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So most of you probably know that the second installment of my Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series released on May 28th. It's called Advantage: Heartbreak and it's available for only $1.29. Honestly, I love this series more and more as it goes on. Things get intense in this novella and there are lots of swoon-worthy moments. So, I thought I'd share a teaser with you today. Enjoy!

I've been waiting for this release for a long time! Faith Sullivan is one of my new favorite authors. If she writes it, I'm reading it. Without further ado, here's Come What May!

The first book of the HEARTBEAT series is only 99 cents on Amazon! 

Click cover to purchase.

So May 28th wasn't just the release day for Advantage: Heartbreak and few other title from Swoon Romance. It was also the release day for Romancing the R.A., a New Adult romance by Ashelyn Drake. 

Character Interview MURMUR by J. Leigh

Character Interview
Adama Mahoney from MURMUR by J. Leigh

Click here: http://goo.gl/uWBLw

http://bigworldnetwork.com/site/character-interview-adama-from-murmur-by-j-leigh/#comments

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1.  BEA  Woo hoo! I'll be at BEA Thursday evening through Saturday! If you're there, look for me at the Spencer Hill Press booth.

2.  Melinda's Museum Magic  I got the proof for my upcoming picture book, Melinda's Museum Magic this weekend. And even though I was sick with a fever, I made a video to share it with you.



3.  Advantage: Heartbreak releases tomorrow!  The second novella in the Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series will be out tomorrow! And what's a release day without a giveaway? So here's what you can win.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Scholastic Book Fair  I'm working the Scholastic Book Fair at my daughter's school again this week. Even though I just placed an online order, I'm sure I'll be buying more books.
2. Cricket's Drive Around Town  This weekend I got the color illustrations for my upcoming picture book and they blew my mind. This book is going to be so adorable!
3. Into the Fire  I just sent my edits off to my editor this past weekend for Into the Fire, which is coming in January 2014 through Month9Books. And I updated my FB author page so the gorgeous cover is on there. :)
4. Stalked by Death ARC  My Stalked by Death ARC arrived on Saturday! Squee! I thought I wasn't getting it until BEA, so I'm really excited to get to hold my pretty book!
5. Advantage: Heartbreak  Less than 10 days until the release of Advantage: Heartbreak, novella #2 in the Game. Set. Match. Heartbreak series. Yay!

Summary:
Temporary. That one single word best describes my life these last few years. I'm working at a temporary job until I can finally break free. I'm my little brother's temporary mother since our mom doesn't give a crap about either of us. And I'm the temporary girl all the guys want to get with because I give it up so easily. According to the rumors, at least. But now I'm the temporary girlfriend of Drew Callahan, college football legend and all around golden guy. He's beautiful, sweet, and he's hiding way more secrets than I am. He's brought me into this fake life where everyone seems to hate me. And everyone seems to want something from him. The only thing he seems to want though is Me. I don't know what to believe anymore. All I know is, I think Drew needs me. And I want to be there for him. Forever.

My thoughts:
I'm on a New Adult kick lately and at $.99 on Kindle, I couldn't pass this one up. I'd heard really great things about it, and I wasn't disappointed. Fable is a girl with a reputation, though the rumors aren't exactly true. I really liked her right from the start. And Drew is broken in so many ways. While I quickly figured out one of the ways, another threw me for a loop—in a good way. It added the perfect amount of conflict and set up book two. The dynamic between Fable and Drew is incredible. Drew asks Fable to pretend to be his girlfriend for a week, while he goes home for Thanksgiving. Fable doesn't know Drew's motive, but since he pays her a lot of money, she doesn't really care. 

At first, Drew and Fable are faking their feelings for each other for the benefit of Drew's family. But very quickly, the feelings become real, and they are both fighting against them. Warning for those who don't like explicit sex scenes: Murphy tells all in this book. If you blush easily, this may not be the book for you. That aside, the romance is great. I'll definitely be checking out the next book in the Drew and Fable series, Second Chance Boyfriend.

Just for fun: Would you—or have you ever—pretend(ed) to be in a relationship with someone?

