The first weekend in September 2018, Nik will portray Pietas, the immortal king from the Bringer of Chaos series by Kayelle Allen. The cosplay will be performed in a live feed from Russia. To take part, follow Nik on Instagram. Exact date and time to be announced. The anticipated date is Sept. 1, 2018.
Claire Marti is here today with a very sweet interview with one of her characters from SUNSET IN LAGUNA, the latest installment in her Finding Forever in Laguna series. As a service dog, Olive the Pug is an important part of the story, and she gives a very good interview. Welcome Claire and Olive!
HI OLIVE, THANKS FOR CHATTING WITH US ABOUT ALL THINGS SUNSET IN LAGUNA. LET’S DIVE RIGHT IN.
HOW DID YOU END UP PARTNERING WITH CHRISTIAN WOLFE?
When Christian came to Peaceful Warrior, I was finishing up some training. The minute I sniffed him, I knew he was suffering and I could help him. He wasn’t so sure about me at first, but I knew immediately he was my special person.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT CHRISTIAN THAT CONVINCED YOU HE WAS YOURS?
Well, it was my intuition. I’m very book-smart, but my emotional intelligence is what sets me apart. I simply locked eyes with him and knew deep in my heart he was mine.
UMM…BOOK SMART? AREN’T YOU A PUG?
I’m just trying to communicate in a way you’ll relate to. Training, routines, all that jazz. I consider that school training. My real skills are something else.
OF COURSE, FORGIVE ME. SO, ARE THERE MANY PUGS WHO ARE SERVICE DOGS LIKE YOU?
Actually, yes there are. I know people assume most service dogs are large breeds, but actually pugs are some of the busiest workers out there today.
Pugs are especially sensitive and intuitive and we can immediately tell if someone is feeling anxious or nervous. We specialize in helping people who feel like a panic attack is coming on or who have generalized anxiety.
WHO IS THE BOSS IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP?
WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT CHRISTIAN THE MOST?
He is brave, honest, loyal and actually very sweet under his tough soldier exterior. He’d make a great dog.
DO YOU APPROVE OF KELLY?
Absolutely! If it weren’t for Kelly bringing Christian out to Peaceful Warrior, I wouldn’t have had the chance to meet him. I like her, she smells really good, and knows how to scratch my belly just how I love it.
HOW ARE YOU SO EXCITED TO EAT THE SAME FOOD EVERY DAY, YEAR AFTER YEAR?
I don’t understand the question? Doesn’t everybody? I love my kibble! Or do you mean treats? Those are good too.
WHY DO DOGS LIKE TO SNIFF EACH OTHER’S BUTTS?
Oh, I can’t actually share that secret with you. It’s against the dog code. But I will say if humans dispensed with all their formalities, it would be a lot easier to see who your friends are right away.
DO YOU REALLY CONSIDER US BEST FRIENDS?
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US AND GIVE US SOME INSIGHT INTO CHRISTIAN WOLFE!
Maybe he just needed a punishing session with the punching bag or a few fingers of Jameson whiskey. Stop being such a damn wuss. Workouts and alcohol weren’t driving the demons away. He stepped forward.
“Christian?” A husky voice lilted his name. His head whipped to the right. A beautiful woman dressed in a conservative dark suit and tortoiseshell glasses stared at him. Somewhere in his brain he registered dangerously toned legs encased in red skyscraper-high stilettos.
Sweat popped onto his brow, and he swallowed, his throat suddenly parched. Recognition flooded his system when he dragged his gaze up from those spiked heels. Her tawny cat eyes captured his—Kelly Prescott. Didn’t she live in San Diego?
“Um, hey, Kelly.” What the hell was she doing at Peaceful Warrior?
“Ladies first.” Distract. Deflect. Damn it to hell.
“Well, it’s kind of a secret at the moment, but I’m about to interview for the general counsel position here.” The corners of her rosy lips curved up.
“General counsel?” For some reason he couldn’t seem to utter more than two words at a time.
“Yes. They’ve needed one for a long time and recently got a grant to fund it. So here I am.” She walked toward him. Hints of cinnamon and some exotic scent assaulted his nostrils.
“No, if I get the job, I’m actually moving up here.” She shrugged and flashed perfect white teeth, oblivious of his discomfort.
