hellcat and stop Cait from falling into his hands? And can Cait retain
control as the heat of desire burns between her and Owen, or will a reckless
moment seal both of their fates forever?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">Bitten by a
Hellcat is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook,
Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. Find the
links to your preferred retailer at:</span></i><span lang="EN-GB"> <a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php">http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php</a>
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Bitten by a Hellcat – Excerpt<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Owen closed the
door, rounded the compact car and slid into the driver’s seat. He twisted at
the waist and put his bag on the back seat, and then put the key into the ignition
and started the car. The engine growled to life and he flicked the switch for
the lights, checked the road and pulled out. He tugged his seatbelt on as he
drove and glanced across at Cait.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Buckle up.” He
waited to see she was doing as instructed, tugging the slim black belt across
her chest, before returning his focus to the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It was quiet, the
night drawing on, making it easy going as he navigated the short journey deep
into an affluent neighbourhood near the centre of London.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Cait’s eyes grew
wider by the moment as she stared out of the windows, taking in the buildings.
When he drove through large black wrought iron gates, her eyes shot impossibly
wide and she looked across at him. He kept his eyes on the road, unwilling to
field her silent question, slowing the car as he drove through the rows of
beautiful pale townhouses.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He turned left
down another side road where the biggest houses were located and pulled the car
into a reserved parking spot outside his one. Cait was still staring at him. He
turned the engine off, undid his seatbelt, gathered his bag, and stepped out of
the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She followed him a
moment later, her eyebrows pinned high on her forehead as she finally looked
away from him, her gaze settling on the huge four storey Georgian townhouse
behind him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“What you
pictured?” he said before locking the car and turning his back on her. He
strode towards the short black iron gate, opened it and glanced over his
shoulder at her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She hurried
towards him, her eyes flitting between him and the house.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It was too big for
him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He used the sum
total of five rooms out of the possible fourteen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“This is yours?”
She spoke at last, her gaze on the white townhouse, slowly drifting up the
height of it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Owen walked up the
path, took the steps up to the covered porch with its Grecian columns, and
unlocked the wide black wooden door. He pushed it open, proving it was his.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“It belongs to my
family,” he said as way of an explanation when she looked at him again. “It
costs a small fortune to run, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to part
with it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“You grew up
here.” It wasn’t a question. She looked him right in the eye as she said it,
her expression sober, and he nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">It wasn’t often he
met someone who could see straight through him as Cait could. Most people
didn’t seem to understand him at all. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The humans he met
who weren’t hunters, and therefore were unaware of the world of fae and demons
that co-existed with theirs, weren’t worth his time. He had nothing he could
talk about with them, not as normal people did. He couldn’t gripe about his
work week over a beer with a buddy. The hunters avoided him because he wasn’t
aligned with any of the organisations they worked for and only exchanged
information when it suited them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The fae and demons
preferred to keep him at arm’s length because of his profession.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The only people he
could really talk to and who had ever understood him were his family, and those
who had been closest to him were dead now. He had a handful of relatives
remaining, mostly from his mother’s side, and he rarely saw them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“You live here
alone.” Cait’s soft voice drew him out of his thoughts and he sighed as he
looked at her where she now stood on the porch beside him, close enough that he
could smell her sweet perfume on the night breeze.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He nodded again.
“I keep most of the rooms closed and use just the ones I need… bathroom,
bedroom… living room… kitchen. I did make one of the other reception rooms into
a gym and training room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She looked as if
she was on the verge of saying it sounded lonely, so he turned his back on her,
stepped into the hall and switched on the lights. Thankfully, she took the hint
and remained silent as she entered behind him and closed the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Owen locked it and
pocketed his keys. “Come on. I’ll get you settled in the living room.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He led the way up
the wooden staircase to the first floor and the large pale blue room he used
for his living room. He grimaced as he realised he had left it in a worse state
than he had thought.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Cait drifted past
him before he could say anything in warning, a twinkle in her eyes as they
danced over all of the weapons spread across the large oak table on the left
side of the room, and all the knickknacks he had left strewn across the square
wooden coffee table nestled in the U of his three black leather couches in
front of the fireplace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She ambled around
the room and he watched her as she allowed her fingers to drift over a few
items on the coffee table and checked out some of his weapons.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“It looks very
much as I had expected in here.” She lifted her eyes away from the crossbow she
held and smiled across the room at him. “I imagined weapons and books.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She looked around
at the stacked bookcases that lined the wall to his right between the tall sash
windows and the one behind him, and then down at the sheets of paper, notepads,
and newspapers stacked haphazardly on a smaller coffee table beside an
armchair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“Although… it has
an air of bachelor about it too.” Her smile teased him and he shrugged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">She hadn’t seen
his bedroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">If she thought
this room looked like a bachelor owned it, she was in for a shock if she set
eyes on his inner sanctum. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Her blue eyes
drifted over the couches and then roamed back to him, gaining a dark edge of
desire that set his pulse pounding and left him feeling she might just want to
see that inner sanctum.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He was damned if
she was going to see it as it was though.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He wasn’t sure how
hellcats lived, or what accommodation they were used to, but he was fairly
certain that as a woman she wasn’t impressed by clothes strewn across the
floor, unmade beds, and several empty take out cartons, and that was exactly
what his bedroom contained.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“You seem to
favour magic.” Cait set the crossbow down and Owen stared at her, his heart
pounding for a different reason as he took in what she had said. When she
frowned and gestured to all the knickknacks covering the coffee table, his gaze
leaped there and his heart settled. “The items… they’re magic aren’t they?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Owen quickly
nodded. “I get them in the fae town nearby. Some I use, others are just part of
a collection.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He backed towards
the door. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“You like magic?”
She looked at him again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Owen took another
step backwards and gave a noncommittal shrug in answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">“I have to get
changed and get some stuff together. Make yourself comfortable.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">He turned and
walked out of the room, feeling her gaze boring into his back, intense and
focused, as if she was trying to strip away the layers of his defences to
uncover a truth he preferred to keep hidden.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A secret he’d had
for most of his life and had kept from his father. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">A secret only one
living person in this world knew.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">Bitten by a
Hellcat is available from Amazon Kindle, Kobo Books, Barnes and Noble Nook,
Apple iBooks stores and other retailers. Also available in paperback. <o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">Find all the
links, a fantastic 4 chapter downloadable sample of the book, and also how to
enter the giveaway and be in with a shot of winning a $75, $50 or $25 gift
certificate at her website:</span></i></b><span lang="EN-GB"> <b><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php">http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php</a>
</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Books in the Eternal Mates paranormal romance series:<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/kissed-by-a-dark-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
1: Kissed by a Dark Prince</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/claimed-by-a-demon-king-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
2: Claimed by a Demon King</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/tempted-by-a-rogue-prince-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
3: Tempted by a Rogue Prince</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/hunted-by-a-jaguar-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
4: Hunted by a Jaguar</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/craved-by-an-alpha-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
5: Craved by an Alpha</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/bitten-by-a-hellcat-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
6: Bitten by a Hellcat</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/taken-by-a-dragon-paranormal-romance-novel.php">Book
7: Taken by a Dragon – Coming March 10<sup>th</sup> 2015</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><i><span lang="EN-GB">About Felicity
Heaton:<o:p></o:p></span></i></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Felicity Heaton is a <i>New York Times</i> and <i>USA Today</i>
international best-selling author writing passionate paranormal romance books.
In her books, she creates detailed worlds, twisting plots, mind-blowing action,
intense emotion and heart-stopping romances with leading men that vary from
dark deadly vampires to sexy shape-shifters and wicked werewolves, to sinful
angels and hot demons! If you're a fan of paranormal romance authors Lara
Adrian, J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Gena Showalter and Christine Feehan then
you will enjoy her books too.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">If you love your angels a little dark and
wicked, the best-selling Her Angel series is for you. If you like strong,
powerful, and dark vampires then try the Vampires Realm series or any of her
stand-alone vampire romance books. If you’re looking for vampire romances that
are sinful, passionate and erotic then try the best-selling Vampire Erotic
Theatre series. Or if you prefer huge detailed worlds filled with hot-blooded
alpha males in every species, from elves to demons to dragons to shifters and
angels, then take a look at the new Eternal Mates series.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">If you want to know more about Felicity,
or want to get in touch, you can find her at the following places:</span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">W</span><span lang="EN-GB">ebsite: <a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/"><b>http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk</b></a></span><span lang="EN-GB"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Blog: <b><a href="http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/">http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk/blog/</a>
</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Facebook: <b><a href="http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton">http://www.facebook.com/felicityheaton</a>
<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Twitter: <a href="http://twitter.com/felicityheaton"><b>http://twitter.com/felicityheaton</b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Tsu: <b><a href="http://www.tsu.co/felicityheaton">http://www.tsu.co/felicityheaton</a></b>
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB">Goodreads: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton"><b>http://www.goodreads.com/felicityheaton</b></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Amazon CA:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00SOS5Y0G" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.ca/dp/<wbr></wbr>B00SOS5Y0G</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Amazon AU:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B00SOS5Y0G" style="background-color: white; 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font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">iBooks UK</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">: </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/book/isbn9781909306653?at=1l3voM2" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/gb/<wbr></wbr>book/isbn9781909306653?at=<wbr></wbr>1l3voM2</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">iBooks AU:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/au/book/isbn9781909306653?at=1l3voM2" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/au/<wbr></wbr>book/isbn9781909306653?at=<wbr></wbr>1l3voM2</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">iBooks CA</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">: </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/book/isbn9781909306653?at=1l3voM2" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/ca/<wbr></wbr>book/isbn9781909306653?at=<wbr></wbr>1l3voM2</a><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">iBooks NZ:</b><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"> </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/nz/book/isbn9781909306653?at=1l3voM2" style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" target="_blank">http://itunes.apple.com/nz/<wbr></wbr>book/isbn9781909306653?at=<wbr></wbr>1l3voM2</a><br />
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<b>B&N: </b><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bitten-by-a-hellcat-felicity-heaton/1121224542" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.<wbr></wbr>barnesandnoble.com/w/bitten-<wbr></wbr>by-a-hellcat-felicity-heaton/<wbr></wbr>1121224542</a><br /><br /><b>Kobo:</b> <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/bitten-by-a-hellcat-eternal-mates-romance-series-book-6" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://store.kobobooks.com/en-<wbr></wbr>US/ebook/bitten-by-a-hellcat-<wbr></wbr>eternal-mates-romance-series-<wbr></wbr>book-6</a><br /><br /><b>ARE:</b> <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-bittenbyahellcateternalmatesromanceseries6-1732749-143.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.allromanceebooks.<wbr></wbr>com/product-<wbr></wbr>bittenbyahellcateternalmatesro<wbr></wbr>manceseries6-1732749-143.html</a><br /><br /><b>Google Play:</b> <a href="http://play.google.com/store/books/details/Felicity_Heaton_Bitten_by_a_Hellcat?id=-v9kBgAAQBAJ" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://play.google.com/store/<wbr></wbr>books/details/Felicity_Heaton_<wbr></wbr>Bitten_by_a_Hellcat?id=-<wbr></wbr>v9kBgAAQBAJ</a></div>
Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-65717876586237307942015-02-25T07:00:00.000-05:002015-02-25T07:00:09.001-05:00Marianne Rice...False Start!Oh, how I adore helping an author celebrate her first release! After all, it wasn't long ago I was in the same position. And today I get to applaud the lovely Marianne Rice, whose debut romance <i>False Start</i>, released with Liquid Silver Books this week.<br />
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Welcome, Marianne!<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w9H22C-zoA0/VOeOKuUly3I/AAAAAAAADiU/CB9bTDFgYxU/s1600/HRfalsestart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-w9H22C-zoA0/VOeOKuUly3I/AAAAAAAADiU/CB9bTDFgYxU/s1600/HRfalsestart.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Thank you, Rosanna, for giving me this opportunity to introduce
myself. I’m a pretty normal person. I don’t have weird quirks or obsessions. I
call myself...well-rounded. I have a full-time job, three active kids, a busy
husband, amazing friends, a writing career, a cake decorating
hobby-sometimes-business, an over-flowing library of books, and love, love,
love to hostess any and all events, parties, holidays, get-togethers...you name
it. I take on a lot, but I like to stay busy. Addicted? No. Busy? Yes. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To me, an addiction is one thing you simply can't live without.
I don't...oh, wait. Well, chocolate doesn't count, right? It's not like I HAVE
to have it, but it is nice to have a delectable morsel (chunk) after a meal.
