SPOTLIGHT ON JUDI FENNELL ( Liberty States FW, Create Something Magical Conference Attending Author)

FIRST OF ALL I WOULD LIKE TO WISH JUDI FENNELL A VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I ADORE THIS LADY. I MET HER A FEW YEARS AGO AT MY FIRST LIBERTY STATES CONFERENCE AND FROM THERE WAS VERY FORTUNATE TO HAVE HER COME ON OVER MY HOUSE FOR BOOK CLUB ALONG WITH HER AWESOME CRITIQUE PARTNER AND FRIEND, AUTHOR STEPHANIE JULIAN. JUDI AND STEPHANIE HELPED ME  MAKE EMPANADAS BEFORE THE CROWD ARRIVED. WELL NEEDLESS TO SAY,  THE LADIES BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS BOOK CLUB ARE HUGE JUDI FENNELL FAN GIRLS AND I HOPE YOU BECOME FANS OF HER AS WELL.

1.      Can you please tell us a bit about yourself? I’m finally growing up to be what I’ve always wanted to be: a writer. And a mom. And that order change on any given day because, ya know, I have teenagers…I write romantic comedies, to the complete surprise of my high school classmates. As one of them said, “You’re funny?” Apparently so. I guess she doesn’t get my brand of humor, but then she was the who asked in History class (completely honestly, mind you): “Which came first World War One or World War Two?”

2.      When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer? Always have written. I still have my first story about a raindrop talking to her friends as they fall to the ground, written on that lined yellow paper from elementary school with the drawing area above it. In 9th grade, a friend and I challenged each other to write a romance novel (we’d shared our stash of books through the year to the great amusement of our classmates for reading those books…) I finished the book; she didn’t. And no, you will never see that book. I think I actually wrote: He kissed the valley between her breasts. and blushed to the roots of my hair while doing so. If 9th grade me knew then what I’m writing now, I don’t know that she would have believed it.

3.      Tell us about your upcoming work? What a Woman Wants is book 1 in the Manley Maids series, where three brothers lose a poker bet to their sister who owns a cleaning service and they owe her a month of cleaning service. Book 1 is Sean Manley’s book – he is planning to buy a mansion to turn it into the flagship property in his resort business, except the former owner changed her will and made her illegitimate granddaughter her heir. Livvy Carolla wants to get the most she can for the place so she can keep her barn-animal rescues with her and get her organic bakery off the ground. She’s not about to sell the place for less than it’s worth, which is exactly what Sean wants to pay. But the cost might be worth it in the end.

4.      Do you have any mentors? Heroes? Mentors: every author I grew up reading. To me, they were always those authors. A special group who knew the secret of getting published. In my head, not just anyone could have a book published. I honestly never thought I’d do it. Oh, I’d wanted it, but you had to be someone special to do this. Then I met some of them and realized they’re regular women like me, and I knew that I could do it. Heroes? They know who they are.

5.      Can you tell us your favorite character from your books so far and  why? I love all my characters for various reasons; they are like your kids. You can get frustrated with them, sometimes you don’t like what they do, but in the end, you love them. I don’t have a favorite child (overall—they change depending on who’s doing what wrong), so I don’t have a favorite character. That being said, I have a lot of fun writing the secondary characters who can say anything they want that maybe wouldn’t be the best thing to come from the hero or heroine. Characters like Obo the cat in I Dream of Genies, or Livingston in Wild Blue Under. The sparrows, Maybel and Adele from that story as well. Their filters are quite different from the main characters so I can give them a bit more freedom and I just love hearing what comes out of their mouth.

6.      Was it difficult for you to get published? I don’t know many people for whom it was easy. You pay your dues. My first book had to be re-written for one significant detail: Reel, my first merman originally had a tail. When you read In Over Her Head, you’ll see that he doesn’t. When I was told to get rid of his tail, I was like, “Um, okay,” because, of course, you aren’t going to tell a bookseller and editor no if you want to sell the book. SO how the heck do you cut off a merman’s tail and keep him a merman, which is the whole premise of the book? There was some wailing and keening and moaning, a couple rounds of hair-pulling and teeth-gnashing, countless tears, and many many rewrites. That was tough. Book 2: Wild Blue Under’s heroine needed a complete overhaul. In 1 and a half months. I restarted that book 24 times in the space of 2 weeks. I had no clue how to change it and make it work. (This book later won a PRISM award, finalling with a NYT best selling author and a USA Today best selling author). AND these rewrites were being done between Thanksgiving and New Years. As far as snagging an editor, that took me four years, countless pitch appointments at conferences, those rewrites I mentioned. In addition to this, you need a great story and a little bit of luck. Thankfully, mine coalesced within four years of joining RWA, but I wouldn’t be where I am if I hadn’t joined a writing organization and taken full advantage of all the benefits of belonging by attending conferences, networking with industry professionals and having a kick-ass critique partner to run my stories by.

