Welcome to Day 14 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors.

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is Jane Godman and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book Echoes In The Darkness.

• What inspired you to write this book?

I do love a good gothic romance. You know when you watch a scary film (usually through your fingers) and that character who is alone in the house goes into the attic (or maybe the cellar) to find out what the unexplained noises are? That’s why I write gothics. When we see those scenes in films, or read them in books, we usually switch all the lights on before we sigh with relief and say, “You wouldn’t do that in real life. You’d run screaming out of the door.” But we still love to watch or read those scenes…because they give us shivers.

But I wanted to update the gothic and that was my inspiration. Legacy of Darkness, my first Shivers novel, includes all of the classic gothic elements—a gloomy castle, an innocent heroine, strange characters, dark secrets and noises in the night. But it is also a ‘new gothic’. These have elements of the unexplained, but they are not paranormal romances. Generally, the heroine and heroine are human beings who may have paranormal experiences. Shivers have high levels of sensuality, but their strong gothic story line makes them much more than an erotic romance. My Shivers books are the best of both my favourite genres, they are historical gothics.

Echoes in the Darkness is my second Shivers book and is the sequel to Legacy of Darkness.

So my other inspiration was the mad, bad and definitely dangerous to know Jago family and my desire to keep telling the story of their dark legacy. Although the books do stand alone in the sense that they don’t have to be read in sequence, the three books in the series (the third book, Darkness Unchained, will be out in October 2014) are in chronological order from the 1830s to the 1920s.

• What’s your favourite part of this book and why?

My favourite part of Echoes in the Darkness is Dita’s memory of a mad one night stand she had in Paris. She doesn’t even know the name of the man she slept with, but she has fallen in love with him. This is how they met…

Excerpt

I lay back on the velvet chaise longue while two men stood to one side of me, discussing my nipples. The conversation had been going on for some time and my left calf was cramping painfully. When I attempted to stretch my foot out, however, Maurice squealed in outrage. “Cherie! S’il vous plaît. Please, the pose you strike now is perfection, do not, I beg you, ruin it!”

I subsided, surreptitiously wiggling my toes when he wasn’t looking. He was, after all, paying me double my usual hourly rate for this private sitting, so it wouldn’t do to upset him.

“The colour and texture are quite divine, reminiscent of perfectly placed rose petals on cream silk,” Claude said pompously, regarding my errant breasts thoughtfully. “But the nipples should stand proud, and they will not stay that way.” He stuck his lower lip out sulkily and regarded me with an accusing stare.

“It’s too warm in here,” I pointed out for the third or fourth time. My head was thrown back over the curve of the chaise so that the heavy mass of my hair tumbled almost to the floor. Maurice had piled cushions behind me so that my back was arched, emphasising the contrast between the slenderness of my waist and the full curves of my breasts. I held two feathered fans, one shielding my face so that only my eyes showed above it, and the other teasingly positioned so that it didn’t quite cover my pubic bone.

The third man had not spoken since he entered the room. He stood in the shadows beyond the light of the open window, and all I had was the impression of height and a faint aroma of expensive cologne. Maurice and Claude had greeted him with fawning sycophancy, so I assumed he was a wealthy patron.

I heard the stranger move across the room. Whatever he was doing now, he was out of my vision, but, after some clattering around in Claude’s tiny kitchen area, he approached me. My boredom vanished instantly. I had heard men described as “beautiful” and dismissed the phrase as overly poetic. Suddenly, I knew exactly what it meant. This man’s masculinity was so perfect—so pure—that my breath caught in my throat just to look at him. His smile was as devastating as the first ray of sunlight breaking through storm clouds. I knew, beyond rational thought or reason, that this was a defining moment, a point from which there was to be no return. This man was going to change my life. Was it as simple as love at first sight? The cynic in me dismissed the notion. And I had more cause than most to be cynical about men. Nevertheless, I was severely jolted.

He came and sat on the edge of the chaise, his hip pressed into the curve of my waist. I had never seen eyes so unambiguously gold. The contrast of their brightness against the raven-wing darkness of his hair and tawny tint of his skin was stunning.

“This could hurt a little. But I think you might also quite like it.” He held up his hand to show me a glass full of ice, which he placed on the floor. The piece he held in his other hand was already starting to melt in the cloying heat of the Parisian afternoon.

