Monday, July 29, 2013

Meet Me Monday's With Beverly Ovalle

Please welcome my next guest, Beverly Ovalle!! She'll be giving away a book so please check out the rafflecopter link at the end of this post!


1. How has your journey in publishing been? Anything you would or wouldn’t do again? It has been interesting.  I have no patience so it’s hard waiting to see if my work is accepted!  Nothing I wouldn’t do again. 

2. What are you working on right now? Can you tell us about it?  I have a few I am working on, but the one that has been calling me is Lighting Strike.  I saw a picture of a tree that had been hit by lightning and it caught my imagination.  Of course not in a normal way!  I brought in the photographer and a tree nymph!  I can’t seem to help myself but when I write, erotic seems to flow from my fingertips!

3. What/Who inspired you to start writing?  It just seemed natural.  I was one of those kids who didn’t mind doing book reports.  I joined the creative writing club in high school.  We were able to go to a seminar at one of the universities in Chicago and it changed how I viewed the world around me.

4. How long have you been writing?  Seriously just the past year though I’ve been scribbling since high school.

5. What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?  Do it!  Don’t be afraid to try.  It’s really hard to bare you imagination to someone that might reject it, but boy when it’s accepted it’s the greatest thing (other than having kids and a lot less painful!)

6. Are you a pantser or a plotter? Pantser all the way.  Plotting is my downfall, I get bogged down.  I do research, but as I go!  One page open to word and the other to the internet at all times!

7. Who is your favorite author?  Such a hard question!  I honestly have two Christine Feehan and Stephanie Laurens.  They are the only authors whose books I still purchase in hard copy.

8. When did you first consider yourself a writer?  When my book finally came out!

9. What is the hardest part about writing for you?  Finding the time.  I work full time and I can only write when I am home by myself, so that really limits me.  I’ll take a day off here or there if my husband has the weekend off with me just so I can have a day to write.

10. Do you have a favorite character from your books? If so, why and who?  Yes I do.  Drake, he is glimpsed in my first book Dragons’ Mate.  I am working on his story now, it’s just taking me a while because I plotted this one out (pantser remember) and I have to figure out how the next step can happen and seem real.  He’s hot and so Alpha!  Oh, and a dragon!

11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?  Only one has been published at this point so I’m going with it!  LOL!  Dragons’ Mate.  I have one submitted, two nearing completion, and a joint one with my BFF Tamara Hoffa.

12. Do you do research for your books or does it all come from your head?  Oh no, I research.  I use any and all information I can find and twist it to work for me!  The joint book Tamara and I are working on involves the Chicago Fire.  I headed down to Chicago (my old stomping ground) and hit the museums.  A lot of the names I use are looked up and used for their meanings.

13. What is your favorite colour?  Yellow but everyone thinks it is lime green J.  My car, scooter and kitchen are all lime green.  But yellow is so happy.

14. What is your favorite food?   Shrimp cooked any and every way!

15. What is your favorite smell?  Magnolia blossoms

16. Do you have any strange habits?  I plead the 5th!  Playing with dragons isn’t strange is it?

17. Where are you from? Do you still live there? If not, what do you miss about it?  I am originally from the Chicago area.  I now live in Wisconsin so I can visit when I want to make that three hour drive.  I miss the food!  I do drive down when I am craving a Portillo’s beef or Chicago Dog.  I’ll stop to visit my family too!  My parents’ one brother and his family and my cousins live there still.

18. Ebook or print? And why?  Ebook.  As I age L my allergies have gotten worse and print books (as I usually used the library) have way too many allergens.  Plus I have trouble with hand cramps and paperbacks make it hard to read for long stretches (days you know!)  But I have to say that I’ve never been hurt when I fall asleep with a paperback like I do when my kindle pops me in the face when it falls out of my hand when I fall asleep reading.

19. How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre?  I try to let my stories be part of me.  Everything I write has something of my life or my experiences in it in some way.

20. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?  That I am really glad digital cameras and uTube weren’t around when I was in my late teens and twenties!  I got up to way too much trouble! BTW it is NOT a good idea to skinny dip in Lake Michigan at night on a public beach!

I will giveaway one copy of Dragons’ Mate in either pdf or mobi format. a Rafflecopter giveaway


Blurb:

They had been searching for their mate, but when they find her she is traumatized and scared to be around strange men. They must get her to accept them before they reveal their true natures. Will their love be strong enough to break down her barriers? Could she truly be destined to love two dragons?
Today Annie’s dragons will shift and fulfill her every desire, which means a fiery threesome—and true love.

