Author Spotlight: SE Hall

Today we're going to learn a little about S.E. Hall and her release Emerge...

Laney Walker is a quick witted, athletic, southern tomboy who lets few get too close, using her sarcastic zingers to deflect. She also has no idea how others view her since Evan, her best friend, has coveted her since they were children. But college puts a gap between Laney and Evan that neither of them were prepared for- old relationships are tested, new ones are formed and nothing will ever be the same.

Especially when in walks one Dane Kendrick, not at all the familiar, southern charmer of home, but an animal all his own.

A story of growing up, friendship, loyalty, first love, primal love...and life.

N/A Coming of Age- MATURE audiences.

Excerpt:

He sighs and cast his eyes down. “Laney, you’re that girl. The one guys make up in their head when they put all the best parts together to make one perfect girl. The man who gets you to actually pay attention, well, he’ll be the luckiest guy on the planet, and he’ll know it. All that, and the fact that you never date, is pretty damn intimidating.” 

There’s a flutter in my chest; does he mean I’m the perfect girl made in his head? Is he intimidated by me? 

He moves closer now, I can feel the heat coming off his body. Yes, Evan, find the courage. And then his hand is cupping my cheek, and I instinctively lean in to it, a little gasp of air escaping my lips. 

I’ve never imagined this with Evan, it’s never occurred to me to even dare hope what he felt for me was more than a protective best friend. Good thing, I would have done the fantasy no justice. His thumb brushes my bottom lip and I realize…I could be swinging a bat, casting a reel, and driving a truck all at the same time, but I’m still 100% woman. 

I think I speak out loud. “Are you intimidated, Evan?”

He leans over, touching his forehead to mine as he takes a deep breath. His nose brushes along mine, his whisper on my lips. “Not anymore, I’m done with that, and I’m done not kissing you. All you have to do is say no, precious girl. But please, please….just say yes.”

As I whisper “yes,” his mouth takes mine. His lips are soft and gentle, sending a sizzle throughout me. His hand glides from my cheek to the hair behind my ear, stroking it slowly, over and over again. He breaks contact to lean back slightly, meeting my eyes, and a whiny protest from the loss escapes me. I’m positive he sees a confusing mixture of happiness, shock, and…lust? 

“Again?” he asks me in a low grumble.

 I leave the question unanswered, putting one hand firmly on the back of his neck, the other over his heart, feeling that hard chest and rapid beat under my palm, and pull him hard against my lips. He groans and steps in so his body is flush against mine as I open to allow him free reign of my mouth. Our tongues tangle together, knowing each other just as Evan and I do.

My mind is racing as quickly as my pulse, but instinct takes over as my hands move all over him. His solid arms, firm shoulders, strong back…tight ass. I can’t feel enough of him in this moment and lose myself to the desire consuming me. His sweet murmurs along my neck, jaw, in my ear spur me on, almost to the point of no return, until loud squeals from the party rip through our haze.

 All at once, I remember where we are and that anyone could walk upon us. It also shames me that I was careless enough to leave Kaitlyn alone this whole time while I fondle my best friend in a field, so I regretfully pull back. Evan’s eyes take a while to slowly open and find mine, but in them I see everything I need to, overpowering any inkling I might have had about regret or embarrassment. In those blue pools, there’s no second guessing, these are not the eyes of my “friend.” I know my Evan, and he liked it. I really liked it, beyond my wildest dreams that I never had. 

“Come on,” I say almost painfully, “we have to get back and check on Kaitlyn.”

His shoulders slump and he rolls his eyes, but finally grabs my hand and interlaces our fingers. We’ve held hands a million times, but never like this. It feels good, I feel secure, but most of all—I start to believe what people have said here and there in recent years…I feel beautiful. 

Evan tugs on my hand slightly, slowing me up some, and turns me to him. “Laney,” he barely whispers, “can you do one thing for me? “ 

He could say climb Mt. Everest right now and I’d agree. The look on his face is so sexy and now that I know how that mouth feels…wait, what was the question?

“Yessss?” Am I flirting? 

“Can we pretend you’re really mine, just mine, Evan Mitchell Allen’s, at least for tonight?”

I think of the gentle hand on my cheek, the soft then rougher kiss, the protection from Matt, the #14 on his back every week, the Disney movie marathons, and I say, without a doubt in my mind, “with pleasure.”  

The smile that spreads across his face and the fist pump I doubt he realizes he’s just thrown assure me I should feel as good about my answer as I do. At least for tonight…is that all I want? All he wants? I refuse to overanalyze right now; this is new, overwhelming, and exhilarating…I’m just gonna ride this wave without worrying; there’s a first time for everything. 

I’m not sure which of us sets the pace for the walk back, but neither speeds it up. Once back, still hand in hand, I immediately notice that Kaitlyn is slow dancing with Matt, so she’s definitely way past drunk, or maybe he used a better line on her. Whatever. As long as I can see his hands, I’ll let her enjoy herself. Evan nudges me, so I look up. 

“Dance with me?” Evan asks with an eyebrow raised and sexy plea in his eyes.

It’s “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean in the background; we both love this song. I nod. 

Evan sings the song softly in my ear as we dance. He has no idea what a good singer he is, and apparently my body just received the memo tonight as well. All the times we’ve cruised around together, singing at the top of our lungs, or played iPods while we fished…it did not have this effect on me. Why oh why could this not be the longest song ever written???  

Biography

S.E.Hall resides in Arkansas with her husband of 17 years and 3 beautiful daughters. When not in the stands watching her ladies play softball, she enjoys reading.

You can purchase Emerge at any of the links below:

US link- http://amzn.to/12zoduC
US paperback-http://amzn.to/1aUJQzK
UK link-http://amzn.to/17wFkD1
UK paperback-http://amzn.to/12Lnj32

Guest Author: Lila Munro

Say hello to Lila Munro...

Thank you so much for hosting me today and thank you readers for stopping by and spending a few realmantic moments with me and my latest release, Love Vindicated, Book One in the Steele Image series. It’s a pleasure to be here and if you have any questions please do leave them in the comments. I’ll be by a time or two today to check in and visit with you all.

