As we say goodbye to 2011 and begin 2012, I want to help spread the word about new authors and titles. Through New Year's Day, my blog will be open to fellow authors posting blurbs along with buy links to their books. It's a new kind of blog hop!
Just include the link to the book, the blurb, title, author name and genre, and the link to your "Ring in the New Year with these amazing ebooks!" post on your own blog so I can reciprocate and post my book on your blog too. Don't forget to tweet about your post using the hashtag #newyearsbookpromo
To get the ball rolling, here is some information on my books. I look forward to seeing other authors and their offerings in the comments section.
Blood Avenged
I am everything you desire. I am vampire.
Powerful and manipulative, Vasilije does as he pleases. A vampire beholden to no one, he takes what he desires, drinking deeply the pleasures this life has to offer.
When one of his own is staked, Vasilije must travel to New Orleans to exact his revenge. There he meets Sasa, a beautiful woman who arouses him like no other has for centuries. Vasilije’s need for vengeance is equaled only by his passion for her, but what he finds in his revenge is just the beginning...
Sentenced to spend the rest of his three remaining lifetimes in Nil, Amon Kalins is freed with the help of his Sidhe servant, Gethen, but now he must accept his life is never to be his again as the Council won't rest until he's safely back imprisoned within Nil's cold walls. Broken and nearly dead from his time in prison, Amon is saved by an Aeveren healer named Althea Forester. As a healer, Thea has served her people for forty-five lifetimes, never having a destined one and always knowing each lifetime would ultimately end with her alone. But destiny hasn't forgotten her.
Drawn to the seductive Amon, Thea quickly becomes a pawn the Council uses to trap him. Taken prisoner by the sadistic leader of the rebel group, the Soren, Thea must survive the vicious world of the people hellbent on taking her destined one away forever, and Amon must risk everything dear to him to free her from those who would sacrifice her to claim the bigger prize and return him to Nil.
For the first time the Amazon bestsellers Vampire Dreams, Love's Master, and Masquerade can be found in one volume.
Take a trip back to Victorian England with three erotic stories of sex and love. A lonely vampire falls in love, but will his sire stand in his way of finally finding happiness? A young widow seeks a tutor to discipline her nephew but learns her true nature at the hands of a dominant lover. A strong-willed woman refuses to be married off and instead plans an indiscretion, but will she succumb to the charms of the man she thought was only her pawn? The repressed world of Queen Victoria has never been so sexy!
To find out more about these books and my others, click on the book covers in the right sidebar to go to each book's page. There you can find excerpts and other goodies. Have a wonderful New Years!
I'm thrilled to help spread the news that Talina Perkins is offering her new cookbook, SweetPea Delights: Easy Meal Ideas For Moms On The Go, for FREE at Amazon December 30 and 31. Here's the blurb:
We all love sharing easy and delicious meal ideas with our friends and family members. Sitting down to a warm and hearty meal each night is a blessing my family and I are always thankful for. But at times getting those meals whipped up is a lot harder when our schedules keep us so busy.
In SweetPea Delights: Easy Meal Ideas For Moms-On-The-Go I have pulled together over 90 delicious family recipes, to help you bring a warm and hearty meal to your table. You’ll find yummy Grab 'n' Go Breakfast Cookies to lighten up your morning. For warm and cozy lunch how about Quick & Spicy Chicken ‘n Rice and for dinner serve your family a fun What-The-Hay taco meal. You’ll even find recipes for easy and delicious snacks everyone will love!
Beyond the easy meal ideas, you’ll also find cooking tips and inspirations sprinkled within the pages to add flavor to your cooking experience.
So, let’s get started with SweetPea Delights: Easy meal Ideas For Moms-On-The-Go! Don't miss out! Grab the FREE download at Amazon.
***Note: downloads are close to the bottom of the page. New designs will be uploaded on the night of the 29th and further updates will occur regularly, check FB Fan Pages and blog for updates.
To say thank you to all the readers who have made 2011 so wonderful for me, including the many new readers who found me in the past few days, Destiny Redeemed is FREE today through December 29 on Amazon sites worldwide, so don't miss the chance to grab a copy!
Here's the blurb:
Sentenced to spend the rest of his three remaining lifetimes in Nil, Amon Kalins is freed with the help of his Sidhe servant, Gethen, but now he must accept his life is never to be his again as the Council won't rest until he's safely back imprisoned within Nil's cold walls. Broken and nearly dead from his time in prison, Amon is saved by an Aeveren healer named Althea Forester. As a healer, Thea has served her people for forty-five lifetimes, never having a destined one and always knowing each lifetime would ultimately end with her alone. But destiny hasn't forgotten her.
Drawn to the seductive Amon, Thea quickly becomes a pawn the Council uses to trap him. Taken prisoner by the sadistic leader of the rebel group, the Soren, Thea must survive the vicious world of the people hellbent on taking her destined one away forever, and Amon must risk everything dear to him to free her from those who would sacrifice her to claim the bigger prize and return him to Nil.