“Huh.” Over a year ago, her golden beauty had caught his attention when she’d accompanied his buddy Nick and Sophie to Vines. He’d been single at the time—hell, he was always single—and asked Nick about her. She was Sophie’s best friend. His attraction cooled when he’d learned she was a wealthy corporate attorney working for her daddy’s firm and dating another lawyer. Too complicated.
“So what are you doing here?” She tilted her head up, still about a foot shorter than he was, even with those damn shoes that would be forever burned into his brain.
“Oh, just taking a break from work, getting some fresh air.” He gestured with palms sweatier than they’d ever been in the searing heat of the Middle East.
TRUTH AND SOLACE #free at Amazon!
I'm excited to let you know TRUTH AND SOLACE, book three in the Love at Solace Lake series, is FREE from August 22 to 26, 2018. Yay! Maggie and Luke's story is the conclusion to the series. I hope you enjoy it. And remember, it's #free at Kindle Unlimited. Download it today!
She reminded herself that Luke had left her once and would do so again.
Where do stories come from? It’s usually a very small spark. Someone says something. You see a book, a movie, a picture. Before you realize it a story is forming in your head—a “what-if”.
It happened to me a while ago when I mentioned my name to someone who was also a writer of Regency romances. I told her my name was Merry. She said, off-handedly, that I should have a character called the Merry Marquis.
Being the perverse person that I am, I immediately decided that my Merry Marquis should be a very sad man. Why, though?
Of course, he’s mourning the loss of his wife. But this is a romance, so he has to fall in love once again. With whom?
Well, if my Merry Marquis is called Merry, he had to have been known as a very merry person, therefore his heroine in the book needs the help of someone who is merry and outgoing. Again my irony came to the rescue—he needs a heroine who is shy. For some reason, my mind came up with a girl, Teresa, who is half-English, half-Spanish, who is shy because she’s been plucked from the only home she’s ever known (in Madrid) and sent to a strange country (England).
I’m proud to say that The Merry Marquis has won a few awards since it was first published by Kensington Publishers (under the title Miss Seton’s Sonata).
Characters grow as a writer discovers more and more of their histories, and from the characters, grows the story. But that isn’t all there is to a story. There has to be secondary characters.
My merry hero, if he’s such a popular guy, needs friends. Close friends.
My husband loves comedic characters, someone who is over the top and therefore funny. He created St. John Fotheringay-Phipps, known to all as Fungy.
Fungy is a typical Regency dandy, only more so. His fashion is over the top, but so is his kindness. Because of this he absolutely cannot stand idly by while Rose Grace, completely naïve to the ways of society after having been raised on an archaeological site in Greece, is tricked by an unscrupulous gentleman. Fungy is there to save her just when he is needed.
To contrast Fungy’s outrageousness, I created Sin. Sinclair Stratton, Viscount Reath. He is everything Fungy is not. Staid. Conservative. Serious (although he does have a sense of humor—he is friends with Fungy, after all). So naturally, Sin comes across his match (in A Rake’s Reward) when trying to get from Portsmouth to an estate he won at cards when he was just a teenager. The American Sara Whately doesn’t care for lords and doesn’t care a bit about their conceit, and she tells Reath so in no uncertain terms. You know that they just need to be together.
Rounding out the group (and what oddly enough turned into the first book of the series) is Julian Ritchie, Earl of Huntley. Julian was born of my love of Kolkata, India (or Calcutta, as it was known in his time). My husband is from that fascinating city and so I have first hand knowledge of it’s beauty and quirks. Time doesn’t seem to pass in the same way in Kolkata as it does in the rest of the world. People cling to the old ways—fruit and vegetables are still sold by people sitting on the ground, their stock arranged beautifully on banana leaves and in woven baskets before them in the bazaar; traffic lights are still (mostly) pretty colored decorations to be ignored as you drive through the city streets (traffic police are listened to, however, and they still stand at all major intersections making sure traffic flows smoothly); and the houses of even the middle class still team with people cooking, cleaning and even driving for their employers (I shouldn’t mention the sometimes horrid conditions these people return to each night where if you own a tv or a refrigerator you are lucky).