Lila

Steele Image

In 1980, Kyle Montgomery’s life was seemingly perfect. Heavily recruited by Force Recon fresh from the Naval Academy, he’d been working black ops for the Marine Corps for six years and was on the cusp of being promoted to Major. He was on the fast track to bigger and better things, had all the right people vetting him, and he'd married the woman of his dreams and was exploring a lifestyle which could have ended his career. With the Iranian embassy under siege and the Middle East in turmoil, Kyle was sent on a mission which would change the course of his life forever.

Returning home after three months of being invisible, Kyle finds his wife has been murdered by the very people he'd been sent to protect. And instead of the government retaliating, they hand him his walking papers with the agreement they’ll never speak of the events again. It's like Kyle never existed. His wife never existed. And the people who maimed and tortured her never existed.

Resigned to never again walk that path, Kyle opens the first Steele Image club with the thought of providing a safe haven for others like him, those who were invisible to the public and most of the government. Those who had eclectic sexual tastes. Those who would later become his allies. And his enemies. And both will drive him back to the place he’d thought he’d let go of forever to vindicate his love…

Please enjoy an excerpt:

“Are you sure you want to play with me, little one?” Kyle asked with his brow furrowed. The woman who wasn’t an inch over five feet tall by his estimation and sported one of the new trendy bi-lateral haircuts with a pink streak running through the shaved side was visibly shaking as she stood in front of him naked as the day she was born. “Fear is usually a good thing, but you’re truly scared of me aren’t you?”

“I’m not afraid, Sir,” Missy insisted, her chin jutting out and her spine becoming a bit straighter, although the flutter in her chest was evident as her breasts jiggled with each heave for breath. “I’m…excited.”

“Bullshit.” Circling her, Kyle ran his fingertips along her shoulders, down one arm, up the other, across her breast bone, and landed at the base of her throat where he wrapped his palm around it and squeezed. “You lie. And what’s the club rule about lying?”

“It won’t be tolerated, Sir. And those caught doing it will be punished.” Her voice wavered and her bright green pupils blew up just before her gaze wandered from his. “But I’m not lying. I’m not afraid of you and I am excited.”

“Tell me this.” He reached down with his free hand to twist one of her nipples and watched her jaw lock. “What do you expect from this little liaison between us?”

It wasn’t uncommon for Kyle to be approached by a half-dozen masochistic subs a week for servicing. Men, women, gay, straight, bi, confused, it didn’t matter they all seemed to migrate to him at some point which suited him. Genders, sexuality, and preferences meant nothing to him since sex wasn’t even an option when playing with them. If he needed serviced, he had no less than a dozen call girls literally on call to get him off and be gone before the sun kissed the horizon. They expected nothing but to be paid and Kyle obliged and well.

Over the course of the last year, he’d earned quite a reputation as a service sadist. He’d developed an unwavering ability to deliver and walk away without string one hanging between him and his playmate. No strings meant no intimate connections. No intimate connections meant none of them were in danger from association with him. Endangering anyone else due to his line of work was the last thing he intended to do. He didn’t need intimate connections to play and made it clear from the start of negotiations his partner shouldn’t expect them either. If they wanted more than an endorphin release, they weren’t a good match in his eyes and he either turned them down or negotiated a third be involved. All Kyle sought was an outlet by which to channel the pent up emotions he refused to allow anyone to see. He had no room for exterior feeling and expelling any notion of it by helping someone else achieve their own release made for an acceptable medium. At least that’s what he kept telling himself every time he looked in the mirror and a virtual stranger looked back.

Missy was fairly new to the club and had been introduced to Kyle and courted for membership by Wesley, the front of house security guard who’d been with him since the doors opened at Steele Image. While he’d had a few lengthy conversations with her and believed he knew enough about her to play with her, he wasn’t thoroughly convinced she was a true masochist and even thought she might be the latest in the long line of subs who foolishly believed they could tame him.

“Answer me, little one,” Kyle he said softly. “What do you expect from this?”

“Lots of pain,” she breathed over a groan and a smile as Kyle increased the pressure with which he pinched her nipple.

Purchase at:

Amazon      ARe

Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual softer read to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, the Identity series, and the Private Collection. Currently she is working on two new series set to release summer of 2013, the At Your Service line and the Steele Image line. She’s a member in good standing of RWA. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be found at Realmantic Moments   Facebook    Goodreads   Twitter You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com and you can find all her works at: Amazon   ARe  Nook    Bookstrand

Thanks for stopping by Lila!  It's always good to have you.

Hushed Teaser #1

Here a little bit from my current WIP (Hushed)...
*unedited and subject to change*

Tess zipped her stuffed suit case and pulled it off of her bed. It hit the floor with a thump and she sighed. Unease prickled her skin. How had she let Megan talk her into this?
“This is a bad idea,” she called through their apartment as she began dragging her luggage to the front door. Even in protest she was doing what her best friend and roommate had convinced her to do.
“Get over it, Tess. It’s spring break. Ten days at the beach! How could it not be fine?” Megan came into their living room with her hands on her hips.
Tess rolled her eyes. Yes, it was spring break. Yes, ten days at the beach sounded amazing. She loved the beach. What made this a bad idea was that this trip was planned when she and Jason were still a couple. They were going to his parent’s beach house. The whole group would be there and it would be mostly couples. Tess groaned internally as she frowned at her friend.
“I’m not riding in a car with him.” Tess stomped her foot. Megan lowered her dark gaze and raised an eyebrow. “What?” Tess shrieked.
“Of course you won’t ride with him. You’ll ride with me and Matt. Oooh, did you know Carter is bringing his new man?” Megan waggled her dark eyebrows grinning from ear to ear. It was a big deal that their friend Carter had found someone on campus worth dating. He was too picky for his own good.
“Yes, he told me,” Tess sighed. Megan sneered at her lack of enthusiasm and disappeared down the hall.
“You could at least sound happy for him,” Megan called from her bedroom.
Tess frowned and pouted as she flopped onto the couch. Just as she settled into the cushions Megan’s boyfriend, Matt, burst through the door.
“Come on, baby! The beach awaits!” Matt tripped over Tess’ bag and he caught himself on the arm of the couch. A laugh slipped from her as he pushed his auburn hair back from his forehead. Matt glared at the offending bag and then turned his anger on Tess.
“Sorry,” she muttered with a shrug.