I'm really excited to take part in the cover reveal for Come What May (Heartbeat #2) by Faith Sullivan!

The first book of the HEARTBEAT series is only 99 cents on Amazon! 

Click cover to purchase.

Happy Monday! Here's my mishmash of thoughts:

1. Edits  I've gotten several new editing clients in the past two weeks, so I'm keeping busy.
2. Emailing myself  I have an entire folder in my inbox of emails from myself. LOL This is how I keep track of things (along with my day planner). Anyone else email themselves?
3. Field Trip  This week I'm going on my daughter's kindergarten field trip. We were told to wear clothes that can get dirty because we're going to a farm. And did I mention it's supposed to rain? I hope the weather holds out for us.  
4. Free Monthly Newsletter  My free monthly newsletter goes out at 5pm EST today. If you aren't already signed up but would like to receive it, you can sign up here.
5. Romancing the R.A. Cover Reveal and Giveaway  I'm participating in the cover reveal for Ashelyn Drake's upcoming New Adult romance through S.B. Addison Books. Check it out.

Noelle Buckman is looking forward to making a fresh start in college, one that doesn’t involve immature high school boys. The second she steps on campus for freshman orientation, she can sense the possibilities. Especially when she spots Andy, a resident advisor who’s not just hot but also thoughtful enough to open doors for a girl.

And Andy has his eye on Noelle. Even when her nerves take control and she thinks she comes off as a hillbilly with no direction, Andy can see what she’s really like and he’s more than a little interested.

But orientation is less than two full days and there’s an entire summer between Noelle and Andy. Will her attempt to romance the R.A. be as short-lived as college orientation?

Reader Gut Reaction: Kirby Larson is a familiar face to many of us old-school bloggers, since she's been to many a Kidlitcon and SCBWI conference. Her first book about Hattie Brooks, Hattie Ever After, introduced us to a (dare I use this hackneyed... Read the rest of this post

Author: Anne Faye
Publisher: CreateSpace
Genre: Romance
ISBN: 9781482758214
Pages: 170
Price: $9.99

Author’s website
Buy it at Amazon

Julia Manning is happy with her simple life. She has a job in a bookstore, volunteer work at the nursing home, and a quiet apartment. After being dumped at the altar ten years ago by Zach Richards, she has no intention of ever loving again or getting married. And now she is determined to solve the mystery behind a rose ring that one of the nursing home residents claims was once hers.

So when her mom arranges a date with a man she couldn’t tolerate when she was younger, Julia is less than thrilled. And when Zach suddenly appears out of nowhere, she doesn’t know how she’ll cope, especially when he ends up working at the bookstore with her.

Zach’s behavior when she first meets him is not praiseworthy. He is dating a questionable woman and he shows very little remorse for leaving Julia in her predicament. As Julia delves deeper into the mystery of the rose ring, she discovers a love that was once strong, but was ultimately lost. Would Julia also be throwing away her own love for Zach by not choosing to forgive?

The Rose Ring is a nice love story told from two perspectives. Although only one leads to a happy ending, the other brings a sweet sense of closure and forgiveness. I really enjoyed this book, and I look forward to seeing more from this talented author.

Reviewer: Alice Berger

All hail the cooperative! I know I'm always on my soapbox for the Little Guy, but seriously, many readers never see books that aren't put out by the Big Five publishing houses (it used to be Big Six, before the Random Penguin House thing). Curiosity... Read the rest of this post

Reader Gut Reaction: Janelle Tenner was supposed to be dead. For a few minutes, she WAS. And then…she wasn't. And her life since then is irrevocably different. Before: beach lifeguard, academic powerhouse, popular hot boyfriend, not much to worry... Read the rest of this post

Reader Gut Reaction: The first book in this trilogy, Under the Never Sky, was on my radar since it launched, but I hadn't gotten around to reading it until my library recently dangled a free e-book version of it and its sequel in front of me. Being... Read the rest of this post

D.J.  Swykert’s short fiction and poetry have been published in The Tampa Review, Monarch Review, Sand Canyon Review, Zodiac Review, Scissors and Spackle, spittoon, Barbaric Yawp and BULL. His novel, Maggie Elizabeth Harrington, won a literary competition with The LitWest Group in Los Angeles in 2002.  Alpha Wolves, D.J.’s Noble Publishing’s bestselling novel, was released in April, 2012.  Children of the Enemy, D.J.’s OmniLit’s bestselling novel, was published for the first time in 2009 and a third edition published in September 2012 by Cambridge Books.

