Sunday, May 5, 2013

Author Interview: Joyee Flynn


Please welcome author Joyee Flynn to the blog today! She’s one of my favorite authors and I’m honored to have her here. I hope you enjoy the interview and learning a bit about her and her books.


To get started can you tell us what you are working on or have coming out?

A new series called Shifting Reality that’s different than anything I’ve ever done in that the romance isn’t the focus. It’s there, but it’s grittier, not as much roses and tenderness at the forefront of the plot. The ride has been both exciting and frustrating because it was hard to not have the central story focus on that or killing the bad guy in the end, instead it’s about the quest. So I kept feeling like I was missing something or lacking in my plot. But that was the point… To do something different and push myself!

If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

That’s like picking my favorite child or family member. If I have to pick, I’d say Trunk and a Skunk, which is the beginning of a four set of books that all the friends are in. It’s gotten a good response, some great twists and turns, and lots of fun, plus its newer so it’s not starting way at the beginning of my writing career.

Tell us about your current release.

Virgil is the last of the Marius brothers, though the world is not ending. Lots of beloved minor characters to come but it was time to mate of Virgil. It was killing me that he was the last one left alone. The war against the demons takes and interesting turn and things really start to speed up from the last leave off point from the previous group of released books!

Where are your fans most likely to find you hanging out?

They wouldn’t find me! I very rarely leave my office or house. I really don’t. If I do it’s always for quickies to the store or just run out to pick up something. I’m pretty much always working or racing around so even if they did I’m fairly oblivious to what’s going on around me because I’m always on a mission to find or do something with limited time.






Blurb:

Virgil has been hiding something… But then again that isn’t anything new to him. He doesn’t fit in with the family that doesn’t even know who he really is. Learning long ago that he wasn’t normal, he strives to just fit in. Fate just doesn’t seem to have it in the cards for him.

Moreo and Foma have been searching for their other mate for centuries. Now that they think they’ve found him, Virgil’s running from them. Panicked that he’s only staying in Greece a few days and confused by his reaction, they decide to take desperate measures. After their plan backfires instead of opening up Virgil to being their mate, can they convince him they were only trying to help? Or will it be the last straw to push Virgil over the edge and leave everything behind to start over somewhere else, saying goodbye to the Mariuses forever?

Buy Now:



About the Author:

Joyee dreams of one day living on enough land to have a few horses, and find a couple of cowboys or pool boys of her own. A lover of men, Joyee is all about them in any form in her books; vampire, werewolf, shape-shifter, military…It’s all good! She loves to get lost in fantasy that only books can bring. Her wide interest in reading is reflected in her writings, whether short stories, romance, or mystical. Currently Joyee lives with her dog, Marius, named after a vampire from Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series.

Where you can be found…Face Book, Blog, email, etc…





Saturday, May 4, 2013

Review/Giveaway: Leonardo by Melissa Schroeder


Leonardo
The Santinis Book 1
Out Now!

Blurb:
Leo Santini is a man who always has a plan. It is the way to live a well-ordered life. He never planned on dealing with the hardheaded physical therapist who is taking care of his friend. He definitely never planned on being so totally infatuated with her.

Maryanne Johnson doesn't have time for a romance—especially with a military man. Sure, Leo is drop dead sexy, but more than one man in a uniform had hurt her before. Unfortunately, she can't seem to resist him or his kisses. It doesn't help that the man is as sweet as he is sexy. Falling for him is easy, but she does her best to keep herself from admitting it to him.

Leo knows she wants to keep things simple but when a Santini is in love nothing will stop him from achieving his goal—even the hardheaded woman he loves.

Buy Links: Order

My Review:

I jumped on the opportunity to read Leonardo by Melissa Schroeder. It’s the first in the Novella series, The Santini’s,  she’s releasing during the month of May. With a new novella every week and with each one representing a different branch of the military within the same family, it’s a unique and fun idea. Leonardo was a quick read and entertaining from the first page.

I quickly fell in love with Leo Santini, he’s this big Army hero. He’s sexy, sweet and drool worthy. He treats Maryanne “MJ” Johnson like a lady, like someone worth cherishing, all while falling head over heels for her. He has this big tough exterior with this marshmallow center that I just found so loveable.