Guest Author: Lila Munro

We're celebrating a release today...

Thank you very much for hosting me today and allowing me to share my latest release, At Your Service: Tammer, with your readers! It’s book one in a brand new line I’ll be rolling out throughout 2013.

Assassin. The first word which comes to mind when Nina Prescott opens her door not to a Thin Mint toting Girl Scout but a rugged stranger dressed in black sporting a smirk that has her slamming it in the man’s face. With her instincts in a tailspin, her head tells her to run. Has her husband’s occupation finally come home to roost?

But when the stranger who acts more like he’s come to gather her for a date rather than kill her corners her and produces his calling card, the truth of what he really is, is even more shocking than the thought of him being a hit man…

At Your Service…Providing all your kinky needs with none of the strings. For more information or to schedule a consultation...

Nina can’t believe Joel has actually hired a service Dom. With his job keeping him away more than he’s home, Nina’s found it all too easy to weave from their established rules. She knows she does things she convinces herself Joel is none the wiser of, like working fourteen hour days when she knows good and well her Master would bust her ass for working a minute over eight. But a sub-sitter? While she realizes their once rigid lifestyle has been slowly disintegrating, it seems a bit extreme. But Nina still loves Joel and is determined to obey the one rule he never bends…try anything he asks of her at least once before deciding she doesn’t like it.

And really. Would one turn on the ride named Tammer J. Weston be so bad?

Excerpt:

“Nina Prescott?” the man standing there poised to knock again rumbled out in a honeyed, baritone which plucked at a nerve or two as it skittered down Nina’s spine.

Nina looked up and up over hardened thighs beneath black denim, rugged abs seeping though skin tight cotton, and a chiseled olive chin dusted with just a smattering of dark five o’clock shadow. His piercing indigo eyes bled authority from beneath long, envy worthy lashes.

Almost every instinct in her yelled, “Dom, kneel!”

The other’s urged, “Stranger, caution.”

She was pretty sure her marine husband and Liege would have her strapped to a cross for ignoring the second voice, but he’d gone off on mission again and disrupted her carefully plotted out life. Again. Although she’d never entertain the idea of cheating on Joel because she sure wasn’t that kind of wife or sub, he hadn’t said no flirting as he reminded her of the rules on his way out the door.

“Who are you and what do you sell? Have any cookies in your bag?” she asked, eyeing the black, leather duffle draped over one of his broad shoulders which bested her height by at least six inches and licking her lips. Her heart refused to stay still as she imagined what he just might indeed be carrying with him.

“No cookies. I’m from the service?” he said, raking Nina with those smoldering eyes and sending heat out to her extremities.

“Which branch?” Nina withdrew the fifty, tucked it behind her back, and poked her head out noting the black Ford F-250 parked in front of her quarters. If he’d managed to come into housing he had to have a base sticker from somewhere.

“No, no. I’m from the service, not in it. You are Nina Prescott, right?” the man pulled a sheet of paper from his pocket. “Nina Prescott, wife of Master Sergeant Joel Prescott, lives at thirteen twenty-three Minnesota Avenue, play night Thursdays, political speech writer…”

Nina gasped and tried to slam the door in his face, her cookie money floating to the floor as she let go of it. Toy bag on his shoulder her ass, he was an assassin. Who the hell was Joel’s current assignment that they’d sent someone after her for payback? And where the hell was her cell? On the damned catch all in the back? The MPs…9-1-1… “I’m going to call the MPs, asshole,” she shouted, finally managing to get the door shut despite his best effort to keep it open and turning to bolt down the hall with her heart in her throat.

Purchase at:

Amazon    ARe

Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual softer read to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, the Identity series, and the Private Collection. Currently she is working on two new series set to release summer of 2013, the At Your Service line and the Steele Image line. She’s a member in good standing of RWA. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be found at Realmantic Moments   Facebook    Goodreads   Twitter You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com and you can find all her works at: Amazon   ARe  Nook    Bookstrand

Happy Anniversary to The Low Notes...

Today Kate Roth is stopping by to celebrate the one year anniversary of her debut novel The Low Notes.  I'd also like to congratulate her on her recent contract with Rebel Ink Press for her novel Reckless Radiance.  Congrats and Happy Anniversary Kate!!  Now see what all the fuss is about...

It’s been one year since The Low Notes was released and I still feel like I’m living a dream! I’ve received a ton of awesome reviews for the book and now with my second novel on the horizon it is very clear to me that this job is one I want to do for the rest of my life. Check out what The Low Notes is all about and an excerpt from the novel.

When a chance meeting between high school teacher Kevin Reed and singer Nina Jordan ignites an instant spark, they must decide if it's more important to follow your heart or follow the rules.

After caring for his dying father, Kevin Reed, returns to his hometown of Wexley Falls, bereaved, unemployed and exhausted at the thought of starting a new life. After a failed blind date, Kevin meets young singer Nina Jordan who takes his breath away with the sound of her voice. The connection is instantaneous and mutual on their first date, but both are crestfallen when they discover days later, to their horror, Nina is Kevin's student at the local high school.

Deciphering between notions of love and lust, fate and coincidence, Kevin and Nina find themselves unable to turn their backs on what they can't deny is a once in a lifetime feeling. Told from both perspectives, The Low Notes explores a love that feels right even though it seems wrong.

Excerpt:

Nina stopped by her locker and grabbed one of seven new notebooks she bought for herself the day before. She checked her makeup in the mirror that hung inside the blue metal door. She stared into her own eyes and imagined they were Kevin’s. She couldn’t control her thoughts. Kevin. Kevin, the idiot. Kevin Reed. She snapped herself out of her trance and got back to the task at hand.

She smoothed out her white button-down top with her hands and slammed the locker closed. Glancing at her schedule, she looked only at the room number, B100.