And if there isn't any chocolate in the house (like I would ever allow that to
happen) I have been known to break out the flour and sugar and lemon and whip
up some other satisfying dessert. (Lemon squares anyone? Butterscotch oatmeal
cookies will suffice too). So, see? I'm not a chocolate addict.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And reading. No, I'm not addicted. Just because I hide my
paperback, Kindle, iPad or iPhone (yeah, I read on that, too) when my husband
comes in the house and pretend like I'm straightening the couch cushions
doesn't mean I have a reading problem. Reading over 150 books last year means
I'm well read, not addicted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Facebook? No, I can totally go a day or two without creeping, I
mean reading posts and posting pictures. Instead I'll cruise through Twitter or
TSU, search for hotties on Pinterest, or Google my favorite authors and read
their blogs. Nope. No technology addictions either. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">And don’t event think about classifying my shoe collection as an
addiction. Just because I have over thirty pairs of shoes in varying color,
heel height and style for each season and occasion (yeah, if you do the math
that may add up to a bit), just because when building our home fifteen years
ago we designed my—I mean <i>our</i>—walk-in
closet around my shoes doesn’t mean it’s a problem. I mean, seriously. Don’t
most stores have a sign in their window that says, “No shoes. No shirt. No
service”? Which means I need to have an array of clothing as well. See?
Perfectly normal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">So I guess it depends on your definition of addiction. The word
is so harsh. It's not like I'd go bat a$$ crazy if I was stranded on a deserted
island and didn't have shoes. Barefoot in the sand is bliss. And no chocolate
or sweets, or books to read, or social media? Nope. I'd be perfectly...oh son
of a nutcracker! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Know of a good therapist?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I’d love to connect with you on Facebook and share my other
not-so addictions.</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://facebook.com/Mariannericeauthor"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://facebook.com/Mariannericeauthor</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Helvetica","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I guess everyone has their issues, especially the characters in
my debut novel, <i>False Start. <o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Here’s a snippet of page one:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“We need to talk.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Startled by the deep growl, Meg Fulton looked
up to the towering stack of testosterone filling her office doorway and cursed
the butterflies that fluttered in her stomach. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">She straightened her posture, ran her hand
through her thick hair in an attempt to put all the strays back in place, and
then reached for the lapels of the suit coat that wasn’t there. She felt
vulnerable in her silk tank top and wished she had an extra layer to shield her
from the menacing daggers targeted at her. Putting on the jacket would only
make a spectacle of herself. The thin tank would have to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Sure. Have a seat.” She crossed her legs and
attempted to smile. Inwardly, Meg groaned. <i>Connor McKay</i>. She’d noticed
him on the football field coaching his athletes and had not looked forward to
the expected confrontation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">He
remained in the doorway, making no move toward the empty seats across from her
desk. His blond hair was short, barely longer than the scruff on his face, and
as she looked up she saw his eyes—a fierce, fiery blue filled with accusation
and something that ranged between confusion and lust.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f1f1f; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Download your copy of <i>False
Start</i> today. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.lsbooks.com/</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStart" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStart</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartUK" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStartUK</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartKobo" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStartKobo</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartBandN" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStartBandN</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartiBooks" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStartiBooks</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartBAM" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/FalseStartBAM</a></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #4c1130; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">
<a href="http://bit.ly/FalseStartGooglePlay" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://bit.ly/<wbr></wbr>FalseStartGooglePlay</a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">For
all other buy links, visit my website: </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.mariannerice.weebly.com/"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">www.mariannerice.weebly.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-75124812745468090582015-02-20T14:22:00.000-05:002015-02-20T15:03:18.024-05:00"Sing, dammit!" Music in my romances.I suppose it was inevitable. The music world has invaded my literary world.<br />
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What do I mean? Well, some of you may know I used to be a classical singer. For a good chunk of my life, I studied music. Indeed, there were days when I felt Mozart, Bach and Beethoven were my closest confidantes. I sang professionally for a couple of years, singing soprano for a well-known Toronto chamber ensemble. It was an exhilarating experience...but not for me in the end.<br />
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Sadly, it took me a few years to realize I didn't want to be a singer. I do miss the music, being able to create beautiful sounds in an ensemble, but I don't miss the environment. After writing in secret for many years, I came to the conclusion writing was a passion I could no longer deny.<br />
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I knew I'd use my musical experiences in my books at some point. Music was simply too much a part of my life for me to dismiss it outright. However, for the most part, those experiences remained tucked away in my brain.<br />
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All of a sudden, they have burst onto the scene again. It occurs to me three, not one but three, of my heroines can now say music is a part of their lives. Heroine Winn from <i>The Stand-In</i> is a Broadway-style actor who loves musicals. Well, at the start of the book anyway.<br />
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<img alt="thestandin" src="http://romancebeyond.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/thestandin-200x300.jpg" /><br />
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In addition to Winn, I have two artsy heroines who will feature in books that are soon to be released.<br />
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Firstly, there is Kate Callender, the heroine of my upcoming contemporary with Samhain Publishing, <i>Vice</i>. Kate is actually a radio jingle singer but her passion is torch songs.<br />
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And then I have Renata Bruno, the heroine of <i>Night Lover</i>. This paranormal has recently been submitted to a publisher and I eagerly await the response. Renata is most like me in that she is a classical soprano with a chamber ensemble.<br />
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Did I intend to write so many artistic heroines? No. Did it feel right to pen them this way? Golly, yes. Being able to draw upon my experiences in the singing world really allowed me to get to the hearts of these characters. I felt their dreams, understood their disappointments and craved their successes. I lived these women.<br />
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That being said, I did work hard not to make them carbon copies of each other. Winn, Kate and Renata are definitely different in many ways and so are their stories. Their heroes are unique, their conflicts even more so.<br />
<br />
They say "write what you know." For a long time, I resisted allowing the world of music into my literary works. However, it seems those memories have a life of their own and they needed telling. And if I've learned anything as an author, it's that one must listen carefully to one's Muse.<br />
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She won't always speak in such clear terms.Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-55566648765496812262015-02-19T07:00:00.000-05:002015-02-19T07:00:05.908-05:00Belle Maurice...Sacked by the Quarterback!I'm so pleased to welcome a fellow Liquid Silver Books author today, Belle Maurice. Liquid Silver has a hot series entitled Afternoon Delights and Belle's <i>Sacked By the Quarterback</i> is one of the featured stories.<br />
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She's here with a blog about bullying and an interesting moment she experienced in South Korea.<br />
Welcome, Belle!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
*****</div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Once upon a time in South Korea, I taught
kindergarten. My co-teacher came to me one day and said, “I got a call from
Victoria’s mother last night.” Victoria had a tendency to chew her words. Don’t
get me wrong, six months of English immersion kindergarten with me and my
peerless co-teacher Helen, Victoria could speak English on par with an American
five year old. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">An American five year old who doesn’t speak
too clearly.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">So I’m standing in my classroom with the
kids and Helen. The kids are at their tables on the far side of the room and
we’re by our desks with a little bit of privacy, but the kids do speak English
when Helen says, “Victoria said Chelsea is calling her Big Tongue Toria.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Name calling is not nice. Bullying is bad. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But seriously, the kid made a joke in a
second language and it was GOOD.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I snorted before I could press my lips
together to keep the rest of my gales of laughter in. Then I got it together
because I had to take Chelsea in the hall and explain to her that we don’t call
people names. Though I really wished I could have congratulated her on her
cleverness, she was using it for evil.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In new release, <i>Sacked By the Quarterback</i>,
Sonny Black commits an act of bullying that dogs him through his career until
he finds the woman he betrayed and makes it up to her. Chelsea made it up to
Victoria because I assigned them to sit together and they had no choice but to
learn to cooperate. I just hope Chelsea held onto that great sense of humor and
that she never used to for evil again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Blurb: </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Sonny Black was the star quarterback in high school who couldn't possibly be in love with the geekiest girl in school, Mandy Daws. He'd been seeing her under the guise of chemistry tutoring, but when his buddies found out there was a little more going on, he lied and said she was a slut, wrecking her life and earning her enduring hatred. Eleven years later, Sonny is the star quarterback headed for the Super Bowl despite amazing bad luck that has earned him the nickname Sonny Black Cloud. When someone mentions that the bad luck must stem from someone he failed in the past, the first name that comes to mind is Mandy's. He tracks her down at the small university where she teaches chemistry and tries to seduce, beg, or win her forgiveness, and he needs it before the Super Bowl. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Excerpt:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" /><br />
<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8000001907349px;" title="Page 5">
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“First of all, I have every right to still be pissed at you. Second, me accepting your apology will not change the stupid things that happen to you on the field.”</div>
<div style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“How can you be sure? I have great defenders and I still have the highest sack rate of any quarterback in the NFL. My passes get dropped more frequently. Every time something goes wrong the media resurrects that fumble at the snap from last season.”</div>
<div style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“The one where the ball bounced off your fingers three times before you dropped it and all the other players just stared at you?” Mandy snickered and reached for her computer mouse. “I loved that one. I have the gif on my hard drive.”</div>
<div style="line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“I don’t need to see it.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“I do.” She opened the hard drive and scrolled down the list.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
Sonny put his hand over hers.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
Mandy’s breath stopped in her throat. God, she had forgotten how electric that felt. In high school, Sonny had been everything she wasn’t. Popular, confident, easy going, calm. Endlessly sexy. Only two girls in their class hadn’t had crushes on him. Of the two, one knew even then she was a lesbian. The other one figured it out later.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“Please don’t play that gif.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
Mandy jerked her hand away from his successfully yanking the mouse onto the floor. She bent over to grab it, but Sonny beat her to it. He’d crouched and reached around her. Bad luck had made him flexible and quicker to react. Any other player plagued by the accidents he’d had wouldn’t have a career at all, let alone be a star player.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
He stayed in the crouch as he handed her the mouse, staring up at her with his breathtaking hazel eyes. “I missed you, Mandy.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“If this is part of you trying to get me to forgive you—” The scent wafting off him was not Irish Springs. It was spicy and hot, and very welcome.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“It’s not.” He put his hands on her knees and Mandy cursed the impulse that had her in a skirt today. His long fingers traced under her hem. “I missed you. You were special.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“You know what they say about your first.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“You weren’t my first.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
Mandy bit her lip. He was hers and saying that nobody else measured up was an understatement. Even at seventeen he’d been gentle and generous during sex.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
Not so generous in the school hallway though.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“I never should have let you get away.” He skimmed his thumb to the inside of her knee.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“Why? Did you fail chemistry in college?” Her breath was getting short and she couldn’t stop it. The sensation of his thumb between her knees spiraled heat through her body. She could remember the way the leather seats in the back of his father’s car had felt on her bare ass and the texture of his football jersey clutched in her hands.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“You can’t hate me that much.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“You’d be surprised.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
He slid his hand under her skirt. “Then let me make it up to you.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“It’s going to take a lot.”</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
His hand slipped higher on her thigh. She could see the movement of his fingers under her the fabric of her skirt and she swallowed.</div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px; line-height: 19.2000007629395px;">
“I’m already on my knees.”</div>
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Author Info: </div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
Blog: <a href="https://bellemaurice.wordpress.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://bellemaurice.<wbr></wbr>wordpress.com/</a></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BelleMauricewriter" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/<wbr></wbr>BelleMauricewriter</a><br /></div>
<div style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">
Buy links:<br /><b><a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/sacked-by-the-quarterback-p991.php" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.lsbooks.com/sacked-<wbr></wbr>by-the-quarterback-p991.php</a><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Sacked-Quarterback-Afternoon-Delights-Collection-ebook/dp/B00S6YNKZO/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1424269914&sr=1-1&keywords=belle+maurice" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Sacked-<wbr></wbr>Quarterback-Afternoon-<wbr></wbr>Delights-Collection-ebook/dp/<wbr></wbr>B00S6YNKZO/ref=sr_1_1?s=<wbr></wbr>digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=<wbr></wbr>1424269914&sr=1-1&keywords=<wbr></wbr>belle+maurice</a><br /><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sacked-by-the-quarterback-belle-maurice/1121103190?ean=9781622101894" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/<wbr></wbr>w/sacked-by-the-quarterback-<wbr></wbr>belle-maurice/1121103190?ean=<wbr></wbr>9781622101894</a><br /><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/sacked-by-the-quarterback/id961236592?mt=11&ign-mpt=uo%3D4" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/<wbr></wbr>book/sacked-by-the-<wbr></wbr>quarterback/id961236592?mt=11&<wbr></wbr>ign-mpt=uo%3D4</a><br /><a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-sackedbythequarterback-1748490-149.html" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">https://www.allromanceebooks.<wbr></wbr>com/product-<wbr></wbr>sackedbythequarterback-<wbr></wbr>1748490-149.html</a></b></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-51791197150974405872015-02-16T16:49:00.002-05:002015-02-16T16:49:22.952-05:00Sneak peek at the next Gemini Island Shifters bookHi friends. As you may know, I've been hard at work on the next installment of the Gemini Island Shifters series.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKGasAe3CPI/VOJjtRJF0OI/AAAAAAAADhw/EpAwDslt_uU/s1600/174727809.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hKGasAe3CPI/VOJjtRJF0OI/AAAAAAAADhw/EpAwDslt_uU/s1600/174727809.jpg" height="264" width="320" /></a></div>
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With a working title of <i>Predator's Trinity</i>, I hope to bring Percy and Byron Moon's story to light soon. The boys are struggling, with the rest of the Ursa Lodge cast, in a quest to rid themselves of the menace that is cult leader August Crane. To make things trickier, the Moon twins are falling for the same woman, a human librarian named Suzan Marsh. Percy and Byron have always dreamed of sharing a woman, but menages have not worked for them in the past.</div>
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Oh, and there's another wee problem. Villain August Crane wants her too.</div>
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Here's a sneek peak at the book. I hope you enjoy this unedited snippet.</div>
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<i><u>Predator's Trinity:</u></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> She reached for the fallen book and clutched
it to her chest like a shield. “How did you get in? The door’s locked.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “I can be resourceful.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> <i>Okay,
Suzi, don’t freak out</i>. She mustered up her best authoritative librarian
voice. “I’m going to have to ask you to leave, August.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> His pale eyes glimmered and his smile
widened. In the shadows of evening, his features seemed longer, more canine. In
fact, she could swear there was a distinct point to his teeth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “Sure, Suzan. I’ll go. Only you’re coming
with me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> With those words, two more men appeared
behind him. Big men. Men whose unfeeling laughter echoed in library, sounding
an awful lot like growls.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> “When I asked you to dinner, I thought I
was being nice. I’ll be honest with you. I’m not really a <i>take a woman to dinner</i> kind of guy. I prefer to get straight to the
point. So let me make this clear. I want you and I’m going to have you. I have
plans, you see, and you’re going to help me fulfill them.” August approached
with a casual air but stopped short a few feet in front of her. His keen gaze
pinned her to his spot and his nostrils inflated, as if he breathed her in.