For more on the book, including an excerpt, links to reviews, and an interview with the characters, click HERE
I'm exhausted from the holiday, but I wanted to post today since I have some blog stuff to clean up. First, I've been dealing with Triberr difficulties since 12-22, so I can't see anyone's posts to tweet. I think mine are still going through, but Triberr doesn't recognize me or my twitter account, so I'm out of luck until the tech dudes (and dudettes, if there are any there) clear the situation up. I want to thank all the fabulous people in my tribes for continuing to retweet my posts. I hope the problem gets cleared up soon so I can go back to doing the same for you. :)
Also, my books saw great sales between Christmas Eve and this morning, so I've decided to take advantage of Amazon Prime's opportunity to offer Destiny Redeemed for free beginning at 12 am Pacific time on December 27 (which means unless Amazon has decided it doesn't have to follow the time zones 3 am tomorrow morning on the east coast) and running for three days. I'll be posting more about this tomorrow, but keep an eye out for it later tonight.
And finally, the winner of the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop is Carol L. Congratulations to Carol! An email is on its way to her right now. Thanks to all who stopped by and entered. Check back again because I love doing giveaways, and there always seems to be a holiday to celebrate. :)
Another year over, and it's been a great one, hasn't it? And now we're moving into 2012, another exciting year. I'm never a big one for New Year's, especially the resolutions since they never hold up, but to celebrate the end of what's been a terrific year, I decided to join Tonya Kinzer's New Year's Blog Hop and give away the books that have made my year so great.
The giveaway is international, so as long as you have an email, you're in. All you have to do is leave a comment with your email for an entry. For an extra entry, follow my blog (if you do, let me know you did in your comment). That's it. Of course, if you choose to, I'd love to have you follow me on Twitter @gabriellebisset and on Facebook too.
So what are the prizes? First prize wins their choice of any two of my books and second prize wins their choice of one of my books. Look in the right sidebar for the lineup of books to choose from.
Have a wonderful holiday, and enjoy the blog hop, which runs from December 23 through midnight on January 1!
Today, I will join authors Natasha Blackthorne, Gale Stanley, and Karen Mercury for an all-day chat at Beth Wylde's Yahoo Group starting at 9am. The four of us are quite a diverse group, so it ought to offer something for everyone. I write erotic paranormal, primarily, with some erotic historicals thrown in. Natasha writes erotic historicals focused on late 18th and early 19th century America; Gale writes contemporary menage; and Karen writes historicals focused on the 19th century American west. There will be giveaways and lots of talking about erotic romance, in addition to anything else that pops into the conversation, so we hope you'll drop by.
Also, I've created a daily newspaper with Paper.li called Romance With A Little Spice Daily. You can see the headlines in the left sidebar widget, which will take you to the entire newspaper, if you click on it. It's created from my Twitter stream and is for adults since there can be some nudity involved (beware if you're reading it at work).
Check it out and subscribe! I'm friends with some very interesting Tweeps! You never know what's going to make the news. ;)
Have a great Wednesday and don't forget about the chat at Beth Wylde's!
I decided to seek publication for one of my books last January. By April, I knew that the route I'd chosen for my first book was a mistake. I'm of the mindset that you live and learn, so since I knew I wanted to continue writing and wanted readers to have the chance to read my books, I turned to indie publishing.
When I published my first indie book on June 1 of this year, I never believed that in just over six months I would sell 15,000 books, but I hit that mark sometime overnight. When I reached 1000 sales in the first week of August, I was thrilled, but this has nearly made me speechless (you'd have to know me to understand that nearly is as close to speechless as I'll ever get LOL).
I have to be honest. When I began this indie publishing adventure, I had no definite sales goals. That's just who I am. I don't think small as much as not at all when it comes things like that. Don't get me wrong. I want to be able to do this for a living someday, hopefully soon, but I never thought about how many I hoped to sell. I just wrote what I loved and made sure it was solid and polished before I put each book out.
I sold 150 copies of Vampire Dreams in June, and for me, that was great. By the end of the summer, all three of the novellas in the Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy were on more than one Amazon Top 100 list and I thought, "Maybe I can sell 5000 books by next June 1." For the first time, I put a number on the whole thing, but it wasn't something I obsessed over. It was just a nice, round number, and I thought it would be a nice bar to reach. A good friend of mine told me that when I mentioned it to him, he secretly wasn't sure I could do it, but he certainly hoped it would happen. When I told him that I reached 15K, he smiled and said, "This might just be something." I think so too. :)
Thank you to all the readers out there who have been so supportive this year. To the bloggers who have been so wonderful in hosting me and reviewing my books, I can't thank you enough. And to my cover artists, Elaina Lee and Talina Perkins, you're the best. You make readers take that first look and give me the chance to convince them to buy my books.
So what's in store for future goals? I still don't know. All I know is that I'm going to continue to write what I love and make sure it's the best product it can be when I put it out there. I've begun the new series, The Sons of Navarus, with Blood Avenged and I'm aiming for the first book, if not the first two books, to be out in the next year. I hope you stick around. The fun has just begun. Bring on 2012!
I'm over at the wonderful blog The Enchanted Book with a guest post about how I love writing about vampires. I keep reading that vampires are on their way out. As much as I hate to disagree, they're what sell for me. But even more than the fact that they sell books, I enjoy writing about vampires. To me, they're the sexiest paranormal creature, so I write what I love.
