FINAL WEEK TO ENTER THE IGO

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Flaherty Liz

FINAL WEEK TO ENTER. DEADLINE JULY 1ST

2014 Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest

“Thanks again for your support - the IGO contest gave me the confidence to enter Golden Heart!!”
Barbara Gerry 2nd place 2013 IGO YA and 2014 RWA Golden Heart Finalist.

Which RWA® chapter contest offers their finalists 2 acquiring editor judges?
Which contest resulted in 10 entrants getting requests from editors judges to see their full manuscripts in 2013?

The Indiana Romance Writers of America’s IGO!!!

We welcome you to the 24th anniversary of Indiana’s Golden Opportunity (IGO), one of the premier chapter contests in RWA®. The Indiana chapter of Romance Writers of America (IRWA) has a well-deserved reputation for offering detailed constructive comments to our entrants from published authors and trained judges. Designed to identify the fundamentals of storytelling and grammar, our four-page category-specific score sheets will assist entrants by defining the elements in their manuscript that requires more attention. Our goal is to assist IGO entrants with constructive feedback to help them polish their manuscripts. Many past winners have successfully gone on to catch an editor’s eye and/or final in RWA’s Golden Heart Contest. IGO attracts some of the most respected names in the industry as category and final judges.

«««BENEFITS OF ENTERING IRWA’S IGO FOR 2014«««
* In keeping with the ever-changing publishing industry, IGO will offer two (2) acquiring editor judges for each category — one (1) traditional print and one (1) e-pub when possible.
* Updated rules, categories, and score sheets
* In 2013 – TEN finalists received requests from our fabulous editor judges to see their full manuscripts!

CONTEST CATEGORIES:
Please review the category definitions carefully. Manuscripts entered in the wrong category may be disqualified

Please note that categories may have varying heat levels. All entries should have an emotionally satisfying and optimistic resolution to the romance.
* Contemporary Romance – Romance manuscripts that focus primarily on the romantic relationship and have a contemporary setting.
* Erotic Romance – Romance manuscripts in which the sexual relationship plays an integral part of the romantic relationship and the sex scenes are explicit in both description and language.
* Historical Romance – Romance manuscripts set in any historical time period.
* Inspirational Romance – Romance manuscripts in which religious or spiritual beliefs (in the context of any religious or spiritual belief system) are a major part of the romantic relationship.
* Paranormal Romance – Romance manuscripts in which the future, a fantasy world, or paranormal elements are a key part of the plot
* Romantic Suspense – Romance manuscripts in which suspense, mystery, or thriller elements constitute an integral part of the plot.
* Young Adult Romance – Romance manuscripts geared toward young adult readers.

FINAL JUDGES FOR 2014:

Contemporary Romance
Traditional Print Editor Latoya Smith Associate Editor Grand Central Publishing
E-Pub Editor Heather Howland Senior Editor Entangled Publishing

Erotic Romance
Traditional Print Editor Allison Janice Editorial Assistant Berkley Publishing
E-Pub Editor Michele Paulin Editorial Director Resplendence Publishing

Historical Romance
Traditional Print Editor Laura Fazio Asst. Editor NAL at Penguin
E-Pub Editor Erin Molta Senior Editor Entangled Publishing

Inspirational Romance
Traditional Print Editor Shana Asaro Associate Editor Harlequin Love Inspired
Traditional Print Editor Becky Philpott Associate Acquisitions Editor HarperCollins Christian Publishing

Paranormal Romance
Traditional Print Editor Kristine Swartz Editorial Assistant Berkley Publishing
E-Pub Editor Mallory Braus Editor Carina Press

Romantic Suspense
Traditional Print Editor Patience Bloom Senior Editor Harlequin Books
E-Pub Editor Deb Nemeth Developmental Editor Carina Press

Young Adult Romance
Traditional Print Editor Lauren Smulski Editorial Assistant Harlequin
E-Pub Editor Stephanie Taylor Owner & Editor in Chief Astraea Press

First place winners in each of the seven categories will continue to the Best-of-the-Best round.
Best of the Best Katherine Pelz Assistant Editor Berkley Publishing Group

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Indianarwa.com

OPEN FOR ENTRIES: May 1, 2014

DEADLINE FOR ENTRY: July 1, 2014

AWARDS: Category winners – First place entry will receive $50 and a certificate
Best of the Best – Winner will receive a special keepsake award

ELIGIBILITY:
The Indiana Golden Opportunity contest is open to any unpublished author in novel- or novella-length fiction by a non-vanity/subsidy publisher. Published authors who have not been contracted for publication (by RWA publishing standards) in the past three (3) years are also eligible to enter.

The IGO will be following RWA’s Policy and Procedure Manual (March 2011) 1.40, regarding vanity/subsidy publishing. Subsidy/Vanity is defined as: “Subsidy” or “Vanity” publishing means the production of books in which the author participates in the costs of production or distribution in any manner, including assessment of fees or other costs for editing and/or distribution. This definition includes publishing programs that withhold or seek full or partial payment or reimbursement of publication or distribution costs before paying royalties, including payment of paper, printing, binding, production, sales or marketing costs; publishing programs whose authors exclusively promote and/or sell their own books; and publishers whose business model and methods of publishing are primarily directed toward sales to the author, his/her relatives and associates.