When he exhaled through his mouth, the breath came out on a shaky exhalation.
He swallowed. “Your fear. It’s delicious. Intoxicating.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> She forced her feet into action and took
two steps back. “Please.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> He tilted his head as if regarding a
stubborn child. “Now, Suzan, we can do this the easy way or the hard way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> The wall to his emotions finally tumbled
and evil thoughts swarmed toward her, engulfing her in dread and darkness. As
she gaped at him, all she saw was hatred and more hatred. Sinister intent and a
love of inflicting pain. Blackness and bile and emptiness. Giving into panic,
Suzan threw <i>Love In Chains</i> at him and
ran, dashing into the stacks. Screaming for anyone who might hear, she tried to
find shelter in her beloved library, already comprehending the futility of her
response.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> His cold voice boomed after her. “Awesome.
I love the hard way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> As she heard his heavy steps behind her, another
sound shattered the quiet of the space, one that struck her numb with terror.
Trembling, she tried hard to convince herself she hadn’t just heard the howl of
a wolf.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> *****<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%;"> Where can you find the rest of the series? Well, almost everywhere! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 32px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rosanna-Leo/e/B007X5P4I8">http://www.amazon.com/Rosanna-Leo/e/B007X5P4I8</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">As well as <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/">www.lsbooks.com</a>, iBooks, ARE, B&N, Kobo. </span></div>
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<br />Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-7050353949614025222015-02-09T08:53:00.002-05:002015-02-09T08:53:11.500-05:00Release day for The Stand-In and a release day party!I'm thrilled to announce it's release day for my new contemporary romance The Stand-In!<br />
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I have been awaiting this day with much anticipation and am so excited to bring this fun and sexy book to you. You can now find it at <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/the-stand-in-p990.php">http://www.lsbooks.com/the-stand-in-p990.php</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nZ6VbUXhchs5-_tU-w3VkB6CmIoRYQzd3ygkZy1U8G2SY7GQ-zQvAIbcCWxrtQ1Q-6T91oS77WDpUXAldPyN97idBf7j2yR-lskg9TB_eKB8LMq43fCWDW_aIc_C5C_J63LDqkAUohQ/s1600/HRthestandin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_nZ6VbUXhchs5-_tU-w3VkB6CmIoRYQzd3ygkZy1U8G2SY7GQ-zQvAIbcCWxrtQ1Q-6T91oS77WDpUXAldPyN97idBf7j2yR-lskg9TB_eKB8LMq43fCWDW_aIc_C5C_J63LDqkAUohQ/s1600/HRthestandin.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Help me celebrate this release today by joining my release day party on Facebook. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/437438616404344/">https://www.facebook.com/events/437438616404344/</a><br />
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From 3-9pmEST, we'll have prizes and giveaways and fun with guest authors Parker Kincade, Tami Lund, Emilia Mancini, KaLyn Cooper and Monette Michaels. I hope you'll join us.<br />
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The book is uploading to other sites as we speak.<br />
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Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Rosanna-Leo-ebook/dp/B00S6U9IPY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8">http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Rosanna-Leo-ebook/dp/B00S6U9IPY/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8</a><br />
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Barnes & Noble: <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stand-in-rosanna-leo/1121103193?ean=9781622101863">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-stand-in-rosanna-leo/1121103193?ean=9781622101863</a><br />
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Kobo: <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-stand-in-6">http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/the-stand-in-6</a><br />
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It should be at ARE shortly.<br />
<br />
Many thanks and see you at the party!Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-33290594462050595442015-02-06T13:21:00.001-05:002015-02-06T13:21:20.259-05:00Struggling with my Goodreads presenceI hadn't planned this post.<br />
<br />
However, this week I checked the Goodreads page for my yet-to-be-released book <i>The Stand-In</i> (releases Feb. 9) and found a 1-star rating.<br />
<br />
Now, I did offer ARC copies to a couple of trusted bloggers who have kindly written thoughtful reviews. I know for a fact who got those ARCs and this person did not. In my mind, this is clearly a case of Goodreads trolling.<br />
<br />
I posted a couple of thoughts on Facebook and was met with tremendous support from the reader/author/blogger community.<br />
I sent an email to Goodreads and was told they could do nothing. However, they said they had contacted the reviewer to see if he/she had posted the rating "in error." Of course, this is not the case. And now I sit, wondering if this reader will retaliate in some way.<br />
<br />
Now don't get me wrong. Goodreads has been a helpful community in many ways. They have always answered my questions and helped me display my books. The readers I've met there have become devoted supporters and friends.<br />
<br />
And then there are the other folks. The ones who really enjoy messing with an author's head.<br />
<br />
I'm not saying a person can't give me a legitimate bad rating. If you don't like my book, you don't like my book. But when it's obvious a "reader" has based a rating or review on a blurb of an unreleased story, we have a problem.<br />
<br />
In response to my Facebook posts, several fine authors told me they have deleted their author profiles at Goodreads. That they are happier without a presence there. I confess, I am tempted to do the same. It would sadden me because I love maintaining contact with my readers.<br />
<br />
However, I cannot afford to use more expensive options like Netgalley and I don't have time to look into numerous other promotional venues. Will I leave Goodreads as an author? I'm still not sure, but my finger is hovering over the "cancel" button.<br />
<br />
If this were a case of bullying in a school, the bully would be reprimanded. For some reason, on Goodreads, bullies are tolerated. We, as authors, are told to "develop a thick skin." Believe me. I've written close to 20 books. My skin is fine as it is. It's as thick as it will ever be. I have developed myself to the best of my ability.<br />
<br />
Maybe it's time for Goodreads to develop. The bullies won't.Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-44321123624515131262015-01-29T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-29T07:00:06.405-05:00What does my character want?Every so often, I share a little bit of the madness behind my writing method. I've talked about outlining and the downfalls of being either a plotter or a pantster. Truth is, when it comes to my own writing, I tend to employ a bit of each method. I've never been hugely successful at outlining down to the minute detail, and honestly, I don't enjoy it. I've always liked having some wiggle room.<br />
<br />
Besides, a bit of wiggle in your romance is nice, <i>non</i>?<br />
<br />
Unfortunately, too much wiggle room can leave a writer floundering at times. Without clear cut goals and a plot to help you achieve them, a story will meander. This can lead to writer's block, frustration, and the desire to feed one's manuscript through the shredder.<br />
<br />
The trick that always puts me back on track is reminding myself of the following question: what does my character want?<br />
<br />
It is crucial to establish your hero/heroine's needs and wants before you start writing. For that matter, a writer needs to understand what all her characters want, whether it's the good guys or the bad guys. What drives the character? What leads him to open that door? What possesses her to make small talk with the hunk who fixes her computer? A person's needs and wants, combined with his history and beliefs, will always influence how he reacts in a certain scene. It's not enough we show the hero walking to the store to buy milk. Why is having milk so important in that moment? And why is he headed to the corner store instead of the huge grocery chain? What does he hope to accomplish?<br />
<br />
Once we know what a character wants, we can start to mess with his head. A good writer will throw up obstacles and introduce characters who cause tension. I always try to set my romances around a hero and heroine who have differing wants, perhaps even differing values. That's when the sparks fly.<br />
<br />
Needs can change throughout the course of a book. Our hero may start his day knowing he wants to buy that carton of milk but he can end up running from a villain who has just held up the corner store. Plots evolve, but if readers don't understand what drives the hero, they won't give a toss about whether or not he succeeds in his goals. <br />
<br />
It's not enough for the writer to want. The character must want something, too. And then it's the writer's job <i>not</i> to give it to him, at least not too quickly. <br />
Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-20965749744821440662015-01-26T08:00:00.000-05:002015-01-26T08:00:03.080-05:00The Stand-In Release Day Party- Feb. 9Hi friends. As we near the release day for my new contemporary romance <i>The Stand-In</i>, I invite you to participate in the release day party scheduled for Feb. 9.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHpkyLM1FOcTJsYibLMst009XTK6guX45USzVj8rdpaCoGb-RE4e7FJKPnIBA2Ie0GYlKxVo3O4JuHyCd5TtcynN-9yKJ_tOK4cDQ46OLFmry_NcjuspDdUzt58Gx0qrI7DAsb08IKMk/s1600/HRthestandin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiHpkyLM1FOcTJsYibLMst009XTK6guX45USzVj8rdpaCoGb-RE4e7FJKPnIBA2Ie0GYlKxVo3O4JuHyCd5TtcynN-9yKJ_tOK4cDQ46OLFmry_NcjuspDdUzt58Gx0qrI7DAsb08IKMk/s1600/HRthestandin.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
Set to take place on Facebook, the party will be a blast. I have a wonderful contingent of guest authors to entertain you and we'll all be sharing our news and hot reads. The schedule is as follows:<br />
<br />
Feb. 9<br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">3-4pm - Tami Lund</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">4-5pm - KaLyn Cooper</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">5-6pm - Parker Kincade</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">6-7pm - Monette Michaels</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br />7-8pm - Emilia Mancini/Marci Boudreaux<br />8-9pm - Rosanna Leo</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">* Please note* all times are in EST.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">I know all these wonderful authors will have giveaways and I've got a couple of special things planned as well. This is a great chance to grab some sexy new books and ideas for your TBR list.</span><br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;">Please join us at: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/437438616404344/">https://www.facebook.com/events/437438616404344/</a></span><br />
<br />
Looking to get <i>The Stand-In</i> at a discount before the party? Simply head over to Liquid Silver Books and order. <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/pre-order-coming-soon-romance-books-c322.php">http://www.lsbooks.com/pre-order-coming-soon-romance-books-c322.php</a><br />
<br />
I look forward to partying with you!<br />
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>
<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #141823; display: inline; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19.3199996948242px;"><br /></span>Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-9997236153176442412015-01-24T05:00:00.000-05:002015-01-24T05:00:01.504-05:00Diane Saxon...Short Circuit Time!I recently had the pleasure of reading Diane Saxon's sweet contemporary Loving Lydia. I am so pleased Diane is here to tell us about her new hot read Short Circuit Time. This talented author has transitioned so beautifully between romantic subgenres and I can't wait to see what she has in store.<br />
<br />
Welcome, Diane.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Romancing the Genres<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I think
I’ve probably mentioned numerous times, I grew up on romances, the first one
being read to me by my older sister, Margaret. The Princess Bride – still one
of my favourite tales.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Then there
were those naughty little Mills and Boon my mother kept on her bookshelf with
enticing covers which hinted of passion. Where we lived, we had a mobile
library. Every Tuesday we could get 6 more books out and no, I did not choose
children’s books specifically, I chose adventure and romance and love and life.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Some of my
favourite books are the ones that defy age groups. I was read the Hobbit when I
was about seven by a fantastic English teacher. The Lord of the Rings was given
as a gift when I was twelve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">But I must
admit to enjoying those reads I wasn’t really supposed to have. When the Lion Feeds, Wilbur Smith. At the age
of fourteen, when I picked it up after my dad had finished reading it, he
quietly went to my mum and asked if it was appropriate. Her reply – if it’s
not, she’ll put it down. I’ve read every Wilbur Smith book since, but I still
remember the thrill of that first novel, the great feel of it being just a
little bit out of my league.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">In recent
years, I’ve read prolifically and I’ve found I tend to stick to the same main
genre – that of romance. Within this wide genre I have discovered the delights
of :<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Contemporary
- Nora Roberts, Sandra Brown, Anne Stuart, Lori Foster<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Humour -
Jennifer Cruisie, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, Rachel Gibson, <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Historical
– Julie Garwood, Lisa Kleypas, Julia Quinn, Teresa Medeiros<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Fantasy
– J R Ward, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Kresley Cole, Gena Showalter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Thrillers
– Karen Rose, Julie Garwood, Karin Slaughter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB">Suspense
– Cherry Adair, Linda Howard<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">Is it any
wonder then that I feel the need to romance the genres myself? My first series
- Atlantic Divide is Contemporary, with a touch of humour. It currently has
three books <b>Loving Lydia</b>, <b>Bad Girl Bill and Finding Zoe<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Flight of Her Life</span></b><span lang="EN-GB"> is an all-out comedy. A great romp through a
short story.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span lang="EN-GB">Flynn’s Kiss</span></b><span lang="EN-GB">, the first book in my <b>Disarmed & Dangerous series</b> is a humorous contemporary with a
touch of grit and certainly the next in that series, Barbara’s Redemption is
even grittier. I’m almost finished that and believe me, the heroine is giving
me a hard time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">I loved the
<b>historical</b> I wrote for Nanowrimo, <b>Her Captured Groom</b> – a real challenge, and
I have to re-look at this again before I can sub it, but worth the effort and I
enjoyed it so much, that I currently have Book 2 as a work in progress – <b>Hawk’s Lady</b>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">The great
news I have today is I have just signed a contract with Hartwood Publishing for
a full length paranormal 75k word novel called <b>Banshee Seduction – Montgomery’s Sin Book 1</b>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">While I was
writing <b>Banshee Seduction</b>, I was
asked to join several other authors for a Christmas anthology, <b>Paranormally Yours</b> and my contribution
was <b>For Heaven’s Cakes</b> – a builder
by day, a wolf shape-shifter by night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-GB">So, like my
reading choices, I have found in my writing that I am blurring the lines a
little in the genres – and loving every moment of it. And just to prove it,
here’s my new <b>Sci-Fi, Time Travel