Hi D.J., Please tell everyone a bit about yourself.

D.J.: I’m a blue collar person from Detroit. I’ve worked as a truck driver, dispatcher, logistics analyst, operations manager, and ten years as a 911 operator, which was the very best job of all of them. I write stories like you’d watch a movie and put them down on paper. I have written in different genres; crime, romance, and even a little bit in literary fiction. The last sentence in my writing bio is always: He is a wolf expert. I am not a biologist. I raised two arctic hybrids, had them for eleven years, and have written two books in which they join the other protagonists.

When did the writing bug bite, and in what genre(s)?

D.J.: The first thing I ever wrote was a poem to impress my art student girlfriend. That was right after high school. It wasn’t very good, but she was impressed with my effort. I’ve been scribbling things ever since.

When you started writing, what goals did you want to accomplish? Is there a message you want readers to grasp?

D.J.: I’ve always wanted a career that I enjoyed. I looked at writing as a possible means to that end. I’ve had some small success, enough to be encouraging, but I’ve always worked for a living. If there’s a central theme to my writing it’s that all life has value. My characters tend to question norms. I tend to question what is considered normal. I like animals, I have empathy for the hardships they endure and my protagonists usually do as well.

Briefly tell us about your latest book. Is it part of a series or stand-alone?

D.J.: The Death of Anyone is essentially a mystery/suspense story with romance and a little science in it. The story centers on homicide detective Bonnie Benham’s search for the killer of young girls.

This book has a couple of the same characters from an earlier unpublished novel I hold the rights to titled Sweat Street, but I wouldn’t consider it a sequel. If I have some success with The Death of Anyone I may look to publish the first book. And perhaps consider another story with Detective Bonnie Benham. This is not the first time I’ve written from a female POV, but it’s the first time for a female police detective.

What’s the hook for the book?

D.J.: The book introduces readers to a DNA search technique not in common use here in the U.S., Familial DNA. A lot will be written on this subject as the real life trial of Lonnie David Franklin, The Grim Sleeper unfolds in California this year. The trial will set precedence for future use of this DNA search technique and I suspect will eventually lead to a Supreme Court decision on it’s admissibility as evidence. The defense is going to severely question LAPD investigating Lonnie Franklin in the first place as there was no direct evidence linking him to the crime.

How do you develop characters? Setting?

D.J.: They say write what you know, so I set my story in Detroit, where I grew up and lived for a long time and can authentically describe the city and places for the scenes in my story. When I make up a character I usually visualize someone in my head and then give them the characteristics I believe suits the character in my story. I wrote a story about a thirteen year old girl trying to save a pack of young wolves from a bounty hunter. In my mind I visualized Maggie Harrington as Jodie Foster in an old film, Taxi Driver, where she played a thirteen year old prostitute. I used Jodie’s image to describe the girl and my own feelings for animals to impart her emotions concerning the wolves. This is how I generally develop a character.

Who’s the most unusual/most likeable character?

D.J.: I think Bonnie Benham is both unusual and likeable. She was originally in narcotics, but washed out. In her own words she became more “narcotic” than “narc.” As she investigates the murders of adolescent girls she is trying to resurrect herself as well as seek justice for the victims. This makes Bonnie a very edgy homicide cop. The story contains several suspects who are both likeable and unlikeable.

Do you have specific techniques to help you maintain the course of the plot?

D.J.: I’m a ponderer.  I do a lot of thinking about my character and the story in my head before I begin to write. I usually have figured out how I wish to end the story. When I begin to write I put my character into a situation and from there the chapters all point towards the ending. It doesn’t always work out quite as simply as this sounds, but this is how I begin.