7.      Who are your favorite authors/reads? Jill Barnett wrote, hands down, my favorite book of all time. Bewitching. It’s the only book I have that I haven’t broken the spine on the signed copy. And Jill gave me a fabulous quote for my book and my website, so that was a total fangirl moment. I also like to read Romantic Suspense, and will pick up Karen Rose, Kate Brady, Lisa Jackson and Cindy Gerard, just ot name a few.

8.      Hobbies? Who has time? Writing is my hobby. I also have a formatting business to help authors get their books up online: www.formatting4U.com, so that’s pretty much all my free time.

9.      Tell us a bit about your workshop(s) at the conference? My critique partner, Stephanie Julian and I are presenting a writer’s workshop: Ultimate Submission: Create the Perfect Query & Synopsis, which is fairly self-explanatory. I’m lucky in that writing synopses comes easy to me and when I analyzed how I do them, I found a pattern that I can pass on to other writers, and Steph taught me how to write a query letter. She’s brilliant at it. We’re also doing a readers track based on an adult version of Pictionary. ;}

10.  Do you have any favorite TV shows? When I do have time to watch TV, I’m a HUGE Real Housewives fan. There’s just something about watching women who supposedly are friends take each other down publicly for their fifteen minutes of fame. I’ve said that someone ought to do a sociology thesis on the phenomenon of people willing to throw their families and friends under the bus for the fame. It’s like a train wreck: you just can’t look away. And recently, my kids and neighbor got me hooked on Breaking Bad. I can’t say that I liked the show in that I was not rooting for the main character, but the writing was brilliant. Utterly compelling and their use of cliff hangers was just terrific. Writers might want to check it out to learn how to hook your audience.

11.  What’s next for you? Finishing up the fourth book of the Manley Maids series, What a Woman (the sister’s story). Then working on a proposal for the next books in the series. Also working on Beefcake & Retakes, Tanner’s story in my BeefCake, Inc series (about male strippers), and trying to get Marianna’s story for the Mer series out. And my alter ego, Raven Morris, needs a few more erotic novellas out. So, again, I ask you, what hobby?

12.  What would you like readers to know about you? That I appreciate every single book you read, every comment you send me, the way you know my worlds and want more of them. Writing is a creative outlet for me, and to have people appreciate it, is a humbling and wonderful experience.

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A SIGNED ARC OF THE UPCOMING ~ WHAT A WOMAN WANTS ~ by JUDI FENNELL

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WHO IS THE HERO OF JUDI FENNELL'S FIRST A MANLEY MAIDS NOVEL?

SPOTLIGHT ON KATE MCMURRAY ( Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference Author)

Hi Kate and welcome to Book Obsessed Chicks and thank you for answering my questions.

1. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

Sure! First of all, hi everyone. I'm Kate, I write romance novels. I have long been a fan of the genre. Most of my books are contemporary romance, although all bets are off, sub-genre-wise; I've also written two paranormals and a historical novella. I tend toward regular-guy characters and rich settings. When I'm not writing, I work as a nonfiction editor. My other interests include, but are not limited to, baseball, music, knitting, and designer handbags.

 2. When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I've been writing since forever. I come from a family of storytellers—my dad in particular knows how to spin a yarn—so I think that's how it started. (My mother still has cassette tapes of me telling ridiculous, nonsensical stories when I was a toddler.) I started taking writing seriously in high school—I was editor in chief of my school's literary magazine—and then I went off to college to get an English degree. I started writing novels in my twenties, but it wasn't until I decided to pursue writing romance in 2008 or so that things really gelled. My first novel came out in 2010 and I have not looked back.

 3. Tell us about your upcoming work?

I have a book coming out in late spring called The Silence of the Stars. It's a sequel to my book The Stars that Tremble, which came out last September. The new book can be read as a standalone, though a lot of the characters from the first book show up again. It's a romance between an army vet still processing some old trauma and a violinist.

 4. Do you have any mentors? Heroes?

My parents, obviously. My mother is also a writer, actually, but these days she mostly freelances nonfiction articles (she has a journalism background). When I was a kid, she used to read all my papers and go at them with a red pencil, which sounds harsh, but the process taught me a lot about how to put sentences together. I also had a couple of teachers in high school who were enthusiastic supporters and encouraged me to do more creative writing. Now I've made friends with other romance writers who are a constant source of support and inspiration. And I joke sometimes that I want to be Nora Roberts when I grow up, but it's kind of true. (If you've ever seen her at a conference, you know she has the best shoes, for one thing.)