Romance.</b></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AieBJOoG670/VMEomLduhuI/AAAAAAAADbE/Zv8wsE1iU5k/s1600/Short_Circuit_Time-Diane_Saxon-500x800.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AieBJOoG670/VMEomLduhuI/AAAAAAAADbE/Zv8wsE1iU5k/s1600/Short_Circuit_Time-Diane_Saxon-500x800.jpg" height="320" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK7" style="line-height: 200%;"><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Short Circuit Time by Diane Saxon</span></b></a><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">In the year 2086, Zaphira is alone, the last
survivor of biological warfare on Earth. Before he died, her scientist father
promised other survivors would come. Nobody has. So when a horribly mangled
android shows up claiming to be her father’s assistant, Aiden, who has been
sent through time to rescue her, she’s both frightened and astounded. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The last time she’d seen Aiden, she’d been
sixteen, head-over-heels in love with him and had literally thrown herself at
him, leaving her devastated by his rejection and him running for the hills. The
following day, she’d been told of his death. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Eight years later he’s miraculously back, this
time asking for her help. Without it, he won’t survive. But can she really put
a dead man back together with tweezers? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For Aiden, everything has changed. There are
no other humans, no government, and time travel has left his new android body
unexpectedly weak and suffering from inexplicable genetic changes in eye and
hair color, brought about by his molecular shake-up. Unbelievably, the
scientist who sent him is dead, and he must rely on the scientist’s daughter to
help him. A woman who he’s not so sure has his best interests at heart. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The last time he’d seen her, Zaphira had been
a sixteen year old with a dangerous crush on him and he’d been rocked by the
turmoil of his own feelings. Now she’s twenty four and literally holds his
survival in her hands. Too bad everything he does and says seems to annoy her. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Trusting her might be his undoing. But he is
left with no choice. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">For
Zaphira, getting used to the transformation of old Aiden to android Aiden
requires a large mental leap. But when android Aiden starts to rebuild his
human form to a new and improved standard, things start to get tricky. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The
Aiden she loved as a little girl was her father’s nerdy assistant. The new
Aiden is hot. But are her feelings as strong eight years later or are they
simply a cherished memory?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Excerpt<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Prologue<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She narrowed her eyes and squinted at
the skinny geek stumbling backward out of the passenger seat of her father’s
car. She’d waited all day for the rumble of the engine of her daddy’s
convertible. The old car had a distinct stutter and a sly rev she fantasized
was because it had a mind of its own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She smiled awkwardly, her mouth pulled
tight across her braces and she pressed her fingers over her top lip to stop it
from catching on the edge, rolling and making her look like a feral cat. Her
face ached. They’d tightened the braces again and it hurt so much more this
time. The smile dropped from her lips only to ping back up again as the geek
caught his shoe on some piece of equipment in the foot well of her daddy’s car.
He flipped backward, his gangly arms pin wheeling until he landed on his ass on
the floor, minus his shoe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He whipped his head up and she stepped
back from the window hoping he hadn’t heard her girlish giggles. He wouldn’t be
impressed. He was so much older and more mature.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not many would believe he was twelve
years her senior. Not with his thick russet hair falling in a boyish flop over
his forehead, his fine gold-rimmed glasses perched right on the end of his
nose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her heart fluttered in her chest as
she chanced another peek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">His arms full of equipment, flushed to
his hairline, he staggered toward the front door of her home. Adrenaline pumped
hot through her veins. She took a few skips toward the hallway, ran back to the
window to see her father’s car pulling away from the curbside. Her mother was
out. She was the only one there to open the door. She darted back, hesitated,
her pulse thrumming in the base of her throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">A dull thud shuddered the door in its
frame and she shot forward, wrenched it open before he did any further damage.
His shoulder slid across the oak panel and he shot sideways through the
entrance, his skinny limbs racing to keep up with the speed of his body, but to
no avail. His foot skidded and down he went. The clatter of laboratory
equipment skidding across the wooden floor filled her ears as did his quiet
Irish curse.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Bollocks.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Stifling another snigger, she crouched
to help, casting furtive little glances at him as he came to his knees,
straightened his waistcoat and touched his fingers to his bow tie, ensuring it
was still there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Hi Aiden.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">His deep frown almost made her
stutter, but she knew he couldn’t sustain his annoyance. His small nervous
cough made her smile.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Hey.” The sound of his soft, smooth
voice made her light-headed and she stopped what she was doing to gaze deep
into his eyes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">He pushed his glasses further up his
nose and glared at her. Unperturbed, she met his beautiful gaze with a lovesick
one of her own.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Do you need a hand down to the lab?”
He dropped his gaze to her mouth. Her speech lisped embarrassingly through her
clenched together teeth. She hated her braces, couldn’t wait to have them
removed.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“No.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Not wanting him to go yet, she piled
another few items on top of the ones already in his arms and resisted the urge
to stroke her fingers along the sleeve of his tweed jacket.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Can I get you a coffee?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">“Zaphira…” he sighed, “Thank you, but
no. I have work your father wants me to complete. I don’t want to be
disturbed.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt; text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Her chest ached. Just a little. The
same as it always ached when he rejected her offers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">She bent to pick up Paco, her new
puppy, snuggled her face into his thick fur and took comfort from his
squirming, plump body as she hugged him close and let him lick sweet kisses
across her chin.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Aiden paused at the lab door then
glanced at her over his shoulder and her heart hitched again. There. It was
there, the glint in his eye. The one that told her every time she was about to
give up that there was a spark of interest. There was hope.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Buy
Links for Short Circuit Time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://amzn.to/1CPnAVg"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon
UK</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://amzn.to/1xrWY81"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Amazon.com</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK6"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK5"></a><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="OLE_LINK4"><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Where to Find Diane
Saxon</span></b></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://dianesaxon.com/" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Website</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> | </span><a href="http://www.dianesaxon.com/blogspot.html" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Blog</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> | </span><a href="http://sotialazu.wordpress.com/2014/04/07/flynns-kiss-by-diane-saxon/www.facebook.com/authordianesaxon" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Facebook Page</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> | </span><a href="https://twitter.com/Diane_Saxon" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Twitter</span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> | </span><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/19843221" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Goodreads Profile </span></a><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">| </span><a href="http://amzn.to/IVkWnn" target="_blank"><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Author Amazon Profile
Page</span></a><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 10.0pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 200%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">About the Author<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Diane Saxon lives
in the Shropshire countryside with her tall, dark, handsome husband, two
gorgeous daughters, a Dalmatian, one-eyed kitten, ginger cat, four chickens and
a new black Labrador puppy called Beau, whose name has been borrowed for her
hero in For Heaven's Cakes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">After working for
years in a demanding job, on-call and travelling great distances, Diane gave it
all up when her husband said “follow that dream”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Having been hidden
all too long, her characters have burst forth demanding plot lines of their own
and she’s found the more she lets them, the more they’re inclined to run wild.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Previous Books:</span></b><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Loving Lydia -Atlantic Divide Book 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Bad Girl Bill – Atlantic Divide Book 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Finding Zoe - Atlantic Divide Book 3<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Flight of Her Life<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Flynn’s Kiss – Disarmed & Dangerous Book 1<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">For Heaven’s Cakes – Paranormally Yours
Anthology <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-60025322384079520762015-01-22T05:00:00.000-05:002015-01-22T05:00:03.367-05:00Kryssie Fortune...Knights Vampire!Author Kryssie Fortune has done it.<br />
That's right. She has managed to blend two of my favorite romantic themes: vampires and knights. I don't know about you, but I'm already having fantasies. Read on as Kryssie tells us about the very sexy <u>Knights Vampire</u>.<br />
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<u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Legend
of Blaxton the Bold<o:p></o:p></span></u></div>
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<u><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></u></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When you think of knights in shining armor,
what do you see? Warriors charging down the tourney field, lances extended?
Powerful men with huge muscles wielding broadswords with deadly effect? A hero
with a battle ax defending his lady’s honor?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In a time of courtly love and chivalry, one
warrior knight leaps out of the history books. Sir Blaxton de Ferrers was
fiercer, stronger, and smarter. A medieval superstar, he blushed when ladies
sighed over his physique or men praised his fighting prowess. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Some say Sir Walter Scott used the folk tales
about Blaxton to create his hero, Ivanhoe. Like Blaxton, Ivanhoe fought to save
a group of Jews when the people of York wanted them dead. Outnumbered, he put
his life on the line to do the right thing. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">York was the only time Blaxton was wounded,
but he kept his charges safe. A moneylender’s daughter named Rebecca nursed him
back to health. Anyone who knows Sir Walter Scott’s Ivanhoe will see the
similarities here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Afterward, Blaxton joined the Knights
Defenders—a religious order founded by Henry I to protect his traveling
justices. Blaxton the Bold took vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience when he
joined the Knights Defenders. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Later Eleanor of Aquitaine complained to her
son Richard the Lionheat, “My ladies in waiting wept for days.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Undefeated on foot or on horse, Blaxton
became a medieval superstar. When he went on crusade, Richard the Lionheart
wanted to fight at his side. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Then the Knights Defenders stole Blaxton’s
soul. Nine hundred years later, he still doesn’t understand why. A few months
later, his cousin stuck a knife in his back and killed him. Only, without his
soul, he didn’t stay dead. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blaxton the Bold became Blaxton de Ferrers, Knight
Vampire.</span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXrM2Pt5mOc/VL-0Y6TNxRI/AAAAAAAADac/MUl2zQl8FS4/s1600/Knights%2BVampire2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mXrM2Pt5mOc/VL-0Y6TNxRI/AAAAAAAADac/MUl2zQl8FS4/s1600/Knights%2BVampire2.jpg" height="320" width="220" /></a></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-GB" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: 'Segoe UI', sans-serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Book Blurb</span></b><b><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 13.5pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
Betrayed by the Knight Defenders and murdered by his cousin, crusader </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
knight Blaxton de Ferrers rose as a vampire. For nine centuries, he’s </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
preyed on the people he once swore to protect. Gradually, as his</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
emotions leach out of him, he forgets how to feel. Then he meets
Harriet.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Harriet Mortlake’s a strong
sassy woman who battles her weight and her </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
temper. Her job is to seek out the ancient secrets of the castle that was </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;">Blaxton’s childhood home. Instead, she finds the love of her life.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br /></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">When danger threatens Harriet, Blaxton steps
in. Harriet and Blaxton, are </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
a match made in heaven. Except… he’s a vampire and to fully claim
her, </span><span lang="EN-GB" style="background: white; color: #3d3d3d; font-family: "Segoe UI","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
he’ll have to kill her.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><br />
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Harriet studied him as though he were a bug beneath
a microscope. “De Ferrers? Are you a descendant of the original family that
ruled here in medieval times? Do you really know things about this castle that
no one else does? What makes you think the chapel was really a temple? And if
it was, who worshiped there? And if it was a pagan stronghold, then why do the
oldest documents mark it with a cross?” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">He raised his hands in surrender. “Slow down.
You’re firing questions the way a machine gun fires bullets. Yes, my ancestors
once ruled here, but it was a long time ago. How about you tell me why you
believe that black hole’s a chapel? It looks more like a dungeon to me.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">She threw back her head and laughed. “Clever,
turning my own question back on me. Okay, I’ll play. I’m the new archivist
here, but back in Victorian times, they unearthed an original map of the
castle. Your dungeon, temple, or whatever you want to call it was marked with a
cross. See? Temples are pagan strongholds, not places for Christian
worship.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">He grinned that devastating smile that melted
her bones, and tossed her a tidbit of information. “The cross on the plans.