She found B100 and entered the opened door. Students were still jockeying for seats and the class was a little out of order at the moment. She found a seat near the back and started arranging her desk all while wondering where the teacher was. The bell rang just as she heard his voice.

“Sorry I'm late. I'm so glad to have seniors first thing in the morning. You guys can handle me being late. I have a feeling Freshman English will be the death of me. Uh, I realize I'm not Mrs. Oliver. You might have heard she's out on maternity leave and I'm taking over. I'm Mr. Reed,” he said, turning his back to the class, writing his name on the dry erase board.

The sting in her stomach was back but it felt more like a fireball now. Her mind was blank, her mouth gaping as she stared at his back for another moment, praying he wouldn't turn around. She didn't have time to run. She didn't have time to think. In what seemed like slow motion, Kevin turned to face the class with a beaming smile and tears started to well up in Nina's eyes.

You can purchase The Low Notes on Amazon, Barnes & NobleNook and All Romance E-books! And from May 17^th to May 19^th the e-book version will be on sale for just 99 cents! Find more out about me on my Facebook page www.facebook.com/authorkateroth, Twitter www.twitter.com/katerothwrites  and my blog www.katerothwrites.com

Earth Day...

Reading can be green!  It's pretty simple these days.  There are all different kinds of e-readers, apps for you phone or tablets, and even programs for your computer.  So check out both of my titles which are available in ebook format.

Layla Swanson grew up in the lazy, small town of Hollow Oaks and can’t wait to get out.  She has big dreams and big plans in the big city.  Layla has worked hard and her senior year is nearly at its end.  She can’t wait to go away to college.  And she’s one step closer to getting what she wants. Layla isn’t letting anyone get in her way. 

Taylor Scott may not be your typical country boy, but he doesn’t mind Hollow Oaks.  His dreams may not be marked on paper and set in stone, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have them. 

A chance meeting between the two childhood friends may have Layla second guessing her longtime plan. Their rekindled friendship is leading them down a path neither one could have foreseen.  But with Layla leaving for college, many challenges face them, especially when she so stubbornly sticks to her solo plan.

Is Taylor’s love enough to convince Layla to let him in?  Or when everything falls apart, will Layla run away?  

Tears in the Rubble is available on Amazon, BN, and ARe.  

Hop back over to Rebel Reasoning to check out what the other Rebels have to offer for green reading.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/share-code/YzU4NjllYjAyNTNiNzIxOTNhMTk2YmU3N2Y5OGQyOjU=/

Anniversary Teaser #2...

I'm back today with another teaser from Tears in the Rubble...



Taylor reached across the cab of his brother’s truck and hit the horn again. Jackson glared at him and sighed.
"What's taking her so long? We’re going to be late," Taylor whined impatiently.
"Girls always take a long time," Jackson said as he rolled his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest.
"Layla’s not a girl," he shot back. Next to him Jackson snorted. "What? She’s just--Layla."
Through narrowed eyes, Taylor glared at his brother until movement on the porch caught his attention. He looked just in time to see Layla bounding down the wooden steps. Taylor swallowed thickly and from the corner of his eye he saw Jackson’s head jerk to the left. Both boys watched as her green cotton sundress moved around her legs, her pale blond hair streaming behind her, her pink lips split into a grin.
"Oh… shit," Taylor said under his breath. Layla Swanson is hot was Taylor’s first thought. His second thought was when had that happened?
They'd been best friends for most of their lives. Taylor wasn’t sure how he had missed the transformation from bossy tomboy to whatever it was Layla had become. He'd seen her yesterday and yet he could swear she looked different. Beside him his brother was nodding in agreement. Taylor shot him another glare which only earned him another snort from Jackson.
"Layla Swanson’s all grown up," Jackson whispered, drawing out the words just as she pulled the passenger side door open, ducking the swat at the back of his head.
"Morning boys," she called cheerfully, ignoring their fighting. When Taylor didn’t respond because he was too busy staring, she pushed on his shoulder playfully. "What, do I look bad?"
She glanced down at her dress and ran a hand over her hair before biting down on her full, glossy bottom lip and looking back up at him. He continued to stare helplessly as her lip slowly popped out from between her white teeth. Shaking himself, Taylor cleared his throat trying to think of a response, something to smooth over the awkward moment. Maybe she hadn’t noticed he was staring. He hoped so anyway.
"No," he trailed off. Really smooth, Taylor cursed himself silently.
He climbed out of the truck and let her slide into the middle seat before he got back in. Over her shoulder, Jackson caught Taylor’s eye and raised an eyebrow questioningly.

2 more days to get Tears in the Rubble and From the Rubble for .99 on Amazon...

Happy Anniversary To Me...

It's been one year since my first novel, Tears in the Rubble, was released.  I'm still so excited it's a bit ridiculous.  I couldn't have done any of this without my publisher, Rebel Ink Press,  and my editor.  So I want to say thank you to then once again.

So to celebrate I'm going to give you all a little teaser from Tears in the Rubble for the next three days.  Both of my titles, Tears in the Rubble and it's follow up From the Rubble will be on sale for .99 on Amazon...

Teaser #1

Layla pulled her sunglasses off and ran a hand through her blonde waves, letting them fall over her shoulder, a few pieces tickling her chest as she breathed deep. She smiled at Taylor and ran her hand up his damp arm, leaning into him slowly. Watching him watch her. Layla’s heart thumped as she brushed her lips against his. Barely, a whisper of a touch. Taylor sucked in a shuddering breath through his teeth and tried to press his lips to hers. Fighting the urge to give in, she parted her lips slightly and brushed against him again. His lips were warm and soft and Layla couldn’t stand it anymore. Her eyes drooped half-closed and she let him lean in, closing the distance between them. Her head spun as Taylor’s hand found its way further under her bathing suit, the tips of his strong fingers digging in as he parted her lips with his own.

Both Tears in the Rubble and From the Rubble are available on Amazon for .99 for the next 3 days!!

Guest Author: Lisa J Hobman

Today I'd like to welcome Lisa J Hobman...she's stopping by to celebrate her recent debut release and talk about her journey to getting published.  I'm very excited to have her here and I have her novel, Bridge Over the Atlantic, on my TBR list.