Do you have a specific writing style? Preferred POV?

D.J.: I think my best writing is in first person. But The Death of Anyone and Children of the Enemy are in third person past tense, which most readers I think prefer. First person works good as a narrative for a strong character in a short book, but since it can only get into the one character’s head it can get a bit tedious.

How does your environment/upbringing color your writing?

D.J.: I grew up in Detroit, so, for crime or mystery stories I’ve set them in Detroit, which unfortunately has held the Murder Capital of the World title several times. I have also written stories set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where I lived on the Keweenaw Peninsula for a decade. Love it up there, a true wilderness much like Alaska only with smaller mountains. But the winter is extremely long, turbulent and prohibitive.

Share the best review (or a portion) that you’ve ever had.

D.J.: I liked this review left on Amazon:

The Death of Anyone by David Swykert, reads like a Jessie Stone movie, was a true page turner for me. His subject is close to our hearts and the viewpoint is an eye opener. He has interwoven the personal problems of some of his Characters making them real. He also has a flair for writing some romantic scenes that most ladies will find endearing. If you enjoy a mystery, some anxiety and a little romance I would recommend you read The Death of Anyone.

What are your current projects?

D.J.: I have an offbeat/quirky romantic tale titled The Pool Boy’s Beatitude. The book will publish this summer by a small Indie press out of Detroit, Rebel e Publishing. They do have a book distributor and a small print run will be done. It’s the story of an alcoholic physicist who drops out and is cleaning swimming pools to earn a living, skimming what he refers to as the “Infinite Pond.” The story follows the human orbit of Jack Joseph and his trail of broken relationships until he ultimately lands himself in a county jail.

Where can folks learn more about your books and events?

D.J.: I have a page on an artistic collective called: www.magicmasterminds.com You can find information about my work, and me on the site, and see a host of other amazing artists, musicians and writers.

Thanks for joining us today, D.J.!

D.J.: Thanks so much for the opportunity.

by Rachel Lieberman

I write YA, and I often ask myself, “Does my writing promote good messages to teen girls?”

Now, don’t get me wrong. Stories that preach = BIG FAT NO. Making your story a mouthpiece for your beliefs is never a good idea.

This is not your job.

BUT that doesn’t mean that you’re never allowed to wonder who’s going to read your stories, and what those readers will get out of their experiences.

For my graduate lecture, I took a look at how feminist and post-feminist literary theory can help us look at YA literature and decide for ourselves what messages we want to send. Feminism is, at its core, the belief in equal rights for all genders, but of course there are many definitions and variations among those definitions. The question of choice (who gets to choose, and what they should choose) is sometimes a point of contention among critics.

I think that one of the reasons so many critics find fault with Twilight and novels like it is because Bella’s choices may be her own, but they are consistently at odds with the choices we want our girls to make. When we show characters who consistently choose dangerous, controlling partners, our fear is that young adult readers will also choose dangerous, controlling partners.

I don’t think this is an invalid concern, but my intention isn’t to debate or argue it. That’s for another time, another post. My intention is to say, that if you’re a YA writer and this is something you are thinking about, there are ways to develop a good feminist story without making it preachy or propaganda. I’ll share some methods that I found useful and talked about in my lecture.

1. What does your main character want? If it’s just a relationship, consider that in real life, a desire for a relationship is usually a symptom of a deeper desire for something else, like security or acknowledgment. Consider what other forces might be at work, and you’ll avoid creating shallow characters whose problems can be solved by a significant other.

2. Make sure your character stays active. Find places in the story that force her to act, that take away her safety net and test her. This is true of practically any story, but in YA romances, it’s especially important. She doesn’t need to be a hero, but she shouldn’t rely on her love interest too much.

3. Pay attention to your character’s love interest. Speaking of the love interest, don’t forget to pay attention to him! Or her. What does he want? Does he act in a way that harms the main character, and if so, are there negative consequences? If your character has to choose between two love interests (very common these days), is the choice made too easy (by having one character turn out to be a jerk)?