Were all the arms the same length? Was it bright blue on a silver-gray
background, and did the arms have cut off triangle bases inverted and stuck on
their ends?” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Harriet’s breath came faster, and as she stared
down at her hand, it shook so hard she almost spilled her coffee. “You mean
like a Knights Templar cross but in different colors? Azure and argent? Sorry,
you’d call them sky blue and silver. Those were the Knights Defender’s colors,
weren’t they? Do you really think it was one of their temples where they
carried out their most secret and sacred rituals? Really? It’d make my career
if you’re right, but we don’t have any Knights Defender connections here.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Hot coffee scalded Harriet’s throat, but the
quicker she drank it the sooner she could return to her office and check out
the original map. Proving a Knights Defender connection could make her
reputation and impress the higher-ups who’d doubted her. “I’ll dig out those
original plans and check, but I can’t believe anyone could make such a foolish
mistake. Can I have your phone number or something, and if you’re right, I’d
love to talk.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Mortified, she realized she’d just asked this
stranger for his phone number. He wound her up like a clockwork toy, and when
she chased after him, he talked with such authority she almost believed him.
Besides, even if he’d made his wild story up, she really wanted to see him
again. Who was she kidding? She needed to know if he tasted as great as he
smelled—all sandalwood and exotic spices. If he did, she’d surely find him
addictive. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Blaxton grinned, pulled out a business card, and
scribbled a cell phone number underneath his business contacts. “Here. That’s
my personal number.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">She studied the card and laughed. “It says here
you’re a property developer. I can’t see you being able to do much with a
twelfth-century castle, even if it wasn’t grade one listed.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">He stared out to sea, and for a moment he looked
lost. His smile returned so quickly Harriet wondered if she’d imagined his
brief withdrawal. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">He finished his coffee and stood up. “Maybe I
could demolish the damned temple and replace it with a real chapel. I’m not
staying in Yorkshire long, but would you have dinner with me tonight? We can
discuss the Knights Defender if you like. How about we meet up in the Italian
restaurant by the harbor? I’ll book a table for eight o’clock tonight if you’re
free.” </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Harriet blushed, but she smiled back. Tonight
she’d be dining with the best-looking guy in the town—if he turned up. She’d
been stood up so many times by her ex before she’d stupidly let him share her
body and her bed. After the way he’d treated her, dating came hard. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">Blaxton de Ferrers seemed genuine. Part of her
wanted to run out and get her nails done right along with her hair. <i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">What the hell am I going to wear?</span></i> She wasn’t some
sophisticated London beauty, but she cleaned up okay despite her extra ten
pounds. Besides, no way would she miss a chance to pump him for information. <i><span style="border: none windowtext 1.0pt; mso-border-alt: none windowtext 0cm; padding: 0cm;">And if he wants to kiss me goodnight… Well, I might just let him.</span></i> </span></span><span lang="EN-GB" style="color: #333333; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-62490585130128700212015-01-19T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-19T07:00:06.248-05:00Ryan Lanz on Showing Vs. TellingEvery so often you connect with someone on social media who offers true value to your work and the way you think. For me, one of these people is blogger Ryan Lanz. He hosts a very popular writing blog at <a href="http://www.ryanlanz.com/">www.ryanlanz.com</a> on which he has interviewed many authors and New York Times bestsellers. I was recently privileged to be part of an interview there as well. You can find that piece <a href="http://ryanlanz.com/2015/01/10/how-rosanna-leo-became-published-an-interview/">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, Ryan now lives in the Midwest, USA, "trying to keep warm." Knowing he has so much to offer in the way of writing advice, I asked him to appear here. I'm very pleased he is able to share a post that rang true for me on the topic of showing vs. telling. This is an essential skill for a writer in any genre. Please read on to hear Ryan's take on this topic and do share with your writer friends. And if you find Ryan's examples helpful, please take a moment to comment and let him know today.<br />
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If there was one piece of writing advice I disliked most as a new writer, it certainly was “Show, don’t tell.” Initially, I had no idea what it meant. Self-help writing blogs often toss this phrase around without examples. I even had a critique done on my writing once, and the person critiquing said this phrase several times but offered no help on what showing actually meant.</div>
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Finally, I stumbled upon a quote that changed my outlook on writing forever.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.” -Anton Chekhov</em></div>
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It clicked for me. I finally got it. At least, it was enough to where I knew what the heck those people were talking about. But I still craved examples. In this blog post, I thought it would be fun to dive into the important topic of showing versus telling. And yes, fair reader, there will be examples.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Show the readers everything; tell them nothing.” -Ernest Hemingway</em></div>
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First, let’s think about why we tout showing rather than telling. Why is it so important and popular these days? Literary trends change over time, although much more slowly than, say, fashion trends. These days, the trend in commercial fiction is concise, lean writing without a lot of overly-descriptive “purple prose.” Prologues are somewhat out of fashion for certain genres. Third person limited and first-person are by far the most popular these days, when it used to be third person omniscient about 40-60 years ago. To recall third person omniscient, think Lord of the Rings and phrases like, “Little did they know . . .”</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“An overturned tricycle in the gutter of an abandoned neighborhood can stand for everything.” -Steven King</em></div>
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In my opinion, I believe that we show rather than tell because the modern reader is pretty smart. Fiction, in some form, has been around for thousands of years. Readers have come to expect certain things when they read stories. They may not be able to name literary devices, but they are intuitive nonetheless.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Good writing is supposed to evoke sensation in the reader–not the fact that it is raining, but the feeling of being rained upon.” -E.I. Doctorow</em></div>
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What fun is a crossword puzzle that gives you all the answers up front? It’s much more interesting, and more challenging, to be hinted toward the answers. Essentially, when you “show” in your novel, you are hinting at the answers. You don’t have to come out and say the whole thing; you can give the reader several pieces, and the reader can apply the final piece . It’s an interesting dynamic when you think about it, and it’s much more gratifying to the reader.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">“The secret of being boring is to say everything.” -Voltaire</em></div>
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The same principle applies to comedy. If you provide all the information upfront, it’s not funny. But when you give the audience every piece but one (with the right timing), the joke is hilarious. The audience’s mind supplies the final tiny piece of information.</div>
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I’ll give an example. Recently, I sent out a <a href="https://twitter.com/TheRyanLanz/status/534122494161326080" style="border: 0px; color: #759b22; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">tweet</a> featuring a room with crumpled up pieces of paper waist-high. As a caption, I wrote, “Yes, I’ve gone through several drafts . . . why do you ask?” Now, I’m not saying that’s the summit of comedy, but can you imagine how unfunny it would’ve been if I instead had written “These are all of my drafts.” It’s unfunny, because within the context, that part is already obvious. Unconsciously, your readers want you to leave out the obvious parts, too.</div>
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By the same token, when your protagonist is upset, simply describing her eyebrows drawing together is enough to tell the reader as such. Within the context, the reader gets it. The reader is pretty smart. These days, continuously telling the reader something that is obvious insults their intelligence and bothers them, even if they’re only subconsciously aware of it.</div>
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<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> “A writer should seize upon small details, arranging them so that the reader will see an image in his mind after he closes his eyes.” -Anton Chekhov</em></div>
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So! How about some random examples?</div>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Telling:</strong> Tiffany felt afraid. He pounded on the door, demanding to be let in.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Showing:</strong> Tiffany gripped the sheets in bunches between her cold fingers. Her forehead was slick with sweat. The door rattled again and again against its weak hinges. She didn’t imagine it would be long before he got in.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">With this example, it shows physical signs that Tiffany is afraid, rather than telling the reader out-right. The reader can easily surmise that she is afraid by those physical clues and the context.</li>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Telling: </strong>The crowd looked angry. He wouldn’t be surprised if they revolted. The guards did what they could to keep the peace.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Showing: </strong>The crowd boiled like a simmering cauldron. When the guards weren’t looking, some of the people threw apple cores, aimed at the well-polished helmets. Yells and curses cut through the air. The captain stepped forward with his hands spread out.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">In this example, you can tell the crowd is upset because of the simile and the fact that they are yelling and throwing things. Saying they are upset doesn’t really move the plot forward, but the crowd throwing apples at the guards does, while at the same time showing their anger.</li>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Telling: </strong>Luke drew his sword. He knew this would be the fight of his life.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Showing: </strong>Luke drew his sword. He eyed the graceful movements of the man standing in front of him. His opponent held his sword easily, as one would after a lifetime of applying it. Luke willed his hands to stay dry.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s fairly clear that Luke’s hands are threatening to sweat because he is nervous to fight his opponent, who looks intimidating by his battle stance. Reading that indication is likely enough to signal to the reader that he may be in a tough fight without needing to tell the reader as such.</li>
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<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Telling: </strong>“You have nothing to worry about,” Susie said. It was clear she was lying.</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Showing: </strong>Susie shifted her weight, never bringing her eyes up fully to meet mine. When she did speak, she interrupted the sentence by biting her lip. “You have nothing to worry about.”</li>
<li style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Although the “tell” in this example isn’t terrible, you can use physical cues to show that Susie is not confident about what she’s saying. Maybe you want to shed doubt on Susie, but you don’t want to out-right tell the reader that she’s lying, for reasons of mystery. It may not be a simple “which is better,” but it might be a question of how much you want to reveal and when. Showing hints is imperative in a mystery subplot.</li>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Conclusion</strong><br />Having said all this, it’s not possible to write an entire book without “telling” something. You have to “tell” the reader<em style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-weight: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">something</em> eventually. Add a pinch of salt to any writing advice. What I encourage everyone to do, is to pick off at least the obvious instances to show rather than tell.</div>
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Virtually every human emotion could be shown. Observe your friends when they talk. You don’t need to hear your friends thoughts to know when they are feeling certain emotions. True, you have the visual cues that you don’t have in a book, but you can describe the visual cues in writing, which in most cases is all you need. Increasing the amount of “showing” in your books could mean the difference between a good book and a great book.</div>
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Ryan's original post on showing vs. telling can be found here: <a href="http://ryanlanz.com/2014/11/22/showing-vs-telling/">http://ryanlanz.com/2014/11/22/showing-vs-telling/</a></div>
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If you write, I urge you to subscribe to his helpful blog today. Thanks for sharing this information with us, Ryan!</div>
<br />Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-67177257848610013352015-01-15T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-15T08:17:38.156-05:00Allison B. Hanson...Pledged!Making the unreal seem real can often be tricky for a paranormal romance writer. I'm thrilled Allison B. Hanson is here today to tell us a bit about her process and how she surmounted this obstacle with her new book <i>Pledged</i>.<br />
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Welcome, Allison!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3eSJJhyxaX0/VLUwhyy9bFI/AAAAAAAADYo/YCzkK4wxTYM/s1600/Pledged.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3eSJJhyxaX0/VLUwhyy9bFI/AAAAAAAADYo/YCzkK4wxTYM/s1600/Pledged.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Research for a Paranormal
by Allison B. Hanson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I’ve heard some people say that
writing a paranormal is easy because the author can always use magic when they
write themselves into a corner. I tend to write in a lot of different genres,
but I find paranormals to be the most interesting and complex.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">After all, I’m writing about
something that’s not real, but I have to find a way to make it feel very real
to the reader. I can’t read a book or
Google what if feels like when a human being shifts into an animal, because
humans don’t really do that. But yet, it needs to be written in a way that
makes the reader doubt that fact without hesitation. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">In my new book <i>Pledged</i>, I put a lot of thought into what it might feel like to
have my body transform into another being. The thing I was most certain of was
that it would be painful. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">I find my muscles and joints protest
after sitting on the floor for too long, and they’re just morphing back into
the form of a normal, standing human. Surely when femurs stretch, and muscles
bind there has to be a good bit of pain involved. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">There’s also bound to be pain from
organs moving, and that itchy feeling of fur sprouting out of your skin. All in
all, it must be a pretty strenuous thing for a human body to go through. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">So then I thought there has to be a
payoff. Some great freedom that makes it worth it, that makes the shifter feel
like this oddity is actually a gift. That they are special and even superior to
a normal non-shifting human. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">For the wolves in my <i>Pack of Lies</i> series, the freedom is not
just about the ability to run over terrain at high speeds with the wind in
their fur. It is the emotional freedom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">To be able to step away from all the
human emotions and drama. To just be, and do, and yes… run with the wind
through your fur. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Blurb: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Camille Anthony was abandoned at an
orphanage when she was only a year old. She knows nothing of the parents who
left her with strangers, and has spent her whole life struggling to fit in,
without success. But on the night of the full moon, she undergoes a change
she’s never felt before—she becomes a wolf. She hopes the changes will finally
give her a place to belong, as well as answering questions she never knew she
had.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Will Holbrook knows he can’t have
anything long-term with Camille. After all, he is a wolf, and he was raised
knowing wolves only marry other wolves. When she reveals to him that she is
changing in the same way he does every full moon, he thinks things will finally
work out for him. Until a new fear arises. Wolves are usually pledged at birth,
and Camille has no memory of anything that might have happened before she was
left at the orphanage. Could she have a mate already? What will he do if one
shows up?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Excerpt: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Maybe it was the flu.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">People got aches and pains with the
flu. She watched her muscles twitching under her skin and nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Just in case it wasn’t the flu, she
decided to get ready for Plan B.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">If she did turn into a dog again she
didn’t want to eat cardboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">She checked under Gia’s bed for any
stashed contraband. All clear.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">She dumped the granola bars on her
bed, and with throbbing, shaking fingers she pulled them from their wrappers.