Buy Links:









Author Information:


Beverly Ovalle lives in Wisconsin with her husband Edmond of 23 years and two Chinese Water Dragons. Having her own Dragons is expected as she is dragon crazy and anyone that walks in her house can tell. Her son Nicholas visits when he is on leave from the Marines.  Her daughter Susannah visits to grocery shop in the pantry and to see what might be cooking for dinner.

Beverly has traveled around the world thanks to five years in the US Navy and has worked for the government in one capacity or another for the past 30 years. Beverly and her brothers have travelled most of the continental United States as children due to the station wagon from Hell.  Still active with veterans, she is adjutant for her local AMVETS.

Beverly has been reading romances since her Aunt introduced her to the gothic romance in the fourth grade and is still reading every chance she gets.

Contact Links:


Monday, July 22, 2013

Meet Me Monday's with Amy Dingmann



Please welcome my next guest, Amy Dingmann!!!


  1.        How has your journey in publishing been? Anything you would or wouldn’t do again?
My journey in publishing has been a grand learning experience and I’m enjoying every minute of it. If I had to do something over, I would not have waited so long. I questioned for many years “Can I really do this? Should I really do this?” I wasted so much time doing that. It’s fun now to be involved in something I think I was supposed to be doing all along 

2.      What are you working on right now? Can you tell us about it?
I am currently working on book three in the Lost and Found series, called Lost: All Things Pink and Glittery. It’s a fun one about the differences between “boys and girls” when kids enter the picture. I have at least five books planned for the Lost and Found series…and plenty o’ books outside of it.

3.      What/Who inspired you to start writing?
Writing was always so much a part of me, something so automatic (like breathing). I don’t know that I’ve ever felt inspired by any certain person or thing, however I do know that I’ve been *supported* by many people. I’m blessed to have grown up in a home and then moved to a home full of people who never thought that writing was just a pipedream.  

4.      How long have you been writing?
Forever. I remember writing when I was really young, folding papers together to make a book and handing it all to my grandpa to read the story I was writing. He read it and said “Amazing! You even have a topic sentence!” I gave him a weird look because I had no clue what a topic sentence was, I just knew I had a story I wanted to write down.

5.      What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?
Applying the seat of your pants to the seat of your chair is the only way your book will get done. J


6. Are you a pantser or a plotter?
I want to believe I am a plotter, but the pantser side has so much more to say and usually wins out.

7.      Who is your favorite author?
I don’t really have a favorite author, but my favorite fiction book I’ve read thus far is Me and Emma by Elizabeth Flock. I also really enjoyed Stephen King’s book On Writing. 

8. When did you first consider yourself a writer?
You know what? I still don’t, and it drives my husband nuts. I’m not sure what that magical “thing” will be where I will finally claim being an author. When I went to buy a new laptop, the sales guy asked what I planned to use it for and I answered, “Writing.” He thought (for some reason) I meant writing college papers. ;) Things would be so much easier if I could say “I’m an author” but the words still get all tangled coming out.

9. What is the hardest part about writing for you?
Finding the time and brain space to do it. When stories hit, they take over my whole brain. Unfortunately real life doesn’t turn off in order to make space for them. J
Another hard thing about writing is that publishing, especially today as an indie, is not just about writing. It’s a lot to do with marketing. That’s a hard transition to make in your brain – art to business. 

10. Do you have a favorite character from your books? If so, why and who?
Emily, for sure. She’s the girl who says what’s on my mind that I’m not always brave enough to say in real life.

11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I currently have three books out. Two books in the Lost and Found series (Lost: One Pair of Rose Colored Glasses and Found: One Craving For Everything) and one book under my real name (Amy Dingmann) about home education. (The Homeschool Highway: How to Navigate Your Way Without Getting Carsick). But as far as the books that are “planned out” to write? I think I’m booked until about 2016. As far as which book is my favorite…they’re all a favorite for their own reason. 

12. What is your favorite colour?
Brown. I’m really trying to spice things up…but I keep coming back to brown. 

13. What is your favorite food?
Anything I grow. And pizza. 

14. What is your favorite smell?
The smell of a woodstove, or my husband after he comes in from working in the garage.

15. Where are you from? Do you still live there? If not, what do you miss about it?
I have always lived in Minnesota. I love it even though we are under snow and below freezing most of the winter. It’s a beautiful state.