It was easy, then, for me to imagine Calcutta of the 18th century when Julian was born to an Indian mother and an English earl (you can read their story in Under the Mango Tree). I am happy to say that what Julian experienced as an Anglo-Indian isn’t common anymore—the snubs and outright discrimination. But as a proud man and hero of a romance novel, he wasn’t just going to take it, he wanted revenge. What he didn’t plan on was sweet, innocent, open-hearted Cassandra Renwick who had already been hurt once by a man. You’ll find their story in An Exotic Heir.
Thus the Merry Men were born: the story of four men who were close friends, each with his own tale of romance.
Meredith Bond's books straddle that beautiful line between historical romance and fantasy. An award-winning author, she writes fun traditional Regency romances, medieval Arthurian romances, and Regency romances with a touch of magic. Known for her characters “who slip readily into one’s heart,” Meredith loves to take her readers on a journey they won't soon forget. She is currently living in Europe enjoying the Bohemian life.
My guest today is paranormal romance author McKenna Dean who writes shifter novels. She's here with GHOST OF A CHANCE, book 2 in her Redclaw Security series. She answers my Quick 5 questions today, so we get to learn a little more about her. McKenna has a Rafflecopter giveaway so make sure to enter it at the bottom of this post. Welcome McKenna!
Oh, I’d pick hiking in the mountains over the beach most days, but if given a choice between the beach and the city, the beach every time. In the off season, me and the dogs, walking under gloomy skies and chasing sand crabs as they skuttle away from the surf.
I know it’s a cliché, but most of my favorite movies are superhero movies right now. The big summer blockbuster: sci-fi, superhero, action movies.
Country all the way. I’m practically singing the theme song to Green Acres here. I love being able to walk up to the ridge and see the mountains all around me. To listen to horses cropping grass with the lazy drone of a bumble bee somewhere nearby. The crunch of dead leaves underfoot in the fall, and stepping outside to a morning so crisp and cold the air is like biting into a fresh apple.
I’ll take a book in any form I can get it. I tend to reserve audiobooks for long car trips, but I take my Kindle and at least three paperbacks with me where ever I go, on the off chance I might—heaven forbid—run out of reading material.
Quiet dinner for two! Preferably something we cooked together—chicken parmesan, or steaks on the grill. A bottle of wine and some strawberries dipped in hot chocolate. A snuggle on the couch while we watch one of our favorite shows. Give me a fire in the hearth and I’m in heaven.
About McKenna Dean: McKenna Dean has been an actress, a vet tech, a singer, a teacher, a biologist, and a dog trainer. She’s worked in a genetics lab, at the stockyard, behind the scenes as a props manager, and at a pizza parlor slinging dough. Finally she realized all these jobs were just a preparation for what she really wanted to be: a writer.
She lives on a small farm in North Carolina with her family, as well as the assorted dogs, cats, and various livestock. She likes putting her characters in hot water to see how strong they are. Like tea bags, only sexier.
Tena Stetler visits today to celebrate the recent release of AN ANGEL'S UNINTENTIONAL ENTANGLEMENT. Tena writes paranormal romance for The Wild Rose Press starring witches, warlocks, angels and vampires. Oh my! Tena answers a few of my questions about her writing, and she's got an exclusive excerpt for us. Please welcome Tena Stetler!
What do you like best about your hero in An Angel’s Unintentional Entanglement?
Warrior Angel, Caden Silverwind, lives alone in Colorado rugged Rockies, healing from physical wounds as well as the mental anguish suffered during battles with dark demons. Against the advice of his superiors he’s on an indefinite sabbatical in the mountains. Their rugged strength and majestic beauty allows him the serenity to pick up the pieces, face his own fears, and contemplate the future, if there was one. When he finds a woman on a trail barely clinging to life after a horrendous beating he uses his weakened power to save her, risking his own life.
Her strength, loyalty to friends and family, and her ability to weather circumstances that would defeat most individuals. Bureau of Indian Affairs Agent, Mystic Rayne’s personal dilemma and assignment nearly gets her killed. Yet she will to do whatever it takes to right the wrongs perpetrated on innocents. Divine intervention is a complication she never expected.
Believe it or not, my characters enter my mind fully formed and with their names and demanding to have their stories told.
Do you base them on real people?
Tell us a little about your current works in progress.
I’m awaiting galley and cover art on A Magic Redemption, the fifth book in A Demon’s Witch Series. As well as, writing a paranormal romance for The Deerbourne Inn Series that my publisher The Wild Rose developed. And I’m excited to be working on my first cozy mystery.