She made a box of mac and cheese in the microwave and set the bowl on the
floor.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">With the last of her energy used up,
she took off her clothes and curled into a ball on her bed to convulse and
moan. Her body began to twitch harder, throwing her arm out and then her foot.
Her head pulled up, and she tensed against what was coming.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">The increasing tide of pain washed
over her, and she was left panting on the bed in confusion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Not again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">She slid off the bed onto her four
paws and went straight for the bowl of cheese-flavored pasta. She downed that
in a few quick gulps and sniffed the air hoping for more.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">On the table by the bed was some kind
of bars. She swallowed them down without chewing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">With her hunger momentarily sated,
she began with the pacing. When she passed the mirror, she stopped and looked
at herself for a long moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">A thin, lanky wolf with pure white
fur looked back at her with curious blue-green eyes. Her reflex to shy away
from the wolf in the reflection subsided as she realized it was her. She was
safe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">She was a wolf, but she was safe.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><br /></span>
<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Pledged-Pack-Lies-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00S6ZT6A6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1421275204&sr=8-1&keywords=allison+b+hanson" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.amazon.com/Pledged-<wbr></wbr>Pack-Lies-Book-1-ebook/dp/<wbr></wbr>B00S6ZT6A6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&<wbr></wbr>qid=1421275204&sr=8-1&<wbr></wbr>keywords=allison+b+hanson</a></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pledged-allison-b-hanson/1121008898?ean=9781622101726" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/<wbr></wbr>w/pledged-allison-b-hanson/<wbr></wbr>1121008898?ean=9781622101726</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"></span><br />
<div class="gmail_default" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-indent: 0px;">
<a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/pledged-p984.php" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">http://www.lsbooks.com/<wbr></wbr>pledged-p984.php</a></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Links: <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";"><a href="http://www.allisonbhanson.com/">www.allisonbhanson.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 36.0pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003793842190">https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003793842190</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">Twitter: @allisonbhanson<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif";">TSU: <a href="https://www.tsu.co/AllisonBHanson">https://www.tsu.co/AllisonBHanson</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-80652409750719081612015-01-14T07:00:00.000-05:002015-01-14T07:00:01.399-05:00Lynn Rae...Desire Disguised!Pub sister Lynn Rae is here today to discuss two of my favorite things: hot romance and food. :)<br />
I know you'll get a kick out of her post and her futuristic romance <i>Desire Disguised</i>.<br />
<br />
Welcome Lynn!<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*****</div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There’s Always Food Somewhere<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Lynn Rae<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I grew up in a family of cooks and
didn’t realize it until I grew up and moved out into the world to discover
there were lots of people who didn’t know how to cook, and even (gasp!) didn’t
care about food. As a child, we had an enormous garden, canned most of our
produce, and got fresh eggs from a neighbor, so the current popularity of
‘eating local’ makes me nostalgic. I still grow fresh vegetables in my backyard
raised beds, subscribe to a CSA (community supported agriculture) delivery, and
cook from scratch every day. It’s no wonder that food, and the production of it,
seems to pop up in every book I’ve written.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In my current book, Desire Disguised,
food is one of the ways my two main characters take care of each other. First,
my hero makes sure the heroine and her brother get a meal as they recuperate after
crash-landing on his planet. Once she’s settled, the heroine prepares him a
meal as a thank-you for all his help. Due to her life on the run she’s never
been able to go to school or hold down a job and she feels she has few useful
skills other than cooking. My hero arranges for her to find work in the
settlement’s kitchen and she’s thrilled at the opportunity to learn from
trained chefs. She’s never been able to form attachments to others because of
the risk of betrayal, but cooking for the hero becomes a way for her to
communicate with him and develop confidence in herself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In my world, cooking a meal shows you
care and I believe that holds true even on a future planet in another galaxy. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ObB2Vn0I52o/VLP9qMkFJ-I/AAAAAAAADYA/U0GaPRpA_RA/s1600/desiredisguised.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ObB2Vn0I52o/VLP9qMkFJ-I/AAAAAAAADYA/U0GaPRpA_RA/s1600/desiredisguised.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Desire Disguised<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Love Under a New Star Book 2<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By Lynn Rae<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Liquid Silver Books<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">5 January 2015<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ISBN/ASIN: </span><span lang="EN-US" style="background: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">B00RTLZIXW</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blurb:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Cara Belasco has
been on the run from assassins since childhood. Living in the shadows with her
younger brother and one elderly guardian, her luck nearly runs out when the
smuggler’s ship carrying them crashes into a soggy jungle planet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">Ben Zashi, the
stalwart head of security who rescued her from the wreckage, is very curious
about her cover story, and Cara has to fend off his inquires as well as her
escalating attraction for him. Will the secrets she’s been hiding come between
them, or can Cara allow herself to find passion with the one man who longs to
protect her?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Buy Links:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Desire-Disguised-Love-Under-Star-ebook/dp/B00RTLZIXW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420501316&sr=8-2&keywords=desire+disguised"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">http://www.amazon.com/Desire-Disguised-Love-Under-Star-ebook/dp/B00RTLZIXW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1420501316&sr=8-2&keywords=desire+disguised</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-desiredisguised-1719106-153.html"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;">https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-desiredisguised-1719106-153.html</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/desire-disguised-p983.php"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://www.lsbooks.com/desire-disguised-p983.php</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Excerpt:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Cara followed at a jog, or tried to
for a few paces until a broad chest appeared in her line of sight, blocking her
view of the doorway. Ben Zashi. She’d forgotten about him for a few minutes,
which was a first during her time on Gamaliel. He held up both hands and tilted
his head, his eyebrow quirked in an inquiring fashion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What? Move, I need to go—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Actually it would be better if you
waited.” He directed her to stand by his door and she did, too shocked by his
interference to protest. He walked into their suite of rooms, and she heard his
low voice, too indistinct to make out any words. Mat replied a few times and Ben
returned, closing the door behind him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“What are you doing? I need to get
in there and—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, you need to get in <i>here</i> unless you want everyone in the
building to hear this,” Ben commanded, and a flicker of something close to fear
wrapped in a thrill fluttered in her chest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">He jerked his chin at the door
behind her, and she turned and entered his rooms. She’d never been inside. The
layout seemed to mirror their suite, but she was too unsettled to take notice
of more than a piano and a blue sofa. Whirling around as soon as she heard the
door close, she found she was face to face with an unsmiling man.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Give yourself a minute, Cara.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She shook her head. “No, let me out
of here. I need to talk with him.” She’d just found Mat, and this man was going
to keep her from him. Unacceptable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">She tried to dodge around him, but
he was too quick, flinging out an arm to block one side of the hall, and then
the other when she tried it again. Her frustration built up in her chest, and
she found it hard to take a deep breath. Ben’s dark eyes never left hers as he
talked.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Listen. You’re upset. He’s upset.
Take a breather before you see him. He’s safe in there, and he’s not going
anywhere tonight.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“How do you know that? He just
disappeared—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“No, he went to a new friend’s house
and thought he’d have time to get back here before you returned. The school
routine is new for him, and he just forgot to check his datpad. Cara, listen,
he’s just being a kid, don’t be so hard on him—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The anger popped in her head in a
burst of red light, and all the years of fear, the stress that never let up
fueled her rage as she lifted her hands fully intending to shove at Ben’s broad
chest with all her might. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. I have to
be hard on him or he’ll—we’ll die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Her strength failed her as soon as
she touched him, and her arms gave out before she could actually push. Ben
pulled her in as she fell against him. “Nobody died.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; mso-pagination: none; text-align: justify; text-indent: 21.6pt;">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“But we will,” Cara muttered into
his chest as his arms wrapped tightly around her. She wasn’t going to be able
to do this on her own. Two men had already died protecting them, and Soren was
nearly dead. That left her, a naïve woman with no experience or skills.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Not on my watch.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“I can’t do this.” Cara shivered
into the comfortable warmth of Ben and tried to talk herself into some courage.
She had to do it, there was no one else. But she’d already lost Mat once in the
few days she’d been responsible.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Something moving against her hair
distracted her. Ben’s grip on her loosened, and with an unexpected ache, she
realized he was going to let her go. She didn’t want that, not yet, so she slid
her hands around his arms and held on. He said something low she couldn’t make
out, and he touched her hair again. The soft and mysterious strokes were
mesmerizing. She could hear his heart beating and the steady thump made her
feel sleepy, a strange reaction after so much heightened emotion.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ben moved one of his hands to her
cheek and tilted her head to peer at her. She stared into his eyes and wanted
to fall into unconsciousness, to just let all of it go for the rest of the day.
A respite from her tattered life was all she wanted.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Ben frowned, looked at her mouth,
and said, “Blast it.” Then, he kissed her.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 150%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Author Bio:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lynn Rae makes her home in land-locked central Ohio after
time spent in the former Great Black Swamp, beside the Ohio River, and along
the Miami and Erie Canal. With professional experience in fields ranging
from contract archaeology to librarianship along with making donuts and
teaching museum studies, Lynn enjoys incorporating her quirky sense of humor
and real-life adventures into her writing (except the naughty bits). She writes sci-fi, contemporary, and
historical romances. You can find her posting frequently on Facebook at </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/lynnraewrites"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">https://www.facebook.com/lynnraewrites</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> or
at her webpage </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.lynnraewrites.com/"><span lang="EN" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">http://www.lynnraewrites.com/</span></a></span><span lang="EN" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-48823788860118016002015-01-12T08:35:00.000-05:002015-01-12T08:35:04.120-05:00The Stand-In available for preorder!Are you a contemporary romance fan? Like a story that tickles your funny bone, but also makes you sigh?<br />
<br />
Well, I'm happy to share my new contemporary romance <i>The Stand-In</i> is now available for preorder exclusively at Liquid Silver Books...and at a considerable discount. It will be available at the usual outlets on release day (Feb. 9) but you can only get it here now, folks. <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/pre-order-coming-soon-romance-books-c322.php">http://www.lsbooks.com/pre-order-coming-soon-romance-books-c322.php</a><br />
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I do hope you enjoy this flirty romp and appreciate you telling your friends if you do!<br />
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Hugs!<br />
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RosannaRosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-62575292776838200202015-01-12T05:00:00.000-05:002015-01-12T05:00:03.103-05:00Daisy Banks...To Eternity!I'm always excited to host Daisy Banks. This talented lady is not only a fellow Liquid Silver pub sister and author of several intriguing romances, she has been kind enough to do a fair bit of beta reading on my own novels. She is an excellent writer and I highly recommend her books. She is here today to tell us about her newest, <i>To Eternity.</i><br />
<br />
Welcome Daisy!<br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thank you so much for hosting me,
Rosanna, and helping me celebrate the release of my new book <i>To Eternity</i>, the
second book in the Timeless series. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I hope those of you who enjoyed meeting
Magnus and Sian in <i>Timeless</i> will enjoy this next step in their story. I hope those of you meeting them for the
first time in <i>To Eternity</i> will want to find out about their past in <i>Timeless</i>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am presently in the process of writing
<i>Out of Time</i>, Book Three in the series and hope to have it completed this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In my previous posts in the tour I have
concentrated on Magnus and his werewolf heritage. Today I want to introduce
those of you who haven’t met him to Mr. Franklyn Gorsewell. Franklyn, Sian’s
ex-boss, head of Gorsewell Productions is the character who gave me most
trouble as I wrote <i>To Eternity</i>. I had never written a character quiet like him
before, but as I got to know him he let me in to some of his more unpleasant
qualities. Even when I realized what his intentions were toward Sian I hoped
I’d find something to explain them. I didn’t find much, and as Franklyn grew
his role, as they say in the theatre, I found I really disliked him. There were
chapters in his point of view that made me shudder. I’ve picked a short excerpt
from <i>To Eternity</i> to give you the chance to meet him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I do hope you enjoy this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Franklyn limped to the courtyard where the food wagon
stood, got a coffee, and with his hat dipped low on his brow, parked in a
shadowy corner to drink it. Astonishing how a gray raincoat and a fedora,
combined with a black walking stick, turned him into an invisible man. Best
solution all considered. No matter what, there was no way he’d have missed this
shoot. From the little he’d seen so far, things looked well organized, typical
Sian. He’d taught her well. She’d sure been eager to learn. They’d shared
breakfast meetings in the park that dragged through to dinner in the evening.