First of all I would like to thank Britni for inviting me to be a guest on her blog.  It means such a lot to get support from other wonderful authors.  It’s been very overwhelming and I am so grateful.

My journey into writing started when I was pretty young.  I used to be a singer and was always trying my hand at song lyrics.  My dad writes beautiful poetry and is quite artistic and so I think I must get my creative side from him.  I used to love writing stories at school and when I was a teenager there was a vague attempt at writing a book but goodness knows what happened to that!  It was in the days before laptops so it was all done in lined notebooks!  Gosh I have just made myself sound ancient!

My family and I are from Yorkshire in England.  It’s a beautiful county with some amazing countryside but we had a very hectic life there.  We started holidaying in Scotland quite a number of years ago now and totally fell in love with the place.  The scenery is so varied!  You can literally be driving along a winding, country road through flat, rocky outcrops and suddenly greeted with a majestic, snow-capped mountain!  It truly captured our hearts.  We spent so many holidays there from that point and decided that, one day…in the far distant future…we would relocate; perhaps when we were retired.

The more we thought about things the more we realised that waiting was just not an option.  And anyway, what was the point in waiting?  We figured things out and decided that we should just take the plunge!  It took a few years but in May 2012 we finally relocated!

The idea was that I would start a little craft business and a blog to keep family and friends abreast of what was going on in our new life.  But I got the writing bug!  An idea for a story had been bubbling somewhere in the back of my mind for a while and somehow making the move north opened some kind of floodgate in my brain!  I started to write and couldn’t stop! (In fact I still can’t!)

I wrote for around six months solid.  I turned writing into my full time job!  Once the story was finished and my husband and I had made a final research trip to make sure all the descriptions of places and scenery really held up, it was time to bite the bullet and try to get it published!  This was the scariest part.  It was all new to me and I had no clue what to expect.  Receiving rejections through for something I had put my heart and soul into was a bitter pill to swallow.  But it’s all par for the course.  And as a writer you have to hang on to the fact that rejections are going to happen.  Like it or not!  You have to keep in mind that it’s not personal.

In November I had news that knocked me off my feet!  A company in the USA called 5 Prince Publishing offered me a contract after requesting my full manuscript!  I was totally bowled over.  It was the most exciting feeling ever.  My hard work had paid off and here was a company that wanted to give me a chance.  I have learned so much through working with my wonderful editor, Bernadette.  I am still learning and will continue to do so in order to make my books the best that they can be.  It’s been an amazing process.

Bridge Over the Atlantic is a passion-filled, contemporary romance that tells the story of Mallory, a twenty something, curvy, voluptuous girl with self-esteem issues.  These issues have stopped her from meeting Mr Right and she has just about given up.  That is until one day she take a coffee break out in the bustling streets of Leeds city.  Stiletto’s and pavement cracks do not go well together and Mallory soon discovers this when she lurches right into the arms of a passing stranger…but not just any passing stranger…a gorgeous, masculine passing stranger!

I am often asked if the characters in the book are based on real people.  The answer is no.  I can honestly say that Mallory has elements of me in her.  But to be totally honest, she has elements of almost every woman out there.  I hope this makes her endearing and realistic. 

My second novel has been contracted and I am due to begin edits with my wonderful editor at 5 Prince Publishing very soon!

Bridge Over the Atlantic is available at:

www.5princebooks.com/buy.htm

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Barnes & Noble

Smashwords

iTunes

You can contact Lisa J Hobman at:

www.facebook.com/LisaJHobmanAuthor

Fangirl For a Day...

I was recently able to go to a signing in Cincinnati for an amazing author and I had a blast.  If you've read The Black Dagger Brotherhood you know who I'm talking about.  JR Ward.  I started reading the series around the time the third book came out (which is my favorite) and I was hooked instantly.  She has another series and also writes under a pen name but I've only read the BDB series. So, of course when I heard she was headed my way I was excited.  Plus, I love a road trip, even if it's only a few hours away.

I was in awe of the amount of people waiting outside.  Capacity for the building was 1200 and I'd have to say it was pretty close to full.  As an author I can't even imagine that.  Any of it.  What an amazing feeling that must be.  Everything was pre-signed due to the amount of people she expected which I was a little sad about but I quickly got over it.  Plus, trying to sign 1200 books day of would be impossible so kudos to her for still signing our books.  After we were in the door and set up with our signed books and bookmarks we waited for the Q & A session to start.

If you've read the books you know the characters are constantly listening to hardcore rap and what do you know that's what was playing overhead as we waiting.  I had to smile at that and immediately want a copy of that playlist.

I don't know what I was expecting but I have to say that what happened when the Q & A started was not it.  It was a good surprise though.  JR Ward was friendly and hilarious.  She didn't stand on a stage or sit behind a table.  She was wandering around the audience and hugging people.  Telling jokes.  And let me just say if I worry about my writer's brain causing ADD I now know that I have nothing to worry about.  That definitely makes me feel better.  It was also reassuring to know that I'm not the only person that thinks the characters in my book are living breathing people.  They live in my head.  And apparently the Brotherhood lives in hers.

It was an amazing day and I can only aspire to ever have half the following that she does.  I was in awe of her.  I can admit that. So I was fangirl...don't judge me. :)

Once again thanks to everyone that has read my books, will read my books, and to everyone that has supported me along the way!!

Guest Author Lila Munro

Today I'd like to welcome a fellow Rebel, Lila Munro.  Lila is also a part of the Rebel Elite team and she's celebrating a new release with us.  I'll let Lila tell us a little about herself, her works, and her newest release...

I’m From Slower Lower…Where?

First, I’d like to thank Britni for turning her blog space over to me today. Your kindness in hosting me today is most appreciated. And thank you to her fans and readers for dropping by to spend a few minutes with me.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lila Munro, multi-faceted romance author. I’m probably most known for my steamy BDSM and ménage pieces, but what most people probably haven’t picked up on yet is that my career didn’t begin there. It actually began with more sensual, contemporary roots.