I broke my promise to myself this weekend and started writing the sequel to Blood Avenged. I fully intended to write it but not until after Christmas. However, the muse had other ideas and while I had the whole house to myself since my son was gone camping, I began Declan's story, Blood Betrayed. Between Friday and Sunday night, I got about 15 pages written, so it's a good start.
Who knows what this week will be like, but the story is simmering in my head, just waiting to get out. It's outlined and ready, so I could get some real work done on it even before January. Isn't it great when you love what you do?
Random.org has done its magic and these two lucky people are the winners of a $10 Amazon gift card each in the Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop:
Leannz0r
AND
Michelle Bledsoe
Congratulations to both winners! I'll be sending an email to them momentarily, and if you weren't one of the winners, don't forget that I still have the 12 Days of Christmas Giveaway Hop going on until December 24, and the prize there is a $20 Amazon gift card and some super swag.
In an article yesterday about the death of Christopher Hitchens at age 62 from esophageal cancer, Rabbi Brad Hirschfield wrote in referring to Hitchens' passion, "Find the passion where you can and when you can, the rest is commentary, as long as your passion leads you to care and concern for others beyond yourself."
I won't go into a discussion about Hitchens, other than to say despite the fact that for me he was too liberal at times, the world was a better place for having him in it and an emptier place now that his voice is gone. But Rabbi Hirschfield's comment on passion resonated with me the instant my eyes flowed over the words on the screen.
"Find the passion where you can and when you can, the rest is commentary, as long as your passion leads you to care and concern for others beyond yourself."
Perfect words for this holiday season and words I can live by. Thank you, Rabbi, for your insightfulness, and thank you Christopher Hitchens for stirring the shit when others wished you'd be quiet.
It's Friday again, and it's the first Friday of my vacation, so I'm ready for a great day of relaxation. I watched Beauty and The Beast last night on television. I love those Disney cartoons, and that one is one of my favs. I'm a romantic at heart, and the idea of true love overcoming what someone's outside looks like to show the wonderful inside they possess gets me every time. And I love Belle's character for her willingness to see past what her eyes see to focus on how much good there is in the Beast. A very nice way to spend a night.
Blood Avenged has been out officially for two days, and the reviews have been fabulous! Monique at Romance Novel Junkies gave it 5 stars, saying, " This story was great for me...it is one of those stories that grips you with each chapter as the story develops. Vasilije’s character in ‘Blood Avenged’ was sensual, erotic, and dangerous."
Selena at The Enchanted Book gave it 5 books and raved, "I always go into a vampire romance hoping for the best. This time I got it. This one is a must-read for any vampire romance fan."
And Nookmom at Bitten By Paranormal Romance rated it a 5-An Alpha Howl and said, "This was my first novel by this author and I will definitely be reading more by her. Vasilijie is everything I look for in a vampire. He makes no excuses for his behavior. He is what he is and enjoys every minute of it."
As an author, it's so great when readers see in your characters and story what you saw. If you haven't checked out the excerpt yet, clickHERE, but it's hot, so if you're at work or the kiddies are around, beware. ;)
I'm over at the fabulous Talina Perkins' site, Bookin' It Reviewstoday for her Christmas Book Bash. Stop over and leave a comment to say hi. Hope to see you there!
Today is the last day for the Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop, so if you haven't entered yet, you have until midnight tonight.
Time to fly and get school with my son done before I head out for a little Christmas celebrating. Have a great one! And here's some Greg Lake with one of the best Christmas songs ever to begin your weekend. It's a little jaded, but for all of us who keep to the deeper meaning pushed aside by the commercialism of the season, it says something important. Enjoy! (It's better if you just listen and don't watch the video. It's a bit hokey. LOL)
Top Five Romantic Movies
Hi everyone! I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk a little bit about something that is near and dear to my heart -- good movies. I'm a big movie addict, and some of my favorites are the ones that contain a healthy does of romance. So today, I thought that I'd offer you my top five favorite romantic movies.
1) Romancing the Stone
I think every romance novelist has seen this movie. Many point at it as the inspiration that got them writing romances. This movie has it all -- adventure, mystery, and of course, a heroine who writes romance novels. Who could ask for anything more?
2) Cassablanca
This is such a classic. who could forget Igrid Bergman's famous line "Play it, Sam. Play ‘As time Goes By’" Or Bogart's "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine." There are so many good scenes, and the chemistry between Bergman and Bogart makes the screen sizzle. The movie is totally swoon-worthy.
3) Bridget Jones Diary
I think every woman can identify with Bridget, at least a little bit. And who doesn't fall in love with Collin Firth? Some of the scenes are hilarious, and the ending will leave you sighing and wishing you had a Colin of your own.
4) Sabrina/My Fair Lady
I don't know, there is something about the cantankerous Henry Higgins that I find endearing. I love the way Eliza makes his world crumble, and how she makes him see that he needs to stop observing life, and start living it. Whether it is musical (My Fair Lady) or the older movie version (Sabrina), this Pygmalian adaptation will always remain on my keeper shelf.
