Please help me welcome Sophia Knightly to my blog today. Sophia has generously decided to give two winners copies of her new boxed set containing Wild For You and Sold On You, so be sure and leave her a comment to be entered into the contest.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write romantic suspense because I enjoy reading page turners and solving mysteries. I also enjoy writing romantic comedies–it comes naturally to me because I love to laugh!

What is your favorite part of writing?

My favorite part of writing is characterization and dialogue.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

My next project is Heart Raider (Heart Sisters, Book One) and it will be released in the spring.

In the face of looming Hurricane Abby, daredevil TV reporter, Veronique Whitcomb arrives on reclusive billionaire Nick Cameron’s doorstep in Key West with a plan. To revive her flagging career, she’s determined to score an exclusive interview with Nick, the notorious, self-made billionaire who has repeatedly refused media press after his fall from grace. The last time Nick saw Veronique was fifteen years ago at summer camp where he was her reluctant protector as camp counselor to the thirteen-year-old hellion. Marooned together in the aftermath of the hurricane, Veronique rocks Nick’s world in more ways than one…

How has your experience with self-publishing been?

Self-publishing has been a wonderfully successful venture for me. I love the control I have over my work from the inception of the idea to the finished product. I enjoy choosing my own cover and blurb, and then devising a marketing plan to promote it. Wearing many hats is exciting and gratifying.

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

Write the best book possible that includes an interesting premise, a tight plot and engaging characters who hook you from the beginning. Breathe life into the characters until they become real people that we care about. When the book is polished and free of typos, have others read it objectively and give you critiques. When your book is ready for your reader’s hands, create a fabulous cover and make sure the blurb has an exciting premise and sells your book in a few paragraphs. A memorable book cover does wonders to sell a book.

Do you have critique partners?

I have several critique partners and beta readers, and I value their input very much.

Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?

I have a lovely view of a lake from my home office window. I see many ducks and geese every day. I especially love to watch the egrets take flight. Their expanse of white wings against a clear blue sky is inspiring and beautiful to behold. My office faces west so I get a great view of the sunset at dawn.

Please tell my readers a little bit about your book.

My Tropical Heat Series Box Set combines two fun, sexy and heartwarming romances in one bundled volume. Marisol, the heroine in Wild for You. is the little sister of Marcos, the hero in Sold on You.

In Wild for You (Book One), Detective Clay Blackthorne has his hands full when he promises to safeguard an old college pal’s sister without letting her know what he’s up to. He never imagines that lively Marisol Calderon will knock his socks off and put a ring on his finger–and all at his suggestion! Their marriage of convenience is meant to protect her and Clay doesn’t plan on being hitched for long to the tempting beauty. But the honeymoon sure feels real to him…

Sassy Marisol is used to doing whatever she wants–and right now her plan is to shake up the hot detective’s hard-edged demeanor. But the fun turns to danger when a mystery stalker bent on marrying her marks her as his prey. Temporarily becoming Clay’s wife seems like a practical way to thwart the stalker. But as passion ignites and Marisol falls for the tender heart buried beneath the tough detective’s chest, Clay’s true identity is revealed and she begins to wonder who–if anyone–she can trust…

In Sold on You, (Book Two) Confirmed bachelor Dr. Marcos Calderon is in hot water. He needs to come up with a fake fiancée fast or he’ll disappoint his beloved grandma who’s arriving on the next flight to meet her. Proper social worker Gabriela Morales should fit the bill–but tonight, in that sexy, slit-to-there red evening gown, she looks anything but proper.

Gabriela only volunteered for the hospital’s charity bachelorette auction to benefit a cause dear to her heart. Now she’s reeling from the hot doctor’s bid of fifteen thousand dollars for a weekend date with her! She’s not sure what Dr. Handsome has in mind, but the smoldering look in his eyes is unmistakable…

EXCERPT FROM SOLD ON YOU

Dr. Marcos Calderon leaned forward and watched, fascinated by the dark-haired knockout strolling onto the stage. Gabriela Morales? Not in a million years! He couldn’t believe his ears when the auctioneer confirmed that she was the conservative social worker at the hospital where he worked. Just this morning, they’d locked horns at the board meeting.

When it came to her causes, Gabriela was passionate and pigheaded. Her prim, businesslike manner had never appealed to Marcos, and that was precisely the reason he’d waited till the end of the auction to bid on her. Normally reserved and proper, she was the one woman who would fit the bill for his plan.

But he hadn’t expected her to look so hot.

Marcos’ jaw dropped as he took in her hourglass figure, an ample bosom above a tiny waist and round hips, and endless, shapely legs. This hip-swaying bombshell couldn’t be the same Gabriela who hid behind demure, oversize suits—the same woman who always seemed to be on opposing sides from him at hospital board meetings.

“What happened to the proper social worker?” Marcos asked Dr. Alex Cortes, his colleague bidding beside him.

“I don’t know, but Gabriela looks damn sexy tonight. Two thousand dollars!” Alex called out, upping the amount from a thousand.

“Quit bidding on her,” Marcos muttered, raising his paddle when the auctioneer called for two thousand, five hundred.

“I can’t help it. Who woulda known she was hiding a body like that? Those curves—”

“Knock it off. I need to win,” Marcos retorted.

“Five thousand,” another bidder called out.

Marcos’ head swiveled around to find an older gentleman holding up his paddle with a determined look on his face.

“Who the hell is that?” Marcos asked Alex.

“Ruben Ball, self-made millionaire. He must want a piece of her, too.”

“Well, he’s not getting any. She’s mine. I need her for the weekend.”

Alex chuckled. “I don’t blame you. Okay, I’m out. She’s all yours.”

Marcos lifted his card and raised the bid to ten thousand, ignoring the mocking grin on Alex’s face as he concentrated on outbidding his other opponent.

“Ten thousand dollars,” the auctioneer repeated. “Do I see ten thousand five?”
Marcos leveled a fierce look at his opponent.

Undeterred, Ruben raised his paddle.

“Ten thousand five. Do I see a bid for eleven for this gorgeous creature?” the auctioneer called out, revving up the audience’s interest with a meaningful look.

“Fifteen thousand!” Marcos shouted, ignoring Gabriela’s glower when they locked eyes.

“Fifteen thousand! Do I see fifteen five?” the auctioneer asked, his keen gaze scanning the audience.

Ruben took a moment to ponder it and then shook his head ruefully, signaling he was out of the running.

Marcos flashed a victorious smile and winked at Gabriela.

“Fifteen thousand once, fifteen thousand twice. Done! The weekend date with Gabriela Morales goes to Dr. Marcos Calderon for fifteen thousand dollars!” the auctioneer announced. “This concludes our bachelorette auction. Gentlemen, please adjourn to the Vanderbilt Ballroom with your dates.”

Gabriela barely made it off the stage without openly glaring at that arrogant Dr. Calderon, who’d had the nerve to wink at her when their eyes met. How dare he ruin everything!

What happened to Ruben Ball, the shy widowed lawyer, who was supposed to bid higher than everyone else for a weekend date with her?

Why would arrogant Dr. Calderon be willing to divest himself of so much money for a date with her when most of the women at the hospital were throwing themselves at him? she wondered uneasily. From what she’d seen, his tastes ran more toward cool blondes.

Once she was safely inside the dressing room, Gabriela stared at the unfamiliar seductive woman in the mirror returning her gaze. She had never worn so much makeup in her life. Her green eyes smoldered with smoky eye shadow and black eyeliner, her mouth looked like a swollen cherry, thanks to Sabrina’s vivid red lip gloss, and her cheeks glowed hot pink, a combination of cream blush and being upset over her predicament.

The only good thing that would come of this date was the whopping fifteen thousand dollars Dr. Calderon had pledged to the Fresh Start center for unwed mothers.

Gabriela studied her bountiful cleavage in the mirror. Thanks to the provocative gown Sabrina had chosen for her, her breasts were pushed upward like an offering of cupcakes. After he got an eyeful of that display, Dr. Calderon would surely expect more than companionship during their weekend date.

A sly smile played at the corners of her mouth as a plan began to brew in her mind. If Dr. Calderon thought she had transformed her conservative image to bait a well-to-do bachelor, he had another thing coming.

The cocky doctor was in for a big surprise.

Please help me welcome Anna Markland to my blog today. Anna will be giving a digital copy of any one of her books, or a paperback of any one of the four books of The Montbryce Legacy to one lucky commentor, so be sure and leave her a comment.

Thanks for inviting me to blog with you today, Cindy.

I am passionate about medieval romance. History provides fascinating plots and characters. Who could have dreamed up a man like William the Conqueror? I enjoy the research required to provide the reader with an authentic medieval experience. Very often things I discover in my research drive my plots. For example in Dance of Love, I learned about an Islamic physician, Al-Kindi, who created many recipes to alleviate illnesses. I wanted my heroine to have this knowledge, but did not want her to be Islamic. The history of Spain provided a perfect solution. She became the daughter of a Spanish woman carried off to Jerusalem after a battle between the Christian kings and the Moors. (Battle of Sagrajas which the Christian kings lost).

I am currently writing the second book of my fourth series, though it is actually #1 in the series! My mind does not seem to work chronologically. I have a recommended reading sequence on my website for those who prefer to read sagas in chronological order http://annamarkland.com/

I published Dance of Love in early November. It is Book III of the series Montbryce~The Next Generation. The current WIP is Dark Irish Knight, which I hope to have out by February. This book will have something of a paranormal aspect as I introduce the legend of the selkie. The hero’s name is Ronan, which means Son of a Seal.

I never cease to be amazed at where the ideas come from for story lines and events. I have never thought of myself as a creative person, and yet—

Could it be my characters are telling me their stories? Nah!

My least favorite part of writing is editing with “My Stupid Word List”. It is tedious, though necessary.