4. Romance novel vs. novel with romantic elements. A romance novel is a little different than a novel with romantic elements. A romance novel’s plot is dependent on the relationship between two characters, so if you want to write a story with feminist undertones, you might choose the other path.

5. Why do your characters get together? Think about the reasons your characters are together. Is it because they find each other so attractive? Or do they share a deep, mutual connection? The more you develop the relationship, and the reasons for it, the more likely you are to connect with readers.

6. The moral of the story. All of these factors combined puts you in a better position to control the final factor: the moral of the story. Once you’ve finished a draft, it might be a good idea to take a look around. What’s happened to the characters? Who’s alive? What have they had to sacrifice? Your character’s rewards and punishments reveal a lot about your story’s message. Is it the message you want?

There are, of course, many more factors than these six that you will need to pay attention to in order to write a great novel. But this is a place to start if your aim is to write a story with romantic elements that will both appeal to teen readers and give them characters and situations they can look up to.

Rachel Lieberman works in higher education and writes YA. Her short fiction has appeared in Opium, Awkward, Emprise Review, and others. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Tampa.

Visit Rachel’s blog: A Reputation in Digital Form: The Writerly Musings of Rachel Lieberman

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @LiebermanRachel

This blog post was brought to you as part of the March Dystropian Madness Blog Series.

by Rachel Lieberman

I write YA, and I often ask myself, “Does my writing promote good messages to teen girls?”

Now, don’t get me wrong. Stories that preach = BIG FAT NO. Making your story a mouthpiece for your beliefs is never a good idea.

This is not your job.

BUT that doesn’t mean that you’re never allowed to wonder who’s going to read your stories, and what those readers will get out of their experiences.

For my graduate lecture, I took a look at how feminist and post-feminist literary theory can help us look at YA literature and decide for ourselves what messages we want to send. Feminism is, at its core, the belief in equal rights for all genders, but of course there are many definitions and variations among those definitions. The question of choice (who gets to choose, and what they should choose) is sometimes a point of contention among critics.

I think that one of the reasons so many critics find fault with Twilight and novels like it is because Bella’s choices may be her own, but they are consistently at odds with the choices we want our girls to make. When we show characters who consistently choose dangerous, controlling partners, our fear is that young adult readers will also choose dangerous, controlling partners.

I don’t think this is an invalid concern, but my intention isn’t to debate or argue it. That’s for another time, another post. My intention is to say, that if you’re a YA writer and this is something you are thinking about, there are ways to develop a good feminist story without making it preachy or propaganda. I’ll share some methods that I found useful and talked about in my lecture.

1. What does your main character want? If it’s just a relationship, consider that in real life, a desire for a relationship is usually a symptom of a deeper desire for something else, like security or acknowledgment. Consider what other forces might be at work, and you’ll avoid creating shallow characters whose problems can be solved by a significant other.

2. Make sure your character stays active. Find places in the story that force her to act, that take away her safety net and test her. This is true of practically any story, but in YA romances, it’s especially important. She doesn’t need to be a hero, but she shouldn’t rely on her love interest too much.

3. Pay attention to your character’s love interest. Speaking of the love interest, don’t forget to pay attention to him! Or her. What does he want? Does he act in a way that harms the main character, and if so, are there negative consequences? If your character has to choose between two love interests (very common these days), is the choice made too easy (by having one character turn out to be a jerk)?

4. Romance novel vs. novel with romantic elements. A romance novel is a little different than a novel with romantic elements. A romance novel’s plot is dependent on the relationship between two characters, so if you want to write a story with feminist undertones, you might choose the other path.

5. Why do your characters get together? Think about the reasons your characters are together. Is it because they find each other so attractive? Or do they share a deep, mutual connection? The more you develop the relationship, and the reasons for it, the more likely you are to connect with readers.