 5. Can you tell us your favorite character from your books so far and why?

It's hard to choose! Drew from Blind Items popped into my head right away; of all the characters I've ever created, he's probably got the most of myself in him. Troy from Across the East River Bridge is kind of my ideal man, in a weird way. Right now, I'm enchanted by Sandy from The Silence of the Stars. That's a character that took over every scene he's in in The Stars that Tremble, so I had to give him his own book.

 6. Was it difficult for you to get published?

The first book was shockingly easy. Like, I don't think it's supposed to be that easy. I had been reading a lot of gay romance and loved it, so I decided to try my hand at writing one, which became In Hot Pursuit. I let a couple of friends read it and give me feedback, I polished it up, and I sent it in to a publisher. They accepted it and I was in business. The process got a lot harder after that—I got rejection letters, I struggled to find time to write, I had a lot of self-doubt. I'm happy with the way my career is going now, though.

 7. Who are your favorite authors/reads?

My favorite novel of all time is probably Jane Eyre. I've read it a dozen times, maybe. Laura Kinsale's Flowers from the Storm is one of my favorite romances ever as well. Listing my favorite writers is probably a fool's errand because I will inevitably leave someone off, but generally, I gravitate toward the kinds of books I write. I love contemporary and historical romance in equal amounts.

 8. Hobbies?

Well, as I said above, I play violin, though I left the school where I was studying a couple of years ago when I started writing more. I'm a huge obsessive baseball fan, even though my hometown Yankees are working hard to disillusion me right now. I like arts and crafts and I knit to help relieve stress, but I hardly ever finish my projects unless they're small. I read all the time, about everything—lately I've been reading about 50/50 fiction/nonfiction. I love art and fashion, too; if I hadn't become a writer, I probably would have gone into fashion design.

 9. Tell us a bit about your workshop(s) at the conference?

I'm doing two workshops. One is a writers-track workshop on setting. I think setting is one of those things that gets overlooked when planning out a story, but I really love books with settings it feels like you can move into and live in. The workshop is intended to teach how to research and better develop strong settings, taking kind of a "worldbuilding" approach—even if you're writing a book set in a real place in the present time, you have to make that place come alive for the reader.

I'm also doing a readers-track panel with Damon Suede and Tere Michaels. We're going to talk about our favorite tropes. I think that will be a lot of fun.

 10. Do you have any favorite TV shows?

I don't watch a lot of TV, but I'm a sucker for creative competitive reality shows—Top Chef and Project Runway in particular—and I've been enjoying some of the new comedies on this season, especially Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I'm looking forward to the next season of Game of Thrones; I love that show so much it inspired me to go read the books, and I'm not really a fantasy reader, so that should say something. Lately, I've been binging on old Law & Order (like, early-90s, original flavor L&O). (And I am beside myself about the upcoming Veronica Mars movie. That was probably my favorite show of the last ten years.)

 11. What’s next for you?

I've got a couple of things in the works. I've written a Jazz Age historical romance between a vaudeville performer and a mobster that my agent is about to start shopping around and I'm finishing up an angsty contemporary friends-to-lovers romance set in New York. I've also started a contemporary series about guys who play in an amateur LGBT baseball league that I hope to work on in earnest this year.

 12. What would you like readers to know about you?

In 2014, I'm serving as president of Rainbow Romance Writers, the LGBT romance special-interest chapter of Romance Writers of America. It's been hard work so far, but I'm enjoying it. The mission of the chapter is to further the interests of writers of LGBT romance, something that I think is important given the way romance with LGBT characters has just exploded the last couple of years.

Thanks so much for participating!!!

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!

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SPOTLIGHT ON ELISABETH STAAB ( Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference Author)

WELCOME TO DAY 2 OF BOOK OBSESSED CHICKS SPOTLIGHT ON THE AUTHORS OF LIBERTY STATES, CREATE SOMETHING MAGICAL CONFERENCE 2014. TODAY WE HAVE ANOTHER AWESOME AUTHOR I HAD THE PLEASURE OF MEETING AT LIBERTY STATES A FEW YEARS AGO. ELISABETH STAAB WRITES SOME PRETTY AWESOME PARANORMAL READS AND NOW AN ADULT CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE NAMED,

ONE WEEK. 

Welcome to Book Obsessed Chicks Elisabeth and thank you for answering my questions.

ELISABETH: Thank you so much for having me!

1. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?