Other than the online events listed on my website, I have a booth to sell my books at the Colorado Springs ComicCon. I’ve never attended a ComicCon, so this should be interesting. This year, I decided to try one thing a month that scares me. This is it. If your readers have any suggestions about the ComicCon, I’d love to hear them.
She had fifty new voice messages and twenty text messages. The text screen popped up with 611 on it. She went pale and checked the rest of the texts. All 611 and all sent this afternoon.
“What is it?” Caden put his hand on her shoulder as he squinted at the screen.
Holding her phone to her chest, Mystic followed him into the bedroom. He slid open a closet door and reached far back in the wardrobe, his fingers rested on his celestial diamond sword and platinum spelled daggers. Grabbing the chest harness, he slipped his arms through and sheathed the daggers. Then he slung the leather scabbard over his back slipping the magical sword inside.
Never in his wildest dreams did he expect to wear his weapons again. In fact, he’d almost given them to his friend Killian, who refused, saying a warrior, even a retired warrior never parts with his weapons. Idly, he wondered if Killian had foreseen this situation. He’d heard rumors that Killian had inherited the second sight of his Scottish mother, which he retained through the angel transition. Killian never confirmed or denied such talent.
Tena Stetler is a paranormal romance and cozy mystery author with an over-active imagination. She wrote her first vampire romance as a tween, to the chagrin of her mother and the delight of her friends. With the Rocky Mountains outside her window, Tena sits at her computer surrounded by a wide array of paranormal creatures telling her their tales. Colorado is her home; shared with her husband of many moons, a brilliant Chow Chow, a spoiled parrot and a forty-year-old box turtle. Any winter evening, you can find her curled up in front of a crackling fire with a good book, a mug of hot chocolate and a big bowl of popcorn. During the summer, hiking, camping and a campfire with good book keep her occupied. And of course ooey gooey S’mores.
My guest today is Leslie Scott with a look at the beautiful cover for her next release TWO HEARTS ONE STONE, which releases September 26. Leslie is a fellow Wild Rose Press author and I want to wish her the best with her new book!
SECRETS AND SOLACE #free at Amazon August 8-12, 2018!
SECRETS AND SOLACE is free at Amazon August 8 - 12, 2018. I shouldn't play favorites, but Scarlet and Cameron's story has a special place in my heart! It's book two in the Love at Solace Lake series. If you're with Kindle Unlimited, it's always free. Check out the excerpt!
His cell phone rang. Cam ignored it, and it stopped. He cupped one perfect, luscious breast through the soft silk of her blouse, the weight of it filling his hand as if it had been made for him. Her scent, something floral with notes of spice, intoxicated him in a way that coke and Crown had never achieved.
His phone rang again. Through his passion-fogged brain, he recognized the ringtone. Laura. The ringtone he’d be sure to answer since she only ever called about Tessa.
Jean M. Grant is celebrating the audio release of her historical romance A HUNDRED KISSES. Audio is an exciting new format for writers and one that readers love, me included. I love the portability that audiobooks give me; I can go to the gym and still keep up with my reading! Please welcome Jean M. Grant!
If you enjoyed A Hundred Kisses in audio, print, or e-book format, be on the lookout for its prequel, A Hundred Breaths, to be released in the upcoming months!
I am an avid fan of listening to audio books. When I worked out of the home, they were my pleasant company on the commute. When we take long road trips, the lyrical voices sweep us away and help the hours pass (btw, the Harry Potter series on audio – divine!). So, when I heard that my book’s publisher, The Wild Rose Press, added this opportunity, I jumped at it! After a few months and no bites from narrators, I took the next step: I researched several voice actors available with ACX, emailed them, and hoped for the best. If I learned anything in the past year of my first book’s release, it’s that the author must take initiative in marketing and promotion (and I am still learning and have a massive list of “to-do’s” to attack this fall for two more upcoming books). I was elated that Rosalind Ashford agreed to narrate the book. It was like Christmas each week for me when I received the audio book chapters to listen to and review. She was pleasant to work with and I hope you enjoy her work with A Hundred Kisses as much as I do! Happy reading, err, listening!
P.s. Rosalind stopped by on my blog to tell me more about her background and the recording process.