I returned his stare challengingly over the top of my fan, and the grin deepened appreciatively. Cupping my left breast with a warm hand, he ran his thumb lightly over my nipple. It hardened instantly.

“Mais oui! But yes!” Claude cried out exultantly. “That is what I wanted! Exactement.”

The stranger was concentrating on caressing my breast and did not reply. His eyes remained locked on mine as, very gently, he lifted the piece of ice and used it to draw a circle around my already sensitised nipple. My back arched and I bit my lip as a maddeningly wonderful bolt of pain shot through me.

He moved his hand to my right breast and repeated the process. I wanted to scream. But I wasn’t sure if I wanted to scream at him to stop, or because I never wanted the velvet torture of his touch to end. “It’s funny,” he observed casually. “I thought from a distance that, because your eyes are so dark, they must be brown. But now I see they are the exact shade of the heart of a purple pansy. And,” he added, leaning closer so that Claude and Maurice couldn’t hear, “now you are aroused, there are thunderclouds of passion looming just below the surface.” His French was perfect, but there was a faint trace of an accent.

He rose abruptly, brushing back the lock of hair that flopped forward to caress his brow. “Just use the ice when you need to,” he instructed me, indicating the glass next to the chaise. “That should keep Claude here quiet while he gets his masterpiece started.” He began to walk away toward the door and I lay back, unable to speak. I was completely stunned by the effect he had on me. My nipples were throbbing painfully, a sensation that had nothing whatsoever to do with the ice. Pausing with his hand on the door handle, he flashed that incredible smile my way once more. But his words were directed at Claude, “Do tell our mutual friend I was looking for him. And that he can’t hide forever. I will find him.” Then he was gone.

Throughout the remainder of that sultry, cloud-dulled afternoon, my whole body thrummed with longing. Even Claude’s posturing and Maurice’s rattling, self-absorbed conversation could not pierce the bubble of my anticipation. A drizzling rain had begun to fall by the time I left the tiny attic apartment and stepped into a darkening evening. Sure enough, my golden-eyed stranger was lounging against a gatepost across the street. Just as I knew he would be. His hands were dug deep in his coat pockets, and a brooding, haunted look lowered his brow. I went and stood before him, so close that, when we both breathed out at the same time, our bodies touched. The spicy undertones of his cologne made my nostrils twitch appreciatively. He cupped my face in his hands, studying me intently.

“My God,” he said in English. “You are the most perfect thing I have ever seen.”

“Finish what you started,” I whispered, also in English. And, obligingly, he pulled me to him, crushing me against his chest and bruising my lips with the intensity of his kiss. Dragging me along with him by the hand, he propelled us with long, urgent strides down the narrow, cobbled street. Because we had to stop to kiss under every streetlamp, by the time we reached his apartment, I was soaked to the skin and half-crazy with lust.

• What is your philosophy on writing and life?

With my writing, I’m happy to write. If my work is published, that’s fantastic. If people enjoy reading it, that’s amazing (and I love it when they tell me about it!). But, first and foremost, I write for me because, as cheesy as it sounds, writing satisfies and soothes me.

In life, I believe you have to make the best of what you have. I’m a naturally happy person, but sometimes you have to work at being happy and remind yourself of all the good things you have. There are times when it can be hard to do that, but you have to pick yourself up and keep going. In both writing and life it’s good to develop some ‘bouncebackability’.

• Name your three favourite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links

That’s quite easy, as my first three Harlequin Shivers books are the only three currently available (although the others are coming soon!).

So they are:

LEGACY OF DARKNESS

1837 Cornwall, England

Orphaned, penniless and reduced to the role of lady’s companion, Lucy Alleyne is relieved when a distant relation spirits her away to Castle Athal. But gratitude soon gives way to fear—and unlooked-for pleasure.

The ancient Cornish castle is a dark monument to family, fortune and infamy. Within its walls, the Jago family keeps its wards close…and its secrets closer. As soon as Lucy arrives at her new home, she is drawn to Tynan, Earl of Athal. Although the young lord is handsome and caring, he is tortured by mental illness, like his father before him. They share a meeting of souls which is completely opposite to her very physical response to Tynan’s uncle, Uther: a commanding, seductive presence whose leonine power radiates from his every word and gesture.

These two Jago men have innocent Lucy enthralled: mind, soul and body. But if she remains within the poisonous castle keep, with its history of ill-starred passion and madness, a mere broken heart will seem a mercy.