I’m an Aquarius, a lover of all things caffeinated, and I love to read and sing off key in my car almost as much as I love to write.

2. When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve loved to write all my life. I started writing seriously as a career in 2009, when I began my debut novel, King of Darkness. When I started writing that book someone told me they didn’t think I’d ever finish it, which of course meant that I had to.

3. Tell us about your upcoming work?

Well I just released my first contemporary, One Week, and contributed to a charity anthology called Scribbling Women. My next full-length novel is Hunter by Night, third in the Chronicles of Yavn world.

4. Do you have any mentors? Heroes?

Well I have to mention Damon Suede because he did so much to help me early on and I wouldn’t be the writer I am without that help. I’ve also been lucky enough to get some really great advice from established authors like Lori Wilde, Mari Force, and Elisabeth Naughton, and I admire and appreciate those ladies a great deal.

5. Can you tell us your favorite character from your books so far and why?

I honestly try not to pick favorites because I really do love all of my characters in different ways for different reasons. Even the villains. In fact, depending on the day, I am totally in love with the villains. ;)

6. Was it difficult for you to get published?

I got extremely lucky. I pitched King of Darkness twice, to one editor and one agent. The agent said make it about something other than vampires (no, thank you), and the editor wanted to read the manuscript. That was how I got my first book deal. I know authors who have spent years trying to get a book deal, and sometimes I wish it had taken me longer, because I was still a little “green” as an author and I had to learn a lot about writing that I hadn’t learned yet. The “on the job” curve was steep. Still, I’m grateful and I’m not sure I’d ultimately change anything.

7. Who are your favorite authors/reads?

Suzanne Brockmann, Tiffany Reisz, JR Ward and Lara Adrian, Wendy Higgins, Katee Robert, Mary Calmes, Amy Lane

8. Hobbies?

I’m sure I used to have some of those, lol. I did a lot of arts/crafts type stuff back in the day but between parenting and writing I have so little free time, the closest thing I have to a hobby anymore is reading and the occasional rare marathon of While Collar.

9. Tell us a bit about your workshop(s) at the conference?

At the Liberty con I believe I’ll be doing a talk on the pros and cons of self-publishing, an interactive reader event about worldbuilding, and I’ll be participating in a rousing game of Romance Family Feud

10. Do you have any favorite TV shows?

White Collar, Lost Girl, and The Voice. I also like the internet sitcom, Husbands.

11. What’s next for you?

Hunter by Night will be out in June!! I’m so looking forward to Lee and Alexia’s story. I’ve also got an anthology novella in the works, and my next contemporary, book 2 in the HaleStorm series, should be out toward the end of the year.

12. What would you like readers to know about you?

I work best when fueled by Starbucks vanilla K-cups. ;-)

Thanks so much for participating!!!

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COVER REVEAL!!! PARTNERS IN CRIME BY DOWNEY GREENE

COMING THIS SPRING!!!!!

   

Gun, badge... and a swear jar?

Detective Faye Kane is a good cop. So when she smells a rat in her city she follows the facts no matter where they lead even if it’s right to Philadelphia’s own philanthropist and hopeful new mayor, Martino “Millie” Maliano. But after a rough day, sometimes even a cop needs to feel like a woman.

Enter Ian “Griff” McManus, rumored lead problem solver in Millie’s organization. After one hot night with a sexy stranger, he’s given a new target his boss needs quieted: Detective Faye Kane.

Dirty cops, loyalty, betrayal, even love. Detective Kane needs to sift through the ashes of her beloved city after it all comes down to find the one thing that matters, if she’s still standing.

"Debut authors Downey Greene deliver heart-stopping and edgy romantic suspense. Raw, gripping, and fiercely sexy, you won't be able to put PARTNERS IN CRIME down."~Laura Moore, author of Once Tempted.

Staggering towards the back, she stumbled out the emergency exit in the rear. She banged out into the alley and laid her hands up against the brick wall, resting her head against it. The tequila coursing through her veins numbed her pain just a little, but not enough. She heard the door open again but didn’t bother looking; she didn’t fucking care who it was.

She began to curse, slamming her palms against the bricks. She couldn’t get drunk and she couldn’t be left alone. Might as well go home, she thought.

All of a sudden, Faye felt her blonde locks being tugged back a little, a soft growl in her ear. "Oh, Sugar, how bad do you want to forget?"

She groaned at his touch, arching her back. "Stop. Stop calling me Sugar. There’s nothing remotely sweet about me."

He growled again, low in his throat and licked up the side of her neck. "You taste fucking sweeter than heaven."