My first two works, The Executive Officer’s Wife and Bound by Trust, were both contemporary military reads and had been out some weeks when I made the decision to pull A Slower, Lower Love—which was under contract at the time but not officially published—and revise it based on what I had learned from my editor at the time. I knew based on what I’d learned it needed some hard core work in order to be truly ready for the viewing public. I also knew that eventually the other two works would be released and come back to me and they would undergo the revisions they so desperately needed as well. The Executive Officer’s Wife received its treatment last summer and Bound by Trust will later this year.

Once I was done picking apart A Slower, Lower Love I turned it over to the capable hands of the editing staff at Rebel Ink press and prepared to find out what else I was sure I knew but really didn’t. When I received word from E they were finished with it and we needed to talk, well, let me tell you my heart stopped. But, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the thing we needed to discuss was turning A Slower, Lower Love into a series. I agreed to take on this task and thus I was forever the incidental series writer. Who knew?

A Slower, Lower Love started the rounds on the review circuit and I began writing book two, A Slower, Lower Life. About mid-way through that project, the reviews began pouring in…and they weren’t half bad, but a recurring criticism was that the romance was neither slower nor lower.

Well, of course it wasn’t…that’s not at all what slower, lower means. And although the meaning of that phrase is referenced more than once in both works, somehow it escaped notice.

My husband is from Sussex County Delaware, which is the southern most of the three counties in Delaware and is part of the peninsula comprised of the tips of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. It’s beautiful country. Lazy, rolling, green. Farmland and colonial homes grace the landscape…and when you ask someone from that part of the country where they’re from the answer is almost always, “I’m from slower lower.”

You see, slower lower is a description, it just doesn’t apply to the couples’ love affairs in the Slower, Lower series. It describes a way of life, a place, and the people who live there. Life in slower lower is marked by Sussex County Standard Time. No one rushes, everyone stops to appreciate, people breathe and notice what’s on the air…freshly turned soil, the Nanticoke River, the ocean. Pizza cooking at Grottos. People use their front porches and they say y’all.

So, don’t be shocked when you read any or all of the books in this series, the latest of which released February 17, A Slower, Lower Leap, and the romance is smoking because the reviewers were right in one thing…love on the eastern shore is definitely not slow.

When you’re the last man standing…

 Not only was Logan Delaney the last of his siblings to remain unmarried and unsettled, his entire family believed he’d never find a wife. The baby of eight, he’s been dubbed an irresponsible player and told he’ll never amount to a hill of beans. And at one time, Logan may have been okay with those descriptions, but no more. On a quest to prove his worth, he’s spent the entire summer learning the family business, staying in at night, and saving his money. And if his family would stop meddling in his affairs and trying to dictate who he should and shouldn’t be seeing, he might just show them he’s found the one, Lizzy Jenkins.

And have a bad reputation to blame…

Elizabeth Jenkins had always known Logan Delaney existed, but he’d never so much as turned one glance her way until she handed him his butt on a silver platter in three sentences or less over the phone. After that it seemed at every turn there he was and the more she resisted the heat building between them, the bigger the fire got. Until his family interfered. And why wouldn’t they? Between Logan’s legacy and her baggage, they were a disaster in the making.

Can you be trusted with a fragile heart?

But Logan doesn’t run when he finds out about Colby. In fact, he embraces Lizzy’s special needs son and defies the advice of everyone urging him to leave Lizzy alone. But after one moment of weakness, Logan finds himself knee deep in a marriage complete with the little boy whose father bailed before his birth and Lizzy’s grandfather, who needs constant care as well.  Then there's the man who just might be the demise of it all.

Excerpt:

With a mixture of emotions swirling through her, Lizzy watched the same storm overtake Logan’s features which was brewing inside her. A veritable lightning bolt passed between them as soon as he’d touched her. She knew she’d always been attracted to Logan, but the instant heat still scalding her skin from his fingers left her unsettled. It was but a mere couple of hours prior she was trying to convince herself she could do with some sort of quickie sexual gratification, although she’d admitted it could never be with Logan, and now she wanted nothing more and the door to her emotions was wide open leaving her vulnerable and believing maybe they could have both. And just as she was trying to tell herself to stop trusting the lies her deprived body was concocting, Logan decided to try to convince her he might be interested in more as well.

Where was Logan the player and who was the imposter sitting across the table from her who could probably talk her right into his bed with one sentence or less and keep her coming back heartbreak on the horizon or not?

As her pulse slowed a bit, she turned to look at Colby and reminded herself why she couldn’t be playing horizontal Twister with anyone let alone Logan. And she sure couldn’t go letting Colby think there was a reason to get too comfortable around him. He seemed to like Logan and the Delaney herd of kids and she didn’t want him getting his feelings hurt because she couldn’t control her hormonal urges. What if she made the mistake of screwing Logan’s brains out, things didn’t work out, and that made it awkward to be coming around anymore? This was the first time anyone had really taken them in and welcomed them unconditionally and she didn’t want to rob Colby of it.

Purchase Links: Amazon               ARe                        Barnes and Noble

Bio:

Lila Munro currently resides on the coast of North Carolina with her husband and their two four-legged kids. She’s a military wife with an empty nest and takes much of her inspiration for her heroes from the marines she’s lived around for the past fifteen years. Coining the term realmantica, she strives to produce quality romance in a realistic setting. Her genre of choice is contemporary romance that spans everything from the sensual softer read to BDSM and ménage. When she’s not writing, she enjoys reading everything she can get her hands on, trips to the museum and aquarium, taking field research trips, and soaking up the sun on the nearby beaches. Her works include The Executive Officer’s Wife, Bound By Trust, Three for Keeps, the Force Recon series, the Slower Lower series, the Identity series, and the Private Collection. Currently she is working on two new series set to release summer of 2013, the At Your Service line and the Steele Image line. She’s a member in good standing of RWA. Ms. Munro loves to hear from her readers and can be found at Realmantic Moments   Facebook    Goodreads   Twitter You can also contact her via email at lilasromance@gmail.com and you can find all her works at: Amazon   ARe  Nook    Bookstrand

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New Release Celebration: Donna Steele

Donna Steele has stopped by today to tell us a little about her newest release...

