Posts Tagged ‘Contest’

Dancing Dukes! Get Yer Dancing Dukes! Also 3 prizes

Saturday, June 27th, 2015
Cover of Dancing in the Duke's Arms, anthology. Cover is a dude in a brown coat and a pretty lady in a burgundy gown which is really pretty. They are dancing and falling in love. You want this book.

Dancing in The Duke’s Arms

Dancing in The Duke’s Arms is on sale now!

Amazon | Barnes&Noble | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo | All Romance | Print

Click here for more information about the stories and for links to excerpts etc. Order now while it’s $3.99. The price goes up July 7.

The Prizes

I have three unclaimed prizes from a previous giveaway:

For each prize(s), I will spend at least $15.00 US. If you hang out here, you probably know that I have impeccable taste except when I am odd or just plain weird. There’s just no telling.

The Rules and How to Enter

To enter, check out the rules below and follow the instructions. Three prizes. Three winners.
Void where prohibited. Must be 18 to enter. No purchase necessary. All prizes will be awarded. If a winner does not contact me within 10 days of notification, an alternate winner will be selected. Relatives or employees of Carolyn Jewel are ineligible. Winner chosen at random using the contest plugin “And The Winner Is.” International OK! Multiple comments disallowed. Contest closes at 11:59:59 PM Pacific on Tuesday June 30, 2015. Make sure you leave a valid email in the email box for your comment.

To enter: Leave a comment to this post in which you tell me the best book you’ve read recently. (I’m looking for recommendations!)

Go!

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Posted in Books, Carolyn's Writing, Contests | Comments Off on Dancing Dukes! Get Yer Dancing Dukes! Also 3 prizes

Miscellaneous Whining and a Contest Over There

Wednesday, December 3rd, 2014

Where else can I whine if not here at my blog?Last night we had a huge enormous rain storm that was actual weather with thunder and lightning thrown in just to scare the bejeebus out of all the dogs, all the cats, and all the people. At 11:00 PM onward, which is well past my bedtime, I’ll have you know. Then the lights went out which had the extremely ironic effect of waking me up because when the lights came back on, the lights in my room came on. Because the Hue lights mean the switch is in the on position all the time. So, electricity goes out when the lights are “off” no change. It remains dark and I sleep blissfully on. But when the electricity comes back on?  My lights turn on and I am no longer sleeping blissfully. And then KA-BLAM!!!!!  More lightning and thunder.

So, yay for lots of rain because we need it. But I had to drive into San Francisco today for a conference thing and …. flooded roads. sloooooooowwwwww traffic and rain coming down so hard the windshield wipers were essentially useless. But no worries! Traffic was moving at a nice, safe 2.3 miles per hour.

But now I’m home and hey. Over at the Riskies I giving away some books. Click here to go enter.

There. I’m done whining.

 

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Posted in Books | 4 Comments »

Jo Bourne, Rogue Spy, and a Giveaway!

Monday, October 20th, 2014

Interview and Giveaway With Jo Bourne

I’m thrilled to have Jo Bourne here at the website! She’s a wonderful, RITA winning author of historical romance who is also one of the nicest people ever. She’s also one of my very favorite authors. If you haven’t read her yet, you really, really should. Rogue Spy, by the way, has been getting amazing reviews.

About Jo Bourne

Author Photo of Jo Bourne. She has curly hair and glasses

Jo Bourne

 

Joanna lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge with her family, a medium-sized mutt and a faux Himalayan cat.

She writes Historical Romances set in England and France during the Napoleonic Wars.

She’s fascinated by that time and place – such passionate conviction and burning idealism … and really sexy clothes.

 

 

 

 

About Rogue Spy

Cover of Rogue Spy by Joanne Bourne

Cover of Rogue Spy by Joanne Bourne

Ten years ago he was a boy, given the name Thomas Paxton and sent by Revolutionary France to infiltrate the British Intelligence Service. Now his sense of honor brings him back to London, alone and unarmed, to confess. But instead of facing the gallows, he’s given one last impossible assignment to prove his loyalty.

Lovely, lying, former French spy Camille Leyland is dragged from her safe rural obscurity by threats and blackmail. Dusting off her spy skills, she sets out to track down a ruthless French fanatic and rescue the innocent victim he’s holding—only to find an old colleague already on the case. Pax.