Note: Members of the Indiana Romance Writers of America are not eligible to enter.

GOOD LUCK, AND THANK YOU FOR HELPING US CELEBRATE THE 24th ANNIVERSARY OF THE
INDIANA GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY CONTEST!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Indianarwa.com

The Friends Blog Tour

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Flaherty Liz

I was tagged for this event by my friend Joan Reeves, a “Gem-sister” from our days with Kensington. Nowadays, Joan is a bestselling ebook author of sassy, sexy romance novels. Joan makes her home in the Lone Star State with her hero, her husband. She lives the philosophy that is the premise of all of her romance novels: “It’s never too late to live happily ever after.” Look for her novella April Fool Bride, available June 9 in the Authors of Main Street Box Set.

Find Joan Online

Blog: http://SlingWords.blogspot.com

Twitter: @JoanReeves

I LUV Books, a FREE Reader Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/PNag1

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/JoanReevesAuthor/

Website: www.JoanReeves.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JoanReevesWrites
I get by with a little help from my friends…

I asked two of my writer friends to join the blog tour. They will each be posting on their blogs on June 9 so please drop by and visit them.

JUDITH JERINTS PALMER

Only child; born in Illinois, grew up all over the Midwest, including Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, and Indiana. Traveled in all but two of the 50 states. Lived in houses, apartments, a converted gas station, mobile home; and had temporary premises in tents while traveling through the West. Lived with: both parents; mother; mother and stepfather; father and stepmother. Got married, had four children in six years, to get that out of the way. Now have four grandsons and seven great grandchildren, and a whole raft of inlaws. (That’s a LOT of folks for an only child.)

By the time I was 20 years old I’d moved 17 times—most of them under protest, though no one cared to hear about it. From those experiences I made a few observations that later solidified into my life view:

Don’t get attached to belongings; Mom had a fetish for purging our peripatetic household.
Don’t make friends; they’ll get left behind at the end of the school year.
Flexibility is the only way to survive numerous moves.

Those early years forged the life of a writer—writing depends on experiences, observation and analysis of the experiences, and the ability to spend long hours alone. To paraphrase Flannery O’Connor: “If you survived your childhood, you’ve got enough material to write a couple of lifetimes.”

After trying my hand at being a perpetual student (15 years after high school, finally earning a BA in English and French and an MA in English), I worked in a law office for thirty years, first as a typist, then a paralegal (trained in-house by the senior partner). I’ve been a Methodist and a Lutheran, now an Episcopalian. I play organ and piano for church. I knit, sew, make quilts, and read every day. I go to Tai Chi and yoga classes for my health.

Writing is the only activity that doesn’t eventually pall as the years pass and I march on toward maturity—and the only problem with aging is that I’m running out of time to say everything I know must be said.

My days now that I’m retired are full—and I sing the usual lament of the retired: “How did we ever do all we did when we worked?” Writing helps me keep my life in order, and keeps me interested in living. Who knows what might be coming along?

My blog, Thursday’s Child, celebrates this life of mine in its full spectrum. Published weekly on, well, Thursday. Stop by:

http://www.jrjerints-palmer.blogspot.com

JILLIAN JACOBS

In the spring of 2013, I changed my career path and became a romance writer. After reading for years, I figured writing a romance would be quick and easy. Nope! With the guidance of the Indiana Romance Writers of America chapter, I’ve learned there are many “rules” to writing a proper romance. Being re-schooled has been an interesting journey, and I hope the best trails are yet to be traveled.

You’ll find a bit of my husband in my paranormal series, The Elementals, as he’s a chemist and has to answer all my, “Could this really happen?” questions. My son, as a preteen, is not in to romance so we’ll not speak his name, lest we embarrass him.

Water’s Threshold, the first in my Elementals series, was a finalist in Chicago-North’s 2014 Fire and Ice contest in the Women’s Fiction category.

My writing dream entails my works sitting on the shelves next to the well-known romance writers.

Three things about me: I’m a Tea Guzzler, Polish Pottery Hoarder, and lover of all things Moose.

My current positions with IRWA are Program Chair and 2015 Conference Co-Chair. The genres I write under are: Paranormal, Contemporary, and Romantic Suspense.

Since graduating college, my career has advanced in the advertising field. Initially, I was employed with a radio station then I progressed to an advertising agency. Currently, I am a contract media buyer.

To learn more about me, please visit: www.jillianjacobs.com

Now, about me…

What am I working on?

I’m working on a book-hopefully for Harlequin Heartwarming; I haven’t asked them yet-about two survivors of a prom night accident. They were destroyed by both injuries and guilt, but sixteen years have passed. I’m helping them pick up the pieces.

How does my work differ from others of its genre?