16. Ebook or print? And why?
Both. I love the convenience of an ebook, but I’m still at the library once a week grabbing print books as well. As an author, I find I sell way more ebooks, but the people who do opt for print books are DIEHARD print book fans. As an author, you’ve got to deliver to the readers!

17. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you?
I can’t swallow pills and raw tomatoes make me gag.

GIVEAWAY – One signed paperback copy of Lost: One Pair or Rose Colored Glasses and Found: One Craving For Everything, both books as a set to ONE winner. To enter to win, simply comment and include your email address to this interview blog post today before 11pm (Monday, July 23rd) and winner will be chosen by Random.org – I will reveal the winner in the comments on this blog post the morning of July 24th.

MY BIO

SHAY RAY STEVENS is an author, farmgirl, wife and mama who craves many things, but never orange juice or cheese curls. She lost her own pair of rose colored glasses many years ago and has given up trying to find them. She lives with her family in Minnesota and enjoys writing humorous stories about life (which may just have pieces of her own journey in them). Shay Ray is the author of the chick-lit series “Lost and Found”. You can find out more about her at amydingmann.com.

BLURB FROM LOST: ONE PAIR OF ROSE COLORED GLASSES
Emily Swanson has finally married her knight in shining armor, but there's just one problem: she seems to have lost her pair of rose colored glasses.
Can Emily survive the first year of marriage without them? How can she endure the (mis)communication of hint language or the in-laws who forget to knock? Is it possible to still love a man who can't follow a shopping list? And how in the world did she end up with someone who won't cut down a Christmas tree?
Emily struggles to stay lovely and sweet while dealing with a late honeymoon, her husband's new puppy, and the newfound paranoia that everything makes her look fat. But with tricks from Mother and the Cult of Married Women (along with a whole lot of sass), Emily soon learns how to keep her sanity and carry on.
Kick off your heels, grab a glass of wine, and laugh along as Emily Swanson discovers the realities of life together in marriage that are quickly revealed when the rose colored glasses come off.

BLURB FOR FOUND: ONE CRAVING FOR EVERYTHING
"I'm not pregnant!" I said again, because I liked the way it sounded flying out of my mouth.
"I'll bet you ten bucks you're having a baby," Ben laughed, his face glowing with excitement and pride.
"Oh yeah? I'll bet you twenty bucks I'm not!"
I mean, really. What did Ben know about pregnancy anyway? He didn't even have boobs.
EMILY SWANSON unexpectedly finds herself pregnant after three years of marriage and without warning is launched into nine months of twists and turns on the journey to motherhood.
Why is she craving orange juice and cheese curls? Will she ever stop crying? Does she really need to buy maternity underwear? Are breasts for fun...or for feeding? Why are all the baby names her husband suggests completely stupid? And must she give up her Bedroom Goddess sash just because she's turned on her internal Easy Bake Oven?
Life is tough in the Pregnant Twilight Zone. Will Emily survive? Yes, but only with the help of chocolate raspberry ice cream.

LINKS WHERE TO FIND ME:
Author website: www.amydingmann.com

Friday, July 19, 2013

Collision Force by C.A. Szarek Promo Tour





**Collision Force is on sale for $0.99 for the first couple of weeks of the tour! The book is fantastic!**

***THERE IS A GIVEAWAY GOING ON AS WELL: Any one who comments gets a chance to win a free ecopy of Collision Force! Please include your email address with your comment and good luck***

Blurb:

Book one in the Crossing Forces series

Bad boy FBI agent and feisty widowed police detective collide pursuing a human trafficker in small town Texas on their way to true love.

Bad boy, married to his job FBI agent Cole Lucas always gets his man. So when the unthinkable happens and one gets away, Cole grits his teeth and hunts human trafficker Carlo Maldonado all the way to Antioch, Texas, where he collides with Detective Andi MacLaren.

Cole doesn’t do small towns and doesn’t get involved with women he works with, but Andi tempts him in ways he doesn’t want to acknowledge.

Two murders, her partner shot and leading the investigation on her own, the last thing Andi needs is a cocky FBI agent who sees her as no more than a tagalong.