Old friendship turns to new love, and as Pax and Camille’s dark secrets loom up from the past, Pax is left with a choice—go rogue from the Service or lose Camille forever. . .

Read an excerpt: http://www.joannabourne.com/

The Interview

Q: Rogue spy. Uh oh. Without spoilers, what happens and why does she/he go rogue?!!!

You know how I write my stories with some French spies and some English spies and then there are one or two who turn out to be both.

Pax is both.  He gets himself unmasked and heads back to London, where he just about immediately steps in the middle of a super-huge-evil-plot ™ (of course).  He also runs into Cami.

Cami is another ambiguously double agent . Cami and Pax  go way back — to when they were children.  They meet. They notice they aren’t kids any more.  And ba-zoing!!  (Sound of Sexxy Times coming.)

Cami has one agenda. The British Spy Service has another agenda.  Pax gets to choose.  (He even has his own agenda, come to think of it.)

Cummon. It’s a Romance. What do think he chooses?

A deer standing in a snowy field with trees

Deer. In The Snow

Q: You live in the wilderness. In a log cabin with no running water and no electricity. I heard you wrestled a bear for nuts and berries. Obviously, you won. Tell us about your thrilling battle. One time there was a huge stir here in my town when someone spotted a young bear walking along one of the creeks that run through town. I did not wrestle the bear. If I had, though, do you have any tips for me?

The bear wrestling — and, indeed, certain pre-technological details of the old domicile —  may be just a tad  exaggerated.

A possum and a dog. In snow. It looks cold.

Dog Encounters Possum

We do have a nice selection of possums/dog encounters.  Here they are discussing interspecies relations through the door.

And we have deer. The dog chases them to the property line and then stops.  Our grass is safe.

The deer walk off, sniggering to themselves.

 

 

 

 

Q: Pets. Tells us about your pets and how they help you write. Or not.

A Cat Sleeping on Important papers

Helping Cat Helps

I have a writer cat.  Everybody needs a writer cat.

She is particularly generous with her fur.

I find it everywhere in the crevices of the keyboard.

 

 

 

 

Q: You get a phone call from your agent. You’re being offered $10 Million to write any screenplay you want, movie is guaranteed to be made by the director of your choice. What story would you pick and why?

Of my own books?  I think Forbidden Rose is the most cinematic.  Maybe the only cinematic one.

I’d start it at the gates of Paris and go for a ‘Tale of Two Cities’ vibe..

Q: Favorite meal? Assume you don’t have to cook it or clean up afterward.

Pasta in brodo for soup. Broiled lobster with asparagus and maybe a nice beet-and-burrata salad. Lemon ice for dessert with a little thin lemon wafer cookie planted proudly in the top.

Yum.

Q: What’s next for you?

Séverine’s story.  It’s fairly late in sequence.  1820 and some.  I had to research a Long Time  to find the political background here.  And having set Rogue Spy in London, I’m putting Séverine in Paris.

Where to Find Jo

Website  http://www.joannabourne.com/
Blog  http://jobourne.blogspot.com/
Facebook    https://www.facebook.com/joanna.bourne.5
Twitter   https://twitter.com/jobourne

Giveaway

Jo is giving away paper copy of Rogue Spy to a US winner.

Rules: Void where prohibited. No purchase necessary. Must be 18 to enter and have a US mailing address. Winner chosen at random from among the commenters at my blog. Comment before midnight Pacific, Thursday, October 30, 2014. An alternate winner will be chosen if the winner does not reply to my notification after 10 days.

To enter, answer this question in the comments: If you were a Rogue Spy, what would you wear?

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Posted in Authors, Books | 28 Comments »

Interview with Debut Author Hanna Martine – Plus Giveaway!

Tuesday, July 3rd, 2012

Welcome Hanna Martine!

Photo of Author Hanna Martine wearing a black sweaterThank you for coming to my blog to tell us about your book and answer some questions! I LOVE that cover. LOVE IT. And it sounds really interesting. I’m looking forward to reading it.