You know, I don’t think it does. I think I write well, that my people are fun to read about, and that my voice has some quirks that resonate with some readers. I am eternally grateful as a reader that a whole host of other writers are the same way-their people and quirks just sound different than mine.

Why do I write what I do?

Like Joan before me on this tour, I’d love to have a profound answer for that, but the truth is, what I write is what comes up on my personal play list. Who am I to argue with the voices in my head?

How does my writing process work?

Well, way too many days, it doesn’t. I’m retired from my day job (which I liked, by the way; I am so lucky), and I said when I retired I would never again submit to the demands of an alarm clock. That works figuratively as well as literally. I try to write every day, but if I miss a few, c’est la vie. I try to write 1000 words a day, but sometimes it’s only 27 counting the page number.

It’s different, I must admit, if I have an editor-imposed deadline. I work six hours a day unless I need to go longer, and sometimes I work in the evening. Simply because I’m still excited by that sort of deadline and because I never want to be the writer who doesn’t make it. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen-just that I don’t want it to.

Thanks for stopping by. While you’re out and about, stop in and see Joan’s other friends, too. Jan Scarbrough’s blog is at http://www.janscarbrough.com/blog/, and Kelly Rae is at https://jobellbooks.wordpress.com/.

Mother’s Day - All of Them

Posted on May 9, 2014 by Flaherty Liz

My mom at three. It was 1912.

Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday. I think about it a lot, think about my mom—gone all these long years—and my mother-in-law, who I’ve loved almost as long as I’ve loved her son and who has loved me back. I think about being a mom and a grandma—it’s just my favorite thing. But Mother’s Day? I’m really glad my kids remember it, tell me they love me, stop by if they’re close by, but mostly I’m glad it’s not confined to one day in May.

I wrote most of this years ago—I’m the rerun queen, you know—but I hope it still says what it did then. I hope it stands up.

Graduation days have always been like Mother’s Day. They were the signal that one of the most important jobs in life-as-a-mom was nearly finished and that she had, at least to some degree, been successful at it. From my own high school graduates, the entire day of graduation was a gift to me. They would much rather have collected their diplomas on the last day of school and cut and run. They were not eager to wear caps and gowns, to see all the relatives at the open house, to stand with their dad and me and have their pictures with us grinning gleefully from either side of them.

Parents Night during the various sports season is like Mother’s Day. After all, we always get a rose; we get to stand with the kid and grin gleefully while our picture is taken, and we go back to the bleachers safe in the secret knowledge that, bar none, our kid is the best one out there. Oh, she may not make the best grades, and he may not be the best athlete, and she may cause trouble in class from time to time, but overall, he’s the best kid. You know what I mean.

Mother’s Day is when you tell the kid who thinks you’re being bossy, unreasonable, and not quite bright that you love him more than anything else on earth and he tells you he loves you, too and maybe gives you a little one-armed hug if no one’s around.

Kari in her wedding dress.

Mother’s Day is when someone tells your daughter she’s just like you and she just smiles and says, “Thank you.”

Mother’s Day is when the kids have been horrendous brats all day long. They’ve beaten up the neighbor kid who’s half their size, trashed the entire house, and flipped mashed potatoes at the kitchen wall. They’ve broken the Blu-ray player—the one you got their dad for Christmas—and spilled…oh, everything.

After they’ve gone to sleep and you’ve scrubbed the wall and cleaned the worst of the mess in the house and apologized profusely to the neighbors, you check the kids before you go to bed yourself. And they look like angels among their cartoon-character sheets. Their skin is baby’s-bottom soft and flushed with innocence and youth and they’re the best kids ever born and you are so lucky and it’s truly Mother’s Day all over again.

When they’re older and have established their own ideas and thought patterns and don’t agree with anything you say and their favorite things about you are your wallet and your car…yes, even then they will every now and then do something so perfect and so right it brings tears to your eyes. It doesn’t matter what it is—it can be standing firm for something they believe in, defending an underdog with heat and dignity, or confessing to a wrongdoing rather than let someone innocent of it suffer in their place. When it happens, it is absolutely Mother’s Day.

To all who fit the bill, Happy Mother’s Day. Whenever it may be.

Shot Through the Heart by D’Ann Lindun

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Flaherty Liz

LIMITED TIME- $.99 RE-LAUNCH!!!

Laramie Porter has tried to get her drug-addicted brother help, but he’s refused every time. When Laramie finds his wife—and her best friend—murdered, she vows to have him convicted. Before she can flee, her brother takes Laramie and his wife’s body into the mountains and throws them from a cliff. Somehow, Laramie lands on a ledge. After what her brother has done, Laramie doesn’t want to ever believe in another man, but Derrick earns her trust when he protects her from the man who would see her dead.