LEGACY OF DARKNESS is available from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/lcng4mw

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=51369

and everywhere ebooks are sold

ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS

Not betrothed, but beguiled.

In artistic circles she is the Divine Dita, Paris’ most sought-after nude model. But now she’s not so much posing as playing a role: fiancée to the next Earl of Athal. The charade is a favor to Dita’s friend, Eddie Jago, a dissolute painter…and the aforementioned heir. As deceptions go, it is innocent compared with what will come.

On the grim Cornish coast, from the ashes of a ruined castle rises the Jagos’ sumptuous new manor house. The fresh-hewn stone, however, cannot absorb the blood of centuries or quiet the echoes of past crimes. Dita struggles to decipher the family: the infirm Earl and his inscrutable wife; resentful Eddie; sheltered sister Eleanor. And Cad: the handsome second son whose reputation is spotless in business—scandalous everywhere else.

Drawn by friendship, ensnared by lust, Dita uncovers a sordid tangle of murder, desire and madness. It will lay her bare as no portraitist has done before.

ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS is available from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/nkjvk4t

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=52852

and everywhere ebooks are sold

VALLEY OF NIGHTMARES

It’s 1938, and war is looming as Lilly Divine leaves London for life as a governess in a crumbling mansion. Her employer, Gethin Taran, a man as remote and compelling as the mountains encircling his home, soon has Lilly intrigued and enthralled. But there is danger as well as passion in the valley, and its ghostly source begins to stalk Lilly’s nightmares….

Mood, mystery…romance that makes you shiver.

VALLEY OF NIGHTMARES is available as part of the third Harlequin Shivers four book box set from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qxhma34

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=52857

and everywhere ebooks are sold.

• What are your goals for this year?

My first goal is to see my historical romance series published. I wrote this series of books a few years ago and they were published by a small company that went out of business. I’ve now rewritten the books. I love the characters and the era (Georgian England—think men in cloaks and powdered wigs) so I would like to share them with a wider audience.

I am also writing a very dark romantic suspense series and my other goal is to finish that!

6) If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

When it comes to writing my advice would be to write the sort of books you want to read. There is no magic formula and, if you try to find one, you will only end up selling yourself and your potential readers short. Then be yourself and stay true to your story. Don’t try and make your book something it’s not just to get it published, or to please other people. Listen to readers, but also think about what the advice they give you is actually saying. Is it saying something about your writing or about their personal preference? You have to accept you can’t please everyone.

Oh, and stick at it. In your writing, and in life. As Winston Churchill said, “Never, ever, ever give up!”

Please provide us with the book bio/description, j-peg author photo, j-peg book cover, buying links, links to author social media

Book Bios and Links

VALLEY OF NIGHTMARES is available as part of the third Harlequin Shivers four book box set from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qxhma34

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=52857

and everywhere ebooks are sold.

It’s 1938, and war is looming as Lilly Divine leaves London for life as a governess in a crumbling mansion. Her employer, Gethin Taran, a man as remote and compelling as the mountains encircling his home, soon has Lilly intrigued and enthralled. But there is danger as well as passion in the valley, and its ghostly source begins to stalk Lilly’s nightmares….

Mood, mystery…romance that makes you shiver.

ECHOES IN THE DARKNESS is available from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/nkjvk4t

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=52852

and everywhere ebooks are sold

Not betrothed, but beguiled.

In artistic circles she is the Divine Dita, Paris’ most sought-after nude model. But now she’s not so much posing as playing a role: fiancée to the next Earl of Athal. The charade is a favor to Dita’s friend, Eddie Jago, a dissolute painter…and the aforementioned heir. As deceptions go, it is innocent compared with what will come.

On the grim Cornish coast, from the ashes of a ruined castle rises the Jagos’ sumptuous new manor house. The fresh-hewn stone, however, cannot absorb the blood of centuries or quiet the echoes of past crimes. Dita struggles to decipher the family: the infirm Earl and his inscrutable wife; resentful Eddie; sheltered sister Eleanor. And Cad: the handsome second son whose reputation is spotless in business—scandalous everywhere else.

Drawn by friendship, ensnared by lust, Dita uncovers a sordid tangle of murder, desire and madness. It will lay her bare as no portraitist has done before.