Some days I do nothing but write. If the inspiration is flowing, I like to go with the flow! Sometimes I spend about half the day on email loops with other authors, setting up and running FREE promotions, tweeting, blogging. I would say I have found the Yahoo loops the most helpful in learning about writing and publishing. I have built some very beneficial relationships with other authors. It is a sharing community.

I love being self published. It frees me to write what I want and not with a view to pleasing a publisher. I can edit my books at will, upload new covers,etc. I also like that I get all the royalties (after Amazon takes its share, of course)

The Montbryces, a noble medieval family from Normandy, is at the heart of all my stories, so I have that basic framework. I have set up a family tree in genealogical software and I pick a son or daughter from one of the descendant lines. I have set their stories in such diverse places as Spain, Germany, Denmark, Wales, Scotland, and of course England and Normandy. Once I choose a location I weave the plot around historical events at the time.

If you are toying with the idea of self publishing, my advice would be to go for it. You have nothing to lose. I decided to let readers judge my books. You’ll get criticism (some of it not so constructive), and you have to learn to ignore the morons and learn from those who genuinely want to help. If you discover editorial flaws, despite your careful editing, it is easy to fix them by uploading a new file. It is imperative to make sure you do edit carefully though, otherwise you lend credence to the false rumour that self published books are inferior to traditionally published ones.

I self published my first book thinking it would be wonderful if I could sell 100 in a year. I am now close to 20000 in my first year and I have 12 books published. Some readers have embraced me wholeheartedly, others have not. You can’t please everybody.

When I am in Canada, I have a large office available to me in my home, but I prefer to sit at a small secretary desk in the living room! There is a sliding glass door out onto the rear deck and I can see the garden from there. I live in the only sub-tropical part of Canada, so I rarely see snow!

When I am in Panama, I have a small desk set up in a spare bedroom in my condo, which is about 25 yards from the Pacific Ocean. My desk does not face the ocean. That would be too distracting. I get some of my best ideas walking along the beach. Las Lajas is somewhat off the beaten track so I rarely bump into anyone.

I really enjoy reading medieval romance. In fact I like historical romance as a whole.

When I thought about writing a novel, I was influenced by the fact I am an avid genealogist. I was born in England and have always had a fancy to trace my own line back to the time of the Norman Conquest. This of course is an impossibility since I am not descended from a noble family (at least I don’t think I am!) In researching the 11th century I came across some very interesting characters and thought their stories would form the basis for a good plot. Once I began I couldn’t stop! The ideas simply poured out. The Montbryces became my family!

I originally wrote over 200,000 words, then decided there were just too many relationships, so I split the manuscript into four separate books, enhancing the story of each hero/heroine. They became the first series, The Montbryce Legacy. That is why there is good continuity in those books—I wrote them all at the same time!

Anna Markland is my pen name. Anna did exist and was actually my 4g great aunt. She died at 15 so never had a chance to experience romance. There was no happily ever after for her, so this is her opportunity!

When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher and that was my profession for many enjoyable years. I love to communicate ideas.

I have a soft spot for two of my books. If Love Dares Enough is probably my favourite, followed by Dance of Love. The hero of Dance of Love is a young warrior plagued by (rheumatoid) arthritis in his hands. This makes it difficult to wield a sword. Because his hands are gnarled, he avoids women, tired of seeing revulsion on many faces as his condition worsened.

His heroine has the ability to help him, if he will allow it, but she too hides a terrible disfigurement. However, where there is great love, there are always miracles. There is an element of the unexplained in this book too.

The action ranges through France and Spain. I learned a lot about the history of Aragon in northeastern Spain while writing this book. Fascinating too was the knowledge medieval people had about natural ingredients which could alleviate the pain of diseases such as arthritis. The pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela also features in the book.

The most rewarding thing about my success is receiving messages from fans telling me I am now their favourite author! The checks are nice too!

Thanks for the opportunity to blog with you. I invite your followers to visit my blog and join me and the Montbryces on our journey through the Middle Ages.

Please help me welcome my friend and critique partner, Michele Callahan. Michele is giving away a $5 Starbucks card and a copy of her book Silver Storm to lucky commentors. That means two winners so be sure and leave her a comment.

How did you get started writing?

My mom read fairy tales to me until I was old enough to read them myself. Once you get lost in your first story, you’re never the same again.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

Thank God for independent publishing. No one would touch my stuff. I had several agents and even more editors ask me, “Which section of the bookstore would your book go on the shelf? I don’t know how to market you.” I don’t fit in a box. My books are a mix of romance, metaphysical, sci-fi, paranormal, and suspense. I entwine science with paranormal and metaphysical phenomenon and then wrap a hot romance around it. In movie terms…I live where Terminator meets Ghost…

Tell us about your current series.

My current series is the Timewalker Chronicles. The Timewalkers are women who have died in their own time and are then taken from Earth in the moment of death by the Archivers. They are genetically enhanced and given special abilities by the Archivers, then sent back in time to prevent major world catastrophes. Of course, it’s never easy, they always run into trouble, and they always fall in love. Red Night’s heroine, Alexa, can make herself invisible and must destroy a deadly virus before it breaks free. Silver Storm’s heroine (Book 2), Sarah, can manipulate energy, and must stop a new, deadly alien weapon from wiping out Chicago. (p.s. You can check out Red Night at Amazon for only $.99 on Kindle.)

What inspired your latest book?

Terminator and Kate & Leopold. I am a huge fan of time travel, especially if there is a love story involved.

What is your favorite part of writing?

Brainstorming. I can come up with some crazy stuff.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

Typing. I hate typing. My dad bought a voice recognition/dictation program for me for Christmas last year and I adored him for it! Yeah, Dad!

What is your next project and when will it be released?

BLUE ABYSS is the third book in the Timewalker Chronicles. It will be out next month. You finally find out who the bad guys really are (you actually see one), who the Archivers are (we get to see their ship), and why they’re all really here. You will meet two new players in the battle for Earth and humanity’s survival. You also get to meet Raiden, a half-immortal hottie who looks a lot like Godfrey Gao (left) – with sexier (Immortal style) hair. Totally hot hero. I’m in love with him right now, but he’s a bit stubborn. Marina, the Timewalker in the story who he falls head-over-heels in love with, can breathe water and has some very interesting friends in the ocean. No cute dolphins for her. I was shocked, then amazed, then totally in awe and adoring of some amazing predators. You can read it as a stand alone, but you’ll have more fun with the characters if you’ve read the other books first.

What is your typical day like?

I am a sprinter, not a plodder. I either work, or I don’t. On working days, I typically put in 16-18 solid hours between the day job, RomCon, and writing. I forget to eat lunch, don’t go to bed until 1-2 am, get up at 6:30 and start again. Off days we call ‘Pajama Days’ at my house. We watch movies, read, make waffles, and order pizza for dinner. I LOVE pajama days. I love to be home relaxing with my family.
How has your experience with self-publishing been? I love it. Total freedom. No rules. There is a lot to learn, but there are people out there blazing the trail and willing to help.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

Everywhere. News articles. Dreams. The ether?

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

Don’t rush. Make sure you are publishing the absolute best work you can. Edit it. Format it. Get great cover art. Make it as perfect as you can. Once a reader puts you down, they’re unlikely to pick your books up again. I don’t like to lose a single reader. Every single one of them is important! Self-publishing is a marathon, not a sprint.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

Milk Chocolate and Coca-Cola, preferably together.  (Obviously, I’m a serious health nut.) And make fun of me all you want, but when we go out to eat, I always want to go to Olive Garden, and I always order Chicken Parm. LOL. Exciting, aren’t I?

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

VERY. When I first started writing, I intended to write simple, stand-alone stories. But my twisted brain had other ideas. Especially in the Timewalker series, with all the time loops, you see everyone again. I love it. The characters become like a family and I don’t have to abandon any of them just because their part of the adventure is (mostly) over. They get to help and be involved in the next stories. I love that, because I get so attached to all of them. They become real people in my mind. If I’m not able to spend any time with them, I miss them and wonder what they’re up to. I like to visit them in their Happily-Ever-After.

Was your road to publication fraught with peril or a walk in the park?

I’ve been writing, on and off, for 23 years. In the mean time I got married, had children, went through losing my grandma and then my mom to cancer, and all of the usual life events that wear us out and steal our time. So, I wouldn’t say it’s been either. It’s been a challenge, and an adventure. But even when I was driving carpool, I wasn’t thinking about the day, or what to make for dinner, I was thinking about my stories. They simply refused to die. That’s what makes a writer, in my opinion. No matter what you’re doing, the stories keep spinning. It’s getting them out of your head and onto the page that’s tough. That’s where the published and the unpublished differ. Write. The. Words.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

Raiden, Half-Immortal Prince who was attacked, betrayed, and left for dead (until the heroine finds him). Strengths – Determination and Honor. Weakness – He doesn’t like to bend…

Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.

Marina Lucia Jean-Menette, Grew up in Santa Fe, loves to scuba dive, has nightmares that are more than simple dreams… Sent back in time to save Raiden from certain death. She can breathe water and heal. Strength – Independence and Courage. Weakness – She has walls around her heart and a secret, very personal mission she can’t abandon…even for a prince.

What genres are you drawn to as a reader?

I love to read. Romance. Thrillers. Suspense. Historical. Paranormal. Contemporary. High Fantasy. Urban fantasy. I like smart books and characters that feel real. Don’t read historical fiction or non-fiction much. (Yawn…)
Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing? Re-reading a story I wrote after a long break (so I forget some stuff) and thinking…”Wow! That didn’t suck!”

Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped.

I am very involved in RomCon and their annual romance reader convention. Love it.

What’s next for you?

Hmmm? Not sure, but the bad guys are getting pretty scary. I think I need some Bad Ass Alpha Warriors to kick their you-know-whats… DarkWalkers anyone? (Oh, heck yeah!)