I loved Maryanne, she’s this tiny woman with such a big attitude that she terrifies grown military men. I imagine that comes with being a military brat and a physical therapist.  She’s quick witted, strong and just the kind of woman to keep a big Army hero in line.

Their banter was one of my favorite parts of this book. The sex was hot and the romance was sweet. I look forward to reading more of this series. I really hope their mom makes plenty of appearances because she reminds me of my mom, and I could tell she loves her sons.

I recommend this for the hot romance and the sexy banter all set into a delicious military romance.  Pick up Leonardo and be on the lookout for Marco, the second Santini brother coming soon!



5 Books



I received a review copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.



Up Next:


Marco
The Santinis Book 2
Release date May 10

Blurb:

Marco is the quiet one of the four brothers which works well for his career as a Navy Seal. Living in Hawaii is a dream come true, his only probably is the infatuation he has for his landlady. He’s not sure he wants to act on his attraction until his brothers push Marco’s temper with a little harmless flirting.

Alana Kailikea is a woman who understands loss. Her entire family was killed when she was only eighteen, leaving her an heiress. A bad experience with gold digger has left her wary of most men—especially gorgeous men like Marco. She never expected him to ask her out, or that it would lead to a romance that has them burning up the sheets. Still, she tells him that an affair is all she wants.

Marco doesn’t want an affair—he wants forever. He agrees to her idea of an affair determined to use every chance she gives to convince her that they were made for each other.


Giveaway:
I’m giving away 4 swag packs to celebrate The Santinis releases. Enter to win with the rafflecopter below. Come back on May 11th, for my Marco review!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Spotlight/Giveaway: Blood Destiny Series by Helen Harper






BLOOD DESTINY SERIES
by Helen Harper


BLURBS:


Bloodfire


Mackenzie Smith has always known that she was different. Growing up as the only human in a pack of rural shapeshifters will do that to you, but then couple it with some mean fighting skills and a fiery temper and you end up with a woman that few will dare to cross. However, when the only father figure in her life is brutally murdered, and the dangerous Brethren with their predatory Lord Alpha come to investigate, Mack has to not only ensure the physical safety of her adopted family by hiding her apparent humanity, she also has to seek the blood-soaked vengeance that she craves.






Bloodmagic


After escaping the claws of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the Brethren, Mack is trying to lead a quiet lonely life in Inverness in rural Scotland, away from anyone who might happen to be a shapeshifter. However, when she lands a job at an old bookstore owned by a mysterious elderly woman who not only has a familiar passion for herbal lore but also seems to know more than she should, Mack ends up caught in a maelstrom between the Ministry of Mages, the Fae and the Brethren.

Now she has to decide between staying hidden and facing the music, as well as confronting her real feelings for the green eyed power of Corrigan himself.


Bloodrage


Mack begins her training at the mages' academy in the hope that, by complying, the stasis spell will be lifted from her old friend, Mrs. Alcoon. However, once there, she finds herself surrounded by unfriendly adults and petulant teenagers, the majority of whom seem determined to see her fail.