She shivered from his words as much as his touch. He spun her around and lifted both of her hands above her head, securing them in one of his. He nudged her legs apart with his knee. Swallowing hard, she looked up at him through her thick lashes, blue eyes bright with need. She needed to forget.

FACEBOOK / GOODREADS

WE…yes you read right. We are two separate individuals who met in a writing group on FB. In this group we dabbled in writing and hit it off, each liking the other’s strengths and complimenting the other’s weaknesses. When the opportunity presented to Downey to submit to a publisher she approached Greene to join her in the journey. Both with hectic lives they took turns writing, swapping ideas and chapters, thus creating their first book, Partners in Crime. Here is a little something about the Dynamic Duo. Downey: Otherwise known as Maureen lives in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania. She is your typical suburban soccer mom; well ok there is nothing typical about her AND her kids play EVERYTHING but soccer. Downey as she is known in this duo has 5 kids ranging from 12 ½ to 19. And to answer the question swirling in your minds…YES, she is crazy. She has been married for over 21 years to her best friend and love of her life. She LOVES to read, her appetite is voracious for all things books. Her job at a local bookstore was by far one of the best experiences and fed her addiction to the written word. Going to book signings and having them at the store were her rock star moments; she is a total fan girl for authors. When that job disappeared she felt bereft, with much floundering she stumbled upon the underbelly of FB and fell in love with writing. Creating stories and weaving tall tales helped ease the indecision that plagued her. The feedback and support for her writing blew her away and prompted her to open Word and create. Loving how Greene weaved a story Downey decided they should become the Dynamic Duo. With the support of her family she has embarked on a totally unexpected new path. When she is not carting kids all over she is managing her kingdom…..in between all that she reads, blogs(BCWAB) and submerges herself in her make believe world and writes. Some days she feels invincible, other days…well they should hide. Never in a million years did she ever think THIS was a possibility, as they say when one door closes another opens. In her case, truer words were never spoken. Greene: Otherwise known as Alison to family and friends, Honey Bunny to her husband since the dawn of time – or so it seems, mom to her 2 children, and momma to her one and only grandson, lives in a small area of Western New York known primarily as the birthplace of Gabby Hayes. Alison has always loved reading and writing was always a hobby while she harbored a secret dream to one day be published. How to do that when she’s as twitchy as a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs? Find herself a writing partner. Enter Maureen Downey.

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SPOTLIGHT ON CHRISTI BARTH ( Liberty States Fiction Writers Create Something Magical Conference Author)

Greetings and Welcome to the kickoff of Book Obsessed Chicks' Spotlight on the Authors of Liberty States, Create Something Magical Conference 2014.

Today we have author of Contemporary Romance, CHRISTI BARTH, who I was very fortunate to meet at a conference in the early Fall of 2013 in New Jersey. CHRISTI BARTH will be one of the great authors at the Liberty States Conference and I would love for you all to get to know her.

1. Can you please tell us a bit about yourself? 
I have an odd career path, beginning with a Master’s degree in vocal performance that led me to embark upon a career on the stage.  A love of romance then drew me to wedding planning.  Ultimately I succumbed to my lifelong love of books and now write contemporary romance.  I’m the President of the Maryland Romance Writers and live in Baltimore with the best husband in the world.

2. When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer? 
It was never an intended career choice – more that I simply couldn’t stop writing. I began writing very early. I spent the summer I was 13 knocking out 60 pages of what must’ve been a truly horrible historical romance. I was a bookworm, and wasn’t allowed to watch much television, so writing gave me something to do over vacation. Then I discovered I couldn’t stop – the ideas just kept swirling around in my head.  Five years ago I finally mustered the motivation to finish my book, and now I’m writing my twelfth.

3. Tell us about your upcoming work?
 Happy to - because A Matchless Romance, Book 4 of the Aisle Bound series, releases on February 17! When a Chicago matchmaker transforms an awkward nerd into a sexy stud, she’s sorely tempted to keep him for herself! I think of it as a 41,000 word epilogue to the series. You'll get to see the wedding of Ivy & Ben from Book 1, as well as (of course) another great love story.

4. Do you have any mentors? Heroes?
Nora Roberts. Hands down. She is the undisputed master of the romance craft. Her books make you feel like you are in them, standing right next to the characters. I learn something about writing every time I read one of her books.

5. Can you tell us your favorite character from your books so far and why? 
I’m in the middle of promoting A Matchless Romance, so I should say that I’m most in love with my current hero. Drew is a video game creator who runs triathlons (had to sneak those flexing muscles in somehow). But…(whispers and leans closer)…I think my absolute favorite hero is Gib from Friends To Lovers. Who among us can resist a sex god with a yummy British accent?