LEGACY OF DARKNESS is available from Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/lcng4mw

and Harlequin: http://www.harlequin.com/storeitem.html?iid=51369

and everywhere ebooks are sold

1837 Cornwall, England

Orphaned, penniless and reduced to the role of lady’s companion, Lucy Alleyne is relieved when a distant relation spirits her away to Castle Athal. But gratitude soon gives way to fear—and unlooked-for pleasure.

The ancient Cornish castle is a dark monument to family, fortune and infamy. Within its walls, the Jago family keeps its wards close…and its secrets closer. As soon as Lucy arrives at her new home, she is drawn to Tynan, Earl of Athal. Although the young lord is handsome and caring, he is tortured by mental illness, like his father before him. They share a meeting of souls which is completely opposite to her very physical response to Tynan’s uncle, Uther: a commanding, seductive presence whose leonine power radiates from his every word and gesture.

These two Jago men have innocent Lucy enthralled: mind, soul and body. But if she remains within the poisonous castle keep, with its history of ill-starred passion and madness, a mere broken heart will seem a mercy.

Social Media

Website: http://www.janegodmanauthor.com/

Twitter: @JaneGodman

Email: janegodman@ymail.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jane-Godman-Author/

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6923685.Jane_Godman

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Welcome to Day 13 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors.

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is D. E. L. Connor and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book Spirit Warriors.

1) What inspired you to write this book? This series evolved from a short story I wrote in a creative writing class in college. It was a dark story for what then, would have been a children’s story. The story kept playing around in my head as the years passed. Then incredible authors like J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyers and others wrote dark stories for a new genre and it seemed like the time was finally here for me to tell my story!

2) What’s your favourite part of this book and why? That’s hard question. This book is my baby and every part seems special. Probably it would have to be the parts I wrote about Lilly at the end of the book. I won’t give away the exact part as it would be a spoiler for those who haven’t read it. In my mind Lilly exists in such a real way, well actually all the characters do, that I was writing and crying at the same time. I would swab my eyes, blow my nose and write some more.

3) What is your philosophy on writing and life? I’m not sure I really have a philosophy. I write because the story is there, just waiting to be told, begging to be told. I write to share my story and probably to save my sanity.

4) Name your three favourite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links Well actually I only have two books. The series when I complete it will have five books and a prequel. I’m hoping to have Book 3 The Burning in editing by the beginning of September.

http://amzn.com/B00GWTZ4RM

http://amzn.com/B00KZQ2N6S

5) What are your goals for this year?  I want to Finish Book 3: The Burning, and Book 4: The Lamenting and start the final book. If I have any extra time I have a new romance book floating around my head that I’m dying to get started on.

6) If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be? Like Yourself. Trust in who you are and what you stand for. Everyone may not like you, but so what? When you like yourself what others think doesn’t really matter. J

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Spirit-Warriors-Concealing-D-E-L-Connor-ebook/dp/B00GWTZ4RM/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1406191189&sr=8-2&keywords=D.E.L.Connor+in+books

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Welcome to Day 12 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors.

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is Adrienne Vaughan and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book The Hollow Heart.

• What inspired you to write this book?

It was inspired by a dream, I was on holiday by the sea and dreamt I met a very famous movie star in the local pub. The next morning, I rushed to the newsagents for a notebook and pen. (I still write by hand today).

• What’s your favorite part of this book and why?

There are so many. I like the scenes in New York, such a contrast to the island. I love the seduction scene in the Tudor lodge, phew! But my favourite scene is at the end, I can feel all Marianne’s emotions; hope, trepidation and the promise of a future with the man she loves.

• What is your philosophy on writing and life? 

If you love what you do, whatever it is, it will shine through. My grandfather told me, ‘Always aim for the moon. If you fall, you’ll land on the stars.’  That’s good enough for me.

• Name your three favorite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links 

I have only published two so far, The Hollow Heart and the sequel A Change of Heart. The last in the trilogy Secrets of the Heart will be published in the autumn.

• What are your goals for this year?

Finish and launch Secrets of the Heart, the final part of the Heartfelt Trilogy. And if I can muster superhuman effort, get my long lost novel Kiss & Tell out there too. Also, with another group of authors, including Debbie Flint and Lizzie Lamb, I’m working on a spooky short story for a Halloween anthology, which should be fun. So all good.

• If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

I would not be a published writer without my colleagues in the New Romantics 4. We encourage and spur each other on. So arm yourself with some good, solid writing mates. Churchill’s quote is stuck on my computer. ‘Never, never, never, give up!’