Widow and single mother Andi is used to being on her own. When Cole gets stuck without a place to stay, crashing on her couch puts them in dangerous territory.

Attraction and passion bring Andi to a place she’d left behind when her husband died. Her three-year-old son quickly wiggles his way into Cole’s heart, and he starts contemplating things—family, love—that he’d never planned for himself.

Can being forced to work together make them stronger or will their differences jeopardise their case and their hearts?

Excerpt:


“Goodnight, Cole.” Obviously, she didn’t want to talk to him about anything, let alone his overdue apology.
“So, that’s it? You’re not going to accept my apology?”
“Not tonight. I’m tired, and we have a long day tomorrow.” She turned to go.
“Andi, wait.” Why was he calling her back? He could respect that she was still upset with him—she had every right to be. He’d gone a bit overboard with some of the things he’d said.
Keeping Cass’ phone call from her had been unnecessary from the start. He hadn’t needed to carry it on in the car after they’d left the warehouse. It’d only served to get her so pissed off at him she’d barely uttered a word all day. So much for getting somewhere on the case.
Andi glanced over her shoulder and Cole grabbed her wrist. He yanked her into his arms and covered her mouth with his.
He hadn’t intended to kiss her but as her soft, warm lips caressed his, Cole couldn’t have changed his mind even if he’d wanted to. Her curves hit his chest with enough impact that should have jarred him back into his head, but he was lost and overheated immediately. He wrapped her in a tight embrace and kissed her harder.
She fought him, but his mouth was demanding over hers, and Andi opened for him, melting against him, surrendering to him. She slipped her arms around his neck and Cole bit back a groan. Her taste, sweeter than he’d imagined, was like ripe berries. He needed more.
Andi whimpered against his mouth, her tongue dancing with his. His cock stood at attention, straining against his zipper. He moaned as her body melded to his, breasts to chest, hips to hips. Cole had to have her.
As he walked them back towards the couch, she pushed hard against his chest, breaking the kiss and shoving him away from her. They both panted hard.
“Don’t…don’t ever do that…again,” she stammered, the gorgeous swell of her breasts lifting and pulling her shirt taut as her chest heaved. He could see peaked nipples. His erection throbbed and he struggled for coherent thought.
Cole dragged his gaze to her face. Blue eyes wide, cheeks rosy, freckles noticeable, her lips swollen from his. Though she’d been appealing before, how she stood before him now blew that out of the water. She was gorgeous.
He needed to say something. Anything. Apologise? He wasn’t sorry in the least. Speechless just about covered it.
She trembled and rubbed her arm. It took all he was made of not to pull her back to him and kiss her again.
There was no chance to answer. Andi turned on her heel and fled down the hall, slipping into the room farthest away from the living room. She didn’t even pause to look at him as she slammed the door.
He winced. What the hell should he make of what had happened? He stared down the hallway for a moment, his heart pounding. Never in his life, not even when he was a teenager, had one kiss stirred him to the point that Andi’s had. Then she’d run from him. His body shook with unfulfilled need.
Cole couldn’t blame her, really. No way should he have given in to the urge to kiss her. But he had the sinking suspicion he would have to do it again—and more. He wouldn’t be able not to. And hell, she’d kissed him back.
The voice of reason chided that he didn’t get involved with women he worked with, but his cock certainly disagreed. He ignored them both and dragged his hand over his face. The morning would bring complications.
Cole sighed and glanced at the couch. It looked comfortable, but would he be able to sleep?
 
About the author:




C.A. is originally from Ohio, but got to Texas as soon as she could. She is married and has a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice.
She works with kids when she’s not writing.
She’s always wanted to be a writer and is overjoyed to share her stories with the world.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Freebie Friday's

So in a couple of weeks, I'm going to be posting a novella in parts every Friday. It won't be until after Break Me is out and people have had a chance to read it. I hope you all enjoy it. I'm very excited. ;)

Muse

Monday, July 15, 2013

Meet Me Monday's with Sara Dean

Hi everyone! Please welcome my next guest Sara Dean!

***Sara has been so kind as to giveaway 2 of her ebooks as a set. One is children's book that you can give to a child. Please leave your email address with your comments. Good luck everyone***

Sara's bio:

Sara Dean lives in West Virginia with her 2 kids, her husband, and all of the pets her kids keep bringing home. She has 13 books currently available with more to come soon. She writes for every age group, and you can find all of her books on amazon.com, on her author page.

