To celebrate the release of his upcoming romantic suspense, SHADOW OF GUILT, award winning author Michael W. Davis will select twelve winners on 9/30 Prizes range from a paperback (winners choice) to multi-author bookmarker packages. To apply, go to Davisstories.com, click on the yellow button “Contests & Events” (below the top left of the screen) and follow the instructions.
In conjunction with Hope’s guest blog post (http://www.wewriteromance.com/blog/guest-blogger/hope-tarr-guest-blogger-second-chances-a-rogues-pleasure), she’s offering a copy of Vanquished. All you have to do is post a comment and by the end of her stay, Hope will tell us who has one!
In case you haven’t heard of Vanquished, here’s a bit to tease you with:
A devil’s bargain.
"The photograph must be damning, indisputably so. I mean to see Caledonia Rivers not only ruined but vanquished. Vanquished, St. Claire, I’ll settle for nothing less."
Known as The Maid of Mayfair for her unassailable virtue, unwavering resolve, and quiet dignity, suffragette leader, Caledonia — Callie — Rivers is the perfect counter for detractors’ portrayal of the women a rabble rousers, lunatics, even whores. But a high-ranking enemy within the government will stop at nothing to ensure that the Parliamentary bill to grant the vote to females dies in the Commons — including ruining the reputation of the Movement’s chief spokeswoman.
After a streak of disastrous luck at the gaming tables threatens to land him at the bottom of the Thames, photographer Hadrian St. Claire reluctantly agrees to seduce the beautiful suffragist leader and then use his camera to capture her fall from grace. Posing as the photographer commissioned to make her portrait for the upcoming march on Parliament, Hadrian infiltrates Callie’s inner circle. But lovely, soft-spoken Callie hardly fits his mental image of a dowdy, man-hating spinster. And as the passion between them flares from spark to full-on flame, Hadrian is the one in danger of being vanquished.
Second chances at love, don’t you just…love them?
A ROGUE’S PLEASURE, my romance debut novel originally published in print with Berkley/Jove, is getting its own second chance at love as an e-book release with Carina Press, Harlequin’s digital-first imprint and like any proud mama I couldn’t be more pleased. The reissue, which sports gorgeous new cover art and an editing facelift, went live on August 16th, two weeks short of what would be the book’s tenth anniversary. How cool is that!?!
A ROGUE’S PLEASURE is a Regency romp that I’m thrilled to be able to share with a new generation of romance readers. To get the soiree started, close your eyes—okay, don’t close them since you need them open to read this—or better yet open your mind to the clip-clop of horses hooves instead of sirens and honking cars.
It is Regency England, 1812. Napoleon is wreaking havoc in Europe, including Spain and Portugal where ousting the rightful royals and setting his sibling, Joseph Bonaparte, on the Spanish throne has catalyzed a sweeping grassroots national resistance supported by Britain and its Allies. On the home front, private coaches traveling between the countryside and London are prime targets for the rogues of the road: highwaymen.
Put yourself in the shoes, or rather the Wellingtons, of my hero, Lord Anthony Grenville. You are in your private coach en route to London for The Season. To drown out the droning of your soon-to-be mother-in-law, you think not great thoughts but rather mundane ones. Will the inn’s beef be soured again? Sigh. Might there be a decent claret to be had in lieu of the usual ale. Must I really marry this very pretty but very dull girl? You are not only thinking such thoughts but lost to them when a shout of “Halt! Stand and deliver!” freezes the blood in your veins.
In A ROGUE’S PLEASURE, Anthony is a war hero newly returned from The Peninsular Campaign and traveling to London with his fiancée, Lady Phoebe Tremont, and her mother. As you may have supposed, pretty but dull Lady Phoebe is not the heroine.
The heroine is Read more… »
To enter Margaret’s contest is super easy. Just answer the following question:
What is the name of the hero and heroine in my book THE ITALIAN’S RUTHLESS BABY BARGAIN released as a Presents EXTRA in March?
She is giving away two prizes (copies of her latest release, MARRIED AGAIN TO THE MILLIONAIRE) so visit her contest page to find out how to enter.
Good luck!
Emily Bryan is running a quarterly contest in conjunction with her free online novella A DUKE FOR ALL SEASONS. Each month her readers vote for the direction the story should take and she writes the next chapter. March is the last month a vote will enter readers in her March 31st drawing for a $100 gift card. The link to the contest is: http://www.emilybryan.com/contest.htm
It’s that time of year again – Christmas! And the question in my latest contest is: What would be your perfect way to spend Christmas? Would you like money to be no object? Or would you be happy with your family around you? The more I think about this the more I realise that it does not matter whether we’re financially well off. Christmas is a time for families. To have our loved ones around us.