Hannah will be doing a giveaway, of three (3!) books, so don’t forget to check out the contest and rules and then enter for your chance to win. Also, Hanna, I forgot to mention that I have a niece with one of your names. Did you know you spell your name wrong? She wants to have purple hair. I notice your hair is not purple. Huh. Fashion hints are free here, by the way.

About Hanna

Hanna Martine’s only goal growing up was to become a writer, specifically a fantasy writer. That dream stuck until she realized that most speculative fiction novels faded to black during the best parts or skipped over love stories altogether. When she discovered paranormal romance and urban fantasy, she found the genre of her heart. After the arrival of her daughter, she couldn’t think of a better lesson to teach the little one than: Have a dream. Go after it. Be fulfilled. So she set aside all thoughts of returning to the business world and focused on writing and learning about the industry. She finished two novels before coming up with the idea for the world of The Elementals. She joined the Romance Writers of America (RWA), placed in numerous contests, and found an agent and editor who believed in her unique stories. She loves writing about secret worlds, magic, and the intense emotional and physical relationships that exist within them.

About the book

Magic is Corporate America’s best-kept secret

Gwen possesses the unique ability to pick up any language in an instant—a power that will globally expand the profitable family business. As dutiful future leader of her race of water elementals, she’ll do anything to protect her people’s secrets and bloodlines—including enter an arranged marriage. Inside, however, she yearns for forbidden human men.

Reed is a mercenary addicted to the money and adrenaline rush of his work. After he inadvertently saves Gwen’s life, he ignites her taboo desire for men without magic—and with bodies of gods. Just as things heat up, Reed discovers that Gwen is exactly who he’s been hired to kidnap. He resolves to put work before lust, yet her luscious beauty and fiery spirit unravel him…

But there is a terrible truth behind Gwen’s family business—and now, caught between the kinsmen she no longer trusts and an enemy bent on vengeance, the only ally she has is her abductor…

Buy the Book

Read an Exceprt

The Interview!


1. So. “Elementals” What that heck are those? Is there anyone named Watson in the book? Does anyone say “It’s elemental, my dear Watson?” (If you want to use that phrase in your next book, feel free! You’re welcome.)

Ruin my hook for book 2, why don’t you!

The series circles around different races who control the “classic” elements– earth, air, fire, water–and who live outside human awareness in modern-day America. Liquid Lies focuses on the Ofarians, the water elementals.

2. What kind of sick, twisted mind thinks up people selling magic to corporate America? Or did you not make that up? To your knowledge, is that actually happening? Because I think this would explain some irregularities in my power bill. Is this an idea that came to you all at once in the shower or did it develop slowly over time? Or did you just take really good notes from your whistleblower friend?

It totally could happen, couldn’t it? The sick, twisted mind who thought this up survived ten years working with corporate types. When I was writing this book, I knew I wanted to use elemental magic, but I needed a new twist. With phrases like “mission statements,” “break-even,” and “synergy” stamped in my mind, I went with the corporate angle. The story also came about during all that Bernie Madoff craziness, which got me thinking about greed and power, and how it shapes a person (or group of people) over time.

3. I love “the call” stories. Will you tell us about selling your debut novel?

It happened so incredibly fast, I barely remember the details. In my head, three furious, nausea-inducing days have melded into a blur. I signed with my agent (whom I met through an auction when I bid on and won a lunch with her), and she somehow managed to get me a two-book deal barely two days later, right in the middle of BEA 2011. I may have hyperventilated when she called to tell me the news, I don’t recall. And I’m sure my timeline is off as I describe it here; I was a basket case for days. I do remember a really fine bottle of champagne being opened, however.

4. If you were in charge of casting the movie of your book, who do you call in for a screen test?

If Jason Statham could magically grow five inches and put on forty pounds of muscle and lose the accent, he could be Reed. Though she’s a little young, Blake Lively might work for Gwen. She did gritty and angry really well in The Town.

Another tidbit about Gwen: when I first saw the cover of Liquid Lies, I started crying because the model is exactly how I pictured her. I was choking and sobbing because she (and the whole cover, really) was so perfect. My husband jumped off the couch and rushed to me in worry, asking me who’d died. True story.

5. Got any cute pet pictures?

Why, of course. Mackenzie the Bernese Mountain Dog wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving!