To cover up the evidence of his crime, Lawrence starts a wildfire

Derrick Garrison is through with women after he learns his ex-wife was a bigamist who only wanted his money. Believing a lightning strike has started a wildfire, he’s pushing his cattle out of harm’s way when he discovers a woman huddled on a cliff side. Derrick can’t believe the same sheriff who helped bring his ex to justice murdered his wife. But when the cocaine addicted lawman tracks Laramie through a raging fire, attempting to kill them both, Derrick becomes a true believer. His protective instinct kicks in and he falls in love with the woman in danger.

Together, they survive the fire, the attempts on their lives and a bounty on their heads…to see justice served. And fall in love.

Falling in love with romance novels the summer before sixth grade, D’Ann Lindun never thought about writing one until many years later when she took a how-to class at her local college. She was hooked! She began writing and never looked back. Romance appeals to her because there’s just something so satisfying about writing a book guaranteed to have a happy ending. D’Ann’s particular favorites usually feature cowboys and the women who love them. This is probably because she draws inspiration from the area where she lives, Western Colorado, her husband of twenty-nine years and their daughter. Composites of their small farm, herd of horses, five Australian shepherds, a Queensland heeler, two ducks and cats of every shape and color often show up in her stories!

I love to hear from readers! Please contact me at

dldauthor@frontier.net

http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/DLindunAuthor

http://www.amazon.com/DAnn-Lindun/e/B008DKL9TU

10 Fun Facts About Summertime Dream

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

Welcome to Babette James, whose newest release-see the dishy cover on the left-just came out on Kindle. We’ve shared the same publisher for a long time and this time we even shared the same release day! I’m so happy to have you here, Babette.

Thanks, Liz, for letting me visit here today and share a peek at my new contemporary romance novel from The Wild Rose Press, Summertime Dream. I thoroughly enjoyed writing Summertime Dream and I thought I’d share some fun facts about the story:

1. The ramshackle Falk House in Summertime Dream that Christopher inherits was inspired in part by the Heck-Andrews house in Raleigh, North Carolina.

2. My fictional town of Falk’s Bend and the Olsson family’s restaurant were partially inspired by my Swedish heritage. I’d love to live in a quiet small town someday (but my “city-mouse” husband isn’t too keen on this idea).

3. The title Summertime Dream came about because I was brainstorming working titles while listening to a random music mix, which included Gordon Lightfoot’s “Summertime Dream.” The words later cropped up in a scene of Christopher’s, so that made the choice easy.

4. The initial inspiration for Summertime Dream came from writing the Fourth of July picnic scene, which was originally started as a mental diversion from working on Dave’s story, the intended sequel to Clear As Day, and never planned to be a novel or part of the River series. Then my characters got involved.

5. All the stories in my River series derive from a circle of friends who vacation together every July at Lake Mohave, which is

Photo by Babette James

a stretch of the Colorado River below the Hoover Dam. This is the only story in the series where the hero and heroine don’t actually make it to the annual get-together—All because of Margie, but Christopher’s not complaining.

6. It’s a happy coincidence that the model on the cover is wearing pink nail polish, Margie’s favorite polish color.

7. The cans in the parlor, mouse in the kitchen, and bat scenes were all partly inspired by real life. Luckily, I’m not afraid of mice and there was only one bat. J

8. My heroine, Margie, writes cozy mysteries, a genre I’ve never attempted writing, but which I’ve always enjoyed reading. The story she is writing comes from an idea in my own plot bunny file. Maybe someday I’ll be writing a cozy!

9. Originally, Margie and Christopher were only secondary characters in Clear As Day and in. I never meant to write their own story since they were already a happily married couple in that story. But then the picnic scene, pondering their backstory as I was working on Dave’s story, and the idle spark of what if… all combined and exploded into a full-fledged novel.

10. I’ve always loved antiques and I had fun “decorating” the Falk house. The antique books Margie finds in the library are all real books I own, as is some of the other bric-a-brac found in the Falk house. Christopher’s rocking chair and little table are in my living room.

I hope you enjoy reading Summertime Dream as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Wishing you all a very happy New Year!

Babette

Blurb:

The Fourth of July is over, but for these summer lovers the fireworks have just begun.

An unexpected inheritance brings business consultant Christopher Gordon from Los Angeles to quaint Falk’s Bend. He’s carved a week from his demanding schedule to list his great-grandparents’ house for sale and explore his roots. However, disturbing family secrets and the sweet temptation of writer Margie Olsson derail his plans, challenging him to seize the elusive dream missing from his hectic life— love.

A recent brush with death shook Margie’s life, but not her dreams and she’s ready to move forward. Only, standing up to her loving, over-protective family isn’t easy. Helping Christopher explore the derelict mansion and unravel his grandmother’s mysterious past should be a harmless fun taste of independence. But when her experimental summer fling ignites into unexpected love, how can her small town dreams work with his big city life?

Excerpt:

Margie laughed. “Of course, in my dreams it was a bit less rundown.”

“I’d imagine so. Interested in buying?”

“Oh, if only I could, I would in an instant. I’m sure the property alone is worth far more than I can afford. It’s a huge piece of land. And the repairs and restoration…” Longing swelled. She sighed. Someone else would buy and live in her dream home.