The Hollow Heart – Book Blurb

Marianne Coltrane is a feisty, award-winning journalist who is far from lucky in love. Escaping from the pressures of her career and a lost love, she takes herself off to the wilds of the west of Ireland, where she literally runs into Ryan O’Gorman, the most conceited, infuriating man in the world. He’s an actor who’s just landed the biggest role in movie history and loathes journalists. One thing they do have in common is they both think their chance of true love has passed them by …but fate, as usual, has other ideas!

“Sexy, moving and funny, this heart-warming duo and cast of colourful characters will stay with you long after the last page leaves you smiling.”

Adrienne Vaughan – author bio (short version)

July 2014

Born in Leicester and brought up in Dublin, Adrienne Vaughan has been making up stories since she could speak, as soon as she could pick up a pen she started writing them down. It was no surprise she wanted to be a journalist; ideally the editor of a glossy magazine, so she could meet and marry a rock star!

Today, she runs a busy PR practice and writes poems, short stories and ideas for books in her spare time. She is a member of the Romantic Novelists’ Association and a founder member of the indie publishing group The New Romantics 4.

Adrienne lives in Leicestershire with her husband, two cocker spaniels, Agatha Christie – the rescue cat and a retired dressage horse called Marco.

The sequel to The Hollow Heart, titled A Change of Heart is available now, and the final book in the trilogy Secrets of the Heart will be published in autumn 2014.

Publication could be delayed however, if she gets the call to be the latest, if rather mature – Bond girl!

Ends

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Welcome to Day 11 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors. 

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is Pamela Beckford and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book Love: Lost and Found.

What inspired you to write this book?

I had published my first book just a few months earlier and I was being asked when the next collection was going to be released. I had really thought the first collection was going to be the only collection I ever published. I still hadn’t started to take myself seriously as a poet. Yet I continued writing poems so I had a ready collection to build on.

 

What’s your favorite part of this book and why?

I love every single poem. They are like my children – I couldn’t just choose one. They are each special in their own way.

 

What is your philosophy on writing and life?

I don’t know that I have a philosophy per se. But I think if someone is going to write, they need to write what they have within themselves. I have tried other types of poetry besides the love poems and they just don’t feel natural – they feel forced. So, my personal philosophy is to stick with what seems to write itself for me. My personal philosophy of life is to live each day to its fullest and fill your life with love, laughter, family and friends.

 

Name your three favorite books that you’ve written – feel free to list buy links.

This is easy since I’ve only published three books to date. But yes, I’m working on the next collection which I hope to publish just before Valentine’s Day 2015.

Dreams of Love http://www.amazon.com/Dreams-Love-Collection-Pamela-Beckford/dp/1495473848/ref=sr_1_1_title_1_pap?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1406058527&sr=1-1&keywords=Dreams+of+love

Voices of Nature (a collaboration with Kirsten A.) http://www.amazon.com/Voices-Nature-Pamela-Beckford-ebook/dp/B00JCRWVJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1406058458&sr=8-1&keywords=voices+of+nature+by+pamela+beckford

Love: Lost and Found http://www.amazon.com/Love-Lost-Found-Pamela-Beckford/dp/1500279250/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1406058482&sr=1-2

 

What are your goals for this year?

As I mentioned, I want to put together a collection of love poems to release in 2015. I also want to work with new poetry forms. There are dozens of different poetry forms and I love learning new ones. They are challenging, but it forces me to choose words very carefully when I’m limited by syllable counts and rhyming patterns. I want to continue honing my craft because I know I can only get better from here.

 

If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

Follow your heart.

 

Love: Lost and Found

Love: Lost and Found is filled with poems reflecting the phases of love. There are poems of longing and pain and poems of exhilaration and joy. A collection of over 90 poems representing over a dozen different forms of poetry (including descriptions of those forms).

 

Author Links

http://www.amazon.com/Pamela-Beckford/e/B00JJTDXSE/ref=dp_byline_cont_book_1

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7862994.Pamela_Beckford?from_search=true

http://poetrybypamela.wordpress.com

https://twitter.com/poetrybypamela

https://www.facebook.com/poetrybypamela?ref_type=bookmark

 

 

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Welcome to Day 10 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors. 

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is June Kearns and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book The 20’s Girl, the Girl and all that Jazz.

 

     1) What inspired you to write this book?