6. The moral of the story. All of these factors combined puts you in a better position to control the final factor: the moral of the story. Once you’ve finished a draft, it might be a good idea to take a look around. What’s happened to the characters? Who’s alive? What have they had to sacrifice? Your character’s rewards and punishments reveal a lot about your story’s message. Is it the message you want?

There are, of course, many more factors than these six that you will need to pay attention to in order to write a great novel. But this is a place to start if your aim is to write a story with romantic elements that will both appeal to teen readers and give them characters and situations they can look up to.

Rachel Lieberman works in higher education and writes YA. Her short fiction has appeared in Opium, Awkward, Emprise Review, and others. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She lives in Tampa.

Visit Rachel’s blog: A Reputation in Digital Form: The Writerly Musings of Rachel Lieberman

Follow Rachel on Twitter: @LiebermanRachel

This blog post was brought to you as part of the March Dystropian Madness Blog Series.

I have been enjoying quite a few Entangled series releases, and I thought it would be fun to share some info about the books slated to hits store shelves today.

BLISS

The Practice Proposal by Tracy March

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

Just For Summer by Jenna Rutland

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

Indulgence

A Risk Worth Taking by Victoria James

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Tempted by Trouble by Michelle Smart

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

Faking It by Diane Alberts

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

The Baby Bargain by Jennifer Apodaca

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

The Cinderella Makeover by Hope Tarr

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

Date by Mistake Anthology

Buy it here:

Amazon

B&N

Books on Board

And don’t forget about Jennifer Probst’s latest, All The Way.  Jennifer was my special guest yesterday, so please click here to see what we talked about.

Book Blurb:

Buy Links:

Amazon

B&N

Dorothy Callahan is visiting the virtual offices today to chat about her book Taming the Stallion.  Check out what she has to say.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Dorothy Callahan] I’m an avid animal lover who has always dreamed of being a published author. I’m also a chocoholic who refuses any 12 step program.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about Taming the Stallion?

[Dorothy Callahan] Raylie really just wants to get a great promotion; she’s done with men and dating. Her baggage is tragic and too hard to deal with, so she represses it, focusing instead on her career. She takes a horse case despite dealing with her past, because she really thinks she can make one more headline arrest.

Ashton is the top horse trainer/breeder around, so the fact this Peace Officer wants to arrest him is ludicrous. He just wants to know who’s poisoning his horses, and the ones he’s losing point to someone being aware of his secretive past.

Neither one really wants anything to do with the other, but they just can’t fight their attraction, despite the risks to their professional careers. Who’s going to solve this case?

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Dorothy Callahan] Working in a busy humane society gave me lots of ideas for stories, and, being an animal lover with a defined sense of justice, I knew my heroine would have to embrace those qualities as well. Plus, in all my years working at the humane society, no one ever stumbled on anyone as great a catch as Ashton! All I needed was a situation that put both of them at their personal worst, then stepped back to watch what would happen.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Raylie?

[Dorothy Callahan] Driven, empathic, unwavering. She is definitely NOT a closet romantic. Nope. (Ignore her artwork. She does.)

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Ashton had a theme song, what would it be?

[Dorothy Callahan] "Unanswered Prayers" by Garth Brooks.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Raylie is never without.

[Dorothy Callahan] Her sidearm.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things will you never find in Ashton’s bedroom?

[Dorothy Callahan] Neutral colors, art work, potpourri.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Ashton’s greatest regret?

[Dorothy Callahan] Dropping out of college, despite how his life prospered.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Dorothy Callahan] Movies, so I can "veg" and let the juices flow, chocolate, because, well, it’s chocolate, and my husband, who is the best sounding board in the entire world.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Dorothy Callahan] A pen to chew on, a cat on my lap, and silence.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Dorothy Callahan] Ooh, it’s a tie between "Darkfire Kiss," by Deborah Cooke, and "Homer’s Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[Dorothy Callahan] A book I read as a child about a young boy whose father (a forest ranger) rescued a mountain lion cub, and as she grew into adulthood, the boy risked his life to return her to the wild. I can’t recall the name of it, but I read it about 8 times in elementary school. (I think the librarian hid it from me after a while….) After that, in middle school, it was Piers Anthony and Robert Asprin.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[Dorothy Callahan] What do you mean? 
I love to watch movies, read, renovate our house, and shop for antiques. I’m also a Facebook junkie. I love to repost!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Dorothy Callahan] Online at Dorothy Callahan Author on Facebook, or dorothycallahan.com to visit me.  In person, just talk about movies, your pets, or antiques!