Quiet fell between them for a while. Bees buzzed in the clover. Birds sang, chirped, and flitted. A hummingbird whizzed past. Two more ducks joined the first amid quiet bickering quacks. Dandelion fluff drifted by on an unfelt breeze.

A truck rattled down the lane, breaking the moment.

“Suppose we ought to head back…” Christopher turned, so close their arms brushed, but instead of retreating, he hesitated. Their eyes locked. Where dismay and frustration had filled his green eyes, want simmered. The heavy air electrified.

You need a change.

On a surge of bewildering crazy courage, she stretched up and kissed him. The brief brush of lips to lips left her shaken and her heart pounding, like she had just come up for air.

His eyes widened in his serious, craggy face.

No, oh, no. Blowing out an unsteady breath, she pressed a hand to her stomach. She’d carried her day’s adventure one impetuous step too far. Her heroines were the daring part of her. She’d never even kissed on a first date before, and this wasn’t even a date.

Before the apology fluttering in her mind could break free, he cupped her cheek and touched his mouth down on hers.

Come fall in love at the river:

Summertime Dream is available on Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B00HJDS3E6

“Summertime Dream is a perfect glass of Lemonade on a hot day. Simple, elegant and beautifully written. I enjoyed each scene. Loved the chemistry between the characters and the house. Great story!” ~ Deborah Diez

Clear As Day, (★★★★½ RT Book Reviews, ★★★★★ Top Pick The Romance Reviews) is available at:

Amazon.com: http://amzn.com/B007RN9STW

The Wild Rose Press: http://www.wildrosepublishing.com/maincatalog_v151/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=175_133&products_id=4806

And at all other eBook retailers

About the Author:

Babette James writes sweetly scorching contemporary romance and loves reading nail-biting tales with a satisfying happily ever after. When not dreaming up stories, she enjoys playing with new bread recipes and dabbling with paints. As a teacher, she loves encouraging new readers and writers as they discover their growing abilities. Her class cheers when it’s time for their spelling test! Born in New Jersey and raised in Southern California, she’s had a life-long love of the desert and going down the shore. Babette now lives in New Jersey with her wonderfully patient husband and extremely spoiled cats.

You can find Babette at:

Website: http://babettejames.com/

Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/ltvyP

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BabetteJames

Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/babette.james

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/BabetteJamesAuthor

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.com/e/B007KDJWV8

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/babettejames

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/babettejames/

Coming soon-The Girls of Tonsil Lake

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

I’m kind of excited these days. Nothing new there-it is, after all, December, and I love Christmas. And I’m working on a project for a new-to-me imprint with Harlequin. And I got a lovely R & R from Carina-am I the only one who loves R & Rs? And here’s just the latest in my excitements. THE GIRLS OF TONSIL LAKE, my next book from The Wild Rose Press, will be released December 27 as part of the KDP select program from Amazon. It’ll come out worldwide a while later, but for now, you’ll be able to spend some holiday time reading my first ever women’s fiction title-this is after you’ve finished with the church services, parties, and other festivities of the holidays. Because even though I love to read and am so happy THE GIRLS is coming out, like I said, I love Christmas!

I have a prize thing going on here. I’m blogging at http://thewildrosepress.blogspot.com/ today. If you stop by and see me and then come on over here and comment, you’ll be entered to win a Christmas ornament and a free book. I haven’t bought the ornament or chosen the book yet, so that’s all a surprise, but I hope you come by.

Merry Christmas!

Kristina Knight and The Saint’s Devilish Deal

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

Welcome my friend Kristi Knight to the Window today!

A billionaire surfer… A down-on-her-luck hotelier… One hot summer fling…

Blurb: Esmerelda Quinn has been looking for a place to belong since her parents were killed in a car crash when she was young. The closest thing to home has always been Aunt Constance’s villa in Puerto Vallarta, so after a string of dead-end hotellier jobs, she’s coming home to run the villa.

Santiago Cruz has called the villa home for as long as he can remember. In between surfing events, Constance has always had a room for him. Color him surprised when Constance decides to retire - and leaves a joint interest in the villa to both Santiago and Esme.

Esme isn’t thrilled to share ownership of the villa with the the youngest Cruz brother - especially when she learns Santiago’s brother has been after the villa for years. But Santiago has grown up while she’s been away at school and soon she finds herself falling for the rich boy down the hall.

Excerpt:

“You forget yourself, Esmerelda. You’re talking about making this simple for the staff, that doesn’t mean I need to come to you for every new guest registration or idea I have. Besides, we need this campaign.” Santiago waved his hand. “We need more guests of a certain means to make the villa stand out. Families are great, but they won’t make Casa Constance a go-to destination. These people will. So, we use our new guests as features in a new campaign for the high-end travel magazines. A few shots in the tabloids wouldn’t hurt, either.”

“You weren’t even going to discuss this with me?”

“I’m telling you now. While we’re on the subject—” he tossed a few magazines from his desktop onto her lap “—what do you see in these pictures?”