Days, weekends, he’d given her both so he could talk her through each task when
setting up a job, introduce her to the musicians, artists, and technicians who
were important to his world. All the time and effort he’d spent meant she had
learned fast until she had developed much of the skill of an expert in her
field with the panache of a young woman about town.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">What a bloody fool he’d been. So many people had told
him how good they looked together. No one once asked if he truly was her uncle.
He shouldn’t have waited.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He inhaled and winced. The scent of hot coffee and
fried onions couldn’t mask the underlying smell here.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">Prickles of gooseflesh pebbled his skin. A reaction to
the</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt;">
odor</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"> of this place he couldn’t control. Something familiar
in the mix of scents goaded his senses, raised his need to leave a mark of
himself here so Johansson would know he’d been present today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">The lusty scream of a tormented electric guitar
blasted into the morning. The wails echoed around the courtyard. Sound, raw and
hot, thrummed through his veins.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">He had to hand it to Sian. She’d worked her little ass
hard, quite literally, to make sure the <i>Timeless </i>film happened here.
Once he got her back to <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-GB" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;">London where she belonged, he’d find a way to express
his pleasure at the results of her work. </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Thanks for reading.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Xx<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Daisy Banks<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">To
Eternity-wild beneath the moon- Book Two in the Timeless Series.<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14pt; line-height: 115%;">For four centuries Magnus has lived according to the dictates of
the moon, his heart isolated by the domination of his wolf nature. Now fate has
brought the beautiful, independent Sian to his house at Darnwell and their
irresistible attraction has exploded into a white-hot passion. Yet she is not
wolf, and the time has come for her to embrace the change. But once she
completes the ritual and claims her place next to Magnus, the rivals will
appear on the horizon…</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Buy Links</span></b><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/To-Eternity-Daisy-Banks-ebook/dp/B00OZUMI92"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Daisy-Banks/e/B00EWLCP3I"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Amazon UK</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-toeternity-1683439-142.html"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">ARe</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-eternity-daisy-banks/1120657535?ean=9781616506322"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Barns&Noble</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/to-eternity">Kobo</a></span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">You can read Chapter One of To Eternity free on my
blog in the My Books section. Take a peek.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Daisy Banks Links<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Blog</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://daisybanks.wordpress.com/"><span style="font-family: "Georgia","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://daisybanks.wordpress.com/</span></a><a href="http://daisybanks.wordpress.com/"></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Website </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com/"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://daisybanksnovels.yolasite.com/</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Twitter
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="https://twitter.com/DaisyBanks16">@DaisyBanks16</a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Facebook </span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://on.fb.me/18iRC35"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://on.fb.me/18iRC35</span></a> </span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Pinterest
</span><span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://bit.ly/16sF1XG"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">http://bit.ly/16sF1XG</span></a></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-19249967148206615472015-01-05T16:32:00.002-05:002015-01-05T16:32:54.181-05:00The Stand-In...a teaser.Hello friends and happy new year!<br />
It won't be much longer before my contemporary romance <i>The Stand-In</i> hits the e-shelves. Look for it Feb. 9 at www.lsbooks.com and other retailers.<br />
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You can now find <i>The Stand-In</i> at Goodreads. Please add it to your to-be-read list today. Just that one click helps an author spread the word about upcoming releases. <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24309704-the-stand-in">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24309704-the-stand-in</a></div>
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Here's a short teaser to whet your whistle:</div>
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He cleared his throat. “So, my car’s just over here.” He
led the way to a sweet Mazda convertible. Black and sleek, it looked like the
sort of car that often zipped past her rusty Yaris on the highway.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Nice ride,” she mumbled as he held open the passenger
door for her.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Thanks.” He got in and stuck the key in the ignition. “I
won’t bore you with my thoughts on its performance or gas consumption.” He
winked. “I really just like how it looks.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="color: blue;">Shallow, shallow, shallow</span></i>. Her inner voice sent
out an alarm. <i>You are the Yaris,
girlfriend. This man is the Mazda. Hell, he’s a freaking Lamborghini.</i>
Everything about him was too smooth, too polished. His car, his demeanor. His
goddamned kisses. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And yet a part of her still wanted to drive away with him,
just to see where the road would take them.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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“So, tell me where to go.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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She relayed the directions and they set out for the uptown
area, a good twenty minutes north of where she lived. They chatted about the
wedding, laughed about her dress some more, and she answered a few questions
for him about some of the other weddings she’d attended. Their conversation,
light and easy, made her feel comfortable and she had to remind herself not to
give too much away.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After all, a girl needed some secrets.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-81680442699874994832014-12-31T10:13:00.002-05:002014-12-31T10:13:50.705-05:00Predator's Fire makes The Bookchick's Top 20 of 2014!When blogger The Book Chick talks, people listen. Therefore, I was thrilled to learn my paranormal romance Predator's Fire, Gemini Island Shifters 5, made her Top 20 Books of 2014! What an honour. I am thrilled to be part of this list with some very accomplished authors, and just so tickled Book Chick would recognize my work in this way.<br />
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Here's what she had to say about Predator's Fire: "<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 30.0799999237061px;">Rosanna Leo hits yet another book out the park with Predator’s Fire. This book had it all. A hot alpha male. A sassy, can protect her own dang self, female. Smoking hot passion. Intrigue. And action. Lots and lots of action."</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTp1QcO_EXSxIRohgEPNGZOm1Lv1XGWc3CVoxAVIsE9Sw8GcEpvcHGIvGXMPgUxa1wlT1bFJE8HruQi5wOPe1RfLgkx7QPiiC-u14m5_Vo_jF3oe1W5ewkXXLeUamvnphUssv-kIrhyI/s1600/predator'sfireopt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiTp1QcO_EXSxIRohgEPNGZOm1Lv1XGWc3CVoxAVIsE9Sw8GcEpvcHGIvGXMPgUxa1wlT1bFJE8HruQi5wOPe1RfLgkx7QPiiC-u14m5_Vo_jF3oe1W5ewkXXLeUamvnphUssv-kIrhyI/s1600/predator'sfireopt.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 30.0799999237061px;">Thank you so much, Book Chick, for all your support and enthusiasm for my books. This is a fantastic way for me to end out my year. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 30.0799999237061px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 30.0799999237061px;">Check out the entire list here and give it a like. Make sure you subscribe to Book Chick's blog while you're there. It's a terrific resource for finding new books and fair reviews. </span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 30.0799999237061px;"><a href="http://bookchickwithkick.com/2014/12/31/the-best-of-2014/">http://bookchickwithkick.com/2014/12/31/the-best-of-2014/</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: open-sans-1, open-sans-2, Roboto, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You can find Predator's Fire at Amazon, ARE, B&N, Kobo and at Liquid Silver Books: <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/predator-s-fire-p946.php">http://www.lsbooks.com/predator-s-fire-p946.php</a></span>Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-59611168543985394352014-12-24T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-24T07:00:07.803-05:00Merry Christmas!I'd like to wish all my readers a very merry Christmas and a new year full of love, health and happiness.<br />
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Thank you for all the wonderful support this year and for sharing your appreciation of my books. I will be sure to bring you some sexy new reads in the new year and more amazing guest bloggers.<br />
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May Santa slip something sexy into your stocking.<br />
Love and hugs,<br />
<br />
Rosanna<br />
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<br />Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-67344910453311529382014-12-19T01:00:00.000-05:002014-12-19T01:00:08.492-05:00Winter Warm-Up Blog Hop!Hello hoppers!<br />
Are we cold yet? Well, this blog hop will warm you up.<br />
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<a href="http://www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com/"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-o3L94kbJKug/VJMKgjrqXEI/AAAAAAAADSk/QdrkaUjOjcg/s1600/Blog%2BHop%2BButton.5%2B(A).jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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As we scurry around on these last few days before the holiday, it's hard to take a moment to relax, read a book, or just breathe. The holidays can be fun but also stressful for so many. My family and I try hard to get out to at least one Xmas event to get in the spirit. Whether it's checking out the Xmas windows at a department store downtown, going to Toronto's historic Distillery District Xmas market, or just watching a holiday favorite movie, we do it together.<br />
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Consider this hop your little break from the craziness this holiday season. A break with awesome prizes!<br />
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The Grand Prize is a $75 Amazon gift card so make sure you enter the Rafflecopter. Here's the link:<br />
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<a href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/3ad276f824/?%20" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;">http://www.rafflecopter.com/<wbr></wbr>rafl/display/3ad276f824/?</span></span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"></span></span></div>
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To check out all the stops, follow the linky or this link: <span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: blue; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com/" style="color: #1155cc; font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" target="_blank">www.hopswithheart.blogspot.com</a> </span></span><br />
Or follow the hashtag <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">#HopswithHeart</span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'm doing my own giveaway as well. One reader will receive a copy of my paranormal romance Predator's Fire, Gemini Island Shifters 5. A recent recipient of The Romance Reviews Top Pick, this sizzling romance will definitely make you hot this Christmas.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">How can you win Predator's Fire?</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Simply comment here and tell me how you relax during the busy holiday season.</span></div>
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<b><u>Blurb:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">When Nina Suzuki discovers the body of
her best friend Janine, her world turns upside down. Things go from bad to
worse when Janine’s corpse seems to transform into that of a large, brown wolf.
For the first time, Nina is faced to confront all the clues indicating her BFF
was not what she seemed. A letter from the dead woman opens Nina’s eyes to a
strange, new world. The same letter warns of a sinister group called the Alpha
Brethren, and urges her to find Killian Moon of the Ursa Fishing Lodge and
Resort on <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placename w:st="on">Gemini</st1:placename> <st1:placetype w:st="on">Island</st1:placetype></st1:place>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Killian Moon is a jaguar shifter and teen
mentor at the Ursa Lodge in <st1:place w:st="on">Northern Ontario</st1:place>.