Thank you so much for inviting me to your blog! I appreciate the opportunity to be here.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!

You can purchase Taming the Stallion from your favorite bookseller or by clicking the link below. 

About the book:

About the Author:

Dorothy Callahan lives in upstate New York with her wonderful husband, a pride of demanding cats, and two loyal dogs, all rescued from shelters (not the husband). When she is not writing, she enjoys shopping for antiques and renovating their pre-Civil War house.

Title:  A Risk Worth Taking Author: Victoria James

May Contain Spoilers

From Amazon:

Review:

This book had me invested in Holly’s life by the end of the first chapter.  It was heart-breaking.  It’s her big day at work, and she has worked the last ten years for this moment.  Her wardrobe was carefully picked out, and she is glowing with happiness. She is finally going to be made a partner at the prestigious design firm where she’s employed when she gets the call that makes her realize how pointless her achievement really is.  Her sister and brother-in-law have been killed in an accident, and now she’s left reeling, the guardian of her infant niece.  How can she raise a child alone?  How will she recover from yet another loss?  Everyone she has loved has died – her parents,  the grandparents who raised her and her sister, and now her sister’s gone, too.  It’s just too much, and Holly is devastated.

Returning to her rural hometown to renovate and then flip her grandparents’ house, she is confronted with painful memories of her past.  She has loved Quinn for a lifetime, but he rejected her when she was eighteen.  Now she has to put on a brave front and face him, and all of her childhood memories.  All she wants to do is get the house finished and get out of town, and back to her life in the city where she’s so busy she doesn’t have time to dwell on the emptiness of her life.

I enjoyed A Risk Worth Taking very much.  I loved the interactions between Holly and Quinn, and even enjoyed Emma, Holly’s little niece.  I usually am not a big fan of babies in romances, but Emma wasn’t just window-dressing here.  She was central to the storyline, and she helped both Holly and Quinn’s hearts to heal.  Despite her best efforts to not get caught up in her feelings for Quinn, which still burned bright, Holly’s resolve crumbled as he became an important addition to her new family.  And Quinn, though he didn’t feel worthy of Emma’s love or trust, was able to put his painful past behind him with the baby and Holly’s help. 

A Risk Worth Taking is a feel good read.  You’ll get caught up in Quinn and Holly’s romance, and cheer along as they both learn to trust again.   As Holly puts aside her sadness, she begins to remember all of the happiness she has turned her back on. As she remembers what is really important in life, she is willing to face the risks, and the rewards, of loving Quinn. 

Grade:  B+

Review copy provided by publisher

Please welcome Tessa Bailey to the virtual offices today.  She is celebrating the release of Protecting What’s His, the first in her Line of Duty series.  After we chat with Tessa, you can enter for your chance to win a copy of Protecting What’s His!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Describe yourself in 140 characters or less.

[Tessa Bailey] Hot-and-bothered stay-at-home-mom turned writer, Brooklynite, foodie and hopeless romantic.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Can you tell us a little about Protecting What’s His?

[Tessa Bailey] “To steal or not to steal?” is the opening line of the book. Ginger, our mostly fearless heroine is deciding whether or not to steal fifty-thousand dollars from her passed-out stripper mother. Ultimately, she decides to take the cash (and her little sister, Willa) on the run to Chicago. She thinks she’s gotten away with it until she meets homicide cop and sexy new neighbor, Lieutenant Derek Tyler.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How did you come up with the concept and the characters for the story?