5) Pretty Woman
Who doesn’t want Richard Gere to come and sweep them off their feet? Many of the themes here are echoes of My Fair Lady (above) and it shows that the story is timeless. Love it!
So there you have it, my top five favorite romantic movies. Do you agree? Are there other movies that I left off the list that you enjoy? Tell me about it!
Whispers
Blurb:
Rose is skeptical when Lady Denville hires her to take care of some ghosts in her townhouse. She expects to find a nest of rats or branches scraping against a window. Instead she finds two sexy spirits intent on fulfilling her every sexual desire. They introduce her to a whole new world of pleasure — and a curse that may destroy them all.
Lionel and Jonathan have been trapped in the townhouse for decades, waiting. When Rose walks in, they know that she is the one with the power to save them. The key to their freedom lies within reach, and both men must put aside their differences if they ever hope to break the curse that binds them to the townhouse. As the men set out to seduce Rose and gain their freedom, their sexual desire turns into something more. Now they must be honest with the woman they love, or stay imprisoned in the spirit world forever.
Excerpt:
Rose stood at the top of the stairs and listened. The moans were louder now, and she could easily distinguish the two tones.She scanned the area around her, but it was too dark to see much beyond her hands.
She straightened her light green dress, chosen to match her eyes, and poked a wispy blonde curl back into her twist. If Lady Denville indeed had guests up here, then Rose had to make sure to look her best.
She picked up a candle off the nearby end table and lit it. The soft glow illuminated the hallway, which looked as if it hadn’t had a good dusting in ages. Thick velvet curtains had been pulled over the windows, blocking any light. It was so unlike Lady Denville to keep her upstairs closed up like this.
Besides the depressing atmosphere, nothing seemed out of the ordinary with the crimson carpet and dark wood walls. Rose took a deep breath, steeled her jaw, and stepped forward.
The noises filled the air, fanning her desire from a small spark into a large flame. They were smooth and melodic, almost blending with each other. Her body warmed, and she placed her hand to her cheek. Her husband wasn’t overly amorous, and it had been a long time since she had enjoyed the pleasures of the bedroom. The noises spoke to something feminine and primal deep inside her body. It awoke and rushed through her system, leaving her breathless.
The sensations felt…strange. She had not felt anything so strong before, not even with her own husband. What could be making her feel this way, and could it alleviate the ache forming between her legs? She inched forward a step, then two. With each small advance, her desire grew until she found it difficult to concentrate on the matter at hand. She paused as a name echoed off the walls.
“Jonathan.”
Her skin tingled with sexual awareness as the deep, commanding voice rippled through her body. Rose slid her fingers along the low-cut edge of her dress, then dipped them between her breasts. How did it get so warm in here?
And who was Jonathan?
She continued to the very end of the hall. It was darkest here, the heavy curtains in the windows blocking all light. She heard new noises now, like the shifting of furniture. They seemed to be coming from behind the large wooden door. A low glow shone through the cracks as the moans grew louder.
Heat traveled over her skin as she stared at the strange light. A light breeze blew over her skin, just like it had when she was downstairs moments ago. It did nothing to cool her rising temperature or the fluttering in her stomach.
The flame on the candle flickered, then extinguished. She fought back the sudden urge to shed her clothes as confusion filled her mind. She had to know what was behind the door, not just for Lady Denville’s sake, but for her own. Rose needed to find out what was making her feel like some animal in heat.
Rose felt the familiar ache low in her abdomen. She was desperate for something to ease the building pressure between her legs, but nothing suitable was available. She resisted the urge to rip off her clothes and touch herself, for she suspected such an act would do little to alleviate the growing ache. She craved something bigger and stronger to satisfy her. The whole situation felt barbaric and yet thrilling at the same time.
Rose moistened her lips and turned the knob…
~~~Suzanne Rock~~~
Love Immortalized, Destinies Fulfilled
Bio:
After over a decade in the scientific world, Suzanne needed a creative outlet. She tried scrap booking, cooking, crocheting, painting, and piano, none of which held her interest for very long. Then one of her friends suggested writing. Thrilled with the idea of creating her own worlds, she opened up her lap top and never looked back.
When Suzanne’s not writing, she can be found playing with her two daughters, testing her husband’s latest kitchen creations, or curled up with her favorite romance novel in her central Massachusetts home.
Happy Wednesday everybody! I'm celebrating the official release of Blood Avenged today. True, Amazon has had it up since late Monday night and it's already begun selling, but I'd set December 14 as the official release day for my sixth and last release of 2011. Wow, it's been a busy year!
Anyone who's read Vampire Dreams (You say you haven't? Well, you can grab it for $.99!) remembers Vasilije. He made quite an impression on readers, who immediately began asking when he'd get his own story. I enjoyed him a great deal too, so in July I began working on what would become Blood Avenged. I still had to finish typing Masquerade, release it in late August, edit Destiny Redeemed in September and release it in October, but I knew I wanted to give Vasilije his time in the spotlight. After my trip to New Orleans around Halloween, I completed the story and then it was just a matter of editing.