In 2004 I wrote a book called Her Husband’s Christmas Bargain. My poor hero had fathered a daughter he knew nothing about. She is four years old when the story starts and she asks Santa for a Daddy for Christmas. And guess what – she gets her wish. It’s a long uphill struggle before her Mummy and Daddy finally get back together but love conquers all in the end.
So do you agree with me that Christmas is about family get togethers and not money? Or do you think Christmas is too commercialised these days? Would you like to fly away from it all and enjoy a holiday somewhere different? Email me your answers here and you could win a copy of my latest book – The Twelve-Month Marriage Deal. The perfect Christmas present to yourself!
Happy Christmas everyone!
Margaret
Civil War Romances Reveal Fine Line between Love and Hate
by Jessica James
Hello and a big thank you to WeWriteRomance for allowing me to visit as part of my Holiday Blog Tour and Civil War Romance Basket Giveaway.
As some of you may know, my name is Jessica James and I am the author of the historical fiction novel Shades of Gray, which has twice hit No. 1 on Amazon in the romance/historical/U.S. category, putting it temporarily ahead of the iconic classic Gone with the Wind. (And I do mean temporarily).
Shades of Gray
Reaching the #1 spot in a romance category, even briefly, was something I never dreamed could happen. When it did though, I began to think about what makes a novel like Gone with the Wind so memorable, and how other authors can capture the intensity of emotion that Margaret Mitchell did so eloquently.
Most writers learn from the beginning that conflict is the foundation upon which every great book is created – and GWTW provides plenty. But another aspect shared by both GWTW and Shades of Gray is the old adage, “there’s a fine line between love and hate.” Scarlett and Rhett, needless to say, outwardly appear to dislike one another, yet all the while the reader somehow knows the depth of affection the two share.
That premise is taken a step further in Shades of Gray because the main characters have diametrically opposing views on the war. Serving under different flags – one as a Confederate cavalry officer, the other as a Union spy – makes their “hate” relationship even stronger, and, eventually, their love more intense.
I don’t know how to explain the concept of the “fine line” except to say there is passion and emotion in both love and hate. The War Between the States provides an author with the perfect setting for conflict and emotion, and history provides many examples of enemies becoming friends (and even becoming husband and wife as in the case of the real-life Confederate spy Antonia Ford who married her Union jail guard).
Whether your book’s plot is built upon that “fine line” or some other storyline that builds conflict, emotion must play a central role. It is that ebb and flow, that roller coaster ride of sentiment and excitement that keeps the reader hooked.
In the end, a memorable book really comes down to the ageless theme that all romance readers desire – true and everlasting love. Mix in a healthy dose of conflict and emotion, and you have a book that will steal readers’ hearts and make them think about the characters long after the final page has been turned.
Shades of Gray Basket
Note: Tomorrow’s Blog Tour stop is at Romance University (www.romanceuniversity.org) where I’ll be writing about researching historical fiction. Leave a comment for a chance to win a basket of Civil War and romantic goodies. Check out the Tour’s full schedule and other ways to win at www.jessicajamesblog.com.
I am really excited to be here today as part of my blog travels to talk about HeavenSent.com, my novella in the Holiday Brides anthology (due out tomorrow!). I’d like to thank the crew here at We Write Romance for hosting me and to thank you for stopping by to chit chat with me about how I wound up writing about love.
I didn’t start out writing romance. I wrote poetry all through my teen years before heading off to the University of Missouri-Columbia’s School of Journalism. I went there to become a writer and graduated as a reporter. When I did get around to penning my first manuscript, it came out more like Read more… »
Abby Green is running a super contest…she’s giving away 2 hardbacks of her December UK release, Ruthless Greek Boss, Secretary Mistress to the first two people who email her and mention the title of that book. And she’s giving away 5 copies of her current book, Mistress to the Merciless Millionaire too. Just visit her site and check out her NEWS section for more on how to email her!
A name will be drawn at random on Nov 30 and the winner allowed to select a paperback from any of the author’s novels, including: TAINTED HERO (receiver of six 5 star reviews), FORGOTTEN CHILDREN (nominated best romantic suspense of 2008 by two sites), or the new release BLIND CONSENT. To apply, go to the Contest page at Davisstories.com and follow the instructions.