Dude. Awesome Hat.

6. Drop some hints about book two.

One, it’s allllll about sex, by nature of the hero and his tragic past. Two, it has my most favorite (and by that I mean the most twisted) character I’ve ever written (who also gave me the most trouble). And three, you will never look at city buses in the same way again.

7. Do you listen to music when you write? What kind? Now look to your left and tell us what you see.

I’m one of those people who can’t write to music, but I love writing in a super noisy bar or coffee house. One voice is distracting; lots all at once are the best white noise ever. If I do have to drown out the world, I listen to wordless electronica: Explosions in the Sky, Boards of Canada, that kind of thing.

Looking to my left … over the giant, furry dog hangs a board made of wine corks I pieced together myself. I used to remember for what occasion I drank all those bottles, but hell if I know now. Tacked on it are magazine photos of things I will never buy, a timeline for book 2, my first business card, and drawings from my kid that say “For Mom” in that wonderful, shaky writing.

8. What’s next for you?

Book 2, A Taste of Ice, is currently snuggling with my editor and awaiting release on December 31, 2012. Also fighting for the sheets is a novella in the Elementals world, to be included in a Berkley Sensation anthology, Unbound, with Angela Knight, Jennifer Ashley and Jean Johnson. I’m working on a hot bonus scene between Gwen and Reed to be released to my newsletter subscribers, and another extra (hopefully) to be released around the time of A Taste of Ice. Between those, more book proposals!

Contest

Hanna: To one winner I’m giving away three great books, all releasing July 3: my own LIQUID LIES, Roni Loren’s MELT INTO YOU (format of your choice), and Britt Bury’s THE DARKEST DAY (ebook only). Good luck and happy reading! I hope you discover a new author to love.

Rules

Void where prohibited. Must be 18 or older to enter. US residents only. No purchase necessary. Winner will be chosen via Random.org on or about Saturday July 7, 2012. You must comment by Midnight Pacific Friday July 6, 2012.

To Enter

To enter leave a comment in which you caption the photograph of Mackenzie the Bernese Mountain Dog. As you can see, I have myself added a caption. Go.

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Posted in Authors, Contests, Interview | 14 Comments »

ARCS of Not Wicked Enough – Giveaway!

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Not Wicked Enough ARCS

Almost Final Cover of Not Wicked Enough

Almost Final Cover of Not Wicked Enough

I came home Tuesday evening to find that I have ARCs for my February 2012 Berkley Historical, Not Wicked Enough.

Just as that cover isn’t quite the final cover, the ARC is not quite the final book. For example, chapters 31 and 32 should be swapped. If you win one, feel free to read chapter 32 before chapter 31 (and mentally add in some missing transition) And yet, I am giving away THREE (3) ARCS.

When Lily Wellstone heads to the Bitterward Estate to comfort her widowed friend Eugenia, she certainly does not have romance in mind. In fact, the playful but level-headed Lily is amused to no end when, en route, a Gypsy gifts her with a beautiful medallion, claiming it will ensnare the romantic desires of a stranger.

 

But fate has other plans in the form of Eugenia’s ruggedly handsome brother, the Duke of Mountjoy. One day at Bitterward and Lily can’t deny the sizzling attraction between her and the roguish duke. Nothing can come of it, of course. She’s not looking for entanglements and he’s practically engaged. But whether it’s her outgoing nature and the duke’s outlandish ways sparking off one another; or the mysterious gypsy medallion working “magic,”—hearts are stirring in the most unexpected and wicked ways. . .

 

How to Possibly Win one of Three ARCS

  1. If you are one of the winners, you must agree to write a review of the book. An honest review. Please post your review either at at least one of the following: your own blog, Facebook, Goodreads or one of the bookselling sites such as Amazon or Barnes and Noble. If you don’t have a blog etc, then you can send me your review and I will post it at my blog.
  2. Leave a comment to this post in which you make some mention of the number three.

The Rules

Void Where prohibited. You must be over 18. No purchase necessary. Please post your comment by midnight Pacific Sunday November 13. Three winners will be chosen from the comments at random, probably not later than Monday Nov 13. International is fine, unless there’s a law somewhere that it isn’t. I will email you if possible as well as post the winners to blog, so you may need to check back to see if you won.