But a strange thing happened on the way to the end of Blood Avenged--a series was born. What began as a novel about one character became a novel that would begin the Sons of Navarus series. That Vasilije sure knows how to inspire. :)
So Blood Avenged is Vasilije's story, but he'll be sticking around in the upcoming novels of the series since he's one of the Sons of Navarus. There are eight vampires in the Sons, a group chosen to protect the most ancient and revered of vampires, the Order of Macaria, and each of them will have a story. Readers get to meet all the fantastic Sons at the end of Blood Avenged, and there's a man for every taste. ;)
The books will continue to be erotic paranormal romance, but the non-romantic story will be strong in them too. All the books in the series will be novel length, and I hope to have the first one released before summer 2012. If the muse and I are working well together, I may even have the second of the Sons series out around this time next year.
Click HERE for a very hot excerpt from Blood Avenged to whet your appetite. The woman Vasilije meets when he travels to New Orleans to hunt down the killer of one of his vampires is named Sasa, and when they get together, the chemistry is potent.
Don't forget the two giveaways that are still going on. Click on both the graphics in the left sidebar so you can enter to win some much needed Amazon gift cards this holiday season because after we're done shopping for everyone else, we want to relax and do a little shopping for ourselves, right? Have a great Wednesday!
My son directed me to a 1 star rating for Vampire Dreams today. He's an idealistic 15 year old and was bothered by the review some woman named Mamie left that states this:
I missed the "erotica" in the category. I should have read more carefully before I purchased, but that was my mistake. The story was obviously meant to arouse rather than entertain.
To my son, and I have to agree with him, this is something Amazon shouldn't allow. She freely admits she didn't pay attention when she spent the $.99 to purchase the book and that what she got wasn't what she wanted because of her own mistake. Yet, she dings the book with a 1 star rating because of her screw up, not because it wasn't written well.
My friend told me yesterday that she doesn't believe Amazon UK has so many reviews as Amazon US because Brits are far more humble and don't naturally believe their opinion is of the utmost importance. I don't know enough British folks to say, but it does seem Americans are all about the opinions.
I explained to my son that not everyone is going to enjoy my work. I write erotic romances, and for Mamie, that doesn't work. She prefers Debbie Macomber romances. That's cool, but I'm with my son when he says that her mistake shouldn't negatively affect me.
However, the silver lining to this story is that I personally noted this part of her review: The story was obviously meant to arouse rather than entertain. Yes, Mamie, it's adult reading material. If it arouses the reader, then I've done what I set out to do in an erotic novella. And Mamie, those of us who read and write adult books are also entertained by them.
I can't imagine how she missed the erotic part considering right after the title are these words (First in The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy) and this is what she sees when she encounters Vampire Dreams' page on Amazon:
Product Description
Reviews:
WOW, what an amazing read! This is why I love vampire erotica stories. As much as you love a dangerous vampire, it's mainly about the sensuality and seduction of a vampire that makes you enjoy the read. I have never read anything by this author as she is new, but when an author can amaze you with their first release you know you can expect only more good reading material.
--Lady Raven
Beyond the sensuality is a well-written story. The author constructs a vampire world where there is a hierarchy that involves rules of who a vampire can sire. In this world, potential vampires must be vetted through one's sire, and Brandon has the difficult luck of having a sire in Vasilije who's selfish and cruel. The conflict that grows out of these rules is interesting and makes me want to read more about this world.
--Selena, The Enchanted Book
Homeless and without any family, Arden Stephens must live on the streets of mid 19th century London, never a safe place for a young woman. One night, as she is running for her life from an attacker, she is rescued by Brandon Ridley and offered a place in his home as his maid. Brandon is enchanted by Arden from the moment they meet, but just as she has secrets, so too does he. A vampire hundreds of years old, he yearns for the companionship she can give him. But for that he must make her one of his kind.
Nightly, he visits her in her sleep, preparing her for the night he will finally make her his own. For Arden, the wanton dreams she has about her handsome employer seduce her and each day when she wakes up, she finds herself more drawn to him. But love and desire aren't enough for Brandon to sire her. He must first obtain the approval of his maker, an ancient vampire named Vasilije who has thwarted his chance for happiness before.
But if Brandon can convince him, he may finally find the love he's been without for centuries.
Novella length: approx. 17,000 words
Erotic novella--Adults only
Look for the other novellas in the Trilogy, Love's Master and Masquerade, out now! And the one volume set of The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy is also available at $3.99, a savings of $1.00 on all three and includes the entire first chapter of Vasilije's story, Blood Avenged.
I guess Mamie missed all these things telling her exactly what it was since Amazon and I aren't trying to hide anything.
Lesson for authors in this? Write what you believe in and when it sells almost 10,000 copies in just a few months and sits in the top 50 of Vampire Romance Books and Erotica for 5 months running, don't worry about the Mamies of this world. I just hope she doesn't make the same mistake and read Blood Avenged. She won't make it back from that level of erotic romance. ;)
Welcome to the 12 Days of Christmas Blog Hop hosted by Intoxicated by Books! It's almost time for the big day, and here at my blog I'm giving away some great stuff. One winner will receive a $20.00 Amazon gift card and some terrific swag (signed bookmarks and cover flats).