6. Was it difficult for you to get published?
 Yes and no. Yes in that I didn't sell to the first publisher I sent it to...and no in that I did manage to sell my first book, and every one after that, so I feel like I can't complain.

7. Who are your favorite authors/reads? 
Victoria Dahl, Christie Ridgway, Laura Kaye, Kristen Callihan, Jessica Andersen, J.R. Ward, Darynda Jones, Julie James, Louisa Edwards

8. Hobbies?
I adore cooking. I subscribe to Cooking Light and Bon Appetit, and check out cookbooks from the library constantly. I got to write an entire chapter on an aphrodisiac dinner in Friends To Lovers – best research ever!

9. Tell us a bit about your workshop(s) at the conference? 
The 7 Steps to Sensual Tension isn’t about blatantly putting sex on the page. It is a guidepost to building that simmering attraction that keeps the readers furiously flipping the page. And then for fun, we're doing a reader-centric Book Cover Bingo. Who wouldn’t want to stare down at a bingo card full of rock-hard abs and bulging biceps?

10. Do you have any favorite TV shows?
 I am a TV-a-holic. Sadly, I've had to cut back so I can write in the evenings, but I adore Castle, Modern Family, Agents of Shield, White Collar, Big Bang Theory, Once Upon A Time...and that's not even touching on my unhealthy addiction to reality shows like Sister Wives.

11. What’s next for you?
 Ooh, I'm excited to tell you that I'm kicking off a new contemporary trilogy. The Shore Secrets series is set in the Finger Lakes of New York. Here’s my one sentence peek at Book 1, Up To Me: A hard-nosed businessman with contempt for small town America is forever changed by the love of a sexy hotel owner and a quirky but tight-knit community famous for its anonymous journal by the shore. Coming June 2014!

12. What would you like readers to know about you?
 I love to read every bit as much as they do. And I try to bring that passion for it every time I sit down at the keyboard to write. If they pick up one of my books, they are guaranteed laughter and heat and drenching romance.

Thanks so much Christi for taking time out to let us know a bit about you!
Christi Barth is graciously giving away a Digital Copy of her book, LOVE AT HIGH TIDE.

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!!!

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SPOTLIGHT ON AUTHOR BRONWEN EVANS

FIRST OF ALL, LET ME SAY THAT I HAVE BECOME IRREVERSIBLY AND COMPLETELY ADDICTED TO THIS LADY AND HER BOOKS. IT IS A RECENT ADDICTION WHICH HAPPENED WHEN I READ AN ARC OF HER LATEST BRILLIANT BOOK, A KISS OF LIES. 
ONCE I FINISHED THAT I DELVED INTO HER HISTORICAL BACK LIST AND NOW I AM STUCK. SHALL WE CALL ME A FAN GIRL? SO WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, I WOULD LIKE TO INTRODUCE YOU ALL TO AUTHOR, BRONWEN EVANS.

Hi Kimberly

Thanks for having me over! Waving from New Zealand…

I was born in New Zealand, and other than the eight years I spent living in England, I have lived here all of my life. It’s a wonderful place to live, but it is a bit small and far from anywhere, so I do feel isolated sometimes. Thank goodness for the Internet. I’ve made a lot of overseas friends! Writing has really opened up the world for me.

I’m the eldest of five girls and I’m a twin. My twin sister, Leigh, is my harshest critique partner. She’s an avid romance reader… and is very tough. Some of her favorite authors are Nalini Singh, Stephanie Laurens, Lora Leigh, Gaelen Foley, Olivia Gates and me.

I’ve been writing since 2009 and it’s the best job in the world. I also work two days a week running a surgical association. I look after the concerns of about 300 surgeons in NZ and we administer the surgical training program.

I live in the Hawkes Bay, a northeast region of NZ known for its vineyards. My house sits amongst vineyards, looking over the sea. Check out Bron’s Bold Belles and if you love my books and want to be a part of my team, you could be lucky enough to come visit one day….

1.When and how did you know you wanted to be a writer?

I’m one of those people whose head is always full of stories. I use to dream them up and play them in my mind. I was never very good at English. I’m slightly dyslexic so I never considered any notion of being able to write them down.

Then a very close friend became very ill and he made me think about following my dreams. He urged me to give writing a go. So I joined Romance Writers of NZ and found a support network.

I began to enter contests and I finaled a few times, so I thought, ‘maybe I’m not too bad’. I finished writing Invitation to Ruin, my first book, and sold it to Kensington in 2010 and things moved from there…Invitation to Ruin won the RomCon Readers’ Crown in 2012, and was an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best First Historical Nominee.

2.Tell us about your upcoming work?