The War

Vietnam was my war. We didn't talk about it around the Sunday lunch table with the relatives like we always had for WWII. I grew up with those stories from my aunts and uncles, but mine was different. John Wayne didn't glorify mine and people were angry and confused about the whole thing.

We had Kent State and protests and love-ins.  Hair, Peter, Paul and Mary, and "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield. I knew people that went to Canada and more that thought about it.

We had the draft lottery and boys with lower numbers were scooped up and sent to training camp. I had no brothers, so I was slightly removed from the process, but I wasn't sure I'd be allowed to go away to school after Kent State.

I thought I'd forgotten about it, but then Rebel Ink asked for short stories involving men in uniform. And there was Welcome Home – already written in my head.  The people aren't specific. I didn't know them in real life. But I knew them and I remember how it was.

A war doesn't have to be "popular" for the men and women that answer the call to be appreciated and thanked. I think we learned our lesson on that. I hope so.

Bobby's back from Vietnam and finds the world has changed.
"I didn't care if I was fighting communists or socialists or Martians. I just wanted to live and come home." Why can't his old friends let go and understand how he feels?
Can Katie help bring him all the way home?

You can purchase Welcome Home at Amazon.

Thanks for stopping by today Donna!

Author Interview: Eden Glenn

I'm excited to welcome Eden Glenn today.  She also writes for Rebel Ink Press and is a part of the Rebel Elite team.  I've asked her a few questions and she's telling us about her new release.

1: Do you have anything in your wardrobe you can’t live without?  (shirt, shoes, hat, scarf, jewelry, anything you wear all the time)

The standing joke is the volume of my wardrobe. In my defense I need formal clothes for balls and parties. I need business dress, business semi casual, business casual. I need club clothes for nights out. I need casual clothes for just hanging around. I need barn clothes for horsing around.

My clothes broke the closet close bar out of the wall.  LOL.

I have some special rings that I wear all the time.

The only thing that is second to the volume of my clothes is the volume of my shoes. LOL. Boots: Fashion, Horse Riding, and Motorcycle. Shoes with dresses, shoes for pants, tennis shoes for hanging around and for the gym, play shoes, sandles. On and on LOL

2: Do you like doing research?  Or do you write what you know? I do extensive research. I research careers, life styles, subject matter and the eroticism. LOL. Lots and Lots of research. I love it.

3: Describe your writing style… hum. Exciting, Erotic, with a splash of snark

4: What are you working on now? I am currently working on finishing final edits for vol 3 of The Amethyst Desire Collection, Its called “Phoenix Reborn”. I’m outlining and plotting vol 4 “Shifter’s SOMETHING idk WHAT”. Titles come hard for me. I haven’t quite nailed the title yet. I’m working on edits for a story to follow Dar’kind Promises. At the moment it is called “Dragons Unbound”

5: Do you have or have you ever had a mentor? Yes, my critique group in FL named Ink Plots. Shelby Reed, Abigail Sharp, my critique partner Charlee Allden and others were in that group. Shelby, Abigail and Charlee and I spent many days writing together and discussing the business. I would say these women mentored me.

6: Do you find it hard to balance your daily routine with writing? I do find myself so immersed in writing that it is hard to accomplish other ‘important’ things.

7: What’s your biggest vice?  Something you’re obsessed with but probably shouldn’t be… Diet Coke

8: If you could step out of your element and try something new what would it be? Lol. I constantly step out of my element. I live outside my element. In Feb, 2012 I decided I wanted to learn to drive a motorcycle. I’ve been riding my Vulcan 750 since April. My first ride on it was bringing it home 3 hours from North Carolina. I have my motorcycle license. I’ve put about 5,000 miles on Ta’Lula this summer.

9: How do you view the editing process?

Editing is where the magic happens

10: If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?

I would love to go to Scotland, New Zeland, Germany, Australia, The Grand Canyon, Mackinaw Island, Chincoteague Island. I could keep going.

Last but not least tell us where we can find more about you and your works…

Come visit my web. www.edenglenn.com You’ll find all the links to my various FB; Twitter; Amazon page etc.

Blurb:

(BLURB) Novellette length (16,920 words)

Darkind Fairy Maura comes to the human dimension on a search and rescue mission for one of her race. The success of the mission rests on her wits and the skilled aid of her feline tracker, Zelia. Unfortunately, Zelia is experiencing unpredictable shifts between feline and human forms.

Distracted by the sultry woman in her bed, Maura struggles to stay focused on their quest. If they’re unable to figure out how to gain control of Zelia’s shifting, all hope for success of their mission as well as any possibility of their future together will be lost.

Worse yet, an ancient evil targets Zelia and Maura in a bid for power and control of their magic.

Zelia is willing to risk becoming trapped in feline form and losing the love she’s found if it means she can save Maura from the evil hunting them. Meanwhile, Maura searches for the strength to abandon the quest for her lost ‘sister’ if doing so will save Zelia’s life and stabilize her shifting abilities.

Author Bio:

Eden Glenn lives in the mountains of Chattanooga, Tennessee with a cat and a loveable nuisance dog that should be in Japan. Eden has blue eyes, but her hair color is subject to change without notice. She is a member of RWA (Romance Writers of America) and FCRW (First Coast Romance Writers).

Prepare to leave your safe world behind.

http://www.edenglenn.com my social networking links are here on my website for FB, Twitter, Amazon and more. Check out my book trailers, blog and news.

Unruly Characters

So...I've picked on WIP to focus on and I'm hard at work.  I'm actually making progress and I have to say Cross My Heart (this may be a working title) is turning into a pretty exciting little story.

When this idea first bloomed it was a little bit supernatural but that's a whole different story.  A story for another time.

I revamped it a bit and it was really just a story about a woman learning how strong she is and showing everyone around her who she really is.  She has a little adventure along the way, of course.  I really wanted her to be a strong woman and I didn't want her to have to rely on a man, so I was trying really hard not to have a love story involved.  The next thing I know my characters are looking at each other and thinking about each other.  I guess it's just like real life, sometimes you end up having feelings for someone out of the blue, when you weren't even looking.