So here's the lowdown:
The giveaway is open internationally, so an email address puts you in the running.
You must leave a comment with your email so I can contact you when you win. (1 entry) While following my blog would be very nice, it's not a requirement.
For additional optional entries, you can do the following:
Sign up for my newsletter (2 entries) Look for the pink box at the top of the left sidebar
Do me a favor and add up all your entries when you leave your comment and email addy. Thanks! The giveaway hop runs until midnight on December 24, so make sure to hop around to all the great blogs participating. The winner will be chosen by random.org right after Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday, and good luck!
I'm happy to welcome author Starla Kaye to the blog today. She's here talking about one of romance's favorite heroes, the cowboy.
Shhh, don’t tell anyone…Starla Kaye is in love with 7 cowboys
What can I say…I LOVE cowboys! Give me a tall, hard-bodied man in worn jeans, dusty boots, low-tipped hat and that lazy, confident ambling walk and I’m a goner. Add a deep, husky drawl and an easy-going temperament…or a quiet manner and a man of few words…or a personality a bit on the broody side...okay, I want all of them.
I’ve been writing stories about contemporary and historical cowboys for a long time. Actually, with this newest anthology of seven stories, I have had the pleasure of getting to know and love 31 cowboys. You would think cowboy romances are all I publish, but that’s not true. I have worked with and loved contemporary businessmen, a pirate, a futuristic space pilot/warrior, medieval knights, Scottish Highland warriors, and a shape-shifter wolf. Yet time and again I come back to write about more cowboys.
The men in Cowboys in Charge, my Christmas anthology, are all on the alpha side, all strong-willed, and all of them are in love with women who drive them nuts (or is it they drive the women nuts?).
In Snowed in with Her Cowboy, James wants Kelly to quit a job she doesn’t really like and start a family. Her family history makes her fear having children and her strong stubborn tendency won’t let her quit work. But how much can a man take, even when he loves his wife intensely?
In Too Much Red at Christmas Time, Trent loves his wife but the ranch has been struggling financially and Lizzie’s addiction to Christmas shopping is a serious problem. No matter how many times they talk about it and no matter how many times she promises to stick to their budget, the situation gets worse. What can he do to save his marriage…or can he?
In For the Love of his Cowgirl, Adam and Amber are so busy they seldom do more than fall into bed exhausted. Both miss the fun games they once played and the steamy sex. He doesn’t know what to do to fire up the flames of their love again. But can he give her up?
In Cowboys and Their Toys, Jason is not only a strong alpha male but also a Dom. Jennifer has eased into his preferred lifestyle without complaint…until he wants to take it up to 24/7. Can he back away from his desire to go more intense? Or can he give all of it up to save his marriage?
In Naughty, Naughty Cowgirl, Justin is a believer in being the head of his household with the use of domestic discipline when necessary. Nicci accepted it for five years and finally decided she was done with it. Rather than give him a chance to back off, she decides that it is best if they separate for a while. He is devastated but he loves her enough to let her go…for now. But has he made a mistake in letting her leave? Will it be the end of their marriage?
In All I Want for Christmas (Biggest Prize Ever), Ryan is a natural-born charmer and a top-rated, bad-ass bull rider. He has been in love with Krystal forever and always thought that when he was ready to settle down she would be there waiting for him. But his lover has finally given up on him, just when he is about to quit the rodeo. How can he convince her that she’s the only woman he’s ever wanted?
In A Special Gift for Her Cowboy, Joshua has let the stress of running his struggling ranch and his wife’s job to help out overpower the most important thing in his life: his marriage. They’ve become so independent and their love life almost non-existent. Can he prove to her that he will do anything to make things right again?
And be sure to leave a comment to be entered in her mini-blog tour contest. Stop over at all three blogs she's at today and leave a comment with your email address and you'll be entered to win a copy of the ebook Cowboys In Charge and a special Christmas gift. So after you leave a comment here, hop on over to these blogs and leave a comment to be in the running for the prizes!
Welcome to the Romancing Christmas Giveaway Hop! As a erotic romance author, I love romance, so when Nat announced she was hosting a giveaway hop centered on romance for Christmas, I was all in. I read dozens of romances a year, and there are very few I don't enjoy in some way. I tend to be a paranormal romance girl myself, but it's not unusual to find me with an historical or contemporary. To me, there's nothing more enjoyable than the satisfying ending of a hero and heroine finally triumphing over obstacles to find love.
Since I know this time of year is about giving, and many readers are spending their romance book money on others, I thought I'd give two readers a chance to get some book bucks back. Here at my blog I'm giving away two Amazon giftcards each worth $10. The giveaway is open internationally, so if you have an email address, you can win.Just leave a comment with your email addy and you're in!
Good luck, and make sure you hop around to all the other fabulous blogs for a chance to win some great prizes. Happy holidays!
After a great deal of wrangling with images and sound, the book trailer for Blood Avenged is finally complete. I have to give a big thanks to my son, Christiaan, whose original composition is the music for the trailer. A few months ago, I heard him fiddling around on the piano downstairs and asked him what he was playing. As he often does, he answered, "Nothing much. Just playin around."