Buy Links:
Red Night: http://www.amazon.com/Night-Book-Timewalker-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B004Z9ADW2/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Silver Storm: http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Storm-Timewalker-Chronicles-ebook/dp/B007U0VXLI/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

Tell us about your current series.

The Colton Gamblers is basically a family saga sort of thing set in a small fictional Texas town of Colton that seems to have a sudden run on fraud, rustlings, murders, stalkers, and kidnappings. The books are all romantic suspense, some more heavily so then others. All the stories build on the one before it—however each book is written to be a standalone and have a different hero/heroine. The characters are somehow tied to the founding gamblers of Colton—the exceptions being the heroine in book 1 and the second hero in book 5 (but they are sister and brother). The “blurb” for the series is in foreword of Gambling On A Secret and on my website:

In 1865, three disillusioned first cousins return from the battlefields of the defeated South to find their home in East Texas a shambles. Determined to make a new start, they head west. In the cowboy town of Dallas, Texas, they decide to pool the few silver dollars they have between them and enter into a poker game. With their gamble, they win over 100,000 acres of good grassland in Central Texas. Over the next century and a half, their descendents build a fortune in cattle and oil, but as time goes by, greed erodes their family bond.

These are the stories of the eighth generation gambling on love and bringing back the bond of family…

Book One—Gambling On A Secret (January 7, 2013)
Book Two—Gambling On A Heart (tentative release of September 2013)
Book Three— Gambling On A Dream (my current WIP)
Book Four—Gambling On A Wish
Book Five—Gambling On A Song
Book Six—Gambling On A Lady

Due to the fact there are so many characters and family dynamics involved, I’ve created complete family trees for each of the three clans—The Cartwrights, The Blackwells and The Fergusons. They are posted on my website.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

Heartstrings is due out in April and also a contemporary Western. The hero is a sexy mega country music star and the heroine is a Native American registered nurse who made a terrible mistake when she married their mutual best friend to make sure her baby had a father. It is also set in a fictional town in Texas.

What is your typical day like?

I work full time, so I don’t start writing until after I get dinner on the table at 6 PM and the dishes done and spend some time with the family. By this time it’s 7:45 or so. I usually try to breeze through my emails while I’m making dinner, so that I can write for a few hours. I try to get to blogs and stuff like that before 11 PM, but some days I just can’t make the rounds. On the weekends, I usually spend one of the days doing laundry and cleaning the house and one day for family and writing.

Do you have critique partners?

Oh God yes! My two main CPs for Gambling On A Secret were D’Ann Lindum and Martha Ramirez. D’Ann has been amazing and a Godsend when we met by chance on one of the writer’s YahooGroups a few years ago. She’s taught me so much, not just about writing, but about the West. What I love about Martha is she and I don’t write in the same genres. She writes mostly sweet or YA and I write spicy contemporary and paranormal and would never think of writing YA. What she brings to a critique is seeing the story from different angles. I value both their opinions and wouldn’t be here without them.

Was your road to publication fraught with peril or a walk in the park?

I don’t consider my road to publication to be either. I didn’t struggle to get published as long as some, but I had to work to get here. Both Gambling On A Secret and Heartstrings were rewritten so many times it’s not funny. But once I got it right, publication came quickly.

Give us an elevator pitch for your book.

“When a mysterious runaway-turned-heiress trusts a drunk ex-soldier to rebuild her ranch, an entire town is shaken to its core as more secrets than just hers are revealed.”

I came up with this in a high concept class taught by Lori Wilde last summer. It’s the same pitch I’d used on the blog that landed me my contract with Lyrical Press.

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

Special Forces Captain Dylan Quinn is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. During his last tour, his Delta Team was ambushed and received incredible losses. Dylan blames himself for the deaths of his guys, since he was their commander and his mind wasn’t in the game. Two days before the mission in support of Seal Team 6, he receives a Dear John letter from his wife of 10 years—she wants a divorce and is pregnant with another man’s baby. He has PTSD and is an alcoholic. But despite his military upbringing—his father is a general—all he ever wanted to be was a cowboy and own a ranch.

His greatest strength is his loyalty and honor. His weakness is not believing in himself.

Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.

Charli Monroe is the heiress to a fortune, but she has a dark past. At age 15 she ran away from home and her verbally abusive grandfather. She ended up on the streets of Las Vegas where she found work as a stripper and prostitute to support her cocaine habit. Her abusive pimp was also her “husband” and controlled her by withholding the drugs she was so addicted to. After serving a year in jail for a crime she unknowingly helped him to commit—all by the time she’s aged 19, she goes home to her grandfather. He’s a changed man, and for the next few years, she learns about his ranch. But when he dies, she heads to Colton where she buys the dilapidated Blackwell Ranch. She’s a hard worker and determined to change her life around. And to do so, she plans to help young women like herself by eventually earning a social work degree and opening up her remodeled home to troubled teenage girls.

Her biggest strength is her big heart and need to help anyone who needs it. Her weakness is her need to hide the past instead of facing it which causes her to be blind to what his happening now.

Are you a member of any writing organizations and, if so, have they helped?

Yes! I’m a member of the RWA and my local RWA Chapter. I also am on many a dozen or so YahooGroups. I’ve learned so much from all of them.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?

As cliché as it sounds, it’s also the most true statement out there—DON’T EVER GIVE UP. But what does this mean?
*Learn as much as you can about craft, writing and even the business. (I personally wish I’d spent more time learning the business end of things before I was published.)
*Network as much as possible because this will help you after you are published. Don’t think you don’t need a website or to blog or Facebook/Twitter before the contracts—you need to do this before.
*Take a good hard look at why you’re getting rejected. If you’ve moved from form/or no-letter-at-all rejections to helpful ones, consider what the editor/agent is telling you. If you have more than one or two letters that are telling you the same sort of things, chances are those are the things you need to fix.

Blurb:
When Charli bets everything on a secret, will she find the deck stacked against her?

Former runaway-turned heiress Charli Monroe is hiding her sordid past and planning a future in Colton, Texas. Attending the local college for a degree in social work, she intends to raise cattle on her newly purchased ranch, which she plans to open as a home for troubled teens. Only a few glitches—the Victorian mansion is crumbling, the barn needs a roof, and her oilman neighbor wants more than friendship. When she meets Dylan Quinn, Charli is willing to take a chance on the town drunk to help her rebuild the rundown ranch.

Dylan has his demons, too. The former Special Forces commander can’t get past his ex-wife’s betrayal and the botched mission that left him with much more than a bad limp. Certain the greedy oilman next door to Charli wants much more than just her heart, Dylan’s even willing to stop drinking in order to protect her.

When things get dangerous and secrets of the past are revealed, is he only looking out for his new employer, or is she the new start he so desperately needs?

CONTENT WARNING: Details abuse of a minor, drug abuse, alcoholism, swearing, spicy sex, murder.

COVER QUOTE: “Full of intrigue, tangled pasts, and raw emotions, this one is guaranteed to keep you turning pages from start to finish and then wishing for one more chapter!”
Carolyn Brown, New York Times bestselling author of Just a Cowboy and His Baby.
Ms. Brown also named Gambling On A Secret as one of her favorite romance reads in 2012 in the

Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today

.

Excerpt:
“Ferguson, what are you doing here?” Dylan barked.

Leon ambled toward them on the stone path. “I’m saving a young maiden from torment. What are you doing here, playing the part of the devil?”

“I’m Miss Monroe’s new manager.” The deadly edge of his voice matched the flintiness of his eyes. “If there’s anyone to save the young maiden from, it’s you.”

“Mr. Quinn, please.” She turned to Leon. “Leon, is there something I can do for you?”

He smiled, showing off perfect white teeth in a face handsome enough to belong to an actor. “I was just passing by on my way home and decided to stop. How are the boys working out?”

Dylan’s stance widened and his hands flexed at his slides. “What boys?”

“Charli and I have entered into a business arrangement.”

She lost the battle with the urge to wrap her arms around herself. As much as she appreciated Leon’s kindness, respected him, and was even a little attracted to him, something about him didn’t sit right with her. He represented her peers in the community. According to Mrs. Pratt, besides the Cartwrights, she and Leon were undoubtedly the wealthiest residents in the county. No one in Colton could learn about her past. It would ruin her, and Leon, no doubt, had the means to dig up the dirt.

“Really?” Dylan stepped closer to her in a protective manner. Whiskey tainted his breath as the warmth of the exhalations tickled her cheek. “What kind of business arrangement?”

She could protect herself. Dylan Quinn wasn’t any safer than Leon Ferguson. Stepping away from him, she forced her arms to her sides. “Mr. Quinn, I can handle this.”

She faced Leon. “I’m amazed by how much the men got done since starting on Monday. The foreman told me last evening they’d be reseeding another fifty acres for hay this morning. And they have the corrals fixed and started on the fencing in the north pasture.”

“Good, good.” He glanced at Dylan. “I’ll be going, unless you need a more reliable exterminator. I couldn’t help but overhear about your snake infestation. I can give you the name of the company that has gotten rid of the snakes in our lakes over on Oak Springs for years.”

Although he presented the perfect solution, she didn’t the like way Leon had looked at Dylan as he said the word exterminator. “No, Mr. Quinn is quite capable of getting rid of the snake.”

“Oh, I’m sure he is.” Leon tipped his hat. “Let me know if there’s anything else I can do for you, Charli.” Dylan’s jaw tightened as his uncle glanced at him. “It’s good to see you up among the living again.”

Leon headed back to his Porsche. With no pretense of lowering his voice, Dylan said, “Now, there’s a snake no one wants in their garden.”

Upon hearing the jibe, Leon’s shoulders jerked in mid-stride.

Rattled by Leon’s attention and the snake fiasco, she turned on Dylan. “You aren’t off the hook. I want those snakes gone.”