As you can tell my characters have control.  I try to nudge them but they just don't seem to listen.  I guess we will just have to see where they lead me.  :)

Research, research, research...

I've been working hard on my current WIP.  I had to narrow it down to just one for the time being.  Trying to work on 5 things isn't so productive for me.  I really wanted to focus on the story I used for NaNoWriMo.  I've grown it from and idea to an actual story and it's changed a lot since I started working on it.  I've been putting all of my writing time into editing what I'd written in November.  Which leads me to research...

If anyone were to check my Google search history they would probably think I was buying and selling ancient artifacts on the black market and possibly faking my own death or someone else's.  With that being said maybe I should give you a little about my current WIP.

Chloe Tanner is a spoiled rich girl that parties and lays around the pool when she'd rather be doing something useful with her life.  Her father finds and sells art and artifacts providing her with a very lush and easy life.  Leaving for a business trip and fearing looming danger for his daughter, Grant Tanner hires someone to make sure she stays safe. When her father doesn't return home Chloe embarks on a journey to Guatemala and Belize to discover what her father really did for a living and who she really is all while making a new friend.

I've learned a lot of things about Belize and Guatemala in the past few weeks.  I wish it were possible for me to take a trip there right now.  Unfortunately it's not.  But the history and the culture fascinate me.  I've also learned plenty about the Maya and the Aztecs.  I'm no history buff and want this story to be accurate and realistic so I'm suffering through the homework-like process of finding out everything I can.


  

Plans for the New Year...

I have to start this off by saying I'm not big on New Year's resolutions.  I kind of feel like it's setting myself up for failure.  I very rarely go through with them.  Most of the time I don't even make it out of January with them still intact.  I always have goals though.  Things in the back of my mind I know I want to do.

So, what are my plans for the new year?

I want to finish my current WIP (work in progress).  It was my NaNoWrMo project.  I didn't make the required 50,000 words to submit it and win, but I did come up with about 40,000 words.  Not too bad.  And it got me actually moving on a idea that was around before Tears in the Rubble.  I've been going back through and editing what I wrote during November and filling in the gaps where I jumped ahead.  I should be done with that soon and then I can really get to work on writing the end.  I'd really like have it out in the earlier part of the year.

I'd like to be better with my time management.  Now, considering all the things I do, a full time job, a part time job, writing, and working for my publisher, plus everyday things, I don't do too horribly.  But when it's all said and done I feel like I never stop.  I'm constantly on the go and pushing things to the side so I can get other things done.  Don't get me wrong I love my life, but sometimes I just want to sit down.

I want to enjoy my life and my time.  I'm surrounded by great friends and family and I want spend as much time as possible with them.  What's the point in working hard if you can't have fun too?  This goes back to time management I suppose.

I want to worry less.  I'm a worrier by nature and it seems there is always something new to worry about.  Hey, this might free up some time too.

What are you plans or resolutions for the new year?

It's the end of a chapter...

As 2012 comes to an end and we start 2013 I'm sure we're all reflecting and thinking about the things we've done and probably the things we didn't do too.  I'm sure we're thinking about the great things that happened and maybe wishing we could change a few things.

I have to say I'm pretty happy with 2012.  I'm sure there are things I could have done better, but the things I did do were things I never thought I would.  I published my first book!  And I didn't stop there.  I published a second one too!

I can't thank my editor and my publisher, Rebel Ink Press enough for the opportunity I was given.  It truly was a dream come true.  I'm going into 2013 with a positive outlook for my writing career.  I've been asked to be part of Rebel Ink Press's Rebel Elite team and I'm in the company of some great authors.  I know I will continue to grow as a writer and I intend to soak up as much knowledge as I can.  I want to share my stories with everyone and I only hope that will be my next dream come true.

For all my readers and friends, thank you for all your love and support.  Without you all I would't be where I am.  I have a great support system and could't ask for better.

So, thanks again!  And have a great New Year!!

Snow Day!

Well, for those of you that don't know, I live in Indiana.  We are currently under a blizzard warning.  Never had that happen in my thirty years.  I've endured quite a few snow days though.

I woke up this morning after all this talk of five to twelve inches of snow and forty mile per hour winds to find an inch or so on the ground.  I drag myself awake (I'm not a morning person) and head in to work.  I host at a breakfast place part time.  I make it there no problem.  I grew up where they never plow so a little snow is no big deal.

After working for half and hour I look outside and can barley see.  It's just white.  I get a text from my mom shortly after that telling me not to leave the house...she worries about me.  Too late for that though.  The snow keeps coming down and the wind is pretty crazy.  Then the boyfriend calls and says I should head home and stay there...he worries too...shhh. :)  The owner calls and checks in so some of us go home.  It's not the kind of day for people to be out and about eating breakfast.  I made it home safe and sound.  Now, I'm having a snow day and I have to say even though I say I miss these.  I'm not so sure anymore.  I'm getting a bit restless.

The good news is I've made some progress on my failed NaNoWrMo story.  I did some much needed research on Maya culture and on Belize and Guatemala.  I've been editing a bit so I can get back on track with actually writing the story.  I feel pretty good about it.

Now you say...Maya, Belize, and Guatemala?  What could this story possibly be about?  Well, I don't have a blurb because they are the bane of my writing existence and I haven't written it yet.  I can tell you it's a little Lara Croft (if she were a spoiled rich girl trying to find her missing father) and a little Indiana Jones (if he were a bad boy with tattoos and a soft spot for a certain spoiled rich girl).  I'm having a lot of fun writing this story and I feel it's a little more suspense/mystery than it is romance, but you never know what could happen. ;)

Stay tuned for more info on Cross My Heart...

Top Ten Tuesday: Groups/Artists That Inspire Me When I Write

Music is a big factor in my writing.  I have to do something to drown out the sounds of the boyfriend's video games.  I like a lot of different music and it definitely shows in my writing playlists.  Here are some of the groups or artists I listen to the most.

10. Mumford & Sons                                

9. Mos Def

8. Radiohead

7. Muse

6. The Lumineers

5. Lady Antebellum

4. Jay-Z

3. Taylor Swift

2. The Black Keys

1. Aerosmith