I’m working on a new Regency series called The Disgraced Lords. The series follows six sexy rakes, all friends since school, who are being targeted by a common enemy. Book #1 A Kiss of Lies, released in January and book #2, A Promise of More is due out in April. I’m currently writing book #3 A Touch of Passion.

A Kiss of Lies - Kimberly’s 5 star review says it all

Thrown out of England for a crime he swears he did not commit, the disfigured by fire, Christian Trent, the Earl of Markham has spent a year in Canada biding his time to return to his homeland and vindicate himself. In the meantime, he has become the guardian to his friend's daughter, when her parents perish in an unfortunate accident. A member of the renowned Libertine Scholars, Christian has friends back in England fighting to clear him name so he can return home.

Lady Serena has been thrust into a disastrous marriage to the sadistic man her father basically sold her to, to get out of debt in England. Once Lady Serena and her evil husband are in Virginia, her life drastically declines as she is treated no better than her husband’s slaves. One horrific night changes her life forever when she attempts to save herself from her husband's twisted actions and runs from Virginia after striking back and leaving him for dead.

Lady Serena arrives in Canada as the widow Sarah Cooper who applies for the job of being Lord Markham's ward Lily's governess. From the first minute, Christian is shocked that his disfigurement has no effect on the beautiful woman. Most people cringe at the sight of his burnt flesh and flee from his presence, but no Mrs. Cooper. Unbeknownst to Christian, Sarah Cooper is quite familiar with him, for in her other life of Serena, she admired him from afar when he was the catch of the ton and secretly wished he could be hers. It was not to be, but Sarah sees his advertisement as a message from above that is meant to be.

While on the ship returning to England to take back all he has lost, Christian seduces the beautiful widow and unwittingly falls in love with Sarah, but Sarah in no certain terms wishes to ruin her reputation and that of her charge, so the deal with Christian is they have a love affair that ends the minute the ship docks in England. Sarah wants to continue to be Lily's governess, not the Earl of Markham's mistress, and she couldn't possibly be his wife because once her true identity is discovered and the fact that she is a murderess comes to light, she would undoubtedly hang for the crime and has no wish to tarnish the Earl and his ward's names.

Once back in England, danger lurks for both the Earl and the governess with horrible pasts becoming the present and parties involved need a miracle to save them from demise.

I’m also working on a contemporary series, book #1 due out the end of 2014. Desire Me, Play Me, Love Me.  This series revolves around a group of Investment Banker Cowboys. Yeah, what a mix, but they are smokin’ hot!

Here’s an unedited taste of PLAY ME. The heroine, Jenny Spin, is a famous NY DJ…

Ric had just lifted his leg to step over the rope into the VIP area of the nightclub when a large hand descended on his shoulder.

“No entry without an invitation.”

He didn’t take his eyes off Jenny. He merely smiled and said to the big burly bouncer, “I think I’m about to get an invitation.”

Heat hit every inch of his body as she caressed him with her eyes. They raked his body from the top of his head to the tips of his cowboy boots.

As they stared at each other time stood still and the music faded to a soft thud. Tension entered his frame.

Then she gave him a smile that tightened his balls and crooked her finger at him. The bouncer released his hold and with a smile Ric stepped over the rope and made his way to her side.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw a cowboy in this club,” she hesitated, “or any hip club in this city.”  She looked down at his boots then back up his body, taking her time over his worn jeans and white t-shirt. “Underdressed but nice.”

His attire did make him stand out, especially given his height. “At least most of my body is covered.”

“You are a little bit country, aren’t you?” She moved close, her scent filled his senses, a soft vanilla, with a hint of musk. “What’s you’re name cowboy?” He could barely think when her tiny hand landed on his chest.

“Richard Taylor,” he flashed her what he hoped was a sexy smile, “my friends call me Ric.” When he said his name, her hand hesitated in its exploration for a second.

She walked round him, eyeing him up like a piece of meat. It thrilled him. “And what’s a cowboy doing in New York? Just visiting?”

He shook his head. “No. I’ve just moved here to take over the New York office from my business partner.”

“And what business would that be, selling ranching supplies.”

He laughed. “No. I run an investment company.”

This time she laughed. “You don’t scream money. In fact, you look like a model or actor who’s only just scraping by.” She rose up on her very high stilettos and whispered in his ear, “a very sexy model.”

Shivers raced over his skin and he pulled her tight against him. “I think you’ll find I scrape along very well, in the lap of luxury actually. Come home with me and I’ll prove it.”

To his delight she didn’t fight his hold, rather she sunk further into his embrace. “But we have a bottle of champagne to drink,” she teased. “besides, you haven’t passed my test.”