I love the music, style and fashion of the Jazz Age, and there just seemed to be something in the air – the new Great Gatsby film, our Downton Abbey series and lots of flapper references. I also read a lovely book, “Singled Out” by Virginia Nicolson, about the sad plight of women in England after the Great War, with almost no hope of finding a husband.

 

• What’s your favourite part of this book, and why?

I like the parts where the main characters find themselves completely out of their depth – the tough Texan in the middle of the English Shires, surrounded by odd English eccentrics; the rather prim, buttoned-up Englishwoman in the middle of Texan cow country!

 

3)What is your philosophy on writing and life?

The wall in front of my desk is chock full of encouraging little quotes!

One of the best for me, is by Samuel Beckett: Try again. Fail again. Fail better.

Another favourite is by Zig Ziglar: Your attitude, not your aptitude will determine your altitude.

 

4)Name your three favourite books.

I’ve written just two: An Englishwoman’s Guide to the Cowboy, viewbook.at/B009XRRU2M and  The 20s Girl, the ghost and all that jazz

viewbook.at/the20sgirlkindle

 

5)What are your goals for this year?

My goal is to finish my third novel, set in London in the 1960s.

 

      6)If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

 Stop apologising! Relax! Just write the story you want to read – and write for your readers, not for other writers.

 

Book bio/ description:

When her jazzing flapper of an aunt dies, Gerardina Mary Chiledexter inherits some silver-topped scent bottles, a wardrobe of love-affair clothes, and astonishingly, a half-share in a million-acre ranch in south-west Texas.

Haunted by a psychic cat, and the ghost voice of her aunt Leonie, Gerry feels driven to travel thousands of miles to see the ranch for herself.

Against a backdrop of big sky, cattle barons and oil wells, she is soon engaged in a game of power, pride and ultimately, love, with the Texan who owns the other half.

 

      Links to social media:

 

Website: www.junekearns.com

               www.newromantics4.com

 

twitter: @june_kearns and @newromantics4

 

 

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

 

 

 

Welcome to Day 9 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors. 

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is Debbie Peterson and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book Spirit of the Knight

What inspired you to write this book?

Sir Cailen is a minor character in my novel “Spirit of the Revolution.” I had so much fun writing him– and because of the untold story floating around inside my head concerning his existence inside that
Scottish castle–I just had to give him a book of his own.

What’s your favorite part of this book and why?

I enjoyed writing every single page of this book, so narrowing down a favorite part is really hard. However, I have to admit that the scene wherein Mariah realized her beloved knight truly existed was a whole lot of fun to write!   

What is your philosophy on writing and life?

Erma Bombeck once said, “When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, “I used everything you gave me.” In summing up my own philosophy on both life and writing, I don’t think I could have said it any better than that.

Name your three favorite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links

This is another really tough question because I have enjoyed writing all of them, but since you want three…

Spirit of the Rebellion:

http://www.amazon.com/Spirit-Rebellion-Debbie-Peterson-ebook/dp/B007K9WHA0/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spirit-of-the-rebellion-debbie-peterson/1109598175?ean=2940014234962

Shadow of the Witte Wieven:

http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Witte-Wieven-Debbie-Peterson-ebook/dp/B007W97VMC/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/shadow-of-the-witte-wieven-debbie-peterson/1108375124?ean=2940016668697&itm=1&usri=debbie+peterson

 

Spirit of the Knight:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00J9OAMZQ/

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/spirit-of-the-knight-debbie-peterson/1119927323?ean=2940149703944

What are your goals for this year?

See “Court of the Hawk” (my sixth novel) through edits and final galley, then finish up book number seven and pass it on to my editor at The Wild Rose Press!

 If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be?

Find time to write every single day. In doing this one thing you will never cease improving your craft or expanding the realm your imagination.

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

 

 

Welcome to Day 8 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors. 

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is Cecily Gates and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book An Imaginary House By The Sea.

1.) What inspired you to write this book?

 An Imaginary House by the Sea is a wild, romanticized departure from a real-life experience of mine. I had the opportunity a few years ago to reconnect with a childhood sweetheart, and I was struck by how widely our lives had diverged.

I’m in a happy, loving relationship with my boyfriend here in the city, working a corporate job by day and writing novels by night. Like Dawn, I have a lot of dreams to chase. My childhood sweetheart, on the other hand, lives in the country. He’s married and has the cutest baby you’ve ever seen. He lives a much calmer, peaceful life, which is not to say that one is necessarily better than the other—they’re just different.