“We’ll see.”

“I hate snakes.” She shuddered and put her hands on her hips. “Maybe I should have asked him who the exterminator is.”

Bio:
Sara Walter Ellwood is an award winning author whose novel Gambling On A Secret was named by bestselling author Carolyn Brown in the Happy Ever After Blog on USA Today as one of her favorite romances of 2012. Although Sara has long ago left the farm for the glamour of the big town, she draws on her experiences growing up on a small hobby farm in West Central Pennsylvania to write her stories. She’s been married to her college sweetheart for nearly 20 years, and they have two teenagers and one very spoiled rescue cat named Penny. She longs to visit the places she writes about and jokes she’s a cowgirl at heart stuck in Pennsylvania suburbia.

She also writes paranormal romantic suspense under the pen name Cera duBois.

Buy Links:
Lyrical Press: http://www.lyricalpress.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_25&products_id=574
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Gambling-Secret-Colter-Gamblers-ebook/dp/B00AVLL4XA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1357261386&sr=1-1
Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/gambling-on-a-secret-sara-walter-ellwood/1114062294?ean=2940016153667
BookStrand: http://www.bookstrand.com/gambling-on-a-secret

Author links:
Website: http://www.sarawalterellwood.com
Blog: http://www.sarawalterellwood.com/blog/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/sarawalterellwood.ceradubois/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/sara_w_ellwood

Giveaway:
**PLEASE LEAVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR THE GIVEAWAY**
~One poster from every stop will win a Gambling On A Secret ebook
~One commenter from each stop will win a piece of custom jewelry.
(The winners of these two prizes will be announced the day after the tour stop.)

I also have 2 Grand Prizes!

~First Grand Prize is a SWAG PACK, including a signed copy of Carolyn Brown’s Just a Cowboy and His Baby. Also included is a copy of D’Ann Lindun’s Shot Through the Heart, a pen, a notebook, a horse themed mini calendar, a patriotic themed day planner, and more all tucked away in a reusable tote bag at the end of my blog tour.

~Second Grand Prize is a $10 Gift Card to either Amazon or Barnes and Noble. If you follow the tour and comment as often as possible, you increase your chances of winning!
(The winners of the Swag Pack and Gift Card will be announced on March 1, 2013.)
(Swag Pack is only eligible for US residents to win. The jewelry and gift card are eligible to US and Canada residents only. The ebook is eligible to anyone, unless prohibited by law.)

Please help me welcome my friend Robin D. Owens to my blog today. Be sure to leave her a comment to be in the drawing for her prize, a copy of Feral Magic or Enchanted Ever After in PDF format, winners choice and for a second winner a $5 Starbucks card.

How did you get started writing?

I actually wrote bits and pieces of scenes since I was a child, and often felt the need to write. When a guy dumped me (I was giving 75% of my creative energy to that relationship), I took a course one spring through Colorado Free University on Writing Romantic Suspense…met my mentor and great friend, Cassie Miles (single mother who writes for Harlequin Intrigue and raised and supported two daughters on her income). Over the course of that summer (mumble, mumble years ago), I wrote a book without benefit of critique. Even after two revisions it remains terrible. Then I got sucked into Rocky Mtn Fiction Writers who taught me how to write.

Tell us about your current series.

I have three. The “Heart/Celta” books set on a world colonized by Earth people with psi 400 years before, with a Celtic/pagan society culturally and rather England Regency-like socially and politically. People have magic/psi powers I call Flair, but I’m most known for my telepathic animal companions (telepathic cats with attitude = redundant). Berkley publishes that series which has eleven books and one novella collection, starting with HeartMate and as far as Heart Secret…

I JUST published my first enovella, Feral Magic, which is a contemporary paranormal shapeshifter work, set in Denver. My heroine, Brandy, recently had a near death experience and “awoke” to find that she was now telepathic with cats (see a theme here? My readers love my animals, and I love writing them). Brandy is informed that there is a “lost one,” when she finds a cub instead of a kitten, she takes him home then is stunned when he transforms into a human baby, and even more thrill—uh, surprised—when his sexy uncle shows up in jaguar form to retrieve his nephew. This is a sexy romantic enovella.

My series published by Luna is more fantasy for women with romantic subplot. Enchanted Ever After (new) has a human woman becoming a magical being…merfolk. The Mystic Circle cul-de-sac is again in Denver, a magical place of brownies and djinns and treefolk and airsprites…

What inspired your latest book?

For Enchanted Ever After, it was the movie The Last Starfighter, or Ender’s Game (book), By Orson Scott Card. For Feral Magic – I don’t know, I had the idea and sat down writing a couple of years ago – a missing baby and a woman who finds a jaguar in her back alley… but I didn’t think I could sell it, and so it sat in my computer files until epublishing came around.

What is your favorite part of writing?

Waiting to hear something from a traditional publisher.

Do you have critique partners?
I couldn’t function without my critique partners. They tell me when something is cliché, when what is in my head didn’t make it onto the page, when I’ve repeated a plot twist in the last three books. They are invaluable, especially helping with back cover copy, blurbs, etc.

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book? Well, if you subject me to the worst humiliation I’ve ever felt in my life, you will find yourself in an evil rain of wormlike frinks (first Luna Summoning series), swallow them and explode. If you make an impression you might become a helper or a friend or an acquaintance to hero or heroine.

Do you have a view in your writing space? What does your space look like?

I once looked at offices of writers. on the net. The only person’s whose desk was messier than mine was Jennifer Crusie. I won’t be posting shots.

Excerpt from Feral Magic, Dak is the hero, black werejaguar, Brandy is the heroine, human:

Purrs roused Dak near dawn and he tensed, stared at the small, black female cat who’d awoken him. He’d gotten no more than a couple of hours of sleep and weariness dragged at him.

After a disrespectful conversation, the cat led him to food. She slunk over to a few bites in a dish set outside a wooden fence. Dak’s nose twitched. He hadn’t eaten for a long time. He stared at the cat. He supposed it would be rude to eat her. No matter how irritating she’d been, she’d helped him. And he really didn’t eat felines. Except after battle with his enemies.

He caught a whiff of something and his heavy mane lifted along his spine. His nephew, Favel!

With one leap he was over the fence…and hit by two small and plump cat bodies.

This is OUR house, go away! said the black and white one.

Go, go, go! said the long-haired black.

I have come for my kit, Dak snarled, putting vibrato into his threat.

The thing. He has come for the thing! the younger, long-haired cat said.

Good. He can have the thing. He is another thing. Black-and-white cat was older and dominant. Dak sensed that though the two lived together they weren’t family or friendly.
The black-and-white cat lifted his lip to show tiny fangs.

Dak let his growl rumble all the way from his gut.

The damn black cat shrieked. Neither of the small ones backed down. He could admire their courage even as their foolhardiness disgusted him.

Creaking door, stomping feet. The hopeful and wonderful smell of Dark Panther Klatch shit and urine – Favel!

“What’s going on here?” A woman walked out, holding the baby who wore a cloth on his nethers!

Dak bounded over the small cats, sending them tumbling with his tail.

*~*~*
Brandy froze, angled her body to protect the baby. Her heart pounded. The one step back into the house and closing the door would be too slow.

The threatening black jaguar pinned her with his glare. His head was taller than her waist. She’d viewed a lot of photos of wild cats on the internet, and though the cat had a jaguar’s facial features and build, his mane was a lion’s, long and growing nearly halfway down his back.

Huge, bigger than any of the “largest” stats. Longer, heavier. Bigger teeth.

His upper lip had risen, showing really scary fangs. A dangerous, predatory, intelligent purple gaze watched her.

She managed a tiny swallow. She’d known Stanley had been well cared for. But why hadn’t she thought someone – something – would come for him?

The adult version of Stanley tilted his head back and his nostrils flared. His plumeless tail lashed.

Don’t run. Don’t run. Don’t run. Mountain lions. Make yourself appear bigger! Yell! She didn’t think that would work with this beast. She supposed she was lucky seeing him at all instead of being ambushed and killed. She took a step back. Didn’t stumble over the threshold.

He prowled forward.

BIO

RITA® Award Winning novelist Robin D. Owens credits the telepathic cat with attitude in selling her first futuristic/fantasy romance, HeartMate, published in December 2001. Since then she has written eleven books in the series. Her five book Luna series included average American women Summoned into another dimension to save a world. Her new Mystic Circle series is a mixture of contemporary urban and romantic fantasy set in Denver. She is profoundly thankful to be recipient of the 2004 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year award as well as the 2011 Writer of the Year Award, the Colorado Romance Writers Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2010 Best Paranormal and Best of the Best Daphne Du Maurier Award.

Please help me welcome Alisa Anderson to my blog today. Be sure to leave her a comment to be entered to win the prize of one of her ebooks. She’s giving away three kindle copies of ther ebook today so be sure and leave her a comment.

What genres are you drawn to as a reader?

i love, fantasy, mystery, paranormal, sci-fi, erotic romance, erotica, historical romance, you name it, i probably have read something from that genre. i am extremely varied!

Tell us about your hero. Give us one of his strengths and one of his weaknesses.

in the give and receive series there are two heroes. the first ty malone, is definitely a piece of work! one of his strengths is that even tho he plays hard, he loves hard too, completely, with mind, body and soul. i would have to say one of his weaknesses is that often he will do the wrong thing for what he thinks are the right reasons. my second hero, danny blake can sometimes be a little more complicated. dark, broody and intense, i would say one his weaknesses is doing the “right” thing for the wrong reasons. he’s very noble that way. if there was someone to marry you if he got you pregnant even if he wasn’t in love with you, this would be your guy, lol. so to go along with this, i would say his inner resolve and determination to see things thru is one of his biggest strengths.