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Posted in Books, Contests | 14 Comments »

Romances for Men to Cross-Read

Monday, April 26th, 2010

Jason Pinter had a post on Huffington Post Why Men Don’t Read bemoaning the difficulty of publishing books for men. (*) He pointed out how the industry is dominated by women, that women read and buy more books and that if only publishers would pay attention to men, more men would read because there would be more books for men to read.

While I have some sympathy for his position, I admit it’s tepid. For how many centuries has publishing aimed itself at male tastes and denigrated the female? Since the beginning. Woman have it all over you in terms of oppression, misrepresentation and being left out. The proverbial shoe is on the other foot and I have to say, I just don’t feel too sorry for you men. Sorry.

The fact is, women cross-read. We read ALL genres, including the ones written by and for men. Men, for the most part, don’t seem to do this, and it’s not for any good reason that I can see. Well, I take that back, there is a good reason, it just has nothing to do with literary merit. I think in the US the male position is far more rigid (giggling, sorry!) than the female. A woman can read Lee Child and no one will question her femininity for doing so. But a man who reads, say, Loretta Chase? His masculinity would be called into question. He must be gay or something, right? And really, maybe we should spend a minute thinking about that. What is it about male culture that makes that such a threat? Women are a bigger market because gender roles don’t limit our reading in the way they do a man’s reading. There’s your problem, Mr. Pinter.

Do you know how many years I suffered through SciFi and Fantasy novels where the women characters were nothing but a male fantasy with absolutely no relation to what real women are like? That’s if there were women at all. How about the John D. MacDonald’s lovely Travis McGee series, where all the women are whores or die? I LOVED those books, but don’t think I didn’t notice what happened to the women. There are entire novels in which there are no women at all, and you can name your genre on that one.

I grew up devouring SciFi and Fantasy and feeling so sad and more than a little frustrated that the women mattered so little. And now, thank God, that’s changed. There are finally, finally writers, male and female, who write about women in a way that doesn’t have them there for sex or service only. Thank you John Scalzi and Jim Butcher and Lois McMaster Bujold to name only three.

Anyway, on Twitter, we got to wondering what romances a man could cross-read and really enjoy. The answer, for any given individual, is going to vary, of course. The very question is fascinating to me in that it is, itself, rife with stereotype and, possibly, sexism. Is it true that woman enjoy the HEA (happy ever after) of Romance while men do not? What ARE the gendered patterns of reading and are they rooted in biology or is it a cultural construction? All very interesting questions.

For me, the first two authors to cross my mind were Meljean Brook and Ann Aguirre. Both those authors write stories I think a lot of men would enjoy. Aguirre may not always be straight romance, but there are very strong romantic elements. Brook is total cross-over material and I’ve been personally thrilled to see her covers become less Romancy and more Urban Fantasy-ish.

So, here are some of the recommendations the Twitterverse has made – IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER because I’m too lazy to alphabetize the list:

  • Meljean Brook Meljean’s Guardian series rocks. I think a lot of men would love this richly populated world.
  • Ann Aguirre. Her Sarantha Jax series is great. I’ve loved the Skin series, and then there’s the Corinne Solomon series, too. I suspect since many of her books don’t say Romance on the spine, she already has cross-over.
  • Karen Rose I’m a big fan of Karen Rose. She’s a great writer and her characters are fully realized on the page. Her books tend to feature serial killer, psychotic villains with, typically, a woman in jeopardy. Lots of action and detail.
  • Anne Stuart Several people recommended Stuart. I confess, she’s in my TBR so I can’t make a personal recommendation. I have the Black Ice series on my iPhone and will be getting to it soon, though.
  • Allison Brennan Like Karen Rose, she does very detailed, action oriented woman in jeopardy, police-oriented books. Definitely recommend.
  • J.R. Ward I almost hesitate to recommend Ward for a guy and yet . . . There is something cracktastic about her books and, in the name of science, I would be interested in knowing if men would share the addiction. Any male readers out there willing to sacrifice themselves in the name of science? Leave a comment and I’ll see about sending some intrepid man a Black Dagger Brotherhood book.
  • Diana Gabaldon Gabaldon is another author I haven’t gotten around to reading yet. I’m afraid I’ll be sucked into the world when I should be writing my own darn books. But several bookstore and library people said there are a lot of men reading her. She is, of course, not marketed as Romance. Which may explain the male readers.
  • Suzanne Brockmann – Her Troubleshooters series is awesome. I get annoyed that it’s so hard to figure out which are reissues of her old Harlequins and which are actual Troubleshooters, but yeah. Lots of great military action.
  • Colleen Thompson’s Romantic Suspense. Someone recommended her. I haven’t read her RS yet so I can’t comment much.
  • Earlier Iris Johansen I’ve read a few of her early books too.
  • Barry Eisler Technically, of course, Eisler is not marketed as Romance, but there are very strong Romantic elements in his books so I completely agree that he’s a good choice for a male reader looking to see what’s on the other side.
  • Welcome to Temptation, Don’t Look Down or Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie — I completely agree with the recommendation for Agnes and the Hitman. I loved that Crusie/Bob Mayer book. I mean to pick up and read the others. Crusie is just a really good writer. Even her straight romances are just darn good reading.
  • Larissa Ione Her name got mentioned a couple of times, too. Def. agree with this recommendation.