I listened to him just play around for about two weeks before I decided what he was doing would be perfect for the book trailer for Blood Avenged since much of the book takes place in New Orleans. I'm very proud of him and am so thankful he was willing to play it over and over and over...and over again until we decided it was exactly what would work.
The music is sultry and seductive, just like the setting for the book and the main character, Vasilije. So without further ado, here is the book trailer for Blood Avenged, my newest paranormal romance due out next Wednesday, December 14.
Another Monday is here, and we're one week closer to Christmas. I love the holidays, so this time of year is one of my favorites. This is my last week of work for the semester (big smile), but another reason I have to smile today is that the one volume book of The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy is up on Amazon. I just checked and there it was. :)
I put all three novellas--Vampire Dreams, Love's Master, and Masquerade--into one book because a number of readers had asked for it in print. That's coming later this month. But for now, the Trilogy is out in ebook and on sale for $3.99, which is a savings of $1.00 on the price of all three separately. In addition, as an added bonus, readers get the first chapter of Blood Avenged included. It's great for a holiday gift on that new ereader.
It's Friday, and I'm so looking forward to the weekend. Edits continue on Blood Avenged, and the book is on track for a December 14 release. The wonderful Talina Perkins is making me a banner that is going to be stunning (they always are), and the entire first chapter of the book is being included in the one volume book for The Victorian Erotic Romance Trilogy that's going on sale early next week. Looks to be another busy weekend. :)
On the day job front, next week is my last week of school until January, so I'm looking forward to another break. LOL The fall and winter breaks seem to be right on top of one another, but that's ok with me.
I plan to start writing the first book in the Sons of Navarus series that will begin at the end of Blood Avenged, so that will be terrific fun. I'm hoping to have at least the first book out in 2012, if not the second. The basic premise is that Vasilije isn't just an incredibly seductive and powerful vampire sire but also a member of an order of vampires that must protect their fellow vamps from the Archons, vampires who since ancient times have been chosen to act as the police and judges of the vampire world. Long ago, a prophecy said that the Archons would take over the vampire world, eliminating the most powerful of the vampires to ensure their power to rule is unchecked. The Sons of Navarus must act to end the takeover and protect their world. The first book is about Declan, one of the Sons and the brother of a vampire the Archons have already murdered. I have to admit I've already fallen in love with him as I've been sketching out his character. Unlike Vasilije, who's seductive and smooth, Declan is dark and brooding with a secretive past. I'm a sucker for brooding vampires. ;)
2011 has been a good year for me. I've released five books since June (to be honest, two of them were written, for the most part, in 2010) and the sixth will be released in just a little over a week. Sales have surpassed anything I could have imagined when I first put Vampire Dreams on Amazon that late May night, with almost 15,000 books sold since June 1. All I can say is thanks and I promise to keep them coming as I look forward to 2012 and this new series.
Unless 2012 means the end of the world. Then I'm not so pumped. LOL Here's to a wonderful weekend of holiday fun!
I'm thrilled to welcome Talina Perkins to my blog today. Her new cookbook, SweetPea Delights, is due out in early December, and it sounds delicious! So without further ado, here is Talina.
Gabrielle, thank you so much for having me over, I am so excited to be here today! You have such a warm and cozy den to spend some time in.
How many of you remember the first time you ever tried to cook a turkey? Did you get it perfect or did your efforts turn out less than the stellar feast you had planned when you set out on your adventure?
Well, I remember my first time and till this day I can’t look at a turkey without laughing. Seriously! Let me tell you a quick story of why I will never forget Christmas of ’93, the year of the exploding turkey.
It was five in the morning and I had a plan that would make my grandparents very proud to have a twelve year old granddaughter that could cook a turkey all alone. I eased from my bed and quietly disabled my grandmother’s alarm which was set to wake her at six. I had plenty of time to prepare the turkey before anyone was the wiser.
I ventured into the kitchen ready to create a masterpiece of a turkey. I collected all the ingredients from the cupboards including the six boxes of family sized stuffing and cooking wine that was often used in our home recipes.
In hindsight, I now realize my grandmother hadn’t intended to use all that stuffing for the turkey or wine. Anyway, back to the story.
I quickly set to work adding all the dry stuffing to the turkey then closing it up with cooking wire as I had seen done on TV. I moved on to bathing the over sized bird in not only half a bottle of wine but the entire bottle, all the way ‘till the very last drop. Yeah, I was a bit of an over achiever as a child.
Satisfied with my work I continued on in complete ignorant bliss. In to the oven went the bird and on to the couch I went to get some much deserved rest after such great work.
It was the piercing screech of horror followed by a very audible splat that woke me from my slumber and should have clued me in on what was to come. I quickly rushed to the kitchen to find the oven door swung open and stuffing blazing a trail across the kitchen, finally ending up on the opposite wall, splattered there as if had been intent on taking out someone. All the delicious wine dripped down my grandmother’s sunflower colored wallpaper. Offense number two, might I add.
I am having a hard time writing this through the tears of laughter even now.
There stood my grandmother shaking her head full of curlers and her famous wooden spoon in disgust. Not the exact response I had imagined upon her waking to find the turkey already cooking or should that be exploding.