He may be a comfort and inspiration to confused teen shifters, but he also has
a fiery past. His past comes back to haunt him when human Nina arrives at the
resort, demanding to speak with him. Demanding answers. Can he trust her with
knowledge that will not only change her life, but possibly endanger those
around him? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">As Killian begrudgingly tutors Nina on
all things shifter, their mutual curiosity flares into passionate need. Once
they touch, once they succumb to desire, there is no going back. Killian
realizes Nina is his mate and they both begin to comprehend the terror
threatening those on their shifter-friendly island. He is forced to confront
the tragedy in his family and determines to protect Nina at all costs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">But can they protect everyone they love
from a cult of dangerous shifters, intent on horror and destruction? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><u>Excerpt:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“How much longer do I have to wait? I
want to see Killian Moon. Now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The feminine voice, strangely soft
despite its insistence, echoed deep in his being, awakening his jaguar. The
great cat roared to life, turned toward the office and inhaled deeply. Its eyes
flashed in interest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">In...recognition?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Killian breathed in at the same time,
catching the scent of cherry blossoms through the door. The sweet perfume,
mixed with human outrage, proved a heady distraction, making him forget why he
was there. Shaking his head, he tried to dismiss the odd sensation as Ryland
opened the door.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">The door swung open and the first person
he glimpsed was one of the clerks from reception, trying his hardest to placate
the unexpected guest. “I’m sure Mr. Snow and Mr. Moon will be right back.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And then his gaze landed on the petite
human. Tapered Asian eyes, so dark and mysterious, but rimmed with circles of
exhaustion. Smooth, cinnamon skin hinted at a mixed background. Wearing no
makeup, she appeared younger than she must be, but her presence and keen eyes
pegged her at around thirty years old. She had a riot of curly, black hair and
feminine curves that ought to come with a warning. He could see it now. <i><span style="color: blue;">Beware: this
woman’s body will cause insanity in men</span></i>. Even as she gesticulated at
the clerk, her boobs jiggled in such a way his throat went dry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He pictured her in a corset, her breasts
spilling over delicate lace edging, and almost forgot his name.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">This Nina Suzuki was damn hot and his
jaguar seemed to agree. The animal licked its lips, its golden gaze assessing
and appreciating every detail, from her rounded hips to her come-hither rack.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: blue;">Yes</span></i><span lang="EN-US">, the creature uttered on a
frenzied breath.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Buy link: <i>Predator’s
Fire</i>, Gemini Island Shifters 5, is available at: <a href="http://www.lsbooks.com/predator-s-fire-p946.php">http://www.lsbooks.com/predator-s-fire-p946.php</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Predators-Fire-Gemini-Island-Shifters-ebook/dp/B00N7407TA/ref=la_B007X5P4I8_1_4/192-1587072-4901527?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418010196&sr=1-4">http://www.amazon.com/Predators-Fire-Gemini-Island-Shifters-ebook/dp/B00N7407TA/ref=la_B007X5P4I8_1_4/192-1587072-4901527?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1418010196&sr=1-4</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/predator-s-fire">http://store.kobobooks.com/en-CA/ebook/predator-s-fire</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/predators-fire-rosanna-leo/1120325404?ean=9781622101498">http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/predators-fire-rosanna-leo/1120325404?ean=9781622101498</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-predator039sfire-1618352-149.html">https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-predator039sfire-1618352-149.html</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-43045577329270226022014-12-18T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-18T07:00:09.597-05:00Geena Tillman...Blue Moon!Woot! I'm so pleased to introduce you all to a talented debut author, Geena Tillman. Geena and I recently connected on Goodreads and I cannot wait to check out her book <i>Blue Moon</i>. Be sure to add it to your TBR list. This looks like the start of a very sexy series.<br />
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Welcome, Geena!<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Growing up with a hippy mother had some advantages in life, a respect for all life on earth, a healthy dose of social justice, and the permissiveness that comes from a parent who really wants their children to grow up to follow their dreams rather than follow the traditional societal lines that define "success."</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Which is how I ended up here, nearing my 30's with a degree in the fine arts and having just published a paranormal erotic novel. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I've always had a deep love for the romance genre, loving to read romantic tales from a young age. (I blame fairy tales and disney princesses for setting me on the path of romance obsession!) It evolved in my college years to a love of the erotic, usually with the elements of the supernatural or science fiction. I especially love shapeshifter stories, which is probably why my first novel is an erotic novel about werewolves! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I wrote "Blue Moon" at the urgings of my editor, Ada Murphy (an aspiring author in her own right, though not of erotica) who had never read an erotic novel before diving into editing mine. I'm happy to say she is now a fan of the genre, and is going through my personal library as I write! She thought that I had a flare for the dramatic (I used to write screenplays for short films that never went anywhere, for my degree) and I should just sit down and finish one. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">And so I did. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I hope to build off of the story of Blue Moon, as there are 4 more books planned in the series, the second one of which (Retribution) I am embroiled in writing at this moment, which I hope will be bigger and better than the first novel. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">I write at home, a massive cup of tea next to me, in my tiny little closet of an office. There is a certain satisfaction to having finished an novel, as though the world has opened up and I can write more, do more, be a little bit better at my life than I was before I finished a novel. For anyone out there who is currently working on something, keep at it! I wish everyone could have the same sort of satisfaction I feel at finishing a project! There's almost nothing like it.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">If you want to read my novel, I hope that you'll enjoy it, and review it (even if you didn't!), or e-mail or tweet me to let me know what you thought! I love hearing from people, and would love to hear from any of you! </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Now for brass tacks, the synopses of my novel!</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">Dealing with the murder of his father, Packmaster Jason Bortelais doesn't have time for anything in his life except his pack. Elise Leigh is on the run from an abusive ex with a vendetta, and can't get mixed up with anyone who might get hurt. But when they meet in the woods, sparks fly and a heated romance cannot be denied. When threats to the pack increase, Jason and Elise need to hang on against all the outside forces looking to destroy them. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon-Pack-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00OZCLOFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417021962&sr=8-1&keywords=geena+tillman&pebp=1417021956408">http://www.amazon.com/Blue-Moon-Pack-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00OZCLOFO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417021962&sr=8-1&keywords=geena+tillman&pebp=1417021956408</a></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">After discovering romance novels in her early teens, Geena enjoyed the fun and love attributed to the genre. However, she also loved magic, science fiction, and action movies to death, so tries to marry the two sides of her fiction passions in one. </span><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><br style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;" /><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">She lives in Canada with her husband and their three pets, despite being adverse to all things winter (a big problem for someone living in Canada!) This, however, gives her lots of time indoors to pursue writing during the long winter months. She doesn't like to take life too seriously, and is known as a bit of a joker.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><a href="https://twitter.com/GeenaTillman">https://twitter.com/GeenaTillman</a></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13px;"><span style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-16090820539085728972014-12-15T07:00:00.000-05:002014-12-15T07:00:04.692-05:00Tami Lund...Dawning of Light!What a pleasure to host Tami Lund on her release day! Her newest, <i>Dawning of Light</i>, looks wonderful. After reading the following interview with hero Finn, you will want to put this on your TBR list.<br />
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<span lang="EN-US">Thank you, Rosanna, for allowing Finn and I to take over your blog
today. As it’s the release day for his book, I’m hopeful he will give us a sneak
peek, so we know what to expect from the second book in the Lightbearer series,
<i>Dawning of Light</i>. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Last month, I had the privilege of interviewing Tanner, the hero
from <i>Into the Light</i>, the first book
in the series. It was an awkward interview, as he wasn’t inclined to talk very
much at all, let alone give me any inside information about his book. I’m hopeful
Finn from <i>Dawning of Light</i> will be at
least slightly more forthcoming. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Whereas Tanner and I met at a local brewpub, Finn has requested we
meet at a small distillery. It is a vodka distillery, and he insists we do a
shot together before we start the interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“To help us both relax,” he says.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Three shots later, I’m certainly relaxed, and faintly concerned that
I will not be able to conduct this interview, let alone make it home afterward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“You sure can belt them back,” I comment, as I signal to the waitress
and request a glass of water. She is beautiful, her rather large assets
displayed in a low cut shirt, her legs accentuated by a skirt that is short
enough to barely qualify as such.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Finn doesn’t even notice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I have Irish blood,” he states, his gaze watching me steadily, his
tone indicating that his words should explain everything.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“So … How’s life in the coterie treating you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He scowls. Apparently I have a knack for starting interviews on the
wrong foot. The same thing happened when I interviewed Tanner.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“It’s … different,” he said, slowly, choosing his words with care.
“I knew where I stood when I was part of Quentin Lyons’ pack. I’m still trying
to figure it out in this Lightbearers’ pack.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Coterie. They call their secret, warded village a coterie. But I
suppose it’s the same concept as a pack,” I add lamely, feeling guilty under
his intense stare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“It’s nothing at all like pack life,” he replies. “Hardly anyone
knows how to fight, even though it seems like half the magical community is out
to get them. You would think they would have planned better for their future.
But they all relied way too heavily on their king and their magical wards.
Well, their king’s a pansy and their wards can be broken.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Not by shifters,” I point out. “Your only magic is the ability to
shift forms at will. Lightbearers can use their magic for all sorts of things.”
I can tell instantly that I’ve said the wrong thing. He looks as if he is
contemplating leaping across the small table and ripping out my throat. I grab
my water, chug it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Tanner has magic,” he says, so softly I almost miss it. “He shares
his mate’s magic.” He sounds wistful.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Do you … Do you wish you were mated? To a lightbearer?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“I may be open to mating with someone … someday. But not a
lightbearer. No damn way.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Not even Cecilia?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">His job is to protect Cecilia, who has a propensity for slipping out
of the coterie unnoticed, therefore putting her own life into danger on a
regular basis. But I can tell by the look on his face, by the glow in his eyes,
that there is more to it than simply keeping her safe.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Cecilia isn’t interested in mating.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“But if she were?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She isn’t. With anyone. It doesn’t matter who it is.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“Are you…” My vodka-soaked brain struggles to find the right words.
It is obvious he feels … something for the feisty lightbearer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She’s frustrating as hell,” he mutters before downing the shot
perched on the table in front of him, and then signaling for another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She does seem like a bit of a free thinker,” I say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“A bit?” He snorts. The sexy waitress returns and he leans around
her to give me a disbelieving look. “Did you know her parents locked her in the
basement for three days, when she was fifteen years old, because she snuck out
of the coterie to meet a human boy?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">My eyes widen. “Lightbearers need sunlight,” I state the obvious.
“If they go too long without sunlight, they’ll … they’ll die.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She almost did.” He sounds far too protective for someone who is
just keeping an eye on the woman. Not to mention his eyes. They haven’t stopped
glowing since we started on this subject. Shifters’ eyes only glow when their
emotions are running high. I consider pressing for more information, and try to
figure out how to ask.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She must have some redeeming qualities,” I say.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He shrugs, leans back in his chair, rests one foot on the knee of
his other leg. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“She’s beautiful, I suppose. Although she’s too damn skinny. And
she’s loyal, especially to her cousin, Olivia, who is the Lightbearer princess.
And I guess her free spirit or whatever the hell you want to call it isn’t
really such a bad trait.” He sounds grudgingly appreciative of a trait of which
her parents clearly disapprove. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“What about you? Your loyalties lie with your pack master,
obviously, as you’re a shifter and that’s how shifters operate. But are you
loyal to anyone else?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He watches me with those glowing eyes. I try not to flinch under the
scrutiny. I do not think I’ve asked such an inappropriate question, have I?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">“To Cecilia,” he finally says. “If anyone hurts her, in any way,
they will feel my wrath. I’ve killed before,” he adds before I can comment.
“And I won’t hesitate to do it again.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">He abruptly stands and pulls the thin leather jacket off the back of
the chair. “Be careful what you write about me,” he says, and then he strides
away, through the clusters of humans who are tasting the various types of vodka
the distillery has to offer. He does not exactly melt into the crowd – it would
be impossible for him to melt into any crowd – but he does have an uncanny ability
to simply … disappear. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">I shift my gaze to the notes I’ve taken, and I cannot help but
wonder, <i>Do his feelings for Cecilia run
deeper than even he is willing to admit?</i> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">###<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Thank you for taking the time to read Finn’s interview. And thank
you again, Rosanna, for letting us take over your blog today. It was truly a
pleasure to be here. Finn and Cecilia’s story released on December 15<sup>th</sup>,
if your readers want to learn more of what Finn hinted at in his interview.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Dawning of Light
on Amazon:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Dawning-Light-Lightbearer-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00Q1YQWRO/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418562793&sr=1-4&keywords=tami+lund&pebp=1418563466113">http://www.amazon.com/Dawning-Light-Lightbearer-Book-2-ebook/dp/B00Q1YQWRO/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418562793&sr=1-4&keywords=tami+lund&pebp=1418563466113</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">And Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23461111-dawning-of-light">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23461111-dawning-of-light</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Into the Light on
Amazon: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-Lightbearer-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LS899XC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418562793&sr=1-3&keywords=tami+lund&pebp=1418564570690">http://www.amazon.com/Into-Light-Lightbearer-Book-1-ebook/dp/B00LS899XC/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1418562793&sr=1-3&keywords=tami+lund&pebp=1418564570690</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">
<span lang="EN-US">And Goodreads: <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22573246-into-the-light">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22573246-into-the-light</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fArDOXGrw_Y/VI4a3WDik0I/AAAAAAAADRs/u4a3jdnvDE0/s1600/Tami%2BLund%2BHeadshot%2B2014.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fArDOXGrw_Y/VI4a3WDik0I/AAAAAAAADRs/u4a3jdnvDE0/s1600/Tami%2BLund%2BHeadshot%2B2014.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Tami Lund website:
<a href="http://tamilund.com/">http://tamilund.com</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/TamiLundAuthor">https://twitter.com/TamiLundAuthor</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">Facebook: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTamiLund">https://www.facebook.com/AuthorTamiLund</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">TCU: <a href="https://www.tsu.co/TamiLundAuthor">https://www.tsu.co/TamiLundAuthor</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US">###<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1212294724433034957.post-35091275642577069032014-12-13T10:37:00.000-05:002014-12-13T10:37:04.591-05:00Don't kill the fantasy in romance.Recently, I've read several posts from folks who feel romance literature has become too much a thing of fantasy. That's there isn't enough realism in the genre. Here are a few of the complaints I've heard:<br />
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-Even when clearly flawed in some way, the heroes are too perfect. They don't resemble real men.<br />
-Those heroes give their women too many orgasms. (Yeah, someone complained about that!)<br />
-The scenarios are too implausible. No one falls in love under those circumstances.<br />
-The relationships are too intense.<br />
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Whew. This gave me pause. After all, I've always read romance for the sense of fantasy. Even when reading "realistic" contemporary romance, I want something more than a slice of life. I want better than real life.<br />
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It's not to say real life can't be grand, but don't we enjoy those "implausible" scenarios because they take us away from our problems for a while?<br />
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As for those too-perfect heroes, bring them on. I am married to a wonderful real man. I wouldn't trade him in for the world. I'd never expect my husband to bear the traits of my heroes, and I don't need someone who looks like a GQ model. But when it comes to fantasy, yes, I want to be able to dream about the hunky dude with six-pack abs and rumbly voice. I'd be willing to bet when most men fantasize, they are dreaming about women who look like a young Sophia Loren. So I don't feel so guilty about dreaming about my Greek gods.<br />
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Multiple orgasms? Yes, please. Again, real life does not always provide this luxury for many women. We're tired. We're busy. We have work and families and commitments. So yes, in my romances, women will always get multiple orgasms. ;) They deserve every last spine-tingling one.<br />
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Are the relationships intense in romance novels? Yes, they can feel that way. However, in 200 pages, an author can only provide a glimpse of that relationship. Within those pages, we have to make the reader fall in love, right along with the couple. We have to deliver the emotion and a satisfying journey. I'm not going to tell you a story about a couple who meet under boring circumstances. I want to tell the story of the couple who meet and <i>bam</i>! Their worlds collide.<br />
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I can understand readers grow tired of reading certain elements in their books. However, does this mean I will ever stop delivering these crucial elements? No way.<br />
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The multiple orgasms stay,<br />
<br />Rosanna Leohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14665532535260995711noreply@blogger.com4