One of the things I love about writing for my publisher, Harlequin Presents, is that I’m given the freedom to create my own sagas. Call them mini-series, if you prefer, but the bottom line is that I love coming up with characters who are related to each either, either by blood or friendship, and then telling each of their stories individually.
My newest trilogy, The Sheikh Tycoons, might just be my sexiest, most exciting mini-series yet!
Tariq, Khalil and Salim come from kingdoms that are part of an incredibly wealthy group of countries called The Nations. The men met when they came to the United States to attend college. They’ve been best friends ever since. Now they’re in their early thirties, all living in Manhattan, all rich in their own rights… all gorgeous and sexy and absolutely NOT ready to settle down.
Fate is about to change all that.
The first book, THE SHEIKH’S DEFIANT BRIDE, in your favorite bookshop or available online right now, tells Tariq’s story. Tariq runs his family’s investment business in New York. He works hard but he plays hard, too. His life is moving along smoothly until his older brother dies in an accident. Tariq is now heir to the ancient throne of Dubaac. His brother is gone, his father is frail. And Tariq has seen how quickly life can change. He must do his duty, meaning he must marry and produce an heir.
How hard can that be?
Very hard, as it turns out. He wants a woman who’s beautiful and intelligent… and obedient. There are lots of them in Dubaac and even in New York, but none is right.
Madison Whitney is beautiful and intelligent, but she’s anything but obedient. She does want a child, but she has absolutely no wish to have a husband. Tariq would never select someone like her for his wife. Still, when fate brings them together at a party, the attraction between them is incredibly hot. At the last second, Madison decides things have gone too far. She stops Tariq from finishing what both of them started. Angry words fly. She says she never wants to see him again; he says that’s fine with him. And that should be the end of it—they don’t even know each other’s names—but good old fate isn’t done with them yet.
By an extraordinary series of circumstances, Madison becomes pregnant with Tariq’s child.
Tariq demands Madison give the child to him when it’s born. Madison laughs in his face. Tariq sees no choice. To claim his child, he must claim Madison—even if it means kidnapping her, seducing her—and falling in love with her.
Stop by at http://www.sandramarton.com/ where you can read excerpts from all three books: THE SHEIKH’S DEFIANT BRIDE, THE SHEIKH’S WAYWARD WIFE (in November) and THE SHEIKH’S REBELLIOUS MISTRESS (December). You can also see some pictures from the exciting trip my husband and I just took to Athens, Santorini, Mykonos and Istanbul.
Remember: a good book, especially a good Presents, can take you from the stress of everyday life straight into a world of passion and romance!
I’m running a sweepstakes for my readers. If you’d like to be the lucky winner of signed copies of my last year’s best-selling trilogy, BILLIONAIRES BRIDES, just send an email with CONTEST in the subject line to online@sandramarton.com. (Sorry, but because of postal regs, only addresses in the USA can qualify.)
Special WeWriteRomance.com Editor’s Note:
Be sure to check out WeWriteRomance.com’s review of The Sheikh’s Defiant Bride!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Sandra,
Thanks again for being here! I’m almost finished with the copy of The Sheikh’s Defiant Bride you sent me and it is totally great! I loved the heroine from the beginning and the hero, oh, my! He’s sexy, somewhat arrogant, and definitely determined to get his woman!
I think you did a masterful job on the characters. They’re so great bantering back and forth! And the looks he gives her sets my imagination into overdrive! ;-)
I can’t thank you enough for the book! And I plan to put the next two on my buy list for Amazon!
My what a lot of exclamation points I’ve used…oh, well, they’re deserved because I can’t wait to see how it ends!
Heather R.
Hey, Sandra!
I’m looking forward to reading this trilogy as Sheikh’s are a personal favorite of mine. :-)
I also love the covers and wondered what you thought about the ones you received for your books. Do you think they “fit” the story? Does the Sheikh on your first book look like you imagine Tariq to be? How about the heroine? Does she fit the image you had of Madison?
Thank you for the excerpts. I often look for those when I’m looking for my next author to try.
Sorry not to chime in sooner, but I’ve been working with no time to sneak to the net! I loved The Sheikh’s Defiant Bride. I think Sandra is definitely a master storyteller and has created a lovely world to escape to in this book. My review, I believe, is posted to the site here but I can’t say enough about it.
I’m eagerly hoping to get the chance to review the other two books in the series! If not, I know I’ll be asking for them from the dh for Christmas!
I was a member of the readers club for Presents for years and you are without a doubt one of the authors I loved getting books from!
I’ve always loved Presents and although it’s been a few years since I’ve picked any up at the store, I’ll have to go and pick up these books. I love Presents heroes and these guys sound perfectly delicious.
Ack! I forgot to ask the question I’ve been planning to ask ever since I found out you were going to be blogging here!
Do you have a favorite kind of story to write in Presents? I particularly love the blackmailed bride/lover stories :) and the inheritance/must get married stories. What are your favorites, reading or writing?
Heather, I’m delighted to be here. You’ve all given me a wonderfully warm welcome.
Alyson, that’s a great question about covers. To tell the truth, I’m very pleased with the covers for the second and third books in this trilogy but I never envisioned the scene depicted on the cover of The Sheikh’s Defiant Bride, and I certainly didn’t “see” my heroine in that blue nightie! Sometimes, covers are perfect… and sometimes, well, they’re not.
Casey, I meant to thank you for the marvelous review! I’d love to have you review the other books. Email me and I’ll send them to you.
Terescia, that’s an interesting question. One of my favorite Presents themes is the guardian and his ward, or the woman he’s vowed to care for. Come to think of it, another favorite is the marriage of convenience. And yes, themes of blackmail and revenge and, of course, secret babies… The fact is, I love virtually all the fairy tale themes that word so well in Presents. And I’m glad you’re going to start reading us again.
Sandra
Hi, Sandra!
Casey is a WeWriteRomance.com reviewer, so if you would like to send the books in for review you can send them to me like you did the other one. This is just a little policy we have so that we can gently remind our reviewers about doing the reviews. Sometimes things get crazy in our lives…
:-)
Heather R.
Hey, Sandra! You are so welcome! The book was wonderful. I enjoyed every minute of it. Sheikh heroes are one of my favorite story types.
I think all Presents are (for the most part) great reads that lift the spirit even while they take you through emotional heck. Yours gave me a nice warm fuzzy feeling while I waited for our little heroine to realize she had to stay with the hero!!!
Hope you’ll visit here again when you find out what your next set of books will be. I’d like to keep updated, but unfortunately with work, kids, other obligations, etc. I usually only find time to pop in here once or twice a week and I sure don’t have time to visit all of my favorite authors sites to find out when they have something coming out. What would we do without a full life, though, right?
Hope you’re busy writing! ;-)