Feeling attacked on all fronts, Mack finds it harder and harder to keep a rein on her temper. Forced to attend anger management classes and deal with the predatory attentions of Corrigan, the Lord Alpha of the shapeshifter world, her emotions start to unravel. But when she comes across a familiar text within the walls of the mages' library, which might just provide the clues she needs to unlock the secrets of her background and her dragon blood, she realises that her problems are only just beginning...


~~~~~~~~~~~~~


EXCERPT  from Bloodfire:

He came again.  I dully wondered again how I was going to explain not shifting and regenerating when he hit me full on, knocking out my breath.  He raised a paw and extended his claws and scraped them down my cheek before bringing the same claws to his mouth and sucking off the blood.  My blood.  I felt the fire coursing through my entire system.  Anton’s face looked oddly surprised for a second then he did the same with the other cheek before lifting up his entire paw and preparing to strike.  Through the haze of pain, I registered the power that he was preparing to put behind this blow and it occurred to me that this was his plan.  He’d kill me with sanction and solve forever the problem of the little human.  It hadn’t dawned on him that after I died the Brethren would investigate why I’d not shifted and they’d work out I was human.  Then they’d kill everyone.

The rage built up inside me and the flames took over.  He was playing with the pack’s lives.  I sprang to my feet in one movement, ignoring the sudden streak of dizziness.  He was not going to do this.  Anger took over me and flooded my system but I knew with cold clarity what to do.  The fire won.  I sprinted back to the wall, aiming just to the left of his crouched body and ran three steps up before using it as a springboard to spin off.  I was too fast and Anton had no time to turn.  I put my hands round his thick neck and twisted, snapping it in one movement.  My bloodfire roared in approval and he collapsed to the ground. 

He was a shifter.  He’d recover.  I wiped a smear away from my cheek and turned and walked painfully out of the room.


About the Author:

Helen Harper is an English teacher currently living abroad in Malaysia. As a long time reader of urban fantasy, she finally bit the bullet and began to develop her own series of novels.


Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland. "I always loved the escapism provided by those genres," states Helen. "No matter how bad life gets, you can always find a route out, even if only temporarily, in the pages of a good book."


The growth of urban fantasy fascinated her - the mix of reality and fantasy along with strong heroic female characters appealed from the very beginning, and inspired her to write her own.




Twitter: HarperFire

Amazon Buy Links:
Bloodfire

Bloodmagic

Bloodrage


   
Giveaway:

Helen will award a $25 Amazon GC to one randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Comment with your email address to win, follow along with the tour for more entries.



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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Interview/Giveaway: A Little Bit Sinful by Robyn DeHart




A Little Bit Sinful by Robyn DeHart

Entangled Publishing - April 2013




Let’s welcome Robyn DeHart to the blog today. Hi Robyn, thanks for being here!


To get started can you tell us what you are working on or have coming out?

Thanks for having me today! Well, at this very moment I’m working on two books. I’m doing revisions on the third book in my Forbidden Love series, A Little Bit Scandalous (due out in August). It’s about Justin’s (from A Little Bit Sinful) brother, the Duke of Chanceworth.

I’m also working on the first draft of Temptations of Anna Jacobs which is the second book in my Dangerous Liaisons series (NAL InterMix) and is about the hunt for Jack the Ripper.


What made you realize that writing was it for you? Do you write full time?

To be honest, I don’t really recall a time when I didn’t want to be a writer. My mom is a book lover and I was an early reader. I grew up surrounded with books and always loved story. I started writing at a young age. It wasn’t until I read my first romance novel (A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss) that I hit on WHAT I wanted to write. Reading that first book, it was like something clicked in my mind and I just knew I was destined to write historical romance.

Yes, I do write full-time though it kind of happened on accident. My husband and I had just gotten married and we moved to Tennessee for his first professor job and it was a smallish town. We intended for me to get a job to at least work part-time, but the job pickings were quite limited and unless I was willing to do shift work at a factory, drive a big truck or learn to weld, I was pretty much out of luck. So we made it work, financially speaking, for me to write full-time. I’ve been doing it for 8 years now and I love it. Of course now we also have a 4 yr old and a 2 yr old added to the mix so I’m not exactly writing full-time per se…

If someone hasn't read any of your work, what book would you recommend that they start with and why?

I really love this question though I can’t say I have a knee-jerk answer to it. So I’m going to say that it depends. I think all my books have a lot in common as far as the types of characters I write and my sense of humor. But there are some differences. For example, if you want more of a straight historical romance, more of a ballroom romp, then I’d say read my Forbidden Love series and Courting Claudia (my debut book). If you like a little mystery thrown in then I have my Ladies Amateur Sleuth Society series. If action-oriented adventure historicals are more your bag, then my Legend Hunters will fit the bill. And if you want some gritty romantic suspense thrown in, then my upcoming Dangerous Liaisons series will work for you.