Tell us about your heroine. Give us one of her strengths and one of her weaknesses.

miss lena. well, let’s see. she is a shade spoiled and self-absorbed, lol. she tends to think of herself first. on the other hand she is incredibly generous and loyal to a fault. she will always have your back no matter what and that’s important.

What move best describes your life? Why?

i would have to say alice in wonderland. me and my mouth are always getting into one adventure after another, never quite figuring out how I got there in the first place. wondering how i plan to get out. and to quote alice “i give myself very good advice, but i very seldom follow it. that explains the trouble that i’m always in…” now see, that’s me. all day, all night, lol.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

i get ideas from everything. it might be a commercial i’ve seen, a movie trailer or even another book. that moment where you say, well i like how the movie ended THIS way…but what if the story went in this direction instead? it often opens up a whole new world of possibilities.

Do you have critique partners?

i do. i think it’s incredibly important to bounce ideas and thoughts off of someone else, or several someone else’s. i am also always on the look-out for more so let me know who you are people. beta readers too!

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

very possible. you just never know when someone you know might turn up. i just can’t say who. that would ruin the surprise. *grins*

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. plan to be in this for the long haul and learn as much as you can. become a part of writing groups, network with other writers, learn from everyone who was before you, even walking beside you on this publishing journey. ask questions when possible and never be ashamed to admit you don’t know the answer. understand that in all likelihood, you are never going to be the next j.k. rowling, e.l. james or stephen king. And that’s ok. strive to be YOU. always thank the people who go out of their way to help you and remember to do the same for someone else. be confident in yourself and your product, but not cocky. be gracious. be kind. and above all, keep writing.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

gonna have to go with a ripe, extra sweet, organic (of course) strawberry for the win. It was the first thing that popped into my mind at the question and i’ve loved them for years.

thanks for having me today!

Excerpt:

Speaking of confusion, she knew there should be none where Danny was concerned. She thought some time ago there might have been something. She was sure she felt a connection, positive, he might have felt one too, but he had made it all so simple hadn’t he?

There was no room for error or mistake. He made his choice, years ago, which basically dictated hers.

He was unavailable. Married. Hands off. Not that she gave a damn about a ring, truthfully. Her ginormous ego simply refused to be an afterthought or come in second to some other woman sporting his rock. Lena came in second for no one. Not even him.
But sweet Jesus, he made it incredibly tempting to break every last one of her rules of do’s and don’ts.

“Speak of the devil.” Ty gave a nod as he walked up to the bar.

“What up, brother.” He lifted his drink and Danny nodded his greeting back.

Lena blinked at Ty. “No. Actually we weren’t.”

“No, actually we weren’t…what.”

“No, actually we weren’t…speaking of the devil. Or Danny.”

Her voice was carefully neutral.

“Same difference, right? I kid. But real talk. You didn’t ask me where Danny was? Sorry. That’s my bad, I guess. Thought you did.” He grinned and tossed back his vodka tonic. He knew what he was doing, apparently.

What she couldn’t figure out was why.

She gave Ty a look, which he ignored.

“You were asking about me, L?”

He was the only one who ever called her that.

“Oh. Yeah. I’m sure…I mean, yeah, of course.”

Her words were rushed, breathless.

“Well what are you waiting for? Give me some love, girl.”

As she reached up to give him a hug, she was careful to maintain her distance.

His head bent down and his lips were feather light, grazing the sinuous skin of her collarbone.

She always did feel like silk.

Her soft curls skimmed Danny’s lips, tickling as he closed his eyes, inhaling the sweet, fragrant peach blossom scent of her shampoo as it teased, taunted his senses.

He held her for a minute, just a bit longer than he should have.

Almost like he never wanted to let her go.

When he opened them, Ty was staring at him. He took in everything and was silent and observing. Knowing.

Danny started to give her a kiss on the cheek and she backed away slightly, instinctively into Ty’s chest. Ty’s veined, sinewy hands surrounded her hips without thinking, almost protective in stance. Possessive even. The action was duly noted.
He stared at those hands, his hands, for what seemed like an eternity. Then he raised his eyes to lock with Ty’s, as something silent and unspoken passed between them.
He’d be a complete idiot not to see the currents of electricity that existed between her and Ty, even if she didn’t. Or wouldn’t.

Ty knew the same thing about Danny. He had known for years the way Lena felt about Danny, even when she didn’t know it herself.

She never seemed interested in bringing it to the sharing circle, which was odd for two people who talked extensively about everything else.

But she never offered. And he never pressed. Considering his own secrets, even he didn’t have that kind of nerve.

Life went on.

Lena didn’t notice any of this. She was busy watching Danny, who was still close enough to touch. She looked at his cheekbones, shadowed by the dark hair falling forward. She smelled his scent, masculine and uninhibited, speaking of forbidden promise and a hundred different taboo fantasies brought to life in her mind.

Like a gazelle being stalked by a large, hungry cat, her instincts told her she was in danger. She needed to run. Now. From the feelings he made her feel, from the chaotic madness she struggled to maintain when he was near, from the way her heart almost exploded in her chest, whenever she so much as tasted his name on her tongue.

Only then did she realize she was trapped between both men and it was useless to even try and get away. Only then did she comprehend where Ty’s hands were and had been for some time. Only then was she aware of him rubbing her thigh carelessly and she felt a warm flush heat her face.

Danny wanted to rip his hands off of her, but knew it shouldn’t make one crap load of difference to him what they did or didn’t do.

After all…he was a happily married man.

It was just that every so often…the lie he lived everyday of his life became almost impossible to stomach.

Author bio:

(transposed to the third person to appear more mature *grins cheerfully*)
well…alisa did stuff and is still doing stuff. only now she has two boys crazy enuff to want her as their mommy. hey, at least she tried to warn them, so her job is done. she doesn’t like to capitalize, partially because she likes how lower case letters look visually, but mostly out of laziness. please don’t judge. it could be you. and she would say, hey. you’re alright, buddy. you’re ok in my book. now c’mere for a hug. the hug might be pushing it. air kiss? you are strangers, after all, with only a mutual love of poor grammar.

she lives for a world full of controllable anatomically correct, android men programmed to meet her specific feminine needs (wink, wink, nudge, nudge with a big waggle of the eyebrows). who look like the rock. and ian somerhalder. and idris elba. and that’s it she promises. variety. gotta have variety, right?

but alas…apparently that exists only in johanna lindsey’s genius mind. so until then, she enjoys her incredibly warped sense of humor. she reads tons of erotica and romantic, drippy goo that makes her heart go pitter patter. then she thought, hey. what, she said to herself. (softly, of course, so no one finds out she is indeed, 2 nuts short of a fruitcake) maybe you should write this stuff too. maybe someone will like it and maybe buy it. so she said, huh, you think? then she said, well…yeah, i wouldn’t have suggested it…(inserts sarcastic tone) and then she was like lose the attitude, ok? then she was all, would you just shut up and write, already? sheesh! and she did. 🙂

Thank you so much for having me here today, Cynthia. It’s a real treat.

How did you get started writing?

Like so many, I wrote little stories or poems when I was young, and shared them with my friends. Bless them, they had to live through it all and some actually asked what was next. But what gave me the spark, “Hey, I might could do this,” was a High School teacher that actually wrote Has Potential on my paper and shared it with the class. After that, I was a sponge for anything having to do with writing fiction. I sought out any class I could take.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

Back then, it was Sci-fi, Fantasy, anything I could fit my imagination into…which was far out there stuff. Quirky and fun. Now, I still lean toward those genres, though I do have some contemporary stories in the works. My imagination still rules much of my writing.

Tell us about your current series.

My Chronicles of Shilo Manor series tells the stories of the three Shilo brothers, Cole, James, and Vincent. They are from the ancient dimension, Meridian, but serve in Cornerstone Deep as Sentinels. Problem is, they’ve served there longer than any Sentinel has served a post and have slowly adapted to the ways of the people there…some not so good.

In book one, Cornerstone Deep, Cole, who has lost his soul mate and believes he’ll never have her again because they also believe rebirth of souls only exists on their plane, runs into Anna who has been chosen as a harvest subject to serve a nobleman. He finds out not only does reincarnation exist on Cornerstone Deep, when he answers her soul’s call with a kiss—which confuses the hell out of him why he would do such a thing—he also binds her soul. This catapults a series of events that turn into the Chronicles of Shilo Manor series.

Tell us a little about your latest book.

My latest title, One for Kami, is a Science Fiction Romance short story and was released December 21, 2012.

Kami and Ian are from dimension Two-Eight-Five. That realm is under strict control when it comes to marriage and offspring. In an attempt to recover from economic disaster, the elite men are required to take three wives, one elite and two from the devastated lower class. They must have as many children as will come to them and spread the wealth through inheritance, while the lower class may only take one wife and have one child. Though this proved to be helping the plane recover, Kami can’t abide by the law.

She was sure Ian was from the lower class. After all, what member of the elite chooses peanut butter sandwich pic-nicks by the river and plays with a scruffy dog with a knotted sock? She’s so upset at the fact he’s elite and will be required to take two more wives that she leaves Two-Eight-Five and Ian behind to find a true love that will want her alone. Dimension Three-Two-Three looks like the perfect place to begin her search, but what she finds has her questioning her resolve.

And Ian has an agenda of his own…

What are you currently working on?

Aumelan is the amazing story I’m working on now. Three books are written with the fourth half way finished; Aumelan, World Beneath the Rock, Waters of Tiger Rod, and Kingdom, Rise. I’m revising book one right now for submission in the spring. This story is so unique I’m having a difficult time finding another to compare it to.

Here’s the series blurb:

Freedom is a gift, but a luxury not all possess. How far should one go to secure life when it hangs in the balance every few days? Breach another’s freewill? How far should an ally go to help both peoples affected by such a plight?
When Salana meets Chad, she’s faced with the unbelievable, a man who must take energy from a host to survive. But he’s not the only one; the entire Tsosey Nation is plagued with this unusual need, the strong yet meek Chamber people having submitted to serve them through the centuries.