Esme sent him a killing glance and then flipped through the pages. “Boring. Bland. Not home.”

“Exactly. This isn’t a home, or it shouldn’t be a home first. If you want Casa Constance to succeed you need to treat it like a business. So, make-over, what do you like?”

She tossed the magazines back onto the desktop. “Our guests love the color and textures of Old Mexico. They say so all the time.”

“Your guests haven’t been in residence, at least not actively, in more than a year. We aren’t appealing to anyone right now and we need to. So, makeover starts this afternoon and your new training begins in the morning.”

“I know what I need to know about running a vacation resort.”

“You need to experience a vacation to sell it. We need day-trips, we need amenities. I’ll bet you’ve never gone para-sailing or sky diving, much less enjoyed a couple’s massage.” Her cheeks pinked at the last suggestion and Santiago smiled. “Celebrities visiting Casa, playing on our private beach, being featured in an advertising campaign—with a few pictures leaked to the tabloids to get the word out even sooner. Casa needs this.”

Esme took a few breaths and then settled back into her chair. “I can’t afford to pay the salary of a New York advertising crew. Seriously, Santiago, you have to cancel.”

“My three months, remember? It won’t cost you a thing. The photographer owes me a favor. The only cost will be the campaign copy, which will be negligible. I do know what I’m doing, Esmerelda.”

“Okay, mail.” Esme shook her head as if clearing thoughts of the upcoming ad campaign from her head. “Marquez usually separates bills from letters—”

“As the mail will be delivered to the front desk, I’m happy to see to it. And let’s cut to the chase.” He leaned back in the chair and clasped his hands behind his head. “I don’t want to be tied down to a vacation villa for the rest of my life. But if you really want this, there is something you have to do for me. First.”

Esme swallowed, crossed and re-crossed her legs before clasping her hands in her lap. “What do you want? A payoff? You’ve seen the books, you know there isn’t much money. But if it’s money you want, I’ll agree to your price. I just need time to come up with the capital.”

She really didn’t know him at all. He shouldn’t be surprised, but he was. Surprised and a bit disappointed. “I need your money like I need another surfing championship,” he said, sitting up straight. “No, what I want from you is a bit more. . . ephemeral. I want your time. For three hours each day, you belong to me. No villa work. No guest handholding.” He walked around the desk to rest his hip against one corner. “No conferences with staff. No following the maids on their routine cleanings and no visits to the kitchen to give Gloriana instructions. For three hours each day, your time is my time.”

“You can’t be serious. That. . . that’s just. . .” She trailed off when his index finger traced the line of her jaw. He lowered his voice.

“No work. No phones. No villa. You do what I say, what I want.”

Author Bio/Links:

Once upon a time, Kristina Knight spent her days running from car crash to fire to meetings with local police—no, she wasn’t a troublemaker, she was a journalist. When the opportunity to focus a bit of energy on the stories in her head, she jumped at it. And she’s never looked back. Now she writes magazine articles by day and romance novels with spice by night. She lives on Lake Erie with her husband and daughter. Happily ever after.

Kristina’s Links:

Website: http://www.kristinaknightauthor.com
FB: http://www.facebook.com/kristinaknightromanceauthor
TW: @AuthorKristina
GR: http://www.goodreads.com/authorkristina
PI: http://www.pinterest.com/authorkristina

D’Ann Lindun and the Cowboys of Black Mountain

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

In about a week, the National Finals Rodeo begins, held in the Thomas and Mack Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada. From December 5-14th, the best cowboys in the world gather to test their skills against fast calves, steers, bucking horses…and bulls!

The top 15 money earners of the year compete for the title of world champion. There are ten rounds of competition, with the top eight finisher’s prize money added to their yearly total. The top earner is crowned world champ!

In A Cowboy To Keep, Cody Utah is a World Champion bull rider who has left the limelight behind to open a bull riding school.

Blurb: After Laney Ellis’ husband is killed by a bull, she is left to run their small cattle ranch and raise their son, Justin, on her own. Despite some of Laney’s worst fears, the dream Justin holds dearest is to be exactly like his dad, a champion bull rider. He finds his chance when world champion bull rider Cody Utah moves in next door.

Although attraction between Cody and Laney flares, neither act upon it. Laney refuses to get her family involved with another bull rider, and Cody has heard rumors Laney trapped Wyatt, her late husband, into a high school marriage by getting pregnant.The last thing Cody wants is children.

At a rodeo, Justin is thrown and knocked unconscious. As Justin lays in the hospital, Cody begs Laney to forgive him. He realizes he loves her enough to discourage Justin from the sport. Will Laney let Cody into their lives? Will Justin ride again?

Excerpt: So much for putting distance between them, Cody thought as he drove away from Laney’s house with Justin in the seat next to him. Hurting the kid’s feelings was the last thing Cody wanted to do. He knew all too well how it felt to be on the outside looking in.

“When do you think I can ride again?” Justin asked.