“Test?”

“Dance with me,” her sultry command echoed in his brain making him wish they were alone.

“How is that a test?”

She began to move within his embrace, to the rhythm of the beat, her body brushing every inch of him. “If a man’s a disaster on the dance floor, he’s a disaster in bed.” She gave him a sexy smile. “I don’t want to waste my time.”

“Oh, your time won’t be wasted, honey. I promise you that.” Within seconds, Ric rose to the challenge, literally. Dancing so close his erection was obvious and her fingers moved to caress him through his jeans.

“Impressive. Things are looking up, cowboy.”

Not one to back away from what he wanted, his hands drifted down her back to slip beneath the folds of her scanty dress and he cupped two pert buttocks. Her skin was like fine silk and he ground his hips against her.

“How long does this test take?”

“Patience. Tut tut. Your haste doesn’t bode well for the bedroom.”

He looked into her exquisite face. Her eyes danced with fiery amusement, the deep brown reminding him of liquid chocolate swirled with toffee. “Any further teasing will be revisited upon you ten fold when I get you in my bed.”

“Promises, cowboy?” She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Cocky aren’t you. I might want you in my bed.”

“The way I’m feeling right now, who needs a bed.”

3.Do you have any mentors? Heroes?

I mentioned my friend who urged me to write, Jock, he was my life mentor. He was ill for most of his 40+ years and he instilled in me the drive to go after what I want. I dedicated Invitation to Ruin to him. My deepest regret is he didn’t live to see it published and I miss him everyday!

I admire several authors and I can’t thank them enough for sharing knowledge—Shana Galen, Grace Burrowes, Galen Foley, Anna Campbell, Lorraine Heath, Rebecca Zanetti, Gracie O’Neil, Natalie Anderson to name a few….

4.   Can you tell us your favorite character from your books so far and why?

Gosh, that’s a hard one. I tend to love all of them. I guess one of my favorites is Marcus Danvers, Marquis of Wolverstone, in To Wager the Marquis of Wolverstone. He thought he’d found his one true love, but she left him without warning and he spends years trying to forget her, but he can’t. When Sabine re-enters his life, he is handed the means for revenge, but he’s too good of a man to hurt her. Instead, he lays his heart on the line for her again. He’s willing to give all for love. Who can resist a man like that?

5.Was it difficult for you to get published?

Hmmm, not really. I queried publishers and agents with Invitation to Ruin, my first completed book and landed myself an agent and a publisher. I was very lucky!

6 Who are your favorite authors/reads?

Gosh, I have so many!

Gaelen Foley, Stephanie Laurens, Nicole Jordan, Nicola Cornick, JR Ward, Kresley Cole, Toni Aleo, Anna Campbell, Rebecca Zanetti, Lorraine Heath, Emma Wildes…

7. Hobbies?

I don’t have a lot of spare time with writing and work, but I play bridge and golf. I also walk and enjoy bike rides.

8.What is your dream job?

LOL, I’m doing it – writing!

9.Do you have any favorite TV shows?

Yip, I’m a TV slut, I watch far too much of it. The historical, Reign is currently one of my favorites, and of course Downton Abby. The Mentalist, Bones are always good. Any property program – we get English property programs called Relocation Relocation, Escape to the Country, which I have to watch. Then there are my sexy SAS men in Strike Back (UK), Spooks (UK). Comedies like Big Bang Theory, Friends etc. Mystery programs like Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Homeland, and Midsummer Murders…

10. What’s next for you?

I think I have answered that above – more writing. More Disgraced Lords and more contemporaries…

11.Where can we find you?

My website: http://www.bronwenevans.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://www.amazon.com/Bronwen-Evans/e/B004LKXYLC/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1391722350&sr=1-2-ent

Facebook:  I have a personal page and a fan page but most people use my personal page…

https://www.facebook.com/bronwenevansauthor

https://www.facebook.com/bronwenevansauthorNZ

Twitter: https://twitter.com/bronwenevans_NZ

Pinterest: https://www.facebook.com/bronwenevansauthor

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4331713.Bronwen_Evans

12 What would you like readers to know about you?

That I’m really friendly and really approachable. I love my journey into the writing world, and I appreciate hearing from readers. The contact is fabulous because I feel so isolated from everyone being tucked down here in New Zealand. I love feedback, good or bad as it helps me grow as a writer.

I’m going to the RT Booklover’s Convention in New Orleans this year, so don’t be shy, come and say hello!

GIVEAWAY: A KISS OF LIES – tell me the traits you look for in your favorite hero to be in with a chance to win a copy of A Kiss of Lies…

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