I’ll probably update this if more recommendations come in. In the meantime, who else would you add? What do you think in general? Are you a guy? Why do you read or not read Romance? Want a BDB book to try out?

* Read the comments to Pinters article. There’s one guy who says men are too busy with their jobs to read, and even manages to imply that women are not. OMG. Really? Buddy, women are working full time and then coming home and working even more, doing the majority of the work of maintaining a family and a home. Trust me, the average woman has WAY more demands on her time than the average men. This is just not reason men don’t read.

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Posted in Authors, Books, Contests | 10 Comments »

Author Megan Crane Visits The Blog Plus A Contest!

Friday, March 19th, 2010

I’m very pleased to have author Megan Crane visit my blog. Read about her new book and then leave a comment (per instructions at bottom of this post) in order to throw your hat in the ring for a copy of the book. W00t!

Everyone Else’s Girl

Cover of Everyone Else's Girl by Megan Crane

Awesome Cover!


Everyone Else’s Girl is the critically-acclaimed second novel by author Megan Crane, out now in the UK.

Meredith does things for other people. She irons clothes for her boyfriend, she attends her ex-best friend’s horrendous hen party for her brother (who’s about to marry the girl) and she moves back to her parents’ house to look after her dad when his leg is broken. She’s a good girl and that matters. But when she gets back home, all is not as Meredith remembered. Especially Scott, that geeky teenager from her old class at school. He’s definitely different now. And so, it seems, is she. One by one, her family and old friends start to tell her some home truths and Meredith begins to realise she’s not so perfect after all. Maybe it is time she stopped being everyone else’s girl and started living for herself…

Praise for Everyone Else’s Girl

Megan Crane rules! Cancel your evening plans: You won’t want to stop reading until you’ve devoured every delicious word. –Meg Cabot

Amusing, heartfelt and emotionally sophisticated chick-lit. –Kirkus

Crane prevails with refreshingly real human emotions and reactions. In this book, actions have consequences, and no one gets off easy, despite appearances. –RT BookClub

I suspect a lot of readers were like me – desperately seeking fiction with a romantic edge, realistic stories, and smart writing (oh, for more smart writing).
I suspect a lot of readers were like me and dropped out of chicklit game because finding the good was damn hard work. I dedicate this review to those readers. There is hope…Everyone Else’s Girl is a good book. –Kassia Krozser at paperbackreader.com

About Megan Crane:

Photo Of Author Megan Crane
USA Today bestselling author Megan Crane has written five women’s fiction novels, many work-for-hire young adult novels, and five category romances (under the name Caitlin Crews) since publishing her first book in 2004. Her novel, Frenemies, was a BookSense Notable in July 2007.?She teaches various creative writing classes both online at mediabistro.com and offline at UCLA Extension’s prestigious Writers’ Program, where she finally utilizes her MA and PhD in English Literature. Megan lives in Los Angeles with her comic book artist/animator husband and too many pets. For more info visit her at?www.megancrane.com or www.caitlincrews.com.