1. How has your journey in publishing been? Anything you would or wouldn’t do again? It’s been a lot of fun! (For the most part J) It started off rocky, I had accumulated over a hundred rejections before my first acceptance, but now I have 13 books published under my own name, and I have ghostwritten over 85 books. If I could go back and do anything differently, I would DEFINITELY learn to research the publishers I’m interested in, instead of just blindly sending out stories, like I did in the beginning. (That’s probably why I got so many rejections! lol.)

2. What are you working on right now? Can you tell us about it? I’m currently working on a YA book that I’m co-authoring my mom. (She’s been my unofficial editor for the last ten years, so I’m so excited to be writing alongside her this time!) It’s a story called, “Because of You”, about a teenage boy whose life is falling apart, and he finds himself in Heaven after dying in a bad car accident. He wants to stay there because he has nothing to go back to earth to, but God shows him what has been going on while he was in a coma, just before he died. People from his past file in one by one, telling him about how he has changed their lives and each one begins with the words, “Because of you”. In the end he has to decide if the lives he’s changed are enough for him to decide to go back to the life he was living, or stay in Heaven.

3. What/Who inspired you to start writing? So many people!! Lol. There are a lot of amazing writers out there that I draw inspiration from, but the two biggest ones are Nicholas Sparks and Sarah Dessen.

4. How long have you been writing? I started writing as a kid, and I wrote a lot during my teenage years, but I’ve been writing professionally for almost 11 years.

5. What advice would you give a new writer just starting out? Don’t get discouraged! It’s so easy to see those first rejection letters and want to give up, but writing is a tough business to break into, and you have to be patient. Don’t get discouraged and don’t give up. Every writer has been there, and it’s not easy. But when you see your book in your hands for the first time, it’s so worth it!

6. Are you a pantser or a plotter? I try to plot out my stories, but honestly, once I start writing, they often take on a mind of their own and I wind up going a whole different direction.

7. Who is your favorite author? It’s a toss-up between Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholas Sparks, and Sarah Dessen. I also love children’s books, (writing them and reading them to my kids) and my favorite child’s author is Mercer Meyer. 

8. When did you first consider yourself a writer? When I was in third grade and I won a writing contest. After that I was hooked and I never stopped writing.

9. What is the hardest part about writing for you? Finding the time! I have 2 young children, and I do freelance writing full time, so I don’t find much time to write my own stories.

10. Do you have a favorite character from your books? If so, why and who? I have two. (I can’t have just one of anything! Lol. I have more than favorite character, inspiration and favorite character.) Bobby Bunny is my favorite from my kid’s books. He’s hilarious! And from my YA books my favorite character is Jesse, from Forgiving Jesse and Shandy’s Gift. He’s got a bit of an attitude, but he’s been through so much that you can’t help but feel bad for him.

11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? Honestly? I lost count! I’ve been writing and ghostwriting for so long that I really don’t have a clue how many I’ve written. My favorites, (again I have more than one. J) Bobby Bunny and the Missing Tooth, and Forgiving Jesse.

12. Do you do research for your books or does it all come from your head? It all comes from inside my head unless there’s something I have to know. Like when I wrote Forgiving Jesse, I needed to know flight information for the flights on 9/11. 

13. What is your favorite colour? Purple.

14. What is your favorite food? Anything chocolate!

15. What is your favorite smell? Lilacs.

16. Do you have any strange habits? None that I can think of, but if you ask my husband or my kids, I’m sure they would have a different answer. Lol.

17. Where are you from? Do you still live there? If not, what do you miss about it? West Virginia. I’ve lived here my whole life. I like to visit other places, but man I love coming home to the mountains!

18. Ebook or print? And why? Both.  E-books are cheaper and you can download them instantly, but there’s nothing like holding a print book in your hands either. 

19. How do you keep your writing different from all the others that write in this particular genre? When I’m writing children’s or YA books, I try to remember what it was like to be that age, recall what I felt and what I did, and really put that into my stories. I want kids and teens to feel like the characters they’re reading about are real and that they’ve known them all their lives.

20. What is one thing your readers would be most surprised to learn about you? Most of my books, (except my children’s books, they’re all light and funny) deal with serious subjects, but in real life, I’m a total goofball!! I’m completely happy just dancing around the house with my two kids, even if they look at me funny and ask me to never dance like that in public. J