Needless to say that day we had no turkey. While my excessive use of stuffing had reacted in an unexplainable explosive way with the wine, the bird had dried out within the five hours it had been cooking. Who knew I would be creating such a bomb! I narrowly escaped being grounded for life that day. As I am told, if it hadn’t been for my utterly stunned face that had made my sweet grandmother crack up it would have been doomsday for me instead of a not-so-much Turkey Day.
Fast forward to the present. When my ever so patient grandmother found out I currently have a cookbook set to release she couldn’t hold back from telling me the tale of the exploding turkey just one more time. She even asked me if I had prepped the intro with a how-to turkey bomb. Figuring not to many mothers would appreciate that, I nixed that idea and went with some recipes kids can really help with in the kitchen.
Below I have a couple of recipes to share with you from my SweetPea Delights: Easy Meal Ideas for Moms-On-the-Go that is out now in Kindle. I really hope you enjoy them!
Do you have any funny cooking stories to share? Come on don’t be shy! Let’s dish!
Creamy Chicken ‘N Rice Casserole 3/4 c. rice
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1 envelope dry Lipton Onion Soup Mix
2 c. water
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Chicken pieces, about 2 lbs.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Mix rice, soups and water, leaving out the Lipton Onion Soup Mix. Pour into greased 13 x 9 pan. Place chicken pieces on top. Sprinkle with Lipton’s dry onion soup mix and cover with foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until the chicken is cooked through and rice is tender. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and return to oven until cheese is melted and lightly browned; about 10 minutes. This can be made the day before and refrigerated. Serves 4-6
Prep Time: 1 hr 10 min.
Sunshine Smoothie My children love to make this right before movie time with a thick slice of pound cake and popcorn.
1 cup orange sherbet (or substitute frozen yogurt)
1 cup fresh strawberries, trimmed
1 1/3 cups pineapple chunks, fresh or canned in juice and drained
1 1/2 cups sparkling mineral water
Blend sherbet, strawberries and pineapple chunks in a food processor until smooth; add mineral water and blend until well mixed. Serves 4
Paranormal & Contemporary romance pre-pubbed author, A multi-Top Pick Reviewer for Night Owl Reviews and owner and author of Bookin' It Reviews. A place where you’ll find guest authors, giveaways, & video snippet readings of books she is currently reading or recommending. You’ll also get to hear her thoughts on authors' writing styles and plots. Stop by and discover a world just for readers at Bookin’ It Reviews! Talina Perkins is currently working on a shifter paranormal romance series while submitting to Harlequin Nocturne Cravings.
You can email her at talinaperkins@ymail.com any time or keep up with her going-on’s at the following links:
As some of you may know, I teach college history. I always teach an American history class, either to the Civil War or from the Civil War to present. I've done this since 1999, and I can tell you without equivocation that the students I'm seeing at the major university I teach at are less and less educated each year.
I gave an exam right before Thanksgiving and the majority of students failed. What was the subject of this exam? American history from the 1820s through the Mexican War in 1848. It contained questions on topics like manifest destiny, the Mexican War, and a map on the roads Americans took when they moved west. The question on manifest destiny should have been a giveaway, but the majority of the students got it wrong. Manifest destiny, for God's sake! How can a person who has graduated from an American high school not know what manifest destiny is? WTF? And the map? A total debacle. Thank God for GPS or they'd be perpetually lost. (Actually, things like GPS are part of the reason why students today are so intellectually backward. They don't have to think. Machines do it for them.)
However, two things stuck out on the exams. One was that more than a handful of my students wrote messages to me either explaining why they did poorly or wishing me a happy Thanksgiving. This is juvenile, but it's begun to happen more and more in my college classes. I can tell you that when I was in college, none of the people I knew would ever have done anything so childlike. I even had one student draw me a hand-traced turkey and ask if he could have extra credit for this. (Maybe if you were in 1st grade...)
But the other item, the one that made me shake my head and ask WTF? was this answer about the failure of the Mexicans to defeat the Americans in the Mexican War:
Mexican leader had under estimated the Amexican's they were Full of Dem self's and didn't plan stastic befure going to war.
Forget about the run on sentence for now. That's an epidemic in this country, and particularly in bloggerland, although the run on that shows up online is usually the comma splice. No, let's go with the bigger problems. This person doesn't know underestimated is a single word. They don't know we're called Americans. They have invented a new word (I have no idea what stastic means here.) They can't spell (before has no u). They have no idea what the job of an apostrophe is (another epidemic that is also found online). They are infected with the random capitalization disease that many students have. But worst of all is the fact that they think Dem self is the way to say themselves. That's pathetic.
Long gone are the days when someone saying they graduated from college meant something. That ceased to mean a thing over a decade ago. Now it simply means they paid their money. The student who wrote that answer won't be passing my class, but I can bet you sound money he will be passing other classes and move right on to graduation. He did in high school, and they were pleased to give him a diploma. I'm sad to report my university may just do the same thing.
Education in this country is a tragic mess. It would have been more useful if this student and many more had skipped high school and gone to work. At least there would be a chance they would have learned something.