Chad’s desire to find answers to his people’s inability to produce life-sustaining energy brings him out of the vast caverns of the World Beneath the Rock to the World of the Sun. Amazing truths unfold, but are the Tsosey and Chamber people ready to accept what those truths hold?

A story of love, devotion, and courage, Aumelan introduces us to a world where hearts and souls unite, to create a world where freedom is a gift for all and love between two peoples is possible.

Where do you get the ideas for your stories?

The Chronicles of Shilo Manor and Aumelan series both fanned from dreams. Chapter three of Cornerstone Deep is practically step for step of what happened to start that story with other scenes littered throughout. Aumelan is filled with scenes from the vivid dream I had of those people, and Chad, Salana, and Dee (Chad’s host) haven’t been shy about telling me everything that should go on in their story. One for Kami was an erotic short story experiment that went horribly wrong. Lol! The story turned out terrible! I sat back and said, “Okay, Kami and Ian, you run this show. I obviously got it all wrong.” What came to me were two romantics that both searched for that special One and were willing to give everything up to find and keep him/her. They made me smile with how their story turned out, and I hope they make you smile too. *smile*

Do you have critique partners?

I have a couple wonderful critique partners that I’m in touch with almost every day. When it comes to critiquing each other’s works, we’re brutal, despite our friendship. We’re all striving to become better writers and sugaring up and ignoring what needs to be fixed due to not wanting to hurt someone’s feelings only results hurting their progress. I love my critique partners. They’re priceless.

How likely are people you meet to end up in your next book?

My characters are themselves, but they possess bits of a lot of people I know. Tapping a finger, scrubbing the back of their heads, snorting when they laugh, plastered smile… Yeah, they might be from people I know. *smile*

What do you have planned for the future?

Aumelan is next to submit, but I do have some titles sitting in the wings to work on. Tam, and Treacle Tart are YA titles I look forward to finishing. Sunday and Crimson Peace are novellas that have been pulling at my mind lately, too. But, book three of the Chronicles, Cornerstone Deep Destiny, and book two of Aumelan, World Beneath the Rock, need to be soon coming.

Having achieved your goal to be a published author, what is the most rewarding thing?

The most rewarding thing is to have my stories loved by others, my characters to touch their hearts as much as they do mine, and my daughters to be proud of Mom. *smile*

Do you have any words of inspiration for aspiring authors?

Never give up and…

“Believe in the magic that’s in you, its potential, what it can achieve. But most of all believe in yourself and create a world where dreams become reality.”—Charlene A. Wilson *wink*

One for Kami
excerpt

A gust of wind lifted his black hair to dance around his face. The cheery motion seemed to mock his lips as they dipped into a deep frown. “If it were up to me, I’d have only you. Can’t you believe that? I’ve waited, pushed the age limit to wed, looking for the right one to be my first. My first, Kami. The others will never mean what you do to me.”
“If you really love me, you’d want me alone. No other. Period.” Frustration bubbled in her chest at her misconception of their love.

He tilted his head and bit his lips together. “I can’t help that I was born an elite. If it were possible…”

“If it were possible, what? You’d give up your birthright and join the ranks of the vagabonds who can’t afford food for the one wife and child they’re allowed? Or you’d buck the system and refuse to wed the other two? That would only land you earthbound, exiled to a foreign dimension, and stripped of everything but the clothes you wear. And while you’re considering it, I’d advise you to wear a thick coat and heavy boots because I hear they choose some pretty rough climates for those who refuse to live by this law.”

The sarcastic response rolled off her tongue before she realized it, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t right. None of the counsel’s decisions on eliminating poverty was. The lower class weds one spouse and bears only one child while the elite must choose three and produce as many offspring that would come to them? It was absurd. Find another way to spread the wealth than through inheritance.

She looked at him, and her voice rose with her exclamation. “I can’t stay here and conform to the laws of this dimension. Not when I know there are other places that don’t require such things. I need the freedom to love whomever I want whoever they are, without the stipulation of a quota. And if that means transferring, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“If your mother was alive…”

“Well, she’s not.” Kami scowled. She had expected him to try to bring her mother into this, but it hurt just the same. “But, I can’t believe she wouldn’t want me to be happy. She was one of a quota, Ian, one that had only one child. Father’s attention stayed on the others.”

Ian’s broad shoulders lifted as he took a deep breath and sent his gaze back to the trees.
“I’m leaving for a six-month stay in Three-Two-Three. With me gone, you’ll be free to start your family before you turn twenty-five. I won’t stand in your way to fulfill your obligation. You’ll have time to find a woman that will happily live by the law.” Her voice lowered to a mumble. “And I won’t have to see you do it.”

Ian’s heavy brow furrowed and his dark lashes narrowed his gaze. “And what will happen if you find someone while you’re there? That realm doesn’t know we exist, Kami. What will you tell him when you leave every six months to come back to renew your travel rights?”
“When I choose someone, it will be because our love is true. He’ll understand I need some time away.”

His mouth dropped open and he shook his head. “What love that’s true has those kinds of secrets?” A scowl crossed his face and he drew his hand through the air. “And what makes you think a love there would be truer than my love here?”

“They choose only one. They pledge their hearts and it lasts a lifetime.”

“Promises can be broken whichever realm you’re in.” Orange and yellow leaves scattered as he marched across the small tract and sunk to the ground before her. Taking her hands in his, he looked into her eyes. “Stay here. Marry me. Be my elite choice. There can be only one first time, and I want it to be you. Let it be enough.”

About the Author

Charlene A. Wilson is an author of paranormal tales that take you away to other dimensions. She weaves magic, lasting love, and intrigue to immerse you into the lives of her characters.
She began writing in her early teens when her vivid dreams stayed with her long after she had them. The characters and worlds were so amazing, she brought them to life through her books. You can meet them now in her series, Chronicles of Shilo Manor, and soon in her series, Aumelan.

She resides in a small community in Arkansas, USA, with her two beautiful daughters, a gray cat, Chester, and a fluffy black dog, KooJo.

Author Links
Author site: http://CharleneAWilson.com
Blog: http://bit.ly/CharBlogs
Facebook: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonFan
Twitter: http://twitter.com/AuthorCAWilson
Goodreads: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonGR
LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/CharleneAWilsonLI
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/charleneawilson/
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Charlene-A.-Wilson/e/B004L3647K/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_pop_1

~ * Giveaway * ~

One lucky commenter will receive an e-copy of One for Kami and matching printable bookmarks.

Please help me welcome Jessica Aspen to my blog today. Jessica will be giving away an ecopy of her book Little Red Riding Wolf to one lucky commentor so be sure and leave her a question or comment.

How did you get started writing?

Hi Cynthia, thanks for having me on your blog today. I guess I’ve been writing all my life, but it wasn’t until 2008 that I really got serious. It took joining RWA and Colorado Romance Writers for me to actually finish a book. Once I started hanging out with serious writers, everything changed for me.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write paranormal romance. Why? Because I’ve always loved the mysterious, exotic, and adventurous in books. I grew up on sci-fi, fantasy and gothic novels. Combine those and you have paranormal romance!

Tell us about your current series.

The Twisted Tales: Come Into The Woods novellas are modern twists of traditional fairy tales based around a group of werewolves living in the Rocky Mountains. The first book, Little Red Riding Wolf, has a spunky heroine named Red. She’s a young werewolf looking for freedom from her pack and she discovers it in a forbidden relationship with a human, Evan. The second book comes out February 2013. It’s called Snow and the Seventh Wolf, and it’s about Red’s human hating werewolf brother, Seth. Seth, of course, falls in love with a modern day Snow White. Snow is on the run from her step-parents and very human, much to Seth’s dismay.

What move best describes your life? Why?

Busy, busy, busy! I never have enough time. I have so many books I want to write and I am the eternal editor. I write fast, but edit slow. And of course I have lots of other things that need my time. If I could have a time saver like Hermione Granger, I’d take it!

What inspired your latest book?

I’ve always loved fairy tales and I’d been twisting a fae version of Snow White when I saw a contest for Red Hot Fairy Tales. Somehow that word Red stuck in my mind and I decided to do a modern version of Little Red Riding Hood, but with Red as the wolf and the huntsman as a modern day forest ranger. It did well in that contest, but the publisher really wanted traditional fairy tales, so the following year I pumped up the heat level and entered it in Passionate Ink’s Stroke of Midnight Contest, where it finaled. Changing Red into a werewolf and having her struggle with her independence shaped the plot of the book. I even threw in a shape-shifting granny with sharp teeth and sharp eyes.

What is your favorite part of writing?

I love that moment when I think “Ah ha! That’s it!” It’s when I’ve left a book for a while and I go back thinking it needs a lot of work, but it turns out its much better than I think. (Writer’s are notoriously self-conscious about their work, we all need more confidence.) Those moments don’t come often, but they make all the rest of the work worth it.

What is your least favorite part of writing?

Hmm, the editing. It drags on for me. I think I’m done with a chapter, then I send it to my CP and she says “slow down!”. That’s when I realized I still have a ton of work to do. I would love if the editing went fast. Maybe someday it will, it’s faster now than it was a few years ago.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

Snow and the Seventh Wolf will be out in February 2013. Seth hates humans so much tries to kill Red’s human love interest in Little Red Riding Wolf and he’s just a big blustering alpha male, so I had to take him down a peg, or two. Actually, falling in love with Snow does the job for me. Thank Goodness!

I’ve already let you in on Snow and the Seventh Wolf in February 2013. But I’ll also let you know that the third book, based on Goldilocks and the three bears, will be coming out in Fall of 2013. And I think my publisher will be wrapping the three books up into a print anthology. I’m pretty excited about that!