[Tessa Bailey] I like a heroine who is a little bad. And a lot impulsive. I came up with Ginger, a fast-talking country girl, as a character first. Then I gave her an important and difficult choice to make at the beginning of the book. I built the story based on that decision. Of course, I needed someone to counteract Ginger’s personality, so I came up with Derek, the sharp, young lieutenant with a need to control. Watching him as he tries to control wild child Ginger makes for a very entertaining story!

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three words best describe Ginger?

[Tessa Bailey] Provocative, Willful, Vulnerable

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If Derek had a theme song, what would it be?

[Tessa Bailey] “Play with Fire” by the Rolling Stones

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Name one thing Ginger is never without.

[Tessa Bailey ] Cowboy boots and Dolly Parton witticisms

[Manga Maniac Cafe]  What three things will you never find in Derek’s bathroom?

[Tessa Bailey] A loofah, volumizing hair gel, decorative soaps.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is Derek’s greatest regret?

[Tessa Bailey] He’s not the regretful type – although that might change throughout the book 

[Manga Maniac Cafe ] What are your greatest creative influences?

[Tessa Bailey] I have a group of friends who inspire a lot of the female relationships in my book. They are opinionated and swear like sailors. A lot of the time, I’ll ask myself, what would so-and-so say here? I was encouraged to write female characters who speak with more honesty after reading Tara Sivec’s Seduction in Snacks. I adore that book. The characters remind me of my friends.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What three things do you need in order to write?

[Tessa Bailey] Silence, gummy bears and warm socks.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What is the last book that you read that knocked your socks off?

[Tessa Bailey] On Dublin Street by Samantha Young.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] If you had to pick one book that turned you on to reading, which would it be?

[Tessa Bailey] When I was fourteen, I was at a boring family reunion in Maine. I found an old, beat-up copy of “Hidden Fires” by Sandra Brown in my grandmother’s suitcase. It was my first romance novel and I never looked back.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] What do you like to do when you aren’t writing?

[Tessa Bailey] Play with my 19-month old, read, go to concerts, think up my next story.

[Manga Maniac Cafe] How can readers connect with you?

[Tessa Bailey] My website is www.tessabailey.com

On Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/Tessa-Bailey/107783312730783

Follow me on Twitter @mstessabailey

[Manga Maniac Cafe] Thank you!

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!

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About the book:

Reader Gut Reaction: Gadget Girl: The Art of Being Invisible, by Suzanne Kamata, comes out in May, but I've been cleared by the author to get some buzz going—and I'm thrilled to be able to do so with a book that deftly handles many facets of the... Read the rest of this post

A Week to Be Wicked by Tessa Dare.

We first met bookish geologist Minerva Highwood and rakeish Lord Payne in the first Spindle Cove novel, A Night to Surrender.

Minerva's a member of the Royal Geological Society and has been published several times in their journal. And, she's just made a discovery that's sure to win a handsome prize at their next conference. A few problems:

1. She has no way to get to Edinburgh to present her findings.
2. The Society doesn't know that M. R. Highwood is a woman.

So, she enlists the help of Lord Payne. If he'll accompany her to Scotland, she'll pay their way and then she'll give him the prize money, which should be enough to keep him entertained in London until he has access to his fortune. He also has to agree NOT to marry her sister.

But Lord Payne has some of his own conditions-- he doesn't ride in an enclosed carriage, he doesn't travel at night, and he doesn't sleep alone.

So, they're off to Scotland, but from the start, nothing goes as planned. Who cares what the Royal Society thinks-- Payne and Minerva may never get there at this rate! Plus, back in Spindle Cove, their friends know that something about this journey doesn't quite add up...

We got a glimpse of Payne and Minerva in A Night to Surrender and so I was extremely happy to find this book was all about them. I love them together, I love how Payne coaxes Minerva out of her shell without making her feel bad about who she is and what her passions are. I love how Minerva has her mind made up about Payne and how every wrong she is. Also, this really is the worst road-trip in history-- the kind that you're so glad you're not on, but are hilarious to read about. The two of them together are so great.

This is my favorite of the Spindle Cove series. (So far, I see there's a new one coming out this spring! Yay!)

Book Provided by... my local library

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