You can find Megan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/megancrane

At her journal: http://megancrane.livejournal.com/

On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/megan.crane

An excerpt from Everyone Else’s Girl is here: http://www.megancrane.com/eeg.html

You can buy the book Amazon.uk

How to Possibly Win a Copy of This Book

Leave a comment that answers one (or both) of the following questions:

  1. Your BFF is your Best Friend Forever because. . .
  2. Given a choice between a mani/pedi and a massage, you pick . . .

Contest void where prohibited. Leave your comment by midnight Pacific March 22.
I’m pretty sure the WordPress comments will ask you to leave an email so I should be able to contact the winner. If I’m wrong on that, then leave an email or commit to check back to see if you won on or shortly after March 23.

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Posted in Authors | 2 Comments »

Interview with Author Caitlin Crews Plus Contest

Sunday, March 7th, 2010

Today I’m hosting author Caitlin Crews. W00t!! I have been dipping my toes into the world of category romance, so I’ll really excited to have her here today. There’s a contest folks! One lucky commenter will win a copy of the book. Read on to find out how to enter.

Pure Princess, Bartered Bride

Pure Princess, Bartered Bride is the first Harlequin Presents by Caitlin Crews–which debuted on the USA Today Bestseller List!

About the book

Bartered, betrothed and bedded!
As quiet and dangerous as a jungle cat, achieving the impossible is one of Luc Garnier’s defining characteristics.
Cover of Pure Princess, Bartered Bride

Princess Gabrielle is invaluable – a pearl beyond price. Yet Luc has defied the odds, and a contract for marriage is drawn up. This will be a union on paper first, and of flesh later. . .
Except Gabrielle is just the same in private as in public – well-bred, well-behaved, and a credit to her country. Luc is determined to find the wanton within and leave his pure princess in total disarray!

Praise for Pure Princess, Bartered Bride

“Debut novelist Caitlin Crews has penned a winner with her first novel for Harlequin Presents: Pure Princess, Bartered Bride! Sexy, intensely emotional and wholly absorbing, this beguiling marriage of convenience story features a deliciously Alpha hero and an smart and independent heroine readers cannot help but admire.” –CataRomance

“I will definitely buy any book that she writes.”–Adventures of a Gotham Gal

5 of 5 Stars: “This book has the right ingredients for a very good, entertaining Harlequin Presents.” –Danielle’s Book Thoughts

“Caitlin Crews has written a brilliant royal romance, a roller coaster romance with extremely intense emotions oozing from both Luc and Gabrielle.”–Marilyn’s Romance Reviews

About Caitlin:

Photo of author Caitlin CrewsUSA Today bestselling author Caitlin Crews discovered her first romance novel at the age of twelve, in a bargain bin at the local five and dime. It involved swashbuckling pirates, grand adventures, a heroine with rustling skirts and a mind of her own, and a seriously mouthwatering and masterful hero. The book (the title of which remains lost in the mists of time) made a serious impression. Caitlin was immediately smitten with romances and romance heroes, to the detriment of her middle school social life. And so began her life-long affair with romance novels, many of which she insists on keeping near her at all times, thus creating a fire hazard of love wherever she lives.

She currently lives in California with her animator/comic book artist husband and their menagerie of ridiculous animals.

Caitlin Crews is the alter-ego of critically acclaimed author Megan Crane. You can find Caitlin at her website: http://www.caitlincrews.com

On Facebook, on Twitter and at her journal

You can buy the book at Amazon and read an excerpt

The Interview

1. Tell me a little bit about the book Bartered, Betrothed and Bedded!

As quiet and dangerous as a jungle cat, achieving the impossible is one of Luc Garnier’s defining characteristics.

Princess Gabrielle is invaluable — a pearl beyond price. Yet Luc has defied the odds, and a contract for marriage is drawn up. This will be a union on paper first, and of flesh later. . .

Except Gabrielle is just the same in private as in public — well-bred, well-behaved, and a credit to her country. Luc is determined to find the wanton within and leave his pure princess in total disarray!


2. If your protagonist were to wake up one day with a super power, what would that super power be? Alternatively (or both!) if your protagonist were to wake up one day with an intense craving for something, what would the craving be?