 The experience made me nostalgic and got me thinking about what it means to reconnect with someone you knew a long time ago, back when you were nearly a different person. It’s a common phenomenon—you befriend someone as a child, you grow up, and often you grow apart. And sometimes it’s only upon a reconnection, many years later, that you realize how much you’ve changed. This was the seed for the novel.

 

2) What’s your favourite part of this book and why?

 I don’t want to give away the details, but I loved the unfolding friendship between Dawn and Marguerite, John’s wife.

 I tend to believe that there are no “villains” in real life, that most people mean well, and that it’s simply a matter of finding common ground. To my knowledge, this isn’t a concept often explored in romance novels, particularly when there’s a love triangle involved. It felt unconventional, surprising, and real to follow the two women as they bonded. Especially because they’re both such incredible people in their own right.

 3.) What is your philosophy on writing and life? 

 Above all else, have a sense of humor. I have a particularly sardonic sense of humor (or so I’ve been told, anyway) and often don’t need to look far to find something to laugh about.

 I’ll admit something here. Sometimes I wonder if I should be concerned how my online persona is incongruous with the books I’m writing. I like writing books with high stakes and emotional, authentic stories—but then I’ll go on Twitter and share a GIF of poodles doing aerobics. Or I’ll talk about that woman I saw in the park who was lovingly petting a flower. I thought it was the weirdest thing I’d seen all day, and so of course immediately went to Twitter about it. Does all that make my books less authentic? Or on the flip side, does that make my jokes less funny?

 I was talking about this with my boyfriend Jack about this the other day, actually. He pointed out that the two can coexist: darkness and light. And perhaps you need both to see the other more clearly. Without the light, how can you appreciate the journey into the darkness, and vice versa.

 

4) Name your three favourite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links 

 This is my debut novel, so by default I have to say that this is my absolute favorite book that I’ve ever written. Following in a close second is the sequel, The Light of the Vanished (bit.ly/lightofthevanished). I’m in the process of writing it now, and I’m so excited about where the story is heading. The stakes are high, the romance is intense, and the heroine is the most interesting character I’ve ever written.

 Since that leaves me with one book left, I’m going to tweak the rules a bit, if I can be so bold! I love to take every chance I can get to support the incredible work that my friends are doing with their own books, so I’ve compiled a Goodreads list of all the titles written by The Page Girls, who consist of India Lee, Emily Poule, Jasmine Tru, April Jane, and myself (https://www.goodreads.com/review/list/30078952-cecily-gates?shelf=the-page-girls). It’s a growing list, which is awesome. It never fails to make me freak out (in a good way, of course!) when my friends publish a new title.

 

5) What are your goals for this year? 

 I have three goals: first and foremost, to keep writing, naturally!

 The second goal: to keep investing the rest of my creative energy towards The Page Girls (www.thepagegirls.com), the weekly romance lit mag that Emily, India, April, Jasmine, and I all run. It’s been a blast to create, and it’s incredibly fulfilling to see how readers respond to the site.

 The third is a bit more esoteric: come up with a “cocktail of the year.” I don’t know quite what that means yet, but before the year is up, I’m hoping to invent some cocktail that in some way reflects my attitude about 2014. So far, I’m thinking sweet.  

 

6) If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be? 

I’d say keep your sense of humor, but since I already addressed that one above, I’ll share another one of my favorite tidbits of advice.

This one comes from the American novelist Henry James, who once said to his nephew: “There are three things that are important in human life. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind.”

Through both my professional and personal experiences, I’ve seen firsthand the incredible relationships that can form when you shelve your pride and extend an offer of friendship to someone who may not expect it from you. And so I try to remember that, and to take James’ philosophy to heart. If I can end this interview on a challenge to you, readers, it would be this: be fearlessly kind. Do favors. Watch what happens.

  Buying links:

                              Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Imaginary-House-Sea-Cecily-Gates-ebook/dp/B00LS2IJ84/

                Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/an-imaginary-house-by-the-sea-barnes-noble-cecily-gates/1119946249?ean=2940149823185

                Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/457620

 Links to author social media: (Note – I have my own author social media accounts, but I primarily post as The Page Girls so I will post those links here)

                Blog: http://www.cecilywrites.com/

                Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thepagegirlsblog

                Twitter: https://twitter.com/thepagegirls

                Instagram: http://instagram.com/thepagegirls

                Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8332128.Cecily_Gates

 

Book blurb:

“Love is a messy thing. That hopelessly devoted, deep-in-your-bones kind of love we used to dream about when we were kids—it turns out that it’s hard. It aches. It takes time. Like a house that weathers the ages, it must be built, brick by brick.”