Cody shrugged. “How long do these spring storms usually last around here?”

“It depends. Sometimes only a day or two, sometimes all month.” Justin leaned forward and peered through the windshield. “This one looks like it’s going to be around for a while.”

That’s what Cody thought, too. When he got the rodeo school up and running, he planned to start on the first of April and end at the end of November. With school vacations, he hoped to keep each two-week session full. The rest of the year, he planned to ride himself. With that schedule, it was unlikely he could make enough points to make the National Finals again, but hopefully he could make some money and keep his name out there enough to draw in students.

With this kind of weather throwing a kink in the plan, he might have to build an indoor arena. He could probably squeeze just enough money out to make it work. There wouldn’t be much left over for expenses and, if an emergency came up, he’d be out of luck.

Buy: http://tinyurl.com/mj5e6y5

I love to hear from readers! Please contact me at

dldauthor@frontier.net

http://dlindunauthor.blogspot.com/

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http://www.amazon.com/DAnn-Lindun/e/B008DKL9TU

It’s coming on Veterans Day-thank one

Posted on November 8, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

This is a repeat of last year’s Veterans Day post. I apologize for being too lazy and too busy to write a new one, but I thank veterans for the opportunity to be lazy and busy in this country I love so much and still think is great. But I don’t have much compunction about reposting it, because I still mean it. Every word. So thanks. Again.

Yesterday, the fifth graders at my grandson’s school performed their annual Veterans Day salute. They sang and shook hands with veterans in the audience. There was a long slide show of pictures of mothers and fathers and grandfathers and other relatives who had served in the armed forces. I thought my eyes would never get dry. So this morning I tried to put into words how I feel, how proud and grateful I am that so many have served so long and so well.

Except I didn’t have any new words, though my eyes are leaking again as I write this introduction to a tribute I still feel.

John Thomas and Amos Ash were residents of Miami County, Indiana. They fought with the 20th Regiment of Indiana. They died at Gettysburg in 1863.

Uncle Mart was ten years older than Aunt Ethel. They were married forever, but they never had any children. That always seemed odd to me, but it really wasn’t. They adored each other and never needed anyone else; they were a complete family unit unto themselves. He was bald and funny and liked to fish. He served in the first World War. The Big One, some people said.

I don’t remember what his name was, but he and his parents were visiting my family when something happened and they had to return to their South Bend home at once because he had to catch the next train back to his duty station. The day was December 7, 1941, long before I was born, but I still remember the empty look on Mom’s face when she told the story.

Thadd was a baker in the navy during that war, the second of the World Wars. The one more people called The Big One. A couple of years after he came home, Thadd and Mary got married and they had five kids.

His name was Wayne. I was at his going-away party before he left for Vietnam. He was young and smart and eager to serve his country. There was a girl at the party who looked at him with soft eyes. We laughed a lot, had a good time, and wished him luck when we left. We were used to it, I suppose, to saying goodbye and hoping for the chance to say hello when they came back home, so we didn’t give it that much thought.

Wayne, though, and Mike and John, to name but a few, came home in flag-draped coffins. We watched the news, read the papers, wept. We remembered smooth-faced, laughing boys and mourned with the wives and girlfriends and mothers who would never feel the same again, with fathers silent and stoic in their grief. We acknowledged empty places and heard remembered laughter and voices echo through them.

I married the second of Thadd and Mary’s kids after he came home from Vietnam. Like the Korean Conflict, no one ever called it The Big War, but to the ones who served there, and the ones who waited at home, they were big enough. Long enough. Sad enough.

When Desert Storm happened, we watched and waited and feared and prayed. Same with Iraq. With Afghanistan. With all the other wars and conflicts and skirmishes where Americans have served.

A short time ago, the city of Logansport, Indiana welcomed Sgt. Kenneth K. McAnich home. The hearse drove slow and solemn through streets lined with flags and people, the Patriot Guard riding protective escort against those who might not be respectful. It’s symbolic, this ceremonial farewell we offer our fallen warriors. I’m sure it does little to fill the echoing empty places created by their deaths. But it’s all we can do.

My husband remembers how people looked at him in airports when he came home from Vietnam. How they sneered and then looked away. I saw the same thing in Indianapolis, when among the celebratory crowds coming home at Christmastime walked a lone soldier, carrying his duffel bag and staring straight ahead. Forty years later, those who served in Vietnam know it wasn’t them people hated; it was the war. But they still remember.

We all hate war. All of us. Thank goodness we’ve learned how to welcome home those who fight in them. We’ve learned to applaud them in airports and on planes, to buy their lunch once in a while if they’re behind us at the cashier’s station, to say thank you and mean it. That’s why November 11 is Veterans Day. It is not a day of celebration, although rejoicing in freedom is probably never wrong. It is instead a day of remembrance and honor to the men and women who have for 235 years and who continue to serve in the preservation of that freedom. Thank you to all of you. God bless you. God bless America.