I think my heroine’s craving is for freedom. She thinks her marriage to Luc means the end of that dream, but really, it’s the first step towards a different, stronger kind of freedom.


3. Would your villain (or antagonist) prefer to be Emperor Ming The Merciless or Darth Vader? Why?

The villain is a paparazzo. I honestly can’t imagine anything nastier or more vile than that.


4. What do you consider the heart of your story? That is, what is the issue or emotion that propels things forward? Spill your guts on this one.

The heart of the book is the question of whether or not love–which feels so irrational and impossible–can be trusted, especially when it leads us to unexpected places. And it’s also about how terribly afraid we all are of being wrong about that.

5. If you were in charge of casting the movie adaptation of your book, who gets the call?

Oh… I don’t think there’s anyone hot enough to play Luc. He’s too elemental. However, I once described a Presents novel as what happens when an ordinary girl starts dating King Leonidas from the movie 300. I certainly found Gerard Butler in that role inspirational while I was writing this book. As for Princess Gabrielle, maybe a latter day Grace Kelly. She is pretty much perfect.

6. Is there a scene you cut from the book that you kind of wish you could put back in?

I edit as I go, so there are very rarely whole cut scenes. Just iterations of the same scene.


7. Do you have a sample chapter posted?

I believe you can read through the book on eHarlequin

8. Tell us why your editor is the best editor ever in the universe.

Because she is magical AND a superhero! Seriously. Her edits make everything I write so, so much better. And she once received a manuscript I’d submitted in the morning and returned it, with edits, in under 24 hours. How is that even possible? And her edits were fantastic and right on, as always.

The Contest

To win a copy of this awesome story, leave a comment in which you talk about what you would do if you found yourself dating King Leonidas.

If you don’t leave me a way to contact you, then commit to checking back here on the ides of March (that would be March 15) or so, to see if you’re the winner. Void where prohibited etc.

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Monday. I TELL ya.

Monday, June 1st, 2009

Even though it’s Monday and I’m in a grumbly mood, I have good news to post. I’ll make it quick because I have to leave in a bit to take the progenic unit to a meeting.

Romance Book Scene has an interview with yours truly with a contest to win a free book. Check it out! You have until June 14 to answer the question and be entered in their contest.

Go win a book and say Carolyn sent you!

More good news is that tomorrow is not only NOT Monday but also the official release day for My Forbidden Desire.

Now I’m off. Have a great evening and a fun Tuesday!

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Posted in Books, Contests | 1 Comment »

Quick Catch Up on The Blogging Silence

Thursday, April 9th, 2009

My editor sent on the Revisions for Indiscreet and I am in the middle of them now, head down, fixing as fast as I can. Oh, and I injured my hand and for three days was in an exquisite amount of pain and having a lot of trouble just typing…

It’s been ugly folks.

In fun news, don’t forget to leave your comment in the post below so you can maybe win a free book! See post for details. You have until 4/10/2009. Go. Enter.

In other fun news, since my birthday is this month, I am going to cook up some fun stuff for us to do to celebrate my big day. Stay tuned. Fun stuff!!!

Speaking of cooking, my son has to make aioli for his French class. We followed the Joy of Cooking recipe yesterday and didn’t even get defeated mayonnaise which, apparently, is what happens to losers who can’t make aoili. We got soup.

It was a really really embarrassing cooking failure. Today we tried again. I took the liberty of stopping at Trader Joe’s on the way home to buy aioli (mustard) as the Death Star Aioli Back up Plan. It’s what Darth Vader would have done. Right? Cause he was like evil and stuff.

Soccer Boy and I agreed failure was not an option, as passing off Trader Joe’s Aoili mustard as something home made was… well…. cheating. But still. I just couldn’t see facing the humiliation of sending him to French class with a mason jar of failed aioli soup.

We started off correcting the known mistakes from yesterday. I had good olive oil, brand new. We need a freaking pair of pliers to get the damn olive oil open! Then I started freaking and made my son look up tips for fixing failed aioli on his iPhone which led us to a couple of recipes that contained better instructions than Joy of Cooking and well…

voila!

The aioli came out fantastique!

I am so proud.

Off to revise.

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Posted in Baking, Books | 1 Comment »