What is your typical day like?

Well it depends. I work half of the year, and when I’m working life is crazy with work, kids and trying to get the dog enough exercise. Writing gets squeezed in whenever I can. But for the rest of the year I’m up at six am and on emails, Twitter, Goodreads, and Facebook. Then I eat breakfast, walk the dog for an hour, come back and shower and get to writing. I alternate sitting at the computer for forty-five minutes, with fifteen minute breaks for cleaning the house. That’s the only way I get everything accomplished. Cleaning is physical and gives my back a break from sitting at the computer. And it helps the spread of my backside!

Do you have critique partners?

I do have a critique partner. ML Guida and I started working together this summer. We both write dark paranormal and we both like hot alpha men so it’s been working out well. I’d tried working with several people before this and it always seemed to falter. ML and I work well together because we both want to move through our stories fast, and yet we are aware of the need for quality. That’s why I love sending my stuff to her, she makes me re-work it until it’s just right.

What is your favorite dessert/food?

Dark chocolate is my favorite. Give me a deep dark delicious mousse or decadent brownies and you’ll win my heart forever. Or at least until the next person shows up with chocolate cake! (wink, wink)

I’ll be giving away an e-copy of Little Red Riding Wolf to one lucky commenter.To enter please leave a comment and ask me a question about my books, writing, or life in general.

Little Red Riding Wolf by Jessica Aspen
Fraternizing with humans is taboo, but when feisty werewolf Red runs into hunky new forest ranger Evan Brewster, she jumps on the opportunity to let loose her desires. Evan is stoked when he meets the petite red haired hottie, and combined with his new discovery of wolves in Colorado, thinks his career and life are made. Then Red pushes him away, her hostile brother threatens his life, and things begin to spiral out of control. Caught between her sexy lover and her pack can Red trust Evan with her secrets, or must she sacrifice her human lover and her heart?

Available from All Romance, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble.
Catch it on sale today at Passion in Print Press.

Jessica Aspen writes paranormal romance near the foothills of the Colorado Rockies. Her books are full of elves, were-wolves and sexy men who walk on the dark side of the knife. She loves dark chocolate, walking the dog, hiking and is obsessed with her new i-pad. Jessica is also obsessed with writing and learning about writing. She is a member of RWA, CRW, FF&P and PRO. You can find Jessica most days during the week at http://jessicaaspen.com, twitter @jessicaaspen, and on Facebook.com/Jessica.Aspen.

Please help me welcome my friend Leslie Ann Sartor to my blog today. Leslie Ann is giving away a copy of either of her books to one lucky commentor so be sure and leave her a comment.

What inspired your latest book?

Stone of Heaven came about when my husband showed me a newspaper article about a blue Jade roadway discovered in Guatemala after a hurricane uncovered part of it. And one of my all time favorite movies is Romancing the Stone, if you’re a romance writer, how could you not identify with Joan Wilder as she cries while writing the end of her novel!
Anyway, I first wrote a script, not at all like RTS, but the woman, actually women, are twins and one of this is the protagonist.

Then I realized it would make a fun read, so wrote the novel. Yikes, what a difference.
I’ve always known novel and screen writing were two beasts, I used to do lectures on it, but this one was hard.

What is your favorite part of writing?

The excitement of a new story. That unfortunately wears off fast, and the hard work sets in. Then, believe it or not, I love rewriting. That’s where I can add the texture of the location, make my characters hurt, love, make mistakes and still have a happy or at least satisfying ending. Yup, love rewriting.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

STONE OF HEAVEN is due in January. Set in the Yucatan, it involves a reclusive woman (Tori Carswell) whose twin (Abby Carswell) is an adventure-junkie and this time gets into trouble she can’t extricate herself from.

Reid Hunter, Abby’s ex-partner, turns out to be the only person Tori can find to help her save her sister from the Mayan God whose blue jade Abby wants—it has special powers and is worth endless amounts of money. This Mayan God also wants to enslave mankind and it’ll take the combined power of the twins, and a few other things, like missing Jade amulets, to make that happen.

Naturally Reid Hunter is very interested in helping Tori save her twin if he can get the jade.

So there is a lot at stake…lives, love, money and hey, even mankind!

What is your typical day like?

Well, I think I’m pretty darn lucky. I got to retire early and write and play. I get up at around 8, (but go to bed around midnight.) I read the digital newspaper on my iPad, then hit the computer around 9. I’ve had 2 cups of coffee by that time. Then I try to settle down to write, but usually check email etc. Then write for a couple of hours, and by 1pm I like to be done. Afternoon is for playing…relearning the piano, taking a walk , scrapbooking, photography…all the things I didn’t have time to do before.

Evenings…sometimes I write, or work on social media. Or my DH and I watch a movie (still writing screenplays, you know, so it’s research  ) or we cook a recipe (trying all sorts of food and we cook together.)

How has your experience with self-publishing been?

I couldn’t be happier. I could sell more books  But I know it’s a process and it takes time. Having additional titles out will help tremendously. I proud to be Indie Published and I have a blog all about it.

www.anindieadventure.blogspot.com

Indie Publishing about more than just putting your work out there. It’s about learning what works on covers, and for marketing to name a few.

My blog is about all that and the latest news and interviews. And it’s not just about writers, I want to interview Indie Filmmakers and Indie Musicians.

What advice do you have for other authors wanting to self-publish?

Get an editor!!!!! Honestly, we’re not doing ourselves and the industry any good if we put, excuse me…crap…out there. Get your book in the best shape it can be at that moment and then put it out.

Cindy has been a tremendous mentor to me as far as guiding me through some of the processes. Find someone whose been there and ask for help.

Ask me. I’ll help as much as I can. And there are a lot of yahoo groups that you can join that offer tremendous support.

IndieRomanceInk@yahoogroups.com is an amazing group and has provided lots of support for and by indie authors to other indie authors

What’s next for you?

I have a huge number of stories to get out, honestly I can’t write fast enough, and I’m trying to learn to be “retired” it’s not easy.

I’m working on a new romantic comedy screenplay called the Prince of Granola and I’m going to write the book as well. Since Stone of Heaven is a series, and you’ll see why when you read it  there are more of those books to write. I have an old manuscript my buddies are dying for me to update and that I think will be my next book out, it won many awards as a manuscript, so it’s time. Betrayal Of The Trust. Summer of 2013

Here’s a good question for you all. Notice how I italicized The in the title…it’s an important difference in the book an agreement, the trust” has been broken. Do the italics make a difference to you in how you perceive the title?

Betrayal Of The Trust
Or
Betrayal Of The Trust.

Cindy, thank you for having me here today. Fun questions and I hope you all enjoyed my answers.

If you leave a comment, I’ll include you in the drawing for a free book. Your choice, Dare to Believe, or Stone of Heaven (in January).

A Happy, healthy and successful 2013 to all of us.

BIO

Leslie Ann Sartor, Screenwriter

When I was writing romantic suspense novels, I was certain I’d found my calling. But I had never quite been able to rid myself of the dream I had as a little girl watching Disney movies–to create magical moments up on the big screen.

So I took screenwriting classes, sure I was chasing a hopeless dream, after all I now lived in Colorado, not California.

Then came an unexpected request; could I write a romantic movie based on a true story? YOU BET! And I was contracted to adapt a non-fiction book, Mother of the Pound, into a big screen romantic epic, Cry of the Dove—a story of faith and love built around the ethnic struggle in Iraq during the turmoil of WWII.

I’ve truly found my passion and am living my dream. To create stories on paper that translate into magic on the screen.

Please help me welcome Merry Farmer to my blog today. Merry is giving away a copy of her ebook, The Loyal Heart, to one of you who leaves her a comment, so be sure to if you want to be entered to win.

Tell us about your current series.

The Noble Hearts trilogy is set in one of my favorite time periods, the High Middle Ages. I incorporate a lot of themes from the Robin Hood legend in the first novel, The Loyal Heart, mostly because the legend has the actual history of the time period so wrong. I wanted to tell a story that was truer to history while at the same time telling it in a voice that was modern and relatable. With the second book, The Faithful Heart, I wanted to give the hero’s sidekick from The Loyal Heart (Jack) his own story. As much as I love alpha heroes, I often feel like beta heroes have even more interesting stories to tell. I explore that in The Faithful Heart along with the idea of a peasant becoming a noble. And in the third book of the trilogy, The Courageous Heart, which has just come out, I wanted to give the trilogy’s anti-hero a chance to redeem himself. So really the Noble Hearts is my sampler of heroes, alpha hero, beta hero, and anti-hero. There’s a little something there for everyone. And sword fights. Lots of sword fights.

What genre(s) do you write in and why?

I write Romance, mostly because I can’t write anything else. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve tried, but in the end everything always comes back to love. I love to see happy endings, to see men and women who deserve each other get together in the end. Too often real life – certainly my real life – isn’t like that. Granted, I also write Science Fiction. I describe it as Social Science Fiction with strong romantic elements. I haven’t published any of it yet, but I will soon.

How did you get started writing?

I’ve been writing since I was ten years old and realized one day that I didn’t have to wait for my teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of my life. I then continued to entertain myself all through childhood, adolescence, and yes, even adulthood, by writing. I always knew I wanted to write as a living, but it wasn’t until a couple of years ago that “want” to write for a living has turned into “could seriously do this whole writing for a living thing”. Everything changed the day my voracious reader of a best friend commented about a bestselling book she’d just read that my writing was better than that author’s.

What is your next project and when will it be released?

I’m currently working on the second book in my Montana Romance series, Fool for Love. The first book, Our Little Secrets, is set in Montana in 1895. This one follows a minor character from that first book. Whereas the Noble Hearts is a true trilogy in that each book builds on the last one, with the Montana Romance series I’m trying to make each a stand-alone with strong ties to the others in the series. It’s a challenge, but a fun one! My plan is to have Fool for Love released sometime this spring and to have the third in this series out by the end of the year.