Velda Brotherton - Switching Genres Can Be Rewarding

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Flaherty Liz

Velda Brotherton writes of romance in the old west with an authenticity that makes her many historical characters ring true. She just as easily steps out of the past into contemporary settings to create novels about women with the ability to conquer life’s difficult challenges. With a new mystery series begun, she has tackled yet another genre. Tough heroines, strong and gentle heroes, villains to die for, all live in the pages of her novels, short stories and books.

Since the first day I put words on paper and decided I had to be a writer, my stories have been all over the map, so to speak. Starting with short stories, then on to big novels, some nonfiction books, then into genre. Writing in one genre was something I finally settled on in order to be published. After all, we all want our words read…don’t we? For those who don’t, perhaps this message won’t be helpful. What happened to cause me to settle on writing western historical romances? Plain and simple, it was serendipity. Being in the right place at the right time with the right equipment (book in this case).

Our group helped host Western Writers of America when their conference came to Springdale, Arkansas. As part of that group of hosts, I was allowed to sign up to pitch a book to a New York editor, and I chose one from Penguin. The first three chapters of the book had won a first place in a western category at a different, smaller conference. My buddy, and now well known author of westerns, Dusty Richards, literally had to shove me into the room, I was so nervous. But the editor liked the pitch, took the book and after several months of changes, and the big one, my agreeing to change it from western to western romance, the book was contracted by Topaz, the romance line at Penguin. After six published books in that genre, New York imploded and dozens of publishers became six huge conglomerates with bottom line fever. Writers and editors were orphaned. The book business’s word for fired.

Remember those original big novels? I had originally written a mainstream novel called Once There Were Sad Songs. Among other projects in nonfiction, I dragged it out, dusted it off and entered three chapters in a mid-sized conference contest. It took a first in mainstream and went on to win the crème de la crème, which meant out of the winners of 30 some categories, it took a first place and earned me an agent. Not my first, but she worked hard with the book in New York. No sale.

While still writing western historical romances, I signed contracts to have two published with the up and coming Wild Rose Press. In the meantime another small press asked for something from me, so I dragged out a mystery I had written some time earlier, polished it and it was published this October as The Purloined Skull. During that time The Wild Rose Press decided to publish novels other than romance and they took Once There Were Sad Songs. It came out as an E book and will go to print in February in their Vintage line.

All of this is my way of showing and telling authors that you have to keep on stepping up to the plate. Sorry, guess I’ve been paying too much attention of late to baseball games. If you are stuck, having problems either writing or selling in your genre, then it might be time to switch hit. Oops, there I go again. The Purloined Skull has morphed into a series, I’m still writing western historical romances and I’m so excited to finally have the mainstream/women’s fiction novel out there that I’m polishing another one.

Being knocked out of the game at the beginning of 2000 by circumstance, I could have stalked off, gone to work for Walmart or went back into the insurance game where I worked for many years. Instead, I found an alternative, a way to keep writing, the career I love with all my heart.

Actually switching back and forth between genres keeps me fresh and avoids the chance that I might start writing the same story over and over again, with only a few changes. On the other hand, it’s difficult to promote in several genres, especially when two novels come out in the same month, but I’d much rather that than be sitting home with no contracts, typing out the same stories again and again.

The secret to effective promotion when you write in two or more genres is to develop a platform that promotes you as a writer. Once people get to know you, and appreciate what you share, they’ll naturally gravitate toward your books. Over the years I’ve tried to share any knowledge I might have, as well as mentor writers. Join Yahoo and Linked In groups and be helpful there as well. As writers we all learn about a lot of subjects and can share that knowledge freely in your blogs and on social media.

So don’t worry if you’re attracted to a variety of genres and writing styles. Go for it, for we do our best when creating the things we enjoy the most.

Website: http://www.veldabrotherton.com

Blog: http://www.veldabrotherton.wordpress.com

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Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/veldabrotherton

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Author Page: https://authorcentral.amazon.com/gp/books

The Purloined Skull: When dogs dig up a human skeleton people in Cedarton, Arkansas learn that murder can happen even in a small town in the Ozarks. Dal Starr, the newly hired crime scene investigator balks at having local reporter Jessie Stone tag along on his investigation. Sparks fly between the two as they try to learn who was buried under a bluff and who killed him. The discovery of a lost skull threatens to reveal hidden secrets and end two careers. Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1610090969/

Once There Were Sad Songs: Schoolteacher Mary Elizabeth takes the summer of 1985 off to re-evaluate her life. At Ouachita State Park, she wonders what it would be like to drown, gets scared witless by some young hoodlums, and finds an intriguing mystery in the bikers camped nearby.

Pursued by nightmares from his time “in country,” Vietnam vet Steven roams the country with two buddies. Getting mixed up with some crazy older woman is the last thing he’s interested in.

Surely such a mismatched and bedeviled pair will never be able to lay their ghosts to rest and find a lasting relationship. Buy Link: http://www.amazon.com/Once-There-Were-Songs-ebook/dp/B00G8H2TEO

Liz Flaherty, Romance Author

Stories from the Heart