Snarky and ambitious Dawn Campbell almost had it all: a job producing lavish celebrity events, a hip downtown apartment, and a studmuffin of a boyfriend. But after losing all three in one fell swoop, Dawn finds herself resorting to the unimaginable: returning home to Bridgeport, an oceanside town where the air smells sweet but not much happens.

When a chance encounter brings her into the sturdy arms of John Brown, her childhood best friend, old feelings come rushing back. As the sparks fly, life finally starts to look up for Dawn…until she meets his wife. 

Marguerite Brown has everything that Dawn doesn’t: a killer fashion sense, a breathtaking beauty, and a French accent—oh, and the kind of temperament that makes great white sharks seem docile in comparison. Determined to release John from an unhappy marriage, Dawn turns on the charm and makes a plan to finally win back her one-that-got-away.

But after Dawn stumbles upon a secret that, up until now, Marguerite has meticulously kept hidden, the two women are thrust into an unexpected friendship. An Imaginary House by the Sea follows Dawn’s journey towards self-rediscovery, finding purpose, and building a more complex, steadfast kind of love than she could have ever imagined.

 

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

 

Welcome to Day 7 of the 2^nd Annual Romancing September Across The World Blog Tour. I’ve teamed up with Rosie Amber again this year. We’re promoting 30 awesome romance authors in 30 days. Help us out by cross promoting when you can and check out these authors. 

Don’t forget to go over to Rosie Amber’s page and check out her page too.

Today my guest author is V. Steele and I want to thank her for blogging with me today. Here is a little about her and her book Beckoning, Book 1 of the As My Heart Beats Series.

 

What inspired you to write this book?

I’ve always loved to write paranormal romances. One evening as lightning flashed across the sky and thunder roared outside my window I thought about writing about a powerful vampire. But this is no ordinary vampire, he’s from a royal line. I wanted to go from a different direction. This book practically wrote itself. It flowed from my fingertips like a fine wine from a bottle. 

 

What’s your favorite part of this book and why?

I have many favorite parts of this book, but if I had to narrow it down, I’d say when their eyes meet in the bar. It’s sexy and mesmerizing. You can almost feel the heat in their gazes. The power of his lineage draws her to him and he’s drawn to her through pure natural need. The moment their gazes lock it’s on and there’s no looking back. Everything and everyone cease to exist as they meet up at the bar.

 

What is your philosophy on writing and life? 

Oh, I think my philosophy on writing is to write what you enjoy. Don’t let anyone tell you what to write. I write from the seat of my pants and love every moment of it, but if someone doesn’t like my writing that’s alright too. I write what I know. On life I live every day as though it were my last. We’re only given one chance at life and we need to make the best of it. Don’t let chances pass you by, grab hold and don’t let go until the ride ends.

 Name your three favorite books that you’ve written — feel free to list buy links 

 My Obsessed Cowboy – http://www.amazon.com/Obsessed-Cowboy-Chasing-Cowboys-Book-ebook/dp/B00K3FE9PE

 After Hours – http://www.amazon.com/After-Hours-V-Steele/dp/1491239425

 Sweet Innocence – http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Innocence-My-Prodigy-Book-ebook/dp/B00AYLNCE6

 What are your goals for this year? 

 I have several books in the works. I’ll finish the My Prodigy Trilogy this year. I’m working on a Christmas Cowboy book, but it will be a surprise, coming soon. I’m also working on a new website with my Cover designer and now website designer Horseshoe Publishing. It will be out in the next week or so and I’m really excited about going to the next level of my writing. 

 

If you had to give one piece of advice what would it be? 

I’ll go with advice on writing. I’d say make yourself smile. If you shed a tear while writing, you’ve achieved an emotional level, if you laugh while writing, you’ve achieved the humor and it you smile when you’re done, then you’ve done your best. If you’re uncertain when you finish, then go back and rewrite it.

 

Thanks so much for joining us on this grand adventure we call Romancing September Across the World 2014 Blog Tour.

 

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…