I tend to stick pretty closely to the Victorian era and I love unique characters that readers can relate to. My heroines aren’t always beautiful, but the heroes always think they are. And my heroes aren’t always super alphas, but they always get their girl and never let anyone put her in danger.


Where do you dream of traveling to and why?

So many places! I love to travel, but sadly don’t get to do it very often outside of family trips to see grandparents and the occasional conference. I’ve only been England once and it was before I’d started writing seriously and I’d so love to go back. I now know what I’d want to see, where I’d need to go, etc. I’d also love to go to Scotland, Rome and Spain.



Title: A Little Bit Sinful (Forbidden Love Series)
Author: Robyn DeHart
Genre: Historical Romance
Length: 204 pages
Release Date: March 2013
Ebook ISBN: 978-1-62266-093-3
Imprint: Scandalous










Blurb:

Justin Rodale is the wealthy bastard son of the Duke of Chanceworth. He owns the most lucrative and luxurious gaming establishment and caters to London’s elite. Educated with the rest of the aristocrats, he knows all the rules by which Society lives, but he is beholden to no one.

Clarissa Kincaid has been raised to be the perfect English lady. She knows precisely the sort of match she should make and she’s fairly certain she’s found that with a respectable gentleman. But the man won’t commit and she finds herself seeking assistance in the form of seduction lessons from Justin.

This is a challenge the charming Justin can not resist. She may think that he knows nothing about her needs, but he’s determined to show her that he knows plenty about her secret desires. He has no intention of publicly ruining the girl, but he’s determined to privately tempt her into some slightly sinful behavior.



About the Author:

I’m one of those writers who always knew that she wanted to be a writer. It took me a while, however, to figure out precisely what I wanted to write. Reading Kathleen Woodiwiss’ ”A Rose in Winter” sealed the deal for me and I’ve been reading and writing romance ever since. I should have known I was destined for this when my Barbies insisted on hosting elaborate masquerade parties, complete with stolen kisses in the moonlight.

I’m the youngest of three children, so of course I’m the favorite. I was raised in central Texas, in the beautiful Hill Country, right smack-dab between Austin and San Antonio. My parents were high school sweethearts and married a week after my mother graduated – they both needed their parents’ permission to marry since they were so young. So I blame them and their amazing marriage for the fact that I’m a hopeless romantic.

Somewhere along the line, I graduated from college with a degree in Sociology, only after completing an internship with none other than award-winning best-selling author, Pamela Morsi. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life and I learned more about the writing business than I could have hoped.

After college I worked a myriad of jobs: Computer Software Trainer, Recruiter, Administrative Assistant. But no matter what my day job, I come home to my real job and click, click, click away on my computer and get lost in my imaginary world where justice always prevails and the girl always gets her guy! It’s the coolest job in the world.

I’m married to the most amazingly supportive man. He’s so proud of my career, and loves to tell people, “My wife is a romance novelist.” We live in the Austin area, where my husband is a university professor. He’s ridiculously smart, but remains goofy enough to make me laugh every day. We’re the parents of two beautiful and precocious little girls who keep me quite busy during the day. We also have two very spoiled cats who are of no help at all when it comes to my writing, although they sometimes nap in the same room where I sit diligently working.

I’ve published seven historicals, all of which have received great reviews and a handful of them have won awards. I love to hear from readers,
so feel free to send me an email or you can find me online at The Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills, or, Peanut Butter on the Keyboard, my newest blogging endeavor that’s all about writing moms or moms who write. You can also find me on my Facebook or my Facebook Author page and on Twitter. I’m everywhere!



Giveaway:

Robyn is giving away 7 of her titles in paperback, SIGNED! Enter using the Rafflecopter below.




a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bouquet of Books Sale!





Introducing the Book Lovers’ Buffet. Load up, you won’t gain a pound!

The Buffet’s “Bouquet of Books” sale will be open May 1-3. More than 175 ebooks, all reduced in price to just 99 cents. Save in categories such as Young Adult, Contemporary, Paranormal, Suspense, Erotic Romance, and more!

PLUS, visit the website to win gift cards to your choice of online retailers. $400 in gift cards up for grabs!

Titles from popular authors such as:

·        Gemma Halliday
·        Angie Fox
·        Jenna Bennett
·        Amanda Brice
·        Jennette Marie Powell
·        Clover Autrey
·        Carly Carson
·        E. Ayers
·        Genevieve Jourdin
·        CJ Lyons
·        Renee Pace
·        Sophia Knightley
·        Tori Scott
·        Meredith Bond
·        Emily Ryan-Davis
·        Anthea Lawson
·        Diana Layne
·        Lindsey Brookes
·        Gina Robinson
·        McKenna Chase

And many, many more!


Hosted by Indie Romance Ink.