Do you write under a pen name? Why or why not?

I deliberately made the decision to publish under my real name, Merry Farmer, because I wanted to see my name on bookshelves. That decision was either vain or a cathartic response to all the girls who used to bully me throughout school. Although it’s kind of a catchy name anyhow.

How far do you plan ahead?

Well, if I stopped coming up with new ideas right now and only wrote the books that I’ve already imagined and jotted down notes about, I would be writing for years. I know that in 2013 I will finish and publish Fool for Love, I’ll be polishing the two books of my Sci-Fi series, Saving Grace and Fallen from Grace and testing them in the waters of traditional publishing, and I also have an idea for a somewhat comedic Regency Romance called A Duke and A Pirate that I’d love to finish in time to pitch traditionally during conference season next year. And those are only the books that I’ve either already started, finished, or extensively outlined. A writer’s work is never done!

How has your experience with self-publishing been?

Self-publishing has been everything I ever hoped and dreamed and more. No, seriously! I had toyed around with the idea of traditional publishing a few years ago, but the whole process always left me cold. There was something about it that just didn’t fit with who I was or what I wanted to do. I finished the first draft of The Loyal Heart in 2008 and sent out a few weak query letters, but my heart wasn’t in it. Then came self-publishing. I began to learn all about it at the Philadelphia Writer’s Conference in 2011 and knew it was for me. So I researched the whole process, built my online platform, found a professional editor and cover designer, and went to town.

I feel that I’ve been very successful as a self-published writer. But more important than the numbers and paychecks is the knowledge of everything from craft to marketing that I’ve gained through the experience. I have definitely become a better writer, both through working with my awesome editor, Alison Dasho, and through the criticism, both fair and ragingly unfair, that my novels have received through reviews. I will always self-publish, but I also consider it just one of many roads for my books to take to get into reader’s hands. I would like to have the experience of publishing with a small press as well as pursuing the brass ring of an agent and contract with a Big Six publisher. I’m a firm believer in the fact that authors can and should pursue all of those paths, even simultaneously.

Will you share some encouraging words for authors still struggling for that first contract?

Don’t think of a traditional contract as the be all and end all of writing. The publishing world is wide open now. Pursue all paths. Do whatever it takes to get constructive feedback that will make you a better author. They say self-publishing is the new query letter. I believe that. I also believe that a query letter that can cite previously published works and hard statistics to go along with them carries more weight with agents than those that don’t have that base of experience.

And of course, you can do this! Really, you can!

Excerpt from The Loyal Heart

Crispin paced the hall outside of the library. Every noise spiked his nerves. He was a fool for being skittish over shadows. Buxton wouldn’t find out. And if he did it changed nothing. The risks he took now were for Aubrey’s sake.

His breath caught in his throat at the memory of her standing in her doorway, her robe loose around creamy shoulders. She hadn’t even tried to cover herself. If he didn’t know better he would have said she had let him look at the curve of her hip, the rise of her breasts. His body ached for her. He could imagine making love to her for hours, sweet and slow.

The thump of footsteps on the other side of the door snapped his back straight. She burst out into the hall, her expression troubled.

“Did you have a good conversation with your friends?” He cursed the gravel in his voice.

“Oh, yes, brilliant. Thanks.” Sarcasm spilled off her words. She raked him with a hard glance then marched down the hall.

She was silent and agitated. He kept his mouth shut, matching her pace and watching her as she stormed through the halls to her room. Her robe skewed across her shoulder with each step she took, exposing more of her rosy flesh. With the fire in her eyes at that moment he figured he could throw her up against the wall and take her right there and she would love it. Frustrated by the heat that pounded through him he turned away.

“You’re awfully quiet,” she broke the silence when they were in the stairwell.

He cleared his throat in vain. “I have nothing to say.” It was true. He didn’t want to say anything.

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed.

They continued up the stairs and along the hallway in silence. When they reached her room Aubrey entered and started to shut the door behind her. He stopped it from closing and stepped inside.

She turned and sighed at his boldness, crossing her arms. “I did not invite you in.”

“Aubrey, I-”

“I thought you didn’t have anything to say.” One eyebrow quirked up over flashing eyes.
She stood firm but didn’t order him out.

He left the door open as he approached her. The smooth line of her shoulder stood out in sharp relief against the lightning-split sky. His mouth watered to taste the salt of her skin. “Buxton has agreed to our marriage. He has set a date. Saturday.”
He searched her eyes for panic, fear, rejection. He found steel. “Buxton has given his consent.” She repeated his statement with a flat stare, crossing her arms.

“Yes, he-”

“Buxton.” She blew out a breath and shook her head.

Her hair had dried and spilled over her shoulder in warm brown waves. One curling lock had settled between her breasts as she crossed her arms. He couldn’t remember what she had said. “Is something the matter?”

“Do you have to ask his permission to piss?”

The question withered the coil of heat in his gut. “He gave me land and a position of power and respect.” He couldn’t meet her eyes as he gave his worn excuse.

She took a step towards him. “That’s in the past. How much control does he have now?” He turned away. She didn’t give him time to gather his raging thoughts into an answer. “Could the Council of Nobles really vote to take Windale from you?”

His eyes snapped up to meet hers at the apparent change of subject. Suspicion constricted his throat. “Theoretically the Council could overturn any decision Buxton has made if they have the support of the crown. But it isn’t likely. Buxton has most of the nobles in his pocket and Prince John is his friend.”

“And what about you?” She took another step towards him. The fire in his blood flared again. “Does he have you in his pocket?”

Yes. He did. The truth twisted his stomach.

“No,” he answered her, stepping closer. She was a breath away, eyes flaring up to meet his. He could feel the heat of her anger spark the air between them. “Buxton does not control me.”

“Then do something!” she seethed, gripping his arms as if she could steer the course of the world through his muscles. “Stop placating him. Set my friends free whether he gives his permission or not. Don’t let him-”

His mouth crashed over hers before she could finish. He pulled her against him, one arm tight around her waist while the other cradled the back of her head. Her body was rigid in his arms as he tasted her, curled his fingers in her hair. She shuddered and her fingers dug into his biceps as he softened his kiss, teasing his tongue across hers, nipping at her lips. The hand on her waist caressed lower, splaying on the contour of her bottom, between her legs, pressing her hips up against his. He tipped her chin up and lowered his hungry mouth to her neck, licking her fiery pulse. Her nails burrowed harder and the groan from deep in her throat snapped him to his senses.

Gasping Crispin stepped back, pressing his wrist to his mouth and whipping away from her. “I’m sorry,” he panted, “That was inappropriate.” His voice was gruff with shame as he tore past her.

“Crispin-” She called his name as he fled into the hall, slamming the door behind him.
The room was spinning. Aubrey staggered to her bed as the door banged and grabbed the post with both arms to hold herself up. Her legs were weak and liquid fire sang between them. Her lips still burned with the taste of him. She was sure she had a molten handprint on her backside. She closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe to steady herself.

She had no idea what had just happened. It had been her intention to pry information out of him, to see if he could give her a hint about whether Ethan’s plan for the Council of Nobles had a hope of succeeding. She wanted to test him to see if he would free her friends without Buxton’s permission if it came to it. The last thing she expected was to become a part of him for one blinding moment. Ethan had kissed her plenty of times and it had been nice. Crispin had ignited her soul.

She glanced to the door, biting her lip and hoping that he would storm back into the room to throw her on her bed and finish what he had hinted at.

With a gasp she stood rod straight as if someone else had just thrown a lewd suggestion at her. Bitter guilt washed over her. She loved Ethan. If she was going to work herself into sizzling knots over anyone it was going to be Ethan. Crispin was her pawn, nothing else. She pushed away from the bedpost and staggered to the rain-lashed window. Throwing it open into the waning storm she thrust her head out into the rain. She wouldn’t have been surprised if steam curled off of her skin.

Merry’s Author Bio

Merry Farmer is an award-winning novelist who lives in suburban Philadelphia with her two cats, Butterfly and Torpedo. She has been writing since she was ten years old and realized one day that she didn’t have to wait for the teacher to assign a creative writing project to write something. It was the best day of her life. She then went on to earn not one but two degrees in History so that she would always having something to write about. Today she is a giant History nerd and a hopeless romantic waiting for her own love story to start. Her first book, The Loyal Heart, is a swashbuckling Medieval Historical Romance involving a love triangle that will keep you guessing. Both The Loyal Heart and its sequels, The Faithful Heart and The Courageous Heart, are available wherever eBooks are sold. She has also begun a new Western Historical Romance series set in Montana in 1895. The first of that series, Our Little Secrets, is now available. The second, Fool for Love, will be released in early 2013. Merry is also passionate about blogging, knitting, and cricket and is working towards becoming an internationally certified cricket scorer.

Social Networking links:

Website: http://merryfarmer.net

Twitter: @merryfarmer20

Facebook: www.facebook.com/merryfarmerauthor

Book links:

The Loyal Heart

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005R4K75W

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-loyal-heart-merry-farmer/1106051739?ean=2940011541537

Sony eReader Store – http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/merry-farmer/the-loyal-heart/_/R-400000000000000527599

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/92993

The Faithful Heart

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006PUDD44

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-faithful-heart-merry-farmer/1108068341?ean=2940032960553

Sony eReader Store – http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/merry-farmer/the-faithful-heart/_/R-400000000000000592585

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/117240

The Courageous Heart

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Z1AATQ

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-courageous-heart-merry-farmer/1113712615?ean=2940015912661

Smashwords –https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/250038

Our Little Secrets

Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0087KI4T4

Smashwords – https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/167282

B&N – http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/our-little-secrets-merry-farmer/1111649170?ean=2940033267514